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diff --git a/old/1265.txt b/old/1265.txt deleted file mode 100644 index feeb00f..0000000 --- a/old/1265.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8649 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Queen Victoria, by Lytton Strachey - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Queen Victoria - -Author: Lytton Strachey - -Release Date: February 18, 2006 [EBook #1265] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK QUEEN VICTORIA *** - - - - -Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer and David Widger - - - - - -QUEEN VICTORIA - -By Lytton Strachey - - - -New York Harcourt, Brace And Company, 1921 - - - -CONTENTS - - I. ANTECEDENTS - II. CHILDHOOD - III. LORD MELBOURNE - IV. MARRIAGE - V. LORD PALMERSTON - VI. LAST YEARS OF THE PRINCE CONSORT - VII. WIDOWHOOD - VIII. MR. GLADSTONE AND LORD BEACONSFIELD - IX. OLD AGE - X. THE END - BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - - -QUEEN VICTORIA - - - - -CHAPTER I. ANTECEDENTS - -I - -On November 6, 1817, died the Princess Charlotte, only child of the -Prince Regent, and heir to the crown of England. Her short life had -hardly been a happy one. By nature impulsive, capricious, and vehement, -she had always longed for liberty; and she had never possessed it. -She had been brought up among violent family quarrels, had been early -separated from her disreputable and eccentric mother, and handed over to -the care of her disreputable and selfish father. When she was seventeen, -he decided to marry her off to the Prince of Orange; she, at first, -acquiesced; but, suddenly falling in love with Prince Augustus of -Prussia, she determined to break off the engagement. This was not her -first love affair, for she had previously carried on a clandestine -correspondence with a Captain Hess. Prince Augustus was already married, -morganatically, but she did not know it, and he did not tell her. While -she was spinning out the negotiations with the Prince of Orange, the -allied sovereign--it was June, 1814--arrived in London to celebrate -their victory. Among them, in the suite of the Emperor of Russia, was -the young and handsome Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. He made several -attempts to attract the notice of the Princess, but she, with her heart -elsewhere, paid very little attention. Next month the Prince Regent, -discovering that his daughter was having secret meetings with Prince -Augustus, suddenly appeared upon the scene and, after dismissing her -household, sentenced her to a strict seclusion in Windsor Park. "God -Almighty grant me patience!" she exclaimed, falling on her knees in an -agony of agitation: then she jumped up, ran down the backstairs and out -into the street, hailed a passing cab, and drove to her mother's house -in Bayswater. She was discovered, pursued, and at length, yielding -to the persuasions of her uncles, the Dukes of York and Sussex, of -Brougham, and of the Bishop of Salisbury, she returned to Carlton House -at two o'clock in the morning. She was immured at Windsor, but no more -was heard of the Prince of Orange. Prince Augustus, too, disappeared. -The way was at last open to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. - -This Prince was clever enough to get round the Regent, to impress the -Ministers, and to make friends with another of the Princess's uncles, -the Duke of Kent. Through the Duke he was able to communicate privately -with the Princess, who now declared that he was necessary to -her happiness. When, after Waterloo, he was in Paris, the Duke's -aide-de-camp carried letters backwards and forwards across the Channel. -In January 1816 he was invited to England, and in May the marriage took -place. - -The character of Prince Leopold contrasted strangely with that of -his wife. The younger son of a German princeling, he was at this time -twenty-six years of age; he had served with distinction in the war -against Napoleon; he had shown considerable diplomatic skill at the -Congress of Vienna; and he was now to try his hand at the task of taming -a tumultuous Princess. Cold and formal in manner, collected in speech, -careful in action, he soon dominated the wild, impetuous, generous -creature by his side. There was much in her, he found, of which he could -not approve. She quizzed, she stamped, she roared with laughter; she -had very little of that self-command which is especially required of -princes; her manners were abominable. Of the latter he was a good judge, -having moved, as he himself explained to his niece many years later, in -the best society of Europe, being in fact "what is called in French de -la fleur des pois." There was continual friction, but every scene -ended in the same way. Standing before him like a rebellious boy in -petticoats, her body pushed forward, her hands behind her back, with -flaming cheeks and sparkling eyes, she would declare at last that she -was ready to do whatever he wanted. "If you wish it, I will do it," she -would say. "I want nothing for myself," he invariably answered; "When -I press something on you, it is from a conviction that it is for your -interest and for your good." - -Among the members of the household at Claremont, near Esher, where the -royal pair were established, was a young German physician, Christian -Friedrich Stockmar. He was the son of a minor magistrate in Coburg, and, -after taking part as a medical officer in the war, he had settled down -as a doctor in his native town. Here he had met Prince Leopold, who had -been struck by his ability, and, on his marriage, brought him to England -as his personal physician. A curious fate awaited this young man; -many were the gifts which the future held in store for him--many and -various--influence, power, mystery, unhappiness, a broken heart. At -Claremont his position was a very humble one; but the Princess took -a fancy to him, called him "Stocky," and romped with him along the -corridors. Dyspeptic by constitution, melancholic by temperament, he -could yet be lively on occasion, and was known as a wit in Coburg. He -was virtuous, too, and served the royal menage with approbation. "My -master," he wrote in his diary, "is the best of all husbands in all the -five quarters of the globe; and his wife bears him an amount of love, -the greatness of which can only be compared with the English national -debt." Before long he gave proof of another quality--a quality which was -to colour the whole of his life-cautious sagacity. When, in the spring -of 1817, it was known that the Princess was expecting a child, the post -of one of her physicians-in-ordinary was offered to him, and he had -the good sense to refuse it. He perceived that his colleagues would be -jealous of him, that his advice would probably not be taken, but that, -if anything were to go wrong, it would be certainly the foreign doctor -who would be blamed. Very soon, indeed, he came to the opinion that the -low diet and constant bleedings, to which the unfortunate Princess was -subjected, were an error; he drew the Prince aside, and begged him to -communicate this opinion to the English doctors; but it was useless. The -fashionable lowering treatment was continued for months. On November 5, -at nine o'clock in the evening, after a labour of over fifty hours, the -Princess was delivered of a dead boy. At midnight her exhausted strength -gave way. When, at last, Stockmar consented to see her; he went in, and -found her obviously dying, while the doctors were plying her with wine. -She seized his hand and pressed it. "They have made me tipsy," she said. -After a little he left her, and was already in the next room when he -heard her call out in her loud voice: "Stocky! Stocky!" As he ran back -the death-rattle was in her throat. She tossed herself violently from -side to side; then suddenly drew up her legs, and it was over. - -The Prince, after hours of watching, had left the room for a few -moments' rest; and Stockmar had now to tell him that his wife was dead. -At first he could not be made to realise what had happened. On their way -to her room he sank down on a chair while Stockmar knelt beside him: it -was all a dream; it was impossible. At last, by the bed, he, too, knelt -down and kissed the cold hands. Then rising and exclaiming, "Now I am -quite desolate. Promise me never to leave me," he threw himself into -Stockmar's arms. - -II - -The tragedy at Claremont was of a most upsetting kind. The royal -kaleidoscope had suddenly shifted, and nobody could tell how the new -pattern would arrange itself. The succession to the throne, which had -seemed so satisfactorily settled, now became a matter of urgent doubt. - -George III was still living, an aged lunatic, at Windsor, completely -impervious to the impressions of the outer world. Of his seven sons, the -youngest was of more than middle age, and none had legitimate offspring. -The outlook, therefore, was ambiguous. It seemed highly improbable that -the Prince Regent, who had lately been obliged to abandon his stays, and -presented a preposterous figure of debauched obesity, could ever again, -even on the supposition that he divorced his wife and re-married, become -the father of a family. Besides the Duke of Kent, who must be noticed -separately, the other brothers, in order of seniority, were the Dukes of -York, Clarence, Cumberland, Sussex, and Cambridge; their situations and -prospects require a brief description. The Duke of York, whose escapades -in times past with Mrs. Clarke and the army had brought him into -trouble, now divided his life between London and a large, extravagantly -ordered and extremely uncomfortable country house where he occupied -himself with racing, whist, and improper stories. He was remarkable -among the princes for one reason: he was the only one of them--so we -are informed by a highly competent observer--who had the feelings of a -gentleman. He had been long married to the Princess Royal of Prussia, -a lady who rarely went to bed and was perpetually surrounded by vast -numbers of dogs, parrots, and monkeys. They had no children. The Duke -of Clarence had lived for many years in complete obscurity with Mrs. -Jordan, the actress, in Bushey Park. By her he had had a large family -of sons and daughters, and had appeared, in effect to be married to her, -when he suddenly separated from her and offered to marry Miss Wykeham, a -crazy woman of large fortune, who, however, would have nothing to say to -him. Shortly afterwards Mrs. Jordan died in distressed circumstances -in Paris. The Duke of Cumberland was probably the most unpopular man in -England. Hideously ugly, with a distorted eye, he was bad-tempered -and vindictive in private, a violent reactionary in politics, and was -subsequently suspected of murdering his valet and of having carried -on an amorous intrigue of an extremely scandalous kind. He had lately -married a German Princess, but there were as yet no children by the -marriage. The Duke of Sussex had mildly literary tastes and collected -books. He had married Lady Augusta Murray, by whom he had two children, -but the marriage, under the Royal Marriages Act, was declared void. On -Lady Augusta's death, he married Lady Cecilia Buggin; she changed her -name to Underwood, but this marriage also was void. Of the Duke of -Cambridge, the youngest of the brothers, not very much was known. He -lived in Hanover, wore a blonde wig, chattered and fidgeted a great -deal, and was unmarried. - -Besides his seven sons, George III had five surviving daughters. Of -these, two--the Queen of Wurtemberg and the Duchess of Gloucester--were -married and childless. The three unmarried princesses--Augusta, -Elizabeth, and Sophia--were all over forty. - -III - -The fourth son of George III was Edward, Duke of Kent. He was now fifty -years of age--a tall, stout, vigorous man, highly-coloured, with bushy -eyebrows, a bald top to his head, and what hair he had carefully dyed a -glossy black. His dress was extremely neat, and in his whole appearance -there was a rigidity which did not belie his character. He had spent -his early life in the army--at Gibraltar, in Canada, in the West -Indies--and, under the influence of military training, had become at -first a disciplinarian and at last a martinet. In 1802, having been sent -to Gibraltar to restore order in a mutinous garrison, he was recalled -for undue severity, and his active career had come to an end. Since then -he had spent his life regulating his domestic arrangements with great -exactitude, busying himself with the affairs of his numerous dependents, -designing clocks, and struggling to restore order to his finances, for, -in spite of his being, as someone said who knew him well "regle comme du -papier a musique," and in spite of an income of L24,000 a year, he -was hopelessly in debt. He had quarrelled with most of his brothers, -particularly with the Prince Regent, and it was only natural that he -should have joined the political Opposition and become a pillar of the -Whigs. - -What his political opinions may actually have been is open to doubt; it -has often been asserted that he was a Liberal, or even a Radical; and, -if we are to believe Robert Owen, he was a necessitarian Socialist. His -relations with Owen--the shrewd, gullible, high-minded, wrong-headed, -illustrious and preposterous father of Socialism and Co-operation--were -curious and characteristic. He talked of visiting the Mills at New -Lanark, he did, in fact, preside at one of Owen's public meetings; -he corresponded with him on confidential terms, and he even (so Owen -assures us) returned, after his death, from "the sphere of spirits" to -give encouragement to the Owenites on earth. "In an especial manner," -says Owen, "I have to name the very anxious feelings of the spirit of -his Royal Highness the Late Duke of Kent (who early informed me -that there were no titles in the spititual spheres into which he had -entered), to benefit, not a class, a sect, a party, or any particular -country, but the whole of the human race, through futurity." "His whole -spirit-proceeding with me has been most beautiful," Owen adds, "making -his own appointments; and never in one instance has this spirit not -been punctual to the minute he had named." But Owen was of a sanguine -temperament. He also numbered among his proselytes President Jefferson, -Prince Metternich, and Napoleon; so that some uncertainty must still -linger over the Duke of Kent's views. But there is no uncertainty about -another circumstance: his Royal Highness borrowed from Robert Owen, on -various occasions, various sums of money which were never repaid and -amounted in all to several hundred pounds. - -After the death of the Princess Charlotte it was clearly important, for -more than one reason, that the Duke of Kent should marry. From the point -of view of the nation, the lack of heirs in the reigning family seemed -to make the step almost obligatory; it was also likely to be highly -expedient from the point of view of the Duke. To marry as a public -duty, for the sake of the royal succession, would surely deserve some -recognition from a grateful country. When the Duke of York had married -he had received a settlement of L25,000 a year. Why should not the Duke -of Kent look forward to an equal sum? But the situation was not quite -simple. There was the Duke of Clarence to be considered; he was the -elder brother, and, if HE married, would clearly have the prior claim. -On the other hand, if the Duke of Kent married, it was important -to remember that he would be making a serious sacrifice: a lady was -involved. - -The Duke, reflecting upon all these matters with careful attention, -happened, about a month after his niece's death, to visit Brussels, and -learnt that Mr. Creevey was staying in the town. Mr. Creevey was a close -friend of the leading Whigs and an inveterate gossip; and it occurred -to the Duke that there could be no better channel through which to -communicate his views upon the situation to political circles at home. -Apparently it did not occur to him that Mr. Creevey was malicious and -might keep a diary. He therefore sent for him on some trivial pretext, -and a remarkable conversation ensued. - -After referring to the death of the Princess, to the improbability of -the Regent's seeking a divorce, to the childlessness of the Duke of -York, and to the possibility of the Duke of Clarence marrying, the Duke -adverted to his own position. "Should the Duke of Clarence not marry," -he said, "the next prince in succession is myself, and although I trust -I shall be at all times ready to obey any call my country may make upon -me, God only knows the sacrifice it will be to make, whenever I shall -think it my duty to become a married man. It is now seven and twenty -years that Madame St. Laurent and I have lived together: we are of -the same age, and have been in all climates, and in all difficulties -together, and you may well imagine, Mr. Creevey, the pang it will -occasion me to part with her. I put it to your own feelings--in the -event of any separation between you and Mrs. Creevey... As for Madame -St. Laurent herself, I protest I don't know what is to become of her if -a marriage is to be forced upon me; her feelings are already so agitated -upon the subject." The Duke went on to describe how, one morning, a day -or two after the Princess Charlotte's death, a paragraph had appeared in -the Morning Chronicle, alluding to the possibility of his marriage. He -had received the newspaper at breakfast together with his letters, and -"I did as is my constant practice, I threw the newspaper across the -table to Madame St. Laurent, and began to open and read my letters. I -had not done so but a very short time, when my attention was called to -an extraordinary noise and a strong convulsive movement in Madame St. -Laurent's throat. For a short time I entertained serious apprehensions -for her safety; and when, upon her recovery, I enquired into the -occasion of this attack, she pointed to the article in the Morning -Chronicle." - -The Duke then returned to the subject of the Duke of Clarence. "My -brother the Duke of Clarence is the elder brother, and has certainly the -right to marry if he chooses, and I would not interfere with him on any -account. If he wishes to be king--to be married and have children, poor -man--God help him! Let him do so. For myself--I am a man of no ambition, -and wish only to remain as I am... Easter, you know, falls very early -this year--the 22nd of March. If the Duke of Clarence does not take any -step before that time, I must find some pretext to reconcile Madame St. -Laurent to my going to England for a short time. When once there, it -will be easy for me to consult with my friends as to the proper steps to -be taken. Should the Duke of Clarence do nothing before that time as to -marrying it will become my duty, no doubt, to take some measures upon -the subject myself." Two names, the Duke said, had been mentioned in -this connection--those of the Princess of Baden and the Princess of -Saxe-Coburg. The latter, he thought, would perhaps be the better of the -two, from the circumstance of Prince Leopold being so popular with the -nation; but before any other steps were taken, he hoped and expected to -see justice done to Madame St. Laurent. "She is," he explained, "of very -good family, and has never been an actress, and I am the first and only -person who ever lived with her. Her disinterestedness, too, has been -equal to her fidelity. When she first came to me it was upon L100 a -year. That sum was afterwards raised to L400 and finally to L1000; but -when my debts made it necessary for me to sacrifice a great part of my -income, Madame St. Laurent insisted upon again returning to her income -of L400 a year. If Madame St. Laurent is to return to live amongst her -friends, it must be in such a state of independence as to command their -respect. I shall not require very much, but a certain number of servants -and a carriage are essentials." As to his own settlement, the Duke -observed that he would expect the Duke of York's marriage to be -considered the precedent. "That," he said, "was a marriage for the -succession, and L25,000 for income was settled, in addition to all his -other income, purely on that account. I shall be contented with the same -arrangement, without making any demands grounded on the difference of -the value of money in 1792 and at present. As for the payment of my -debts," the Duke concluded, "I don't call them great. The nation, on -the contrary, is greatly my debtor." Here a clock struck, and seemed -to remind the Duke that he had an appointment; he rose, and Mr. Creevey -left him. - -Who could keep such a communication secret? Certainly not Mr. Creevey. -He hurried off to tell the Duke of Wellington, who was very much amused, -and he wrote a long account of it to Lord Sefton, who received the -letter "very apropos," while a surgeon was sounding his bladder to -ascertain whether he had a stone. "I never saw a fellow more astonished -than he was," wrote Lord Sefton in his reply, "at seeing me laugh as -soon as the operation was over. Nothing could be more first-rate than -the royal Edward's ingenuousness. One does not know which to admire -most--the delicacy of his attachment to Madame St. Laurent, the -refinement of his sentiments towards the Duke of Clarence, or his own -perfect disinterestedness in pecuniary matters." - -As it turned out, both the brothers decided to marry. The Duke of Kent, -selecting the Princess of Saxe-Coburg in preference to the Princess -of Baden, was united to her on May 29, 1818. On June 11, the Duke of -Clarence followed suit with a daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. -But they were disappointed in their financial expectations; for though -the Government brought forward proposals to increase their allowances, -together with that of the Duke of Cumberland, the motions were defeated -in the House of Commons. At this the Duke of Wellington was not -surprised. "By God!" he said, "there is a great deal to be said -about that. They are the damnedest millstones about the necks of -any Government that can be imagined. They have insulted--PERSONALLY -insulted--two-thirds of the gentlemen of England, and how can it be -wondered at that they take their revenge upon them in the House of -Commons? It is their only opportunity, and I think, by God! they are -quite right to use it." Eventually, however, Parliament increased the -Duke of Kent's annuity by L6000. The subsequent history of Madame St. -Laurent has not transpired. - -IV - -The new Duchess of Kent, Victoria Mary Louisa, was a daughter of -Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and a sister of Prince Leopold. -The family was an ancient one, being a branch of the great House of -Wettin, which since the eleventh century had ruled over the March of -Meissen on the Elbe. In the fifteenth century the whole possessions of -the House had been divided between the Albertine and Ernestine branches: -from the former descended the electors and kings of Saxony; the latter, -ruling over Thuringia, became further subdivided into five branches, -of which the duchy of Saxe-Coburg was one. This principality was very -small, containing about 60,000 inhabitants, but it enjoyed independent -and sovereign rights. During the disturbed years which followed the -French Revolution, its affairs became terribly involved. The Duke was -extravagant, and kept open house for the swarms of refugees, who fled -eastward over Germany as the French power advanced. Among these was the -Prince of Leiningen, an elderly beau, whose domains on the Moselle -had been seized by the French, but who was granted in compensation -the territory of Amorbach in Lower Franconia. In 1803 he married the -Princess Victoria, at that time seventeen years of age. Three years -later Duke Francis died a ruined man. The Napoleonic harrow passed over -Saxe-Coburg. The duchy was seized by the French, and the ducal family -were reduced to beggary, almost to starvation. At the same time the -little principality of Amorbach was devastated by the French, Russian, -and Austrian armies, marching and counter-marching across it. For years -there was hardly a cow in the country, nor enough grass to feed a -flock of geese. Such was the desperate plight of the family which, a -generation later, was to have gained a foothold in half the reigning -Houses of Europe. The Napoleonic harrow had indeed done its work, the -seed was planted; and the crop would have surprised Napoleon. Prince -Leopold, thrown upon his own resources at fifteen, made a career for -himself and married the heiress of England. The Princess of Leiningen, -struggling at Amorbach with poverty, military requisitions, and a -futile husband, developed an independence of character and a tenacity of -purpose which were to prove useful in very different circumstances. In -1814, her husband died, leaving her with two children and the regency -of the principality. After her brother's marriage with the Princess -Charlotte, it was proposed that she should marry the Duke of Kent; but -she declined, on the ground that the guardianship of her children and -the management of her domains made other ties undesirable. The Princess -Charlotte's death, however, altered the case; and when the Duke of Kent -renewed his offer, she accepted it. She was thirty-two years old--short, -stout, with brown eyes and hair, and rosy cheeks, cheerful and voluble, -and gorgeously attired in rustling silks and bright velvets. - -She was certainly fortunate in her contented disposition; for she was -fated, all through her life, to have much to put up with. Her second -marriage, with its dubious prospects, seemed at first to be chiefly a -source of difficulties and discomforts. The Duke, declaring that he was -still too poor to live in England, moved about with uneasy precision -through Belgium and Germany, attending parades and inspecting barracks -in a neat military cap, while the English notabilities looked askance, -and the Duke of Wellington dubbed him the Corporal. "God damme!" he -exclaimed to Mr. Creevey, "d'ye know what his sisters call him? By God! -they call him Joseph Surface!" At Valenciennes, where there was a -review and a great dinner, the Duchess arrived with an old and -ugly lady-in-waiting, and the Duke of Wellington found himself in a -difficulty. "Who the devil is to take out the maid of honour?" he kept -asking; but at last he thought of a solution. "Damme, Freemantle, find -out the mayor and let him do it." So the Mayor of Valenciennes was -brought up for the purpose, and--so we learn from Mr. Creevey--"a -capital figure he was." A few days later, at Brussels, Mr. Creevey -himself had an unfortunate experience. A military school was to be -inspected--before breakfast. The company assembled; everything was -highly satisfactory; but the Duke of Kent continued for so long -examining every detail and asking meticulous question after meticulous -question, that Mr. Creevey at last could bear it no longer, and -whispered to his neighbour that he was damned hungry. The Duke of -Wellington heard him, and was delighted. "I recommend you," he said, -"whenever you start with the royal family in a morning, and particularly -with THE CORPORAL, always to breakfast first." He and his staff, it -turned out, had taken that precaution, and the great man amused himself, -while the stream of royal inquiries poured on, by pointing at Mr. -Creevey from time to time with the remark, "Voila le monsieur qui n'a -pas dejeune!" - -Settled down at last at Amorbach, the time hung heavily on the Duke's -hands. The establishment was small, the country was impoverished; even -clock-making grew tedious at last. He brooded--for in spite of his piety -the Duke was not without a vein of superstition--over the prophecy of -a gipsy at Gibraltar who told him that he was to have many losses and -crosses, that he was to die in happiness, and that his only child was -to be a great queen. Before long it became clear that a child was to be -expected: the Duke decided that it should be born in England. Funds were -lacking for the journey, but his determination was not to be set aside. -Come what might, he declared, his child must be English-born. A carriage -was hired, and the Duke himself mounted the box. Inside were the -Duchess, her daughter Feodora, a girl of fourteen, with maids, nurses, -lap-dogs, and canaries. Off they drove--through Germany, through -France: bad roads, cheap inns, were nothing to the rigorous Duke and the -equable, abundant Duchess. The Channel was crossed, London was reached -in safety. The authorities provided a set of rooms in Kensington Palace; -and there, on May 24, 1819, a female infant was born. - - - -CHAPTER II. CHILDHOOD - -I - -The child who, in these not very impressive circumstances, appeared -in the world, received but scant attention. There was small reason to -foresee her destiny. The Duchess of Clarence, two months before, -had given birth to a daughter, this infant, indeed, had died almost -immediately; but it seemed highly probable that the Duchess would -again become a mother; and so it actually fell out. More than this, -the Duchess of Kent was young, and the Duke was strong; there was every -likelihood that before long a brother would follow, to snatch her faint -chance of the succession from the little princess. - -Nevertheless, the Duke had other views: there were prophecies... At any -rate, he would christen the child Elizabeth, a name of happy augury. In -this, however, he reckoned without the Regent, who, seeing a chance -of annoying his brother, suddenly announced that he himself would be -present at the baptism, and signified at the same time that one of the -godfathers was to be the Emperor Alexander of Russia. And so when the -ceremony took place, and the Archbishop of Canterbury asked by what name -he was to baptise the child, the Regent replied "Alexandria." At -this the Duke ventured to suggest that another name might be added. -"Certainly," said the Regent; "Georgina?" "Or Elizabeth?" said the Duke. -There was a pause, during which the Archbishop, with the baby in his -lawn sleeves, looked with some uneasiness from one Prince to the other. -"Very well, then," said the Regent at last, "call her after her mother. -But Alexandrina must come first." Thus, to the disgust of her father, -the child was christened Alexandrina Victoria. - -The Duke had other subjects of disgust. The meagre grant of the Commons -had by no means put an end to his financial distresses. It was to be -feared that his services were not appreciated by the nation. His debts -continued to grow. For many years he had lived upon L7000 a year; -but now his expenses were exactly doubled; he could make no further -reductions; as it was, there was not a single servant in his meagre -grant establishment who was idle for a moment from morning to night. He -poured out his griefs in a long letter to Robert Owen, whose sympathy -had the great merit of being practical. "I now candidly state," he -wrote, "that, after viewing the subject in every possible way, I am -satisfied that, to continue to live in England, even in the quiet way -in which we are going on, WITHOUT SPLENDOUR, and WITHOUT SHOW, NOTHING -SHORT OF DOUBLING THE SEVEN THOUSAND POUNDS WILL DO, REDUCTION BEING -IMPOSSIBLE." It was clear that he would be obliged to sell his house for -L51,300, if that failed, he would go and live on the Continent. "If my -services are useful to my country, it surely becomes THOSE WHO HAVE THE -POWER to support me in substantiating those just claims I have for the -very extensive losses and privations I have experienced, during the very -long period of my professional servitude in the Colonies; and if this -is not attainable, IT IS A CLEAR PROOF TO ME THAT THEY ARE THEY ARE NOT -APPRECIATED; and under that impression I shall not scruple, in DUE time, -to resume my retirement abroad, when the Duchess and myself shall have -fulfilled our duties in establishing the ENGLISH birth of my child, and -giving it material nutriment on the soil of Old England; and which we -shall certainly repeat, if Providence destines, to give us any further -increase of family." - -In the meantime, he decided to spend the winter at Sidmouth, "in order," -he told Owen, "that the Duchess may have the benefit of tepid -sea bathing, and our infant that of sea air, on the fine coast of -Devonshire, during the months of the year that are so odious in London." -In December the move was made. With the new year, the Duke remembered -another prophecy. In 1820, a fortune-teller had told him, two members -of the Royal Family would die. Who would they be? He speculated on -the various possibilities: The King, it was plain, could not live much -longer; and the Duchess of York had been attacked by a mortal disease. -Probably it would be the King and the Duchess of York; or perhaps the -King and the Duke of York; or the King and the Regent. He himself was -one of the healthiest men in England. "My brothers," he declared, "are -not so strong as I am; I have lived a regular life. I shall outlive them -all. The crown will come to me and my children." He went out for a -walk, and got his feet wet. On coming home, he neglected to change his -stockings. He caught cold, inflammation of the lungs set in, and on -January 22 he was a dying man. By a curious chance, young Dr. Stockmar -was staying in the house at the time; two years before, he had stood -by the death-bed of the Princess Charlotte; and now he was watching -the Duke of Kent in his agony. On Stockmar's advice, a will was hastily -prepared. The Duke's earthly possessions were of a negative character; -but it was important that the guardianship of the unwitting child, -whose fortunes were now so strangely changing, should be assured to -the Duchess. The Duke was just able to understand the document, and to -append his signature. Having inquired whether his writing was perfectly -clear, he became unconscious, and breathed his last on the following -morning! Six days later came the fulfilment of the second half of the -gipsy's prophecy. The long, unhappy, and inglorious life of George the -Third of England was ended. - -II - -Such was the confusion of affairs at Sidmouth, that the Duchess found -herself without the means of returning to London. Prince Leopold hurried -down, and himself conducted his sister and her family, by slow and -bitter stages, to Kensington. The widowed lady, in her voluminous -blacks, needed all her equanimity to support her. Her prospects were -more dubious than ever. She had L6000 a year of her own; but her -husband's debts loomed before her like a mountain. Soon she learnt that -the Duchess of Clarence was once more expecting a child. What had she to -look forward to in England? Why should she remain in a foreign country, -among strangers, whose language she could not speak, whose customs she -could not understand? Surely it would be best to return to Amorbach, -and there, among her own people, bring up her daughters in economical -obscurity. But she was an inveterate optimist; she had spent her life -in struggles, and would not be daunted now; and besides, she adored her -baby. "C'est mon bonheur, mes delices, mon existence," she declared; -the darling should be brought up as an English princess, whatever lot -awaited her. Prince Leopold came forward nobly with an offer of an -additional L3000 a year; and the Duchess remained at Kensington. - -The child herself was extremely fat, and bore a remarkable resemblance -to her grandfather. "C'est l'image du feu Roi!" exclaimed the Duchess. -"C'est le Roi Georges en jupons," echoed the surrounding ladies, as the -little creature waddled with difficulty from one to the other. - -Before long, the world began to be slightly interested in the nursery at -Kensington. When, early in 1821, the Duchess of Clarence's second child, -the Princess Elizabeth, died within three months of its birth, the -interest increased. Great forces and fierce antagonisms seemed to be -moving, obscurely, about the royal cradle. It was a time of faction -and anger, of violent repression and profound discontent. A powerful -movement, which had for long been checked by adverse circumstances, was -now spreading throughout the country. New passions, new desires, were -abroad; or rather old passions and old desires, reincarnated with a new -potency: love of freedom, hatred of injustice, hope for the future -of man. The mighty still sat proudly in their seats, dispensing their -ancient tyranny; but a storm was gathering out of the darkness, and -already there was lightning in the sky. But the vastest forces must -needs operate through frail human instruments; and it seemed for many -years as if the great cause of English liberalism hung upon the life of -the little girl at Kensington. She alone stood between the country and -her terrible uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, the hideous embodiment of -reaction. Inevitably, the Duchess of Kent threw in her lot with her -husband's party; Whig leaders, Radical agitators, rallied round her; she -was intimate with the bold Lord Durham, she was on friendly terms with -the redoubtable O'Connell himself. She received Wilberforce-though, to -be sure, she did not ask him to sit down. She declared in public that -she put her faith in "the liberties of the People." It was certain that -the young Princess would be brought up in the way that she should go; -yet there, close behind the throne, waiting, sinister, was the Duke of -Cumberland. Brougham, looking forward into the future in his scurrilous -fashion, hinted at dreadful possibilities. "I never prayed so heartily -for a Prince before," he wrote, on hearing that George IV had been -attacked by illness. "If he had gone, all the troubles of these villains -(the Tory Ministers) went with him, and they had Fred. I (the Duke of -York) their own man for his life. He (Fred. I) won't live long either; -that Prince of Blackguards, 'Brother William,' is as bad a life, so -we come in the course of nature to be ASSASSINATED by King Ernest I or -Regent Ernest (the Duke of Cumberland)." Such thoughts were not peculiar -to Brougham; in the seething state of public feeling, they constantly -leapt to the surface; and, even so late as the year previous to her -accession, the Radical newspapers were full of suggestions that the -Princess Victoria was in danger from the machinations of her wicked -uncle. - -But no echo of these conflicts and forebodings reached the little -Drina--for so she was called in the family circle--as she played with -her dolls, or scampered down the passages, or rode on the donkey her -uncle York had given her along the avenues of Kensington Gardens -The fair-haired, blue-eyed child was idolised by her nurses, and her -mother's ladies, and her sister Feodora; and for a few years there was -danger, in spite of her mother's strictness, of her being spoilt. From -time to time, she would fly into a violent passion, stamp her little -foot, and set everyone at defiance; whatever they might say, she would -not learn her letters--no, she WOULD NOT; afterwards, she was very -sorry, and burst into tears; but her letters remained unlearnt. When -she was five years old, however, a change came, with the appearance -of Fraulein Lehzen. This lady, who was the daughter of a Hanoverian -clergyman, and had previously been the Princess Feodora's governess, -soon succeeded in instilling a new spirit into her charge. At first, -indeed, she was appalled by the little Princess's outbursts of temper; -never in her life, she declared, had she seen such a passionate -and naughty child. Then she observed something else; the child was -extraordinarily truthful; whatever punishment might follow, she never -told a lie. Firm, very firm, the new governess yet had the sense to see -that all the firmness in the world would be useless, unless she could -win her way into little Drina's heart. She did so, and there were no -more difficulties. Drina learnt her letters like an angel; and she -learnt other things as well. The Baroness de Spath taught her how -to make little board boxes and decorate them with tinsel and painted -flowers; her mother taught her religion. Sitting in the pew every Sunday -morning, the child of six was seen listening in rapt attention to the -clergyman's endless sermon, for she was to be examined upon it in -the afternoon. The Duchess was determined that her daughter, from the -earliest possible moment, should be prepared for her high station in a -way that would commend itself to the most respectable; her good, -plain, thrifty German mind recoiled with horror and amazement from the -shameless junketings at Carlton House; Drina should never be allowed to -forget for a moment the virtues of simplicity, regularity, propriety, -and devotion. The little girl, however, was really in small need of such -lessons, for she was naturally simple and orderly, she was pious without -difficulty, and her sense of propriety was keen. She understood very -well the niceties of her own position. When, a child of six, Lady Jane -Ellice was taken by her grandmother to Kensington Palace, she was put -to play with the Princess Victoria, who was the same age as herself. The -young visitor, ignorant of etiquette, began to make free with the toys -on the floor, in a way which was a little too familiar; but "You must -not touch those," she was quickly told, "they are mine; and I may -call you Jane, but you must not call me Victoria." The Princess's most -constant playmate was Victoire, the daughter of Sir John Conroy, the -Duchess's major-domo. The two girls were very fond of one another; they -would walk hand in hand together in Kensington Gardens. But little Drina -was perfectly aware for which of them it was that they were followed, at -a respectful distance, by a gigantic scarlet flunkey. - -Warm-hearted, responsive, she loved her dear Lehzen, and she loved her -dear Feodora, and her dear Victoire, and her dear Madame de Spath. -And her dear Mamma, of course, she loved her too; it was her duty; and -yet--she could not tell why it was--she was always happier when she was -staying with her Uncle Leopold at Claremont. There old Mrs. Louis, who, -years ago, had waited on her Cousin Charlotte, petted her to her heart's -content; and her uncle himself was wonderfully kind to her, talking to -her seriously and gently, almost as if she were a grown-up person. She -and Feodora invariably wept when the too-short visit was over, and they -were obliged to return to the dutiful monotony, and the affectionate -supervision of Kensington. But sometimes when her mother had to stay at -home, she was allowed to go out driving all alone with her dear Feodora -and her dear Lehzen, and she could talk and look as she liked, and it -was very delightful. - -The visits to Claremont were frequent enough; but one day, on a special -occasion, she paid one of a rarer and more exciting kind. When she was -seven years old, she and her mother and sister were asked by the King -to go down to Windsor. George IV, who had transferred his fraternal -ill-temper to his sister-in-law and her family, had at last grown tired -of sulking, and decided to be agreeable. The old rip, bewigged and -gouty, ornate and enormous, with his jewelled mistress by his side and -his flaunting court about him, received the tiny creature who was one -day to hold in those same halls a very different state. "Give me your -little paw," he said; and two ages touched. Next morning, driving in his -phaeton with the Duchess of Gloucester, he met the Duchess of Kent and -her child in the Park. "Pop her in," were his orders, which, to the -terror of the mother and the delight of the daughter, were immediately -obeyed. Off they dashed to Virginia Water, where there was a great -barge, full of lords and ladies fishing, and another barge with a band; -and the King ogled Feodora, and praised her manners, and then turned to -his own small niece. "What is your favourite tune? The band shall play -it." "God save the King, sir," was the instant answer. The Princess's -reply has been praised as an early example of a tact which was -afterwards famous. But she was a very truthful child, and perhaps it was -her genuine opinion. - -III - -In 1827 the Duke of York, who had found some consolation for the loss of -his wife in the sympathy of the Duchess of Rutland, died, leaving behind -him the unfinished immensity of Stafford House and L200,000 worth of -debts. Three years later George IV also disappeared, and the Duke of -Clarence reigned in his stead. The new Queen, it was now clear, would -in all probability never again be a mother; the Princess Victoria, -therefore, was recognised by Parliament as heir-presumptive; and the -Duchess of Kent, whose annuity had been doubled five years previously, -was now given an additional L10,000 for the maintenance of the Princess, -and was appointed regent, in case of the death of the King before the -majority of her daughter. At the same time a great convulsion took -place in the constitution of the State. The power of the Tories, who had -dominated England for more than forty years, suddenly began to crumble. -In the tremendous struggle that followed, it seemed for a moment as if -the tradition of generations might be snapped, as if the blind tenacity -of the reactionaries and the determined fury of their enemies could have -no other issue than revolution. But the forces of compromise triumphed: -the Reform Bill was passed. The centre of gravity in the constitution -was shifted towards the middle classes; the Whigs came into power; and -the complexion of the Government assumed a Liberal tinge. One of the -results of this new state of affairs was a change in the position of -the Duchess of Kent and her daughter. From being the protegees of an -opposition clique, they became assets of the official majority of the -nation. The Princess Victoria was henceforward the living symbol of the -victory of the middle classes. - -The Duke of Cumberland, on the other hand, suffered a corresponding -eclipse: his claws had been pared by the Reform Act. He grew -insignificant and almost harmless, though his ugliness remained; he was -the wicked uncle still--but only of a story. - -The Duchess's own liberalism was not very profound. She followed -naturally in the footsteps of her husband, repeating with conviction the -catchwords of her husband's clever friends and the generalisations -of her clever brother Leopold. She herself had no pretensions to -cleverness; she did not understand very much about the Poor Law and the -Slave Trade and Political Economy; but she hoped that she did her -duty; and she hoped--she ardently hoped--that the same might be said of -Victoria. Her educational conceptions were those of Dr. Arnold, whose -views were just then beginning to permeate society. Dr. Arnold's object -was, first and foremost, to make his pupils "in the highest and truest -sense of the words, Christian gentlemen," intellectual refinements might -follow. The Duchess felt convinced that it was her supreme duty in life -to make quite sure that her daughter should grow up into a Christian -queen. To this task she bent all her energies; and, as the child -developed, she flattered herself that her efforts were not unsuccessful. -When the Princess was eleven, she desired the Bishops of London and -Lincoln to submit her daughter to an examination, and report upon the -progress that had been made. "I feel the time to be now come," the -Duchess explained, in a letter obviously drawn up by her own hand, "that -what has been done should be put to some test, that if anything has been -done in error of judgment it may be corrected, and that the plan for the -future should be open to consideration and revision... I attend almost -always myself every lesson, or a part; and as the lady about the -Princess is a competent person, she assists Her in preparing Her -lessons, for the various masters, as I resolved to act in that manner -so as to be Her Governess myself. When she was at a proper age she -commenced attending Divine Service regularly with me, and I have -every feeling that she has religion at Her heart, that she is morally -impressed with it to that degree, that she is less liable to error by -its application to her feelings as a Child capable of reflection." -"The general bent of Her character," added the Duchess, "is strength -of intellect, capable of receiving with ease, information, and with a -peculiar readiness in coming to a very just and benignant decision -on any point Her opinion is asked on. Her adherence to truth is of so -marked a character that I feel no apprehension of that Bulwark being -broken down by any circumstances." The Bishops attended at the Palace, -and the result of their examination was all that could be wished. "In -answering a great variety of questions proposed to her," they reported, -"the Princess displayed an accurate knowledge of the most important -features of Scripture History, and of the leading truths and precepts of -the Christian Religion as taught by the Church of England, as well as an -acquaintance with the Chronology and principal facts of English History -remarkable in so young a person. To questions in Geography, the use -of the Globes, Arithmetic, and Latin Grammar, the answers which the -Princess returned were equally satisfactory." They did not believe that -the Duchess's plan of education was susceptible of any improvement; and -the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was also consulted, came to the same -gratifying conclusion. - -One important step, however, remained to be taken. So far, as the -Duchess explained to the Bishops, the Princess had been kept in -ignorance of the station that she was likely to fill. "She is aware of -its duties, and that a Sovereign should live for others; so that when -Her innocent mind receives the impression of Her future fate, she -receives it with a mind formed to be sensible of what is to be expected -from Her, and it is to be hoped, she will be too well grounded in Her -principles to be dazzled with the station she is to look to." In the -following year it was decided that she should be enlightened on -this point. The well--known scene followed: the history lesson, the -genealogical table of the Kings of England slipped beforehand by the -governess into the book, the Princess's surprise, her inquiries, her -final realisation of the facts. When the child at last understood, she -was silent for a moment, and then she spoke: "I will be good," she -said. The words were something more than a conventional protestation, -something more than the expression of a superimposed desire; they -were, in their limitation and their intensity, their egotism and their -humility, an instinctive summary of the dominating qualities of a life. -"I cried much on learning it," her Majesty noted long afterwards. No -doubt, while the others were present, even her dear Lehzen, the little -girl kept up her self-command; and then crept away somewhere to ease her -heart of an inward, unfamiliar agitation, with a handkerchief, out of -her mother's sight. - -But her mother's sight was by no means an easy thing to escape. Morning -and evening, day and night, there was no relaxation of the maternal -vigilance. The child grew into the girl, the girl into the young woman; -but still she slept in her mother's bedroom; still she had no place -allowed her where she might sit or work by herself. An extraordinary -watchfulness surrounded her every step: up to the day of her accession, -she never went downstairs without someone beside her holding her hand. -Plainness and regularity ruled the household. The hours, the days, the -years passed slowly and methodically by. The dolls--the innumerable -dolls, each one so neatly dressed, each one with its name so -punctiliously entered in the catalogue--were laid aside, and a little -music and a little dancing took their place. Taglioni came, to give -grace and dignity to the figure, and Lablache, to train the piping -treble upon his own rich bass. The Dean of Chester, the official -preceptor, continued his endless instruction in Scripture history, while -the Duchess of Northumberland, the official governess, presided over -every lesson with becoming solemnity. Without doubt, the Princess's main -achievement during her school-days was linguistic. German was naturally -the first language with which she was familiar; but English and French -quickly followed; and she became virtually trilingual, though her -mastery of English grammar remained incomplete. At the same time, she -acquired a working knowledge of Italian and some smattering of Latin. -Nevertheless, she did not read very much. It was not an occupation that -she cared for; partly, perhaps, because the books that were given her -were all either sermons, which were very dull, or poetry, which was -incomprehensible. Novels were strictly forbidden. Lord Durham persuaded -her mother to get her some of Miss Martineau's tales, illustrating the -truths of Political Economy, and they delighted her; but it is to be -feared that it was the unaccustomed pleasure of the story that filled -her mind, and that she never really mastered the theory of exchanges or -the nature of rent. - -It was her misfortune that the mental atmosphere which surrounded her -during these years of adolescence was almost entirely feminine. No -father, no brother, was there to break in upon the gentle monotony of -the daily round with impetuosity, with rudeness, with careless laughter -and wafts of freedom from the outside world. The Princess was never -called by a voice that was loud and growling; never felt, as a matter -of course, a hard rough cheek on her own soft one; never climbed a wall -with a boy. The visits to Claremont--delicious little escapes into male -society--came to an end when she was eleven years old and Prince Leopold -left England to be King of the Belgians. She loved him still; he was -still "il mio secondo padre or, rather, solo padre, for he is indeed -like my real father, as I have none;" but his fatherliness now came to -her dimly and indirectly, through the cold channel of correspondence. -Henceforward female duty, female elegance, female enthusiasm, hemmed -her completely in; and her spirit, amid the enclosing folds, was hardly -reached by those two great influences, without which no growing life can -truly prosper--humour and imagination. The Baroness Lehzen--for she had -been raised to that rank in the Hanoverian nobility by George IV before -he died--was the real centre of the Princess's world. When Feodora -married, when Uncle Leopold went to Belgium, the Baroness was left -without a competitor. The Princess gave her mother her dutiful regards; -but Lehzen had her heart. The voluble, shrewd daughter of the pastor -in Hanover, lavishing her devotion on her royal charge, had reaped her -reward in an unbounded confidence and a passionate adoration. The girl -would have gone through fire for her "PRECIOUS Lehzen," the "best and -truest friend," she declared, that she had had since her birth. Her -journal, begun when she was thirteen, where she registered day by day -the small succession of her doings and her sentiments, bears on every -page of it the traces of the Baroness and her circumambient influence. -The young creature that one sees there, self-depicted in ingenuous -clarity, with her sincerity, her simplicity, her quick affections and -pious resolutions, might almost have been the daughter of a German -pastor herself. Her enjoyments, her admirations, her engouements were -of the kind that clothed themselves naturally in underlinings and -exclamation marks. "It was a DELIGHTFUL ride. We cantered a good deal. -SWEET LITTLE ROSY WENT BEAUTIFULLY!! We came home at a 1/4 past 1... At -20 minutes to 7 we went out to the Opera... Rubini came on and sang a -song out of 'Anna Boulena' QUITE BEAUTIFULLY. We came home at 1/2 -past 11." In her comments on her readings, the mind of the Baroness is -clearly revealed. One day, by some mistake, she was allowed to take up -a volume of memoirs by Fanny Kemble. "It is certainly very pertly and -oddly written. One would imagine by the style that the authoress must be -very pert, and not well bred; for there are so many vulgar expressions -in it. It is a great pity that a person endowed with so much talent, as -Mrs. Butler really is, should turn it to so little account and publish a -book which is so full of trash and nonsense which can only do her harm. -I stayed up till 20 minutes past 9." Madame de Sevigne's letters, which -the Baroness read aloud, met with more approval. "How truly elegant and -natural her style is! It is so full of naivete, cleverness, and grace." -But her highest admiration was reserved for the Bishop of Chester's -'Exposition of the Gospel of St. Matthew.' "It is a very fine -book indeed. Just the sort of one I like; which is just plain and -comprehensible and full of truth and good feeling. It is not one -of those learned books in which you have to cavil at almost every -paragraph. Lehzen gave it me on the Sunday that I took the Sacrament." A -few weeks previously she had been confirmed, and she described the event -as follows: "I felt that my confirmation was one of the most solemn and -important events and acts in my life; and that I trusted that it might -have a salutary effect on my mind. I felt deeply repentant for all what -I had done which was wrong and trusted in God Almighty to strengthen my -heart and mind; and to forsake all that is bad and follow all that is -virtuous and right. I went with the firm determination to become a true -Christian, to try and comfort my dear Mamma in all her griefs, trials, -and anxieties, and to become a dutiful and affectionate daughter to her. -Also to be obedient to DEAR Lehzen, who has done so much for me. I was -dressed in a white lace dress, with a white crepe bonnet with a wreath -of white roses round it. I went in the chariot with my dear Mamma and -the others followed in another carriage." One seems to hold in one's -hand a small smooth crystal pebble, without a flaw and without a -scintillation, and so transparent that one can see through it at a -glance. - -Yet perhaps, after all, to the discerning eye, the purity would not be -absolute. The careful searcher might detect, in the virgin soil, the -first faint traces of an unexpected vein. In that conventual existence -visits were exciting events; and, as the Duchess had many relatives, -they were not infrequent; aunts and uncles would often appear from -Germany, and cousins too. When the Princess was fourteen she was -delighted by the arrival of a couple of boys from Wurtemberg, the -Princes Alexander and Ernst, sons of her mother's sister and the -reigning duke. "They are both EXTREMELY TALL," she noted, "Alexander -is VERY HANDSOME, and Ernst has a VERY KIND EXPRESSION. They are both -extremely AMIABLE." And their departure filled her with corresponding -regrets. "We saw them get into the barge, and watched them sailing away -for some time on the beach. They were so amiable and so pleasant to -have in the house; they were ALWAYS SATISFIED, ALWAYS GOOD-HUMOURED; -Alexander took such care of me in getting out of the boat, and rode next -to me; so did Ernst." Two years later, two other cousins arrived, the -Princes Ferdinand and Augustus. "Dear Ferdinand," the Princess wrote, -"has elicited universal admiration from all parties... He is so very -unaffected, and has such a very distinguished appearance and carriage. -They are both very dear and charming young men. Augustus is very -amiable, too, and, when known, shows much good sense." On another -occasion, "Dear Ferdinand came and sat near me and talked so dearly and -sensibly. I do SO love him. Dear Augustus sat near me and talked with -me, and he is also a dear good young man, and is very handsome." She -could not quite decide which was the handsomer of the two. "On the -whole," she concluded, "I think Ferdinand handsomer than Augustus, his -eyes are so beautiful, and he has such a lively clever expression; BOTH -have such a sweet expression; Ferdinand has something QUITE BEAUTIFUL in -his expression when he speaks and smiles, and he is SO good." However, -it was perhaps best to say that they were "both very handsome and VERY -DEAR." But shortly afterwards two more cousins arrived, who threw all -the rest into the shade. These were the Princes Ernest and Albert, sons -of her mother's eldest brother, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg. This time -the Princess was more particular in her observations. "Ernest," she -remarked, "is as tall as Ferdinand and Augustus; he has dark hair, and -fine dark eyes and eyebrows, but the nose and mouth are not good; he has -a most kind, honest, and intelligent expression in his countenance, -and has a very good figure. Albert, who is just as tall as Ernest but -stouter, is extremely handsome; his hair is about the same colour as -mine; his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a -very sweet mouth with fine teeth; but the charm of his countenance -is his expression, which is most delightful; c'est a la fois full of -goodness and sweetness, and very clever and intelligent." "Both my -cousins," she added, "are so kind and good; they are much more formes -and men of the world than Augustus; they speak English very well, and I -speak it with them. Ernest will be 18 years old on the 21st of June, and -Albert 17 on the 26th of August. Dear Uncle Ernest made me the present -of a most delightful Lory, which is so tame that it remains on your -hand and you may put your finger into its beak, or do anything with -it, without its ever attempting to bite. It is larger than Mamma's grey -parrot." A little later, "I sat between my dear cousins on the sofa and -we looked at drawings. They both draw very well, particularly Albert, -and are both exceedingly fond of music; they play very nicely on the -piano. The more I see them the more I am delighted with them, and the -more I love them... It is delightful to be with them; they are so fond -of being occupied too; they are quite an example for any young person." -When, after a stay of three weeks, the time came for the young men -and their father to return to Germany, the moment of parting was a -melancholy one. "It was our last HAPPY HAPPY breakfast, with this dear -Uncle and those DEAREST beloved cousins, whom I DO love so VERY VERY -dearly; MUCH MORE DEARLY than any other cousins in the WORLD. Dearly as -I love Ferdinand, and also good Augustus, I love Ernest and Albert MORE -than them, oh yes, MUCH MORE... They have both learnt a good deal, and -are very clever, naturally clever, particularly Albert, who is the most -reflecting of the two, and they like very much talking about serious -and instructive things and yet are so VERY VERY merry and gay and happy, -like young people ought to be; Albert always used to have some fun and -some clever witty answer at breakfast and everywhere; he used to play -and fondle Dash so funnily too... Dearest Albert was playing on the -piano when I came down. At 11 dear Uncle, my DEAREST BELOVED cousins, -and Charles, left us, accompanied by Count Kolowrat. I embraced both my -dearest cousins most warmly, as also my dear Uncle. I cried bitterly, -very bitterly." The Princes shared her ecstasies and her italics -between them; but it is clear enough where her secret preference -lay. "Particularly Albert!" She was just seventeen; and deep was the -impression left upon that budding organism by the young man's charm -and goodness and accomplishments, and his large blue eyes and beautiful -nose, and his sweet mouth and fine teeth. - -IV - -King William could not away with his sister-in-law, and the Duchess -fully returned his antipathy. Without considerable tact and considerable -forbearance their relative positions were well calculated to cause -ill-feeling; and there was very little tact in the composition of the -Duchess, and no forbearance at all in that of his Majesty. A bursting, -bubbling old gentleman, with quarterdeck gestures, round rolling eyes, -and a head like a pineapple, his sudden elevation to the throne after -fifty-six years of utter insignificance had almost sent him crazy. His -natural exuberance completely got the best of him; he rushed about doing -preposterous things in an extraordinary manner, spreading amusement -and terror in every direction, and talking all the time. His tongue -was decidedly Hanoverian, with its repetitions, its catchwords--"That's -quite another thing! That's quite another thing!"--its rattling -indomitability, its loud indiscreetness. His speeches, made repeatedly -at the most inopportune junctures, and filled pell-mell with all the -fancies and furies that happened at the moment to be whisking about -in his head, were the consternation of Ministers. He was one part -blackguard, people said, and three parts buffoon; but those who knew -him better could not help liking him--he meant well; and he was really -good-humoured and kind-hearted, if you took him the right way. If you -took him the wrong way, however, you must look out for squalls, as the -Duchess of Kent discovered. - -She had no notion of how to deal with him--could not understand him in -the least. Occupied with her own position, her own responsibilities, her -duty, and her daughter, she had no attention to spare for the peppery -susceptibilities of a foolish, disreputable old man. She was the mother -of the heiress of England; and it was for him to recognise the fact--to -put her at once upon a proper footing--to give her the precedence of a -dowager Princess of Wales, with a large annuity from the privy purse. -It did not occur to her that such pretensions might be galling to a king -who had no legitimate child of his own, and who yet had not altogether -abandoned the hope of having one. She pressed on, with bulky vigour, -along the course she had laid out. Sir John Conroy, an Irishman with -no judgment and a great deal of self-importance, was her intimate -counsellor, and egged her on. It was advisable that Victoria should -become acquainted with the various districts of England, and through -several summers a succession of tours--in the West, in the Midlands, in -Wales--were arranged for her. The intention of the plan was excellent, -but its execution was unfortunate. The journeys, advertised in -the Press, attracting enthusiastic crowds, and involving official -receptions, took on the air of royal progresses. Addresses were -presented by loyal citizens, the delighted Duchess, swelling in sweeping -feathers and almost obliterating the diminutive Princess, read aloud, -in her German accent, gracious replies prepared beforehand by Sir -John, who, bustling and ridiculous, seemed to be mingling the roles -of major-domo and Prime Minister. Naturally the King fumed over his -newspaper at Windsor. "That woman is a nuisance!" he exclaimed. Poor -Queen Adelaide, amiable though disappointed, did her best to smooth -things down, changed the subject, and wrote affectionate letters to -Victoria; but it was useless. News arrived that the Duchess of Kent, -sailing in the Solent, had insisted that whenever her yacht appeared it -should be received by royal salutes from all the men-of-war and all the -forts. The King declared that these continual poppings must cease; the -Premier and the First Lord of the Admiralty were consulted; and they -wrote privately to the Duchess, begging her to waive her rights. But -she would not hear of it; Sir John Conroy was adamant. "As her Royal -Highness's CONFIDENTIAL ADVISER," he said, "I cannot recommend her -to give way on this point." Eventually the King, in a great state of -excitement, issued a special Order in Council, prohibiting the firing -of royal salutes to any ships except those which carried the reigning -sovereign or his consort on board. - -When King William quarrelled with his Whig Ministers the situation grew -still more embittered, for now the Duchess, in addition to her other -shortcomings, was the political partisan of his enemies. In 1836 he -made an attempt to prepare the ground for a match between the Princess -Victoria and one of the sons of the Prince of Orange, and at the same -time did his best to prevent the visit of the young Coburg princes to -Kensington. He failed in both these objects; and the only result of -his efforts was to raise the anger of the King of the Belgians, who, -forgetting for a moment his royal reserve, addressed an indignant letter -on the subject to his niece. "I am really ASTONISHED," he wrote, "at -the conduct of your old Uncle the King; this invitation of the Prince -of Orange and his sons, this forcing him on others, is very -extraordinary... Not later than yesterday I got a half-official -communication from England, insinuating that it would be HIGHLY -desirable that the visit of YOUR relatives SHOULD NOT TAKE PLACE -THIS YEAR--qu'en dites-vous? The relations of the Queen and the King, -therefore, to the God-knows-what degree, are to come in shoals and rule -the land, when YOUR RELATIONS are to be FORBIDDEN the country, and -that when, as you know, the whole of your relations have ever been very -dutiful and kind to the King. Really and truly I never heard or saw -anything like it, and I hope it will a LITTLE ROUSE YOUR SPIRIT; -now that slavery is even abolished in the British Colonies, I do not -comprehend WHY YOUR LOT ALONE SHOULD BE TO BE KEPT A WHITE LITTLE SLAVEY -IN ENGLAND, for the pleasure of the Court, who never bought you, as I am -not aware of their ever having gone to any expense on that head, or -the King's ever having SPENT A SIXPENCE FOR YOUR EXISTENCE... Oh, -consistency and political or OTHER HONESTY, where must one look for -you!" - -Shortly afterwards King Leopold came to England himself, and his -reception was as cold at Windsor as it was warm at Kensington. "To hear -dear Uncle speak on any subject," the Princess wrote in her diary, -"is like reading a highly instructive book; his conversation is so -enlightened, so clear. He is universally admitted to be one of the first -politicians now extant. He speaks so mildly, yet firmly and impartially, -about politics. Uncle tells me that Belgium is quite a pattern for its -organisation, its industry, and prosperity; the finances are in the -greatest perfection. Uncle is so beloved and revered by his Belgian -subjects, that it must be a great compensation for all his extreme -trouble." But her other uncle by no means shared her sentiments. He -could not, he said, put up with a water-drinker; and King Leopold would -touch no wine. "What's that you're drinking, sir?" he asked him one day -at dinner. "Water, sir." "God damn it, sir!" was the rejoinder. "Why -don't you drink wine? I never allow anybody to drink water at my table." - -It was clear that before very long there would be a great explosion; and -in the hot days of August it came. The Duchess and the Princess had -gone down to stay at Windsor for the King's birthday party, and the King -himself, who was in London for the day to prorogue Parliament, paid a -visit at Kensington Palace in their absence. There he found that the -Duchess had just appropriated, against his express orders, a suite of -seventeen apartments for her own use. He was extremely angry, and, when -he returned to Windsor, after greeting the Princess with affection, he -publicly rebuked the Duchess for what she had done. But this was little -to what followed. On the next day was the birthday banquet; there were -a hundred guests; the Duchess of Kent sat on the King's right hand, and -the Princess Victoria opposite. At the end of the dinner, in reply -to the toast of the King's health, he rose, and, in a long, loud, -passionate speech, poured out the vials of his wrath upon the Duchess. -She had, he declared, insulted him--grossly and continually; she had -kept the Princess away from him in the most improper manner; she was -surrounded by evil advisers, and was incompetent to act with propriety -in the high station which she filled; but he would bear it no longer; he -would have her to know he was King; he was determined that his authority -should be respected; henceforward the Princess should attend at every -Court function with the utmost regularity; and he hoped to God that his -life might be spared for six months longer, so that the calamity of a -regency might be avoided, and the functions of the Crown pass directly -to the heiress-presumptive instead of into the hands of the "person now -near him," upon whose conduct and capacity no reliance whatever could -be placed. The flood of vituperation rushed on for what seemed an -interminable period, while the Queen blushed scarlet, the Princess burst -into tears, and the hundred guests sat aghast. The Duchess said not a -word until the tirade was over and the company had retired; then in -a tornado of rage and mortification, she called for her carriage and -announced her immediate return to Kensington. It was only with the -utmost difficulty that some show of a reconciliation was patched up, and -the outraged lady was prevailed upon to put off her departure till the -morrow. - -Her troubles, however, were not over when she had shaken the dust -of Windsor from her feet. In her own household she was pursued by -bitterness and vexation of spirit. The apartments at Kensington were -seething with subdued disaffection, with jealousies and animosities -virulently intensified by long years of propinquity and spite. - -There was a deadly feud between Sir John Conroy and Baroness Lehzen. -But that was not all. The Duchess had grown too fond of her Major-Domo. -There were familiarities, and one day the Princess Victoria discovered -the fact. She confided what she had seen to the Baroness, and to the -Baroness's beloved ally, Madame de Spath. Unfortunately, Madame de Spath -could not hold her tongue, and was actually foolish enough to reprove -the Duchess; whereupon she was instantly dismissed. It was not so easy -to get rid of the Baroness. That lady, prudent and reserved, maintained -an irreproachable demeanour. Her position was strongly entrenched; she -had managed to secure the support of the King; and Sir John found that -he could do nothing against her. But henceforward the household was -divided into two camps.(*) The Duchess supported Sir John with all the -abundance of her authority; but the Baroness, too, had an adherent who -could not be neglected. The Princess Victoria said nothing, but she had -been much attached to Madame de Spath, and she adored her Lehzen. The -Duchess knew only too well that in this horrid embroilment her daughter -was against her. Chagrin, annoyance, moral reprobation, tossed her -to and fro. She did her best to console herself with Sir John's -affectionate loquacity, or with the sharp remarks of Lady Flora -Hastings, one of her maids of honour, who had no love for the Baroness. -The subject lent itself to satire; for the pastor's daughter, with all -her airs of stiff superiority, had habits which betrayed her origin. Her -passion for caraway seeds, for instance, was uncontrollable. Little bags -of them came over to her from Hanover, and she sprinkled them on her -bread and butter, her cabbage, and even her roast beef. Lady Flora could -not resist a caustic observation; it was repeated to the Baroness, who -pursed her lips in fury, and so the mischief grew. - - (*) Greville, IV, 21; and August 15, 1839 (unpublished). - "The cause of the Queen's alienation from the Duchess and - hatred of Conroy, the Duke (of Wellington) said, was - unquestionably owing to her having witnessed some - familiarities between them. What she had seen she repeated - to Baroness Spaeth, and Spaeth not only did not hold her - tongue, but (he thinks) remonstrated with the Duchess - herself on the subject. The consequence was that they got - rid of Spaeth, and they would have got rid of Lehzen, too, - if they had been able, but Lehzen, who knew very well what - was going on, was prudent enough not to commit herself, and - who was, besides, powerfully protected by George IV and - William IV, so that they did not dare to attempt to expel - her." - -V - -The King had prayed that he might live till his niece was of age; and -a few days before her eighteenth birthday--the date of her legal -majority--a sudden attack of illness very nearly carried him off. He -recovered, however, and the Princess was able to go through her -birthday festivities--a state ball and a drawing-room--with unperturbed -enjoyment. "Count Zichy," she noted in her diary, "is very good-looking -in uniform, but not in plain clothes. Count Waldstein looks remarkably -well in his pretty Hungarian uniform." With the latter young gentleman -she wished to dance, but there was an insurmountable difficulty. "He -could not dance quadrilles, and, as in my station I unfortunately cannot -valse and gallop, I could not dance with him." Her birthday present -from the King was of a pleasing nature, but it led to a painful domestic -scene. In spite of the anger of her Belgian uncle, she had remained upon -good terms with her English one. He had always been very kind to her, -and the fact that he had quarrelled with her mother did not appear to -be a reason for disliking him. He was, she said, "odd, very odd and -singular," but "his intentions were often ill interpreted." He now wrote -her a letter, offering her an allowance of L10,000 a year, which he -proposed should be at her own disposal, and independent of her mother. -Lord Conyngham, the Lord Chamberlain, was instructed to deliver the -letter into the Princess's own hands. When he arrived at Kensington, he -was ushered into the presence of the Duchess and the Princess, and, when -he produced the letter, the Duchess put out her hand to take it. Lord -Conyngham begged her Royal Highness's pardon, and repeated the King's -commands. Thereupon the Duchess drew back, and the Princess took the -letter. She immediately wrote to her uncle, accepting his kind proposal. -The Duchess was much displeased; L4000 a year, she said, would be quite -enough for Victoria; as for the remaining L6000, it would be only proper -that she should have that herself. - -King William had thrown off his illness, and returned to his normal -life. Once more the royal circle at Windsor--their Majesties, the elder -Princesses, and some unfortunate Ambassadress or Minister's wife--might -be seen ranged for hours round a mahogany table, while the Queen netted -a purse, and the King slept, occasionally waking from his slumbers to -observe "Exactly so, ma'am, exactly so!" But this recovery was of short -duration. The old man suddenly collapsed; with no specific symptoms -besides an extreme weakness, he yet showed no power of rallying; and it -was clear to everyone that his death was now close at hand. - -All eyes, all thoughts, turned towards the Princess Victoria; but she -still remained, shut away in the seclusion of Kensington, a small, -unknown figure, lost in the large shadow of her mother's domination. The -preceding year had in fact been an important one in her development. The -soft tendrils of her mind had for the first time begun to stretch out -towards unchildish things. In this King Leopold encouraged her. After -his return to Brussels, he had resumed his correspondance in a more -serious strain; he discussed the details of foreign politics; he laid -down the duties of kingship; he pointed out the iniquitous foolishness -of the newspaper press. On the latter subject, indeed, he wrote with -some asperity. "If all the editors," he said, "of the papers in the -countries where the liberty of the press exists were to be assembled, we -should have a crew to which you would NOT confide a dog that you would -value, still less your honour and reputation." On the functions of a -monarch, his views were unexceptionable. "The business of the highest -in a State," he wrote, "is certainly, in my opinion, to act with great -impartiality and a spirit of justice for the good of all." At the -same time the Princess's tastes were opening out. Though she was still -passionately devoted to riding and dancing, she now began to have a -genuine love of music as well, and to drink in the roulades and arias -of the Italian opera with high enthusiasm. She even enjoyed reading -poetry--at any rate, the poetry of Sir Walter Scott. - -When King Leopold learnt that King William's death was approaching, he -wrote several long letters of excellent advice to his niece. "In every -letter I shall write to you," he said, "I mean to repeat to you, as a -FUNDAMENTAL RULE, TO BE FIRM, AND COURAGEOUS, AND HONEST, AS YOU HAVE -BEEN TILL NOW." For the rest, in the crisis that was approaching, she -was not to be alarmed, but to trust in her "good natural sense and the -TRUTH" of her character; she was to do nothing in a hurry; to hurt -no one's amour-propre, and to continue her confidence in the Whig -administration! Not content with letters, however, King Leopold -determined that the Princess should not lack personal guidance, and sent -over to her aid the trusted friend whom, twenty years before, he had -taken to his heart by the death-bed at Claremont. Thus, once again, as -if in accordance with some preordained destiny, the figure of Stockmar -is discernible--inevitably present at a momentous hour. - -On June 18, the King was visibly sinking. The Archbishop of Canterbury -was by his side, with all the comforts of the church. Nor did the holy -words fall upon a rebellious spirit; for many years his Majesty had -been a devout believer. "When I was a young man," he once explained at -a public banquet, "as well as I can remember, I believed in nothing but -pleasure and folly--nothing at all. But when I went to sea, got into -a gale, and saw the wonders of the mighty deep, then I believed; and I -have been a sincere Christian ever since." It was the anniversary of the -Battle of Waterloo, and the dying man remembered it. He should be glad -to live, he said, over that day; he would never see another sunset. "I -hope your Majesty may live to see many," said Dr. Chambers. "Oh! that's -quite another thing, that's quite another thing," was the answer. One -other sunset he did live to see; and he died in the early hours of the -following morning. It was on June 20, 1837. - -When all was over, the Archbishop and the Lord Chamberlain ordered a -carriage, and drove post-haste from Windsor to Kensington. They arrived -at the Palace at five o'clock, and it was only with considerable -difficulty that they gained admittance. At six the Duchess woke up -her daughter, and told her that the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord -Conyngham were there, and wished to see her. She got out of bed, put on -her dressing-gown, and went, alone, into the room where the messengers -were standing. Lord Conyngham fell on his knees, and officially -announced the death of the King; the Archbishop added some personal -details. Looking at the bending, murmuring dignitaries before her, she -knew that she was Queen of England. "Since it has pleased Providence," -she wrote that day in her journal, "to place me in this station, I shall -do my utmost to fulfil my duty towards my country; I am very young, and -perhaps in many, though not in all things, inexperienced, but I am sure, -that very few have more real good will and more real desire to do what -is fit and right than I have." But there was scant time for resolutions -and reflections. At once, affairs were thick upon her. Stockmar came to -breakfast, and gave some good advice. She wrote a letter to her uncle -Leopold, and a hurried note to her sister Feodora. A letter came from -the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, announcing his approaching arrival. -He came at nine, in full court dress, and kissed her hand. She saw him -alone, and repeated to him the lesson which, no doubt, the faithful -Stockmar had taught her at breakfast. "It has long been my intention to -retain your Lordship and the rest of the present Ministry at the head -of affairs;" whereupon Lord Melbourne again kissed her hand and shortly -after left her. She then wrote a letter of condolence to Queen Adelaide. -At eleven, Lord Melbourne came again; and at half-past eleven she went -downstairs into the red saloon to hold her first Council. The great -assembly of lords and notables, bishops, generals, and Ministers of -State, saw the doors thrown open and a very short, very slim girl in -deep plain mourning come into the room alone and move forward to her -seat with extraordinary dignity and grace; they saw a countenance, not -beautiful, but prepossessing--fair hair, blue prominent eyes, a small -curved nose, an open mouth revealing the upper teeth, a tiny chin, -a clear complexion, and, over all, the strangely mingled signs of -innocence, of gravity, of youth, and of composure; they heard a high -unwavering voice reading aloud with perfect clarity; and then, the -ceremony was over, they saw the small figure rise and, with the same -consummate grace, the same amazing dignity, pass out from among them, as -she had come in, alone. - - - -CHAPTER III. LORD MELBOURNE - -I - -The new queen was almost entirely unknown to her subjects. In her public -appearances her mother had invariably dominated the scene. Her private -life had been that of a novice in a convent: hardly a human being from -the outside world had ever spoken to her; and no human being at all, -except her mother and the Baroness Lehzen, had ever been alone with -her in a room. Thus it was not only the public at large that was in -ignorance of everything concerning her; the inner circles of statesmen -and officials and high-born ladies were equally in the dark. When she -suddenly emerged from this deep obscurity, the impression that she -created was immediate and profound. Her bearing at her first Council -filled the whole gathering with astonishment and admiration; the Duke of -Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, even the savage Croker, even the cold and -caustic Greville--all were completely carried away. Everything that was -reported of her subsequent proceedings seemed to be of no less happy -augury. Her perceptions were quick, her decisions were sensible, her -language was discreet; she performed her royal duties with extraordinary -facility. Among the outside public there was a great wave of enthusiasm. -Sentiment and romance were coming into fashion; and the spectacle of -the little girl-queen, innocent, modest, with fair hair and pink cheeks, -driving through her capital, filled the hearts of the beholders with -raptures of affectionate loyalty. What, above all, struck everybody -with overwhelming force was the contrast between Queen Victoria and -her uncles. The nasty old men, debauched and selfish, pig-headed and -ridiculous, with their perpetual burden of debts, confusions, and -disreputabilities--they had vanished like the snows of winter, and here -at last, crowned and radiant, was the spring. Lord John Russell, in an -elaborate oration, gave voice to the general sentiment. He hoped that -Victoria might prove an Elizabeth without her tyranny, an Anne without -her weakness. He asked England to pray that the illustrious Princess who -had just ascended the throne with the purest intentions and the justest -desires might see slavery abolished, crime diminished, and education -improved. He trusted that her people would henceforward derive their -strength, their conduct, and their loyalty from enlightened religious -and moral principles, and that, so fortified, the reign of Victoria -might prove celebrated to posterity and to all the nations of the earth. - -Very soon, however, there were signs that the future might turn out to -be not quite so simple and roseate as a delighted public dreamed. The -"illustrious Princess" might perhaps, after all, have something within -her which squared ill with the easy vision of a well-conducted heroine -in an edifying story-book. The purest intentions and the justest -desires? No doubt; but was that all? To those who watched closely, for -instance, there might be something ominous in the curious contour -of that little mouth. When, after her first Council, she crossed the -ante-room and found her mother waiting for her, she said, "And now, -Mamma, am I really and truly Queen?" "You see, my dear, that it is so." -"Then, dear Mamma, I hope you will grant me the first request I make -to you, as Queen. Let me be by myself for an hour." For an hour she -remained in solitude. Then she reappeared, and gave a significant order: -her bed was to be moved out of her mother's room. It was the doom of the -Duchess of Kent. The long years of waiting were over at last; the moment -of a lifetime had come; her daughter was Queen of England; and that very -moment brought her own annihilation. She found herself, absolutely and -irretrievably, shut off from every vestige of influence, of confidence, -of power. She was surrounded, indeed, by all the outward signs of -respect and consideration; but that only made the inward truth of her -position the more intolerable. Through the mingled formalities of Court -etiquette and filial duty, she could never penetrate to Victoria. She -was unable to conceal her disappointment and her rage. "Il n'y a plus -d'avenir pour moi," she exclaimed to Madame de Lieven; "je ne suis plus -rien." For eighteen years, she said, this child had been the sole object -of her existence, of her thoughts, her hopes, and now--no! she would -not be comforted, she had lost everything, she was to the last degree -unhappy. Sailing, so gallantly and so pertinaciously, through the -buffeting storms of life, the stately vessel, with sails still swelling -and pennons flying, had put into harbour at last; to find there -nothing--a land of bleak desolation. - -Within a month of the accession, the realities of the new situation -assumed a visible shape. The whole royal household moved from Kensington -to Buckingham Palace, and, in the new abode, the Duchess of Kent was -given a suite of apartments entirely separate from the Queen's. By -Victoria herself the change was welcomed, though, at the moment of -departure, she could afford to be sentimental. "Though I rejoice to go -into B. P. for many reasons," she wrote in her diary, "it is not -without feelings of regret that I shall bid adieu for ever to this my -birthplace, where I have been born and bred, and to which I am really -attached!" Her memory lingered for a moment over visions of the past: -her sister's wedding, pleasant balls and delicious concerts and there -were other recollections. "I have gone through painful and disagreeable -scenes here, 'tis true," she concluded, "but still I am fond of the poor -old palace." - -At the same time she took another decided step. She had determined that -she would see no more of Sir John Conroy. She rewarded his past services -with liberality: he was given a baronetcy and a pension of L3000 a -year; he remained a member of the Duchess's household, but his personal -intercourse with the Queen came to an abrupt conclusion. - -II - -It was clear that these interior changes--whatever else they might -betoken--marked the triumph of one person--the Baroness Lehzen. The -pastor's daughter observed the ruin of her enemies. Discreet and -victorious, she remained in possession of the field. More closely than -ever did she cleave to the side of her mistress, her pupil, and her -friend; and in the recesses of the palace her mysterious figure was at -once invisible and omnipresent. When the Queen's Ministers came in -at one door, the Baroness went out by another; when they retired, she -immediately returned. Nobody knew--nobody ever will know--the precise -extent and the precise nature of her influence. She herself declared -that she never discussed public affairs with the Queen, that she was -concerned with private matters only--with private letters and the -details of private life. Certainly her hand is everywhere discernible in -Victoria's early correspondence. The Journal is written in the style of -a child; the Letters are not so simple; they are the work of a -child, rearranged--with the minimum of alteration, no doubt, and yet -perceptibly--by a governess. And the governess was no fool: narrow, -jealous, provincial, she might be; but she was an acute and vigorous -woman, who had gained by a peculiar insight, a peculiar ascendancy. That -ascendancy she meant to keep. No doubt it was true that technically she -took no part in public business; but the distinction between what is -public and what is private is always a subtle one; and in the case of -a reigning sovereign--as the next few years were to show--it is often -imaginary. Considering all things--the characters of the persons, and -the character of the times--it was something more than a mere matter -of private interest that the bedroom of Baroness Lehzen at Buckingham -Palace should have been next door to the bedroom of the Queen. - -But the influence wielded by the Baroness, supreme as it seemed within -its own sphere, was not unlimited; there were other forces at work. -For one thing, the faithful Stockmar had taken up his residence in the -palace. During the twenty years which had elapsed since the death of the -Princess Charlotte, his experiences had been varied and remarkable. The -unknown counsellor of a disappointed princeling had gradually risen to a -position of European importance. His devotion to his master had been not -only whole--hearted but cautious and wise. It was Stockmar's advice -that had kept Prince Leopold in England during the critical years which -followed his wife's death, and had thus secured to him the essential -requisite of a point d'appui in the country of his adoption. It was -Stockmar's discretion which had smoothed over the embarrassments -surrounding the Prince's acceptance and rejection of the Greek crown. -It was Stockmar who had induced the Prince to become the constitutional -Sovereign of Belgium. Above all, it was Stockmar's tact, honesty, and -diplomatic skill which, through a long series of arduous and complicated -negotiations, had led to the guarantee of Belgian neutrality by the -Great Powers. His labours had been rewarded by a German barony and by -the complete confidence of King Leopold. Nor was it only in Brussels -that he was treated with respect and listened to with attention. -The statesmen who governed England--Lord Grey, Sir Robert Peel, Lord -Palmerston, Lord Melbourne--had learnt to put a high value upon his -probity and his intelligence. "He is one of the cleverest fellows I -ever saw," said Lord Melbourne, "the most discreet man, the most -well-judging, and most cool man." And Lord Palmerston cited Baron -Stockmar as the only absolutely disinterested man he had come across in -life, At last he was able to retire to Coburg, and to enjoy for a few -years the society of the wife and children whom his labours in the -service of his master had hitherto only allowed him to visit at long -intervals for a month or two at a time. But in 1836 he had been again -entrusted with an important negotiation, which he had brought to -a successful conclusion in the marriage of Prince Ferdinand of -Saxe-Coburg, a nephew of King Leopold's, with Queen Maria II of -Portugal. The House of Coburg was beginning to spread over Europe; and -the establishment of the Baron at Buckingham Palace in 1837 was to be -the prelude of another and a more momentous advance. - -King Leopold and his counsellor provide in their careers an example -of the curious diversity of human ambitions. The desires of man are -wonderfully various; but no less various are the means by which those -desires may reach satisfaction: and so the work of the world gets done. -The correct mind of Leopold craved for the whole apparatus of royalty. -Mere power would have held no attractions for him; he must be an actual -king--the crowned head of a people. It was not enough to do; it was -essential also to be recognised; anything else would not be fitting. -The greatness that he dreamt of was surrounded by every appropriate -circumstance. To be a Majesty, to be a cousin of Sovereigns, to marry a -Bourbon for diplomatic ends, to correspond with the Queen of England, -to be very stiff and very punctual, to found a dynasty, to bore -ambassadresses into fits, to live, on the highest pinnacle, an exemplary -life devoted to the public service--such were his objects, and such, -in fact, were his achievements. The "Marquis Peu-a-peu," as George IV -called him, had what he wanted. But this would never have been the case -if it had not happened that the ambition of Stockmar took a form exactly -complementary to his own. The sovereignty that the Baron sought for -was by no means obvious. The satisfaction of his essential being lay -in obscurity, in invisibility--in passing, unobserved, through a hidden -entrance, into the very central chamber of power, and in sitting there, -quietly, pulling the subtle strings that set the wheels of the -whole world in motion. A very few people, in very high places, and -exceptionally well-informed, knew that Baron Stockmar was a most -important person: that was enough. The fortunes of the master and the -servant, intimately interacting, rose together. The Baron's secret skill -had given Leopold his unexceptionable kingdom; and Leopold, in his turn, -as time went on, was able to furnish the Baron with more and more keys -to more and more back doors. - -Stockmar took up his abode in the Palace partly as the emissary of King -Leopold, but more particularly as the friend and adviser of a queen who -was almost a child, and who, no doubt, would be much in need of advice -and friendship. For it would be a mistake to suppose that either of -these two men was actuated by a vulgar selfishness. The King, indeed, -was very well aware on which side his bread was buttered; during an -adventurous and chequered life he had acquired a shrewd knowledge of -the world's workings; and he was ready enough to use that knowledge -to strengthen his position and to spread his influence. But then, the -firmer his position and the wider his influence, the better for Europe; -of that he was quite certain. And besides, he was a constitutional -monarch; and it would be highly indecorous in a constitutional monarch -to have any aims that were low or personal. - -As for Stockmar, the disinterestedness which Palmerston had noted was -undoubtedly a basic element in his character. The ordinary schemer is -always an optimist; and Stockmar, racked by dyspepsia and haunted by -gloomy forebodings, was a constitutionally melancholy man. A schemer, no -doubt, he was; but he schemed distrustfully, splenetically, to do good. -To do good! What nobler end could a man scheme for? Yet it is perilous -to scheme at all. - -With Lehzen to supervise every detail of her conduct, with Stockmar in -the next room, so full of wisdom and experience of affairs, with her -Uncle Leopold's letters, too, pouring out so constantly their stream of -encouragements, general reflections, and highly valuable tips, Victoria, -even had she been without other guidance, would have stood in no lack of -private counsellor. But other guidance she had; for all these influences -paled before a new star, of the first magnitude, which, rising suddenly -upon her horizon, immediately dominated her life. - -III - -William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne, was fifty-eight years of age, and -had been for the last three years Prime Minister of England. In every -outward respect he was one of the most fortunate of mankind. He had -been born into the midst of riches, brilliance, and power. His mother, -fascinating and intelligent, had been a great Whig hostess, and he had -been bred up as a member of that radiant society which, during the -last quarter of the eighteenth century, concentrated within itself -the ultimate perfections of a hundred years of triumphant aristocracy. -Nature had given him beauty and brains; the unexpected death of an -elder brother brought him wealth, a peerage, and the possibility of -high advancement. Within that charmed circle, whatever one's personal -disabilities, it was difficult to fail; and to him, with all his -advantages, success was well-nigh unavoidable. With little effort, he -attained political eminence. On the triumph of the Whigs he became one -of the leading members of the Government; and when Lord Grey retired -from the premiership he quietly stepped into the vacant place. Nor was -it only in the visible signs of fortune that Fate had been kind to him. -Bound to succeed, and to succeed easily, he was gifted with so fine -a nature that his success became him. His mind, at once supple and -copious, his temperament, at once calm and sensitive, enabled him not -merely to work, but to live with perfect facility and with the grace of -strength. In society he was a notable talker, a captivating companion, -a charming man. If one looked deeper, one saw at once that he was not -ordinary, that the piquancies of his conversation and his manner--his -free-and-easy vaguenesses, his abrupt questions, his lollings and -loungings, his innumerable oaths--were something more than an amusing -ornament, were the outward manifestation of an individuality that was -fundamental. - -The precise nature of this individuality was very difficult to gauge: it -was dubious, complex, perhaps self--contradictory. Certainly there was -an ironical discordance between the inner history of the man and his -apparent fortunes. He owed all he had to his birth, and his birth was -shameful; it was known well enough that his mother had passionately -loved Lord Egremont, and that Lord Melbourne was not his father. His -marriage, which had seemed to be the crown of his youthful ardours, -was a long, miserable, desperate failure: the incredible Lady Caroline, -"With pleasures too refined to please, With too much spirit to be -e'er at ease, With too much quickness to be ever taught, With too much -thinking to have common thought," was very nearly the destruction of -his life. When at last he emerged from the anguish and confusion of her -folly, her extravagance, her rage, her despair, and her devotion, he was -left alone with endless memories of intermingled farce and tragedy, and -an only son, who was an imbecile. But there was something else that he -owed to Lady Caroline. While she whirled with Byron in a hectic frenzy -of love and fashion, he had stayed at home in an indulgence bordering -on cynicism, and occupied his solitude with reading. It was thus that he -had acquired those habits of study, that love of learning, and that wide -and accurate knowledge of ancient and modern literature, which formed so -unexpected a part of his mental equipment. His passion for reading never -deserted him; even when he was Prime Minister he found time to -master every new important book. With an incongruousness that was -characteristic, his favourite study was theology. An accomplished -classical scholar, he was deeply read in the Fathers of the Church; -heavy volumes of commentary and exegesis he examined with scrupulous -diligence; and at any odd moment he might be found turning over the -pages of the Bible. To the ladies whom he most liked, he would lend some -learned work on the Revelation, crammed with marginal notes in his own -hand, or Dr. Lardner's "Observations upon the Jewish Errors with respect -to the Conversion of Mary Magdalene." The more pious among them had high -hopes that these studies would lead him into the right way; but of this -there were no symptoms in his after-dinner conversations. - -The paradox of his political career was no less curious. By temperament -an aristocrat, by conviction a conservative, he came to power as the -leader of the popular party, the party of change. He had profoundly -disliked the Reform Bill, which he had only accepted at last as -a necessary evil; and the Reform Bill lay at the root of the very -existence, of the very meaning, of his government. He was far too -sceptical to believe in progress of any kind. Things were best as they -were or rather, they were least bad. "You'd better try to do no good," -was one of his dictums, "and then you'll get into no scrapes." Education -at best was futile; education of the poor was positively dangerous. The -factory children? "Oh, if you'd only have the goodness to leave them -alone!" Free Trade was a delusion; the ballot was nonsense; and there -was no such thing as a democracy. - -Nevertheless, he was not a reactionary; he was simply an opportunist. -The whole duty of government, he said, was "to prevent crime and to -preserve contracts." All one could really hope to do was to carry on. He -himself carried on in a remarkable manner--with perpetual compromises, -with fluctuations and contradictions, with every kind of weakness, and -yet with shrewdness, with gentleness, even with conscientiousness, and -a light and airy mastery of men and of events. He conducted the -transactions of business with extraordinary nonchalance. Important -persons, ushered up for some grave interview, found him in a -towselled bed, littered with books and papers, or vaguely shaving in a -dressing-room; but, when they went downstairs again, they would realise -that somehow or other they had been pumped. When he had to receive a -deputation, he could hardly ever do so with becoming gravity. The worthy -delegates of the tallow-chandlers, or the Society for the Abolition of -Capital Punishment, were distressed and mortified when, in the midst of -their speeches, the Prime Minister became absorbed in blowing a feather, -or suddenly cracked an unseemly joke. How could they have guessed that -he had spent the night before diligently getting up the details of their -case? He hated patronage and the making of appointments--a feeling rare -in Ministers. "As for the Bishops," he burst out, "I positively believe -they die to vex me." But when at last the appointment was made, it -was made with keen discrimination. His colleagues observed another -symptom--was it of his irresponsibility or his wisdom? He went to sleep -in the Cabinet. - -Probably, if he had been born a little earlier, he would have been a -simpler and a happier man. As it was, he was a child of the eighteenth -century whose lot was cast in a new, difficult, unsympathetic age. -He was an autumn rose. With all his gracious amenity, his humour, his -happy-go-lucky ways, a deep disquietude possessed him. A sentimental -cynic, a sceptical believer, he was restless and melancholy at heart. -Above all, he could never harden himself; those sensitive petals -shivered in every wind. Whatever else he might be, one thing was -certain: Lord Melbourne was always human, supremely human--too human, -perhaps. - -And now, with old age upon him, his life took a sudden, new, -extraordinary turn. He became, in the twinkling of an eye, the intimate -adviser and the daily companion of a young girl who had stepped all at -once from a nursery to a throne. His relations with women had been, like -everything else about him, ambiguous. Nobody had ever been able quite -to gauge the shifting, emotional complexities of his married life; Lady -Caroline vanished; but his peculiar susceptibilities remained. Female -society of some kind or other was necessary to him, and he did not -stint himself; a great part of every day was invariably spent in it. The -feminine element in him made it easy, made it natural and inevitable for -him to be the friend of a great many women; but the masculine element -in him was strong as well. In such circumstances it is also easy, it is -even natural, perhaps it is even inevitable, to be something more than -a friend. There were rumours and combustions. Lord Melbourne was twice a -co-respondent in a divorce action; but on each occasion he won his suit. -The lovely Lady Brandon, the unhappy and brilliant Mrs. Norton... the -law exonerated them both. Beyond that hung an impenetrable veil. But -at any rate it was clear that, with such a record, the Prime Minister's -position in Buckingham Palace must be a highly delicate one. However, -he was used to delicacies, and he met the situation with consummate -success. His behaviour was from the first moment impeccable. His manner -towards the young Queen mingled, with perfect facility, the watchfulness -and the respect of a statesman and a courtier with the tender solicitude -of a parent. He was at once reverential and affectionate, at once the -servant and the guide. At the same time the habits of his life underwent -a surprising change. His comfortable, unpunctual days became subject to -the unaltering routine of a palace; no longer did he sprawl on sofas; -not a single "damn" escaped his lips. The man of the world who had been -the friend of Byron and the regent, the talker whose paradoxes had held -Holland House enthralled, the cynic whose ribaldries had enlivened so -many deep potations, the lover whose soft words had captivated such -beauty and such passion and such wit, might now be seen, evening after -evening, talking with infinite politeness to a schoolgirl, bolt upright, -amid the silence and the rigidity of Court etiquette. - -IV - -On her side, Victoria was instantaneously fascinated by Lord Melbourne. -The good report of Stockmar had no doubt prepared the way; Lehzen was -wisely propitiated; and the first highly favourable impression was never -afterwards belied. She found him perfect; and perfect in her sight he -remained. Her absolute and unconcealed adoration was very natural; what -innocent young creature could have resisted, in any circumstances, the -charm and the devotion of such a man? But, in her situation, there was -a special influence which gave a peculiar glow to all she felt. After -years of emptiness and dullness and suppression, she had come suddenly, -in the heyday of youth, into freedom and power. She was mistress -of herself, of great domains and palaces; she was Queen of England. -Responsibilities and difficulties she might have, no doubt, and in heavy -measure; but one feeling dominated and absorbed all others--the feeling -of joy. Everything pleased her. She was in high spirits from morning -till night. Mr. Creevey, grown old now, and very near his end, catching -a glimpse of her at Brighton, was much amused, in his sharp fashion, by -the ingenuous gaiety of "little Vic." "A more homely little being you -never beheld, when she is at her ease, and she is evidently dying to be -always more so. She laughs in real earnest, opening her mouth as wide as -it can go, showing not very pretty gums... She eats quite as heartily -as she laughs, I think I may say she gobbles... She blushes and laughs -every instant in so natural a way as to disarm anybody." But it was not -merely when she was laughing or gobbling that she enjoyed herself; the -performance of her official duties gave her intense satisfaction. "I -really have immensely to do," she wrote in her Journal a few days after -her accession; "I receive so many communications from my Ministers, but -I like it very much." And again, a week later, "I repeat what I said -before that I have so many communications from the Ministers, and from -me to them, and I get so many papers to sign every day, that I have -always a very great deal to do. I delight in this work." Through the -girl's immaturity the vigorous predestined tastes of the woman were -pushing themselves into existence with eager velocity, with delicious -force. - -One detail of her happy situation deserves particular mention. Apart -from the splendour of her social position and the momentousness of her -political one, she was a person of great wealth. As soon as Parliament -met, an annuity of L385,000 was settled upon her. When the expenses of -her household had been discharged, she was left with L68,000 a year of -her own. She enjoyed besides the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster, -which amounted annually to over L27,000. The first use to which she put -her money was characteristic: she paid off her father's debts. In -money matters, no less than in other matters, she was determined to be -correct. She had the instincts of a man of business; and she never could -have borne to be in a position that was financially unsound. - -With youth and happiness gilding every hour, the days passed merrily -enough. And each day hinged upon Lord Melbourne. Her diary shows us, -with undiminished clarity, the life of the young sovereign during -the early months of her reign--a life satisfactorily regular, full -of delightful business, a life of simple pleasures, mostly -physical--riding, eating, dancing--a quick, easy, highly unsophisticated -life, sufficient unto itself. The light of the morning is upon it; and, -in the rosy radiance, the figure of "Lord M." emerges, glorified and -supreme. If she is the heroine of the story, he is the hero; but indeed -they are more than hero and heroine, for there are no other characters -at all. Lehzen, the Baron, Uncle Leopold, are unsubstantial shadows--the -incidental supers of the piece. Her paradise was peopled by two persons, -and surely that was enough. One sees them together still, a curious -couple, strangely united in those artless pages, under the magical -illumination of that dawn of eighty years ago: the polished high fine -gentleman with the whitening hair and whiskers and the thick dark -eyebrows and the mobile lips and the big expressive eyes; and beside him -the tiny Queen--fair, slim, elegant, active, in her plain girl's dress -and little tippet, looking up at him earnestly, adoringly, with eyes -blue and projecting, and half-open mouth. So they appear upon every page -of the Journal; upon every page Lord M. is present, Lord M. is speaking, -Lord M. is being amusing, instructive, delightful, and affectionate at -once, while Victoria drinks in the honied words, laughs till she shows -her gums, tries hard to remember, and runs off, as soon as she is left -alone, to put it all down. Their long conversations touched upon a -multitude of topics. Lord M. would criticise books, throw out a remark -or two on the British Constitution, make some passing reflections -on human life, and tell story after story of the great people of the -eighteenth century. Then there would be business a despatch perhaps -from Lord Durham in Canada, which Lord M. would read. But first he -must explain a little. "He said that I must know that Canada originally -belonged to the French, and was only ceded to the English in 1760, when -it was taken in an expedition under Wolfe: 'a very daring enterprise,' -he said. Canada was then entirely French, and the British only came -afterwards... Lord M. explained this very clearly (and much better -than I have done) and said a good deal more about it. He then read me -Durham's despatch, which is a very long one and took him more than 1/2 -an hour to read. Lord M. read it beautifully with that fine soft voice -of his, and with so much expression, so that it is needless to say I -was much interested by it." And then the talk would take a more personal -turn. Lord M. would describe his boyhood, and she would learn that "he -wore his hair long, as all boys then did, till he was 17; (how handsome -he must have looked!)." Or she would find out about his queer tastes and -habits--how he never carried a watch, which seemed quite extraordinary. -"'I always ask the servant what o'clock it is, and then he tells me what -he likes,' said Lord M." Or, as the rooks wheeled about round the trees, -"in a manner which indicated rain," he would say that he could sit -looking at them for an hour, and "was quite surprised at my disliking -them. M. said, 'The rooks are my delight.'" - -The day's routine, whether in London or at Windsor, was almost -invariable. The morning was devoted to business and Lord M. In the -afternoon the whole Court went out riding. The Queen, in her velvet -riding--habit and a top-hat with a veil draped about the brim, headed -the cavalcade; and Lord M. rode beside her. The lively troupe went fast -and far, to the extreme exhilaration of Her Majesty. Back in the Palace -again, there was still time for a little more fun before dinner--a game -of battledore and shuttlecock perhaps, or a romp along the galleries -with some children. Dinner came, and the ceremonial decidedly tightened. -The gentleman of highest rank sat on the right hand of the Queen; on her -left--it soon became an established rule--sat Lord Melbourne. After the -ladies had left the dining-room, the gentlemen were not permitted to -remain behind for very long; indeed, the short time allowed them for -their wine-drinking formed the subject--so it was rumoured--of one of -the very few disputes between the Queen and her Prime Minister;(*) but -her determination carried the day, and from that moment after-dinner -drunkenness began to go out of fashion. When the company was reassembled -in the drawing-room the etiquette was stiff. For a few moments the Queen -spoke in turn to each one of her guests; and during these short uneasy -colloquies the aridity of royalty was apt to become painfully evident. -One night Mr. Greville, the Clerk of the Privy Council, was present; his -turn soon came; the middle-aged, hard-faced viveur was addressed by his -young hostess. "Have you been riding to-day, Mr. Greville?" asked the -Queen. "No, Madam, I have not," replied Mr. Greville. "It was a fine -day," continued the Queen. "Yes, Madam, a very fine day," said Mr. -Greville. "It was rather cold, though," said the Queen. "It was rather -cold, Madam," said Mr. Greville. "Your sister, Lady Frances Egerton, -rides, I think, doesn't she?" said the Queen. "She does ride sometimes, -Madam," said Mr. Greville. There was a pause, after which Mr. Greville -ventured to take the lead, though he did not venture to change the -subject. "Has your Majesty been riding today?" asked Mr. Greville. "Oh -yes, a very long ride," answered the Queen with animation. "Has your -Majesty got a nice horse?" said Mr. Greville. "Oh, a very nice horse," -said the Queen. It was over. Her Majesty gave a smile and an inclination -of the head, Mr. Greville a profound bow, and the next conversation -began with the next gentleman. When all the guests had been disposed -of, the Duchess of Kent sat down to her whist, while everybody else was -ranged about the round table. Lord Melbourne sat beside the Queen, and -talked pertinaciously--very often a propos to the contents of one of the -large albums of engravings with which the round table was covered--until -it was half-past eleven and time to go to bed. - - (*) The Duke of Bedford told Greville he was "sure there was - a battle between her and Melbourne... He is sure there was - one about the men's sitting after dinner, for he heard her - say to him rather angrily, 'it is a horrid custom-' but when - the ladies left the room (he dined there) directions were - given that the men should remain five minutes longer." - Greville Memoirs, February 26, 1840 (unpublished). - -Occasionally, there were little diversions: the evening might be spent -at the opera or at the play. Next morning the royal critic was careful -to note down her impressions. "It was Shakespeare's tragedy of Hamlet, -and we came in at the beginning of it. Mr. Charles Kean (son of -old Kean) acted the part of Hamlet, and I must say beautifully. -His conception of this very difficult, and I may almost say -incomprehensible, character is admirable; his delivery of all the fine -long speeches quite beautiful; he is excessively graceful and all -his actions and attitudes are good, though not at all good-looking in -face... I came away just as Hamlet was over." Later on, she went to see -Macready in King Lear. The story was new to her; she knew nothing about -it, and at first she took very little interest in what was passing on -the stage; she preferred to chatter and laugh with the Lord Chamberlain. -But, as the play went on, her mood changed; her attention was fixed, and -then she laughed no more. Yet she was puzzled; it seemed a strange, a -horrible business. What did Lord M. think? Lord M. thought it was a -very fine play, but to be sure, "a rough, coarse play, written for -those times, with exaggerated characters." "I'm glad you've seen it," he -added. But, undoubtedly, the evenings which she enjoyed most were those -on which there was dancing. She was always ready enough to seize -any excuse--the arrival of cousins--a birthday--a gathering of young -people--to give the command for that. Then, when the band played, and -the figures of the dancers swayed to the music, and she felt her own -figure swaying too, with youthful spirits so close on every side--then -her happiness reached its height, her eyes sparkled, she must go on and -on into the small hours of the morning. For a moment Lord M. himself was -forgotten. - -V - -The months flew past. The summer was over: "the pleasantest summer I -EVER passed in MY LIFE, and I shall never forget this first summer of -my reign." With surprising rapidity, another summer was upon her. The -coronation came and went--a curious dream. The antique, intricate, -endless ceremonial worked itself out as best it could, like some machine -of gigantic complexity which was a little out of order. The small -central figure went through her gyrations. She sat; she walked; she -prayed; she carried about an orb that was almost too heavy to hold; the -Archbishop of Canterbury came and crushed a ring upon the wrong finger, -so that she was ready to cry out with the pain; old Lord Rolle tripped -up in his mantle and fell down the steps as he was doing homage; she -was taken into a side chapel, where the altar was covered with a -table-cloth, sandwiches, and bottles of wine; she perceived Lehzen in an -upper box and exchanged a smile with her as she sat, robed and crowned, -on the Confessor's throne. "I shall ever remember this day as the -PROUDEST of my life," she noted. But the pride was soon merged once more -in youth and simplicity. When she returned to Buckingham Palace at -last she was not tired; she ran up to her private rooms, doffed her -splendours, and gave her dog Dash its evening bath. - -Life flowed on again with its accustomed smoothness--though, of course, -the smoothness was occasionally disturbed. For one thing, there was the -distressing behaviour of Uncle Leopold. The King of the Belgians had -not been able to resist attempting to make use of his family position -to further his diplomatic ends. But, indeed, why should there be any -question of resisting? Was not such a course of conduct, far from being -a temptation, simply "selon les regles?" What were royal marriages -for, if they did not enable sovereigns, in spite of the hindrances of -constitutions, to control foreign politics? For the highest purposes, -of course; that was understood. The Queen of England was his niece--more -than that--almost his daughter; his confidential agent was living, in -a position of intimate favour, at her court. Surely, in such -circumstances, it would be preposterous, it would be positively -incorrect, to lose the opportunity of bending to his wishes by means -of personal influence, behind the backs of the English Ministers, the -foreign policy of England. - -He set about the task with becoming precautions. He continued in his -letters his admirable advice. Within a few days of her accession, he -recommended the young Queen to lay emphasis, on every possible occasion, -upon her English birth; to praise the English nation; "the Established -Church I also recommend strongly; you cannot, without PLEDGING yourself -to anything PARTICULAR, SAY TOO MUCH ON THE SUBJECT." And then "before -you decide on anything important I should be glad if you would consult -me; this would also have the advantage of giving you time;" nothing was -more injurious than to be hurried into wrong decisions unawares. His -niece replied at once with all the accustomed warmth of her affection; -but she wrote hurriedly--and, perhaps, a trifle vaguely too. "YOUR -advice is always of the GREATEST IMPORTANCE to me," she said. - -Had he, possibly, gone too far? He could not be certain; perhaps -Victoria HAD been hurried. In any case, he would be careful; he would -draw back--"pour mieux sauter" he added to himself with a smile. In his -next letters he made no reference to his suggestion of consultations -with himself; he merely pointed out the wisdom, in general, of refusing -to decide upon important questions off-hand. So far, his advice was -taken; and it was noticed that the Queen, when applications were made to -her, rarely gave an immediate answer. Even with Lord Melbourne, it was -the same; when he asked for her opinion upon any subject, she would -reply that she would think it over, and tell him her conclusions next -day. - -King Leopold's counsels continued. The Princess de Lieven, he said, -was a dangerous woman; there was reason to think that she would make -attempts to pry into what did not concern her, let Victoria beware. "A -rule which I cannot sufficiently recommend is NEVER TO PERMIT people -to speak on subjects concerning yourself or your affairs, without you -having yourself desired them to do so." Should such a thing occur, -"change the conversation, and make the individual feel that he has made -a mistake." This piece of advice was also taken; for it fell out as the -King had predicted. Madame de Lieven sought an audience, and appeared -to be verging towards confidential topics; whereupon the Queen, becoming -slightly embarrassed, talked of nothing but commonplaces. The individual -felt that she had made a mistake. - -The King's next warning was remarkable. Letters, he pointed out, are -almost invariably read in the post. This was inconvenient, no doubt; but -the fact, once properly grasped, was not without its advantages. "I will -give you an example: we are still plagued by Prussia concerning those -fortresses; now to tell the Prussian Government many things, which we -SHOULD NOT LIKE to tell them officially, the Minister is going to write -a despatch to our man at Berlin, sending it BY POST; the Prussians ARE -SURE to read it, and to learn in this way what we wish them to hear. -Analogous circumstances might very probably occur in England. I tell you -the TRICK," wrote His Majesty, "that you should be able to guard against -it." Such were the subtleties of constitutional sovereignty. - -It seemed that the time had come for another step. The King's next -letter was full of foreign politics--the situation in Spain and -Portugal, the character of Louis Philippe; and he received a favourable -answer. Victoria, it is true, began by saying that she had shown the -POLITICAL PART of his letter to Lord Melbourne; but she proceeded to a -discussion of foreign affairs. It appeared that she was not unwilling -to exchange observations on such matters with her uncle. So far so good. -But King Leopold was still cautious; though a crisis was impending -in his diplomacy, he still hung back; at last, however, he could keep -silence no longer. It was of the utmost importance to him that, in his -manoeuvrings with France and Holland, he should have, or at any rate -appear to have, English support. But the English Government appeared to -adopt a neutral attitude; it was too bad; not to be for him was to -be against him, could they not see that? Yet, perhaps, they were only -wavering, and a little pressure upon them from Victoria might still -save all. He determined to put the case before her, delicately yet -forcibly--just as he saw it himself. "All I want from your kind -Majesty," he wrote, "is, that you will OCCASIONALLY express to your -Ministers, and particularly to good Lord Melbourne, that, as far as it -is COMPATIBLE with the interests of your own dominions, you do NOT wish -that your Government should take the lead in such measures as might in a -short time bring on the DESTRUCTION of this country, as well as that of -your uncle and his family." The result of this appeal was unexpected; -there was dead silence for more than a week. When Victoria at last -wrote, she was prodigal of her affection. "It would, indeed, my dearest -Uncle, be VERY WRONG of you, if you thought my feelings of warm and -devoted attachment to you, and of great affection for you, could be -changed--nothing can ever change them"--but her references to foreign -politics, though they were lengthy and elaborate, were non-committal in -the extreme; they were almost cast in an official and diplomatic form. -Her Ministers, she said, entirely shared her views upon the subject; she -understood and sympathised with the difficulties of her beloved uncle's -position; and he might rest assured "that both Lord Melbourne and Lord -Palmerston are most anxious at all times for the prosperity and welfare -of Belgium." That was all. The King in his reply declared himself -delighted, and re-echoed the affectionate protestations of his niece. -"My dearest and most beloved Victoria," he said, "you have written me -a VERY DEAR and long letter, which has given me GREAT PLEASURE AND -SATISFACTION." He would not admit that he had had a rebuff. - -A few months later the crisis came. King Leopold determined to make a -bold push, and to carry Victoria with him, this time, by a display of -royal vigour and avuncular authority. In an abrupt, an almost peremptory -letter, he laid his case, once more, before his niece. "You know from -experience," he wrote, "that I NEVER ASK ANYTHING OF YOU... But, as I -said before, if we are not careful we may see serious consequences which -may affect more or less everybody, and THIS ought to be the object -of our most anxious attention. I remain, my dear Victoria, your -affectionate uncle, Leopold R." The Queen immediately despatched this -letter to Lord Melbourne, who replied with a carefully thought-out form -of words, signifying nothing whatever, which, he suggested, she should -send to her uncle. She did so, copying out the elaborate formula, with a -liberal scattering of "dear Uncles" interspersed; and she concluded -her letter with a message of "affectionate love to Aunt Louise and the -children." Then at last King Leopold was obliged to recognise the facts. -His next letter contained no reference at all to politics. "I am glad," -he wrote, "to find that you like Brighton better than last year. I think -Brighton very agreeable at this time of the year, till the east winds -set in. The pavilion, besides, is comfortable; that cannot be denied. -Before my marriage, it was there that I met the Regent. Charlotte -afterwards came with old Queen Charlotte. How distant all this already, -but still how present to one's memory." Like poor Madame de Lieven, His -Majesty felt that he had made a mistake. - -Nevertheless, he could not quite give up all hope. Another opportunity -offered, and he made another effort--but there was not very much -conviction in it, and it was immediately crushed. "My dear Uncle," the -Queen wrote, "I have to thank you for your last letter which I received -on Sunday. Though you seem not to dislike my political sparks, I think -it is better not to increase them, as they might finally take fire, -particularly as I see with regret that upon this one subject we cannot -agree. I shall, therefore, limit myself to my expressions of very -sincere wishes for the welfare and prosperity of Belgium." After that, -it was clear that there was no more to be said. Henceforward there is -audible in the King's letters a curiously elegiac note. "My dearest -Victoria, your DELIGHTFUL little letter has just arrived and went -like AN ARROW TO MY HEART. Yes, my beloved Victoria! I DO LOVE YOU -TENDERLY... I love you FOR YOURSELF, and I love in you the dear child -whose welfare I tenderly watched." He had gone through much; yet, if -life had its disappointments, it had its satisfactions too. "I have -all the honours that can be given, and I am, politically speaking, very -solidly established." But there were other things besides politics, -there were romantic yearnings in his heart. "The only longing I still -have is for the Orient, where I perhaps shall once end my life, rising -in the west and setting in the east." As for his devotion to his -niece, that could never end. "I never press my services on you, nor my -councils, though I may say with some truth that from the extraordinary -fate which the higher powers had ordained for me, my experience, both -political and of private life, is great. I am ALWAYS READY to be useful -to you when and where and it may be, and I repeat it, ALL I WANT IN -RETURN IS SOME LITTLE SINCERE AFFECTION FROM YOU." - -VI - -The correspondence with King Leopold was significant of much that still -lay partly hidden in the character of Victoria. Her attitude towards -her uncle had never wavered for a moment. To all his advances she had -presented an absolutely unyielding front. The foreign policy of England -was not his province; it was hers and her Ministers'; his insinuations, -his entreaties, his struggles--all were quite useless; and he must -understand that this was so. The rigidity of her position was the more -striking owing to the respectfulness and the affection with which it was -accompanied. From start to finish the unmoved Queen remained the devoted -niece. Leopold himself must have envied such perfect correctitude; but -what may be admirable in an elderly statesman is alarming in a maiden -of nineteen. And privileged observers were not without their fears. The -strange mixture of ingenuous light-heartedness and fixed determination, -of frankness and reticence, of childishness and pride, seemed to augur -a future that was perplexed and full of dangers. As time passed the less -pleasant qualities in this curious composition revealed themselves more -often and more seriously. There were signs of an imperious, a peremptory -temper, an egotism that was strong and hard. It was noticed that the -palace etiquette, far from relaxing, grew ever more and more inflexible. -By some, this was attributed to Lehzen's influence; but, if that was -so, Lehzen had a willing pupil; for the slightest infringements of -the freezing rules of regularity and deference were invariably and -immediately visited by the sharp and haughty glances of the Queen. Yet -Her Majesty's eyes, crushing as they could be, were less crushing than -her mouth. The self-will depicted in those small projecting teeth and -that small receding chin was of a more dismaying kind than that which a -powerful jaw betokens; it was a self--will imperturbable, impenetrable, -unintelligent; a self-will dangerously akin to obstinacy. And the -obstinacy of monarchs is not as that of other men. - -Within two years of her accession, the storm-clouds which, from the -first, had been dimly visible on the horizon, gathered and burst. -Victoria's relations with her mother had not improved. The Duchess -of Kent, still surrounded by all the galling appearances of filial -consideration, remained in Buckingham Palace a discarded figure, -powerless and inconsolable. Sir John Conroy, banished from the presence -of the Queen, still presided over the Duchess's household, and the -hostilities of Kensington continued unabated in the new surroundings. -Lady Flora Hastings still cracked her malicious jokes; the animosity of -the Baroness was still unappeased. One day, Lady Flora found the joke -was turned against her. Early in 1839, travelling in the suite of the -Duchess, she had returned from Scotland in the same carriage with Sir -John. A change in her figure became the subject of an unseemly jest; -tongues wagged; and the jest grew serious. It was whispered that Lady -Flora was with child. The state of her health seemed to confirm the -suspicion; she consulted Sir James Clark, the royal physician, and, -after the consultation, Sir James let his tongue wag, too. On this, the -scandal flared up sky-high. Everyone was talking; the Baroness was not -surprised; the Duchess rallied tumultuously to the support of her lady; -the Queen was informed. At last the extraordinary expedient of a medical -examination was resorted to, during which Sir James, according to Lady -Flora, behaved with brutal rudeness, while a second doctor was -extremely polite. Finally, both physicians signed a certificate entirely -exculpating the lady. But this was by no means the end of the business. -The Hastings family, socially a very powerful one, threw itself into -the fray with all the fury of outraged pride and injured innocence; Lord -Hastings insisted upon an audience of the Queen, wrote to the papers, -and demanded the dismissal of Sir James Clark. The Queen expressed her -regret to Lady Flora, but Sir James Clark was not dismissed. The tide -of opinion turned violently against the Queen and her advisers; high -society was disgusted by all this washing of dirty linen in Buckingham -Palace; the public at large was indignant at the ill-treatment of Lady -Flora. By the end of March, the popularity, so radiant and so abundant, -with which the young Sovereign had begun her reign, had entirely -disappeared. - -There can be no doubt that a great lack of discretion had been shown by -the Court. Ill-natured tittle-tattle, which should have been instantly -nipped in the bud, had been allowed to assume disgraceful proportions; -and the Throne itself had become involved in the personal malignities -of the palace. A particularly awkward question had been raised by the -position of Sir James Clark. The Duke of Wellington, upon whom it was -customary to fall back, in cases of great difficulty in high places, had -been consulted upon this question, and he had given it as his opinion -that, as it would be impossible to remove Sir James without a public -enquiry, Sir James must certainly stay where he was. Probably the Duke -was right; but the fact that the peccant doctor continued in the -Queen's service made the Hastings family irreconcilable and produced an -unpleasant impression of unrepentant error upon the public mind. As for -Victoria, she was very young and quite inexperienced; and she can hardly -be blamed for having failed to control an extremely difficult situation. -That was clearly Lord Melbourne's task; he was a man of the world, and, -with vigilance and circumspection, he might have quietly put out the -ugly flames while they were still smouldering. He did not do so; he -was lazy and easy-going; the Baroness was persistent, and he let things -slide. But doubtless his position was not an easy one; passions ran -high in the palace; and Victoria was not only very young, she was very -headstrong, too. Did he possess the magic bridle which would curb -that fiery steed? He could not be certain. And then, suddenly, another -violent crisis revealed more unmistakably than ever the nature of the -mind with which he had to deal. - -VII - -The Queen had for long been haunted by a terror that the day might come -when she would be obliged to part with her Minister. Ever since the -passage of the Reform Bill, the power of the Whig Government had -steadily declined. The General Election of 1837 had left them with a -very small majority in the House of Commons; since then, they had been -in constant difflculties--abroad, at home, in Ireland; the Radical group -had grown hostile; it became highly doubtful how much longer they could -survive. The Queen watched the development of events in great anxiety. -She was a Whig by birth, by upbringing, by every association, public and -private; and, even if those ties had never existed, the mere fact that -Lord M. was the head of the Whigs would have amply sufficed to determine -her politics. The fall of the Whigs would mean a sad upset for Lord M. -But it would have a still more terrible consequence: Lord M. would have -to leave her; and the daily, the hourly, presence of Lord M. had become -an integral part of her life. Six months after her accession she had -noted in her diary "I shall be very sorry to lose him even for one -night;" and this feeling of personal dependence on her Minister steadily -increased. In these circumstances it was natural that she should have -become a Whig partisan. Of the wider significance of political questions -she knew nothing; all she saw was that her friends were in office and -about her, and that it would be dreadful if they ceased to be so. "I -cannot say," she wrote when a critical division was impending, "(though -I feel confident of our success) how low, how sad I feel, when I think -of the possibility of this excellent and truly kind man not remaining my -Minister! Yet I trust fervently that He who has so wonderfully protected -me through such manifold difficulties will not now desert me! I should -have liked to have expressed to Lord M. my anxiety, but the tears were -nearer than words throughout the time I saw him, and I felt I should -have choked, had I attempted to say anything." Lord Melbourne -realised clearly enough how undesirable was such a state of mind in -a constitutional sovereign who might be called upon at any moment to -receive as her Ministers the leaders of the opposite party; he did what -he could to cool her ardour; but in vain. - -With considerable lack of foresight, too, he had himself helped to bring -about this unfortunate condition of affairs. From the moment of her -accession, he had surrounded the Queen with ladies of his own party; the -Mistress of the Robes and all the Ladies of the Bedchamber were Whigs. -In the ordinary course, the Queen never saw a Tory: eventually she took -pains never to see one in any circumstances. She disliked the whole -tribe; and she did not conceal the fact. She particularly disliked Sir -Robert Peel, who would almost certainly be the next Prime Minister. -His manners were detestable, and he wanted to turn out Lord M. His -supporters, without exception, were equally bad; and as for Sir James -Graham, she could not bear the sight of him; he was exactly like Sir -John Conroy. - -The affair of Lady Flora intensified these party rumours still further. -The Hastings were Tories, and Lord Melbourne and the Court were attacked -by the Tory press in unmeasured language. The Queen's sectarian -zeal proportionately increased. But the dreaded hour was now fast -approaching. Early in May the Ministers were visibly tottering; on a -vital point of policy they could only secure a majority of five in the -House of Commons; they determined to resign. When Victoria heard the -news she burst into tears. Was it possible, then, that all was over? Was -she, indeed, about to see Lord M. for the last time? Lord M. came; and -it is a curious fact that, even in this crowning moment of misery and -agitation, the precise girl noted, to the minute, the exact time of the -arrival and the departure of her beloved Minister. The conversation was -touching and prolonged; but it could only end in one way--the Queen must -send for the Duke of Wellington. When, next morning, the Duke came, he -advised her Majesty to send for Sir Robert Peel. She was in "a state of -dreadful grief," but she swallowed down her tears, and braced herself, -with royal resolution, for the odious, odious interview. - -Peel was by nature reserved, proud, and shy. His manners were not -perfect, and he knew it; he was easily embarrassed, and, at such -moments, he grew even more stiff and formal than before, while his -feet mechanically performed upon the carpet a dancing-master's measure. -Anxious as he now was to win the Queen's good graces, his very anxiety -to do so made the attainment of his object the more difficult. He -entirely failed to make any headway whatever with the haughty hostile -girl before him. She coldly noted that he appeared to be unhappy and -"put out," and, while he stood in painful fixity, with an occasional -uneasy pointing of the toe, her heart sank within her at the sight of -that manner, "Oh! how different, how dreadfully different, to the -frank, open, natural, and most kind warm manner of Lord Melbourne." -Nevertheless, the audience passed without disaster. Only at one point -had there been some slight hint of a disagreement. Peel had decided that -a change would be necessary in the composition of the royal Household: -the Queen must no longer be entirely surrounded by the wives and sisters -of his opponents; some, at any rate, of the Ladies of the Bedchamber -should be friendly to his Government. When this matter was touched -upon, the Queen had intimated that she wished her Household to remain -unchanged; to which Sir Robert had replied that the question could be -settled later, and shortly afterwards withdrew to arrange the details of -his Cabinet. While he was present, Victoria had remained, as she herself -said, "very much collected, civil and high, and betrayed no agitation;" -but as soon as she was alone she completely broke down. Then she pulled -herself together to write to Lord Melbourne an account of all that had -happened, and of her own wretchedness. "She feels," she said, "Lord -Melbourne will understand it, amongst enemies to those she most relied -on and most esteemed; but what is worst of all is the being deprived of -seeing Lord Melbourne as she used to do." - -Lord Melbourne replied with a very wise letter. He attempted to calm the -Queen and to induce her to accept the new position gracefully; and he -had nothing but good words for the Tory leaders. As for the question of -the Ladies of the Household, the Queen, he said, should strongly urge -what she desired, as it was a matter which concerned her personally, -"but," he added, "if Sir Robert is unable to concede it, it will not do -to refuse and to put off the negotiation upon it." On this point there -can be little doubt that Lord Melbourne was right. The question was -a complicated and subtle one, and it had never arisen before; but -subsequent constitutional practice has determined that a Queen Regnant -must accede to the wishes of her Prime Minister as to the personnel of -the female part of her Household. Lord Melbourne's wisdom, however, was -wasted. The Queen would not be soothed, and still less would she take -advice. It was outrageous of the Tories to want to deprive her of her -Ladies, and that night she made up her mind that, whatever Sir Robert -might say, she would refuse to consent to the removal of a single one -of them. Accordingly, when, next morning, Peel appeared again, she was -ready for action. He began by detailing the Cabinet appointments, and -then he added "Now, ma'am, about the Ladies-" when the Queen sharply -interrupted him. "I cannot give up any of my Ladies," she said. "What, -ma'am!" said Sir Robert, "does your Majesty mean to retain them all?" -"All," said the Queen. Sir Robert's face worked strangely; he could not -conceal his agitation. "The Mistress of the Robes and the Ladies of -the Bedchamber?" he brought out at last. "All," replied once more her -Majesty. It was in vain that Peel pleaded and argued; in vain that -he spoke, growing every moment more pompous and uneasy, of the -constitution, and Queens Regnant, and the public interest; in vain that -he danced his pathetic minuet. She was adamant; but he, too, through all -his embarrassment, showed no sign of yielding; and when at last he left -her nothing had been decided--the whole formation of the Government was -hanging in the wind. A frenzy of excitement now seized upon Victoria. -Sir Robert, she believed in her fury, had tried to outwit her, to take -her friends from her, to impose his will upon her own; but that was -not all: she had suddenly perceived, while the poor man was moving so -uneasily before her, the one thing that she was desperately longing -for--a loop-hole of escape. She seized a pen and dashed off a note to -Lord Melbourne. - -"Sir Robert has behaved very ill," she wrote, "he insisted on my giving -up my Ladies, to which I replied that I never would consent, and I never -saw a man so frightened... I was calm but very decided, and I think -you would have been pleased to see my composure and great firmness; -the Queen of England will not submit to such trickery. Keep yourself in -readiness, for you may soon be wanted." Hardly had she finished when the -Duke of Wellington was announced. "Well, Ma'am," he said as he entered, -"I am very sorry to find there is a difficulty." "Oh!" she instantly -replied, "he began it, not me." She felt that only one thing now was -needed: she must be firm. And firm she was. The venerable conqueror -of Napoleon was outfaced by the relentless equanimity of a girl in her -teens. He could not move the Queen one inch. At last, she even ventured -to rally him. "Is Sir Robert so weak," she asked, "that even the Ladies -must be of his opinion?" On which the Duke made a brief and humble -expostulation, bowed low, and departed. - -Had she won? Time would show; and in the meantime she scribbled down -another letter. "Lord Melbourne must not think the Queen rash in her -conduct... The Queen felt this was an attempt to see whether she could -be led and managed like a child."(*) The Tories were not only wicked but -ridiculous. Peel, having, as she understood, expressed a wish to remove -only those members of the Household who were in Parliament, now objected -to her Ladies. "I should like to know," she exclaimed in triumphant -scorn, "if they mean to give the Ladies seats in Parliament?" - - (*) The exclamation "They wished to treat me like a girl, - but I will show them that I am Queen of England!" often - quoted as the Queen's, is apocryphal. It is merely part of - Greville's summary of the two letters to Melbourne. It may - be noted that the phrase "the Queen of England will not - submit to such trickery" is omitted in "Girlhood," and in - general there are numerous verbal discrepancies between the - versions of the journal and the letters in the two books. - -The end of the crisis was now fast approaching. Sir Robert returned, and -told her that if she insisted upon retaining all her Ladies he could -not form a Government. She replied that she would send him her final -decision in writing. Next morning the late Whig Cabinet met. Lord -Melbourne read to them the Queen's letters, and the group of elderly -politicians were overcome by an extraordinary wave of enthusiasm. They -knew very well that, to say the least, it was highly doubtful whether -the Queen had acted in strict accordance with the constitution; that in -doing what she had done she had brushed aside Lord Melbourne's advice; -that, in reality, there was no public reason whatever why they should -go back upon their decision to resign. But such considerations vanished -before the passionate urgency of Victoria. The intensity of her -determination swept them headlong down the stream of her desire. They -unanimously felt that "it was impossible to abandon such a Queen -and such a woman." Forgetting that they were no longer her Majesty's -Ministers, they took the unprecedented course of advising the Queen by -letter to put an end to her negotiation with Sir Robert Peel. She did -so; all was over; she had triumphed. That evening there was a ball at -the Palace. Everyone was present. "Peel and the Duke of Wellington came -by looking very much put out." She was perfectly happy; Lord M. was -Prime Minister once more, and he was by her side. - -VIII - -Happiness had returned with Lord M., but it was happiness in the midst -of agitation. The domestic imbroglio continued unabated, until at last -the Duke, rejected as a Minister, was called in once again in his old -capacity as moral physician to the family. Something was accomplished -when, at last, he induced Sir John Conroy to resign his place about the -Duchess of Kent and leave the Palace for ever; something more when he -persuaded the Queen to write an affectionate letter to her mother. The -way seemed open for a reconciliation, but the Duchess was stormy still. -She didn't believe that Victoria had written that letter; it was not -in her handwriting; and she sent for the Duke to tell him so. The Duke, -assuring her that the letter was genuine, begged her to forget the past. -But that was not so easy. "What am I to do if Lord Melbourne comes up to -me?" "Do, ma'am? Why, receive him with civility." Well, she would make -an effort... "But what am I to do if Victoria asks me to shake hands -with Lehzen?" "Do, ma'am? Why, take her in your arms and kiss her." -"What!" The Duchess bristled in every feather, and then she burst into -a hearty laugh. "No, ma'am, no," said the Duke, laughing too. "I don't -mean you are to take Lehzen in your arms and kiss her, but the -Queen." The Duke might perhaps have succeeded, had not all attempts at -conciliation been rendered hopeless by a tragical event. Lady Flora, -it was discovered, had been suffering from a terrible internal malady, -which now grew rapidly worse. There could be little doubt that she was -dying. The Queen's unpopularity reached an extraordinary height. More -than once she was publicly insulted. "Mrs. Melbourne," was shouted at -her when she appeared at her balcony; and, at Ascot, she was hissed -by the Duchess of Montrose and Lady Sarah Ingestre as she passed. Lady -Flora died. The whole scandal burst out again with redoubled vehemence; -while, in the Palace, the two parties were henceforth divided by an -impassable, a Stygian, gulf. - -Nevertheless, Lord M. was back, and every trouble faded under the -enchantment of his presence and his conversation. He, on his side, -had gone through much; and his distresses were intensified by a -consciousness of his own shortcomings. He realised clearly enough that, -if he had intervened at the right moment, the Hastings scandal might -have been averted; and, in the bedchamber crisis, he knew that he had -allowed his judgment to be overruled and his conduct to be swayed by -private feelings and the impetuosity of Victoria. But he was not one -to suffer too acutely from the pangs of conscience. In spite of the -dullness and the formality of the Court, his relationship with the -Queen had come to be the dominating interest in his life; to have been -deprived of it would have been heartrending; that dread eventuality -had been--somehow--avoided; he was installed once more, in a kind of -triumph; let him enjoy the fleeting hours to the full! And so, cherished -by the favour of a sovereign and warmed by the adoration of a girl, -the autumn rose, in those autumn months of 1839, came to a wondrous -blooming. The petals expanded, beautifully, for the last time. For -the last time in this unlooked--for, this incongruous, this almost -incredible intercourse, the old epicure tasted the exquisiteness of -romance. To watch, to teach, to restrain, to encourage the royal -young creature beside him--that was much; to feel with such a constant -intimacy the impact of her quick affection, her radiant vitality--that -was more; most of all, perhaps, was it good to linger vaguely in -humorous contemplation, in idle apostrophe, to talk disconnectedly, to -make a little joke about an apple or a furbelow, to dream. The springs -of his sensibility, hidden deep within him, were overflowing. Often, as -he bent over her hand and kissed it, he found himself in tears. - -Upon Victoria, with all her impermeability, it was inevitable that such -a companionship should have produced, eventually, an effect. She was no -longer the simple schoolgirl of two years since. The change was visible -even in her public demeanour. Her expression, once "ingenuous -and serene," now appeared to a shrewd observer to be "bold and -discontented." She had learnt something of the pleasures of power and -the pains of it; but that was not all. Lord Melbourne with his gentle -instruction had sought to lead her into the paths of wisdom and -moderation, but the whole unconscious movement of his character had -swayed her in a very different direction. The hard clear pebble, -subjected for so long and so constantly to that encircling and insidious -fluidity, had suffered a curious corrosion; it seemed to be actually -growing a little soft and a little clouded. Humanity and fallibility are -infectious things; was it possible that Lehzen's prim pupil had caught -them? That she was beginning to listen to siren voices? That the secret -impulses of self-expression, of self-indulgence even, were mastering -her life? For a moment the child of a new age looked back, and wavered -towards the eighteenth century. It was the most critical moment of her -career. Had those influences lasted, the development of her character, -the history of her life, would have been completely changed. - -And why should they not last? She, for one, was very anxious that they -should. Let them last for ever! She was surrounded by Whigs, she was -free to do whatever she wanted, she had Lord M.; she could not believe -that she could ever be happier. Any change would be for the worse; and -the worst change of all... no, she would not hear of it; it would be -quite intolerable, it would upset everything, if she were to marry. And -yet everyone seemed to want her to--the general public, the Ministers, -her Saxe-Coburg relations--it was always the same story. Of course, she -knew very well that there were excellent reasons for it. For one thing, -if she remained childless, and were to die, her uncle Cumberland, who -was now the King of Hanover, would succeed to the Throne of England. -That, no doubt, would be a most unpleasant event; and she entirely -sympathised with everybody who wished to avoid it. But there was no -hurry; naturally, she would marry in the end--but not just yet--not for -three or four years. What was tiresome was that her uncle Leopold had -apparently determined, not only that she ought to marry, but that her -cousin Albert ought to be her husband. That was very like her uncle -Leopold, who wanted to have a finger in every pie; and it was true that -long ago, in far-off days, before her accession even, she had written to -him in a way which might well have encouraged him in such a notion. She -had told him then that Albert possessed "every quality that could be -desired to render her perfectly happy," and had begged her "dearest -uncle to take care of the health of one, now so dear to me, and to take -him under your special protection," adding, "I hope and trust all will -go on prosperously and well on this subject of so much importance to -me." But that had been years ago, when she was a mere child; perhaps, -indeed, to judge from the language, the letter had been dictated by -Lehzen; at any rate, her feelings, and all the circumstances, had now -entirely changed. Albert hardly interested her at all. - -In later life the Queen declared that she had never for a moment dreamt -of marrying anyone but her cousin; her letters and diaries tell a very -different story. On August 26, 1837, she wrote in her journal: "To-day -is my dearest cousin Albert's 18th birthday, and I pray Heaven to pour -its choicest blessings on his beloved head!" In the subsequent years, -however, the date passes unnoticed. It had been arranged that Stockmar -should accompany the Prince to Italy, and the faithful Baron left her -side for that purpose. He wrote to her more than once with sympathetic -descriptions of his young companion; but her mind was by this time made -up. She liked and admired Albert very much, but she did not want to -marry him. "At present," she told Lord Melbourne in April, 1839, "my -feeling is quite against ever marrying." When her cousin's Italian tour -came to an end, she began to grow nervous; she knew that, according to a -long-standing engagement, his next journey would be to England. He would -probably arrive in the autumn, and by July her uneasiness was intense. -She determined to write to her uncle, in order to make her position -clear. It must be understood she said, that "there is no no engagement -between us." If she should like Albert, she could "make no final promise -this year, for, at the very earliest, any such event could not take -place till two or three years hence." She had, she said, "a great -repugnance" to change her present position; and, if she should not like -him, she was "very anxious that it should be understood that she would -not be guilty of any breach of promise, for she never gave any." To Lord -Melbourne she was more explicit. She told him that she "had no great -wish to see Albert, as the whole subject was an odious one;" she hated -to have to decide about it; and she repeated once again that seeing -Albert would be "a disagreeable thing." But there was no escaping the -horrid business; the visit must be made, and she must see him. The -summer slipped by and was over; it was the autumn already; on the -evening of October 10 Albert, accompanied by his brother Ernest, arrived -at Windsor. - -Albert arrived; and the whole structure of her existence crumbled into -nothingness like a house of cards. He was beautiful--she gasped--she -knew no more. Then, in a flash, a thousand mysteries were revealed to -her; the past, the present, rushed upon her with a new significance; the -delusions of years were abolished, and an extraordinary, an irresistible -certitude leapt into being in the light of those blue eyes, the smile -of that lovely mouth. The succeeding hours passed in a rapture. She was -able to observe a few more details--the "exquisite nose," the "delicate -moustachios and slight but very slight whiskers," the "beautiful figure, -broad in the shoulders and a fine waist." She rode with him, danced with -him, talked with him, and it was all perfection. She had no shadow of -a doubt. He had come on a Thursday evening, and on the following Sunday -morning she told Lord Melbourne that she had "a good deal changed her -opinion as to marrying." Next morning, she told him that she had made -up her mind to marry Albert. The morning after that, she sent for her -cousin. She received him alone, and "after a few minutes I said to him -that I thought he must be aware why I wished them to come here--and -that it would make me too happy if he would consent to what I wished -(to marry me.)" Then "we embraced each other, and he was so kind, so -affectionate." She said that she was quite unworthy of him, while he -murmured that he would be very happy "Das Leben mit dir zu zubringen." -They parted, and she felt "the happiest of human beings," when Lord M. -came in. At first she beat about the bush, and talked of the weather, -and indifferent subjects. Somehow or other she felt a little nervous -with her old friend. At last, summoning up her courage, she said, "I -have got well through this with Albert." "Oh! you have," said Lord M. - - - -CHAPTER IV. MARRIAGE - -I - -It was decidedly a family match. Prince Francis Charles Augustus Albert -Emmanuel of Saxe-Coburg--Gotha--for such was his full title--had been -born just three months after his cousin Victoria, and the same midwife -had assisted at the two births. The children's grandmother, the Dowager -Duchess of Coburg, had from the first looked forward to their marriage, -as they grew up, the Duke, the Duchess of Kent, and King Leopold came -equally to desire it. The Prince, ever since the time when, as a child -of three, his nurse had told him that some day "the little English May -flower" would be his wife, had never thought of marrying anyone else. -When eventually Baron Stockmar himself signified his assent, the affair -seemed as good as settled. - -The Duke had one other child--Prince Ernest, Albert's senior by one -year, and heir to the principality. The Duchess was a sprightly and -beautiful woman, with fair hair and blue eyes; Albert was very like her -and was her declared favourite. But in his fifth year he was parted from -her for ever. The ducal court was not noted for the strictness of its -morals; the Duke was a man of gallantry, and it was rumoured that the -Duchess followed her husband's example. There were scandals: one of the -Court Chamberlains, a charming and cultivated man of Jewish extraction, -was talked of; at last there was a separation, followed by a divorce. -The Duchess retired to Paris, and died unhappily in 1831. Her memory was -always very dear to Albert. - -He grew up a pretty, clever, and high-spirited boy. Usually -well-behaved, he was, however, sometimes violent. He had a will of -his own, and asserted it; his elder brother was less passionate, less -purposeful, and, in their wrangles, it was Albert who came out top. The -two boys, living for the most part in one or other of the Duke's country -houses, among pretty hills and woods and streams, had been at a very -early age--Albert was less than four--separated from their nurses and -put under a tutor, in whose charge they remained until they went to the -University. They were brought up in a simple and unostentatious manner, -for the Duke was poor and the duchy very small and very insignificant. -Before long it became evident that Albert was a model lad. Intelligent -and painstaking, he had been touched by the moral earnestness of his -generation; at the age of eleven he surprised his father by telling him -that he hoped to make himself "a good and useful man." And yet he was -not over-serious; though, perhaps, he had little humour, he was full -of fun--of practical jokes and mimicry. He was no milksop; he rode, and -shot, and fenced; above all did he delight in being out of doors, and -never was he happier than in his long rambles with his brother through -the wild country round his beloved Rosenau--stalking the deer, admiring -the scenery, and returning laden with specimens for his natural -history collection. He was, besides, passionately fond of music. In one -particular it was observed that he did not take after his father: owing -either to his peculiar upbringing or to a more fundamental idiosyncrasy -he had a marked distaste for the opposite sex. At the age of five, at a -children's dance, he screamed with disgust and anger when a little girl -was led up to him for a partner; and though, later on, he grew more -successful in disguising such feelings, the feelings remained. - -The brothers were very popular in Coburg, and, when the time came for -them to be confirmed, the preliminary examination which, according to -ancient custom, was held in public in the "Giants' Hall" of the -Castle, was attended by an enthusiastic crowd of functionaries, clergy, -delegates from the villages of the duchy, and miscellaneous onlookers. -There were also present, besides the Duke and the Dowager Duchess, their -Serene Highnesses the Princes Alexander and Ernest of Wurtemberg, -Prince Leiningen, Princess Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and Princess -Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst. Dr. Jacobi, the Court chaplain, presided at -an altar, simply but appropriately decorated, which had been placed at -the end of the hall; and the proceedings began by the choir singing the -first verse of the hymn, "Come, Holy Ghost." After some introductory -remarks, Dr. Jacobi began the examination. "The dignified and decorous -bearing of the Princes," we are told in a contemporary account, -"their strict attention to the questions, the frankness, decision, and -correctness of their answers, produced a deep impression on the numerous -assembly. Nothing was more striking in their answers than the evidence -they gave of deep feeling and of inward strength of conviction. The -questions put by the examiner were not such as to be met by a simple -'yes' or 'no.' They were carefully considered in order to give the -audience a clear insight into the views and feelings of,the young -princes. One of the most touching moments was when the examiner asked -the hereditary prince whether he intended steadfastly to hold to the -Evangelical Church, and the Prince answered not only 'Yes!' but added in -a clear and decided tone: 'I and my brother are firmly resolved ever -to remain faithful to the acknowledged truth.' The examination having -lasted an hour, Dr. Jacobi made some concluding observations, followed -by a short prayer; the second and third verses of the opening hymn were -sung; and the ceremony was over. The Princes, stepping down from the -altar, were embraced by the Duke and the Dowager Duchess; after which -the loyal inhabitants of Coburg dispersed, well satisfied with their -entertainment." - -Albert's mental development now proceeded apace. In his seventeenth year -he began a careful study of German literature and German philosophy. -He set about, he told his tutor, "to follow the thoughts of the great -Klopstock into their depths--though in this, for the most part," he -modestly added, "I do not succeed." He wrote an essay on the "Mode -of Thought of the Germans, and a Sketch of the History of German -Civilisation," "making use," he said, "in its general outlines, of -the divisions which the treatment of the subject itself demands," and -concluding with "a retrospect of the shortcomings of our time, with an -appeal to every one to correct those shortcomings in his own case, and -thus set a good example to others." Placed for some months under the -care of King Leopold at Brussels, he came under the influence of Adolphe -Quetelet, a mathematical professor, who was particularly interested -in the application of the laws of probability to political and moral -phenomena; this line of inquiry attracted the Prince, and the friendship -thus begun continued till the end of his life. From Brussels he went to -the University of Bonn, where he was speedily distinguished both by his -intellectual and his social activities; his energies were absorbed -in metaphysics, law, political economy, music, fencing, and amateur -theatricals. Thirty years later his fellow--students recalled with -delight the fits of laughter into which they had been sent by Prince -Albert's mimicry. The verve with which his Serene Highness reproduced -the tones and gestures of one of the professors who used to point to -a picture of a row of houses in Venice with the remark, "That is the -Ponte-Realte," and of another who fell down in a race and was obliged to -look for his spectacles, was especially appreciated. - -After a year at Bonn, the time had come for a foreign tour, and Baron -Stockmar arrived from England to accompany the Prince on an expedition -to Italy. The Baron had been already, two years previously, consulted -by King Leopold as to his views upon the proposed marriage of Albert -and Victoria. His reply had been remarkable. With a characteristic -foresight, a characteristic absence of optimism, a characteristic sense -of the moral elements in the situation, Stockmar had pointed out what -were, in his opinion, the conditions essential to make the marriage a -success. Albert, he wrote, "was a fine young fellow, well grown for his -age, with agreeable and valuable qualities; and it was probable that -in a few years he would turn out a strong handsome man, of a kindly, -simple, yet dignified demeanour. Thus, externally, he possesses -all that pleases the sex, and at all times and in all countries must -please." Supposing, therefore, that Victoria herself was in favour of -the marriage, the further question arose as to whether Albert's mental -qualities were such as to fit him for the position of husband of the -Queen of England. On this point, continued the Baron, one heard much to -his credit; the Prince was said to be discreet and intelligent; but -all such judgments were necessarily partial, and the Baron preferred to -reserve his opinion until he could come to a trustworthy conclusion from -personal observation. And then he added: "But all this is not enough. -The young man ought to have not merely great ability, but a right -ambition, and great force of will as well. To pursue for a lifetime a -political career so arduous demands more than energy and inclination--it -demands also that earnest frame of mind which is ready of its own accord -to sacrifice mere pleasure to real usefulness. If he is not satisfied -hereafter with the consciousness of having achieved one of the most -influential positions in Europe, how often will he feel tempted to -repent his adventure! If he does not from the very outset accept it as a -vocation of grave responsibility, on the efficient performance of -which his honour and happiness depend, there is small likelihood of his -succeeding." - -Such were the views of Stockmar on the qualifications necessary for the -due fulfilment of that destiny which Albert's family had marked out for -him; and he hoped, during the tour in Italy, to come to some conclusion -as to how far the prince possessed them. Albert on his side was much -impressed by the Baron, whom he had previously seen but rarely; he -also became acquainted, for the first time in his life, with a young -Englishman, Lieutenant Francis Seymour, who had been engaged to -accompany him, whom he found sehr liebens-wurdig, and with whom he -struck up a warm friendship. He delighted in the galleries and scenery -of Florence, though with Rome he was less impressed. "But for some -beautiful palaces," he said, "it might just as well be any town in -Germany." In an interview with Pope Gregory XVI, he took the opportunity -of displaying his erudition. When the Pope observed that the Greeks -had taken their art from the Etruscans, Albert replied that, on the -contrary, in his opinion, they had borrowed from the Egyptians: his -Holiness politely acquiesced. Wherever he went he was eager to increase -his knowledge, and, at a ball in Florence, he was observed paying no -attention whatever to the ladies, and deep in conversation with the -learned Signor Capponi. "Voila un prince dont nous pouvons etre fiers," -said the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who was standing by: "la belle danseuse -l'attend, le savant l'occupe." - -On his return to Germany, Stockmar's observations, imparted to King -Leopold, were still critical. Albert, he said, was intelligent, -kind, and amiable; he was full of the best intentions and the noblest -resolutions, and his judgment was in many things beyond his years. But -great exertion was repugnant to him; he seemed to be too willing to -spare himself, and his good resolutions too often came to nothing. It -was particularly unfortunate that he took not the slightest interest -in politics, and never read a newspaper. In his manners, too, there was -still room for improvement. "He will always," said the Baron, "have more -success with men than with women, in whose society he shows too little -empressement, and is too indifferent and retiring." One other feature -of the case was noted by the keen eye of the old physician: the Prince's -constitution was not a strong one. Yet, on the whole, he was favourable -to the projected marriage. But by now the chief obstacle seemed to lie -in another quarter, Victoria was apparently determined to commit herself -to nothing. And so it happened that when Albert went to England he had -made up his mind to withdraw entirely from the affair. Nothing would -induce him, he confessed to a friend, to be kept vaguely waiting; -he would break it all off at once. His reception at Windsor threw an -entirely new light upon the situation. The wheel of fortune turned -with a sudden rapidity; and he found, in the arms of Victoria, the -irrevocable assurance of his overwhelming fate. - -II - -He was not in love with her. Affection, gratitude, the natural reactions -to the unqualified devotion of a lively young cousin who was also -a queen--such feelings possessed him, but the ardours of reciprocal -passion were not his. Though he found that he liked Victoria very much, -what immediately interested him in his curious position was less her -than himself. Dazzled and delighted, riding, dancing, singing, laughing, -amid the splendours of Windsor, he was aware of a new sensation--the -stirrings of ambition in his breast. His place would indeed be a high, -an enviable one! And then, on the instant, came another thought. The -teaching of religion, the admonitions of Stockmar, his own inmost -convictions, all spoke with the same utterance. He would not be there to -please himself, but for a very different purpose--to do good. He must be -"noble, manly, and princely in all things," he would have "to live and -to sacrifice himself for the benefit of his new country;" to "use his -powers and endeavours for a great object--that of promoting the welfare -of multitudes of his fellowmen." One serious thought led on to another. -The wealth and the bustle of the English Court might be delightful for -the moment, but, after all, it was Coburg that had his heart. "While -I shall be untiring," he wrote to his grandmother, "in my efforts and -labours for the country to which I shall in future belong, and where -I am called to so high a position, I shall never cease ein treuer -Deutscher, Coburger, Gothaner zu sein." And now he must part from Coburg -for ever! Sobered and sad, he sought relief in his brother Ernest's -company; the two young men would shut themselves up together, and, -sitting down at the pianoforte, would escape from the present and the -future in the sweet familiar gaiety of a Haydn duet. - -They returned to Germany; and while Albert, for a few farewell months, -enjoyed, for the last time, the happiness of home, Victoria, for the -last time, resumed her old life in London and Windsor. She corresponded -daily with her future husband in a mingled flow of German and English; -but the accustomed routine reasserted itself; the business and the -pleasures of the day would brook no interruption; Lord M. was once -more constantly beside her; and the Tories were as intolerable as ever. -Indeed, they were more so. For now, in these final moments, the old feud -burst out with redoubled fury. The impetuous sovereign found, to her -chagrin, that there might be disadvantages in being the declared enemy -of one of the great parties in the State. On two occasions, the Tories -directly thwarted her in a matter on which she had set her heart. She -wished her husband's rank to be axed by statute, and their opposition -prevented it. She wished her husband to receive a settlement from the -nation of L50,000 a year; and, again owing to the Tories, he was only -allowed L30,000. It was too bad. When the question was discussed in -Parliament, it had been pointed out that the bulk of the population was -suffering from great poverty, and that L30,000 was the whole revenue of -Coburg; but her uncle Leopold had been given L50,000, and it would -be monstrous to give Albert less. Sir Robert Peel--it might have been -expected--had had the effrontery to speak and vote for the smaller sum. -She was very angry; and determined to revenge herself by omitting to -invite a single Tory to her wedding. She would make an exception in -favour of old Lord Liverpool, but even the Duke of Wellington she -refused to ask. When it was represented to her that it would amount to -a national scandal if the Duke were absent from her wedding, she was -angrier than ever. "What! That old rebel! I won't have him:" she -was reported to have said. Eventually she was induced to send him an -invitation; but she made no attempt to conceal the bitterness of her -feelings, and the Duke himself was only too well aware of all that had -passed. - -Nor was it only against the Tories that her irritation rose. As the time -for her wedding approached, her temper grew steadily sharper and -more arbitrary. Queen Adelaide annoyed her. King Leopold, too, was -"ungracious" in his correspondence; "Dear Uncle," she told Albert, "is -given to believe that he must rule the roost everywhere. However," she -added with asperity, "that is not a necessity." Even Albert himself -was not impeccable. Engulfed in Coburgs, he failed to appreciate -the complexity of English affairs. There were difficulties about his -household. He had a notion that he ought not to be surrounded by -violent Whigs; very likely, but he would not understand that the only -alternatives to violent Whigs were violent Tories; and it would be -preposterous if his Lords and Gentlemen were to be found voting against -the Queen's. He wanted to appoint his own Private Secretary. But how -could he choose the right person? Lord M. was obviously best qualified -to make the appointment; and Lord M. had decided that the Prince should -take over his own Private Secretary--George Anson, a staunch Whig. -Albert protested, but it was useless; Victoria simply announced that -Anson was appointed, and instructed Lehzen to send the Prince an -explanation of the details of the case. - -Then, again, he had written anxiously upon the necessity of maintaining -unspotted the moral purity of the Court. Lord M's pupil considered that -dear Albert was strait-laced, and, in a brisk Anglo-German missive, set -forth her own views. "I like Lady A. very much," she told him, "only she -is a little strict awl particular, and too severe towards others, which -is not right; for I think one ought always to be indulgent towards other -people, as I always think, if we had not been well taken care of, we -might also have gone astray. That is always my feeling. Yet it is always -right to show that one does not like to see what is obviously wrong; but -it is very dangerous to be too severe, and I am certain that as a rule -such people always greatly regret that in their youth they have not been -so careful as they ought to have been. I have explained this so badly -and written it so badly, that I fear you will hardly be able to make it -out." - -On one other matter she was insistent. Since the affair of Lady Flora -Hastings, a sad fate had overtaken Sir James Clark. His flourishing -practice had quite collapsed; nobody would go to him any more. But the -Queen remained faithful. She would show the world how little she cared -for their disapproval, and she desired Albert to make "poor Clark" his -physician in ordinary. He did as he was told; but, as it turned out, the -appointment was not a happy one. - -The wedding-day was fixed, and it was time for Albert to tear himself -away from his family and the scenes of his childhood. With an aching -heart, he had revisited his beloved haunts--the woods and the valleys -where he had spent so many happy hours shooting rabbits and collecting -botanical specimens; in deep depression, he had sat through the farewell -banquets in the Palace and listened to the Freischutz performed by -the State band. It was time to go. The streets were packed as he drove -through them; for a short space his eyes were gladdened by a sea of -friendly German faces, and his ears by a gathering volume of good -guttural sounds. He stopped to bid a last adieu to his grandmother. -It was a heartrending moment. "Albert! Albert!" she shrieked, and fell -fainting into the arms of her attendants as his carriage drove away. He -was whirled rapidly to his destiny. At Calais a steamboat awaited him, -and, together with his father and his brother, he stepped, dejected, on -board. A little later, he was more dejected still. The crossing was a -very rough one; the Duke went hurriedly below; while the two Princes, -we are told, lay on either side of the cabin staircase "in an almost -helpless state." At Dover a large crowd was collected on the pier, and -"it was by no common effort that Prince Albert, who had continued to -suffer up to the last moment, got up to bow to the people." His sense -of duty triumphed. It was a curious omen: his whole life in England was -foreshadowed as he landed on English ground. - -Meanwhile Victoria, in growing agitation, was a prey to temper and to -nerves. She grew feverish, and at last Sir James Clark pronounced -that she was going to have the measles. But, once again, Sir James's -diagnosis was incorrect. It was not the measles that were attacking -her, but a very different malady; she was suddenly prostrated by alarm, -regret, and doubt. For two years she had been her own mistress--the two -happiest years, by far, of her life. And now it was all to end! She was -to come under an alien domination--she would have to promise that she -would honour and obey... someone, who might, after all, thwart her, -oppose her--and how dreadful that would be! Why had she embarked on this -hazardous experiment? Why had she not been contented with Lord M.? No -doubt, she loved Albert; but she loved power too. At any rate, one thing -was certain: she might be Albert's wife, but she would always be Queen -of England. He reappeared, in an exquisite uniform, and her hesitations -melted in his presence like mist before the sun. On February 10, 1840, -the marriage took place. The wedded pair drove down to Windsor; but -they were not, of course, entirely alone. They were accompanied by their -suites, and, in particular, by two persons--the Baron Stockmar and the -Baroness Lehzen. - -III - -Albert had foreseen that his married life would not be all plain -sailing; but he had by no means realised the gravity and the -complication of the difficulties which he would have to face. -Politically, he was a cipher. Lord Melbourne was not only Prime -Minister, he was in effect the Private Secretary of the Queen, and thus -controlled the whole of the political existence of the sovereign. A -queen's husband was an entity unknown to the British Constitution. In -State affairs there seemed to be no place for him; nor was Victoria -herself at all unwilling that this should be so. "The English," she had -told the Prince when, during their engagement, a proposal had been made -to give him a peerage, "are very jealous of any foreigner interfering in -the government of this country, and have already in some of the papers -expressed a hope that you would not interfere. Now, though I know you -never would, still, if you were a Peer, they would all say, the Prince -meant to play a political part. I know you never would!" In reality, she -was not quite so certain; but she wished Albert to understand her views. -He would, she hoped, make a perfect husband; but, as for governing the -country, he would see that she and Lord M. between them could manage -that very well, without his help. - -But it was not only in politics that the Prince discovered that the part -cut out for him was a negligible one. Even as a husband, he found, his -functions were to be of an extremely limited kind. Over the whole of -Victoria's private life the Baroness reigned supreme; and she had not -the slightest intention of allowing that supremacy to be diminished by -one iota. Since the accession, her power had greatly increased. Besides -the undefined and enormous influence which she exercised through her -management of the Queen's private correspondence, she was now the -superintendent of the royal establishment and controlled the important -office of Privy Purse. Albert very soon perceived that he was not master -in his own house. Every detail of his own and his wife's existence was -supervised by a third person: nothing could be done until the consent -of Lehzen had first been obtained. And Victoria, who adored Lehzen with -unabated intensity, saw nothing in all this that was wrong. - -Nor was the Prince happier in his social surroundings. A shy young -foreigner, awkward in ladies' company, unexpansive and self-opinionated, -it was improbable that, in any circumstances, he would have been a -society success. His appearance, too, was against him. Though in the -eyes of Victoria he was the mirror of manly beauty, her subjects, whose -eyes were of a less Teutonic cast, did not agree with her. To them--and -particularly to the high-born ladies and gentlemen who naturally saw him -most--what was immediately and distressingly striking in Albert's face -and figure and whole demeanour was his un-English look. His features -were regular, no doubt, but there was something smooth and smug about -them; he was tall, but he was clumsily put together, and he walked with -a slight slouch. Really, they thought, this youth was more like -some kind of foreign tenor than anything else. These were serious -disadvantages; but the line of conduct which the Prince adopted from -the first moment of his arrival was far from calculated to dispel -them. Owing partly to a natural awkwardness, partly to a fear of undue -familiarity, and partly to a desire to be absolutely correct, his -manners were infused with an extraordinary stiffness and formality. -Whenever he appeared in company, he seemed to be surrounded by a thick -hedge of prickly etiquette. He never went out into ordinary society; he -never walked in the streets of London; he was invariably accompanied by -an equerry when he rode or drove. He wanted to be irreproachable and, if -that involved friendlessness, it could not be helped. Besides, he had no -very high opinion of the English. So far as he could see, they cared for -nothing but fox-hunting and Sunday observances; they oscillated between -an undue frivolity and an undue gloom; if you spoke to them of friendly -joyousness they stared; and they did not understand either the Laws of -Thought or the wit of a German University. Since it was clear that with -such people he could have very little in common, there was no reason -whatever for relaxing in their favour the rules of etiquette. In strict -privacy, he could be natural and charming; Seymour and Anson were -devoted to him, and he returned their affection; but they were -subordinates--the receivers of his confidences and the agents of his -will. From the support and the solace of true companionship he was -utterly cut off. - -A friend, indeed, he had--or rather, a mentor. The Baron, established -once more in the royal residence, was determined to work with as -wholehearted a detachment for the Prince's benefit as, more than twenty -years before, he had worked for his uncle's. The situations then and -now, similar in many respects, were yet full of differences. Perhaps in -either case the difficulties to be encountered were equally great; but -the present problem was the more complex and the more interesting. The -young doctor who, unknown and insignificant, had nothing at the back of -him but his own wits and the friendship of an unimportant Prince, had -been replaced by the accomplished confidant of kings and ministers, ripe -in years, in reputation, and in the wisdom of a vast experience. It -was possible for him to treat Albert with something of the affectionate -authority of a father; but, on the other hand, Albert was no Leopold. -As the Baron was very well aware, he had none of his uncle's rigidity of -ambition, none of his overweening impulse to be personally great. He was -virtuous and well-intentioned; he was clever and well-informed; but he -took no interest in politics, and there were no signs that he possessed -any commanding force of character. Left to himself, he would almost -certainly have subsided into a high-minded nonentity, an aimless -dilettante busy over culture, a palace appendage without influence or -power. But he was not left to himself: Stockmar saw to that. For ever -at his pupil's elbow, the hidden Baron pushed him forward, with tireless -pressure, along the path which had been trod by Leopold so many years -ago. But, this time, the goal at the end of it was something more than -the mediocre royalty that Leopold had reached. The prize which Stockmar, -with all the energy of disinterested devotion, had determined should be -Albert's was a tremendous prize indeed. - -The beginning of the undertaking proved to be the most arduous part -of it. Albert was easily dispirited: what was the use of struggling to -perform in a role which bored him and which, it was quite clear, nobody -but the dear good Baron had any desire that he should take up? It was -simpler, and it saved a great deal of trouble, to let things slide. -But Stockmar would not have it. Incessantly, he harped upon two -strings--Albert's sense of duty and his personal pride. Had the Prince -forgotten the noble aims to which his life was to be devoted? And was he -going to allow himself, his wife, his family, his whole existence, to be -governed by Baroness Lehzen? The latter consideration was a potent one. -Albert had never been accustomed to giving way; and now, more than ever -before, it would be humiliating to do so. Not only was he constantly -exasperated by the position of the Baroness in the royal household; -there was another and a still more serious cause of complaint. He was, -he knew very well, his wife's intellectual superior, and yet he found, -to his intense annoyance, that there were parts of her mind over which -he exercised no influence. When, urged on by the Baron, he attempted -to discuss politics with Victoria, she eluded the subject, drifted into -generalities, and then began to talk of something else. She was treating -him as she had once treated their uncle Leopold. When at last he -protested, she replied that her conduct was merely the result of -indolence; that when she was with him she could not bear to bother her -head with anything so dull as politics. The excuse was worse than the -fault: was he the wife and she the husband? It almost seemed so. But the -Baron declared that the root of the mischief was Lehzen: that it was she -who encouraged the Queen to have secrets; who did worse--undermined -the natural ingenuousness of Victoria, and induced her to give, -unconsciously no doubt, false reasons to explain away her conduct. - -Minor disagreements made matters worse. The royal couple differed in -their tastes. Albert, brought up in a regime of Spartan simplicity and -early hours, found the great Court functions intolerably wearisome, -and was invariably observed to be nodding on the sofa at half-past ten; -while the Queen's favourite form of enjoyment was to dance through the -night, and then, going out into the portico of the Palace, watch the sun -rise behind St. Paul's and the towers of Westminster. She loved London -and he detested it. It was only in Windsor that he felt he could really -breathe; but Windsor too had its terrors: though during the day there -he could paint and walk and play on the piano, after dinner black tedium -descended like a pall. He would have liked to summon distinguished -scientific and literary men to his presence, and after ascertaining -their views upon various points of art and learning, to set forth his -own; but unfortunately Victoria "had no fancy to encourage such people;" -knowing that she was unequal to taking a part in their conversation, -she insisted that the evening routine should remain unaltered; the -regulation interchange of platitudes with official persons was followed -as usual by the round table and the books of engravings, while the -Prince, with one of his attendants, played game after game of double -chess. - -It was only natural that in so peculiar a situation, in which the -elements of power, passion, and pride were so strangely apportioned, -there should have been occasionally something more than mere -irritation--a struggle of angry wills. Victoria, no more than Albert, -was in the habit of playing second fiddle. Her arbitrary temper flashed -out. Her vitality, her obstinacy, her overweening sense of her own -position, might well have beaten down before them his superiorities and -his rights. But she fought at a disadvantage; she was, in very truth, no -longer her own mistress; a profound preoccupation dominated her, seizing -upon her inmost purposes for its own extraordinary ends. She was madly -in love. The details of those curious battles are unknown to us; but -Prince Ernest, who remained in England with his brother for some -months, noted them with a friendly and startled eye. One story, indeed, -survives, ill-authenticated and perhaps mythical, yet summing up, as -such stories often do, the central facts of the case. When, in wrath, -the Prince one day had locked himself into his room, Victoria, no less -furious, knocked on the door to be admitted. "Who is there?" he asked. -"The Queen of England" was the answer. He did not move, and again there -was a hail of knocks. The question and the answer were repeated many -times; but at last there was a pause, and then a gentler knocking. "Who -is there?" came once more the relentless question. But this time the -reply was different. "Your wife, Albert." And the door was immediately -opened. - -Very gradually the Prince's position changed. He began to find the study -of politics less uninteresting than he had supposed; he read Blackstone, -and took lessons in English Law; he was occasionally present when the -Queen interviewed her Ministers; and at Lord Melbourne's suggestion he -was shown all the despatches relating to Foreign Affairs. Sometimes -he would commit his views to paper, and read them aloud to the Prime -Minister, who, infinitely kind and courteous, listened with attention, -but seldom made any reply. An important step was taken when, before -the birth of the Princess Royal, the Prince, without any opposition -in Parliament, was appointed Regent in case of the death of the Queen. -Stockmar, owing to whose intervention with the Tories this happy result -had been brought about, now felt himself at liberty to take a holiday -with his family in Coburg; but his solicitude, poured out in innumerable -letters, still watched over his pupil from afar. "Dear Prince," he -wrote, "I am satisfied with the news you have sent me. Mistakes, -misunderstandings, obstructions, which come in vexatious opposition -to one's views, are always to be taken for just what they are--namely, -natural phenomena of life, which represent one of its sides, and -that the shady one. In overcoming them with dignity, your mind has to -exercise, to train, to enlighten itself; and your character to gain -force, endurance, and the necessary hardness." The Prince had done well -so far; but he must continue in the right path; above all, he was "never -to relax." "Never to relax in putting your magnanimity to the proof; -never to relax in logical separation of what is great and essential from -what is trivial and of no moment; never to relax in keeping yourself -up to a high standard--in the determination, daily renewed, to be -consistent, patient, courageous." It was a hard programme perhaps, for a -young man of twenty-one; and yet there was something in it which touched -the very depths of Albert's soul. He sighed, but he listened--listened -as to the voice of a spiritual director inspired with divine truth. "The -stars which are needful to you now," the voice continued, "and perhaps -for some time to come, are Love, Honesty, Truth. All those whose minds -are warped, or who are destitute of true feeling, will BE APT TO MISTAKE -YOU, and to persuade themselves and the world that you are not the man -you are--or, at least, may become... Do you, therefore, be on the alert -be times, with your eyes open in every direction... I wish for my Prince -a great, noble, warm, and true heart, such as shall serve as the richest -and surest basis for the noblest views of human nature, and the firmest -resolve to give them development." - -Before long, the decisive moment came. There was a General Election, and -it became certain that the Tories, at last, must come into power. The -Queen disliked them as much as ever; but, with a large majority in the -House of Commons, they would now be in a position to insist upon their -wishes being attended to. Lord Melbourne himself was the first to -realise the importance of carrying out the inevitable transition with as -little friction as possible; and with his consent, the Prince, following -up the rapprochement which had begun over the Regency Act, opened, -through Anson, a negotiation with Sir Robert Peel. In a series of secret -interviews, a complete understanding was reached upon the difficult -and complex question of the Bedchamber. It was agreed that the -constitutional point should not be raised, but that on the formation of -the Tory Government, the principal Whig ladies should retire, and their -places be filled by others appointed by Sir Robert. Thus, in effect, -though not in form, the Crown abandoned the claims of 1839, and they -have never been subsequently put forward. The transaction was a turning -point in the Prince's career. He had conducted an important negotiation -with skill and tact; he had been brought into close and friendly -relations with the new Prime Minister; it was obvious that a great -political future lay before him. Victoria was much impressed and deeply -grateful. "My dearest Angel," she told King Leopold, "is indeed a great -comfort to me. He takes the greatest interest in what goes on, feeling -with and for me, and yet abstaining as he ought from biasing me either -way, though we talk much on the subject, and his judgment is, as you -say, good and mild." She was in need of all the comfort and assistance -he could give her. Lord M. was going, and she could hardly bring herself -to speak to Peel. Yes; she would discuss everything with Albert now! - -Stockmar, who had returned to England, watched the departure of Lord -Melbourne with satisfaction. If all went well, the Prince should now -wield a supreme political influence over Victoria. But would all go -well?? An unexpected development put the Baron into a serious fright. -When the dreadful moment finally came, and the Queen, in anguish, bade -adieu to her beloved Minister, it was settled between them that, though -it would be inadvisable to meet very often, they could continue to -correspond. Never were the inconsistencies of Lord Melbourne's character -shown more clearly than in what followed. So long as he was in office, -his attitude towards Peel had been irreproachable; he had done all he -could to facilitate the change of government, he had even, through more -than one channel, transmitted privately to his successful rival advice -as to the best means of winning the Queen's good graces. Yet, no sooner -was he in opposition than his heart failed him. He could not bear the -thought of surrendering altogether the privilege and the pleasure of -giving counsel to Victoria--of being cut off completely from the power -and the intimacy which had been his for so long and in such abundant -measure. Though he had declared that he would be perfectly discreet in -his letters, he could not resist taking advantage of the opening they -afforded. He discussed in detail various public questions, and, in -particular, gave the Queen a great deal of advice in the matter of -appointments. This advice was followed. Lord Melbourne recommended -that Lord Heytesbury, who, he said, was an able man, should be made -Ambassador at Vienna; and a week later the Queen wrote to the Foreign -Secretary urging that Lord Heytesbury, whom she believed to be a very -able man, should be employed "on some important mission." Stockmar -was very much alarmed. He wrote a memorandum, pointing out the -unconstitutional nature of Lord Melbourne's proceedings and the -unpleasant position in which the Queen might find herself if they were -discovered by Peel; and he instructed Anson to take this memorandum to -the ex-Minister. Lord Melbourne, lounging on a sofa, read it through -with compressed lips. "This is quite an apple-pie opinion," he said. -When Anson ventured to expostulate further, suggesting that it was -unseemly in the leader of the Opposition to maintain an intimate -relationship with the Sovereign, the old man lost his temper. "God -eternally damn it!" he exclaimed, leaping up from his sofa, and dashing -about the room. "Flesh and blood cannot stand this!" He continued to -write to the Queen, as before; and two more violent bombardments from -the Baron were needed before he was brought to reason. Then, gradually, -his letters grew less and less frequent, with fewer and fewer references -to public concerns; at last, they were entirely innocuous. The Baron -smiled; Lord M. had accepted the inevitable. - -The Whig Ministry resigned in September, 1841; but more than a year -was to elapse before another and an equally momentous change was -effected--the removal of Lehzen. For, in the end, the mysterious -governess was conquered. The steps are unknown by which Victoria was at -last led to accept her withdrawal with composure--perhaps with relief; -but it is clear that Albert's domestic position must have been greatly -strengthened by the appearance of children. The birth of the Princess -Royal had been followed in November, 1841, by that of the Prince of -Wales; and before very long another baby was expected. The Baroness, -with all her affection, could have but a remote share in such family -delights. She lost ground perceptibly. It was noticed as a phenomenon -that, once or twice, when the Court travelled, she was left behind at -Windsor. The Prince was very cautious; at the change of Ministry, Lord -Melbourne had advised him to choose that moment for decisive action; -but he judged it wiser to wait. Time and the pressure of inevitable -circumstances were for him; every day his predominance grew more -assured--and every night. At length he perceived that he need hesitate -no longer--that every wish, every velleity of his had only to be -expressed to be at once Victoria's. He spoke, and Lehzen vanished for -ever. No more would she reign in that royal heart and those royal halls. -No more, watching from a window at Windsor, would she follow her pupil -and her sovereign walking on the terrace among the obsequious multitude, -with the eye of triumphant love. Returning to her native Hanover she -established herself at Buckeburg in a small but comfortable house, the -walls of which were entirely covered by portraits of Her Majesty. The -Baron, in spite of his dyspepsia, smiled again: Albert was supreme. - - - -IV - -The early discords had passed away completely--resolved into the -absolute harmony of married life. Victoria, overcome by a new, an -unimagined revelation, had surrendered her whole soul to her husband. -The beauty and the charm which so suddenly had made her his at first -were, she now saw, no more than but the outward manifestation of the -true Albert. There was an inward beauty, an inward glory which, blind -that she was, she had then but dimly apprehended, but of which now she -was aware in every fibre of her being--he was good--he was great! How -could she ever have dreamt of setting up her will against his wisdom, -her ignorance against his knowledge, her fancies against his perfect -taste? Had she really once loved London and late hours and dissipation? -She who now was only happy in the country, she who jumped out of bed -every morning--oh, so early!--with Albert, to take a walk, before -breakfast, with Albert alone! How wonderful it was to be taught by him! -To be told by him which trees were which; and to learn all about the -bees! And then to sit doing cross-stitch while he read aloud to her -Hallam's Constitutional History of England! Or to listen to him playing -on his new organ 'The organ is the first of instruments,' he said; or -to sing to him a song by Mendelssohn, with a great deal of care over -the time and the breathing, and only a very occasional false note! And, -after dinner, to--oh, how good of him! He had given up his double chess! -And so there could be round games at the round table, or everyone could -spend the evening in the most amusing way imaginable--spinning counters -and rings.' When the babies came it was still more wonderful. Pussy was -such a clever little girl ("I am not Pussy! I am the Princess Royal!" -she had angrily exclaimed on one occasion); and Bertie--well, she could -only pray MOST fervently that the little Prince of Wales would grow up -to "resemble his angelic dearest Father in EVERY, EVERY respect, both in -body and mind." Her dear Mamma, too, had been drawn once more into the -family circle, for Albert had brought about a reconciliation, and the -departure of Lehzen had helped to obliterate the past. In Victoria's -eyes, life had become an idyll, and, if the essential elements of an -idyll are happiness, love and simplicity, an idyll it was; though, -indeed, it was of a kind that might have disconcerted Theocritus. -"Albert brought in dearest little Pussy," wrote Her Majesty in her -journal, "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." - -The past--the past of only three years since--when she looked back upon -it, seemed a thing so remote and alien that she could explain it to -herself in no other way than as some kind of delusion--an unfortunate -mistake. Turning over an old volume of her diary, she came upon this -sentence--"As for 'the confidence of the Crown,' God knows! No MINISTER, -NO FRIEND, EVER possessed it so entirely as this truly excellent Lord -Melbourne possesses mine!" A pang shot through her--she seized a -pen, and wrote upon the margin--"Reading this again, I cannot forbear -remarking what an artificial sort of happiness MINE was THEN, and what -a blessing it is I have now in my beloved Husband REAL and solid -happiness, which no Politics, no worldly reverses CAN change; it could -not have lasted long as it was then, for after all, kind and excellent -as Lord M. is, and kind as he was to me, it was but in Society that I -had amusement, and I was only living on that superficial resource, which -I THEN FANCIED was happiness! Thank God! for ME and others, this is -changed, and I KNOW WHAT REAL HAPPINESS IS--V. R." How did she know? -What is the distinction between happiness that is real and happiness -that is felt? So a philosopher--Lord M. himself perhaps--might have -inquired. But she was no philosopher, and Lord M. was a phantom, and -Albert was beside her, and that was enough. - -Happy, certainly, she was; and she wanted everyone to know it. Her -letters to King Leopold are sprinkled thick with raptures. "Oh! my -dearest uncle, I am sure if you knew HOW happy, how blessed I feel, and -how PROUD I feel in possessing SUCH a perfect being as my husband..." -such ecstasies seemed to gush from her pen unceasingly and almost -of their own accord. When, one day, without thinking, Lady Lyttelton -described someone to her as being "as happy as a queen," and then grew -a little confused, "Don't correct yourself, Lady Lyttelton," said Her -Majesty. "A queen IS a very happy woman." - -But this new happiness was no lotus dream. On the contrary, it was -bracing, rather than relaxing. Never before had she felt so acutely the -necessity for doing her duty. She worked more methodically than ever -at the business of State; she watched over her children with untiring -vigilance. She carried on a large correspondence; she was occupied with -her farm--her dairy--a whole multitude of household avocations--from -morning till night. Her active, eager little body hurrying with quick -steps after the long strides of Albert down the corridors and avenues -of Windsor, seemed the very expression of her spirit. Amid all the -softness, the deliciousness of unmixed joy, all the liquescence, the -overflowings of inexhaustible sentiment, her native rigidity remained. -"A vein of iron," said Lady Lyttelton, who, as royal governess, had good -means of observation, "runs through her most extraordinary character." -Sometimes the delightful routine of domestic existence had to be -interrupted. It was necessary to exchange Windsor for Buckingham -Palace, to open Parliament, or to interview official personages, or, -occasionally, to entertain foreign visitors at the Castle. Then the -quiet Court put on a sudden magnificence, and sovereigns from over -the seas--Louis Philippe, or the King of Prussia, or the King of -Saxony--found at Windsor an entertainment that was indeed a royal one. -Few spectacles in Europe, it was agreed, produced an effect so imposing -as the great Waterloo banqueting hall, crowded with guests in sparkling -diamonds and blazing uniforms, the long walls hung with the stately -portraits of heroes, and the tables loaded with the gorgeous gold plate -of the kings of England. But, in that wealth of splendour, the most -imposing spectacle of all was the Queen. The little hausfrau, who had -spent the day before walking out with her children, inspecting her -livestock, practicing shakes at the piano, and filling up her journal -with adoring descriptions of her husband, suddenly shone forth, without -art, without effort, by a spontaneous and natural transition, the very -culmination of Majesty. The Tsar of Russia himself was deeply impressed. -Victoria on her side viewed with secret awe the tremendous Nicholas. "A -great event and a great compliment HIS visit certainly is," she told -her uncle, "and the people HERE are extremely flattered at it. He is -certainly a VERY STRIKING man; still very handsome. His profile is -BEAUTIFUL and his manners MOST dignified and graceful; extremely -civil--quite alarmingly so, as he is so full of attentions and -POLITENESS. But the expression of the EYES is FORMIDABLE and unlike -anything I ever saw before." She and Albert and "the good King of -Saxony," who happened to be there at the same time, and whom, she said, -"we like much--he is so unassuming-" drew together like tame villatic -fowl in the presence of that awful eagle. When he was gone, they -compared notes about his face, his unhappiness, and his despotic power -over millions. Well! She for her part could not help pitying him, and -she thanked God she was Queen of England. - -When the time came for returning some of these visits, the royal pair -set forth in their yacht, much to Victoria's satisfaction. "I do love a -ship!" she exclaimed, ran up and down ladders with the greatest agility, -and cracked jokes with the sailors. The Prince was more aloof. They -visited Louis Philippe at the Chateau d'Eu; they visited King Leopold in -Brussels. It happened that a still more remarkable Englishwoman was in -the Belgian capital, but she was not remarked; and Queen Victoria passed -unknowing before the steady gaze of one of the mistresses in M. Heger's -pensionnat. "A little stout, vivacious lady, very plainly dressed--not -much dignity or pretension about her," was Charlotte Bronte's comment -as the royal carriage and six flashed by her, making her wait on the -pavement for a moment, and interrupting the train of her reflections. -Victoria was in high spirits, and even succeeded in instilling a little -cheerfulness into her uncle's sombre Court. King Leopold, indeed, was -perfectly contented. His dearest hopes had been fulfilled; all his -ambitions were satisfied; and for the rest of his life he had only to -enjoy, in undisturbed decorum, his throne, his respectability, the table -of precedence, and the punctual discharge of his irksome duties. -But unfortunately the felicity of those who surrounded him was less -complete. His Court, it was murmured, was as gloomy as a conventicle, -and the most dismal of all the sufferers was his wife. "Pas de -plaisanteries, madame!" he had exclaimed to the unfortunate successor of -the Princess Charlotte, when, in the early days of their marriage, she -had attempted a feeble joke. Did she not understand that the consort -of a constitutional sovereign must not be frivolous? She understood, at -last, only too well; and when the startled walls of the state apartments -re-echoed to the chattering and the laughter of Victoria, the poor lady -found that she had almost forgotten how to smile. - -Another year, Germany was visited, and Albert displayed the beauties of -his home. When Victoria crossed the frontier, she was much excited--and -she was astonished as well. "To hear the people speak German," she noted -in her diary, "and to see the German soldiers, etc., seemed to me -so singular." Having recovered from this slight shock, she found the -country charming. She was feted everywhere, crowds of the surrounding -royalties swooped down to welcome her, and the prettiest groups of -peasant children, dressed in their best clothes, presented her with -bunches of flowers. The principality of Coburg, with its romantic -scenery and its well-behaved inhabitants, particularly delighted her; -and when she woke up one morning to find herself in "dear Rosenau, my -Albert's birthplace," it was "like a beautiful dream." On her return -home, she expatiated, in a letter to King Leopold, upon the pleasures -of the trip, dwelling especially upon the intensity of her affection for -Albert's native land. "I have a feeling," she said, "for our dear little -Germany, which I cannot describe. I felt it at Rosenau so much. It is -a something which touches me, and which goes to my heart, and makes me -inclined to cry. I never felt at any other place that sort of pensive -pleasure and peace which I felt there. I fear I almost like it too -much." - -V - -The husband was not so happy as the wife. In spite of the great -improvement in his situation, in spite of a growing family and the -adoration of Victoria, Albert was still a stranger in a strange land, -and the serenity of spiritual satisfaction was denied him. It was -something, no doubt, to have dominated his immediate environment; but it -was not enough; and, besides, in the very completeness of his success, -there was a bitterness. Victoria idolised him; but it was understanding -that he craved for, not idolatry; and how much did Victoria, filled -to the brim though she was with him, understand him? How much does the -bucket understand the well? He was lonely. He went to his organ and -improvised with learned modulations until the sounds, swelling and -subsiding through elaborate cadences, brought some solace to his heart. -Then, with the elasticity of youth, he hurried off to play with the -babies, or to design a new pigsty, or to read aloud the "Church History -of Scotland" to Victoria, or to pirouette before her on one toe, like a -ballet-dancer, with a fixed smile, to show her how she ought to behave -when she appeared in public places. Thus did he amuse himself; but there -was one distraction in which he did not indulge. He never flirted--no, -not with the prettiest ladies of the Court. When, during their -engagement, the Queen had remarked with pride to Lord Melbourne that -the Prince paid no attention to any other woman, the cynic had answered, -"No, that sort of thing is apt to come later;" upon which she had -scolded him severely, and then hurried off to Stockmar to repeat what -Lord M. had said. But the Baron had reassured her; though in other -cases, he had replied, that might happen, he did not think it would -in Albert's. And the Baron was right. Throughout their married life no -rival female charms ever had cause to give Victoria one moment's pang of -jealousy. - -What more and more absorbed him--bringing with it a curious comfort of -its own--was his work. With the advent of Peel, he began to intervene -actively in the affairs of the State. In more ways than one--in the cast -of their intelligence, in their moral earnestness, even in the uneasy -formalism of their manners--the two men resembled each other; there was -a sympathy between them; and thus Peel was ready enough to listen to the -advice of Stockmar, and to urge the Prince forward into public life. -A royal commission was about to be formed to enquire whether advantage -might not be taken of the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament to -encourage the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; and Peel, with great -perspicacity, asked the Prince to preside over it. The work was of a -kind which precisely suited Albert: his love of art, his love of method, -his love of coming into contact--close yet dignified--with distinguished -men--it satisfied them all; and he threw himself into it con amore. -Some of the members of the commission were somewhat alarmed when, in his -opening speech, he pointed out the necessity of dividing the subjects -to be considered into "categories-" the word, they thought, smacked -dangerously of German metaphysics; but their confidence returned when -they observed His Royal Highness's extraordinary technical acquaintance -with the processes of fresco painting. When the question arose as to -whether the decorations upon the walls of the new buildings should, -or should not, have a moral purpose, the Prince spoke strongly for the -affirmative. Although many, he observed, would give but a passing glance -to the works, the painter was not therefore to forget that others -might view them with more thoughtful eyes. This argument convinced the -commission, and it was decided that the subjects to be depicted should -be of an improving nature. The frescoes were carried out in accordance -with the commission's instructions, but unfortunately before very long -they had become, even to the most thoughtful eyes, totally invisible. -It seems that His Royal Highness's technical acquaintance with the -processes of fresco painting was incomplete! - -The next task upon which the Prince embarked was a more arduous one: -he determined to reform the organisation of the royal household. This -reform had been long overdue. For years past the confusion, discomfort, -and extravagance in the royal residences, and in Buckingham Palace -particularly, had been scandalous; no reform had been practicable under -the rule of the Baroness; but her functions had now devolved upon -the Prince, and in 1844, he boldly attacked the problem. Three years -earlier, Stockmar, after careful enquiry, had revealed in an elaborate -memorandum an extraordinary state of affairs. The control of the -household, it appeared, was divided in the strangest manner between a -number of authorities, each independent of the other, each possessed -of vague and fluctuating powers, without responsibility, and without -co-ordination. Of these authorities, the most prominent were the Lord -Steward and the Lord Chamberlain--noblemen of high rank and political -importance, who changed office with every administration, who did not -reside with the Court, and had no effective representatives attached -to it. The distribution of their respective functions was uncertain -and peculiar. In Buckingham Palace, it was believed that the Lord -Chamberlain had charge of the whole of the rooms, with the exception of -the kitchen, sculleries, and pantries, which were claimed by the Lord -Steward. At the same time, the outside of the Palace was under the -control of neither of these functionaries--but of the Office of Woods -and Forests; and thus, while the insides of the windows were cleaned by -the Department of the Lord Chamberlain--or possibly, in certain cases, -of the Lord Steward--the Office of Woods and Forests cleaned their -outsides. Of the servants, the housekeepers, the pages, and the -housemaids were under the authority of the Lord Chamberlain; the clerk -of the kitchen, the cooks, and the porters were under that of the Lord -Steward; but the footmen, the livery-porters, and the under-butlers -took their orders from yet another official--the Master of the Horse. -Naturally, in these circumstances the service was extremely defective -and the lack of discipline among the servants disgraceful. They absented -themselves for as long as they pleased and whenever the fancy took -them; "and if," as the Baron put it, "smoking, drinking, and other -irregularities occur in the dormitories, where footmen, etc., sleep -ten and twelve in each room, no one can help it." As for Her Majesty's -guests, there was nobody to show them to their rooms, and they were -often left, having utterly lost their way in the complicated passages, -to wander helpless by the hour. The strange divisions of authority -extended not only to persons but to things. The Queen observed that -there was never a fire in the dining-room. She enquired why. The answer -was "the Lord Steward lays the fire, and the Lord Chamberlain lights -it;" the underlings of those two great noblemen having failed to come -to an accommodation, there was no help for it--the Queen must eat in the -cold. - -A surprising incident opened everyone's eyes to the confusion and -negligence that reigned in the Palace. A fortnight after the birth of -the Princess Royal the nurse heard a suspicious noise in the room next -to the Queen's bedroom. She called to one of the pages, who, looking -under a large sofa, perceived there a crouching figure "with a most -repulsive appearance." It was "the boy Jones." This enigmatical -personage, whose escapades dominated the newspapers for several ensuing -months, and whose motives and character remained to the end ambiguous, -was an undersized lad of 17, the son of a tailor, who had apparently -gained admittance to the Palace by climbing over the garden wall and -walking in through an open window. Two years before he had paid a -similar visit in the guise of a chimney-sweep. He now declared that he -had spent three days in the Palace, hiding under various beds, that he -had "helped himself to soup and other eatables," and that he had "sat -upon the throne, seen the Queen, and heard the Princess Royal squall." -Every detail of the strange affair was eagerly canvassed. The Times -reported that the boy Jones had "from his infancy been fond of reading," -but that "his countenance is exceedingly sullen." It added: "The sofa -under which the boy Jones was discovered, we understand, is one of -the most costly and magnificent material and workmanship, and ordered -expressly for the accommodation of the royal and illustrious visitors -who call to pay their respects to Her Majesty." The culprit was sent -for three months to the "House of Correction." When he emerged, he -immediately returned to Buckingham Palace. He was discovered, and sent -back to the "House of Correction" for another three months, after which -he was offered L4 a week by a music hall to appear upon the stage. -He refused this offer, and shortly afterwards was found by the police -loitering round Buckingham Palace. The authorities acted vigorously, -and, without any trial or process of law, shipped the boy Jones off to -sea. A year later his ship put into Portsmouth to refit, and he at once -disembarked and walked to London. He was re-arrested before he reached -the Palace, and sent back to his ship, the Warspite. On this occasion it -was noticed that he had "much improved in personal appearance and grown -quite corpulent;" and so the boy Jones passed out of history, though -we catch one last glimpse of him in 1844 falling overboard in the -night between Tunis and Algiers. He was fished up again; but it was -conjectured--as one of the Warspite's officers explained in a letter -to The Times--that his fall had not been accidental, but that he -had deliberately jumped into the Mediterranean in order to "see the -life-buoy light burning." Of a boy with such a record, what else could -be supposed? - -But discomfort and alarm were not the only results of the mismanagement -of the household; the waste, extravagance, and peculation that also -flowed from it were immeasurable. There were preposterous perquisites -and malpractices of every kind. It was, for instance, an ancient and -immutable rule that a candle that had once been lighted should never be -lighted again; what happened to the old candles, nobody knew. Again, the -Prince, examining the accounts, was puzzled by a weekly expenditure of -thirty-five shillings on "Red Room Wine." He enquired into the matter, -and after great difficulty discovered that in the time of George III -a room in Windsor Castle with red hangings had once been used as a -guard-room, and that five shillings a day had been allowed to provide -wine for the officers. The guard had long since been moved elsewhere, -but the payment for wine in the Red Room continued, the money being -received by a half-pay officer who held the sinecure position of -under-butler. - -After much laborious investigation, and a stiff struggle with the -multitude of vested interests which had been brought into being by long -years of neglect, the Prince succeeded in effecting a complete reform. -The various conflicting authorities were induced to resign their powers -into the hands of a single official, the Master of the Household, who -became responsible for the entire management of the royal palaces. Great -economies were made, and the whole crowd of venerable abuses was swept -away. Among others, the unlucky half-pay officer of the Red Room was, -much to his surprise, given the choice of relinquishing his weekly -emolument or of performing the duties of an under-butler. Even the -irregularities among the footmen, etc., were greatly diminished. There -were outcries and complaints; the Prince was accused of meddling, of -injustice, and of saving candle-ends; but he held on his course, and -before long the admirable administration of the royal household was -recognised as a convincing proof of his perseverance and capacity. - -At the same time his activity was increasing enormously in a more -important sphere. He had become the Queen's Private Secretary, her -confidential adviser, her second self. He was now always present at her -interviews with Ministers. He took, like the Queen, a special interest -in foreign policy; but there was no public question in which his -influence was not felt. A double process was at work; while Victoria -fell more and more absolutely under his intellectual predominance, he, -simultaneously, grew more and more completely absorbed by the machinery -of high politics--the incessant and multifarious business of a great -State. Nobody any more could call him a dilettante; he was a worker, -a public personage, a man of affairs. Stockmar noted the change with -exultation. "The Prince," he wrote, "has improved very much lately. -He has evidently a head for politics. He has become, too, far more -independent. His mental activity is constantly on the increase, and he -gives the greater part of his time to business, without complaining." - -"The relations between husband and wife," added the Baron, "are all one -could desire." - -Long before Peel's ministry came to an end, there had been a complete -change in Victoria's attitude towards him. His appreciation of the -Prince had softened her heart; the sincerity and warmth of his nature, -which, in private intercourse with those whom he wished to please, had -the power of gradually dissipating the awkwardness of his manners, -did the rest. She came in time to regard him with intense feelings of -respect and attachment. She spoke of "our worthy Peel," for whom, she -said, she had "an EXTREME admiration" and who had shown himself "a man -of unbounded LOYALTY, COURAGE patriotism, and HIGH-MINDEDNESS, and his -conduct towards me has been CHIVALROUS almost, I might say." She dreaded -his removal from office almost as frantically as she had once dreaded -that of Lord M. It would be, she declared, a GREAT CALAMITY. Six years -before, what would she have said, if a prophet had told her that the day -would come when she would be horrified by the triumph of the Whigs? Yet -there was no escaping it; she had to face the return of her old -friends. In the ministerial crises of 1845 and 1846, the Prince played a -dominating part. Everybody recognised that he was the real centre of the -negotiations--the actual controller of the forces and the functions -of the Crown. The process by which this result was reached had been so -gradual as to be almost imperceptible; but it may be said with certainty -that, by the close of Peel's administration, Albert had become, in -effect, the King of England. - - - -VI - -With the final emergence of the Prince came the final extinction of Lord -Melbourne. A year after his loss of office, he had been struck down by -a paralytic seizure; he had apparently recovered, but his old elasticity -had gone for ever. Moody, restless, and unhappy, he wandered like a -ghost about the town, bursting into soliloquies in public places, or -asking odd questions, suddenly, a propos de bottes. "I'll be hanged if -I do it for you, my Lord," he was heard to say in the hall at Brooks's, -standing by himself, and addressing the air after much thought. "Don't -you consider," he abruptly asked a fellow-guest at Lady Holland's, -leaning across the dinner-table in a pause of the conversation, "that -it was a most damnable act of Henri Quatre to change his religion with -a view to securing the Crown?" He sat at home, brooding for hours in -miserable solitude. He turned over his books--his classics and his -Testaments--but they brought him no comfort at all. He longed for the -return of the past, for the impossible, for he knew not what, for the -devilries of Caro, for the happy platitudes of Windsor. His friends had -left him, and no wonder, he said in bitterness--the fire was out. He -secretly hoped for a return to power, scanning the newspapers with -solicitude, and occasionally making a speech in the House of Lords. His -correspondence with the Queen continued, and he appeared from time to -time at Court; but he was a mere simulacrum of his former self; "the -dream," wrote Victoria, "is past." As for his political views, they -could no longer be tolerated. The Prince was an ardent Free Trader, and -so, of course, was the Queen; and when, dining at Windsor at the time of -the repeal of the Corn Laws, Lord Melbourne suddenly exclaimed, "Ma'am, -it's a damned dishonest act!" everyone was extremely embarrassed. Her -Majesty laughed and tried to change the conversation, but without avail; -Lord Melbourne returned to the charge again and again with--"I say, -Ma'am, it's damned dishonest!"--until the Queen said "Lord Melbourne, I -must beg you not to say anything more on this subject now;" and then -he held his tongue. She was kind to him, writing him long letters, and -always remembering his birthday; but it was kindness at a distance, and -he knew it. He had become "poor Lord Melbourne." A profound disquietude -devoured him. He tried to fix his mind on the condition of Agriculture -and the Oxford Movement. He wrote long memoranda in utterly -undecipherable handwriting. He was convinced that he had lost all his -money, and could not possibly afford to be a Knight of the Garter. He -had run through everything, and yet--if Peel went out, he might be sent -for--why not? He was never sent for. The Whigs ignored him in their -consultations, and the leadership of the party passed to Lord -John Russell. When Lord John became Prime Minister, there was much -politeness, but Lord Melbourne was not asked to join the Cabinet. He -bore the blow with perfect amenity; but he understood, at last, that -that was the end. - -For two years more he lingered, sinking slowly into unconsciousness and -imbecility. Sometimes, propped up in his chair, he would be heard to -murmur, with unexpected appositeness, the words of Samson:-- - - "So much I feel my general spirit droop, - My hopes all flat, nature within me seems, - In all her functions weary of herself, - My race of glory run, and race of shame, - And I shall shortly be with them that rest." - -A few days before his death, Victoria, learning that there was no hope -of his recovery, turned her mind for a little towards that which had -once been Lord M. "You will grieve to hear," she told King Leopold, -"that our good, dear, old friend Melbourne is dying... One cannot -forget how good and kind and amiable he was, and it brings back so many -recollections to my mind, though, God knows! I never wish that time back -again." - -She was in little danger. The tide of circumstance was flowing now -with irresistible fullness towards a very different consummation. -The seriousness of Albert, the claims of her children, her own inmost -inclinations, and the movement of the whole surrounding world, combined -to urge her forward along the narrow way of public and domestic duty. -Her family steadily increased. Within eighteen months of the birth of -the Prince of Wales the Princess Alice appeared, and a year later the -Prince Alfred, and then the Princess Helena, and, two years afterwards, -the Princess Louise; and still there were signs that the pretty row of -royal infants was not complete. The parents, more and more involved in -family cares and family happiness, found the pomp of Windsor galling, -and longed for some more intimate and remote retreat. On the advice of -Peel they purchased the estate of Osborne, in the Isle of Wight. Their -skill and economy in financial matters had enabled them to lay aside a -substantial sum of money; and they could afford, out of their savings, -not merely to buy the property but to build a new house for themselves -and to furnish it at a cost of L200,000. At Osborne, by the sea-shore, -and among the woods, which Albert, with memories of Rosenau in his mind, -had so carefully planted, the royal family spent every hour that could -be snatched from Windsor and London--delightful hours of deep retirement -and peaceful work. The public looked on with approval. A few aristocrats -might sniff or titter; but with the nation at large the Queen was now -once more extremely popular. The middle-classes, in particular, were -pleased. They liked a love-match; they liked a household which combined -the advantages of royalty and virtue, and in which they seemed to see, -reflected as in some resplendent looking-glass, the ideal image of the -very lives they led themselves. Their own existences, less exalted, -but oh! so soothingly similar, acquired an added excellence, an added -succulence, from the early hours, the regularity, the plain tuckers, the -round games, the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding oft Osborne. It was -indeed a model Court. Not only were its central personages the patterns -of propriety, but no breath of scandal, no shadow of indecorum, might -approach its utmost boundaries. For Victoria, with all the zeal of a -convert, upheld now the standard of moral purity with an inflexibility -surpassing, if that were possible, Albert's own. She blushed to think -how she had once believed--how she had once actually told HIM--that one -might be too strict and particular in such matters, and that one ought -to be indulgent towards other people's dreadful sins. But she was -no longer Lord M's pupil: she was Albert's wife. She was more--the -embodiment, the living apex of a new era in the generations of mankind. -The last vestige of the eighteenth century had disappeared; cynicism and -subtlety were shrivelled into powder; and duty, industry, morality, and -domesticity triumphed over them. Even the very chairs and tables had -assumed, with a singular responsiveness, the forms of prim solidity. The -Victorian Age was in full swing. - -VII - -Only one thing more was needed: material expression must be given to -the new ideals and the new forces so that they might stand revealed, in -visible glory, before the eyes of an astonished world. It was for Albert -to supply this want. He mused, and was inspired: the Great Exhibition -came into his head. - -Without consulting anyone, he thought out the details of his conception -with the minutest care. There had been exhibitions before in the world, -but this should surpass them all. It should contain specimens of -what every country could produce in raw materials, in machinery and -mechanical inventions, in manufactures, and in the applied and plastic -arts. It should not be merely useful and ornamental; it should teach -a high moral lesson. It should be an international monument to those -supreme blessings of civilisation--peace, progress, and prosperity. For -some time past the Prince had been devoting much of his attention to the -problems of commerce and industry. He had a taste for machinery of every -kind, and his sharp eye had more than once detected, with the precision -of an expert, a missing cog-wheel in some vast and complicated engine. A -visit to Liverpool, where he opened the Albert Dock, impressed upon his -mind the immensity of modern industrial forces, though in a letter -to Victoria describing his experiences, he was careful to retain his -customary lightness of touch. "As I write," he playfully remarked, -"you will be making your evening toilette, and not be ready in time for -dinner. I must set about the same task, and not, let me hope, with the -same result... The loyalty and enthusiasm of the inhabitants are great; -but the heat is greater still. I am satisfied that if the population of -Liverpool had been weighed this morning, and were to be weighed again -now, they would be found many degrees lighter. The docks are wonderful, -and the mass of shipping incredible." In art and science he had been -deeply interested since boyhood; his reform of the household had put -his talent for organisation beyond a doubt; and thus from every point -of view the Prince was well qualified for his task. Having matured his -plans, he summoned a small committee and laid an outline of his scheme -before it. The committee approved, and the great undertaking was set on -foot without delay. - -Two years, however, passed before it was completed. For two years the -Prince laboured with extraordinary and incessant energy. At first all -went smoothly. The leading manufacturers warmly took up the idea; the -colonies and the East India Company were sympathetic; the great foreign -nations were eager to send in their contributions; the powerful support -of Sir Robert Peel was obtained, and the use of a site in Hyde Park, -selected by the Prince, was sanctioned by the Government. Out of 234 -plans for the exhibition building, the Prince chose that of Joseph -Paxton, famous as a designer of gigantic conservatories; and the work -was on the point of being put in hand when a series of unexpected -difficulties arose. Opposition to the whole scheme, which had long been -smouldering in various quarters, suddenly burst forth. There was -an outcry, headed by The Times, against the use of the park for the -exhibition; for a moment it seemed as if the building would be relegated -to a suburb; but, after a fierce debate in the House, the supporters -of the site in the Park won the day. Then it appeared that the project -lacked a sufficient financial backing; but this obstacle, too, was -surmounted, and eventually L200,000 was subscribed as a guarantee fund. -The enormous glass edifice rose higher and higher, covering acres and -enclosing towering elm trees beneath its roof: and then the fury of -its enemies reached a climax. The fashionable, the cautious, the -Protectionists, the pious, all joined in the hue and cry. It was pointed -out that the Exhibition would serve as a rallying point for all the -ruffians in England, for all the malcontents in Europe; and that on -the day of its opening there would certainly be a riot and probably a -revolution. It was asserted that the glass roof was porous, and that the -droppings of fifty million sparrows would utterly destroy every object -beneath it. Agitated nonconformists declared that the Exhibition was an -arrogant and wicked enterprise which would infallibly bring down God's -punishment upon the nation. Colonel Sibthorpe, in the debate on the -Address, prayed that hail and lightning might descend from heaven on the -accursed thing. The Prince, with unyielding perseverance and infinite -patience, pressed on to his goal. His health was seriously affected; he -suffered from constant sleeplessness; his strength was almost worn out. -But he remembered the injunctions of Stockmar and never relaxed. The -volume of his labours grew more prodigious every day; he toiled at -committees, presided over public meetings, made speeches, and carried on -communications with every corner of the civilised world--and his efforts -were rewarded. On May 1, 1851, the Great Exhibition was opened by the -Queen before an enormous concourse of persons, amid scenes of dazzling -brilliancy and triumphant enthusiasm. - -Victoria herself was in a state of excitement which bordered on -delirium. She performed her duties in a trance of joy, gratitude, and -amazement, and, when it was all over, her feelings poured themselves out -into her journal in a torrential flood. The day had been nothing but -an endless succession of glories--or rather one vast glory--one vast -radiation of Albert. Everything she had seen, everything she had felt -or heard, had been so beautiful, so wonderful that even the royal -underlinings broke down under the burden of emphasis, while her -remembering pen rushed on, regardless, from splendour to splendour--the -huge crowds, so well--behaved and loyal-flags of all the nations -floating--the inside of the building, so immense, with myriads of people -and the sun shining through the roof--a little side room, where we left -our shawls--palm-trees and machinery--dear Albert--the place so big -that we could hardly hear the organ--thankfulness to God--a curious -assemblage of political and distinguished men--the March from -Athalie--God bless my dearest Albert, God bless my dearest country!--a -glass fountain--the Duke and Lord Anglesey walking arm in arm--a -beautiful Amazon, in bronze, by Kiss--Mr. Paxton, who might be justly -proud, and rose from being a common gardener's boy--Sir George Grey in -tears, and everybody astonished and delighted. - -A striking incident occurred when, after a short prayer by the -Archbishop of Canterbury, the choir of 600 voices burst into the -"Hallelujah Chorus." At that moment a Chinaman, dressed in full national -costume, stepped out into the middle of the central nave, and, advancing -slowly towards the royal group, did obeisance to Her Majesty. The Queen, -much impressed, had no doubt that he was an eminent mandarin; and, -when the final procession was formed, orders were given that, as -no representative of the Celestial Empire was present, he should be -included in the diplomatic cortege. He accordingly, with the utmost -gravity, followed immediately behind the Ambassadors. He subsequently -disappeared, and it was rumoured, among ill-natured people, that, far -from being a mandarin, the fellow was a mere impostor. But nobody ever -really discovered the nature of the comments that had been lurking -behind the matchless impassivity of that yellow face. - -A few days later Victoria poured out her heart to her uncle. The -first of May, she said, was "the GREATEST day in our history, the most -BEAUTIFUL and IMPOSING and TOUCHING spectacle ever seen, and the triumph -of my beloved Albert... It was the HAPPIEST, PROUDEST day in my life, -and I can think of nothing else. Albert's dearest name is immortalised -with this GREAT conception, HIS own, and my OWN dear country SHOWED she -was WORTHY of it. The triumph is IMMENSE." - -It was. The enthusiasm was universal; even the bitterest scoffers were -converted, and joined in the chorus of praise. Congratulations from -public bodies poured in; the City of Paris gave a great fete to the -Exhibition committee; and the Queen and the Prince made a triumphal -progress through the North of England. The financial results were -equally remarkable. The total profit made by the Exhibition amounted to -a sum of L165,000, which was employed in the purchase of land for the -erection of a permanent National Museum in South Kensington. During -the six months of its existence in Hyde Park over six million persons -visited it, and not a single accident occurred. But there is an end to -all things; and the time had come for the Crystal Palace to be removed -to the salubrious seclusion of Sydenham. Victoria, sad but resigned, -paid her final visit. "It looked so beautiful," she said. "I could not -believe it was the last time I was to see it. An organ, accompanied by -a fine and powerful wind instrument called the sommerophone, was being -played, and it nearly upset me. The canvas is very dirty, the red -curtains are faded and many things are very much soiled, still the -effect is fresh and new as ever and most beautiful. The glass fountain -was already removed... and the sappers and miners were rolling about -the little boxes just as they did at the beginning. It made us all very -melancholy." But more cheerful thoughts followed. When all was over, -she expressed her boundless satisfaction in a dithyrambic letter to -the Prime Minister. Her beloved husband's name, she said, was for ever -immortalised, and that this was universally recognised by the country -was a source to her of immense happiness and gratitude. "She feels -grateful to Providence," Her Majesty concluded, "to have permitted her -to be united to so great, so noble, so excellent a Prince, and this year -will ever remain the proudest and happiest of her life. The day of the -closing of the Exhibition (which the Queen regretted much she could not -witness), was the twelfth anniversary of her betrothal to the Prince, -which is a curious coincidence." - - - -CHAPTER V. LORD PALMERSTON - -I - -In 1851 the Prince's fortunes reached their high-water mark. The success -of the Great Exhibition enormously increased his reputation and seemed -to assure him henceforward a leading place in the national life. But -before the year was out another triumph, in a very different sphere of -action, was also his. This triumph, big with fateful consequences, was -itself the outcome of a series of complicated circumstances which had -been gathering to a climax for many years. - - -The unpopularity of Albert in high society had not diminished with time. -Aristocratic persons continued to regard him with disfavour; and he on -his side, withdrew further and further into a contemptuous reserve. For -a moment, indeed, it appeared as if the dislike of the upper classes -was about to be suddenly converted into cordiality; for they learnt with -amazement that the Prince, during a country visit, had ridden to hounds -and acquitted himself remarkably well. They had always taken it for -granted that his horsemanship was of some second-rate foreign quality, -and here he was jumping five-barred gates and tearing after the fox -as if he had been born and bred in Leicestershire. They could hardly -believe it; was it possible that they had made a mistake, and that -Albert was a good fellow after all? Had he wished to be thought so he -would certainly have seized this opportunity, purchased several hunters, -and used them constantly. But he had no such desire; hunting bored -him, and made Victoria nervous. He continued, as before, to ride, as he -himself put it, for exercise or convenience, not for amusement; and it -was agreed that though the Prince, no doubt, could keep in his saddle -well enough, he was no sportsman. - -This was a serious matter. It was not merely that Albert was laughed at -by fine ladies and sneered at by fine gentlemen; it was not merely that -Victoria, who before her marriage had cut some figure in society, had, -under her husband's influence, almost completely given it up. Since -Charles the Second the sovereigns of England had, with a single -exception, always been unfashionable; and the fact that the exception -was George the Fourth seemed to give an added significance to the rule. -What was grave was not the lack of fashion, but the lack of other -and more important qualities. The hostility of the upper classes was -symptomatic of an antagonism more profound than one of manners or -even of tastes. The Prince, in a word, was un-English. What that word -precisely meant it was difficult to say; but the fact was patent to -every eye. Lord Palmerston, also, was not fashionable; the great -Whig aristocrats looked askance at him, and only tolerated him as an -unpleasant necessity thrust upon them by fate. But Lord Palmerston was -English through and through, there was something in him that expressed, -with extraordinary vigour, the fundamental qualities of the English -race. And he was the very antithesis of the Prince. By a curious chance -it so happened that this typical Englishman was brought into closer -contact than any other of his countrymen with the alien from over -the sea. It thus fell out that differences which, in more fortunate -circumstances, might have been smoothed away and obliterated, became -accentuated to the highest pitch. All the mysterious forces in Albert's -soul leapt out to do battle with his adversary, and, in the long and -violent conflict that followed, it almost seemed as if he was struggling -with England herself. - -Palmerston's whole life had been spent in the government of the country. -At twenty-two he had been a Minister; at twenty-five he had been offered -the Chancellorship of the Exchequer, which, with that prudence which -formed so unexpected a part of his character, he had declined to accept. -His first spell of office had lasted uninterruptedly for twenty-one -years. When Lord Grey came into power he received the Foreign -Secretaryship, a post which he continued to occupy, with two intervals, -for another twenty-one years. Throughout this period his reputation -with the public had steadily grown, and when, in 1846, he became Foreign -Secretary for the third time, his position in the country was almost, -if not quite, on an equality with that of the Prime Minister, Lord John -Russell. He was a tall, big man of sixty-two, with a jaunty air, a large -face, dyed whiskers, and a long sardonic upper lip. His private life was -far from respectable, but he had greatly strengthened his position -in society by marrying, late in life, Lady Cowper, the sister of Lord -Melbourne, and one of the most influential of the Whig hostesses. -Powerful, experienced, and supremely self-confident, he naturally -paid very little attention to Albert. Why should he? The Prince was -interested in foreign affairs? Very well, then; let the Prince pay -attention to him--to him, who had been a Cabinet Minister when Albert -was in the cradle, who was the chosen leader of a great nation, and who -had never failed in anything he had undertaken in the whole course of -his life. Not that he wanted the Prince's attention--far from it: so far -as he could see, Albert was merely a young foreigner, who suffered from -having no vices, and whose only claim to distinction was that he had -happened to marry the Queen of England. This estimate, as he found out -to his cost, was a mistaken one. Albert was by no means insignificant, -and, behind Albert, there was another figure by no means insignificant -either--there was Stockmar. - -But Palmerston, busy with his plans, his ambitions, and the management -of a great department, brushed all such considerations on one side; it -was his favourite method of action. He lived by instinct--by a quick eye -and a strong hand, a dexterous management of every crisis as it arose, a -half-unconscious sense of the vital elements in a situation. He was very -bold; and nothing gave him more exhilaration than to steer the ship of -state in a high wind, on a rough sea, with every stitch of canvas on her -that she could carry. But there is a point beyond which boldness becomes -rashness--a point perceptible only to intuition and not to reason; -and beyond that point Palmerston never went. When he saw that the cast -demanded it, he could go slow--very slow indeed in fact, his whole -career, so full of vigorous adventure, was nevertheless a masterly -example of the proverb, "tout vient a point a qui sait attendre." But -when he decided to go quick, nobody went quicker. One day, returning -from Osborne, he found that he had missed the train to London; he -ordered a special, but the station master told him that to put a special -train upon the line at that time of day would be dangerous and he -could not allow it. Palmerston insisted declaring that he had important -business in London, which could not wait. The station-master supported -by all the officials, continued to demur the company, he said, could -not possibly take the responsibility. "On MY responsibility, then!" said -Palmerston, in his off-hand, peremptory way whereupon the station-master -ordered up the train and the Foreign Secretary reached London in time -for his work, without an accident. The story, is typical of the happy -valiance with which he conducted both his own affairs and those of -the nation. "England," he used to say, "is strong enough to brave -consequences." Apparently, under Palmerston's guidance, she was. While -the officials protested and shook in their shoes, he would wave them -away with his airy "MY responsibility!" and carry the country swiftly -along the line of his choice, to a triumphant destination--without an -accident. His immense popularity was the result partly of his diplomatic -successes, partly of his extraordinary personal affability, but chiefly -of the genuine intensity with which he responded to the feelings and -supported the interests of his countrymen. The public knew that it had -in Lord Palmerston not only a high-mettled master, but also a devoted -servant--that he was, in every sense of the word, a public man. When he -was Prime Minister, he noticed that iron hurdles had been put up on -the grass in the Green Park; he immediately wrote to the Minister -responsible, ordering, in the severest language, their instant removal, -declaring that they were "an intolerable nuisance," and that the purpose -of the grass was "to be walked upon freely and without restraint by the -people, old and young, for whose enjoyment the parks are maintained." -It was in this spirit that, as Foreign Secretary, he watched over the -interests of Englishmen abroad. Nothing could be more agreeable for -Englishmen; but foreign governments were less pleased. They found Lord -Palmerston interfering, exasperating, and alarming. In Paris they spoke -with bated breath of "ce terrible milord Palmerston;" and in Germany -they made a little song about him-- - - "Hat der Teufel einen Sohn, - So ist er sicher Palmerston." - -But their complaints, their threats, and their agitations were all -in vain. Palmerston, with his upper lip sardonically curving, braved -consequences, and held on his course. - -The first diplomatic crisis which arose after his return to office, -though the Prince and the Queen were closely concerned with it, passed -off without serious disagreement between the Court and the Minister. For -some years past a curious problem had been perplexing the chanceries -of Europe. Spain, ever since the time of Napoleon a prey to civil -convulsions, had settled down for a short interval to a state of -comparative quiet under the rule of Christina, the Queen Mother, and her -daughter Isabella, the young Queen. In 1846, the question of -Isabella's marriage, which had for long been the subject of diplomatic -speculations, suddenly became acute. Various candidates for her hand -were proposed--among others, two cousins of her own, another Spanish -prince, and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, a first cousin of Victoria's -and Albert's; for different reasons, however, none of these young men -seemed altogether satisfactory. Isabella was not yet sixteen; and it -might have been supposed that her marriage could be put off for a few -years more; but this was considered to be out of the question. "Vous -ne savez pas," said a high authority, "ce que c'est que ces princesses -espagnoles; elles ont le diable au corps, et on a toujours dit que si -nous ne nous hations pas, l'heritier viendrait avant le mari." It might -also have been supposed that the young Queen's marriage was a matter to -be settled by herself, her mother, and the Spanish Government; but -this again was far from being the case. It had become, by one of those -periodical reversions to the ways of the eighteenth century, which, -it is rumoured, are still not unknown in diplomacy, a question of -dominating importance in the foreign policies both of France and -England. For several years, Louis Philippe and his Prime Minister Guizot -had been privately maturing a very subtle plan. It was the object of the -French King to repeat the glorious coup of Louis XIV, and to abolish -the Pyrenees by placing one of his grandsons on the throne of Spain. -In order to bring this about, he did not venture to suggest that his -younger son, the Duc de Montpensier, should marry Isabella; that would -have been too obvious a move, which would have raised immediate and -insurmountable opposition. He therefore proposed that Isabella -should marry her cousin, the Duke of Cadiz, while Montpensier married -Isabella's younger sister, the Infanta Fernanda; and pray, what possible -objection could there be to that? The wily old King whispered into -the chaste ears of Guizot the key to the secret; he had good reason to -believe that the Duke of Cadiz was incapable of having children, and -therefore the offspring of Fernanda would inherit the Spanish crown. -Guizot rubbed his hands, and began at once to set the necessary springs -in motion; but, of course, the whole scheme was very soon divulged and -understood. The English Government took an extremely serious view of -the matter; the balance of power was clearly at stake, and the French -intrigue must be frustrated at all hazards. A diplomatic struggle of -great intensity followed; and it occasionally appeared that a second War -of the Spanish Succession was about to break out. This was avoided, -but the consequences of this strange imbroglio were far-reaching and -completely different from what any of the parties concerned could have -guessed. - -In the course of the long and intricate negotiations there was one point -upon which Louis Philippe laid a special stress--the candidature of -Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. The prospect of a marriage between a -Coburg Prince and the Queen of Spain was, he declared, at least as -threatening to the balance of power in Europe as that of a marriage -between the Duc de Montpensier and the Infanta; and, indeed, there was -much to be said for this contention. The ruin which had fallen upon the -House of Coburg during the Napoleonic wars had apparently only served -to multiply its vitality, for that princely family had by now extended -itself over Europe in an extraordinary manner. King Leopold was firmly -fixed in Belgium; his niece was Queen of England; one of his nephews -was the husband of the Queen of England, and another the husband of the -Queen of Portugal; yet another was Duke of Wurtemberg. Where was this -to end? There seemed to be a Coburg Trust ready to send out one of -its members at any moment to fill up any vacant place among the ruling -families of Europe. And even beyond Europe there were signs of this -infection spreading. An American who had arrived in Brussels had assured -King Leopold that there was a strong feeling in the United States in -favour of monarchy instead of the misrule of mobs, and had suggested, to -the delight of His Majesty, that some branch of the Coburg family might -be available for the position. That danger might, perhaps, be remote; -but the Spanish danger was close at hand; and if Prince Leopold were to -marry Queen Isabella the position of France would be one of humiliation, -if not of positive danger. Such were the asseverations of Louis -Philippe. The English Government had no wish to support Prince Leopold, -and though Albert and Victoria had some hankerings for the match, the -wisdom of Stockmar had induced them to give up all thoughts of it. The -way thus seemed open for a settlement: England would be reasonable about -Leopold, if France would be reasonable about Montpensier. At the Chateau -d'Eu, the agreement was made, in a series of conversations between the -King and Guizot on the one side, and the Queen, the Prince, and Lord -Aberdeen on the other. Aberdeen, as Foreign Minister, declared that -England would neither recognise nor support Prince Leopold as a -candidate for the hand of the Queen of Spain; while Louis Philippe -solemnly promised, both to Aberdeen and to Victoria, that the Duc de -Montpensier should not marry the Infanta Fernanda until after the Queen -was married and had issue. All went well, and the crisis seemed to be -over, when the whole question was suddenly re-opened by Palmerston, -who had succeeded Aberdeen at the Foreign Office. In a despatch to -the English Minister at Madrid, he mentioned, in a list of possible -candidates for Queen Isabella's hand, Prince Leopold of Coburg; and -at the same time he took occasion to denounce in violent language the -tyranny and incompetence of the Spanish Government. This despatch, -indiscreet in any case, was rendered infinitely more so by being -communicated to Guizot. Louis Philippe saw his opportunity and pounced -on it. Though there was nothing in Palmerston's language to show that he -either recognised or supported Prince Leopold, the King at once assumed -that the English had broken their engagement, and that he was therefore -free to do likewise. He then sent the despatch to the Queen Mother, -declared that the English were intriguing for the Coburg marriage, bade -her mark the animosity of Palmerston against the Spanish Government, and -urged her to escape from her difficulties and ensure the friendship -of France by marrying Isabella to the Duke of Cadiz and Fernanda -to Montpensier. The Queen Mother, alarmed and furious, was easily -convinced. There was only one difficulty: Isabella loathed the very -sight of her cousin. But this was soon surmounted; there was a wild -supper-party at the Palace, and in the course of it the young girl was -induced to consent to anything that was asked of her. Shortly after, and -on the same day, both the marriages took place. - -The news burst like a bomb on the English Government, who saw with rage -and mortification that they had been completely outmanoeuvred by the -crafty King. Victoria, in particular, was outraged. Not only had she -been the personal recipient of Louis Philippe's pledge, but he had won -his way to her heart by presenting the Prince of Wales with a box of -soldiers and sending the Princess Royal a beautiful Parisian doll with -eyes that opened and shut. And now insult was added to injury. The Queen -of the French wrote her a formal letter, calmly announcing, as a family -event in which she was sure Victoria would be interested, the marriage -of her son, Montpensier--"qui ajoutera a notre bonheur interieur, le -seul vrai dans ce monde, et que vous, madame, savez si bien apprecier." -But the English Queen had not long to wait for her revenge. Within -eighteen months the monarchy of Louis Philippe, discredited, unpopular, -and fatally weakened by the withdrawal of English support, was swept -into limbo, while he and his family threw themselves as suppliant -fugitives at the feet of Victoria. - -II - -In this affair both the Queen and the Prince had been too much occupied -with the delinquencies of Louis Philippe to have any wrath to spare -for those of Palmerston; and, indeed, on the main issue, Palmerston's -attitude and their own had been in complete agreement. But in this the -case was unique. In every other foreign complication--and they were many -and serious--during the ensuing years, the differences between the royal -couple and the Foreign Secretary were constant and profound. There was a -sharp quarrel over Portugal, where violently hostile parties were flying -at each other's throats. The royal sympathy was naturally enlisted on -behalf of the Queen and her Coburg husband, while Palmerston gave his -support to the progressive elements in the country. It was not until -1848, however, that the strain became really serious. In that year of -revolutions, when, in all directions and with alarming frequency, crowns -kept rolling off royal heads, Albert and Victoria were appalled to find -that the policy of England was persistently directed--in Germany, -in Switzerland, in Austria, in Italy, in Sicily--so as to favour the -insurgent forces. The situation, indeed, was just such a one as the soul -of Palmerston loved. There was danger and excitement, the necessity -of decision, the opportunity for action, on every hand. A disciple of -Canning, with an English gentleman's contempt and dislike of foreign -potentates deep in his heart, the spectacle of the popular uprisings, -and of the oppressors bundled ignominiously out of the palaces they had -disgraced, gave him unbounded pleasure, and he was determined that there -should be no doubt whatever, all over the Continent, on which side in -the great struggle England stood. It was not that he had the slightest -tincture in him of philosophical radicalism; he had no philosophical -tinctures of any kind; he was quite content to be inconsistent--to be a -Conservative at home and a Liberal abroad. There were very good reasons -for keeping the Irish in their places; but what had that to do with it? -The point was this--when any decent man read an account of the political -prisons in Naples his gorge rose. He did not want war; but he saw that -without war a skilful and determined use of England's power might do -much to further the cause of the Liberals in Europe. It was a difficult -and a hazardous game to play, but he set about playing it with delighted -alacrity. And then, to his intense annoyance, just as he needed all -his nerve and all possible freedom of action, he found himself being -hampered and distracted at every turn by... those people at Osborne. -He saw what it was; the opposition was systematic and informed, and -the Queen alone would have been incapable of it; the Prince was at the -bottom of the whole thing. It was exceedingly vexatious; but Palmerston -was in a hurry, and could not wait; the Prince, if he would insist upon -interfering, must be brushed on one side. - -Albert was very angry. He highly disapproved both of Palmerston's policy -and of his methods of action. He was opposed to absolutism; but in his -opinion Palmerston's proceedings were simply calculated to substitute -for absolutism, all over Europe, something no better and very possibly -worse--the anarchy of faction and mob violence. The dangers of -this revolutionary ferment were grave; even in England Chartism was -rampant--a sinister movement, which might at any moment upset the -Constitution and abolish the Monarchy. Surely, with such dangers at -home, this was a very bad time to choose for encouraging lawlessness -abroad. He naturally took a particular interest in Germany. His -instincts, his affections, his prepossessions, were ineradicably German; -Stockmar was deeply involved in German politics; and he had a multitude -of relatives among the ruling German families, who, from the midst of -the hurly-burly of revolution, wrote him long and agitated letters once -a week. Having considered the question of Germany's future from every -point of view, he came to the conclusion, under Stockmar's guidance, -that the great aim for every lover of Germany should be her unification -under the sovereignty of Prussia. The intricacy of the situation was -extreme, and the possibilities of good or evil which every hour might -bring forth were incalculable; yet he saw with horror that Palmerston -neither understood nor cared to understand the niceties of this -momentous problem, but rushed on blindly, dealing blows to right and -left, quite--so far as he could see--without system, and even without -motive--except, indeed, a totally unreasonable distrust of the Prussian -State. - -But his disagreement with the details of Palmerston's policy was in -reality merely a symptom of the fundamental differences between the -characters of the two men. In Albert's eyes Palmerston was a coarse, -reckless egotist, whose combined arrogance and ignorance must -inevitably have their issue in folly and disaster. Nothing could be more -antipathetic to him than a mind so strangely lacking in patience, in -reflection, in principle, and in the habits of ratiocination. For to him -it was intolerable to think in a hurry, to jump to slapdash decisions, -to act on instincts that could not be explained. Everything must be done -in due order, with careful premeditation; the premises of the position -must first be firmly established; and he must reach the correct -conclusion by a regular series of rational steps. In complicated -questions--and what questions, rightly looked at, were not -complicated?--to commit one's thoughts to paper was the wisest course, -and it was the course which Albert, laborious though it might be, -invariably adopted. It was as well, too, to draw up a reasoned statement -after an event, as well as before it; and accordingly, whatever -happened, it was always found that the Prince had made a memorandum. -On one occasion he reduced to six pages of foolscap the substance of a -confidential conversation with Sir Robert Peel, and, having read them -aloud to him, asked him to append his signature; Sir Robert, who never -liked to commit himself, became extremely uneasy; upon which the -Prince, understanding that it was necessary to humour the singular -susceptibilities of Englishmen, with great tact dropped that particular -memorandum into the fire. But as for Palmerston, he never even gave one -so much as a chance to read him a memorandum, he positively seemed to -dislike discussion; and, before one knew where one was, without any -warning whatever, he would plunge into some hare-brained, violent -project, which, as likely as not, would logically involve a European -war. Closely connected, too, with this cautious, painstaking -reasonableness of Albert's, was his desire to examine questions -thoroughly from every point of view, to go down to the roots of things, -and to act in strict accordance with some well-defined principle. Under -Stockmar's tutelage he was constantly engaged in enlarging his outlook -and in endeavouring to envisage vital problems both theoretically and -practically--both with precision and with depth. To one whose mind was -thus habitually occupied, the empirical activities of Palmerston, who -had no notion what a principle meant, resembled the incoherent vagaries -of a tiresome child. What did Palmerston know of economics, of science, -of history? What did he care for morality and education? How much -consideration had he devoted in the whole course of his life to the -improvement of the condition of the working-classes and to the general -amelioration of the human race? The answers to such questions were all -too obvious; and yet it is easy to imagine, also, what might have been -Palmerston's jaunty comment. "Ah! your Royal Highness is busy with fine -schemes and beneficent calculations exactly! Well, as for me, I must say -I'm quite satisfied with my morning's work--I've had the iron hurdles -taken out of the Green Park." - -The exasperating man, however, preferred to make no comment, and to -proceed in smiling silence on his inexcusable way. The process of -"brushing on one side" very soon came into operation. Important Foreign -Office despatches were either submitted to the Queen so late that there -was no time to correct them, or they were not submitted to her at all; -or, having been submitted, and some passage in them being objected -to and an alteration suggested, they were after all sent off in their -original form. The Queen complained, the Prince complained: both -complained together. It was quite useless. Palmerston was most -apologetic--could not understand how it had occurred--must give the -clerks a wigging--certainly Her Majesty's wishes should be attended to, -and such a thing should never happen again. But, of course, it very soon -happened again, and the royal remonstrances redoubled. Victoria, her -partisan passions thoroughly aroused, imported into her protests a -personal vehemence which those of Albert lacked. Did Lord Palmerston -forget that she was Queen of England? How could she tolerate a state of -affairs in which despatches written in her name were sent abroad without -her approval or even her knowledge? What could be more derogatory to -her position than to be obliged to receive indignant letters from the -crowned heads to whom those despatches were addressed--letters which she -did not know how to answer, since she so thoroughly agreed with them? -She addressed herself to the Prime Minister. "No remonstrance has any -effect with Lord Palmerston," she said. "Lord Palmerston," she told him -on another occasion, "has as usual pretended not to have had time to -submit the draft to the Queen before he had sent it off." She summoned -Lord John to her presence, poured out her indignation, and afterwards, -on the advice of Albert, noted down what had passed in a memorandum: "I -said that I thought that Lord Palmerston often endangered the honour of -England by taking a very prejudiced and one-sided view of a question; -that his writings were always as bitter as gall and did great harm, -which Lord John entirely assented to, and that I often felt quite ill -from anxiety." Then she turned to her uncle. "The state of Germany," -she wrote in a comprehensive and despairing review of the European -situation, "is dreadful, and one does feel quite ashamed about that once -really so peaceful and happy country. That there are still good people -there I am sure, but they allow themselves to be worked upon in a -frightful and shameful way. In France a crisis seems at hand. WHAT a -very bad figure we cut in this mediation! Really it is quite immoral, -with Ireland quivering in our grasp and ready to throw off her -allegiance at any moment, for us to force Austria to give up her lawful -possessions. What shall we say if Canada, Malta, etc., begin to trouble -us? It hurts me terribly." But what did Lord Palmerston care? - -Lord John's position grew more and more irksome. He did not approve of -his colleague's treatment of the Queen. When he begged him to be more -careful, he was met with the reply that 28,000 despatches passed through -the Foreign Office in a single year, that, if every one of these were -to be subjected to the royal criticism, the delay would be most serious, -that, as it was, the waste of time and the worry involved in submitting -drafts to the meticulous examination of Prince Albert was almost too -much for an overworked Minister, and that, as a matter of fact, the -postponement of important decisions owing to this cause had already -produced very unpleasant diplomatic consequences. These excuses would -have impressed Lord John more favourably if he had not himself had to -suffer from a similar neglect. As often as not Palmerston failed to -communicate even to him the most important despatches. The Foreign -Secretary was becoming an almost independent power, acting on his own -initiative, and swaying the policy of England on his own responsibility. -On one occasion, in 1847, he had actually been upon the point of -threatening to break off diplomatic relations with France without -consulting either the Cabinet or the Prime Minister. And such incidents -were constantly recurring. When this became known to the Prince, he saw -that his opportunity had come. If he could only drive in to the utmost -the wedge between the two statesmen, if he could only secure the -alliance of Lord John, then the suppression or the removal of Lord -Palmerston would be almost certain to follow. He set about the business -with all the pertinacity of his nature. Both he and the Queen put every -kind of pressure upon the Prime Minister. They wrote, they harangued, -they relapsed into awful silence. It occurred to them that Lord -Clarendon, an important member of the Cabinet, would be a useful -channel for their griefs. They commanded him to dine at the Palace, and, -directly the meal was over, "the Queen," as he described it afterwards, -"exploded, and went with the utmost vehemence and bitterness into the -whole of Palmerston's conduct, all the effects produced all over the -world, and all her own feelings and sentiments about it." When she had -finished, the Prince took up the tale, with less excitement, but with -equal force. Lord Clarendon found himself in an awkward situation; -he disliked Palmerston's policy, but he was his colleague, and he -disapproved of the attitude of his royal hosts. In his opinion, they -were "wrong in wishing that courtiers rather than Ministers should -conduct the affairs of the country," and he thought that they "laboured -under the curious mistake that the Foreign Office was their peculiar -department, and that they had the right to control, if not to direct, -the foreign policy of England." He, therefore, with extreme politeness, -gave it to be understood that he would not commit himself in any -way. But Lord John, in reality, needed no pressure. Attacked by his -Sovereign, ignored by his Foreign Secretary, he led a miserable life. -With the advent of the dreadful Schleswig-Holstein question--the most -complex in the whole diplomatic history of Europe--his position, -crushed between the upper and the nether mill-stones, grew positively -unbearable. He became anxious above all things to get Palmerston out of -the Foreign Office. But then--supposing Palmerston refused to go? - -In a memorandum made by the Prince, at about this time, of an interview -between himself, the Queen, and the Prime Minister, we catch a curious -glimpse of the states of mind of those three high personages--the -anxiety and irritation of Lord John, the vehement acrimony of Victoria, -and the reasonable animosity of Albert--drawn together, as it were, -under the shadow of an unseen Presence, the cause of that celestial -anger--the gay, portentous Palmerston. At one point in the conversation -Lord John observed that he believed the Foreign Secretary would consent -to a change of offices; Lord Palmerston, he said, realised that he had -lost the Queen's confidence--though only on public, and not on personal, -grounds. But on that, the Prince noted, "the Queen interrupted Lord John -by remarking that she distrusted him on PERSONAL grounds also, but I -remarked that Lord Palmerston had so far at least seen rightly; that he -had become disagreeable to the Queen, not on account of his person, but -of his political doings--to which the Queen assented." Then the Prince -suggested that there was a danger of the Cabinet breaking up, and of -Lord Palmerston returning to office as Prime Minister. But on that point -Lord John was reassuring: he "thought Lord Palmerston too old to do much -in the future (having passed his sixty-fifth year)." Eventually it was -decided that nothing could be done for the present, but that the UTMOST -SECRECY must be observed; and so the conclave ended. - -At last, in 1850, deliverance seemed to be at hand. There were signs -that the public were growing weary of the alarums and excursions of -Palmerston's diplomacy; and when his support of Don Pacifico, a British -subject, in a quarrel with the Greek Government, seemed to be upon the -point of involving the country in a war not only with Greece but also -with France, and possibly with Russia into the bargain, a heavy cloud -of distrust and displeasure appeared to be gathering and about to burst -over his head. A motion directed against him in the House of Lords was -passed by a substantial majority. The question was next to be discussed -in the House of Commons, where another adverse vote was not improbable, -and would seal the doom of the Minister. Palmerston received the attack -with complete nonchalance, and then, at the last possible moment, he -struck. In a speech of over four hours, in which exposition, invective, -argument, declamation, plain talk and resounding eloquence were mingled -together with consummate art and extraordinary felicity, he annihilated -his enemies. The hostile motion was defeated, and Palmerston was once -more the hero of the hour. Simultaneously, Atropos herself conspired -to favour him. Sir Robert Peel was thrown from his horse and killed. By -this tragic chance, Palmerston saw the one rival great enough to cope -with him removed from his path. He judged--and judged rightly--that -he was the most popular man in England; and when Lord John revived the -project of his exchanging the Foreign Office for some other position in -the Cabinet, he absolutely refused to stir. - -Great was the disappointment of Albert; great was the indignation -of Victoria. "The House of Commons," she wrote, "is becoming very -unmanageable and troublesome." The Prince, perceiving that Palmerston -was more firmly fixed in the saddle than ever, decided that something -drastic must be done. Five months before, the prescient Baron had -drawn up, in case of emergency, a memorandum, which had been carefully -docketed, and placed in a pigeon-hole ready to hand. The emergency had -now arisen, and the memorandum must be used. The Queen copied out the -words of Stockmar, and sent them to the Prime Minister, requesting him -to show her letter to Palmerston. "She thinks it right," she wrote, "in -order TO PREVENT ANY MISTAKE for the FUTURE, shortly to explain WHAT -IT IS SHE EXPECTS FROM HER FOREIGN SECRETARY. She requires: (1) That he -will distinctly state what he proposes in a given case, in order -that the Queen may know as distinctly to WHAT she has given her Royal -sanction; (2) Having ONCE GIVEN her sanction to a measure, that it be -not arbitrarily altered or modified by the Minister; such an act she -must consider as failing in sincerity towards the Crown, and justly to -be visited by the exercise of her Constitutional right of dismissing -that Minister." Lord John Russell did as he was bid, and forwarded the -Queen's letter to Lord Palmerston. This transaction, which was of grave -constitutional significance, was entirely unknown to the outside world. - -If Palmerston had been a sensitive man, he would probably have resigned -on the receipt of the Queen's missive. But he was far from sensitive; he -loved power, and his power was greater than ever; an unerring instinct -told him that this was not the time to go. Nevertheless, he was -seriously perturbed. He understood at last that he was struggling with -a formidable adversary, whose skill and strength, unless they were -mollified, might do irreparable injury to his career. He therefore wrote -to Lord John, briefly acquiescing in the Queen's requirements--"I have -taken a copy of this memorandum of the Queen and will not fail to attend -to the directions which it contains"--and at the same time, he asked for -an interview with the Prince. Albert at once summoned him to the Palace, -and was astonished to observe, as he noted in a memorandum, that when -Palmerston entered the room "he was very much agitated, shook, and -had tears in his eyes, so as quite to move me, who never under any -circumstances had known him otherwise than with a bland smile on his -face." The old statesman was profuse in protestations and excuses; the -young one was coldly polite. At last, after a long and inconclusive -conversation, the Prince, drawing himself up, said that, in order to -give Lord Palmerston "an example of what the Queen wanted," he would -"ask him a question point-blank." Lord Palmerston waited in respectful -silence, while the Prince proceeded as follows: "You are aware that the -Queen has objected to the Protocol about Schleswig, and of the grounds -on which she has done so. Her opinion has been overruled, the Protocol -stating the desire of the Great Powers to see the integrity of the -Danish monarchy preserved has been signed, and upon this the King of -Denmark has invaded Schleswig, where the war is raging. If Holstein is -attacked also, which is likely, the Germans will not be restrained from -flying to her assistance; Russia has menaced to interfere with arms, -if the Schleswigers are successful. What will you do, if this emergency -arises (provoking most likely an European war), and which will arise -very probably when we shall be at Balmoral and Lord John in another -part of Scotland? The Queen expects from your foresight that you have -contemplated this possibility, and requires a categorical answer as -to what you would do in the event supposed." Strangely enough, to this -pointblank question, the Foreign Secretary appeared to be unable to -reply. The whole matter, he said, was extremely complicated, and the -contingencies mentioned by His Royal Highness were very unlikely to -arise. The Prince persisted; but it was useless; for a full hour he -struggled to extract a categorical answer, until at length Palmerston -bowed himself out of the room. Albert threw up his hands in shocked -amazement: what could one do with such a man? - -What indeed? For, in spite of all his apologies and all his promises, -within a few weeks the incorrigible reprobate was at his tricks again. -The Austrian General Haynau, notorious as a rigorous suppressor of -rebellion in Hungary and Italy, and in particular as a flogger of women, -came to England and took it into his head to pay a visit to Messrs. -Barclay and Perkins's brewery. The features of "General Hyena," as he -was everywhere called--his grim thin face, his enormous pepper-and-salt -moustaches--had gained a horrid celebrity; and it so happened that among -the clerks at the brewery there was a refugee from Vienna, who had -given his fellow-workers a first-hand account of the General's -characteristics. The Austrian Ambassador, scenting danger, begged his -friend not to appear in public, or, if he must do so, to cut off his -moustaches first. But the General would take no advice. He went to the -brewery, was immediately recognised, surrounded by a crowd of angry -draymen, pushed about, shouted at, punched in the ribs, and pulled by -the moustaches until, bolting down an alley with the mob at his heels -brandishing brooms and roaring "Hyena!" he managed to take refuge in -a public house, whence he was removed under the protection of several -policemen. The Austrian Government was angry and demanded explanations. -Palmerston, who, of course, was privately delighted by the incident, -replied regretting what had occurred, but adding that in his opinion -the General had "evinced a want of propriety in coming to England at -the present moment;" and he delivered his note to the Ambassador without -having previously submitted it to the Queen or to the Prime Minister. -Naturally, when this was discovered, there was a serious storm. The -Prince was especially indignant; the conduct of the draymen he regarded, -with disgust and alarm, as "a slight foretaste of what an unregulated -mass of illiterate people is capable;" and Palmerston was requested by -Lord John to withdraw his note, and to substitute for it another from -which all censure of the General had been omitted. On this the Foreign -Secretary threatened resignation, but the Prime Minister was firm. For a -moment the royal hopes rose high, only to be dashed to the ground again -by the cruel compliance of the enemy. Palmerston, suddenly lamblike, -agreed to everything; the note was withdrawn and altered, and peace was -patched up once more. - -It lasted for a year, and then, in October, 1851, the arrival of Kossuth -in England brought on another crisis. Palmerston's desire to receive the -Hungarian patriot at his house in London was vetoed by Lord John; once -more there was a sharp struggle; once more Palmerston, after threatening -resignation, yielded. But still the insubordinate man could not keep -quiet. A few weeks later a deputation of Radicals from Finsbury and -Islington waited on him at the Foreign Office and presented him with an -address, in which the Emperors of Austria and Russia were stigmatised as -"odious and detestable assassins" and "merciless tyrants and despots." -The Foreign Secretary in his reply, while mildly deprecating these -expressions, allowed his real sentiments to appear with a most -undiplomatic insouciance There was an immediate scandal, and the Court -flowed over with rage and vituperation. "I think," said the Baron, "the -man has been for some time insane." Victoria, in an agitated letter, -urged Lord John to assert his authority. But Lord John perceived that on -this matter the Foreign Secretary had the support of public opinion, and -he judged it wiser to bide his time. - -He had not long to wait. The culmination of the long series of -conflicts, threats, and exacerbations came before the year was out. On -December 2, Louis Napoleon's coup d'etat took place in Paris; and on -the following day Palmerston, without consulting anybody, expressed in a -conversation with the French Ambassador his approval of Napoleon's act. -Two days later, he was instructed by the Prime Minister, in accordance -with a letter from the Queen, that it was the policy of the English -Government to maintain an attitude of strict neutrality towards the -affairs of France. Nevertheless, in an official despatch to the British -Ambassador in Paris, he repeated the approval of the coup d'etat which -he had already given verbally to the French Ambassador in London. This -despatch was submitted neither to the Queen nor to the Prime Minister. -Lord John's patience, as he himself said, "was drained to the last -drop." He dismissed Lord Palmerston. - -Victoria was in ecstasies; and Albert knew that the triumph was his even -more than Lord John's. It was his wish that Lord Granville, a young man -whom he believed to be pliant to his influence, should be Palmerston's -successor; and Lord Granville was appointed. Henceforward, it seemed -that the Prince would have his way in foreign affairs. After years of -struggle and mortification, success greeted him on every hand. In his -family, he was an adored master; in the country, the Great Exhibition -had brought him respect and glory; and now in the secret seats of power -he had gained a new supremacy. He had wrestled with the terrible Lord -Palmerston, the embodiment of all that was most hostile to him in the -spirit of England, and his redoubtable opponent had been overthrown. Was -England herself at his feet? It might be so; and yet... it is said that -the sons of England have a certain tiresome quality: they never know -when they are beaten. It was odd, but Palmerston was positively still -jaunty. Was it possible? Could he believe, in his blind arrogance, -that even his ignominious dismissal from office was something that could -be brushed aside? - -III - -The Prince's triumph was short-lived. A few weeks later, owing to -Palmerston's influence, the Government was defeated in the House, and -Lord John resigned. Then, after a short interval, a coalition between -the Whigs and the followers of Peel came into power, under the -premiership of Lord Aberdeen. Once more, Palmerston was in the Cabinet. -It was true that he did not return to the Foreign Office; that was -something to the good; in the Home Department it might be hoped that -his activities would be less dangerous and disagreeable. But the Foreign -Secretary was no longer the complacent Granville; and in Lord Clarendon -the Prince knew that he had a Minister to deal with, who, discreet and -courteous as he was, had a mind of his own. These changes, however, were -merely the preliminaries of a far more serious development. - -Events, on every side, were moving towards a catastrophe. Suddenly the -nation found itself under the awful shadow of imminent war. For several -months, amid the shifting mysteries of diplomacy and the perplexed -agitations of politics, the issue grew more doubtful and more dark, -while the national temper was strained to the breaking-point. At the -very crisis of the long and ominous negotiations, it was announced that -Lord Palmerston had resigned. Then the pent-up fury of the people burst -forth. They had felt that in the terrible complexity of events they -were being guided by weak and embarrassed counsels; but they had been -reassured by the knowledge that at the centre of power there was one man -with strength, with courage, with determination, in whom they could put -their trust. They now learnt that that man was no longer among their -leaders. Why? In their rage, anxiety, and nervous exhaustion, they -looked round desperately for some hidden and horrible explanation of -what had occurred. They suspected plots, they smelt treachery in the -air. It was easy to guess the object upon which their frenzy would -vent itself. Was there not a foreigner in the highest of high places, a -foreigner whose hostility to their own adored champion was unrelenting -and unconcealed? The moment that Palmerston's resignation was known, -there was a universal outcry and an extraordinary tempest of anger and -hatred burst, with unparalleled violence, upon the head of the Prince. - -It was everywhere asserted and believed that the Queen's husband was a -traitor to the country, that he was a tool of the Russian Court, that -in obedience to Russian influences he had forced Palmerston out of the -Government, and that he was directing the foreign policy of England in -the interests of England's enemies. For many weeks these accusations -filled the whole of the press; repeated at public meetings, elaborated -in private talk, they flew over the country, growing every moment more -extreme and more improbable. While respectable newspapers thundered out -their grave invectives, halfpenny broadsides, hawked through the streets -of London, re-echoed in doggerel vulgarity the same sentiments and the -same suspicions(*). At last the wildest rumours began to spread. - - (*)"The Turkish war both far and near - Has played the very deuce then, - And little Al, the royal pal, - They say has turned a Russian; - Old Aberdeen, as may be seen, - Looks woeful pale and yellow, - And Old John Bull had his belly full - Of dirty Russian tallow." - - Chorus: - "We'll send him home and make him groan, - Oh, Al! you've played the deuce then; - The German lad has acted sad - And turned tail with the Russians." - - * * * * * - - "Last Monday night, all in a fright, - Al out of bed did tumble. - The German lad was raving mad, - How he did groan and grumble! - He cried to Vic, 'I've cut my stick: - To St. Petersburg go right slap.' - When Vic, 'tis said, jumped out of bed, - And wopped him with her night-cap." - -From Lovely Albert! a broadside preserved at the British Museum. - - -In January, 1854, it was whispered that the Prince had been seized, that -he had been found guilty of high treason, that he was to be committed -to the Tower. The Queen herself, some declared, had been arrested, -and large crowds actually collected round the Tower to watch the -incarceration of the royal miscreants.(*) - - (*)"You Jolly Turks, now go to work, - And show the Bear your power. - It is rumoured over Britain's isle - That A------ is in the Tower; - The postmen some suspicion had, - And opened the two letters, - 'Twas a pity sad the German lad - Should not have known much better!" - Lovely Albert! - -These fantastic hallucinations, the result of the fevered atmosphere of -approaching war, were devoid of any basis in actual fact. Palmerston's -resignation had been in all probability totally disconnected with -foreign policy; it had certainly been entirely spontaneous, and had -surprised the Court as much as the nation. Nor had Albert's influence -been used in any way to favour the interests of Russia. As often happens -in such cases, the Government had been swinging backwards and forwards -between two incompatible policies--that of non-interference and that of -threats supported by force--either of which, if consistently followed, -might well have had a successful and peaceful issue, but which, -mingled together, could only lead to war. Albert, with characteristic -scrupulosity, attempted to thread his way through the complicated -labyrinth of European diplomacy, and eventually was lost in the -maze. But so was the whole of the Cabinet; and, when war came, his -anti-Russian feelings were quite as vehement as those of the most -bellicose of Englishmen. - -Nevertheless, though the specific charges levelled against the Prince -were without foundation, there were underlying elements in the situation -which explained, if they did not justify, the popular state of mind. It -was true that the Queen's husband was a foreigner, who had been brought -up in a foreign Court, was impregnated with foreign ideas, and was -closely related to a multitude of foreign princes. Clearly this, though -perhaps an unavoidable, was an undesirable, state of affairs; nor -were the objections to it merely theoretical; it had in fact produced -unpleasant consequences of a serious kind. The Prince's German -proclivities were perpetually lamented by English Ministers; Lord -Palmerston, Lord Clarendon, Lord Aberdeen, all told the same tale; and -it was constantly necessary, in grave questions of national policy, to -combat the prepossessions of a Court in which German views and German -sentiments held a disproportionate place. As for Palmerston, his -language on this topic was apt to be unbridled. At the height of his -annoyance over his resignation, he roundly declared that he had been -made a victim to foreign intrigue. He afterwards toned down this -accusation; but the mere fact that such a suggestion from such a quarter -was possible at all showed to what unfortunate consequences Albert's -foreign birth and foreign upbringing might lead. - -But this was not all. A constitutional question of the most profound -importance was raised by the position of the Prince in England. His -presence gave a new prominence to an old problem--the precise definition -of the functions and the powers of the Crown. Those functions and powers -had become, in effect, his; and what sort of use was he making of them? -His views as to the place of the Crown in the Constitution are easily -ascertainable; for they were Stockmar's; and it happens that we possess -a detailed account of Stockmar's opinions upon the subject in a long -letter addressed by him to the Prince at the time of this very crisis, -just before the outbreak of the Crimean War. Constitutional Monarchy, -according to the Baron, had suffered an eclipse since the passing of -the Reform Bill. It was now "constantly in danger of becoming a pure -Ministerial Government." The old race of Tories, who "had a direct -interest in upholding the prerogatives of the Crown," had died out; -and the Whigs were "nothing but partly conscious, partly unconscious -Republicans, who stand in the same relation to the Throne as the wolf -does to the lamb." There was a rule that it was unconstitutional to -introduce "the name and person of the irresponsible Sovereign" -into parliamentary debates on constitutional matters; this was "a -constitutional fiction, which, although undoubtedly of old standing, -was fraught with danger"; and the Baron warned the Prince that "if the -English Crown permit a Whig Ministry to follow this rule in practice, -without exception, you must not wonder if in a little time you find the -majority of the people impressed with the belief that the King, in the -view of the law, is nothing but a mandarin figure, which has to nod -its head in assent, or shake it in denial, as his Minister pleases." -To prevent this from happening, it was of extreme importance, said -the Baron, "that no opportunity should be let slip of vindicating the -legitimate position of the Crown." "And this is not hard to do," he -added, "and can never embarrass a Minister where such straightforward -loyal personages as the Queen and the Prince are concerned." In his -opinion, the very lowest claim of the Royal Prerogative should include -"a right on the part of the King to be the permanent President of his -Ministerial Council." The Sovereign ought to be "in the position of -a permanent Premier, who takes rank above the temporary head of the -Cabinet, and in matters of discipline exercises supreme authority." The -Sovereign "may even take a part in the initiation and the maturing of -the Government measures; for it would be unreasonable to expect that a -king, himself as able, as accomplished, and as patriotic as the best of -his Ministers, should be prevented from making use of these qualities -at the deliberations of his Council." "The judicious exercise of this -right," concluded the Baron, "which certainly requires a master mind, -would not only be the best guarantee for Constitutional Monarchy, but -would raise it to a height of power, stability, and symmetry, which has -never been attained." - -Now it may be that this reading of the Constitution is a possible one, -though indeed it is hard to see how it can be made compatible with the -fundamental doctrine of ministerial responsibility. William III presided -over his Council, and he was a constitutional monarch; and it seems -that Stockmar had in his mind a conception of the Crown which would have -given it a place in the Constitution analogous to that which it filled -at the time of William III. But it is clear that such a theory, which -would invest the Crown with more power than it possessed even under -George III, runs counter to the whole development of English public life -since the Revolution; and the fact that it was held by Stockmar, and -instilled by him into Albert, was of very serious importance. For there -was good reason to believe not only that these doctrines were held by -Albert in theory, but that he was making a deliberate and sustained -attempt to give them practical validity. The history of the struggle -between the Crown and Palmerston provided startling evidence that this -was the case. That struggle reached its culmination when, in Stockmar's -memorandum of 1850, the Queen asserted her "constitutional right" -to dismiss the Foreign Secretary if he altered a despatch which had -received her sanction. The memorandum was, in fact, a plain declaration -that the Crown intended to act independently of the Prime Minister. -Lord John Russell, anxious at all costs to strengthen himself against -Palmerston, accepted the memorandum, and thereby implicitly allowed the -claim of the Crown. More than that; after the dismissal of Palmerston, -among the grounds on which Lord John justified that dismissal in the -House of Commons he gave a prominent place to the memorandum of 1850. It -became apparent that the displeasure of the Sovereign might be a reason -for the removal of a powerful and popular Minister. It seemed indeed -as if, under the guidance of Stockmar and Albert, the "Constitutional -Monarchy" might in very truth be rising "to a height of power, -stability, and symmetry, which had never been attained." - -But this new development in the position of the Crown, grave as it -was in itself, was rendered peculiarly disquieting by the unusual -circumstances which surrounded it. For the functions of the Crown were -now, in effect, being exercised by a person unknown to the Constitution, -who wielded over the Sovereign an undefined and unbounded influence. The -fact that this person was the Sovereign's husband, while it explained -his influence and even made it inevitable, by no means diminished its -strange and momentous import. An ambiguous, prepotent figure had come -to disturb the ancient, subtle, and jealously guarded balance of the -English Constitution. Such had been the unexpected outcome of the -tentative and fainthearted opening of Albert's political life. He -himself made no attempt to minimise either the multiplicity or the -significance of the functions he performed. He considered that it was -his duty, he told the Duke of Wellington in 1850, to "sink his -OWN INDIVIDUAL existence in that of his wife--assume no separate -responsibility before the public, but make his position entirely a part -of hers--fill up every gap which, as a woman, she would naturally leave -in the exercise of her regal functions--continually and anxiously watch -every part of the public business, in order to be able to advise and -assist her at any moment in any of the multifarious and difficult -questions or duties brought before her, sometimes international, -sometimes political, or social, or personal. As the natural head of her -family, superintendent of her household, manager of her private affairs, -sole CONFIDENTIAL adviser in politics, and only assistant in her -communications with the officers of the Government, he is, besides, -the husband of the Queen, the tutor of the royal children, the private -secretary of the Sovereign, and her permanent minister." -Stockmar's pupil had assuredly gone far and learnt well. Stockmar's -pupil!--precisely; the public, painfully aware of Albert's predominance, -had grown, too, uneasily conscious that Victoria's master had a master -of his own. Deep in the darkness the Baron loomed. Another foreigner! -Decidedly, there were elements in the situation which went far to -justify the popular alarm. A foreign Baron controlled a foreign Prince, -and the foreign Prince controlled the Crown of England. And the Crown -itself was creeping forward ominously; and when, from under its shadow, -the Baron and the Prince had frowned, a great Minister, beloved of the -people, had fallen. Where was all this to end? - -Within a few weeks Palmerston withdrew his resignation, and the public -frenzy subsided as quickly as it had arisen. When Parliament met, the -leaders of both the parties in both the Houses made speeches in favour -of the Prince, asserting his unimpeachable loyalty to the country and -vindicating his right to advise the Sovereign in all matters of State. -Victoria was delighted. "The position of my beloved lord and master," -she told the Baron, "has been defined for once amid all and his merits -have been acknowledged on all sides most duly. There was an immense -concourse of people assembled when we went to the House of Lords, and -the people were very friendly." Immediately afterwards, the country -finally plunged into the Crimean War. In the struggle that followed, -Albert's patriotism was put beyond a doubt, and the animosities of -the past were forgotten. But the war had another consequence, less -gratifying to the royal couple: it crowned the ambition of Lord -Palmerston. In 1855, the man who five years before had been pronounced -by Lord John Russell to be "too old to do much in the future," became -Prime Minister of England, and, with one short interval, remained in -that position for ten years. - - - -CHAPTER VI. LAST YEARS OF PRINCE CONSORT - -I - -The weak-willed youth who took no interest in polities and never read a -newspaper had grown into a man of unbending determination whose tireless -energies were incessantly concentrated upon the laborious business of -government and the highest questions of State. He was busy now from -morning till night. In the winter, before the dawn, he was to be -seen, seated at his writing-table, working by the light of the green -reading--lamp which he had brought over with him from Germany, and -the construction of which he had much improved by an ingenious device. -Victoria was early too, but she was not so early as Albert; and when, in -the chill darkness, she took her seat at her own writing-table, placed -side by side with his, she invariably found upon it a neat pile of -papers arranged for her inspection and her signature. The day, -thus begun, continued in unremitting industry. At breakfast, the -newspapers--the once hated newspapers--made their appearance, and the -Prince, absorbed in their perusal, would answer no questions, or, if -an article struck him, would read it aloud. After, that there were -ministers and secretaries to interview; there was a vast correspondence -to be carried on; there were numerous memoranda to be made. Victoria, -treasuring every word, preserving every letter, was all breathless -attention and eager obedience. Sometimes Albert would actually ask her -advice. He consulted her about his English: "Lese recht aufmerksam, und -sage wenn irgend ein Fehler ist,"(*) he would say; or, as he handed -her a draft for her signature, he would observe, "Ich hab' Dir hier ein -Draft gemacht, lese es mal! Ich dachte es ware recht so."(**) Thus the -diligent, scrupulous, absorbing hours passed by. Fewer and fewer grew -the moments of recreation and of exercise. The demands of society were -narrowed down to the smallest limits, and even then but grudgingly -attended to. It was no longer a mere pleasure, it was a positive -necessity, to go to bed as early as possible in order to be up and at -work on the morrow betimes. - - (*) "Read this carefully, and tell me if there are any - mistakes in it." - - (**) "Here is a draft I have made for you. Read it. I should - think this would do." - -The important and exacting business of government, which became at last -the dominating preoccupation in Albert's mind, still left unimpaired -his old tastes and interests; he remained devoted to art, to science, -to philosophy, and a multitude of subsidiary activities showed how his -energies increased as the demands upon them grew. For whenever duty -called, the Prince was all alertness. With indefatigable perseverance he -opened museums, laid the foundation stones of hospitals, made speeches -to the Royal Agricultural Society, and attended meetings of the British -Association. The National Gallery particularly interested him: he drew -up careful regulations for the arrangement of the pictures according to -schools; and he attempted--though in vain--to have the whole collection -transported to South Kensington. Feodora, now the Princess Hohenlohe, -after a visit to England, expressed in a letter to Victoria her -admiration of Albert both as a private and a public character. Nor did -she rely only on her own opinion. "I must just copy out," she said, -"what Mr. Klumpp wrote to me some little time ago, and which is -quite true--'Prince Albert is one of the few Royal personages who can -sacrifice to any principle (as soon as it has become evident to them to -be good and noble) all those notions (or sentiments) to which others, -owing to their narrow-mindedness, or to the prejudices of their rank, -are so thoroughly inclined strongly to cling.' There is something so -truly religious in this," the Princess added, "as well as humane and -just, most soothing to my feelings which are so often hurt and disturbed -by what I hear and see." - -Victoria, from the depth of her heart, subscribed to all the eulogies of -Feodora and Mr. Klumpp. She only found that they were insufficient. As -she watched her beloved Albert, after toiling with state documents and -public functions, devoting every spare moment of his time to domestic -duties, to artistic appreciation, and to intellectual improvements; as -she listened to him cracking his jokes at the luncheon table, or playing -Mendelssohn on the organ, or pointing out the merits of Sir Edwin -Landseer's pictures; as she followed him round while he gave -instructions about the breeding of cattle, or decided that the -Gainsboroughs must be hung higher up so that the Winterhalters might be -properly seen--she felt perfectly certain that no other wife had ever -had such a husband. His mind was apparently capable of everything, -and she was hardly surprised to learn that he had made an important -discovery for the conversion of sewage into agricultural manure. -Filtration from below upwards, he explained, through some appropriate -medium, which retained the solids and set free the fluid sewage for -irrigation, was the principle of the scheme. "All previous plans," -he said, "would have cost millions; mine costs next to nothing." -Unfortunately, owing to a slight miscalculation, the invention proved -to be impracticable; but Albert's intelligence was unrebuffed, and he -passed on, to plunge with all his accustomed ardour into a prolonged -study of the rudiments of lithography. - -But naturally it was upon his children that his private interests and -those of Victoria were concentrated most vigorously. The royal nurseries -showed no sign of emptying. The birth of the Prince Arthur in 1850 was -followed, three years later, by that of the Prince Leopold; and in -1857 the Princess Beatrice was born. A family of nine must be, in any -circumstances, a grave responsibility; and the Prince realised to the -full how much the high destinies of his offspring intensified the need -of parental care. It was inevitable that he should believe profoundly -in the importance of education; he himself had been the product of -education; Stockmar had made him what he was; it was for him, in his -turn, to be a Stockmar--to be even more than a Stockmar--to the young -creatures he had brought into the world. Victoria would assist him; a -Stockmar, no doubt, she could hardly be; but she could be perpetually -vigilant, she could mingle strictness with her affection, and she could -always set a good example. These considerations, of course, applied -pre-eminently to the education of the Prince of Wales. How tremendous -was the significance of every particle of influence which went to the -making of the future King of England! Albert set to work with a will. -But, watching with Victoria the minutest details of the physical, -intellectual, and moral training of his children, he soon perceived, to -his distress, that there was something unsatisfactory in the development -of his eldest son. The Princess Royal was an extremely intelligent -child; but Bertie, though he was good-humoured and gentle, seemed to -display a deep-seated repugnance to every form of mental exertion. This -was most regrettable, but the remedy was obvious: the parental efforts -must be redoubled; instruction must be multiplied; not for a single -instant must the educational pressure be allowed to relax. Accordingly, -more tutors were selected, the curriculum was revised, the time-table of -studies was rearranged, elaborate memoranda dealing with every possible -contingency were drawn up. It was above all essential that there should -be no slackness: "Work," said the Prince, "must be work." And work -indeed it was. The boy grew up amid a ceaseless round of paradigms, -syntactical exercises, dates, genealogical tables, and lists of capes. -Constant notes flew backwards and forwards between the Prince, the -Queen, and the tutors, with inquiries, with reports of progress, with -detailed recommendations; and these notes were all carefully preserved -for future reference. It was, besides, vital that the heir to the throne -should be protected from the slightest possibility of contamination from -the outside world. The Prince of Wales was not as other boys; he might, -occasionally, be allowed to invite some sons of the nobility, boys of -good character, to play with him in the garden of Buckingham Palace; -but his father presided, with alarming precision, over their sports. In -short, every possible precaution was taken, every conceivable effort -was made. Yet, strange to say, the object of all this vigilance and -solicitude continued to be unsatisfactory--appeared, in fact, to be -positively growing worse. It was certainly very odd: the more lessons -that Bertie had to do, the less he did them; and the more carefully he -was guarded against excitements and frivolities, the more desirous -of mere amusement he seemed to become. Albert was deeply grieved and -Victoria was sometimes very angry; but grief and anger produced no more -effect than supervision and time-tables. The Prince of Wales, in -spite of everything, grew up into manhood without the faintest sign of -"adherence to and perseverance in the plan both of studies and life--" -as one of the Royal memoranda put it--which had been laid down with such -extraordinary forethought by his father. - -II - -Against the insidious worries of politics, the boredom of society -functions, and the pompous publicity of state ceremonies, Osborne had -afforded a welcome refuge; but it soon appeared that even Osborne was -too little removed from the world. After all, the Solent was a feeble -barrier. Oh, for some distant, some almost inaccessible sanctuary, -where, in true domestic privacy, one could make happy holiday, just as -if--or at least very, very, nearly--one were anybody else! Victoria, -ever since, together with Albert, she had visited Scotland in the early -years of her marriage, had felt that her heart was in the Highlands. She -had returned to them a few years later, and her passion had grown. How -romantic they were! And how Albert enjoyed them too! His spirits rose -quite wonderfully as soon as he found himself among the hills and the -conifers. "It is a happiness to see him," she wrote. "Oh! What can equal -the beauties of nature!" she exclaimed in her journal, during one of -these visits. "What enjoyment there is in them! Albert enjoys it so -much; he is in ecstasies here." "Albert said," she noted next day, "that -the chief beauty of mountain scenery consists in its frequent changes. -We came home at six o'clock." Then she went on a longer expedition--up -to the very top of a high hill. "It was quite romantic. Here we were -with only this Highlander behind us holding the ponies (for we got off -twice and walked about). . . . We came home at half-past eleven,--the -most delightful, most romantic ride and walk I ever had. I had never -been up such a mountain, and then the day was so fine." The Highlanders, -too, were such astonishing people. They "never make difficulties," she -noted, "but are cheerful, and happy, and merry, and ready to walk, -and run, and do anything." As for Albert he "highly appreciated the -good-breeding, simplicity, and intelligence, which make it so pleasant -and even instructive to talk to them." "We were always in the habit," -wrote Her Majesty, "of conversing with the Highlanders--with whom one -comes so much in contact in the Highlands." She loved everything about -them--their customs, their dress, their dances, even their musical -instruments. "There were nine pipers at the castle," she wrote after -staying with Lord Breadalbane; "sometimes one and sometimes three -played. They always played about breakfast-time, again during the -morning, at luncheon, and also whenever we went in and out; again before -dinner, and during most of dinner-time. We both have become quite fond -of the bag-pipes." - -It was quite impossible not to wish to return to such pleasures again -and again; and in 1848 the Queen took a lease of Balmoral House, a small -residence near Braemar in the wilds of Aberdeenshire. Four years later -she bought the place outright. Now she could be really happy every -summer; now she could be simple and at her ease; now she could -be romantic every evening, and dote upon Albert, without a single -distraction, all day long. The diminutive scale of the house was in -itself a charm. Nothing was more amusing than to find oneself living -in two or three little sitting--rooms, with the children crammed away -upstairs, and the minister in attendance with only a tiny bedroom to do -all his work in. And then to be able to run in and out of doors as one -liked, and to sketch, and to walk, and to watch the red deer coming so -surprisingly close, and to pay visits to the cottagers! And occasionally -one could be more adventurous still--one could go and stay for a night -or two at the Bothie at Alt-na-giuthasach--a mere couple of huts with "a -wooden addition"--and only eleven people in the whole party! And there -were mountains to be climbed and cairns to be built in solemn pomp. "At -last, when the cairn, which is, I think, seven or eight feet high, was -nearly completed, Albert climbed up to the top of it, and placed the -last stone; after which three cheers were given. It was a gay, pretty, -and touching sight; and I felt almost inclined to cry. The view was -so beautiful over the dear hills; the day so fine; the whole so -gemuthlich." And in the evening there were sword-dances and reels. - -But Albert had determined to pull down the little old house, and to -build in its place a castle of his own designing. With great ceremony, -in accordance with a memorandum drawn up by the Prince for the occasion, -the foundation-stone of the new edifice was laid, and by 1855 it was -habitable. Spacious, built of granite in the Scotch baronial style, with -a tower 100 feet high, and minor turrets and castellated gables, -the castle was skilfully arranged to command the finest views of the -surrounding mountains and of the neighbouring river Dee. Upon the -interior decorations Albert and Victoria lavished all their care. The -wall and the floors were of pitch-pine, and covered with specially -manufactured tartars. The Balmoral tartan, in red and grey, designed by -the Prince, and the Victoria tartan, with a white stripe, designed by -the Queen, were to be seen in every room: there were tartan curtains, -and tartan chair-covers, and even tartan linoleums. Occasionally the -Royal Stuart tartan appeared, for Her Majesty always maintained that she -was an ardent Jacobite. Water-colour sketches by Victoria hung upon the -walls, together with innumerable stags' antlers, and the head of a boar, -which had been shot by Albert in Germany. In an alcove in the hall, -stood a life-sized statue of Albert in Highland dress. - -Victoria declared that it was perfection. "Every year," she wrote, "my -heart becomes more fixed in this dear paradise, and so much more so -now, that ALL has become my dear Albert's own creation, own work, own -building, own lay-out... and his great taste, and the impress of his -dear hand, have been stamped everywhere." - -And here, in very truth, her happiest days were passed. In after years, -when she looked back upon them, a kind of glory, a radiance as of -an unearthly holiness, seemed to glow about these golden hours. Each -hallowed moment stood out clear, beautiful, eternally significant. For, -at the time, every experience there, sentimental, or grave, or trivial, -had come upon her with a peculiar vividness, like a flashing of -marvellous lights. Albert's stalkings--an evening walk when she lost her -way--Vicky sitting down on a wasps' nest--a torchlight dance--with what -intensity such things, and ten thousand like them, impressed themselves -upon her eager consciousness! And how she flew to her journal to note -them down! The news of the Duke's death! What a moment--when, as she -sat sketching after a picnic by a loch in the lonely hills, Lord Derby's -letter had been brought to her, and she had learnt that "ENGLAND'S, or -rather BRITAIN'S pride, her glory, her hero, the greatest man she had -ever produced, was no morel." For such were here reflections upon -the "old rebel" of former days. But that past had been utterly -obliterated--no faintest memory of it remained. For years she had -looked up to the Duke as a figure almost superhuman. Had he not been a -supporter of good Sir Robert? Had he not asked Albert to succeed him as -commander-in-chief? And what a proud moment it had been when he stood as -sponsor to her son Arthur, who was born on his eighty-first birthday! So -now she filled a whole page of her diary with panegyrical regrets. "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... The -Crown never possessed--and I fear never WILL--so DEVOTED, loyal, -and faithful a subject, so staunch a supporter! To US his loss is -IRREPARABLE... To Albert he showed the greatest kindness and the utmost -confidence... Not an eye will be dry in the whole country." These were -serious thoughts; but they were soon succeeded by others hardly less -moving--by events as impossible to forget--by Mr. MacLeod's sermon -on Nicodemus--by the gift of a red flannel petticoat to Mrs. P. -Farquharson, and another to old Kitty Kear. - -But, without doubt, most memorable, most delightful of all were the -expeditions--the rare, exciting expeditions up distant mountains, across -broad rivers, through strange country, and lasting several days. With -only two gillies--Grant and Brown--for servants, and with assumed names. -It was more like something in a story than real life. "We had decided -to call ourselves LORD AND LADY CHURCHILL AND AND PARTY--Lady Churchill -passing as MISS SPENCER and General Grey as DR. GREY! Brown once forgot -this and called me 'Your Majesty' as I was getting into the carriage, -and Grant on the box once called Albert 'Your Royal Highness,' which -set us off laughing, but no one observed it." Strong, vigorous, -enthusiastic, bringing, so it seemed, good fortune with her--the -Highlanders declared she had "a lucky foot"--she relished -everything--the scrambles and the views and the contretemps and the -rough inns with their coarse fare and Brown and Grant waiting at table. -She could have gone on for ever and ever, absolutely happy with Albert -beside her and Brown at her pony's head. But the time came for turning -homewards, alas! the time came for going back to England. She could -hardly bear it; she sat disconsolate in her room and watched the snow -falling. The last day! Oh! If only she could be snowed up! - -III - -The Crimean War brought new experiences, and most of them were pleasant -ones. It was pleasant to be patriotic and pugnacious, to look out -appropriate prayers to be read in the churches, to have news of -glorious victories, and to know oneself, more proudly than ever, the -representative of England. With that spontaneity of feeling which was so -peculiarly her own, Victoria poured out her emotion, her admiration, -her pity, her love, upon her "dear soldiers." When she gave them their -medals her exultation knew no bounds. "Noble fellows!" she wrote to the -King of the Belgians, "I own I feel as if these were MY OWN CHILDREN; -my heart beats for THEM as for my NEAREST and DEAREST. They were so -touched, so pleased; many, I hear, cried--and they won't hear of giving -up their medals to have their names engraved upon them for fear they -should not receive the IDENTICAL ONE put into THEIR HANDS BY ME, which -is quite touching. Several came by in a sadly mutilated state." She and -they were at one. They felt that she had done them a splendid honour, -and she, with perfect genuineness, shared their feeling. Albert's -attitude towards such things was different; there was an austerity -in him which quite prohibited the expansions of emotion. When General -Williams returned from the heroic defence of Kars and was presented at -Court, the quick, stiff, distant bow with which the Prince received him -struck like ice upon the beholders. He was a stranger still. - -But he had other things to occupy him, more important, surely, than the -personal impressions of military officers and people who went to Court. -He was at work--ceaselessly at work--on the tremendous task of carrying -through the war to a successful conclusion. State papers, despatches, -memoranda, poured from him in an overwhelming stream. Between 1853 and -1857 fifty folio volumes were filled with the comments of his pen upon -the Eastern question. Nothing would induce him to stop. Weary ministers -staggered under the load of his advice; but his advice continued, piling -itself up over their writing-tables, and flowing out upon them from -red box after red box. Nor was it advice to be ignored. The talent for -administration which had reorganised the royal palaces and planned the -Great Exhibition asserted itself no less in the confused complexities of -war. Again and again the Prince's suggestions, rejected or unheeded at -first, were adopted under the stress of circumstances and found to be -full of value. The enrolment of a foreign legion, the establishment of -a depot for troops at Malta, the institution of periodical reports and -tabulated returns as to the condition of the army at Sebastopol--such -were the contrivances and the achievements of his indefatigable brain. -He went further: in a lengthy minute he laid down the lines for a -radical reform in the entire administration of the army. This was -premature, but his proposal that "a camp of evolution" should be -created, in which troops should be concentrated and drilled, proved to -be the germ of Aldershot. - -Meanwhile Victoria had made a new friend: she had suddenly been -captivated by Napoleon III. Her dislike of him had been strong at first. -She considered that he was a disreputable adventurer who had usurped the -throne of poor old Louis Philippe; and besides he was hand-in-glove -with Lord Palmerston. For a long time, although he was her ally, she was -unwilling to meet him; but at last a visit of the Emperor and Empress to -England was arranged. Directly he appeared at Windsor her heart began -to soften. She found that she was charmed by his quiet manners, his -low, soft voice, and by the soothing simplicity of his conversation. The -good-will of England was essential to the Emperor's position in Europe, -and he had determined to fascinate the Queen. He succeeded. There was -something deep within her which responded immediately and vehemently to -natures that offered a romantic contrast with her own. Her adoration -of Lord Melbourne was intimately interwoven with her half-unconscious -appreciation of the exciting unlikeness between herself and that -sophisticated, subtle, aristocratical old man. Very different was the -quality of her unlikeness to Napoleon; but its quantity was at least -as great. From behind the vast solidity of her respectability, her -conventionality, her established happiness, she peered out with a -strange delicious pleasure at that unfamiliar, darkly-glittering foreign -object, moving so meteorically before her, an ambiguous creature of -wilfulness and Destiny. And, to her surprise, where she had dreaded -antagonisms, she discovered only sympathies. He was, she said, "so -quiet, so simple, naif even, so pleased to be informed about things he -does not know, so gentle, so full of tact, dignity, and modesty, so full -of kind attention towards us, never saying a word, or doing a thing, -which could put me out... There is something fascinating, melancholy, -and engaging which draws you to him, in spite of any prevention you may -have against him, and certainly without the assistance of any outward -appearance, though I like his face." She observed that he rode -"extremely well, and looks well on horseback, as he sits high." And -he danced "with great dignity and spirit." Above all, he listened to -Albert; listened with the most respectful attention; showed, in fact, -how pleased he was "to be informed about things he did not know;" and -afterwards was heard to declare that he had never met the Prince's -equal. On one occasion, indeed--but only on one--he had seemed to grow -slightly restive. In a diplomatic conversation, "I expatiated a little -on the Holstein question," wrote the Prince in a memorandum, "which -appeared to bore the Emperor as 'tres compliquee.'" - -Victoria, too, became much attached to the Empress, whose looks and -graces she admired without a touch of jealousy. Eugenie, indeed, in -the plenitude of her beauty, exquisitely dressed in wonderful Parisian -crinolines which set off to perfection her tall and willowy figure, -might well have caused some heart-burning in the breast of her hostess, -who, very short, rather stout, quite plain, in garish middle-class -garments, could hardly be expected to feel at her best in such company. -But Victoria had no misgivings. To her it mattered nothing that her -face turned red in the heat and that her purple pork-pie hat was of last -year's fashion, while Eugenie, cool and modish, floated in an infinitude -of flounces by her side. She was Queen of England, and was not that -enough? It certainly seemed to be; true majesty was hers, and she knew -it. More than once, when the two were together in public, it was the -woman to whom, as it seemed, nature and art had given so little, who, -by the sheer force of an inherent grandeur, completely threw her adorned -and beautiful companion into the shade. - -There were tears when the moment came for parting, and Victoria felt -"quite wehmuthig," as her guests went away from Windsor. But before long -she and Albert paid a return visit to France, where everything was very -delightful, and she drove incognito through the streets of Paris in a -"common bonnet," and saw a play in the theatre at St. Cloud, and, one -evening, at a great party given by the Emperor in her honour at the -Chateau of Versailles, talked a little to a distinguished-looking -Prussian gentleman, whose name was Bismarck. Her rooms were furnished -so much to her taste that she declared they gave her quite a home -feeling--that, if her little dog were there, she should really imagine -herself at home. Nothing was said, but three days later her little -dog barked a welcome to her as she entered the apartments. The Emperor -himself, sparing neither trouble nor expense, had personally arranged -the charming surprise. Such were his attentions. She returned to England -more enchanted than ever. "Strange indeed," she exclaimed, "are the -dispensations and ways of Providence!" - -The alliance prospered, and the war drew towards a conclusion. Both the -Queen and the Prince, it is true, were most anxious that there should -not be a premature peace. When Lord Aberdeen wished to open negotiations -Albert attacked him in a "geharnischten" letter, while Victoria rode -about on horseback reviewing the troops. At last, however, Sebastopol -was captured. The news reached Balmoral late at night, and in a few -minutes Albert and all the gentlemen in every species of attire sallied -forth, followed by all the servants, and gradually by all the population -of the village-keepers, gillies, workmen--"up to the top of the cairn." -A bonfire was lighted, the pipes were played, and guns were shot off. -"About three-quarters of an hour after Albert came down and said the -scene had been wild and exciting beyond everything. The people had -been drinking healths in whisky and were in great ecstasy." The "great -ecstasy," perhaps, would be replaced by other feelings next morning; -but at any rate the war was over--though, to be sure, its end seemed as -difficult to account for as its beginning. The dispensations and ways of -Providence continued to be strange. - -IV - -An unexpected consequence of the war was a complete change in the -relations between the royal pair and Palmerston. The Prince and the -Minister drew together over their hostility to Russia, and thus it came -about that when Victoria found it necessary to summon her old enemy to -form an administration she did so without reluctance. The premiership, -too, had a sobering effect upon Palmerston; he grew less impatient and -dictatorial; considered with attention the suggestions of the Crown, and -was, besides, genuinely impressed by the Prince's ability and knowledge. -Friction, no doubt, there still occasionally was, for, while the Queen -and the Prince devoted themselves to foreign politics as much as ever, -their views, when the war was over, became once more antagonistic to -those of the Prime Minister. This was especially the case with regard -to Italy. Albert, theoretically the friend of constitutional government, -distrusted Cavour, was horrified by Garibaldi, and dreaded the danger -of England being drawn into war with Austria. Palmerston, on the other -hand, was eager for Italian independence; but he was no longer at the -Foreign Office, and the brunt of the royal displeasure had now to be -borne by Lord John Russell. In a few years the situation had curiously -altered. It was Lord John who now filled the subordinate and the -ungrateful role; but the Foreign Secretary, in his struggle with -the Crown, was supported, instead of opposed, by the Prime Minister. -Nevertheless the struggle was fierce, and the policy, by which the -vigorous sympathy of England became one of the decisive factors in the -final achievement of Italian unity, was only carried through in face of -the violent opposition of the Court. - -Towards the other European storm-centre, also, the Prince's attitude -continued to be very different to that of Palmerston. Albert's great -wish was for a united Germany under the leadership of a constitutional -and virtuous Prussia; Palmerston did not think that there was much to -be said for the scheme, but he took no particular interest in German -politics, and was ready enough to agree to a proposal which was warmly -supported by both the Prince and the Queen--that the royal Houses of -England and Prussia should be united by the marriage of the Princess -Royal with the Prussian Crown Prince. Accordingly, when the Princess was -not yet fifteen, the Prince, a young man of twenty-four, came over on -a visit to Balmoral, and the betrothal took place. Two years later, -in 1857, the marriage was celebrated. At the last moment, however, it -seemed that there might be a hitch. It was pointed out in Prussia that -it was customary for Princes of the blood royal to be married in Berlin, -and it was suggested that there was no reason why the present case -should be treated as an exception. When this reached the ears of -Victoria, she was speechless with indignation. In a note, emphatic -even for Her Majesty, she instructed the Foreign Secretary to tell -the Prussian Ambassador "not to ENTERTAIN the POSSIBILITY of such a -question... The Queen NEVER could consent to it, both for public and for -private reasons, and the assumption of its being TOO MUCH for a Prince -Royal of Prussia to come over to marry the Princess Royal of Great -Britain in England is too ABSURD to say the least. . . Whatever may be -the usual practice of Prussian princes, it is not EVERY day that one -marries the eldest daughter of the Queen of England. The question must -therefore be considered as settled and closed." It was, and the -wedding took place in St. James's Chapel. There were great -festivities--illuminations, state concerts, immense crowds, and general -rejoicings. At Windsor a magnificent banquet was given to the bride and -bridegroom in the Waterloo room, at which, Victoria noted in her diary, -"everybody was most friendly and kind about Vicky and full of the -universal enthusiasm, of which the Duke of Buccleuch gave us most -pleasing instances, he having been in the very thick of the crowd and -among the lowest of the low." Her feelings during several days had been -growing more and more emotional, and when the time came for the young -couple to depart she very nearly broke down--but not quite. "Poor dear -child!" she wrote afterwards. "I clasped her in my arms and blessed her, -and knew not what to say. I kissed good Fritz and pressed his hand again -and again. He was unable to speak and the tears were in his eyes. I -embraced them both again at the carriage door, and Albert got into the -carriage, an open one, with them and Bertie... The band struck up. I -wished good-bye to the good Perponchers. General Schreckenstein was much -affected. I pressed his hand, and the good Dean's, and then went quickly -upstairs." - -Albert, as well as General Schreckenstein, was much affected. He was -losing his favourite child, whose opening intelligence had already begun -to display a marked resemblance to his own--an adoring pupil, who, in -a few years, might have become an almost adequate companion. An ironic -fate had determined that the daughter who was taken from him should be -sympathetic, clever, interested in the arts and sciences, and endowed -with a strong taste for memoranda, while not a single one of these -qualities could be discovered in the son who remained. For certainly -the Prince of Wales did not take after his father. Victoria's prayer had -been unanswered, and with each succeeding year it became more obvious -that Bertie was a true scion of the House of Brunswick. But these -evidences of innate characteristics only served to redouble the efforts -of his parents; it still might not be too late to incline the young -branch, by ceaseless pressure and careful fastenings, to grow in -the proper direction. Everything was tried. The boy was sent on a -continental tour with a picked body of tutors, but the results were -unsatisfactory. At his father's request he kept a diary which, on his -return, was inspected by the Prince. It was found to be distressingly -meagre: what a multitude of highly interesting reflections might have -been arranged under the heading: "The First Prince of Wales visiting the -Pope!" But there was not a single one. "Le jeune prince plaisit a -tout le monde," old Metternich reported to Guizot, "mais avait l'air -embarrasse et tres triste." On his seventeenth birthday a memorandum -was drawn up over the names of the Queen and the Prince informing their -eldest son that he was now entering upon the period of manhood, -and directing him henceforward to perform the duties of a Christian -gentleman. "Life is composed of duties," said the memorandum, "and in -the due, punctual and cheerful performance of them the true Christian, -true soldier, and true gentleman is recognised... A new sphere of life -will open for you in which you will have to be taught what to do and -what not to do, a subject requiring study more important than any in -which you have hitherto been engaged." On receipt of the memorandum -Bertie burst into tears. At the same time another memorandum was drawn -up, headed "confidential: for the guidance of the gentlemen appointed -to attend on the Prince of Wales." This long and elaborate document laid -down "certain principles" by which the "conduct and demeanour" of the -gentlemen were to be regulated "and which it is thought may conduce to -the benefit of the Prince of Wales." "The qualities which distinguish a -gentleman in society," continued this remarkable paper, "are:-- - -(1) His appearance, his deportment and dress. - -(2) The character of his relations with, and treatment of, others. - -(3) His desire and power to acquit himself creditably in conversation or -whatever is the occupation of the society with which he mixes." - -A minute and detailed analysis of these subheadings followed, filling -several pages, and the memorandum ended with a final exhortation to the -gentlemen: "If they will duly appreciate the responsibility of their -position, and taking the points above laid down as the outline, will -exercise their own good sense in acting UPON ALL OCCASIONS all -upon these principles, thinking no point of detail too minute to be -important, but maintaining one steady consistent line of conduct -they may render essential service to the young Prince and justify the -flattering selection made by the royal parents." A year later the young -Prince was sent to Oxford, where the greatest care was taken that -he should not mix with the undergraduates. Yes, everything had been -tried--everything... with one single exception. The experiment had never -been made of letting Bertie enjoy himself. But why should it have been? -"Life is composed of duties." What possible place could there be for -enjoyment in the existence of a Prince of Wales? - -The same year which deprived Albert of the Princess Royal brought him -another and a still more serious loss. The Baron had paid his last visit -to England. For twenty years, as he himself said in a letter to the King -of the Belgians, he had performed "the laborious and exhausting office -of a paternal friend and trusted adviser" to the Prince and the Queen. -He was seventy; he was tired, physically and mentally; it was time to -go. He returned to his home in Coburg, exchanging, once for all, the -momentous secrecies of European statecraft for the little-tattle of a -provincial capital and the gossip of family life. In his stiff chair -by the fire he nodded now over old stories--not of emperors and -generals--but of neighbours and relatives and the domestic adventures -of long ago--the burning of his father's library--and the goat that ran -upstairs to his sister's room and ran twice round the table and then ran -down again. Dyspepsia and depression still attacked him; but, looking -back over his life, he was not dissatisfied. His conscience was clear. -"I have worked as long as I had strength to work," he said, "and for a -purpose no one can impugn. The consciousness of this is my reward--the -only one which I desired to earn." - -Apparently, indeed, his "purpose" had been accomplished. By his wisdom, -his patience, and his example he had brought about, in the fullness of -time, the miraculous metamorphosis of which he had dreamed. The Prince -was his creation. An indefatigable toiler, presiding, for the highest -ends, over a great nation--that was his achievement; and he looked upon -his work and it was good. But had the Baron no misgivings? Did he never -wonder whether, perhaps, he might have accomplished not too little but -too much? How subtle and how dangerous are the snares which fate lays -for the wariest of men! Albert, certainly, seemed to be everything -that Stockmar could have wished--virtuous, industrious, persevering, -intelligent. And yet--why was it--all was not well with him? He was sick -at heart. - -For in spite of everything he had never reached to happiness. His work, -for which at last he came to crave with an almost morbid appetite, was -a solace and not a cure; the dragon of his dissatisfaction devoured with -dark relish that ever-growing tribute of laborious days and nights; -but it was hungry still. The causes of his melancholy were hidden, -mysterious, unanalysable perhaps--too deeply rooted in the innermost -recesses of his temperament for the eye of reason to apprehend. There -were contradictions in his nature, which, to some of those who knew him -best, made him seem an inexplicable enigma: he was severe and gentle; he -was modest and scornful; he longed for affection and he was cold. He was -lonely, not merely with the loneliness of exile but with the loneliness -of conscious and unrecognised superiority. He had the pride, at once -resigned and overweening, of a doctrinaire. And yet to say that he -was simply a doctrinaire would be a false description; for the pure -doctrinaire rejoices always in an internal contentment, and Albert was -very far from doing that. There was something that he wanted and that -he could never get. What was it? Some absolute, some ineffable sympathy? -Some extraordinary, some sublime success? Possibly, it was a mixture -of both. To dominate and to be understood! To conquer, by the same -triumphant influence, the submission and the appreciation of men--that -would be worth while indeed! But, to such imaginations, he saw too -clearly how faint were the responses of his actual environment. Who was -there who appreciated him, really and truly? Who COULD appreciate him -in England? And, if the gentle virtue of an inward excellence availed so -little, could he expect more from the hard ways of skill and force? The -terrible land of his exile loomed before him a frigid, an impregnable -mass. Doubtless he had made some slight impression: it was true that -he had gained the respect of his fellow workers, that his probity, his -industry, his exactitude, had been recognised, that he was a highly -influential, an extremely important man. But how far, how very far, -was all this from the goal of his ambitions! How feeble and futile his -efforts seemed against the enormous coagulation of dullness, of folly, -of slackness, of ignorance, of confusion that confronted him! He might -have the strength or the ingenuity to make some small change for the -better here or there--to rearrange some detail, to abolish some anomaly, -to insist upon some obvious reform; but the heart of the appalling -organism remained untouched. England lumbered on, impervious and -self-satisfied, in her old intolerable course. He threw himself across -the path of the monster with rigid purpose and set teeth, but he was -brushed aside. Yes! even Palmerston was still unconquered--was still -there to afflict him with his jauntiness, his muddle-headedness, his -utter lack of principle. It was too much. Neither nature nor the Baron -had given him a sanguine spirit; the seeds of pessimism, once lodged -within him, flourished in a propitious soil. He - - "questioned things, and did not find - One that would answer to his mind; - And all the world appeared unkind." - -He believed that he was a failure and he began to despair. - -Yet Stockmar had told him that he must "never relax," and he never -would. He would go on, working to the utmost and striving for the -highest, to the bitter end. His industry grew almost maniacal. -Earlier and earlier was the green lamp lighted; more vast grew the -correspondence; more searching the examination of the newspapers; the -interminable memoranda more punctilious, analytical, and precise. His -very recreations became duties. He enjoyed himself by time-table, went -deer-stalking with meticulous gusto, and made puns at lunch--it was the -right thing to do. The mechanism worked with astonishing efficiency, -but it never rested and it was never oiled. In dry exactitude the -innumerable cog-wheels perpetually revolved. No, whatever happened, the -Prince would not relax; he had absorbed the doctrines of Stockmar too -thoroughly. He knew what was right, and, at all costs, he would -pursue it. That was certain. But alas! in this our life what are the -certainties? "In nothing be over-zealous!" says an old Greek. "The due -measure in all the works of man is best. For often one who zealously -pushes towards some excellence, though he be pursuing a gain, is really -being led utterly astray by the will of some Power, which makes those -things that are evil seem to him good, and those things seem to him evil -that are for his advantage." Surely, both the Prince and the Baron might -have learnt something from the frigid wisdom of Theognis. - -Victoria noticed that her husband sometimes seemed to be depressed and -overworked. She tried to cheer him up. Realising uneasily that he was -still regarded as a foreigner, she hoped that by conferring upon him -the title of Prince Consort (1857) she would improve his position in the -country. "The Queen has a right to claim that her husband should be an -Englishman," she wrote. But unfortunately, in spite of the Royal Letters -Patent, Albert remained as foreign as before; and as the years passed -his dejection deepened. She worked with him, she watched over him, she -walked with him through the woods at Osborne, while he whistled to the -nightingales, as he had whistled once at Rosenau so long ago. When his -birthday came round, she took the greatest pains to choose him presents -that he would really like. In 1858, when he was thirty-nine, she gave -him "a picture of Beatrice, life-size, in oil, by Horsley, a complete -collection of photographic views of Gotha and the country round, which I -had taken by Bedford, and a paper-weight of Balmoral granite and deers' -teeth, designed by Vicky." Albert was of course delighted, and his -merriment at the family gathering was more pronounced than ever: and -yet... what was there that was wrong? - -No doubt it was his health. He was wearing himself out in the service of -the country; and certainly his constitution, as Stockmar had perceived -from the first, was ill-adapted to meet a serious strain. He was easily -upset; he constantly suffered from minor ailments. His appearance in -itself was enough to indicate the infirmity of his physical powers. The -handsome youth of twenty years since with the flashing eyes and the soft -complexion had grown into a sallow, tired-looking man, whose body, in -its stoop and its loose fleshiness, betrayed the sedentary labourer, -and whose head was quite bald on the top. Unkind critics, who had once -compared Albert to an operatic tenor, might have remarked that there was -something of the butler about him now. Beside Victoria, he presented a -painful contrast. She, too, was stout, but it was with the plumpness of -a vigorous matron; and an eager vitality was everywhere visible--in her -energetic bearing, her protruding, enquiring glances, her small, fat, -capable, and commanding hands. If only, by some sympathetic magic, she -could have conveyed into that portly, flabby figure, that desiccated and -discouraged brain, a measure of the stamina and the self-assurance which -were so pre-eminently hers! - -But suddenly she was reminded that there were other perils besides those -of ill-health. During a visit to Coburg in 1860, the Prince was very -nearly killed in a carriage accident. He escaped with a few cuts and -bruises; but Victoria's alarm was extreme, though she concealed it. "It -is when the Queen feels most deeply," she wrote afterwards, "that she -always appears calmest, and she could not and dared not allow herself -to speak of what might have been, or even to admit to herself (and she -cannot and dare not now) the entire danger, for her head would turn!" -Her agitation, in fact, was only surpassed by her thankfulness to God. -She felt, she said, that she could not rest "without doing something to -mark permanently her feelings," and she decided that she would endow a -charity in Coburg. "L1,000, or even L2,000, given either at once, or -in instalments yearly, would not, in the Queen's opinion, be too much." -Eventually, the smaller sum having been fixed upon, it was invested in -a trust, called the "Victoria-Stift," in the name of the Burgomaster and -chief clergyman of Coburg, who were directed to distribute the interest -yearly among a certain number of young men and women of exemplary -character belonging to the humbler ranks of life. - -Shortly afterwards the Queen underwent, for the first time in her life, -the actual experience of close personal loss. Early in 1861 the Duchess -of Kent was taken seriously ill, and in March she died. The event -overwhelmed Victoria. With a morbid intensity, she filled her diary -for pages with minute descriptions of her mother's last hours, her -dissolution, and her corpse, interspersed with vehement apostrophes, and -the agitated outpourings of emotional reflection. In the grief of the -present the disagreements of the past were totally forgotten. It was the -horror and the mystery of Death--Death, present and actual--that seized -upon the imagination of the Queen. Her whole being, so instinct with -vitality, recoiled in agony from the grim spectacle of the triumph of -that awful power. Her own mother, with whom she had lived so closely and -so long that she had become a part almost of her existence, had fallen -into nothingness before her very eyes! She tried to forget, but she -could not. Her lamentations continued with a strange abundance, a -strange persistency. It was almost as if, by some mysterious and -unconscious precognition, she realised that for her, in an especial -manner, that grisly Majesty had a dreadful dart in store. - -For indeed, before the year was out, a far more terrible blow was -to fall upon her. Albert, who had for long been suffering from -sleeplessness, went, on a cold and drenching day towards the end of -November, to inspect the buildings for the new Military Academy at -Sandhurst. On his return, it was clear that the fatigue and exposure to -which he had been subjected had seriously affected his health. He was -attacked by rheumatism, his sleeplessness continued, and he complained -that he felt thoroughly unwell. Three days later a painful duty obliged -him to visit Cambridge. The Prince of Wales, who had been placed at that -University in the previous year, was behaving in such a manner that -a parental visit and a parental admonition had become necessary. The -disappointed father, suffering in mind and body, carried through his -task; but, on his return journey to Windsor, he caught a fatal chill. -During the next week he gradually grew weaker and more miserable. Yet, -depressed and enfeebled as he was, he continued to work. It so happened -that at that very moment a grave diplomatic crisis had arisen. Civil -war had broken out in America, and it seemed as if England, owing to a -violent quarrel with the Northern States, was upon the point of being -drawn into the conflict. A severe despatch by Lord John Russell was -submitted to the Queen; and the Prince perceived that, if it was sent -off unaltered, war would be the almost inevitable consequence. At seven -o'clock on the morning of December 1, he rose from his bed, and with a -quavering hand wrote a series of suggestions for the alteration of the -draft, by which its language might be softened, and a way left open for -a peaceful solution of the question. These changes were accepted by the -Government, and war was averted. It was the Prince's last memorandum. - -He had always declared that he viewed the prospect of death with -equanimity. "I do not cling to life," he had once said to Victoria. "You -do; but I set no store by it." And then he had added: "I am sure, if I -had a severe illness, I should give up at once, I should not struggle -for life. I have no tenacity of life." He had judged correctly. Before -he had been ill many days, he told a friend that he was convinced he -would not recover. He sank and sank. Nevertheless, if his case had -been properly understood and skilfully treated from the first, he might -conceivably have been saved; but the doctors failed to diagnose his -symptoms; and it is noteworthy that his principal physician was Sir -James Clark. When it was suggested that other advice should be taken, -Sir James pooh-poohed the idea: "there was no cause for alarm," he said. -But the strange illness grew worse. At last, after a letter of fierce -remonstrance from Palmerston, Dr. Watson was sent for; and Dr. Watson -saw at once that he had come too late The Prince was in the grip of -typhoid fever. "I think that everything so far is satisfactory," said -Sir James Clark.(*) - - (*) Clarendon, II, 253-4: "One cannot speak with certainty; - but it is horrible to think that such a life MAY have been - sacrificed to Sir J. Clark's selfish jealousy of every - member of his profession." The Earl of Clarendon to the - Duchess of Manchester, December 17, 1861. - - -The restlessness and the acute suffering of the earlier days gave place -to a settled torpor and an ever--deepening gloom. Once the failing -patient asked for music--"a fine chorale at a distance;" and a piano -having been placed in the adjoining room, Princess Alice played on it -some of Luther's hymns, after which the Prince repeated "The Rock of -Ages." Sometimes his mind wandered; sometimes the distant past came -rushing upon him; he heard the birds in the early morning, and was at -Rosenau again, a boy. Or Victoria would come and read to him "Peveril -of the Peak," and he showed that he could follow the story, and then she -would bend over him, and he would murmur "liebes Frauchen" and "gutes -Weibchen," stroking her cheek. Her distress and her agitation were -great, but she was not seriously frightened. Buoyed up by her own -abundant energies, she would not believe that Albert's might prove -unequal to the strain. She refused to face such a hideous possibility. -She declined to see Dr. Watson. Why should she? Had not Sir James Clark -assured her that all would be well? Only two days before the end, which -was seen now to be almost inevitable by everyone about her, she wrote, -full of apparent confidence, to the King of the Belgians: "I do not sit -up with him at night," she said, "as I could be of no use; and there is -nothing to cause alarm." The Princess Alice tried to tell her the truth, -but her hopefulness would not be daunted. On the morning of December -14, Albert, just as she had expected, seemed to be better; perhaps -the crisis was over. But in the course of the day there was a serious -relapse. Then at last she allowed herself to see that she was standing -on the edge of an appalling gulf. The whole family was summoned, and, -one after another, the children took a silent farewell of their father. -"It was a terrible moment," Victoria wrote in her diary, "but, thank -God! I was able to command myself, and to be perfectly calm, and -remained sitting by his side." He murmured something, but she could not -hear what it was; she thought he was speaking in French. Then all at -once he began to arrange his hair, "just as he used to do when well and -he was dressing." "Es kleines Frauchen," she whispered to him; and he -seemed to understand. For a moment, towards the evening, she went into -another room, but was immediately called back; she saw at a glance that -a ghastly change had taken place. As she knelt by the bed, he breathed -deeply, breathed gently, breathed at last no more. His features became -perfectly rigid; she shrieked one long wild shriek that rang through the -terror-stricken castle and understood that she had lost him for ever. - - - -CHAPTER VII. WIDOWHOOD - -I - -The death of the Prince Consort was the central turning-point in the -history of Queen Victoria. She herself felt that her true life had -ceased with her husband's, and that the remainder of her days upon earth -was of a twilight nature--an epilogue to a drama that was done. Nor is -it possible that her biographer should escape a similar impression. For -him, too, there is a darkness over the latter half of that long career. -The first forty--two years of the Queen's life are illuminated by a -great and varied quantity of authentic information. With Albert's -death a veil descends. Only occasionally, at fitful and disconnected -intervals, does it lift for a moment or two; a few main outlines, a -few remarkable details may be discerned; the rest is all conjecture and -ambiguity. Thus, though the Queen survived her great bereavement for -almost as many years as she had lived before it, the chronicle of those -years can bear no proportion to the tale of her earlier life. We must be -content in our ignorance with a brief and summary relation. - -The sudden removal of the Prince was not merely a matter of overwhelming -personal concern to Victoria; it was an event of national, of European -importance. He was only forty-two, and in the ordinary course of nature -he might have been expected to live at least thirty years longer. Had -he done so it can hardly be doubted that the whole development of the -English polity would have been changed. Already at the time of his death -he filled a unique place in English public life; already among the inner -circle of politicians he was accepted as a necessary and useful part of -the mechanism of the State. Lord Clarendon, for instance, spoke of his -death as "a national calamity of far greater importance than the public -dream of," and lamented the loss of his "sagacity and foresight," which, -he declared, would have been "more than ever valuable" in the event of -an American war. And, as time went on, the Prince's influence must have -enormously increased. For, in addition to his intellectual and moral -qualities, he enjoyed, by virtue of his position, one supreme advantage -which every other holder of high office in the country was without: he -was permanent. Politicians came and went, but the Prince was perpetually -installed at the centre of affairs. Who can doubt that, towards the end -of the century, such a man, grown grey in the service of the nation, -virtuous, intelligent, and with the unexampled experience of a whole -life-time of government, would have acquired an extraordinary prestige? -If, in his youth, he had been able to pit the Crown against the mighty -Palmerston and to come off with equal honours from the contest, of what -might he not have been capable in his old age? What Minister, -however able, however popular, could have withstood the wisdom, the -irreproachability, the vast prescriptive authority, of the venerable -Prince? It is easy to imagine how, under such a ruler, an attempt might -have been made to convert England into a State as exactly organised, -as elaborately trained, as efficiently equipped, and as autocratically -controlled, as Prussia herself. Then perhaps, eventually, under some -powerful leader--a Gladstone or a Bright--the democratic forces in the -country might have rallied together, and a struggle might have followed -in which the Monarchy would have been shaken to its foundations. Or, on -the other hand, Disraeli's hypothetical prophecy might have come true. -"With Prince Albert," he said, "we have buried our... sovereign. This -German Prince has governed England for twenty-one years with a wisdom -and energy such as none of our kings have ever shown. If he had outlived -some of our 'old stagers' he would have given us the blessings of -absolute government." - -The English Constitution--that indescribable entity--is a living thing, -growing with the growth of men, and assuming ever-varying forms in -accordance with the subtle and complex laws of human character. It is -the child of wisdom and chance. The wise men of 1688 moulded it into the -shape we know, but the chance that George I could not speak English -gave it one of its essential peculiarities--the system of a Cabinet -independent of the Crown and subordinate to the Prime Minister. The -wisdom of Lord Grey saved it from petrifaction and destruction, and -set it upon the path of Democracy. Then chance intervened once more; a -female sovereign happened to marry an able and pertinacious man; and -it seemed likely that an element which had been quiescent within it for -years--the element of irresponsible administrative power--was about -to become its predominant characteristic and to change completely the -direction of its growth. But what chance gave chance took away. The -Consort perished in his prime; and the English Constitution, dropping -the dead limb with hardly a tremor, continued its mysterious life as if -he had never been. - -One human being, and one alone, felt the full force of what had -happened. The Baron, by his fireside at Coburg, suddenly saw the -tremendous fabric of his creation crash down into sheer and irremediable -ruin. Albert was gone, and he had lived in vain. Even his blackest -hypochondria had never envisioned quite so miserable a catastrophe. -Victoria wrote to him, visited him, tried to console him by declaring -with passionate conviction that she would carry on her husband's work. -He smiled a sad smile and looked into the fire. Then he murmured that -he was going where Albert was--that he would not be long. He shrank into -himself. His children clustered round him and did their best to comfort -him, but it was useless: the Baron's heart was broken. He lingered for -eighteen months, and then, with his pupil, explored the shadow and the -dust. - -II - -With appalling suddenness Victoria had exchanged the serene radiance of -happiness for the utter darkness of woe. In the first dreadful moments -those about her had feared that she might lose her reason, but the iron -strain within her held firm, and in the intervals between the intense -paroxysms of grief it was observed that the Queen was calm. She -remembered, too, that Albert had always disapproved of exaggerated -manifestations of feeling, and her one remaining desire was to do -nothing but what he would have wished. Yet there were moments when -her royal anguish would brook no restraints. One day she sent for the -Duchess of Sutherland, and, leading her to the Prince's room, fell -prostrate before his clothes in a flood of weeping, while she adjured -the Duchess to tell her whether the beauty of Albert's character had -ever been surpassed. At other times a feeling akin to indignation swept -over her. "The poor fatherless baby of eight months," she wrote to the -King of the Belgians, "is now the utterly heartbroken and crushed widow -of forty-two! My LIFE as a HAPPY one is ENDED! The world is gone for -ME!... Oh! to be cut off in the prime of life--to see our pure, happy, -quiet, domestic life, which ALONE enabled me to bear my MUCH disliked -position, CUT OFF at forty-two--when I HAD hoped with such instinctive -certainty that God never WOULD part us, and would let us grow old -together (though HE always talked of the shortness of life)--is TOO -AWFUL, too cruel!" The tone of outraged Majesty seems to be discernible. -Did she wonder in her heart of hearts how the Deity could have dared? - -But all other emotions gave way before her overmastering determination -to continue, absolutely unchanged, and for the rest of her life on -earth, her reverence, her obedience, her idolatry. "I am anxious to -repeat ONE thing," she told her uncle, "and THAT ONE is my firm resolve, -my IRREVOCABLE DECISION, viz., that HIS wishes--HIS plans--about -everything, HIS views about EVERY thing are to be MY LAW! And NO HUMAN -POWER will make me swerve from WHAT HE decided and wished." She grew -fierce, she grew furious, at the thought of any possible intrusion -between her and her desire. Her uncle was coming to visit her, and it -flashed upon her that HE might try to interfere with her and seek -to "rule the roost" as of old. She would give him a hint. "I am ALSO -DETERMINED," she wrote, "that NO ONE person--may HE be ever so good, -ever so devoted among my servants--is to lead or guide or dictate TO ME. -I know HOW he would disapprove it... Though miserably weak and utterly -shattered, my spirit rises when I think ANY wish or plan of his is to -be touched or changed, or I am to be MADE TO DO anything." She ended her -letter in grief and affection. She was, she said, his "ever wretched but -devoted child, Victoria R." And then she looked at the date: it was the -24th of December. An agonising pang assailed her, and she dashed down a -postcript--"What a Xmas! I won't think of it." - -At first, in the tumult of her distresses, she declared that she could -not see her Ministers, and the Princess Alice, assisted by Sir Charles -Phipps, the keeper of the Privy Purse, performed, to the best of her -ability, the functions of an intermediary. After a few weeks, however, -the Cabinet, through Lord John Russell, ventured to warn the Queen that -this could not continue. She realised that they were right: Albert would -have agreed with them; and so she sent for the Prime Minister. But when -Lord Palmerston arrived at Osborne, in the pink of health, brisk, with -his whiskers freshly dyed, and dressed in a brown overcoat, light grey -trousers, green gloves, and blue studs, he did not create a very good -impression. - -Nevertheless, she had grown attached to her old enemy, and the thought -of a political change filled her with agitated apprehensions. The -Government, she knew, might fall at any moment; she felt she could not -face such an eventuality; and therefore, six months after the death of -the Prince, she took the unprecedented step of sending a private message -to Lord Derby, the leader of the Opposition, to tell him that she was -not in a fit state of mind or body to undergo the anxiety of a change of -Government, and that if he turned the present Ministers out of office it -would be at the risk of sacrificing her life--or her reason. When this -message reached Lord Derby he was considerably surprised. "Dear me!" was -his cynical comment. "I didn't think she was so fond of them as THAT." - -Though the violence of her perturbations gradually subsided, her -cheerfulness did not return. For months, for years, she continued in -settled gloom. Her life became one of almost complete seclusion. Arrayed -in thickest crepe, she passed dolefully from Windsor to Osborne, from -Osborne to Balmoral. Rarely visiting the capital, refusing to take any -part in the ceremonies of state, shutting herself off from the slightest -intercourse with society, she became almost as unknown to her subjects -as some potentate of the East. They might murmur, but they did not -understand. What had she to do with empty shows and vain enjoyments? No! -She was absorbed by very different preoccupations. She was the devoted -guardian of a sacred trust. Her place was in the inmost shrine of the -house of mourning--where she alone had the right to enter, where she -could feel the effluence of a mysterious presence, and interpret, -however faintly and feebly, the promptings of a still living soul. That, -and that only was her glorious, her terrible duty. For terrible indeed -it was. As the years passed her depression seemed to deepen and her -loneliness to grow more intense. "I am on a dreary sad pinnacle of -solitary grandeur," she said. Again and again she felt that she could -bear her situation no longer--that she would sink under the strain. And -then, instantly, that Voice spoke: and she braced herself once more to -perform, with minute conscientiousness, her grim and holy task. - -Above all else, what she had to do was to make her own the -master-impulse of Albert's life--she must work, as he had worked, in the -service of the country. That vast burden of toil which he had taken upon -his shoulders it was now for her to bear. She assumed the gigantic -load; and naturally she staggered under it. While he had lived, she had -worked, indeed, with regularity and conscientiousness; but it was work -made easy, made delicious, by his care, his forethought, his advice, -and his infallibility. The mere sound of his voice, asking her to sign -a paper, had thrilled her; in such a presence she could have laboured -gladly for ever. But now there was a hideous change. Now there were no -neat piles and docketings under the green lamp; now there were no simple -explanations of difficult matters; now there was nobody to tell her what -was right and what was wrong. She had her secretaries, no doubt: there -were Sir Charles Phipps, and General Grey, and Sir Thomas Biddulph; and -they did their best. But they were mere subordinates: the whole weight -of initiative and responsibility rested upon her alone. For so it had to -be. "I am DETERMINED"--had she not declared it?--"that NO ONE person is -to lead or guide or dictate to ME;" anything else would be a betrayal of -her trust. She would follow the Prince in all things. He had refused to -delegate authority; he had examined into every detail with his own eyes; -he had made it a rule never to sign a paper without having first, not -merely read it, but made notes on it too. She would do the same. She -sat from morning till night surrounded by huge heaps of despatch--boxes, -reading and writing at her desk--at her desk, alas! which stood alone -now in the room. - -Within two years of Albert's death a violent disturbance in foreign -politics put Victoria's faithfulness to a crucial test. The fearful -Schleswig-Holstein dispute, which had been smouldering for more than a -decade, showed signs of bursting out into conflagration. The complexity -of the questions at issue was indescribable. "Only three people," -said Palmerston, "have ever really understood the Schleswig-Holstein -business--the Prince Consort, who is dead--a German professor, who -has gone mad--and I, who have forgotten all about it." But, though the -Prince might be dead, had he not left a vicegerent behind him? -Victoria threw herself into the seething embroilment with the vigour of -inspiration. She devoted hours daily to the study of the affair in all -its windings; but she had a clue through the labyrinth: whenever the -question had been discussed, Albert, she recollected it perfectly, had -always taken the side of Prussia. Her course was clear. She became an -ardent champion of the Prussian point of view. It was a legacy from the -Prince, she said. She did not realise that the Prussia of the Prince's -day was dead, and that a new Prussia, the Prussia of Bismarck, was born. -Perhaps Palmerston, with his queer prescience, instinctively apprehended -the new danger; at any rate, he and Lord John were agreed upon the -necessity of supporting Denmark against Prussia's claims. But opinion -was sharply divided, not only in the country but in the Cabinet. For -eighteen months the controversy raged; while the Queen, with persistent -vehemence, opposed the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary. When at -last the final crisis arose--when it seemed possible that England would -join forces with Denmark in a war against Prussia--Victoria's agitation -grew febrile in its intensity. Towards her German relatives she -preserved a discreet appearance of impartiality; but she poured out -upon her Ministers a flood of appeals, protests, and expostulations. She -invoked the sacred cause of Peace. "The only chance of preserving peace -for Europe," she wrote, "is by not assisting Denmark, who has brought -this entirely upon herself. The Queen suffers much, and her nerves -are more and more totally shattered... But though all this anxiety is -wearing her out, it will not shake her firm purpose of resisting any -attempt to involve this country in a mad and useless combat." She was, -she declared, "prepared to make a stand," even if the resignation of the -Foreign Secretary should follow. "The Queen," she told Lord Granville, -"is completely exhausted by the anxiety and suspense, and misses her -beloved husband's help, advice, support, and love in an overwhelming -manner." She was so worn out by her efforts for peace that she could -"hardly hold up her head or hold her pen." England did not go to war, -and Denmark was left to her fate; but how far the attitude of the Queen -contributed to this result it is impossible, with our present knowledge, -to say. On the whole, however, it seems probable that the determining -factor in the situation was the powerful peace party in the Cabinet -rather than the imperious and pathetic pressure of Victoria. - -It is, at any rate, certain that the Queen's enthusiasm for the sacred -cause of peace was short-lived. Within a few months her mind had -completely altered. Her eyes were opened to the true nature of Prussia, -whose designs upon Austria were about to culminate in the Seven Weeks' -War. Veering precipitately from one extreme to the other, she now urged -her Ministers to interfere by force of arms in support of Austria. But -she urged in vain. - -Her political activity, no more than her social seclusion, was approved -by the public. As the years passed, and the royal mourning remained -as unrelieved as ever, the animadversions grew more general and more -severe. It was observed that the Queen's protracted privacy not only -cast a gloom over high society, not only deprived the populace of its -pageantry, but also exercised a highly deleterious effect upon the -dressmaking, millinery, and hosiery trades. This latter consideration -carried great weight. At last, early in 1864, the rumour spread that Her -Majesty was about to go out of mourning, and there was much rejoicing -in the newspapers; but unfortunately it turned out that the rumour was -quite without foundation. Victoria, with her own hand, wrote a letter -to The Times to say so. "This idea," she declared, "cannot be too -explicitly contradicted. The Queen," the letter continued, "heartily -appreciates the desire of her subjects to see her, and whatever she CAN -do to gratify them in this loyal and affectionate wish, she WILL do... -But there are other and higher duties than those of mere representation -which are now thrown upon the Queen, alone and unassisted--duties which -she cannot neglect without injury to the public service, which weigh -unceasingly upon her, overwhelming her with work and anxiety." The -justification might have been considered more cogent had it not been -known that those "other and higher duties" emphasised by the Queen -consisted for the most part of an attempt to counteract the -foreign policy of Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell. A large -section--perhaps a majority--of the nation were violent partisans of -Denmark in the Schleswig-Holstein quarrel; and Victoria's support of -Prussia was widely denounced. A wave of unpopularity, which reminded -old observers of the period preceding the Queen's marriage more than -twenty-five years before, was beginning to rise. The press was rude; -Lord Ellenborough attacked the Queen in the House of Lords; there -were curious whispers in high quarters that she had had thoughts of -abdicating--whispers followed by regrets that she had not done so. -Victoria, outraged and injured, felt that she was misunderstood. She -was profoundly unhappy. After Lord Ellenborough's speech, General Grey -declared that he "had never seen the Queen so completely upset." -"Oh, how fearful it is," she herself wrote to Lord Granville, "to be -suspected--uncheered--unguided and unadvised--and how alone the poor -Queen feels!" Nevertheless, suffer as she might, she was as resolute -as ever; she would not move by a hair's breadth from the course that a -supreme obligation marked out for her; she would be faithful to the end. - -And so, when Schleswig-Holstein was forgotten, and even the image of the -Prince had begun to grow dim in the fickle memories of men, the solitary -watcher remained immutably concentrated at her peculiar task. The -world's hostility, steadily increasing, was confronted and outfaced by -the impenetrable weeds of Victoria. Would the world never understand? -It was not mere sorrow that kept her so strangely sequestered; it was -devotion, it was self-immolation; it was the laborious legacy of love. -Unceasingly the pen moved over the black-edged paper. The flesh might be -weak, but that vast burden must be borne. And fortunately, if the world -would not understand, there were faithful friends who did. There was -Lord Granville, and there was kind Mr. Theodore Martin. Perhaps Mr. -Martin, who was so clever, would find means to make people realise the -facts. She would send him a letter, pointing out her arduous labours and -the difficulties under which she struggled, and then he might write an -article for one of the magazines. "It is not," she told him in 1863, -"the Queen's SORROW that keeps her secluded. It is her OVERWHELMING WORK -and her health, which is greatly shaken by her sorrow, and the totally -overwhelming amount of work and responsibility--work which she feels -really wears her out. Alice Helps was wonderfully struck at the Queen's -room; and if Mrs. Martin will look at it, she can tell Mr. Martin what -surrounds her. From the hour she gets out of bed till she gets into it -again there is work, work, work,--letter-boxes, questions, etc., which -are dreadfully exhausting--and if she had not comparative rest and -quiet in the evening she would most likely not be ALIVE. Her brain is -constantly overtaxed." It was too true. - -III - -To carry on Albert's work--that was her first duty; but there was -another, second only to that, and yet nearer, if possible, to her -heart--to impress the true nature of his genius and character upon the -minds of her subjects. She realised that during his life he had not been -properly appreciated; the full extent of his powers, the supreme quality -of his goodness, had been necessarily concealed; but death had removed -the need of barriers, and now her husband, in his magnificent entirety, -should stand revealed to all. She set to work methodically. She directed -Sir Arthur Helps to bring out a collection of the Prince's speeches and -addresses, and the weighty tome appeared in 1862. Then she commanded -General Grey to write an account of the Prince's early years--from his -birth to his marriage; she herself laid down the design of the book, -contributed a number of confidential documents, and added numerous -notes; General Grey obeyed, and the work was completed in 1866. But -the principal part of the story was still untold, and Mr. Martin -was forthwith instructed to write a complete biography of the Prince -Consort. Mr. Martin laboured for fourteen years. The mass of material -with which he had to deal was almost incredible, but he was extremely -industrious, and he enjoyed throughout the gracious assistance of Her -Majesty. The first bulky volume was published in 1874; four others -slowly followed; so that it was not until 1880 that the monumental work -was finished. - -Mr. Martin was rewarded by a knighthood; and yet it was sadly evident -that neither Sir Theodore nor his predecessors had achieved the -purpose which the Queen had in view. Perhaps she was unfortunate in her -coadjutors, but, in reality, the responsibility for the failure must lie -with Victoria herself. Sir Theodore and the others faithfully carried -out the task which she had set them--faithfully put before the public -the very image of Albert that filled her own mind. The fatal drawback -was that the public did not find that image attractive. Victoria's -emotional nature, far more remarkable for vigour than for subtlety, -rejecting utterly the qualifications which perspicuity, or humour, -might suggest, could be satisfied with nothing but the absolute and the -categorical. When she disliked she did so with an unequivocal emphasis -which swept the object of her repugnance at once and finally outside -the pale of consideration; and her feelings of affection were equally -unmitigated. In the case of Albert her passion for superlatives -reached its height. To have conceived of him as anything short of -perfect--perfect in virtue, in wisdom, in beauty, in all the glories and -graces of man--would have been an unthinkable blasphemy: perfect he -was, and perfect he must be shown to have been. And so, Sir Arthur, Sir -Theodore, and the General painted him. In the circumstances, and under -such supervision, to have done anything else would have required talents -considerably more distinguished than any that those gentlemen possessed. -But that was not all. By a curious mischance Victoria was also able to -press into her service another writer, the distinction of whose talents -was this time beyond a doubt. The Poet Laureate, adopting, either from -complaisance or conviction, the tone of his sovereign, joined in the -chorus, and endowed the royal formula with the magical resonance of -verse. This settled the matter. Henceforward it was impossible to forget -that Albert had worn the white flower of a blameless life. - -The result was doubly unfortunate. Victoria, disappointed and chagrined, -bore a grudge against her people for their refusal, in spite of all her -efforts, to rate her husband at his true worth. She did not understand -that the picture of an embodied perfection is distasteful to the -majority of mankind. The cause of this is not so much an envy of the -perfect being as a suspicion that he must be inhuman; and thus it -happened that the public, when it saw displayed for its admiration a -figure resembling the sugary hero of a moral story-book rather than a -fellow man of flesh and blood, turned away with a shrug, a smile, and -a flippant ejaculation. But in this the public was the loser as well as -Victoria. For in truth Albert was a far more interesting personage than -the public dreamed. By a curious irony an impeccable waxwork had been -fixed by the Queen's love in the popular imagination, while the creature -whom it represented--the real creature, so full of energy and stress -and torment, so mysterious and so unhappy, and so fallible and so very -human--had altogether disappeared. - -IV - -Words and books may be ambiguous memorials; but who can misinterpret the -visible solidity of bronze and stone? At Frogmore, near Windsor, where -her mother was buried, Victoria constructed, at the cost of L200,000, a -vast and elaborate mausoleum for herself and her husband. But that was -a private and domestic monument, and the Queen desired that wherever -her subjects might be gathered together they should be reminded of the -Prince. Her desire was gratified; all over the country--at Aberdeen, at -Perth, and at Wolverhampton--statues of the Prince were erected; and -the Queen, making an exception to her rule of retirement, unveiled them -herself. Nor did the capital lag behind. A month after the Prince's -death a meeting was called together at the Mansion House to discuss -schemes for honouring his memory. Opinions, however, were divided upon -the subject. Was a statue or an institution to be preferred? Meanwhile a -subscription was opened; an influential committee was appointed, and the -Queen was consulted as to her wishes in the matter. Her Majesty replied -that she would prefer a granite obelisk, with sculptures at the base, to -an institution. But the committee hesitated: an obelisk, to be worthy -of the name, must clearly be a monolith; and where was the quarry in -England capable of furnishing a granite block of the required size? It -was true that there was granite in Russian Finland; but the committee -were advised that it was not adapted to resist exposure to the open air. -On the whole, therefore, they suggested that a Memorial Hall should be -erected, together with a statue of the Prince. Her Majesty assented; but -then another difficulty arose. It was found that not more than L60,000 -had been subscribed--a sum insufficient to defray the double expense. -The Hall, therefore, was abandoned; a statue alone was to be erected; -and certain eminent architects were asked to prepare designs. Eventually -the committee had at their disposal a total sum of L120,000, since -the public subscribed another L10,000, while L50,000 was voted by -Parliament. Some years later a joint stock company was formed and built, -as a private speculation, the Albert Hall. - -The architect whose design was selected, both by the committee and by -the Queen, was Mr. Gilbert Scott, whose industry, conscientiousness, -and genuine piety had brought him to the head of his profession. -His lifelong zeal for the Gothic style having given him a special -prominence, his handiwork was strikingly visible, not only in a -multitude of original buildings, but in most of the cathedrals of -England. Protests, indeed, were occasionally raised against his -renovations; but Mr. Scott replied with such vigour and unction in -articles and pamphlets that not a Dean was unconvinced, and he was -permitted to continue his labours without interruption. On one occasion, -however, his devotion to Gothic had placed him in an unpleasant -situation. The Government offices in Whitehall were to be rebuilt; Mr. -Scott competed, and his designs were successful. Naturally, they were in -the Gothic style, combining "a certain squareness and horizontality of -outline" with pillar-mullions, gables, high-pitched roofs, and dormers; -and the drawings, as Mr. Scott himself observed, "were, perhaps, the -best ever sent in to a competition, or nearly so." After the usual -difficulties and delays the work was at last to be put in hand, when -there was a change of Government and Lord Palmerston became Prime -Minister. Lord Palmerston at once sent for Mr. Scott. "Well, Mr. Scott," -he said, in his jaunty way, "I can't have anything to do with this -Gothic style. I must insist on your making a design in the Italian -manner, which I am sure you can do very cleverly." Mr. Scott was -appalled; the style of the Italian renaissance was not only unsightly, -it was positively immoral, and he sternly refused to have anything to do -with it. Thereupon Lord Palmerston assumed a fatherly tone. "Quite true; -a Gothic architect can't be expected to put up a Classical building; -I must find someone else." This was intolerable, and Mr. Scott, on his -return home, addressed to the Prime Minister a strongly-worded letter, -in which he dwelt upon his position as an architect, upon his having won -two European competitions, his being an A.R.A., a gold medallist of the -Institute, and a lecturer on architecture at the Royal Academy; but it -was useless--Lord Palmerston did not even reply. It then occurred to -Mr. Scott that, by a judicious mixture, he might, while preserving the -essential character of the Gothic, produce a design which would give a -superficial impression of the Classical style. He did so, but no effect -was produced upon Lord Palmerston. The new design, he said, was "neither -one thing nor 'tother--a regular mongrel affair--and he would have -nothing to do with it either." After that Mr. Scott found it necessary -to recruit for two months at Scarborough, "with a course of quinine." He -recovered his tone at last, but only at the cost of his convictions. For -the sake of his family he felt that it was his unfortunate duty to obey -the Prime Minister; and, shuddering with horror, he constructed the -Government offices in a strictly Renaissance style. - -Shortly afterwards Mr. Scott found some consolation in building the St. -Pancras Hotel in a style of his own. - -And now another and yet more satisfactory task was his. "My idea in -designing the Memorial," he wrote, "was to erect a kind of ciborium to -protect a statue of the Prince; and its special characteristic was -that the ciborium was designed in some degree on the principles of the -ancient shrines. These shrines were models of imaginary buildings, such -as had never in reality been erected; and my idea was to realise one of -these imaginary structures with its precious materials, its inlaying, -its enamels, etc. etc." His idea was particularly appropriate since -it chanced that a similar conception, though in the reverse order of -magnitude, had occurred to the Prince himself, who had designed and -executed several silver cruet-stands upon the same model. At the Queen's -request a site was chosen in Kensington Gardens as near as possible -to that of the Great Exhibition; and in May, 1864, the first sod was -turned. The work was long, complicated, and difficult; a great number -of workmen were employed, besides several subsidiary sculptors and -metal--workers under Mr. Scott's direction, while at every stage -sketches and models were submitted to Her Majesty, who criticised all -the details with minute care, and constantly suggested improvements. The -frieze, which encircled the base of the monument, was in itself a very -serious piece of work. "This," said Mr. Scott, "taken as a whole, is -perhaps one of the most laborious works of sculpture ever undertaken, -consisting, as it does, of a continuous range of figure-sculpture of the -most elaborate description, in the highest alto-relievo of life-size, of -more than 200 feet in length, containing about 170 figures, and executed -in the hardest marble which could be procured." After three years of -toil the memorial was still far from completion, and Mr. Scott thought -it advisable to give a dinner to the workmen, "as a substantial -recognition of his appreciation of their skill and energy." "Two long -tables," we are told, "constructed of scaffold planks, were arranged in -the workshops, and covered with newspapers, for want of table-cloths. -Upwards of eighty men sat down. Beef and mutton, plum pudding and cheese -were supplied in abundance, and each man who desired it had three pints -of beer, gingerbeer and lemonade being provided for the teetotalers, who -formed a very considerable proportion... Several toasts were given and -many of the workmen spoke, almost all of them commencing by 'Thanking -God that they enjoyed good health;' some alluded to the temperance that -prevailed amongst them, others observed how little swearing was ever -heard, whilst all said how pleased and proud they were to be engaged on -so great a work." - -Gradually the edifice approached completion. The one hundred and -seventieth life-size figure in the frieze was chiselled, the granite -pillars arose, the mosaics were inserted in the allegorical pediments, -the four colossal statues representing the greater Christian virtues, -the four other colossal statues representing the greater moral virtues, -were hoisted into their positions, the eight bronzes representing the -greater sciences--Astronomy, Chemistry, Geology, Geometry, Rhetoric, -Medicine, Philosophy, and Physiology--were fixed on their glittering -pinnacles, high in air. The statue of Physiology was particularly -admired. "On her left arm," the official description informs us, "she -bears a new-born infant, as a representation of the development of the -highest and most perfect of physiological forms; her hand points -towards a microscope, the instrument which lends its assistance for the -investigation of the minuter forms of animal and vegetable organisms." -At last the gilded cross crowned the dwindling galaxies of superimposed -angels, the four continents in white marble stood at the four corners -of the base, and, seven years after its inception, in July, 1872, the -monument was thrown open to the public. - -But four more years were to elapse before the central figure was ready -to be placed under its starry canopy. It was designed by Mr. Foley, -though in one particular the sculptor's freedom was restricted by Mr. -Scott. "I have chosen the sitting posture," Mr. Scott said, "as best -conveying the idea of dignity befitting a royal personage." Mr. Foley -ably carried out the conception of his principal. "In the attitude -and expression," he said, "the aim has been, with the individuality of -portraiture, to embody rank, character, and enlightenment, and to convey -a sense of that responsive intelligence indicating an active, rather -than a passive, interest in those pursuits of civilisation illustrated -in the surrounding figures, groups, and relievos... To identify the -figure with one of the most memorable undertakings of the public life -of the Prince--the International Exhibition of 1851--a catalogue of the -works collected in that first gathering of the industry of all nations, -is placed in the right hand." The statue was of bronze gilt and weighed -nearly ten tons. It was rightly supposed that the simple word "Albert," -cast on the base, would be a sufficient means of identification. - - - -CHAPTER VIII. GLADSTONE AND LORD BEACONSFIELD - -I - -Lord Palmerston's laugh--a queer metallic "Ha! ha! ha!" with -reverberations in it from the days of Pitt and the Congress of -Vienna--was heard no more in Piccadilly; Lord John Russell dwindled into -senility; Lord Derby tottered from the stage. A new scene opened; and -new protagonists--Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Disraeli--struggled together -in the limelight. Victoria, from her post of vantage, watched these -developments with that passionate and personal interest which she -invariably imported into politics. Her prepossessions were of an -unexpected kind. Mr. Gladstone had been the disciple of her revered -Peel, and had won the approval of Albert; Mr. Disraeli had hounded Sir -Robert to his fall with hideous virulence, and the Prince had pronounced -that he "had not one single element of a gentleman in his composition." -Yet she regarded Mr. Gladstone with a distrust and dislike which -steadily deepened, while upon his rival she lavished an abundance of -confidence, esteem, and affection such as Lord Melbourne himself had -hardly known. - -Her attitude towards the Tory Minister had suddenly changed when -she found that he alone among public men had divined her feelings at -Albert's death. Of the others she might have said "they pity me and not -my grief;" but Mr. Disraeli had understood; and all his condolences -had taken the form of reverential eulogies of the departed. The Queen -declared that he was "the only person who appreciated the Prince." -She began to show him special favour; gave him and his wife two of the -coveted seats in St. George's Chapel at the Prince of Wales's wedding, -and invited him to stay a night at Windsor. When the grant for the -Albert Memorial came before the House of Commons, Disraeli, as leader of -the Opposition, eloquently supported the project. He was rewarded by -a copy of the Prince's speeches, bound in white morocco, with an -inscription in the royal hand. In his letter of thanks he "ventured -to touch upon a sacred theme," and, in a strain which re-echoed with -masterly fidelity the sentiments of his correspondent, dwelt at length -upon the absolute perfection of Albert. "The Prince," he said, "is the -only person whom Mr. Disraeli has ever known who realised the Ideal. -None with whom he is acquainted have ever approached it. There was in -him a union of the manly grace and sublime simplicity, of chivalry with -the intellectual splendour of the Attic Academe. The only character in -English history that would, in some respects, draw near to him is Sir -Philip Sidney: the same high tone, the same universal accomplishments, -the same blended tenderness and vigour, the same rare combination of -romantic energy and classic repose." As for his own acquaintance -with the Prince, it had been, he said, "one of the most satisfactory -incidents of his life: full of refined and beautiful memories, and -exercising, as he hopes, over his remaining existence, a soothing -and exalting influence." Victoria was much affected by "the depth and -delicacy of these touches," and henceforward Disraeli's place in her -affections was assured. When, in 1866, the Conservatives came into -office, Disraeli's position as Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader -of the House necessarily brought him into a closer relation with the -Sovereign. Two years later Lord Derby resigned, and Victoria, with -intense delight and peculiar graciousness, welcomed Disraeli as her -First Minister. - -But only for nine agitated months did he remain in power. The Ministry, -in a minority in the Commons, was swept out of existence by a general -election. Yet by the end of that short period the ties which bound -together the Queen and her Premier had grown far stronger than ever -before; the relationship between them was now no longer merely that -between a grateful mistress and a devoted servant: they were friends. -His official letters, in which the personal element had always been -perceptible, developed into racy records of political news and social -gossip, written, as Lord Clarendon said, "in his best novel style." -Victoria was delighted; she had never, she declared, had such letters -in her life, and had never before known EVERYTHING. In return, she sent -him, when the spring came, several bunches of flowers, picked by her own -hands. He despatched to her a set of his novels, for which, she said, -she was "most grateful, and which she values much." She herself had -lately published her "Leaves from the Journal of our Life in the -Highlands," and it was observed that the Prime Minister, in conversing -with Her Majesty at this period, constantly used the words "we authors, -ma'am." Upon political questions, she was his staunch supporter. "Really -there never was such conduct as that of the Opposition," she wrote. And -when the Government was defeated in the House she was "really shocked at -the way in which the House of Commons go on; they really bring discredit -on Constitutional Government." She dreaded the prospect of a change; -she feared that if the Liberals insisted upon disestablishing the Irish -Church, her Coronation Oath might stand in the way. But a change there -had to be, and Victoria vainly tried to console herself for the loss of -her favourite Minister by bestowing a peerage upon Mrs. Disraeli. - -Mr. Gladstone was in his shirt-sleeves at Hawarden, cutting down a -tree, when the royal message was brought to him. "Very significant," -he remarked, when he had read the letter, and went on cutting down his -tree. His secret thoughts on the occasion were more explicit, and were -committed to his diary. "The Almighty," he wrote, "seems to sustain and -spare me for some purpose of His own, deeply unworthy as I know myself -to be. Glory be to His name." - -The Queen, however, did not share her new Minister's view of the -Almighty's intentions. She could not believe that there was any divine -purpose to be detected in the programme of sweeping changes which -Mr. Gladstone was determined to carry out. But what could she do? Mr. -Gladstone, with his daemonic energy and his powerful majority in -the House of Commons, was irresistible; and for five years (1869-74) -Victoria found herself condemned to live in an agitating atmosphere -of interminable reform--reform in the Irish Church and the Irish land -system, reform in education, reform in parliamentary elections, -reform in the organisation of the Army and the Navy, reform in the -administration of justice. She disapproved, she struggled, she grew very -angry; she felt that if Albert had been living things would never have -happened so; but her protests and her complaints were alike unavailing. -The mere effort of grappling with the mass of documents which poured -in upon her in an ever-growing flood was terribly exhausting. When the -draft of the lengthy and intricate Irish Church Bill came before her, -accompanied by an explanatory letter from Mr. Gladstone covering a dozen -closely-written quarto pages, she almost despaired. She turned from -the Bill to the explanation, and from the explanation back again to the -Bill, and she could not decide which was the most confusing. But she had -to do her duty: she had not only to read, but to make notes. At last -she handed the whole heap of papers to Mr. Martin, who happened to be -staying at Osborne, and requested him to make a precis of them. When -he had done so, her disapproval of the measure became more marked than -ever; but, such was the strength of the Government, she actually found -herself obliged to urge moderation upon the Opposition, lest worse -should ensue. - -In the midst of this crisis, when the future of the Irish Church was -hanging in the balance, Victoria's attention was drawn to another -proposed reform. It was suggested that the sailors in the Navy should -henceforward be allowed to wear beards. "Has Mr. Childers ascertained -anything on the subject of the beards?" the Queen wrote anxiously to the -First Lord of the Admiralty. On the whole, Her Majesty was in favour -of the change. "Her own personal feeling," she wrote, "would be for the -beards without the moustaches, as the latter have rather a soldierlike -appearance; but then the object in view would not be obtained, viz. -to prevent the necessity of shaving. Therefore it had better be as -proposed, the entire beard, only it should be kept short and very -clean." After thinking over the question for another week, the Queen -wrote a final letter. She wished, she said, "to make one additional -observation respecting the beards, viz. that on no account should -moustaches be allowed without beards. That must be clearly understood." - -Changes in the Navy might be tolerated; to lay hands upon the Army was a -more serious matter. From time immemorial there had been a particularly -close connection between the Army and the Crown; and Albert had devoted -even more time and attention to the details of military business than -to the processes of fresco-painting or the planning of sanitary cottages -for the deserving poor. But now there was to be a great alteration: Mr. -Gladstone's fiat had gone forth, and the Commander-in-Chief was to -be removed from his direct dependence upon the Sovereign, and made -subordinate to Parliament and the Secretary of State for War. Of all the -liberal reforms this was the one which aroused the bitterest resentment -in Victoria. She considered that the change was an attack upon her -personal position--almost an attack upon the personal position of -Albert. But she was helpless, and the Prime Minister had his way. -When she heard that the dreadful man had yet another reform in -contemplation--that he was about to abolish the purchase of military -commissions--she could only feel that it was just what might have been -expected. For a moment she hoped that the House of Lords would come to -the rescue; the Peers opposed the change with unexpected vigour; but Mr. -Gladstone, more conscious than ever of the support of the Almighty, was -ready with an ingenious device. The purchase of commissions had been -originally allowed by Royal Warrant; it should now be disallowed by the -same agency. Victoria was faced by a curious dilemma: she abominated the -abolition of purchase; but she was asked to abolish it by an exercise of -sovereign power which was very much to her taste. She did not hesitate -for long; and when the Cabinet, in a formal minute, advised her to sign -the Warrant, she did so with a good grace. - -Unacceptable as Mr. Gladstone's policy was, there was something else -about him which was even more displeasing to Victoria. She disliked his -personal demeanour towards herself. It was not that Mr. Gladstone, -in his intercourse with her, was in any degree lacking in courtesy or -respect. On the contrary, an extraordinary reverence impregnated -his manner, both in his conversation and his correspondence with the -Sovereign. Indeed, with that deep and passionate conservatism which, to -the very end of his incredible career, gave such an unexpected colouring -to his inexplicable character, Mr. Gladstone viewed Victoria through a -haze of awe which was almost religious--as a sacrosanct embodiment of -venerable traditions--a vital element in the British Constitution--a -Queen by Act of Parliament. But unfortunately the lady did not -appreciate the compliment. The well-known complaint--"He speaks to me -as if I were a public meeting-" whether authentic or no--and the turn -of the sentence is surely a little too epigrammatic to be genuinely -Victorian--undoubtedly expresses the essential element of her antipathy. -She had no objection to being considered as an institution; she was one, -and she knew it. But she was a woman too, and to be considered ONLY as -an institution--that was unbearable. And thus all Mr. Gladstone's zeal -and devotion, his ceremonious phrases, his low bows, his punctilious -correctitudes, were utterly wasted; and when, in the excess of his -loyalty, he went further, and imputed to the object of his veneration, -with obsequious blindness, the subtlety of intellect, the wide reading, -the grave enthusiasm, which he himself possessed, the misunderstanding -became complete. The discordance between the actual Victoria and this -strange Divinity made in Mr. Gladstone's image produced disastrous -results. Her discomfort and dislike turned at last into positive -animosity, and, though her manners continued to be perfect, she -never for a moment unbent; while he on his side was overcome with -disappointment, perplexity, and mortification. - -Yet his fidelity remained unshaken. When the Cabinet met, the Prime -Minister, filled with his beatific vision, would open the proceedings by -reading aloud the letters which he had received from the Queen upon the -questions of the hour. The assembly sat in absolute silence while, -one after another, the royal missives, with their emphases, their -ejaculations, and their grammatical peculiarities, boomed forth in all -the deep solemnity of Mr. Gladstone's utterance. Not a single comment, -of any kind, was ever hazarded; and, after a fitting pause, the Cabinet -proceeded with the business of the day. - -II - -Little as Victoria appreciated her Prime Minister's attitude towards -her, she found that it had its uses. The popular discontent at her -uninterrupted seclusion had been gathering force for many years, and -now burst out in a new and alarming shape. Republicanism was in the air. -Radical opinion in England, stimulated by the fall of Napoleon III and -the establishment of a republican government in France, suddenly grew -more extreme than it ever had been since 1848. It also became for the -first time almost respectable. Chartism had been entirely an affair of -the lower classes; but now Members of Parliament, learned professors, -and ladies of title openly avowed the most subversive views. The -monarchy was attacked both in theory and in practice. And it was -attacked at a vital point: it was declared to be too expensive. What -benefits, it was asked, did the nation reap to counterbalance the -enormous sums which were expended upon the Sovereign? Victoria's -retirement gave an unpleasant handle to the argument. It was pointed out -that the ceremonial functions of the Crown had virtually lapsed; and the -awkward question remained whether any of the other functions which it -did continue to perform were really worth L385,000 per annum. The royal -balance-sheet was curiously examined. An anonymous pamphlet entitled -"What does she do with it?" appeared, setting forth the financial -position with malicious clarity. The Queen, it stated, was granted by -the Civil List L60,000 a year for her private use; but the rest of her -vast annuity was given, as the Act declared, to enable her "to defray -the expenses of her royal household and to support the honour and -dignity of the Crown." Now it was obvious that, since the death of the -Prince, the expenditure for both these purposes must have been very -considerably diminished, and it was difficult to resist the conclusion -that a large sum of money was diverted annually from the uses for which -it had been designed by Parliament, to swell the private fortune of -Victoria. The precise amount of that private fortune it was impossible -to discover; but there was reason to suppose that it was gigantic; -perhaps it reached a total of five million pounds. The pamphlet -protested against such a state of affairs, and its protests were -repeated vigorously in newspapers and at public meetings. Though it is -certain that the estimate of Victoria's riches was much exaggerated, -it is equally certain that she was an exceedingly wealthy woman. She -probably saved L20,000 a year from the Civil List, the revenues of -the Duchy of Lancaster were steadily increasing, she had inherited a -considerable property from the Prince Consort, and she had been left, in -1852, an estate of half a million by Mr. John Neild, an eccentric -miser. In these circumstances it was not surprising that when, in 1871, -Parliament was asked to vote a dowry of L30,000 to the Princess Louise -on her marriage with the eldest son of the Duke of Argyle, together with -an annuity of L6,000, there should have been a serious outcry(*). - - (*) In 1889 it was officially stated that the Queen's total - savings from the Civil List amounted to L824,025, but that - out of this sum much had been spent on special - entertainments to foreign visitors. Taking into - consideration the proceeds from the Duchy of Lancaster, - which were more than L60,000 a year, the savings of the - Prince Consort, and Mr. Neild's legacy, it seems probable - that, at the time of her death, Victoria's private fortune - approached two million pounds. - - -In order to conciliate public opinion, the Queen opened Parliament in -person, and the vote was passed almost unanimously. But a few months -later another demand was made: the Prince Arthur had come of age, and -the nation was asked to grant him an annuity of L15,000. The outcry was -redoubled. The newspapers were filled with angry articles; Bradlaugh -thundered against "princely paupers" to one of the largest crowds that -had ever been seen in Trafalgar Square; and Sir Charles Dilke expounded -the case for a republic in a speech to his constituents at Newcastle. -The Prince's annuity was ultimately sanctioned in the House of Commons -by a large majority; but a minority of fifty members voted in favour of -reducing the sum to L10,000. - -Towards every aspect of this distasteful question, Mr. Gladstone -presented an iron front. He absolutely discountenanced the extreme -section of his followers. He declared that the whole of the Queen's -income was justly at her personal disposal, argued that to complain -of royal savings was merely to encourage royal extravagance, and -successfully convoyed through Parliament the unpopular annuities, which, -he pointed out, were strictly in accordance with precedent. When, in -1872, Sir Charles Dilke once more returned to the charge in the House -of Commons, introducing a motion for a full enquiry into the Queen's -expenditure with a view to a root and branch reform of the Civil -List, the Prime Minister brought all the resources of his powerful -and ingenious eloquence to the support of the Crown. He was completely -successful; and amid a scene of great disorder the motion was -ignominiously dismissed. Victoria was relieved; but she grew no fonder -of Mr. Gladstone. - -It was perhaps the most miserable moment of her life. The Ministers, -the press, the public, all conspired to vex her, to blame her, to -misinterpret her actions, to be unsympathetic and disrespectful in -every way. She was "a cruelly misunderstood woman," she told Mr. Martin, -complaining to him bitterly of the unjust attacks which were made upon -her, and declaring that "the great worry and anxiety and hard work for -ten years, alone, unaided, with increasing age and never very strong -health" were breaking her down, and "almost drove her to despair." The -situation was indeed deplorable. It seemed as if her whole existence -had gone awry; as if an irremediable antagonism had grown up between the -Queen and the nation. If Victoria had died in the early seventies, there -can be little doubt that the voice of the world would have pronounced -her a failure. - -III - -But she was reserved for a very different fate. The outburst of -republicanism had been in fact the last flicker of an expiring cause. -The liberal tide, which had been flowing steadily ever since the Reform -Bill, reached its height with Mr. Gladstone's first administration; and -towards the end of that administration the inevitable ebb began. The -reaction, when it came, was sudden and complete. The General Election of -1874 changed the whole face of politics. Mr. Gladstone and the Liberals -were routed; and the Tory party, for the first time for over forty -years, attained an unquestioned supremacy in England. It was obvious -that their surprising triumph was pre-eminently due to the skill -and vigour of Disraeli. He returned to office, no longer the dubious -commander of an insufficient host, but with drums beating and flags -flying, a conquering hero. And as a conquering hero Victoria welcomed -her new Prime Minister. - -Then there followed six years of excitement, of enchantment, of -felicity, of glory, of romance. The amazing being, who now at last, at -the age of seventy, after a lifetime of extraordinary struggles, had -turned into reality the absurdest of his boyhood's dreams, knew well -enough how to make his own, with absolute completeness, the heart of the -Sovereign Lady whose servant, and whose master, he had so miraculously -become. In women's hearts he had always read as in an open book. His -whole career had turned upon those curious entities; and the more -curious they were, the more intimately at home with them he seemed -to be. But Lady Beaconsfield, with her cracked idolatry, and Mrs. -Brydges-Williams, with her clogs, her corpulence, and her legacy, -were gone: an even more remarkable phenomenon stood in their place. He -surveyed what was before him with the eye of a past-master; and he was -not for a moment at a loss. He realised everything--the interacting -complexities of circumstance and character, the pride of place mingled -so inextricably with personal arrogance, the superabundant emotionalism, -the ingenuousness of outlook, the solid, the laborious respectability, -shot through so incongruously by temperamental cravings for the -coloured and the strange, the singular intellectual limitations, and the -mysteriously essential female elements impregnating every particle of -the whole. A smile hovered over his impassive features, and he -dubbed Victoria "the Faery." The name delighted him, for, with that -epigrammatic ambiguity so dear to his heart, it precisely expressed -his vision of the Queen. The Spenserian allusion was very pleasant--the -elegant evocations of Gloriana; but there was more in it than that: -there was the suggestion of a diminutive creature, endowed with -magical--and mythical--properties, and a portentousness almost -ridiculously out of keeping with the rest of her make-up. The Faery, he -determined, should henceforward wave her wand for him alone. Detachment -is always a rare quality, and rarest of all, perhaps, among politicians; -but that veteran egotist possessed it in a supreme degree. Not only did -he know what he had to do, not only did he do it; he was in the audience -as well as on the stage; and he took in with the rich relish of a -connoisseur every feature of the entertaining situation, every phase of -the delicate drama, and every detail of his own consummate performance. - -The smile hovered and vanished, and, bowing low with Oriental gravity -and Oriental submissiveness, he set himself to his task. He had -understood from the first that in dealing with the Faery the appropriate -method of approach was the very antithesis of the Gladstonian; and such -a method was naturally his. It was not his habit to harangue and exhort -and expatiate in official conscientiousness; he liked to scatter flowers -along the path of business, to compress a weighty argument into a happy -phrase, to insinuate what was in his mind with an air of friendship -and confidential courtesy. He was nothing if not personal; and he had -perceived that personality was the key that opened the Faery's heart. -Accordingly, he never for a moment allowed his intercourse with her to -lose the personal tone; he invested all the transactions of State with -the charms of familiar conversation; she was always the royal lady, the -adored and revered mistress, he the devoted and respectful friend. When -once the personal relation was firmly established, every difficulty -disappeared. But to maintain that relation uninterruptedly in a smooth -and even course a particular care was necessary: the bearings had to be -most assiduously oiled. Nor was Disraeli in any doubt as to the nature -of the lubricant. "You have heard me called a flatterer," he said to -Matthew Arnold, "and it is true. Everyone likes flattery, and when you -come to royalty you should lay it on with a trowel." He practiced what -he preached. His adulation was incessant, and he applied it in the very -thickest slabs. "There is no honor and no reward," he declared, "that -with him can ever equal the possession of your Majesty's kind thoughts. -All his own thoughts and feelings and duties and affections are now -concentrated in your Majesty, and he desires nothing more for his -remaining years than to serve your Majesty, or, if that service -ceases, to live still on its memory as a period of his existence most -interesting and fascinating." "In life," he told her, "one must have for -one's thoughts a sacred depository, and Lord Beaconsfield ever presumes -to seek that in his Sovereign Mistress." She was not only his own -solitary support; she was the one prop of the State. "If your Majesty -is ill," he wrote during a grave political crisis, "he is sure he will -himself break down. All, really, depends upon your Majesty." "He lives -only for Her," he asseverated, "and works only for Her, and without Her -all is lost." When her birthday came he produced an elaborate confection -of hyperbolic compliment. "To-day Lord Beaconsfield ought fitly, -perhaps, to congratulate a powerful Sovereign on her imperial sway, the -vastness of her Empire, and the success and strength of her fleets and -armies. But he cannot, his mind is in another mood. He can only think of -the strangeness of his destiny that it has come to pass that he should -be the servant of one so great, and whose infinite kindness, the -brightness of whose intelligence and the firmness of whose will, have -enabled him to undertake labours to which he otherwise would be quite -unequal, and supported him in all things by a condescending sympathy, -which in the hour of difficulty alike charms and inspires. Upon the -Sovereign of many lands and many hearts may an omnipotent Providence -shed every blessing that the wise can desire and the virtuous deserve!" -In those expert hands the trowel seemed to assume the qualities of -some lofty masonic symbol--to be the ornate and glittering vehicle of -verities unrealised by the profane. - -Such tributes were delightful, but they remained in the nebulous region -of words, and Disraeli had determined to give his blandishments a more -significant solidity. He deliberately encouraged those high views of -her own position which had always been native to Victoria's mind and -had been reinforced by the principles of Albert and the doctrines of -Stockmar. He professed to a belief in a theory of the Constitution which -gave the Sovereign a leading place in the councils of government; -but his pronouncements upon the subject were indistinct; and when he -emphatically declared that there ought to be "a real Throne," it was -probably with the mental addition that that throne would be a very -unreal one indeed whose occupant was unamenable to his cajoleries. -But the vagueness of his language was in itself an added stimulant to -Victoria. Skilfully confusing the woman and the Queen, he threw, with a -grandiose gesture, the government of England at her feet, as if in doing -so he were performing an act of personal homage. In his first audience -after returning to power, he assured her that "whatever she wished -should be done." When the intricate Public Worship Regulation Bill was -being discussed by the Cabinet, he told the Faery that his "only object" -was "to further your Majesty's wishes in this matter." When he brought -off his great coup over the Suez Canal, he used expressions which -implied that the only gainer by the transaction was Victoria. "It is -just settled," he wrote in triumph; "you have it, Madam... Four millions -sterling! and almost immediately. There was only one firm that could -do it--Rothschilds. They behaved admirably; advanced the money at a low -rate, and the entire interest of the Khedive is now yours, Madam." Nor -did he limit himself to highly-spiced insinuations. Writing with all -the authority of his office, he advised the Queen that she had the -constitutional right to dismiss a Ministry which was supported by a -large majority in the House of Commons, he even urged her to do so, if, -in her opinion, "your Majesty's Government have from wilfulness, or even -from weakness, deceived your Majesty." To the horror of Mr. Gladstone, -he not only kept the Queen informed as to the general course of business -in the Cabinet, but revealed to her the part taken in its discussions by -individual members of it. Lord Derby, the son of the late Prime Minister -and Disraeli's Foreign Secretary, viewed these developments with grave -mistrust. "Is there not," he ventured to write to his Chief, "just a -risk of encouraging her in too large ideas of her personal power, and -too great indifference to what the public expects? I only ask; it is for -you to judge." - -As for Victoria, she accepted everything--compliments, flatteries, -Elizabethan prerogatives--without a single qualm. After the long gloom -of her bereavement, after the chill of the Gladstonian discipline, she -expanded to the rays of Disraeli's devotion like a flower in the sun. -The change in her situation was indeed miraculous. No longer was she -obliged to puzzle for hours over the complicated details of business, -for now she had only to ask Mr. Disraeli for an explanation, and he -would give it her in the most concise, in the most amusing, way. No -longer was she worried by alarming novelties; no longer was she put out -at finding herself treated, by a reverential gentleman in high collars, -as if she were some embodied precedent, with a recondite knowledge of -Greek. And her deliverer was surely the most fascinating of men. The -strain of charlatanism, which had unconsciously captivated her in -Napoleon III, exercised the same enchanting effect in the case of -Disraeli. Like a dram-drinker, whose ordinary life is passed in dull -sobriety, her unsophisticated intelligence gulped down his rococo -allurements with peculiar zest. She became intoxicated, entranced. -Believing all that he told her of herself, she completely regained the -self-confidence which had been slipping away from her throughout -the dark period that followed Albert's death. She swelled with a new -elation, while he, conjuring up before her wonderful Oriental visions, -dazzled her eyes with an imperial grandeur of which she had only dimly -dreamed. Under the compelling influence, her very demeanour altered. -Her short, stout figure, with its folds of black velvet, its muslin -streamers, its heavy pearls at the heavy neck, assumed an almost -menacing air. In her countenance, from which the charm of youth had long -since vanished, and which had not yet been softened by age, the traces -of grief, of disappointment, and of displeasure were still visible, but -they were overlaid by looks of arrogance and sharp lines of peremptory -hauteur. Only, when Mr. Disraeli appeared, the expression changed in an -instant, and the forbidding visage became charged with smiles. For him -she would do anything. Yielding to his encouragements, she began to -emerge from her seclusion; she appeared in London in semi-state, at -hospitals and concerts; she opened Parliament; she reviewed troops and -distributed medals at Aldershot. But such public signs of favour were -trivial in comparison with her private attentions. During his flours of -audience, she could hardly restrain her excitement and delight. "I can -only describe my reception," he wrote to a friend on one occasion, "by -telling you that I really thought she was going to embrace me. She was -wreathed with smiles, and, as she tattled, glided about the room like -a bird." In his absence, she talked of him perpetually, and there was -a note of unusual vehemence in her solicitude for his health. "John -Manners," Disraeli told Lady Bradford, "who has just come from Osborne, -says that the Faery only talked of one subject, and that was her Primo. -According to him, it was her gracious opinion that the Government should -make my health a Cabinet question. Dear John seemed quite surprised at -what she said; but you are used to these ebullitions." She often sent -him presents; an illustrated album arrived for him regularly from -Windsor on Christmas Day. But her most valued gifts were the bunches of -spring flowers which, gathered by herself and her ladies in the woods at -Osborne, marked in an especial manner the warmth and tenderness of her -sentiments. Among these it was, he declared, the primroses that he loved -the best. They were, he said, "the ambassadors of Spring, the gems and -jewels of Nature." He liked them, he assured her, "so much better for -their being wild; they seem an offering from the Fauns and Dryads of -Osborne." "They show," he told her, "that your Majesty's sceptre has -touched the enchanted Isle." He sat at dinner with heaped-up bowls of -them on every side, and told his guests that "they were all sent to me -this morning by the Queen from Osborne, as she knows it is my favorite -flower." - -As time went on, and as it became clearer and clearer that the -Faery's thraldom was complete, his protestations grew steadily more -highly--coloured and more unabashed. At last he ventured to import -into his blandishments a strain of adoration that was almost avowedly -romantic. In phrases of baroque convolution, he conveyed the message -of his heart. "The pressure of business," he wrote, had "so absorbed and -exhausted him, that towards the hour of post he has not had clearness -of mind, and vigour of pen, adequate to convey his thoughts and facts to -the most loved and illustrious being, who deigns to consider them." She -sent him some primroses, and he replied that he could "truly say they -are 'more precious than rubies,' coming, as they do, and at such a -moment, from a Sovereign whom he adores." She sent him snowdrops, and -his sentiment overflowed into poetry. "Yesterday eve," he wrote, "there -appeared, in Whitehall Gardens, a delicate-looking case, with a royal -superscription, which, when he opened, he thought, at first, that your -Majesty had graciously bestowed upon him the stars of your Majesty's -principal orders." And, indeed, he was so impressed with this graceful -illusion, that, having a banquet, where there were many stars and -ribbons, he could not resist the temptation, by placing some snowdrops -on his heart, of showing that, he, too, was decorated by a gracious -Sovereign. - -Then, in the middle of the night, it occurred to him, that it might all -be an enchantment, and that, perhaps, it was a Faery gift and came from -another monarch: Queen Titania, gathering flowers, with her Court, in -a soft and sea-girt isle, and sending magic blossoms, which, they say, -turn the heads of those who receive them. - -A Faery gift! Did he smile as he wrote the words? Perhaps; and yet -it would be rash to conclude that his perfervid declarations were -altogether without sincerity. Actor and spectator both, the two -characters were so intimately blended together in that odd composition -that they formed an inseparable unity, and it was impossible to say that -one of them was less genuine than the other. With one element, he -could coldly appraise the Faery's intellectual capacity, note with some -surprise that she could be on occasion "most interesting and amusing," -and then continue his use of the trowel with an ironical solemnity; -while, with the other, he could be overwhelmed by the immemorial panoply -of royalty, and, thrilling with the sense of his own strange elevation, -dream himself into a gorgeous phantasy of crowns and powers and -chivalric love. When he told Victoria that "during a somewhat romantic -and imaginative life, nothing has ever occurred to him so interesting as -this confidential correspondence with one so exalted and so inspiring," -was he not in earnest after all? When he wrote to a lady about the -Court, "I love the Queen--perhaps the only person in this world left to -me that I do love," was he not creating for himself an enchanted palace -out of the Arabian Nights, full of melancholy and spangles, in which -he actually believed? Victoria's state of mind was far more simple; -untroubled by imaginative yearnings, she never lost herself in that -nebulous region of the spirit where feeling and fancy grow confused. Her -emotions, with all their intensity and all their exaggeration, retained -the plain prosaic texture of everyday life. And it was fitting that her -expression of them should be equally commonplace. She was, she told her -Prime Minister, at the end of an official letter, "yours aff'ly V. R. -and I." In such a phrase the deep reality of her feeling is instantly -manifest. The Faery's feet were on the solid earth; it was the ruse -cynic who was in the air. - -He had taught her, however, a lesson, which she had learnt with alarming -rapidity. A second Gloriana, did he call her? Very well, then, she would -show that she deserved the compliment. Disquieting symptoms followed -fast. In May, 1874, the Tsar, whose daughter had just been married to -Victoria's second son, the Duke of Edinburgh, was in London, and, by an -unfortunate error, it had been arranged that his departure should not -take place until two days after the date on which his royal hostess had -previously decided to go to Balmoral. Her Majesty refused to modify -her plans. It was pointed out to her that the Tsar would certainly be -offended, that the most serious consequences might follow; Lord Derby -protested; Lord Salisbury, the Secretary of State for India, was much -perturbed. But the Faery was unconcerned; she had settled to go to -Balmoral on the 18th, and on the 18th she would go. At last Disraeli, -exercising all his influence, induced her to agree to stay in London -for two days more. "My head is still on my shoulders," he told Lady -Bradford. "The great lady has absolutely postponed her departure! -Everybody had failed, even the Prince of Wales... and I have no doubt I -am not in favour. I can't help it. Salisbury says I have saved an Afghan -War, and Derby compliments me on my unrivalled triumph." But before very -long, on another issue, the triumph was the Faery's. Disraeli, who had -suddenly veered towards a new Imperialism, had thrown out the suggestion -that the Queen of England ought to become the Empress of India. Victoria -seized upon the idea with avidity, and, in season and out of season, -pressed upon her Prime Minister the desirability of putting his proposal -into practice. He demurred; but she was not to be baulked; and in 1876, -in spite of his own unwillingness and that of his entire Cabinet, he -found himself obliged to add to the troubles of a stormy session -by introducing a bill for the alteration of the Royal Title. His -compliance, however, finally conquered the Faery's heart. The measure -was angrily attacked in both Houses, and Victoria was deeply touched by -the untiring energy with which Disraeli defended it. She was, she said, -much grieved by "the worry and annoyance" to which he was subjected; she -feared she was the cause of it; and she would never forget what she owed -to "her kind, good, and considerate friend." At the same time, her wrath -fell on the Opposition. Their conduct, she declared, was "extraordinary, -incomprehensible, and mistaken," and, in an emphatic sentence which -seemed to contradict both itself and all her former proceedings, she -protested that she "would be glad if it were more generally known that -it was HER wish, as people WILL have it, that it has been FORCED UPON -HER!" When the affair was successfully over, the imperial triumph was -celebrated in a suitable manner. On the day of the Delhi Proclamation, -the new Earl of Beaconsfield went to Windsor to dine with the new -Empress of India. That night the Faery, usually so homely in her attire, -appeared in a glittering panoply of enormous uncut jewels, which had -been presented to her by the reigning Princes of her Raj. At the end of -the meal the Prime Minister, breaking through the rules of -etiquette, arose, and in a flowery oration proposed the health of -the Queen-Empress. His audacity was well received, and his speech was -rewarded by a smiling curtsey. - -These were significant episodes; but a still more serious manifestation -of Victoria's temper occurred in the following year, during the crowning -crisis of Beaconsfield's life. His growing imperialism, his desire -to magnify the power and prestige of England, his insistence upon a -"spirited foreign policy," had brought him into collision with Russia; -the terrible Eastern Question loomed up; and when war broke out between -Russia and Turkey, the gravity of the situation became extreme. -The Prime Minister's policy was fraught with difficulty and danger. -Realising perfectly the appalling implications of an Anglo-Russian war, -he was yet prepared to face even that eventuality if he could obtain -his ends by no other method; but he believed that Russia in reality was -still less desirous of a rupture, and that, if he played his game with -sufficient boldness and adroitness, she would yield, when it came to the -point, all that he required without a blow. It was clear that the -course he had marked out for himself was full of hazard, and demanded -an extraordinary nerve; a single false step, and either himself, or -England, might be plunged in disaster. But nerve he had never lacked; -he began his diplomatic egg-dance with high assurance; and then he -discovered that, besides the Russian Government, besides the Liberals -and Mr. Gladstone, there were two additional sources of perilous -embarrassment with which he would have to reckon. In the first place -there was a strong party in the Cabinet, headed by Lord Derby, the -Foreign Secretary, which was unwilling to take the risk of war; but his -culminating anxiety was the Faery. - -From the first, her attitude was uncompromising. The old hatred of -Russia, which had been engendered by the Crimean War, surged up again -within her; she remembered Albert's prolonged animosity; she felt the -prickings of her own greatness; and she flung herself into the turmoil -with passionate heat. Her indignation with the Opposition--with anyone -who ventured to sympathise with the Russians in their quarrel with the -Turks--was unbounded. When anti-Turkish meetings were held in London, -presided over by the Duke of Westminster and Lord Shaftesbury, and -attended by Mr. Gladstone and other prominent Radicals, she considered -that "the Attorney-General ought to be set at these men;" "it can't," -she exclaimed, "be constitutional." Never in her life, not even in the -crisis over the Ladies of the Bedchamber, did she show herself a more -furious partisan. But her displeasure was not reserved for the Radicals; -the backsliding Conservatives equally felt its force. She was even -discontented with Lord Beaconsfield himself. Failing entirely to -appreciate the delicate complexity of his policy, she constantly -assailed him with demands for vigorous action, interpreted each finesse -as a sign of weakness, and was ready at every juncture to let slip the -dogs of war. As the situation developed, her anxiety grew feverish. "The -Queen," she wrote, "is feeling terribly anxious lest delay should cause -us to be too late and lose our prestige for ever! It worries her night -and day." "The Faery," Beaconsfield told Lady Bradford, "writes every -day and telegraphs every hour; this is almost literally the case." She -raged loudly against the Russians. "And the language," she cried, -"the insulting language--used by the Russians against us! It makes the -Queen's blood boil!" "Oh," she wrote a little later, "if the Queen were -a man, she would like to go and give those Russians, whose word one -cannot believe, such a beating! We shall never be friends again till we -have it out. This the Queen feels sure of." - -The unfortunate Prime Minister, urged on to violence by Victoria on -one side, had to deal, on the other, with a Foreign Secretary who was -fundamentally opposed to any policy of active interference at all. -Between the Queen and Lord Derby he held a harassed course. He gained, -indeed, some slight satisfaction in playing on the one against the -other--in stimulating Lord Derby with the Queen's missives, and in -appeasing the Queen by repudiating Lord Derby's opinions; on one -occasion he actually went so far as to compose, at Victoria's request, -a letter bitterly attacking his colleague, which Her Majesty forthwith -signed, and sent, without alteration, to the Foreign Secretary. But such -devices only gave a temporary relief; and it soon became evident that -Victoria's martial ardour was not to be sidetracked by hostilities -against Lord Derby; hostilities against Russia were what she wanted, -what she would, what she must, have. For now, casting aside the last -relics of moderation, she began to attack her friend with a series of -extraordinary threats. Not once, not twice, but many times she held over -his head the formidable menace of her imminent abdication. "If England," -she wrote to Beaconsfield, "is to kiss Russia's feet, she will not be a -party to the humiliation of England and would lay down her crown," and -she added that the Prime Minister might, if he thought fit, repeat her -words to the Cabinet. "This delay," she ejaculated, "this uncertainty by -which, abroad, we are losing our prestige and our position, while Russia -is advancing and will be before Constantinople in no time! Then the -Government will be fearfully blamed and the Queen so humiliated that -she thinks she would abdicate at once. Be bold!" "She feels," she -reiterated, "she cannot, as she before said, remain the Sovereign of -a country that is letting itself down to kiss the feet of the great -barbarians, the retarders of all liberty and civilisation that exists." -When the Russians advanced to the outskirts of Constantinople she fired -off three letters in a day demanding war; and when she learnt that the -Cabinet had only decided to send the Fleet to Gallipoli she declared -that "her first impulse" was "to lay down the thorny crown, which she -feels little satisfaction in retaining if the position of this country -is to remain as it is now." It is easy to imagine the agitating effect -of such a correspondence upon Beaconsfield. This was no longer the -Faery; it was a genie whom he had rashly called out of her bottle, and -who was now intent upon showing her supernal power. More than once, -perplexed, dispirited, shattered by illness, he had thoughts of -withdrawing altogether from the game. One thing alone, he told Lady -Bradford, with a wry smile, prevented him. "If I could only," he wrote, -"face the scene which would occur at headquarters if I resigned, I would -do so at once." - -He held on, however, to emerge victorious at last. The Queen was -pacified; Lord Derby was replaced by Lord Salisbury; and at the Congress -of Berlin der alte Jude carried all before him. He returned to England -in triumph, and assured the delighted Victoria that she would very soon -be, if she was not already, the "Dictatress of Europe." - -But soon there was an unexpected reverse. At the General Election -of 1880 the country, mistrustful of the forward policy of the -Conservatives, and carried away by Mr. Gladstone's oratory, returned the -Liberals to power. Victoria was horrified, but within a year she was to -be yet more nearly hit. The grand romance had come to its conclusion. -Lord Beaconsfield, worn out with age and maladies, but moving still, an -assiduous mummy, from dinner-party to dinner-party, suddenly moved no -longer. When she knew that the end was inevitable, she seemed, by a -pathetic instinct, to divest herself of her royalty, and to shrink, with -hushed gentleness, beside him, a woman and nothing more. "I send some -Osborne primroses," she wrote to him with touching simplicity, "and I -meant to pay you a little visit this week, but I thought it better you -should be quite quiet and not speak. And I beg you will be very good and -obey the doctors." She would see him, she said, "when we, come back from -Osborne, which won't be long." "Everyone is so distressed at your not -being well," she added; and she was, "Ever yours very aff'ly V.R.I." -When the royal letter was given him, the strange old comedian, stretched -on his bed of death, poised it in his hand, appeared to consider deeply, -and then whispered to those about him, "This ought to be read to me by a -Privy Councillor." - - - -CHAPTER IX. OLD AGE - -I - -Meanwhile in Victoria's private life many changes and developments had -taken place. With the marriages of her elder children her family -circle widened; grandchildren appeared; and a multitude of new domestic -interests sprang up. The death of King Leopold in 1865 had removed the -predominant figure of the older generation, and the functions he had -performed as the centre and adviser of a large group of relatives in -Germany and in England devolved upon Victoria. These functions -she discharged with unremitting industry, carrying on an enormous -correspondence, and following with absorbed interest every detail in the -lives of the ever-ramifying cousinhood. And she tasted to the full -both the joys and the pains of family affection. She took a particular -delight in her grandchildren, to whom she showed an indulgence which -their parents had not always enjoyed, though, even to her grandchildren, -she could be, when the occasion demanded it, severe. The eldest of them, -the little Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, was a remarkably headstrong child; -he dared to be impertinent even to his grandmother; and once, when she -told him to bow to a visitor at Osborne, he disobeyed her outright. -This would not do: the order was sternly repeated, and the naughty boy, -noticing that his grandmama had suddenly turned into a most terrifying -lady, submitted his will to hers, and bowed very low indeed. - -It would have been well if all the Queen's domestic troubles could -have been got over as easily. Among her more serious distresses was the -conduct of the Prince of Wales. The young man was now independent and -married; he had shaken the parental yoke from his shoulders; he was -positively beginning to do as he liked. Victoria was much perturbed, -and her worst fears seemed to be justified when in 1870 he appeared as -a witness in a society divorce case. It was clear that the heir to the -throne had been mixing with people of whom she did not at all approve. -What was to be done? She saw that it was not only her son that was to -blame--that it was the whole system of society; and so she despatched -a letter to Mr. Delane, the editor of The Times, asking him if he would -"frequently WRITE articles pointing out the IMMENSE danger and evil of -the wretched frivolity and levity of the views and lives of the Higher -Classes." And five years later Mr. Delane did write an article upon that -very subject. Yet it seemed to have very little effect. - -Ah! if only the Higher Classes would learn to live as she lived in the -domestic sobriety of her sanctuary at Balmoral! For more and more -did she find solace and refreshment in her Highland domain; and twice -yearly, in the spring and in the autumn, with a sigh of relief, she set -her face northwards, in spite of the humble protests of Ministers, who -murmured vainly in the royal ears that to transact the affairs of State -over an interval of six hundred miles added considerably to the cares -of government. Her ladies, too, felt occasionally a slight reluctance to -set out, for, especially in the early days, the long pilgrimage was not -without its drawbacks. For many years the Queen's conservatism forbade -the continuation of the railway up Deeside, so that the last stages -of the journey had to be accomplished in carriages. But, after all, -carriages had their good points; they were easy, for instance, to get -in and out of, which was an important consideration, for the royal train -remained for long immune from modern conveniences, and when it drew up, -on some border moorland, far from any platform, the highbred dames were -obliged to descend to earth by the perilous foot-board, the only pair -of folding steps being reserved for Her Majesty's saloon. In the days of -crinolines such moments were sometimes awkward; and it was occasionally -necessary to summon Mr. Johnstone, the short and sturdy Manager of the -Caledonian Railway, who, more than once, in a high gale and drenching -rain with great difficulty "pushed up"--as he himself described it--some -unlucky Lady Blanche or Lady Agatha into her compartment. But Victoria -cared for none of these things. She was only intent upon regaining, with -the utmost swiftness, her enchanted Castle, where every spot was charged -with memories, where every memory was sacred, and where life was passed -in an incessant and delightful round of absolutely trivial events. - -And it was not only the place that she loved; she was equally attached -to "the simple mountaineers," from whom, she said, "she learnt many -a lesson of resignation and faith." Smith and Grant and Ross and -Thompson--she was devoted to them all; but, beyond the rest, she was -devoted to John Brown. The Prince's gillie had now become the Queen's -personal attendant--a body servant from whom she was never parted, who -accompanied her on her drives, waited on her during the day, and -slept in a neighbouring chamber at night. She liked his strength, his -solidity, the sense he gave her of physical security; she even liked his -rugged manners and his rough unaccommodating speech. She allowed him to -take liberties with her which would have been unthinkable from anybody -else. To bully the Queen, to order her about, to reprimand her--who -could dream of venturing upon such audacities? And yet, when she -received such treatment from John Brown, she positively seemed to enjoy -it. The eccentricity appeared to be extraordinary; but, after all, it -is no uncommon thing for an autocratic dowager to allow some trusted -indispensable servant to adopt towards her an attitude of authority -which is jealously forbidden to relatives or friends: the power of a -dependent still remains, by a psychological sleight-of-hand, one's own -power, even when it is exercised over oneself. When Victoria meekly -obeyed the abrupt commands of her henchman to get off her pony or put on -her shawl, was she not displaying, and in the highest degree, the force -of her volition? People might wonder; she could not help that; this was -the manner in which it pleased her to act, and there was an end of it. -To have submitted her judgment to a son or a Minister might have seemed -wiser or more natural; but if she had done so, she instinctively felt, -she would indeed have lost her independence. And yet upon somebody -she longed to depend. Her days were heavy with the long process of -domination. As she drove in silence over the moors she leaned back in -the carriage, oppressed and weary; but what a relief--John Brown was -behind on the rumble, and his strong arm would be there for her to lean -upon when she got out. - -He had, too, in her mind, a special connection with Albert. In their -expeditions the Prince had always trusted him more than anyone; the -gruff, kind, hairy Scotsman was, she felt, in some mysterious way, -a legacy from the dead. She came to believe at last--or so it -appeared--that the spirit of Albert was nearer when Brown was near. -Often, when seeking inspiration over some complicated question of -political or domestic import, she would gaze with deep concentration at -her late husband's bust. But it was also noticed that sometimes in such -moments of doubt and hesitation Her Majesty's looks would fix themselves -upon John Brown. - -Eventually, the "simple mountaineer" became almost a state personage. -The influence which he wielded was not to be overlooked. Lord -Beaconsfield was careful, from time to time, to send courteous messages -to "Mr. Brown" in his letters to the Queen, and the French Government -took particular pains to provide for his comfort during the visits of -the English Sovereign to France. It was only natural that among the -elder members of the royal family he should not have been popular, and -that his failings--for failings he had, though Victoria would never -notice his too acute appreciation of Scotch whisky--should have been -the subject of acrimonious comment at Court. But he served his mistress -faithfully, and to ignore him would be a sign of disrespect to her -biographer. For the Queen, far from making a secret of her affectionate -friendship, took care to publish it to the world. By her orders two -gold medals were struck in his honour; on his death, in 1883, a long and -eulogistic obituary notice of him appeared in the Court Circular; and a -Brown memorial brooch--of gold, with the late gillie's head on one side -and the royal monogram on the other--was designed by Her Majesty for -presentation to her Highland servants and cottagers, to be worn by them -on the anniversary of his death, with a mourning scarf and pins. In the -second series of extracts from the Queen's Highland Journal, published -in 1884, her "devoted personal attendant and faithful friend" appears -upon almost every page, and is in effect the hero of the book. With an -absence of reticence remarkable in royal persons, Victoria seemed to -demand, in this private and delicate matter, the sympathy of the whole -nation; and yet--such is the world--there were those who actually -treated the relations between their Sovereign and her servant as a theme -for ribald jests. - -II - -The busy years hastened away; the traces of Time's unimaginable touch -grew manifest; and old age, approaching, laid a gentle hold upon -Victoria. The grey hair whitened; the mature features mellowed; the -short firm figure amplified and moved more slowly, supported by a stick. -And, simultaneously, in the whole tenour of the Queen's existence an -extraordinary transformation came to pass. The nation's attitude -towards her, critical and even hostile as it had been for so many years, -altogether changed; while there was a corresponding alteration in the -temper of--Victoria's own mind. - -Many causes led to this result. Among them were the repeated strokes of -personal misfortune which befell the Queen during a cruelly short space -of years. In 1878 the Princess Alice, who had married in 1862 the Prince -Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt, died in tragic circumstances. In the following -year the Prince Imperial, the only son of the Empress Eugenie, to whom -Victoria, since the catastrophe of 1870, had become devotedly attached, -was killed in the Zulu War. Two years later, in 1881, the Queen lost -Lord Beaconsfield, and, in 1883, John Brown. In 1884 the Prince Leopold, -Duke of Albany, who had been an invalid from birth, died prematurely, -shortly after his marriage. Victoria's cup of sorrows was indeed -overflowing; and the public, as it watched the widowed mother weeping -for her children and her friends, displayed a constantly increasing -sympathy. - -An event which occurred in 1882 revealed and accentuated the feelings of -the nation. As the Queen, at Windsor, was walking from the train to her -carriage, a youth named Roderick Maclean fired a pistol at her from a -distance of a few yards. An Eton boy struck up Maclean's arm with an -umbrella before the pistol went off; no damage was done, and the culprit -was at once arrested. This was the last of a series of seven attempts -upon the Queen--attempts which, taking place at sporadic intervals over -a period of forty years, resembled one another in a curious manner. All, -with a single exception, were perpetrated by adolescents, whose motives -were apparently not murderous, since, save in the case of Maclean, none -of their pistols was loaded. These unhappy youths, who, after buying -their cheap weapons, stuffed them with gunpowder and paper, and then -went off, with the certainty of immediate detection, to click them in -the face of royalty, present a strange problem to the psychologist. But, -though in each case their actions and their purposes seemed to be so -similar, their fates were remarkably varied. The first of them, Edward -Oxford, who fired at Victoria within a few months of her marriage, was -tried for high treason, declared to be insane, and sent to an asylum for -life. It appears, however, that this sentence did not commend itself to -Albert, for when, two years later, John Francis committed the same of -fence, and was tried upon the same charge, the Prince propounced that -there was no insanity in the matter. "The wretched creature," he told -his father, was "not out of his mind, but a thorough scamp." "I hope," -he added, "his trial will be conducted with the greatest strictness." -Apparently it was; at any rate, the jury shared the view of the Prince, -the plea of insanity was, set aside, and Francis was found guilty of -high treason and condemned to death; but, as there was no proof of -an intent to kill or even to wound, this sentence, after a lengthened -deliberation between the Home Secretary and the Judges, was commuted for -one of transportation for life. As the law stood, these assaults, futile -as they were, could only be treated as high treason; the discrepancy -between the actual deed and the tremendous penalties involved was -obviously grotesque; and it was, besides, clear that a jury, knowing -that a verdict of guilty implied a sentence of death, would tend to -the alternative course, and find the prisoner not guilty but insane--a -conclusion which, on the face of it, would have appeared to be the more -reasonable. In 1842, therefore, an Act was passed making any attempt -to hurt the Queen a misdemeanor, punishable by transportation for seven -years, or imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not -exceeding three years--the misdemeanant, at the discretion of the Court, -"to be publicly or privately whipped, as often, and in such manner -and form, as the Court shall direct, not exceeding thrice." The four -subsequent attempts were all dealt with under this new law; William -Bean, in 1842, was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment; William -Hamilton, in 1849, was transported for seven years; and, in 1850, the -same sentence was passed upon Lieutenant Robert Pate, who struck the -Queen on the head with his cane in Piccadilly. Pate, alone among these -delinquents, was of mature years; he had held a commission in the Army, -dressed himself as a dandy, and was, the Prince declared, "manifestly -deranged." In 1872 Arthur O'Connor, a youth of seventeen, fired -an unloaded pistol at the Queen outside Buckingham Palace; he -was immediately seized by John Brown, and sentenced to one year's -imprisonment and twenty strokes of the birch rod. It was for his bravery -upon this occasion that Brown was presented with one of his gold medals. -In all these cases the jury had refused to allow the plea of insanity; -but Roderick Maclean's attempt in 1882 had a different issue. On this -occasion the pistol was found to have been loaded, and the public -indignation, emphasised as it was by Victoria's growing popularity, -was particularly great. Either for this or for some other reason the -procedure of the last forty years was abandoned, and Maclean was tried -for high treason. The result was what might have been expected: the jury -brought in a verdict of "not guilty, but insane"; and the prisoner was -sent to an asylum during Her Majesty's pleasure. Their verdict, however, -produced a remarkable consequence. Victoria, who doubtless carried in -her mind some memory of Albert's disapproval of a similar verdict in -the case of Oxford, was very much annoyed. What did the jury mean, she -asked, by saying that Maclean was not guilty? It was perfectly clear -that he was guilty--she had seen him fire off the pistol herself. It was -in vain that Her Majesty's constitutional advisers reminded her of the -principle of English law which lays down that no man can be found -guilty of a crime unless he be proved to have had a criminal intention. -Victoria was quite unconvinced. "If that is the law," she said, "the law -must be altered:" and altered it was. In 1883 an Act was passed changing -the form of the verdict in cases of insanity, and the confusing anomaly -remains upon the Statute Book to this day. - -But it was not only through the feelings--commiserating or indignant--of -personal sympathy that the Queen and her people were being drawn more -nearly together; they were beginning, at last, to come to a close and -permanent agreement upon the conduct of public affairs. Mr. Gladstone's -second administration (1880-85) was a succession of failures, ending in -disaster and disgrace; liberalism fell into discredit with the country, -and Victoria perceived with joy that her distrust of her Ministers was -shared by an ever-increasing number of her subjects. During the crisis -in the Sudan, the popular temper was her own. She had been among the -first to urge the necessity of an expedition to Khartoum, and, when the -news came of the catastrophic death of General Gordon, her voice led the -chorus of denunciation which raved against the Government. In her rage, -she despatched a fulminating telegram to Mr. Gladstone, not in the usual -cypher, but open; and her letter of condolence to Miss Gordon, in which -she attacked her Ministers for breach of faith, was widely published. -It was rumoured that she had sent for Lord Hartington, the Secretary -of State for War, and vehemently upbraided him. "She rated me," he was -reported to have told a friend, "as if I'd been a footman." "Why didn't -she send for the butler?" asked his friend. "Oh," was the reply, "the -butler generally manages to keep out of the way on such occasions." - -But the day came when it was impossible to keep out of the way any -longer. Mr. Gladstone was defeated, and resigned. Victoria, at a -final interview, received him with her usual amenity, but, besides the -formalities demanded by the occasion, the only remark which she made -to him of a personal nature was to the effect that she supposed Mr. -Gladstone would now require some rest. He remembered with regret how, -at a similar audience in 1874, she had expressed her trust in him as a -supporter of the throne; but he noted the change without surprise. "Her -mind and opinions," he wrote in his diary afterwards, "have since that -day been seriously warped." - -Such was Mr. Gladstone's view,; but the majority of the nation by no -means agreed with him; and, in the General Election of 1886, they -showed decisively that Victoria's politics were identical with theirs -by casting forth the contrivers of Home Rule--that abomination of -desolation--into outer darkness, and placing Lord Salisbury in -power. Victoria's satisfaction was profound. A flood of new unwonted -hopefulness swept over her, stimulating her vital spirits with a -surprising force. Her habit of life was suddenly altered; abandoning -the long seclusion which Disraeli's persuasions had only momentarily -interrupted, she threw herself vigorously into a multitude of public -activities. She appeared at drawing-rooms, at concerts, at reviews; she -laid foundation-stones; she went to Liverpool to open an international -exhibition, driving through the streets in her open carriage in heavy -rain amid vast applauding crowds. Delighted by the welcome which met -her everywhere, she warmed to her work. She visited Edinburgh, where the -ovation of Liverpool was repeated and surpassed. In London, she opened -in high state the Colonial and Indian Exhibition at South Kensington. -On this occasion the ceremonial was particularly magnificent; a blare -of trumpets announced the approach of Her Majesty; the "Natiohal Anthem" -followed; and the Queen, seated on a gorgeous throne of hammered gold, -replied with her own lips to the address that was presented to her. Then -she rose, and, advancing upon the platform with regal port, acknowledged -the acclamations of the great assembly by a succession of curtseys, of -elaborate and commanding grace. - -Next year was the fiftieth of her reign, and in June the splendid -anniversary was celebrated in solemn pomp. Victoria, surrounded by the -highest dignitaries of her realm, escorted by a glittering galaxy of -kings and princes, drove through the crowded enthusiasm of the capital -to render thanks to God in Westminster Abbey. In that triumphant hour -the last remaining traces of past antipathies and past disagreements -were altogether swept away. The Queen was hailed at once as the mother -of her people and as the embodied symbol of their imperial greatness; -and she responded to the double sentiment with all the ardour of her -spirit. England and the people of England, she knew it, she felt it, -were, in some wonderful and yet quite simple manner, hers. Exultation, -affection, gratitude, a profound sense of obligation, an unbounded -pride--such were her emotions; and, colouring and intensifying the -rest, there was something else. At last, after so long, -happiness--fragmentary, perhaps, and charged with gravity, but true -and unmistakable none the less--had returned to her. The unaccustomed -feeling filled and warmed her consciousness. When, at Buckingham Palace -again, the long ceremony over, she was asked how she was, "I am very -tired, but very happy," she said. - -III - -And so, after the toils and tempests of the day, a long evening -followed--mild, serene, and lighted with a golden glory. For an -unexampled atmosphere of success and adoration invested the last period -of Victoria's life. Her triumph was the summary, the crown, of a greater -triumph--the culminating prosperity of a nation. The solid splendour of -the decade between Victoria's two jubilees can hardly be paralleled in -the annals of England. The sage counsels of Lord Salisbury seemed to -bring with them not only wealth and power, but security; and the country -settled down, with calm assurance, to the enjoyment of an established -grandeur. And--it was only natural--Victoria settled down too. For -she was a part of the establishment--an essential part as it seemed--a -fixture--a magnificent, immovable sideboard in the huge saloon of -state. Without her the heaped-up banquet of 1890 would have lost -its distinctive quality--the comfortable order of the substantial -unambiguous dishes, with their background of weighty glamour, half out -of sight. - -Her own existence came to harmonise more and more with what was around -her. Gradually, imperceptibly, Albert receded. It was not that he was -forgotten--that would have been impossible--but that the void created -by his absence grew less agonising, and even, at last, less obvious. -At last Victoria found it possible to regret the bad weather without -immediately reflecting that her "dear Albert always said we could not -alter it, but must leave it as it was;" she could even enjoy a good -breakfast without considering how "dear Albert" would have liked the -buttered eggs. And, as that figure slowly faded, its place was taken, -inevitably, by Victoria's own. Her being, revolving for so many years -round an external object, now changed its motion and found its centre -in itself. It had to be so: her domestic position, the pressure of -her public work, her indomitable sense of duty, made anything else -impossible. Her egotism proclaimed its rights. Her age increased still -further the surrounding deference; and her force of character, emerging -at length in all its plenitude, imposed absolutely upon its environment -by the conscious effort of an imperious will. - -Little by little it was noticed that the outward vestiges of Albert's -posthumous domination grew less complete. At Court the stringency of -mourning was relaxed. As the Queen drove through the Park in her open -carriage with her Highlanders behind her, nursery-maids canvassed -eagerly the growing patch of violet velvet in the bonnet with its jet -appurtenances on the small bowing head. - -It was in her family that Victoria's ascendancy reached its highest -point. All her offspring were married; the number of her descendants -rapidly increased; there were many marriages in the third generation; -and no fewer than thirty-seven of her great-grandchildren were living at -the time of her death. A picture of the period displays the royal family -collected together in one of the great rooms at Windsor--a crowded -company of more than fifty persons, with the imperial matriarch in -their midst. Over them all she ruled with a most potent sway. The small -concerns of the youngest aroused her passionate interest; and the oldest -she treated as if they were children still. The Prince of Wales, in -particular, stood in tremendous awe of his mother. She had steadily -refused to allow him the slightest participation in the business of -government; and he had occupied himself in other ways. Nor could it -be denied that he enjoyed himself--out of her sight; but, in that -redoubtable presence, his abounding manhood suffered a miserable -eclipse. Once, at Osborne, when, owing to no fault of his, he was too -late for a dinner party, he was observed standing behind a pillar and -wiping the sweat from his forehead, trying to nerve himself to go up to -the Queen. When at last he did so, she gave him a stiff nod, whereupon -he vanished immediately behind another pillar, and remained there until -the party broke up. At the time of this incident the Prince of Wales was -over fifty years of age. - -It was inevitable that the Queen's domestic activities should -occasionally trench upon the domain of high diplomacy; and this was -especially the case when the interests of her eldest daughter, the -Crown Princess of Prussia, were at stake. The Crown Prince held liberal -opinions; he was much influenced by his wife; and both were detested by -Bismarck, who declared with scurrilous emphasis that the Englishwoman -and her mother were a menace to the Prussian State. The feud was still -further intensified when, on the death of the old Emperor (1888), the -Crown Prince succeeded to the throne. A family entanglement brought on -a violent crisis. One of the daughters of the new Empress had become -betrothed to Prince Alexander of Battenberg, who had lately been -ejected from the throne of Bulgaria owing to the hostility of the Tsar. -Victoria, as well as the Empress, highly approved of the match. Of the -two brothers of Prince Alexander, the elder had married another of her -grand-daughters, and the younger was the husband of her daughter, the -Princess Beatrice; she was devoted to the handsome young man; and she -was delighted by the prospect of the third brother--on the whole the -handsomest, she thought, of the three--also becoming a member of her -family. Unfortunately, however, Bismarck was opposed to the scheme. -He perceived that the marriage would endanger the friendship between -Germany and Russia, which was vital to his foreign policy, and he -announced that it must not take place. A fierce struggle between the -Empress and the Chancellor followed. Victoria, whose hatred of her -daughter's enemy was unbounded, came over to Charlottenburg to join in -the fray. Bismarck, over his pipe and lager, snorted out his alarm. The -Queen of England's object, he said, was clearly political--she wished to -estrange Germany and Russia--and very likely she would have her way. "In -family matters," he added, "she is not used to contradiction;" she would -"bring the parson with her in her travelling bag and the bridegroom in -her trunk, and the marriage would come off on the spot." But the man -of blood and iron was not to be thwarted so easily, and he asked for a -private interview with the Queen. The details of their conversation are -unknown; but it is certain that in the course of it Victoria was forced -to realise the meaning of resistance to that formidable personage, and -that she promised to use all her influence to prevent the marriage. The -engagement was broken off; and in the following year Prince Alexander of -Battenberg united himself to Fraulein Loisinger, an actress at the court -theatre of Darmstad. - -But such painful incidents were rare. Victoria was growing very old; -with no Albert to guide her, with no Beaconsfield to enflame her, she -was willing enough to abandon the dangerous questions of diplomacy -to the wisdom of Lord Salisbury, and to concentrate her energies upon -objects which touched her more nearly and over which she could -exercise an undisputed control. Her home--her court--the monuments -at Balmoral--the livestock at Windsor--the organisation of her -engagements--the supervision of the multitudinous details of her daily -routine--such matters played now an even greater part in her existence -than before. Her life passed in an extraordinary exactitude. Every -moment of her day was mapped out beforehand; the succession of her -engagements was immutably fixed; the dates of her journeys--to Osborne, -to Balmoral, to the South of France, to Windsor, to London--were hardly -altered from year to year. She demanded from those who surrounded her -a rigid precision in details, and she was preternaturally quick in -detecting the slightest deviation from the rules which she had laid -down. Such was the irresistible potency of her personality, that -anything but the most implicit obedience to her wishes was felt to be -impossible; but sometimes somebody was unpunctual; and unpunctuality -was one of the most heinous of sins. Then her displeasure--her dreadful -displeasure--became all too visible. At such moments there seemed -nothing surprising in her having been the daughter of a martinet. - -But these storms, unnerving as they were while they lasted, were quickly -over, and they grew more and more exceptional. With the return of -happiness a gentle benignity flowed from the aged Queen. Her smile, once -so rare a visitant to those saddened features, flitted over them with an -easy alacrity; the blue eyes beamed; the whole face, starting suddenly -from its pendulous expressionlessness, brightened and softened and cast -over those who watched it an unforgettable charm. For in her last years -there was a fascination in Victoria's amiability which had been lacking -even from the vivid impulse of her youth. Over all who approached -her--or very nearly all--she threw a peculiar spell. Her grandchildren -adored her; her ladies waited upon her with a reverential love. The -honour of serving her obliterated a thousand inconveniences--the -monotony of a court existence, the fatigue of standing, the necessity -for a superhuman attentiveness to the minutia: of time and space. As one -did one's wonderful duty one could forget that one's legs were aching -from the infinitude of the passages at Windsor, or that one's bare arms -were turning blue in the Balmoral cold. - -What, above all, seemed to make such service delightful was the detailed -interest which the Queen took in the circumstances of those around -her. Her absorbing passion for the comfortable commonplaces, the small -crises, the recurrent sentimentalities, of domestic life constantly -demanded wider fields for its activity; the sphere of her own family, -vast as it was, was not enough; she became the eager confidante of -the household affairs of her ladies; her sympathies reached out to -the palace domestics; even the housemaids and scullions--so it -appeared--were the objects of her searching inquiries, and of her -heartfelt solicitude when their lovers were ordered to a foreign -station, or their aunts suffered from an attack of rheumatism which was -more than usually acute. - -Nevertheless the due distinctions of rank were immaculately preserved. -The Queen's mere presence was enough to ensure that; but, in addition, -the dominion of court etiquette was paramount. For that elaborate code, -which had kept Lord Melbourne stiff upon the sofa and ranged the other -guests in silence about the round table according to the order of -precedence, was as punctiliously enforced as ever. Every evening after -dinner, the hearth-rug, sacred to royalty, loomed before the profane in -inaccessible glory, or, on one or two terrific occasions, actually lured -them magnetically forward to the very edge of the abyss. The Queen, at -the fitting moment, moved towards her guests; one after the other they -were led up to her; and, while dialogue followed dialogue in constraint -and embarrassment, the rest of the assembly stood still, without a word. -Only in one particular was the severity of the etiquette allowed to -lapse. Throughout the greater part of the reign the rule that ministers -must stand during their audiences with the Queen had been absolute. When -Lord Derby, the Prime Minister, had an audience of Her Majesty after -a serious illness, he mentioned it afterwards, as a proof of the royal -favour, that the Queen had remarked "How sorry she was she could not ask -him to be seated." Subsequently, Disraeli, after an attack of gout -and in a moment of extreme expansion on the part of Victoria, had -been offered a chair; but he had thought it wise humbly to decline the -privilege. In her later years, however, the Queen invariably asked Mr. -Gladstone and Lord Salisbury to sit down. - -Sometimes the solemnity of the evening was diversified by a concert, an -opera, or even a play. One of the most marked indications of -Victoria's enfranchisement from the thraldom of widowhood had been -her resumption--after an interval of thirty years--of the custom of -commanding dramatic companies from London to perform before the Court at -Windsor. On such occasions her spirits rose high. She loved acting; she -loved a good plot; above all, she loved a farce. Engrossed by everything -that passed upon the stage she would follow, with childlike innocence, -the unwinding of the story; or she would assume an air of knowing -superiority and exclaim in triumph, "There! You didn't expect that, did -you?" when the denouement came. Her sense of humour was of a vigorous -though primitive kind. She had been one of the very few persons who had -always been able to appreciate the Prince Consort's jokes; and, when -those were cracked no more, she could still roar with laughter, in the -privacy of her household, over some small piece of fun--some oddity of -an ambassador, or some ignorant Minister's faux pas. When the jest grew -subtle she was less pleased; but, if it approached the confines of the -indecorous, the danger was serious. To take a liberty called down at -once Her Majesty's most crushing disapprobation; and to say something -improper was to take the greatest liberty of all. Then the royal -lips sank down at the corners, the royal eyes stared in astonished -protrusion, and in fact, the royal countenance became inauspicious in -the highest degree. The transgressor shuddered into silence, while the -awful "We are not amused" annihilated the dinner table. Afterwards, -in her private entourage, the Queen would observe that the person in -question was, she very much feared, "not discreet"; it was a verdict -from which there was no appeal. - -In general, her aesthetic tastes had remained unchanged since the days -of Mendelssohn, Landseer, and Lablache. She still delighted in the -roulades of Italian opera; she still demanded a high standard in the -execution of a pianoforte duet. Her views on painting were decided; -Sir Edwin, she declared, was perfect; she was much impressed by Lord -Leighton's manners; and she profoundly distrusted Mr. Watts. From time -to time she ordered engraved portraits to be taken of members of -the royal family; on these occasions she would have the first proofs -submitted to her, and, having inspected them with minute particularity, -she would point out their mistakes to the artists, indicating at the -same time how they might be corrected. The artists invariably discovered -that Her Majesty's suggestions were of the highest value. In literature -her interests were more restricted. She was devoted to Lord Tennyson; -and, as the Prince Consort had admired George Eliot, she perused -"Middlemarch:" she was disappointed. There is reason to believe, -however, that the romances of another female writer, whose popularity -among the humbler classes of Her Majesty's subjects was at one time -enormous, secured, no less, the approval of Her Majesty. Otherwise she -did not read very much. - -Once, however, the Queen's attention was drawn to a publication which it -was impossible for her to ignore. "The Greville Memoirs," filled with a -mass of historical information of extraordinary importance, but filled -also with descriptions, which were by no means flattering, of George -IV, William IV, and other royal persons, was brought out by Mr. Reeve. -Victoria read the book, and was appalled. It was, she declared, a -"dreadful and really scandalous book," and she could not say "how -HORRIFIED and INDIGNANT" she was at Greville's "indiscretion, -indelicacy, ingratitude towards friends, betrayal of confidence and -shameful disloyalty towards his Sovereign." She wrote to Disraeli to -tell him that in her opinion it was "VERY IMPORTANT that the book should -be severely censured and discredited." "The tone in which he speaks of -royalty," she added, "is unlike anything one sees in history even, -and is most reprehensible." Her anger was directed with almost equal -vehemence against Mr. Reeve for his having published "such an abominable -book," and she charged Sir Arthur Helps to convey to him her deep -displeasure. Mr. Reeve, however, was impenitent. When Sir Arthur told -him that, in the Queen's opinion, "the book degraded royalty," he -replied: "Not at all; it elevates it by the contrast it offers between -the present and the defunct state of affairs." But this adroit defence -failed to make any impression upon Victoria; and Mr. Reeve, when he -retired from the public service, did not receive the knighthood which -custom entitled him to expect. Perhaps if the Queen had known how many -caustic comments upon herself Mr. Reeve had quietly suppressed in the -published Memoirs, she would have been almost grateful to him; but, in -that case, what would she have said of Greville? Imagination boggles at -the thought. As for more modern essays upon the same topic, Her Majesty, -it is to be feared, would have characterised them as "not discreet." - -But as a rule the leisure hours of that active life were occupied with -recreations of a less intangible quality than the study of literature or -the appreciation of art. Victoria was a woman not only of vast property -but of innumerable possessions. She had inherited an immense quantity -of furniture, of ornaments, of china, of plate, of valuable objects of -every kind; her purchases, throughout a long life, made a formidable -addition to these stores; and there flowed in upon her, besides, from -every quarter of the globe, a constant stream of gifts. Over this -enormous mass she exercised an unceasing and minute supervision, and the -arrangement and the contemplation of it, in all its details, filled her -with an intimate satisfaction. The collecting instinct has its roots in -the very depths of human nature; and, in the case of Victoria, it seemed -to owe its force to two of her dominating impulses--the intense sense, -which had always been hers, of her own personality, and the craving -which, growing with the years, had become in her old age almost an -obsession, for fixity, for solidity, for the setting up of palpable -barriers against the outrages of change and time. When she considered -the multitudinous objects which belonged to her, or, better still, when, -choosing out some section of them as the fancy took her, she actually -savoured the vivid richness of their individual qualities, she saw -herself deliciously reflected from a million facets, felt herself -magnified miraculously over a boundless area, and was well pleased. -That was just as it should be; but then came the dismaying -thought--everything slips away, crumbles, vanishes; Sevres -dinner-services get broken; even golden basins go unaccountably astray; -even one's self, with all the recollections and experiences that make -up one's being, fluctuates, perishes, dissolves... But no! It could -not, should not be so! There should be no changes and no losses! Nothing -should ever move--neither the past nor the present--and she herself -least of all! And so the tenacious woman, hoarding her valuables, -decreed their immortality with all the resolution of her soul. She would -not lose one memory or one pin. - -She gave orders that nothing should be thrown away--and nothing was. -There, in drawer after drawer, in wardrobe after wardrobe, reposed the -dresses of seventy years. But not only the dresses--the furs and the -mantles and subsidiary frills and the muffs and the parasols and the -bonnets--all were ranged in chronological order, dated and complete. A -great cupboard was devoted to the dolls; in the china room at Windsor a -special table held the mugs of her childhood, and her children's mugs as -well. Mementoes of the past surrounded her in serried accumulations. -In every room the tables were powdered thick with the photographs of -relatives; their portraits, revealing them at all ages, covered the -walls; their figures, in solid marble, rose up from pedestals, or -gleamed from brackets in the form of gold and silver statuettes. The -dead, in every shape--in miniatures, in porcelain, in enormous life-size -oil-paintings--were perpetually about her. John Brown stood upon her -writing-table in solid gold. Her favourite horses and dogs, endowed with -a new durability, crowded round her footsteps. Sharp, in silver gilt, -dominated the dinner table; Boy and Boz lay together among unfading -flowers, in bronze. And it was not enough that each particle of the -past should be given the stability of metal or of marble: the whole -collection, in its arrangement, no less than its entity, should be -immutably fixed. There might be additions, but there might never be -alterations. No chintz might change, no carpet, no curtain, be replaced -by another; or, if long use at last made it necessary, the stuffs and -the patterns must be so identically reproduced that the keenest eye -might not detect the difference. No new picture could be hung upon the -walls at Windsor, for those already there had been put in their places -by Albert, whose decisions were eternal. So, indeed, were Victoria's. -To ensure that they should be the aid of the camera was called in. Every -single article in the Queen's possession was photographed from several -points of view. These photographs were submitted to Her Majesty, and -when, after careful inspection, she had approved of them, they were -placed in a series of albums, richly bound. Then, opposite each -photograph, an entry was made, indicating the number of the article, the -number of the room in which it was kept, its exact position in the room -and all its principal characteristics. The fate of every object which -had undergone this process was henceforth irrevocably sealed. The -whole multitude, once and for all, took up its steadfast station. And -Victoria, with a gigantic volume or two of the endless catalogue always -beside her, to look through, to ponder upon, to expatiate over, could -feel, with a double contentment, that the transitoriness of this world -had been arrested by the amplitude of her might. - -Thus the collection, ever multiplying, ever encroaching upon new fields -of consciousness, ever rooting itself more firmly in the depths of -instinct, became one of the dominating influences of that strange -existence. It was a collection not merely of things and of thoughts, -but of states of mind and ways of living as well. The celebration of -anniversaries grew to be an important branch of it--of birthdays and -marriage days and death days, each of which demanded its appropriate -feeling, which, in its turn, must be itself expressed in an appropriate -outward form. And the form, of course--the ceremony of rejoicing -or lamentation--was stereotyped with the rest: it was part of the -collection. On a certain day, for instance, flowers must be strewn on -John Brown's monument at Balmoral; and the date of the yearly departure -for Scotland was fixed by that fact. Inevitably it was around the -central circumstance of death--death, the final witness to human -mutability--that these commemorative cravings clustered most thickly. -Might not even death itself be humbled, if one could recall enough--if -one asserted, with a sufficiently passionate and reiterated emphasis, -the eternity of love? Accordingly, every bed in which Victoria slept had -attached to it, at the back, on the right-hand side, above the pillow, -a photograph of the head and shoulders of Albert as he lay dead, -surmounted by a wreath of immortelles. At Balmoral, where memories came -crowding so closely, the solid signs of memory appeared in surprising -profusion. Obelisks, pyramids, tombs, statues, cairns, and seats of -inscribed granite, proclaimed Victoria's dedication to the dead. There, -twice a year, on the days that followed her arrival, a solemn -pilgrimage of inspection and meditation was performed. There, on August -26--Albert's birthday--at the foot of the bronze statue of him in -Highland dress, the Queen, her family, her Court, her servants, and her -tenantry, met together and in silence drank to the memory of the dead. -In England the tokens of remembrance pullulated hardly less. Not a -day passed without some addition to the multifold assemblage--a gold -statuette of Ross, the piper--a life-sized marble group of Victoria and -Albert, in medieval costume, inscribed upon the base with the words: -"Allured to brighter worlds and led the way-" a granite slab in the -shrubbery at Osborne, informing the visitor of "Waldmann: the very -favourite little dachshund of Queen Victoria; who brought him from -Baden, April 1872; died, July 11, 1881." - -At Frogmore, the great mausoleum, perpetually enriched, was visited -almost daily by the Queen when the Court was at Windsor. But there was -another, a more secret and a hardly less holy shrine. The suite of rooms -which Albert had occupied in the Castle was kept for ever shut away -from the eyes of any save the most privileged. Within those precincts -everything remained as it had been at the Prince's death; but the -mysterious preoccupation of Victoria had commanded that her husband's -clothing should be laid afresh, each evening, upon the bed, and that, -each evening, the water should be set ready in the basin, as if he were -still alive; and this incredible rite was performed with scrupulous -regularity for nearly forty years. - -Such was the inner worship; and still the flesh obeyed the spirit; still -the daily hours of labour proclaimed Victoria's consecration to duty -and to the ideal of the dead. Yet, with the years, the sense of -self-sacrifice faded; the natural energies of that ardent being -discharged themselves with satisfaction into the channel of public work; -the love of business which, from her girlhood, had been strong within -her, reasserted itself in all its vigour, and, in her old age, to -have been cut off from her papers and her boxes would have been, not a -relief, but an agony to Victoria. Thus, though toiling Ministers might -sigh and suffer, the whole process of government continued, till the -very end, to pass before her. Nor was that all; ancient precedent -had made the validity of an enormous number of official transactions -dependent upon the application of the royal sign-manual; and a great -proportion of the Queen's working hours was spent in this mechanical -task. Nor did she show any desire to diminish it. On the contrary, she -voluntarily resumed the duty of signing commissions in the army, from -which she had been set free by Act of Parliament, and from which, -during the years of middle life, she had abstained. In no case would she -countenance the proposal that she should use a stamp. But, at last, when -the increasing pressure of business made the delays of the antiquated -system intolerable, she consented that, for certain classes of -documents, her oral sanction should be sufficient. Each paper was read -aloud to her, and she said at the end "Approved." Often, for hours at a -time, she would sit, with Albert's bust in front of her, while the word -"Approved" issued at intervals from her lips. The word came forth with -a majestic sonority; for her voice now--how changed from the silvery -treble of her girlhood--was a contralto, full and strong. - -IV - -The final years were years of apotheosis. In the dazzled imagination -of her subjects Victoria soared aloft towards the regions of divinity -through a nimbus of purest glory. Criticism fell dumb; deficiencies -which, twenty years earlier, would have been universally admitted, were -now as universally ignored. That the nation's idol was a very incomplete -representative of the nation was a circumstance that was hardly noticed, -and yet it was conspicuously true. For the vast changes which, out of -the England of 1837, had produced the England of 1897, seemed scarcely -to have touched the Queen. The immense industrial development of the -period, the significance of which had been so thoroughly understood -by Albert, meant little indeed to Victoria. The amazing scientific -movement, which Albert had appreciated no less, left Victoria perfectly -cold. Her conception of the universe, and of man's place in it, and of -the stupendous problems of nature and philosophy remained, throughout -her life, entirely unchanged. Her religion was the religion which she -had learnt from the Baroness Lehzen and the Duchess of Kent. Here, too, -it might have been supposed that Albert's views might have influenced -her. For Albert, in matters of religion, was advanced. Disbelieving -altogether in evil spirits, he had had his doubts about the miracle -of the Gaderene Swine. Stockmar, even, had thrown out, in a remarkable -memorandum on the education of the Prince of Wales, the suggestion that -while the child "must unquestionably be brought up in the creed of the -Church of England," it might nevertheless be in accordance with -the spirit of the times to exclude from his religious training the -inculcation of a belief in "the supernatural doctrines of Christianity." -This, however, would have been going too far; and all the royal children -were brought up in complete orthodoxy. Anything else would have grieved -Victoria, though her own conceptions of the orthodox were not very -precise. But her nature, in which imagination and subtlety held so small -a place, made her instinctively recoil from the intricate ecstasies -of High Anglicanism; and she seemed to feel most at home in the simple -faith of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. This was what might have -been expected; for Lehzen was the daughter of a Lutheran pastor, and the -Lutherans and the Presbyterians have much in common. For many years Dr. -Norman Macleod, an innocent Scotch minister, was her principal spiritual -adviser; and, when he was taken from her, she drew much comfort from -quiet chats about life and death with the cottagers at Balmoral. -Her piety, absolutely genuine, found what it wanted in the sober -exhortations of old John Grant and the devout saws of Mrs. P. -Farquharson. They possessed the qualities, which, as a child of -fourteen, she had so sincerely admired in the Bishop of Chester's -"Exposition of the Gospel of St. Matthew;" they were "just plain and -comprehensible and full of truth and good feeling." The Queen, who gave -her name to the Age of Mill and of Darwin, never got any further than -that. - -From the social movements of her time Victoria was equally remote. -Towards the smallest no less than towards the greatest changes she -remained inflexible. During her youth and middle age smoking had been -forbidden in polite society, and so long as she lived she would not -withdraw her anathema against it. Kings might protest; bishops and -ambassadors, invited to Windsor, might be reduced, in the privacy of -their bedrooms, to lie full-length upon the floor and smoke up the -chimney--the interdict continued! It might have been supposed that a -female sovereign would have lent her countenance to one of the most -vital of all the reforms to which her epoch gave birth--the emancipation -of women--but, on the contrary, the mere mention of such a proposal sent -the blood rushing to her head. In 1870, her eye having fallen upon the -report of a meeting in favour of Women's Suffrage, she wrote to Mr. -Martin in royal rage--"The Queen is most anxious to enlist everyone -who can speak or write to join in checking this mad, wicked folly of -'Woman's Rights,' with all its attendant horrors, on which her poor -feeble sex is bent, forgetting every sense of womanly feeling and -propriety. Lady--ought to get a GOOD WHIPPING. It is a subject which -makes the Queen so furious that she cannot contain herself. God -created men and women different--then let them remain each in their own -position. Tennyson has some beautiful lines on the difference of men and -women in 'The Princess.' Woman would become the most hateful, heartless, -and disgusting of human beings were she allowed to unsex herself; and -where would be the protection which man was intended to give the weaker -sex? The Queen is sure that Mrs. Martin agrees with her." The argument -was irrefutable; Mrs. Martin agreed; and yet the canker spread. - -In another direction Victoria's comprehension of the spirit of her age -has been constantly asserted. It was for long the custom for courtly -historians and polite politicians to compliment the Queen upon the -correctness of her attitude towards the Constitution. But such praises -seem hardly to be justified by the facts. In her later years Victoria -more than once alluded with regret to her conduct during the Bedchamber -crisis, and let it be understood that she had grown wiser since. Yet -in truth it is difficult to trace any fundamental change either in her -theory or her practice in constitutional matters throughout her life. -The same despotic and personal spirit which led her to break off the -negotiations with Peel is equally visible in her animosity towards -Palmerston, in her threats of abdication to Disraeli, and in her desire -to prosecute the Duke of Westminster for attending a meeting upon -Bulgarian atrocities. The complex and delicate principles of the -Constitution cannot be said to have come within the compass of her -mental faculties; and in the actual developments which it underwent -during her reign she played a passive part. From 1840 to 1861 the -power of the Crown steadily increased in England; from 1861 to 1901 it -steadily declined. The first process was due to the influence of the -Prince Consort, the second to that of a series of great Ministers. -During the first Victoria was in effect a mere accessory; during the -second the threads of power, which Albert had so laboriously collected, -inevitably fell from her hands into the vigorous grasp of Mr. Gladstone, -Lord Beaconsfield, and Lord Salisbury. Perhaps, absorbed as she was in -routine, and difficult as she found it to distinguish at all clearly -between the trivial and the essential, she was only dimly aware of what -was happening. Yet, at the end of her reign, the Crown was weaker than -at any other time in English history. Paradoxically enough, Victoria -received the highest eulogiums for assenting to a political evolution, -which, had she completely realised its import, would have filled her -with supreme displeasure. - -Nevertheless it must not be supposed that she was a second George III. -Her desire to impose her will, vehement as it was, and unlimited by any -principle, was yet checked by a certain shrewdness. She might oppose -her Ministers with extraordinary violence, she might remain utterly -impervious to arguments and supplications; the pertinacity of her -resolution might seem to be unconquerable; but, at the very last moment -of all, her obstinacy would give way. Her innate respect and capacity -for business, and perhaps, too, the memory of Albert's scrupulous -avoidance of extreme courses, prevented her from ever entering an -impasse. By instinct she understood when the facts were too much for -her, and to them she invariably yielded. After all, what else could she -do? - -But if, in all these ways, the Queen and her epoch were profoundly -separated, the points of contact between them also were not few. -Victoria understood very well the meaning and the attractions of power -and property, and in such learning the English nation, too, had grown -to be more and more proficient. During the last fifteen years of the -reign--for the short Liberal Administration of 1892 was a mere interlude -imperialism was the dominant creed of the country. It was Victoria's -as well. In this direction, if in no other, she had allowed her mind to -develop. Under Disraeli's tutelage the British Dominions over the seas -had come to mean much more to her than ever before, and, in particular, -she had grown enamoured of the East. The thought of India fascinated -her; she set to, and learnt a little Hindustani; she engaged some Indian -servants, who became her inseparable attendants, and one of whom, Munshi -Abdul Karim, eventually almost succeeded to the position which had -once been John Brown's. At the same time, the imperialist temper of the -nation invested her office with a new significance exactly harmonising -with her own inmost proclivities. The English polity was in the main -a common-sense structure, but there was always a corner in it where -common-sense could not enter--where, somehow or other, the ordinary -measurements were not applicable and the ordinary rules did not apply. -So our ancestors had laid it down, giving scope, in their wisdom, to -that mystical element which, as it seems, can never quite be eradicated -from the affairs of men. Naturally it was in the Crown that the -mysticism of the English polity was concentrated--the Crown, with its -venerable antiquity, its sacred associations, its imposing spectacular -array. But, for nearly two centuries, common-sense had been predominant -in the great building, and the little, unexplored, inexplicable corner -had attracted small attention. Then, with the rise of imperialism, there -was a change. For imperialism is a faith as well as a business; as -it grew, the mysticism in English public life grew with it; and -simultaneously a new importance began to attach to the Crown. The -need for a symbol--a symbol of England's might, of England's worth, -of England's extraordinary and mysterious destiny--became felt more -urgently than ever before. The Crown was that symbol: and the Crown -rested upon the head of Victoria. Thus it happened that while by the end -of the reign the power of the sovereign had appreciably diminished, the -prestige of the sovereign had enormously grown. - -Yet this prestige was not merely the outcome of public changes; it was -an intensely personal matter, too. Victoria was the Queen of England, -the Empress of India, the quintessential pivot round which the whole -magnificent machine was revolving--but how much more besides! For one -thing, she was of a great age--an almost indispensable qualification for -popularity in England. She had given proof of one of the most admired -characteristics of the race--persistent vitality. She had reigned for -sixty years, and she was not out. And then, she was a character. The -outlines of her nature were firmly drawn, and, even through the mists -which envelop royalty, clearly visible. In the popular imagination her -familiar figure filled, with satisfying ease, a distinct and memorable -place. It was, besides, the kind of figure which naturally called forth -the admiring sympathy of the great majority of the nation. Goodness they -prized above every other human quality; and Victoria, who had said -that she would be good at the age of twelve, had kept her word. Duty, -conscience, morality--yes! in the light of those high beacons the -Queen had always lived. She had passed her days in work and not in -pleasure--in public responsibilities and family cares. The standard -of solid virtue which had been set up so long ago amid the domestic -happiness of Osborne had never been lowered for an instant. For more -than half a century no divorced lady had approached the precincts of the -Court. Victoria, indeed, in her enthusiasm for wifely fidelity, had laid -down a still stricter ordinance: she frowned severely upon any widow -who married again. Considering that she herself was the offspring of -a widow's second marriage, this prohibition might be regarded as an -eccentricity; but, no doubt, it was an eccentricity on the right side. -The middle classes, firm in the triple brass of their respectability, -rejoiced with a special joy over the most respectable of Queens. They -almost claimed her, indeed, as one of themselves; but this would have -been an exaggeration. For, though many of her characteristics were most -often found among the middle classes, in other respects--in her manners, -for instance--Victoria was decidedly aristocratic. And, in one important -particular, she was neither aristocratic nor middle-class: her attitude -toward herself was simply regal. - -Such qualities were obvious and important; but, in the impact of a -personality, it is something deeper, something fundamental and common to -all its qualities, that really tells. In Victoria, it is easy to discern -the nature of this underlying element: it was a peculiar sincerity. Her -truthfulness, her single-mindedness, the vividness of her emotions and -her unrestrained expression of them, were the varied forms which this -central characteristic assumed. It was her sincerity which gave her at -once her impressiveness, her charm, and her absurdity. She moved -through life with the imposing certitude of one to whom concealment was -impossible--either towards her surroundings or towards herself. There -she was, all of her--the Queen of England, complete and obvious; the -world might take her or leave her; she had nothing more to show, or to -explain, or to modify; and, with her peerless carriage, she swept along -her path. And not only was concealment out of the question; reticence, -reserve, even dignity itself, as it sometimes seemed, might be very well -dispensed with. As Lady Lyttelton said: "There is a transparency in her -truth that is very striking--not a shade of exaggeration in describing -feelings or facts; like very few other people I ever knew. Many may be -as true, but I think it goes often along with some reserve. She talks -all out; just as it is, no more and no less." She talked all out; and -she wrote all out, too. Her letters, in the surprising jet of their -expression, remind one of a turned-on tap. What is within pours forth -in an immediate, spontaneous rush. Her utterly unliterary style has at -least the merit of being a vehicle exactly suited to her thoughts and -feelings; and even the platitude of her phraseology carries with it a -curiously personal flavour. Undoubtedly it was through her writings that -she touched the heart of the public. Not only in her "Highland Journals" -where the mild chronicle of her private proceedings was laid bare -without a trace either of affectation or of embarrassment, but also in -those remarkable messages to the nation which, from time to time, she -published in the newspapers, her people found her very close to them -indeed. They felt instinctively Victoria's irresistible sincerity, and -they responded. And in truth it was an endearing trait. - -The personality and the position, too--the wonderful combination of -them--that, perhaps, was what was finally fascinating in the case. The -little old lady, with her white hair and her plain mourning clothes, -in her wheeled chair or her donkey-carriage--one saw her so; and -then--close behind--with their immediate suggestion of singularity, -of mystery, and of power--the Indian servants. That was the familiar -vision, and it was admirable; but, at chosen moments, it was right that -the widow of Windsor should step forth apparent Queen. The last and the -most glorious of such occasions was the Jubilee of 1897. Then, as -the splendid procession passed along, escorting Victoria through the -thronged re-echoing streets of London on her progress of thanksgiving -to St. Paul's Cathedral, the greatness of her realm and the adoration -of her subjects blazed out together. The tears welled to her eyes, and, -while the multitude roared round her, "How kind they are to me! How kind -they are!" she repeated over and over again. That night her message flew -over the Empire: "From my heart I thank my beloved people. May God bless -them!" The long journey was nearly done. But the traveller, who had -come so far, and through such strange experiences, moved on with the -old unfaltering step. The girl, the wife, the aged woman, were the same: -vitality, conscientiousness, pride, and simplicity were hers to the -latest hour. - - - -CHAPTER X. THE END - -The evening had been golden; but, after all, the day was to close in -cloud and tempest. Imperial needs, imperial ambitions, involved the -country in the South African War. There were checks, reverses, bloody -disasters; for a moment the nation was shaken, and the public distresses -were felt with intimate solicitude by the Queen. But her spirit was -high, and neither her courage nor her confidence wavered for a moment. -Throwing her self heart and soul into the struggle, she laboured with -redoubled vigour, interested herself in every detail of the hostilities, -and sought by every means in her power to render service to the national -cause. In April 1900, when she was in her eighty-first year, she made -the extraordinary decision to abandon her annual visit to the South of -France, and to go instead to Ireland, which had provided a particularly -large number of recruits to the armies in the field. She stayed for -three weeks in Dublin, driving through the streets, in spite of the -warnings of her advisers, without an armed escort; and the visit was -a complete success. But, in the course of it, she began, for the first -time, to show signs of the fatigue of age. - -For the long strain and the unceasing anxiety, brought by the war, made -themselves felt at last. Endowed by nature with a robust constitution, -Victoria, though in periods of depression she had sometimes supposed -herself an invalid, had in reality throughout her life enjoyed -remarkably good health. In her old age, she had suffered from a -rheumatic stiffness of the joints, which had necessitated the use of a -stick, and, eventually, a wheeled chair; but no other ailments attacked -her, until, in 1898, her eyesight began to be affected by incipient -cataract. After that, she found reading more and more difficult, though -she could still sign her name, and even, with some difficulty, write -letters. In the summer of 1900, however, more serious symptoms appeared. -Her memory, in whose strength and precision she had so long prided -herself, now sometimes deserted her; there was a tendency towards -aphasia; and, while no specific disease declared itself, by the autumn -there were unmistakable signs of a general physical decay. Yet, even -in these last months, the strain of iron held firm. The daily -work continued; nay, it actually increased; for the Queen, with an -astonishing pertinacity, insisted upon communicating personally with -an ever-growing multitude of men and women who had suffered through the -war. - -By the end of the year the last remains of her ebbing strength had -almost deserted her; and through the early days of the opening century -it was clear that her dwindling forces were only kept together by an -effort of will. On January 14, she had at Osborne an hour's interview -with Lord Roberts, who had returned victorious from South Africa a few -days before. She inquired with acute anxiety into all the details of the -war; she appeared to sustain the exertion successfully; but, when -the audience was over, there was a collapse. On the following day her -medical attendants recognised that her state was hopeless; and yet, for -two days more, the indomitable spirit fought on; for two days more she -discharged the duties of a Queen of England. But after that there was -an end of working; and then, and not till then, did the last optimism of -those about her break down. The brain was failing, and life was gently -slipping away. Her family gathered round her; for a little more she -lingered, speechless and apparently insensible; and, on January 22, -1901, she died. - -When, two days previously, the news of the approaching end had been made -public, astonished grief had swept over the country. It appeared as if -some monstrous reversal of the course of nature was about to take place. -The vast majority of her subjects had never known a time when Queen -Victoria had not been reigning over them. She had become an indissoluble -part of their whole scheme of things, and that they were about to lose -her appeared a scarcely possible thought. She herself, as she lay -blind and silent, seemed to those who watched her to be divested of all -thinking--to have glided already, unawares, into oblivion. Yet, perhaps, -in the secret chambers of consciousness, she had her thoughts, too. -Perhaps her fading mind called up once more the shadows of the past to -float before it, and retraced, for the last time, the vanished visions -of that long history--passing back and back, through the cloud of years, -to older and ever older memories--to the spring woods at Osborne, so -full of primroses for Lord Beaconsfield--to Lord Palmerston's queer -clothes and high demeanour, and Albert's face under the green lamp, -and Albert's first stag at Balmoral, and Albert in his blue and silver -uniform, and the Baron coming in through a doorway, and Lord M. dreaming -at Windsor with the rooks cawing in the elm-trees, and the Archbishop -of Canterbury on his knees in the dawn, and the old King's turkey-cock -ejaculations, and Uncle Leopold's soft voice at Claremont, and Lehzen -with the globes, and her mother's feathers sweeping down towards her, -and a great old repeater-watch of her father's in its tortoise-shell -case, and a yellow rug, and some friendly flounces of sprigged muslin, -and the trees and the grass at Kensington. - - - -BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LIST OF REFERENCES IN THE NOTES, ARRANGED -ALPHABETICALLY. - - Adams. The Education of Henry Adams: an autobiography. 1918. - - Ashley. The Life and Correspondence of H.J. Temple, Viscount - Palmerston. By - A.E.M. Ashley. 2 vols. 1879. - - Bloomfield. Reminiscences of Court and Diplomatic Life. By - Georgiana, Lady - Bloomfield. 2 vols. 1883. - - Broughton. Recollections of a Long Life. By Lord Brougton. - Edited by Lady - Dorchester. 6 vols. 1909-11. - - Buckle. The life of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield. - By W.F. Monypenny - and G.E. Buckle. 6 vols. 1910-20. - - Bulow. Gabriele von Bulow, 1791-1887. Berlin. 1893. - - Bunsen. A Memoir of Baron Bunsen. By his widow, Frances, - Baroness Bunsen. 2 - vols. 1868. - - Busch. Bismarck: some secret pages of history. By Dr. Moritz - Busch. (English - translation.) 8 vols. 1898. - - Childers. The Life and Correspondence of the Rt. Hon. Hugh - C.E. Childers. 2 - vols. 1901. - - Clarendon. The Life and Letters of the Fourth Earl of - Clarendon. By Sir - Herbert Maxwell. 2 vols. 1913. - - Cornhill Magazine, vol. 75. - - Crawford. Victoria, Queen and Ruler. By Emily Crawford. 1903. - - Creevey. The Creevey Papers. Edited by Sir Herbert Maxwell. 2 - vols. 1904. - - Croker. The Croker Papers. Edited by L.J. Jennings. 1884. - - Dafforne. The Albert Memorial: its history and description. By - J. Dafforne. - 1877. - - Dalling. The Life of H.J. Temple, Viscount Palmerston. By Lord - Dalling. 3 - vols. 1871-84. - - Dictionary of National Biography. - - Disraeli. Lord George Bentinck: a political biography. By B. - Disraeli. 1852. - - Eckardstein. Lebens-Erinnerungen u. Politische - Denkwurdigheiten. Von Freiherrn - v. Eckardstein. 2 vols. Leipzig. 1919. - - Ernest. Memoirs of Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 4 - vols. 1888. - (English translation.) - - Fitzmaurice. The Life of Earl Granville. By Lord Fitzmaurice. - 2 vols. 1905. - - Gaskell. The Life of Charlotte Bronte. By Mrs. Gaskell. 2 - vols. 1857. - - Girlhood. The Girlhood of Queen Victoria. Edited by Viscount - Esher. 2 vols. - 1912. - - Gossart. Adolphe Quetelet et le Prince Albert de Saxe-Cobourg. - Academie Royale - de Belgique. Bruxelles. 1919. - - Granville. Letters of Harriet, Countess Granville. 2 vols. 1894. - - Greville. The Greville Memoirs. 8 vols. (Silver Library - Edition.) 1896. - - Grey. Early Years of the Prince Consort. By General Charles - Grey. 1867. - - Halle. Life and Letters of Sir Charles Halle. Edited by his - Son. 1896. - - Hamilton. Parliamentary Reminiscences and Reflections. By Lord - George - Hamilton. 1917. - - Hare. The Story of My Life. By Augustus J.C. Hare. 6 vols. - 1896-1900. - - Haydon. Autobiography of Benjamin Robert Haydon. 3 vols. 1853. - - Hayward. Sketches of Eminent Statesmen and Writers. By A. - Hayward. 2 vols. - 1880. - - Huish. The History of the Life and Reign of William the - Fourth. By Robert - Huish. 1837. - - Hunt. The Old Court Suburb: or Memorials of Kensington, regal, - critical, and - anecdotal. 2 vols. 1855. - - Jerrold, Early Court. The Early Court of Queen Victoria. By - Clare Jerrold. - 1912. - - Jerrold, Married Life. The Married Life of Queen Victoria. By - Clare Jerrold. - 1913. - - Jerrold, Widowhood. The Widowhood of Queen Victoria. By Clare - Jerrold. 1916. - - Kinglake. The Invasion of the Crimea. By A.W. Kinglake. 9 - vols. (Cabinet - Edition.) 1877-88. - - Knight. The Autobiography of Miss Cornelia Knight. 2 vols. 1861. - - Laughton. Memoirs of the Life and Correspondence of Henry - Reeve. By Sir John - Laughton. 2 vols. 1898. - - Leaves. Leaves from the Journal of our Life in the Highlands, - from 1848 to - 1861. By Queen Victoria. Edited by A. Helps. 1868. - - Lee. Queen Victoria: a biography. By Sidney Lee. 1902. - - Leslie. Autobiographical Recollections by the late Charles - Robert Leslie, R.A. - Edited by Tom Taylor. 2 vols. 1860. - - Letters. The Letters of Queen Victoria. 3 vols. 1908. - - Lieven. Letters of Dorothea, Princess Lieven, during her - residence in London, - 1812-1834. Edited by Lionel G. Robinson. 1902. - - The London Mercury. - - Lovely Albert! A Broadside. - - Lyttelton. Correspondence of Sarah Spencer, Lady Lyttelton, - 1787-1870. Edited - by Mrs. Hugh Wyndham. 1912. - - Martin. The Life of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort. By - Theodore Martin. - 5 vols. 1875-80. - - Martin, Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria as I knew her. By Sir - Theodore Martin. - 1908. - - Martineau. The Autobiography of Harriet Martineau. 3 vols. 1877. - - Maxwell. The Hon. Sir Charles Murray, K.C.B.: a memoir. By Sir - Herbert - Maxwell. 1898. - - More Leaves. More Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the - Highlands, from - 1862 to 1882. By Queen Victoria. 1884. - - Morley. The Life of William Ewart Gladstone. By John Morley. 5 - vols. 1903. - - Murray. Recollections from 1803 to 1837. By the Hon. Amelia - Murray. 1868. - - National Memorial. The National Memorial to H.R.H. the Prince - Consort. 1873. - - Neele. Railway Reminiscences. By George P. Neele. 1904. - - Owen. The Life of Robert Owen written by himself. 1857. - - Owen, Journal. Owen's Rational Quarterly Review and Journal. - - Panam. A German Prince and his Victim. Taken from the Memoirs - of Madame - Pauline Panam. 1915. - - Private Life. The Private Life of the Queen. By One of Her - Majesty's Servants. - 1897. - - The Quarterly Review, vols. 193 and 213. - - Robertson. Bismarck. By C. Grant Robertson. 1918. - - Scott Personal and Professional Recollections. By Sir George - Gilbert Scott. - 1879. - - Smith. Life of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Compiled from all - available - sources. By G. Barnett Smith. 1887. - - Spinster Lady. The Notebooks of a Spinster Lady. 1919. - - Stein. Denkschriftenuber Deutsche Verfassunyen. Herausgegeben - von G.H. Pertz. - 6 vols. 1848. - - Stockmar. Denkwurdigkeiten aus den Papieren des Freiherrn - Christian Friedrich - v. Stockmar, zusammengestellt von Ernst Freiherr v. Stockmar. - Braunschweig. - 1872. - - Tait. The Life of Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of - Canterbury. 2 vols. - 1891. - - The London Times. The Times Life. The Life of Queen Victoria, - reproduced from - The London Times. 1901. - - Torrens. Memoirs of William Lamb, second Viscount Melbourne. - By W. M. Torrens. - (Minerva Library Edition.) 1890. - - Vitzhum. St. Petersburg und London in den Jahren 1852-1864. - Carl Friedrich - Graf Vitzthum von Eckstadt. Stuttgart. 1886. - - Walpole. The Life of Lord John Russell. By Sir Spencer - Walpole. 2 vols. 1889. - - Wilberforce, Samuel. Life of Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of - Oxford. By his son, - R.G. Wilberforce. 3 vols. 1881. - - Wilberforce, William. The Life of William Wilberforce. 5 vols. - 1838. - - Wynn. Diaries of a Lady of Quality. 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