diff options
Diffstat (limited to '75138-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 75138-0.txt | 12225 |
1 files changed, 12225 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/75138-0.txt b/75138-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8c5483e --- /dev/null +++ b/75138-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12225 @@ + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75138 *** + + + + + + THE GIRLHOOD OF + QUEEN VICTORIA + + + + THE GIRLHOOD OF + QUEEN VICTORIA + + A SELECTION FROM HER MAJESTY’S + DIARIES BETWEEN THE YEARS + 1832 AND 1840 + + PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF + HIS MAJESTY THE KING + + EDITED BY VISCOUNT ESHER, G.C.B., G.C.V.O. + + + IN TWO VOLUMES + + VOL. I + + + LONDON + JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. + 1912 + + + + +In the preparation of this book much is due to the ungrudging help +given to the Editor by the late Mr. Hugh Childers in the tedious and +complicated task of tracing the numerous references to persons and +places mentioned in the Queen’s Journals. + +Mr. Hugh Childers rendered valuable service to the Editors of _The +Letters of Queen Victoria_, and in the preparation of this book +his labour and trouble were no less freely expended under trying +circumstances of failing health. His loss is deeply regretted by the +Editor. + + + ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + + + + + PREFACE + + +These extracts from the early Journals of Queen Victoria have been +edited by command of her son, King Edward VII., and under the gracious +auspices of her grandson, King George V. + +The Editor feels bound to express his humble gratitude to the King, and +his deep obligation to the Queen, for the encouragement and assistance +he has received from their Majesties in the preparation of these +volumes. + +Without the Queen’s help and exact historical knowledge of the period +covered by the Journals, many imperfections in the editing of them +would have passed unnoticed. + +The Editor must also return his warmest thanks to H.R.H. Princess +Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, whose retentive memory of the persons +mentioned in the text has been unreservedly and generously brought to +bear upon the notes to these volumes, and to H.R.H. Princess Henry of +Battenberg, to whose pious regard for her Mother’s memory, as Executrix +of Queen Victoria’s Will, the publication of the Journals may be +ascribed. + +Furthermore, he is anxious to thank Lord Rosebery for his friendly +co-operation in having read the proofs, and for many valuable +suggestions. + +And, finally, he cannot sufficiently acknowledge the care lavished upon +the publication of this book by his friend John Murray, junior, whose +inherited gifts have been placed unreservedly at the disposal of the +Editor. + + + + + CONTENTS + + + PAGES + +INTRODUCTION 1–41 + + + CHAPTER I + 1832 + +Journey by St. Albans, Dunstable, Coventry, and Birmingham + to Welshpool — Arrival at Powis Castle — At Beaumaris — + Visit to Baron Hill — Sir Richard and Lady Bulkeley — At + Plas Newydd — Journey to Eaton — Visit to Lord and Lady + Westminster — The Grosvenor family — Visit to Chatsworth + — The Cavendish family — Expedition to Haddon Hall — + Visit to Alton Towers — A hunting episode — Visit to + Wytham Abbey — A day in Oxford — Back to Kensington — + Christmas presents 42–62 + + CHAPTER II + 1833 + +Arrival of “Dash” — Various lessons — At the Opera — + _Kenilworth_ ballet — Life at Kensington — Recreations + — Dinner party for the King; and the guests — The Opera + and Taglioni — Somerset House Exhibition — The Duke of + Orleans — Fourteenth birthday — Presents — A birthday + ball — Alexander and Ernest of Würtemberg — Paganini and + Malibran — Journey to Portsmouth — At Norris Castle — On + board the _Emerald_ — Visit to the _Victory_ — Journey + to Plymouth — Presentation of Colours — The Queen of + Portugal — Spanish affairs — At Drury Lane — A lecture on + physics 63–90 + + + CHAPTER III + 1834 + +The Order of Maria Louisa — At the Opera — _Anna Boulena_ and + _Othello_ — Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg — Feodore, Princess + von Hohenlohe-Langenburg and her children — Visit to + Windsor — The King and Queen — Portuguese affairs — At + St. Leonards — A carriage accident — Death of the Duke of + Gloucester — A fine sermon 91–106 + + + CHAPTER IV + 1835 + +At St. Leonards — A shipwreck — Lessons — Back to Kensington + — Death of the Duke of Leuchtenberg — Opera _Otello_ + — Visit to Windsor — A concert — Grisi, Lablache, and + Tamburini — Sixteenth birthday — Presents — Eton Montem — + At the opera — Death of Countess Mensdorff — Confirmation + — Ceremony at St. James’s — First Communion — At + Tunbridge Wells — Races — Reading — Back to Kensington + — Duc de Nemours — Journey to Bishopthorpe — Harcourt + family — York Minster — At Canterbury — Ramsgate — The + King and Queen of the Belgians 107–139 + + + CHAPTER V + 1836 + +At Ramsgate — Back to Kensington — Change of rooms — + Marriage of the Queen of Portugal — A dinner party — The + theatre — Kemble and Macready — Helen Faucit — Charles + Mathews — Visit to Windsor — State ball — Princes + Ferdinand and Augustus — King Leopold’s _Directions_ + — Visit of Ernest and Albert of Saxe-Coburg — Their + characteristics and charms — Seventeenth birthday — The + British Gallery — The Victoria Asylum — Lablache — At + Claremont — Portuguese revolution — Events in Lisbon + — King Leopold and Belgium — Death of Malibran — At + Ramsgate — Books read — A dinner party — Louis Napoleon + at Strasburg — A stormy journey — Rochester — Back to + Kensington — Claremont — A gipsy camp 140–182 + + + CHAPTER VI + 1837 + +Gipsies — M. Van de Weyer — Books read — Opera _I Puritani_ — + Death of Lady de L’Isle — The Drawing-room — An address + from Lincoln — Eighteenth birthday — Ball at St. James’s + — Stockmar — The King’s illness and death — News of the + Accession — The first Council — Lord Melbourne — The + Proclamation — Official business — Visit to Windsor + — Queen Adelaide — Addresses — Audiences — Household + appointments — The King’s funeral — Conferring Orders + — Leaving Kensington Palace — Settling into Buckingham + Palace 183–212 + + + CHAPTER VII + 1837 (_continued_) + +Chapter of the Garter — Cabinet Council — Thalberg — State + visit to House of Lords — Order of St. Catherine — + Anxiety about elections — Trying horses — Windsor — The + King of Würtemburg — Visit of King Leopold — Talks with + Lord Melbourne — A game of chess — Departure of the + King and Queen of the Belgians — A review at Windsor — + Queen Adelaide — Perasi of Lord Melbourne — At Brighton + — Unfortunate state of Portugal — Changes at Buckingham + Palace — Lord Mayor’s Dinner — Popularity with the crowd + — The Queen’s Speech — State visit to the House of Lords + — Debates on the Address — Pensions — Lord Melbourne on + Education — Landseer’s pictures — Conversations with Lord + Melbourne — Lord Brougham’s attacks — Magnetism — The + Privy Purse — Character formation — Windsor 213–248 + + + CHAPTER VIII + _January and February_, 1838 + +Lord Melbourne’s family — Riding — Canadian difficulties + — The Secretary at War — Lord Melbourne on music — + Lord Durham and Canada — The State of Greece — Lord + Melbourne on various people — And on Wellington — + Punishments — Army difficulties — The Waverley Novels + — Sir John Colborne — The Fitzclarence pensions — Lady + Falkland — Lord Melbourne on historics — Whig doctrine + — Lord Melbourne on recommendations — Charles Kean in + _Hamlet_ — Dolls — English Kings — Sheriff-pricking — + Canada Government Bill — Shakespeare plays — Government + difficulties — The Ballot question and Lord J. Russell + — Wellington’s manner — Lord Tavistock — Troops in + Canada — Lord Ellenborough — Peerage ceremonial — + Princess Charlotte — Duchess of Sutherland — Public + School education — Enthusiasm — William IV.’s dislikes — + Ballot Question — Anecdote of George IV. — Children and + relations — A Russian custom — A Levée — Pensions — Court + etiquette — Lord Howe and Queen Adelaide — The question + of Marriage 249–290 + + + CHAPTER IX + _March, April, and May_, 1838 + +Bulwer’s plays — Canadian prisoners — Jamaican slavery — + An Investiture — Commission on Promotions — Portuguese + affairs — A long ride — Lord and Lady Holland — Talk on + railways — Lady Burghersh — Lord Byron — Duke and Duchess + of Gloucester — Gallery of Portraits — Madame de Staël — + Brougham’s oddities — Death of Louis — The Royal Family + — Soult — Lady Charlotte Bury — The Hertford family — + Carlton House and Court parties — Queen Anne — George + IV.’s favourites — Artists — A State ball — The Church + of Ireland — Useless motions — The Ponsonby family — + Coronation preparations — Irish affairs — Government + difficulties — Singing of birds — The Fitzclarence + pensions — Election Committee Bill — Portugal and slavery + — The Established Church — Parliamentary business — + Audiences — Talleyrand’s death — Twentieth birthday — A + State ball — Royal marriages — Eton customs — Coronation + honours 291–335 + + + CHAPTER X + _June, July, and August_, 1838 + +Thunderstorms — Lord Durham — Don Giovanni — New Zealand + — Eton Montem — Lord Barham — Miss Chaworth and Byron + — Lord Melbourne’s household — Visit to Eton — King + Leopold’s position — Lord Melbourne’s reminiscences — + Public School education — Irish legal difficulties — + O’Connell — Eton and Ascot — South Sea Co. — The Order + of the Bath — Coronation Honours — Lord Melbourne and + the Garter — Marshal Soult — Coronation Day — Procession + to Westminster — The ceremony — The procession — After + the Coronation — The peerage — Illuminations — Lord + Melbourne on the ceremony — Kings and usurpers — Review + in Hyde Park — Popularity of enemies — Soult at Eton — + Family questions — Sir E. Lyons — Prince Royal of Bavaria + — Dukedoms — The Sheridan family — Lady Seymour — Lord + Shelburne’s marriage — A dinner party and reception — + George III.’s sons — And his illnesses — Lady Sarah + Lennox — Mehemet Ali — Lord Melbourne and King Leopold + — Statues — The Queen’s Speech — Lord Melbourne on Lord + Brougham — Wellington — Belgium and Holland dispute — The + Irish — Persian affairs — Pozzo di Borgo — Lord Howick — + Belgian affairs — Russian influence — Jewels — Duke of + Sussex — Lord North — Mexican affairs — Concerning books + — Lady Holland — George III.’s Prime Ministers — Colonial + policy 336–398 + +[Illustration: _H.R.H. Princess Victoria & “Dashy”_ + + _from a picture by R. Westall R. A. at Windsor Castle_] + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + VOL. I + + +H.R.H. PRINCESS VICTORIA AND “DASHY.” _From a picture by R. + Westall, R.A., at Windsor Castle_ _Frontispiece_ + + FACING PAGE + +VICTOIRE CONROY. _From a sketch by Princess Victoria_ 48 + +*H.R.H. PRINCESS SOPHIA. _From a portrait by Sir W. Ross_ 62 + +*H.S.H. PRINCESS ADELAIDE OF HOHENLOHE-LANGENBURG. _From a + portrait by Gutekunst_ 96 + +*H.S.H. PRINCESS SOPHIA OF SAXE-COBURG, COUNTESS + MENSDORFF-POUILLY. _From a portrait by Dickinson_ 122 + +CHARLES MATHEWS. _From a sketch by Princess Victoria_ 148 + +*H.S.H. PRINCE ALBERT OF SAXE-COBURG, AGED NINE. _From a + portrait by Schneider, after Eckhardt_ 158 + +MADAME MALIBRAN. _From a sketch by Princess Victoria_ 168 + +GIPSY WOMEN. _From a sketch by Princess Victoria_ 182 + +LUIGI LABLACHE. _From a sketch by Princess Victoria_ 190 + +*H.M. QUEEN ADELAIDE. _From a portrait by Sir W. Ross_ 204 + +*H.R.H. PRINCESS VICTORIA. _From a portrait by R. J. Lane_, + 1829 212 + +*H.S.H. CHARLES, PRINCE OF LEININGEN. _From a portrait by R. J. + Lane_ 248 + +*H.R.H. THE DUCHESS OF KENT. _From a portrait by Stone_ 290 + +H.S.H. PRINCE FERDINAND OF SAXE-COBURG, AFTERWARDS KING-CONSORT + OF PORTUGAL. _From a sketch by Princess Victoria_ 326 + +*H.S.H. FEODORA, PRINCESS OF HOHENLOHE-LANGENBURG. _From a + portrait by Gutekunst_, 1830 362 + +*H.R.H. THE DUC DE NEMOURS. _From a portrait by Eugene Lami_ 394 + + NOTE.—The illustrations marked * are taken from the Queen’s private + albums, in which she kept portraits of relations and friends, + specially painted for her. + + + + + INTRODUCTION + + + I + +Apart from the onward surge of Empire during both epochs, apart from +the flow of scientific thought and the breeze of literary enthusiasm +characterising them, there is much in the atmosphere of Victoria’s +advent to the Throne, and her long and glorious tenure of it, to remind +us of the central figure of the Elizabethan age. + +Both princesses were reared and educated, although for very different +reasons, in the uncertain glory of succession to the Throne. Both +mounted the Throne early in life alone and unprotected, at a moment of +reaction against the abuses of monarchy. Under George III. as under +Henry VIII. this country had been subjected to violent commotion +consequent on the struggle for national freedom against a foreign +power. The Reformation in England and the Napoleonic wars owed their +successful issue to the persistent determination of the English people +to be free. The hated marriage of Mary and the matrimonial scandals +of George IV. had cast a gloom over the temper of the nation. Even +the triumph of the popular cause, due to the grudging support given +by William IV. to his Whig Ministers, had not restored the forfeited +prestige of the Monarchy. + +Reaction was the corollary against the fear inspired by Philip in the +one case and the humiliating memories of Queen Caroline in the other. +That reaction came in the shape of the popular enthusiasm inspired by a +young and attractive Tudor princess, who at Hatfield on a late November +afternoon in 1558 heard from Cecil that she was Queen of England. Three +centuries later a similar outburst followed the accession of another +youthful princess only just eighteen years old, looking scarcely +more than a child, when she received the homage of Lord Melbourne at +Kensington Palace on a June morning of 1837. + +It is tempting to follow this seductive pathway through the devious +alleys of historical comparison and contrasts. The troubles of +Elizabeth’s childhood at Hunsdon, the pitiful laments of her excellent +governess at the poverty of her ward’s surroundings, and the hostile +atmosphere surrounding her person were reflected in a minor degree +within the precincts of Kensington during the early years of Princess +Victoria’s life. + +Our concern, however, is not with Elizabeth but with Victoria, with the +England into which she was born, and with the influences which helped +to give her character and bearing a certain strength and dignity, +and attuned her heart, not perhaps to deep tenderness, but to much +compassion. + +The pen recoils from an attempt to tell again the story of Princess +Victoria’s birth and early life, or to describe once more the political +events of her first years upon the Throne. Moreover, these volumes tell +their own tale. They set forth in the young Princess’s own artless +words the daily facts of her existence at Kensington, or when making +some provincial royal progress in the company of her mother. + +The reader can catch many a glimpse here and there of the soul of a +Princess, proud and headstrong, affectionate and sometimes perverse, +seated on the lonely heights of the Throne. The portrait is here, +within these pages. It is not unskilfully drawn, when the youth of the +artist is borne in mind. At the time when the first entries in these +Journals were made, the writer was thirteen years old. The last page +was written on the day of her marriage. She had been two years a Queen, +and she was in her twenty-first year. + +Princess Victoria, the only child of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, +and the ultimate heiress in direct succession of George III., was +born on May 24, 1819. In 1819 the aspect of English country life +was not very different from that of to-day; if the roads were not +so well surfaced, and if woodlands were rather more plentiful, the +fields and hedgerows, the farmsteads with cottages grouped around +them, the Tudor manor-houses, the Georgian villas, the church spires, +and the village greens have remained unchanged. Except for lines of +railway and telegraph poles, the hop-fields of Kent and the Surrey +commons have kept their shape and contours. So that, in spite of the +miracles wrought by machinery in the minutiæ of life, any one of our +grandparents cruising in an airship at an elevation of some hundreds of +feet over the lands where he hunted and shot, or even the great town +in which he spent his summer months, would probably be unconscious of +much distinctive change. + +Young people, however, think it odd when they read that when Princess +Victoria was taken from Kensington to Claremont—a journey now +accomplished with as little thought as would then have been given to +a drive between the Palace and Hyde Park—it was considered a “family +removal” of such moment as to require all the provision and precautions +associated to-day with an autumn holiday. + +To those still young, but old enough to remember Queen Victoria, it +may seem hardly credible that she was born into a world devoid of +all the marvels of steam and electric contrivance that appear to us +the necessities, and not merely the luxuries, of life. How much more +difficult it must be for them to realise that when the young Princess +(whom they remember a great and mysterious figure, welcoming back +only the other day her soldiers from South Africa, and rejoicing in +their victories) was carried into the saloon of Kensington Palace to +be received by Archbishop Manners Sutton into the Church of Christ, +the mighty spirit of Napoleon brooded still behind the palisades of +Longwood, and George III.’s white and weary head could still be seen at +the window of his library at Windsor! + +The Victorian era covers the period of the expansion of England into +the British Empire. The soldier, still young to-day, who put the +coping-stone on the Empire in Africa in 1900 is linked by the life of +the Queen to his forbears, who, when she was born, were still nursing +the wounds gloriously earned four years before in laying its foundation +in a Belgian cornfield. + +That year 1819, however, was a year of deep despondency in England. In +Europe it was the “glorious year of Metternich,” then at the height +of his maleficent power. Europe was quit of Napoleon, but had got +Metternich in exchange, and was ill pleased with the bargain. Great +Britain, it is true, was free, but our people were overwrought by +poverty and suffering. The storm-swell of the great Napoleonic wars +still disturbed the surface of English life, and few realised that they +were better off than they had been during the past decade. + +At Holland House, its coteries thinner but still talking, Lady +Holland—old Madagascar—was still debating what inscription should +record the merits of Mr. Fox upon his monument in the Abbey for +the edification of future ages. In St. James’s Place Sam Rogers’s +breakfasts had not lost their vogue. Tommy Moore was still dining with +Horace Twiss, and meeting Kean, and Mrs. Siddons, “cold and queenlike,” +on her way to view Caroline of Brunswick’s “things” shortly to be sold +at Christie’s, or to criticise Miss O’Neill’s dress rehearsals. On the +very day that Princess Victoria was born, Byron was writing to John +Murray from Venice “in the agonies of a sirocco,” and clamouring for +the proofs of the first canto of _Don Juan_. In that year _Ivanhoe_ +was finished, and in the hands of eager readers; whilst Scott was +receiving at Abbotsford a certain Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, uncle +of the baby at Kensington, destined thereafter to play a large part in +her early life. Keats had just published _Endymion_. It was his last +year in England before going south to die. And it was Shelley’s _annus +mirabilis_: the year in which he wrote _Prometheus_ and _The Cenci_—an +achievement, some have since said, unparalleled in English poetry since +Shakespeare lived and wrote. + +_The Excursion_ had been published five years before, but Wordsworth +was at Rydal Mount completing _The White Doe of Rylston_. Southey +was Poet Laureate. Three years before, in the “wild and desolate +neighbourhood amid great tracts of bleak land enclosed by stone dykes +sweeping up Clayton heights,” Charlotte Brontë’s eyes had opened upon +her sad world. Carlyle, then a young teacher in Edinburgh, was passing +through that stormy period of the soul which comes sooner or later to +every one whose manhood is worth testing by God. And half-way between +Horncastle and Spilsby, on the lower slope of a Lincolnshire wold, +Alfred Tennyson was reading Pope’s _Iliad_ and himself “writing an +epic of 6,000 lines _à la_ Walter Scott.” At Shrewsbury School under +Dr. Butler, Charles Darwin, then a boy of ten, had already begun to +develop a taste for “collecting,” manifested in “franks” and seals and +coins. Robert Browning, a turbulent and destructive child of seven, +had already commenced making rhymes less complicated, but not less +ambitious, than those which puzzled his readers sixty years later. +Goethe, who had grown to manhood within earshot of Frederick the Great +and of the Empress Maria Theresa, was living at Weimar with many years +of life still before him, corresponding with the boy Mendelssohn, later +to be a welcome guest, at Windsor, of the little Princess, then in +her cradle in Kensington Palace. Mazzini, aged fourteen, was at the +University in Genoa, a rebellious lad, but already affecting the deep +mourning dress he never altered later in life. Cavour, aged nine, was +at school in Turin. Sir Thomas Lawrence was in that year engaged in +finishing his magnificent series of historical portraits afterwards to +find a home at Windsor Castle, illustrating for all time the Congress +of Vienna and the story of the Great Coalition against Napoleon. + +Under this galaxy of stars, some slowly sinking below the horizon, and +others just rising above it, Princess Victoria was born. + +In the year following, King George III. died. Historians, mostly +partisans of the Whig party, have not done this King justice. Of +all Sovereigns who have ever reigned in England, none so completely +represented the average man among his subjects. The King’s blameless +morals, his regular habits, his conservative instincts and narrow +obstinacy, were characteristics which he shared with the people he +ruled. Of the House of Hanover he was the first King born in England, +and he spoke his native tongue without a foreign accent. If he could +have reconciled it to the family tradition, he would have married an +English wife. He was essentially British in character and sentiment. +Had he not been overborne by his Ministers, he would have fought out +to a finish the war with America, and peace with Washington would not +have been concluded. He never for a moment contemplated abandoning the +struggle against Napoleon. No party whip could have taken more trouble +to keep his chief in office than did George III. to support Mr. Pitt +throughout that Minister’s first administration. He has been called +despotic, but that adjective can only be used, in speaking of him, +in the sense that he wished to see his views prevail. He was a good +partisan fighter, and this, in the main, his subjects never disliked. +A close and impartial examination of the character of George III. +discloses a temperament strongly resembling that which her Ministers +were destined in the middle and later years of her reign to find in +his granddaughter. Strong tenacity of view and of purpose, a vivid +sense of duty, a firm though unrevealed belief in the transcendental +right of the Sovereign to rule, a curious mingling of etiquette and +domestic simplicity, and a high standard of domestic virtue were marked +characteristics of George III. and of Queen Victoria. Both these +descendants of Princess Sophia had little in common with the Stewarts, +but, like Elizabeth and the Tudors, they had intense pride in England, +and they showed a firm resolve to cherish and keep intact their mighty +inheritance. + +When George III. died at Windsor in 1820, and during the ten following +years, Princess Victoria’s uncle, George IV., reigned as King. For the +previous ten years he had reigned as Prince Regent. If his father has +been misjudged, this Sovereign too has been misrepresented by those +who have made it their business to write the political history of our +country. He is generally described as being wholly bad, and devoid of +any decent quality as a man and as a Sovereign. Decency perhaps was not +his strong point; but though it is not possible to esteem him as a man, +George IV. was not a bad King. In his youth, as Prince of Wales, in +spite of glaring follies and many vices, he possessed a certain charm. +When a boy he had broken loose from the over-strict and over-judicious +watchfulness of his parents. Kept in monotonous seclusion, cloistered +within the narrow confines of a Palace, fettered by an Oriental system +of domestic spies, cut off from intercourse with the intellectual +movement of the outer world, the royal children, warm-blooded and of +rebellious spirit, ran secret riot after a fashion which modern memoirs +have revealed in Borgian colours. It was a natural reaction of young +animal life against unnatural and unhealthy restraint. The Prince of +Wales, when he was eighteen years old, was unwillingly and perforce +liberated. It followed, simply enough, that he became a source of +constant grief and annoyance to his royal father. Not only were the +canons of morality violated by him with little regard for the outward +decorum due to his great position, but the young Prince plunged into a +turgid sea of politics, and it was not long before he stood forth as +the nominal head of a faction bitterly opposed to the King’s Ministers, +and the head and front of personal offence to the King himself. + +In the eyes of high society he was a Prince Charming, vicious if you +will, a spendthrift and a rake, the embodiment of a reactionary spirit +against the dulness and monotonous respectability of the Court. He +was known to appreciate beautiful objects as well as beautiful faces. +He was not altogether without literary culture. He appeared to be +instinctively drawn to the arts and sciences with a full sense of the +joy of patronage, and he made it clear to every one that he welcomed +the free intercourse of men of all ranks, provided that they possessed +some originality of character or some distinction of mind. In Mr. Fox +he found a willing mentor and an irresistible boon companion. Among +that little group of Whigs, of whom Sheridan was the ornament and +the disgrace, he found precisely the atmosphere which suited him, so +completely was it the antithesis of that in which his boyhood had been +spent. As he grew older, the rose-tinted vices of his youth became grey +and unlovely, while the shortcomings of his mind and his heart were +more readily discerned; but much of his personal charm remained. In his +most degenerate days, in the years of his regency and kingship, when he +dragged into the public eye the indecencies of his domestic misfortunes +and paraded his mistresses before the world, he still managed to retain +a curious and genuine hold upon the affections of his Ministers. +Although he possessed none of their regard, he was not altogether +without some following among the people. + +George IV.’s merits were a certain epicurean kindness of heart and a +not ungenerous desire to give pleasure, coupled with a true sense of +his constitutional position and a firm-drawn resolve to distinguish +between his private predilections and his public duty. The nation owes +him very little, but in any case it owes him this, that he was the +first Sovereign since Charles I. who showed a blundering reverence for +beautiful things. He enlarged and consolidated the artistic wealth of +the nation. A life-long patron of artists, he fostered the growth of +national art. He added largely to the splendid collections which now +adorn Windsor and the metropolis. Whatever the final judgment passed +upon him may be, both as a man and as a Sovereign, he must in strict +justice be spared the unqualified contempt with which superior spirits, +taking their cue from Thackeray, have treated him. It should weigh +with every man who reads _The Four Georges_ that King George IV. was +certainly liked, and was certainly not despised, by Sir Walter Scott. +In his later years the old King displayed some little kindness to his +niece, the young Princess Victoria, who had succeeded his own daughter +as prospective heiress of England. If he saw her but rarely, he now +and again betrayed knowledge of her existence, and once took her for a +drive in his pony-carriage. There are still extant some short letters +which she wrote to him in a large baby hand. In 1830 he died, and was +succeeded by his brother the Duke of Clarence. + +William IV. was the most fortunate of the children of George III. +Thanks to his profession as a sea-officer, he escaped early from the +stifling atmosphere of the Court, and had the glorious privilege of +serving under the command of Hood and of Nelson. His sea service ended +when he was only twenty-five years old. It left the usual dominant +sea-mark upon his character. Like so many gallant sailors, his mind was +untrained and ill-disciplined. His sense of duty was strong, though +undiscerning. He was courageous and truthful. He had ten children by +Mrs. Jordan born out of wedlock, but they were all well cared for and +never disowned. He realised his constitutional duty sufficiently to +see that he must yield to the expressed will of the nation, but he +yielded so clumsily that all men believed him to be coerced. Wisely +anxious to be well known and popular among his subjects, he chose the +curious method of walking down St. James’s Street dressed in long +boots and spurs during the most crowded hour of the afternoon. His +predecessor had lived the last years of his life in seclusion and +silence; he determined therefore to give full scope to his naturally +garrulous disposition. He talked in season and out of season with an +irresponsibility which savoured of the quarter-deck, but wholly without +the salt of the sea. By his Ministers he was regarded with kindliness, +although it cannot be said, in spite of Lord Grey’s panegyric, that +they held him in much respect. By the middle classes he was looked upon +with amused and not unfriendly amazement. In the eyes of the masses he +was “Billy,” their sailor-King, and among monarchical safeguards there +are few stronger than a nickname and the aureole of the Navy. + +William IV. married late in life Princess Adelaide of +Saxe-Coburg-Meiningen, but the fates left him with no surviving +children when he ascended the Throne in 1830. During his reign of seven +years the King showed much kindness to the little niece who was clearly +designated as his successor. Her mother, however, contrived to irritate +him by giving too much prominence to the obvious fact of her daughter’s +heirship to the Throne. By “progresses” made on different occasions and +undertaken with considerable ceremonial, the Duchess of Kent excited +the wrath of the King, who made no attempt to conceal his annoyance, +and took evident pleasure in the display of it at embarrassing moments +in public. It was partly owing to the friction between her mother and +King William and to the unpleasant atmosphere created in consequence of +these quarrels, and partly to the presence in her mother’s household +of Sir John Conroy and his family—persons very distasteful to the +young Princess—that Queen Victoria was in the habit of saying that her +childhood had been a sad one. These Journals, begun in her fourteenth +year, betray no sense of childish sorrow, and no reader can glean +from them any confirmation of her statement that her early life was +unhappy. It must be remembered, however, that this Journal was not +a sealed book. It was not privately put away under lock and key and +reserved only for the eye of the writer. The young Princess’s Journals +were commenced in a volume given to her by her mother for the express +purpose that she should record the facts of her daily life, and that +this record of facts and impressions should be open to the inspection +of the child’s governess as well as of her mother. It is natural, +therefore, that the earlier volumes should contain very little beyond +the obvious and simple things which any girl would be likely to write +down if she were attempting to describe her life from day to day. When +the Princess ascended the Throne and assumed her queenly independence, +the tone of the Journals changes at once. It becomes immediately +clear to the reader that while the Princess’s Journal was written for +her mother, the Queen’s Journal was written for herself. One of her +earliest entries after her succession was to state her intention of +invariably seeing her Ministers alone; and she might have added, had +she thought it worth stating, that her Journal also would in future be +seen by her alone. + +Journals are often said to be useful to the historian. This theory +is based on the assumption, hardly borne out by experience, that he +who writes a journal writes what is true. A journal is supposed to +record events, great or small, which are happening at the moment, +and to convey impressions about personages with whom the writer +comes in contact, or who loom sufficiently large to justify their +being mentioned. When, however, it is remembered how inaccurate our +information generally is, and how mistaken we often are about the +character and motives even of those we know intimately, it is not +surprising that the most brilliant diarist should frequently state +facts which cannot be verified from other sources, and colour the +personality of his contemporaries in a manner quite unjustifiable +unless truth be deliberately sacrificed to the picturesque. The +Journal of Charles Greville, perhaps the most famous of English modern +journals, is full of gross inaccuracies in matters of fact and still +grosser distortions of character. It is, nevertheless, a striking +picture of the political and social world haunted by that persistent +eavesdropper, and, like any well-written journal, throws a vivid and +interesting light upon the character of the writer. + +Similar criticisms apply to most famous memoirs, like Saint-Simon’s +or Lord Hervey’s, written with a view to serving the historian of the +future, and with the distinct purpose of giving bias to history. + +They do not apply to these diaries of Queen Victoria. The Queen makes +no attempt to analyse character or the meaning of events. She never +strives after effect. Her statements are just homely descriptions +of everyday life and plain references to the people she meets at +Kensington or at Windsor. If the young Princess sees a play that +pleases her or hears a song that touches her, she says so. If the Queen +hears something said that strikes her as original or quaint, the saying +is put on record. She is not writing for the historian. She writes for +her own pleasure and amusement, although there is always present to her +mind a vague idea, common enough at the time, that to “keep a journal” +is in some undefined way an act of grace. + +The reader should not lose sight of the fact that these Journals are +the simple impressions of a young girl, not twenty years old, about her +own life and about the people she met. This constitutes their charm. +She writes of her daily movements, and of the men and happenings that +gave her pleasure. Either by nature or design, she avoided the mention +of disagreeable things, so that these early Journals give one a notion +of a life happily and simply led. + +If they throw no new light on the history of the period, they will give +to future generations an insight, of never-failing interest, into the +character of the young Queen. + + + II + +Princess Victoria’s first Journal was commenced on August 1, 1832. +She was thirteen years old. The first entry is made in a small octavo +volume half bound in red morocco, of a very unpretentious kind.[1] +On the first page there appear the words, “This book Mamma gave me, +that I might write the journal of my journey to Wales in it.—Victoria, +Kensington Palace, July 31.” + +The Duchess of Kent was at this time forty-six years of age. She had +been a widow for twelve years. She was the fourth daughter of the +Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and was first married to the Prince of +Leiningen-Dachburg-Hadenburg. He was twenty-three years her senior. +By him she had one son, Charles, often mentioned in these Journals, +and one daughter Feodorowna, subsequently married to Ernest, Prince of +Hohenlohe-Langenburg. + +Two years after her second marriage, to the fourth son of George III., +the Duchess of Kent was left a widow for the second time. Crippled by +the Duke’s debts, that she was quite unable to pay,[2] with three young +children on her hands, she was miserably poor. Her jointure yielded her +an income of under £300. Her brother Leopold, then living at Claremont, +came to her assistance, and made her an allowance of £3,000 a year. + +In 1825, when it became evident that her daughter Princess Victoria +would in all probability succeed to the Throne of England, Parliament +voted an annuity of £6,000 to the Duchess, for the maintenance and +education of her child, and this was subsequently increased after the +accession of William IV. + +The upbringing of her daughter became her absorbing occupation, and, +shutting herself up in Kensington Palace, she devoted herself to the +child’s education. + +The lessons of Princess Victoria’s childhood were superintended by the +Dean of Chester. Her education, judged by the standards of to-day, +was not of an exceptionally high order. It would be interesting to +know what old Roger Ascham would have thought of the Dean of Chester’s +curriculum. So far as can be gathered from her own childish records +and from the correspondence and memoirs of those who had access to +Kensington, she was taught the ordinary things which children are +supposed to learn. Fortunately, perhaps, no effort of any special +kind was made to train her mind or mould her character, with a view +to the responsibilities which lay before her or to the position she +appeared destined to fill. When, at a later stage, the Bishops of +London and Lincoln were requested to draw up a report, for presentation +to Parliament, upon her moral and intellectual attainments, they +found no difficulty in giving credit to the Duchess of Kent for the +conscientious manner in which she had endeavoured to educate the +heiress to the Throne. We may, however, take leave to doubt whether +those entrusted with the Princess’s education were teachers endowed +with any special aptitudes; and it is certain that the outlook of +the Duchess herself, although practical and wise, was not of that +discerning character which enabled her to differentiate between a +commonplace education and its more subtle forms. It was precisely what +might have been expected from one whose youth had been spent in a small +German Court, and whose later opportunities had not brought her into +contact with highly trained and thoughtful minds. + +A foreign observer and critic once suggested a doubt whether the Queen +could have maintained through life her admirable mental equilibrium if +education had developed in her high intellectual curiosity or fantastic +imagination. It is an interesting speculation. Soundness of judgment +possibly rests upon the receptive rather than upon the creative +faculties, and upon physical rather than upon intellectual activities. +It may, as has been said, require a rare type of intelligence—that of +Disraeli—to combine ideas and dreams with the realities of public life. +In the domain of learning, Queen Victoria had very little in common +with Elizabeth or with any Sovereign of the Renaissance. Her mother and +the worthy Dean, who watched over her youth, were content to foster the +quality of good sense, and to inculcate high standards of private and +public virtue. Her future subjects, could they have been consulted, +would have strongly approved. In after-years the English middle-class +recognised in the Queen a certain strain of German sentimentality which +they affectionately condoned, and a robust equilibrium of mind which +they thoroughly admired. + +It is as well, therefore, that events took the shape they did, and +that the mind and character of the Princess were trained upon simple +lines in accordance with the practice of the average citizen families +subsequently to be her subjects. In years to come the Queen was perhaps +better able to look at events and persons from the point of view +of the majority of her people than would have been possible if her +education had given her a high place among the intellectuals. It was a +saving grace throughout her long reign that while she could recognise +intellect and capacity, her sympathies were with average people, whose +feelings and opinions she more readily understood and in reality +represented. + +In these days, when Accomplishments, as they were called in the first +half of the nineteenth century, are no longer esteemed in young people, +and their place has been usurped by athletic exercises, it is difficult +to describe, in a way that appeals to the serious imagination, the +girlish tastes of Princess Victoria. Perhaps the world has not lost +much because young ladies to-day learn to play golf and have ceased to +sing duets. + +In the thirties, music and painting and a knowledge of modern languages +were the necessary equipment of a girl destined to move in Society. +It mattered little how reedy and small the voice, she was expected to +vocalise like Grisi and to sing duets with Mario. + +The Queen had been well trained musically, according to the lights +of those days. She could appreciate the simpler forms of melody, +especially Italian opera, while she could sing and play sufficiently +well to give much pleasure to herself and mild pleasure to others. As a +linguist, as a reader, and as a writer of letters and memoranda she had +no pretensions to pre-eminence; but she could speak modern languages as +well as any Queen is called upon to do, she could read and appreciate +high literature, although not without effort, and she could express +herself with pungency and vigour, although not with any marked literary +skill or distinction of style. + +Her drawings and water-colour sketches were through life a constant +source of happiness to the Queen. There are at Windsor literally +hundreds of small sketch-books, containing reminiscences of her +journeys and sojournings in Scotland and in Italy, again not of high +artistic merit, but sufficiently vital to suggest the reflection that +a young lady of to-day is possibly no gainer by having substituted the +golf-club for the pencil. + +The Queen’s teachers were excellent, commonplace people, and they +left precisely those traces on her mind that might have been expected. +Her character was another matter. They could not and did not influence +that, and it is the character of the Queen that places her in the small +category of rulers who have not only deserved well of their country, +but have left an indelible stamp upon the life of their people. + + + III + +These Journals were commenced in the year 1832, a year memorable in our +history for the fruition of hopes deeply cherished by the political +party that had arisen, under the auspices of Canning, after the close +of the struggle with Napoleon. + +During the year when the first Reform Bill became the law of the land, +the passions of men had been deeply stirred throughout Great Britain. +The political struggle, begun seventeen years before, had come to a +head. The classes still paramount had found themselves face to face +with the desires and aspirations of classes hitherto subordinate to +have a share in the government of the country. These feelings had grown +fiercer year by year, and, encouraged by the Whig party headed by +Earl Grey, had found ultimate expression in the Reform Bill of 1832, +framed under the ægis of that Minister. All over Europe the stream of +change and reform, loosed by the French Revolution and subsequently +checked by the Congress of Vienna, began once more to flow. During the +sixteen years that followed Princess Victoria’s first entry in these +Journals, the waters of Revolution had flooded Europe. Thrones and +institutions in every European country were shaken, many of them to +their foundations, and some with disastrous results. Fortunately for +Great Britain, her statesmen had anticipated the events of 1848, and +the Reform Bill had so far satisfied the aspirations of the hitherto +unenfranchised classes as to render innocuous the frothing of agitators +during that tragic year of revolution. In aptitude for anticipating +social and political change and avoiding violent manifestations of +popular will, the English race stands pre-eminent. Our people as well +as our statesmen have from the earliest times proved themselves to +be experts in the art of government, and the history of Europe is a +commentary upon that gift of the British nation. + +There have, of course, been moments when the atmosphere of politics +has been highly charged with electricity. Such a moment occurred in +1832. A storm broke with unusual violence over the head of William IV. +The House of Lords was bitterly hostile to a Bill, accepted by the +House of Commons and supported with enthusiasm by the majority of his +subjects. There was no machinery existing under the Constitution for +adjusting these differences except that of creating a sufficient number +of Peers to ensure the passage of the Reform Bill through the House of +Lords. The King therefore found himself in the unpleasant position of +having to place his prerogative of creating peers in the hands of his +Ministers, or else by his own act to dispense with their services. +The choice found him undecided and left him baffled. He was not acute +enough to see that in the existing state of public opinion he had no +choice. If he had possessed wit to read the signs of the times, it is +doubtful whether he would have had sufficient single-minded courage to +take immediate action in accordance with the opinion he had formed. +Penetrating vision the King lacked, and responsibility was distasteful +to him. Consequently he was not only weak, but he showed weakness. +It was clear that the Government of Lord Grey held unimpaired the +confidence of the House of Commons and possessed the full approval of +the country. Every intelligent observer realised that the Reform Bill, +in spite of its aristocratic foes, in spite of the prophets of evil, +and in spite of its inherent defects, was bound to be passed into law. +King William, however, conceived it to be his duty to endeavour to +find an alternative Government. It was as certain as anything could +be in politics, that Sir Robert Peel would not, and that the Duke of +Wellington could not, come to his assistance. There was something +pitiful about the spectacle of the old sailor-King casting about for a +safe anchorage, and finding one cable parting after another. Security +was only to be found in the Ministers who had advised him, in the last +resort, to use his prerogative for the purpose of swamping a majority +in the House of Lords that hesitated to bow to the will of the people. +Ultimately he was constrained to accept their advice, but it was only +after a loss of personal dignity and a distinct weakening of the +authority of the Crown. The King, men said, had touted about to find +Ministers to serve him, and had failed to find them. This humiliation, +at least, King William might have avoided, had he possessed a clearer +vision of possibilities and greater firmness of character. + +The political storms of 1832 appear to have broken noiselessly against +the walls of Kensington Palace, for in the little Princess’s Journals +there is no sign that she was aware of them. The King’s worries, +however, so affected his temper, that it was impossible for the +Princess and her mother not to feel its reflex action. In the Journals +no mention is made of the domestic troubles which have been described +elsewhere, and we know, from expressions of Queen Victoria’s in later +years, that she had purposely refrained, in compiling her Journals, +from referring to her mother’s worries and her own. + +During the four years that immediately preceded Princess Victoria’s +accession to the Throne, from 1832 to 1836, these Journals give us +the picture of a young life passed amid the tranquil surroundings of +Kensington Palace, its educational monotony only varied by attendance +at the opera or the theatre, by autumnal trips into the provinces, +or by welcome visits from foreign cousins. These autumnal trips were +the “royal progresses,” as he called them, against which King William +was wont to protest in vehement language. They evidently gave intense +pleasure to the Princess. Her Journals contain records of them all. +Some examples have been given, in these extracts, of her method of +describing her visits to provincial cities and towns, to seaside +summer resorts, and to a few of the great homes of those who were +afterwards to be her Ministers or subjects. + +It was during this period that she got her first glimpse of the Isle +of Wight, where so much of her life was afterwards to be spent. The +fact that Sir John Conroy, whom she disliked, lived for many years +at Osborne Lodge seems not to have prevented her from subsequently +becoming deeply attached to that quiet home amid beautiful surroundings +created by her and Prince Albert upon the site where Osborne Lodge had +stood. Whippingham Church, to be so closely connected with her and her +children, was first visited in the year 1833. + +Enough has been included in these extracts to show her liking for the +opera and for the theatre, her pleasure in music, her devotion to the +pursuit of riding, and that love for animals which characterised her +through life. + +When she was sixteen she went to Ascot for the first time, and +figured in the royal procession. It began to be recognised that the +young Princess had passed the threshold of girlhood. In that year +her Confirmation took place at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s, and +Archbishop Howley, believed to be the last prelate who wore a wig, +officiated. During the autumn she visited Yorkshire and stayed with +Archbishop Harcourt at Bishopthorpe and with Lord Fitzwilliam at +Wentworth. Coming south, she was the guest of the Duke of Rutland at +Belvoir, of Lord Exeter at Burghley, and of Lord Leicester at Holkham. +In the following year, 1836, she met for the first time her cousin +Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. He and his elder brother Ernest visited +Kensington Palace at the instance of her uncle Leopold. The fact that +Prince Albert had been thought of years before by the King of the +Belgians as a possible husband for Princess Victoria was sufficient +to set King William IV. against the match. The King, however, was not +uncivil to the brothers when they visited London, but he had ideas of +his own about the future of his niece, and he tried hard to lay the +foundations of an alliance between the young Princess and the younger +son of the Prince of Orange. Prince Albert on this occasion made no +deep impression upon Princess Victoria’s mind or heart, but her loyalty +to her uncle Leopold and her regard for his opinion led her to show +the graceful young Coburg Prince marked preference over the somewhat +ungainly candidate of King William. Her heart was clearly untouched, +but she was willing to be guided by the advice of that counsellor and +friend to whom in preference to every one she had already begun to +turn for help and guidance. As this became obvious to King William, +his jealousy and dislike for the Duchess of Kent increased; and in the +autumn of this year, 1836, having invited his sister-in-law to a state +banquet, he scandalised Society by delivering an after-dinner speech +charged with recrimination and insult to his guest. + +This was the Princess’s penultimate year as a minor. King William had +for a long time been haunted with the fear that he would die before his +niece came of age, and that a regency would devolve upon his hated +sister-in-law. He was spared what he would have considered this final +humiliation, for on May 24, 1837, the young Princess came of age, just +a month before the King died at Windsor. + +During the final years of her minority she was thrown freely into the +society of many of the eminent and distinguished persons soon to be her +subjects. The Duchess gave a series of entertainments at Kensington +Palace, and the Princess was brought into contact with her mother’s +guests. Accounts of these dinners and concerts, and full lists of the +guests, are all minutely recorded in the Journals. Comments, however, +beyond an occasional expression of delight at the music and admiration +for its performers, are excluded. Her life was still the life of a +child, and her days were mostly spent with her preceptors, under the +auspices of the Duchess of Northumberland, her official governess, and +of the Dean of Chester, her tutor. + +She had been parted some years before from her half brother and sister +by the usual exigencies of time. Prince Charles of Leiningen had become +a sea-officer, and Princess Feodore was married. Into the inner orbit +of her young life there penetrated only Sir John Conroy, whose person +was odious to her, and Baroness Lehzen, the daughter of a Hanoverian +clergyman, who had been the Princess’s governess since 1824, and to +whom she was deeply attached. Lablache, her singing-master, a man of +some originality and charm, was a constant source of interest and +amusement to the young Princess, and she preferred his lessons to all +others. + +It was during these last few years before her accession that the final +touches were given to her character by the subtle influences of her +environment. The position occupied by Sir John Conroy in her mother’s +house inspired and fortified her subsequent resolve to avoid intimacies +with members of her household. She became distant and reserved to +those about her, and her relations with her mother were chilled. Her +mind acquired an impression that family ties, however binding from the +point of view of duty, might be superseded by those of friendship. It +is undoubtedly the case that Baroness Lehzen occupied at this time +the first place in her pupil’s thoughts and affections; while the +dawning necessity felt by Princess Victoria for sympathy, and for those +intimate communings so attractive to sentimental natures, had a very +distinct influence upon the mind and conduct of the Queen in subsequent +years. Her Journals afford proof, if proof had been wanting, that, in +spite of the opinions of her attainments vouchsafed by eminent clerics, +the Princess had not been afforded an education specially designed to +fit her for the situation she was to occupy. + +She was, at eighteen, as moderately and indifferently equipped as the +average girl of her age. If her conversation was not brilliant, her +heart was kindly and her judgment sound. She was shrewd and eminently +truthful. In spite of her small stature, she was curiously dignified +and impressive. Her voice was musical and carried far. And above all +things, her rectitude was unassailable, and her sense of duty so +keen and high that it supplied any lack of imagination or spiritual +deficiency. She was humble-minded, but not, perhaps, very tender. She +was passionate and imperious, but always faithful. She was supremely +conscious of the responsibilities and prerogatives of her calling, +which she was convinced, then and always, were her appanage by the gift +of God. + +There is nothing in her Journals or elsewhere to show that before she +was eighteen years old she had ever talked seriously and at any length +to any man or woman of exceptional gifts. It was only when her uncle +King Leopold heard of the illness of William IV. that Stockmar was +instructed to speak with due gravity upon important matters to the +young girl whose accession to the Throne appeared imminent. Her mind +at that time was a blank page in so far as questions of high politics +or of administration were concerned. In point of fact, this was a +fortunate circumstance, and rendered easier the task of those who were +bound in the nature of things, and under the constitution of these +islands, to use this youthful Princess as one of the chief instruments +of government. Her mind was free from any political bias or complexion, +and ready to receive the impress of her constitutional Ministers. When, +within less than a month of her eighteenth birthday, King William +died, and when on June 20, 1837, the Queen found herself face to face +with those Whig statesmen in whose hands the destinies of the country +had been placed for the time being, their task was unhampered by +preconceived ideas or by foregone prejudice in their pupil. For the +Queen a new chapter of life was opened. She at once threw off the +trammels of pupilage. Not only was she able immediately and without +effort to shake herself clear of the domestic influences she had +resented and disliked, but for the first time she was enabled to meet +and to question distinguished men, with whose names she was familiar, +but whose standards of thought and conversation were far higher than +any to which she had been accustomed. + + + IV + +It was “in a palace in a garden, meet scene for youth and innocence,” +as one in later years to be her favoured Minister wrote, that Princess +Victoria received the news of her accession to a Throne overlooking +“every sea and nations in every zone.” The scene and the circumstances +in which her accession was announced to her by the Archbishop of +Canterbury and Lord Conynghame are described by the Queen in her +Journal. She has also recorded her impressions of what followed when +for the first time she met the Privy Council. What the Queen has not +described is the effect produced upon those present by her personality, +her youthful charm, her self-possession and perfect modesty, in such +strong contrast to everything which her Privy Councillors had been +accustomed to find in their former Sovereigns. The Queen was not +aware of the interest and curiosity she then excited in the minds of +her subjects. She had been brought up in such comparative seclusion, +that both to “Society” and to the great world outside her character +was an enigma and even her appearance very little known. Her sex and +youth rendered her personality exciting to a public satiated with the +elderly vagaries of her uncles. It was noticed at her first Council +that her manner was very graceful and engaging. It was particularly +observed that after she had read her speech in a clear and singularly +firm voice, when the two surviving sons of George III., the Dukes of +Cumberland and Sussex, knelt before her, swearing allegiance, she +blushed up to the eyes as if she felt the contrast between their public +and private relations, between their august age and her inexperienced +youth. It was also noticed that she spoke to no one, and that not the +smallest difference in her manner could be detected, even by sharp +watching eyes, between her attitude towards Lord Melbourne and the +Ministers on the one hand, and towards the Duke of Wellington and Sir +Robert Peel on the other. The Queen does not mention, for she was not +then aware of it, that Lord Melbourne was charmed and Sir Robert Peel +amazed at her demeanour. They spoke afterwards with emotion of her +modesty, firmness, and evident deep sense of her situation. She did not +know then, although she knew later, that the Duke of Wellington said +that had she been his own daughter he could not have desired to see her +perform her part better. + +These Journals only accentuate what is already known from many +sources, that the Queen showed in difficult circumstances not only +good taste and good feeling, but admirable good sense. Her attention +to details, which some might consider trifles, but which differentiate +the careful from the thoughtless mind, was noticed with approval and +surprise by her Ministers. She exhibited caution in her treatment of +those persons who had been about her since childhood, and she made +no appeal to any of them for advice or guidance. Nor did she permit +advice to be proffered. Sir John Conroy was dismissed at once from +her surroundings. Baroness Lehzen she retained, as before, about +her person, and she speaks of her, throughout these Journals, with +deep feeling. It was noticed, whenever she was asked to decide some +difficult matter, her customary reply was that she would think it over, +and give her answer on the morrow. Onlookers, knowing that she relied +on the advice of Lord Melbourne, generally assumed that she referred +to him in the interval. He, however, declared that to many of his +questions a similar reply was given. In point of fact, she was obeying +one of the precepts of her uncle, the King of the Belgians. + +It will be obvious to the readers of this book that a potent influence +over the mind and actions of the young Queen was exercised by Lord +Melbourne. It was the natural outcome of the business relation between +a very charming and experienced man of the world who happened to be +her Prime Minister and a very young girl isolated in the solitary +atmosphere of the Throne. From the Queen’s accession to the day of +her marriage the table-talk of Lord Melbourne fills the largest space +in her journals. Her description of their intercourse confirms what we +know from other sources, that Lord Melbourne became absorbed by the +novel and striking duty that had fallen to his lot. His temperament and +his antecedents rendered him peculiarly sensitive to the fascinating +influences of the strange relation in which he stood to this young +Queen. Lord Melbourne’s life had been chequered by curious experiences, +and his mind had been thoroughly well trained, for a man of his +station, according to the lights of those days. A classical education, +the privilege from youth upwards of free intercourse with every one +worth knowing, the best Whig connection, and an inherited capacity for +governing men under oligarchic institutions, had equipped his intellect +and judgment with everything that was necessary to enable him carefully +to watch and safeguard the blossoming of the character of the girl who +was both his pupil and his Sovereign. + +He was no longer young, but he was not old. His person was attractive. +According to Leslie, no mean judge, his head was a truly noble one, +and he was a fine specimen of manly beauty in the meridian of life. +Not only were his features handsome, but his expression was in the +highest degree intellectual. His laugh was frequent and the most joyous +possible, his voice so deep and musical that to hear him say the most +ordinary thing was a pleasure; and his frankness, his freedom from +affectation, and his peculiar humour rendered almost everything he +said, however easy and natural, quite original. Chantrey’s bust and +the well-known portraits of Melbourne corroborate the descriptions +given by his contemporaries. + +The Queen’s Journals afford us some illustrations of the extent of +his memory and reading. In his knowledge of political history he was +unsurpassed by any living Englishman, and among the statesmen of that +day there were none by age, character, and experience so well qualified +for the task of making the Queen acquainted with the art of government, +or better able to give her a correct interpretation of the laws and +spirit of the constitution. He understood perfectly the importance +of training her to work straightforwardly but secretly with that +small committee of active politicians, representing the parliamentary +majority of the day, which goes by the name of the Cabinet. Sir Robert +Peel and the Duke of Wellington, the Leaders of the Opposition, felt +and admitted that for her initiation into the mysteries of Kingcraft, +the Queen could not have been in wiser hands. It will be obvious from +these Journals that the Queen drifted into political partisanship. +She lived in dread of losing her Whig Ministers, and she got “to +hate” the Tories. This only meant—and under all the circumstances it +was natural—that she ardently desired to retain her mentor at her +side. It is to the credit of Lord Melbourne that he was constantly +discouraging his Sovereign’s bias towards the Whig Party, of which he +was the head, and that he never lost an opportunity of smoothing the +way for the advent of Sir Robert Peel which he knew to be inevitable. +He was, not inaptly, called a Regius Professor with no professorial +disqualifications, and it was precisely from this point of view that +the Tory leaders recognised the indispensable nature of his task, and +approved his manner of performing it. He was a Whig no doubt, says his +biographer, but at any rate he was an honest-hearted Englishman, and, +in no merely conventional sense, a gentleman on whose perfect honour no +one hesitated to place reliance. + +He treated the Queen with unbounded consideration and respect, yet he +did not hesitate to administer reproof. He consulted her tastes and her +wishes, but he checked her inclination to be headstrong and arbitrary. +He knew well how to chide with parental firmness, but he did so with a +deference that could not fail to fascinate any young girl in a man of +his age and attainments. The Queen was completely under his charm. The +ease of his frank and natural manners, his quaint epigrams and humorous +paradox, his romantic bias and worldly shrewdness, were magnified by +her into the noblest manly virtues. + +He saw her every day, but never appeared to weary of her society. +She certainly never tired of his. Yet he was fifty-eight years old, +a time-worn politician, and she was a girl of eighteen. He was her +confidential servant and at the same time her guardian. She was his +ward and at the same time his Sovereign. The situation was full of the +possibilities of drama, yet nothing can be more delightful than the +high comedy revealed in the passages of the Journals that refer to Lord +Melbourne. That he should have happened to be First Minister of the +Crown when King William died was a rare piece of good fortune for the +new Sovereign and for the country. With all the immense powers of head +and heart which the Queen came later to discover in Sir Robert Peel, +we may take leave to doubt if he could so lightly and so wisely have +assumed and fulfilled the duties imposed upon his predecessor. + +It is impossible to exaggerate the effect produced upon the mind and +character of the Queen by the apostolic letters of her uncle. Even the +sound constitutional dogma of Stockmar might have failed to influence +one naturally inclined to be autocratic. Those, however, who were to +reap the profit in later years of the shrewd daily culture of the +Queen’s mind, of the skilful pruning away of ideas dangerous in a +British Sovereign, of the respectful explanation of her duties, of the +humorous rallying upon slight weaknesses which might have developed +into awkward habits, were deeply indebted, as these Journals show, to +the sagacity of Lord Melbourne. + + + V + +Two Queens Regnant, Queen Mary and Queen Anne, both of Stewart blood, +lived much at Kensington Palace, and both died there. As a place of +residence it had no attractions for the Sovereigns of the House of +Hanover. Queen Victoria was fond of the old wing in which her youth had +been spent, and which was subsequently occupied for many years by the +Duchess of Teck and her children. Built on piles, those portions of the +Palace that were uninhabited, and therefore indifferently looked after, +had towards the end of the Queen’s reign fallen into such disrepair +that their demolition had been decided by the Treasury. The Queen +disliked intensely the idea of removing any part of the old building. +Ultimately a bargain was made with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of +the day. It involved a certain exchange of houses in the gift of the +Crown and some shifting of financial responsibility. Kensington Palace +was saved, and a considerable sum was voted by Parliament for its +restoration, on condition that the public should be admitted to certain +rooms of historic interest. + +King George’s dream, and no one knows better its visionary character, +is to pull down Buckingham Palace, to round off St. James’s and the +Green Parks at Constitution Hill and Buckingham Gate, and then, with +the money obtained by the sale of the Gardens of Buckingham Palace, to +reconstruct Kensington Palace as the town residence of the Sovereign. + +For Queen Mary the place is full of memories and, because of her keen +historic sense, full of interest. + +Compared with most of the great European capitals, London is poor in +palaces. The homes of the Tudor Sovereigns in and near the metropolis, +Nonsuch, Greenwich, and Whitehall, have disappeared. London contains +no single palace residentially associated with our long line of +Sovereigns. The Court of St. James was housed, in the eighteenth +century, in the Palace of that name. It seems to have been adequate +for the needs of the Hanoverian Princes, who had none of the amplitude +of the Tudors or the fine taste of the Stewarts. + +The memories of Windsor, however, are long memories. Although Queen +Victoria never liked Windsor, perhaps because she was never in good +health there, it is with Windsor Castle that the principal events +of her reign are associated. The thoughts of the few, the very few, +comparatively speaking, of her subjects who were admitted to the +seclusion of Court life during two-thirds of the Queen’s reign may +carry them back to quiet days at Balmoral or Osborne, but it was round +Windsor that the political interest of the Victorian era centred. There +the links of the chain have remained unsevered between the Sovereigns +of Great Britain to-day and their Plantagenet ancestors. + +If the Queen’s attachment to Windsor was not deep, she was more +indifferent still to Buckingham Palace. There is not a word in her +Diaries or correspondence to show that she in any way looked upon it as +a home or even a residence in any degree interesting or attractive. No +attempt was made, after the death of the Prince Consort, to improve or +beautify it. The magnificent objects of art and the splendid collection +of pictures were badly displayed and quite unappreciated. Few, outside +the circle of the Court, knew of their existence. The Palace was judged +by its mean façade, and the nation was rather shamefaced about the home +of its Sovereign, and certainly took no credit for the really noble +rooms and their contents which Buckingham Palace contains. + +Yet, through the picture-gallery of this Palace hung with masterpieces +of the Dutch School, through the throne-room and the drawing-room +resplendent with the royal portraits of Reynolds and Gainsborough, or +through the matchless corridor at Windsor, have passed nearly all the +great figures of the nineteenth century, practically the whole of which +was spanned by the life of the Queen. + +It is an imposing array, worthy of its setting. Heroes and statesmen, +men of science and letters, artists and scholars, all moved, with +a feeling of awe, into the presence of the Queen whose girlhood is +recounted by herself in these pages. + +To those accustomed to the easier manners of more recent times it is +difficult to convey a sense of the atmosphere of Windsor during the +reign of the Queen. Her extraordinary aloofness was its determining +cause, but the effect was that of a shrine. Grave men walked softly +through the rooms of the Castle, and no voice was ever raised. The +presence of the Sovereign brooded, so to speak, over the Palace and +its environment. The desire to be negligently at ease never entered +the mind. The air was rarefied by a feeling that somewhere, in a +region unvisited by any but the most highly privileged, was seated, +not in an ordinary arm-chair, but on a throne, the awe-inspiring +and ever-dignified figure of the Sovereign. The proud intellect of +Gladstone and the rugged self-sufficiency of Bright bent before the +small, homely figure in widow’s weeds. In spite of this homeliness of +appearance, notwithstanding her love of simplicity and her dislike of +tawdriness and display, her spirit never put aside the regal habit. +How rarely the Queen extended her hand! It was a great privilege, and +only on special occasions vouchsafed to her Ministers. Men and women +bent very low to kiss that hand. This was not due to her small stature, +but to the curious, indefinable awe that she undoubtedly inspired +during the later portion of her life in all who approached her. Will +the reader find, in these records of her girlhood, intimations of that +moral ascendency she afterwards acquired over her subjects? + +It was unquestionably a triumph of character. Even now to attempt a +serious estimate of the intellectual capacity of Queen Victoria is a +difficult task. There are too many still among us the greater part of +whose lives were spent under her sway. It is a fault in nearly all +recent biographies that they attempt appreciations which only the lapse +of time can enable a writer to draw in true perspective. + +A venerable Sovereign, in full possession of his great powers of +intellect and character, who was almost an exact contemporary, still +rules a European people as proud of him as were her subjects of the +Queen. At least one of her faithful servants, who was present at +her Coronation seventy-four years ago and at every great ceremonial +throughout her reign, is still alive and full of manly vigour. Her +children are in the prime of life, and her favourite grandson is the +beloved Sovereign of the people she governed. Unqualified praise is +always distasteful, and critical analysis may easily prove to be in +singularly bad taste. Queen Victoria’s womanly and royal virtues are +written in golden letters upon the face of the vast Empire over which +she reigned. Her faults may well lie buried, for some time yet, in her +grave under the shadow of Windsor. + +In the muniment-room of the Castle are preserved the private records of +her life-work. Over a thousand bound volumes of letters, from and to +the Queen upon all subjects, public and domestic, are there; and over a +hundred volumes of her Journals written in her own hand. + +It is a unique record. The private papers of George III. have +disappeared. Of those of George IV. and William IV., only a few are in +existence. Selections from the correspondence of the Queen up to 1861 +were published by permission of King Edward. These selections from her +early Journals have been made by the gracious leave of King George. It +may be many years before it would be wise or prudent to make public +any more of the private history of Queen Victoria’s reign. Those who, +by good fortune, have had access to these records can, however, safely +predict that whatever hereafter leaps to light, the Queen never can be +shamed. + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER I + + When the Queen’s Journal opens she was thirteen years and two + months old. When she was four years younger Sir Walter Scott was + presented to the little Princess Victoria and noted that she was + “educating with much care.” At that time she was supposed not to + know that she was the “heir of England,” but Scott thought that + if the little heart could be dissected it would be found that + some little bird had carried the matter. According to Baroness + Lehzen, the truth was not revealed until a year before the Princess + commenced to write her first Journal. There was a picture painted + of her about this time, and it corroborates Lord Albemarle’s + description of the little girl of extreme fairness whom he watched + watering, at Kensington, a child’s garden, wearing a large straw + hat and a suit of white cotton, her only ornament being a coloured + fichu round the neck. + + The Princess was guarded with extreme care. Leigh Hunt noticed that + she was invariably followed, when walking, by a footman in gorgeous + raiment. She told her daughters many years later that she was so + carefully tended until the day of her accession, that she had never + been permitted to walk downstairs without someone holding her hand. + + The Princess’s journey commenced August 1, 1832, although the first + part of what her Uncle, King William, called her Royal Progresses + was not her first trip into the country. With her mother she paid + several visits to Ramsgate and Broadstairs. She had stayed with + Lord Winchelsea at Eastwell, near Ashford, and she had visited + George IV. at the Royal Lodge in Windsor Park. She had spent an + autumn at Norris Castle, Isle of Wight, and had been to Bath and + Malvern. + + Sir Walter Scott expressed a hope that she would not retain the + name of Victoria, and when upon the accession of William IV. extra + provision was demanded of Parliament for the little Princess + Alexandrina Victoria of Kent, who then became heir-presumptive to + the Crown, Sir Matthew White Ridley and Sir Robert Inglis desired + to make the Parliamentary grant contingent upon the Princess, as + Queen, assuming the style of Elizabeth II., on the ground that the + name Victoria did not accord with the feelings of the people. The + name Victoria, however, was destined to acquire lustre not inferior + to that of Elizabeth. + + The Princess’s first Progress is minutely described in the first + volume of her Journal. Before it ended, Robert Lowe, afterwards + her Chancellor of the Exchequer, caught a glimpse of the child as + she passed from the Bodleian to lunch with the Vice-Chancellor at + Oxford. Her foot was on the threshold of public life. + + + CHAPTER I + + 1832 + +_Wednesday, August 1st._ We left K.P.[3] at 6 minutes past 7 and went +through the Lower-field gate to the right. We went on, & turned to the +left by the new road to Regent’s Park. The road & scenery is beautiful. +20 minutes to 9. We have just changed horses at Barnet, a very pretty +little town. 5 minutes past ½ past 9. We have just changed horses +at St. Albans. The situation is very pretty & there is a beautiful +old abbey there. 5 minutes past 10. The country is beautiful here: +they have began to cut the corn; it is so golden & fine that I think +they will have a very good harvest, at least here. There are also +pretty hills & trees. 20 minutes past ten. We have just passed a most +beautiful old house in a fine park with splendid trees. A ¼ to 11. We +have just changed horses at Dunstable; there was a fair there; the +booths filled with fruit, ribbons, &c. looked very pretty. The town +seems old & there is a fine abbey before it. The country is very bleak +& chalky. 12 minutes to 12. We have just changed horses at Brickhill. +The country is very beautiful about here. 19 minutes to 1. We have +just changed horses at Stony Stratford. The country is very pretty. +About ½ past 1 o’clock we arrived at Towcester & lunched there. At 14 +minutes past two we left it. A ¼ past 3. We have just changed horses +at Daventry. The road continues to be very dusty. 1 minute past ½ past +3. We have just[4] passed through Braunston where there is a curious +spire. The Oxford canal is close to the town. 1 minute to 4. We have +just changed horses at Dunchurch & it is raining. + +For some time past already, and now, our road is entirely up an avenue +of trees going on and on, it is quite delightful but it still rains. +Just now we go at a _tremendous_ rate. 4 minutes to 5. We have just +changed horses at Coventry, a large town where there is a very old +church (in appearance at least). At ½ past 5 we arrived at Meridon; and +we are now going to dress for dinner. ½ past 8. I am undressing to go +to bed. Mamma is not well and is lying on the sofa in the next room. I +was asleep in a minute in my own little bed which travels always with +me. + +_Thursday, 2d August._—I got up after a very good night at 5 o’clock +this morning. Mamma is much better I am happy to say, and I am now +dressing to go to breakfast. 6 minutes to ½ past 7. We have just left +Meridon, a very clean inn. It is a very bad day. 10 minutes to 9. We +have just changed horses at Birmingham where I was two years ago and +we visited the manufactories which are very curious. It rains very +hard. We just passed through a town where all coal mines are and you +see the fire glimmer at a distance in the engines in many places. The +men, women, children, country and houses are all black. But I can +not by any description give an idea of its strange and extraordinary +appearance. The country is very desolate every where; there are coals +about, and the grass is quite blasted and black. I just now see an +extraordinary building flaming with fire. The country continues black, +engines flaming, coals, in abundance, every where, smoking and burning +coal heaps, intermingled with wretched huts and carts and little ragged +children.... + +I received from the mayor an oaken box with a silver top and filled +with the famous Shrewsbury cakes. We lunched there. We left it at a ¼ +to 3. As we passed along the streets a poor unhappy hen, frightened +by the noise flew on the carriage but she was taken off. We had our +horses watered half way. When we arrived at the outskirts of Welshpool +we were met by a troop of Yeomanry who escorted us for a long time and +the little town was ornamented with arches, flowers, branches, flags, +ribbons, &c., &c. The guns fired as we came up the park and the band +played before Powis Castle; Lord Powis[5] and Mr. Clive met us at the +door of his beautiful old Castle and Lady Lucy and Lady Harriet Clive +were in the gallery. The Castle is very old and beautiful; the little +old windows jutting in and out and a fine gallery with a dry-rubbed +floor and some beautiful busts. I am now dressing for dinner.... + +_Thursday, 9th August._—I awoke at ½ past 6 and got up at 7. I am +now dressing. A little after 8 I went out in the garden, and at +about ¼ to 9 we took breakfast. I began to write a letter after +breakfast, and then dressed. At ½ past 10 Mamma received an address +from the Mayor and Corporation of Beaumaris, and another from the +gentlemen inhabitants, and visitors of the town. At ½ past 11 we got +into our carriages with my Cousins on the box of ours. In passing +the Menai-bridge, we received a salute, and on entering the town +of Carnarvon, we were met, not only by an immense crowd, who were +extremely kind, and pleased, but by the Corporation also, who walked +before the carriage, while a salute was firing. We then arrived at +the inn, where Mamma received an address. The address being over we +took luncheon, and after that was over, we went to see the ruins of +the Castle, which are beautiful, while a salute was fired, from the +rampart. We then got into the _Emerald_, where we were several times +saluted, at the last being nearly becalmed, we were towed by a steam +packet, called _Paul Pry_, which saluted us 4 times in the day. We +arrived at home at ¼ to 7, and dined at ½ past 7. We drank Uncle +Leopold’s health in honour of his marriage that day. I stayed up till ½ +past 9. I went to bed soon after, and was soon asleep.... + +_Wednesday, 29th August._—I awoke at ½ past 6 and got up at 7. It is +now 6 minutes past 8 & I am quite ready dressed. I then played. We +breakfasted at ½ past 8 but without Lady Catherine[6] who is very +unwell. I then did my lessons & then played. At ½ past 12 I went +out walking. We lunched at 1. At ½ past 3 went to Baron Hill Sir R. +Bulkeley’s[7] place. We arrived there at a little after 4. We were +received at the door by Sir Richard & farther on by Lady Bulkeley whose +dress I shall describe. It was a white satin trimmed with blonde, short +sleeves & a necklace, ear-rings and sévigné of perridos & diamonds with +a wreath of orange-flowers in her hair. We then went upon the terrace +& the band of the Anglesea Militia played “God save the King.” We +then presented all the bards & poets with medals. We then [went] into +the drawing-room and remained there till dinner. In the drawing-room +there were a great many other people. At 5 we went to dinner, which +was in a temporary building which was lined in the inside with pink +and white linen. The dinner was splendidly served & the china was rich +and beautiful. The fruit was magnificent. After dessert was over Sir +Richard made a speech and brought out a toast in honor of Mamma & me. +We then left the room & went into the drawing-room. We went upstairs +into Lady Bulkeley’s pretty little dressing-room. Her toilet table was +pink with white muslin over it trimmed with beautiful lace & her things +on the toilet table were gold. We then went downstairs and took coffee +and the famous dog of Lady Williams,[8] Cabriolle, played tricks. At +about 7 we left Baron Hill & proceeded homewards. Poor Lady Catherine +who was not able to go was in the evening much better. We arrived at +home at about a ¼ past 8. I then went downstairs & stayed up till near +9. I was soon in bed and asleep.... + +_Monday, 17th September._—I awoke at about 8, & got up at near ½ past +8. We breakfasted at 9 downstairs. I then played and did other things. +At 1 we lunched. I then played on the piano, & at a little before 3 +played at billiards downstairs, with Victoire,[9] & then went out +walking. When I came home I first worked & then we blew soap-bubbles. + +_Sunday, 14th October._—I awoke at 7 and got up at ½ past 7. At ½ past +8 we breakfasted. I then wrote my Journal and some music and at 11 we +went to chapel for the last time and the sailors likewise for the last +time. The service was performed as usual by Mr. W. Jones. It was over +at ¼ past 12. I then walked out with Lehzen[10] and Victoire. At 1 we +lunched. At 3 we went out riding, and as we passed through the Park +gate the old woman at the lodge came out as usual, to open the gate and +she thanked Mamma for what she had given her. We galloped over a green +field which we had already done several times. Rosa went an enormous +rate; she literally _flew_. We then went on towards the Menai bridge +but turned back under the hill. We cantered a great deal and Rosa went +the whole time beautifully. It was a delightful ride. When we came home +Mamma got on Rosa and I got on Thomas and cantered him. We came in at ½ +past 4. Alas! it was our last ride at _dear_ Plas Newydd. I then walked +on the terrace for a short time. At 7 we dined and I stayed up till ½ +past 8. I was soon in bed and asleep. + +_Monday, 15th October._—I awoke at ½ past 5 and got up at 6. At 7 we +breakfasted with all the family; and a most beautiful falcon which +Sir John Williams[11] sent me was brought in that I might see it. The +sailors were so busy and so useful for I saw Kew and Sparks going to +and fro. At a ¼ to 8 we got into our carriages and drove out amidst +the shouts of the sailors of the _Emerald_, who were standing on the +rigging two by two on the rope-ladders, till the last man was at the +very top of all. I looked out of the carriage window that I might get a +last look of the _dear Emerald_ and her _excellent crew_. As we passed +along the road we saw Mr. Griffith and Mr. W. Jones and his family.... + +[Illustration: VICTOIRE CONROY. + + From a sketch by Princess Victoria.] + +10 minutes to 4.—We have just passed through Northop. At about ½ +past 4 we went through the Park of Mr. Granville up to his castle. +Lord Grosvenor met us there at the head of his Cavalry. And Lord +Westminster[12] sent his own fine horses, which were put to our +carriage. At about ½ past 5 we arrived at Eaton Hall. We were received +at the door by Lord and Lady Westminster, Lady Grosvenor and Lady +Wilton. The house is magnificent. You drive up to the door under a +lofty vaulted portico with a flight of steps under it, and it takes +you to the hall, which is beautiful. The floor is inlaid with various +marbles, and arches spring from the sides. Then you enter a beautiful +drawing-room; the ceiling joins in a round gilt, with great taste and +richness, while the sides arch towards the top. An organ on the right +as you enter the room and a large fireplace on the left with stained +glass windows. Then Lady Westminster after we had been downstairs a +little, showed us our apartments, which are indeed beautiful. I was in +bed at ½ past 8. + +_Tuesday, 16th October._—I awoke at 6 and got up at 7. I then dressed +and took some tea. At ½ past 9 we breakfasted. The breakfast-room is +magnificent. There are 4 fireplaces; and the windows are of stained +glass very beautifully done. A massive lustre of gold with an eagle +likewise in gold hangs from the ceiling in the middle of the room. +Pillars arching to the top and gilt in parts rise from the sides. +Several tables of oak and elm stand in the windows, and the breakfast +was served in handsome silver tea and coffee pots; a crown of gold with +precious stones contained the bread. Besides Lady Grosvenor and Lady +Wilton, there were also Lady Egerton,[13] Mrs. Lane and Miss Bagot. +After breakfast Lady Grosvenor brought her 4 children. We then went +into our own rooms and I wrote my journal. At 12 Mamma went into the +great saloon where all the ladies were and an address from the mayor +and corporation of Chester arrived and then another from the gentlemen +and inhabitants of Chester, presented by Lord Robert.[14] After this +we looked about the room which is indeed beautiful. The ceiling is +done in the same splendid manner and a magnificent lustre of gold +and glass with a coronet of velvet and pearls hung from the ceiling +in the room. Two windows of stained glass, very handsomely done, are +on different sides. A superb chimney-place with beautiful furniture +and rich carpets, complete the room. 4 beautiful pictures painted by +different artists are likewise in the room. We then walked out with +most of the people; I walking in front with the eldest and third little +girl, the second not being well. We walked about the garden and looked +at an aloe which flowers only once in 100 years. We came in at ½ past +1, and lunched at 2. At ½ past 2 we went out driving; Lady Westminster +and little Elinor,[15] the eldest child, were in our carriage; she +is a delightful child. Lady Catherine and Lehzen followed in another +carriage. We drove about the park which is beautiful. When we came +home we walked in the kitchen gardens which are indeed very pretty. At +½ past 4 we came home and I worked. At 7 we dined. The dining-room is +a fine room beautifully worked at the ceiling. Four large statues of +Maltese stone occupy 4 corners, very beautifully executed; one with a +helmet is Sir Gilbert le Grosvenor,[16] and the lady[17] next by him +is the heiress of Eaton; on the opposite side the man is Sir Robert le +Grosvenor, distinguished in the battle of Cressy; the lady near him is +a Miss Davis who by intermarrying brought the possessions in town, as +Grosvenor Square, Belgrave Square, etc., etc.[18] The window is stained +glass with the figure of Hugh Lupus on it. The dinner was served on +plate, and the plateau was very handsome with gilt cups on it. The +side table was covered with gold plate. After dinner we played at a +game of letters and then I sang and Mamma and Lady Catherine sang and +afterwards Lady Westminster played on the organ. I stayed up till 10.... + +_Thursday, 18th October._—When we went out after luncheon we went in +the garden first and saw a Roman altar which had been dug up near +Chester. At 7 we dined. The breakfast-room had been arranged for this +purpose. A temporary floor had been arranged at the top of the room, +for our table (for all the company who had come to the bow-meeting +dined here), and the other four were lower. After the dinner (we being +still at table) was over some glee-singers from Chester came and sang +the grace in Latin. Then Lord Westminster gave out some toasts; amongst +others, “The King,” “The Queen,” Mamma and me; which were received +extremely well. After dinner was over, I gave the children, who had +come when dinner was over, a little remembrance. I then took leave of +the whole family and went to bed. I stayed up till 10. + +_Friday, 19th October._— ... ½ past 4. We have just changed horses at +Buxton, which is a pretty place. The houses are well built and form a +crescent. The country about here is very pretty, high rocks covered +with trees. There are all about here little rivulets and fountains, +rippling over stones. At ½ past 6 we arrived at Chatsworth, which is +a beautiful house. It was quite dark. It is built in the shape of a +square joined by an arch under which one must drive. We were met at the +door by the Duke of Devonshire[19] who conducted us up the staircase, +which is made of wood, to our apartments which are indeed beautiful. In +the corridor there are some beautiful statues. I dined by myself in my +own room with Lehzen. I stayed up till ½ past 8. I was soon in bed and +asleep. + +_Saturday, 20th October._—I awoke at ½ past 7 and got up at 8. At a +little past 9 we breakfasted, us 5 by ourselves in a lovely room giving +on the park and garden where one could see a cascade which ran all the +way down. The room is small; the ceiling is painted and represents some +mythology, with books round the room and a splendid carpet. At about 11 +we went over the house with the company, which consisted of Lord and +Lady Cavendish,[20] Lord and Lady Newburgh,[21] Mr. and Lady Caroline +Lascelles,[22] Count Karoly, Mrs. Arkwright, Lady Clifford, Lord and +Lady Wharncliffe,[23] Mrs. Talbot, Lord Morpeth,[24] Mr. Cooper, Mr. +Henry Greville, and Miss Fanny Cavendish.[25] It would take me days, +were I to describe minutely the whole. We went all over the house, +and the carving of the frame-work of some looking-glasses was quite +beautiful; they are carved in the shape of birds, the plumage being so +exquisite that if it was not of the colour of wood one might take them +for feathers. It not only surrounds the mirrors but the ceilings of +some of the rooms. We saw Lady Cavendish’s little boy who is 10 months +old, a beautiful child. We likewise saw the kitchen which is superb for +its size and cleanliness; and the confectionary which is as pretty and +neat. The Duke’s own apartments contain some superb statues of Canova +and others; likewise a beautiful collection of minerals. We saw the +library and dining-room which are all beautiful. The library’s ceiling +is painted in figures; and the carpet is beautiful. The conservatory +which leads from the dining-room is very pretty. We then walked out in +the garden, I went into another conservatory which contains a rockery +with water falling from it. There are some curious plants there, +amongst others two which are worthy of remark; the one is called the +pitcher-plant because at the end of each leaf hangs a little bag or +pitcher which fills with the dew and supplies the plant when it wants +water; the other is called the fly-catcher plant, because whenever a +fly touches it, it closes. From the conservatory we went and looked at +a monkey which is in the garden, chained. We then went to the cascade +and saw some other fountains very curious and pretty. When we had come +on the terrace the Duke wished us to plant two trees down under the +terrace. So we did, I planted an oak and Mamma a Spanish chesnut. After +that we went upon the terrace again and went up a platform which had +been arranged with carpets, to view the cricket-match below; the Buxton +band playing “God save the King” and the people hurraying and others +under tents looked very pretty. From there we went to the stables where +we saw some pretty ponies and a Russian coachman in his full dress, and +the only Russian horse which remained reared at his command; there were +3 other horses, English ones, but trained like the other. At about ½ +past 1 we came home and lunched with the whole party. At ½ past 2 we +went in a carriage and 6 with the Duke and Mrs. Cavendish, to Haddon +Hall, a very old and singular place. The old tapestry still remaining +and iron hooks to keep it back. We then went to the Rookery, a small +cottage belonging to the Duke on the banks of the river Wye, very +pretty and cool. From there we walked to the Marble Mills and saw how +they sawed and polished the marble. There was a little cottage where +they sold Derbyshire spar in different little shapes and forms, and +some pieces of marble too. We then drove home after having bought a +good many things. We came in at 5. At 7 we dined and after dinner at +about ½ past 9 we looked at the cascade illuminated, which looked very +pretty, and the fountains, blue lights, red lights, rockets, etc. At +about 10 the charade began in 3 syllables and 4 scenes. The first act +was a scene out of _Bluebeard_; Lady Caroline Lascelles and Miss F. +Cavendish acting the ladies, and Count Karoly as Bluebeard, with Lord +Newburgh and Mr. Lascelles as their friends. The next act was a scene +of carrying offerings to Father Nile; Mrs. Talbot, Lady Cavendish, +Lady Clifford, Miss Cavendish, and the two Miss Smiths as the vestals; +and Lord Morpeth, Lord Newburgh, Count Karoly, Mr. Greville, Sir A. +Clifford,[26] Mr Cooper, and Mr. Lascelles as the men. Mr. Beaumont was +Father Nile. The third act was a scene of _Tom Thumb_; Lord Morpeth +as Tom Thumb, and Lord Newburgh as the nurse. The fourth act was a +scene out of _Kenilworth_ (which was the word); Mrs. Talbot as Queen +Elizabeth, Lady Cavendish as Amy, Lady Caroline and Miss Cavendish +(who danced the menuet with Count Karoly) as her attendants; little +Georgina Lascelles[27] as page to bear the Queen’s train, Lord Morpeth +as Lord Leicester, Lord Newburgh as an attendant, Count Karoly as Lord +Shrewsbury, Mr. Cooper as Sir Walter Raleigh, and Lord Waterpark[28] +and Mr. Greville as two more men of the Queen’s, not to omit Lady +Clifford as the Queen’s lady, and Sir Augustus as a gentleman of the +Queen. They were all in regular costumes. When it was over, which was +at ¼ to 12, I went to bed.... + +_Wednesday, 24th October._— ... At 1 we arrived at Alton Towers, the +seat of Lord Shrewsbury.[29] This is an extraordinary house. On +arriving one goes into a sort of gallery filled with armour, guns, +swords, pistols, models, flags, etc., etc., then into a gallery filled +with beautiful pictures and then into a conservatory with birds. We +lunched there and the luncheon was served on splendid gold plate. We +then walked in the gardens. At ½ past 2 we left it.... + +_Wednesday, 31st October._—I awoke at 7 and got up at ½ past 7. At ½ +past 9 we breakfasted in the drawing-room, for the gentlemen who were +going to hunt breakfasted in the other room, all the ladies and Sir +John breakfasting with us. After breakfast at about ½ past 10 we went +into the room where they were, and they gave us a toast with many +cheers. After that we walked out to see the hunt. We saw them set off. +It was an immense field of horsemen, who in their red jackets and black +hats looked lively and gave an animating appearance to the whole. They +had a large pack of hounds and three huntsmen or Whippers-in. They drew +a covert near here in hopes of finding a fox, but as they did not they +returned and we got into the carriage with Lady Selina[30] and Lehzen +while all the huntsmen and the hounds followed. When we came to a +field, they drew another covert and succeeded; we saw the fox dash past +and all the people and hounds after him, the hounds in full cry. The +hounds killed him in a wood quite close by. The huntsman then brought +him out and cutting off the brush Sir Edward Smith (to whom the hounds +belong) brought it to me. Then the huntsmen cut off for themselves +the ears and 4 paws, and lastly they threw it to the dogs, who tore +it from side to side till there was nothing left. We then went home. +At 1 we lunched, and at 2, I, Lady Selina, Lady Louisa[31] and dear +Lehzen went out walking, towards a farm of Lord Liverpool’s, and when +we had passed the farm and were going to return by the village, we +heard the blast of a horn and we looked and saw the hounds and hunters +going full gallop along a field which was below the field in which we +were walking. They came and crossed the field in which we were and we +saw all the riders leap over a ditch. We went back the same way that +we might see them. When we came near home we saw them go home by the +house. At ½ past 3 we came home. At ½ past 6 we dined, and I received +my brush which had been fixed on a stick by the huntsman; it is a +beautiful one. Amongst the people who were here, those who remain are +Mr., Mrs., and Miss Corbett, Mr., Mrs., and Miss Child. After dinner +the young ladies played some pretty things from the _Pirata_ and from +_Fra Diavolo_. I stayed up till near 10.... + +_Wednesday, 7th November._— ... ¼ to 4. We have just changed horses +at Woodstock, and another detachment of Yeomanry commanded by Lord +Churchill[32] ride with us now. We passed through Oxford on our way. +At about a little past 5 we arrived at Wytham Abbey, the seat of Lord +Abingdon.[33] We were received at the door by Lord and Lady Abingdon, +Lady Charlotte Bertie and Lady Emily Bathurst, their daughters. The +house is very comfortable; in the drawing-room there is a lovely +picture by Angelica Kauffman, Penelope. After staying a few minutes +downstairs we went upstairs to our rooms which are very pretty and +comfortable. At a little past 7 we dined with several other people. I +stayed up till a little past 9. + +_Thursday, 8th November._—I awoke at a little to 8 and got up at 8. At +a little past 9 we breakfasted with the whole party. At 10 o’clock we +set out for Oxford in a close carriage and 4 with Lord Abingdon and +Lady Charlotte Bertie; the other ladies going in carriages before us. +We got out first at the Divinity College, and walked from thence to +the theatre, which was built by Sir Christopher Wren. The ceiling is +painted with allegorical figures. The galleries are ornamented with +carving enriched with gold. It was filled to excess. We were most +WARMLY and ENTHUSIASTICALLY received. They hurrayed and applauded +us immensely for there were all the students there; all in their +gowns and caps. Mamma received an address which was presented by the +Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Rowly, and Mamma answered it as usual. Then +Sir John[34] was made a Doctor of Civil Law. After that was over, +we returned through Divinity College and proceeded in our carriages +to the Council Chamber where Mamma received an address there, from +the corporation of Oxford, and Sir John the freedom of the City of +Oxford. We then went to Christ Church, which is very fine, viewed the +hall and chapel and library. Dr. Gaisford[35] is the Dean of Christ +Church and is at the head of that college. From there we went to the +Bodleian library which is immense. Amongst other curiosities there is +Queen Elizabeth’s Latin exercise book when she was of my age (13). We +went through Mr. Sneed’s house to our carriages. From there to All +Souls’ College where Mr. Sneed is the warden. It is not a college for +education, but after they have taken their degree. We saw the library +and chapel which is very beautiful. We then went to University College +of which the Vice-chancellor is the head. We lunched there and saw +the chapel which is very fine. From there we went to New College of +which Dr. Shuttleworth[36] is the head. We saw the chapel and hall. +From there to the Clarendon printing-press which is very amusing but +would take up too much space and time to describe. We then went home. +We arrived at home at ½ past 3. At 7 we dined with some other people +who were Lord Cantelupe,[37] Lord Folkestone,[38] Lord Loftus,[39] Mr. +Gage,[40] Mr. Canning,[41] Lord Thomas Clinton,[42] Mr. L. Gower,[43] +Lord Boscawen,[44] etc. etc. After dinner the young ladies sang to +the guitar which one of them played. We then sang and Lord Abingdon. I +stayed up till 10. + +_Friday, 9th November._— ... At about ½ past 5 we arrived at Kensington +Palace. We resumed our old rooms. At 7 we dined with Jane and Victoire +Conroy, Lord Liverpool and Sir John. My aunt Sophia[45] came after +dinner. I stayed up till a ¼ to 9. + +_Monday, 24th December._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At 9 we +breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean,[46] and I gave him Mamma’s +and my Christmas box. He stayed till ½ past 11. In the course of the +morning I gave Mrs. Brock a Christmas box and all our people. At ½ past +1 we lunched. At ½ past 2 came Mr. Westall[47] till ½ past 3. At 4 came +Mr. Sale[48] till 5. At a ¼ to 7 we dined with the whole Conroy family +and Mr. Hore downstairs, as our Christmas tables were arranged in our +dining-room. After dinner we went upstairs. I then saw Flora, the dog +which Sir John was going to give Mamma. Aunt Sophia came also. We then +went into the drawing-room near the dining-room. After Mamma had rung +a bell three times we went in. There were two large round tables on +which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All +the presents being placed round the tree. I had one table for myself +and the Conroy family had the other together. Lehzen had likewise a +little table. Mamma gave me a little lovely pink bag which she had +worked with a little sachet likewise done by her; a beautiful little +opal brooch and earrings, books, some lovely prints, a pink satin dress +and a cloak lined with fur. Aunt Sophia gave me a dress which she +worked herself, and Aunt Mary[49] a pair of amethyst earrings. Lehzen +a lovely music-book. Victoire a _very_ pretty white bag worked by +herself, and Sir John a silver brush. I gave Lehzen some little things +and Mamma gave her a writing table. We then went to my room where I had +arranged Mamma’s table. I gave Mamma a white bag which I had worked, +a collar and a steel chain for Flora, and an Annual; Aunt Sophia a +pair of turquoise earrings; Lehzen a little white and gold pincushion +and a pin with two little gold hearts hanging to it; Sir John, Flora, +a book-holder and an Annual. Mamma then took me up into my bedroom +with all the ladies. There was my new toilet table with a white muslin +cover over pink, and all my silver things standing on it with a fine +new looking-glass. I stayed up till ½ past 9. The dog went away again +to the doctor for her leg. I saw good Louis[50] for an instant and she +gave me a lovely little wooden box with bottles. + +[Illustration: H.R.H. PRINCESS SOPHIA. + + From a portrait by Sir W. Ross.] + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER II + + When the Princess was fourteen years old she obtained her first + sight of Osborne, that future home in the Isle of Wight where + she was destined to spend so many happy years, and which was + associated with the closing scenes of her life. Osborne Lodge was + the residence of Sir John Conroy. It occupied the site of Osborne + Cottage, now the residence of the Queen’s youngest daughter, + Princess Henry of Battenberg. In spite of the changes made in the + appearance of Osborne by the erection of Osborne House and the + laying-out of the grounds round it, that portion of the estate + where Osborne Cottage stands, and Whippingham Church, with its + manifold associations, have much the same aspect as they had when + first explored by Princess Victoria in 1833. + + On her birthday, King William gave a children’s party at St. + James’s in his niece’s honour, and the ball was opened by the + little Princess and her cousin Prince George of Cambridge, then a + boy of fourteen, who was afterwards to be the Commander-in-Chief of + her armies. The Princess speaks of the ball-room. It is difficult + to be sure which room is meant by this. The eastern end of St. + James’s Palace had been destroyed by fire in 1809, and had only + recently been rebuilt. The Palace was occupied by William IV. and + Queen Adelaide, the Queen’s rooms being in that portion which is + now called Clarence House, and the King’s apartments occupying + the western end of what is now St. James’s Palace proper. It was + probably the room hung with yellow silk, next but one to the + Throne-room, so familiar to those who attend the King’s Levées, + that the little Princess opened her first ball. + + This was not her first introduction into Society. Three years + before she had been seen at Court, and in 1831 she had attended a + Drawing-room. + + The Princess now acquired a habit (which she practised for many + years) of making sketches from memory of the artists and scenes + that struck her imagination during her visits to the theatre. + There are many volumes at Windsor Castle full of the Princess’s + recollections of the theatre, drawn in pencil or in water-colour. + Although the technique may be faulty, these sketches are full + of movement and quaintly descriptive. They indicate an absorbed + attention on her part, and a vivid memory. They suggest a power + of concentration upon the thing she was about, which became in + after-life a marked characteristic. From her journals and her + sketches as a child of fourteen, an inference might be drawn that + little escaped the acute observation of the little Princess. There + are many who remember how in later life very little escaped the + observation of the Queen. + + + CHAPTER II + + 1833 + +_Tuesday, 15th January._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At 10 minutes to +9 we breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till ½ past 11. Just before +we went out, Mamma’s little dog, a beautiful spaniel of King Charles’s +breed, called Dash, and which Sir John gave her yesterday, came and +will now remain here. At a ¼ past 12 Lehzen and I went out walking in +the park. We met Mrs. Talbot. When we came home I fed dear Rosy who was +_so_ greedy. At ½ past 1 we lunched. At 3 came Mr. Steward[51] till 4. +At 4 came Mons. Grandineau[52] till 5. Little Dash is _perfection_, he +is already much attached to Mamma and lies always at her feet. At 7 we +dined. Aunt Sophia came at 8. Sir John dined here. I stayed up till ½ +past 8.... + +_Thursday, 31st January._—At 1 we lunched. At 2 I sat to Mr. Hayter[53] +till 10 minutes to 4. At 5 we dined. Sir John dined here. At ½ past 6 +we went with Lady Conroy, Jane and Victoire to the play to Drury Lane. +It was the opera of _The Barber of Seville_. It is so well known that +I need not describe it. The principal characters were Count Almaviva, +Mr. Wood, who looked, sang, and acted _extremely_ well; Rosina, Mrs. +Wood; Figaro, Mr. Philipps, who sung very well; Dr. Bartolo, Mr. +Seguin, who acted very well. It was in 3 acts and I was very _much +amused_. The after piece called _The Nervous Man_ is only amusing in +parts, for Mr. Farren[54] and Mr. Power, two excellent comic actors. We +did not see the end of it. We came home at 12.... + +_Saturday, 9th February._—I awoke at 7 and got up at ½ past 7. At +½ past 8 we breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till 11. At ½ +past 12 we lunched. At I we paid a visit to my aunt the Duchess of +Gloucester.[55] When we came home I fed dear little Rosa, and little +Isabell. At ½ past 2 came Mr. Westall[56] till ½ past 3. At a ¼ past +5 we dined. Sir John dined here. At ½ past 6 we went to the play +with Lady Conroy, Victoire and Lehzen as usual. It was the ballet +of _Kenilworth_. The subject is taken from the novel by Sir Walter +Scott, which being so well known I shall not describe. The principal +characters were, Lord Leicester, Mons. Theodore Guerinot, who danced +beautifully; Amy Robsart, Mdlle. Pauline Leroux, who danced and +acted _beautifully_ and looked _quite_ lovely; Jenny, Madame Proche +Giubilei, who acted very well and looked very pretty; Queen Elizabeth, +Mrs. Vining; Varney, Mr. W. H. Payne; Earl of Sussex, Signor Rossi; +Lord Shrewsbury, Mr. Bertram. Besides these, Mdlle. Adele and Mdlle. +Chavigny danced a pas de trois with Mons. Theodore Guerinot. They +danced very well. At 20 minutes past 9 we came home. I then took tea.... + +_Friday, 5th April._—To-day is Good Friday. At 10 we went to prayers. +Jane and Victoire also. The service was performed by the Dean, who +gave us likewise a very good sermon. It was taken from the 8th chapter +of the Acts of the Apostles, 30th verse. At a ¼ past 12 we went out +walking. When we came home I fed sweet Rosy. At ½ past I we lunched. At +3 came Victoire till 5. At 7 we dined. At 8 came Aunt Sophia. I stayed +up till ½ past 8.... + +_Saturday, 13th April._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At a ¼ to 9 we +breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till ½ past 11. The Duchess of +Northumberland[57] was present. At 12 we went out riding in the park +with Victoire, Lehzen and Sir John. It was a _delightful_ ride. We +cantered a good deal. SWEET LITTLE ROSY went BEAUTIFULLY!! We came home +at a ¼ past 1. At ½ past 1 we lunched. Neither of my masters came. At 6 +we dined. The Duchess of Northumberland, Lady Charlotte St. Maur,[58] +and Sir John dined here. At 20 minutes to 7 we went out with them +to the Opera. We were very much _disappointed_ for Taglioni did not +make her début, nor Rubini. We had only one scene of _Il Barbière di +Siviglia_, in which Signor Tambourini, who is a _beautiful_ singer and +actor, appeared, and Donizelli. After waiting for half an hour Laporte +(the manager) was called out, and he said that Mlle. Taglioni was very +unwell in bed, and Mad. Méric was likewise ill, so that _Il Pirato_ +could not be performed, but that Rubini would be there directly. After +one act of _Fidelio_, which was _shockingly_ performed, Rubini came on +and sang a song out of _Anna Boulena_ _quite beautifully_. After that +there was the ballet of _La Somnambula_. The principal characters were +Mdlle. Pauline Leroux, who looked QUITE LOVELY and acted prettily; +Mdlle. Adele; Madame Proche Giubelei who looked _very pretty_; Messrs. +Albert and Coulon. We only saw part of it. We came home at ½ past 11.... + +_Tuesday, 23rd April._—I awoke at 7 and got up at ½ past 7. At 9 we +breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till ½ past 11. The Duchess of +Northumberland was present. At a ¼ past 12 we went out riding with Lady +Conroy, Victoire, Lehzen, and Sir John. We rode a little way in the +park, but the fog was so thick that we turned round and rode down by +Gloucester Road, and turned up by Phillimore Place, where it was very +fine and not at all foggy. _Dear_ Rosa went _beautifully_. We came home +at ½ past 1. At ½ past 1 we lunched. At 3 came Mr. Steward till 4. At +4 came Mons. Grandineau till 5. At a ¼ to 7 we dined. Sir John dined +here, and I dressed DEAR SWEET LITTLE DASH for the second time after +dinner in a scarlet jacket and blue trousers. At 20 minutes past 8 +Mamma went with Jane and Sir John to the Opera. I stayed up till ½ past +8. + +_Wednesday, 24th April._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At 9 we +breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till ½ past 11. At ½ past 1 we +lunched. At 3 came Mons. Grandineau till 4. Madame Bourdin[59] did not +come. At ½ past 6 Lehzen and I dined. At 7 I and Lehzen went into the +large saloon, for Mamma gave a dinner to the King. There dined here, +the King (the Queen being too unwell to come), the Duke of Cumberland, +the Duke of Gloucester, the Archbishop of Canterbury,[60] the Lord +Chancellor,[61] the Duke of Devonshire,[62] the Duke of Norfolk,[63] +the Duke of Somerset,[64] the Duke and Duchess of Gordon,[65] the +Duke of Rutland,[66] the Duchess of Northumberland, the Duchess +of Sutherland,[67] the Duke of Cleveland,[68] the Marchioness of +Westminster,[69] the Earl of Liverpool, the Earl and Countess Grey,[70] +Lord Hill,[71] Lady Dover,[72] the Earl of Uxbridge,[73] the Earl +of Albemarle,[74] Lord Amherst,[75] Lady Charlotte St. Maur, Lady +Catherine Jenkinson, Lady Cust,[76] Lady Conroy, Sir George Anson,[77] +Sir Frederick Wetherall,[78] and Sir John. At about 8 I went to my room +with Lehzen. At 20 minutes past 9 I went into the saloon with her to +meet the company. The Grenadier Guards’ band played after dinner. I saw +all the company go. I stayed up till 11.... + +_Saturday, 27th April._—I awoke at 7 and got up at a ¼ to 8. At a ¼ to +9 we breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till 11. The Duchess of +Northumberland was present. At 12 we went out walking. When we came +home I fed dear little Rosa. At a ¼ past 1 we lunched. At ½ past 2 came +Mr. Westall till ½ past 3. At 20 minutes to 3 I sat to Mr. Wyon[79] +to have my profile taken for a medal, till 10 minutes to 5. At 6 we +dined. Sir John dined here. At a ¼ past 7 we went with Lady Conroy and +Lehzen, as usual, to the Opera. It was the opera of _Cenerentola_ by +Rossini. The principal characters were the Prince, by Signor Donizelli; +the Prince’s servant, Signor Tambourini who sung QUITE BEAUTIFULLY; +the father of Cenerentola, Signor Zuchelli, who acted _uncommonly +well_; Cenerentola, Madame Cinti Damoreau; she sang QUITE BEAUTIFULLY, +so round, so softly, and so correctly. It was her first appearance +this season and she was called out. The sisters were two FRIGHTFUL +creatures. The ballet which followed was _Flore et Zephir_. Mdlle. +Taglioni[80] made her first appearance this season. She is grown very +thin, but danced _beautifully_, so lightly and _gracefully_, and each +step so finished! She took the part of Flore, and was very prettily +dressed in a plain gauze dress, trimmed with flowers across her skirt; +a wreath of flowers round her head, and her hair quite flat. Pearls +round her neck and arms. She looked _lovely_, for she is all-ways +smiling. We went away soon. We came home at 12.... + +_Friday, 3rd May._—At 12 we went with the Duchess of Northumberland, +Lady Charlotte St. Maur, Lady Catherine Jenkinson, Lady Cust, Lady +Conroy, Lehzen, Sir George Anson, and Sir John, to the Exhibition +at Somerset House. We were met there by Sir Martin Shee[81] (the +President), Mr. Westall, Mr. Howard[82] (the Treasurer), Mr. Daniel, +and Sir William Beechy.[83] It was a very good exhibition. There were +several very fine pictures by Sir Martin Shee. Seven by Mr. Westall. +They were 4 landscapes, a drawing of Christ in the arms of Simeon in +the temple; a sleeping Cupid, and the death of James 2nd. All very +fine. There were 5 of G. Hayter’s but I only saw 3, which were my +picture,[84] Lady Lichfield, and Mad. de Delmar’s. There were 3 of +Wilkie’s, a portrait of the King, a very beautiful portrait of the +Duke of Sussex, and Spanish monks, a scene witnessed in a capuchin +convent at Toledo. There were several very fine ones of Howard, +Daniel, Eastlake,[85] Landseer,[86] Calcott,[87] Pickersgill,[88] +Hilton,[89] etc., etc. We came home at ½ past 2. At ½ past 4 we went +out driving in the barouche, but we also walked. We came home at 5.... + +_Wednesday, 8th May._—At ½ past 2 came Mons. Grandineau till ½ past +3. At a ¼ past 4 we walked through the gardens, and then drove in +the barouche in the park. We came home at 5. At ½ past 6 Lehzen and +I dined. At a little past 7 Lehzen and I went into the saloon, for +Mamma gave a dinner. There dined here, H.R.H. the Duke of Orleans,[90] +who I was very glad to see, for I had not seen him since nearly 4 +years; he brought Mamma a letter from his Mother, the Queen of the +French, with a beautiful _déjeuner_ of Sévres china; a letter from +Aunt Louisa[91] (his sister), and a beautiful bracelet with her hair +in it; for me a letter from Aunt Louisa and a beautiful bracelet with +her picture. Prince Talleyrand,[92] the Duchess de Dino,[93] the Duc +de Valençay (her son), the Marquess and Marchioness of Lansdowne,[94] +the Marquess and Marchioness of Stafford,[95] the Earl and Countess +of Tankerville,[96] the Earl and Countess of Sefton,[97] the Earl +and Countess Grosvenor,[98] the Earl of Lichfield,[99] the Earl and +Countess Granville,[100] Lord Palmerston,[101] Lord Morpeth,[102] +Lord Duncannon,[103] Lord Ebrington,[104] Mr. Van de Weyer,[105] Mr. +and Mrs. Stanley,[106] Mr. Ellice,[107] Mr. Abercromby,[108] the +Aide-de-Camp in Waiting on H.R.H. the Duke of Orleans, Mr. Taylor, +Lady Charlotte St. Maur, Lady Conroy, Sir George Anson, and Sir John. +At about 8 I went with Lehzen away. The band of the Coldstream Guards +played at dinner as well as after dinner, as it had the preceding +night. At 20 minutes after 9 Lehzen and I went into the saloon. We met +Aunt Sophia there.... + +_Saturday, 11th May._—At a ¼ to 7 we dined. Sir John dined here. At a +little after 8 we went to the Opera with Victoire, Lehzen, and Charles. +We came in at the end of the first act of _Medea_. Madame Pasta sang, +and acted beautifully, as did also Rubini and Donizelli. The ballet +was excessively pretty. It is called _Nathalie_. The principal dancers +were Mdlle. Taglioni, who danced and acted QUITE BEAUTIFULLY!! She +looked _very_ pretty. Her dress was very pretty. It was a sort of Swiss +dress; she first appeared in a petticoat of brown and yellow, with a +blue and white apron, a body of black velvet ornamented with silver, +pointed upwards and downwards, over a light tucker drawn to her neck, +with a black ribbon round it, a pair of small white sleeves, a little +Swiss straw hat, with long plaits of her hair hanging down, completed +her first dress. Her second dress was a petticoat of scarlet and yellow +silk, with a white apron, the same body and sleeves, with a wreath of +flowers on her head. Mdlles. Thérèse and Fanny Elsler; they are good +dancers, but have neither grace nor lightness. Messrs. Albert, Coulon, +and Daumont. In the middle of the ballet the Duke of Orleans came into +our box for a little while. We saw most of the ballet. I was _very +much_ amused.... + +_Friday, 24th May._—To-day is my birthday. I am to-day fourteen years +old! How _very old_!! I awoke at ½ _past_ 5 and got up at ½ past 7. +I received from Mamma a lovely hyacinth brooch and a china pen tray. +From Uncle Leopold a very kind letter, also one from Aunt Louisa and +sister Feodora. I gave Mamma a little ring. From Lehzen I got a pretty +little china figure, and a lovely little china basket. I gave her a +golden chain and Mamma gave her a pair of earrings to match. From my +maids, Frances and Caroline, I also got little trifles of their own +work. At ½ past 8 we breakfasted. After breakfast we went into the +room where my table was arranged. Mamma gave me a lovely bag of her +own work, a beautiful bracelet, two lovely féronières, one of pink +topaz, the other turquoises; two dresses, some prints, some books, +some handkerchiefs, and an apron. From Lehzen, a beautiful print of +the Russell Trial. From Späth,[109] a glass and plate of Bohemian +glass. From Sir Robert Gardiner,[110] a china plate with fruit. +From Victoria and Emily Gardiner, two screens and a drawing done by +them. From the Dean, some books. My brother Charles’s present was +not ready. At about ½ past 10 came Sir John and his three sons. From +Sir John I received a very pretty picture of Dash, very like, the +size of life. From Jane, Victoire, Edward, Stephen, and Henry, a very +pretty enamel watch-chain. From Lady Conroy a sandalwood pincushion +and needle-case. From Victoire alone, a pair of enamel earrings. The +Duchess of Gordon sent me a lovely little crown of precious stones, +which plays “God save the King,” and a china basket. At 12 came the +Duchess of Northumberland (who gave me an ivory basket filled with +the work of her nieces), Lady Charlotte St. Maur a beautiful album +with a painting on it; Lady Catherine Jenkinson a pretty night-lamp. +Lady Cust, a tray of Staffordshire china. Sir Frederick Wetherall, +two china vases from Paris. Doctor Maton,[111] a small cedar basket. +Lady Conroy, Jane, Victoire, Sir George Anson, Sir John, and the +Dean came also. Lady Conroy brought Bijou (her little dog) with her, +and she gave me a little sweet smelling box. They stayed till ½ past +12. Victoire remained with us. I gave her a portrait of Isabel, her +horse. At 1 we lunched. Victoire stayed till ½ past 2. At ½ past 2 +came the Royal Family. The Queen gave me a pair of diamond earrings +from the King. She gave me herself a brooch of turquoises and gold in +the form of a bow. Aunt Augusta gave me a box of sandal-wood. From +Aunt Gloucester, Aunt Sophia, and Uncle Sussex, a féronière of pearls. +From Aunt Sophia alone, a bag worked by herself. From the Duke of +Gloucester, a gold inkstand. From the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland, +a bracelet of turquoise; and the Duchess brought me a turquoise pin +from my cousin George Cumberland. From Princess Sophia Mathilda, a blue +topaz watch-hook. From George Cambridge,[112] a brooch in the shape +of a lily of the valley. Lady Mayo,[113] who was in waiting on the +Queen, gave me a glass bottle. They stayed till ½ past 3 and then went +away. I had seen in the course of the day, Sarah, my former maid, and +Mrs. Brock. Ladies Emma and Georgiana Herbert[114] sent me a sachet +for handkerchiefs worked by themselves. Ladies Sarah and Clementina +Villiers[115] sent me some flowers as combs and a brooch. Mr. Collen +sent me a little painting for my album. At a ¼ to 6 we dined. At ½ past +7 we went with Charles, the Duchess of Northumberland, Lady Catherine +Jenkinson, Lehzen, Sir George Anson, and Sir John, to a Juvenile Ball +that was given in honour of my birthday at St. James’s by the King and +Queen. We went into the Closet. Soon after, the doors were opened, and +the King leading me went into the ball-room. Madame Bourdin was there +as dancing-mistress. Victoire was also there, as well as _many_ other +children whom I knew. Dancing began soon after. I danced first with my +cousin George Cambridge, then with Prince George Lieven,[116] then with +Lord Brook,[117] then Lord March,[118] then with Lord Athlone,[119] +then with Lord Fitzroy Lennox,[120] then with Lord Emlyn.[121] We then +went to supper. It was ½ past 11; the King leading me again. I sat +between the King and Queen. We left supper soon. My health was drunk. +I then danced one more quadrille with Lord Paget. I danced in all _8_ +quadrilles. We came home at ½ past 12. I was VERY much amused.... + +_Sunday, 16th June._—I awoke at 7 and got up at ½ past 7. At a ¼ to +9 we breakfasted. At 10 we went to prayers. At 10 came Victoire and +went to prayers with us. The service was performed by Mr. Pittman, as +the poor Dean had the misfortune to lose his little girl Charlotte, of +the scarlet fever, which I was very sorry for. Mr. Pittman gave us a +beautiful sermon. It was taken from the 11th chapter of the Gospel of +St. Luke, 1st verse. At 1 we lunched. Victoire stayed till ½ past 2. +At 3 arrived my two cousins, Princes Alexander and Ernst Würtemberg, +sons of Mamma’s sister, my Aunt Antoinette.[122] They are both +_extremely tall_. Alexander is _very handsome_ and Ernst has a _very +kind expression_. They are both EXTREMELY _amiable_. At 4 we went out +driving in the open carriage. We paid a visit to Aunt Gloucester, and +then drove home through the park. We came home at a ¼ to 6. At a ¼ past +7 we dined. Besides Alexander, Ernst and Charles, Prince Reuss[123] and +Sir John dined here.... + +_Thursday, 27th June._—At ½ past 9 we went to the Exhibition of the +water-colours, with Alexander and Lehzen in our carriage, and Sir John +in another. We met the Duchess of Northumberland there. It is a VERY +FINE exhibition. From there we went to the British Gallery, where +the works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, West, and Sir Thomas Lawrence are +exhibiting. We came home at ½ past 11. At 1 we lunched. At 2 came Lady +Stafford with her two little girls, Elizabeth[124] and Evelyn,[125] +and Lady Caroline[126] with her little Georgiana. All beautiful +children. At ½ past 4 we drove out in the park, and walked home through +the gardens. We came home at ½ past 5. At 7 we all dined. Sir John +dined here. At a little after 9 we went, with Alexander and Lehzen +in our carriage, and Ernst, Charles and Sir John in another carriage +following, to the Opera. We came in at the beginning of the 2nd act +of _Norma_, in which Madame Pasta sung BEAUTIFULLY. After that Signor +Paganini played by himself some variations, most WONDERFULLY; he is +himself a _curiosity_. After that was given the last act of _Otello_; +Desdemona, Madame Malibran,[127] who sang and acted BEAUTIFULLY. After +that was performed _La Sylphide_; Taglioni danced BEAUTIFULLY and +looked LOVELY. Fanny Elsler danced also _very well_. We saw the whole +of the 1st act and half of the second. It was Laporte’s benefit. I +was VERY MUCH AMUSED. We came home at ½ past 1. I was soon in bed and +asleep.... + +_Monday, 1st July._—I awoke at ½ past 4 and got up at a ¼ past 5. At a +¼ past 6 we all breakfasted. At 7 o’clock we left Kensington Palace, +Sir John going in a post-chaise before us, then our post-chaise, then +Lehzen’s landau, then my Cousins’ carriage, then Charles’s, then Lady +Conroy’s, and then our maids’. It is a lovely morning. 5 minutes past +8—we have just changed horses at Esher. Lynedoch Gardiner[128] brought +us a basket full of beautiful flowers. 10 o’clock; we have just changed +horses at Guildford. POOR DEAR LITTLE Dashy could not go with us as he +was not quite well, so he is gone with Mason with the horses. 4 minutes +past 1; we have just left Liphook where we took our luncheon. 5 minutes +to 2, we have just changed horses at Petersfield. 5 minutes to 3, we +have just changed horses at Horndean. At 4 we arrived at Portsmouth. +The streets were lined with soldiers, and Sir Colin Campbell[129] rode +by the carriage. Sir Thomas Williams,[130] the Admiral, took us in his +barge, on board the _dear Emerald_. The Admiral presented some of +the officers to us. We stayed about ½ an hour waiting for the baggage +to be put on board the steamer, which was to tow us. We then set off +and arrived at Cowes at about 7. We were most civilly received. Cowes +Castle, the yacht-club, yachts, &c., &c., saluting us. We saw Lord +Durham[131] who is staying at Cowes. We drove up in a fly to Norris +Castle, where we lodged two years ago, and where we are again living. +My cousins and my brother were _delighted_ with it. At about ½ past 7 +we all dined. Lady Conroy and her family went to their cottage after +dinner.... + +_Monday, 8th July._—At about 10 we went on board the _Emerald_ with +Alexander, Ernst, Lady Charlotte, Lady Conroy, Jane, Victoire, Sir +John and Henry. We were towed up to Southampton by the _Medina_ +steam-packet. It rained several times very hard, and we were obliged +to go down into the cabin very often. When we arrived at Southampton, +Mamma received an address on board from the Corporation. We then got +into the barge and rowed up to the new pier. The crowd was tremendous. +We went into a tent erected on the pier, and I was very much frightened +for fear my cousins and the rest of our party should get knocked about; +however they at last got in. We then got into our barge and went on +board the _Emerald_ where we took our luncheon. We stayed a little +while to see the regatta, which was going on, and then sailed home. It +was a very wet afternoon. We came home at ½ past 5. At 7 we dined. Lady +Conroy, Jane, Victoire, Sir John, and Henry dined here.... + +_Friday, 12th July._—I awoke at 6 and got up at ½ past 6. At 7 we +breakfasted. It was a _sad_ breakfast, for us indeed, as my dear +cousins were going so soon. At about a ¼ to 8 we walked down our +pier with them and there took leave of them, which made us both VERY +UNHAPPY. 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. They talked about _such interesting things_, +about their Turkish Campaign, about Russia, &c., &c. We shall miss +them at _breakfast_, at _luncheon_, at _dinner_, _riding_, _sailing_, +_driving_, _walking_, in _fact everywhere_. + +About two hours after my cousins had gone, Mamma received the +distressing news that my cousins’ father, the Duke Alexander of +Würtemberg,[132] who had been ill for some time, was dead. I was +extremely sorry for them. Mamma immediately dispatched an estafette +after them to Dover with the news. At 1 we lunched. It was a dull +luncheon. At 4 we went out riding with Lady Charlotte, Lady Conroy, +Jane, Victoire, Sir John and Henry. Victoire rode Alice, and Lehzen +Isabel. The ride would have appeared to me much pleasanter had +Alexander and Ernst been there. We came home at 6. We heard from a +servant of ours, who had crossed over with them to Portsmouth, that +they had had a very quick and good passage and that they had not been +at all sick. At 7 we dined. Lady Conroy, Jane, Victoire, Sir John, +Edward, and Henry dined here. Here again they were missing.... + +_Thursday, 18th July._—At a ¼ to 10 we went on board the _Emerald_ with +Lady Charlotte, Lady Conroy, Jane, Victoire, Lehzen, and Sir John, +and were towed by the _Messenger_ steam-packet up to Portsmouth. We +then got into the Admiral’s barge, and landed in the docks. We then +saw from an elevation, the launch of the _Racer_, a sloop of war. We +then re-entered the Admiral’s barge and went to the _Victory_, his +flag-ship. We there received the salute on board. We saw the spot where +Nelson fell, and which is covered up with a brazen plate and his motto +is inscribed on it, “Every Englishman is expected to do his duty.” We +went down as low as the tanks, and there tasted the water which had +been in there for two years, and which was excellent. We also saw the +place where Nelson died. The whole ship is remarkable for its neatness +and order. We tasted some of the men’s beef and potatoes, which were +excellent, and likewise some grog. The company consisted of Lady +Williams, the Admiral’s lady, Sir Graham and Lady Moore,[133] Mr. and +Mrs. Ricardo, Sir Frederick and Lady Maitland,[134] etc., etc. We then +partook of a luncheon at the Admiral’s House and then returned on board +the _Emerald_. We got home by 5. We both wished so much that _dear_ +Alexander and _dear_ Ernest had been there, I think it would have +amused them.... + +_Friday, 2nd August._—I awoke at about a ¼ to 6 and got up at ½ +past 7. At ½ past 8 we all breakfasted. We then saw several ladies +and gentlemen. At about ½ past 9 we went on board the _dear little +Emerald_. We were to be towed up to Plymouth. Mamma and Lehzen were +very sick, and I was sick for about ½ an hour. At 1 I had a hot +mutton chop on deck. We passed Dartmouth. At about 4 we approached +Plymouth Harbour. It is a magnificent place and the breakwater is +wonderful indeed. You pass Mount Edgecumbe, the seat of Lord Mount +Edgecumbe.[135] It is beautifully situated. The Admiral, Sir William +Hargood,[136] Captain Falkland his flag-captain, and Mr. Yorke[137] +came on board. Captain Brown, who is on board the _Caledonia_, and +Captain Macay, on board the _Revenge_, also came on board. As we +entered the harbour, our dear little _Emerald_ ran foul of a hulk, her +mast broke and we were in the _greatest danger_. Thank God! the mast +did not fall and no one was hurt. But I was _dreadfully_ frightened +for _Mamma_ and for _all_. The poor dear _Emerald_ is very much hurt +I fear. Saunders was not at all in fault; he saved us by pulling the +rope which fixed us to the steamer. We arrived at Plymouth at 5. It is +a beautiful town and we were very well received. _Sweet Dash_ was under +Saunders’s arm the whole time, but he never let him drop in all the +danger. At 7 we dined. The hotel is very fine indeed. After dinner Sir +John saw Saunders, who said that the mast of the _Emerald_ was broken +in two places, and that we had had the _narrowest escape possible_; +but that she would be repaired and ready for us to go back in her on +Tuesday. + +_Saturday, 3rd August._—At 10 came Sir John Cameron,[138] the Governor, +and his officers. At ½ past 10 came Sir William Hargood and his +officers and captains. Soon after came Lord Hill, who is over here to +inspect the troops, and Sir John Macdonald,[139] Sir Richard Jackson, +and Captain Hill. At ½ past 11 Mamma received an address from the +Mayor and Corporation of Plymouth, downstairs in a large room full of +people. At 12 we went with all our own party to a review of the 89th, +the 22nd, and the 84th regiments. Mamma made a speech, and I then gave +the colours to the 89th regiment. The names of the two Ensigns to whom +I gave the colours are Miles and Egerton. We then saw them march by in +line. We then went to the Admiral’s house where we had our luncheon, +and then proceeded to the docks. We went in the Admiral’s barge on +board the Admiral’s flag-ship, the _St. Joseph_, taken by Lord Nelson +from the Spanish, in the battle of St. Vincent. We received a salute on +board. She is a magnificent vessel of 120 guns. We saw her lower decks +and cabins, which are extremely light, airy, roomy and clean. We then +returned in the Admiral’s barge, rowed round the _Caledonia_ 120 guns, +and the _Revenge_ 76 guns. We landed at the Dockyard and went home. At +7 we dined.... + +End of my third Journal-book. Norris Castle, August 11th, 1833.... + +_Monday, 16th September._—At 10 we went on board the _Emerald_ with +Lady Catherine, Lady Conroy, Jane, Lehzen, Victoire, and Sir John, +and sailed to Portsmouth, where we were going to pay a visit to their +Majesties the Queen of Portugal[140] and the Duchess of Braganza (her +step-mother). We got there at ½ past 11. We entered the Admiral’s +barge with Lady Catherine, Lady Conroy, Lehzen, and Sir John, and were +rowed ashore. We landed at the stairs in the dockyard. Mamma and I got +into a close carriage, and our ladies followed in an open carriage. +The whole way from the dock-yard to the Admiral’s house, where their +Majesties reside, was lined with troops and various bands were placed +at different distances. We were received at the door by the gentlemen +and ladies of the court. Inside the hall we were met by the Queen and +the Duchess. The Queen led Mamma, and the Duchess followed leading +me into the room. The Queen was in England 4 years ago; she is only +a month older than I am and is very kind to me. She was then already +very tall for her age, but had a very beautiful figure; she is grown +very tall but also very stout. She has a beautiful complexion, and is +very sweet and friendly. She wore her hair in two large curls in front +and a thick fine plait turned up behind. The Empress (or Duchess as +she is now called) was never before in England. She is only 21 and is +very pleasing. She has beautiful blue eyes, and has a fine tall figure. +She has black hair and wore ringlets in front and a plait behind. She +was simply dressed in a grey watered moire trimmed with blonde. Their +Majesties arrived at Portsmouth from Havre on the morning of the 8th +of September; and proceeded to Windsor on the 10th, on a visit to the +King and Queen, from whence they returned last Saturday, and they +intend leaving Portsmouth to-day at 2 o’clock for Lisbon. The Queen and +Duchess having desired us to sit down, talked some time with us. The +Duchess then went and fetched her little girl, a child of 21 months +old. We soon after went, the Queen leading Mamma and the Duchess me in +the same manner as before. We returned in the same way. We lunched on +board the _Emerald_ and then were towed by the _Messenger_ home. We +came home at 3.... + +_Monday, 14th October._— ... Ferdinand the 7th of Spain[141] died +on the 29th of September, and his young and lovely Queen Christina +instantly became Regent for the infant Queen Isabella the 2nd, her +daughter, and who is only 3 years old. The Queen has a powerful enemy +in Don Carlos and his wife, but she is very courageous and very clever. +It is a singular coincidence that there should be a young Queen in +Spain as well as in Portugal. At 7 we 4 dined. I stayed up till 9.... + +_Monday, 9th December._—At 5 we dined. Sir John dined here. At ½ past +6 we went to the play to Drury Lane with Lady Conroy, Lehzen, and +Sir John. It was Shakespear’s tragedy of _King John_. The principal +characters were: King John, Mr. Macready,[142] who acted _beautifully_; +Prince Arthur, Miss Poole, who acted delightfully; Hubert, Mr. Bennett +who acted well; Faulconbridge, Mr. Cooper, who also acted well; Philip +King of France, Mr. Diddear; Louis the Dauphin, Mr. Brendal; Archduke +of Austria, Mr. Thompson; Queen Elinor, Mrs. Faucit[143]; the Lady +Constance, Mrs. Sloman; Blanche of Castile, Miss Murray. The second +piece was the melo-drama of _The Innkeeper’s Daughter_, which is very +horrible but _extremely interesting_, but it would take me too much +time to relate the story of it. The characters were: Richard, Mr. +Cooper, who acted _very well_; Frankland, Mr. Ayliffe; Monkton, Mr. +Thompson; Langley, Mr. Tayleure; Harrop, Mr. Webster,[144] who looked +_horrid_ but acted well; he was one of the leading characters in +the play; Edward Harrop, Mr. Richardson; Wentworth, Mr. Baker; Hans +Ketzler, Mr. T. P. Cooke, who acted very well; Tricksey, Mr. Hughes; +William, Mr. Howell; White, Mr. East; Smith, Mr. Henry; Allsop, Mr. S. +Jones; Mary, Miss Kelly,[145] who acted _quite beautifully_; she is +quite mature. Marian, Mrs. Broad. We came to the very beginning and +stayed to the very end. We came home at 10 minutes past 12. I was VERY +MUCH AMUSED.... + +_Thursday, 26th December._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At 9 we +breakfasted. At 1 we lunched. At ½ past 2 came Captain Burnes who +has lately travelled over Northern East India. He gave us some very +interesting accounts. He likewise brought with him to show us, his +servant, a native of Cabul, dressed in his native dress. He is called +Gulam Hussein; is of a dark olive complexion and had a dress of real +Cashmere made in the beautiful valley of Cashmere. + +_Friday, 27th December._—At ½ past 2 came Mr. T. Griffiths to lecture +on Physics. The plan of the lecture was: Introductory—Objects of +Alchymy, viz. Transmutation of Metals, the Elixir of Life, and the +Universal Solvent;—Objects of Chemistry, viz. the investigation of +every substance in nature—Chemistry a science of experiment—Results of +chemical action—Arts and Manufactures dependent on chemistry—Importance +of Heat as a chemical agent—Its action on various substances—Conductors +and Non-conductors of Heat—Nature of Flame. All these different +subjects were illustrated by very curious and interesting experiments. +It was over at ½ past 3. Lehzen, Lady Conroy, Victoire, the Dean, and +Sir John were likewise present. I was _very much amused_.... + +_Monday, 30th December._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At 9 we +breakfasted. At 1 we lunched. At ½ past 2 came Mr. Walker to +lecture. The plan of the lecture was: Properties of Matter—Particles +infinitely small, divisible, and hard—Cohesion—Capillary attraction, +Magnetic attraction, &c., &c.—Repulsion exhibited in various ways, +as counteracting the preceding influences—Recapitulation—Mechanics: +Gravity considered, its effects on descending and projected +bodies—National weights and measures—Vis inertia, momentum, +what—Mechanical Powers, explained by various machines, applications, +&c. &c.—Draft of horses—Defect of wheel carriages, road, &c. pointed +out—Some improvements suggested—Removal of Great Stone of St. +Petersburg. The lecture lasted till a ¼ to 4. Lehzen, Lady Conroy, +the Dean, and Sir John were present besides ourselves. At a ¼ to 7 we +dined. Sir John dined here. At a ¼ past 8 we went with Lehzen, Lady +Conroy, and Sir John to the play to Covent Garden. We came in for the +last scene of _Gustavus_, the Masqued Ball, and stayed the whole of +the pantomime, which is called “_Old Mother Hubbard and her Dog; or +Harlequin and Tales of the Nursery_.” The scenery was very pretty and +the principal characters were: Venus, Miss Lee; Cupid, Miss Poole who +appeared in three other dresses: as a peasant boy, as a drummer, and +as Mother Hubbard, and she looked _very_ pretty and acted very well +indeed. Old Mother Hubbard, Mr. Wieland; Schock (her dog), Master +W. Mitchinson. The Duchess Griffinwinkle Blowsabella (afterwards +Pantaloon), Mr. Barnes. King Rundytundy O (afterwards Dandy Lover), +Mr. W. H. Payne. The Princess Graciosa (afterwards Columbine), a very +pretty person, Miss Foster. Prince Percineth (afterwards Harlequin) Mr. +Ellar. Head Cook (afterwards Clown) Mr. T. Mathews. The panorama at the +end was also pretty. + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER III + + The year 1834 was spent very quietly by Princess Victoria. Her + education progressed in simple and placid grooves, but her visits + to the opera and the theatre became more frequent. She became + devoted to Italian opera, and formed an attachment to music of the + Italian school from which even Prince Albert, steeped as he was in + German music, never contrived to wean her. She accepted then, and + ever afterwards, Giulia Grisi as the supreme singer and artist. + From the month of June, when she was present at a Festival in + Westminster Abbey, to the end of the autumn, she devoted herself, + at St. Leonards and at Tunbridge Wells, to the study of music and + singing and to practising upon the harp. + + This year the Whig Ministry of Lord Grey tottered and fell. In July + King William, much to the surprise of politicians on both sides, + entrusted Lord Melbourne with the formation of a Government. The + King wanted a coalition and made a tentative effort to achieve it, + but he did not succeed in obtaining the co-operation of either + Party. It was not anticipated that Lord Melbourne’s Government + could last. In the month of November Lord Spencer died, and Lord + Althorp, his son, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer, seized with + unrestrained delight the opportunity to retire from public life. + Lord Melbourne thereupon resigned, and Sir Robert Peel, returning + hurriedly from Rome, formed an administration likewise destined to + be short-lived. + + If King William had some difficulty in finding a stable Ministry, + his brother-monarch across the Channel was in no better plight. + The Parliamentary difficulties in France reached a stage of such + complexity, that it looked for a moment as if the French monarchy + itself might succumb to the vehemence of political and partisan + strife. The Citizen-King found it necessary to employ 100,000 + troops to keep in awe the three cities of Paris, Marseilles, and + Lyons. At this moment died Lafayette, one of the last links between + the opening and concluding discords of the French Revolution. It + was during this year that two foreigners of eminence, long resident + in England, finally disappeared from London society. Princess + Lieven left the Russian, and Talleyrand the French Embassy. + + This year, too, saw the destruction, by fire, of the old Houses + of Parliament, associated with so many historic memories. None of + these events, however, caused a ripple upon the surface of the + little Princess’s secluded life at Kensington. + + + CHAPTER III + + 1834 + +_Thursday, 16th January._—About a fortnight or three weeks ago I +received the Order of Maria Louisa, accompanied by a very flattering +letter from Her Majesty the Queen Regent of Spain, in the name of her +daughter Queen Isabel the 2nd. Having some time ago asked for the +handwriting of Her Majesty for my collection, the Queen hearing of it, +sent me the Order accompanied by a very gracious letter. The Order is a +violet and white ribbon, to which is suspended (en négligé) an enamel +sort of star, and in high dress one superbly studded with diamonds.[146] + +_Sunday, 13th April._—At 10 we went to prayers with Lady Theresa[147] +and Lehzen. The service was performed by the Dean, who gave us likewise +a very good sermon. It was taken from the 3rd chapter of Acts, 23rd +verse: “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, a Prophet shall the Lord +your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye +hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come +to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be +destroyed from among the people.” At 1 we lunched. At 7 we 3 and Lady +Theresa also dined. After dinner came Aunt Sophia. I stayed up till a ¼ +to 9. + +_Monday, 14th April._—I awoke at 7 and got up at ½ past 7. At ½ past 8 +we all breakfasted. As I am now about to return to my usual studies, I +must not omit to mention how very anxious my dear Mamma was throughout +my indisposition, and how unceasing _dear_ Lehzen was in her attentions +and care to me.... + +_Saturday, 19th April._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At 9 we +breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till ½ past 10. At 12 we +went out walking. At 1 we lunched. At ½ past 2 came the Duchess of +Northumberland. At 3 came Lady Robert Grosvenor[148] with her little +girl Victoria. She is a dear little child, so clever and intelligent. +At 4 came Mrs. Anderson till 5. At 6 we dined. At a ¼ past 7 we went +with Lady Conroy, Lehzen and Sir John to the Opera. We came in just at +the beginning of the Opera of _Anna Boulena_. The characters were: Anna +Boulena, Mdlle. Guiletta Grisi.[149] She is a most beautiful singer and +actress and is likewise very young and pretty. She sang _beautifully_ +throughout but particularly in the last scene when she is mad, which +she _acted_ likewise _beautifully_. Giovanna Seymour, Mrs. E. Seguin, +who sings very well. Enrico, Signor Tambourini, who sang beautifully. +Ricardo Percy, M. Ivanhoff, who sings very well. He has a very +pleasing though not a very strong voice. Between the acts there was a +divertissement, in which Mdlle. Theresa Elsler danced a pas de deux +with Mons. T. Guerinot, and Mdlle. Fanny Elsler with M. Perrot. Mdlle. +Fanny danced beautifully; she ran up the stage on the tips of her toes +in a most extraordinary manner. She likewise made many other pretty +little steps. M. Perrot (whom I had never seen before) danced likewise +quite beautifully. We went away as soon as the 2nd act of the opera was +over. We came home at 12. I was VERY MUCH AMUSED INDEED!... + +_Saturday, 26th April._—I awoke at 7 and got up at a ¼ to 8. At 9 +we breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till 11. The Duchess of +Northumberland was present. At 12 we went to pay a visit to Aunt +Gloucester. At 1 we lunched. At 3 came Mr. Steward till 4. At 4 came +Mrs. Anderson till 5. At 6 we dined. Sir John dined here. At a ¼ past 7 +we went with Lehzen and Sir John to the Opera. We came in just at the +beginning of the opera of _Otello_. The characters were: Otello, Signor +Rubini who sang quite beautifully and acted very well. Iago, Signor +Tambourini who sung likewise _beautifully_. Rodrigo, M. Ivanhoff who +sung _very well_.——Signor Zuchello. Desdemona, Signora Giuletta Grisi. +She _sang_ and _acted_ quite beautifully! and looked lovely. She acted +and sang _most sweetly and beautifully_ in the last scene; and also in +the two trios in the 1st and 2nd acts. When the opera was over she was +called for, and she came on, led by Rubini. At that moment a wreath of +roses with a small roll of paper inside was thrown on the stage; Rubini +picked it up and placed it on her head. They were very much applauded. +We came away directly after the opera. Lord Ilchester[150] and Lady +Theresa joined us there. We came home at a ¼ to 12. I was VERY MUCH +AMUSED INDEED!!!... + +_Monday, 28th April._—I awoke at 7 and got up at a ¼ to 8. At a ¼ to 9 +we breakfasted. At ½ past 9 came the Dean till a ¼ past 11. The Duchess +of Northumberland was present. At 12 Lehzen and I drove out. At 1 we +lunched. At 3 came Mr. Steward till 4. I then went to the painting +room. At 7 we dined. After dinner while we were playing on the piano, +arrived Uncle Ferdinand[151] and Charles.[152] Uncle Ferdinand is +Mamma’s second brother and she had not seen him for _16 years_! I have +now seen all my uncles, except Uncle Mensdorff[153] (Aunt Sophie’s +husband), for Mamma’s eldest brother, Uncle Ernest,[154] was here 3 +years ago, the same year Uncle Leopold went to Belgium. Charles is +looking very well and is grown much fatter. Uncle Ferdinand is not at +all like my other Uncles. He is fair. It is a great pleasure for me to +see both Uncle Ferdinand and Charles. I stayed up till 9.... + +_Thursday, 5th June._—At 11 arrived my DEAREST sister Feodora whom I +had not seen for _6 years_. She is accompanied by Ernest, her husband, +and her two eldest children Charles and Eliza. Dear Feodora looks very +well but is grown much stouter since I saw her. She was married on the +18th of February 1828 and went away to Germany a week after and she +never came here again since. Hohenlohe looks also very well. As for +the children they are the DEAREST little loves I ever saw. Charles is +4 years and a half old. He is very tall and is a sweet good-tempered +little fellow. He is not handsome but he is a very nice-looking boy. +He has light blue eyes and fair hair. Eliza is 3 years and a half +old; she is also very tall and is a _perfect_ little beauty. She +has immense dark brown eyes and a very small mouth and light brown +hair. She is very clever and amusing. We then showed her their rooms, +and afterwards, at ½ past 12, we went to see the dear children take +their dinner. They took it with Mr. Rol, Charles’s tutor. At 1 we all +lunched, that is to say, Mamma, dear Feodore, Ernst Hohenlohe, Charly, +Lehzen, and I. After luncheon, Feodore and the others went upstairs. At +2 Charles and Eliza came down and stayed with us alone. They are _dear +sweet_ children; not at all shy and _so_ good; they never hurt or spoil +anything. At a little after 2 came Lady Westminster.[155] The _dear_ +children behaved _so_ well. They are so very sensible. They staid till +after 3. Eliza speaks German and French very nicely. She has a French +Swiss bonne called Louise who speaks French with her. At ½ past 4 we +went out driving with _dear_ Feodore and Lehzen. We came home at 6. At +7 we dined. Besides dearest Feodore, Ernest, Charles and Lehzen, Sir J. +Conroy dined here. When the 2nd course was put on, Charles and Eliza +came in, and staid there. They were very funny and amusing and talked +immensely. They staid up till ½ past 8. At ½ past 9 we went to +the Opera with Ernst Hohenlohe, Charles, Lehzen, and Sir John Conroy, +poor _dear_ Feodora being too tired to go. We came in at about the +middle of the 2nd act of Rossini’s Opera of _L’Assiedo di Corrinto_. +It is in 3 acts. The principal characters are: Mahomet (Emperor of +the Turks), Signor Tamburini, who sang beautifully and looked _very +well_. Cleomene (Governor of Corrinto), Mons. Ivanoff who likewise sang +very well. Nioclene, Signor Rubini who also sang quite beautifully. +Pamira, Mdlle. Giuletta Grisi, who sang quite beautifully and acted +and looked _extremely well_. It was Laporte’s benefit, and the first +time this opera was ever performed in this country. Then followed the +2nd act of _La Sylphide_ in which Taglioni made her first appearance +since an absence of some months. She danced quite beautifully, quite +as if she flew in the air, so gracefully and lightly. She looked also +very well. There was also a Pas de Trois danced by Mdlles. Theresa and +Fanny Elsler and Mons. Theodore. Mdlle. Fanny danced _beautifully_. We +came home at 10 minutes to 1. There is only one thing wanting to my +happiness in being with my dear sister and her children, that is that I +cannot share that happiness with one whom I love so very dearly but who +is far far away—that is my _most dear_ Uncle Ferdinand.... + +[Illustration: _H.S.H. Princess Adelaide of Hohenlohe-Langenburg from a + portrait by Gutekunst_] + +_Wednesday, 11th June._—_Dear_ little Eliza and Charles came down to +breakfast. Eliza came into my room and staid with me for some time. +She is a dear good little girl. At 1 we lunched. Eliza came again +into my room and staid with me for nearly an hour. At 3 we went with +Lady Flora Hastings[156] and Lehzen to Windsor on a visit to their +Majesties. We were very sorry to leave the dear children. At a ¼ +past 5 we arrived at Windsor. The Queen, _dear_ Feodore, Ernest and +several ladies and gentlemen of the court, received us at the door +and conducted us upstairs to the Queen’s room, where the King was. I +was very happy to see my _dear_ sister again. Some time afterwards +the Queen conducted us to our rooms which are very handsome. At 7 we +dined. Besides the King and Queen, Feodore and Ernest, Mamma and I, +Lady Flora and Lehzen, there dined there: George Cambridge, the Duke +and Duchess of Richmond,[157] the Duchess of Northumberland, the Duke +of Grafton,[158] the Duke of Dorset,[159] the Duke of Cleveland,[160] +the Marquis and Marchioness of Conyngham,[161] Lady Clinton (Lady of +the Bedchamber in Waiting), Lord and Lady Frederick Fitzclarence,[162] +Lord Denbigh,[163] Lady Sophia Sidney,[164] Miss Eden,[165] Miss Hope +Johnston, Miss Wilson, Lord Albemarle,[166] Sir Frederick Watson, +Colonel Lygon,[167] Mr. Wood,[168] &c., &c. The Queen went first with +Ernest, then came the King who led Mamma and I in, and then came +Feodore with the Duke of Richmond. The rest I do not recollect. I sat +between the King and the Duke of Dorset. I stayed up till ½ past 9. + +_Thursday, 12th June._—I awoke at 7 and got up at a ¼ to 8. At ½ past +9 we breakfasted, with the King, the Queen, Feodore, Ernest, George +Cambridge, the Duchess of Northumberland, and Lady Clinton. All the +other ladies breakfasted together. We then went into the Queen’s room. +At a ¼ past 12 we went to Ascot Races with the whole company in 9 +carriages. In the first went the King, the Queen, Mamma and I. In the +second Feodore, the Duchess of Richmond, the Duchess of Northumberland +and Lady Clinton. In the third Lady Flora, Lady Sophia Sydney, the Duke +of Richmond, and the Duke of Cleveland. In the fourth Lehzen, Miss +Hope Johnston, the Duke of Grafton, and the Duke of Dorset. How all the +others went I do not know. At about 1 we arrived on the race course and +entered the King’s stand with all our party. The races were very good +and there was an immense concourse of people there of all ranks. At +about ½ past 2 we had luncheon. At a little after 6 we left the stand +and returned to the castle in the same way as we came except that, as +it rained very hard, we came home in shut carriages. At 7 we arrived at +the castle. At ½ past 7 we dined. The company at dinner were the same +as yesterday with the exception of Lord and Lady Conyngham not dining +here, and a few other gentlemen having dined here. We went in in the +same way. I sat between the King and the Duke of Cleveland. I stayed up +till a ¼ to 11. I was very much amused indeed at the races.... + +_Sunday, 27th July._—At 9 we breakfasted. How sad I felt at breakfast +not to see the door open and DEAR Feodore come in smiling and leading +her dear little girl; and not to get the accustomed morning kiss +from her. At 11 we went to the chapel with Lehzen, Lady Conroy, and +Victoire. The Bishop of London preached a very fine sermon. Victoire +Conroy stayed till ½ past 2. At 1 we lunched. I missed dear Feodore +here again terribly. I miss her so much to-day. She used to be with +me so much on Sunday always. We used to talk together so pleasantly. +Last Sunday afternoon she painted in my room. At ½ past 3 we went with +Lehzen to visit Aunt Gloucester, and then drove home through the park. +How dull that drive appeared to me without dear Feodore. We came home +at ½ past 5. At 7 we dined. After dinner came Aunt Sophia. We passed a +sad dull evening. I stayed up till a ¼ to 9.... + +_Sunday, 5th October._— ... The news were received a few days ago that +Dom Pedro, Regent of Portugal,[169] was dead. He expired on the 24th +instant, at the age of 35. His daughter, Donna Maria, the young Queen, +though only 15, is declared of age and able to govern by herself. The +lovely young Empress is left a widow at the age of 22 only. It is a sad +situation both for the young Queen and the poor Empress, in whom both I +take the greatest interest as I know them personally. I saw Dom Pedro +when he was in England about 3 years ago. At 11 we went to church. At 1 +we lunched. At ½ past 3 we went out driving with Lady Flora and Lehzen, +in the pony-carriage. We came home in the large carriage at 6. At 7 we +dined. Lady Conroy, Jane, Victoire, Sir J., Messrs. E., S., and H. C. +dined here. I stayed up till ½ past 9.... + +ST. LEONARDS, _Wednesday, 4th November_.—I said in my last journal +book that I would describe in this book all what passed yesterday. We +reached Battle Abbey at about a ¼ to 1. We were received at the door by +Lady Webster.[170] Battle Abbey was built by King William the Conqueror +and stands on the site where the famous battle of Hastings was fought. +The place is still preserved where Harold fell. She showed us first +into a large hall supposed to be the highest in England. There are +portraits of King Charles the 2nd, King William the 3rd, and Queen +Anne in it, &c. &c. There is also a very large picture of the battle of +Hastings. Some old suits of armour are also in the hall. We saw also +what were the cloisters now turned into a room. We saw the Beggars’ +Hall, a curious walk of the monks, and the garden. We lastly partook of +some refreshment in a very pretty room in which there was a picture of +the Emperor Napoleon, not full length, only to the waist; which is said +to be very like. The outside of the abbey is very fine too. We left it +again at ½ past 1. The tenants again accompanied us till Broadeslowe. +There some gentlemen from Hastings met us and accompanied us to St. +Leonards. We passed under an arch formed of laurels and decorated with +flowers and inscriptions. As soon as we passed the 2nd arch the Mayor +got out of his carriage and came to our door asking leave to precede +us in his carriage. An immense concourse of people walking with the +carriage. The mayor and aldermen preceding us in carriages as also +a band of music. Throughout Hastings the houses were decorated with +flowers, ribands and inscriptions, and arches of flowers and laurels. +Ladies and children waving handkerchiefs and laurels on the balconies +and at the windows. Cries of “Welcome, welcome, Royal visitors,” were +constantly heard. We reached Hastings at ½ past 2, and it was 4 o’clock +before we arrived at our house at St. Leonards. It was indeed a most +splendid reception. We stepped out on the balcony and were loudly +cheered. One sight was extremely pretty. Six fishermen in rough blue +jackets, red caps and coarse white aprons, preceded by a band, bore a +basket ornamented with flowers, full of fish as a present for us. We +found _dear_ Dashy in perfect health. Our house is very comfortable. +At 6 we dined. Lady Conroy, Jane, Victoire, Messrs. E., S., H., and Sir +J. C. dined here. After 8 the fireworks began and lasted till 9. They +were very fine. I stayed up till 9. + +_Thursday, 5th November._—I awoke this morning at 7 and got up at ½ +past 7. At 9 we breakfasted. At 12 Mamma received an address from the +Mayor, Corporation, and Inhabitants of Hastings and St. Leonards. After +1 we lunched. At 7 we dined. Lady Conroy, Jane, Victoire, Messrs. E., +S., and Sir J. C. dined here. + +_Tuesday, 11th November._— ... At ½ past 11 we went out driving in the +barouche with Lady Flora and Lehzen. We got out and walked and sent the +barouche home. We afterwards got into the close landau with a postilion +and horse in hand. As we came to the commencement of the town where a +seminary is to be built, the hand-horse kicked up and getting entangled +in the traces fell down, pulling the other with it; the horse with the +postilion however instantly recovered itself but the other remained on +the ground kicking and struggling most violently. Two gentlemen very +civilly came and held the horse’s head down while we all got out as +fast as possible. I called for poor dear little Dashy who was in the +rumble; Wood (our footman) took him down and I ran on with him in my +arms calling Mamma to follow, Lehzen and Lady Flora followed us also. +They then cut the traces, the horse still struggling violently. The +other horse which had been quite quiet, being frightened by the other’s +kicking, backed and fell over into a foundation pit, while Wood held +him, and he (Wood) with difficulty prevented himself from falling; the +horse recovering himself ran after us and we instantly ran behind a +low stone wall; but the horse went along the road, and a workman took +him and gave him to Wood. The other horse had ceased kicking and got +up. We ought to be _most grateful_ to Almighty God for His merciful +providence in thus preserving us, for it was a _very narrow escape_. +Both Wood and Bacleberry behaved very well indeed. The names of the two +gentlemen who held the horse’s head are Rev. Mr. Gould and Mr. Peckham +Micklethwaite.[171] The latter I am sorry to say was hurt, but not very +materially. The poor horse is cut from head to foot; but the other is +not at all hurt only very much frightened. We walked home.... + +_Sunday, 30th November._— ... We went to church with Lady Flora and +Lehzen. Mr. Randolph preached a most beautiful sermon. It was taken +from the 6th chapter of St. Paul’s 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians, 1st +and 2nd verses. “We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you +also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. For He saith, I +have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I +succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the +day of salvation.” At 1 we lunched. At 3 came Victoire Conroy till a ¼ +past 6. At 7 we dined. Jane, Victoire, Messrs. E., H., and Sir J. C. +dined here. + +_Tuesday, 2nd December._—I awoke at 7 and got up at ½ past 7. We +received this morning the news that my poor Uncle, the Duke of +Gloucester,[172] was dead. He expired on Sunday evening, the 30th of +November, 1834, at 20 minutes to 7. I am very sorry that we have lost +him as he was always a _most affectionate_ and _kind_ Uncle to me. Aunt +Mary, I hear, bears her loss wonderfully. Poor Aunt Sophia Matilda, +his only sister and who was excessively fond of him, is dreadfully +distressed at losing her only brother. But her piety will enable her to +bear this great loss. He was so kind to think of us the morning before +he died. Aunt S. Matilda told him that we had asked how he was, upon +which he answered, “Tell them that I say, God bless them, and that I +love them.” This kind message proved the quiet state of mind he was in. +He showed such piety, such peace and resignation, that that proved a +great comfort to his poor sister. He was in his 59th year.... + +_Tuesday, 23rd December._— ... I received from _dear_ Uncle Leopold +this morning some most interesting autographs which are: Louis Seize’s, +Marie Antoinette’s, Henri IV.’s, the Duke of Marlborough’s, the Empress +Maria Theresa’s and her husband’s, and Lafayette’s.... + +_Sunday, 28th December._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 20 minutes to +8. At 9 we breakfasted. At 11 we went to church with Lady Flora and +Lehzen. Mr. Randolph preached a very fine sermon. It was taken from the +1st chapter of St. Matthew, 21st verse: “And she shall bring forth a +Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people +from their sins.” At ½ past 1 we lunched. I forgot to mention that I +received this morning a very kind letter from dear Uncle Leopold, +accompanied by a beautiful shawl and the autographs of Louis XV., his +Queen, Marie Leczinska, and the Dauphin, father to Louis XVI. At ½ past +2 we went out with Lady Flora and Lehzen and came home after 3.... + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER IV + + The Princess attached importance to this year of her life. It + appeared to her that she benefited more fully by her lessons, + and began to realise their importance. About a month after her + birthday she was confirmed at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s, by the + Archbishop of Canterbury. She was impressed by the solemnity of + the occasion and frightened by the austerity of Archbishop Howley. + This year marked an epoch in ways other than spiritual. She was + allowed more freely to mix with her mother’s guests. Personages of + distinction were asked to meet her, and she had an opportunity of + seeing some of the more eminent of those who were to be her future + subjects, although she had scant opportunity of getting to know + them well. + + She went to Ascot this year in the Royal Procession, and then, + in the autumn, her mother arranged for her a Progress on the + lines of that which is recorded in her Journals of 1832. There + is nothing, however, to show that she was alive to the trend of + public events. The existence of Lord Melbourne’s second Ministry + was precarious. It was said that Lord Melbourne had against him the + King, the Church, the Bar, the Agricultural and Monied interest, + and a large minority in the House of Commons; whereas he only + had in his favour a small majority in the House of Commons, the + manufacturing towns, and a portion of the rabble. This was the Tory + analysis of the political situation in 1835. “Threatened men and + threatened Ministries enjoy a long life,” and Lord Melbourne’s was + no exception. + + The Princess was in frequent communication by letter with her + Uncle, King Leopold. He sent her many interesting autographs for + the collection she at that time was forming. They corresponded + about books. It was he who recommended her Sully’s _Memoirs_, + which, as her Journals show, she assiduously read, and he now + and then referred in admonitory terms to her future regal + responsibilities and duties. + + On one occasion he sent her an extract from a French Memoir + containing a severe criticism on the political character of Queen + Anne, to which she replied that as he had endeavoured to point out + to her what a Queen “ought not to be,” she hoped he would give her + some idea of what a Queen “ought to be.” Those who are familiar + with the character and disposition of King Leopold can imagine that + he responded willingly to the invitation. It was upon this note + that the year 1835 came to an end. + + + CHAPTER IV + + 1835 + +_Monday, 5th January._—I quite forgot to mention that on the morning +of the 20th of November a ship laden with either coal or chalk sank, +but all the crew came off safe. Lieutenant Gilley and five men put off +in a boat from the 3rd Martello Tower, in hopes of being able to save +some of the goods of the sunken ship. The sea was very high, the boat +slight and over-loaded, and they had scarcely left the shore when the +boat was upset and they were _all six drowned_! The poor sister of the +Lieutenant is residing here. Three of the poor men were married and +left their poor widows (all young) plunged in the greatest grief. The +body of Weeks, one of the married men and who had 3 children, was found +two days after, at Pevensey. The poor Lieutenant’s body was only found +last Sunday, the 28th December, quite near here; and one of the other +married men, called Conely, who had 4 children, was found the next +morning near Hastings; and Andrews, the last married man, who had only +been married a very short time, was found on Wednesday night, the 31st +December, in the same place. It was a great gratification to the poor +widows that their husbands’ bodies have been found. We saw two of them +at a distance the other day. They are all very decent-looking, tidy +and nice people. At a ¼ to 12 we went out walking with Lehzen till 1. +As we walked along by the towers we met Mrs. Weeks, one of the widows, +with her little girl. She had a widow-cap and bonnet on, and a Scotch +cloak. She looks as pale as death but has a mild sweet expression.... + +_Saturday, 24th January._—I awoke at 7 and got up at a ¼ past 8. At ½ +past 9 we breakfasted. At 10 came the Dean till 20 minutes to 11. It +was yesterday _15 years_ that it pleased God to take my _most beloved_ +Papa from us. Alas! _I_ was but 6 months when this affliction came upon +us; and I therefore never had the happiness to know him.... + +_Tuesday, 27th January._—I awoke at ½ past 7, got up at a ¼ past 8. At +½ past 9 we breakfasted. At 1 we lunched. I ought to have mentioned +that besides my lessons with the Dean (and also when my other masters +come) I have many occupations with Lehzen. And now, though we are +all in the bustle of packing, I am constantly employed by myself in +various ways; and I read French History to Lehzen, and one of Racine’s +tragedies with her in the afternoons which I delight in. I _love_ to be +_employed_; I _hate_ to be _idle_.... + +_Thursday, 29th January._—I awoke at ½ past 5 and got up at 7. At 8 +we all breakfasted. At a ¼ to 9 we left St. Leonards. Dear Lehzen, +Lady Flora, Lady Conroy &c. following in another carriage. All +our acquaintances were out to see us go (except Mr. and Lady Mary +Dundas).... For some reasons I am sorry we have left St. Leonards, +which are, the nice walks, the absence of fogs, and looking out of my +window and seeing the people walk on the esplanade, and seeing the sun +rise and set, which was quite beautiful. The rising began by the sky +being quite pink and blending softly into a bright blue, and the sun +rose by degrees from a little red streak to a ball of red copper. The +setting began by the whole horizon being orange, crimson and blue, and +the sun sunk down a ball of fiery gold dyeing the sands crimson. But +then again my reasons for _not_ being sorry to go are, my not sleeping +well there, my not having been well, and the roaring of the sea. We +changed horses first at Battle, then at Stony Crouch, then at Woodgate, +which was quite near _dear_ Tunbridge, then at Sevenoaks, and lastly at +Bromley. We reached Kensington Palace at 5. My room is very prettily +newly papered, newly furnished, and has a new carpet, and looks very +pretty indeed. Our bedroom also newly papered and furnished and looks +very nice and clean. Pedro and my dear little wax-bills came quite +safe. Dear Dashy was in our carriage and behaved like a darling.... + +_Monday, 6th April._—The melancholy news were received yesterday of the +death of the Prince Augustus, Duke of Leuchtenberg,[173] which happened +on the 28th of March. It is a _most lamentable_ and dreadful event. +His Royal Highness was in his 25th year, and in the flower of his age. +Young, amiable, good and well-meaning; for since his arrival at Lisbon +he had won the hearts of many by his affability and good-nature. He +caught a cold, which he neglected and it ended in the quinsy. It is +really quite dreadful for the poor young Queen, who is now left a widow +at the early age of 16! Her Majesty completed her 16th year on the 4th +of this month. It is likewise dreadful for his amiable and accomplished +sister the young Empress-widow, who is still in mourning for her +husband, Dom Pedro; and also dreadful for his mother, the Duchess of +Leuchtenberg. Not two months ago he was seen leading his young bride +from the altar, and now all that prospect of happiness is cut off!... + +_Saturday, 2nd May._— ... At 6 we dined. Lady Flora dined here. At +a ¼ past 7 we went to the opera with dear Lehzen and Lady Flora. It +was Rossini’s opera seria of _Otello_ in 3 acts. The characters were: +Desdemona, Mdlle. Grisi, who looked BEAUTIFUL and sung MOST EXQUISITELY +and acted BEAUTIFULLY. She personates the meek and ill-treated +Desdemona in a most _perfect_ and _touching_ manner. Elmiro (a Venetian +patrician and father to Desdemona), Signor Lablache who sang and acted +beautifully.... The finest parts are: the song which Otello sings in +the 1st scene of the 1st act, and which Rubini sang beautifully. The +duet between Iago and Roderigo in the 1st act which Tamburini and +Ivanoff sang beautifully together. The song which Desdemona sings +when she first comes on in the first act, which begins “Stanca di più +combattere,” and which Grisi sung _most exquisitely_! (It is not by +Rossini; it is composed expressly for Grisi by Marliani.) The Finale +to the 1st act which commences with that beautiful trio, “Ti parli +l’amore,” between Elmiro, Roderigo, and Desdemona, which Lablache, +Ivanoff and Grisi sang most beautifully. It was enchored. And when +Otello comes on and declares her to be his wife and Elmiro in his rage +exclaims: “Empia! ti maledico!” and which Lablache did in a manner +_most splendid_ while Desdemona falls at his feet. The Duet between +Iago and Otello in the 2nd act which Tamburini and Rubini sang most +beautifully. The duet between Roderigo and Otello which follows it and +which was likewise beautifully sung. When Desdemona enquires from the +people if Otello (who had fought with Roderigo) still lives, and when +she exclaims in delight: “Altro non chiede il cor,” and which Grisi +did in a most splendid manner; and when at the end of the 3rd act she +kneels before her father and says, “L’error d’un infelice pietoso in me +perdona: Se il padre m’abbandona, da chi sperar pieta?” which she did +in a most touching manner. The song in the 3rd act with the harp which +Grisi sung most _beautifully_, as also the prayer; and when Otello +comes on to stab her and she reproaches him exclaiming: “Uccidimi se +vuoi, perfido, ingrato”; which Grisi did in such a mild and pathetic +manner. He then stabs her and immediately afterwards himself. Grisi and +Rubini were called out and were loudly applauded. We came in before the +overture was begun and came away directly after the opera was over. It +is a beautiful opera and I like it much better than _Anna Boulena_.... + +_Wednesday, 6th May._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At a ¼ past 9 we +breakfasted. At 11 we set off with Lady Flora and Lehzen for Windsor +Castle, where we arrived at ½ past 1. At 2 we all lunched; that is +to say, besides the Queen, the Landgravine,[174] and us two,—the +Duchess of Northumberland, Lady Brownlow,[175] Lady Sophia Cust, +Lady De Lisle,[176] Lady Falkland,[177] Lady Flora, Lehzen, the +Baroness de Stein, Miss Mitchel, Miss Hudson, Lord Howe,[178] and Lord +Denbigh.[179] At ½ past 2 we went out walking with the Queen, the +Duchess of Northumberland, Lady Flora, Lady Sophia Cust, Lehzen, Miss +Mitchel and Miss Hudson, Lord Howe, Lord Denbigh, Lord Brownlow, and +Sir Andrew Bernard. We walked to Adelaide Cottage[180] and all got into +carriages except the gentlemen who rode. The Queen, Mamma, the Duchess +and I were in one carriage, and all the rest followed in others. We +came home at 6. At ½ past 7 we dined.... + +_Thursday, 7th May._— ... At 12 we went all over the Castle with the +King, the Queen, the Landgravine, the Duchess, Lady Brownlow, Lady +Flora, Lehzen, Miss Mitchel, Lord Howe, Lord Denbigh, Lord Brownlow, +and Sir Andrew Bernard.... + +_Friday, 8th May._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At ½ past 8 we +breakfasted. The Queen came and sat with us at breakfast. At ½ past 9 +we left Windsor with Lady Flora and Lehzen. I was very much pleased +there, as both my Uncle and Aunt are _so very kind_ to me.... + +_Monday, 18th May._— ... At 7 we 3 dined. ½ past 9 we went into the +first large room (as in the preceding parties) and received the company +(the list of which is adjoined). The singers which were Grisi, Rubini, +Ivanoff, Tamburini, Lablache,[181] and Costa[182] for the piano, had +just arrived. Our people were the same as the other day. When all the +company had arrived which was at ½ past 10, we all went into the other +room which was arranged with chairs all across the room for the people +to sit on. We were in the first row with Aunt Sophia and the Duchess +of Cambridge and quite close to the piano. Grisi is _quite beautiful_ +off the stage. She is not tall, and rather pale; and she has such +a lovely mild expression in her face. Her face and neck has such a +beautiful soft shape. She has such beautiful dark eyes with fine long +eyelashes, a fine nose, and very sweet mouth. She was dressed in a +white flowered silk, with blonde trimmings about the body and sleeves +which reached to the elbows. Her beautiful dark hair was as usual quite +flat in front with an amethyst bandeau round it, and a fine plait at +the very back of her head. She is very quiet, ladylike and unaffected +in her manners. I spoke to her, and she answered in a very pleasing +manner. She has a very pretty expression when she speaks. Rubini is +short and not good-looking. Ivanoff is also very short and has a very +singular Calmuck face. Tamburini is short but very good-looking and +gentlemanlike. Lablache does not look so tall off the stage as he +does on it, and is likewise very gentlemanlike. The concert began +with a trio from _L’Assiedo di Corrinto_, “Destin terribile”; Grisi, +Rubini and Ivanoff sang beautifully. Then Tamburini sang “Sorgete” +from _L’Assiedo_ beautifully. After this Lablache sang “Dove vai?” +from _Guillaume Tell_ beautifully. Then Grisi sang “Tanti affetti,” +an aria from the _Donna del Lago_, most beautifully. Her _lovely_ +voice sounds beautiful in a room. Lablache and Tamburini then sang “Il +rival salvar tu dei” most beautifully. It is from _I Puritani_. They +sing beautifully together. Their two fine voices go so well together. +Lablache’s voice is immensely powerful but not too much so (for my +taste), _even_ in a room. Tamburini’s too is most splendid. He is even +a more skilful and finished singer than Lablache. Then came a trio +“Allor che Scorre” from _Guillaume Tell_, between Rubini, Tamburini +and Lablache, which they sang likewise extremely well. This ended the +1st act. Near the end of the 1st act Mme. Malibran arrived. She was +dressed in white satin with a scarlet hat and feathers. She is shorter +than Grisi and _not near so pretty_. We went into the refreshment room +between the acts. We then sat down again and the 2nd act began with a +_most lovely_ polonaise, “Son Vergin vezzosa” from _I Puritani_, which +Grisi sang most exquisitely, accompanied by all the singers except +Malibran. Then Grisi and Tamburini sang “Che veggo oh Ciel,” from +_L’Assiedo_ most beautifully together. Malibran then sang a song by +Persiani very well. Her low notes are _beautiful_, but her high notes +are thick and not clear. _I_ like _Grisi by far better_ than her. +Then Grisi and Rubini sang a beautiful duet “Artuor dove sai” from _I +Puritani_ by Bellini, _beautifully_. His voice is delightful in a +room. It is so sweet and so full of expression. Malibran and Lablache +then sang a buffa duet “Con pazienza supportiamo,” by Fioravente, +beautifully. Lablache is _so_ funny and _so_ amusing. Lablache then +sang a Neapolitan air (a buffa song) of his own composition and +accompanying himself, _delightfully_. Then came a quartet “A te oh +caro!” from the _Puritani_, which Grisi, Rubini, Tamburini, and +Lablache sung beautifully. This ended the _most delightful concert I +ever heard_. Aunt Sophia, who had _never_ heard any of these singers +before, was delighted; but no one could be _more enchanted_ than _I_ +was. I shall never forget it. It was Mamma’s birthday present for me! +Costa accompanied on the piano beautifully. I stayed up till 20 minutes +past 1. I was MOST EXCEEDINGLY delighted.... + +_Sunday, 24th May._—Today is my 16TH birthday! How very old that +sounds; but I feel that the two years to come till I attain my 18th are +the most important of any almost. I now only begin to appreciate my +lessons, and hope from this time on, to make great progress. I awoke +at ½ past 6. Mamma got up soon after and gave me a lovely brooch made +of her own hair, a letter from herself, one from dearest Feodore with +a nosegay, and a drawing and a pair of slippers done by her. I gave +her a drawing I had done. Dear Lehzen gave me a lovely little leather +box with knives, pencils &c. in it, two small dictionaries and a very +pretty print of Mdlle. Taglioni. Mamma gave her a pair of amethyst +earrings and I gave her a penholder and a drawing done by myself. +My maids Frances and Caroline gave me a pincushion done by Frances +and a portefolio done by Caroline. Anne Mason (Lehzen’s maid) gave +a small flower vase with flowers. _Dashy_ gave an ivory basket with +barley-sugar and chocolate. At 9 we breakfasted. I then received my +table. From my DEAR Mamma I received a lovely enamel bracelet with her +hair, a pair of fine china vases, a lovely shawl and some English and +Italian books. From dearest Feodore a lovely enamel bracelet with hers +and the children’s hair; from Charles some pretty prints; from Späth +a very pretty case for handkerchiefs embroidered in silver; from Sir +Robert and Lady Gardiner a very pretty sort of china vase; from Sir +J. Conroy a writing-case; from the whole Conroy family some prints; +and from Mr. George Hayter a beautiful drawing done by him. I quite +forgot to say that I received a beautiful pair of sapphire and diamond +earrings from the King and a beautiful prayer-book and very kind letter +from the Queen. I also received a prayer-book from a bookseller of +the name of Hatchard. At 10 we went down to prayers with Lehzen and +Charles. The service was performed by the Dean who gave us likewise +a _very_ good sermon. It was taken from the 24th chapter of Joshua, +15th verse: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose ye +this day whom ye will serve; but as for me and my house we will serve +the Lord.” After church, I received a Bible from Sir F. Trench[183] +with a picture of Norris Castle painted on the margin; and also two +small oil pictures from an old Mrs. Pakenham, done by a Mr. King. I +also saw Mrs. Brock, Sarah (my former maid), and Mrs. Fletcher (our +former housekeeper). At a ¼ to 1 came Aunt Sophia who gave me with Aunt +Gloucester a very pretty diamond brooch. At 1 we lunched. At ½ past 2 +came the Duchess of Northumberland, who gave me a very fine fillagree +ornament in the shape of a flower, and another little fillagree +ornament from Miss Wynn. Lady Flora, who gave me a pretty paper-knife +and penholder of jasper from Arthur’s Seat, the rock which overhangs +Edinburgh. Lady Theresa, who gave me a small pocket-book of her own +work. Lady Catherine, who gave me a very fine velvet Music-book. +Lady Cust, who gave me a very fine japanned box. Sir G. Anson who +gave me a print; Sir Frederick Wetherall, who gave me a little china +scent-bottle. Lady Conroy, Jane, and Victoire. At 3 came the Duke of +Sussex, who gave me a gold bracelet with turquoises; and soon after +Lady Charlotte St. Maur who gave me a purse of her own work. At a ¼ +past 3 came the Landgravine who gave me a head-ornament of emeralds, +and Aunt Augusta, who gave me a chrisoprase bracelet. At 4 came the +Duchess of Cambridge,[184] who brought me a lovely turquoise bracelet +from Uncle Cambridge, and gave me a box with sandal-wood instruments in +it; Augusta who gave me a small turquoise ring; and George who gave me +an album with a drawing of his in it. At 20 minutes to 5 we drove out +with Lehzen and Charles. At 7 we dined, Lady Flora, Lady Conroy, Jane, +Victoire, Messrs E. and H., and Sir J. Conroy dined here. After dinner +came Aunt Sophia. Mdlle. David (sister to Mme. Dulcken) played on the +piano. I stayed up till ½ past 9. My _dear_ Mamma’s great present was +that delicious concert which I shall _never forget_.... + +_Tuesday, 9th June._—I awoke at ½ past 8 and got up soon after. At ½ +past 9 we breakfasted with the King, the Queen, Charles, the Duchess +of Northumberland, Lady Brownlow, Lady Catherine, and Lehzen. At ½ +past 10 we went with the whole party to Eton College to see Eton +Montem. In the first carriage were the King, the Duke of Cumberland, +the Duke of Cambridge, and George, who had all 3 just arrived; in +the 2nd, the Queen, Mamma, I, and Charles; in the 3rd, the Duke and +Duchess of Northumberland and Lady Brownlow; in the 4th Lord and Lady +Denbigh; in the 5th Lady Sophia Cust, Lady De Lisle, Miss Eden, and +Mr. Schiffner; in the 6th Lord and Lady Frederick Fitzclarence and +their daughter; in the 7th Lehzen, Miss Hudson, and Miss Wilson. All +the other gentlemen rode. This is as near as I can remember. We were +received by the Provost[185] and Dr. Hawtrey.[186] We then went into +the yard under a sort of veranda and saw all the boys pass by which was +a very pretty sight. Some of the costumes were very pretty. Some were +dressed like Greeks, some like archers, others like Scotchmen, &c. We +then went into the Provost’s house, and from thence saw the boy wave +the standard. We also saw the Library which is very curious and old. +Eton College was founded by King Henry the Sixth. We then re-entered +our carriages and drove to Salt Hill where we again saw the standard +waved by the boy. We then drove home. The heat the whole time was +TREMENDOUS. We came home at ½ past 1. At 2 we lunched with the King, +the Queen, the Dukes of Cumberland and Cambridge, George, the Duke +and Duchess of Northumberland, Lord and Lady Brownlow, Lady Denbigh, +Lady De Lisle, Lady Sophia Cust, Lady Frederick Fitzclarence, Lord +Howe, Lady Catherine, and Lehzen. At 4 we went out driving. The Queen, +Mamma, I and Charles were in the first carriage; the Duke and Duchess +of Northumberland and Lord and Lady Brownlow in the 2nd; Lord Denbigh +and Miss Eden in the 3rd; and Lady Catherine and Lehzen in the 4th. We +drove to the Virginia Waters. We went on the water there, and at a ¼ to +6 re-entered the carriages and reached home at 7. We went on the steps +before the Castle and saw all the boys and many other people walking +on the terrace. They cheered the King and Queen _very loudly_, and me +also. At 8 we dined. We went in to dinner in the same way as yesterday +and the dinner-party was the same, only that Lord and Lady Frederick +were not there. The Dukes of Cumberland and Cambridge and George had +left the Castle after luncheon. I stayed up till a ¼ past 10.... + +_Tuesday, 14th July._—At 11 came the Dean till 12. At 12 came Mr. +Westall till 1. At 1 we lunched. The Duchess of Northumberland was +present at the first lesson. At ½ past 2 I sat to Mr. Collen till ½ +past 3. At a ¼ to 4 came the Dean till a ¼ past 4. At 5 we went out +with Lehzen and came home at 6. At a ¼ to 7 we dined. Lady Theresa +dined here. At 8 we went to the opera with Lady Theresa and Lehzen. It +was the _dear Puritani_. Grisi was in perfect voice and sang and acted +beautifully; but I must say that she shows her many fatigues in her +face, and she is certainly much thinner than when she arrived. It is +a great pity too that she now wears her front hair so much lower than +she did. It is no improvement to her appearance, though (do what she +may) _spoil_ her face she _never_ can, it is too lovely for that. And +besides, she forgot to change her dress when she came on to sing the +Polacca. In general she comes on to sing that as a bride, attired in a +white satin dress with a wreath of white roses round her head; instead +of which she remained in her first dress (likewise very pretty) of +blue satin with a little sort of handkerchief at the back of her head. +Lablache, Tamburini and Rubini were also all 3 in high good voice. The +exquisite quartet “A te o cara” and the lovely Polacca “Son vergin +vezzosa” were both encored as was also the _splendid_ duet “Il rival.” +After the opera was over, Grisi, Rubini, Lablache, and Tamburini came +out and were loudly applauded. The two last always make a separate bow +to our box, which is very amusing to see. We came away immediately +after the opera was over, for the ballet is not worth seeing since La +Déesse de la Danse has flown back to Paris again. She appeared for the +last time on Saturday the 4th of this month. We came home at 10 minutes +to 12. I was _highly amused_ and _pleased_! We came in while Tamburini +was singing his song, which is just before the lovely duet between +Grisi and Lablache.... + +[Illustration: _H.S.H. Princess Sophia of Saxe-Coburg Countess + Mensdorff Pouilly_ + + _from a portrait by Dickinson_.] + +_Monday, 20th July._—I awoke at 7. Mamma told me this morning that +she had received the melancholy news last night of the death of my +dear Aunt Sophie, Countess Mensdorff,[187] who was here now nearly +two years ago. It is so sudden and unexpected that we were _very much +shocked_, _surprised_ and _distressed_ at the _sad_ news. My poor +dear Aunt had been for many years in very bad health, and when she +visited us she was unable to walk alone almost; but as we had not heard +that she was unwell even, it startled and shocked us very much. She +went from Prague, already very unwell, in spite of Uncle Mensdorff’s +efforts to prevent her, to visit her youngest son Arthur who was in his +garrison in a wretched little village in Bohemia, and it was there, +far from her relations (except Uncle Mensdorff and Arthur), without +any of the comforts which she was accustomed to, in a poor sort of +cottage, that she breathed her last! My poor dear Aunt, I feel this +loss _very_ deeply. The more so for having seen her here! At ½ past +9 we breakfasted. At 10 we walked out with Lehzen till ½ past 10. +The melancholy event happened on the 8th of this month! I feel the +loss of my dear Aunt _very deeply_! Though I should be equally sad at +losing her, had I _not_ known her, because all Mamma’s relations are +_dear_ to me; but having seen her, having lived with her in the +same house for more than a week, having been in her room and seen her +at her occupations, and having experienced her great kindness to me +personally, makes it more striking still, and makes me feel the weight +of the loss we have experienced more. At 1 we lunched. At 5 we drove +out in the country with Lehzen till 7. At ½ past 7 we dined. I stayed +up till a ¼ past 9. We passed a very sad evening.... + +_Thursday, 23rd July._— ... Mamma received this afternoon a letter from +Uncle Ernest enclosing the copy of one written by dear Uncle Mensdorff, +giving all the sad details about my poor _dear_ Aunt. I fear her +sufferings must have been very severe at first and during her illness; +but at the last she seems to have had no suffering, no struggle. Her +last moment was so quiet that Uncle Mensdorff thought she slept, and +when he rose at 4 o’clock in the morning, he was pleased to see her +sleep so quietly and said to his servant that he hoped the danger was +over. Alas! how different was it really! My Aunt’s maid went into the +room and perceiving she did not breathe, called my Uncle in, who then +saw the dreadful truth! She slept truly, but she slept never more to +wake! What dear Uncle’s feelings were at that moment, and what they +still are, may be well imagined! She has been placed temporarily in the +vault of the convent of the Elisabetherin Nuns, at Kaden in Bohemia. +The funeral was splendid. Thousands came from far and near and all her +former friends followed her to her last abode, where she will suffer no +more grief or pain! Two regiments with their bands playing the funereal +music followed and all the Nuns with burning tapers. They strewed the +coffin with flowers when it entered the convent, and ornamented the +vault in the same manner. It is a happiness to know that she was so +much beloved. My poor dear Aunt, I loved her _dearly_ and feel the loss +deeply. Time may weaken, but it can never never efface the recollection +of this loss. I shall always try to do what I can to please, and to +contribute to the happiness of _dear_ Uncle Mensdorff and my four +cousins. They say that a smile was imprinted on her countenance when +she died, and that she looked more friendly after her death than she +had done some time previous to it.... + +_Thursday, 30th July._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. I gave Mamma a +little pin and drawing done by me in recollection of today. I gave +Lehzen a ring, also in recollection of today. I forgot to say that +Mamma gave me 3 little books yesterday, two of which I have quite read +through and the third in part. They are _A Method of Preparation for +Confirmation_, by William Hale Hale; _An Address to the Candidates for +Confirmation_, by Dr. John Kaye, Bishop of Lincoln; and _An Address to +the Students of Eton College who are about to present themselves for +Confirmation in 1833_. They are all 3 very nice books. At a ¼ past 9 +we breakfasted. I forgot to say that dear Lehzen gave me 4 very pretty +prints of religious subjects. At ½ past 11 we went with Lady Flora, +Lehzen, the Dean &c. to St. James’s where I was to be confirmed. 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 crape 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. We went into +the King’s Closet with Lady Flora and Lehzen, where we were received +by the King and Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Aunt Sophia, +the Duke of Cumberland, the Duchess of Weimar,[188] the Duchess of +Northumberland, the Marquis of Conyngham, Earl Denbigh, Mr. Ashley, the +Duke of Northumberland &c., were also there. We then went with all into +the Royal Pew in the Chapel. The usual morning service was performed; +after which we all went down into the lower part of the Chapel. The +King went first leading me, the Queen followed leading Mamma, and all +the others followed after. I stood without the rail before the Altar, +between the King and my dear Mamma. The Queen and all the rest went +into pews on each side of the Altar. The Archbishop of Canterbury and +Bishop of London[189] stood on either side of the Altar. I took off my +bonnet. When the usual address had been read, I (as is usual for all to +do) replied “I do,” and then knelt down and received the benediction +from the Archbishop. The whole was performed by the Archbishop who +read also a very fine address to me, composed by him expressly for +the occasion. He did the whole very well, and I felt the whole _very +deeply_. My dear Mamma was very much affected by the whole. We went +away from the Altar in the same way as we came and then went into the +Closet again; where the King gave me a very handsome set of emeralds, +and the Queen a head-piece of the same kind. We then drove home. We +came home at a ¼ to 2. I was very much affected indeed when we came +home. My dear Mamma gave me a very lovely bracelet with her hair in +it, and a very pretty set of turquoises. She gave dear Lehzen a very +pretty bracelet. We received the joyful news this afternoon that my +dearest sister Feodore had been safely confined on the 20th instant +with a daughter[190] which is to be called Adelaide, Victoria, Mary, +Louisa, Amelia, Constance. I hope to God that both Mother and Child +will continue as well as they have hitherto been. At 6 we dined. At 7 +we drove out with Lehzen till ½ past 8. The heat continues intense! I +stayed up till ½ past 9.... + +_Sunday, 2nd August._—I awoke after 7 and got up at ½ past 8. At ½ +past 9 Lehzen and I breakfasted. At 11 we went to the Chapel with Lady +Flora and Lehzen. The Dean performed the service; and the Archbishop of +Canterbury preached a very fine sermon. The text was taken from the 5th +chapter of the 2nd epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, 10th verse: +“For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that every +one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath +done, whether it be good or bad.” After the sermon was over we took +the holy sacrament with Lady Flora, dear Lehzen, and Sir J. C. The +Archbishop and the Dean administered it to us. It was the first time +of taking it. It is a very solemn and impressive ceremony and when one +recollects and thinks that we take it in remembrance of the death of +our blessed Saviour, one _ought_, nay _must_ feel deeply impressed with +holy and pious feelings!... + +TUNBRIDGE WELLS, _Wednesday, 19th August_.—Today is my _poor dear_ Aunt +Sophie’s birthday.... I read to Lehzen out of Sully’s Memoirs. It is +wonderful when one considers how many years ago they have been written. +Upwards of 300 years, and how modern and pure the style is! His account +of the horrible massacre of St. Bartholomew is highly interesting as +coming from the pen of an eye-witness! I then played on the piano with +Mamma and by myself. At ½ past 12 we lunched. At 1 we went to the races +with Lady Flora, Lehzen, and Sir G. Anson. It was very amusing. The day +was beautiful and we sat under a sort of covering of cloth decorated +with flowers, in our carriage. The Manor Stakes were won by a chesnut +mare called Tirara belonging to a Mr. James Bacon. The Give-and-Take +plate as it was entitled, was won by Mr. John Bacon’s chesnut mare +Malibran, and the Kent and Sussex stakes was won by Mr. Pegg’s horse +Little-thought-of. Amongst the numbers of beggars, itinerary musicians, +actors etc. of all sorts and kinds, was a boy of 14 years old who +called himself the son of an actor Williamson, very poorly dressed, who +declaimed by heart a part of Marmion and of Campbell’s poems with great +feeling and talent. We came home at 5. At a ¼ past 7 we dined. When we +came home I played on the piano and wrote my journal. Lady, the Misses, +and M. S. Conroy, and Mr. Palmer dined here. After dinner came Mme. +Dulcken. I stayed up till a ¼ past 9.... + +_Sunday, 23rd August._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At a ¼ past 9 +we breakfasted. After breakfast I wrote my journal and some extracts +from the Peerage. At 11 we went with Lady Flora and Lehzen to church. +Mr. Pope officiated and preached a sermon. The text was from the 6th +chapter of St. Matthew, 10th verse: “Thy kingdom come.” It was not one +of his best sermons and it was not according to my liking. He can and +has preached some very fine sermons. At 1 we lunched. After luncheon +I wrote extracts again. Lehzen then read to me out of the Sketch-book +while I worked. At ½ past 4 we drove out with Lady Flora and Lehzen and +came home at 6. I then wrote my journal. At a ¼ past 7 we dined. Sir +George, Mr. and Miss Anson, Lady and the Misses and Mr. S. Conroy dined +here. After dinner I took up Mrs. Butler’s Journal[191] and read a +little in it. It certainly is 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.... + +_Tuesday, 25th August._— ... At ½ past 2 sat to M. Collen for my +picture till ½ past 3, while Lehzen read to me in Mme. de Sévigné’s +Letters. How truly elegant and natural her style is! It is so full of +naïveté, cleverness and grace. Then I played on the piano. At 4 we +walked out with Lady Flora and Lehzen and came home at 5 minutes to 5. +In our walk we met a man with beautiful parrots. Amongst them was one +dear little paroquet of a green colour with a pale brown head and so +very tame that Mamma took it on her finger and it would hardly leave +her. It talks also, the man says. It is not so remarkable for its fine +plumage than for its great tameness. Mamma bought the dear little +thing. It is now in Mamma’s room.... + +_Friday, 28th August._—At ½ past 11 came the Dean till 1. I read +first in the Old Testament, then in Clarendon, and finished with the +_Spectator_. At 1 we lunched. I read after luncheon in 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. I +have given up reading Smith’s _Theology_. It is more a book to refer to +than to read all through.... + +_Tuesday, 1st September._—I awoke at 7 and got up at ½ past 7. At ½ +past 8 we breakfasted. At ½ past 9 we left _dear_ Tunbridge Wells with +Lady Flora and Lehzen. I am _very_ sorry to leave the dear place. I am +so very fond of it. I liked Boyne House better a good deal than old +Mount Pleasant.... We changed horses first at Tunbridge Town, then at +Sevenoaks, and lastly at Bromley. We reached Kensington Palace at 2. At +a ¼ past 2 we lunched. Lady Flora went home after luncheon to her own +family. At 3 we went over to Aunt Sophia’s (all our carpets being taken +up), to receive the Duc de Nemours. Aunt Sophia of course was _not_ +present. The Duc de Nemours is nearly 21. That is to say His Royal +Highness will complete his 21st year on the 25th of October. He is Aunt +Louisa’s 2nd brother. He is tall, has a very fine slender figure, and +is extremely fair. He is good-looking but not so much so as his brother +the Duke of Orleans. The Duc de Nemours is extremely pleasing but +rather timid. He brought Mamma a letter from his Mother, the Queen of +the French, and a beautiful set of instruments made of French pebbles +for me, from her. I wrote my journal then. We then saw Lady Catherine +Jenkinson, and afterwards my Uncle Sussex. I then wrote my journal and +did various other things. At a ¼ past 7 we dined. Lord Liverpool and +Lady Catherine dined here. After dinner came Princess Sophia. I stayed +up till ½ past 9.... + +_Friday, 4th September._—I awoke at 7 and got up at ½ past 7. At ½ +past 8 we all breakfasted. At ½ past 9 we left Wansford. It is a very +nice clean Inn. We passed through Stamford, a large and populous town, +after having changed horses at Witham Common. We changed horses 2ndly +at Grantham, also a large town. These 3 are in Lincolnshire. 3rdly at +Newark, also a large town, and lastly at Scarthing Moor. The country +from Wansford to Scarthing Moor was like yesterday, extremely flat +and ugly. From Scarthing Moor to Barnby Moor, where we arrived at +5 o’clock, the country is rich and wooded, but very flat. This Inn +(Barnby Moor) is extremely clean and pretty. Newark, Scarthing Moor +and Barnby Moor are all in Nottinghamshire. I am struck by the number +of small villages in the counties which we passed through today, each +with their church. And what is likewise peculiar is, that the churches +have all steeples of a spiral shape. I read in the _Alhambra_ again +in the carriage. Finished the 1st vol. and began the 2nd. We all +walked in the little garden behind the house for a short time. When +we came in I wrote my journal. At a ¼ to 7 we all dined. After dinner +Lady Catherine played on the piano, for there was one in the Inn. She +played a variation of Herz’s, one of Hünten’s, and the Polacca; and she +accompanied us while we sang “Il rival.” I stayed up till 9. + +_Saturday, 5th September._—I awoke at ½ past 6 and got up at 7. Read +in the _Exposition of St. Matt.’s Gospel_ while my hair was doing, and +also in the Venetian History. Last night I also read in the Gospel and +in Mme. de Sévigné. At a ¼ to 8 we all breakfasted. At a ¼ to 9 we +left Barnby Moor. It is a remarkably nice and clean Inn. We changed +horses 1st at Doncaster, a very pretty town, 2ndly at Ferry bridge +where there is a fine bridge, and lastly at Tadcaster. All these towns +are in Yorkshire. We reached Bishopthorpe (the Archbishop of York’s +Palace) at 2. It is 2 miles and a half from York. It is a very large +house and part of it is very old. Besides the Archbishop[192] and +Miss Harcourt (his daughter), the Duchess of Northumberland, Lady +Norreys,[193] Sir John and Lady Johnstone[194] (Lady Johnstone is the +Archbishop’s daughter), Mr. and Mrs. and Miss Granville Harcourt,[195] +Colonel Francis Harcourt,[5] Mr. Vernon, are staying in the house. +After half an hour we lunched in a large dining-room. We then went to +our rooms which are very nice. I finished the _Alhambra_. It is a most +entertaining book and has amused me very much. I wrote my journal when +I came into my room. Wrote a letter to Feodore and read in the Venetian +History. The country through which we travelled today is very flat and +ugly, but extremely rich. I find the air in Yorkshire cooler than in +Kent and the South of England. I read in Mrs. Butler’s journal which +amuses me. There are some very fine feelings in it. At a ¼ to 7 we +dined. Besides the people whom I mentioned, Mr. Charles Harcourt,[196] +Mr. William Harcourt, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Colonel York, +Colonel[197] and Mrs. Wildman, &c. After dinner Lady Norreys and her +cousin Miss Vernon sang a duet from _La Gazza Ladra_ beautifully, and +also “Suoni la tromba.” They are both extremely pretty. They are +pupils of Tamburini. We sang something then. I like Miss Vernon’s voice +the best of the two. We then went to prayers. After that, I sang the +Barcarola from _Faliero_, frightened to death. I stayed up till a ¼ to +11.... + +BISHOPTHORPE, _Wednesday, 9th September_.—... At a ¼ past 11 we went to +the York Minster with the same party as yesterday with the exception +of Lord and Lady Norreys and Mrs. Vernon, who remained at home. The +Minster was fuller than on the preceding day. It was Handel’s Oratorio +of _The Messiah_. It is considered very fine, but I must say that, with +the exception of a few Choruses and one or two songs, it is very heavy +and tiresome. It is in 3 parts. In the 1st part Grisi sang “Rejoice +greatly” _most beautifully_. She pronounces the English so _very well_, +and sang the whole in such excellent style.... The Hallelujah Chorus +at the end of the 2nd part and another at the end of the 3rd act are +the finest things besides “Rejoice greatly.” But I am not at all fond +of Handel’s music, I like the present Italian school such as Rossini, +Bellini, Donizetti &c., _much better_.... + +_Friday, 11th September._— ... Lablache and Rubini sang only once each. +Alas! it will be a long time before I shall hear their two fine voices +again. But time passes away quickly and April and the dear Opera will +soon return. I am to learn to sing next year. Mamma promised I should; +and I hope to learn of Lablache. What a delightful master he would be +to learn of! Grisi sang “Laudate Dominum,” by Mozart, accompanied by +Dr. Camidge[198] on the organ. She executed the delicate passages in +it _beautifully_. Between the two parts we lunched at the Deanery with +our party and many others. Grisi came in with her uncle while we were +at luncheon. She is extremely handsome, near-by, by day-light. Her +features are not small, but extremely fine, and her eyes are beautiful +as are also her teeth. She has such a sweet amiable expression when she +smiles, and has pleasing quiet manners. She had an ugly dingy foulard +dress on, with a large coloured handkerchief under a large muslin +collar. And she had a frightful little pink bonnet on, but in spite of +all her ugly attire she looked very handsome. She is a most fascinating +little creature.... Grisi sang the last air “Sing ye to the Lord.” +Never did I hear anything so beautiful. It was a complete triumph! and +was quite electrifying! Though a very little bit and with very little +accompaniment, the manner, the power with which she sang it, and the +emphasis which she put into it, was truly splendid. I shall just write +down the lines: + + Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously: + The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. + +She pronounced it beautifully. When she had sung “The horse and his +rider hath He thrown” she paused a moment, and then came out most +emphatically with “_into the sea_!”... + +_Saturday, 12th September._— ... At 11 we left Bishopthorpe, but not +without regret. They are a very amiable family. Miss Harcourt is a very +nice person. She ought by rights to be called Miss Georgiana Harcourt, +the Archbishop’s eldest daughter being unmarried, but as she never +goes out and does not make the _honneurs_ in the house, Miss Georgiana +is always called Miss Harcourt.[199] The Archbishop has _10_ sons, 5 +of whom were at Bishopthorpe; 3 staying in the house, Mr. Granville +Harcourt, Colonel Harcourt,[200] and Mr. Egerton Harcourt, and two out +of the house, Mr. William Harcourt[201] and Mr. Charles Harcourt,[202] +staying at the residence. Mrs. William Harcourt is a very nice person. +We passed a pleasant time at Bishopthorpe in spite of fatigues which +were _not slight_ and which I begin to _feel_.... + +CANTERBURY, _Thursday, 29th September_.—I awoke at 6 and got up at ½ +past 7. At ½ past 8 we all breakfasted. At ½ past 9 Mamma received an +address from the Mayor and Corporation here. We then saw some officers. +After this we left Canterbury. It is a very clean nice Inn. It was a +fine day. We reached Ramsgate at ½ past 12. The people received us in a +most friendly and kind way. The whole was very well conducted, and the +people were very orderly. The streets were ornamented with arches of +flowers and flags. The open, free, boundless (to the eye) ocean looked +very refreshing. There is nothing between us and France but the sea, +here. We have got a small but very nice house, overlooking the sea. At +a ¼ past 2 we walked down to the Albion Hotel to see the preparations +made for dear Uncle Leopold and dear Aunt Louisa. At a little past 4 +we went down to the Hotel with Lady Flora, Lehzen and Lady Conroy, as +the steamer was in sight. With beating hearts and longing eyes we +sat at the window, anxiously watching the steamer’s progress. There +was an immense concourse of people on the pier to see them arrive. +After about half an hour’s time, the steamer entered the Harbour, +amidst loud cheering and the salute of guns from the pier, with the +Belgian flag on its mast. My _dearest_ Uncle Leopold, King of the +Belgians, and _dearest_ Aunt Louisa were very warmly received. It was +but the people’s duty to do so, as dear Uncle has lived for so long in +England and was so much beloved. After another ¼ of an hour of anxious +suspense, the waiter told us that “Their Majesties were coming.” We +hastened downstairs to receive them. There was an immense crowd before +the door. At length Uncle appeared, having Aunt Louisa at his arm. What +a happiness was it for me to throw myself in the arms of that _dearest_ +of Uncles, who has always been to me like a father, and whom I love +so _very dearly_! I had not seen him for 4 years and 2 months. I was +also delighted to make the acquaintance of that dear Aunt who is such +a perfection and who has been always so kind to me, without knowing +me. We hastened upstairs, where Uncle Leopold and Aunt Louisa showed +themselves at the window and were loudly cheered; as they ought to be. +I do not find dear Uncle at all changed. On the contrary I think he +looks better than he did when I last saw him. Aunt Louisa is not quite +so tall as Mamma, and has a very pretty slight figure. Her hair is of +a lovely fair colour; her nose is aquiline, her eyes are quite lovely; +they are light blue and have such a charming expression. She has such a +sweet mouth and smile too. She is delightful, and was so affectionate +to me directly. She pronounces English extremely well and speaks it +very fluently. She almost always speaks it with Uncle. She was very +simply dressed in a light brown silk dress, with a sky-blue silk bonnet +and white veil. Uncle and Aunt are accompanied by Comtesse Henri de +Mérode (Dame d’Honneur to Aunt Louisa), and General Goblet.[203] M. +Van de Weyer is also here. We then left them and Lehzen and I drove +home and Mamma and the rest walked home. At a little after 7 we dined. +Dear Uncle Leopold, dear Aunt Louisa, the Duc de Nemours (who had only +arrived half an hour ago), Comtesse H. de Mérode, General Goblet, +General Baudrand,[204] M. Van de Weyer, Dr. Clark,[205] Mr. and Miss V. +Conroy, dined here. I sat between Uncle Leopold and the Duc de Nemours; +two _delightful_ neighbours. When I say _next_ to a person, as for +instance I said the other day, and many days, “I sat next to the Duc de +Nemours,” “I sat next to the Duke of Norfolk,” &c., &c., I mean, as I +did today, that I sat _between_ or _next_ to them at _dinner_. The Duc +de Nemours, now that I see him and Aunt Louisa together, is not like +her. He has such a _good_ kind expression in his face; and Aunt Louisa +has the most _delightful sweet_ expression I ever saw. She is quite +delightful and charming. She is so gay and merry too. She had a white +moiré dress on, and her fine hair was so well done, in a plait behind +and curls in front with a row of pearls and three black velvet bows +in it. After dinner came two other gentlemen of the Duc de Nemours, +Colonel Boyer and Monsieur Larnac. We passed a _most delightful_ +evening.... + +_Thursday, 5th November._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. Dressed, walked +over to my room and breakfasted at 9. Read in the Exposition of St. +Matt.’s Gospel, and in the Venetian History while my hair was doing. +_Dear good_ Lehzen takes such care of me, and is so unceasing in her +attentions to me, that I shall never be able to repay her sufficiently +for it but by my love and gratitude. I never can sufficiently repay her +for all she has _borne_ and done for me. She is the _most affectionate, +devoted, attached_, and _disinterested_ friend I have, and I love her +most _dearly_.... + +_Wednesday, 2nd December._— ... We walked on the Pier which was +very amusing. There are a number of foreign ships in the harbour; +Portuguese, Finland, and a number of French fishing-boats. The dress +of the French fishermen is very picturesque. There were some Spanish +sailors playing on the pier, who looked very singular. Amongst others +there was a little French fisher-boy playing with another boy with a +pulley. He had a funny round rosy face, and was dressed in a loose blue +woven woolen jacket, with huge boots which reached to his knees, and +a red cap. Mamma asked him what he was doing, upon which he answered +with naïveté, “Nous sommes à jouer un peu.” She asked him where he came +from; “De Dunkirk,” was his reply. He said this all, and some other +things, in such a funny naif way, and with such a sly arch smile, that +it was quite amusing. He asked for a “sou,” and we gave him 6 pence, +which pleased him very much.... + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER V + + When the Princess was seventeen the shadow of coming events was + cast over her placid life. Her Journals contain evidence of + this. She became aware that her Uncle, King Leopold, had begun + to think with grave anticipation of the high position she might + before long have to occupy, and of the project of uniting her in + marriage to some Prince worthy to share with her the anxieties and + responsibilities of a Throne. She knew that he had fixed upon her + cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. + + In May of this year she saw the Prince for the first time. William + IV. did not favour the views of King Leopold. His candidate was a + younger son of the Prince of Orange. Both Princes were invited to + London, and both were present at a ball given by the Duchess of + Kent in honour of her daughter attaining the age of seventeen. + + The young Princess was not attracted by the Prince of Orange. It + would be an exaggeration to say that she felt more than a sisterly + affection for Prince Albert. She thought him good-looking and + charming, and they sketched and sang together. He found her very + amiable and astonishingly self-possessed. There is not a trace on + either side of deeper sentiment. When the Prince left England, she + wrote to her Uncle Leopold expressing anxiety to fall in with his + wishes in respect of her future marriage as in everything else, + but there is no indication that her heart was touched. The seed, + however, was sown which was to ripen later, and ultimately to bear + fruit, the sweetest she was destined to taste in her long life. + + The plans of King Leopold were an open secret, and roused + considerable interest in all classes. On his return home Prince + Albert was entertained in Paris at an official dinner given by Lord + Granville, which was taken to mean that good progress had been made + with the scheme of the projected marriage. + + In the course of this year the Princess resided at Claremont, then + the property of King Leopold. Her life there was one of great + simplicity. There were lately living a few old people in the + village of Esher who remembered the little Princess attending the + ancient church, now disused, dressed in spotted muslin with a large + poke bonnet. + + Perhaps owing to the consciousness that his candidate had failed + to create a favourable impression, King William during this year + displayed more than usual hostility to his sister-in-law, the + Duchess of Kent. The King’s behaviour to her mother undoubtedly + saddened the life of the little Princess, more especially as it was + in somewhat strong contrast to the kindness with which she herself + was treated by King William and Queen Adelaide. + + Meanwhile, the stream of public events rolled smoothly along. + + + CHAPTER V + + 1836 + +_Monday, 11th January._— ... We went out walking at a ¼ to 2 with +Lady Flora and Lehzen; it had cleared up and was quite mild and +bright. We walked on the pier and got into a boat. There was a good +deal of swell in the Harbour, and at the mouth of it our boat pitched +and rolled a good deal; Mamma began to look queerish, but I thought +it very pleasant. There were numbers of people on the pier. The 3 +Portuguese vessels hoisted their Portuguese standards, as did also the +two Spaniards. We landed at the same stairs where we embarked. The +whole of Ramsgate seemed to be out on the pier. We walked to the head +of the pier and back again and got into the carriage. We drove to the +cliff where the stairs called “Jacob’s ladder” are. We got out there +and went down the stairs, and walked on the other side of the pier. We +took a parting look at the end of the pier, of all the ships, the pier +&c., for we go tomorrow. There were, I think, 7 French boats in the +Harbour; and there were numbers of little French boys on the pier; we +gave them something, but they (for the first time) proved dissatisfied +and rebellious. They quite attacked Lehzen, who always gives the money, +coming round her on all sides, stretching out their hands, saying +“Donnez-moi un sou,” “Je n’ai pas un,” “Madame, Madame, donnez-moi +un sou,” &c. Some little urchins were _rusés_ enough to say “C’est +pour nos matelots, nous allons à bord dans l’instant.” Lehzen threw +them a shilling, whereupon they all fell on the ground in one heap, +scrambling after it. They were quiet for a little while, but a few +little determined fellows came again and followed us for sometime. They +at length got something, and went away. Cela était fort amusant et très +ridicule à voir.... + +_Wednesday, 13th January._—I awoke at a little past 6 and got up +at 7. Dressed and had my hair done. We breakfasted at 8. We left +Sittingbourne at 9. It was a bitterly cold day, though bright and +clear. We changed horses at Rochester, 2ndly at Gravesend, and 3rdly +at Blackheath. We reached Kensington Palace at a little before 2. We +instantly went upstairs, that is to say, up _two_ staircases, to our +new sleeping and sitting apartments which are very lofty and handsome. +To describe them minutely and accurately would be impossible. Our +bedroom[206] is very large and lofty, and is very nicely furnished, +then comes a little room for the maid, and a dressing-room for Mamma; +then comes the old gallery which is partitioned into 3 large, lofty, +fine and cheerful rooms.[207] One only of these (the one near Mamma’s +dressing-room) is ready furnished; it is my sitting-room and is _very_ +prettily furnished indeed. My pictures are not yet in it. The next is +my study, and the last is an anteroom; this last has no fireplace, but +the two others have, and my sitting-room is very warm and comfortable. +There is another room, belonging to me, on another side of the bed-room +(Lehzen’s former bed-room) which is not freshly furnished, but is a +passage &c. Lehzen is now in our former bed-room. When I went down into +my poor former sitting-room,[208] I could not help looking at it with +affection, and pleasant recollections, having passed so many days of my +life and many very pleasant ones there; but our new rooms are much more +airy and roomy.... + +_Thursday, 14th January._— ... Read out of Mme. de Sévigné while my +hair was doing to Lehzen. We all breakfasted at a ¼ past 9. Carried +things from my old room, upstairs to my new room, and put them into +the new presses. Wrote my journal. My pictures are being hung up and +my room is in a great confusion; the workmen in my study are making a +great noise, so that I am _un peu confuse_. Walked about. We lunched +at 1. Arranged things. Saw Dr. Clark at 2. Received a most kind and +long letter from dearest Aunt Louise in which she tells me that Uncle +Leopold and my little cousin are well, as also Uncle Ferdinand, who +is with them; and that the Duke of Orleans[209] (whom she calls +_Chartres_, as the whole family generally do) is better but not quite +well yet. She further adds, that the dear Queen of the French who had a +very bad cold, is better.... + +_Wednesday, 3rd February._—I awoke at 7 and got up at a ¼ to 8. Read +in the Irish History while my hair was doing. At 9 we breakfasted. +Pasted my name in some of my books. At 10 came the Dean till 11. Read +with him first in the Old Testament and then in Hume. Pasted my name in +some of my books. I have got all the same pictures I had in my former +room, hung up in my present room, with the exception of some old prints +and of the two ugly oil pictures of my Father and Mother, and with +the addition of Hayter’s drawing of Mamma and I. My fine casts of the +_dear_ French family are also hung up in my sitting-room; they only +came home today as the frame had to be mended. I am so fond of them. +Various prints are also being hung up in my study. Wrote my journal. +Drew.... + +_Saturday, 6th February._— ... I have quite forgotten to mention +that the young Queen of Portugal was married by proxy on the 1st of +January to—_my Cousin Ferdinand_, Uncle Ferdinand’s eldest son, and +who completed his 19th year on the 29th of last October.[210] The +negotiations to this purpose have been going on since last September, +and have only just now come to an end. Count Lavradio, whom we saw just +before we went to Ramsgate, went to Cobourg to meet Uncle Ferdinand and +my dear Cousins Ferdinand and Augustus, there. Dear Uncle Leopold has +managed a _great_ deal of the business; he is ever ready and ever _most +able_ to assist his family. Uncle Ferdinand has not long left Brussels, +where he came to settle and arrange about the marriage. Dear Uncle +Ferdinand is, of course, full of anxiety for the welfare and happiness +of his son. Ferdinand will soon come to Brussels with Augustus on his +way to Lisbon and they will also come here. I cannot say how happy I +am to become thus related to the Queen of Portugal, who has always +been so kind to me and for whom I have always had a great affection. +She is warm-hearted, honest and affectionate, and when she talks, is +very pleasing. We have known each other since our 8th year (for there +is only a month’s difference of age between us). She is far from plain +too; she has an exquisite complexion, a good nose and fine hair. I hear +that Ferdinand is full of good and excellent qualities, has a pure and +unsophisticated mind, and is very good-looking.... + +_Saturday, 20th February._— ... At ½ past 3 came the Dean till 4. Read +with him in Milton’s _Paradise Lost_. Practised on the piano for Mrs. +Anderson.[211] Drew while Lehzen read to me out of that Rapport about +Fieschi.[212] Practised again on the piano. At ½ past 7 we dined. +Aunt Gloucester, the Prince of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeldt,[213] +the Archbishop of York and Miss Harcourt, the Duke of Wellington, +Count[214] and Countess Charles Pozzo di Borgo, the Earl and Countess +of Lincoln,[215] Viscount and Viscountess Beresford,[216] Lord Hill, +Lady Caroline Legge,[217] Lady Theresa Strangways, Sir Robert and Lady +Peel, General Upton and Sir Samuel Higgins dined here. I sat between +the Duke of Wellington and Count C. Pozzo di Borgo. The Count is a +very agreeable man. His wife, the dear little Countess, looked lovely; +she is such a charming person; she is the 3rd daughter of the Duc de +Crillon and is called Valentina. Lady Lincoln is also a very charming +young person; she was so pretty but she is very much changed as she +was very ill all last summer and is still very far from well. I sat a +good deal with her and the little Countess Pozzo, and found them very +amiable and cheerful.... + +_Saturday, 27th February._— ... It was Miss Joanna Baillie’s[218] +Tragedy of _The Separation_ in 5 acts, performed for the 2nd time. +The principal characters are: Garcio (an Italian Count), Mr. Charles +Kemble,[219] who acted finely in parts but is dreadfully changed; +Rovani (his friend), G. Bennett who acted disagreeably and affectedly; +the Marquis of Tortona, Mr. Pritchard, a poor odd-looking creature; +Margaret (wife to Garcio), Miss Helen Faucit,[220] who acted well in +the pathetic quiet parts. I had not seen Charles Kemble since 5 years, +and I did not quite recollect his countenance; those however who had +seen him in his good days, when he was an excellent actor and a very +handsome man, found the change _very great_. _I_, for _my_ part, like +Macready by far better. Kemble whines so much and drawls the words in +such a slow peculiar manner; his actions too (to me) are overdone and +affected, and his voice is not pleasant to me; he makes terrible faces +also which spoils his countenance and he looks old and does not carry +himself well. He was very fine, however, at the end of the 3rd act when +he snatches the picture out of his wife’s hand, and when he discovers +it to be that of her brother Ulrico whom he murdered,—the way in which +he throws the picture on the ground and sinks trembling and gasping +against the bed, while his countenance pourtrays the violent feelings +of remorse, horror and conscience this Kemble did _very finely_, and +also when he takes leave of Margaret. He _was_ undoubtedly a very fine +actor, nay, still _is_, but he is not natural enough for my taste. I +_do_ think Macready is so feeling and natural, particularly now; he +was perhaps formerly rather affected and violent at times. His voice +too I like so much and he does not drawl the words; I like him best +after Young, who was the _most beautiful_ actor I ever saw, or who +perhaps ever existed in this country, except Garrick and John Kemble +(Charles K.’s elder brother). I only saw Young twice but I shall never +forget it. I saw him 1st in _Macbeth_ and then I saw him take his +final leave of the stage in _Hamlet_. I must say a few words about +G. Bennett[221] and Miss Helen Faucit. Bennett, whom I have seen act +really extremely well in _The Miller and His Men_, in _Pizarro_, in +_King John_ as Hubert, &c., &c., was extremely disagreeable yesterday +as Rovani; he twisted his arms, hands, legs, back and even eyes in all +directions, and drawled his words in speaking most disagreeably. Miss +Faucit is plain and thin, and her voice is much against her, but when +she is gentle and pathetic she is far from disagreeable; she rants and +screams[222] too much also, but as she is very young, they say she may +_become_ a good actress. The Tragedy though well written is rather +unnatural and very heavy in parts; I must say _I_ greatly prefer _The +Provost of Bruges_ and think it by far more natural. Kemble and Miss +Faucit were called out and were much applauded.... + +[Illustration: _P.V. del. R.P. April 1837._ + + _M^r. Charles Mathews as Dapperwit in The Rape of the Lock_ + + CHARLES MATHEWS. + + From a sketch by Princess Victoria.] + +_Monday, 29th February._— ... At ½ past 7 we went to the play to Mme. +Vestris’s[223] Olympic, with Lehzen and Sir J. C. I had never been +there before; it is a very small but pretty, clean little theatre. +It was the burletta of _One Hour_ or _The Carnival Ball_ in one +act. The principal characters are: Mr. Charles Swiftly, Mr. Charles +Mathews,[224] a most _delightful_ and _charming_ actor; he is son to +the celebrated old Mathews who died last year. He is quite a young man, +I should say not more than five or six and twenty.[225] His face is +not good-looking, but very clever and pleasing; he has a very slight, +pretty figure, with very small feet and is very graceful and immensely +active; he skips and runs about the stage in a most agile manner. +He is _so_ natural and amusing, and never vulgar but always very +gentlemanlike. He is a most charming actor.... + +Charles Mathews is the most delightful and amusing actor possible. He +is the only child of his parents and was intended for an architect and +studied in Greece and Italy for that purpose; but having a penchant for +the stage, he abandoned his profession and had become an actor; we see +how it has succeeded—_most perfectly_!... + +_Wednesday, 2nd March._— ... Lady Burghersh[226] told me that she knew +Charles Mathews very well when she was in Florence, where he was come +for the purpose of studying architecture; she said she had often acted +with him in their private theatricals and that he always showed a +great talent for acting, and that he then performed as a gentleman; he +_now_ acts quite like a gentleman, and looks so too; he is a charming +performer I think. Lady Burghersh also said that he looks younger than +he is, for that he must be 3 or 4 and thirty. He told her when at +Florence that he had a great passion for the stage, but, as his father +was greatly averse to his son becoming an actor, he refrained from +doing it during his father’s lifetime.... + +_Thursday, 17th March._— ... We reached Windsor Castle at 6. We went +to the Queen’s room where Ferdinand and Augustus were presented to the +King. We then went to our rooms. At ½ past 7 we dined in St. George’s +Hall with an immense number of people. Ferdinand looked very well. He +wore the 3 Portuguese Orders in one ribbon, which he has the right of +doing as husband to the Queen of Portugal. Ferdinand led the Queen in +to dinner and the King led Mamma and I. I sat between the King and +George Cambridge and opposite dear Ferdinand. After dinner we went into +a beautiful new drawing-room[227] where we remained till the gentlemen +came from dinner. We then all went into the Waterloo Gallery where the +ball was. The King went in first, then the Queen and Mamma, and then +dear Ferdinand with me at his arm. I danced 3 quadrilles; 1st with dear +Ferdinand, then with George Cambridge, and lastly with dear Augustus. +During the evening dear Ferdinand came and sat near me and talked so +dearly and so sensibly. I do _so_ love him. Dear Augustus also sat near +me and talked with me and he is also a dear good young man, and is +very handsome. He is extremely quiet and silent, but there is a great +deal in him. I am so fond too of my Uncle Ferdinand. I stayed up till +1. I was much amused and pleased. Uncle Ferdinand brought me two kind +notes from Uncle Leopold and Aunt Louise. Ferdinand is so fond of Aunt +Louise. He told me: “Oh, je l’aime tant!” Both he and Augustus speak +French extremely well. This dinner and ball were in honour of dear +Ferdinand. + +_Friday, 18th March._— ... At ½ past 9 we breakfasted with the King, +the Queen, dear Ferdinand (who came nearly at the end of the breakfast, +having slept a long while), dear Uncle Ferdinand, Augustus, Charles, +Prince Ernst of Hesse P.B.,[228] the Duchess of Northumberland, George +Cambridge, Lady Ely,[229] Lady Flora, and Lehzen. After breakfast Mamma +and I went into the Queen’s room and looked at some of her many pretty +things. Wrote my journal. At ½ past 11 we drove out with the Queen +and dear Ferdinand in our carriage, Ferdinand and I sitting on the +back seat and the Queen and Mamma on the front seat. Uncle Ferdinand, +Augustus, Charles and Prince Ernest of Hesse P.B. followed in another, +and all the rest in other carriages. We went to see a hunt and saw a +stag let out of a cart and all the horsemen followed in great numbers. +It was a very pretty sight, and a beautiful warm day. We were all in +open carriages. I talked a good deal with Ferdinand, and like him +_more_ and _more_; he is so sensible, so natural, so unaffected, and +unsophisticated and so _truly_ good. His tutor, who has been with +him 13 years, M. Dietz, and whom he told me he is very fond of, will +go with him to Lisbon as his “secrétaire intime,” he told me. He (M. +Dietz)[230] came with several other gentlemen to Kensington yesterday. +Ferdinand is so fond of Augustus; the separation will be dreadful for +the two brothers; and he is very fond of his sister Victoire. We came +home at ½ past 1. Wrote the _brouillon_ of a French letter to Aunt +Louise. At 2 we lunched with the whole party. I sat between the King +and Uncle Ferdinand. Wrote my letter to Aunt Louise. Wrote my journal. +Walked about. At about ½ past 5 dear Ferdinand, Uncle Ferdinand, and +dear Augustus came into our room for a little while. At ½ past 7 we +dined; again in St. George’s Hall and with the same large company as +the day before. Ferdinand went first (as he did also yesterday) with +the Queen; then came the King with us two. I sat between the King +and George Cambridge, and opposite dear Fernando. After dinner Uncle +Ferdinand and my Cousins came and sat near us every now and then. Dear +Ferdinand has elicited universal admiration from all parties; the King +is very much pleased with him, and the Queen is quite taken with him. +He is so very unaffected, and has such a 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; he is very +quiet and gentle. There is such an innocence and simplicity in them, +and such a childish gaiety, and again they are very grown-up and nice +in their manners, which are very unaffected and pleasing. Stayed up +till ½ past 11.... + +_Friday, 1st April._—Today is Good Friday. At ½ past 9 we breakfasted +with dear Uncle Ferdinand, dear Augustus, Charles, Lady Flora and +Lehzen. I sat between dear Augustus and Charles. I stayed downstairs +till a ¼ past 10. Received the Order of Ste. Isabelle from my Cousin +Donna Maria. The ribbon is very pale pink and white. Went up stairs, +and wrote part of the _brouillon_ of a French letter to Aunt Louise. +Dear good Augustus came up at ½ past 10 and stayed till 11. These +visits please me very much; he is _so_ quiet, and goes about looking +at the things in the room, sits down and reads the newspapers, and +never is in the way. He is a dear boy, and is so extremely good, kind +and gentle; he has such a sweet expression and kind smile. 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. They are both very +handsome and _very dear_! Ferdinand is superior to Augustus in various +ways, and is by far more forward for his age in his mind than the +latter. They have both learnt, and know, a great deal, and are both +very orderly and tidy. At 11 we went down to prayers with Charles, +Lehzen, Lady Flora &c. &c. The service was performed by the poor Dean +who gave us likewise a sermon. We saw him for an instant after the +service was over. He is very calm and resigned. We remained with Uncle +a little while downstairs. Finished my _brouillon_ of my French letter. +Began to copy it. Went downstairs to see some paintings done by a Mr. +Cowen.[231] They are very well done indeed. Augustus came in also and +looked at them for a moment. Came up to my room and went on writing my +letter to dear Aunt Louise. Dearest Uncle Ferdinand came up to me for +a few minutes and then went down again. Augustus came up and stayed a +little while, while I was writing my letter and then went down. I gave +him this morning a seal and some prints which pleased him very much. +Finished my letter to Aunt Louise and wrote my journal. At 25 minutes +to 4 _dear_ good Augustus came up and sat in my room looking at annuals +till 4. He assisted me in sealing my letters, and we both made a mess, +and he burnt a cover in sealing it, dear boy, for me, which made us +both laugh. He went down for 5 minutes, came up again, and Uncle, after +staying a few minutes, fetched him away to pay visits to the Duke of +Sussex and Princess Sophia. Played and sung. At 10 minutes to 6 came +Mrs. Wellesley[232] who is going tomorrow and will reach Stuttgardt on +Friday. Augustus came in and we stayed with Uncle and him a few minutes +downstairs. Oh! could I but have some more such days, with that dear +Uncle and dear Augustus, whom I love so much! I shall feel very lonely +and unhappy when they leave us.... + +_Sunday, 10th April._— ... Read to Lehzen part of _The Directions and +Advices_ which dearest Uncle Leopold has written down for Ferdinand, +most cleverly and beautifully done. They are written in French and are +divided into 3 parts. The part I have read is _Affaires Politiques_, +which is divided into headings of all the departments of the +Government. Dear Uncle has studied[233] the Portuguese Constitution, +Government, People, Country, &c., &c., so completely since the intended +marriage of Ferdinand with the Queen of Portugal, that he is as +familiar with the whole as though he were in the country. Dear Uncle +Leopold is so clever and so prudent and so kind; he has taken so much +pains and trouble about Ferdinand and I must say he is repaid for his +trouble by the affection and gratitude Ferdinand has for him; and +certainly he has _not_ thrown away his time in so doing, for Ferdinand +is not only _very good_, but _clever_, and therefore with Uncle’s +advice he will succeed, I am sure. Van de Weyer is a most trusty, +clever person, and as he has also copies of these papers, will be of +the greatest use to Ferdinand. I see by the part I have read, which +contains most valuable, important and sage advice, one thing which I +am very glad of, which is, that the Queen will associate Ferdinand +with her in the Council, &c., that he is always to be present at all +her Councils. Uncle advises him to listen and not to give his opinion +until he has become acquainted with the characters of the persons in +the Council, and then, after having well weighed what he means to say, +to give his opinion. There is so much of all the advice which I wish I +could insert here, but which I have no time to do.[234] + +_Monday, 11th April._—Lehzen read to me while I was dressing and I read +to her while my hair was doing, one of the parts of the Directions +for Ferdinand, called _Observations Générales_, and began the last +one called _Note communiquée au Comte de Lavradio_. Dear Uncle +Leopold is so clever and governs Belgium so beautifully, that he is a +model for every Sovereign and will contribute to the happiness and +re-organisation of Portugal, as he has done to Belgium; for _that_ +country owes _all_ its prosperity, happiness, everything, to dearest +Uncle Leopold; it was in a sad state when Uncle arrived, and by his +great prudence, sagacity, and extreme cleverness, Belgium is now one of +the most flourishing Kingdoms in Europe.... + +_Tuesday, 3rd May._— ... At 10 minutes past 11 came _Lablache_ till +10 minutes past 12. He complained much of the cold weather, and said +“qu’ils étaient tous enrhumés” and that they had all been very hoarse +last night at a concert, except Rubini. I like Lablache very much, he +is such a nice, good-natured, good-humoured man, and a very patient and +excellent master; he is so merry too.[235] _En profile_ he has a very +fine countenance, I think, an aquiline nose, dark arched eye-brows, and +fine long eyelashes, and a very clever expression. He has a profusion +of hair, which is very grey, and strangely mixed with some few black +locks here and there. I sung first the recitative of “Notte d’orrore,” +from _Marino Faliero_, several times over. Then Mamma and I sung +“Mira oh! Norma” and “Si fine al ore,” both twice over and “Qual cor +tradesti” twice over. Then I sang twice with Lablache “Io son ricco e +tu sei bella,” a very pretty little duo from _L’Elisire d’Amore_ by +Donizetti. He sang this delightfully, he has such a fine voice and +pronounces so distinctly and so well. _En conclusion_ I sang “Vivi tu.” +I liked my lesson extremely; I only wish I had one every _day_ instead +of one every _week_.... + +_Friday, 13th May._— ... Mme. Malibran de Bériot[236] (as she now +calls herself since her marriage with the eminent violinist de Bériot) +was in very fine voice and sang extremely well indeed, twice. She +sang first the prayer which Anna sings in her sleep in the 2nd act of +_La Sonnambula_, and “Ah! non giunge unam pensiero!” I prefer Grisi’s +singing of these very much to Malibran’s; there is a sweetness, +mildness and softness, accompanied with such beautifully clear +execution, in the _former_, which the _latter_ does _not_ possess in +the high notes. Malibran’s deep tones are beautiful, touching and +feeling, but her high notes are harsh, sharp and _voilée_. The 2nd +thing she sang was pretty and well adapted to her voice.... + +_Wednesday, 18th May._— ... At a ¼ to 2 we went down into the Hall, to +receive my Uncle Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and my Cousins, +Ernest and Albert, his sons. My Uncle was here, now 5 years ago, and is +looking extremely well. Ernest 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 à la fois_ full of goodness and sweetness, and very clever +and intelligent. We went upstairs with them, and after staying a few +minutes with them, I went up to my room. Played and sang. Drew. At a +little after 4 Uncle Ernest and my Cousins came up to us and stayed in +my room till 10 minutes past 5. Both my Cousins are so kind and good; +they are much more _formés_ 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, and has a most beautiful +plumage; it is scarlet, blue, brown, yellow, and purple. At 6 we went +with Lehzen, Lady Flora &c., to dine at the Archbishop of York’s, and I +was very sorry to leave my dear Uncle and Cousins behind us at home.... + +[Illustration: _H.S.H. Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg_ + + _aged nine_ + + _from a portrait by Schneider, after Eckhart._] + +_Thursday, 19th May._—Read in the _Exposition_ while my hair was +doing. At 9 we breakfasted with Uncle Ernest, Ernest, Albert, Lehzen +and Charles. I sat between my dear Cousins. At ½ past 10 Lehzen and I +walked in the gardens and came home at ½ past 11. At a ¼ to 12 came +the Dean till ½ past 12. Read with him in the New Testament and in +Clarendon. At ½ past 12 came Mr. Steward till ½ past 1. Played and +sung. At a ¼ past 2 came the Dean till 3. Read with him in Paley. At 3 +came Mrs. Anderson till 4. At a ¼ to 5 we walked in the gardens with +Lehzen till ½ past 5. Wrote my journal. At 7 we dined. Besides us 3 and +Uncle, my Cousins and Charles,—Count Kolowrat (one of Uncle Ernest’s +gentlemen), Lady Flora and the Miss Conroys &c., dined here. I sat +between dear Ernest and dear Albert. After dinner came Aunt Sophia. +Received a very kind letter from dear Aunt Louise and some ribbons. +Stayed up till ½ past 10. I like my Cousins extremely, they are so +kind, so good, and so merry.... + +_Saturday, 21st May._— ... At ½ past 7 we dined with Uncle Ernest, +Ernest, Albert, Charles, Lady Flora, Count Kolowrat, Baron Alvensleben, +&c. I sat between my dear Cousins. After dinner came Princess Sophia. +Baron de Hoggier, who had arrived from Lisbon the day before, came +after dinner, and took leave, on his way home. 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. They are so natural, so +kind, so _very_ good and so well instructed and informed; they are so +well bred, so truly merry and quite like children and yet very grown up +in their manners and conversation. It is delightful to be with them; +they are so fond of being occupied too; they are quite an example for +any young person.... + +_Sunday, 22nd May._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. Read in _Cornwallis +on the Sacrament_ while my hair was doing. At a ¼ past 9 we all +breakfasted. I sat between _i miei carissimi cugini_. At a ¼ past 10 +dear Lehzen and I walked out in the gardens and came home at a ¼ to +11. Received the news of the death of my poor old Nurse, Mrs. Brock, +which took place the day before yesterday. She was not a pleasant +person, and undoubtedly had, as everybody has, her faults, but she +was extremely attached to and fond of me, having been with me from my +birth till my fifth year, therefore it is impossible, and it would be +very wrong, if I did not feel her death. My chief regret is, that she +did not live till I was my own mistress, and could make her quite +comfortable....[237] + +_Tuesday, 24th May._—I awoke at 7. Today I complete my 17th year; a +very old person I am indeed! I am most thankful that I was brought +through this year safely, and I beseech my heavenly Father to extend +His benediction and blessing over me for this year and for many +others.... + +_Friday, 10th June._—At 9 we all breakfasted for the _last_ time +together! 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_. Augustus was like a good, +affectionate child, quite unacquainted with the world, phlegmatic, +and talking but very little; but dearest Ernest and dearest Albert +are so grown-up in their manners, so gentle, so kind, so amiable, so +agreeable, so very sensible and reasonable, and so _really_ and truly +good and kind-hearted. 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 used always to have some +fun and some clever witty answer at breakfast and everywhere; he +used to play and fondle Dash so funnily too. Both he and Ernest are +extremely attentive to _whatever_ they hear and see, and take interest +in everything they see. They were much interested with the sight of St. +Paul’s yesterday. We remained down with them till 10. I then went up +to my room and came down again at a little after 10. We remained with +them again, Uncle Ernest going in and out of the room. I am so very +fond of _him_ too; now that I know him much better and have talked with +him, I love him as much as dear Uncle Ferdinand. He is so mild, so kind +and so good. 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.... + +_Sunday, 31st July._—Read in _The Young Divine_ and began to read in +_Ikon Basilike_ in one vol., a book which came out a few days after +poor Charles I. had been beheaded; while my hair was doing. It is +said to have been written by him during his captivity, and contains +meditations and prayers; but the Dean, who gave it me a few days ago, +told me that great disputes have arisen as to whether it was really +written by Charles, or whether some friend of his had collected sayings +and meditations he might have heard the King make, and put them +together and that this point has not been settled yet. Whatever it may +be, and by whomever it may have been written or compiled, one thing is +certain, that it is a very good and pious book and is authentic as to +its contents.... + +_Wednesday, 3rd August._—Read in the _Exposition_ and in _The Conquest +of Granada_ while my hair was doing. At 9 we breakfasted. At a ¼ to 10 +we went to the British Gallery with Lehzen to see the Exhibition by the +ancient Masters (all private property). Never did I see anything more +beautiful than this collection of the _immortal Masters’_ paintings, +for so I must call them as their names will never pass away. There +were such numbers of beautiful paintings, that I really know not which +to name in preference. Upon the whole, I think the finest were those +by Murillo and Guido. The finest by Murillo are “The Angels coming to +Abraham,” “The return of the Prodigal Son,” splendid both, belonging +to the Duke of Sutherland. “St. Joseph leading the infant Saviour who +carries a basket of carpenter’s tools,” quite in another style but +beautiful; “Santa Rosa, espousing the infant Saviour,” exquisite; and +“Portrait of Don Andres de Antrade and his favourite dog,” very fine. +The finest by Guido are, “The Assumption of the Virgin,” the expression +of the Virgin’s face is beautiful; two different heads of St. Peter, +both very fine. “The Magdalen,” beautiful. The finest by Vandyke are +“The Virgin and Infant Saviour,” very lovely.... At a ¼ to 4 we went +with Lehzen and Lady Flora to Chiswick, to the Victoria Asylum or +Children’s Friend Society. It is a most interesting and delightful +establishment, and has been founded almost entirely by Lady George[238] +and Miss Murray. It is for poor vagrant girls, who are received under +the age of 15; and Miss Murray says that they have never had a girl 6 +months who did not become a perfectly good child. I forget how young +they receive children, but there are—[unintelligible] girls in all, +and they are divided, a few being in an infant school upstairs. When +they have become quite good and can read, write and do work of all +kinds necessary for a house, they are sent abroad, mostly to the Cape +of Good Hope, where they are apprenticed and become excellent servants. +Miss Murray told us many curious stories of the depraved and wretched +state in which many arrive, and how soon they become reformed and good. +There is one little girl in particular, a very pretty black-eyed girl, +11 years old, called Ellen Ford, who was received two months ago from +_Newgate_, and who boasted she could steal and tell lies better than +anybody. She had been but two or three days in the school, and she got +over 3 high walls, and stole a sheet; she was caught and brought back +again. Miss Murray spoke to her, and found that the poor girl had no +idea whatever of a _God_, and had a drunken father, a low Irishman; +this man had lost his 1st wife and married again, and this step-mother +taught the girl nothing but stealing and lying. Miss Murray told her +of God, and spoke to her very seriously; the girl was put in solitary +confinement for that night and was taken out the next morning; and ever +since she has been a perfectly good girl. There are many cases of the +same sort which Miss Murray said she could relate. Before I finish this +chapter I must mention the Matron, a most respectable excellent person, +called Mrs. Bowerhill; she is assisted by her two daughters, and by an +old woman for work; but besides this old woman, the children do all +the work themselves. We came home at ½ p. 6. I was very much pleased +indeed with all I saw. Miss Murray gave me a book into which she had +copied several of the letters of the children from abroad, and very +nice well-written letters they are. Miss Murray’s exertions are immense +and most praiseworthy for the Children’s Friend Society. There is a +Committee of Ladies who meet every other Tuesday I believe; but Lady +George and Miss Murray go down 3 times a week and oftener. At a ¼ p. 7 +we dined. After dinner came Princess Sophia. Stayed up till 10 minutes +to 10.... + +_Monday, 8th August._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 8. At a ¼ past 9 we +breakfasted. At a ¼ to 10 Lehzen and I walked out till ½ past 10. +Arranged things for packing. At 11 came my good Lablache and stayed +till 20 minutes past 12. I sang 1st “Come per me sereno,” from _La +Sonnambula_. Then he sang with me “Claudio, Claudio, ritorna fra le +braccia paterne,” twice over; then he sang with me “Se un istante +all’ offerta d’un soglio,” also from _Elisa e Claudio_. The former +of these two was the one that I sang so very ill on Saturday, but +which Lablache did not mind at all. _He_ thought it went better +today; but he is too indulgent. _He_ was in delightful voice, and +sang _beautifully_. After this he sang “Non temer il mio bel cadetto” +from _Il Posto abbandonato_, by Mercadante, with me. His volubility +of tongue is wonderful; he can sing such quantities of words and at +such a rate. There are plenty in this Duo, and still more in “Quand +amore,” and in “Voglio dire,” both from _L’Elisire d’Amore_. Then he +sang my favourite “O amato zio” from my dear _Puritani_, with me. After +this he sang “O nume benefico” with us; then “Ridiamo, cantiamo,” and +then, _alas! per finire_, “Dopo due lustri ahi! misero,” from _Donna +Caritea_, by Mercadante. Lablache told me that he likes _Guillaume +Tell_ the best of _all_ Rossini’s operas, _Otello_ the best of his +Operas Seria, and _Il Barbiere_ the best of his buffa operas. _Ha +ragione._ His son (Lablache’s) is gone, he told me; he went yesterday, +as did also Rubini. I asked him if any other of his 8 children sang, or +were musical. He replied, “Non, ils sont trop jeunes; l’aîné n’a que +douze ans.” And the youngest of all, he says, is only _2_ years old. +There is an opera tomorrow, but the boxes &c., &c. are let, shocking to +say, at the play-house prices, and “C’est un pasticcio,” he said. It +is not in the regular number of nights. He said that I have improved +greatly in my singing since he has sung with me. After the last trio, +I took leave of _il mio buon e caro Maestro_ with _great_ regret. I +must repeat again that he is not only a most delightful, patient, and +agreeable master, but a most good-humoured, pleasing, agreeable and +honest man; his manners are very gentlemanly and quiet, and he has +something very frank, open and honest in his countenance; everybody +who knows him agrees in his being such a good man. I have had _26_ +lessons of Lablache and shall think back with great delight on them; +and shall look forward with equal delight to next April, when I hope +Lablache will be here, so that I can resume them again. It was such a +pleasure to hear his fine voice and to sing with him. Everything that +is pleasant, alas! passes so quickly in this “wide world of troubles.” +How often I have experienced that, in greater pleasures, when my dear +relations have left me! But then there are the pleasant _recollections_ +of all that is past, and one must be happy one has had them. I was +exceedingly delighted with this my _last_ lesson; the time seemed to +fly even faster than usual, for it always appeared to me that these +pleasant lessons were over in an instant. Lablache accompanied really +very fairly, and when he came to any difficult parts, he put in “des +accords,” which did just as well. I have already mentioned how very +obliging he is; he was always ready to sing anything I like and to stay +as long as I liked. He is extremely active for his size, which really +is very considerable. It amused me always to see him come in and go +out of my room; he walked so erect and made such a fine dignified bow. +So now all, all is over for this season, not only the Opera but my +favourite singing-lessons too.... + +_Wednesday, 10th August._— ... A propos, I shall never forget when, in +my first singing-lesson, I was so frightened to sing before Lablache, +he said in his good-natured way, “Personne n’a jamais eu peur de moi,” +which I am sure nobody can ever be who knows him.... + +CLAREMONT, _Friday, 16th September_.—At ½ past 9 we breakfasted, that +is to say, dearest Uncle, we two, Lehzen &c., Lady Catherine not being +well enough, and Uncle’s two gentlemen being gone to town. Went up to +my room and copied out music. At about a ¼ to 12 dearest Uncle came and +sat with me till ½ p. 12. He talked over many important things. He is +_so_ clever, _so_ mild, and _so_ prudent; _he_ alone can give me good +advice on _every_ thing. His advice is perfect. He is indeed “il mio +secondo padre” or rather “_solo_ padre”! for he is indeed like my real +father, as I have none, and he is so kind and so good to me, he has +ever been so to me. He has been and always is of such use to me and +does _so_ much good.... + +_Sunday, 18th September._—Baron Moncorvo brought yesterday the +distressing news that the same unfortunate revolution which took place +in Spain, has likewise taken place in Portugal, and that the Queen +was forced to proclaim the constitution of 1820 similar to the one of +1812.[239] It happened between Friday the 9th and Saturday the 10th, in +the night. I do so feel for poor dear Ferdinand in this trying moment, +as also for the poor good Queen. The difference between this and the +one in Spain was: that in _Portugal_ they behaved respectfully towards +dear Ferdinand and Donna Maria, and in Spain they almost insulted the +Queen Regent. In Portugal, thank God! no blood has been shed. As soon +as the Empress heard what had happened, or rather what would happen, +she hastened to the Palace de Necessidades, where Ferdinand and the +Queen were, arrived there at 3 o’clock in the night, and remained there +till all was over. The Princess Isabella, the Queen’s Aunt (and the +former Regent), also came and remained with them. Uncle Leopold was +much shocked and distressed when he heard it, as were we also, I am +sure.... Dear Uncle came up for a minute and brought us 3 letters which +Van de Weyer had written to him, giving a detailed account of these +horrid transactions at Lisbon. Van de Weyer’s conduct throughout this +dreadful business, when everybody else seems to have lost their heads +and senses, was most courageous, prudent and judicious; and if his and +Ferdinand’s advice had been followed, the Queen would _not_ have been +obliged to sign the Promulgation of the _Constitution_ of 1820. Van de +Weyer says that _all_ was given up “avec la plus affreuse lâcheté!” +without a struggle or attempt, when _all might yet have been saved_.... + +_Wednesday, 21st September._— ... Dear Uncle came up and fetched us +down to breakfast, as he has done already once before, and twice for +dinner. He always accompanied us upstairs when we went to bed. It was +our last breakfast with him; I sat, as usual, near him and General +Goblet.[240] To hear dear Uncle speak on any subject 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, 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. He is +so mild, gentle and kind, and so clever and firm.... + +[Illustration: _Mᵐᵉ Malibran + from recollection + P.V. del. Bentest[?] + Sept. 1836. + + MADAME MALIBRAN. + From a sketch by Princess Victoria.] + +_Monday, 26th September._— ... Read in the Morning Post of +today the melancholy and almost incredible news of the _death_ +of—_Malibran_![241] which took place at Manchester on Friday night +at 12 o’clock, at the early age of 28. She had gone there for the +festival which took place the week before last, and only sang on +Tuesday the 13th instant, and tried to do so on the Wednesday but was +unable, after which she was taken so alarmingly ill that all singing +was over. On Saturday the account in the papers was that she was out +of danger, but the improvement was only transient and on Friday +night this wonderful singer and extraordinary person was no more. She +will be, and is, a very _great_ loss indeed; for, though I liked and +admired Grisi by far more than Malibran, I admired many parts of the +latter’s singing very much, in particular those touching and splendid +low notes which gave one quite a thrill. In point of cleverness and +genius there is not a doubt that Malibran far surpassed Grisi; for she +was not proficient alone in singing and acting, she knew Spanish (her +own language), Italian, French, English, and German perfectly, as also +various Italian _patois_. She composed very prettily, drew well, rode +well on horseback, danced beautifully, and enfin _climbed_ well, as +General Alava told us, who knew her very well; he said you could speak +with her on any subject and she was equally _à son aise_. She was born +in 1808 at Paris, and is the daughter of a famous Spanish singer called +_Garcia_; she married first an old French merchant called _Malibran_, +from whom she was divorced; and secondly this spring the incomparable +violinist De Bériot. Mamma saw her make her debut as _Maria Garcia_, +only 16 years old, in _Il Crociato_, at the Italian Opera in London, +as “un giovinetto Cavalier.” There is something peculiarly awful +and striking in the death of this great Cantatrice, undoubtedly the +_second in the world_, (Grisi being the _first_ in _my opinion_). To be +thus cut off in the bloom of her youth and the height of her career, +suddenly, is dreadful!... + +_Wednesday, 28th September._— ... The news from Lisbon are far from +good, I am _sorry to say_. Mamma received a letter from Van de Weyer +this morning, dated 11th Sept., in which he said that there had +been another _émeute_ the afternoon before, which however had been +dissipated, and that both _dearest_ Ferdinand and Donna Maria showed +great calmness and dignity. It is a great trial for poor dear Ferdinand +and for the good Queen. Van de Weyer says they are all in a very +uncomfortable situation.... + +_Friday, 30th September._— ... Read in _The Times_ last night a +distressing account of the details of poor Malibran’s illness and +death. Poor young creature! she seems to have been neglected at a time +when her life might perhaps still have been saved; for she complained +of head-ache and shivering the same afternoon she arrived (Sunday +11th Sept.). On the Wednesday night after singing that fine but _now_ +painful Duo “Vanne se alberghi in petto,” she was taken so very very +ill. Notwithstanding all this she got up on Thursday morning and +was dressed with the assistance of Mrs. Richardson, landlady of the +Mosely Arms Hotel at Manchester, for she had no female attendant, a +man-servant of De Bériot’s being (as is said in the newspapers, for all +what I have hitherto related about her illness and death is taken from +the newspapers) their only servant. In spite of every effort to prevent +her, the poor dying Malibran insisted upon going to the Oratorio that +morning, and was accordingly carried to her carriage; but being seized +with hysterics she was instantly taken back. She never left her room, +and scarcely her bed, from that time till her death. Dr. Belluomini, +her own Physician, only arrived on Sunday the 18th, though other +physicians had attended her (from Manchester) before. She was perfectly +insensible when she died; as also two or 3 days before her death. De +Bériot was distracted and overpowered on learning of her death, in +another room whither they had compelled him to retire when it was +drawing to a close. He never saw her afterwards, and left the place 2 +hours after all was over. It is the most melancholy end that could be +imagined! To come to an inn in a foreign land with nobody to nurse her, +and _die_ there! What a sad and tragical end to her bright career! I +can still hardly believe it possible that she, whom I can see before +me as she was at our own concert, dressed in white satin, so merry and +lively, and whose pathetic voice when speaking I can hear, is now in +the silent tomb; for the funeral was to take place at 10 o’clock this +morning with great splendour. And so today, all, all is over with poor +Malibran!... + +_Sunday, 9th October._— ... We went to the church at Ramsgate with +Lady Catherine and Lehzen. Mr. Harvey preached. The text was from the +5th chapter of the 2nd Epistle to Cor., 10th verse: “For we must all +appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every man may receive +the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it +be good or bad.” Came home at 20 minutes to 1. Wrote my journal. Copied +out music. At a ¼ to 3 we went to the chapel with Lady Catherine and +dear Lehzen, &c. The service was read by Mr. Lewis, and Dr. Longley +(late Master of Harrow School) preached, and _most beautifully_; so +mildly and emphatically; his voice is very good, his pronunciation very +pure, his delivery calm and impressive, his language beautiful yet +simple, and his appearance very pleasing. He must be between 30 and 40, +I should say. The text was from the 3rd chapter of Daniel, 16th, 17th, +and 18th verses: “Shadrach, Meshech, and Abed-nego answered and said to +the King, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this +matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from +the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O +King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve +thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” It was a +most beautiful sermon in every way, and I was _very much_ pleased and +impressed with it. Dr. Longley is to be Bishop of Ripon....[242] + +_Thursday, 27th October._— ... Read in _The Conquest of Granada_ +while my hair was doing. At 9 we breakfasted. Wrote a letter to my +brother. At 10 came the Dean till ½ p. 11. Read with him in the +N.T., in _The Life of Colonel Hutchinson_, and in Paley. _The Life +of Colonel Hutchinson_ is written by his wife, who wrote it for her +children after their father’s death. Colonel Hutchinson lived in the +time of Charles I., the Commonwealth, and even of Charles II. He was +on the Puritanical side, and though a very good man, signed the King’s +death-warrant, being very _strong_ on his side, which is to be seen by +Mrs. Hutchinson’s writings; his and her feelings being totally opposite +to Clarendon’s, render it interesting, though it is more a private +account of his life than any public History of the Times, but of course +a good deal of history will be mixed up in it as Col. Hutchinson had +a good deal to do in the wars. Mrs. Hutchinson’s style is remarkably +quaint and ancient, indeed in some parts so much so as to render it +almost ridiculous, but there are again some very pretty feeling parts +in it (indeed feeling and pious throughout it), one of which, in which +she speaks of her husband and herself I shall quote; before I do so, +however, I must say that the editor, a descendant of the family, has +left the orthography just as she wrote it, which is very antiquated +and imperfect: “The greatest excellence she (Mrs. Hutchinson) had was +the power of apprehending and the vertue of loving his (Col. H.’s) +soe as his shadow, she waited on him every where, till he was taken +into that region of light, which admits of none, and then she vanisht +into nothing.” There is likewise another passage speaking of a son she +lost: “... call’d by his owne name John, who liv’d scarce six yeares, +and was a very hopefull child, full of his father’s vigor and spiritt, +but death soone nipt that blossome.” Lehzen of course still continues +reading to me while I dress, the delightful letters of Mme. de Sévigné; +we are now in the middle of the 10th vol., and I like them more and +more, they are so beautiful, so easy, they show the character of the +person who wrote them so perfectly, you become acquainted with her +and hers, and there are such tender and beautiful feelings expressed +in them, towards that daughter who was her all & all; and the style +is so elegant and so beautiful. I shall quote a passage relating to +a vexation she had about not procuring the “députation” for her son +M. de Sévigné: “Ne faut-il point être juste et se mettre à la place +des gens? c’est ce qu’on ne fait jamais.” How true this is. Then how +pretty this is, in writing to Mme. de Grignan: “Vous me louez trop +de la douce retraite que je fais ici; rien n’y est pénible que votre +absence.” There is certainly nothing so beautiful of the kind, in any +language as these letters. I shall just quote two passages from the +extracts in _The Edinburgh Review_ of Sir James Mackintosh’s life, +about Mme. de Sévigné: “In the midst of all the rage felt at Paris +against King William, the admirable good-sense and natural moderation +of Mme. de Sévigné catches a glimpse of his real character, through the +mists of Rome and Versailles: ‘Le prince n’a pas songé à faire périr +son beau-père. Il est à Londres, à la place du Roi, sans en prendre +le nom, ne voulant que rétablir une religion qu’il croit bonne, et +maintenir les loix du pays sans qu’il en coûte une goutte de sang.... +Pour le Roi d’Angleterre il y (St. Germains) parait content,—et c’est +pour cela qu’il est là.’ Observe the perfect good-sense of the last +remark, and the ease and liveliness with which it is made. Tacitus and +Machiavel could have said nothing better; but a superficial reader +will think no more of it than the writer herself seems to do.”—Again, +further on: “The style of Mme. de Sévigné is evidently copied not only +by her worshipper Walpole, but even by Gray; who notwithstanding the +extraordinary merits of his matter, has the double stiffness of an +imitator and of a college recluse....” + +_Friday, 28th October._—I awoke at 7 and got up at 20 minutes to 8. +Read in the _Exposition_ while my hair was doing. Received a most kind +dear and pretty letter from dearest Aunt Louise, from which I will copy +a passage: “I have today not much to say. It is my brother Nemours’ +birthday; and in the same time, the anniversary of the death of my dear +governess” (Mme. de Mallet, who died when Aunt Louise was at Paris last +year) “of the best and truest friend I had for twenty years, to make me +melancholy. In her was broken the first link of the chain of my strong +and youthful affections. How many more shall I live perhaps to see +destroyed?” How pretty and feeling this is; it comes straight from her +dear good heart. I can well say of my _precious_ Lehzen what she says +of Mme. de Mallet, that she is my “best and truest friend” I have had +for nearly 17 years and I trust I shall have for 30 or 40 and _many_ +more!... + +_Tuesday, 1st November._— ... Read in _The Conquest of Granada_, and +wrote my journal. There are two lines in _Rokeby_ (which is so full of +beauty that I could copy the whole and not find one part which is not +full of loveliness, sweetness, grace, elegance, and feeling, for the +immortal bard who wrote these beautiful poems never _could_ write an +_ugly_ line in _my_ opinion) which struck me, as well as the Dean, who +is, s’il est permis de le dire, poetry-mad, as most splendid.... Oh! +Walter Scott is my _beau idéal_ of a Poet; I do so admire him both in +Poetry and Prose!... + +_Thursday, 3rd November._— ... After 7 we dined. The Duke of +Wellington, the Countess of Ashburnham,[243] and Lady Elinor +Ashburnham,[244] Lord and Lady Radstock,[245] Lord and Lady +Barham,[246] Colonel Stopford,[247] Colonel Barnard, Mr. Sicklemore, +and Mr. Mayhew dined here. I sat between the Duke of Wellington and +Lord Radstock. The Duke looked remarkably well and was in very good +spirits. Lady Barham looked very handsome; she had a reddish brown +velvet turban and a dark velvet dress. She is a likeness of the +Duchess of Sutherland in dark, but the Duchess is handsomer, in figure +and all together handsomer, having a finer nose and mouth than Lady +Barham. Lady Barham has a beautiful brow and fine dark expressive +eyes with a fine pale complexion, but the lower part of her face, +particularly the mouth and chin, are not at all good. She looks 28 and +is only 22.... + +_Sunday, 6th November._— ... We walked home at 1. Read in _Astoria_. +Added a few lines to my letter to Feodore. Wrote one to Aunt Sophia +and my journal. At ½ p. 2 we went out with _dearest_ Lehzen and came +home at a little before 4. Received a most kind letter from dearest +Uncle Leopold accompanied by a “supplément extraordinaire” to the +_Moniteur Universel_, giving an account of the “échauffourée” which +took place at Strasburg on the 30th October, headed by Louis Napoleon +Buonaparte,[248] a young man of 28 years old, son of the Duchesse +de St. Leu (Hortense), and who tried to make the Troops rise in his +favour, but the latter proved faithful to their King (Louis Philippe) +and country, as they ought; and the Prince and Rebels have been put in +prison. The Queen of the French sent Uncle the paper.... + +_Sunday, 20th November._— ... Read a letter of Lord Palmerston’s to +Mamma relative to the late unfortunate affairs at Lisbon, which is very +consolatory. Marshal Saldanha was charged to bring about the reaction, +which was to spread first in the provinces and then to the capital +and the Queen was _not_ to give the first impulse.[249] Unfortunately +poor Donna Maria was hurried into this step by the jealousy of those +about her. The friends of the Duke of Terceira, unwilling that Marshal +Saldanha should have the credit of the reaction, snatched it out of +his hands and brought on all this confusion. However, Lord Palmerston +concludes with this: “The result of the whole is, that the Queen’s +position is _better_ than it _was_, not so _bad_ as it _might_ have +been after such a failure, but _much less good_ than if she had waited +patiently till the proper time for action had arrived. The Prince +behaved throughout with spirit, courage and firmness and has acquired +by his conduct the respect of both parties.” That our beloved and +precious Ferdinand has behaved in such a way is most _delightful_ for +me, who _love him_ like the _dearest of Brothers_. It could not be +otherwise, I was sure.... + +_Tuesday, 29th November._— ... At 8 we left poor West Cliff House.... +We reached Canterbury in safety in spite of the rain and some wind, +but not very long after we left it, it began to blow so dreadfully, +accompanied by floods of rain at intervals, that our carriage swung and +the post-boys could scarcely keep on their horses. As we approached +Sittingbourne, the _hurricane_, for I cannot call it by any other name, +became quite frightful and even alarming; corn stacks were flying +about, trees torn up by their roots, and chimneys blown to atoms. We +got out, or rather were _blown_ out, at Sittingbourne. After staying +there for a short while we got into the carriage where Lady Theresa +and Lehzen were, with them, which being larger and heavier than our +post-chaise, would not shake so much. For the first 4 or 5 miles all +went on more smoothly and I began to hope our difficulties were at an +end. Alas! far from it. The wind blew worse than before and in going +down the hill just before Chatham, the hurricane was so tremendous that +the horses stopped for a minute, and I thought that we were undone, +but by dint of whipping and very good management of the post-boys +we reached Rochester in safety. Here we got out, and here it was +determined that we must pass the night. Here we are therefore, and here +we must remain, greatly to my annoyance, for I am totally unprepared, +Lehzen’s and my wardrobe maid are gone on to Claremont, and I hate +sleeping at an Inn. I had been so glad at the thought of not doing so +this time, mais “l’homme propose et Dieu dispose,” and it would have +been temerity to proceed, for a coach had been upset on the bridge +just before we arrived, and the battlements of the bridge itself were +totally blown in.... + +_Sunday, 18th December._— ... I sat between Mr. Croker[250] and Col. +Wemyss.[251] Der erste ist ein kluger, aber nach meiner Meinung, nicht +angenehmer Mann; er spricht zu viel. He has a very excellent memory and +tells anecdotes cleverly but with a peculiar pronunciation of the _r_. +He said that the Duke of Wellington had told him that the character +of the 3 nations, the English, Scotch, and Irish, was very apparent +in the army. He said (the Duke), “It may seem like a joke what I am +going to say, but it is quite true; the _Scotch_ were pleased when the +_money_ arrived, the _Irish_ when they got into a _wine country_, and +the _English_ when the _roast beef_ came up.” He told many anecdotes +and made many remarks upon the various nations, ein wenig sehr stark. +Il aime trop à étaler, il n’a pas de tacte; il prend trop le ton +supérieur.... + +CLAREMONT, _Saturday, 24th December (Xmas Eve)_.—I awoke after 7 +and got up at 8. After 9 we breakfasted. At a little after 10 we +left Kensington with dearest Lehzen, Lady Conroy and—_Dashy_! and +reached Claremont at a ¼ to 12. Played and sang. At 2 dearest Lehzen, +Victoire and I [? went out] and came home at 20 minutes p. 3. No one +was stirring about the Gipsy encampment except George, which I was +sorry for, as I was anxious to know how our poor friends were after +this bitterly cold night. Played and sang. Received from dearest best +Lehzen as a Christmas box: 2 lovely little Dresden china figures, 2 +pair of lovely little chased gold buttons, a small lovely button with +an angel’s head which she used to wear herself, and a pretty music +book; from good Louis a beautiful piece of Persian stuff for an album; +and from Victoire and Emily Gardiner a small box worked by themselves. +Wrote my journal. Went down to arrange Mamma’s table for her. At 6 +we dined. Mr. Edmund Byng[252] and Mr. Conroy dined here. Mr. Byng +is going to stay here a night or two. Very soon after dinner Mamma +sent for us into the Gallery, where all the things were arranged on +different tables. From my dear Mamma I received a beautiful massive +gold buckle in the shape of two serpents; a lovely little delicate +gold chain with a turquoise clasp; a lovely coloured sketch of dearest +Aunt Louise by Partridge, copied from the picture he brought, and so +like her; 3 beautiful drawings by Munn, one lovely sea view by Purser, +and one beautiful cattle piece by Cooper (all coloured), 3 prints, a +book called _Finden’s Tableaux_, _Heath’s Picturesque Annual for 1837, +Ireland_; both these are very pretty; _Friendship’s Offering_, and _The +English Annual for 1837_, _The Holy Land_ illustrated beautifully, +two handkerchiefs, a very pretty black satin apron trimmed with red +velvet, and two almanacks. I am very thankful to my dear Mamma for +all these very pretty things. From dear Uncle Leopold, a beautiful +turquoise ring; from the Queen a fine piece of Indian gold tissue; and +from Sir J. Conroy a print. I gave my dear Lehzen a green morocco jewel +case, and the _Picturesque Annual_; Mamma gave her a shawl, a dress, +a pair of turquoise earrings, an annual, and handkerchiefs. I then +took Mamma to the Library where my humble table was arranged. I gave +her a bracelet made of my hair, the clasp of which contains Charles’, +Feodore’s and my hair; and the _Keepsake_ and _Oriental Annual_. Lehzen +gave her two pair of little buttons just like mine. I danced a little +with Victoire. Stayed up till 11. + +_Sunday, 25th December (Xmas day)._—At 9 we all breakfasted. Mamma, +Lehzen and I read prayers. Arranged my new drawings. At a little +before 2 dearest Lehzen, Victoire and I went out and came home at 3. +As we were approaching _the camp_,[253] we met Rea coming from it, who +had been sent there by Mamma to enquire into the story of these poor +wanderers. He told us (what I was quite sure of before) that all was +quite true, that the poor young woman and baby were doing very well, +though very weak and miserable and that what they wanted chiefly was +fuel and nourishment. Mamma has ordered broth and fuel to be sent +tonight, as also 2 blankets; and several of our people have sent old +flannel things for them. Mamma has ordered that the broth and fuel is +to be sent each day till the woman is recovered. Lehzen sent them by +our footmen a little worsted knit jacket for the poor baby, and when we +drove by, Aunt Sarah,[254] the old woman and the Husband all looked out +and bowed most gratefully. Rea gave them directly a sovereign. I cannot +say how happy I am that these poor creatures are assisted, for they are +such a nice set of Gipsies, so quiet, so affectionate to one another, +so discreet, not at all forward or importunate, and _so_ grateful; so +unlike the gossiping, fortune-telling race-gipsies; and this is such a +peculiar and touching case. Their being assisted makes me quite merry +and happy today, for yesterday night when I was safe and happy at home +in that cold night and today when it snowed so and everything looked +white, I felt quite unhappy and grieved to think that our poor gipsy +friends should perish and shiver for want; and now today I shall go to +bed happy, knowing they are better off and more comfortable.... + +_Thursday, 29th December._— ... At 12 we went out with dear Lehzen +and came home at 2. Everything still looked very white and the ground +rather slippery but not so much as yesterday. It snowed part of the +time we were walking. I saw Aunt Sarah and the least pretty of the two +sisters-in-law, who has returned, in a shop at Esher. How I _do_ wish +I could do something for their _spiritual_ and _mental_ benefit and +for the education of their children and in particular for the poor +little baby who I have known since its birth, in the admirable manner +Mr. Crabbe in his _Gipsies’ Advocate_ so strongly urges; he beseeches +and urges those who have kind hearts and Christian feelings to think of +these poor wanderers, who have many good qualities and who have many +good people amongst them. He says, and alas! I _too well_ know its +truth, from experience, that whenever any poor Gipsies are encamped +anywhere and crimes and robberies &c. occur, it is invariably laid to +their account, which is shocking; and if they are always looked upon as +vagabonds, how _can_ they become good people? I trust in Heaven that +the day may come when _I_ may do something for these poor people, and +for this particular family! I am sure that the little kindness which +they have experienced from us will have a good and lasting effect on +them!... + +[Illustration: GYPSY WOMEN. + + From a sketch by Princess Victoria.] + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER VI + + This was her _annus mirabilis_, her wonder-year. The earlier months + passed much as usual. On 24th May she was eighteen years old. The + entry in her Journal shows some presentiment of what was to come. + In less than a month she had stepped from out of the precincts of + that quiet, ill-furnished palace in Kensington Gardens into the + full glare of the Throne. The 20th June was her most wonderful + day, but although keenly alive to its significance and glory, she + never lost her self-control. The hidden forces which even her + Journals failed to reveal, appear so to have moulded her character + that she was enabled to appreciate and yet resist the glamours of + this supreme moment. There is not a trace of doubt or misgiving. + She was conscious of a mysterious duty imposed upon her by Divine + Providence, and although she obviously felt her inexperience, she + never for a moment doubted her fitness for her task. King William + died at Windsor soon after two in the morning, and three hours + later the Archbishop and Lord Conyngham were at Kensington Palace. + The Princess received them in a dressing-gown hastily thrown over + her nightdress, her feet in slippers, and her fair hair loose about + her head. Four hours later she received for the first time Lord + Melbourne, the Prime Minister, who was destined until the day of + her marriage to exercise a potent influence over her thoughts and + actions. Her caution in the selection of confidantes, her wariness + in granting her approval, and her care to safeguard the regal + tradition, are clearly apparent from the day of her accession. + Although she accepted advice, she never appeared to yield. There + is nothing in these Journals that displays the inner thoughts of + the Queen, in a light differing from that in which her conduct + appeared both to her Ministers and to her courtiers. Then, as in + after-years, she fulfilled the hope publicly expressed by Lord + John Russell, that she would prove to be an Elizabeth without her + tyranny and an Anne without her weakness. + + It must be remembered that from the day of her accession the Crowns + of Great Britain and Hanover were divided. Her uncle, Ernest, Duke + of Cumberland, succeeded to the Throne of Hanover. The fear that + he might succeed to the Throne of Great Britain had always haunted + the minds of the people, and added to the feeling of gladness with + which they welcomed the young Queen. On the second day of her reign + the name Alexandrina was dropped for ever, and she was thenceforth + known, as she desired to be, by the name of Victoria. + + + CHAPTER VI + + 1837 + +_Sunday, 8th January._— ... The service was performed by the Dean, +who gave us likewise a sermon. The text was from the 1st Chapter of +Isaiah,—verse:—“Wash you, make you clean.” At 12 dear Lehzen and I went +out and came home at 10 minutes p. 1. It is today a week that we took +leave of our poor good friends the Gipsies, and I am quite sorry when +I pass the spot so long enlivened by their little camp, and behold it +empty and deserted, and with almost no trace to be seen of their ever +having been there. They had been there more than a month, for they +encamped there about 5 days after we arrived here and have been there +ever since until last Wednesday or Thursday. To _my_ feeling, the chief +ornament of the Portsmouth Road is gone since their departure. But this +is their life; they are happy and grateful and we have done them some +good. The place and spot may be forgotten, but the Gipsy family Cooper +will _never_ be obliterated from my memory!... + +_Tuesday, 10th January._— ... At a ¼ p. 3 came M. Van de Weyer, who +arrived in London last night from Lisbon. He gave us most interesting +and most valuable information about Portugal; praised our _dearest_ +Ferdinand to the skies, said he showed cleverness, firmness, and +character which no other young man of his age hardly ever showed; said +the poor Queen was totally indifferent to whatever happened, but was +extremely obedient to Ferdinand who had great power over her. He told +us much to distress us, but said that the present ministers were ready +to do anything that was right. He is a most clever, clear-sighted, +sensible little man, Van de Weyer himself. He looks much careworn and +fatigued, and _no_ wonder at it.... + +_Tuesday, 7th February._—Read in _Bajazet_. Read to Lehzen out of +_Polyeucte_ and finished it; it is certainly _very_ beautiful and +full of most beautiful and highminded feelings, but the end is, to my +feelings, rather unnatural. Lehzen dictated to me some passages from +_Polyeucte_.... + +_Thursday, 9th February._— ... Read to dear Lehzen out of the +newspapers Lord John Russell’s very able and judicious speech +on bringing in the Irish Corporation bill; and out of the Irish +History.... Read in _Bajazet_ and wrote my journal. Lehzen dictated +French to me. Played and sang. Read in Raumer’s _Königinnen_. Read +in Clive’s life[255] while my hair was doing. At 6 we dined. Read in +_Bajazet_. Sang, and Mamma also. Stayed up till 10. Read in School +Shakespeare while my hair was undoing. + +_Saturday, 8th April._—At 10 came the Dean till 11. Read with him in +the N.T. and in Boswell’s _Life of Johnson_. At ½ p. 11 I went down +and sat to Mr. Lane[256] till a ¼ to 1. He showed me 4 very beautiful +coloured drawings by Chalon, 3 portraits,—Mrs. Ashley, very like; +Miss Fanny Wyndham as Contino in _Scaramuccia_, ridiculously like; and +Bellini as Figaro; the 4th is a very beautiful head and hands of Juliet +asleep after she has taken the draught. Mr. Lane likewise showed me a +very beautiful miniature of Lady Blessington[257] painted by Chalon +about 15 years ago; and a beautiful drawing of C. Kemble as Falstaff, +done by himself. He is a great friend of Kemble’s and admires him +beyond everything. He is also very intimate with Mr. Macready, and +says he is such an excellent father and husband. Charles Mathews, he +says, speaks Italian as well as he does French.... At 20 minutes p. 7 +we went with dear Lehzen, Lady Theresa, Charles and Lord Ilchester &c. +to the Opera. It was my dear _I Puritani_, and they were singing the +opening Chorus when we came in. Grisi, Rubini, Lablache, and Tamburini +made their first appearance this season, and were all enthusiastically +cheered on their appearance, in particular my worthy Master and Rubini. +There is not a word of truth in what was said about Grisi, for I never +saw anything look more lovely that she did, and she sang deliciously, +as did also Rubini whose voice seems to get if possible finer each +year. It is useless to add that the singing of these 4 incomparable and +unequalled _artistes_ was, as always, perfection! with the exception +perhaps of Lablache’s being a little hoarse at times; he did not look +well and was not in his usual spirits I thought. The Quartet “Ah! te o +cara,” the Polacca, “Suoni la tromba,” and “Ella è tremante” were all +loudly encored. After the Opera was over the 4 cantanti were called out +and loudly cheered.... + +_Tuesday, 11th April._—Heard that poor Lady De L’Isle,[258] the King’s +eldest daughter, had expired at 10 o’clock the night before. On the +death of old Mrs. Strode last February, the King made Lady De L’Isle +housekeeper of Kensington Palace; and she arrived here about 2 or 3 +days after we came from Claremont, was confined with a daughter about a +month ago, and was going on very well, when she was taken so alarmingly +ill, I think on Sunday. It is very awful and very dreadful for her 4 +poor children. + +After 9 we breakfasted. At a little before 10 came the Dean till 12 +minutes to 11. Read with him in the N.T. and in Hume. At 11 came my +good Lablache and stayed till 6 minutes to 12. He was as good-humoured, +kind, ready, and gentlemanlike as ever; there never is any difference +in his manners or ways, may he be ill, well, tired or not tired, he is +always in the same ready good-humour. He is perhaps a little greyer, +_mais voilà tout_. He was in splendid voice and sang beautifully. It +was quite a delight for me to hear his fine and unique voice again and +to sing with him; it is such a support to my voice and he accompanies +so agreeably. I sang first with him the favourite duo of mine: “Voglio +dire,” from _L’Elisire d’Amore_; then “Una furtiva lagrima,” a pretty +little Aria from the same opera, which I repeated and which Catone +used to sing so nicely, as also “Quanto è bella quanto è cara” from +_L’Elisir_, which I also sung. After this Lablache sang with Mamma and +me “Se il fratel stringere” from _Belisario_, which he _had never seen_ +or even _heard_ before!... + +_Thursday, 20th April._—I got up at 8. Read in the _Exposition_ while +my hair was doing. After 9 we breakfasted. Played and sang; practised +for Lablache. Drew. At 20 minutes to 2 we went to the Drawing Room with +dear Lehzen, Lady Mary Stopford,[259] Sir George Anson &c. The poor +Queen not being well, the King held the Drawing-room, and (strange to +say) Princess Augusta represented her. There were several young ladies +presented, amongst whom were Lady Wilhelmina Stanhope (daughter to +the Earl and Countess Stanhope),[260] a beautiful girl; Lady Fanny +Cowper[261] (daughter to the Earl and Countess Cowper), also pretty; +Lady Mary Grimston,[262] Miss Louisa Percy,[263] Miss Wynn (niece to +the Duchess of Northumberland), Victoire Conroy, &c. The poor Duchess +of Northumberland was unable to attend me, having a bad cold. We came +home at 20 minutes p. 3.... + +_Friday, 19th May._—Got up at 8. Wrote the _brouillon_ of a French +letter to dearest Aunt Louise while my hair was doing. After 9 we +breakfasted. The children played in the room. At 10 Mary,[264] Lehzen, +I and the children went out walking and came home at 10 minutes to 11. +Wrote my letter to dearest Aunt Louise. At ½ p. 11 came M. Guazzaroni +till 12. Received a letter from _the King_ by Lord Conyngham.... + +Read in W. Scott’s Life. Received an address from the Mayor and City of +Lincoln, which was presented by Colonel Sibthorp[265] and Mr. Edward +Lytton Bulwer,[266] the two Members. I was attended by my dearest +Lehzen, and Mamma by Lady Flora. Played and sung &c. Wrote my journal. +Drew. Felt very miserable and agitated. Did not go down to dinner, but +dined in my own room at 8 o’clock. Stayed up till 10. + +_Saturday, 20th May._—Got up after 8. After 9 we breakfasted. The dear +children were in the room and played very merrily. Wrote a letter to +the King, which Mamma had previously written for me. At 3 minutes +past 11 came my buon Maestro Lablache, looking pale and coughing, and +complaining he was still unwell and feared he would remain so till the +weather became warmer.... + +[Illustration: + + _Lablache + from recollection._ + + _P.V. del:— + Kensington + Palace Aug. 1836._ + + LUIGI LABLACHE. + + From a sketch by Princess Victoria.] + +_Wednesday, 24th May._—Today is my 18th birthday! How old! and yet +how far am I from being what I should be. I shall from this day take +the _firm_ resolution to study with renewed assiduity, to keep my +attention always well fixed on whatever I am about, and to strive to +become every day less trifling and more fit for what, if Heaven wills +it, I’m some day to be!... At ½ p. 3 we drove out with Mary and dear +Lehzen and came home at 5. The demonstrations of loyalty and affection +from all the people were highly gratifying. The parks and streets were +thronged and everything looked like a _Gala_ day. Numbers of people +put down their names and amongst others good old Lablache inscribed +his.... At ½ p. 10 we went to the ball at St. James’s with the Duchess +of Northumberland, dear Lehzen, Lady Flora and Lady Conroy &c. The King +though much better was unable of course to be there, and the Queen +neither, so that, strange to say, Princess Augusta made the _honneurs_! +I danced first with Lord Fitzalan,[267] 2ndly with Prince Nicholas +Esterhazy,[268] who is a very amiable, agreeable, gentlemanly young +man; 3rdly with the Marquis of Granby[269]; 4thly with the Marquis of +Douro[270] who is very odd and amusing; and 5thly and lastly with the +Earl of Sandwich[271] who is an agreeable young man. I wished to dance +with Count Waldstein who is such an amiable man, but he replied that +he could not dance quadrilles, and as in my station I unfortunately +cannot valse and gallop, I could not dance with him. The beauties +there were (in my opinion) the Duchess of Sutherland, Lady Frances (or +Fanny) Cowper, who is very pleasing, natural and clever-looking.... The +Courtyard and the streets were crammed when we went to the Ball, and +the anxiety of the people to see poor stupid me was very great, and I +must say I am quite touched by it, and feel proud which I always have +done of my country and of the English Nation. I forgot to say that +before we went to dinner we saw the dear children. I gave my beloved +Lehzen a small brooch of my hair. + +_Friday, 26th May._— ... Wrote a letter to dear Uncle Leopold, to +dearest Albert from whom I received a most kind and affectionate +letter for my birthday yesterday, and to Ernest Hohenlohe. Finished my +_brouillon_ of Aunt’s letter and began to write it. At 2 we went with +dear Lehzen and I received two more Addresses, one from Kidderminster +presented (not _read_) by Lord Foley[272]; the other from the Borough +of Louth by ——. First of all the Sheriffs of the City came and wished +to know when we should be pleased to receive the Address from the Mayor +and Corporation of London.... + +_Monday, 29th May._—At ½ p. 1 we went to the Drawing-Room with the +Duchess of Northumberland, dear Lehzen, Lady Mary Stopford, Lady +Catherine Jenkinson, Lady Flora Hastings, Lady Cust, Sir George +Anson, &c. The King and Queen being both unwell, though better, the +Drawing-room was held by the Princess Augusta!! It was an immensely +full one—2000 people, and we did not get home till a ¼ p. 5. The +handsomest people there were: the Duchess of Sutherland, Lady Fanny +Cowper, the Marchioness of Abercorn,[273] Lady Seymour,[274] Mrs. +Blackwood, &c., &c. Countess Emanuel Zichy (Miss Strachan that was) +and who was also at our Concert, was presented. Count Zichy is very +good-looking in uniform, but not in plain clothes. Count Waldstein +looks remarkably well in his pretty Hungarian uniform.... + +_Tuesday, 30th May._—At ½ p. 2 we went into the saloon with Mary and +Princess Sophia, I being attended by the Duchess of Northumberland +and dear Lehzen, and Mamma by all her ladies and gentlemen. The Lord +Mayor, Aldermen and Commons of the City of London presented Mamma 1st +with an Address to which she read an answer, and then me with a very +kind one. I only answered the following words, from my own accord: “I +am very thankful for your kindness and my Mother has expressed all my +feelings.” The Addresses were read by the Recorder of London (Mr. Law). +There were all together 150 who came up with the Lord Mayor.... + +_Sunday, 4th June._—Read in the _Exposition_ while my hair was doing. +At ½ p. 9 we breakfasted. The children played in the room. Wrote a +letter to dear Feodore. Drew. At 11 we went to Chapel with dear Lehzen. +The whole service was performed by Mr. Jackson. Wrote my journal. +Wrote. Drew. At a little after 3 came my good and honest friend, +_Stockmar_,[275] and stayed with me till ½ p. 3. He had a very pleasant +and useful conversation with me; he is one of those few people who tell +plain honest truth, don’t flatter, give wholesome necessary advice, and +strive to do good and smooth all dissensions. He is Uncle Leopold’s +greatest and most confidential attached and disinterested friend, and +I hope he is the same to me, at least, I feel so towards him; Lehzen +being of course the _greatest_ friend I have.... + +_Thursday, 15th June._—After 9 we breakfasted. The children played +in the room. At 10 Mary, dear Lehzen and I drove out and came home +at 10 minutes to 11. _Wrote!!_ The news of the King are so very bad +that all my lessons save the Dean’s are put off, including Lablache’s, +Mrs. Anderson’s, Guazzaroni’s, &c., &c., and we see _nobody_. I regret +rather my singing-lesson, though it is only for a short period, but +duty and _proper feeling_ go before _all pleasures_.—10 minutes to +1,—I just hear that the Doctors think my poor Uncle the King cannot +last more than 48 hours! Poor man! he was always kind to me, and he +_meant_ it well I know; I am grateful for it, and shall ever remember +his kindness with gratitude. He was odd, very odd and singular, but his +intentions were often ill interpreted!—Wrote my journal. At about a ¼ +p. 2 came Lord Liverpool and I had a highly important conversation with +him—_alone_.... + +_Friday, 16th June._— ... Began and read to Lehzen out of De Lolme, _On +the English Constitution_. I forgot to mention that Lehzen finished +reading to me on the 16th of May the delightful letters of Mme. de +Sévigné, and began on the following day _Les Mémoires de l’Impératrice +Joséphine_, par Mdlle. Le Normand, en 2 tomes, which is written in a +very affected and flourished style, but is amusing. The news of the +poor King were a shade better. At a little after 5 we drove out with +Mary and Lehzen and came home at a ¼ to 7. At ½ p. 7 we dined. Saw the +children before dinner. Sang _un poco_. Stayed up till ½ p. 10. + +_Saturday, 17th June._—Read in the _Exposition_ while my hair was +doing. After 9 we breakfasted. The children played in the room. At 10 +Mary, dear Lehzen, the dear children and I drove out and came home at +11. I like Mary very much; she is a very honest, warm-hearted, good +soul, and very susceptible of kindness shown to her; she is extremely +discreet and retiring too. The news of the King are worse again today. +Wrote my journal &c. Arranged some prints &c. At a little after 2 came +Baron Stockmar and stayed till near 3. The news of the poor King were +_very_ bad! Drew. At a ¼ to 5 we drove out with Mary, Lehzen and dear +little Edward, who was very funny and amusing. We came home at 6.... + +_Sunday, 18th June._—Got up at 8. After 9 we breakfasted. The children +played in the room. At 10 we went down to prayers with dear Lehzen. +The Dean read and preached. The text was from the 2nd Chapter of St. +John’s epistle, 5th verse. Drew and painted. Mary came up with Edward +and stayed some time. Edward also remained alone with me for a ¼ of +an hour. Painted. Saw Stockmar, who brought me a letter from Uncle +Leopold!!—Painted. The poor King, they say, can live but a few hours +more!—Wrote my journal.... + +_Monday, 19th June._—Got up at a ¼ p. 8. Read in _Les Veillées du +Château_ while my hair was doing. After 9 we breakfasted. The children +played in the room. At a ¼ p. 10 Mary, Lehzen, the children and I +drove out and came home at a little after 11. Read in _Les Veillées du +Château_. Wrote my journal. Saw Dr. Clark. Saw Ernest Hohenlohe who +brought me the news from Windsor that the poor King was _so_ ill that +he could hardly live through the day. He likewise brought me a very +kind message from the poor Queen, and also one from the poor old King. +After 7 we dined. Saw the children before dinner for a minute. Stayed +up till a ¼ p. 10. Read in W. Scott’s life while my hair was undoing. + +_Tuesday, 20th June._—I was awoke at 6 o’clock by Mamma, who told +me that the Archbishop of Canterbury[276] and Lord Conyngham[277] +were here, and wished to see me. I got out of bed and went into my +sitting-room (only in my dressing-gown), and _alone_, and saw them. +Lord Conyngham (the Lord Chamberlain) then acquainted me that my poor +Uncle, the King, was no more, and had expired at 12 minutes p. 2 this +morning, and consequently that I am _Queen_. Lord Conyngham knelt down +and kissed my hand, at the same time delivering to me the official +announcement of the poor King’s demise. The Archbishop then told +me that the Queen was desirous that he should come and tell me the +details of the last moments of my poor, good Uncle; he said that he had +directed his mind to religion, and had died in a perfectly happy, quiet +state of mind, and was quite prepared for his death. He added that the +King’s sufferings at the last were not very great but that there was a +good deal of uneasiness. Lord Conyngham, whom I charged to express my +feelings of condolence and sorrow to the poor Queen, returned directly +to Windsor. I then went to my room and dressed. + +Since it has pleased Providence 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. + +Breakfasted, during which time good faithful Stockmar[278] came and +talked to me. Wrote a letter to dear Uncle Leopold and a few words +to dear good Feodore. Received a letter from Lord Melbourne[279] in +which he said he would wait upon me at a little before 9. At 9 came +Lord Melbourne, whom I saw in my room, and of COURSE _quite_ ALONE as +I shall _always_ do all my Ministers. He kissed my hand and I then +acquainted him that it had long been my intention to retain him and the +rest of the present Ministry at the head of affairs, and that it could +not be in better hands than his. He then again kissed my hand. He then +read to me the Declaration which I was to read to the Council, which he +wrote himself and which is a very fine one. I then talked with him some +little longer time after which he left me. He was in full dress. I like +him very much and feel confidence in him. He is a very straightforward, +honest, clever and good man. I then wrote a letter to the Queen. At +about 11 Lord Melbourne came again to me and spoke to me upon various +subjects. At about ½ p. 11 I went downstairs and held a Council in +the red saloon. I went in of course quite alone, and remained seated +the whole time. My two Uncles, the Dukes of Cumberland[280] and +Sussex,[281] and Lord Melbourne conducted me. The declaration, the +various forms, the swearing in of the Privy Councillors of which there +were a great number present, and the reception of some of the Lords of +Council, previous to the Council in an adjacent room (likewise alone) +I subjoin here. I was not at all nervous and had the satisfaction of +hearing that people were satisfied with what I had done and how I had +done it. Receiving after this, Audiences of Lord Melbourne, Lord John +Russell, Lord Albemarle (Master of the Horse), and the Archbishop of +Canterbury, all in my room and alone. Saw Stockmar. Saw Clark, whom +I named my Physician. Saw Mary. Wrote to Uncle Ernest. Saw Ernest +Hohenlohe who brought me a kind and very feeling letter from the poor +Queen. I feel very much for her, and really feel that the poor good +King was always so kind personally to me, that I should be ungrateful +were I not to recollect it and feel grieved at his death. The poor +Queen is wonderfully composed now, I hear. Wrote my journal. Took my +dinner upstairs alone. Went downstairs. Saw Stockmar. At about 20 +minutes to 9 came Lord Melbourne and remained till near 10. I had a +very important and a very _comfortable_ conversation with him. Each +time I see him I feel more confidence in him; I find him very kind in +his manner too. Saw Stockmar. Went down and said good-night to Mamma +&c. My _dear_ Lehzen will ALWAYS remain with me as my friend but will +take no situation about me, and I think she is right. + +_Wednesday, 21st June._—Got up at 8. At 9 we all breakfasted. At ½ p. +9 I went to St. James’s in state. Mamma and Lady Mary Stopford were in +my carriage, and Lord Albemarle, Col. Cavendish, Lady Flora Hastings, +and Col. Harcourt in the others.... After the Proclamation Mamma and +the ladies repaired to an adjoining room and left me in the Closet. I +gave audiences to Lord Melbourne (a long one), the Earl Marshal (Duke +of Norfolk), and Garter King at Arms (Sir John Woods), relative to the +funeral of my poor Uncle the late King; to Lord Albemarle, Lord Hill, +Lord Melbourne (again for some time), and the Lord President (Lord +Lansdowne). I then held a Privy Council in the Throne Room. It was +not fully attended and was not the third part so full as it had been +on the preceding day. The Marquis of Anglesey,[282] the Chancellor +of the Exchequer (Mr. Spring Rice),[283] Lords Wharncliffe,[284] +Ashburton,[285] and Wynford,[286] Sir Hussey Vivian,[287] and some +Judges were sworn in as Privy Councillors and kissed hands. After +the Council I gave audiences to Lord Melbourne, the Archbishop of +Canterbury, and all the Bishops except one or two, the Lord Chancellor +and all the Judges; Sir Hussey Vivian (Master General of the Ordnance), +Lord John Russell, Lord Glenelg,[288] Mr. Poulett Thomson,[289] Lord +Howick,[290] Lord Palmerston, and Lord Minto.[291] I then returned +home at 1. I must say it was quite like a dream and a sad one, when +I was seated in the Closet where but barely 5 weeks ago I beheld for +the last time my poor Uncle. At 2 came Stockmar till after 3. Wrote to +the Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Augusta.[292] Walked. Saw the +Duke of Norfolk. Wrote my journal. At 7 we dined. At 10 minutes to 9 +came Lord Melbourne and stayed with me till 10. I had an agreeable and +important and satisfactory conversation with him. Stayed up till a ¼ p. +10. Lord Hill told me a curious coincidence which is that the 21st of +June, the day on which I was proclaimed, is likewise the anniversary of +the Battle of Vittoria! + +_Thursday, 22nd June._—Got up after 8. After 9 we breakfasted. The +children played in the room. At a ¼ p. 10 I walked out with Mary, +Lehzen, Charles and Edward, and came home at 20 minutes to 11. Wrote +to the Duchess of Gloucester. Wrote my journal. At 12 came the Judge +Advocate General (Mr. Cutlar Ferguson)[293] to submit various sentences +of Court Martial to me. He is a very clever intelligent man and +explained all the cases very clearly to me. I, of _course_, saw him +alone.... + +_Friday, 23rd June._—Got up at ½ p. 8. After 9 we breakfasted. The +children played in the room. I do not mention the VERY _frequent_ +communications I have with Lord Melbourne, Lord John Russell,[294] +&c., &c., &c., as also the other official letters I have to write and +receive, for want of time and space. Saw good Stockmar, who remained +in my room for some time. Saw the Marquis of Conyngham, then Lord +Hill, who explained to me finally about the Court Martials, then Sir +Henry Wheatley[295] and Col. Wood, who as Executors of the late +King, brought me his Will. At ½ p. 12 arrived Lady Catherine[296] +who remained in one of my sitting-rooms till now and still remains +(4 o’clock) answering letters, &c., &c. Saw the Duke of Argyll +(Lord Steward) at ½ p. 2. I wrote a letter to the Marchioness of +Tavistock[297] while Stockmar was here, asking her to become one of +my Ladies of the Bedchamber. Lay down. Wrote to the Marchioness of +Lansdowne,[298] asking her to become my first Lady of the Bedchamber. +At ½ p. 5 I drove out with Mary and Lehzen, and came home at ½ p. +6. After 7 we all dined. I had a GREAT deal of business to do after +dinner. Saw Stockmar. Received a very kind letter from Lady Lansdowne +accepting the situation. After dinner came Princess Sophia. Stayed up +till after 10. + +_Saturday, 24th June._—Got up after 8. At ½ p. 9 we all breakfasted. +The children played in the room. Wrote a letter to the Duke of Sussex, +and to good Späth. At 11 came Lord Melbourne and stayed till 12. He is +a very honest, good and kind-hearted, as well as very clever man. He +told me that Lady Tavistock had accepted the situation. And he read +to me the answer which I was to give to the address from the House of +Lords. He told me that the Duke of Argyll would bring the Address but +would not read it; and consequently I was not to read mine. Wrote. At +12 came Lady Catherine Jenkinson and remained in my room till near 3. +Saw Stockmar at a little after 12. Saw Sir Frederick Wetherall.[299] +Saw Lord John Russell. _Wrote._—I really have immensely to do; I +receive so many communications from my Ministers but I like it very +much.... + +_Sunday, 25th June._—Got up at 8. At ½ p. 9 we breakfasted. The +children played in the room. At 10 I went down to prayers with Mamma, +Mary, Lehzen, and Charles. The service was read by the Dean who +was much affected when he read the prayers in which my name is now +mentioned in the place of my poor Uncle, the late King. He preached a +very good and appropriate sermon; the text of which was from the 3rd +chapter of the Epistle General of St. Peter, 13th and 14th verses.... +At a few minutes p. 12 came the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Spring +Rice) and stayed some time. He is a very clever and good man.... At +about 20 minutes p. 4 came Lord Melbourne till 20 minutes p. 5. He is a +good, honest, kind-hearted and clever man, and I like to talk to him.... + +_Monday, 26th June._—Got up at 8. Before 9 we breakfasted. At ½ p. +9 went with Mamma to Windsor. I was attended by Lady Tavistock and +Colonel Cavendish,[300] and Mamma by Lady Flora Hastings. We arrived +at the Castle, which looked very mournful and melancholy with the flag +half mast high, at about a ¼ p. 11. We went instantly to the poor +Queen’s apartments.[301] She received me _most kindly_ but was at first +much affected. She however soon regained her self-possession and was +wonderfully calm and composed. She gave us many painfully interesting +details of the illness and last moments of my poor Uncle the late +King. He bore his dreadful sufferings with the most exemplary patience +and always thanked Heaven when these sufferings were but slightly and +momentarily alleviated. He was in the happiest state of mind possible +and his death was worthy his high station. He felt so composed and +seemed to find so much consolation in Religion. The Queen is really a +most estimable and excellent person and she bears the prospect of the +great change she must soon go through in leaving Windsor and changing +her position in a most admirable, strong and high-minded manner. I do +not think her looking ill and the widow’s cap and weeds rather become +her. I saw Ernest Hohenlohe, Gustav and Prince Ernest of Hesse P.B. We +left Windsor at ½ p. 12. It gave me a very painful feeling to think +that the remains of my poor Uncle were in the Castle. Altogether the +whole rather upset me. We came at ½ p. 2. I forgot to say that Lord +Melbourne told me that the Duchess of Sutherland[302] has accepted the +office of Mistress of the Robes, and the Countess of Charlemont[303] +of one of my ladies of the Bedchamber. At ½ p. 2 came the Duchess of +Sutherland, whom I am delighted to have as my Mistress of the Robes; +she was looking so handsome and nice. At about 10 minutes to 4 came +Lord Melbourne and stayed till ½ p. 4. I talked with him as usual on +Political affairs, about my Household, and various other _Confidential_ +affairs.... + +[Illustration: _H.M. Queen Adelaide_ + + _from a portrait by Sir W. Ross_] + +_Tuesday, 27th June._—Got up at ½ p. 8. At a ¼ to 10 we breakfasted. +The children played in the room. Wrote my journal. At about 20 minutes +p. 11 came Lord Melbourne and stayed till ½ p. 12. At a little after +½ p. 12 came Lord Palmerston and stayed till a little p. 1. He is a +clever and agreeable man. Saw Lord John Russell and Lord Melbourne +for a minute. At a few minutes p. 2 I went down into the saloon with +Lady Lansdowne; Col. Cavendish, the Vice-Chamberlain (Lord Charles +Fitzroy),[304] and the Comptroller of the Household (Mr. Byng)[305] +were in waiting. Lord Melbourne then came in and announced that the +Addresses from the House of Commons were ready to come in. They were +read by Lord John Russell and I read an answer to both. Lord Melbourne +stood on my left hand and Lady Lansdowne behind me. Most of the Privy +Councillors of the House of Commons were present. After this Lord +Palmerston brought in the Earl of Durham,[306] who is just returned +from St. Petersburg. I conferred on him the Grand Cross of the Bath. +I knighted him with the Sword of State which is so enormously heavy +that Lord Melbourne was obliged to hold it for me, and I only inclined +it. I then put the ribbon over his shoulder. After this the foreign +Ambassadors and Ministers were severally introduced to me by Lord +Palmerston. I then went upstairs and gave audiences to the Earl of +Mulgrave[307] and to the Earl of Durham. The latter gave a long +account of Russia. Did various things. Saw Stockmar. As I did not feel +well I did not come down to dinner, but dined upstairs. I went down +after dinner. Stayed up till 10. I wore the blue Ribbon and Star of the +Garter in the afternoon.... + +_Saturday, 1st July._—Got up after 8. At ½ p. 9 we breakfasted. Edward +played in the room only, Ernest not being good. Wrote. 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; but for want of time and space +I do not write these things down. I _delight_ in this work. Saw Lord +Melbourne. At about ½ p. 11 or a ¼ to 12 came Mr. Spring Rice. Saw Lord +John Russell. Wrote &c. At 2 came Sir Henry Wheatley to kiss hands upon +being appointed my Privy Purse. At a little after 2 I saw Stockmar for +a minute. At 10 minutes p. 2 came Lord Palmerston and stayed till 6 +minutes p. 3. We talked about Russia and Turkey a good deal &c. He is +very agreeable, and clear in what he says. Saw Stockmar for some time +afterwards. Wrote my journal. I forgot to mention that I received a +letter from dearest Aunt Louise in the morning. The children played in +my room for a little while. At ½ past 5 I drove out with Mamma and dear +Lehzen and came home at 20 minutes to 7. At ½ p. 7 we dined. Stayed up +till a ¼ p. 10. + +_Sunday, 2nd July._—Got up at ½ p. 8. At ½ p. 9 we breakfasted. The +children played in the room. At 10 I went to prayers with Mamma, Mary, +and dear Lehzen. The service was performed by the Dean who gave us also +a very good sermon. The text was from the 6th chapter of St. Matthew, +9th and 10th verses. Wrote, signed, &c. Wrote to dear Feodore. Received +a kind long letter from dear Uncle Leopold. At 10 minutes to 2 came +Lord Melbourne till a few minutes p. 3. Talked with him about many +important things. He is indeed a most truly honest, straightforward +and noble-minded man and I esteem myself _most_ fortunate to have such +a man at the head of the Government; a man in whom I can safely place +confidence. There are not _many_ like him in this world of deceit! +Mary and the children came up for a few minutes. At a little before 4 +came Stockmar and stayed till a little before 5. He is a most honest, +excellent, disinterested and straightforward man, and most exceedingly +attached and devoted to me; he has been, and is, of the greatest use to +me.... + +_Saturday, 8th July._—Got up at a little after 8. At ½ p. 9 we +breakfasted. The children played in the room. Signed, &c. Sat to Mr. +Lane for a few minutes. Wrote to the poor Queen from whom I received +a _very_ kind letter last night; &c., &c. Saw good Stockmar for some +time. Saw Lord John Russell. At a few minutes p. 12 came my good +and honest friend Lord Melbourne and stayed till 20 minutes p. 1. +Talked over many important things. Saw Mr. Spring Rice.... I forgot +to say that Lord Melbourne wrote me word yesterday evening that Lady +Mulgrave[308] I was very desirous to become one of my Ladies of the +Bedchamber, and I told Lord Melbourne this morning that I would make +her one of my ladies. Wrote to Lady Lyttelton[309] to ask her to become +one of my ladies of the Bedchamber (in a _year_), for she is still in +widow’s weeds.... At a ¼ p. 7 I, Mamma, Mary and Lehzen dined, Charles +having gone at 5 o’clock to Windsor to attend the funeral of my poor +Uncle, the late King. It was very very sad to hear from ½ p. 8 till +nearly 10 o’clock, those dreadful minute guns! Alas! my poor Uncle, he +now reposes in quiet and peace! As Lord Melbourne said to me, the first +morning when I became Queen, that the poor King “had his faults as we +all have, but that he possessed many valuable qualities.” I have heard +from all sides that he was really very fond of me, and I shall _ever_ +retain a grateful sense of his kindness to me and shall never forget +him. Life is short and uncertain, and I am determined to employ my time +well, so that when I am called away from this world my end may be a +peaceful and a happy one!... + +_Tuesday, 11th July._—Got up at 8. At ½ p. 9 we breakfasted. The +children played in the room. At a little after 10, sat to Mr. Lane for +a few minutes. Saw Col. Cavendish. Wrote, &c., &c. At ½ p. 11. came +Stockmar who brought me the unwelcome news of poor Lord Melbourne’s +continued indisposition and total incapability of coming to see me +to-day, which I regret for two reasons: first because I have many +things to ask him, 2ndly because I like very much to talk to him, as he +is so quiet in what he says.... + +_Wednesday, 12th July._—Got up at 8. At ½ p. 9 we breakfasted. Did +various things. At ½ p. 10 came Stockmar and stayed for some time. At +½ p. 11 came Lord Melbourne and stayed till ½ p. 12. He looked and +said he was better, but not quite well. Dressed. At a little before +2 I went with Mamma and the Duchess of Sutherland (in my carriage), +Charles and Mary and Lady Tavistock and Lord Albemarle (in the next +carriage), and Lady Mary Stopford and Colonel Cavendish in another. I +was in full dress and wore the Order of the Bath. I went in state with +a large escort. I was received at the door by the Lord Chamberlain, +the Lord Steward, &c., &c., and was by them conducted into the Closet, +where some people kissed hands. I then went into the Throne Room, Lord +Conyngham handing me in, and a Page of Honour (Master Ellice) bearing +my train. I sat on the Throne. Mamma and Mary stood on the steps of the +Throne on one side, and the Duchess of Sutherland and Lady Tavistock +stood near me (behind). I then received the two Addresses (of which, as +also of all the other things, I subjoin an account), and read Answers +to both. I then returned to the Closet; and went into another room to +put on the Mantle of the Bath[310] (of crimson satin lined with white +silk); I then saw Lord Melbourne in the Closet for a few minutes. +After this I went again into the Throne-room, and seated myself on +the Throne. I then conferred the Order of the Bath (_not sitting_ of +course) upon Prince Esterhazy. After this I again went into the Closet. +Mamma, Mary, Charles and Lady Mary Stopford then went home; it was 3 +o’clock. I then took off my Mantle. Received two Deputations from the +Sheriffs &c., to ask when I would receive two more Addresses from the +City. My two Ladies attended me, but after this they went into another +room, where they remained till I went. I then gave an Audience to Lord +Lansdowne. After this I held a Privy Council. After the Council I gave +audiences to the Earl of Yarborough[311] (who thanked me very much for +having appointed his amiable daughter, Lady Charlotte Copley, one of my +Bedchamber Women); to Lord Melbourne, Lord John Russell, Lord Mulgrave, +and Lord Hill. I then left the Palace, the Duchess of Sutherland (who +looked lovely, as she always does), and Lady Tavistock, going with me +in my carriage, in the same way as I came, and got home at a ¼ to 5.... + +_Thursday, 13th July._—Got up at 8. At ½ p. 9 we breakfasted. It +was the _last time_ that I slept in this poor old Palace,[312] as I +go into Buckingham Palace today. Though I rejoice to _go_ into B.P. +for many reasons, it is not without feelings of regret that I shall +bid adieu _for ever_ (that is to say _for ever_ as a DWELLING), to +this my birth-place, where I have been born and bred, and to which +I am really attached! I have seen my dear sister married here, I +have seen many of my dear relations here, I have had pleasant balls +and _delicious_ concerts here, my present rooms upstairs are really +very pleasant, comfortable and pretty, and _enfin_ I like this poor +Palace. I have held my first Council here too! I have gone through +painful and disagreeable scenes here, ’tis true, but still I am fond +of the poor old Palace. Lord Melbourne told me yesterday that the +Hon. Miss Dillon[313] (to whom I had offered it), has accepted the +situation of Maid of Honour. I always saw Lord Melbourne and also +Stockmar in my Private Sitting-room (the first of the three), but all +the other Ministers &c. &c. I saw in the further room (the farthest +of the 3). Did various things. Saw Stockmar for some time. The poor +rooms look so sad and deserted, everything being taken away. Wrote my +journal. At a little after 2 I went with Mamma and Lady Lansdowne (in +my carriage), Lehzen, and Col. Cavendish (in the next) to Buckingham +Palace. I am much pleased with my rooms.[314] They are high, pleasant +and cheerful. Arranged things. At a little after 4 Lady Lansdowne +brought Miss Pitt[315] and Miss Spring Rice[316] (the two Maids of +Honour in Waiting, and who lodge here) to kiss hands. Miss Pitt is +a _very_ pretty, elegant, nice girl, and Miss Spring Rice is a nice, +clever-looking girl. Saw Stockmar. Lady Lansdowne afterwards brought +Miss Davys to kiss hands, who is a very nice girl (though not at all +pretty). I then walked round the garden (which is large and very +pretty) with Mamma. Dear _Dashy_ was quite happy in it.... + +[Illustration: _H.R.H. Princess Victoria_ + + _from a portrait by R. J. Lane 1829._] + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER VII + + The break between the life of Princess Victoria and that of the + young Queen was now complete. Changes came innumerable and fast. + Her Household was formed, and it reflected the complexion of Lord + Melbourne’s Ministry, which had been established in power after + the General Election by a majority of thirty-eight. The Queen left + the home of her childhood for ever. She was the first Sovereign to + occupy Buckingham Palace. The building had been begun by George + IV., and although finished by William IV., had never been prepared + for occupation. It remained an inconvenient house until it was + added to in after-years by Prince Albert. Although Baron Stockmar, + the old medical attendant of King Leopold, who had been domiciled + in England by command of his master, was reputed to be acting as + the Queen’s Private Secretary, that post was in reality occupied + by Lord Melbourne himself. He was both Private Secretary and Tutor + to the young Queen at this stage of her career. Her political + education proceeded fast, and she learned with avidity. Her good + sense and composure were indeed remarkable. It was noted by all + that she was considerate and thoughtful to her elderly relatives, + and to the friends and servants of her predecessor. Her girlish + charm was attractive to those who were privileged to be about her, + and its influence over her subjects was soon widespread. When + within a month of her accession she appeared in the House of Lords + to dissolve Parliament in accordance with the Law, she read her + Speech, said Fanny Kemble, who was present, with splendid effect. + This well-qualified judge observed that the Queen’s voice was + exquisite, that her enunciation was as perfect as the intonation + was melodious, and that it was impossible to hear more excellent + utterance than that of the Queen’s English by the English Queen. + + It is difficult always to remember that the writer of these + Journals was at this epoch little more than a child, that she + had been educated almost exclusively by women, and that she had + lived on the whole a very solitary life, hampered by the unhappy + conditions attached to a girl who possesses no brothers and + sisters, and is in addition heir to a Throne. She was now suddenly + thrown almost entirely among men, grave and old, all of whom were + engaged in administering the complicated affairs of that Kingdom of + which she was Queen. It is difficult to imagine a greater contrast. + How rapidly the youthful Princess became a woman under the pressure + of these extraordinary circumstances becomes clear from her + Journals. They indicate a curious maturity, through which, however, + there peeps occasionally the face and figure of a child. + + + CHAPTER VII + + 1837 + +_Friday, 14th July._—Got up after 8. At ½ p. 9 I, Mamma, Lehzen, and +Lady Flora breakfasted upstairs. Wrote, signed, &c. Saw Sir F. Watson, +Col. Cavendish, Sir H. Wheatley, Stockmar. At a little after 11 saw +Sir John Hobhouse[317] for a little while. He is a very clever and +agreeable man. I saw him (where I shall see all the Ministers &c.) in +the small room[318] which opens into my sitting-room. Wrote my journal. +Dressed. At a few minutes to 2 I went with Mamma and the Duchess of +Sutherland (in my carriage), Lady Charlemont and Lord Albemarle (in the +next carriage), and Charles, Mary, and Lady Flora (in the other) to St. +James’s. I was in full dress and wore the blue ribbon and star of the +Garter, and the Garter round my arm. I was received in the same way as +before. I went into the Throne Room, sat on the Throne, and received +three Addresses in the same way as on Friday. Two of the Addresses +were _very fully_ attended and the room became intensely hot. I then +put on the Mantle and Collar of the Garter (of dark blue velvet lined +with white silk). Gave a few minutes audience to Lord Melbourne. I then +went into the Throne Room (did not sit on the Throne), held a Chapter +of the Garter and conferred that Order on Charles. Mamma, Charles and +Mary went away immediately after this, but I remained and gave a long +audience to Lord Melbourne, who read to me the Speech which I am to +deliver when I prorogue Parliament. He reads so well and with _so_ much +good feeling. I am sorry to see him still looking ill. I then saw the +Duke of Devonshire.[319] Came home with my two Ladies at ½ p. 4. + +_Saturday, 15th July._—At a few minutes p. 2 I went into one of the +large drawing-rooms and held a Cabinet Council, at which were present +all the Ministers. The Council lasted but a very short while. I then +went into my Closet and received Lord Melbourne there. He stayed with +me till 20 minutes to 4. He seemed and said he was better. He has +such an honest, frank, and yet gentle manner. He talks so quietly. +I always feel peculiarly satisfied when I have talked with him. I +have _great_ confidence in him. Saw the Duke of Argyll[320] and Lord +Albemarle. At 10 minutes to 4 came Lord Palmerston and stayed about +20 minutes. He is a very clever and agreeable man. I then saw Lord +Glenelg for a short while. Played and sang. Wrote my journal. At a ¼ +to 8 I dined. Mamma being unwell did not come to dinner. Besides the +people in the House which made with me 6,—Charles, Mary, the Duke of +Sussex, Princess Sophia, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl and Countess +of Mulgrave, the Earl and Countess of Durham, the Earl of Liverpool +and the Ladies Jenkinson, the Lord and the Equerry in Waiting, and +Lord John Churchill[321] dined here. I sat between Uncle Sussex and +the Duke of Norfolk. After dinner, at 10 o’clock came _Thalberg_,[322] +the most famous pianist in the world! He played four things, all by +heart. They were all Fantasias by him; (1) on _The Preghiera of Mosé_, +(2) on “God save the King” and “Rule Britannia,” (3) on _Norma_, (4) +on _Les Huguenots_. _Never, never_ did I hear anything at all like +him! He combines the most _exquisite_, _delicate_ and touching feeling +with the most wonderful and powerful execution! He is unique and I am +quite in ecstasies and raptures with him. I sat quite near the piano +and it is quite extraordinary to watch his hands, which are large, +but fine and graceful. He draws tones and sounds from the piano which +no one else can do. He is _unique_. He is quite young, about 25, +small, delicate-looking, a very pleasing countenance, and extremely +gentlemanlike. He is modest to a degree and very agreeable to talk to. +J’étais en extase!... + +_Monday, 17th July._—Got up at 8. At ½ p. 9 we breakfasted. Saw Sir +F. Watson and Col. Cavendish. Saw Stockmar. At ½ p. 1 I went in state +to the House of Lords, with the Duchess of Sutherland and the Master +of the Horse in my carriage, and Lady Lansdowne and Lady Mulgrave in +another. Had I time I would give a very minute account of the whole, +but as I have _very_ little, I will only say what I feel I wish +particularly to name. I went first to the Robing-room, but as there +were so many people there I went to a Dressing-room where I put on +the Robe which is enormously heavy. After this I entered the House of +Lords preceded by all the Officers of State and Lord Melbourne bearing +the Sword of State walking just before me. He stood quite close to me +on the left-hand of the Throne, and I feel always a satisfaction to +have him near me on such occasions, as he is such an honest, good, +kind-hearted man and is my _friend_, I know it. The Lord Chancellor +stood on my left. The house was very full and I felt somewhat (but very +little) nervous before I read my speech, but it did very well, and I +was happy to hear people were satisfied. I then unrobed in the Library +and came home as I went, at 20 minutes p. 3.... + +_Wednesday, 19th July._—Got up at ½ p. 8. At ½ p. 9 we breakfasted. Saw +Sir F. Watson, Col. Cavendish, and Stockmar. At 20 minutes p. 11 came +Lord Melbourne till a ¼ p. 12. Talked over many things. Dressed. At a +¼ p. 1 I went with the Duchess of Sutherland and Lady Portman in my +carriage, to St. James’s. I received two addresses on the Throne and +read answers to them. After that Col. Buckley[323] and Col. Wemyss +kissed hands on being appointed Equerries, as also the Hon. William +Cowper (nephew to Lord Melbourne) as Groom in Waiting. Also many +others. I gave audiences to various foreign Ambassadors, amongst which +were Count Orloff,[324] sent by the Emperor of Russia to compliment me. +He presented me with a letter from the Empress of Russia accompanied +by the Order of St. Catherine all set in diamonds. (I, of course, +as I generally do every evening, wore the Garter.) The Levee began +immediately after this and lasted till ½ p. 4 without one minute’s +interruption. I had my hand kissed nearly _3000_ times! I then held a +Council, at which were present almost all the Ministers. After this I +saw Lord Melbourne for a little while, and then Lord Palmerston.... + +_Wednesday, 2nd August._— ... After dinner I sat on the sofa with +the pretty amiable little Countess C. Pozzo di Borgo and Lady +Salisbury,[325] and Count Pozzo di Borgo and Prince Auersperg[326] +sat near us. Prince Auersperg is a very nice, good-looking young +man, very quiet, good-humoured and retiring. Lady Seymour is +certainly _exceedingly_ beautiful; she has not the splendid eyes and +fine expression of her sister Mrs. Norton, but altogether she is +handsomest, and there is a sweetness and gentleness about her which +neither Mrs. Norton nor Mrs. Blackwood have.[327] Stayed up till ½ p. +10.... + +_Wednesday, 9th August._—Got up at a little after 8 and breakfasted at +½ p. 9. Saw Sir Frederic Watson and Col. Buckley. Began a letter to +dear Uncle Leopold. Saw Stockmar. Finished my letter to Uncle Leopold +and wrote my journal. At 7 minutes to 12 came Lord Melbourne and stayed +till a ¼ to 2. Talked over many serious subjects. I’m somewhat anxious +about the Elections but I trust in Heaven that we shall have a Majority +for us, and that the present Government may remain firm for _long_. +Lord Melbourne spoke so candidly, so disinterestedly, and so calmly +about all this. Wrote my journal. Drew. At 3 came the Queen Adelaide’s +sister, Ida, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar,[328] with 3 of her children. Her +2nd son, Edward, 14 years old, who was born here[329] and consequently +is my subject, and her little girls, Anna and Amalie, 9 and 7 years +old. Edward is a very nice boy. I stayed some time with them and then +went down and drew in my room while Mamma took them into the garden.... + +_Tuesday, 15th August._—Got up at ½ p. 8, and breakfasted in my own +room at a ¼ to 10. Put on my habit and went with dear Lehzen, Miss +Cavendish,[330] Lord Albemarle, Col. Cavendish, Col. Buckley and +Stockmar, to the Mews, which are in the garden. The Riding-house is +very large. Sir George Quentin and Mr. Fozard (who has a situation in +my Stables) &c., were there. I had not ridden for 2 years! I first +rode a bay horse, a delightful one called Ottoman, and cantered about +a good while. I then tried for a minute another horse which I did not +like so well. I then remounted Ottoman. After him I mounted a beautiful +and very powerful but delightful grey horse, a Hanoverian, called +Fearon. Miss Cavendish rode also the whole time; she rides very nicely. +Came home at 20 minutes to 12. Mamma came into the School when I had +been riding a little while.... + +_Wednesday, 16th August._—Got up at ½ p. 8, and breakfasted before 10 +in my own room. At ½ p. 10 I went to the Riding House with Mamma, Miss +Cocks,[331] Miss Cavendish, dearest Lehzen, Col. Cavendish, and Col. +Buckley. I rode 1st a horse called Rosa (not my poor little Rosa), then +Monarch, rather a nice horse, then Emma, not a bad horse, then Fearon, +my favourite, and lastly Emperor, a _very_ nice chestnut horse. Mamma +and my Maids of Honour also rode. Came home at 12. At 7 minutes past 1 +came Lord Melbourne and stayed till a ¼ to 3.... + +WINDSOR CASTLE, _Tuesday, 22nd August_.—Got up at a ¼ to 9 and +breakfasted at 10. Saw Col. Buckley. Wrote to the Grand Duchess of +Oldenbourg.[332] Arranged various things. At 20 minutes to 12 came my +kind, good friend Lord Melbourne and stayed till ½ p. 1. I am quite +sorry to think I shall not see him till next Monday, when he comes down +to me at Windsor, for I am so fond of him, and his conversations do +me much good; he is such a thoroughly straightforward, disinterested, +excellent and kindhearted man. He goes down to Brocket Hall tonight +with his sister Lady Cowper, Lady Fanny, and Mr. Cowper (my Groom), and +the younger brother, Spencer Cowper. I hope the country air and rest +will do him good. Saw Sir H. Wheatley, and Stockmar. Wrote my journal. +Saw Sir F. Wetherall,[333] and Prince Ernest of Hesse P.B.[334] At ½ +p. 2 I went with Mamma, Lady Charlotte Copley, and Lady Flora in my +carriage; dear Lehzen, Miss Cocks, Miss Cavendish, and Col. Buckley +going in the other, to Windsor Castle, where I arrived at ½ p. 5. I had +escort of Lancers. All along the road the people were very loyal and +civil, and my poor native place, Kensington, particularly so. When we +reached the Long Walk at Windsor a larger escort of the 1st Life Guards +met me; the Walk was thronged with people, where a dinner was given to +them in honour of my arrival. The people were remarkably friendly and +civil. Unfortunately it began to rain before we reached the Long Walk. +Windsor looked somewhat gloomy and I cannot help feeling as though _I_ +was not the Mistress of the House and as if I was to see the poor King +and Queen. There is sadness about the whole which I must say I feel. +Lady Tavistock, who is in waiting for 4 weeks, Lord Conyngham, and the +Lord Steward received me at the door. I inhabit the Queen’s rooms, +though not in the same way as she did. At ½ p. 7 we dined.... + +_Saturday, 26th August._—Got up at a ¼ to 9 and at 10 we breakfasted +with all the Ladies including Lady Charlemont and Lady Barham. To-day +is my _dearest_ cousin Albert’s 18th birthday, and I pray Heaven to +pour its choicest blessings on his beloved head! Took leave of Lady +Barham as both she and he go away.... + +_Sunday, 27th August._— ... At ½ p. 2 we all went into the drawing-room +and received the King of Würtemburg[335] who came to take leave. He +was accompanied by Count Mandelsloh, Baron Spitzemberg, and General +Fleischmann. He took luncheon with us and the whole party including +Lord Glenelg, whom I asked to stay another night. By some mistake Lord +Tavistock did not come to luncheon. I sat between the King and Count +Mandelsloh. After luncheon I showed the King the State Rooms &c. and at +4 he took leave and went away. He leaves England on Tuesday and is much +pleased with what he has seen.... + +_Monday, 28th August._— ... I hope Lord Melbourne will stay here for +some days. At 4 I rode out with Mamma, Lady Charlotte Copley, Lady +Mary Stopford (who got into the carriage and drove), Miss Cavendish, +Miss Cocks, Lord Melbourne, Lord Conyngham, Lord Torrington,[336] +Col. Cavendish, Col. Buckley, and Mr. Rich. As Sir George Quentin +and Mr. Fozard _always_ ride out with us, I shall not mention them +any more. Lady Tavistock and Lehzen followed in a pony carriage. I +rode Duchess, a nice bay horse, but rather too quiet and not near so +pleasant as Monarch. Mamma rode Barbara. Lord Melbourne rode his own +horse, a very fine black mare which came down from London this day. It +was a very pleasant ride and we came home at a ¼ p. 6.... _Tuesday, +29th August._—Got up at ½ p. 8 and at ½ p. 9 we breakfasted with all +the ladies. Wrote my journal. At ½ p. 11 or rather at a ¼ to 12 came +Lord Melbourne and stayed till a ¼ to 2. At 3 I walked over the House +with Mamma and most of the ladies, and Lord Conyngham, Col. Buckley, +Col. Cavendish, &c. The offices are not good. We then walked a little +while on the Terrace. Played on the piano or rather more sang with +Mamma. At 7 o’clock arrived my _dearest most beloved_ Uncle Leopold +and my _dearest most beloved_ Aunt Louise. They _are both_, and _look +both_, _very well_; dearest Aunt Louise is looking so well and is grown +_quite_ fat. I and Mamma as well as my whole court were all at the door +to receive them. It is an inexpressible _happiness_ and _joy_ to me, +to have these dearest beloved relations with me and in _my own_ house. +I took them to their rooms, and then hastened to dress for dinner. At +8 we dined.... Dearest Aunt Louise went in first with Lord Lansdowne, +then I with dear Uncle, and Mamma with M. Van de Weyer. I sat between +dear Uncle and my good Lord Melbourne; two delightful neighbours. Dear +Aunt Louise sat opposite. After dinner I sat on the sofa with dearest +Aunt Louise, who is really _an angel_, and Lord Melbourne sat near me. +Uncle talked with Lord Palmerston. It was a most delightful evening.... + +_Friday, 1st September._— ... I rode Monarch who went delightfully, +and Aunt Louise and Mamma the same horses as the preceding day. The +weather looked lowering when we went out. When we were about the middle +of Queen Anne’s Walk, there came a most unexpected and violent flash of +lightning which was followed instantaneously by a tremendous clap of +thunder. My horse jumped a little, but very little, but Aunt Louise’s +being very much alarmed by the thunder, _ran away, full gallop_, to our +great horror, and poor dear Aunt lost her hat; thank God! the horse +stopped after 100 yards at the foot of a hill and was led back. We had +meanwhile got into a close carriage with the three ladies, and dear +Aunt Louise who was not the _least_ frightened but only “quite ashamed” +as she said, also got in, and we drove home (all six) in a tremendous +thunderstorm and deluge of rain. We reached home in perfect safety at 5 +o’clock.... + +_Friday, 8th September._—Got up at a ¼ to 9 and at a little before 10 +I breakfasted with dearest Uncle Leopold, dearest Aunt Louise, Mamma +and the Duke of Sussex. Talked with Uncle Leopold for some time. How I +wish I had time to take _minutes_ of the very interesting and highly +important conversations I have with my Uncle and with Lord Melbourne; +the sound observations they make, and the impartial advice they give +me would make a most interesting book. At 11 Lord Melbourne came to +me and stayed with me till 20 minutes to 1. He is a most excellent, +kindhearted, honest and upright man, and my beloved Uncle is delighted +with him, which makes me very happy, as I am so fond of Lord Melbourne, +and he _has been_ and _is such_ a _kind friend_ to me. Uncle and he +perfectly agree in Politics too, which are the _best_ there _are_. Lord +Melbourne goes to town, I’m sorry to say, today, but will be back here +tomorrow. Saw dearest Uncle Leopold. Talked with him. Signed. Wrote my +journal.... + +_Tuesday, 12th September._— ... After dinner I sat part of the evening +on the sofa with Lady Tavistock, dearest Uncle Leopold and Lord +Melbourne sitting near me; they talked very interestingly together. +The rest of the evening I sat on the sofa with dearest Aunt Louise, +who played a game at chess with me, to _teach_ me, and Lord Melbourne +sat near me. Lord Tavistock, Lord Palmerston, Mrs. Cavendish, Sir J. +Hobhouse and Mme. de Mérode,[337] sat round the table. Lord Melbourne, +Lord Palmerston, Sir J. Hobhouse, and later too Lord Conyngham, all +gave me advice, and _all different_ advice, about my playing at chess, +and _all_ got so _eager_ that it was very amusing; in particular Lord +Palmerston and Sir J. Hobhouse,[338] who differed totally and got quite +excited and serious about it. Between them all, I got quite beat, and +Aunt Louise triumphed over my Council of Ministers!... + +_Monday, 18th September._— ... After dinner I sat on the sofa part +of the evening with Lady Tavistock, Lord Melbourne sitting near me, +and the rest with my _dearest_ Aunt Louise, with whom I played a game +at chess, and _beat_ her; Lord Palmerston, Lord Melbourne, and Lord +Conyngham sat near me advising me. At 11, our _last happy evening_ +broke up, and Aunt Louise took leave in the kindest way imaginable +of the whole party except my gentlemen; and good Lord Melbourne was +touched to tears by this leave-taking. I cannot say _how_ I shall +miss my dearest Aunt Louise; she combines with _great_ cleverness and +learning, so much merriment, and has all the liveliness and fun of a +girl of 16, with all the _sense_ and _deep_ thought of one of 30 and +much older even. And I think she is _so lovely_, so graceful, she +has such an angelic expression in her clear eyes; and she dresses _so +well_, morning and evening. And then my beloved Uncle whom I look up +to and _love_ as a _father_, how I shall _miss_ his protection out +_riding_, and his conversation!... + +_Thursday, 28th September._—Got up at ½ p. 8 and breakfasted with +Mamma at a ¼ to 10. Wrote to the Duchess of Gloucester. Saw Sir +Jeffrey Wyattville.[339] Wrote to the Queen and my journal. At 12 Lord +Melbourne came to me and stayed with me till 10 m. p. 1. Dressed, in a +habit of dark blue with red collar and cuffs (the Windsor Uniform which +all my gentlemen wear), a military cap, and my Order of the Garter, as +I was going to review the Troops. At 2 I mounted Leopold, who was very +handsomely harnessed; all the gentlemen were in uniform, that is to say +Lord Hill, Lord Alfred Paget[340] (who looked remarkably handsome in +his uniform of the Blues), Prince Lichtenstein,[341] Baron Reisehach, +&c., and my other gentlemen wore the Windsor uniform with cocked hats. +Mamma and Miss Cavendish rode, as did also my pretty little page, +George Cavendish, who looked so pretty in his uniform, mounted on a +little pony all harnessed like a large horse. Lord Palmerston also +rode. All the other ladies and gentlemen, including Lord Melbourne, +drove in carriages after us. The Lancers escorted us. When we came +upon the ground, which is in the Home Park, I rode up with the whole +party to where a Sergeant was stationed with the colours, and there +stopped, and the regiments saluted me. I saluted them by putting my +hand to my cap like the officers do, and was much admired for my manner +of doing so. I then cantered up to the Lines with all the gentlemen +and rode along them. Leopold behaved most beautifully, so quietly, the +Bands really playing _in_ his face. I then cantered back to my first +position and there remained while the Troops marched by in slow and +quick time, and when they manœuvred, which they did beautifully. The +Troops consisted of the 1st Regiment of Life Guards who are beautiful, +of the Grenadier Guards, and of some of the Lancers. They fired and +skirmished a good deal, and near us, and Leopold never moved. The whole +went off beautifully; and I felt for the first time like a man, as if +I could fight myself at the head of my Troops. We rode back to the +Castle at ½ p. 4, and I mounted Barbara and rode out with Mamma, Prince +Lichtenstein, Lord Melbourne, Lord Palmerston, Baron Reisehach, Lord +Torrington, Lord Alfred Paget, Miss Cavendish, Lady Mary, Mr. Murray +and Miss Murray, and came home at 7 m. to 6. Lord Melbourne rode near +me. + +_Friday, 29th September._—Got up at a ¼ to 9 and breakfasted at 10 with +Mamma. Wrote to dear Ferdinand and to the good Queen of Portugal while +my hair was doing before breakfast. Wrote to dearest Aunt Louise and +my journal. At 12 Lord Melbourne came to me and stayed with me till ½ +p. 1. He read to me a Paper about the Civil List, and explained it to +me, and so _clearly_ and _well_ he explained it; he reads very well +too, so distinctly and with so much good emphasis.... + +_Saturday, 30th September._—Got up at a ¼ to 9 and breakfasted at 10 +with Mamma. Saw Lord Albemarle. Wrote my journal. At a ¼ p. 11 Lord +Melbourne came to me and stayed with me till a ¼ to 12. At a ¼ to 12 +came the Queen with her sister the Duchess of Saxe-Weimar and stayed +with me till 1 o’clock. The poor Queen was very much composed, though +it must have been a very painful and severe trial for her, considering +she had not been here since she left the Castle, the night after the +poor King’s funeral. I showed her all my rooms with which she was much +pleased; and she went by herself to see the room where the King died. I +sang a little and Mamma also, while they were there.... + +_Tuesday, 3rd October._—Got up at a ¼ to 9 and at a ¼ p. 10 I +breakfasted with Mamma. Wrote to dearest Uncle Leopold and my journal. +Saw Sir H. Wheatley. At ½ p. 12 Lord Melbourne came to me and stayed +with me till 5 m. to 2. He read to me some Despatches from Canada +which are not very satisfactory. Saw Princess Augusta. At ½ p. 3 I +rode out with Mamma, Lord Melbourne, Lord Palmerston, Lady Mary, Lord +Torrington, Mr. Murray, Mr. Brand, Col., Mrs. and Miss Cavendish, and +Miss Murray, and came home at 6. We rode all round Virginia Water, a +beautiful ride, and cantered almost the whole way home. It was the +hottest summer evening that can be imagined, not a breath of air, and +hotter coming home than going out. Alas! it was our last ride here! +I am _very sorry_ indeed to go! I passed such a very pleasant time +here; the pleasantest summer I EVER passed in _my life_, and I shall +never forget this first summer of my Reign. I have had the _great_ +happiness of having my beloved Uncle and Aunt here with me, I have had +very pleasant people and kind friends staying with me, and I have had +_delicious_ rides which have done me a world of good. Lord Melbourne +rode near me the whole time. The more I see of him and the more I know +of him, the more I like and appreciate his fine and honest character. +I have seen a great deal of him, every day, these last 5 weeks, and I +have always found him in good humour, kind, good, and most agreeable; +I have seen him in my Closet for Political Affairs, I have ridden out +with him (every day), I have sat near him constantly at and after +dinner, and talked about all sorts of things, and have always found him +a kind and most excellent and very agreeable man. I am very fond of +him. Wrote my journal.... + +BRIGHTON, _Wednesday, 4th October_.—... I constantly regret I cannot +write down many of the pleasant and instructive conversations I have +with clever people, such as Lord Melbourne, Lord Palmerston, Lord +Holland, &c., &c. And many of the Foreign Despatches which I read, in +particular some of the Private letters of the Ambassadors and Ministers +to Lord Palmerston, are _so_ interesting and well written that I wish +I could note them down. I read one of Mr. Villiers’[342] from Madrid +to-day, which is remarkably well written.... + +_Tuesday, 24th October._—Got up at 25 m. p. 8 and breakfasted at a ¼ +to 10 with Mamma, having signed &c. before breakfast. Wrote my journal +&c. At 3 m. to 11 Lord Melbourne came to me and stayed with me till ½ +p. 12. Talked over many things and gave him a letter I had received +this morning from Uncle Leopold, to read; he took it with him. Sat to +Sir David Wilkie. Before I left the painting room, I sent for Lord +Melbourne to see the Picture, with which he was much pleased. It is +to be my _First Council_,[343] and a great many Portraits will be +introduced into the picture; Lord Melbourne will be painted standing +near me. Wrote my journal.... + +_Sunday, 29th October._— ... At a little after 3 I _tried_ to drive out +with Lady Mulgrave, Lady Gardiner and Miss Paget[344] following, but +we were obliged to come home again almost directly as it rained the +whole time. It is really most provoking weather. Finished my letter +to Feodore, and wrote one to my _Cousin Marie_.[345] Saw Stockmar for +one instant. At 7 we dined.... + +_Wednesday, 1st November._—Got up at a ¼ to 9 and breakfasted at 10 +with Mamma. Received before breakfast a letter from Ferdinand and +one from Mary with a very pretty little ring in it. At ½ p. 10 my +excellent, kind friend Lord Melbourne came to me and stayed with me +till 12. Talked over many things; and talked over some _disagreeable +business_ about which Lord Melbourne is _very kind_ (as he is about +_everything_, for he is the best-hearted, kindest and most feeling man +in the world) and very anxious. Showed him dear Ferdinand’s letter. +Poor Ferdinand’s position and the unfortunate state of Portuguese +affairs distress him much; he takes everything so much to heart, +which is generally not the case with a Statesman. I observed to Lord +Melbourne that there were not many very good preachers to be found; +he replied in the affirmative and added, “But there are not _many +very good anything_,” which is _very true_.... I then took leave of +him, told him I was very sorry he went, to which he replied he was +also very sorry. I shall see him again however on Saturday when I go +to town. I am _very sorry_ to lose his agreeable company (as I always +like to have those who are kind to me, and _my_ friends, with me) +these last days here. And I am very sorry to think that the summer and +autumn (the pleasantest _I_ EVER passed) are over! How time flies when +pleasantly spent!! Lord Melbourne also was much better for this quiet +life and liked it too. He is a great friend of Lehzen’s which makes +me _more_ fond of him still. I always saw Lord Melbourne in my little +sitting-room; I being seated on a sofa, and he in an armchair near or +close opposite me; the other ministers and visitors I saw in another +little room just the same size as this one, where Lehzen always sits; +it is close to the other, one little room only being between the two.... + +BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _Saturday, 4th November_.—Got up at ½ p. 7. Wrote +my journal while my hair was doing. Received a few lines from Lord +Melbourne. At 9 I breakfasted with Mama. Saw Stockmar. At 10 minutes +to 10 I left Brighton with Mama and Lady Mulgrave; Miss Dillon, Lady +Mary Stopford, dearest Lehzen and Col. Cavendish following in another +carriage. Lady Gardiner went in her own carriage. I took leave of Miss +Paget before I went; both her and Miss Dillon’s waitings were out on +Thursday, but I did not wish to give the other Maids of Honour the +trouble of coming down only for two days and then going back again. +Miss Paget is a very good, quiet, nice, unaffected girl. We changed +horses first at Hickstead, 2ndly at Crawley, 3rdly at Redhill, and +lastly at Croydon, and reached Buckingham Palace at 3. It is a journey +of 52 miles.... I have changed my rooms, that is to say, I sit in my +dressing-room, and make it both my sitting and dressing-room, which is +much more comfortable and cheerful than the other rooms on the other +side; and I shall see all my Ministers &c. in the former breakfast +room,[346] next my dressing-room, which is now very prettily furnished +and looks very nice and cheerful. Lehzen’s little sitting-room is next +this room. At a few m. p. 4 came my good Lord Melbourne, whom I was +happy to see well and in good spirits, though a little tired with the +deal he has to do; he stayed with me till 10 m. p. 5, and we talked +over various important things. I, of course, saw him in the _new +Ministerial Room_.... + +_Thursday, 9th November._—Got up at ½ p. 9 and breakfasted by myself +in my room at ½ p. 10. Played on the piano and sang. Wrote my journal. +Dressed for the Lord Mayor’s dinner, in _all my finery_. At 2 I went +in the state carriage and 8 horses with the Duchess of Sutherland and +Lord Albemarle; all my suite, the Royal Family, &c., went before me. +I reached the Guildhall at a little before 4. Throughout my progress +to the city, I met with the MOST gratifying, affectionate, hearty +and brilliant reception from the greatest concourse of people I ever +witnessed; the streets being _immensely crowded_ as were also the +windows, houses, churches, balconies, every where. I was then conducted +by the Lord Chamberlain, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress preceding +me, and my whole suite following me,—to a private drawing-room, where +I found Mamma, the Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of Cambridge, +and Augusta, and all their Ladies. All my Ladies came in there. After +waiting some little time, I sent for Lord Melbourne and Lord John +Russell, to ask them some questions, and they came in for a minute or +two, and then went away. After waiting a little longer, I was conducted +by Lord Conyngham in the same way as before, the Royal Family and my +Ladies &c. following, to the Council Room, where were the Dukes of +Sussex and Cambridge and George,—all my Ministers, all the Foreign +Ambassadors and Ministers &c., &c., the Lord Mayor, all the Aldermen, +the Lady Mayoress and all the Aldermen’s wives. I was seated in a large +arm-chair, all the others standing. The Recorder then read an Address, +to which I read an answer; when the Lord Mayor was presented I said to +Lord John Russell (what I had previously been told to do), “I desire +you to take proper measures for conferring the dignity of Baronet on +the Lord Mayor.” I then knighted the Sheriffs, one of whom was Mr. +Montefiore, a Jew, an excellent man[347]; and I was very glad that I +was the first to do what _I_ think quite right, as it should be. The +Lady Mayoress and all the Aldermen’s wives were then presented. After +this we returned, as before, to the Private Drawing room and remained +there till a ¼ p. 5 when we went to dinner.... I drank a glass of wine +with the Lord Mayor (John Cowan) and the late Lord Mayor. The Lord +Mayor is a quiet little old man of 70 (they say). When my health was +given out, there was great cheering and applause. I left dinner in the +same way I came in at about ½ p. 7; and we went as before into the +Private Drawing room and waited there till the carriages were ready. +All the Royal Family went away before me. I went at ½ p. 8 in a usual +carriage (not a state carriage) with the Duchess of Sutherland and Lord +Albemarle as before. We came back just in the same way as we went, +only that each carriage had only a pair of horses, and there were no +people on foot walking by the carriage. The crowd was, if possible, +greater than it had been when I went in the day; and they cheered me +excessively as I came along. The streets were beautifully illuminated +on all sides, and looked very brilliant and gay. I got home by 20 +m. to 10, and quite safely; I trust there have been no accidents. I +cannot say HOW gratified, and HOW _touched_ I am by the very brilliant, +affectionate, cordial, enthusiastic and _unanimous_ reception I met +with in this the _greatest_ Metropolis in the _World_; there was not +a discontented look, not a sign of displeasure—all loyalty, affection +and loud greeting from the immense multitude I passed through; and +no disorder whatever. I feel _deeply grateful_ for this display of +affection and unfeigned loyalty and _attachment_ from my good people. +It is much more than I deserve, and I shall do my utmost to render +myself worthy of all this love and affection. I had a very bad headache +in the morning, but it went off during all the ceremonies; it was +somewhat bad when I came home, but I went to bed immediately after I +had signed a few papers.... + +_Sunday, 12th November._— ... Saw Stockmar. Walked. Signed. Wrote my +journal. Read Despatches. At a little after 7 we dined. Our whole party +made only 12 in number, which were, us 10 (for Miss Davys and Col. +Cavendish had gone home and Lady Mary was ill), Lord Melbourne and Mr. +Cowper. Lord Melbourne led me in and I sat between him and Mr. Cowper. +I was happy to see Lord Melbourne in very good spirits; he was very +amusing about Theatricals and has peculiar tastes of his own about +actors. He has such an honest, blunt, and amusing manner of coming out +with his remarks and observations. After dinner I sat on the sofa with +Mamma, and Lord Melbourne sat near me the whole evening. Mr. Cowper +(who, as usual, was very amusing), and Lady Mulgrave sat near the +table. Lord Melbourne does not, I think, look quite as well as he used +to do when at Windsor and Brighton; he looks paler and tired often; and +he says he feels the want of exercise. I fear since I have come to the +throne he has still more to do than he had before; but he is always +ready to assist me in every way, and will not admit that I trouble him. +Stayed up till 11. It was a very pleasant evening. + +_Monday, 13th November._— ... I do not mention when I get +communications from Lord Melbourne and when I write to him, for that +occurs _every_ day and _generally_ 2 or 3 times a day, so that it would +take up too much time; I also receive communications from all the +other Ministers; the one with whom I communicate _oftenest_ after Lord +Melbourne is Lord Palmerston.... + +_Thursday, 16th November._— ... At a ¼ p. 2 Lord Melbourne came to me +and stayed with me till 12 m. p. 3. He read me the Speech again, as +it is settled to be now; and became touched to tears in reading the +concluding part which alludes to my youth and reliance on the Loyalty +of my People—kind, excellent, good man. Talked over various things.... + +_Friday, 17th November._— ... After dinner I went at ½ p. 6 with all +the dinner party, except Lehzen (who again went with Mr. Rich to the +play in a box opposite), Miss Davys (who did not go), and Lord Alfred +Paget (who was on the escort and rode by the carriage), to the play to +Covent Garden, the Duchess of Sutherland and Lord Albemarle going with +me in the carriage. I met with the same brilliant reception, the house +being _so_ full that there was a great piece of work for want of room, +and many people had to be _pulled_ out of the Pit by their wrists and +arms into the Dress Circle. I never saw such an exhibition; it was the +oddest thing I ever saw. My Ladies took it by turns, (their standing +behind me, I mean). Mamma sat near me, and Lady Mary stood behind her. +The performances were the fine but dreadful tragedy of _Werner_ by Lord +Byron, and the 1st act of _Fra Diavolo_.... + +_Monday, 20th November._—Got up at a ¼ to 9 and breakfasted by myself +at a ¼ p. 10. Played on the piano. Saw Mr. Spring Rice. Dressed for +going to the House of Lords, exactly in the same costume as last +July. When I was dressed I saw the Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess +of Cambridge, and Augusta[348] and little Mary.[349] At ½ p. 1 I +went in the State Carriage with the Duchess of Sutherland and Lord +Albemarle; Lady Lansdowne, Lady Barham, and all my gentlemen (except +Lord Conyngham who went as a Peer and not in my suite), and 3 Pages, +going in 6 other carriages, to the House of Lords to open Parliament. +I arrived there at 2, and was conducted to the Library—all the Great +Officers of State, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord President, the Lord +Privy Seal, preceding me—Lord Melbourne walking quite close before +me bearing the sword of state. I robed in the Library, all the +above-mentioned people, my ladies and gentlemen, being there, and then +proceeded into the House of Lords—the manner of going in being the same +as before—and seated myself on the Throne; Lord Melbourne standing +quite close to me on my left; I feel a satisfaction in having this +excellent man near me on such important public occasions. I read the +Declaration about Transubstantiation, or rather repeated it after the +Chancellor—the Commons having been summoned to the Bar. After this I +read the Speech (which I think an excellent one) and which people were +pleased to say I read well. The House was very full. I then returned +to the Library and unrobed. Good, kind Melbourne was quite touched to +tears after I read the Speech. I could only say a very few words to +him. I came home, as I went, at a ¼ p. 3. Lehzen was at the House, +which I am very glad of, and _she_ was pleased with my manner.... The +Duke of Sussex was the mover of the Address in the House of Lords, and +made a very able and judicious speech, Lord Melbourne wrote me word. +I got Lord Melbourne’s despatch while I was at dinner, and I left the +table for a minute to read it. Lord Melbourne likewise informed me +that “the Address was voted without a dissentient voice”; and that the +Duke of Wellington spoke fairly; adhering to his declaration of last +Session, and saying that the manner in which the Measures for Ireland +were mentioned in the Speech would facilitate his intention to support +Ministers in their measures. None of the Ministers spoke. I hail this +bright and unanimous beginning as an auspicious augury of the coming +Session and I trust that all will do well.... + +_Friday, 24th November._— ... Saw Lord Conyngham and Edwin Landseer, +who brought a beautiful little sketch which he has done this morning, +of a picture he is to paint for me of Hector and Dash. He is an +unassuming, pleasing and very young-looking man, with fair hair. At 1 +Lord Melbourne came to me and stayed with me till a ¼ to 2. Talked over +various things.... + +_Tuesday, 28th November._— ... At 20 m. to 1 came Lord Melbourne and +stayed with me till 2. I was glad to see him looking well and in high +spirits. He said it was “a very good debate” in the House of Lords; +that the Duke of Wellington had been somewhat eager but had been put +down. The House sat till p. 11, and Lord Melbourne only got his dinner +then. I showed him Lord John’s account of the Debate in the H. of +Commons. He said there was a good deal in this _large_ majority as the +Opposition had made rather a point of it to carry it. Lord Melbourne +was quite touched in saying this, as he knows how anxious I am the +Government should be _firm_ for the peace of the Country and for my +own peace and happiness; as also when he spoke of the readiness with +which the Civil List would be voted. He is _so_ kind to me; I have the +GREATEST confidence in him. He is so truly excellent. I cannot say +HOW happy I am at this _good_ beginning! Lord Melbourne even said, +everything went much better than they expected. I trust most fervently +that all will continue thus well.... + +_Wednesday, 29th November._— ... At 20 m. p. 12 Lord Melbourne came +to me and stayed with me till 2. He told me there had been a very +short debate upon the Duke of Newcastle’s[350] bringing in a Bill for +the Repeal of the Catholic Emancipation Act (a most absurd idea). He +(the Duke of Newcastle) was only supported by Lord Lorton[351] and +Lord Winchilsea. Lord Melbourne and Lord Brougham spoke. I read the +speech of the former (Lord Melbourne) in the papers; it is, as all his +speeches and sayings are, remarkably judicious and clever.... At ½ p. +7 we dined.... I sat between the Duke of Wellington and the Marquis +Conyngham. The former I thought looking very old, and silent and out +of spirits. I think he does not feel _à son aise dans sa position_; he +fears to displease his friends and does not wish to oppose the Ministry +violently.... I sat on the sofa with Lady Mulgrave and Lady Barham; +Lady Wilhelmina Stanhope[352] and Lady Caroline Strangways[353] sitting +near me. Lady Wilhelmina is not so handsome as she was; she is not to +be compared, in _my_ opinion, to Lady Fanny Cowper, whose great charm, +besides her lovely face, fine complexion and beautiful figure is her +great quietness, and unaffected manners, and unconsciousness of her +beauty. Lady Wilhelmina is nevertheless an agreeable, clever girl.... + +_Monday, 4th December._—Got up at ½ p. 9.... At about 10 m. to 1 came +Lord Melbourne and stayed with me till 2. Talked about many things, +and amongst others about the Pensions which give so much trouble. Lord +Melbourne said he thought it “quite an abomination to meddle with the +pensions” which people now had; that upon the whole, hereafter, he was +rather against giving pensions, for he said, “if people know that you +have the power to grant them, they apply without end, and it is very +difficult to refuse”; “it requires,” he added, “nerves of _iron_ to +refuse,” and “if you have none to give away, why there is an end of +it.” I think this is all very true.... + +_Wednesday, 6th December._—At 1 came Lord Melbourne and stayed with me +till a ¼ p. 2. He told me that there was a good deal of speaking in +the House of Lords yesterday, upon the 2nd reading of the Imprisonment +for Debt Bill, and that they sat till 10 o’clock. The bill, though +opposed in detail, by some, was read a 2nd time, and was referred to +a Committee. In the House of Commons, the Municipal Corporation Bill +for Ireland was introduced without opposition. There was some debate +upon an affair of the dismissal of a Col. Verner in Ireland (which was +done, as Lord Melbourne told me at Windsor, against his (Lord M.’s) +wish, and which he still dislikes, but which cannot be helped now), on +account of a toast he gave at a public dinner. Lord Morpeth quite put +him (Col. Verner) down, by “a triumphant speech,” as Lord John wrote me +word; I always shew these reports of Lord John to Lord Melbourne.... +Lord Melbourne led me in, and I sat between him and Lord Canning, who +is exceedingly shy. Lord Melbourne was in good spirits and we talked a +good deal upon various subjects; I made him laugh very much by telling +him what the Duchess of Sutherland told me _he_ had told _her_ about +Lord Brougham’s speech on education, which was: “That it was tiresome +to hear, tiresome to educate, and tiresome to be educated.” He said, “I +think it is very true....” + +_Thursday, 7th December._—Went into the Drawing room where Mr. Landseer +showed me two _most_ beautiful pictures, done by himself, one large, +the other small, which he had brought for me to see; the figures +and animals are all most beautifully painted and grouped; and most +exquisitely finished, so that I looked at them through a _magnifying +glass_; I never saw anything so exquisite in every way. He also showed +me a sketch in oils (small) of Lord Melbourne which is like, but too +fat, and though flattered is not in my opinion half pleasing enough. +It is very well done; he also showed me a sketch of Mrs. Lister done +in _one_ sitting, and exceedingly pretty. He had only had two sittings +of Lord Melbourne. He certainly is the cleverest artist there is. Sat +to Mr. Hayter for a long while. Showed him some of my drawings which +he praised and told me where they were in fault. Drew. Tried to sketch +little Mary Barrington while her mother amused her.... + +_Friday, 8th December._— ... After dinner I sat on the sofa with Lady +Ashley,[354] who was very agreeable and talked to me of her children +&c. One of her charms is her being so natural. Lord Melbourne sat near +me the whole evening. He talked to me about the play, about Joan of +Arc, whom he admires, and said, “It is clearly proved that what she did +is not to be attributed to any impropriety of conduct.” Many historians +have chosen to blemish the character of this poor, innocent maid, who +was _so_ great. He asked me if I had ever read Barante’s _History of +the Princes of the House of Burgundy_, in 8 vols., which gives a whole +account of Joan; which I have not. M. de Barente is French Ambassador +at St. Petersburg. Lord Melbourne also spoke to me of Lord Ashley, who +he says is a very good man; and less eager in Politics than he was; +Lord Ashley is a high Tory. He “adores” Lady Ashley, Lord Melbourne +says. Lord Melbourne also told me that when I first came to the +Throne, Lord Ashley “wrote to Emily” (Lady Cowper) “and said, ‘Why, +it’s shocking that Lord Melbourne has only put Whig ladies about the +Queen’; upon which Lady Cowper said, ‘Why, Lady Barham is not such a +great Whig’; ‘Oh!’ said Ashley, ‘_she_ is quite terrible, _she_ is the +worst of all.’” This amused me much. There is no end to the amusing +anecdotes and stories Lord Melbourne tells, and he tells them all +in such an amusing funny way. Spoke to me about horses; he told me +his pretty black mare is rather crippled by his having travelled her +about so much, and that she must get rest. Lady Ashley says that Lady +Cowper dotes upon her grandchildren and would give them and let them do +anything. Stayed up till 11. It was a _very_ pleasant evening. + +_Saturday, 9th December._— ... I forgot to say that Lord Melbourne +got a letter after dinner from Mr. Cowper (which he showed me) from +the House of Commons, in which he said, “The Debate is going in our +favour.” Lord Melbourne spoke to me about several of the speakers in +the House of Commons; spoke of Sir E. Sugden[355] whom he says is a +very clever lawyer, and said, “His father was a hair-cutter; he cut my +hair very often.” This is a singular thing. Told me of an affront which +the “Demagogue Hunt”[356] offered William Peel one day, in the House +of Commons, on the latter’s attacking him. William Peel said something +derogatory about Hunt’s extraction, upon which Hunt replied: “If _my_ +father was the _first gentleman_ of his family, _your_ father was the +_last gentleman_ of _his_ family....” + +_Tuesday, 12th December._— ... Lord Melbourne, though looking pale, +I was happy to see in very good spirits. A few minutes after we had +sat down, he turned to me and said, “We have had a great _set-to_ in +the House of Lords.” He added that Lord Brougham[357] had made an +unexpected opposition against the Message which Lord Melbourne read +in my name the day before, pressing my increase of income for my +Mother. Lord Duncannon told me that Lord Brougham had lately taken +to making cutting attacks against my Ministers, and that he had most +unhandsomely attacked my excellent Lord Melbourne, called him “a +Courtier,” &c., &c., which, no wonder, roused Lord Melbourne’s temper, +and that he returned it Lord Brougham most admirably. He always speaks +well, but particularly well this time, Lord Duncannon said. I turned +to Lord Melbourne and said I had heard he had spoken so well, “as you +always do,” I added. But he is so modest and backward about his own +extraordinary merits. He said to me, there might be a like difficulty +in the H. of Commons upon this Message. Spoke to me about many other +things and about boys at school, and told me a very amusing anecdote +about himself. He and Lady Mulgrave were saying how imprudent it was +to tell children things which they might not repeat. So he said, “When +I was a boy of ten, and came home, my Mother was asking me about the +boys at school, and I mentioned who were there, and amongst others the +present Lord Boston.[358] My Mother said ‘Oh! every Irby is a fool,’ +which is very true; so, when I went back to school, I told this, and +said, ‘My Mother says every Irby is a fool.’ This was repeated, and +written back to Lord Boston,[359] and created most dreadful offence.” +We then spoke about Magnetism, which every body is mad about now; and +I said it was very disagreeable to be magnetised, as people got to say +such odd things in this _magnetic_ state. “Why,” said Lord Melbourne, +“people say odd enough things without being magnetised....” Spoke of +Lord and Lady Ashley, their happiness and fondness for each other. I +spoke to him of Lady C. Barrington’s[360] gratitude to me, at which his +eyes filled with tears. He is the kindest, best, and tenderest hearted +man I know; he is so truly excellent, and moral, and has such a strong +feeling against immorality and wickedness; and he is _so_ truly kind to +me.... + +_Friday, 22nd December._— ... Lord Melbourne spoke to me a good deal +about the Privy Purse, about its expenses, the Pensions on it, &c., &c. +About the Household Expenditure; about many other things concerning +expenditure; about the late Kings, George 4th and William 4th’s +fancies, &c., &c. His ideas about all these things are so reasonable +and so excellent.... I sat between Lord Melbourne (who led me in) and +Lord Palmerston. I was delighted to see Lord Melbourne in excellent +spirits, and looking much better. He was very clever and funny about +education, at dinner; his ideas are excellent about it, I think. He +said that he thought almost every body’s character was formed by their +Mother, and that if the children did not turn out well, the mothers +should be punished for it. I daresay _his_ noble, fine and excellent +character was formed by his mother,[361] for she was a remarkably +clever and sensible woman. He told me that the Civil List Bill was +read a third time that evening, without any opposition. The news are, +I grieve to say, very bad from Canada[362]; that is to say rumours and +reports by the Papers, though we have no Official Reports. But Lord +Melbourne hopes that it may not be so bad as it is rumoured. There +certainly is open Rebellion. This makes it expedient that Parliament +should meet again on the 16th January and not adjourn _till_ the 1st +Feb. as was at first intended.... + +_Tuesday, 26th December._— ... At 3 I left Buckingham Palace (with +regret, as I had passed a pleasant time there), with Mamma and Lady +Mulgrave; Lady Mary, Miss Cocks, Mrs. Campbell, Col. Grey,[363] Lehzen, +Miss Dillon, and Miss Davys following in 2 other carriages. We arrived +at Windsor Castle at ½ p. 5. It was quite dark. The Castle looked very +cheerful and comfortable, and I cannot say _how_ much it put me in mind +of last summer and of the VERY VERY HAPPY days I spent there.... + +_Wednesday, 27th December._— ... Besides our party of yesterday, the +Duke and Duchess of Sutherland and the Duke of Argyll (who all stay +here till Monday, 1st Jan.) dined here. The Duchess was looking so +well; neither she nor the Duke have ever been staying at Windsor before +and are delighted with the Castle. I sat between the Duke of Sutherland +and Mr. Cowper. I talked a great deal with the latter, and a great deal +about Lord Melbourne. He says that all the people who have never seen +Lord Melbourne and come to have interviews with him, and those Members +of the H. of Commons who dine with him and have not seen or known +him before and expect to find the Prime Minister a very proud, stiff +person, are quite delighted with his very kind, unaffected, merry and +open, frank manner, which I think everybody _must_ and _ought_ to be. +He told me some amusing anecdotes about him, &c., &c., and many other +funny things. Lord Melbourne is very absent when in company, often, and +talks to himself every now and then, loud enough to be heard but never +loud enough to be understood. I am now, from habit, quite accustomed to +it, but at first I turned round sometimes, thinking he was talking to +me. Mr. Cowper says he does not think his uncle is aware of it; he says +he is much less absent than he used to be.... + +[Illustration: H.S.H. Charles Prince of Leiningen from a portrait by + R. J. Lane] + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER VIII + + The impression produced by the Queen at this time is vividly + described by Princess Lieven in a letter to Lord Aberdeen. “I have + seen the Queen twice,” she writes; “I have seen her alone, and I + have seen her in Society with her Prime Minister. She possesses + a composure, an air of command, and of dignity, which with her + childlike face, her tiny figure, and her pretty smile, create + one of the most extraordinary impressions that it is possible to + imagine. She is extremely reserved in conversation. It is said that + prudence is one of her highest qualities. Lord Melbourne adopts, + when he is near her, an attitude of affection, of content, of + self-consciousness mingled with a great deal of respect, which with + his easy manners, the obvious habit of holding the first place amid + her surroundings, his dreaminess at one moment, and his gaiety at + another, make a picture you can easily realise. The Queen is full + of amiability towards him.” + + That is a glimpse of the external setting in which these Journals + were composed. Lord Melbourne never forgot, from the outset, that + the girl to whom he was acting as guardian and tutor was the + Sovereign of these Realms. His letters from the first are written + in the conventional form of a Minister addressing the Sovereign. + Although he obviously tried in conversation to amuse the Queen, and + to impart to her youthful intelligence some knowledge of Society, + and of the world of Affairs in which she was about to take part, + he did not shrink from the graver topics of statecraft, and did + not spare her the details of public matters that must have been + difficult for her to grasp and comprehend. + + There is a passage in one of his letters, written about this time, + in which he is explaining to the Queen the powers and duties which + it was intended to transfer from the Secretary of State, who + combined at that time the administration of Colonial and Military + affairs, to a new Secretary of State for War. Lord Melbourne adds + these words: “Your Majesty will not suppose that Lord Melbourne by + laying before you the whole case has an idea of throwing the weight + of such a decision entirely upon Your Majesty. Lord Melbourne will + deem it his duty to offer to Your Majesty a decided opinion upon + the subject.” This passage illuminates, if taken in conjunction + with Princess Lieven’s descriptive passage, the atmosphere in which + Lord Melbourne and the Queen were living at this time. To this + young Queen he was Roger Ascham and Burleigh in one and _in petto_. + + + CHAPTER VIII + + 1838 + +_Monday, 1st January._— ... The Duke of Sutherland told me the +other night, that Lord Melbourne’s mother (whom he knew) was a very +agreeable, sensible, clever woman, and that Lord Melbourne was very +like her as to features; Lady Melbourne was very large latterly. Lord +Melbourne’s father, on the contrary, the Duke said, was very far from +agreeable or clever; he was a short fat man and not like any of his +children. He died at the age of 80. The Duchess of Sutherland spoke to +me last night about Lady Caroline Lamb,[364] Lord Melbourne’s wife; +she was Lord Duncannon’s only sister, and the strangest person that +ever lived, really half crazy, and quite so when she died; she was not +good-looking, but very clever, and could be very amusing. She teazed +that excellent Lord Melbourne in every way, dreadfully, and quite +embittered his life, which it ought to have been her pride to study +to render a happy one; he was the kindest of husbands to her, and +bore it most admirably; any other man would have separated from such +a wife. He has now the greatest horror of any woman who is in any +way eccentric or extravagant, which shows how very much he must have +suffered from such a wife. The Duchess told me the strangest stories +about her.... + +_Tuesday, 2nd January._— ... I rode a new horse, a most _delightful_ +creature, called Tartar; he is taller than Barbara, excessively pretty, +and of a very dark brown colour; he has a very springy charming canter +and action, is full of spirit, and yet as quiet as a lamb, never shies +and is the best-tempered creature possible; to crown all these valuable +qualities, Tartar is exceedingly sure-footed. It was a delightful ride +and we cantered a great deal coming home; the roads were so dirty that +my habit was quite heavy with mud. Changed my dress and walked out with +Lady Mulgrave and Lehzen and came home at ½ p. 3. Read Despatches from +Canada which are very interesting.... + +_Thursday, 4th January._— ... At ½ p. 5 came my excellent, kind friend, +Lord Melbourne, whom I was quite delighted to see again after such a +long absence, the longest that has taken place since I came to the +Throne. I thought him in very good spirits, and looking well, though +pale, and as kind, amiable and mild as ever; never do I find any +difference in this excellent man, may he be very tired, or not tired, +he is always equally kind and gentle, though he may at times be low. +I was agreeably surprised to find him in good spirits, for from his +letters and all the troubles and difficulties he has had of late, I +feared it might not be so. He spoke to me first a good deal about +Canada; said they were all agreed as to what was to be done, namely +to repeal a Statute (_which_, I cannot say), and _for_ the present, +govern as Canada had been governed before; but that Lord Howick was of +a different opinion and thought that these strong measures ought to be +accompanied by conciliatory measures, which Lord Melbourne said would +not answer the purpose and have a bad effect; Lord Howick, he said, was +excessively eager about this, for various reasons which Lord Melbourne +explained to me; “if Lord Howick was to resign,” he added, “I do not +think that would affect the Government; it would be a bad thing for +there is a good deal of strength in him.” The other question, about the +Army, he considered a more difficult one; the five Ministers who signed +the Report relative to the changes meditated in the office of the +Secretary of War, are, Lord John Russell, Lord Howick, Lord Palmerston, +Sir J. Hobhouse, and Mr. Spring Rice. Lord Howick and Lord John, he +said, are the only two who are eager about it; the others he believed +signed it reluctantly, particularly Mr. Rice. We spoke a good deal +about this difficult question; there is, in my opinion, a good deal for +and a good deal against it. It is, as Lord Melbourne says, creating +a new Minister with new powers, by giving the Secretary at War great +power over the Army. There have been, as Lord Melbourne says, great +abuses which it would be desirable to remedy. Spoke about the Troops +to be sent to Canada; about Mr. Rice’s wish to take the Chair; about +_his_ reasons for doing so; how to replace _him_; about the present +Speaker; about the quarrel in Belgium relative to the cutting of timber +in the Grünewald; about the King of Hanover’s foolish proceedings; how +they are viewed in Germany; about some despatches from Sir Frederick +Lamb,[365] saying that Metternich was much displeased at the expulsion +of the Archbishop of Cologne, at the manner of doing it, and at the +impolicy of the act. Lord Melbourne said he had dined once or twice at +Lord Holland’s[366] since I had seen him. I was quite happy to talk to +him again, as there were many subjects on which I wanted explanation +and he explains _so_ well and so clearly and agreeably.... My good +Lord Melbourne led me in and I sat between him and Lord Torrington. He +(Ld. M.) spoke to me about many things; about riding and horses; about +_bad ears_ for Music; said that everybody would suppose from Scott’s +writings that he was very fond of and understood music very well; +whereas Lord Melbourne said, _he_ said: “In music I don’t know _high_ +from _low_!”... + +_Tuesday, 9th January._— ... At 22 m. to 12 came my excellent Lord +Melbourne and stayed with me till 27 m. p. 12. He had informed me +by a note in the morning, that he should be obliged to go to London +which I am extremely sorry for; Lord Glenelg wrote to him wishing +to see him, and both he and Lord Glenelg were to see Lord Durham +at _four_ about this Canadian business. _I_ shall say more of this +hereafter. Lord Melbourne said: “It will be a long interview, I +dare say; probably last 2 hours, and there would be no time to be +back,”—meaning for dinner tonight, so he will only come back at 4 +tomorrow; I am _very_ sorry to lose him _even_ for _one_ night. Spoke +a good while about this. Spoke about this army business, upon which +Lord Melbourne will see Lord Howick. He said, “It would be madness to +propose at this moment a complete change in the Administration of the +Army, when we have got all these affairs of Canada.” He spoke of this +a good deal; and seemed to hope Lord Howick would give it up; he said +the others would be ready to do so if he did.... Though I think Lord +Duncannon agreeable and amusing, I cannot find in him or in any of +the other Ministers, that kindness, mildness, and open frankness, and +_agreeability_ (to use a word of Lady Mary Stopford’s) which I find in +my kind friend Lord Melbourne; _he alone_ inspires me with that feeling +of great confidence and I may say _security_, for I feel _so safe_ when +he speaks to me and is with me; what he says is all so kind and good, +and he never says anything which could alarm or hurt me. But I should +not _wish_ to be on the same confidential footing with any of my other +Ministers as I am with this truly excellent friend.... + +_Wednesday, 10th January._— ... Lord Melbourne said that he had seen +Lord Durham who seemed very much inclined to accept the Proposition +of going to Canada; he (Ld. D.) was not quite satisfied with all the +plans proposed by Government, and particularly with a Council of 17, +which he said was too many; that he could not manage more than 4 or 5. +Lord Durham requires, Lord Melbourne added, a large outfit, as he would +not spend any of his private fortune; and he would not go till the +Navigation was open. Lord Melbourne then told me that he had seen Lord +Howick who seemed “disposed to reconsider” the question of the army, +and said he would not press parts of it, and would give way on some +points. This is a great satisfaction and I think Lord Melbourne seemed +quite happy about it.... + +_Wednesday, 17th January._— ... My excellent Lord Melbourne led me in, +and I sat between him and Lord Glenelg. Lord Melbourne _said_ he was, +and I was happy to see he _looked_, better. He said, as he led me in, +that the Majority in the House of Commons of the night before was very +favourable. He spoke to me about Greece; said he had heard from his +brother that they were very uneasy at Vienna about the state of Greece; +said that the only person who showed any sense or character there was +the Queen of Greece,[367] but that she was very young and was placed in +rather a rougher situation than suited her; that the Archduke John[368] +had told Sir Frederic (on his return from Greece) “that she was like +a Brazillian Paraquite in a wood of firs covered with snow,” meaning +that she was in a position not suited to her; I said to Lord Melbourne +that I had heard in the Summer that there were hopes of there being +an _heir_ in some time; he said, “I am afraid not.” He told me that +the Archduke John had likewise told his brother that the Emperor of +Russia[369] was beginning to sink under the immense weight and fatigue +of governing such an empire as Russia; we spoke about him some time; +and also a good deal about the Austrian Royal Family; Lord Melbourne +told me that the Emperor of Austria[370] was worse, and hardly able to +do anything; but, that as his _mental faculties decreased_, his _bodily +strength increased_. Spoke of Aunt Louise; of the Queen of Portugal; +of Clementine, Augustus, &c., of Feodore, her happiness, her not being +rich; he spoke of the poverty of the younger branches in high families +in England, and of their being often obliged to gain their livelihood +in inferior situations; he said that he thought his nephew Lord Cowper +was cleverer and had “a sounder understanding” than William Cowper.... +Spoke about Shakespear’s plays; _Hamlet_, _Macbeth_, _Lear_, &c., &c.; +he thinks the 2 first named the finest; he said: “I think the German +critics understand Shakespear better than we do here”; mentioned +Goethe’s _Wilhelm Meister_, and Schlegel’s book upon Shakespear, which +he thinks very good; he knew, or at least saw, Schlegel here; he knew +Mme. de Staël; spoke of her, of her daughter, the Duchess de Broglie; +spoke of actresses; of their marrying out of their sphere; of its often +not answering; of Lady Harrington,[371] Lady Craven[372] (the Dowager), +Lady Derby (the late),[373] Mrs. Butler; of marriages in _general_, +and most cleverly and sensibly; of their often being broken off—the +reasons why. Lord Melbourne said, “Why, you see, a gentleman hardly +knows a girl till he has proposed, and then when he has an unrestrained +intercourse with her he sees something and says, ‘This I don’t quite +like....’” + +_Friday, 19th January._— ... The cold increases, the snow is getting +deep, and I hear the Thames is frozen over very nearly, which has not +happened since 1814. At ½ p. 1 came my excellent friend Lord Melbourne +and stayed with me till 3. He looked well, I was very happy to see, and +said he was not at all tired. He said that they had got through this +Canada business very well; that Lord Brougham made a good though very +violent speech; that the Duke of Wellington’s was very fair; in fact +very friendly; that he (Lord Melbourne) thought the only difficult part +to defend was the not having sent more troops; “but,” he added, “there +the Duke of Wellington came to our assistance, and said there were +not too few troops.” Spoke about Canada for some time.... In speaking +of the Duke of Wellington he said: “He has no oratorical powers; he +attempts no ornament, but speaks generally very much to the point; he +cannot always express what he feels and understands.” He added that +people sometimes who were great in action could not express well in +words what they meant and conceived; spoke of all the Duke’s family, +and said he thought the Duke was the cleverest; asked me if I had ever +read the Duke’s Despatches, and said they were worth looking at, to see +the way he did them.... Lord Melbourne told me, in speaking of the Duke +of Wellington, “His people are very angry with him; they think he is +leaving them.” How wrong of these people! I told Lord Melbourne what +my Uncle Leopold had written to me about him (Ld M.), which seemed +to please him. Talked of other things. Talked for some time with him +and Lord Palmerston, about education, punishments, &c., Lord Melbourne +was amazingly funny and amusing about this. I said I thought solitary +confinement a good punishment: Lord Melbourne replied, “I think it’s +a very stupefying punishment.” I mentioned the system of _silence_ as +a very good one and quoted myself as a proof of its having answered, +which made them laugh very much. Lord Melbourne said, “It may do very +well with a lively child; but with one of a sulky, _grumpy_ disposition +it would not answer....” I said I thought it cruel to punish children +by depriving them of their meals and saying they should go without +their supper, &c. Lord Melbourne replied, “Why, when I was a child, +they had contrived to annoy me so, and had made me cry so much, that I +had lost all appetite.” + +_Saturday, 20th January._— ... At ½ p. 12 Lord Glenelg presented Lord +Durham to me on his appointment; Lord Glenelg then left the room +and Lord Durham remained with me for about ½ an hour, I should say. +He spoke entirely about Canada which subject he seems to understand +thoroughly; said he considered the task he was about to undertake, a +most difficult one; and he _might_ not succeed; but that he would do +his utmost to restore tranquillity in Canada; said he wished to have my +authority, when the rebellion was quelled, to conciliate these deluded +people and to hold out mercy to them. He spoke at much length about +all this,—about what he intended to do,—the difficulty of the task, +&c., &c. At ½ p. 1 came Lord Melbourne and stayed with me till 20 m. +p. 2. He seemed well. He said, “I am sorry to say I received a letter +from Lord Howick this morning and that he makes a great demur about +this Army affair.” Lord Melbourne then added that as it was such a +difficult question and as it could be done “as it were by one blow,” +and as the Army disliked it so much and altogether it was such a bad +time for it, and he thought it such a difficult question, that he could +not give way to him upon it, and could not advise me to do it; he added +he would not mind it near so much if it were brought before Parliament +and there fairly discussed, for then if it passed, it would be done +by the authority of Parliament; but in this way, it was so entirely +to be done by me, as it were, that he really could not agree to it; +moreover that if even it were a very good thing in itself (which he +does not think it), this would not be the moment for doing it; none +of the other Ministers he thought were eager for it; but if it were +proposed in the Cabinet and carried by a majority against Lord Howick, +he (Ld. H.) might resign (which Lord M. says would be a bad thing, but +would not affect the Government), and Lord Melbourne did not know what +Lord John Russell might _then_ do, if Lord Howick held out on it; which +would then affect the Government. I told Lord Melbourne that if it +could be of any use, he might say that _I quite_ agreed with him (Lord +Melbourne) and that he might rely upon me; which assurance pleased him, +though I think he must long be aware of my firm resolution to support +this kind and true friend of mine, as he truly and really is, in every +way.... Got a few lines (when I went to my room) from Lord Melbourne (I +generally _hear from_ him and _write to him_ every day, and very often +_two_ or _three_ times a day), in which he said that great difference +had prevailed and did prevail in the Cabinet respecting the Details +about Canada. A Cabinet had been held immediately after he left me. I +am _very_ sorry to hear this. + +_Sunday, 21st January._— ... After dinner before we sat down, I talked +to Lord Melbourne about some important things; I asked him the cause of +the differences in the Cabinet; he said that he wished, and also most +of the others, that the Legislative Council in Canada should be chosen +from those which composed the present Legislative Assembly,—whereas +Lord Howick and some others wished the Council should be chosen from +the Country at large, and not from the Assembly; Lord Melbourne was +against this and for this reason; we should probably lose by such an +Election many of the _English_ party, now in the Legislative Assembly, +and get a good many of the _French_ party who would be hostile to us; +and consequently diminish our influence; none of the other Ministers +were as obstinately for this as Lord Howick—but he at length gave +way.... He was very funny about a word which Lady Mary gave me to find +out; she gave me the ivory letters and I was to find out the word; she +gave me “thermometer,” and she spelt it with an “a” instead of an “e,” +and laughed very much at her bad spelling; upon which Lord Melbourne +said, “It is a very good way to spell it, but not _the_ way,” which +made us laugh. I said to him I was reading the first novel I had ever +read—_The Bride of Lammermoor_; he said it was a very melancholy—a +terrible story—but admires it; he mentioned _Old Mortality_, _Quentin +Durward_, _The Fair Maid of Perth_, and _Kenilworth_, as Scott’s best +novels; he said there was “a great deal of good” and “a great deal of +bad” in his novels; said he admired his poems very much, though most +people said his novels were greatly superior in their way to his poems; +spoke of Richard Cœur de Lion whom we both rather admire; of Henry IV. +and Sully; Lord Melbourne said that Sully was a clever and good man, +and greatly superior to those Ministers who followed him; Richelieu and +Mazarin; “They were shocking fellows,” he added.... + +_Tuesday, 23rd January._— ... He spoke of what had just taken place +in Canada; said Sir John Colborne[374] was an excellent officer. “A +good officer,” he added, “can generally effect with a small force, +what a bad officer with a large force would fail in.” Spoke about this +question of the Army. Said that Lord Francis Egerton[375] had said in +the House, “That the troops had done remarkably well and that he hoped +nothing would be done to tamper with the management of the Army,” +evidently alluding, Lord Melbourne observed, to the intended changes +in the Army. I told Lord Melbourne that Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, on +being told that I would continue to him and his brothers and sisters +the same annual allowance they enjoyed from the late King, burst into +tears, and said it was unexpected, for they did not dare to hope for +anything.... + +_Wednesday, 24th January._— ... Lady Falkland,[376] whom I had not yet +seen, was of course presented to me by Lady Portman.[377] I (as usual +to all Peeresses and Ladies by courtesy) wished to kiss her, but she +insisted on kissing my hand first and then only received her kiss from +me.... I observed to Lord Melbourne that it must be a great trial for +poor Lady Falkland dining here.... Lady Falkland must have felt very +low, and it must have been a sad trial for her to see me for the 1st +time in the place of her poor father, but she behaved uncommonly well; +she is a very nice person. She looked pale and thin, but still very +pretty. I sat on the sofa with her; Lord Melbourne sitting near me +the whole evening; and all the other ladies sitting round the table. +Spoke with Lord Melbourne about Lady Falkland &c. Asked him what he +thought was the best History of the last 60 or 70 years. He said there +was no History of that time _only_, but that it must be got from +different books; that the _Annual Register_ was as good a book as any, +if I wanted to look for any particular event in any one year. That +the beginning was written by Burke, and followed up by Dr. Laurence +&c. Said that being written at the time, it was tinctured with party +spirit. He said Adolphus’s _History of George III._ was curious as he +had got a good deal of information, and that the anecdotes told in it +were true, though the _names_ of the people were sometimes wrong. +Said that Hume’s _History of England_ was undoubtedly the best, in +spite of his party prejudices, and that he thought I would like it much +better now than when I read it before. Spoke of Clarendon’s _History +of the Rebellion_ (which I told him I had read), which he thought +curious, but likes his (Clarendon’s) _Memoirs_ better. Spoke of Mrs. +Hutchinson’s book, said I had been reading it; he thinks that “a nice +book” and “very curious”; he knew the Editor of it; spoke of Charles +the First, whom I thought much to blame.... Spoke of Sismondi, whom he +thinks a dull writer; he recommends Barante’s _History of the House +of Burgundy_; and Daru’s _History of Venice_; spoke of Voltaire’s +Histories; of O’Driscol’s _Ireland_ which he likes and whom he knew; of +Scott’s _History of Scotland_ which he has not read, &c. &c.... + +_Thursday, 25th January._— ... At ½ p. 3 came my excellent Lord +Melbourne and stayed with me till ½ p. 4. He said, “I think we have +patched this up,” meaning the affair about the bill relating to Canada. +“We mean to stand by the bill,” he added, “and take our chance of a +division.” Lord John, he said, was very much for leaving the Preamble +out, and was not at all pleased at being obliged to stand by it; and +Lord Melbourne said it was a bad thing “to force a man to do what he +dislikes when he has a principal part to act in it,” which is very +true. He added something more about Canada and what was meant to be +done, if they were beat about this clause. He said that Lord Howick’s +great violence irritated the others on the other side (in the Cabinet); +Mr. Thomson was very eager against Lord Howick’s ideas about Canada. +I asked him if Mr. Poulett Thomson was eager; he replied that he was, +but that he could control himself, which Lord Howick could not, and +was excessively cross, and kept saying he would resign and would not +be party to this and that, which offended the others.... Spoke of Sir +Robert Peel, who I observed I thought was more eager than the Duke +of Wellington. Lord Melbourne replied he was not acquainted with Sir +Robert Peel’s character, could not judge of his feelings, did “not know +if he was desirous of office or not.” Said he believed that his (the +Duke’s) party were very angry with him for what he had said in the +House of Lords, and therefore that Sir Robert was obliged to be more +violent in order to keep his party together. “This I believe to be the +truth,” Lord Melbourne observed.... + +_Friday, 26th January._— ... He told me that they had settled the +matter about Canada. “We have settled to leave out the Preamble; Lord +Howick has given way, and owned he was in the wrong.” He added: “It +will be a triumph to the other party, but I don’t much mind that.” I +said that I was surprised Lord Howick had given way. Lord Melbourne +replied: “He is not devoid of candour,” but that his opinions were so +very strong that he did not feel able to “surrender them.” Said that +Sir Robert Peel had justly observed that: “what was the necessity of +asking Parliament about what they _were going_ to do”; “we don’t mean +to oppose you; we won’t fetter you.” “Why therefore ask our approbation +of what you are going to do?” “Act like any other Ministers and then +afterwards we will approve or disapprove what has been done.”[378] +“Now,” Lord Melbourne said, “this is almost unanswerable.” He is the +fairest person about his opponents I ever knew; _so_ frank, so noble! +so candid!... Spoke of the Combinations of the workmen in Scotland and +Ireland and England, which he says are quite frightful. This led him +to speak of servants, of their combinations with tradespeople, their +being bribed, &c. He observed how disagreeable it was to recommend +tradespeople or servants; he said that his coachmaker had come to him +this morning and begged him to write a letter to the Bishop of Ely to +recommend him to him. “Very well,” said Lord Melbourne, “I will write +a letter if you wish which I will show you.” “So I wrote to the Bishop +of Ely,” continued Lord Melbourne; “‘My dear Lord,—Mr. Robson has been +my coachmaker for many years, and I believe him to be a very good one, +but so he ought, for I must say he is a very dear one.’ ‘Now,’ I said +to the man, ‘here is the letter, you may read it if you like....’” At +7 I went to Drury Lane with the Duchess of Sutherland, Lady Portman, +Miss Cavendish, Lady Mary Stopford, Lord Conyngham, Lord Headfort, and +Col. Buckley (who this day replaced Col. Grey). It was Shakespear’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; the two finest scenes I thought were the _Play-scene_, +which he acts, they say, quite differently to any other actor who +has performed Hamlet; and the scene with his mother, the Queen; it +was quite beautiful when he rushed out after having killed Polonius, +exclaiming, “Is it the King?” He fights uncommonly well too. All the +other characters were very badly acted. I came away just as _Hamlet_ +was over. They would recognise me between the 2nd and 3rd acts,—I was +compelled to come forward, curtsey, and hear “God save the Queen” sung. +The house was amazingly crowded and they received me admirably. Came +home at ½ p. 10. + +_Saturday, 27th January._— ... Told Lord M. I had been much pleased +with _Hamlet_ last night; observed it was a very hard play to +understand, which he agreed in; he said he thought the end of it +“awkward” and horrid; said he thought Hamlet was supposed to be mad, of +a philosophical mind, and urged to do something which he did not like +to do. He added that Mr. Fox always said that _Hamlet_ possessed more +of Shakespear’s faults than almost any other play of Shakespear, &c., +&c.—Saw Lord Palmerston who introduced Baron Munchausen, Minister from +the Court of Hanover.... I told Ld. M. of my last recollection of Baron +Munchausen,[379] namely, my giving him a commission to send me some +wax dolls from Berlin, which made Lord Melbourne laugh excessively. +He spoke of children’s love for dolls, and that they sometimes think +they are alive. Spoke of my former great love for dolls....[380] +After dinner, talked (before I sat down) with all the gentlemen, &c. +Spoke about Kean with Lord Melbourne; about Landseer and the sketches +which Lord Melbourne saw and none of which he “thought _like_,” he +said, though very clever.... Lord Melbourne said that _Richard III._ +by Shakespear was a very fine play; I observed that Richard was a very +bad man; Lord Melbourne also thinks he was a horrid man; he believes +him to have been deformed (which some people deny), and thinks “there +is no doubt that he murdered those two young Princes.” I was delighted +to hear Lord Melbourne say he thought Henry 7th a very bad man, and +reckless of blood; spoke of the inhuman _murder_, I may call it, of the +young Earl of Warwick; he said that Ferdinand of Spain would not give +his daughter Catherine to _Arthur_ unless this poor Warwick was got +rid of; that Catherine felt this all along and observed that it dwelt +upon her and “that it did not go well with her in the world” for this +reason. He spoke of Henry VIII.; said he was not so bad at first and +had begun with good intentions; spoke of Catherine of Arragon, &c., +&c.; that when Henry VIII. took a liking to somebody else, he only +sought to get rid of the other in the quickest way. Spoke of the wars +in Flanders.... He fell asleep for a little while in the evening, which +is always a proof that he is not quite well.... + +_Tuesday, 30th January._— ... I asked Lord M. what Lord Palmerston’s +Politics were at the time when he stood against Lord Lansdowne and Lord +Althorp. Lord Melbourne said that Lord Palmerston then belonged to +the _high Tory_ Party! Spoke of the change of opinions &c., &c. Spoke +of the salaries &c. of my people, and spoke of Names, Christian names, +for a long while; said that Lady Vivian’s[381] little girl was called +_Lalage_, from Horace; he thought the name rather pretty on account of +the lines which he repeated and which are, I _think_, “Dulce ridentem, +Lalagen amabo, Dulce loquentem.” Told him of the intention there once +was of changing my name, which he was surprised at, and could not think +how it could have been done. + +_Thursday, 1st February._—The curious old form of pricking the Sheriffs +was gone through; and I had to prick them all, with a huge pin. This +was the first Council that I have yet held at which Lord Melbourne was +not present, and I must say I felt sad not to see him in his place as +I feel a peculiar satisfaction, nay I must own almost _security_, at +seeing him present at these formal proceedings, as I know and feel that +I have a _friend_ near me, when I am as it were alone among so many +strangers. This may sound almost childish, but it is not so. Saw Lord +John Russell.... + +_Saturday, 3rd February._—Received a communication from Lord Melbourne +which I shall transcribe: “Lord Melbourne presents his humble duty to +Your Majesty and acquaints Y.M. that the Canada Government Bill was +read a second time in the House of Lords, with the single dissentient +voice of Lord Brougham. Lord Melbourne sends the returns of the +attendance and the speeches. Lord Brougham made a long and able speech, +not over-violent for him. The Duke of Wellington made a moderate +speech and concluded with some very able views” (I think) “of the +subject. Lord Aberdeen and Lord Wharncliffe also spoke, both strongly +condemning the conduct of Government.” This note was dated from last +night. Heard also from Lord John Russell that they had proceeded in the +House of Commons with the Irish Corporation Bill and the Pluralities +Bill.... Lord M. said they sat till near 12 o’clock last night. Said +“it was a very good Debate.” “The Duke of Wellington,” he added, “again +made a very fair speech”; and that the Duke’s remarks were very good +about Canada, for that there was a great deal to say about it; and that +the Duke observed, “that each Mail brought the account of some new and +very important event.” He (Ld. Melbourne) said that Lord Aberdeen and +Lord Wharncliffe “were very severe.” I asked him if Lord Aberdeen was +not rather a dull and heavy speaker; he replied in the affirmative; and +said (in reply to my question as to whether he were a good speaker) +that Lord Wharncliffe was a good speaker and spoke “very clearly.” I +asked him about Lord Brougham’s speech which he said “was more bitter +than violent; very bitter, but a fine speech.” Lord Melbourne told me: +“We have not yet settled this Army Question; but I am more and more +convinced it would be madness to propose it; and after this affair of +Canada too.” He seemed, however, I thought, sanguine about its being +ultimately settled. + +_Sunday, 4th February._—Lord Melbourne asked if I had seen _King Lear_ +(which I had half intended to do last week); I said I had not. He +said (alluding to the manner in which it is being performed at Covent +Garden), “It is _King Lear_ as Shakespear wrote it; and which has not +been performed so, since the time of Queen Anne.” As it is generally +acted, Lord Melbourne told me, it is altered by Cibber, who “put in a +deal of stuff” of his own; that it was a much finer play as Shakespear +wrote it, but “most dreadfully tragic.” That Dr. Johnson had seen it +performed in that way, and that “it made such an impression on him that +he never forgot it.” I observed to him that I feared that, and did not +like all that madness on the stage. Lord Melbourne said, “I can’t bear +that, but still it is a very fine play, and many think Shakespear’s +best.” Spoke of the play of _Richard III._, which I said I was going +to see. Lord Melbourne said it was “a fine striking play.” He observed +that that scene where Richard makes love to Anne, at the funeral of +Henry VI., did not belong to the play, but was taken from _Henry VI._; +he said, “That is a very foolish scene; I always thought it a most +ridiculous scene; and there is not the slightest foundation in History +for it; he married her 8 years afterwards.” He added that Shakespear +constantly mixed up events, in his Historical plays, without minding +when they happened, and how far asunder. + +_Monday, 5th February._—Lord M. showed me a letter he had got this +morning, from Lord Ebrington,[382] saying that Lord Tavistock (who, +Lord Melbourne tells me, has great influence over Lord John, and was +sent for) had prevailed on Lord John to put off the Army Question +till June or July; so that Lord Melbourne says they will get over +it this Session; and when a thing is put off, he added, it is often +forgotten or the moment not found suitable for it. “But,” continued +Lord Melbourne, “when one gets over one difficulty, there always comes +another; and there is now another question of great difficulty, which +is the Ballot.” He then explained to me, that not only several of their +supporters but even some of the Government had pledged themselves to +the Ballot, and consequently after Lord John made that very decided +declaration against the Ballot, these people said they must go against +this; amongst others Sir Hussey Vivian who has pledged himself to +it; and Lord Melbourne says if they should vote for it after Lord +John’s declaration, either they or perhaps Lord John will resign, and +this “would make such gaps in the Government as would make it very +difficult to fill up; and Sir Hussey Vivian has written to Lord John +this morning, and he to me, saying I shall have to choose whether I +will accept Sir Hussey’s or his resignation.” Lord Melbourne however +said he would see if he could manage it, which I fervently hope and +trust he will; but he is sadly teazed and plagued. He said, “There +is a succession of difficulties in a Government....” At 20 m. to 7 I +went with Lady Portman, Lady Tavistock, Miss Cavendish, Miss Pitt, +Lord Conyngham, Lord Headfort, and Col. Buckley to Drury Lane theatre. +We came in before the performance had commenced. It was Shakespear’s +tragedy of _Richard III._, and Charles Kean’s first appearance (in +London) as Richard. The house was crammed to the ceiling; and the +applause was tremendous when Kean came on; he was unable to make +himself heard for at least five minutes I should say. He was dressed +exactly like his father, and all those who were with me, and who +had seen his father, were struck with the great resemblance to his +father both in appearance and voice. It would be impossible for me to +attempt to describe the _admirable_ manner in which Kean delineated +the ferocious and fiend-like Richard. It was quite a _triumph_ and the +latter part particularly so; he was applauded throughout in the most +enthusiastic manner. He acted with such spirit too! One of the best +scenes was the one when the Lord Mayor urges him to accept the regal +Dignity, which Kean did uncommonly well. As also the disagreeable +and absurd scene with Lady Anne. The manner in which he gave: “So +much for Buckingham,” was truly _splendid_, and called down thunders +of applause, as also many other of the scenes where he gets very +much excited; he fought and died beautifully. He was uncommonly well +disguised, and looked very deformed and wicked. All the other parts +were very badly acted, and the three women were _quite detestable_. It +is a fine, heart-stirring play, and there are some beautiful passages +in it. I but just escaped being recognised, for as the curtain was +dropping and I left the box, they called out “the Queen.” + +_Tuesday, 6th February._—At 17 m. p. 2 came my kind friend Lord +Melbourne who said he was better, and stayed with me till 20 m. p. 3. +He spoke to me about Mr. Roebuck’s[383] speech of last night; said “it +was a very bitter speech.” I told him what Lord John had written to me +of what took place in the House of Commons last night. He spoke to me +about this Parliamentary Elections Bill; said it would he thought not +pass the House of Lords. Gave me an explanation about it, and about +people’s being unable to vote unless they had paid the rates up to the +very day; and that many people wanted to get rid of this; but the Lords +did not like that as they thought it was “meddling with the Reform +Bill.” I asked him if he had done anything more about the Ballot. He +replied that he had heard from Lord John this morning, who said they +had best wait the decision; he added that Lord John thinks he must +resign if any of the others vote for the Ballot, as after his very +strong declaration against it, he would consider their voting for it +as “passing a censure upon him”; Lord Melbourne said he did not quite +think that, and that he thought Lord John took it rather too seriously; +but he added: “Lord John does.” Lord Melbourne said he thinks it better +not to take much notice of who vote for or against it; and he added “we +took no notice of it when Lord Charles Fitzroy voted for it (Ballot) +last year; he is a very foolish man, I think.” I said to him that I +believed the _Cabinet_ were all agreed upon this question; he replied +they were; “that is to say either to vote against its being made an +open question, or not to vote at all.” He added that Sir John Hobhouse +and Mr. Poulett Thomson did not vote at all, having he believed pledged +themselves before they came into the Ministry.... Lord Melbourne told +me he had dined at home the night before. Spoke to him about the play +of _Richard III._, and of Kean; spoke of Richard III. himself, who +he (Ld. M.) believes to have been crooked and deformed, and to have +murdered the two young Princes; though, he said, that great pains had +been taken to trace it all in the _Historical Doubts_ by Horace Walpole +and to prove the contrary. He also mentioned the well-known old story +of the old Countess of Desmond,[384] who “said she had danced with him” +(Richard) “the night of his Coronation and that he was a very handsome +man.” Spoke of the Duke of Wellington; he said “The Duke of Wellington +is amazingly sensible to attention; nothing pleases him so much as if +one asks him his opinion about anything.” He added that many people +were offended with the Duke’s abrupt manner of speaking; I observed +that I thought that was only a manner, and that he did not mean it +so. “No more do I,” replied Lord Melbourne. Spoke of Lord Ebrington, +who Lord Melbourne has known a long while and says is a clever man +and possesses a considerable influence over Lord John; Lord Tavistock +also he added, has influence over his brother John; “but,” said Lord +Melbourne, “Lord Tavistock has also got some strange notions; he lives +a great deal in the country; and people who live a great deal in the +country pick up strange ideas.” I asked him if he thought there would +be much opposition to the Irish Poor Laws in the House of Lords. “I +think there will be none,” he said. “I don’t think there will be any +difficulty about any of the _Questions_—it’s only this Ballot.” I asked +him if he had seen Lord John about it. He replied that others had, but +that “I don’t like to speak to him about it; I feel rather awkward +about speaking to him about it, as last year he wanted me to make it +an open question and I refused; and now that I want him to relax he +would say, ‘Why, what have you to say?’” He said Lord John was “very +unbendable” about it. Lord Melbourne wanted him not to be so very +particular about it, and let them vote for or against it (its being an +open question) and not take much notice of it; but Lord John said that +after _his_ declaration _that_ would _affect him_. I asked who were the +others who wanted to vote for it. “Why, Sir Hussey Vivian is the one of +the greatest consequence, and Parnell,”[385] he replied. “The fact is, +Vivian should not have pledged himself; he carried his election in a +way he should not have done.” + +_Wednesday, 7th February._—Lord Melbourne said he had just been to see +Lord Durham “who wants more force.” He (Ld. D.) said that the Duke of +Wellington had told him he ought to have 75,000 men in Canada, to put +it down. Lord Melbourne further told me that the Duke of Wellington +had been to see Lord Durham on Friday, he thinks; stayed with him for +an hour and a half; had gone with him through the whole thing, had +told him how to manage the troops by sending them from one place to +another, and told him all his ideas of doing the thing. Lord Melbourne +seemed quite pleased about it.[386] I showed Lord Melbourne a letter I +had got from Stockmar, about which Lord Melbourne said he would write +to Stockmar. Spoke about my asking Sir Robert Peel &c. to dinner, +which led us to speak about Lady Ashley, who, Lord Melbourne says, +is decided in her politics, though not violent; she is a Tory; Lord +Melbourne says she does not talk about it much; but he thinks she has +at one time discussed it with her mother, who of course is a Whig; I +said I supposed Lady Fanny had no ideas of her own about Politics; he +replied, “Why I think she is a Tory.” I was surprised; said laughing I +thought it very wrong, and very odd, as all her brothers were Whigs. +Spoke to him at dinner about various things; he told me Mr. Roebuck +is a small man with “small finely cut features,” and that he speaks +well—“plainly, without ornament.” + +_Thursday, 8th February._—He said he thought there would be some debate +in the H. of Lords about the third reading of the Canada bill tonight; +he thinks Lord Ellenborough[387] will speak. I asked him if he (Ld. E.) +was a clever man; he replied, “He is a disagreeable, conceited man, +but a clever man....” Lord Melbourne told me today that when he was as +young as Lord Canning is now, he “was very shy”; “I think I was about +as shy as anybody could be,” he said. + +_Friday, 9th February._—Got the following communication from Lord +Melbourne. “The Canada Bill was read a third time yesterday evening +without division, but after a Debate which lasted until ten o’clock. +Lord Ashburton[388] made a speech generally upon the subject of +Colonies, Lord Mansfield[389] made an elaborate attack upon the +Government and in some measure complained of the Duke of Wellington +and Sir Robert Peel for not having taken more active measures in +opposition, and Lord Brougham repeated the observations which he had +before made, with no diminution of vehemence. The speakers were Lord +Ellenborough, Lord Glenelg, Lord Ashburton, Lord Mansfield, Lord +Lansdowne, Lord Brougham, Lord Melbourne, Lord Fitzwilliam,[390] +who spoke with great kindness of the Government, but declared his +disapprobation of the Bill.” I asked Lord Melbourne the other day how +many Peers could constitute a House of Lords and be considered able +to sit; he said _three_; and in the House of Commons 40 Members must +be present to make a House of Commons. I likewise asked him if there +was any particular form when a Peer takes his seat; he said _on his +creation_ there was a great deal of form; but on taking it in a new +Parliament or upon succeeding to the Title there was hardly any. “You +go up to the table,” he added, “take the oaths, pay the fees, and shake +hands with the Chancellor.” Lord Melbourne also told me that any Peer +may bring in any bill and lay it upon the table, and it is generally +read a first time; whereas “in the H. of Commons, they must always move +for leave to bring in a bill.” He said that Lord Ashburton had got that +“fashionable theory” that it was better to give up the Colonies at +once when they became at all unquiet; which Lord Melbourne observed +with great justice, would be just the way to encourage them to revolt; +for they would then say, “Why, we have nothing to do but to revolt to +get rid of our masters.” And “a very dangerous thing to declare,” Lord +Melbourne observed. Spoke a long time about all this; then about George +IV., who he said was not at all unhappy at Princess Charlotte’s death, +on the contrary, he was rather glad; spoke of her—of Uncle Leopold—her +happiness with him—her death—that she might have been saved if she had +not been so much weakened. I was delighted to see Lord Melbourne in +very good spirits, and very talkative, and _so_ agreeable! Spoke of +many things; of M. de Barante, the French Ambassador at St. Petersburg +who Lady Durham said she knew, as also his daughter who was separated +from her husband and excited pity as he was known or supposed to have +beat her. Upon this Lord Melbourne said: “Why, it is almost worth while +for a woman to be beat, considering the exceeding pity she excites,” +which made us laugh. Spoke of the dinner next day at the Lord Mayor’s, +which Lord Melbourne said was called a private dinner of about 50 or +60 persons, and which was generally very dull. He spoke of the Duke +of Wellington, and, with tears in his eyes at the Duke’s friendliness +to Lord Durham, about Canada. I asked him if it would do well if I +asked Lord and Lady Francis Egerton[391] the same day as the Duke of +Wellington dined here; he replied extremely well, and that it would +“be very agreeable to both.” I told him that I was very thankful to +him when he told me _who_ I should invite; he said, “I am afraid I +don’t attend enough to that; I am rather neglectful about it,” which +I would not allow. Spoke about the Emperor of Austria—the Duchess of +Sutherland—her family; Lord Melbourne said she was naturally very +proud; spoke about her house[392]; the lease of which she wishes to +buy, but which as it is Crown property Lord Melbourne said she could +not do; he dreaded the time when the Duchess should learn she could +not do so; that he was afraid of writing to her before she received +the formal answer from the Treasury; I told him, however, it would +be better if he did so, upon which he said: “Then it shall be done.” +Spoke of Lady Ashley—Lady Hardwicke[393]—Lady Fanny; I asked him how +she came to be a Tory—and who could have made her so. He said, “Why, I +think her Nurse; people generally get their ideas in that way.” He told +me he went to Eton when he was nine years old; he went there at Xmas +in the year 1788, and stayed there till Midsummer 1796. Lord Holland +left Eton about 3 months after Lord Melbourne went there. He spoke +most cleverly and sensibly about Public Schools; said “I am not at all +bigotted about a Public School”; said he was very happy at Eton; spoke +of the many disadvantages and dangers of a Public School; amongst which +he mentioned the great habit of telling falsehoods which boys get to +do with impunity in order to save themselves from punishment; and the +disagreeable, bad, blackguard boys you were obliged to meet at such +schools; and if a boy is weak, the liability of being led and governed +by such boys; Lady Durham likewise entered into the conversation, and +she and Lord Melbourne and I went on discussing the subject for some +time; Lady Durham observed that it was a constant _War_ between boy and +master at school, which however Lord Melbourne thought the same with +a Tutor; we all agreed that it was very bad that no French was taught +at the Public Schools, for that boys never learnt it afterwards. Lady +Durham said that Lord Durham had had a great mind that their boy should +learn no Latin at all, which however Lord Melbourne said he thought was +a bad thing, for that he thought a man could not get on well in the +world without Latin in the present state of society.[394] I told Lord +Melbourne that though Lehzen had often said that she had _never_ seen +such a passionate and naughty child as I was, still that I had never +told a falsehood, though I knew I would be punished; Lord Melbourne +said: “That is a fine character”; and I added that Lehzen entrusted +me with things which I knew she would not like me to tell again, and +that when I was ever so naughty, I never threatened to tell, or ever +did tell them. Lord Melbourne observed: “That is a fine trait.” I felt +quite ashamed, on hearing this praise, that I had said so much about +myself. I asked him if his sister’s children had not been passionate +when little. “Minny and Fanny were dreadfully passionate,” he said, +“and now they have both very sweet tempers and are very calm.” I +observed to him that I was sure _he_ had never been so; he answered, +“dreadfully passionate, and so I am now,” which I _would not_ and +_cannot_ believe.... + +_Tuesday, 13th February._—Lord M. spoke of the apparent cruelty, +when a person is dying and is suffering dreadfully, and anything +to hasten the end would be mercy and relief, that _that_ is not +allowed, and is considered unjustifiable by law. I mentioned to Lord +Melbourne a case in which it had been done; he told me an anecdote of +Napoleon respecting this; when his great favourite and friend Duroc +was so frightfully wounded, the lower part of his body being carried +away—Napoleon came to him, and Duroc implored him to give him laudanum +to alleviate his sufferings and hasten his end, but Napoleon would not +do it, and said he could not sanction such a thing. Lord Melbourne +observed, “If they get the habit of doing such a thing” (hastening the +end) “when a person is in a hopeless state, why, they _may_ do it when +a person is _not_ in a hopeless state.” Spoke of Lord Leveson[395] +who is such a very odd-looking young man; Lord Melbourne said that +Lady Granville “was always very ugly,” and that “she is _now_ better +looking than she used to be.” Spoke of large dogs, which Lord Melbourne +thinks dangerous pets, as you are always so completely at their mercy +if they choose to do you harm. Spoke of Lady Lilford,[396] Lord and +Lady Holland; the latter, Lord Melbourne says, always thinks _first_ +of herself and then of Lord Holland, who quite obeys her. I asked Lord +Melbourne if Lord Glenelg was at all obstinate; he said not now, but +that he had been, and had given great trouble in ’30 or ’31, when he +alone opposed in the Cabinet £25,000 being proposed as an outfit for +the Queen Dowager; and that Lord Grey had been obliged to go and tell +the King that he could not propose it, as Lord Glenelg was so much +against it; Lord Melbourne said that neither the King or Queen ever +forgave this and that the King could not _bear_ Lord Glenelg; he could +neither bear Lord John Russell, who, Lord Melbourne said, he always +called “that young man”; he also disliked Sir John Hobhouse, and Mr. +Poulett Thomson, and latterly Lord Palmerston, though in the beginning +he liked him very much; Mr. S. Rice he liked pretty well; the Lord +Chancellor[397] very much, and always told Lord Melbourne that the +Lord Chancellor was “a kind good man”; Lord Dunraven[398] thought +the King liked him (Ld. D.), but Lord Melbourne said he thought the +King disliked him “at bottom,” though he was confidential with him. I +asked Lord Melbourne if he did not see the King often? Lord Melbourne +replied not often, and never at Windsor latterly; that he was always +very civil to him, though not very open, and always very short. He +said (that by the paper which Taylor wrote and gave me, and which Lord +Melbourne has read) that the King had intended, in case the Ministry +had resigned (which Lord Melbourne said they had declared they would, +about the Irish Corporation Bill) to send a paper round to the Duke of +Wellington, Sir Robert Peel and Lord Melbourne calling upon them to +form a Ministry. Lord Melbourne added: “He” (the late King) “was not at +all a clever man; he was a very timid man; very easily frightened; in +fact he was quite in Taylor’s hands; Taylor could turn him any way.” +This I observed was a wrong thing; Lord Melbourne said certainly it +was, “but considering the King’s character, and how difficult it was +for him to take a resolution, one cannot say it was an unfortunate +thing.” I observed that Taylor turned the King to the Tory side; Lord +Melbourne said: “The Tories don’t at all consider Taylor a friend.” +I spoke of the unfortunate day in August ’36, when the King came to +Windsor (after having prorogued Parliament) in a great passion. Lord +Melbourne said this was caused by the King having set his mind upon +having a Marine executed who was recommended to mercy; Lord Minto (whom +the King neither liked) came to Lord Melbourne in great distress and +said: “The King will have this man hanged.” The King hated the Speaker, +and told Lord Melbourne that all the time the Speaker was addressing +him in the House of Lords: “Shocking voice he has.” + +_Wednesday, 14th February._—Lord M. told me that Lord John had written +to him that he would be unable to attend the House of Commons next +day, when this _anxious_ Ballot Question comes on. Lord Melbourne said +he did not think it quite a bad thing that Lord John would be away +when this Ballot Question came on, as he thinks there will be less +irritation if he is absent, and as Lord John is unwell and “worried +about the child,” Lord Melbourne observed he “might say something +imprudent.” I think this all very true. Lord Melbourne was very funny +about caps and bonnets; he looked round the table and said, “There +is an amazing cargo of bonnets and things come from Paris, I fancy,” +which made us laugh; and he observed Lady Caroline’s hat and said he +imagined that was something quite new. He spoke of Mdlle. Laure; we +(Lady Durham and I) laughed very much and asked him how he knew about +her; “They tell me of her,” he added, “and I fancy she has beautiful +things.” The Duke of Wellington was in very good spirits, but it +strikes me he is a good deal aged, particularly in appearance. Lady +Francis Egerton[399] is a clever, agreeable little person; and, though +much altered, is still very pretty. I sat on the sofa with Lady Francis +and Lady Durham[400]; Lord Melbourne sitting near me the whole evening; +and Lord Francis not far from him; the other ladies were seated round +the table. We (Lord Melbourne, Lord Francis and I) spoke about German +literature—the weather—fires, the fire at Paris, &c., &c. Lord Francis +is rather a silent person and it is not easy _de le mettre en train de +parler_. I asked Lord Melbourne what the Duke of Wellington had told +him that made him (Ld. M.) laugh so much; Lord Melbourne then told me +the following anecdote of George IV., which caused the laughter. When +George IV. returned from Ireland, he was very sick and suffered a good +deal; and he stopped and rested at Badminton; upon this the Judge, who +was sitting at the Assizes at Gloucester, imagined that he could not +have a man executed when the King was in the County without asking +him about it, came over to Badminton and wished the King to hear the +case, which put the King into the greatest passion and he exclaimed, +“What! am I to be followed all over the country with the Recorder’s +report?...” Spoke to Lord Melbourne about Lord John’s child, and the +anxiety of having one child only. I observed to him however that I did +not think having more than one child lessened the anxiety about them; +for if persons loved their children, they would be just as anxious if +_one_ of the many was ill, and would feel the loss of _one_ as much as +if he or she had but that one. Lord Melbourne said he thought quite so +too; but that somehow or other “if there are many, they have seldom +anything the matter with them.” He added “it is not the right affection +for a child, if they love them only as being their heir, or for keeping +up their name.” He said he was going home after he had left the Palace, +as he had a great deal to do. He thinks his sister had better go out of +town, as she is not well, and out of spirits since she is in London. I +spoke of sons-in-law and daughters-in-law and observed that I thought +daughters-in-law seldom got on well with their mothers-in-law, in which +Lord Melbourne quite agreed; whereas the sons-in-law they generally +were fond of. I asked him how his sister agreed with the young Lady +Cowper. “Pretty well,” he replied, “but I don’t think she forms any +exception to the rule.” Lady Ashley and Lady Fanny, he said, liked +their sister-in-law, but had also a certain feeling about it; “they +don’t like to see her in the same place where they used to see their +mother.” Spoke of the very strange custom in Russia that on Easter +Sunday _everybody_ who chooses is allowed to _kiss_ the Empress, +saying at the same time “Christ is risen.” Lord Melbourne told me an +anecdote of the Emperor of Russia. “He said to a sentinel, ‘Christ is +risen,’ and the man answered, ‘No, he is not’; the Emperor started and +repeated, ‘Christ is risen’; the man again said, ‘No, he is not, for +I am a Jew.’ The Emperor said, ‘You are quite right.’” I was quite +happy to see the very amicable and friendly terms on which the Duke and +my excellent friend were; it is impossible for Lord Melbourne to be +otherwise almost with anybody, and the Duke having behaved very well +lately, and being likewise an open, frank man, it renders it easy for +them to be so.... + +_Thursday, 15th February._—I sat on the sofa with the Duchess of +Sutherland, the Duke of Sutherland and Lord Durham sitting near us. +Lord Durham spoke of the King of Greece[401]; says he is _remarkably_ +plain and mean-looking, very shy and awkward in society, and _en +fin_ unable to do _anything_. The Sultan,[402] whom he also saw, he +describes as a fine-looking but not “thorough-bred” looking man; short +and dark, with an expression of treachery in his eyes.... + +_Wednesday, 21st February._—At about a ¼ p. 2 I went into the Throne +room for the Levee with my Ladies &c., and all the Household and the +Ministers being in the room. The only person who I was very anxious +to see and whom I was much interested to have seen, was _O’Connell_, +who was presented, and of course, as everybody does when they are +presented, kissed hands. He was in a full wig as one of the Queen’s +Councillors in Ireland, and not in the brown Brutus wig he generally +wears. He is very tall, rather large, has a remarkably good-humoured +countenance, small features, small clever blue eyes, and very like +his caricatures; there were likewise two of his sons, Morgan and John +O’Connell; his son-in-law, Mr. Fitzsimon, and his nephew John Morgan +O’Connell. Lord Melbourne told me that one of my pensioners, a Sir John +Lade,[403] one of George IV.’s associates, was dead; spoke of him, of +another called George Lee; of old Mrs. Fox, who Lord Melbourne knew +formerly; he said of Mr. Fox, “he took great notice of me.” Mr. Fox +died on the 13th of September 1806. Spoke of Nelson, &c., &c. He spoke +of the Committee on the Pensions which was going on; that it was a +very fair Committee, and that there had only been a difficulty about +one case, which was a curious one, and which is a pension given to two +French ladies, Madame de Rohan and Madame de Longueville, daughters +of the Duc de Biron. Lord Melbourne told me how they came to get it, +which is as follows, and in telling which he became quite affected +and his eyes filled with tears. When Lord Rodney went to Paris just +before he obtained his great victory, he was arrested for debt, as +(Lord Melbourne said) he was always without a shilling in the world; +and the Duc de Biron said, “Though we are enemies, still it is too bad +that a great English officer should be arrested for debt here,” and he +paid his debts for him. Afterwards when the Duc de Biron’s daughters, +Mmes. de Rohan and Longueville, who are the first nobility in France, +got into distress, they sent a statement to George III. of what their +father had done for Lord Rodney, and George III. gave them a pension. +Spoke of O’Connell, and George IV., to whose Levee in Dublin he +(O’Connell) went; Lord Melbourne said that O’Connell declared he heard +George IV. distinctly say (when he passed) to some one, “God damn him.” +Lord Melbourne said that George IV. was in a very awkward position +when he was in Ireland, for that the whole country was in a ferment +of enthusiasm believing the King to be for the Catholic Emancipation, +whereas in his heart he was against it. I said to Lord Melbourne that +there was rather a disagreeable business about Lord Durham’s wishing +me to receive Lady —— at Court, which, if she had been refused at +the late Court, it would, I feared, be impossible for me to do. Lord +Melbourne said, “It will not do for you to reverse a sentence passed +by the late Court in the beginning of your reign; I quite agree with +you that you cannot do this.” He said that in general with respect +to receiving people it was better to go according to what had been +determined by a Court of Justice and if there was nothing against them +there, to receive them and not to inquire into what their early lives +had been[404].... + +_Friday, 23rd February._—I lamented my being _so_ short, which Lord M. +smiled at and thought no misfortune. Spoke to him of the Levée, the +place where I stood which some people objected to, which led him to +speak of the old Court in the time of George III., when a Levee and +also a Drawing-room was like an Assembly; the King and Queen used to +come into the room where the people were already assembled, and to walk +round and speak to the people; they did not speak to everybody, and +it was considered no offence, he said, if they did not. He said Queen +Charlotte spoke English with a little accent, but that it was rather +pretty. I asked him when he first went to Court; he said in the year +1803, he thought; it was at the time when everybody volunteered their +services and when he was in a Volunteer Corps. Spoke of Lord Howe, his +remaining about the Queen[405]; and when he was made to resign. Lord +Melbourne said he (Ld. H.) seldom voted but that when he voted against +the Reform Bill, Lord Grey was urged by an outcry from “his people” +to press his (Ld. Howe’s) removal, which Lord Melbourne said was very +unwise; Lord Grey went down to Windsor, and told the King of it, which +alarmed the King a good deal; they (the King and Lord Grey) discussed +with Taylor how it should be done; Lord Grey proposed his seeing the +Queen upon it, which Taylor said never would do, and that the only way +was to send for Lord Howe and make him resign, which he (Ld. H.) said +he would do. Lord Melbourne said that the Queen had just come home from +riding and was half undressed when Lord Howe sent to say he must see +the Queen; she said she would see him when she was dressed; whereupon +Lord Howe sent again to her saying the affair was so urgent that he +must see her immediately; she buttoned up her habit again and saw him; +he gave her the key and said he must resign, which Lord Melbourne said +made the Queen very angry and rendered her still more hostile to Lord +Grey’s Government than she already was.... + +_Tuesday, 27th February._—I said to Lord Melbourne that Uncle Leopold +was amazingly frightened when the Prince of Orange came over with his +sons, as he always imagined that the late King had _some intentions_ +about that; (meaning a marriage between me and one of the young +Princes.) “And so he had,” said Lord Melbourne decidedly. “He sounded +me about it,” and Lord Melbourne wrote to him (the late King) to say +that in a political point of view, he did not think it a desirable +thing; that the country would not like a connection with Holland; the +King was much disappointed at this, Lord Melbourne said; he (the King) +had always a fear about a marriage; he was afraid Mamma had intentions, +which I observed she certainly had; and that the King therefore thought +“he must _dévancer_ her”; that Lord Melbourne told him, if he wished +such a thing he had better be sure first if the _Parties_ themselves +liked it; for that he never could force such a thing; of which Lord +Melbourne said the King never seemed sensible; at which I laughed. +He said that the Prince of Orange also came to him (Ld. M.) from the +King, and asked him if he or the Government had any objection to such +a connection. “Personally,” Lord Melbourne said to him, “there could +be no objection; no more than to any other Prince in Europe”; but at +the same time he must tell him that his (the Prince’s) country was so +situated that it would be constantly involved in war if any war was +to break out; “I told him as much as that,” Lord Melbourne said, “and +that I could not say anything until we saw it in some sort of shape or +other.” This was all very curious and interesting for me to hear. + +[Illustration: _H.R.H. The Duchess of Kent_ + + _from a portrait by Stone_] + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER IX + + The early months of the year 1838 found Lord Melbourne’s Government + in considerable difficulties. For legislative purposes the + Parliamentary majority was impotent. It was just able to keep the + Ministry afloat. “The Queen,” wrote Lord Palmerston, “is as steady + to us as ever, and was in the depth of despair when she thought we + were in danger of being turned out.” + + This was a year of grave trouble in Canada, but, as it turned out, + a year full of promise for the subsequent welfare of that great + Dominion, and for her connection with the Mother-country. The Queen + was undoubtedly attracted by Lord Durham, the Governor-General, + who, although impulsive and impatient of restraint, possessed + charms of manner and appearance, together with intellectual gifts, + which rendered his personality agreeable to those with whom he was + brought in contact. The Queen showed great kindness to him and Lady + Durham before their departure for Canada. She regretted his return, + and was grieved by the quarrel between him and her Ministers. + + Although during this year the Queen was in the habit of taking long + rides into the country, which were found to be very beneficial to + her health, she worked hard, and she laboriously read, under Lord + Melbourne’s guidance, masses of despatches and correspondence. At + no time during her reign was she more persistent in following the + course of public business. + + She was now brought a good deal into contact with Lord Palmerston, + and was undoubtedly attracted by his great gifts, although at + a later period of her reign his administrative methods and + high-handed independence occasioned her much anxiety and led to + strong remonstrance. + + In the month of April, King Leopold was engaged in suggesting to + the Queen the possibility of a union between her and Prince Albert + of Saxe-Coburg. He wrote constantly to her upon this topic, laying + stress upon the young Prince’s goodness and distinction, and upon + his great anxiety to see his intellectual and moral training + perfected under the auspices of Baron Stockmar. + + In the course of the spring the preparations for the Queen’s + Coronation were commenced, and she took keen interest in the detail + of that ceremonial. It was a somewhat delicate matter to avoid + having to invite her Uncle King Leopold and Queen Louise, but a + hint having been dropped to the King of the Belgians, he speedily + realised that the custom of not including crowned heads in the + invitations to a Coronation was sound and worth preserving. “On + mature reflection,” he wrote, “I think that a King and Queen at + your dear Coronation might perhaps be a _hors d’œuvre_.” To this + view the Queen graciously assented. + + + CHAPTER IX + + 1838 + +_Tuesday, 6th March._—It was Mr. Bulwer’s play of _The Lady of Lyons_; +and we came in very soon after the beginning. I think the play +acts well, and I like it. Macready acted well as Claude Melnotte, +Bartley[406] was very good as Damas; and Meadows[407] as Glavis. Mr. +Elton[408] acted fairly enough as the wicked Beauséant. + +_Wednesday, 7th March._—Dressed for riding. At a few m. p. 12 I _rode_ +out with Lord Conyngham, Lord Uxbridge, dear Lehzen, Miss Cavendish, +Col. Cavendish, and Sir G. Quentin and Mr. Fozard. I mounted in the +garden just under the terrace in order that nobody should know I was +going to ride out. I rode my dear favourite Tartar who went perfectly +and _most delightfully_, never shying, never starting through all the +_very_ noisy streets, rattling omnibuses—carts—carriages, &c., &c. I +quite _love_ him. We rode out through the garden, through the gate on +Constitution Hill; round the park by the water, out at the new gate, by +Lord Hill’s former villa, a good way on the Harrow Road, I should say +within 4 or 5 miles of Harrow—then down a pretty narrow lane where one +could fancy oneself 2 or 300 miles from London, out by Willesden Field +(where I had never been), and Kilburn, down the Edgware Road—Connaught +Place, through omnibuses, carts, &c., &c., in at Cumberland Gate, +galloped up to Hyde Park Corner—and in at the same garden gate at +Constitution Hill, and safely to the Palace at 10 m. to 3. It was a +lovely day, a beautiful and delicious ride, and I have come home quite +charmed and delighted. I rode between Lord Conyngham and Col. Cavendish +the whole way. Dearest Lehzen rode Rosa and felt all the better for +the ride. Wrote my journal. Signed. Walked about. At ½ p. 4 came my +kind and excellent Lord Melbourne and stayed with me till 20 m. p. 5. +He spoke to me about my ride; said he had just come from the Cabinet, +which was about these Canadian prisoners[409]; viz. what is to be done +with them; the revolt being put down they cannot be tried by Martial +Law, and there is great difficulty as to what is to be done with them. +I said to Lord Melbourne I hoped he was not tired from last night; he +said not at all. He said: “I am not quite so sure of to-night; I think +we shall carry it, but you must not be surprised if it should be the +other way.” I coloured very much at this honest, frank avowal of our +fears, from this best and kindest of friends; and tears were nearer +than words to me at that moment.... + +_Tuesday, 13th March._—I asked Lord Melbourne what was to take place +concerning Slavery to-night.[410] Lord Melbourne then pulled out of his +pocket the Bill or Act which is to be read to-night; he read to me the +principal Heads of it explaining to me each part in the _most clear and +agreeable_ manner possible. I shall not have time or space to explain +or name _each_ head here, but before I do any, I must just observe that +the necessity of this Act shows how shockingly cruel and cheating the +Masters of the Slaves are, attempting to evade in every possible way +what they are told to do, and what, as the Laws cannot be enforced on +the spot, must be done by an Act of Parliament here. + +_Wednesday, 14th March._— ... I asked Lord Melbourne how he liked my +dress. He said he thought it “very pretty” and that “it did very well.” +He is so natural and funny and nice about _toilette_ and has a very +good taste I think.... + +_Saturday, 17th March._—Spoke of the Cabinet, which was just over; he +said that they had been speaking about the Coronation in the Cabinet; +and they all thought that it would be best to have it about the 25th +or 26th of June, as it would end the Parliament well and make a good +break; that it would be best to have it like William IV.’s, which would +be less long. I of course agreed to this.... + +_Wednesday, 21st March._—Heard from Lord Melbourne that “the House sat +till ½ past eleven last night. Lord Stanhope made a long declamatory +speech, very violent, but having in it nothing defined or specific, and +was answered by Lord Brougham in a most able and triumphant defence and +maintenance of the late Act for amending the laws for the relief of +the Poor. Lord Melbourne was very sorry to be prevented from waiting +upon Your Majesty. He is very grateful for Your Majesty’s enquiries and +feels very well this morning....” Spoke of Portugal; Lord Melbourne +was very much pleased with the good news, and with the Queen’s +conduct.[411] I then saw Lord Palmerston, who was in high spirits at +the good news from Portugal. The Levée was over at 3. I then went for a +moment to the dressing-room to ease my head, as my diadem (which Lord +Melbourne thought “very handsome”) hurt me so dreadfully. After this +I invested (in the Closet) the Marquis of Breadalbane[412] with the +Order of the Thistle; Sir Thomas Bradford[413] with the Grand Cross +of the Bath; and Lord Burghersh[414] and General Donald McLeod were +made Knights Commanders of the Order of the Bath. My Ladies, my whole +Household and all the Ministers were present at this ceremony. + +_Thursday, 22nd March._—Lord Melbourne said he had been to see the +Duke of Wellington this morning about asking him to be at the head of +a Commission to be appointed to inquire into the promotions in the +Army and in the Marines, which were so very slow in the time of peace +and about which they were being attacked in the House of Commons. Lord +Melbourne said the Duke had consented to it; and that his being at the +head of it “will give it authority”; the Duke wished to know who was +to be in the Commission; Lord Melbourne named them to him and he was +very well satisfied with them. Lord Melbourne told me some of them, +which are: Lord Hill, Sir Hussey Vivian, Sir Alexander Dickson,[415] +Sir Thomas Hardy,[416] the First Lord of the Admiralty,[417] and the +Secretary at War.[418] Lord Melbourne said, with the tears in his eyes +(kind, excellent man), that the Duke was in very good humour, and “a +very pleasant man to do business with, I think; he is so plain and +speaks to the point.” The Duke had been reviewing the Battalions which +are going to Canada, and praised them very much, and said “particularly +my regiment.” The Duke said that Lord Brougham’s speech on the Poor +Laws was the best he ever heard him make. I told Lord Melbourne that +_Diet_ was the best physician for him; he said laughing, he drank +too much _champagne_, and I added, mixed too many wines; at which he +laughed a good deal. Spoke of the Queen Dowager who he is going to +see at ½ p. 1 on Saturday; spoke of my calling her Queen Adelaide and +not Queen Dowager, as it was painful to people to receive that name. +Spoke of all changes of that kind; of the Queen Dowager’s having signed +“_Subject_” to me the day after the King died.[419] + +_Friday, 23rd March._—Lord Cowper is very shy and reserved and speaks +but little. He really is the image of his mother,[420] and has exactly +the same voice and manner of speaking. The cut of the features is so +exactly his mother’s—he looks delicate and is very thin; he has a +mild and pleasing countenance. Lord Melbourne spoke to me of these +Portuguese despatches which he had not yet seen. He said: “I am very +glad the Queen has shown courage; it gives confidence....” + +_Sunday, 25th March._—I said I had heard from Uncle Leopold, who seems +a good deal vexed at this recommencement of this Belgian Question; we +spoke of this and Lord Melbourne said: “I don’t like it at all; I think +we shall get into a quarrel somehow or other, which is a bad thing.” +He said Uncle Leopold had written to Lord Palmerston about this and +about this Portuguese Affair; Lord Melbourne said that Uncle wrote that +people complained and with truth that Ferdinand did not show himself; +upon which Dietz[421] wrote that a King should not show himself when +his subjects are spilling their blood. Whereupon Uncle observed: +that was a very fine German sentiment, but that if Louis Philippe +had followed that principle, he would have lost his head like Louis +xvi.... Of the late hurricane in Ireland; Lord Melbourne said trees +never grew so well in Ireland and were all a little bent from the wind +blowing across the Atlantic. He dislikes trees near a house, and he is +very fond of thinning trees. Spoke of Claremont and the trees there. +We then spoke of _names_ (Xtian names) for a long while, about which +Lord Melbourne was very amusing and very funny. He said Lady Ashley +was always called _Minny_. He said: “I think Mary beautiful.” We spoke +of Molly; “Molly is beautiful; it’s such a soft word, there are more +liquids in it than in almost any word.” Then _Bess_ he thinks “quite +beautiful,” as also _Jane_, and _Kate_, and _Alice_; “Jane and Joan,” +he said, “are John.” “Louisa,” he says, “is a fastidious name....” + +_Tuesday, 27th March._—At ½ p. 12 I rode out with Lord Conyngham, Lord +Uxbridge, Lord Byron,[422] Lady Mary, dearest Lehzen, Miss Cavendish, +Miss Quentin, Sir F. Stovin and Col. Cavendish, and came home at ½ p. +3, having ridden 22 MILES!!! We rode very hard and Tartar went MOST +delightfully, NEVER was there SUCH a dear horse. We rode to Richmond, +through part of the Richmond Park, out at Robin Hood Gate, and home +over Wimbledon Common and Vauxhall Bridge. It was as hot as summer, and +_going_ I thought I should have melted; coming over Wimbledon Common +there was some delicious air. It was a heavenly day. At 6 m. p. 4 came +Lord Melbourne and stayed with me till 20 m. to 5. He seemed well. +Spoke a good deal of my ride. The Debate lasted till 11 last night, +and he dined and stayed at home. Spoke of the Archbishop’s having made +a long speech last night about the Indian Worship; spoke of that. +Spoke of the Duke of Sussex and what he told me about the rank a Prime +Minister should have, viz. that of Lord High Treasurer; Lord Melbourne +said: “I think it had better remain as it is.”[423] + +_Wednesday, 28th March._—Spoke of my ride; of Mr. Bulwer’s novels, +_none_ of which Lord Melbourne has read. Lady Durham said it was very +odd that so clever a man should be vain about his personal appearance. +Lord Melbourne replied: “I think clever people generally have more of +those weaknesses than others.” Lord Melbourne said: “I always predicted +he would be a genius when he was a boy; and I was sure he would make +a figure; he used to come over to Brocket when he was 17, and show me +his poetry.” I asked Lord Melbourne if he was fond of novels; he said +“very fond,” but that he had no time to read them now. Spoke of Lady +Wilhelmina, who Lord Melbourne says is certainly much grown since last +year. I said “Everybody grows but me.” He laughed and said, “I think +you are grown....” + +_Thursday, 29th March._—I showed Lord Melbourne a bracelet with my +portrait by Ross in it, which I’m going to give Lady Durham, which he +thought very like. + +_Friday, 30th March._—Got up at 10 m. to 10, and breakfasted at a +¼ to 11. Heard from Lord John before breakfast, that Sir George +Strickland[424] brought on this Motion for emancipating the Apprentices +this year, last night, and was seconded by Mr. Pease[425] (the Quaker). +Sir George Grey[426] made a speech of 2 hours and fifty minutes, and +completely exhausted the subject. The speech was a very able one and +Lord John thinks will change many Votes. + +_Sunday, 1st April._—I told him of the Duke of Cambridge and what +he had said about his wish of going to the Emperor of Austria’s +Coronation; and also that he said he could not dine with me on +Tuesday, but _invited himself_ to dine with me another day _without_ +the Duchess; Lord Melbourne laughed and said, “That’s very odd; Your +Majesty should have said ‘That’s not right.’” Spoke of Little Holland +House, which Lord Melbourne says is quite near Holland House and a +very nice place, with a very pretty garden; spoke of Miss Fox, Lord +Holland’s sister, who is such an amiable person; we were not sure of +her age; Lord Melbourne said she was grown up when he was a boy at +school; spoke of Lady Holland, who has been very handsome though he +always remembers her very large; and she has a vulgar mouth and used +always to say, “A vulgar ordinary mouth I have.” Spoke of her and Lady +Lilford, who, Lord Melbourne said laughing, “never had the use of her +legs.” Lady Holland is about 68, he thinks; she was married in 1786 to +her 1st husband, Sir Godfrey Webster, when she was only 16. Spoke of +Portugal &c.... + +_Monday, 2nd April._—I said to Lord Melbourne I was so stupid that I +must beg him to explain to me about Sir William Follett[427] again; +he answered very kindly, “It is not stupid, but I daresay you can’t +understand it,” and he explained it to me like a _kind_ father would +do to his child; he has something so fatherly, and so affectionate +and kind in him, that one must love him.... I rode Lord Uxbridge’s +little horse, which I have Christened _Uxbridge_, and which is the most +charming, delightful, quiet horse possible. It has a most beautiful +little head, is of a dark chestnut colour, if possible quieter than +Tartar, for it never takes notice of anything; full of spirit, and +very easy and pleasant in its canter which is faster than Tartar’s. It +is delightful to have two such horses as Tartar and Uxbridge. It was +a very warm, bright, clear, pleasant day. We rode to Hanwell through +Acton; home by Castle Hill, Acton again, and in at the Victoria Gate, +and home by the garden gate; we rode about 19 or 20 miles. When we were +near Notting Hill, or rather more at Brookgreen, I sent on a groom to +inform Lord Melbourne (who told me last night he would come to me at +_four_ today), that I should be at home in a few minutes; but when I +came home, they said Lord Melbourne had been at the gate a few minutes +before, and on hearing I was still out, said “Very well,” and walked +his horse away. I waited in my habit till 5, the hour for the House of +Lords, when I felt that my good Lord Melbourne could not come, and I +wrote to him. It is my own fault.... + +_Wednesday, 4th April._—Spoke of the Coronation, and the fuss the +Princesses were in about their robes; I told Lord Melbourne that the +Duchess of Gloucester had offered to hold the tip of my train when +I was being crowned, as the Duchess of Brunswick had done for Queen +Charlotte, and that I thought this very kind of the Duchess; which +quite touched my good friend. Spoke of Hanwell, and rail-roads; I said +I feared there were so many rail-roads that they could not all answer; +Lord Melbourne said he feared they would not, but that he was sorry for +it, as he was engaged in one. “I was fool enough to engage in one and +to take 50 shares; I have already paid £1,000, and have lately had a +call for £500 more,” he added. This rail-road is in Nottingham and he +engaged in it about 4 years ago. I asked him if he liked rail-roads in +general; he replied, “I don’t care about them,” which made me laugh; +and he added that they were bad for the country as they brought such a +shocking set of people “who commit every horror.” “They are picked men, +who mind neither Lord nor laws, and commit every species of violence; +nothing is safe,” he added; and “it’s more like a country in time of +war” than peace. He spoke of Dorsetshire to Lady Portman, and she said +it was so poor; he replied, “That’s because you don’t give enough +wages.” + +_Thursday, 5th April._—Spoke of Lady Burghersh[428]; Lord Melbourne +said, “She is of a great deal of use to us, in a quiet way”; for if he +wished to communicate with the Duke of Wellington, he did it through +her; he, of course, does not wish me to mention this; but I hope I _am_ +discreet and tell but little of what he tells to me. Lady Burghersh is +a sensible, clever woman, and has great influence over the Duke. + +_Friday, 6th April._—Spoke of my ride; rail-roads; that the +Steam-Carriage could not be stopped under 150 yards’ distance of an +object; I observed that these Steam-Carriages are very dangerous; Lord +Melbourne said, “Oh! none of these modern inventions consider human +life.” Spoke of Col. Cavendish and Sir George Quentin; of horses; +Lord Melbourne said his mare would not be well enough to come down +to Windsor, but that he could get a horse from me there, to ride. I +observed that Mr. Cowper complained he (Ld. M.) never rode the horses +he should ride; “I don’t know, he never got me a horse I liked; I don’t +think he is a very good hand at horses.” Lord Melbourne said Mr. Fred +Byng[429] got him his present black mare; he hears a horse-dealer has +got a horse which he thinks will do for him; the price is 160 guineas, +which he says is nothing if the horse is a good one; but a good deal +if it is a bad one.... Spoke of Byron, who Lord Melbourne said would +not be 50 if he were alive[430]; he said he was extremely handsome; +had dark hair, was very lame and limped very much; I asked if the +expression of his countenance was agreeable; he said not; “he had a +sarcastic, sardonic expression; a contemptuous expression.” I asked if +he was not agreeable; he said “He could be excessively so”; “he had a +pretty smile”; “treacherous beyond conception; I believe he was fond of +treachery.” Lord Melbourne added, “he dazzled everybody,” and deceived +them; “for he could tell his story very well....” Lord Melbourne said, +“The old King (George III.) had that hurried manner; but he was a +shrewd, acute man, and most scrupulously civil.” He added that the +King was rather tall, red in the face, large though not a corpulent +man; prejudiced and obstinate beyond conception; spoke of the old Duke +of Gloucester who, he said, was not a clever man but a good-natured +man, though very proud; of the Duchess of Gloucester his wife; Lord +Melbourne said that Horace Walpole tells that one day _he_ (I think) +gave the Duke of Gloucester a fête at Strawberry Hill; and the Duchess +came over before to see that all was right; and when she came there +she saw that the host had put up her arms with the Duke’s; she said, +“God bless me! this will never do; you must take this down directly, +this will never do; the Duke would be extremely angry were he to see +this.” The Duchess was a Walpole by birth[431]; she was first married +to Lord Waldegrave; her children by that marriage were beautiful; they +were Elizabeth, Lady Waldegrave,[432] Lady Euston,[433] and Lady Hugh +Seymour, who was mother to Sir Horace Seymour.[434] “People were very +fond of her,” Lord Melbourne said.... + +_Sunday, 8th April._—Lord Melbourne looked over one of the Volumes +(the sixth) of a Work called “Lodge’s Portraits”; there are portraits +of all sorts of famous people in it, with short Memoirs of them +annexed to them. Lord Melbourne looked carefully over each, reading +the accounts of the people and admiring the prints. I wish I had +time to write down all the clever observations he made about _all_. +It is quite _a delight_ for me to hear him speak about all these +things; he has such _stores_ of knowledge; such a wonderful memory; +he knows about everybody and everything; _who_ they were, and _what_ +they did; and he imparts all his knowledge in such a _kind_ and +agreeable manner; it does me a _world_ of good; and his conversations +always _improve_ one greatly. I shall just name a few of the people +he observed upon:—_Raleigh_, which he thought a very handsome head; +_Hobbes_, who was “an infidel philosopher”; he had been tutor to one of +the Earls of Devonshire,[435] he said; _Knox_—Lord Melbourne observed +that those Scotch Reformers were very violent people; but that Knox +denied having been so harsh to Mary of Scots as she said he had been; +_Lord Mansfield_, who, he said, “was great-uncle” to the present Lord; +_Melanchthon_, whose name means Black Earth in Greek, and whose head +he admired; _Pitt_, whose print Lord Melbourne said was very like; +“he died in 1806 when I came into Parliament.” He (Ld. M.) came in +for Leominster. _Wesley_; Lord Melbourne said the greatest number of +Dissenters were Wesleyans; he read from the book that there were (at +his death) 135,000 of his followers; _Porson_,—Lord Melbourne said, +“I knew him; he was a great Greek scholar,” and looking at the print, +“it’s very like him.” _Leibnitz_, a great German philosopher, and a +correspondent of Queen Caroline, wife to George II.; spoke of her being +so learned and her whole court too; “the Tories laughed at it very +much”; and Swift ridiculing the Maids of Honour wrote, “Since they talk +to Dr. Clark, They now venture in the Dark.” _Addison_; Lord Melbourne +admires his “Spectator,” his “Cato” he also admires, but says it’s +not like a Roman tragedy; “there is so much love in it.” Addison died +at Holland House; he disagreed very much with his wife, Lady Warwick. +Holland House was built, he said, by Rich, Lord Holland, in the reign +of Charles 1st.[436] _Madame de Staël_, whose print he thought very +like; “she had good eyes, she was very vain of her arms.” She was over +here in ’15, and died in ’17, aged 51; she disliked dying very much; +Lord Melbourne also knew her daughter the Duchesse de Broglie; he said, +“Louis Philippe dislikes _her_ as much as Napoleon did _her Mother_.” +Lord Melbourne saw Madame de Broglie for a moment when he was at Paris +for the last time in 1825. He read from the book, with great emphasis, +the following passage, what Napoleon said of Madame de Staël: “They +pretend that she neither talks politics nor mentions me; but I know +not how it happens that people seem to like me less after visiting +her.” _Queen Elizabeth_; spoke of her, and that her Mother must have +been very handsome. Lady Holland, he told me, has the greatest fear of +dying; spoke of pictures; Lord Melbourne does not admire Murillo much, +nor Rubens; he so greatly prefers the Italian Masters to any others; +spoke of subjects for painting; of the Holy Family being constantly +painted; “After all,” he said, “a woman and child is the most beautiful +subject one can have.” He is going down alone to Brocket; I told him +his sister thought Brocket so cold, and that she wanted him to put +up stoves, which he said would “burn down the house.” “I reduced the +grates,” he continued, “because I thought they gave heat enough; and +so they do, if they make large fires; but they don’t know how to make +fires.” He can’t bear Brocket in winter. He was going home and did not +feel tired any more. He spoke of my riding very kindly. Stayed up till +a ¼ p. 11. It was a most delightful evening. + +_Monday, 9th April._—I showed him letters of thanks from Lords +Fitzwilliam and Dundas and Captain Sykes, relative to my having repaid +to the two first-named the debt incurred by my poor father and owing +to their late fathers; and to the latter the debt owing to himself, +accompanied by gifts. Lord Melbourne observed my sleeves (which were +very long) with astonishment, and said “Amazing sleeves!...” + +_Monday, 16th April._—Lord Melbourne told me that there were very +strange accounts of Lord Brougham and all he was _saying_ and _doing_ +at Paris; his having gone to see Louis Philippe at 11 o’clock at night, +when the Swiss Guard were (as they always are) asleep on the staircase; +they stopped him (Brougham), saying the King was gone to bed; upon +which Brougham observed that their King had “very rustic habits.” Spoke +of him, his visiting Lady Fitzharris[437]; Lord Melbourne spoke of +Brougham and his oddities; of this Review which he (B.) has written and +which Lord Melbourne thinks “well done.” He thinks Queen Charlotte and +George III. very harshly handled in it, and Queen Caroline amazingly +puffed up; the Duke of York’s character he thinks the best done; he +says there is a great deal which Brougham seems not to know; spoke of +George IV.’s character, not being understood; of Sir William Knighton’s +Memoirs which are just published, and which Lord Melbourne thinks it +very wrong in Lady Knighton[438] to have published; of George IV. being +so completely in the hands of Knighton, &c., &c. I felt very unhappy at +dinner, in spite of my being gay when I spoke, and I could have cried +almost at every moment; so much so, that when I got into bed, my nerves +(which had been more shaken by the loss of _dearest_ Louis,[439] than +I can express, and by the struggle when in company to overcome _grief_ +which I felt so acutely) could resist no longer, and more than half an +hour elapsed, in tears, before I fell asleep. And before I was asleep +I saw her, in my imagination, before me, dressed in her neat white +morning gown, sitting at her breakfast in her room at Claremont; again, +standing in my room of an evening, dressed in her best, holding herself +so erect, as she always did, and making the low dignified curtsey so +peculiar to herself; and lastly on her death-bed, pale and emaciated, +but the expression the same, and the mind vigorous and firm as ever! +These were the images I beheld as I lay in bed! Yet, mingled with my +grief were feelings of thankfulness that her end was so peaceful—so +happy!... + +_Saturday, 21st April._—I showed Lord Melbourne the plans for changing +the Slopes and making a new walk, and we looked over them for some time +together. We then spoke of what _might_ have happened when the Duke of +York married; for who could foretell, Lord Melbourne observed, that the +Duchess of York would have no children?—and that the late King should +lose the two he had? This led us to speak of the whole Royal Family, +their characters, of the Princesses marrying so late; of George III.’s +dislike to their marrying, which Lord Melbourne did not know; of their +beauty; he always thought Princess Sophia (when young) very pretty, +though very like a Gipsy; spoke of the singular instance of both George +III.’s and Queen Charlotte’s being very plain and all their children +very handsome; spoke of all the Princes and Princesses, of the two +little Princes, Octavius and Alfred, who died; Lord Melbourne said, +George III. said when he felt he was to be unwell (which he always +forefelt) he dreamt and thought of Octavius. Lord Melbourne said Queen +Charlotte had fine hands and feet, a good bust, and a pretty figure. + +_Sunday, 22nd April._—I spoke to him of what I was to write to Uncle +relative to Soult’s nomination[440]; Soult, he told me, is a large, +tall man; looks more “like the Purser of a ship” than an officer; a +very distinguished officer risen from the ranks, and a man of great +abilities besides. Lord Melbourne knew him when he was in Paris. I +asked Lord Melbourne when he was first at Paris; in 1815 he said, which +was the first time he was ever on the Continent. “We went,” he said +(which “we” implies himself and Lady Caroline, his wife) “to Brussels +immediately after the Battle of Waterloo, to see Fred. Ponsonby[441] +who was desperately wounded.” This was in June 1815, and he went to +Paris in August, and stayed there September and October and came back +in November. He saw Uncle Leopold there then, and said he was extremely +handsome. + +_Monday, 23rd April._—Lord Melbourne looked into the newspapers and +said there was nothing in them; he read (in the papers) a denial from +Lady Charlotte Bury[442] of her having written the book called _Diary +of the Reign_ (I think) _of George IV._; Lord Melbourne spoke of Lady +Hertford, though he of course could not remember her in her great +beauty; he said, “My nurse nursed Lord Hertford,[443] so that I used +to hear a great deal about her.” The present Lord Hertford’s wife, he +said, was a natural daughter of the Duke of Queensberry, called Mmé. +Fagniani[444]; she is still alive at Paris, but Lord Hertford has long +been separated from her; Lord Yarmouth, he said, is very clever, but +always lives abroad....[445] + +_Wednesday, 25th April._—In speaking before of Mrs. Baring,[446] who, I +said, from having been the most affectionate of mothers, latterly never +asked after her children,—Lord Melbourne said with the tears in his +eyes, “That’s a sure sign that all is over; when people intermit what +they have been in the habit of doing.” He mentioned that when William +III. was dying they brought him some good news from abroad, but he took +no notice of it whatever, and said, “Je tire à ma fin....” + +_Friday, 27th April._—I showed Lord Melbourne two pictures of Lord +Durham’s children; spoke of the beautiful boy Lord Durham lost, who +would now be 20. Lord Melbourne said, that boy’s death was the cause of +a dreadful scene between Durham and Lord Grey in one of the Cabinets. +Spoke of this Flahaut[447] business, and of the wish at Paris to throw +the blame of the whole on Uncle Leopold; spoke of Flahaut; Lord +Melbourne said he (Flahaut) was first noticed by Napoleon, in the +Russian Retreat, when in all that cold and misery he heard a young +officer singing, and appearing quite gay; that was Flahaut; Napoleon +said, “That is a fine young fellow,” and placed him on his Staff.... +Spoke of Lady Campbell[448] (Pamela Fitzgerald) who Lord Melbourne has +not seen again, but from whom he has had a long letter.... + +_Saturday, 28th April._—Lord Melbourne continued, that those who were +about the Prince of Wales[449] were not liked at Court “and vice +versa.” And he said _his_ family quite belonged to Carlton House; +still, he added, the King and Queen were very civil to him. Speaking +of George IV. he said, “He expected those he was fond of to go quite +with him; to dislike those he disliked, and to like those he liked, and +to turn with him.” He then mentioned what he told me before, that his +(Ld. M.’s) father and mother got into disgrace, for I think 3 years, +when Mrs. Fitzherbert was banished, and they continued seeing her; and +when George IV. came back to Mrs. Fitzherbert he came to dine with them +(Lord Melbourne was there the first day he came) as if nothing had +happened, and as if he had been there the day before. Lord Melbourne +said, before all this, that “the only thing one learns at a public +school” is _punctuality_, and the value of time; that he never had a +clock in his room, and always called to somebody to tell him what +o’clock it was, which he owned was bad, as it put you in the power of +the man to make you late. He “never carried a watch about him” in his +life, and yet he thinks he generally knows what o’clock it is.... + +_Monday, 30th April._—I then showed him a little book relating to the +Coronations of various of my Ancestors, and amongst others Queen Anne; +he looked over parts of it, and glanced at one part which states that +Queen Anne said in her first speech to Parliament that “_her heart +was entirely_ English.” Upon which Lord Melbourne told me that when +she concluded the Peace of Utrecht, which was supposed to be rather +favourable to the French, a Sir Samuel Garth[450] wrote a poem in +which he said of Queen Anne: “The Queen this year has lost a part, +Of her entirely English heart,”—which is very funny; Lord Melbourne +did not remember what followed. Speaking of Prince George of Denmark, +who Lord Melbourne said “was a very stupid fellow,” he added that he +(G. of Denmark) was always saying, “Est-il possible?” to everything, +and was always saying so whenever he was told of another Lord having +left James II. So when James heard that George of Denmark had left +him, he said, “So _Est-il possible_ is gone at last!” I spoke of +the Duchess of Ancaster[451] having been Queen Charlotte’s first +Mistress of the Robes; the title of Duke of Ancaster became extinct, +Lord Melbourne told me, and the Dowager Lady Cholmondeley[452] and +Lord Willoughby’s mother[453] were her co-heiresses. I asked him +who was now Lord Fauconberg; he said the title was extinct[454]; he +was a descendant of Oliver Cromwell’s by Cromwell’s daughter Lady +Fauconberg; Lady Charlotte Bellasyse married a person called Thomas +Wynne, a Welshman.[455] Sir Ed. Desborow, Lord Melbourne told me, is +also a descendant of Cromwell’s by one of his daughters. I told Lord +Melbourne what the Duke of Sussex had told me, viz. that none of his +family “could hold their tongue,” which is very true; which made Lord +Melbourne laugh, and still more so when I told him that the Duke, in +speaking of the King of Hanover, called him “that other man.” After +dinner I sat on the sofa with Lady Isabella and Lady Augusta, Lord +Melbourne sitting near me the whole evening, and some of the other +ladies being seated round the table. Spoke of Lady Isabella; Henry +Fox,[456] of the Apartments at Hampton Court &c.; of this Review of +Brougham’s of Lady C. Bury’s book. Lord Melbourne said again, what he +told me the other day, that there was much which Brougham seemed to +know nothing about; he (B.) states that Mrs. Fitzherbert did not know +when she married the King that a marriage with a Catholic could not +be valid; Lord Melbourne says she must have known that, and that, by +what he has heard, she was against the marriage; he said Lord Holland +knows a good deal about it, and that it is known _where_ the marriage +took place and by whom it was celebrated. Lord Melbourne thinks it +took place in 1784 or 5[457]; the King left her in 1795, when Lady +Jersey got into favour, whom he put about the Princess of Wales; he +came back to Mrs. Fitzherbert in 1802, then left her for Lady Hertford, +quarrelled with her, and then Lady Conyngham followed; the last-named, +I observed, was very good-natured; Lord Melbourne said, “She was the +most good-natured, but the most rapacious; she got the most money from +him.” Spoke of Lady Augusta Fox; Lord Melbourne said her mother, Lady +Coventry, was Lady Mary Beauclerc, daughter of a Duke of St. Albans +(uncle to the present Duke). Her (Lady Coventry’s) mother was a Miss +Moses, a Jewess. Lady Holland, Lord Melbourne says, does not like +Lady Augusta Fox. Lord Melbourne told me that the Irish Poor Law Bill +would come up to the House of Lords next day, and that there would be +probably a good deal next week, in the Committee about it; a great deal +of difference of opinion; but he thinks they’ll pass it.... + +_Friday, 4th May._—Lord Melbourne told me on Wednesday evening that +Landseer said of McLise[458]: “He is beating us all; his imagination, +grouping, and drawing is wonderful; he must soften his colouring +perhaps a little.” Two very clever ones of Grant; a portrait of Lord +Cowper by Lucas which is excessively like; Lord Melbourne, by Hayter, +and my dogs by Landseer looked very well. The latter is too beautiful. +There were also two very clever pictures by Landseer’s brother; there +was also a very good picture by Sir Martin Shee of the late King; it is +the likest I’ve seen; it’s so like his figure. + +_Saturday, 5th May._—We then spoke of my sitting one day to Sir Martin +Shee; of Lord Melbourne’s having seen an Academician this morning who +said the reason why Hayter was not elected one of their Members was +because his character was not good; Lord Melbourne asked me about +it; I said I did not know much about it, but that I believed he had +quarrelled with his wife and had separated from her. “And did he get +another?” said Lord M. I laughed and said I was not sure of that.... + +_Monday, 7th May._—We (that is Lord Melbourne, Lord Holland and I) +spoke about the Exhibition, Landseer’s picture of my dogs, the origin +of the dog in the Arms of the Seal of the Duchy of Lancaster, which +Lord Holland said came originally from John of Gaunt, was adopted by +Henry VII., abolished by James I., and restored by William IV.; spoke +of _Macaws_, and he offered me one which belongs to Lady Holland. +Spoke of Nightingales; Lord Melbourne said he could not distinguish +its song from that of another bird’s; that it could be mistaken for a +wood-lark’s, which Lord Holland denied, and they went on discussing +the different songs of birds; we then spoke of various birds; of +nightingales migrating; of how wonderful the migration of birds was; +Lord Melbourne did not think it so incredible; they first went to +France, he said, and “then they slide along the country....” + +_Wednesday, 9th May._—Lord Melbourne said he was kept in the House of +Lords till 8, the night before; that Lord Shrewsbury[459] made rather +a good speech, but that his (Ld. M.’s) fear was that some of the Roman +Catholic Peers might refuse to take the Oath on account of all this; +and then “we should have all this question” (the Roman Catholic) “over +again.” + +_Thursday, 10th May._—At ½ p. 10 the doors were opened and I went +through the Saloon into the other Ball-room next the Dining-room in +which was Strauss’s band. I felt a little shy in going in, but soon got +over it and went and talked to the people. The rooms I must say looked +beautiful, were so well lit up, and everything so well done; and all +done in one day. There was no crowd at all; indeed, there might have +been more people. The dining-room looked also very handsome as the +supper-room. The Throne-room was arranged for the tea-room. I danced (a +Quadrille of course, as I only dance quadrilles) first (in the large +ball-room) with George[460]; and 2ndly with Prince Nicholas Esterhazy; +there was a valse between each quadrille; I never heard anything so +_beautiful_ in my life as Strauss’s band. We then went into the other +ball-room where I danced two other quadrilles with Lord Jocelyn[461] +and Lord Fitzalan[462]; the first named is very merry and funny. When +I did not dance (which was only the case when valzing went on) I sat +with Mamma and my Aunts, on a seat raised one step above the floor. +Lady Fanny Cowper was my vis-à-vis when I danced with Lord Jocelyn. At +1 (after my quadrille with Lord Fitzalan) we went into the Supper-room. +After supper we went into the large Ball-room where we remained till +the last quadrille which I danced in Weippert’s room. I danced with +Lord Cowper (who was much less shy and very agreeable); Lord Uxbridge +(who dances remarkably well); Lord Douro; Lord Folkestone[463] (a great +ally of mine); Lord Suffield[464]; and lastly with Lord Morpeth. There +was a great deal of beauty there, amongst which were Lady Ashley, +Lady Fanny Cowper, Lady Wilhelmina Stanhope, Lady Seymour,[465] Lady +Clanricarde,[466] Lady Mary Vyner,[467] Lady Norreys,[468] Lady Emma +Herbert,[469] Lady Clanwilliam,[470] Lady Mary Grimston,[471] Lady +Powerscourt,[472] Miss Maude,[473] Miss Elphinstone.[474] Lady Fanny +was twice my vis-à-vis, as was also Lady Adelaide Paget.[475] I did +not leave the ball-room till 10 m. to _four_!! and was in bed by ½ +p. 4,—the sun shining. It was a lovely ball, so gay, so nice,—and I +felt so happy and so merry; I had not danced for _so_ long and was so +glad to do so again! One _only_ regret I had,—and that was, that my +excellent, kind, good friend, Lord Melbourne was not there. I missed +him much at this my first ball; he would have been pleased I think! + +_Friday, 11th May._—Got up at 20 m. p. 10 and breakfasted at ½ p. 11. +Heard from my good Lord Melbourne that he was “extremely concerned” +at not having been able to come to the Ball, but that “he felt so +unwell and so disturbed” that he was afraid to venture; which was +right of him, though I regret it _so_ much. Heard from Lord John that +“Sir Thomas Acland[476] gave notice yesterday that he should move on +Monday to rescind the resolution of 1835 respecting the Church of +Ireland. The Debate on this Question must lead to one of the most +severe struggles of the session both in discussion and in the Division. +Both parties have nearly all their strength in London. But a majority +for Ministers, though a small one, is tolerably certain.” This gave +me a pang which somewhat damped my very light and high spirits. We +spoke for a long time about my Ball—who I danced with, the beauties, +and the different persons there; I said to Lord Melbourne the moment +I saw him, how very sorry I was that he had not come last night. We +spoke of all this for some time, and he was so kind about it all, and +seemed to take quite an interest in it all. He then said, “They are +going to make another attack upon us on Monday; Sir Thomas Acland has +given notice that he means to make a motion to rescind the Resolutions +about the Irish Church passed in 1835, upon which we came in.” I then +added that Lord John seemed certain about a majority, though a small +one; Lord Melbourne said Sir Thomas Acland was a conscientious and +not very violent man, and consequently well chosen in that respect +to make a good effect. There is to be a Cabinet upon it tomorrow at +1; and Lord John is going to have a Meeting of the Members at 4. All +this distresses me much; would to God! none of these Motions, which +are so _useless_, were brought on. I fervently trust however that all +will do well. Spoke of my ball, and the different people, the rooms; +he asked if I was not tired; I said not the least, for though I had +danced a great deal I did not valze, as I did not think it would do +for me to valze. Lord Melbourne said eagerly, “I think you are quite +right; that’s quite right.” Lord Melbourne dines with me tonight, I’m +happy to say. I showed him the letter I meant to write to the King +of Hanover, which he quite approved of. Spoke of several people at +the Ball and several other things concerning it; of Lord Duncannon +who is rather better but still very poorly; Lord Melbourne does not +like his being so long ill, and suffering with so many different +things; there is a disease in the sockets of his teeth which become +quite loose, the teeth themselves being quite sound. Lord Melbourne +said the Ponsonbys were generally strong, and lived to a great age; +that the present Lord Bessborough’s father lived to a very great age; +Lord Melbourne said he was the man of whom the following anecdote is +told:—he (_that_ Lord Bessborough) was playing at cards, at Picquet, +Lord Melbourne thinks, when his partner dropped down dead; and he said +to the Waiter, “Remember, if the gentleman recovers, that I’ve got +such and such a thing in my hand....” Spoke to him of the Coronation, +and of the different people who were to bear the Swords (which he had +already spoken to me of, in the morning; for he showed me then a letter +from the Duke of Grafton declining to take any part in it, as he only +meant to attend as a Peer). He (Ld. Melbourne) will carry the Sword of +State; the Duke of Hamilton[477] he _thinks_ of proposing to carry the +Crown; the Duke of Somerset[478] the Orb; the Dukes of Devonshire and +Sutherland the other swords; and the Duke of Roxburgh,[479] something +else. But nothing is as yet settled with respect to all this. Spoke of +my reading the Despatches, of which there were so many. + +_Saturday, 12th May._—At a ¼ p. 1 came Lord Melbourne and stayed with +me till 10 m. to 2. He said he was, and seemed, much better. He first +read me a Petition from the Society of British Artists, wishing me to +go to their Exhibition, which however he said was quite unnecessary. +He then said they were going to have a Cabinet upon this motion,[480] +which is to take place on Monday, and to see what can be done upon it. +Lord Melbourne then explained to me in the clearest manner possible +all about it. He told me that:—In 1835, Sir Robert Peel found himself +several times in minorities about various things which I forget; but +he said he would not resign until he was beat upon a Question relative +to the Irish Church; when he brought in his Bill for Irish Tithes, +the resolution, to appropriate the surplus for the benefit of Moral +Education, was carried against him by 37,—and he resigned; well, +the present Government came in, and Lord Melbourne said, found this +resolution an awkward one, and that there was less surplus than they +had imagined; they however brought forward several Acts, and also +awkward ones, Lord Melbourne said, which were each year rejected by +the House of Lords. Well, this year the following Bill was brought in +(which Lord Melbourne thinks a very good one, as do I, but which he +hears will meet with a great deal of opposition), which is, leaving +out the Appropriation Clause, and doing away with the surplus, but +proposing to pay the Irish Church out of the funds of the Empire, +which is separating the Irish Church from the Land, and keeping it +up, _not_ for the people, as they are almost all Catholics, but for +the Protestant feeling in the country. Now, Lord Melbourne says, +the _Church_ don’t like it, as they think it’s making the Church +Stipendiary and is separating it too much from the Land, and the +_violent democrats_ dislike it as they think it is giving the Church +too much support. Lord Melbourne observes that the opposition will be +so considerable from these two Parties that he thinks it will hardly be +possible for _us_ to carry this measure. _Now_, it is upon this measure +being proposed on Monday that this Motion or amendment is to be made: +“to rescind the resolution of ’35”; “that is,” as Lord Melbourne said, +“to do away with it, to scratch it out of the Journals.” Lord Melbourne +said that if this _should_ be carried against us, it will be almost +fatal to the Government; he added that it is one of those awkward sort +of questions in Politics, which it is very difficult to get over, and +at the same time hardly possible to resign upon; “it is not good ground +to resign upon,” he said, “it would not be understood by the people, +they would not sympathise with you.” He continued—but that _Lord John_ +might consider his honour at stake, and might resign upon it, which +Lord Melbourne said he almost thought he would, but that he would +hear that at the Cabinet today. He added, “If we have a Majority, why +then it’s all well.” I observed that Lord John seemed to think that +likely. Lord Melbourne said he certainly thought we should; but from +the nature of the House it made it “ticklish” and “nervous”; which, God +knows! it does. He says the Irish Poor Law Bill will not meet with much +opposition in the House of Lords, except from the Irish Peers; Lord +Londonderry[481] means to oppose it very violently. Sir Robert Peel has +a great dinner today, given to him by his followers. Lord Melbourne +said he would let me know what took place at the Cabinet; and if +there was anything very particular he would come himself. He dines at +the Speaker’s tonight. I cannot say (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 (Lord Melbourne) 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 Melbourne 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. + +_Sunday, 13th May._—In speaking of the singing of birds, which Lord +Melbourne said he never could make out one from another, he said, “I +never can admire the singing of birds; there’s no melody in it; it’s so +shrill; that’s all humbug; it’s mere Poetry; it is not pretty.” This +made us laugh; he likes the Blackbird’s singing best. He said that +people say there is no difference between the song of a ground-lark and +the nightingale. I observed that Lord Holland said there was. “Oh!” +he said, “I don’t think Lord Holland knows anything about it.” “It’s +very odd,” he continued, “Mr. Fox, and Lord Holland the same, like the +singing of birds, and can’t bear music, nor the Human Voice....” + +_Tuesday, 15th May._— ... Heard from Lord John “that he yesterday +brought forward the question of Irish Tithes in a speech of two hours, +in which he endeavoured to review the whole subject. Sir Thomas Acland +then moved to rescind the resolution of 1835. He spoke temperately and +well. Lord Stanley made a short speech professing a desire to settle +the Question; Lord Morpeth finished the debate for the night with a +very vigorous and very effective speech. The division will probably +take place tonight, and may be rather early.” Lord Melbourne told me +yesterday that he thought Sir Robert Peel’s speech at the dinner on +Saturday very moderate; but that the whole thing seemed to have been +“rather flat....” Lord Melbourne said he did not know what the Council +(today) was to be about; I said neither did I know, but that it was +Lord Glenelg who wished for it. “They always run everything so very +late in that Colonial Office,” he said; that they never thought _when_ +they would want a Council, and when they did, they said they wanted it +immediately, and always upon the most inconvenient days; that to-day +was a most inconvenient day for the Members of the House of Commons.... +Lord Melbourne said that Lord Munster had been to see him this morning, +about their (the Fitzclarences’) Pensions, on the Civil List, which +there was some fear the Committee might make some difficulty about, +which Lord Melbourne said would be very hard; Lord Munster came to show +Lord Melbourne the letter he meant to write (to Mr. Rice, I think) +about it. This pension was granted them by George IV. Lord Munster +told Lord Melbourne that the late King always imagined that Lord +Egremont[482] would leave Lord Munster a great deal; and whenever he +gave Lord Munster anything, he used to write to Lord Egremont to tell +him he had done so, which Lord Egremont did not at all like and said, +“This is a scheme from the beginning,” meaning that the King promoted +the match on account of the money. Lord Melbourne said, “Lord Egremont +was a very good man but rather suspicious”; from always having had a +very large fortune he fancied people wanted to get it from him. He gave +Lord Munster £5,000 about a fortnight before he died. Spoke of this +new Election Committee Bill which Sir Robert Peel asked for leave to +bring in. He proposes that at the beginning of each session the Speaker +should name 6 or 4 Members who should then choose the Committees to try +the Elections. Formerly, as Lord Melbourne told me once before, the +Elections used to be tried by the whole House, and it was considered +such a mark of want of confidence in the Ministers if their Member +was unseated, that Sir Robert Walpole resigned when the Member for +Chippenham was unseated. When this became “too flagrant” Lord Melbourne +said, George Grenville, great-grandfather to the present Duke of +Buckingham, made what is called “the Grenville Act,” which is as they +are tried now; viz. the Speaker draws 40 names from glasses, with which +Lists the different parties retire and strike off names from each list +until they get it down to 15; and that’s the Committee. Now this, Lord +Melbourne said, is found to be partial,[483] and a new mode must be +devised. + +[Illustration: _Don Fernando Prince of Portugal + from recollection + P.V. del. Ken. Palace. April, 1836._ + + H.S.H. PRINCE FERDINAND OF SAXE-COBURG, + AFTERWARDS KING CONSORT OF PORTUGAL. + From a sketch by Princess Victoria.] + +Lord Melbourne said Lord Redesdale[484] brought him the Duke of +Wellington’s letter yesterday. Lord Melbourne had seen Lord John this +morning, who thinks we shall only have a majority of 11 to-night, and +that Mr. Hobhouse said we should have more in order to delude us into +security. + +_Wednesday, 16th May._—Got up at 10 and heard from Lord John that on +a Division _we_ had a majority of 19, which he said was more than he +expected. How thankful I am and feel! Lord Melbourne said he heard +that Ferdinand was annoyed at our pressing the Portuguese Government +about the Slave Trade; and that it would be well, if I were to state to +Ferdinand that the feeling was so strong in this country about Slavery, +and we were so pressed about it, that it was impossible for us to do +otherwise. I spoke to Lord Melbourne of these Resolutions relative to +the Irish Tithe Bill, which I thought excellent, but which he said a +very great number of people were against. I observed that Lord John +had told me at Windsor that he thought we should not carry it, but +that it might be compromised. Lord Melbourne then again repeated that +the Established Church was _generally_ kept up for the Poor, as the +rich could afford that themselves; whereas in Ireland, 700,000 are +Roman Catholics, and the Established Church is _only_ kept up for the +Protestant feeling in the United Kingdom, and not for the Poor who +are almost all Roman Catholics. I then asked about who should stand +Sponsor in my place at the Christening of Col. and Lady Catharine +Buckley’s[485] little boy, who is to be christened down in the New +Forest where they lived. I said the child was to be called _Victor_, +which I thought an ugly name; he did not, and said laughing that “Sir +Victor Buckley” would sound very well.... + +_Friday, 18th May._—We spoke of various things; I asked him if he liked +my headdress which was done in plaits round my ears,[486] for I know +_in general_ he only likes the hair in front crêpé in 2 puffs. He said, +looking at me and making one of his funny faces, “It’s pretty; isn’t it +rather curious—something new?” + +_Saturday, 19th May._—At a little after 2 I rode out with Mamma, Lord +Uxbridge, Lord Torrington, Lady Forbes, dearest Lehzen, Lord Alfred, +Miss Dillon, Mr. Murray, Lord Headfort, Lady Flora, Miss Quentin, +and Col. Cavendish, and came home at 6 m. to 5. I rode dear little +Uxbridge who went _perfectly_. We met Lord Melbourne in going out, who +was riding his pony. We rode out by the Harrow Road and home by the +Uxbridge Road and Park. Heard from Lord John that “he yesterday stated +to the House of Commons the course respecting the Irish Bills, which +he had the honour to explain to Your Majesty yesterday. Sir Robert +Peel asked for a delay till Friday, and appeared much agitated; but +what afterwards fell from him gives every reason to suppose that the +Municipal Corporations Bill will not be opposed. Nor is it probable +that the Irish Tithe Bill will meet with resistance from the Radical +party in the House of Commons. The Chancellor of the Exchequer made a +very clear financial statement, and the deficiency of the Revenue being +before known, no disappointment was caused by the announcement. Should +matters proceed smoothly another fortnight will end the chief party +questions in the House of Commons.” This was _delightful_ news.... +“Very nice party” (my Concert), Lord M. said, “and everybody very much +pleased.” I smiled and said I feared I had done it very ill; that I was +quite angry with myself and thought I had done it so ill; and was not +civil enough. He said most kindly, “Oh! no, quite the contrary, for I +should have told you if it had been otherwise.” I then said I had felt +so nervous and shy. “That wasn’t at all observed,” he said. I said +that I often stood before a person not knowing what to say; and Lord +Melbourne said that the longer one stood thinking the worse it was; and +he really thought the best thing to do was to say anything commonplace +and foolish, better than to say nothing. + +_Sunday, 20th May._—Lord Melbourne was in delightful spirits and _so_ +talkative and _so_ kind and so VERY AGREEABLE throughout the evening. +I almost fear therefore (in consequence of our having talked so much) +that I may have forgotten some of the things we talked about. I asked +him if he had dined at Lord Shrewsbury’s the night before; he said no, +that it was all a mistake; he went there, was shown upstairs, where he +found Lord Shrewsbury alone with his books and papers, who said that +all his family were gone to the Opera; Lord Melbourne said, “I came to +dine here”; upon which Lord S. told him that it was _next_ Saturday; +Lord Melbourne said it was very stupid of himself to forget it, as Lord +Shrewsbury had put off the dinner on account of him. He walked home, +found his people at home, got his dinner in ½ an hour, and went to +his sister’s. Spoke of the Preachers being so badly appointed at the +Chapel Royal, which Lord Melbourne said was a great pity, as it would +have been such “an instrument of good” if it had been the contrary. We +looked at some prints, and amongst others there was a very clever one +of Capt. Macheath with Polly and Lucy in _The Beggar’s Opera_; Lord +Melbourne said that _The Beggar’s Opera_ was written by Gay, and was +used by the Tory Party in order to show up Lord Townshend[487] and Sir +Robert Walpole; was very clever, and had an immense run; but is coarse +beyond conception; it was likewise performed with great success when +Lord Sandwich brought forward an indictment against Mr. Wilkes for +immorality. Of Lord Teynham[488] wanting to have a Private Audience of +me, which Lord Melbourne stopped; he said Peers are only allowed to +have these Private Audiences to speak on Public Affairs, and not on +Private concerns; that when the Regent wanted to prevent Lady Jersey +going so often to see Princess Charlotte, Lord Jersey asked for a +Private audience; and the Regent said to him, “Of course you come to +speak of Public matters, for if you come to speak about your wife, I +cannot speak to you,” and he spoke to him upon ordinary matters and +dismissed him. Talleyrand is dead—at last! + +_Monday, 21st May._—Spoke of Talleyrand’s death, which Lord Melbourne +said he heard was quite like that of the former French Ministers—like +Mazarin—the house full of people to see him die. He (Ld. Melbourne) +said he had heard that Louis Philippe and Mme. Adelaide had been to +see Talleyrand. Spoke of his fear of dying, which Lord Melbourne said +people always said of persons whose feelings on religion were rather +loose. Lord Melbourne said he heard that Talleyrand had signed a sort +of recantation to the Pope, for something he had done, at the time +of the Revolution—for having performed Mass upon some occasion or +other....[489] + +_Thursday, 24th May._—I this day enter my 20th year, which I think +_very_ old! In looking back on the past year, I feel more grateful +than I can express for ALL the VERY GREAT BLESSINGS I have received +since my last birthday. I have only ONE VERY dear affectionate friend +less—dearest Louis! Oh! if she could but be still with us!! Though I +have _lost_ a _dear_ friend, I can never be _thankful_ enough for the +_true, faithful, honest, kind_ one I’ve GAINED since last year, which +is my _excellent_ Lord Melbourne, who is so kind and good to me!!... At +25 m. p. 10 I went with the whole Royal Family into the other Ball-room +through the Saloon which was full of people; after speaking to a good +many I went to my seat (without sitting down) and then opened the Ball +in a Quadrille with George.[490] There were about the same number of +people there as at the 1st Ball, and a great number of Foreigners +there. My good Lord Melbourne came up to me after my 1st Quadrille, +but only stopped one minute, and though I saw him looking on at 3 of +the Quadrilles I danced afterwards, he never came near me again, which +I was very sorry for; and when I sent for him after supper, he was +gone.... After supper I danced 4 Quadrilles in Strauss’s room; he +was playing most beautifully. I danced with Lord George Paget,[491] +Lord Cantelupe,[492] Lord Milton,[493] and Lord Leveson. Count Eugene +Zichy (cousin to Countess Zichy’s husband) wore a most beautiful +uniform all covered with splendid turquoises; he is a handsome man, +with a very good-natured expression, as he is too, very unaffected and +good-humoured, and a beautiful valzer. We then went into the other +room, and danced a regular old English Country Dance of 72 couple, +which lasted 1 hour, from 3 till 4! I danced with Lord Uxbridge, Lord +Cantelupe and Lady Cowper being next, and the Duke of Devonshire +and Lady Lothian[494] on the other side. It was the merriest, most +delightful thing possible. I left the Ball room at 10 m. p. 4, and +was in bed at 5—broad daylight. It was a _delightful_ Ball, and the +pleasantest birthday I’ve spent for _many_ years!... + +_Monday, 28th May._—Spoke of writing to George of Hanover,[495] which +he said I should do; and also to the King of Hanover for his birthday; +spoke of the report of poor George’s marrying a Russian Princess. He +then continued saying it would raise a curious question, “his marrying +a Greek” (of the Greek religion it is); for he believed that _only_ +marrying _Roman Catholics_ was forbidden by _law_ here (George being +in the succession here). I said I thought it was said, _all_ who were +not of the _Reformed Religion_, without naming specifically (Greek, he +says, he supposes is included under Roman Catholics) _Roman Catholic_. +Lord Melbourne said I might be right, for that he had not looked at the +Act for some time. He said he believed also that George could not marry +without my leave.[496] + +_Tuesday, 29th May._—I told him that Lord Glenelg had made me a present +of a Black Swan; Lord Melbourne said that a _Black Swan_ was _not_ a +Swan; “It’s a Goose.” Lady Mulgrave said the Ancients had Black Swans, +and to prove it began quoting the lines from the Latin Grammar, which +Lord Melbourne then repeated, and which I used to learn: “Rara avis in +terris, nigroque simillima cygno.” Lord Melbourne said, _that_ meant +to describe something very rare, and which _did not exist_. I said +to Lord Melbourne I was very glad to hear that he would come down to +Windsor for the Eton Montem. He said, “It’s quite right to go, but I +don’t think it’s a very pleasant thing, the Montem; rather foolish”; +and we spoke of the Regatta on the 4th of June, to which I’m not going. +“The Regatta as you call it,” he said to Lady Mulgrave; “The Boats” it +used always to be called. _That_ is in fact done _without_ the consent +of the Masters, and all the boys were generally flogged next day. Lord +Melbourne has not been to a Montem since 1809. In speaking of the head +Colleger who generally is made the Captain, he said he was usually +a big boy about 19; “More foolish than a boy,” Lord Melbourne said +laughing; and that the expenses were generally so great, and the boy so +extravagant for some time before, that he seldom _cleared_ anything. +I said the Montem generally ended in the boys’ being sick and drunk; +Lord Melbourne said in his funny manner, he thought in these days of +education, no boys ever got drunk or sick—which I fear is _not_ the +case. He said all this eating and drinking, “all the chocolate and tea +and coffee” for breakfast, had got up since his time; that when he was +at Eton, they used to cut a roll in half and put a pat of butter inside +it and give it to you, and that you then might drink a glass of milk +and water (for breakfast); “I never could take milk, and therefore I +always took water,” he said, “and we did very well”; much better he +thinks than they do now. He said that he remembered people always gave +children what they disliked most; he used (before he went to school) +to have _every_ day boiled mutton and rice pudding, which he hated; +“Children’s stomachs are rather squeamish,” he said; and boiled mutton +is particularly nauseous to a child, he observed; and he hated rice +pudding. “Somehow or other,” he said, “they found out you disliked +it, and there it was every day”; this, he thinks (and everybody else +almost, I think, ought to do so), a bad system. He added, “Children’s +stomachs are rather delicate and _queasy_”; which made us all laugh. + +_Thursday, 31st May._—He said that Lord Mulgrave was very anxious about +being made a Marquis at the Coronation, and that he supposed it must +be done, but that it would offend other Earls; he added that there was +great difficulty about making these Peers,—but that he must soon lay +the list before me. “I shall advise Your Majesty to make as few as +possible,” he added. It would not do, he said, to make any Members of +the House of Commons Peers, on account of vacating their seats. Lord +Dundas wishes to be made an Earl, he says, which he supposes should be +granted; and Lord Barham wishes to be made Earl of Gainsborough.[497] +William IV. made 16 Peers and 24 Baronets at his Coronation; and George +IV. 15 Peers; “he was so clogged with promises,” Lord Melbourne said, +“he had made such heaps of promises.” + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER X + + The three summer months of 1838 were eventful in the life of the + young Queen. It is not only that she attended an Eton Montem (that + quaint ceremony so graphically described in _Coningsby_ by one who + was in future years to be her Prime Minister), and not only that + she held her first Review in Hyde Park (which was somewhat of a + disappointment to her owing to Lord Melbourne having dissuaded + her from riding on horseback), but on the 28th June she was + crowned in Westminster Abbey. There have been many accounts from + eye-witnesses of the Coronation of British Sovereigns. Volumes + have been written on the subject from the earliest times. Even the + immortal pen of Shakespeare has touched upon this great ceremonial. + Queen Victoria’s description, however, is unique in this, that the + writer is the Sovereign herself, and that the Coronation is painted + from the point of view of the central figure in the picture. Owing + to the extreme youth of the Queen, her childlike appearance, her + fairness and fragility, and the romance attaching to her sex, owing + also to her dignity, simplicity, and composure amid that vast + concourse in the setting of the great Abbey, surrounded as she was + by every circumstance of pomp and splendour, and overweighted, as + it seemed, by the tremendous and glittering responsibility of St. + Edward’s Crown, the ceremony appeared to onlookers extraordinarily + moving. The Queen noticed that Lord Melbourne was deeply stirred. + He was one of the many who were in tears. + + To the thousands who saw her on this occasion for the first time + and to the millions who read the story of the Coronation, the 28th + June, 1838, appeared to be the opening day of Queen Victoria’s + reign. Who, among those present in the Abbey or in the streets of + the metropolis, could foresee what her reign was to bring forth, + and who could measure with any degree of accuracy the progress of + the country she was about to rule, or the growth of the Empire over + which she was destined to preside, between the day when the Crown + was placed upon her head, and the day when it was borne away by her + sorrowing servants from the Mausoleum at Frogmore sixty-three years + afterwards? + + “The guns are just announcing,” wrote Queen Adelaide to her niece, + “your approach to the Abbey, and as I am not near you, and cannot + take part in the sacred ceremony of your Coronation, I must address + you in writing to assure you that my thoughts and my whole heart + are with you, and my prayers are offered up to heaven for your + happiness and the prosperity and glory of your reign.” The answer + to this prayer for the young Queen is to be found in the story of + her reign, and it is written large in golden letters across the + face of her Empire. + + + CHAPTER X + + 1838 (_continued_) + +_Friday, 1st June._—I also told Lord Melbourne that I quite approved +of what he had written to me (also in the afternoon) about the Homage +at the Coronation; namely, that the Peers should _kiss my hand_; Lord +Melbourne smiled when I said this. Lord Melbourne had left Lady Holland +in a great fright, fearing there would be a thunderstorm, of which she +is dreadfully afraid. We spoke of thunderstorms, of people being afraid +of them, of there being always a certain degree of danger; of the +danger of standing under a tree. I told Lord Melbourne I never could +forgive him for having stood under a tree in that violent thunderstorm +at Windsor last year; he said, “It’s a hundred to one that you’re not +struck,” and then added smiling: “It’s a sublime death.” Spoke ... +of Lord Durham for some time, of whose arrival we think we must soon +hear. Lord Melbourne said, “I’ll bet you he’ll go by Bermuda,” which +would be a good deal out of his way; I asked Lord Melbourne what could +make Lord Durham wish to go there. He replied, “I’m sure I don’t know +why he’s got it into his head, but I’ll bet you he’ll go there.” Spoke +of my fear that Lord Melbourne was right in what he said about Lady +Mary Lambton’s[498] great regret at leaving England, the other day; +namely, her being attached to John Ponsonby,[499] which we think seems +likely, as he (J. Ponsonby) is the ONLY person to whom Lady Mary has +written since she left England. Spoke of Epsom, and Lord Melbourne said +there was scarcely ever “a Derby without somebody killing himself; +generally somebody kills himself; it is not perfect without that,” he +said laughing. Spoke of _Don Giovanni_, and the Statue having laughed +so much the other night (about which Lablache told him he was so +distressed), and Lord Melbourne said the _original_ Piece and Music was +very old; and on my observing that I thought _this_ music by Mozart +old-fashioned, he clasped his hands and looked up in astonishment.... + +_Sunday, 3rd June._—We spoke of Music; of Lord Melbourne’s going to +sleep when Thomas Moore was singing, which he would hardly allow. +Lord Melbourne quoted some lines to prove that Lydian music used to +put people to sleep; and of Phrygian music, which made people fight. +I showed Lord Melbourne the 1st number of a work called, _Portraits +of the Female Aristocracy_. Then he, and also I, looked at a new Work +called _Sketches of the People and Country of the Island of Zealand_, +which are very well done. Lord Melbourne said, in opening it, “These +are a fine race, but they eat men, and they say it’s almost impossible +to break them of it.” He farther added, “There are no _animals_ +whatever there, and therefore they are obliged to eat men.” Lady +Mulgrave observed that she thought they only eat their enemies; Lord +Melbourne said, “I fancy they eat them pretty promiscuously.” Lord +Melbourne was in excellent spirits, and very funny in his remarks +about the different drawings; it’s always my delight to make him look +at these sorts of things, as his remarks are always so clever and +funny. He again said that it was so difficult to break them (the New +Zealanders) of eating men; “for they say it’s the very best thing,” +which made us laugh. He added, “There was an old woman who was sick, +and they asked her what she would like to have; and she said, ‘I think +I could eat a little piece of the small bone of a boy’s head,’” and he +pointed laughing to his own head, explaining _what_ part of the head +that small bone was.... Lord Melbourne went on speaking of New Zealand, +&c., and said, “The English eat up everything wherever they go; they +exterminate everything”; and Lady Mulgrave and Mr. Murray[500] also +said that wherever the English went, they always would have everything +their own way, and never would accommodate themselves to other +countries. “A person in a public situation should write as few private +letters as possible”.... + +_Monday, 4th June._—Spoke of the Eton Montem, and I told Lord Melbourne +I was going to the Provost’s house, which he said he was very glad +of. There were two Montems while he was at Eton; he said no one knows +the origin of the Eton Montem. Formerly there used to be, he said, a +Mock Sermon at Salt Hill; a boy dressed like a clergyman and another +like a clerk delivered a sort of sermon, and in the middle of it the +other boys kicked them down the hill; George III. put a stop to it, +as he thought it very improper. We spoke of the Montem, and of giving +money, and Lord Melbourne said he thought he should give £20. I asked +Lord Melbourne what he did when Lady Holland goes down to Brocket. +“Oh! I give up the whole house to her,” he replied. And he says she +twists everything about; not only in her own room but in other rooms +downstairs. Then she swears she has too much light, and puts out all +the candles; then too little, and sends for more candles; then she +shuts up first one window, then another. I showed him in the Genealogy +of _Lodge’s Peerage_ how Lord Barham came to his title and how he was +related to the Earl of Gainsborough. In looking over it, Lord Melbourne +began to speak of Sir Charles Midleton, First Lord of the Admiralty, +made 1st Lord Barham, and maternal grandfather to Lord Barham. He said +he was a most distinguished and clever man. He told me, with the tears +in his eyes, an anecdote of what he (Sir C. Midleton) did at the time +of the Mutiny.[501] He was very much for those people and said, “I used +always to think those poor fellows very hardly treated”; but when he +heard of the Mutiny, he ordered two 74-gun ships to be put broadside of +the ship in which the Mutineers were, and desire her to surrender, and +if she did not, to send her to the bottom. So they said to him, “But if +the men should disobey?” “Why, then we shall be in a scrape; but give +your orders steadily and they won’t disobey.” “That was very fine,” +said Lord Melbourne. Spoke of clothes, about which Lord Melbourne was +very funny; said the fewer you had the better, and that he was certain +it was very bad to keep things in _store_, at which we laughed much, +and said it would be impossible for ladies to keep dresses in store, +as the fashions always changed; and he was against keeping furs, as he +said “The moth doth corrupt.” Spoke of Miss Chaworth, Byron’s first +admiration, about whom Lord Melbourne told a story on Sunday, which I +did not quite understand, and I begged him to repeat it which he did. +It was as follows:—Miss Chaworth was told that she would like Lord +Byron very much (she _did_ admire him) and would in fact marry him. +She said, No, she never would; for that if ever she married, it should +be a man with two straight legs (Byron having one leg and foot quite +deformed[502] from his birth, which made him limp very much); this was +told to Byron, whom it shocked most exceedingly, as he was extremely +unhappy and conscious of his lameness, and made him quite indignant. +He went to her, made her copy a piece of music for him (they had been +in the habit of singing together) in order to have a remembrance of +her, took it, left the house, and never saw her again. Lord Melbourne +told me there was an awkwardness between the two families; as in George +II.’s reign Miss Chaworth’s ancestor was killed in a duel by a Lord +Byron; they quarrelled at a Club, went upstairs, fought and Chaworth +was killed[503]; Lord Melbourne said it was always suspected that he +had been killed unfairly, as Chaworth was known to be the best fencer +there was, and it was thought that Byron passed his sword through him +before they fought. Miss Chaworth married afterwards a Mr. Musters and +was very unhappy; lived on bad terms with her husband, and at last died +deranged. Lord Melbourne said he saw her once, he went over to her +place, Annesley, when he was staying in Nottinghamshire in 1813, and +stayed there two days. She was then living on very bad terms with her +husband, and everything was in a very uncomfortable state; but she was +very kind to Lord Melbourne. I asked Lord Melbourne where Lord Byron +made the acquaintance of his cousin, Miss Milbanke, now the Dowager +Lady Byron; he said at his house, at Whitehall, where Byron used to +come. Spoke of Irish and Italian servants, who Lord Melbourne says are +very uncertain and not to be trusted. I asked Lord Melbourne if he had +good servants; he said, “Not very”; he added, “I’m told that great +drunkenness prevails in my house,” but that _he_ never saw it, and as +long as that was the case, he could not much complain; he, _of course_, +can’t look after them. The man he always takes about with him, when +he comes here, he says is a very steady, exact man, and always ready; +he has risen from being a steward’s boy in his house. He told me that +he has but few servants; a butler, this man, an under butler, and one +footman; that’s all. He’s likewise told that his expenses in comparison +to other people’s are very great; that the profuseness in his country +house was beyond everything, people told him; _he_ does _not_ think the +expense very great, in fact he says it _cannot_ be, as he is so little +at home. + +_Tuesday, 5th June._—At a ¼ to 11 we got into our carriages for Montem. +Mamma and Lady Mulgrave were with me; Lord Melbourne, Miss Paget, Lord +Albemarle and Lady Flora were in the next carriage to mine; then Lady +Theresa, Miss Dillon, Lord Conyngham, and Miss Davys; and lastly Lord +Lilford, Mr. Murray; Colonel Wemyss and Col. Cavendish. These carriages +_preceded_ us in going to Eton. We were stopped on the Bridge for +“Salt.” When we reached Eton College we were received there by the +Provost,[504] Dr. Hawtrey,[505] and the other Fellows; we went under +the Cloisters and saw all the boys march by, 3 times, which is a pretty +sight; some of the boys were beautifully dressed. We then all went up +to one of the rooms in the Provost’s house, where we looked out of the +window and saw the flag flourished; we then took some luncheon at the +Provost’s, I sitting between the Provost and Lord Melbourne. The only +people besides our own party there, were, Mrs. Goodall (the Provost’s +wife), Lady Braybrooke,[506] Edward of Saxe-Weimar,[507] Mr. Wood,[508] +and two nieces of the Provost’s. The room in which we lunched is hung +round with many portraits of the young men (now mostly, if indeed not +all, old) who had been at Eton; amongst which were Lord Grey’s, Lord +Holland’s, Lord Wellesley’s, Mr. Canning’s.[509] Lord Melbourne’s was +not there, which it _ought_ to have been. Lord Melbourne, said he +had been painted by Hoppner, for Dr. Langford (his Master, but not +the _Head_ Master, who was then Dr. Heath), and had been sold at the +sale of his things when he died.[510] Lord Melbourne said that Lord +Holland had a fine countenance when young, but always _lame_, there +being some ossification in one of his legs; he was “very slim” when +young!! After luncheon we got into our carriages again (the other +carriages _following_ mine), and drove to Salt Hill, where we saw the +boy again flourish the flag. The heat was _quite intense_, and the +crowd _enormous_! We got back to the Castle at 20 m. to 2. I saw Lord +Melbourne from 7 m. to 2 till 7 m. p. 2, in my room on my return. He +said he was not tired, and was very anxious I should not be so. Spoke +of the Montem, the fine boys; he thought they looked “very sheepish” +and shy as they marched by; and the boy (a great big boy) who held up +the bag for “Salt,” very shy, on the bridge. Lord Melbourne gave £10; +and I £100. Lord Melbourne thought that the Provost and Mrs. Goodall, +knew nobody, for she took Lord Melbourne for Lord Ebrington. It is 69 +years, Lord Melbourne told me (the Provost had said) since he (the +Provost) walked in a Montem! Lord Melbourne was going to dine at Lord +Anglesey’s. He said he was going away directly. He had neither slept +well. At ½ p. 2 I left Windsor (as I came the day before), and reached +Buckingham Palace at ½ p. 4 or 20 m. to 5.... + +_Wednesday, 6th June._—I showed him the letter from Uncle Leopold +which I got yesterday, and in which he touches upon these unhappy +Affairs, wishing _me_ to prevent my Government from taking the lead +in these Affairs, &c., &c.; and saying his position is _des plus +embarassantes_. Lord Melbourne read it over with great attention, and +then spoke of it all most _kindly_ and sensibly; said he did not see +how we could get out of this Territorial Arrangement; said he felt +that Uncle’s position was not an agreeable one, for that he was made +to do what his people disliked and what was extremely unpopular; “and +people and countries never make allowances for the difficulties Kings +are placed in; the King is made the Instrument of an Act which is +extremely unpopular; and all the blame will fall upon him.” All this +is most true; we spoke of this, and of its being rather hard of Uncle +appealing to my feelings of affection for him. I told him what Uncle +had said of Stockmar to Van de Weyer, and that Stockmar said he did not +fear all this, and was sure that Uncle would give way in a little time. +Lord Melbourne said, “He always says that the pressure of circumstances +will make him give way, but I think he trusts everything to that +power”; which Lord Melbourne does not think always is the case. He +was going to show the letter to Lord Palmerston. I showed him another +letter from Ferdinand in answer to mine to him about the Slave Trade; +he seems very anxious to do what we wish, but stated the difficulties +are so great; which Lord Melbourne said was true.... Before this, Lord +Melbourne said, “Immense crowd at the Montem; my servant told me he +never saw such a number of people.” Lord Melbourne was in sight of us, +in coming to London, already before Datchet. His servant also told him +that there were _72_ pair of Post-horses sent down the road yesterday, +and he (Ld. M.) paid 8 guineas for going; whereas in general he only +pays 4. Spoke of the Montem; and of the boys there; the Collegers +generally stay longer than the others; they must stay till there is +a vacancy at King’s, unless they are past 19; he says there are much +fewer little boys than there used to be; the Provost told him “they had +only 20 in the lower form.” “People don’t send their children as early +as they used to do.” We spoke of the Montem; the deal of money said to +have been collected, more than ever was known. Lord Melbourne spoke +of the boy who held the bag and looked so sheepish; of the Provost, +who Lord Melbourne said was an excellent Master; that nobody could +make a lesson so pleasant to the boys; and that he was “a beautiful +scholar” and “a good-natured man.” Lord Melbourne said that “A Master +should have great spirits; better spirits than all the boys.” He went +on saying, “It’s now 42 years ago since I left Eton, and I should like +very much to be put back to that time.” He would not like, he said, to +go through all he _had_ gone through; but to go back to that time, with +his _present_ experience; “I should manage them all so much better,” he +said laughing. He spoke of the extreme love of contradiction children +have; of the great deal of disputing there used to be formerly in +private Society. Lord Egremont used to say, that Society was not near +so amusing as it used to be; people were all so well educated, that +there were no more any originals to be seen. Lord Melbourne said the +love of arguing was at an amazing height when he was born; “People used +to argue till they got into a passion and swore at each other.” That +people always would find the other in the wrong.... + +_Sunday, 10th June._—I told Lord Melbourne that the Queen Dowager had +come to me the day before, and had told me that Chambers[511] had told +her that she must not pass another winter in England, and wished her +to go to Madeira, which she declared was too far off; he then named +Malta, to which she assented, and asked my leave to go, and to have +a frigate to go in; about which Lord Melbourne said there could not +be the slightest difficulty. I said she told me she preferred Malta, +as being still in _my_ dominions.... Lady Mulgrave began saying how +much mischief the Eton boys committed after the Montem, hacking and +cutting things all to pieces. Of the Montem, its origin; the wish +of some to abolish it; the Provost’s declaring he never would. The +Provost, he told us, is the son of the butler of Lord Lichfield’s +grandfather. Spoke of Dr. Hawtrey’s introducing much new learning, +which the Provost disliked. Spoke of what the boys learn, and many +coming away amazingly ignorant. What makes the school one, Lord +Melbourne said, is that the most gentlemanly boys are sent there. Lord +Melbourne told us that Talleyrand said, “La _meilleure_ éducation, +c’est l’éducation Publique Anglaise; et c’est _détestable_!” There is +one Head Master and an Under Master, and eight other Masters at Eton, +Lord Melbourne said. The Masters, he says, who are quite young men, +often require more keeping in order and are more irregular than the +boys. “_My opinion is_,” said Lord Melbourne, “that it does not much +signify _what_ is taught, if what’s taught is _well_ taught.” Then he +added, “People too often confound learning and knowledge with talent +and abilities”; for that the two former could not make the two latter. +Lord Melbourne was sent to Eton at 9 years old, but had been with a +clergyman before, who taught him on quite a different principle, but +very well; made him work very hard, with a dictionary, by himself, and +at Eton they construe it to you first; “so that when I came to Eton +I was infinitely superior to most of the other boys, and I could do +my lessons and theirs too.” That’s because he _always_ was cleverer +than most other people. He said, “I never was so surprised as when I +came there; I did not know what to do. It was perhaps 12 o’clock, and +they said that I might stay out till two. I said, ‘What can I do? Who +is to stay with me now?’ I thought it then very odd, for I had been +accustomed to have 2 or 3 nursery-maids after me, not allowing me to +wet my heels near the water; and here you are let into a field alone, +with a river running through it, which is 10 feet deep at the bank; +and if you make a false step you’re drowned to a certainty.” Then he +said his father gave him a great deal of money, and he ate such a +quantity of tarts, made himself so sick, though he was only there three +weeks when he first went—that he was very ill when he went home, with +eruptions and spots over his face. This made us laugh much. Spoke of +the fighting there, and that the Masters should never allow it to go +on long. “I always yielded directly,” he said, “if I found the boy too +much for me; after the first round if I found I could not lick the +fellow, I gave it up, and said, ‘Come, this won’t do, I’ll go away, +it’s no use standing to be knocked to pieces.’” All this and a great +deal more Lord Melbourne told us in the funniest, most delightful way +possible; he is _so_ amusing about himself, and so clever and sensible +about education. + +_Monday, 11th June._—At 20 m. to 2 Lord Palmerston introduced the +Prince de Ligne to me, Uncle Leopold’s Ambassador to me for the +Coronation; I then went into the Drawing-room where the Prince de Ligne +(who is a gentlemanlike and rather young man) introduced five other +Belgian gentlemen, who have accompanied him. I hear he came in the +most splendid equipage, with four grey horses. At 7 m. to 2 came my +good Lord Melbourne and stayed with me till 5 m. to 3. He said he was +well, and we spoke of the weather. He then told me of the difficulty +of replacing the Chief Baron of Ireland (Joy, of whose death he had +told me last Friday), and he said it was wished, and he thought it was +best, to make O’Loghlen, now Master of the Rolls, Chief Baron, and to +offer the Mastership of the Rolls to O’Connell; he said O’Connell might +possibly refuse it, but that it might likewise satisfy him and his +party; on the other hand, the difficulties are, that O’Connell might +not give up his _agitation_, and that “we,” as Lord Melbourne says, may +be attacked for it by the other party. He then asked me twice over, +“Have you any particular feeling about it?” I said none whatever, and +therefore it is left to Ministers to offer it, or not, as they may +think fit.[512] + +_Wednesday, 13th June._—I made Lady Mary Paget[513] sing after +dinner which she did beautifully, two songs before the gentlemen +came in, the pretty one from _The Ambassadrice_, and one by Alari; +Lady Adelaide[514] accompanying her in the last. The gentlemen then +came in; after this Lady Mary sang the other song by Alari which she +sang at Buckingham Palace; and then “Ah! non giunge” (Lady Adelaide +accompanying her), _most beautifully_, with all Persiani’s ornaments. +They, particularly Lord Anglesey, then insisted on _my_ singing; which +I did, but literally shaking with fear and fright. I sang “Il superbo +vinctor” from _Il Giuramento_. Lord Melbourne stood opposite me, +_listening_, which really is marvellous, considering he does not care +the least about music. Lady Mary sang a very pretty little thing from +_Beatrice_; and I then sang “Sogno talor.” We then sat down (at a ¼ p. +10), I sitting on the sofa with Lady Surrey, Lord Melbourne sitting +near me the whole evening, and several of the other ladies sitting +round the table. I observed to Lord Melbourne how dreadfully frightened +I had been; and he smiled and said “I can quite understand it.” Talked +of Ascot Races; Lord Melbourne said he had not been to Ascot Races +since he left Eton, _42_ years ago!! The Eton boys are now not allowed +to go to Ascot, but in Lord Melbourne’s days they were much less severe +than they are now. “My brother” (Pen Lamb) “was a great man on the +Turf. I used always to go to him; I always got leave all the week, +and used to go all the week, and very good fun it used to be,” Lord +Melbourne said. + +_Thursday, 14th June._—Spoke of Miss Pitt, and of our fearing she was +attached to her brother-in-law; Lord Melbourne said such a marriage +could not take place now[515]; that the _Law_ preventing it was only +made last year. Till then such a marriage could take place; but was +void, if any of the parties made objections to such marriage. This Bill +made good all such marriages which had taken place (like the Duke of +Beaufort’s[516]) but prevented any others being made. Lord Melbourne +said he did not know if it was right or wrong; we spoke of it for a +little while.[517] I then asked him if he thought it would be well, if, +on occasions like the Races, I should wear my Star and Ribbon; he said +yes.[518] I said to him also, that, if he did not dislike it, I should +be so very happy if he would wear the Windsor Uniform when he came down +to Windsor; he replied kindly, “I shall be very happy,” and I added I +hoped he would often be at Windsor.[519] + +_Friday, 15th June._—I told him that I had been reading in the morning +in Coxe’s _Life of Walpole_; which I found very interesting, but that +I had got a good deal puzzled with the South Sea Company, and the +_Redeemable_ and _Irredeemable_ debt; and that it was very difficult +and puzzling, which he said it was, and that I should not trouble or +puzzle myself with that part of the book, which is not clearly written; +and he explained to me in a few words and in his clear delightful +way, like a father to his child, this difficult South Sea Scheme. We +spoke of that strange proposition, the Peerage Bill,[520] which is +curiously told in Coxe’s _Life_. “That was all a party scheme,” said +Lord Melbourne; “and done with a view to cripple George II.” “If that +had been done,” he continued, “there would be hardly any peerages left +now.” Lord Melbourne was speaking of how many peerages, _of that time_, +were extinct; and that there were now 20 peers in the House of Lords +without heirs. I likewise told him that the Duke of Wellington had let +me know that George IV. and William IV. always wore the _Order of the +Bath_ on that day—Waterloo Day—as also on the anniversary of the battle +of Trafalgar; and I asked Lord Melbourne if he thought I should do so, +or not. He said he thought I should. I observed I did not like giving +up my _Blue Ribbon_, _even_ for one night; but if he wished it I would +do so. He said, “If you don’t dislike it, I think you should do it; it +will be considered a compliment to the Army....”[521] + +_Monday, 18th June._—Lord Melbourne then gave me a list of the +Creations and Advancements which are to take place, which are as +follows: + + The Earl of Mulgrave Marquis of Normanby + Lord Dundas Earl of Zetland + The Earl of Kintore Baron Kintore + (Scotch) + The Viscount Lismore Baron Lismore of Shanbally + (Irish) Castle in the + County of Tipperary + The Lord Rossmore Baron Rossmore of the + (Irish) County of Monaghan + The Lord Carew Baron Carew of Castle + (Irish) Boro in the County of + Wexford + The Hon. Wm. S. C. Baron de Mauley + Ponsonby + Sir John Wrottesley, Baron Wrottesley of + Bart. Wrottesley in the + County of Stafford + Charles Hanbury Baron Sudeley + Tracy, Esq. + Paul Methuen, Esq., of Baron Methuen of Corsham. + Corsham in the + County of Wilts + +Lord Melbourne said he wished to add two more,[522] with my consent, +namely, Lord King,[523] an Earl; and to call up Lord Carmarthen[524] to +the House of Lords. I of course consented to both. Before I say another +word, I must not omit to mention that I wrote a letter to Stockmar +begging him to mention to Lord Melbourne my anxious wish to give him +the _Blue Ribbon_ (which I offered to him through Stockmar already last +year, immediately upon my accession, and which he refused in the most +noble manner), as I said I felt I owed him so much; and he had been +and was so very kind to me that it would grieve me to be giving other +people honours whom I cared not about, and him nothing. Stockmar told +me this morning he had shown Lord Melbourne my letter and that Lord +Melbourne would speak to me on the subject. Accordingly Lord Melbourne +said to me, “The Baron showed me your letter, and I feel very grateful, +I am very sensible of Your Majesty’s kindness”; upon which I assured +him he was quite right (having previously heard from Stockmar that +he would decline it); “I hope,” he continued, “you don’t think I’ve +any contempt for these things, but it gives me such a command”; which +is most true; “and therefore you’ll allow me to decline it.”[525] I +added I thought him quite right but that _I_ could not do less. This +is a fine noble disinterested act, and worthy of Lord Melbourne, and +I honour, esteem and admire him the more for it; it only increases my +fondness of him....[526] [**F1: no anchor apparent in text] + +_Friday, 22nd June._—At a ¼ p. 2 came Marshal Soult, Due de Dalmatie, +who was introduced by Lord Glenelg. I was very curious to see him; he +is not tall, but very broad, and one leg quite crooked from having been +severely wounded; his complexion is dark, and he has the appearance +of great age; his features are hard, and he speaks slowly and +indistinctly. His eyes are piercing; he seemed much embarrassed. I then +went into the outer room, where he presented his 12 (I think) Attachés +to me, amongst whom were the Marquis de Dalmatie (his son), and his +son-in-law. Wrote to Aunt Louise. At 3 came Lord Melbourne, and stayed +with me till 4. He asked how I was, and was sorry to hear I had so much +to do. I told him I had just seen Soult, who was so much embarrassed; +which Lord Melbourne said he was also when he came to him; and that he +never would understand anything, and that he made Lord Melbourne repeat +the things over 20 times. He gave me a list of the names to be made +Baronets on the occasion of the Coronation; there are 30; amongst whom +are Mr. E. Lytton Bulwer and Mr. Micklethwait,[527] which last I must +say Lord Melbourne has been most exceedingly kind about. I then begged +him to add (to write down) the two following names to the list of Peers +which he gave me the other day, and which he did; Lord King to be Earl +of Lovelace, and Viscount Ockham in the County of Surrey; and the +Marquis of Carmarthen to be called up by the title of Baron Osborne.... + +_Wednesday, 27th June._—At 20 m. p. 4 I went with Lady Lansdowne and +Lady Barham (the Duchess of Sutherland going in her own carriage, +as she feared an open one), and Lord Conyngham and Col. Wemyss to +Westminster Abbey to see all the Preparations for to-morrow. The +streets were full of people, and preparations of all kinds. I was +received at the Abbey by Lord Melbourne, the Duke of Norfolk, Sir +William Woods,[528] and Sir Benjamin Stevenson. The whole thing is +beautifully and splendidly and very conveniently done; Lord Melbourne +made me try the various thrones (that is, two) which was very +fortunate, as they were both too low. I came home again as I went +(crowds in the streets and all _so_ friendly) at 5. The preparations +for Fairs, Balloons, &c. in the Parks, quite changes all, and the +encampments of the Artillery, with all their white tents, has a very +pretty effect. I did not think Lord Melbourne looking well, though he +said he was better. I’m very glad I went to the Abbey, as I shall now +know exactly where I’m to go, and be. The Duchess of Sutherland came +to ask for further Orders a few minutes after I had got home, and said +she had taken Lord Melbourne in her carriage to Downing Street which +is only one step from the Abbey. He walked _to_ the Abbey. Wrote my +journal. At ½ p. 7 we dined. + +_Thursday, 28th June!_—I was awoke at four o’clock by the guns in +the Park, and could not get much sleep afterwards on account of the +noise of the people, bands, &c., &c. Got up at 7 feeling strong and +well; the Park presented a curious spectacle; crowds of people up to +Constitution Hill, soldiers, bands, &c. I dressed, having taken a +little breakfast before I dressed, and a little after. At ½ p. 9 I +went into the next room dressed exactly in my House of Lords costume; +and met Uncle Ernest, Charles and Feodore (who had come a few minutes +before into my dressing-room), Lady Lansdowne, Lady Normanby, the +Duchess of Sutherland, and Lady Barham, all in their robes. At 10 I +got into the State Coach with the Duchess of Sutherland and Lord +Albemarle, and we began our Progress. It was a fine day, and the crowds +of people exceeded what I have ever seen; many as there were the day +I went to the City, it was nothing—nothing to the multitudes, the +millions of my loyal subjects who were assembled in _every spot_ to +witness the Procession. Their good-humour and excessive loyalty was +beyond everything, and I really cannot say _how_ proud I feel to be +the Queen of _such_ a _Nation_. I was alarmed at times for fear that +the people would be crushed and squeezed on account of the tremendous +rush and pressure. I reached the Abbey amid deafening cheers at a +little after ½ p. 11; I first went into a robing-room quite close to +the entrance, where I found my eight Train-bearers: Lady Caroline +Lennox, Lady Adelaide Paget, Lady Mary Talbot, Lady Fanny Cowper, Lady +Wilhelmina Stanhope, Lady Anne Fitzwilliam, Lady Mary Grimston, and +Lady Louisa Jenkinson,—all dressed alike and beautifully, in white +satin and silver tissue, with wreaths of silver corn-ears in front, +and a small one of pink roses round the plait behind, and pink roses +in the trimming of the dresses. After putting on my Mantle, and the +young ladies having properly got hold of it, and Lord Conyngham holding +the end of it, I left the robing-room and the Procession began. The +sight was splendid; the bank of Peeresses quite beautiful, all in +their robes, and the Peers on the other side. My young Train-bearers +were always near me, and helped me whenever I wanted anything. The +Bishop of Durham[529] stood on one side near me. At the beginning of +the Anthem where I’ve made a mark, I retired to St. Edward’s Chapel, +a small dark place immediately behind the Altar, with my Ladies and +Train-bearers; took off my crimson robe and kirtle and put on the +Supertunica of Cloth of Gold, also in the shape of a kirtle, which was +put over a singular sort of little gown of linen trimmed with lace; I +also took off my circlet of diamonds, and then proceeded bare-headed +into the Abbey; I was then seated upon St. Edward’s chair where the +Dalmatic robe was clasped round me by the Lord Great Chamberlain. +Then followed all the various things; and last (of those things) the +Crown being placed on my head;—which was, I must own, a most beautiful +impressive moment; _all_ the Peers and Peeresses put on their Coronets +at the same instant. My excellent Lord Melbourne, who stood very close +to me throughout the whole ceremony, was _completely_ overcome at this +moment, and very much affected; he gave me _such_ a kind, and I may +say _fatherly_ look. The shouts, which were very great, the drums, the +trumpets, the firing of the guns, all at the same instant, rendered +the spectacle most imposing. The Enthronization and the Homage of, 1st +all the Bishops, then my Uncles, and lastly of all the Peers, in their +respective order, was very fine. The Duke of Norfolk (holding for me +the Sceptre with a Cross) with Lord Melbourne, stood close to me on my +right, and the Duke of Richmond with the other Sceptre on my left. All +my Train-bearers standing behind the Throne. Poor old Lord Rolle, who +is 82 and dreadfully infirm, in attempting to ascend the steps, fell +and rolled quite down, but was not the least hurt; when he attempted +to reascend them I got up and advanced to the end of the steps, in +order to prevent another fall. When Lord Melbourne’s turn to do Homage +came, there was loud cheering; they also cheered Lord Grey and the +Duke of Wellington; it’s a pretty ceremony; they first all touch the +Crown; and then kiss my hand. When my good Lord Melbourne knelt down +and kissed my hand, he pressed my hand and I grasped his with all my +heart, at which he looked up with his eyes filled with tears and seemed +much touched, as he was, I observed, throughout the whole ceremony. +After the Homage was concluded I left the Throne, took off my Crown and +received the Sacrament; I then put on my Crown again, and re-ascended +the Throne, leaning on Lord Melbourne’s arm; at the commencement of the +Anthem I descended from the Throne, and went into St. Edward’s Chapel +with my Ladies, Train-bearers, and Lord Willoughby, where I took off +the Dalmatic robe, Supertunica, and put on the Purple Velvet Kirtle and +Mantle, and proceeded again to the Throne, which I ascended leaning +on Lord Melbourne’s hand. There was another present at this ceremony, +in the box immediately above the Royal Box, and who witnessed all; it +was Lehzen, whose eyes I caught when on the Throne, and we exchanged +smiles. She and Späth, Lady John Russell and Mr. Murray saw me leave +the Palace, arrive at the Abbey, leave the Abbey and again return to +the Palace!! I then again descended from the Throne, and repaired +with all the Peers bearing the Regalia, my Ladies and Train-bearers, +to St. Edward’s Chapel, as it is called; but which, as Lord Melbourne +said, was more _unlike_ a Chapel than anything he had ever seen; for, +what was _called_ an _Altar_ was covered with sandwiches, bottles +of wine, &c. The Archbishop came in and _ought_ to have delivered +the Orb to me, but I had already got it. There we waited for some +minutes; Lord Melbourne took a glass of wine, for he seemed completely +tired; the Procession being formed, I replaced my Crown (which I had +taken off for a few minutes), took the Orb in my left hand and the +Sceptre in my right, and thus _loaded_ proceeded through the Abbey, +which resounded with cheers, to the first Robing-room, where I found +the Duchess of Gloucester, Mamma, and the Duchess of Cambridge with +their ladies. And here we waited for at least an hour, with _all_ my +ladies and Train-bearers; the Princesses went away about half an hour +before I did; the Archbishop had put the ring on the wrong finger, +and the consequence was that I had the greatest difficulty to take +it off again,—which I at last did with great pain. Lady Fanny, Lady +Wilhelmina, and Lady Mary Grimston looked quite beautiful. At about ½ +p. 4 I re-entered my carriage, the Crown on my head and Sceptre and +Orb in my hand, and we proceeded the same way as we came—the crowds if +possible having increased. The enthusiasm, affection and loyalty was +really touching, and I shall ever remember this day as the _proudest_ +of my life. I came home at a little after 6,—really _not_ feeling +tired.[530] + +At 8 we dined. Besides we 13, Lord Melbourne and Lord Surrey[531] dined +here. Lord Melbourne came up to me and said, “I must congratulate you +on this most brilliant day,” and that all had gone off _so_ well. He +said he was not tired, and was in high spirits. I sat between Uncle +Ernest and Lord Melbourne, and Lord Melbourne between me and Feodore, +whom he had led in. My kind Lord Melbourne was much affected in +speaking of the whole ceremony. He asked kindly if I was tired; said +the Sword he carried (the 1st, the Sword of State) was excessively +heavy. I said that the Crown hurt me a good deal. He was much amused at +Uncle Ernest’s being astonished at our still having the Litany[532]; +we agreed that the whole thing was a very fine sight. He thought the +robes,[533] and particularly the Dalmatic, “looked remarkably well.” +“And you did it all so well; excellent!” said he with the tears in his +eyes. He said he thought I looked rather pale, and “moved by all the +people” when I arrived; “and that’s natural.” The Archbishop’s and +Dean’s Copes (which were remarkably handsome) were from James the 1st’s +time; the very same that were worn at his Coronation, Lord Melbourne +told me. Spoke of the Duc de Nemours[534] being like his father in +face; of the young ladies’ (Train-bearers’) dresses which he thought +beautiful; and he said he thought the Duchess of Richmond (who had +ordered the make of the dresses, and had been much condemned by some +of the young ladies for it) quite right. She said to him, “One thing I +was determined about; that I would have no discussion with their Mammas +about it.” Spoke of Talleyrand and Soult having been much struck by +the ceremony of the Coronation; of the English being far too generous +_not_ to be kind to Soult. Lord Melbourne went home the night before, +and slept very deeply till he was woke at 6 in the morning. I said I +did not sleep well. Spoke of the Illuminations and Uncle Ernest’s wish +to see them. + +[Illustration: _H.S.H. Feodora_ + + _Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg_ + + _from a portrait by Gutekunst 1830_] + +After dinner, before we sat down, we—that is, Charles, Lord Melbourne +and I—spoke of the numbers of Peers at the Coronation, which Lord +Melbourne said was unprecedented. I observed that there were very few +Viscounts; he said, “There are very few Viscounts”[535]; that they +were an odd sort of title, and not really English; that they came +from Vice-Comités; that Dukes and Barons were the only _real_ English +titles; that Marquises were likewise not English; and that they made +people Marquises when they did not wish to make them Dukes. Spoke of +Lord Audley who came as the 1st Baron, and who Lord Melbourne said was +of a very old family; his ancestor was a Sir Something Audley[536] +in the time of the Black Prince, who with Chandos gained the Battle +of Poitiers. I then sat on the sofa for a little while with Lady +Barham and then with Charles; Lord Melbourne sitting near me the whole +evening. Mamma and Feodore remained to see the Illuminations, and only +came in later, and Mamma went away before I did. Uncle Ernest drove +out to see the Illuminations. I said to Lord Melbourne when I +first sat down, I felt a little tired on my feet; “You must be very +tired,” he said. Spoke of the weight of the robes, &c.; the Coronets; +and he turned round to me, and said _so_ kindly, “And you did it +beautifully,—every part of it, with so much taste; it’s a thing that +you can’t give a person advice upon; it must be left to a person.” To +hear this, from this kind impartial friend, gave me great and real +pleasure. Mamma and Feodore came back just after he said this. Spoke +of these Bishops’ Copes, about which he was very funny; of the Pages, +who were such a nice set of boys and who were so handy, Lord Melbourne +said, that they kept them near them the whole time. Little Lord +Stafford[537] and Slane (Lord Mountcharles)[538] were Pages to their +fathers and looked lovely; Lord Paget[539] was Lord Melbourne’s Page +and remarkably handy, he said. Spoke again of the young ladies’ dress +about which he was very amusing; he waited for his carriage with Lady +Mary Talbot and Lady Wilhelmina; he thinks Lady Fanny does not make as +much show as other girls, which I would not allow. He set off for the +Abbey from his house at ½ p. 8, and was there long before anybody else; +he only got home at ½ p. 6, and had to go round by Kensington. He said +there was a large breakfast in the Jerusalem Chamber, where they met +_before_ all began; he said laughing that whenever the clergy or a Dean +and Chapter had anything to do with anything, there’s sure to be plenty +to eat. Spoke of my intending to go to bed; he said, “You may depend +upon it, you are more tired than you think you are.” I said I had slept +badly the night before; he said that was my mind, and that nothing kept +people more awake than any consciousness of a great event going to take +place and being agitated. He was not sure if he was not going to the +Duke of Wellington’s. + +Stayed in the drawing-room till 20 m. p. 11, but remained till 12 +o’clock on Mamma’s balcony looking at the fireworks in Green Park, +which were quite beautiful. + +_Friday, 29th June._—I told Lord M. that I had been quarrelling with +Feodore about Louis Philippe, whom she called a Usurper, and that I +told her he was not, and that we disagreed amazingly about it; he +smiled. That she called our William III. and Mary Usurpers; Lord +Melbourne said it was that strong feeling of the divine right of Kings +which some people have; that many people would not be convinced that +Louis Philippe had _not_ organised that Revolution; but that it did +not do, he said, to wish well to the Family and not to Louis Philippe +as Feodore did; for that the happiness of the _one_ depended on the +_other_.... + +_Sunday, 8th July._—Got up at 20 m. to 10 and breakfasted at 11. +Signed. Heard from Lord Melbourne that, “He finds himself much better +this morning and will wait upon Your Majesty about three or a little +after.” At ½ p. 3 came my excellent Lord Melbourne and stayed with me +till a ¼ p. 4. He looks very thin and pulled as I think, but was in +excellent spirits and as kind as ever. He said he felt much better +today, but that his knee was still stiff and had been very painful +yesterday. It’s the same leg (the left) which was first bad, but the +_foot_ was nearly well; he wore large loose shoes and no straps to +his trousers. I showed Lord Melbourne a letter from Lord Glenelg I +had got about Lord Durham and a letter from Lady Durham. And Lord +Melbourne showed me one from Lord Palmerston about Van de Weyer’s being +asked, and about the Ladies of the Ambassadors having some seat at the +Balls.... + +_Monday, 9th July._—At a ¼ p. 11 I went with Mamma and the Duchess +of Sutherland, Feodore, Lady Barham, Lord Conyngham, Lord Albemarle, +Miss Pitt, Lady Flora, Späth, Lord Fingall, Miss Spring Rice, and Miss +Davys, Lady Harriet Clive and Mr. Murray to a Review in Hyde Park, +of which I subjoin an account. I could have cried almost not to have +_ridden_ and been in _my right_ place as I ought; but Lord Melbourne +and Lord Hill thought it more prudent on account of the great crowd +that I should not _this_ time do so,[540] which however now they all +see I might have done, and Lord Anglesey (who had the command of +the day, looked so handsome, and did it beautifully and gracefully) +regretted much I did not ride. I drove down the lines. All the Foreign +Princes and Ambassadors were there, and the various uniforms looked +very pretty. The troops never looked handsomer or did better; and I +heard their praises from all the Foreigners and particularly from +Soult. There was an immense crowd and all so friendly and kind to me.... + +_Wednesday, 11th July._—Spoke of Soult, and that Uncle Ernest said +that the Duc de Nemours told him that Soult was in excellent humour +here, in better humour than he had ever seen him. Lord Melbourne +seemed pleased. He said he was not at all surprised at the manner in +which the English received Soult; as they were always curious to see +distinguished foreigners. During the War, at the Peace of Amiens when +Marshal Orison[541] came over, they took the horses out of his carriage +and dragged him through the streets; “and that was in the midst of +war,” he continued. “Many people were rather annoyed at that; but +that was from mere curiosity.” I spoke of Feodore, and asked him if +he saw any likeness between us; he said, “I see the likeness, though +not perhaps very strong.” I spoke of her children and of Charles (her +eldest) being her favourite, as he was so much the fondest of her. Lord +Melbourne said smiling that one must not judge according to that, and +to the _manner_ in which children _showed_ their love; “Children are +great dissemblers; remember how Lear was deceived by that. They learn +to be the greatest hypocrites,” he said. + +_Thursday, 12th July._—Lord Melbourne said that they were going to +have a Cabinet upon what O’Connell and Sir Robert Peel declared in the +House of Commons, the day before yesterday, upon the Irish Tithes. They +proposed that the sum left from the sum which was voted in 1833 for the +distressed Clergy, should be employed to pay the arrears of Tithes +due. I asked Lord Melbourne if he thought this a good plan; he said it +would have the effect of quieting the people, but that it was “rather a +lavish way of bestowing the Public Money.” In general, Lord Melbourne +said, when any sum of the kind is voted for a certain class of people, +many miss it who ought to get it, and many get it who ought not to get +anything. + +_Friday, 13th July._—Lord Melbourne said Ellice had told him that they +cheered Soult amazingly when he went to Eton (that day), and Ellice +told him he must ask for a Holiday, which he did, upon which the Boys +cheered him much more; he shook hands with some of the Boys, and then +they all wished to shake hands with him, so he shook hands with the +whole school.... + +_Tuesday, 17th July._—He (Ld. M.) said that the Sutherlands had a large +family; and asked if the last was a boy or girl, at which I laughed +very much, as I said he _ought_ to know; he said boys were much more +expensive than girls; there was only the girl’s dress that could be +expensive and perhaps Masters; but nothing to what boys’ going to +school cost. I said that younger sons were always so poor, and that +girls married; he said certainly that was so, and even if girls did not +marry they wanted less money. I said Feodore at one time liked having +boys much better than girls, but she did not now, as she thought that +boys got into more difficulties and scrapes than girls. “Men certainly +get into more scrapes than girls,” said Lord Melbourne; “but there is +risk in both.” We spoke of other things; and he said Lord Ebrington +had come to him and spoken to him about its being reported that I had +so many French things, and that the lace of the Servants’ coats came +from France; which I said I knew nothing about, and I assured him I had +quantities of English things, but must sometimes have French things. +He said he knew quite well it was so, and that it was impossible not +to have French things, if one wished to be well dressed. That it was +not so much the material, but the make which we English could not do; +he said they never could make a cap or a bonnet; and that the English +women dressed so ill.... + +_Monday, 24th July._—We spoke of Sir Edmund Lyons,[542] who writes such +long despatches; and who Lord Melbourne has never seen before; he was +a Naval Officer and never employed before in the Diplomatic Service. +He was the Captain who took out Otho. I then went over to the Closet, +where the Prince Royal of Bavaria was introduced by Lord Palmerston and +Baron Cetto. Having neither attendants nor uniform, he came in morning +attire. He is not quite good-looking, but nearly so,—slim, not very +tall, but very gentlemanlike and agreeable and lively. I made him sit +down, and he was completely _à son aise_ and consequently put _me_ at +ease. I showed Lord Melbourne Hayter’s sketch for his great picture +of the Coronation; which Lord Melbourne liked very much, and which +was very generally admired; Lord Melbourne looked at it for some time +observing upon each part; he said that Hayter would never get it as +good in the large picture as he had got it here. I then said to Lord +Melbourne that I thought the Coronation made him ill, and all the worry +of it; he said he thought he would have been ill without it; “It wasn’t +the _Coronation_,” he said, “it was all these Peerages; but I think +that’s subsiding a little now.” I asked if Lord Derby expected being +made a Duke; Lord Melbourne replied, “No, I don’t think he did; I told +him at once that could not be, and that generally satisfies people.” +Lord Derby has a very good claim for it, Lord Melbourne said, for the +following reasons:—George III. declared he never would make any Dukes, +and wished to reserve that Title _only_ for the Royal Family; and he +only made 2, Lord Melbourne thinks—the Duke of Northumberland and the +Duke of Montagu[543]; Mr. Fox told the late Lord Derby that if he could +ever make the King waive his objections, _he_ should be made a Duke; +and _this_, Lord Melbourne said, certainly was a strong pledge for a +Whig Government; but Lord Grey passed him over (Ld. M. doesn’t know +why) and made the Duke of Sutherland and the Duke of Cleveland; and +Lord Derby said in his letter to Lord Melbourne, “he did not see why +the names of Vane (D. of Cleveland), Grenville (Duke of Buckingham), +and Grosvenor (Ld. Westminster), should be preferred before him.”[544] +He did not mention _Gower_, Lord Melbourne thinks from civility, +but that he _feels_ the same respecting him. I asked _what Duke_ he +wished to be; Lord Melbourne said he supposed Duke of Derby, which +was formerly a Royal title, having belonged to the Dukes of Lancaster; +he takes his title from Derby, a Hundred of Lancashire—_not_ from the +C^o. of Derby. He thinks, Lord Melbourne continued, that he has a right +to be Duke of Hamilton, through his mother, Lady Elizabeth Hamilton, +who was daughter to James, 6th Duke of Hamilton, and a very handsome +person; I asked who she married afterwards; Lord Melbourne replied, +“It was a very awkward business; she _married_ nobody; she had a great +attachment for the Duke of Dorset” (father to the late), “Lord Derby +parted from her, but would not divorce her, in order that she might +not marry the Duke of Dorset.” “The Duke of Dorset,” Lord Melbourne +continued, “was a very handsome and agreeable man; with a great deal +of gallantry....” I asked Lord Melbourne what sort of person Charles +Sheridan was; he said an agreeable lively young man; but rather wild. +We then spoke for a long time about all the Sheridans. C. Sheridan was +in the Admiralty and rose to get £300 a year; but they fancied, he +said, that he was in bad health, and made him give it up. There are +three sons, Brinsley, Frank (who is with Lord Normanby), and Charles; +“They are, like all the Sheridans, clever but careless, and have no +application,” he said. They plagued Lord Melbourne constantly to give +Charles a place; and Lord Melbourne offered him a Clerkship in the +Audit Office; but he would not have that, and said it was less than +he had had. George Anson[545] told Lord Melbourne it would be quite +nonsense to give it to him, as he would never come, and there would be +a complaint of him the first month. Lord Melbourne said that a person +who leaves the situation he has, must not expect to be put in again in +the same place he had. This is a £100 a year, “which is better than +nothing.” I observed that a person who does not wish to submit to that +cannot be very anxious to do much, in which Lord Melbourne agreed. +This Charles Sheridan lives a good deal with the Chesterfields, and +positively has nothing.[546] Lord Melbourne said, “I know they’ll get +ruined, and we shall have to provide for them.” “They all have £60 a +year.” There is one Charles Sheridan, an excessively ugly man, who +is Uncle to all these people; he is Brinsley Sheridan’s son by his +2nd wife; his 1st wife was a professional singer, a Miss Linley, whom +Lord Melbourne remembers when he was a boy; she died in 1794; she was +excessively handsome[547]; “The women” (Lady Seymour) “are very like +her; some of them,” he said. Spoke of young Brinsley Sheridan running +away with his wife; of Lady Seymour, who, Lord Melbourne said, “is the +most _posée_ of them all.” “She says those odd things,” Lord Melbourne +continued, “as if they were quite natural.” They (the Seymours) are +always teazing Lord Melbourne about _Titles_, and are so vexed at their +boy’s having no title; and they never will call him anything else but +the _Baby_[548]; I said that was foolish; “Very foolish; and I’ve told +them so,” replied Lord Melbourne, “but I can’t convince them.” The +Sheridan[549] who wrote the Dictionary was Great-Grandfather to all +these; his Wife was a very clever woman, Lord Melbourne said, and wrote +some very good books; “they have been a very distinguished family for a +long time,” he added. + +_Tuesday, 25th July._—At a ¼ to 4 I _rode_ out with Lady Portman, Lord +Uxbridge, Lord Lilford, Lord Portman, Col. Buckley, Col. Cavendish, +and Miss Quentin, &c., and came home at 6. I rode _dear Tartar_ who +went most beautifully; it was a delightful ride; we rode to Acton, and +round by East Acton home. We never rode _harder_. We cantered almost +the whole way going out, but coming home we _galloped_ at least for _3 +miles_ without _once_ pulling up. We came home through the Park and in +at the front entrance of the Palace. It was a charming ride. At 7 we +dined. Besides we 13 (Lady Charlemont, Lord Headfort, Lady Caroline +Barrington, and Wm. Cowper replacing Lord Byron, Lady Tavistock, Mrs. +Campbell, and Sir H. Seton), Lord Conyngham dined here. I sat between +Lord Conyngham and Lord Headfort. At a ¼ p. 8 I went to the Opera with +Mamma, dear Feo, Lady Charlemont, Lady Caroline, Miss Cavendish, Lord +Conyngham, Lord Headfort, Mr. Cowper, Col. Buckley, Col. Cavendish, and +Lady Flora. It was _I Puritani_, and Lablache and Grisi were singing +their Duo when we came in. Unfortunately poor Grisi was taken ill, +quite at the end of the 1st act, and was unable consequently to sing +her fine Scene in the 2nd act. Fanny Elsler danced the Chachucha (at +my desire) between the 2nd and 3rd acts. + +_Wednesday, 26th July._—Lord Melbourne said, “Lord Duncannon tells +me he thinks that marriage of Lord Shelburne’s[550] is quite off.” +Lord Melbourne said that somebody said to him (Ld. Shelburne) how +handsome Miss Elphinstone was; upon which he replied, “I don’t think +so; but beauty is not the thing to look to in a Wife.” Now this may +have been repeated to her, Lord Melbourne says, and of course could +not please her; and the young lady may have said, Lord Melbourne +continued, “Why, you don’t seem to show that fondness for me you ought +to have, and therefore I think we’d better break it off altogether.” +Lady Kerry,[551] he said, had told Lord Duncannon that she believed +it was all off; I observed, _Why_ then had Lord Lansdowne announced +it to me, if it was not quite settled?—Lord Melbourne said, “The same +thing happened to Lord Duncannon that happened to you”; Lord Lansdowne +announced it to him—said it gave him great pleasure—that it was very +nearly settled but they did not wish to speak of it for the present; +“and two hours afterwards he got a letter from Lansdowne, saying it +was not at all settled,” and that he should not mention it.[552] Lord +Melbourne then asked if I had got the letter he sent me, from the +Duchess of Sutherland to him, saying her sister Lady Burlington[553] +gladly accepted the situation of Lady of the Bedchamber; and Lord +Melbourne said, “That may now be considered as settled”; and that Lady +Lansdowne had best be spoken to about it all; which I begged him to +be kind enough to do, which he said he would. I told Lord Melbourne +that Conyngham had told me that he heard from Frederic Byng, that Lord +Essex[554] was so _excessively_ pleased at my having called up Lady +Essex (Miss Stephens, the Singer that was, and married about 2 or 3 +months ago to Lord Essex) at the Ball, and having spoken to her; this +touched Lord Melbourne; we both agreed she was a very nice person.[555] +Wrote my journal. At a ¼ to 8 I went into the Throne room with my +Ladies and Gentlemen, Feo and Mamma, where I found the Duchess of +Gloucester, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and +Augusta and George. After waiting a little while we went into the green +drawing-room, which looked very handsome lit up, and was full of people +_all_ in uniform. I subjoin an account of all the arrangements and +all the people. After remaining for about five minutes in that room, +talking to several people, amongst others to good Lord Melbourne, we +went in to dinner, which was served in the Gallery, and looked, I must +say, most brilliant and beautiful. We sat down _103_, and _might_ have +been more. The display of plate at one end of the room was really very +handsome. I sat between Uncle Sussex and Prince Esterhazy. The music +was in a small Orchestra in the Saloon, and sounded extremely well. +Uncle Sussex seemed in very good spirits, and Esterhazy in high force, +and full of fun, and talking so loud. I drank a glass of _stein-wein_ +with Lord Melbourne who sat a good way down on my left between the Duke +of Devonshire and Lord Holland. After dinner we went into the Yellow +drawing-room. Princesse Schwartzenberg looked very pretty but tired; +and Mme. Zavadowsky beautiful, and so sweet and placid. About 20 m. +after we ladies came in, the gentlemen joined us. I spoke to almost +everybody; Lord Grey looked well[556]; the Duke of Wellington ill but +cheerful and in good spirits. I spoke for some time also with Lord +Melbourne, who thought the Gallery looked very handsome, and that the +whole “did very well”; “I don’t see how it could do better,” he said. +He admired the large diadem I had on. At about 11 came some people who +(as the Gallery was full of dinner &c.) were obliged to come through +the Closet, and of whom I annex a List. Lady Clanricarde I did not +think looked very well; Lady Ashley, Lady Fanny, Lady Wilhelmina, and +Lady Mary Grimston looked extremely pretty. Strauss played delightfully +the whole evening in the Saloon. After staying a little while in the +Saloon, we went and sat down in the further drawing-room, next to the +dining-room. I sat on a sofa between Princesse Schwartzenberg and +Mme. Stroganoff[557]; Lord Melbourne sitting next Mme. Stroganoff, +and in a little while Esterhazy near him, and Furstenberg (who talked +amazingly to Lord Melbourne, and made us laugh a good deal) behind +him. The Duchess of Sutherland and the Duchess of Northumberland sat +near Princess Schwartzenberg, and a good many of the other Ambassadors +and Ambassadresses were seated near them. The Duchess of Cambridge and +Mamma were opposite to us; and all the others in different parts of the +room. Several gentlemen, foreigners, came up behind the sofa to speak +to me. We talked and laughed a good deal together. I stayed up till a ¼ +to 1. It was a successful evening.... + +_Wednesday, 1st August._—I asked Lord Melbourne if he saw any likeness +in me to the Duke of Gloucester; he said none whatever; for that when +formerly they wished to make me angry, they always said I was like him. +I asked if Lord Melbourne remembered the Duke’s father; he said he did; +that he was a very good man, but also very dull and tiresome. His two +brothers were Edward, Duke of York, who died long before Lord Melbourne +was born, and Henry, the Duke of Cumberland. “The Duke of Gloucester +and the Duke of Cumberland always remained Whigs,” Lord Melbourne said, +“and never could understand the King’s (George III.) change; they +said the Whigs brought their Family to this country; they went with +the King but could not understand it.” Lord Melbourne said, “Whenever +George IV. took offence at the church, he used to say, ‘By God, my +Uncle the Duke of Cumberland was right when he told me, The people you +must be apprehensive of, are those black-legged gentlemen.’” I said to +Lord Melbourne that Princess Sophia Matilda told me that George III. +had four illnesses. Lord Melbourne said they were not all declared +illnesses. The 1st, he said, was in 1788; the 2nd in 1800, then in +1804, which was not exactly allowed to be so; and the last in ’10, when +he never got well again; it is said, Lord Melbourne told me, that he +had been ill in the early part of his reign; as early as 63 or 4, but +no one knows exactly; he had a very bad fever then. I observed that +the Cheltenham Waters, it was said, brought it on the first time. Lord +Melbourne said, so it was said, but that he did very odd things when +he first went down there.... He used to give, Lord Melbourne said, all +the orders before his being ill with perfect composure. Whenever he was +going to be ill, the King heard—Lord Melbourne continued—perpetually +ringing in his ears, one of Handel’s oratorios; and was constantly +thinking of Octavius[558] who died, “of whom he (the King) said, +‘Heaven will be no Heaven to me if my Octavius isn’t there.’” But his +“master delusion,” as Lord Melbourne expressed it, was thinking that +he was married to Lady Pembroke (Lady Elizabeth Spencer that was, and +Mother to the late Lord Pembroke, and who only died 7 or 8 years ago), +with whom he had been very much in love in his young days, and very +near marrying. I told Lord Melbourne I remembered going to see her when +she was ninety, and she was very handsome even then. Lord Melbourne +then told me how very near George III. was marrying Lady Sarah +Lennox,[559] sister to the late Duke of Richmond, who was excessively +handsome. Lord Melbourne said he was only prevented from marrying +her “by her levity.” This was quite early in his reign. He told Lady +Susan Strangways, Lord Ilchester’s Aunt, “Don’t you think I ought +to marry a Subject? I think I ought; and that must be your friend” +(meaning Lady Sarah Lennox); “and you may tell her so from me.” “Then,” +Lord Melbourne continued, “she” (Lady Sarah) “committed every sort of +folly; she entered into a flirtation with the Marquis of Lothian, rode +out with him after a masquerade quite early in the morning; this was +represented to the King, and _détournée_’d His Majesty a little,” said +Lord Melbourne laughing. Nothing could equal the beauty of the Women +at that time, said Lord Melbourne, from all the accounts he heard, the +Duchess of Argyll and Lady Coventry, sisters,[560] &c.... + +_Sunday, 5th August._—Spoke of Lord Alfred’s[561] having gone to see +his father’s leg, which is buried at Waterloo, and of _100 old women_ +having come to see him get into his carriage when they heard whose +son he was. We spoke of all this; of Sir H. Vivian’s suffering much +now, Lord Melbourne said, in consequence of a severe blow he got at +Waterloo “by a spent grape shot.” Lord Melbourne went over to Brussels +almost immediately _after_ the battle of Waterloo, to see Sir Frederic +Ponsonby[562] who was dreadfully wounded, stabbed through and through; +Lord Melbourne said, though he lived for 20 years afterwards, he +certainly died in consequence of these wounds. I asked Lord Melbourne +if he didn’t think Johnson’s Poetry very hard; he said he did, and that +Garrick said, “Hang it, it’s as hard as Greek.” His Prose he admires, +though he said pedantry was to be observed throughout it; and Lord +Melbourne thinks what he _said_ superior to what he _wrote_. In spite +of all that pedantry, Lord Melbourne said, “a deep feeling and a great +knowledge of human nature” pervaded all he said and wrote.... + +_Tuesday, 7th August._—I asked him if he had seen Pozzo, which he told +me in the evening he was going to do; he said he had, and it was about +the Pasha of Egypt[563]; and he said Russia would go quite with England +in the whole affair and quite approved of England’s intention of +sending a Fleet there; at the same time, Lord Melbourne said, he stated +distinctly, that if we didn’t send a Fleet, they would be obliged to +march an Army into Turkey for its protection; but, Lord Melbourne said +he hoped, from what he saw by the last despatches, that the Pasha had +given up the idea of declaring his Independence. “I think he only tried +it,” Lord Melbourne said, “to see what effect it would make!” Lord +Melbourne said he had also seen Lord Palmerston, and had spoken to him +about these Belgian Affairs, which they still hope, in spite of many +difficulties, to settle; and they have now satisfied Sebastiani,[564] +who, Lord Melbourne said, was of a jealous disposition and thought they +were going on without him with Bülow[565]; Lord Palmerston had only +got from Van de Weyer a statement of this Debt,[566] Lord Melbourne +said; but that it would be impossible to alter; I expressed a fear of +the Belgians resisting. Lord Melbourne said (which is quite true) that +it would be very awkward if Uncle Leopold came over just in the midst +of these Conferences, which would have the effect, as if he came for +that purpose, and which Lord Melbourne said would prevent their acting +as much for his interests as they otherwise might do. I said I quite +felt it; but that Lord Melbourne had best send for Stockmar and get him +to settle it with the King.... + +_Sunday, 12th August._—Saw Stockmar for a little while, and then took +leave of this good and kind friend, which I was really sorry to do. He +told me he had been to see Lord Melbourne, and he said I should have +(what _I_ have _always_ had) the greatest confidence in Lord Melbourne, +and ask his advice, not only in Political Matters, but in domestic +affairs,—and ask his advice just like a _Father_, which are quite my +feelings. Lord Melbourne was very funny about the Statue of the Duke of +Wellington which is put up (in wood) only as a Trial, on the Archway +on Constitution Hill,[567] and which we think looks dreadful and much +too large; but Lord Melbourne said he thought a statue would look well +there, and that it should be as large. We then observed what a pity +Wyatt should do the statue, as we thought he did them so ill; and we +mentioned George III.’s; but Lord Melbourne does not dislike that, and +says it’s exactly like George III., and like his way of bowing.[568] He +continued, “I never will have anything to do with Artists; I wished to +keep out of it all; for they’re a waspish set of people....” + +_Tuesday, 14th August._—I went and fetched the Speech, and he read it +to me, in his beautiful, clear manner, and with that fine voice of his, +and full of fine expression. I always feel that _I_ can read it better +when I have heard him read it. The Speech is, as Lord Melbourne said, +“not long and safe.” + +_Wednesday, 15th August._—Lady Normanby then practised putting on my +crown, for to-morrow. After this I read my Speech twice over, in my +crown. Played and sang. Wrote. Wrote my journal. I forgot to say that +I got in the morning, 2 notes from Lord Melbourne in which it seemed +almost certain that the Prorogation could only take place on Friday; +but at a little before 2 I got another note from him, in which he +said that he heard from Lord John, it could take place next day, and +therefore, that there would be a Council. I asked Lord Melbourne if it +ever had been usual for the Sovereign to _read_ the Speech _after_ the +Prime Minister had done so at the Council, as Lord Lansdowne had twice +asked that question. Lord Melbourne said, never; but that the late King +had done it once, when he was in a great state of irritation, and had +said, “I will read it myself, paragraph by paragraph.” This was the +last time the late King ever prorogued Parliament in person. I asked if +Brougham was in the House; he said no, he was gone. I told him I heard +Brougham had asked Lady Cowper down to Brougham Hall; but that she +wouldn’t go; I asked if she knew him (Brougham) well; Lord Melbourne +said very well, and “I’ve known him all my life; he can’t bear me now; +he won’t speak to me; I’ve tried to speak to him on ordinary subjects +in the House of Lords, but he won’t answer, and looks very stern”; Lord +Melbourne said, laughing, “Why, we’ve had several severe set-to’s, +and I’ve hit him very hard.” I asked if he (B.) didn’t still sit on +the same bench with Lord Melbourne. “Quite on the gangway; only one +between,” replied Lord Melbourne. Lord Melbourne and I both agreed that +it was _since_ the King’s death that Brougham was so enraged with Lord +Melbourne; for, till then, he would have it that it was the _King’s_ +dislike to him (and the King made no objection whatever to him, Lord +Melbourne told me) and _not Lord Melbourne_; “he wouldn’t believe me,” +Lord M. said; and _now_ he’s undeceived. Brougham always, he said, +used to make a great many speeches. I observed that I thought if his +daughter was to die, he would go mad; but Lord Melbourne doesn’t think +so; and said, “A man who is always very odd never goes really mad.” + +_Thursday, 16th August._—“You were rather nervous,”[569] said Lord +Melbourne; to which I replied, dreadfully so; “More so than any +time,” he continued. I asked if it was observed; he said, “I don’t +think anyone else would have observed it, but I could see you were.” +Spoke of my fear of reading it too low, or too loud, or too quick; “I +thought you read it very well,” he said kindly. I spoke of my great +nervousness, which I said I feared I never would get over. “I won’t +flatter Your Majesty that you ever will; for I think people scarcely +ever get over it; it belongs to a peculiar temperament, sensitive +and susceptible; that shyness generally accompanies high and right +feelings,” said Lord Melbourne most kindly; he was so kind and paternal +to me. He spoke of my riding, which he thought a very good thing. “It +gives a feeling of ease the day one has done with Parliament,” said +Lord Melbourne. He spoke of the people in the Park when I went to the +House; and I said how very civil the people were—_always_—to me; which +touched him; he said it was a very good thing; it didn’t do to rely too +much on those things, but that it was well it was there. I observed to +Lord Melbourne how ill and out of spirits the Duke of Sussex was; “I +have ended the Session in great charity,” said Lord Melbourne, “with +the Duke of Wellington, but I don’t end it in charity with those who +didn’t vote with the Duke when he voted with us”; we spoke of all +that; “The Duke is a very great and able man,” said Lord Melbourne, +“but he is more often wrong than right.” Lord Holland wouldn’t allow +this; “Well, let’s throw the balance the other way,” continued Lord +Melbourne, “but when he is wrong he is _very_ wrong.” + +_Friday, 17th August._—I then told Lord Melbourne that I had so much +to do, I didn’t think I possibly could go to Windsor on Monday; he +said if I put off going once for that reason, I should have to put it +off again, which I wouldn’t allow; I said there were so many things +to go, and to pack,—and so many useless things; “I wouldn’t take those +useless things,” said Lord Melbourne laughing. I then added that he +couldn’t have an idea of the number of things women had to pack and +take; he said many men had quite as much,—which I said couldn’t be, +and he continued that Lord Anglesey had _36_ trunks; and that many men +had 30 or 40 different waistcoats, and neck-cloths, to choose from; +which made me laugh; I said a man _couldn’t_ really want more than +3 or 4 coats for some months. He said in fact 6 were enough for a +year,—but that people had often fancies for more. I said our dresses +required such smooth packing; “Coats ought to be packed smooth,” +replied Lord Melbourne. I asked Lord Melbourne if Pozzo had spoken at +all about the Belgian affairs. He said he told him he wouldn’t meddle +with them at all. Spoke of Pozzo’s disliking Lord Palmerston, who +didn’t, he fancied, treat him with enough _égard_; and Lord Melbourne +said Palmerston keeps them waiting sometimes for a long while,—which, +though they say they don’t mind it, they do mind; and we both agreed +that he was a little apt to sneer sometimes, and to make it appear +absurd what people said. I said, independent of Uncle’s coming—hurting +his interests in the Conferences—his own country was in too disturbed +a state to do so[570]; Lord Melbourne said whatever would be done +would be attributed to Uncle’s presence; that justice must be done to +Belgium; but that there was such a desire in the Cabinet to settle the +affair, that they wouldn’t be disposed to listen to any unreasonable +demands of Belgium; I said one felt less anxious reading the Speech +at the close than at the beginning of the Session. Lord Melbourne said +he didn’t know; “The responsibility is so much greater during the +Vacations; when Parliament is sitting one comes at once to Parliament; +one has that to go to, and hears the worst at once....” + +_Sunday, 19th August._—Spoke of the Phœnix Park being considered +unwholesome; of its being drained by what they call the +Sub-soil-plough. He repeated the anecdote about Lord Talbot; the +present Lord Talbot—(I believe I have already noted down the anecdote +as he told it me twice before, but am not quite sure)—asked someone why +they had never thought of draining the Phœnix Park, and they replied, +“Why, your Ancestors were so much employed in draining the _Country_, +that they had no time to think of draining the Park.” He said +Talleyrand told an anecdote of a lady in the time of the Revolution +who was speaking of what she would be, and she said, “Paysanne, oui; +mais Bourgeoise, jamais.” I said to Lord Melbourne I was afraid he +disliked the Germans, as he was always laughing at them, which he +wouldn’t allow at all and laughed much. He said, “I’ve a great opinion +of their talents, but not of their beauty.” He asked if I had seen +Mr. MacNeill’s[571] despatches giving an account of his going into +_Herat_ at night; I replied, I had not; Lord Melbourne said it was a +very curious and even fearful account, his going through these Barbaric +Armies at night, 9 o’clock, all the Persians without, prepared for the +Attack, and all those within, for Defence; and he gave an interesting +account of one of the principal persons in Herat; Mr. MacNeill said +he found them quite disposed to negotiate, but when he returned to the +Shah’s camp, he found the Russian Ambassador there, and the Shah would +listen to nothing; so Mr. MacNeill came away. Spoke of not liking the +Cathedral Service and all that singing, and Lord Melbourne said, “It +is inconsistent with a calm and right devotion; it’s papistical, and +theatrical.”[572] + +_Monday, 20th August._—Spoke of Pozzo’s being very civil to Lord +Melbourne; Lord Melbourne said, “He’s very fond of me,” upon which I +said, “I don’t wonder at that,” which made Lord Melbourne smile. He +continued, that Lord Palmerston gave Pozzo rather unnecessary offence +by not treating him with respect and _égard_, which those sensitive +Corsicans and Italians expect. I said to Lord Melbourne, I felt often +ashamed at being so ignorant about many things, and at being obliged +to ask him about so many things. He replied MOST KINDLY, “Oh! no, +you know everything very well; it’s impossible for anybody to know +everything that it is right for them to know.” We spoke of the Archduke +Charles, who, as Mr. Macgregor told Lord Melbourne, “and as we know,” +he said, was a most able man, but wouldn’t take the slightest part in +public affairs. We spoke of how many brothers there are still alive: +Archduke Charles, Archduke Palatine, Archduke John, Archduke Rainer, +and Archduke Louis. Spoke of Hayter’s Picture, and of his having +made the Duchess of Sutherland so like already. Spoke of the Duchess +of Sutherland’s features being large, which he agreed in; but that +he liked large features, for that people with small features and +“_Squeeny_ noses” never did anything. Spoke of the business of the +Army, which Lord Melbourne said he was afraid Lord Howick would bring +on, and that there would be a good deal of difficulty about it. Lord +Howick, he says, has pledged himself about it, and is displeased with +the Horse-Guards. He (Lord Howick) is very indiscreet in the House of +Commons, Lord Melbourne said. He has written Lord Melbourne a letter +about this Army business, which Lord Melbourne told him he would +answer; but he begged Lord Melbourne not to write to him, as long as he +was at Spa,—as the letter would be read. I said I hoped Lord Melbourne +had never found me indiscreet, or that I had ever repeated things which +I ought not to have done. He said, “Not at all; no one is so discreet,” +and that it was impossible sometimes to help letting out things. I +then also begged him always to tell me, when he heard anything, might +it be agreeable or disagreeable, and that he should never be afraid of +telling me so; which he promised to do.[573] + +_Tuesday, 21st August._—Lord Melbourne said he had seen Lord +Palmerston, who told him he hoped to be able soon to bring this Belgian +business[574] to a sort of conclusion; that he had had several +conversations with Bülow, and Senfft,[575] “who seems a very fair +man”; and that they think they may settle this Debt, and satisfy the +Belgians by this slight change. “Then I talked to him,” continued Lord +Melbourne, “about the King’s coming, and that it would be more for the +disadvantage of his Interests.” I then spoke of my having received such +an odd present of a Kitten in the morning, which made him laugh. (I +got a basket, which they said came from Sir Henry Wheatley, and which +I thought was full of flowers, and when my Maid opened it, we found +a pretty little _Kitten_ in it—which some poor people sent me as a +present.) + +_Monday, 27th August._—Of Uncle Leopold; when he married Princess +Charlotte; Lord Melbourne hadn’t the slightest acquaintance with her, +and never had spoken to her. She never came to her father at that time. +Lord M. said he never went near the Princess of Wales, for he said +considering that he opposed the Regent so much in Parliament, he didn’t +wish to oppose him in his quarrels with his Wife; for, he said, he had +been so much with the Prince of Wales, and was so much attached to him, +that he thought that would have been wrong. + +_Tuesday, 28th August._—Lord Melbourne then read me a letter from Lord +John about all this Belgian business; he says that he won’t support +Belgium in its new claims. Lord Melbourne said, “It’s very well of +John saying he won’t support,” and so forth, but that it would be +impossible for us not to take one side; our interests would compel +us to do so; they lay so much with the Low Countries; England, he +said, could never permit France to have possession of Antwerp, which +was such a great Maritime place. He then read me a letter from Lord +Minto relative to an alarm which prevails, and which was caused, +Lord Melbourne says, by a speech the Duke of Wellington made in the +House, about the weakness of our Naval force; which Lord Minto quite +disclaims. Lord Melbourne sent him a paper of Sir Robert Inglis’s[576] +about the Russian, French, and American Fleets; which Lord Minto says +is quite erroneous; Lord Minto states that in a very few weeks, he +could be quite ready for war; Lord M. says, what countries generally +ruin themselves with, is, keeping up their Naval and Military +Establishments during the time of peace; and he said, “Better be at +War then.”[577] He owned that the Russians sending their fleet to +the Black Sea “certainly is far from pleasant.” Then I spoke of Lord +Ponsonby’s great alarm about Russian Influence, which Lord Melbourne +said always was the case. Spoke of Queen Charlotte’s having been +supposed to have had a great many presents which she was fond of, from +Mrs. Hastings[578]; and Lord Melbourne said the King was thought rather +to go with Hastings, who was accused and tried for misdemeanours in +India. There was an ivory bed-stead Queen Charlotte got, which Lord +M. believed was at Frogmore now. Spoke of Queen Adelaide’s having got +all those Shawls which the King of Oude sent. This led us to speak +of the Crown Jewels; of there not being many, yet more than I ever +wished to wear, of my not liking those sort of things. Lord M. said +he didn’t like a profusion of them, but thought a few fine ones the +best. Spoke of the Jewels which Queen Charlotte left to her daughters. +Lord Melbourne said the Queen Consort can do with her _own_ things +what she pleases; can make her own Will, and “is a _femme seule_,” for +no other woman can—all is her husband’s. Lord Melbourne (in reply to +my question when he first knew George IV.) said, as soon as he could +remember any one; he was 4 when the King was 21, in ’83, when Lord +Melbourne’s father was first put about the Prince of Wales. “He used to +be at Whitehall, or Piccadilly[579] where we then lived, morning, noon +and night,” Lord Melbourne said; and he used to come down to Brocket; +he always was fond of children and took notice of them; I said he +took notice of me; I observed how much more submissive we were to him +than to the late King; Lord Melbourne said George IV. had more power. +Lord Melbourne said _none_ of the Royal Family could marry without +the Sovereign’s leave since the Marriage Act, passed early in George +III.’s reign, in consequence, Lord Melbourne believes, of the Duke +of Cumberland’s marrying a Mrs. Luttrell[580] which was very much +disliked; else the Duke of Sussex might have married Lady Augusta, and +the late King Mrs. Jordan, Lord Melbourne said. The member of the Royal +Family, Lord Melbourne continued, gives notice to the Privy Council of +his intention to marry, and if they don’t disapprove, it’s supposed +the King will consent. Lord Melbourne said it was a difficult subject +the marriage of the Royal Family; marrying a subject was inconvenient, +and there was inconvenience in foreigners; “It was very often done” +(marrying subjects); “Kings did it; and I don’t know there was any +harm in it,” said Lord Melbourne. Anne Hyde was the last who married +a Prince who became _King_, and that was considered a dreadful thing. +Lord M. said he had been looking at some of those letters [George +III.’s] to Lord North which seemed to him very ill written,[581] both +as to hand and style, and in bad English. Lord North was a great +favourite of George IV.’s, Lord Melbourne said; “Lord North was a very +easy, good-natured man,” and the King knew him “when he first came in +to life.” Lord Thurlow, whom Mr. Pitt beat and turned out in ’93,[582] +turned to George IV. and became also a great favourite of his. He was +clever but ill-tempered, Lord Melbourne said. + +_Wednesday, 29th August._—Lord Melbourne said he had been looking at +those letters to Lord North, and found on closer examination that +they were written with much more practical knowledge and knowledge of +men than he had at first thought. The letters he has been reading +are relative to a Negotiation which the King entered into, with the +Opposition, in order to strengthen the Government; and Lord Melbourne +related several parts of it, which made him smile and which he said +were true enough. Lord Melbourne said he (George III.) couldn’t bear +Mr. Fox, for that he says in one of these letters that he (Lord North) +might offer him any situation which did not bring him in immediate +contact with the King, or into the Closet; and as he (Mr. Fox) never +had any principles, he wouldn’t have any difficulty in changing. These +letters prove, Lord Melbourne said, what strong personal dislikes the +King had. These letters to Lord North, Lord M. thinks, were returned +to George IV. by Mrs. Douglas on the death of her husband, who was +the son of Lady Glenbervie, Lord North’s daughter; Lord North had +three daughters, Lady Glenbervie, Lady Sheffield, and Lady Charlotte +Lindsay (whom I know); all very clever, Lord M. says. He had 3 sons, +George (who was a very pleasant, lively man and a great bon-vivant, +Lord M. says), Frederic, and Frank; who were all in succession Earls +of Guilford. The present Lord is son to Lord North’s brother[583] who +was a Bishop, Lord M. told me. Lord North died in ’93, and Lord M. +remembers seeing him (when Lord M. was a boy) led into the House of +Lords, quite blind, at Hastings’ trial; he was Lord Guilford for a very +short time. + +Lord M. does not think that George III. was very fond of Mr. Pitt. +Spoke of the violent dislikes George III. and George IV. had; William +IV. had them also, but Lord M. said they were easily got over. +Spoke of George III.’s hand-writing; of mine, which Lord M. thinks +very legible and generally very good; of my inclination to imitate +hand-writings, and people,—which Lord M. said, showed quickness, and +was in the Family; of George IV.’s mimickry. I said I kept a journal, +which, as Lord Melbourne said, is very laborious, but a very good +thing; for that it was astonishing in transacting business, how much +one forgot, and how one forgot _why_ one did the things. + +_Thursday, 30th August._— ... I gave Lord M. this Pamphlet of Sir H. +Taylor’s which Mamma lent me. We talked about many things, and in going +home I asked Lord M. how long Lord North had been Prime Minister to +George III.; “From ’70 till ’82,” he told me. “The Duke of Grafton” +(who preceded him, and was the present Duke of Grafton’s father) “went +away,” Lord M. continued, “without telling any body and without telling +the King; they were difficult times, and he went away; I know why he +went away, people are always doing those foolish things; and the King +didn’t know what to do; he sent for Lord Gower”[584] (I forget what +he was), who, I think Lord M. said, refused it; “and then he sent for +his Chancellor of the Exchequer” (Lord North) “and made him his Prime +Minister.” Lord M. spoke of Dr. Keate, and told me an anecdote of him +and George III.; and then he said that Dr. Keate couldn’t bear to be +reminded of his boyish days at Eton; somebody, who Lord M. knows, +reminded Keate when he was walking across the School-Yard with him, +of the window, pointing at it, out of which they had often jumped, +upon which Dr. Keate said, “Don’t mention it; it’s a very foolish +remark.” + +_Friday, 31st August._—Lord M. then said, that the French were going +to send out a fleet to Mexico, with which State they have been in +a quarrel for some time,—and that they meant to send the Prince de +Joinville with it, to ask for reparation, and if not, to attack the +fort of Aloa which commands the river, and which it would not be +agreeable for us if the French were to possess; and Lord Palmerston +proposes we should send a swift sailing Vessel to Mexico to apprize +the Mexicans of what was to take place and to advise them to make +reparation. And also, Lord P. proposes sending a Vessel to Guiana, +where the French are making great encroachments, and to see what they +are about. + +[Illustration: _H.R.H. The Duc de Nemours_ + + _from a portrait by Eugene Lami_] + +Lady Cork[585] is 92, a very strange old woman; Lord M. knows her; she +was clever, a great favourite of George III. and Queen Charlotte. She +was a Miss Monckton, sister to Lord Galway, he said. Lord M. said in +returning Dr. Hook’s sermon (which I sent him to read) when he came in, +that it was eager, but nothing very particular, and able. Lady Holland +seems “very fond of Senfft,” Lord M. observed; “she would settle that +Embassy too, as she does every thing else,” he said laughing. Lord M. +said, in speaking of Taylor’s pamphlet,[586] “There is no force in it; +it isn’t pointed.” Taylor is very fond of writing, he says, and fancies +he writes well. Spoke of Lady C. Bury’s book.[587] Lord M. says these +things make less impression than people fancy; they “make a day’s +noise; but nobody minds them much.” Spoke of Lady Anne Hamilton,[588] +who attended Queen Caroline at her Trial; Lady Charlotte Lindsay +gave evidence. “Lord Egremont said,” continued Lord M., “‘As for +Guilford,[589] he twaddled like a waiting maid when he gave evidence; +but his Sister lied like a man,’” which made us both laugh very much. +Spoke of Kenney,[590] who is Author (Lord M. told me) of _Love, Law, +and Physic_, and _Raising the Wind_, and is at Holland House. Spoke of +my knowing Rogers and Moore; having seen Scott and Southey. Lord M. +rather admires Southey’s works, and thinks his _Life of Nelson_ very +pretty. Spoke of his _Life of Cowper_. Spoke of a new book lying on the +table, sent to me by Granville Penn,[591] which Lord M. looked at and +said he thought might be curious; it is the _Life of Sir William Penn_, +Admiral in Cromwell’s time, and who, with Venables, took Jamaica. Spoke +of Mrs. Hutchinson’s _Memoirs of Colonel Hutchinson_, which Lord M. +thinks very curious; spoke of her violence; spoke of Clarendon’s book +which Lord M. said “is a fine book.” I observed there were few books +on the Parliamentary side; he replied few at the time, but a good +many since. He mentioned one by Brodie, a Scotchman; Bishop Burnet’s +Memoirs of his own time, during Charles II.’s reign; and he said, +“There is a book which I think would amuse Your Majesty, and would be +of use to you, and which isn’t long, which is Guizot’s account of the +Revolution.” It’s only in 2 vols., and is a summary of whole thing, he +said. + +Lord M. said Lady Holland was a great friend of Pozzo’s, and that his +first acquaintance with Pozzo was at Holland House. I asked if she +knew Sebastiani; he said she did, but didn’t like him much, except +from his connection with Napoleon “whom she adored.” She never knew +Napoleon, Lord Melbourne added, but saw him at Paris at the Peace of +Amiens. She used to send him things she knew he liked, said Lord M.; +when he was at St. Helena she sent him _gâteaux_ and chocolate, &c. +“She was half on his side,” Lord M. continued, “if not more.” Spoke of +Lady E. Wortley’s[592] admiration for Napoleon. Soult was no friend of +Napoleon, Lord M. said; none of them, he continued, were to be compared +to Napoleon himself; the two best after Napoleon, Lord M. said, were +Dessaix who was killed at Marengo, and Kleber who was murdered in Egypt. + +I asked Lord M. what Lord Gower, whom he mentioned to me before, was; +that Lord Gower, he said, was the Duke of Sutherland’s grandfather; he +was “Lord Privy Seal” when the King sent for him.[593] “He did not +think himself equal to it” (being Prime Minister); “he was a man who +took great part in politics.” Lord M. also told me that he believes +the present Lord Bute to be the great-grandson of the Minister of +George III. “George III. found the Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Pitt, and +everything was going on very well, when he was advised to change; he +couldn’t bear Mr. Pitt; who was afterwards Lord Chatham; and he took +Lord Bute in his place; and then followed all that unpopularity.” I +asked if these letters of George III. showed great confidence in Lord +North; Lord M. said “they show a great liking for him, more than a +great confidence.” That the King never seemed to think him strong +enough; Lord North, all along, Lord M. continued, was pursuing a +Policy contrary to what he himself approved, but which he was urged +to by the King: and Lord North remonstrated very much with the King. +The difference, Lord M. observed before, between George IV. and his +father, was, that the former (which Knighton’s Memoirs show, Lord M. +said) always required somebody to lean upon, whereas the latter always +wished to act for himself, and only yielded, but said at the same time +he disliked doing it. He never would have yielded on the Catholic +Question, Lord M. continued, nor would the Duke of York; the late King +was for it; but George IV. did it very unwillingly. George III. was +deeply hurt at the loss of the American provinces, which I observed +was no wonder; I said I thought it was _his_ fault. Lord M. said most +likely it was; but that it was impossible any longer to keep up the +great Colonial Policy, namely that they should exclusively trade with +England and make nothing for themselves; even Lord Chatham, Lord M. +said, who all along advocated their cause, “said they shouldn’t drive +one hob-nail for themselves.” The Separation was easily done, they +had nothing to do but to declare it. Lord M. continued that the first +settlers were composed of people who left England in discontent,—of +dissenters &c., and consequently no loyal people could spring from +them. Spoke of the people whom William III. ennobled, which I’ve no +time to enumerate. He told a most absurd anecdote of a very fat little +porter at Lansdowne House. “He is a leading man in all the Parish +Debates,” said Lord M.; “and somebody told Albemarle, ‘He speaks very +well; to tell you the truth he speaks very like my lord.’” + + + END OF VOL. I + + + _Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury._ + + + + + FOOTNOTES + +[1] In later years the volumes of the Queen’s Journals were of larger +size, but they were always simply bound in half calf or half morocco. + +[2] They were ultimately paid by the Queen immediately after her +accession. + +[3] Kensington Palace. + +[4] The Journal was written in pencil and inked over afterwards. + +[5] Edward, first Earl of Powis (1754–1839), was the eldest son of the +great Lord Clive; his eldest son, afterwards second Earl, married Lucy, +daughter of the third Duke of Montrose; his second son, Robert Clive, +M.P., married Harriet, younger daughter of the fifth Earl of Plymouth: +these are the ladies referred to in the text. The barony of Windsor, +which had fallen into abeyance, was afterwards terminated in favour of +Lady Harriet Clive. + +[6] Lady Catherine Jenkinson, elder daughter of the third Earl of +Liverpool, was married later to Colonel Francis Vernon Harcourt, son of +the Archbishop of York and Equerry to the Duchess of Kent. + +[7] Sir Richard Bulkeley, tenth Baronet, M.P. for Anglesey, afterwards +Lord Lieutenant of Carnarvonshire. He had just married Maria Frances, +daughter of Sir Thomas Stanley-Massy-Stanley. + +[8] Lady Williams, wife of Sir John Williams of Bodelwyddan, first +Baronet. + +[9] Daughter of Sir John Conroy, Comptroller to the Duchess of Kent. + +[10] Louise Lehzen became Governess to Princess Victoria in 1824. +In 1827 George IV. created her a Hanoverian Baroness. When in 1830 +the Duchess of Northumberland was made the Princess’ Governess, her +“faithful Lehzen” remained on as Lady in Waiting. She stayed at Court +till 1842, when she returned to Germany. + +[11] Sir John Williams, afterwards Sir John Williams-Hay, second +Baronet, of Bodelwyddan. + +[12] Robert, Earl Grosvenor (1767–1845), had in 1831 been created +Marquess of Westminster; he had married Eleanor, only daughter of +Thomas, first Earl of Wilton. Richard, Lord Grosvenor, their eldest +son, married Elizabeth Mary, daughter of the first Duke of Sutherland; +Thomas, the second son, inherited, under a special remainder, his +grandfather’s Earldom of Wilton, and married Mary Margaret, daughter of +Edward, twelfth Earl of Derby. + +[13] Wife of Sir Philip Grey Egerton, and daughter of George John Legh, +of High Legh, Cheshire. + +[14] Robert, third son of Lord Westminster, at this time M.P. for +Chester and afterwards for Middlesex, was created in 1857 Lord Ebury. + +[15] Elinor, afterwards Duchess of Northumberland. + +[16] Gilbert le Grosvenator, nephew of Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester. + +[17] Joan (_temp._ Henry VI.), only daughter and heiress of John Eton +of Eton (now Eaton), married Raufe le Grosvenor, Lord of Hulme. + +[18] Sir Thomas Grosvenor, third Baronet, M.P. for Chester, married +Mary, only daughter and heiress of Alexander Davis, of Ebury, +Middlesex. She died in 1730. + +[19] William Spencer, sixth Duke of Devonshire. His mother was +Georgiana, famous for her beauty and its influence over George IV. +and Lord Grey. The sixth Duke inherited from his mother his Whig +proclivities. He was a patron of arts and letters. Devonshire House +under his bachelor rule was a centre of hospitality. That the Duke +never married, notwithstanding his admiration of the fair sex, gave +rise to much speculation and gossip. + +[20] William, Lord Cavendish, grandson of George Augustus Henry, +first Earl of Burlington, and great-grandson of the fourth Duke of +Devonshire. In 1858 he became the seventh Duke, and died in 1891. +He married in 1829 Blanche Georgiana, daughter of the sixth Earl of +Carlisle. He was beloved and respected by all who were privileged to +know him. In the spheres of education and science his quiet activities +were not unremarked. He was an admirable landlord and a most efficient +man of affairs. For his careful education of his eldest son, the +Marquess of Hartington, the nation owes him a large debt of gratitude. + +[21] Thomas, seventh Earl of Newburgh, married 1817 Margaret, daughter +of the Marquess of Ailsa. Died 1833. + +[22] Rt. Hon. William S. S. Lascelles, M.P., third son of the second +Earl of Harewood, married Caroline Georgiana, eldest daughter of the +sixth Earl of Carlisle. + +[23] James Archibald (1776–1845), first Lord Wharncliffe, and his wife +Elizabeth, daughter of John, first Earl of Erne. + +[24] George William, Lord Morpeth, afterwards seventh Earl of Carlisle, +a prominent but comparatively undistinguished member of every Whig +Administration from 1835 to 1864. + +[25] Sister of Lord Cavendish (afterwards seventh Duke of Devonshire) +referred to above. She became the wife of F. J. Howard, M.P. for +Youghal. + +[26] Sir Augustus Clifford, formerly Usher of the Black Rod, married +Elizabeth Frances, sister of the fourth Marquess Townshend. + +[27] Afterwards wife of Charles William Grenfell, M.P. + +[28] Henry Manners, third Lord Waterpark. + +[29] John, sixteenth Earl of Shrewsbury (1791–1852). + +[30] Lord Liverpool’s second daughter, married, first, to Lord Milton, +secondly to George Savile Foljambe, of Osberton, Notts. + +[31] Louisa, third daughter of Lord Liverpool, married John Cotes of +Woodcote, Salop. + +[32] Francis, first Lord Churchill, third son of George, fourth Duke of +Marlborough. + +[33] Montagu, fifth Earl of Abingdon, married Emily, sister of the +third Viscount Gage. + +[34] Sir John Conroy. + +[35] Thomas Gaisford, Dean of Christ Church, 1831–1855. + +[36] Philip Nicholas Shuttleworth, afterwards (1840–1842) Bishop of +Chichester. + +[37] George, Viscount Cantelupe (1814–1850), died in the lifetime of +his father, the fifth Earl de la Warr. + +[38] Jacob, afterwards fourth Earl of Radnor (1815–1889). + +[39] John Henry, afterwards third Marquess of Ely (1814–1857). His +wife was in after-years Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, and +perhaps the most widely known of her ladies. + +[40] Probably Henry Edward Hall Gage (1814–1875), eldest son of the +fourth Viscount Gage, in whose lifetime he died. + +[41] Charles Canning (1812–1862), afterwards Viscount Canning and +Governor-General of India. + +[42] Lord Thomas Clinton (1813–1882), third son of Henry, fourth Duke +of Newcastle, K.G. + +[43] Mr. Granville Leveson-Gower, afterwards second Earl Granville +(1815–1891), well known as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in +Mr. Gladstone’s Administration. + +[44] George Henry, afterwards second Earl of Falmouth (1811–1852). + +[45] Princess Sophia (1777–1848) was a daughter of George III., and +younger sister of Princess Augusta Sophia (1768–1840). See p. 200. + +[46] The Very Rev. George Davys, the Princess’s instructor, at this +time Dean of Chester, subsequently Bishop of Peterborough. + +[47] Richard Westall (1765–1836), an R.A. since 1794 and painter of +many historical pictures. + +[48] John Bernard Sale (1779–1856), organist of St. Margaret’s, +Westminster, and afterwards of the Chapel Royal. + +[49] The Duchess of Gloucester. See p. 65. + +[50] An attached attendant, to whose memory, after her death, the Queen +erected a tablet in St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields. She was dresser to +Princess Charlotte. + +[51] Thomas Steward, teacher of writing and arithmetic. + +[52] M. Grandineau, teacher of French. + +[53] Mr. (afterwards Sir) George Hayter (1792–1871), a ceremonial +painter of some merit. He was the official limner of two Royal +heiresses—_i.e._ Princess Charlotte and Princess Victoria. He was +designated, somewhat equivocally, Painter in Ordinary to the Queen. + +[54] William Farren (1786–1861), an actor of distinction himself, and a +member of a histrionic family of unusual merit. + +[55] Mary, fourth daughter of George III., who married her cousin +William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester. She died in 1867. The Queen +looked upon her “as a sort of grandmother,” and described her as full +of kindness, amiability, and unselfishness. + +[56] See _post_, p. 104. + +[57] Charlotte Florentia, daughter of Edward, first Earl of Powis, and +wife of Hugh, third Duke of Northumberland, K.G., Governess to the +Princess. + +[58] Daughter of the eleventh Duke of Somerset, afterwards wife of +William Blount, of Orleton, Herefordshire. + +[59] The Princess’s dancing-mistress. + +[60] William Howley (1766–1848), Bishop of London 1813–28, Primate +1828–48. In the opinion of Lord Grey and the Whigs “a poor, miserable +creature,” but in reality a worthy, conscientious prelate. + +[61] Lord Brougham. + +[62] See _ante_, p. 53. + +[63] Bernard Edward, twelfth Duke of Norfolk (1765–1842). He was given +the Garter in 1834—the only K.G. of the Roman faith. He subsequently +became a Protestant. + +[64] Edward Adolphus, eleventh Duke of Somerset (1775–1855). A +personage of no importance. + +[65] George, fifth and last Duke of Gordon. A soldier. He fought in +Ireland (1798) and at Walcheren (1809). A friend of the Prince Regent +and a hard liver, but a high-minded, honourable man. Three of his +sisters married the Dukes of Richmond, Manchester, and Bedford. The +fourth married the Marquis Cornwallis. These achievements were due to +the talents of the old Duchess of Gordon, a Scottish lady of strong +character and accent. + +[66] John Henry, fifth Duke of Rutland, K.G. (1778–1857), chiefly +remarkable as the father of “Henry Sidney,” one of Disraeli’s +well-known sketches of contemporary potentates. + +[67] Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland in her own right (1765–1839), +married George Granville, Viscount Trentham, afterwards second Marquess +of Stafford. He was created Duke of Sutherland in January 1833. She was +habitually called the “Duchess-Countess” in the family, and is still so +called. + +[68] William Harry, third Earl of Darlington and first Duke of +Cleveland, K.G. See _post_, p. 98. + +[69] See _ante_, p. 49. + +[70] Charles, second Earl Grey, Prime Minister. Lady Grey was Mary +Elizabeth, daughter of the first Lord Ponsonby of Imskilly. + +[71] Rowland, first Viscount Hill, Commander-in-Chief from 1828 to +1842—an office upon which he left no mark. + +[72] Georgiana, second daughter of George, sixth Earl of Carlisle, wife +of the Rt. Hon. George James Welbore, first Lord Dover. + +[73] Henry, Earl of Uxbridge, afterwards second Marquess of Anglesey, a +cavalier of spirit, and possessed of all the dashing qualities of the +Paget family. + +[74] William Charles, fourth Earl of Albemarle, Master of the Horse. A +few days after her accession the Queen sent for him and said, “My Lord, +you will immediately provide for me six chargers to review my troops.” + +[75] William Pitt, first Earl Amherst, quite inconspicuous as +Ambassador to China 1816–17, and Governor-General of India 1823–28. + +[76] Mary Anne, wife of Sir Edward Cust, afterwards Master of the +Ceremonies to Queen Victoria. + +[77] General Sir George Anson, G.C.B., Equerry to the Duchess of Kent, +afterwards Groom of the Bedchamber to Prince Albert. + +[78] General Sir Frederick Wetherall served on the staff of the Duke of +Kent, and was subsequently his equerry and one of the executors of his +will. + +[79] William Wyon, chief engraver at the Mint, afterwards R.A. + +[80] Marie Taglioni (1809–84). Until the invasion of Europe by Russian +ballet, Taglioni’s name was the most famous in the annals of classical +operatic dancing. + +[81] He was President from 1830 to 1850. By his contemporaries he was +as much esteemed as Lawrence. America, however, has not yet discovered +him. + +[82] Henry Howard, appointed Professor of Painting to the Academy in +1833. + +[83] Sir William Beechey, R.A. Formerly Portrait Painter to Queen +Charlotte, and finely represented at Windsor by a series of charming +portraits of Royal children. + +[84] Now in the “Corridor” at Windsor Castle. + +[85] Sir Charles Eastlake (P.R.A., 1850–65). He was appointed by Sir R. +Peel secretary to the Fine Arts Commission, and later still Director of +the National Gallery. A typical and meritorious P.R.A. + +[86] Sir Edwin Landseer (1802–73). The most popular of British painters. + +[87] Sir Augustus Wall Callcott (1779–1844). A chorister of Westminster +Abbey; subsequently a painter. Elected R.A. 1810, and knighted 1837. + +[88] Henry William Pickersgill, R.A. (1782–75), a fashionable portrait +painter, patronised by famous men and women; he exhibited at the +Academy for over sixty years. He is now quite forgotten. + +[89] William Hilton, R.A., (1786–1839). His work was refined, but, +owing to the pigment he used, has practically vanished. + +[90] The Duke, who was the eldest son of King Louis Philippe, was +born at Palermo in 1810, and in July 1842 was thrown from his phaeton +near the Porte Maillot in Paris, and died on the spot. His youth and +popularity, his love of art and literature, and his professional +efficiency as a soldier might, had he lived, have served to give the +events of 1848 a different turn. He was, however, a Bourbon. + +[91] Wife of Leopold, King of the Belgians. + +[92] The veteran Prince Talleyrand (1754–1838), once Bishop of Autun, +Republican, Bonapartist, Legitimist, and cynic; everything by turns and +everything remarkably _long_. See p. 331, and Vol. II. p. 61. + +[93] The Duchesse de Dino (Princesse de Sagan), niece of Prince +Talleyrand. Her own memoirs have preserved her memory. + +[94] Henry, third Marquess of Lansdowne (1780–1863). A typical and most +eminent Whig. He twice refused to be Prime Minister, but held office in +every Whig Administration from 1830 to 1858. He was Chancellor of the +Exchequer in the Ministry of “All the Talents.” He was a fine judge of +art. No statesman of his time was more universally trusted. + +[95] George Granville succeeded his father, the first Duke of +Sutherland (see _ante_, p. 68, n.), in July 1833. His wife, Harriet +Elizabeth Georgiana, third daughter of the sixth Earl of Carlisle, was +the first Mistress of the Robes selected by Queen Victoria. + +[96] Charles Augustus (1776–1859), fifth Earl of Tankerville, married +Corisande, daughter of Antoine, Duc de Gramont: she possessed great +charm of manner and a fine turn of wit. She had many attached friends +of both sexes. See Vol. II. p. 221. + +[97] William Philip (1772–1838), second Earl of Sefton, married Maria +Margaret, daughter of William, sixth Lord Craven. + +[98] See _ante_, p. 49. + +[99] Thomas William (1795–1854), second Viscount Anson, had been +created in 1831 Earl of Lichfield. He married Louisa Catherine, +daughter of Nathaniel Philips, of Slebech Hall, co. Pembroke. + +[100] First Earl Granville, youngest son of first Marquess of Stafford +(1773–1846), Ambassador to St. Petersburg 1804, and afterwards for many +years at Paris. He married the daughter of the fifth Duke of Devonshire. + +[101] Lord Palmerston, born 1781, died Prime Minister 1865. Lord +Palmerston was now fifty-two years old. In years to come, this child +of thirteen was destined to overthrow him, when at the height of his +popularity, to receive him again as her Prime Minister, and to turn +to him in the great crisis of her life twenty-eight years after their +first meeting. + +[102] See _ante_, p. 54. + +[103] John William, Lord Duncannon. A Whig placeman. As Earl of +Bessborough (1846) he became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and died in +office in 1847. + +[104] Hugh, Lord Ebrington, afterwards second Earl Fortescue. Lord +Lieutenant of Ireland, 1839–41. + +[105] Sylvain Van de Weyer (1802–74), Belgian Minister at the Court of +St. James’s, a trusted friend of King Leopold and of Queen Victoria. +He had been a prominent leader of the Revolution in Belgium, 1830, and +a protagonist of the separation of Belgium and Holland. His wit and +charming personality gave him a prominent place in London society. He +married the daughter of Joshua Bates, senior partner in Barings. + +[106] Edward Geoffrey Stanley (1799–1869), the Rupert of debate, at +this time Secretary for the Colonies, afterwards (as Earl of Derby) +three times Prime Minister. Mrs. Stanley was Emma Caroline, daughter of +Edward, first Lord Skelmersdale. + +[107] Mr. Ellice (1781–1863), born at Montreal, M.P. for Coventry +and Secretary at War. He had been a very successful Government Whip; +nick-named “Bear” Ellice from his connection with the Hudson Bay +Company. He married a sister of Earl Grey. + +[108] James Abercromby (1776–1858), son of the gallant Sir Ralph +Abercromby, who died in the moment of victory at Alexandria in 1801. At +this time M.P. for Edinburgh. Became Speaker of the House of Commons in +1835, and was created Lord Dunfermline four years later. + +[109] The Baroness Späth, Lady-in-Waiting to the Duchess of Kent. + +[110] General Sir Robert Gardiner was Principal Equerry to Prince +Leopold of Saxe-Coburg at his marriage with Princess Charlotte. In +later life he was Governor and Commander-in-Chief at Gibraltar. + +[111] William George Maton, M.D., Physician Extraordinary to the +Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria. + +[112] George (1819–1904), afterwards Duke of Cambridge and +Commander-in-Chief. He was two months older than the Princess, so that +he was now fourteen years old. + +[113] Arabella, wife of the fourth Earl, a Lady-in-waiting to Queen +Adelaide. She was a Miss Mackworth Praed. + +[114] Daughters of the eleventh Earl of Pembroke. Lady Emma afterwards +married the third Viscount de Vesci, and Lady Georgiana the fourth +Marquess of Lansdowne. + +[115] Daughters of the fifth Earl of Jersey. Lady Sarah afterwards +married Prince Nicholas Esterhazy (see p. 190), eldest son of the +famous diplomatist. Lady Clementina died unmarried in 1858. + +[116] Younger son of Prince and Princess de Lieven. The Prince had been +for over twenty years Russian Minister or Ambassador in London; the +Princess was the inveterate correspondent of Earl Grey. + +[117] George Guy, afterwards fourth Earl of Warwick, and an A.D.C. to +Queen Victoria. Died 1893. At this time he was fifteen years of age. + +[118] Charles Henry, Earl of March, afterwards sixth Duke of Richmond +and first Duke of Gordon of a new creation. He held several high +offices in Conservative Administrations, being Lord President of the +Council 1874–80, and Secretary for Scotland 1885–6. He, like Lord +Brooke, was about fifteen at this time; and was at Westminster School. +In after-years the Queen relied much upon his excellent political +judgment. + +[119] George, eighth Earl of Athlone (1820–43). The first Earl was +Godert de Ginkell, the well-known General of William III. + +[120] A younger brother of Lord March; drowned in the _President_ +steamer in 1841. He was at this time thirteen years old. + +[121] John Frederick, afterwards M.P. for Pembrokeshire and second Earl +Cawdor. + +[122] Their father was Alexander, Duke of Würtemberg. Prince Alexander +afterwards married Princess Marie, daughter of King Louis Philippe; she +died in 1839, less than two years after their marriage. + +[123] A cousin of the Princess Victoria and of Princes Alexander and +Ernst, the mother of the Duchess of Kent, having been a Princess of +Reuss-Ebersdorff. + +[124] Afterwards Duchess of Argyll. + +[125] Afterwards Lady Blantyre. + +[126] Lady Caroline Lascelles, and her daughter, afterwards Mrs. +Grenfell. + +[127] Madame Malibran was now about twenty-five years of age. See +_post_, p. 168. + +[128] Henry Lynedoch Gardiner, son of General Sir Robert Gardiner. He +was afterwards Equerry in Ordinary to Queen Victoria. + +[129] Sir Colin Campbell (1792–1863), afterwards F.-M. Lord Clyde, +Commander-in-Chief in India. He saw more active service than any +British Field-Marshal before or since. No soldier was ever braver, more +merciful, and more modest. + +[130] Admiral Williams had rendered valuable services in conjunction +with the army in the Low Counties, 1794–5; he was knighted in 1796, and +became G.C.B. in 1831. + +[131] John George Lambton (1792–1840), the first Baron (and afterwards +first Earl of) Durham, son-in-law of Lord Grey, had been Ambassador to +St. Petersburg, and was now Lord Privy Seal. Lord Melbourne sent him +subsequently to Canada at a critical juncture in the history of British +North America. The Ministry afterwards recalled him, but the report +which he presented on Canadian affairs is regarded as having laid the +foundations of all colonial self-government. He was a statesman of +noble, unstained character; but his high-strung temperament made life +difficult both for him and his colleagues. + +[132] He was sixty-two years of age. See _ante_, p. 78. + +[133] Vice-Admiral Sir Graham Moore (1764–1843), G.C.M.G., afterwards +Commander-in-Chief at Plymouth. He had been ordered in 1807–8 to escort +the Royal Family of Portugal to Brazil; he married Dora, daughter of +Thomas Eden. + +[134] Rear-Admiral Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland (1776–1839). He +commanded the _Bellerophon_ when Napoleon surrendered after Waterloo. + +[135] Richard (1764–1839), second Earl, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. + +[136] Sir William Hargood had commanded the _Belleisle_ under Nelson at +Trafalgar, becoming an Admiral and G.C.B. in 1831. + +[137] Captain Charles Philip Yorke, R.N., then M.P. for Cambs., +afterwards fourth Earl of Hardwicke. + +[138] Sir John Cameron had had a distinguished record in the Peninsula. +From 1823 to 1833 he commanded the Western District. + +[139] Adjutant-General, 1830–50. + +[140] Donna Maria da Gloria, then aged about fourteen. She was the +daughter of Dom Pedro, who had been proclaimed Emperor of Brazil in the +lifetime of his father, John VI., and abdicated the throne of Portugal +in favour of Donna Maria. Dom Miguel, a younger brother of Pedro, +claimed the throne. Pedro had designed a marriage between Donna Maria +and Miguel, who in 1827 had been appointed Regent, but, having been +himself driven from Brazil by a revolution, Pedro endeavoured to gain +the throne decisively for his daughter. His second wife, now known as +Duchess of Braganza, was sister to Augustus, Duke of Leuchtenberg, who +at the age of twenty-five had married Donna Maria, then barely sixteen, +and died two months later. See p. 110. + +[141] The death of Ferdinand without male issue caused a disputed +succession in Spain. His brother Don Carlos relied on the Salic Law +as established by the Pragmatic Sanction of 1711, which Ferdinand +had revoked. Don Carlos and Dom Miguel subsequently entered into an +alliance, while the young Queens Maria and Isabella mutually recognised +each other, and were supported by England and France. + +[142] William Charles Macready (1793–1851), afterwards successively +manager of Covent Garden and Drury Lane Theatres. + +[143] An actress, and mother of Helen Faucit. + +[144] Benjamin Webster, an excellent and humorous comedian from about +1819 to 1874. + +[145] Frances Maria Kelly (1790–1882), for many years a popular +favourite at Drury Lane, and a friend of Charles and Mary Lamb. + +[146] This was the first of many Foreign Orders received by Queen +Victoria. They have been carefully collected and arranged by King +George and Queen Mary, and are displayed in Queen Mary’s audience room +in Windsor Castle. + +[147] Lady Theresa Fox-Strangways, elder daughter of the third Earl of +Ilchester, afterwards wife of the ninth Lord Digby. + +[148] Afterwards Lady Ebury. Sister of the first Earl Cowley. See p. 50. + +[149] Giulia Grisi (1815–69) made her début at Florence, aged fourteen. +Théophile Gautier said of her that under her spell what was only an +opera became a tragedy and a poem. She first appeared in London in +1834. She was afterwards married to the Count of Candia (Mario). + +[150] Henry Stephen, third Earl (1787–1812). + +[151] Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg (1786–1851), uncle of the Prince +Consort. + +[152] Charles Emich, Prince Leiningen, son of the Duchess of Kent by +her first husband, and half-brother of Princess Victoria. + +[153] Emmanuel, Count Mensdorff-Pouilly (1777–1862), husband of +Princess Sophia, eldest sister of the Prince Consort’s father and of +the Duchess of Kent. An emigrant from France in 1793, he attained high +rank in the Austrian service. His sons were intimate companions of the +Prince Consort. + +[154] Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg (1784–1844), father of the Prince +Consort. + +[155] See _ante_, p. 49. + +[156] Eldest daughter of Francis, first Marquess of Hastings, Lady of +the Bedchamber to the Duchess of Kent. This unfortunate lady died in +1839. + +[157] Charles, fifth Duke (1791–1860). As Lord March he is often +mentioned in the Duke of Wellington’s correspondence. He was one of the +very few male human beings ever alluded to by the Iron Duke in terms +of affection. The Duchess was Caroline, daughter of the Marquess of +Anglesey. + +[158] George Henry (1760–1844), fourth Duke. An obscure Whig potentate. + +[159] Charles, fifth Duke, but fourteenth Earl of Dorset, K.G. Master +of the Horse in various Tory Administrations. On his death, unmarried, +in 1843, his honours (including the Earldom of Middlesex) became +extinct. A favourite of George IV. One of the first gentlemen jockeys. +He and his brother Germaine were famous at Newmarket as race riders. +He established Bibury races. He was of tiny physique, but smart, and a +great favourite with ladies. + +[160] William Harry, first Duke of Cleveland, of a new creation, a +great-grandson in the male line of a daughter of Barbara Palmer, +Duchess of Cleveland. He died in 1842, and his income was computed at +£110,000 per annum. See _ante_, p. 68. + +[161] Francis, second Marquess (1797–1876), who, three years later, +brought to the Princess at Kensington the news of her accession. Lady +Conyngham was a daughter of Lord Anglesey. + +[162] Second son of William IV. and Mrs. Jordan. The eldest son was +created Earl of Munster, 1831; the younger children (except those who +had attained higher rank by marriage) were granted the style of younger +children of a marquess. Lady Frederick was a daughter of the Earl of +Glasgow. + +[163] William Basil Percy (1796–1865), seventh Earl of Denbigh, +Chamberlain to Queen Adelaide. + +[164] Lady Sophia Fitzclarence, daughter of William IV. She married +Sir Philip Sidney, afterwards created Lord De l’Isle and Dudley of +Penshurst. + +[165] Emily, sister of the second Lord Auckland. + +[166] See _ante_, p. 69. + +[167] Edward, fourth son of the first Earl Beauchamp. + +[168] Afterwards Sir Charles Wood (1800–85) and first Viscount +Halifax. Married the daughter of Charles, Earl Grey. He served in many +administrations; finally as Secretary of State for India and Lord Privy +Seal. A typical Whig statesman of high probity and wisdom. + +[169] See _ante_, p. 86. + +[170] Charlotte, daughter of Robert Adamson of Westmeath and wife of +Sir Godfrey Vassal Webster, of Battle Abbey, formerly M.P. for Sussex. +Sir Godfrey’s mother, Elizabeth Vassal, eloped from her husband with +Lord Holland, and was the famous “Old Madagascar” of Holland House +coteries. + +[171] He was made a baronet in 1838 for this act. See _post_, p. 355. + +[172] William Frederick (1776–1834), second Duke, was the son of +William Henry, first Duke, by Maria, Countess-Dowager Waldegrave, +illegitimate daughter of Edward Walpole, a younger son of the +great Minister. The Duke was an inoffensive man of quiet and mild +disposition, familiarly known as “Silly Billy.” He married his cousin, +Princess Mary, daughter of George III. He was proud of his rank, but of +little else. See _ante_, p. 65. + +[173] Brother of the Duchess of Braganza. See _ante_, p. 86. + +[174] Princess Elizabeth (1770–1840), daughter of George III., widow of +Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. This Princess settled down into +an atmosphere of venerated old age at Homburg. A statue was recently +erected there and unveiled by the German Emperor to commemorate her +virtues. + +[175] Emma Sophia, daughter of the second Earl of Mount Edgecumbe, +second wife of John, first Earl Brownlow. + +[176] Daughter of William IV. Her husband had been raised to the +Peerage in Jan. 1835. See _ante_, p. 99. + +[177] Another daughter of William IV., wife of Lucius, tenth Viscount +Falkland. + +[178] Richard William Penn (1796–1870), first Earl Howe, Chamberlain to +Queen Adelaide. He was believed to have encouraged her in inciting the +King against the Ministry of Lord Grey. + +[179] William Basil Percy, seventh Earl of Denbigh. See _ante_, p. 99. + +[180] Adelaide Cottage, built for Queen Adelaide, but never occupied by +her except as a tea-house. It has been used ever since by successive +Sovereigns for a similar purpose. The Cottage stands surrounded by +charming gardens in the eastern corner of the private grounds of +Windsor Castle. + +[181] Luigi Lablache (1794–1858), a first-rate comedian and the finest +bass singer of his time. He made his début in London in 1830, in +Cimarosa’s opera _Il Matrimonio Segreto_. He taught Princess Victoria +singing, and of all her teachers he was the favourite. + +[182] Michael (afterwards Sir Michael) Costa, for many years the +conductor of the orchestra at Covent Garden. His musical taste was +considerable, but he was famous for his dominating personality, the +hauteur of his demeanour, and above all for the perfect fit of his +spotless white gloves. + +[183] General Sir Frederick Trench had served in Sicily and in the +Walcheren expedition, and was afterwards Aide-de-Camp to George IV. +He was M.P. for Scarborough at this time. A man of discernment and +taste. He advocated a scheme for making an embankment along the Thames +from Charing Cross to Blackfriars. He was half a century ahead of his +contemporaries! + +[184] Augusta, youngest daughter of the Landgrave Frederick of Hesse. +She was married to H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge in 1818. “I am the +happiest of men,” wrote the Duke to Lady Harcourt from Cassel, soon +after his engagement, and he added, “The Princess is really everything +both as to heart, mind and person that I could wish.” There never was +a happier marriage. This Princess was the mother of George, Duke of +Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies, of the Dowager +Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and of Princess Mary, Duchess +of Teck. She was the grandmother of Queen Mary, and died, regretted by +all, in 1889. + +[185] Joseph Goodall (1760–1840), Provost of Eton for thirty-one years. +An excellent but obscure scholar. It was his misfortune to be the +nominal superior of Dr. Keate. He had the temerity on one occasion at +Windsor, in the presence of William IV., to tell Sir Henry Halford, who +was vain of his scholarship and fond of quoting Latin, that he ought to +be whipped for having made a false quantity. + +[186] Dr. Hawtrey (1789–1862), Headmaster of Eton for 18 years, he then +presided over the college as Provost for another 10. A profound and +elegant scholar, a man of lofty ideals, intrepid soul and warm heart, +he raised the tone of masters and boys by sheer force of his delightful +personality. He doubled the numbers of the school as well as its +efficiency and influence. + +[187] Countess Mensdorff was the sister of the Duchess of Kent, a +Princess of Saxe-Coburg. See _ante_, p. 95. + +[188] Grand Duchess Marie, daughter of the Emperor Paul I. of Russia, +married Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, in 1804. + +[189] Dr. Charles James Blomfield (1786–1857), a fine scholar, and a +Bishop of unusual administrative capacity. His influence in the Church +of England, both as Bishop of Chester and Bishop of London, was second +to none, until the day of his retirement in 1856. He died at Fulham +Palace in August 1857. + +[190] She married in 1856 Duke Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein, and was +the mother of the present German Empress. + +[191] Fanny Kemble, daughter of Charles Kemble, the actor, after +attaining considerable success on the stage in England, went to +America, and in 1834 married Pierce Butler. In 1835 she published an +indiscreet journal which had considerable success. + +[192] Edward Vernon-Harcourt (1757–1847), Archbishop of York, was the +third son of the first Lord Vernon. He assumed his mother’s name of +Harcourt on succeeding to the family estates of Stanton Harcourt and +Nuneham Courtenay. He married Anne, third daughter of first Marquess +of Stafford. A most sumptuous prelate. He was the grandfather of Sir +William Vernon Harcourt, M.P. + +[193] Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Granville Harcourt, and wife of Montagu, +Lord Norreys, M.P. for Oxfordshire, afterwards sixth Earl of Abingdon. + +[194] Sir John, second Baronet (1799–1869), father of Lord Derwent. His +wife was Louise, second daughter of Archbishop Harcourt. + +[195] George Granville Harcourt, M.P. for Oxfordshire and eldest son +of the Archbishop. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of the +second Earl of Lucan. She died in 1838, and in 1847 Mr. Harcourt +married Lady Waldegrave, the well-known and much-liked chatelaine of +Strawberry Hill. The last of the great Ladies (she was the daughter of +John Braham, the singer) who knew how to combine hospitality with fine +political and social discernment. + +[196] See p. 135. + +[197] Owner of Newstead Abbey, bought from Lord Byron in 1818. + +[198] Matthew Camidge, organist at York Minster 1799–1842. For five +generations the family of Camidge supplied organists in the county of +York. + +[199] She afterwards married Major-General George A. Malcolm, C.B. + +[200] At Nuneham there is a snuff-box, inset with diamonds, given by +Queen Victoria to Col. Francis Harcourt, and engraved “for services +rendered to her while still at Kensington.” + +[201] Rev. William Harcourt (1789–1871), Canon of York. He inherited +the Harcourt estates and was the father of Sir William Vernon Harcourt, +M.P. His wife was Matilda Mary, daughter of Col. W. Gooch. + +[202] Rev. Charles Harcourt, Canon of Carlisle. + +[203] Albert Joseph Goblet, Count d’Alviella, a Belgian officer of +distinction much esteemed by King Leopold. He was often a guest of +M. Van de Weyer, and was well known in London Society. When sent as +Belgian Minister to Berlin, the King of Prussia refused to receive him +on the ground that he had deserted the King of Holland. + +[204] General Comte Baudrand (1774–1848). Originally intended for the +Bar, he became, by choice, a soldier, and served with distinction +in Italy under the Republic, and under Napoleon at Waterloo he was +Chief of Staff of the Army of the North. After the Restoration he was +appointed Governor of the Prince Royal, with whom he paid many visits +to England. + +[205] Afterwards Sir James Clark (1788–1870). He was physician to +Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, and afterwards to +the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria. He was not only the Queen’s +most trusted physician, but an adviser and friend. He recommended +Balmoral to the Queen and the Prince as their Highland home. He +attended the Prince during his last hours. + +[206] This room was in later years the room of Princess Mary, now H.M. +the Queen. It forms part of the Palace temporarily appropriated to +the London Museum, and is dedicated to the relics of Queen Victoria’s +childhood. In this room Queen Mary was born. + +[207] The partitions were taken down after the accession of King +Edward, and the great gallery restored to the condition in which it was +left by William III. + +[208] Now occupied as a sitting-room by Princess Henry of Battenberg. + +[209] When King Louis Philippe was Duc d’Orléans his eldest son was Duc +de Chartres, and the earlier name survived. In later years the Comte de +Paris’ younger brother became Duc de Chartres. See p. 72. + +[210] Prince Ferdinand was nephew of the Duchess of Kent (the son of +her brother Ferdinand), and was married to Maria da Gloria, Queen of +Portugal. Their sons Pedro V. and Luis both succeeded to the Throne. +Count Lavradio had been sent to Coburg to negotiate the alliance. + +[211] Mrs. Anderson was Princess Victoria’s music-mistress. She was a +pupil of Felix Mendelssohn’s, and a most beautiful musician. She taught +music to all the Queen’s children and died between 1870 and 1880. Her +husband was for many years “Master of the Queen’s Musick,” _i.e._ +Private Band. + +[212] Fieschi had attempted to assassinate King Louis Philippe. + +[213] Ernest (born 1789), brother of the reigning Landgrave. + +[214] Son of Count Pozzo di Borgo, Russian Ambassador. This diplomatist +was born in Corsica in 1768, and he began life as a Corsican Deputy to +the National Assembly. Agent of the Holy Alliance in Europe, he was the +most ardent advocate of the Legitimist cause in France. His talents +were remarkable, and his causerie was much appreciated in London +society. + +[215] Henry, Earl of Lincoln (1811–64), afterwards fifth Duke of +Newcastle, a Peelite and Secretary for War during the campaign in the +Crimea. He was a holder of other high posts in the Government. An +able man, but no one except Mr. Gladstone ever thought him capable of +holding the highest. His father returned Mr. Gladstone for his close +borough of Newark. Lady Lincoln was a daughter of the tenth Duke of +Hamilton, and was divorced in 1850. + +[216] William Carr Beresford (1770–1854), better known as Marshal +Beresford, so called from his supreme command of Portuguese troops in +the Peninsula, the hero of Albuera, the bloodiest battle of the war. +Created Baron Beresford of Albuera and Dungarvan 1814, and Viscount in +1823. He married Louisa, widow of Thomas Hope of Deepdene. + +[217] Daughter of third Earl of Dartmouth. + +[218] Miss Joanna Baillie (1762–1851), a writer of many plays, now +forgotten. She is remembered as a lady to whom Sir Walter Scott wrote +freely. She resided at Hampstead, and was visited by many distinguished +men of letters. Sir Walter edited, and Kemble acted, one of her plays. + +[219] Charles Kemble (1775–1854), the youngest of the family whose +chief ornament was Mrs. Siddons. A meritorious comedian. + +[220] Helen Faucit was now nineteen, and had just made her debut as +Julia in _The Hunchback_. The “Margaret” of the present occasion was +her first original part. She married Mr. (afterwards Sir) Theodore +Martin in 1851, and was as much esteemed by Queen Victoria for her +womanly qualities as by the public for her impersonation of Rosalind. +She died in 1898. + +[221] George John Bennett, an actor never in the front rank. He was +associated with Phelps throughout his long management of Sadler’s +Wells, and played respectable parts. + +[222] When, as Lady Martin, forty years later, she appeared as +Rosalind on a special occasion, in the interests of charity, these +characteristics were found to be unimpaired. + +[223] Madame Vestris (1797–1856), daughter of Bartolozzi the engraver. +She married at sixteen Armand Vestris, and secondly Charles Mathews. +Her histrionic powers were not remarkable, but her reputation as a +singer and producer of extravaganza stood high. + +[224] Charles Mathews (1803–78), one of the most delightful comedians +of all time. Destined for the Church, educated as an architect, he did +not make his debut on the stage until he was thirty-two years old. He +married Madame Vestris, and his Autobiography and Letters were edited +by Charles Dickens. + +[225] He was thirty-three years old. + +[226] Priscilla, daughter of William, first Lord Maryborough and +afterwards third Earl of Mornington, was the Duke of Wellington’s +niece. Her husband, Lord Burghersh, was afterwards eleventh Earl of +Westmorland. + +[227] This room is now known as “the State Drawing-room.” + +[228] Prince Ernest of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeldt. See p. 145. + +[229] Anna Maria, wife of second Marquess of Ely. She was the daughter +of Sir H. W. Dashwood, Bart. She died in 1857. + +[230] See _post_, p. 297. + +[231] A landscape painter. + +[232] Olivia Cecilia, daughter of Charlotte, Baroness de Ros. She +married (1833) Henry Richard Wellesley, afterwards first Earl Cowley +and British Ambassador at Paris. She died in 1885. + +[233] King Leopold used Stockmar for the purpose of educating Prince +Ferdinand very much as he used him to train Prince Albert and Princess +Victoria in the duties of a Sovereign. King Leopold believed that he +had reduced the rules of Sovereignty to a science. See p. 196. + +[234] In later years Queen Victoria used similar language about +the Prince Consort. In her case it was not an altogether accurate +description of the facts. Her dominant character occasionally asserted +itself. + +[235] His portrait by Winterhalter hangs among Queen Victoria’s +“friends” in the ante-room to the Corridor at Windsor. See p. 114. + +[236] Madame Malibran. See _post_, p. 168. + +[237] This is the first indication in the Journals that Princess +Victoria realised her future position. It is known that for many years +knowledge of her possible accession to the Throne was withheld from +her. When it was determined that she should be enlightened, a Family +Tree was inserted by her governess between the pages of an English +history. The child examined it minutely for some time, and turning to +Baroness Lehzen said, “Then I shall be Queen.” + +[238] Daughter of Lieut.-General Francis Grant and widow of Lord George +Murray, Bishop of St. David’s and second son of the second Duke of +Atholl. + +[239] The mutiny and riots in Portugal were, it was contended, the +outcome of the appointment of Prince Ferdinand as Commander-in-Chief. +This appointment had been made on the advice of the Duc de Terceira, +the Prime Minister. See _ante_, p. 144. + +[240] See _ante_, p. 137. + +[241] Madame Malibran (1808–36), daughter of Manuel Garcia. She was +a distinguished singer and a woman of considerable talent. Her first +husband was a French merchant, M. Malibran. At the time of her death +she was married to M. de Bériot. + +[242] He was translated to Durham in 1856. In 1860 he became Archbishop +of York and in 1862 Primate of All England. + +[243] Charlotte, daughter of the fifth Duke of Northumberland, widow of +the third Earl of Ashburnham. + +[244] Afterwards wife of the Rev. Algernon Wodehouse. + +[245] Granville George (1786–1857), second Lord Radstock, Vice-Admiral +of the Red. + +[246] Charles Noel (1781–1866) had succeeded in his father’s lifetime +to his mother’s barony of Barham. He was created Earl of Gainsborough +in 1841. In 1833 he married his fourth wife, Frances, daughter of the +third Earl of Roden, afterwards a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen +Victoria. + +[247] Hon. Edward Stopford, second son of third Earl of Courtown. + +[248] Afterwards Napoleon III. + +[249] The Queen had been led to believe that a counter-revolution would +be popular, but the movement was a failure. + +[250] The Rt. Hon. John Wilson Croker (1780–1857), M.P. for Downpatrick +and Secretary to the Admiralty. Immortalised in _Coningsby_ as “Mr. +Rigby,” he has remained the type of malignant and meddling politician +that Disraeli desired to expose. His title to respect is that he was +one of the earliest contributors to _The Quarterly Review_, which was +founded by John Murray in 1809. + +[251] William Wemyss, afterwards Lieut.-General and Equerry to Queen +Victoria. + +[252] Second son of fifth Viscount Torrington, sometime a Commissioner +in the Colonial Audit Office. + +[253] A gipsy encampment. + +[254] One of the gipsies. + +[255] Sir John Malcolm’s _Life of Clive_, a biography now unreadable, +but made famous by Macaulay, who took it as a peg upon which to hang +his Essay. + +[256] Richard James Lane (1800–72) had in 1829 made a well-known +portrait of the Princess at ten years old. He was afterwards +distinguished for his skill in lithography, reproducing many works of +well-known artists. The portrait he was painting at this time now hangs +in the Corridor at Windsor. + +[257] Lady Blessington (1789–1849) was at the zenith of her career, +editing Books of Beauty, writing novels, and entertaining celebrities +at Gore House, Kensington. She was married when young and beautiful to +Lord Blessington, an elderly and easy-going Peer, whose daughter by his +first wife was the wife of Count d’Orsay. This unfortunate young woman +was eclipsed in the affections of d’Orsay by her stepmother. After +Lord Blessington’s death, d’Orsay and Lady Blessington presided over a +brilliant salon at Kensington Gore, principally attended by the male +sex. Lady Blessington recorded in several volumes her conversations +with Byron. Disraeli, as a young man, flaunted his most elaborate +waistcoats at Gore House. + +[258] See _ante_, p. 99. + +[259] Eldest daughter of third Earl of Courtown. + +[260] Philip Henry, fourth Earl, and Lucy Catherine, daughter of Robert +Low Carrington. Lady Wilhelmina married in 1843 Lord Dalmeny, by whom +she had a son (the present Lord Rosebery) and three other children. +After Lord Dalmeny’s death in 1851, she married in 1854 the fourth +Duke of Cleveland. She was one of the Queen’s train-bearers at her +Coronation. She died in May 1901. + +[261] Daughter of the fifth Earl Cowper, and niece to Lord Melbourne. +She afterwards married Lord Jocelyn. She was a great favourite with +Queen Victoria. After the Queen’s marriage and her own marriage she +became one of the Queen’s Ladies of the Bedchamber, and held that post +till shortly before her (Lady Jocelyn’s) death. + +[262] Third daughter of the first Earl of Verulam, and afterwards +wife of the fourth Earl of Radnor. The three young ladies mentioned +here were afterwards train-bearers elsewhere to Queen Victoria at her +coronation. + +[263] Daughter of Vice-Admiral Josceline Percy, and afterwards wife of +Colonel Charles Bagot. + +[264] Marie, Countess of Blebelsberg, born 1806, married Prince Charles +of Leiningen (see p. 95). She died 1880. + +[265] Colonel Sibthorp, the eccentric member for Lincoln, whose +personal appearance was much satirised in _Punch_. + +[266] Afterwards Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton and Lord Lytton of Knebworth. +He was distinguished as a writer of novels that enjoyed a great vogue, +and as a genuine man of letters. His abilities were of a far higher +order than his writing. His ability was his own, but he wrote for the +public. He earned a considerable fortune by his pen. For a time he +chose to be a politician, and was Secretary for the Colonies in Lord +Derby’s Government. His marriage was famous for its failure. His son +Robert was Viceroy of India, Ambassador in Paris, and a poet of more +than average merit. + +[267] Grandson of the twelfth Duke of Norfolk who died in 1842. He +succeeded as fourteenth Duke and died in 1860. + +[268] Son of Prince Paul Esterhazy, Austrian Ambassador. See p. 77. + +[269] Charles (1815–88), afterwards sixth Duke of Rutland, K.G.; he +died unmarried. A man of grim manners but not unkindly heart. + +[270] Arthur Richard (1807–84), afterwards second Duke of Wellington, +K.G. Almost better known by his courtesy title of Lord Douro. Had he +not been the son of the Great Duke, his uncommon talents might have +earned for him a career of distinction. In appearance he singularly +resembled his august father, and late in life he was addicted to a +style of costume which led people to say that he wore his father’s old +clothes. He, however, possessed a pretty wit. + +[271] John William (1811–84), seventh Earl of Sandwich, afterwards +Master of the Buckhounds. + +[272] Thomas Henry, fourth Lord Foley (1808–69). + +[273] Louisa, a daughter of the sixth Duke of Bedford, married James, +second Marquess and first Duke of Abercorn. This Duke and his Duchess +are generally thought to have been meant by the “Duke” and “Duchess” in +Lord Beaconsfield’s novel _Lothair_. + +[274] The three remarkable Sheridan sisters (granddaughters of R. B. +Sheridan, the dramatist) were Lady Seymour (afterwards Duchess of +Somerset and Queen of Beauty at the Eglinton Tournament), Lady Dufferin +(the Mrs. Blackwood mentioned above), and Mrs. Norton. They possessed +in an uncommon degree the gift of beauty inherited from Miss Linley, +their grandmother, and gifts of mind inherited from Sheridan. Not +only Mrs. Norton, but also Lady Dufferin, wrote verse and prose with +distinction. _Stuart of Dunleath_, a novel by Mrs. Norton, was much and +justly admired. She inspired George Meredith with the conception of +_Diana of the Crossways_. + +[275] Baron Stockmar. See p. 196. + +[276] Dr. Howley. See _ante_, p. 68. + +[277] Second Marquess. See _ante_, p. 98. + +[278] Baron Christian Stockmar (1787–1863), physician to Prince +Leopold, and subsequently his confidential agent. He abandoned medicine +for statecraft, in which he became an expert. He was entrusted by King +Leopold to superintend the education of Prince Albert and guide Queen +Victoria, both of which services he performed with consummate tact and +integrity. He was their devoted friend and counsellor to the end of his +life. See _ante_, p. 154. + +[279] William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848), was at this time +Prime Minister and fifty-eight years old. + +[280] Ernest Augustus (1771–1851), fifth son of George III. He was +considered unscrupulous, and was certainly most unpopular in this +country. He now succeeded William IV. as King of Hanover. Although +of autocratic temperament, he granted his subjects a democratic +constitution, much to their surprise. + +[281] Augustus Frederick (1773–1843), sixth son of George III. His +marriage to Lady Augusta Murray was declared void under the Royal +Marriages Act. He had by her two children, Sir Augustus d’Este and +Mlle. d’Este (afterwards wife of Lord Chancellor Truro). He married, +secondly, Lady Cecilia Buggin (_née_ Gore, daughter of the Earl of +Arran), and to her was granted the title of Duchess of Inverness. + +[282] Henry William Paget, first Marquess of Anglesey (1768–1854). +Commanded the Cavalry at Waterloo. When a round shot tore between +him and the Duke of Wellington, he turned to the Duke and said, “By +God! I have lost my leg,” and the Duke replied, “By God! I believe +you have.” This conversation sums up the two men. Lord Anglesey was a +Field-Marshal and Viceroy of Ireland, where he displayed a tendency +to liberal ideas that were not considered in accordance with his +profession or station. There was never a more gallant soldier, and he +“had not a fold in his character.” + +[283] Chancellor of the Exchequer. An intelligent politician and +responsible for the adoption of the penny post. He was anxious for the +Speakership, but failed to win the fancy of the House of Commons. He +passed to the House of Lords as Lord Monteagle in 1839 and died in 1866. + +[284] James, first Lord Wharncliffe. A Yorkshire magnate and Member of +Parliament. Created a Peer 1826. See _ante_, p. 54. + +[285] Alexander Baring, first Lord Ashburton (1774–1848). President of +the Board of Trade in Lord Grey’s Administration. + +[286] Sir William Draper Best (1767–1845), first Lord Wynford, formerly +Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. + +[287] A distinguished soldier, at this time Lieut.-General and Master +of the Ordnance. M.P. for Windsor. Afterwards created Lord Vivian +(1841). + +[288] Charles Grant, first and only Lord Glenelg (1778–1866), at +this time Secretary for the Colonies. Three years before he had been +proposed as Governor-General of India, but his nomination was rejected +by the Board of Directors. + +[289] Afterwards Lord Sydenham (1799–1841). At this time President +of the Board of Trade. In 1839 he was appointed Governor-General of +Canada. He died there, aged forty-one, from a fall from his horse. + +[290] Henry George, afterwards third Earl Grey (1802–94), at this +time Secretary-at-War and Colonial Secretary. An honest and fearless +statesman, but a difficult colleague. + +[291] Gilbert, second Earl of Minto (1782–1859), First Lord of the +Admiralty. In 1832 he had been sent on a special mission to Berlin “to +mollify the King of Prussia.” This type of mission has always been +popular with the Whigs. + +[292] Daughter of George III. She lived at Frogmore and at Clarence +House. See _ante_, p. 61. + +[293] Robert Cutlar Ferguson had been counsel for one of the defendants +in the trial of Arthur O’Connor and others for treason at Maidstone +in 1798. O’Connor was acquitted, but the presence in Court of Bow +Street runners to arrest him on a second charge caused a scene of +much confusion, one consequence being the prosecution of Cutlar +Ferguson, Lord Thanet, and others for an attempted rescue. Ferguson was +imprisoned for a year and fined £100. Upon his liberation he went to +Calcutta, where he established himself in large and lucrative practice. +He died in 1838. + +[294] Lord John Russell (1792–1878) was at this time forty-five years +old. Home Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons. He was at the +height of his combative powers as a Parliamentarian, and his zeal for +Whig doctrine at home and Liberal statesmanship abroad was undiminished. + +[295] Private Secretary to William IV. + +[296] Lady C. Jenkinson, daughter of the Earl of Liverpool. See p. 46. + +[297] Anna Maria, daughter of the third Earl of Harrington. + +[298] Louisa Fox-Strangways, daughter of the second Earl of Ilchester. + +[299] He had been executor to the Queen’s father. One of her first acts +was to discharge the debts contracted by the Duke of Kent, which the +Duchess had never been able to pay off. See _ante_, p. 69. + +[300] Colonel the Hon. H. F. C. Cavendish (1789–1873), son of Lord +Burlington. Clerk-Marshal to the Queen. Married as his second wife +Frances Susan, sister of Lord Durham. + +[301] Queen Adelaide, the Queen Dowager, a Princess of the House of +Saxe-Meiningen. Her attitude towards the young Queen was absolutely +perfect, in its simple dignity and freedom from every taint of envy. + +[302] Georgina Howard, daughter of the sixth Earl of Carlisle. + +[303] Anne, wife of Francis William, second Earl of Charlemont. + +[304] Second son of the fourth Duke of Grafton. + +[305] George Byng, afterwards second Earl of Strafford. + +[306] Lord Durham, by his charming manners, had overcome certain +prejudice which had been felt in St. Petersburg on his appointment. He +was exceedingly popular with the Emperor. He returned to England, it +was said, “a greater aristocrat than ever.” See _ante_, p. 81. + +[307] Lord Mulgrave was created Marquess of Normanby in 1838. A member +of Lord Melbourne’s Administration in 1834, he was sent to Ireland +as Viceroy, and then returned to the Cabinet as Secretary of State. +While the Whigs were in office he was never without a place. He was +subsequently Ambassador in Paris, and under Lord Palmerston supported +Napoleon III. through the stormy days of the _coup d’état_. + +[308] Lady Mulgrave was Maria Liddell, eldest daughter of the first +Lord Ravensworth. She had married, in 1818, the second Earl of +Mulgrave, who was created Marquess of Normanby in 1838. See p. 205. + +[309] Sarah, daughter of the second Earl Spencer and widow of the third +Lord Lyttelton. Afterwards Lady Superintendent to the Princess Royal +and the Prince of Wales and the other Princes and Princesses. A shrewd +observer and a woman of fine judgment and high ideals. + +[310] There is no record of any previous Sovereign wearing the robes +of the Bath on such an occasion. Certainly they have never been worn +since. A little later in her reign the Queen was always reluctant to +exchange the red ribbon of the Bath for the blue ribbon of the Garter. +By the advice of Lord Melbourne, however, she was in the habit of +wearing the red ribbon when holding an investiture of the Order. + +[311] He had just been created Earl of Yarborough. Lady Charlotte was +the wife of Sir Joseph Copley. He died in 1846. + +[312] The Queen always retained a strong sentiment for Kensington +Palace. Part of the old building had been condemned by the Office of +Works to be pulled down, but the Queen refused her sanction. During +the last year of her reign the Queen made an arrangement with Lord +Salisbury and Sir M. Hicks-Beach that, in consideration of Her Majesty +giving up the use of Bushey House and the Ranger’s House at Greenwich, +the Government should purchase and place at her disposal Schomberg +House, and should restore Kensington Palace. Parliament voted £36,000 +for this purpose, on the understanding that the State Rooms should be +opened to the public. + +[313] Louisa, daughter of the thirteenth Viscount Dillon, afterwards +wife of Sir Spencer Ponsonby Fane. + +[314] These are the rooms now occupied by Queen Mary. The “audience” +room opened out of the sitting-room. + +[315] Hon. Harriet Elizabeth Pitt, younger daughter of the third Lord +Rivers. She married in 1841 Charles Dashwood Bruce, nephew of the Earl +of Elgin. + +[316] Mary Alicia Spring Rice, eldest daughter of the Chancellor of the +Exchequer. She afterwards married James Garth Marshall of Headingley +and Monk Coniston. + +[317] President of the Board of Control. He had enjoyed the friendship +of Byron, travelled with him, and was one of his executors. He was +created Lord Broughton in 1851. His _Recollections of a Long Life_, +edited by his daughter, Lady Dorchester, throw much light on the +political events of his time. He was so strong a partisan that his +judgments of statesmen and political events have to be treated +with reservations; but he was a type of politician, cultivated, +independent, conscientious, and high-minded, that is becoming rarer as +constituencies become less fastidious. + +[318] The Queen invariably saw her Ministers in an “audience” room and +never in her private sitting-room. An exception was made in the case of +Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister. + +[319] See _ante_, p. 53. + +[320] George William, sixth Duke of Argyll, son of John fifth Duke, and +his wife, one of the beautiful Gunning sisters, Elizabeth, widow of the +sixth Duke of Hamilton. This lady was created Baroness Hamilton in her +own right, and her husband was also accorded a barony of Great Britain, +thus entitling him to a seat in Parliament. + +[321] Fourth son of the fourth Duke of Marlborough; a Captain, R.N. +Died at Macao in 1840. + +[322] Sigismund Thalberg (1812–71) was now in the full flood of +success. He wrote many fantasias on operatic themes, _e.g._ on _Robert +le Diable_, _Zampa_, etc. In 1845 he married a widow, the daughter of +Lablache. As a composer he never succeeded in emulating his success as +a pianist. Later in life he abandoned music, and became a professional +vine-grower. + +[323] Edward Pery Buckley, afterwards General and M.P. See p. 327. + +[324] Alexis, Count Orloff, famous both as general and diplomatist. He +had fought in the war of 1829 against Turkey, and signed the Treaty +of Adrianople in 1829. He had been sent to enlist English sympathies +for Holland as against Belgium in 1832. He also was a signatory of the +important treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, and represented Russia in the +Congress of Paris in 1856. + +[325] Lady Salisbury was Frances Mary, daughter and heir of Bamber +Gascoyne, grandson of Sir Crisp Gascoyne, Lord Mayor of London 1752. He +was the first Lord Mayor who occupied the Mansion House. + +[326] Afterwards an intimate counsellor of the Emperor of Austria, +Hereditary Great Chamberlain, and President of the Council. + +[327] See _ante_, p. 192: note on the Sheridan sisters. + +[328] Wife of Duke Bernard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, younger brother of +Grand Duke Charles Frederick. See p. 125. + +[329] At Marlborough House. + +[330] Caroline Fanny, daughter of Colonel Cavendish. Maid-of-honour, +and Extra Woman of the Bedchamber. + +[331] Caroline Margaret, Maid-of-honour, eldest daughter of John, +afterwards second Earl Somers. She subsequently married Canon +Courtenay, one of the Queen’s chaplains. + +[332] Princess Cecile of Sweden, third wife of Grand Duke Augustus of +Oldenbourg. + +[333] See _ante_, p. 69. + +[334] See _ante_, p. 145. + +[335] King William I., who succeeded his father, Frederic, in 1816. + +[336] George, seventh Viscount, a Lord-in-waiting. + +[337] Wife of M. de Mérode, who was First Minister in Belgium and a +faithful friend to King Leopold. + +[338] Lord Broughton (Sir John Hobhouse), in his Reminiscences, refers +to this game of chess, and to the slight confusion there was between +“the two Queens on the board and the two Queens at the table.” + +[339] Sir Jeffrey Wyatt (1766–1840), the architect, whose most +important work was the transformation of Windsor Castle, including the +addition of thirty feet to the height of the Round Tower. The principal +feature of this work is the solid and “fortress-like” appearance, which +is conspicuous in the Castle. His name had been originally Wyatt, +but George IV., after laying the foundation-stone of the new work, +sanctioned the curious addition of “ville” to the surname. Although +he was an architect of considerable technical skill, his powers of +destructiveness were quite remarkable. He hardly left a stone of +Windsor Castle unturned. + +[340] Equerry to the Queen, son of the first Marquess of Anglesey by +his second marriage with Lady Charlotte Cadogan. Sometime M.P. for +Lichfield and Clerk-Marshal of the Royal Household. Lord Broughton +described him as “a handsome Calmuck-looking young fellow.” + +[341] Prince Aloysius Joseph de Lichtenstein succeeded his father, Jean +Joseph, in 1836. + +[342] George Villiers (1800–70), British Plenipotentiary at Madrid. In +1838 he became fourth Earl of Clarendon, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland +in critical times, 1847–52, and afterwards, with great distinction, +Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1853, again in 1865 and +in 1868. He was not a statesman of very original mind, or of great +initiative, but he was honest and prudent and highly regardful of his +country’s interests. His manners were delightful and his conversation +varied with anecdotes and punctuated by wit. He was one of the +principal attractions in London society during the first half of the +nineteenth century. + +[343] This picture hangs in the Corridor at Windsor Castle. The +likenesses are excellent, but the artist has painted the Queen in a +white dress, whereas she wore black. The actual dress worn by the Queen +is now exhibited in the London Museum at Kensington. + +[344] Matilda Susannah, daughter of Hon. Berkeley Paget, fifth son of +the first Earl of Uxbridge. She was a Maid of Honour to the Queen, and +died in 1871. + +[345] Princess Marie of Orleans, daughter of King Louis Philippe. See +_ante_, p. 78. + +[346] These rooms, partly remodelled and redecorated, are now occupied +by Queen Mary. Up to the death of Queen Victoria no material change +was made in them. In 1901 they were much altered, although the main +features remain as before. + +[347] Sir Moses Montefiore (1784–1885), created a baronet in 1846. +His life, prolonged for over a hundred years, was one of flawless +generosity and personal kindness to the poor and afflicted of his own +race, especially in the eastern provinces of Russia and in Turkey. +He obtained consideration for poor Jews from the Russian and Turkish +Governments, and his seven pilgrimages to Jerusalem were all undertaken +with a view to improving the questionable lot of the Chosen People. + +[348] Princess Augusta of Cambridge. See Vol. II., p. 150. + +[349] Princess Mary, afterwards Duchess of Teck. + +[350] Henry, fourth Duke. He had been so strenuous an opponent of the +Reform Bill, that, after its rejection, a mob set fire to Nottingham +Castle, his property. Mr. Gladstone was M.P. for Newark owing to the +Duke’s influence, which was withdrawn in 1845 when Mr. Gladstone +supported Peel on the Corn Laws. + +[351] Robert Edward, second son of the second Earl of Kingston, born +1773. He was a Lieut.-General and was created Viscount Lorton in the +Irish peerage in 1806. He was a Representative Peer. + +[352] See _ante_, p. 188. + +[353] Second daughter of Lord Ilchester, afterwards wife of Sir Edward +Clarence Kerrison. + +[354] Lady Emily Cowper. She married Lord Ashley, afterwards Earl of +Shaftesbury. She, her sister Lady Fanny, and her brothers Spencer +Cowper and William Cowper (afterwards Cowper-Temple), were children of +the fifth Earl Cowper, whose wife, a sister of Lord Melbourne, married, +secondly, Lord Palmerston in 1839. Spencer Cowper married the widow of +Count d’Orsay, the step-daughter of Lady Blessington. + +[355] Edward Sugden (1781–1875). Afterwards Lord St. Leonards, and Lord +Chancellor in the Derby Administration of 1852. A dry but efficient +lawyer, an excellent interpreter of any man’s Will but his own, which +was disputed. + +[356] Henry Hunt had been a great agitator, notably in the years +1816–20. He was elected for Preston in 1830. + +[357] Lord Brougham, not having been included in the second +Administration of Lord Melbourne, was unsparing in his criticisms of +his old colleagues. As Lord Melbourne once pointed out in reply to +one of Brougham’s brilliant attacks, the reasons for excluding Lord +Brougham from any Ministry must have been very grave, if measured by +the obvious reasons for including him. + +[358] George, third Lord Boston (1777–1869). + +[359] Frederick, second Lord Boston (1749–1825). + +[360] Daughter of the second Earl of Chichester; married in October +1837 to the Rev. and Hon. L. J. Barrington. + +[361] Lady Melbourne was a daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke, and William +Lamb was her favourite son. When Peniston, her eldest son, died, she +encouraged William to devote himself to politics and to abandon the Bar. + +[362] The Canadian question was one of the most difficult of the +early years of the Queen’s reign. Upper and Lower Canada were totally +dissimilar in race, tradition, and natural position. Lower Canada was +peopled mainly by French Roman Catholics, Upper Canada by Scottish +Protestants, and the mode of Government in both was as cumbrous and +inappropriate as it could well be, and afforded unquestionable ground +for grievance on the part of the inhabitants. In 1836 a rebellion broke +out in the Lower Province headed by Papineau, who had been Speaker +of the Assembly. This was followed by an insurrection in the Upper +Province, which was quelled in a striking and almost quixotic manner +by Sir Francis Head, the Governor, who, dismissing all his regular +troops to the Lower Province, trusted to the people to put down the +malcontents, and succeeded. Lord Durham was sent out in 1838 as High +Commissioner and Governor-General. His report on the proper method +of administering the Colony is historical, and ultimately formed the +basis of settlement. His acts were not approved by the Whig Government +and were annulled by them. He anticipated his recall by resigning and +coming home before the end of 1838. + +[363] Charles, second son of Lord Grey, the ex-Premier. He was Equerry +to the Queen, and had a year or two earlier defeated Disraeli at the +High Wycombe election. He became Private Secretary to Prince Albert and +later to the Queen. He spent all the years of his life in the Queen’s +service, and was always helpful, wise, and unbiassed in the advice he +tendered her. The present Earl Grey, Lady Victoria Dawnay, Lady Antrim, +and Lady Minto are his surviving children. Many good judges considered +his abilities of a higher order than those of his father. + +[364] Lady Caroline Ponsonby, daughter of the third Earl of +Bessborough, a lady of eccentric mind and habits. She was thrown off +her mental and moral balance by her acquaintance with Lord Byron, not +perhaps so surprising as the fact that she never recovered either even +after Byron’s death. + +[365] Lord Melbourne’s brother, afterwards Lord Beauvale, Ambassador +Extraordinary at Vienna. As a diplomatist he was irreproachable, +handsome, agreeable, and adroit. In private life he was not altogether +_sans reproche_. Without his brother William’s literary acquirements, +and with less sarcasm and pungent wit, he yet had a vigorous +understanding, much information, and no little capacity for affairs. At +sixty years of age, and in broken health, he married a very young lady, +the daughter of Count Maltzahn, the Prussian Minister at Vienna. + +[366] Henry Richard, third Lord Holland of the 1762 creation, was +Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Under the auspices of his wife, +Holland House, Kensington, was for many years the Zoar of weary Whig +politicians. See _ante_, p. 101, note. + +[367] Amelia, daughter of the Grand Duke of Oldenbourg, married to Otho +I., King of Greece. + +[368] Uncle of the Emperor. + +[369] Nicholas I., reigned 1826–55. + +[370] Ferdinand I., born in 1793, succeeded his father, Francis I., in +1835. He was brother to Napoleon’s second wife, Marie Louise. + +[371] Charles, fourth Earl of Harrington, married Maria, daughter of +Samuel Foote the actor. + +[372] William, first Earl of Craven, married Louisa, an undistinguished +actress, daughter of John Brunton of Norwich. + +[373] Edward, twelfth Earl of Derby, married Elizabeth Farren, a +Haymarket actress of considerable beauty and charm. + +[374] Afterwards Field-Marshal and first Lord Seaton. He was one +of Wellington’s generals in the Peninsula and at Waterloo. He was +Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, and on Lord Durham’s recall was +nominated to succeed him. + +[375] Lord Francis Egerton was the second son of George Granville, +first Duke of Sutherland. The immense fortune of Francis, third and +last Duke of Bridgewater (the father of English inland navigation and, +in conjunction with Brindley, constructor of the canal which bears +his name) was devised to the first Duke of Sutherland for life, and +thereafter to Lord Francis, who on attaining possession assumed the +surname of Egerton, in lieu of Leveson-Gower. A “condition subsequent” +tending to divest the property in a certain event was decided to be +opposed to “public policy.” Lord Francis was created Earl of Ellesmere +in 1846. + +[376] Lady Falkland. Amelia Fitzclarence, daughter of William IV. See +_ante_, p. 113. + +[377] Edward Berkeley Portman, representative of an old Dorsetshire and +Somersetshire family, was created Baron Portman in 1837. In 1827 he +married Emma, third daughter of the Earl of Harewood, who was at this +time one of the Ladies of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria. + +[378] This high Constitutional doctrine was certain to meet with the +approval of a Whig like Lord Melbourne. It has been the secret of +ministerial responsibility and of executive power in the Constitution +of this country, and its working has been admired by many foreign +observers. + +[379] Baron Alexander von Munchausen, a Hanoverian diplomatist, was +then about twenty-five. He was _not_ the hero of a celebrated romance. + +[380] That the Queen always retained a sentiment for her dolls may +be realised from the care with which they were preserved. They are +exhibited in the London Museum at Kensington, arranged and ticketed +with the names given to them by Princess Victoria. + +[381] Letitia, wife of Sir Hussey (afterwards Lord) Vivian. The child +Lalage married, in 1857, Henry Hyde Nugent Bankes, son of the Right +Hon. George Bankes. + +[382] See _ante_, p. 73. + +[383] Mr. (afterwards Rt. Hon.) John Arthur Roebuck. A Liberal “free +lance,” who earned the _sobriquet_ of “Tear-’em.” Lord John Russell had +brought in a Bill for suspending the Constitution of Canada, and Mr. +Roebuck, who was not at the time in Parliament, claimed to be heard at +the bar of both Houses as agent for the Lower Province. He made a very +able but bitter speech. + +[384] Catherine, widow of the twelfth Earl of Desmond, died in 1604, +having survived her husband seventy years. There seems much doubt +about the principal dates of her life, _e.g._ those of her birth and +marriage, but she is _said_ to have attained the remarkable age of +140 years, and to have died by a fall from a cherry-tree. Sir Walter +Raleigh records that he knew her and that she “was married in Edward +IV.’s time.” + +[385] Henry Brooke Parnell had been member for Maryborough in the +Irish House of Commons, and was now member for Dundee. He was made +Paymaster-General on that office being constituted in 1838. Afterwards +created Lord Congleton. + +[386] The Duke never allowed political feeling to interfere with what +he considered public duty. As a politician he was a Tory; but as a +soldier he had no politics. + +[387] Lord Ellenborough (1790–1871) was a son of the Chief Justice, +and sat in several Conservative Cabinets. He was Governor-General of +India in 1844, and recalled from his post by the directors of the East +India Company in opposition to the wish of the Cabinet, who at once +recommended him for an earldom. He was too imaginative and daring for +the post of Governor-General at this period of Indian administrative +history; but his memory was often revived in the person of a more +daring and more brilliant successor in that high office. + +[388] Alexander, first Lord Ashburton, had been President of the Board +of Trade in the brief Peel Administration of 1834–5. He married Miss +Bingham of Philadelphia. See _ante_, p. 199. + +[389] David William, third Earl of Mansfield (1777–1840). + +[390] Charles William, fifth Earl (1786–1857). + +[391] See _ante_, p. 261. Lady Francis was Harriet, eldest daughter of +Charles Greville, the father of the diarist. + +[392] Stafford House was built by the Duke of York. It is Crown +property vested in the Commission of Woods and Forests. The present +(1912) Duke of Sutherland obtained an extension of the Crown lease a +few years ago. + +[393] Charles Philip, fourth Earl of Hardwicke, had married Susan, +daughter of the first Lord Ravensworth. See _ante_, p. 84, n. + +[394] _Tempora mutantur._ + +[395] At the opening of the Queen’s first Parliament in 1837 Lord +Leveson [afterwards Lord Granville and Foreign Secretary] had moved in +the House of Commons the address in reply to her speech, looking, wrote +Disraeli, himself also a new member, “like a child.” Lord Leveson was +twenty-two years old, and the Queen had met him a few years earlier +at Christ Church. See _ante_, p. 60. His mother, Lady Granville, was +Henrietta, daughter of the fifth Duke of Devonshire. + +[396] Lady Lilford was a daughter of Lord and Lady Holland. + +[397] Charles Christopher, first Lord Cottenham. On Lord Melbourne +forming his second Ministry, the Great Seal was not offered to +Brougham, but at first put into Commission. Pepys, Master of the Rolls, +was one of the Commissioners, and became a little later Chancellor. + +[398] William Henry, second Earl of Dunraven (1782–1850). + +[399] See _ante_, p. 278. + +[400] She was Louisa Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Grey the ex-Premier, +mother of the “Master Lambton” of Lawrence’s portrait, who died, aged +fourteen, and grandmother of the present Earl of Durham, K.G. + +[401] King Otho had accepted the throne of Greece in October 1832, and +ascended it three months later. This was done in virtue of a request +from Greece to Great Britain, France, and Russia. + +[402] Mahmud II., Sultan (1808–39), succeeded in the latter year by +Abdul-Medjid. + +[403] Of some fame, but little merit. He managed the stables of George +IV., when Prince of Wales. + +[404] This rule was followed with invariable and prudent strictness +by the Queen throughout her reign. She was never swayed in action by +gossip, however subtle or ill-natured—she required proof; and this rule +governed her decision in regard to disputes as to the eligibility of +all persons to be invited to Court. + +[405] Lord Howe’s attitude was one of hostility to the Government. See +_ante_, p. 113. + +[406] George Bartley (died in 1858), a Shakespearean actor who could +play Orlando as well as Falstaff. For a time stage-manager at Covent +Garden. + +[407] Drinkwater Meadows (1799–1869), an excellent performer in comedy +of the more eccentric type. + +[408] Edgar William Elton (1794–1843) created this part of Beauséant; +he also played Romeo, and (with much success) Edgar in _Lear_. + +[409] The disposal of these prisoners was a difficult matter which +became acute in the _interregnum_ between the departure of Lord Gosford +and the arrival of Lord Durham. Sir John Colborne postponed a decision +of the matter, and ultimately the prisoners were dealt with according +to the gravity of the case, some being merely bound over, others +deported to Bermuda. + +[410] Great complaints were being made of the cruelty of the Jamaica +planters to their negro apprentices, and Brougham had put himself +at the head of an agitation in favour of immediate emancipation. +Accordingly the Government introduced a Bill regulating the hours +of labour, erecting arbitration tribunals for appraising the value +of apprentices desiring a discharge, and forbidding the whipping or +cutting the hair of female apprentices, or their being placed on a +treadmill, or in the chair of a penal gang. + +[411] Street riots had broken out at Lisbon, but the Queen behaved +with great courage, and, after Costa Cabral had been installed as +Civil Governor of the city, the insurgent forces were dispersed. The +occurrence of Donna Maria’s nineteenth birthday on 4th April was marked +by an amnesty, purporting to blot out the revolutionary actions of the +last eighteen months. + +[412] John, second Marquess and fifth Earl of Breadalbane, F.R.S. +(1796–1862). + +[413] A distinguished Peninsular officer, who had commanded the +Portuguese division at Vittoria; Commander-in-chief at Bombay 1825–9. + +[414] John, afterwards eleventh Earl of Westmorland, son of John, tenth +Earl and Sarah Anne his wife, only daughter and heir of Robert Child of +Osterley Park. His sister, Lady Jersey (who died in 1867), succeeded to +the banker’s great fortune. See _ante_, p. 149. + +[415] Major-General Sir A. Dickson, R.A., had been Superintendent of +Artillery Operations in the Peninsula, and fought at Waterloo, and was +Director-General of the Field-train Department. + +[416] Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy (1769–1839), Captain of the +_Victory_ at Trafalgar. In 1830 he was First Sea Lord, and, later, +Governor of Greenwich Hospital, a post he was holding at this time. + +[417] Lord Minto. See _ante_, p. 200. + +[418] Lord Howick. See _ante_, p. 200. + +[419] “Your Majesty’s most affectionate Friend, Aunt, and Subject, +Adelaide.” + +[420] Lord Melbourne’s sister, afterwards Lady Palmerston. See p. 242. + +[421] Dietz had been Governor to Prince Ferdinand, and accompanied him +to Portugal, where he took a considerable part in political affairs. + +[422] George, Lord Byron, succeeded his cousin the poet in 1824. He was +an extra Lord-in-waiting to the Queen. + +[423] It was altered by King Edward in 1905, and the Prime Minister now +takes rank immediately after the Archbishop of York. + +[424] Whig M.P. for West Riding of Yorkshire. + +[425] Joseph Pease, M.P. for South Durham, had been a pioneer of +railway construction, and had assisted his father in forming (upon the +persuasion of George Stephenson) the Stockton and Darlington line. + +[426] Sir George Grey of Falloden, Northumberland, second Baronet +(1799–1882), Under-Secretary for the Colonies. Appointed Judge +Advocate-General in 1839, and in 1846 Home Secretary under Lord John +Russell, an office which he held for nearly twenty years. He was a +man of fine presence and great social charm. His high moral qualities +and freedom from personal ambition gained for him the esteem of both +political parties and the confidence of his countrymen. He has been +worthily succeeded in his title and all else by his grandson, Sir +Edward Grey, K.G. + +[427] This brilliant advocate, who died at the age of forty-seven, had +been Peel’s Solicitor-General, and became Attorney-General in 1841. He +appeared for Norton in his action for _crim. con._ against Melbourne, +without any success, for the charge was triumphantly refuted. + +[428] See _ante_, p. 149. + +[429] The Hon. F. G. Byng, sometime Gentleman Usher of the Privy +Chamber. + +[430] He would have been 50 on January 22, 1838. + +[431] She was an illegitimate daughter of Edward Walpole (second son +of Sir Robert) by Mary Clement, a sempstress in Pall Mall. Their two +other daughters became Countess of Albemarle and Countess of Dysart +respectively. + +[432] Married her cousin George, seventh Earl Waldegrave. + +[433] Wife of George, second Duke of Grafton. + +[434] Father of the Admiral, Sir Beauchamp Seymour, Lord Alcester. + +[435] To William, second Earl, when Lord Cavendish. + +[436] Holland House was built by Sir Walter Cope in 1607. His daughter +and co-heiress married Henry Rich, first Earl of Holland. + +[437] Wife of James Howard, afterwards third Earl of Malmesbury. + +[438] Sir William Knighton had been physician to George IV., when +Prince of Wales, and was private secretary and Keeper of his Privy +Purse when King. The King employed him in various confidential matters. + +[439] Queen Victoria in 1872 wrote of Louis as “the former faithful and +devoted friend of Princess Charlotte—beloved and respected by all who +knew her—and who doted on the little Princess who was too much an idol +in the House. This dear old lady was visited by every one, and was the +only really devoted attendant of the poor Princess, whose governesses +paid little real attention to her, and who never left her, and was with +her when she died.” See p. 62. + +[440] Marshal Soult, Duke of Dalmatia, was appointed Ambassador of +the King of the French at Queen Victoria’s Coronation. He had been +Wellington’s antagonist in the Peninsula, and this added to his +popularity with the masses of the London streets. + +[441] General Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, K.C.B., G.C.M.G., +second son of the third Earl of Bessborough, and brother of Lady +Caroline Lamb. He was the father of the late Sir Henry Ponsonby, Queen +Victoria’s private secretary and Keeper of her Privy Purse. + +[442] Lady Charlotte Campbell, daughter of the fifth Duke of Argyll, +married, first, Colonel Campbell, and second, Rev. E. J. Bury; was +Lady-in-Waiting to Caroline, Princess of Wales. She was a friend and +patroness of Sir W. Scott, and wrote several novels. In 1838 appeared +_A Diary illustrative of the Times of George IV._, which was attributed +to her by Lord Brougham—a charge which was never denied. The work was +severely criticised. + +[443] Francis Charles, third Marquess (1777–1842), the “Lord Monmouth” +of _Coningsby_. His son, here called Lord Yarmouth, succeeded him and +died unmarried in 1870. The fourth Marquess was the founder of the +magnificent collections now the property of the nation at Hertford +House. + +[444] Her paternity was in dispute between the Duke of Queensberry and +George Selwyn. + +[445] Lord Yarmouth, afterwards fourth Marquess, and his brother Lord +Henry Seymour always lived in Paris. Lord Hertford possessed a fine +apartment at the corner of the Rue Lafite and a country place called +“Bagatelle” in the Bois de Boulogne. Subsequently they passed to Sir +R. Wallace and later to Sir John Murray Scott. Bagatelle is now the +property of the Municipality of Paris. + +[446] Hortense Eugenie Claire, daughter of Duc de Bassano, Minister +of Napoleon I., married 1833 to Francis Baring, afterwards third Lord +Ashburton. + +[447] Comte de Flahaut, son of Comtesse de Flahaut Adele, who was +afterwards Baronne de Souza, had once been French Ambassador in London, +as Sebastiani now was, but there was a competition between Flahaut and +Soult as to which should be specially appointed to represent the King +of the French at the Coronation. His likeness to Napoleon III. was +considered remarkable and significant. + +[448] Wife of Major-General Sir Guy Campbell, Bart., and daughter of +Lord Edward Fitzgerald and his wife Pamela, daughter of Madame de +Genlis. + +[449] Afterwards George IV. + +[450] Garth was an eminent physician in the time of William III. and +Queen Anne. He wrote occasional verses fluently, and his poem “The +Dispensary” had a great vogue for fifty years. + +[451] Elizabeth, wife of Peregrine, third Duke of Ancaster. + +[452] Georgiana, daughter of the third Duke of Ancaster, and widow of +the first Marquess of Cholmondeley. + +[453] Priscilla, also daughter of the third Duke of Ancaster. On the +death of their brother unmarried, the barony of Willoughby de Eresby +fell into abeyance between the sisters, which was terminated by the +Crown in favour of Priscilla, the elder, in 1780. + +[454] The barony of Fauconberg, of an earlier creation, was revived in +1903 in favour of the present (1912) Countess of Yarborough, daughter +and co-heir of the twelfth Lord Conyers. + +[455] Cromwell’s son-in-law was promoted from Viscount to be Earl +Fauconberg. He left no child. His great-nephew was again created Earl, +and married a sister of Peniston, first Viscount Melbourne. Their +daughters married as follows: Lady Charlotte Bellasyse to Thomas Edward +Wynn, Anne to Sir George Wombwell, Elizabeth successively to the Duke +of Norfolk and Lord Lucan. + +[456] Henry Fox (afterwards fourth and last Lord Holland) married Lady +Augusta Coventry; at her death in 1889, Holland House, Kensington, +became the property of Lord Ilchester. + +[457] 21st December, 1785. + +[458] Daniel Maclise (1806–70). His first success was a sketch of Sir +Walter Scott drawn by him unobserved. His best-known works are the two +cartoons in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords. He was elected to +the Royal Academy in 1840. + +[459] John, sixteenth Earl of Shrewsbury, Premier Earl of England. This +question of the oath to be taken by Roman Catholic peers and members +had been repeatedly brought forward by the Bishop of Exeter. It pledged +the jurant to do nothing to “disturb or weaken the Protestant Religion +or Protestant Government, or to subvert the Church establishment.” A +gentleman wrote to the Bishop to say that he could not take the oath, +as his wish was to upset the Church establishment, and he was therefore +excluded from Parliament. See _ante_, p. 56. + +[460] Prince George of Cambridge. See _ante_, p. 77. + +[461] Eldest son of the third Earl of Roden, and died in his father’s +lifetime. In 1841 he married Lady Fanny Cowper. See _ante_, p. 188. + +[462] Grandson of the Duke of Norfolk. See _ante_, p. 190. + +[463] Afterwards fourth Earl of Radnor. See _ante_, p. 60. + +[464] Edward Vernon, fourth Lord Suffield (1813–53). + +[465] Georgiana, Lady Seymour, Queen of Beauty at the Eglinton +Tournament. One of the Sheridan sisters. See _ante_, p. 192. + +[466] Daughter of Mr. Canning, the Prime Minister, and wife of the +first Marquess of Clanricarde. See Vol. II. pp. 75 and 261. + +[467] Daughter of the second Earl de Grey, K.G., and sister of Lady +Cowper. She was married to Mr. Henry Vyner. + +[468] Daughter of G. G. Vernon Harcourt, M.P. Lord Norreys succeeded in +1854 to the earldom of Abingdon. See _ante_, p. 132. + +[469] Daughter of the eleventh Earl of Pembroke, afterwards wife of +Viscount de Vesci. See _ante_, p. 77. + +[470] Sister of Lady Emma Herbert, and wife of the third Earl of +Clanwilliam. + +[471] Daughter of the first Earl of Verulam. She married Lord +Folkestone (see preceding page) in 1840. See _ante_, p. 189. + +[472] Sister of Lord Jocelyn (see preceding page) and wife of the sixth +Viscount Powerscourt. + +[473] Daughter of the third Viscount Hawarden. + +[474] Clementina, sister of the fourteenth Lord Elphinstone, afterwards +wife of the fourth Viscount Hawarden. + +[475] Daughter of Lord Anglesey, and sister of Lord Uxbridge. She +married in 1851 Frederick, son of the third Earl Cadogan. + +[476] Sir Thomas Acland, tenth Bart. + +[477] Alexander, tenth Duke (1767–1852). + +[478] Edward Adolphus, eleventh Duke. See _ante_, p. 68. + +[479] James, sixth Duke (1816–1879). + +[480] To rescind the Irish Church resolution of 1835. + +[481] Charles William, third Marquess, half-brother of the eminent +statesman, better remembered as Lord Castlereagh. Lord Londonderry was +a soldier and diplomatist. + +[482] George O’Brien, third Earl of Egremont, died unmarried in +November 1837, aged eighty-six. Lady Munster was his illegitimate +daughter, but his estates in Sussex and Cumberland were devised to +other adopted heirs. + +[483] An extreme instance of this partiality is described in Warren’s +_Ten Thousand a Year_. In 1868 the jurisdiction to decide disputed +elections was transferred to the Court of Common Pleas. + +[484] John Thomas, first and only Earl of Redesdale (1805–86), Chairman +of Committees in the House of Lords, 1851–86. Lord Redesdale was one +of the last men in England who wore habitually in the daytime the +old-fashioned “tail-coat.” + +[485] Lady Catharine was daughter of the third Earl of Radnor, and +Victor was her fifth son. See _ante_, p. 219. + +[486] There is a portrait of the Queen by John Partridge in King +George’s room at Buckingham Palace showing the hair done in this +fashion. + +[487] Charles, second Viscount Townshend, K.G., married Dorothy, sister +of Sir Robert Walpole. Townshend was President of the Council 1720, +and afterwards Secretary of State. There was jealousy between the +brothers-in-law, and Horace Walpole sarcastically observed that things +went well or ill according as the style of the firm was _Townshend and +Walpole_ or _Walpole and Townshend_. + +[488] Henry Francis, fourteenth Baron Teynham (1768–1842). + +[489] At the festival of the 14th July, 1790, held in the Champ de Mars +he officiated at the altar. It was his last celebration of the Mass. + +[490] Prince George of Cambridge. + +[491] Sixth son of Lord Anglesey. He was second in command, to Lord +Cardigan, of the Light Cavalry Brigade in the Crimea; he subsequently +became Inspector of Cavalry, and later M.P. for Beaumaris. + +[492] Eldest son of the fifth Earl de la Warr. See _ante_, p. 60. + +[493] Afterwards sixth Earl Fitzwilliam, K.G., and A.D.C. to the Queen. + +[494] She was younger daughter of the second Earl Talbot, and wife of +the seventh Marquess of Lothian. + +[495] Prince George, born 1819, succeeded his father on the throne of +Hanover in 1851. He ultimately suffered from total blindness, caused by +swinging a bunch of keys attached to a chain, that struck accidentally +one of his eyes. He sided with Austria in 1866 against Prussia, and +after Sadowa his kingdom was annexed to Prussia by decree. King George +was a Knight of the Garter and Duke of Cumberland. He was a Prince of +amiable disposition and simple manners. At his death he was succeeded +in the dukedom by his eldest son, who married the younger sister of +Queen Alexandra. + +[496] According to the Royal Marriages Act, none of the Royal Family +can marry without the Sovereign’s consent. See _post_, p. 390. + +[497] Lord Mulgrave and Lord Dundas were created respectively Marquis +of Normanby and Earl of Zetland, but Lord Barham was not made Earl of +Gainsborough till 1841. + +[498] Afterwards wife of the eighth Earl of Elgin, Viceroy of India. + +[499] Son of Lord Duncannon, and grandson of the Earl of Bessborough. + +[500] Hon. Charles Augustus Murray. See Vol. II., p. 94. + +[501] _I.e._, Mutiny at the Nore, May 1797. + +[502] This is now proved not to have been the case. He suffered from +infantile paralysis of one leg which was badly treated and developed +into permanent lameness. Miss Chaworth’s words, which were either +overheard by or repeated to Byron, were, “Do you think I could care +anything for that lame boy?” He did see her on more than one occasion +in later years. + +[503] Her grand-uncle was killed as described by William, fifth Lord +Byron, in 1765. + +[504] Dr. Goodall. See _ante_, p. 119. + +[505] The Head Master. See _ante_, p. 119. + +[506] She was Jane, daughter of the second Marquess Cornwallis and wife +of the third Lord Braybrooke. + +[507] Son of Duke Charles Bernard and Duchess Ida (a sister of Queen +Adelaide). Prince Edward was A.D.C. to Lord Raglan in the Crimea, and +ultimately Commander of the Forces in Ireland. + +[508] Charles Wood (afterwards Lord Halifax). At this time Secretary to +the Admiralty. See _ante_, p. 99. + +[509] These portraits were among those which by custom were presented +to the Headmaster of Eton by certain distinguished Etonians on leaving +school. The gift of a portrait was usually made by request. A boy was +considered honoured by being asked to leave his portrait to the school. +The custom lapsed about forty years since. This collection was recently +overhauled by Mr. Lionel Cust. It is now in fine order, carefully +arranged in the Provost’s Lodge at Eton. The portraits have been +engraved and collected in the form of a sumptuous volume. + +[510] This may be the portrait now in the Corridor at Windsor Castle. + +[511] W. F. Chambers, Physician-in-Ordinary to King William and Queen +Adelaide, and afterwards to Queen Victoria and the Duchess of Kent. + +[512] Sir Michael O’Loghlen did not, however, leave the Rolls. The new +Chief Baron was Mr. Stephen Woulfe, the Irish Attorney-General. + +[513] She married Lord Sandwich (see p. 191) in the following September. + +[514] Lady Adelaide Paget (afterwards Lady Adelaide Cadogan). See +_ante_, p. 319. + +[515] The Marriage Act of 1835 made null and void all marriages within +the prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity. Before they had +only been voidable. + +[516] In this case the two wives were _half_ sisters, daughters of the +Duke of Wellington’s sister by different husbands. + +[517] The Prince Consort was strongly in favour of legalising these +marriages, and King Edward (then Prince of Wales) always voted in +favour of the Bills introduced for the purpose of amending the law. + +[518] This custom has now unfortunately fallen into disuse. + +[519] No one has a prescriptive or _ex officio_ right to wear the +“Windsor uniform.” It is an honour conferred personally by the +Sovereign. Of recent Prime Ministers, this privilege has been enjoyed +by Lord Salisbury, Lord Rosebery, and Mr. Balfour. + +[520] Sunderland’s Ministry in 1718 introduced a measure to limit the +creation of peers, the object being to prevent the Prince of Wales +(when King) from swamping the Lords with his partisans. Walpole spoke +and wrote vigorously against the Bill, and organised the opposition +to it in anticipation of the time when it should reach the Commons. +He succeeded in altering the public attitude to the Bill, and it was +rejected by a large majority. + +[521] After this date, that is to say, the early part of the Queen’s +reign, the Order of the Bath began to be somewhat neglected. It was +partly owing to the creation of new Orders, such as the Star of India +and the St. Michael and George. It has, however, recently been ordained +by King George V. that the annual service for the Order of the Bath in +Westminster Abbey shall be revived, and the banners and shields of the +Knights Grand Cross be affixed to their stalls in Henry VIIth.’s chapel. + +[522] See _ante_, p. 205. + +[523] Sir Peter King, who became Lord Chancellor, was created Lord +King of Ockham in 1725. The present baron (eighth holder of the title) +had married in 1835, Ada, the only child of Lord Byron. Lord King now +became Earl of Lovelace. + +[524] Eldest son of the Duke of Leeds, who died in the following month. + +[525] In 1847, when the offer was repeated, Lord Melbourne wrote to the +Queen that “for a long time he had found himself much straitened in his +circumstances” and that “he knows that the expense of accepting the +ribbon amounts to £1,000, and there has been of late years no period at +which it would not have been seriously inconvenient to him to pay down +such a sum.” + +[526] With the exception of Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Palmerston, no +Prime Minister, as such, has accepted the Garter in recent times. + +[527] Sir Sotherton Peckham-Micklethwait, of Iridge Place, Sussex. +Created a baronet “for a personal service rendered to Her Majesty and +the Duchess of Kent at St. Leonards in Nov. 1834.” See _ante_, p. 104. + +[528] Clarenceux King-of-Arms, afterwards Garter. + +[529] Edward Maltby (1770–1859), Bishop of Durham, to which he had been +recently translated from Chichester. + +[530] The ceremonial as described by the Queen does not compare +favourably with those of King Edward or King George, when hardly +a mistake was made by any of those officiating. The ritual at the +Coronation of King Edward was especially difficult, owing to the age +and infirmities of Archbishop Temple. + +[531] Lord Surrey was son and heir of the Earl Marshal, the twelfth +Duke of Norfolk, whom he succeeded in 1842. He married Charlotte +Sophia, daughter of the first Duke of Sutherland. + +[532] The Litany was omitted at the Coronation of King Edward VII., and +reintroduced at the Coronation of King George V. + +[533] The robe is exhibited in the London Museum at Kensington Palace. + +[534] Second son of Louis Philippe. He was offered two thrones, Belgium +in 1831 and Greece in 1832, but declined both. See _ante_, p. 130. + +[535] This has been remedied by the recent custom of giving a +Viscountcy to any Secretary of State who is raised to the Peerage. + +[536] Nicholas, third Baron Audley by writ and tenth by tenure, fought +in the wars with France 1359 and 1372. His sister Joan married Sir John +Tuchet, killed at Rochelle, 1371, and her grandson succeeded to the +title. On the death, in 1872, of the twenty-first Baron (son of George +Edward Thicknesse Touchet, twentieth Baron, whom the Queen and Lord +Melbourne were discussing), the barony fell into abeyance between his +daughters. + +[537] Eldest son of the Duke of Sutherland, and nine years old. He +succeeded his father as third Duke in 1861. + +[538] Eldest son of Lord Conyngham, and thirteen years old. Succeeded +as third Marquess in 1876, and died in 1882. + +[539] Eldest son of Lord Uxbridge, seventeen years old. Died in 1880. + +[540] This was certainly an error of judgment on the part of Lord +Melbourne. The Queen’s appearance on horseback, in the uniform still to +be seen in the London Museum at Kensington Palace, was extraordinarily +fascinating, and added greatly to the interest of any Review at which +she appeared. + +[541] The Queen evidently did not grasp a name unfamiliar to her. +The ratification of the Treaty of Amiens was sent over by Napoleon +in charge of Colonel Lauriston, his A.D.C. When this officer left +the house of M. Otto in London to deliver his credentials to Lord +Hawkesbury, the scene occurred which the Queen here describes. The +carriage was accompanied to Downing Street by a guard of honour of the +Household Cavalry. + +[542] Afterwards first Baron Lyons of Christchurch (1790–1858). At +this time Minister Plenipotentiary at Athens. In 1853, war with Russia +being imminent, he was appointed second in command of the fleet in the +Mediterranean, and displayed boldness and initiative in the attack on +the sea defences of Sebastopol. He became Commander-in-Chief in 1855, +and, on the termination of the war, a Peer. + +[543] The dukedom of Montagu, created in 1766, become extinct at the +death of the first Duke in 1790. + +[544] In later years Edward Geoffrey, fourteenth Earl of Derby, three +times Prime Minister, was reported to have refused a dukedom, on the +ground that he would not exchange his Earl’s coronet, which dated from +the fifteenth century, for a set of new strawberry leaves. + +[545] Lord Melbourne’s private secretary. He afterwards served Prince +Albert in a similar capacity. See Vol. II. p. 37. + +[546] He was for a time _Attaché_ to the British Embassy in Paris, and +died in 1847. + +[547] A lovely portrait of her by Gainsborough is the property of Lord +Rothschild at Tring Park. + +[548] Lord Seymour bore, by courtesy, the only other title of his +father, the Duke of Somerset. So there was not a third title available +for the grandson, as is the case in other families of ducal rank. + +[549] Thomas Sheridan, actor and lecturer on elocution. Published in +1780 a General Dictionary of the English Language with a special view +to teaching pronunciation. A work of phonetic rather than philological +value. + +[550] Eldest surviving son of the third Marquess of Lansdowne, and +afterwards fourth Marquess. The elder brother (Lord Kerry) had died +without male issue. + +[551] Aunt of Lord Shelburne. She was a daughter of the fourth Earl of +Bessborough. + +[552] Lord Shelburne married in 1840 Lady Georgina Herbert, daughter +of the eleventh Earl of Pembroke. She died in the following year. In +1843 he married the Hon. Emily Elphinstone-de-Flahaut, in her own right +Baroness Nairne. + +[553] Formerly Lady Cavendish. Her husband had succeeded as second Earl +of Burlington in 1834. See _ante_, p. 53. She died in 1840. + +[554] George, fifth Earl of Essex (1757–1839). + +[555] Ladies of unblemished character, retired from the stage, were +permitted to appear at Court. + +[556] Charles, Earl Grey, the ex-Prime Minister, who rarely came to +town at this period of his life, and must have been a novelty for the +Queen. + +[557] Count Stroganoff was the special representative of the Czar at +the Coronation. + +[558] His son who died, aged four years, in 1783. + +[559] Lady Sarah Lennox, who was a daughter of the second Duke of +Richmond, married first, Sir Thomas Charles Bunbury, secondly the Hon. +George Napier. George III. was undoubtedly much attracted by this +lady. By her second marriage she became the “Mother of the Napiers,” a +designation almost as famous in the British history of the Napoleonic +Wars as the “Mother of the Gracchi” in Republican Rome. + +[560] Daughters of John Gunning, of Castle Coote. See _ante_, p. 215. + +[561] Lord Alfred Paget. See _ante_, p. 226. + +[562] See _ante_, p. 310. + +[563] Mehemet Ali, the Pasha, having announced his intention to pay no +more tribute to the Porte (an action equivalent to a declaration of +independence), great efforts were made by the representatives of the +Powers to induce him to reconsider his decision. + +[564] The French Ambassador in London. + +[565] Baron Heinrich von Bülow, many years Prussian representative in +London, afterwards Prussian Minister for Foreign Affairs. + +[566] The adjustment of the debt between Holland and Belgium. + +[567] The equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington stood on the arch +at Hyde Park Corner from 1846 to 1883. It excited much ridicule at the +time of its erection. There was a question of its removal, but the Duke +of Wellington strongly opposed the suggestion. He said that he never +wished his statue to be put upon the Arch, but once there, there it +should remain. It was removed nearly forty years later to Aldershot. +Recently some prancing horses and a chariot have taken the place of old +Copenhagen and the Duke. + +[568] As an illustration of the vagaries of “taste” in Art, it may be +mentioned that this statue is now considered one of the most successful +in London. + +[569] This refers to the reading by the Queen of her “Speech.” + +[570] All this paragraph refers to the disputes between Belgium and +Holland over their respective financial responsibilities. + +[571] Afterwards Sir John MacNeill. He had been sent as Envoy to +Teheran to try to prevent the Shah attacking the Afghans. + +[572] Lord Melbourne was a “low Churchman and an Erastian,” like so +many of the Whigs of that day. + +[573] This love of straight dealing and dislike of flattery were +lifelong characteristics of the Queen. + +[574] In 1815 Belgium and Holland were, by the action of the European +Powers at the Congress of Vienna, united into one Kingdom. This led to +constant friction and even to open hostilities between the two nations, +and in 1831 a Conference of the Powers decreed a dissolution of the +Union, and drew up a Treaty, but the division of territory again led +to a war which is chiefly notable for the siege of Antwerp in 1832. In +1838 Holland announced for the first time her readiness to accede to +the provisions of the Treaty of 1832. The Belgians claimed that this +acquiescence came too late, but under pressure of the Powers she had +in the end to give her assent. During this excitement the failure of +the Bank of Brussels produced a financial crisis which caused great +distress among the people. + +[575] Count von Senfft Pilsach was Austrian Minister at The Hague, and +came to England in 1838 as Austrian Plenipotentiary at the Conference +which took place in London to settle the Separation of Holland and +Belgium. He signed the Treaty of 1839 on behalf of Austria. + +[576] Member for Oxford University. He had displaced Sir Robert Peel at +the time of the Tory split on Catholic Emancipation. + +[577] This was common Whig doctrine up to the Crimean War, when the +unreadiness of the Military Authorities caused a reaction, which +indirectly led to the fall of the Aberdeen Government. + +[578] Wife of Warren Hastings. + +[579] Melbourne House stood on the site of the Albany. See Vol. II., p. +96. + +[580] In 1771 the Duke of Cumberland secretly married Anne, daughter +of Lord Irnham (afterwards Earl of Carhampton) and widow of Andrew +Horton. Her brother was Colonel Luttrell, the opponent of Wilkes. Not +long afterwards, the Duke of Gloucester made public the fact of his +marriage to the Dowager Countess Waldegrave. These two marriages led +to the passing of the Royal Marriage Act, which governs (with certain +exceptions) the marriages of all descendants of George II. See _ante_, +p. 333, and Vol. II., p. 43. + +[581] Lord Melbourne modified this opinion next day. + +[582] Partly in consequence of his intrigues with the Prince of Wales +against Pitt in the matter of the Regency Bill. + +[583] Brownlow North, Bishop successively of Lichfield, Worcester, and +Winchester. + +[584] See note, _post_, p. 397. + +[585] Mary, daughter of the first Viscount Galway, married, as his +second wife, Edmund, seventh Earl of Cork. She died in 1840. + +[586] _Remarks on an Article for the “Edinburgh Review” on the Times +of George III. and George IV._, by General Sir Herbert Taylor, who had +been Secretary successively to the Duke of York, George III., Queen +Charlotte, and William IV. + +[587] _A Diary illustrative of the Times of George IV._, published in +1838. See _ante_, p. 310. + +[588] Lady Anne Hamilton was a lady-in-waiting of Caroline, wife of +George IV., whom she accompanied to England in 1820. _The Secret +History of the Court_ was published without her name, but the +authorship was never disputed. + +[589] Lord Guilford was the son of Lord North, George III.’s Minister, +and his sister, here mentioned, was Lady Charlotte Lindsay, wife of +Lieut.-Col. Hon. John Lindsay. See _ante_, p. 392. + +[590] James Kenney (1780–1849), a successful dramatist. He was the +original Jeremy Diddler in his own _Raising the Wind_, when it was +acted by amateurs. The play was subsequently performed at Covent Garden. + +[591] Granville Penn (1761–1844), grandson of William Penn, the founder +of Pennsylvania. + +[592] Lady Emmeline Wortley, daughter of the fifth Duke of Rutland, +wife of Charles Stuart Wortley. Her daughter, Victoria, goddaughter +of the Duchess of Kent, afterwards Lady Welby-Gregory, was sometime a +maid-of-honour to the Queen. + +[593] Granville, Earl Gower (1721–1803), had sat for Westminster before +his accession to the Peerage. Thereafter he was Lord Privy Seal, Lord +Chamberlain and President of the Council. He was created Marquess +of Stafford, and K.G. He married Lady Louisa Egerton, daughter and +co-heiress of Scrope, first Duke of Bridgwater. + + + + + Transcriber’s Notes: + + • Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + • Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75138 *** |