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UEfUTY hUJ-iaHNTKNDENT OF EDUCATION FOR THK PROVINCE OF ONTAHIO (LATK Cl'PKU CANADA). LONDON : SAMPSON LOW, SON, & MARSTON, CKOVVN BUILDINCS, 188, FLEET STKEET. MONTHEAL : DAWfON BKOTIIKRS ; TOUOXTO : W. C. CHEWITT AND CO.; -MELUoiitNi:: oeoi:ge kobeiitson; Adelaide: e. s. wigg; IIOUAIiT TOWN : WALCH AND SONS. 1«G8. [TAe Jiight of TYamlatvm is reserved.] 1 ■ ^ L^ T>/}5r6. Hii lONDON: PUDJTKD BY WnXIAU OU)WKS AND SONS, flTAJIFORI> 8TRKKT AMD CHARING CROSP. PREFATORY NOTE. -•o*- The following Sketches and Anecdotes have been chiefly taken from the miscellaneous selections which have appeared, from time to time, in the Journal of Education for Upper Canada. The object of their original publication in that periodical was twofold — first, to furnish appropriate selections for Friday readings in the schoolroom — and secondly, to familiarize the youth of the country with the admirable personal qualities of our beloved Sovereign, her late lamented Consort, and the other members of the Koyal Family. The Sketches and Anecdotes (as they originally appeared), being scattered through twenty volumes lOS. DOS'? IV PliEFA TOR Y NO TE. of the Journal, the editor has deemed it advisable to collect and arrange them in a separate form, so as to render them easily accessible to those who have not already seen them, or who raav d(>siro to have them in a more convenient form. The long distance which separates us from the home of our Sovereign — with all of that undefined prestige which attaches to tlie abode of royalty — renders a more intimate acquaintance with the personal character and many excellencies of our beloved Queen the more desirable. Those among us who have been in England, and have felt and witnessed the effects of the influence of the Queen's presence among her people, do not so much feel the absence of that influence in this country. But it is otherwise with the many thou- sands of our population who have never been in England, and who are, therefore, dependent upon otlier influences and sources of information for the development of that personal love for the Sovereign and loyalty to her throne whicli so happily charac- terize us as a people. PliEFATOJiY NOTJ:. y With a view to coiitril.uto to tliis mcsl dv.Wahlr object, tlie writer luis bmi inducnl to colloet an.l edit these miscellaneous sketches and anecdotes, chiefly ilhistrative of tlie domestic life and personal qualities of our most gracious Sovereign, and oth.r members of tlie royal household. 'T. C. H. Toronto, September, 1808. CONTENTS. I. — ANECDOTES OF THhi QUEENS E.\K!,V lAlK. Bisliop Fulford's Kominiscenccs of tlio Prinooss Victoria — Tho Queen's Cliildhood — Tli«^ Princess Victoria's generous kind- ness to a Young Lady — The Princess Victoria's Kindness of Heart — The Young Queen: a beautiful incident— Delicacy of the Youthful Queen to the Queen Dowager — Tho Queen's Oath at her Coronation— The Queen's Early Training — The Queen and her Father's Creditors — Tho Qu^'cn's Early In- structors — Judicious Training of the Duchess of Kent — The Princess Victoria coming of Age — Incidents of the Queen's Accession — The Queen's Early Career : her Marriage — Ex- cellent Social Influence of the Queen .... 17- J'AIK 4.') II.— THE QUEENS DOMESTIC LIFE. Teachers and Nurses in tlie Queen's Household— The Queen's two Daughters and the Housemaid — Jnduritrial Etlucation of the Queen's Children — Education in the Natural Sciences— The Birds and the Littlft Princes — Tobacco prohibited at Windsor Castle— The Queen's Daily Life . . .40 -5:\ Vlll COS TENTS. III.— Tin; (ilKKs's (iOOUNEHS OF IIKAIIT AS A KOVKUEION. I'AUK All Knily lii» iilcut of ilic! Queen's Clemency — A Ileeent Tnci- •Icnt of (he Qiiem'rt (;i( nienry -The Quten nnd the *• Trent" L'ltiniatnni — 'I'lie (Ju(» n as a Peucemuker . . . ii-i — Ml IV. — TlIK QUF.IIS'S ACnVK IJKXKVOLEN'CE AND SYMl'ATIIY. 'I'he Qiieen ih(( Proreotrops of Madnjjasonr Chribtians — Th«.' (JiKi'U Knij^lits a Coloured Jliin-— Synipathy lor the Hartley ^^ Colliery SiiU'tnr.s — 'i'he (iuec.n'.s Visit to the Victoria Hospital, Netley — The Queen's Visit tn a "NV(»rkhouse— The Queen us u Cali'chiser — The Queen as a Scripture Keader— The Queen's Syiii]tathy for her Thysician — The (Jueen's Sympathy for her Children's (Joverness — The Quetn's Kespect for her Dressing- Maid's Memory — The Queen ns a Sanitary lveft)rn)(r — The Queen and her Spinning-wheel — The Queen's School in Windsor Forest Tho Queen's Visit to Lord ICllesmere's School — The Qncin and Ihe Sunday School Children — The (,>ui(n and Jenny Lind — The (Juci-n and the Workpeople at Ciiristinas— The(Jiieen's Portrait for the People — The Queen's Portrait for IMr. Peal)ody — The Queen and St, Thomas's Hospital — Locking uj) the Tower of London — Our Country and our Queen ^Poetry) G2 — OG v.— Till-: quei:n in iii:ii Scottish home. TIh! Queen in tho Highlands — The Queen as "Lady of the ^^nnor" — 'I'ho Queen and tie Schools at Balmoial — Tiie . (iueen at Divine Sirvico in Scotland — Tho (iueeu in the Cottages of the Scottish Poor— The Queen's Visit to Old People at Balmoral — The Queen and her Balmoral Dependants — The; Que( n's Promise to a Scotch liassit — The (iucen and th(^ Duke of Atholc— The Queen's Visit to the Duchess of Athole— lioyal Prjoicings at the Fall of Sebastopol . 97 — llo T* CONTEXTS. IX Vr. — THE QUKEK IK ENOLAND. TAQC QiU'on Victoria in lior own Capital — Popularity of tlio Qnncu and tlu) Royal Family — IVrHOiial l/>yalty tt» tlu' QticcMi in Kiiu;- land — Canadian Loyalty for tho Qiiccu — Hurrah ! llurraii ! fur Canada iroetry) IIU— 122 VII. — PUHLIC ESTIMATE OP THE QUEEN A8 A niTI.ER. Stability of tho Queen's Thron(!— Trainin;j: of the Royal Cliild- ron — Chrintianity tho Secret of Kngland's Stiihility — Lovo of the Qnt'cn for Domestic Tiift — American Review of (Jueen Vietoria'd Reign — French Apprceiation of Queen Victoria — ■ Lord !Mtjrpeth on tho Career of Queen Victoria — Mr. Shell on tho Queen's Visit to Public Institutions — Tjord Rroughani'g Estimate of tho Queen — The Queen's Devotion to Public AfTairs-Tho Secret of England's (ireatness (Poetry) . 123— Ml VIII. — THE PRIXCK COKSOIIT. Sketch of Prince Albert's Early Life — Prince Albert's Child- hood — Sagacity of the Prince in Publie Affairs— I'rineo Albert the Queen's Counsellor — The Prince and the Royal Library at "Windsor — I'rinco Albi-rt's Rcivtrenco for the IJiblo — Pnidence and I'ersonal Activity of the (Jueen and Princo Consort — The Prince's (iood Sense and Nobleness of Cha- racter — The Queen a rare example of a Constitutional Sove- reign — Baron Bnnsen and the Royal Family — 'I'ythr, tho Historian of Scotland, with the Queen and her Children 1-12 — IGl IX. — ILLNESS AND DEATH OK THK IMUXCE CONSORT. The Prince's last Sunday — Touching Fortitude of the Princess Alice — Tho Fatal Crisis — Affectionate Solicitude of the Queen and her Children — Touching and Xoble Conduct of the Queen — Crief of the Young Prince Leoix)ld — The I'rince Consort's Last Hours and Religions Preparation — The Queen on her Bereavement — Religious Influence on the Prince of tho Prin- cess Royal 1G2— 173 h CONTENTS. X. — INCIDENTS OF THE PRINCES FUNERAL. I'AGE Touoliirif; Grief of tlic Bereaved Princes — Impressive Scene at the Funeral— Reading of the Burial Service — The Body Lowered into the Vault — Bitter Grief of the Mourners pre- sent — Concluding Incidents of tlie Touching Ceremony — Tho "Wreaths from Osborne on the Prince's Coffin . . 174 — 184 XI. — THE QUEEN IN HER WIDOWHOOD. Prince Albert's Mausoleum — Windsor ]\Iemorial Statue of Prince Albert — The Queen's Gratitude for the Albert IVIemorial — Ballast Heavers' Address to the Queen — Tho Queen at Prince Albert's Birthj)lacc — The Queen and tho Canadian Libraries — The Prince's Will at Glenc.sk — The Queen's Apology for her Seclusion — Personal Appearance of tho Queen — Tho Queen at the Opening of Parlia- ment — The Queen and Royal Family at a Review — The Queen in the By-streets of London — Personal Affection for the Queen by her Subjects — Newman Hall on the Queen at Aldershot 185-218 XII. — THE PRINCESS ROYAL (CROWN PRINCESS OF PRUSSIA). Tlie Princess Royal as an Artist — Incidents at the Iklarriage of the I'rincess Royal -The Princess at a Berlin Fair — Her gene- rous Kindness — The I'rincess in Prussia : the Queen her un- failing Authority — Tho Princess and the Municipal Authority of Berlin — Domestic Life of the Cro\ra Princess — The Crown Princess and the Empress Eugenic .... 219 — 238 XIII. — THE PRINCE OF WALES. King Edward VI. and the Prince of Wales — The Prince of Wales and Canada— Character and Acquirements of the Prince of Wales— Toucb.ing Letter from tho Prince of Wales — Tho Prince of Wale.s in the House of Lords — Tho Prince of Wales at Jerusalem — The Prince witnesses the Samaritan Passover — The Prince at the IMosque of Hebron . . . 239— 253 CONTENTS. XI XIV. — THE PRINCESS ALEXANDRA. FAtiK Tlic Princess Alexandra's "Welcome to Englniul — Reception of the Princess Alexandra in Knjijland — The Princess's Progress tlirnugli London — Personal Appearance of the Princess — Marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alexandra — The Princess Alexandra at Cambridge — The Prince and Princess of Wales in Denmark — The Princess Alexandra's Christmas Gift — Present from the Queen to her Grandson Victor 254—277 XV. — PRINCE ALFRED (dUKE OF EDINBURGH). Prince Alfred under Discipline — Prince Alfred's Visit to Cape Colony — Prince Alfred's Kespect for the Sabbath — Shooting at Prince Alfred at Sydney — Botanicfil Incidents of the Prince's Visit — The Prince's Australian Natural History Col- lection — Reappearance of Prince Alfred in Sydney — The Prince and the Pistols of tlie Assassin — Portraits of the Prince at Sydney — The Prince and the New Town Hall of Sydney — Presents to Prince Alfred on leaving Australia — Presents given by Prince Alfred on leaving Sydney — De- parture of tlie Duke of Edinbargh from Australia — Prince Alfred's Farewell to Australia 278—300 'I' ifi hi LIST or ILLUSTRATIONS. The Queen's First Council Frontispiece. The Duchess of Kent and the Pkincess Victoria Break- fasting IN THE Open Aiu .... . Piigc 22 The Queen's Children Gardening 4S The Queen's Visit to Netley Victoria Hospital . . Co The Queen Reading the Scriptures to an Aged rAinsinoNER at Osroune '1 The Queen Inscribing her Na3ie in the Yorkshire Farmer's BiiiLE ... . . . . . . . 152 The Queen at Aldershot 218 Shooting at the Duke of Edinburgh at Sydney . . 283 SKETCHES AND AXECDOTES. -•«^ I. ANECDOTES OF THE QUEEN'S EARLY LIFE. 71 . 21^8 . 283 DR. FULFOIIDS HEMINISCENCES OF THE PRINCESS VICTORIA.* Bishop Fulfoud, in a speech at Montreal, thus referred to the Queen's early life : Her Majesty, Queen Victoria] (lie said), was born at Kensinfj^ton, in 1819, and he still remem- bered, that, in the autumn of that year, when the Queen was about four months old, he met tlie nurse carrying the royal infant, and she was good enough to allow him and the friend that accompanied him to see the baby in her arms. There were then many * From a speech delivered at Montreal by the ]\Iost Rev. Dr. Fulford, Bishop of JNIontreal, and Metropohtan of Canada, at a meeting for the erection of a statue of the Queen. C Ill 18 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. chauces against that infant ever wearing the crown. Besides the possibility of her dying young, there were others between her and the tlirone. But these had died, leaving the crown to devolve upon Victoria. He could not, when he looked ujion the infant, fore- see, nor could he venture to predict the future which was in store for lier ; but miglit not very much of that prophetic eulogy in Shakspeare have been ap- plied to her : " And the words I er Let none think flattery, for they'U find them truth Tliis Koyal infant, (heaven still move ahout her !) Thongh in a cradle, yet now promises Upon this hand a thousand thousand blessings, Which time shall bring to ripeness : She shall be (But few now living can behold that goodness) A pattern to all princes living with her, And all that shall succeed : Sheba was never More covetous of wisdom, and fair virtue. Than this pure soul shall be : all princely graces. That mould up such a mighty piece as this is, With all the virtues that attend the good. Shall still be doubled on her : truth shall nurse her, Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel her ; 'ic shall bo lov'd and fear'd : Her own shall bless her : Her foes shake like a field of beaten corn, And hang their heads with sorrow : good grows with her In her days every man shall eat in safety I THE QUEEN'S EAIiLY LIFE. 10 ! crown. ^, there it these /"ictoria. nt, fore- e which niich of ccn ap- ler Under his own vine, what he plants : ami sing The merry songs of peace to all his neighbours : God shall be truly known ; and those about her From her shall read the perfect ways of honour, And by those claim their greatness, not by blood/' Such were some of the many things hound up in that infant. She was then hein^r trained uu witli all that care whieli was to fit her for tlie performance of that work which was so soon to devolve upon her. The Bishryp further said that eighteen years after, he passed on the road William IV., ou his way to London to hold a levee. It was the last he ever held. On his return, he was taken ill, and soon afterwards died at AVindsor. At the same place (Kensington), where eighteen years ago she first saw the light, Victoria now received the intelligence that she was the jiossessor of the crown of one of the most important nations that had a place in history. The first words she said to the Archbishop who brought her the intelligence were to request his Grace to pray for her. The I^rime Minister, Lord IMelbourne, ar- rived at nine o'clock, and had an interview, and im- mediately after summonses were issued for a Privy Council to meet at Kensington Palace at eleven. 20 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. We saw here a mighty empire passing down without a word of discontent from the hands of a vigorous man into the hands of a vouno: and tender female, and the British empire witli its dejiendencies moved on without a check. A proclamation was issued by the new Queen to her subjects ; and he would recall to their memory a few words which she then uttered — very remarkable when viewed in connection with the experience of the past. After announcing the fact of her accession to the crown, her Majesty went on to the following effect : " This awful responsibility is imposed upon me at so early a period that I would be oppressed with it, were it not for the confident expectation that the Divine Providence which has called me to the work, will give me strength to per- form it ; and that I shall find my zeal in the service a recompense for the ability which usually belongs to a longer exj)erience. Educated in England, under the tender care of a most affectionate mother, I have learned to respect the constitution of my native country." These were the words uttered in her first legal communication with her subjects. And had she not nobly redeemed them ? They did not expect to see her Majesty personally ' \ THE QUEEN'S CHILDHOOD. 21 1 Avitliout vigorous r female, js moved issued by lid recall ittered — with the the fact went on sibility is I would confident lich has 1 to per- service longs to , under I have native er first id had tonally among them, but they should do something by way of erecting a lasting memorial to the Queen as a token to their children and children's children, of the loyal respect they cherished for the good name of good Queen Victoria. THE QUEENS CHILDHOOD. In the second volume of the " Passages of a AYork- ing Life," the following little reminiscence of the year 1827, wlnle Mr. Knight lived at Bromptou, occurs : — I delighted to walk in Kensington Gardens, some- times on a holiday afternoon, with my elder girls — more frequently in the early morning, on my way to town. Glancing in the intervals of my present task of reviving old memories, at the work of a poet, who ought to be more widely known, I find these lines : — " Once as 1 strayed, a student happiest then, What time the summer garniture was on, Beneath the princely shades of Kensington A girl I spied, whose years might numl)er ten, With full round eyes and fair soft English lace." Ill I !« I 22 SKETCIIJCS AND ANECDOTES. In sufli a soason \vhon the sun was scarcely liigli enougli to liave diicd up tlio dews of Kensington's green alleys, as I passed along the l»road central walk, I saw a group on the lawn before the Palace, which to my uiind was a vision of exquisite loveli- ness. The I )ueliess of Kent and her daughter, wliose years then numbered nine, are breakfasting in the 02)en air — a single page attending on them at a re- spectful distance, the matron looking on with eyes of love, while the fair soft English face is bright with smiles. The world of fasliion is not yet astir. Clerks and mechanics passing onward to their occupations are few ; and they exhibit nothing of that vulgar curiosity which I think is more commonly found in the class of the merely rich than in the ranks below them in the world's estimation. What a beautiful characteristic it seems to me of the training of this royal girl that she should not have been taught to shrink from the public eye ; that she should enjoy the freedom rad simplicity of a child's nature; that she should not be restrained when she starts up from the breakfast table and runs to gather a flower in the adjoining pasture ; that her merry laugh should be as fearless as the notes of thrushes round her. I fly liigli siiigtou's eciitml Palace, 13 loveli- er, whoso iiitl 10 at a rc- itli eyes rht uitli Clerl vS iiputioiis •uli :ar ) 11 lid 111 below uutifiil I of this i-lit to eiijoy ; that ) from Ivor in thould u hii rniNCESS VICTORIA'S KINDNESS. 23 passed oil and blessed her ; and tlumk God I liavo lived to sec tlio golden fruits of such truiiiiug. THE PRINCESS VICTORIAS GENEROUS KINDNESS TO A YOUNG LADY. The followinj^ admirable trait iu the character of the Queen may not bo generally known : — When Princess Victoria, she is said frequently to have amused herself by going, incofjmto, in a carriage to different shops, and derived great entertainment, when divested of the appendages attendant upon royalty, in observing as a passive spectator the in- finite variety of incidents and occupations with which London abounds. Being one day at a jeweller's, among many other objects that attracted her atten- tion, was one that fixed it. This was a young and intelligent lady, who was most sedulously employed in looking over different gold chains for the neck, which were alternately presented to her for inspec- tion. After she had admired several, she asked the price of one which seemed to have peculiarly struck her fancy. The price was more than she imagined it would have been. 24 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. tli " Could it not bo offered cheaper ?" she asked. ** Impossible," was the reply. The young lady seemed disconcerted, examined the chain again, took it uji, and finally laid it down again, appearing to part from it with reluctance. However, she at length admitted that the price was far too high, chose a much cheaper one, whic^h she ordered to be sent home, and went away. The young Princess "Victoria, who had silently observed the diiferent workings of the mind of the lady as dis- played in her countenance, inquired who she was, and upon receiving satisfactory information, ordered the firm to pack up the gold chain which had so attracted her attention with the one she had pur- chased, and send it with a card, signifying that the Princess Victoria was so well pleased with observing that the young lady who had been so much taken with the beauty and workmanship of the chain, had yet so much command of her passions as not to suffer these to overcome her prudence, that she, therefore, in token of her approval, desired her to accept the chain which she so much admired, in the hope that she would always persevere in that laudable line of con- duct upon which female happiness so much depended. ii PRINCESS VICTORIA'S KINDNESS. on i,0 THE PRIN0ES8 VICTORIA'S KINDNESS OP HEART.* While tlio Queen's fatlier, the Duke of Kent, was ut Gibraltar, the regiment which ho comniunded was discontented and inclined to mutiny; he hud one servant named Ilillman, who remained faithful to him. When the Duke returned home from Gibral- tar he brought this servant with him, and assigned him a cottage near his palace at Kensington. Be- fore his death the Duke charged his wife to look after Hillman and his family. This she faithfully did; and often brought the Princess Victoria with her to see them. At length, Hillman died, leaving one son and a daughter ; the son was a little fellow, and was very sickly. The Princess Victoria (who was a young girl at that time) used often to come and see this little boy until his death. The daughter was also very ill : she had a complication of diseases. Her pastor, the Rev. Dr. Vaughan, who was lately in Cauc, ''a, used to visit her about once a fortnight. Two days after the accession of the Queen to the * This anecdote was related to the editor hy the late "Rev. Dr. Vaughan (a distinguished Congregational minister), while on a visit to Canada in 1864. I 20 SKETCnES AND ANECDOTES. throne, her pastor visited her as usual, and found her looking unusually bright. He asked her the reason : she put her hand under the pillow, and drew forth a book of Psalms. " Look there," she said ; " look what the new Queen has sent me to- day by one of her ladies, with the message, that ' though now Queen of England, as she had to leave Kensington, she did not forget me.' " Tlie lady who brought the book told her that the lines and figures in the margin were the dates of the days on which the Queen herself used to read them, and that the marker with the little peacock on it was worked by the Princess' own hand. The young girl burst into tears, and said, " Was it not beautiful, sir ?" THE YOUNG QUEEN — A BK\UTIFUL INCIDENT. William lY. expired about midnight, at Windsor Palace. The Archbishop of Canterbury, with other peers and high functionaries of the kingdom, were in attendance. As soon as the " sceptre had departed " with the last breath of the King, the Archbishop quitted Windsor Castle, and made his way, with all possible speed, to Kensington Palace, the residence THE YOUNG QUEEN. 27 at the time of tlie Princess, already, by the law of succession, Queen Victoria. He arrived long before daylight, announced himself, and requested an imme- diate interview with the Princess. She hastily attired herself, and met the venerable prelate in her anteroom. He informed her of the demise of King William IV., and formally announced to her that she was, in law and right, successor to the deceased mo- narch. " The sovereignty of the most powerful na- tion of the earth lay at the feet of a girl of eighteen." She was, de jure, queen of the only realm, in iact, of history, " on which the sun never seti." She was deeply agitated at the " formidable words, so fraught with blessings or calamity." The first words she was able to utter were these, " I ask your prayers in my behalf." They knelt down together ; and Vic- toria inaugurated her reign, like the young King of Israel in the olden time, by asking from the Most High, who ruleth in the kingdoms of men, " an un- derstanding heart to judge so great a people, who could not he numbered nor counted for multitude." The sequel of the Queen's reign has been worthy of such a beginning. Every throne of Europe has tottered since that day. Most of them have for a 28 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. time overturned. That of England was never so firmly seated in the loyalty and love of the people as at this hour. Queen Victoria enjoys a personal influence, too — the heartfelt homage as a wife, a mother, a friend and benefactor to the poor, a Chris- tian woman — incomparably wdser and greater than any monarch now reigning. She is loved at home and admired abroad. Throughout America there exists a more profound and abiding respect for Victoria than perhaps for any other living person. I ; A R ' DELICACY OF THE YOUTHFUL QUEEN TO THE QUEEN DOWAGER. Mr. S. F. B. Mor«'e relates in the New York Jour- nal of Commerce this anecdote of Queen Victoria of England : — " I was in London in 1838, and was pre- sent with my excellent friend the late Charles R. Leslie, R.A., at the imposing ceremonies of the coronation of the Queen in Westminster Abbey. He then related to me the following incident, which I think may truly be said to have been the first act of her reign : When her predecessor, William IV., died, a messenger was immediately despatched by his DELICACY OF TEE QUEEN. 29 Queen (tlien become by his death Queen Dowager) to Victoria, apprising her of the event. She imme- diately called for paper, and indited a letter of con- dolence to the widow. Folding it, she directed it * To the Queen of England.' Her maid of honour in attendance, noticing the inscription, said, ' Your Majesty, you arc Queen of England.' * Yes,' she replied, *but the widowed Queen is not to be re- minded of the fact first by me.' This, indeed, is but one of the many incidents illustrative of that delicate consideration for the feelings of others for which she is personally distinguished. We can no longer wonder at that manifestation of enthusiasm which the mere mention of the name of their Queen excites in the breast of her subjects. It is not so much the throne as the personal character of its incumbent which gives to English loyalty its strength and beauty, although in the present case both position and character, doubtless, unite to intensify the sentiment." m *^ ' i 1- ■ ■ t 30 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. THE queen's oath AT HER CORONATION. It is now more than a quarter of a century since Queen Victoria, then a fair-haired, bhie-eyed girl, took the oatli at her coronation in Westminster Abbey. She stood forth with calm self-reliance in that proud and imposing assembly of all the nobility, learning, genius, and beauty of her realm, under the towering arches of that most venerable build- ing, and swore to govern them according to their ancient laws. The Archbishop of Canterbury ad- vanced towards the Queen, and addressed her Majesty thus : *' Madam, is your Majesty willing to take the oath ?" The Queen answered, " I am willing." Then said the Archbishop, " Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the Statutes in Parliament agreed on, and the respective laws and customs of the same ?" The Queen : " I solemnly promise so to do." The Archhishop: "Will you, to the utmost of If c THE QUEEN'S COBONATION OATH 31 ry since ed girl, hninster iance in nobility, , under e build- to their iiry ad- ed her -ke the lemnlv |of this [d, and to the lective i 1 Jl % 1 •a your power, cause law and justice in mercy to be executed in all your judgments ?" The Qweew;"! will." The Archhishoj) : " Will you, to the utmost of your j^ower, maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gosj)el and the Protestant reformed religion established by law? — and will you maintain and preserve inviolable the settlement of the United Church of England and Ireland, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established within England and Ireland, and the territories thereunto belon<]:inj>: ? And will vou preserve unto the bishops and clergy of England and Ireland, and to the churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertam to them, or any of them ?" Tlie Queen : " All this I promise to do." Then the Queen, arising out of her chair, attended by her supporters, and assisted by the Lord Great Chamberlain, the sword of State alone being carried before her Majesty, proceeded to the altar, where, kneelinn: on the cushion placed steps. laying her right hand on the Holy Gospel in the 32 BEET ORES .AND ANECDOTES. I I ; I I Jl r 1 i 11 I I Great Bible which had been carried in the pro- cession, she took the coronation oath, saying these words : — " The things which I have herebefore promised I will perform and keep, so help me God." Then the Queen kissed the book, and to a tran- script of the oath set her royal sign manual. Such were the obligations to which Queen Vic- toria solemnly pledged herself at her coronation, in 1838, and who shall say that they have not been per- formed ? It is to this sacred performance of her duties that she owes her present firm position on the throne. THE queen's early TRAINING. The following passages are froin a sketch of Queen Victoria, written by IVIrs. S. J. Hale, for tlie Woman's Becord. The interesting view in wliich the mother of the Queen appears will be readily aj^preciated ; a noble woman truly, to whose wisdom and fidelity the virtues of Victoria are a lasting tribute of honour : • Victoria, the reigning Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, was born at Kensington Palace, May 24, 1819. Her father was Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth 1 THE QUEEN'S EAJiLY TEATNTNa. 33 the pro- ine: these romised I to a tran- [. leen Vic- nation, in been per- se of her on on the |of Queen Woman's mother liated ; a |elity the mour : Itain and ^lay 24, ;, fourth son of George III., and licr mother was Victoria j\[aria Louisa, daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg. Left a widow wlicn her delicate infant was about t'ight months okl, the Duchess of Kent devoted her- self to the great purjwse of training her daughter to be worthy of the crown wliich it seemed probable that she might wear. Queen Victoria is, therefore, the exponent of female nature rightly cultivated for the highest station a mortal can inherit by birth. The means by which this instruction was perfected, and the results to humanity, are studies for the statesman, philosopher, and Christian. In our brief sketch we shall only all'ule to some of the small circumstances, yet really great events, because influencing a mind that was to have a vast influence on other minds. The ordering and train- ing of Queen Victoria was entirely the work of her wise-hearted mother, and chiefly accomplished by female airencies. That her education was of the highest and most perfect order for her station, there are ample proofs ; it has given to the greatest monarchy in the world, the best sovereign the world contains ; the best of her royal line ; the best, morally speaking, that ever sat on England's throne. More D Til i 34 SKETCIIL'S AXD ANECDOTEH. than this, Victoria was trained to perform all her duties ; she is an accomplished lady, as perfect in her feminine, as in her queenly character ; a dutiful daughter ; a loving wife ; a watchful mother ; a kind mistress ; a generous benefactor ; an exemplary Christian. There are no startling contrasts, no weak inconsistencies in her conduct. Such uniform ad- herence to the right and proper, under circumstances where selfish propensities are so often stimulated and so easily gratified, must be the result of the conscien- tious principle early and unceasingly cultivated. In this lies the germ of all moral goodness, and the element of all true greatness. Let us see how the teachings of a mother could thus lead her child in the way of righteousness, whose end is always happy. Before the birth of this precious child, the Duchess of Kent had shown — in the previous circumstances of her life, and parti- cularly in the personal sacrifices and risks she en- dured when, leaving her own home in Germany, she hastened to England, so that her offspring might be British born — her deep devotion to duty, and that innate wisdom which has guided her through every task and trial. The Duchess of Kent nursed her '^ all her it in lier dutiful ; a kind emplary no weak brm ad- nstances ated and 3onscien- ted. In and the er could ousness, 1 of this own — in d parti- she en- my, she light be Ind that 111 every sed her THE QUEEN AND HER FATHER'S CREDITORS. 35 infant at her own bosom ; always attended on the batliing and dressing ; and as soon as the little girl could sit alone, she was placed at a small table beside her mother's at her meals, yet never indulged in any except the prescribed simple kind of food. Thus were the sentiments of obedience, temperance, and self-control early inculcated and brought into daily exercise. THE QUEEN AND HER FATHERS CREDITORS. The Duke of Kent died in debt for money borrowed of his friends. The Duchess instructed the little Princess concerning these debts, and encouraged her to lay aside portions of money which might have been expended in the purchase of toys, as a fund to pay these demands against her deceased father. Thus were awakened and cultivated those noble virtues, justice, fortitude, fidelity, prudence, with that filial devotion which is the germ of patriotism. And thus throughout all the arrangements during the fipst seven years, the order, the simplicity, the conscien- tiousness of the teacher were moulding the ductile and impressible mind and heart of the pupil to follow I 86 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. I I i. i ! !l ! after wisdom and to do the right. Love, in her mother's form, was ever round the little Princess ; the counsels and examples of that faithful mcmitor, like an inspiration, served to lift up tlie young soul 10 have hopes in God and faith in tlie Lord Jesus Christ. The scrupulousness with which Victoria paid the debts of her father (who was at one time so poor as to be unable to afford to transport his family from Germany to England) is not so well known as it deserves to be. The author of the '' Woman of Beauty" thus alludes to this trait in the Queen's character : — " One of the first measures of Victoria was to pay from her own private pui*se the remain- ing debts of her father — those which she and her mother had been unable, by their united economy, to liquidate." THE queen's early INSTRUCTORS. •Well was it that the Duke of Kent left his wife sole guardian over his child. The Duchess could arrange the whole manner of Victoria's education and superintend it. She did do this. From the day 1 in her rinc'f'ss ; nonitor, iiig soul L'cl Jesus paid the ) poor as lily from «n as it Oman of Queen's Yictoria remain- and her onomy, Ihis wife Is could lucation the dav I THE QUEEN'S EARLY INSTRUCTORS. 37 % of her luisband's death till Victoria was proclaimed Queen, the Duchess of Kent never separated herself from her daughter. They slept in the same apart- ment ; the first lessons were given by maternal lips, and when careful teachers were employed, still the mother was present, sharing the amusements and encouraging the exercises and innocent gaiety of the child. Tlius was Victoria trained. Her intellectual education was as thorough as her physical and moral. From her cradle she was taught to speak three languages — English, German, and French. In her fifth year, her mother chose as preceptor for the Princess, the Rev. George Davys, afterwards, through the gratitude of his pupil. Bishop of Peterborough. In the co-operation afforded by this gentleman with the wise plans of the Duchess for her daughter's instruc- tion, he evinced great excellence of moral character, and his faithfulness was well rewarded. The Duchess confided in him fully. On his authority we learn the Duchess made it a rule that the Bible should be daily read to the young Princess. When the Princess became heir-presumptive to the throne, and it was intimated to her mother that some distinguished prelate should be appointed in- i 38 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, structor, and Earl Grey named the Bishop of Lincohi, then was the conscientious and truly noble mind of the Duchess displayed. Slie expressed lier perfect approval of Dr. Davys as lier daughter's tutor, and declined any cliange ; but hinted that, if a dignified clergyman were indispensable to fill this important office, there would be no objection if Dr. Davys received the preferment he had always well merited. He was soon afterwards made Dean of Chester. Such traits deserve notice, because illustrative of the good influences which surrounded the young Princess, and also because they exhibit a constancy of woman's esteem when gained by worthy conduct. Besides her preceptor, Victoria had an excellent instructress, the Baroness Lehzen, whose services were likewise retained through the whole term of her education ; and the long harmony so happily maintained between the mother and her auxiliaries, in this important work of preparing a Sovereign to be worthy of a throne, is an example wortli conside- ration by those who would seek the best models for private education. 1- I THE QUEEN'S THAINING. 39 Lincoln, ! mind of r perfect ntor, and dignified [iiportarit r. Davys merited. Chester, ve of the Princess, woman's excellent services term of happily liliaries, [reign to Iconside- )dels for JUDICIOUS TRAININfr OF THE DUCHESS OF KENT. It has been stated repeatedly, and never contra- dicted, that the Princess Victoria was not aware of lier claims on the succession till a little before the death of her uncle, George IV. The Duchess had thus carefully guarded lier child from the perni- cious flattery of inferiors, and kept her young heart free from hopes or wishes which the future might have disappointed. When the accession of King AVilliam placed her next the throne, she had com- pleted her eleventh year, " and evinced abilities and possessed accomplishments very rare for that tender age in any rank of life," says an English author. "She. spoke French and German with fluency, and was acquainted with Italian ; she had made some progress in Latin, being able to read Virgil and Horace with ease ; she had commenced Greek and studied mathematics, and evinced peculiar aptness for that science of reality ; indeed, in all the sciences connected with numbers the royal pupil showed great skill and powers of reason." She had also made good proficiency in music and drawing ; in both of which arts she afterwards became accomplished. i 40 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. TKE PRINCESS VICTORIA COMING OF AGE. Thus happily eDgaged in acquiring knowledge of every kind necessary for her royal station — among which the knowledge of the people was not neglected, nor the arts, sciences, and employments which most conduce to the prosperity and advancement of a nation — this young Princess passed the inter veiling years till lier majority, May 21, 1887. The day was kept as a general holiday throughout the kingdom. The citv of London voted addresses of cono;ratula- tion to the Princess Victoria and the Duchess of Kent on that occasion, which wo notice in order to give a few sentiments from the reply of the Duchess. She said : " The Princess has arrived at that aire which justifies me in expressing my confident expec- tation that slie will be found competent to execute the sacred trust which may be reposed in her ; for communicating, as she does, with all classes of society, she cannot but perceive that the greater the diftusion of religious knowledge and the love of freedom in a country, the more orderly, industrious, and wealthy is its population ; and that the desire to preserve the constitutional prerogatives of the crown ought to be THE QUEEN'S ACCESSION, 41 co-ordinate with the protection of the liberties of the people." INCIDENTS or THE QUEENS ACCESSION. Ill four weeks from that day, the sudden death of AVilliam IV. gave the sovereignty of the British Empire to this young maiden of eighteen. Beauti- fully has she fulfilled the expectations of her mother, and the hopes of the nation. The manner in which the Duchess relinqu. hed her power over her daugh- ter was a fitting sequel to the faithfulness with which she had exercised it. The great officers of state and privy councillors, a hundred or more of the nobles of the land, assembled on the morning of June 20, at Kensington Palace. They were ushered into the grand saloon. Soon Victoria appeared, accompanied by the officers of her household . After the Duchess had seen her royal daughter enthroned on a seat of state prepared for the occasion, she withdrew, and left the young Queen with her Council. From that hour the Duchess treated her auirust daughter with the respectful observance which her station, accord- ing to court etiquette, demands. No more advice, no I ; 42 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. further instnietions, not even suggestions, were ever offered. Doubtless, if the Queen sought lier mother's counsel in private, it was always given in love and truth ; but the good seed had been sown at the right time; it pnt forth, by the blessing of God, spon- taneously. The soul, like the soil, must bear its own harvest. THE QUEENS EARLY CAREER — HER MARRIAGE. On the 17th of June, 1837, the yonng Queen made her first pnblic appearance as sovereign over her realm ; she prorogued Parliament in person ; never was the act done more royally. On the 28th July, 1838, she was crowned in West- minster Abbey. Never were the long and tedious ceremonies more gracefully endured. From that time onv/ard there has been no diminution in her zeal. Every duty devolving on her, every form pre- scribed, every custom held important in the old and cumbrous British Government, Victoria has per- formed, observed, and cherished. She has been the model of female royalty. But this is a ti-ifling matter, compared with the salutary influence her THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE, wore ever r mother's love and < the ri^ht rod, SJDOll- : bear its STAGE. een made over her n ; never in West- I tedious om til at II in her jrm pre- old and las per- )een the trifling ico her f I liigh principles, refined taste, and graceful propriety of manners have wielded over those who gave the tone to fashionable society in England. Vice and folly retire abashed from her presence. Great Britain is governed by laws ; but the ruler is not amenable to these laws. Hence tlie importance that the sovereign should show obedience to the laws of God, from which the morality of all Christian codes is educed. The o'reat blessinir of a female reign is in its purity of court morals, and in its decorum of manners. These strengthen the religious elements of human nature, and give the soul tlie supremacy over sense. This example of strict virtue on the British throne is one of its chief glories ; hence the great blessing conferred by the reign of Victoria, who is, in her private life, a model for her people. She was married on. the 10th of February, 1840, to her cousin, Prince Albert, of Saxe-Coburg, who had been for a time her associate in childhood; and whose development of character and talents fully justified the wisdom of her choice and the worth of her influence. The union was one of mutual affection, and was re- markably happy and fortunate. The rcjyal pair liad f In '. 44 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. nine children. All these children were carefully trained under the supervision of their royal parents, and the family of the Queen is one of the best governed and guided in England. EXCELLENT SOCIAL INFLUENCE OF THE QUEEN. Under this heading of "GOOD queen vie." the New York Mail thus speaks of her ^Majesty : — " So much of the Queen's private journal as has thus far been given to the public only serves to increase our admiration for the lady who sits upon the British throne. Royalty has been stripped of all the barriers and ceremonies by which it is surrounded, and we are permitted to look in upon that happy family circle, of which the Queen is the bright and shining centre. Upon every page we see the sim- plicity, and therein, the greatness of her nature, the goodness of her heart, and the purity of her soul. The English people have nothing to fear from such a ruler as this. If there is distress among the poor of that land, it is owing to circumstances over which the Queen can have no control. We feel that she sympathizes with each one of them, and that if ^ •4 I THE QUEEN'S SOCIAL INFLUENCE. 45 carefully al parents, t governed :iUEEN. VIC." the lal as has serves to I sits upon )ped of all rounded, at hajDpy >right and the sim- iture, the ler soul. om such the poor er which that she that if V*. 1 ■«acrifices on her part could be of any avail, they would willingly be made. "The Queen's book is highly moral and instructive in its tendency. Upon every page we see how slie worshipped her husband — 'her dearly beloved Albert.' A forty-eight hours' separation from him was painful to her. She loved and adored him. This is a good example for all the women of the civilized world to follow. " But how can a wife love her husband unless he is worthy of that love — unless he strives to win and keep it ? The influence this book will exert upon the English masses as regards the cultivation of the social relations will be highly beneficial. It even reaches across the Atlantic, and in America w^e look upon her as the mother of us all. " The good Queen of England treats her servants with a kindness and consideration which may well be imitated in many republican families. The least act of kindness on their part wins her gratitude and esteem. By such acts as those she wins the love of all tlie lower classes, and no one in her kingdom would hesitate to do her a service." 46 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. II. THE QUEEN'S DOMESTIC LIFE. TEACHERS AND NURSES IN THE QUEENS HOUSEHOLD. One of the speakers at a missionary meeting in Leicester, England, gave some information concern- ing the teachers and nurses to whom were entrusted the training' of the children of the Roval Family. The monthly nurse in the Queen's household, he stated, was a member of Dr. Steane's (Baptist) Church at Camberwell. The Princess Eoyal, now the Crown Princess of Prussia, received her first serious religious impressions through reading a ser- mon of Adolphe Monod, and became thoroughly religious. When the last child was born, a Wesleyan was selected for nurse. The teacher of the Prince of Wales, Mr. Gibbs, was a Nonconformist. Pre- vious to appointment he was sent for twice, and for ■ri'. ■ )1 OUSEHOLD. neeting in ill concern- ) entrusted il Familv. seholcl, he (Baptist) lOyal, now her first ing a ser- loroughly Wesleyan 10 Prince St. Pre- , and for i THE QUEEN'S TWO DAUGHTERS. 47 two liuiirs was subjootod to a severe questioning by tlie Prince Consort and her Majesty, to test his knowledge. All the heads of the department about her Majesty were pious people. Every child that was born in the iloyal Family was born amid many prayers. /J'he pious members of the household as- sembled themselves together, and continued praying for the Queen until the child was born, when they gave God thanks. He then thanked God for such a (^ueen and such a Court, and that, under her, God was prospering Britain as He had never prospered it before. THE QUEENS TWO DAUGHTERS AND THE HOUSEMAID. Two of the little English Princesses once went into a room where a servant was polishing a stove- grate, and insisted on helping her. After getting possession of the brushes, they polished the woman's face instead of the grate. The servant was ready to sink with confusion, for she could not leave the apartment without encountering Prince Albert. He was astonished to see so dirty an object emerging from his rooms, and ii> quired the meaning of it. 'I' 1^: •il %. 48 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. The servant reluctantly told liini. It soon reached the ears of the Queen, and she was seen crossing the court, leading the two Princesses by the hand, towards the servants' quarters. Her ]\rajesty sought out the woman, made her daughters ask her pardon, and sent them at once to the nearest millinery and dress establishment, to purchase a complete outfit — dress, bonnet, shawl, gloves, (fee, and present them to the servant in lieu of the dress they had soiled upon lier. The articles were purcliased witli their own money, and consequently their supply of it was curtailed materially ; but this they said they dida't care for in the least — in fact, it rather pleased them than otherwise — it was only asking the woman's pardon they didn't like. INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION OF THE QUEEN's -^HILDREN. At the seaside residence of Queen Victoria, in the Isle of Wight, a large portion of pleasure-grounds was appropriated to the young Princes and Princesses, Avho had each a flower and vegetable garden, green- liouses, hothouses, and forcing frames, nurseries, tool- houses, and even a carpenter's shop. Here the royal I % 111 reached ossinc: the the hand, sty sought er pardon, linery and te outfit — sent tliem had soiled witli their ' of it was ;hey did^i't ased them woman's [ILDREN. 3 a, in the unds was rincesses, n, green- fies, tool- the royal I '■•5 4 THE QUEEN'S CHILDREN. 49 cliildren used to pass much of their time. Each was sup- plied with a set of tools, marked with the name of the owner ; and here they worked with the enthusiasm of an amateur and the zeal of an Anglo-Saxon. There was no branch of gardeninj^ in which the royal children were not au fait. Moreover, on this juvenile property was a building, the ground-floor of which was fitted up as a kitchen, with pantries, closets, dairy, larder, all complete in their arrangements ; and here might have been seen the young Princesses, arrayed a la cuisiniere, floured to the elbows, deep in the mysteries of pastry - making, like a rosy English girl, cooking the vegetables from their own gardens, preserving, pickling, baking, sometimes to partake among them- selves, or to distribute to the poor of the neighbour- hood, the result of their handiwork. The Queen was determined that nothing should remain unlearned by her children ; nor were the young people ever happier than during their sojourn at Osborne. EDUCATION IN THE NATURAL SCIENCES. In the Queen's establishment is a museum of natural history, furnished with curiosities collected E 60 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. by the royal party in their rambles and researches — geological and botanical specimens, stuffed birds and animals, articles of their own construction, and what- ever is curious or interesting, classified and arranged by themselves. Here the most exalted and purifying tastes are cultivated. Here Nature, common to us all, is studied and admired ; while beyond this, a capability of entering into the condition of the people, and a sympathy for their labours, is acquired by a practical knowledge of what labour is; and though we need scarcely suppose that the royal children weary themselves as those wlio toil by the sweat of their brow, yet, even in their moderate digging and working, they must learn the better to appreciate the results of labour in the luxuries surrounding them. Not plants alone are cultivated, but health, vigour, and liberality — every quality, in fact, that must tend to make them better men and women, and better fitted to fill the stations Pro- vidence has allotted to them. — Home Journal. ^ :ii THE BIRDS AND THE PltlNCEti, r,i. THE BIRDS AND THE LITTLE PRINCES. Prince Albert was intensely fond of animals, and especially of birds. Few grounds have been so densely peopled by the feathered songsters as those attached to the palace at Pimlico, for it was a privilege to them ; not a nest was ever knowingly disturbed, and it was the constant aim of the royal father to teach his children to show tenderness to lielpless creatures. The Prince and Princess had each their little garden ; nests were ofi ii watclied — not to terrify the parent birds, but to guard them from accidental disturbance, so that every family of fledglings had from the moment of their birth a guarded home on sacred ground. On one occasion one of the children found in the garden a blind sparrow. This member of a great pugilistic com- munity had had its eyes scratched out in a fight, and when found was completely helpless. The child was much concerned about its fate, and secured the good services of Mrs. Wynnes, the gardener's wife, beg- ging of her to nurse it while the family were away at Osborne. On their return to Pimlico, the child, who had never forgotten the blind sparrow, hastened 52 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. to inquire of Mrs. Wynnes respecting it, and was deeply grieved to hear that it had died in spite of most careful tending. — Hibhard's Gardeners Maga- zine. TOBACCO PROHIBITED AT WINDSOR CASTLE. The 1 ^e of tobacco for smoking purposes within the precincts of Windsor Castle has been prohibited by the express commands of her Majesty the Queen. Cards, neatly framed and glazed, requesting that gentlemen will not smoke in the castle, have been hung in the private rooms of the lords in waiting, and the equerries of the royal suite, and even in the rooms of the York Tower, which were fitted for his Koyal Highness the Prince of Wales. The servants and workmen of the castle are also prohibited Irom smoking within the castle, by command of her Majesty. 'iH THE QUEENS DAILY LIFE. A former tutor in the royal housenold in a recent lecture thus depicted a day in the Queen's life. She rose (lie saH) at half-past six in summer, seven in ~4 fi THE QUEEN'S DAILY LIFE. 53 winter, and always walked abroad, returning to morning prayers and breakfast, at wdiich she ate heartily, and subsequently spent half an hour in the nursery. She next received the Master of the House- hold, and decided what invitations should be accorded for the day, and then visited her aviary, menagerie, aquarium, or stables. She was passionately fond of horses and a good rider. At eleven o'clock she ac- corded audience to the Secretary of War, the Home and Foreign Secretaries ; at twelve sh«3 lunched. At three she entered her carriage or rode on horseback, either visiting, or on some errand of charity. An anecdote was related of her kindness and liberality towards Mrs. Warner, the actress. The Queen also gave a medal to Florence Nightingale, lleturning from her drive or ride, her Majesty dined in state. But that over, etiquette was dismissed: in the drawing-ronm the Queen played on the piano and indulged in German games. At eleven she retired to rest. I i ■ i r:i rt m ' r ! 54 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, III. THE QUEEN'S GOODNESS OF HEART AS A SOVEREIGN. 1 AN EAELY INCIDENT OF THE QUEEN S CLEMENCY. It is related that during the first few days of the reign of Queen Victoria, then a girl between nineteen and twenty years of age, some sentences of a Court Martial were presented for her signature. One was death for deseition — a soldier was condemned to be shot, and his death-warrant presented to the Queen for her signature. She read it, paused, and looked up to the officer who had laid it before her and said : — • " Have you nothing to say in behalf of this man ?" " Nothing ; he has deserted three times," said the officer. THE QUEEN'S CLEMENCY. m *'' Think again, your grace," was her reply. " And," said the gallant veteran, as he related the circumstance to his friends (for it was none other than the Duke of Wellington), " seeing her Majesty so earnest about it, I said, he is certainly a bad soldier, but there was somebody who spoke as to his good character, and he may be a good man for aught I know to the contrary." " Oh, thavk you a thousand times !" exclaimed the youthful Queen, and hastily writing Pardoned in large letters on the fatal page, she sent it across the table with a hand trembling with eagerness and beautiful emotion ! A RECENT INCIDENT OF THE QUEENS CLEMENCY. A soldier named Darragh was lat j tried in Ireland for Fenianism, was found guilty, and sen- tenced to be shot. The death-warrant was brought to the Queen for signature ; her consent was urgently solicited, on the ground of the necessity of making an example. Her Majesty, whose attachment to the soldiers of her army has always been proverbial, for a long time refused, but at length was induced to t 56 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. sign the warrant— tliough she burst into tears in the act of doing so. Within an hour afterwards she sent for the warrant again and tore it to pieces. Without going into the question of whether her Majesty's clemency was wisely extended to a soldier who had been false to his colours and his oath, this additional proof of the Queen's humanity and kindness of heart will be ajipreciated by all her subjects, and few will hesitate to say " God bless her " for it. — IlamiUon U. C Sjpedator. 5^1 ; li THE QUEEN AKD THE " TRENT " ULTIMATUM. The New York Commercial Advertiser, edited by the veteran journalist, Thurlow Weed, thus speaks of her Majesty : — " Nor is this the first successful effort in the same direction of the good Queen Vic- toria. It was by her thoughtful and timely inter- position, upon the Trent affair, that a war between England and America was averted. England meant war, and made instant preparations for the emer- gency. The ministers, if they did not mean it, took a step which would have provoked war — a step \Nhich, by the Queen's interposition, was so modified QUEEN AND " TRENT" ULTIMATUM. 57 as to result amicably. The details to which we refer are most interesting, but, for the present, confidential. We hope ere long to be at liberty, by disclosing wliat came to our knowledge, in London, at that critical moment, to render just praise to the sugges- tive wisdom and womanly sympathies of that emin- ently good Queen." Kumour tells an anecdote of the Queen which shows her tender heart and her memory of the Crimean bloodshed. It is said that when Lord Palmerston took for her sanction the ultimatum demand on the Federal Government for the restitu- tion of Messrs. Slidell and Mason, taken from the Trent, she said that if mere etiquette and not national lionour was to be satisfied, she could not endure the thought of the sacrifice of so many precious, gallant lives. Lord Palmerston then asked if she would be more content if Lord Derby were consulted, to which she assented. On Lord Derby's giving his opinion that Lord Palmerston's demand was just and righteous, she gave her sanction. 8uch anecdotes as these are peculiarly acceptable to the people at the present time, as proving Victoria m 58 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. a good woman as well as a noble Queen. — From a private letter. ir THE QUEEN AS A PEACE-MAKER. The Springfield Repuhlican, one of the most re- spectable and influential journals in the United States, says : — " The cable brings the welcome news that the impending war in Europe has been averted, and that Queen Victoria of England is the peace- maker. Her proposition for a conference of the great powers in May, to settle the Luxemburg ques- tion on the basis of guaranteeing the neutrality of the Duchy, has been accepted by the parties most interested." The Paris correspondent to the London Times further adds : — " I mentioned a few days ago the belief generally entertained in Paris that it was owing to the per- sonal influence of Queen Victoria that a solution of the Luxemburg question without a war took place. The Journal de Paris gives certain particulars on the authority of letters from a London correspondent. The Queen wrote to the Emperor Napoleon before THE QUEEN AS A PEACEMAKER. 50 writing to the King of Prussia, and used the argu- ments most calculated to divert him from the warlike projects ascribed to him by public opinion. The Journal de Paris says : — "This letter, impressed with the religious and almost mystic sentiments which predominate in the Queen's mind, particularly since the death of Prince Albert, seems to have made a deep impression on the Sovereign, who, amid the struggles of politics, has never completely repudiated the philanthropic theories of his youth, and who on the battle field of Solferino, covered with the dead and wounded, was seized with an unspeakable horror of war. " The Emperor replied in a letter which, accord- ing to the London correspondent of the Journal de Paris, had the best effect on Queen Victoria and her principal advisers, for he protested against the schemes attributed to him, and against all idea of territorial aggrandisement for the advantage of France. He moreover declared, with a great eleva- tion of language and idea, the complete disinterested- ness of his policy on the recent occasion. He said, however, that the question, placed as it was, had become one of national honour to France : but I ,1 , n CO SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, he left it clearly to be understood that when once settled — that is, when the fortress of Luxemburg was evacuated — France would be disposed to give up all thought of aggrandisement. " It was on receiving these conciliatory declara- tions that the Queen addressed herself to the King of Prussia. The family ties which unite the two reigning houses, the personal sympathies which, as the Journal de Paris says, Queen Victoria, in oppo- sition to some of her advisers, has always shown for the cause of Germany since the beginning of the question of the Duchies, are known; but in any circumstance, her Majesty's sentiments would have made a serious impression on the Court of Berlin. By a lucky coincidence the letter written to King Williim on the present occasion reached him at the moment when M. Bismarck experienced a deception the more painful that it was unexpected — namely, that Russia was not so favourable to the projects of 'the Prussians as he had reason to suppose. Prince Gortschakoff had clearly manifested the in- tention of the Russian government not to engage itself with any of the parties in the commencement of the war, but reserved itself to intervene at a later THE QUEEN AS A FEACEMAKER, Gt period, whenever the moment seemed opportune. This fact made M. Bismarek seriously reflect on his situation. The counsels of the Queen of England found not only King William but his ministers in a disposition less warlike than people imagined ; and it was then, with the prompt decision which charac- terises him, that M. Bismarck seriously modified his policy in a pacific sense, nd thus peace was secured." 02 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, IV. THE QUEEN'S ACTIVE BENEVOLENCE AND SYMPATHY. THE QUEEN THE mOTECTRESS OF MADAGASCAR CHRISTIANS. At an anniversary of the London Missionary Society, the Eev. Mr. Ellis, in giving an account of his visit to Madagascar, said that in the draft sent out from England of a proposed treaty of amity and commerce between England and Madagascar, there occurred in the margin these remarkable words : ^^ Queen Victoria asks as a ^ersoyial favour to herself that the Queen of Madagascar ivill alloiv no iJersecution of the Christians'' In the treaty which was signed a month before he came over there occurred these words: "In accordance with the wish of Queen Victoria, the Queen of Madagascar engages there i I :ll A NEGIiO KNiaUTED. 03 sliall be no persecution of the Christians in Maclu- gjiscar. How remarkable an exemplification of the truth of the divine declaration that queens " shall be nursing mothers !" THE QUEEN CONFERS KNIGHTHOOD ON A COLOURED MAN. The Queen of England has recently conferred an unexpected honour upon one of the officers of the Colonial Government ; an honour such as never before was given by any British sovereign to such a British subject. In the island of Jamaica there has lived during the last sixty years a man whose life, both in private and public, has been singularly disinterested, unselfish, and heroic ; who in the beginning of his career gave evidence of fine literary abilities ; but who earned his first title to the gratitude of good men, not by these, but by advocating, at the hazard of his life, a great and noble cause, in behalf of which, in the days of its early struggles, he brought upon himself an indictment for high treason, and narrowly escaped the scaffold ; and in I rl ii 64 SKETCnEFi AND ANECDOTES. rli behalf of wliich, in tlio more prosperous years which have succoeded, ho has laboured incessantly for a more complete recognition before the world of the social and civil rights of his own race. He is an old man who has seen much service, and on whose grey head has now graciously fallen, from the Queen's hand, the honour of knighthood. We only add here that he is a negro ; but at the same time one whom the Queen of the first empire of the globe has found lit to welcome to one of i\\Q orders in her circle of her nobility, and whom the peers of her realm — styled *' the first gentlemen of Europe " — are made to recognise hereafter as Sir Edward Jordon, Knight of the Order of the Bath. Mr. Samuel Cockburn, a gentleman of colour, and a Creole, of the island of Granada, has been appointed Administrator of the Government of Montserrat. — American Pajper. SYMPATHY OF THE QUEEN FOR THE HARTLEY COLLIERY SUFFERERS. In a letter dated "Osborne, January 23rd," Sir C. B. Phipps, by command of her IMajesty, writes as or n ■' tlio lold £^rey 3en's liere one lobe her her ard Mr. I a ted IRY lit as i I! I' ■ f " CO THE QUEEN VISITS NETLEY. 65 follows : " The Queen, in the midst of her own over- whelming grief, has taken the deepest interest in the dreadful accident at Hartley, and up to the last liad hoped that at least a considerable number of the poor people might have been recovered alive. The appalling news since received has affected the Queen very much. Her Majesty commands me to say, that her tenderest sympathy is with the poor widows and mothers ; and that her own misery only makes her feel the more for them. Her IMajesty hopes that everything will be done, as far as possible, to alleviate their distress ; and her ]\rajesty will feel a sad satisfaction in assisting in such measures." A cheque for 200/. accompanied this letter. THE QUEEN\s visit TO THE NETLEY VICTORIA HOSPITAL. The first public act of the Queen after her bereave- ment has been a characteristic one. In May, 18G3, she paid a long visit to the military hospital at Netley, the foundation stone of which she and the Prince Consort laid nearly seven years ago. The Prince Consort always took a great interest in this hospital, and frequently visited it. He was very f4 'i :l I ' 66 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, anxious to have a military lios})ital worthy of the nation, and fitted for the brave soldiers whose health has failed in foreign service. Her Majesty partici- })ated in these wishes, and her visit so soon after the opening of the hospital sliows how much she has at heart the carrying out of tlie Prince's views for the welfare of the soldier. Her Majesty expressed a wish to visit first the foundation stone. Slie stayed here a fevv minutes, but it was a painful reminiscence. She bore it, however, firmly, and then entered the hospital. In the first ward into which she went, a Victoria Cross man from India was lying very ill in bed. She immediately went up to him, addressed him most kindly, and sent for the officer in charge of the division to tell her about his state. She con- tinued this in every ward into which she entered. Whenever she saw a man very ill, she walked up to his bedside, spoke to him, inquired about him, and showed the greatest interest in his case. In one ward an incident occurred which affected those who were present. An old Irish soldier from India lay . nearly at the point of death. After the Queen had spoken to him, he said : " I thank God that He has allowed me to live long enough to see your Majesty ii -• THE QUEEN VISITS NETLEY. 67 u with my own eyes." The Queen and the Princess Alice were both touched by this speech, which came from the very heart of the dying man. The aspect of the whole hospital was extremely touching. It is now almost filled with Indian inva- lids, splendid old soldiers, bearded and bronzed; many of them magnificent men of the ante-Crimean class. Tlioy thronged the corridors, drawn up in lines, and absolutely devoured the Queen with their eyes. She kept bowing to them kindly as she walked along. After looking at the chapel, bath-room, and kitchen, she expressed a wish to see the rooms of the Army Medical School, and accordingly visited the library, museum, lecture-room, laboratory, and micro- scopical room. At each place the professors were sent for to explain the arrangements. She then went into the quarters of the married soldiers. The Queen and Princess Alice spoke to several of the women, and inquired after their comfort. The Queen then re-embarked, after spending nearly two hours in tlie hospital. The day was beautiful, the sky cloudless, and no- thing could be more cheerful than the look of the 1 ! i 68 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, liospital grounds. Everybody connected with the institution was, of course, most highly gratified, not merely with the honour of the visit, but with the way, at once so thoroughly royal and womanly, in which she had shown her interest in her sick soldiers. The Queen's appearance was deeply interesting. When she is silent, her face is sad, and bears the marks of a heartfelt and abiding sorrow. Her smile is, however, as gracious as ever, and her voice, though low and very gentle, has all its old sweetness and clearness. She did not seem fatigued with her long walk through the hospital, though she must have gone over several miles of ground, and had many stairs to mount. So carefully had the news of her visit been concealed, that there was scarcely any one to see her except the inmates of the hospital and the workmen still engaged there, and their wives and children. — The Lancet. THE QUEENS VISIT TO A WORKHOUSE. Her Majesty lately paid a visit of inspection to the Windsor Union Workhouse. Her IMajesty and suite, on alighting, were received by the Very Keverend the THE QUEEN VISITS A WORKHOUSE, 69 Dean of Windsor, Dr. Wellesley, who is a constant visitor to the invalids and infirm poor of the house. Pier Majesty commenced her inspection with an exa- mination of the men's dining-hall, and old men's ward, whence the illustrious visitors passed to the hoys' schoolroom, where the boys were at work under the superintendence of the schoolmaster ; and after an examination of this portion of the house, her Majesty was pleased to express her approbation of the disci- pline and appearance of the cliildren. The boys' dormitory, the old men's and able-bodied men's wards and store-rooms, were then inspected, the Queen appearing surprised and delighted with the arrange- ment of the latter department. Her Majesty tlien passed through the women's sleeping wards and the girls' dormitory, and afterwards proceeded to the girls' schoolroom, where the girls of the union were engaged in school and needle-work. The Queen examined the girls' work, and spoke kindly and encouragingly to several of them. On leaving the school the royal party proceeded to the girls' industrial department, where washing and laundry work were being carried on, thus preparing the girls for their future labours in life. Her Majesty l« 70 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. If did not forget to visit the aged and infirm in the house, and spoke many a kind word to the poor in- mates. Uaving inspected the rest of the wards, bread- room, scullery, kitchen, tailoring and shoemaking shop, the Queen entered the cha[)el, concluding her examination of the establishment by a visit to the board-room, where her Majesty left her signature on one of the books, " Victoria R." with the day and date attached. THE QUEEN AS A CATECmSER. Queen Victoria, when at home, regularly teaches Sunday-school and Bible-class for the benefit of those residing in the palace and its vicinity. The Arch- deacon of London, on one occasion, was catechising the young Princes, and, being surprised at the accu- racy of their answers, said to the youngest Prince : " Your governess deserves great credit for instruct- ing you so thoroughly in the catechism." " Oh, but it is inamma who teaches us the catechism." — Hamilton Sjoectator. i 5 i. .i '1 'i 1 'S ■'f f if; vii '" f 1 ll: i' i I k ^ M a TT THE QUEEN AS A SCIilPTUIiE BEAD Eli. 71 THE QUEEN AS A SCRIPTURE READER. il 1 At a rec'ont meeting at Carabridire, on behalf of the Army Scripture Readers' and Soldier's Friend Society, the Rev. H. Huleatt, chaplain of the forces at Aldershot, narrated the following anecdote, whii^h he had received, he said, from one of the actors in the scene : "The incumbent of Osborne had occasion to visit an aged parishioner. Upon his arrival at the house, as he entered the door where the invalid was, he found sitting by the bedside a lady in deep mourning, reading the word of God. He was about to retire, when the lady remarked, ' Pray remain. I should not wish the invalid to lose the comfort which a clergyman might afford.' The lady retired, and the cleriryman found lvinj2: on the bed a book with texts of Scripture adapted to the sick ; and he found that out of that book portions of Scripture had been rerd by the lady in black. That lady was the Queen of England !" « iH I il ! . I! ' (■' I' ' •^ 72 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. I, THE QUEENS SYMPATHY FOR HER PHYSICIAN. On New Year's Day, Dr. Cass, of Cowes, received through the hands of Sir Charles B. Phipps, a mas- sive and iiKignificent silver inkstand, "as a Memorial from the Queen, of her Majesty's appreciation of his skill and attention during the many years he attended in his professional capacity at Osborne." Dr Cass, who has long been held in very high esteem at Cowes, liad been the medical attendant upon the Eoyal Family and household at Osborne for nearly twenty years ; but finding of late that his siglit liad become so seriously impaired as to threaten absolute blindness, he felt constrained (though still in the prime and vigour of life) to resign his appointment at Osborne, and to withdraw altogether IVoni the pro- fession in which he had established a high and well- earned reputation. This circumstance has been a matter of universal regret throughout the whole of the wide district over which Dr. Cass's practice ex- tended ; but amongst the many expressions of sym- pathy wiiich have reached him from all quarters none have been so warm, and none, of course, so i THE QUEEN'S SYMPATHY. 73 deeply gratifying, as lliuse which have been conveyed to him from the Queen. " lior Majesty," says Sir Cliarles Phipps, in the letter which ac(!ompanied the costly memorial, " hears with great regret that she shall no longer be able to avail herself of your valuable medical services, and the Queen still more laments the sad cause which has thus forced you to abandon your profession at an age when your usefulness should be greatest." Again Sir Charles says, ** I am directed to express her Majesty's sincere sympatliy for the affliction which has obliged you to discontinue your valuable services." These are queenly words, and well calculated to con- vey to Dr. Cass the highest solace he can possibly receive under the calamity which has fallen as a fatal blight upon the professional career, and marred the fairest hopes and promise of an honourable and laborious life. — Morning Post. n THE QUEENS SYMPATHY FOR HER CHILDREN 8 GOVERNESS. The following anecdotes of Queen Victoria, from the Chicago Advance, are from the pen of Grace Greenwood (Mrs. Lippincott) : — ml 74 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. " Wlion I was in England T hoard sovcral pleasant anecdotes of the Queen and lier family from a lady who had received them from lier friend, the gover- ness of the royal children. This governess, a very interesting young lady, was the orphan daughtei* of a Scottish clergyman. During the iirst year of her residence at Windsor her mother died. When she first received the news of her serious illness, she applied to the (^ueen to resign her situation, feeling that to her mother she owed even a more sacred duty than to her Sovereign. The Queen, who had been much pleased with her, would not hear of her making this sacrifice, Lut said, in a tone of the most gentle sympathy, * Go at once to your mother, child ; stay with her as long as she needs you, and then come back to us. I will keep your place for you. l*rince Albert and I will hear the children's lessons ; so in any event let your mind be at rest in regard to your pupils.' " The governess went, and had several weeks of sweet mournful communion with her dying mother ; then, when she had seen that dear form laid to sleep under the daisies in the old kirk yard, she returned to the palace, where the loneliness of THE QUEEN'S SYMPATHY. 76 royal grandeur would have oppressed Iier sorrowing lieart beyond endurance, liad it not been for the gracious womanly synipatliy of the Queen — who came every day to her schoolroom — and i)\Q con- siderate kindness of lier young pu})il.s, A year went by ; the first anniversary of her great loss dawned upon her, and she was overwhelmed as never before by the utter loneliness of her grief. 8he felt that no one in all that great household knew how much gcjodness and sweetness passed out of mortal lil'e that day a year ago — or could give her one tear, one thought to that grave under the Scottish daisies. Every morning before breakfast, which the elder children took with their father and mother, in the pleasant crimson parlour, looking out on the terrace at Windsor, her pupils came to the schoolroom for a brief religious exercise. This morning the voice of the governess trembled in reading the Scripture for the day ; some words of divine tenderness were too much for her poor, lonely, grieving heart — her strength gave way, and laying her head on the desk before her, she burst into tears — murmuring, ' Oh, mother, mother !' One after another the children stole out of the room I \^' •iii I 76 1 i'^ h SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. ; and went to their mother, to tell her how sadly their goveruess was feeling; and that kindhearted monarch, exclaiming, ' Oh, poor girl ! it is the anniversary of her mother's d'^ath,' hurried to the schoolroom, where slie found IMiss strugglin to regain her composure. * J\Iy poor child,' she said, * 1 am sorry the children disturbed you tliis morning. I mea,nt to Lave given orders that you should have this day entirely to yourself. Ta':e it as a sad and sacred holiday — I will hear the lessons of the children.' And then she added, ' To show you that I have not forgotten this mournful anniversary, I bring you this gift,' clasping on her aim a beautiful mourning bracelet with a locket for her mothers hair, marked with the date of her mother's death. What wonder that the orphan kissed, with tears, this gift and the more than royal hand that be- stowed it!" THE QUEFNS RESPECT FOR THE MEMORY OF HER DRESSING-MAID. Tho Queen, while lately in Edinburgh, attended by an equerry and a lady in waiting, drove to Rose- THE QUEEN A SANITARY REFORMER. land cemetery, in tlie neighbourhood of the Scottish capital, to visit the grave of a young Italian dress- ing-maid, over which she had erected a chaste and simple monument, and who seems to have won, to a remarkable degree, the affection of her royal mis- tress. Her Majesty visits the cemetery every time the court is in Edinburgh. Whereupon an English paper says : " England's Queen paying the heart's homage at ti tomb of a humble domestic, and calling to remembrance the affectionate servant which she had lost ! thus exercising her own heart with the solemn realities of eternity. The spectacle Was one of affecting interest, and will strike into the deepest recesses of the loyal hearts of Victoria's subjects." THE QUEEN AS A SANITARY REFORMER. At a meeting of the Aberdeen Ladies' Sanitary Association, held ;i short time ago, Dr. Kilgour, who presided, made the following remarks regarding the Queen at Balmoral : — " The highest lady in the land (as well as her late lamented husband j is an ardent sanitary reformer. Those who visitod^^ London rs SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 'il !■ ■ i.i' : \ > durinii: tlio season of the Great Exhibition will re- member the two cottages which the Prince erected near the Exhibition buildings as models of dv>ellings for promoting the health and comfort of the humbler classes. Wherever the Queen or Prince has erected cottages on the Scotch property they may not have adhered to the style alluded to (which mainly con- templated the English style and mode of life), but they have built the cottages more in accordance with the taste and feelings of the Scottish peasantry, but yet with an undeviating eye to ventilation and pure air. They have never harshly interfered with the domestic habits of their tenantry by dictating to them that this or that change must be made, but they have given encouragement wherever improve- ments in sanitary arrangements were adopted. "Last year scarlet fever broke out with great virulence in the district, and many lives were lost by the spreading of the infection. It became necessary to take measures to arrest the extension of the disease, and orders were given to sweep away every 'boxed-in' bed on the estates. An order was also given to substitute a sufficient nund>er of iron bedsteads for each family at the cost of the Queen." sh r Wf SCHOOL IN WINDSOR FOREST. 79 THE QUEEN AND HER SPINNINO-WHEEL. The Paris correspondent of the Ciiiciiinuti Gazette, after announcing Queen Victoria's departure for Germany, reUites this anecdote : — "' Before leaving-, she took a fancy to spinning, and ordered a mechanic of Spitalfields to make her a spinniug-Avlieel. lie finished one of so exquisite workmanship, that slie ordered one for each of her paUxces and castles. The good royal matron resumes the occu2)ation of the simple ladies of old and unaffected times; and be sure her examjile will not be lost on the fashionable and jewelled ladies of our age. The inclinations and fancies of queens dictate the fashion at the spinning- wheel as well as the court toilet." !'?f THE QUEEN S SCHOOL IN WINDSOR FOREST. At a public meeting, in celebration of the re- opening of the Church Schools in Padiliain, Lanca- shire, Sir James K. Shuttleworth, in his address, said — ir had been long silent U[)on one point, which would be of considerable interest ; but lie did not see now why he should continue silent, lie was about 'i' 80 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. r\ ( ii 1 i I to speak to tliein of some arts of royal munificence that bad come under liis knowledge, which formed a bright example to the community. He was several years ago called on by her Majesty to organise for her and tlie Prince some schools in the royal forest of Windsor. Tlie view the Queen took was, tliat a very large j^ortion of the population resident in that district being dependent on the crown, and employed as labourers on the farms, or in the forest, or in the houseliold duties connected with the roval farms, and so forth, she had therefore a personal responsibility in their well-being. The people were scattered over the districts between one town and another, in wliich there were no schools or means of education, and the cliildren were brought up in a half-wild manner, very much in the same condition as in remote portions of the country in the south of England. Iler Majesty resolved that an efficient school should be established ; and it seemed desirable that the school should be typical of the act of royal munificence which was about to be accom- plished, and not only A\orthy of the Crown, but an example to the country at large. Her Majesty made no stipulation whatever as to SCHOOL IN WINDSOR FOREST. 81 3d Let in- the cost ; and he drew out a sclieme which involved an expenditure of 1,000Z. a year. It provided for the instruction of the children not merely in the ordinary secular and religious knowledge, but also supj^lied tlie best form of instruction in common things, such as in gardening, in household economy, cooking, Avashing, making up clothes, &c. ; in pre- paring dishes suitable for, and otherwise enhancing the comfort of cottagers, which latter were tauglit in kitchens and washhouses, prepared for the purpose. Her ]\rajesty not only assented to this plan being carried out (and the plan has been in operation ever since), but she had promoted its success in every way, and all the linen worn by the royal children, and a very great part of that used in the royal apartments, was the work of this establishment. The Queen was in the habit of inspecting the place in person, and took a deep interest in its operations. The boys had a garden of several acres, in which they cultivated all that was necesstiry for cottage use. They had a plot which they jointly cultivated, and in addition they had small separate plots, which they cultivated upon the plan of the common cottage gardeners. They were emj)loyed ■il i rl! \ I! -J ^ ' 1 If G 82 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. \\ m also in workshops, but they were chiefly occupied in gardening. He co'ild assure them that this establishment did not simply exist as a sort of out- side show, but was a subject of personal interest to her Majesty; was regularly inspected by lier, and often by the different visitors at the court ; and the Prince of Wales was in the habit of examinino; the scholars in certain branches of their studies. He pointed to this as an example to the families of our gentry and aristocracy. INCIDENTS OF THE QTJEEn's VISIT TO LORD ELLESMERe's SCHOOL AT MANCHESTER.* The children of the schools on Lord EUesmere's estate were invited to meet the Queen, in the private grounds of his lordship. The procession was headed by a juvenile band from the Worsley School — little fellows from twelve to fourteen years of age. There were six schools in all, comprising about 1,400 children. To add to the interest of the scene, the * Incidents like these here mentioned frequently occur. They are merely selected to show how the Queen identifies herself with the education of her people, and the mauuer of her doing 80. — (See page 97.) T^ M LORD ELLESMEIiE'S SCHOOL, MANCHESTELi. 83 mothers of the children — their fathers for the most part were doing duty as special constables on the canal bank — were ranged on a terrace immediately behind tlieir little ones, and commandino: a full view of the spectacle. When all was arranged, the Queen, attended by Lady EUesmere, and accompanied by the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal, came to the door of the entrance hall, when the whole party sang very sweetly the National Anthem. Cheers followed the presentation of the address, in the midst of which, after graciously bowing her acknowledgments, the Queen and royal children retired; but soon after the Princess Royal, as if wishing to have a nearer view of so many children of her own age, returned with Lady EUesmere and walked close up to the line, while the noble little band already mentioned played several inspiriting airs. Afterwards, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, the super- intendents of a blind school in the neighbourhood of Manchester, were admitted to her IMajesty's presence to explain the operation of a machine invented by Mr. Hughes for enabling the blind to print — a machine which, it appears, had attracted her Majesty's notice in the Exhibition, and which she 11 : Mi 84 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. was anxious to have further explained. This was (lone at much length, and one of IVIr. Hughes's pupils, a blind girl, named j\[ary Pearson, was also introduced, and printed off the inscription, "God save the Queen," and " May God bless our Queen," on slips of silk, which her Majesty was highly pleased to accept. \\ i. i ' nr QUEEN VICTORIA AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL CHILDREN. On the occasion of a visit of Queen Victoria to Birmingham, the public grounds at Aston were opened by her. On leaving Gosta Green, and enter- ing the Aston Road, a very touching spectacle attracted her Majesty's notice. Some 40,000 little children, boys and girls, belonging to the schools of all denominations of Christians, and also to those of the Jews, lined the road for some distance on both sides, and as her Majesty passed, they sang in a low, gentle manner : Now pray we for our country, That England long may be The holy and the happy, And the gloriously free. — ^^^™ -,- THE QUEEN AND JENNY IJND. 85 )W, The Rev. J. L. Poore (who died lately in Aus- tralia), while in Canada, mentioned that the Queen was deeply touched by this most impressive scene. THE QUEEN AND JENNY LIND. The kindness of heart and womanly sympathy of the Queen is thus brought to light in the following anecdote : When Jenny Lind first sang in jn-ivate before the Queen, she was accompanied by the Queen's pianist, who, being connected with a rival tlieatre, played some tricks which annoyed Jenny exceedingly. This the quick ear of her Majesty, who is an ex- cellent musician, instantly detected ; and as Jenny stood up for the second song, she motioned the pianist aside, saying quietly, " I will accompany Miss Lind," which she did to perfection. How perfectly does this little incident accord with the characteristics of kindness, benevolence, and tact for which her Majesty is remarkable ! I m i 'Ml .■■ th ■ n * i. PF-f» 8(1 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. ■■■ I THE QUEEN AND THE WORKPEOPLE AT CHRISTMAS. Queen Victoria had the children of the workmen on the Osborne estate assembled on Christmas, where a Christmas tree loaded with presents was arranged. Assisted by members of the lloyal Family, the Queen spent the afternoon in distribut- ing the presents to the children, consisting of wearing apparel, books, toys, &c. Afterwards she gave great-coats, blankets, &c., to the labouring men and women. A few days before, the Queen dis- pensed liberally to the blind and paralytic in and around London. The English people are accustomed to the bestowment of charity during the Christmas liolidays, and their amiable Queen is giving strength and beauty to the fashion by her bright example. Her sad heart finds comfort in the relief of sorrow and poverty. — N. Y. Commercial Advertiser. THE QUEENS PORTRAIT FOR THE PEOPLE. The following anecdote of the Queen illustrates her good sense and real desire to promote the wel- fare of her subjects. She had agreed to have her POltTPiAlT FOR Mil VEAIiODY. 8T photograph taken for the gratification of such of her subjects as might desire to possess tiie counterfeit presentment of their ruler. She presented licrself in a plain black silk, without a particle of ornament. The pliotographer ventured to suggest that she should send for some jewels. '*No," said the Queen, " this photograph is to go among my people, and I wish to do all in my power to discourage extrava- gance." It is such little anecdotes as these that have secured the Queen a high place in the regard of the people. THE queen's POKTEAIT FOR MR. PEABODY. Mr. Peabody, tlie American banker in London, SO noted for his princely munificence, lately gave an immense sum for the erection of model lodging-houses for the poor in London. Her Majesty, to mark her appreciation of his noble generosity, presented him with her own portrait on gold enamel. ^Y\\e picture itself is interesting and curious, both as a work of art and as showing to what a high pitch miniature painting can be carried. The painting is only four- teen inches long by ten inches wide. At the taking of the likeness (for the first time for the presenta- ' I : 1 # e>. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I '~ "^ II 2.2 " 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" — ► V] <^ /2 'm' ■a. '<5 f^y 7 '/ /a PhotogiBphic Sciences Corporation ^9> .V A" 6^ "^S >> ..>> ^1.' ^9,^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y 14S80 (716) 873-4503 i W^ T 88 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. tion of lier portrait to a private individual), the Queen sat in the only robes of state she has worn since the death of the Prince Consort — the costume in which she ojK'ncd Parliament. It is a black silk dress trimmed with ermine, and a long black velvet train similarly adorned. Over her jMary Stuart's cap is the demicrown, while the Koh-i-noor and one ri(di jewelled cross, })resented by Prince Albert, form her only ornaments. To complete the portrait, she gave the artist many and long sittings. It is said that in fidelity of portraiture, the likeness, wh'/di is done in enamel, on a panel of pure gold, is not to be sur])assed, and the Queen has expressed her unqualified approval of it. The picture is mounted in a most elaborate and massive chased frame of pure gold, surmounted with the royal crown enamelled on the same metal in colours. li, The following letter has been written by the Queen to Mr. Peabody : — *' Windsor Castle, Marcli 28th, 1806. "The Queen hears that ^\r. Peabody intends shortly to return to America, and she would be sorry that he should leave England without being assured LETTER FOR MR. PEADODY. 89 by herself how deeply she appreciates the noble act of more than princely miinilicence by which he has sought to relieve the wants of the poorer classes of her subjects residing in London. It is an act, as the Queen believes, wholly without parallel, and which will carry its best reward in the consciousness of having contributed so largely to the assistance of those who can little help themselv(3s. The Queen would not, however, have been satisfied without giving Mr, Peabody some public mnrk of her sense .' his munificence, and she would gladly have C(jn- ferred upon him eithvT a Baronetcy or the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, but that she under- stands ]\[r. Peabody to feel himself debarred from accepting such distinctions. It only remains, there- fore, for the Queen to give ]Mr. Peabody this as- surance of her personal feelings, which she would further wish to mark by asking him to accept a miniature portrait of herself, wliich she will desire to have painted for him, and which, when finished, can either be sent to him to America, or given to him on his return, which, she rejoices to hear, he meditates, to the country that owes him so much." I V T 90 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. Mr. Peabody sent the following reply to the Queen's letter : — "Madam, "I feel sensibly my inability to express in adequate terms the gratification with which I have read the letter which your Majesty has done me the high honour of transmitting by the hands of Earl Kussell on the occasion which has attracted your Majesty's attention of setting apart a portion of my property to ameliorate the condition and augment the comforts of the poor of London. I have been actuated by a deep sense of gratitude to God, who has blessed me with prosperity, and of attachment to this great country, where, under your Majesty's benign rule, I have received so much personal kindness and enjoyed so many years of happiness. Next to the approval of my own conscience, I shall always prize the assurance which your letter conveys to me of the approbation of the Queen of England, wliose whole life has attested that her exalted station has in no degree diminished her sympathy with the humblest of her subjects. "The portrait which your Majesty is graciously ll 3 THE QUEEN AND ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL. 91 pleased to bestow on me I shall vcJue as the most precious heirloom that I can leave in the land of my birth, where, together with the letter which your Majesty has addressed to me, it will ever be regarded as evidence of the kindly feelings of the Queen of the United Kingdom towards a citizen of the United States." THE QUEEN AND ST. THOMAS S HOSPITAL. In May, 1868, her Majesty laid the foundation stone of St. Thomas's Hospital. The "account of the ceremony is well worthy of record, not only on account of the well-nigh unsurpassed splendour of the ceremony and the auspicious character of the whole proceedings, but as encouraging the hope that the long-continued seclusion of the Queen is over. The Hospital of St. Thomas was founded and endowed by Edward VI., more than three centuries ago, and has proved during these centuries of incal- culable advantages in the relief of suffering. In the process of metropolitan improvement, the old hospital has been demolished, and the governors having acquired a strip of land exactly facing the f I 111 92 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. Houses of Parliament, on the Surrey side of the river, have selected a suitable site for this ancient chari- table institution. The building will be a magnificent one, constructed in accordance with the experience of the most skilful physicians and sanitary reformers, and will also provide largely-increased accommo- dation for the sick and the maimed. The Queen was accompanied by a large number of the members of the Royal Family to the site of the new hospital, and the streets were crowded by her loyal and enthusiastic subjects, who received her with the most hearty cheers. The Queen, who looked cheerful and happy, smilingly responded to these greetings. The scene in the temporary pavilion was unusually grand and imposing, and when her Majesty took her seat on her temporary throne, a choir sang the National Anthem, and the whole of the company sprang to their leet and joined enthusiastically in the chorus. In reply to an address from the President and Governors of the Hospital, the Queen made a graceful speech, in which she adverted to the facts that the hospital was founded by her predecessor, Edward VI., and that the late Prince Consort had taken a deep interest 1 \\ hi \i ie P' w THE TOWER OF LONDON, 98 ill it. With that touching faithfulness of memory wliicli characterizes her widowhood, she expressed her gratification at performing an act by which she was associated with her deceased husband. She also feelingly referred to the late attempt on the life of Prince Alfred, and expressed her gratitude for the sympathy which this event had called forth. 'i r CEREMONY OF LOCKING UP THE TOWER OF LONDON. Few persons are aware of the strictness with which the Tower of London is guarded from foes without and treachery within. The ceremony of shutting it up every night continues to be as solemn and as rigidly precautionary as if an invasion was actually on foot. Immediately after "tattoo" all strangers are expelled; and the gates once closed, nothing short of such imperative necessity as fire or sudden illness can procure their being reopened till the appointed hour the next morning. The ceremony of locking up is very ancient, curi- ous, and stately. A few minutes before the clock strikes the hour of eleven at night — on Tuesdays and Fridays twelve — the head Warden (Yeoman Porter), clothed in a long red cloak, bearing* in his 94 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. hand a huge bunch of keys, and attended by a brother warden, carrying a gigantic lantern, appears in front of the main guard house, and calls out in a loud voice, " Escort keys !" At these words the Sergeant of the Guard, with five or six men, turns out and follows him to the *' Spur," or outer gate ; each sentry challenging, as they pass his post, " Who goes there ?" " Keys." The gates being carefully locked and barred, the procession returns, the sentries exacting the same explanation, and receiving the same answer as before. Arrived once more in front of the main guard house, the sentry there gives a loud stamp with his foot, and the following conversation takes place between them and the approaching party : " Who goes there ?" « Keys." "Whose keys?" ^ ' " Queen Victoria's keys." " Advance Queen Victoria's keys and all is well." The Yeoman Porter then exclaims, "God bless Queen Victoria.'* The main guard devoutly respond, " Amen." ar hi !• LOVE OF THE CANADIAN PEOPLE. 95 The officer on duty gives the word, "Present firms !'* the firelocks rattle ; the officer kisses the hilt of his sword ; the escort fall in among their com- panions ; and the Yeoman Porter marches majesti- cally across the parade alone to deposit the keys in the officers* lodgings. The ceremony over, not only is all egress and ingress totally precluded, but those within being furnished with the countersign, any one who, unhappily forgetful, ventures from his quarters unpro- vided with his talisman, is sure to be stopped by the first sentinel whose post he crosses. — English Paper. OUR COUNTRY AND OUR QUEEN. In other lands the bright sunbeam With richer glow is known, But none, however fair they seem, Are fairer than our own ; * For an instance of the love of the Canadian people for the Queen, we may mention the following incident at a school pic- nic at Kingston. The local superintendent had called the children together, and, after a few observations, asked them to join in singing God save the Queen, which they did in a manner to cause the tears to start in the eyes of many of their parents standing around; one of those at our elbow exclaimed: "Ay, God bless her (the Queen), and when she dies we'll never get the like of her again." — Chronicle and News. (See also page J 21.) 96 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, And none a monarch can possess As on our throne is seen : Still then we'll pray to Heaven to bless Our Country and our Queen ! In song let children hail her name, For she our love hath won, By deeds of more enduring fame Than manhood's might hath done. And long as language can express What in the heart's unseen, We'll pray to Heaven above to bless Our Country and our Queen I From lordly tower, and princely hall, And peasant's lowly home, Where'er her gentle sway doth fall. Her heartfelt praises come. Our mountains their delight express, Our cliffs and valleys green : And still we pray to Heaven to bless Our Country and our Queen ! Though great her glory and renown, Theme of her jicople's prayers, May she yet win a nobler crown Than that on earth she wears : And long may future times confess The virtues we have seen ; But Heaven, in thy great love, still bless Our Country and our Queen ! TBE QUEEN IN THE IIIO 11 LANDS. V. THE QUEEN IN UEll SCOTTISH HOME.* THE QUEEN IN THE HIGHLANDS. It is a singular and cheering siglit, in tliese modern (lays, to see Queen Victoria treading the heather, and wandering among the mountains and streams, where the people once rose en masse to resist that * In 1848, Prince Albert purchased Balmoral from the Earl of Fife. The first impression of Balmoral was a favourable one, and every year the I'rince Consort aiid her ^lajesty became more and more attached to it. Eight years after they had taken possession of the Castle, her Majesty records, October 13, 1850, her sentiments with reference to the place : — " Every year my heart becomes more fixed in this dear Paradise, and so much more so now, that all lias become my dearest Albert's oum crea- tion, own work, own building, own laying out, as at Osborne ; and his great taste, and the imi)ress of his dear hand, have been stamped everywhere. He was very busy to-day, settling and arranging man}- cliings for next year." 98 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, i I dynnsty of wliicli she is so illustrious an ornament. With highland chief and lowland laird she is still as popular as she is revered ; and wore her throne endangered, the shattered remains of once powerful clans would melt into one in order to crush those that would touch her crown with a rude, a hostile, or impious hand. Those white cottages that send the sun-rays across the Dee from their bright walls are the creations of the Queen. What is more, she personally visits hei* tenants, takes a lively interest in their comfort and well-being, and thus finds time to be a model .laird's wife, as well as a model British Sover» THE QUEEN AND HER BALMORAL DEPENDANTS. Of all the admirable traits in her Majesty's per- sonal character, none is more endearino than the 108 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. interest slic takes in her dependants, and lier anxiety to promote their liappiness. A very tonehing instance of this has come to our notice. Wo do not need to say what sums would have been given by many proud millionaires of England for a place in St. George's Chapel at the great ceremony of the Prince of AVales's marriage. Bat the pleasure and honour for which these men must wish for in vain was enjoyed by the humblest on the highland estate at Balmoral. Her Majesty graciously invited the whole of her dependants there to be present at the marriage of her son, and ordered arrangements to be made for the conveyance to and from Windsor of as many persons as could j)ossibly be spared from their duties upon the estate. They in their turn have evinced their affection for their roval mistress bv manv simple but pleasing expedients — such, for instance, as sending to many distant places chaplets and crowns of heather cut from the Prince's own forest at Brae'Qur. — Edinburgh Daily Review. ii THE QUEEN AND THE DUKE OF ATIIOLE, 109 THE QUEEN S PROMISE TO A SCOTCH LASSIE. A coiTespondent of tlie Abercloeii Free Press, near Balmoml, stated that several years ago lier jMajesty on loaviiic: her hidihiiid residence for the season, t)romised to Jenny , daughter of a cotter in the vicinity, to bring a toy to her next year. During tlio interval some very important State ailairs passed, and the Queen was over in France on a visit to the Emperor. The promise was all but forgotten on the one side — that of the highland girl ; not so on the other, for on arriving at Balmoral next season, her Majesty presented the humble lassie with the promised toy, remarking, " See, I have not forgotten von. i IV THE QCEEN AND THE DUKE OF ATHOIJ:;. Every one knows the interest our Queen had in the Duke, in his Duchess, and in Blair, where she iirst saw and loved the Highlands, when she and her husband wore in their first young joys, and where she went when the Duke, her friend, and her husband's friend, lay dyhig by inches of that terrible malady 4 T 110 SKETCHES AXD ANECDOTES. against which lio horc himself so patiently, we may now say so sweetly — submitting that fierce, restless Kjoirit to the Awful Will, setting his house in order, seeing and comforting his friends, remembering his people, and not oven forgetting his Ayrshires — waiting steadfastly and like a man for the end. We all know that meeting of the quick, honest, chivalrous, devoted chieftain with his sorrow-laden but sympathising Queen — their mutual regards, their brief, measured words from the heart. The dying man rising from his final room and accompanying his royal mistress to the train — kissing her hand, and bidding her, not without dignity, farewell ; and when his amazed and loving people stood silent and awed, almost scared, by something greater tlian Majesty, when with his dying lips he raised to her the parting cheer. THE QUEEN S VISIT TO THE DUCHESS OF ATHOLE. The Dundee Adve^iiser gives an account of the Queen's late visit to the Duchess of Athole at Dun- keld : — The Queen terminated what must have been to her a very pleasant sojourn at Dunkeld, and the 1 1 VISIT TO THE DUCHESS OF ATIIOLE. Ill |(T le 111 inhabitants of tlio picturrsque littU; town ai)prociato(l tlio honour ^vhich her jMajosty {'onforred on thoni by obedience to her commands that no iioisv demonstra- lion slioukl take pUxce during her stay. Tlie last morning her ^lajesty remained at Dunheld was, however, in many respects, tlio most interesting she had passed since lier arrival The Queen went tlirougli the town, made calls on several merchants, favourinp^ them with many small orders, and haviiifi: purchases packed up and taken away with her ; but her goodness of heart could not have been better manifested than when she stated she would plant a tree at Dunkeld House before she left, as a memorial of her visit. Mackie, the head gardener, was com- missioned to procure a plant. A fine specimen of cedar atlantica, about two feet high, was obtained. Her Majesty, about a quarter to ten o'clock, accom- panied by the Princess Helena, came out to the grounds, and having had a spade handed to her, placed the plant in the earth, and placed the soil around it. Handing back the spade to ^[r. Mackie, her Majesty said, " I think that will do." She tlien retired to the house again. On Thursday night a j2:eneral order was issued m the town, bv the direction 112 mOTCnES AND ANECDOTES. of hor Majesty, tlint the whole of the inhabitants woiihl bo admitted within the {^rounds to witness her departure. Long before the hour appointed for the royal guests to leave, tlie walks leading to the lu)U8e were densely thronged, and the main entrance of the nortli end of the town was literally besienfed. There could not have been less than three thousand persons present, and the decorum and loyal spirit which prevailed were very becoming. On Friday morning, about ten o'clock, the Duchess's own phaeton, drawn by four grays, -with outriders, was brought up to the entrance to the house, ^rhe Queen made her appearance, dressed in a black riding habit, and the Princess Helena, who was with hor, ^vas similarly attired. The whole guard who had watched the house, which consisted of eight men, was drawn up in front of the principal doorway ; and when her Majesty made her appear- ance, she bowed in recognition of their services. But before she took her seat in the carriage, her eve alighted on a veteran named Duff, whose appearance she thought she recollected. It is now twenty-two or twenty-throe years since. Her Majesty, accom- panied by the late Prince Consort, paid a visit to the iiEJOICINQS AT THE FALL OF SEnASTOPOl. 113 late Duke and now Dowager Dueliess of Atbolo, and on tliat occasion guards kej)t watch, aa tlioy did last week. She beckoned to Dud* tluit she wished to speak to liim, and he walked up to her and conversed with her Majesty for a few minutes. Not content with vociferous cheering as the royal carriage moved off, all sorts of good wishes were expressed for the safe journey of the party, and loud calls of " Haste ye back," and " Welcome back," could be heard ringing in the fervid chorus. For several miles along the road many spectators had gathered, and their kindly greetings were not over- looked by her Majesty, who kept acknowledging them as they were made. The Queen, on her recent visit to the Earl of Dalhousie, remained one night at his seat, Glenark, and on the following morning planted two specimens of the Wellingtonia gigantea, and two Scotch firs, as a memorial of her visit. I lie ROYAL REJOICINGS AT THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL. The Queen was at Balmoral when the news of the fall of Sebastopol arrived. In her *' Highland Jour- nal " she says : — " All were in constant expectation 4 114 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 11 of more telegraphic despatches. At half-past ten o'clock two arrived — one for me and one for Lord Granville. I b'' i^an reading mine, which was from Lord Clarendon, with details from Marshal Pelissier of the further destruction of the Eussian ships ; and Lord Granville said, ' I have still better news,' on which he read — ' From General Simpson : — Sehastopol is in the hands of the Allies' God be praised for it ! Our delight was great; but we could hardly believe the good news, and from having so long, so anxiously expected it, one could not realise the actual fact. " Albert said tL-^y should go at once and light the bonfire which had been prepared when the false report of the fall of the town arrived last year, and had remained ever since waiting to be lit. On the 5th of November, the day of the battle of Inkermann, the wind upset it, strange to say ; and now again, most strangely, it only seemed to wait for our return to be lit. " The new house (at Balmoral) seems to be luclcy, indeed; for, from the first moment of our arrival, we have had good news. In a few minutes, Albert, and all the gentlemen, in every species of attire, sallied forth, followed by all the servants, and nEJOICIXGS AT THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL, 115 w >'?ii gradually by all the population of the village — keepers, gillies, workmen — up to the top of the cairn. We waited and saw them light it, accompanied by general cheering. The bonfire blazed forth brilliantly, and we could see the numerous fijrures surrounding]: it, some dancing, all shouting, Ross playing liis pipes, and Grant and Macdonald firinj]: off iruns. About three quarters of an hour after, Albert came down, and said the scene had been wild and excitini*; beyond everything. The people had been drinking healths and were in great ecstacy. The whole house seemed to be in a wonderfu^ state of excitement. The boys (princes) were with difficulty awakened, and when at last this was the case, they begged leave to go np to the top of the cairn. " We remained till a quarter to twelve, and just as I was undressing, all the people came down under the windows, the pipes playing, the people singing, firing off guns, and cheering first for me, then lor xilbert, and then for the Emperor of the French, and the downfall of Sebastopol." (*• '1 •■' (!' I 116 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. VI. THE QUEEN IN ENGLAND. QUEEN VICTORIA IN HER OWN CAPITAL. BY JOHN B. GOUGH. One siglit is often to be seen jn Hyde Park which strilvcs a Republican as rather strange. You are leaniuo: aij-ainst the rails, idlv watchins: the ceaseless flow, when all at once, as suddenly as by the word of command, though not by word of command, every one of tlic carriages pulls up on one side, the equestrians do the same, and the two scarlet grooms- men gallop by. Immediately behind, in a plain carriage, is a lady, rather stout, with a good colour, with a baby, or daughter, or female attendant. There is nothing particularly remarkable about her ; yet every hat is lifted, every head is bared, and towards that matron lady every eye is turned ; and Tf POFULAIUTY OF THE QUEEN. 117 no wonder ; for tliat is Victoria, England's Queen ! She reigns for her virtues supreme in the affections of Englishmen. An Englishman is proud of his country : but above all of his Queen. Wherever he is, however remote from his own island home, " The Queen!" is the first toast given at all public fes- tivities where Engliishmen are congregated — " The Queen, God bless her !" In England there is an immense respect to rank and wealth. In this case, the highest rank in the land is filled by a woman, and that woman a wife and mother, and, in all relations of life, a pattern to her people. No wonder that John Bull gets red in the face as he shouts with might and main : " Sfiid her victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the Queen !" II "II I POPULARITY OF THE QUEEN AND ROYAL FA3IILY. " Of all conceivable spectacles of a ceremonial eharacter, I think the sight of the Queen opening Parliament is one of the finest Enj:>:land lias to show. [1 ■ I I filnff 118 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. ! I u I am, of course, referring to wliat takes place inside, and not outside, the lloyal Palace at Westminster. In spite of the fact that her Majesty has long since passed the time when her girlish beauty touched the hearts and aroused the admiration of her spectators ; in spite of the fact that she has ceased to wear the Koyal robes, and to read, with her characteristic clearness and precision, the Eoyal Speech, the ceremony may be truly described as grand. It is a sight that transports you from the present to the past. Seated on the throne so carefully guarded by her nobles is the Queen. Around her, with all the insignia of office, are her leading ministers and members of the household. This one bears the Koyal crown, that the sword of State, and others other symbols of office. On her right are the reverend bishops, and the ambassadors glittering with the orders and crosses of their respective countries. The members * of the Eoyal Family one by one have taken their seats. The House is getting very full ; the galleries are filled with the loveliest of England's daughters in full evening costume, with coronets of pearls and diamonds that dazzle and bewilder. In the body of the chamber are the ■I ] LOYALTY TO THE QUEEN IX ENGLA^W. 119 peers, with their red cloaks and ermine tippets, and coronets, all of the olden time. With the strains of music coming nearer and nearer, her Majesty has entered, and received the profomid homage of the House, which she most gracefully returns. As the hum ceases, and the rustle of silks, satins, and brocades is hushed, the Lord Chancellor turns to her Majesty, and bowing low, begins to read the Eoyal Speech. At each paragraph he makes another reverence, and at length, with an impressive bow, closes the address. Soon the Queen rises, bows, and, amidst cheers and demonstrations of loyalty, her Majesty returns to the Palace. She is followed by the Prince of Wales, who is also very loudly cheered, as is also his young and lovely wife, and the youthful princesses. The Duke of Edinburgh comes next, and he also meets with a large share of popular applause." — Correspondent from London, LOYALTY TO THE QUEEN IN ENGLAND. In the Royal Academy of Arts I saw lately two daughters and a younger son of the Queen. They were busily engaged looking at the paintings in Ml i^ii III :| 120 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. ■'If II < company with some noble gentlemen. They carried themselves very quietly and charmingly. They were, of course, tlie observed of all obscivers, while they acted as if they did not know it. There is something very pleasing in the devotion of the English to the Queen and her family. It is a feeling stronger than loyalty. It is affection. lioyal blood is sacred in their eyes, and they throw around the lioyal Family all the reverence and admiration which they are capable of feeling. I confess to being a very sturdy and incorrigible Republican. I almost smiled the other day when I read that " His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales had been graciously pleased to send fifty guineas to help a charity ;" but yet let it be considered that this is a feeling which includes at onco beauty and solidity. I am not dazzled with the glitter of royalty ; but I am forced to feel a sympathizi. ig appreciation of those senti- ments which underlie the most fixed and unfiilterinir loyalty. When I was in a vast assembly recently, not less than ten thousand being present, the choir sang '' God save the Queen." It was in the Crystal Palace, where hats were worn, and at the first sound of the tune every man rose and uncovered. I could CANADIAN LOYALTY. VIV not help doing the same thing, — An American in England. li CANADIAN LOYALTY FOR THE QUEEN. A very extraordinary manifestation of feeling took place in Toronto, at the very successful closing meeting of the Sabbath School Convention, in October, 18G7. A gentleman from New York de- livered a parting address, on behalf of the xVmerican visitors who had attended the Convention ; at the conclusion of which he referred to our Queen as "a model woman," and said that, from the fulness of his heart he could say, " Long live her Majesty Queen Victoria !" When he gave expression to this senti- ment there was such an outburst of enthusiastic loyalty that every one seemed carried completely away. The immense audience immediately commenced such a cheering and clapping of hands as is seldom seen, and kept it up until there was an accidental " change of exercise." Under the powerful excitement of the moment a gentleman near the platform com- menced singing " God save the Queen," when the en- tire audience rose to their feet and joined in singing lb 111 122 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. it through. That was singing with a will ! Several persons were quite overpowered, anrl even wept freely. It was sinn)ly an unpremeditated expression of the warm devotion of the Canadian heart to the best Queen that ever sat on the British throne. HURRAH ! HURRAH FOR CANADA ! Hurrah! hurrah! for Canada! Her woods and valleys green, Hurrah for dear Old P]ngland, Hurrah for England's Queen ! Good ships be on her waters, Firm friends upon her shores ; Peace, peace, within her borders, And plenty in her stores. Plight loyally we're singing, To all nations make it known, That we love the land we live in, And our Queen upon her throne ; Long may the sons of Canada Continue as thej^'ve been, True to their native country, And faithful to their Queen ! It iiii ; i 1 123 if j'ji hi I )■■; f VII. PUBLIC ESTIMATE OF THE QUEEN AS A RULER. STABILITY OF THE QUEENS THRONE. It would have been far better for the other sove- reigns of Europe had they kept their ph'ghted word as well as the Queen of England. How great are the perils they liave passed through during her reign ! Bourbon, llapsburg, and Brandenburg alike have been forced to yield to the turbulent elements which their own despotic misgovernment has evoked from their oppressed people. Not a few of them have sunk beneath the waves of the raging sea of anarchy around them, while she has rested securely on her throne, dispensing to her people liberty and law, and offering to perishing kings a safe asylum. While most other countries have been convulsed by civil commotions, England has been entirely un- ■f'^ f' 1.^ t 124 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. disturbed, and the tlirone of Victoria is more firmly fixed tlian ever. While the very foundations of society have been menaced elsewhere, not even the slightest feeling of disloyalty has been noticed in England, and the Queen is as dearly loved as at the first. The confidence of her people has everywhere extended broad and deep, and .jhe is now personally dear to all classes. The English can point to her with j^ride and satisfaction, and the more so that her conduct has been in all respects consistent. Her personal character and public condu(.*t have always been above reproach. She has restored to loyalty its old prestige. She has once more surrounded it with the reverential affection wliich makes obedience so easy, patriotism so hearty, and constitutional government so strong and stable. She has revived and given a new lease of life to sentiments which have slumbered since the Stuart days, and which some had mourned over as altogether dead. She has done this by a combination of qualities which is rare in any rank ; rarest, per- haps, of all, upon a throne. But most of all has she effected it by setting an example in her household life of private and domestic virtue, which Britons T" TRATNING OF THE ROYAL CHILDREN. 12" aj)proci» FRENCH APPRECIATION OF THE QUEEN. 138 Trequeti, was charged to execute. But it is not only in this gorgeous expression of legitimate regret that Queen Victoria has imitated the sovereign of antiquity. For Artemisia was not contented alone with testimonies of her love to be seen in stone, marble, and bronze erections. To do honour to the memory of the deceased Prince, she had recourse to the most famous writers in Greece, who, both in prose and verse, related the meritorious life and actions of the beloved husband who had fallen a prey to the icy hand of death. Thus it is again that the sovereign of Great Britain has followed the example of the widow celebrated in ancient history. Lieutenant-General Grey has edited, by the com- mands of the Queen, a work entitled ' The Youth of Prince Albert,' the materials boing furnished by the notes of her widowed Majesty." The French journalist thus concludes : — " Thio work ought to be read by all women who love their husbands, by all who have to lament the loss of an affectionate partner in life : not because it comprises fragments of a journal of a Queen, of a wife who had the power to confer the Order of the Garter or the Order of the Bath upon her husband, as a commoner might i fj" I Si I' lii! 134 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. embroider a pair of slippers for her spouse; but because the good Victoria loved with all her heart as an honest and devoted woman that amiable friend who was her confidential secretary, and, to make use of the expression of a German poet, the ' inter- preter of her smiles.' A wife who honours the memory of her husband, a widow who is content with her mourning weeds, when she has every right to clothe herself in purple, and to be crowned with diamonds, undoubtedly presents an edifying example worthy of being cited." LORD MORPETH ON THE CAREER OF QUEEN VICTORIA. The late Earl of Carlisle, when Lord Morpeth, in one of his addresses to the electors of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, uttered the following passage : " Eeference has been frequently made to the reigns of our female sovereigns, and indeed every Englishman must fondly look back to the wisdom of Elizabeth, and the victories of Anne. But in shaping the desired career of tlieir fair and young successor, Victoria, we do not wish that her name should rise above the wrecks of an Armada ; we do not seek to emblazon her throne with the VISIT TO PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 135 trophies of such fields as Blenheim, or the yet more transcendent Waterloo. Let her have glories, but such as are not drained from the treasury, or dimmed with the blood of her people. Let hers be the glories of peace, of industry, of commerce, and of genius ; of justice made more accessible ; of education made more universal ; of virtue more honoured ; of religion more beloved ; of holding forth the earliest gospel light to the unawakened nations ; the glories that arise from gratitude for benefits conferred; and the blessings of a loyal and chivalrous, because a contented, people. MR. SHEIIi ON THE QUEEn's VISIT TO PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. The Eight Hon. R. L. Sheil, in a recent speech in the British House of Commons, made a beautiful allusion to the Queen's visit to the National Schools, Dublin : Amongst the most remarkable incidents that oc- curred when the Queen was in Ireland, was her visit to the Schools of the National Board of Education — which took place (by accident, of course) before she * f-. .3i^[. If 1^^ «r= i I 136 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. visited the Collepje of the Holy .and Undivided Trinity. It was a fine spectacle to see the consort so worthy of her, attended by the representatives of the Presbyterian Church, by the Protestant Arch- bishop of Dublin, and by the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin — with those venerable ecclesiastics at her side, differing in creed, but united by the common brotherhood of Christianity, in the performance of one of the noblest duties which their common Christianity prescribed ; it was a fine thing to see the Sovereign of a great empire surrounded by groups of those little children, who gazed on her with affectionate amazement, while she returned their looks with fondness almost maternal: and, better than all, it was noble and thrilling, indeed, to see the emotions by which that great lady was moved when her heart beat with a high and holy aspiration that she might live to see the benefits of education carried out in their full and perfect development. LORD BROUGHAMS ESTIMATE OF THE QUEEN. Lord Brougham, in reproducing his volume en- titled "The British Constitution, its History, «1 DEVOTION TO PUBLIC AFFAIRS, 137 Structure, and Functions," thus referred to the Queen in his dedicatory preface : "The British Constitution has a natural connec- tion with your Majesty's auspicious reign, which is not more adorned by the domestic virtues of the Sovereign than by the strictly constitutional exercise of her high office, redounding to the security of the crown, the true glory of the monarch, and the happi- ness of the people. Entirely joining with all my fellow-citizens in feelings of gratitude towards such a ruler, I have individually a deep sense of the kind- ness with which your Majesty has graciously ex- tended the honours formerly bestowed, the reasons assigned for that favour, and the precedents followed in granting it." il !^M ii \ THE QUEENS DEVOTION TO PUBLIC AFFAIRS. The Duke of Argyle, in proposing the toast of " the Queen " lately in Scotland, said : " It is a remarkable thing, as it has often appeared to me, how ill-informed many persons are on the practical working of that constitutional government under which we live. Many of you may perhaps i ii 188 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. recollect that, some years ago, in consequence of a remarkable political incident, some explanations were made in the House of Commons upon this subject, and it really appeared almost as if many persons in this country then learned for the first time that the Sovereign of England is not, and never has been, a mere nominal Sovereign ; that the sove- reigns of this country do take, and are expected to take, an active personal share in that government which is conducted in their name. " I think it a circumstance worthy of observation, and which ought to be known to all the people of this country, that during all the years of the Queen's affliction, during which she has lived necessarily in comparative retirement, she has omitted no part of that public duty which concerns her as Sovereign of this country : that on no occasion during her grief has she struck work, so to speak, in those public duties which belong to her exalted position ; and I am sure that when the Queen reappears again on more public occasions, the people of this country will regard her only with increased affection, from the recollection they will have that, during all the time of her care and sorrow she has devoted herself. wit] goi reU SECRET OF ENGLAND'S GREATNESS. 131) without one day's intermission, to those cares of government which belong to her position as Sove- reii^n of this country." THE SECRET OF ENGLAND S GREATNESS. It was a noble and beautiful answer of our Queen, says the British Workman, that she gave to an African prince, who sent an embassy, with costly presents, and asked her in return to tell him the secret of England's greatness, and England's glory ; and our beloved Queen sent him, not the number of her fleet, not the number of her armies, not the amount of her boundless merchandise, not the details of her inexhaustible wealth. She did not, like Hezekiah, in an evil hour show the ambassador her diamonds, and her rich ornaments, but, handing him a beautifully bound copy of the Bible, she said, " Tell the Prince that this is the secret of England's greatness.' Rich gifts were borne from o'er the wave, Where Afric's summer smiles ; A treasure rare the monarch gave The Queen of Britain's isles. fi P I It! 1 i 140 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, He saw the stately palace walls, With pictured beauty rare, And stood within the royal halls, A wonderinj]; stranger there. " Oh, tell me how our wealth may change To splendours such as these, And I will bear the secret strange To lauds beyond the seas. *' Our skies are fair— our mountain streams In golden ripples flow ; Oh, bright the crystal current gleams When diamonds flash below ! " The sea-breeze wins a breath of balm In summer's sultry hours, When sleeping o'er the fragrant palm. Or floating mid the flowers — " The cocoa sheds where we rest — The acacia and the vine — Oh, why is not our land as blest As this fair realm of thine ?" She counted not her armies o'er, Who, proud her rule to own. The English flag in triumph bore To honour and renown : Nor her proud ships whose sprpading sails, Swept ocean's farthest foam, While southern winds and northern gales Were wafting treasures home. "1 SECRET OF ENGLAND'S GREATNESS. 141 She had a vohimo richly bound, Its golden clasps between, ^^ And thought not of the wealth around That shone for England's queen. " Take this ; these precious leaves unfold, And find what gems are there ; There's wealth beyond the purest gold Within its pages fair. " 'Tis this makes blest our English" homes, ' • Where peace and quiet reign : This is the star to him who roams Upon the land or main. " This is the secret of our fame, To praise the King ol kings — Adoring His most holy name, Our land its homage brings. " 'Tis He that gives the wealth we win, This Word that makes us free — Our life and blessing it hath been, Thus may it be to thee." I' If I: 1; I i I ti) j $ ;iV H 142 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. VIII. THE TRINCE CONSORT. SKETCH OF PRINCE ALBERT S EARLY LIFE. Prince Albert was born at Erenburg on the 26th of August, 1819. He was educated under his father's supervision at the castle. His mother died when he was scarcely eleven years old. On the 3rd May, 1837, his elder brother, Duke Ernest, and he entered the University of Bonn as Studiosus Juris. The two young Princes lodged at the house of Dr. Bischof, a medical professor, a modest house near the University. Prince Albert's character was that of an earnest and painstaking student. He chiefly studied jurisprudence and history. Music and paint- ing he also cultivated. He had learned music when a boy. His skill in painting may be estimated by the fact that a picture of his, " The Savoyard PRINCE ALBERTS EAhLY LIFE. 143 Minstrel Boy," painted during Iiis student life, is one of the most prized in the Queen's collection. During his residence at Bonn, Prince Albert cultivated the acquaintance of the greatest philosophers and scholars in the University. He left college in September, 1838. The people of Bonn were greatly grieved at his departure, for his charities to the poor had been unbounded ; and it may be added that he and his elder brother, Duke Ernest, published a volume of poems, with music and illustrations, during their academical residence, for the benefit of the poor of Bonn. In 1838, the young Prince and his father paid a visit to England, on the occasion of the coronation of the Princess Victoria as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. The Duke and the Prince, it was remarked, remained at Windsor and in London longer than the guests of higher rank. On leaving England the Prince went on a tour through J3avaria and Italy, and in 1840 he became the husband of her Majesty. The event was auspicious, and reality has more than surpassed all prognostics, however favourable. The royal marriage was blessed with a numerous offspring. So far as it is permitted to the public to Mil '' I i -^' Vl 4 n IT ill 144 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. know the domestic lives of sovereigns, the people of these islands could set up no better model of the performance of the duties of a wife and mother than their Queen ; no more complete pattern of a devoted husband and father than her consort. It may be interesting to know that the family- name of the Queen was Alexandrina Victoria Guelph ; that of Prince Albert was Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emanuel Busici. PRINCE ALBERTS CHILDHOOD. The Saturday Review, in a review of the Queen's Memoirs of Prince Albert, says : — " The history of a happy childhood can only aspire to the merit of agreeable monotony. A good little boy who learns his lessons and writes pretty little letters to his grandmamma is at best a good little boy. It is satisfactory, however, to learn from an infantile journal that Prince Albert, on two successive morn- ings, had a fight with liis brother and inseparaVe companion, the present Duke of Saxe-Coburg. At a somewhat later period he gave Count Mensdori a blow on the nose which left an indelible mark, and PRINCE ALBERTS CHILD HOOD. Ul at Bonn he won a prize in a fencing match among eight-and-tvventy competitors. At the same uni- versity he is said to have been distinguished by a faculty of mimicry and caricature, whicli found a legitimate field in the peculiarities of the professors and of the Prince's military instructor. In after years the exercise of the most amusing of the lighter gifts would have been undignified and indiscreet, and it was consequently abandoned. His biogra- pher might perhaps have done well to correct by additional details the prevailing impression that Prince Albert never was a boy. An idle world is too intolerant of youthful wisdom and virtue when they are not diversified by any touch of levity. A perfect character ought perhaps to pass, like Prince Albert, for the studious innocence of a simple and cheerful boyhood into :^e gravest responsibilities of mature life ; but human weakness regrets the entire absence of noise, of nonsense, and of the simple enjoyment of animal spirits. The Prince's early career was perhaps less remarkable in Ger- many ^than it might have been in England. The real and affected contempt for learning whicli is more or less traditional anion": EnG:lish bovs forms ii }/i\ 146 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. part of an instinctive suspicion that the precepts of parents and schoolmasters are doubtful, conven- tionally and partially insincere. A singular fabric of provisional philosophy and morality is therefore temporarily substituted for more legitimate doc- trines, and it serves its purpose better than might be expected. German boys are probably less hu- morous and more manageable ; and Prince Albert and his brother were fortunate in the care of an excellent tutor, who conducted their education from their earliest years till they left the University." SAGACITY OF THE PRINCE IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. I - " The deceased Prince was youug in years when he became the chosen husband of the Queen of these realms; but the happy discrimination of the Sove- reign, and the amiable character and qualities of her Majesty's late lamented consort, are proved by twenty-one years of a union of perfect and unalloyed felicity, rare in private life, rarest of all on a throne. The position of Prince Consort is a most difficult and delicate one in a public sense ; delicate in reference to the Sovereign herself in her public capacity, and SAGACITY OF PRINCE ALBERT. 147 difficult and delicate in regard to her ministers, her subjects, and occasionally with regard to foreign powers. Yet so admirably, so wisely, did the late Prince Albert demean himself in reference to his consort in her public capacity, to her ministers, to her people, and to her allies and brother sovereigns, that there has never, for one-and-twenty years and more, been a dissentient voice at home or abroad as to his late Royal Highness's merits, or as to his tact, temper, thoughtfulness, sagacity, and absence from all prejudices. It is the peculiar praise of the late Prince, that though he participated in the anxious cares of her Majesty, he never sought to share the credit of any measures of her reign or government. With ad- mirable good sense he held himself aloof from all party, and only appeared in a public capacity to en- courage those measures connected with the arts, or with benevolence and utility, on which all men were agreed. — London Morning Tost. V ii; r 148 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. PRINCE ALBERT THE QUEENS COUNSELLOR. Ill a debate in the Imperial Parliament, Earl Russell thus referred to the aid which the Queen received on public questions from the Prince Con- sort : " I am bound to state that the opinions the Prince gave, the temper he displayed, and the impartiality with which he viewed subjects of state, were of great service to the Sovereign. I will say one thing more — and I think that those who have watched the position of the Sovereign during the last twenty years will agree with me — that there has been a great change in this respect, a most beneficial change from what prevailed in former reigns. Now I hap- pen to know from the Prince himself the view he took of the duty of the Sovereign in certain cases. He stated to me, not many months ago, that it was a common opinion that there was only one occasion on which a Sovereign of this country could exercise a decided power, and that was in the choice of the first minister of the crown. The Prince went on to say that in his opinion that was not an occasion on which the Sovereign could exercise a control or pro- THE PMINCE AND THE ROTAL LIBJRARY. 149 nounce a decision ; that when a minister had retired from being unable to carry on the government, there was at all times some other party prepared to assume the responsibilities of office, and most likely to obtain the confidence of the country. But, he said, a trans- fer having been made, he thought that the Sovereign ought to communicate with him in the most con- fidential and unreserved manner with respect to the various measures to be brought forward. I attribute in a great measure to that opinion, which the Sove- reign held in common with the Prince, the fact that there has been no feeling of bitterness among any party in this country arising from political exclusion, and that all parties during these twenty years have united in rendering that homage to the Sovereign which the conduct of her Majesty has so well de- served ; and the country still reaps the benefit of the good counsel which the Prince Consort gave to the if'' , tl I t (If ill I'll crown. jj THE PRINCE AND THE EOYAL LIBRARY AT WINDSOR. The interest which the late Prince Consort took in the Royal Library at Windsor, so congenial to his general character, tastes, and disposition, soon com m 150 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. muuicated itself to others. Under his influence the library assumed, as a useful establishment, new life. There is sometliing touchingly illustrative of the character and worth of the man, in the sort of relation in which the royal patron of learning and the fine arts at large placed himself towards this more private object of his attention. When he was' residing at Windsor Castle, most of his leisure hours were spent in the apartments of the Jaoyal Library. There he delighted to look at the curious works of art and literature with the keen and rapid glance of a real critic. And thither he was in the habit of conducting his children, in order to infuse into their minds part of his own love for what was accomplished, elegant, and refined. He likewise encouraged the various members of the household, as well as the guests staying at the Castle, to avail themselves of these resources for present recreation, and for the acquisition of useful knowledge ; and, by his care, they were made easily and agi-eeably ac- cessible to all who felt inclined to profit by the different advantages they offered. uence tlie new life, e of the e sort of ■ning and ards this ;, most of its of the >k at the keen and e was in M'der to for what likewise usehold, to avail creation, and, by tbly ac- by the !9> <3 / U 'A o rt. 55 <3 # liEVERENCE FOR THE BIBLE. 151 PRINCE Albert's reverence for the bible. \Mion a student at Bouu, tlie Liblc was the Priucc's daily companion. When he became the husband of the Queen, it was his daily rule of life. And this reverence for, and love of the Bible were peculiar to the family. It is not generally known that the Prince Consort suggested the inscription which thou- sands of Londoners and strangers see cut in enduring stone on the Royal Exchange — " The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." He also suggested the Scriptural mottoes in the interior of the Great Exhibition building in Hyde Park in 1851. Another instance of his estimation of the Bible may be mentioned. An ingenious Yorkshire farmer' invented a plough, and obtained permission to show the Prince Consort the model. The Prince not only allowed the i^ood man to call his invention the " Albert Plough," but in appreciation of his ingenuity sent him a handsome Bible. Gratified, as \sq\\ he might be, with this expression of royal favour, the farmer went to the Palace with his Bible under his arm, and, being honoured with an interview, he requested that the Queen might place her name 1 1 !: y 152 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. uutlor that of tlio Prince Consort's, wliicli was clieer- fully done — tlio book being of higher estimation than even his " Albert Plough." PRUDENCE AND PERSONAL ACTIVITY OF THE QUEEN AND PRINCE CONSORT. No retrospect of the Prince Consort's life and character would bo complete without some notice of a point of cardinal importance in all estimates of royalty. During a period of unparalleled private and public expenditure, when speculation had taken new wing, when luxury has run a race with pride, and the national exchequer has been stormed and carried a dozen times for unheard-of requirements, the Royal Family has set a unique example of cheer- ful and dignified economy. Instead of coming before Parliament with a schedule of debts, or as' allowances for the education of childr oi pecting the nation to pay for a new pujace, tiie Queen and Prince Albert have done all this thi m- selves, and more. When there came the cry of famine and pestilence, and then war, they freely paid their share of the 1 TTTEPIilNCE'S NOBLENESS OF CHAIiACTEIiA^S public contributions. They have disdiarged the debts and obligations of several royal personages both hero and abroad. They have acquired two domains, and built two palaces, which may almost be said to be necessary under the altered circum- stances of the country. They have seen more of these isles and their inhabitants than any former princes, since kings wandered with a price on their heads. They have shown themselves everywhere. They have not been wanting io the encouragement of art, and if, outbid by an age of millionaires, they have accumulated no vast gallery of their own, they have placed London at the head of national collec- tions and international exhibitions. Nor have they neglected the future wants of their family. Thus have they passed for rich on an income which would have been deemed penury by the Georges. Domestic happiness and the sense of duty have been their cheap luxuries. fi J ■ii r|.i i I' I THE PRINCES GOOD SENSE AND NOBLENESS OP CHARACTER. It has been the misfortune of most royal personages that their education has been below the dignity of .,,, . B 154 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. their position. Thanks to the cultivated mind and sterling good sense of the Prince Consort, no such charge will be brought against the present generation of the Royal Family of England. Possessing talents of the first order, cultivated and refined by diligent and successful study, the Prince has watched over the education of his children with an assiduity com- mensurate with the greatness of the trust, and destined, we doubt not, to bear fruit in the future stability of our reigning family and its firm hold on the affections of the people. It was a singular piece of fortune that the Queen should find in a young man of twenty years of ago one whom a sudden and unlooked-for elevation could not elate, nor all the temptations of a splendid Court and a luxurious capital seduce ; who kept the faith he had pledged with simple and unswerving fidelity, and in the heyday of youth ruled his own self and left no duty unperformed. But it is still more sin- gular that in this untried youth the Queen should have found an adviser of the utmost sagacity, a states- man of the rarest ability and honesty of purpose. Perhaps all history cannot afford an instance of the performance of high and irresponsible but strictly ; THE QUEEN A CONSTITUTIONAL SOVEREIGN. 155 limited duties, with a dignity and singleness of in- tention comparable to that which has made illustrious the reign of Queen Victoria. THE QUEEN A RARE EXAMPLE OF A CONSTITUTIONAL SOVEREIGN. The Constitution of England has this defect, — that the powers entrusted to each of the estates of the realm are so great and ample that it is difficult for their possessors to resist the obvious temptation of employing them to obtain more. It has been the peculiar merit of this reign that the Crown has uniformly comprehended that its powers are held in trust for the people, and are the means, and not the end of government. For this enlightened policy, which has entitled the Queen to the glorious dis- tinction of having been the most Constitutional Sovereign this country has ever seen, we are in- debted to the wise counsels, sterling good sense, and thorough honesty of the Prince. Recognizing in him, not only a person united to her by the nearest and dearest of all earthly relations, but one on wliom the happy fortune of this country had be- «ri 111 S: 'I ' i i n iw 156 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. stowed extraordinary talents, her Majesty found in her husband a wise and true counsellor. The re- sult has been a period of progress and prosperity quite unequalled even in what may fairly be called the happy and glorious history of England. The rancour of contending parties has never assailed the Crown, because all have felt alike that they were treated with the most loyal impartiality. If faction has almost died away among us — if the nation is united as it never was united before — it is because every shade of opinion has had full and fair play, and the powers of Government have not been per- verted to oppress one side or unduly to elevate the other. In the Prince, although a German, we have had as true an Englishman as the most patriotic native of these islands. And at no period has our foreign policy been less s'J^ject to the imputation of subservience to foreign interests and relations than during the last twenty years. BAEON BUNSEN AND THE ROYAL FAMILY. In a letter to his wife, Baron Bunsen, Prussian Minister to England, in his memoii's, thus refers to his visit to Windsor : — BARON BUNSEN AND THE ROYAL FAMILY. 157 : I " I was invited to Windsor Castle to spend the birthday of the Prince of Wales, for the first time, as it is not usual for the Queen to have foreign guests on that occasion. In the morning I accom- panied the royal party to the terrace, to see the troops, who fired a/eit dejoie in honour of the Prince of Wales, who enjoyed it much, in extreme serious- ness, and returned duly, by a military salute, the salutation he received as the colours passed. I inquired of Prince Albert whether he had formed any idea as yet of his position, at this early age (five years). He told me that last month in travelling through Cornwall, he had asked for an explanation of the cheers accompanying the cry of ' The Duke of Cornwall for ever !' When Prince Albert in- formed him that there had been, long ago, a great and good Prince of Wales, called the Black Prince, who was also Duke of Cornwall, and he had been so beloved and admired, that the people had not for- gotten him, and the title being given to the eldest son of the Sovereign, together with that of Prince of Wales, it ought to teach him to emulate the merits of that great Prince, in order to be equally beloved and remembered. II i'ii M I ^lii i:il 158 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. fill "I had brought with me German books for the chikh'cn, and received permission to present them. The Queen brought the Eoyal Family into the corridor after luncheon, on purpose to give me that opportunity. Tlie Prince wanted to have the pic- tures ex2)lained, and I sat on the floor in the midst of the group ; we all spoke Gorman, and the Princess lioyal, by desire of the Queen, read a fable out of ono of the books perfectly well. The Queen often spoke to me about education, and in particular about religious instruction. Her views are very serious, but at the same time liberal and comprehensive. Slie (as well as Prince Albert) hates all formalism. The Queen r(>ads a great deal, and has done my book on the ' Church of the Future ' the honour to read it so attentively that the other day when at Cashio- bury, seeing the book on the table, she looked out passages which she approved, in order to read them aloud to the Queen Dowager. TTTLEB, THE HISTORIAN OF SCOTLAND. 159 TYTLER, THE HISTORIAN OF SCOTLAND, WITH THE QUEEN AND HER CHILDREN. P. F. Tytler, Esq., son of Lord Woodlioiiselee, and the historian of Scotland, having been invited to Windsor Castle, says in his memoir : " Soon after luncheon, a message came from j\lr. Murray to say that I must meet him immediately, to go and see the Prince of Wales and the Princess Iloyal, who were coming into the corridor with the Queen. Away I went, joined Mr. ^Murray, and got to the corridor, where we found some of the ladies and gentlemen of the household ; and after a short time the Queen, with the two little children playing round about her, and a maid with the Princess Alice ; Prince Albert, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess of Kent, Prince Hohenlohe, and some of the ladies in waiting came i\]) to us ; and her Majesty bowed most graciously, having the Prince of Wales in her hand; trotting on, and looking happy and merry. When the Queen came to where I was, and on my bowing and looking very delightedly, which I could not help doing, at the little Prince and her, she bowed, and said to the little bov, ' Make a bow, sir !' It if II I :i \ '! I 160 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, i i When the Queen said this, the Duke of Cambridge and the rest stood still, and the little Prince, walking straight up to me, made a bow, smiling all the time, and holding out his hand, which I immediately took, and bowing low, kissed it. The Queen seemed much pleased, and smiled affectionately at the gracious way in which the little Prince deported himself. All then passed through the corridor, and after an interval of about a quarter of an hour. Prince Albert, followed by a servant bearing two boxes, and having himself a large morocco box, came up to where I was, and told me he had brought the miniatures to show me, of which he had spoken last night. Then, in the sweetest possible way, he opened his treasures, and employed more than half an hour in showing me the beautiful ancient miniatures of Holbein, Oliver, Cooper, and others ; most exquisite things, embracing a series of original portraits of the kings, queens, princesses, and eminent men of England, and the Continent also, from the time of Henry VII. to the reign of George III. ... At dinner, aU went on very happily, without any stiff- ness. . . . There was nobody but a lady and Prince Hohenlohe between me and the Queen. t TYTLEB, THE HISTORIAN OF SCOTLAND. 161 When we came into the drawing-room, lier Majesty singled me out after a little time, and entered into conversation upon the miniatures. I expressed my high admiration of them, and of their great historical value, and praised the Prince for the ardour and knowledge he had shown in bringing them together and rescuing them from neglect. Her Majesty seemed pleased, and questioned me about the portraits of Bothwell. I expressed the doubts I had stated to the Prince, as to there being any authentic picture in existence, but added that I would make myself master of the fact immediately on my return, which she seemed to like." \: i .•fi ]62 IX. THE ILLNESS AND DEATH OP THE PRINCE CONSORT. THE PRINCE S LAST SUNDAY. In a letter from a member of the Queen's house- hold written shortly after the Prince Consort's death, the following passages occur : — " The last Sunday Prince Albert passed on earth was a very blessed one for the Princess Alice to look back upon. He was very ill and very weak, and she spent the after- noon alone with him, while the others were in church. He begged to have his sofa drawn to the window that he might see the sky and the clouds sailing past. He then asked her to play to him, and she went through several of his favourite hymns and chorales. After she had played some time she looked round and saw him lying back, his hands folded as I I FORTITUDE OF THE PRINCESS ALICE. 163 if in prayer, and his eyes shut. He lay so long without movinjr that she thought he had fallen asleep. Presently he looked up and smiled. She said, * Were you asleep, dear papa ?' ' Oh, no,' he answered, ' only I have such sweet thoughts.' " During his illness his hands were often folded in prayer ; and when he did not speak, his serene face showed that the * happy thoughts ' were with him to the end." THE TOUCHING FORTITUDE OF THE PRINCESS ALICE. The Princess Alice's fortitude has amazed us all. She saw from the first that both her father's and mother's firmness depended on her firmness, and she set herself to the duty. He loved to speak openly of his condition, and had many wishes to express. He loved to hear hymns and prayers. He could not speak to the Queen of himself, for she could not bear to listen, and shut her eyes to the danger. His daughter saw that she must act dif- ferently, and she never let her voice falter, or shed a single tear in his presence. She sat by him, listened to all he said, repeated hymns, and then when she could bear it no longer, would walk calmly to the ! A I PI r: ■ V> ri i T- 104 SKETCnES AND ANECDOTES. door, and rush away to lier room, returning with the same cahn and pale face, without any appearance of tlie agitation she had gone through. Of the devo- tion and strcngtli of mind shown by the Princess Alice all through these trying scenes it is impossible to speak too highly. Her Koyal Highness has, in- deed, felt that it was her phice to be a comfort and support to her mother in this afllhction ; and to her dutiful care we may perhaps owe it that the Queen lias borne her loss with exemphiry resignation, and a composure which, under so sudden and so terrible a bereavement, could not have been anticipated. THE FATAL CRISIS. It is said that as early as Wednesday morning following, the Prince expressed his belief that he should not recover. On Thursday no material change took place in his condition, and on Friday morning the Queen took a drive, having at that time no suspicion of immediate danger. When, however, her Majesty returned to the Castle the extremities of the patient were already cold, so sudden had been the fresh access of the disorder. THE FATAL CRISIS. 165 r. All night long the Prince continued very ill, but in the forenoon of Saturday a change for the better took place. Unhappily, it was only the rally which so often precedes dissolution. About four o'clock ill the afternoon a rehq^se took i)lace ; ho began gradually to sink, and from that time there was no hope. Congestion of the lungs, the result of com- plete exhaustion, set in ; the Prince's breathing be- came contimially shorter and feebler. Quietly and without suffering he continued slowly to sink — so slowly that the wrists were pulseless long before the last moment had arrived, when, at a few minutes before eleven, he ceased to breathe, and all was over. He was sensible, and knew the Queen to the last. An hour after, and the solemn tones of the great bell of St. Paul's told all the citizens how irreparable had been the loss to their beloved Queen, how great the loss to the country. A gentleman who has seen the corpse, states, that the features had more than the usual pallor of death. The face, always composed and statuesque in expression, was wonderfully calm, placid, and peaceful in death. It was as if the figure had been suddenly transmitted into the whitest alabaster. Ill ) ! !f f: 166 {^KETCHES AND ANECDOTES. AFFECTIONATE SOLICITUDE OF THE QUEEN AND HER CHILDREN. It must have elieoreJ the last moments of tlie illustrious patient to see his wife and children round his bed. Six of them were at home, and were ad- mitted, in the course of the evening, wlien all eartlily liope had fled, to take a last farewell of their beloved father. Tlie Princess Royal, at Berlin, was pre- vented, by recent severe indisposition, from travelling. Prince Alfred was serving on board his ship on the other side of the Atlantic ; but the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alice were by his side. The Queen's attention to her royal consort was unceasing. As his disorder approached its crisis, the Prince could not bear her to leave the room, and was im- patient for her return. The Queen and the Princess Alice sat up with him the whole of Friday night, having taken their places by his bedside soon after eight o'clock, when his state had become critical. The Prince of Wales, having been summoned by the Princess Alice, of her own accord, by telegraph, arrived in the sad stillness of a dark winter's morning, and joined his mother and sister in their mournful vigil. NOBLE CONDUCT OF THE QUEEN. W7 TOUCHING AND NOBLE CONDUCT OF THE QUEEN. The Queen had to summon all lier strength to bear the agony of the closing scene ; but she, never- theless, supported herself nobly, and, after the first passionate burst of grief was over, she called her children around her, and, with a calmness which gives proof of great natural energy, addressed them in solemn and affectionate terms, which may be con- sidered as indicating the intentions of a sovereign who feels that the interests of a great nation depend on her firmness. And it must have been a most deeply touching and instructive, but heroic act, when, in the first moments of her widowhood, the sovereign of the British Empire, and the mother of the deceased Prince's children, strong in the con- viction of past parental duties piously fulfilled, press- ing back for the time the feelings of the wife and the woman into the depths of her bereaved heart, called, as we have been told she did, " her children around her at that trying and awful moment, and, invoking a blessing on their heads, prayed that they might obtain strength and wisdom to assist her in ii m' ff' 168 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. doing licr duty to them and the conntiy over which it hath pleased Providence to place her as supreme ruler" " I 1 i GRIEF OF THE YOUNG PRINCE LEOPOLD. The news of the death of rrinee Albert reached the young Prince Leopold, his son, at Cannes, in the south of France, in the midst of circumstances so melancholy and Si;d that they could not fail to increase the horrors of the catastrophe. Taking advantage of a charming morning, the young Prince had gone out to sea to indulge in his favourite pastime of fishing. In returning tc his villa, he observed the countenance of his principal servant to be overcast, and that there were tears in his eyes. The cause of this grief v a^i the death of his governor. General BoNvater, who had just died in the chamber adjoining Prince Leopold s. At the news of this loss the puor boy wept bitterly. Almost at the same moment there appeared at the end of the hall a commissionaire of the telegraph, bringing a telegraphic despatch. It was addressed to the general, who was then lying dead. The envelope v/as opened — it contained the fatal news : " Prince Albert is dead !" His Royal THE rniNCE coi^soRrs last nouns. i69 Highness was at once taken into his room, and I assure you tl/^t it is impossible to give any idea of the desolation of this young ehild. " My mother ! I must go to my motlier," he cried in sobs. " My mother will bring him back agaiii. Oh, I want my mother!" Shortly after he was taken from the mournful and desolate-looking house to the Hotel de Bellevue. Soon after an English ofTicer arrived to take the disconsolate orphan back to England THE PRINCE CONSORTS LAST HOURS AND RELIGIOUS PREPARATION. Most affecting and yet most cheering w^ere the last hours of the rrince. When his last illness com- menced (says the tlcn. nnd llev. Haptist Noel in his sermon), one of the physicians said to him, " Your Royal Highness will be better in a I'ew days." He replied, " No, I shall not recover ; but I am not taken by surpiise ; I am not afraid ; I trust I am prepared!' And so he died. Sustained as lie was by the prayers and the nobl< efforts of the Princess Alice, whose lovelv character never shone more brightly than in this mght of ^li M 170 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. death, he was strong in the last struggle, and (as was stated by a nobleman who attended the Prince to the last) derived much comfort from the well-known hymn by Toplady, which he often repeated on his death-bed : Rock of ap;es, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee ; Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flow'd, Be of sin the double cure, Save f-om wrath and make me pure. Could my tears for ever flow — Could my zeal no languor know — These for sin could not atone ; Thou must save, and Thou alone ; In my hand no ^irice I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling. While I draw this fleeting breath, When my eyes shall close in death. When I rise to worlds unknown. And behold Thee on Thy throne. Rock of ages, dvi't for me. Let me hide myself in Thee. THE QUEEN ON HER BEREAVEMENT. 171 THE QUEEN ON HER BEREAVEMENT. In a letter from a lady in tlie Queen's household, she thus writes : " I have frequently conversed with tlie Queen since her noble husband's death. The first time she said, 'You can feel for me, for you have efone throuji-h this trial.' Another time she said how strantre it seemed, when she looked back, to see how much for the six months previous to the death of the Prince his mind had dwelt upon death and the future state ; their conversation was often turned upon these subjects, and they had read to- gether a book called * Heaven our Home,' which had interested him very much. lie once said to her, ' We don't know in what state we shall meet again ; but that we shall recognise each other and be togetlier in eternity I am perfectly certain.' It seemed as if it had been intended to prepare her mind and comfort her — though, of course, it did not strike her then. She said she was a wonder to her- self, and she was sure it was in answer to the prayers of her j)eople that she was so sustained. She feared it would not last, and that times of agony were before lier. She said, ' There's not the bitterness ^ 1 'M ^1 ' 'i\ 7 172 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES in this trial that I felt when I lost my mother — I was so rebellious then ; but now I ean see the meroy and love that are mixed in my trial."* To one who spoke to her of resignation, we are informed that her Majesty replied througli her tears, " I suppose I must not fret too much ; many poor women have to go through the same trials." She felt then that she has no reason to expect that slie should have any immunity assured to her ; or that sovereigns were exempt from the sorrows and sufferings in- cident to human nature. For death can find an entrance as easily into the palace of the king as into the cottage of the peasant. • RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE ON THE PRINCE OF THE ^ PRINCESS ROYAL. At what particular time, or under wliat jiarticuTar circumstances, the religious views of the Prince Consort had taken the di.'cided shape indicated above, we are not in a position to say. But it is not improbable that the very decided religious change which the mind of the Princess Royal underwent very shortly before her marriage may have largely contributed to it. RELIGIOUS VIEWS OF THE PRINCE CONSORT. US This cliango of iniiid on the part of the rrinccss Royal was the result of reading a small publication by the late Adulphe Monod, of Paris, which had been put into her hands by a lady ; and the change i)rodueed was so decided as to be observable by all around lier. AVhat lier religious views were after the happy transformation had talcen place, may be inferred from the fact that durini;- the last time she was at Balmoral, just before her marriage, slie de- voted several hours every day to visiting the sick and the dying among the poor of the neighbourhood, and in distributing the highly evangelical tracts of the Religious Tract Society. But whatever may have been the agencies by which the late Prince Consort was led to adopt those deeply religious views which seem to have been to him the source of so much delight in his later years, and which were so dear to him when he was hourly expecting the closing scene, it must be the source of overflowing and unfailing consolation to his widowed Queen that his mind had been deeply occupied with the thoughts so solemn and so suitable, in the contemplation of the new and untried state of being on which he was about entering. — Morning Advertiser. : i 3 ■I A I •?i ■ m i t U 174 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. X. INCIDENTS OF THE PRINCE'S FUNERAL. TOUCHING GRIEF OF TFE BEREAVED PRINCES. Before the funeral procession began to move for- ward from the entrance into the choir of the Royal Chapel (Windsor), the chief mourners remained at the head of the coffin, motionless. The Prince of Wales bore up with great fortitude ; and though he, like all the rest, at times gave way to irrepressible bursts of tears, he evidently tried to the utmost to restrain his feelings, though it could be seen some- times, from the working of his countenance, that the effort was too violent for long endurance. The Duko of Snxe-Coburg, brother to Prince Albert, who was devotedly attached to the deceased Prince, to whom lie bears a strong resemblance, was deeply moved, and wept incessantly throughout the IMPRESSIVE SCENE. 175 ceremony. The Crown Prince of Prussia, too, was equally affected. Poor little Prince Arthur's grief was enougli to move the sternest. lie, of course, made no attempts to check or hide his feelings. His eyes were red and swollen, and the tears were running down his clieeks as he entered the chapel. As they stood at the head of their father's coffin, the Prince of Wales turned and spoke, apparently, a few soothing words, for after this Prince Arthur, for a minute or so, seemed to bear up better. And it was not until the procession began to move for- ward, and the long, melancholy wail of the dirge went echoing througli the building, that all the little fellow's fortitude gave way, and hiding his face in his handkerchief, he sobbed as if his very heart would break. ' i '■i\ w IMPRESSIVE SCENE AT THE FUNERAL. As the procession advanced up the church, the Burial Service, commencing with, " I am the resur- rection and the life, saith the Lord," was sung by the full choir. At the nave was commenced the passage — " I know that my Redeemer liveth," still *t it 176 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. sung to Ci'oft's mcliinclioly, dirgo-like music, so touching, so inoxprossibly mournful iu its long, soft cadences. All tlie servants of tlie late Prince stood in the nave as the bier passed ; tliey seemed deeply moved, and the grief of many was quite audible. With the concbiding words of the passage, "We brouglit notliinginto this world," tlie bier was moved up slowly into the choir, its gorgeous pall conceal- ing the bearers. As the bier neared the communion rails, it was slowly placed, amid solemn silence, on the spot whence it was to be lowered out of sight for ever. By the tiinti these arrangements were com- pleted, the chant of the 39th Psalm, " I said I will take heed to my ways that I offend not with my tongue," had concluded, and as the last faint tones of the music died away, the platform on which the bier stood was level with the floor. READING OP THE BURIAL SERVICE. The Dean of Windsor then advanced to the com- munion rails, and, in a faltering voice, read the lesson, " Now is Christ risen from the dead, and be- come the first fruits of them that slept." Once or *I!H THE BURIAL SERVICE. 177 twice during this solemn portion of the service, the Prince of Wales, Prince Arthur, the Crown Prince of Prussia, and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, were totally unable to restrain their tears, in which they were silently joined by nearly all present in the choir. At the end of the lesson the choir sang the (xerman chorale, " I shall not in the grave remain," by the special request of the widowed Queen. It is impossible to imagine anything more exquisitely touching than the cadence to the lines, " So fall asleep in slumber deep, Slumber that knowo uo euding," which was chanted by the choir in whispered tones that seemed to moan through the building with a plaintive solemnity as deep in its sorrow as the notes of the " Dead March." ; ;j.. THE BODY LOWERED INTO THE VAULT. Again the Dean resumed the service in a broken voice — for all in the chapel now made Vto attempt to conceal their emotion — with the sublime passage, " ]\Ian that is born of woman hath but a short time iill M 'I ! 178 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. to livo, and is full of misery." Thon was sung, with oxqiiisito patlios, Martin Luther's hymn, " Great God, wliat do I see and hear?" As the last strains of this solemn chant ended, tlie personal attendants of his Royal Highness had slowly removed the heavy black velvet jiall, leaving the crimson coffin, in all its mourning gorgeousness, un- covered, the one conspicuous centre in startling con- trast, almost the only solitary object in all the chapel which was not covered with black and draped in solid mourning. As this last ceremony was being performed, the choir again sang the following hymn to an air composed by the Prince himself. (Gotha) : — Happy soul, thy days are ended — All thy mourning days below; Go, by angel guards attended, To the sight of Jesus, go ! Waiting to receive thy spirit, Lo ! the Saviour stands above : Shows the purchase of His merit, Eeachcs out the crown of love. Struggle through thy latest passion To thy dear Redeemer's breast, To His uttermost salvation, To His everlasting rest. ' ! ORIEF OF THE MOUItNEIiS. 179 For the joy lie sets before thee, Peiir the nioinentary pain ; Die, to live the life of ^'lory, Suller, with thy Lord to reigu. Wlion it ciulecl there was a silcMit pause, during which the quick, sharp rattle of troops outside re- versing arms was plainly audible. Then came the muffled toll of the bell, the boom of the minute guns, and the coffin slowly, and at first almost im- perceptibly, began to sink into the grave. GRIEF OF THE MOURNERS PRESENT. There was more than mourning at this most solemn time. The Princes hid their faces and sobbed deeply. All, not only the Eoyal train, but in the chapel, allowed their tears to flow almost unchecked, and some, such as the Crown Prince of Prussia, and the personal attendants of his late Eoyal Highness among the pall-bearers seemed not less deeply moved for a time than the Eoyal or[)haus themselves. Still, the coffin continued to sink. It was but a few short months ago since the late Prince stood at the head of the same sombre opening, and wept as the remains of ,<\ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) .0 LI »~I|IM IIIIIM <^ IM 111112,2 .1 i;^ lb u. |40 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 -^ ^ — 6" — ► %^' >^ -c*l />^ '/ # » J Photographic Sciences Corporation V S ,v -^o^ \\ ^9> .V C^^ ^^^\ s ^.^f % nj^ 6^ 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 T ^r i-? Q.r 1 17^ i I •1 180 SKETOHES AND ANECDOTES. I : the Duchess of Kent were in the same manner slowly lowered to the Royal mausoleum. Now it was difficult — it seemed almost impossible — to believe that the coffin then so slowly descending held all that was mortal of Prince Albert. It was a solemn period, and a most tiying one for the mourners, whose half-stifled si^^hs were audible from all parts of the choir. The silence within the chapel was intense ; every movement among those present could be dis- tinctly heard ; the wind moaning round the building sounded hoarsely, and tlie muffled knells from all the spires of Windsor seemed booming above the Koyal grave itself. Slowly fading from the sight, the coffin gradually became level with the floor, then sank deeper and deeper, casting almost a glow of colour from its deep crimson sides upon the cloth-lined walls of the grave, till it was lost to view for ever. CONCLUDING INCIDENTS OF THE TOUCHING CEREMONY. As the last trace of its gold and crimson crown on the coffin disappeared, the service was continued amid the deepest grief, with the passage, " Forasmuch as it has pleased Ahniyhty God, of Ills great mercy, to- CONCLUDING INCIDENTS. 18: on lued \uch f, to take unto Himself the soul of our dear Irother here dej^arted.'' At the proper interval tlie earth was thrown upon tlie coffin, and fell upon its ornaments and plate witli a sharp rattle that was heard tlirongh- ont the building:. Then was sung by the clioir, '' I heard a voice from Heaven,'^ to Croft's plaintive music ; and after the reading of the prayer, ''Almif/hfi/ God, with u'hom do live,'* another of the late Prince's favourite chorales was sung. ?.he oolleci, " merciful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus C/irist,'' concluded the service, and Sir Charles Young, advancing to the head of the grave, pro- claimed the style and titles of the deceased Prince. Then the organist began the solemn strains of the Dead March in " Saul," as the mourners advanced to take a last look into the deep grave. The Prince of Wales advanced first, and stood for a brief moment with hands clasped, looking down ; and then all his fortitude seemed suddenly to desert him, and bursting into a flood of tears he hid his face, and slowly left the chapel. Of the two, Prince Artliur seemed the more composed at the end of the ceremony, as if his •Mirestrained grief had worn itself out. All the mourners and those invited to the ceremony advanced r : 1 1 ! ) i 1 "' 182 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. ill turn to take a farewell glance at the coflin, and not one looked into the deep black aperture unmoved — none quitted the chapel without traces of deep and heartfelt sorrow. « THE WREATHS FROM OSBORNE ON THE PRINCES COFFIN. When all was over, and the last of the long, linger- ing train of mourners had departed, the attendants descended to the entrance to the mausoleum with lights. It is a very plain, wide, lofty stone vault, with a groined roof. On either side are four tiers of marble shelves ; in the centre are three very massive and wide slabs of marble, destined for the coffins of monarchs only. As the light slowly penetrates this dismal chamber, two puri)le coffins can be seen at the furthest end, brightly reflecting back the rays of light as the beams fall upon their richly gilded ornaments, which shine as though affixed but yester- day. These are the coffins of (icorge III. and Queen Charlotte. Above their heads, but si lining out warmly with a bright crimson glow, are the coffins of three of their children, who died young. At their feet, but some distance apart, and quite alone, lies WREATUS FROM OSBORNE. 183 ants with with s of sive IS of this at s of (led ter- een out s of leir lies the gorgeous coffin of George IV. On the centre slab, and nearest to the gates, the coffins of Wil- liam IV. and Queen Adelaide rest side by side, the Queen being on the left. The light distinctly shows these coffins, and the velvet is as soft and rich and the silver plates and handles as bright, as on the day when they were first laid tliere, many years ago. On the left of the vault are the coffins of the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, and the Duke of Cambridge. The coffin nearest to the gate is that of the Princess Charlotte. It is a crimson coffin, bright like the rest. At the gates of the Koyal vault was the coffin of the late Prince. On it some dear memorials of love and fond regret from the bereaved Queen and children were sorrowfully deposited by the Prince of Wales. Previous to the closing of the coffin, a wreath of flowers made by the Princess Alice was placed on the body, and a miniature of her Majesty placed in his hands. A few days afterwards, a Queen's messenger brought from Osborne to Windsor three little wreaths and a bouquet. The wreaths were simple chapleis of moss and violets, wreathed by the three elder Princesses — the bouquet of violets, with a white camelia in the centre, was FTf 184 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. sent by the widowed Queen. Between the heraldic insignia these last tributes from his widow and orphan daughters were laid upon the coffin — mementoes of domestic love and worth above all heraldry that ever was emblazoned. With this last act of grateful care the aperture of the Royal vault was closed, and thus was Prince Albert, who has lived in honour and died in fame, buried in the most profound and deserved grief that has ever been evinced by any nation within the memory of living man. 185 XL THE QUEEN IN HER WIDOWHOOD. PBINCE ALBERTS MAUSOLEUM. The Queen has built a superb mausoleum on the royal grounds at Frogmore. The spot u})ou which it is built is very beautiful and secluded. The mausoleum is thus described : — " It consists of a central cell with four transepts branching north, south, east, and west, with a porch adjoining the western transept. Under tlie roof of the central cell will be the sarcophagus for the remains of the Prince Consort. The reclining statue of the Prince will be executed by Baron j\Iarochetti. The four transepts are square, and lighted. The porch, which will be entered by a handsome flight of stone steps, will be lighted with circular-headed three-liglit windows, and the front will be supported by monolitliic granite columns, similar to those already finished in the * I i I 18G SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. mausoleum of the Duchess of Kent. The interior will be in difiercnt coloured marbles and stone. The building is in tlie Italian style, like one of the campanili at Pisa. The erection, which is seventy feet in length and the stirae in height, will be adorned by several statues. The foundation stone, which was laid by her Majesty the Queen, bears the following inscription : — " The foundation stone of this building, erected by Queen Victoria in pious remembrance of her great and good husband, was laid by her on the 15th day of March, a.d. 18G2. 'Blessed are they that sleep in the Jtord.' " WINDSOR MEMORIAL STATUE OF PRINCE ALBERT. The statue to the late Prince Consort and Queen Victoria, which has been placed in the principal cor- ridor of Windsor Castle, is thus described : — The group consists of figures of her Majesty and the Prince Consort, the size of life, in the Saxon costume of the ninth century, which lends itself favourably to sculpture. Her Majesty wears a light and graceful diadem, and a rich mantle. The Prince has also a mantle, and his dress, in which reminiscence of antique are discernible, displays his figure to great GRATITUDE FOR THE ALBERT MEMORIAL. 187 advantage. Tlio position of the two figures readily tells the tale of deep afTeetion and pn^sont earthly separation. They stand side by side, her Majesty looking up at her hns-band with an expression in which grief and hope are combined, her right hand over his left shoulder, her left hand grasped in his left. The Prince is looking down at the Queen with tender solemnity, with his right hand raised, and pointing upward. The heads aud hands are portraits, conceived with admirable feeling. Hound the left arm of the Queen is an armlet inscribed with the name " Albert." Hound the right arm of the Prince is one inscribed " Victoria." m\ THE QUEENS GRATITUDE FOR THE ALBERT MEMORIAL. The following letter, dictated by her Majesty, was addressed to the Lord Mayor of London. It says : " The Queen feels grateful from the bottom of her heart for the universal sympathy that has been ex- pressed for her in her deep affliction ; but it is still more soothing to her feelings to know that the noble character, the truly princely nature, of him whose loss has bowed her to the earth with a sense of 188 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. desolation ami misery that every ciay, alas! serves only to increas(», is appreciated by the eonntry ; that the benefits he has been instrumental in conferring upon the nation, the good he has wrought since he first came among us, and to effect which he may truly be said alone to have lived, are undei-stood and acknowledged. " The Queen is also much touched by the feeling which has led the promoters of tlie movement for erecting a national monument to the Prince to leave the nature of that monument to her decision. " After giving the subject her best consideration, her I^Iajesty has come to the conclusion that nothing would be more appropriate, provided it is on a scale of sufficient grandeur, than an obelisk to be erected in Hyde Park, on the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851, or some spot immediately contiguous to it ; nor would any proposal that can be made be more gratifying to the Queen personally, for she can never forget that the Prince himself had highly approved of the idea of a memorial of this character being raised, on the same spot, in remembrance of that Exhibition." BALLAST nEAVEIiS' ADDRESS. 189 erng Itbat BALLAST HEAVEUfi ADDRESS TO THE QUEEN. An address to her Majesty has been presented by the London Ballast Heavers. It seems that the late Prince Consort took a good deal of interest in the condition of these men, and secured for them some important benefits. In their address, they tell in their own simple way all that the Prince did for them, and they " would be very glad " if the Queen would give them a " framed engraving " of his " kind and earnest face " to hang up in their waiting and reading room provided for them through the influence of his Royal Highness. The portrait, they say, would serve the double purpose of a memorial of their benefactor and of a *' reminder that we, in our humble way, should strive to be, as husbands, fathers, and men — what he was." " We hope," they apologetically con- clude, "your Majesty will excuse our boldness in asking this favour ; but we feel that we may speak to our Prince's wife." The Queen's reply to this touch- ing address was conveyed to the Ballast Heavers in a note addressed to Mr. Furneval. It says : — " Her Majesty has been deeply touched by this spontaneous testimony to the active benevolence of her beloved I II 190 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. husband ; and amongst all the tokens of sympathy in her grief, which she has gratefully received from all classes of her pco[)le, no one has been more gratifying to tlie Queen, and no one more in harmony with her feelings, than the simple tribute from these honest, hardworking men. And her Majesty njoices to hear of the happy cliange in their moral and social condition. The Queen has the greatest pleasure in complying witli the request contained in the address, and has ordered two i)rints of the Prince Consort, one in uniform, and one in ordinary dress, to be framed and presented, to be hung in the room in which the Ballast Heavers wait ; to these her Majesty has added one of herself, as the Queen woukl wish, in the re- membrance of these grateful men, to be associated with the memory of her great and good husband, whose virtues they have so highly and justly appre- ciated." THE QUEEN AT PRINCE ALBERT's BIRTHPLACE. On her visit to Germany, in 18G5, the Queen pre- sided at the uncovering of the Albert statue in Coburg. Her Majesty, on this occasion, was sur- rounded by her children, and the scene, as portrayed PPINCE ALBERTS BTRTHPLACK. 191 )i)re- Ipre- in isur- tved by eye-witnesaos, was one of the most boaufiful and touching description. It was cliaracteristic of (^uecn Victoria that, it having been intimated to her that more than one royal personage was desirous of being present, she re[)h'ed that tlie occasion being one of strictly domestic interest, the presence of strangers would be unacceptable. There was a touch of the wife and mother in tliis reply, as well as of " her Majesty" the Queen. These few but expressive words, on such an occasion, we think, alTord a key to the salient points of her character. The statue is erected in the town of Coburg ; but the actual birthplace of Prince Albert was the ChMeau Kosenau, about three miles distant. The weather was favourable for the inauguration, and the town was crowded witii visitors. On the arrival of the Queen, the band played the English national anthem, and immediately afterwards the choir, ac- companied by the band, sang a hymn, " Heil dir in Siegerkranz." After the hymn, the white cloth sur- rounding the statue was let fall, and the figure of the Prince Consort stood revealed. The statue is of colossal size, and in the left hand is a baton, whilst the right rests on a plan of the Great Exhibition, ^ff „ 192 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. which rests on a stone at the side of the figure. It is gilt, and stands on a pedestal of black polished granite. Luther's hymn, " Ein feste Burg," was then sung, accompanied by the band, and the Queen was conducted by the Duke of Saxe-Coburg towards the statue. Her Majesty was followed by all the members of the Royal Family, and, on arriving at the foot of the colossal figure, the Queen first gazed for a second at the features of the Prince, and then handed to one of the young ladies of the city, who had been ad- mitted within the railings, the bouquet which had been lying in front of her Majesty. The Queen's example was followed by all the Princesses, and numerous bouquets wc^e laid at the foot of the statue. The ceremony then closed, and the Queen left for Rosenau. Previous to leaving the chateau, her Majesty de- sired the following lettei- of thanks to be addressed to the municipality of Cuburg: — "The Queen has been both touched and rejoiced to see how the in- habitants of the town of Coburg have associated themselves with her endeavour to honour the memory of her never-to-be-forgotten consort. The recent proof of the affection borne towards the Prince, THE CANADIAN LIBRARIES. 193 by his native town, has deeply moved the Queen. Cobuig, tlie birthplace of her consort and lier mother, will always be held dear by the Queen. She cannot now leave Coburg without expressing her warmest thanks both to the burgomaster of the town, and, through him, to all the inhabitants, for the marks of attachment she has experienced. f y de- [essed has in- liated the The [ince, THE QUEEN AND THE CANADIAN LIBRARIES. Her jMajesty the Queen has presented the dif- ferent public libraries of the Province with a copy of "The Pi-incipal Speeches and Addresses of His Koyal Highness the Prince Consort." Each copy bears the following inscription, to which the Queen a own signature is attached : TEKSENTED TO IN MEMORY OF HER GREAT AND GOOD HUSBAND, BY HIB CltOKEN-HEARTED WIDOW, VICTORIA R. 1804. u f $ 194 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. This book is a beautiful octavo volume, in white morocco, gilt, having on the outside the Prince's arms, with the motto " Treu und Tcs^," and the name Albert underneath. The preface says : " It is published at the express desire, and under the sanction of her Majesty." This touching memorial of her Majesty's affection for hoi- husband, and proof of her regard for her Canadian subjects, will increase, if possible, that affectionate respect and admiration with which all look up to her. More recently a communication was received from the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, through the Governor General, by the various universities in Canada, and by the Law Society of Osgoode Hal], accompanying the presentation from Her Gracious Majesty of two works — "The Early Life of the Prince Consort," and " Leaves from the Journal of our life in the Highlands," with a request from her Majesty that these books might be received into, and form part of the library. Each of the books contains an autograph of her ^lajesty, and are, as may be supposed, highly valued by the recipients. The volumes are beautifully bound, and will no doubt be very much appreciated by these institutions and the THE PlilNCE'S WELL AT QLENE.^K. 195 Bar, aud form a great acquisition to tlieir libraries. It will be remembered that the Prince of Wales was nobly entertained, on his visit to Canada in 18G2, by the Law Society, on which occasion he was made a member of the Society. the THE PRINCES WELL AT GLENESK. ■ It may be remembered tliat, during the royal residence at Lalnioral in 18G1, one of its most in- teresting episodes was an incognito visit by the (^ueen and Prince Consort into Glenmark, thence down Glenesk to Fettercairn, and back by the Cairn of Dee-side, The royal jmrty, on horseback, duly attended by guides and gillies, came across Mount Ken early in the day, and, at the highest point at whicli the road crosses the hill, were re- ceived and welcomed by the Earl of Dalhousie. Facmg the base of the Iligldand track stands the only house in that wild district, a cottage occn})ietl by one of the Earl's foresters. The deer forest is a princely range, through which the im[)etuous Mark forces its rugged way for many a mile. A few hundred yards lower in the glen a beautiful sward of ) i I I i ^ 11, 190 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. grass spreads out, of considerable extent, and fertile in natural hay — as to the annual appropi-iation of which there is, we understood, much obstinate con- tention between the watcher and his deer neigh- bours. Near the centre of tliis oasis bursts forth a most noble spring, long fomous in tliese parts ; its waters are cold as ice and clear as crystal ; its rush at one bound is full, bold, and free, as if impatient of restraint beneath. At its very source it could drive a mill. But, that day, g' Jer work awaited Tober- nan-clachan-thallach — the Well of the White Stones — a modest white cairn havinc; been till then its onlv distinmiishin": mark. The royal party had need of rest and refreshment, and both had been provided for by the noble Earl, who, as Lord of the ]\ranor, had been let into *he secret of this royal progress, though only the day before, and luncheon was laid on the sheiling, and was duly partaken of. Afterwards her IMajesty and the Prince, in passing the well, stopped to enjoy its refreshing draught, and admire the noble scenery around — the hill of Craig-o'-Doon arresting special attention, and the marvellous riches of the well not passing unobserved. To commemorate the THE FHINCE'S WELL AT GLENESK. lO. iient, *be clay and and lery icial I well the event it natm-ally occurred to tli(3 Earl that in honour of the royal visitant it should be called the Queens Well. Too soon, alas! this visit was followed by the Prince's death ; and Lord Dalhousie resolved to raise over the spot, rendered doubly .'nteresting by the roval visit, a memorial to the late lamented Prince. Over the well six solid arches of rouf^liJy-hewn granite rear themselves, about twenty feet high, terminating in a rude cross of white quartz, botli kinds of stone from the nei^libourinii: hills. The whole structure is a massive, yet light and elegant imitation of the old Scottish crown. AVithin its base the clear well now bubbles up in all its beauty, piercing a surface of liuely-brokcn quartz of snowy whiteness, and restrained for a time within a basin of smooth sandstone, on the margin of which, all un- obscured by the clear waves that are ever lapping over, runs this touching legend — " Host, traveller, rest on this lonely n;roon, And drink, and pray, fur Scotland's Queen." Outside of all, smooth green turf is laid, and !« 198 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. bovond that is tho natural licrba":o, soon lost amonp; the brown heath and grey stones of tlie mountain sides, on which small white cairns are seen to rise, suggestive and appropriate accessories to this me- morial of respect and sympatliy. An inscription on the lower stone of the central arch simply sets forth tliat Hor Majpsty Qiioon Victoria and His Koyal IIi;j;hncs.s the Prince Consort visited this well and drank of its rofrcsliinp; waters, the 20th September, 18G1, The year of her Majesty's great sorrow. Of the pastoral glens of Scotland there is none more beautiful than Glenesk. And no more fitting terminus ad quern can he have than his memorial of the joy and sorrow of our beloved Queen. To her. Lord Dalhousie submitted tlie plan of the erection, ere a stone was laid, and all received her Majesty's approval. But one desire she expressed — and it came from the depths of a broken heart — " Let it be called the- Prince's Well." THE QUEENS APOLOGY FOR HER SECLUSION. The following article, unanimously ascribed by the Knglish press to the pen of the Queen herself, THE Q VEEN'S APOLOG Y. 109 it I be appeared in the London Times. It is a distinct and direct reply to articles that have lately ap- peared in British journals relative to her Majesty's disappearance from public life, and to the course which she has marked out for herself in future. Some of the passages in this remarkable State document are very touching and beautiful. It says : — " An erroneous idea seems generally to prevail, and has latterly found frequent expression in the newspapers, that the Queen is about to resume the place in society which she occupied before her great affliction ; that is, that she is about to hold levees and drawing-rooms in person, and to appear as before at Court balls, concerts, &c. This idea cannot be too explicitly contradicted. *' The Queen heartily appreciates the desire of her subjects to see her, and whatever she can do to gratify them in this loyal affectionate wish she will do. Whenever any real object is to be obtained by her appearing on public occasions, any national interest to be promoted, or anything to be encouraged which is for the good of her people, her ^lajesty will not shrink, as she has not shrunk, from any personal sacrifice or exertion, however painful. X I 200 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. " J3ut tliero arc other and higlior duties than those of mere representation which arc now thrown upon the Queen, alone and unassisted — duties which she cannot neglect without injury to the public service — which weigh unceasingly upon her, overwhelming her with work and anxiety. " The Queen has laboured conscientiously to dis- charge these duties till her health and strength, already shaken by the utter and ever-abiding desola- tion which has taken the place of her former happi- ness, have been seriously impaired. "To call upon her to undergo, in addition, th(3 fatigue of those mere state ceremonies which can be equally well performed by other English members of her family, is to ask her to run tlie risk of entirely disabling herself for the discharge of those other duties which cannot be neglected without serious injury to the public interests. " The Queen will, however, do what she can — in the manner least trying to her health, strength, and spirits — to meet the loyal wishes of her subjects ; to afford that support and countenance to society, and to give that encouragement to trade which is desired of her. PERSONAL APPEAnANCK OF THE QUEEN. 201 *' More the Queen cannot do : and more the kind- ness and good fouling of her people will surely not exact from her." ■in md to md red PERSONAL APPEAllANCE OF THE QUEEN. Of late years, especially since the sad loss of her husband, Queen Victoria has undergone a great change, both in mind and body. The charm of her presence always rose more from the natural expres- sion of an amiable disposition than fi'om any regu- larity of feature or grace of manner. Her eyes are blue and bright, her hair dark, and her complexion is now somewhat sallow. It is marked by deep lines of affliction, and yet those do not make her expres- sion less attractive. It has been well observed that sickness and sorrow refine most countenances, and hers is another illustration of the truth of this saying. In the approaches of age she has gained that which may be called the beauty of goodness. It is un- doubtedly true that old age, provided that it be found in the way of righteousness, gives beauty to the features not their own. If the motions of the mind be good, the lines of 202 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, tlio faco will bocome more and more beautiful as time wears on, and the sensuous charms of colour, delicacy, and the regularity of feature fade. This is certainly apparent in the face of Queen Victoria at present. In stature she is rather inferior to the average height, and looks far more majestic when seated than stand- ing ; and yet, wherever and whenever she is seen, she always bears the obvious mark of a noble lady. No one could meet her under any circumstances without perceiving at once that she is high-bred, and accustomed to command. She cares little for mere dress, and at Balmoral, Osborne, or any of her palaces where she is in the bosom of her faniily, she wears plain, unpretending garments ; she dislikes pomp and display, and does not now often appear in public — never, except when some great state occasion seems to demand it. She is an extremely good horsewoman, and manages her steed with great address and fearlessness. At the encampment at Cobhara a few years ago, she appeared on horseback, and was, of course, the ad- mired of all beholders, as she rode on the field on her dark bay Templar. She wore a long dark-green robe of some thick rich material, a closely-fitting PEIiSONAL APPEARANCE OF THE QUEEN. 203 jacket, with but few ornaments, and a low, dark hat, with a long black ostricli featlier. In hcsr hand she carried an elegant riding-whip, with a handle of gold, and a carbuncle set in the tup of it. She rode along the lines with grace, and, for the time, called to mind irresistibly the energetic presence of Elizabeth, as she passed before her soldiers at the time of the threatened invasion of the Grand Armada, and with burning words urged them to do and dare every honourable deed in behalf of Old England. The Queen always api)ears well at a review, and has that magnetic glance of the eye which leads every soldier to believe that his sovereign looks directly at him on such an occasion. This quality is not unfrequently possessed by great generals, though few women ever have sufficient nerve to show it. Queen Victoria's costume in public is a black silk dress, trimmed with crape and jet, and 3Iary Queen of Scots cap, with long veil, necklace, and cross of diamonds. I* ' 'I I il 204 HKETVIIES AND ANECDOTES. iJ THE QUEEN AT THE OrEN'lXG OF UEU SEVENTH PARLIAMENT. Tlu! ()[)C'iiin«^ of rarliiinient by tlio Quoeii in per- son is always un event of deep interest to the liritisli people. Tho nfTection and respect in which her jMajesty is held hy all classes of her subjects adds a tenderer grace to the ceremonial than ever adorned it iu former 2)eriods of Enj^dish history. The last time that lier Majesty ai)pearcd in the House of Lords (now five years ago) the Prince Consort stood by her side, in the full maturity and strength of his manhood and of his mild and mellowed wisdom, tho visible embodiment of the i)rivate liappiness of her home and the public felicity of her reign. When, therefore, it was publicly made known that the Par- liament of 18G() would be opened by the Queen in person, a feeling of satisfaction concentrated upon the proceedings a far greater amount of affectionate interest than any of her previous ai)pearances in public had elicited. It was no wonder that under such circumstances — rendered still more auspicious by bright skies and balmy airs, more like those of May than February — OrENTNQ OF rAULTAMENT. 2or. rrowds filled the lino of procession thron2;h wliieli tho Quoen was to nmko lior way, and that liouse-top and balcony, as well as pavement, swarmed wit loyal mnltitndea anxions not alono to see their Soverei«2:n, but to welcome ]i(}r back to tho perform- ance of that dif^nified part in tlie great drama of Government which she had consented to forejijo under tho pressure of a grief with which every one sympathised. At noon a long line of carriages extended from Pall Mall to the Peers' entrance of tlio Palace of Westminster, most of wliich were occupied by ladies in full evening costume. The only peculiarity in the appearance of th(^ House was tho tlirone, which was covered, and had all its ornaments concealed, by something thrown loosely over it. It was no ordinary covering, but her Majesty's robe of state, which she usually wore on all great occasions of ceremonial, but which she could not be persuaded to wear on this. The robe was there, but the heart to put it on was wanting. The kindly instincts of the British people will but see in tliis little incident a new proof of gentle womanliness on the part of the chief lady of the land. 206 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. i The House was filled with fair visitors, and con- verted for the time beinsr the most solemn seat of legislative wisdom in the world into a i)arterre of human beauty. t50on the Judges entered and took their seats opposite to the woolsack, introducing by their presence a new element of colour into the mosaic whicii the various brilliant costumes pre- sented. Immediately afterwards, the Lord High Chancellor of England^ preceded by the mace-bearer, entered and took his seat on the woolsack, with his face towards the House and liis back to the Throne. His Lordship's appearance Mas the signal for com- mencing the business of the day by the offering up of prayer by the Bishoji of Ely. There was a rustling of silks and satins as the peeresses stood up, followed by a deep silence, which allowed every syllable of the prayers to be distinctly heard in all parts of the House. At a signal from the Lusher of the Black Rod the Avhole assembly rose en masse, peeresses, peers, bishops, judges, and the foreign Ministers, to receive the Prince and Princess of Wales, who entered side by side. The Prince was in the full uniform of a general officer, and the Princess was tastefully attired OPENING OF PARLIAMENT. 201 ill a dress of white tulle, trimnii d with black lace, wearing a tiara of diamonds and a long flowing veil of white gauze. The Princess was escorted to the place of honour on the woolsack, immediately fronting the throne. At length, at two o'clock precisely, the Usher of the Black Iiod made a signal to the Lord Cliancellor, at which the whole assembly rose, witli the same pleasant rustling of silks and satins as before. In a few minutes the door to the right of the throne was flung open, and, preceded by a long traiu of htdberdiers, buffetiers, and other officials, entered the Queen. Her ^fajesty was attired in half- mourning, and walked with slow steps to the throne, followed by the great officers of fState. Her Majesty stopped for an instant at the foot of the steps to shake hands with the Princess of Wales, who, in common with the w liole assemblage, had risen on her entrance. The Queen wore a deep purple velvet robe trimmed with white miniver, and a white lace cap a la Marie Stuart, to the portrait of A\hi('h unfortunate lady she bore in this attire a remarkable similitude. Around her ueck she wore a collar of brilliants, and over her breast the blue riband of the Order of the (Jarter, Other ornaments she had none, and looked in thia i jf 208 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. simple and highly becoming costume *' every inch a Queen," and far more picturesque and regal than if she had worn the royal robes. Her Majesty was accompanied by the two Princesses, attired in half- mourning, like their ilhistrious mother. The Lord Chancellor having notified the Queen's desire that the company should resume their seats, a message was sent by the Usher of the Black Eod, desiring the attendance of the Speaker and the House of Commons at the Bar of the Lords. During the interval that elapsed between th.e summons of the Commons and the reply, the Queen sat silent ■ and motionless, with her eyes fixed upon tlie ground. She seemed to take no heed of the brilliant assemblage around her, bu^ to be wholly absorbed in melancholy meditation. Even during the commotion caused by the Commons rushing helter-skelter into the bar, her Majesty took no notice of the interruption, and never once lifted her gaze from the ground. AY hen silence had been restored, the Lord Chancellor, standing to the right, on the second step from the throne, an- nounced that her Majesty had been graciously pleased to command him to read the Royal Speech, which he should proceed to do in her Majesty's own words. OPENING OF PARLIAMENT. 200 His Lordsliip then read the S^^eech amid the all but breathless silence of the assembly, in part of which occurs the following passages : — " I watch with interest the proceedings which are still in progress in British North America with a view to a closer union among the Provinces, and I con- tinue to attach great importance to that object. " In these and in all other deliberations I ferventlv pray that the blessing of xVlmighty God may guide your counsels to the promotion of the happiness of my people." The reading concluded, the Lord Chancellor bowed his obeisance to the Queen, who slightly, l)Ut courte- ously, returned the salute. Then rising from the Throne, the whole of the brilliant assemblage rising from their seats at the same time, her Majesty stepped slowly down, kissed the Prince of Wales, who sat almost at her feet, shook hands with Prince Christian, and, handed out by His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales, followed by the Princess of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge, retired by the door at which she had entered, with the usual flourish and following, in which heralds and Garter Kings of Arms delight. III 210 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. Thus ended the opening of the Seventh Parlia- ment of Queen Victoria. The Peers and Judges laid aside their scarlet robes and ermine ; and the Peeresses returned home, to hear the faint echo in the streets of the hearty applause that was showered upon the Sovereign, by a people dehghted to see her once again among them ; to cherish the hope that many years of health and happiness were yet in store for her. THE QUEEN AND ROYAL FAMILY AT A REVIEW. The following pleasant paragraph relating to tlie Queen and Royal Family at the review is from the Daily News : — '' To see the Queen and Princess of Wales laughing together when anything moved their mirth, in hearty abandonment, instead of the regular simper which society prescribes ; to see the young Highlander, Prince Leopold, and Princess Beatrice, pointing out men and things to their sister's tiny child ; to see the Queen, wlien a soldier was borne out of the ranks faint from heat, stand up with motherly concern, turn her back upon the review, and not be content until informed it was not a serious accident ; to see the Queen, Prince, and THE QUEEN IN THE BYSTREETS. 211 Princesses in turn bringing a blush into Prince Arthur's face by probable reference to his new plumes, were little instances that came unsought before many a one at the review, indicating the sub- stratum on wliich English loyalty is built." M THE QUEEN IN THE BY-STREETS OF LONDON. The London correspondent of the Birmingham Post describes the Queen's unexpected visit to the Surrey side of London : — On the day in question it appeared that her Majesty had lunelied with the Prince ^nd Princess of Wales at Marlborough House, and that after lunch the Queen proposed to take the Princess for a drive. It is probable that her Majesty wished to see Mr. Spurgeon's vast Tabernacle ; for the outriders proceeded to the Elephant and Castle, in- stead of taking the usual route down Walcot Place to Kennington Church. A lady, dressed in deep mourning, and wearing a Mary Queen of Scots cap, occupied the place of honour in one of the royal carriages, having on her left a young and charnung lady, wearing a bonnet trimmed with bright-blue ribbons, and otherwise so cheerfully attired that it I,: il 212 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. did not appear possible she could be nearly related to the eider and stouter lady. Opposite to tliem sat a young lady of about eleven or tweb e years of age, with hair of golden hue worn ever her shoulders, as the graceful custom is, and very much interested at the unwonted sights and sounds of the loc^ality. The coachman and footman wore the royal liveries, and in- attendance upon the open carriage were a number of outriders, splendidly mounted and wearing liveries of scarlet and gold. As soon as the royal cortege had passed, and the spectators had recovered from their astonishment, they knew that they had seen the present and future queen of these islands. But the surprise was so great that not a hat was raised or a loyal cheer uttered as the carriage traversed the busy quarter. The royal carriage having got into the Walworth Road soon came to a dead stand, the road having been taken up 1 y the deep tunnelling neces- sary for making the lower level sewer. At this point the carriage was shunted into a number of low by- streets, in Walworth and Camberwell, where royalty has never been seen before, and where the sight of the royal cortege excited a prodigious flutter among the laundresses, working gardeners, cobblers, and PEBSOXAL AFFECTION FOB THE QUEEN. 213 other humble denizens of the quarter. Her Majesty and the Princesses heartily enjoyed the contretemps, laughing and exchanging remarks at each uew turn of the road. Even a stern and serious figure, wearing a Scotch cap, and seated in the " dickey," conde- scended to smile at the idea of royalty losing its way "up and down all manner of streets." "John Brown," however, in due time felt relieved, for the royal carriage opened upon Cambcrwell Green, and the Princesses were shown, for the first time, the tall and handsome red-brick mansion, once tenanted by Prince George of Denmark (now a boarding school), and which gave its name to Denmark Hill. 1 u PERSONAL AFFECTION FOR THE QUEEN BY HER SUBJECTS. The meeting which took place between the Queen and a sufficiently representative section of her sub- jects, on the occasion of her Majesty laying the foundation-stone of St. Thomas's Hospital, on the Lambeth side of the Thames embankment, is a matter for congratulation, and will be a theme for pleasant memoi-y. The sight of her Majesty surrounded by f- - 214 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. the various members of her family, revived the image of that simple and liappy home-life of which the record is contained in the volumes that have revealed the innocent secrets of the royal privacy. The living sympathy of the present age anticipates the judg- ment which will be passed by the historic conscience of posterity. The subjects of the Queen have re- spected her sorrow, and have felt no desire to force upon her to return to those pageantries of royalty which are as songs to a heavy heart. They have given her grief verge and scope, and have seen in it simply the shadow of that brightness which made her court pure and her life serene. The reception which her Majesty met had more than loyalty in it. It breathed a personal affection and regard. The occasion of her public appearance among her subjects expressed the compassionate and womanly sympathy for suffering which she has never failed to exhibit. The duties of sovereignty imply many ojSices of a stern a^id rigorous character ; and it is well that the head of the State should represent and sanction its voluntary benevolence and its organizations of disin- terested charity. The faith among whose earnest works was the healing of the sick, and which places PERSONAL AFFECTION FOR THE QUEEN. 215 among its first injunctions the obligation to visit the afflicted, may recognise in St. Thomas's Hospital a building as truly religious as the Abbey of West- minster or the Cathedral of Canterbury. Public spirit Avill discern in it the sign of a national life as healthy and vigorous as Liverpool Docks and Koyal ]i]xchanges. The Queen was surrounded by the most prominent representatives of the nation in Church and State, in letters and art. The Archbishop of Canterbury was there, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Mr. Disraeli, Mr. Dickens, and Sir Edward Landseer. But the Queen was the cynosure of all eyes, and the object of nearly all the applause. The recognition tendered to the official position and personal eminence of her first ministers was absorbed in the regard for the Sovereign and the thought of the task of alleviating human suffering, of which the noble Hospital of St. Thomas has for more than three centuries been the instni- ment. The new building, of which the foundation- stone was laid by the Queen, consecrates the great work of city improvement, which has made its erection possible. It is an offering of its first fruits at once to man and to God. — London Daily News. 216 SKETCHES ANT) ANECDOTES. JTEWMAN HALL ON THE QUEEN AT ALDEllSHOT. Ill a letter to the New YorJc Independent, the Rev. Newman Hall tlms describes a review of the troops by the Queen : — " Hearing the Queen was expected to review the troops at Aldershot, I left my home at Hampstead at eight, and at eleven was marching beside a column of infantry to the inspiring music of bugles and drums. The long line of red coats sweeping across the moors, golden with the blossoms of the yellow gorse, liad a cliarming effect, which was increased by a brilliant sun, in whose rays helmets, swords, and bayonets flashed like brilliant stars. A walk of four miles brought me to the top of a hill called Caesar's Camp — a post of the old Roman, which still bears traces of his military skill. Beyond this troops were drawn up, and during the interval before the Queen's arrival lay stretched on the heather, reposing after a long tramp in heavy marching order under a hot sun. I took up my post on a hillock commanding a wide prospect, so that I might see the direction of the Queen's approach. By-and-by a salute of guns announced her arrival from Windsor Castle. Far '-tS^. I i " ,1'. I o I H H ^ f ' m\ m NEWMAN HALL ON THE QUEEN. 217 H SI u away I soe tlio flasliirif:^ of liolinets. Now tlio royal cavalcadu is clearly distingiiishod. It is eoiuinj,^ my way. First a few Dragoon Guards, with scarlet jackets, and burnished black (Jrecian liehnets; then an opcMi carriage drawn by four white horses. In it is a middle-aged lady, very plaiidy attired in deep mourning. AVliat stranger would take her to be tlio (iueen of Great Britain, Canada, and Australia, and Empress of India? She looked very well, and cheer- ful too, though her countenance showed evidently the record of deep sorrow. At her side was the Princess Louisa, very quiet and lady-like in stylo. She has a thoroughly English prettiness. The little boy in High- land costume is the Prince Leopold. On the ' dickey ' behind is the famous ' John Brown,' the Queen's favourite Highland gillie, her constant attendant. With noble simplicity, innocence, and kindness, the Queen speaks of him in her ' Life in tlie Highlands ' as her most faithful and trustworthy servant. A brilliant staff of officers surround the carriage. One of them is a boy of about eighteen, in the uniform of an artillery officer. He rides a magnificent horse, and rides it well. It is Prince Arthur, a student in the Military Academy at Woolwich. There were few persons where I stood; but I started a good ; 1} ,i 218 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. d * three times three/ which her Majesty very plea- santly acknowledged. She was soon at her post. And now, in one long red line, straight as a wall, the infantry were drawn up, with their hands, which played ' God save the Queen,' the troops saluting. Then the marching past. The mounted bands drew up opposite the Queen, and trumpets filled the air with music, as horse-artillery, dragoon-guards, heavy guns and military trains marched past. Then the infantry followed, each brigade accompanied by its own band. Afterwards the cavalry came by at a trot and then at a gallop, causing clouds of dust. This was all. From an eminence I wa':ched the columns, as in different directions they marched back over the undulating heath. Presently I came to a part of the road where postilions and horses were standing, and a few women and children. I found the Queen was to ' change horses here,' so 1 halted. She soon arrived, and for a few minutes I had the opportunity of seeing her closely. How kindly she returned the respectful greeting of the little group around ! And when Prince Arthur made his military salute, and galloped off with his staff to take tlie cars to return to Woolwich, w^ith what pride and affection the mother and sister gazed after him. " THE PRINCESS ROYAL AS AN ARTIST. 219 XII. THE TRINCESS EOYAL (CROWN PRINCESS OF PRUSSIA). THE PRINCESS ROYAL AS AN ARTIST. When tlie proposal was made to hold an Art Bazaar in aid of the funds for the widows and or- phans of the soldiers who fell in the Crimean war, the Princess Eoyal was asked if she intended to send in a contribution. Diffident of her own jiowers, she exclaimed: "What! send a picture to the pul)lic exhibition ! Of course not !" But when it was explained that it would be productive of great good to the cause if she did, since many people would go to see her work, who, but for such an inducement, would not go near the place, and that ' 220 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. the sliilling so collected would add greatly to the sum for the charity, while the sale of the picture would realize enough to help some poor widow lady in her distress, she at once agreed, on condition that the Queen had no objection. The Queen gave her consent willingly, and the result was the picture of a dead Guardsman, and tlie widow weeping over his body on the battle field. No one seemed to have an idea of the great talent for original design possessed by the Princess until this drawing sur- prised and deeply affected all who saw it. The story of the picture after it reached the Exhibition at Burlington is worth recording. The Princess had put a very modest sum on her work to dispose of it privately for a small sum, which she wished to enter as her subscription. The first offer, made immediately as the doors of the exhibition were opened, was eighty guineas, followed by another of a hundred guineas. The names were entered in the book, it having been previously arranged that the highest offer up to a certain day at noon was to obtain the picture. At the appointed time two hundred guineas had been offered by a person who was present to liear the clock strike MAIIRIAOE OF THE PRINCESS ROYAL. 221 twelve. Just before the hour he said : " Well, 1 am surprised that there is not more appreciation of so fine a work of art, and that it may not be said that it sold for two Imndred guineas, I otter two hundred and fifty," for which sum he wrote a cheque as the clock struck. The result of the sale surprised the Princess, who had too much good sense, however, to be elated by any foolish vanity while rejoicing in the success of her effort for the treasury fnnd. — Leisure Hour. INCIDENTS AT THE MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS ROYAL. Suddenly there is a little stir, after the pause caused by the last. As the Princess of Prussia, motlier to the bridegroom, enters the chapel, the whole brilliant audience of the chapel rises en masse and bows as she passes on to the altar. A murmur of admiration, which neither time nor place couhl altogetiicr subdue, greets the Princess ]\[ary of Cambridge, as she enters the chapel, bowing with stately elegance in return for the homage rendered her. But a deeper reverence awaits the JJuchesa 222 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, of Kent, who smilingly returns the greeting. But as the Queen enters, preceded by the great officers of state, every one bows slowly and deeply as her Majesty, leading in either hand Prince Arthur and Prince Leopold, enters the cliapel. Of course, on these occasions there is no applause, and nothing but the prolonged obeisance denote the depth of loyal welcome with which the royal mother of the bride is welcomed. The Queen looks, as she always looks, kindly and amiable, but self-possessed and stately. On her head is a crown of jewels. Curt- seying in acknowledgment of the jirofound homage with which she is welcomed, lior IMajesty passes at once to her Chair of State on the left of the altar, and wliich is placed between the five embroidered settees occupied by the youngest royal children. From this time all remain standing in tlie presence of her ^Majesty, even the Princess of Prussia, who stands on tlie opposite side of the altar. Again there is another pause of deep iuterest, and then comes the procession of the bridegroom. All eyes are fixed upon the royal bridegroom, as he walks slowly, but with perfect ease and elegance, up the centre of the chapel. The Prussian uniform M ABB I AGE OF THE B BIN CESS BOYAL. 223 ^j n shows liis tall figure to advantage, and sets off his frank, open countenance, and prepossessing bear- ing. Near the altar he stops before her Majesty's Chair of State, and slowly bows with the most pro- found reverence, and, turning to his royal mother, lie bows again with equal respect, but less deeply than to the Queen. After a while as the procession of the bride approaches, a heavy silence of suspense steals upon the assembled guests. The plumes cease to wave, and even the restless glitter of the diamonds seems almost quenched as the noble assemblage sits mute and attentive, with their eyes turned in eager expectation towards the door. As the bride passes up to the altar she stops and makes a deep reverence to her mother, though Avith evident agitation, and again turning, she renders the same homage to the Princess of Prussia. As she does so, the bridegroom elect advances, and kneeling on one knee presses her hand with an expression of fervent admiration that moved the august audience. Taking their places at the altar, surrounded by a group of unequalled brilliancy, the servi(!e com- mences with the chorale, which peals through the 224 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. building with the most solemn effect. The hymn over, tlie Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by three other Bishops, jiroceeds with the service. At its conchision the usual prayer was offered up, and the Primate, joining the hands of the bride and bridegroom together, said: "Whom God has joined togetlier, let no man put asunder." The royal couple then knelt, with all tlie brides- maids, while tlie Bishop of London in a clear and distinct voice read the exhortation. At the concluding words the Hallelujah Chorus — " Hallelujah ! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. " The Kingdom of this world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. " King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah — " rose clear and loud, with thrilling effect. Hardly had the last words of the chorus died away in solemn echoes, when the ceremonial ended, and the bride, giving vent to her evidently pent-up feelings, turned and flung herself upon her mother's bosom witli a suddenness and depth of feeling that thrilled through every heart. Again and again her THE Pit IN CESS AT A BEE LIN FAIR. 225 Majesty strained lier to her heart and kissed her, and tried to conceal her emotion, but it was both needless and in vain, for all perceived it, and there were few who did not share it. With the tears now plainly stealing down her cheeks, she threw herself into the arms of her father. Tlie most affecting recognition, however, took place between the bridegroom and his royal father, for the latter seemed overpowered with emotion, and the former, after clasj)ing him twice to his heart, knelt and kissed his parent's hand. »j [led tied, er's hat her THE PRINCESS AT A BERLIN FAIR — HER GENEROUS KINDNESS. It is jT^ratifving to know that the Princess Koval sedulously cultivates her talents as an artist in her home in Prussia. The Princess makes pra(;tical use of her skill in drawing in tlie furnishing and decorating of her residence, and is having a studio fitted up in her new palace at Berlin. Her Eoyal Highness appears to be a great favourite, and many anecdotes are told to show her kindness. At the last fair in Berlin, where everything was to be r^ h 226 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. bought that pleases young and okl, there was one stall which was filled with things that are corafort- ing and useful, such as felt shoes and slippers, worsted stockings, and woollen gloves. The Princess had been looking from the windows of the palace upon the various groups and knots of people in the fair, noting the harmony and contrast of colour with an artist's eve, when her attention was called to this stall, in which sat a lone woman to whom none went. The following day the same scene presented itself — the solitary figure and no customers. The Princess at last determined that there should be one customer, at any rate, and accordingly intimated that her pleasure was to walk. On reacliing the bottom of the stairs she told the attendants that they could remain there, while she advanced to the gate. Entering the stall, she asked the price of the contents ; to which the woman replied that it would far exceed the purse of a young lady — it would amount to twenty-four thalers. The Princess had but twenty in her p>urse at the time, but the Prince luckily appeared in sight ; four thalers were bor- rowed, and more old women than one made happy, THE PRINCESS IN P RUSSIA. 227 for the cont(?iits of the stall were distributed as soon as bought. The story is told as characteristic of tlie kind lieart of the English Princess. — The Builder. had [rince bor- THE PRINCESS IN PRUSSIA — THE QUEEN HER UNFAILING AUTHORITY. The Berlin correspondent of the Dailfj Ttlegrajph writes as follows :-— " The reserve maintained at the royal palace has given rise to various rumours, which have caused much delight to the good people here. Tlie heroine of the incidents I refer to is Princess Victoria. You must know that on state occasions there is comparatively little ceremony observed here, while the every-day life of tlie royal family seems to be regulated more strictly on the principle of etiquette than that of Queen Victoria. " A Prussian Princess, for instance, is not allowed by her mistress of the robe to take up a chair, and, after having carried it through the whole breadth of the room, to put it down in another corner. It was while committing such an act tliat Princess Victoria was lately caught by Countess Perponcher. The venerable lady remonstrated, with a considerable 228 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. degree of earnestness. Til toll yoii what,' replied, nothing daunted, the royal heroine of this story — ' I'll tell yon what, my dear Countess, you are probably Mware of the fact of my mother being the Queen -^f England ?' The Countess bowed in assent. 'Well,' resumed the bold Princess, 'then I must reveal to you another fact. Her Maj(,'sty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland has not once, but very often, so far forgotten herself as to take up a chair. I speak from personal observation, I can assure you. Nay, if I am not greatly deceived, I noticed one day my mother carrying a chair in each hand, in order to set them for her children. Do you really think that my dignity forbids anything which is frequently done by the Queen of England?' The Countess bowed again and retired, per]iai:)s not without a little astonishment at the biographical information she had heard. However, she knew her office, and resolved to prove not less staunch to her duties than the Princess to her principles. " A scene similar to the one narrated recently happened, when the Countess Perponcher, on enter- ing 0'""^ of the remote chambers, took the Princess by surprise, while busily engaged in that homely THE PRINCESS IN PRUSSIA. 229 mtly Inter- iceps Imely occupation of arranging and stowing away a quantity of linen. But all objections the Countess could urge were again beaten back by another equally unanswerable argument, taken from the every-day life of the mistress of Windsor Castle. " After having gained these two important victories, Princess Victoria, true to the auspicious omen ol her name, carried the war into the enemy's camp. The chambermaids, whose proper business it is to clean the rooms, discharge the duties of their posi- tion in silk dresses. The daughter of the richest sovereign in tlie world decided to put a stop to this extravagance. One fine morning she had all the female servants summoned to her presence, and delivered what may be considered a highly successful maiden speech. She began by telling them the expense of their dresses must evidently exceed the rate of their wages. She added, that as their wages were not to be raised, it would be ver\' fortunate for them if they were allowed to assume cotton articles of clothing. ' In order to ju-event every misunderstanding,' the Princess continued, ' I shall not only permit but order you to do so. You must know that there ought to be a difference in the dress -ff 230 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. of mistross and sorvant. Don't think tluit 1 want to liurt your feelings ; you will understand my men- tion at once, if I tell you that ' and now came the same unanswerable argument from the CV)urt of St. James. She told them brii'lly that at tluit Court people in their position performed their duties in cotton, and that she liked to be ruled by her mother's practice." THE PRINCESS AND THE MUNICIPAL AUTIIORIT BERLIN. " For the sympathy you have expressed towards me after the heavy calamity which has befallen the Royal Family and the people of England, and which has been the bitterest sorrow of my life, I return to the magistrates and municipal council of Berlin my most sincere thanks. In such a calamity the mind lifts itself above earthly things, and seeks for con- solation in sources which are imperishable. If any- thing earthly could diminish the weight of heavy affliction, it would be the thought that the irre- parable loss is acknowledged as such in every circle ; and that the high and rare qualifications of my dear DOMESTIC LIFE OF THE CROWN PlilNCEiJS. 231 father, who lias hceu so prematurely removed, will be embalmed in an enduring memory. " (Signed) Victouia, Crown Prineess. " Berlin." DOMESTIC LITE OF THE CROWN PRINCESS OF PRUSSIA. From one of the most trusted and trustworthy of the physicians of the Koyal Family of Prussia, and from one of the foreign ministers residejit at the Court of Berlin, who has recently been here, I learn that the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia are one of the happiest pair to be found in any station upon the earth, the husband and wife outvying one another m their love for each other and for their two babies. This young couple live in a pretty little palace, in a new street called the Victoria Strasse, in honour of the Princess ; and they are to be seen, two or three times a day, walking out, arm-in-arm, or in their favourite little low open carriage, which tlia Prince always drives himself, chatting and laughing, evidently in the gayest spirits, and on the best pos- sible terms with each other. Since the death of the 232 ISKETOHES AND ANECDOTES. Prince Consort, which has been a terrible blow to thorn, the young pair are of course much less gay in manner than formerly ; but their good understanding is not likely to have been impaired by the great sorrow which they have shared together. The Princess possesses a very clear and sound head, and excellent heart, and a very resolute will ; fc ie never interferes in matters not fairly coming within the sphere of her present position and duties, but wherever she can act with effect her action is very decided. She has not introduced fill manner of English ways into her own housekeeping arrange- ments, but has quietly got rid of several scores of little troublesome matters of detail in the stiff for- malities of Court etiquette hitherto held sacred within the precincts of Prusso-royal rigidity. The King and Queen are extremely fond of her, and let her have her wav, from sheer affection for her, on many points in regard to which it is probable that they would have preferred seeing her manifest more respect for their martinet ideas. The Queen, a good-hearted and intelligent, but rather haughty woman, loves her daughter-in-law with enthusiasm, and never speaks of her without some endearing >L.^^At DOMESTIC LIFE OF THE CROWN PRINCESS. 233 ;red rhe let epithet, " my beloved daughter," " my darling Vic- toria," and so on. , When the Princess first went to Berlin she was very naturally the object of every sort of flattering attention at Court, and the praises of her grace, her goodness, her esjprit, and all the various qualities attributed to her were dinned into her ears until she was tired of hearing of them, till one day, when she had been informed of her perfections until she could stand it no longer, she rose from her chair, saying with a laugh, " Dear ladies, you are certainly ex- tremely kind, and my Royal Highness is really very much obliged to you," bowed gaily to the astonished circle of courtly flatterers, and tripped merrily out of the room. Whenever the Prince and Princess give a State dinner in their little palace, the latter has the two babies brought in, as a matter of course, at tho dessert ; a thing unheard of in the annals of Prussian royalty. My informant was present, with the rest of tho elite of the diplomatic circle, at a diplomatic dinner given by them a couple of days before he left Berlin. He says that the two children, charmingly dressed, fat, happy, and merry, were brought into > : I 234 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. i; the dining-room as soon as the cloth was removed, the baby being placed in the lap of its proud young mother, the elder child on its father's knee, and duly complimented, admired, and allowed to take a minute drop of wine, and a little fruit, with as little ceremony as thougli they were not a king's grand- children. "The sight of the happy young couple, their delight in their babies, and the pleasant domestic atmosphere of their home, all struck me as con- stituting one of the pleasantest siglits I have ever seen in my diplomatic career ; and I heard the same feeling expressed by others of the guests," said the diplomate in question, in recounting the scene. "The amount of influence exercised by the Prin- cess," observed the same gentleman, " is really most remarkable, when one considers how very young she is, and how extremely stiff are tlie Prussian court and tlie people of Berlin in their notions. Her in- fluence is felt in every direction, and is always most beneficial. With her common-sense English idea^ and liabits, her liberal and progressive sympathies, her constitutional predilections, and, above all, her frankness, simplicity, dii-ectness, and her genuine DOMESTIC LIFE OF THE CEOWN P HI N CESS. 235 she ue goodness and kindness, she is doing wonders among those slow German heads, and her presence in the Court of Prussia is a blessing alike to its princes and its people." The Princess is, as may well be imagined, a general favourite with all classes. My diplomatic friend, who lias often witnessed the cordiality with which the young pair are received on all public occasions, happened to be passing along the Victoria-Strasse, not long since, on some public anniversary (the King's birthday, if I remember rightly), just as a crowd had assembled under the windows of the Cro\Mi Prince's palace, and were cheering its inmates in a lusty style. One of the windows soon opened, and the Prince and Princess came out upon the balcony, the latter leading out her little son and the former carrying in his arma the baby, which he held up, with a smile, to the admiration of his future lieges — tossing it up and holding it up above his head, while the little creature stuck its httlc fat thumb into its mouth, alternately sucking it and laughing, and crowing in a state of great delight — who cheered the Prince and his family more lustily than ever. The Princess keeps up all her old habits and I- !i 236 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. I avocations. She paints very well, is a very good musician, reads a great deal, and takes an active interest in her household. She is very fond of gardening ; and, in her letters to her fixmily, gives careful directions for the training, pruning, and manuring of their favourite trees and })lants, all planted witli her own hands, in her gardens at Windsor and at Osborne. One lady, much at our own Court, tells me she has often seen her, Ijefore her marriage, coming in from an hour or two's hard w ork among her pets, with her apron full of green peas, or early potatoes, which she was carrying to the kitchen, with an injunction that tliey were to be sent up in a dish by themselves to the Queen. Another tells me how she has often seen her busy among the pans of milk and cream, in her own private dairy, or with her arms covered with flour up to the elbows, deep in the manufacture of cakes and pies, in the beautiful little kitclien set apart for tlie housekeeping experiments of the royal children, where they mixed uj) dough, whipped up syllabubs, baked, boiled, stewed, and did just as they pleased ; the milk and butter, the eggs and the fruit, being all of their own raismg. THE CnOWN PEIXCESS AND THE EMPRESS. 237 THE CROWN PRINCESS AND TUT. E5IPRESS EUGENIE. gives The Princess Victoria, a favourite with all who knew her, and saM by those acquainted with the members of the Royal Family of England to be as good and charm- ing as she is clever, is an especial favourite with the Empress Eugenie. During the visit of the Emperor and Empress to England, the latter contrived to pro- cure, from some one about the l*riiices.s, the most exact measures of her person and of the various articles of her toilette. From these measures, on her jMajesty's return to Paris, she caused a doll to be made, exactly representing the Princess ; and for this doll, a trous- seau, including every item of a most complete ward- robe, was prepared by the first makers of the capital. Dresses, bonnets, mantles, shawls, shoes, underclothes, everything that a young lady can be supposed to wear, were made for this doll, under the Empress's personal superintendence, and all of the richest quality, and in the most exquisite taste. The whole was then sent to the Princess by the Empress, with a charming letter, begging her acceptance of the doll and her wardrobe. The beautiful and costly gift, ,. ' . l! •r i I 1 238 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. presented with such ingenious delicacy, was received by the young Princess with very natural pleasure ; and many of the articles of her doll's wardrobe were afterwards worn by her while at the Tuileries, when she came to Paris with the Queen, Prince Albert, and Prince of Wales, in 1855. 3!'l EDWARD VI. AND THE PIUNCE OF WALES. 239 XIII. THE PRINCE OF WALES. KING EDWARD VI. AND THE PRINCE OF WALES. Before the Prince Consort's death, lie became possessed of a beautiful marble statuette of the boy- King Edward VI., and had it stationed somewhat conspicuously at the top of one of the grand stair- cases, to present it to the Prince of Wales on his coming of age. In the hand of the Royal cliild is a sceptre, so placed as to point to the representation of a Bible, and at that passage indicated as follows, 2 Chron. xxxiv., verses 1 and 2. The words, exquisite m their simplicity, and written by the finger of God Himself, are these: '•' Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. And he did that which was ■^^ 240 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. right in tlie siglit of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the riirht hand nor to the left." THE PRINCE OF WALES AND CANADA. The Prince of Wales does not forget Canada. After his return to England he sent Mrs. Hatt, daughter of Col. de fSalaberry, and Mrs. Laura Secord, £100 eacli, as a mark of sympathy for these ladies in their declining years. The ]\rrs. Secord spoken of is the widow of the late Jas. Secord, Esq., of Chippawa. Her patriotic services during the war of 1812, which are well known, were brought under the notice of the Prince during his visit last summer, and have thus been handsomely acknow- ledged. Tlie Prince of Wales is a true, gallant prince. Of all the many tokens he has left of his visit to Canada, we doubt if there be one more graceful than this mark of Poyal favour to the two aged ladies above mentioned. — Niagara 3fail. m CIIAnAOTER OF THE PJIINCE OF WALES. 2-11 CHARACTER AND ACQUIREZklENTS OF THE PRIXCE OF WALES. A Cambridge paper thus refers to the rHuce of Wal(>s :— " We dechxre, without fear of contradiction, that wLile the Prince of AVales was at the University, he pn ed himself to be a o-ood and amiable youn- man, a true English gentleman, and a prince wholly free from everything approaching to a debasing tendency. No parent could wish his son to behave better, and now that his time of trial has come, we feel confident that his Royal Highness wiU be found neither unwilling nor unfit, nor unable to console and assist his bereaved mother, and to fulfil the warmest hopes of the people." A correspondent of the Manchester Guardian contributes these items :— The character of the Prince hitherto has sliown itself to those brought into closest contact with him singularly pure and honourable, and perfectly free from insincerity and dissimulation. He speaks French, German, Italian, and Spa.iish with fluency, besides being a good Greek and Latin scholar. He was well acquainted B ! f '1 ,'T' ' J u 242 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. with law and tlie fine arts, a good soldier theoreti- cally, and a good horseman ; no wall or brook ever stojjped him when he was on horseback. TOUCHING LETTER FROM THE PRINCE OF WALES. The following is a copy of an autograph letter from his Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales to the Council of the lioyal Horticultural Society. Most of the money for a memorial of the Great Exhibition of 1851 was subscribed under the impression that it would comprise a statue of the founder of the Great Exhibition. The idea was abandoned out of deference to the wishes of the Prince, who said, " Men should not have statues raised to them while they are living." A statue of the Queen was consequently substituted. But the Prince's death changed the situation — the attempt to do him honour, which, living, he declined. The desire, however, of her Majesty and the Eoyal Family — and we may add the whole empire — is expressed in the following touching letter of the Prince of Wales, of which we give some extracts ; " The Queen has commanded me to recall to vour oreti- : ever s. letter to tlie Most ibition that it Great erence should are uently the ;vhich, )f her y add owing ch we vour LETTER FROM THE PRINCE OF WALES. L'43 recollection that her IVIajosty had been pleased to assent to a proposal to place a statue of herself upon a memorial of the Great Exhibition of 1851, which it was intended to erect in the new Horticultural Gardens. " The characteristic modesty and self-denial of my deeply-lamented father had induced him to interpose to prevent his own statue from filling that position which properly belonged to it, upon a memorial to that great undertaking which sprung from the thought of his enlightened mind, and was carried through to a termination of unexampled success by his unceasing superintendence. " The Queen, therefore, would anxiously desire that instead of her statue, that of her beloved husband should stand upon this memorial. " Anxious, however humbly, to testify my respect- ful and lieartfelt affection for the best of fathers, and the gratitude and devotion of my sorrowing heart, I have sought, and have with thankfulness obtained, the permission of the Queen, my mother, to olTcr the feeble tribute of the admiration and love of a be- reaved son, by presenting tlie statue thus proposed to be placed in the gardens under your management." i \ ; rf 244 SKLJTCIIFS AND ANECDOTES, THE PRINCE OP "WALES IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. The following account of the ceremonies attendant upon tlu^ Prince of Wales taking his seat in the House of Lords for the first time is taken from the Times. " At a few minutes after four o'clock the procession entered preceded by the coronet of his IJoyal High- ness. His l^oyal IHghness wore the scarlet robe with ermine bars, proper to his rank as duke, over the uniform of a general in the army. As the escort entered the House the peers rose en masse. His Royal Highness bowing his acknowledgments, ad- vanced to the woolsack and placed his writ of summons in the hands of the Lord Chancellor. Then proceeding to the table, the oaths were arlministr^'d to him, and his Eoyal Highness si_fne ' of peers. The procession then n jd i« a^d^ the throne, and the Duke of Cambridge, pointing to the chair of state on the right of the throne, bearing the well-known Prince's plume and motto, his Royal Highness took his seat there covered. Risinfr im- mediately afterwards, he again advanced to the DS. cndiint in the 'om tho ocoRsion il Iligh- ict robo ko, over le escort se. His nts, ad- \vrit of r. Then Tiiqto'"d of ird the ■ to the Iring the Eoval \mg im- to the THE PRINCE OF WALES AT JERUSALEM. 245 woolsack aiul shook hands conh'allv willi the Lord ChancL'llor, wlio ullered his congratulations, and his Koyal Jlighncss thou retired by the peers' entrance." THE PRINCE OF WALE3 AT JERUSALEM. Ten (lays after the arrival of tlie Prince in the Holy City he met, by a2)j)aintinent, at the western wall of tho temple, tlie Chiof liabbi and otliers of the heads of tho Jewish community of Jerusalem. The Chief Rabbi ai)peared in his full robes, and with the insignia of his oflice as Hachani Lashi, which, being an appointment by the 8ultan, confers upon him great civil powers and autliority. The Prince received the deputation in a most gracious manner, and, after the ordinary formalities, entered freely into conversation w ith the Chief liabbi ; of whom he inquired if he believed the massive wall by which they stood to be a portion of the great master-work of King Solomon. The Chief Rabbi's explanatory remarks in answering this question in the affirmative evidently impressed the Prince, for he j'aisod the covering from his head in token of the sincere vene- ration which he felt for tlie sacredness of the spot ; 1 I r i ! 246 SKETCHES AND ANECLOTES. and who can tell what associations of thought crowded on him at that moment., for he immediately requested the Chief Rabbi to offer up a prayer for his " mother, the Queen of England !" The Chief Kabbi then prayed aloud in Hebrew for the health of Queen Victoria, and with great fervency, that she might long continue to reign, and with wisdom like unto that of Solomon. At the conclusion, all the deputation ejaculated " Amen, Amen." The prayer being interpreted to the Prince, he was greatly moved, and even moie so when the Chief Rabbi followed up this prayer with an invocation to the King of kings that the soul of the Prince Consort might rest in peace in the realms of eternal bliss. The Prince, accompanied by the Chief Rabbi, then visited the synagogues, which were brilliantly lighted up and decorated as on a festival, and were crow^ded to excess. Prayers were there offered Tip for the Prince, Prince Alfred, and all the Royal Family. At the first synagogue which he visited, the Prince asked to see one of the scrolls of the law, and he examined the sacred volume with great earnestness. The Prince then went with the Chief Rabbi to view the two new synagogues and the SMH THE SAM ABIT AN PASSOVEB. 247 Eothschild Hospital, and during this time they held almost uninterrupted conversation in the Italian language. The amiability of the Prince on this oc- casion was as conspicuous as was tho deep interest which he exhibited in all that took place ; and his most courteous demeanour throughout towards the Chief Kabbi and the whole Jewish community is creditable alike to his heart and to his enlightened mind. THE PRINCE WITNESSING THE SAMARITAN PASSOVER. The Prince of Wales and his suite left Jerusalem on the 19th of April, encamping at Bethel, and pro- ceeding the following day by Shiloh to Nablous, arriving on the eve of the Samaritan Passover, After visiting Jacob's Well in the morning, the whole party ascended Mount Geriziin in the evening, and there witnessed this ancient ceremony, the only direcb vestige of the Jewish Passover. The whole Samaritan community were assembled on a terrace just short of the summit. About an hour before sunset the prayers began, and six sheep, tended by young men in white garments, appeared i' IMIi 248 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, i I I I \ among the crowd. As the sun sunk behind the western ridge the young men burst into a wild chant, drew their long bright knives, and brandished them in the air. In a moment the sheep were thrown upon their backs and tlie knives drawn across their throats. In the stream of blood which poured from them the young men dipped their fingers, and marked the foreheads and noses of all the children. Next came the skinning and roasting — the first in a trough, the second in a hole prepared for the purpose. The Prince and most of his suite returned to the tents, one or two remaining through the night on the mountain-top to witness the " feast," which was eaten in haste in the early morning by the Sama- ritans, girded and shod, and with staves in tbeir hands. THE PRINCE AT THE MOSQUE OF HEBRON. The Times publishes a letter from one of the Prince of Wales' suite at Jerusalem, describing a visit to the IMosque of Hebron. After much nego- tiation, permission was given to the Prince of Wales and a limited number of his suite to visit the mosque ; THE PRINCE AT THE MOSQUE OF BED RON. 249 nego- and to prevent the fanaticism of tlie populace from breaking out, the approach to the town was lined with soldiers, and guards stationed on the housetops. Within these sacred precincts for six hundred years, excepting by stealth, no European has ever entered. The writer says : *• At the head of the staircase, w^hich by its long ascent showed that the platform of tlie mosque was on the uppermost slope of the hill, and, therefore, above the level where, if anywhere, the sacred cave would be found, we entered the precincts of the moscpie itself, and were received by one of its guardians, a descendant of one of the companions of Mohammed, with the utmost courtesy on his part, though not without deep groans from some of his attendants, redoubled as we moved from one sacred spot to another. We passed (without our shoes) through an open court into tlie mosque. * * * This building occupies about one-third of the platform. I proceed to de- scribe its relation to the s(!pulclires of the Patri- archs. It is the innermost of tlie outer porticoes which contain the two first. In the recess on the right is the alleged tomb of Abraham, on the left that of Sarah, each guarded by silver gates. The 111 llli n I i i: i ! 'i' M 250 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. shrine containing the tomb of Sarah we were re- quested not to enter, as being that of a woman. The shrine of Abraham, after a momentary hesita- tion, and with a prayer offered to the Patriarch for permission to enter, was thrown open. The chamber is cased in marble. The tomb consists of a coffin- like structm*e, like most Moslem tombs, built up with plastered stone or marble, and h'mg with carpets — green, embroidered with gold. The three which cover this tomb are said to have been presented by Mohammed II., Selim I., and the late Sultan, Abdul Medjid. I need hardly say that this tomb (and the same remark applies to all the others) does not profess to be more than a cenotaph, raised above the actual grave which lies beneath. But it was impossible not to feel a thrill of unusual emotion at standing in a relation bo near to such a spot — an emotion, I may add, enhanced by the rare occa- sion which had opened the gates of that consecrated place (as the gua ^ian of the mosque expressed it) * to no one less than the eldest sou of the Queen of England.' " Within the area of the church or mosque were shown, in like manner, the tombs of Isaac and Re- were TEE PRINCE AT THE MOSQUE OF HEBRON. 251 bekah. They differed from the two others in being placed under separate chapels, and closed, not with silver, but with iron gates. The tombs of Jacob and Leah were shown in recesses corresponding to those of Abraham and Sarah, but in a separate cloister, op- posite the entrance of the mosque. Against Leah's tomb, as seen through the gate, two green banners are reclined, the origin and meaning of which •were unknown. The gates of Jacob's shrine were opened without difficulty, but it calls for no special remark. Thus far the monuments of the mosque adhered strictly to the biblical account. The variation which follows rests, as I am informed by Dr. Kosen, on the general tradition of the country (justified, perhaps, by an ambiguous expression in Josephus), that the body of Joseph, after having been deposited first at Shechem (Joshua xxiv. 32), was subsequently transported to Hebron. But the peculiar situation of this alleged tomb agrees with the exceptional character of the tradition. It is in a chamber attached to the enclosure from the out- side, and reached, therefore, by an aperture broken through the massive wall itself, and thus visible on the exterior of the southern side of the wall. It is III •mi j: Mi. SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. less costly than the others, and it is remarkable that although the uame of his ^ife (according to the Mussulman version, Zuleika) is inserted in the certificates given to pilgrims who have visited this mosque, no grave having that appellation is shown. " Xo other tombs were exhibited iu the mosque. Two others resembling those of Isaac and liebekah, which were seen (by one of our party only) within an adjacent smaller mosque, were afterwards ex- plained to us as merely ornamental. It will be seen that up to this point no mention has been made of the subject of the greatest interest to all of us — namely, the sacred cave itself, in a\ hich one at least of the patriarchal family may still be believed to repose intact — the embalmed body of Jacob. It may well be supposed that to this object our in- quiries were throughout directed. One indication alone of the cavern beneath was visible. In the interior of the mosque, at the corner of the shrine of Abraham, was a small circular hole, about eight inches across, of which one foot above the pavement was built of strong masonry, but of which the lower part, as far as we could see and feel, was of the aarkable •diiig to rted in visited ition is TEE PRINCE AT TEE MOSQUE OF EEBEON. 253 living rock. This cavity appeared to open into a space beneath, and that space (which the guardians of the mosque believed to extend under the whole platform) can hardly be anything else than the an- cient cavern of Machpelah." nosque. ebekah, ) within rds ex- be seen aade of >f us — it least jved to b. It >ur in- ication [n the shrine eight 3ment lower f the 11 254 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. l^ XIV. THE PKINCESS ALEXANDRA. THE PRINCESS ALEXANDRAS WELCOME TO ENGLAND. By Alfred Tennysox, the Poet Laureate. Sea-kings' daughter from over the sea, Alexandra ! Saxon, and Norman, and Dane are we, But all of us Danes in our welcome of thee, Alexandra ! Welcome her, thunders of fort and of fleet ! Welcome her, thundering cheer of the street ! Welcome her, all things j'outhful and sweet ! Scatter the blossom under her feet ! Break, happy land, into earlier flowers ! Make music, bird, in the new-budded bowers, Welcome her, welcome her, all that is ours ! Warble, bugle, and trumpet blare! Flags, flutter out upon the turrets and towers ! Flames, on the windy headland flare ! Utter your jubilee, steeple and spire ! Clash, ye bells, in the merry March air ! EECEPTION OF THE PlilNCESS. 255 Flash, ye cities, in rivers of fire I Welcome her, welcome the laud's desire, Alexandra ! Sea-kings' daughter, as happy as fair, Blissful bride of a blissful heir. Bride of the heir of the kings of :)he sea, joy to the people, and joy to the throne, Come to us, love us, and make us your owu ! For Saxon, or Dane, or Norman we, Teuton, or Celt, or whatever wc be, We are each all Dane in our welcome of thee, Alexandra ! i • THE RECEPTION OP THE PRINCESS ALEXANDRA IN ENGLAND. On the 7tli of llarcli, tlie Royal yacht Victoria and Albert arrived at Graveseud, bringing >\ith her the Princess Alexandra and her father and mother (the Prince and Princess Christian), now the King and Queen of Denmark. The Princess, dressed in white, left the Royal cabin, and came to the star- board side of the yacht. Here she was received with tremendous enthusiasm, which she acknowledged with an expression of pleased astonishment and wondering pleasure, bowing from side to side, and every now and then speaking earnestly to her •77^ i.»t' 266 SKETCHES ANT) ANECDOTES. Iliil motlior, apparently directing her attention to the extraordinary scene of delijiflit. Presently the signal-bells announced the arrival of the Prince of Wales, and the sixty young ladies who had been chosen to strew flowers before the bride elect, filed two and two from tlie waiting-room, and ranged themselves — clad in red and white, the colours of the Danish kings — on each side of the path down the centre of the pier. The Prince soon aiTived with a face radiant with happiness. The Princess watched his coming from the window, but, as he neared the vessel, first came to the door, and then, after a moment's hesitation, out upon the deck towards the Prince, who hurriedly advanced, and, removing his hat, gave her an earnest, hearty kiss, in the presence of all the assembled thousands, who with their applause made the shores of the river ring again. We make no attempt to describe the splendour of the scene ; — the river covered with steamers and boats decked with flags, the pier and the shores alive with thousands upon thousands of spectators; a scene of such enthusiasm, and yet of such im- possible beauty from the numbers which made up THE PIUNCESIS'S I'JiOaiiESS. 257 to the rival of ics wlio e bvide )m, and ite, the he path 36 soon window, le door, ipon the vanced, hearty Dusands, 1(3 river idour of rs and shores ctators ; ch im- ade Tip the display, that we cannot expect to look upon its like again in England for many years to come. The Princess soon reappeared upon th(3 tlcck, and taking; tlie Prince's arm, came ashore, preceded by a brilliant suite, and followed by the niemljcrs of the Royal Family. Again a wild burst of enthusiasm weh;omcd her, and then the sixty young ladies strewed their flowers before them and over them. She and the Prince proceeded to the end of the pier, the ladies clapping their hands, the gentlemen shouting " God bless them !" THE PRINCESS S PROGRESS THROUGH LONDON- Near one o'clock the Royal train left Gravesend, and proceeded to the Bricklayers' Arms (London) at the rate of eight miles an hour, ainid Royal salutes and feiix de joie, the route being lined with crowds, which became more and more dense as it approached the metropolis. The station at the Ericklayers' Arms was a perfect marvel of magnificence. Wherever a garland or a human being could be put they were there. Near s h i III 111 T? WT 258 SKKTffHES AND ANECDOTES. ! |1 ■ I I Ml! two the train camo slowly up to the station, and a thrill of excitoniont ran throuj^h tho assembled company, every one standing up uncovered. As the Prince alighted, with the l^-incess l(?aning on his arm, they were welcomed by a hearty burst of cheers and waving of hats and handkon^hiefs. Bow- ing low and repeatedly in response to this greeting, the youthful pair passed on. Tlio gracious and sweet manners of the Princess on tliis, as on every other occasion, and the frank, manly priilc; of the Prince, won all hearts. Here the procession set out through banks of spec- tators. Flags, garlands, arcjhes, banners, streamers, floral devices, and tho most deafening acclamations, and ringing of church bells, till it reached the foot of London Bridge. The parapets were ornamented with statues of the Kings of Denmark from the earliest period, affixed to Danish standards thirty feet high, surmounted by gilt figures of ravens and elephants, the Danish national emblems. Between these were tripods of burning incense. At each end of the bridge were pedestals bearing statues of Fame, surrounded by Danish warriors bearing the '* Dane- brog," or national flag. At the entrance to King THE PliTNCESS'S rJiOGJiESS. 259 III, and embled As the on his urst of Bow- roeting, >iia and •n every I of the of spec- reaiiiors, Illations, the foot imented lom the s thirty ens and between ach end f Fame, " Dane- X) King Wilh'am Street a triumplial arcli was erected sixty feet high, supported by sixteen Corinthian eohimns. As far as the eye could reach on eitlior side of the bridge, the sliipping and the liouses were d«M*orated with flags; and every conceivable place, even the cage on the top of the Monument, swarmed with spectators. In this way the procession cre[)t along Cheapside till it came to St. Paul's Churchyard. This was one of the most splendid scenes along the route. The corporation sittings fur twelve thousand spectators were covered with scarlet cloth, and were ornamented with orange blossoms and wreaths of colossal size, with medallions of the Prince and Princess, and with groups of flags, to the number of many hundreds, of every nation under the sun, but principally of English and Danish. The appearance of the whole pageant, as the procession turned in from Cheapside and defiled round the Cathedral, was truly gorgeous and im- posing. • * * But the scene that took place when the personages of the day came in view was one of the most extraordinary in the whole route of their Royal Highnesses. Every lady of the many thou- I r.-i \ '" 'I ■f ■ • w 'I..I' I !i'' i i U II iti'^\ I 260 SKETCHES AXD ANECDOTES, sands scatofl round tlio glorionsedifioetlicat presented itself to t]ie admiring eyes of the Princess, sprang to her feet, a myriad of liandkereliiefs were waved simultaneously, the boys of St. Paul's gave "tlie fire," and the exuberant joy of tlie multitudes in the Btreets, in windows and on the roof-tops, broke forth in deafening eherrs that the roar of artillery would scarcely have drowned, and which were kept up till the Royal party Jiad passed into Ludgate Hill. The young Princess first glanced at the wonderful dome of the stately pile before her, and then looking at the not less marvellous sight prepared for her own especial lionour, her Poyal Highness became visibly affected, and bowed her acknowledcfments with much j>;race and feeling, Sh«^» won all hearts by her modesty and beauty, and her graceful acknowledgment of her hearty reception. In Hyde Park seventeen thousand Volunteers kept the road. The rain, however, had preceded the Royal party and compelled them to perform the rest of the journey in closed carriages. But the' town was splendidly illuminated, and the streets were crowded with people wlio defied the elements, and cheered with all their throats and hearts. At ^A'indsor the PEBSONAL APPEARANCE OF THE PRINCESS. 2G1 i \ ^sentecl sprrmg wavod 3 "tlie in tlio :e forth ' would up till 1. Tho dome of , tlienot especial ffected, 1 grace jnodesty lent of rs kept 1 ioval of the itu was Irowded 'lieered Isor the Queen, with the Princesses Louisa and Beatrice, awaited the Royal pair. By-and-by the sound of distant guns and a volley of rockets announced the approach of the Princess, and at half-past six the procession passed under the York and Lancaster gateway to the grand entrance. In a few minutes aftejvvards the Princess was received into the arms of her Majesty on the grand staircase, but little fatigued after the toil and excitement of the day, tlirough which she liad borne herself with ?i grace which won the admii'ation of all beholders. ^i PERSONAL APPEARANCE 01' THE PllINCESS. The Paris correspondent of the Montreal Herald gives the following sketch of the Princess of \\'ales : "The Princess Alexandra is a most charming, accom- plished, uid amiable girl, and is considci-ed to possess a sufficient amount of lirmness and will. In person, she is rather above middle height, with a very bright, clear complexion, fair, with good colour, brown eyes, ])eautifnl brown hair, and a very graceful figure. The expression of her countenance, which is full of -r^- n 9no fiKETCnES AND ANECDOTES. i vivacity, betokens intelligence and kindness. In temper she seems very happily gifted, being at once gay, energetic, lively, and affectionate. " The instant affection with which she inspired the Queen, on her first presentation to her Majesty, is not one of the least pleasing ponits in the alliance. Those who are about the Queen say that her Majesty's affection has never before been so suddenly and warmly called out by any one. " All the members of the Royal Family ' took to ' their new friend with the same prompt liking ; and the young Princess, on her side, seenis to have con- ceived for them all the same affection with whicli she inspired them. On the Rhine, and at Windsor and Osborne, she seemed at once to fall into her place as one of the Queen's children, walking and driving with the Qu(.'en, and, if report speaks true, enjoying a game of romps, or a scamper tlirough the grounds with the young children, as heartily as they. The name which all the Royal Family adopted as her pet appellation among themselves, is ' Alex,' and she has been installed by general consent as the favourite of th«!m all." MAIUiTAOE OF THE PRINCE OF IV ALES. 2G3 33. In at once ired tlie jesty, is lUiance. lajesty's ily and ;ook to ' ig ; and ive con- ii Avliicli VVindsur nto lier ing and vs true, ngh the as they. )ted as Ilex,' t as the MARRIAGE OF THE PRDsCE OF WALES AND TUE PRINCESS ALEXANDER. The marria2,e of the Prince of ^^^ales and the Princess Alexandra took place in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, in 18G3. The events of the wedding are thus recorded: Abont twelve o'clock the Knights of the Garter entered the chapel all robed and jewelled in their almost reffal costume, and headed. bv the Premier himself. They make a noble and gallant show as they sweep up the choir, like a procession of monarchs, with their long velvet mantles of imperial blue, looped at the siiuulders Mitli white riband, trailing after them. After all the knights are seated, the Lord Chan- cellor, in his robes, and carrying the Great Seal, passes slowly and stately up the choir — alone, but a perfect pageant in himself — to his seat Jit the head of all. Then there is a sli^lit rustle of silks and clinkino: of lewelled orders as nearlv the whole Corps Diplomatique ( ome in and take their places uiuh'rneath tlie royal pew — shuAving literally like a rfr^: if I I I Mil \ 204 SKETrriES AXD ANECDOTES. cluster of golfl and jewels that equals even tlie appearanee of tlie Knights of the Garter. The Queen herself appears, accompanied by his Koval Hiochness the Duke of Saxe-Coburn: and Gotha; the brother of the late Prince. The Queen wears the simplest and plainest of widows' caps, a black silk dress, Avith white collar and cuffs, and l)lack gloves. Tlie only colours which appear upon her are the Star of the Order of the Garter, and its blue riband. The first of the three processions i«! at hand, but no one moves in the choir till the glittering file is seen, headed bv herald and ofreat officers of State, cominfj; rank in rank in statelv order, filinir off to the right and left as they enter the choir, till they reach the dais, which none but the most illustrious may ascend. Dhuleep Singh, v;ith Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, and the Prince of Leiningen, head the line of royal guests ; but it is on the sister of the bride, the lovely Princess Dogmar of Penmark, followed by her Royal mother leading in eacii hand the Princess Thyra and Prince Waldemar, that all looks are centred, as with stately steps tliey slowly pass i i^ MAE HI AGE OF THE PBINCE OF WALES. 265 and \; pass up tlie centre. All as tliey reach the dais turn and make a deep and reverent obeisance to hc^r jMajesty, and tlien pass on to the scats on the sontli of the altar. Next comes the procession of the l\(n'al 1^'amily. Officers of the household, pursuivants, and heralds lead tlie way, halting and making a double line helow the dais, while the Priiu^ess Mary of Cand)ridge moves up the choir with the same stately grace. At the dais she turns to gather her train over lier arm, and, moving to the centre, makes a profound r'urtsey to her Majesty, then passes at once to her place. As she passes in the Duchess of Cambridge follows, with like state and ceremony, and then the Princess P>eatrice, Princess Louise, and I*rincess Helena, second in turn, followed by the Princes Arthur and Leopold, the latter in Highland dresses of the royal tartan. All bow and curtsey deeply to the Queen, and the Princess Helena, who wears a train, gathers hers on her arm like the rest, and seats herself near the Duchess of Cambridge. Tlie next is the Princess Alice, wearing a noble coronet of brilliants, who pays the same deep reverence to her mother as all the rest ; then the Princess Poyal, looking as young, as amiable, and as timid as ever, H i I ' \ im 11 26G SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. leading by the hand a fine little boy, all unawed by the stately pomp around. All have risen as they enter, and the Queen now rises too, and bows to her daughter Avith a kii.d and winning smile — the first that has passed across her face since she entered the chapel. Beethoven's noble march has been beautifully rendered as they enter. Again the cheers outside come louder and more sustained than ever, and this time all save the Queen herself rise and remain standing respectfully, for it is the Prince of Wales that approaches. Great officers precede him, and he is in his uniform of General, but wearing over all tlie insignia and puri)le mantle of a Knight of tlie Garter, as he comes slowly up tlie choir, lie is accompanied by the Prince of Prussia, and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, similarly robed. The Wedding March is played as they move up with stately ease, and the Queen rises, and the tliree ascend and turn in line toward her, bowing deeply. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and the Prince of Prussia retire to the south side of the altar, and the bridegroom, after kneeling a few seconds in prayer, rises and stands in the centre of the hxut pas alone, with his face toward the Queen. I MAPiPJAGE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. 2G7 1 At length tlie long-looked-for iirocession of the bride entera, and the Prince, giving one look to satisfy Idmself of the fact of the arrival, keeps his eyes fixed upon the Queen, and never turns his head again till his allianced stands beside liini. Thougli not agitated, the bride appeared nervous, and the soft, delicate bloom of colour, which ordinarily im- parts a look of joyous happiness to her expressive features, had all but disappeared, as with head bent down, but glancing her eyes occasionally from side to side, she moved slowly up towards the altar. As the bride reaches the haut ims, she stops to bow to the Queen, and then all retire a little apart, while the bride and bridegroom are left standino: in the middle of the haut ]oas, tlie former surrounded by her bridesmaids. Handel's march from " Joseph " was played at entering, but as the party stood around the altar, the solemn words of the wedding chorale were chanted. The exquisitely soft music of this chant was com- posed by the late Prince Consort. It may have been this, or the associations and life-long memories called up by the scene beneath her, but as the hymn FT 208 fSKETCTIES AND ANECDOTES. i M ^1 ' 1. jiiiia !i oommenred lior ]\rnjesty drew bafk from the window of tlio pew, and, after an effort to conceal her emotion, gave way to her tears, nor did she throughout tlie rest of the ceremony entirely recover her com- posure. As the solemn chant ended the Prelates advanced to the communion rails, and the Primate, in a rich, clear voice, commenced the service. Having con- cluded it, the commendatory prayer was solemnly repeated, and tlien tliey rose, while tlie Primate joined their hands, and said in a distinct voice, "Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder." With these words, tlie solemn strains of the sixtv-se^'enth Psalm came like a relief to the over- wroui>:ht feelino's of all within the choir, as the words went pealing softly througli both nave and aisle. Then, raising his voice, the Primate solenmly pro- nounced the benediction, during which the Queen, who had been deeply affected, knelt and buried her face in her handkerchief. The bride and bride- groom then joined hands, and turning to the Queen gave more a nod of kindly friendship than a bow of state, which the Queen returned in kind. In another riiJNCESS ALEXANDllA AT CAMBlilDGE. 2G0 iniinitL' the Queen, giving a siiniljir greeting to the l^rincess, quitted the eloset, and tlie whole pageant went pouring forth in a gorgeous stream or Hood of colours, waving plumes, and lUiniing jewels, out of the choii-. As tliev left, tlie choir and the band went pealing the Hallelujah of Ueethoven : — *' Hallelujah to the Father, Ami tlie Son of God ; Praise the Lord, ye everlasting choir, in holy son;^s of j'ly. Worlds unhoru shall sinci; His t:;lory, Ite exalted Son of God." i I I THE PRINCESS ALEXANDRA AT CAMBRIDGE. Here is a pleasant account of the Princess of Wales' recent visit to the University town of Cam- bridge : — " The conduct of the Princess of Wales at Cam- bridge won the hearts of all who came in contact with her, or ever looked upon her. ' The true secret,' says an observer, * lies in the Princess's simplicity of manner, in the openness and unrestrainedness of her enjoyment, in the freedom with which she shov s hti delight in the enjoyment and festivity of which she is the centre. The Princess seems the impersonation r TpW i i'! ( i i 270 SKETCrTES AND ANECDOTES, of simplicity, fi'oedom, unrl capacity for oiijoymoMt. Tiiere is somctliinrr incxpressihlv doliirlitfiii i»i tliis spontanoonaness. It sooinsto tell of her earlier years, of narrow fortunes, simple habits, small state, and scanty pleasures. " An account is given of an undergraduate who, in tlie imitation of Raleigh's gallantry to Queen Elizabeth, spread his gown on the pathway for the Princess to walk on. The l?rincess paused for a moment, as if puzzled and starth^d by the sudden act of superfluous devotion ; Itut when one of the suite had whispered a word of explanation, it was charming to see how sedulously she lifted her dress to show the dazzled and rather abashed proprietor of the purple toga of Trinity that she was actually setting her foot on the gown, bowing her acknowledg- ments to him at the same time." THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES IN DENMARK. The London Times publishes a letter from its cor- respondent in Denmark, describing the enthusiastic reception given to the Prince and Princess of Wales on their visit to that country. On their visit to TIIK ritlNCE AND riilNOESS IN DENMARK. 271 lionistolTCastlo, " Tlie liorscs and Oiirri.ii^os disappear, and notliinj^ is seen on tlie great gravelled .spaee befon^ tlio door but a perfect sea of liiinian faces looking up into the win '/ M Photographic Sciences Corporation ;V \ o ^v ■^^K <^ >> 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY 14S80 (716) 872-4503 i 272 16KETC1IES AND ANECDOTES. delighted, and actually to crow at the admiring people beneath. " Then conies the Queen of Denmark, and she takes the child, too, in her arms, and mother and daughter hold him up between them, and present him to the people. The King and Prince appear smiling in the background, and suddenly a thought occurs to the Princess, and laughingly sho places the precious burden in her father's arms, llis Majesty, who hates everything that approaches a dramatic scene in real life, seemed embarrassed, but as the little fellow ap- peared very gallantly not to wish to quit the ladies, his Majesty had to pacify him by dandling him in his arms, and so he brought him to the window. But the Princess was not satisfied. She transferred the baby from her father's arms to her husband's arms, and the I'rince performed the pati^rnal duly very handsomely, though the ladies all solemnly decided that the more experienced King was for the moment the better skilled nurse of the two. The Royal Family seemed now finally to retire, and by degrees the group of visitors dispersed." PRINCESS ALEXANDliA'S CHBlbTMAS GIFT. 273 'erred Jtiiid's luly iiinly ;r the Tlie I by I THE PIJINCESS ALEXANDRAS CHRISTMAS GIFT. An English paper tells a little story of the Princess Alexaiulra, which admirably illustrates her domestic habits, her amiable disposition and kindness of heart. Crossing the hall of Marlborough House lato one afternoon a few days before Christmas, her Royal Highness observed a young girl of singularly delicate and refined a2)})earance, waiting and also standing, ihougii evidently fatigued and faint. The Princess kindly told her to sit down, asked her errand, and discovered that she had brought home some little irarments which had been ordered for the children, and which the Princess, who is much interested in sewing machines, and understands their merits, had desired should be made for her. Interested in the modest, intelligent appearance and gentle manners of the girl, her Royal Highness desired her to follow her to her room, which she did, without the remotest idea who the beautiful, condescending lady was. After an examination of the articles, the Princess asked who it was that had executed the w ork ? The girl modestly confessed that she herself had done f n ' <] T ii 274 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. |i most of it. Tlie Princess said it was done very nicely, and finally drew from her the simple facts of her condition : how she had an invalid mother, whom she was obliged to leave all alone while she went to a shop to work ; how the fashionable rage for machine sewing had suggested to her to become a finished operator, with the hope that at some future time she might own a machine of her own, and be able to work at home and earn something more than bread for her poor sick mother. The Princess rang the bell, ordered a bottle of wine, some biscuits and oranges to be packed and brought to her; meanwhile she had asked the wondering girl wlier(j she lived, and taken down the address upon her tablets with her own hand. She then gave her the delicacies, which had been put into a neat little basket, and told her to take them to her mother. On Christmas morning, into the clean apartment of the invalid mother and her astonished and de- lighted daughter was borne a handsome sewing machine, with a slip of paper on which were the words n A Christmas Gilt from Alexandra." — Guelj^h Herald. THE QUEEN'S PRESENT TO II ER GRANDSON. 275 le very facts of mother, liile she ble rage bocoiae e future , and be )re than ottle of ked and ced the )\\n the She een put [0 them irtment iiid de- sewing ere the h-a."— PRESENT FROM THE QUEEN TO HER GRANDSON VICTOR. Her iMajesty presented to lier Eoyal graudson, Prince Victor (son of the Prince and Princess of Wales), a most splendid baptismal gift. It consists of a statuette of tlie Prince Consort in silver, and stands 3 feet 2J inches in height. His Koyal Highness is in a standing position, with gilt armour, copied from the figure upon the tomb of tlie Earl of Warwick in Warwick Cathedral. He is rej)resented as Christian, in tlie "Pilgrim's Progress," and around the plinth on which the figure stands is the verse from Timothy, " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." Behind the figure, and resting upon the stump of an oak, is the helmet of Christian. The shield of the Prince rests against the stem, and near the trees are the white lilies of purity, which are usually introduced into the pictures of the Pilgrim. Immediately beneath the plinth, and in front of the entablature of the pedestal, is the inscription : " Given to Albert Victor Christian Edward, on the occasion of his baptism, by Victoria II., his grandmother and god- !i 'i il 270 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. motlior, in memory of Albert, his beloved grand- lather." In the first and second panels, and over the Royal arms, and over the Queen and Prince Consort's arms, are aj)proi)riate verses. On a third panel, and over the arms of the Prince and Princess of Wales, is the verse — " Willie, as he walkefl, in faith and rishtcoiisncss ; Strive as he strove, the weak and ]ioor to aid, Seek not th3'8('ll' but other men to bless ; So win, like him, a wreath that will not (ade." ' Beneath the front panel, over the figures 18^14, are inscribed, in large-sized letters, the Prince's names, Albert Victor Christian Edward, and in an oblong panel, Born January the 8th, baptized IVIarch 10th. Looking to the front of the work, a figure of Hope stands at the right side, one of Faith on the left, and behind, or in thr third niche, is a group of Charity, each of oxidised silver. At the side of each figure and gi'oup there are lilies in enamel. Upon the frieze over the figure of Faith are the words, " Walk as he walked, in — Faith," the last word being inscribed beneath the figure. In the same manner, in connection with the figure of Hope, are the words " Strive as be strove, in — THE QUEEyS PHESEXT TO HER GliANDSOy. 277 'I Hope ;" arnl over the group of Charity, also in enaiiiol, are tlie words, " Think as lie thonj^lit, in — Charity." Over Faith there is a lily of purity, over Hope the water-lily, having appropriate reference to the baptism of the young Prince ; and over the group of Cliarity, and resting uj)on the top of the niche, there is the lily of the valley. To the right of the Princ^} of Wales' shield there is a figure of an infant boy looking up at a full-blown rose, which stands erect upon a perfect stem, with beside it a white lily, and immediately over the baby figures a bunch of snowdrops, emblematic of youth or spring. This entire group is enriched by the rose, thistle, and shamrock, tastefully introduced to form a background. The inscriptions were written by the Queen herself. The verses are by Mrs. Prothero, the wife of the rector of Whipj)iiigham. 1 1 i j I tt 278 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. XV. PRINCE ALFRED (DUKE OF EDINBURGH). PRINCE ALFRED UNDER DISCIPLINE. The United Service Gazette says that Prince Alfred is being brought up in the naval service precisely the same as if he were the son of a private gentle- man. "He messes with the midshipmen, keeps his regular watch, dines occasionally in the wardroom, and takes his turn to dine with the captain. He is treated by his messmates as, in all respects, one of themselves — is called to order by the caterer, and runs the risk of being made the subject of a practical joke as any other young gentleman, himself, how- ever, being generally pretty forward in the business of playful mischief. Upon one question, that of smoking, the young Prince is sternly denied the rniNCE ALFRED'S VISIT TO THE CAPE. 275) privil(»n;e indnlirod by other ofRcors. Tliat growin<^ vice of the age, most misehievous in its conseqiiences» particularly when carried to excess, and whicli always runs to excess, is prohibited as far as Prince Alfred is concerned." !| 'i PRINCE ALFRED 8 VISIT TO THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. Colonel Armstrong, a settler at the Cape, gives an interesting account of Prince Alfred's re('e[)tion at Graham's Town : — " Her Majesty will not be dis- pleased when she hears an account of jKirt of the Prince's body-guard ; seventeen ladies, well mounted, well equipped, and first-rate horsewomen, each wear- ing blue rosettes, with silver anchors, formed his guard. They escorted him to the fpiarters provided for him at the Lieutenant-Governor's private resi- dence ; there they were presented and received his most gracious acknowledgments. Next day there was a grand rural fete given at Oatlands. There were numerous processions, Wesleyan schoolchildren and schoolchildren of other denominations, inarching in ranks, well dressed, with ribbons and badges. Fingo, Kaffir, and Hottentot processions, well dressed. li f n 280 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. and most orderly in boliaviour. At a liinoli in a mjirqnoe, tlio Prinro was riuito ovc^rpowcred by tho entlnisiasm with wliicli liis Roval niotlior's lioalth was dnink and tho sin^iinij: of the National Anthoni by hnndrods of sohoolchildren and tho coloured people. lie then planted an oak sapling in the Oatlands ground. In tlie evening his Koyal Highness was drawn to the Lieutenant-Governor's residence in a spider carriage, by some hundreds of young men, with paper lanterns fixed to their heads. The grace and distinguished proi)rii.'ty of bearing of \\\Q dear Prince have tlioroughly won the hearts of all. He seems to know and feel the importance of his position, and yet there is such a winning modesty and condescension in his deportment that we cannot but love him." PRINCE ALFRED S RESPECT FOR THE SABBATH. The Star of the East, a Greek paper published at Athens, s[)caks in high praise of a beautiful letter written by Queen Victoria to Amelia, Queen of Greece, to thank her for the kindness she exhibited to her son, Prince Alfred, during his late visit to THE PRINCE'S PiESPECT FOR THE SABBATH. 281 11 in a by the hoaltli Vntlioin oloured in tlio Ixoval • pernor's I reds of r lioads. ring of L'arts of mee of iiodesty cannot led at letter 3en of libited isit to that classic land. The warm heart of the English Queen has not been chilled by the conventionalities and forms surrounding a monarch of a great nation ; and a mother's love had, undoubtedly, much to do with the dictating of the epistle. And here we may as well mention a pleasing incident connected with the stay of IVince Alfred at Athens. The celebra- tion of the 01ymj)ic Gamos (revived in December last, for the first time since the days of thi'ir sup- pression) happened to be under way at the very moment when the Prince reached Athens. Hearing of his expected arrival the committee of management deferred the horse-race in the hippodrome — one of tlie most important parts of the festive occasion — from ]\ronday till the succeeding Sunday, so that he might grace it witli his presence. " But the son of the Queen of England (says the paper) answered positively and emphatically that ' ho could not be present at the race on the Lord's holy day,' and the committee postponed it anew until the next Tuesday, when it took place." ! 282 .SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, 8H00TINQ AT I'lUNCE ALFRED AT SYDNEY. Since his arrival in the Anstrahun f'ol(>nies, Prinee Alfred, in pursuance, probably, of instructions from home, has adopted a course of conduct singularly well fitted to win the attachment of the people. Instead of hedging himself round with courtly for- malities, he has mingled in the fnn'st possible manner with the colonists, and has behaved so very much like a man dependent wholly upon popular favour as to excite no little surprise. He has allowed himself to be approached by almost any one who was decently dressed. For some time efforts had been tnade to establish a permanent institution at Sydney, to be known as the Sailors' Home, for the benefit of dis- tressed seamen. It was at length determined to endeavour to raise the necessary funds by a picnic, and the presence of the Prince was -secured to lend eclat and tone to the aifair, and of course to enable the managers to dispose more readily of their tickets. Everything up to the time of the attempted assassi- nation went off admirably ; and the tickets sold like wildfire. The spot selected for the picnic was one of the most charming and lovely to be found in any EV. s, Prineo oils from ingiilarly people, rtly for- nianner y mnrh avoiir as himself lecently nade to , to be ; of dis- ined to picnic, to lend enable tickets, issassi- Id like one of in any if 5 00 a J'. < c c: u> s '/^ H u fa o u: Q u H H •< C 1^ H O O \ .8 '••i tt if 5^ < c c: u^ a H H Ce. c a u: tJ c u H •< O O SHOOTING AT PRINCE ALFRED AT SYDNEY. 283 part of Sydney Harbour. The Prince arrived in a special steamer, and the people cheered lustily, while the Prince smiled and bowed his thanks : upon landing he was conducted to the luncheon tent, where he partook of some refreshments. Leaving the tent, the Prince led Lady Belmore to a special pavilion which had been erected for the ladies, and then sauntered away with Sir William Manning (an old resident of Sydney) to enjoy a walk about the grounds. As he went along he met a gentleman named Allen, with whom he shook hands and chatted for a few moments, and then handed an envelope to Sir William Manning, saying that it contained a donation to the Sailors' Home. Scarcely had he finished speaking, when OTarrell was observed to run quickly across to where he was standing, and fired with a r* volver at the Prince, who immediately fell forward. Sir William Manning turning hastily round upon hearing the report of the revolver, and seeing that the man who had just fired had pointed his weapon towards him'(Sir W. Manning), he stooped to get out of the line of fire, and in doing so fell. Meanwhile the Prince had been raised from the • 11 \ 11 284 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, ground and conveyed to his private tent. He was evidently in great pain, and once or twice asked the gentlemen wlio were bearing him along to carry him more slowly and gently. Although very weak from loss of blood he did not become unconscious, and noticing that the people crowded around the tent, he desired a gentleman to assure tliem that " he was not much hurt, and would be better presently." Shortly afterwards the Prince was borne on a litter by the sailors to the Morpeth, a solemn silence being preserved by the people, who stood on either side as the cortege passed. When the Morpeth arrived at Farm Core a barge from the Galatea came along- side to bear the Eoyal suflferer to the shore. The Prince, who was lying upon a stretcher, with a soft mattress under him, and his head supported by pillows, was lowered into his barge, which was manned by his own sailors. He was then conveyed to the city, and thence to the Government House. Immediately after the outrage meetings were held all over the colony, and addresses of condolence were sent to the Prince from the municipal bodies, foreign residents (including the Chinese), &c. To these ad- dresses the Prince returned the following reply: — BOTANICAL INCIDENTS. 285 ^^ March 19r/i. — I have received with sincere satisfac- tion these numerous addresses, and desire to return my warm thanks for the expressions of sympathy which they contain. The cowardly act of one in- dividual has not in any degree shaken my confidence in the loyalty of the people in this colony towards the throne and person of her Majesty, or in their affection for myself; and I shall gladly convey to the Queen the universal expression of horror and indignation which the attempt to assassinate me has called forth from Her Majesty's faithful suhjects in Australia. — Alfred." At a large meeting held in Sydney, expressive of gratitude for the recovery of his Royal Highness, it was proposed to erect a subscribed monument to the Prince, in the shape of a hospital, to be called after the Prince's name. Upwards of 7,000Z. sterling were subscribed at once. held were jreign ad- Iv: — BOTANICAL INCIDENTS OF THE PRINCES VISIT. During his stay in Sydney the Prince, who appeared to take great interest in botany, visited IMr. Hill's extensive greeneries at Woollahra, and selected a 286 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. ' '!l I'l < AW number of rare plants for his own and the public collections in England. On the morning of the 2nd of April his Royal Highness paid a visit to the Botanical Gardens, and planted two trees tliere in commemoration of his stay in New South Wales. At the entrance of the garden?, he was received by the director (Mr. Charles Moore). His Royal High- ness, having been conducted to the lawn to the south of Farm Cove, was addressed by Mr. Moore, who, in requesting him to plant the tree {TheojyJirasta imperialist rer^'^,rked that it was, he believed, the first individua. of the species which had been intro- duced into these colonies. It was called " Theo- phrasta " after the distinguished natural historian of that name, and " imperialis " on account of its magni- ficent leaves. The Prince then planted the shrub, and Mr. Moore remarked that the designation " im- perialis" became additionally appropriate from the fact that this particular tree had been placed in the earth by the hands of his Royal Highness. The Duke then went a few paces to the eastward and planted another tree, a Dammara robusta, a fine tree found on the east coast of Australia, remarkable for the altitude which it attains, and for its close afiSnity public the 2ud to the liere in Wales, ived by High- e south vho, ill phrasta ed, the 1 intro- Theo- riau of lagni- I shrub, iin- tn the in the buke -nted [bund for inity BOTANICAL INCIDENTS. 281 in botanical rliaracteristics to the Norfolk Island pine. During the sti^^ of his Royal Highness and suite in the colony, they bestowed a liberal patronage upon tiie Double Bay Exotic Nursery, whence they were regularly supplied with flowern ; and, as soon as it was ripe, with the delicious fruit of the Japanese date palm. The Messrs. Guilfoyle and 8on, gratified with this distinction, were desirous of commemorating the favours they enjoyed by associating liis Koyal Higli- ness's name with a new and remarkable plant recently imported from the Island of New Guinea; and the Prince signified his intention of paying a special visit to the nursery for the purpose of inspecting and naming the little treasure the " Alfred Pine." The plant has qualities that eminently justified the dis- tinction bespoken for it. It belongs to the beautiful Taxus tribe, but the leaves are unusually fine, long, and graceful. Its most remarkable feature is that both the upper and under surfaces of the foliage are frosted with a silver tint. Some known species of Taxus have their leaves silvered on one side, but none were previously known having the same colour on both sides. During a visit to the Gardens another 288 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. novelty, a vary elegant pine (also a Taxns), with long leaves divided into pinnae, of a bright grass green, was given the Prince's name by the Hon. Eliot Yorke. Amongst the other new attractions is a fine fern from Nangoni, one of the Loyalty Islands. No such plant has yet been described, but in character it appears to approach nearest to the Aspleniums. Its novelty is not its only commendation ; its colours and form are very fine, and its habit extremely graceful. These three plants are valuable additions from the interest- ing flora of the Australasian and Pacific Islands. THE PRINCES AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTION. His Royal Highness took away with him from Australia a large and varied collection of colonial birds ana animals. In Tasmania he procured a very fine wombat, which was presented to him by Lady Dry, wife of the Chief Secretary of that colony. From South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania his Royal Highness obtained a large collection of beauti- ful parrots and other birds, and this collection received some valuable additions in Sydney. His Royal THE PRINCE'S AVSTItALIAN COLLECTION. 289 m Iligliness received as a present from a gciitleinan in the Hunter lliver district a pair of very fine emus; and on the Saturday prior to the sailing of the sliip the Prince was presented with a pair of large and very tame kangaroos. His Royal Highness also received from the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Parkes, the mongouste which killed the snakes at the jMuseum on the occasion of the lloyal visit to that establishment. The little animal was as docile and playful as a kitten. The same gentleman also presented to his Royal Highjiess a pair of native cats, whi(;h, having been taken from their mother when very young, were reared and rendered as tame and tractable as ordinary domestic cats. In addition to these his Roval Hifrh- ness had a pair of tanio kangaroos (male and female), a pair of black swans, a pair of black ducks, a pair of teal, and, most curious of all, a live turtle not larger than a half-crown piece. This little turtle was so tame that, upon showing it a fly, it would crawl on a person's hand and take it off. These birds and animals, together with a quantity of game, were presented to his Royal Highness by jMr. Walter Bradley ; and in order that they might be comfortably housed on board the ship, Mr. Bradley had three 290 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. lar<^e ca<^es or coops oonstructed for them. These cages were made of colonial cedar, with wire fronts, and ])anelied doors in front of the wire, so that the fronts might be opened or clos(;d as the state of the weather may require. For the little turtle Mr. Bradley procured an aquarium of colonial glass, and fitted it up very nicely with shells. REAPPEARANCE OF PRINCE ALFRED IN SYDNEY. The Sydney Morning Herald thus referred to this interesting event : — " On Friday, the 27th Mai-ch, the people of Sydney were gratified by Prince Alfred's reappearance in public, and those who had the pleasure of seeing his Royal Highness manifested their joy in the most un- mistakable manner. He left Government House in an open carriage, drawn by four bays, and proceeded through the city for a drive in the suburbs, escorted by a mounted guard. No notice was given of the intention of the Prince to reappear in public ; but no sooner were the outriders seen in the various streets than the people congregated and cheered enthusias- tically as his Royal Highness passed. The reap- These 3 fronts, hat the of the tie Mr. ass, and ii [ to this Sydney nee in ing his ost un- e in an ceeded iseorted of the but no streets Ihusias- reap- JIEAPPEARANCE OF PlilNCE ALFlttlD, 291 • pearance of his Iloyal Highness was, moreover, the signal for a renewal of the display of bunting, and a very short time after he' passed through George Street the number of flags to symbolise the joy of the [)e(>ple at the Prince's speedy recovery was as great as on the day of the public procession through the city. Many a heart thrilled with gladness at witnessing the vari-coloured bunting, indicative of gratitude and thankfulness, as well as of joy, once more fluttering in the breeze. '' On Saturday, the 28th, the Duke made his second appearance in public since his recovery from the effects of the murderous attack unon his life : and manifestations of loyalty and joy at his recovery met his eye on all sides. Never before was the city dressed out so prettily with flags, and the suburbs were all liberal in their display of bunting. The Prince called on Mr. Thome, and kindly inquired after that gentleman's health, and congratulated him on his gratifying recovery.* " On Wednesday, the 1st April, his Poyal Highness * Mr. Thome received in his foot the second ball fired at the Prince, the assassin's hand having been struck down by Sir William Manning. M 292 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. t left GoverDiiicnt Ilouse early in tlie day, and went down to Jlnsc Bay by water in his own steam launeh. On arrival his Royal Iligliness spent some time in fishing, and one of the features of this sport was the capture of a young shark. Subsequently his Royal Highness went on shore, and, together with several other gentlemen, engaged in pigeon sliooting. In the evening the Prince's four handsome l)ays having come down to Woollahra, he took the reins and drove back to Government House, attended by a mounted escort. The whole line of route was tlirouged by well-dressed citizens, who cheered the Duke enthusi- astically as he passed. His Royal Highness appeared to be in excellent health and spii'its, and the skilful management of his team elicited much admiration. " Special thanksgiving was offered up in all the churches of all denominations in the city and suburbs for the recovery of his Royal Highness." THE PRINCE AND THE PISTOLS OP THE ASSASSIN. His Royal Highness having expressed to the Colonial Secretary a desire to have the pistol with which he was shot by the assassin O'Farrell, at Clontarf, and THE PISTOLS OF THE ASSASJIX. 21)3 'St nd went Iniinch. time in was the s Roval several ing. In I 1 laving id drove iiounted aged by entluisi- ppeared skilful ation. all tlie kiburbs JSIN. polonial lich lie Irf, and that picked up immediately after tlio arrest of tlie prisoner, Captain M'Lerie was requested to procure both wca})ons. The pistols iiaving been obtained, a small cedar case was manufactured and fitted up for their reception. On the inside of the cover of the case is a small plate bearing the following inscrip- tion : — "The pistols marked ' A' and * B ' were exhibits in evidence at the trial of Henry J. O'Farrell, before the Central Criminal Court, Sydney, New South Wales, on the 30th and 31st ]\larch, 18(j8, charged with shooting with intent to murder II.IMI. the Duke of Edinburgh, at Clontarf, in that colony, on the 12th March, 18G8. 'A' is the pistol from which the shots were fired, one taking effect in the body of ILK. II., and the other in the foot of Mr. George Thorne, of Sydney. * B ' was found on the prisoner when aj)pre- bended by the police. Office of Inspector-General of Bolice, Sydney, 2nd April, 1808." The pistols were placed in the case in the same state in which they were taken from the assassin, four of the cham- bers of that marked A being charged, and the whole of the chambers in that marked B. The bullet ex- tracted from the body of his Royal Highness was also placed in the case. This missile was considerably i itt 11 i I SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. imlontftd and flattonod at the ronioal end, allowing, beyond all doubt, that it struck a very liard substance in the victim's body. On Monday morninf]^, the Gth April, the case was presented by ^Ir. Tarkos to his Royal Tlighnoss, who, having thanked him for pro- curing the pistols, examined them with a good deal of interest. The case was then placed on board the Galatea, to be taken home as a memento of the event which has had such an important effect upon the proceedings of his Royal Highness. PORTRAITS OF THE PRINCE AT SYDNEY. Mr. Montague Scott, the well-known artist of Sydney, had the honour, immediately before the departure of the Duke of Edinburgh, to be commis- sioned to paint a full-length life-sized portrait of his Royal Highness in oils — destined (as it is understood) to ornament the walls of the Legislative Assembly, opposite to the admirable portrait of Mr. Wentworth. The price of this picture is to be not less than two hundred and fifty guineas. The Duke gave to Mr. Scott an hour's sitting for the purpose of enabling the artist to make a hand drawing for the intended VORTIiAITS OF Tlltl PIUNCE AT SYDNEY. 295 liowing, ihstance the 0th 3 to liis for pro- )od deal )ard the le event [)on the Utist of K>re the omrais- of his rstood) sembly, ;worth. lan two to Mr. labh'ng tended picture, and tl»o Trinee was furtlier pleased to ordtT that all his decorations, sword, hat, uniforjn, ^^c., should be sent to Mr. Scott's studio, tor the necessary pliotogra})hs. His Uoyal Highness at tlie same time expressed entire satisfaction at the execution of the work of pliotogra})hing tlie officers of the Galatea in two gr()uj)s — one? set round a medallion of himself, and one round a similar picture of Commander Campbell. Mr. T. Price has painted four portraits of his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, which have been greatly praised. Tliere are three very small miniatures — of the size of un ordinary locket — all diflferent, expressive, and characteristic portraits of his Royal Hi^^hness. Resides these likenesses, Mr. Price has executed a larger portrait of the Prince, which is a very beautifully-finished picture, and a good likeness, with that ruddy glow of perfect health by which his Royal Uighness's face was overspread on his arrival here. This picture is fixed in an ormolu frame encased with rosewood, and is about twelve inches by ten. P is understood that his Royal Highness expressed his approbation of these portraits, and that he purchased one of them to take home with him. A highly finished likeness of the 296 t^Ki'/rciii'is AND AN lienor /'IS. Duke of I*](liiiliini:;li, tiik<'ii Uy Mr. linulloy, plioto- l^iupluT, of Sydiiciy, ill uncut iiiujilo fVuiiic, Iiuh been |turcli)is('(l by Hulwcriptioii l>y tlu^ (Joullmni inuwn Mull. Notwith- Htundin^it wus intended to liuvo the ulVair as piivuto as possil)l(\ u eonsiderabh^ nnnd)er of jtersons were eolleeted on the spot, und wluui Ihe ceremony wus performed there could not ]iuv(i been less thun two thousand persons pn^sent. Tho ^rutilieution of the ])eopl(^ at seein<^ his b*oyal llii^dmess looking so well was manifested in a very enthusiasfie manner, and the cho(M-ing with which ho was greeted lasted for some time. A few i)reliminaries liavinji: been comrare a book with ' I'olilnson t'liisie,' and to say that it sustains buch com- parison, is to give it high praise Uhi^cA."—Athcnn:um. The Silver Skat.s; a Story of Holland Life. Edited by W. IL G. KiNosTuX. Illustrated, small post ^\ o., clo.h extra, 3s. 6d. The Voyage of the Constance ; a tide of the Poltir Seas. By Mary Gillies! New edition, with 8 lllusiratious by Cuakles Kke>e. Ecap., 3«. Od. NEW BOOKS FOR SCHOOL PRIZES. The Book of Boats. A Description of every Craft that Sails upon the Waters ; and how to Make, Ilig, and Sail Model Uouts, by W. H. G. KrNOSTON. With numerous Illustrations by E, Weedon. Second edition, enlarged. Fcap. 8vo., 3«. 6(Z. " No boy with a taste for tho water should be without it." — Illustrated London Aews. "Tliis well-written, well-wrougbt book." — Athei^feum. 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" It possesses the rare merit of displaying familiar districts of Europe from an entirely new point of view ; it is wrlilen in a lively, unallected style, so that one thoroughly f.ympathisi's with the heroe of the tale; and it is prolti.sely illustrated with a number of spirited, and occasionally very humorous woodcuts, displaying skipper and craft in all sorts of places and positions." — Times, LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND MAKSTON, CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET. a Li0t of TBoofes PUBUSHINO BY a- SAMPSON LOW, SON, and MARSTON, Crown Buildings^ 188, Fleet Street, iders to its {September, 1868. NETV ILLUSTRATED V70RKS. Gray's "Elegy" in Colours*, Uniform with the Illustrated " Story Without an Knd." N ELEGY IN A COUNTKY CHURCHYARD. By Thomas Gray. With Sixteen Wuter-Coloured Drawings, by Eminent Artists, printed in Colours in fui-simile of the Ori- ginals. Royal 8vo. cloth, 12s. tW. ; or in moroi-co. L'Ss. I Jh preparation THE STORY WITHOUT AN END. From the German of Carove. 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CHOICE COMPANIONABLE BOOKS FOR HOME AND ABROAD, ^ COMPRISING HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, TRAVEL, ESSAYS, NOVELETTES, ETC. Which, under an Editor of known taste and ability, will be very choicely printed at the Chiswick Press ; with Vignette Title-page, Notes, and Index ; the aim being to insure permanent value, as well as present attractiveness, and to render each volume an ac quisition to the libraries of a new generation of readers. Size, a handsome 16mo. bound flexible in cloth extra, gilt edges, averaging about 220 pages. Each Volume, complete in itself, price Half-a-crown. THE STORY OF THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. From the French of the Loyal Servant, M. de Berville, ami others. By E. Walford. With Introduction aud Kotes by the Editor. " Praise of him must walk the earth . For ever, and to noble deeds jfive birth. This is the happy warrior; this is he That every man in arms would wish to be." — Wordsworth. SAINT LOUIS, KING OF FRANCE. 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Low and Co.'s ' Buyard Series,' every one of which is a gem, and the ' Ciliph Vathek ' is, perhaps, the gem of the collection. \\ e may as ivell add that every one of the icorks included in this series w icell worth possessing, and the whole will make an admirable foundation for the library of a studious youth of polished aiul refined tastes.'" — Illustrated Times. " If the publishers go on as they have begun, they will have furnished us tvith one of the most valuable and attractive series of books that have ever been issued from the press." — Sunday Times. " There has, perhaps, never been produced anything more admirable, either as regards matter or iminner." — Oxford Times. "' The Bayard Series' is a perfect man-el of cheapness and of exquisite taJitc in the binding and getting up. We hope and believe that these deli- cate morsels of choice literature will be widely and gratefrdly welcomed." Nonconformist. 6 Sampson Low and Co.* 8 P. The Gentle Life Series. Printed in El/evir, on Toned Paper, and handsomely bound, forming suitable Volumes for Presents. Pr'ict 6». iach\ or in calf extra, price 10s, 6rf. I. THE GENTLE LIFE. Essays in Aid of the Formation of Character of Gentlemen and Gentlewomen. Ninth Edition. ^^ His notion of a gentleman is of the nohlext and truest order The volume is a capital specimen of what may be done by honest reason, high feelirg, and cultivated intellect. . . . A little compendium of cheerful philosophy." — Daily Ne^ys. " Deserves to be printed in letters of gold, and circulated in every house." — Chambers's Journal. " The writer's object is to teach people to be truthful, sincere, generous to be humble-minded, but bold in thought and action." -Spectator. " Full of truth and persuasiveness, the book is a valuable composition, and one to which the reader will often turn for compaiiionship." — Morning Post. " It is with the more satisfaction that ive meet with a new essayist who delights without the smallest pedantry to quote the choicest wisdom of our forefathers, and tcho abides by those old-fashioned Christian ideas of duty which Steele and Addison, tcits and men of the world, were not ashamed to set before the young Englishmen of 1713," — London Review. II. ABOUT IN THE WORLD. Gentle Life." Essays by the Author of ** The " It is not easy to open it at any page without finding some happy idea." Morning Post. " Another characteristic merit of these essays is, that they make it their business, gently but firmly, to apply the qualifications and the corrections, which all philanthropic theories, all general rules or maxims, or principles, stand in need of before you can make them uorA,"— Literary Churchman. List of Publications. III. FAMILIAR WORDS. An Index Verborum, or Quotation Handbook. Affording an immediate Reference to Phrases and Hentences that have bei-ome emnedded in the English language. Hecond and en- larged Edition. " Should be on evert/ library table, by the side of ' Uoget's Thesaurus.' " —Daily News. " Almost ei^ery familiar quotation is to be found in this work, which forms a book of reference absolutely indispensable to the literary man, and of interest and service to the nublir generally. Mr. Friswell has mir best thanks for his painstaking, laborious, and conscientio^is work."— City Press. IV. LIKE UNTO CHRIST. A new translation of the •* De Imita- tione Christi," usually ascribed to Thomas A. Kempis. With a Vignette from an Original Drawing by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Think of the little work of Thomas a. Kempis, translated into a hundred languages, and sold by millions of copies, and which, in inmost moments of deep thought, men maJce the guide of their hetirts, and the friend of their closets." — Archbishop of York, at the Literary Fund, 1865. "The idea." I it their rections, tnciples, Ichman. ESSAYS BY MONTAIGNE. Edited, Compared, Revised, and Annotated by the Author of " The Gentle Life." With Vignette Portrait. " The reader really gets in a comprtrt form all of the charming, chatty Montaigne that he needs to know." — Observer. " We should be glad if any words of ours could help to bespeak a larot circulation for thLi handsome attractive book ; ana icho can refuse nis homage to the good-humoured industry of the editor." — Illustrated Times. VI. THE COUNTESS OF PEMBROKE'S ARCADIA. Written by Sir Philip Sidney. Edited, with Notes, by the Author of'TheQentl* Life." Dedicated, by pe* aission, to the Earl of Derby. 7.v. M. " All the best things t?i the Arcadia are retained intact in Mr. Friswell's edition, and even brought into greater prominence than in the original, by the curtailment of some of its inferior portions, ami the omission of most of its eclogues and other metrical digressions." — Examiner. " The book is now presented to the modern reader in a shape the most likely to be acceptable in these days of much literature and fastidious taste." — Daily News. " It was in itself a thing .so interesting as a development of English literature, that tee are th/inkful to Mr. Friswell for reproducing, in a very elegant volume, the chief work of the gallant and chivalrous, the gay yet learned knight, who patronized the muse of Spenser, and fell upon the bloody f eld of Zutphen, leaving behind him a light of heroism and humane compassion ichich would shed an eternal glory on his name, though all he ever wrote had perished with himself." — London Review. 8 Sampson Low and Co.* 8 VII. THE GENTLE LIFE. Second Series. Third Edition. " There i.i the stinie viini/liU />ourr and simplicity which innkes the author xo em/ihrttirfilli/ n first-rate cssni/ist, (jiritif/ a /nsrinntinn in each ensmj xchich will imtke this volume at least as j/opuiar as its eider brother." Star. " TTiese essays ere amongst the best in our language." — Pohlic Opinion VIII. VARIA : Readinpfs from Rare Books. Reprinted, by permis- sion, from the Saturdny Jiiriew, S'jirctntnr, &c. OoNTKNTs: — The Angelii- Doctor, NoBtriidamti!), Thomas A Kempis, Dr. John Fau.stus, Quevetlo, Mad. Guyon, Paracelsus, Howell the Traveller, Michael Hcott, Lodowick Mnftfjleton, Sir Thomas Browne, George Psalmana/ar, The Hifjhwaymen, The Hpirit World. " The boo/,s disrussrd in this volume are no li^ss valual/lr than they are rare, but life is not long enough to atloiv a reader to irade through .such thick folios, and therefore the compiler is entitled to the gratitude of the public for having sf ted their contents, and tiiercly rendered their treasures available to the general reader," — Observer. IX. A CONCORDANCE OR VERBAL INDEX to the whole of Milton's Poetical Works. Comprising? upwards of 20,000 References, Uy Charles D. Cleveland, LL.D. With Vignette Portrait of Milton. •»• This work affords an immediate reference to any paasnge in any edition of Milton's Poems, to which it may be justly termed an indis- pensable Appendix. " An iyivaluable Index, u-hich the publishers have done a public service in reprinting." — Notes and Queries. THE SILENT HOUR : Essays, Ori the Author of "The Gentle Life." Contents, How to read the Scriptures . Unreasonable Infidelity The Great Loss of the Worldling . Certainty of Death .... On the Greatness of God Our Daily Hrcad The Art of Contentment The Foolish Exchange .... Of a Peaceable Temper. . , On the Marriage liing . Nearer to God The Sanctity of Home .... The Thankfnl Heart .... Silence, JMeditution. and Rest. And other Essays by the Editor, ginal and Selected. By From the Homilies. Isaac Barrow. Richard Baxter. Dean Sherlock. Miissillon. Bishop Latimer. Archbishop Sandys. Jeremy Taylor. Isaac Barrow. Jeremy Taylor Archbishop Sandys. John Rnskin. Isaak Walton. Second Edition. ■'->>'. List of Publications. LITERATURE, M^ORKS OF REFERENCE, ETC. HE Oriji;in and IlistDry of tho English Langimpe, and of the eiirly literature it emtxKlies. IJy the Hon. Oiorjre P. MarHh. U. H. Minister ut Turin, Author of " Lectures on the En(vinf( ti , date. Two vuluanle ApjieudiceH are uIho aiven — A', containing fall lists of all Libraries, Collections, Heries, and Aliscellauies — and U, a List of Literary Societies, Printing Societies, and their Iiinei. One vol. royal 8vo. Morocco, 1/. 6s. A Dictionary of rh(»t()praphy,«>M the Basis of Sutton's Dictionary. Rewritten by Frofes.sor Dawson, of King':* College, Editor of the " Journal of Photogrupliy ; " and ThoinuK Sutton, D.A., Kditor of "Photograph Notes." 8vo. with numerous Illii!itrationi. 8.s. QU. Dr. Worcester's New and Greatly Enlarpjed Dictionary of the English Language. 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" An admirable book, full of useful information, wrapt up in stories Seculiarly adapted