CHAPTER VI

ABSURD RUMOURS.

In the year 1831, the public became anxious to know how the education of the heiress-presumptive to the throne progressed; what was the nature of her studies,and which she preferred and most diligently pursued. Prompt, responsive, and satisfactory statements were rendered. It appeared that since the accession of King William, her tuition had been almost entirely entrusted to English teachers. Mr. Amos instructed her in the principles of the English Constitution, Mr. Westall in drawing; she had made considerable progress in Latin, and could read Horace with fluency. It was further stated that her love of music was enthusiastic, and that it was the orchestral rather than the dramatic attraction that caused her to frequent the theatres so much as she did. It was remarked that, on the occasion of the coronation of William IV., which took place on the 8th of September, neither the Princess nor her mother were present. Their absence was explained by the announcement, that the health of the Princess rendered a sojourn in the Isle of Wight necessary. Prudent persons held that, even had it been otherwise, her tender years and peculiar position rendered her absence preferable to her presence. She was but twelve years old, and it was commonly stated that only a year before had it been deemed wisefullyto make her aware of the regal destiny which was before her. Gossip-mongers—a whole host of whom circulated the most absurd rumours about the Princess from her most tender years until long after she had become Queen—alleged that the real reason of her absence was the fact that her proper place in the ceremony was not assigned to her. The real truth we believe to have been as follows. Since the accession of her uncle Clarence, Victoria had been plunged into a round of gaiety which did not at all comport either with her years or a certain fragility of health, which now for ashort time succeeded the fine animal power and spirits of the years preceding. She had been presented at the first drawing-room held by Queen Adelaide, the most magnificent that had been held since the presentation of Charlotte, Princess of Wales, on the occasion of her marriage. This was her first appearance in state. She arrived with her mother, attended by the Duchess of Northumberland, Lady Charlotte St. Maur, Lady Catherine Jenkinson, the Honourable Mrs. Cust, Lady Conroy, the Baroness Lehzen, Sir J. Conroy, and General Wetherall. Her dress was made entirely of articles manufactured in Great Britain, and consisted of a simple, modest, and becoming blonde frock. She was the great object of interest present, stood on the left of the King, and contemplated theéliteof her future subjects with a dignified amiability which charmed every one. On her twelfth birthday, in the same year, she was overwhelmed with presents; amongst others, two beautiful ponies, presented by the Duchess of Gordon, which became especial pets. The Queen gave a juvenile ball in her honour, which Queen Victoria has often talked of in later times, as the scene which of all others made the deepest impression on her childish imagination. Spite of all this, and of the notorious and profuse kindness with which the King and Queen Adelaide had always treated her, many were found to believe that they were jealous of, and meant to slight her. The truth was, that the Duchess of Northumberland, who, at the suggestion of the King himself, had been appointed to the high and important office of governess to the Princess, began to be alarmed at the consequences of so much festivity and excitement. She objected to her frequent attendance at drawing-rooms, and alsorecommended absence from the fatiguing coronation ceremony.

THE PRINCESS AND SOUTHEY.

The selection of this lady for the important office which she filled was a wise one, and the public judgment approved it. She possessed great personal attractions, mental powers of unusual range, and the highest rank. The appointment was by no means a nominal one, or one merely of state. Her visits to Kensington Palace were constant, and she frequently remained there all day. On one occasion, while her Grace was instructing her pupil, Southey called, and was greeted by the Princess and thegouvernantevery warmly. He conversed for some time with the ladies; first on poetry, then on history. He afterwards used to state with pride, that the Princess told him that she read his prose and poetical compositions with equal delight. The “Life of Nelson” especially charmed her. “That,” she said, “is a delightful book indeed; and I am sure I could read it half a dozen times over.” The gossip-mongers also alleged that the Duchess endeavoured to give a political bias to the education of the Princess. Some uneasiness was created at this. But when the matter was properly inquired into, it was ascertained that, neither in the selection of books to be studied, nor in the remarks made upon their text, was the slightest party colour given to the education of the royal pupil of the Duchess. It was while under the care of this lady that the Princess acquired her well-known admirable horsemanship. To Fozard, the best riding-master of the day, was entrusted her tuition in riding. She soon became distinguished by the ease of her carriage, and her truly royal air and demeanour. This was a commonsubject of admiring remark by distinguished foreigners; amongst others, by Count Orloff, to whom, in 1832, the Duchess of Kent gave a splendid banquet. The Princess, after she was removed from the active care of the Duchess of Northumberland, gave the best proof of her gratitude and sense of the services she had rendered her, by keeping up with her Grace a constant epistolary correspondence. Wherever she went, in the many tours through England which she made while passing through her teens, she wrote letters to the Duchess describing whatever interested and instructed her in what she saw. This correspondence was really a voluntary continuation of her education.

THE PRINCESS IN HER TEENS.

Visits paid to many parts of England—Love of Cathedrals and Church Music—Trip to North Wales and the Midland Counties—Visit to a Cotton Mill—To Oxford—Gala Day at Southampton—Interview with the Young Queen of Portugal—Confirmation of the Princess—Tour to the North—York Musical Festival—At Ramsgate with the King of the Belgians—A Noble Deed at Tunbridge Wells.

In the year subsequent to the coronation of King William, the Duchess of Kent and her daughter spent much time in making visits to various parts of England. We have already seen that they were in the Isle of Wight at the date of the coronation. The same year, they spent some time at Worthing, and visited Lord Liverpool and his daughters at Buxted Park, whence they proceeded to Malvern, where their liberal relief of distress caused them to be much beloved. While at Malvern, they visited the cathedral at Worcester. Cathedrals were especial favourites with the Princess, and Church music gratified her as much as ecclesiastical architecture. To the public institutions of the cathedral cities which she visited she was an invariable benefactress, and willingly beggared herself of all her pocket-money that she might be the better able to meet the demands of art, science, literature, and poverty upon her benevolence. This year they also visited Hereford and Bath, and were magnificently entertained by the Earls Somers and Beauchamp, at Eastnor Castle and Maddresfield Court.

AN AUTUMNAL TOUR.

In 1831, they sojourned for a time at Claremont, in the Isle of Wight, and at Weymouth. The next year chronicled a more extensive autumnal tour than any hitherto undertaken. To North Wales they repaired first. Having seen its romantic beauties, they reached the ancient city of Chester on the 17th of October and on entering the cathedral were respectfully received and courteously addressed by the Bishop. The Duchess of Kent thus replied to the welcome of the Prelate:—“I cannot better allude to your good feeling towards the Princess than by joining fervently in the wish that she may set an example in her conduct of that piety towards God, and charity towards man, which is the only sure foundation either of individual happiness or national prosperity.” From Chester they proceeded to Eaton Hall, the palatial residence of the Grosvenors and thence to Chatsworth, the still more splendid abode of the Cavendish family. From Chatsworth they went to Belper, where they examined the cotton mills of the Messrs. Strutt, and were most cordially received by the numerous factory hands. Mr. James Strutt, by means of a model, explained to the Princess the several processes of cotton-spinning, which she listened to with keen attention and ready apprehension. The Queen retained a lively and fragrant recollection of this visit; and, years after, she created the son of herciceronea peer, by the title of Lord Belper. The week following they visited Hardwicke Hall, Chesterfield, and Matlock. Thence they proceeded to Shugborough, the seat of the Earl of Lichfield. Their next honoured entertainer was the Earl of Shrewsbury, at Alton Towers. While there, they visited Lichfield Cathedraland graciously received congratulatory addresses from the clergy and corporation. Their next stage was the seat of Lord Liverpool, who was one of the staunchest friends of the Duchess of Kent, of whom his daughter, Lady Catherine Jenkinson, was one of the Ladies-in-waiting. Proceeding homewards, they honoured with successive visits Earl Powis, the Hon. R. H. Clive, M.P., the Earls of Plymouth and Abingdon. From the seat of the latter they went to Oxford, which city they entered with an escort of yeomanry. The Vice-Chancellor presented an appropriate address in the Theatre, which was crowded with the celebrities of the University. The Duchess of Kent made the following answer:—

We close a most interesting journey by a visit to this University, that the Princess may see, as far as her years will allow, all that is interesting in it. The history of our country has taught her to know its importance by the many distinguished persons who, by their character and talents, have been raised to eminence by the education they have received in it. Your loyalty to the King, and recollection of the favour you have enjoyed under the paternal sway of his house, could not fail, I was sure, to lead you to receive his niece with all the disposition you evince to make this visit agreeable and instructive to her. It is my object to insure, by all means in my power, her being so educated as to meet the just expectation of all classes in this great and free country.

Their Royal Highnesses returned to Kensington on the 9th of November.

In 1833, the rambles of mother and daughter did not extend beyond the south coast; Portsmouth, Weymouth, and the Isle of Wight being the respective halting-places. While residing at Norris, East Cowes, they attended the ceremony of opening the new landing-pier at the fast rising port of Southampton. A steamertowed the Royal yacht from Cowes into Southampton Water, where were waiting a deputation, representing the corporation of the town, in an eight-oared barge, with one of the town-sergeants standing with the silver oar in the leads. The deputation having stated the object of the day’s ceremonial, the Duchess of Kent replied to the effect that she desired her daughter early to become attached to works of utility. They were then rowed ashore, amid the cheers of 25,000 spectators, and entertained at luncheon; subsequently, being requested to name the pier, the Duchess designated it the “Royal Pier.” Countless festivities followed in the evening, and “the townspeople were almost as proud of the presence of the Princess, as of the completion of their pier.”

THE PRINCESS AND A WIDOWED ACTRESS.

The year 1834 was that in which the Princess was confirmed. This holy rite was administered by the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Chapel Royal, St. James’s, in July. Next month, mother and daughter visited Tunbridge Wells; the month following they went northwards, visited the Archbishop of York at Bishopsthorpe, and attended the grand musical festival in his cathedral. On their homeward route, they were entertained by the Earls of Harewood and Fitzwilliam, and the Duke of Rutland; passed some time with the King and Queen of the Belgians, at Ramsgate, and finally visited the Duke of Wellington at Walmer Castle. An incident which occurred during their stay at Tunbridge, must not be omitted from our biography. The husband of one of the actresses in the small theatre of the place died, leaving an impoverished wife, who was just about to become a mother. The fact came to the knowledge of the Princess, and she applied to her motherfor aid. She at once gave £10 to her daughter, who added an equal sum from her own purse; she became her own almoner, hastened to the afflicted woman, conversed with her, and continued to make inquiries about her condition. Nor did this end her care. When she came to the throne, three years later, she at once sent to the poor woman a kindly intimation that an annuity of £40 would be paid to her for life.

Another series of visits, and renewed intercourse with the much-loved uncle and his young Orleanist wife at Ramsgate, filled the autumnal months of 1835.

EARLY DAYS OF PRINCE ALBERT.

Birth—Melancholy Story of his Mother—Brought up under the Care of his two Excellent Grandmothers—His Winning Ways as a Child—His Tutor, Florschütz—The Brothers, Ernest and Albert—Visit to Brussels, and its Beneficial Effects—Hard Study—Tour through Germany, &c.—First Visit to England, and Meeting with Victoria—Studies at Brussels—Enters the University of Bonn—Tour to Switzerland and Italy—Public Announcement of Betrothal—Leaves Coburg and Gotha for his Marriage.

THE INFANT COUSINS VICTORIA AND ALBERT.

Albert, the second son of Duke Ernest I. of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and his wife, the Princess Louise, daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, was born at the Rosenau, a charming summer residence belonging to the Duke, about four miles from Coburg, on the 26th of August, 1819. His mother is described as handsome, though of very diminutive proportions, fair, with blue eyes; and her son Albert, whom she idolised, closely resembled her. She was clever and entertaining; yet her marriage was an unhappy one, and a separation took place by mutual consent in 1824, after which date the Duchess never saw her children. Two years later the separation was turned into a divorce. The Prince never forgot her, but spoke of her to his dying day with much tenderness, and the very first gift which he ever made to the Princess Victoria was a little pin which his mother had given him. Not until the Prince was almost a young man did his mother die. Whenshe died her race became extinct, save in the persons of her two sons. Many years later, her remains were brought to Coburg, and laid in the family mausoleum beside the Duke and his second wife. This mausoleum was not completed until 1860, in which year Queen Victoria deposited a votive wreath on the tomb of the mother of her husband. Prince Albert’s paternal grandmother, the Duchess Dowager of Coburg, in writing to her daughter, the Duchess of Kent, announcing Albert’s birth, lauded his beauty, and—little thinking how the fortunes of the two infant cousins were to be intertwined hereafter—thus concluded her communication:—“How pretty theMay Flower(the Princess Victoria, born the preceding May) will be when I see it in a year’s time. Siebold cannot sufficiently describe what a dear little love it is. Une bonne fois, adieu! Kiss your husband and children.” Siebold was an accoucheuse who had attended at the births of both the children. On the 19th of September the Prince was christened, and thus named:—Francis Charles Augustus Albert Emmanuel.

The young Prince seems to have been adored as a child by all, whether relatives or others, who came in contact with him. “He leads captive,” said his fond mother, when he was two years old, “all hearts by his beauty and gentle grace.” After the sad separation of his father from his mother, the Prince was brought up largely under the care of his father’s mother, whom the Queen describes, from personal recollection, as “a most remarkable woman, with a most powerful, energetic, almost masculine mind, accompanied with great tenderness of heart, and extreme love for nature.” Of anevening she used to tell to her two grandchildren, Ernest and Albert, the stories of Sir Walter Scott’s novels, and, when they were old enough, employed them in writing letters to her dictation. She fondly described Albert, when he was not yet two years old, by the pet, diminutive name, “Alberinchen.” And she says—“With his large blue eyes and dimpled cheeks, he is bewitching, forward, and quick as a weasel. He can already say everything.” The step-maternal grandmother of the Prince too, second wife of his maternal grandfather, was sensible, kindly, and good, and took an interest in the children by no means inferior to that displayed by their own grandmother. With the former lady they spent very much of their time in their early years, at Gotha, and at her mansion in the vicinity of that town.

When Albert was not yet four years old he, with his brother, was removed to the care of a tutor, Herr Florschütz, who most admirably discharged his duties, which he continued to fulfil until his pupils had become young men. With the assistance of masters for special subjects, he conducted the whole of their early educational training, and continued to control their studies until they left the University of Bonn. The two brothers, spite of the difference of about a twelvemonth in their ages, pursued all studies in common, and the closest brotherly love and amity united them from first to last.

BOYHOOD OF PRINCE ALBERT

The younger Prince was not nearly so robust as his brother, but his intellect was more vigorous, and his force of will decidedly greater; “he always held,” said his uncle Leopold, “accordingly, a certain sway over his elder brother, who rather kindly submitted to it.” ThePrinces were not much, in their early years, with their father, who was much from home, especially when settling the junction of the duchy of Gotha with his own of Coburg. The former he succeeded to partly in right of his wife, and partly by a mutual compact of exchange of territory, entered into with other reigning princes of the old Saxon stock. This period was passed by the Princes at Rosenau, with their tutor, varied by visits to the mansions of the two grandmothers.

In a memorandum drawn up by Count Arthur Mensdorff, cousin of the Prince, he describes the young Albert when about ten years of age, at which period the cousins contracted a friendship which lasted unimpaired until the Prince’s death. His disposition was mild and benevolent; nothing could make him angry, except anything unjust or dishonest. He was never wild or noisy, and his favourite study was natural history. He was a good mimic, and had a keen sense of the ludicrous; but he never pushed a joke to the extent of hurting one’s feelings. His moral purity was as conspicuous as the meekness of his disposition.

In November of 1831, the Princes suffered a great bereavement in the death of their admirable grandmother, the Duchess Dowager of Coburg; she died in the arms of her two eldest sons. She had, from an early period, formed the wish that a marriage should be contracted between her two grandchildren, Albert and Victoria.

In 1832, the young Princes, in their turn, accompanied their father in a journey to visit their uncle, King Leopold. This was a most important event in the Prince’s life; for, though the visit was of but shortduration, the spectacle which he then saw, of a nation which had freed itself, and worked out its own destiny, had the strongest effect upon his mind and conscience, which thence grew in attachment to liberal principles. His deeply-rooted love of art, too, received a strong stimulus from the splendid architectural and artistic treasures of the old Belgian city. On his return from Brussels, being now about thirteen years old, he became remarkably studious, and vigorously set himself to the pursuit of an unusually comprehensive circle of subjects.

The only recreation which he pursued with vigour was deer-stalking, and this most beneficially promoted the robustness of a frame as yet distinguished by delicacy. On Palm Sunday, 1835, he was confirmed, and his heart seems, at and from this period, to have come under the influence of religious convictions of peculiar depth and sincerity, though of singular freedom from all traces of bigotry.

The confirmation of the Princes was immediately followed by a series of visits to various of their imperial, regal, princely, and noble relatives and friends throughout Germany and the provinces on the Danube. They visited in succession Mecklenburg, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Pesth, and Ofen. In May, 1836, the Princes came to England, on a visit to their aunt Kent. It was on this occasion that Albert and Victoria first met.

On his return to the Continent from this his first and most gratifying visit to England, the Duke of Coburg placed Albert and his elder brother for a time under the care of their uncle at Brussels. A private house was taken for them, in which they pursued their studies under Dr. Drury, an English clergyman, who had been appointedtheir tutor. This gentleman recorded this testimony of his pupil, when, shortly afterwards, he was removed from his tutelage, and before any idea was entertained about his distinguished future position:—“His attainments are various, and solid too; his abilities are superior; his disposition amiable; his conduct unexceptionable; and, above all, his belief in, and his attachment to, the Protestant religion is sincere.”

PRINCE ALBERT AT COLLEGE.

In the summer following (1837) the two brothers were entered as students of law, or, more correctly, of jurisprudence (juris studiosi), at the University of Bonn, the Oxford of Germany in respect to the high rank of some of its students, and standing in the very first place in point of intrinsic efficiency. The tutor Florschütz still accompanied the young men; and they benefited by the prelections of such men as Fichte, Perthes, and Augustus Schlegel. Prince Albert studied classics, mathematics, mental philosophy, political economy, history, and statistical science. In the last subject he had been well grounded at Brussels by the distinguished M. Quetelet, who formed the highest opinion of his pupil’s powers and assiduity. He had, besides, private tutors for music and drawing, in both of which arts he was already well advanced. In the second stage of his curriculum his studies were specially devoted to jurisprudence and civil history. While at Bonn he displayed at once a talent for poetry and a benevolent heart, by the publication for the benefit of the poor of a collection of songs, which his brother set to meritorious musical accompaniments. He visited only among his princely fellow-students, and at the houses of the professors. His brother and he, though they occasionally gave courtly entertainments totheir friends, lived in private a temperate and frugal life. He assiduously sought out the society ofsavansand men of letters, especially loving to associate with Professors Welcker and Schlegel. The latter, though he detested the ordinary run of “princelings,” was quite charmed by Albert, of whom he thought and spoke most highly. The Prince kept only three academical terms, and finally left the University, in September, 1838, leaving golden opinions everywhere behind him. Not the least hearty of his eulogists in after years was Peter Stamm, an hotel-keeper, who acted as gamekeeper to him on his shooting excursions, and who for years after pointed to English visitors the portrait of Prince Albert in his sitting-room, his eyes the while brimming over with glad tears. The University, after his marriage, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, and in the diploma pointed reference was made to his “summæ fortunæ magnitudinem ac gravitatem, summâ comitate, amabilique morum suavitate et humanitate.”

The winter of 1838-9 was passed by the Prince in a tour through Switzerland and Italy. After pursuing his journey as far as Naples, and omitting no locality of interest on the way, he came home by way of Vienna, and returned to the Castle of Ehrenberg in the summer of 1839. It has been stated that he found, on the wall of his room, a miniature of Queen Victoria, by Chalon, which she had sent to him as a gift in his absence; but we have not discovered any very reliable authority for the anecdote. In August, having completed his twentieth year, he was formally declared of age. He inherited from his mother landed estates amounting to £2,400 yearly value. These lands, we have reason tobelieve, he transferred to his brother upon the formal announcement of his engagement to Queen Victoria, subject only to pensions and allowances to certain persons who had belonged to his modest household.

PRINCE ALBERT’S BETROTHAL.

On the 8th of December, 1839, his betrothal was formally and publicly announced at Coburg. In the morning the Ducal family, with the Court officials, attended Divine service in the chapel of the Castle; in the afternoon, in the presence of the same dignitaries, with the deputies of the Duchies of Coburg and Gotha, the Chief Minister formally read the announcement of the betrothal; the while the booming of cannon from the fortress announced the tidings to the people of the town and the neighbouring country. About three hundred persons in all were present at the ceremony within the Castle, including bearers of congratulatory addresses, not only from the two duchies, but from Austria, Prussia, Hesse, Saxony, and other German states. From the report of an English gentleman of high social position, who was present on this important occasion, we extract, in conclusion, these fuller details:—

When the Minister (Baron de Carlowitz) had read the proclamation, the Duke embraced his son, and the Duchess next imprinted a kiss upon his forehead, while in every eye might be read the heartfelt wish that all the parents’ fondest, proudest hopes might be fully realised. More than one hundred and sixty persons partook of the hospitalities of the Duke’s table, in the “Riesen Saal,” or “Giant’s Hall,” and a more sumptuous or splendid entertainment could not be imagined. The loud and cordial cheers which the health of England’s Queen called forth, and which burst out with an enthusiasm which all the forms of etiquette and courtly ceremony could not restrain, were almost too affecting; and when the band struck up “God save the Queen,” the tears of joy flowed freely. I must not omit to mention a circumstance characteristic of the Prince. By his order, the people were admitted intothe “Riesen Saal,” to see the assembled company. Peasants from the hills, old and young, walked about without the smallest restraint, to their evident enjoyment; and their hearty exclamations—the blessings they invoked on their beloved Prince and his august parents—were a more eloquent and stirring panegyric than volumes could express. To describe the universal attachment of all classes to the Prince were impossible. I have never heard other than the most enthusiastic praise—not one dissenting voice from one end of Thuringia to the other. If I have remarked the personal beauty of the Prince, the general reply has been, “Ah! yes, he is certainly handsome, but so good; he is truly a most amiable prince, as good as he is handsome.” Persons attached to his suite, and the older members of the Court, cannot speak of him without tears, and are quite distressed at the thought of his leaving his native land.... On the 28th of December the Prince, accompanied by his father, quitted his paternal residence for a short sojourn at Gotha; and as he bade a last adieu to the stately castle of Ehrenberg, the abode of his fathers, and the happy scene of his infancy, the tenderest emotions of his nature for a moment almost overwhelmed him. A few days prior to his departure, a ball was given him by the nobles, at which he was received by twelve young ladies, attired in white, and wearing fresh-gathered roses; the Philosophic Society gave him a serenade, and all classes joined in affectionate expression of sympathy in their young Prince’s feelings on this momentous occasion.

Lord Viscount Torrington and Colonel the Honourable Charles Grey, who were charged with the two-fold mission of investing the Prince with the insignia of the Order of the Garter, and escorting him and his suite to England, arrived at Gotha early in January, 1840, and the investiture took place on the 24th, with imposing ceremony. The jewels, which were of diamonds and of rare workmanship, were a present from the Queen. After a series of hospitable festivities in honour of the English envoys, Prince Albert set out for England on the 28th of the month.

THE PRINCESS VICTORIA BECOMES QUEEN REGNANT.

First Meeting of the Princess Victoria and Prince Albert—Coming of Age—Festivities on the Occasion—Death of William IV., and Accession of Victoria—The Queen holds her First Privy Council—Her Address—Proclamation as Queen at St. James’s Palace—Beautiful Traits of Character displayed by the Queen—Stirring and Gorgeous Scene—Delight of the People at the Queen’s Accession.

The marriage of Prince Albert with the Princess Victoria was desired, if not planned, by certain of their common relatives, especially the Duchess Dowager of Coburg and her son Prince Leopold, almost from the period when the cousins were in their cradles. After his betrothal, the Prince himself told the Queen that his mother, who died in 1831, wished earnestly that he should marry her. He first saw his future wife in the month of May, 1836, when he and his brother came to England on a visit to their aunt. He greatly enjoyed this visit to England, and the youthful guests were treated by the authorities and the inhabitants of the metropolis with the utmost courtesy and attention. They were sumptuously entertained at Windsor by the King and Queen Adelaide, and were conducted to all the great sights of the town by their aunt and cousin.

On the 24th of May, 1837, the Princess Victoria having attained her eighteenth year, was declared legally of age, according to the provisions of a recent Act ofParliament. Amongst the first to congratulate her on the happy event was Prince Albert. This happy day was kept as a general holiday, and the night made brilliant by an illumination. It was celebrated with demonstrations of excessive joy at Kensington. At six o’clock in the morning the union-jack was hoisted on the steeple of the old church, as also on the green sward opposite the Palace. That edifice was surmounted by a splendid flag of pure white silk, on which was inscribed, in letters of ethereal blue, the single word “Victoria.” From the houses of the principal inhabitants in the High Street waved a profusion of other flags. The gates of the Gardens were thrown open at six o’clock for the admission of the public; and it having got wind the previous evening that a serenade would be performed at seven o’clock, at which hour Victoria first drew breath eighteen years before, the portion of the Gardens next the Palace was thronged by an assemblage of well-dressed persons, including several ladies. Congratulatory addresses and innumerable presents—amongst the latter, a splendid piano from the King—poured in from all quarters. At night a magnificent ball in honour of the occasion was given at St. James’s Palace.

During these festivities, although it was known that the King’s health was seriously enfeebled, no one imagined that within a month from the attainment of her majority the young Princess would become Queen of England. The anniversary of Waterloo was always a great day with King William. The Duke of Wellington, in consideration of the declining state of the King’s health, proposed not to have the usual banquet at ApsleyHouse; but, the day before, William, sent a message desiring that the banquet should take place, and wishing the host and guests a pleasant day. By two o’clock on the morning of the 20th he was no more.

ACCESSION TO THE THRONE.

Shortly after the demise of the Sovereign, three carriages, conveying the Primate, the Earl of Albemarle and Sir Henry Halford, the Royal physician, started from Windsor, and arrived at Kensington Palace shortly before five o’clock. The doors were thrown open before them, and in the early morning sunshine stood the Queen of England and her mother, prepared for the news, and ready to receive them. At nine o’clock, Lord Melbourne, the Premier, arrived at the Palace, and had an interview of half an hour with his new mistress. Before noon came the Lord Mayor and other members of the Corporation. Next to appear was the Duke of Cumberland. Miss Martineau thus describes the quick succession of incidents which now crowded one upon the other with rapid haste:—

On the meeting of the princes, peers, and other councillors, they signed the oath of allegiance; and the first name on the list was that of Ernest, King of Hanover. The Queen caused them all to be sworn in Members of the Council, and then addressed them; after which they issued orders for the Proclamation of Her Majesty. If the millions who longed to know how the young Sovereign looked and felt could have heard her first address, it would have gone far to satisfy them. The address was, of course, prepared for her; but the manner and voice were her own, and they told much. Her manner was composed, modest, and dignified; her voice firm and sweet; her reading, as usual, beautiful. She took the necessary oaths, and received the eager homage of the thronging nobility without agitation or any awkwardness. The declaration contained an affectionate reference to the deceased King; an assertion of her attachment to the constitution of the country, and of her intention to rule in accordance with it; a grateful allusion to her mother’s educational care of her; an avowalthat, under circumstances of such eminent responsibility as hers, she relied for support and guidance in Divine Providence, and a pledge that her life should be devoted to the happiness of her people. The Ministers returned into her hands, and received again, the seals of their respective offices; the stamps in official use were ordered to be altered, as also the prayers of the Church which related to the Royal Family; the Proclamation was prepared and signed by the Privy Councillors, and the Queen appointed the next day, Wednesday, for the ceremony. The first use of the Great Seal, under the new reign, was to authenticate the official Proclamation, which was gazetted the same evening. During the whole morning, carriages were driving up rapidly, bringing visitors eager to offer their homage. What a day of whirl and fatigue for one in a position so lonely, at such tender years. How welcome must have been the night, and the quiet of her pillow, whatever might be the thoughts that rested upon it. The next morning she appeared “extremely pale and fatigued,” and no wonder, for she had passed through a day which could never be paralleled.

The following is the text of her Majesty’s speech delivered on this occasion to the Privy Council:—

The severe and afflicting loss which the nation has sustained by the death of His Majesty, my beloved uncle, has devolved upon me the duty of administering the Government of this empire. This awful responsibility is imposed upon me so suddenly, and at so early a period, that I should feel myself utterly oppressed by the burden, were I not sustained by the hope that Divine Providence, which has called me to this work, will give me strength for the performance of it, and that I shall find, in the purity of my intentions, and in my zeal for the public welfare, that support and those resources which usually belong to a more mature age and longer experience. I place my firm reliance upon the wisdom of Parliament, and upon the loyalty and affection of my people. I esteem it also a peculiar advantage that I succeed to a sovereign whose constant regard for the rights and liberties of his subjects, and whose desire to promote the amelioration of the laws and institutions of the country, have rendered his name the object of general attachment and veneration. Educated in England, under the tender and affectionate care of a most affectionate mother, I have learned from my infancy to respect and love the constitution of my native country. It will be my unceasing study to maintain thereformed religion as by law established, securing, at the same time, to all the full enjoyment of religious liberty; and I shall steadily protect the rights, and promote to the utmost of my power the happiness and welfare of all classes of my subjects.

PROCLAMATION AS QUEEN.

The next day, the 21st of June, the Queen was publicly proclaimed, under the title of Alexandrina Victoria I.; but since that day she has disused the Russian name bestowed upon her by her Muscovite godfather, preferring to retain simply “Victoria.” The Queen arrived at the Palace at ten o’clock, where she was received by most of the members of the Royal Family, the Officers of the Household, and Ministers of State. Long before ten all the avenues to the Palace were crowded, every balcony, window, and housetop being crammed with the better class of spectators. The space in the quadrangle in front of the window where Her Majesty was to appear, was crowded with ladies and gentlemen, and even the parapets above were filled with people.

At ten o’clock the guns in the Park fired a salute, and immediately after the Queen made her appearance at the window of the tapestried ante-room adjoining the audience chamber, and was received with deafening cheers—cheers all the more hearty that her appearance was a surprise, for few had known that she was to be there present. She was dressed in deep mourning, with a white tippet, white cuffs, and a border of white lace under a small black bonnet, which was placed far back on her head, exhibiting her light brown hair simply parted in front. She viewed the proceedings with intense interest, standing during the whole rehearsal of the Proclamation; and although she looked pale andfatigued, she returned the repeated rounds of cheers with great grace and dignity. All were touched to very tenderness of soul by the pale face, wet with tears, calm and simply grave, the gravity being enhanced by the plain black dress and bands of brown hair, giving an aspect of Quaker-like neatness. On either side stood Lords Melbourne and Lansdowne, in their state dresses and blue ribbons, and close to her was her mother, who was dressed similarly to the Queen.

In the court-yard were Garter King-at-Arms, with Heralds and Pursuivants in their robes of office, and eight Officers-of-Arms on horseback, bearing massive silver maces; Sergeants-at-Arms, with their maces and collars; the Sergeant-Trumpeter, with his mace and collar; the trumpets, drum-major and drums, and Knights Marshal and men. On Her Majesty showing herself at the Presence Chamber window, Garter Principal King-at-Arms, having taken his station in the court-yard under the window, accompanied by the Duke of Norfolk as Earl Marshal of England, read the Proclamation, containing the formal and official announcement of the demise of King William IV., and of the consequent accession of Queen Alexandrina Victoria to the rule of these realms. The Proclamation was brief, and to the point:—

Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God to call to His mercy our late Sovereign Lord, King William IV., of blessed memory, by whose decease the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is solely and rightfully come to the High and Mighty Princess Alexandrina Victoria, we therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm, being here assisted with these of his late Majesty’s Privy Council, with numbers of other principal gentlemen of quality, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and citizens of London, do nowhereby with one voice and consent of tongue, proclaim that the High and Mighty Princess Alexandrina Victoria is now, by the death of our late Sovereign William IV., of happy memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lady, Alexandrina Victoria I., Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, ... to whom we acknowledge all faith and constant obedience, with all humble and hearty affection, beseeching God, by whom Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the Royal Princess Alexandrina Victoria with long and happy years to reign. God Save the Queen.

THE QUEEN AND THE DUKE OF SUSSEX.

At the termination of this Proclamation, the band struck up the National Anthem, and a signal was given for the Park and Tower guns to fire, in order to announce the fact of the Proclamation being made. Amid the booming of the guns, the air was rent with cheers by those within the area, which were taken up by the tens of thousands outside. The enthusiasm of the comparative few who could see Victoria rose to rapture when, the moment she was proclaimed Queen, she turned round, threw her arms round her mother’s neck, and wept without restraint. And when her loved uncle, the Duke of Sussex, presented himself, the day before, to take the oath of allegiance, and was about to kneel in her presence to kiss her hand, she gracefully prevented him, kissed his cheek affectionately, and said, “Do not kneel, my uncle, for I am still Victoria, your niece.”

The feelings of gratification with which the people welcomed the accession of Victoria cannot be depicted in terms too strong. To most, the course of years seemed very short during which they had been eagerly watching the growth and training of the Princess. It seemed—at least, to all but the young—but a matter of yesterday that the newspapers had informed them of the birth of the Royal babe; of the Duke ofKent’s illness: how he had come home from a walk with wet boots, and, “beguiled by the smiles of his infant Princess,” had played with her, instead of changing his clothes, and thus caught the cold of which he died. And here she was now, a woman, and the sovereign ruler of a hundred million of souls. All they had heard of her was favourable. Sinister rumours and alarms there had been, but they had been dissipated and dispersed like the morning’s mist before the rising god of day. Her morals were pure, her conduct spotless, and in all arts and accomplishments she had been carefully trained. From her earliest days she had been abroad in all weathers; having been often seen, when it was stormy, on a windy common, with a warm cloak and thick boots. She kept early hours, and was so exactly and proverbially punctual, that it was mentioned as a marvel that she once had to apologise for being half a minute late in an appointment. She had never been known to exceed her pocket-money in her personal expenditure, or to be sixpence in debt—an extraordinary novelty in a descendant of George III.

In the first year of her reign the people were delighted to find that she had paid her father’s debts, including considerable sums advanced by his warm friends, Lords Fitzwilliam and Dundas. Next she paid her mother’s debts—debts unavoidably contracted, as she knew and acknowledged, on her account. She provided with royal munificence for the whole family of the late sovereign, and honoured them with courtesies and kindnesses, which almost obliterated the pain arising from their dubious position. Yet she lived within her income, and paid as she purchased.

THE MAIDEN QUEEN.

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