Agnes Strickland

“ During the three years that had passed since his former visit Prince Albert had grown tall, and had developed into a handsome man. He had a sweet expression, a bright, intelligent countenance, broad forehead, and clear blue eyes. The young queen was perfectly delighted with the change that had taken place in him, and on the very day of his arrival at Windsor Castle wrote her uncle: "Albert's beauty is most striking, and he is most amiable and unaffected,—in short, very fascinating. The young men are amiable, delightful companions, and I am very happy to have them here." ”

“ Nothing can be more civil or amiable or more well-bred than the emperor's manner—so full of tact. A long walk after breakfast gave him and Albert an opportunity, to discuss the war. The empress was as eager as her husband that he should go to the Crimea. She sees no greater danger for him there than elsewhere—in fact, than in Paris. She is full of courage and spirit, and yet so gentle, with such innocent and charming manners. ”

“ At ten o'clock her majesty rode into the park mounted on a gray horse, and dressed in a scarlet jacket, with a black skirt. She was accompanied by the prince, Prince Frederick William of Prussia, and a brilliant suite. The heroes were brought forward one by one, and her majesty pinned the cross to the breast of each without leaving her seat in the saddle. The prince saluted each man with profound respect as he withdrew. It was a splendid spectacle, and the enthusiasm of the multitude was very great. ”

“ This is the order which Lord Derby issued to the army, by her majesty's command:—
"The discipline which he exacted from others, as the main foundation of the military character, he sternly imposed upon himself; and the queen desires to impress upon the army that the greatest commander whom England ever saw has left an example for the imitation of every soldier, in taking as his guiding principle, in every relation of life, an energetic and unhesitating obedience to the call of duty." ”

“ The queen bowed, and said, "Sir, I only wanted to let Lord Hervey know that his friend's book had not met with the general approbation he had pretended."
"A pretty fellow for a friend," said the king, turning to Lord Hervey. "Pray, what is it that charms you in him? His pretty limping gait?" and then he mimicked the bishop's lameness, besides other defects, and wound up by saying: "If the Bishop of Winchester is your friend, all I have to say is, that you have a great puppy, a very dull fellow, and a very great rascal for your friend. ”

“ The Duke of Cumberland died at this time. It will be remembered that he was the favorite son of Queen Caroline, and uncle of George III. Never was there so popular a prince, or one so winning in his ways when he was young; but his health began to fail by the time he was twenty years of age, and he was only forty-four at the time of his death. A paralytic stroke had almost deprived him of the sight of one eye in his youth, and a wound received on his leg at the battle of Dettingen, when he fought so bravely at his father's side, had left him lame. ”

“ He knew the importance of Queen Caroline's confidence, because she was really the ruler of the kingdom. She ruled, but did so with such exquisite tact that her feebleminded lord never suspected it. She never spoke to him about public affairs when any one was present, but if she by chance ventured to do so, when off her guard, a rebuke was sure to follow. She even went so far as to rise and offer to leave the room whenever an interview took place between the king and one of his ministers, and George prided himself upon "being under the control of no woman." ”

“ After passing through the suffering numbers, cheering them with kind smiles and comforting words, the queen and prince entered the hospital, where those who were not well enough to be in the open air were assembled. Some of the poor fellows were frightfully crippled and disfigured; but all felt flattered by their sovereign's interest in them, and many displayed, with honest pride, the medals and other marks of honor that they had won on the battlefield. Two days later her majesty visited Aldershot, where a camp had been established. ”

“ On the fifteenth of November the Prince of Wales arrived at Windsor Castle, and his account of the honor that had been shown him in the United States and Canada rejoiced the hearts of his parents. Enormous crowds had assembled at every city, from Chicago to Washington, to greet "Baron Renfrew," as the prince was styled while travelling, and everywhere he was so much admired, and made himself so popular, that somebody said of him: "He may consider himself a lucky lad if he escapes a nomination for president before he reaches his homeward-bound fleet." ”

“ At seven o'clock in the evening the nobility congregated in the royal chapel to witness the marriage ceremony, which was performed by the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. All the royal family were present, and the king's brother, Edward, Duke of York, gave away the bride. Four daughters of earls acted as train-bearers, or bridesmaids. Among these was the beautiful Lady Sarah Lennox, with whom the king had once been in love. The queen was dressed in silver brocade, with a long train of violet-colored velvet, lined with crimson, and fastened at the shoulders with a bunch of large pearls. ”

“ The prince concurred with Sir Robert, but was, nevertheless, bent on improvement. "All I beg of you now, my dear Sir Robert," he said, "is your cordial assistance in combating the existing and crying nuisances. Much as I am inclined to treat the household machine with a sort of reverence from its antiquity, I still remain convinced that it is clumsy in its construction, and works so ill that as long as its wheels are not mended there can neither be order, regularity, comfort, security, nor outward dignity in the queen's palace." ”

“ Queen Adelaide lived until the close of the year 1849. Parliament had made her rich by giving her a hundred thousand pounds, which she devoted to charity. Neither rank nor wealth ever spoiled the simplicity of her heart or her manners. She always respected the memory of her husband, over whose reign she had shed a respectability that did her credit. She was not what might be termed a woman of brains, and never influenced the king for good or for evil ”

“ The princess continued to be popular with the people, though some gentlemen of high standing had deserted her when the prince became regent. She dared not visit her daughter, but managed to meet her clandestinely when she drove out; and when such meetings occurred on the public highway, crowds would gather around the carriage with loud demonstrations of approbation; and threatening cries of "to Carlton House," more than once arose from the mob. Not only was the prince-regent anxious to get his wife out of the way, but he had a similar desire regarding his daughter. ”

“ In an evil hour for Sophia Dorothea, the worthy pair decided that greater importance would accrue to the electorate of Hanover by the acquisition of the broad acres of Zell. That was enough; for with Madame von Platen to desire was to have, and no obstacle could stand in the way of anything she had set her heart on. Sophia Dorothea was engaged certainly, but that made no difference; everything, hearts, hopes, happiness, must give way to political ambition. So a regular plot was laid to destroy the bond that existed between Augustus William and his lady-love. ”

“ But he was to find his mistake, for the queen had the interest of her kingdom too much at heart to be governed entirely by personal feelings.
There were two powerful leaders in the House of Lords who were opposed to Lord Melbourne, though one was a Whig and the other a Tory. They were Lord Brougham and Lord Lyndhurst,—the former a man whose capacity for work seemed almost superhuman, and whose power as a speaker was immense. There never was a man whose knowledge was so universal or who did so much at one time as Lord Brougham, and his extraordinary ability was felt in England for many years. ”

“ In this picturesque, wild highland home the queen and Prince Albert found great relief from the cares and anxieties of London life, though they were not without intelligence from the political world that sometimes marred their perfect happiness. While there they heard of the terrible doings in Frankfort, where a mob attacked the national assembly, and hacked to pieces two of its members in a most brutal manner; of the sudden death of Lord George Bentinck, of the election of Louis Napoleon in France, and of a rising of natives against British authority in India. ”

“ This was a labor of love, for Queen Adelaide had always been devoted to her husband. With his head upon her shoulder, and her hand upon his breast, his majesty gently dropped into the sleep that knows no waking.
His remains lay in state at Windsor Castle until July 8, when he was buried at St. George's Chapel. For the last time the royal crown of Hanover was placed beside the imperial crown on the coffin of a King of England. Queen Adelaide, now Queen-dowager, was present in the royal closet. ”

“ At another time Madame von Platen managed to make George Louis find a glove that had his wife's initials embroidered on it, in a bower from which he had seen Philip hastily take his departure; but the wicked woman did not tell him that it was she who had been there with the young man, or that she had previously procured the glove on purpose to excite his suspicion against his wife. Everything that Sophia Dorothea did was distorted to such a degree that little by little the hatred of the once friendly Ernest Augustus and his wife was aroused against her. ”

“ The duchess was indiscreet enough to talk disparagingly of Queen Charlotte to the English ambassador; but she was so fond of gossip that she could not lose this opportunity of telling how she had been an object of envy and dislike to her sister-in-law, who had been ready to quarrel with King George because he had given her a handsome diamond ring on her marriage. "George is more kind-hearted than wise-headed," she added, "and loves me as well as he could love anybody." ”

“ Her majesty's diary tells the rest: "By eight o'clock we were at Frogmore. Here, Lord James Murray and the ladies received us, and, alas! said it was just the same; but, still, I did not then realize what it was. Albert went up, and when he returned with tears in his eyes, I saw what it was that awaited me.... With a trembling heart I went up the staircase and entered the bedroom, and there on a sofa, supported by cushions, the room much darkened, sat, leaning back, my beloved mamma, breathing rather heavily, in her silk dressing-gown, with her cap on, looking quite herself. ”

“ It is always interesting to know what people look like; so here is a picture of the Prince of Wales as he appeared at the age of forty-two: "A merry, good-humored man, tall, though somewhat portly in stature, in the prime of life, with laughing eyes, pouting lips, and nose which very slightly turned up and gave a peculiar poignancy to the expression of his face. He wore a well-powdered wig, adorned with a profusion of curls, and a very large pigtail appended thereto. ”

“ In May he wrote to his friend, the Prince von Lowenstein: "In my home life I am very happy and contented; but the difficulty in filling my place with the proper dignity is that I am only the husband, and not the master, in the house." It was his aim to become the queen's private secretary and chief adviser, and to assume control of the royal household. He desired no power for himself, but studied English law and politics, that he might be able to assist and advise his wife with regard to any difficult question that might be brought before her ”

“ She never loved her brothers, because she felt that their birth had deprived her of ever ascending the throne, and she often declared that she wished they had never appeared in the world. As she could not become a queen, she decided to descend a step, and accept the hand of the Prince of Orange. She had never seen him, but she was satisfied to know that his was an exalted station. The king and queen opposed the royal suitor because he was lame, his neck was crooked, he was otherwise dreadfully deformed, and he was one of the ugliest men in Europe. ”

“ Here was an exterior that may have been very attractive to those who did not know the Prince of Wales for the lazy, vain, frivolous, weak, dissipated creature that he was; always plunging himself into some awkward embarrassment by thoughtlessly taking action where his feelings were aroused. ”

“ Nothing ever interfered with the care for her little daughter, who was tenderly and religiously trained; and unspoiled by the flattery that would have been showered upon her, had anybody suspected that she was one day to become Queen of England. When Sophia Dorothea was about seven years of age, she had for a playfellow, Philip von Kônigsmark, whose father was a warm personal friend to the duke. Philip was at Zell, at the time of which we speak, for purposes of education, and spent most of his leisure hours with the little girl in the garden of the palace. ”

“ Across her shoulders were festooned three rows of costly pearls, and a portrait of the king was hung on the back of her skirt from five rows of brilliants, producing a gorgeous effect. The tippet was of fine lace, fastened with the letter G in diamonds of immense value, and in her majesty's hair was "God save the King," in letters formed of the same costly gems. The princesses were beautifully attired, and all the noble ladies wore emblematical designs, painted, as fancy or loyalty dictated, on the satin part of their headdresses. ”

“ General Grey, who went over with Lord Torrington in December to invest the prince with the Order of the Garter, and to accompany him to England, thus describes the final departure from Gotha: "It was an affecting scene, and everything shows the genuine love of all" classes for their young prince. The streets were densely crowded; every window was crammed with heads; every housetop covered with people, waving handkerchiefs and vying with each other in demonstrations of affection that could not be mistaken. ”

“ The Prince of Wales and his brother of York did not behave with common decency at this time, but gayly flew about from club to club, party to party, without even pretending to care that their father was ill and suffering. Their shameful conduct was universally discussed, for they acted like men with little feeling and less brains. The poor queen had a succession of fainting spells that prostrated her almost as low as her royal husband. ”

“ After the session at the House of Lords, William drove all over town in an open barouche with the queen, Princess Augusta, and the King of Wurtemberg; but that was not the worst of it: he actually stopped at a hotel to set down his guest, and that was a sample of simplicity and good-nature never before witnessed in a sovereign of England. He had immense dinners every day at the palace, often inviting the same people three or four times hand-running. At eleven o'clock he dismissed his guests thus: "Now, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you a good-night. ”

“ The queen had never seen a dramatic entertainment-before in her life, nor had she ever beheld such a brilliant concourse of people, and her childish wonder and delight lit up her pleasant countenance, and added much to her attractive appearance. There probably never was great enjoyment without something to mar it, and this case formed no exception; but it did not affect the royal couple personally. It was the crowd in the streets that had their small share in the fun spoiled by attempting to enter the theatre. Many women had their clothing torn off; one poor girl was killed outright ”

“ The people had gathered in crowds to have a look at the princess, and as she sat on the balcony overlooking the park they shouted themselves hoarse in her praise. At last Prince Frederick made his appearance alone, and brought the "compliments of the king, queen, duke, and princesses, who hoped the bride was well." They could scarcely have done less, but certainly might, and ought, to have done more to welcome a young girl who had come to their shores under such circumstances. ”

“ Having mentioned Lord Hervey, we must tell how he stood at court. He was a great favorite with Queen Caroline, and, being many years younger than she, he was called "her child, her pupil, her charge." He generally rode by her carriage when she went hunting, on a horse that she had given him, and on such occasions they discussed politics and other matters. Hervey was treated like a pet child, and allowed to say what would have been regarded as impertinence coming from any one else; but Queen Caroline encouraged him by laughing at him, and kept him with her as much as possible. ”

“ It was the universal opinion that no public festival had ever passed off with more eclat than the coronation of George III. and Queen Charlotte. They were both young and popular, and the nation was enjoying a season of prosperity with political leaders who were in favor. The removal of Pitt, the prime minister, who had been replaced 153by Lord Bute, was not considered a wise move on the part of George; but he had stood in awe of that powerful statesman, and had declared, "that he would not be the only slave in a country where it was his wish to see all the people free." ”

“ Stay—stay—this wig won't do—eh, eh? Don't keep the people waiting—light up—light up—let'em in—let'em in—ha! ha! ha! fast asleep! Play well to-night, Elliston. Great favorite with the queen. Let 'em in—let 'em in."
The house was illuminated at once; messengers were sent off to the royal family, and in a few minutes they reached the theatre. At the close of the performance, the comedian attended the king and queen to their carriage, and as he held open the door, his majesty laughingly exclaimed, "Fast asleep, eh, Elliston!—fast asleep! ha! ha! ha!" ”