Her Majesty

“ Gentlemen,—Her Majesty having been graciously pleased to confer upon me the honour of presenting to you these Colours, I am anxious to express how highly I am flattered by this distinguished mark of the Queen’s favour. At a time of all others the most awful, when our country is threatened with the unprovoked attack of a most implacable enemy, and when you have evinced your readiness to stand forward in the defence of everything that is most dear to us all, what can be more gratifying to you than being so particularly distinguished by her Majesty, and receiving your Colours from her? ”

“ Indeed, Miss P., when I consider Her Majesty's complicated suffering,--increased as it was to misery by attacks from quarters whence only love and duty might have been expected, harassed by politics and cabals, torn by national and foreign dissension, herself deprived of all protection, and yet protecting with almost masculine fortitude a beloved husband and King,--I say with all my heart that to have attained such heights of courage, resignation, and ability, is much, much more than to be Queen of England, or possessed of the most shining genius the world has known. ”

“ REBECCA. Then for the Queen's majesty let us pray
Unto God to keep her in health and wealth night and day,
And that, of his mere mercy and great benignity,
He will defend and maintain her estate and dignity;
That she, being grieved with any outward hostility,
May against her enemies always have victory.
JACOB. God save the Queen's councillors most noble and true,
And with all godliness their noble hearts endue.
ESAU. Lord save the nobility and preserve them all:
And prosper the Queen's subjects universal. ”

“ Her Majesty possesses here the love of a people more numerous than was the English nation when it achieved the glories which the trumpet of fame, moved by Shakespeare's breath, made a household word among all nations. ”

“ When we come to look into the lives of the Queen and Prince-Consort, we are thankful for all they have been and done. The wider our survey of history, and the more we know of other rulers and courts, the more thankful we shall be that they have been a guiding and balancing power, allied to all that was progressive, noble, and true, and for the benefit of the vast empire over which Her Majesty reigns. ”

“ Her Majesty, the womanly woman whose sweet, even temperament and constant solicitude for the poor and distressed is so well-known throughout the Continent, is loudly acclaimed by all classes each time she leaves the palace and smiles upon them from her carriage. ”

“ The Lord grant Her Majesty a prosperous reign, and a long one, if it be his will, O Lord, grant her a wise and understanding heart; O Lord, bless her and the nobles, and ministers of Church and State. ”

“ For conclusion, as I have ever naturally been affected towards the amity of England, and, in particular, at my poor power, have borne a special devotion towards the Queen’s Majesty, as well for benefits received of her father and brother, by me and my friends, as for Religion’s sake, and her honourable dealings with this realm, in the beginning of her Majesty’s reign, so I will wish her Highness shall procure the union of this nobility, and I doubt not she may bring it to pass, if it please her. ”

“ The queen entertains the fullest confidence that the house of lords will participate in the deep affliction which her majesty feels in the death of the late king, whose constant desire to promote the interests, to maintain the liberties, and to improve the laws and institutions of the country, must ensure for his name and memory the dutiful and affectionate respect of all her majesty’s subjects. ”

“ In laying the account of these Travels at Your Majesty's feet, I humbly hope I have shewn to the world of what value the efforts of every individual of Your Majesty's subjects may be; that numbers are not always necessary to the performance of great and brilliant actions, and that no difficulties or dangers are unsurmountable to a heart warm with affection and duty to his Sovereign, jealous of the honour of his master, and devoted to the glory of his country, now, under Your Majesty's wise, merciful, and just reign, deservedly looked up to as Queen of Nations. ”

“ It gives me pleasure to have this opportunity of assuring your Majesty that, while I remain at the head of this nation, I shall not cease to promote every measure that may conduce to the friendship and harmony which so happily subsist between your empire and them, and shall esteem myself happy on every occasion of convincing your Majesty of the high sense which, in common with the whole nation, I entertain of the magnanimity, wisdom, and benevolence of your Majesty. ”

“ Your Majesty will surely not understand me, but I should like to help our noble queen, and her best, indeed her only helper, is Your Majesty. Whoever thrusts himself between you and her does more harm than good. ”

“ Thus much in general I have presumed, not without pain and fear, to submit to his Majesty’s consideration; too proud to receive any mark of the King’s countenance and favour, but above all doubly happy could I see those dearer to me than myself comprehended in that monument of royal approbation and goodness, with which his Majesty shall condescend to distinguish me. ”

“ It has been the special privilege of your Royal Highness to an unusual extent to visit and personally to become acquainted with other Courts and countries, and with distant portions of Her Majesty's dominions, and we rejoice to believe that the valuable experience thereby acquired gives to all classes of Her Majesty's subjects an assurance that your Royal Highness will ever be foremost in all efforts to extend true liberty and civilization, and to develope those free institutions which are the pride and glory of our country. ”

“ But it was about the people and the states of North America that your Majesty wished to hear, and of these I will proceed to speak; for, however much your Majesty loves the beautiful in nature, I know that your Majesty loves still more that which gives to human weal and human happiness a still higher significance. Is not your Majesty one of the mothers of humanity, one of the noble and the tender, who embrace the young generation in order to elevate them, and bring them nearer to the father of love and perfection? ”

“ Her Majesty the Empress has been for thirty-seven years the devoted consort of the ruler, and is esteemed throughout the imperial dominions as the very embodiment of all the womanly virtues. While the Emperor is immeasurably concerned with the welfare of the army and navy, her Majesty takes the utmost personal interest in the Red Cross Society, and continually works for the benefit of the hospitals, her greatest happiness consisting in identifying herself with or aiding with her own hands the undertakings of charitable institutions. ”

“ And if also by your good mediations she might not enjoy the Queen's Highness's most gracious favour without any scruples or suspicions of her truth, she had rather willingly suffer this that she doth, and much more, than her Majesty should in any case be troubled or disquieted, touching her whose honour surely and preservation she saith she doth desire above all things in this world. ”

“ It is, therefore, madame, through your means, and the well-known friendship you have ever evinced for the Royal Family, and the general welfare of the French nation, that I wish to obtain a private audience of Her Majesty, the Queen, in order to induce her to exert the never-failing ascendency she has ever possessed over the mind of our good King, in persuading him to the sacrifice of a small proportion of his power, for the sake of preserving the monarchy to his heirs ”

“ He was sitting upon the royal throne with his royal crown upon his head, but his blind eyes were bandaged and his royal face was sad because he could no longer see the bright sunlight shining upon the deep blue sea from the window of the palace, nor the lords and ladies of the court before him in their gorgeous garments of purple and cloth of silver and cloth of gold, nor of the face of the queen.
“O royal majesty,” said the little old woman as she bowed low before him, “there is only one thing in the whole world which will restore your lost eyesight. ”

“ The completion of the Sixtieth year of the Queen’s reign will be the occasion of much retrospect and review, in the course of which the great men who, under the auspices of Her Majesty and her predecessors, have helped to make the British Empire what it is to-day, will naturally be brought to mind. ”

“ What I see of the interior is superbly grand, but it is more to the purpose that I have the honour of seeing their Majesties during the day, and the opportunity of some observation. The youthful Queen seems a most pleasing and intelligent-looking child, and is eminently child-like and unaffected in her manner and movements. Readers may be interested in knowing that, in addition to masters provided for Her Majesty's training, she has an English governess, under whose charge she is more immediately placed. ”

“ THe eternal Majesty, in whose hand are both the mean and mighty of the earth, pleased to deliver from weakness of body and grief of mind, Elizabeth his Hand Maid, our late royal Mistress and gracious Sovereign: easing her age from the burthen of earthly Kingdoms, and placing her, as we steadfastly hope, in his heavenly empire; being the resting place, after death, for all them that believe faithfully in their life. ”

“ So thoroughly is she said to throw off the restraints of royalty as to practise archery, and is even reported to have taken lessons in boxing, attired in a sort of Bloomer costume, from an old eunuch. The sight must be vastly entertaining. Her Majesty, who is no longer in the first bloom of youth, has a dignified presence and a set, stern expression of face. ”

“ You shall assure her Imperial Majesty of our ambition to number so wise and magnanimous a Princess among our friends, and to assign her a distinguished place among those illustrious personages of ancient and modern times, who have delighted in promoting the happiness of mankind, and in disarming tyranny of the power of doing mischief. ”

“ What duty, what submission shall they not pay to that authority which the Queen has delegated, to a person so dear to them? And with what honour, what respect, shall they receive your Grace, when they look upon you as the noblest and best pattern her Majesty could send them, of her own royal goodness, and personal virtues? They shall behold your Grace with the same pleasure the English shall take, whenever it shall be their good fortune to see you return again to your native country. In England, vi your Grace is become a public concern ”

“ ETERNAL God, and our most mighty Protector, we thy unworthy servants do humbly present ourselves before thy Majesty, acknowledging thy power, wisdom, and goodness, in preserving the Queen from the destruction intended against her. ”

“ At a Levee or Drawing-room it is his (the Lord Chamberlain's) duty to stand next to the Queen and read out the names of each one approaching the royal presence.... Any peeress on presentation, as also daughters of dukes, marquises, and earls, have the privilege of being kissed by her Majesty; all other ladies make the lowest Court curtsey they can, and lifting the Queen's hand, which she offers, on the palm of their hand, it is gently kissed.... ”

“ The woman, she who is the Queen, then makes an oration, and is followed by an aged professor, who, on sitting down, receives a wave of the hand from His Sacred Majesty by way of thanks. These ceremonies and harangues being finished, His Sacred Majesty makes a declaration to the effect that his subjects are released from their oath of fidelity, signs the deeds drawn up to ratify his abdication, and then, rising from his throne, places his son upon it in his stead. Every one in the hall weeps. ”

“ We, however, call ourselves King "by the Grace of God," because it is true. Well, then, most gracious Queen, let us now show to men, to the peoples threatened with disruption and nameless misery, both that we understand our [page 151] sacred office and how we understand it. God has placed in your Majesty's hands, in the hands of the two Emperors, in those of the German Federation, and in mine, a power, which, if it now acts in union and harmony, with reliance on Heaven, is able humanly speaking, to enforce, with certainty, the maintenance of the peace of the world. ”

“ We would venture to believe that nothing could so deepen the personal devotion of the Empire to the memory of that great Queen who ruled it so wisely and so long, and its deeply-rooted attachment to the principle of constitutional monarchy, as the gracious act of His Majesty the King in allowing the inner side of that noble life and career to be more clearly revealed to a nation whose devotion to their ancient liberties is inseparably connected with their loyalty to the Throne. ”

“ The statesman should come to strengthen his faith in the ideal of life, and the possibility of its realisation. And this new realm of beauty and goodness on earth should be governed by a queen, a ruler of the heart as well as of the state, to whom all hearts and all people, black, and white, and red, and olive-complexioned, and yellow, should pay voluntary homage—a queen good and beautiful as your Majesty! ”

“ And though a Crown is no certain Title to Content; yet to the Honour of that Institution be it said, the Royal Harmony of Hearts that now inchants us from the Throne, is a Reproach to the frequent Disquiet of those many insensible Subjects about it, who (from his Majesty's paternal Care of his People) have more Leisure to be happy: And 'tis our Queen's peculiar Glory, that we often see Her as eminently rais'd above her Circle, in private Happiness, as in Dignity. ”