QUEEN VICTORIA'S LETTERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 49, 21 November 1907, Page 5

QUEEN VICTORIA'S LETTERS.

1837, TO 1861.

SPARTAN SIMPLICITY OP UPBRINGING. ESTIMATES ; OF-STATESMEN. LORD PALMERSTON'S IMPERTINENCE. "Queen Victoria's Letters," edited by Lord Eshor and Mr. A. C. Benson,and published by Jolm Murray oil October 15, is one of the most interesting books of the generation. The Letters cover 1837 to 1801, and throw many sidelights on court and political life in tliat period. There are at Windsoroyer 500 volumes of the Queen's correspondence, official and personal, partly arranged, by herself, and indited by Prince Albert.; In. one the Queen writes of the Spartan simplicity of her youth. "I was brought up v.ery simply. I never had a room to myself' 1 till I was nearly grown up. I always slept in my mother's room till I came to the Throne. At Clavemont, and in the Mall Rouses, at the bathing places, I took lessons in the governesses'' bedroom. I was not'fond of learning as a little child, and baffled every attempt to teach me my letters up to five years old, when I consented to learn them by their being written before me:"

"VIOLENCE SO BAD." many of the ,Queen's. most confidential letters were to her uncle, Leopold, King of tho Belgians. She wrote him:—'.'l am reading awav famously.: 1 like Mrs. Hutchinson's life of her husband, .only, comniecela, she is dreadfully violent. She, iind Clarendon are so totally opposite that:, it is quite absurd, and I only believe vlvrith the: same she protested against- the turbulence of tho partisan." "Our friend, Mr. Hume, made a most violent speech at a. dinner given him and old George Byng' at ' Diury Lane last. week, week. He called Peel and some other Tories the cloven hoof, which I think .'rather wrong. 1 think that. 6Uch".gr(Jat violence and' striving a pity on both sides. Don't ,you, dear .Uncle?. They irritate one another uselessly by calling one. another ': fools/'blockheads, liars, and so forth for no purpose. I think violence so bad in everything." .... - . WHIGS V. TORIES. ' ' She could not have found a better minister and adviser than-Melbourne. To that statesman she owed'in-a sense her-'political education In or out of "office he l 'gave"her the counsel of wise moderation, and she rewarded his devotion with candid affection. Though she assured the lvng of the Belgians she, never openly belonged to any political party, she wrote to Prince Albert in 1840, when there was violent unpopularity against the Court: "We are all of us very much "pre-occupied, with politics. The. Tories really are astonishing. As they cannot and ' dare" not attack us in Parliament, .they do everything that' can bo to be rude to me The Whigs are the only safe .local people, and ridicule will only rally tliern 'round their' Queen to protect her from Tories; but it is a curious'sight, to see those who as Tories used to pique themselves upon excessive loyalty, doing everything to degrade their young sovereign in tho, eyes of the people. Of course there .are exceptions."

THE QUEIiNt'S MINISTERS. | Tho Queen's first judgment of Peel was not favourable. "-My impression," she wrote, "is that lie is not happy, and sanguine." , The Queen did not like his manner either. "Oh, how different, .how"dreadfully) how, differently different, to that frank and naturally most kind, warm manner of Lord Melbourne!" Nor was the Queen's judgment softened ;when Peel insisted on--tho Queen's' giving- up the Ladies of thc']sedchanll:er."'Sir Robert Peel, in the famous Ladies of the Bedchamber incident, claimed that to him belonged the right of nominating ladies holding. places at Court; ' After he had formed the Cabinet he considered some of those selected by Lord Melbohrne had a .miirked"'po'litfiial' bias. The Queen positively refused to agree to Peel's demand. She wrote to Lord. Melbourne that in her interviews with Peel 6hc was calm, but very decided. "You , would have ' been pleased by my composure. The Queen of England will not submit to .trickery: Keep yourself in readiness, for you may soon be wanted." Lord Melbourne was wanted : very soon, but. writing of that years after; the Queen said: "I was young" then. Perhaps I should have acted differently if it had all to ba done again." That was one of the Queen's greatest virtues, to revise judgment which she thought untenable. Lord Palmerston proved much harder to deal with 'han Peel. The Queen was constantly compelled to call him to book for failing" to submit despatches to her be.foro sending them off, as he .constantly neglected to do! "The Queen must, again remind Lord . Palmerston," she s writes repeatedly, and- he excuses himself on the ple,a that public business, will not.- brook, delay. On one occasion'his impertinence passes all bounds. Palmerfcston presents his humble duty 10. your Majesty, and. has a great many apologies to make for not having attended your Majesty's Council to-day. and th<v more so as his' absence, arose from inadvertence, which he. is almost ashamed to mention, but having got on horseback to ride to the station with his thoughts oce.unied with some matters which he. was thinking ;of, he ' rode mcebanicallv. and ' in a fit of absence of-mind.-to the Nine Elms Station, and did' net recollect his mistake till thern, and, although he made the best of his way afterwards to Paddintrton. he could not get. there in time' for a train that, would have taken him early onough to Windsor."

' THE BOYAL DIPLOMAT. Another of !{h<f'.:.most remarkable of the Queen's letters | was addressed to tho King of Prussia because hfe'.drow bock from allying himself with .'England and France against Russia at the time' of the Crimean war. , "Your Majesty," wrote the Queen, "asks mo to examine the question in a spirit of lovo .for pence, and even now to build a bridge,for Imperial honour. Ah, m.v dear sir and brother, all the inventive (jiffs, all, the architecture of diplomacy.'.and. goodwill, have been uselessly used;; ;l)uriiig' 'ier'-'last; nine months in .this, bridge 'building tiio"' projects do' de protocols; etc.'l etc..'" liavn proceeded by'"dozens" from'the Chancellories •of' the several .Powers,-and one might call the ihk wasted upon them another 'Black Sea.' but everything "has been shipwrecked against the self-will of your honourable brother-in-law. To come to the-close,-you suppose.; war may have already.been declared. You express, however, at the,, sjMie',,time, the hope that .it may not already- have, actually, 'broken out. I cannot unfbrtMnat'ely "libld ''out''anv-:'hope that the sentence will be followed by any stay of exccutfo!\. : Shakespeare's words":

Beware Of entrance to a quarrel;- but, being in, Bear it," that the oppose, may bewaro of thee. ' are deeply engraved on' tho -hearts .of all Englishmen." .■ - .....i/i ,i. ..." . , THE CHILDREN I The letters; throw:- light on the Queen's domestic affairs. In lStl the Queen wrote.:— "Our little boy (the present King Edward) is a wonderfully "strong and large child, with very dark blue, eyes, a well-formed but somewhat largo nose and a pretty little'mouth. 1 hope and pray lie may be like his dearest papa. You will understand how> fervent, .my prayers are, and. I am; suro. everybody 1 be to;;see him rosemble'.lus, an gel uT "dearest father ' in every respect, both in his body' and mind;. My dearest uncle, f am sure if you knew how happy, how blessed, I feel, and how proud 1 feel In possessing such » perfect being as'niy husband." In'another Vicky ofF her pony; a ([uiet boast, but not the least fear. Alfred, who you will recollect, was so terribly heedless and "eutirely indifferent ■ to all punishment, etc., tumbled-downstairs last; week.He was not seriously hurt, and 'ouitc' well' next morning, only with a, terriblo. black,.green, and vellow eye, and very much swelled; lie might have been killed. He is always bent upon selfdestruction, and one hardly knows what to do. for ho does not mind being hurt or scolded or punished, and-the very next morning lie tried to go down the stairs leaning over the banisters just as he had dou» when he fell." HER PHILOSOPHY. : The revolutionary symptoms of the midninotccnth century received very interesting comment from the Queen in a letter to tlio lung of the Belgians: "Since February 24 I feel an uncertainty in everything existing. When one thinks of one's children, their .education, and one's prayers for them, I always think and say to myself, 'Let thorn grow up fit for whatever station they may be placed, high or low.' This one never thought of before, but. 1 do always now.- Altogether one's whole disposition is changed. Bores and trials which one would have complained-bitterly of a: tew months ago one looks on as good things, and

quite a blessing, prbvided one can keep one'* position in quiet. Prior to the-marriage-of the Princess Royal to the Crown Prince of Prussia, afterwards the Emperor Frederick, Her Majesty in 1857 wrote the followiiig to her Foreign Secretary"lt. would be well if Lord Clarendon would tell Lord ISromfield, Ambassador at Berlin, not to entertain the possibility, of such a question as the Princess Royal's marriage taking place at Berlin. The Queen could never consent to it, both for public and ■ private reasons, and the assumption of its being too much for a Prince - Royal of Prussia to come over to marry the Princess Royal of Great Britain in England is too absurd, and to say the least, the Queen must say that there never was even a shadow of doubt on Prince William's part as to where the marriage should take place, and she suspects this to he the mere gossip of the Berlinors., Whatever may be the usual practice of Prussian princes," it is not every da; that one marries the eldest daughter of the Queen of England. The question, therefore, must be considered as settled and closed." EMPERORS CRITICISED. Now and then we are given anecdotes that show a gay sense of humour. Not the least engaging of these is the story of Napoleon'f triumphal entry into Paris, and of the ceremonial arch: "Though ■ decidedly wrong, my best of uncles, I must, tell you an anecdote relating to Louiß Napoleon's entry into Paris which Cowley w'rote over as going the rounds of Paris. It is that under one of the arches was a crown suspended .by a string ovet which was written, 'Lo llien »le Merit.' Something damaged this crown, and they removed it, leaving, however, the rope' and superscription, the effect of , which must have been somewhat edifying." The Queen in one of'her letters, wrote of the Emperor Napoleon as a "very extraordinary—one might almost say a mysterious—man, who believed fully in his star." Of the Emperor she wrote: "His mind' is an uncivilised one. Politics' and military concerns are the only things lie . takes great interest in. Unfortunately lie does not like being told what is unplcasing and contrary t'c his wishes, and gets very violent when he hears the truth, which, consequently, ■is not told him. This is the misery of peine violent, and passionate." The correspondence reveals tho fact of the Queen having advanced Lord Melbourne money through a private source when he was in financial difficulty Another instance of theQueens generosity is given in' the case of Lord Raglan. The Queen wrote: "It would: be a pit.v- if he declined a peerage because o the fees, and she offered to provide . thenj herself some .£SOO, in a Way that should: never be known through what source the money came. |