A Great Woman of History

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 138, 7 December 1935, Page 19

A Great Woman of History

gA:s*frapge;:'diestiriy ycleare: dt;the' way to;|.th£.'throne: for Victoria;-writes a corjeifcondent of the Melbourne "Age." Prjhbejss" Charlotte, daughter, of George iy,; died in 1817-after the birth of her;-stillborn son. 'The merrier sons of lIL were' without legitimate children;' ;and the daughters • were either; unmarried ..or,, childless. The ttaj'ee,unmarried'Royal Dukes hurried to'the : altar" in 1818 with "■ the..view of providing a possible successor to the thrprle: ' The choice of the Duke of Kent' fell- upon the daughter of the Duke of ■Saxe-Coburg and the child born to them,, on May 24, 1819, became the; Queen 'of England and gained the distinction of having reigned four years longer than any of her predecessors; and of exceeding by three days the longest Royal life in British history. ■■!

Scarcely had she appeared upon the page , of time than she became the subject of heated discussions, prophetic to some extent of long periods in her remarkable life. What was to be the name of the child? Emperor Alexander of Russia was a.connection of the Duchess of Kent by marriage and •through'his Ambassador had offered .himself as. godfather. The Duke of Kent suggested several names, the first tieing Alexandrina, after the Emperor, and another being Victoria, after the •mother. No decision had been reached when the Archbishop of Canterbury was'about to perform the baptismal rite' at Kensington . Palace. Various names;were mentioned,- but'jthe Regent objected ;and asked the mother's name. < "Victoria," said the Duke, of Kent. The Duke of York, who was proxy-for the Emperor, suggested Alexandrifta: Victoria. The Archbishop

I'hastily pronounced the name, and the ceremony ended with the Duchess of Kent in tears. For a time in the fam- : ily circle the little one was called : "Drina," but the Duchess wisely iv- ! sisted upon "Victoria." ; ■ THE CHILD VICTORIA. The child was -fair-haired and bluej eyed, would fly into a passion, stamp ■. her foot,'.arid-refuse'to learn her les- \ sons. When,she was five years old a ; new era began with the coming of ; Frauleih Lehzen to be her governess. j This daughter of a Hanoverian clergy- , man declared she had never seen such ; a naughty child, but in time found her '. way to little. .'Drina's. heart, won her , love, .and .described, .her as truthful , and keen: upon her .lessons. Long years . afterwards Baroness Lehzen wrote that when, the. child, was twelve it. was , agreed. she ought to know her place ;in the succession. The genealogical , table was put into the historical book, , and "the Princess Victoria opened the , book, and, seeing the additional paper, ', said,-'I never saw that before.' 'It , was not necessary that you shouldd Princess,'■ I: answered. 'I see I ami nearer the throne than I thought.' 'So J 'it is,* I said- After some moments the child resumed, 'Many a child would boast, but they do not know the.difficulty. There is much splendour, but more responsibility.'. She gave me her little hand, and said, 'I will be good.'" When ; she was thirteen she began to keep a journal, and one finds in it continual, references to her "precious Lehzen," whom she had learned to trust, and even to adore. SHE BECOMES QUEEN. William IV died in 1837, and the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham hurried to Kensington Pallace to tell Victoria she was Queen of England. Lord Melbourne followed. A great assembly, including bishops and. Ministers of State, waited in the red saloon for the first council, the doors were thrown open, and "a very short, very slim girl in deep plain mourning came into the room alone, moved forward to her seat with extraordinary dignity and grace." The hushed gathering heard her reading in a ■ firm voice, and with remarkable clearness, then saw her rise and pass out with the same calmness and selfpossession. Her new life had begun. She had been well trained. The days of tutelage were over. She no longer shared her mother's bedroom. Lord Palmerston remarked that she was no ordinary person, and tnat whatever she might owe to her mother she had an understanding of her own that could have been made by no one. At her coronation a world-famous personage said, "Poor little Queen; she is at an age at which a girl can. hardly be entrusted' to choose a bonnet for herself, yet a task is laid upon her from which an archangel might shrink." Among her first serious troubles was one connected with the appointment of the Mistress of the Robes and the Ladies of the Bed Chamber. Lord Melbourne had surrounded the Queen with ladies of his own party. When he went out of office his successor, Sir Robert Peel, decided that some of the Ladies of the Bed Chamber should bo appointed from his supporters. The Queen was indignant, and would hot give in. Lord Melbourne gave her good advice,, but. neither he nor the Duke of Wellington could conquer her. She won, but in later years she admitted to Lord John Russell that she had made a mistake. One of her biographers says that there were nine- . teen changes of Government during the Queen's reign, and in no case did she »gain step beyond the limits laid down by the Constitution. She saw that the Sovereign should never add to a Ministry's embarrassment. Her triumph over the Tories roused their bitter opposition, and led to very ro-> grettable scenes, in which personal and disloyal insults were plentiful. She was quick at learning the lesson, and finally attained consummate skill in holding the balance between parties, a characteristic' which her successors

have exhibited in a conspicuous degree. , HER MARRIAGE. On August 26, 1837; she had written in her journal: "Today is my dearest cousin Albert's 18th birthday, and 1 pray heaven to pour its choicest blessings on his beloved head." She had told Lord Melbourne that she was quite against ever marrying, that the whole subject was an odious one, and that seeing Albert again would be disagreeable. He came, he saw, he conquered. She wrote in ecstasy about his attractive looks, charming manners, and great learning. He was not so enthusiastic about her at first as she was about him. but he saw what a position of influence' lay before him. Tthey married,' and as he anticipated, there was and always remained a certain prejudice against him as a foreigner. The Prime Minister was virtually the Queen's private secretary, and Baroness Lehzen was supreme in her .private life. Stockmar came to the reficue. He persuaded the Prince to discuss politics with the Queen, and be sonetimes present at meetings with her Klinisters. At length all discords ceased, and the Queen discovered new virtues in her husband, and sought his company every hour, and his advice on every subject. Children came and added to the domestic joy. The Queen was at that period a very happy woman. The. Prince came to be appreciated for his character and ability, and his happy inspiration of the Great Exhibition lifted his fortunes to highwater mark. By degrees he made-him-self felt as a statesman, and stood up for the Queen when difficulties occurred with the Ministry. Palmerston resigned and the cry arose that the Prince was interfering with the foreign policy: of England.. Behind the new adviser was the old master, Stockmar. Palmerston came back, and became Prime Minister, and all parties testified to the loyalty of the Prince. The Queen was happy. ■He died in 1861, and forty years later she was laid to rest beside him at Frogmore. "SOLITARY GRANDEUR." For years she lived: in a kind of gloom, rarely showing herself in society, and in danger of becoming a mere name to her subjects. She made a shrine of her sorrow, and. to use her own words, lived in "solitary grandeur." The public grew impatient. There was no pageantry, and trade suflered. ' The year 1861 came, and

she was still in mourning. She had taken no official part in the marriage of the Prince of Wales in 1863, but looked on in widow's garb from a gallery above the choir. Her. place at public functions was taken by the Prince and Princess of Wales. She emerged from her• seclusion only in 1372, to go with the Prince and Princess of Wales to St. Paul's to give thanks for his recovery. To the end of her life she wore the widow's cap. When she opened Parliament in person in 1372, it was to conciliate public opinion.

In 1874 Beaconsfteld became Prime Minister, and the Queen had six happy years. He was a consummate stage manager, knew the art of adulation, made her Empress of India, and at his bidding she reviewed troops, presented medals, and opened Parliament. When Beaconsfield was-defeated she was horrified. Her treatment of Gladstone, however, was ungenerous and biased; it will ever remain, in the opinion of many, somewhat of a blemish in a marvellous career. UNDERSTANDING AND SYMPATHY. As time passed on she understood her'duty more clearly, and her people were drawn closer to her in sympathy. She devoted herself more and more self-denyingly to the happiness of her subjects. Her Jubilees in 1887 and 1897 saw her hailed as the mother of her people and the living symbol of national greatness. Her death in 1901 removed one who had come to be looked upon as a permanent and beloved institution. The South African war gave her great sorrow, but she threw herself resolutely into the service of the nation.

Coming to the throne at a time when vulgar vices had shaken the Royal prestige and the country was on the verge of revolution, she had redeemed Royalty's reputation and made the Crown the. symbol of private virtue and public honour. She saw and taught her family that it was not the duty of a constitutional Sovereign to rule the country, but to set an example. Central, strong-willed, and dictatorial, she . ruled her eldest son with a rod of iron, yet he loved and honoured her. Hating AngloCatholicism in religion, she was indisposed to allow high ecclesiastical appointments in the Established church to be made for party reasons, though respecting the advice of Prinie Ministers. ■ ■ - •