Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1865-02-14
THE LAST HOURS OF PRINCE ALBERT

Z H
An English periodical contains fhe fol-
lowing interesting account of the last hours
of the Prince Consort of England, written
by member of his household:
"There has reached rs from abroad
most interesting extract from letter which
was written by member of the Queens
household shortly after the death of Prince
Albert. The extremely confidential posi-
ton which the writer held at the time, not
only gives the assurance of perfect relia-
bility, but invests the following lines with
very special interest. After describing
the grief and fears of the whole household
for the Queen, the writer speaks of the
personal loss sustained in the death of
Prince Albert: How shall miss his con.
versation about the children! He used
often to come into the school-room to speak
about the education of the children and
he never left me without my feeling that
he had strengthened my hands and raised
the standard | was aiming at. Nothing
mean or frivolous could exist in the at
mosphere that surrounded him; the con-
versation could not be trifing if he was in
the room. dread the return of spring
for my dear lady. twas his favorite time
of the year-the opening leaves, the early
flowers, and fresh green, were such de-
light to him and he so loved to point ont
their beauties to his children, that it will
be terrible to see them without him. The
children kept his table supplied with prim-
roses, which he especially loved. The last
Sunday he passed on earth was a very
blessed one for the Princess Alice to look
| back upon. He was very i'll and very
weak, and she spent the afternoon alone
with him, while the others were in Church.
He begged to have his sofa drawn to
the window, that he might see the sky and
| the clouds sailing past. lie then asked
her, to play to him, and she went through
several OF his tavorite hymns and choraIs
After she had played some time, she look
ed round and saw him lying back, his
hands folded as if in prayer, and his eyes
shut. He lay so long without moving that
| she thought he had fallen asleep. Pre-
sently he looked up and smiled. She said,
Were you asleep, dear papaP ooh, no,
| he answered only l have such sweet
| thoughts During his illness his hands
were often folded in prayer and when
he did not speak, his serene face showed
that the happy thoughts were with him
| to the end. The Princess Alice's fortitude
has amazed US all. She saw from the first
| that both her fathers and mothers firm.
ness depended on her tirmness, and she set
! hersefto the duty. lie loved to speak open.
! ly of his condition, and had many wishes to
express. He loved to hear hymns and
prayers.
He could not speak to the Queen of him.
self, for she could not bear to listen, and
] shut her eyes to the danger. His daugh-
ter saw that she must act differently and
she never let her voice falter or shed q
single tear in his presence. She sat by
him, listened to all he said, repeated
hymns, and then, when she could bear it
no longer, would walk calmly to the door,
and then rush away to her room, return
ing soon with the same calm and pale face
without any appearance of the agitation
she had gone through. l have had sever
al interviews with the poor Queen since.
The first time she said, You can feel for
me, for you have gone through this trial
Another time she said how strange il
seemed, when she looked back, to see how
much for the last six months the Princes
mind had dwelt upon death and the future
state their conversation had so often turn.
ed upon these subjects, and they had read
together book, called HeGUen our Hume,
| which had interested him very much.
He once said to her, I'VE don't know
in what state we shall meet again; but
that we, shall recognize each other and be
together in eternity, am perfectly Ger.
tain 1t seemed as if it had been intend.
ed to prepare her mind and comfort her
though of course it did not strike her then.
She said she wss wonder to herself, and
she was sure it was in answer to the pray.
ers of her people that she was so sustained
She feared it would not last, and that times
of agony were before her. She said
'There's:not the bitterness in this trial that
l felt when lost my mother-I was sc
rebellious then; but now l can see the
mercy and love that are mixed in my trial.
Her whole thought now is to walk worthy
of him, and her greatest comfort to think
that his spirit is always near her, and