The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-12-25
Queen victOria's Private Character.

man VI SAAI 1ottC bLsAb lutJ CAL DC only
known to very few people. These peo-
pie who do know are, of course, very
shy of talking of them, especially in
England, where royalty seems to affect
the mind with a fever of alteration, and
where speech becomes eulogium as soon
as you say "her majesty"
But the queen who has had the most
prosperous and distinguished reign so
far of any monarch who has ever filled
the throne with a royal crinoline In the
history of the world, is & problem some
what worthy of study. How steady
have been the acquisitions of territory
since she came to power What must
old Queen Bess think as she looks at
the map of England now? A greater
than she will never fill tle pages of his
tory, If England's greatness rebounds 10
Victoria. Of course, We believe that
she is individually cipher, and that her
ministers have done the work but we
must not forget that, had not the queen
had some elements of greatness, she
could have made her ministers a vast
amount of trouble, and England less
great than it is,
She had the reputation as q young
woman, of having very bad temper.
The world has read of her striking her
maid of honor, Lady Flora Hastings,
when the poor girl was dying of a mys-
ferrous disease. She was not beautiful,
and she was said to be jealous of those
who were. She fell in love with her
cousin, the duke of Cambridge, and
with young nobleman of her court.
The astEte ministers did not let her
marry either of them, and doubtless
she tore her hair and flung her slippers
about, as any other girl would do if
thwarted In her hirtations. England's
queen, too If she cOuld not have her
own way, who could? And yet, she
has probably had less of it than most
women. Yet every old Polonius of them
-" bullded wiser than he knew" when
he plotted to marry her TO her cousin,
Prince Albert. A happier marriage
never blessed throne. In looking back
over the thirty years OF devoted wife
hood, and the seemingly deep grief at
the loss of her husband, one must re-
spect Queen Victoria She can be no
common woman who loves and regrets
as she has done.
Her beautiful domestic life and the
royal blood of children interested every
papa and mamma in the United King
dom. NV boy was born on the same
day with Prince Leopold" said Scot
fish laudlady to me as / admired her
tlaXen-haired laddie, and her face flushed
with pleasure. This sentiment of 10y
atty of which we know so little, is very
attractive. The human figure never
locks so well and so nobly as when it
looks up. It has ne snobbery in it, as
between royalty and the people, for roy
ally Is TO them incarnate England. The
queen was loving and attentive mother
Every day, as her old doctor tells us,
she saw every one of her children,
talked with them and carressed them,
paid those mOtherly attentions to their
teeth and hair and costume, which many
fashionable mother neglects, and this
with ali her enormous work, for no
charwoman in her maiesty's dominions
worked as hard as she.
When We remember that the royal
nursery absorbed all the attention of
one great man that il was an institution
OF the state, that every royal infant had
retinue Of admirals, generals, noble
duchesses, and the like, as soon as it
was born, to look after it this material
sollcitude is another point in Queen
NIctOriss character of great and unex-
pected excellence.
When the prince of Wales was here,
as young boy, he was accompanied by
Gen. Bruce, who was his governor. The
prince would jump into his lap and
caress him, lOve-like, but the general
never entered his presence unless COM
manded to do so. The prince might be
familiar when he pleased; the subject,
never What o state of things We
can imagine the royal under-nurse say
ing MAY l be permitted to brush your
royal highness's hair?" to a recalcitrant
prince of three years, and receiving a
very ungracious snub.
But there came into this royal nur-
sery, one presence which always brought
about law and order. 1t was the father.
PRINCE ALBERT
was an uncompromising disciplinaria an.
1t would be curious to imagine what
England would have been, what the
queen would have been, without this
extraordinary mana man of such gifts
and graces wko-had the remarkable gift
and grace to nonenity. The English
would have been jealous, would have
been up in arms, had they suspected
how great he was indeed, they were
even Jealous of his appearance in
politics.
We get pleasant glimpses of Queen
NlctOrla's accomplishments from Men
delsshOn's letters. When the great
composer went to England, the queen
and the prince gave him an audience.
He says that the queen sang for him
very prettlly, and that she was a most
thorough musician. He gives a grace
full picture of that royal interior, the
queen and her young husband singing
duets {; and the praise and admiration
which they gave to him was, In his idea,
of a most delicate and discriminating
character.
The queen has always appeared to
great advantage in her grateful care of
her old servants. Hampton court. st.
James's palace, and l don't know how
many other palaces we're filled with her
disabled cOurtiers. In her patronage of
authors, she has undoubtedly appeared
to less advantage, but in this she NAV
be dependent on others, and under OBJ
legations to the civil list. Her I'M
mense private fortune might be spent
more literally. The foreigners who
live in England accuse her of avarice,
and we all know how weary tho English
got of her prolonged mourning, and her
determination not to be seen what part
avarICe Eay have had in the deliberate
seclusiOn I do not know. Certainly she
is not fond of spending her money.
Those who have seen her of late wears
have beheld q very plain lady, with
very red face, that heavy face of the
Georges, and a short, dumpy figure.
Her only beauty is a very small, exquis-
lite white hand. 1t is a popularity of
her family. Her uncles had it emf
nently. Her manners are very dignified;
they even give her height. She wears
her great rank wOrthily in this respect,
knowing, to the last shadow of a shade,
Just how much affability to show.
The rumOred disaffection of the queen
with the Prince of Wales was probably
true. She, however, melted toward
him, mother like, during his sickness,
and watched by him and PRAYED for
him tenderly. She dislikes his lady
friends those fast women of England
who have brought him into disrepute.
Her court had ever been one of the
severest morality until the prince began
his flirtGtiOns. The very popular and
good little Princess of Wales is an i'm
Inense favOrite. and often. il is said in