New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-07-04
VICTORIA OF ENGLAND.
oIrrrN WIFE AND MOTHER.

! ut,v THE GIRI-PHINCFss WAS DROUGHT Uf-ihE
| QUEENS ONE MIsTAKE-HER PRIDE IN HEX
| HUSBAND.
| Mr., Oliphant. in her picturesque life OF queen
Victoria. lust published. gives this account OF inc
girls training in the days Of her comparative pow
erty:
All was rs modest. retired. as quiet as eyer =,
The little HERES Of ENGLAND was not permitted 10
taKc mart i'm the pageant of her uncles coronHion'
or brought forward too soon INTO tlle 9lar vi uy,
After this date the course o, her nth various
| features of her own country making d series VI
| visits and expeditions throughout England 10 many
of the most interesting towns, eathedrais anu JUL
remarkable places. And wherever the little niaiden
went az was natural. she was the centre OF atraG
ton. creature so Young ana 80 n,sn h. drew
| ali eyes. and gave charm OF sympatDetic nature
which ennobled 1t to the ordinary cur osity OF tIe
| crowd. Something kinder than CURIOSITY, leei-
| inc more warm and GENIAL than the vulgar love OF
| spectace drew gazers out upon her pain wherever
| she moved. Aud thus her wise mother accustomen
her unconsclously, TO the multitude oil eyes th''
| were TO watch her every movement, and 70 the
| often wearsome II sometimes exciting, details oil
| public life. =, l., -,
early DAYS the Queen showed any OF that dlstaste
for the public observation which IL the greatest re-
preach that any one has made against her IN ner
elder days Difficulties of all kinds, however. as
| was natural, beset her young path Her position
was infinitely more delicate aud critical than had
| she been the daughter Of the regnln2 sovereign,
holding a natural place in his family. The klng
took dire offence at the wise restraint under winch
the young Princess was brought up. and so Tar Tor
got what was due 10 a lady and his guest rs TO up
| braid the Duchess OF Kent ar his own table Tor
keeping her young daughter as muca MS she could
out of the nnwholesome AR OF the Court. Nhen we
read OF this scene of the Queens confusion aud the
Princess tears. aid the painful family sInaDDe re-
vealed to all the gossip Nc, whispering world we
can realize better what difficulties must nave Deen
| IN the way of snch serious education, ana slcn
| seclusO on from courtlers batteries and royal bad
manners. as made the Princess Victoria, when she
came to the throne the admraGn oil an %eO sI
! mother and guardian the charge OF conducting 1ef
| Young mind safe aud spotess through all these
| dizzy paths to the great elevation which awaited
| her was inducement enough TO bear all things ana
| follow steadily the course cialked OUT Whatever
| angry King or lmpertincnt critic could say.
On the other hand. while the Duchess was blamed
| for keeping the young Princess out of the buzz 0f
the Court she was equally blamed Tor the lttle tN
petitions. profitable TO all parties, by whlch tne
| Young lady made acquainted with her country
and became to some degree known, so 1ar ~ the
mOdcsy of her girhood permitted, TO her future
people. Almost every heir ana heirrss VINO y uot
The son or daughter OF the previous possessor OF the
Inheritance liable to the same jealous watch ana
inevitable fault-fnding Her mother kept her child
from all vulgar contact with the crowd; it was
vigorous secueioao She took her to see beau
tiful cathedral or a historical beautiful house. lt
was an attempt at royal progress 20 the critics
contrddicted each other And IN the meantime
Kensington Palace held ITS with frmness not
less remarkable than the purity and gravity OF the
aims which were there pursued.
Victoria during the few months of solitary rule pre-
cediDg her marriage:
OF the short interval which followed of the yomng
Oneen's reign alone there Is llttle record. " The
sudden change from the secluded life at kenspgton
to the indie dependence Of her position as queen
repnant at the ge of eighteen might have been an
eyrIise for many mistakes; but 1t - hard 10 see
what there is to pardon. She was guilty. OF one ~
tle constitutional SIM which, we may make Dold to
saw now amused the Na!ion fully more than 1t
alarmed It. Lord Melbourne had resigned-who was
the Queens first Minister aud devoted personal
friend besides being the head of the party 10 which
nil her training had inclined her-and Sir Robert
Peel prepared take his place; but the efforts
OF he Conservative Premier were frustrated by the
refusal Of the Queen to change her MISTRESS OF the
Robes and Bedchamber Ladies-an unforeseen pre-
ceediug which had the result OF deterrlng the
She herself however Judges herself more Sc
yerelv and has recorded her painful recollection OF
this moment of early freedom; when, perhaps, her
head was slightly turned by the splendor aud abso,
Lutte freedom of her great position, worse schOo
for a young girl, or one more detrimental to all
natural feelings and affections, cannot well be I'M
agned. 4" her Majesty says with profound gravity |
and feeling Such being the case. as she tells, who
can iud Qe best is satisfactory that little harm
came of it, TO the pure all things pure" even
the delightful follles of youth. Miss Martineau
tie most unfavorable OF critics who has something
disagroeaOe TO say of most people she mentions
aud to whom the monarchy altogether was "un-
real saws of the yonng Queen that she LAUGHED i
hcr-a pleasant fault. Another shortcoming OF her
Nojesy during tins interval OF Gayety was that All
IDEAS of marriage were put out ot her mlnd by the
whrl of busy life and independent action. Her
grihJOd had been sober her whole lie 80 retired
and quiet that the dazzle and movement OF the
great ord del GIFTED her. In the reyuslOn of feel
ia she preferred London to the cOuntry-a prefer
encc cuI0usly unlike the sentiments OF her later
life though remarkable 1t must he allowed, be-
tween the ages of eighteen and twenty-a period at
which few young persons OF any rank prefer quiet
amusement
Ii was ia May. 1889, nearly two years after her
accession that the incident occurred. " 1t is we'll
understood now." SAYS Mr. Theodore Martin, In his
Life of the Prince COnsort," that there WAS mis-
understanding both sides but tho immediate
effect was to exasperate the Tory party by the feel
ing that Il lettering Ministry owed its continuance
in Office To the personal predictions OF the Sover-
eign." Nowadays, however, nobody can suppose
that there was any danger to the Constitution IN
tie act, and the episode remains an amusing and
characteristic one, lighting no the duness Of poll
tics with picturesque incident Never again did
Her Majesty depart from the Constitutional lm-
psriiaIty which looks upon Wing and Tory, Con
servative and Liberal, with the same calm conf
dence and friendllness; and we confess, for our
own part, that thus little d" fling" of youthful
Inpeiuoslty gives TO ourselves more atlecti0nate
reaIzatIon of the character and difficulties OF the
Queen.
All the world knows how smoothly went on the
woong of Victoria aud Albert. The in
which he young lady announced her betrothal to
her Ministers a pretty one:
The young pair remained together for above a
month, keeping their secret from all but their
friends, and growing to know each other III the
close Intercourse OF their betrothal. And ii was
nor till the departure OF the young lover had brought
back conmon lite and us cares that the Queen
nerved herself for the public declaration which no
one could make for her. The situation is pecu-
liar that we know scarcely any presidents for IL.
Even now, when she bad been two years on the
throne, no Queen young had ever reigned IN Eug
land, and no English queen had ever had such "A
morning tale TO tell 10 her Pryy Councillors The
young lady did It with the modest dignity which
had from the first dlstngulshed her; and here Is
the description of it she has herself given us. with
her usual happy simplicity and
The Privy Council, knowing how important the
sitting was, mustered strong There were eighty |
gentlemen of them assembled III the - bow-rOom on
the ground floor of Buckingham Palace" whom
this young creature, with her heart full |
had 10 face alone, and tell what