The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1880-06-24

tyres, II once loose, might thin down
the population Of . parish with start
ling FApidfty.
QUEEN WcToRIA's CHILDHOOD.
Frs Harpes,s Mae.zise Ter yul..
The Princess Vict0sia was born
within the hOmely brick wallsOf Ken
sington Palace, on the 18th u May,
1873. When she was only . few months
old, her father died, closely followed
by his father, poor old King GeOrke.
before this, II l. recorded that 1.-THE
Regent wus not kind to his brOtiler, !"
and when the Duke Of Kent died, It
was found that 1.-THE poor Duke had
let his family deprived Of all means
az existence" Thus the position Of
the mother of the failure sovereign, -
young German princess. 50 sOOn left
alone In this strange and not aiways
very genial county, MAS fnr from con-
sOling. Her brother. Prince Leopold,
fastened to her in her distress, and
stood BY her In all her future difIicHl-
ties. Few women have had severn
pie.,e Of work to undertake. hut for
that wise and kind brother, the OUCH
ess Of Kent, though the mother Of the
future Queen, was all but unfriendesI
in q home with which as vet she had
but little time to get acquainted. She
was . foreigner, accustomed To differ
ent ways Of living, and had not even
the easy elasticity Of youth which nc
customs itself to anything, for she was
already over thirty when she married
the Duke; and while Occupyin ing 70
great q position, she was comparative
II moor. Had she withdrawn with her
child to her own country, to briug the
little Princess up among her own peO-
plc. cheaply and kindly. far away
nom the criticisms and extravagances,
the late hours and hustle, Of English
life, who could have wondered? but
the Duchess had the temperate COburg
blood in her veins. and shared the
sound sense and judgment OF her race.
She never forgot that her eight-months
old baby was the first Princess Of the
blood, English above all things, and
imperatively requiring an English
education. And she began her long
career of self-denial by steadily remain
ing In England, though far from ner
friends and everything that was most
dear to her. The little family, bere.sv-
ed, returned to the old palace at Ken
singtOn, where the child had been
horn, and there the early days Of the
Princess were chiefly spent. More hap
py than most children in her position,
the little hciress Of England had the
society Of an cider sister. whose snpe-
riOr age must. in thOse innocent days,
have neutralized the Immense differ
ence of position, aud given something
of the sweet natural humility OF n
younger child In q weli-regulafed
household to this ma-t important
member Of the family, all unconscious
Of her own greatness. This sister,
Princess Fedora, afterward Princess
HOhenlOhe. was the tenderest OF
friends and companions to the Queen
during her life. They were brought
up together In quiet old KensingtOn,
in the sweet solitude Of ClaremOnt.
the house where Prince Leopold had
spent his short married life, which be-
lOnged to him, and in which he often
received his widowed sister ami her
little girl. They We're there in the
summer Of 1924; and SO bright must
that summer have becn that lis bright
meas still lasts in recollection, tn ,uyl,
the little Princess was but five wears
old. "ThOse days of ClareiI,ont," the
Queen herself tells, "werc the happi
est DAYS Of her childhOOsl." The must
careful education was given tn the
yOuns Princess. Over this training
Prince Leopold watched with all the
interests of statesman. and all the
tenderness of father. Already, too,
other visions of the future were dawn.
ing before the far-seeing eyes Of the
man who. with the sinccrest desire faI
the welfare of Eng land, and a lOngir,.
no doubt made all the stronger BIZ thu
melancholy failure of his personal
homes, 10 give the country which, had
received him u kindly and noble soy.
ereign, had ut the same time a natural
wish to advance his own family, wor.
thy by constitution and character ~ II
had already proved itself. Another
child, standing to him In exactly ths
same relationship as little Victoria,
had been born lust afler her in the
little duc,l court at Saxe-C oLur:.. in
tho f.haerf,,I .nuntry huusc NJ R,,s..,