Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-05-12
THE LONELINESS OF ROYALTY.
The Isolation OF the Woman at the
Head Of am Empire.

From the London Spectator.
The Queen has survived not only her husband
but almost all relatives of her own time, all hel
earlier political friends, and an entire group oil
closely attached dependents, like Sir c. phipps,
Sir Arthur Helps, and many another less known
to the general world. There is NO one living
who could address her by:her Christian name,
or, indeed, on any terms of equality; while all
her children but one arc married, scattered, I'M
mersed in business and households of their own.
world, and as age draws ON the sovereign. who
| already reigned so long that men passing middle
age have consciously known no other, must feel
this more and more painfully, with sadness
which the movement OF the world does not di-
minish.
The Queen has had no misfortunes such as
have afflicted many Of her predecessors, no loss
of subjects like George ILL.,, no loss Of public
honor like George w.; but she has to bear the
burden of an ever-increasing pressure of inter-
ests. incidents, movements Of mankind. of all
which she must to herself seem the center.
Nothing eveDtful can happen in the world which
is not in some way or other borne In pressingly
on the Queen. The special feature of the age,
the new cOmplexity of life arising from rapid
communication, began shortly before her acces-
si0n-Huskisson was killed In 18SO-and from
that moment to this affairs must have
seemed to press in ever-iDcreasing volume
upon her, as If the very atmosphere had
grown more weighty. Imagine what the tele-
graph alone has been to the Queen. To feel
imperative duties increasing, and strength de-
caying, and life growing more and more lonely,
is sad position for any one; but what must it
be to sovereign who receives every day EVIL
dence that SHE Is one Of the central figures of
the world, who hears on Monday that all Amer
lea s glad because the report OF an accident to
her had proved exaggerated, on Tuesday that an
Indian tribe has accepted her as goddess, on
Wednesday that her daughter, one day to be
Empress of Germany has celebrated her silver
wedding with princes for train bearers, on
Thursday that plot has been discovered which
renders doubled watchfllness necessary round
Windsor
1t is strange position, one not to be de-
sired; and, remember, It must be judged not
from the constitutional point Of view that the
Queen only accepts advice, but from her own
point of view that the Queen, after taking adj
vice, gives lor own commands. No monarch
ever yet quite lost the feeling that, in some in
describable way he was himself in some special
degree, responsible for the welfare of his peo-
pie, and In that responsibility alone be it as
unreal as 1t may-and Engiishmen often under
rate the Queens direct influence on affairs-is a
burden which, to q lonely woman, long expert
ence can only make the heavier. Experience
teaches US what to do, but teaches also how
useless the doing often is We are no devotees
OF monarchy, gravely holding self-government
to Do more educative and more dignifed; but
there has never been in history q reign like that
Of Queen Victoria, who, surrounded by an I'M
penetrable etiquette, breaks 1t to tell her peo-
pie that DEVOTION even In the humblest of fol-
lowers, has reused In her '.real friendship"
Hepublicanlsm in England sleeps, and will
sleep while the Queen reigns. Is there not in
that mere truism sufficient biography?