The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-04
vIoToRIA,s sELF1sHNEss.
Not a Desirable BLother-in-L a,E--DeCects That
Are IntOlerabIe.

Are IntOlerabIe.
Lucy II. Hooper, in Philadelphia Telegraph.
Apropos of Grace Greenwood I have just fin
ished reading her very charming Life of Queen
Victoria" 1t is a most interesting volume, and
| heartily concur with her in her enthusiastic
praises of Prince Albert Till his eldest son
grew up we scarcely realized what paragon the
Prince ConSort really was-a young and hand
some man, seated beside one of the greatest
thrones of Europe, prince out Of fairy tale
Tor beauty and personal fascination, yet blame
less and noble in his daily life as a virtuous
woman. All, there are no such princes nova
days! The only real error of his life as the
Queens husband was his adherence to the strict
rules of the stiff court etiquette of Germany, and
which he persuaded her to maintain-a fact that
accounts in part for the intense unpopularity
that was at one time his undersigned portion.
He carried his intense pride of position so far as
never to consent to- receive any article from the
hands of a servant Even when he was out
shooting he would not take his gun from one of
his gamekeepers; it had to be transmitted to him
through the medium of his gentleman-in-wait-
ing. His wife fully imbbed all his ideas and fol
lowed his example. Once when Queen Victoria
was on visit to King Louis Philippe, she eX-
pressed desire one evening, Immediately be-
fore retiring to rest for glass of water. 1t was
brought to her on golden salver by one of the
royal Wallets The Queen refused to take the wa
ter, motoning its bearer from her with an i'm
perous gesture. Louis Philippe noticed the ac-
ZION, and perfectly comprehended its purport.
He signed to of his to offer the salver to
nGf majesty. 1nlS was QOne, ana the queen
then condescended to accept the desired draught.
think too, that Queen Victoria has been
much to blame in the stand she has taken IN re-
gard to the marriages of the members of the col
lateral branches of the royal family. 1t is well
known fact she forced the poor Princess Mary of
Cambridge to give up the man she sincerely loved
and who loved her, an English nobleman, and like
wise compelled her to give her hand to the Duke
of Teck. More than once has the Queen been
compelled to intervene in the conjugal affairs of
this 1llassorted pair And in more than one in
stance she has refused to receive at court Ger
man princes who have married English ladies of
rank, because she did not approve of the gentle
men marrying beneath their station, thus taking
sides with her birthright against her own coun-
trywomen. But the most unprincely of Queen
Victoria's defects is her meanness. She is eco
nomical to degree that would be praiSeworthy
in washerwoman earning seven shillings n
week, but which is highly reprehensible
in a sovereign receiving large revenues
from the nation. That she should not care for
dress is all well enough; but surely the Queen of
England ought not to appear i'll public in soiled
and shabby clothes, and that she does continual
ly. Her invariable wedding gift to any young
lady member of the British aristocracy entitled
to receive present on her wedding from those
august hands is an India shawl. The reason for
this invariable selection is said to be the fact that
a portion of the tribute paid annually by the
native princes of India to their supreme sovereign,
the Empress, always consists of number of fine
shawls, and so she need not disburse penny
when making her wedding present. And the
injury that she has done to the commerce
and tradespeople of London in her sell
fish seclusion during all these years is
simply incalculable Granted that she mourned
for herlost husband land doubtless she did, poor
wifei) with all the passionate abandonment due
to such love and such loss. But nobler mind
would have recognized higher duty in the
claims of her people, and when the formal period
of mourning was over, would have compre-
hended the worth of elfabnegation in such
matter. And the poor Princess Beatrice-surely
never did princess, young sprightly and intel
ligent lead such doleful existence outside of
the enchanted tower Of fairy tale. not for her
are the splendors of court ball, the charms
of box at the opera or even the luxury of a
drive in the park in the height of the London
season. She is kept closely chained to the side
of her imperious, selfish mother, fulfilling the
duties Of a paid companion, with never a
holiday, except, indeed, when she caught
the rheumatism lately, and had to go to Aix-les-
Bains by order of her physicians And / am
told that the poor Princess malady was caused
by the strict enforcement by the Queen of full
dress daily at their family dinner. That constant
wearing of decollete cOrsage in all kinds of
weather proved too much for the health of her
unlucky daughter And from the Queens die
tum appeal is possible. She tyFannizes over
everybody about her, with the sole exception of
the Duchess of Edinburgh. The naughty Rus
STAT Princess once turned upon her with the
sharp remark, apropos of some question of pre-
cedence, Madam you forget that my father
was an Emperor, while yours was not even a
King
Now, do not wish to decry Mrs. Lippincott's
most charming volume or to give the impression
that do not comprehend and appreciate the
many high qualities of Queen Victoria But
have been too much in England, and have heard
| too much about her to exactly look upon her as
"a thing enskyd, ensainted." She has defects
which intoerable in private life-still more
in that of a queen-and that have told, and are
still telling, cruelty on her family and immediate
surroundings. And any prosperous American
girl may thank her stars that Queen Victoria is
neither her mother, her guardian or her mother
in-law.