Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1895-08-22

Judgment or wisdom of his mother and
queen. In the second place, Victoria
has never even intimated that she felt
like relinquishing the reins of govern
ment.
Victoria Alexandrina succeeded to
the throne June 30, 1887, and was
crowned queen in Westminster abbey
June %, 1888. She has consequently
reigned longer than any other SOW
ereign of the nineteenth century. If
she lives two years longer she will
have been queen for three-score years
"a record approached by but few
rulers in the history of the world.
February 10, 1910, she was married to
her cousin, Prince Albert of SAKE
Coburg Gotha, who died December II,
1861. Nine children blessed the union,
which was a singularly happy one and
demonstrated conclusive1y that true
love perfects royal nature even as it ele-
Yates that of the humbiest peasant. AS
a wife and mother Queen Victoria, in
spite of slanderous and vicious attacks
made by INSCRIPTIONS gossips and
scribblers, may be considered q model.
She has remained faithful to the mem
DRY of her husband; and her children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren
are as true to her as she has been to
them.
Victoria was eighteen years of age
when King George ", her predeces-
sor, died. She was the only child of
Edward, duke Of Kent, fourth son of
George I'LL, and his wife Victoria Mary
Louisa, who was a sister of Leopold,
king of the Belgians. Her father died
when she was one year old. Neither
George ", nor his brothers, the dukes
of York and Clarence, had surviving
legitimate issue. Victoria's birth, on
the oath Of May, 1919, in the old Ken
sington palace at London, solved a
number of troublesome questions of
succession which were exciting the
court circles of all Europe. Adherents
of the house of Stuart and followers of
other claimants had entered into ne
gotiations with foreign governments
soliciting their support in behalf of
their particular pretenders- They re-
ceiyed encouragement from several
sources until the birth of Victoria set
tied the direct succession. Although
the conspirators continued to agitate
the claims of their ''favorite sons and
daughters as the American politician
would put it, their propaganda ever
after fell fat and received no official
recognition anywhere.
The duke of Kent seems to have had
= premonition that his only child
would be the ruler of Great Britain ana
Ireland. Two months before Victoria's
birth the duke and his wife left their
German estates in Leiningen and un-
dertook most disagreeable journey to
England so that the queen-to-be might
claim birth on British soil. At that
period the duke Of Kent was very poor,
so hard up for ready cash, in fact, that,
according to common report, he acted
as coachman for his wife and her maid
ON the occasion of their journey from
Leiningen to London. Others, more
charitable, cite this action as proof of
the dukes devotion to his wife. The
roads of Germany at that time were
not the macadamized highways of to-
day, and the loving husband would in
trust the life and limbs of his spouse to
no hired driver. As both of these
stories are pretty and pathetic she read
er can credit either one or the other
without detriment to his love for the
romantic.
The reign of Queen Victoria has been,
In many respects noteworthy. When
she became queen eighteenth-century
red tape and circumlocution dominated
every public office; the laboring classes
had no rights which employers were
bound to respect; the aristocracy de
vided the lucrative state offices among
the younger sons of impoverished titled
families; public education was neg
lected In towns and cities, to say moth