The Portland daily press., 1896-12-05
DUTIES OF A QUEEN.
A Detailed Account of How Victoria r
and l. Spends the Day

and /. Spends the Day
Probably the Queen is ktill one Of the
busiest women in the world. One hard
" realizss, indeed, how much work de-
wolves daily on her. Roughly speaking
she signs about $4,000 documents year,
and many Of these require careful constd-
Grafton before Victoria r. and /. Is
subscribed. Statesmen have borne esti-
Inony again ana again to the remarkable
knowledge possessed by the Queen of the
various matters concerning which she Is
consulted. She will surprise Cabinet
Minister by p quiet references to pre-
oedent dating thirty or forty years ago,
or she will settle delicate point OF etl-
quette by reminiscence of some state
ceremonial which most people would
have forgotten. She is essentially
business like sovereign, unlike several
of her predecessors and not few of her
contemporaries. And to achieve so
much the Queen insists on other people
being equally regardful of time. No
official letter will sha read which is not
creases. All her col ;poudence is con-
Quoted on invariable lines, and any de-
viations therefrom are unfavorably re-
garded.
The Queens private letters number
many hundreds every year. She writes
currente oalamo to her numerous rela-
tiyes, forgetting no anniversary or occa-
sion on which letter might be well
come. To the younger members OF the
royal family she never fails to send birth
day gifts, accompanied by few loving
words of greeting. Every day the birth
day book Ia consulted-not that birthday
hook 10 which singers autors and ether
personnges ara asked to write, but that
smaller volume reserved for relatives
and intimates Then there are msr-
GUS letters OF semi private nature
which are written by the Queen herself
LETTERS of coincidence, letters of con-
graduation to brides who have been con-
nected with the oo1rt. letters to foreign
monarchs. Besides all these epistles,
written in the blacklist Of ink on paper
slightly edged with black. there ara
thousands which are penned by the pri-
vate secretary and his assistants. Th"
late Sir Henry Ponsonby was SO con-
scientious in this respect that there is
little doubt that be hastened his end by
oYerwork. Often he would himself
write formal letters of inquiry as to
the safe return Of an actor or singer who
had performed before the Queen. or he
would send an order in the Queen Is name
for goods-labor which might we'll have
been deputed to "a less busy man. Sir
Eo-ry Ponsonby regarded nothing too
trivial if IL was a command from the
Ouesn and the writer has seen many:lotters
in his firm caliigraphy asking, for in
stance, for the attendance Of some artist,
or replying, with cold courtesy, to an i'm
possible request for her majssty's auto
graph. And many of thege letters were
submitted to the Queen for approval.
When the demands on the Queens time
for the reception of distinguished visi-
tors and officials have grown rather than
lessenei with advancing years. There
are not only Ministers OF State seeking
interviews, but Bishops, presidents of
d lferent institutions, military and ma
vi officers who have to be introduced,
court officials with programmes of state
functions, and many other calls upon TIE
Queens patience. Honors have to be
conferred upon disting uished men, with
whom usually her majesty manages to
converse for brief while, or There are
H. LII 1,,,ov 4
80 be complimen,ed personally; and no
one comes away without fesiing that
sbe Queen has been Individually inter-
ested in bis or her career. When Miss
B ecker the ouly woman saved from
the terrible wreck of the Elbc, was in
vited to tell her thrilling story, the Queen
spent half an hour with the young Gar
man girl and left an unfnrgstable i'm
preston upon that brave survivor from
the perils of the sea. How many people
the Queen has thus hono;ei in the
course of her reign! and yet not one of
them would say that her majesty's inter
eft waned for moment during the in
terview.
Busy as the Queen is (she is never of
duty, even on her holidaysl she bss
quick memory for all that concerns be-
personal servants. One Of the women
who had been in the royal household
for some years told the Queen thai she
wished to leave, as she was engaged TO
be married. Her majesty asked Eer to
remain as long as she could, and then,
inst nefore the wedding she rent for her.
Placing a bracelet upon her wrist, the
Queen locked 1t with key which she
retained, thus symbolizing her never
oeasiDg interest in the servant
Their is no doubt that the Queen has
cultivated the art Of gratitude all her
lif. The touching attributes to deceased
servants which have often appeared in
the Court Circular have been usually
written by the Queen. She has for many
years exercised personal influence over
the Court Circular, and carefully revises
the proofs relating to important funo
tions. In my possession is page of tho
Queens copy" AMI very neat it looks.