The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-07-06
SHE WORE THE BRITISH GROWN
Yet She Was an American Girl-An
 Incident of Queen Victoria's Youth

Yet She Was an American Girl-An Incident of Queen Victoria's Youth Narrated Anew by Ella Rodman Church
 On bright spring morning, sixty years ago, the young daughter of fa- nous artist born in England but living in America, the portrait painter, Thom-
 as Sully. was driving with her father to Buckingham palace, where the youthful queen then resided. Laburnum and hawthorn. and all the other lovely spring flowers that make English lanes and hedges beautiful, were In full bloom, and everything seemed to over- flow with life and gladness. But the girl in the carriage, who had as yet known but twelve springs, was ab- sorbed in the one thought that she was going to see the queen, and she won dered how she would look and what she would say. She had seen pictures of her In the shops and in them her ma- jesty appeared very young and sweet quite as though she might put her arm around the waist of her shy visitor and walk up and down the garden with her, schoolgirl fashion.
 Yet really to see her living and breathing and hear her speak was quite different It almost frightened her, to think of it, little republican though she was; but she had her father to protect her, and he had been asked to paint the queens portrait in the ceranation robes, which she had not yet worn. She thought she would hate to wear them herself, they must be so heavy; and she felt glad, on that bright spring morn ing, that she was not obliged to be q
 queen because her uncle had died. T wouldn't have to though" she said aloud, because there'd be you. papa, and you could be a king"
 Would you not like to try being queen for awhile?" asked her father. But little Miss Sully shook her head in the huge piazza of q bonnet, at the back of which her fair little face was lowed away. with great energy. She was a very decided little republican,
 and had no hankering for royalty. Buckingham palace Is not pretty now in its dinginess. and 1t was even less
 pretty then in its comparative fresh ness It certainly did not look at all like the palaces described in fairy tales; and the little traveller who saw it for lIlG III St tlIue IL like a block-or square" she would have said-of ugly houses rolled into one.
 The armed sentries. however, were quite imposing, and the staff of soldiers on either side of them, through which they passed to the room in which the queen was to receive them. seemed even more SO. This room was large and rather bare-looking, but there were
 many fine paintings hanlsing on the walls, and a pretty view from the wide dindows.
 MT. Sully arranged his painting mate rials while attendants brought In the coronation robes, with the crown on a crimson cushion. It was the famous picture of which so many engravings have been made, and which was already begun, for which the as yet uncrowned sovereign was to give sitting that morning. ... Presently a very fair, sweet-looking girl entered the room with two or three ladies' and the artist and his daughter bowed respectfully. This was her youthful majesty Alexandrina Victoria, and she looked so small and child-like | in a plain black silk gown that the lit ltle American found 1t hard to realize 1 her high position. She appeared far more like a, delicate school girl than an l acknowledged queen on whose domin- | ions the sun never sets. She came in, | too, with her thimble on her finger, as | though she had just left piece of sew i ing in which she was very much inter- 1 ested.
 Altogether she was not at all a for midable-looking sovereign, and she
 greeted MT. Sully and his daughter very
 pleasantly. Then she made up quite a
 face at the jewel-studded crown. and
 declared that it gave her a headache just to put it on. Little Miss Sully ad-