Middletown transcript., 1897-06-26

xN/N been on the throne
~ .NHOR sixty years, hav-
GN ing succeeded heT
IL ~ uncle, w illiam w,
on June 20. 1887. at 4 O'Clock in the
morning. Her uncle Leopold and Eng
lands Ministers Of state drove post
haste 10 the home .of the Duchess OF
Kent to inform the girl Victoria, then
scarcely is. that she had become Queen
of England. The Queen was asleep and
for while could not realize her posi-
tion. It was about O'Clock, and no
one in the palace was yet awake. The
distinguished visitors rang and knocked
at the gate for considerable time be-
fore they could rouse the porter. Then
they we're kept waiting in the COURT
yard, and again in an ante-room, where
they seemed to be forgotten by every
body. Finally they rang the bell again,
and asked that the attendant of The
Princess Victoria would inform Her
Royal Highness that they requested an
audience on business of Importance.
The answer was that the Princess was
still sound asleep, and her attendant
would not disturb her. Thel suleDH-
ly spoke the Archbishop: "Wr are
come on business of State to til, Q-luen
and even her sleep must give way to
it," That let the secret out. The star
tied maid few ON her errand and effec-
tually performed it. In twinkle Vic
toria hurried into the room, dressed in
a loose white nightgown and shawl,
her nightcap thrown off. her long light
brown hair falling upon her shoulders
and her feet in slippers. See knew the
significance Of the message. Her eyes
we're filled with tears. But she was COLI
Iected and dignified. Her first words
were addressed to the Archbishop: Il
beg your grace to pray for me-" They
knelt down together, and thus the
reign Of Queen Victoria began. Her
first act after the departure of her visi-
tors was characteristic. She wrote an
affectionate letter of coincidence 10 her
aunt, the widow Of William ", and
addressed it as usual to 'Her Majesty
the Queen.'' When a lady of the
Court humbly demonstrated, saying,
"Your Majesty, you only are Queen
the reply was unhesitating: "Yes, but
Aunt Adelaide must not be reminded
Of that by me-"
QUEENS AND KINGS.
Ruskin observed ''that Shakespeare
has no heroes; be has only heroines;"
that Scott has few heroes but many
heroines; that Chaucer twrote a legend
of good women, but no legend Of good
men," that all Of Spenser's fairy
knights are sometimes deceived and
yanquished, but the soul of
Una is never darkened, and the spear
of Britomart is never brokeD;'' that
when we turn back to the great Italian
and Greek writers We find the same
principle-the guiding spirit of Dante'S
great epic is a woman, and in the
Of Homer and E3chylus
the strongest, foremost characters are
women, and that finally, going back to
the myths Of the wisest two nations of
the Egyptians and Greeks
both gave to their supreme spirit Of
wisdom woman's form. There is in
this, be argues, a significance which
we cannot afford to overlook. For 1t is
not supposable that these greatest
writers of the world gave their best ef-
forts to the portrayal Of false views Of
life.
Turning from poetry and romance
to literal history, indeed, the same
is found to be prevailing.
There have been more famous kings
than queens, for tee same reason that,
In Archbishop Whately's conundrum,
white sheep eat more than black ones
because there are more of them. Com
parativsly seldom has supreme power
been intrusted to woman, or has
queen been anything more than the
wife of a king. But of the queens who
have actually ruled, larger proper
ton have attained supreme distinction
than Of the kings. II Semiramis, Ze-
nobia and Boadicea, Maria Teresa,
II and Isabelle of CASTLE. be
passed by, in English history are to be
found three Of its most splendid eras
identified with the reigns
Df three queens. Considering that only
Eve queens in all have reigned over
the proportion is note
v orthy one.
The Elizlbethan age has long been
historic for The glories Of its literature
and the prowess of its arms; when
Spenser, Shakespeare and bacon en.
riched the world with the fruitBge of
their genius; VIII n alone of all the
world England 81, cd stubbornly
against the worldwide power Of Spain,
aud broke it; when Francis Drake
ploughed his furrow around the world,
and Raleigh and his followers planted
colonies which have given The whole
Of North Am .rica to the Anglo-SaxOn
RAGS, Queen Anne was far less i'm
posing figure than ElzIbeth. But her
reign was made one Of tie most mem
Orable by the martial achievements Of
Marlborough. the literature of Add
son, Swift and Defoe aud the scientific
genius of Newton. Aud, third, We
come 10 the reign of Queen Victoria.
which has become the longe. in dur !.
lion OF those Of all English soyereigHs,
has been the most beneficient and the
most magnificent of all.