The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-01-26

~E~RE 24th Of May. 1919. was a bright
day at Kensington- In the palace
there a princess was born The
spring flowers were peeping up in the
gardens and along the country hedges
az England As to human conditions
the insane George III. conspicuous pro-
moter of American liberty. had yet
eight months to live. Edward, duke Of
Kent father of the princess. had eight
months less one day before his sum
mons should come. The Big Bonaparte
at Longwood had nearly two years re-
manning before he must take his rest
under the willows in Slane's valley
The obese Louis XVIII was for the sec
ond time getting his rickety throne IN
order at Paris. Alexander I and Ma
dame Krudener were enjoying the fourth
years fruits of the Holy Alliance
Goethe at Weimar was beginning the
second part OF Faust, and Shelley at
Rome was finishing The Prometheus
Unbound" Lord Byron. with Count
GAMBIA and his daughter, was making
his way from Ravenna to Pisa In
America, Jefferson and John Adams
in their old age were seeking peace aft
er a lifetime Of contention and We're
awaiting the final event William E.
Gladstone. Alfred Tennyson, Charles
Darwin. Gioacchino Pecci. Abraham
Lincoln oliver Wendell Holmes, Ed
gar A. Poe and Jacob Ludwig Men
delssohn were all lads of 10 that year.
In Europe the revolutionary storm
which had prevailed for 20 years had
sunk to the dead calm of apathy. and
in the United States James Monroe was
beginning the third year Of his first adj
1pinistration as president
They gave to the only daughter Of the
Duke OF Kent the name of Alexandria
Victoria At the first her prospects
were not clearly foreseen. but they be-
gan to be revealed in her early girl
hood. As soon as the royal horoscope
was cast she was rescued from the
purlieus of the British court and was
placed under the wholesome authority
uf the Duchess of Northum berland- By
her mother first and by the duchess
afterward the education of the prin-
cess was principally directed To them
the future queen was ever indebted for
the wholesome discipline OF her youth
In her teens she remained under the
careful surveillance and motherly mont
ton of the duchess, whose influence in
shaping the principles and directing the
conduct of her royal charge cannot be
o1-erestimated-
We pass over much, for the subject is
great There goes an admirable tradi-
tion Of the way in which the princess
was initiated into knowledge OF her
place and expectations. When the
Uncle William was about TO go, the
Duchess of Northumberland thought it
best to break the news to the young
majesty in order that she might be APP
prfsed a little in advance Of the immi-
vrnrf "a rfrrv,na 0F rlNrr that awaited
her
One evening in the spring Of 1887 the
duchess said at tea. "Alexandrina. here
is the blue book OF the house of Han
over, which you have not hitherto ex-
amined. The sickness OF your Uncle
William viii make il both interesting
and necessary for you to inform your
self as to the position which you occu-
py in your family. Take the book with
you to your chamber and study it to-
night"
IN the morning when the princess
came down to breakfast she brought the
blue book with her and laid it by her
plate. saying nothing. Nor was there
manifest in her demeanOr any change
Of manner or symptom Of excitement.
The duchess said. "Alexandrina, what
did you find Of interest in the book
last night ?'' The modest young majes-
ty replied. with no change of voice or
features, II did not know that I stood
SO near TO the crown
At the middle Of the fourth decennium
OF our century the Hanoverian dynasty
was rapidly sliding on sideways into OBJ
livion- The large family of George III
seen-ed to be on the verge Of extinction.
All OF the sons with the exception OF
William, were dead, and William had
mo eligible heir. AS ne came to the end
OF his course the succession, now at
tenuated to hypothesis. rested clearly
on Victoria, daughter OF Edward OF
kent When on the goth of June 1897
the final scene was reached and the
king was dead, it only remained to ac-
knowledge the princess as queen and
have her crowned. The statesmen OF
the period. headed BY the Duke Of We'll
hngton. then So years OF age. ranged
themselves around the youthful sover-
eign. and the day Of her coronation was
glorifed with the enthusiasm OF her
subjects.
This was now the prevailing question
h Great Britain. Can a girl oils reform
and save the house OF Hauover-Bruns-
wick2" Certainly the dynasty was in a
state requiring speedy salvation. 1t
might well seem that the last sands OF
the royal line were running out. The
five kings VINO had reigned successfully
since the death OF Anne Stuart in 1714
had seemingly done as much as they
could TO make the survival Of their dy-
nasty impossible Each had wrought
according to his nature The hrst George
had contributed ignorance, the second
absence and boar hunting. the third re-
spectacle stupidity and stubbornness,
the fourth personal vice and William
sterility to the common fund or destroy
ing forces HI story was working out her
problem The fortunes Of the Hanover
princes were rushing down. The scene
was rapidly closing with scandal, igno-
miny and ch1d1essness-
In the midst of all this destiny sent
the young daughter of the Duke Of
Kent to see what she could do in the
way or arresEing the downslfde of the