New-York tribune., 1901-04-25

were not carried out TO the letter ana 10 Ine IN
slant Very few people know how superoiy she
continued to stand sentry to the business OF the
State. She did her business as head of the
State until the Thursday before her death
Then and not till then. did the last optimism OF
those about her break down
The article abounds with instances Of the
Queens genuine humanness. which prevented
the stiff regularity of her life and her persist
ency of purpose from degenerating into hard
autocracy. Her extreme sweetness OF heart
saved all. When she returned to buckingham
Palace amid the shouts of those who gathered
at the gates tears of pure thankfulness gushed
from her eyes. This a signal for out
burst Of unpremeditated loyalty. and she said
over and over again, How kind they to
me-' She had an exquisite manner. which re-
tanned not little of the air of a bygone age.
Her charm was made up of spontaneous kindli-
ness and freedom from all embarrassment, with
a survival of the stateliness Of the eighteenth
century. She had also strongly defined dra-
matte Misunderstanding shared with her by
certain distinguished actors only-the genius of
movement She never f1urried by the space
in front of her but knew how far to advance
how to pause and how to return When she
went to Paris to greet the Emperor and Empress
in 1854 her tiny figure disconnected the critics.
Paris decided at first sight that it did not like
her English dress, and frigid to her want OF
style. Her conquest of France happened at the
gala performance at the opera The Empress
was looking magnificent, dream CT sllKen
splendor. The Queen, as ever. somewhat dis
dainful of her clothes, had made no effort to
shine: but her innate genius for movement in
spired her. The Empress, fussing about her
women. loitered at the door of the box: the
Queen walked straight to the front. waiting
for no help and anxious for attendance. She
,1nn for ynpt
vast concourse of society, and then she slowly
bowed every side with smile which the
most consummate actress might envy. La
Refine Nab" became the idol of Partisan society.
and the way she did it. the consummate skill
of the thing, was celebrated everywhere by the
amateurs of department.
OF the Queens personal attributes her smile
was perhaps the most notable. 1t came very
suddenly, in the form OF mild radiance over
the whole face, a softenng and raising of the
lines of the lips, flash of kindly light beaming
from the eyes. Then in another moment it was
gone. leaving behind suffused softness. In the
intimacy of home life she gave way to her very
quick and rich of humor. Her rather
prominent blue eyes would positively beam with
entertainment. a piece Of music had been per-
formed manfestly not to her approval. What
is that?' she asked. It's a drinking song,
ma'am. by Rubinstein." Nonsense said the
Queen; no such thing! Why. you could not
drink cup of tea to that" When the Fenian
troubles were at their height there was an idea
that an attempt would be made to kidnap the
Queen. She laughed aloud and put the pro-
posals for protection by. Poor things she
said ''if they silly away with
me. they would find me a very inconvenient
charge" On her last visit TO Dublin she refused
to have escort of cavalry close to the carriage
why if 1 were to show the least distrust of the
Irish." she exclaimed. they would think that
deserved to be afraid Of them" While endowed
with keen sense of the ludcrous, she could
perform feats of self-control on state occasions.
Once when there was something funny about
everything that happened during the reception
Of an Oriental embassy. she remained absolutely
grave, saying afterward, through sobs of mirth:
But I went through it, 1 did go right through
IT."
One of the most interesting and judicious pas
sages in this remarkable article is that in which
the Queens attitude toward religion is indicated.
She accepted without discussion the paradox
that she was the head OF two more or less
tagonistic religious bodies. 1t did not trouble
her at all that she the official representative
of the Anglican Church and of Scotch Presby-
terianism. It was constitutional matter, like
the headship of the army the navy. She
wished to be kind to her Catholic subjects. Il
she said. She would have been quite prepared
to be the religious head of her Mahometan and
her Buddhist subjects in India in the same pro-
fessional way. 1t part of the business of
statecraft and did not trouble her conscience.
Her personal religious life was carried out
upon the pianest Christian lines, without theo-
logical finesse, and without either vacation or
misgiving. She avoided the appearance of cant
and brought to the discussion of religion. of
all other things the spirit of good breeding.
Probably the forms of service in which she
found most satisfaction were those of the Pres
byteran Church. She had no curiosity about
creeds. References by preacher at court to her
vast empire and her influence over millions of
subjects always gave offence Il think he would
have done better to stick to his text" she would
say. She had no love of excess: did not like
long sermons; disapproved of proseytism at
court; and was Broad Church woman in true
sense She was angry when Lady Canning un-
dertook to convert her to High Church views.
II always an element in her reticence with
regard to Mr. Gladstone that he was High
Church. II am afraid he has the mind Of a
Jesuit she would say. She liked Roman Cath
olics very much better than Anglican ritualists,
partly because she had a respect for their
tiquity and partly because she was not the
head of their Church and felt responsible
ty about their opinions. The following remark
able passage explains the Queens attitude tow
ard her regal position:
When the Queen spoke of her subjects
loyal" she meant it in the medieval sense. The
relation was not, in her eyes voluntary senti-
mental but imperative. If she had been a
wicked a foolish woman it would have been
very sad; but the duty of obedience would in
her idea, have been the same. Subjects must
be loyal; if they loved their sovereign,
much the better for them and for her. but affec