Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1901-01-26
VICTORIA'S TRAITS.
AN Ex-ATTACHE WRITES OF HER
CHARACTERISTICS.
She outiived All the Friends of Her Youth,
and Happiness Went With Them-Her
Sense of the Ludicrous-She Almost

Sense of the Iudicrous-She Almost
Missed the Observation-Disclosures
Although it is impossible to say that
Queen Victoria outlived her usefulness, yet
she may be said to have outlived her hap
piness During her long and eyentful
reign-almost the longest on record and ex-
tending considerably over half century
she had seen all her oldest friends and ac-
uuaintances as well as numerous members
of her immediate family disappear into the
grave. until mt last she felt herself quite
alone in the world. Not single one of her
former associates to whom she could I'M
burden her mind, discuss the earlier events
of her reign, or with whom she could enjoy
congenial intercourse, was left.
mamma is so entirely alone, exclaimed
her daughter, the Princess Christian in my
hearing one day you can't imagine how
sad it is for her. We all belong to q young
er generation and have different thoughts
and sentiments, many of which she can
neither understand nor appreciate Every
one of her contemporaries and friends has
passed away, and with them have vanished
all her old time associations There is no
one remaining TO whom she can really talk
about matters
The Queens Sense of the Ludicrous.
This remark of Princess Christian goes
far toward explaining the unhappy and
even morose expression that pervaded the
queens features during the last 80 years of
her reign, save when something extraor-
binary occurred to excite her keen sense of
the ludicrous. On such occasions as these
she would laugh with degree of heartiness
and even violence that would have com
pletely staggered those who had never seen
her without that half sad, half sour droop
of the corners of her mouth
remember especially one case where she
laughed so much that she almost had q fit
of apoplexy in consequence. The incident
which excited her visibility was the misad-
venture of photographer who had been
summoned from London to Windsor to
take pictures of her majesty and of her
children. 1t was the first time in his life
that the man had ever found himself in the
presence of royalty, and he was very nerv
GUS So great indeed was his trepidation
that on putting his hand beneath the cloth
for the purpose of getting the right focus
he suddenly upset the camera. The sight
of the latter, with its three legs sticking up
into the air, while the frightened photog
rapher stood stock still, well nigh pertitied
with fear and with the black cloth still
hanging over his head and face, struck both
the queen and Prince Leopold, duke of AL
bany, as so intensely funny that they both
burst into peals of the most immoderate
laughter.
The little great lady fairly shook with
merriment as she lay back on the sofa
where she was sitting, while Prince Leo
pold threw himself ON the floor and fairly
shrieked with delight. The scene, however,
was brought to a sudden and somewhat
tragical conclusion, for the prince laughed
so hard that he broke blood vessel and
brought on fit, from the effects of which
he almost died at the time
This sense of the ridiculous constituted a
remarkable feature of the queens charac
ter throughout her life and is noticeable,
moreover, in the books which she published
concerning her life in the highlands.
Even in her childhood and girlhood pre-
vioU- 70 li'r accession to the throne in 1881
Ll.ct4 ittOria seems to have given evi
dence OF this underlying current of merri
ment and fun in the constitution of her
character. True everything was done that
could be done to check il by her mother,
the Duchess of Kent, whose severity and
even harshness toward the young princess
called forth on one memorable occasion, at
a state banquet at Windsor, a violent and
public rebuke from King William Nv
Personal Traits.
Queen Victoria was small in stature and
during the latter part of her life very stout
This, however, did not prevent her from re
tanning a most remarkable grace and maj
esty of department. 1t was impossible to
conceive anything more captivating and
winning than her smile. Always plainly
and even shabbily dressed in black gowns
that were often rusty, it was impossible not
to feel when in her presence that that little
old woman had ruled for more than half a
century over the greatest and most exten-
sive empire of the civilized globe, and with
all that true. warm hearted woman, full
of tenderness, a broad minded, unaffected
piety and sincere sympathy for all that are
| in trouble or distressed, thoroughly hu
man empress in fact, whose affections,
thoughts and utterances were understood
| and appreciated at their true value by her
subjects.
Coming to a throne furnished by the i'm
moralities of her predecessors, Queen Vic