The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-01-21

repartee which Uncle King received
from his amusing little niece of Kent.
During one of her visits to Windsor the
king said: Now, Victoria, the band
is on the terrace waiting to play; what
tune would YOU like to hear best?''
- God Save the King. if you please,
uncle" she promptly replied
And again, when asked what part Of
her visit had been the greatest treat,
she discreetly said, oh the ride in
the carriage with you, uncle" On this
occasion the king had driven her him
self which was doubtless a great event.
HER FIRST COURI CEREMONIAL
A few years later Uncle King" gave
a child's ball in honor of the visit of
Donna Maria, the little queen of Port
ugal This was the first court ceremon-
iaI at which the Princess Victoria was
present A lady of the court, however,
gave great offense to the king by say
ing how pretty it would be to see the
two little queens dancing together, His
majesty had no mind as yet to hear his
little niece of Kent dubbed queen.
In music and nne arts her majesty's
taste and practical ability were no less
rema rkabIe than her knowledge Of the
she sang with q good mezzo-soprano
voice so as to delight fastidious and ex-
acting cOnnOisseurs. and the merit of
her sketches in water color and black
and white justified the high praise given
to them by the master, who used to
maintain that. had it been her aim to
become 1.-The best female artist of the
age" At the same time she was a mis-
tress of the physical accomplishments
in which the women of the English aris-
st0craey are encouraged to excel A
fearless and elegant horsewoman, she
rode in style that was the admiration
of gentleWonen who half a century ago
prided themselves chiefly on their eques-
trian address, and she danced beauti-
fully
In a recent volume concerning tho
childhood Of Victoria it is stated that
the Duke of Kent insisted upon the
he was overruIed by the godfathers, the
Emperor of Russia alexander ID and
the prince regent and 1t was therefore
suggested to call the infant Alexandria
Georgiana. The prince regent, however
objected to his name standing second to
any other, and the Duke of Kent in
ed. Therefore, she escaped bearing the
name of CSeorgiana. Victoria was
added at the font; it was the name Of
the baby's mother.
playing with his baby when she was 2
months old, he held her high in his arms
and said: Look at her we'll for she
will be the queen of England. - The
author reminds US, however, that at this
time there was no certainty that the
children of the Duke and Duchess of
Clarence would survive the eprils of in
fancy moreover, If the Duke of Kent
had lived to have a son the boy would
have become the heir IN preference to
his sister If the Princess Victoria was
unfortunate in living in an atmosphere
too highly charged with contention, her
childhood was, in another respect, for
tunate, for. while she received
an education carefully designed
as preparation for future
exalted, station, this. owing to the
absence of absolute certainty with regard
TO ner succession, vas combines with Al
of private life. Thus while she was
protected from many, Of the disadvant-
advantages were not lost
THE ROYAL ESTATES.
Queen Victoria was quite an extensive
property owner. numbering among her
possessions 600 houses in various parts
of England. all Of which were rent
yielding property, IN addition to her
splendid estates IN Scotland and on the
Isle of Wight In addition fully 5000
ehouses were built under crown leases
on building leaseholds held by her
majesty She had also rents from mar
kets and tolls from other works upon
her property or the crown property. She
had large estates in Yorkshire, Oxford
shire ana Berks, valuable lands in the
Isle Of Man and in Attorney Scotland,
Ireland and Wales. OF the New Forest
there are 1000 acres of absolute and
sixty-three acres Of contingent crown
property. Her majesty enjoyed incomes
from the Forest of Dean, from several
other forests and from rich properties
in and about London.
Osborne, on the Isle of Wight, and
Ba1n4OraI in the highlands were the
private property of the queen and were
maintained out Of her own income But
she had the use of a few royal palaces
besides. and these are maintained by the
nation at an annual expenditure rang
ing from s., 500 to $50, 600. The queen was
in the occupancy of Buckingham palace,
Windsor castle, the White lodge at Rich
mond park and part of st. James palace.
The remainder of the last named palace
was occupied by other members of the
royal family. Other palaces maintained
as SUCH although not in the occupancy
Of the queen. are Kensington palace,
Hampton court, which, according to a
recent estimate based on the statistics
of eight or ten years cost the nation
over $4,000 a year. Kew palace, Penn
broke Lodge, the Thatched Cottage and
Sheen Cottage, Richmond park, Busby
house in Busby park and Holyrood pal
ace. The queen, when she visited the
Continent had one great house or an
other, with whatever repairs and re-
furnishings were necessary to fit it for
a temporary royal occupant. although
for all this she paid out her own income
Bagshot mouse, Gloucester house and
Clarence house are palatial dwellings
occupied by various members of the
royal family.
OF her country palaces Victoria liked
Balmora1 the best She went there in
the fall and remained until the cold
HER EARLY TRAINING
The Duchess OF Kent gathered about
her at Kensington palace many of the
foremost minds of the day in literature,
science and social reform She made. the
training of her. child the one absorbing
object of her life, and she seems to have
realized that educa ton does not merely
consist IN learning facts or acquiring ae--
complishments, but should also aim at
forming the character and disciplining the
whole nature, so that it may acquire con-
scientiousness and the strength which
comes from self-gov ernment- This end
being always kept in view and furthered,
no doubt. by responsiveness in the
trained in the habits of strict personal
integrity. Like George Washington, she
was raciOus-
Victoria's coronation, in Westminster
Abbey, was celebrated with Wondrous
ponp and circumstance. In the scene a
young girl of IS took the oath of fealty
with solemnity.