The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1901-01-25

Christian, in the hearing of an attache
one day. You can't imagine how sad
1t is for her. We all belong to younger
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 as
sociations There is no one remaining
to whom she can really talk about mat
ters."
l remember especially one case where
she laughed so much that she almost
had a fit of apoplexy in consequence.
The incident which excited her visibility
was the misadventure of a photogra-
pher 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 found himself in the presence
of royalty and he was very nervous. 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 in the afr, while the fright
| ened photographer stood stock still, well
nigh petrified with fear and with the
black cloth still hanging over his head
and face, struck both the queen and
Prince Leopold, duke of Albany, as so
intensely funny that they both burst
into appeals Of the most immoderate
laughter.
THE QUEENS SENSE OF THE LU-
| DICROUS.
This remark of the Princess Chris
| tan goes far toward explaining the un-
| happy and even morose expression that
pervaded the queens features during
the last 30 years of her reign. save when
something extraordinary occurred to ex-
cite her keen sense of the ludicrous.
On such occasions as these she would
laugh with a 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.
The little great lady fairly shook with
merrment as she lay back on the sofa
where she was sitting, while Prince
Leopold 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 a
blood vessel and brought on fit, from
the effects OF which he almost died at
the time.
This seems to the ridiculous consti-
tuted a remarkable feature of the
queens character 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
previous to her accession to the throne
in 1887 Queen Victoria seems to have
given evidence of this underlying cur
rent of merriment and fun in the con-
stitution of her character. True, every
thing was done that could be done to
check IL by her mother, the duchess of
Kent, whose severity and even harsh
ness towards the young princess called
forth on one memorable occasion, at a
state banquet at Windsor, a violent and
public rebuke from King William ~.
: PERSONAL TRAITS
|, Queen Victoria was small in stature
and during the latter part of her life
very stout This, however, did not pre-
vent her from retaining a most re-
markable grace and majesty of deport-
ment 1t was impossible to conceive any
thing 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 fol
more than half century over the great
est and most extensive empire of the
, civilized globe, and with all that true
warm hearted woman, full of tender
ness a broad minded unaffected piety
and sympathy for all that are in trou-
2 BILE or distress thoroughly human
, empress in fact whose affections
thoughts and utterances were under
stood and appreciated at their true
= value by her subjects.
: Coming to the throne tarnished by the
immoralities of her predecessors, Queer
Victoria completely reformed the mora
atmosphere of the court, and to GER
, tain extent also of the entire British
people, for Notwithstanding all tn,
epithets that are hurled against Il
British society is today infinitely super
ior in morals as well as in honor tt
what 1t was previous to 1887. Vice ther,
and always will be in metropolis 81
large as London in a society so elastic
I and accessible as that of England, bu
vice is no longer so rampant, so un
S blushing and so public as in days o
yore.
J, That Queen Victoria fostered the flint
e arts Is best shown by the fact that {
n large proportion of the former enor
3 nous imports of art objects from
France into England have now ceased
q Britain has learned to supply her owl
T demand for art objects. Her majesty
o interest in such matters as these wa
only natural. for she was one of tn
most accomplished women of her do
: minions, being painter of considerable
8 merit musician of rare talent, a cleve
s writer, as shown by her "Highlan'
: Leaves" and a remarkable linguist
: Not content with knowing German
: French and Italian, she sat down whel
II past the age of SO to study Hindoo, an
: was able at the time of her death t