Chapter XVII: Part 17

“Mendelssohn says: ‘I thought to myself, one must not pay too many compliments on such an occasion, so I merely thanked her a great many times; on which she said, “Oh! if only I had not been so frightened; generally I have such a long breath.” Then I praised her heartily and with the best conscience in the world, for just that part, with the long C at the close, she had done so well, and taking the three notes next to it all in the same breath, as one seldom hears it done, and therefore it amused me doubly that she herself should have begun about it.’ Afterwards the prince sang ‘_Es ist ein Schnitter_,’ and Mendelssohn improvised till it was time for her Majesty to start for Claremont.”

Madame de Bunsen, the English wife of the Prussian ambassador, thus described Queen Victoria:—

“She is the only piece of female royalty I ever saw who was also a creature such as God Almighty has created. Her smile is a real smile, her grace is natural; although it has received a high polish from cultivation, there is nothing artificial about her.”

Her present appearance is thus given: “Queen Victoria possesses a short, stout figure; a face with the long upper lip, and cold, blue eyes of the Georges; straight bandeaus of gray hair; a rather flushed complexion; a most graceful walk; and a sort of sweet, venerable, natural dignity and power about her.”

On the first of January, 1876, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.

The first wedding among her children was the marriage of her eldest daughter, the Princess Victoria, to Frederick William, now the Crown Prince of Germany. The queen herself thus writes in her diary: “Went to look at the rooms prepared for Vicky’s honeymoon. Very pretty! It quite agitated me to look at them.” And again, regarding the ceremony, she writes: “My last fear of being overcome vanished on seeing Vicky’s quiet, calm, and composed manner. It was beautiful to see her kneeling with Fritz, their hands joined, and the train borne by the eight young ladies, who looked like a cloud of maidens hovering round her.”

So royal mothers are akin to other mothers when they witness the wedding ceremonies of their children. The Princess Alice was the next to marry; but as her marriage occurred soon after her father’s death, the wedding was very quiet. This lovely princess was the favorite of the family. She seemed to inherit a large portion of her lamented father’s tastes and traits; and as the wife of Prince Louis of Hesse, won all hearts. Her sad death, from malignant diphtheria, which dread disease had just snatched away a darling little daughter, is remembered by all. Since her death, the queen has lost another child, her youngest son, Leopold, Duke of Albany.

The heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales, married the beautiful and charming Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Many have seen her fascinating face, and English people love to greet her and receive her gracious smiles. Of the sweet Princess of Wales, all speak in lavish terms of praise. The other children of Queen Victoria are: the Princess Helena, married to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein; Princess Louise, now Marquise of Lorne; Princess Beatrice, lately married to Prince Henry of Battenberg; Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, married to the daughter of the Czar Alexander II. of Russia, she being sister to the present czar; and Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, who married the Princess Marguerite of Prussia, daughter of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia, called the Red Prince.

The 21st of June, 1887, was the fiftieth anniversary of Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne of England. The occasion was celebrated by an imposing Jubilee. But this gorgeous celebration was surpassed ten years later by her Diamond Jubilee, when the whole nation seemed given up to rejoicing and pageantry.

Only one event was more impressive than that great occasion; it was the funeral of the good Queen, on February 3, 1901. She passed away on January 22, after a reign of sixty-three years, the longest of any English sovereign. At her own request, the funeral was a military one. The royal catafalque was placed on board the _Alberta_, which passed between long lines of warships whose flags were half-masted, and whose crews lined the decks with their arms at “attention.” Upon land, the coffin was placed on a khaki-colored gun carriage, and was followed through the streets of London by a solemn procession headed by the Queen’s son, the new monarch, Edward VII, and her grandson, Emperor William of Germany. Minute guns and the tolling of bells announced the progress of the funeral train.

Within the grounds of Frogmore House, adjoining Windsor Castle, the Queen had erected a mausoleum for the Prince Consort; and there by his side she was laid to rest. The epitaph written by the Queen herself reads:—

“Victoria—Albert.
Here at last I shall
Rest with thee:
With thee in Christ
Shall rise again.”

* * * * *

Transcriber’s Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired. Some letters did not print in the original and have been added such as “wh ch” that became “which” and “pr tend” that became “pretend.”

“Champs Elysées” made consistantly “Champs Élysées” where it was spelled half with the first accent and half without. All instances of “chateau” were changed to “château” for consistency.

Page 113, “Chateau” changed to “Château” (married at Château d’Eu)

Page 204, “Suart” changed to “Stuart” (Mary Stuart would plot)

Page 220, “worse” changed to “worst” (her very worst foe)

Page 293, “opertion” changed to “operation” (its efficacious operation)

Page 325, “Chateau” changed to “Château” (Château of Versailles, in)

Page 332, “Chateau” changed to “Château” (the Château of Versailles)

Page 397, repeated word “the” removed (On the day of)

Page 402, repeated word “the” removed (what the people have)

Page 433, “smoothe” changed to “smooth” (endeavored to smooth)

Page 457, “cortége” changed to “cortège” (splendid _cortège_ passes)

Page 466, “Campiègne” changed to “Compiègne” (Tuileries, Compiègne, Fontainebleau)

Page 484, “Saalgeld” changed to “Saalfeld” (Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld)

Page 485, “Fraüchen” changed to “Frauchen” (Liebes Frauchen)

Page 488, “Khartoun” changed to “Khartoum” (of Mahdi, at Khartoum)