The Graphic: An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper from London, Greater London, England • 10

GRAPHIC, j-xK RECORD REIGN THE QUEEN'S THE ''vomnn. the K'tther all kinds, however, as was natural beset her -Ph more holding a natural place in h.s Jiunhter of the reitming bovereign, a f(i itp A r.uic"'-ii rate ot tne painfully i ne revelation 01 hv, mnH taste and ations both in good taste and they are which i the Princess, and ough some of the early trou enougn some or uic M17 IiiM IM II The Kine tooK cw especially her mother was 7 'der which the young offence at the wise restraint under was hrnntfht up, and so Jar iuigu du to a lady and his guest, to upo.a Duchess of Kent, at his own table io of 1 rir.ee the younj oo 0 -n 'lie -ha: the in the hej on agree. -iv in a her young daughter as 11. we the' unwholesome air Cour t- and read of this thg Queen co must' have been in the way such a th throne the admiration of all wno -ui the throne uie conscientious her voun? mind sate ana spun th eC paths to the great elevation which awaited her, was motive enough to enab her to bear all things, and follow steadily me luu. -De-iralltnir i imnertinent critic could the Princess Victoria was seventeen, developing hood, and the moment evidently approached' mut assume the Crown, it became time to the" two who had been so carefully trained for Whether any suspicion had yet reached the Prince--this family hope we are not informed, but the could not be entirely ignorant that his fate hung when, in the month of May, 1836, a handsome and of seventeen, he came with his father and the event, but much of the sea and the terrible between them and England to pay a visit to the whom he had never seen.

With what excitement and elder people must have watched this first encounter people were of the same age, agreeable and attractive blue-eyed human creatures, looking their great life 0 face as hopeful, as unclouded, as became their yean Princess was will be seen from the youthful portrait 7, this time even those who remember it of old mu-t unfamiliar, losing the fair, young, candid counter, maturer face so familiar to us. What Prince Albert v. Baron Stockmar in a letter written on the eve 0: -meeting to the anxious uncle. King Leopold, whose plans were now to be put to the test "Albert is a fine young fellow, well-grown for his arable and valuable qualities, and who, if things go few years turn out a strong, handsome man, of a ki yet dignified demeanour. Externally, therefore, latitat pleases the sex, and at all times, and in all please." This was the external aspect of the youth his inscrutable subject, was largely discussed between 0 interested counsellors, who hoped to see in him the the typical man, at once hero and sage, who should carrj.

hopes. But even to these penetrating statesmen the teen was inscrutable, and could be regarded oroy not certainty. What will almost be more intere-general reader is that the boy thus coming to our sh many plans on his head, was merry and light-hearte ao-e, full of youthful laughter as well as youthful wo capable of keeping his fellow-students in a roar of winning the approbation of the elders who were tent the deepest secrets of his being. There is so much story that the mirth is doubly welcome when we hear doubt, was quite as much in the young man's favour-developed figure and fine features. The Duke of Saxe his sons arrived at Kensington Palace in the end of is no record of the meeting except in the brief letter-published in his Memoir, which give few details, li cousin were very kind and most amiable." Th: modest boy discloses, and probably there was not 11:1: tell.

The world had its suspicions that something mo: than met the eye when the young cousins were brought no gleam of consciousness shows itself in the kind, sit They had known each other all their lives, though the met before, and ordinary life has plenty of examples of familiarity, yet strangeness, of such intercourse. The sons stayed some weeks in London, and were at dinners, and concerts, long prolonged, during which the had many "hard battles to fight against sleepiness." s-he, and so untried in fashionable dissipations. On out, wnatevei 41157 sil' .1. was blamed for On the other nana, wm.c nf the Court. keeping the young nice oti u.

she was equally blamed or "rHnuaintedwith a Prince, 'at all their hope. rug to the with -tarn Ui 0 and a 0 iun as of '-ithoniioj anr.y in the and. na as hi; well. 1. 0 -u--g and iv.

and there tne Prince, aunt and is all the ah more to uat meant gether. but letters, had neve: the pleasant lather and and Court toung visitor vonigwas ne evening. to all parties, by which tne young i her country, and became to some degree known, so far as the modesty of3 her girlhood permitted, to her future people Almost every heir or heiress who is not the son or daughter of the previous possessor of the inheritance is liable to the same jea ous watch and Inevitable fault-finding. Her mother kept her child from a I vulgar contact with the crowd it was a rigorous seclusion Sue look ner to see a beautiful cathedral or historical house. It was an attempt at a Royal progress.

Thus it was the critics contradicted each other. Andin the mean time Kensington Palace held its own with a firmness not less remarkable than the purity and gravity of the aims which were there pursued. The system of tiavei and intercourse with the world which has been so largely adopted in the training of our present Princes had not then struck the public mind as desirable, and the Princess Victoria never left England, notwithstanding the crowd of kind relations whom she possessed in Germany, and the interest which that country must have had to her as her mother's birthplace, and as the home of the cousins of whom she had heard so much, and in one of whom she was soon to have so close an interest. Since the publication of the Prince Consorts life, the story of the young Princess in her early years becomes doubly rich and interesting. A double existence has been set before us in this book.

The interests of the Crown of England were scarcely more considered in Kensington than they were in Coburg, where, from his earliest youth, the boy Aloert was trained to help and strengthen the girl Victoria in the great work that lay before her. The Prince was more free rrr. rl onmp to TTIIV With different THE PRINCESS VICTORIA AT THE AGE OF TWO, AND THE DUCHESS OF KENT From the painting by Sir W. Beecher, now in Windsor Castle Augusta and Mary never did but you told me Latin is the foundation of English grammar and of all the elegant expressions, and I learned it as you wished it but I understand all better And the little Princess gave me her hand, repeating, I will be It is seldom that a little scene like this stands out so distinct ly in the early story even of a life destined to greatness. The hush of awe upon the child, the childish application of this great secret to the abstruse study of Latin which was not required from the others, the immediate resolution so simple, yet containing all the wisest sage could have counselled or the greatest hero vowed I will be good," make a perfect little picture.

It is the clearest appearance of the future Queen in her own person that we get through the soft obscurity ot those childish years. The same hand which placed itself so solemnly in the anxious guardian's hand to give weight to the simple vow, inscribed long after, in full maturity, a few words of recollection upon the margin of this narrative. 1 cried much on hearing it," writes the Queen. No further words are needed to enhance the effect of the touching scene. After this wonderful revelation the schoolroom routine began again, the lessons were learned, the happy monotony of the child's existence was resumed.

All was as modest, as retired, as quiet as ever. The little Heiress of England was not permitted to takepart inthe pageant of her uncle's coronation, or brought foward too soon into the glare of day. After this date the course of her education widened, and she was made acquainted with various features of her own country, making a series of visits and expeditions throughout England, to many of the most interesting towns, cathedrals, and other remarkable places. And wherever the little maiden went, as was natural, she was the centre of attraction. A creature so young and so highly placed, with already the shadow of a crown upon her, drew all eyes, and gave a charm of sympathetic nature which ennobled it to the ordinary curiosity of the crowd.

Something kinder than curiosity, a feeling more warm and genial than the vulgar love of a spectacle, drew gazers out upon her path wherever she moved. And thus her wise mother accustomed her unconsciously to the multitude of eyes that were to watch her every movement, and to the often wearisome, if sometimes exciting, details of a public life. There does not seem any appearance that in her early days the Queen showed any of that distaste for public observation which is the greatest reproach classes, to learn and acquire experience among men, than his future bride could be. He was more free even than though he himself had occupied the great position of Heir to England. He could move about the world unencumbered by pomp, unattended by observation and over him as over his cousin the wise supervision of his uncle was extended.

So long as they were both children, nothing further could come of it, but it is very interesting now to note how entirely from their cradles the two were trained to form one. In the mean time the Princess advanced towards womanhood, in an atmosphere as nearly resembling the wholesome quiet and seclusion in which chddhood is ordinarily allowed to develop as was possible and amid those natural relationships which make life sweet in all ranks and at all ages. Her rank forbade that entirely unrestrained quiet which is most favourable for the growth of the human faculties, but at least this sweet obscurity was preserved as far as might be, and the inevitable exposure to the public gaze that has ever been made against i her in later life. Difficulties of csswr ins uy icnuci i-umpauiuii-ul sh U.11U uy LUC eUUSClUUSUCbb Ul ULuy, the best leans ot neutralising all necessary evi CHAPTER II. THE YOUNG QUEEN It is considered generally that such topics as love and marriage are not subjects to be discussed with young people, and consequently most of us acquire all knowledge on such matters from poetry and romance, which place them in front of all human affairs.

But the usual reserve with which parents treat this subject in England is impossible on that exceptional level of life occupied by a Queen, with whom all rules of courtship are reversed, and to whom it is essential to make her own choice, and signify her iwn pleasure so important a matter. the tionally difficult for a young Princess so splendidly, yet painfully, put aside by her great fortunes from the shelter of the common custom and gracious use and wont of life. When M. QUEEN VICTORIA AT THE AGE OF TEN From the picture by Wm. Fowlf A GATEWAY IN KENSINGTON PALACE.