CHAPTER XI
THE QUEEN IN SORROW
It had certainly become clear to all her Ministers that Victoria was nomere figurehead, for while she yielded if their judgment was againsther, yet she never failed to have an opinion and a reason for heropinion. In 1861, the fact that both she and Prince Albert were able tothink for themselves and had come to a wise conclusion proved to be amatter of the utmost importance to two countries, England and theUnited States. Everyone in England was thinking about the war inAmerica. The English government had declared that England would beneutral, that is, it would do nothing to assist either the UnitedStates or the seceded States. The United States Government wasindignant at this declaration, because it spoke of the seceded, orConfederate States, not as if they were rebelling against thegovernment, but as if they were an independent power. The ConfederateStates, however, were much pleased, and thought it quite possible thatEngland might be persuaded to help them. Their chief argumentwas--cotton. These States were the ones that raised cotton, and withthe United States warships blockading their ports, there would belittle chance for cotton to reach England. Would not England, then,help the seceders, put an end to the war, and have all the cotton thather mills wished to use?
The Confederates decided to send two men, named Mason and Slidell,across the ocean for aid, the first to England, the second to France.It was not easy to get away from a southern port, but they contrived toescape to Havana, and from there they went on board a British mailsteamer named the _Trent_. They supposed that all difficulties wereover when they were once on board a British vessel; but before the_Trent_ had been out twenty-four hours, a United States warship fired ashot across her bows. The _Trent_ was not armed so that she could makeany resistance, therefore she stopped, and Lieutenant Fairfax was sentaboard with a strong guard of marines.
"My orders from Captain Wilkes are to ask to see the list of yourpassengers," he said.
"That list cannot be shown," was the reply of the English captain.
"I am here to arrest Messrs. Mason and Slidell," Lieutenant Fairfaxstated, but the Captain only bowed.
"It is well known to the United States authorities that they areattempting to make their way to Europe as envoys from States inrebellion against the government," said the Lieutenant, "and,therefore, I demand their surrender."
Then Commodore Williams, who was in charge of the mail, saidindignantly:
"The two gentlemen are passengers in a British vessel which is carryingthe mail from one neutral port to another. On board this ship Irepresent her Majesty's government. This thing is an outrage, and Itell you that you and your North shall suffer for it. Does your CaptainWilkes do this on his own responsibility or on that of yourgovernment?"
"On his own," was the reply.
"It is an insult to England and a violation of international law,"declared the Commodore; but nevertheless the men were seized andcarried to Boston.
When the news of this action reached England, there was wildexcitement. Troops were sent to Canada at once. The Canadian harborswere frozen, and England had to ask permission of the United States toland them at Portland, Maine. Permission was granted, and no one seemedto see how amusing such a request was. Thousands of Englishmen wereready to declare war upon the United States without a moment's delay.Fortunately governments move more slowly than individuals, and warcould not be declared without first asking whether the United Stateshad given authority for the seizure or approved of it. Mr. Slidell'swife and daughter had gone on to England in the _Trent_; and theysaid Captain Wilkes did not claim to have any government authority, andthat the United States would probably set the envoys free as soon asthey reached Washington. The Prime Minister did not believe such wouldbe the result, and he wrote a somewhat curt demand to the United Statesfor an apology and the freedom of the two men.
Neither the Queen nor the Prince Consort, for that title had beengranted to Prince Albert long before, was satisfied with this paper,and the following morning he wrote a statement to be sent to the PrimeMinister to the effect that the paper ought to mention the friendshipbetween the two countries and the hope and expectation of England thatthe United States would say the seizure was not done by governmentauthority. Prince Albert and the Queen read the statement overtogether. She made two or three small changes in the wording, thencopied it and sent it to the Prime Minister. He admitted at once thatthe Queen and the Prince were in the right, and wrote another dispatchto send to the United States, saying, of course, that an apology andthe surrender of the men were expected, but wording the demand in amost courteous and friendly manner.
In the United States, as soon as President Lincoln heard of thecapture, he said, "This won't do. Captain Wilkes is exercising the'right of search,' and we fought England in 1812 on that very ground.Those men must be given up." There were thousands, however, who were soexcited that they were ready to fight anybody for anything or fornothing, and if the Prime Minister's first dispatch had been sent, itwould have been hard to prevent hostilities; but in so moderate arequest for fairness, even the most hot-blooded could find littleexcuse for demanding a declaration of war.
So it was that Prince Albert and the Queen saved the two countries frombloodshed, and if the Prince had done nothing else in his twenty-oneyears of acting as chief adviser to the Queen, that one act would havebeen glory enough. But when one remembers the vast number of matterswhich he had to consider, it does not seem as if one man's mind couldhave held them all. Laying corner stones, unveiling statues, presidingover learned societies, guiding the education of his children, planningpalaces, and managing large estates--all this was but a small part ofhis labors. He carried out reforms in the navy, he studied oncommercial treaties between England and other countries, he reorganizedthe army, he wrote on improved methods of agriculture, he constructedbetter national defenses, he kept himself well informed concerning thecondition of the United States, India, South Africa, and every countryof Europe. After twenty-one years of such intense work as this, it isno wonder that he was exhausted. He rarely spoke of his weariness; buthere and there in his letters and in his conversation with the Queen, aword was dropped that showed how weak and tired he felt. He sleptlittle, yet he never thought of sparing himself, and he wrote theletter about the _Trent_ affair with a very feeble hand. "I couldhardly hold my pen while writing," he told the Queen, and at last headmitted that he was thoroughly miserable.
Then came day after day of illness. Sometimes the Prince would listento his wife or his daughter Alice while they read him one of Scott'snovels; once he asked for music a long way off, and a piano was broughtinto another room so that the Princess Alice could play his favorite_chorale_. Sometimes he was confused and recognized no one. "We aremuch alarmed," said the physicians, "but we do not give up hope." Everyday found him a little weaker, and soon the evening came when, as theQueen bent over him and whispered, "It is your own little wife," hecould not speak, he could only bow his head and kiss her, and in alittle while he was gone.
At midnight the mournful tolling of the great bell of St. Paul's spreadthe sorrowful news through the city of London, and the telegraph toldthe children of the royal family who were away from England of the lossthat had befallen them.
The Princess Victoria was not alone, for her husband and her child werewith her to give her comfort; but far away in the warm climate ofCannes was Prince Leopold, the delicate little boy of only eight years,with not one of his own family beside him. The child was alreadygrieving sorely over the death of the gentleman in whose charge he hadbeen when the telegraph brought the news of his crushing loss. "Oh,mamma, mamma," he cried. "Do take me to mamma. I want my mother. I wantmy mother."
The warmest sympathy was felt for the sorrowing Queen in her own landand in all lands. Even from some chiefs in New Zealand came an address,which began:
"Oh, Victoria, our mother, we greet you! All we can now do is to weepwith you, oh, our good mother, who have nourished us, your ignorantchildren of this island, even to this day."
&
nbsp; Every honor that could be shown was given to the dead Prince Consort.The Queen chose a sunny spot at Frogmore for the beautiful mausoleumthat was to be built for the body of the one who had been dearest toher of all the world. Seven years earlier, she had said, "Trials wemust have, but what are they, if we are together?" but now the time hadcome when she must bear alone whatever might befall her. Her greatestcomforter was the Princess Alice, the girl of eighteen, who seemed nolonger a merry young girl, but a sympathetic, self-controlled woman.She and the other children went with the Queen to Osborne, and therepassed the first three months of the lonely woman's sorrow. KingLeopold and the Princess of Hohenlohe came to her; but the weight ofher grief was hers alone, and no one could lessen it.
Crushed as she was by suffering, she did not cease to feel for others.Within a month after the death of the Prince, a terrible collieryaccident occurred by which many lives were lost, and the Queen sent atonce a generous gift and the message, "Tell them that the Queen's ownmisery only makes her feel the more for them." In her own heartbreak,she could not neglect the state business, whose delay would cause manydifficulties, but she could not bear to meet others than her childrenand a few of her nearest friends. Again it was the Princess Alice uponwhom she and the whole country relied, and this girl of eighteen wentback and forth between the sovereign and the Ministers with suchstrength of mind, such thoughtfulness and tact, that the whole realmwas amazed and grateful.
It would have been a comfort to the loving mother if she could havekept her oldest son with her during those sad months; but, even tolessen her loneliness, she would not break in upon the plans that hisfather had made for him. It had been decided that he should travel inthe Holy Land, and not many weeks after the death of the Prince, he setout with Dean Stanley and others for the East.
Balmoral Castle.]
It had long been the custom in the royal family to spend at Balmoralthe Queen's birthday, in May, and the birthday of the Prince, inAugust, and even during this sad year of 1862, the usual May visit wasmade. Hard as it was for the Queen to go without the Prince to a placethat had been so dear to him, there was comfort for her in going amongthe cottagers. She loved the Scotch because, while they had a profoundrespect for her, they had also respect for themselves, and would talkwith her without the subservience that she disliked. She taught herScotch tenants to look upon her as a friend to whom they might come forhelp in time of trouble. In sickness they were encouraged to send tothe castle for whatever they needed. When the Queen went to London, shedid not forget them, and whenever a marriage or a death or the arrivalof a new baby occurred among her Balmoral people, it was reported toher at once.
During the last visit of the Prince Consort to Balmoral, the husband ofone of the cottagers was very ill, and the Queen was continuallysending him delicacies from her own table, and not always by the handsof servants, for the Princess Louise was often her messenger. The storyis told of the young girl's taking some dainty from one of the pocketsof her jacket and asking, "Can't he eat this?" and then, when the wifeshook her head sadly, of her taking something else from another pocketand saying, "Surely, he can eat this." The husband died, and when theQueen arrived at Balmoral on this first visit without the Prince, shewent at once to see the widow. Both women burst into tears.
"I ask your pardon," said the cottager humbly. "I ought not to cry inyour presence."
"Oh, it does me good," replied the Queen in the midst of her own tears."I am so thankful to cry with someone who knows just how I feel. It wasall so sudden, so sudden."
This visit to Balmoral was in May, and in July the brave-hearted Queengave away her chief comforter, for she did not think it right to allowthe marriage of the Princess Alice to be postponed longer. Manypreparations for it had already been made before the illness of thePrince. The Highlanders were all interested in the marriage, for thePrincess Alice was a great favorite among them; and in the autumn of1861, many wedding gifts had been made by the Princess to thecottagers, for in the Queen's family it was the custom to make presentsas well as receive them at the wedding seasons.
The marriage took place at Osborne. The day which all had expected tobe so bright and happy was sad and lonely for the want of the deadPrince. There was no rejoicing, for everything was so associated withhim that no one could be merry. Even the wedding dress of the bride wasof lace whose pattern he himself had chosen.
In a few days Prince Louis and the Princess Alice left England fortheir German home. According to what had become a custom among theQueen's children, the Princess wrote to her mother almost every day.Her life in Darmstadt was far more simple than the Queen's had beenimmediately after her marriage. The usual time of rising was half-pastseven or a little earlier. Coffee was drunk at eight, and generally thenext two hours were spent out of doors in riding or walking. From tento twelve, the Princess wrote or worked with her private secretary, andsome time in the morning she read the newspapers, an occupation whichshe called "a great bore." Breakfast took the time between twelve andone. At two, people began to come to call upon her. Dinner was at four.After dinner came a little leisure, then a drive "somewhere for tea."By half-past ten the day was over. The Princess lamented that she hadso little time for her music and drawing, and when she was away fromthe city, she made many sketches, but she was in a wooded country, "Andthe trees are my misfortune," she said, "as I draw them so badly."After a few months, the twelve-year-old brother Arthur went to visither. He was a bit of home, and she was delighted to have him. "He haswon all hearts," she wrote to the Queen, "and I am so proud when theyadmire my little brother." When September came, the Princess and herhusband went to Thuringia to meet the Queen; and there, much to theQueen's pleasure, it was decided that her daughter and Prince Louisshould spend the winter in England, though the Princess with her readysympathy wrote that she should regret not remaining in Germany for theone reason that the people would feel her absence so much. "They aremost kind," she added, for she shared the feeling of her mother thatthe devotion of the people was not a thing that they could demand, butwas a personal kindness shown to them.
On this visit to the Continent, Queen Victoria spent a few days inBelgium with King Leopold; and while she was with him, a young girl wasinvited to be his guest whom she was especially desirous of meeting.Her name was Alexandra, and she was the eldest daughter of the heir tothe throne of Denmark. She had grown up in the quaint old palace inCopenhagen within hearing of the murmur of the sea. When summer came,she was taken to a delightful house in the woods, where she had dogsand ponies and flowers and long walks through the forest; and whenfriends came from the town, there were picnics and boating and allsorts of good times. Indeed, every day was a kind of picnic, for in thecountry home the family almost lived out of doors, and there werealways her two brothers and three sisters for company.
The life of the children was merry and happy, but it was even moresimple than that of the little girl who went from Kensington to thethrone of England, both because the father and mother believed that itwas best for children to live simply, and also because, especiallyduring the children's earlier years, there was not much money to throwaway in luxuries. The little girls put on their nicer dresses, whichperhaps their mother had made, when they were going out; but as soon asthey came back and were ready to play, the street dresses wereexchanged for something more substantial. The children had learned whenthey were very young that they could not have everything they wantedand that they must be obedient and helpful and punctual. If they werenot ready for a meal or for their lessons, they were often sent totheir rooms as a punishment. Those rooms had to be in perfect order,for each daughter was required to take care of her own. As they grewolder, they were taught to do many things for themselves. If one ofthem wanted a new dress and her rather slender allowance would not paythe dressmaker, she knew how to make it for herself; and if a new hatwas wanted, she could trim it.
This was the way in which the young girl had grown up who was going tovisit the Queen of Great Britain when her first year
of sorrow wasdrawing to its close. This was no ordinary visit, for several personswere very anxious that the Queen should like the Princess. They neednot have feared. Everyone who met Alexandra loved her, for this bright,cheerful young girl carried sunshine wherever she went, and it shoneupon even the lonely heart of the sorrowful Queen.
There had been a great deal of discussion about who would be the brideof the Prince of Wales, and not a little scheming among no lesserpeople than some of the great dignitaries of Europe; for there wereseveral young princesses whose parents would have been glad to form analliance with the heir of England's crown. But while the schemers werescheming, the Prince was forming a very definite opinion of his own. Atthe home of his grand-aunt, the Duchess of Cambridge, he saw one day aportrait of a very beautiful young girl.
"And who is that?" he asked his cousin, the Princess Mary.
"That's Alix," was the reply, "and she is the dearest girl in all theworld. You know that grandfather left his palace of Rumpenheim to hissix children and asked them to meet there every two years. We all go,and now there are twenty or more of us cousins, but Alix is theprettiest and sweetest and dearest of us all. You must have seen her,for she came to visit me when she was ten years old, and she went to achildren's party at Buckingham Palace."
Boys of twelve do not always remember little girls of ten. The Princeof Wales did not say whether he had forgotten "Alix" or not, but while,in 1861, the officials were talking about several other Europeanprincesses as well as the Princess Alexandra, he was making it clear tohis father and mother that _she_ was the one whom he wished to see.Princess "Vicky" always had her own opinions, and she too had beencharmed by the lovely Danish Princess. "Come and visit me, and youshall see her," she wrote. The Prince went to Germany, the Princess wason her way to Rumpenheim, and nothing was easier than to arrange ameeting. Prince Albert wrote, "The young people seem to have a warmliking for each other." Some months after the death of Prince Albert,the two met again; next followed the little visit to Queen Victoria,and the loving welcome to the young girl who then became the betrothedof the Prince of Wales.
Denmark was delighted, and England was no less happy. Prince Christiansoon carried his daughter to London to visit Queen Victoria; and thencame a busy time, for all the wedding trousseau except the lingerie wasto come from England. Princess Mary was delighted to help in selecting,and probably the Prince of Wales had now and then a word to say. Whilethis was going on in England, scores of women in Denmark were cuttingand stitching the finest of linen and embroidering on every article acrown and the initials of their beloved Princess. The whole landsubscribed to give her a generous dowry, and then the wedding presentsbegan to come. There were many of great value, of course, for all thecourts of Europe were interested in the marriage; but the Princesscared most for the gifts that came from her own people, who knew herand loved her. Among those tokens there was a painting of her brothersand sisters in a group, a pair of shoes embroidered in gold from theshoemakers of Copenhagen, and some vases from the villagers who livednear the summer home in the forest. The Danish king gave her a necklaceof diamonds and pearls, and King Leopold sent her a most beautifuldress of Brussels lace. At the end of the last sermon that she heard inher own church, the pastor, who had known her from babyhood, gave her aloving benediction and farewell.
The wedding was to be in England, and in February of 1863 the youngbride with her father and mother and brothers and sisters went aboardthe royal train. The Queen had sent to Antwerp her own _Victoria andAlbert_, the yacht that had so often carried happy people, and after afew days' rest at King Leopold's court, the party crossed the Channelwith a little squadron of British men-of-war as escort. As they nearedthe English coast, the water swarmed with every kind of vessel thatwould float, from a steamship to a rowboat, for everyone was eager tosee the young girl whose beauty had been heralded throughout thekingdom. There was one boat which had the right of way, and soon thePrince of Wales was meeting his bride and giving her a hearty,old-fashioned kiss that satisfied even the hundreds of spectators. Herdress would seem to-day exceedingly quaint, but it must have beenwonderfully becoming. It was of mauve poplin, made very full, for thosewere the days of hoop-skirts. Over it she wore a long purple velvetcloak with a border of sable, and her lovely face was framed in a white"poke" bonnet trimmed with rosebuds.
As soon as she had landed the difficulties began; for the people whohad been waiting for hours to see the face that they had heard was theprettiest in the world meant to see it, and they thronged about hercarriage in such determined crowds that the police were helpless. Thereis a story that one inquisitive youth actually twisted his head betweenthe spokes of her carriage wheels to get a glimpse of her in some way;and the legend says that the Princess herself helped him out of hisdangerous position. Addresses were presented before she had fairly sether feet upon English soil, one of them signed by the eight hundredEton boys. Whenever there was a moment's delay, some delegation wasalways waiting, ready to make a speech of welcome. There were rocketsand bonfires and salutes from vessels and forts, and, fascinated as shewas, the young girl was thoroughly tired before she was safe at WindsorCastle.
A week later the royal wedding was celebrated in St. George's Chapel.The Prince was in the long flowing purple velvet mantle of the Order ofthe Garter, which made a rich contrast with the white lace and satinand orange blossoms of his bride. She was loaded with jewels, for thegifts of the Queen, the Prince, and the city of London must all betreated with respect. In her bouquet were sprigs of myrtle that had ahistory, for they had come from a bush grown from the myrtle in thebridal bouquet of the Princess "Vicky." There was more jewelry that wasof special interest, for while the Prince was satisfied with a plainhoop of gold for the wedding ring, the guard was set with stones theinitials of whose names formed the word, "Bertie,"--beryl, emerald,ruby, turquoise, jacinth, emerald. The lockets that he gave to thebridesmaids were made after a new fashion, for they were wrought ofcrystal, and in each were the initials "A. E.--A." intertwined in adesign drawn by the Princess Alice. These letters were made of diamondsand coral to display the red and white of the Danish flag.
There was all the brilliancy and gorgeousness that can be imagined, forit was the wedding of the heir to the British crown. There wereheralds, drummers, and trumpeters, all in quaint and handsome costumes.The gleam of gold, the flash of diamonds, and the burning glow ofrubies made the Chapel a wilderness of color and brightness. Veryslowly the beautiful Princess and her bridesmaids moved up the longaisle to the altar, too slowly for the comfort of Prince Arthur and hisbrother Leopold in their Highland dress, for the small German nephewhad been put under their care, and the naughty little Frederick WilliamVictor Albert bit their bare legs whenever they told him to be quiet.
The whole floor of the Chapel was radiant with beauty and aglow withhappiness, but in the "Closet," up above the heads of the joyousthrong, stood the Queen of England in the deepest mourning, glad in thegladness of her eldest son and in her love for the maiden who was hischoice, but with the sorrow at her heart that forbade her to share inthe rejoicings of her people.
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