CHAPTER XII
THE LITTLE FOLK
In the midst of all the royalties that were present at the wedding ofthe Prince of Wales were the two great novelists of the realm,Thackeray and Dickens; but Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, was not there.Again "someone had blundered," and his invitation had been missent.Both the Queen and Prince Albert felt a sincere admiration andreverence for the poet, and the Prince had asked the favor of anautograph with far more hesitation than most schoolboys would haveshown. This is the way in which he made his very modest petition:
"Will you forgive me if I intrude upon your leisure with a requestwhich I have thought some little time of making, viz., that you wouldbe good enough to write your name in the accompanying volume of the'Idylls of the King'?" Prince Albert was very fond of the "Idylls," andwhen, only a month after his death, Tennyson brought out a new editionof the poems, it contained a beautiful dedication, which began:
"These to his memory--since he held them dear."
The lines do not sound as if the poet felt obliged to write thembecause he had been appointed Laureate, but rather as if he meant everyword that he wrote. In this dedication he speaks very earnestly ofPrince Albert's wisdom and ability and unselfishness, and gives us theexquisite line which everyone quotes who writes of the Prince Consort:
"Wearing the white flower of a blameless life."
The following year, just before the wedding of the Prince of Wales,Tennyson wrote a welcome to the bride, beginning:
"Sea-kings' daughter from over the sea, Alexandra! Saxon and Norman and Dane are we, But all of us Danes in our welcome of thee, Alexandra!"
The Queen was much pleased with the poem and said, "Thank him verywarmly, and tell him with how much pleasure I have read the lines, andthat I rejoice the sweet and charming bride should be thus greeted."
There is a story that when the Danish Princess was a very young girl,she and three of her girl friends sat together in the forest talking ofwhat they should like to do when they were grown up.
"I want to be famous," said one. "I want to paint a picture thateveryone will go to see, or to write a book that all Denmark will beeager to read."
"If I could do just what I liked," declared the second, "I would travelall over the world; so I will wish to be a great traveler."
"I want to be rich," said the third, "and then I can travel whenever Ichoose, and buy all the books I choose without having to write them,and all the pictures I choose without having to paint them. But what doyou want, Alix?"
The Princess Alix had been thinking, and she answered slowly, "If Icould have just what I wanted, I would choose that everyone who saw meshould love me."
However it was with the others, the Princess Alexandra surely had herwish, for everyone who met her seemed to love her. The Queen called her"the fairy," and so great a dignitary as Dean Stanley thought of her inthe same way, for after he had had a long talk with her in the cornerof the drawing room, telling her how the service of the Church ofEngland differed from that of the Danish Church, he wrote in his diary,"She is as charming and beautiful a creature as ever passed through afairy tale." "The little gem of Denmark is the pet of the country,"declared the newspapers. The unbounded admiration that had been shownto Queen Victoria in the early days of her reign was given toAlexandra. When the Queen came to the throne, young girls who weresmall and had fair hair and blue eyes were happy. _Now_, it was blissto have any feature that resembled the Danish Princess. She had acustom of letting two curls of brown hair fall on each shoulder, andstraightway English fashions demanded that every girl should wear fourcurls hanging on her shoulders. For months London was at the height ofgayety. The Princess represented her royal mother-in-law at the drawingrooms of the season; no easy task, for so many ladies attended thefirst that it took four long hours for them to pass the throne. Allthis time the Princess Alexandra and the Princess Alice stood toreceive them, except for one little resting time of twenty minutes.There were receptions and most magnificent balls, at which all thedignitaries tried their best to make themselves agreeable to the youngPrincess.
Of course the Queen had no heart for these festivities, but she wasglad to have the people pleased, and for one of the most elaborateentertainments she sent decorations and furnishings from BuckinghamPalace. The Princess Alice and Prince Louis were with her for severalmonths before the marriage of the Prince of Wales; and only three orfour weeks after the great event, a little Hessian granddaughter wasborn at Windsor Castle. The chaplain of the Hessian court came toEngland for the christening of the wee maiden. The usual number ofnames was given her, but the first two were Victoria Alberta.
In the autumn the Queen made the customary visit to Balmoral; but onlya few days after her arrival she took an evening drive that put herinto a great deal of danger, for the carriage turned over, and theQueen, the Princess Alice, and "Lenchen," as the Princess Helena wascalled, were thrown out. Brown, the Queen's favorite Highlandattendant, had little regard for court manners at any time, and lessthan ever in this predicament. He called out, "The Lord Almighty havemercy on us! Who did ever see the like of this before! I thought youwere all killed." The Queen had fallen on her face, and was somewhatbruised. Princess Alice, with her usual calmness, held a lantern sothat the men could see to cut the horses free. Then while the driverwent for help, the monarch of Great Britain sat in the road wrapped upin plaids and using the floor of the carriage for a back. The Princesshad brought her page along, a Malay boy whose father had presented himto a traveler in return for some kindness, and little "Willem" sat infront with one lantern, while Brown held another. It was a strangesituation, a Queen, with thousands of soldiers at her command, sittingin a broken carriage waiting for horses and guarded by one Highlanderand a little black boy. She wrote in her journal for that day: "Peoplewere foolishly alarmed when we got upstairs, and made a great fuss. Hadmy head bandaged and got to bed rather late."
This soldier's daughter could make little of pain, but she could not soeasily put away sorrow. Every place about Balmoral reminded her ofsomething that Prince Albert had said or done, and she could not bearthat his presence should be forgotten. On the summit of a hill whichthey had often visited together, she built a great cairn, on which wasinscribed, "To the beloved memory of Albert, the great and good PrinceConsort; raised by his broken-hearted widow, Victoria R."
She was touched and grateful when the citizens of Aberdeen wished toput up a statue of the Prince, and asked her to be present at theunveiling. It was nearly two years since his death, but she had not yettaken part in any public ceremony, and she dreaded to have the morningcome. When it did come, however, she wrote in her journal the wordsthat were the keynote of her courage in meeting difficulties, "Prayedfor help and got up earlier." The rain poured, but the streets ofAberdeen were thronged with people. Out of sympathy with her grief,there was no cheering, and no band playing. For more than twenty-fiveyears she had never appeared on public occasions without both cheeringand music; and although she appreciated the thoughtful sympathy of thepeople, the silence only made the contrast greater between the past andthe present. The exercises began with an address to the Queen by theLord Provost. She handed him a written reply. Then he knelt before her;her Minister gave her a sword; and touching the Provost with it on eachshoulder, she said "Rise, Sir Alexander Anderson." _Mr._ Anderson hadnow become a knight, and would be called Sir Alexander all the rest ofhis life. After this little ceremony, the bunting was drawn away fromthe statue, and what the Queen called a "fearful ordeal" was at an end.
The one upon whom the Queen depended most was Princess Alice. She oftenwent on little picnics or drives "because Alice advised." The Princessand Prince Louis spent as much time in England as possible, and whenthey were in Germany the letters of the Princess gave her mother agreat deal of pleasure. They were full of the details of her dailylife, some of which might have come from a palace and some from acottage. One
described a gift just received from the Empress of Russia,"a splendid bracelet;" and a few days later, the young mother wroteexultantly that the baby looked about and laughed. This younghousekeeper was deeply interested in all the details of her home. Shewas grateful to her Queen mother for the big turkey pie and the othergood things that arrived at Christmas time; and she wrote of hervarious little dilemmas, ranging all the way from a half-hour's huntfor a pen just after a journey to the whirl of making the dining roominto a bedroom to accommodate a guest. One morning she wrote "in themidst of household troubles," as she said, for the Emperor and Empresshad just sent word that they were coming to breakfast with her, and"Louis" was out. But of all the bits of home life in her letters, thoseabout the children--for in a year and a half there was also a littleElizabeth--must have given the most pleasure to the royal Grandmamma.On one page the Princess described some political complication betweenkingdoms, and on the next was the astounding news that little Victoriacould get on her feet by the help of a chair and could push it acrossthe room. Before long, she was walking out with her father beforebreakfast, with her independent little hands in her jacket pockets.Money was not especially plenty in the home at Darmstadt, and thePrincess mother wrote at one time of the little Elizabeth's wearingVictoria's last year's gowns, and at another said that she had justmade seven little dresses for the children. With a German father and anEnglish mother, the little Victoria spoke at first a comicalcombination of German and English, and she announced one day, "MeineGrossmama, die Konigin, has got a little vatch with a birdie."
There was also a little boy in England who was taking much of theQueen's attention, the baby son of the Prince of Wales. He was born atFrogmore House, and as all the clothes provided for him were atMarlborough, he fared no better for raiment at first than if he hadbeen born in a cottage. The loss was made up to him, however, when hewas christened; for then he was gorgeous in a robe of Honiton lace, thesame one in which his father had been christened, while over the robewas a cloak of crimson velvet with a lining of ermine. Nothing could betoo rich and costly, for some day, if he lived long enough, he wouldwear the English crown. One matter in which the royal family were mosteconomical was in regard to names, for they used the same ones over andover. This little boy was named Albert, for his English grandfather;Victor, for the Queen; Christian, for his Danish grandfather; andEdward, for his father. Princess "Alix" was as eager to be with herprecious baby as the Queen had been to stay with her children, and shelooked like a mischievous child when she had succeeded in slipping awayfrom some grand company long enough to give baby "Eddie" his bath andput him to bed.
The little Princess Beatrice was scarcely more than a baby herself, butshe seems to have felt all the responsibility of being aunt to so manysmall people. When she was hardly more than three years old, Princess"Vicky's" second child was born, and then Prince Albert wrote of thelittle girl to his eldest daughter, "That excellent lady has now not amoment to spare. 'I have no time,' she says when she is asked foranything. 'I must write letters to my niece!'"
Around her and across the Channel were children in whom she was mostwarmly interested, but the Queen's own childhood was rapidly growingmore distant, not only by the passing of time, but also by the death ofthose who were most closely associated with her early days. BishopDavys died in 1864, and in 1865 the death of King Leopold occurred. Hewas well called "the wisest king in Europe," and more than one disputebetween kingdoms had been left to him for settlement. He knew all theroyal secrets, and he made a judicious and kindly use of his knowledge.Ever since the Queen's accession he had aided her with his counsel, andnow there was no one to whom she could look for disinterested advice.In that same year the assassination of President Lincoln occurred. TheQueen was not satisfied with a formal telegram of regret; she wrote aletter, not as the sovereign of England to the wife of the President,but as one sorrowing woman to another, expressing her warm sympathy.
Few people realized how much severe mental labor the Queen had toendure. Often in the course of a single year many thousand papers werepresented to her, and of these there were few to which she did not haveto give close thought. For twenty-one years she had discussedeverything with Prince Albert, and when they had come to a conclusion,he would, as in the _Trent_ affair, write whatever was necessary.Then they would read the paper together and make any changes thatseemed best. After his death, the Queen had to do all this work alone.She could wear the Kohinoor diamond, and she could build amillion-dollar palace if she chose, but there were few persons in thekingdom who worked harder than she. What belonged strictly to mattersof state was more than enough for one person, but besides this therewere schools, hospitals, and bazaars to open, prizes to distribute andcorner-stones to lay. Then there were entertainments, fetes,receptions, balls, etc., frequently in behalf of some good object,whose success was sure if it could be said that the Queen would bepresent. The Prince and Princess of Wales could not lessen the weightof the public business that pressed so heavily upon the Queen, but theycould relieve her from the strain of these public appearances, and thisthey did. They were both beloved by the people, but after the Queen hadlived for five years in retirement, some of her subjects began tocomplain.
"What has she to do," grumbled one, "but to wear handsome clothes, livein a palace, and bow to people when she drives out?"
"Yes," declared another, "she has nothing to do. Parliament makes thelaws, and she just writes her name."
"She's good to her cottagers in the Highlands," said a Londoner, "butshe ought to care a little for the merchants here in London. Everybodylikes the Princess, but the Queen's the Queen, and there never weresuch sales as when she was giving her fancy-dress balls."
"She thinks of nothing but her own sorrow," said another. "She has lostall sympathy with the people."
This last speech was made at a public meeting. Mr. John Bright, the"great peace statesman," was present, and he replied to it. His closingwords were, "A woman who can keep alive in her heart a great sorrow forthe lost object of her life and affection is not at all likely to bewanting in a great and generous sympathy for you."
Little by little the Queen learned the feelings of her people, andshe soon published a response which must have made the grumblers feelashamed. She said she was grateful for their wish to see her, but somuch was now thrown upon her which no one else could do that she wasoverwhelmed with care and anxiety, and did not dare to undertake"mere representation," lest she should become unable to fulfill theduties which were of real importance to the nation. Some monthslater, she wrote of herself in a private letter: "From the hour shegets out of bed till she gets into it again, there is work, work,work--letter-boxes, questions, etc., which are dreadfullyexhausting."
The Queen wished sincerely not only to do what was best for the people,but also to please them. She could not go to balls and theaters, butearly in 1866 she determined to open Parliament in person. The Londonworld rejoiced. They tried to imagine that the old days had come again,and they put on their jewels and their most splendid robes. All the wayto the Parliament Building the streets were full of crowds who shouted"Long live the Queen! Hurrah for the Queen!" In the House of Lordsthere was a most brilliant assembly. Silks rustled and jewels sparkledas all rose to welcome the sovereign. As she entered, the Prince ofWales stepped forward and led her to the throne. The royalParliamentary robes with all their glitter of gold and glow of crimsonwere laid upon it, for the Queen wore only mourning hues, a robe ofdeep purple velvet, trimmed with white miniver. On her head was a MarieStuart cap of white lace, with a white gauze veil flowing behind. Theblue ribbon of the Garter was crossed over her breast, and around herneck was a collar of diamonds. All the radiant look of happiness withwhich those were familiar who had seen her on the throne before, wasgone. She was quiet and self-controlled, but grave and sad. Instead ofreading her speech, she gave it to the Lord Chamberlain. At its close,she stepped down from the throne, kissed the Prince of Wales, andwalked slowly from the room.
Houses of P
arliament.]
The Queen's two daughters, Helena and Louise, had attended her inopening Parliament. This must have been a little embarrassing for theolder one, inasmuch as the Queen's address declared that the royalpermission had been given for the Princess Helena to marry PrinceChristian of Schleswig-Holstein; but members of the royal family cannotalways consult their own feelings. When they rule different countries,it is not always easy for them even to remain friendly. The fact thatthe Queen, her daughters, and her Danish daughter-in-law were as fondof one another at the end of 1866 as they were at the beginning of 1864is proof that the English royal family were very harmonious. Troublehad arisen between Denmark and the German states in regard to theduchies of Schleswig-Holstein, and in 1864 war had broken out betweenthe little kingdom of Denmark and the united powers of Prussia andAustria. Both countries were anxious to win the help of England.Princess "Vicky" and Princess Alice naturally sympathized with theGerman states; while Princess Alexandra's affection was of course withher own home land, which had now become her father's kingdom. TheEmperor of France did not wish to have the German states increase inpower, and he was ready to help Denmark, provided England would standby him. England was willing, but England's sovereign would not hear toany talk of war with Germany, and the Ministers hesitated to actagainst her decided opposition. Of course the Danish Princess wasgrieved that the Queen would not consent to help her beloved country.Bismarck was the German statesman who was pushing on the war, thereforehe was the man who was most abhorrent to the Princess of Wales. Thereis a story that the Queen had promised the little Beatrice a present,and that when she asked, "What shall it be?" the wee maiden, who hadbeen carefully tutored by her sister-in-law, replied demurely, "Please,mamma, I'd like the head of Bismarck on a charger."
Two years later, there was a still more difficult condition of affairsin the Queen's family, for now that Prussia and Austria held theSchleswig-Holstein duchies, it was a question to which of the twopowers they should belong; and to complicate matters even more,Princess Helena had married Prince Christian. Prussia and the northGerman states held together, and Austria joined the forces of the southGerman states. Prince "Fritz" belonged to the north and Prince Louis tothe south, and therefore the husbands of the two English Princesseswere obliged to fight on opposite sides. The war lasted for only sevenweeks, but it was an anxious time for Queen Victoria, who shared sofully in the troubles of her daughters. Princess Alice's two littlegirls were sent to England to be safe in her care, but in the midst ofthe war, a third little daughter was born. The boom of the distant gunswas heard as she lay in her cradle in Darmstadt. Wounded men were beingbrought into the town, and the residents were fleeing in alldirections. By and by the end came, and then the little dark-eyed babywas named Irene, or peace. Never before had a child so many godfathers,for when Prince Louis said farewell to his cavalry, he delighted themby asking the two regiments, officers and men, to be sponsors to hislittle girl.
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