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THE    CHILDHOOD    OF 
QUEEN    VICTORIA 


MINIATURE  OK  PRINCESS  VICTORIA  AT  THE  AGE  op-  Six  YEARS 


THE  CHILDHOOD  OF 
QUEEN  VICTORIA 


BY 


MRS.    GERALD    GURNEY 

(DOROTHY  FRANCES  BLOMFIELD) 


ILotttJOtt 

JAMES   NISBET   fcf  CO.,   LIMITED 

21  BERNERS  STREET 

1901 


printed  by  BALLANTYNE,  HANSON  &>  Co. 
At  the  Ballantyne  Press 


TO 

THE    CHILDREN    OF 
THE    EMPIRE 


2OG5796 


PREFACE 

IT  is  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  reverence  and 
diffidence  that  I  have  ventured  upon  these 
records  of  the  child-life  of  one  of  the  greatest 
women,  and  perhaps  the  greatest  Sovereign,  the 
world  has  ever  known.  The  death  of  our  be- 
loved Queen  Victoria  is  still  a  fresh  wound  in 
the  hearts  of  her  devoted  people,  and  any  small 
fact  or  anecdote  connected  with  her  is  eagerly 
seized  upon  and  treasured. 

My  excuse  for  going  over  ground  already 
covered  by  abler  chroniclers  is,  that  I  am  en- 
abled to  give  to  the  public  for  the  first  time, 
by  the  gracious  permission  of  his  Majesty,  the 
correspondence  between  the  Queen's  mother, 
the  Duchess  of  Kent,  and  the  Bishops  of 
London  and  Lincoln,  relative  to  the  early 
education  of  the  Princess,  and  also  the 
reports  of  her  various  masters,  a  list  of  books 


viii  PREFACE 

read  by  her  in  her  studies,  and  a  disposition 
of  her  day. 

I  am  also  indebted  to  my  brother,  Frederick 
Charles  Blomfield,  for  the  use  of  these  docu- 
ments, which  have  come  into  his  possession  as 
the  present  head  of  our  family ;  and  I  should 
like  to  take  this  opportunity  of  warmly  thank- 
ing all  who  have  lent  me  encouragement  and 
help  in  my  work,  especially  Canon  and  Miss 
Argles,  and  Mrs.  Willingham  Rawnsley,  grand- 
children of  Dr.  Davys,  of  Peterborough,  the 
Queen's  tutor ;  and  Major  M'Crea,  whose 
wife  was  a  granddaughter  of  Sir  Frederick 
Wetherall,  for  many  years  the  faithful  friend 
and  Controller  of  the  Household  to  the  Duke 
of  Kent,  and  after  his  death  to  the  Duchess  of 
Kent. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  trace  the  life  of  the 
late  Queen  up  to  the  moment  when,  in  her 
twelfth  year,  she  realised  for  the  first  time  the 
exact  relation  in  which  she  stood  to  the  throne 
of  England.  That  moment,  very  happily  as  it 
seemed  to  me,  coincided  with  the  hitherto  un- 
published correspondence  between  the  Duchess 
and  my  grandfather,  Dr.  Blomfield,  Bishop  of 


PREFACE  ix 

London,  and  Dr.  Kaye,  Bishop  of  Lincoln, 
and  suggested  a  fit  end  to  a  record  of  the  child- 
life  as  distinct  from  the  girlhood  of  the  Princess 
Victoria. 

The  task,  though  a  labour  of  delight,  has 
not  been  an  easy  one.  Volumes  of  letters, 
biographies,  and  histories  of  the  period  had 
to  be  waded  through,  each  of  which  yielded 
perhaps  but  one  tiny  anecdote  or  remark 
about  the  little  Princess,  so  secluded  was  her 
childhood. 

Death  has  removed  some,  who  might,  I 
think,  have  added  to  my  slender  stock  of  infor- 
mation ;  in  more  than  one  instance  the  caution 
of  the  possessors,  or  the  carelessness  of  their 
descendants,  has  destroyed  documents  which 
would  have  been  of  great  value.  I  am  indebted 
to  Dr.  Davys'  family  for  the  little  childish  letter 
from  the  Princess  Victoria  to  him — probably 
the  first  she  ever  wrote — which  has  never  yet 
been  published ;  nor  has  the  miniature  given 
by  her  to  Sir  Frederick  Wetherall  ever  been 
reproduced  till  now,  when  I  am  allowed,  by 
the  kindness  of  Major  M'Crea,  to  include  it 
among  the  illustrations  of  the  book. 


x  PREFACE 

I  have  borrowed  and  quoted  freely  from 
former  writers,  especially  from  Miss  Sarah 
Tooley's  charming  "  Personal  Life  of  the 
Queen " ;  and  I  have  availed  myself  freely  of 
the  diary  of  Dr.  Davys  during  the  time  he  was 
her  tutor,  which  has  already  appeared  in  the 
"  Life  of  the  Queen,"  written  by  the  Duke  of 
Argyll. 

It  has  been  my  aim  to  show  the  present 
generation  what  a  debt  of  gratitude  the 
British  Empire,  and  the  world  at  large,  owe 
to  the  parents  and  guardians  of  her  late 
Majesty,  especially  to  H.R.H.  the  Duchess  of 
Kent. 

If  I  have  failed  to  present  the  royal  child 
to  my  readers  in  a  manner  worthy  of  her  great 
character  and  personality,  it  has  not  been  from 
want  of  love  and  interest  in  my  study,  but 
from  my  own  poor  abilities.  May  God  preserve 
her  hallowed  memory  for  all  time  in  the  hearts 
of  her  faithful  people. 

Note. — The  following  correspondence  between 
Bishop  Blomfield's  widow  and  her  Majesty 
Queen  Victoria  took  place  through  the  medium 


PREFACE  xi 

of  Lady  Augusta  Bruce.  The  Bishop  had  not 
long  been  dead,  apd  her  Majesty's  communi- 
cation to  Mrs.  Blomfield  shows  her  habitual 
thoughtful  consideration  for  the  feelings  of 
others : — 

LETTEE  I 

"  Mrs.  Blomfield  presents  her  compliments  to  Lady 
Augusta  Bruce,  and,  at  Lady  Jocelyn's  suggestion,  for- 
wards the  enclosed  letters  for  the  Queen ;  and  which 
Mrs.  Blomfield  begs  that  Lady  Augusta  Bruce  will 
have  the  goodness  to  present  to  Her  Majesty,  with 
her  humble  duty. 

"RICHMOND,  July  16,  1861." 


LETTER  II 

"July  19,  '6 1. 

"Lady  Augusta  Bruce  presents  her  compliments  to 
Mrs.  Blomfield,  and  is  commanded  by  the  Queen  to 
convey  to  Mrs.  Blomfield  Her  Majesty's  thanks  for 
the  perusal  of  the  enclosed  most  interesting  and  valu- 
able letters.  The  Queen,  having  found  the  draft  of 
them  among  the  papers  of  H.E.H.  the  late  Duchess 
of  Kent,  returns  them  to  Mrs.  Blomfield,  not  wishing 
to  deprive  the  family  of  Him  to  whom  they  were 


xii  PREFACE 

addressed  of  papers  which  now  must  possess  a  doubly 
sacred  interest." 

In  1897  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  letters 
and  documents  referred  to  above,  which  had 
come  into  my  brother's  possession,  might  prove 
of  the  deepest  interest  to  the  public  at  such  a 
time.  I  submitted  them  to  her  Majesty,  asking 
permission  to  publish  them,  and  received  the 
following  reply : — 

LETTER  III 

"EXCELSIOR  HOTEL,  EEQINA,  CIMIEZ, 
March  31',  1897. 

"DEAK  MADAM, — The  enclosed  letters  and  papers 
have  been  submitted  to  the  Queen,  and  after  careful 
consideration  Her  Majesty  desires  me  to  express  her 
regret  at  feeling  unable  to  grant  her  permission  for 
their  publication.  But  The  Queen  regards  the  letters 
which  passed  between  the  Duchess  of  Kent  and  the 
Bishops  as  bearing  so  much  upon  the  essentially 
private  and  domestic  life  of  her  childhood  that  Her 
Majesty  thinks  they  should  not  be  published  during 
her  lifetime.  I  am  further  desired  to  thank  you  for 
kind  thoughtfulness  in  referring  this  question  for  Her 


PREFACE  xiii 

Majesty's  decision.     The  documents  are  indeed  most 
deeply  interesting. 

"  I  am,  Dear  Madam,  Yrs.  very  faithfully, 

"ARTHUR   BlGGE. 
"Miss  DOROTHY  BLOMPIELD. 

"P.S. — I  have  omitted  to  explain  that  the  'accident' 
by  which  Princess  Victoria  became  aware  of  her  posi- 
tion with  regard  to  the  throne  was  due  to  studying  a 
genealogical  table  of  the  British  Sovereigns,  so  that 
the  published  accounts  on  this  point  are  practically 
correct.  A.  B." 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 


PAGE 

THE  FATHER  AND  MOTHER  OF  THE  QUEEN      .      i 


CHAPTER  II 
AMORBACH  AND  KENSINGTON,  1818-1819     .        .      25 

CHAPTER  III 
SIDMOUTH  AND  KENSINGTON,  1820,  1821,  1822  .      49 

CHAPTER  IV 

KENSINGTON,    RAMSGATE,    AND    CLAREMONT, 

1823 73 

CHAPTER  V 

KENSINGTON,    RAMSGATE,    AND    CLAREMONT, 

1824-1825    .  89 


xvi  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VI 

PAGE 

KENSINGTON,     WINDSOR,     AND      TUNBRIDGE 

WELLS,  1826  AND  1827 105 


CHAPTER  VII 
KENSINGTON,  1828  AND  1829    .        .      ,   .        .        .     139 

CHAPTER  VIII 
KENSINGTON,  1830        .......     171 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  BISHOPS  AND  THEIR  REPORT  ,  •  .        .        .201 

CHAPTER  X 

KENSINGTON,  1830       .       .       .        .        ...    225 


CHAPTER   I 

t 

THE    FATHER    AND    MOTHER    OF 
THE    QUEEN 


The 
Childhood  of  Queen  Victoria 

CHAPTER   I 

THE  FATHER  AND  MOTHER  OF  THE  QUEEN 

IT  is  now,  I  think,  a  generally  acknowledged 
truism  that  there  are  two  main  factors  in  the 
sum  of  human  life,  heredity  and  education. 
We  inherit,  to  a  great  extent,  from  our  ances- 
tors the  trend  of  our  characters,  the  bias  of 
our  minds,  and  the  health  or  disease  of  our 
bodies.  It  is  the  business  of  education  to 
direct  and  modify  these  tendencies,  and  this 
is  most  valuably  done  in  the  first  years  of 
childhood.  What  we  are  as  children  will  pro- 
bably determine  the  whole  course  of  our  lives. 
Consequently,  to  a  student  of  human  nature, 
the  early  years  of  a  great  life  are,  in  some 
respects,  the  most  fascinating  and  vital,  and 

3 


4     CHILDHOOD   OF   QUEEN    VICTORIA 

the  consideration  of  antecedent  generations  is 
of  no  small  importance. 

Victoria  the  Good,  the  Mother  of  her  people, 
was  singularly  fortunate  in  many  of  her  rnces- 
tors,  and  notably  in  her  own  father  and  mother. 
She  had  the  blood  of  the  gallant  and  unfor- 
tunate Stuarts — of  which  she  was  very  proud 
— in  her  veins,  and  she  inherited  much  of 
their  celebrated  charm  of  manner  and  power 
of  inspiring  deep  attachment.  She  resembled 
her  great  ancestress,  the  Electress  Sophia,  in 
a  certain  imperiousness  of  nature,  and  in  her 
breadth  of  view  and  mental  ability.  She  was 
very  like  her  grandfather,  George  III.,  in  her 
love  of  domestic  pleasures  and  in  her  great 
simplicity,  perhaps  the  most  marked  of  all  her 
characteristics.  She  owed  much,  too,  to  her 
mother's  parents,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
Saxe-Coburg  and  Saalfeld,  the  former  a  man 
of  great  refinement  and  sweetness  of  mind,  a 
warm  lover  of  Nature  and  the  Arts,  and  the 
latter  intellectual,  vivacious,  and  of  singular 
nobility  of  character,  essentially  a  wise  woman. 

But  to  her  own  parents  Queen  Victoria  owed 
perhaps  most  of  her  remarkable  character.    Her 


HER    FATHER    AND    MOTHER  5 

father,  Edward  Augustus,  Duke  of  Kent,  was 
the  fourth  son  of  George  III.  and  his  wife 
Queen  Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz,  and 
deservedly  the  most  popular  of  all  their  sons. 
He  was  born  on  the  2nd  of  November  1767, 
at  Buckingham  House,  and  was  early  placed 
under  the  care  of  the  good,  wise  John  Fisher, 
Bishop  of  Salisbury,  who  was  faithfully  de- 
voted to  him,  and  to  whom  the  Duke  was 
much  attached  all  through  his  life.  The 
Bishop  recorded  of  him  that  he  was  a  "  Prince 
with  whom  love  of  truth  was  paramount 
to  every  other  consideration,  a  Prince  whom 
nothing  could  induce  to  dissemble." 

This  passion  for  truth,  together  with  his  ex- 
cellent principles  and  life  of  self-control,  made 
him  scarcely  a  persona  grata  to  his  easy-going 
brothers,  George  IV.  and  William  IV.,  and, 
allowing  for  some  prejudices  on  both  sides, 
there  is  little  doubt  that  he  suffered  injustice 
at  their  hands  in  later  years,  and  in  earlier 
days  from  his  father  and  mother,  especially  in 
the  matter  of  his  allowance,  which  was  never 
adequate  to  his  position. 

He  lived  a  most  regular  life,  was  an  early 


6     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

riser,  and  very  abstemious  in  his  habits.  An 
old  soldier,  who  had  served  at  Gibraltar  during 
the  Duke's  command  there,  said  of  him  that 
he  "  was  too  temperate  for  a  soldier,  the 
Father  Mathew  of  his  family " ;  and  another 
old  veteran  remarked  that  he  wouldn't  let  them 
(the  soldiers)  drink,  and  was  "  worse  than  any 
teetotaller." 

Both  at  Gibraltar  and  in  Canada  he  put 
down  drunkenness  and  loose  living  with  a 
high  hand ;  he  disliked  gambling,  and  had 
small  mercy  on  the  idle  and  incompetent,  and 
while  he  tried — in  many  instances  successfully 
— to  impress  his  own  lofty  sense  of  duty  and 
conduct  on  those  placed  under  him,  he  won 
the  love  and  respect  of  persons  of  like  be- 
haviour, but  was  naturally  unpopular  with  the 
dissipated  and  unprincipled.  He  spared  neither 
time  nor  money  in  bringing  about  much-needed 
reforms,  often  working  seventeen  hours  a  day, 
and  never  flinching  in  the  exercise  of  his  duty. 
His  bravery  was  beyond  question,  and  on  one 
occasion,  we  are  told  by  one  of  his  biographers, 
it  formed  the  subject  of  a  special  representation 
to  the  King  by  the  General  commanding-in- 


HER    FATHER    AND    MOTHER  7 

chief.  The  same  chronicler  remarks  that  "  he 
led  every  man  to  his  post,  and  never  deserted 
his  own." 

He  has  been  accused  of  undue  severity  as 
a  commander,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  his 
military  training  in  Germany  left  its  mark  upon 
him,  and  made  him  a  very  rigid  disciplinarian. 
But  he  was  never  unjust,  and  an  officer  of  high 
rank  wrote  of  him  that  he  "  was  the  most  ac- 
cessible of  human  beings,"  and  that  "  he  never 
broke  faith."  Dr.  Rudge,  his  chaplain,  said 
of  him  that  he  "took  a  delight  in  doing  good," 
and  that  "in  no  instance  did  he  ever  fail  to 
relieve  the  distressed  if  their  characters  proved 
to  be  good." 

His  rigid  punctuality  was  a  characteristic 
which  his  daughter  notably  shared.  He  was 
invariably  punctual  in  all  his  habits,  public 
and  private ;  he  kept  the  closest  personal 
supervision  over  his  correspondence,  and  his 
days  were  arranged  with  a  methodical  regularity 
which  he  never  suffered  to  be  disturbed. 

For  many  years  before  his  marriage  he  lived 
at  Ealing,  in  his  own  house,  Castle  Hill,  now 
pulled  down,  but  then  a  charming  place, 


8     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

quaintly  described  in  a  letter  of  Mr.  Justice 
Hardynge,  which  gives  such  an  attractive  de- 
scription of  the  Duke  that  I  quote  it  in  full. 
The  reader  will  see  by  it  that  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  household  his  Royal  Highness 
puts  many  a  notable  housewife  to  shame.  The 
same  order  prevailed  in  the  establishment  at 
Kensington  Palace. 

"  MELBOURNE  HOUSE, 
August  15,  1811. 

"  MY  DEAREST  EICHARD, — That  I  may  lose  no  drop 
from  the  cup  of  pleasure,  which  I  enjoyed  from  seven 
in  the  evening  of  October  the  first  to  eleven,  and  from 
eight  the  next  morning  till  eleven  before  noon,  at 
Castle  Hill,  I  shall  record  upon  paper,  as  memory  can 
present  them,  all  the  images  of  my  enchantment, 
though  the  consummation  is  past. 

"  In  the  afternoon  of  October  the  first,  and  at  half- 
past  five,  I  followed  my  servant,  in  undress,  from 
Baling  Vicarage  to  the  lodge  of  the  Duke's  palace. 
Between  these  wings  I  was  received  in  due  form  by 
a  porter,  in  livery,  full  trimmed  and  powdered.  He 
opened  his  iron  gates  for  me,  bowed  as  if  I  had  been 
the  King,  and  rang  the  alarm  bell,  as  if  I  had  been 
a  hostile  invader.  I  looked  as  tall,  as  intrepid,  and 
as  affable  as  I  could ;  but  I  am  afraid  that  I  was  not 
born  for  State. 


HER    FATHER    AND    MOTHER  9 

"The  approach  to  the  palace  door  is  magnificent, 
graceful,  and  picturesque.  The  line  of  the  road, 
flanked  by  a  row  of  lamps,  the  most  brilliant  I  ever 
saw,  is  a  gentle  serpentine.  It  commands  to  the 
right,  through  young  but  thriving  plantations, 
Harrow-on-the-Hill,  and  carries  the  eye  in  a  sort 
of  leap  to  that  eminence  over  the  intermediate 
ground,  which  is  a  valley  better  unseen,  for  it  is 
very  tame.  The  lodges  are  quite  new  and  in  Mr. 
Wyatt's  best  manner.  A  second  gate  flew  open  to 
me;  it  separates  the  home-garden  from  the  lawn  of 
entrance.  The  head  gardener  made  his  appearance 
in  his  best  clothes,  bowed,  rang  his  bell  to  the  house, 
and  withdrew. 

"  When  I  arrived  at  the  palace  door  my  heart  went 
pit-a-pat.  The  underwriters  would  not  have  insured 
my  life  at  seven  minutes'  purchase,  unless  tempted  by 
a  most  inordinate  premium.  An  aspen  leaf  in  a  high 
wind  stood  better  upon  its  legs  than  I  stood  upon 
mine ;  indeed,  I  am  not  sure  if  it  was  not  upon  my 
head  instead  of  my  legs.  I  invoked  all  the  saints  of 
impudence  to  befriend  me  !  But  think  of  little  me ! 
attended  by  six  footmen !  three  of  a  side  !  and  received 
at  the  head  of  this  guard  by  the  house  steward!  a 
venerable  henchman  of  the  old  court,  and  of  the  last 
age,  who  had  very  much  the  appearance  of  a  Cabinet 
Minister.  He  conducted  me  with  more  solemnity 
than  I  wished  upstairs  into  my  toilette-room.  At  the 
door  of  it  stood  the  Duke's  valet,  who  took  charge  of 


io     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

me  into  the  room,  bowed,  and  retired.  In  this  apart- 
ment I  found  my  own  servant. 

"The  exterior  of  the  house  has  an  elegant  and  a 
chaste,  as  well  as  a  princely  air.  You  can  see  '  Wyatt 
fecit '  on  every  part  of  the  effect.  But  the  interior 
struck  me  infinitely  more  even  in  the  bird's-eye  view 
of  it.  I  was  all  astonishment,  but  it  was  accompanied 
with  dismay  at  the  awful  silence  which  reigned,  as 
well  as  at  the  unexampled  brilliancy  of  all  the  colours. 
There  was  not  one  speck  to  be  seen ;  everything  was 
exquisite  of  its  kind,  in  the  taste  of  its  outline,  pro- 
portions, and  furniture. 

"  My  dressing-room,  in  which  there  was  an  excellent 
fire,  attached  itself  to  the  bedroom,  and  was  laid  open 
to  it  by  a  folding-door.  These  are  the  Eegent's  terri- 
tories whenever  he  is  at  Castle  Hill.  My  toilette  was 
&  peindre,  and  there  was  not  anything  omitted  which 
could  make  a  youthful  Adonis  out  of  an  old  hermit ; 
but  the  mirror  was  honest,  and  youth  is  no  birth  of 
art.  My  servant  (who  is  in  general  cavalier,  keeps  me 
in  order,  and  gives  me  only  two  or  three  jerks  with  his 
comb),  half-scared  at  the  new  and  imperial  honours  of 
his  little  master,  waited  on  me  with  more  deference 
and  assiduity  than  I  had  ever  before  marked  in  him. 
He  called  me  once  or  twice  'My  Lord,'  as  upon 
circuit,  and  I  half  expected  that  he  would  say  '  Your 
Eoyal  Highness.'  A  gentle  tap  at  the  door  alarmed 
us  both.  We  opened  upon  a  messenger,  who  told  me 
in  French  that  His  Eoyal  Highness  was  dressing,  but 


HER    FATHER    AND    MOTHER         n 

would  soon  do  himself  the  honour  of  taking  me  by  the 
hand. 

"  Opening  by  accident  one  of  the  doors  in  the  bed- 
chamber, painted  with  traillage  in  green  and  gold,  I 
discovered  in  an  adjoining  closet  a  running  stream  and 
a  fountain.  I  began  to  think  I  was  in  the  Fields 
Elysian.  The  bed  was  only  to  be  ascended  by  a  ladder 
of  steps,  and  they  were  dressed  in  flowered  velvet. 
There  was  a  cold  bath,  and  at  night  hot  water  for  my 
feet,  if  they  should  happen  to  wish  for  it.  Pen,  ink, 
and  paper  of  all  descriptions  made  love  to  me.  Books 
of  amusement  were  dispersed  upon  the  tables  like 
natural  flowers.  I  was  in  my  shirt  when  His  Eoyal 
Highness  knocked  at  the  door.  Not  waiting  for  my 
answer,  he  opened  the  door  himself  and  gave  me  a 
shake  of  the  hand  with  his  royal  fist,  so  cordial  that 
one  of  my  chalk-stone  fingers,  had  I  possessed  them, 
would  have  begged  him,  if  he  had  not  been  the  son  of  a 
king,  to  be  rather  less  affectionate  in  that  shape.  I 
hurried  on  my  coat  and  waistcoat  in  his  presence,  and 
then  he  walked  before  me  into  the  library.  All  the 
passages  and  staircases  were  illuminated  with  lamps  of 
different  colours,  just  as  if  a  masquerade  was  in  train. 
I  began  to  think  more  and  more  of  '  Sly '  in  Shake- 
speare, and  said,  like  him,  to  myself,  '  Am  I  indeed  a 
lord?'  This  library,  fitted  up  in  the  perfection  of 
taste,  is  the  first  room  of  a  magnificent  range,  com- 
manding at  least  a  hundred  feet.  All  the  contiguous 
apartments  in  that  suite  were  lighted  up  and  laid  open 


12     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

to  this  apartment.  By  a  contrivance  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  light  it  seemed  as  if  the  distance  had  no 
end. 

"The  Duke,  among  other  peculiarities  of  habit, 
bordering  upon  whim,  always  recommends  the  very 
chair  on  which  you  are  to  sit.  I  suppose  it  is  a  regal 
usage.  He  opened  a  most  agreeable  and  friendly  chat, 
which  continued  for  half-an-hour  tttt-a-t&te.  So  far  it 
was  like  the  manner  of  the  King  (when  he  was  him- 
self), that  it  embraced  a  variety  of  topics  and  was  un- 
remitted.  He  improved  at  close  quarters  even  upon 
his  pen ;  and  you  know  what  a  pen  it  is.  The  manly 
character  of  his  good  sense,  and  the  eloquence  of  his 
expression,  was  striking.  But  even  they  were  not  so 
enchanting  as  that  grace  of  manner  which  distinguishes 
him.  Compared  with  it,  in  my  honest  opinion,  Lord 
Chesterfield,  whom  I  am  old  enough  to  have  heard  and 
seen,  was  a  dancing-master.  I  found  the  next  morning 
at  our  tete-a-Ute,  that  he  has  infinite  humour,  and  even 
that  of  making  his  countenance  subserve  the  character 
he  has  to  personate. 

"  In  about  an  hour  dinner  was  announced.  The  Duke 
led  the  way.  I  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  table  ; 
the  Duke  was  on  my  right.  The  dinner  was  exquisite. 
The  soup  was  of  a  kind  that  an  epicure  would  have 
travelled  barefoot  three  miles  in  a  deep  snow  to  have 
been  in  time  for  it. 

"The  famous  Dumourier  was  accidentally  men- 
tioned. I  said  that  I  loved  seeing  those  whom  I 


HER    FATHER    AND    MOTHER         13 

admired  unseen,  upon  report  alone  and  in  the  mind's 
view.  '  But  I  shall  never  see  Dumourier,'  said  I,  '  for 
he  is  the  Lord  knows  where  (and  I  cannot  run  after 
him)  upon  the  Continent.'  '  Not  he,'  said  the  Duke ; 
'  he  is  in  this  very  island,  and  he  often  dines  with  us 
here.'  I  looked,  but  said  nothing ;  my  look  was  heard. 
A  third  party  present  asked  the  Duke  if  it  could  not 
be  managed.  ' Nothing  more  practicable,'  said  he ;  'if 
the  Judge  will  but  throw  down  his  glove  in  the  fair 
spirit  of  chivalry,  Dumourier  shall  pick  it  up.' 

"  The  servants,  though  I  could  not  reconcile  myself 
to  the  number  of  them,  were  models  of  attention,  of 
propriety,  and  of  respect ;  their  apparel  gave  the  im- 
pression of  clothes  perfectly  new ;  the  hair  was 
uncommonly  well  dressed  and  powdered.  Thereby 
hangs  a  tale,  which  I  cannot  have  a  better  opportunity 
of  reporting.  I  had  it  from  the  best  authority,  that  of 
my  own  servant,  who  had  it  from  the  souterraine  of 
the  establishment,  which  he  had  confidentially  ex- 
plored. A  hairdresser  for  all  the  livery  servants  con- 
stitutes one  of  the  efficient  characters  in  this  dramatic 
arrangement.  At  a  certain  hour  every  male  servant 
appears  before  the  Duke  to  show  himself,  perfectly 
well-dressed  and  dean.  Besides  this  'law  of  the 
Medes '  every  man  has  a  niche  to  fill,  so  that  he  can 
never  be  unoccupied  save  at  his  meals,  in  some  duty 
or  another,  and  is  amenable  to  a  sudden  visit  into  the 
bargain.  I  can  assure  you  the  result  is  that  in  this 
complicated  machine  of  souls  and  bodies  the  genius  of 


14     CHILDHOOD   OF   QUEEN    VICTORIA 

attention,  of  cleanliness,  and  of  smart  appearance  is 
the  order  of  the  day. 

"  When  the  Duke  took  me  next  morning  to  his 
master  of  the  horse,  instead  of  dirty  coachmen  or 
grooms,  they  were  all  as  neat  as  if  they  never  had 
anything  to  do,  or  as  if  they  were  going  to  church 
in  state.  The  male  servants  meet  in  their  hall  at 
an  unvaried  hour,  and  round  this  apartment,  as  in  a 
convent,  are  little  recesses  or  cells,  with  not  only  beds 
in  them  for  each,  but  every  accommodation  as  well  as 
implement  for  their  apparel.  Yet  all  this  absolute 
monarchy  of  system  is  consistent  with  a  most  obliging 
manner  to  the  servants  on  his  part,  which  I  attested 
more  than  once ;  and  with  attachment  as  well  as  homage 
to  him,  attested  by  the  hermit's  inquisitor  and  spy,  who 
gave  me  this  note  of  his  comments.  I  mean,  of  course, 
my  own  servant. 

"  The  next  morning  I  rose  at  seven.  The  lawn 
before  me,  surrounded  by  an  amphitheatre  of  plan- 
tation, was  covered  by  leaves,  for  they  will  fall,  even 
in  a  garden  of  state.  The  head  gardener  made  his 
appearance,  and  with  him  five  or  six  men  who  were 
under  his  wing.  In  much  less  than  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  every  dead  leaf  had  disappeared,  and  the  turf 
became  a  carpet  after  mowing,  and  after  a  succession 
of  rollers,  iron  and  stone. 

"  After  this  episode  we  are  to  go  back  and  to  be 
at  the  table  again.  A  very  little  after  dinner  the 
summons  came  for  coffee,  and  as  before,  he  led  the 


HER    FATHER    AND    MOTHER         15 

way,  conducting  me  to  another  of  the  apartments 
in  the  range  before  described,  and  which,  as  it  hap- 
pened, was  close  to  the  bedroom.  They  were  open 
to  each  other ;  but  such  a  room  was  that  bedroom  as 
no  Loves  or  Graces  ever  thought  of  showing  to  a 
hermit.  It  was  perfectly  regal. 

"  In  the  morning  the  Duke  showed  me  all  his 
variety  of  horses  and  carriages.  He  pointed  out  a 
curricle  to  me.  'I  bought  that  curricle,'  said  he, 
'  twenty  years  ago,  have  travelled  in  it  all  over  the 
world,  and  there  it  is,  firm  on  its  axle.  I  never  was 
spilt  from  it  but  once.  It  was  in  Canada,  near  the 
Falls  of  Niagara,  over  a  concealed  stump  in  a  wood 
just  cleared.' 

"  He  afterwards  opened  himself  to  me  very  much  in 
detail,  with  disclosures  in  confidence,  and  political 
ones  too,  which  interested  as  well  as  enlightened  me 
greatly,  but  which,  as  a  man  of  honour,  I  cannot 
reveal  even  to  you.  He  is  no  gamester;  he  is  no 
huntsman.  He  never  goes  to  Newmarket,  but  he 
loves  riding  upon  the  road,  a  full  swing  trot  of  nine 
miles  an  hour. 

"I  am  going  to  part  with  him  in  my  narrative, 
but  not  before  I  have  commanded  you  to  love  him. 
"  In  the  morning  he  asked  how  I  was  mounted, 
and  before  I  could  answer  him  he  whispered  (in  a 
kind  of  parenthesis)  that  he  'had  for  two  months 
been  putting  a  little  circuit  horse  in  training  for  my 
use  of  him  in  spring.'  '  It  was  a  pet,'  he  said,  '  of 


16     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

the  dear  King,  who  gave  it  me;  and  you  will  ride 
it  with  more  pleasure  for  both  our  sakes.'  These 
were  not  '  goodly  words,'  like  those  of  Naphtali  or 
'  the  hind  let  loose/  for  my  servant  raised  the  intelli- 
gence that  such  a  keepsake  was  intended  for  me.  How 
charming  is  the  delicacy  of  conduct  like  this !  I  had 
once  complained,  three  or  four  months  ago,  that  my 
own  circuit  Bucephalus  had  kissed  the  earth  with 
his  knees.  He  condoled  with  me,  half  in  jest;  but 
gave  me  no  hint  of  such  a  fairy's  boon  in  store  for  me. 
"  But  now  for  the  last  of  these  wonders.  I  can 
give  you  not  the  faintest  image  of  its  effect  upon  me. 
It  made  me  absolutely  wild.  The  room  in  which 
our  breakfast  apparatus  received  us  had  at  the  end 
of  it  a  very  ornamental  glass  door,  with  a  mist  over 
it,  so  that  nothing  was  to  be  seen  through  it.  He 
poured  me  out  a  dish  of  tea  and  placed  it  before 
me,  then  rose  from  the  table  and  opened  that  glass 
door.  Somebody  (but  whom  I  could  not  see)  was  on 
the  other  side,  for  he  addressed  words  to  the  unseen, 
words  in  German.  When  he  returned,  and  I  had  just 
lifted  the  cup  to  my  lips,  imagine  my  feelings  when  a 
band  of  thirty  wind  instruments  played  a  march  with 
a  delicacy  of  tone,  as  well  as  precision,  for  which 
I  have  no  words  equal  to  the  charm  of  its  effect. 
They  were  all  behind  this  glass  door,  and  were  like 
one  instrument.  The  uplifted  cup  was  replaced  on 
the  table,  I  was  all  ears  and  entranced,  when  on  a 
sudden  they  performed  the  dirge  upon  our  naval  hero. 


QUEEN  VICTORIA'S  FATHER 


THE    DUKE    OF    KENT 


HER    FATHER    AND    MOTHER         17 

It  threw  me  into  a  burst  of  tears.  With  a  heart  for 
which  I  must  ever  love  him,  he  took  me  by  the  hand 
and  said,  '  Those  are  tears  which  do  none  of  us  any 
harm.'  He  then  made  them  play  all  imaginary  varie- 
ties for  a  complete  hour.  He  walked  me  round  his 
place,  and  parted  with  me  in  these  words,  '  You  see  that 
we  are  not  formidable;  do  come  to  us  again!  Come 
soon,  and  come  very  often!' 

"  May  I  not — must  I  not  love  this  man  ? 

"  GEO.  HAKDYNGE." 

The  Duke  was  a  man  of  sincere  religious 
convictions  and  a  very  devout  member  of  the 
Church  of  England,  but  he  was  unusually 
liberal-minded  in  a  somewhat  intolerant  age. 

A  contemporary  who  was  not  prepossessed 
in  favour  of  royalty  sums  up  his  character 
thus :  "  His  person  was  tall  and  athletic,  his 
appearance  dignified,  his  understanding  strong, 
his  deportment  affable,  and  his  bravery  chival- 
rous. The  course  which  he  pursued  in  politics 
appears  to  have  been  almost  invariably  tolerant, 
liberal,  and  conciliatory.  Towards  the  latter 
part  of  his  life  he  had  become  exceedingly 
popular,  and  his  death  was  deeply  regretted  by 
the  nation." 

His  wife,  Victoire   Marie   Louise,   youngest 

B 


i8     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

child  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg 
and  Saalfeld,  was  in  every  way  worthy  of  him. 
Born  on  lyth  August  1786,  and  married  when 
she  was  barely  seventeen  to  the  hereditary 
Prince  of  Leiningen,  who  was  twenty-eight 
years  her  senior,  a  man  whose  tastes,  habits, 
and  personal  qualifications  were  vastly  inferior 
to  her  own,  she  conducted  herself  during  the 
twelve  years  of  their  union  with  such  exem- 
plary discretion  and  good  sense,  such  dignity 
and  sweetness,  that  at  his  death,  in  1813,  he 
left  her  sole  guardian  of  their  two  children, 
Prince  Charles  and  Princess  Fdodore,  and 
Regent  of  the  principality  during  her  son's 
minority.  Brought  up  under  the  immediate 
eye  of  her  mother,  the  Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg, 
she  had  shared  the  studies  of  her  brother 
Leopold,  who  afterwards  married  Princess 
Charlotte,  the  lovely  daughter  of  George  IV. 
and  the  unfortunate  Caroline  of  Brunswick. 
The  brother  and  sister  were  tenderly  attached 
to  each  other,  and  he  was  her  faithful  coun- 
sellor and  support  through  the  whole  of  her 
life. 

Her  personal  appearance  must  always  have 


HER    FATHER    AND    MOTHER         19 

been  charming — great  elegance  of  figure  and 
carriage,  a  profusion  of  brown  hair,  hazel-brown 
eyes,  a  clear  complexion,  and  much  fascination 
of  manner.  The  various  portraits  of  her  and 
of  her  child  go  to  prove  both  her  excellent  taste 
in  matters  of  the  toilette  and  her  sense  of  dis- 
tinction in  dress,  of  which  she  was  very  fond. 
She  had  a  very  warm  heart,  and  was  by  nature 
faithfully  affectionate  and  a  lover  of  social  life. 
She  was  also  an  admirable  musician,  and  a 
thoroughly  well-read,  cultivated  woman,  and 
the  letters  written  by  her  to  the  Bishops  of 
London  and  Lincoln,  which  I  have  now  the 
privilege  of  publishing  for  the  first  time,  show 
her  to  be  a  woman  of  uncommon  ability  and 
sense,  clear-sighted,  dignified,  and  above  all, 
unselfishly  devoted  to  duty.  All  her  own  in- 
terests and  affections  were  naturally  centred  in 
her  native  land,  and  more  especially  in  her 
charming  Bavarian  home,  Amorbach,  where  she 
spent  peaceful,  blameless  days  as  the  Princess 
of  Leiningen,  and  the  first  happy  months  of  her 
second  marriage  with  the  Duke  of  Kent,  who 
adored  her.  After  his  death  she  must  have 
longed  to  return  there,  but  her  splendid  sense 


20     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

of  duty,  her  loyalty  to  his  wish  that  his  daugh- 
ter should  be  in  all  things  an  Englishwoman, 
helped  her  to  crush  down  her  own  desire,  and 
live  the  life  of  an  exile  from  her  own  country 
and  her  mother-tongue  ;  hindered,  unappre- 
ciated, and  often  misunderstood  by  those  who 
should  have  been  the  first  to  help  her  in  her 
difficult  task. 

She  had  possibly  the  faults  of  her  qualities. 
Her  natural  gaiety  and  sweetness  of  disposition 
may  have  been  sometimes  obscured  by  her  in- 
tense devotion  to  duty  and  desire  to  perfect  her 
child  for  the  great  place  she  had  to  fill.  To 
some  she  may  seem  to  have  been  too  stern  a 
parent,  and  too  jealously  anxious  to  keep  the 
Princess  under  her  sole  care.  But  when  we 
remember  the  state  of  society  in  the  beginning 
of  the  century,  and  the  atmosphere  of  the 
Court  during  the  Princess's  childhood  and  girl- 
hood, we  must  admit  that  it  was  a  fault  on 
the  right  side.  Several,  who  remember  the 
Duchess  well  in  her  later  years,  have  told  me 
that  she  was  the  kindest  and  most  gracious 
and  simple-mannered  of  women,  though  she 
had  always  a  strong  sense  of  personal  dignity. 


HER    FATHER    AND    MOTHER         21 

She  was  passionately  attached  to  her  own 
children  and  family,  and  the  letters  of  the 
Prince  Consort  show  how  devoted  a  son  he 
was  to  her,  and  the  affection  that  existed  be- 
tween them.  Like  most  grandmothers  she 
indulged  his  present  Majesty  and  his  brothers 
and  sisters  much  more  than  she  had  done  her 
own  child,  their  mother,  and  was  much  beloved 
by  them.  She  survived  her  husband  by  some 
fifty-seven  years,  and  died  at  her  own  house  at 
Frogmore  in  the  arms  of  her  devoted  daughter, 
after  a  long  and  painful  illness. 

She  showed  through  the  whole  of  her  life 
a  strong  religious  spirit.  Baptized  into  the 
Lutheran  Church,  she  remained  a  staunch  ad- 
herent of  it  till  such  time  as  the  Princess 
Victoria  was  old  enough  to  be  taken  to  public 
worship,  when  she  saw  the  necessity  of  bring- 
ing her  up  in  the  Anglican  communion,  and 
gave  one  more  proof  of  her  unflinching  self- 
sacrifice  by  leaving  the  German  Chapel  at 
St.  James',  which  she  was  in  the  habit  of  fre- 
quenting, and  attending  instead  an  Episco- 
palian service,  conducted  by  Dr.  Davys,  then 
Dean,  in  the  Chapel  at  Kensington  Palace. 


22     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

A  letter  written  by  the  Duchess  to  Bishop 
Blomfield  shortly  after  Queen  Victoria's  corona- 
tion, is  so  interesting,  as  showing  her  deep 
anxiety  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  her  child, 
that  I  cannot  refrain  from  including  it  in  this 
chapter : — 

"  BUCKINGHAM  PALACE, 
i6th  July  1838. 

"  MY  LORD  BISHOP, — I  heard  with  great  concern  of 
your  accident,  but  I  rejoice  to  learn  that  you  are  doing 
so  well.  Pray  assure  Mrs.  Blomfield  that  I  entered 
into  Her  feelings  on  the  occasion. 

"  I  must  now  express  to  your  Lordship  my  cordial 
thanks  for  your  attention  in  coming  here,  to  deliver  to 
me  copies  of  your  two  late  sermons. 

"  I  would  have  had  the  pleasure  to  have  received 
them  from  your  Lordship's  hands,  but  that  I  was  far 
from  well,  and  not  prepared  to  receive  visitors.  I  can 
hardly  trust  myself  to  say  much  on  the  subject  of 
these  sermons  ;  if  I  had  feelings  of  the  dearest  interest 
excited  on  hearing  them,  these  feelings  were  increased 
on  perusing  them.  It  may  perhaps  be  in  your  Lord- 
ship's recollection,  in  the  aid  you  often  afforded  me, 
my  sincere,  my  anxious  wish  that  the  Queen,  my 
Daughter,  should  be  trained  to  have  Religion  at  Her 
heart.  If  there  is  a  Person  in  the  Country  who  needs 
that  support  most,  it  is  Her,  who  is  first  in  it. 


HER    FATHER    AND    MOTHER         23 

"  The  Queen's  youth,  Sex,  and  the  difficult  times  in 
which  She  is  summoned  to  fill  so  high  a  station,  call 
aloud  for  the  expression  of  our  feelings  in  prayer  for 
Her.  And  if,  on  Her  part,  She  keep  before  Her  what 
was  said  of  the  good  Josiah,  as  Her  guide,  She  will  be 
blessed  here  and  hereafter. 

"  I  must  take  the  liberty  of  saying  that  I  have  no 
words  sufficiently  strong  to  express  my  approbation  of 
your  Lordship's  Sermon  on  the  occasion  of  the  Corona- 
tion. I  hope  and  trust  that  the  Queen  will  very  often 
turn  to  it.  In  it  She  will  find  support,  consolation, 
and  a  guide  to  act  right,  and  to  deserve  happiness, 
where  it  is  only  to  be  found.  For  all  this  I  humbly 
and  maternally  pray. 

"  Believe  me  always  to  be  with  regard  and  esteem, 
My  Lord  Bishop,  your  Lordship's  very  sincere  friend, 

"  VICTORIA." 

The  Duke  of  Kent  had  been  a  faithful  and 
sincere  Christian,  and  his  last  words  to  his  wife 
are  said  to  have  been,  "  Act  uprightly,  and  trust 
in  God."  She  nobly  followed  his  advice,  and 
thus  to  her  parents  Queen  Victoria  owed  by 
nature  a  foundation  of  genuine  piety,  which  the 
grace  of  God  confirmed  in  her,  and  which  was 
the  true  secret  of  her  great  personality  and 
power. 


CHAPTER   II 

AMORBACH     AND     KENSINGTON 

1818-1819 


CHAPTER  II 

AMORBACH  AND  KENSINGTON,  1818-1819 

ON  November  5,  1817,  England  was  over- 
whelmed by  the  sudden  death  of  the  only 
child  of  the  Regent,  the  young,  lovely,  and 
much-loved  Princess  Charlotte,  on  whom  the 
hopes  of  the  country  were  set.  She  had  mar- 
ried in  1816  Prince  Leopold  of  Saxe-Coburg 
and  Saalfeld,  afterwards  Leopold  L,  King  of  the 
Belgians,  who  brought  among  his  suite  a  cer- 
tain Dr.  Stockmar  as  his  physician.  Dr.  Stock- 
mar,  who  was  subsequently  raised  to  the  title 
of  Baron  Stockmar,  was  a  man  of  great  abilities, 
and  of  remarkable  force  of  character.  He  be- 
came the  chief  physician  to  the  Duchess  of 
Kent  and  her  child,  and  in  later  days  the 
honoured  friend  and  adviser  of  Queen  Victoria 
and  the  Prince  Consort.  He  has  left  many 
interesting  sketches  of  personages  he  met  on 
his  first  coming  to  England,  amongst  others 


28     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

the  following  description  of  the  Duke  of  Kent : 
"  A  large,  powerful  man,  like  the  King  (George 
the  Third),  and  as  bald  as  any  one  can  be. 
The  quietest  of  all  the  dukes  I  have  seen ; 
talks  slowly  and  deliberately ;  is  kind  and 
courteous." 

The  Doctor  had  a  great  curiosity  to  see 
Princess  Charlotte,  to  whom  he  became  much 
attached,  for  he  was  devoted  to  Prince  Leopold, 
and  anxious  as  to  the  result  of  the  marriage. 

It  was  one,  however,  of  real  happiness  and 
of  true  affection,  and  the  Princess  was  about 
to  become  a  mother,  when  both  she  and  her 
infant  perished  at  its  birth.  Writing  of  this 
event,  Lady  Jerningham  says :  "  The  death  of 
Princess  Charlotte  has  been  really  to  every 
one  as  a  private  loss.  Prince  Leopold,  who 
has  from  his  first  arrival  distinguished  himself 
by  an  uncommon  propriety,  is  really  incon- 
solable." 

Dr.  Stockmar  writes  of  the  Prince  with  the 
liveliest  appreciation  :  "  He  is  good  and  every 
day  grows  better ;  his  whole  sorrow  he  turns 
into  a  blessing.  One  needs  a  large  heart  to 
love  him  as  he  deserves."  The  Prince  deter- 


AMORBACH    AND    KENSINGTON        29 

mined  to  remain  in  England  and  to  live  on 
at  Claremont,  where  he  had  spent  the  few 
short  months  of  his  happy  married  life.  This 
decision  proved,  as  it  afterwards  turned  out,  of 
the  greatest  moment  to  his  sister  the  Duchess 
of  Kent  and  her  child.  To  bring  about  a 
match  between  this  favourite  sister  and  the 
Duke  of  Kent  had  been  a  secret  hope  of  his 
and  of  the  Princess  Charlotte's,  and  she  had 
taken  the  greatest  pleasure  in  promoting  it. 
The  Duke  of  Kent's  kindness  to  her  unfor- 
tunate mother,  Queen  Caroline,  even  while  he 
disapproved  of  her  conduct,  must  have  won 
the  heart  of  his  impulsive,  affectionate  niece, 
who  had  always  been  attached  to  him. 

The  death  of  this  charming  Princess  was  not 
only  a  loss  to  the  nation,  but  plunged  it  also 
in  anxiety  as  to  the  succession.  The  Regent 
was  separated  from  his  wife,  and  there  was 
little  likelihood  of  a  reconciliation.  The  Dukes 
of  York  and  Cumberland  had  had  no  children 
by  their  marriages,  and  the  remaining  sons  of 
the  poor  old  King  were  unmarried.  Within 
a  few  weeks  of  each  other  the  Dukes  of  Cla- 
rence, Kent,  and  Cambridge  all  took  to  them- 


30     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

selves  wives.  The  Duke  of  Clarence  married 
a  Princess  of  Saxe-Meiningen,  afterwards  the 
Good  Queen  Adelaide ;  the  Duke  of  Cam- 
bridge a  Princess  of  Hesse ;  and  the  Duke  of 
Kent,  Victoire  Marie  Louise,  widow  of  Prince 
Emich  Charles  of  Leiningen,  youngest  child 
of  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg  and  Saalfeld,  and 
sister  of  the  widowed  Prince  Leopold,  who  was 
the  instigator  of  this  second  marriage,  which 
he  rightly  judged  would  be  one  of  happiness 
for  his  sister.  She  was  living  quietly  at  her 
home  in  Bavaria  with  her  two  children  Prince 
Charles  and  Princess  Feodore,  and  here  the 
Duke  of  Kent  met  and  speedily  fell  in  love 
with  her.  He  had  first  made  her  acquaint- 
ance in  1816,  and  had  no  doubt  pleasant  re- 
collections of  the  pretty,  bright  young  Princess. 
They  were  married  by  the  rite  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  at  Coburg  on  the  29th  of  May  1818. 
In  the  following  July  the  marriage  was  re- 
solemnised  according  to  the  Church  of  England 
on  the  same  day  as  the  marriage  of  the  Duke 
of  Clarence.  This  was  doubtless  one  of  the 
reasons  that  drew  the  Duchess  of  Clarence  so 
affectionately  in  after  life  to  her  sister-in-law. 


31 

An  eye-witness  gives  the  following  account 
of  the  event:  "This  day  (Monday,  July  I3th) 
took  place  the  marriage  of  the  Duke  of  Cla- 
rence with  Princess  Adelaide  of  Saxe-Mein- 
ingen,  and  the  re-marriage  of  the  Duke  of 
Kent  to  the  Princess  Victoria  of  Saxe-Coburg. 
Fortunately  the  Queen's  (Queen  Charlotte) 
health  was  so  far  improved  as  to  permit  Her 
Majesty  to  be  present  at  the  double  ceremo- 
nial, for  which  purpose  a  temporary  altar  was 
fitted  up  in  the  Queen's  drawing-room,  which 
looks  into  Kew  Gardens.  At  four  o'clock, 
the  royal  parties  having  arrived,  her  Majesty 
took  her  seat  at  the  right-hand  side  of  the 
altar,  attended  by  the  Prince  Regent,  and  was 
followed  by  the  other  members  of  the  reign- 
ing family  and  the  great  officers  of  State. 
The  Duke  of  Clarence  and  his  intended  bride, 
and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Kent,  having 
taken  their  respective  stations  at  the  altar, 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  commenced  the 
marriage  ceremony,  assisted  by  the  Bishop  of 
London.  The  brides  were  given  away  by  the 
Prince  Regent.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  pro- 
ceedings the  Queen  retired. 


32      CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

"  At  five  o'clock  the  Prince  Regent  and 
the  remainder  of  the  company  sat  down  to  a 
most  sumptuous  banquet.  Soon  after  half- 
past  seven  o'clock  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
Kent  left  in  Prince  Leopold's  travelling  chariot 
for  Claremont." 

Claremont  was  then  the  home  of  the  Duchess's 
brother,  Prince  Leopold,  and  must  have  been 
an  ideal  place  for  a  honeymoon.  Let  us  hope 
the  English  summer  and  the  typical  English 
landscape  smiled  upon  the  bride,  still  a  young 
and  blooming  woman. 

But  her  heart  was  in  Bavaria  with  her  chil- 
dren and  her  castle  of  Amorbach.  There  are 
no  greater  lovers  of  their  country  than  the 
Germans,  and  the  Duchess  was  no  exception 
to  her  countrymen.  After  a  very  brief  stay 
in  England  she  and  the  Duke  journeyed  back 
to  Amorbach,  where  they  enjoyed  some  happy 
months,  alas !  the  last  they  spent  together 
there.  Writing  to  Queen  Victoria  in  June 
1841,  when  she  returned  for  the  first  time 
after  the  Duke's  death  to  Amorbach,  she  says  : 
"It  is  like  a  dream  that  I  am  writing  to  you 
from  this  place.  My  heart  is  so  full.  I  am 


AMORBACH    AND    KENSINGTON        33 

so  occupied  with  you  and  Albert  and  the  pre- 
cious little  creature  (the  Princess  Eoyal).  I 
was  quite  upset  by  the  kind  reception  the 
poor  people  here  gave  me.  Everywhere  I 
have  found  proofs  of  affection  and  gratitude. 
I  occupy  the  rooms  where  your  dear  father 
lived." 

One  can  well  imagine  how  the  twenty-two 
years  that  had  elapsed  since  the  brief  months 
she  spent  with  him  at  Amorbach  must  have 
seemed  indeed  "  a  dream."  They  were  months 
spent  with  him  in  a  retirement  which  the 
deeply  embarrassed  circumstances  of  the  Duke 
rendered  most  necessary ;  but  we  may  be  sure 
that  such  retirement  was  congenial  to  the  royal 
lovers.  Their  life  there  was  spent  among  lovely 
scenery  and  a  kindly,  affectionate  people,  and 
there  was  early  the  prospect  of  a  yet  greater 
happiness.  The  Duchess  was  about  to  be- 
come once  more  a  mother  to  a  child  who 
might  be  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the 
English  nation.  A  few  precarious  lives  stood 
between  the  Duke  and  the  throne  of  Eng- 
land, and  it  was  doubtless  for  this  reason,  and 
also  because  he  loved  his  native  land,  as  the 

C 


34     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Duchess  loved  hers,  that  he  determined,  with 
her  consent,  that  their  child  should  be  born 
in  England.  Writing  to  Dr.  Rudge  from 
Amorbach  in  March  of  this  year,  he  says : 
"The  interesting  situation  of  the  Duchess 
causes  me  hourly  anxiety,  and  you,  who  so  well 
know  my  views  and  feelings,  can  well  appreciate 
how  eagerly  desirous  I  am  to  hasten  our  de- 
parture for  Old  England.  The  event  is  thought 
likely  to  occur  about  the  end  of  next  month. 
My  wish  is  that  it  may  take  place  on  the  3rd 
of  June,  as  that  is  the  birthday  of  my  revered 
father,  and  that  the  child,  too,  like  him,  may 
be  Briton-born." 

The  little  one,  though  "  Briton-born,"  arrived 
ten  days  before  the  birthday  of  her  aged  grand- 
father, and  a  month  later  than  she  was  ex- 
pected, so  that  this  wish,  like  many  others 
of  the  good  Duke,  was  destined  to  disappoint- 
ment. 

The  journey  in  those  days  was  a  long  and 
tiring  one,  and  most  perilous  to  the  Duchess 
at  such  a  critical  moment.  The  Duke  was 
so  anxious  over  her  that  he  would  permit  no 
one  to  drive  her  on  the  land  journey  but  him- 


AMORBACH    AND    KENSINGTON        35 

self,  and  was  all  thought  and  tenderness  for 
her.  Rooms  had  been  prepared  for  them  at 
Kensington  Palace,  looking  out  on  one  side 
upon  the  then  quaint,  picturesque  High  Street 
— its  houses  too  low  to  overlook  the  Palace 
gardens — and  on  the  other  over  the  private 
grounds  to  the  Round  Pond. 

Kensington  was  even  then  a  very  fashionable 
suburb ;  indeed,  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  when  the  Palace  was  built,  we  are 
told  by  Bowack,  the  antiquarian,  that  it  had 
begun  to  appear  more  like  a  part  of  London 
than  a  country  village.  It  was,  however,  at 
that  time  sufficiently  far  from  the  capital  to 
make  the  journey  to  and  fro  one  of  real 
danger  from  the  footpads  who  infested  Hyde 
Park  and  the  road  to  London. 

Kensington,  possibly  derived  from  "cyning's 
tun"  or  "the  king's  town,"  was  for  long  a 
favourite  resort  of  royalty.  Tradition  has  it 
that  here  Henry  VIII.  established  a  nursery 
for  his  children,  but  William  III.  is  the  first 
king  who  took  up  his  abode  in  Kensington. 
He  bought  Kensington  Palace,  then  known 
as  Nottingham  House,  for  the  sum  of  ;£  18,000 


36     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

from  its  owner,  the  third  Earl  of  Nottingham 
— nicknamed  "The  Dismal"  from  the  funereal 
expression  of  his  face — and  began  at  once 
to  turn  the  Jacobean  villa  into  his  idea  of  a 
palace.  The  gardens  were  laid  out  in  the 
Dutch  style,  with  stiff  beds  and  walks,  and 
yew  trees  cut  into  quaint  beasts  and  birds. 
There  is  an  old  print  of  the  period  which 
makes  the  grounds  surrounding  the  Palace 
look  more  like  a  geometrical  puzzle  than  our 
modern  idea  of  a  garden.  But  nothing  could 
take  from  the  comfortable  look  peculiar  to 
the  Jacobean  style  of  architecture,  a  style  of 
homely,  solid  dignity  admirably  adapted  to 
the  English  climate  and  character.  "A  place 
to  drink  tea  in,"  says  Leigh  Hunt  of  the  birth- 
place of  Queen  Victoria,  and  so  it  strikes  one 
to-day;  "noble  but  not  greate,"  was  Evelyn's 
verdict  on  it. 

Here  died  William  and  Mary,  and  here  came 
their  successor,  Queen  Anne,  who  loved  it  even 
more  than  they  did,  and  spent  much  time  and 
money  on  the  laying  out  of  the  grounds.  She 
built  "  The  Orangery,"  a  building  of  exquisite 
proportions,  designed  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren, 


AMORBACH    AND    KENSINGTON       37 

and  enriched  with  carvings  by  Grinling  Gibbons, 
in  which  she  gave  concerts  and  balls,  and,  in 
the  beautiful  alcoves  at  either  end,  doubtless 
played  cards  and  drank  "  tay  "  at  sixty  shillings 
a  pound  !  She  and  her  consort,  Prince  George, 
both  died  in  the  Palace,  and  gave  place  to 
George  L,  who  lived  here  in  great  seclusion, 
adding,  however,  the  eastern  front  to  the 
building.  During  his  reign  the  Gardens  be- 
came the  fashionable  promenade,  and  con- 
tinued so  through  the  reign  of  his  successor, 
George  II,  whose  Queen,  Caroline  of  Anspach, 
made  further  additions  and  alterations  in  the 
Gardens.  She  it  was  who  first  planted  and 
laid  out  what  is  now  known  as  Kensington 
Gardens,  and  to  her  we  owe  the  Round  Pond 
with  its  converging  avenues  and  vistas,  the 
conversion  of  a  succession  of  small  ponds 
into  the  present  Serpentine,  and  the  making 
of  the  Broad  Walk.  Neither  George  III.  nor 
George  IV.  ever  lived  at  Kensington  Palace, 
though  the  Gardens  continued  to  be  the  fashion- 
able resort  for  the  belles  and  dandies  of  their 
respective  ages.  The  ill-fated,  ill -balanced 
Caroline  of  Brunswick  occupied  the  Palace  at 


38     CHILDHOOD   OF   QUEEN    VICTORIA 

intervals  between  1810  and  1815,  and  greatly 
scandalised  the  well-bred  inhabitants  by  her 
freedom  of  behaviour  and  eccentricities.  They 
must  have  found  the  next  royal  inhabitants 
much  more  to  their  taste. 

The  journey  from  Amorbach  being  safely 
accomplished,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Kent 
arrived  at  the  Palace  on  April  15,  1819,  and 
proceeded  to  take  possession  of  the  old  state- 
rooms in  the  eastern  part  of  the  building,  which 
had  been  put  in  order  for  their  use.  These  look 
directly  over  the  Kound  Pond,  and  the  view 
from  the  windows  must  then  have  been  even 
lovelier,  because  wilder  and  more  rural,  than 
it  is  to-day.  The  glades  must  have  been  just 
bursting  into  leaf  and  blossom,  and  the  May- 
trees  just  ready  to  welcome  "the  little  May- 
blossom  "  when  a  month  later  she  came  into 
the  world,  where  she  was  to  play  so  great  a 
part.  The  second  floor  of  the  eastern  front 
contains  Queen  Victoria's  bedroom ;  an  ante- 
room leading  into  the  nursery  (afterwards  the 
birthplace  of  the  present  Duchess  of  York) ;  the 
King's  drawing-room,  a  beautiful  room  with  a 
fine  painted  ceiling  and  cornice  designed  by 


AMORBACH    AND    KENSINGTON        39 

Kent ;  and  leading  out  of  it  the  King's  privy 
chamber.  Immediately  below  this  room,  on  the 
first  floor,  is  a  charming  room,  spacious  and  cheer- 
ful, with  a  somewhat  low  ceiling,  and  three  long 
windows  looking  on  to  the  private  gardens. 

In  this  room  the  Duchess  of  Kent  gave 
birth  to  a  daughter  on  the  24th  of  May  1819, 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Dr.  Blagden, 
afterwards  a  great  favourite  with  the  royal 
child,  was  one  of  the  doctors  in  attendance, 
but  the  baby  was  brought  into  the  world  by 
a  celebrated  accoucheuse  and  lady  doctor  from 
Berlin,  Madame  Charlotte  Siebold,  familiarly 
known  as  "  Dr.  Charlotte."  There  were  present 
at  the  birth  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Duke  of  Well- 
ington, the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  Earl  Bath- 
urst,  the  Bishop  of  London,  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer,  and  the  Right  Hon.  George 
Canning.  In  the  ante-room  was  the  Duke's 
faithful,  devoted  friend,  Sir  Frederick  Wether- 
all,  for  fifty  years  in  turn  A.D.C.,  Equerry,  and 
Controller  of  the  Household  to  his  Royal 
Highness.  As  soon  as  the  child  was  born, 
the  Duke  sent  for  Sir  Frederick  and  desired 


4o     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

him  to  send  one  of  the  royal  carriages  at  once 
to  Castle  Hill,  Baling  —  the  Duke's  private 
residence  —  to  fetch  his  daughter,  Augusta 
Wetherall,  then  quite  a  child,  to  the  Palace. 
Sir  Frederick,  scarcely  less  delighted  than  his 
royal  master  at  the  birth  of  the  child,  hastened 
to  obey.  One  can  imagine  the  excitement  of 
the  little  Augusta  during  the  drive  !  When 
her  father  brought  her  into  the  Palace,  the 
Duke  came  forward  with  his  new-born  baby 
in  his  arms,  and  putting  her  into  those  of  the 
little  girl,  said — 

"  Take  Victoria  in  your  arms,  and  be  as  loyal 
to  her  as  your  father  has  been  loyal  to  me." 

Augusta  very  faithfully  kept  that  sacred 
trust.  She  and  her  cousin,  the  daughter  of 
Sir  George  Wetherall,  were  almost  the  only 
playmates  the  little  Princess  Victoria  ever  had, 
except  her  half-sister,  Princess  Feodore,  who, 
though  eleven  years  her  senior,  was  her  con- 
stant companion.  In  after  years  the  cousins 
never  willingly  missed  any  Drawing-room  at 
which  Queen  Victoria  was  present,  and  people 
would  often  ask  who  were  the  two  favoured 
persons  whom  her  Majesty  would  embrace  with 


AMORBACH    AND    KENSINGTON       41 

such  warmth,  holding  their  hands  and  patting 
them  affectionately,  and  asking  after  the  mem- 
bers of  their  families  by  their  Christian  names. 

There  was  great  joy  at  Coburg  over  the  birth 
of  the  Princess.  The  Dowager-Duchess  writes 
to  her  daughter,  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  congratu- 
lating her,  and  says,  "  Again  a  Charlotte,  de- 
stined perhaps  to  play  a  great  part  one  day, 
if  a  brother  is  not  born  to  take  it  out  of  her 
hands.  The  English  like  Queens,  and  the  niece 
of  the  ever-lamented  Princess  Charlotte  will  be 
dear  to  them."  She  prettily  nicknamed  her 
little  granddaughter  "  The  May-flower."  It  is 
curious  that  another  little  May-flower,  also 
destined  perhaps  for  the  throne  of  England, 
should  have  spent  her  childhood  at  Kensington 
Palace,  and  have  become  the  granddaughter  by 
marriage  of  the  earlier  "  May-flower." 

The  christening  of  the  little  Princess  took 
place  a  month  after  her  birth  in  the  gorgeous 
cupola  room,  the  Grand  Saloon,  in  Kensington 
Palace.  A  beautiful  gold  font  was  brought 
from  the  Tower  and  used  for  the  occasion,  and 
the  ceremony  was  performed  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  and  the  Bishop  of  London.  The 


42     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

sponsors  were  the  Prince  Regent ;  the  Emperor 
Alexander  of  Russia,  represented  by  the  Duke 
of  York  ;  the  Queen-Dowager  of  Wurtemburg, 
represented  by  the  Princess  Augusta ;  and  the 
Dowager-Duchess  of  Coburg,  represented  by 
the  Duchess  of  Gloucester.  The  child  was 
named  Alexandrina  Victoria,  both  names  being, 
curiously  enough,  united  in  the  name  of  the 
beautiful  little  Alexandrine  or  Victory  laurel, 
with  which  the  Greeks  used  to  deck  the  brows 
of  their  heroes.  The  former  name — a  compli- 
ment to  the  Emperor — fell  early  into  abeyance, 
and  the  single,  and  to  all  her  people  beloved, 
name  of  "  Victoria "  was  used  alone.  Sir 
Walter  Scott  thought  it  fanciful,  and  hoped  it 
might  be  changed.  It  had  certainly  been  the 
occasion  of  renewed  friction  between  the  royal 
brothers.  Greville  in  his  Memoirs,  Decem- 
ber 24,  1819,  remarks:  "The  Duke  of  Kent 
gave  the  name  of  Alexandrina  to  his  daughter 
in  compliment  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  She 
was  to  have  had  the  name  of  Georgiana,  but 
the  Duke  insisted  upon  Alexandrina  being  her 
first  name.  The  Regent  sent  for  Lieven  and 
made  him  a  great  many  compliments  (en  le 


AMORBACH    AND    KENSINGTON        43 

persiflant)  on  the  Emperor's  being  godfather, 
but  informed  him  that  the  name  of  Georgiana 
could  be  second  to  none  other  in  this  country, 
and  therefore  she  could  not  bear  it  at  all." 

The  Georgian  name  was  not  so  happily 
starred  for  us  to  regret  she  did  not  bear  it.  It 
is  said  that  her  father  wished  her  to  be  called 
Elizabeth,  no  doubt  with  an  eye  to  her  possible 
future,  but  great  as  was  glorious  Queen  Bess, 
Victoria  was  greater,  and,  to  quote  the  Kegent, 
we  would  have  her  "  second  to  none  in  this 
country." 

On  Sunday,  June  29,  1819,  we  read  in  the 
chronicles  of  the  day  that  "  This  afternoon  her 
Royal  Highness  the  Duchess  of  Kent  was 
publicly  churched,  in  the  Parish  Church  of 
Kensington,  by  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury.  The 
Duke  of  Kent  led  the  Duchess  to  the  Com- 
munion-table." 

In  August  the  little  infant,  who  is  described 
as  a  lovely,  fair-haired,  blue-eyed,  chubby,  and 
cheerful  little  being,  was  vaccinated,  "  the  first 
royal  baby  to  be  inoculated  after  the  method 
of  Jenner,"  says  Miss  Tooley  in  her  "  Personal 
Life  of  the  Queen." 


44     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

It  was  about  this  time  that  an  event  took 
place  of  great  moment  to  the  after-life  of  the 
little  Victoria.  On  August  26,  a  son,  named 
Albert,  was  born  to  the  Duchess  of  Kent's 
brother,  the  same  "  Dr.  Charlotte "  assisting  at 
his  birth  as  at  his  cousin's.  The  Dowager- 
Duchess  of  Coburg  writes  next  day  that  he 
already  "  looks  about  like  a  little  squirrel,  with 
a  pair  of  large  blue  eyes,"  and  goes  on  to  speak 
of  "the  May-flower"  as  "a  dear  little  love," 
whom  "  Siebold  cannot  sufficiently  describe." 
She  owed,  no  doubt,  much  of  her  health  and 
beauty  to  the  devotion  of  the  Duchess,  who,  no 
half-mother,  insisted  on  nursing  the  child  her- 
self, and  in  the  absence  of  her  special  nurse, 
Mrs.  Brock,  washed  and  dressed  her  herself. 
Queen  Victoria  followed  her  mother's  example 
in  this,  and  always  gave  the  closest  personal 
attention  to  her  babies  and  their  wants. 

The  Duke  was  enormously  proud  of  his  baby, 
and  drove  her  at  the  early  age  of  four  months 
to  a  military  review  on  Hounslow  Heath,  her 
first  acquaintance  with  the  Army,  to  which  she 
was  always  so  attached.  This  gave  great  um- 
brage to  the  Regent,  who  sharply  remarked, 


AMORBACH    AND    KENSINGTON       45 

"That  infant  is  too  young  to  be  brought  into 
public."  He  showed  a  small  and  incessant 
jealousy  of  the  royal  child  to  the  end  of  his 
life,  and  when  this,  as  well  as  his  injustice  to 
the  Duke  of  Kent,  is  remembered,  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  that  not  much  love  was  lost 
between  himself  and  the  Duchess.  Several 
people  were  privileged  to  see  the  little  Princess 
at  this  time;  Robert  Owen,  the  Socialist,  is  said 
to  have  been  one  of  the  first  men  to  hold  her  in 
his  arms,  a  fitting  tribute  to  one  who  always 
had  the  interests  of  her  poorer  subjects  so  close 
at  heart.  Bishop  Fulford,  of  Montreal,  remem- 
bered to  have  also  taken  her  in  his  arms  when 
a  baby. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  the  Duchess 
began  to  show  signs  of  weakness,  due  to  her 
unwearied  personal  attention  to  her  child.  The 
Duke,  writing  to  Dr.  Collyer  in  September, 
thanks  him  warmly  for  his  "  obliging  remarks 
upon  the  Duchess's  conduct  as  a  mother ;  upon 
which,"  he  says,  "  I  shall  only  observe,  that 
parental  feeling  and  a  just  sense  of  duty,  and 
not  the  applause  of  the  public,  were  the  motives 
that  actuated  her  in  the  line  she  adopted.  She 


46     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

is,  however,  most  happy  that  the  performance 
of  an  office,  most  interesting  in  its  nature,  has 
met  with  the  wishes  and  feelings  of  society." 

Sidmouth,  that  veritable  winter  sun-trap,  then 
a  quiet,  rural  place,  was  decided  on  as  a  refuge 
from  the  cold  and  fog  of  London,  and  there 
the  happy  parents  took  their  little  one  in  the 
December  of  1819. 

"  Two  or  three  evenings  previous  to  his  visit 
to  Sidmouth,"  writes  one  who  knew  the  Duke 
intimately,  "  I  was  at  Kensington  Palace,  and 
on  my  rising  to  take  leave,  the  Duke  intimated 
his  wish  that  I  should  see  the  infant  Princess 
in  her  crib ;  adding,  '  as  it  may  be  some  time 
before  we  meet  again,  I  should  like  you  to  see 
the  child  and  give  her  your  blessing.'  The  Duke 
preceded  me  into  the  little  Princess's  room,  and 
on  my  closing  a  short  prayer  that  as  she  grew  in 
years  she  might  grow  in  grace  and  in  favour  both 
with  God  and  man,  nothing  could  exceed  the 
fervour  and  feeling  with  which  he  responded  in 
an  emphatic  Amen.  Then,  with  no  slight  emo- 
tion, he  continued,  'Don't  pray  simply  that 
hers  may  be  a  brilliant  career,  and  exempt 
from  those  trials  and  struggles  which  have  pur- 


AMORBACH    AND    KENSINGTON        47 

sued  her  father ;  but  pray  that  God's  blessing 
may  rest  on  her,  and  that  in  all  her  coming 
years  she  may  be  guided  and  guarded  by 
God.'" 

The  prayer  was  offered,  and  despite  the  many 
trials  that  befell  the  infant  Princess  in  later  life, 
how  fully  it  was  answered,  we,  who  live  to  bless 
her  memory,  know  well. 


CHAPTER   III 


SIDMOUTH     AND     KENSINGTON, 


1820,    1821,    1822 


i) 


CHAPTER   III 

SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON, 
1820,  1821,  1822 

TOWARDS  the  end  of  December  1819,  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  and  the  Princess  Victoria,  then  a 
little  infant  of  seven  months  old,  set  out  for 
Sidmouth  in  Devonshire,  where  they  intended 
to  winter  before  returning  in  the  early  spring  to 
Amorbach.  On  their  way  down,  they  stayed  a 
couple  of  nights  with  the  Duke's  old  tutor,  the 
Bishop  of  Salisbury,  and  one  may  picture  the 
pleasure  the  visit  must  have  been  to  the  good 
old  man.  The  Duke  and  Duchess  were  at  the 
height  of  their  happiness,  tenderly  attached  to 
each  other  and  their  lovely  child,  and  no  doubt 
proud,  as  all  devoted  parents  are,  to  show  their 
treasure  to  one  who  they  knew  would  value 
her  little  less  than  they  did.  The  good  bishop 
delighted  in  tossing  the  little  creature  in  the 
air,  to  the  detriment  of  his  powdered  wig, 

which  she  would  clutch  so  vigorously  that,  the 

51 


52     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

story  goes,  she  pulled  off — not  only  the  wig — 
but  a  lock  of  the  poor  man's  own  hair  with 
it.  He  would  easily  pardon  the  loss  of  it  to 
the  child  of  his  beloved  pupil. 

The  Duke  and  Duchess  did  not  announce 
the  day  of  their  arrival  at  Sidmouth,  as  they 
wished  to  live  there  quite  privately.  Sidmouth, 
however,  was  much  elated  at  the  honour  done 
it.  It  was  then  little  more  than  a  village, 
charmingly  situated  on  the  south  coast  of 
Devonshire,  and  enjoying  a  perfect  climate. 
The  Duke  had  taken  Woolbrook  Glen — com- 
monly known  as  "The  Glen" — described  by 
Mrs.  Emma  Marshall,  in  her  delightful  book 
"  In  Four  Reigns,"  as  "  covered  with  climbing 
plants  which  shadow  the  verandah,"  and  as 
being  "  scarcely  more  than  a  cottage.  It  stood 
back  from  the  sea,  and  the  approach  was  by  a 
drive  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  shaded  by 
trees,  and  skirting  a  sloping  belt  of  turf,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  a  little  stream  ran  to  meet  the 
sea.  The  ground  rose  on  one  side  of  the  house, 
and  on  this  a  large  bay-window  opened,  also 
sheltered  by  a  verandah,  the  light  pillars  which 
supported  the  roof  being  entwined  with  honey- 
suckle and  roses." 


THE  DUCHESS  OF  KENT  AND  THE  PRINCESS 

From  a  painting  by  SIR  WILLIAM  BEECHY 


SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON        53 

The  royal  baby  was  carried  about  the  grounds 
for  her  daily  airing,  and  was  watched  with  the 
deepest  interest  by  the  inhabitants  of  Sidmouth, 
who  already  began  to  realise  the  fact  that  in  her 
they  saw  their  possible  future  sovereign.  Mrs. 
Marshall,  in  the  person  of  Mrs.  Allingham,  says, 
"  She  was  a  very  fair  and  lovely  baby,  and  there 
was,  even  in  her  infant  days,  a  charm  about  her 
which  has  never  left  our  gracious  Queen.  The 
clear,  frank  glance  of  her  blue  eyes  "  (described 
as  late  as  the  last  Jubilee  of  1897  by  an  on- 
looker as  "  literally  flashing  great  blue  eyes  "), 
"  and  the  sweet  but  firm  expression  of  her 
mouth  were  really  remarkable,  even  when  a 
baby  of  eight  months  old." 

The  Duke  was  inordinately  proud  of  her,  and 
was  in  the  habit  of  saying  to  those  about  her, 
"  Take  care  of  her ;  she  may  yet  be  Queen  of 
England."  Writing  of  her  to  a  friend  about 
this  time,  he  says  :  "My  little  girl  thrives  under 
the  influence  of  a  Devonshire  climate,  and  is,  I 
am  delighted  to  say,  strong  and  healthy ;  too 
healthy,  I  fear,  in  the  opinion  of  some  members 
of  my  family,  by  whom  she  is  regarded  as  an 
intruder ;  how  largely  she  contributes  to  my 


54     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

own  happiness  at  this  moment  it  is  needless 
for  me  to  say  to  you,  who  are  in  such  full  pos- 
session of  my  feelings  on  the  subject." 

A  day  or  two  after  thus  writing,  the  little 
Princess  run  the  first  of  many  risks  of  her  life 
that  befell  her.  We  read  on  December  30, 
1819,  that,  "yesterday  and  this  day,  the  weather 
proving  favourable,  their  Royal  Highnesses  the 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  Kent  and  the  Princess 
have  been  each  day  on  the  promenade,  where 
they  continued  walking  a  considerable  time. 
The  dangerous  practice  of  inexperienced  per- 
sons being  trusted  with  guns  had  yesterday  been 
nearly  attended  with  disastrous  consequences : 
an  apprentice  boy,  shooting  at  small  birds,  had 
the  hardihood  to  approach  so  near  the  resi- 
dences of  their  Royal  Highnesses,  that  the  shot 
broke  the  windows  of  the  nursery,  and  passed 
very  near  the  head  of  the  infant  Princess,  who 
was  in  the  arms  of  the  nurse.  The  delinquent 
was  detected  ;  but,  at  the  request  of  the  Duke, 
he  was  pardoned,  upon  a  promise  of  desisting 
from  such  a  perilous  recreation." 

One  can  imagine  the  consternation  of  the 
Glen  household,  and  the  terror  of  the  "appren- 


SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON        55 

tice  boy,"  in  dread  of  the  punishment  which 
might  fall  on  his  head.  It  speaks  volumes  for 
the  kindness  of  that  "  severe  disciplinarian," 
the  Duke,  that  he  should  have  interceded  for  a 
lad  who  had  so  nearly  killed  his  adored  child. 

All  unconscious  of  the  shadow  of  death 
hanging  over  his  own  head,  the  Duke  writes 
later  on  in  January  1820  to  Dr.  Rudge,  only 
two  days  before  he  was  taken  ill :  "  I  fear  it  will 
be  some  time  before  we  meet  again ;  I  shall, 
therefore,  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  of 
wishing  you  health  and  happiness  until  Spring, 
when  I  hope  I  shall  again  have  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  you  before  our  return  to  the  Continent, 
where,  on  account  of  the  Duchess's  duties  as 
guardian  of  her  two  children,  and  Regent  of  her 
son's  principality,  we  cannot  avoid  going  towards 
the  end  of  April." 

It  was  the  day  after  this  letter  that  Mrs. 
Marshall  gives,  in  the  mouth  of  Mrs.  Allingham, 
an  account  of  a  meeting  with  the  royal  pair  and 
their  child  which  is  as  pathetic,  in  view  of  what 
was  to  come,  as  it  is  charming.  She  says,  speak- 
ing of  the  baby  Princess  :  "  I  can  recall  her 
then,  just  as  the  New  Year  of  1820  had  dawned. 


56     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

We  were  all  returning  from  an  excursion  in  the 
bright  sunshine  of  the  January  noon  when  we 
saw  the  royal  party  crossing  the  road  just 
before  us  with  their  attendants.  The  Duke 
and  Duchess  were  linked  arm-in-arm,  and  the 
little  Princess,  in  her  white  swansdown  hood 
and  pelisse,  was  holding  out  her  hand  to  her 
father.  I  can  see  now  the  smile  on  her  rosy 
face,  and  the  delighted  outstretched  arms  of  her 
father,  as  he  took  her  from  the  lady's  arms  who 
was  her  nurse. 

"  We  all  waited,  drawn  up  in  a  line,  Stephen 
on  a  donkey,  and  the  rest  on  foot.  My  hus- 
band and  St.  John  uncovered,  of  course,  and 
Stephen  tugged  at  his  hat-strings.  .  .  .  My  two 
girls  and  I  curtseyed  respectfully,  and  Stella 
exclaimed,  '  What  a  beautiful  baby ! ' 

"The  Duchess,  hearing  Stella's  words,  turned 
round  with  a  pleasant  smile,  and  said,  'Would 
you  like  to  kiss  the  baby  ? ' 

"  Stella  coloured  with  delight  and  looked  at 
me  for  permission.  The  Duke  kindly  held  the 
little  Princess  down  towards  Stella,  and  said : 
'  T  am  glad  my  little  May-blossom  finds  favour 
in  your  eyes/ 


SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON        57 

"  Then  a  shout  was  heard  from  the  donkey 
where  Stephen  sat.  '  Me  too,  please,  Duke.' 

"  Instead  of  being  the  least  shocked  with  my 
boy's  freedom,  the  Duke  laughed,  and  saying, 
'  Dismount,  then,'  Stephen  scrambled  down,  and 
coming  up,  received  the  longed-for  kiss." 

Some  conversation  followed,  in  the  course 
of  which  Colonel  Allingham  remarked  that  the 
climate  was  salubrious,  and  was  answered  by 
the  Duke,  "  Yes,  yes ;  but  for  all  that  there  is 
a  treacherous  wind  from  inland;  it  is  blowing 
to-day." 

It  was  blowing  the  death  summons  of  the 
Duke.  That  very  afternoon  he  took  a  long 
walk  with  one  of  his  attendants,  Captain 
Conroy,  and  came  back  to  the  Glen  with  feet 
thoroughly  soaked. 

In  vain  was  he  urged  to  change  his  boots  and 
stockings.  The  charm  of  playing  with  his  baby 
overcame  his  natural  prudence ;  he  could  not 
tear  himself  away,  but  stayed  fondly  caressing 
and  amusing  her  till  he  had  to  dress  for  dinner. 
That  night  he  felt  the  first  symptoms  of  a 
feverish  chill,  and  the  doctor  was  called  in. 
The  Duke  refused  all  medicine,  to  which  he 


58     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

had  a  great  dislike,  and  said  he  should  be  all 
right  again  in  the  morning.  But  the  morning 
only  brought  renewed  fever,  and  three  days 
after,  on  Sunday,  January  23,  at  ten  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  he  died.  He  blamed  himself  in 
his  last  moments  for  not  having  taken  Dr. 
Wilson's  prescriptions ;  and  he  met  his  death 
with  great  fortitude  and  piety. 

One  who  was  about  his  person  to  the  last, 
Sir  Frederick  Wetherall,  to  whom  he  was 
greatly  attached,  says,  "Nothing  could  be  more 
exemplary  than  the  religious  bearing  of  my  late 
dear  master,  the  Duke  of  Kent.  His  Royal 
Highness  was  only  aware  of  his  state  on  Satur- 
day, the  22nd.  He  executed  his  will  towards 
night ;  and  after  that  he  took  leave  of  his 
gentlemen,  but,  on  our  retiring,  he  sent  for  me 
to  come  back,  and  in  much  conversation  with 
me  on  many  subjects,  he  forgave  as  he  hoped 
to  be  forgiven.  It  was  the  Duke's  intention 
to  have  received  the  sacrament,  but  it  was 
delayed  to  the  following  morning,  which  was 
too  late.  When  I  left  his  bedside  he  had  begun 
to  doze  and  wander,  and  it  was  about  two  o'clock 
on  the  Sunday  morning  that  he  gave  his  dying 


SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON        59 

injunctions  to  the  Duchess,  who  for  many  days 
and  nights  never  left  him — never,  in  fact,  till  all 
was  over." 

He  died  in  the  arms  of  his  faithful  friend 
and  gentleman,  Sir  Frederick  Wetherall,  who 
had  hurried  from  London  to  his  beloved  master, 
and,  when  dying,  drew  a  ring  off  his  finger  and 
gave  it  to  Sir  Frederick,  saying,  "  Take  it !  It 
is  my  last  gift  on  earth." 

So  died  one  of  the  best  and  kindest  of  men, 
a  loving  husband  and  adoring  father,  leaving 
desolation  behind  him. 

Prince  Leopold  had  hurried  to  Sidmouth 
with  Dr.  Stockmar  on  hearing  of  his  brother- 
in-law's  illness,  and  was  in  time  to  see  him 
before  his  death  and  to  console  his  widowed 
sister,  who  had  never  taken  off  her  clothes  for 
five  nights,  and  was  worn-out  with  her  devotion 
as  well  as  her  grief.  The  body  of  the  Duke 
lay  in  state  for  a  short  time  at  the  Glen,  and 
was  seen  by  a  great  number  of  people  in  the 
neighbourhood,  with  whom  he  had  become 
very  popular.  It  was  then  removed  by  stages 
to  Windsor,  where  it  was  buried  with  royal 
honours. 


60     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

The  Duke,  in  his  will,  appointed  his  "  be- 
loved wife  Victoire  to  be  sole  guardian  to  our 
dear  child,  the  Princess  Alexandrina  Victoria, 
to  all  intents  and  for  all  purposes  whatsoever." 
He  left  his  estate,  real  and  personal,  to  Lieu- 
tenant -  General  Sir  Frederick  Wetherall,  in 
trust  for  his  wife  and  child,  and  together  with 
Sir  John  Conroy,  appointed  him  executor  of 
his  will. 

The  House  of  Lords,  in  passing  an  address 
of  condolence  to  the  King,  George  IV.,  spoke 
in  the  highest  terms  of  the  behaviour  of  the 
Duchess  throughout  the  Duke's  illness.  But 
no  human  praise  could  console  her  for  her 
irreparable  loss.  Her  first  and  best  consola- 
tion, after  her  faith  in  God,  was  her  child  ; 
her  brother,  too,  must  have  known  how,  out 
of  his  own  bereavement,  to  minister  to  hers. 
He  took  her  back  to  Kensington  Palace  two 
days  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  the  little 
Princess,  unconscious  of  her  loss,  crowing  and 
dancing  in  her  nurse's  arms,  and  beating  upon 
the  carriage  window  with  delight.  Their  going 
was  watched  by  many,  whose  hearts  must  have 
been  deeply  touched  for  both  mother  and  child. 


SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON        61 

They  broke  their  journey  at  the  good  Bishop 
of  Salisbury's  house,  for  the  Duchess  was  ex- 
hausted by  grief  and  nursing,  and  during  the 
drive  had  never  had  her  fatherless  child  out 
of  her  arms.  How  different  from  the  happy 
journey  of  only  a  few  weeks  before  ! 

Prince  Leopold  in  his  "  Reminiscences  "  says  : 
"  The  Duchess,  who  had  lost  a  most  amiable 
and  devoted  husband,  was  in  a  state  of  the 
greatest  distress.  The  poor  Duke  had  left  his 
family  deprived  of  all  means  of  subsistence. 
The  journey  to  Kensington  was  very  painful, 
and  the  weather  very  severe." 

It  may  be  mentioned  in  passing  that  the 
deplorable  state  of  the  Duke's  finances  was 
largely  due  to  the  fact  that  he  -had  always  been 
kept  by  his  family  much  too  short  of  money  for 
a  man  in  his  position,  with  its  many  calls  and 
obligations.  Everything  he  possessed  went  to 
liquidate  his  debts,  and  one  of  the  first  things 
Queen  Victoria  did  on  coming  to  the  throne 
was  to  pay  off  all  that  remained  of  them.  The 
Duchess  behaved  with  her  usual  strong  sense 
of  duty  and  propriety  in  giving  up  everything 
she  inherited  from  her  husband  to  satisfy  his 


62     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

creditors.  By  her  marriage  with  him  she  had 
forfeited  much  of  the  income  derived  from  her 
first  husband.  She  had  no  legal  home  in  this 
country  ;  it  was  months  before  she  could  touch 
the  jointure  which  had  been  settled  on  her  at 
her  second  marriage,  and  but  for  the  generous 
help  of  her  brother,  Prince  Leopold,  she  would 
have  been  in  a  pitiable  position.  Yet  in  face 
of  all  this,  she  renounced  all  idea  of  returning 
to  Bavaria,  to  her  beloved  Amorbach.  She 
writes  pathetically  of  herself  and  her  fatherless 
child  :  "  We  stood  alone — almost  friendless,  and 
alone  in  this  country ;  I  could  not  even  speak 
the  language  of  it.  I  did  not  hesitate  how  to 
act :  I  gave  up  my  home,  my  kindred,  my 
duties  "  (as  Regent  of  Leiningen)  "  to  devote 
myself  to  that  duty  which  was  to  be  the  sole 
object  of  my  future  life." 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  over-estimate  the 
courage  of  this  decision,  nor  its  importance 
to  the  welfare  of  this  country.  We  can  hardly 
imagine  what  a  difference  it  would  have 
made  in  Queen  Victoria's  life,  her  character 
and  point  of  view,  had  she  been  brought  up 
in  Germany,  with  foreign  ideas,  language, 


SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON        63 

and  surroundings.  The  Duchess  did  not  even 
speak  our  tongue,  yet  she  set  to  work,  and 
so  far  acquired  it,  that  her  own  was  never 
spoken,  except  as  an  alien  one,  to  the  little 
Princess. 

Scarcely  a  week  after  the  death  of  his  son, 
the  poor  old  King  George  III.  died,  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  Regent,  George  IV. 
The  Duchess  of  Kent  tried  to  obtain  an 
acknowledged  position  at  Court  after  the 
old  King's  death,  a  position  to  which  she 
was  the  more  entitled  since  she  was  sole 
guardian  of  a  child  who  stood  so  near  to  the 
throne.  This  position  George  IV.  denied 
her,  and  indeed  it  is  no  secret  that  she  was 
unkindly  and  discourteously  treated  by  both 
him  and  his  successor.  The  Duchess  of 
Clarence,  afterwards  Queen  Adelaide,  was 
always  much  attached  to  her  sister-in-law  and 
her  child.  Her  own  two  little  girls,  Charlotte 
— called  after  the  cousin  she  had  lost — born  in 
1819,  and  Elizabeth,  born  in  1820,  lived  but 
a  very  short  time,  and  the  bereaved  mother 
turned  with  generous  interest  to  the  little 
Princess  Victoria.  Queen  Adelaide  had  a  most 


64     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

beautiful  and  tender  nature,  and  was  always 
much  beloved  by  her  little  niece,  as  indeed  she 
was  by  the  whole  country. 

In  Lady  Jerningham's  letters  we  find  the 
following  testimony  to  her  active  sympathy 
with  the  widowed  Duchess  : — 

"  Captain  Usher  called  upon  me  yesterday 
(February  4th)  in  Black.  He  said  he  had  just 
handed  the  Duchess  of  Clarence  into  her  Car- 
riage to  visit  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  where  she 
goes  every  day.  The  Duchess  of  Kent  is  in 
deep  affliction,  and  the  Duchess  of  Clarence, 
after  the  first  interview  with  Her,  was  so 
affected  she  could  not  recover  Herself." 

On  the  2ist  of  the  same  month  she  reports 
to  her  daughter,  Lady  Bedingfield,  that  "  the 
Duchess  of  Clarence  visits  the  Duchess  of  Kent 
Daily,  and  the  Latter  is  a  little  Better." 

About  a  month  later  Lady  Bedingfield  was 
visiting  the  Duchess  of  Clarence,  and  says  she 
observed  to  her  "  that  Her  kind  and  constant 
visits  to  the  widowed  Duchess  of  Kent  must 
be  a  source  of  great  comfort  to  Her.  She  re- 
plied that  the  Duchess  of  Kent's  consolation 
came  from  a  Much  higher  Source  ;  that  she  was 


SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON        65 

truly  religious.  She  also  said  that  the  Duchess 
of  Kent's  little  girl  was  a  very  fine  Child  and 
full  of  Spirits.  Some  one  sent  its  Mother  a 
miniature  Picture  of  the  late  Duke,  done  when 
he  was  very  young,  which  she  suspended  round 
the  child's  neck.  When  the  little  girl  was 
brought  to  the  Duchess  of  Clarence  she  had 
her  two  little  Hands  spread  over  the  Picture 
and  laughed  as  if  delighted.  In  an  Infant 
under  a  year  the  circumstance  must  have  been 
accidental,  but  my  amiable  Duchess  "  (of  Clar- 
ence) "  said  it  affected  her  very  much ;  as  also 
when,  the  Duke  of  Clarence  entering,  the  Child 
pointed  to  the  Star  and  exclaimed  '  Papa ! 
Papa!'" 

From  this  time  forward  the  Duchess  and 
the  little  Princess  lived  the  most  secluded  life 
at  Kensington  Palace.  Independently  of  her 
grief  and  position  as  a  widow,  there  was  little 
to  tempt  a  woman  of  her  rectitude,  refinement, 
and  staunch  religious  principles  in  the  Court  of 
George  IV.,  with  its  loose  living  and  looser 
conversation.  She  was  bound  to  the  King  by 
no  ties  of  affection,  and  her  motherly  feelings 
must  have  been  deeply  hurt  by  his  jealous  atti- 


66     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

tude  towards  his  fatherless  little  niece.  She 
devoted  herself  to  the  care  of  her  child  and  its 
health,  and  the  little  one  throve  and  grew 
stronger  and  bonnier  every  day.  She  was  con- 
stantly to  be  seen  in  the  palace  gardens,  unless 
prevented  by  bad  weather,  taking  the  air  in  the 
arms  of  her  nurse,  Mrs.  Brock,  "  dear  Boppy," 
as  she  afterwards  called  her,  and  was  a  source 
of  much  interest  to  the  public.  The  Duchess, 
like  her  husband,  Prince  Edward,  was  an  early 
riser,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  eating  her  break- 
fast at  eight  o'clock,  in  the  garden  if  possible. 
To  this  custom  Queen  Victoria  probably  owed 
her  fondness  for  open-air  meals  and  fresh  air 
generally. 

The  Duke  of  Argyll  tells  us  that,  "The 
Queen  used  to  say  that  her  earliest  recollec- 
tion was  that  of  crawling  on  the  floor  on  an 
old  yellow  carpet  at  Kensington  Palace  and 
playing  with  the  badge  of  the  Garter  belong- 
ing to  Bishop  Fisher  of  Salisbury."  The  Bishop 
took  the  deepest  interest  in  her. 

Another  picture  of  her  in  August  of  this 
year,  1820,  is  from  the  pen  of  the  witty,  lively 
Lady  Harriet  Granville :  "  I  had  almost  for- 


SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON        67 

gotten  to  talk  of  my  royal  morning.  I  spent 
two  hours  at  Cleveland  House  with  the  Duchess 
of  Gloucester,  an  amiable  good  soul  who  talks 
of  Trimmer  and  Mr.  Hodson ;  the  Duchess 
of  Clarence,  ugly,  but  with  a  good  tournure 
and  manner ;  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  very  pleas- 
ing indeed,  and  raving  of  her  baby.  '  C'est 
mon  bonheur,  mes  delices,  mon  existence. 
C'est  I'image  du  feu  roi ! '  Think  of  the  baby  ! 
They  say  it  is  the  Roi  George  in  petticoats,  so 
fat  it  can  scarcely  waddle." 

In  other  words,  a  plump  and  lovely  infant, 
with  the  dazzling  skin  and  complexion  for 
which  she  was  always  famous.  Lady  Harriet's 
pen  runs  away  with  her  somewhat,  but  those 
few  touches  of  the  Duchess  of  Kent  give  one 
a  very  appealing  picture  of  motherhood.  The 
Duke  had  always  been  devoted  to  his  father, 
and  to  know  that  his  child  was  called  "  King 
George  in  petticoats "  would  have  given  him 
intense  delight. 

The  years  1821  and  1822  passed  by  very 
uneventfully  for  the  little  Princess.  She  lived 
a  life  of  great  simplicity  and  regularity,  of  plain 
food,  plenty  of  fresh  air  and  exercise,  and,  we 


68     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

may  be  sure,  the  strictest  ruling.  It  was  the 
age  of  Mrs.  Trimmer  and  of  "  The  Fairchild 
Family,"  an  age  when  Nature  in  human  beings 
was  looked  upon  with  the  gravest  suspicion, 
and  regarded  as  congenitally  evil.  Hereditary 
tendencies  were  no  excuse  for  naughty  con- 
duct, but  sins  to  be  crushed  out  of  the  growing 
child.  Pleasures  were  rewards,  not  necessities 
as  they  are  nowadays.  High  spirits,  of  which 
the  little  Princess  Victoria  had  her  full  share, 
were  to  be  kept  in  check,  and  smart  speeches 
and  insubordinate  conduct  were  things  not  to 
be  laughed  at  and  admired,  but  stigmatised  as 
"  pertness  "  and  "  disobedience."  In  a  word, 
it  was  an  age  of  backboards  and  Duty  with  a 
very  "  big,  big  D,"  just  as  to-day  is  an  age  of 
easy-chairs  and  self-indulgence. 

The  little  lady  was  something  of  a  romp,  and 
though  she  had  no  playmates  but  her  much 
older  half-sister,  Princess  Feodore,  and  the  two 
little  Wetherall  girls,  who  were  also  much  her 
seniors,  she  was  liberally  supplied  with  toys, 
and  satisfied  her  maternal  instincts  with  innu- 
merable dolls.  William  Wilberforce,  the  great 
philanthropist,  who  was  a  near  neighbour  of  the 


SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON        69 

Duchess's,  writes  to  Hannah  More  that  "  in 
consequence  of  a  very  civil  message  from  the 
Duchess  of  Kent,  I  waited  on  her  this  morn- 
ing, and  found  her  with  her  fine,  animated  child 
on  the  floor  by  her  side  with  its  playthings,  of 
which  I  soon  became  one." 

Amongst  other  treasures  of  the  Princess's 
babyhood  were  a  tiny  silver  teapot  and  sugar- 
basin  marked  with  a  "V.,"  and  dated  1822. 
She  had  also  a  little  rosewood  chair  and  table 
at  which  she  took  her  breakfast  of  bread  and 
milk  and  fruit,  with  her  nurse  in  attendance 
beside  her.  "  Boppy  "  was  a  great  resource 
for  romps  in  the  long  rooms  of  Kensington 
Palace  when  Princess  Feodore  was  busy  with 
her  governess,  Miss  Lehzen.  Breakfast  was 
at  eight  after  family  prayers  in  the  breakfast- 
room,  lunch  at  two  (let  us  hope  she  had  some- 
thing in  the  shape  of  what  the  servants  call 
"  elevens  !  "),  and  dinner  at  seven.  All  these 
meals  were  taken  in  company  with  her  mother, 
who  scarcely  bore  to  have  her  out  of  her  sight. 
Princess  Fe'odore  delighted  in  drawing  her  little 
sister  about  in  a  hand-carriage ;  but  when  she 
grew  out  of  babyhood  Princess  Victoria  drove 


70     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

either  in  her  own  tiny  pony-chaise,  or  with  the 
Duchess  in  the  afternoon.  At  nine  o'clock — 
a  somewhat  late  hour  to  our  modern  notions 
— she  was  put  to  sleep  in  a  beautiful  little 
French  bed,  which  stood  beside  her  mother's, 
Princess  Feodore's  being  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Duchess.  The  younger  child  never  slept 
out  of  her  mother's  room  till  she  came  to 
the  throne. 

Her  uncle,  the  Duke  of  York,  gave  her  a 
donkey,  which  she  took  great  delight  in  riding, 
attended  by  an  old  soldier,  who  had  to  use  all 
his  wiles  to  get  the  little  lady  to  dismount  and 
exercise  her  little  legs.  "  It  will  do  my  little 
Princess  good  to  run  on  the  grass  "  sometimes 
failed  of  its  effect,  for  the  said  Princess  was  a 
wilful  little  creature,  and  "  had  a  way  with 
her,"  as  the  Irish  say,  which  got  the  better  of 
most  people. 

Her  grandmother,  the  Dowager-Duchess  of 
Coburg,  took  the  tenderest  interest  in  her 
"  May-blossom,"  and  was  constantly  writing  of 
her  to  the  Duchess,  her  daughter,  and  giving 
at  the  same  time  accounts  of  the  progress  of 
the  little  Prince  Albert — "  Alberinchen" — who, 


SIDMOUTH    AND    KENSINGTON        71 

she  says,  "is  a  pendant  to  the  pretty  cousin." 
He  was  a  most  beautiful  child,  with  a  head 
and  face  like  an  angel,  as  his  early  portraits 
testify. 

From  her  earliest  years  the  Duchess  read 
the  Bible  to  the  little  Princess,  and  taught  her 
the  first  truths  of  religion ;  and  if  hers  was 
a  very  quiet,  secluded  babyhood,  it  was  a  very 
healthy,  and,  in  spite  of  discipline — or  because 
of  it — a  happy  one. 


CHAPTER   IV 

KENSINGTON,    RAMSGATE,    AND 
CLAREMONT,    1823 


CHAPTER  IV 

KENSINGTON,    RAMSGATE,    AND 
CLAREMONT,    1823 

IN  this  year  Princess  Victoria  began,  what  I 
cannot  but  think  is  in  many  instances  mis- 
named, her  education.  So  wise  and  clever  a 
mother  as  the  Duchess  of  Kent  must  have 
realised  the  fact  that  education,  properly  so 
called,  really  begins  at  birth,  and  we  know  that 
she  began  early  to  form  her  child's  naturally 
strong  character.  She  had  taught  her,  not 
without  difficulty,  the  alphabet,  for  we  are  told 
that  the  tiny  scholar  at  first  refused  to  recognise 
the  necessity  for  mastering  her  A.B.C.  But  upon 
its  being  pointed  out  to  her  that  without  this 
preliminary  step  she  would  never  be  able  to  read 
"like  grown-up  people,"  she  eagerly  cried,  "I 
learn  too  !  I  learn  too  ! " 

Hers,  however,    was  a   daring,    adventurous 
nature,  and  like  all  such,  very  wilful.     There 

75 


76     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

must  have  always  been  a  masculine  element, 
common  to  great  people  of  both  sexes,  an  in- 
dependence of  thought  and  action  about  her, 
which  she  retained  throughout  her  life,  and 
which  doubtless  made  her  difficult  to  manage 
as  a  little  child.  In  the  spring  of  this  year  the 
Duchess  came  to  the  conclusion  that  she  would 
make  greater  progress  and  show  a  more  docile 
spirit  if  she  were  under  the  tuition  of  a  man. 
She  chose  for  the  purpose  the  Rev.  George 
Davys,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  a 
man  of  a  singularly  gentle  and  retiring  disposi- 
tion, and  a  poetical  mind.  I  am  indebted  to 
his  son,  Canon  Owen  W.  Davys,  of  Wheathamp- 
stead,  for  the  following  note  : — 

"  Bishop  Davys,  when  living  at  Kensington, 
was  holding  the  family  living  of  Willoughby-in- 
the- Wolds,  Notts,  a  small  parish  with  no  resi- 
dence, and  was  engaged  with  private  pupils,  also, 
I  believe,  holding  a  preachership  in  London. 
He  was  eminent  for  his  skill  in  writing  for  the 
poor,  not  a  common  talent  in  those  days ;  Messrs. 
Rivington  were  his  publishers,  and  it  was  after  a 
meeting  there  of  authors  that  he  was  asked  by  the 
Vicar  of  Kensington  whether  he  could  arrange 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT        77 

to  read  English  with  the  Duchess  of  Kent.  This 
he  undertook,  and  at  the  end  of  a  week  or  two, 
her  Royal  Highness  said,  *  You  teach  me  so 
well  that  I  wish  you  would  teach  my  little 
daughter.'  This  he  began  with  the  alphabet 
and  a  box  of  letters,  and  finished  by  hearing 
her  Majesty  privately  rehearse  the  delivery 
of  her  first  speech  in  the  House  of  Lords." 

Dr.  Davys  wrote  "  A  Plain  and  Short  History 
of  England  for  Children,"  in  letters  from 
a  father  to  his  son,  with  a  set  of  questions 
at  the  end  of  each  letter.  It  was  first  pub- 
lished in  The  Cottager's  Monthly  Visitor,  and 
was  probably  written  for  the  Princess. 

Mr.  Davys  was  appointed  to  the  living  of  All 
Hallows',  London  Wall,  in  1830,  not  then  so 
good  a  piece  of  preferment  as  it  afterwards  be- 
came. He  was  made  Dean  of  Chester  in  1832, 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  Duchess,  in  reply  to  the 
objection  raised  by  the  King  and  his  ministers 
that  Mr.  Davys  was  not  a  person  of  sufficient 
importance  to  have  charge  of  the  education  of 
the  heir  to  the  throne.  "  If,"  she  said,  "a  digni- 
fied clergyman  is  indispensable  to  fill  the  office 
of  tutor  to  my  daughter,  the  Princess  Victoria, 


78     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

there  could  be  no  objection  if  Mr.  Davys  received 
the  preferment  he  has  always  deserved." 

He  was  made  Bishop  of  Peterborough  in  1839, 
and  died  in  1 864,  retaining  to  the  last  the  affec- 
tionate friendship  of  his  royal  pupil.  He  lived 
to  see  her  happy  marriage,  her  inconsolable 
widowhood,  and  the  marriage  of  their  present 
Majesties,  King  Edward  and  Queen  Alexandra, 
which  took  place  the  year  before  he  died.  His 
simple,  steadfast  goodness  must  have  left  a 
mark  on  the  mind  of  the  wonderful  child  he 
helped  to  educate,  and  who,  in  the  midst  of  all 
her  greatness,  was  greatest  in  this — that,  like 
her  old  tutor,  she  lived  simply,  "  and  walked 
humbly  with  her  God"  to  the  end  of  her 
noble  life. 

Mr.  Davys  came  daily  to  the  Palace  to  teach 
the  little  Princess,  in  addition  to  his  lessons 
with  the  Duchess  and  Princess  Feodore.  The 
good  Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg  seems  to  have 
feared  lest  her  beloved  "May-blossom"  should 
be  too  early  forced  into  learning,  for  she  im- 
plores her  daughter  not  to  "  tease  your  little  puss 
with  learning.  She  is  so  young  still,"  and  in- 
forms her  that  "  Alberinchen "  is  only  making 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT         79 

eyes  at  a  picture-book.  But  in  spite  of  her  re- 
monstrances Mr.  Davys  was  introduced,  in  his 
capacity  of  tutor,  to  the  Duchess  of  Kent  by 
Captain  (afterwards  Sir  John)  Conroy  on  April 
7th,  and  on  the  i6th  began  his  duties. 

The  little  Princess  was  put  through  her  paces 
in  the  alphabet,  and  then  began  to  tackle  the 
difficulties  of  "  ba,  be,  bi,"  &c.,  which,  I  think, 
appears  to  most  children  a  senseless  lesson 
enough.  The  Princess  seems  to  have  shared 
the  common  aversion  to  it,  for  we  are  told  that 
she  did  not  quite  conquer  it.  Her  mother  pro- 
mised her  a  reward  if  the  lesson  were  a  good  one, 
and  we  get  an  amusing  insight  into  her  character, 
for,  says  Mr.  Davys,  "  the  Princess  asked  for 
the  reward  before  she  began  the  lesson,"  on  the 
principle,  no  doubt,  that  "a  bird  in  the  hand 
is  worth  two  in  the  bush."  The  lesson  lasted 
about  three-quarters  of  an  hour. 

The  little  lady  does  not  seem  to  have  made 
rapid  progress  during  the  first  month,  and 
showed  "a  will  of  her  own,"  and  a  desire  to 
make  "o's"  on  her  slate  when  "h's"  were  the 
order  of  the  day,  and  vice  versd.  Mr.  Davys 
used  to  write  little  words  on  bits  of  card,  and, 


8o     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

placing  them  about  the  room,  endeavoured  to 
teach  his  royal  pupil  by  making  her  bring  the 
ones  he  called  out  to  her.  On  April  25th  he 
remarks  that  "  she  seems  a  sweet-tempered  child, 
and  is  soon  brought  to  obedience." 

He  also  adds  that  he  brought  by  the  Duchess's 
wish  "the  nursery  rhymes,  and  read  the  story  of  a 
little  girl  who  cried  to  be  washed."  Does  Mr. 
Davys  mean  "at  being  washed,"  and  if  so,  can 
the  little  girl  be  Mrs.  Turner's  immortal  "  Miss 
Caroline  "  whose  mamma  had  ordered  Ann,  the 
maid,  to  wash  her,  and  whose  tears  and  vanity 
anent  her  pink  sash  ended  in  a  whipping  from 
papa?  Mrs.  Turner  was  all  the  fashion  in 
nurseries  of  that  date,  and  there  is  a  spirited 
directness  about  her  rhymes  and  her  morality 
which  I  feel  sure  must  have  pleased  Princess 
Victoria.  A  few  days  later  we  learn  that  she 
was  not  well  enough  to  take  her  lesson,  and 
being  asked  to  spell,  amongst  others,  the  word 
"bad,"  took  it,  apparently,  to  herself,  and  wept 
over  it.  She  was,  as  her  good  tutor  says,  "a 
child  of  great  feeling,"  and  was  encouraged  in 
learning  to  write  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to 
write  a  letter  to  inquire  after  one  Richard  Hayes, 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT        81 

who  had  been  in  waiting  on  her,  and  who  had 
broken  his  leg. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Dr.  Blagden,  who 
attended  to  the  Princess's  health,  was  given  by 
her  a  large  sugar  almond,  a  great  treasure  in  her 
eyes,  and  a  still  greater  one  in  his,  for  he  kept 
it  carefully  in  a  little  ornamental  box  to  the 
day  of  his  death.  He  had  a  wonderful  emerald 
ring  which  his  little  patient  much  coveted,  but 
which  he  never  would  give  her.  She  might 
have  anything  else  of  him,  he  said,  but  the 
ring  had  an  uncanny  story  attached  to  it,  and 
the  good  doctor  had,  perhaps,  in  spite  of  his 
science,  a  little  latent  superstition  left  in  the 
corner  of  his  mind ! 

Mr.  Davys  seems  to  have  been  much  impressed 
with  his  pupil's  honesty.  She  was  magnificently 
honest  to  the  end  of  her  life,  and  about  this  time 
Mr.  Davys  tells  a  story  of  this  quality  which  is  a 
curious  replica  of  one  told  of  her  father  when  a 
boy.  He  had  destroyed  a  very  valuable  orna- 
ment, and  on  being  told  that  he  made  both  him- 
self and  his  tutor  sorry,  remarked,  "No,  you 
may  be  sorry,  but  honestly  /  am  not."  His 
daughter  was  told  by  her  mother  that  "when 


82     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

you  are  naughty,  you  make  both  me  and  yourself 
very  unhappy." 

" No,  mamma,  not  me,  not  myself,  but  you" 
was  her  reply. 

The  Duchess  told  Mr.  Davys,  who  was  in- 
quiring one  day  after  the  Princess's  behaviour, 
that  the  day  before  there  had  been  "  a  little 
storm."  "  Yes,"  remarked  the  small  lady,  "  one 
at  dressing  and  one  at  washing."  Miss  Caro- 
line's sad  fate  had  evidently  made  but  small 
impression.  The  Duchess  showed  the  greatest 
anxiety  for  her  daughter's  progress.  She  was 
always  present  at  her  lessons,  and  took  lessons 
herself  of  Mr.  Davys  in  English.  She  also 
carefully  educated  her  conscience,  for  he  says 
she  "  gave  some  advice  to  her  little  daughter 
in  a  beautiful  manner,  teaching  her  that  her 
behaviour  should  be  just  the  same  whether  she 
was  seen  or  not.  '  Your  Father  in  Heaven  sees 
your  heart  at  all  times.' " 

The  little  girl  was  much  pleased  at  one  of  his 
devices  for  interesting  her  in  her  lessons,  which 
consisted  in  engaging  Princess  Feodore  and 
Mdlle.  Lehzen  to  stand  up  with  her  as  in  a 
National  School  class.  Her  gentle,  imaginative 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT        83 

tutor  must  have  made  the  first  steps  of  learning 
easy  to  her  little  feet. 

The  24th  of  May,  her  fourth  birthday,  was 
of  course  a  holiday  and  a  great  day,  for  she 
was  bidden  with  the  Duchess  by  George  IV. 
— "Uncle  King"  as  she  called  him — to  a 
State  dinner-party  at  Carlton  House.  She, 
however,  only  appeared  for  a  moment  to  see  the 
King  and  the  Royal  Family.  She  was  at  this 
time  a  very  attractive  child,  with  the  quick  wit 
and  tact  that  always  distinguished  her,  and  she 
always  seems  to  have  contrived  to  highly  amuse 
her  "  Uncle  King."  In  the  evening  she  had  a 
party  of  children,  to  whom  she  showed  her  many 
presents,  spread  out  on  a  table.  Mr.  Davys 
says  she  was  most  generous  in  giving  and  lend- 
ing her  playthings  to  her  little  friends,  and  was 
no  doubt  amply  repaid  by  the  novelty  of  so 
many  playmates. 

Shortly  after  this  Mr.  Davys'  little  boy  fell  ill 
of  measles,  and  Princess  Fe*odore  seems  to  have 
been  mainly  responsible  for  the  lessons  in  the 
tutor's  enforced  absence,  and  to  have  improved 
on  what  she  had  already  learned.  The  prime 
difficulty  seems  to  have  been  to  fix  the  little 


84     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Princess's  attention.  "  Volatile,"  her  tutor  says 
she  is,  and  seems  to  think  she  "  could  an  she 
would"  show  more  concentration.  Poor  little 
lady.  She  was  only  four  years  old,  and  in 
spite  of  her  inattention  she  was  "very  good- 
tempered  and  very  affectionate,"  and  showed 
"the  marks  of  a  tenderness  of  disposition" 
which  was  easily  evoked  by  any  tale  of  dis- 
tress, especially  in  animals,  of  whom  she  was 
very  fond. 

On  August  1 5th  of  this  year  she  went  with 
the  Duchess  and  her  household  to  Ramsgate  for 
nearly  two  months,  and  from  there  she  evidently 
wrote  the  accompanying  letter  to  her  tutor.  It 
is  probably  the  first  she  ever  wrote,  and  does 
equal  credit  to  her  heart  and  her  progress. 
Very  few  children  could  have  written  as  neatly 
and  concisely  after  little  more  than  six  months' 
teaching.  The  signature  almost  exactly  re- 
sembles the  one  written  in  the  same  year, 
and  now  in  the  British  Museum,  except  that 
the  R  is  neater  and  firmer  in  that  of  the 
letter. 

The  journey  to  Ramsgate  was  made  by 
steamer  from  the  Tower,  which  sounds  delight- 


nr  DEAR 
sir\ 

DO  MOT 

FO  RG  FT  MY 

LETTERS     ' 

NOR  WILL 

ET 


YOU 

VICTORIA 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT         85 

fully  old-fashioned,  and  must  have  been  an 
enjoyable  mode  of  travel  to  a  bright,  intelligent 
child.  The  visit  to  Kamsgate  was  brightened 
by  the  presence  of  Prince  Leopold,  who  was 
adored  both  by  the  Duchess  and  her  child. 
He  was  equally  devoted  to  them,  and  all  his 
niece's  happiest  childish  moments  seem  to  have 
been  connected  with  him.  She  was  allowed  to 
play  on  the  sands  with  absolute  freedom,  and 
let  us  hope,  went  back  to  Kensington  with 
roses  on  her  pretty  face,  for  a  writer  in  Fraser's 
Magazine  speaks  of  her  as  "pale  as  well  as 
pretty,"  when  he  first  saw  her  on  the  Ramsgate 
beach.  "She  wore,"  he  says,  "a  plain  straw 
bonnet  with  a  white  ribbon  round  it,  and  as 
pretty  a  pair  of  shoes  on  as  pretty  a  pair  of  feet 
as  I  ever  remember  to  have  seen  from  China  to 
Kamschatka."  He  says  she  was  allowed  to  ride 
donkeys  and  play  with  other  children,  possibly 
the  little  daughter  and  niece  of  Sir  Frederick 
Wetherall,  for  the  Duchess  was  extraordinarily 
careful  as  to  the  companions  of  the  Princess, 
and  we  know  from  her  own  lips  that  hers  was 
a  somewhat  dull  childhood  in  this  respect. 
There  must  have  been  some  lessons  during  this 


86     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

seaside  visit,  for  on  coming  back  to  Kensington 
and  resuming  work  with  Mr.  Davys  on  the  6th 
of  October,  he  finds  her  "  somewhat  less  averse 
to  looking  at  her  book." 

An  old  lady  who  lived  in  Kensington  has 
described  the  Princess  at  this  time  as  being 
always  prettily  but  plainly  dressed,  and  often 
to  be  met  riding  her  donkey  or  driving  in  her 
little  pony-chaise,  or  skipping  along  between 
her  mother  and  sister,  ready  to  smile  at  and 
greet  every  one,  or  give  her  dainty  little  hand 
to  be  kissed. 

Early  in  October  the  whole  family  went  to 
stay  at  Claremont  with  the  beloved  uncle, 
Prince  Leopold.  One  can  imagine  the  games 
they  would  have,  and  the  delightful  walks  and 
drives  that  would  be  taken  about  Esher  and 
the  charming  country  round  it.  Writing  from 
Claremont  to  King  Leopold — as  he  afterwards 
became  —  in  1843,  the  Queen  says:  "This 
place  has  a  particular  charm  for  us  both,  and 
brings  back  recollections  of  the  happiest  days 
of  my  otherwise  dull  childhood,  when  I  ex- 
perienced such  kindness  from  you,  dearest 
uncle  —  kindness  which  has  ever  since  con- 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT         87 

tinued.  .  .  .  Victoria  (Princess  Royal)  plays 
with  my  old  bricks,  &c.,  and  I  see  her  running 
and  jumping  in  the  flower  garden,  as  old,  though 
I  fear  still  little  Victoria  of  former  days  used 
to  do." 

But  even  here  education  was  not  to  be 
neglected.  Mr.  Davys  went  over  in  a  gig  of 
the  Duchess's  twice  a  week.  The  kind  Duchess 
was  much  distressed  because  he  arrived  for  the 
first  time  in  a  gig  without  a  "head"  on  a  cold, 
raw  day,  and  immediately  dosed  him  with  hot 
tea,  and  ordered  a  new  gig  to  be  got  ready  for 
him.  Prince  Leopold  was  present  at  the  lesson, 
and  "  seemed  mortified  "  at  the  little  Princess's 
dislike  of  reading  from  a  book.  A  report  of 
the  Princess  Victoria's  progress  was  regularly 
forwarded  to  Prince  Leopold,  who  took  the 
most  fatherly  interest  in  his  little  niece's 
education. 

The  combined  joys  of  Ramsgate  and  Clare- 
mont,  however",  seem  to  have  unsettled  her, 
for  we  read  a  few  days  later  that  "the  Prin- 
cess was  very  inattentive."  A  visit  to  Prince 
Leopold's  farm  appears  to  have  confirmed 
Mr.  Davys'  opinion  of  her  affectionate  dis- 


88     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

position,  the  farmer's  baby  and  a  lamb  dividing 
the  honours  in  her  delighted  interest. 

There  is  a  pretty  and  authentic  anecdote  told 
of  the  Princess  about  this  time,  giving  another 
proof  of  her  passion  for  infant  creatures.  She 
was  in  the  habit  of  driving  from  Kensington 
Palace  to  Kew  Green,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
fresh  air,  and  one  day  saw  on  the  Green  a 
flock  of  tiny  ducklings.  The  pretty,  fluffy  things 
caught  her  quick  eye,  and  she  begged  her  lady 
attendant  to  allow  her  to  get  out  of  the  carriage 
and  take  one  in  her  arms.  The  lady  told  her 
she  must  ask  permission  of  the  owner  of  the 
ducklings,  a  young  girl,  who  sat  in  her  cottage 
porch  watching  the  brood.  She  gladly  caught 
one  and  gave  it  to  the  little  Princess,  who 
clasped  it  fondly  to  her  breast,  and  could  with 
difficulty  be  induced  to  part  with  "the  nicest 
thing"  she  had  ever  had  to  pet.  One  can  see 
the  eager,  flushed  face  of  the  child  bent  over  the 
little  yellow  ball  of  feathers.  The  story  was 
told  to  a  friend  of  the  present  writer  by  the 
cottage  girl  herself.  The  visit  to  Claremont, 
with  its  rural  joys,  lasted  till  the  end  of  the  year, 
when  the  royal  party  returned  to  Kensington. 


CHAPTER  V 

KENSINGTON,    RAMSGATE,    AND 
CLAREMONT,    1824-1825 


CHAPTER  V 

KENSINGTON,  BAMSGATE,  AND  CLAREMONT, 

1824-1825 

WE  find  Mr.  Davys  writing  in  his  diary  on 
January  12,  1824,  that  "the  Princess  Victoria 
is  improving  in  reading.  Miss  Lehzen  has 
taken  great  pains  with  her."  It  was  about 
this  time  that  a  new  element  came  into  the 
Princess's  life,  in  the  more  immediate  care  of 
Miss — afterwards  Baroness  —  Lehzen,  whose 
management  of  her  charge  wins  the  good 
tutor's  warmest  approval.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  a  Hanoverian  clergyman,  and 
had  come  over  to  England  as  governess  to 
Princess  Fe'odore.  She  seems  to  have  been  a 
very  strict  disciplinarian,  and  to  have  kept  her 
royal  pupil's  somewhat  headstrong  spirit  under 
stern  control,  and  yet  to  have  inspired  her  with 
great  affection.  The  latter  writes  of  her  in 
1870:  "My  dearest,  kindest  Lehzen  expired  on 

9i 


92     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

the  9th  (September)  quite  gently  and  peace- 
ably. She  knew  me  from  six  months  old,  and 
from  my  fifth  to  my  eighteenth  year  devoted 
all  her  care  and  energies  to  me,  with  the  most 
wonderful  abnegation  of  self,  never  even  taking 
one  day's  holiday.  I  adored,  though  I  was 
greatly  in  awe  of  her.  She  really  seemed  to 
have  no  thought  but  for  me."  Sir  Charles 
Murray,  while  staying  at  Windsor  in  1837, 
soon  after  the  young  Queen's  accession,  re- 
marks that  "  every  day  that  I  have  passed  here 
has  increased  my  admiration  for  the  excellent 
judgment  shown  by  Madame  Lehzen  in  her 
(the  Queen's)  education,  and  for  the  amiable 
and  grateful  feeling  evinced  by  the  Queen  to- 
wards her  governess.  It  does  the  highest 
honour  to  both."  His  admiration  was  evidently 
fully  shared  by  Mr.  Davys  in  these  early  days, 
for  in  the  last  entry  for  this  year  in  his  little 
diary  of  the  Princess's  doings,  he  says  that 
"  Miss  Lehzen's  management  of  the  Princess  is 
extremely  good.  She  allows  of  no  indulgence 
of  wrong  dispositions,  but  corrects  everything 
like  resistance  or  a  spirit  of  contradiction,  such 
as  all  children  will  indulge  if  they  can." 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT        93 

But  the  kindly  tutor  cannot  bear  to  reflect  in 
any  way  upon  his  beloved  little  pupil's  conduct, 
without  hastening,  as  ever,  to  inform  us  that 
she  had  a  most  amiable  and  affectionate  dis- 
position, and  relating  how,  when  one  day  her 
old  nurse — no  longer  in  the  Duchess's  service 
— came  to  see  her,  "the  little  girl  was  so 
affected  at  the  sight  of  her,  that  she  could  not 
recover  herself  for  some  hours,  shedding  tears 
and  sobbing  at  the  thought  of  her  dear 
1  Boppy.' " 

The  little  Princess  was  trained  from  the  first 
in  the  strictest  principles  of  economy,  "in  as 
much  honesty  and  care  about  money  matters," 
says  Miss  Martineau,  "as  any  citizen's  child." 
Her  clothes  were  of  the  simplest  fashion  and 
materials ;  plain  straw  bonnets  and  hats,  and 
cotton  frocks  adorned  only  by  a  silk  fichu, 
formed  her  summer  wear,  and  very  comfortable 
they  must  have  been  for  playing  in  the  hay  or 
on  the  sands.  No  fear  of  damaging  costly  and 
uncomfortable  frills  and  furbelows !  She  was 
also  made  to  finish  whatever  she  began,  one  of 
the  most  valuable  and  least  commonly  acquired 
lessons  a  child  can  learn.  To  this  discipline 


94     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

she  must  have  owed  her  love  of  order,  her 
admirable  management  of  both  private  and 
public  business,  and  her  wonderful  sense  of  the 
dignity  and  importance  of  work. 

In  spite  of  the  simplicity  of  her  life  and 
dress,  the  little  Princess  seems  to  have  im- 
pressed every  one  who  saw  her  with  her  air  of 
distinction.  Even  as  a  child  she  looked  "a 
great  personage,"  we  are  told,  and  Leigh  Hunt 
dwells  with  delight  on  the  magnificence  of  the 
footman  who  attended  her  in  her  walks  in  the 
park,  and  who  was  all  glorious  in  royal  scarlet, 
and  had  "the  splendidest  pair  of  calves  in 
white  stockings  we  ever  beheld." 

Princess  Victoria  showed  from  the  first  the 
passionate  love  of  music  which  always  distin- 
guished her.  At  what  age  she  actually  began 
to  study  music  we  are  not  told,  but  even  here 
she  strongly  objected  to  coercion,  and  when  her 
music-master  told  her  that  "  she  must  practise 
like  every  one  else,"  she  angrily  locked  the  piano, 
put  the  key  in  her  pocket,  and  informed  him  that 
there  was  "  no  must  about  it  at  all."  But  this 
is  an  anecdote  of  a  later  period  than  1824. 

It  must  have  been  about  this  time  that  the 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT        95 

Duchess,  wishing  to  give  her  little  daughter 
pleasure,  and,  as  one  cannot  help  supposing, 
an  incentive  to  her  to  work  at  music,  sent  for 
a  gifted  child  harpist  called  "Lyra,"  who  was 
then  all  the  vogue.  The  two  little  creatures 
were  left  for  a  moment  or  two  alone,  and  when 
the  Duchess  came  back,  they  were  seated  on 
the  floor,  deep  in  discussing — not  music — but 
dolls  !  A  whole  army  of  dolls  made  up  to  the 
little  Princess  for  the  lack  of  companions,  but 
imagine  the  joys  of  displaying  their  beauties 
and  retailing  their  histories  to  a  sympathetic 
person  of  one's  own  age ! 

Some  of  these  dolls,  together  with  other 
playthings  of  Queen  Victoria's  childhood,  may 
still  be  seen  at  Kensington  Palace  ;  and  we 
hope  the  little  harpist  admired  as  much  as 
the  present  writer  did  the  wonderful  little  toy 
loom  for  weaving,  the  stately  yellow  and  black 
chariot  with  a  large  crown  painted  on  its  doors, 
and  the  mechanical  doll,  prancing  gaily,  with 
"  pas  de  fascination,"  down  an  alley  of  impos- 
sible trees.  Four  mysterious-looking  Chinese 
dolls  sit  facing  each  other  in  a  curious  glass 
globe,  and  two  or  three  forlorn  Dutch  dolls 


96     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

inhabit  the  large  two-roomed  dolls'  house,  and 
seem  to  regret  "  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand  " 
that  dressed  and  drilled  them,  and  the  busy 
brain  that  wove  such  wonderful  histories  round 
their  wooden  personalities.  A  set  of  small  bibs, 
neatly  hemmed  and  worked  with  the  initials  of 
various  dolls  in  tent-stitch,  show  that  the  little 
Princess  could  wield  a  needle,  and  two  long 
wooden  dumb-bells  prove  that  physical  develop- 
ment was  attended  to  as  well  as  mental.  There 
is  a  doll's  tent,  a  headless  Indian  prince  on  a 
white  charger,  a  set  of  battledores,  a  German 
village  cut  out  of  solid  blocks  of  wood,  a  doll's 
dressing-table,  and  a  once  gorgeous  couch  of 
white  satin  and  silver  filigree. 

The  Princess  Victoria's  bedroom  and  nursery 
are  particularly  cheerful  rooms,  lofty  and  airy, 
with  large,  old-fashioned  fireplaces,  and  wide, 
high  windows,  looking  on  to  the  Kound  Pond 
and  the  avenues  stretching  over  undulating 
ground  to  Hyde  Park.  The  bedroom  had  a 
suite  of  particularly  charming  chairs  of  white 
wood  with  cane  backs,  painted  in  a  pattern  of 
green  and  white,  wide-seated,  and  cushioned 
with  a  sort  of  thick  ivory  Chinese  silk,  em- 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT        97 

broidered  with  a  design  of  leaves  in  a  delicate 
shade  of  green.  They  suggest  freshness  and 
youth,  and  when  new  must  have  been  the 
daintiest  furniture  imaginable  for  a  young  girl's 
bedroom. 

A  very  beautiful  gold  and  crimson  suite  of 
Empire  furniture  may  still  be  seen,  which  was 
once  in  the  Duchess  of  Kent's  drawing-room, 
and  now  is  placed  in  the  room  where  Queen 
Victoria  was  born. 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  the  Duchess  of 
Saxe-Coburg  came  over  to  England  to  visit 
her  son  and  daughter,  and  stayed  with  Prince 
Leopold  at  Claremont,  where  the  Duchess  of 
Kent  and  her  two  daughters  joined  them.  The 
reunited  family  spent  the  whole  autumn  to- 
gether there,  and  if — as  her  letters  prove — the 
Duchess  of  Saxe-Coburg  was  inclined,  like  all 
grandmothers,  to  indulge  her  grandchildren,  as 
she  never  would  their  parents,  the  two  Prin- 
cesses must  have  had  a  happy  time,  and — let 
us  hope — long  holidays. 

The  royal  party  was  constant  in  its  attend- 
ance at  the  little  village  church  of  Esher  on 
Sundays.  Miss  Jane  Porter,  authoress  of  "The 


98     CHILDHOOD    OF   QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Scottish  Chiefs,"  lived  with  her  mother  and 
sister  in  a  cottage  close  to  Claremont,  and 
speaks  in  rapturous  terms  of  the  beauty  of 
Princess  Victoria  at  this  time.  Her  pew  faced 
the  royal  one,  and  we  feel  sure  she  must 
have  had  many  sore  conflicts  between  her  con- 
science and  her  curiosity.  One  day  curiosity 
conquered,  to  the  gain  of  succeeding  genera- 
tions. Miss  Porter's  style  is  so  delightfully 
quaint  and  Johnsonian  that  I  make  no  apology 
for  quoting  her  at  length,  though  the  story  has 
often  been  given  before. 

"  One  day  at  Esher  Church,  my  attention 
was  particularly  attracted  to  the  Claremont 
pew,  in  which  she  (Princess  Victoria)  and  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  and  her  royal  uncle  sat.  The 
pew  occupies  a  colonnaded  recess,  elevated  a 
little  in  the  interior  of  the  south  wall  of  the 
church ;  parallel  with  it  runs  a  small  gallery 
of  pews,  from  one  of  which  (my  mother's)  I 
could  see  all  that  passed.  I  should  not  volun- 
tarily have  so  employed  myself  at  church  " — 
'  Qui  s' excuse,  s' accuse/  Miss  Porter ! — "  but  I 
had  seen  a  wasp  skimming  backwards  and  for- 
wards over  the  head  and  before  the  unveiled 


THE  PRINCESS  VICTORIA  IN  1823 

From  a  Dinting  by  DENNING 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT        99 

summer  bonnet  of  the  little  Princess,  and  I 
could  not  forbear  watching  the  dangerous 
insect,  fearing  it  might  sting  her  face.  She, 
totally  unobserving  it,  had  meantime  fixed  her 
eyes  on  the  clergyman,  who  had  taken  his  place 
in  the  pulpit  to  preach  the  sermon,  and  she 
never  withdrew  them  thence  for  a  moment 
during  his  whole  discourse. 

"Next  day  a  lady,  personally  intimate  at 
Claremont,  called  at  our  humble  abode,  and 
I  remarked  to  her  the  scene  I  had  witnessed 
on  the  preceding  morning  at  church,  wonder- 
ing what  could  possibly  have  engaged  the 
young  Princess's  attention  so  unrecedingly  to 
the  face  of  the  preacher,  a  person  totally  un- 
known to  her,  and  whose  countenance,  though 
expressive  of  good  sense,  was  wiry  and  rough- 
hewn,  and  could  present  nothing  pleasing 
enough  to  fix  the  eyes  of  a  child.  '  It  was  not 
himself  that  attracted  her  fixed  eyes/  replied 
our  visitor,  *  it  was  the  sermon  he  was  preach- 
ing. For  it  is  a  custom  with  her  illustrious 
instructress  to  inquire  of  Princess  Victoria 
not  only  the  text  of  the  discourse  but  also 
the  heads  of  its  leading  subjects.  Hence  she 


ioo     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

neither  saw  the  wasp  when  in  front  of  her,  nor 
heard  the  whisking  of  her  uncle's  protective 
handkerchief  behind  her.  Her  whole  mind  was 
bound  up  in  her  task — a  rare  faculty  of  con- 
centration in  any  individual,  and  therefore 
more  wonderful  in  one  hardly  beyond  infancy 
— and  with  a  most  surprising  understanding  of 
the  subjects,  she  never  fails  performing  her 
task  in  a  manner  that  might  grace  much  older 
years.' " 

"Protective  handkerchief"  is  a  delightful 
touch,  but  one  thinks  pityingly  of  the  poor 
little  baby  Princess  on  a  hot  summer  morning, 
especially  when  one  remembers  the  length, 
the  dry  manner  and  elaborate  matter  of  "  dis- 
courses "  of  that  date.  But  the  exercise,  though 
severe,  helped  to  counteract  the  discursive  ten- 
dency of  the  child's  mind,  and  trained  her  to 
the  marvellous  exactness  and  grasp  of  detail  she 
showed  in  her  later  life. 

There  is  very  little  to  learn  of  the  Princess's 
life  during  the  following  year,  1825,  though 
there  were  the  usual  visits  to  Claremont  and 
Ramsgate.  An  old  inhabitant  of  Kensington 
relates  that  her  sister,  "an  unknown  little  girl," 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT       101 

meeting  the  Princess  driving  in  her  pony- 
chaise,  asked  if  she  might  kiss  her.  Princess 
Feodore  allowed  her  to  do  so.  Such  anecdotes 
show  how  lovable  the  royal  child  must  have 
been. 

Another  anecdote  shows  her  in  a  very  do- 
mestic light.  When  visiting  her  Aunt  Adelaide 
one  day,  the  latter  asked  what  she  would  like  to 
do  to  amuse  herself;  whereupon  the  little  lady 
implored  to  be  allowed  to  "  clean  the  windows." 
Like  all  healthy-minded  little  girls,  she  loved  to 
play  at  being  the  housewife.  The  Duchess  of 
Clarence  was  herself  a  woman  of  simple  and 
housewifely  tastes,  and  must  have  been  charmed 
with  this  trait  in  her  little  niece.  There  is  a 
letter  extant  from  her,  when  Queen  Adelaide, 
to  the  present  writer's  grandmother,  Mrs.  Blom- 
field,  thanking  her  warmly  for  the  recipe  for 
Norfolk  dumplings  which  she  had  begged  of 
her.  The  little  Princess  and  her  mother  spent 
many  happy  hours  with  the  gentle,  kindly 
Duchess,  who  would  have  thoroughly  spoilt 
the  little  girl,  had  she  been  allowed.  A  very 
strong  affection  always  existed  between  Victoria 
and  her  Aunt  Adelaide,  who  remained  to  the 


102     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

end  of  her  life  the  firm  friend  of  the  Duchess 
of  Kent. 

The  last  entry  in  Mr.  Davys'  little  diary 
mentions  that  on  April  6,  1825,  the  Princess 
began  to  take  regular  writing  lessons  of  Mr. 
Steward.  He  says  that  he  has  kept  no  notes 
for  some  time,  "  one  day  being  so  much  like 
another,  but  continued  experience  convinces 
me  of  the  delightful  disposition  of  the  child." 
She  was  "  quick  of  comprehension,"  and  inte- 
rested in  all  she  read,  taking  especial  delight 
in  nursery  rhymes.  Were  they  the  "  Cowslip," 
the  "Daisy,"  the  "Kose,"  and  the  "Pink," 
which  the  children  of  that  generation  seemed 
to  have  appreciated  as  warmly  as  we  do,  though 
doubtless  from  a  more  reverent  point  of  view  ? 
The  little  Princess  would  learn  that  power  and 
place  do  not  necessarily  conduce  to  love,  that 

"  Tis  not  the  gold  that  we  possess 
That  constitutes  our  happiness," 

and  many  another  useful  "  morality,"  through 
a  pleasanter  medium  than  the  long-winded 
discourses  she  listened  to  from  the  preachers 
of  the  day.  It  is  only  fair  to  add  that  when 


RAMSGATE    AND    CLAREMONT       103 

Mr.  Davys  held  services  in  Kensington  Church, 
the  Duchess  found  his  sermons  both  "  good 
and  short." 

On  her  sixth  birthday  in  this  year  the  little 
Princess  gave  a  very  beautiful  token  of  her 
affection  to  her  father's  and  her  friend,  General 
Sir  Frederick  Wetherall,  in  the  shape  of  her 
miniature,  beautifully  painted,  and  encircled  by 
a  thick  lock  of  her  own  fair  hair,  set  in  an 
exquisite  frame  of  gold  and  pearls  of  French 
workmanship,  and  with  the  inscription — 

"  To  my  dear  old  friend,  General  Wetherall,  on  my 
sixth  birthday.  VICTORIA." 

at  the  back.  This  treasure  is  still  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Wetherall  family,  and  was  sent  by 
them  to  Queen  Victoria  at  her  first  Jubilee. 
She  was  much  pleased  at  seeing  it  again,  and 
said  that  it  had  always  been  considered  an  ad- 
mirable likeness. 

On  the  I5th  of  November  1825  the  Princess 
began  to  learn  French  under  the  direction  of 
Monsieur  Grandineau,  and  seems  to  have  made 
rapid  progress  in  this  and  in  her  writing,  for 
there  is  a  little  letter  to  Mrs.  Louis,  one  of 


104     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Queen  Charlotte's  women,  dated  December  15, 
1825,  and  running  thus — 

"  My  dear  Louis,  God  bless  you ! 

"  VICTORIA." 

which  shows  that  she  had  abandoned  printed 
writing  for  a  round  hand,  and,  moreover,  proves 
her  warmth  of  heart ! 


CHAPTER  VI 

KENSINGTON,    WINDSOR,    AND 
TUNBRIDGE    WELLS 

1826   AND    1827 


KENSINGTON,  WINDSOR,  AND  TUNBRIDGE 
WELLS,  1826  AND  1827 

THIS  year  marks  a  distinct  advance  in  Princess 
Victoria's  life  and  education.  Intercourse 
between  King  George  IV.  and  his  sister-in- 
law  had,  for  many  reasons,  been  of  a  very 
formal  and  infrequent  character,  but  in  1826 
he  invited  her  to  bring  the  little  Princess  on 
a  three  days'  visit  to  him  at  Windsor.  The 
Castle  had  long  been  in  a  dilapidated  condi- 
tion, and  was  undergoing  very  necessary  re- 
pairs, during  which  the  King  occupied  the 
Royal  Lodge  in  the  Park.  The  Duchess  of 
Kent  and  her  child  were  located  at  Cumber- 
land Lodge,  as  the  Royal  Lodge  had  no  room 
for  visitors. 

The  visit  to  "  Uncle  King,"  as  she  called 
him,  was  one  of  peculiar  interest  to  the  little 
Princess,  since  she  now  saw,  for  the  first  time, 


107 


io8     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

the  great  historic  pile  that  was  to  be  for  so 
long  one  of  her  future  homes.  She  had  already 
begun  to  read  a  childish  history  of  England, 
and  we  can  imagine  the  intelligent  interest  she 
would  take  in  Windsor  Castle.  She  seems  to 
have  made  quite  a  conquest  of  her  "Uncle 
King"  by  her  wit  and  readiness  and  her 
engaging  brightness  of  manner.  She  dis- 
played a  tact  and  appreciation  of  him  and 
his  position  which  must  have  gratified  his 
marked  vanity.  One  day,  coming  into  the 
drawing-room,  he  took  her  by  the  hand  and 
said,  "  Now,  Victoria,  the  band  is  in  the  next 
room,  and  shall  play  any  tune  you  please. 
What  shall  it  be?"  "Oh,  Uncle  King,  I 
should  like  '  God  save  the  King,' "  was  the 
prompt  and  flattering  reply.  Another  day 
his  Majesty  asked  her  what  she  had  most 
enjoyed  during  her  visit.  "The  drive  I  took 
with  you,"  she  answered. 

The  King  had  driven  her  himself,  together 
with  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester,  in  his  pony 
phaeton,  and  if  he  exercised  his  well-known 
charm  of  manner  on  his  little  niece  there  was 
probably  as  much  truth  as  tact  in  her  rejoinder. 


WINDSOR  AND  TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      109 

Be  that  as  it  may,  the  little  Princess  treated 
his  Majesty  with  fearless  affection,  and  so  de- 
lighted him  that  he  gave  her,  at  parting,  a 
badge  worn  only  by  members  of  the  Eoyal 
Family,  and  promised  to  invite  her  very  shortly 
again. 

On  her  eighth  birthday  the  little  Princess 
Victoria  had  a  present  of  a  tiny,  melon-shaped 
silver  teapot  with  a  very  short  spout,  and  the  date 
and  a  "  V."  surmounted  by  a  crown  inscribed 
on  either  side,  the  handle  being  formed  of  a 
butterfly  poised  on  a  rose.  This  was  a  favourite 
plaything  of  hers,  and  afterwards  of  her  chil- 
dren, grandchildren,  and  great-grandchildren, 
and  exists  to  this  day. 

Her  education  now  began  to  assume  a  more 
serious  character.  In  the  previous  year  she 
had  started  upon  regular  lessons  with  Mr. 
Steward,  and  had  begun  a  course  of  French 
with  M.  Grandineau,  a  well-known  French 
master  of  the  day.  One  can  see  what  great 
strides  she  had  made  in  her  writing  during 
but  little  more  than  a  year  by  a  comparison 
of  her  note  to  Mrs.  Louis,  to  which  we  referred 
in  our  last  chapter,  a  very  infantile  production 


no     CHILDHOOD   OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

written  between  double  lines,  and  the  pretty, 
graceful  letter  she  writes  to  her  uncle  in  August 
1826.  Very  few  children  nowadays  of  seven 
years  old  could  write  such  an  even,  beautifully 
formed  hand,  even  if  we  take  into  considera- 
tion the  evident  pains  taken  to  make  it  as 
perfect  as  it  is.  It  is  a  prettily  expressed 
epistle  too,  with  enough  of  nature  in  it  to 
show  that  it  was  the  Princess's  own  composi- 
tion. She  writes  from  Tunbridge  Wells,  where 
she  was  spending  the  summer  : — 

"  TUNBRIDGE  WELLS, 

i6th  August  1826. 

"  MY  DEAR  UNCLE, — I  offer  you  many  affectionate 
congratulations  on  your  birthday — very  many  with 
my  best  love  for  all  your  kindness  to  me, — and  it 
has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  me,  to  be  able  to  write 
this  year,  to  my  Uncle,  the  King,  and  to  you.  We 
hope  to  hear  that  Brighton  does  you  a  great  deal 
of  good. 

"  Believe  me,  my  dear  Uncle,  your  very  affectionate 
Niece,  VICTOKIA." 

Miss  Martineau  tells  an  anecdote  of  this  visit 
to  Tunbridge  Wells  which  illustrates  the  care- 
ful strictness  with  which  the  Duchess  educated 


WINDSOR  AND  TUNBRIDGE  WELLS     in 

her  little  daughter  in  the  matter  of  her  ex- 
penditure. "  It  became  known  at  Tunbridge 
Wells,"  says  Miss  Martineau,  "  that  the  Princess 
had  been  unable  to  buy  a  box  at  the  bazaar  be- 
cause she  had  spent  her  money.  At  this  bazaar 
she  had  bought  presents  for  almost  all  her  rela- 
tions, and  had  laid  out  her  last  shilling,  when 
she  remembered  one  cousin  more,  and  saw  a 
box  priced  at  half-a-crown  which  would  suit 
him.  The  shop-people,  of  course,  placed  the 
box  with  her  other  purchases ;  but  the  little 
lady's  governess  admonished  them  by  saying, 
*  No ;  you  see  the  Princess  has  got  no  money, 
therefore  she  cannot  buy  the  box.'  This  being 
perceived,  the  next  offer  was  to  lay  by  the  box 
till  it  could  be  purchased,  and  the  answer  was, 
'  Oh  !  well,  if  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  do 
that/  On  quarter  day,  before  seven  in  the 
morning,  the  Princess  appeared  on  her  donkey 
to  claim  her  purchase." 

The  donkey,  by  the  way,  was  such  a  treasured 
possession  that  when  the  Princess  paid  her  pro- 
mised visit  to  the  King  again  in  the  autumn, 
she  could  think  of  no  greater  compliment  to 
his  Majesty  than  to  go  down  on  her  donkey  and 


H2     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

give  him  the  delight  of  making  the  beloved 
animal's  acquaintance. 

Lord  Albemarle,  then  in  attendance  on  the 
Duke  of  Sussex  at  Kensington  Palace,  gives 
a  very  attractive  picture  of  the  royal  child. 
"  One  of  my  occupations  on  a  morning,  while 
waiting  for  the  Duke,  was  to  watch  from  the 
window  the  movements  of  a  bright,  pretty  little 
girl  of  seven  years  of  age.  She  was  in  the 
habit  of  watering  the  plants  immediately  under 
the  window.  It  was  amusing  to  see  how  im- 
partially she  divided  the  contents  of  the  water- 
ing-pot between  the  flowers  and ,  her  own  little 
feet.  Her  simple  but  becoming  dress  contrasted 
favourably  with  the  gorgeous  apparel  worn  by 
the  little  damsels  of  the  rising  generation — a 
large  straw  hat  and  a  suit  of  white  cotton ;  a 
coloured  fichu  round  the  neck  was  the  only 
ornament  she  wore." 

In  the  following  year,  1827,  the  Duke  of 
York  died  at  the  house  of  the  Duchess  of 
Rutland  in  Arlington  Street,  leaving  no  chil- 
dren, and  thus  bringing  the  Princess  Victoria 
still  nearer  the  throne.  There  are  numerous 
stories  told  of  the  affection  that  existed  between 


WINDSOR   AND   TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      113 

the  uncle  and  niece ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
she  never  visited  him  till  shortly  before  his 
death,  when  he  was  living  in  a  house  in  King's 
Road  belonging  to  Mr.  Greenwood,  where,  Mr. 
Holmes  tells  us,  "  he  had  Punch  and  Judy 
to  amuse  the  child."  The  stories  are  therefore 
without  foundation,  and  probably  grew  out  of 
the  devotion  of  the  little  Princess  to  her  donkey, 
which  had  been  sent  to  her  by  the  Duke  of 
York,  a  confusion  of  the  gift  with  the  giver, 
not  altogether  flattering  to  his  Royal  High- 
ness ! 

There  are  also  several  stories  illustrative  of 
the  little  girl's  kindly  heart  and  ready  tact,  all 
of  which  probably  have  some  foundation  in 
fact,  though  not  authenticated  by  her  late 
Majesty.  She  was  an  extraordinarily  fearless 
child,  and  delighted  in  riding,  often  terrifying 
her  attendants  by  her  wild  gallops.  A  well- 
known  riding-master,  who  remembered  her  in 
her  early  married  days,  told  the  present  writer 
that  though  she  was  too  small  to  look  imposing 
on  horseback,  she  had  a  beautiful  seat  and  a 
light  hand,  and  was  always  a  most  courageous 

horsewoman.     He   once   saw  her  at  a  review, 

H 


1 14     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

when  an  unfortunate  man  was  accidentally 
crushed  under  a  gun-carriage,  cover  the  poor 
dead  face  with  her  own  handkerchief,  never 
flinching,  in  spite  of  her  tender  thoughtful- 
ness,  at  a  sight  which  would  have  sent  many 
a  smaller-spirited  woman  into  a  fainting  or 
hysterical  fit. 

Besides  her  rides  and  drives  the  little  Princess 
breakfasted  in  the  open  air  whenever  it  was 
possible,  and  Mr.  Charles  Knight,  in  his  "  Pas- 
sages of  a  Working  Life,"  gives  us  a  pretty 
picture  of  this  alfresco  meal :  "  In  the  summer 
of  1827  I  delighted  to  walk  in  Kensington 
Gardens,  sometimes  of  a  holiday  afternoon, 
with  my  elder  girls — more  frequently  in  the 
early  morning  on  my  way  to  town.  In  such 
a  season,  when  the  sun  was  scarcely  high 
enough  to  have  dried  up  the  dews  of  Ken- 
sington's green  alleys,  as  I  passed  along  the 
broad  central  walk  I  saw  a  group  on  the  lawn 
before  the  palace  which  was  to  my  mind  a 
vision  of  exquisite  loveliness.  The  Duchess 
of  Kent  and  her  daughter,  whose  years  then 
numbered  eight,  are  breakfasting  in  the  open 
air,  a  single  page  attending  upon  them  at  a 


WINDSOR   AND   TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      115 

respectful  distance.  The  matron  is  looking 
on  with  eyes  of  love,  while  the  fair  soft  English 
face  is  bright  with  smiles.  The  world  of  fashion 
is  not  yet  astir,  the  clerks  and  mechanics  pass- 
ing onward  to  their  occupations  are  few,  and 
they  exhibit  none  of  that  vulgar  curiosity  which 
is,  I  think,  more  commonly  found  in  the  class 
of  the  merely  rich  than  in  the  ranks  below 
them  in  the  world's  estimation.  What  a  beau- 
tiful characteristic  it  seems  to  be  of  the  training 
of  this  royal  girl  that  she  should  not  have  been 
taught  to  shrink  from  the  public  eye ;  that  she 
should  not  be  burdened  with  the  premature 
conception  of  her  probable  high  destiny ;  that 
she  should  enjoy  the  freedom  and  simplicity 
of  a  child's  nature ;  that  she  should  not  be 
restrained  when  she  starts  up  from  the  break- 
fast-table and  runs  to  gather  a  flower  in  the 
adjoining  parterre  ;  that  her  merry  laugh  should 
be  as  fearless  as  the  notes  of  the  thrush  in  the 
groves  around  her.  I  passed  on  and  blessed 
her,  and  I  thank  God  that  I  have  lived  to 
see  the  golden  fruits  of  such  training."  This 
is  an  early  tribute  to  the  birdlike  beauty  of 
Queen  Victoria's  "  silver  voice." 


u6     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN   VICTORIA 

Later  on  in  the  spring  of  1827  Prince 
Leopold  returned  from  abroad  where  he  had 
been  for  more  than  a  year,  and,  doubtless  to  the 
joy  of  his  sister  and  niece,  spent  the  greater  part 
of  the  year  with  them  at  Claremont,  Tunbridge, 
and  Ramsgate.  There  is  a  portrait  of  him  by 
Lawrence,  which  gives  a  most  charming  idea  of 
the  Queen's  favourite  uncle.  It  is  a  very  hand- 
some refined  face,  of  great  sweetness  and  humour, 
a  face  to  win  any  child's  heart. 

This  was  the  last  year  the  family  spent  to- 
gether, for  in  the  following  year  Princess 
Feodore  married.  Princess  Victoria  used  to 
sketch  with  her  uncle  in  the  picturesque  neigh- 
bourhood of  Esher,  a  favourite  occupation  of 
hers  till  quite  late  in  her  life.  She  was  taught 
drawing  by  Westall,  R.A.,  and  showed  great 
talent  and  aptitude.  There  is  a  sketch  of  an 
old  spectacled  dame  reading  by  her  cottage 
door,  quite  remarkable  for  the  work  of  a  child 
of  twelve  years. 

Some  idea  of  the  progress  the  Princess  had 
made  in  her  lessons  may  be  gathered  from  a  list 
of  books  read  by  her  during  these  two  years 
with  Mr.  Davys  and  M.  Grandineau.  Mr. 


WINDSOR   AND   TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      117 

Davys'  list  is  quite  alarming  in  its  extent,  and 
is  interesting  as  showing  the  attempt  made  to 
give  his  royal  pupil,  even  at  this  early  age,  a 
comprehensive  education.  Under  the  heading 
of  "  Religion  "  we  learn  that  she  read  "  Scriptural 
Stories,"  by  the  author  of  the  "Decoy,"  who 
follows  the  method  of  Socrates,  and  conveys 
information  by  means  of  ingenious  questions 
and  answers  ;  "  A  Stranger's  Offering  ;  or,  Easy 
Lessons  of  the  Lord's  Prayer;"  a  "Descrip- 
tion of  a  Set  of  Prints  of  Scripture  History, 
contained  in  Easy  Lessons,"  and  "Scriptural 
Lessons,  Designed  to  Accompany  a  Series  of 
Prints  from  the  Old  Testament,"  both  by  Mrs. 
Trimmer,  a  great  educational  light  in  her  day, 
and  the  pioneer  of  short  cuts  to  learning. 

The  works  of  Mrs.  Trimmer  figure  so  largely 
in  the  early  education  of  Queen  Victoria,  that  a 
slight  sketch  of  her  life  may  be  interesting. 
Sarah  Kirby,  afterwards  Mrs.  Trimmer,  was 
born  at  Ipswich  on  the  i7th  of  January  1741. 
Her  father  was  an  architectural  artist,  who  came 
to  London  and  gave  lessons  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales  when  his  daughter  was  fourteen  years 
of  age.  The  little  girl  met  many  interesting 


n8     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

people  at  this  period  of  her  life,  and  captivated 
the  great  Dr.  Johnson  at  a  party  given  by  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds.  A  passage  in  "  Paradise 
Lost"  was  under  dispute,  when  Mr.  Kirby 
remarked  that  his  daughter  was  so  passionate 
an  admirer  of  Milton  that  he  was  sure  she 
could  produce  the  volume  from  her  pocket. 
The  little  maid,  blushing  to  the  roots  of  her 
hair,  pulled  "  Paradise  Lost "  from  her  reticule, 
and  so  delighted  the  great  lexicographer  that 
he  invited  her  to  come  and  visit  him  next 
day,  and  presented  her  with  a  copy  of  his 
"Rambler." 

When  she  was  one-and-twenty  she  married 
Mr.  Trimmer,  who  lived  at  Brentford,  a  union 
of  great  happiness,  and  became  the  mother  of 
six  sons  and  six  daughters.  She  educated  her 
family  herself,  in  addition  to  many  other  cares 
and  duties,  and  it  was  then  that  she  felt  the 
need  of  an  easier  road  to  learning  than  was 
trodden  by  the  children  of  her  day.  Mrs. 
Barbauld's  "  Easy  Lessons "  suggested  Mrs. 
Trimmer's  first  book,  "  An  Easy  Introduction  to 
the  Knowledge  of  Nature."  Queen  Charlotte 
was  her  warm  admirer,  and  gave  a  great  vogue 


WINDSOR  AND   TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      119 

to  her  books.  Mrs.  Trimmer  may  almost  be 
said  to  have  created  the  modern  idea  of 
teaching  children  by  means  of  pictures,  and 
conveying  knowledge  to  their  minds  in  a 
graphic,  colloquial  way,  very  different  from 
the  stiff,  formal  method  then  in  fashion. 

She  was  an  ardent  lover  of  Nature,  a  great 
admirer  of  her  own  sex,  and  a  sweet,  natural, 
charitable,  and  humble  woman.  Though  "deeply 
religious,  her  religion  took  a  practical  rather 
than  a  controversial  turn,  as  did  the  belief  of 
the  royal  child  who  learnt  from  her  books. 
She  had  the  greatest  horror  of  scandal  and  evil- 
speaking,  and  took  herself  roundly  to  task  for 
the  smallest  lapse  from  perfect  charity.  She 
was  the  first  woman  to  interest  herself  in 
Robert  Raikes'  scheme  of  Sunday  Schools,  for 
which  she  worked  hard  to  the  end.  Her  hus- 
band died  in  1792,  and  on  December  15,  1810, 
she  followed  him,  literally  "  falling  asleep " 
while  seated  among  her  children  with  her 
writing  materials  before  her. 

Her  delightful  "Story  of  the  Robins"  is  a 
nursery  classic  to  this  day,  and  gives  one  a 
very  pleasant  idea  of  the  authoress.  Her 


120     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

daughter,  who  also  wrote,  must  have  been  a 
much  primmer  and  less  charitable  individual 
than  her  kindly  mother,  for  the  lively  Lady 
Harriet  Granville  remarks  in  one  of  her  letters 
anent  the  affairs  of  the  unhappy  Queen  Caro- 
line : — "  Miss  Trimmer  does  not  know  where 
to  shelter  her  morality,  and  her  comments  are 
for  the  most  part  groans."  And  in  a  later  letter, 
commenting  on  the  low  pitch  of  decency  and 
morals  in  1820,  she  describes  a  walk  taken 
with  her  husband  in  Kensington  Gardens, 
where  she  saw  "most  of  the  little  affairs"  and 
finds  them  more  glaring  by  daylight.  "  I  felt," 
she  cries,  "  like  a  clergyman  or  Miss  Trimmer, 
and  held  tight  to  Granville  ...  as  if  it  was 
catching."  She  tells  us  that  she  took  Miss 
Trimmer  "  a  royal  and  loyal  junket,  to  leave  my 
name  with  all  the  Princesses.  Do  you  not  see 
her  look  of  calm  approbation  during  our  anti- 
radical  progress  ? " 

Miss  Trimmer  wrote  the  sequel  to  her 
mother's  "  Easy  Introduction  to  the  Knowledge 
of  Nature,"  both  of  which  books  the  Princess  read 
under  the  head  of  "  Moral  Stories,"  together  with 
"  Maternal  Instructions,"  by  Elizabeth  Helme — 


WINDSOR   AND    TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      121 

who  afterwards  married  Campe,  a  well-known 
educational  writer — and  "  Aunt  Mary's  Tales." 
These  latter  mingle  the  most  stirring  adventures 
with  the  most  excellent  morals,  and  contain  a 
delightful  set  of  verses  called  "A  Ghost  Story," 
which  describe  the  sufferings  of  a  certain  timid 
Charles  at  the  hands  of  his  mischievous  play- 
mates. We  are  told  that  when  he  went  to  bed 
he  "pigged"  'neath  sheet  and  rug — "pigged" 
is  a  good  word,  if  forcible — and  we  are  also 
bidden — 

"  Now  learn  from  this  true  story  told, 
Ye  ghost-believing  train, 
And  when  a  spectre  ye  behold 
Take  heart  and  look  again  !  " 

There  was  nothing  namby-pamby  about  our 
ancestors  a  hundred  years  ago.  They  called  a 
spade  a  spade,  and  indulged  in  no  delicate  half 
shades  of  meaning.  Witness  the  sad  story  in 
Mrs.  Trimmer's  "Introduction  to  the  Know- 
ledge of  Nature  "  of  the  little  boy  who,  wiser 
than  his  mother,  forsooth  ate  green  gooseberries 
and  unripe  currants,  "  by  which  means,"  says 
the  excellent  lady,  "his  stomach  being  filled 
with  nasty  trash,  he  entirely  lost  his  appetite 


122     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

and  his  rosy  cheeks  became  as  pale  as  death ; 
at  last  worms,  live  worms  "  (what  a  touch  of 
horror  is  here  !)  "came  into  his  bowels.  .  .  .  He 
had  like  to  have  died,"  but  was  saved  to  see 
other  children  eating  the  ripe  fruit  he  dared 
not.  This  is  perhaps  drastic  literature,  but 
what  child  would  dare  eat  unripe  fruit  who 
had  been  carefully  brought  up  on  this  lurid 
anecdote  ? 

Mrs.  Trimmer  would  have  had  scant  patience, 
too,  with  our  modern  Little  Englanders  and 
Pro-Boers,  for  in  the  same  book  she  gives  the 
following  sound  advice  to  one  "  Henry,"  whom 
she  is  instructing  in  the  way  he  should  go : — 

"You  are  an  Englishman,  Henry,  so  must 
love  England  the  best,  and  if  you  travel  all  the 
world  over  you  will  never  find  a  better  country. 
But  you  must  not  despise  people  of  other 
countries  because  they  do  not  speak,  act,  and 
dress  as  we  do,  for  to  them  we  appear  as 
strange  as  they  do  to  us." 

This  is  the  true  philosophic  spirit  tempering 
a  too  ardent  patriotism,  but  Mrs.  Trimmer 
seems  to  have  always  united  a  wide  charity 
with  common-sense  and  honest  directness  of 


WINDSOR   AND   TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      123 

speech.  Her  style,  too,  is  breezy  and  wholesome, 
and  she  thoroughly  understands  a  child's  love 
of  clear-cut  and — often  to  us  grown-ups — tire- 
some details.  But  it  is  in  her  "  Concise  His- 
tory of  England,"  read  by  Princess  Victoria 
in  1827,  after  a  preliminary  canter  in  1826 
through  the  good  lady's  descriptions  of  "  Prints 
of  the  History  of  England,"  that  her  judicial 
charity  shines  forth.  Each  chapter  follows  a 
clear  plan  and  ends  with  a  summary  of  the 
monarch's  character,  and  the  book  is  illustrated 
by  the  quaintest  old  engravings. 

Canute  is  depicted  sitting  in  an  easy-chair 
with  his  feet  in  the  sea,  after  the  manner  of  a 
foot-bath,  his  crown  elegantly  suspended  on  the 
two  last  fingers  of  his  right  hand,  while  the 
attendants  stand  round  in  various  attitudes  of 
genteel  horror.  Caractacus  before  Claudius 
exhibits  muscles  that  would  put  a  Sandow  to 
shame,  and  King  Alfred  studying  a  map  of  the 
world  is  the  smuggest  of  superior  persons. 
Elizabeth  surveying  her  troops  at  Tilbury  is 
mounted  on  a  fat,  rearing  steed,  and  certainly 
has  a  wonderfully  good  seat  on  horseback. 

By-the-bye,  though  Mrs.  Trimmer  shares  the 


124     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

ancient  prejudice  against  poor  "Bloody  Mary," 
and  leaves  her  with  "  very  few  good  qualities," 
she  does  not  give  her  her  disagreeable  nick- 
name, and  she  is  quite  modern  in  ignoring  the 
legend  of  Alfred  and  the  cakes.  She  has  a  dis- 
tinct leaning  towards  the  Stuarts ;  James  II.  is 
thus  gently  disposed  of :  "  It  may  be  said  of 
his  character  that  all  his  qualities  were  sullied 
by  weaknesses,  but  embellished  by  humanity." 
Her  view  of  Charles  I.  is  a  modified  version  of 
"  the  best  of  gentlemen  and  worst  of  kings," 
but  for  Charles  II.  she  has  a  marked  weakness. 
He  was,  she  tells  us,  "a  most  pleasing  com- 
panion and  extremely  well-bred  ...  an  oblig- 
ing husband,  a  friendly  brother,  an  indulgent 
father,  and  a  good-natured  master,  but  unsteady 
in  his  friendships."  This  is  indeed  charity 
from  so  severe  a  moralist  as  Mrs.  Trimmer,  but 
we  suspect  that,  like  most  of  her  contempo- 
raries, she  ranked  good  breeding  very  close  to 
godliness. 

When  she  approaches  the  Hanoverian  suc- 
cession, she  becomes  positively  diplomatic. 
George  I.  has  ample  justice  done  to  his 
courage  and  ability  as  a  military  commander, 


WINDSOR   AND   TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      125 

and  it  was,  she  tolerantly  remarks,  "impossible 
to  conduct  himself  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
parties."  The  character  of  George  II.  is  passed 
over  in  discreet  silence,  and  for  "our  present 
Gracious  Majesty"  George  III.  she  has  nothing 
but  praise.  She  winds  up  the  book  with  this 
admirable  address  to  her  young  readers  on  the 
glories  of  England: — "I  hope  you  perceive 
that  it  is  a  most  desirable  country  to  live  in, 
and  that  you  have  great  reason  to  be  thankful 
to  God  that  you  are  a  subject  of  it.  As  you 
increase  in  years  and  knowledge  I  hope  your 
attachment  to  its  Constitution,  both  in  Church 
and  State,  will  increase  also,  and  that  you  will 
have  a  true  love  for  your  native  land ;  for  this 
will  lead  you  to  contribute  your  part  toward 
its  prosperity,  by  practising  that  righteousness 
which  alone  exalteth  a  nation." 

The  Princess  began  her  acquaintance  with 
Natural  History  through  the  pages  of  a  very 
quaint  little  work,  "  The  Rational  Dame,"  with 
the  engaging  sub-title  of  "  Hints  towards  Sup- 
plying Prattle  for  Children."  Fancy  a  twen- 
tieth century  child  being  taught  to  prattle  ! 
Perish  the  thought !  There  is  a  frontispiece 


126     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

which  shows  the  Rational  Dame  as  a  most 
plump  and  pleasing  person,  in  a  charming 
Leghorn  hat  and  a  flowing  negligee,  taking  her 
boy  and  girl,  in  frilled  pantaloons  and  high 
waists,  for  an  instructive  walk.  Her  style  is 
distinctly  epigrammatic,  and  unembellished  by 
any  flights  of  fancy.  We  learn  from  her  that 
"  Pigs  seldom  know  their  own  mothers,"  and 
that  "  A  hog  is  a  disgusting  animal ;  he  is 
filthy,  greedy,  and  stubborn  ;  but  he  is  very 
useful  at  his  death."  The  first  item  was  news 
to  the  present  writer,  and  I  doubt  the  hog  is 
maligned  ;  it  is,  however,  consoling  to  know 
that  his  end  justifies  his  existence. 

A  much  more  attractive  work  is  the  second 
on  the  Princess's  list  for  1826,  "Afternoon 
Amusements ;  or,  Tales  of  Birds."  It  is  adorned 
with  many  charming  woodcuts,  one  for  each 
bird  under  discussion,  the  birds  themselves 
being  gigantic  in  size  compared  with  the  sur- 
rounding landscape,  though  quite  correctly 
drawn.  A  pair  of  fond  turtle-doves  are  quite 
as  large  as  the  limb  of  the  tree  on  which  they 
are  perched.  As  usual,  information  is  conveyed 
by  conversation  between  a  mother,  Lady  Har- 


WINDSOR  AND   TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      127 

court,  and  her  two  children,  Charles  and  Emily, 
who  alternately  address  her  as  "  Madam  "  and 
"  Mamma."  A  little  tale  is  told,  not  only  to 
illustrate  the  nature  and  habits  of  each  bird, 
but  to  convey  the  distinct  moral  lesson  which 
each  is  supposed  to  teach.  A  remarkable 
parrot  betrays  a  certain  naughty  little  Lucy 
who  has  spilt  ink  on  a  very  valuable  drawing, 
and  who  remarks  aloud  in  the  parrot's  presence 
that  she  will  lay  the  blame  on  a  poor  innocent 
orphan  of  the  name  of  Fanny.  While  Lucy  is 
glibly  fibbing  to  her  good  aunt,  the  parrot  gives 
her  away  badly  by  shouting  out  her  original 
remarks.  The  result  is  a  lecture  from  the 
aunt,  and  confinement  to  her  room  for  a  week 
on  a  diet  of  bread  and  water.  This  gives  one 
an  idea  of  the  severe  punishments  in  favour 
with  the  higher  powers  in  the  beginning  of  the 
last  century. 

Princess  Victoria  was  further  instructed  in 
Natural  History  by  a  work  that  survived  as  a 
class-book  till  long  after  her  young  days, 
Mavor's  "  Elements  of  Natural  History,"  and 
by  Quin's  "  Description  of  Quadrupeds,  Birds, 
Fishes,  Serpents,  and  Insects,"  of  which  we 


128     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

can  find  no  trace.  It  sounds  comprehensive 
enough,  but,  as  Princess  Victoria's  course  of 
instruction  follows  a  nicely  graduated  scale 
suited  to  her  advancing  years,  it  was  probably 
written  on  the  simple  plan  which  we  find 
common  to  most  of  her  first  lesson -books. 
Poetry  presents  the  same  difficulty,  for  no 
trace  can  we  find  of  either  the  "  Infant  Min- 
strel," "  The  Literary  Box,"  or  "  Poetry  Without 
Fiction,"  a  title  which  is,  to  borrow  an  expres- 
sion from  our  French  neighbours,  intriguing 
to  the  last  degree.  "  The  Keepsake  "  was  an 
annual  for  young  people,  beautifully  got  up 
with  fine  steel  engravings  and  clear  print,  the 
contributors  being  nearly  all  well-known  popu- 
lar writers  of  the  day,  such  as  Mrs.  Barbauld, 
Lucy  Aikin,  and  Montgomery.  Some  of  the 
prose  is  readable  enough,  but  the  poetry 
scarcely  deserves  the  name,  and  is  both  dull 
and  pretentious. 

But  when  we  come  to  the  head  of  General 
Knowledge  we  find  ourselves  in  very  pleasant 
company.  Jehoshaphat  Aspin's  name  alone 
suggests  old-world  associations,  and  when  we 
open  his  "  Picture  of  the  Manners,  Customs, 


WINDSOR  AND   TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      129 

Sports,    and    Pastimes   of   the    Inhabitants    of 
England,"  we  find  we  are   not  deceived.      It 
was  printed  in   1825,  and  is  a  selection  from 
Strutt's  "Manners  and  Customs,"  a  voluminous 
and   costly   book,   in   compressing   which   Mr. 
Aspin    assures    us    that    he    has    taken    great 
care   to    avoid    anything    "  which    might    now 
be  deemed  coarse  and  indelicate."     We  begin 
with  a  three  days'  feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
to   which   the  children,   pegs   as  ever   for  the 
hanging   of  instruction,   are   bidden,    and   our 
mouths  water  with  the  good  things  prepared 
for  it ;  ale,    mead,   currant  wine,  cheesecakes, 
and  other  antique  delicacies,  which  no  doubt 
sound  nicer  than  they  really  were.      The  chil- 
dren start  with  the  ancient  Druids  and  their 
habits,    and   go   through   centuries   of  curious 
information  respecting  feasts,  feats,  and  frolics 
of  every   description.     There   was   a  feast  at 
Kiddington  in  Oxfordshire  on  Whit-Monday, 
which   seems   to  have  been  still  held  in  the 
eighteenth  century.     A  fat  lamb  was  provided, 
and  the  maidens  of  the  town,  each  with  her 
thumbs  tied  behind  her,  chased  the  unfortunate 

animal  till  one  of  them  took  hold  of  it  with  her 

I 


i3o     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

mouth.  She  who  first  succeeded  in  doing  this 
was  called  "The  Lady  of  the  Lamb."  The 
lamb  was  then  killed  and  cleaned,  the  skin  and 
fleece  being  left  upon  it,  and  was  carried  in 
triumph  before  the  lady  and  her  companions  on 
a  long  pole  to  the  village  green,  with  music 
and  a  morrice  dance  of  men  and  women.  Next 
day,  to  satisfy  the  tastes  of  all,  the  lamb  was 
part  roasted,  part  baked,  and  part  boiled,  and 
was  eaten  at  the  lady's  feast  "  to  the  sound  of 
music."  There  are  many  other  old  customs  so 
interestingly  described,  that  one  longs  to  revive 
them. 

Another  book  published  in  1825  and  added 
to  the  Princess's  list  in  1826  is  the  Rev.  J. 
Goldsmith's  "  Wonders  of  the  United  King- 
dom," a  finely  illustrated  and  most  comprehen- 
sive account  of  abbeys,  castles,  public  halls, 
places  of  amusement,  hospitals,  bridges,  docks, 
picture  galleries,  universities,  and  such  natural 
wonders  as  celebrated  caves,  and  the  like.  The 
child  who  had  really  digested  its  information 
would  be  ready,  as  Princess  Victoria  was  a  year 
or  two  later,  to  intelligently  enjoy  a  tour  through 
her  native  land.  She  would  be  further  helped 


WINDSOR   AND   TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      131 

to  do  this  by  another  delightful  book  which  she 
read  in  1826,  the  Rev.  Isaac  Taylor's  "  Scenes 
of  British  Wealth."  The  whole  three  king- 
doms are  laid  under  embargo  to  provide  the 
youthful  reader  with  instruction  concerning 
every  imaginable  trade  and  industry  pursued 
within  their  borders.  We  have  cable-making 
at  Deptford,  straw-plaiting  at  Dunstable,  brew- 
ing at  Reading,  lace-making  at  Buckingham, 
which  we  are  told  is  so  distressing  to  the  eyes 
that  "  we  cannot  wish  any  young  ladies  to  do 
much  of  it,  except  such  as  are  idle  and  would 
otherwise  read  trifling  books."  No  anxiety 
appears  to  be  shown  as  to  the  eyes  of  the  young 
peasants  engaged  in  the  trade.  There  is  an 
enthusiastic  description  of  the  new  discovery 
of  gaslight,  which  one  of  the  children  in- 
structed finds  "brighter  than  day";  one  won- 
ders what  she  would  have  said  to  electric  light. 
The  book  has  fascinating  little  pictures  of  each 
trade,  and  is  interspersed  with  occasional  verses, 
setting  forth  the  moral  lessons  to  be  learned 
from  them.  The  best  is  the  following,  on  the 
making  of  Worcester  china  : — 


132     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 


"CHINA  WAKE. 

"  Like  the  china,  from  the  earth, 

Man  starts  up,  a  piece  of  clay, 
Small  in  value  at  his  birth, 
Useless,  feeble,  soft  as  they. 

But  he  grows  in  shape  and  size, 

Under  education's  hand, 
Lovely  to  our  wondering  eyes, 

Delicate,  or  simply  grand. 

Like  the  painted  vase  he  shows, 
Beauties  rise  his  form  to  grace, 

Science,  morals,  arts  he  knows, 
Glazed  to  brilliant  perfectness. 

Taste  and  wealth  the  work  admire, 
Fashion  will  its  beauties  hail ; 

What  now  could  you  more  desire  ? 
Ah  !  I  wish  it  were  not  frail. 

Pity  to  ignoble  use 

Vice  should  put  what  thus  they  make, 
Clustered  cobwebs  vile,  abuse  ; 

Carelessness,  or  malice  break. 

Nay,  with  all  our  greater  care, 
Danger  may  on  caution  tend  ; 

Time  may  crack  the  brittle  ware, 
Death  must  bring  it  to  an  end." 


WINDSOR   AND  TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      133 

The  above  is  a  very  fair  specimen  of  the 
didactic  poetry  taught  to  children  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century;  the  rhymes  would 
make  a  fastidious  critic  shudder,  but  such  writers 
as  Mrs.  Barbauld,  Mrs.  Turner,  and  Jane  and  Ann 
Taylor  have  all  a  curious  bluntness  of  ear,  though 
their  scansion  is  rarely  at  fault.  In  1827  the 
Princess  makes  a  stride  in  poetry,  and  comes  to 
the  Fables  of  "  the  late  Mr.  Gay,"  written  in 
1726  for  the  instruction  of  the  young  Duke 
of  Cumberland,  in  an  easy,  colloquial  style, 
after  the  manner  of  La  Fontaine's,  though 
inferior  to  his  in  artistic  merit.  The  little 
Princess  probably  enjoyed  learning  them,  for 
she  had  a  strong  sense  of  humour  and  a  great 
love  of  animals. 

"  The  Reciter,"  a  selection  of  prose  and  verse 
for  young  people  of  all  ages,  by  the  Rev.  E.  Ward, 
also  figures  among  the  lesson-books  of  1827. 
It  was  compiled  in  1812,  and  was  dedicated  to 
"The  Right  Honourable  Lady  Olivia  Sparrow,  of 
Brampton  Park,  Huntingdonshire,"  to  whose 
son  Mr.  Ward  was  tutor.  It  includes  poems  by 
Watts,  Cowper,  Doddridge,  Montgomery,  Scott's 
"Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,"  Milton's  fine 


i34     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

"Morning  Hymn,"  Addison's  "When  all  Thy 
Mercies,  oh,  my  God ! "  and  "  The  Spacious 
Firmament  on  High,"  Gay's  "  Shepherd  and 
Philosopher,"  and  Pope's  "  Man  of  Ross." 
Among  the  prose  selections  are  two  noble 
speeches  by  North- American  Indian  chiefs,  the 
Dying  Charge  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  the  reply  of 
Fabricius  to  Pyrrhus,  defending  and  extolling 
his  poverty,  and,  perhaps  finest  of  all,  the  well- 
known  speech  of  Queen  Elizabeth  when  review- 
ing her  troops  at  Tilbury.  It  will  bear  quoting 
from,  for  the  opening  words  are  curiously  like  in 
spirit  the  reply  given  by  our  beloved  Queen  when, 
on  her  last  visit  to  Ireland,  she  was  entreated 
not  to  go  abroad  without  a  strong  bodyguard. 
It  will  be  remembered  how  she  refused  it,  and 
how  her  trust  in  the  "loyal  hearts  and  good 
will "  of  her  Irish  subjects  was  splendidly  repaid. 
Here  is  a  part  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  speech, 
which  she  spoke,  mounted  on  horseback,  to  the 
soldiers  and  populace  at  Tilbury : — 

"My  loving  people,  We  have  been  persuaded  by 
some  that  are  careful  of  our  safety  to  take  heed  how 
We  commit  ourselves  to  armed  multitudes,  for  fear  of 
treachery ;  but,  I  assure  you,  I  do  not  desire  to  live  to 


WINDSOR   AND  TUNBRIDGE   WELLS      135 

distrust  my  faithful  and  loving  people.  Let  tyrants 
fear!  I  have  always  so  behaved  myself  that,  under 
God,  I  have  placed  my  chiefest  strength  and  safeguard 
in  the  loyal  hearts  and  good  will  of  my  subjects.  .  .  . 
I  know  I  have  but  the  body  of  a  weak  and  feeble  woman, 
but  I  have  the  heart  of  a  king,  and  a  king  of  England 
too." 

Brave  words  of  the  Maiden  Queen,  treasured 
to  still  braver  issues  by  her  great  successor, 
Victoria  the  Good. 

The  little  Princess  made  the  acquaintance  of 
other  great  historical  personages  in  the  pages  of 
Mrs.  Trimmer's  quaint  little  "  Roman  History." 
It  was  when  reading  the  noble  answer  of  Cor- 
nelia, mother  of  the  Gracchi,  "These  are  my 
jewels,"  that  the  Princess  is  said  to  have  made 
the  quick-witted  remark,  "  She  should  have  said, 
'  These  are  my  cornelians.' "  Another  noble 
Roman,  Hersilia,  the  peace-maker  between  the 
Romans  and  Sabines,  is  described  by  Mrs.  Trim- 
mer as  "a  sensible  lady."  Good  sense  was  a 
quality  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  excellent  Mrs. 
Trimmer,  and  she  gives  a  proof  of  it  by  making 
short  work  of  the  lives  of  the  Roman  Emperors, 
evidently  considering  them  unedifying  reading 


136     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

for  young  people.  We  meet  the  Eoman  Em- 
perors again  in  "  The  Picture  Gallery  Explored," 
the  pictures  in  question  being  mainly  places  of 
note,  varied  by  a  few  historical  subjects.  The 
usual  method  is  employed  to  convey  informa- 
tion, namely,  conversations  between  a  father 
and  his  children,  which  begin  with  the  history 
of  London  and  end  with  stories  of  Vespasian 
and  Pericles,  discursive  enough  but  brightly 
written,  and  full  of  interesting  and  out-of-the- 
way  facts.  Like  all  Princess  Victoria's  lesson- 
books,  it  is  beautifully  illustrated. 

"Scenes  of  British  Wealth"  was  followed 
up  in  1827  by  the  "Book  of  Trades,"  a 
fuller  and  more  technical  work  on  the  same 
subject.  In  the  same  year  the  Princess 
began  to  learn  Latin,  and  had  made  excellent 
headway  in  French  under  the  care  of  M. 
Grandineau. 

M.  Grandineau  was  the  author  of  several 
educational  books,  one  of  which,  La  Gram- 
maire  Royale,  was  dedicated  to  the  Duchess 
of  Kent,  and  was  inspired,  he  tells  us  in 
his  preface,  by  "  the  progress  made  under  the 
influence  of  these  views  by  an  august  pupil" 


WINDSOR   AND  TUNBRIDGE   WELLS     137 

— the  Princess  Victoria.  In  somewhat  flowery 
strains  he  continues,  "The  purity  of  her  dic- 
tion, the  happy  choice  of  her  expressions,  the 
ease  which  characterises  her  conversations  in 
this  language,  permit  me  to  refer  a  portion 
of  the  success  to  the  choice  of  means,  and 
have  emboldened  me  to  present  the  result  of 
my  labour  to  the  public  under  the  patronage 
of  the  illustrious  Princess,  who  has  deigned 
to  accept  the  dedication." 

He  had  some  grounds  for  self-congratulation, 
for  he  only  began  to  teach  the  Princess  in  the 
November  of  1825,  and  in  1826  she  was  fairly 
embarked  upon  Le  Livre  des  Enfans,  a  French 
spelling-book  written  in  1808  by  one  Sarah 
Wanstrocht,  who  dedicates  it  to  a  Miss  Mary 
Ann  Birch.  It  treats,  in  the  smallest  possible 
space,  of  every  subject  under  the  sun  after  the 
ideal  of  the  day,  which  was  to  be  generally  well- 
informed  on  many  subjects  rather  than  to  be 
particularly  erudite  in  one.  In  the  two  years 
we  are  treating  of,  M.  Grandineau's  royal  pupil 
added  to  her  French  studies  Miss  Dickenson's 
"French  and  English  Dialogues,"  Berguin's 
L'ami  des  JEnfans,  Madame  Elizabeth  du  Bon's 


138     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

L'aimable  Enfant — the  title  suggests  priggish- 
ness — Les  Soirees  de  Londres,  and  last  but  not 
least,  Lindley  Murray's  Introduction  au  Lecteur 
Franpais,  and  two  grammatical  books  by  Nicolas 
Hamel — stiff  work  for  a  child  of  seven  years 
old. 


CHAPTER  VII 

KENSINGTON,   1828  AND   1829 


CHAPTER  VII 

KENSINGTON,  1828  AND   1829 

THE  first  record  we  have  of  our  royal  heroine  in 
1828  is  a  pretty  little  letter  she  wrote  to  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  on  the  occasion  of  the  birth- 
day of  her  grandmother,  the  Dowager-Duchess 
of  Coburg.  That  it  was  written  without  super- 
vision is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  youthful 
scribe  got  into  difficulties  over  "  affectionately," 
and  compromised  matters  with  a  blur  for 
ending : — 

"MY  DEAR  MAMMA, — I  congratulate  you  on  dear 
Grandmamma's  birthday.  I  hope  you  will  have  a 
very  happy  day. — Yours  very  affection — 

"  VICTORIA. 
"Jan.  igth,  1828." 

The  letter  is  in  a  pretty  round  hand,  very 
carefully  written,  clear  and  decided,  and  its 
tenor  shows  that  the  Princess  was  brought  up 
in  the  true  German  veneration  of  anniversaries, 


142     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

especially  of  family  birthdays.  There  is  a  little 
anecdote  told  which,  if  true,  shows  the  loving 
sympathy  that  existed  between  the  Duchess  of 
Kent  and  her  child.  The  Princess  slipped  one 
day  and  fell  while  out  with  the  Duchess,  and, 
while  being  helped  to  her  feet,  her  first  anxious 
question  was,  "Does  mamma  know  I  am  not 
hurt?" 

Another  well-known  story  is  vouched  for  by 
Mr.  A.  F.  Story,  and  is  so  consistent  with  her 
late  Majesty's  habitual  kindliness,  that  it  speaks 
for  its  own  truth.  He  says  that  "The  Princess 
Victoria  had  set  her  heart  on  buying  a  doll  she 
had  seen  in  a  shop-window.  But  her  mother, 
the  Duchess  of  Kent,  did  not  let  her  buy  it 
until  her  next  allowance  of  pocket-money 
allowed  her  to  do  so.  At  last  the  day  came, 
when  she  hurried  to  the  shop,  paid  over  the  six 
bright  shillings,  and  got  the  long-coveted  doll. 
On  coming  out  of  the  shop  with  her  treasure  in 
her  arms,  the  young  Princess  encountered  a 
wretchedly  miserable,  tramp,  who  plucked  up 
his  courage  and  asked  for  help.  The  Princess 
Victoria  hesitated  a  moment ;  then,  realising 
that  she  no  longer  had  any  money  left  for  the 


KENSINGTON,    1828   AND    1829         143 

man,  she  returned  to  the  shopkeeper  and  gave 
him  back  the  doll.  He  gave  her  the  six 
shillings  again,  promising  also  to  keep  the  doll 
for  her  for  a  few  days.  The  little  lady  hurried 
out  of  the  shop  and  thrust  the  whole  of  the 
money  into  the  hands  of  the  poor  beggar,  who 
was  astonished  at  the  extent  of  his  good 
fortune." 

This  must  have  been  a  real  sacrifice  to  the 
little  girl,  for  she  had  a  perfect  passion  for 
dolls.  Miss  Sarah  Tooley  tells  us  that  she  had 
one  hundred  and  thirty-two,  a  large  number  of 
which  she  dressed  herself  as  historic  characters 
in  appropriate  costumes.  She  kept  a  list  of 
them  and  their  names  and  histories  in  a 
copy-book,  and  had  a  long  board  fitted  with 
pegs  which  held  the  dolls'  feet,  and  on  this 
she  enacted  and  rehearsed  court-receptions  and 
other  official  functions.  She  had  always  a 
strong  love  of  drama,  and  nobody  enjoyed  a 
good  play  or  opera  better  than  she. 

Her  faithful  companion  and  dearly-loved 
half-sister,  Princess  Feodore,  married  in  this 
year  Prince  Hohenlohe-Langenburg.  This  was 
a  great  blow  to  the  little  Princess,  and  her  first 


144     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

taste  of  real  sorrow,  for  Princess  Feodore  meant 
much  to  the  lonely  child,  and  she  must  have 
missed  her  terribly.  Princess  Feodore  had 
three  children ;  the  son  of  the  eldest,  Count 
Gleichen,  fought  with  his  regiment,  the  Grena- 
dier Guards,  in  the  South  African  War,  and 
was  wounded  at  Modder  River.  Both  he  and 
his  sisters  exhibit  a  marked  talent  for  art. 

Henceforth  there  was  a  gap  in  the  happy 
family  party ;  and  the  visits  to  the  seaside  and 
Tunbridge  Wells  must  have  been  the  duller  for 
Princess  Feodore's  absence. 

About  this  time,  too,  came  the  Greek  struggle 
for  independence,  and  the  offer  of  the  rulership 
of  that  country  to  Prince  Leopold.  The  Prin- 
cess Victoria  must  have  been  old  enough  to 
take  an  interest  in  a  war  which  had  many 
romantic  features  likely  to  attract  an  intelligent 
child ;  one,  too,  in  which  her  beloved  uncle  was 
deeply  concerned,  and  which  might  result  in 
his  permanent  absence  from  England.  The 
little  girl  must  have  known  many  anxious 
hours,  for  the  Duchess  seems  to  have  been 
always  desirous  of  giving  her  daughter  an 
interest  in  what  was  taking  place  around  her ; 


KENSINGTON,   1828  AND   1829        145 

and  she  could  scarcely  have  failed  to  share  in 
the  general  excitement  the  war  aroused  all  over 
Europe.  Princess  Victoria  was  spared  the  loss 
of  her  uncle  and  her  happy  home  with  him  at 
Claremont  for  some  time  to  come,  for  in  the 
end,  in  spite  of  much  adverse  criticism  upon 
his  decision,  the  Prince  refused  the  offer  made 
him,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  really 
inspired  by  the  wishes  of  the  Greeks  them- 
selves. He  afterwards  accepted  the  crown  of 
Belgium,  and  became  Leopold  I.  of  that 
country. 

His  niece's  devotion  to  him  never  waned ; 
he  had  been  a  second  father  to  her,  and  he  took 
the  deepest  interest  in  her  marriage ;  and  it 
was  to  him  that  she  and  the  Prince  Consort 
owed  the  friendship  of  that  remarkable  person, 
Baron  Stockmar,  a  man  of  great  ability,  wisdom, 
and  integrity,  and  of  an  incorruptible  honesty. 
The  Baron  had  many  opportunities  of  studying 
the  young  Princess's  character,  and  he  leaves 
this  record  of  her,  written  to  Baroness  Lehzen 
in  1839  :  "  As  I  have  always  known  the  Queen, 
she  was  always  quick  and  acute  in  her  per- 
ceptions, straightforward,  moreover,  of  singular 

K 


146     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

purity  of  heart,  without  a  trace  of  vanity  or 
pretension."  A  noble  tribute  from  a  man 
whose  lofty  ideals  made  him  hard  to  please. 

On  May  19,  1828,  a  few  days  before  the 
Princess's  tenth  birthday,  Sir  Walter  Scott 
records  in  his  diary  that  he  dined  with  the 
Duchess  of  Kent.  "Was  very  kindly  received," 
he  writes,  "  by  Prince  Leopold,  and  presented 
to  the  little  Princess  Victoria,  the  heir-apparent 
to  the  Crown,  as  things  now  stand.  .  .  .  This 
little  lady  is  educated  with  much  care,  and 
watched  so  closely  that  no  busy  maid  has  a 
moment  to  whisper  '  You  are  heir  of  England.' 
I  suspect,  if  we  could  dissect  the  little  heart, 
we  should  find  some  pigeon  or  other  bird  of  the 
air  had  carried  the  matter." 

There  can  be  little  doubt,  I  think,  that  so 
intelligent  a  child  as  Princess  Victoria  must 
have  had  some  suspicion  of  her  possible  destiny; 
indeed,  the  Queen  herself  said  that  the  know- 
ledge came  to  her  gradually  and  made  her  very 
unhappy.  To  a  child,  brought  up  with  such 
rigid  ideas  of  duty  and  "noblesse  oblige,"  the 
responsibility  of  so  great  a  future  must  have 
seemed  little  less  than  appalling.  But  the 


KENSINGTON,    1828  AND   1829         147 

definite  discovery  of  her  future  position  did  not 
come  till  1830. 

On  the  28th  of  May  1829,  the  young 
Princess,  who  was  just  ten  years  old,  had  the 
excitement  of  meeting  another  little  personage, 
just  a  month  older  than  herself,  Donna  Maria 
La  Gloria,  Queen  of  Portugal.  This  little  lady 
on  the  abdication  of  her  father,  Don  Pedro, 
had  succeeded  to  the  throne  on  the  2nd  of  May 
1826.  England  had  espoused  her  cause,  and 
the  King  gave  a  juvenile  ball  in  her  honour  on 
her  first  visit  to  this  country.  Greville,  in  his 
"  Memoirs,"  gives  an  account  of  it,  and  is  not 
over-gallant  to  our  little  Princess.  "  Yester- 
day," he  says,  writing  on  May  29th,  "  the  King 
gave  a  dinner  to  the  Dukes  of  Orleans  and 
Chartres,  and  in  the  evening  there  was  a  child's 
ball.  It  was  pretty  enough,  and  I  saw  for  the 
first  time  the  Queen  of  Portugal  and  our  little 
Victoria.  The  Queen  was  finely  dressed  with  a 
riband  and  order  over  her  shoulder,  and  she  sat 
by  the  King.  In  dancing  she  fell  down  and 
hurt  her  face,  was  frightened  and  bruised,  and 
went  away.  The  King  was  very  kind  to  her. 
Our  little  Princess  is  a  short,  plain-looking 


148     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

child,  not  nearly  so  good-looking  as  the  Portu- 
guese. However,  if  nature  has  not  done  so 
much,  fortune  is  likely  to  do  a  great  deal  more 
for  her." 

Greville's  unflattering  opinion  of  the  Prin- 
cess's looks  was  not  at  all  generally  shared. 
Many  comparisons  were  made  between  the 
English  "May-flower,"  dressed  very  simply  in 
white,  and  the  little  Queen,  gorgeous  in  a  gown 
encrusted  with  jewels,  comparisons  entirely  in 
favour  of  the  former.  The  two  little  girls 
danced  in  the  same  quadrille ;  the  Princess's 
partners  during  the  evening  being  Lord  Fitz- 
Allan,  heir  to  the  dukedom  of  Norfolk,  Prince 
William  of  Saxe- Weimar,  young  Prince  Ester- 
hazy,  and  the  sons  of  Lord  De  La  Warr  and 
Lord  Jersey.  This  was  her  first  appearance  at 
a  public  ball,  and  her  manners  and  appearance 
were  generally  admired.  Lady  Bedingfield, 
writing  four  years  later  of  Donna  Maria,  when 
she  paid  her  second  visit  to  England,  is  by  no 
means  struck  by  her  personal  charms,  for  she 
describes  her  as  stout,  with  small  and  childish 
features,  fat  cheeks,  no  expression  whatever,  no 
colour,  and  not  fair,  though  with  light  eyes  and 


KENSINGTON,   1828  AND   1829        149 

hair,  and  a  habit  of  squeezing  up  her  mouth,  in 
a  word,  prematurely  old.  The  Princess,  on  the 
contrary,  was  still  a  child  in  appearance,  and 
a  very  attractive  one,  if  one  may  judge  from 
Nicholas'  portrait  of  her  at  the  age  of  thirteen 
in  a  quaint  cap  tied  under  the  chin  and  sur- 
mounted by  a  big  black  beaver  hat,  a  lace- 
topped  fur  tippet  and  great  fur  muff,  and  a  look 
both  of  purity  and  wisdom  in  the  large  blue 
eyes. 

A  propos  of  the  ball,  Greville  remarks  in 
speaking  of  George  IV.,  that  "not  one  great 
object  connected  with  national  glory  or  pros- 
perity ever  enters  his  brain.  I  don't  think  I 
mentioned  that  when  he  talked  of  giving  the 
child's  ball,  Lady  Maria  Conyngham  said,  '  Oh  ! 
do,  it  will  be  so  nice  to  see  the  two  little  Queens 
dancing  together,'  at  which  he  was  beyond 
measure  provoked." 

He  was  not  proof,  however,  against  the  charms 
of  his  little  niece,  for  her  grandmother,  the 
Dowager  -  Duchess  of  Coburg,  writes  to  the 
Duchess  of  Kent,  speaking  of  a  visit  paid  this 
year  to  King  George  at  Windsor  by  her  and 
the  Princess  Victoria :  "I  see  by  the  English 


150     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

papers  that  '  her  Royal  Highness  the  Duchess 
of  Kent  went  on  Virginia  Water  with  his 
Majesty/  The  little  monkey  must  have  pleased 
and  amused  him,  she  is  such  a  pretty  clever 
child."  This  was  the  last  time  the  Princess 
ever  saw  her  "Uncle  King";  he  died  in  the 
June  of  the  following  year,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  brother  William  IV.,  at  whose  accession 
the  royal  child  became  the  direct  heir  to  the 
throne  of  England. 

The  summer  of  1829  was  spent  by  the 
Duchess  and  her  daughter  at  Broadstairs,  and 
on  the  way  back  to  Kensington  they  paid  a  two 
days'  visit  to  Lord  Winchelsea  at  Eastwell  Park, 
near  Ashford.  This  was  one  of  the  very  few 
visits  Princess  Victoria  ever  paid  to  other  than 
the  members  of  her  own  family  during  the  first 
ten  years  of  her  life.  While  at  Broadstairs  the 
Duchess  occupied  a  comfortable  old-fashioned 
house,  Pierremont  by  name,  now  used  as  a 
school  for  boys.  Some  of  the  bedroom  furni- 
ture used  by  Princess  Victoria  is  still  pre- 
served ;  the  bed  is  a  curious  wooden  one,  with 
upholstered  ends  and  drawers  underneath  it, 
where  the  little  lady,  trained  ever  in  neatness, 


KENSINGTON,    1828  AND   1829         151 

must  have  kept  the  simple  toilettes  that  roused 
so  much  admiration.  The  music-room  of  the 
house  is  a  detached  building  with  a  deep  bow- 
window,  and  is  now  used  as  a  class-room.  Here 
her  late  Majesty  used  to  practise  to  such  pur- 
pose that  she  became  a  fine  musician.  She 
sang  so  charmingly  that  she  won  the  heart  of 
Mendelssohn,  who  says  that  she  rendered  one 
of  his  songs  "  quite  faultlessly,  and  with  charm- 
ing feeling  and  expression";  and  in  1830  she 
further  delighted  Thomas  Moore,  the  Irish  poet 
and  singer,  with  her  "  very  pretty  German 
songs."  She  learnt  her  first  lessons  in  music 
and  singing  from  Mr.  J.  B.  Sale,  who  had  been 
an  important  member  of  the  Chapel  Royal 
Choir ;  but  she  afterwards  took  singing  lessons 
of  the  famous  Lablache,  one  of  the  greatest 
singers  of  his  or  any  day. 

Dancing  she  learnt  of  Madame  Bourdin,  the 
first  dancing-mistress  of  the  time,  and  the  Duke 
of  Argyll  thinks  that  it  is  very  probable  that  to 
her  Queen  Victoria  owed  the  grace  and  dignity 
which  marked  her  every  movement  and  attitude. 
But  Queen  Victoria  had  an  innate  love  of 
beauty  of  movement,  inherited  from  both  sides 


152     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

of  her  family.  Her  uncle,  George  IV.,  was 
noted  for  his  perfect  deportment,  and  her  father 
was  not  far  behind  his  brother  in  that  respect. 
Every  one  seems  to  have  been  struck  with  the 
elegance  and  dignity  of  her  mother's  carriage, 
and  as  the  Princess  lived  entirely  under  the 
Duchess's  eye  for  the  first  seventeen  years  of 
her  life,  she  probably  unconsciously  imitated 
her,  as  children  do  the  manners  and  habits  of 
those  about  them.  Dancing  was  a  favourite 
amusement  at  court  in  the  early  years  of  Queen 
Victoria's  reign,  and  she  always  took  pleasure 
in  watching  the  great  professional  danseuses  of 
the  day,  and  was  a  severe  critic  of  the  manners 
and  deportment  of  those  about  her. 

Her  drawing-lessons  were  continued  under 
the  care  of  the  celebrated  Academician,  Mr. 
Westall,  who  was  by  that  time  quite  an  old 
man.  It  was  about  this  time,  also,  that  the 
Princess  took  riding-lessons  from  a  very  well 
known  riding-master  of  the  period,  Captain 
Fozzard,  commonly  known  as  "  Old  Fozzy." 
The  actress,  Fanny  Kemble,  was  one  of  his 
favourite  pupils.  She  speaks  of  her  master  as 
"  the  best  and  most  popular  riding-master  in 


KENSINGTON,   1828  AND   1829        153 

London,"  and  to  her  we  are  indebted  for  the 
following  account  of  the  Princess's  first  appear- 
ance at  the  riding-school :  "  One  day,  when  I 
had  gone  to  school  more  for  exercise  than  a 
lesson,  and  was  taking  a  solitary  canter  in  the 
tan  for  my  own  amusement,  the  little  door 
under  the  gallery  opened  and  Fozzard  appeared, 
introducing  a  middle-aged  lady  and  a  young 
girl,  who  remained  standing  there  while  he 
advanced  towards  me,  and  presently  began  to 
put  me  through  all  my  most  crucial  exercises, 
apparently  for  their  edification.  I  was  always 
delighted  to  go  through  these  particular  feats, 
which  amused  me  excessively,  and  in  which  I 
took  great  pride.  So  I  sat  through  them  all, 
till,  upon  a  sign  from  the  older  lady,  Fozzard, 
with  extreme  deference,  opened  the  door  and 
escorted  them  forth,  and  then,  returning  to 
dismount  me,  informed  me  that  I  had  given  a 
very  satisfactory  sample  of  his  teaching  to  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  and  the  Princess  Victoria, 
the  latter  of  whom  was  to  be  placed  under  his 
tuition  forthwith. 

"This  was   the   first   time   I    ever   saw   the 
woman  who  holds  the  most  exalted  position  in 


154     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

the  world,  the  Queen  of  England,  who  has  so 
filled  that  supreme  station  that  her  name  is 
respected  wherever  it  is  heard  abroad,  and  that 
she  is  regarded  by  her  own  people  with  a  loyal 
love  such  as  no  earthly  dignity  but  that  of  per- 
sonal worthiness  can  command." 

One  may  imagine  that  Princess  Victoria, 
who  was  taken  in  early  life  to  the  theatre  and 
opera,  was  also  interested  in  the  pretty,  sprightly 
Fanny  Kemble,  the  daughter  of  a  great  theat- 
rical family.  Queen  Victoria  was  always  re- 
markably gracious  and  kindly  to  all  actors  and 
actresses  who  had  the  honour  of  playing  before 
her,  particularly  to  nervous  young  people  or 
beginners.  A  young  actress  once  told  the 
present  writer  that  she  was  much  terrified  at 
the  idea  of  having  to  speak  to  the  Queen  for 
the  first  time,  but  that  the  moment  she  came 
into  her  presence  all  her  fears  vanished,  and 
nothing  but  a  sort  of  charmed  ease  remained. 
There  is  a  freemasonry  about  genuine  simplicity 
which  brings  the  highest  and  lowest  into  touch 
with  each  other,  for  it  is  the  only  true  ground- 
work of  fine  breeding  in  prince  or  peasant.  In 
Queen  Victorias  case  great  consideration  for 


KENSINGTON,   1828  AND  1829        155 

others  was  added  to  this  foundation  of  simpli- 
city, and  these  two  qualities  won  her,  more 
than  any  others,  the  devotion  of  all  who  were 
privileged  to  come  in  contact  with  her. 

Amongst  other  natural  gifts  her  late  Majesty 
had  a  very  quick  ear  for  sound.  She  was  a 
fine  linguist,  and  this  aptitude  for  languages 
was  early  trained  in  her.  In  1828,  when  she 
was  barely  nine  years  old,  she  was  working  at 
French,  German,  and  Latin,  and  had  made  con- 
siderable progress  in  all  three  by  the  year  1829. 
In  1828  she  read  with  Monsieur  Grandineau 
Contes  Offerts  aux  Enfans  de  France,  by  one 
Brouilly,  "  The  Tourist's  French  Companion," 
by  De  Bouillon  —  was  it  a  sort  of  juvenile 
Baedeker  ?  —  and  La  Bibliotheque  d 'Arthur, 
by  Madame  Delafaye-Bre'hier,  a  collection  of 
highly  moral  and  sentimental  stories,  illustrated 
by  prints  which  do  not  give  one  an  exalted 
idea  of  the  beauty  of  the  young  France  of  that 
day.  Two  quite  hideous  young  ladies  in  high- 
waisted  frocks,  who  rejoice  in  the  romantic 
names  of  Palmire  and  Emilie,  are  embracing 
stiffly  in  front  of  a  garden  seat.  Underneath  is 
written  :  "  Emilie,  penetrated  with  her  misdeeds, 


156     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

throws  herself  into  the  arms  of  her  little  friend." 
Our  little  Princess  certainly  did  not  learn  grace 
from  the  contemplation  of  these  wooden  young 
persons.  She  finished  Hamel's  "  Grammar  and 
Exercises,"  and  Miss  Dickenson's  "  French  and 
English  Dialogues,"  and  embarked  in  the 
following  year  (1829)  on  De  Bouillon's  "  Gram- 
matical Institutes  of  the  French  Language," 
and  Legons  de  Grammaire  en  Action,  by  the 
Abb£  Gaultier. 

Gaultier  had  invented  a  system  of  learning 
languages,  geography,  history,  and  even  morals, 
by  a  sort  of  game.  In  the  game  of  grammar 
"the  preceptor,  becoming  the  friend  and  com- 
panion of  his  pupils,  places  himself  gaily  at 
the  table,  and  has  always  the  appearance  of 
being  himself  instructed  with  them."  This  is 
quite  as  it  should  be,  always  provided  the  effort 
after  equality  was  not  too  self-evident.  The 
preceptor  lays  upon  the  table  a  board  called 
La  Table  du  Mechanisme,  on  which  are  written 
the  different  parts  of  speech,  such  as  noun, 
verb,  &c.  He  has  also  a  bag  containing  cards 
with  the  words  "Noun,"  "Verb,"  &c.,  written 
on  them,  and  two  baskets  of  counters,  one  for 


KENSINGTON,   1828  AND   1829         157 

marking  mistakes,  and  the  other  for  paying 
right  answers.  The  pupil  on  his  right  draws 
a  card  and  lays  it  opposite  the  same  part  of 
speech  indicated  on  the  board.  If  he  draws 
"Noun,"  for  example,  he  must  at  once  name  a 
noun,  explain  its  meaning,  and  form  a  sentence 
in  which  it  occurs.  He  gets  a  counter  for  each 
right  answer,  but  if  he  fails  it  passes  to  his 
neighbour,  who  doubles  the  counters  for  right 
answers,  or,  on  his  failure,  to  the  third  pupil, 
who  trebles  them.  One  wonders  who  shared 
the  game  with  the  Princess ;  probably  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  and  Miss  Lehzen.  There  is 
an  element  of  sport  and  emulation  about  it  that 
must  have  made  it  attractive  to  a  quick-witted 
child. 

The  Princess  also  read  a  story  by  Madame  de 
Bakker  called  Le  Souterrain,  ou  les  Deux  Sosurs, 
Le  Portefeuille  des  Enfans,  by  Bertuck,  trans- 
lated from  the  German,  and  Le  Robinson  de 
Douze  Ans,  by  Madame  Malleus  de  Beaulieu. 
This  is  Robinson  and  water  with  a  vengeance ! 
The  hero  is  a  headstrong  youth  who  will  go  to 
sea,  despite  the  prayers  of  his  mother.  He  is 
wrecked  on  a  desert  island,  finds  a  baby  cast- 


158     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

away,  and  just  as  it  begins  to  be  a  trouble  to 
him,  discovers  a  half -dead  woman,  also  cast 
ashore.  She  turns  out  to  be  his  long-suffering 
mother,  who  immediately  takes  charge  of  him 
and  the  baby.  They  are  all  rescued  in  the  end 
by  an  English  man-of-war,  whose  captain  is  a 
certain  Sir  Edward  Valter.  He  is  alternately 
spoken  of,  in  true  Gallic  fashion,  as  Sir  Valter 
and  Sir  Edward  ;  indeed,  he  presents  the  infant 
with  a  gift,  on  which  he  writes :  "  From  Sir 
Valter."  The  English  sailors  inform  the  hero 
that  he  is  "  France,  nous  Engliss,  mais  amis  de 
tous  les  hommes,"  the  sentiment,  of  which  is 
better  than  the  French.  It  is  a  naive  little 
book,  and  is  probably  more  interesting  to  a 
child  than  the  same  author's  Conversations  sur 
I'histoire  de  France,  also  read  by  the  Princess, 
probably  as  a  help  to  her  lessons  with  Mr. 
Davys  in  Mrs.  Markham's  "  History  of  France," 
which  they  were  reading  at  the  same  time. 

The  most  remarkable  point  about  this  well- 
known  book  is  the  excessive  priggishness  of 
Mrs.  Markham's  three  children.  Richard,  the 
eldest,  is  quite  unbearable ;  he  was  evidently 
in  training  for  a  schoolmaster.  George  is  the 


KENSINGTON,    1828  AND   1829        159 

most  human,  though  he  scarcely  escapes  the 
prevailing  taint ;  and  one  longs  to  box  Mary's 
ears.  Mrs.  Markham  herself  is  v£ry  just  to 
our  neighbours  over  the  water,  and  considers 
them  more  honest  and  sober  than  we  are. 
Their  faults  are  ferocity  and  insincerity ;  ours 
are  "  pride  and  arrogance  in  the  highest  classes, 
and  dishonesty  and  drunkenness  in  the  lower." 
Mary,  however,  lest  she  should  become  too 
humble,  happily  reminds  her  mother  that  we 
have  a  better  religion  and  a  better  government, 
and  can  therefore  feel  ourselves  superior  to  the 
French.  Mrs.  Markham  makes  one  singularly 
true  criticism  of  the  French  people.  "  Time," 
she  says,  "  leaves  the  French  very  much  as  he 
finds  them."  A  more  modern  critic  has  ex- 
pressed the  same  view  in  rather  different  lan- 
guage ;  the  French,  according  to  him,  are  "  the 
Chinese  of  Europe."  This  is  entirely  opposed 
to  the  superficial  notion  that  the  French  are  a 
changeable  nation.  Inconstant  in  their  pas- 
sions they  may  be,  but  not  in  their  prejudices 
or  their  ideas. 

In  these  two  years  Latin  was  added  to  the 
Princess's  curriculum,  and  taught  her  by  Mr. 


i6o     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Davys  from  "  The  Introduction  to  the  Latin 
Tongue,  as  Printed  for  the  Eton  School,"  and 
other  similar  works.  German  she  learnt  as  a 
foreign  tongue  under  a  certain  M.  Barez,  and 
when  she  first  came  to  the  throne  spoke  it 
charmingly  but  not  always  correctly.  The 
Duchess  of  Kent,  with  great  self-denial,  always 
spoke  English,  though  with  difficulty,  to  her 
daughter,  and  the  idea  that  German  was  the 
language  of  their  more  intimate  moments  is 
quite  incorrect.  Nevertheless  Nature  helped 
the  Princess,  for  in  a  very  short  time  she  had 
no  need  to  translate  her  simpler  German  books 
when  reading  them,  and  in  1830  had  a  know- 
ledge of  "  about  1 500  "  words  of  common  use, 
M.  Barez  tells  us.  She  made  use  of  German 
whenever  she  wanted  to  coax  favours  from  her 
mother,  but  soon  relapsed  into  English. 

In  order  to  perfect  his  royal  pupil  in  the 
art  of  letter-writing,  Mr.  Davys  gave  her  Lucy 
Aikin' s  "  Juvenile  Correspondence  ;  or,  Letters 
Designed  as  Examples  of  Epistolatory  Style  for 
Children  of  Both  Sexes."  Lucy  Aikin  was 
the  niece  of  Mrs.  Barbauld,  and  daughter  of 
Dr.  Aikin,  joint  -  authors  of  "Evenings  at 


KENSINGTON,    1828  AND   1829         161 

Home,"  and  other  juvenile  classics.  She  seems 
to  have  been  somewhat  overshadowed  by  these 
worthy  relatives ;  but  she  made  many  interest- 
ing friends,  and  carried  on  a  correspondence, 
amongst  several  others,  with  Dr.  Chalmers. 
"  Juvenile  Correspondence "  deals  with  the 
letters  of  an  imaginary  family,  Monkton  by 
name,  who  are  separated  at  intervals,  and  write 
accounts  of  their  doings  to  each  other.  Eobert, 
the  eldest,  keeps  a  journal  during  his  parents' 
absence,  which  he  sends  for  their  edification. 
He  gets  up  invariably  at  six  o'clock,  a  charac- 
teristic peculiar,  alas  !  to  a  hundred  years  ago  ; 
he  works  in  his  garden  till  eight,  when  we  will 
hope  he  breakfasted,  though  he  makes  no  men- 
tion of  the  trivial  fact ;  he  then  reads  Virgil 
with  his  uncle ;  "  makes  "  a  Greek  and  Latin 
exercise ;  reads  some  English  history ;  and,  like 
any  ordinary  human  boy,  makes  bows  and  arrows 
till  dinner.  After  dinner  he  draws  a  head,  and 
seems  pleased  with  the  result ;  he  then  goes  to 
drink  tea  with  a  most  instructive  and  botanical 
neighbour,  Mr.  Hargrave,  who  takes  him  about 
his  wonderful  garden,  and  so  ends  his  virtuous 
day.  Mr.  Hargrave  possesses  two  sons,  who, 


162     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

we  learn  from  another  member  of  the  Monkton 
family,  Edward,  are  "brave,  honest  boys,  who 
scorn  to  tell  a  lie,  and  that  is  what  pleases  me." 
Their  cousin,  one  Stephen  Thompson,  on  the 
contrary,  strikes  a  little  girl,  and  is  beaten  in 
"  a  fair  battle "  by  the  gallant  Edward,  vho 
punches  him  till  his  nose  bleeds.  This  is  a 
refreshing  change  from  Robert,  who  is  reading 
Plutarch,  and  remarks  to  his  parent  that  he  is 
"  never  satisfied  with  those  delightful  stories 
about  the  good  and  great  men  who  lived  so 
long  ago."  There  is  some  ambiguity  about 
that  "never  satisfied,"  and  we  almost  suspect 
Robert  of  laughing  in  his  sleeve  at  his  excel- 
lent parents.  He  goes  to  Kensington  Gardens, 
and  expatiates  in  the  most  correct  fashion  on 
their  beauties,  but  is  saddened  by  the  fact  that 
"  people  come  here  to  show  their  fine  clothes 
and  meet  their  acquaintances  rather  than  to 
enjoy  the  gardens." 

But  in  spite  of  Robert's  priggishness,  Miss 
Aikin  succeeds  in  making  her  young  people's 
letters  graphic  and  in  some  cases  natural  and 
interesting,  and  shows  her  readers  how  they 
may  get  past  the  difficulty  of  "  What  shall 


KENSINGTON,   1828  AND   1829        163 

I  say  next?"  when  writing  to  their  friends. 
Robert  Monkton  may  be  almost  excused  the 
airs  of  the  superior  person  if  he  had  read  and 
mastered,  as  Princess  Victoria  seems  to  have 
done,  a  work  entitled  "  The  Introduction  to 
Astronomy,  Geography,  and  the  Use  of  the 
Globes,"  by  John  Sharman.  The  use  of  the 
globes,  even  in  the  writer's  young  days,  was 
confined  to  meeting  them  in  certain  old  houses 
side  by  side  with  jars  of  pot-pourri  and  other 
ancient  joys,  and  spinning  them  round  to  a 
delicious  whirring  hum,  with  a  vague  wonder 
as  to  the  meaning  of  the  wonderful  beings 
painted  on  the  globe  marked  "  Celestial."  Far 
different  was  it  for  children  in  the  beginning 
of  the  century.  The  occult  meanings  of  the 
celestial  globe  was  plain  reading  to  them,  and 
so  we  suppose  were  the  terrible  problems  at  the 
end  of  Mr.  Sharman's  book,  such  as  "At  what 
hour  will  the  morning  twilight  begin  and  the 
evening  twilight  end  on  the  i6th  of  February, 
also  on  the  2  yth  of  August,  in  Dublin  ? "  or 
"  To  find  the  sun's  oblique  ascension,  his 
eastern  amplitude  and  azimuth,  with  the  time 
of  rising  on  any  given  day."  The  brain  reels 


164     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

at  the  prospect  of  solving  either  of  them,  and 
the  Princess  was  only  nine  years  old  !  No 
wonder  she  grew  into  the  "  best- educated 
young  Englishwoman  of  her  day."  There  is 
a  table  of  climates  from  the  Equator  to  the 
North  Pole,  which  must  also  have  presented 
difficulties.  The  geographical  part  of  the  book 
is  clear,  and  contains  a  good  deal  of  information 
with  regard  to  the  government  of  the  different 
cities  and  countries  and  any  special  points  of 
interest,  but  it  seems  very  meagre  to  a  modern 
student.  But  then  one  must  remember  that  it 
was  written  in  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, when  Africa  comes  under  the  heading  of 
"  Terra  Incognita,"  and  we  learn  that  "  scarce 
any  part  of  it  is  known  but  the  sea-coasts,  and 
even  these  imperfectly."  North  America,  com- 
prising "  all  that  vast  tract  west  of  the  British 
settlements,  from  Canada  and  the  lakes  west- 
ward, are  (sic)  perfectly  unknown  to  us." 
Among  the  new  discoveries  we  find  the  Sand- 
wich Isles  and  New  Zealand,  and  Canada,  we 
are  told,  is  600  miles  long  and  200  broad.  One 
might  now  almost  add  a  "  o "  to  the  first 
number  and  not  be  far  out  in  the  reckoning. 


KENSINGTON,   1828  AND   1829        165 

From  Geography  we  pass  to  Natural  History, 
and  here  the  Princess  had  made  great  strides, 
and  was  promoted  to  a  three -volume  work, 
"  Animal  Biography,"  by  the  Rev.  W.  Bingley, 
a  most  comprehensive  survey  of  the  animal 
kingdom.  There  is  a  very  long  list  of  authori- 
ties consulted  by  the  reverend  author  at  the 
beginning  of  the  book,  and  a  delightful  folded 
frontispiece,  an  engraving  by  Reeve  of  "  A 
Lionness  and  her  Whelps "  in  a  great  cage. 
The  cubs  are  odd-looking  little  beasts,  but  the 
pose  of  the  "  lionness,"  on  guard,  is  very  fine 
and  impressive.  The  copy  of  this  book  con- 
sulted by  the  present  writer  had  once  belonged 
to  Queen  Victoria's  grandfather,  his  Majesty 
George  III.  Mr.  Bingley's  information  is  ex- 
haustive, and  his  style  easy  and  simple,  free 
from  academic  technicalities  ;  his  anecdotes  are 
interesting,  and  the  arrangement  of  his  subject- 
matter  clear. 

Another  delightful  book,  read  by  Princess 
Victoria  in  1828,  was  "  Parry's  Three  Voyages  " 
in  search  of  the  North-West  Passage  into  the 
Pacific.  Lieutenant  Parry,  as  he  then  was, 
started  in  command  of  H.M.S.  Hecla  first 


166     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

in  May  1819,  and  returned  in  November  1820. 
His  second  voyage  lasted  from  April  1821  to 
October  1823,  and  the  third  from  July  1824 
to  October  1827.  It  will  therefore  be  seen 
that  his  journal  was  quite  a  new  publication 
when  the  Princess  read  it,  and  his  adven- 
tures excited  much  the  same  popular  interest 
as  Nansen's  have  done  in  our  own  day. 
They  are  still  very  interesting  and  exciting 
reading,  especially  for  the  young  and  adven- 
turous, and  must  have  been  a  pleasant  change 
from  grammar  and  the  use  of  the  globes.  The 
poetry,  too,  learned  by  the  royal  child  in 
these  two  years  must  surely  have  pleased 
her,  for  she  was  launched  now  upon  two  real 
classics  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Cowper  and 
Goldsmith. 

Oliver  Goldsmith,  who  was  born  in  Ireland 
in  1728,  and  died  in  1776,  will  be  best  known 
to  posterity  as  the  author  of  "  The  Vicar  of 
Wakefield,"  one  of  the  most  perfect  pieces  of 
prose  in  the  English  language ;  but  every  one 
knows  "  The  Deserted  Village,"  if  not  by  heart 
at  least  by  name,  and  most  people  remember 
his  "Edwin  and  Angelina,"  a  delicate  bit  of 


KENSINGTON,   1828  AND   1829        167 

sentimentality,  and  the  celebrated  "  Stanzas  on 
Woman." 

Goldsmith's  muse  was  small  but  admirably 
finished,  easy  and  natural,  with  the  ease  which 
is  the  outcome  of  accomplished  art.  His  sweet, 
genial  nature  turned  instinctively  towards  simple, 
homely,  natural  subjects,  and  his  treatment  of 
them  is  marked  by  the  kindliest  humanity,  and 
his  descriptions  of  Nature  are  drawn  to  the  life, 
with  the  pen  of  a  lover.  It  is  as  a  lover  in 
quite  an  objective,  material  sense  that  Gold- 
smith writes  of  Nature.  His  contemporary, 
Cowper,  who  was  born  in  1731,  and  died  in 
1800,  saw  her  from  a  loftier  point  of  view  in 
her  inner  spiritual  relation,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
the  life  of  God,  and  on  the  other,  to  the  life  of 
man.  But  both  loved  her,  and  to  both,  from 
their  different  standpoints,  we  owe  some  of  the 
loveliest  mental  pictures  which  can  "  flash  upon 
that  inward  eye  which  is  the  bliss  of  solitude." 
Who  that  has  known  it  can  forget  "  Sweet 
Auburn,  loveliest  village  of  the  plain,"  or  the 
description  of  a  snowy  day  in  "The  Task"? 
Cowper,  especially,  was  a  master  of  "  poems  in 
miniature,"  as  Archbishop  Trench  has  happily 


168     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

described  certain  solitary  lines  in  poetry. 
"  While  morning  kindles  with  a  windy  red  "  is 
a  poem  in  itself,  and  conjures  up  a  perfect 
picture  of  a  day  that  heralds  in  a  storm. 
"Dupe  of  to-morrow,  even  from  a  child," 
gives  poor  Cowper's  root  of  melancholy  in 
seven  words,  sums  up  his  sad  life  in  one  short 
sentence.  Had  his  deep  spirituality  been  of  a 
calmer,  happier  turn,  his  poetry  would  have  had 
an  even  greater  influence  than  it  has  upon  his 
countrymen.  He  forgot  to  "  Rejoice  in  the  Lord 
always."  But  it  would  have  been  hard  to  find 
two  better  guides  to  love  of  God,  and  Nature 
than  Goldsmith  and  Cowper.-- 

It  is  true  that  far  greater  poets  were  living 
during  Princess  Victoria's  childhood :  such 
giants  as  Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  Byron, 
Shelley,  and  Keats  were  abroad,  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  Time  had  not  yet  assigned 
them  their  places  in  the  Temple  of  Fame,  and 
that  many  of  them  were  associated  in  those 
early  days  with  ideas  of  revolt  and  turbulence, 
alarming  to  orthodox  minds.  Shelley  was  not 
to  them  "the  poets'  poet,"  but  a  youth  who, 
forgetting  his  decent  birth  and  upbringing,  had 


KENSINGTON,   1828  AND   1829        169 

been  expelled  from  college  for  insubordination, 
and  was  a  sort  of  high  priest  of  revolution. 
Byron,  too,  would  be  looked  upon  with  grave 
suspicion  by  so  pure  and  gentle  a  nature  as  Dr. 
Davys,  imaginative  and  poetical  though  he  was. 
His  royal  pupil  had  a  more  practical  turn  of 
mind,  and  such  poetry  as  she  cared  for  in  after 
life  was  of  the  kind  that  appealed  to  the  heart 
rather  than  to  the  imagination. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

KENSINGTON,    1830 


CHAPTER  VIII 

KENSINGTON,  1830 

PRINCESS  VICTORIA  was  now  fast  approaching 
the  dividing  line  between  childhood  and  girl- 
hood. She  had  made  marked  progress  in  her 
lessons,  and  had  begun  to  fill  the  place  in  the 
eye  and  heart  of  the  nation  left  vacant  by  the 
death  of  their  beloved  Princess  Charlotte,  whom 
she  strongly  resembled.  Her  uncle,  George  IV., 
was  in  a  dying  condition,  and  in  a  few  months' 
time  she  was  to  become  the  direct  heir  to  the 
throne  of  England. 

It  was  probably  these  considerations  which 
decided  the  Duchess  of  Kent  upon  obtaining 
some  definite  and  reliable  opinion  as  to  the 
course  she  had  pursued  in  the  education  of  her 
daughter.  From  the  time  of  the  Duke  of  Kent's 
death  she  had  had  but  one  thought,  to  bring  up 
his  child  in  a  way  worthy  of  him  and  of  her  own 

probable  great  position.     Trusting  to  her  own 

173 


174     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

good  sense  and  to  a  single-minded  devotion 
to  her  duty,  she  had  taken  her  own  line  with 
regard  to  the  Princess's  upbringing  and  had 
never  swerved  from  it.  She  had  been  subjected 
to  much  unkind  criticism,  much  covert  and 
overt  opposition  ;  she  must  have  felt  them,  for 
she  had  a  warm,  sympathetic  nature,  and  the 
lonely  life  her  course  of  action  forced  upon  her 
must  have  been  scarcely  congenial  to  her.  In 
the  first  years  of  her  grief  seclusion  from  much 
society  would  be  only  natural  and  fitting,  but 
when  the  keen  edge  of  sorrow  had  been  some- 
what blunted  by  time,  her  native  liveliness  and 
love  of  society  must  have  often  tempted  her  to 
a  less  retired  life. 

She  was  rewarded,  however,  for  her  fidelity  to 
a  high  ideal  of  conduct  by  the  warm  apprecia- 
tion of  the  country  and  of  both  Houses  of 
Parliament.  She  had  received  the  deputation 
sent  by  Parliament  to  offer  its  condolences  on 
the  death  of  her  beloved  husband  clad  in  the 
deepest  mourning,  and  with  her  fatherless  child 
in  her  arms,  and  the  dignified, ,  pathetic  im- 
pression she  then  produced  was  maintained  by 
her  subsequent  course  of  conduct.  In  1825 


THE  PRINCESS  VICTORIA  IN  1830 

From  a  fainting  by  R.  WESTALL 


KENSINGTON,    1830  175 

Lord  Liverpool,  in  a  speech  to  the  House  of 
Lords,  paid  her  this  fine  tribute :  "  I  have 
opportunities  for  observing  the  conduct  of  the 
Duchess  of  Kent,  which  is  unexampled  for  pro- 
priety, domestic  affection,  and  moral  purity." 
At  the  same  time  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  informed  the  House  of  Commons 
that  "the  young  Princess  had  been  exceedingly 
well  brought  up,  the  greatest  pains  had  been 
taken  with  her ;  she  had  been  reared  with  that 
attention  to  manners,  morals,  and  piety  which 
became  her  condition.  She  had,  moreover, 
been  taught  to  entertain  a  becoming  sense  of 
her  own  dignity  and  the  rank  which  perhaps 
awaited  her;  these  were  made  cardinal  points 
in  her  education." 

She  had  certainly  been  taught  to  believe  that 
God  had  called  her  to  a  great  position  and  that 
she  must  respond  to  the  call  by  an  unswerving 
devotion  to  its  responsibilities.  "Queen  by 
the  grace  of  God,"  she  did  most  assuredly  be- 
lieve herself  to  be,  and  in  that  sense  the  Divine 
right  of  kings  was  a  real  truth  to  her  in  the 
loftiest  sense  of  the  words.  The  Duchess  must 
have  been  satisfied  that  her  method  of  educating 


176     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

her  daughter  met  with  the  approval  of  the 
nation,  but  she  was  anxious  to  have  an  intellec- 
tual opinion.  To  this  end  she  chose  two  of 
the  most  scholarly  of  the  bench  of  Bishops, 
Bishop  Blomfield  of  London,  and  Bishop  Kaye 
of  Lincoln,  both  men  whose  public  and  private 
lives  lent  a  lustre  to  their  learning,  and  whose 
merits  alone  had  secured  for  them  the  high 
positions  which  they  held  in  the  Church  of 
England. 

The  following  letter,  written  to  the  Bishops 
conjointly,  is  a  noble  and  able  exposition  of  her 
plan  with  regard  to  the  young  Princess's  educa- 
tion. Her  position,  the  sacrifices  she  had  made, 
and  her  confidence  in  her  own  judgment  are 
set  forth  with  as  much  modesty  as  dignity,  and 
subsequent  years  have  confirmed  her  estimate 
of  her  daughter's  character  as  a  singularly  just 
one.  Her  style  scarcely  betrays  her  foreign 
birth,  and  is  ample  and  leisurely,  and  yet  ex- 
tremely clear.  Some  of  her  epithets  are  re- 
markably happy,  notably  the  use  of  the  word 
"benignant"  in  speaking  of  Princess  Victoria's 
judgment,  and  there  is  a  touch  of  unconscious 
pathos  throughout  the  letter : — 


KENSINGTON,    1830  177 

Most  Confidential.  "  KENSINGTON  PALACE, 

ist,  of  March  1830. 

"MY  LORDS, — It  is  very  agreeable  to  my  feelings,  to 
solicit  your  council  and  assistance  on  a  matter,  most 
important  to  my  child,  of  great  moment  to  myself,  and 
of  paramount  consequence  to  the  Country. 

"  I  have  that  confidence  in  your  Lordships'  char- 
acters for  the  exercise  of  all  those  sentiments  that 
belong  to  your  sacred  office :  That  disposition  to  lean 
on  your  piety,  learning  and  moderation  in  temporal 
matters :  That,  I  feel  assured  of  deriving  much  benefit 
on  the  subject,  I  wish  to  bring  under  your  con- 
sideration. 

"  The  position  of  the  Princess  is  too  well  known,  to 
render  it  necessary  for  me  to  dwell  much  on  it. 

"  The  Princess  will  be  eleven  years  of  age  in  May ; 
by  the  death  of  her  revered  father,  when  she  was 
but  eight  months  old,  her  sole  care  and  charge  de- 
volved to  me. 

"  Stranger  as  I  then  was,  I  became  deeply  impressed 
with  the  absolute  necessity  of  bringing  her  up  entirely 
in  this  country — that  every  feeling  should  be  that  of 
her  native  Land ; — and  proving  thereby,  my  devotion 
to  my  duty,  by  rejecting  all  those  feelings  of  home 
and  kindred,  that  divided  my  heart. 

"When  the  Princess  approached  her  fifth  year,  I 
considered  it  the  proper  time  to  begin,  in  a  moderate 
way,  her  education :  an  education  that  was  to  fit  her 

M 


178     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

to  be  either  the  Sovereign  of  these  Eealms, — or  to  fill 
a  junior  station  in  the  Koyal  Family, — until  the  will  of 
Providence  should  shew  at  a  later  period,  what  Her 
destiny  was  to  be. 

"  With  this  view,  the  Eeverend  Mr.  Davys  was 
named  by  me  to  be  Her  Principal  Master:  This 
Appointment  was  made  without  any  personal  feeling 
whatsoever :  He  obtained  it  without  solicitation,  on 
the  ground  that  he  appeared  to  me,  of  all  those  named, 
the  person  most  likely  to  suit  the  situation. 

"  By  this  measure  a  system  was  acted  on,  from  the 
first,  with  steadiness ;  but  I  allowed  no  attempt  to  be 
made  to  push  the  Princess  intellectually  beyond  her 
years :  On  this  point  I  was  firm — satisfied,  as  far  as 
my  poor  judgement  could  direct  me;  that  it  was  the 
safest  and  surest  course,  although  not  the  most  brilliant. 

"I  send  herewith  a  List  of  the  Princess's  various 
Masters — as  in  every  Department  she  has  a  Master, 
except  in  carriage  and  Dancing,  which,  from  feelings 
of  delicacy,  I  have  given  charge  of  to  a  female. 

"  I  also  enclose :  Papers,  shewing  the  course  of  the 
Princess's  studies;  and  progress  with  each  of  Her 
Masters  :  as  well  as  a  List  of  all  the  Books  she  has  read. 

"  I  will  also  lay  before  you  a  record  that  has  been 
kept  of  every  lesson  she  has  taken. 

"  And  I  send  with  this  a  copy  of  the  distribution  of 
Her  time. 

"I  gradually,  as  the  Princess  got  older,  added  to 
Her  studies,  naming  a  master  for  the  studies  she  was 


KENSINGTON,    1830  179 

about  to  commence  :  And  always  on  the  same  principle 
that  influenced  me  in  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Davys, 
rejected  all  interest — taking  that  Person  who  in  the 
various  points  to  be  attended  to,  seemed  nearest  what 
was  required :  I  have  the  gratification  of  stating  that 
in  no  one  instance  have  I  had  the  slightest  reason  to 
regret  having  made  any  one  of  these  Appointments. 
On  the  contrary,  from  my  experience  of  these  Persons, 
I  would  select  them  again,  if  I  was  called  on  so  to  do : 
This  tribute  I  owe  them,  as  valuable  Assistants. 

"  A  review  of  the  Papers,  I  send  you  herewith,  will 
best  shew  Your  Lordships  the  System  pursued,  the 
progress  made,  &c.  I  attend  almost  always  myself 
every  lesson,  or  a  part — and  the  Princess's  Lady 
attendant  is  always  with  her — and  from  being  a  very 
talented  Person,  assists  her  in  preparing  Her  Lessons 
for  the  various  Masters :  As  I  resolved  to  act  in  that 
manner,  so  as  to  be  Her  Governess  myself. 

"  I  naturally  hope  that  I  have  pursued  that  course 
most  beneficial  to  all  the  great  interests  at  stake.  At 
the  present  moment  no  concern  can  be  more  momen- 
tous, or  in  which  the  consequences,  the  interests  of  the 
Country,  can  be  more  at  stake,  than  the  Education  of 
its  future  Sovereign. 

"  I  acknowledge  the  extreme  difficulty  and  delicacy 
of  the  undertaking — and  after  that  avowal — I  feel  my 
mind  relieved  by  the  aid  I  hope  to  obtain. 

"  Had  the  object  been  a  Prince,  the  case  would  have 
been  different  as  then, — the  established  plan  adopted  in 


i8o     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

such  cases  would  have  been  pursued :  But  here,  I  must 
take  care  that  the  course  of  study  is  not  adopted  alone 
to  the  Sex,  but  that  it  shall  be  conducted  on  a  large 
and  liberal  system  rather  than  to  the  circumstances  of 
the  Princess — for  until  lately  her  station  was  doubtful. 

"I  have  had  naturally  many  difficulties  to  encounter: 
— Some  opposite  oppinions  to  allow  to  pass  unrefuted : 
But  I  have  been  supported  in  my  great  undertaking 
by  the  conviction,  that  a  Parent,  situated  as  I  am, 
acting  under  an  honest  and  affectionate  solicitude  for 
Her  singularly  situated  Child  (as  I  trust  I  have  done) 
might  hope,  availing  herself  of  her  knowledge  of  the 
character  and  disposition  of  her  child — to  conduct 
her  education  as  it  ought  to  be. 

"From  the  Proceedings  of  Parliament  in  1825,  when 
I  could  hardly  have  supposed  that  my  retired  and  un- 
obtrusive life  would  have  allowed  my  conduct  to  be 
known, — I  have  derived  great  support — It  gave  me  con- 
fidence— they  were  indeed  calculated  to  make  me  feel 
most  solicitious,  to  discharge  my  duty  to  the  advantage 
of  my  child  and  the  Country. 

"  I  have  had  every  reason  to  be  most  grateful  to  His 
Majesty  for  his  unbounded  confidence — no  interfer- 
ence,— and  a  feeling  that  I  had  His  cordial  approbation, 
from  His  repeated  expressions  of  satisfaction  at  those 
times  the  Princess  has  been  seen  by  him. 

"  The  time  is  however  come — that  I  feel,  that  what 
has  been  done,  should  be  put  to  some  test:  That  if 
anything  has  been  done  in  error  of  judgement,  it  may 


KENSINGTON,   1830  181 

be  corrected : — And  that  the  plan  for  the  future  should 
be  open  to  consideration  and  revision. 

"I  do  not  presume  to  have  an  over-confidence  in 
what  I  have  done,  on  the  contrary,  as  a  Female, — as  a 
Stranger  (but  only  in  birth,  as  I  feel  that  this  is  my 
Country  by  the  duties  I  fulfill,  and  the  support  I  re- 
ceive) I  naturally  desire  to  have  a  candid  opinion  from 
authorities  competent  to  give  one. 

"  In  that  view,  I  address  Your  Lordships, — I  would 
propose  to  you  that  you  advert  to  all  I  have  stated — to 
the  Papers  I  lay  before  you, — and  that  then  that  you 
should  personally  examine  the  Princess — with  a  view 
of  telling  me : 

"  ist.  If  the  course  hitherto  pursued  in  Her  education 
has  been  the  best, — if  not,  where  it  was  erroneous  ? 

"  2nd.  If  the  Princess  has  made  all  the  Progress  she 
should  have  done  ? 

"  3rd.  And  if  the  course  I  am  to  follow,  is  that  you 
would  recommend :  And  if  not,  in  what  respect  you 
would  desire  a  change — and  on  what  grounds  ? 

"  If  I  have  defined  certain  points  for  clearness'  sake, 
and  for  my  own  satisfaction,  do  not  imagine  that  I 
wish  to  limit  you  to  them :  On  the  contrary,  I  shall 
gratefully  receive  any  other  observations  you  may  wish 
to  offer. 

"  Mr.  Davys  will  explain  to  you  the  nature  of  the 
Princess's  religious  education, — which  I  have  confided 
to  him,  that  she  should  be  brought  up  in  the  Church 
of  England,  as  by  law  established. 


182     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

"When  she  was  at  a  proper  age,  she  commenced 
attending  Divine  Service  regularly  with  me ; — and  I 
have  every  feeling  that  She  has  Religion  at  Her  heart, 
that  She  is  naturally  impressed  with  it,  to  that  degree, 
that  she  is  less  liable  to  error — by  its  application  to  Her 
feelings,  as  a  Child,  capable  of  reflection. 

"  The  general  bent  of  her  character  is  strength  of 
intellect, — capable  of  receiving  with  ease  information, 
and  with  a  peculiar  readiness  in  coming  to  a  very  just 
and  benignant  decison  on  any  point  Her  opinion  is 
asked  on. 

"  Her  adherence  to  truth  is  of  so  marked  a  character, 
that  I  feel  no  apprehension  of  that  bulwark  being  broke 
down  by  any  circumstance. 

"I  must  conclude  by  observing,  that,  as  yet,  the 
Princess  is  not  aware  of  the  Station  that  she  is  likely 
to  fill :  She  is  aware  of  its  duties,  its  cares,  and  that 
a  Sovereign  should  live  for  others :  so  that  when  her 
innocent  mind  receives  the  impression  of  Her  future 
fate:  She  receives  it  with  a  mind  formed  to  be  sensible 
of  what  is  expected  from  Her :  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
She  will  be  too  well  grounded  in  Her  principles  to  be 
dazzled  with  the  station  She  is  to  look  to. 

"  Believe  me  to  be,  My  Lords,  with  every  sentiment 
of  consideration,  Your  Lordships'  very  sincere  friend, 

"  VICTOKIA. 

"To  The  Right  Honble.  and  Right  Reverend 
THE  LORD  BISHOP  OF  LONDON,  and  The 
Right  Reverend  THE  LORD  BISHOP  OF 
LINCOLN." 


KENSINGTON,    1830  183 

The  following  documents  were  sent  by  the 
Duchess  with  her  letter  to  the  Bishops,  and  we 
think  cannot  but  prove  of  great  interest  to  the 
reader.  They  have  never  before  been  published. 
The  first  in  order  is  : — 

A  LIST  OF  THE  MASTEES,  &a,  IN  ATTENDANCE  ON 
HER  HIGHNESS  THE  PRINCESS  VICTORIA. 

Principal  Master    .     .     .  The  Eev.  G.  Davys,  M.A. 

Drawing  Master     .     .     .  K.  "Westall,  Esq. 

French  Master   .     ...     .  Monsieur  Grandineau. 

German  Master ....  The  Eev.  H.  Barez. 

Writing  Master      .     .     .  Mr.  Steward. 

Music  Master     ....  Mr.  J.  B.  Sale. 

Dancing  Mistress    .     .     .  Mrs.  Bourbin. 

Next  we  have  the  reports  of  the  five  first- 
mentioned,  music  and  dancing  scarcely,  in  the 
Duchess's  judgment,  coming  under  the  head  of 
subjects  she  could  ask  the  Bishops  to  consider. 
Had  Mr.  Sale  and  Mrs.  Bourdin,  or  Madame  as 
she  is  more  often  styled,  sent  in  their  reports 
we  know  that  they  would  have  been  of  the  most 
satisfactory  character,  for  the  Princess  even  then 
played  charmingly,  and  her  dancing  was  excep- 
tionally graceful.  The  report  of  the  Principal 
Master,  with  his  list  of  books,  &c.,  naturally 


184     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

occupies  the  largest  space,  and  is  far  the  most 
intimate  in  character.  The  sentence  in  the  re- 
port, "  I  am  afraid  of  saying  too  much,  because 
my  feelings  towards  the  Princess  may  prevent 
me  from  being  an  impartial  judge,"  is  a  touch- 
ing tribute  to  his  devotion  to  his  pupil.  The 
whole  document  is  as  straightforward,  simple, 
and  tender-hearted  as  its  writer. 

"THE  PRINCIPAL  MASTER. 

"March  2nd,  1830. 

"  MADAM, — Your  Royal  Highness  will  herewith  re- 
ceive a  list  of  the  books  which  the  Princess  Victoria 
has  been  reading  during  the  last  four  years ;  and  your 
Eoyal  Highness  will,  I  trust,  have  observed,  that  this 
course  of  study  has  supplied  the  Princess  with  a  degree 
of  information  as  great  as,  at  such  an  age,  could  be 
expected. 

"  During  the  last  year  the  Princess  has  made  con- 
siderable progress.  That  absence  of  mind  which  your 
Eoyal  Highness  had,  for  some  time,  so  much  lamented 
in  the  Princess,  has  been  in  a  great  measure  corrected 
by  the  improving  understanding  of  Her  Highness ;  and 
there  is  now  much  reason  to  believe  that  the  powers 
of  exertion  will  every  day  be  growing  stronger,  and 
that  there  will  be  a  corresponding  progress  in  all  sub- 
jects connected  with  the  education  of  the  Princess. 


KENSINGTON,    1830  185 

"  I  am  afraid  of  saying  too  much,  because  my  feelings 
towards  the  Princess  may  prevent  me  from  being  an 
impartial  judge ;  but  it  certainly  is  my  expectation  (as 
much  as  it  is  my  most  sincere  desire)  that  the  disposi- 
tion and  attainments  of  the  Princess  will  be  such  as  to 
gratify  the  anxious  wishes,  as  well  as  to  reward  the 
earnest  exertions,  with  which  your  Eoyal  Highness  has 
watched  over  the  education  of  the  Princess. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Madam,  your  Eoyal  High- 
ness's  most  dutiful  and  grateful  servant, 

"  GEORGE  DAVYS." 

Mr.  Davys  sends  with  his  report  a  list  of 
books  read  with  Princess  Victoria  during  his 
term  of  office  as  tutor,  both  secular  and  reli- 
gious, the  latter  headed  "  Subjects  connected 
with  Religion." 

BOOKS  BEAD  IN  THE  PEINCESS  VICTORIA'S  LESSONS  IN 
THE  YEARS  1826,  1827,  1828,  AND  1829,  WITH  THE 
PRINCIPAL  MASTER. 

Religion.  1826. 

1.  "Scriptural  Stories."     By  the  Author  of  "The 

Decoy." 

2.  "A  Stranger's  Offering;  or,  Easy  Lessons  of  the 

Lord's  Prayer." 

3.  Mrs.  Trimmer's  "Description  of  a  Set  of  Prints  of 

Scripture  History" — contained  in  easy  lessons 


186     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Religion — (cwdinued). 

4.  "  Scriptural  Lessons,  Designed  to  Accompany  a 

Series  of  Prints  of  the  Old  Testament." 
Moral  Stories. 

1.  "An  Easy   Introduction  to  the  Knowledge  of 

Nature."     By  Mrs.  Trimmer. 

2.  "A  Sequel  to  No.  I."     By  Mrs.  Sarah  Trimmer. 

3.  "  Aunt  Mary's  Tales." 

4.  "  Maternal  Instruction."     By  Elizabeth  Helme. 

History. 

1.  "True    Stories    of    Modern    History."      By   A 

Mother. 

2.  "  A  Description  of  a  Set  of  Prints  of  the  English 

History."     By  Mrs.  Trimmer. 

Geography. 

1.  "Easy  Dialogues  for  Young  Children."      By  A 

Lady. 

2.  Pinnock's  "  Catechism  of  Geography." 

Grammar. 

1.  "The  Decoy." 

2.  "  The  Child's  Grammar."     By  Mrs.  Lovechild. 

Natural  History. 

1.  "  The  Eational  Dame." 

2.  "  Tales  of  Birds."     By  Mrs.  Matthews. 

3.  "  A  Description   of   Quadrupeds,  Birds,  Fishes, 

Serpents,  and  Insects."     By  A.  D.  M.  Quin. 

4.  "Elements  of  Natural   History  in  the  Animal 

Kingdom."     By  William  Mavor. 


KENSINGTON,    1830  187 

Poetry. 

1.  "  The  Infant's  Minstrel." 

2.  "  Poetry  Without  Fiction."     By  A  Mother. 

3.  "  The  Keepsake." 

4.  "The  Literary  Box." 

General  Knowledge. 

1.  "Scenes  of  British  Wealth."      By  the  Eev.  J. 

Taylor. 

2.  "A  Picture  of  the  Manners,  Customs,  Sports,  and 

Pastimes  of  the  Inhabitants  of  England."    By 
Jehoshaphat  Aspin. 

3.  "The   Natural  and    Artificial  Wonders  of   the 

United  Kingdom."    By  the  Eev.  J.  Goldsmith. 

Religion.  1827. 

1.  "  Scriptural  Lessons,  Designed  to  Accompany  a 

Series  of  Prints  from  the  Old  Testament " — 
(continued). 

2.  "  Stories  from  Scripture,  on  an  Improved  Plan." 

History. 

1.  "A    Concise    History    of    England."     By    Mrs. 

Trimmer. 

2.  "  Eoman  History."     By  Mrs.  Trimmer. 

Geography. 

1 .  Pinnock's  "  Catechism  of  Geography  " — (continued). 

2.  "  An  Introduction  to  Astronomy,  Geography,  and 

the  Use  of  the  Globes."     By  John  Sharman. 


i88     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Natural  History. 

i.  "Elements  of  Natural  History."    By  W.  Mavor 

— (continued). 
General  Knowledge. 

1.  "  A  Picture  of  the  Manners,  Customs,  Sports,  and 

Pastimes  of  the  Inhabitants  of  England."    By 
Jehoshaphat  Aspin — (continued). 

2.  "  Eelics  of  Antiquity." 

3.  "  Picture  Gallery  Explored." 

4.  "  The  Book  of  Trades." 

5.  "  Polar  Scenes."    By  Campe. 

6.  Parry's  "Three  Voyages." 
Poetry. 

1.  "  Fables."     By  the  late  Mr.  Gay. 

2.  "  The  Eeciter."     By  the  Eev.  E.  Ward. 

Books  used  for  Dictating  in  the  Geographical  Lesson. 
i.  "  Juvenile  Correspondence."     By  Lucy  Aikin. 

Religion.  1828. 

1.  "Stories  from  Scripture,  on  an  Improved  Plan" 

— (continued). 

2.  "The  Catechism  of  the  Church  of  England,"  to 

learn  by  heart. 

3.  "An  Abridgment  of  the  Two  Testaments."    By 

Mrs.  Trimmer. 
History. 

1.  "A    Concise    History    of    England."     By    Mrs. 

Trimmer — (continued). 

2.  Markham's  "  History  of  France." 


KENSINGTON,   1830  189 

Geography, 

i.  "An  Introduction  to  Astronomy,  Geography,  and 
the  Use  of  the  Globes."  By  John  Sharman — 
(continued). 

Natural  History. 

i.  "Animal  Biography."     By  the  Eev.  W.  Bingley. 

General  Knowledge. 

1.  "The  Book  of  Trades "  )_(mntinwf), 

2.  Parry's  "Voyages"        \ 

Poetry. 

i .  "  The  Eeciter."   By  the  Eev.  E.  Ward— (continued). 

Books  used  for  Dictating  in  the  Geographical  Lesson. 
I.  "Juvenile  Correspondence."     By  Lucy  Aikin — 
(continued). 

Latin  Books. 

1.  "The    Introduction    to   the  Latin  Tongue,"   as 

printed  for  the  Eton  School. 

2.  "A    Eadical    Vocabulary,   Latin  and  English." 

By  John  Mair. 

Religion.  1829. 

i.  "An  Abridgment  of  the  Two  Testaments."  By 
Mrs.  Trimmer — (continued). 

History. 

i.  Markham's  "  History  of  France  " — (continued). 

Geography. 

i.  "Elements  of  Geography,  for  the  Use  of  Young 


190     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Children."     By  the  Author  of  "Stories  of  the 
History  of  England." 

Natural  History. 

I.  "Animal  Biography."    By  the  Eev.  W.  Bingley — 
(continued). 

General  Knowledge. 

i.  "  The  Book  of  Trades  " — (continued). 

Poetry. 

1.  The  Poems  of  Goldsmith. 

2.  Cowper's  Poems. 

Latin  Books. 

1.  "The   Introduction   to    the   Latin  Tongue,"   as 

printed  for  the  use  of  Eton  School. 

2.  "  A   Kadical  Vocabulary,   Latin    and  English." 

By  John  Mair. 

3.  "  A  Collection  of  English  Exercises,  Translated  from 

the  Writings  of  Cicero."     By  W.  Ellis,  M.A. 

4.  Delectus  Sententiorum  et  Historiarum. 


MB.  DAVYS'  REPORT. 

Subjects  connected  with  Religion. 

The  Princess  is  reading  parts  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  and  as  far  as  we  have  advanced,  I 
think  Her  Highness  has  a  right  understanding 
on  these  subjects. 


KENSINGTON,   1830  191 

The  Princess  can  also  repeat  the  Church  Catechism, 
and  appears  to  me  to  comprehend  the  doctrines 
which  are  taught  in  it. 

Besides  our  stated  religious  lessons,  other  books  which 
The  Princess  reads  will  naturally  lead  to  a  con- 
sideration of  this  important  subject. 

History. 

The  Princess  is  better  informed,  in  History,  than 
most  young  Persons  of  the  same  age. 

G-eograpJvy. 
The  same  remark  is  applicable  to  Geography. 

Poetry. 

The  Princess  can  read  Poetry  extremely  well ;  and 
I  think  understand  what  She  reads  as  well  as, 
at  Her  age,  could  possibly  be  expected. 

Latin. 

We  are  not  far  advanced  in  Latin,  but  I  think  The 
Princess  would  be  able  to  undergo  an  examina- 
tion in  those  parts  which  She  has  read. 

M.  Grandineau  follows  next  in  order ;  there 
is  something  almost  comically  pathetic  in  his 
humble  petition  that  the  Princess  may  "  con- 
secrate "  more  time  to  the  study  of  French  ! 

THE  FRENCH  MASTER. 

"  J'ai  1'honneur  de  soumettre  a  Votre  Altesse  Eoyale, 
que  j'eus  1'honneur  de  donner  la  premiere  le^on  de 


192     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Fran^ais  a  Son  Altesse  la  Princesse  Victoria,  le  Mardi 
15  Novembre  1825.  La  Princesse  a  lu  les  livres 
suivant. 

1826. 

1 .  "  Le  Livre  des  Enfans."     Par  Sarah  "Wanostrocht. 

2.  "  Introduction  au  Lecteur  Frangais."    Par  Lindley 

Murray. 

3.  "French    and    English    Dialogues."      By    Miss 

Dickenson. 

4.  "  A    New    Universal    Grammar."      By  Nicolas 

HameL 

5.  "  Grammatical  Exercises  upon  the  French  Lan- 

guage."    By  N.  Hamel. 

1827. 

1.  "French    and    English    Dialogues."      By    Miss 

Dickenson. 

2.  "  A  New  Universal  Grammar."    By  N.  Hamel. 

3.  "Grammatical  Exercises  upon  the  French  Lan- 

guage."    By  N.  Hamel — (continued}. 

4.  "  L'ami  des  Enfans."     Par  Berquin. 

5.  "  L'aimable  Enfant."     Par  Madame  Elizabeth  de 

Bon. 

6.  "  Les  Soirees  de  Londres." 

1828. 

1.  "French    and    English    Dialogues."      By   Miss 

Dickenson — (continued). 

2.  "  A  New  Universal  Grammar."     By  N.  Hamel — 

(continued). 


KENSINGTON,   1830  193 

3.  "Grammatical  Exercises  upon  the  French  Lan- 

guage."    By  N.  Hamel. 

4.  "  La  Bibliotheque  d' Arthur."    Par  Madame  Dela- 

faye  Bre"hier. 

5.  "  Contes  Offerts  aux   Enfans   de  France."      Par 

Brouilly. 

6.  "  The    Tourist's    French    Companion."     Par   de 

Bouillon. 

1829. 

1 .  "  Grammatical  Institutes  of  the  French  Language." 

2.  "  The    Tourist's    French    Companion."     Par    de 

Bouillon — (continued}. 

3.  "  Lemons  deGrammaire  en  Action."  Par  L.  Gaul  tier. 

4.  "  Le  Souterrain,  ou  les  deux  Soeurs."    Par  Madame 

de  Bakker. 

5.  "  Le  Eobinson  de  douze  ans."     Par  Madame  Malles 

de  Beaulieu. 

6.  "  Conversations  sur  1'histoire  de  France."     Par 

Madame  Malles  de  Beaulieu. 

7.  "  Le    Portefeuille    des    Enfans."      Bedige    par 

Bertuck. 

"  La  Princesse  peut  maintenant  tenir  une  conversation 
en  Franqais,  mais  Elle  ne  I'e'crit  pas  aussi  bien  qu'elle 
le  parle.  Elle  est  tres  avence*e  dans  la  grammaire  de 
cette  langue,  et  j'ai  tout  lieu  de  croire  que  Sa  pronon- 
ciation  sera  parfaite.  Je  crois  pouvoir  assurer  que  La 
Princesse  est  beaucoup  plus  avancee  que  les  enfans  de 
Son  age  ne  le  sont  ordinairement. 

N 


194     CHILDHOOD    OF   QUEEN    VICTORIA 

"  Me  serait-il  permis,  de  solliciter  humblement,  que 
Son  Altesse  consacrat  quelques  instans  de  plus  a  1'^tude 
de  la  langue  Franchise  (si  toutefois  ses  autres  eludes 
pouraient  le  Lui  permettre). 

"Veuillez,  Votre  Altesse  Eoyale,  d'accepter  mon 
humble  et  respecteux  hommage.  Je  n'ambitionne 
que  1'honneur  de  Vous  plaire,  en  m'acquittant  de  mon 

devoir. 

"FRANCOIS  GRANDINEATL 
"Le  3  Mars  1830." 

THE  GERMAN  MASTER. 

M.  Barez,  the  German  Master,  makes  his 
report  in  a  more  formal  manner  than  the 
other  two  masters.  He  does  not  address  him- 
self to  the  Duchess,  but  plunges  at  once  in 
medias  res. 

"Her  Highness  the  Princess  Victoria  has  ac- 
quired a  correct  German  pronunciation,  which  is 
particular  remarkable  for  its  softness  and  distinc- 
ness. 

"Part  of  the  lesson  is  devoted  to  conversation  on 
historical,  literary,  or  domestic  subjects,  in  which  Her 
Highness  has  made  considerable  progress.  She  has 
been  reading  and  translating  two  elementary  German 
works : — 

"  i.  Glatz's  Erzdlungen,  which  she  understood  so  well 


KENSINGTON,    1830  195 

in  the  last  half  year,  that  She  merely  read  without 
translating  them. 

"  2.  Jucunda,  a  series  of  moral  tales  for  young  per- 
sons, by  Wilmsen,  which  She  translates  literally. 

"A  concise  German  Grammar,  adapted  to  Her  age 
and  capacity  has  been  written  expressly  for  Her  and 
fully  explained.  This  Grammar  She  is  studying,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  of  Her  knowing  the  leading  rules  of 
the  German  language  quite  well. 

"  To  facilitate  the  application  of  general  principles, 
She  translates  from  English  into  German,  with  little 
or  no  assistance,  an  English  tale  called  '  Mary  and  her 
Cat,'  which  has  been  selected  on  account  of  its  simpli- 
city. She  writes  this  translation  twice,  for  the  purpose 
of  improving  Her  orthography,  which  is  now  tolerably 
correct. 

"  Her  Highness  is  also  committing  to  memory  an 
Alphabetical  Vocabulary  of  German  roots,  expressly 
written  for  Her,  which  She  seems  to  learn  with  con- 
siderable ease. 

"  It  may  be  asserted  that  She  knows  most  words  of 
common  occurrence  (about  1 500)." 

THE  WEITING  AND  ARITHMETIC  MASTER. 

Lastly,  we  have  the  report  of  Mr.   Steward, 

addressed  to  her  Royal  Highness  in  the  third 

person.    "  Writing  Examples  "  we  take  to  mean 

the   heads  of  copy-books,  and  we  suspect  Mr. 


196     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Steward  of  paying  a  pretty  compliment  to  his 
own  handwriting  in  being  so  certain  of  their 
perfection ! 

"  Mr.  Steward  most  respectfully  informs  Her  Eoyal 
Highness,  The  Duchess  of  Kent,  that  he  considers  The 
Princess  Victoria  has  a  peculiar  talent  for  Arithmetic. 
Her  correctness  in  working  sums,  and  Her  quickness 
in  comprehending  the  explanation  of  Her  rules,  are 
excellent. 

"  If  the  Princess  endeavours  to  imitate  Her  "Writing 
Examples,  Her  Success  is  certain. 

"March  2,  1830. 

The  following  time-table,  or  as  it  is  somewhat 
grandiosely  called,  "  A  Distribution  of  the  Day," 
is  specially  interesting.  Most  of  our  readers 
will  remember  some  such  time-table  in  their 
youth,  and  may  be  amused  by  comparing  it  with 
their  own  "  distribution  of  the  day  "  at  the  same 
age.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  Princess  did  no 
lessons  at  all  during  the  middle  heat  of  the  day, 
from  half-past  eleven  to  three,  nor  after  six  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  She  did  not  go  to  bed  till  nine 
o'clock,  so  that  her  childish  brain  had  three 
good  hours'  freedom  from  study  before  sleep  ; 


KENSINGTON,    1830  197 

a  wise  arrangement  which  we  commend  to 
modern  parents  and  teachers.  Each  day's  work 
is  admirably  varied,  so  as  to  avoid  the  pressure 
of  any  one  subject,  and  the  whole  forms  a 
very  comprehensive  curriculum  for  so  young  a 
child. 


198     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 


NOVEMBER   1829— DISTRIBUTION   OF   THI 


HOTJBS. 

MONDAY. 

TUESDAY. 

WEDNESDAY. 

From  half  -past 
9  to  half  -past 
10. 

Mr.  Davys, 
Geography 
and  Natural 
History. 

Mr.  Steward, 
Writing  and 
Arithmetic. 

Mr.  Davys, 
English  and 
Latin. 

From  half  -past 
10  to  half- 
past  11. 

Mr.  Westall, 
Drawing 
Lesson. 

Mr.  Davys, 
History. 

Mr.  Sale, 
Music 
Lesson. 

From  half  -past 
lltol. 

Walking  or 
playing. 

Walking  or 
playing. 

Walking  or 
playing. 

From  1  to  2. 

Dinner. 

Dinner. 

Dinner. 

From  2  to  3. 

Walking  or 
playing. 

Walking  or 
playing. 

Walking  or 
playing. 

From  3  to  4. 

A  Latin  Exer- 
cise to  make, 
and  Drawing. 

An  English 
Exercise  to 
make. 

Learning  the 
Catechism 
by  heart, 
and  German 
Repetition. 

From  4  to  5. 

Monsieur 
Grandineau, 
French 
Lesson. 

Mr.  Davys, 
General 
Knowledge 
and  Poetry. 

Monsieur 
Grandineau, 
French 
Lesson. 

From  5  to  6. 

Repetition  for 
Mr.  Sale  and 
Mr.  Davys. 

Repetition  for 
Mr.  Davys 
and  M. 
Grandineau. 

Repetition  for 
Mr.  Steward 
and  Mr. 
Davys. 

From  6  to  half- 
past  6. 

Playing. 

Playing. 

Playing. 

KENSINGTON,    1830 


199 


DAY   FOR  THE   PRINCESS   VICTORIA 


THURSDAY. 

FKIDAT. 

SATURDAY. 

SUNDAY. 

Mr.  Steward, 
Writing  and 
Arithmetic. 

Mr.  Davys, 
Latin  and 
Geography. 

Mr.  Davys, 
Repetition  of 
lessons     said 
in  week  (from 
half-past     10 
to  11). 

Mr.  Davys, 
Beligion. 

Mr.  Sale, 
Music 
Lesson. 

... 

Walking  or 
playing. 

Walking  or 
playing. 

Walking  or 
playing. 

Dinner. 

Dinner. 

Dinner. 

... 

Walking  or 
playing. 

Walking  or 
playing. 

Walking  or 
playing. 

... 

Mr.  Barez, 
German 
Lesson. 

Learning 
Poetry  by 
heart,  and 
Needlework. 

Mr.  Barez, 
German 
Lesson. 

Madame 
Bourdin, 
Dancing 
Lesson. 

Monsieur 
Grandineau, 
French 
Lesson. 

Writing 
Letters. 

... 

Repetition  for 
Mr.  Sale  and 
Mr.  Davys. 

Repetition  for 
Mr.  Steward 
and  Mr. 
Davys. 

Repetition  for 
M.  Grandi- 
neau. 

... 

Playing. 

Playing. 

Playing. 

CHAPTER    IX 

THE    BISHOPS    AND    THEIR    REPORT 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   BISHOPS   AND    THEIR   REPORT 

BEFORE  giving  the  result  of  the  Duchess  of 
Kent's  letter  and  enclosures  to  the  two  Bishops, 
it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  the  reader  to 
hear  something  of  the  lives  and  characters  of 
the  men  she  chose  as  counsellors  at  this  junc- 
ture. Both  were  men  eminent  in  their  day  for 
piety  and  learning,  but  of  the  two  we  have  the 
fuller  record  of  Dr.  Blomfield,  whose  fortunes 
took  him  more  into  the  public  eye  than  did  Dr. 
Kaye's. 

Dr.  John  Kaye,  the  senior  in  years  of  the  two 
Bishops,  was  the  only  son  of  Mr.  Abraham  Kaye, 
a  man  of  business  in  the  City  of  London,  and  of 
Susan,  his  wife,  and  was  born  at  Hammersmith 
on  December  27,  1783.  He  was  for  many 
years  the  favourite  pupil  of  Dr.  Burney,  the 
celebrated  Greek  scholar,  who  had  the  highest 
opinion  of  his  pupil's  abilities  and  character 


204     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

He  went  up  to  Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  and 
there  took  his  degree,  and  also  won  the  double 
honours  of  Senior  Wrangler  and  Senior  Medallist 

CD 

— a  rare  distinction  shared  by  the  late  Baron 
Aldersen.  In  1814  he  became  Master  of 
Christ's  College,  and  the  year  following  was 
made  D.D.  by  royal  mandate.  In  1816,  on 
the  death  of  Dr.  Watson,  Bishop  of  Llandaff, 
he  was  chosen  as  Regius  Professor  of  Divinity, 
and  his  lectures  were  remarkable  for  the  purity 
of  their  taste  and  for  their  elegant  Latinity. 
Further  honours  awaited  him  in  1820,  when  he 
succeeded  Dr.  Mansell,  Master  of  Trinity,  as 
Bishop  of  Bristol,  and  finally  in  1827  he  was 
promoted  to  the  See  of  Lincoln,  where  he  re- 
mained till  his  death.  On  the  death  of  Dr. 
Howley,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  he  was 
elected  Visitor  by  the  Master  and  Fellows  of 
Balliol,  the  last  of  the  many  honours  showered 
upon  him  in  his  life.  After  his  death  his  own 
friends  and  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  diocese 
of  Lincoln,  to  show  how  deeply  he  was  loved 
and  regretted,  erected  a  memorial  to  him  in 
Lincoln  Cathedral,  and  also  endowed  a  Divinity 
prize  in  the  University  of  Cambridge. 


THE    BISHOPS'    REPORT  205 

He  has  left  many  volumes  of  his  works, 
chiefly  classical  and  theological,  and  several 
smaller  tracts,  mostly  of  a  controversial  nature, 
which  his  biographer  «ays  "are  replete  with 
learning,  marked  throughout  by  acute  reason- 
ing and  sound  interpretation,  and  enhanced 
by  a  most  delicate  vein  of  pleasantry,  which 
exposes  the  errors  and  inconsistencies  of  his 
opponents,  without  ever  deviating  from  the 
courtesy  of  Christian  controversy."  His  work 
is  distinguished  by  the  utmost  simplicity 
of  manner  and  method,  in  marked  contrast 
to  the  obscurity  of  expression  which  marks 
obscurity  of  thought.  His,  too,  was  a  genuine 
and  humble  piety,  which  showed  itself  in  the 
gentlest  manners  and  most  unpretending 
deportment,  and  in  " '  that  pleasantness  of 
disposition '  which  the  pious  Herbert  so 
justly  deemed  a  great  means  of  doing  good." 
He  was  a  man  of  much  generosity  and  quiet 
benevolence,  making  but  little  show  of  his 
great  liberality  to  charities,  public  and  private. 
In  short,  he  had  all  the  gentler  virtues  in 
perfection,  so  much  so,  that  Byron,  writing  to 
John  Murray,  his  publisher,  in  1821,  about 


2o6     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

his  poem  "  Cain,"  uses  him  as  a  type  of  gentle 
manners,  and  says :  "  The  two  passages  cannot 
be  altered  without  making  Lucifer  talk  like 
the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  which  would  not  be 
in  the  character  of  the  former." 

Dr.  Kaye  died  on  the  i8th  of  February 
1853,  at  Biseholme,  one  of  the  latest  acts  of 
his  life  having  been  the  restoration  of  its 
beautiful  church.  He  had  married  in  1815 
Eliza,  eldest  daughter  of  John  Mortlock,  Esq., 
banker,  of  Cambridge,  by  whom  he  had  several 
children.  His  eldest  son,  William  Frederick 
John,  succeeded  his  father  in  .the  living  of 
Kiseholme,  and  is  now  Archdeacon  of  Lincoln. 
He  married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Jackson,  Bishop 
of  Lincoln  and  afterwards  of  London,  who 
writes  of  her  father-in-law  :  "I  am  sorry  to 
say  I  never  knew  Bishop  Kaye,  though  as 
children  it  was  a  pleasure  to  see  his  face  in 
the  pew  before  us,  when  he  was  in  London 
and  came  to  St.  James' ;  and  we  were  delighted 
when,  shortly  before  his  death,  he  presented  a 
handsome,  large  Prayer  Book  to  the  pew,  as  he 
said  he  had  contributed  to  wearing  out  the  old 
one.  I  do  not  think  he  was  one  of  whom 


THE    BISHOPS'    REPORT  207 

many  anecdotes  could  be  told ;  his  words  were 
well  considered  rather  than  many." 

Charles  James  Blomfield,  who  was  a  great 
personal  friend  of  Dr.  Kaye's,  was  born  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  Restoration,  May  24,  1786, 
at  Bury  St.  Edmunds.  His  grandfather,  James 
Blomfield,  came  from  Ouseden  to  Bury  in  1760, 
and  there  started  a  school,  which  afterwards 
numbered  among  its  pupils  many  illustrious 
men.  The  Bishop's  father,  Charles  Blomfield, 
succeeded  his  father  James  in  the  management 
of  the  school,  and  educated  his  son  there  till  he 
was  eight  years  old,  when  he  sent  him  to  the 
Bury  Grammar  School,  where  he  remained  for 
ten  years.  When  asked  as  a  boy  what  he 
intended  to  become,  Dr.  Blomfield's  invariable 
answer  was,  "  I  mean  to  be  a  Bishop." 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  went  up  to  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge,  and  there  had  to  compete 
with  men  whose  educational  advantages  had 
been  greater  than  his  own.  In  order  to  keep 
himself  up  to  the  mark  he  spent  half  the  night 
in  reading,  and  never  quite  recovered  from  the 
effects  of  this  overwork. 

He  won  successively  Browne's   Prize  for   a 


2o8     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Latin  ode  in  1805,  the  Craven  University 
Scholarship,  for  which  the  great  classical 
scholar,  Person,  examined  him,  in  1806,  and 
in  the  same  year  Browne's  Prize  for  a  Greek 
ode  on  the  death  of  Lord  Nelson.  This  was 
followed  in  1808  by  his  obtaining  the  place 
of  Third  Wrangler,  and  afterwards  winning  what 
was  then  the  highest  honour  in  classics  the 
University  had  to  give,  the  Chancellor's  Classical 
Medal.  He  crowned  his  academical  honours 
by  winning  the  College  Prize  for  a  speech  on 
William  III.,  and  the  Members'  Prize  for  a 
Latin  dissertation  in  1809.  HG  was  elected 
Fellow  of  Trinity  in  the  same  year,  and  immedi- 
ately began  to  prepare  his  edition  of  j>Eschylus, 
at  one  time  a  celebrated  translation,  now  super- 
seded by  the  works  of  later  writers. 

Dr.  Blomfield  was  a  man  of  few  and  staunch 
friendships  rather  than  of  universal  popularity. 
Among  his  circle  of  intimates  were  Professor 
Monk,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  Baron 
Aldersen,  Chief-Baron  Pollock,  Sharpe  and 
Hustler  of  Trinity,  the  younger  Rennell,  and  his 
own  gifted  and  brilliant  brother,  Edward  Valen- 
tine Blomfield,  poet,  painter,  and  scholar,  who 


CHARLES  JAMES  BLOMFIEI.D 

BISHOP   OF   LONDON 


THE    BISHOPS'    REPORT  209 

died  while  still  a  young  man.  These  were  all  men 
of  great  learning  and  high  character,  congenial 
to  Blomfield's  fastidious  taste  and  mind,  but  of 
the  younger  school  of  scholarship,  which  included 
Kaye,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Lincoln.  Blomfield 
soon  found  himself  in  collision  with  such  dis- 
tinguished scholars  as  Samuel  Parr,  Charles 
Burney,  and  Butler,  of  Shrewsbury,  but  in  the 
end  he  won  their  admiration  for  the  distinction 
and  elegance  of  his  work. 

In  March  1 80 1  Blomfield  was  ordained  deacon, 
and  entered  priests'  orders  in  due  time,  when  he 
took  the  curacy  of  Chesterford,  of  which  place 
he  afterwards  became  rector.  He  was  presented 
to  the  living  of  Quarrington,  in  Lincolnshire,  by 
Lord  Bristol  in  October,  and  in  November  he 
married  Anna  Maria,  daughter  of  W.  Heath, 
Esq.,  of  Hemblington,  Norfolk.  By  her  he  had 
several  children,  but,  with  the  exception  of  one 
daughter,  all  died  in  infancy.  There  being  no 
house  at  Quarrington,  he  lived  at  Chesterton  till, 
in  December  1811,  Earl  Spencer  made  him 
Eector  of  Dunton,  in  Buckinghamshire,  to 
which  he  removed.  He  gave  up  the  curacy 
of  Chesterton,  but  retained  Quarrington,  thus 


210     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

becoming  one  of  the  class  of  pluralists  against 
whom  he  afterwards  waged  war.  While  at 
Dunton  he  took  pupils,  and  had  the  sons  of 
several  celebrated  men  under  his  charge. 

His  literary  work  was  not  neglected  during 
this  period  ;  he  published  several  editions  of  the 
Classics,  and  wrote  constantly  for  the  Museum 
Criticum,  The  Quarterly  Review,  and  other 
periodicals.  For  Dr.  Kaye  he  had  the  warmest 
admiration  both  as  a  man  and  a  scholar,  and  he 
kept  up  a  constant  correspondence  with  his 
greatest  friend,  Professor  Monk. 

In  the  summer  of  1817  Lord  Bristol  pre- 
sented him  with  the  benefices  of  Great  and 
Little  Chesterfield,  which  were  more  valuable 
than  the  living  of  Dunton.  Since  his  curacy  of 
these  parishes  there  had  been  two  incumbents, 
the  second  of  whom  had  for  his  curate  the 
Princess  Victoria's  tutor,  then  Mr.  Davys,  who 
had  done  much  to  improve  the  schools. 

In  December  1819  he  married,  for  the  second 
time,  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Charles  William 
Cox,  Esq.,  and  widow  of  Thomas  Kent,  Esq., 
barrister,  by  whom  he  had  eleven  children.  It 
was  a  union  of  unbroken  happiness  and  affec- 


THE    BISHOPS'    REPORT  211 

tion.  In  1820  Lord  Bristol  procured  Blomfield 
the  valuable  living  of  St.  Botolph's,  Bishops- 
gate.  He  was  allowed  to  retain  Chesterford, 
but  resided  principally  in  London,  and  at  the 
request  of  his  parishioners,  who  said  they  had 
always  had  a  Doctor  for  their  rector,  he  took 
his  D.D.  at  Cambridge  by  Royal  Letter. 

He  now  began  a  life  of  great  activity,  and  in 
1822  won  a  fresh  token  of  approval  from  the 
Bishop  of  London  in  the  appointment  to  the  Arch- 
deaconry of  Colchester.  He  held  office  for  little 
more  than  two  years,  and  was  led  by  its  duties  to 
take  fresh  interest  in  ecclesiastical  law,  a  subject 
in  which  he  was  more  learned  than  most  clergy. 
But  the  work  of  Bishop  Blomfield  while  rector 
of  Bishopsgate,  by  which  he  will  be  best  re- 
membered, is  the  publication  in  1824  of  his 
"  Manual  of  Family  Prayers,"  which  obtained 
an  immense  circulation  both  in  England  and 
America.  The  custom  of  family  prayers  had 
fallen  into  general  disuse,  and  Bishop  Blomfield 
may  almost  be  said  to  have  revived  it. 

The  see  of  Chester,  one  of  the  least-paid  and 
hardest-working  bishoprics,  falling  vacant  in 
1824,  it  was  offered  by  Lord  Liverpool  to 


212     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Archdeacon  Blomfield.  He  accepted  it,  and 
was  consecrated  Bishop  by  Archbishop  Vernon 
Harcourt  and  the  Bishops  of  London  and 
Exeter  in  Whitehall  Chapel  on  June  2oth.  On 
hearing  of  his  promotion  one  of  the  Grammar 
School  boys  at  Bury  wrote  the  following  witty 
epigram : — 

"  Through  Chester-ford  to  Bishop's-gate 

Did  Blomfield  safely  wade ; 
Then  leaving  ford  and  gate  behind 
He's  Chester's  Bishop  made." 

The  new  Bishop  speedily  became  a  power 
in  the  diocese.  Parts  of  it,  notably  West- 
morland, then  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Chester, 
were  in  a  very  neglected  condition,  and  the 
Bishop's  sharp  enforcement  of  order  and  de- 
cency did  not  make  him  beloved  by  the  laxer 
brethren.  He  also  introduced  the  custom  of 
Bishops  preaching  at  ordinations,  raised  the 
tone  and  standard  of  examination  for  Holy 
Orders  in  no  small  degree,  and  fought  hard 
against  non-resident  clergy,  and  against  the 
disgraceful  habit  of  intoxication  prevalent 
amongst  them. 

When  in  London  he  was  constantly  attending 


THE    BISHOPS'    REPORT  213 

Committees,  such  as  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  and  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge,  and  was  always  to  be  found  in  his 
place  in  the  House  of  Lords  when  any  subject 
relating  to  the  Church  or  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  the  people  was  in  question.  The  Bishop 
was  a  born  statesman,  and  Daniel  Webster,  the 
American  orator,  thought  him  the  finest  speaker 
of  his  day  in  Great  Britain.  He  never  spoke 
but  on  subjects  pertaining  to  his  office,  but  his 
first  speech,  an  impromptu  answer  to  the  attacks 
of  Lord  Holland  upon  the  Established  Church 
in  the  debate  on  the  Catholic  Emancipation 
Bill,  gained  him  an  attentive  hearing  on  every 
occasion  when  he  rose  in  the  House. 

The  death  of  Archbishop  Manners -Sutton 
promoted  Bishop  Howley  to  Canterbury,  and 
left  the  See  of  London  open  for  Dr.  Blomfield, 
to  whom  it  was  offered  by  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington in  July  1828.  The  new  Bishop  entered 
upon  onerous  duties.  The  population  of  Mid- 
dlesex had  increased  from  818,129  in  1801  to 
1,358,200  in  1831,  and  there  had  been  no  cor- 
responding increase  of  churches  or  clergy.  This 
crying  want  he  set  himself  to  supply  by  starting 


214     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

a  scheme  for  building  fifty  new  churches  in 
London,  a  scheme  which  he  assisted  by  his 
great  influence  and  by  large  gifts  of  money. 
He  also  fought  steadily  against  the  secularisa- 
tion of  education,  and  was  one  of  the  promoters 
of  King's  College,  founded  for  the  purpose  of 
counteracting  that  tendency. 

The  Bishop  was  a  warm  supporter  of  the 
Reform  Bill,  and  was  one  of  the  Commissioners 
for  inquiring  into  the  Poor  Laws.  He  was  also 
called  on  to  play  a  prominent  part  in  the  legis- 
lation of  the  Established  Church  in  Ireland. 
One  of  Sir  Robert  Peel's  first  acts,  when  he 
succeeded  to  office  in  1824,  was  to  organise  a 
new  Commission  for  the  rearrangement  of  dio- 
ceses and  benefices  in  order  to  augment  the 
poorer  livings  and  increase  the  number  of  the 
clergy.  Bishop  Blomfield  used  his  power  as  an 
influential  member  of  the  Commission  to  for- 
ward his  church-building  scheme,  for  which  he 
resigned  much  valuable  Church  patronage,  and 
himself  built  and  endowed  out  of  his  private 
income  a  church  at  Hammersmith.  The  Quar- 
terly Review  speaks  of  his  "  almost  super- 
human exertions  "  in  this  direction,  and  indeed 


THE    BISHOPS'    REPORT  215 

a  serious  illness  in  1836  had  already  given  a 
warning  that  they  were  beyond  his  strength. 

The  year  1837  saw  the  accession  of  Queen 
Victoria  to  the  throne.  Bishop  Blomfield 
preached  the  Coronation  sermon,  as  he  had 
done  that  of  King  William  IV.  and  Queen 
Adelaide, — on  both  occasions  at  the  request  of 
the  Archbishop  of  York,  whose  proper  function 
it  was. 

The  next  year  found  him  urging  a  fund  for 
endowing  additional  bishoprics  in  the  Colonies 
in  a  letter  to  which  the  first  Australian  Bishop 
pays  this  tribute  : — "  It  will  entitle  his  name  to 
veneration  in  this  hemisphere  as  long  as  the 
sun  and  moon  shall  endure."  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  Bishop  gave  the  first  impetus  to  the 
exertions  of  Churchmen  on  behalf  of  the  spiri- 
tual needs  of  Greater  Britain. 

The  remaining  years  of  Bishop  Blomfield's 
life  were  embittered  and  harassed  by  struggles 
and  attacks  from  within  the  Church  itself.  He 
stood,  as  a  passionately  devoted  son  of  the  Re- 
formed Anglican  Church,  midway  between  the 
Calvinists  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Latinising 
party  on  the  other,  defending  her  from  both,  and 


216     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

making  to  himself  many  enemies.  An  accident 
which  happened  to  him  at  Osborne — a  bad  fall 
on  the  polished  floor  of  one  of  the  passages — 
began  the  final  breaking-up  of  his  health.  It 
was  followed  by  a  slight  attack  of  paralysis,  and 
though  he  retained  all  his  mental  vigour,  his 
nerves  suffered,  and  he  lost  some  of  his  habitual 
cheerfulness.  He  worked,  however,  as  hard  as 
ever  for  reforms  in  the  Church  and  the  bettering 
of  the  condition  of  the  poorer  classes.  In  1850 
he  brought  a  Bill  into  the  House  for  the  trans- 
ference of  the  powers  of  the  Committee  of  Coun- 
cil to  the  Upper  House  of  Convocation.  He 
made  a  great  speech  on  this  occasion,  but  the 
Government  was  too  strong  for  him,  and  the 
Bill  was  rejected. 

Eitualistic  disturbances  pressed  so  hardly  on 
him  at  this  time  that  he  writes  on  December 
31,  1850,  "This  year  ends  in  troubles ;"  how- 
ever, the  year  1851  saw  the  subsidence  of  the 
controversy,  and  the  remainder  of  the  Bishop's 
life  was  comparatively  peaceful  and  uneventful. 

From  this  time  onwards  his  health  steadily 
failed,  and  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
summer  vacations  abroad,  taking  great  delight 


THE    BISHOPS'    REPORT  217 

in  travelling  and  in  beautiful  scenery.  In 
October  1855  he  had  another  paralytic  seizure, 
from  which  he  never  really  recovered,  indeed 
his  condition  was  so  helpless  in  the  following 
year  that  he  asked  to  resign  his  office.  For 
this  there  was  no  precedent,  and  a  short  Bill 
was  introduced  into  the  House  under  the  title 
of  "The  Bishops  pf  London  and  Durham  Re- 
tirement Bill,"  the  aged  Bishop  of  Durham 
having  also  begged  to  retire  from  his  bishopric. 
This  Bill  was  passed  in  the  end  of  July,  and 
Bishop  Blomfield  signed  his  resignation  in  the 
library  at  Fulham,  where  he  had  been  carried 
on  his  couch,  in  presence  of  his  family,  the 
Registrar,  his  private  secretaries,  and  his  Ap- 
paritor. He  took  a  touching  farewell  of  them, 
and  of  the  diocese  with  which  he  had  been 
connected  for  over  fifty  years. 

The  greatest  sympathy  and  regret,  together 
with  the  warmest  appreciation  of  his  labours, 
was  shown  him  both  privately  and  publicly. 
He  lingered  on,  a  hopeless  invalid,  till  August 
1857,  and  died  at  Fulham  Palace  on  the  5th  of 
that  month. 

Dr.   Davys,   who   was   a   personal  friend  of 


218     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

both  Bishop  Kaye  and  Bishop  Blomfield,  had 
suggested  them  as  examiners  of  the  Princess ; 
and  the  Duchess  wrote,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
invite  them  to  Kensington  for  the  purpose  of 
reporting  upon  her  daughter's  progress. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  her  letter,  the  Bishops 
went  down  to  Kensington,  and  we  find  this 
entry  in  Bishop  Blomfield's  diary  for  March 
20,  1830 : — 

"  Went  with  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  to  Ken- 
sington, and  examined  the  Princess  Victoria  in 
Scripture,  Catechism,  English  History,  Latin, 
Arithmetic — the  result  very  satisfactory." 

The  picture  of  the  fatherless  little  child 
destined  to  such  high  place,  standing  before 
two  of  the  greatest  scholars  of  their  day,  is  a 
touching  one ;  and  one  is  reminded,  in  all 
reverence,  of  that  greater  Child  as  He  stood 
among  the  learned  Jewish  doctors,  "both  hear- 
ing and  asking  them  questions,"  and  of  how 
He,  when  grown  to  manhood,  "  took  a  little 
child  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them."  One 
can  imagine  that  the  two  grave  men  would  be 
very  gentle  and  courteous  to  their  little  future 
Queen.  Bishop  Kaye's  was  a  face  and  smile 


THE    BISHOPS'    REPORT  219 

to  win  any  child's  heart,  and  we  have  the  testi- 
mony of  one  of  Bishop  Blomfield's  daughters 
that  he  was  well  fitted  for  the  task  before  him. 

"  One  of  my  earliest  recollections,"  she  writes, 
"  of  my  father,  is  his  teaching  me  Latin,  when 
I  was  between  five  and  six  years  old.  A  Latin 
lesson  with  a  little  girl  of  six  must  often  have 
been  trying  to  the  patience  of  a  scholar ;  but 
neither  at  that  time,  nor  at  any  of  the  many 
lessons  in  Latin  and  Greek  which  he  gave  me 
in  after  years,  do  I  recollect  ever  hearing  from 
him  one  angry  or  impatient  word.  As  I  grew 
older  I  learnt  to  reckon  the  hour  or  half-hour 
spent  with  him  before  breakfast,  as  one  of  the 
happiest  in  the  day.  He  used  to  take  great 
pains  in  instructing  his  elder  children,  not  only 
in  Latin  and  Greek,  but  in  a  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  of  the  doctrines  and  articles  of 
our  Church.  When  we  were  younger,  we  used 
to  repeat  the  Catechism,  and  texts  or  passages 
of  Scripture  to  him  on  Sunday  afternoon  or 
evening." 

She  goes  on  to  speak  of  "  pleasant  hours 
spent  in  the  garden,  in  which  he  took  such 
pride  and  delight ;  these  and  many  other  such 


220     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

quiet  domestic  pictures,  in  which  he,  with  his 
bright,  loving  look  and  kind  words,  is  ever  the 
central  figure,  rise  before  me  when  I  try  to 
recall  him  to  my  mind  as  he  was  in  his  own 
home." 

The  examination  of  Princess  Victoria  resulted 
in  the  following  report  from  the  Bishops : — 

"MADAM, — In  obedience  to  your  Eoyal  Highness's 
commands,  we  have  considered  the  course  which  has 
been  pursued  for  the  last  four  years  in  the  education 
of  the  Princess  Victoria,  as  described  in  the  papers 
transmitted  to  us,  with  particular  reference  to  the 
important  circumstances  pointed  out  in  the  communi- 
cation with  which  your  Eoyal  Highness  was  at  the 
same  time  pleased  to  honour  us  ;  and  we  have  now 
most  respectfully  to  state  to  your  Eoyal  Highness  our 
entire  approval  of  that  course  both  as  to  the  choice 
of  subjects  and  the  arrangement  of  Her  Highness's 
Studies. 

"We  have  also,  in  compliance  with  your  Eoyal 
Highness's  directions,  examined  the  Princess  herself, 
with  a  view  to  ascertain  her  proficiency  in  the  various 
branches  of  knowledge  to  which  her  attention  has 
been  directed,  and  we  feel  great  satisfaction  in  inform- 
ing your  Eoyal  Highness  that  the  result  of  that  exami- 
nation has  been  such  as,  in  our  opinion,  amply  to 
justify  the  plan  of  instruction  which  has  been  adopted. 


THE    BISHOPS'    REPORT  221 

In  answering  a  great  variety  of  questions  which  were 
proposed  to  her,  the  Princess  displayed  accurate  know- 
ledge of  the  most  important  features  of  Scripture 
History  and  of  the  leading  truths  and  precepts  of  the 
Christian  Eeligion,  as  taught  by  the  Church  of  England, 
as  well  as  an  acquaintance  with  the  chronology  and 
principal  facts  of  English  History,  remarkable  in  so 
young  a  person.  To  questions  on  Geography,  the  use 
of  the  Globes,  Arithmetic,  and  Latin  Grammar,  the 
Princess's  anwers  were  equally  satisfactory,  and  her 
pronunciation  both  of  English  and  Latin  is  singularly 
correct  and  pleasing. 

"Due  attention  appears  to  have  been  paid  to  the 
acquisition  of  modern  languages,  and,  although  it  was 
less  within  the  scope  of  our  inquiry,  we  cannot  help 
observing  that  the  pencil  drawings  of  the  Princess  are 
executed  with  the  freedom  and  correctness  of  an  older 
artist. 

"The  questions  proposed  to  the  Princess  were 
answered  in  such  a  manner  as  to  satisfy  us  that  what 
she  has  learned  has  been  learned  with  the  under- 
standing as  well  as  with  the  memory ;  the  one  appears 
to  have  expanded  in  proportion  as  the  other  has  been 
exercised.  Upon  the  whole,  we  feel  no  hesitation  in 
stating  most  respectfully  to  your  Eoyal  Highness  our 
opinion,  that  the  Princess  should  continue,  at  least  for 
some  time  to  come,  to  pursue  her  studies  upon  the 
same  plan  which  has  been  hitherto  followed,  and 
under  the  sarna  superintendence.  Nor  do  we  appre- 


222     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

hend  that  any  other  alterations  in  that  plan  will  be 
required  than  those  which  will  be  gradually  made  by 
the  judicious  director  of  Her  Highness's  studies  as  her 
mind  expands  and  her  faculties  are  strengthened. 

"In  the  success  which  has  attended  the  course 
hitherto  pursued  in  the  education  of  the  Princess,  as 
it  has  supplied  the  best  proof  of  the  wisdom  of  that 
course,  must  be  to  your  Eoyal  Highness  of  the  highest 
satisfaction. 

"  That  your  Eoyal  Highness  may  find  cause  of  equal 
satisfaction  in  the  future  progress  and  improvement  of 
the  Princess  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  your  Eoyal  High- 
ness's  most  devoted  and  dutiful  servants, 

"  LONDON, 

"LINCOLN." 

The  copy  of  this  report  is  a  rough  one,  and  is 
not  signed.  The  Duchess  replied  to  it  in  the 
following  gracious  way,  her  warm-hearted  de- 
votion for  her  daughter  coming  out  strongly  in 
the  letter : — 

"  Most  confidential.  "  KENSINGTON  PALACE, 

24th  March  1830. 

"  MY  LOKDS, — I  received  yesterday  afternoon  from 
Sir  John  Conroy  your  letter  of  that  date  on  the  subject 
of  the  Princess's  education,  on  which  we  have  been  in 
communication . 

"  I  shall  now,  only  briefly  say,  that  I  have  perused 


THE    BISHOPS'    REPORT  223 

with  great  attention  and  deep  interest  your  letter :  I 
beg  also  to  assure  you,  I  shall  never  forget  the  most 
valuable  council  you  have  afforded  me,  which  gives 
me  great  confidence. 

"  The  Princess  will  herself,  I  feel  assured,  at  no  distant 
day  look  with  satisfaction  to  what  has  occurred.  I  can 
only  conclude  by  expressing  my  thanks  warmly  and 
sincerely  for  the  way  in  which  you  have  met  my  wishes ; 
the  result  is  too  gratifying  for  an  anxious  Mother  to 
venture  to  dwell  on. 

"Believe  me  to  be,  my  Lords  Bishops,  with  great 
esteem  and  consideration,  your  Lordships'  very  sincere 
friend,  VICTORIA." 


CHAPTER  X 

KENSINGTON,    1830 


CHAPTER  X 

KENSINGTON,    1830 

WE  have  tried  in  the  foregoing  chapters  to 
follow  the  life  of  the  Princess  Victoria  from 
her  cradle  to  the  day  when  she  ceased  to  be 
a  child,  with  vague  ideas  as  to  the  future,  and 
became  a  young  girl  facing  with  clear  know- 
ledge her  great  position. 

Her  education  had  been  conducted  on  ad- 
mirable lines,  gradually  expanding  with  her 
mental  growth,  and  adapted  by  its  comprehen- 
siveness to  her  station  in  life. 

The  supreme  art  is  the  art  of  living;  it  is 
the  great  and  natural  end  of  education,  and 
all  other  learning,  arts,  and  sciences  are  but 
means  to  it.  In  reading  through  Princess 
Victoria's  lesson-books  one  is  struck  by  the 
fact  that,  though  greatly  inferior  to  ours  in 
technical  perfection,  the  education  of  that  day 
stood  in  more  workable  relation  to  the  conduct 


228     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

of  life.  It  tended  to  make  better  men  and 
women  of  the  world — in  the  highest  sense  of 
the  term — than  ours  does  to-day. 

One  did  not  cram  children  then,  with  the 
inevitable  certainty  that  they  would  suffer 
afterwards  from  a  mental  indigestion,  but  one 
gently  fed  them  in  relation  to  their  growing 
brains,  and  saw  to  it  carefully  that  they  had 
properly  assimilated  one  branch  of  study  before 
they  went  on  to  the  other.  There  is  a  sense 
of  humour  about  the  school-  and  story-books  of 
that  age  lacking  in  ours ;  they  are  didactic, 
but  not  dry ;  priggish,  but  not  inhuman,  and 
conducive  to  self-reliance.  Our  little  Princess 
had  been  led  from  one  stage  of  knowledge  to 
another,  till  at  last  she  learnt  to  think  for 
herself,  and  was  in  this  way  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  fact  of  her  exact  relation  to  the 
throne  of  England. 

There  have  been  many  different  accounts  of 
the  way  in  which  the  knowledge  came  to  her, 
all  with  a  germ  of  truth  in  them,  none,  I  think, 
quite  accurate.  The  Baroness  Lehzen,  writing 
when  quite  an  aged  woman  to  Queen  Victoria, 
claims  to  have  told  her  royal  pupil  that  she 


KENSINGTON,    1830  229 

stood  in  direct  succession  to  the  throne  of 
England.  "I  ask  your  Majesty's  leave,"  she 
says,  "to  cite  some  remarkable  words  of  your 
Majesty's,  when  only  twelve  years  old,  while 
the  Regency  Bill  was  in  progress.  I  then  said 
to  the  Duchess  of  Kent  that  now,  for  the  first 
time,  your  Majesty  ought  to  know  your  place 
in  the  succession.  Her  Royal  Highness  agreed 
with  me,  and  I  put  the  genealogical  table  into 
the  historical  book.  When  Mr.  Davys  was 
gone,  the  Princess  Victoria  opened  the  book 
again,  and  seeing  the  additional  paper,  said, 
'  I  never  saw  that  before.'  *  It  was  not  thought 
necessary  you  should,  Princess,'  I  answered. 
'  I  see  I  am  nearer  the  throne  than  I  thought.' 
'  So  it  is,  Madam,'  I  said.  After  some  moments 
the  Princess  resumed,  '  Now,  many  a  child 
would  boast,  but  they  don't  know  the  difficulty. 
There  is  much  splendour,  but  there  is  more 
responsibility.'  The  Princess,  having  lifted  up 
the  forefinger  of  her  right  hand  while  she 
spoke,  gave  me  that  little  hand,  saying,  '  I  will 
be  good.  I  understand  now  why  you  urged 
me  so  much  to  learn,  even  Latin.  My  aunts, 
Augusta  and  Mary,  never  did ;  but  you  told  me 


230     CHILDHOOD    OF   QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Latin  is  the  foundation  of  English  Grammar, 
and  of  all  the  elegant  expressions,  and  I  learnt 
it  as  you  wished  it,  but  I  understand  all  better 
now/  and  the  Princess  gave  me  her  hand, 
repeating  'I  will  be  good/  I  then  said,  'But 
your  Aunt  Adelaide  is  still  young,  and  may 
have  children,  and  of  course  they  would  ascend 
the  throne  after  their  father,  William  IV.,  and 
not  you,  Princess/  The  Princess  answered, 
'  And  if  it  were  so,  I  should  be  very  glad,  for 
I  know  by  the  love  Aunt  Adelaide  bears  me 
how  fond  she  is  of  children.'"  So  much  for 
the  Baroness. 

But  we  have  another  account  from  the  pen 
of  Caroline  Fox,  writing  in  her  Journal  of  a 
long  visit  from  her  friend,  Mrs.  Covgie,  known 
as  "  the  rightful  Lady  George  Murray,"  who  in 
the  course  of  much  gossip  had  told  her  that  it 
was  the  Duchess  of  Kent  herself  who  made 
known  to  her  daughter  the  high  position  she 
might  be  called  on  to  fill.  She  had  set  the 
Princess  to  reading  the  account  of  the  death 
of  Princess  Charlotte,  when  the  little  girl, 
coming  to  a  sudden  stop,  asked  her  mother  if 
she  should  ever  be  Queen  of  England.  The 


KENSINGTON,    1830  231 

Duchess  replied,  "As  this  is  a  very  possible 
circumstance,  I  am  anxious  to  bring  you  up  as 
a  good  woman,  when  you  will  be  a  good  Queen 
also." 

Yet  a  third  account  of  how  the  Princess 
heard  of  her  destiny  is  told  us  by  Canon  Davys, 
the  son  of  her  tutor,  Bishop  Davys.  "  The 
story  of  the  Princess  discovering  that  she 
would  be  Queen  has  not  generally  been  correctly 
told.  My  father  had  set  her  to  make  a  chart 
of  the  Kings  and  Queens.  She  got  as  far  as 
'Uncle  William.'  Next  day  my  father  said 
to  the  Princess,  '  But  you  have  not  put 
down  the  next  heir  to  the  throne.'  She 
rather  hesitated,  and  said,  'I  hardly  like  to 
put  down  myself.'  My  father  mentioned  the 
matter  to  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  who  said  she 
was  so  glad  that  the  truth  had  come  upon 
her  daughter  in  this  way,  as  it  was  time  she 
became  aware  what  responsibility  was  await- 
ing her." 

Lastly  and  finally,  we  have  now,  for  the  first 
time,  the  Duchess  of  Kent's  own  version  of  the 
affair,  in  a  hasty  little  note — almost  a  scrawl, 
and  lacking  the  formality  of  her  other  letters — 


232     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

written  to  the  Bishop  of  London  a  few  days 
after  his  visit  with  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  to 


Kensington. 


"  Most  confidential. 

"KENSINGTON  PALACE, 
March  1830. 


"My  LORD,  —  It  is  singular  that  since  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  you  here,  the  Princess  has  become 
acquainted  with  the  probable  station  she  will  eventually 
fill  ;  what  accident  has  done  —  I  feel  no  art  could  have 
done  half  so  well  ;  and  the  result  as  to  impression  was 
that  I  confidently  anticipated  would  occur  in  the  con- 
cluding part  of  my  letter  to  you  and  the  Bishop  of 
Lincoln. 

"  I  cannot  sufficiently  express  the  happiness  I  feel  on 
the  occasion.  We  have  everything  to  hope  from  this 
child  ! 

"  Believe  me  always  to  be,  with  great  consideration, 
my  Lord  Bishop,  your  Lordship's  very  sincere  friend, 

"  VICTORIA. 

"The  Rt.  Honble.  and  the  Rt.  Rev. 
The  LORD  BISHOP  of  LONDON." 

"We  have  everything  to  hope  from  this 
child  !  "  A  touching  expression  of  motherly 
pride,  well  justified  by  the  after-life  of  Queen 
Victoria.  The  most  lofty  hopes  were  satisfied 


KENSINGTON,   1830  233 

in  her  as  girl,  wife,  mother,  and  ruler  by  the 
purity  of  her  life,  the  greatness  of  her 
patriotism,  and  the  progress  and  splendour 
of  her  reign. 

Her  late  Majesty  was  so  gracious  as  to 
explain  to  the  present  writer,  through  Sir 
Arthur  Bigge,  "that  the  'accident'  by  which 
Princess  Victoria  became  aware  of  her  position 
with  regard  to  the  throne  was  due  to  studying 
a  genealogical  table  of  the  British  sovereigns, 
so  that  the  published  accounts  on  this  point 
are  practically  correct." 

This  point  of  the  genealogical  table  all  the 
different  accounts  have  in  common.  Canon 
Davys'  seems  to  us  the  most  likely  to  be 
accurate.  He  had  it  from  the  Bishop,  his 
father,  who  was  a  remarkably  truthful,  con- 
scientious man.  In  the  Canon's  possession 
is  a  chart  of  the  Kings  and  Queens  of  Eng- 
land written  out  for  Mr.  Davys,  as  he  then  was, 
by  Princess  Victoria,  on  parchment.  It  was  the 
making  of  this,  or  one  like  it,  says  another 
of  Bishop  Davys'  children,  which  made  the 
Princess  consider  who  would  come  after  "  Uncle 
William."  On  her  discovery  that  it  would  be 


234     CHILDHOOD   OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

herself,  Mr.  Davys  mentioned  it  to  Mdlle.  Lehzen, 
who  doubtless  had  a  weighty  conversation  with 
her  illustrious  little  pupil  upon  the  matter. 
Her  account  is  curiously  inaccurate.  In  the 
first  place  the  Princess  was  not  twelve  years 
old,  but  scarcely  eleven.  The  Regency  Bill  was 
not  passed  till  the  December  of  1830,  and  it  is 
pretty  evident  that  it  was  Bishop  Davys  and  not 
the  Baroness  Lehzen  who  was  the  moving  cause 
of  the  discovery.  It  seems  plain  to  the  pre- 
sent writer  that  the  Baroness  had  a  serious 
talk  with  the  Princess,  and  after  the  lapse 
of  more  than  thirty-five  years  put  her  own 
axioms  into  the  mouth  of  her  pupil.  The 
remark,  "  Now,  many  a  child  would  boast," 
&c.,  sounds  much  more  like  the  Baroness 
than  the  Princess,  who  never  was  priggish  or 
conceited.  Queen  Victoria  said  she  had  no 
recollection  of  ever  having  said,  "I  will  be 
good,"  though  it  is  not  improbable  that  her 
governess  insisted  on  her  being  "  good,"  and 
that  she  replied  that  she  would  try  to  be  so. 
Her  late  Majesty  also  said  that  the  knowledge 
of  her  position  dawned  on  her  gradually,  and 
made  her  very  unhappy. 


KENSINGTON,    1830  235 

Her  cousin,  Prince  George  of  Cumberland,  a 
boisterous  lad,  is  said  to  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  teasing  her  when  she  failed  in  her  lessons,  or 
was  in  any  way  naughty,  with  the  taunt,  "A 
pretty  sort  of  Queen  you  will  make  !  " 

Poor  little  lady,  so  carefully  brought  up  and 
tutored  to  a  sense  of  duty !  It  was  a  heavy 
burden  to  lay  upon  such  young  shoulders,  and 
one  does  not  wonder  that  the  thought  of  so 
much  responsibility  weighed  terribly  upon  her 
childish  heart.  Could  she  have  foreseen  the 
enormous  growth  of  her  Empire,  the  almost 
unheard-of  power  she  was  to  wield  over  the 
fate  and  policy  of  other  kingdoms,  the  many 
and  heavy  sorrows  that  were  to  press  upon  her 
great  heart,  would  she  not  have  been  more  un- 
happy still?  And  yet  could  she  have  known 
even  more  fully  than  at  the  last  she  did,  how 
the  love  that  woke  in  her  people's  breasts  for 
their  girl  Queen  was  to  grow  into  the  mighty 
passion  for  the  "Great  Mother"  that  filled  the 
heart  of  the  whole  Empire,  might  she  not  have 
rejoiced  more  than  she  sorrowed? 

Her  grandmother,   the  Dowager-Duchess  of 


236     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

Saxe-Coburg,  wrote  in  the  May  of  this  year, 
1830,  "My  blessings  and  good  wishes  for  the 
day  which  gave  you  the  sweet  blossom  of  May. 
May  God  preserve  and  protect  the  valuable 
life  of  that  lovely  flower  from  all  the  dangers 
that  will  beset  her  heart  and  mind !  The  rays 
of  the  sun  are  scorching  at  the  height  to  which 
she  may  one  day  attain."  A  curious  ante- 
dating this  of  Tennyson's  "  fierce  light  which 
beats  upon  a  throne."  "It  is  only  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God  that  all  the  fine  qualities  He  has  put 
into  that  young  soul  can  be  kept  pure  and  un- 
tarnished. How  well  I  can  sympathise  with 
the  feelings  of  anxiety  that  must  possess  you 
when  that  time  comes !  God  who  has  helped 
you  through  so  many  bitter  hours  of  grief 
will  be  your  help  still.  Put  your  trust  in 
Him!" 

Everything  was  indeed  to  be  hoped  from  this 
"  child  of  many  prayers."  No  greater  Queen, 
we  think,  has  ever  sat  upon  a  mortal  throne. 
Other  queens  may  have  equalled  her  in  wise 
statesmanship,  in  royal  dignity,  in  loving  kind- 
ness, in  piety  and  purity,  but  to  none  other  has 


KENSINGTON,    1830  237 

it  been  given  to  have  all  these  graces  at  once, 
to  none  other  has  it  been  permitted  to  rule  over 
such  vast  dominions,  such  various  peoples,  nor 
to  influence  the  world  as  deeply  and  widely 
as  she  did.  Hers  is  an  influence  that  will 
never  die  so  long  as  one  subject  of  the  British 
Empire  remains.  We  have  still  "  everything  to 
hope  from  this  child " ;  her  name  "  Victoria  " 
will  still  stand  for  all  that  is  loyal,  good,  and 
great,  all  that  is  white  and  pure  in  Queen  or 
woman. 

We  thank  God  for  our  "  Great  White 
Queen,"  as  the  Indians  beautifully  named  her, 
and  we  pray  that  to  those  who  come  after  her 
may  be  given  not  only  her  greatness  and  pros- 
perity and  her  crown  of  splendid  old  age,  but 
her  noble  devotion  to  duty,  her  wisdom  and 
her  goodness,  and  the  undying  love  and  honour 
of  the  greatest  of  the  world's  Empires. 

"May  children  of  our  children  say  : 
'She  wrought  her  people  lasting  good. 

Her  court  was  pure,  her  life  serene ; 

God  gave  her  peace,  her  land  reposed ; 

A  thousand  claims  to  reverence  closed 
In  her  as  Mother,  Wife,  and  Queen. 


238     CHILDHOOD    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 

And  statesmen  at  her  Council  met 
Who  knew  the  seasons  when  to  take 
Occasion  by  the  hand,  and  make 

The  bounds  of  freedom  wider  yet, 

By  shaping  some  august  decree, 

Which  kept  her  throne  unshaken  still, 
Broad-based  upon  the  people's  will, 

And  compassed  by  the  inviolate  sea.' " 


THE  END 


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