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THE EARLY YEARS
OF
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE PRINCE CONSORT.
COMPILED,
UNDEK THE DIRECTION OF HER MAJESTY
THE QUEEN,
BY
LIEUT.-GENERAL THE HON. C. GREY.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS.
TORONTO:
W. C. CHEWETT & COMPANY,
17 AND 19 KING STREET, EAST.
1867.
CONTENTS.
Preface Page vii
Letter to the Queen xi
Introductory Remarks xv
CHAPTER I.
1819-1823.
The Saxe-Coburg Family. — Birth and early Infancy of the Princes. —
Birth of Princess Victoria. — Letters from the Duchess of Coburg, and
from the Dowager Duchesses of Coburg and of Gotha 25
CHAPTER II.
1823-1826.
The Princes removed to the Care of a Tutor. — Prince Albert's first
Journal and Letters. — Visits to Gotha. — Letters from the Dowager
Duchess of Gotha 42
CHAPTER III.
1826-1828.
Gotha added to the Possessions of the Duke of Coburg. — Difficulties
of the Settlement. — Letters from the Dowager Duchess of Coburg. —
School Fete at the Roscnau. — Visits to Gotha. — Letters from the Dow-
ager Duchess of Gotha. — Recollections of Count Arthur Mensdorff. . 54
CHAPTER IV.
1828-1831.
Life at the Rosenau, etc. — Journals and Letters of Prince Albert. —
Death of the Dowager Duehess of Coburg 70
iv Contents.
CHAPTER V.
i832-i833.
Visit of the Princes to Brussels. — Remarriage of the Duke. — Mr. Flor-
schiitz's Recollections of Mode of Life, System of Study, etc. ..Page 85
CHAPTER VI.
i832-i835.
The Rosenau and Reinhardsbrunn. — Excursions in the Thiiringerwald.
— Confirmation of the Princes 102
CHAPTER VII.
i835-i837.
Visit to Mecklenburg, and Tour through BerKn, Dresden, Prague, Vienna,
etc. — First Visit to England. — Residence at Brussels. — Letters of the
Prince Ill
CHAPTER VIII.
April, 1837, to the dose of i838.
Residence at Bonn. — Death .of William IV. — Tour through Switzerland
and North of Italy. — Letters from the Prince 127
CHAPTER IX.
1838-1839.
Separation of the Brothers. — The Prince's Tour in Italy. — Baron Stock-
mar. — Majority of Prince Ernest. — Prince Albert declared of Age at
the same Time. — Letters 150
CHAPTER X.
1839.
Visit to England. — The Marriage of the Queen and Prince settled.. 178
CHAPTER XL
1839.
Declaration of the Marriage to the Privy Council. — List of Privy Coun-
cilors present. — The Queen's Journal. — Proceedings at Coburg and
• Contents. v
Gotha. — Letter from Prince Ernest to the Queen. — Preliminary Ar-
rangements Page 205
CHAPTEE XII.
i84o.
Proceedings in Parliament 218
CHAPTEE XIII.
i84o.
Departure from Gotha and Arrival in England ... 234
CHAPTEE XIV.
i84o.
FIRST YEAR OF MARRIAGE.
The Prince's Position. — Formation of Household. — Settlement of Prece-
dence. —Freedom from Partisanship. — General Life in London. — At
Windsor, Claremont, etc. — Love for the Country. — Attempt on the
Queen's Life. — The Eegency Bill. — Birth of the Princess Royal... 252
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX A.
Reminiscences of the King of the Belgians 291
APPENDIX B.
Confirmation of the Princes, 312
APPENDIX C.
The Prince's Letters 3I.r>
APPENDIX D.
List of Members of the Privy Council present at the Declaration.... 339
vi Contents.
APPENDIX E.
A Copy of the Official Notice of the Ceremonial to be observed in mak-
ing the Declaration, and of the Declaration itself Page 340
APPENDIX F.
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage with his Royal Highness Prince
Albert of Saxc-Coburg and Gotha 341
Directions to the Binder.
Prince Albert at the Age of Four. From a Picture by Doll. . Frontispiece.
Prince Albert at the Age of Twenty. From a Miniature by Sir W.
Ross To face page 205
PREFACE.
THIS volume was originally compiled, under the
Queen's direction, solely for private circulation among
the members of her own family, or such other persons
as, from the relations in which they had stood to her
Majesty or to the Prince Consort himself, would natu-
rally be interested in the story of his early days.
As, however, notwithstanding the limited circulation
to which it was intended to confine the volume, there
was felt to be considerable danger of a copy being sur-
reptitiously obtained and published, possibly in a garbled
form, the question arose whether it might not be expedi-
ent to avert this danger by publishing it in substantially
the same form as that in which it was first printed for
private circulation.
Acting upon the opinion of several persons in whose
judgment she had the greatest confidence ; believing also
that the free and unreserved expression which the vol-
ume contains of her own feelings, as well as of those of
the Prince, is such as, if made public (however unusual
such publicity may be), will command the entire sympa-
thy of every one whose sympathy or good opinion is to
be desired ; and, above all, feeling that there is not one
word coming from the Prince himself which will not
tend to a better and higher appreciation of his great
character, the Queen has not hesitated to give her con-
sent to the present publication.
viii Preface.
"In regard to the effect of the volume upon the people
of England," writes one of the oldest, most devoted, and
most honored of the Prince's friends,* "should her Maj-
esty hereafter resolve to publish it, there can not, I think,
be the shadow of a doubt,1 should it ever come before
them, that it would exact the loyalty and love of all
true-hearted Englishmen Where every thing is
so pure, so lovely, and so true, why should not our hon-
ored and beloved Queen lay open the innermost recesses
of her heart, and thereby fix forever the loyal sympathy
of all who have faith in what is good, and hold true
Christian allegiance to their God and to their country ?"
Then speaking of the impression produced on himself
by a perusal of the volume, he proceeds : " You will for-
give me for noting down one or two thoughts which
struck me while reading your volume. We now see,
from first to last, the beautiful consistency of the Prince's
character. He was a lovely boy with a gentle temper;
yet even then he had a mental strength above his years,
which gave him the mastery over his elder brother.
And so it was in after life. Those gentler qualities,
which made him the purest pattern of domestic love,
never, for a moment, degenerated into feebleness or ef-
feminacy, but were carried out into a noble purpose by
their unbroken union with the firm will of his great and
unselfish heart. From his earliest years he seems never
to have flinched from labor, and he had amassed vast
treasures of exact knowledge, which he did not for a
moment exhibit for ostentation, but he made them bear,
* Professor Sedgwick. He was Secretary to the Prince as Chancellor
of the University of Cambridge.
Preface. ix
at every turn of life, upon some intellectual aim or some
plan that would tell upon the moral and physical good
of his fellow-creatures.
"If it be good for man, as is taught by the poet Goethe,
daily to see and to feast upon objects of great beauty in
art "and nature, surely the contemplation of a character
at once so great and so beautiful as that of the Prince
Consort should be a sublime and touching lesson to our
countrymen."
Thus wrote Professor Sedgwick on the 27th of May,
1867, to the editor of this volume, and it would be vain
to try and add a syllable to the beautiful picture here
given of the Prince's character ; the more so, as in the
introductory remarks to the volume as first printed, and
which are here reproduced, will be found an attempt to
describe that character at some length ; and a still fuller
and more comprehensive estimate of it will naturally fall
to be given when the whole story of the Prince's life is
placed before the world in the volumes by which this is
to be succeeded.
The task of preparing those volumes will be executed
by other and abler hands. His own occupations making
it impossible for him to undertake it, the present editor
is happy to think that Mr. Theodore Martin has, at the
request of the Queen, consented to go on with, and has
for some time been engaged upon, the work, for the pros-
ecution of which he will have the same advantages as to
information from authentic sources that have been en-
joyed in the preparation of the present volume.
June, 18G7.
A2
LETTER TO THE QUEEN
ON COMPLETING THE
VOLUME FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION.
MADAM, — I have now the honor to submit to your
Majesty the various Letters and Memoranda intrusted to
me by your Majesty, as, in obedience to your Majesty's
commands, I have arranged and connected them to the
best of my ability.
I am well aware how far my execution of the work
falls short of what your Majesty had a right to expect, of
what I myself could have wished, and of what the subject
demands. It is, however, a satisfaction to me to feel that
no failure on my part in the performance of the portion
of the task allotted to me can detract from the simple
beauty of many of the letters that will be found in the
following pages, or from the interest in the picture of a
happy domestic life, as drawn in your Majesty's own
Memoranda.
As I believe your Majesty intends to limit the circula-
tion of this volume to your Majesty's own children and
family, or, if it goes beyond them, to a very small circle
of personal friends, I have not thought it necessary to
omit any of the very interesting and private details con-
xii Letter to the Queen.
tained in your Majesty's Memoranda, or to withhold the
touching expression of your Majesty's feelings, as given
in your Majesty's own words. Some of these details,
particularly those relating to your Majesty's marriage, it
might seem unusual to include in a work intended for
more general perusal, though even in that case, judging
of others' feeling by my own, I can not doubt that they
would meet with the warmest and most heartfelt sympa-
thy.
The translations of the Prince's letters, as they appear
in the text, are for the most part, and with a few merely
verbal corrections, by Princess Helena. They are made,
as it appears to me, with surprising fidelity ; but the orig-
inals of most of them will be found in an Appendix, for
the benefit of those who may wish to read them in the
language in which they were written.
The present volume closes with the end of the first
year of your Majesty's married life. The farther prose-
cution of the work will be a matter of greater difficulty.
From the Prince's constantly increasing connection with
the political events of the day (so many of the principal
actors in which are still living), it will be impossible to
do full justice to his character without a reference to
those events, and to the influence which he brought to
bear upon them. Moreover, the Prince's occupations
were so varied and multifarious — he gave himself with
such energy and persevering activity to whatever could
benefit his fellow-man, that to follow him, even through
one branch of his useful and unintermitted labors for the
good of his adopted country, would afford ample work to
a single pen.
Letter to the Queen. xiii
The early days, however, to which this volume relates,
speak the promise so nobly realized of his future years.
I have felt it to be a great privilege to have been alt
lowed to assist in your Majesty's work of love ; and it
will be a source of lasting gratification to me if the result
shall be to make more generally known — at least as far
as the limited circulation which your Majesty intends for
this volume shall allow — the virtues and great qualities
of one to whom I was bound by the strongest ties of
gratitude and affection.
I remain, with the most heartfelt devotion, your Maj-
esty's very humble and obedient subject and servant,
C. GREY.
Windsor Castle, March, 1866.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
ALBERT — using only the name by which he was
known and endeared to the British people — second son
of ERNEST I., Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and husband
of our beloved Queen, was lineally descended from those
great Saxon princes whose names are immortalized in
European history by the stand they made in defense of
their country's liberties against the encroaching power
of the German Emperors, as well as by the leading part
they took in the struggle for the emancipation of the hu-
man mind from the trammels of Romish bigotry and su-
perstition.
The names of Frederick the Warlike, first Prince
Elector of Saxony ; of Frederick the "Wise, the friend
and protector of Luther; and of John Frederick the
Magnanimous, selected from a long list of rulers scarcely
inferior to them in fame, sufficiently attest the by-gone
glories of the race.
But to none of those great ancestors can the present
descendants of that illustrious house turn with more just
pride than to him whose loss the world finds every day
more cause to mourn.
If goodness and virtue are inseparable from true great-
ness, where shall we find in history a more perfect com-
bination of all the qualities that make a man truly great?
xvi Introductory Remarks.
Eminent ability joined with the purest virtue — unremit-
ting attention to the multifarious duties of a position all
but the highest, combined with the most watchful and1
active benevolence — power and influence only valued as
the means of'advancing the< best interests of mankind !
To him our leading statesmen loved to repair in all
questions of doubt and difficulty, sure to find in his grasp
of intellect, in his foresight and fertility of resource, in
his clear and dispassionate judgment, his practical com-
mon sense, a helping hand out of their embarrassments.
Upon his knowledge and sound principles the philan-
thropist could rely with confidence for the safe and ef-
fectual development of all schemes of improvement and
general utility; the man of science for practical assist-
ance in prosecuting his studies, or in making known
their result to the world ; while the artist — the sculptor
and the painter — men of European reputation — were not
ashamed to acknowledge their obligation to his fertile
genius and cultivated taste.
If to these talents and accomplishments, and to the so-
cial qualities that fitted him to shine so eminently in
public and private life, we add genuine and unaffected
love- of virtue and abhorrence of vice* — the latter feel-
ing, however, tempered by the charity that thinketh no
evil, springing from innate warmth and kindness of heart
— above all, if we look to the childlike purity and inno-
cence of mind, preserved unsullied in deed and in
* "Its presence depressed him, grieved him, horrified him. His toler-
ance allowed him to make excuses for the vices of individual men, but
the evil itself he hated." — Introduction to Speeches and Addresses ofH.
R. H. the Prince Consort, published in 1864, p. 43.
Introductory Remarks. xvii
thought, from the cradle to the grave — we have indeed
before us a character which may well be held up as a
bright and glorious example for the emulation, as well
as the love and admiration, of future generations.
How beautiful is the evidence borne to the Prince's
goodness and excellence by those who knew him best —
by his nearest relatives,* his tutor, and his most intimate
friends. What a noble spirit of self-sacrifice and devo-
tion to duty breathes in every line of the beautiful letters
to his grandmother, and- the friend of his youth, Baron
Stockmar, written by him just before his marriage, f
Well might it be said of him that " he was one of those
few men into whose minds questions of self-interest nev-
er enter, or are absolutely ignored when the paramount
obligation of duty is presented to them.":}:
Then, again, what high aspirations after the power of
doing good do, we find in the same letters — what evi-
dence of the " presence of a large and loving nature,
where the lovingness takes heed of all humanity."!
The Prince's extraordinary " good nature and prompt
sympathy forbade him to ignore any question that inter-
ested his fellow-men. "|| Indeed, to such an extent was
this the case, that it may be too truly said of him that
his life fell a sacrifice to his unceasing exertions in their
cause.
" To put the cup of this world's gladness to his lips
and yet not to be intoxicated — to gaze steadily on all its
* See especially the letter written by his brother, the present reigning
Duke of Saxe-Coburg, when the marriage was arranged. — Chap, xi.,
page 212. t Chap, x., pages 191, 196, 198, etc.
t Introduction to Speeches, p. 31. § Ibid. || Ibid.
xviii Introductory Remarks.
grandeur and yet to be undazzled — plain and simple in
personal desires, to feel its brightness and yet defy its
thrall — this is the difficult, and rare, and glorious life of
God in the soul of man."* And to this the Prince, if any
man, most surely attained.
Mixed up as the Prince was of late years with all the
most important events of an eventful period, it would be
premature to attempt any account of his life which should
enter into a detailed. history of those events; and with-
out doing this, it would be impossible to do him justice,
or to make him known as he ought to be known to a
world of which he was so great a benefactor.
We may, however, even now prepare the way for the
future biographer, and to do this is the object of the
present volume. It will contain a compilation of letters
and memoranda, the greater part of those of the Prince
himself, and of the Queen, from which materials may, at
the proper time, be extracted for such a memoir as may
be given to the world. In the mean time, printed pri-
vately for the use and study of his children, with such an
amount of narrative as appears necessary for their due
connection, they will furnish those children, and perhaps
children's children to the remotest times, with such an
example of unselfish devotion to duty as may well en-
courage them, in imitation of their great parent, to strive,
as he did, to discharge the duties of their high callings
without deviating from the path of virtue and true great-
ness.
These letters and memoranda will speak for them-
selves. We shall be able to trace in them the whole
* Robertson's Sermons, vol. ii. , p. 282.
Introductory Remarks. xix
career of the illustrious Prince — his progress from boy-
hood to manhood — from manhood to the grave. We
shall see the boy, scarcely yet emerged from infancy,
winning the love as well as the respect of his instruct-
ors.* We shall follow him as he advances toward man-
hood, still keeping the promise of his earliest years,
thirsting for knowledge, and laborious and persevering
in its acquirement, but seeking after it for the noblest of
purposes — that he might be better enabled to promote
the happiness and to improve the condition of his fellow-
man.f
Grown to man's estate, and raised to the commanding
position of the Consort of England's Queen, we shall find
his great character developing itself in ever grander pro-
portions : as a husband and a father, fulfilling every do-
mestic duty with the most affectionate care and the ten-
derest solicitude ; as the adviser and assister of the sov-
ereign in her daily communications with her ministers,:}:
* See Memorandum by his tutor, Herr Florschiitz, at the end of Chap.
v.,page 89 et seq.
f "It was for the 'relief of man's estate' that this amiable Prince de-
lighted most in the extension of the bounds of knowledge." — Preface to
Speeches, p. 46.
J M. Guizot says, in his introduction to his translation of the Prince's
Speeches : " A la fois actif et modeste, ne recherchant point, evitant meme
toute apparence vaniteuse dans le Gouvernement, bien que tres serieuse-
ment preoccupe des affaires publiques de 1'Angleterre, et des interets de
la couronne placee sur la tete de sa femme : il a etc, pendant vingt et un
ans, le premier sujet et le premier conseiller de la Reine Victoria, son
intime et seul secretaire, associe sans bruit k toutes ses deliberations, a
toutes ses resolutions, habile & 1'eclairer et & la seconder dans ses rapports
avec son Ministere, sans gener ni offusquer le Ministere lui-meme, exer-
9ant a cote du tronc une judicieuse et salutaire influence, sans jamais
XX
Introductory Remarks.
making the interest and prosperity of the kingdom his
undivided object; displaying an unusual capacity for
public business, and in political and international ques-
tions, often of the most complicated nature, giving evi-
dence of a coolness of judgment and fertility of resource
which had already given him a weight and an authority
in the councils of Europe that bade fair not only to equal,
but to surpass those which were conceded by universal
consent to the wisdom and long experience of his uncle
Leopold, king of the Belgians.*f
In studying such a life, though it may be given to few,
if any, to attain the full height of the standard thus set
before them, his children will find the strongest incentive
to do nothing unworthy of their great sire.
depasser un role, ni porter atteinte aux conditions du regime constitu-
tionnel."
* " If the Prince had lived to attain what we now think a good old age,
he would inevitably have become the most accomplished statesman and
the most guiding personage in Europe : a man to whose arbitrament fierce
national quarrels might have been submitted, and by whose influence
calamitous wars might have been averted." — Preface to Speeches^. 55.
t As these sheets pass through the press, the news arrives that the life
of this great and enlightened sovereign has been brought to a close ; that
his long and beneficent reign has ended amid the lamentations of his sub-
jects and with the regret of all Europe. How well he has done his work
— how completely he understood and identified himself with the spirit of
the age — is proved by the two very remarkable demonstrations in Brus-
sels of Saturday, the 17th, and Sunday, the 18th of December: on the
former day by the respectful demeanor and unmistakable expression of
sorrow that clouded every brow among the countless thousands that
thronged the line of the funeral procession from Brussels to Laeken ; on
the following day by the no less unmistakable and universal display of
popular enthusiasm that marked the entry of his son and successor into
Introductory Remarks. xxi
Oh how should England, dreaming of his sons,
Hope more for these than, some inheritance
Of such a life ! — a heart — a mind as thine,
Thou noble father of her kings to he !
Since writing the above I have had the privilege of
reading the beautiful address delivered on the last sad
anniversary of our loss, by Dr. Macleod, to three of the
Prince's children — the Crown Princess of Prussia, Prin-
cess Louis of Hesse, and Prince Alfred. How must their
hearts have burned within them while they listened to
the following glowing summary of their great Father's
character: •
" Yet in trying circumstances which constant-
ly demanded from him a positive opinion, advice, deci-
sion, and action, on affairs of state and matters of world
interest — in addition to those duties, themselves extreme-
ly onerous, belonging to his domestic and social life, the
Prince not only came out of every ordeal unscathed, but
triumphant ahd nobler than before. Who ever heard
one whisper breathed against his moral character? What
false step in politics did he ever take ? What wrong ad-
vice on any subject did he ever tender? What move-
ment, great or small, did he originate which was not ben-
eficial to the state, and worthy of our honor and our
greatness? What enemies did he ever make, unless pos-
sibly among such persons as have no sympathy with
goodness, truth, or justice in any man? So completely
did he become identified with all that was worth loving
his capital, and proved the devotion of the Belgians to their constitutional
sovereign and to the independence of their country.
xxii Introductory Remarks.
in the nation ; so intuitively did he discern its wants, and
those points on which, while preserving all that was good,
true progress toward something better was possible, and
therefore desirable — that all classes, all interests, claimed
him as their leader. Commerce, agriculture, science, arts,
the cottage and the camp, the great men in the nation,
as well as the domestic servant and the ragged child, rec-
ognized in him their wisest guide and truest friend. For
the attainment of whatever could benefit them, 'the
Prince of all the land led them on.'
" . . . . Few men who have ever lived, no prince cer-
tainly of whom we read, could have possessed a mind so
many-sided with such corresponding political and social
influence. He was, indeed, the type of a new era — an
era of power ; but not of that kind of power represented
by the armor of his noble ancestors, the power of mere
physical strength, courage, or endurance, displayed at the
head of armies or of fleets, but the moral power of char-
acter, the power of intellectual culture, of extensive
knowledge, of earnest thought; the power of the saga-
cious statesman, of the single-minded good man; that pow-
er which discerns, interprets, and guides the wants and
the spirit of the age — the power, in short, of highest wis-
dom directed by genuine benevloence to higher objects.
" . . . . His real strength lay most of all in his charac-
ter, or in that which resulted from will and deliberate
choice, springing out of a nature singularly pure, by
God's grace, from childhood.
". ... It is only now, when he is gone, that all who
knew him are made to feel how much they unconscious-
ly depended upon him ! like a staff on which the weak
Introductory Remarks. xxiii
have been so long accustomed to lean, that they know
not how essential it was to their support until it be re-
moved, and when with a sigh they withdraw the hand
from the place, now empty, where it was wont to be !
"It is this feature in the Prince's character," Dr. Mac-
leod adds, " which ought to make every one sympathize
to the very utmost with her Majesty, who, of all persons
on earth, had the best means of knowing it, and the best
means of proving it in a thousand ways in every-day life,
and who had the best grounds, therefore, for appreciating
its constancy, its tenderness, its unfailing strength." And
well may the eloquent preacher appeal to "every true
English heart or conscience" to acknowledge the demand
which "now arises in mute eloquence from the throne
for the sympathy, the prayers, the loyal self-sacrificing
aid of every member of her house, and of every citizen
of our Christian nation, on her behalf whom God, in His
Providence, has been pleased to spare, and in mercy to
continue to us, as our beloved Sovereign."
THE EARLY YEARS
OF
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE PRINCE CONSORT.
1819-1841.
CHAPTEK I.
1819-1823.
The Saxe-Coburg Family. — Birth and early Infancy of the Princes. —
Birth of Princess Victoria. — Letters from the Duchess of Coburg, and
from the Dowager Duchesses of Coburg and of Gotha.
PRINCE ALBERT was descended from the Ernestine,
or elder branch of the great Saxon family. That branch
had, however, lost its birthright in the course of the 16th
century. Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony, had
been the protector of Martin Luther, and was one of the
first to embrace the doctrines of the Eeformed Church,
of which he was the most powerful supporter. His im-
mediate successors adhered to the same religious opin-
ions, and after the defeat of John Frederick the Magnan-
imous by Charles V., at Miihlberg, in 1547, they paid
the penalty of their devotion to the Protestant faith in
the forced surrender of their inheritance to the younger,
B
26 iSaxe-Coburg family.
or Albertine branch of the family, by the descendants
of which the Saxon throne is still occupied.
It is not easy to trace the arrangement by which, on
losing the electorate, now the kingdom of Saxony, the
Ernestine branch acquired ,the several duchies still pos-
sessed by its descendants. It would be still more diffi-
cult to follow out the laws of succession — the intermar-
riages, etc., leading to the redistribution or interchange
of territory, in consequence of which these different duch-
ies came into the possession now of this, now of that
member of the family. The custom of dividing and sub-
dividing their inheritance among their sons seems long
to have prevailed with these Saxon dukes. Thus the
dukedoms of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, of Saxe-Meiningen,
of Saxe-Hildburghausen, and of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
were, on the death, in 1679, of Ernest the Pious, duke
of Saxe-Gotha-Coburg, and great-grandson of the last
elector of the Ernestine branch, John Frederick the Mag-
nanimous, divided severally among his sons. Of these,
the eldest, Frederick, inherited the duchies of Saxe-Go-
tha-Altenburg, while that of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld fell to
the share of the youngest, John Ernest, the immediate
ancestor of our Prince.
Francis Joseph, son and successor of John Ernest, had
four sons, of whom the eldest, Ernest Frederick, succeed-
ed him as reigning duke in 1764 ; while the third, Fred-
erick, having greatly distinguished himself in the Aus-
trian service, was made a field-marshal, and commanded
the allied armies in the Netherlands for some time in the
beginning of the French Eevolutionary war.*
* An interesting notice of this generation of the family, and particu-
Saxe-Coburg Family. 27
Ernest Frederick was succeeded, in 1800, by Francis
Frederick, his eldest son, who died in 1806, leaving three
sons and four daughters.
1. Ernest, the father of our Prince, who succeeded his
father as Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, under the title
of Ernest I. To this inheritance, by a family arrange-
ment made in 1825, on the death of Frederick IV., the
last male descendant of Frederick, duke of Saxe-Gotha-
Altenburg, eldest son of Ernest the Pious above men-
tioned, and confirmed in November, 1826, he added the
duchy of Gotha. But, in accordance with the same ar-
rangement, he had to surrender the duchy of Saalfeld to
the Duke of Meiningen — Saxe-Altenburg being, at the
same time, separated from the duchy of Gotha, and given
to the Duke of Hildburghausen, who assumed the former
title, Hildburghausen itself being also added to the terri-
tory of the Duke of Meiningen.
2. Ferdinand George, who married the heiress of the
Prince of Kohary in Hungary, and whose son became
King Consort of Portugal by his marriage with Queen
Donna Maria II. of that kingdom.
3. Leopold, the late King of the Belgians.
Duke Francis also left four daughters.
1. Sophia, who, after refusing many eligible proposals
of marriage of her own rank, married, in 1804, Count
Mensdorff-Pouilly, who, emigrating from France at the
Eevolution, attained high rank and distinction in the
Austrian service. The greatest intimacy and friendship
existed in youth between her sons, all distinguished in
larly of the field-marshal, will be found in Appendix A., et seqq., contain-
ing the Reminiscences of the King of the Belgians.
28 Saxe-Coburg Family.
the Austrian service,* and their cousin Prince Albert, f
and an interesting account of his recollections of the
Prince, by Count Arthur Mensdorff, will be found in a
subsequent chapter.
2. Antoinette, married, in 3,798, to Duke Alexander of
Wiirtemberg, brother to the Empress Mother of Kussia
(mother to the Emperors Alexander and Nicholas), who
had a very influential position in Eussia, and lived there
for many years.
3. Julie, the third, married, at fifteen, to the late Grand-
duke Constantino of Eussia. But this marriage was not
a happy one, and in 1802 she left Eussia, fixing her resi-
dence finally at Elfenau, near Berne, in Switzerland,:}:
where, it will be seen, the Prince, in the course of a pe-
destrian tour, paid her a visit in September, 1837, as he
also did on several occasions afterward.
4. Victoire Marie Louise, the youngest daughter, mar-
ried, first, the Prince of Leiningen ; and, secondly, the
Duke of Kent, as whose widow, and as the mother of our
Queen, she lived for the remainder of her life in England,
beloved by her family and friends, and endeared, by her
many virtues and innumerable acts of kindness, to the
whole British nation.
Ernest I., eldest son of Duke Francis by Augusta,
daughter of Prince Henry XXIV. of Eeuss-Ebersdorff,
was born in 1784, and, as already mentioned, succeeded
* One of them, Count Alexander Mensdorff, is now [1866] Minister for
Foreign Affairs at Vienna.
t See Appendix A.
| For more detailed accounts of his sisters and family, see Reminis-
cences of the King of the Belgians, Appendix A.
Saxe-Coburg Family. 29
his father in 1806 as reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saal-
feld.
The dukedom was at that time in the occupation of the
French, and the new duke and other members of the
family were objects of great suspicion to the French gov-
ernment. The reminiscences of his brother, the King of
the Belgians, which will be found in Appendix A., at the
end of the volume, will give a good idea of the difficul-
ties with which Duke Ernest had, in consequence, to con-
tend at his accession and for many years afterward ; nor
was it till the emancipation of Germany in 1813 from the
oppressive domination so long exercised over her by Na-
P9leon that he can be said to have come fairly into pos-
session of his inheritance.
A marriage with a Kussian grand-duchess had origin-
ally been in contemplation for the young duke ; but this
was broken off in 1812, and in 1817 he married the Prin-
cess Louise, daughter, by his first wife, a Princess of
Mecklenburg Schwerin, of Augustus,* last reigning duke
but one of Saxe-Gotha- Altenburg. By her he had two
sons, Ernest, the present reigning duke, born at the Eh-
renburg, the Ducal Palace at Coburg, on the 21st of June,
1818, and Albert, the subject of the following memoir,
born at the Eosenau, a charming summer residence be-
longing to the duke about four miles from Coburg, on
the 26th of August, 1819.
In a Memorandum written in 1864, the Queen gives
the following account of the duchess :
* He married, secondly, the Princess Caroline of Hesse Cassel, born in
1768, daughter of William, ninth Elector of Hesse, and of Wilhelmina of
Denmark. She was the Duchess of Gotha so constantly mentioned in
the following pages, and died February 28, 1848.
80 The Duchess of Coburg.
" The princess is described as having been very hand-
some, though very small ; fair, with blue eyes ; and Prince
Albert is said to have been extremely like her. An old
servant who had known her for many years told the
Queen that when she first saw the Prince at Coburg in
1844, she was quite overcome by the resemblance to his
mother.
"She was full of cleverness and talent; but the mar-
riage was not a happy one, and a separation took place
in 1824, when the young duchess finally left Coburg, and
never saw her children again. She died at St. Wendel
in 1831, after a long and painful illness, in her 32d
year.
"The Duchess Dowager of Gotha, her stepmother,
writes to the Duke the following account of her on the
27th of July, 1831:
" ' The sad state of my poor Louise bows me to the
earth The thought that her children had forgot-
ten her distressed her very much. She wished to know
if they ever spoke of her. I answered her that they
were far too good to forget her ; that they did not know
of her sufferings, as it would grieve the good children too
much.'
" The Prince never forgot her, and spoke with much
tenderness and sorrow of his poor mother, and was deep-
ly affected in reading, after his marriage, the accounts of
her sad and painful illness. One of the first gifts he
made to the Queen was a little pin he had received from
her when a little child. Princess Louise (the Prince's
fourth daughter, and named after her grandmother) is
said to be like her in face.
The Duchess of Coburg. 31
" On receiving the news of her death, the amiable
Duchess of Gotha again writes to the Duke of Coburg:
" ' MY DEAR DUKE, — This also I have to endure, that
that child whom I watched over with such love should
go before me. May God soon allow me to be reunited
to all my loved ones. ... It is a most bitter feeling that
that dear, dear house [of Gotha] is now quite extinct.'
The Duchess Louise was the last descendant of the fami-
ly. Many years later, her earthly remains were brought
to Coburg, and she now reposes next the duke and his
second wife in the fine family mausoleum at Coburg, only
completed in the year 1860, where the Queen herself
placed a wreath of flowers on her tomb in the autumn
of that year."
Prince Albert was bora, as has been already stated, at
the Kosenau, a summer residence of the duke's, about
four miles from Coburg. His grandmother, the Dowager
Duchess of Coburg-Saalfeld, resided at this time at Kets-
chendorf, a small villa about a quarter of a mile on the
other side of Coburg. A little before seven in the morn-
ing of the 26th of August, 1819, a groom from the Eose-
nau rode into the court-yard of Ketschendorf to summon
the duchess to the former place, bringing the news of the
safe confinement of her daughter-in-law and of the birth
of the young Prince. But let the duchess give her own
account of the event. She thus writes to her daughter,
the Duchess of Kent, the following day:
" Rosenau, August 27, 1819.
" The date will of itself make you suspect that I am
sitting by Louischen's bed. She was yesterday morning
32 Birth of Prince Albert.
safely and quickly delivered of a little boy. Siebold,
the accoucheuse, had only been called at three, and at
six the little one gave his first cry in this world, and
looked about like a little squirrel with a pair of large
black eyes.* -At a quarter, to seven I heard the tramp
of a horse. It was a groom, who brought the joyful
news. I was off directly, as you may imagine, and found
the little mother slightly exhausted, but gaie et dispos.
She sends you and Edward (the Duke of Kent) a thou-
sand kind messages.
"Louise is much more comfortable here than if she
had been laid up in town. The quiet of this house, only
interrupted by the murmuring of the water, is so agreea-
ble. But I had many battles to fight to assist her in ef-
fecting her wish. Dr. Miiller found it inconvenient. The
Hof-Marshal thought it impossible— particularly if the
christening was to be here also. No one considered the
noise of the palace at Coburg, the shouts of the children,
and the rolling of the carriages in the streets.
" The little boy is to be christened to-morrow, f and to
have the name of Albert. The Emperor of Austria, the
old Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, the Duke of Gotha,
Mensdorff, and I, are to be sponsors. Our boys will have
the same names as the sons of the Elector Frederick the
Mild, who were stolen by Kuntz of Kauffungen — name-
ly, Ernest and Albert. Ernest minor" (he was then just
14 months old) " runs about like a weasel. He is teeth-
ing, and as cross as a little badger from impatience and
* The eyes, however, were blue.
f This, however, was not the case. He was christened on the 19th of
September, in the Marble Hall at the 'Koscnau.
Birth of Princess Victoria. 33
liveliness. He is not pretty now, except his beautiful
black eyes.
"How pretty the May Flower will be when I see it in
a year's. time. Siebold can not sufficiently describe what
a dear little love it is. Une bonne fois, adieu ! Kiss your
husband and children. AUGUSTA."
The May Flower above spoken of was the Princess
(now Queen) Victoria, who had been born on the 24th
of May preceding. And it is a curious coincidence, con-
sidering the future connection of the children, that
Mdme. Siebold, the accoucheuse spoken of above as at-
tending the Duchess of Coburg at the birth of the young
Prince, had, only three months before, attended the
Duchess of Kent at the birth of the Princess.
The Dowager Duchess, whose letter announcing the
young Prince's birth we have just read, had thus written
to her daughter on that occasion.
" June, 1819.
"I can not express how happy I am to know you,
dearest, dearest Vickel, safe in your bed with a little one,
and that all went off so happily. May God's best bless-
ings rest on the little stranger and the- beloved mother.
"Again a Charlotte* — destined, 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 niecef of the ev-
* The Princess Charlotte of Wales had died the preceding year, and
this made the young Princess heiress presumptive to the throne on the
death of her father and uncles.
t She was first cousin, but niece as well — the Princess Charlotte having
married the little Princess's uncle, Prince Leopold.
B2
34: Christening of the Prince,
er-lamented, beloved Charlotte will be most dear to
them.
" I need not tell you how delighted every body is here
in hearing of your safe confinement. You know that
you are much beloved in this your little home."
The Duke of Kent lived but a short time after the
birth of his daughter. On the 23d of January, 1820,
only a few days before his father, King George III.,* he
died, and left his duchess a widow for the second time.
On the 19th of September the young Prince was
christened in the Marble Hall at the Kosenau, when he
received the following names in the order in which they
are given : Francis Charles Augustus Albert Emmanuel.
The name by which he was known, Albert, being the
last but one.
When the Queen was at the Kosenau in 1863, the
Prince's former tutor, M. Florschiitz, gave her a copy of
the address pronounced on the occasion of the baptism
by the Superintendent Genzler, whose daughter M. Flor-
schiitz had married. Nor is it without interest to note
in passing that Professor Genzler had before officiated at
the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, which
took place in the Palace at Coburg in 1818, and that he
received the Queen and Prince at Coburg when they
paid their first visit to it after their marriage, in 1844f
In this address there are two passages so strikingly and
completely realized and fulfilled in the beloved Prince's
great, pure, and spotless character — so absolutely pro-
phetic of his after life — that it would be an unpardonable
omission not to insert them here.
* He died January 29th, 1820. f Memorandum by the Queen.
Christening of the Prince. 35
"The good wishes," said the preacher, "with which
we welcome this infant as a Christian, as one destined to
be great on earth, and as a future heir to everlasting life,
are the more earnest, when we consider the high position
in life in which he may one day be placed, and the sphere of
action to which the will of God may call him, in order to con-
tribute more or less to the promotion of truth and virtue, and
to the extension of the kingdom of God. .... The thoughts
and supplications of the loving mother are, that her be-
loved son may one day enter into the kingdom of God as
pure and as innocent after the trials of this life as he is at
this moment (the joy and hope of his parents) received into
the communion of this Christian Church, whose vocation
it is to bring up and form on earth a God-fearing race."
Had these words, pronounced by the officiating clergy-
man at the Prince's baptism, been used after his prema-
ture death, could they, by possibility, have been more de-
scriptive of him ? Surely no man ever went beyond him
in a constant, persevering devotion of himself " to the
promotion of truth and virtue ;" and of none could it
have been said with more truth over the grave, that the
trials and temptations of the world had left him as pure
and innocent at that closing scene as when first "re-
ceived" an infant in his nurse's arms "into the commun-
ion of the Christian Church."
On the 22d of May, 1820, when Prince Albert was
barely eight months old, his mother thus describes her
children : " Ernest est bien grand pour son age, vif et in-
telligent. Ses grands yeux noirs pdtillent d'esprit et de
vivacite. . . . Albert est superbe — d'une beaute extraor-
dinaire ; a de grands yeux bleus, une toute petite bouche
36 The Mother's Account of her Sons.
— un joli nez — et des fossettes a chaque joue — il est grand
et vif, et toujours gai. II a trois dents, et malgre' qu'il
n'a que huit mois, il commence deja a marcher."
"Albert est toujours beau, gai et bon, et a sept dents,"
writes his mother again in July of the same year — " il
marche deja, quelquefois tout senl, et dit ' papa et ma-
man ;' n'est-ce pas," she adds, in all the pride of a young
mother's heart, " n'est-ce pas un petit prodige pour dix
mois?"
Again, when the young Prince was two years old, she
writes: "Albert adore son oncle Leopold, ne le quitte
pas un instant, lui fait des yeux doux, 1'embrasse a chaque
moment, et ne se sent pas d'aise que lorsqu'il peut etre
aupres de lui II est charmant de taille, blond, et
yeux bleus. Ernest est tr&s-fort et robuste, mais pas la
moitie si joli. II est beau, et a des yeux noirs."
And a few months later : " Mes enfans ont faits les de"-
lices de leurs aieuls. Us grandissent beaucoup et devien-
nent tres amusants. L'aine' surtout parait avoir de 1'esprit,
et le petit captive tous les coeurs par sa beaute et sa gen-
tillesse."
The Dowager Duchess of Coburg continued to watch
with the tenderest affection over the progress of the
young princes, her grandchildren ; and the letters from
her which will be quoted in the course of this Memoir,
up to the time of her death in 1831, breathe in every line
a spirit of simplicity and love that speaks to the heart.
The King of the Belgians, in his reminiscences, describes
her as being in every way "a most distinguished per-
son;" and the Queen, speaking of her many. years later,
thus records her recollections :
The Dowager Duchess of Coburg. 37
" The Queen remembers her dear grandmother perfect-
ly well. She was a most remarkable woman, with a most
powerful, energetic, almost masculine mind, accompanied
with great tenderness of heart, and extreme love for na-
ture.
" The Prince told the Queen that she had wished earn-
estly that he should marry the Queen,, and as she died
when her grandchildren (the Prince and Queen) were
only twelve years old, she could have little guessed what
a blessing she was preparing not only for this country,
but for the world at large. She was adored by her chil-
dren, particularly by her sons ; Jling Leopold being her
great favorite.
" She had fine and most expressive blue eyes, with the
marked features and long nose inherited by most of her
children and grandchildren.
"Both the Prince and his brother were exceedingly
attached to her, and they lived much with her in their
younger days. Of an evening the Prince said she was in
the habit of telling them the story of Walter Scott's nov-
els, and she used often to employ them in writing letters
from her dictation. This was especially the case in 1829
or '30, when there was a question of her son, Prince (aft-
terward King) Leopold, going to Greece."*
The following letters, written by her to her daughter
the Duchess of Kent in 1821, show the fond affection
with which she regarded her grandchildren.
" 10 February, 1821.
. " Albert is teething like his little cousin, f but he is
* Memorandum by the Queen. t Princess (now Queen) Victoria.
38 The Dowager Duchess of Gotha.
feverish with it and not at all well. He is not a strong
child. Ernest gets much more easily over it, because he
is more lively."
"11 July, 1821.
" Ernest's little boys are very amusing. Little Alber-
inchen, with his large blue 'eyes and dimpled cheeks, is
bewitching, forward, and quick as a weasel. He can al-
ready say every thing. Ernest is not nearly as pretty,
only his intelligent brown eyes are very fine ; but he is
tall, active, and very clever for his age."
"11 August, 1821.
"Leopold is very kind to the little boys. Bold Al-
berinchen drags him constantly about by the hand. The
little fellow is the pendant to the pretty cousin ; very
handsome, but too slight for a boy ; lively, very funny,
all good nature, and full of mischief. The other day he
did not know how to make enough of me because I took
him with me in the carriage. He kept on saying, ' Al-
bert is going with grandmamma,' and gave me his little
hand to kiss. ' There, grandmamma, kiss.' "
But the children had another loving relative at Gotha
in their step-maternal godmother, the Duchess of Saxe-
Gotha-Altenburg, second wife of Duke Augustus, father
by his first wife of the Prince's mother.* She was a
very sensible woman, with the kindest heart, and of the
most genuine and unaffected goodness. Charming evi-
dence of these qualities will be found in her letters
quoted in this volume ; whether she gives expression to
her maternal solicitude for the welfare of the people over
* Sec note, page 29.
Letter of Duchess of Gotha. 39
whom her husband had so long reigned, or to the de-
voted love she felt for her grandchildren, in whom, from
their earliest infancy, she took an affectionate interest,
not surpassed by that of their own grandmother at Co-
burg. Indeed, their two grandmothers seemed to vie
with each other as to which should show them the most
love and kindness ; and it is from the letters, now of one,
now of the other, that we get the best account of the
childhood and youth of the young princes.
In the spring of 1822 the Duke and Duchess of Coburg
were absent from Coburg, and the dowager duchess be-
ing also away for a short time, the children were alone
at Coburg. The Duchess of Gotha therefore invited
them to go to her in the following letter to their father,
and the invitation was at once accepted.
11 Gotha, May 2, 1822.
" As your dear mother will not return for some time
to Coburg, and the dear children will consequently be
left alone, I venture to make a proposal, in which my
husband joins, that you should intrust the darlings to our
care. I need not tell you, my dearest son, that while
they are with me, dear to me as they are, they would be
the object of my life ; nor can I say how much such a
mark of your confidence would touch me. However, I
leave it for your consideration, and only beg you will
consider the proposal as a proof of my motherly affec-
tion."
The visit was paid — and on the 26th of June the
young princes returned to Coburg, as mentioned by the
Duchess of Coburg in the following letter:
40 Letters of Duchess of Coburg.
"27 June, 1822.
" Yesterday morning my dear little boys came back
from Gotha, and I was overjoyed. Ernest is very much
grown. He is not as handsome as his father, but he will
have his good figure. Albert is much smaller than his
brother, and lovely as a little angel with his fair curls."
At the beginning of the following year the Dowager
Duchess of Coburg again writes:
"Uth February, 1823.
" The little boys have interrupted me, for you know
how little one can do during such a visit. A couple of
boys always find 'means to be noisy, which, and the loud
talking, calls for many a scolding from grandmamma.
They are very good boys on the whole, very obedient,
and easy to manage. Albert used to rebel sometimes,
but a grave face brings the little fellow to submit Now
he obeys me at a look. Some weeks ago he alarmed us
by an attack of croup, but leeches and a blister quickly
relieved it. If any body complains now, he says, very
wisely, ' You must put on a blister.' "
M. Florschiitz, the tutor, to whose care it will be seen
the boys were removed in the course of this year, says
that Prince Albert at this time was very subject to at-
tacks of croup.
Again, on the 10th of March of the same year, the
duchess writes :
" Ernest's boys have got a picture-book. One of the
pictures represents the carrying off of the Saxon princes.
This interests them greatly, and Albert makes wonder-
Letters of Duchess of Coburg. 41
ful eyes iu telling that one was called Albert, like him-
self."
It has been already mentioned that the young princes
bore the same names as Ernest and Albert, the sons of
the Elector Frederick the Mild, who gave their names
to the two branches into which the Saxon family was
thenceforward divided. The story represented in the
picture above mentioned was, that these princes were
stolen in infancy from the schloss of Altenburg by one
Kunz of Kauffungen, chamberlain to the Elector, in re-
venge for having been compelled to restore property that,
during some disturbances, had been trusted to his care.
"The boys are very wild" — the dowager duchess
writes on the 9th of May — '•' and Ernest flies about like
a swallow. One need not, therefore, be astonished at his
catching cold during these few warm days, with the wind
getting up in the evening.
" Florschiitz, who has been with Mensdorff's boys, will
come now to those of Ernest, of which I am glad. Do
not yet tease your little puss with learning. She is so
young still."
The Princess Victoria, who is thus alluded to, would
not be four years old till the 24th of that month.
42 The Princes' Education.
CHAPTER II.
1823-1826.
The Princes removed to the Care of a Tutor. — Prince Albert's first Jour-
nal and Letters. — Visits to Gotha. — Letters from the Dowager Duchess
of Gotha.
PRINCE ERNEST was barely five years old, and Prince
Albert not yet four, when the change alluded to at the
end of the last chapter took place, and the young princes
were removed from the care of the nurse to whom they
had been hitherto intrusted to that of Herr Florschiitz
of Coburg.
It is generally a severe trial to a child to be separated
for the first time from the nurse by whom it has been
hitherto tended and cared for ; but the Prince, even as a
child, showed a great dislike to being in the charge of
women, and rejoiced instead of sorrowing over the con-
templated change.* His gentle and docile temper, too
— his natural tenderness of heart and readiness to love
those from whom he experienced kindness — soon led
him to attach himself with all the warmth of a loving
nature to his new instructor; and it was a source of just
and honest pride to the tutor, that the attachment and
friendship thus begun endured till the last moment of the
Prince's life. Not that the Prince ever forgot — it was
not in his nature to forget — her to whom his infancy
* Memorandum by the Queen.
The Princes' Education. 43
owed its earliest care ; and Mr. Florschiitz relates that
many little acts of kindness in after years gave Mme.
Miiller the grateful assurance of his remembrance of her.
From this time forward Mr. Florschiitz had the sole
direction of the young princes' education till they left
Bonn, fifteen years later, at the close of their academical
career ; and admirably did he perform his task. Noth-
ing could exceed the patience and unintermitting zeal
with which he gave himself up to his new duties ; and
the progress made by both princes — their varied attain-
ments and extensive information, with the habits which
they acquired of application, and of careful and accurate
investigation of all subjects submitted to them — gave in-
disputable proof of the skill. and judgment with which
he directed their studies. The transfer of the children,
however, from the care of their nurse to that of a tutor,
alarmed their maternal grandmother at Gotha, and in her
tender solicitude, fearing danger to their health from the
change thus made, she wrote as follows to the duke on
the 23d of November, 1823 :
" That the precious children are well makes me very
happy, and I long intensely to see them again. I am
only sorry that they are now in the hands of the tutor.
It is, no doubt, quite right, but I could have wished that,
being so subject to attacks of croup, they should still
have slept with Miiller (their nurse); for a woman, ac-
customed as Miiller has been for so many years to be
with the children, naturally sleeps much less soundly
than a man who is not used to be with little children.
" Should one of them be suddenly seized with a fit of
croup, and he should not be awake, the consequences
44 The Princes' Education.
might be serious. I could, therefore, have wished that
their careful nurse should still have slept with the chil-
dren till Alberinchen was seven years old. Forgive the
anxiety of a grandmother,"
"When the Duchess of Gotha wrote thus, Prince Albert
was still only four years and three months old — certain-
ly rather an early age at which to remove a boy from
the care of a nurse to that of a man who could have no
experience in infantine disorders, and could know noth-
ing of the many little cares and attentions on which the
comfort and health of children so much depend.
Nothing was more remarkable, even in infancy, than
the unselfish affection which united the two brothers.
"Brought up together," says Mr. Florschiitz, "they went
hand-in-hand in all things, whether at work or at play.
Engaging in the same pursuits, sharing the same joys
and the same sorrows, they were bound to each other by
no common feelings of mutual love." And this mutual
love endured without interruption and without diminu-
tion through life.
"Even in infancy, however," their tutor continues, "a
marked difference was observable in their characters and
dispositions. This difference naturally became more ap-
parent as years went on, and their separate paths in life
were definitely marked out for them ; yet, far from lead-
ing at any time to any, even momentary estrangement, it
seems rather to have afforded a closer bond of union be-
tween them."
A striking proof of the warm affection which united
them will be found in a touching letter from Prince Er-
nest to the Queen, written when his brother's marriage
The Princes' Education. 45
was settled, and inserted in its proper place, in -which, he
speaks of the rare qualities and virtues that already dis-
tinguished Prince Albert above all his young associates.
Mr. Morschutz describes the young Prince as being
singularly easy to instruct ; and this, notwithstanding the
difficulties thrown constantly in the way by the injudi-
cious, as he considers it, partiality of their mother ; by
the irregularity of hours, and the interruptions occasion-
ed by their frequent changes of residence, and general
mode of life. His complaints on this subject are fully
detailed in a memorandum of his early recollections,
which will be found presently, inserted at length.
The intellectual and thoughtful turn of the Prince's
character, and his love of order, were even at this early
age conspicuous. His studies were a pleasure to him,
not a task. His constant love of occupation— for, in the
words of his tutor, "to do something was with him a ne-
cessity"— his perseverance and application were only
equaled by his facility of comprehension.
This eager desire for knowledge did not, however, less-
en his enjoyment of the active -sports and amusements
which generally have, and ought to have, so much attrac-
tion for boys. ' Indeed, he seems to have thrown himself
into his bodily exercises with the same zeal with which
he devoted himself to his studies, and to have entered
into the games of boyhood with all the glee and zest of
an ardent and energetic spirit. In these games with his
brother and his young companions, his was the direct-
ing mind. Nor was he at times indisposed to resort to
force, if his wishes were not at once complied with.*
* Memorandum by Mr. Florschti'tz.
46 The Princes' Education.
At this time, however, his tutor says of him that " he
was rather delicate than robust, though already remarka-
ble for his powers of perseverance and endurance."
The King of the Belgians, writing to the Queen in
1864, confirms, for the most part, the account of the
young Prince thus given by Mr. Florschiitz :
" I have seen him," he says, " in 1822, '23, '24, '26, '27,
and '29, chiefly at Coburg, but since 1827 also at Grotha.
He looked delicate in his youngest days. Arthur puts
me most in mind of his looks in those days. He was al-
ways an intelligent child, and held a certain sway over
his elder brother, who rather kindly submitted to it."
There does not appear to have been much to record
during the boyhood of the princes ; and, with the excep-
tion of the unfortunate circumstances of the year 1824,
which resulted in the separation of their parents, to which
reference has already been made, their lives flowed on in
a singularly even and unvarying, but, at the same time,
very happy course. Indeed, the Prince, in after years,
frequently alluded to his happy childhood, and often told
the Queen that he considered it the happiest period of his
whole life.*
The mode of life adopted at this time for the young
princes will be found amply detailed in the memorandum
of their tutor, Herr Florschiitz. But, before proceeding
farther to notice this subject, it may be interesting to read
a few extracts from a journal kept by the young Prince
himself, as well as some of his letters to his father, writ-
ten before he was six years old.
It is matter for regret that the habit of keeping a jour-
* Memorandum by the Queen.
The Prince's Journal. 47
nal, thus early commenced, was not continued through
life, for in after years such a journal could not have failed
to have been of immense interest. In these early days
the journal dictated by the Prince contains, perhaps, noth-
ing that any child of that age might not have written,
though one can not help being pleased with the artless
simplicity of his remarks, as well as with the evident
truth that marks the expression of the child's feelings ;
and, though there may not be any thing in his letters to
distinguish them from those written by other boys of the
same age, the more exalted the position, the more distin-
guished the career of any man has been in after years,
the more we like to know him as a boy, thinking, speak-
ing, and writing as we have ourselves done.
The extracts from the journal which are here given are
dated from January to April, 1825, when the Prince was
not yet six years old. In that year the duke was much
away from home, and during his absence the young
princes spent most of the summer quietly at the Eose-
nau, varied only by a short stay occasionally with their
grandmother at Ketschendorf, and by a visit to their
other grandmother at Gotha.
The journal is as follows :
"2lst January.
" When I got up this morning I was very happy : I
washed myself, and then was dressed ; after which I
played for a little while, then the milk was brought, and
afterward dear papa came to fetch us to breakfast. After
breakfast dear papa showed us the English horses. The
little white one can trot very fast, but the chestnut one
is rather clumsy." (There was an English breeder there.)
48 The Prints Journal.
" After we had seen the horses we did our lessons, and
then put on our boots and went to the Hof-garden. On
our way home we met the little Ledermanns. Then we
went home to dinner.
"After dinner we drove to the Rosenau. Here dear
papa was shooting, and we went a little way with the
shooting-party.
" Waldmann was always wanting to run and chase the
partridges, but we would not let him. Sometimes, how-
ever, he ran away with the string, and we were forced to
run fast after him to catch him again. We drove home,
played, and then went down stairs to dinner, but that
had long been over. We then visited our cousins, came
up stairs again and dined, and then wrote our journals.
" Now 1 am sleepy, I will pray and go to bed."
" 2Sd January.
" When I awoke this* morning I was ill. My cough
was worse. I was so frightened that I cried. Half the
day I remained in bed, and only got up at three o'clock
in the afternoon. I did a little drawing, then I built a
castle and arranged my arms ; after that I did my lessons,
and made a little picture and painted it. Then I played
with Noah's Ark, then we dined, and I went to bed and
prayed."
"26th January.
" . . . . We recited, and I cried because I could not
say my repetition, for I had not paid attention I
was not allowed to play after dinner because I had cried
while repeating. Then Parthenai came, and we talked
French with him. The little boy Mensel came and
brought us some black chalk, with which we drew beau-
The Prince's Journal. 49
tiful pictures. Then we looked over the Picture Acade-
my."*
" 28th January.
" . . . . Papa took us to breakfast, and there I got a
beautiful crown piece. After breakfast we continued our
lessons Then we went down to dear papa, and I
took my needles and rings down with me. . . ."
" llth February, 1825.
" .... I was to recite something, but did not wish to
do so: that was not right — naughty! . . ."
" 20th February.
" . . . . During our walk I told the Rath (the tutor) a
story. When I came home I played with my compan-
ions. But I had left all my lesson-books lying about in
the room, and I had to put them away : then I cried, but
afterward I played again. . . ."
" 28th February.
" .... I cried at my lesson to-day because I could not
find a verb ; and the Rath pinched me, to show me what
a verb was. And I cried about it. . . ."
"2Qth March.
" .... I wrote a letter at home. But, because I had
made so many mistakes in it, the Rath tore it up and
threw it into the fire. I cried about it. . . ."
"27th March.
"... I finished writing my letter. Then I played. . ."
"4th April.
"... After dinner we went with dear papa to Ket-
schendorf. Then I drank beer, and ate bread and but-
ter and cheese. . . ."
* Name of a German book.
c
50 The Prince's Letters.
"8tk April.
"... After dinner we went to Ketscbendorf, and from
Ketschendorf we went to Seidmannsdorf. On the road
I cried. From Seidmannsdorf we went home by the
Eckartsberg. . . . Then we had a French lesson."
"9th April.
"... I got up well and happy ; afterward I had a
fight with my brother. . . . After dinner we went to the
play. It was Wallenstein's 'Lager/ and they carried
out a monk."
"Wth April.
"... I had another fight with my brother : that was
not right."
" 1825.
" DEAR PAPA," he writes about the same time to his
father while staying with his grandmother at Ketschen-
dorf, "we have now been a week at Ketschendorf, and
are quite well. I hope you have arrived safe at Berlin,
but come back to us soon. I long for your return. It
is very fine here. We often stay out till near 10 o'clock,
as it is much finer in the evening than in the day. We
were at the Eosenau a few days ago, but unluckily the
weather was not fine. The wind was very high. We
are going there again to-day with dear grandmamma.
Pikas" (a dog) "is with us at Ketschendorf, but he often
runs away from us. Think of me with love.
" Your ALBERT."
"1825.
" DEAR PAPA, — The day before yesterday we went to
see the Hof-rnarshal, and yesterday the colonel. Our
Letters of the Duchess of Gotha. 51
finches have such a fine house to live in ! Think of me
very often, and bring me a doll that nods its head.
" Your little ALBERT."
A visit to their maternal grandmother at Gotha seems
now to have become an annual custom, and was the
source of much happiness to her, fondly attached as she
was to her grandchildren. .She also came herself occa-
sionally to Coburg, and in June, 1824, writes during one
of these visits :
"The dear children are, thank God! perfectly well,
and as happy and merry as one could wish. They de-
light so much in driving and walking about, that, if one
were to ask them, they would say they never wished to
go home."
And in July, 1825, when the young princes were
again staying with her :
"I can give you," she says, " the very best account of
our dear children. Nothing has ailed them, and I think
that dear little Albert is grown decidedly fatter since he
came. They lead a very simple and regular life, and are
out in the open air as much as possible. They are so
good and gentle, and give me great pleasure. I shall
hope to restore them to you on your return in perfect
health. . . . The dear children wrote to you by the last
post. The ' Kath' really does all he can for them, and
you have a real treasure in him.
"I took the children to Eeinhardsbrunn, where we
spent a very happy day, and yesterday I went with them
to Schnepfenthal, where they were perfectly happy.
The director, Saltzmann, was delighted at my bringing
52 The Prince's Letters.
them, and invited them to come again. We should
make many more such excursions if the weather was not
so unsettled."
In the spring of 1826 we'find the children spending
two months at Gotha under the charge of the good
duchess, and, while staying there, the Prince wrote con-
stantly to his father. It might seem too trivial to give
all his letters here, and the two ^following may be taken
as fair samples of the rest :
"1826.
"DEAR GOOD PAPA, — I am very well. I hope you
are well. Thank you for your letter. We sometimes
make expeditions from here. Last Sunday we went to
Schnepfenthal, and dined with the school-boys. Three
days afterward we went to Keinhardsbrunn, and walked
in the Ungeheurer Grund, where we saw many big
rocks, and on the biggest rock there was a falcon's nest.
I long for the minerals you are. going to bring us.
There was a fair yesterday, and grandmamma gave me
some money, and I bought myself some pretty things — a
Turkish crescent, a whip, an eagle, and a cross-bow.
Think with love of your little ALBERT."
"182G.
" DEAR PAPA, — I thank you for your letter. We were
very merry yesterday. A great many children played
with us. I wish you could have seen us. Think with
love of your little ALBERT."
The last of the letters quoted above refers to a practice
which was commenced in the winter of 1825, and was
Juvenile Amusements. 53
continued without interruption for the next eight years,
of having, every Sunday during the winter months,
twelve or thirteen boys of their own age to play with
them. In subsequent letters from the Prince, frequent
allusion will be found to their young associates, and to
the games in which they joined with them. From two
till six they were allowed to play as they liked. From
six till seven each boy had to recite something ; in later
years, discussions upon a given subject in; some foreign
language being substituted for these recitations.*
*. Memorandum by the reigning Duke of Coburg.
54 Negotiations.
CHAPTER III.
1826-1828.
Gotha added to the Possessions of the Duke of Coburg. — Difficulties
of the Settlement. — Letters from the Dowager Duchess of Coburg. —
School Fete at the Rosenau. — Visits to Gotha. — Letters from the Dow-
ager Duchess of Gotha. — Recollections of Count Arthur Mensdorff.
IN 1826, after considerable difficulty and discussion,
the arrangement was completed by -which the duchy of
Gotha was given to the Duke of Coburg.
We need not enter here into the difficulties which at-
tended the negotiations farther than they will be found no-
ticed in some of the letters that follow from the Dowager
Duchess of Coburg. Suffice it to say that, by the death,
in 1825, without issue male, of Frederick, duke of Saxe-
Gotha-Altenburg, the direct succession of the Gotha- Al-
tenburg branch of the Ernestine line came to an end, and
the inheritance passed to other branches of the same line.
After much delay, owing chiefly to the exorbitant pre-
tensions of the Duke of Meiningen, it was finally settled
that, in consideration of the acquisition of the duchy of
Gotha, the Duke of Coburg should cede that of Saalfeld
to the Duke of Meiningen, Hildburghausen being also
added to the inheritance of the latter duke ; the Duke of
Hildburghausen receiving in exchange the duchy of
Saxe-Altenburg, and assuming that title.
"Ernest is very busy just now," writes the Dowager
Negotiations. 55
Duchess of Coburg from Ketschendorf, on the 30th of
May, 1826, "as the Saxon Commissioners are here to set-
tle about the inheritance. It will be a difficult task, as
the Duke of Meiningen and oldK are very obstinate.
General M is a good and sensible man, who would
like to make all straight, and fears he will have to return
to Dresden without any thing having been settled
He went first to Hildburghausen, taking with him the
ultimatum of the old Duke of Meiningen, who is the se-
nior of the Ernestine line The ultimatum was to
the effect that the duke would enter into no arrangement
except :
" 1. That he should retain all his possessions, besides
acquiring Hildburghausen, Coburg, and Saalfeld ; that he
should be the only Duke of Coburg, founding a new
duchy of Coburg.
" 2. Ernest to have Gotha (Hildburghausen, Alten-
burg), and to give up the name which your great-uncle
and your brothers made so celebrated! S is gotie to
Meiningen with the answer that Ernest will neither give
up Coburg nor the name of his family."
To the Dowager Duchess of Gotha the termination of
the Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg line, and the separation of
those duchies, was an event inexpressibly painful ; and
she gives vent to her feelings in the following touching
letter to the duke, which, as it relates exclusively to this
subject, we insert here, though somewhat anticipating the
date at which it was written. Second wife and widow
of Duke Augustus, the predecessor of the duke just de-
ceased, it wiH be remembered that she was step-mother
56 Succession to the Duchy of Gotha.
to Louise, duchess of Coburg, the mother of our princes ;
and the devoted love she bore to her step-grandchildren,
to which all her letters quoted in this memoir bear wit-
ness, was of a piece with the affectionate and maternal in-
terest this excellent and most amiable woman now ex-
presses in the welfare and happiness of those who had
been her husband's subjects.
"I need not tell you," she writes to the Duke of Co-
burg from Kumpenheim,* on the 5th of September, 1826,
"I need not tell you that I thanked God when I heard
that the duchy of Gotha had become yours. It was a
great comfort to me, for there is no one in whom I have
more confidence than in yourself, my dear duke.f But
you must also feel and know that this event opens afresh
many wounds. The division of the beloved land, to
which it was my happiness to be a mother, naturally
grieves me. Yet, my dear duke, I love you, your pre-
cious children, and the dear country too well not to keep
my heart open to my beloved people of Gotha; and
whenever it may be in my power to help these faithful
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — Rumpenhcim belonged to the Landgraf of
Hesse, father to the Duchess of Cambridge, and uncle to the Duke and
Duchess of Gotha, who was daughter of the Elector of Hesse-Cassel. It
now belongs to the Duchess of Cambridge, her three brothers and two
sisters.
t Mr. Perthes, on this occasion, wrote as follows to a friend: "My
monarchical principles have gained many new adherents, for all suddenly
fall down before the new prince. Certainly he is, like Saul, head and
shoulders taller than the rest of the people, full of princely dignity, very
judicious, and consequently very popular. He knows and is interested
about every subject ; in short, the whole world is bewitched witli him, and
men of all parties have suddenly become ducaltzed." — Memoirs of Freder-
ick Perthes, by his son, Professor Perthes, of Bonn.
Letter of the Duchess of Cdburg. 57
subjects by word or deed, or by intercession for them
•with their kind sovereign, I will do so as long as God
shall spare me.
" I am convinced that you, my dear friend, will do all
in your power to make your new subjects happy. Their
prosperity is now intrusted to you. I shall hope for the
pleasure of seeing you and the dear children often at
Gotha. Surely, when you come for the first time, you
intend to bring these darlings with you, to gratify us all."
In fact, the hope of now seeing more of her beloved
grandchildren was almost her only consolation under the
pain caused by this change.
It was not, however, till the month of November that
the change was completed by the ratification of the family
convention giving Gotha to the Duke of Coburg ; and it
was toward the end of the year that the duke, accompa-
nied by the young princes, made his formal entry into
Gotha on taking possession of his new inheritance.
In the mean time the princes continued to reside as
usual, under the care of their tutor, at Coburg and the
Kosenau, and in the summer of this year we find them
attending a fete of school children at the latter pkce, and
taking a principal part in the proceedings of the day.
The Dowager Duchess of Coburg, writing from Kets-
chendorf to the Duchess of Kent on the 4th of July, thus
describes what took place :
"I think I told you that the annual school feast had
been held on Ernest's birthday, and, to return this com-
pliment, your brother gave a treat to all the school chil-
dren last Sunday. (lie had waited for Leopold.) We
C2
58 Letter of the Duchess of Golha.
dined on the meadow, and watched from, a stand over-
looking the whole place the arrival of the little ones in
their gay attire. They were to be treated, at four long
tables, to cake and wine, and later in the evening to sau-
sages. 1300 children were thus assembled, and they
must have had lectures on good manners in their schools,
for they behaved exceedingly well, not indulging in
screaming or excessive merriment. It was a most pleas-
ant sight, that of these happy young people playing on
the large meadow, and jumping about like grasshoppers.
Ernest and Albert went in full armor to meet a proces-
sion of knights and hunters, the whole Freischutz, Samiel
included, and led them on to the platform to Leopold.
Ernest stammered forth a short address (for his comrades
confused him), in which he thanked his kind uncle for
having come across the sea to spend the feast with them,
and begged his favor for Albert, his comrades, and him-
self."
Shortly after this the Dowager Duchess of Gotha paid
a visit to Baden. Passing Meiningen on her way there,
the children were sent to that place to see her, and she
thus notices their visit in a letter written from Baden on
the 16th of July, 1826:
" How can I thank you sufficiently for having sent the
dear children to me to Meiningen ? It was the most wel-
come present for my birthday, the day after. I found them
both much improved and grown, looking so health}' ;
and Albert more handsome than ever. Dear Ernest so
good and kind.
"I hope the dear children arrived safely at home the
Letter of the Duchess of Coburg. 59
next day, and have given you many kind messages from
me. I kiss them a thousand times. They have been so
charming and good.
" Please have the kindness and goodness to write to
me as often as possible, and if business prevents your do-
ing so, pray let Florschiitz do it, for it would be too pain-
ful to me to be left, while so far away, without constant
news from yourself and the dear children."
The next letter is from the Dowager Duchess of Co-
burg to the Duchess of Kent:
"17th August, 1826.
"I see by the English newspapers that 'his Majesty*
and H. R H. the Duchess of Kent went on Virginia Wa-
ter.' The little monkeyf must have pleased and amused
him. She is such a pretty, clever child. The bigger
monkey^ was always much in favor.
" Alberinchen looks rather pale this summer. He is
delicate: the heat tries him, and he grows fast. In jump-
ing and running about he is as little backward as his
brother."
We have already read, in a former letter from the
Dowager Duchess of Gotha, her strong and touching ex-
pression of affectionate solicitude for the continued hap-
piness and prosperity of a people who were very dear to
her as the subjects of her late husband; and in the two
following letters, expressive of the love she bore to
her grandchildren, the feelings naturally excited by the
* George IV. f Princess Victoria.
J Princess Fcodore, now Princess Ilohenlohe.
60 Letters of the Duchess of Gotha.
changes that had occurred at Gotha still show them-
selves.
"May God spare you and the dearly beloved chil-
dren," she writes on the 30th of October, 1826, " for
many years to come, and grant you every possible hap-
piness. It is natural that I should be much moved; but
it will, nevertheless, be a great comfort to see you, and, I
hope also, the dear children. I am sure they will never
find a more faithful or true friend than myself, and of
this I trust you are convinced."
And again, on the 26th of November of the same
year :
" How thankful I am that you and the dear children
are coming. I will think of this as the only alleviation
to my sorrow Is it not too long a day's journey
from Coburg to Ichtershausen for the dear children ; and
in this horrible weather ? Would it not be perhaps bet-
ter to make this stage in two days ? Excuse this advice,
but I am afraid the children might arrive unwell."
Soon after this letter was written the expected visit
was paid. The duke, accompanied by hi^ children, made
his formal entry into Gotha on taking possession of his
new inheritance. He remained there, however, but a
short time, and returned to Coburg by the beginning of
the new year. The weather was bitterly cold, and the
duchess trembled lest the children should suffer on their
journey home.
" Thank God !" she writes on the 4th of January, 1827,
" that you and the dear children, whom I tenderly em-
brace, have arrived safely at home, in spite of this terri-
Gotha and Reinliardsbrunn. 61
ble weather. I am glad the latter did not stop at Mein-
ingen. The cold rooms might have done them harm."
The accession of their father to the dukedom of Gotha
made a necessary change in the usual round of the young
princes' lives. Up to this time they had resided con-
stantly at Coburg or in its immediate vicinity, spending
the spring and summer months at the Eosenau, those of
autumn and winter in the city. After 1826, Gotha, and
Eeinhardsbrunn in its immediate neighborhood, were
added to their regular places of abode at certain seasons
of the year.
It will easily be imagined, from the tone of the letters
from her, which have been already quoted, how mucji
pleasure this gave to the good duchess their grandmoth-
er— how she rejoiced at the arrival of the season which
brought them to Gotha, and how fondly she wrote to
them, and of them, during their absence at Coburg. Her
grandchildren returned her love with equal affection, of
which our Prince gives an affecting proof in a beautiful
letter, written many years later, to announce his intended
marriage.* The duchess writes on the 7th of April, 1827,
"Yesterday I received charming letters from the dear
children, whom I thank a thousand times. God grant
that they may continue well, and may escape the scarlet
fever and measles."
It does not appear that, as a child, Prince Albert ever
had either of these disorders. He had the measles very
many years later in England. But it will be seen in Mr.
Florschiitz's memorandum that, though he was kept in
* Chap, x., page 197.
62 Letters of the Duchess of Gotlm.
bed for eight days when his brother had the scarlet fever
in 1829, he showed no symptoms of the disorder, and the
only reason for this confinement appears to have been
the excessive caution of the doctor, who seems to have
assumed that if one brother had the fever the other must
of necessity have it also.*
The Prince's birthday was never passed over by his
grandmother without a kind letter, and in August, 1827,
she writes from Baden : " Kiss your dear children for me,
and congratulate dear Albert on his birthday. May God
preserve the beloved child to us. I have asked Flor-
schiitz to give my present on that day. It is for both
boys ; may it give them pleasure. I wish with all my
hgart that you may spend the day happily together, and
think sometimes also of me."
In December, 1827, we again find the children on a
visit to their grandmother at Gotha, for she writes to the
duke on the 22d: "I hasten to give you news of the
children, who are enjoying excellent health. Since you
left us they breakfast with me, which seems to give them
great pleasure. I hope it was not contrary to your
wishes that I allowed them to go to the opera last night,
as a very good piece was given. The dear children wish
to be respectfully remembered to their beloved father,
and hope, with me, soon to have the pleasure of seeing
him again."
* Notwithstanding what Mr. Florschiitz says, who is the authority for
the statement in the text, the Queen says Prince Albert certainly had the
scarlet fever at this time. "At least," her Majesty adds, "he himself
always maintained this, and therefore visited his children regularly when
thoy had it in 1855."
Letters of the Duchess of Gotha. 63
The young princes remained under their grandmoth-
er's care at Gotha till the end of January, 1828, and she
writes, on their departure on the 30th of that month, " I
will not let the dear children go without a line to recall
me to your remembrance, my dear duke. God grant
that the darlings may arrive safely at home. They leave
this perfectly well and happy. Since the 24th they have
been my daily guests in the morning and afternoon. I
can not say enough in praise of their good behavior, and
I shall feel the separation from them very much. To
their great delight, I have gratified their ardent wish to
have another goat, which has been sent to -day. I entreat
that they may be allowed to keep them all three. They
have already arranged every thing for two carriages.
Albert wishes to drive the little goat. Happy children !
how much are they to be envied for the power of being
pleased with so little! I allowed them to go to the
theatre several times, as they were so delighted with it,
and they had borne the confinement to their rooms so
patiently. Do not let them take much medicine, nor
hear much about their health ; it only makes them nerv-
ous. A well-regulated diet and mode of life is much bet-
ter than medicine, and as much air as possible."
" On our dear Ernest's birthday," the duchess again
writes, June 26, 1828, "I have also thought much of you,
my dear duke. May God grant you much happiness
through the good child who, together with his brother,
is our comfort and hope."
Count Mensdorff, married, as has been mentioned, to
the duke's eldest sister, and holding high rank in the
Austrian service, was at this time Governor of Mayence;
64 Alberts Letter to his Father.
and in 1828 the young princes paid a visit there, to his
sons their cousins.
Prince Albert, then in his ninth year, gives his father
the following account of the visit :
"Mayence, 1828.
" DEAR PAPA, — I can not thank you half enough for
letting us have the pleasure of coming to Mayence to see
our cousins.
"Mayence was hardly in sight when our uncle and
cousins met us on horseback. We were very much as-
tonished when we saw the Ehine in the valley, with its
bridge of boats; but the water of the Maine and the
Ehine is so different that you can not mistake them.
The Maine has red and the Ehine green water.
Yesterday we drove to Wiesbaden, and from Wiesbaden
rode on donkeys to the Platte,* which is two hours from
Wiesbaden. The day before we were at Biberich. . . .
Keep your love for your ALBERT."
The intimacy thus early begun between the cousins
seems to have been kept up with undiminished affection
throughout life ; and Count Arthur Mensdorff, in 1863,
gives the Queen the following account of his recollec-
tions of those early days. It was written, as will be
seen, in answer to a wish expressed by the Queen,
through the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg; and in addition to
the interest attaching to what he tell us of the Princess
boyhood, and of the traits of character that already dis-
tinguished him, it affords pleasing evidence of his own
* A shooting lodge on the hill above Wiesbaden belonging to the Duke
of Nassau.
Count Mensdorff's Recollections. 65
affection for his cousin — of manly sorrow for bis loss, and
sympathy with the Queen's still greater affliction.
COUNT ARTHUR MENSDORFF TO THE QUEEN.
" Castle Eintid, March 1C, 1863.
"I was deeply touched by the receipt of your gracious
present: the photographs, which are a real treasure to
me, and the splendid book on the dear, great Albert.
"The small prints representing you in your widow's
dress have moved me deeply, and remind me sadly of the
last happy days I spent with you in England in 1848,
when Albert, my dear aunt, and the whole group of
blooming children were gathered round you. I hardly
dare call them children now, for some of them are mar-
ried princes and princesses, who scarcely remember their
old cousin in the mountains of Styria.
" How terribly has all this changed! How many no-
ble and beloved beings has it pleased the Almighty to
call into his kingdom, leaving us behind — alone and de-
serted! But what a dreadful heavy trial God has sent
2/ow, my broken-hearted cousin ! And yet it is through
His mercy and loving kindness that you have found
strength to support the burden of this joyless life with
such beautiful, such exemplary resignation !
"Alexandrine* has written to me that you wish me to
write down all I can recollect of the early years of our
beloved departed one. I will try and do so.
"Albert, as a child, was of a mild, benevolent disposi-
tion. It was only what he thought unjust or dishonest
that could make him angry. Thus I recollect one day
* Duchess of Coburjr.
66 Count Mensdorff's Recollections.
when we children, Albert, Ernest, Ferdinand, Augustus,
Alexander, myself, and a few other boys (if I am not mis-
taken, Paul "Wangenheim was one) were playing at the
Eosenau, and some of us were to storm the old ruined
tower on the side of the castle, which the others were to
defend. One of us suggested that there was a place at
the back by which we could get in without being seen,
and thus capture it without difficulty. Albert declared
that this 'would be most unbecoming in a Saxon knight,
who should always attack the enemy in front,' and so we
fought for the tower so honestly and vigorously that Al-
bert, by mistake, for I was on his side, gave me a blow
upon the nose, of which I still bear the mark. I need not
say how sorry he was for the wound he had given me.
"Albert never was noisy or wild. He was always
very fond of Natural History and more serious studies,
and many a happy hour we spent in the Ehrenburg,* in
a small room under the roof, arranging and dusting the
collections our cousins had themselves made and kept
there. He urged me to begin making a similar collection
myself, so that we might join, and form together a good
cabinet.
"This was the commencement of the collections at Co-
burg in which Albert always took so much interest.
" Albert thoroughly understood the naivete of the Co-
burg national character, and he had the art of turning
people's peculiarities into a source of fun. He had a nat-
ural talent for imitation, and a great sense of the ludi-
crous, either in persons or things ; but he was never se-
vere or ill-natured, the general kindness of his disposition
* The palace at Cobnrg.
Count Mensdorff's Recollections. 67
preventing him. from pushing a joke, however he might
enjoy it, so as to hurt any one's feelings. Every man has,
more or less, a ridiculous side, and to quiz this, in a friend-
ly and good-humored manner, is, after all, the pleasantest
description of humor. Albert possessed this rare gift in
an eminent degree.
" From his earliest infancy he. was distinguished for
perfect moral purity, both in word and in deed, and to
this he owed the sweetness of disposition so much ad-
mired by every one.
" Even as a child he was very fond of chess, and he,
Ernest, Alexander, and myself often played the great
four game. This led often to jokes, but sometimes to
ridiculous quarrels, which, however, owing to his good-
ness of heart, always ended good-humoredly.
"While still very young, his heart was feelingly alive
to the sufferings of the poor. I saw him one day give a
beggar something by stealth, when he told me not to
speak of it ; ' for when you give to the poor,' he said,
'you must see that nobody knows of it.'
" He was always fond of shooting and fishing, as far
as his natural kind feeling would permit, for a wounded
animal always excited his warmest compassion.
" One day, out shooting at Coburg, I was hit by a
chance shot, and he was the person who showed the
greatest concern and evinced the truest anxiety about
my accident.
"In order to refresh my memory I have looked over
the letters which our mutual grandmother wrote to me
when I was a child, and which I still preserve with other
relics. In one dated March 1st, 1831, she says : ' Last
68 Count Mensdorff^s Recollections.
night your cousins and some playfellows, Paul Wangen-
heim, the eldest Gilsa, the little Birner, and Emil Piani,
acted proverbs in my room, extemporizing the dialogue
for the most part. Albert as a quack, with a pigtail and
paunch, was too ridiculous. Ernest, as a lady, looked
quite like your mother when she was a girl : he distrib-
uted the'playbills. Piani represented a drunken promp-
ter. In short, there was a good deal of fun and laughter.'
"In later years we saw much less of each other. In
1889, when I was serving in the Austrian Lancers, we
met at Toplitz, and from thence drove together to Carls-
bad, to see Uncle Ernest. Eos* was in the carriage.
During our journey Albert confided to me, under the
seal of the strictest confidence, that he was going to En-
gland to make your acquaintance, and that if you liked
each other you were to be engaged. He spoke very
seriously about the difficulties of the position he would
have to occupy in England, but ho'ped that dear Uncle
Leopold would assist him with his advice. We were at
that moment approaching the station where we were to
change horses. He asked me the name of the place, which
I told him was Buchau, a little village known all round
as a sort of Kr'dliwinlcel, famous for all sorts of ludicrous
stories about the inhabitants. We drove into the place,
the postillion blowing his horn and cracking his whip.
Albert, seeing a large crowd assembled round the post-
house, said to me, ' Quick ; stoop down in the carriage,
and we will make Eos look out of the window, and all
the people will wonder at the funny prince.' We did so,
* A beautiful and favorite black greyhound that the Prince brought
with him to England.
Count Mensdorjfs Recollections. 69
and the people had to satisfy their curiosity with Eos.
The horses were soon changed, and we drove off, laugh-
ing heartily at our little joke.
" Some time ago I collected all the letters I have of
dearest Albert's, and in one of them I found a passage
most characteristic of his noble way of thinking, as shown
and maintained by him from his earliest childhood.
" ' The poor soldiers,' he says, ' always do their duty in
the most brilliant manner ; but as soon as matters come
again into the hands of politicians and diplomats, every
thing is again spoiled and confused. Oxenstiern's saying
to his son may still be quoted : " My son, when you look
at things more closely, you will be surprised to find with
how little wisdom the world is governed." I should like
to add, ' and with how little morality.' "
" How much these words contain ! We again see the
Saxon knight, who, as a child, declared that you must
attack your enemy m front, who hates every crooked
path ; and, on the other hand, the noble heart which feels
deeply the misfortune of a government not guided by
reason and morality.
" I am sorry to say that these are all my recollections
of old times. The changes we have had, the wars and
revolutions, may have obliterated many dear recollec-
tions.
" The noise of the festivities around you will have
been most painful to you, causing many a wound to
bleed afresh.
" May the Almighty bless this young pair, and may
Albert's spirit descend upon his son.
"ARTHUR MENSDORFF."
70 The Princes' Amusements.
CHAPTER IY.
1828-1831.
Life at the Rosenau, etc. — Journals and Letters of Prince Albert. —
Death of the Dowager Duchess of Coburg.
THE years 1829 and 1830 seem to have been passed
by the princes in the quiet routine of their studies and
other occupations, their residence at Coburg and the
llosenau being only interrupted by the visits, now grown
periodical, to Gotha.
The duke, their father, had been absent for some time
in the winter of 1828-29, and on the 16th of January of
the latter year we find Prince Albert, now in the tenth
year of his age, writing, by direction of his grandmother
(probably from Ketschendorf, where she resided), to say
how sorry they were at his staying away so long, and
to express their joy to hear he was soon coming back.
Again, on the 28th of the same month, he gives his
father an account of the manner in which he and his
brother, with their young companions, the sons of the
principal people of Coburg, who came constantly on Sun-
days and other holidays to play with them, according to
the practice established, as already noticed, in 1825, had
been amusing themselves.
They dragged some hand-sledges up to the Festung
(the old fortress above Coburg), and " there," he writes,
Letter of the Duchess of Coburg. 71
" we and some other boys got into our sledges, and went
the whole way down to the gate of the schloss."
In March, 1829, we find the young princes, with their
tutor, going out to dine with their grandmother at Ket-
^schendorf. The following letter in which this is men-
tioned is also interesting from the insight which it gives
into the sound and liberal views of the duchess. What
a salutary influence must she not have exercised over
the young and candid mind of our Prince, and how much
may she not have contributed, by her precepts and her
example, to the development of those truly liberal and
constitutional principles by which he was always distin-
guished ?
This letter is written to the Duchess of Kent, evidently
in answer to one in which the duchess must have men-
tioned the introduction, by the government of the Duke
of Wellington, of a Bill for the Emancipation of the Ko-
man Catholics.
"In spite of your great prudence, my dear," the duch-
ess writes on the 23d of March, " I must speak of politics
— namely, that which now interests me — the Emancipa-
tion ! I say, 'God save the King ;' and again, ' God bless
the Duke of Wellington !' It is very right in the hero
of the Peninsula to stand up so manfully for what he
commenced with so much judgment. How they will
laugh at the Prussian general, whom they do not like as
it is, at Berlin ! Ernest begs to be remembered to you.
He is very busy planting. The cold March of this spring
is more favorable to it than usual.
" I must leave off now, as my company is just arriving
72 The Princes' Amusements.
for dinner, namely, the young gentlemen and Mr. Flor-
schiitz. They are dear boys; — so clever and merry. Er-
nest is beginning to grow handsome. He has very fine
brown eyes, white teeth, and a fair and rosy complexion.
He will have his father's fine, tall figure. Albert is,
very good-looking, very clever, but is not so strong as
his brother."
In July of this year the brothers were again on a visit
to their other grandmother at Gotha : " Let me give
you," the duchess writes to the duke, on the 31st of
July, "the assurance that our dear children are very well
and happy. I see them every day, and often more than
once. Yesterday afternoon they dined with me, and rode
out afterward. They have just breakfasted with me, and
to-morrow they intend making a little excursion to Glei-
cheri."
In a journal kept by the Prince in 1830, when he was
not yet eleven years old, he gives an account, which is
not without interest, of the manner in which he and his
brother were in the habit of amusing themselves with
their young companions ; he also describes the great
Protestant festival, in celebration of the Confession of
Augsburg, which was held at Coburg in June of that
year.
The princes were very fond of assuming the characters
of the most distinguished worthies of old times, and of
making the most remarkable incidents in by-gone Ger-
man history the subject of their games. On the occasion
mentioned in the following extracts from Prince Albert's
The Prince's Journal. 73
journal, it is not without interest to observe that when
the boy selected to play the emperor was missing, he was
to be replaced by another boy chosen by lot from among
those who were to represent the different dukes. The
lot fell worthily on the Prince himself.
But the journal is chiefly interesting from one short
entry in it, strongly indicative of that trait in the Prince's
character which was, perhaps, the most remarkable, as be-
ing, certainly, the most rare in those born to such high
rank — his thoughtful consideration, namely, for others.
When lamenting the disappointment to himself and his
companions of the 'pleasure which they had promised
themselves, and which a wet day had put a stop to, his
thoughts seem to turn quite naturally to the still wider
disappointment occasioned to the children of the whole
town, whose festival was spoiled by the bad weather.
The extracts here given embrace a period extending
from January to the end of August, 1830 :
" ITth January.
" Sunday. When I woke this morning, the first thing
I thought of was the afternoon when we expected our
playfellows. The tallest and one of the cleverest, Emil
Gilsa, was to be our emperor. Ernest was to be Duke
of Saxony, and was to have two Counts Eottenhahn, the
elder M. von Schauroth, a Preger and a Borner, and one
of our rooms was to be his duchy.
"Paul von Wangenheim was to be Duke of Bavaria,
and his followers were to be the younger M. von Schau-
roth, a Piani and a Miiller, and he also had a room ; and
I was to be Duke of Burgundy, and Herman, Achill,Vic-
tor and Edward von Gilsa, were to belong to me, and
D
74 The Prince's Journal.
another of our rooms was to be my duchy. We dined
with dear grandmamma. After dinner we returned
home, and our playfellows had already arrived ; but we
heard with great horror that Achill and Emil von Gilsa
(our chosen emperor) were ill, and that the two Mess, von
Schauroth were gone out sledging and would come later.
We therefore decided on choosing an emperor from
among the dukes, and lots were to decide who it was
to be. Fortune favored me, and I was emperor. We
played very happily till half past eight o'clock.
"8th April.
" Thursday. This morning at eight o'clock we went to
the church in the town, where they sang Graun's music.
After church we went on foot to the Kalenberg. Here
the stork had made us some presents. When we had
found all the eggs and cracknels, we dined with dear
papa "
"9th April.
"Friday. To-day we went to the town church again at
eight o'clock, where they sang the third part of Graun's
Passion music After church papa showed us a
large leaden bird-cage which he was going to give us on
our birthday. In the centre of the cage was an owl, and
a fountain of water spirted from his beak up to the top
of the cage."
" 17th April.
" After dinner I played with our companions. We
played Wallenstein's Camp. Leopold was Wallenstein.
After that we went down stairs, then we came up again,
and our companions went away. Then we dined, and
afterward went to the play, where Wallenstein was
stabbed. , , ."
The Prince's Journal. 75
"26tk April.
" . . . . We dined with papa at the Eosenau. Then
we went home, where I sang with the Eath."
"21s* June.
" To-day was my brother Ernest's birthday. We spent
this day, in spite of the rain, very happily together.
" We drove into the town after dear papa had given
Ernest many beautiful presents, and visited dear grand-
mamma. The bad weather not only spoiled our happi-
ness, but that of the children of the whole town too, as
just on this day a school festival happened to fall.
"We spent the afternoon at Ketschendorf with some
of our companions.
"In the evening we went to see a menagerie which
consisted chiefly of serpents."
Celebration of the third Secular Festival of the Confession of
Augsburg. This Festival was celebrated during three
days.
" 25th June.
" Friday. This morning we drove into the town in or-
der to take part personally in the proceedings of this
day, which is such an important one for Protestants.
The ceremony commenced at nine o'clock. It consisted
principally of a very fine and long procession, which I
will now describe.
" A band of music led the way ; then came the stu-
dents of the Gymnasium, with all their professors: they
were followed by all the boys from the school, with their
teachers; then came all the clergy, who moved slowly
forward, chanting as they went along ; next came the
76 The Prince's Journal.
two chamberlains with their long wands ; they were fol-
lowed by dear papa and the whole court ; and all the
officials of the town brought the procession to a close.
"It was a most imposing sight. The procession
wound round the market-place to the Church of St. Mo-
ritz, at the doors of which the clergy were stationed.
"The General Superintendent Genzler addressed a
few words to dear papa, in which he mentioned the
Electors who used to celebrate this festival in these sa-
cred walls. He concluded with a blessing.
" All who stood round were moved to tears by this
address. In the church the general superintendent also
preached. No procession left the church.
"We spent the afternoon at Ketschendorf, while dear
papa paid a visit to the King of Bavaria at Banz."
" 26th June.
"Saturday. This day was devoted particularly to the
young people.
"At nine o'clock we went to the school-house, and
heard a discourse on the present festival by the Co-rector
Gremier. Then we went to General Superintendent
Genzler's garden, and afterward to the Gymnasium,
where we heard another discourse on the festival by Di-
rector Wendel.
"In the afternoon all the school children, joined by
several schools from the country and the students of the
Gymnasium, accompanied by an immense concourse of
people, went up to the fortress."
"27th June.
" Sunday. We breakfasted to-day in the Hof-garden,
and experienced great heat. At ten o'clock we went to
The Prince's Journal. 77
church. This day was the third day of the festival.
We dined with the company also in the Hof-garden.
In the evening Ernest drove with papa to Ketschendorf.
I could not go with them, as my nose bled. "We did not
remain much longer at Coburg, but returned immediate-
ly to the Kosenau."
"9<A July.
"Friday. It rained so incessantly the whole morning
that we thought there was going to be another Del-
uge "
"Ilth July.
" Sunday. This was a very pleasant and happy day
for us. ... The Eosenau was visited by town and coun-
try people, as if there had been a fete here. ... In the
morning Paul (Wangenheim) paid us a visit, and helped
us to draw some of the scenes in our stories. In the aft-
ernoon we had the pleasure of having seven of our play-
fellows to dinner, with whom we then played very hap-
pily till the evening."
"28tkand29tk My.
" Wednesday passed in the usual manner. On Thurs-
day the bird-shooting began. We had our lessons in the
morning as usual, and after dinner drove to Ketschen-
dorf, from whence we were to go with dear grandmam-
ma to the Green, where a party was to be given in honor
of Aunt Julia. The heat was oppressive, and many peo-
ple were there. . . ."
"25th August.
" Wednesday. Papa is going to Gotha to-morrow;
therefore my birthday, which is really to-morrow, is to be
kept to-day. I was awoke by some beautiful music. At
78 Letters of the Duchess of Coburg.
9 o'clock papa gave me a quantity of beautiful presents.
. . . We dined in the afternoon with some of our com-
panions at the Rosenau. After dinner we played very
happily with our playfellows. In the evening we were
at a ball in the Castle at Coburg, and only got to bed at
half past 10 o'clock."
On the 24th of May of this year the young Princess
Victoria had completed her eleventh year, and her grand-
mother, the Dowager Duchess of Coburg, sends the fol-
lowing beautiful letter of congratulation to her daughter
on that occasion :
"3%, 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 mind and heart!
The rays of the sun are scorching at the height to
which she may one day attain. 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 untarnished. How
well I can sympathize 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 !"
Again, after the death of George IV., in June follow-
ing: "God bless Old England, where my beloved chil-
dren live, and where the sweet blossom of May may one
day reign ! May God yet for many years keep the
weight of a crown from her young head, and let the in-
telligent clever child grow up to girlhood before this
dangerous grandeur devolves upon her !"
The Prince's Letters to his Father. 79
One of the first acts of the Parliament that met after
the accession of William IV. was to pass a Eegency Bill,
by which it was. settled that, in the event of the king's
death, the regency, during the young princess's minority,
should be given to the Duchess of Kent. The following
letter refers to this arrangement :
" Dec. 7, 1830.
" I should have been very sorry if the regency had
been. given into other hands than yours. It would not
have been a j ust return, for your constant devotion and
care to your child if this had not been done. May God
give you wisdom and strength to do your duty, if called
upon to undertake it. May God bless and protect our
little darling ! If I could but once see her again ! The
print you sent me of her is not like the dear picture
I have. The quantity of curls hide the well -shaped
head, and make it look too large for the lovely little
figure." .
But we must return to the young princes, who had, as
usual, been spending the greatest part of the year at Co-
burg.
On the 19th of July, the Prince writes to his father to
say they are quite well ; and, after telling him what they
have been doing, adds : " We have plenty of time to
work both in the house and in the garden, and employ it
well in working hard to become good and useful men,
and to give you pleasure.
The Prince was now in his twelfth year, and all his
letters give unmistakable proof of his natural warmth of
heart. They are full of the most simple and unaffected
80 Letters to his Father.
expressions of his affection for his father, of love for their
home, and of his anxious desire to improve himself, and
make the most of his time ; and this last desire not ex-
pressed, as is too often the case, without much thought,
or with only a passing wish to please a father, but as the
ruling impulse of his heart, which never ceased to influ-
ence him till the day of his death.
In January, 1831, the duke seems to have left the
princes at the Eosenau while he himself went to Gotha,
and on the 30th Prince Albert writes :
"DEAR PAPA, — We were really anxious about your
journey, for we feared that you would have been stopped
in your sledge, as, with us, it rained nearly the whole
day ; and we were the more rejoiced to hear yesterday,
from dear grandmamma, that you had arrived safely.
But the weather has quite changed. It snowed without
stopping for three or four days, and the- snow is very
deep. The drifts are six feet high at the Festung, as we
found out ourselves yesterday. "We walked to Ketschen-
dorf, and thence through the snow, by an unbeaten track
through Herr von Schauroth's garden, to the Festung,
and sank several times up to our middle in the snow.
To-day it is beautiful, but cold, for it is twelve degrees
below the freezing-point.
"You will forgive me, dear papa, for not writing to
you before, but we had so much to do all the week that
I could not do so till to-day — Sunday. We are quite
well, and hope that you are as well at Gotha. Prince
Eeuss will be present at the Academy to-day, and as
soon as I have finished my letter I will work at my
poem, that I may get the prize this afternoon."
Letters to his Father. 81
" ' Fiinfter'* visits us still very often. We hope soon
to see you again, and with this hope I remain your at-
tached son, ALBERT.
" Coburg, 30th January, 1831."
This was the year when Europe was so severely visit-
ed by the cholera, and (whether owing to this circum-
stance or not — the Eosenau being probably exempt from
the visitation — is not mentioned) Prince and Princess
Ferdinand, brother and sister-in-law to the duke, with
their children and the Princess Kohary, spent part of
the year at the Eosenau. In July of that year, how-
ever, the brothers were again here by themselves ; and
here, with the exception of a short visit to their grand-
mother at Gotha, they seem to have remained during the
absence of the duke, who paid a visit to England in the
course of that month. The letters which follow allude
to that visit, and give a pleasing account of the life of the
young princes meanwhile at the Eosenau :
"JRosenau, July 6, 1831.
" DEAR PAPA, — The weather lately, although not cold,
has been very dull, and it has rained a great deal. The
water was very high. At one time a dreadful storm of
hail swept over the valley of our Eosenau, and we were
afraid it would have destroyed every thing. However,
it did no harm, and at this moment the Eosenau is look-
ing more beautiful than ever in the sunshine.
" Please to give our best remembrances to dear uncle,
clear aunt,f and to our dear cousin.;}:
* A young Prince Rcuss V., who (as is generally the case in that fam-
ily) was called by his number.
t The Duchess of Kent. t Princess Victoria.
D2
82 Letters to his Father.
" Hoping soon to see you again, I remain your most
loving son, ALBERT."
" Rosenau, July, 1831.
" DEAR PAPA, — You will long before this have reached
your journey's end, and will already have gone all over
London. I wish I was with you, to see all the sights that
you will have seen. We heard of you yesterday from
Thiel, the last place at which you passed the night ; and
we were very glad to hear that you were quite well. We
are also quite well, dear papa, and though I should like
to be with you, yet we like being here also, and are very
happy at the Eosenau. The quiet of the place, too, is
very agreeable, for our time is well regulated and divid-
ed. The day before yesterday was the fete of the Gym-
nasium at Coburg, to which we were invited ; so we
drove into the town in the morning, and heard a beau-
tiful speech from Professor Troupheller. I am sure it
would have pleased you.
"We staid the whole day at Coburg, as our grand-
aunt arrived in the afternoon from Lobenstein, and we
visited her immediately. She is staying at Ketschendorf
with dear grandmamma.
" We are going next Saturday to Gotha, to which we
look forward with much pleasure. We will write to you
from thence, and tell you how we made the journey. If
the weather is only ' good !' "
The visit to Gotha was paid accordingly, but the letter
giving an account of it was not written till after their re-
turn ta the Rosenau, and was as follows :
Letters to his Father. 83
" TJie Rosenau, July 19, 1831.
" DEAR PAPA, — Although I hear that this letter will
not reach you in England, it shall not prevent my writ-
ing to you, both to tell you how well we are, and to give
you an account of our journey.
"We found dear grandmamma very well at Gotha,
and much pleased to see us again. She was particularly
cheerful on her birthday, and said that no birthday-pres-
ent had ever given her so much pleasure as that we gave
her in your name on that day. She was also equally
pleased with two little poems that we made for her.
" We staid five days at Gotha, and drove on the fifth
day, after dinner, to Wolsdorf, from whence we returned
here the next day, coming by the Frauenwalde and Eis-
feld. From Schalkau to the Eosenau we walked, and
got here by half past five. We took the road by Schal-
kau because we had never been in that part of the coun-
try before.
" We are now quite settled here, at the quiet Eosenau,
and have resumed our usual hours. We only want you
to be here to be completely happy. We .are just re-
turned from Ketschendorf, where we dined with dear
grandmamma, and she assured us you would now soon
return. You do not know, dear papa, how I long for
your arrival. We have been long wishing for you. I
am sure you will be glad to see the dear Eosenau again.
It is now in great beauty; and I will therefore end now,
as I wish to enjoy this beautiful evening a little while
longer, and it is already eight o'clock.
"Your ALBERT."
84 Death of the Duchess of Coburg.
In August, 1831, the mother of the princes died, as has
been already mentioned, at Sante Wendel. And in the
November following they had to mourn the loss of their
kind and beloved grandmother, the Duchess Dowager of
Coburg. We have seen her, in a former chapter, watch-
ing with the fondest maternal solicitude by the bedside
of her daughter-in-law, at the birth of the Prince. We
have read her letters, breathing the purest spirit of anx-
ious and devoted love for her grandchildren, and full of
high-minded aspirations for their future career, and we
can well imagine the blank her death must have left in
the family circle. "She had already, at a very early
period, formed the ardent wish that a marriage should
one day take place between her beloved grandchild Al-
bert and the ' Flower of May,' as she loved to call the
little Princess Victoria. How would her kind, loving,
and benevolent heart have rejoiced, could she have lived
to see the perfect consummation of her wishes in the
happiness, too soon, alas ! to be cut short, that followed
this auspicious union !"*
The duchess died at Coburg on the 16th of November,
1831, in the arms of her two eldest sons, Duke Ernest and
Duke Ferdinand. Leopold, her youngest and favorite
son, was unavoidably absent from her death-bed. In the
summer of that year, however, she had been able to pay
him a last visit at Brussels, and ha-d enjoyed the pride
and happiness of congratulating him on his recent elec-
tion as King of the Belgians.
* Memorandum by the Queen.
Visit of the Princes to Brussels. 85
CHAPTER V.
1832-1833.
Visit of the Princes to Brussels. — Remarriage of the Duke. — Mr. Flor-
schUtz's Recollections of Mode of Life, System of Study, etc.
IN the summer of 1832 the young princes accompa-
nied their father to Brussels on a visit to their uncle
Leopold, -who, in the course of the preceding year, had
been chosen to be the sovereign of the newly - created
kingdom of Belgium.
The King of the Belgians, speaking in 1862, in a letter
to the Queen, of this visit, says that it was then that she
and Prince Albert met for the first time. This, howev-
er, is a mistake. The Queen saw the Prince for the first
time at Kensington Palace, during a visit paid by the
brothers to England in 1836, and which will be noticed
in its place.
The stay of the princes at Brussels at this time was
short. But, short though it was, their tutor ascribes to
the effect produced by what they saw there — by the
spectacle which the Belgian capital then afforded, of lib-
erty and independence bravely acquired, and used with
good sense and moderation — that appreciation of the
blessings of liberty, that attachment to liberal principles
which ever afterward distinguished both the princes. In
Prince Albert these liberal principles were tempered by
a moderation and love of order, and by a detestation of
86 Letter to his Father.
every thing approaching to license, which were very re-
markable at his early age ; and this without weakening
the devotion to the purest and best principles of consti-
tutional freedom, of which his -whole after life in England
gave such repeated proof.
The love of art, too, which was natural to the Prince,
received, his tutor adds, a great stimulus from the beauty
of Brussels, and the study of the art treasures which that
city contains.
On their way home the princes passed a few weeks
with their aunt and cousins at Mayence, and during that
time attended the swimming-school which forms part of
the military establishment there. They made so much
progress that, before they left, they swam down the
stream from the bridge of Mayence to Biberich, a dis-
tance of three miles. Soon after their return, Prince Al-
bert writes as follows to his father :
" Rosenau, 21 st September, 1832.
"DEAR PAPA, — Let me assure you that we are per-
fectly well. I am sorry that, since the day of your de-
parture till yesterday, the weather has not always been
fine. It must have spoiled some of your nice shooting-
parties.
"We have also had very bad weather here, rain and
cold winds ; but this has disturbed us very little, for we
were all the better able to devote our time to our studies.
We are working with the greatest diligence, in order to
make up for what we may have lost on our journey.
The weather, however, has not prevented us from amus-
ing ourselves out of doors ; we are working very indus-
triously at our fortifications, and have already made
The Duke's Remarriage. 87
great progress, so that I am sure that you will give us
full credit for our industry in this respect when you re-
turn.
" Yesterday we had a windy, but, at the same time, a
warm, bright day.
"Besides what I have told you, nothing has taken
place worthy of notice. Pray give my respectful love to
dear grandmamma, and hoping soon to see you again, I
recommend myself to your loving remembrance.
" Your dutiful son, ALBEET."
In the autumn of this year the duke remarried. The
new duchess was his own niece, being the daughter of
his sister Princess Antoinette, married to Duke Alexan-
der of Wurtemberg.* In November the brothers ac-
companied their father to the Castle of Thalwitz, in Sax-
ony, there to await the arrival of the princess from Pe-
tersburg. Thence they escorted her to her new home.
The Prince was now in his fourteenth year, and was
fast developing that power of thinking and judging for
himself which distinguished him so greatly in after life.
The ardent desire for the acquisition of knowledge, &l-^
ways so characteristic of the Prince, as well as his love
of order and method, show themselves, even at this early
age, very remarkably, in a programme drawn up by him-
self at this time for his guidance in the prosecution of his
studies. We here see in the boy the same feeling which
led him to rebel later against the interruption of his
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — Princess Mary of Wurtemberg, born Sep-
tember 17th, 1799. She was consequently one year older than the
duke's first wife, mother of the princes.
88 The Prince's Studies.
work at the Kosenau,* and to complain of the want of
method which marked, he thought, the course laid down
for him in the study of English law.f
This programme is given, as written out in the Prince's
own handwriting, at the end of an interesting Memoran-
dum by his old tutor, Counselor Florschiitz, in which he
(the counselor) records his recollections of the Prince as
a boy, and gives an account of the nature of his studies
and the manner in which they were regulated. It will
be seen that, though not neglected, classics and mathe-
matics did not hold the prominent, not to say the exclu-
sive place in their system of education which these
branches of study occupy in England. The study of
modern languages, of history, of the natural sciences, of
music, and generally of those accomplishments which
serve to embellish and adorn life, had many hours in
each week devoted to them.
The amount of work which the Prince thus traces for
himself would probably not only seem excessive to the
most studious English school-boy (and we must remem-
ber that the Prince at this time was only of the age of a
school-boy), but was such as a hard-reading man at one
of our universities might almost have shrunk from. Be
it also remembered that the principal parts of these stud-
ies are what his tutor describes as "self-imposed." From
six o'clock -in the morning to one in the afternoon, and
on two da}^s of the week till two o'clock, there was
continuous work, excepting, of course, the time required
for breakfast. From one to six was given up to out-
door exercises and recreation, dinner, etc. ; and the day
* See pages 175, and 176. t See Chap. XIV.
M. Florschutz's Recollections. 89
concluded with two hours' more work, from six to
eight.
It must not be supposed, however, that this programme
was strictly carried into effect. It will be seen from the
Memorandum how much their tutor complained of the
interruptions caused by the frequent changes of resi-
dence, and by the system of breakfasting in the open air
at different places, and sometimes at a considerable dis-
tance from home ; but as a scheme of study laid down
by the young Prince himself, and, as far as was possible,
adhered to, it may well command our admiration. It
may also be remarked that, though their tutor in this
paper seems only to lament the interruption occasioned
to their studies, he elsewhere mentions the frequent
changes of residence as " advantageous rather than oth-
erwise, and as tending to encourage the habit of observ-
ation nnd to enlarge their minds."
The Memorandum is as follows :
" In May, 1823, when I first undertook the care and
education of Prince Albert, he was still so young and lit-
tle that he willingly allowed me to carry him up and
down stairs.
" Every grace had been showered by nature on« this
charming boy. Every eye rested on him with delight,
and his look won the hearts of all. I thus entered en-
thusiastically upon the discharge of my important task,
the more so that I met with the entire confidence of his
parents — a confidence never impaired or withdrawn from
the beginning to the end of the Prince's education. To
the confidence thus reposed in me the success of my la-
bors was mainly due, for without it no uniform plan
90 M. Florscliutzs Recollections.
could have been followed, no certain system observed,
but differences of opinion, and an uncertain and fluctua-
ting course of education would inevitably have followed.
"Difficulties indeed there were which showed them-
selves at the very outset, and, but for the love and confi-
dence with which the young princes attached themselves
from the first to their tutor, the peculiar circumstances
of the time would doubtless have exercised a pernicious
influence.
"Among these difficulties was the partiality shown in
the treatment of the children by their mother. En-
dowed with brilliant qualities, handsome, clever, and
witty, possessed of eloquence and of a lively and fervid
imagination, Duchess Louise was wanting in the essen-
tial qualifications of a mother. She made no attempt to
conceal that Prince Albert was her favorite child. He
was handsome, and bore a strong resemblance to herself.
He was, in fact, her pride and glory. The influence of
this partiality upon the minds of the children might have
been most injurious; and to this was added the unfortu-
nate differences which soon followed, and by which the
peace of the family was disturbed ; differences that, grad-
ually increasing, led to a separation between the duke
and duchess in 1824, and a divorce in 1826.
"It is a satisfaction to me to reflect that these sad
events did not interfere permanently with the happiness
of my beloved pupils, and that with the cheerfulness and
entire innocence of childhood, they retained their respect-
ful and obedient love for their parents.
" Thus deprived of a mother's love and care, the chil-
dren necessarily depended more entirely on that shown
M. Florschiitz's Recollections. 91
bj their tutor ; and he is conscious of having thrown
himself with all his heart and strength into his task ; of
having given himself up with unceasing solicitude and
the most entire devotion to the good of his pupils. And
he was rewarded by their showing their sense of this by
their love and confidence, their liking to be with him,
and the entire unreserve with which they showed their
inmost thoughts and feelings in his presence. Time only
strengthened the cordial relations thus established be-
tween the tutor and his pupils, which lasted unimpaired
during the whole period of the education of the princes
till the close of their residence at Bonn in the year
1838.
" Nor did the regard of Prince Albert for me cease
with the termination of his studies. I was ever honored
with the proofs of his continued good -will. The last
mark of his affection was given to me but a short time
before his death; and I stand daily before the valued
picture which he then sent me, to weep for my beloved
pupil and friend.
" Throughout the course of his education much care
was bestowed on the due regulation of hours, though cir-
cumstances made it more difficult to adhere to them than
could have ieen wished.
" Up to his tenth year Prince Albert usually rose be-
tween six and seven in summer, and between seven and
eight in winter. The lively spirits with which he at once
entered into the games of childhood, or the more serious
occupations of youth, spoke the healthy tone of mindrand
body. The children breakfasted with their parents be-
tween nine and ten. The duke himself summoned them
92 M. Florschutds Recollections.
to the meal, unless the breakfast was in the open air, in
which case the task of conducting them to the place, sel-
dom the same two days following, devolved on me. As
this custom prevailed from early spring to late in the au-
tumn, the breakfast, from Coburg, being constantly held
in the Hof- gardens, at the Festung, the Kallenberg, at
Ketschendorf, or in the Rosenau ; and from Gotha in like
manner at various places, the greater part of the fore-
noon was inevitably wasted, to the interruption of useful
studies and occupations.* The duke, however, was indif-
ferent to this, and we can only wonder that the princes,
notwithstanding, retained their Jove for study.
"Dinner, which till his eleventh year Prince Albert
had regularly alone with his brother and tutor, was at
one o'clock. Between four and five, when the duke's
dinner was over, he had to appear before the company,
after which he paid a visit to his grandmother, the Dow-
ager Duchess Augusta ; and no morning passed, when at
Gotha, without a visit to his maternal grandmother, the
Duchess Caroline of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.
" At seven o'clock the Prince supped, and was glad to
retire to bed as soon after as possible. An irresistible
feeling of sleepiness would come over him in the even-
ing, which he found it difficult to resist even in after
life ; and even his most cherished occupations, or the
liveliest games, were at such times ineffectual to keep
him awake.f
"If prevented from going to bed he would suddenly
disappear, and was generally found sleeping quietly in
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — The Prince often spoke of this.
t NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — The Prince told me this frequently.
H. FlQrschidz's .Recollections. 93
the recess of the window, for repose of some kind, though
but for a quarter of an hour, was then indispensable ; on
one occasion — the first time I was present at his supper —
the young Prince suddenly fell asleep and tumbled off
his chair, but he was not hurt, and continued to sleep
quietly on the ground.
" The hours above mentioned were constantly ob-
served till the Prince was eleven years of age, after
which he always dined with his father at three (the
place of dinner being as uncertain as that of the break-
fast), and attended the evening parties at court.
" Some change necessarily took place in the nature
and regulation of the Prince's studies and occupations
with the progress of time and changes of place ; but the
end kept in view was still the improvement of body and
mind— his advance in health, usefulness, and goodness.
"Before I came to the Prince he had already had a
daily master of the name of Tonnelen, but even after I
took him in charge I need hardly say that my chief oc-
cupation was at first to promote play and exercise in the
open air — to tell stories, or explain pictures to my young
charge.
" At six his regular lessons commenced. At first only
one hour a day ; from his seventh to his ninth year, three
hours — one before, and another after breakfast, and one
in the afternoon. From his ninth to his eleventh year
the time was extended to four hours ; but as two hours
of this time were given after breakfast, they were too oft-
en interrupted by the distance of the place of breakfast.
Bodily exercises, also regulated at fixed hours, and amuse-
ment, filled up the rest of the day.
94 M. Florschutz's Recollections.
" After his twelfth year the course of instruction was
considerably extended, but the time given for regular les-
sons seldom exceeded five hours. Subsequently, when
studying at Brussels and Bonn, even that number of
hours was seldom reached, for much time was there
given to his own particular studies and occupations.
" It will be interesting to read the programme of stud-
ies which I inclose, drawn up by the Prince himself, in
his fourteenth year, for the regulation of his time at the
Eosenau. I need not add that it includes all his own or
self-imposed tasks.
"It is difficult for me to specify particularly the in-
struction given by myself. During his early years I
taught him every thing except music and drawing, and
up to his going to Brussels he received from me his in-
struction in religion, in history, geography, philosophy,
and Latin. He had masters from his tenth year in Ger-
man and mathematics. At Brussels I continued to give
lectures on two subjects, but when he went to Bonn I
ceased to give personal instruction, and merely exercised
a general superintendence over his whole course of study.
It was not till after he left the University that I parted
from the beloved Prince.
" The Prince's establishment, when I entered on my
duties, consisted of a man and a maid servant. The for-
mer, named Waschenfelder, was an excellent, trustworthy
man, and died a few years ago. The latter still lives at
Coburg, a widow, and blind ; she depends for her subsist-
ence upon the pension bestowed upon her by the Prince.
" The valet, ' Cart,' was engaged in April, 1829, and at
first attended on both princes, but after 1839 on Prince
M. jFlorschiitz's Recollections. 95
Albert only. He was a faithful, attentive, and obedient
servant, and deserved the confidence reposed in him.*
"Though the Prince's health was generally good, he
had more than one illness, and was subject to serious,
and sometimes even alarming attacks of croup,f which
the most trifling cause, the slightest attack of cold, was
sufficient to bring on. At such times the characteristic
qualities of H. E. H.'s mind displayed themselves very
remarkably. I shall never forget the gentle goodness,
the affectionate patience he showed when suffering under
slight feverish attacks. His heart seemed then to open
to the whole world. He would form the most noble
projects for execution after his recovery, and, though ap-
parently not satisfied with himself, he displayed a tem-
per and disposition which I may characterize as being, in
thought and in deed, perfectly angelic. I can not recall
these recollections, even now, without the deepest emotion !
" These attacks of croup were of frequent recurrence
up to the Prince's tenth year, and often occasioned a
hoarseness which lasted several days, and gave him much
annoyance. It is possible that the remedies adopted may
have been insufficient, but it is well that some of the
measures proposed were not adopted, such, for instance,
as passing a hair through the Prince's throat !
"I have no recollection of Prince Albert's ever having
had the whooping-co\igh.$ Could the Prince have mis-
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — He remained with the Prince till August,
1858, when he died.
f NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — Leeches had constantly to he applied for
these attacks, the marks of which remained till he was quite grown up.
I NOTE BY THE QUKEN. — This is a mistake. He certainly had it.
96 M. Florschiilds Recolkctions.
taken the more severe and lasting cough which, on one
occasion, followed the croup for that disorder? or is it
possible that this malady of my beloved pupil's should
have so entirely escaped my memory, although it usually
lasts so long, and worries children so much ?
" Nor am I more certain about the scarlet fever.* In
the year 1829 this disease was prevalent in Gotha. Dr.
Dorl, at that time the resident court physician, though
able and learned, was of the old theoretic school, and, un-
fortunately, both pedantic and nervous. One afternoon
a slight redness showed itself on the palm of the left
hand, and on the neck of the hereditary prince, which
the doctor at once rightly pronounced to be scarlet fever.
He was at once ordered to bed ; but as the brothers lived
entirely together, it was assumed that if one had the dis-
order the other must have it also, so Prince Albert was
also put to bed, and kept there for eight days, though no
symptoms of the fever showed themselves upon him, nor
even upon the hereditary prince, beyond the redness I
have mentioned. In bed, however, the two princes had
to remain for eight days, when the doctor was convinced
the fever had passed. My own belief is that they never
had it at all.
" In His early youth Prince Albert was very shy, and
he had long to struggle against this feeling. He disliked
visits from strangers, and at their approach would run to
the farthest corner of the room, and cover his face with
his hands ; nor was it possible to make him look up, or
speak a word. If his doing so was insisted upon, he re-
sented to the utmost, screaming violently. On one occa-
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — This the Prince also mentioned.
M. Florschiltz 's Recollections. 97
sion, at a child's fancy ball given by the duchess, Prince
Albert, then in his fifth year, was brought down, and a
little girl selected as his partner; but when it came to
his turn to move on after the other dancers, nothing
could induce him to stir,* and his loud screams were
heard echoing through the rooms. The duchess, thus
agreeably surprised, exclaimed, ' This comes of his good
education.'
" The duke once undertook to punisH the Prince for
his supposed obstinacy. When the screams were next
heard, therefore, the duke, sending me out with the he-
reditary prince, resolved to try whether a small cane
would not succeed in pacifying the ' little obstinate.' On
our return, however, Prince Albert was still crying, and
the duke, who had not had the heart to administer the
punishment he intended, was glad to be relieved of his
self-imposed task.
"Even with his brother the Prince showed, at this
time, rather too strong a will of his own, and this dispo-
sition came out at times even in later years. Surpassing
his brother in thoughtful earnestness, in calm reflection
and self-command, and evincing, at the same time, more
prudence in action, it was only natural that his will
should prevail, and when compliance with it was not
voluntarily yielded, he was sometimes disposed to have
recourse to compulsion. The distinguishing character-
istics of the Prince's disposition were his winning cheer-
fulness and his endearing amiability. His disposition
was always to take a cheerful view of life, and to see its
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — An anecdote the Prince remembered quite
well. He was dressed as a little Cupid.
E
98 M. Florschutz's Recollections.
best side. He was fond of fun and practical jokes, and
on one occasion drew down a scolding from his father by
getting his instructor in chemistry to fill a number of
small glass vessels, about the size of a pea, with sulphur-
eted hydrogen, which he threw about the floor of the pit
and boxes of the theatre, to the great annoyance and dis-
comfiture of the audience, at whose confusion he was
highly delighted.
"But the joke was not always on his .side. The
Princess Caroline of Eeuss Ebersdorff,* a clever, witty
person, at that time resident at Coburg, and very fond
of the young Prince, whom she took under her special
protection, resolved to revenge herself for some trick he
had played her. For this purpose she took advantage of
an aversion he had formed, under the following circum-
stances, for frogs.
" He was always fond of natural history, and lost no
opportunity of collecting specimens, showing no timidity,
even as a boy, in his pursuit and seizure of animals of all
sorts. One evening, while tea was going on in the gar-
den at Oeslau, Prince Albert occupied himself as usual
in searching the hedges and pathsides for objects of in-
terest to him, and hit upon a large and very pretty green
frog. Seizing it in both hands, he ran with his treasure
to the tea-table. To his astonishment, he was received
by the ladies with a general cry of horror; and their
fright extending to himself, he threw down the frog in a
panic, and from that time forward conceived the most un-
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — First cousin to his father and the Duchess
of Kent, always called " Linette."
M. Florschutz's Recollections. 99
conquerable aversion for every animal of the kind.*
Princess Caroline, knowing this, took advantage of it to
retaliate on the Prince for the many little tricks with
which he loved to torment her. Among other tricks he
played her, he had one evening, during a party at the
palace, filled the pockets of the cloak left by the princess
in the cloak-room with soft cheese; and helping assidu-
ously to cloak her at the conclusion of the evening, he
was delighted at the horror with which she threw the
cloak away, and turned upon himself as the perpetrator
of the joke. For this the princess took ample revenge
by collecting a basketful of frogs at the Eosenau, and
having them placed unobserved in his bed, to the de-
struction of his night's rest.
" Of the many virtues that distinguished the Prince,
two deserve especial mention, for they were conspicuous
even in his boyhood, winning for him the love and re-
spect of all. Growing with his growth, these virtues
gained strength with years, till they formed, as it were,
part of his very religion. One was, his eager desire to
do good and to assist others ; the other, the grateful feel-
ing which never allowed him to forget an act of kind-
ness, however trifling, to himself.
"He gave an early instance of the former quality,
when only six years of age, in the eagerness with which
he made a collection for a poor man in Wolfsbach (a
small village close to the Rosenau), whose cottage he
had seen burnt to the ground. He never rested till a
sufficient sum had been collected to rebuild the poor
man's cottage. How many more substantial proofs has
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — Particularly toads.
100 M. Florschutz's Recollections.
he given of the same virtue since he grew up, particular-
ly in the numerous benevolent institutions founded by
him in his native home !
" These two qualities of heart won for him the aifec-
tion of all, and to them more particularly may be ascribed
that peculiar charm which fascinated all who knew our
beloved master, awakening those feelings of love, admira-
tion, and respect which attended him from the cradle to
his premature grave."
Programme of Studies.
101
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102 The Rosenau and Reinhardsbrunn.
CHAPTEK VI.
'1832-1835.
The Eosenau and Reinhardsbrunn. — Excursions in the Thiiringerwald.
— Confirmation of the Princes.
WHILE the winter months, including perhaps those of
early spring and late autumn, were generally spent either
at Coburg or Gotha, in the enjoyment of the society and
amusements afforded by those cities, the more genial
months of the year were passed, for the most part, either
at the Rosenau or at Reinhardsbrunn.
The Prince was always a great admirer of fine scen-
ery, and early showed this taste in the excursions for
which the residence at either of these places gave so
much facility. "Nothing," M. Florschiitz says, "could
exceed the intense enjoyment with which a fine or com-
manding view inspired the young Prince ;" and the time
passed at the Kosenau or at Reinhardsbrunn, delightfully
situated as were these summer residences — the one at the
southwest, the other at the northeast extremity of that
lovely district of wood and hill known as the " Thiirin-
gerwald"— enabled him to gratify this taste to an almost
unlimited extent.
As the place of the Prince's birth, and one to which he
remained through life passionately attached, though not
destined often to revisit it, we must here attempt some
description of the Rosenau. Distant about four miles
The Rosenau. 103
from Coburg, it is charmingly placed on a knoll that
rises abruptly from and terminates to the south, a ridge
running out, their last offshoot, from a range of wooded
hills which divide the lovely valley of the Itz from the
broad and undulating plain through which passes the
main road from Coburg to Hildburghausen, Meiningen,
etc.
This ridge is cut a quarter of a mile above the house,
and again half a mile higher up, at the little villages of
Unter and Ober Wolfsbach, prettily situated on the right
or western bank of the Itz, by openings through which
country roads ascend to the open country to the west;
while from the latter village it runs back in a steep as-
cent, first to the picturesque ruins of Lauterbourg, and
thence to the summit of the Herrn Berg, the last of the
range of wooded hills a'bove mentioned.
The eastern side of the ridge falls steeply, covered
with wood, to the narrow valley through which serpen-
tines the pretty little stream of the Itz, sometimes, as at
the villages above mentioned, drawing close in below the
ridge, at others diverging in wide sweeps to the farther
side of the valley. To the west the ridge slopes gently,
just above the house, to a meadow shut in by thriving
plantations, and with a large piece of artificial water in
the centre.
The knoll on which the house stands rises, as has
been said, abruptly at the southern extremity of this
ridge. It falls precipitously on the east side to the Itz,
which again draws close in here beneath the house, and
by a very steep descent on the other three sides to the
plain to the west and south.
104 The Rosenau.
The top forms a small plateau, on the southern edge
of which stands the house — a solid oblong building of no
architectural pretensions, with high gable-ends to the
north and south. The entrance is in a round tower on
the west side of the house, to which the approach as-
cends through a thick grove of young spruce firs round
the western side of the knoll. A broad winding stair-
case in the tower leads upward to the principal rooms on
the first floor, and downward to the marble hall, or din-
ing-room, to the south, which, from the sudden fall of
.the ground, stands at a lower level than the rest of the
house.
A small terrace-garden at the north end of the house
commands a lovely view of the valley of the Itz, beyond
which, to the east and north, the country is broken up
into a succession of wooded hills and picturesque val-
leys, with occasional clearings, and smiling, tidy villages,
standing in the middle of rich meadows and orchards ;
the hills gradually rising in height up to the highest
points of the Thiiringerwald, visible in the far distance.
Below the house the stream winds, fringed with trees,
through a bright and cheerful meadow, to the village of
Oeslau, half a mile lower down. Here it makes a turn,
almost at right angles, to the west, and runs at the foot of
a range of hills, thickly wooded, which bound the pros-
pect to the south, and terminate in the commanding em-
inence on which stands the old Festung overhanging the
city of Coburg some three miles lower down.
The marble hall, in which, as has been mentioned, the
Prince was christened, opens on a small graveled space
to the south of the house, bounded by a neatly-trimmed
The Rosenau. 105
hedge of roses, and communicating at its eastern corner,
by a long and irregular flight of stone steps, with the
walk along the banks of the Itz below. Standing on this
space in the early morning, before the sun^has got upon
it, or in the afternoon when he has left it, it is difficult to
imagine any thing more bright or enjoyable than the
view before you, looking over the meadow below the
house, bordered to the left by the trees which mark the
course of the stream throughout, and to the right by those
which clothe a gentle slope on the top of which runs the
road to Coburg, the prospect being closed by the wooded
hills to the south of the Itz.*
Pleasant and well laid-out walks lead in all directions
through the woods, round the water and meadows, and
along the stream from the village of Unter Wolfsbach
above to that of Oeslau below the house, and thence round
by the Schweitzerei, or dairy-farm.
Prominent among the trees which grow and thrive at
the Rosenau is the Abele poplar, of which there are many
very good specimens here, some of them, on the road
leading to Coburg, really magnificent. This accounts at
once for this tree having always been a favorite one with
the Prince, for surely no man was ever endowed with a
stronger feeling of love for all the recollections and asso-
ciations of his youth and of his native place. This is a
feeling which perhaps no man can be without who is pos-
sessed of the amiable and loving disposition that charac-
terized the Prince. It showed itself repeatedly in after
life in much that he did in those places of his creation,
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — The peaceful beanty of the scene is perhaps
still flTore striking by moonlight.
E 2
106 The Rosenau.
Osborne and Balmoral. At the former place especially,
the cottage architecture bears unmistakable witness to the
influence which early associations exercised over him.
Some 200 yards from the house to the west, in the an-
gle made by two roads which lead by different lines to
Coburg, stands a small Wirthshaus, the favorite resort on
Sundays and holidays of the Coburg citizens, who here
sit at tables under the trees, without distinction of rank
or class, drinking their beer or coffee, or stroll about the
walks above mentioned, for the system of exclusion is
unknown here which prevails with regard to our English
parks, and the walks and grounds are at all times freely
throwa open to those who wish to enjoy them.
Dearly was the Kosenau loved by the Prince, the prin-
cipal scene, as it was, of what -he always fondly looked
back to as a most happy childhood. His brother shared
his love for the place, and several traces of their joint la-
bors as boys still exist there, particularly at the keeper's
house near the little inn, behind which there is a small
garden still kept as they made it, and a little summer-
house which, if they did not actually build, they deco-
rated within entirely themselves. Here, too, is the small
skittle-ground, after which the Prince formed one in after
years in the garden at Buckingham Palace. It is a game
for which he never quite lost his liking, and he would
join in it, with all the eagerness and energy of youth,
when the Queen's illness made him unwilling to go to
any distance from the Palace.
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — The little garden and summer-house were
much injured by lawless bands in 1848, and, with the small skittle-ground,
had been entirely neglected, till the Queen had them restored in 1803.
R&inhardsbrunn. — The Ernest- Albert Museum. 107
Eeinhardsbrunn, about eight miles from Gotha, with its
magnificent lime-trees, and fine pine-woods, situated close
under the highest of the wooded hills that give a charac-
ter of its own to all this district, though not so dear to
the young princes as the Rosenau, the scene of their
earliest and happiest associations, is perhaps even more
charmingly situated, and affords even more temptation
to the excursions the princes delighted in ; for here the
hills and valleys assume their wildest form, and a succes-
sion of beautiful and romantic glens, with their strange
mixture of wood and rock, gave a wide scope to their
spirit of enterprise and discovery. The brothers were
never tired of exploring the inmost recesses of these in-
teresting valleys, and in June, 1829, undertook a length-
ened excursion, making a ten .days' pedestrian tour
through the whole district.
Natural History had always a great attraction for both
princes, and it was during such excursions that they col-
lected the specimens of various sorts which they after-
ward brought together, and from which the museum at
Coburg, known as the " Ernest- Albert Museum,"* grew
up to its present dimensions. To the end of his life the
Prince continued to manifest the warmest interest in this
museum by many valuable additions which he neglected
no opportunity of making to it.f
When he grew old enough to join in the sports of the
field, the Prince often carried his gun on such expe-
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — It is now (1864) removed to the Festung,
where rooms have been built on purpose for it.
t NOTE BT THE QUEEN. — The Queen continues these contributions to
it, and watches over it with the greatest interest.
108 Letter of the Duchess of Gotha.
ditions.* But, though by no means indifferent to such
sports, and an excellent shot, he scarcely inherited his
father's love for them. In later years, indeed, he seemed
to engage in them rather as a means of taking a certain
amount of exercise than from any great liking for them
in themselves. The only sport which he may be said to
have engaged in for itself was that of deer-stalking, and
in this, the wildness of the scenery, and the interest at-
taching to the study, which it promoted, of the habits of
the animal, added largely to the pleasure of the chase.
" The active life which the Prince thus led in the open
air," says his tutor, " strengthened alike the mind and the
body. His thirst for knowledge was kept alive and in-
dulged, while under the influence of his bodily exercises
he grew up into an active and healthy boy."
There seems no particular notice of the years 1833 and
'34, which were doubtless spent in the usual round be-
tween Coburg and Gotha. .And the only letter we have
to quote is the following short note of usual congratula-
tion on the Prince's birthday from his grandmother, the
Dowager Duchess of Gotha.
" Gotha, Aug. 24, 1834.
"Accept for the birthday of our beloved Albert my
most heartfelt wishes. May God preserve this angel to
us, and ever keep him in the right path."
The princes were now in their seventeenth and six-
teenth years respectively, and the elder at least had ar-
rived at the age at which it is customary in Germany
to go through the ceremony of confirmation. But the
* Memorandum bv M. Florschiitz.
Confirmation of the Princes. 109
younger was, his tutor relates, " of a singularly earnest
and thoughtful nature," and as up to this time they had
gone hand in hand in all their studies, it was not wished
that any separation should take place between them in
this, the first important step in their young lives, and it
was therefore determined that " they should make their
public profession of faith together."*
It will be seen in a future chapter that a similar course
was pursued when the hereditary prince came of age, and
that Prince Albert was, by a special act of the Legis-
lature, declared to be of age at the same time as his
brother.
On Palm Sunday, 1835, the young princes were accord-
ingly confirmed, and Mr. Florschiitz speaks warmly of
the earnestness with which Prince Albert prepared him-
self for the solemn ceremony, and of the deep feeling of
religion with which he engaged in it.
The profession now made by the Prince he held fast
through life. His was no lip-service. His faith was
essentially one of the heart, a real and living faith, giving
a color to his whole life. Deeply imbued with a convic-
tion of the great truths of Christianity, his religion went
far beyond mere forms, to which, indeed, he attached no
especial importance. It was not with him a thing to be
taken up and ostentatiously displayed with almost Phar-
isaical observance on certain days, or at certain seasons,
or on certain formal occasions. It was part of himself.
It was ingrafted in his very nature, and directed his
every-day life. In his every action, the spirit — as dis-
* Memorandum by M, Florschiitz.
110 Religious Spirit.
tinguished from the letter — the spirit and essence of
Christianity was his constant and unerring guide.
In the Appendix will be -found a somewhat abridged
translation of the account, printed at the time, of this
event, which took place on the llth and 12th of April,
1835, in the schloss at Coburg.*
* Appendix B.
The Princes1 Tour. Ill
CHAPTEK VII.
1835-1837-
Visit to Mecklenburg, and Tour through Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Vienna,
etc. — First Visit to England. — Residence at Brussels. — Letters of the
Prince.
IMMEDIATELY after their confirmation the young
princes went to Mecklenburg to congratulate their great-
grandfather the Grand-duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin*
on the 50th anniversary of his accession to the grand
dukedom, and after a few days spent there they joined
their father at Berlin. Their stay at that capital at this
time was short, as they merely remained till they had
been presented at court, after which the princes set out
on a tour by themselves, visiting Dresden, Prague, Vi-
enna, Pesth, and Ofen, and returning to Coburg toward
the end of May. On the llth of that month, while they
were still at Berlin with their father, the Duchess of
Gotha writes to congratulate the duke on the success
which the young princes had every where met with. "I
was sure beforehand," she says, " that you would be re-
ceived with the accustomed friendship at Berlin. It is
really most satisfactory that our dear children bore ev-
ery thing so well, and have every where made them-
selves- so beloved by their nice manners. May God con-
* The mother of the princes was the daughter of Duke Augustus of
Saxe-Gotha, by his first marriage to a daughter of this Grand-duke of
Mecklenburg.
112 The Princes' Tour.
tinue to protect them. I would, however, entreat you
not to tire them too much, particularly by too much
traveling at night "*
Again, on the 23d of the month, the duchess speaks of
the arrival of the young princes in Vienna ; of their hav-
ing visited their uncle, Count Mensdorff, and their aunt
at Prague, f and with true grandmotherly solicitude re-
peats the expression of her anxiety that they should not
be over-fatigued.
At every court which they visited they seem to have
been received with the greatest kindness, and to have
created the most favorable impression.
On the 27th of June, after the return of the duke to
Coburg, where the princes had already been settled some
time, the duchess writes: "Accept my best thanks for
your dear letter of the 24th, announcing your safe arrival
at the lovely Eosenau. Thank God that you and the
dear children arrived quite well after your great fatigues ;
but I must scold you a little for having made your jour-
ney back such a fatiguing one."
It would be interesting to read the Prince's own ac-
count of their tour, and of the impression made upon him
by all he saw ; and he doubtless wrote fully to his par-
ents and his grandmother during his travels ; but the
following short letter to his step-mother, the new Duch-
ess of Coburg, is the only letter of his written at this time
that is at present forthcoming :
* A caution, the Queen remarks in a note, very necessary, but which
H-as unheeded.
t Count Mensdorff had been transferred, at this time, from the com-
mand of the fortress of Mayence to that of the troops at Prague.
Letter to his Step-mother. 113
"Berlin, May 9, 1835.
"DEAR MAMMA, — I hope you will excuse my long
silence, for I can assure you that I have never been able
to find a moment's leisure ; even the time for this letter
is, as it were, snatched from other things, for we are al-
ready expected at a review.
" I can assure you, dear mamma, that we are quite well,
and that we have enjoyed ourselves in Mecklenburg as
well as in Berlin. It requires, however, a giant's strength
to bear all the fatigue we have had to undergo. Visits,
parades, rides, dejeuners, dinners, suppers, balls, and con-
certs follow each other in rapid succession, and we have
not been allowed to miss any of the festivities."
At the beginning of July the young princes went to
Gotha for their grandmother's birthday, and she writes
on the 12th, when they had again left her, to express the
pleasure it had given her to have " the dear children with
her on her birthday." After describing the manner' in
which it had been kept, she adds : " I would willingly
have kept them longer with me, but good Florschiitz said
it was not good that their studies should be longer inter-
rupted, particularly as they were to have a new master
to-morrow. I submitted, and must again assure you how
very much I was pleased with the dear young people.
May God protect them !"
Early in 1836 we find the Prince corresponding from
Gotha, where the brothers were again residing, with Dr.
Seebode, director of the Gymnasium (High School) at Co-
burg ; and his letters give us a pleasing insight into the
literary nature of his pursuits, and the philosophical and
inquiring turn of his mind, even at this early period of
114 Letter to Dr. Seebode.
his life, for he was not yet seventeen years old. On the
oth of February he writes :*
" VEREHRTESTER HERR OONSISTORIALRATH, — In spite
of all the distractions (Zerstreuungeii) of our life here at
Gotha, in spite of innumerable visits, in spite of the howl-
ing of the wind and storm, in spite of the noise of the
guard under our windows, I have at length completed
the frame-work (Disposition) of my Essay on the Mode
of Thought of the Germans (die Anschauungsweise der
Deutsclieri) ; and I send it with this for your perusal, beg-
ging you not to judge too severely the many faults which
your critical eye will doubtless discover in it.
" You have my work without head or tail (ohne Kopf
und Schwanz). I have sketched no form (kein Skelett enl-
worferi) of introduction or conclusion, thinking it unneces-
sary, for my desire is to trace through the course of His-
tory the progress of German civilization (Culturgang der
Deutschen) down to our own times, making use, in its
general outlines (in allgemeinen Umrisseri), of the division
which the treatment of the subject itself commands.
" The conclusion will contain a retrospect of the short-
comings of our time, with an appeal to every one to cor-
rect those shortcomings in his own case (jene Mangel
zuerst aus seinem eignen Benehmen zu verbannen\ and .thus
to set a good example to others.
"If this idea should not please you, pray write and
tell me so, and I will then endeavor to find another con-
clusion.
" Gotha, 5th February, 1836."
* See original of this and following letters in Appendix C.
Letters to Dr. Seebode. 115
Again, on the 12th of March, he writes :
"We have heard with great regret of the accident
you have met with. I would not believe it at first, but
your letter confirms it. I hope you may very soon be
well again.
" The work on the History of German Literature gets
on but slowly, owing to our Gotha engagements (Gotha-
ischen Verhaltnisseri). Accept again my heartfelt thanks
for the correction of my last essay. As I go on with it,
I will change and modify the points on which you raise
some doubts.
" The time for our departure to Brussels draws certain-
ly nearer, yet still so far off that we shall, under any cir-
cumstances, first go once more to Coburg, probably to-
ward Easter. "We shall then certainly call at your
house, and hope to find you perfectly recovered.
" Gotha, March 12, 1836."
Another letter to the same gentleman, written from
Brussels toward the end of the year, relates to the same
subject. It is therefore inserted here, though somewhat
out of its proper place. On the 18th of December the
Prince writes :
"Accept my most heartfelt thanks, as well for your
kind letter as for the beautiful present that accompanied
it. You could not have given me any thing that would
have pleased me more than this great work. I intend
immediately to study and to follow the thoughts of the
great Klopstock into their depths (dem grossen Klopstock
in seinen Tiefen nachzudenkeri), though in this, for the
most part, I do not succeed.
116 Letter to Dr. Seebode.
" I often think back with the greatest pleasure of the
interesting hours spent with you at Coburg ; with what
pleasure my ear took in - your praises of our German
masters.
"Here, where one is only surrounded by foreign liter-
ature, lives only in foreign literature, one learns to appre-
ciate our own at its real value. But it is painful to see
the mean idea which the French and Belgians, and even
the English, have of our German literature. It consoles
one, however, to find that this undervaluing proceeds
from an utter incapacity (volligen Unfahigkeif) to under-
stand our German works. To give you a slight idea of
this incapacity, I add to this letter a French translation
of Goethe's Faust, which, in the most literal sense of the
word, makes one's hair stand on end (die Haare zu Serge
steigen). Certainly from such productions foreigners can
not understand the profound genius of our literature, and
they explain why so much in it appears to them weak
and ridiculous.
" You will not think me ungrateful for having been
so long in answering your kind letter. In excuse I may
tell you that but little time is given us to ourselves, and
that an extensive correspondence consumes the few mo-
ments that we are at liberty. And though we really
make the best use of the time we have, there are also
many interruptions inseparably connected with a court.
" Our residence at Brussels will last till Easter. Where
we shall then go in search of more wisdom we do not
yet know. First to Coburg, to which affection draws us,
then probably to some German University* To which ?
This is still undecided.
Letter to his Step-mother. 117
"In the hope of soon seeing you again well and hap-
py at home, I remain your grateful ALBERT.
"Brussels, December 18, 1836."
The princes not only paid the visit to Coburg to which
the Prince looked forward, but, before settling at Brus-
sels, they also visited England with their father, travel-
ing by steam-boat down the Rhine to Rotterdam, and
crossing thence direct to London. The following letter
describes this first part of their journey :
"Rotterdam, May 17, 1836.
" DEAR MAMMA, — Let me give you some account of
our journey here. I am still writing from Rotterdam, as
we arrived after the departure of the steamer, and must
wait for the next, which is to start this afternoon.
" Our journey to Mayence, traveling day and night,
was very cold and dusty, but we did it in twenty -two
hours. We slept at Mayence, and started the following
morning by the boat for Coblentz, papa going the same
evening by himself to Riidesheim. On board the steam-
er we made the very agreeable acquaintance of the two
Princes of Isenburg, and we dined with them at the ho-
tel. Major Josa, who was very glad to see us again, and
Major Hiibner, who built Ehrenbreitstein, were also at
dinner. Major Hiibner had been ordered by the gen-
eral commanding here to show us the fortifications. We
went over Ehrenbreitstein tl'e same afternoon, and the
next morning visited Forts Alexander and Franz, which
we admired very much.
"In the afternoon we went on board the steamer,
where we met dear papa, and proceeded with him to Co-
118 The Princes in London.
logne. Here we heard that it was impossible for us to
be in London on Saturday, or even to leave Eotterdam
before Tuesday next, for which we have to thank some
Dutch speculators, whose object it is to detain travelers
as long as they can.
" We arrived here after two days more on board the
steamer, during which time I tried to practice my En-
glish in conversation with some Englishmen whom we
met. The day before yesterday we made a little excur-
sion to the Hague and Scheveningen. We traveled in-
cognito, which succeeded perfectly, till the chamberlain
of the Princess of Orange, saluting us with a malicious
smile, unmasked us.
" Ernest and myself are quite well, and only afraid of
sea-sickness. The only thing that spoils our pleasure is
the absence of good Mr. Florschiitz."
From London he again writes on the 1st of June, and
as it may be interesting to those who understand Ger-
man to read his first impressions of England in his own
words, the original of the letter is added in the Appen-
dix.*
" DEAR MAMMA, — Accept mine and Ernest's heartfelt
thanks for your dear, kind letter. I would have an-
swered you sooner if I had not been suffering for some
days from a bilious fever. The climate of this country,
the different way of living, and the late hours, do not
agree with me. I am now, however, fairly upon my legs
again.
* See Appendix C. In the Appendix will also be found the original
of many of the Prince's letters.
The Princes in London. 119
" My first appearance was at a levee of the king's,
which was long and fatiguing, but very interesting. The
same evening we dined at court, and at night there was
a beautiful concert, at which we had to stand till two
o'clock. The next day the king's birthday was kept.
We went in the middle of the day to a Drawing-room at
St. James's Palace, at which about 3800 people passed be-
fore the king and queen, and the other high dignitaries,
to offer their congratulations. There was again a great
dinner in the evening, and then a concert which lasted
till one o'clock. You can well imagine I had many hard
battles to fight against sleepiness during, these late enter-
tainments.
" The day before yesterday, Monday, our aunt gave a
brilliant ball here at Kensington Palace, at which the
gentlemen appeared in uniform, and the ladies in so-
called fancy dresses. We remained till four o'clock.
Duke William of- Brunswick, the Prince of Orange and
his two sons, and the Duke of Wellington, were the only
guests that you will care to hear about.
" Yesterday we spent with the Duke of Northumber-
land at Sion, and now we are going to Claremont. From
this account you will see how constantly engaged we are,
and that we must make the most of OUP time to see at
least some of the sights in London. Dear aunt is very
kind to us, and does every thing she can to please us ;
and our cousin also is very amiable. We have not a
great deal of room in our apartment, but are nevertheless
very comfortably lodged.
" I hope to give you more full accounts from Brussels,
dear mamma. , , ."
120 Stay in England.
From his earliest years the Prince had to struggle con-
stantly of an evening against the feeling of sleepiness, of
which he complains in the above letter. This propensi-
ty has been already noticed in a memorandum by M.
Florschiitz, given in a former chapter. Nor did the
Prince, manfully as he strove against it, ever entirely
conquer it. But, independently of this feeling, he never
took kindly to great dinners, balls, or the common even-
ing amusements of the fashionable world, and went
through them rather as a duty which his position im-
posed upon him than as a source of pleasure or enjoy-
ment to himself.* Indeed, on such occasions he loved
to get hold of some man eminent as a statesman or man of
science, and to pass the hours he was thus compelled to
give to the world in political or instructive conversation.!
In a letter dated Gotha, 31st of May, 1836, the dow-
ager duchess speaks of having received a letter from the
Duke of Coburg from Kensington, and of her anxiety on
account of the sea voyage, as well as of the fatigues and
late hours to which the young princes were exposed.
During their stay in England the duke and his sons
were lodged at Kensington, and it was on this occasion
that the Queen saw the Prince for the first time. They
were both now seventeen years old — the Queen com-
pleting her seventeenth year during the visit, the Prince
three months later.
* NOTE BY THE QCEEN. — Yet nothing, at the same time, could exceed
the kind attention he paid to every one, frequently standing the whole
evening that no one might be neglected.
t See in Chapter IX., page 166, the remark of the Grand-duke of Tus-
cany on seeing the Prince talking to the Marquis Capponi during a ball
at Florence — "Voila un prince dont nous pouvons etre fiers. La belle
danseuse 1'attend — le savant 1'occupe."
Residence at Brussels. 121
On leaving England they staid a short time at Paris,
leaving it a short time before the attempt of Fieschi
against the life of Louis Philippe. From Paris they
went to Brussels, where their father left them under the
care of Baron Wiechmann, a retired officer of the English
German Legion. They resided here for the next ten
months, preparing by a course of diligent study, in
which modern languages and history held a prominent
place, for their removal in the course of the following-
year to the University of Bonn.
Among those by whose society and instruction the
young princes chiefly profited during their residence at
Brussels was M. Quetelet, to whom many years later,
when presiding over the International Statistical Con-
gress, of which M. Quetelet was a member as deputy from
Belgium, the Prince paid a graceful compliment, as one
to whom he himself principally owed whatever informa-
tion he possessed on such subjects.
Both princes profited greatly by the time thus spent
in Brussels, but the absence it necessarily entailed from
their own country was a source of much lamentation to
their grandmother, the Duchess Dowager of Gotha. In
writing to the duke on the 7th of July, to congratulate
him on his safe return to Coburg, while she "thanks God
that you have returned in good health and have left the
dear children well" — "it makes me sad," she adds, "to
think that you are come back without them, and I can
not reconcile myself to this long separation from them.
Thank God that you were able to assure me you had
left them well."
The following letters from Prince Albert to his father
F
122 Letters .of the Prince.
and step-mother, written during their residence at Brus-
sels, gives some insight into their life there, and will
speak for themselves :
To THE DUCHESS OF COBURG, ETC.*
"Brussels, June 30, 1836.
" DEAR MAMMA, — I take advantage of the opportuni-
ty of papa's return to Coburg to write to you at last
once more. I would have written to you before this
from Paris if I had had time. We all thought the Hotel
des Princes,f where we lived, a most horrible place —
such a noise in the street that you could not hear your
own voice. Ernest Wurtemberg had been in the same
house a short time before.
" We not only saw all the sights to be seen in Paris it-
self during our stay there, but also made several very
pleasant excursions in the neighborhood. We visited St.
Cloud, Meudon, Montmorency, Neuillyr Versailles, Tria-
non, etc., and were much struck by the beauty of the
scenery on all sides. We were received at court with
the greatest kindness and civility, and we must all join
to the fullest extent in the great praise which every one
bestows on the royal family.
"After all our fatigues and amusements we are now
settled in our new home, and are really glad to be able
to lead a quiet and regular mode of life. We live in a
small but very pretty house, with a little garden in front,
* See Appendix C. for original of this letter.
t It was in the Eue Eichelieu, the most noisy thoroughfare in Paris,
and, happily for those who might have been doomed to pass a night in
ir, no longer exists as a hotel.
Letters of the Prince. 123
and though in the middle of a large town, we are perfect-
ly shut out from the noise of the streets. The masters
selected for us are said to be excellent, so that every
thing is favorable to our studies, and I trust there will be
no laek of application on our part.
" Uncle Leopold is not expected before the 15th, and
by the time he arrives we shall have settled to our daily
routine. We have already arranged every thing, and
mean to devote the next few days to paying the necessary
visits before settling, next week, to our new mode of life.
" When this letter reaches you, you will also be about
to commence a new mode of life, for I hear that your
journey to the sea-side is fixed for the 10th. I hope j,his
trip will answer to you in every way. The journey to
England has given me such a disgust for the sea that I
do not like even to think of it."
To THE DUKE OF COBURG.
" Brussels, July, 1836.
"DEAR PAPA, — Accept the warmest thanks from us
both for your dear letter, which we received yesterday
evening The eagerness shown at Coburg for the
building of the theatre is really delightful, and proves that
the spirit of improvement is there, and only requires en-
couragement to develop itself. We mean to make a
strong appeal to Aunt Kent to contribute somewhat to
this national work. We have been for some time in act-
ive correspondence with her Uncle Leopold ar-
rived at Laeken last night. We have not yet seen him.
And now good-by, dear papa. Always keep the same
love for your devoted son ALBERT."
124 Letters of the Prince.
To THE DUKE OF COBURG.*
"Brussels, August 15, 1830.
" DEAR PAPA, — We accompanied uncle to the camp
of Beverlow, which is on a large plain, on which, on a
circumference of ten leagues, not a house is to be seen.
The camp itself is about five miles round, and is well
built. The barracks and stables are much better ar-
ranged than is usually the case. We lived in a very
nice little hut, close to the royal one, over which the Bel-
gian and Saxon flags were hoisted.
"There was a different field-day every day, and two
of them were particularly interesting. The last of these
two was really beautiful, and, in the opinion of experi-
enced officers, gave a perfect idea of real war. The vic-
torious army was commanded by Generals Goetals, Mag-
nan, and Marneff ; the losing army under Generals d'Oli-
vier and De Lime ; and when the latter were at a loss
how to extricate themselves from a difficult .position, un-
cle himself conducted the retreat.
"After the fatigue of the manoeuvres the soldiers
amused themselves by playing at various games, at which
we were present, such as running races, climbing high
poles, jumping in sacks, fencing and wrestling, etc., in all
of which they showed great dexterity. Upon the whole,
the troops showed to so much advantage that every one
was astonished. Toward evening there was sometimes
excellent music, the bands of all the regiments being as-
sembled, in which 160 musicians played together."
* See Appendix C.
Letters of the Prince. 125
To THE DUKE OF COBURG-.
" Ostend, Sept. 1, 1836.
"DEAR PAPA, — Thank you a thousand times for your
dear letter, and for the pretty ring which I received in
your name from the 'Kath' when I awoke on the 26th.
I have not taken it off my finger since I got it, and it
shall always remain there, and remind me of you when I
am not with you.
"How sorry I was to spend this happy day without
you, and to be so far from you !"
In the same letter the Prince speaks of having been
out shooting with his brother, and of their having killed
some sea-gulls.
To THE DUKE OF COBURG.
"Brussels, Oct. 17, 1836.
" DEAR PAPA, — .... Yesterday (Sunday) we made
an excursion to Waterloo, and went on foot all over the
field of battle. Colonel von Wiechmann, who had been
at the battle, was our cicerone. We found, to our great
indignation, that the French, who marched over the field
on their way to the siege of Antwerp, had knocked off
the iron cross of the monument "
To THE DUKE OF COBURG.
" Brussels, Nov. 29, 1836.
" DEAR PAPA, — We should be so glad to accept your
invitation to go to Coburg for a few days and to spend
Christmas there. But if we are to profit by our stay
here, I am afraid we must deny ourselves that pleasure.
126 Letters of the Prince.
Such an expedition would require five or six weeks, and
our course of study would be quite disturbed by such ah
interruption. We told dear uncle the purport of your
letter, and he said he would write to you on the sub-
ject"
We do not often find a young man of eighteen object-
ing to a holiday because it would interrupt his studies !
Residence at Bonn. 127
CHAPTER-rVlII.
April, 1837, to the close of 1838.
Residence at Bonn. — Death of William IV. — Tour through Switzerland
and North of Italy. — Letters from the Prince.
THE young princes were now to enter upon their aca-
demical career. In April, 1837, they left Brussels for
Bonn, at which University, with the exception of the
usual vacations, they remained for the next year and a
half. A small detached house had been taken for them,
not far from the Cathedral, and overlooking the alley
that leads up to the Kreutzberg ; and here they resided
with their tutor, M. Florschutz, who bears witness to the
diligence and steadiness with which they applied them-
selves to their studies. Of our Prince more particularly,
he says that "he maintained the early promise of his
youth by the eagerness with which he applied himself
to his work, and by the rapid progress which he made,
especially in the natural sciences, in political economy,
and in philosophy." " Music also," he adds, " of which
he was passionately fond, was not neglected, and he had
already shown considerable talent as a composer."*
* The Prince also excelled in manly exercises, and at a great fencing-
match, in which there were from twenty-five to thirty competitors, carried
off the first prize, as recorded by an English student at the University,
now holding a government situation in Dublin, and who himself obtained
the second prize.
128 Besidence at Bonn.
Their principal instructors at the University were
Messrs. Bethman-Holweg, Schlegel, Fichte, Lobell, Kauf-
mann, Perthes,* d'Alten, etc., of most of whom the Prince
retained throughout life the most affectionate recollec-
tion.
Among the students who were at Bonn at this time
were the present reigning Duke of Mecklenburg-Stre-
litz, Prince William of Lo wenstein - Werthheim, and
Count Erbach, a relation of Prince Leiningen's. With
these, from their connection with them, the princes natu-
rally lived on terms of the greatest intimacy, and, indeed,
with, their fellow-students generally they seem always to
have been on the most cordial and friendly footing.
With, none, however, did Prince Albert form so close
and intimate a friendship as with Prince William of Low-
enstein, who has lately sent the Queen an account, which
will be found at the end of this chapter, of his recollec-
tions of their college life. He has also sent several let-
ters, written to him by the Prince at various times after
they left the University, which will be found inserted in
their place, and which, particularly those written about
the time of the marriage, will be read with much inter-
est.
Since the visit of the princes to England in the pre-
ceding year the idea had become very general that a
marriage was in contemplation between Prince Albert
and the Princess Victoria; and during their late resi-
dence in Brussels reports to that effect had become still
more prevalent, though most prematurely, as nothing
* See extract of letter from M. Perthes on the occasion of the Prince's
marriage, quoted from Memoirs by his son, Chap. XIII.
Letter to his Father. 129
was then settled.* Prince Albert's letters to his father
at this time are chiefly interesting from their allusion to
England and the young Queen. The first is dated from
Bonn, only a few days before the death, on the 20th of
June, 1837, of William IV., when Queen Victoria, who
had only just completed her eighteenth year, ascended
the throne. In that letter, after mentioning a visit to
Cologne which he had made a few days previously with
his brother and the hereditary Grand-duke of Weimar,
and alluding to two picturesf which they had given a
commission to have bought at a sale of old pictures
which was to be held there, he goes on :
" A few days ago I received a letter from Aunt Kent,
inclosing one from our cousin. She told me I was to
communicate its contents to you, so I send it on with a
translation of the English. The day before yesterday I
received a second and still kinder letter from my cousin,
in which she thanks me for my good wishes on her birth-
day. You may easily imagine that both these letters
gave me the greatest pleasure."
On the 4th of July, after dwelling on the beauty of the
Ahrthal, to which he and his brother had just made an
excursion, and telling his father of their attendance at a
swimming-school on the Rhine close to Bonn, he adds:
" The death of the King of England has every where
caused the greatest sensation. From what Uncle Leo-
pold, as well as aunt, writes to us, the new reign has be-
gun most successfully. Cousin Victoria is said to have
* Memorandum by the Queen.
t One was a sketch by Albert Durcr, the other a negro's head by Van-
tlyck.
F2
130 Letter to the Queen.
shown astonishing self-possession. She undertakes a
heavy responsibility, especially at the present moment,
when parties are so excited, and all rest their hopes on
her. Poor aunt has again been violently attacked in the
newspapers, but she has also found strenuous supporters."
On. first hearing of the king's death, the Prince had al-
ready written the following beautiful and characteristic
letter to the young Queen. It is the first of his which
we have, written in English,* and, allowing for a some-
what foreign turn and formality of expression, it shows
what proficiency he had already made in a language
which, from the correctness with which he both spoke
and wrote it, he soon made his own. "How much,"
says one who had deeply studied his character, " of the
Prince's great nature is visible in it. Though addressed
to a young and powerful queen, there is not a word of
flattery in it. His first thought is of the great responsi-
bility of the position, the happiness of the millions that
was at stake. Then comes the anxious hope that the
reign may be glorious." (Did he feel a presentiment
at the time how much he would help to make it so ?)
"And then how gracefully and naturally the tender re-
gard of an affectionate relation comes in at the last."
But let us quote it:
"Bonn, 26th June, 1837.
" MY DEAREST COUSIN, — I must write you a few lines
to present you my sincerest felicitations on that great
change which has taken place in your life.
* All the other letters which have been quoted from the Prince to his
parents and grandmother, and from them to him, are translated from the
German.
Letter to the Queen. 131
"Now you are Queen of the mightiest land of Europe,
in your hand lies the happiness of millions. May Heaven
assist you and strengthen you with its strength in that
high but difficult task.
" I hope that your reign may be long, happy, and
glorious, and that your efforts may be rewarded by the
thankfulness and love of your subjects.
" May I pray you to think likewise sometimes of your
cousins in Bonn, and to continue to them that kindness
you favored them with till now. Be assured that our
minds are always with you.
" I will not be indiscreet and abuse your time. Be-
lieve me always your Majesty's most obedient and faith-
ful servant, ALBERT."
" Uncle Leopold," the Prince writes to his father on
the 30th of July, 1837,* "has written to me a great deal
about England and all that is going on there. United
as all parties are in high praise of the young Queen, the
more do they seem to manoeuvre and intrigue with and
against each other. On every side there is nothing but a
network of cabals and intrigues, and parties are arrayed
against each other in the most inexplicable manner
Uncle Leopold advises us to make a journey to the South
of Germany and Switzerland, or even to the North of
Italy. Sorry as I shall be to lose the opportunity of see-
ing our dear uncle again soon, I feel that his opinion is
right, and I am sure you will also agree in thinking his
reasons imperative and conclusive."
The object of the King of the Belgians in advising this
* See Appendix C.
132 Tour in Switzerland.
journey seems to have been to draw attention from the
young princes, as, during their residence at Brussels, a
report had been very generally spread (as already men-
tioned) of a marriage being in contemplation between
Prince Albert and the young Queen.
The brothers accordingly employed the vacation in
making a tour through Switzerland and the North of Ita-
ly. Leaving Bonn on the 28th of August, and sleeping
on their way at Andernach, Coblentz, Mannheim, Baden-
Baden, and Kenzingen, they arrived on the 3d of Sep-
tember at Basel. The first days of their tour had been at-
tended by almost constant rain, in spite of which they vis-
ited every thing best worth seeing at Baden, Strasburg,
and other places through which their route lay. As-
cending the Jura by the Miinsterthal, they reached Mou-
tiers, where they slept in the evening of the 4th, and after
halting the next day at Biel in order to visit the " Peters
Insel" celebrated by Rousseau, they arrived on the 6th
at Elfenau, half an hour's drive from Berne. Here they
remained three days on a visit to their aunt, the Grand-
duchess Anne, widow of the Grand-duke Constantine.
.The weather had cleared up the day before they ar-
rived at Elfenau, and, though very cold at the early hour
at which they generally set out on their day's journey,
the young travelers thoroughly enjoyed their tour and
the fine scenery through which it led them. This is so
well known, and has been so often described, that it is not
necessary to do much more than record the names of the
places they visited. Leaving Elfenau on the 9th, they
slept that night at Brienz, from whence next morning
their pedestrian tour began. Passing by the Briinig-
Tour in Switzerland. 133
Pass and Sarnen to Alpnach, where they slept on the
10th, on the llth they crossed the lake of the four can-
tons to Lucerne. Here they only remained long enough
to see what was best worth seeing in the town, and left
again at eleven o'clock in a boat for Kiissnacht, whence
they ascended the Kigi on foot, arriving, in company with
the family of Prince Fiirstenberg, with whom they had
fallen in at Kiissnacht, at six in the evening.
The next morning we find them at break of day ad-
miring the glorious sunrise from the top of the Rigi ;
descending thence to Goldau, they there took a carriage
to Brunnen, and thence a boat to Fliielen, where they
passed the night.
On the 13th they drove by the Gothardsstrasse, by
Altdorf and Amsteg, the Devil's Bridge, etc., to Ander-
matt, where they slept. On the 14th they ascended the
valley of the Reuss to Hospenthal and Realp, and crossed
the Furka in a storm of wind and snow, descending to
the Glacier of the Rhone, where they rested for the night
in a miserable house. Prince Albert alone refused this
day to make use of the ponies that accompanied them.
His wish had been to make a pedestrian tour, and such
he was determined it should be.
The next morning they set out at eight o'clock to cross
the dangerous Mayenwand, a steep ascent made more dif-
ficult by the snow that lay as far as they could see to a
depth of two and a half feet. Thick mist obscured the
fearful abyss below them, and the Grimsel Hospice, which
they reached at ten o'clock, was a welcome sight. De-
scending thence by Handeckfall, they slept that night at
Gutlau; the next at Meyringen; the 17th, after visiting
134 Ascent of Mont Blanc.
the fall of the Reichenbach, at the Eosenlaui Glacier ; and
on the 18th, after a very fatiguing day, they reached the
top of the Faulhorn. A glorious sunset rewarded their
toil, and the next morning at five o'clock they were enjoy-
ing an equally glorious sunrise. Continuing their route,
they slept on the 19th at Grindelwald. On the 20th they
crossed the Wengern Alp to Lauterbrunn ; whence, pass-
ing by Interlaken and Thun, where they slept on the
21st, they again arrived at Elfenau, to pay a second visit
to their aunt, early on the morning of the 22d. Here
they remained for the day ; but, though the next day,
the 23d, was the grand- duchess's birthday t they left again
at nine in the morning for Freyburg.
On the 25th, having slept the preceding night at Lau-
sanne, they took the steam-boat at Ouchy, and reached
Geneva in the evening, after a passage of three and a
half hours. The 26th was given up to seeing what was
to be seen at Geneva and in the neighborhood, ending
with the theatre at night. On the 28th they arrived at
Chamouni, and on the 29th, accompanied by three
guides, of whom Balmat the younger, son of the first
man who had ascended Mont Blanc, was one, they set out
for "Jardin," taking mules as far as Montanvert; the
rest of the way, by the Mer de Glace, etc., was necessari-
ly performed on foot. The Jardin was reached at half
past one, and after half an hour to rest and enjoy the
view of the peak of Mont Blanc, hanging right over
them, they redescended, and got back to Chamouni at
seven o'clock. On the 30th they ascended the Col de
Balme, sleeping that night at Martigny, and on the 1st
they came by St. Maurice, Bex, etc., to Vernex, where
Tour in Switzerland, 135
they were received for the third time by their aunt, the
Grand-duchess Anne. In the forenoon of the 2d they
made an excursion to Vevay, etc., returning to Yernex,
which, however, they left at ten in the evening, in order
to extend their tour into Italy. But we need not follow
them farther step by step. Perhaps we have already
been too minute in the enumeration of the places visited
by them in Switzerland. But, while these lines are be-
ing written, Prince Arthur is following* nearly the ex-
act route taken by his father twenty-seven years before,
and it is interesting to think of him visiting the same
scenes, sleeping at the same resting-places, and eagerly
searching the visitors' books for some record of that ear-
lier tour.
But, except the unchangeable features of the scenery,
little remains the same as it was in those days. The fa-
cilities of modern travel, and the consequent overwhelm-
ing flood of annual tourists, have caused hotels and vil-
lages to spring up where there was formerly little better
than a hut to repose in, and only in one place did Prince
Arthur find an inn the same as it had been in his father's
time. Only at one place, too, did he find the inn books
preserved so far back as 1837, and his father's name re-
corded among the visitors.
Having crossed by the Simplon into Italy, the young
travelers visited the Italian lakes, Milan, etc., and ar-
rived at Venice on the 12th of October, whence Prince
Albert thus writes to his father:
" What thanks I owe you, dear papa, for having al-
lowed us to make such a beautiful tour ! I am still quite
* September, 1865.
136 Stay at Venice.
intoxicated by all I have seen in so short a time. The
reports of Herr Rath (Florschiitz) will have told you how
we have been able to explore every part of Switzerland,
and, favored as we were by the weather, we could enjoy
the beauties of the country to the fullest degree
Milan, and, still more, heavenly Venice, contain treasures
of art that astonish me."
The Queen, alluding to this tour in 1864, relates that
the Prince sent her a small book containing views of all
the places above enumerated except two. From one of
these, the top of the Rigi, he sent her a dried "Rose des
Alpes;" and from the other, Voltaire's house at Ferney,
which he visited from Geneva, a scrap of Voltaire's hand-
writing, which he obtained from his old servant.
" The whole of these," the Queen adds, " were placed
in a small album> with the dates at which each place was
visited, in the Prince's handwriting; and this album the
Queen now considers one of her greatest treasures, and
never goes any where without i-t. Nothing had at this
time passed between the Queen and the Prince ; but this
gift shows that the latter, in the midst of his travels, often
thought of his young cousin."*
Only two days were at this time given to Venice.
The vacation was drawing to a close, and it was neces-
sary to think of their return journey, so as to allow of a
stay of some days, on their way back, at their native
Rosenau. Accordingly, at ten o'clock on the night of
the 14th, the princes left Venice, and, traveling night
and day through the Tyrol, arrived at Innspriick at four
* Memorandum by the Queen.
Letter of the Duchess of Gotha. 137
o'clock on the afternoon of the 16th. Here they only re-
mained long enough to see what was best worth seeing,
and went on without stopping at Munich, where they ar-
rived at two o'clock on the 17th.
After one day's rest and sight-seeing at Munich, they
left again in the afternoon of the 18th, and arrived at the
Hosenau on the 20th.
The above enumeration of the places visited by the
princes during this autumn tour is taken from a diary
kept at the time by Herr Florschiitz, by whom they were
accompanied. M. Florschiitz has not, unfortunately (at
least not in his diary), recorded any particular anecdotes
of the tour, with the exception of their having been made
prisoners at the top of Strasburg Cathedral by the slam-
ming, in the wind, of the tower door, and being only re-
leased by the opportune arrival of other visitors.
The princes remained for some days at the Rosenau,
leaving.it again on the 3d of November, on their return
to the University. On the way they paid a visit to their
grandmother at Gotha, and the duchess thus mentions
their visit in a letter to the duke :
" Gotha, Nov. 4, 1837.
" The visit of the dear children has given me the great-
est pleasure, though it was so short; for they only ar-
rived yesterday at half past ten o'clock, and at a quarter
to eight this morning they again left me. The whole visit
seems like a dream, though a very happy one, for they
were both so nice and good. How tall and handsome
Albert is grown, and dear Ernest also looks well and
amiable. They were very grateful to you for the per-
mission to make this beautiful tour, though a little un-
138 The Prince's Letters from Bonn.
easy at having been forced to leave you unwell. To-
morrow they hope to be at Bonn. It is, no doubt, good
for them to devote so much time to their studies, but it is
very bad for us to see so little of them."
Eeturned to Bonn, they resumed their studies with a
diligence by no means impaired by their late pleasant
excursion. The following letters from the Prince will
give some insight into their life, and also refer to an
event that created much sensation at the time; the ar-
rest, namely, of the Archbishop of Cologne in conse-
quence of his opposition to the government :*
"Bonn, Nov. 12, 1837.
" DEAR PAPA, — The last term really ended before we
had time to collect our thoughts about it.
" We have already plunged into the midst of the new
one.
" This winter will be one of very hard work for us,
for we are overwhelmed with lectures, papers, exercises,
etc., etc.
" The chief subjects of our studies at present are Eo-
man law, state right and political economy (Staatswirth-
schaflslehre), and the principles of finance. We also at-
tend two courses of historical lectures by Lobell and A.
W. von Schlegel, and a philosophical lecture (Anthro-
pology and Philosophy) by Fichte. At the same time
we shall not fail to give attention to the study of modern
languages."
* See Appendix C. for original of this and the next letters from Bonn.
Letters from Bonn. , 139
To THE DOWAGER DUCHESS OF SAXE-GOTHA.
".Bonn, Nov. 19, 1837.
" The day before yesterday I received a letter from Un-
cle Leopold, expressing a wish that we should visit him
at Brussels during Christmas week, when there will be
no lectures. You may easily imagine, dear grandmam-
ma, how we look forward to this short visit. I am the
more glad of it, because we shall then have an opportu-
nity of learning more distinctly what uncle thinks of the
coming separation, next spring, of our hitherto united
lives, and also of giving him, at the same time, our own
views of it.
"That moment is, in its saddest form (in seiner truben
Gestalt}, ever before me. We would, therefore, as long
as time allows us, do all we can to soften its pain and to
gild the pill."
To THE DUKE OF COBURG.
"Bonn, Nov. 24, 1837.
"DEAR PAPA, — The subject which engrosses
every one here and in this neighborhood, at this moment,
is the arrest of the Archbishop of Cologne. The Catho-
lic party is furious, and vows death and destruction to all
Prussians and Protestants. Yesterday, being St. Clem-
ent's day, an insurrection was apprehended both at Aix-
la-Chapelle and Cologne ; but the fear of the troops being
called out seems to have prevented it, and every thing
remained quiet
"You no doubt know how the archbishop has behaved
toward the University with reference to the doctrines of
140 Letters from Bonn.
Hermes ; that he has forbidden the professors to read —
that he has broken up the seminary here — and that he
has declared open war against the Prussian government.
Upon this the king sent his minister, Rochow, to Cologne,
to treat with the archbishop, who, however, refused to re-
ceive him, nor would he allow any professor or clergy-
man to defend his principles before him.
" Latterly the archbishop has prohibited marriages be-
tween Protestants and Catholics, unless it were agreed
that the children should sJl be Catholics.
" When the king summoned him to resign his office,
he replied that the king had no authority in the affairs
of the Church.
" The result was, that the archbishop was secretly ar-
rested and carried off by night.
" A rich Catholic, much respected here, said, ' The
government must act with us, for no government can
go against us. Things must go as far as they have done
in Belgium. Let the Prussians have a care, lest they be
driven out of the country with flails.' "
On the 22d of December the Prince writes to his father
that he had been prevented from writing by the necessi-
ty of working hard at their studies on the approach of
Christmas, which he and his brother were to have spent
with their uncle, King Leopold, at Brussels. Their doing
so, however, was prevented by an accident by which the
Prince hurt his knee, and was laid up for several days.*
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — Riding in the riding-school, tho Princo got
his knee jammed between his horse and the wall, in conscquonce of the
horse refusing a leap. The knee was severely injured, and retained a
deep scar ever after.
Accident to the Prince. 141
The dowager duchess, writing from Gotha on the 17th
of December, says :
" How distressed I am to hear that our beloved Albert
has hurt his knee, and suffers a good deal of pain, and
that he can not walk, as dear Ernest writes to me. It is
no joke to hurt the knee. How little do young people
take care of themselves, and how much anxiety and care
do they not occasion ! But as the careful Florschiitz has
not written to me about it, I hope it is not serious."
On the 26th of December the Prince thus writes to his
grandmother :*
"£onn,Dec.2Q, 1837.
" DEAR GRANDMAMMA, — A thousand thanks for 'the
beautiful Christmas present which M. Florschiitz has
given me in your name. On such a day, when so far
separated from home and the dear ones there, any token
of remembrance that recalls them to us is doubly wel-
come.
"I have reviewed in thought all the past Christmas--
eves, most of which we spent with you, always receiving
from you such valuable presents! This Christmas -eve
also I was near you, at-least in spirit. The glass is real-
ly quite beautiful, and I hope soon to adorn myself with
the pretty waistcoat. As you know, dear grandmamma,
we had intended to spend Christmas week in Brussels,
but my unlucky knee has prevented us. Though not
yet strong enough to bear without injury the fatigue of
such a journey, and the exertions which would be un-
avoidable at Brussels, it is now almost well again. "We
* See Appendix C. '
142 Letters from Bonn.
are exceedingly sorry to have had to give up this pleas-
ure ; but, oh the other hand, it gives us more time to re-
peat our lectures and college work, and to wait patiently
for the cure of my foot.
"At the same time, dear grandmamma, allow me to
lay my most hearty good wishes at your feet. May ev-
ery blessing of heaven rest upon you, and may continued
health and unclouded cheerfulness be yours in the com-
ing year. Keep also for me in the years to come the
love and kindness which I have hitherto rejoiced in from
you.
"I still owe you many thanks for two letters which I
have not been able to answer sooner, as the work always
increases so much before the vacations as to occupy the
whole day. How glad I was to hear that you were quite
well again.
" Of our dear Bonn I have nothing to tell you. The
controversy respecting the Hanoverian affairs, and that
with the Archbishop of Cologne, engrosses at present the
interest and speculation of all conversation here. Fare-
well now, dear grandmamma, and keep in affectionate re-
membrance your faithful grandson, ALBERT."
On the same day the Prince wrote to his father* a
letter, which is very characteristic of the habit, early ac-
quired by him, of weighing the truth of all he heard or
saw. What he says of the people of the Ehine shows
how little liable he was to be deceived by eye-service or
lip-loyalty, while all his remarks speak for the liberality
and tolerance of his own religious views. " "We had
* See Appendix C.
Letter to his Father. 143
thought," he says, " of celebrating your birthday with our
dear uncle at Brussels, but the tiresome blow I gave my
knee prevented us from having that pleasure. I am,
however, quite well again, only I must still spare my
leg a little, so that, on the one hand, I could not under-
take the fatigues of Brussels, and, on the other, I shrank
from being seen limping about. We therefore remained
quietly at Bonn, where we are busy with our studies
You will no doubt have taken much interest in the af-
fairs at Cologne. Here it is the all-engrossing subject,
and it is very evident that the much-extolled loyalty of
the Ehine people is wonderfully loose. ' Prussian' and
'Lutheran heretic' are common terms of contumely. The
party of the priests seems to be very strong. They find
their chief support in the aristocracy and the common
people ; the aristocracy, in particular, being very big-
oted."
On the 21st of January, 1838, the Prince informs his
father that he is again " quite well and strong, and once
more able, after the hard work he had gone through, to
amuse himself by making long expeditions on foot."
Having paid the visit to Brussels, which had been pre-
vented by the accident to his knee, he writes to his fa-
ther, on his return to Bonn, dated March 6th, to say he
had returned quite satisfied with the result of his visit,
and that the king had spoken fully to him respecting his
future prospects. " The Queen," he continues, " had in
no way altered her mind, but did not wish to marry for
sonie time yet." "She thought herself," the Queen says
in a memorandum on this subject written in '64, " still
too young, and also wished the Prince to be older when
144 Preparations for Travel.
he made his appearance in England. In after years she
often regretted this decision on her part, and constantly
deplored the consequent 'delay of her marriage. Had
she been engaged to the Prince a year sooner than she
was, and had she married him at least six months earlier,
she would have escaped many trials and troubles of dif-
ferent kinds."*
"The chief question," the Prince continues in the same
letter, "is now as to the arrangement of my mode of life
in the mean time. For the first half year it is settled that
I should remain at Bonn. "We have now got through
the most difficult of our studies, and intend to turn the
summer to account in learning modern languages, and
reading political works. After that I am to travel in
accordance with your wishes and those of my uncle, in
order to learn to depend more upon myself. This plan
is also most agreeable to myself, and uncle is trying to
get for me as traveling companion a well-informed young
Englishman — a Mr. Seymour."f
The details of the proposed journey were to be after-
ward settled with his father when he returned to Coburg,
and with the King of the Belgians, to whom he was
shortly to pay another visit.
* From a Memorandum by the Queen.
t NOTE BY THE QOEEN. — Now Major General Seymour, C. B., lately
of the Scots Fusilier Guards. General Seymour was appointed Groom
in Waiting to the Prince, and is now in the same capacity with the
Queen. The Prince told the Queen, in after years, how good a young
man he was. and how anxious he had been to keep every thing that was
bad or impure from approaching him, though, God knows, vice itself
would ever have recoiled from the look alone of one who wore ' ' the lily
of a blameless life;" but still it is pleasing to record such conduct.
The Queen's Coronation. 146
In June, 1838, the coronation of the Queen took place,
to which the Duke and Duchess of Coburg were invited,
the invitation being accepted by the duke, but declined
by the duchess.
" So you go to England to the coronation," the Prince
writes to his father from Bonn on the 23d of May, 1838,
"and afterward we shall have the happiness of seeing
you with us. Inconvenient and tiring as the doings will
be in London, they will still be very interesting. It is
really a pity that mamma should not be going also ; it
would have been more natural, and I am sure the Queen
will be very sorry not to see her. At the same time, I
must say that I never thought dear mamma would make
up her mind to accept such an invitation."
On this occasion the Queen conferred the Order of the
Garter on the duke, and the Dowager Duchess of Gotha,
writing to him on the 7th of August, takes blame to her-
self for not having sooner congratulated him upon it.
"I know," she says, "this fine Order so well. My re-
vered father,* and my father-in-law, f both had it."
On the 4th of August the Prince wrote again from
Bonn:
" DEAR PAPA, — You will, by this time, have arrived
in your dear home ; and I am sure, after so many fa-
tigues, and being so constantly on 'the move, that you
will not be sorry to spend some time quietly at the Kose-
nau The end of the term is fast approaching, and
we are hard at work at our studies. The removal of our
* Elector of Hesse-Cassel, and son of a daughter of George JI.
f Duke of Gotha, nephew to the Princess of Wales, who was mother to
George III.
G
146 The Princes at Bonn.
whole establishment will resemble the migration of the
Jews from Egypt."
This is the last letter we have from the Prince from
Bonn. Their residence there was to end with the end
of the term, and the time was to come to which in some
of the foregoing letters he has already alluded with such
sadness. At the close of their University career, the
brothers, hitherto inseparable, were to go their different
ways into the great world.
We can not do better than end this chapter with the
following account, by Prince William of Lowenstein, of
his recollections of the time spent by him with the young
princes at Bonn, which he wrote at the request of the
Queen in 1864.
" In 1837 I had the good fortune to make the acquaint-
ance of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg at the University
of Bonn. Among all the young men at the University
he was distinguished by his knowledge, his diligence, and
his amiable bearing in society. He liked, above all
things, to discuss questions of public law and metaphys-
ics, and constantly, during our many walks, juridical prin-
ciples or philosophical doctrines were thoroughly dis-
cussed. On such occasions the Councilor Florschiitz,
who had accompanied the two princes from Coburg,
used to turn the conversation to subjects of general in-
terest
"Such professors as Fichte, Perthes, and Hollweg
could not fail to exercise a stimulating influence over
the youthful minds of their hearers ; and even August
Wilhelm von Schlegel, in spite of his extraordinary van-
The Princes at Bonn. 147
ity, will not easily be forgotten by those who attended
his lectures.
" Among his other social qualities, Prince Albert pos-
sessed a lively sense of the ridiculous, as well as great
talent for mimicking ; and it could scarcely fail but that
the immediate subjects for the exercise of this talent
should be his own attendants, and the professors, who,
while absorbed in their lectures, exhibited some striking
peculiarities and odd manners. Prince Albert could
take these off inimitably, and was enabled by his good
memory to reproduce whole sentences out of their lec-
tures to the general amusement of his company. At the
same time, the Prince's perfect good taste prevented his
ever giving offense, even when he allowed the most un-
controlled play to his fun.
" The somewhat stiff military nature of the princes'
governor, Colonel von "Wiechmann, gave occasion to
many disputes with the young princes, and frequently
led to the most comical scenes. It is impossible to give
an idea in writing of the many trifling occurrences of
this kind, for the ludicrous effect depended more on the
mimicry and accentuation than upon the subject itself.
"Among those who, without knowing it, contributed
largely to our amusement, was Oberberg Hauptmann
von Beust. He had a very pleasant house, to which he
often invited us, and spoke with the most genuine Saxon
accent. He was a little, thick-set, very good-humored,
but somewhat awkward man. One day he showed us a
picture of Venice, and it is impossible to forget the ges-
ture and accent with which, pointing to a row of houses,
he said, ' This is the Ponte Rialte.'
148 The Princes at Bonn.
"Another person who afforded us much amusement
was Rath Wolff, in attendance on the Count of Erbach ;
as, for instance, when one day tasting some red wine, he
exclaimed, 'This is not real Walportzheimer' — a very
simple remark, but which was for years brought up
against him ; or when, at another time, he fell in a race,
and had to look for his spectacles.
" Prince Albert had a great turn for drawing carica-
tures, and among the scenes of his University life of
which he has thus perpetuated the memory, Professors
Fichte and Lobell, and the spectacles of Eath Wolff, are
favorite subjects.
" The Prince's humor and sense of the ludicrous, how-
ever, found a natural counterpoise in his other great and
sterling qualities ; and the great business of his later life,
the many important duties he had to fulfill, soon drove
into the background the humorous part of his character,
which had been so prominent at the University.
" As the Prince excelled most of his con-temporaries
in the use of intellectual weapons, in the art of convinc-
ing, in strictly logical argument, so he was distinguished
also in all kinds of bodily exercise. In fencing and the
practice of the broadsword he was very skillful. In fenc-
ing especially he excelled so much, that once in a fenc-
ing-match he carried off the prize from all his compet-
itors.
" I recall with much pleasure our excursion on foot to
the neighboring Siebengebirge, so rich in legend ; to the
valley of the Aar, where the celebrated Walportzheimer
wine is produced ; and up and down the Ehine.
" Two fine greyhounds usually followed the princes,
The Princes at Bonn. 149
one of which, called Eos" (already mentioned as having
been brought by the Prince to England), " was remark-
able for sagacity and beauty, and was so fast that she
could in the shortest time catch a hare and bring it back.
On this account she was Prince Albert's favorite.
" Music was also a favorite pursuit of the students.
To the despair of Colonel von Wiechmann, we learned
several students' songs, and even practiced the ' Glocke'
of Eomberg for four voices. In spite of many false notes,
we went resolutely on, and passed many an evening in
song. Prince Albert was looked upon among us as a
master of the art.
" Attempts were even made at dramatic performances,
some scene or intrigue being invented and spoken, and
then at once represented. These improvisings had doubt-
less little artistic merit, but they were not the less amus-
ing. Prince Albert was always the life and soul of them,
and acted the principal parts.
" He entered with the greatest eagerness into every
study in which he engaged, whether belonging to science
or art. He spared no exertion either of mind or body ;
on the contrary, he rather sought difficulties in order to
overcome them. The result was such an harmonious de-
velopment of his powers and faculties as is very seldom
arrived at. WILHELM, Prince Lowmstein.
" Kreuzwertheim on Main, May 12, 18G4."
150 Separation of the Brothers.
CHAPTER IX.
1838-1839.
Separation of the Brothers. — The Prince's Tour in Italy. — Baron Stock-
mar. — Majority of Prince Ernest. — Prince Albert declared of Age at
the same Time. — Letters.
THE brothers were now to be separated for the first
time in their lives, and deeply was the separation felt by
both. At the close of their University career, the elder,
Prince Ernest, was to go to Dresden to enter the Saxon
service, while Prince Albert was to set out shortly after-
ward for Italy, where he was to spend the winter, accord-
ing to the plan which, as we have seen, had been already
determined upon for him.
They had, however, still two months to spend together
at Coburg before the final separation took place, and, at-
tached to each other as they were, we may easily imagine
how dear to them must have been the last days spent to-
gether at a home which they both loved so much. These
last days had, however, been nearly marked by a sad ca-
tastrophe, of which the Prince gives the following ac-
count in a letter to his grandmother ; and it will be seen
that it was only averted by a combination of coolness and
good sense very rare at such moments. Had they opened
the doors to call for assistance in the first alarm, as would
have been only natural, instead of " shutting themselves
Letter of the Prince. 151
in with the fire," the consequences might have been most
serious.*
" Coburff, I8tk Oct., 1838.
" DEAR GRANDMAMMA, — I have again delayed writing
to you, but when a man is once sunk in idleness, it is dif-
ficult to get out of it.
" I learned from your dear letter to Ernest that you
are better, and that you have moved into your pretty
winter residence in all its new splendor.
"How perishable such splendor is we felt seriously
yesterday, when, if God had not held his protecting hand
over us, the whole palace of Coburg might have become
a prey to the flames, nor we ourselves able in any way to
escape.
"A fire is lit in our rooms every morning lest we
should find them cold when we come to town occasion-
ally in the afternoon. It happened the day before yes-
terday that we staid in town after the play, in order not
to catch cold driving back to the Rosenau. The next
morning I was awoke by an unpleasant smell ; I sprang
out of bed to see whether the register had not been for-
gotten to be opened in one of the stoves. The smoke
met me thicker and thicker, but I could not discover any
thing. In the fourth room I was met by the flames dart-
ing toward me ; it was all on fire. I called out ' Fire !
fire!' when Ernest and Cart came from their rooms to
my assistance. No living soul was in this wing of the
palace except us three ; it was also so early that nobody
was astir in the neighborhood. You can fancy our
alarm. We did not take long to consider, but closed all
* See original letter in Appendix C.
152 Letter of the Prince.
the doors and shut ourselves up with the fire. There
were only two jugs with water, and a jug of champmile
tea at our command, of which we made the most Er-
nest took my cloak and his own and threw them upon
the flames, while I dragged all my bedding there, and
pressed the mattresses and large counterpanes against the
burning wall. Cart lifted a marble table with incredible
strength and threw it against the bookcase enveloped in
flames, causing it to fall down. Having thus subdued
the fire, we could think of calling for more help.
"Ernest ran just as he got out of bed down stairs to
the sentry, who gave the alarm,' while I and Cart* were
still working up stairs. The heat and smoke were so
powerful that all the windows had fallen out; even the
glasses of the framed pictures were . cracked, and the pic-
tures shriveled in, and the paint of the doors is quite
charred.
"Ilelp now came in haste from all sides: a number
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — Cart came over to this country with the
Prince on his marriage, and remained in his service as valet till he died
in August, 1858, having been with him twenty-eight years. - The Prince
received the news of his death at Dusseldorf just as he was starting with
the Queen for Hanover and Babelsberg, and they were both deeply af-
fected by the news. Cart's devotion to the beloved Prince was really
quite like that of a nurse for a child, and the Prince never ceased to la-
ment the loss of that faithful servant and true friend, whose discretion
and independence of character were most striking. When he died the
Prince said to the Queen that many recollections of his childhood were
gone with Cart to the grave. He was a link, he added, with his happy
childhood and dear native country which was peculiarly precious to him,
living as he did in a foreign land ; for that even the Queen could only
talk of those times as of history, and as of things of which she personally
knew nothing. Cart was a native of Kion, near Geneva.
The Princes' approaching /Separation. 153
of workmen brought water up and extinguished the
smouldering fire. A bookstand with many books and
all our prints, two chairs, a table, a looking-glass, etc.,
have been burnt.
" There is no other harm, done, but that Cart and I
have burnt the soles of our feet as we got barefooted into
the cinders.
" The accident was caused by the ignorance of a stoker
who had heated a stove that was not meant to be used,
and on which books and prints were lying, and against
which a quantity of maps were standing. .
"The only picture that was not injured is the one of
the fire at the Palace of Gotha.
"Farewell now, dear grandmamma, and always love
your faithful grandson, ALBERT.
"Rosenau, \Sth Oct., 1838.
"P.S. — I shall soon be able to send you the promised
picture."
On the same day that the above narrative of their es-
cape from fire was written, the dowager duchess was her-
self writing to the duke, to express her pleasure at hav-
ing seen Prince Albert again, and to bewail the approach-
ing separation of the' brothers.
"It was most kind," she writes, October 18, 1838, "to
allow the dear children to spend a day with me, and our
dear Albert gave me a most delightful surprise. I re-
gretted very much that dear Ernest could not come also.
I sympathize deeply with the poor children on their ap-
proaching separation. With that moment I am sure the
merriest and happiest periods of their lives will have
G2
154 Letter of the Prince.
passed. Who could be otherwise than sad on such an
occasion? Every day that now passes adds to my sor-
row for them."
Among those who have been mentioned as fellow-
students at Bonn with the Prince and his brother, there
was no one, as has been already mentioned, with whom
the former was more intimate, or to whom he was more
attached, than Prince William of Lowenstein, whose rec-
ollections of their University life conclude the preceding
chapter. For some years after leaving the University,
the Prince kept up an occasional correspondence with
him, and he has lately given the Queen some of the let-
ters he received, which are very characteristic of the
Prince's warm heart and affectionate disposition. While
the brothers were now awaiting at Coburg the dreaded
moment which was to bring with it their first separation
from each other, the Prince thus writes to his college
friend :*
" Coburg, October 26, 1838.
"DEAR LOWENSTEIN, — A thousand thousand thanks
for your dear friendly letter, which is a proof to us that
you still sometimes think of your true friends. I believe
that the pleasant days which we spent together, partly in
useful occupations, partly in cheerful intercourse (in
froher Unterhaltung), will ever appear to me as the hap-
piest of my life. In spite of our unrestrained intimacy
(Ungenirtheit) and our many practical jokes (den vielen
Neckereien), the utmost harmony always existed between
us. How pleasant were our winter concerts — our theat-
rical attempts — our walks to the Venusberg — the swim-
* Sec Appendix C. for the original.
Separation of the Princes. 155
ming-school — the fencing -ground! I dare not think
back upon all these things.
"Ernest is now going to Dresden in order to sacrifice
himself to Mars (urn sick dort dem Mars zu opfern). He
will there throw himself entirely into a military exist-
ence.
"I shall shortly begin my Italian travels. I will oc-
casionally give you news of myself from different places ;
but you must also write to rne ; I will always let you
know where to. In ten or twelve days I shall already
have left my home behind. I shall not set out till Er-
nest also launches his vessel, so that he may not be left
behind alone. The separation will be frightfully painful
to us. Up to this moment we have never, so long as we
can recollect, been a single day away from each other.
I can not bear to think of that moment."
Referring to Prince Ernest's intended residence at
Dresden, and the approaching separation, the dowager
duchess again writes on the 1st of November, 1838:
" I was sure that the good King of Saxony would be
delighted at our dear Ernest's spending some time at
Dresden. I should think happily of this well-selected
residence for him if dear Albert were only there with his
brother ! The thought of the separation of such fondly-
attached brothers quite breaks my heart, and I can not
reconcile myself to the great distance which separates
him (Prince Albert) from us."
And again, when the coming separation was yet more
imminent: "I can well imagine, my dear duke," the
duchess writes, " how painful for you will be the separa-
tion from your dear sons. May they soon return to their
156 Separation of the Princes.
country, and not easily be induced again to leave it ; for
where else could they be so useful and so safe ?"
Toward the end of November the separation was con-
summated by the departure of Prince Ernest for Dres-
den. Prince Albert accompanied him a certain distance
on his road, and on his return to Coburg sat down to give
his grandmother the following most touching account of
his brother's departure and of his own loneliness. It
was, indeed, a wrench to those young and loving hearts ;
and it had been well arranged that the Prince should not
be left to brood over the change at home, but should pro-
ceed upon a tour, which would necessarily occupy and
interest his active and inquiring mind :*
" Now I am quite alone. Ernest is far off (uber alle
Serge), and I am left behind, still surrounded by so many
things which keep up the constant illusion that he is in
the next room. To whom could I turn, to whom could
I pour out my heart (meinem Herzen Luft macheri) better
than to you, dear grandmamma, who always take such
interest in every thing that happens to us; who also
know and understand us both so well ?
" We accompanied Ernest as far as Lobenstein, where
we spent an evening and the following morning together
with our dear old great-aunt, f She was delighted to
have us with her once more, maybe for the last time, for
she is eighty years old, and very poorly. The two cous-
ins were also very kind to us.
* See Appendix C.
t Louise, princess of Reuss-Lobenstein, eldest sister of the Prince and
Queen's maternal grandmother.
Separation of the Princes.
"During the evening we were very happy together.
The next morning brought the pain of parting. We
only staid till twelve o'clock, and then drove home, this
time without Ernest, arriving at ten o'clock at night, al-
most frozen to death.
"We went, as usual, in an open carriage, and had to
endure the cold of 16 degrees (Reaumur's) while crossing
the lovely Frankenwald.
" Now Ernest has slept through his first night at Dres-
den. This day will also bring to him the feeling that
something is wanting. (Es wird Him der heutige Tag dock
auch etwas leer vorkommen.) I wrote to him to-day, and
expect a few lines from him to-morrow or the day after,
which I will send to you at once if you like it.
" If I have not written to you for some time, it was be-
cause during the last days we really had so much to talk
and to care about. I am sure you will not be angry
with me. I must now give up the custom of saying we
and use the I, which sounds so egotistical and cold (des so
egoislisch und kali lautenden lefts).
"*In we every thing sounded much softer, for the we
expresses the harmony between different souls, the /
rather the resistance of the individual against outward
forces, though also confidence in its own strength (den
Widerstand des Einzelnen gegen die dusseren Krafte, jedoch
auch das Vertrauen aufeigene Slarke).
" I am afraid of tiring you with my talk, and yet in
this present silence it is a comfort to be able to talk.
" Cobury, Nov. 29, 1838."
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN, June, 1865. — No one felt the truth and the an-
guish of this more than the Queen after Dec. 14, 1861, and never can she
speak of "my children, "but always says "our."
158 Letter of the Duchess of Gotha.
" A thousand thanks for your last gracious and very
affectionate letter. How pleasant it is to know that some-
body shares the feelings which animate us. I have had
a letter from Ernest, but as it is of older date than yours,
I do not send it. I was very glad thus to hear of him
more frequently.
" Cobury, Dec. 5, 1838."
Prince Albert did not remain long at Coburg after the
departure of his brother for Dresden. In the second
week of December he set out for Italy, his father accom-
panying him — as we gather from the following letter
from the Dowager Duchess of Gotha — as far as Munich.
"Gotha, 9 Dec., 1838.
"DEAK DUKE, — In a letter I have just received from
our dear Albert, he tells me that your journey is fixed
for next Monday, and that you will go with him as far
as Munich. I hasten to assure you of my best wishes
for a happy journey, and that I can well imagine how
painful the separation from dear Albert will be to you.
My most affectionate wishes, my prayers, and my bless-
ings follow him. May God grant that he may return to
us as unspoiled in soul and body as he leaves us ! The
thought of his departure makes me melancholy. Dear
good Ernest wrote me a very sad letter from Dresden on
the day of his arrival there. He feels himself so alone,
which is only natural."
Herr Florschlitz, who had had the constant direction
of the young princes' education from the time they were
five and four years old respectively, had ended his duties
Baron Stockmar. 159
as tutor with the close of their University career. Prince
Albert was" now accompanied to Italy by Baron Stock-
inar — Stockmar, whose name must be associated in the
remembrance of all who had the happiness of knowing
him during the many years of his residence at the En-
glish court, with all that they have known of most good
and true ! Long indeed will the name of " the Baron"
live as a household word in the English palace. What
member was there of the Queen's household who could
not point, with grateful remembrance, to some act on his
part of kind and considerate friendship? But, above
all, what was he to the chief objects of his care and love!
Earely has it fallen to the lot of Queen or Prince to be
blessed with so real a friend, in the best sense of that
word — with so wise, so judicious, so honest a counselor.
A native of Coburg, and attached to the King of the Bel-
gians from the time when, as Prince Leopold of Saxe-
Gotha, he first came to England to marry our Princess
Charlotte, his whole life may be said to have been de-
voted to the Coburg family.
Watching the youth of the young princes, he was not
slow to discover and appreciate the remarkable qualities
of head and heart that distinguished even the boyhood
of Prince Albert ; and he had early looked forward to
his marriage with the young princess, his cousin, as be-
ing better qualified than any other prince he knew to fill
the difficult position of consort to the sovereign of this
great empire.
For many years after that hope had been realized — in-
deed, till within three or four years of the Prince's un-
timely death — the English court was his chief residence,
160 Baron Stockmar.
and he had the satisfaction of seeing for himself how all
the expectations he had formed of the happy results of
such a marriage were more than fulfilled.*
Eevered and beloved by all who were brought into
contact with him — deserving and enjoying the unbound-
ed confidence, not only of the Queen and Prince, but of
the leading statesmenf of all parties — employing his great
influence for no selfish end, but seeking only to do good
and to be of use, there was but one feeling of sorrow
when advancing years and failing health led him to think
the time was come when he should withdraw from a pal-
ace where he had so long lived, the beloved and trusted
friend of all beneath its roof, from the Queen on the
throne to the humblest member of her household.
From, the time that he thus withdrew from the En-
glish court he lived almost entirely at Coburg, and it is
perhaps not too much to say that a main inducement to
the visit which the Queen and Prince made to that place
in 1860 was the wish to see their old friend once again.
Little could it then have been foreseen that it was the
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — The Queen, looking back with gratitude and
affection to the friend of their early married life, can never forget the
assistance given by the Baron to the young couple in regulating their
movements and general mode of life, and in directing the education of
their children.
t NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — Lord Melbourne had the greatest regard and
affection for, and the most unbounded confidence in him. At the com-
mencement of the Queen's reign the Baron was of invaluable assistance
to Lord Melbourne. Lord Aberdeen also, speaking of him to the Queen,
said : " I have known men as clever, as discreet, as good, and with as
much judgment ; but I never knew any one who united all these qualities
as lie did. He is a most remarkable man !" The Baron had the greatest
regard, in return, for " my good Aberdeen," as he called him.
Baron Stockmar. 161
last time " the Prince" and " the Baron" (with what fond
affection one still lingers over those beloved and familiar
names !) were to meet again in this world. Still less
could the Baron have anticipated, when rejoicing with
the Queen over the Prince's providential escape, during
this visit to Coburg, from an accident that might well
have proved fatal* — that he himself, full of years and
shattered as he was in health, would live to see the object
of so much love, of such anxious and affectionate care,
such fond expectation, borne before himself to the tomb ;
that the life which had been thus providentially pre-
served would, within a few months, by the inscrutable
decree of Heaven, be suddenly cut short, apparently in
the full vigor of its strength, and in the full career of its
usefulness.
Once again, in 1862, did the Queen see the good old
man, to weep together over the sore affliction that had
fallen upon them since they met only two short years
before. But, ere another year had come round, and
while the Queen, in 1863, was looking forward to another
visit to Coburg, in the hope of once more seeing the dear
Baron, the intelligence arrived that his health had sud-
denly given way, to be followed, in a post or two, by the
news that this kindest, best, and most devoted, as well as
* As the Prince was returning from a morning visit to the Katenberg
in a carriage belonging to the Duke of Coburg, the horses took fright
and ran away. After running for some distance at a frightful pace, the
Prince, seeing that they were fast approaching the crossing over the rail-
road, where the gates were shut, and that a fearful crash was inevitable,
watched his time and jumped out, escaping with a few rather severe
bruises and scratches about the face. The coachman, who kept his seat
till the collision occurred, was much hurt.
162 Tour in Italy.
most disinterested of friends, was no more. On the 9tb
of July, 1863, the Baron followed his beloved Prince to
the grave.
And thus was fulfilled the anticipation in which he had
himself indulged, when, during that last visit to Coburg,
" the crushed and broken-hearted widow, speaking to him
of their beloved Prince, and showing him the pictures and
photographs of him which covered the table, the Baron
exclaimed, 'My dear, good Prince — how happy I shall
be to see him again ! And it will not be long.' "*
After some stay at Munich, where he parted from his
father, the Prince proceeded on his journey to Italy, and
arrived at Florence on the 24th of December, 1838, where
he remained till the beginning of March, 1839. He thus
describes his journey :
"Florence, Dec. 30, 1838.
" Last night we at last arrived at the place of our des-
tination— the far-famed Florence. I make it my first
duty, dearest papa, to give you an account of our jour-
ney. In general we made very short days' journeys, on
account of Baron Stockmar's health, and slept at the fol-
lowing places : Kufstein, Innspriick, Sterzing, Trent, Ve-
rona, Mantua, Modena, Bologna, Conigliano, Florence.
The road over the Brenner offered no difficulties. There
was very little, and sometimes no snow on the road, but
for five days we had cold of 12 degrees.f
" Since we have left the Alps behind the cold is indeed
less severe, but the whole of North Italy is covered with
snow three feet deep. We found so much snow in the
Apennines that we took five hours to accomplish what
* Memorandum by the Queen. t Reaumur.
Tour in Italy. 163
should have been done in less than three, though we had
six horses and two oxen to the carriage. I often fancied
myself at Oberhof."*
On the 9th of January, 1839, he again writes: "We
are now established in the Casa Cerini, a house belonging
to the Marquis Cerini, which is very well situated. We
have very airy and pretty rooms, still furnished in the
style of Louis XIV." (After mentioning that he had
been the week before to Pisa, to attend the funeral of
Princess Marie of Wiirtemberg,f he proceeds) : " I left
immediately after the funeral and returned to Florence,
having heard that the Due de Nemours wished to leave
Pisa the same day, in order to get away as soon as possi-
ble from a place connected with so many painful recol-
lections."
In his letters toward the end of his stay at Florence,
the Prince describes his life as having been very gay ;
dining out a great deal, and attending balls; one of
which, given at the Pergola Theatre, he mentions as hav-
ing been particularly brilliant, and of his having danced
at it till he was quite tired. But we may be sure that
his time was also more usefully spent in studying all that
was best and most remarkable in art, for, though he
never visited Florence again, the intimate acquaintance
he displayed in after years with all the best art treasures
of that city afforded indisputable proof of the impression
* A shooting lodge in the Thiiringerwald, belonging to the duke, be-
tween Gotha and Coburg.
t Daughter of King Louis Philippe. Her husband, Duke Alexander,
was first-cousin of the Prince, being the son of the Duke of Coburg 's
sister, Antoinette, married to the Duke of Wiirtemberg. See Appendix A.
164 Life at Florence.
made upon him by what he now saw. He was always a
great admirer of the buildings at Florence, and among
these there was none he admired more than the Palazzo
Pitti, which he especially mentions for the beauty of the
external architecture and the magnificence of the apart-
ments.*
On the 9th of February, 1839, the Prince was joined
at Florence by Lieutenant (now Major General) Seymour,
of the 19th Eegiment, who, at the request of the King of
the Belgians, had obtained leave of absence from his reg-
iment in order to travel with his nephew. Mr. Seymour,
in a memorandum of his recollections of his journey,
written in 1863 by the Queen's command, describes the
Prince, whom he then saw for the first time, as being
"slight in figure and rather tall, his face singularly hand-
some and intelligent, his features regular and delicate;
his complexion, which later, from exposure to an Italian
sun, became brown, was then fair and clear. He had, in
addition to these advantages, a great look of goodness
and distinction, which, young as he was in years, im-
pressed all who were fortunate enough to be thrown into
his society."
Of the Prince's life at Florence he gives the following
account :
"The Prince was staying at the Casa Cerini, Via del
Coromen. .... He rose at six o'clock. After a light
breakfast he studied Italian under a Signor Martini, read
English with me for an hour, played on the organ or
piano, composed, sung till twelve o'clock, when he gener-
ally walked, visiting some gallery, or seeing some artist.
* Memorandum by the Queen.
The Prince at Florence. 165
He returned home at two to a simple dinner, which he
hurried over as much as possible, giving as a reason that
'eating was a waste of time.'* His drink was water.
After dinner he again played and sang for an hour, when
the carriage was announced, and he usually paid some
visits. The visits over, the carriage was dismissed, and
the great delight of the Prince was to take long walks in
the beautiful country round Florence. This he appeared
heartily to enjoy. He became at once gay and animated.
' Now I can breathe — now I am happy !f Such were his
constant exclamations. He seldom returned home till
seven o'clock, his hour for tea ; and, if not going to the
Opera or an evening party, he joined in some interesting
and often amusing conversation with Baron Stockmar,
when the latter felt well enough to come to tea. At nine,
or soon after, he was in bed and asleep, for he had been
accustomed to such early hours in his own country that
he had great difficulty in keeping himself awake when
obliged to sit up late."
The Grand-duke Leopold, Mr. Seymour says, was ex-
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — The Queen has constantly heard the Prince
say this.
t NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — This the Prince constantly expressed on ar-
riving at Osborne and Balmoral, and on leaving London, '•' How sweet
it smells." How "delicious the air is! One begins to breathe again!"
And how he delighted in the song of birds, and especially of nightingales
— listening for them in the happy, peaceful walks he used to take with the
Queen in the woods at Osborne, and whistling to them in their own pe-
culiar long note, which they invariably answered ! The Queen can not
hear this note now without fancying she hears him, and without the deep-
est, saddest emotion. At night he would stand on the balcony at Os-
borne, in May, listening to the nightingales.
166 The Prince at Florence.
tremely attentive to the young Prince, expressing not
only a sincere personal regard for him, but an unfeigned
admiration of his character and disposition. " On one
occasion," Mr. Seymour relates, "the grand-duke was
much struck by observing the Prince engaged in a warm
discussion with the blind Marquis Capponi, a very emi-
nent and respected member of the Tuscan aristocracy,
and said to Lady Augusta Fox" (wife of the Hon. Henry
Fox, afterward Lord Holland, who was then English
minister at Florence) " here is a prince of whom we may
be proud. Lovely partners wait for him, while he is oc-
cupied with the learned."
To his old college friend, Prince Lowenstein, the
Prince himself describes his life, and his impressions of
Florence as follows :*
" February 25, 1839.
"DEAR LOWENSTEIN, — I have long wished to write
you a few lines, to thank you for your dear letter of the
3d of January, which I received here, sent after me from
Gotha. But you know that the best intentions are ever
the most rarely carried out, and thus it is that I am so
late in writing.
"Oh! Florence, where I have been for two months,
has gathered to herself noble treasures of art. I am oft-
en quite intoxicated with delight when I come out of one
of the galleries. The country round Florence, too, pos-
sesses extraordinary attractions. I have lately thrown
myself entirely into the whirl of society (in den Strudd
der Gesellschafteri). I have danced, dined, supped, paid
* See original letter in Appendix C.
Journey to Home. 167
compliments, have been introduced to people, and had
people introduced to me ; have spoken French and En-
glish— exhausted all remarks about the weather — have
played the amiable — and, in short, have made 'bonne
mine, a mauvais jeu.' You know my passion for such
things, and must therefore admire my strength of char-
acter that I have never excused myself — never returned
home till five in the morning — that I have emptied the
carnival cup to the dregs (Carnevalsbecher bis auf den Bo-
den geleert hdbe).
" My stay at Florence will not last much longer. On
the 10th of March I go to Rome, where I shall remain
three weeks. Thence I shall hasten to Naples, and be-
fore the overpowering heat begins, hope to have the
white peaks of the Alps once more in sight.
"I must now again say good-by, dear Lowenstein.
Think sometimes with affection of your sincere friend,
"ALBERT."
The Prince left Florence with much regret on the 12th
of March, being anxious to arrive in Rome before the
Holy "Week. He slept at Arezzo, Perugia, Terni, and
Civita Castellana, and arrived at Rome in a storm of rain
on the fifth day. He immediately wrote to his father,
and thus describes his journey, and his impressions ("any
thing but favorable," according to Mr. Seymour) of the
Eternal City :*
"Rome, 17 March, 1839.
"DEAR PAPA, — We arrived yesterday evening in the
world - renowned (weltberuhmteri) city of Rome, and I at
* See Appendix C. for original of this and following letters.
168 Arrival at Rome.
once sit down to announce it. We took four days to
perform the journey, visiting several places of note oil
our way, such as the celebrated waterfall at Terni, which
is really more grand than any of those we saw in Switz-
erland ; the Lake of Trasimene ; the bridge of Augustus
at Narni, etc.
" Yesterday I took a walk with Mr. Seymour through
the streets of Eome, but I find it hard to persuade my-
self that I am really in Rome. But for some beautiful
palaces, it might just as well be any town in Germany.
By the 1st of April I expect to have seen all the sights
here, and on the first days of next month to be able to
continue our journey to Naples."
During the time the Prince remained in Rome he de-
voted himself assiduously to seeing all that was best
worth his attention. "He rose," Mr. Seymour says, "at
daybreak, wrote his letters, and at nine o'clock began his
visits to the different galleries and studios, returning only
to partake of a hurried dinner ; after which he again set
out, and spent the time till sunset in visiting some of the
interesting remains of ancient Rome."
On the 31st of March he describes all he had seen dur-
ing Easter week. He says he had been interested, but
that the only ceremony which had not disappointed him,
as being less grand and imposing than he had expected,
was that of the " Pope's blessing the people, assembled
before the Vatican, from the balcony, amid the ringing
of bells, firing of cannon, and military music." " It was,"
he says, "really a most imposing scene," though what
followed was tedious, "and savored strongly of idolatry."
Visit to Naples. 169
"Last Tuesday," he adds in the same letter, "I had
the honor of an interview with his holiness.* The old
gentleman was very kind and civil. I remained with
him nearly half an hour, shut up in a small room. We
conversed in Italian on the influence the Egyptians had
had on Greek art, and that again on Eoman art. The
Pope asserted that the Greeks had taken their models
from the Etruscans. In spite of his infallibility, I ven-
tured to assert that they had derived their lessons in art
from the Egyptians."
In the same letter the Prince mentions his having un-
expectedly met the Crown Prince of Bavaria, also Prince
and Princess Peter of Oldenburg, and of having also seen
Don Miguel, the ex- King of Portugal. In this and other
letters H. E. H. speaks enthusiastically of the beautiful
things with which Eome is filled.
At the beginning of April the Prince left Eome for
Naples, from whence he thus writes to his father on the
llth:
" I have now been here about five days, and occupied
with seeing the lions, of which, however, Naples has not
many to show. The natural beauties of the place, which
are really wonderful, are what strike one. But I have
not been able to enjoy them as I could wish, as the south-
ern coloring is quite wanting. The surrounding mount-
ains, and even Vesuvius, are covered with snow ; and the
sky and the sea are so dull and gray, that one might
fancy one's self transported to the North Sea. They say
when the moon changes, which it will do in a few days,
that we may expect a change for the better.
* Pope Gregory XVI.
H
170 Letter of the Prince.
" The day before yesterday I paid a visit to the King
and Queen "
And again on the 25th of the same month :
" A thousand thanks for your last letter, which puts
me in possession of the plans for your journey. To-mor-
row early I leave Naples, and shall now step by step, but
without making a long halt at any place, ascend the west
coast of Italy, and expect to be at Turin toward the end
of next month. How rejoiced I shall be to see you again
either on Italian soil or in the Swiss mountains ! You
will, at all events, find a letter from me at Milan, ' poste
restante,' in which I will give you the latest news of my
travels. My stay at Naples has been most interesting,
and I have profited by it to see all the sights. Nothing
struck me so much as Pompeii, a most singular and inter-
esting place.
"I have visited the most interesting places in the
neighborhood : Vesuvius, Paestum, Sorrento, and the isl-
and of Capri. In spite of all this, I should much like to
be with you at Vienna."
On the 5th of May 'we find him again at Pisa, on his
way home. " We left Naples," he writes on that day,
"on the 26th ult., going direct to Kome, where I re-
mained two days ; one in order to take a general glance
at the objects which, during my long stay, I had seen in
detail, the other in order to visit Tivoli. We are now
come here direct by Viterbo and Sienna, without going
near Florence. I shall remain here to-day, go to-morrow
to Leghorn, and return here. I shall then take my way
by Lucca to Genoa, which I hope to reach by the 9th.
My stay there will only be for two or three days, so that
Beturn to Coburg. 171
I hope certainly to leave by the 13th, and to pursue my
journey to the north by the route of Novi. If I there
hear positive news of you from Milan, I will hasten to
that place ; if not, I shall go to Turin and stay for a few
days there. Thence I should cross by the St. Bernard to
Lausanne, and so on to Berne, where I shall, at all events,
await your coming."
The Prince spent some days at Milan, where, as he had
hoped, he was joined by his father and his cousin, Count
Hugo Mensdorff. On their arrival Baron Stockmar left
the Prince, and returned to his family at Coburg.
The Prince spent several days at Milan, and on the
19th of May proceeded with his father and cousin to the
Lake of Como, and thence, crossing into Switzerland by
the Simplon, they traveled by the Lake of Geneva to Ve-
vay, where they remained for a day. From Vevay they
descended the lake to Geneva, where the Prince met his
aunt, the Grand -duchess Anne of Eussia.* Here Mr.
Seymour, whose leave of absence had expired, left the
Prince and returned to England.
Having remained some days at 'Geneva, the Prince set
out with his father on his return to Coburg, where the
coming of age of his brother, the hereditary prince, on
the 21st of June, was to be celebrated with all the cus-
tomary formality and rejoicings.
By a special act of the Legislature, Prince Albert was
at the same time declared to be of age ; and in a letter
the next day to his grandmother, after mentioning that
his brother had been delighted with her letter and pres-
* Married to the Grand-duke Constantino (brother to the Emperor
Nicholas), from whom, however, she had been long separated.
172 Letter of the Prince.
ent, which " he had given him as soon as he awoke," he
goes on to express the gratification it had been to him,
that in this important step of their lives he and his broth-
er had "still been allowed to go hand in hand."
"I appreciate," he adds, "this proof of papa's affection
and confidence as I ought. And this assurance is what
makes this step so agreeable to me ; for without it, the
thought that I had ceased to be a child of the house
would have been rather a source of sorrow than of pleas-
ure. I shall do my best to show myself in all things de-
serving of his confidence. How I should like now to be
with you for a few moments !"
We will conclude this chapter with another letter to
his old college friend,* interesting from the unreserved
and familiar tone in which it is written, as well as from
the insight it gives into the Prince's character, in his la-
mentations over what he considers the idle life he was
leading, the retrospect of his Italian tour, the expressed
determination, under all circumstances, to maintain his
independence, and, above all, in the warmth of affection
with which he speaks of his home, of his brother, and of
the friend to whom the letter is addressed.
" Ooburg, ZMi June, 1839.
" DEAR LOWENSTEIN, — Your dear letter from Berlin
has given me great pleasure, for I had heard nothing of
you for very long. So you are well and happy, and bear
your fate, in being an inhabitant of the Berlin Sand Ee-
gions (Sand-steppe), with fortitude and patience. I can,
however, imagine that the University, and the many dis-
tinguished and celebrated men who labor there, afford a
* See Appendix C.
Letter of the Prince. 173
rich compensation. When I say the word ' University,7
and remember all the good resolutions which I there
made, I am quite ashamed of my present life, which con-
sists chiefly in dawdling (herumschlenderri) about and ex-
changing compliments. I must, however, acknowledge
that my late Italian tour was of great advantage to me.
It has made an impression upon me, not so much by its
particular incidents as by its general character. My
sphere of observation (Gfesichtskreis) has been doubled,
and my power of forming a right judgment will be much
increased by having seen for myself.
"Italy is truly a most interesting country, and an in-
exhaustible source of knowledge. One contrives, how-
ever, to taste extraordinary little of the enjoyment which
one there promises one's self. In many, many respects
the country is far behind what one had expected. In
the climate, in the scenery, in the study of the arts, one
feels most disagreeably disappointed.
" On the whole, my life was very pleasant. The soci-
ety" of a man so highly distinguished as Baron Stockmar
was most precious and valuable to me, I was also ac-
companied by a young and very amiable Englishman, a
Mr. Seymour, with whom I have become very intimate.
Above all, that complete harmony which is so neces-
sary for any enjoyment of life always existed among
us.
"On the 21st of June we celebrated Ernest's birthday
here, his twenty-first, when he became of age (mundig
wurde). I had also the great happiness of being declared
on the same day, by a government patent, of full age, and
I am now my own master, as I hope always to be, and
174 Letter of the Prince.
under all circumstances.* In consequence of this event
we have had great fetes here, in which the whole country
has most heartily taken par,t.
"On the 13th (July) I shall accompany Ernest to
Dresden, and stay with him for about fourteen days.
Then must I go to a place that I hate mortally, that
charming Carlsbad, where papa is taking the waters, and
much wishes me to be with him. I hope this campaign
will be over by the middle of August.
" You will easily believe the great pleasure it has been
to me to see Ernest and dear Coburg again. I have
found the Eathf married ! Wiechmann;}: I saw at Gene-
va, with my aunt the grand-duchess. Oh that I could
come across your path somewhere or other ! It would
please me so much to be able to spend only a few hours
with you !
" Engrossed by this thought, I go on talking to you
for hours, and forget that you have something else to do
than to read my scrawls.
" At once, therefore, good-by ! Let me soon hear from
you, and do not forget your true friend, ALBERT."
In explanation of what the Prince says in the above
letter of his proposed visit to Carlsbad, it should be added
that, in writing to. Baron Stockmar from Geneva on the
28th of the preceding May, after expressing his regret at
having there parted from Mr. Seymour, " the last of our
pleasant traveling party," the Prince proceeds : " The
happy prospect of approaching nearer and nearer to dear
* NOTE BY THE QCEEX. — How truly this was ever carried out.
f M. Florschutz. J He died in October, 1861.
Letter of the Prince. 175
Coburg would sustain me, were it not for a proposition
of papa's which makes me shudder, namely, to accompa-
ny him to Carlsbad." Alluding then playfully to the
advice given him, that he should " accustom himself
more to society," and " pay more attention to the ladies,"
which, "as an occupation," he* particularly disliked,* he
adds : "I had, on the contrary, formed the finest plans
for the study of the English language and history, for
which the quiet of the Eosenau would have been partic-
ularly well suited. (Ich liatte dagegen die schonsten Plane
zu Englischen /Sprach- und Geschichts-studien gemacht, zu
tvelchen mir die Stille der Rosenau sehr zu Statten kommen
konnte.y
The Prince's love of music has been already noticed,
and the singing -parties at Bonn described by Prince
Lowensteinf will scarcely be forgotten.
During his last visit to Gotha he had formed a singing
society, in which he himself bore part, and the following
letter, written during the stay with his brother at Dres-
den, which he had announced his intention of making,
shows the interest he continued to take in it :
To CONCERT-MASTER SPAETH.:}:
"MY BEAR CONCERT-MASTER, — You will have re-
ceived through Privy Councilor Florschiitz the last par-
cel of my contributions to the singing society got togeth-
er by me. at Gotha.
" I send you to-day Beethoven's much-wished-for and
* Memorandum by the Queen. f See Chapter VIII., p. 149.
t For original of letter, see Appendix C.
176 Letter of the Prince.
highly admired Praise of Music. As parts of it only
tould be got here, I had to write to Leipzig for it, which
accounts for your only now; receiving it. You will find
the instrumental music written out in parts, as well as
that for the vocal performers, which, by a lucky mistake
of the shopkeeper, is in' duplicate. The whole comes
more expensive than I at first expected. It will amount
to a sum of about sixty florins, showing that we shall not
be able to make any important acquisitions out of our
funds.
" You may now hand over this cantata to the library
of the singing society. I would only ask you to send me
back the music for the piano-forte (den KlavieraiLszvg)
after the concert has taken place.
" I offer myself for the bass solo in the cantata, which,
though not important, seems to be very interesting. It
will, perhaps, give you some trouble to find two good so-
pranos. For the part of the violin obligate, which is ex-
tremely beautiful, Eichhorn will suit very well.
"Now good-by, my dear concert -master. Send me
some account to Carlsbad of the rehearsals of Handel
and Nencini. Ever yours sincerely, ALBERT.
"Dresden, July 2Sd, 1839."
After leaving Dresden, the much-dreaded visit to Carls-
bad was paid, and he writes thence to Baron Stockmar
on the 9th of August, complaining of having been asked
to go to Reinhardsbrunn immediately after returning to
Coburg, which, as an interruption to his proposed course
of study, he disliked as much as the visit to Carlsbad.
His going to Eeinhardsbrunn, however, was not insisted
Stay at the Rosenau. 177
upon, for on the 6th of September he writes to the Baron
from the Eosenau to announce his arrival there, " having
at last carried my point, in order to enjoy some days of
quiet and regular occupation."
The. stay at the Eosenau was, however, short, for early
in October he had again to leave it, to pay that eventful
visit to England, which will be the subject of the next
chapter.
H2
178 The Betrothal
CHAPTEK X.
1839.
Visit to England.4— The Marriage of the Queen and Prince settled.
THE time was now approaching when the marriage, to
the possibility of which the grandmother of the Queen
and Prince, the Dowager Duchess of Coburg, had so
fondly looked forward when they were both children,
and which, for the last year, had been the object of such
anxious wishes and such sanguine expectations, was to
be finally settled.
From a very early period the hope expressed by the
Dowager Duchess of Coburg had assumed the form of a
definite idea, that might some day be realized ; and the
Prince used to relate that " when he was a child of three
years old, his nurse always told him that he should mar-
ry the Queen, and that when he first thought of marry-
ing at all, he always thought of her."*
As the children grew up this idea was warmly en-
couraged by the King of the Belgians, from whom, in-
deed, the Queen first heard of it. He had always taken
the most affectionate and parental interest in her welfare
and happiness, and she herself ever looked up to him
with the love and respect of a daughter. Baron Stock-
mar also had early formed the highest opinion of the
young Prince, and his letters to the King of the Bel-
* Tlin Queen's Journal, June 23d, 1840.
The Betrothal 179
gians, written in the spring of 1836, express his strong
conviction that no prince whom he knew was so well
qualified to make the Queen happy, or fitly to sustain
the arduous and difficult position of Prince Consort in
England.*
" How this early promise of distinction was fulfilled,"
the Queen says in the memorandum from which this ac-
count is taken, " how immeasurably all the most san-
guine expectations were surpassed — how the king's fond-
est hopes were realized ten thousand-fold — and how the
fearful blow which took him from us put an end to all
this happiness, and cut short his brilliant and useful ca-
reer, we all know !"
But the idea of such a marriage met also with much op-
position, and the late King William IV. did every thing
in his power to discourage it.f No less than five other
marriages had been contemplated for the young Princess;
and the king, though he never mentioned the subject to
the Princess herself, was especially anxious to bring about
an" alliance between her and the late Prince Alexander
of the Netherlands, brother to the present King of Hol-
land. In his anxiety to effect this object, he did every
thing he could (though, as has been seen, ineffectually)
to prevent the Duke of Coburg's visit to England in
1836, when he came over with his sons and spent nearly
* Memorandum by the Queen, March, 1864.
t NOTE BY THE QCEEN. — Queen Adelaide, in later years, said to the
Queen, that if she had told the king that it was her owji earnest wish to
marry her cousin, and that her happiness depended on it, he would at
once have given up his opposition to it, as he was very fond of, and al-
ways very kind to, his niece.
180 .The Betrothal
four weeks at Kensington Pajace with the Duchess of
Kent*
It was then that the Queen and the Prince met for the
first time, and her Majesty thus records her impressions
of the visit :
" The Prince was at that time much shorter than his
brother, already very handsome, but very stout, which he
entirely grew out of afterward. He was most amiable,
natural, unaffected, and merry — full of interest in every
thing — playing on the piano with the princess, his cous-
in— drawing ; in short, constantly occupied. He always
paid the greatest attention to all he saw, and the Queen
remembers well how intently he listened to the sermon
preached in St. Paul's when he and his father and brother
accompanied the Duchess of Kent and the princess there
on the occasion of the service attended by the children
of the different charity schools. It is indeed rare to see
a prince, not yet seventeen years of age, bestowing such
earnest attention on a sermon."f
Though nothing at this time had passed between the
Queen and Prince themselves (nor, indeed, till after the
arrival of the princes in England in 1839), yet, after the
visit of 1836, the belief in a marriage being intended had
become very general, and it was in order to divert public
attention from the subject that the King of the Belgians
had counseled the tour in Switzerland, which was under-
taken in May, 1838.
It was probably in the early part of that year that the
king, in writing to the Queen, first mentioned the idea
* Memorandum by the Queen.
f Memorandum by tlic Queen, March, 1864.
The Betrothal 181
of such a marriage ; and the proposal must have been
favorably entertained, for in March, 1838, the king writes
to Baron Stockmar, and gives an account of the manner
in which Prince Albert had received the communication
which, of course with the Queen's sanction, he. had made
to him. In this and other letters the king strongly ex-
presses the high opinion he had formed of the young
Prince.
"I have had a long conversation with Albert," the
king writes to Baron. Stockmar in March, 1838, " and
have put the whole case honestly and kindly before him.
He looks at the question from its most elevated and hon-
orable point of view. He considers that troubles are in-
separable from all human positions, and that therefore, if
one must be subject to plagues and annoyances, it is bet-
ter to be so for some great or worthy object than for tri-
fles and miseries. I have told him that his great youth
would make it necessary to postpone the marriage for a
few years. .... I found him very sensible on all these
points. But one thing he observed with truth. 'I am
ready,' he said, ' to submit to this delay, if I have only
some certain assurance to go upon. But if, after wait-
ing, perhaps, for three years, I should find that the Queen
no longer desired the marriage, it would place me in a
very ridiculous position, and would, to a certain extent,
ruin all the prospects of my future life.' "...." Now
again," the king proceeds farther on, " about Albert. If
I am not very much mistaken, he possesses all the quali-
ties required to fit him completely for the 'position he
will occupy in England. His understanding is sound —
his apprehension clear and rapid — and his feelings in all
182 The Betrothal
matters appertaining to personal appearance quite right.
He has great powers of observation, and possesses much
prudence, without any thing about him that can be call-
ed cold or morose."
In the same letter the king mentions the opinions of
the instructor of the princes, Colonel Wiechmann, who,
while praising both the princes, describes Albert as pos-
sessing great power of self-control for so young a man ;
adding that " he will find this quality most useful to him-
self in after life."
But both the Prince and his father seem to have ob-
jected from the first to the proposal that a few years
should elapse before the marriage should take place;
and the king, in another letter to Baron Stockmar of the
12th of September, 1838, again says :
" The young gentlemen arrived here yesterday. Al-
bert is much improved. He looks so much more manly,
and from his ' tournure' one might easily take him to be
twenty-two or twenty-three." (At this time he was not
nineteen.)
" I have spoken to Albert," he adds " What
his father says upon the subject of the marriage is true.
" Albert is now past eighteen. If he waits till he is
in his twenty-first, twenty-second, or twenty-third year, it
will be impossible for him to begin any new career, and
his whole life would be marred if the Queen should
change her mind."
The Queen says she never entertained any idea of this,
and she afterward repeatedly informed the Prince that
she would never have married any one else. She ex-
presses, however, great regret that she had not, after her
The Betrothal 183
accession, kept up her correspondence with her cousin,
as she had done before it.
"Nor can the Queen now," she adds, "think without
indignation against herself of her wish to keep the Prince
waiting for probably three or four years, at the risk of
ruining all his prospects for life, until she might feel in-
clined to marry ! And the Prince has since told her
that he came over in 1839 with the intention of telling
her that, if she could not then make up her mind, she
must understand that he could not now wait for a decis-
ion, as he had done at a former period, when this mar-
riage was first talked about.
" The only excuse the Queen can make for herself is
in the fact that the sudden change from the secluded life
at Kensington to the independence of her position as
Queen .Eegnant, at the age of eighteen, put all ideas of
marriage out of her mind, which she now most bitterly
repents.
"A worse school for a young girl, or one more detri-
mental to all natural feelings and affections, can not well
be imagined than the position of a queen at eighteen,
without experience and without a husband to guide and
support her. This the Queen can state from painful ex-
perience, and she thanks God that none of her dear
daughters are exposed to such danger."*
In the month of July, 1839, after the majority of the
princes had been celebrated at Coburg, as related in the
last chapter, Prince Albert had accompanied his brother,
who was then in the Saxon service, on his return to
Dresden. The King of Saxony had often expressed a
* Memorandum by the Queen.
184 The Betrothal
wish to see him, and his regret at not seeing them both
oftener at Dresden. From thence Prince Albert went to
Toplitz, where he met his- cousin, Count Arthur Mens-
dorff, with whom he joined his father at Carlsbad.
How reluctantly he gave this time to Carlsbad, which
he thought might have been so much better employed
in the study of the English language and history at the
Eosenau, has been already mentioned.
But the visit to England was now to be paid, which
was to decide the fate of the young Prince's life. At the
beginning of October we find him with his brother at
Brussels, from whence they set out on the 8th of that
month, charged with the following letter from the King
of the Belgians to the Queen :
"Laeken, Oct. 8, 1839.
"My DEAREST VICTORIA, — Your cousins will be them-
selves the bearers of these lines. I recommend them to
your ' bienveillance.' They are good and honest crea-
tures deserving your kindness, and not pedantic, but real-
ly sensible and trustworthy. I have told them that your
great wish is that they should be quite 'unbefangen'
(quite at their ease) with you.
" I am sure that if you have any thing to recommend
to them they will be most happy to learn it from you. . .
" My dear Victoria, your most devoted uncle,
"LEOPOLD E."
Leaving Brussels on Tuesday, the 8th of October, the
princes arrived at Windsor Castle on Thursday the 10th,
at half past seven in the evening. They here met with
the most cordial and affectionate reception from the
The Betrothal 185
Queen, who received them herself at the top of the stair-
case, and conducted them at once to the Duchess of Kent.
The three years that had passed since they were last in
England had greatly improved their personal appearance.
Tall and manly as both the princes were in figure and
deportment, Prince Albert was indeed eminently hand-
some. But there was also in his countenance a gentle-
ness of expression, and a peculiar sweetness in his smile,
with a look of deep thought and high intelligence in his
clear blue eye and expansive forehead, that added a
charm to the impression he produced in those who saw
him far beyond that derived from mere regularity or
beauty of features. "Their clothes not having arrived,"
the Queen says, "they could not appear at dinner, but
came in after it, in spite of their morning dresses." Lord
Melbourne, who, as well as Lord Glanricarde, Lord and
Lady Granville, Baron Brunnow, Lord Normanby, was
staying in the Castle at the time, said at once to the
Queen " that he was struck with Prince Albert's likeness
to her."*
The way of life at Windsor during the stay of the
princes was much as follows : The Queen breakfasting at
this time in her own room, they afterward paid her a
visit there ; and at two o'clock had luncheon with her and
the Duchess of Kent. In the afternoon they all rode —
the Queen and duchess and the two princes, with Lord
Melbourne and most of the ladies and gentlemen in at-
tendance, forming a large cavalcade. There was a great
dinner every evening, with a dance after it three times a
week.
* The Queen's Journal, October 10, 3839.
186 The Betrothal.
But on the 15th there was an important interruption
to the ordinary routine of the day. The Queen had told
Lord Melbourne the day before that she had made up
her mind to the marriage, at which he expressed great
satisfaction, and said to her, as her Majesty states in her
Journal, " 'I think it will be very well received; for I
hear that there is an anxiety now that it should be, and
I am very glad of it;' adding, in quite a paternal tone,
' You will be much more comfortable ; for a woman can
not stand alone for any time, in whatever position she
may be.' "* Can we wonder that the Queen, recalling
these circumstances, should exclaim, "Alas! alas! the
poor Queen now stands in that painful position !"
An intimation was accordingly given to the Prince,
through Baron Alvensleben, master of the horse to the
Duke of Coburg, and long attached to his family, who
had accompanied the Prince to England, that the Queen
wished to speak to him the next day.
On that day, the 15th, the Prince had been out hunt-
ing early with his brother, but returned at twelve, and
half an hour afterward obeyed the Queen's summons
to her room, where he found her alone. After a few
minutes' conversation on other subjects, the Queen told
him why she had sent for him ; and we can well under-
stand any little hesitation and delicacy she may have felt
in doing so, for the Queen's position, making it impera-
tive that any proposal of marriage should come first from
her, must necessarily appear a painful one to those who,
deriving their ideas on this subject from the practice of
private life, are wont to look upon it as the privilege and
* The Queen's Journal, October 14, 1839.
The Betrothal 187
happiness of a woman to have her hand sought in mar-
riage, instead of having to offer it herself.
How the Prince received the offer will appear best
from the following few lines which he wrote the next
day to the old friend of his family, Baron Stockmar, who
was naturally one of the first to be infprmed of his en-
gagement: "I write to you," he says, "on one of the
happiest days of my life, to give you the most welcome
news possible," and having then described what took
place, he proceeds, " Victoria is so good and kind to me
that I am often at a loss to believe that such affection
(herzlichkeit) should be shown to me. I know the great
interest you take in my happiness, and therefore pour
out my heart to you ;" and he ends by saying, " More, or
•more seriously, I can not write to you, for that, at this
moment, I am too bewildered.
" 'Das Auge sicht den Himmel offen,
Es schwimmt das Herz in Seligkeit.' "*
The Queen herself says that the Prince received her
offer without any hesitation, and with the warmest dem-
onstration of kindness and affection ; and, after a natural
expression of her feeling of happiness, her Majesty adds,
in the fervor and sincerity of her heart, with the straight-
forward simplicity that marks all the entries in her Jour-
nal, " How I will strive to make him feel as little as pos-
sible the great sacrifice he has made ! I told him it was
a great sacrifice on his part, but he would not allow it
I then told him to fetch Ernest, who congratu-
* SCHILLER'S Lied von der Glocke, a poem of which the Prince was
very fond, and knew mostly by heart.
188 The Betrothal
lated us both, and seemed very happy. .... He told
me how perfect his brother was."*
The Queen thus announces what had occurred, the
next morning, to the King of the Belgians.
"Windsor Castle, Oct. 15, 1839.
"MY DEAKEST UNCLE, — This letter will, I am sure,
give you pleasure, for you have always shown and taken
so warm an interest in all that concerns me. My mind
is quite made up, and I told Albert this morning of it.
The warm affection he showed me on learning this gave
me great pleasure. He seems perfection, and I think that
I have the prospect of very great happiness before me. I
love him MORE than I can say, and shall do every thing
in my power to render this sacrifice (for such in my opin-
ion it is) as small as I can. He seems to have great tact,
a very necessary thing in his position. These last few
days have passed like a dream to me, and I am so much
bewildered by it all that I know hardly how to write;
but I do feel very happy. It is absolutely necessary that
this determination of mine should be known to no one
but yourself and to Uncle Ernest until after the meeting
of Parliament, as it would be considered, otherwise, neg-
lectful on my part not to have assembled Parliament at
once to inform them of it
"Lord Melbourne, whom I have of course consulted
about the whole affair, quite approves my choice, and ex-
presses great satisfaction at this event, which he thinks in
every way highly desirable.
" Lord Melbourne has acted in this business, as he has
* See the Queen's Journal, October 15, 1339 ; also Letter from Prince
Consort toward the end of next chapter.
The Betrothal 189
always done toward me, with the greatest kindness and
affection. We also think it better, and Albert quite ap-
proves of it, that we should be married very soon after
Parliament meets, about the beginning of February.
" Pray, dearest uncle, forward these two letters to Un-
cle Ernest, to whom I beg you will enjoin strict secrecy,
and explain these details, which I have not time to do,
and to faithful Stockmar. I think you might tell Louise
of it, but none of her family.
"I wish to keep the dear young gentleman here till
the end of next month. Ernest's sincere pleasure gives
me great delight. He does so adore dearest Albert.
"Ever, dearest uncle, your devoted niece, V. E.n
While this was passing at Windsor, the King of the
Belgians was writing on the same day from Laeken :
" Oct. 15, 1839.
" MY DEAREST VICTORIA, — I was greatly pleased and
interested by your dear letter of the 12th, which reached
me yesterday evening The poor cousins had all
sorts of difficulties to encounter" (during the journey to
England). "It was, however, a good omen that once,
when they were in danger on the Scheldt, the ' Princess
Victoria' came from Antwerp to their assistance. To ap-
pear in their traveling dress was a hard case, and I am
sure they were greatly embarrassed.
" I am sure you will like them the more the longer
you see them. They are young men of merit, and with-
out that puppy-like affectation which is so often found
with young gentlemen of rank ; and, though remarkably
well informed, they are very free from pedantry.
190 The Betrothal
" Albert is a very agreeable companion. His manners
are so gentle and harmonious that one likes to have him
near one's self. I always found him so when I had him
with me, and I think his travels have still improved him.
He is full of talent and fun, and draws cleverly. I am
glad to hear that they please the people who see them.
Th'ey deserve it, and were rather nervous about it. I
trust they will enliven your sejour in the old castle, and
may Albert be able to strew roses without thorns on the
pathway of life of our good Victoria. He is well quali-
fied to do so. ....
" My dearest Victoria, your devoted uncle,
"LEOPOLD R"
Ten days later the king writes from Wiesbaden, in an-
swer to the Queen's letter of the 15th :
" October 24, 1839.
" MY DEAREST VICTORIA, — Nothing could have given
me greater pleasure than your dear letter. I had, when
I learnt your decision, almost the feeling of old Simeon :
'Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.' Your
choice has been for these last years my conviction of
what might and would be best for yoftr happiness ; and
just because I was convinced of it, and knew how
strangely fate often changes what one tries to bring
about as being the best plan one could fix upon — the
maximum of a good arrangement — I feared that it would
not happen.
"In your position, which. may and will perhaps be-
come in future Qven more difficult in a political point of
view, you could not EXIST without having a happy and
The Betrothal 191
agreeable ' interieur.' And I am much deceived (which
I think I am not), or you will find in Albert just the
qualities and disposition which are indispensable for your
happiness, and which will suit your own character, tem-
per, and mode of life.
" You say most amiably that you consider it a sacrifice
on the part of Albert. This is true in many points, be-
cause his position will be a difficult one ; but much, I
may say all, will depend on your affection for him. If
YOU love him, and are kind to him, he will easily bear the
bothers of his position, and there is a steadiness, and, at
the same time, a cheerfulness in his character which will
facilitate this.
"I think your plans excellent. If Parliament had
been called at an unusual time, it would make them un-
comfortable ; and if, therefore, they receive the communi-
cation at the opening of the session, it will be best. The
marriage, as you say, might then follow as closely as pos-
sible. LEOPOLD E."
On the 29th of October the Queen again writes to the
king, to inform him that the intention of communicating
the intended marriage in the first instance to Parliament
had been abandoned. " Before I proceed farther," she
says, "I wish just to mention one or two alterations in
the plan of announcing the event. As Parliament has
nothing whatever to say respecting the marriage — can
neither approve or disapprove it (I mean in a manner
which might affect it) — it is now proposed that as soon
as my cousins are gone (which they now intend to do on
the 14th of November, as time presses), I should ussem-
192 The Betrothal
ble all the Privy Council, and announce my intention to
them."
Though the intention of waiting till the meeting of
Parliament to announce the marriage had been thus
abandoned, it was still thought necessary to conceal it
for some time, till the declaration -could be made to the
Council. "In the mean time the Queen and Prince saw
a great deal of each other, and often discussed his future
position — what his title should be — whether or not he
should be a peer (though to this both he and the Queen
objected). He was, however, naturally to take prece-
dence of every one else."*
The 2d Battalion of the Eifle Brigade was at this time
quartered at Windsor, under the command of Colonel,
afterward General Sir George Brown, f and on the 1st
of November it was reviewed in the Home Park by the
Queen, accompanied by Prince Albert, who appeared in
the green uniform of the Coburg troops. The heredi-
tary prince was unable to attend, having been for some
days confined to the house by an attack of jaundice.
The following is the account of this review given by
the Queen in her Journal :
"At ten minutes to twelve I set off in my Windsor
uniform and cap, on my old charger ' Leopold,' with my
beloved Albert, looking so handsome in his uniform, on
my right, and Sir John Macdonald, the adjutant general,
* Memorandum by the Queen.
t Sir G. Brown died August 27, 1865. He was a fine specimen of a
soldier of the last war, when the discipline and efficiency of the British
army were at their highest pitch, and was much esteemed and regarded
by the Prince.
The Betrothal 193
on ray left ; Colonel Grey and Colonel Wemyss preced-
ing me; a guard of honor, my other gentlemen, my
cousin's gentlemen, Lady Caroline Barrington, etc., for
the ground.
" A horrid day ! Cold — dreadfully blowing — and, in
addition, raining hard when we had been out a few min-
utes. It, however, ceased when we carne to the ground.
I rode alone down the ranks, and then took my place, as
usual, with dearest Albert on my right, and Sir John
Macdonald on my left, and saw the troops march past.
They afterward manoeuvred. The rifles looked beauti-
ful. It was piercingly cold, and I had my cape on,
which dearest Albert settled comfortably for me. He
was so cold, being ' en grande tenue,' with high boots.
We cantered home again, and went in to show ourselves
to poor Ernest, who had seen all from a window."*
On the 1st of November the Prince writes again to
Baron Stockmar from Windsor, in acknowledgment of
the baron's reply to the announcement of his marriage.
"DEAR BARON STOCKMAR, — A thousand thousand
thanks for your dear, kind letter. I thought you would
surely take much interest in an event which is so im-
portant for me, and which you yourself prepared.
"Your prophecy is fulfilled. The event has come
upon us by surprise, sooner than we could have expect-
ed; and I now doubly regret that I have lost the last
summer, which I might have employed in many useful
preparations, in deference to the wishes of relations (ver-
wandtschaftliche Rucksichleii), and to the opposition of
* The Queen's Journal, November 1, 1839.
I
194 The Betrothal
those who influenced the disposal of my life (die aufdie
Eintlieilung meines Lebens wirkteri).
"I have laid to heart (recht beherzigt) your friendly and
kind-hearted (wolilwollenden) advice as to the true foun-
dation on which my future happiness must rest, and it
agrees entirely with the principles of action which I
had already privately (im StiUeri) framed for myself. An
individuality (Personlichkeit), a character, which shall win
the respect, the love, and the confidence of the Queen
and of the nation, must be the groundwork of my posi-
tion. This individuality gives security for the disposi-
tion which prompts the actions; and even should mis-
takes (Mlssgriffe^ occur, they will be more easily par-
doned on account of that personal character ; while even
the most noble and beautiful undertakings fail in procur-
ing support to a man who is not capable of inspiring
that confidence.
" If, therefore, I prove a ' noble' Prince (ein edler Furst}
in the true sense of the word, as you call upon me to be,
wise and prudent conduct will become easier to me, and
its results more rich in blessings (segensreichei'").
11 1 will not let my courage fail. "With firm resolution
and true zeal on my part, I can not fail to continue ' no-
ble, manly, and princely' (edel, manrilich, furstlich) in all
things. In what I may do good advice is the first thing
necessary, and that you can give better than any one, if
you can only make up your mind to sacrifice your time
to me for the first year of my existence here.
" I have still much to say to you, but must conclude,
as the courier can not wait longer. I hope, however, to
discuss the subject more fully with you by word of
The Betrothal 195
mouth at Wiesbaden. Hoping that I shall there find
you well and hearty, I remain yours truly, ALBERT.
Windsor, 1st November, 1836."
It was a remarkable feature in the Prince's character
that, though no man was more capable of forming a sound
and dispassionate judgment upon all things, or had a
keener sense of what was right and fitting, no man, per-
haps, was ever more ready to listen to and even court
advice. When he tells the baron that "good advice is
the first thing needful," he only expresses the rule on
which he invariably acted. To listen patiently to all
that could be said, and then to judge calmly for himself
what it was right to do, and, having convinced himself
what was right (not what was merely pleasant), to do it
without faltering, was his practice through life. It is
perhaps characteristic of a weak mind always to fear be-
ing supposed to be guided by the advice or dictation of
others.
On the 5th of November the Prince alludes to the
coming change in his position in a few lines to his step-
mother, so characteristic of his great and noble nature
that they must by no means be omitted here ; for they
show, in simple, unaffected language, his yearning for the
power to do good, which may be said to have been the
one great object of his life. As his first thought in writ-
ing to the Queen on the occasion of her accession to the
throne had been the influence this would give her over
the " happiness of millions,"* so now his mind was at
once occupied by the thought of the power he would
* See letter, p. 130.
196 The Betrothal
himself obtain by his marriage of " promoting the good
of so many."
"DEAR MAMMA," he writes to his mother — "With the
exception of my relations toward her" (the Queen), " my
future position will have its dark sides, and the sky will
not always be blue and unclouded. But life has its
thorns in every position, and the consciousness of hav-
ing used one's powers and endeavors for an object so
great as that of promoting the good of so many will
surely be sufficient to support me !"
But another letter had to be written before he left En-
gland, from which he shrank, with a natural disinclina-
tion to give pain. He had yet to announce his intended
marriage to his grandmother, and how would she bear
to hear of an event that involved a separation from one
whom she loved so dearly, and over whom, from his ear-
liest infancy, she had watched so anxiously and tenderly ?
It had to be done, however, and on the llth he nerved
himself to write her the following touching letter :
" DEAR GRANDMAMMA,* — I tremble as I take up my
pen, for I can not but fear that what I am about to tell
you will at the same time raise a thought which can not
be otherwise than painful to you, and oh ! which is very
much so to me also, namely, that of parting. The sub-
ject which has occupied us so much of late is at last
settled.
" The Queen sent for me alone to her room a few days
ago, and declared to me in a genuine outburst of love and
affection (Ergusse von Herzlichkeit und Liebe) that I had
gained her whole heart, and would make her intensely
* See original letter in AppendixC.
The Betrothal 197
happy (ubergl'dcldicli) if I would make her the sacrifice
of sharing her life with her, for she said she looked on it
as a sacrifice ; the only thing which troubled her was
that she did not think she was worthy of me. The joy-
ous openness of manner in which she told me this quite
enchanted me, and I was quite carried away by it. She
is really most good and amiable, and I am quite sure
heaven has not given me into evil hands, and that we
shall be happy together.
" Since that moment Victoria does whatever she fan-
cies I should wish or like, and we talk together a great
deal about our future life, which she promises me to
make as happy as possible. Oh, the future ! does it not
bring with it the moment when I shall have to take
leave of my dear, dear home, and of you !
" I can not think of that without deep melancholy
taking possession of me.
" It was on the 15th of October that Victoria made me
this declaration, and I have hitherto shrunk from telling
you ; but how does delay make it better?
" The period of our marriage is already close at hand.
The Queen and the ministers wish exceedingly that it
should take place in the first days of February, in which
I acquiesced after hearing their reasons for it.
" We have therefore fixed our departure for the 14th
inst, so as to have still as much time as possible at home.
We shall therefore follow close upon this letter.
" My position here will be very pleasant, inasmuch as
I have refused all the offered titles. I keep my own
name, and remain what I was. This will make me very
independent, and makes it easy for me to run over occa-
198 The Betrothal
sionally (einen Sprung nach der Heimaih zu macheii) to see
all my dear relations.
" But it is very painful to know that there will be the
sea between us.
"I now take leave of you again. Victoria is writing
to you herself to tell you all she wishes.
" I ask you to give me your grandmotherly blessing in
this important and decisive step in my life ; it will be a
talisman to me against all the storms the future may have
in store for me.
" Good-by, dear grandmamma, and do not take your
love from me.
"Heaven will make all things right.
" Always and ever your devoted grandson,
" ALBERT.
" Windsor, Nov. 11, 1839.
" May I beg of you to keep the news a secret till the
end of the month, as it will only then be made known
here?"
The letter written by the duchess to Prince Albert in
acknowledgment of this communication is not forthcom-
ing ; but she wrote as follows to the Duke of Coburg :
"Gotha, Nov. 24:, 1839.
"Our dear Albert is to be torn from us! May this
separation, so sad for us, be for his own happiness. God
bless and preserve him ! His letter, which you sent me
from Wiesbaden, brought me the news of his future des-
tiny. God be thanked that he feels painfully the separa-
tion from us. He seems also very happy. God keep him
so ! The little Queen has written me a charming letter
The Betrothal. 199
indeed, in which she does not express herself as Queen,
but as a very happy bride, and full of grateful feelings
toward Albert that he will share her fate. I am really
touched that she remembered me. I look upon it as a
proof of her love to Albert that she feels kindly toward
me because I am so fond of him. It is only sad that our
Albert must leave so soon, and I know not yet how we
shall bear it.
" You do not doubt my sympathy with your feelings,
dear duke. I find it, however, quite natural that the
Queen should have chosen Albert. She could not have
found a more handsome, clever, and lovable husband.
But that we must lose him is very painful. May God
strengthen us for all that is before us."
In answer to that to himself, the Prince thus wrote to
the duchess on the 28th of November, and the terms in
which he alludes to the contents of her letter must make
us lament still more that it is not to be found. The ev-
idence we possess, in the letters already quoted, of the
high sense of duty that animated the duchess, of her de-
voted love to her family and her country, and of her un-
affected piety, assures us that the letter written on this
solemn occasion deserved to be characterized as the
Prince characterizes it — as containing exalted and noble
ideas. The Prince writes, in answer, as follows :*
"DEAR GRANDMAMMA, — How very grateful I am to
you for your dear, gracious letter, which I received yes-
terday. I had to read it over several times in order to
take in fully the noble ideas which you therein express.
* See Appendix C.
200 The Betrothal
"Every word is a reflection of your excellent heart!
Certainly, dear grandmamma, my cherished home, my
beloved .country, will always be dear to me, and in my
heart will find a friend who will frequently remind me
of her.
" To live and to sacrifice myself for the benefit of my
new country does not prevent my doing good to that
country from which I have received so many benefits.
"While I shall be untiring in my efforts and labors for the
country to which I shall in future belong, and where I
am called to so high a position, I shall never cease to be
a true German, a true Cdburg and Gotha man (ein treuer
Deutscher, Coburger, Gothaner zu seiri). Still, the separa-
tion will be very painful to me.
" I rejoice in the thought of the few days which I shall
be able to spend with you before I go. They will be
very few. But we will enjoy them. . . .
" Your devoted grandson, ALBERT.
" Coburg, 28th November, 1839."
On the 14th of November the princes left Windsor on
their return to Coburg, and on their way home stopped
first at Bonn, and afterward at Wiesbaden, where the
King of the Belgians was then staying, who writes to the
Queen on the 22d of November to announce their ar-
rival.
" I have on purpose," he says, " kept back a courier,
to be able to send you the latest news from here of Al-
bert. The young people arrived here only on the morn-
ing of the 20th, having very kindly stopped at Bonn. I
find them looking well, particularly Albert. It proves
The Betrothal. 201
that happiness is an excellent remedy, and keeps people
in better health than any other. He is much attached to
you, and modest when speaking of you. He is, besides,
in great spirits, full of gayety and fun. He is a very
amiable companion."
On his return to Coburg from the visit which had thus
determined the course of his future life, the Prince again
opens his heart to his college friend :*
"Coburg, 6 Dec., 1839.
"DEAR LO'WENSTEIN, — Although I am quite over-
whelmed with a confusion of business and work of all
sorts, I must find a few minutes in order to give you, my
true friend, the news of my happiness direct from myself.
" Yes — I am now actually a bridegroom ! and about
the 4th of February hope to see myself united to her I
lo.ve !
"You know how matters stood when I last saw you
here. After that the sky was darkened more and more.
The Queen declared to my uncle of Belgium that she
wished the affair to be considered as broken off, and that
for four years she could think of no marriage. I went,
therefore, with the quiet but firm resolution to declare,
on my part, that I also, tired of the delay, withdrew en-
tirely from the affair. It was not, however, thus ordained
by Providence ; for on the second day after our arrival
the most friendly demonstrations were directed toward
me, and two days later I was secretly called to a private
audience, in which the Queen offered me her hand and
heart. The strictest secrecy was required. Ernest alone
* See Appendix C.
T2
202 The Betrothal
knew of it, and it was only at our departure that I could
communicate my engagement to my motlier.
"I think I shall be very Chappy, for Yictoria possesses
all the qualities which make a home happy, and seems to
be attached to me with her whole heart.
" My future lot is high and brilliant, but also plenti-
fully strewed with thorns. Struggles will not be want-
ing (an Kampfen wird es nicht fehkri), and the month of
March already appears to have storms in store.
" The separation from my native country — from dear
Coburg — from so many friends, is very painful to me.
When shall I see you again, dear Lowenstein ?
" Pray show no one this letter. I write you these de-
tails, relying upon your silence, for I know your friend-
ship for me. Now good-by, and think sometimes of your
" ALBERT."
A letter on the approaching marriage of the Queen
and Prince, written in 1839 to the editor of one of the
journals by a gentleman of English birth, but brought
up and educated in Germany, will fitly conclude this
chapter. It will be seen that it was written after the
public announcement of the intended marriage, and that
the writer was well acquainted with the Prince, and with
the whole course of his life up to that time. The letter
shows a just appreciation of his character, and will be
read with interest.
The Betrothal. 203
ON THE MARRIAGE or THE PRINCE TO QUEEN VICTORIA.
At a moment when all eyes are turned toward the fu-
ture husband of our Queen, and public attention is drawn
to Prince Albert, it may be, perhaps, not uninteresting to
the numerous readers of your far-famed journal to peruse
a brief sketch of this prince.
It would be superfluous to revert to the period of his
childhood when only the germs of future hoped-for good-
ness and ability could be traced. Suffice it, therefore, to
remark, that he, with his brother, the Hereditary Prince
Ernest, received the most careful education under the su-
perintendence of their tutor, now Geheimerath Florschtitz,
a man of high character and excellent principles. He ac-
companied the princes to the University of Bonn, whither
they were also attended by a Hanoverian officer of distinc-
tion and merit, to instruct them in military tactics. Here
the Prince Albert occupied himself not only in the branches
of a superior education, but studied in his leisure hours
the ornamental sciences of botany, chemistry, mineralogy,
conchology, and ornithology, etc., and, with his brother,
laid the foundation of a cabinet of specimens in those va-
rious departments. Nor were the arts neglected among
these various pursuits. Prince Albert has a talent for
painting, and a love for and a proficiency in music, in which
he composes, which will always secure to the respective
artists a warm patron, capable of appreciating excellence
and merit. His college themes on political economy and
jurisprudence, etc., as Avell as on classical subjects, perused
by one of the first German statesmen, are declared to be
extraordinary for his age, and would not disgrace a man
of far maturer years. They will secure him a high place
among distinguished men. Although he has a predilec-
204 The Betrothal
tion for field-sports, engaging in them never causes him to
forget the necessity of a close application to his present
attainments and pursuit of farther knowledge, and he
therefore more rarely indulges in these amusements than
he would, otherwise do.
Graceful and handsome, yet he shows no vanity. A
pattern for princes, his amiability renders him a model of
domestic life. He is an object of the warmest attachment
to all surrounding him. In his filial and fraternal duties
he is not less admirable. The respectful attention and love
toward the charming reigning duchess, his mother-in-law,*
is delightful to witness, as well as his devotedness to the
excellent Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Gotha, whom tie des-
ignates and considers as his grandmother. It was for the
first time that the princes were separated last year, when
the hereditary prince entered the Saxon service, and Prince
Albert departed for his tour in Italy. Neither liked to be
the one left. They therefore quitted Coburg, and separated
without taking leave. Prince Albert is kind, affable, and
gay, joining freely in the mirth of those about him ; sensi-
ble to any committed absurdity, but showing in his laugh-
ter that it proceeds from a really good-humored temper.
To flattery and intrigue he is a decided enemy, while he
possesses an extraordinary insight into character; looks
well into all things ; weighs and considers them in every
point of view, and is able, by the aid of a powerful and
strong mind, to form highly correct judgments. Many in-
teresting anecdotes might be related of him which are not
given for fear of offending the ear of the amiable prince.
It remains, therefore, only to be added, that every English-
man, be he Whig or Tory, must rejoice at the union of his
sovereign with a prince so fully capable of filling the ex-
alted station to which he is called.
* Sfpp-motlier.
ti Miniature ~fy-Sir W.JRsfe. Enarav ed ~by William !L~>U
Declaration of Marriage. 205
CHAPTER XL
1839.
Declaration of the Marriage to the Privy Council. — List of Privy Coun-
cilors present. — The Queen's Journal. — Proceedings at Coburg and
Gotha. — Letter from Prince Ernest to the Queen. — Preliminary Ar-
rangements.
THE public declaration of the intended marriage bad
been necessarily delayed till it should have been 'official-
ly communicated to the Privy Council ; but on the 15th,
the day after the departure of the princes, the Queen
mentions in the memorandum from which the account
of her betrothal has been chiefly taken, that she wrote
letters to the queen dowager, and to the other members
of the English royal family, announcing her intended
marriage, and received kind answers from all.
On the 20th of November the Queen, accompanied by
the Buchess of Kent, came up from Windsor to Buck-
ingham Palace, and on the same day Lord Melbourne
brought for her approval a copy of the declaration which
it was proposed to make to the Privy Council.
The Queen relates that 'she had much conversation
with him at the same time on the various arrangements
to be made, and the steps to be taken with regard to the
marriage. £50,000 was the amount of annuity which it
had been proposed to settle on the Prince; and in this
206 Declaration of Marriage.
Lord Melbourne said that the cabinet (most erroneously
as it turned out) anticipated no difficulty whatever, ex-
cept perhaps in case of survivorship.
The Queen records in her Journal that she observed
"she thought this would be very unfair," and that Lord
Melbourne expressed his entire concurrence with her,
hoping, however, that the difficulty might not arise.
On the same occasion, Lord Melbourne told the Queen
of a " stupid attempt to make it out that the Prince was
a Roman Catholic !" Absurd as such a report was, the
Prince, as the Queen remarks in her Journal, "being
particularly Protestant in his opinions," Lord Melbourne
told the Queen that he was afraid to say any thing about
the Prince's religion, and that the subject would not
therefore be alluded to in the proposed declaration.* It
will be seen that this omission was afterward severely
commented upon in the House of Lords.
The Privy Council met on the 23d, when upward of
eighty members assembled in the bow room on the
ground floor in Buckingham Palace. "Precisely at
two" (the Queen records in her Journal) "I went in.
The room was full, but I hardly knew who was there.
Lord Melbourne I saw looking kindly at me with tears
in his eyes, but he was not near me. I then read my
short declaration. I felt my hands shook, but I did not
make one mistake. I felt most happy and thankful
when it was over. Lord Lansdowne then rose, and, in
the name of the Privy Council, asked that ' this most
gracious and most welcome communication might be
printed.' I then left the room, the whole thing not last-
* Memorandum by the Queen.
Declaration of Marriage. 207
ing above two or three minutes. The Duke of Cam-
bridge came into the small library where I was standing
and wished me joy."*
The Queen always wore a bracelet with the Prince's
picture, and "it seemed," she adds in her Journal, "to
give me courage at the Council." She returned the
same evening, with the Duchess of Kent, to Windsor.
The declaration made by the Queen is thus recorded
in the Gazette, Nov. 23d, 1839 :
" I have caused you to be summoned at the present
time in order that I may acquaint you with my resolu-
tion in a matter which deeply concerns the welfare of
my people, and the happiness of my future life.
"It is my intention to ally myself in marriage with
the Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Deeply
impressed with the solemnity of the engagement which
I am about to contract, I have not come to this decision
without mature consideration, nor without feeling a
strong assurance that, with the blessing of Almighty
God, it will at once secure my domestic felicity, and
serve the interests of my country.
" I have thought fit to make this resolution known to
you at the earliest period, in order that you may be ap-
prised of a matter so highly important to me and to my
kingdom, and which, I persuade myself, will be most ac-
ceptable to all my loving subjects."
"Whereupon," it is stated in the Minutes of Council,
" all the Privy Councilors present made it their humble
request to her Majesty that her Majesty's most gracious
* The Queen's Journal, November 23, 1839.
208 The Privy Council.
declaration to them might be made public, which her
Majesty was pleased to .order accordingly.
" C. C. GREVILLE."
Of the eighty-three members of the Privy Council
present on the occasion, including the illustrious names
of the Duke of Wellington, Lord Lansdowne, Sir Robert
Peel, etc., etc., upward of sixty are now dead. But they
are gone, for the most part, full of years and honors—
their mission on earth fulfilled. Alas ! that he, to hear
the announcement of whose selection as her husband by
their Queen they were now met, should also have gone
from us — gone in the full vigor of his age, ere more than
half his race was run — the goal scarce yet in sight — his
work of good — thus far how nobly performed — still in-
complete !*
The settlement of this marriage was not a source of joy
to the members of the Queen's family alone, and especial-
ly to her mother the Duchess of Kent, who was much at-
tached to her nephews ; its announcement was received
with great rejoicing throughout the country, and congrat-
ulations flowed in from all sides. People not only in-
dulged in the most loyal and heartfelt wishes for the
happiness of their beloved sovereign, they also hailed
with satisfaction the prospect of a final separation be-
tween England and Hanover — the union with which, no
less than the monarch who now occupied the Hanoverian
throne (and who, failing the Queen, would have ascended
that of England), was in the highest degree unpopular.
* See Appendix D. for the list of Members of Privy Council present at
the declaration. Those marked with an asterisk are since dead.
The Prince's Household. 209
After the Prince returned to Germany, the Queen cor-
responded constantly with- him, and says, in the memo-
randum already so largely quoted, " that the letters she
then received from the Prince are the greatest treasures
now in her possession. During this time," she adds,
" precedents were searched for to see what the Prince's
household should consist of; and, unfortunately, the one
commonly referred to was that of Prince George of Den-
mark, the very stupid and insignificant husband of Queen
Anne. He was a peer, and also for some time Lord
High Admiral of England, but seems never to have play-
ed any thing but a very subordinate part."*
What a noble contrast to the acceptance of these of-
fices by Prince George of Denmark is afforded by the
refusal of our Prince to accept the command of the
army when pressed upon him many years afterward
by no less a man than the great Duke of Wellington !
It has already been mentioned that he had determined,
even before his marriage, to accept no English title that
should be offered to him. He was known only as Prince
Albert till very many years later, when, a more correct
estimate being formed of his position, and it becoming
more generally understood how completely he was iden-
tified with'every act of the Queen's, it was thought advis-
able that he should assume the title of Prince Consort.
But while in England the news of the Queen's intend-
ed marriage was received with universal satisfaction, and
her choice of a husband met with very general approval,
far different was the feeling in the Prince's own country.
In Coburg and in Gotha, in both of which duchies he
* Memorandum by the Queen.
210 Letter of the Duchess of Qotlia.
was equally beloved, but one voice of lamentation was
raised for his loss !
Yet what was the sorrow of the people of the duchies,
deep and general as it might be, to that of the grand-
mother left behind at Gotha?
She could be under no delusion on the subject; she
felt that the coming separation from her beloved grand-
son, if not absolutely final, must be complete and lasting.
And what consideration of earthly grandeur or high po-
sition could reconcile her to the thought ? In a letter to
the Duke of Coburg, written on the 12th of December,
1839, the duchess gives the following affecting expres-
sion to her feelings :
" Gotha, December 12, 1839.
"MY DEAR DUKE,— I received your letter of the 8th
the day before yesterday, and thank you much for it. I
was also pleased to hear from "Wangenheim, who brought
me, in your name, the programme of last Sunday's festiv-
ities, and also from Von Stein, that you are very well and
happy.
"I am very much upset. The brilliant destiny await-
ing our Albert can not reconcile me to the thought that
his country will lose him forever ; and, for myself, I lose
my greatest happiness. But I think not of myself. The
few years I may yet have to live will soon have passed
away. May God protect dear Albert, and keep him in
the same heavenly frame of mind ! I hope the Queen
will appreciate him. I have been much pleased that she
has shown herself so kind toward me, especially as I am
sure I owe it all to the affection of my Albert. And yet
I can not rejoice. May God spare our Ernest, at least,
Proceedings at Coburg. 211
who will now be our only joy, and the only hope of the
country !
"To celebrate the betrothal of dear Albert, I held a
reception last Sunday afternoon, in. the course of which I
showed the lovely portrait of the Queen vto the whole as-
sembly. Every body was much moved, for Albert is
certainly much beloved both here and in Coburg. I was
sorry to hear that he was unwell on Monday, but he
was very considerate in making Florschiitz write to me
the next day to say that he was nearly well again.
Thank God for it."
On the 8th of December the official declaration of the
intended marriage between the Queen of England and
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg was made in the most sol
emn and formal manner at Coburg.*
Writing to the Queen two days after the ceremony, the
Prince thus alludes to what then took place : " The day
before yesterday the great ceremony of the Declaration
took place, which was really very splendid, and went off
well The day affected rne much, as so many emo-
tions filled my heart ! Your health was drunk at dinner,
where three hundred persons were present, with a uni-
versal cheer.
" The joy of the people was so great that they went on
firing in the streets with guns and pistols during the
whole night, so that one might have imagined that a bat-
tle was taking place "
* A copy of the official notice of the ceremonial to be observed in mak-
ing the Declaration, and of the Declaration itself, will be found in Appen-
dix E.
212 Letter from Prince Ernest.
The more than common affection that united the two
brothers, who, till within one short year, had scarcely
known what it was to be separated even for a day, has
been more than once noticed. We have already seen
with what exquisite feeling Prince Albert, in writing to
his grandmother, alludes to their first permanent separa-
tion on the departure of his brother to enter the Saxon
service. The following letter from Prince Ernest, writ-
ten after the public announcement of the marriage, will
be read with no less interest, as giving proof not only of
an affection in the writer, rare from its entire and sincere
unselfishness, but also of the marked development, even
at this early age, of that high moral purpose, and that al-
most intuitive soundness of judgment, which were to be
displayed in the after life of the Prince in so pre-eminent
a degree :
PRINCE ERNEST TO THE QUEEN.
"Dresden, Dec. 19, 1839.
" MY DEAR COUSIN, — Let me thank you very sincere-
ly for your kind answer to my letter. You are always
so good and so kind to me that I really fear I have not
thanked you sufficiently.
" Oh ! if you could only know the place you and Al-
bert occupy in my heart ! Albert is my second self, and
my heart is one with his. Independently of his being
my brother, I love and esteem him more than any one
on earth. You will smile, perhaps, at my speaking of
him to you in such glowing terms; but I do so that you
may feel still more how much you have gained in him.
"As yet you are chiefly taken with his manner, so
Letter from Prince Ernest. 213
youthfully innocent — his tranquillity — his clear and open
mind. It is thus that he appears on first acquaintance.
One reads less in his face of knowledge of men and ex-
perience, and why ? It is because he is pure before the
world and before his own conscience. Not as though he
did not know what sin was — the earthly temptations —
the weakness of man. No; but because he knew, and
still knows, how to struggle against them, supported by
the incomparable superiority and firmness of his char-
acter.
" Prom our earliest years we have been surrounded by
difficult circumstances, of which we were perfectly con-
scious, and, perhaps more than most people, we have been
accustomed to see men in the most opposite positions that
human life can offer. Albert never knew what it was
to hesitate. Guided by his own clear sense, he always
walked calmly and steadily in the right path. In the
greatest difficulties that may meet you in your eventful
life, you may repose the most entire confidence in him,
and then only will you feel how great a treasure you pos-
sess in him.
" He has, besides, all other qualities necessary to make
a good husband. Your life can not fail to be a happy one.
" I shall be very glad when the excitement of the first
days is over and all is again quiet, and when papa shall
have left England, to be a distant and unintruding spec-
tator of your new life. But how shall I then feel how
much I have lost ! Time will, I trust, help me also.
Now I feel very lonely. ERNEST."
In the mean time many preliminary arrangements had
214: Preliminary Arrangements.
been discussed in England. The naturalization of the
Prince — the formation of his household — the rank he
was to hold — and the income which was to be settled
upon him. Nor were these two last points arranged
without considerable difficulty, and the occurrence of cir-
cumstances productive of much annoyance.
"With respect to the precedence which should be given
to the Prince, reference was made to the precedent of the
marriage of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg (afterward
King of the Belgians) with the Princess Charlotte. The
Queen mentions, in the Journal kept by her at the time,
that Lord Melbourne showed her, on the 25th of Novem-
ber, a copy of the clause inserted in the Bill for the Nat-
uralization of Prince Leopold, empowering the prince re-
gent to give the prince precedence over every one except
the princes of the blood. It was now proposed to adopt
the same course with respect to Prince Albert, except
that, from his different position as husband of the Queen,
he should naturally take rank above those princes. It
was thought right, however, to endeavor, in the first in-
stance, to obtain the consent of the royal family to this
arrangement. After a slight demur on the part of the
Duke of Sussex, who spoke in the first instance of the
necessity of his considering " the rights and interests of
the family," and of " consulting others," both he and the
Duke of Cambridge assented to what was proposed. The
King of Hanover, however, still withheld his consent, and
the Duke of Wellington, when the Naturalization Bill
was before the House of Lords, objected to the clause by
which it was proposed to give the Prince rank next to
the Queen. As it was impossible to carry the clause
Preliminary Arrangements. 215
against the duke's opposition, it was necessarily aban-
doned, and it was only by the exercise of her own pre-
rogative that the Queen could give to the Prince the pre-
cedence which was his due. Many years later, the expe-
diency was discussed of regulating, once for all, by Act
of Parliament, the rank and position of a Prince Consort.
But, though the leaders of both parties acquiesced in the
propriety of such a measure, and though there can be no
doubt that it would have only been in accordance with
the English sense of what was right — which would have
been outraged by seeing the father walk behind his own
children — the then government shrank from the opposi-
tion with which the proposal might possibly have been
met ; at all events, they did not feel sufficient confidence
in the result to encourage them to persevere in the at-
tempt.
There was also a question as to the Prince's right to
quarter the Queen's arms with his own. Garter King-at-
Arms, whose special duty it is to make himself acquaint-
ed with such subjects, at first gave an opinion against it.
It is hardly conceivable that he should have overlooked
the very last precedent on the subject — that, namely, of
Prince Leopold, who had quartered the Princess Char-
lotte's arms with his own. He did so, nevertheless ; and
it was left to the Prince himself to trace and show him
the precedent which thus established his own right !
It is needless to follow in detail all the discussions that
took place with respect to the formation of the Prince's
household. Lord Melbourne wished that Baron Stock-
mar should come over with full instructions as to the
wishes of the Prince and his father on the subject, so that
216 Preliminary Arrangements.
every thing should be settled before the meeting of Par-
liament ; and he drew up a sketch, founded principally
on the precedent of that < of George IV. when Prince of
Wales, of what he thought it should consist of, making,
at the same time, several suggestions as to the persons to
be appointed to it*
The King of the Belgians wrote that he thought the
best way would be "to name the most needful, ' d'un
commun accord,' noiv, and to wait till you can arrange
these matters, till you meet." " By letter," he adds, " and
at such a distance, it was very difficult to come to an un-
derstanding, while a few moments' conversation may set-
tle every thing."
A letter from the Prince himself, on the manner in
which his household should be formed, affords a rare
proof of sound judgment at a very early age — for he had
only completed his twentieth year a few months before —
and shows a thorough appreciation of the position which
it would become him to occupy in this country after his
marriage. It will be seen how steadily and consistently
he adhered, under many difficulties, both public and
domestic, to the principles of action which he now laid
down for himself.
He thus writes to the Queen on the 10th of December,
1839:
" . . . Now I come to a second point which you touch
upon in your letter, and which I have also much at heart;
I mean the choice of the persons who are to belong to
my household. The maxim, ' Tell me whom he asso-
ciates with, and I will tell you who he is,' must here es-
* The Queen's Journal, written at the time.
Preliminary Arrangements. 217
pecially not be lost sight of. I should wish particularly
that the selection should be made without regard to poli-
tics ; for if I am really to keep myself free from all par-
ties, my people must not belong exclusively to one side.
Above all, these appointments should not be mere ' party
rewards,' but they should possess other recommendations
besides those of party. Let them be either of very high
rank, or very rich, or very clever, or persons who have
performed important services for England. . It is very
necessary that they should be chosen from both sides —
the same number of Whigs as of Tories ; and above all
do I wish that they should be well-educated men and of
high character, who, as I have already said, shall have al-
ready distinguished themselves in their several positions,
whether it be in the army, or navy, or in the scientific
world. I know you will agree in my views. . . ."
The Queen mentions that the applications for situa-
tions in the Prince's household were very numerous ;
nor, she adds, were the arrangements which were made
altogether such as they should have been, and the Prince
was a good deal annoyed on the subject.*
* Memorandum by the Queen.
K
218 Proceedings in Parliament.
CHAPTER XII.
1840.
Proceedings in Parliament.
ON the 16th of January, 1840, the Queen opened Par-
liament in person, and it being generally known that the
proposed marriage would now be formally announced
from the throne, the crowds that assembled outside the
houses of Parliament, and that lined the route through
which the royal procession passed from the Palace, were
great beyond all example. The reception of the Queen
both going and returning was enthusiastic in the ex-
treme, and the Queen herself records in her Journal that
she was " more loudly cheered than she had been for
some time."
In the interior of the House every seat was, as usual,
filled with the noblest and fairest of the land ; and a feel-
ing of more than ordinary interest and sympathy must
have thrilled the hearts of all present when their youth-
ful sovereign, only now in her twenty-first year, in her
clear voice and distinct articulation, thus announced to
the representatives of her people in Parliament assem-
bled her own intended marriage.
" Since you were last assembled, I have declared my
intention of allying myself in marriage with the Prince
Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. I humbly implore
Proceedings in Parliament. 219
that the divine blessing may prosper this union, and ren-
der it conducive to the interests of my people, as well as
to my own domestic happiness; and it will be to me a
source of the most lively satisfaction to find the resolu-
tion I have taken approved by my Parliament.
" The constant proofs which I have received of your
attachment to my person and family persuade me that
you will enable me to provide for such an establishment
as may appear suitable to the rank of the Prince and the
dignity of the crown."
The address in answer to the speech was moved in the
House of Lords by the Duke of Somerset, and seconded
by Lord Seaford. There was, on all sides, but one lan-
guage of congratulation and of warm and cordial sympa-
thy in the prospect of domestic happiness and public ad-
vantage which the intended marriage held out to the
Queen and to the country ; and in the House of Com-
mons, where the feeling was equally unanimous, Sir Rob-
ert Peel, as leader of the opposition, claimed for himself
and for those with whom he acted credit for joining cor-
dially in the congratulations- offered by the address. " I
do entirely enter," he proceeded, "into the aspirations for
the happiness of her Majesty in her approaching nup-
tials. Her Majesty has been enabled to contract those
nuptials under circumstances peculiarly auspicious. It
frequently happens that political considerations interfere
with such transactions, and that persons in exalted sta-
tions are obliged to sacrifice their private feelings to the
sense of public duty. Her Majesty, however, has the
singular good fortune to be able to gratify her private
feelings while she performs her public duty, and to obtain
220 Proceedings in Parliament.
the best guarantee for happiness by contracting an alli-
ance founded on affection. I cordially hope that the
union now contemplated will contribute to her Majesty's
happiness, and enable her to furnish to her people an ex-
alted example of connubial felicity."*
But the omission to declare that Prince Albert was a
Protestant was found fault with in both houses, and the
Duke of Wellington, in the House of Lords, " Though
entertaining," he said, "no doubt that the Prince was a
Protestant," though " he was sure he was a Protestant,"
and " knew he was of a Protestant family," attributed the
omission to the fear on the part of the government to ir-
ritate or indispose their Irish supporters. There was
much anxiety, he said, on the subject, and he thought
that if the House of Lords was " called upon to do any
act, or make any declaration on the subject of the mar-
riage, beyond the mere congratulation of the Queen, they
should take that course which should give her Majesty's
subjects the satisfaction of knowing that Prince Albert
was a Protestant, thus showing the public," he added,
" that this was still a Protestant state."
The duke consequently moved to insert the word
"Protestant" in the address before the word "Prince."
In answer, Lord Melbourne said truly, "The noble
duke knows he is a Protestant ; all England knows he is
a Protestant ; the whole world knows he is a Protestant."
And Lord Brougham, after expressing his astonishment
that the House should have been occupied with the sub-
ject for half an hour, pointed out that the world was su-
perfluous, as from the state of the law it could not, in fact,
* Hansard, vol. li., p. 115.
Proceedings in Parliament. 221
be otherwise. "I may remark," Lord Brougham went
on to say, " that my noble friend (Lord Melbourne) was
mistaken as to the law. There is no prohibition as to
marriage with a Catholic. It is only attended with a
penalty, and that penalty is merely the forfeiture of the
crown /"*
The duke's amendment was, however, agreed to, and
the fact of the Prince being a Protestant was recorded in
the address.
The King of the Belgians was strongly of opinion that
it was injudicious to omit the statement that the Prince
was a Protestant in the official declaration of the mar-
riage made to the Privy Council, and had thus expressed
himself on the subject in a letter written to the Queen on
the 6th of December : " I regret that in your declaration
the word ' Protestant' was left out. It could do no harm,
and is even perfectly true, and its omission will give rise
to a long and interminable growling. On religious mat-
ters one can not be too prudent, because one never can
foresee what passionate use people will make of such a
thing."
The Queen having explained the circumstances under
which Lord Melbourne had omitted it, the king again
wrote on the 14th of December :
"In the omission of the word 'Protestant' Lord Mel-
bourne was probably right, and it is equally probable
that they would have abused him, maybe even more, if
he had put it in. There is only this to say, however, the
Ernestine branch of the Saxon family has been, there is
no doubt, the real cause of the establishment of Protest-
* Hansard, vol. li., p. 11 et seq.
222 Proceedings in Parliament.
antism in Germany, and consequently, in great part, of
Northern Europe. This same line became a martyr to
that cause, and was deprived of nearly all its possessions
in consequence of it* Eecently there have been two
cases of Catholic marriages, f but the main branch has re-
mained, and is, in fact, very sincerely Protestant. Both
Ernest and Albert are most attached to it, and when de-
viations took place, they were connected more with the
new branch transplanted out of the parent soil than with
what now must be properly considered the reigning fam-
ily."
On the 27th of January the* House of Commons re-
solved itself into a committee to consider the proposal to
grant an annual sum of £50,000 to Prince Albert on his
marriage with the Queen.
In answer to a question from Mr. Goulburn on the 22d,
Lord John Russell had explained that his proposal was
founded, not upon any estimate of probable expenses,
which would be contrary to all precedent, even if it were
possible to form one, but upon what had been usual in
" the case of Queen Consorts ever since the time of
George II." He found that in the cases of Queen Caro-
line, Queen Charlotte, and Queen Adelaide, the sum grant-
ed for their privy purse had always been £50,000 a year.:}:
* In a former chapter it has been seen that the elder or Ernestine
branch of the Saxon family lost their birthright, which was transferred
to the Albertine or younger branch, after the defeat of of John the Mag-
nanimous at Miihlberg by the Emperor Charles V.
t That of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg with the Princess Kohary
(see page 4), and the King of Belgium's own marriage with Princess
Louise d'Orle'ans, daughter of Louis Philippe, king of the French.
J Hansard, vol. li. , p. 494 et seq.
Proceedings in Parliament. 223
This sum was opposed by Mr. Hume, on the usual
grounds of economy, with all the often-repeated argu-
ments respecting the severity of taxation, the distress of
the country, etc., etc., which distinguished the party to
which he belonged. But these arguments met with little
response from the House, and the amendment he pro-
posed, to reduce the sum to £21,000, was negatived by
305 to 38.*
Another amendment, however, proposed by Colonel
Sibthorpe, to reduce the sum to £30,000, was supported
by Sir Eobert Peel, Mr. Goulburn, Sir James Graham,
Lord Eliot (now Lord St. Germans), etc., on the ground
that the position of the Prince differed essentially from
that of a Queen Consort. " The status of the latter," Sir
James Graham said, "was recognized by the Constitu-
tion.f She had an independent station ; she had inde-
pendent officers ; and, from her sex, it was indispensably
necessary that a large female establishment should be
maintained by her." From the small establishment that
would be required by the Prince, and from the reductions
in the household salaries that had lately been effected, it
was argued that £30,000 to him would make the joint
privy purse of the Queen and the Prince equal to that of
King William and Queen Adelaide.
On a division, the smaller sum was carried by a major-
ity of 262 to 1584
It is probable that the mortification which the refusal
* Hansard, vol. li., p. 584.
t Did Sir James mean that a Queen Regnant was not to marry, or
that, if she did, the "status" of her husband would not be "recognized
by the Constitution ?" J Hansard, vol. li., p. 633.
224 Proceedings in Parliament.
of the proposed vote was calculated to occasion to the
Queen might have been avoided by proper communica-
tions beforehand between -Lord Melbourne and the lead-
ers of the opposition, such as in after years, under the
guidance of the Prince himself, were frequently had re-
course, to when the question to be settled was one rather
of a personal than a political character.
But party spirit at this time was running very high ;
the Queen says of herself that she was then actuated by
strong feelings of partisanship; and since Sir Eobert
Peel's failure in the preceding May to form a govern-
ment, which was attributed by his followers to the in-
trigues and influence of the ladies of the bedchamber, the
language of the opposition had been very violent. We
may therefore well believe that if on one side the oppo-
sition to the proposed vote may be traced, in part at least,
to disappointed hopes of office, the unconciliatory course
pursued on the other may have been influenced by the
hope, not acknowledged perhaps to themselves, of indis-
posing the young Prince, on his first arrival, to their op-
ponents, and of seeing the breach widened which already
existed between them and the Queen.
It is certain that the inevitable consequence of press-
ing the vote to a division was perfectly well known.
Lord John Russell had informed the Queen that the op-
position, as a body, meant to oppose it, and the govern-
ment whippers-in in the House of Commons had warned
Lord Melbourne that if he would avoid defeat, it would
be necessary to reduce the amount of income to be pro-
posed.*
* The Queen's Journal, written at the time.
Proceedings in Parliament. 225
The tone of the debate tended, unfortunately, rather to
exasperate than to soften the expected opposition. Noth-
ing, indeed, could be ihore respectful to the Queen than
the language of those who opposed the vote ; and Lord
Eliot (now Lord St. Germans), who spoke first in support
of Colonel Sibthorpe's amendment, was careful to express
himself in terms of the most devoted loyalty and attach-
ment to the crown. Unfortunately, however, the lan-
guage of the opposition out of doors had been widely
different, and it was too much in accordance with the
spirit in which party warfare was then, and has often at
other times been conducted, not to neglect the opportuni-
ty thus offered of calling attention to the contrast be-
tween the language used in the House and that employed
by the same party elsewhere.
" The noble lord," Lord John Eussell said, " who stated
that he would support the proposition for reducing the
vote, made great professions of respect for her Majesty,
and of his wishes for her Majesty's domestic comfort. I
certainly am bound to give every credit to the noble lord
who made those professions ; and I wish that such con-
duct had not been confined to him, or to the speeches of
to-night, but had been general among those who maintain
the same opinion with himself, and that it had not been
reserved for the beginning of the session, but had been
continued ever since Parliament separated last year. . . .
It appears to me that any member of this House may
vote £30,000 a year, or he may vote £50,000 a year,
with the same respect for her Majesty. But when pro-
fessions of extraordinary respect are made, I can not for-
get that no sovereign of this country has been insulted
K2
226 Proceedings in Parliament.
in such a manner as her present Majesty has been. The
extraordinary professions of respect that have been ut-
tered have made it necessary for me to say a word on
the subject."*
Lord Eliot having appealed to the House against an
attack justified by nothing that had fallen from him, Sir
James Graham rose, " he had almost said, with feelings
of indignation that a minister of the crown should make
an insinuation — for the noble lord dared not directly to
make the charge — that in the vote which they were
about to give for a smaller sum — that a minister of the
crown should insinuate that such a vote was influenced
by a want of respect for the sovereign. The noble lord
— for he had marked him well — had measured his ex-
pressions. He avoided stating that distinctly; but he
appealed to the committee whether the insinuation could
be misunderstood He, for one, repudiated that
insinuation. He felt toward her Majesty that respect
which as a loyal subject he owed to her; but, feeling
that respect, he also felt that he was sent there as a rep-
resentative of the people " In conclusion, he re-
peated that " he had not the slightest hesitation in voting
with the honorable and gallant member for Lincoln, even
though he, and those who sat on the same side of the
house with him, might, in doing so, be accused of a want
of loyalty,"f etc., etc.
Sir Robert Peel also said that, though he would never
shrink from giving his vote on this or any other occa-
sion, yet "he did not know that he should have risen to
address the house if it were not for the insinuation of the
* Hansard, vol. li., p. 618-619. t Id. ibid., p. 619-622.
Proceedings in Parliament. 227
noble lord — an insinuation introduced so unnecessarily,
so unjustly, and so contrary to all parliamentary rules
and principles — so unworthy, too, as he thought, of the
situation which the noble lord occupied, both as a minis-
ter of the crown, and as leader of the House of Commons.
What right had the noble lord to make the insinuation
that he had done ? Supposing that he had said that the
noble lord's motive in proposing £50,000 was owing to
his base subserviency toward the crown .... he would
have been told at once by the speaker that he had no
right to go on imputing motives. Thus he thought it
would be base and unworthy of him to be influenced at
all by the events of last May ; but he also said it would
be as unworthy as it would be cowardly in him to shrink
from the performance of his duty from the fear that such
a motive would be imputed to him. He said it would be
puling, effeminate delicacy in him if he acquiesced in a
vote which he felt to be wrong, because he feared some
honorable gentleman opposite might have said, ' You are
acting from a spiteful recollection of the events of last
May.' I will not," he concluded, "condescend to
rebut the charge of want of respect or loyalty. I have
no compunctions of conscience on that ground. I never
made a concurrence of political sentiment on the part of
the sovereign a condition of my loyalty. I never have
been otherwise than loyal and respectful toward my sov-
ereign. Not one breath of disloyalty — not one word of
disrespect toward the crown or any member of the royal
family, however adverse their political sentiments were
to mine, has ever escaped my lips; and when performing
what I believe to be my duty to this House, and my duty
228 Proceedings in Parliament.
toward the crown, I should think myself unworthy of
the position which I hold — of my station as a member of
the House of Commons — if I thought that I could not
take a straightforward course without needless profes-
sions of loyalty, or without a defense against accusations
which I believe to be utterly unfounded."*
It is hard to deny that on both sides of the House a
spirit was manifested which, on such an occasion, ought
not to have existed. If, on the side of the government,
that tone of conciliation was wanting which might possi-
bly have spared their sovereign the mortification of what
had the appearance of a personal defeat, it is equally cer-
tain that, on the other side, the opposition to the pro-
posed vote showed an ungenerous spirit, and betrayed a
want of confidence in the Prince that might well have
permanently indisposed him toward those who conduct-
ed it.
The Prince, however, from the first, rose superior to
any thing like personal considerations, and his future re-
lations with the Duke of Wellington, Sir Eobert Peel,
and other leaders of that party, when called by the turn
of events to the councils of the Queen, showed how little
his conduct was influenced by what now passed.
It was not only, as I have said, that the Prince was at
all times far above being influenced by personal consid-
erations ; but he obtained, in a wonderfully short time
for a stranger, a clear insight into the nature of political
parties in this country, and the mode in which their op-
position to each other is conducted ; and he soon under-
stood that the opposition to the precedence, and to the
* Hansard, vol. li., page 625 et seq.
Proceedings in Parliament. 229
income proposed for him by government, did not pro-
ceed (at least in the leaders of the Conservative party)
either from want of respect and good-will toward him-
self, or of loyalty toward the Queen.
The Prince early understood, also, the position which
it becomes the sovereign of this great country to hold
between conflicting political parties, and the line of con-
duct which, as the consort of that sovereign, it was right
for himself to observe. Although liberal in his political
views, and thoroughly imbued with the progressive spirit
of the age — though never losing sight of those great prin-
ciples which he believed to be essential to the good of
this country and of the world, nor ever relaxing in his
efforts to promote them — he still held himself aloof from
all the trammels of party, its jealousies and animosities,
and resolutely abstained from even the appearance of
political partisanship. And not only so, but the feelings
of that nature by which the Queen so candidly admits
that she was herself biased at this time, soon ceased to
show themselves under the influence of his judicious
counsels ; and all parties have long borne willing testi-
mony to the cordial and constitutional support which,
when charged with the administration of the govern-
ment, each party in turn received from the Queen, and
from the Prince as her natural confidential adviser.
In the further Committee on the Grant, Colonel Sib-
thorpe, encouraged by his success in effecting a reduc-
tion in its ^amount, proposed an amendment to the effect
that, in case the Prince should survive the Queen, he
should forfeit the annuity now settled upon him if he re-
married a Roman Catholic, or should fail to reside at
230 Proceedings in Parliament.
least six months in each year in the country. This, how-
ever, met with no support, and was summarily rejected,
Sir Robert Peel declaring it to be most undesirable that
such want of confidence should be shown in the Prince.
The King of the Belgians was very indignant at the
refusal by the House of Commons of the vote proposed,
and expressed himself very strongly on the subject in
writing to the Queen. It seemed to him incomprehensi-
ble that the party which professed to "uphold the dig-
nity of the crown should treat their sovereign in such a
manner," and that, too, upon an occasion " when even in
private life tne most sour and saturnine people relax and
grow gay and are mildly disposed !"
He thought, too, that the Queen being Queen Regnant,
"Prince Albert's position was to all intents and pur-
poses that of a Queen Consort ; that the same privileges
and charges ought to be attached to it which were at-
tached to Queen Adelaide's position ; and that the giv-
ing up the income which the Queen Dowager came into
was, in reality, giving up a thing which custom had sanc-
tioned."
While the government, and, it must be added, the
Queen, were sustaining this defeat in the House of Com-
mons, the same want of management and of a concilia-
tory spirit was subjecting them in the House of Lords to
another defeat on a subject on which the Queen was still
more sensitive ; that, namely, of the precedence to be
given to her future husband.
This, too, was a subject on which previous communi-
cation between the leaders of government and of the op-
position might have been advantageously resorted ^to,
Proceedings in Parliament. 231
and all the annoyance that arose from the non-settlement
of the question possibly avoided.
On the same day (the 27th of January) on which the
House of Commons went into committee on the Prince's
Annuity Bill, the lord chancellor, in the House of Lords,
moved the second reading of that for his Eoyal High-
ness's naturalization. In this bill it was proposed to in-
sert a clause having for its objects to give Prince Albert
precedence for his life " next after her Majesty in Parlia-
ment or elsewhere, as her Majesty may think fit and
proper," etc.*
Unfortunately, by an accidental omission, as stated by
Lord Melbourne, no mention had been made in the title
of the bill of the subject of precedence ; and the Duke
of Wellington, therefore, on the ground that the House
had no previous knowledge of the contents of the bill,
and also considering the very large powers which it pro-
posed to confer on the Queen, moved the adjournment
of the discussion. In this he was supported by Lord
Brougham, who also objected to the mode in which it
was sought to give the Prince the desired precedence.
"In former bills," he said, "the precise precedence of the
Prince was fixed. This bill at once naturalized Prince
Albert, and enabled her Majesty to affix him any rank
she chose. He had a constitutional objection to such a
course. It ought to be taken by Parliament, not by the
crown."f He objected, too, to the proposed arrange-
ment, as giving the Prince precedence "not only of the
dukes of the blood royal, but of the Prince of Wales.
Suppose," he added, "(which God forbid!) that the
* Hansard, vol. li., p. 575-576. t Id. ibid., p. 578.
232 Proceedings in Parliament.
Queen had paid the debt of nature before any issue of the
approaching marriage was born, we should have a king
and a Prince of Wales, while Prince Albert would be
placed in the anomalous position of a foreign naturalized
prince, the husband of a deceased queen, with a higher
rank than the Prince of Wales."*
Lord Melbourne and the lord chancellor admitted that
the subject of precedence should have been mentioned in
the title, and agreed to the postponement of the discus-
sion.- It was brought on again on the 31st, when the
lord chancellor, with a view to meeting some of the ob-
jections urged by Lord Brougham, announced that it
was now intended to fix the precedence which the Queen
should be empowered to give the Prince " next after any
heir apparent to the throne."
This, however, as he refused to add the words suggest-
ed by Lord Brougham, in order to limit the precedence
thus given to the lifetime of her Majesty, does not appear
to have removed the objections which had been taken to
the measure. And though the bill was read a second
time with little farther discussion (Lord Londonderry
only speaking in defense of the interests of the King of
Hanover), it was thought expedient, when the House
went into Committee on the Bill on the 3d of February,
to omit all reference to precedence, and to make the bill
what the Duke of Wellington had originally imagined it
to be — one of simple naturalization.
Lord Brougham on this occasion pressed for informa-
tion whether or not it was intended to effect the pro-
posed object by the exercise of the Queen's prerogative;
* Hansard, vol. li., p. 579.
Proceedings in Parliament. 233
but Lord Melbourne declined to say, and the bill passed
in its new shape.
It can not be wondered at if the Queen was, as she her-
self says,* most indignant at what had occurred, or that
the first impression made on the young Prince's mind by
the proceedings in both houses should have been a pain-
ful one. But, as has been already said, he soon under-
stood the nature of our political parties, and that the pro-
ceedings in Parliament were only the result of high party
feeling, and were by no means to be taken as marks of
personal disrespect, or want of kind feeling toward him-
self.
* The Queen's Journal.
234 Arrival in Gotha of the Ministers.
CHAPTER XIII.
1840.
Departure from Gotha and Arrival in England.
ON the 14th of January, 1840, Lord Torrington and
Colonel (now General) Grey left Buckingham Palace with
three of the Queen's carriages for Gotha, whence they
were to escort Prince Albert to England for his marriage.
It had been now settled that this should be celebrated on
the 10th of February. They were also bearers of the
Garter with which the Prince was to be invested before
he left Gotha.
Arriving on the afternoon of the 20th, they were pre-
sented the same evening to the duke, by whom and the
young princes they were most kindly received. Later
in the evening they were presented to the dowager duch-
ess, from whom so many letters have been quoted, at an
evening party at her own house. The next morning, aft-
er breakfast in their own rooms, the English gentlemen
were visited by the two young princes, who remained
with them about an hour, impressing them most favora-
bly by the unaffected kindness and cordiality of their
manner. Prince Albert was naturally very anxious to
hear how the marriage was liked in England — looking
forward, as it seemed, with much pleasure, but, at the
same time, not without some degree of nervousness, to
Invested with the Garter. 235
the change which was about to take place in his position,
and expressing a very natural sorrow at the impending
separation from all his old associations. At four o'clock
there was a great dinner, and in the evening a masked
ball at the theatre, to which the duke and duchess, and
all the court, went a little after eight.
It had been arranged that the ceremony of investing
Prince Albert with the Garter should take place on the
23d. Accordingly, at half past three on that day the
whole court assembled, in full uniform, in the throne-
room ; the duke on the throne, with Prince Albert on his
right, supported by his brother, the Prince of Leiningen,
etc. The duchess, the Princess of Leiningen, the Prin-
cess of Reuss, etc., were in a box on one side of the room ;
the ladies of the court in a similar one opposite ; while
the back of the apartment was filled with as many people
from the town as it would hold. The fine corridor lead-
ing to the throne-room was lined with soldiers ; and when
every one had taken his place, Lord Torrington was ush-
ered in by the chamberlain and other officers of the
court, supported on one side by Colonel Grey, and on the
other by Colonel Bentinck, of the Coldstream Guards (a
chance visitor at Gotha at the time), bearing on white
satin cushions the insignia of the Garter, with which the
duke, himself a Knight of the Order, was, by letters pat-
ent, authorized to invest his son. Lord Torrington hav-
ing delivered and read the letters of which he was the
bearer, they were again read in German — the patent of
election was presented — and Prince Albert was then duly
invested with the various insignia; Prince Leiningen,
who was also a Knight of the Order, attaching the Garter.
236 Festivities at Gotha.
The ceremony of investiture being concluded, the whole
court passed in procession before the duke and duchess,
Prince Albert, etc., after which there was a general ad-
journment to the duchess's apartments. A grand dinner
followed, to which 180 persons sat down, shortly before
which Count Mensdorff, brother-in-law to the duke, ar-
rived with his two sons. The principal table, at which
were all the royal personages, and as many of the more
distinguished guests as it would accommodate, ran across
the top of the room ; and at right angles to it, three other
tables ran down the room, which were filled to crowding
with the more general guests ; the doorway, etc., being
filled with as many spectators as could find standing
room. Toward the end of the first course the duke pro-
posed the Queen's health, which was drunk by all the
company standing, accompanied by several distinct flour-
ishes of trumpets; the band playing "God save the
Queen," and the artillery outside firing a royal salute.
Shortly afterward Lord Torrington, who, with the other
English gentlemen, occupied seats at the principal table
immediately opposite the duke and duchess, proposed the
health of the duke, of Prince Albert, the new-made
Knight of the Garter, and the rest of the ducal family,
which was received in a similar manner. A third and
last toast followed, given by the duke— the rest of the
Knights of the Garter — which was similarly received.
This last toast might have been attended with serious
consequences. In opening the window to give the sig-
nal for the salute to the artillery outside, the wind blew
the thin muslin curtains into the flame of the candles,
and in one instant they blazed up to- the top of the room.
Festivities at Ootha. 237
Great alarm and confusion ensued for a few moments,
caused by people rising from their seats and crowding
toward the window. But, fortunately, the curtains were
so light and thin that they burnt out almost instantane-
ously without igniting the wood- work ; and the ladies'
dresses being, as became the season of the year, mostly
of silk and velvet, no mischief followed, and the alarm
soon subsided. The dinner being ended, coffee followed
in the duchess's apartments, when the company separ-
ated for half an hour, again to assemble in order to go in
state to the Opera. The theatre is extremely pretty, and
being densely crowded, and the audience all in full dress,
the effect was very fine when the royal party entered —
every one standing up, and receiving Prince Albert with
loud and long-continued applause. The performance was
the Freyschiitz, and very good, excepting a little imperfec-
tion in the scenery ; the acting and singing really excel-
lent. With the opera ended a most exciting and inter-
esting, if a somewhat fatiguing day ; but the hours kept
are so much better than those in England, that all was
over between ten and eleven.*
M. Perthes, under whom the Prince had studied at
Bonn, in one of his private letters (published in his Me-
moirs), thus notices the event which has just been re-
corded :
" The winter months of this year have been made in-
teresting and exciting by the chapter of history which
has been enacted here ; for the grand-ducal papa bound
the Garter round his boy's knee amid the roar of 101
* The account of the proceedings at Gotha, and of the journey to En-
gland, is taken from a journal kept at the time.
238 Grief of the Duchess Dowager.
cannons. The earnestness and gravity with which the
Prince has obeyed this early call to take a European po-
sition give him dignity and standing in spite of his youth,
and increase the charm of his whole aspect. Queen Vic-
toria will find him the right sort of man ; and unless
some unlucky fatality interpose, he is sure to become the
idol of the English nation — silently to influence the En*
glish aristocracy — and deeply to affect the destinies of
Europe."
The day following the investiture was devoted to a
grand " chasse aux chevreuils," much marred, as a for-
mer "chasse aux lievres" had been, by the severity of
the weather. On Saturday there was a luncheon at Rein-
hardsbrunn, and in the evening a state ball at the Palace.
On Sunday the dowager duchess received the English
gentlemen in the forenoon, and was much affected by
their visit. She was very deaf, but it was really painful
to witness her efforts to keep down her grief. She took
the gentlemen over her rooms, showed them her pictures,
etc. ; but the conversation always came back to Prince
Albert, and his name was never mentioned without a
fresh burst of tears. It was a touching and natural ex-
pression of sorrow ; for what certainty could the duchess
feel that, at her age, she would be permitted again to see
her beloved grandson. Monday, the 27th, was the last
day the Prince was to spend in his paternal' home. The
next day he was to turn his back on all the scenes of his
youthful associations, and to set out to commence a new
career. It was a sad day, for the sorrow at losing their
cherished prince was genuine and universal among all
classes ; yet it was a day of outward festivity and rejoic-
Journey to England. 289
ing. There was again a great full-dress dinner, before
which the duke presented the English gentlemen, accord-
ing to their rank, with the various classes of the family
order ; and in the evening a full-dress concert. At the
end of it, all the ladies and gentlemen passed before
Prince Albert to bid him farewell, not a few of them in
tears, and the Prince himself very much upset. And
could there be a severer trial ? However brilliant the
prospect before him, could the Prince be otherwise than
deeply affected at leaving a country to which he was so
warmly attached, and bidding, probably, for the most
part, a last adieu to the friends of his youth, and those
by whom he was so much beloved ?
. The next morning, Tuesday, 28th of January, 1840,
the journey to England began. The traveling-carriages
were sent on about a mile to a small inn called the "Last
Shilling ;" Duke Ernest of Wiirtemberg, Prince Eeuss,
Count Mensdorff and his sons, etc., etc., wishing to accom-
pany the Prince so far before taking a final farewell.
The departure from Gotha was an affecting scene, and
every thing showed the genuine love of all classes for
their young Prince. The streets were densely crowded ;
every window was crammed with heads ; every house-
top covered with people, waving handkerchiefs, and vy-
ing with each other in demonstrations of affection that
could not be mistaken. The carriages stopped in passing
the dowager duchess's, and Prince Albert got out with
his father and brother to bid her a last adieu. It was a
terrible trial to the poor duchess, who was inconsolable
for the loss of her beloved grandson. She came to the
window as the carriages drove off, and threw her arms
240 Journey to England.
out, calling out " Albert ! Albert !" in tones that went to
every one's heart, when she was carried away, almost in
a fainting state, by her attendants.
Having passed in a long procession through the town,
in the duke's carriages, preceded by the carriages of M.
Stein, the minister, and others, to the number of more
than twenty, the Duke of "Wiirtemberg, Count Mensdorff,
etc., took a final leave at the " Last Shilling," and the
princes got into one of the Queen's traveling-carriages.
The duke, attended by Colonel Grey, went another Ger-
man mile in his own open carriage to the frontier, where
an arch of green fir-trees had been erected, and a number
of young girls, dressed in white, with roses and garlands,
and a band of musicians and singers, who sung a very
pretty hymn, were assembled to bid a final " God speed,"
as he left his native land behind him, to the young
Prince. It was a pretty sight, but bitterly cold. A hard
frost, and the ground covered with snow, with a bitter
northeast wind, were scarcely in keeping with white mus-
lin gowns and wreaths of flowers ! Here M. Stein, the
minister, and others who had preceded the royal party
so far, took their leave, the duke got into his traveling-
carriage, and the journey to England was fairly begun.
The traveling-carriages, with the fourgons, were eight
in number. First, the duke's own traveling chariot, in
which he was accompanied sometimes by one of his sons,
sometimes by one of the English gentlemen, or of his own
suite ; then the three carriages of the Queen, followed by
a couple of britzkas and the two fourgons. The duke
and princes were attended, in addition to the three En-
glish gentlemen (Lord Torrington, Colonel Grey, and Mr.
Journey to England. 241
Seymour), by Counts Alvensleben, Kolowrath, Gruben,
Pollnitz, etc., etc., and formed altogether a party of twelve.
The travelers stopped at one o'clock at Birschhausen
for luncheon, and arrived at Cassel, where they passed
the night, a little before eight. The duke and the two
princes, on their arrival, paid a visit to the Elector of
Hesse, returning to the inn to dine.
The next morning, a little before nine, the party left
Cassel to go seventeen German miles to Arnsberg, where,
they only arrived as the clock was striking ten in the
evening. The following night was passed at Deutz, the
bridge not having been yet established for the year over
the Ehine, which had to be crossed the next morning in
boats, a tedious and a cold operation, made more disa-
greeable by the heavy rain that fell all the time. The
party left Cologne about half past nine, dined at Aix-la-
Chapelle about three, and arrived at Liege, where they
slept, about ten. At Aix-la-Chapelle the Prince heard the
news of the rejection of the proposed grant of £50,000,
which made a disagreeable impression upon him. It not
unnaturally led him to express a fear that the people of
England were not pleased with the marriage, an appre-
hension, however, which was speedily removed by the
unqualified cordiality of the reception with which he was
every where greeted from- the first moment of his entry
into this country. Late as it was when the Prince ar-
rived at Liege, the whole city seemed on foot to do him
honor. Before crossing the river to enter the city, the
governor, accompanied by all the military authorities,
met him with an escort of Lancers. A guard of honor
was drawn up in the square opposite the hotel (the Pa-
L
.242 Journey to England.
villon Anglais), and a fine brass band continued playing
under the windows till twelve o'clock. Nor was all quiet
when they ceased. About one o'clock a large compa-
ny of peasants took their place, and serenaded the Prince
with vocal music till near two in the morning.
Before leaving Liege the next morning the duke re-
ceived all the authorities, civil and military, who were
severally introduced to the Prince. At ten, the carriages
having been sent on, the whole party was conveyed, in
one large omnibus, to the railroad terminus at Ans, where
a special train had been provided, by which they were
taken in four hours to Brussels, arriving in that city aj;
three o'clock.
Here they remained, received and treated by the king
with the greatest distinction, till Wednesday, the 5th of
February. On that day, at half past seven, the journey
to England was resumed— by rail as far as Ostend, and
thence posting along the coast by Dunkirk and Grave-
lines to Calais. At Dunkirk the duke and Prince Al-
bert had a narrow escape, in the duke's carriage, of being
driven into the ditch of the fortress. The pole of the
carriage was broken and other damage done, in conse-
quence of which the duke remained behind for an hour
and a half while they were repairing it. At half past
eleven the two princes arrived at Calais, where, not-
withstanding the lateness of the hour, they found all the
officers of the garrison waiting at the hotel to receive
them, a guard of honor, etc., etc. The duke did not ar-
rive till half past one. Lord Clarence Paget, who had
been sent in the Firebrand to escort the Prince over, also
met the party at the hotel.
Arrival at Dover. 243
The next morning, Thursday, the 6th of February, the
weather was beautiful, with a light air from the N.W.
Unfortunately, the tide was too low to admit of sailing
before half past eleven, and in the mean time the day
changed. A strong breeze freshened up from the S.E.,
and, before half the passage was made, had increased al-
most to a gale. The firebrand not being able to get out
so soon, the whole party had embarked in the Ariel, one
of the Dover packets, commanded for the occasion by
their well-known commander, Captain Hamilton. But
the passage was long (five hours and a half), and the
deck of the little steamer was a scene of almost universal
misery and sea-sickness. The duke had gone below, and
on either side of the cabin staircase lay the two princes,
in an almost helpless state. The sea got heavier as the
vessel approached the land, and it was by no common
effort, as every one who has felt the utter prostration at-
tendant on sea-sickness will readily believe, that Prince
Albert, who had continued to suffer up to the last mo-
ment, got up as it entered between the piers to bow to
the people by which they were crowded. Five minutes
later the tide would not have allowed the Ariel to enter
the harbor. As it was, she grazed the ground in go-
ing in.
'The resolution and strength of will with which the
Prince, on this occasion, shook himself free from the
enervating effects of sea-sickness, were at all times distin-
guishing features in his character. So far from indulging,
as most men do, in complaint and pity for himself under
every petty ailment, he never gave way, when work was
to be done, to feelings of fatigue or indisposition, and
24:4: Arrival at Dover.
would struggle bravely even against severe illness. The
most signal illustration, perhaps, of this noble quality was
afforded by one of the latest acts of his life. On the 1st
of December, 1861, when suffering under the extreme
prostration of his last fatal illness, the Prince roused him-
self to write a memorandum for the Queen on the com-
munication which the government proposed to make to
the United States on the affair of the Trent* This mem-
orandum was adopted by the Queen, and influencing, as
it did, the tone of the government communication, had a
material effect in preventing a rupture between the two
countries.
Nothing could exceed the enthusiasm of the reception
which greeted the Prince when he set his foot on the
English shore as the affianced husband of our Queen ; and
he must have been at once convinced that if the houses
of Parliament in their late votes had been actuated by
any personal feelings against himself, or against the mar-
riage, those feelings were not shared by the people of
England.
The night was spent at Dover, at the York Hotel (it
stood on the Esplanade, but now no longer exists), and
after a very poor attempt by most of the party at dinner,
every one was glad to get to bed before nine o'clock.
It had been arranged that the Prince should not arrive
at Buckingham Palace till Saturday, the 8th; a short
journey was therefore made the next day to Canterbury,
the Prince having first received an address from the
* Except the commencement of a letter to Prince Leopold, which he
could not continue after the first line, these were the last words written
by the Prince.
Visit to Canterbury. 245
mayor and other authorities of Dover, and having held
a reception, at which the commandant and officers of the
garrison were presented to him. It poured with rain all
the morning, but this did not prevent immense crowds
from assembling at Dover to see the Prince depart, or
from turning out in every village through which he
passed on his way to Canterbury, to welcome him with
true English and heartfelt cheers.
His reception at Canterbury was no less enthusiastic,
and the unfortunate nature of the weather seemed to have
no effect in damping the ardor of the multitudes that
thronged the streets. The royal party arrived at two,
accompanied by an escort of the llth Hussars, and having
received an address from the city authorities, the Prince,
with his brother, attended the service of the Cathedral at
three. In the evening the city was illuminated, and vast
crowds assembled before the hotel, cheering and calling
for the Prince, who answered their call by appearing, to
their great delight, on the balcony.
From Canterbury the Prince had sent on his valet with
his favorite greyhound "Eos," and the Queen speaks in
her Journal of the pleasure which the sight of " dear
Eos," the evening before the arrival of the Prince, gave
her.
The Prince had brought this greyhound over with him
in 1839. He had himself brought it up and trained it
from the time it was a puppy of six weeks old, and a
more beautiful, and, at the same time, more sagacious
and attached animal could not be imagined. It was jet
black, with the exception of a narrow white streak on
the nose, and a white foot. It was the dog mentioned
246 Arrival in London.
by Count Arthur Mensdorff in his recollections of the
Prince's youthful days,* and died at Windsor about four
years and a half after the' marriage of the Queen and
Prince. She was buried on the top of the bank above
the slopes, and a bronze model of her now marks the
spot.f
On Saturday morning, the 8th, after receiving an ad-
dress from the dejan and chapter, the Prince left at ten
for London, meeting with the same enthusiastic reception
along the whole line of route to Buckingham Palace.
Here the party arrived at half past four o'clock, and were
received at the hall door by the Queen and the Duchess
of Kent, attended by the whole household. At five
o'clock the lord chancellor administered the oaths of nat-
uralization to the Prince, and the day ended by a great
dinner, attended by the officers of state, Lord Melbourne,
etc. ; the Queen recording in her Journal, in warm terms,
the great joy she felt at seeing the Prince again.:}:
On Sunday, the 9th, service was performed by the
Bishop of London in the bow room on the ground floor,
and was attended by the Queen and Prince, etc. ; and in
the afternoon the latter drove out, through immense
crowds assembled before the Palace, to pay his formal
visits to the royal family. On this day the Queen men-
tions in her Journal that the Prince gave her, as his wed-
ding gift, a beautiful -sapphire and diamond brooch, and
that she gave him the star and badge of the Garter, and
the Garter itself set in diamonds. There was again a
great dinner in the evening.§
* Sec Chnp. III., page 68. t Memorandum by the Queen.
% Ibid. § Ibid.
Letters. 247
But amid all the hurry and excitement of the journey,
and the rejoicings and festivities to which the Prince's
arrival in England gave occasion, the grandmother left
behind at Gotha, and who had loved him so dearly from
his earliest infancy, was not forgotten. The duke had
written to her from Brussels to announce their safe ar-
rival thus far, and she thus thanks him for his letter on
the 8th of February :
" Gotha, Feb. 8, 1840.
" I have really been quite touched, my dear duke, by
your kindness in writing to me from Brussels. God be
thanked that you arrived safely, in spite of the unfavor-
able weather. Here we had spring weather for the first
week since you went, but we have now more rain. God
grant that you may have had a good passage, and that
none of you three may have suffered much. My fervent
prayers and best wishes have gone with you. I still feel
deeply the parting from my angel Albert! You, dear
duke, know what he has been to me. May he be as hap-
py as he deserves, and as all his true friends desire that
he may be ! Though thorns are sure to come in his path,
may the roses only prove the more abundant !"
And the Prince himself, on the morning of his wed-
ding-day, sent her these few touching lines :
"DEAR GRANDMAMMA, — In less than three hours I
shall stand before the altar with my dear bride! In
these solemn moments I must once more ask your bless-
ing, which I am well assured I shall receive, and which
will be my safeguard and my future joy ! I must end.
God help me ! Ever your faithful GRANDSON.
" London, Feb. 10, 1840."
248 The Marriage.
The marriage had been fixed to take place at the
Chapel Royal at one o'clock, and at half past twelve the
Queen left Buckingham Palace, with her mother and the
Duchess of . Sutherland in the carriage with her, for St.
James's, wearing the sapphire brooch which the Prince
had given her the day before.*
In the Appendix will be found a full description, as
given in The Times of that day, of all the arrangements
for the ceremony, and of the ceremony itself. To that
account, which, allowing for such trifling mistakes as it
was perhaps impossible to avoid, is generally correct, the
reader who wishes to follow the events of this important
day in minute detail is referred. He will there find it
stated how the several processions, of the bride and of the
bridegroom, .and of the royal personages and others in-
vited to attend the wedding, were formed; how they
went to the Chapel, and how they returned from it ; the
only difference being that the Queen came back with the
chosen companion of her life — her husband — by her side;
that it was her husband who handed her from the car-
riage at the Palace door; and that she walked up the
grand staircase, in the presence of her court, leaning on
her husband's arm !
Then followed the wedding breakfast at the Palace,
with a toast to the health of the royal couple ; and it is
worthy of remark, considering the popular belief in the
Queen's luck in weather, that the day, which had been
dark and dismal all the morning, with rain and fog,
cleared up soon after the return of the bridal procession
* Memorandum by the Queen. See Appendix F. for the account
given at the time in The Times newspaper of the ceremony.
The Marriage. 249
from the Chapel, and before the departure for "Windsor
the sun shone forth with all the splendor which dis-
tinguishes what is nojv proverbially called " Queen's
weather."
A little before four the Queen and Prince took leave
of the Duchess of Kent, and left Buckingham Palace for
Windsor Castle. An immense crowd was gathered be-
fore the Palace to see their departure, and the road was
lined with people anxious to catch a glimpse of their sov-
ereign and her chosen husband nearly the whole way to
Windsor.
"Our reception," the Queen says in her Journal, "was
most enthusiastic, hearty, and gratifying in every way ;
the people quite deafening us with their cheers; horsemen
and gigs, etc., going along with us." At Eton the whole
school had turned out to receive and welcome the royal
pair; and the boys in a body accompanied the carriage
to the Castle, cheering and shouting as only school-boys
can. They swarmed up the mound as the carriage en-
tered the quadrangle, and as the Queen and the Prince
descended at the grand entrance, they made the old Castle
ring again with their acclamations.
But the sovereigns of this country can not enjoy on
such an occasion the privacy which is the privilege and
happiness of their subjects.
On the 12th the Duchess of Kent, with the Duke of
Coburg and the hereditary prince, attended by the whole
court, followed to Windsor. There was dancing there
that night and the next ; and on the 14th the court re-
turned to London.* Addresses had now to be received
* From the Queen's Journal.
L2
250 The Marriage.
from the houses of Parliament and other bodies both by
the Queen and Prince. State visits were paid to the the-
atres. On the 19th the Queen had a levee, at which the
Prince, who led her in, took the place on her Majesty's
left hand which he ever afterward occupied. On the
25th (Sunday) the Queen and Prince attended service for
the first time at the Chapel Eoyal, being much cheered
as they drove there through the Park ; and on the 28th
the Duke of Coburg left England. This separation from
his father was deeply felt by the Prince. " He said to
me," the Queen records in her Journal, " that I had nev-
er known a father, and could not, therefore, feel what he
did. His childhood had been very happy." " Ernest"
(the hereditary prince remained for some time in England
after his brother's marriage) — " Ernest, he said, was now
the only one remaining here of all his earliest ties and
recollections ; but that, if I continued to love him as I
did now, I could make up for all. He never cried, he
said, in general, but Alvensleben and Kolowrath" (they
had accompanied the duke to England, and now left with
him) "had cried so much that he was quite overcome.
Oh, how I did feel for my dearest, precious husband at
this moment ! Father, brother, friends, country — all has
he left, and all for me. God grant that I may be the.
happy person, the most happy person to make this dear-
est, blessed being happy and contented ! What is in my
power to make him happy I will do."
How this prayer was answered will best appear as we
trace the course of the Queen and Prince's married life
in future volumes. In another chapter, which will con-
clude the present volume, an account will be given of the
The Marriage. 251
arrangements that were made immediately after the mar-
riage for giving the Prince precedence next to the Queen,
for the formation of his household, etc., as well as a gen-
eral description of the mode of life now established in its
well-regulated division of duties and amusements, from
which there was no material deviation in after years.
The Queen was now married to the husband of her
choice, amid the sincere and general rejoicings of her
subjects. " It is that," Lord Melbourne said to the
Queen, " which makes your Majesty's marriage so pop-
ular, as they know it is not for mere state reasons."*
Heartfelt were the prayers offered up for the happiness
of -the Queen and Prince, and we can estimate but too
well how completely those prayers were granted, writing
as we do when all that happiness has passed away.
* From the Queen's Journal.
252 The Prince's Position.
CHAPTER XIV.
1840.
FIRST TEAR OF MARRIAGE.
The Prince's Position. — Formation of his Household. — Settlement of
Precedence. — Freedom from Partisanship. — General Life in London.
— At Windsor, Claremont, etc. — Love for the Country. — Attempt on
the Queen's Life. — The Regency Bill. — Birth of the Princess Royal.
THE hereditary prince remained in England with the
Queen and his brother till the 8th of May, but with his
departure the last tie that bound the Prince to his native
land seemed to be severed. England was to be hence-
forth his home. He was to forget his own country and
his father's house ; or, if not forget — an impossibility to
a heart like his — he was at least to act as though he did.
Duty now required at his hands an unreserved dedication
of himself — of his best energies and abilities — to the land
of his adoption ; and nobly and unshrinkingly was that
duty performed. How great the sacrifice that he was
thus called upon to make, few, at that time, could esti-
mate. Many, even now, would admit with difficulty that
it could be a sacrifice at all, to exchange the position of a
younger son in a comparatively small German dukedom
for that of the Consort of the Queen of England. But to
any man of warm natural affections, the rending of home
ties must, under any circumstances, and however brilliant
the future before him, be a sacrifice, and it is now only,
The Prince's Position. 253
when we have had the privilege of reading the letters
quoted in the preceding chapters of this memoir, making
us acquainted with the intense love he bore to the home
of his infancy, and with the feelings of affection and sym-
pathy that bound him to his own family and the friends
of his youth,* that we are able, in some degree, to judge
of its nature and extent.
To feel that his beloved native land must no longer
occupy the first place in his heart — at all events, must
be no longer the first object of his thoughts — that, sep-
arated from all he had hitherto held most dear, new fam-
ily ties were to be entered into — new friendships formed
— new habits acquired — could a mind, constituted as
was the Prince's, reflect upon all this without feeling
that, splendid and important as might be the position he
would henceforth fill, it was attained at no common sac-
rifice— that, namely, of all his early ties and most cher-
ished associations ! It was a sacrifice, however, which,
accepting it as he did in its fullest extent, was not only
made supportable by the thought (to a noble nature like
the Prince's, of all thoughts the most inspiriting) of the
good which it would enable him to do, but was more
than compensated by a degree of domestic happiness
which the most devoted and confiding love on both sides
is alone capable of affording.
"We might well enlarge here on the self-denial and
single-hearted devotion with which, from this time for-
ward, the Prince applied himself to the discharge of the
duties of his new position. But it is not necessary.
* See particularly the letters to the Dowager Duchess of Gotha and to
Prince William of Lowenstein.
254 The Prince's Position.
These qualities will come out in ever bolder relief as
this memoir advances. A strong proof, among others,
of the spirit in which he entered upon their performance
will be found in the fact that, loving his old home as he
did, with an intensity of affection that has been rarely
equaled, and certainly has never been surpassed, upward
of four years elapsed after his marriage before he paid a
short and flying visit to the place of his birth.
It must be admitted, however, that, constantly, unos-
tentatiously, and perseveringly as he now gave himself
up to the discharge of his new duties, he was exposed,
almost during the whole period of his life in this coun-
try, to much misconception and much misrepresentation.
Not for that, however, did he for one moment relax in
his efforts, or allow his zeal to flag, in seeking to pro-
mote all that was for the good of the British people.
His actions might be misunderstood — his opinions might
be misrepresented (of which there was more than one
notable instance),* but, supported by his own conscious
rectitude, he still pursued the even tenor of his way.
Not a complaint — not a murmur — ever escaped his lips ;
not a single hasty expression did he ever indulge in,
even toward those who were most unjust to him. He
accepted such injustice as the inevitable lot of one placed,
as he was, in high station, trusting surely to the coming
of the time when his motives and actions would be bet-
ter understood and better appreciated by his adopted
country.
The principle on which he always acted was (to use
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — Especially at the commencement of the Rus-
sian War.
The Prince's Position. 255
his own noble words) "to sink his own individual exist-
ence in that of his wife — to aim at no power by himself
or for himself — to shun all ostentation — to assume no
separate responsibility before the public ;" but, making
his position entirely a part of the Queen's, "continually
and anxiously to watch every part of the public busi-
ness, in order to be able to advise and assist her at any
moment in any of the multifarious and difficult questions
brought before her — sometimes political, or social, or per-
sonal— as the natural head of her family, superintendent
of her household, manager of her private affairs ; her
sole confidential adviser in politics, and only assistant in
her communications with the officers of the govern-
ment."*
It was not, however, for some time that the position,
as described above, was established. For the first year
or two the Prince was not, except on rare occasions and
by special invitation, present at the interviews of the
Queen with her ministers, f Though taking, the Queen
says, "great pains to inform himself about every thing;"
and though Lord Melbourne expressed much anxiety
" that the Queen should tell him and show him every
thing connected with public affairs" .... "he did not
at this time take much part in the transaction of busi-
ness."^:
Nor were there wanting those who would gladly have
kept him perfectly estranged from it ; and not only so,
* Letter to the Duke of Wellington, in answer to offer of command of
the Army. — Speeches, etc., of the Prince Consort, p. 76.
t NOTE BY THE.QUEEN. — But this was not from any objection on their
part. t Memorandum by the Queen.
256 The Prince's Position.
but who would have denied him, even in the domestic
circle, that authority which, in private families, properly
belongs to the husband, and without which, it may be
added, there can not be true comfort or happiness in do-
mestic life. The Prince himself early saw the necessity
of his asserting and claiming that authority. " In my
home life," he writes to Prince Lowenstein in May, 1840,
" I am very happy and contented ; but the difficulty in
rilling my place with the proper dignity is, that I am only
the husband, not the master in the house."
Fortunately, however, for the country, and still more
fortunately for the happiness of the royal couple them-
selves, things did not long remain in this condition.
Thanks to the firmness, but, at the same time, gentleness
with which the Prince insisted on filling his proper posi-
tion as head of the family — thanks also to the clear judg-
ment and right feeling of the Queen, as well as to her sin-
gularly honest and straightforward nature — but thanks,
more than all, to the mutual love and perfect confidence
which bound the Queen and Prince to each other, it was
impossible to keep up any separation or difference of in-
terests or duties between them. To those who would
urge upon the Queen that, as sovereign, she must be the
head of the house and the family, as well as of the state,
and that her husband was, after all, but one of her sub-
jects, her Majesty would reply that she had solemnly en-
gaged at the altar to "obey" as well as to "love and
honor," and this sacred obligation she could consent nei-
ther to limit nor refine away.
From the first, too, the Queen, acting on the advice of
Lord Melbourne, communicated all foreign dispatches to
The Prince's Position. 257
the Prince. In August, 1840, he writes to his father:
" Victoria allows me to take much part in foreign affairs,
and I think I have already done some good. I always
commit my views to paper, and then communicate them
to Lord Melbourne. He seldom answers me, but I have
often had the satisfaction of seeing him act entirely in
accordance with what I have said."
And again in April, 1841 : " All I can say about my
political position is, that I study the politics of the day
with great industry, and resolutely hold myself aloof from
all parties (fortfahre mich von alien Parteien frei zu hatien).
I take active interest in all national institutions and asso-
ciations. I speak quite openly with the ministers on all
subjects, so as to obtain information, and meet on all sides
with much kindness I endeavor quietly to be of
as much use to Victoria in her position as I can."
Here we have the first announcement of that principle
by which the whole of his future life was guided, and to
which many years later he gave the noble expression al-
ready quoted, of " sinking his individual existence in that
of the Queen." Slowly but surely, acting on that princi-
ple, did he establish his position ; and so entirely was it
recognized by the Queen herself, so unreservedly and
confidingly did she throw herself upon her husband's
support, relying in all questions of difficulty on his judg-
ment, and acting in all things by his advice, that when
suddenly bereaved of that support, her sense of the loss
which she had sustained as Queen found expression in
the pathetic words "that it would now be, in fact, the be-
ginning of a new reign !"
The true nature of the Prince's position, and the noble
258 Formation of Household,
and self-sacrificing spirit in which he filled it, will become
more apparent as we proceed.
But we must revert now to the events which followed
immediately after the marriage, many of which occurred
before the departure of his brother.
The first thing to be settled after the marriage was the
formation of the Prince's household. It was arranged
that it should consist of a groom of the stole, to which of-
fice Lord Eobert Grosvenor (now Lord Ebury) was first
appointed ; of two lords in waiting, Lord Boringdon (the
late Lord Morley) and Lord George Lennox ; two equer-
ries, ultimately increased to four, Colonels, now Lieuten-
ant Generals Bouverie and Wylde ; two grooms in wait-
ing, General Sir George Anson, and Captain, now Mnjor
General Seymour; and a private secretary, Mr. Anson.
The last-named appointment was not made without con-
siderable demur on the part of the Prince, and was re-
luctantly acquiesced in by him. It was not so much that
Mr. Anson was, as it were, imposed upon him, having
been selected without his being consulted, but that, hav-
ing been long private secretary to Lord Melbourne, his
appointment to so confidential a post about the Prince's
person might seem inconsistent with that entire freedom
from partisanship which his Eoyal Highness had already
expressed his determination to preserve, and which he
had insisted upon as the principle on which his house-
hold should be formed.* By his honest and straightfor-
ward conduct, however (which was very conspicuous, the
Queen says, on the occasion of the change of government
in 1841), the natural accompaniment of a nature some-
* See letter to the Queen, Chap. XI., p. 2IG.
Formation of Household. 259
what blunt and outspoken, but utterly incapable of in-
trigue, and by his entire devotion to the service and in-
terests of his master, Mr. Anson soon won, and up to the
hour of his sudden and lamented death enjoyed, as he
deserved to enjoy, not only the confidence, but the friend-
ship of the Prince.*
As regards the other appointments to the Prince's
household, the same principle was established as was ob-
served in that of the Queen herself, namely, that those
appointments only should be permanent which, were held
by men entirely unconnected with politics, while those
filled by peers or members of the House of Commons
should change with the various changes of ministry.
This regulation, however, only affected the groom of the
stole and one of the lords in waiting. The greater num-
ber of those who were now named to the Prince's house-
hold remained in his service to the end. At first his
Eoyal Highness had only two equerries, but as they were
called upon to perform the same, and even more constant
duties than those of the Queen, a third equerry (the late
General, then Colonel Sir E. Bowater) was soon added ;
and in 1854 or 1855, the duties becoming still heavier,
the number was increased to four.
It has been seen that the attempt to give the Prince
precedence next to the Queen by act of Parliament had
failed, and Lord Brougham had, on that occasion, asked
if it was intended to effect that object by the exercise of
* NOTE BY THE QDEEN. — The Prince was deeply affected when the
news of Mr. Anson's sudden death arrived, and said to the Queen, " He
was my only intimate friend. We went through every thing together
since I came here. He was almost like a brother to me."
260 Settlement of Precedence.
the Queen's prerogative, to which question Lord Mel-
bourne at the time declined to reply. It was now de-
termined, with the concurrence of the leaders of both
parties, to adopt this course.
Mr. Charles Greville* wrote a pamphlet, which Lord
Melbourne characterized as " clever and well done," to
prove that the Queen had the power, if she chose to ex-
ercise it, of conferring whatever rank and precedence she
pleased upon the Prince by letters patent, f and. having
submitted his views on the subject to the Duke of Wel-
lington, the latter expressed his concurrence in them, and
gave it as his opinion that the Queen might, by letters
patent, "give the Prince rank immediately next to her-
self every where except in Parliament and at the Privy
Council.":}:
The lord chancellor (the late Lord Cottenham) and Lord
Lyndhurst, being consulted, expressed similar opinions ;
and the Duke of Wellington, on learning this from Lord
Lyndhurst, sent Mr. Greville to Lord Melbourne to say
that he thought this step might now be taken.§ Lord
Melbourne lost no time in communicating these opinions
to the Queen, but "Lord Melbourne and I," her Majesty
adds, " said, why do this and say this now, when they
might so easily and so much better have settled it by
Parliament before ?"| On the 5th of March letters patent
were issued, conferring upon the Prince the precedence
next to the Queen, which he ever afterward retained.
This was felt, however, not to be so satisfactory a way
of effecting the desired object as if the Prince's rank had
* Clerk of the Council. Died January, 1865.
t The Queen's Journal, written at the time. J Ibid. § Ibid. || Ibid.
Freedom from Partisanship. 261
been definitively fixed by act of Parliament ; and many
years later, to prevent the scandal which every right-
thinking person must feel it would have been, of seeing
the father following his own sons, or trusting only to
their forbearance to take precedence of them, it was pro-
posed to define at once the position of every prince con-
sort by act of Parliament, and to place him, during the
lifetime of his wife, next to the sovereign. From a
strange misapprehension, however, of what would have
been the feeling of Englishmen on such a subject, this in-
tention was abandoned, and the Prince continued to hold
his rank only in virtue of the Queen's letters patent.
This subject has, however, been already sufficiently al-
luded to in a former chapter.
It has also been already stated that the Queen, up to
the period of her marriage, had indulged strong feelings
of political partisanship. Among the happy conse-
quences of the marriage may be included the gradual ex-
tinction of any such feeling. The Prince had already
shown, in the discussions and correspondence respecting
the formation of his household, his own determination to
stand clear from all political parties. Lord Melbourne
now, most honorably to himself, supported the Prince in
pressing the same course upon the Queen. He told the
Prince that he thought the time was come when her
Majesty "should have a general amnesty for the To-
ries;" and on being spoken to by the Queen', to whom
the Prince had reported what he had said, repeated that
such was his opinion.* On another occasion, the Queen
records that Lord Melbourne, speaking of the Prince,
* The Queen's Journal, written at the time.
2(32 General Life in London.
" said, looking at him with tears in his eyes, ' There is an
amazing feeling for him — there is a very favorable im-
pression of him — every one likes him ;' " and then adds,
" Then, speaking of the Tories, against whom the Queen
was very irate, Lord Melbourne said, ' You should now
hold out the olive-branch a little.' "*
Levees, drawing-rooms, presentations, addresses, great
dinners, state visits to the theatres, etc., etc., followed the
marriage in rapid succession. The first levee was held
on the 19th of February, on which, as on all other simi-
lar occasions for the future, as well as at the opening of
Parliament or other state ceremonies, the Prince led the
Queen in and stood on her left hand. On one occasion,
the 7th of March, the Prince received and personally an-
swered no less than twenty-seven addresses in one day.f
He was at first, the Queen says, a little nervous when
addresses were presented to him, to which he had to give
answers, though not nearly so nervous, it seems, as many
of those by whom the addresses were presented. Mr.
Anson, who generally attended the Prince in these cere-
monies, used to tell many ludicrous stories about them,
but said that nothing could be better or more dignified
than the way in which the Prince went through them.J
The Queen also gave many dinners, often followed by
little dances ; and they went frequently to the play, of
which the Prince was always very fond. Among other
plays which they went to see at this time, the Queen
mentions six special performances which were got up at
Covent Garden, then under the management of Madame
* The Queen's Journal, written at the time.
t Memorandum by the Queen. J Ibid.
General Life in London. 263
Vestris and Mr. Charles Mathews, in which Charles Kem-
ble reappeared in some of Shakspeare's principal charac-
ters.* The Prince thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated
Shakspeare, and in later years took the greatest interest
in the revival of his plays, under the management of Mr.
Charles Kean at the Princess's. We may also mention
here, in further proof of this, that some years later, when
theatrical performances were got up at Windsor Castle,
two if not three nights out of the six were devoted to
Shakspeare.
But at first the change in his mode of life — the differ-
ence of climate — and, above all, the lateness of the hours,
were very trying to the Prince. "Victoria and I are
quite well," he writes to his grandmother on the 24th of
February. " We are very happy and in good spirits, but
I find it very difficult to acclimatize myself completely,
though I hope soon to find myself more at home. The
late hours are what I find it most difficult to bear."
Late hours at night led naturally to late hours in the
morning, and, very contrary to the habits afterward estab-
lished, the Queen mentions that " in these days they were
svery late of a morning (which was the Queen's fault),
breakfasting at ten, and getting out very little, which was
very unwholesome."f
The Prince continues in the same letter, which, it will
be seen, was written before the departure of his father
from England : " I am receiving at present a great num-
ber of addresses from different towns and corporations,
all of which I am forced to answer personally. To-night
we give a small ball.
* Memorandum by the Queen. t Ibid.
264 At Windsor.
" The royal family are all amazingly kind to me, as is
also good Queen Adelaide, whom one must respect for
her open straightforward character.
"Alas! dear papa leaves us now in four days! Er-
nest will then be the only one left of the dear ones from
home!"
Again, on the 9th of March : " It is not to be told," he
says, " what a quantity of presentations I have, and how
many people I must become acquainted with. I can not
yet quite remember their faces, but this will come right.
After the last levee Victoria gave me the Order of the
Bath."
Easter of 1840 was spent at Windsor, when the Queen
and Prince took the sacrament together for the first time
in St. George's Chapel. " The Prince," the Queen says,
" had a very strong feeling about the solemnity of this
act, and did not like to appear in company either the
evening before or on the day on which he took it, and
he and the Queen almost always dined alone on these
occasions."* The Queen notes this strong feeling on the
part of the Prince more than once in her journal for 1840
and 1841 ; and on another occasion, a few months later,
about Christmas time, when they again took the sacra-
ment in the private chapel at Windsor, she says, " We
two dined together, as Albert likes being quite alone be-
fore he takes the sacrament ; we played part of Mozart's
Eequiem, and then he read to me out of the Stunden der
Andaclit (Hours of Devotion) the article on Selbsterlcennt-
niss (Self-Knowledge)."t
* Memorandum by the Queen.
t The Queen's Journal, January, 1841, written at the time.
The Prince's Accident. 265
On Easter Monday, April 20th, the Prince met with a
serious, and what might well have been a fatal accident,
at the thought of which one still shudders, occurring, too,
as it would have done, before the very eyes of the Queen.
The stag-hounds were to meet at Ascot, and it had been
arranged that the Prince should go out with them, the
Queen following to the Heath later in a pony-carriage
with his brother the hereditary prince. Before he set
out the Prince went to the Queen, and said, jokingly, " I
hope we shall meet again."* On leaving the Castle, at-
tended by Colonel Bouverie and Mr. Seymour, his equerry
and groom-in-waiting, and by Mr. William Cowper, groom-
in-waiting to the Queen, H. E. H., who was mounted "on
a handsome but very vicious thorough-bred horse, f called
' Tom Bowling,' " cantered past the window at which the
Queen was standing, when the horse, taking the bit be-
tween his teeth, suddenly ran away at the top of his
speed, and the Prince, after turning him several times,
in a vain endeavor to stop him,:]: was at last knocked off
by a tree against which he brushed in passing, and fell,
most providentially, considering the pace at which he was
going, without being seriously hurt. "Albert's horse,"
the Queen relates in her Journal, written at the time, de-
scribing what she saw, " seemed to go very fast and jump-
ed very much. He turned him round several times,:}:
and then I saw him run away violently through the trees
and disappear. I ran anxiously to Albert's room in
hopes of seeing something, but could not. Mr. Cowper
* The Queen's Journal, January, 1841, written at the time. f Ibid.
% The Home Park where this happened was not then, as it is now, di-
vided by wire fences.
M
266 The Prince's Accident.
rode back, and I heard him say Albert was not hurt.
Almost immediately afterward I saw dearest Albert ride
. out of the gate. I sent for Ernest, and he told me Albert
had had a fall, but was not hurt !"*
When the Queen arrived at Ascot, " Albert," the Jour-
nal continues, "received me on the terrace of the large
stand, and led me up. He looked very pale, and said he
had been much alarmed lest I should have been fright-
ened by his accident He told me he scraped the
skin off his poor arm, had bruised his hip and knee, and
his coat was torn and dirty. It was a frightful fall, and
might (I shudder to think of the danger my dearest, pre-
cious, inestimable husband was in) have been nearly fa-
tal." (How naturally the Queen shrinks from admitting,
even to herself, the whole extent of the danger escaped.)
" The horse ran away from the very door, Albert said.
He turned him round and round, lost his stirrup, and
then he dashed through the trees, and threw Albert vio-
lently against a tree, the last near the wall, the force of
which brought him to the ground. He scraped his arm
and wrenched his hand by holding it up to prevent the
tree coming against his side. Oh ! how thankful I felt
that it was no worse ! His anxiety was all for me, not
for himself."f
The Queen had never yet been separated from her
mother, and since her first arrival in England the Duch-
ess of Kent had never lived by herself. It was now
thought expedient that the duchess should have a house
* NOTE BT THE QOEEN. — The horse, which was afterward mounted
by one of the grooms, ran away three times in the course of the ride to
Ascot! f The Queen's Journal.
Ancient Music Concerts. 267
of her own, and accordingly, on the 13th of April, her
royal highness removed to Ingestrie House, Belgrave
Square, which continued to be her home till in Septem-
ber, after the death of Princess Augusta, she moved to
Clarence House, St. James Palace, where she resided,
when in London, for the rest of her life. But " she was
very much affected," the Queen says, "as it is the first time
she has lived alone since she has been in this country."
At the same time, Frogmore, which also became vacant
on the death of Princess Augusta, was likewise made
over to the duchess ; but, though she took up her resi-
dence there, she continued to dine almost daily with the
Queen, and came, besides, constantly to luncheon.*
The Prince's love of music has been already mention-
ed. In March he was named one of the directors of An-
cient Music, the directors taking it in turns to direct the
concerts which were held in the Hanover Square Rooms.
The Prince's first concert was fixed for the 29th of April,
and he took the greatest pains about it, selecting the
music to be performed, himself, and attending, with the
Queen, a rehearsal of it on the 27th. On these occasions
it was customary to give a great dinner to the other di-
rectors, after which the Queen and royal family proceed-
ed to the Hanover Square Rooms, where the concert was
held, in dress carriages. The Queen was at this time
taking lessons in singing from Signer Lablache,f and the
* Memorandum by the Queen.
t NOTE BY THK QUEEN. — He had given the Queen singing-lessons
since the year 1836, and was not only one of the finest bass singers, and
one of the best actors, both in comedy and tragedy, that we have seen,
but a remarkably clever, gentleman-like man, full of anecdote and knowl-
268 Separation of the Brothers.
Prince often joined in them, and at other times used con-
stantly to play and sing with the Queen. At Bucking-
ham Palace they used often to play on the organ together
in the Prince's drawing-room. The organ at Windsor in
the music -room, since converted into a private chapel,
was too large for the Queen, but the Prince occasionally
played on it by himself.*
On the 9th of May the hereditary prince left England,
and it has been already noticed how much the Prince
felt his departure. Before he went, the Queen relates
that the " two brothers sang a very pretty song together
called ' Abschied,' which the students generally sing be-
fore they part. Albert was much affected, and when .1
ran up stairs he looked as pale as a sheet, and his eyes
full of tears. . . . After a little while he said, ' Such things
are hard to bear (Solche Saclien sind harty which indeed
they are."f
On the 23d of May the Queen and Prince went to
Claremont to keep her Majesty's birthday (24th) in pri-
vate. It continued to be the custom thus to keep the
real day, some other day being fixed for its public ob-
servance. In later years, after the purchase of Osborne,
it was usually kept there, but, excepting in '46, it was al-
ways spent at Claremont till the year '48, when that place
was given as a residence to the exiled royal family of
edge, and most kind and warm-hearted. lie was very tall, and immense-
ly large, but had a remarkably fine head and countenance. He used to
be called "Le Gros de Naples." The Prince and Queen had a sincere
regard for him. He died in 1858. His father was a Frenchman and his
mother an Irishwoman, and he was born at Naples.
* Memorandum by the Queen.
t The Queen's Journal, written at the time.
Love for 'the Country. 269
France. The Queen was very fond of Claremont, hav-
ing, she says, " spent many happy days there in her child-
hood." " The time spent there," she adds, " was always
a very happy one, the Prince and Queen being able to
take charming walks in the pretty grounds and neigh-
borhood." * How grateful it must have been to the
Prince, disliking as he did the dirt and smoke, and still
more the late hours, of London, to get away to the fresh-
ness and privacy of the beautiful walks of Claremont,
and of the charming country round it ! His love of the
country and of beautiful scenery has been already men-
tioned ; and the Queen records of herself that she now
began to share his tastes. In her Journal of the follow-
ing January she says: "I told Albert that formerly I
was too happy to go to London and wretched to leave it,
and how, since the blessed hour of my marriage, and
still more since the summer, I dislike and am unhappy
to leave the country, and could be content and happy
never to go to town. This pleased him. The solid
pleasures of a peaceful, quiet, yet merry life in the coun-
try, with my inestimable husband and friend, my all in
all, are far more durable than the amusements of Lon-
don, though we don't despise or dislike these some-
times.'^
Where is the Englishman, if it be indeed true that En-
gland is the land where the happiness and comfort of
domestic and country life is best understood and appre-
ciated, who will not sympathize with the feeling thus
forcibly expressed by the Queen ?
* Memorandum by the Queen.
f The Queen's Journal, written at the time.
270 Love for the Country.
As years went on, indeed, this preference for the coun-
try on the part of the Queen grew stronger and stronger,
till residence in London became positively distasteful to
her,* and was only made endurable by having her be-
loved husband at her side, to share with her and sup-
port her in the irksome duties of court receptions and
state ceremonials.
The Prince himself, though never losing the smallest
particle of that intense enjoyment of the country which
used to burst forth, as Colonel Seymour relates, f in such
expressions as, "Now I am free; now I can breathe,"
yet sacrificing, as he was ever ready to do, his own incli-
nations to his sense of duty, was always anxious that the
Queen should spend as much time as she could in Lon-
don. He felt this to be desirable for the convenience of
communication with ministers, but perhaps still more
from a conviction of the influence for good which the
presence of a court, so looked up to and respected as was
that of England under the Queen and himself, could not
fail to exercise far and wide — far indeed beyond the cir-
cle of its immediate neighborhood.
How great a sacrifice this was to him, let the following
letters show : " We came here the day before yesterday,"
he writes to the Duchess of Coburg on the 17th of April,
" to spend a week at stately (herrlichen) Windsor, and I
feel as if in Paradise in this fine fresh air, instead of the
dense smoke (in dem dicken Kohlendampf} of London.
The thick, heavy atmosphere there quite weighs one
* NOTE BY THE QCEEN. — It was also injurious to her health, as she
suffered much from the extreme weight and thickness of the atmosphere,
which gave her the headache. f See Chap. IX., page 165.
Presides at an Anti- Slave-trade Meeting. 271
down (Icann einem gahz nieder beugeri). The town is also
so large that, without a long ride or walk, you have no
chance of getting out of it. Besides this, wherever I show
myself I am still followed by hundreds of people."
Again on the 2d of June, from Claremont :
" You are happily established in the lovely Eosenau,
though only for a short time. To me it would be diffi-
cult to tear myself from that beautiful place, to which
my thoughts still often fondly turn ; and particularly so
to-day, when we are again come to spend a day at Clare-
mont."
The day before this last letter was written the Prince
had presided at a meeting to promote the abolition of the
slave-trade, which must be noticed here, because, though
he only said a few words, they form the first of that re-
markable series of public utterances which has been col-
lected and published under the title of the Principal
Speeches and Addresses of If. R. H. the Prince Consort.
" He was very nervous," the Queen says, " before he
went, and had repeated his speech to her in the morning
by heart."* In the following letter the Prince gives his
own account of his speech, and also mentions a visit he
and the Queen had made from Claremont to Epsom
races, the only time, her Majesty adds, that she was ever
there except as a child :
To THE DUKE OF CoBURG.f
" Buckingham Palace, June 4, 1840.
" We came back yesterday from Claremont, where we
* Memorandum by the Queen.
f For original of letter, see Appendix C.
272 Visit to Epsom.
have again passed two days. We went there this time
in order to be able to go from the neighborhood to the
celebrated Epsom races, which were certainly very inter-
esting. The numbers of people there were estimated at
from one to two hundred thousand. We were received
with the greatest enthusiasm and cordiality. I rode
about a little in the crowd, but was almost crushed by
the rush of people.
"I had to go to the Anti-Slave-trade meeting, and my
speech was received with great applause, and seems to
have produced a good effect in the country. This re-
wards me sufficiently for the fear and nervousness I had
to conquer before I began my speech. I composed it my-
self, and then learned it by heart, for it is always difficult
to have to speak in a foreign language before five or six
thousand eager listeners.*
" The park near the palace,f of which you speak, is
really very pleasant, and I have enlivened it with all
sorts of animals and rare aquatic birds." The Queen
mentions that in their morning walks in the palace gar-
den it was a great amusement to the Prince to watch and
feed these birds4
On the 10th of June, as the Queen and Prince were
setting out on their usual afternoon drive, a man named
Oxford made his well-known attempt on her Majesty's
life by firing at her as the carriage was going slowly up
Constitution Hill. Full details of the attempt, as well as
* For the speech, see Speeches and Addresses of the Prince Consort, p. 8 1 .
t Buckingham Palace Garden, which is certainly more like a park than
a garden.
J NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — He tanght them to come when he whistled to
them from a bridge connecting a small island with the rest of the garden.
Attempt on the Queen's Life. 273
of the trial and conviction of the man, are given in the
Annual Register for this year. Oxford himself never de-
nied his guilt ; indeed he persisted, in spite of all remon-
strances, in pleading guilty ; but the extraordinary plea
was urged in his favor — extraordinary it would have
been in the case of any one, but still more extraordinary
when the life attempted was that of the sovereign — that
as no bullet was found, the pistols might not have been
loaded with ball ! Strange to say, too, this plea was so
far allowed by the bench that it was left as a point which
the jury were to decide; yet it is evident that, standing,
as the man was, on a lower level than the carriage, and
necessarily giving his pistol an upward direction, the ball,
with its tendency to rise on first leaving the pistol, must
almost certainly have passed over the garden wall, and
what chance could there then be of finding it? The
Prince himself gives the following account of this event :
To THE DOWAGER DUCHESS OF GOTHA,* ETC.
"Buckingham Palace, June 11, 1840.
"DEAR GRANDMAMMA, — I hasten to give you an ac-
count of an event which might otherwise be misrepre-
sented to you, which endangered my life and that of Vic-
toria, but from which we escaped under the protection of
the watchful hand of Providence. We drove out yester-
day afternoon , about six o'clock, to pay Aunt Kent a vis-
it, and to take a turn round Hyde Park. We drove in
a small phaeton. I sat on the right, Victoria on the left.
We had hardly proceeded a hundred yards from the Pal-
ace when I noticed, on the footpath on my side, a little
* See Appendix C.
M2
Attempt on the Queeris Life.
mean-looking man* holding something toward us, and,
before I could distinguish what it was, a shot was fired,
which almost stunned us both, it was so loud, and fired
barely six paces from us. Yictoria had just turned to
the left to look at a horse, and could not, therefore, un-
derstand why her ears were ringing, as from its being so
very near she could hardly distinguish that it proceeded
from a shot having been fired. The horses started and
the carriage stopped. I seized Victoria's hands, and asked
if the fright had not shaken her, but she laughed at the
thing.
" I then looked again at the man, who was still stand-
ing in the same place, his arms crossed, and a pistol in
each hand. His attitude was so affected and theatrical
it quite amused me. Suddenly he again pointed his pis-
tol and fired a second time. This time Victoria also saw
the shot, and stooped quickly, drawn down by me. The
ball must have passed just above her head, to judge from
the place where it was found sticking in an opposite
wall.f The many people who stood round us and the
man, and were at first petrified with fright on seeing
what happened, now rushed upon him. I called to the
postillion to go on, and we arrived safely at Aunt Kent's.
From thence we took a short drive through the park,
partly to give Victoria a little air, partly also to show
the public that we had not, on account of what had hap-
pened, lost all confidence in them.
* Lord Melbourne described him to the Queen as "an impudent, hor-
rid little vermin of a man." — The Queen's Journal.
f It appears from the trial that the ball was not found. There was a.
mark in the wall which some believed and others denied to have been
made by it.
Attempt on the Queeris Life. 275
"To-day I am very tired and knocked up by the
quantity of visitors, the questions, and descriptions I
have had to give. You must therefore excuse my end-
ing now, only thanking you for your letter which I have
just received, but have not yet been able to read.
" My chief anxiety was lest the fright should have
been injurious to Victoria in her present state, but she is
quite well, as I am myself. I thank Almighty God for
his protection. Your faithful grandson,
" ALBERT.
" The name of the culprit is Edward Oxford. He is
seventeen years old, a waiter in a low inn — not mad, but
quite quiet and composed."
The feeling shown throughout the country on this
occasion was intense. Wherever the Queen and Prince
showed themselves in public, for many days after the
occurrence, they were enthusiastically cheered ; and when
they went to the opera for the first time after it, " the
moment they entered the box," the Queen relates, "the
whole house rose and cheered, waved hats and handker-
chiefs, and went on so for some time. ' God save the
Queen' was sung, .... and Albert was called for sep-
arately and much cheered."*
Oxford persisted, Lord Melbourne told the Queen, in
having no counsel ; and on being pressed by a lawyer
of his acquaintance to have one, he said, " The fact is, I
am guilty, and I shall plead guilty ."f Full details of
* The Queen's Journal.
t "Lord Melbourne, who of course came after the occurrence to see
the Queen, and was much affected, said Oxford had asked if I was hurt,
276 Daily Routine.
the trial and its result will be found in the Annual ^Regis-
ter for 1840.
We need not follow in detail the numerous court and
fashionable gayeties which the Queen enumerates in her
journal as having been shared in by herself and the
Prince in this the first year of their marriage. It is more
pleasing to turn to the account she gives of their ordi-
nary mode of life. It will be seen that those late hours
in the morning, of which the Queen speaks with such
regret, were gradually improved under the influence of
the Prince — an influence which was farther evident in
the judicious and well-regulated division of the hours
and occupations of the day, which the Queen describes
as follows: "At this time the Prince and Queen seem to
have spent their day much as follows : They breakfasted
at nine, and took a walk every morning soon afterward.
Then came the usual amount of business (far less heavy,
however, than now) ; besides which they drew and etch-
ed a great deal together, which was a source of great
amusement, having the plates 'bit1* in the house. Lunch-
nnd on being answered that, thank God, I was not, stretched out both
his arms, as if to say he was very sorry!" — Queen's Journal.
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — This was done by Miss Skerrett. She was
the Qneen's first dresser, though she did not act as such. She communi-
cated with the artists, wrote letters to tradespeople, etc. She entered the
Queen's sen-ice almost immediately after her accession in June, 1837,
being recommended to the Queen by the late Marchioness of Lansdowne.
She was the niece of a Mr. Mathias, who had been sub-treasurer to Queen
Charlotte. Her father was a West Indian proprietor. She is a person
.of immense literary knowledge and sound understanding, of the greatest
discretion and straightforwardness, and was treated with the greatest
confidence by the beloved Prince and the Queen, to both of whom she is
devotedly attached. See retired from the Queen's service in July, 1862,
Daily Routine. 277
eon followed at the usual hour of two o'clock. Lord
Melbourne, who was generally staying in- the house, came
to the Queen in the afternoon, and between five and six
the Prince usually drove her out in a pony phaeton.
If the Prince did not drive the Queen, he rode, in which
case she took a drive with the Duchess of Kent or the
ladies. The Prince also read aloud most days to the
Queen. The dinner was at eight o'clock, and always
with the company. In the evening the Prince frequent-
ly played at double chess, a game of which he was very
fond, and which he played extremely well."*
At first " the Queen tried to get rid of the bad custom,
prevailing only in this country, of the gentlemen remain-
ing, after the ladies had left, in the dining-room. But
Lord Melbourne advise'd against it, and the Prince him-
self thought it better not to make any change."f The
hours, however, were never late of an evening, and it was
very seldom that the party had not broken up by eleven
o'clock. Comparatively early, too, as the breakfast-hour
now was, the Prince had often, particularly in later years,
as work got heavier, done much business before it — writ-
ten letters or prepared the drafts of memoranda on the
many important subjects in which he took an interest, or
•which had to be considered by the Queen.
The Prince was also at this time " much taken up with
painting" — an occupation of which he was very fond, but
for which, in after years, he had no time — " and began a
having informed the Prince in the summer of 1861 that this was her in-
tention, as she was anxious to pass the remainder of her life with her
only sister. She frequently visits the Queen.
* Memorandum by the Queen. * Ibid.
278 The Regency Bill.
picture of the death of Posa, from Schiller's Don Carlos,
making first a small sketch for' it, which he did beau-
tifully."*
At the beginning of July it was thought expedient to
provide for the possible case of the Queen's dying and
leaving an heir to the throne, and the question of a re-
gency was therefore considered. Lord Melbourne hav-
ing consulted the Duke of Wellington, and through him
Sir R Peel and the leaders of the Conservative party, it
was unanimously agreed that the Prince was the proper,
and, indeed, only person to appoint.f A bill for the pur-
pose was accordingly brought in and passed both houses
without a dissentient voice, except from the Duke of Sus-
sex, who recorded his opposition in a speech against the
second reading of the bill in the House of Lords4
It appears, however, that this unanimity had not been
arrived at without some difficulty, and that opposition
had only been avoided by the previous communication
with the leaders of the Conservative party, which had
been so unfortunately neglected on a former occasion.
The Prince thus writes on this subject to his father on
the 24th of July:
"An affair of the greatest importance to me will be
* Memorandum by the Queen.
t A Council of Regency had been first suggested; but "when Lord
Melbourne first spoke to the Duke of Wellington, he immediately an-
swered for himself that it could and ought to be nobody but the Prince.'"
— 77<e Queen's Journal.
J The Duke of Sussex had previously written to Lord Melbourne to
say "that" he must oppose the bill in the House of Lords, and tiiat he
must not allow the rights of the family to be passed over." — The Queen's
Journal.
The Regency Bill. 279
settled in a few days. I mean the Eegency Bill, which
will to-day be read for a third time in the House of
Lords, after which it will be brought before the House
of Commons. There has been much trouble to carry the
matter through (die Sache durchzufechten), for all sorts of
intrigues were at work, and had not Stockmar gained the
opposition for ministers, it might well have ended as did
the £50,000. There was not a word of opposition in the
House of Lords except from the Duke of Sussex."
In the same letter the Prince says, speaking of Lord
Melbourne : " He is a very good, upright man, and sup-
ports me in every thing that is right." The Prince does
not add, which would have been the truth, that it would
have been impossible for him to ask or wish for support
except in what toas right.
And again : " The Tories are very friendly to me, as I
am also to them."
On the 2d of August the Prince again writes : " The
Regency Bill has passed safely through all its. stages, and
is now conclusively settled (steht unerschutterlich fest). . . .
It is very gratifying that not a single voice was raised in
opposition in either House, or in any one of the newspa-
pers."
And this was the more gratifying, as Lord Melbourne
told the Queen it was owing entirely to the golden opin-
ions the Prince had won on all sides since his arrival in
the country. " Three months ago," Lord Melbourne said
to the Queen, " they would not have done it for him ;"
adding, with tears in his eyes, "It is entirely his own
character."*
* The Queen's Journal.
280 The Prince's Self -Restraint.
And well did the Prince deserve that it should be so.
From the moment of his establishment in the English
palace as the husband of the Queen, his first object was
to maintain, and, if possible, even raise the character of
the court. With this view he knew that it was not
enough that his own conduct should be in truth free from
reproach ; no shadow of a shade of suspicion should, by
possibility, attach to it. He knew that, in his position,
every action would be scanned — not always possibly in a
friendly spirit ; that his goings out and his comings in
would be watched, and that in every society, however
little disposed to be censorious, there would always be
found some, prone, were an opening afforded, to exagger-
ate, and even to invent stories against him, and to put an
uncharitable construction on the most innocent acts.
He therefore, from the first, laid down strict, not to say
severe rules for his own guidance. He imposed a degree
of restraint and self-denial upon his own movements,
which could not but have been irksome had he not been
sustained by a sense of the advantage which the throne
would derive from it. He denied himself the pleasure —
which to one so fond as he was of personally watching
and inspecting every improvement that was in progress,
would have been very great — of walking at will about
the town. Wherever he went, whether in a carriage or
on horseback, he was accompanied by his equerry. He
paid no visits in general society. His visits were to the
studio of the artist, to museums of art or science, to insti-
tutions for good and benevolent purposes. Wherever a
visit from him, or his presence, could tend to advance the
real good of the people, there his horses might be seen
His Irreproachable Life. 281
waiting ; never at the door of mere fashion. Scandal
itself could take no liberty with his name. He loved to
ride through all the districts of London where building
and improvements were in progress, more especially when
they were such as would conduce to the health or recre-
ation of the working classes ; and few, if any, knew so
well, or took such interest as he did, in all that was being
done, at any distance east, west, north, or south of the
great city — from Victoria Park to Battersea — from the
Regent's Park to the Crystal Palace, and far beyond.
" He would frequently return," the Queen says, " to
luncheon at a great pace, and would always come through
the Queen's dressing-room, -where she generally was at
that time, with that bright, loving smile with which he
ever greeted her, telling her where he had been — what
new buildings he had seen — what studios, etc., he had
visited. Eiding for mere riding's sake he disliked, and
said, ' Es ennuyirt mich so (It bores me so).' "
There were some, undoubtedly, who would gladly have
seen his conduct the reverse of all this, with whom he
would have been more popular had he shared habitually
and indiscriminately in the gayeties of the fashionable
world — had he been a regular attendant at the race-
course— had he, in short, imitated the free lives, and
even, it must be said, the vices of former generations of
the royal family. But the country generally knew how
to estimate and admire the beauty of domestic life beyond
reproach, or the possibility of reproach, of which the
Queen and he set so noble an example. It is this which
has been the glory and the strength of the throne in our
day, and which has won for the English court the love
282 Question of Precedence.
and veneration of the British people, and the respect of
the world. Above all, he has set an example for his chil-
dren, from which they may be sure they can never devi-
ate without falling in public estimation, and running the
risk of undoing the work which he has been so instru-
mental in accomplishing.
On the llth of August the Queen prorogued Parlia-
ment in person, the Prince accompanying her for the first
time, and thus mentioning the subject in a letter to his
father: "The prorogation of Parliament passed off very
quietly (ging ganz ruhig voruber). I went with Victoria,
and sat in the House in an arm-chair placed next to the
throne."
It appears that some difficulty had been expected on
the part of the Duke of Sussex* as to the place the Prince
should occupy on this occasion, and it is to this the
Prince alludes when he says every thing went off quietly.
" I told you it was quite right," the Duke of Wellington
said to the Queen a few days later at Windsor. "Let
the Queen put the Prince where she likes, and settle it
herself; that is the best way."f
The next day the court left London, to the great joy
of the Prince. • ' We leave town," he had written to his
father on the 2d, " on the 14th, and take up our resi-
dence at Windsor, at which I rejoice greatly. If you
come here again I hope to be able to give you some tol-
erable shooting. I am now forming also a pretty little
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — Not only the Duke of Sussex : there were
other people, who shall be nameless, who pretended that he could not
drive with the Queen in the state carriage, or sit next to her in the House
of Lords. t The Queen's Journal.
Improvements at Windsor. 283
stud of all the Arab horses which Victoria has received
as presents.
" The new stables and the riding-school will be mag-
nificent The long green space below the terrace where
the old trees stand, not under, but on the top of the hill,
is to be laid out in pleasure-grounds, with plants, etc., and
I shall occupy myself much with it. It gave me much
trouble to get this settled, as it did before to save the ex-
istence of the fishing temple and George IV.'s cottage,
which were to have been taken away. These are now
safe."
And one who remembers what the home park at
Windsor was at the time of the Queen's marriage — the
public road winding round it under a high brick wall
that divided it from Frogmore — with its fashionable
" Frying Pan" walk, and the low public houses opposite
— the footpath leading across the park close to Adelaide
Cottage, and totally destructive of all privacy, to the old
Datchet bridge — and the slopes so overgrown with trees,
dark, gloomy, and damp — will readily admit how much
Windsor, as a residence for the Queen, owes to the
Prince. His talent in laying out grounds was really
most remarkable;* and he has left enduring remem-
brances of his extreme good taste, not only at Windsor,
where every improvement that has been effected since the
Queen came to the throne is his doing, but still more at
Osborne and Balmoral, both of which, beautiful and en-
joyable as they are, are his entire creation. f
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — An inheritance from his father.
fThe Queen writes in her Journal at Balmoral, October 13, 1856:
"Every year my heart becomes more fixed in this dear Paradise, and so
284 The Prince's Birthday.
On the 27th of August the Prince wrote to his father
with reference to his birthday the day before
" This is the first time that I have not heard these good
wishes from your own lips !"...." My thoughts yes-
terday were naturally much at the Eosenau" — the place
of his birth, and the much-loved home of his infancy
and youth.
" To-morrow," he goes on, " I shall have to encounter
much fatigue. I go to the city ; first, to the corporation
of the Fishmongers,* into which body I am to be received
as a member ; and thence to the Guildhall, where, besides
addresses, I am to receive the freedom of the city. Aft-
er that I have to attend a banquet of four hours' dura-
tion at the Mansion House.
"Yesterday evening all London was illuminated in
honor of my birthday, and they say it was very bril-
liant."
On the 6th of September, writing to his grandmother,
the Dowager Duchess of Gotha, he gives the following
description of the manner in which this, the first birth-
day he had ever passed out of his native country, was
kept:
" DEAR GRANDMAMMA, — Your last letter, written on
the 26th, gave me great pleasure. It is very dear and
good of you to take so much interest from afar in what
concerns me. You wish to know how we spent the
birthday, and I will briefly give you a description of it.
much more so now that all has become my dearest Albert's own creation,
own work, own building, own laying out, as at Osborne ; that his great
tastd, and the impress of his dear hand, have been stamped every where."
— Leaves from Journal, page 56.
* In the course of the summer the Prince had also been made a mem-
ber of the Goldsmiths' Company.
Visitors at Windsor. 285
" In the morning I was awoke by a reveille.* We
breakfasted with all the family, who are here, at Adelaide
Cottage, which lies at the foot of the hill on which Wind-
sor stands. Feodore'sf children were dressed as Coburg
peasants, and very funny they looked. In the afternoon
I drove Victoria in a phaeton in the park. The weather
favored the day very much. In the evening there was
rather a larger dinner than usual."
There was now a succession of visitors at Windsor.
The King and Queen of the Belgians had arrived a few
days before the court left London. Princess Hohenlohe
and her children arrived a day or two after it had moved
to Windsor, and remained for a fortnight. Among oth-
ers, too, the queen dowager, who was always most kind
and affectionate to the Queen and Prince,:]: spent a few
days at Windsor, and the Prince also received a visit,
which gave him much pleasure, from the three princes of
Hohenlohe - Schillingfiirst, who had been fellow-students
with him at Bonn.
To study and make himself thoroughly acquainted
with the institutions of the land of his adoption was a
task to which the Prince resolutely applied himself from
the moment of his first establishment in England. And
the summer of 1840 was scarcely over before he had be-
gun regular readings in the English laws and Constitu-
tion with Mr. Selwyn, a highly distinguished barrister, at
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — It consisted of a German chorale, inter-
woven into a sort of quick-step, composed by "Walch of Coburg.
t Princess Hohenlohe, the Queen's sister.
J Memorandum by the Queen.
286 Study of English Law.
that time treasurer of Lincoln's Inn.* " The lessons with
Mr. Selwyn," he writes to Baron Stockmar on the 12th
of September, " have begun, and can not fail to be of use.
He is a highly educated and learned man, and, in partic-
ular, a good classical scholar, and has a clear and agreea-
ble mode of teaching. The only fault I have yet to find
with him is a want of method. He is preparing himself
now for the Magna Charta, while I and Praetoriusf are
working out a sort of programme of studies, in order to
lay it before him. Should he not approve of it, this will
force him to make another."
" Mr. Selwyn," his son:}: relates, " always spoke in the
highest, terms of his Eoyal Highness's quick intelligence
and diligent attention, and of his readiness in seizing the
points of resemblance between English and German ju-
risprudence.
" And he often related the following anecdote, as one
among the many proofs of the Prince's kindness of heart :
" Two days after the birth of the princess royal, Mr.
Selwyn came, according to appointment, and the Prince
said, ' I fear I can not read any law to-day, there are so
many constantly coming to congratulate ; but you will
like to see the little princess ;' and, finding that her royal
highness was asleep, he took Mr. Selwyn into the nurs-
* Mr. Selwyn published, in 1806, the first part of the valuable work
" Selti-yn's Nisi Prius," which has run through thirteen editions, and has
been a sort of lawyer's manual for nearly half a century. The 10th edi-
tion was published in 1840, and was dedicated by him,
"Alberto Principi, legum Anglice studioso."
Mr. Selwyn died in 1855.
t Librarian and German secretary to the Prince when he first came
over. J Dr. Selwyn, one of the Queen's chaplains.
Death of the Princess Augusta. 287
ery, and taking the little hand of the infant, he said, ' The
next time we read, it must be on the rights and duties of
a princess royal.' "
On the llth of September the Prince was made a
member of the Privy Council. " Yesterday," he writes
to Baron Stockmar in the letter above quoted, " I was
introduced into the Privy Council. Lords Melbourne,
John Kussell, Clarendon, Holland, and Minto were pres-
ent. The thing in itself is an empty form (due leere
Form), but from a distance it appears very grand."*
Princess Augusta was very ill all this time at Clarence
House, and suffered terribly. On the 22d of September
she died. The Prince visited her more than once, during
her illness, and, after her death, accompanied the Queen
on the 1st of October to Claremont, in order to be out of
the way at the time of the funeral, which the Prince did
not attend on account of the Queen's health.f
On their return to Windsor the Queen records that she
and the Prince read Hallam's Constitutional History to-
gether.
She also mentions that the Prince, who had been late-
ly appointed to the colonelcy of the llth Hussars, used
occasionally to go in the park with a squadron of the 1st
Life Guards, then commanded by Colonel Cavendish, in
order to become acquainted with the English system of
drill and the words of command.
The mode of life at Windsor did not differ materially
from that observed elsewhere, except that on three, and
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — By this the Prince meant that no political
or other discussion took place there, as was formerly the custom,
t Memorandum by the Queen.
288 Birth of Princess Royal.
occasionally four days in the week, at this season, there
•was shooting from eleven to two. In the afternoon there
were drives, as in London, ; and in the evening, dinners
and occasional dances.
On the 13th of November the court returned to Buck-
ingham Palace, where, on the 21st, the princess royal was
born. The Prince, writing to his father on the 23d, says,
" Victoria is as well as if nothing had happened. She
sleeps well, has a good appetite, and is extremely quiet
and cheerful. The little one is very well and very mer-
ry. ... I should certainly have liked it better if she had
been a son, as would Victoria also ; but, at the same time,
we must be equally satisfied and thankful as it is. ... The
rejoicing in the public is universal."
" For a moment only," the Queen says, " was he disap-
pointed at its being a daughter and not a son." His first
care was for the safety of the Queen,* and " we can not
be thankful enough to God," he writes to the Duchess of
Gotha on the 24th, " that every thing has passed so very
prosperously."
"During the time the Queen was laid up, his care and
devotion," the Queen records, " were quite beyond ex-
pression."
He refused to go to the play or any where else, gener-
ally dining alone with the Duchess of Kent till the Queen
was able to join them, and was always at hand to do any
thing in his power for her comfort. He was content to
sit by her in a darkened room, to read to her, or write for
her. "No one but himself ever lifted her from her bed
to her sofa, and he always helped to wheel her on her bed
or sofa into the next room. For this purpose he would
* Memorandum by the Queen.
Christmas at Windsor. — The Christening. 289
come instantly when sent for from any part of the house.
As years went on and he became overwhelmed with
work" (for his attentions were the same in all the
Queen's subsequent confinements), " this was often done
at much inconvenience to himself; but he ever came
with a sweet smile on his face. In short," the Queen
adds, "his care of her was like that of a mother, nor
could there be a kinder, wiser, or more judicious nurse."*
During the Queen's illness the Prince also saw the
ministers, and transacted all necessary business for her.
When the Queen was well enough to move the court
returned to Windsor, where Christmas was passed in the
manner ever afterward observed. It was the favorite
festival of the Prince — a day, he thought, for the inter-
change of presents, as marks of mutual affection and
good-will. Christmas-trees were set up in the Queen and
Prince's rooms, a custom which was continued in future
years, when they were also set up in another room for
the young princes and princesses, and in the oak-room
for the household. The ladies and gentlemen in waiting
were summoned to the corridor on Christmas-eve. The
Queen and Prince, accompanied by the royal family,
pointed out the presents for each, inviting them after-
ward to go through the different rooms to see what they
themselves had mutually given and received.
The princess royal's christening took place on the 10th
of February, 1841, the first anniversary of the Queen's
happy marriage ; but the account of this, as well as the
other events of that year, must be reserved for another
volume.
* Memorandum by the Queen.
N
APPENDICES.
•
APPENDIX A.
REMINISCENCES OF THE KING -OF THE BELGIANS.
IN the preceding chapters little has been said of the
Prince's family. The wish has been to confine this memoir
to v what more immediately concerned the Prince himself;
and therefore, beyond the slight allusion to them in the open-
ing chapter, no mention has been made of any members of
the family except those — his father, grandmothers, and broth-
er— with whom his own early life was naturally identified.
Yet his immediate ancestors for two, if not three genera-
tions, had been so mixed up with the stirring events which
marked the close of the last and the opening of the present
century, that some notice of them from one who has himself
borne a prominent part in the European history of these lat-
ter times will not be out of place here. The Prince's great-
grand-uncle, the Field-marshal Prince Friedrich of Saxe-Co-
burg, had commanded with distinction and success in the
Netherlands at the commencement of the French Revolu-
tionary War ; his father commanded a corps toward its close ;
while his uncle Leopold, after greatly distinguishing himself
in the latter campaigns against Napoleon, has for th,e last
four-and-thirty years, as King of Belgium, earned for himself,
by the consummate ability and prudence with which he has
passed through times of the greatest difficulty and danger,
the character of the most sagacious as well as the most en-
lightened sovereign of Europe.*
In 1862, with a view to this memoir, the Queen applied to
the king for some account of his recollections of the Prince
and of his family ; and his majesty, responding to that ap-
peal, has related his reminiscences in the following letters.
* It will be seen that this was written while the king was still alive.
292 Appendix A.
Though they extend back to times long anterior to the
Prince's birth, and his memoir has, therefore, properly no.
concern with them, yet they will be read with interest, and
no apology is made for giving them almost at full length :
"My recollections," the king writes, "go as far back as
the Urgrossvater, Herzog Franz Josias. He was very much
looked up to. A tall, powerful man. He had lost an eye
at tennis, formerly much played on the Continent. His wife
was a Princess of Schwarzburg Sondershausen. I am, how-
ever, not quite certain about it. These people I, of course,
never saw. The children of this Duke Francis Josias were :
Ernest Friedrich, who became the reigning duke — Prince
Christian, who served in the Austrian army, but retired and
lived at Coburg, where he died — and Prince Friedrich Josias,
who entered the Austrian army rather young, and served in
the Seven Years' War. He was shot through the hand dur-
ing that war when he was colonel of the Anspach Cuiras-
siers. He was liked and protected by the Empress Maria
Theresa, and important commands were confided to him.
He made himself a great name during the Turkish campaign.
The Emperor Joseph, who commanded in person a strong
army in the direction of Servia, failed completely, and lost
also great part of his army by sickness. Prince Friedrich
commanded a comparatively small army of some 20,000 men
in Moldavia and Wallachia, when he was joined by a small
Russian force under Suwaroff. They beat the Grand Vizier,
and conquered both principalities. For this very brilliant
campaign he was made a field-marshal, and got the Grand
Cordon of Maria Theresa.
" At this time the French attacked the Netherlands, where
Duke Albert of Saxe Teschen* (the Prince's godfather) com-
manded, Heaven knows, very indifferently, and lost, with the
battle of Jemappes, the whole of the Netherlands. Prince
Friedrich was now sent there, and gained one of the most
important battles of modern history — that of Neerwinden,
near Tirlemont. Poor King Louis Philippe commanded a
division there under Dumouriez. This battle forced the
French to evacuate the Netherlands, and disorganized them
* He was married to the Archduchess Maria Christina, daughter of the Empress
Maria Theresa, and built the Palace of Laeken when Governor of the Netherlands.
The line of Saxe Teschen is extinct.
Reminiscences of King Leopold. 293
so much that, after the junction of the English and Dutch
auxiliaries, the Allies might have marched to Paris, as was
clone after Waterloo. Unfortunately, the English govern-
ment took it into its head to try to conquer Dunkirk, an ob-
ject of very secondary importance. The Duke of York, nev-
er successful in war, was beaten by General Houchard. This
discomposed matters a good deal. The Prince Friedrich
was for peace, seeing the difficulties of the position ; but the
Austrian minister, Count Mercy d'Argenteau, opposed this
rather wise idea. Things got worse, and Prince Friedrich,
declining the responsibility, retired to Coburg. A Colonel
Witzleben wrote recently, at my expense, a life of the field-
marshal, which must be in your library. There was a fourth
brother. I can not recollect his name now. He served in
the Saxon army, and was killed, very young, in the Seven
Years' War. He seems to have been romantic. There ex-
isted somewhere an inscription by him : ' Tout par amour,
rien par force.' For some time one could not learn what
had become of him, as he was not recognized on the field of
battle. There were two sisters ; the Margravine of Anspach,
very handsome, but not very happy with her flighty husband,
having no child ; and the Duchess of Mecklenburg Schwerin,
mother of all the generations of Schwerin. She lived long
and much beloved. Duke Ernest Friedrich was a good-na-
tured, easy, and well-meaning man, who must have been
good-looking in his younger years. He married a Princess
of Braunschveig Wolfenbuttle, who, in a great monarchy,
would most certainly have played a great part, perhaps not
of the mildest, like her sister Queen Ulrique of Denmark.*
She ruled every thing at Coburg, and treated that little duchy
as if it had been an empire. She was very generous, and in
that respect did much harm, as she squandered the revenues
in a dreadful manner. The duke stood very much in awe of
his imperious wife. I dare not say any thing against her,
having been her great favorite. The duke died in 1800, and
she in 1801. The children were our dear and benevolent
father, Prince Ludwig, and Princess Caroline.
" In our family," the king says in another letter, " a prom-
inent character was my grandmother. She was of the old
Brunswick stock, sister of Duke Ferdinand and of the Queen
* A third sister was married to Frederick the Great.
Appendix A. ^
Ulrique of Denmark, and of the mother of Frederick William
the Second. Her niece was the distinguished Duchess of
Weimar, some years regent for her son, the first grand-duke.
She was, in fact, too great a person for a small dukedom ;
but she brought into the family energy and superior qualities
above the minute twaddle of these small establishments.
" My poor father, suffering comparatively early in life from
bad health, was the most amiable and humane character —
benevolence itself. Stockmar was always so struck with it.
His great love and knowledge of every thing connected with
the fine arts was inherited by Albert. No one else in the
family possessed it to the same degree.
" My beloved mother* was in every respect distinguished ;
warm-hearted, possessing a most powerful understanding, she
loved her grandchildren most tenderly.
" Without meaning to say any thing unkind of the other
branches of the Saxon family, ours was more truly intelligent
and more naturally so, without affectation, or any thing pe-
dantic about it."
Continuing in subsequent letters his account of the family,
the King of thejBelgians goes on to say, that in his grandfa-
ther's time, " owing to the love of display, and the generous
disposition of the duchess, the affairs of the duchy had al-
ready become a good deal involved. . . . His father
succeeded in 1800, when the events consequent on the French
Revolution had driven most of the principal people of the
adjacent states into emigration ; and the hospitality which
was extended to them under the somewhat old-fashioned
management of the Ober-marshal von Wangenheim, a man
much resembling George IV. in his love of display, soon ex-
hausted the resources of the duchy. A Mons. de Kretsch-
mann, who had a high character as an administrator, was
consequently brought from Beireuth to manage the duchy
matters. He certainly effected great improvements ; but he
also caused much trouble and agitation — not forgetting his
own interests — one consequence of which was, to produce a
quarrel between the duke and his uncle the field-marshal, as
well as with his brother Louis, both of whom for some time
refused to attend the court. All this was a source of much
* She was Augusta Caroline Sophia, eldest daughter of Henry XXIV., reigning
Count Reuss Ebersdorff.
Reminiscences of King Leopold. 295
vexation to the duke — the kindest and most benevolent of
men — and for some years seriously affected his health."
About this time the king's eldest brother Ernest (the fa-
ther of our Prince) went to Berlin, and there formed a last-
ing friendship with Frederick William III. and his queen.
It was also in the course of the same year (1803 ?) that the
next brother Ferdinand, " who had already for some years
held honorary rank in the Austrian service, joined somewhat
unwillingly Rosenberg's regiment of light horse."
Of his sisters the king says that, in 1795, the Empress
Catharine, "being anxious for the marriage of the Grand-
duke Constantine, procured through M. de Budberg, distin-
guished both as a minister and a general, a visit from the
three princesses of Saxe-Coburg, who were all undoubtedly
very handsome. The grand-duke fancied most Julie, the
youngest of the three, very pretty, but still a mere child, be-
ing only fifteen years of age." " How strangely," the king
proceeds, " do things often come to pass ! If the grand-
duke's choice had fallen on Antoinette (the second sister),
she would have suited that position wonderfully well. I
know much of all this from Constantine himself. He told
me that the empress-mother, looking to the two younger sons,
did not wish the ' mcnages' of the two elder brothers to suc-
ceed. He himself was dreadfully ' taquin ;' and, ' comme
surcroit de malheur,' the then Grand-duke Alexander and his
wife were Aunt Julie's great friends, and supported her in
the little domestic squabbles. Without the shocking hypoc-
risy of the empress-mother, things might have gone on. The
grand-duke admired his wife extremely ; and with an amia-
ble husband, generous-hearted as she was, she would have
been an excellent wife. She felt unhappy, and ended, with-
out a formal separation, by leaving Russia in 1802. He al-
ways wished for a reconciliation, and went with me in Janu-
ary, 1814, to Elfenau, near Berne, but she could not bring
herself to consent to this reconciliation. The consequence
was, finally, a divorce much approved of by the empress-
mother."
The grand-duchess, however, felt painfully, the king adds,
the neglect to which she was subjected for many years after-
ward.
Antoinette, the second sister, married, in 1798, Duke Alex-
296 Appendix A.
ander of Wiirtemberg. She is described by the king as hav-
ing been clever, amiable, and possessed of a " great esprit de
conduite." Her elder sister Sophia was much attached to
her, and lived with her a great deal at Fantaisie, near Bai-
reuth, which at that time was the resort of many Bavarian
families, as well as of French emigrants. It was here that
the Princess Sophia made the acquaintance of Count Mens-
dorff, whom she afterward married, after refusing many very
eligible matches of her own rank. The greatest intimacy
and friendship existed in youth between her sons — all distin-
guished in the Austrian service — and their cousin Prince Al-
bert.
" My poor father's health," the king continues, " was sink-
ing very fast when the war with Austria broke out in 1805,
and Napoleon nearly destroyed Austria. Your uncle Ferdi-
nand" (the letter is addressed to the Queen) "was then in
the Husaren ; served well, but had much to suffer.
Your uncle Ernest, and myself only fifteen years old, left Co-
burg to join the Russian army in Moravia; but Austerlitz
put an end to it. We went to Berlin, where we met the
Grand-duke Constantine, and returned afterward to Coburg.
In 1806 the war with Prussia became evident. There was
still a great notion that the Prussians, who spoke with great
contempt of the Austrians, would do wonders. Toward the
end of September my brother joined the King of Prussia.
My parents, Aunt Sophia Mensdorff, little Hugo, and myself,
went to Saalfeld, hoping that perhaps, owing to the Thurin-
gerwald, we should remain perfectly quiet. Poor Prince Lou-
is Ferdinand of Prussia, however, took an absurd position
near Saalfeld, which clearly, once the fact known that the
French were in great force, could only lead to his destruc-
tion. So we who went to Saalfeld to be out of the way, got
into the very midst of a battle ; Coburg having only had the
passage of the French, but no other inconvenience.
" We returned, ' tant bien que mal,' to Coburg. Toward
the end of November and the first days of December, our be-
loved benevolent father sank very fast, and died on the Qth
of December, 1806. The situation was a sad one. The
French had occupied but not yet seized Coburg, as our fa-
ther was present. But after his death the question was im-
mediately put : ' Where is the new duke ?' Hearing that he
Reminiscences of King Leopold. 297
was with the King of Prussia, Coburg was taken possession of,
and a military intendant took every thing in hand. He was
not an agreeable person : a M. Vilain, bearing well that name.
" To complicate matters still more, there was a very ill-
timed sort of insurrection against M. de Kretschmann. The
French believed it partly directed against themselves. It
was put down by military intervention. Soon after a new
intendant arrived, a M. Dumolart, Auditeur du Conseil d'Etat
Nearly all the young men of good families, who did not serve
in the army, were utilises as Auditeurs du Conseil d'Etat
Mole, Due de Broglie, etc., were all in this position, and gen-
erally employed in the administration of conquered countries.
At the same time Colonel Parigot was named military com-
mandant. My good mother and all of us had no means of
existence but what was clandestinely given by our employes,
and a little tolerated by the intendant.
" Our mother, in the hope of obtaining the means of get-
ting your uncle back, and also to make Coburg enter into the
Rheinbund which the other Saxon houses were going to ob-
tain, went to Berlin, and was ready to go to Warsaw to see
the great man. She got, however, not beyond Berlin, Napo-
leon not being very fond of those visits. General Clerke,
due de Feltre, the Governor of Berlin, was very kind to her.
I am sorry to say that our cousins behaved very badly, par-
ticularly la Duchesse de Meiningen, whose plenipotentiary
was the famous Baron Erfa. Their wish was to get Coburg
excluded, and thereby of course destroyed. During the time
my poor brother was ill at Konigsberg, and when it became
necessary to leave it for Memel, he was thrown, crossing the
ice, into the river. He had typhus, and though there are ex-
amples of cold baths saving the patient, he remained ill for
some time, recovering but slowly. My poor mother returned
to Coburg, and we remained 'une possession Fran9aise.'
" At the end of April, 1807, my brother arrived by way of
Austria, but not at Coburg. He went to a quiet place near
Baireuth to meet us, and then to Egra, Franzensbrunnen,
where I went with him.
" The Peace of Tilsit, as one of its clauses, * reintegra le
Due de Saxe-Cobourg,' and then only he returned to Coburg
and took possession.
" In September, 1807, it was considered right to pay a vis-
N2
298 Appendix A.
it to Napoleon at Paris. The two Mecklenburgs, also rein-
tegres by the peace of Tilsit, went also there. We were
kindly treated. The Duke Alexander and Antoinette had
gone to Russia in 1803, where they were entirely settled.
After our return from Paris in the spring of 1808, 1 nearly
died of a typhus fever. My brother went to Petersburg to
claim some increase of territory, and also to claim the hand
of the Grand-duchess Anna Paulowna, which was promised
to him when he was still too young ; but the engagement was
positive. Antoinette had come to Coburg, and my mother,
Antoinette, and for some time your mamma, went to Carls-
bad and Toplitz, in Bohemia. I recovered very slowly. At
the beginning of October I was summoned by the Emperor
Alexander and the Grand-duke Constantine to Weimar and
Erfurth, that famous Congress. Aunt Antoinette was also
called upon. I saw then a good deal of Napoleon, and
should have succeeded in getting for my brother some terri-
tory if the Emperor Alexander had had more energy, and
that my dear brother always asked a little too much.
"In 1809 was the Austrian war, in which Uncle Ferdi-
nand served as Obrist von E. H. Ferdinand Husaren, and
was wounded, and Mensdorff was also wounded.
"The years 1810 and 1811 were quiet enough. I had the
disappointment of being prohibited to serve in Russia ; Na-
poleon rendering my brother responsible, as he knew that I
could not otherwise be prevented. It was a dangerous mo-
ment out of which to get, as he wished me to enter the French
service. However, it succeeded. Queen Hortense was then
very friendly, and aided me to escape the emperor's proposi-
tions. Old Josephine was also always very kind to us and
the Mecklenburgs.
" In 1811, in the summer, not being yet twenty-one, I got
my brother a very good treaty with Bavaria, by which Bava-
ria consented to divide with Coburg possessions which they
had acquired in 1805 ! and which had been Reich's ' unmit-
telbar.'' Feo (Princess Hohenlohe) will explain this ; only
imagine that the Bavarians had Fiillbach and another vil-
lage* opposite !
" In 1812 the Russian war broke out, and at the same time
the marriage with the Grand-duchess Anna, that had been
* Villages about four miles from Coburg.
Reminiscences of King Leopold. 299
getting more and more doubtful, the empress-mother not be-
ing sincere in it, was finally broken off.
"Napoleon's excuse for engaging in this war was, that
Russia, by permitting trade with England, was destroying his
system of Continental blockade. Germany was ruined by
the passage of innumerable masses of troops, which were
gradually pushed toward Poland. In May, Napoleon invited
the German sovereigns to Dresden. The Emperor of Aus-
tria, and the Empress, the King of Prussia, the King of Ba-
varia, the King of Wiirtemberg, the Queen of Westphalia, and
all the minor German princes, went there. All the ministers
of these various princes went there also. The Duke of Co-
burg and his brother Ferdinand went also to Dresden. The
younger brother, Leopold, did not think it safe to appear, as
the Emperor Napoleon had, in 1811, expressed a wish to em-
ploy him. He went to Vienna and then to Italy, to be quite
out of the way.
" Germany was, at the beginning of 1812, in the lowest and
most humiliating position ; Austria and Prussia sunk to be
auxiliaries ; every body frightened and submissive, except
Spain, supported by England !
"The two elder brothers were chiefly at Coburg. The
Mensdorffs came also ; as well as Victoire, the Princess of
Leiningen.
"All the news that reached Germany were favorable to
the Emperor Napoleon. In November only there came
vague reports of non-success in Russia. In December there
appeared the famous bulletin which told the end of the dis-
astrous campaign in Russia. The Duke of Coburg went to
Berlin to act upon the mind of the King Frederick William
III., who was known, though dreadfully maltreated, to come
with great reluctance to any decision, and who took in gen-
eral gloomy views of every thing. The enthusiasm of Ger-
many can not be described. After seven years of slavery a
ray of hope animated again the people.
"The first of January, 1813, saw Germany happier than it
had been for a very long time. The Duke of Coburg had
returned from Berlin, where he left the king much perplexed.
After some stay at home he made a second voyage there.
Prince Ferdinand went to Vienna to ascertain the sentiments
there. Prince Leopold went to Munich at the beginning of
300 Appendix A.
February to see the Crown Prince of Bavaria, afterward King
Louis, with whom he was on terms of great friendship, and
who was ardently devoted , to the ' Befreiung' of Germany
from the French tyranny. The Duke of Coburg exercised a
useful influence on the King of Prussia, contributing to de-
cide him to go to Breslau. At Berlin he had been surround-
ed by the French corps of Marshal Augereau, who had not
been in Russia, but left behind pour surveiller Prussia. The
king might at any moment have been arrested at Berlin. At
Breslau he was surrounded by his own troops and a very de-
voted population. Prince Leopold went from Munich to
Breslau, where he was joined by Prince Ferdinand, who
brought favorable news from Vienna.
" The duke, being still completely in the hands of France,
was forced to return to Coburg, where great efforts were
made to keep secret the journeys of the two princes. Prince
Ferdinand returned to Vienna, and soon took the command
of some Austrian troops again. Prince Leopold left Bres-
lau for Kalisch in Poland, where the Emperor Alexander
had his head-quarters. He was the first German prince who
joined the liberating army. On the demand of the Grand-
duke Constantine, his brother-in-law, who commanded the
Guards, he was attached to his staff. The emperor having
reserved the rank of major general, he found himself one of
the older generals.
" The Russian army had been much weakened by the fa-
tigues of the winter campaign. The King of Prussia, coming
to Kalisch, expressed to Prince Leopold his apprehension
that the Russian army would not be strong enough when the
French reorganized army should advance. The prince shared
the king's misgivings on that subject. The army advanced
toward Dresden, where it arrived in the latter days of April.
After a short stay it moved on toward the Saal. The battle
of Lutzen took place on the 2d of May. If the dispositions
had been made as they ought to have been, it ought to have
been a decisive victory, owing to the great superiority in num-
ber and quality of the allied cavalry.
" As it was, the ground was kept by the army, which re-
tired toward the Elbe, and afterward to the neighborhood of
Dantzic, where, on the zoth and 2ist of May, a second battle*
* Bautzen.
Reminiscences of King Leopold. 301
was fought. The allied army was too weak, and, though again
not beaten, it was forced to retire into Silesia. An armistice
was then concluded at the beginning of June, which lasted
till the middle of August. Negotiations had been carried on
at Prague. Napoleon could not bring himself to accept the
most moderate propositions of the three Powers. The Em-
peror of Austria feared the breaking out of a war, and, to the
last moment, expressed the hope that Napoleon would give
way.
" Prince Leopold remained the whole time at Prague, much
in the society of the negotiators, Prince Metternich, Baron
Humboldt, Baron Austedt, the Russian plenipotentiary, Chev-
alier Gentz, etc. He was the only person admitted to see
the Emperor Francis of Austria. During the armistice the
Emperor Alexander had wished to see his Sister-in-law, the
Grand-duchess Anna Feodorowna. Prince Leopold arranged
the meeting, which took place at BJasdorff, in Silesia, in a
pretty chateau. The emperor had 'gone there quite alone,
and it was interesting to see him so. He was extremely
amiable.
" On the 26th of August most of the troops composing the
Bohemian allied army had already crossed into Saxony and
marched toward Dresden. The cavalry of the Guard, and
part of the reserves, were on the better higher road, when the
Prince Eugene of Wurtemberg, who commanded the extreme
right wing of General Wittgenstein, was attacked, on the 26th
of August, by General Vandamme, with very superior forces.
The prince begging to have some cavalry sent to him, Prince
Leopold was detached to his assistance, and enabled him to
leave a position in which he had been much exposed. The
advance of General Vandamme threatening the communica-
tions with Bohemia, the first division of Foot Guards, the
Hussars of the Guard, and other troops, were sent to protect
the right wing, under Generals Ostermann and Germoloff,
Prince Leopold taking the command of all the cavalry pres-
ent. The allied army retiring to Bohemia in the night of the
27th to the 28th of August, Count Ostermann's little corps
had to force its way through Vandamme's corps to regain the
principal road leading to Toplitz. Prince Leopold was, of
all the generals, the only one who knew the country, which
proved of great importance. The 29th was devoted to hard
302 Appendix A.
fighting. On the 3oth General Vandamme and most of his
corps were taken prisoners. Prince Leopold received on the
morning of the 3oth, on the field, the Third Class of the Mil-
itary Order of St. George of 'Russia, and later the Cross of
Maria Theresa of Austria, and the Iron Cross of Prussia.
" After some delay the allied army went into Saxony in
October, and on the i6th, i7th, and iSth of October, battles
took place at Leipsic, finally liberating Germany.
" From Weimar, at the beginning of November, the Grand-
duke Constantine of Russia went with Prince Leopold to
Coburg, where he wished to see the family. There were
present the duke, the dowager duchess, Princess Sophia, and
Field-marshal Prince Frederick Josias. The grand-duke re-
mained a week at Coburg. He joined the army again at
Frankfort, where soon all the allied sovereigns were united.
He paid, with Prince Leopold, a visit to the Princess of Lein-
ingen, at Amorbach. At Frankfort the duke, Princes Fer-
dinand and Leopold, remained some time. It was at that
period that there were some negotiations about a marriage
of the duke with Princess Herminie of Anhalt Schaumburg,
who afterward married the archduke palatine. The duke did
not follow up that plan, as a more advantageous marriage
seemed possible.
" In December great part of the allied army took the di-
rection of Switzerland. The Grand-duke Constantine and
Prince Leopold paid a second and longer visit at Amorbach.
The duke remained at Frankfort to take the command of a
German corps d'observation, which was to blockade, and, if
possible, to take Mayence, where a considerable French force
had remained. Prince Ferdinand, after some demonstrations
against Mayence, went with the Austrian army to Switzerland,
and afterward to Franche-Comte, in Eastern France, where
he remained. The great head-quarters of the Emperor of
Russia and the King of Prussia occupied Bale on the i2th
of January, 1814. The Grand-duke Constantine went with
Prince Leopold to Elfenau, near Berne, the residence of the
Grand-duchess Anna Feodorowna. His ardent wish was a
reconciliation. Unfortunately, it did not take place. The
great army struggled on in France, political difficulties pre-
venting its going after the battle of Brienne, on the 2d of
February, to Paris, which might easily have been done. Only
Reminiscences of King Leopold. 303
on the 3oth of March the attack of Paris took place. On the
3ist the allied army entered Paris. Prince Leopold entered
it at the head of the cavalry he commanded, and remained
at Paris ; the duke, after an armistice with Mayence, settled
its evacuation by the French, and came to Paris. Prince
Ferdinand came there also. In the middle of June the duke
went to Germany — Prince Ferdinand also. Prince Leopold
accompanied the Emperor Alexander to England. The
events which took place then are known. The Duke and
Duchess of York were most friendly, so was the Duke of Kent.
The regent was much irritated, first, by Princess Charlotte
refusing the Prince of Orange ; afterward by her flight to her
mother. The majority of the public were favorable to Prince
Leopold — even ministers— particularly the Wellesley family,
Lord Castlereagh, etc.
"At the end of July Prince Leopold left London. Before
that he was graciously received by the regent, who had veri-
fied that no unfair intrigue had taken place. He assisted at
a splendid ball at Carlton House, which closed the season,
and where he received demonstrations of kindness from the
whole family. The prince opened the ball with Princess
Mary, not yet Duchess of Gloucester. The Duke of Sussex
and the Duke of Gloucester were not at that time received
by the regent or his ministers. Prince Leopold went through
Holland to Amorbach, where the Prince of Leiningen had
died unexpectedly. He assisted the Princess to settle her
guardianship. The three brothers met at Amorbach, and
afterward at Coburg.
" At the end of August the duke and Prince Ferdinand
went to Vienna, where the Congress had begun its sittings.
Prince Leopold, who had remained with his beloved mother,
joined them there toward the end of September. The duke
intrusted a good deal of the management of what he hoped
to obtain to Prince Leopold.
" Good results were to be obtained, but the duke interfer-
ing in the great affairs in a way which was disagreeable to
the Emperor of Russia, his chief protector, his affairs declined.
Prince Leopold again took their direction, but made the con-
dition that the duke would not interfere in any way. The
result was not so good as what Prince Leopold had- originally
almost already obtained ; still it was important for the house
304 Appendix A.
of Coburg. Prussia showed great hatred to the duke, owing
to his having been against her plan concerning the King of
Saxony. If Chevalier Gentz had not kindly informed the
prince that the Prussians had prevented the arrangement for
Coburg from being in the treaty, which was to be signed the
following day, the hopes of Coburg would have been wrecked
at the last moment ; as it was, the prince got the Russian
and Austrian ministers to put into the treaty the paragraph
concerning Coburg, to the great displeasure of Baron von
Humboldt. From that moment the Prussians showed the
utmost hostility to Coburg, and never executed the part of
their engagement by which they were bound to exchange the
territories which had been assigned to Coburg on the Rhine,
against some detached territories in Saxony, which were most
desirable for Coburg.
" During the Congress Prince Ferdinand gained the heart
of the blooming heiress of the house of Kohary. The Duke
of Wellington, and Lord Castlereagh, and all the English,
showed a marked kindness to Prince Leopold. The Duke
of Kent was so kind as to favor some communications with
Princess Charlotte, who expressed her determination to re-
main firm in her plans. I forgot to mention a subject which
has been since told as a proof of the great poverty of Prince
Leopold when he was in England in 1814. He came with
the Emperor Alexander, and as long as the emperor remained
himself in England, the lodgings of the persons who had come
with him were paid by him. The Russian embassador, Count
Lieven, had the charge of locating the suite, and as they lived
in Harley Street, they lodged the people near it, and had tak-
en a rather indifferent lodging for Prince Leopold in High
Street, Marylebone. The prince had nothing to do with the
choice of that lodging, and as soon as the emperor had left,
he lodged himself in Stratford Place, in a house where Gen-
eral Count Beroldingen, the Wiirtemberg minister, lodged,
and where he remained till he left London. He might have
explained these things before, but he had not thought it worth
while.
. " The final conclusion of the Congress of Vienna took place
in June, 1815. After the return of Napoleon from Elba, the
Allies were occupied in collecting their armies. The Duke
of Coburg received the command of a corps d'observation,
Reminiscences of King Leopold. 305
which remained in Alsace, and was composed of the royal
Saxon contingent. The battle of Waterloo decided the fate
of Napoleon. An Austrian army occupied the south and east
of France. The German troops of the Confederation occu-
pied eastern France. A Russian army advanced, but reached
France only in July and August. Prince Leopold, whose di-
vision of light cavalry did not go as far as France, went to
Paris with the approbation of the Emperor Alexander in July.
He remained there occupied with political affairs, and ob-
tained for his brother an augmentation of territory. He was
treated with marked kindness by the English. The Duke of
Kent was so kind as to facilitate, through an officer devoted
to him, communications with Princess Charlotte. The prin-
cess and her friends wished the prince to go to England. He
was, however, of opinion that the princess's father should not
be braved (brave), as it would render things but more difficult.
The princess thought this an excess of discretion, and was
not pleased ; but after events proved that the forbearance
had been wise.
" Prince Ferdinand married young Princess Kohary at the
beginning of 1816. The duke went to Vienna to be pres-
ent at this marriage. Prince Leopold, by his brother's de-
sire, went to Berlin to effect the exchange which Prussia had
engaged by treaty to make ; which, however, with remarkable
bad faith, it eluded to execute. It was in January, at Berlin,
that Prince Leopold received the invitation of the prince re-
gent to come to England, and also an explanation from Lord
Castlereagh. He was forced to wait for his brother's arrival
from Vienna, and then left in fearfully cold weather for Co-
burg. He caught an inflammatory cold, which retained him,
to his great dismay, at Coburg, receiving the most pressing
letters from England to hasten his arrival. It was painful to
be quite unable to set out, and only in February could he
leave Coburg. At Calais he was detained by stormy weath-
er. In London he found Lord Castlereagh, with whom he
went to Brighton, to be presented to the prince regent, who
received him graciously, though suffering from gout. He
spoke about the Princess Charlotte and his plans about her.
Soon Queen Charlotte and the Princesses Augusta, Eliza-
beth, and Mary arrived, and~in their society Princess Char-
lotte ; her friends being mostly of the opposition, they had
306 Appendix A.
inspired her with the apprehension that the prince would be
too subservient to the regent, and she expressed this appre-
hension rather warmly.
" There were no formal fian9ailles, but the marriage was
declared as being fully decided. The princesses left Brigh-
ton at the beginning of March for Windsor ; Princess Char-
lotte for Cranbourn Lodge,* where she resided with the Dow-
ager Lady Ilchester, Mrs. Campbell, Colonel Addenbrook,
and Dr. Short. Prince Leopold remained at Brighton ; made,
however, a visit to Windsor, where Princess Charlotte came,
and also at Cranbourn, which the regent did not approve.
" The marriage was to have been in April, but, after many
delays, it took place on the zd of May. The public showed
the most affectionate interest. The young couple spent a
fortnight at Oatlands, the Duke of York's residence. Great
demonstrations took place during the summer.
" Claremont, the property of Mr. R. Ellis, was selected by
Prince Leopold after having seen other places. In Septem-
ber the prince and princess established themselves there.
Unfortunately the season was uncommonly rainy. In De-
cember ' a visit was paid at Brighton, when the whole family
was united except the Duchess of York, who rarely went to
these reunions, living generally at Oatlands. The duchess
came often to Claremont, and was also frequently visited.
The Orleans family came to Claremont, and were visited at
Twickenham.
" The princess's health was liable to be a little deranged.
Her nerves had suffered much during the last few years.
She improved, however, visibly at Claremont.
" From March there began to be hopes. The princess's
health was in a satisfactory state. She gave, however, up
walking too much, which proved pernicious. Novemberf saw
the ruin of this happy home, and the destruction at one blow
of every hope and happiness of Prince Leopold. He has
never recovered the feeling of happiness which had blessed
his short married life.
" The Duke of Coburg had, after some difficulty, succeeded
in securing the last offspring of the house of Gotha, Princess
* In Windsor Park. One tower alone now remains, where a keeper lives,
t She died on the sth in childbed, a few hours after the birth of a still-born son. Had
she been skillfully treated her life at least would have been saved.
Reminiscences of King Leopold. 807
Louise. The Duke of Kent had offered his hand to the
Princess of Leiningen, but her position as guardian of her
children created delays. Princess Charlotte, who loved ten-
derly her uncle, the Duke of Kent, was most ardently desir-
ous of this union, and most impatient to see it concluded.
1818 was passed in retirement by Prince Leopold, who only
saw some members of the royal family. The Duke and
Duchess of Kent resided most of the time at Claremont. In
September Prince Leopold went by Switzerland to see his
sister to Coburg, where he remained till the beginning of
May, 1819, when he returned by Paris to England, where his
sister had been happily confined.
" The regent was not kind to his brother. At every in-
stant something or other of an unpleasant nature arose. The
duke and duchess resided repeatedly at Claremont. Prince
Leopold made in August an excursion to Scotland and
through various parts of England. He received every where
the most enthusiastic welcome. The regent was not pleased
with this journey. The Duke and Duchess of Kent came to
Claremont after the prince's return, and remained there till
he went to Sidmouth, where the duke hoped to escape the
winter which had set in with unusual severity, even in No-
vember, when thick ice was every where to be seen. 1820
Prince Leopold was at Lord Craven's, when the news arrived
that a cold which the duke got at Salisbury, visiting the Ca-
thedral, had become alarming. Soon after the prince's ar-
rival the duke breathed his last.* The duchess, who lost a
most amiable and devoted husband, was in a state of the
greatest distress. It was fortunate that Prince Leopold had
not been out of the country, as the poor duke had left his
family deprived of all means of existence. The journey to
Kensington was most painful, and the weather, at the same
time, very severe. It had been the opinion of many people
that the duchess ought, first of all, to have taken possession
of Kensington. King George III. died almost at the same
moment as his son. King George IV. showed himself, at
the first moment, very affable to Prince Leopold, which line
of conduct was in view of what might happen concerning the
now Queen Caroline. The Duchess of Kent resided with
* Oa the 23d of January.
308 Appendix A.
the princesses* a good deal at Claremont. Queen Caroline's
arrival in June threw the whole country into confusion.
Prince Leopold's position became unbearingly distressing be-
tween the king and the Queen Caroline. A severe illness
of his mother, the Dowager Duchess of Coburg, would have
given a color to his leaving England, to keep out of the pain-
ful struggle which was going on ; it was much wished by the
king, who employed Lord Lauderdale in this sad affair ; but
how abandon entirely the mother of Princess Charlotte, who,
though she knew her mother well, loved her very much. The
prince determined not to interfere till the eyidence against
the queen should be closed, so that whatever he might do
could not influence the evidence. This decision was evident-
ly the most honest and the most impartial. He waited till
the evidence was closed, and then paid a visit to his mother-
in-law at Brandenburg House. She received him kindly ;
looked very strange, and said strange things. The country
was in a state of incredible excitement, and this visit was a
great card for the queen. It had an effect on the Lords
which it ought not to have had, as it could not change the
evidence ; but it is certain that many lords changed, and
ministers came to the certainty that the proceedings could
not be carried farther. They proposed that the measure
should be given up. The king, who had been, it must be
confessed, much maltreated during this sad trial, was furious,
and particularly against Prince Leopold. He never forgave
it, being very vindictive, though he occasionally showed kind-
er sentiments, particularly during Mr. Canning's being min-
ister. He, of course, at first declared that he would never see
the prince again. However, the Duke of York arranged an
interview. The king could not resist his curiosity, and got
Prince Leopold to tell him how Queen Caroline was dressed,
and all sorts of details.
"After the coronation, in July, 1821, Prince Leopold went
to Coburg. He arranged for his mother, the Duchess of Co-
burg, a residence for the winter at Genoa, which did benefit
her health extremely. He remained some time with her, and
afterward went to Florence, Rome, and Naples. In the
spring of 1822 the duchess returned to Coburg. The Duke
* The infant Princess Victoria, and her eldest daughter, Princess Feodore of Leinin-
gen, now Princess Hohenlohe.
Reminiscences of King Leopold. 309
Auguste of Gotha died during the summer. His brother,
Duke Frederick, succeeded him. His health was in a most
deplorable state.
" Prince Leopold went at the beginning of September to
Vienna to see the Emperor Alexander. The late Lord Lon-
donderry (Charles) did all he could to get the prince unkind-
ly received. Prince Metternich did the same, but from other
motives. He fancied the prince had intentions upon Greece,
which was not the case. The Duke of Wellington arrived
afterward and put a stop to Lord Londonderry's calumnies,
who had wished to recommend himself by it to George IV.
The prince, far too good-natured, ought to have avenged him-
self on Lord Londonderry.
" The prince went in October to Coburg, where he remain-
ed some time with his family, going in December to Paris,
and in January to England. The Duchess of Kent and her
children came to Claremont. Later in the year took place
the first sejour at Ramsgate of the duchess, her children, and
Prince Leopold.
" In 1824 the duchess repeatedly spent some time at Clare-
mont.* Prince Leopold arrived too late in August to pre-
vent some painful events at Coburg. He returned by Paris
to England, where he arrived in January, 1825. At Coburg
there were still the consequences of the sad events of 1824.
The young princes, Ernest and Albert, prospered. The
health of Prince Albert was more delicate than that of his
brother. He suffered occasionally from an affection of the
bronchia. The Dowager Duchess of Coburg came at the end
of August to England, and the united family spent a very
beautiful autumn at Claremont. Princess Victoria was then
seriously unwell, and alarmed the family very much. The
dowager duchess returned to the Continent at the beginning
of October. The royal family lived tolerably quietly this year.
" 1826. In the course of the summer Duke Frederick of
Gotha died.f This created considerable discussion among
the three remaining branches of Ernest the Pious's children.
It was finally decided that Meiningen should receive Hild-
burghausen and Saalfeld — Hildburghausen, the rich and
* NOTE BY THE QUEEN. — These were the happiest days of the queen's childhood,
t This must be a mistake. He seems to have died in 1825. The arrangement for
the division of his inheritance was only completed in 1826. See Chapters I. to III.
310 Appendix A.
beautiful dukedom of Altenburg, and Coburg Gotha. The
loss of Saalfeld with its very pleasant environs, on the banks
of the Saal, grieved some members of the family. Gotha
had, besides, the inconvenience of being entirely separated
from Coburg.
" Prince Leopold went to Carlsbad for his health. He aft-
erward spent some time at Coburg, and gave his assistance
to the arrangements which resulted from this new order of
things. Later in the year he went to Italy, and spent the
winter at Naples. Since 1825 overtures had been made to
Prince Leopold about Greece. Mr. Canning would not lis-
ten to these overtures, saying that Prince Leopold would be
much more useful in England.
" At Naples Prince Leopold was dangerously ill of fever.
He returned in the spring of 1827 to England. The Duch-
ess of Kent and Princess Victoria visited Claremont, after-
ward Tunbridge and Ramsgate. The dov/ager duchess spent
the winter at Genoa.
" Early in 1828 Princess Feodore married the Prince of
Hohenlohe Langenburg. Prince Leopold went for a short
time to Paris. Charles X. was always most kind to him.
Some of the Legitimists spoke of the advantages which might
result from a marriage of the Duchess de Berri with Prince
Leopold, who, however, felt no partiality for their plans.
" The Duke of Coburg was much occupied with his new
and splendid possession of Gotha. Prince Leopold went
to Silesia to meet King Frederick Guillaume III. of Prussia.
His chief object had been to see then the best friend he ever
had, Prince William* of Prussia, the king's youngest brother.
The then crown prince of Prussia made Prince Leopold
promise to join him at Naples, which he did in November.
In March, 1829, he returned by Paris to England. The prop-
ositions concerning Greece had now already taken a more
prominent tournure. Russia and France were particularly
favorable, and desirous to see the prince accept. In En-
gland matters were also now progressing. Great political
events took place in England. The Duke of Cumberland
had, at that time, great influence with the king, and opposed
the Duke of Wellington's administration most bitterly. He
took also a violent part in Greek affairs, engaging the king
* Maternal grandfather to Prince Louis of Hesse, husband of Princess Alice.
Reminiscences of King Leopold. 311
to prefer the candidature of Duke Charles of Mecklenburg
Strelitz, the brother of the Duchess of Cumberland. Minis-
ters pressed the king to accept Prince Leopold, and were even
forced to threaten to resign. This was most unfortunate
for the Greek affairs, as it rendered it impossible for Prince
Leopold to press upon a cabinet that staked its existence
on the question those measures which many sensible people
in England thought necessary for the existence of Greece.
" Prince Metternich had from the beginning wished to ruin
the young Greek state. Not succeeding in this, he used the
influence he had with the duke and Lord Aberdeen to pro-
pose a frontier which was quite unacceptable, and of which .
>j
The king's notes break off here, but in a Memorandum
which he wrote in answer to the misstatements contained in
a history of these transactions, and of which he sent a copy
to the Queen in 1862, he says that as the Porte had left the
question of frontier entirely in the hands of the London Con-
ference, and France and Russia were not unfavorably dis-
posed, it might have been settled in a satisfactory manner,
without serious opposition, had the English government been
equally well inclined. But there seems also to have been a
question of the annexation of Candia as well as of the Ionian
Islands to the new Greek state. Prince Leopold himself
pressed for the former, and says that in England both Par-
liament and the public were also in favor of the latter in case
he accepted the Greek throne. The English government
seems, however, to have set its face against the cession of
either. The Duke of Wellington declared that Candia must
belong to the possessors of the Dardanelles ; and, though in
the face of public opinion, the cession of the Ionian Islands
could not be openly opposed, it was easy to interpose delay,
which proved as effectual in defeating the proposal ; for be-
fore any final decision had been come to on this point, the
whole arrangement, as far as Prince Leopold was concerned,
had come to an end on the question of frontier.
In the course of 1830, by a visit to Paris and great person-
al exertions, the prince had obtained the assent of the three
Powers to a guaranteed loan of 60,000,000 of francs,* with-
• * The French and Russian governments, the king says, came readily into this ar-
rangement, that of England not without some difficulty.
312 Appendix B.
out which the government of the new State of Greece (the
country itself being entirely without credit) could not have
been carried on. But when the frontier came to be discussed
with a view to its final settlement, Lord Aberdeen, who con-
ducted the business in the name of the English government,
would admit of no modification of the line proposed by them,
and which the king describes as having been utterly impos-
sible. He had himself, with a view to a compromise which
might be accepted by the Greeks, proposed a line running
from the Gulf of Volo to that of Arta. But Lord Aberdeen
asserted that it was a question of an arrangement to be de-
clared, not one subject to negotiation. And as Prince Leo-
pold had made his acceptance of the government dependent
on the acceptance of the frontier line he had proposed, there
was nothing left for him after this but to withdraw altogether
from the affair.*
The king adds in his Memorandum that the Conference
then determined upon sending out a commission to consider
the question of frontier on the spot, and that, as the result of
their labors, in 1831, a line such as he had himself suggested
was agreed to, and is, in fact, now the northern frontier of
Greece.
APPENDIX B.
CONFIRMATION OF THE PRINCES.
Coburg, April itfb, 1835.
THE confirmation of the two princes Ernest and Albert
took place at Coburg on the nth and i2th inst. Both parts
of the country, Coburg as well as Gotha, would have taken
the liveliest interest in this event, even if it had been celebra-
ted quietly in the circle of the family, as the two promising
young princes are looked up to with the warmest affection by
all the inhabitants of the duchy. But the duke, regarding
himself as the head of the great family of his subjects, wished
to be surrounded by them on this joyful occasion, and to en-
able them to take part in his happiness. Invitations were
* The Queen well remembers her joy when this took place, as she adored her uncle,
and was in despair at the thought of his departure for Greece.
Confirmation of the Princes. 313
consequently sent to all the authorities ; and all heads of de-
partments, as well as deputations from the Diet, the clergy,
the towns, and villages attended.
On the first day, the nth of April, the public examination
of the princes took place in the " Giants' Hall" of the castle,
in presence of the duke, her highness the Duchess Dowager
of Gotha-Altenburg, their serene highnesses the Princes Al-
exander and Ernest of Wurtemberg, Prince Leiningen, Prin-
cess Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and Princess Hohenlohe-Schil-
lingsfurst. The household, the ministry, the members of the
government offices, the various deputations, and a great num-
ber of persons of all classes were also present. An altar,
simply but appropriately decorated, had been placed at the
end of the hall. The chaplain of the court, Dr. Jacobi, who
had prepared the princes for the confirmation, having taken
his place before the altar, with the two princes standing to
his right and left, the choir began the service by singing the
first verse of the old hymn, " Come, Holy Ghost," etc. Dr.
Jacobi then spoke some introductory words and proceeded
to the examination. The dignified and decorous bearing of
the princes, their strict attention to the questions, the frank-
ness, decision, and correctness of their answers, produced a
deep impression on the numerous assembly. Nothing was
more striking in their answers than the evidence they gave
of deep feeling and of inward strength of conviction.
The questions put by the examiner were not such as to be
met by a simple yes or no. They were carefully considered,
in order to give the audience a clear insight into the views
and feelings of the young princes. One of the most touching
moments was when the examiner asked the hereditary prince
whether he intended steadfastly to hold to the Evangelical
Church ; and the Prince answered not only yes, but added in
a clear and decided tone, " I and my brother are firmly re-
solved ever to remain faithful to the acknowledged truth."
All present were deeply moved at these words, especially as
they proved how sincerely he associated his brother with him-
self in the inmost folds of his heart. The examination, which
touched on all the most important articles of the faith, having
lasted for an hour, was followed by some concluding remarks
of the examiner, and by a short prayer ; the second verse of
the above-mentioned hymn was then sung, the blessing pro-
314 Appendix B.
nounced, and the service brought to a conclusion by the sing-
ing of the third verse.
The princes stepped down from the altar and were fondly
embraced by their father and by their venerable grandmother.
On the following day, Palm Sunday, the confirmation of the
princes took place in the chapel of the castle. The service
commenced with a chorus accompanied by the organ. A
hymn followed ; after which the act of confirmation was sol-
emnly performed by the first chaplain of the court, the super-
intendent general, Dr. Genzler, of Coburg. The princes pro-
nounced the Creed with firm and audible voice, and, kneeling
before the altar, received the blessing. A short hymn hav-
ing been sung, Dr. Genzler preached the sermon, and read
the confession and the prayer of consecration. The Holy
Communion was then received by the duke, the duchess dow-
ager, the princes, a considerable number of government offi-
cers, and many inhabitants of Coburg. The whole service
was performed by Dr. Genzler in the most solemn manner,
and produced in all present the feeling of humility and thank-
fulness toward God.
At half past one o'clock a special service was performed in
the Cathedral, to which the court drove in procession. The
spacious church was filled with thousands of the inhabitants
of the town, and of strangers, but every where devout silence
was observed. The procession, having passed through the
streets densely crowded with people, was received by the
clergy at the principal entrance of the church. Solemn mu-
sic was performed and an appropriate sermon preached by
Archdeacon Henkel. This ended the solemnities on the
part of the Church. In the afternoon the princely person-
ages dined with the ducal family; the numerous strangers
present dined with the household. •
On the day following, April the i3th, the court received
congratulations in the throne-room, and afterward a grand
banquet took place in the "Giants' Hall."
His highness the duke showed his satisfaction by bestow-
ing numerous marks of favor, especially on those who had
taken part in the education and instruction of the two princes.
The town of Coburg presented the tutor of the two princes,
Councilor Florschiitz, with a diamond ring as an acknowl-
edgment of his services. His greatest reward, however, for
The Prince's Letters. 315
having spent the best years of his life in the education of the
princes, will be found in his having been able to present the
pupils committed to his charge to their father, healthy and
sound in body as well as in mind and heart.
One thing only caused sincere regret on this joyful occa-
sion, viz., that her highness the duchess was prevented from
being present, as she could not venture on the journey from
Gotha to Coburg at this inclement season. But her best
wishes undoubtedly attended her sons.
The kindness with which the people of Gotha were re-
ceived by the inhabitants of Coburg deserves especial ac-
knowledgment ; but chiefly to the duke are hearty thanks
due for the care taken by his highness, that their visit to Co-
burg should be made as agreeable as possible to his subjects
of Gotha.
APPENDIX C.
THE PRINCE'S LETTERS.
To DR. SEEBODE. (See Translation, pp. 114 ct scqq.}
SSereljrtefter £ e r r (SonftfUrialratfy , — Srojj alien
ben 3e*'fh<euuttgen, rceld)e ba3 2eBen l)ier in ©otija un3 Meter, tro0
einer 2lnjafyl »on 23efud)en, tro|j bem £eulen be3 ©turmiutnbeS, tro£
bent 2arm ber 2Bad)e unter unfern Senftern, fyafce id) bod) enblid) bte
£)isJpofitton jn tern 2luffa£e ,,ii&er bie 2lnfd)aitun$3iweife
ter Deittfd)en" »ollenbet, unb fd)tcfe fie S^nen |iertei gitr
£>urd)fid)t, mtt ber Sitte, bte irielerlet S^anget, iueld)e 3|r Wtifiler
SttcE o^ne 3^eu"el entbecfen ivtrb, nid)t align ftreng jn riigen, <3te
er^atten meine Slrbett ot)ne $opf unb ©(^twang. 3d) ^aBe bef$att> gu
ber Sinteitung unb bent <Sd)!ujj fein ©felett entirorfen, foeil id) t& fur
unnot^ig tyteft ; id) iBitl namtid) ben Sulturgana, ber 2)eutfd)en in
t>em 3Ser(aufe ber ©efd)id)te »erfotgen Ms auf unfre je^igen 3citen,
unb tverbe mid) baiei in aUgemetnen Umri)Jen ber Sint^eilung kbie^
nen, weld)e ber St^anblung gu ®runbe Itegt, ;Der @d)Iup foflte eincn
9lii(f&ticf auf bte Mangel unferer 3ett geben unb bte Stujforberung
ent()alten, ba^ ein 3eber fid) fceeifern ntiige, jcne Mangel juerfl an5
fetnem etgnen S3ene^men 311 serljannen, unb fo mtt bem guten 33et^
fpictc »oranjugeku.
316 Appendix C.
(Soflte 3tjnen, £err "Director, biefer ©ebanfe nldjt gefaflen, fo Htte
id) (Sic, mir e3 jit fd)reifcen, id) tverbe mid) bann fcemufyen, etnen an*
bern @d)lit§ aufjiifmben.
©otf)a, gefcr. 5/ 1836.
$ere$rte{ter Jpcrr £ 0 » f t fl 0 r i a I r a t ty , — 9ftit gro*
fern SBebauern Ijikten mir son bent UnfaUe, meltfeer <3ie getroffen fyat.
3$ i»oUte e5 Slnfang^ nic^t glaukn, 3f r Srief iebo^ kftiitigte es.
34 ttitt twiinf^en, baf <Sie red)t 6alt> ftc^ wieber »o^t itni> gefunti
beftnben ntbgen*
!Die Slrkiten in ber beutf^en Siteraturgef^idjte get)en bei unfern
©ot^aif^en 55er^altnif|en nur langfatn »on ©tatten. Smpfangen
@ie nod| meinen ^er3lid)ften Dan! fitr W Sorrectur metneS le^ten
2luffa£es. 2)ie p)itnfte, Jel tvelc^en @ie einige Sebenfen Ijegen, J»erte
tct) ki ter Slussfii^rung ^eranbern imfe miftern.
Der 3eitpunft unferer SIBreife nac^ SBriijfel riicft giwar immer na t)er,
fle^t aber boc^ nodj fo tr»eit »or un^, fcajj »ir auf jet»en
noc^ etnmal nac^ ^oBurg fommen iverben, wnb tag lu
gegen Dfhrn. iann wercen wir (Ste gewi§ einmat in
Ijaufung ^eimfud)m, tint) tort |offentllcfy ttoUfommen tuieber ^ergeftetlt
antrcjfen.
®ot$a, SWarj 12, 1836.
5>erel)rtefier Jperr ® o n f i ft o r t a I r a 1 1) — Smjjfangen
(Sic meinen |erjlid)ften Dan! fot»ot)I fiir 3^en freunfcltd)en Srief,
aU au^ f"r fcas f4^ ©ef^enf, mit n>elc|em <Sie i^n tegletteten.
(Sic fatten mid) mit 9tid)t3 met)r erfreuen Ibnnen, alS mit biefem
er^atenen SBerfe* 3^ tin foefcen im Segriffe e5 gu fluiircn unb bem
gro§en ^loppocf in (einen iiefen nadjjnbenfen, t»a3 mir jeboc^ meijl
mi^Ungt.
3d) benfe oft mit ber gro§ten ?5reube an bie intercffantcn (Stitnben
guriicf, mel^e nrir mit 3|nen in Jloturg gufcra<$ten. ®ern lauf^te
mein D^r 3^ren-2oBpreifiingen beutfd)er SSJMfter. §ier, Jro man
nur »ort frember Siteratur umgekn ift, nur in frember Siteratitr lebt,
Incr ternt man ben twirlHc^en 2Bertt) unfrer eignen beutfc^en erft re*t
fcnnen. S3 ift iebo^ fcfymergltd) 311 fet)en, tuelc^en gertngen Seflrtjf
granjofen unb S3elgier unb feI6ft bie gngtdnber wn itnfrer beittfdjen
The Prince's Letters. 317
Stteratur t)aBen ; a&er man trbflet ftd) fjieriilJer, toenn man bemerft,
ba§ biefe ©eringjd)dj3ung aus einer tobfltgen Unfdljigfeit, fete beutfd)en
SBerfe gu toerftefyen entftanben ifl. Urn Sfynen etnen leifen Segriff
toon biefer UnfafytgMt ju gekn, lege id) btefem Sriefe eine frangbftfdje
Uekrfe^ung toon © b t ty e ' 3 S^ufl kt, foelcfye tm etgentli^en
(Smite fees SBort^ bte Jpaave gu 23erge fletgen nta^t. 2Iu3 fol^en
Slrktten freilt^ fbnnen l>ie Stuglanier ben ttefen ©eifl itnfrer Sitern^
tur ntd)t faffen, unb e^ ijl erlldrlic^, Juarum iljnen fo Sftcwdjea fdjwad)
unb Idd)erltd) wnter ims erj"d)eint.
@ie juerben mid) fur unbanffcar fatten, baf id) Stjnen fo fpdt auf
3t>ren freunbtidjen Srief antoorte. 3U nteiner Sntfd)utbigung fann
id) 3t)nen nur fagen, bap bie 3"t un^ fetjr furj jugemej[en ift, unb
eine fefyr auggebe^nte Sorrefponbenj nod) bie wenigen StugenHide,
»eld)e uns jitr freien Slrkit u'Brig Hetfcen, toerfd)(ingt. SCenn tt»tr
itoirfltd) aud) fcier bie Qdt mtt ntbgltd)fier ©orgfatt benu^en, fo gtcH
e« bod) and) ntand)erlei ^^f^euungen, bie ntit etnem Jpofe immer
untoerntetblid) toerfcunben ftnb.
Unfer Uttfm^afi in 23ruf[el wirb M3 Dftern t»dl)ren. 3Bof)tn
wir bann jie^en werben, urn nene SMSfyeit jn fud)en, ttHJfen iuir nod)
nid)t. 9tad) Sofcttrg juerfl, benn ba^in jie^t bie Stefce. 2)ann
fd)etntid) auf eine beutfd)e Untserfttdt, auf tt>eld)e? ifl nod)
ftinttttt.
3n ber Jpoffnung, 8ie red)t klb tuo^l unb Better in ber
Wieber gu fe^en, toerileik id)
3^ banlBarer
SlUert
Sruffet, S)ec. 18, 1836,
To THE DUCHESS OF COBURG. (See pp. 118, 122.)
Sonbon, Suni l, 1836.
8 t e 16 e 9ft a m a — 9tetjme nteinen unb SrnfTs ^erjHd)ften Dan!
fur Detnen IteBen freunblid)en 33rief. 3d) wu'rbe Dtr fd)on fritter
geantoortet ^afcen, irenn id) nid)t me^rere 2age an einem ©aliens
peber laBorirenb franl getvefen iudre. Da^ ^teftge SHtna, bie toer^
fd)tebene ^iid)e unb bie fpaten (Stunben irotten ntir gar ntdjt jufagen ;
id) Bin je^t toieber ganj auf ben 23etnen,
9Jlein erfler 2lu3gang tear ein auperorbenttid) tanged unb ermiiben^
bes, jebod) fe^r intereffantes Setoee Beim ^bnige ; beg 2lfcenb3 am feIHgen
318 Appendix C.
£age fpeiften fotr Bel §ofc unb bes 9tad)ts toar ein fefyr fd)bnes (Eoncert,
bet »eld)em tmr bis 2 llf)r gu fteljen fatten, ©onnabenb am folgenben
£age wurbe ber ©eburtstag beS -ftcnigs gefeiert. SBtr fu^ren beS 3ftit=
tags gu etnem Dranringroom in (St. James's palace, too an 3800
9ftenfd)en him $bnige, bcr .ftonigin unb ben u'brigen l)ob,en £errfd)af^
ten ttorbeibeftlirten, wm i^re ©liidtivunfctie barjukingen. &*$ SIhnbs
war tuieberum grofje 3:afel itnb bann Soncert Ms urn 1 U^r. X;a§
id) bet biefen na^tli^en Reuben mancfyen ^arten ^am))f mit bent
©cfylafe jit befie^en ^afce, fannfi £u Xir n?o^I benlen. Sorgeflern,
am SKontag, gab btc 2ante tyter in ^enftngton einen au^erortentlid)
glanjenben Sail, bel t»eld)em bie £errn in Uniform unb bie Stamen
in fogenannten ganc^^breffes erfd)ienen ; jr»ir Hieben bis um 4 Utjr.
Son ben ©afien jverben 2)tr »ieKeic^t intereffant fein—^ber £erjog
SBU^elm »on 33rannfd)tt3etg, ber $rinj »on Dranien mit feinen beifcen
©ob/nen, ber ^)erjog »on 33Mington, jc. — ©eflern iraren twr in
©ion betm Jperjog »on 9lort^umberlanb unb je^t JvoUen nrir nad)
Slaremont fa^ren.
X!u jvirft baran fe^en, ba§ l»ir unfere ^it fet)r gufammen neb^men
miifiten, nur um etniges Don ben Sfterfreurbigfeiten Sonbon'S gu
fe^en.
Die Hebe £ante ifi fe^r giitig gegen uns, unb t^ut ailed, was uns
nur irgenb g«ube mad)en fann; aud) bie Souftne ifl auferorbentUd)
freunblid) mit uns. 2Bir wo^nen ^ier jmar ett»as befd)ranlt; aber
bod) fe^r angene^m. — 3d) ^offe Sir auS S3atf|el ausfu'^rlidjern ^>tf
rtd)t abjufiatten.
SOflen Sunt 1836.
Stebe 9Ji a m a — 3^) benu^e bie ©elegen^eit, ba§ ^apa juriitJ
nad) $oburg gel)t, um Sir enbltd) einmal toieber gu fdjreiben. SScnn
id) in $aris nur irgenb fyit baju geb/abt ^atte, fo wtrbe id) Dir son
bort auS (d)on einige 3e^en gefanbt $aben. !DaS Jp o t e I b e 3
$> r t n c e S , in ir»e(d)em juir in 5)ariS jvob/nten, war fur unS atte ein
furditerlid)er Slufentb^altSort, ba man »or £arm auf ber ©traf e faum
fein etgneS SBort »erfte^en fonnte. Srnfl 2Cu'rtemberg l)atte fur3
»or^er in bemfelben §aufe gewob/nt. SBab/renb unfreS ^ufent^altes
in ^)aris ^aben wir nidjt nur bie ©tabt unb tfyre ^erfwu'rbiglctten
fennen gelernt, fonbern t)aben aud) mebyrere fe^r pbfd)e Stuspge in
bie nal)ern llmgebungen gemadjt. SBir befud)ten © t. (S I o u b ,
SReubon, ^Zontmorenc^, SteutU^, SSer failles,
The Princes Letters. 319
Z r t a n o ft , *cv unb Befottnberten uBerall bie ^errlidje ©egenb, in
Welder $ari$ liegt. 23ei .ipof wurben feir mit ber allergrofjten 2lrtig=
feit itnb £oflid)feit empfangen, imb toir miiffen alle im l)od)ften
©rabe bem grojjen SoBe Beipflid)ten, bas man ber foniglidien gamilie
, nad) alien ^atiguen unb alien 3erffreuungen ftnb txnr in etne
neite ^peimat^ eutgejogen, itnb jtnb fro^ ein geregeltes, ru^igerevj
Xekn twieber fiif)rett jit fennen. 2Btr kiuotjnen ein fleineS, akr
re^t freunblid)e3 §au^ mit einem ftcinen ©artc^en ba»or, itnb fmt>
I)ier ofgleid) in einer gropen ©tabt, bocfe ganj afegefd)ieben »on bem
2armen ber (Strafen.
Xie Se^rer, i»eld)e fiir unS Bepimmt ftnb, foHen ganj sortrepcf)
fetn, fo ba§ |td) attes uereint, um unfere ©tntsien jn forbern, benn an
unferm glei§ tt»irb e3 ^ojfent(id) nid)t fe^Ien. Dnfel Seopolb ivirb
er^ am 15ten ^ier eintrejfen; Bi5 er fommt, wirb atle^ fd)on im fceften
©ange fein. 2Bir tyakn un^ Hs je|t fd)on sotllommen eingertd)tet,
jwcrben bie nad)ften Sage gn ben nott)igen SSijtten sertcenben, unb
bann in ber nadjften 2Bod)e unfer neues SeBen fceglnnen.
SBenn T;u biefe fyiltn erfyalten twirfl, fte^eft ^n aud) gerabe im
33egriff ein neitefi SeBen gu Beginnen. Seine 9leife nad) bem t&ttf
Babe, iorte id), urifljl T)u am lOten fd)on antreten. 3d) n>iinfd)e, ba§
biefe (£ur !Did) in attem gufriefcen flellcn mbge. 9Kir ^at bie JReife
nad) Snglanb einen tctalen 2tBfd)eu gegen tie @ee »erurfad)t, fo ba§
id) gar nid)t gent nur taran benfe.
To THE DUKE OF COBURG. (See pp. 124, 131, 138.)
SBritfFet, am 15ten STugujl 1836.
SCir Begteiteten ben DnM ind Cager t>on 33e»erloo, ein 2ager
tt>eld)es in einer unge^euren SBene liegt, auf tueld)er in je^n ©tunben
Umfang fein JpanS ju fefyen ift. Da^ 2ager felBft mag eine ©tunbe
im Umfang JjaBen, unb ijl mit ber adergrofjten Slegans erBaut, bie
Saracfen unb ©tatle werben Befl"er eingerid)tet, al$ in ben metj^en
Gafernen ber gall tfl. 2i3ir fatten jur SBo^nung eine red)t |ttBfd)e
Heine Saracfe, neBen ber ^ijniglid)en, auf n?eld)er eine Belgifd)e unb
cine fad)jtfd)e ?5lagge tue^te. 2lHe Sage war ein anberes militairifd)e5
(£d)aufpiel ju fe^en, unter weld)en fid) aBer Befonber^ jtvet 9J?ano»er
au^eid)neten. S3efonber3 ba« jweite it>ar aufierorbentlid) fd)bn, unb
foil bem 2lusfprud)e aUcr erfa^rencn Dfftciere nad), ein treuefi
320 Appendix C.
t»irflid)en $rieges gewefen fein. — T)ie geidnnenbe Slrmcc nwrbe
»on ben ©eneralen ©oetals, Sftagnan unb Sftarneff commanbtrt, He
serlterenbe son ben ®eneraten fDIfoier unb Sime; mil biefe aber
aus ifyrer bebrangten 2age fid) nid)t ju fyelfen wufiten, leitete bcr Dn-
fcl feltfl ben SRitcfpg.— -S^ac^ ben ermiibenben $artt)ten untcrljicltcn
ft^ bie ©olDaten niit serfdjiebenen ©pielen, tet iwetdjen t»ir jwgegeu
ivaren, n?ie SBettlaufe, ^llettern auf ^o^en ©tangen, ©ac(t)upfenf
ged)ten, Stingen, jc., — in »eld)en fte »iel ©efd)i(IItd}feit.3etgten. 3m
©anjen geigten ftd) bie 2;ruppen auf etne fo tiort^eil^afte SBetfe, bap
hrir atle bariikr erflaunt tuaren. — ©egen SIBenb »ar gumeilen etne
»ortrepd)e SJiuftf, auj'ammengefe^t auS alien Slegtmen^muflfen, in
weldjer an 160 Sftujtfer mitwirften.
Sonn, 30f»ett Suit 1837.
Stcbct ^a}) a — . , . * . Dnfel Seopotb ^at mir fet)r »iel iibei1
(Snglanb unb ba^ ^reiben bafelfrft gefd)rieben. @o fe^r fid) im £oh
ber jungen ^onigin atle $arttjeien »ereinigen, fo fe^r intrtguiren unt
mano»riren fte mit unb gegen einanber. 2)ie ^abaien unb Sntriguen
follen fid) »on alien (Seiten ^er burd)freujen unb gegen einanber an-
fa'mpfen. 2lIIe ^art^eien follen in un»erftanbigem S5efen gegen tint
anberfte^en! « . , .
Scnn, 12 ^otietnter 1837.
S i e fc e r ^) a }) a—. . . £>as ttorige ©emcfter war uns tierfloffen,
nod) e^e j»tr red)t baran benfen fonnten. 3»i b<*3 ^eue ^aten juir
uns fd)on ganj gepiirjt.
25tefer 2Btnter wirb fflr un3 ein angefhrengter feerben (ba twir mit
SoIIegien unb 2fu3arBeitungen gang itkr^auft ftnb)» £auptgegen=
jlanb unferer je^tgen 33efd)aftigungen ifl ba« 9lbmifd)e S|led)t, ba^
@taat$red)t, unb bie ©taat^itJenfdjaft^e^re, mit ginangivij[enfd)aft.
I^aneBen pren ttjir nod) gmei ^i^orifd)e Sollegien bei 2JBw unD
21. 2B. »on ©d)Ieget, unb ein J3f)itofo)>t)ifd)e3 bei gid)te (2lntt)ropologie
unc ^^ilofop^ie), unb tuerben sugleid) an unferm Sifer »on ben mm
ren ©prad)en nid)t
The Princes Letters. 321
Sin bie i)erwittttKte£erjogin son <5ad)fen?@oU)a.
(See p. 139.)
SBomt, lOten Sftosemkr 1837.
SSorgeftern erf)ielt id) einen 23rtef son DnM Seopolb, in t»eld)em
er ben 2Gnnfd) an3fprid)t, nn3 in ber 2Bett)nad)t$n>od)e in t»eld)er feine
Sottegien getyalten merben, bei fid) in 23riijfel gn fefyen. £n tmrft
Dir Ieid)t fcenfen !onnen, lieBe ©ro^mama, twte fefyr nn^ biefer Heine
Sefud) freut* SJitr ift es3 barum befonber^ angene^m, wetl t»tr nun
beutlid)er and) be3 Dnfel^ SJieinung iifcer bie nn^ ksorfte^enbe 3:ren*
nung nnferer @tn|eit im fommenben grnf^afyre ^oren fonnen, nnb i()m
bann and) bie nnfrtge ejcpltciren fonnen.
3ener foment (te^t in feiner triifcen ©eflalt ganj »or tnir.
tuotten wir, fo lange e3 nod) 3eit ifi
Ieid)tern, wm bie $ifle jn sergolben.
To THE DUKE OF COBURG. (See p. 139.)
33omt, 24ften 9?o»em6er 1837.
Sieber 9)a^ a — 3Da3 2^ema, n?eld)e« |e|t ^ter nnb in ber Urn*
gegenb bie ganje SBelt oefd)dftigt, ifl bie ©efangennetymung beg grj^
bifd)of3 »on $bln, 2)ie ^at|olifd)e ^artei ift ganj jviitt)enb, nnb
brot)t aUen $reu£jen nnt> ^roteftanten ben 2:ob nnb ben tlntergang.
©eftern, am SfemenStage, ermartete man einen 3lnfftanb in 2lad)en
nnt ^oln; akr e^ fdjeint, bap an5 %wc$t »or mtUtarifd)en
riiftungen 2lKe3 rn^ig geHieben ifl.
£)n mirft luiffen, »te fid) ber (ErjMfdjof in Sejng anf bie
ntfd)en £et)ren gegen bie Uni»erfitdt S3onn benommen tjat, ba§ er ben
5>rofe|Joren tterboten ^at jn tefen, bap er bas ^ieftge ©eminarium
anfgelofi Ijat, unb offnen ^rieg gegen bie $reitfnfd)e 3flegiernng ge^
fu^rt.
Jpierauf ^at ber ^bntg ben 9Jttntfter JRod)ow nad) ^btn gefd)icft,
nm mit b.em SrjBifdjofe ju nntcr^anbeln, h?eld)er jenen jebod) md)t
anfna^m, nnb and) feinem 5>rofeftoren ober ©etftlidjen ertanbte »or
il)m feine ©wnbfaije jn red)tferttgen.
5teuerbing3 nriberfe^te fid) ber (SrjHfdjof offen gegen bie ginfegnnng
ber gemifd)ten &f)en, wenn ntd)t atte ^inber fat^olifd) tverben follten.
(Siner Stnfforberung feine ©tefle nieberjntegen, »on (Seiten bes
erwiberte er, ber $onig ^abe in ®eifttid)en 3tngelegen^eiten
O2
322 Appendix C.
gar leine ©timme, tsorauf tenn tie getyeime SBerfyaftung unt na'djt*
itd)e (Entfu'fyrung ted £rgbifd)ofd erfolgte.
Sin reiser angefeljener .ftatfyoltf fyter aufjerte : — ,,9Ran mufi mit
,,und regieren, tenn gegen und fann man nid)t regteren, ed mufj nod)
,,fo ivett fommen aid ed in 33etgien ift; netymen fid) tie $reufjen in
,,Std)t, fcafj ftc nid}t mtt Drefc^flegeln aits tern 2antie gcjagt iver^en."
To THE DOWAGER DUCHESS OF GOTH A. (See p. 141.)
SSonn, am 26flen Secemfcer 1837*
Sicl6c ©rofmant a — Jaufcnb taufenb £)anf fiir bad fdjone
23ct^naAt5ge(d}enf, weldjeS mir ber Jpcrr 9tat^ in Dement -ftamen
befd^eerte^ SCenn man an einem fold)en Sage fo luett getrennt »on
ber ipeimatfj itnt ten ©etnigen tft, fo ift e3 iiberand wo^uent tnrd)
ein flntenfen in i^ren $rei3 jurudgerufen gu n?erten» 3^ ©etanfen
gtng id) afle »erfloj]enen 2Beifynad)tSafcente tnrd), teren i»ir tie
metften hi Xir »erletten, nnt »on Dir immer fo gtanjent fcefd)enft
jtitrten. Dod) and) an tiefem 2Beifenad)tsaknt> J»ar id) in Reiner
wenigftens im ©eifte.
Dad ©tad ift nrirflid) ganj tuunterfd)bn unt mit ter ^ubfd)en
ffe id) mid) bait gn fdjmucfen.
SBir getad)ten, n>ie Dn wei^t, IteBe ©ro^mama, tie
in Sruifel'jn »erleten, taran ^at und metn einfa'Ittged jnie
»ert)intert, melted grnar faft ganj wieter ^etl ift, aber nod) ntd)t ftarf
genug i^, etne a^nlidje Stetfe unt tie torttgen 2lnflrengungen o|ne
^olgen audjn^alten. (Ed t^ut und aufierortentltd) lett auf tiefe
grente tierjtdjten gn mitjfen. Dod), auf ter antern ©eite, |aben »ir
nun um fo mel)r 3eit unt 9Hupe tie SoIIegien unt 2Irfceiten ju repe?
ttren unt tie rufytge Srl)olung meined ^uped a%warten.
Sugleid), liebe ©ro^mama, erlaube mir Dir meine ^erjttd)j^en
©ludmunf^e gu guf en gu legen. 9)Zoge atter ©egen ted Jptmmcld
aud) im fommenten $afyn auf Dir rufyen. SRbge ter ^pimmel Dtr
ftetd ©efuntfyeit unt ungetriibte Jpeiterfeit serkifyen. 9Jttr exalte
aud) im nad)ften Sa^re tie Siebe unt tad 2Bof)I»olIen teren id) mid)
je£t erfreute.
9lo^ bin id) £)ir uielen Danf fiir gmet Sriefe fd)ultig, tie id) bid
je^t nid)t beantoorten fonnte,, ta ttor ^eranfommcnten gerten, tie
Slrbeiten ftd) fo ^aufen, taf fie ten gangen Sag in SInfprud) netjmen.
The Prince's Letters. 323
2Bic freute eg mid) jn fybren bap £u tirieber ttotffommen foofjl unb
gefunb Bift.
55on bem lieBen Sonn fyaBe id) £ir ntdjts su erjafjlen. £er
<3trett ber Sfteimmgen iiBer bie f)annbimfd)en Singelegenfyeiten unb
tie ntit Jem Srjbtfdjof son ^bln, MlJen ben 9)itttelpunft uni) 2Bun^
berpunft ber fyieftgen Son»erfationen.
^itrt lebe t»oH; Hebe ®ro§mama, wnb ic()alte in Kefcesotlem
Slnbenfen
£)einen treuen Snfel,
To THE DUKE OF COBURG. (See p. 142.)
26flcn 2>ecemkr 1837.
9Bir gebac^teitSeinen ©cburtstag in Sriiffct mit bent liekn £)n^
M ju feiern ; aflein ber einfdttige @to§ an ntetn ^nie ^at ung urn
bieje ^reube gebrad)t. 3d) Bin gwar tDieber total ^ergeftetlt, aber mufj
bod) nod) ca^ 33ein etwas fd)onen, wnb |atte einerfeit^ barum aud) ben
Satiguen Sriijyers mid) nid)t wnterjie^en fonnen, anberfeit^ ttotlte
id) aud) bort nid)t als ^mfenber ^erumfteigen. 2Bir ftnb barum im
ftitten Sonn geHieBen, ivo trir mit ber Repetition ber (Eoffegien Be^
fd)dfttgt ftnb. . . . !Du mirft aud) tcftimmt 2lnt|etl an ben (Sblner
(Sretgniffen genommen ^aBen. ^>ter ift es bie SeBen^frage geirorben
unb geigt fid) fe^r beutlid), bap bie fciclgepriefene 2tnidnglid)feit ber
gitjetnlanbe erftaunlid) locler ift. ,,^>reup unb Sutt)erifd;er ^e^er"
ftnb ge»b^nlid)e <3d)impfreben. SBie e^ fd)eint, ip: bie ^rtefterpar*
t^ei auperorbentlid) ftarl; fie finbet iljre ^auptftii^e in bent 5IbeI unb
ben Canbteuten. -ftamentlid) ber Steel ift |ier fefjr Bigott.
2)ein treuer ©o^n
SUBert.
To THE DOWAGER DUCHESS OF GOTH A. (See p. 151.)
SteBe ©ropmam a — 3d) IjaBe fd^on tuieber tange gefaumt
et)e id) T)ir fd)reiBe ; aBer wenn man ein 9J?at im 9lid)t^t|un fid) »er^
tieft fyat, fo ijr es fd)Wer baraus ftd) ^eworjuarBeiten.
2lu5 Detnem UeBen Srief an Sntjl erfa| id), bap e3 mit ^einem
Seflnben bod) Beffer get)t unb bap £it in Deinem fd)onen je|t tvieber
324 Appendix C.
mit neucm ®Iange gegierten SBinterpalais etngegogen bifh SBte tter*
ganglid) folder ©lang iji, fyakn wir geftern red)t beutlid) empfunben,
wo wenn ®ott fetne fd)irmenbe £anb nidjt ukr uns ge|atten Ijatte,
wo|l ba^ gange @d)Io§ ein 9lau& fcer glammen geworben mare, unD
wir kibe in feiner SBeife fatten entrinnen fonnen.
2UIe Sftorgen wirb in unfren ©tukn etwas gekigt, bamit wenn
iutr juiDeilen teg ^tttags in bie ©tabt fommen ttnr nid)t ganj falte
3tmmer pnien. 3uf<i^9er 2Seifc waren wir »orgeftern SIbenb nac^
lent Sweater in ber (Stabt gefcliefcen, um un3 ki bem 3uriidfa^ren
auf bie 0tofenau ntc^t gu erfalten. 2lm anbern 9)Jorgen erira^te ic^
yon einem unangene^men ©erud)e ; icfy [prang au^ bem Sette, um
gu fe^en 06 nid)t an einem ber Defen »ielleicfct ttergeffen irorben tear
bie ^lappe anfjumacfyen ; ein immer btcferer SRaitd) fam ntir entge^
gen, bod) fonnte id) md)te entbed'en; ate id) in bie irierte ©tube fam
fd)Iugen mir bie tyeflen gtammen entgegen, fite flanb ganj in fttuw.
3d) f(^rie ^euer ! Seuer ! worauf Srnft unb ^art auS feinem 3intmer
gn Jpiilfe fam» Stuper un3 2Dreten war fetne ©eele in bem %liiQe\
Ue3 ©d^Iojfea, es war attd) ju frii^ bafj attd) 9liemanb in ber 9tacr^
barfd)aft auf war» Du fannfl Dir unfern @d)recfen benfen* 2Bir
l)ielten nid)t lange 9lat^, fonbern fd)toffen alle ipren gu, unb fperr^
ten un3 mit bem geuer ein. S3 ftanben ttnS nur gwei ^ritge mtt
SBafifer unb etne ^anne mtt Samtllentfyee gu ©efcote, bie wir nad)
9Jiogtid)feit yerwenbeten. @rnft ergriff meinen unb feinen Mantel
unb warf fte okn auf bie gfantnten, id) trug mein ganged Sett fyerfcei
unb gro§e X)ecfen unb SJlatratjen gegen bie fcrennenbe SBanb, ^art
fd)»ang mit einer ungtauHtd)en ^raft einen marmornen 2ifd) in bie
£ofye unb fd)Ieuberte tfjn auf ein in plammen fteljenbes Sud)erkett,
i»eld)e3 t)ierauf in fid) gufammenftitrgte. 5^ad)bem wtr in biefer
SBeife Jperr ii&er bag peuer getoorben roaren, lonnten t»ir erjl baran
benlen um weitere Jpiilfe gu fle^en.
@rnfi ftiirgte wie er au3 bem Sette gefdmmen war bie Sreppen
^tnunter gur <Sd)iIi>wad)e, bie nun ben Beuerruf crfd)atlen Ue§, wa^
renb id) unb $art nod) oBen arfceiteten ; bie §i^e unb ber Qualm
ttaren fo ungekuer, bap alle genfter t)tnau3 gepla^t waren, ba§ fel^jl
bie ©Idfer bie auf SHfoern unter 9la^men ftanben fprangen, unb bie
SSUber tytnetn gecrudt waren, bafi ber 8intifi an ber J^iire gang »er*
fo^tt ifl.
3e^t fam eiligfi §ittfe son aHen ©eiten, eine SJienge »on
tern famen mit S&afier krauf unb Bfd)ten bie nur gebampfte
33erbrannt ftnb ein Su'djerkett mit ttielen S3ud)ern unb unferen
fammtUd)en $upferfiid)en, gwei @tit§(e, ein Sifd), ein Spiegel, tc.
The Princes Letters. 325
g<$ tfl wetter gar fetn Unglut! gefdjeljen al« bafi $art nnb id) nns
Me gufifotylen tterfcrannt tyaben, ba nnr fcarftt§ in $ot)Ien gerattyen
waren.
£a3 ttnglucf war babnrd) entjlanben ba§ ein unfnnbtger Sintjetijer
in einem Dfen gefjetjt fyatte twelver nid)t bajn fcefUmmt war, itnb auf
weld)em 33iid)er itnb ^u^ferftic^e ftanben, gegen ben etne SRenge »on
happen gelet)nt roaren. Da« eingige 33ilJ weldjes un»erfel)rt g£Mie^
ten ift, ift etne 2lfcMft>ung »on bent Sranc be3 Calais in
leh ivobl, Itebe ©rof mama. (Exalte 2)etne
2)einem treuen @n!e(,
Stofenau, am 18j!ten Dct, 1838.
terfproc^ene ©emiitbe werbe tc^ Bait* aBfdjirfen fijnnen.
To PRINCE WILLIAM OF LOWENSTEIN. (See p. 154.)
g, 26ten Deleter 1838.
fiieBer Sbwenfiet n — Smpfange taufenb taufenb X;anf fiir
Detne Hekn, freunbltcfyen fyilm, bie uns ein ^ti^m ftnb, bap l)u
noc^ juwetlen Reiner treuen ^rettnbe gebenffl. 34 glaitk, fiir im?
mer foerben mir bie ^eitern Sage, welcfje t»ir gufammen t^eit^ in nu^
Iid)er 33efd)aftignng, t^etls in frof)er Untev^altung suh'ad)ten, aid bie
glitcfltdtften meines Cefcen^ erf(|einen. $ro0 ber gro§en Ungenirtt)eit
itnb ben stefen 5tecfereien ^errfd)te jlets bie sotlfommenfte ^armonie.
SCie ((ion waren wnfre SCinterconjerte, unfre t|eatraltfd)en 55crfud)e,
©pajjiergange nad) bem Senuskrg, bie <Sd)t»tmmkf)tt, ber ^ed)tBo^
ben ! 3d) barf gar nid)t an Slttes aurucfcenfen !
Srnft ge^t nun nad) 2)re<3ben, um f!d) bort bem Sl^arS ju opfern,
er twfl ftd) bort ganj in'3 militairifdje SBefen ftur^en. S^eine italic^
ntfd)e 9teife werte id) in ^urjem beginnen. 3d) werbe £ir guwei?
ten »on »erfd)iebenen ^unlten att^, 9iad)rid)t gefcen; Du imtfjt mir
ater and) fdjreiBen, id) tt>ifl ptr immer 5)unfte angeW, wo^in. 3n
10 bi(3 12 iagen werbe id) fd)on bie £eimatf) im 0tuden ^afcen. 3d)
will nidjt e^er abreifen, aid Ms and) Srnfl fein <5d)iff flott ntad)t,
bamit er nidjt atlein juru'cf6tei6t: bie Srennung wirb nn^ fu'rd)terlid)
fd)wer werben ; wir waren Ms je^t, fo lange wir benfen fonnen, feiner
nod) einen Sag o^ne ben anbern. 3d) mag mir ben SiugenWicf gar
nid)t »ergegenwartigen.
326 Appendix C.
To THE DOWAGER DUCHESS OF GOTHA. (See p. 156.)
Hit id) gang allein. @rnft ijl u'fcer die Serge, id) Hn
gefclieen unb nod) umgeben toon, fo »ielen Dingen bie ntir immer
sorfpiegeln, er tniiffe in tier Sftefcenjht&e fein. 3^ wro fann t$ mi$
&ejfer t»enben unb meinem .ipergen Suft mad)en, alg gu Sir, Itefce
©ropmama, bie <Du tmmer fo irielen 2lntt)eil nimmft an 2lUem toag
ung fcegegnet; Me Du un3 beibe ait(^ fo ganj fennfl «nt> »erfte^ft.
S3ir tegleiteten Smft nocf) H5 nat^ Soknjlein, tt»o air nocfy einen
2tbent> iint> ben folgenfcen SWorgen jufammen tei ter guten alten
©rof tante guBra^ten. ©ie t»ar fe^r erfreitt itns trieber etnmal fcet
ft<^ ju fefyen, ijteHeic^t gum le^ten 9WaIe ; benn fte ifl fc^on 80 3a^e
aft, unb fe^r franflici) geworben; au^ bie beiben Soiifmen tuaren fe^r
freunbltc^ gegen unS. 2Bir i»aren noc^ ben 2lfcenb re^t »ergniigt.
2)er anbere SRorgen tra^te bann ben ©c^merj beg 2lfrfd)ieb$. SBir
Hiekn nur nod) bis SDtittag unb fu^ren bann {bicjiimal ol)ne Srnft)
iwieber ber ^eimat^ gu, n?o tr»ir fafl gu Si3 geproren, StBenb^'um 10
Uijr anlangten. S3ir waren, hne geivl^nltd), juieber auf einer offnen
!Drofd)fe gefa^ren unb fatten in bent IieHid)en Sr^entralbe eine
^dlte son 16 ©raben gu iikrftetyen. ^unme^r |at Srnfl bie erfte
9lad)t in J)reSben burd)fd)Iafen. £3 i»irb i^m ber |eutige £ag bod)
aud) etroas leer sorfommen. 3d) fdjrieb t^nt ^eute unb ewarte
ntorgen ober iifcermorgen ein paar fteilm »on i^m, id) twtt fte Xir
fogletd) gufd)tden, icenn eg X)ir red)t ifh
SBenn id) 2)tr lange ntd}t fd)rieB, fo gefd)a^ eg, toeit t»ir in ben
le^ten Sagen tuirfltd) nod) fe^r SSieleg gu befpred)en unb gu fceforgen
fatten. £)u toirfi eg ntir beftimmt ntd)t u'bel ne^men, X;ag „ 2Bir "
iwerbe id) ntir nun roo^l abgeir»o|nen ntu'pn unb ntid) immer beg fo
egoifttfd) unb fait lautenben 3d)'g fcebienen miiffen. 3« 2Si^ fi««g
2lUeg »tel tt»eid)er, benn bag 2Bir brtidt bie Jparmonie nte^rerer @ee^
len aug, bag 3<^ britdt me^r ben 2Biberflanb beg (Eingelnen gegen bie
auperen ^rafte aug, jebod) and) bag 33ertrauen auf eigene <Starfe.
3d) mu§ fu'rd)ten, Did) mit meinem ©efd)»a^ gu langtueilen, bod)
ifi eg ntir 6ei ber ie^igen ©title eine 2Bof)Itf)at fd)l»a^en gu fonnen,
ttnt 29 9?o»6r. 1838.
Saufenb "Dan! fur Deinen le^ten gnabigen, fo IteksoIIen 33rief.
2Bie roojl t|ut eg gu luiffen, ba§ 3eptanb bie ©efu'^Ie bie ung tefee^
len mitfii^It. 3^ $ft&e einen S3rief »on Srnjl er^aften, ba er aBer
The Prince's Letters. 327
friifjeren SaturnS ijl als ber <Deintge, fo fenbe id) ifjn Dir nid)t* @3
fyat mtr »iele greube gemadjt fo ofters »on it)m gu fyoren.
am 5ten £>ecfer. 1838.
To PRINCE WILLIAM OF LOWENSTEIN. (See p. 166.)
glorenj, 25flen fteferuar 1839.
£ i e 6 e r Sowenffcein . — @d)on langfi briingte eg mid) £)
etn $aar 3eiten gu fc^reiBcn unb !Dir fiir !Deinen lieben 23n
3. 3anuar gu tanfen, ben ic^ »on ©ot^a gugef^tcft er^ielt; atlein Du
t»ei§t, ba§ bie bej^en Sorfa^c immer am feltenften au^efii^rt tverben;
fo fomme id) benn re^t fpat.
21$, Sforeng, wo t$ nti(^ feit gwei 9)Zonaten auf^atte, tereintgt
fyerrlid)e ^unftf^ii^e in fit$ ; id) bin oft gang trunfen son ©enu§,
wenn id) au3 einer ber ©alerien lomme. Stud) bte ©egenb um gto?
reng t)at auferorbentlid)e 9lctge, 3d) ^aBe mid) bte 3eit ^er gang in
ben (Strubel ber ©efeCfdjaftcn gefiiirgt. 3d) |ate getangt, binirt,
fupptrt, ©omptimente gemad)t, mi d) unD m t r prafenttren lajfen, fran^
gojtfd) unb englifd) parlirt, atte $i)rafett iifcer bag SCetter erfd)5pft,
Den Ste&enSmtotgett gefpielt, furg "bonne mine a mauvais jeu"
gemad)t. l)u Jennfl metne ^)affton fiir bergleld)en, mu§t alfo meinc
S^aratter^arfe Bewunbern, bap id) midj nie entfd)ttlctgt ^abe, nie »or
5 lU)r be3 3Jlorgen3 in metne Sefyaufung guriitigefe^rt, ben (Earne?
»al^bed)er Hs auf ben Soben geleert ^abe*
SJletn Serweilen in ^loreng wirb nid)t me^r lange warren. 3d)
gef)e am 10. 9Jiarg nad) 3tom, wo id) 3 2Bod)en Hei6en werbe ; bann
eUe id) 9ZeapeI gu, unb »or bem Stntritt ber atlgugropen $t|je fud)e
id) wiener bie weipen ^aupter ber Sllpen im ©eftd)t gu ^aben.
mup id) Dir wieber 2ekwo^I fagen, liekr Sijwenflein.
To THE DUKE OF COBURG. (See pp. 167 et seqq.)
I7ten 2«arj 1839.
®efl:ertt SIBenb ftnb wir in bem welt&eriUJmten Sdom angefommen ;
id) fefete mid) fogletd) nteber, um £:tr 9lad)rid)t Jatton gu gefcen.
2Qtr Ijaben 4 £age gu unferer 9leife ^ier^er »erwenbet, ba wir
cinige merfwitrbige $un!te ber ©egenb nod) befa^en^ wie ben h*
328 Appendix C.
ritfymten SBajferfafl Bet £ernt, ber wiring gro§arttger ifi, alg man
trgenb etroag in ber (Sdjmeij ftet)t, ben (See Srafimene, bie S3riicfe
beg Sluguflug Bet -ftarni, ?c. ©eftern tjaBe id) nod) mit 5Rr. <Se9*
ntour einen <Spa£iergang burd) bie <Stra§en 9lom1g gemad)t; eg
faflt tnir entfejjlid) fritter mid) jit liBerjeugen, ba§ ic^ tn SRom Hn ;
e3 fonnte — einige pra^t»olle ^alcifte abgerec^net — ekn fo gut jebe
©tafct X)eutfc^Ianbs fein.
3<^ gtauBe, baf wir H<3 gegen ben 1* Sfyrit aUe3
^ier gefe^en ^akn trerben, «nb bann in ben erften £agen be^
flen Sonata unfere 9teife nacf) 9leapel fortfe^en fonnen » , *
9Iom, Sljlert 3Rcirj 1839.
, « » Sinen einjigen foment ne^me ic^ au3; bas ijl bcr, in
welc^em ber $apjt »om Salcon be3 SBaticanS |erab bent in 9Jiajyen
guftrbmenben 55olfe bie Senebiction crt^eilt; eg gefcfyiefyt unter ©locf^
engelaute, ^anonenbonner »on ber @ngefgburg unb ntilttairifdjer
3J?uftf. £)a5 ift ttjtrllt^ etne ergreifenbe (Scene. !£er 9teft ift gar
$it lang unb gcbetynt, unb giW gu fet)r bag 2Mlb Dont ©o^enbtenfl.
skm ttergangenen X)ienjlag ^abe i^ bie S^re ge^aBt feiner ^etligfeit
aufjuwarten. £)cr alte |>err war fe^r freunbltcf) unb ^oflic^. 3<i)
HieB fafl etne ^al&e (Stunbe Bet tf)tn in einer fleinen (StuBe einge^
fdjlojfen, Jt»ir untert)ielten ung auf Stalienifd) u'Ber ben Stnflup ber
2leg9ptier auf bie gried)tfd)e $unft, unb btefer auf bie romifd)e. £;er
5)apft be^auptete bie Struf!er fatten ben ©rtedjen atg SSorBUter ge^
bient. Srofe feiner SnfalliKIitat, wagte id) eg gu M)aupten, bap
biefeg SSoIf feine ^unft erft »on ben Sleg^pttern entnommen
am llten Slprtl 1839.
... 3d) Hn nun o^ngefd^r 5 2;age ^ter unb mit bent (Se^en
ber inneren Sfterfnwrbtgfeiten i6efd)dfttgt, beren 9leapel nid)t siete auf^
pmeifen t)at. 9)?an ift tyier auf bie fd)5ne 9latur angetciefen, bie
aud) >r»irflid) reijenb fein ntu§. 9lod) ^aBe id) fte nid)t red)t genie^
fien fonnen, ba it)r ber fublidje Slnftrid) ganj aBget)t; bie Serge unb
felBft ber SScfu» finb ntit (Sd)nee Bebeclt, unb £immel unb SKeer fo
grau unb bitter, ba§ ntan ftd) an bie S'lorbfee »erfe^t glauBt. 9Jtan
ewartet jttm 9Jtonbived)feI, ivetd)er in menigen 3:agen etntritt, bag
Sefte. SBorgeftern ()aBe id) mid) bent ^ijnige unb ber ^lonigin prd#
fenttren laffen. . . .
The Prince's Letters. 329
Sfettyet, ant 25ten Sfyril 1839.
9tef)me taufenb Danf fiir £einen Icitfen Srief, ber mid) &on !Deinen
SReifeplanen in $enntnt§ fe£t. 3d) reife morgen friifye Don Sfteapel
a&, unb toerbe nun <Sd)ritt fiir ©djrttt, tod) ofyne einen langeren
9lufentt)aft an irgenb einem Drte jn madjen, an ber SBcfifu'fte 3^
UenS fyinaufttjanbern, unb gebenfe bann gegen Snbe t>e^ nadsften 9^0=
nat3 in 3:urtn $u fein» 2Bie fet)r wtrto e<3 mid) freuen Di^d) aiif bent
Soben StatienS ober in ben ©djwctjer Sergen tuieber jn fc^en ! S5u
tDirjl auf jeben gall in 5^ailanb einen 33rlef »on mir sorfinben,
"poste restante," in t»eld)cm id) nteinen nofjeren 3teifeBerid)t <&*
flatten tt5erbe.
9JMn Slufent^aft in 9leapel tuar auferjl interejfant, id) |aBe i^n
aitd) red)t benu^t urn 2l(Ie3 ju fe^en. 2Ba3 mid) Befonberg angefpro^
d)en ^at ifl ^ompeji, ein burd) unb burd) merfwiirbiger 5)unft. SBon
ben umliegenben fd)onjlen S^eiten ber ©egenb ^abe id) ben 23efu»,
5)ajhtm, ©orrent unb bie 3nfet (Sapri kfud)t.
9>tfa, am 5ten 3Rai 1839.
3d) fd)rei6e biefe S^iten in ber ^offhung, bafj jte !Did) gefunb unb
wo^Ik^atten in SJiailanb trejfen mbgen, um Dir 0tap|>ort iiber unfe^
ren 9leifejuftanb afcjuftatten. 2Btr ^aben -fteapel am 26^en »er^
lajfen wnD finb birect nad) 9tom gegangen, t»o id) mid) 2 £aa,e auf^
^iett, ben e i n e n , um nod) eine aflgemetne lleberftd)t ber <Sad?en gu
befommen, bie id) tuafyrenb meine^ la'ngeren 5lufent^alt^ bafelijji im
Sinjelnen gefe^en ^atte ; ben a n b e r n , um £toolt gu fe^en, 2Bir
finb nun u'&er Siter6o unb ©iena birect i)ierf)er, o^ne ^(orenj gu be^
rii^ren. ^)eute tverbe id) {}ier Heiben, morgen nad) Sborno ge^en,
itnb tnieber ^ierl)er jurucffommen, bann i»erbe id) iiBer Succa nad)
©enua meinen 2Beg ne^men, too id) alfo gegen ben 9ten anlangen
jperbe. SJiein Slufent^alt bafelfcfl tuirb ftd) auf 2 Bis 3 £age te#
fd)ranfen, fo ba§ id) Beflimmt am 13ten bort aBreifen werbe. 2)ann
werbe id) auf ber @tra§e »on 9lo»t bem 5^orben jufleuern. @rt)alte
id) Bt3 ba^in tion 2)ir Beftimmte 9lad)rid)t au3 SKailanb, fo tterbe id)
mid) Beetlen bort einjutreffen. Jpbre id) nidjtd Beftimmtes, fo tcerbe
id) nad) 2:urin ge^en, um mid) bort einige £age aufgu^aften. Dann
wu'rbe id) u'ber ben Sem^arb unb Saufanne nad) Sent mid) wenben,
wnb !Did) bort auf atte gatte crwarten.
330 Appendix C.
To PRINCE WILLIAM OF LOWENSTEIN. (Seep. 172.)
flobitrg, SOflcn 3uni 1839.
2 i e b e r SBwenflein ,—£11 $ajt mtr burd) £eine lieben 3ete
ten aug 23erlin grope $reube gemad)t, benn id) fyatte redst lange gar
ntdjtg son 1)ir getjort. £)u bift alfo rootyl unb fcergniigt unb trdgfl
Xetn <Sd)irffaI, Serootyner ber SSerltner ©anbfteppe gu fcin, nut »tel
gaffting itnti ©ebulb ! ilcbrigeng fann id) mtr bcnfen, lap tie Uni^
»erjltat itnti bie »ielen au5gejeid)netcn unb fceriiijmtett banner, iweld^e
baran wirfen, etne reid)Iid)e Sntfd)abigung Meten. Sfienn id) bas
2Bort Untoerftta't au3fpred)e, unb mid) batei atter ber guten SSorfa^e
crinnere, bie id) bort mir »or^ielt, fo [d)dme id) mid) faft meine^ je^i^
gen 2eben3, weld)e^ bod) ^aupt|"ad)Iid) in einem §erumfd)Ieubern unb
(Somplimenten SOtodjen Befte^t. !Eod) mu§ id) geftefjen, ba§ biefe le^te
italienifd)e 3leife son gropem S'iu^en fiir mid) roar ; fie ^at nidjt fo^
roo^I im Sinjelnen, al3 burd) i^ren ©efammteinbrud1 auf mid) ge*
iutrft. SDlein ©eftd)t«frei3 J)at ftd) fafl itm bag £oppelte erroeitert
unb ba«3 rtd)tige Urttjeil roirb fe^r ba»on unterftii^t, gefe^en gu l^aben.
3talien ifl tmrflid) ein ^od)j^ interepnted Sanb unb unerfd)5pflid)e
DiieKe ber SBele^rung ; son bent ©emtfj jebod), ben man fid) »on
bort »erfprid)t, kfomntt man attf erorbentlid) roenig git foften. 2)a3
Sanb bleibt in irielen, sielen Sejie^itngen roett fjinter bent gttrM, n?a3
man ba»on erroartet. 2)aS ^lima, bie ©egenb, ba3 ^unftftrekn ftnb
X;inge, in benen man fid) fefyr itnangene^m getaufd)t fii^It.
9)iein 2efcen im ©anjen Jt»ar ^od)fl angene^m. Die ©efettfdjaft
eine3 fo ^bd)jl atts3gejeid)neten banned, t»ie beg §errn »on ©tocfmar,
roar mir fe^r tfyeuer unb wert^, bann begleitete mid) aud) ein junger.
(e^r liebengnju'rbiger Snglanber, 9J?r. ©e^mour, mit bent id) fefyr
wertraut ttturbe. Uebertyaupt ^errfd)te unter ung etne sotttge §ar^
monie, iua3 fo not|t»enbig ift, um bag Seben irgenb gentepen ju
!onnen»
2lm 21, 3uni feierten »ir ^ter Grnffg ©eBurtgtag, unb groar fei^
tten 21ften, an jt»eld)em er mu'nbtg rourbe. 3^) ^atte bie grope
greube, aud) am felben £age, burd) ein SJZtniftertalpatent DoUjd^rig
erfldrt gu werbeu, unb Hn nun ^)err itber mid) felbft, t»ag id) ^offe
ftetg unb in jeber Seaie^ung gu fein. 3« %vi$t btefeg Sretgntffeg
tjatten tuir ^ier grope gefte, an »eld)en bag ganje 2anb mit ttiel ^erj^
Iid)feit 3:^eil na^m.
2lm 13. werbe id) Srnfl nad) !Dregben kgletten unb ungefd^r 14
3:age bet t^m bleiben ; bann mttfj id) nad) einem mir big in ben £or>
tterijapten Drt, bag Itebengroiirbtge ^artgbab, tvo 55apa bie
The Prince's Letters. 331
unb fefjr wiinfdjt mid) urn ftd) 311 fjaBen. £offentlid) toirb
biefer gelbjug Big Sftitte Stuguftg Beenbet fein.
5)aj} id) mid) fetjr gefreut tyaBe, (Ernfl unb bag lieBe ^loBurg tweber
311 fetyen, fannft Tin S5ir t»ol)l benfen. £errn Sftatfy IjaBe id) aertjete
ratljet tuiebergefunben ; SBte^mann fcmb i<^ in ©enf, feet meiner
3:ante, ber ®ro§furftin, 2lc^ ! fonnte ic^ £;ir etnmal Mb irgenb wo
iiber ben $3eg rennen; e^ toiirbe mic^ fetjr freuen nur ein ^)aar
©tunben mit 25tr pfammen (ein 311 fbnnett, 3« bicfen ©ebanlen
»ertteft fd)»a|e ii^ Dtr ein $aar ©tititben iveg unb bebenfe nicfyt,
bap S)n nte^r gu tfyim t)aft al3 mein ©cfdjmter gu lefen ! Darum ein
b
furjer 2l^(^teb ! fiaffe Mb son Dir t)oren unb »ergif ntdjt
!Detnen, jc. w.
To CONCERT-MASTER SPAETH. (See -p. 175.)
fcefier §err Son^ ertm eifler, — <Bie werben
ben ©efyctmen Slffiflcngrotf glorf^ bte Ie|te ©enbung ber
33ettrage ju bem ©tngserein er^alten |akn, welc^e i(^ nod)
eintrteK
Jpewte fd)irfe id) 3^nen ben erfe^nten, tyeifjgelie&ten tyuid ber
funft son 23eet^o»en. Sr i»ar ^ier nur fhictoeife ju ^akn, nj
id) erfl na<^ Seipjig f^reiBen lajfen mitpte, barnnt er^alten @ie and)
bie -SRnfif alien erfl jeljt. 2)te an«gefe^ten Sn^ntmentalftimmen ftnb
bafcei unb bur^ einen glucfli^en Srrtfyum ber ^anblung bie <3ing^
fUmmen fogar boppelt. £)as ©anje lommt boi| t^eurer, alsJ ic^ es
3lnfang3 gtauBte, e^ »trb ftd) bie ©nmrne o^ngefa^r anf 60 ®ulten
telaufen; bag ^eigt, ba§ »ir mit unfren gonbs feine fe^r gre§en
Stcquifttionen tcerben nta^en !iinnen» Diefe ©antate fonnen @ie
nun ber 23iMtotfjef beg ©ing^ereinfi ein»erleiBen, nur ben $Iattter^
augjug itsiirbe id) mir ivieber ^uruiJerHtten, wenn bag Sonjert wi*
iikr fetn follte.
3d) melbe nti^ ju ber ©olo*23a^6timme in ber Santate, bie,
foenn jte auc^ nid)t fcebeutenb ifl, ntir bo<^ rcc^t tnterejfant erf^eint.
erf^eint. Qmi ©oprane gut ju Befe^en iuirb 3l>nen »ietleid)t etntge
^iii^e madjen. 3U be*- oBIigaten 55iolinftimne, bie auggejei^net
fd)im ifl, twirb ftc^ (£id)^orn fetjr gut eignen.
9iun leBen @ie »o^I, Befter fym Sonjertmetfler, tajfen ©ie ntir
bo^ nad) ^arlgBab einige ^a^ri^t u'Bcr bie $roBen beg ^panbet unb
9iencini jufommen*
Sntmer 3^ 3t)nen gewogncr
, am 23ficn Suit 1839.
332 Appendix C.
To BARON STOCKMAR. (See pp. 187, 193.)
3d) fdjreifee S^nen f)eute an etnem glucflid)ften £age meines £c^
tens unb tie freubtgfte 9tad)rid)t, bie id) 3^e« mittfyeilen fann . . .
(Sic ift fo gut unb freunblid) gegen mid), bap id) oft gar nid)t glau?
kn fann, ba§ mir fold)c ^>erjlid)fett wcrben foil. 3d) n?eip, <Sic
nefymen £t)eU an meinem ®lu<f, barum fdjiitte id) mein $er3 »or
3fyneit an$ ! . » « 9M)r unb ernfter lann id) 3^nen nid)t fdjreitcn,
baju Hn id) in biefem StugenBIid5 jn confuS; benn
»2)aa Slitge ftc^t ben £tmmel offen,
,,Sd f(|»tmmt t»a§ §crj in ©eligfeit."
SEBinbfor, 1C. Dftokr 1839.
S3eftct Jperr i>0n(Stot!ma r, — ^akn (Sic taufenb, tau?
fenb !Danf fiir %ljnn fo lieben, freunblid)en Srief. 3d) badjte mir,
@ie wiirben fceftimmt »ielen ^Int^eil an einem ©egenftanbe netsmen,
ber fiir mid) fo nridjtia, i|l, ben (Sic sorftereiteten. 3I« SSoran^fage
^at eingetroffen ; ber © » e n t ^at itns uberrafd)t, efye iuir i|n er^
marten fonnten unb nun tt)ut e3 mir boppelt leib, ba§ id) ben lejsten
©ommer, ben id) nod) $u »ielen nu^ltd)en Sortereitungen tyatte an^
ivenben fonnen, burd) »ertuanbtfd)aftUd)e 9luclftd)ten unb bie j»iber?
fpred)enbe 2lnfid)t berer, bie auf bie Sintfyeilung meine^ Seben^ tcirf?
ten, »erloren ^a6e. 3^e freunbfd)aftlid)en, tnofyfajoKenben 0tat^=
fd)Iage gur warren SBegriinbung meine^ aulunfrtgen ©Iucf3 ^ak id)
red)t k^ergigt unb fte fttmmen gan^ mit ben ©runbfa^en u'frerein, bie
id) im ©tillen mir barii&er gemad)t I)abe. Sine $erfbnlid)feit,
ein S J a r a f t e r , ber bie 2ld>tung, bie SieBe unb ba^ SSertrauen
ber Jlontgin unb ber Nation ermerft, mu^ bie ©runblage ber (Stellung
fein. 3^ne ^erfonlidjleit fcu'rgt fiir bie ©eftnnung, bie ben
lungen ju ©runbe Itegt, unb follten aud) SKipgriffe gefd)e^en, fo
ben fie Icidjter jener 5)erfonlid)feit gu gute ge|alten, aid oft bie
artigfien fdjbnften Unterne^mungen eines 9J?annefi unterftii^t tterben,
gu bent man Sertrauen gu faffen nid)t im ©tanbe ijL S3in id) alfo
ein ebler Su'rft im eig entHd)jlen ©inne befi 2Bor^
t e . d , tt>ie <Sie mir gurufen, fo iwrb mir tefonnene unb Huge £ante
lungeweife um fo leid)ter unb beren Stefultate um fo fegenSreidjer.
3d) iwitt ben 9ftutl) nid)t jtnlen Iaj]en, mit rraftigem 25orfa^ unb
ivatjrcm (Sifer fann e3 nid^t fet)Ien in Stttem ebel^ mannlid), fiirftlid)
The Princes Letters. 333
gu btetben. Qum £anbeln bebarf eg erft guten 3tatfyeg, ben <Bie mir
am beften geben fonnten, wenn @te ftd) entfdjtiefjen wollten bag erfte
3aljr wenigfteng meineg £ierfeing, %$n 3ett mir git opfenu
3d) tyabe S^nen nod) fo fciel 311 fagen unb mufj bod) je|3t fdjliefjen,
ba fcer Curler ntd^t liinger faumen fann, 3d) |offe bann munbltd)
in 2Bie3kt>en me|r mit 3^«en mid) fcaritber gu unter^alten.
3n fcer ^offnung <Sie bann tort red)t «?o^I unb gefunb gu fmben,
Wettc id)
3^v treuer
Kflert
SBtnbfor, G. 5Jo»emkr 1839,
mu§ id) 3^« f^gett/ was id) bem DnM gu
fd)reikn tiergap : ba§ eg tiad) unfrer Slbreifc burd)aus not|t»ent>ig fein
inirt), eine ^itrierfette gtt>ifd)en ^oturg, 2Bie^aben, S3riijyel, Sonbon
gu organifiren, itm im ©tanbe gu fein, rafd), oft unb |ld)er fdjretBen
gu fonnen. 3rt) Htte, (pred)en <3ie mit bem Dufel baritber.
To THE DOWAGER-DUCHESS OF GOTHA. (See pp. 196,
Siebe ©ropmama , — 3$ gaubre inbem id) bie geber ergreife,
ba id) fcefitrd)ten mu§, baf , wag id) Dir gu fageu im 33egriffe fte^e,
gugleid) aud) eincn ®ebanfeu in !Dir errege, ber fdjmergttd) fein mu^,
unb ad)! eg mir aud) fo fetjr fjh namlid) ben ber 2:rennung. !Der
©egenjlanb, ber in ber lejjten 3eit wufre Slufmerffamfeit auf fid) gego^
gen t)atte, i|l gum @d)Iujfe gefommen,
!I)ie ^onigin fyat mid^ cor me^reren 3^agen gang prittatim gu ftd)
fommen lafjen, unb erflarte mir in einem lua^ren Srguffc son ^erg=
Iid)!eit unb Siebe, id) ^aBe tljr gangeg §erg gemonnen, unb id) lonne
fte ubergludlid) mad)en, wenn id) i^r bag D)>fer bringen tuotle, mit
i^r mein Seben gu 4eilen, Jenn alg ein Dpfer fa^e fte eg an ; bag
Stngige wag fie beforgt mad)te, ware, baf fte meiner nid)t irert^ ware.
£ie freubtge greimut^igfeit mit ber fte mir bie§ fagte, ^at mid) hrirtV
ltd) gang begaubert unb fyingerijfen, id) fonnte nid)t anberg alg . i|r
beibc £a'nbe reid)en, bie fte mit 3artlid)feit an ftd) rt§,
@ie ift wirllid) gar gut unb ttebengwitrbtg, unb id) bin fefl itber^
geitgt, ber ^tmmel |at mid) in feine fd)Ied)ten ^)anbe gegeben unb twr
werben glitdlid) gufammen fein.
334 Appendix G.
<5ett jenem SlugenWitfe tijut Victoria atfeg, foag fte mir nur an
ben 2htgen afcfekn fann, unb nrir unterfjatten ung ttiel u&er tie 3u-
funft, bie fte mir fo glMUd) gu mad)en »erfprid)t alg nur mbgtid).
2td) bie 3u!unft! ^ngt fie^t au(^ fcm ^ugenMirf, wo id) »on
ber liefren, liefren £eimatt), t»o tc^ »on £>ir Slbf^ieb nc^men mu§.
£>aran barf ic^ gar nic^t benfen, o^ne baf einc tiefe SBetymittf) mic^
ergretft.
(Sc^on am 15ten DctoBer gef^at) ea ba§ 35. mir bie Srflarung
madjte, unb bi<5 je^t ^ak id) angeflanben 2)ir eg mitjuttjeilen, bod)
tt>as fann bag ©aumen ^elfen ?
£er 3ettpun!t unferer Sermii^Iung Itegt fd)on na^e; bie
wnb bie ^Jtinifier jDiinfd)en burdjau^ bie erflen Xage be^
n?a3 id) aud) nad) ben »on i^nen angegebenen ©riinben
mufjte. 2Bir ^afcen barum unfre 2l&reife auf ben I4ten biefe^ feftge
fe^t, um nod) fo»iel 3ett al5 mbgtid) gu §aufe gu geiptnnen.
SBtr fofgen barum biefem S3riefe btd)t auf ber gerfe.
iOietne ^ieftge ©teKung wirb baburd) fe^r angene^m, baf id) atle
mir kantragten Sttel afcgelet)nt fyafce, id) Bet)alte meinen Seamen imb
HetBe tt>a^ id) it»ar. £)ie{3 luirb mid) fe^r felt»ftftanbig erfjalten, unb
mad)t es mir aud) letd}t, ^ie unb ba rafd) etnen ©prung nad) ber £ei*
mat^ gu mad)en, um atte t^euren SSerwanbten gu fe|en» S5od) ift eg
fd)merglid) ein iD'Jeer gi»ifd)en fid) gu tciffen.
9tun ne^me id) tvieber 2tbfd)ieb »on Dir, Victoria fdjreiBt ^tr
felfcft, um ;Dtr i^ren 2i?unfd) gu erlennen gu gefcen,
3d) Mtte gu einem fo jvtd)tigen unb entfd)etbenben (Sdjritte metneg
Cebeng um TJeinen grof5mutterlid)en <Segen, ber mir ein £ali3man
fein ivirb gegen aUe ©tu'mte, bie bie 3ufttnft mir nod) »orkl)aften
mag. Sefre tuot)I, liek ©ropmutter, unb entgie^e mtr S)eine
nidjt.
£)er ^)immel ivirb alteg gut madjen.
Stebe ©rofmam a — 2Bie je|r bandar Mn id) £>tr fiir
S)einen liefcen gnabigen 33rief, ben id) geflern erl)ielt, id) mupte i^n
me^rmaU burd)Iefen um ja red)t bie ^errttd)en ©efinnungen gang gu
faffen bie £11 barin au3fprid)fl.
3ebe« 2Bort ijt ein 2lugflup 2)eine3 liekn S^arafterS. ®eii?ip,
Itek ©ro^mama, bie tfoure ^peimat^ bag t^eure Saterlanb, n?trt>
mir tmtner wert^ fein, unb mein ^erj wirb tt)tn ein Sreunb fein, ber
The Prince's Letters. 335
mid) oft baran erinnern ivirb. giir bag SBofyt metnea gufu'nftigen
neuen 33aterlanbe3 gn leben, fid) aufguopfern, fd)Ue£t ia nid)t aus,
bent Sanbe ftofyl 3U tfyun, son bcm man felbft fo toiele 3Bo|Itf)aten
empfangen l)at. 3$ tterbe neben unermublid)em ©treben unb 2Ir^
fatten fiir bas Sanb, Jem id) in 3«^nft ange^bren foil, itnb n?o id)
ju einer ^o^er ©tetlung berufcn bin, ntd)t auftybren, ein treucr
X)eutfd)er, Jlobnrger, ©ot^anerju fetn. Uie 2:ren^
nung nrirb mtr nod) red)t tt»e^ t^un. 3^) freue nttd) red)t aitf bie
5)aar Sage, bie id) nod) im ©tanbe fein tnerbe, bei X)ir giijubringen,
e^ ftnb nur toenige, aber wir juotten fie red)t geniejjen. . . .
'Seinen treuen SnM,
Gilbert.
1839.
To PRINCE WILLIAM OF LOWENSTEIN. (See p. 201.)
Ctcn Scccmkr 1839.
Steber Sbwenflein — Dbgtetd) id) »on einem 2Suft »on
©efd)aften unb 2lrbeiten atler 2lrt iiberfja'uft bin, fo mu§ id) bod) ein
paar SJiinuten gu eriibrigen fud)en, urn X)ir, einem treuen grewtbe,
perfonlid) ^unbe »on meinem (&IM jit geben. 3^) bin alfo JuirHid)
Srdutigam wnb foil fdjon gegen ben 4ten gebruar mit ber, bte id)
Hebe, mid) serbunben fe^en. T)u toeipt, lt»ie bie ©adjen ftanben, als
id) T)id) ple^t ^ier fa1^. (Seitbem »erftnfterte ftd) ber &immel immer
met)r. Die ^iJnigin erflarte meinem Onfel »on Selgien, fie tt>unfd)e,
ba^ bie §Bert)anbIungen at3 abgebrod)en betrad)tet fein mod)ten, unb
»or 4 3«^en tverbe file an gar feine Serbinbung benfen, 3^) ging
rut)ig unb mit bent feften 33orfa^ Ijinu'ber, jn erfia'ren, ba§ aud) id) bes
Jpinge^altenwerben^ miiDe mid) »on ber <Sad)e ganj juriicfjie^en tt>iirbe.
i)od) bie5 war nid)t im Statue ber ©otter befd)Iojj"en, benn fd)on am
2ten Sage nad) unfrer Stntunft gelangten bie freunblid)ften $bemon=
ftrationen an midj, unb 2 Sage barauf tt>arb id) im ©e^eim gn einer
^rbataubienj befd)ieben, in t»eld)cr mir bte ^onigin §anb unb Jperj
anbot. 9htn beturfte e3 be5 ftrengften ©etyeimniffeS, nur Srnjl tuu^tc
barum ; er^ bei nnferer 2lbrcife burfte bie SSerlobung ber Gutter mit*
getfjeilt werben.
3d) gtaube f e I) r gturftid) ju tverben, benn SSictorta beft^t aUe bie
336 Appendix G.
£igenfd)aften, tie cine gIMidje £au3lid)feit tterMrgen, unt fd)eint
mir mit ganger (Seele gugettjan. 9Mn fiinfttges SooS ifl |od) unt
glanjent, tod) and) reidjlid) mit X;ornen fcefcjjt. 2ln -ftampfen nrirt
es nid)t fefylen, fd)on ter Sftonat SJiarj f&eint ©titrme ju ermatten.
I^er 2ltfd)iet> »on fcer Jpeimat^ »on iem liefcen ^lofcurg, »on fo »ielen
greunben wirb mir red)t fd)iver. SSann tnerte id) X)id) t»iet)erfe§en,
Hefcer 2otuenftein?
3d) Mtte, geige bicfcn 25rief 9liemanben, id) fd)ricB 2)ir einige De^
tails, awf Debt 33erfd)ttriegen^ett red)nent>, ba id) £)eine greitnbfdjaft
fenne, Sebe mm wofyl wnD benfe juiveilen an £einen
Sllbcrt
To THE DUKE OF COBURG. (See p. 271.)
SBitcfing^m palace, 4ten Sum.
2Bir [fob geftern »on filaremont jitrudgefommen, tro t»tr
ci 2age gukad;ten. SBir gtngen bie^mal ba^in urn ganj au^ ter
311 ken fceriiljmten 5»ferberennen »on Spfom fommen ju fonnen,
tic and) wirfftd) (c^r interej|ant waren. 2)ie SJiajfe ter anwefenten
9Henfd)en irurte auf tin* HS jttjei|untert Saufent gefd)a^t. SBir
luittten mit grofiem (Ent^ujla^mit3 unt Jperglid)!eit empfangen. 3d)
ritt ctwas in ter SOfajfe ^eritm, um ein^elne ^ferte gu fe^en, fcin akr
fajl »on ter anfiromenten ?OZenge ertrMt wovten.
3d) I>abe rid)tig nod) gu tern Meeting twegen teS <Sda»en^antet3
ge^en mitJTen, nnt meine SHete ijl mit gro§em StppIanS aufgenom^
men tuorten, unt fd)eint einen guten Sffect in £onton gemad)t su
3 telojnt mid) f)tnreid)ent fiir tie Stngfl unt Seftommen^eit,
tie id) iibewinten mufjte, e^e id) tie Slete kginnen lonnte, tie id)
(elljjl aitsgearfceitet unt tann au^tventig gelernt t)atte. !£enn cS ift
imnter fd)tt>er in einer fremten ©pradje »or 5-6000 gefpannten 3^
t)orern fpred)en gu miiffen.
Der |>arf am $ alaft, »un tern tit fprid)ft, ifl trirflid) fe^r ange*
itel)m, wnt id) ^afce it)n npd) mit atlerl)ant $|iercn unt fettfamcn
The Prince's Letters. 337
To THE DOWAGER DUCHESS OF GOTHA. (See p. 273.)
Stefce © r o p m a m a. — 3d) fceeite mid), £>ir son einem S»e?
nement 9lad)rid)t ju gefcen, bad £tr »ietteid)t fonft auf unredjte SBeife
fcerid)tet wirb, bad mein unb Sictoria'd Sefcen gefafyrbete, bent wir
afcer, burd) bie wadjenbe £anb ber Sorfefjung gefdjujjt, entgangen
finb. 2Btr fufjren namltd) gejtern SIBenb urn 6 tlfyr and, itm ber
£ante $ent einen 23efud) imb eine 3:our itm ben Syfit ^)arf gu mac^en.
3Bir fu^ren in einer fletnen engen £5rofcfyfe. 3^ f<*P re^tg, Victoria
Iinfi3. 2ltS wir laum 100 ©cfyritte »om 5)alaft gefommen toaren,
bemerfte i«^ nekn mir auf bent ^upwege einen unanfe^nli^en fleinen
SSftenfcfyen etwas gegen un3 ^altenb, imb nocfy e^e \§ itnterfcbetben
fonnte, wad e3 war, ftet em @(^u§; ber nnd beibe faffc BetauBte, fo
^arf war er, unb nur faitm anf 6 <Sd)ritte auf und gefenert. Sic?
toria ^atte ft^ gerabe linld nacfy einem 5)ferbe wmgefe^en, begriff
bantm gar nidit warum i|r bie Dtyren fo llangen, weit fte in ber
gro§en ^d^e laum unterfc|eiben fonnte, ba§ es bie golge eined
@c^u|fe8 war. $)ie ^)ferbe erf^racfen nnb ber 2Bagen ^telt barum
an. 3c^ ergriff SSictorta^ ^>dnbe unb fragte fie, oB ber ©c^red i()r
nid)t gef^abet ^afee; attein fie ladjte u'kr ben 55orfatt.
!Earauf fat) i<i) mic^ wieber nac^ bent SDIenfc^en urn, ber noc^ auf
berfelfcen ©tette fianb mit »erfd)rdnften Slrmen, in ieber §anb ein
$MfloI, unb in einer f)bd)jt affecttrten tt)eatraltfc^en ©tettung, fo ba§ ed
mic^ la^erte. 2luf einmal gielt er wieber unb fdjtegt jum jweiten
SI'Jale; biepmat fa^ au^ Victoria ben ©c^up nub Mctte jlt| rafcfy,
»on mir niebergejogen* !Die $ugel mup grabe u'ber i^rem $opfe
^ingeflogen fein, na^ ber ©tcttc 311 urt^eilen, wo man fte in einer
gegeniifeerfletyenben SWauer flecten fanb. T)ie 9)tenge fieute, bie urn
imS unb um ben 9ftenf(fyen ^erum flanben unb Ms ie^t »or @(^recf
scrjletnert bie (Sadje mitangefe^en fatten, ftelen nun ii&er i^n |er.
3d) rief bent $oftillion 3U fortjufa^ren unb wir langten glutfltd) ki
ber £ante an, unb maditen nod) »on bort aud eine Heine (Spajierfafyrt
burd) bie ^)ar!0, tljelte um Victoria etwad an bie Suft gu brtngen,
tkild aud) um bent 5)uHifum gu geigen, bap wir baburd) nid)t ailed
33ertrauen ju tfjm ioerloren fyaben.
Jpeute Hn id) red)t mu'be unb caput son ben ttieten Sefud)en, ^ra^
gen unb 23efd)reifcungen. !Du mupt barum tierjet^en, wenn id) fyier
fdjltepe unb £>ir nur meinen Danf fur £)einen Srtef fage, ben id)
efan cr^alten ^aBe, aber nod) nid)t lefen fonnte.
P
338 Appendix C.
Sfteine Jpauptforge foar, bajj ber ©direct Victoria in ifyrem
3uftanbe f^aben mbcbte. @ie ift jebod) re^t t»of)t, i^ auc^.
3c^ banfe ©ott bem Slttma^ttgen fiir fetnen ©cfyufj !
2)etn treuer Snfel,
(gej.)
SucEing^am palace, ben 11* 3uni 1840.
Dw Uefcelt^ater ^ei§t (Sb to arb Dyforb, tmb ijl 17
aft, eln ^ettner in cinem f^k^ten SBirt^tjaufe, ni(^t »errucft, unb
nt§ig unb gefapt.
Members of Privy Council present at the Declaration. 339
APPENDIX D.
LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL PRESENT AT
THE DECLARATION.
[Those marked with an asterisk are since dead.]
Duke of Cambridge.*
Archbishop of Canterbury.*
Lord Chancellor (Earl of
Cottenham).*
Lord President (Lord Lans-
downe).*
Lord Privy Seal (Lord Clar-
endon).
Duke of Norfolk.*
Devonshire.*
Montrose.
Wellington.*
Marquis of Salisbury.
Anglesey.*
Normanby.*
Lord Chamberlain (Lord Ux-
bridge).
Earl of Surrey.*
Albemarle.*
Jersey.*
Enroll*
Tankerville.*
Minto.*
Howe.
Amherst.*
Durham.*
Ripon.*
Viscount Castlereagh.
Strangford.*
Palmerston.*
Melbourne.*
Viscount Beresford.*
Ebrington.*
Lord John Russell.
Burghersh.*
Willoughby d'Eresby.*
Holland.*
Ellenborough.
Hill*
Bexley.'
Lord Bloomfield.*
Wharncliffe.*
Lyndhurst.*
Cowley.*
Wynford.*
Brougham.
Denman.*
Abinger.*
Ashburton.*
Hatherton.*
Langdale.*
Monteagle.*
Bishop of London.*
The Speaker.*
Hon. J. P. Courteney.*
H. Pierrepoint*
Sir R. Peel.*
G. Ouseley.*
Mr. Goulburn.*
Lord C. J. Tyndal.*
Sir W. Alexander.*
G. Cockburn.*
340
Appendix E.
Mr. S. Lushington.
Herries.*
The Vice-Chancellor.*
Sir G. Murray.*
H. Hardinge.*
R. Adair.*
B. Taylor.*
Hon. J. Erskine.*
Sir Hyde Earl.*
J. Hobhouse.
Mr. Tennyson d'Eyncourt.*
E. Ellice *
Baron Parke.*
Sir A. Johnstone.*
Mr. Justice Bosanquet.*
Sir E. Knatchbull.*
Mr. Planta.*
Wm. Peel *
Labouchere.
Hon. G. Byng.
Dr. Lushington.
Sir G. Grey.
Sir F. Baring (Chancellor of
the Exchequer).
Mr. Macaulay.*
APPENDIX E.
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL NOTICE OF THE CEREMONIAL
TO BE OBSERVED IN MAKING THE DECLARATION, AND
OF THE DECLARATION ITSELF.
" Coburg, 8 Dec., 1839.
" Divine service in the Court Chapel, at which the reigning
duke and duchess, Prince Albert, the whole court, the states,
the chief authorities of the duchy of Coburg and Gotha, and
all persons belonging to the nobility, will be present at four
o'clock. The court, and the persons on a visit to the duke,
the ministers, etc., etc., all in full dress, will assemble in the
large drawing-room — the ladies in the room. They
will then proceed to the throne-room, and take their several
places ; and, when every thing is ready, the two chief officers
of the court, the grand marshal and the master of the house-
hold, will proceed to the apartments of the duke and duchess,
and conduct them, with Prince Albert, to the throne-room."
Having all taken the seats appointed for them, " the minister
of state will proclaim the happy event as follows :
" DECLARATION.
" His serene highness the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg
and Gotha, our gracious duke and master, fully convinced of
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 341
the sincere interest his faithful subjects always take in any
events concerning H. S. H.'s house, finds it necessary to as-
semble the nobles of the land, as well as the chief authorities
and persons in office, in order to communicate to them the
most joyful news of the betrothal of his second son, H. S. H.
Prince Albert, to her most gracious majesty the Queen of
Great Britain and Ireland.
" H. S. H. feels the greatest satisfaction in expressing at the
same time his sincere conviction that, considering her Maj-
esty's noble qualities, both of heart and mind, this alliance will,
under the protection of Divine Providence, prove a real hap-
piness to his beloved son, who will henceforward devote his
whole life to his new country, but who, though separated from
his native land, will preserve for it his present feelings of at-
tachment and affection."
. " As soon as the proclamation shall have been made, the
cannon ofthe fortress will announce the same to the town and
country.
" Prince Albert will then receive the congratulations of all
present.
" The ceremony being concluded, their serene highnesses
will proceed in procession to the Giants' Hall, where having
taken their seats, the chaplain will say grace.
" In the course ofthe dinner, the Queen and Prince Albert's
healths will be first drunk, then those of the duke and duch-
ess. In the evening, Cherubini's opera, Le Deux Journees,
will be performed."
APPENDIX R
CELEBRATION OF HER MAJESTY'S MARRIAGE WITH HIS
ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE ALBERT OF SAXE-COBURG
AND GOTHA.
(From the " Times'1 of February u, 1840.^)
THIS most important and national event took place yester-
day at noon, at the Chapel Royal, St. James's ; and since the
marriage of her royal highness, the late Princess Charlotte of
342 Appendix F.
Wales, there has been no occurrence connected with the royal
family of England which excited so great an interest. It was
known throughout the metropolis in the course of the last week
that the celebration of the marriage would take place at noon,
instead of an advanced hour of the evening, as was heretofore
the custom with respect to royal marriages. The knowledge
of this fact brought many, many thousands from all sides of
London into the Park at an early hour. Never did St. James's
Park present such an extraordinary display — never was such
an immense multitude assembled there since the rejoicings at
the visit of the allied sovereigns in 1814. As early as nine
o'clock considerable numbers had arrived in order to secure
a good place from which to see the royal cortege pass from
Buckingham Palace to St. James's. By that hour the vicinity
of Buckingham Palace, and all the avenues leading to both
palaces, were thronged. As the day wore on to noon, the as-
semblage between the back of Carlton Terrace and the foot
of Constitution Hill had increased to a dense mass of'very
many thousands, through which it was 'difficult to keep open
the carriage-way for that portion of the company who had the
privilege of the entree. The very lowering aspect of the
weather seemed to have no terrors for the visitors, male and
female, young and old, who continued to arrive in masses, by
which the space already described became, before eleven
o'clock, thronged to most distressing pressure. Nor was this
pressure diminished to any important extent by the smart
showers which came down at intervals. As each successive
group of visitors arrived, they of course thickened the broad
line of crowd at each side of the carriage-way between the two
palaces. Those whose stations were in the rear of this line
soon got an opportunity of over-looking those in front by hir-
ing standing-room on some one of the many hundred chairs,
tables, or benches, which were let out at various prices, from
is. 6d. to 5.?. each person. Many who could not afford, or
would not pay for such a luxury, succeeded in getting on the
branches of the trees as well out of as in the line of the ex-
pected procession. The numbers who sought these command-
ing positions were so great in some of the trees that the branch-
es gave way, and the parties came, not immediately to the
ground, but on the heads and shoulders of the dense masses
beneath them. We did not hear, however, that any persons
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 343
were seriously hurt by those accidents. Many of them excit-
ed roars of laughter, from the efforts of those who had resorted
to them to keep their places on the falling branches, or to se-
cure more firm positions on the boughs above them. In the,
course of the morning the crowds in that part of the Park sit-
uate between the back of Carlton Terrace and Marlborough
House were much amused by a marrow-bone and cleaver con-
cert, got up in honor of the royal nuptials, and we must do
justice to those engaged by saying that the effect of this rude
music was by no means disagreeable. Soon after the firing
of the guns, announcing the most important part of the cere-
monial, the placing the ring on her Majesty's finger, the whole
mass of the visitors who had not obtained fixed stands rushed
almost simultaneously toward Buckingham Palace, in order to
have a view of her Majesty and the Prince on their return.
The pressure here became so great that it required the united
and incessant efforts of the police and the Horse Guards Blue
to keep the carriage-way open. The necessary but disagree-
able part of their duty was performed with much good temper,
and in general was received with good humor even by those
who appeared to suffer a little from it. The police regulations
in this part of the Park, and, indeed, in every part that we had
an opportunity of observing, were admirably well arranged by
the Commissioners Rowan and Mayne, and their directions
were carried out by the force-officers and men under their com-
mand with great judgment and good temper. They had in
some parts of the line an arduous and difficult task to perform ;
but we think that a great deal of their labor might have been
saved by the erection of a strong barricade on each side of the
line from Buckingham Palace to St. James's.
BUCKINGHAM PALACE (INTERIOR).
The officers of the household and the attendants on her
Majesty began to arrive at Buckingham Palace about half past
ten o'clock. The Earl of Uxbridge, the Earl of Belfast, the
Earl of Surrey, the Earl of Albemarle, Colonel Cavendish,
Lord Alfred Paget, Sir George Anson, the lord in waiting,
ladies in waiting, maids of honor, bedchamber women, gen-
tlemen ushers, etc., were all assembled at eleven o'clock.
After some little time had elapsed, the ladies of her Majesty's
344 Appendix F.
suite were summoned by the master of the horse, and handed
into four of the royal carriages by Colonel Cavendish (clerk
marshal) and Lord Alfred Paget, and dispatched to St. James's
Palace.
At half past eleven the six gentlemen composing the foreign
suites of his Royal Highness Prince Albert and the Duke of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha mustered in the grand hall. They ap-
peared in dark blue or green uniforms, and three of them took
their departure in a royal carriage for St. James's, accompa-
nied by two gentlemen ushers of the Queen's household, to be
in readiness to receive Prince Albert.
At a quarter to twelve, the royal carriages having returned,
notice was given to the royal bridegroom that all was in read-
iness for his departure. The Prince immediately quitted the
private apartments of the palace, and passed through the state
rooms, into which a very few spectators were admitted. His
Royal Highness was dressed in the uniform of a British field-
marshal, and wore no other decoration than the insignia of
the Order of the Garter, viz., the collar, with the George ap-
pended, set in precious stones, the star of the order set in dia-
monds, and the Garter itself, embroidered in diamonds, round
his knee. The Prince was supported on one side by his fa-
ther, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and his brother, the
hereditary prince. The duke was dressed in a dark green
uniform, turned up with red, with military boots similar to those
worn by the Life Guards. His serene highness wore the col-
lar of the Order of the Garter, and the Star, and the Star of
the Order of Coburg-Gotha. Prince Ernest wore a light blue
cavalry uniform, with silver appointments, carrying a light hel-
met in his hand. His serene highness wore the insignia of a
Grand Cross of an Order of Knighthood. His Royal High-
ness Prince Albert was preceded by the lord chamberlain, the
vice-chamberlain, the treasurer and controller of the house-
hold, Lord Torrington (who wore the insignia of a Grand Cross
of the Order of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, with which he had been
lately invested), the clerk marshal, equerries, gentlemen ush-
ers, etc., the remaining portion of the foreign suite bringing
up the rear. On descending the grand staircase, the favored
few occupying the grand hall behind the Yeoman Guard re-
ceived the prince with a loud clapping of hands, which his
Royal Highness acknowledged in the most gracious manner.
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 345
Indeed, to a group of ladies stationed close to the entrance,
who were testifying their satisfaction, the Prince made his ac-
knowledgments with an air of the most courteous gallantry.
The Prince entered the carriage amid the sound of trumpets,
the lowering of colors, the presenting of arms, and all the
honors paid to the Queen herself. His Royal Highness, with
his father and brother, occupied one carriage, and the attend-
ants two other royal carriages. A squadron of Life Guards
escorted the Prince to St. James's Palace. On the return of
the lord chamberlain six of the royal carriages were assem-
bled, and his lordship informed her Majesty that all was ready.
The Queen then left her apartment, leaning on the arm of
the Earl of Uxbridge as lord chamberlain, supported by the
Duchess of Kent, and followed by a page of honor. Her
Majesty was preceded by the Earl of Belfast, the Earl of Sur-
rey, Lord Torrington, the Earl of Albemarle, Colonel Caven-
dish, Sir George Anson, Lord Alfred Paget, Mr. Byng, and
several other officers of the household. Her Majesty carried
her train over her arm.* The royal bride was greeted with
loud acclamations on descending to the grand hall, but her
eye was bent principally on the ground, and a hurried glance
around, and a slight inclination of the head, was all the ac-
knowledgment returned. Her Majesty wore no diamonds on
her head, nothing but a simple wreath of orange-blossoms.
The magnificent veil did not cover her face, but hung down
on each shoulder. A pair of very large diamond earrings, a
diamond necklace, and the insignia of the Order of the Gar-
ter,! were the principal ornaments worn by the Queen.
The Duchess of Kent and the Duchess of Sutherland rode
in the same carriage with her Majesty, and the royal cortege
left the Palace at a slow pace, under a strong escort of the
Household Cavalry.
BUCKINGHAM PALACE (EXTERIOR).
This morning, at an early hour, every public approach to
the Palace was crowded by numbers of her Majesty's loyal
subjects, anxious to obtain, if possible, a view of the bridal
procession, and testify by their vociferous applause their per-
fect commendation of her Majesty's choice of a Royal Con-
* A mistake : she did not. t She wore the collar.
P2
346 Appendix F.
sort. The court in front .of the Palace was occupied by the
band of the Regiment of Blues, and one or two companies
of the Grenadier Guards, and the whole of the line thence to
the garden-entrance of St. James's Palace was lined with
Horse Guards and a strong corps of the police. The imme-
diate road for the procession was kept clear with great diffi-
culty, so numerous were the attempts from the pressure with-
out to break in on the line, and secure a position where a
sight of the royal pair might be better had. The police, how-
ever, notwithstanding these ebullitions of " popular feeling,"
conducted themselves with great temper, and maintained or-
der without any violent exercise of their supreme authority.
Anxiously did the assembled multitude look for some signal
of her Majesty's departure from Buckingham Palace, and as
carriage after carriage rolled down the Mall, carrying some
of the honored spectators to the chapel, the more impatient
they became for the passing of the procession. Twelve
o'clock at length arrived, and his Royal Highness Prince Al-
bert, attended by a small escort of Horse Guards, and accom-
panied by his father, fhe Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,
and his brother, the hereditary prince, then left the Palace
and proceeded to St. James's ; but, from the windows of the
carriages being closed, the royal party were only partially
recognized, and passed along with but slight applause. At
a quarter past twelve, however, the band in front of the Pal-
ace struck up the national air of " God save the Queen," and
by the tremendous shouts which resounded through the Park,
it was proclaimed that her Majesty had entered her carriage
and was then proceeding to St. James's to plight her troth to
his Royal Highness Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
As her Majesty passed down the line she was most enthusi-
astically cheered, and appeared highly gratified by the loyalty
which her subjects expressed, one or two ludicrous incidents
among the crowd also exciting her smile ; but her counte-
nance was extremely pale, and appeared to betoken consid-
erable anxiety. The cortege of her Majesty was attended by
a full guard of honor, but the carriages were drawn by only
two horses each, and without the rich caparison which they
usually wear on state occasions. The order of the carriages
was thus :
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 347
FIRST CAEEIAGE.
Two Gentlemen Ushers.
Exon of the Yeomen of the Guard.
Groom of the Robes.
SECOND CARRIAGE.
Equerry in Waiting, Hon. C. Grey.
Two Pages of Honor.
Groom in Waiting, Hon. Major Keppel.
THIRD CARRIAGE.
Clerk Marshal, Hon. H. F. Cavendish.
Vice-Chamberlain, Earl of Belfast.
Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir H.Wheatley.
Controller of the Household, Right Hon. G. Stevens Byng.
FOURTH CARRIAGE.
Bedchamber Woman in Waiting.
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, Earl of Ilchester.
Master of the Buckhounds, Lord Kinnaird.
Treasurer of the Household, Earl of Surrey.
FIFTH CARRIAGE.
Maid of Honor in Waiting.
Duchess of Kent's Lady in Waiting, Lady Charlotte Dnndas.
Gold Stick, Lord Hill.
Lord in Waiting, Viscount Torrington.
SIXTH CARRIAGE.
Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting.
Master of the Horse, Earl of Albemarle.
Lord Steward, Earl of Errol.
Lord Chamberlain, Earl of Uxbridge.
SEVENTH CARRIAGE.
THE QUEEN.
The Duchess of Kent.
Mistress of the Robes, Duchess of Sutherland.
By about ten minutes past twelve o'clock the whole of
these carriages, with their respective occupants, had reached
ST. JAMES'S PALACE.
THE THRONE-ROOM.
On the arrival of the Queen at St. James's Palace, her Maj-
esty was conducted to her closet, immediately behind the
throne-room, where she remained attended by the maids of
34:8 Appendix F.
honor and trainbearers until the summons was received from
the lord chamberlain, conveying the intimation that every
thing was duly prepared for the Sovereign's moving toward
the Chapel.
In this room the formal procession may be said to have
been formed and marshaled.
PRESENCE CHAMBER.
In this room the principal individuals who were to fall into
the different processions were congregated.
QUEEN ANNE'S DRAWING-ROOM.
Round the southern side of this room a gallery was erect-
ed, consisting of several rows of seats, each capable of accom-
modating a considerable number of visitors. Through this
room the procession passed into
THE GUARD OR ARMORY-ROOM,
in which a gallery on a smaller scale was raised. The pro-
cession progressed from this into the vestibule, and from that
down the
GRAND STAIRCASE,
opposite to which a gallery had been put up capable of con-
taining about 150 persons.
THE COLONNADE. .
Shortly after nine o'clock the seats in the colonnade began
to be taken possession of, and ere many minutes had elapsed
there remained but few of the seats unoccupied, although
there was an occasional arrival down to eleven o'clock.
At this hour the appearance which the scene presented
was one of extreme animation, inasmuch as by far the great-
er portion of the assembled company was composed of ele-
gantly, and, in some instances, brilliantly dressed ladies. It
were a matter of impossibility to enter upon an attempt to
give any thing like a minute detail of the attire either of the
one sex or of the other, for it comprised every known color,
and embraced every description of style of make. The most
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 349
conspicuous dresses were of light blue relieved with white,
light green also intermingled with white, amber, crimson, pur-
ple, fawn, stone, and a considerable number of white robes
only. Every lady exhibited a wedding favor, some of which
were admirable specimens of a refined taste. They were of
all sizes, many of white satin ribbon tied up into bows, and
mixed with layers of rich silver lace, others merely of ribbon
intermixed with sprigs of orange-flower-blossom, while were
here and there to be seen bouquets of huge dimensions of
ribbon and massive silver bullion, having in their centre what
might almost be termed a branch of orange-blossoms. Large
as they were, however, they were not more so than the ap-
parent devotion of their owners, if the anxiety with which
they watched every movement of the officials passing to and
fro, from the instant they entered the colonnade until the last
of the " men of state" had quitted the scene, may be taken as
a criterion.
It was remarked that " favors" did not form a very general
appendage with the male branch of the spectators, notwith-
standing there were many who had not failed to furnish them-
selves with this distinguishing emblem of the occasion. Some
gentlemen there were, also, who did not even pay the respect
to their sovereign of providing court dresses. There appear-
ed, nevertheless, to have been a unanimity of feeling with re-
gard to the total banishment of black, except in a rare in-
stance where a shawl or scarf of that hue was to be discovered.
The colonnade through which the procession passed to the
Chapel was not only excellently arranged, but was admirably
lighted from the lanterns above and the windows behind.
The seats, which were separated from the pillared colonnade
by a dwarf railing, were covered with crimson cushions with
gold-colored borders and fringe. All the remainder of this
temporary structure had the semblance of having been con-
structed of solid masonry. The floor of the colonnade was
covered with rich Brussels carpet, which extended into the
vestibule, up the grand staircase to the armory, through the
presence-chamber to Queen Anne's drawing-room, and thence
to the antechamber and throne-room, where her Majesty and
Prince Albert's portions of the procession were marshaled.
The seats erected for the accommodation of the spectators
were covered with crimson cushions and yellow fringe, thus
350 Appendix F.
sustaining uniformity throughout. They were railed off from
the line of procession.
There were but few of the nobility or officers of state who
entered the Chapel by the colonnade or royal passage, but
among that number were Earl Fitzwilliam and Earl Spencer,
the Earl and Countess of Carlisle, the Duke and Duchess of
Somerset, the Duke of Devonshire, the Marquis of Anglesey,
the Marquis of Westminster, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Archbishop of York, and the Bishop of" London.
His Grace the Duke of Wellington also passed through the
colonnade, and was most warmly cheered. The duke slight-
ly acknowledged the demonstration, and wended his way on-
ward to the place allotted for the occupation of the veteran
warrior in the Chapel.
Comparatively speaking, there was a scarcity of " rank"
among the company in the colonnade. The only individuals
of particular note upon whom our eye alighted were Sir
George Murray, Mr. Sheil, and Mr. Charles Young. To the
former of these gentlemen her Royal Highness the Princess
Sophia Matilda of Gloucester, from her place in the proces-
sion, spoke, while the Marquis of Anglesey stopped and shook
hands most warmly with the gallant baronet. Mr. Tennyson
D'Eyncourt and Sir W. Brabazon were likewise occupants of
seats in the colonnade, but, like the honorable and learned
member for Tipperary, their presence was allowed to pass
unheeded.
Of course, anticipation long postponed, and the virtue of
patience, even within the walls of a royal palace, and upon
such an occasion, became exhausted, and the slightest action
or movement, however trifling, which tended to create a di-
version, or to shed a new feature on a scene which had grown
somewhat monotonous, was hailed as a species of godsend,
and accordingly the mere circumstance of the Rev.- Lord Au-
gustus Fitzclarence bringing forward one of the choir-boys, a
lad apparently of some seven or eight years of age, but par-
ticularly small, and examining his uncouth dress, gave rise to
considerable merriment. The occasional passing to and fro
of the mace-bearers — who, from their remarkable dress, name-
ly, black, with large gold chains tied up on the shoulders
with large white favors, excited a good deal of attention —
was seized as a fatting opportunity to indulge in laughter.
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 851
But, looking at the mass which paraded the colonnade, we
may say that there were the burly Yeomen of the Guard with
their massive halberts, and the slim gentlemen-at-arms with
their lighter partisans, perpetually moving up and down the
corridor, proud of the notice they excited. There were also
elderly pages of state, and almost infantile pages of honor,
officers of the lord chamberlain's office, and officers of the
woods and forests, embroidered heralds and steel-clad cuiras-
siers, robed prelates, stoled priests, and surpliced singing-
boys, to break the uniformity and vary the monotony of the
scene.
THE CHAPEL.
The principal entrances to the Chapel Royal were from
the Embassador's Court, and the color quadrangle opposite
St. James's Street. The interior is oblong, standing east and
west, about sixty-two feet in length and twenty-five in breadth.
At the upper or eastern end is the communion-table, and at
the lower end, abutting over the main entrance, is the royal
gallery or closet. Two galleries supported by cast-iron pil-
lars stretched east and west the entire length of the Chapel.
On the floor, placed longitudinally, were two pews on each
side of the chapel, set apart for the chief nobility, and those
who took part in the procession. The galleries, east and
west, from both sides of the altar to the royal closet, were oc-
cupied— the upper end, on the right, by the cabinet ministers
and their ladies, on the left by the ladies and officers of her
Majesty's household. Below the choir, on the right, and in
the galleries opposite, usually appropriated as royal closets,
the walls of the building were thrown out, and six benches
on each side fitted up for the accommodation of peers, peer-
esses, and other distinguished spectators. The royal closet
was assigned to the embassadors and their ladies, five rows
of seats, elevated one above the other, having been erected
for their accommodation. The whole of the seats in the
chapel were stuffed, covered with crimson cloth, and elegant-
ly ornamented with gold fringe. On the communion-table
was displayed a vast quantity of golden plate, including six
salvors, one of gigantic dimensions, two ponderous and rich
vases, four flagons, four communion-cups, and two lofty and
magnificent candelabra. The cornice above the altar, of
352 Appendix F.
beautifully carved oak, was richly gilt, superb crimson velvet
drapery depending from it in graceful folds upon the com-
munion-table. Within the railing, which was also covered
with crimson velvet, stools were placed on the right of the
altar for the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and on
the left for the Bishop of London, dean of the Chapel Royal.
In front of the communion-table were placed four chairs of
state, gilt, and covered with crimson silk velvet, each of differ-
ent construction, and varying in elevation, according to the
dignity of their intended occupants. The highest, largest in
size, and most costly in workmanship, was of course appro-
priated to her Majesty, and was placed somewhat to the right
of the centre ; that on the opposite side, immediately on her
Majesty's right hand, being set apart for his Royal Highness
Prince Albert. Before these chairs, which were placed about
six feet outside the rail, footstools were set of corresponding
structure and decoration. There were also faldstools for her
Majesty and Prince Albert, on which to kneel at the altar.
On her Majesty's left a chair was placed for the Duchess of
Kent ; and at the opposite side, on Prince Albert's right,
one for the queen dowager. On her Majesty's extreme left
were seats for their royal highnesses the Dukes of Sussex
and Cambridge ; and on Prince Albert's extreme right for
his serene highness the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg, the
hereditary duke, and their royal highnesses the Duchess of
Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge, Princess Augusta
and Princess Mary of Cambridge. The floor of the Chapel
was covered with rich purple and gold carpeting, the promi-
nent figure being the Norman rose. The tout ensemble, both
as concerns the extension, decoration, and entire arrange-
ments of the interior, completely harmonized with the original
design and structure of the chapel ; simplicity and elegance,
not show or gaudiness, being the uniform characteristic. The
ceiling is composed of antique fretwork compartments vary-
ing in size and figure, on the paneling of which are embla-
zoned the quarterings and heraldic distinctions of the differ-
ent members of the royal family, from the time of its erection
to that of his late majesty William IV. and Queen Adelaide.
About half past eleven o'clock the Archbishops of Canter-
bury and York and the Bishop of London took their places
within the altar.
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 353
A few minutes before twelve the queen dowager entered
the Chapel Royal through the dean's vestry door, and took
her seat near the altar. Her Majesty was arrayed in a robe
of rich silk purple velvet trimmed with ermine. The Arch-
bishops of Canterbury and York and the Bishop of London
immediately rose on the entrance of her Majesty. Her Maj-
esty, after performing her private devotions, perceiving the
most reverend prelates still standing, sent Lord Howe, who
was in waiting, to desire that they might take their seats.
This act of considerate courtesy created a general sensation
throughout the Chapel.
A flourish of trumpets and drums at twenty-five minutes
past twelve o'clock gave intimation that the procession of the
royal bridegroom had commenced its movement, and shortly
after, having passed -through the various rooms to which we
have alluded, it entered the colonnade in the following order :
THE PROCESSION OF THE BRIDEGROOM.
Drums and Trumpets.
Sergeant Trumpeter, J. Rivett, Esq.
Master of the Ceremonies, Sir Robert Chester, Knight.
The Bridegroom's Gentlemen of Honor, between two Heralds.
Vice-Chamberlain of her Lord Chamberlain of her
Majesty's Household, Majesty's Household, •
Earl of Belfast. Earl of Uxbridge.
THE BRIDEGROOM,
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS FIELD-MARSHAL PRINCE ALBERT, K.G.,
wearing the Collar of the Order of the Garter,
supported by their Serene Highnesses the reigning Duke of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,
and the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,
each attended by the officers of their suite, namely,
Count Kolowrath, Baron Alvensleben, and Baron de Lowenfels.
As the Prince moved along he was greeted with loud clap-
ping of hands from the gentlemen, and enthusiastic waving of
handkerchiefs from the assembled ladies. He wore the uni-
form of a field-marshal in the British army. Over his shoul-
ders was hung the Collar of the Garter surmounted by two
white rosettes. His appearance was attractive and much im-
proved since his arrival on Saturday ; and with his pale and
pensive looks he won golden opinions from the fair coterie
354 Appendix F,
near which we were sitting. His father and his brother were
also welcomed with the utmost cordiality. Both seemed
pleased with their reception, and the hereditary prince, who
has more of determination but less of good-natured complai-
sance in his countenance than his brother, testified his sense
of it by repeatedly bowing his thanks to the fair ladies at his
side.
On reaching the Chapel Royal the drums and trumpets
filed off without the doors, and, the procession advancing, his
Royal Highness was conducted to the seat provided for him
on the left of the altar. His Royal Highness walked up the
aisle, carrying a book in his right hand, and repeatedly bowed
to the peers in the body of the Chapel. His form, dress, and
demeanor were much admired. It might well be said of him,
in the language of Scott,
" Shaped in proportion fair,
Hazel was his eagle eye,
And auburn of the darkest dye
His short mustache and hair."
Having reached the hautpas, his Royal Highness affection-
ately kissed the hand of the queen dowager, and then bowed
to the archbishops and dean. Immediately on his entrance
a voluntary was performed by Sir George Smart on the organ.
The master of the ceremonies and the officers of the bride-
groom stood near the person of his Royal Highness. The
lord chamberlain and vice-chamberlain, preceded by the drums
and trumpets, then returned to wait upon her Majesty.
Meanwhile his Royal Highness entered into close conver-
sation with the queen dowager until the trumpets and drums
announced the moving of the Queen's procession.
After having conducted the royal Prince to the altar, the
lord steward and the lord chamberlain quitted the royal bride-
groom for the purpose of conducting the Queen to the altar.
In a few minutes, that which was denominated the Queen's
procession was announced by a flourish of trumpets and drums
as having been put in motion. The procession passed through
the colonnade up to the Chapel doors in the subjoined order :
THE QUEEN'S PROCESSION.
Drums and Trumpets.
Sergeant Trumpeter, T. L. Parker, Esq.
Knight Marshal, Sir Charles Lamb, Bart.
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 355
Pursuivants.
Heralds.
Pages of Honor.
Equerry in Waiting, Clerk Marshal,
Hon. Charles Grey. Hon. H. F. Cavendish.
Groom in Waiting, Lord in Waiting,
Hon. Major Keppel. Viscount Torrington.
Controller of her Majesty's Treasurer of her Majesty's
Household, Household,
Eight Hon. G. Stevens Byng. Earl of Surrey.
The Lord Steward of her Majesty's Household,
EarlofErroll.
Norroy King-of-Arms, Clarencieux King-of-Arms,
F. Martin, Esq. J. Hawker, Esq.
Lord Privy Seal, Lord President of the Council,
The Earl of Clarendon. Marquis of Lansdowne.
Two Sergeants-at-Arms. Two Sergeants-at-Arms.
Lord High Chancellor, Lord Cottenham.
Senior Gentleman Usher Quarterly Waiter, Hon. Heneage Legge.
Gentleman Usher Daily Waiter, Gentleman Usher of the
and to the Sword of State, Black Rod,
W. Martin, Esq. Sir Augustus Clifford.
Garter King-of-Arms, Sir W. Woods.
The Earl Marshal, Duke of Norfolk.
Her Highness the Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester.
Her Royal Highness Princess Mary of Cambridge.
Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta of Cambridge.
His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge,
attended by Miss Kerr, Lady of the Bedchamber to her Royal
Highness.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent,
attended by Lady Charlotte Dundas, Lady of the Bedchamber to her
Royal Highness.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester,
attended by Lady Caroline Legge, Lady of the Bedchamber to
her Royal Highness.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Augusta,
attended by Lady Mary Pelham, Lady of the Bedchamber to her
Royal Highness.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge,
His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex,
each attended by a gentleman of their Royal Highnesses' household.
Vice-Chamberlain The Sword of State, Lord Chamberlain
of her Majesty's borne by Lord of her Majesty's
Household, Viscount Melbourne. Household,
Earl of Belfast. Earl of Uxbridge.
THE QUEEN,
wearing the Collars of her Orders.
356 Appendix F.
Her Majesty's train borne by the following twelve unmarried ladies,
viz. •
Lady Adelaide Paget, Lady Caroline Amelia Gordon
Lady Sarah Frederica Caroline Lennox,
Villiers, Lady Elizabeth Anne Georgiana
Lady Frances Elizabeth Cowper, Dorothea Howard,
Lady Elizabeth West, Lady Ida Hay,
Lady Mary Augusta Frederica Lady Catharine Lucy Wilhelmina
Grimston, Stanhope,
Lady Eleanor Caroline Paget, Lady Jane Harriet Bouverie,
Lady Mary Charlotte Howard,
assisted by Captain F. H. Seymour, the Groom of the Robes.
Master of the Horse, Mistress of the Robes,
The Earl of Albemarle, G. C .H. The Duchess of Sutherland.
Ladies of the Bedchamber :
The Marchioness of Normanby. The Duchess of Bedford.
The Countess of Charlemont. The Countess of Sandwich.
The Dowager Lady Lyttelton. The Countess of Burlington.
The Lady Portman. The Lady Barham.
Maids of Honor :
The Hon. Harriet Pitt. The Hon. Harriet Lister.
The Hon. Amelia Murray. The Hon. Caroline Cocks.
The Hon. Henrietta Anson. The Hon. Matilda Paget.
The Hon. Sarah Mary Cavendish.
Women of the Bedchamber :
Lady Harriet Clive. Viscountess Forbes.
Lady Charlotte Copley. Lady Caroline Barrington.
Mrs. Brand. The Hon. Mrs. Campbell. Lady Gardner.
Captain of the Yeomen Captain of the Band of
of the Guard, Gold Stick, Gen tlemen-at- Arms,
Earl of Ilchester. Lord Hill. Lord Foley.
Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Henry Wheatley.
Six Gentlemen-at-Arms.
Six Yeomen of the Guard closed the procession.
It will be seen from this official programme how the her-
alds had marshaled the different members of the procession.
Scarcely any notice was taken of the individuals who led the
way in it until the lord chancellor made his appearance. He
was greeted with a few scanty cheers. Garter King-of-Arms,
with all his heraldic pomp and pride, and the head of his col-
lege, the Earl Marshal the Duke of Norfolk, with all the blood
of all the Howards, passed unnoticed in the throng. Her
Royal Highness the Princess Sophia of Gloucester, who stop-
ped to address Sir G. Murray as she passed, was cheered.
The Princess Augusta of Cambridge excited general admira-
tion by her affability and beauty. Her royal aunt the Prin-
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 357
cess Augusta was cheered. Her Royal Highness the Duch-
ess of Gloucester, whose name appears in the official details
of the ceremony, was prevented from being present in conse-
quence of her having been confined by a severe cold to her
house for the last fortnight, and of her not yet being sufficient-
ly recovered to encounter the fatigue of a considerable, pro-
cession at so early an hour. Her Royal Highness the Duch-
ess of Cambridge led her young daughter the Princess Mary
in her hand, and the mother of so beautiful a child was certain
not to be seen without interest. Every sympathy was awak-
ened on behalf of her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent ;
but she appeared somewhat disconsolate and distressed. His
Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, who was to give away
the royal bride, seemed in excellent spirits. Lord Melbourne
carried the sword of state ; but little attention was paid to him.
Her Majesty came next, looking anxious and excited. She
was paler even than usual. Her dress was a rich white satin
trimmed with orange-flower-blossoms. On her head she wore
a wreath of the same blossoms, over which, but not so as to
conceal her face, a beautiful veil of Honiton lace was thrown.
Her bridesmaids and trainbearers were similarly attired, save
that they had no veils.* Her Majesty wore the collar of the
Garter, but no other diamonds or jewels. t Her attendants
were arrayed with similar simplicity ; and ladies more beauti-
ful never graced palace, hall, or country-green. With one ex-
ception, which we have already remarked, the praises which
Dryden has ascribed to the companions of his Queen in the
" Flower and the Leaf" are equally applicable to these attend-
ants of our young and amiable sovereign :
"A train less fair, as ancient fathers tell,
Seduced the sons of Heaven to rebel ;
I pass their form, and every charming grace —
Less than an angel would their worth debase ;
But their attire, like liveries of a kind,
Simple but rich, is fresh within my mind ;
In satin white as snow the troop was gown'd,
The seams with sparkling emeralds set around."
Every face was turned upon them and their royal mistress.
Theirs was fixed upon hers, and as they moved and turned in
conformity with her steps, it was evident that female vanity
was for a time deadened in their bosoms, and that they were
* The bridesmaids were in white, with roses.
t Her Majesty wore a diamond necklace and earrings.
358 Appendix F.
thinking, not of the impression which they themselves created,
but of that which was created by the royal bride. They were
followed by the Duchess of Sutherland. Of the ladies of the
bedchamber and the maids of honor we have only to say that
they did honor to the court and to their places in the proces-
sion. . It was closed, not as the official statement announced,
by six Yeomen of the Guard, but by two officers in polished
cuirasses and in dirty boots, who commanded the squadron
of Life Guards on duty at the Palace.
As her Majesty approached the Chapel, the national an-
them was performed by the instrumental band. Her Majes-
ty walked up the aisle, followed by her trainbearers and at-
tendants without noticing or bowing to any of the peers. On
reaching the haut pas her Majesty knelt on her footstool, and
having performed her private devotions, sat down in her chair
of state. The different officers of state having now taken
their seats in the body of the Chapel, the coup d'ceil was
splendid beyond description.
Lords, ladies, captains, councilors, and priests,
Their choice nobility and flower; embassies
From regions far remote
In various habits
Met from all parts to celebrate the day.
After the lapse of a few seconds her Majesty rose and ad-
vanced with his Royal Highness Prince Albert to the com-
munion-table, where the Archbishop of Canterbury immedi-
ately commenced reading the service.
The rubric was rigidly adhered to throughout.
The Archbishop of Canterbury read the service with great
appropriateness and much feeling, the Bishop of London re-
peating the responses.
When his Grace came to the words,
" Albert, wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife,
to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of
matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and
keep her in sickness and in health ; and forsaking all other,
keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live ?"
His Royal Highness, in a firm tone, replied " I will."
And when he said, "Victoria, wilt thou have Albert to
thy wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance
in the holy estate of matrimony ? Wilt thou obey him, and
serve him, love, honor, and keep in sickness and in health ;
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 359
and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as
ye both shall live ?"
Her Majesty, in a firm voice, and a tone audible in all
parts of the Chapel, replied, "I will."
The Archbishop of Canterbury then said, " Who giveth this
woman to be married to this man ?"
His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, who occupied a
seat on the left of her Majesty, now advanced, and, taking
her Majesty's hand, said, " I do."
The Archbishop of Canterbury then laid hold of her Maj-
esty's hand, and pressing it in that of Prince Albert's, pro-
nounced these words, his Royal Highness repeating them aft-
er his Grace :
*' I, Albert, take thee, Victoria, to be my wedded wife, to
have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse,
for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to
cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordi-
nance ; and thereto I plight thee my troth."
Her Majesty repeated the words mutatis mutandis, " I, Vic-
toria, take thee, Albert, to my wedded husband, to have and
to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer
for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to
obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordi-
nance ; and thereto I give thee my troth."
The Archbishop of Canterbury then took the ring, a plain
gold ring, from his Royal Highness, and placing it to the
fourth finger of her Majesty, returned it to his Royal High-
ness. Prince Albert put it on, repeating after his Grace these
words : " With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee wor-
ship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow ; in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen."
The Archbishop then concluded the service as follows, her
Majesty and Prince Albert still remaining standing at the al-
tar :
" O Eternal God, Creator and Preserver of all mankind,
Giver of all spiritual grace, the Author of everlasting life,
send thy blessing upon these thy servants, Victoria and Al-
bert, whom we bless in thy name ; that as Isaac and Rebecca
lived faithfully together, so these persons may surely perform
and keep the vow and covenant betwixt them made (whereof
360 Appendix F.
this ring given and received is a token and pledge), and may
ever remain in perfect love and peace together, and live ac-
cording to thy laws, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
" Those whom God hath joined together let no man put
asunder."
The Park and Tower guns then fired a royal salute.
The Archbishop of Canterbury then proceeded :
" Forasmuch as Albert and Victoria have consented to-
gether in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before
God and this company, and thereto have given and pledged
their troth either to other, and have declared the same by
giving and receiving of a ring, and by joining of hands, I pro-
nounce that they be man and wife together. In the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
" God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, bless,
preserve, and keep you ; the Lord mercifully with his favor
look upon you ; and so fill you with all spiritual benediction
and grace, that ye may so live together in this life, that in the
world to come ye may have life everlasting. Amen."
The choir then performed the Deus Misereatur (King's in
B flat), the verse parts being doubled by the choir and sung
by Messrs. Knyvett, Wylde, Neil, Vaughan, Sale, and Brad-
bury, on the decani side ; and on the cantoris, by Evans, Sal-
mon, Horncastle, Roberts, Welsh, and Clarke.
Sir George Smart presided at the organ.
It is but justice to the gentlemen of the Chapel Royal to
state that this service was executed in the most effective and
spirit-stirring manner.
The Archbishop of Canterbury then proceeded :
" Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us
our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
' Minister. O Lord, save thy servant and thy handmaid :
' Answer. Who put their trust in thee.
1 Minister. O Lord, send them help from thy holy place :
' Answer. And evermore defend them.
' Minister. Be unto them a tower of strength
'Answer. From the face of their enemy.
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 361
"Minister. O Lord, hear our prayer,
"Answer. And let our cry come unto thee.
"Minister. O God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Ja-
cob, bless these thy servants, and sow the seed of eternal life
in their hearts ; that whatsoever in thy Holy Word they shall
profitably learn, they may in deed fulfill the same. Look, O
Lord, mercifully upon them from heaven and bless them.
And as thou didst send thy blessing upon Abraham and Sa-
rah, to their great comfort, so vouchsafe to send thy blessing
upon these thy servants ; that they, obeying thy will, and al-
ways being in safety under thy protection, may abide in thy
love unto their lives' end ; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen."
The Archbishop of Canterbury proceeded to the end with
the remainder of the service as prescribed in the Book of
Common Prayer, her Majesty and Prince Albert still stand-
ing before the communion-table.
The service having concluded, the several members of the
royal family who had occupied places around the altar re-
turned to take their positions in the procession. On passing
her Majesty, they all paid their congratulations, and the Duke
of Sussex, after shaking her by the hand in a manner which
appeared to have little ceremony, but with cordiality in it, af-
fectionately kissed her cheek. After all had passed with the
exception of the royal bride and bridegroom, her Majesty
stepped hastily across to the other side of the altar, where the
queen dowager was standing, and kissed her.
Prince Albert then took her Majesty's hand, and the royal
pair left the Chapel, all the spectators standing.
While the procession was proceeding down the aisle, her
Majesty spoke frequently to the Earl of Uxbridge, who was.
on her right hand, apparently giving directions as to the or-
der of the procession.
We have found it impossible, in our short description, to do
justice either to the demeanor of the " happy, happy pair,"
which was firm, self-possessed, and dignified throughout, or to
the various groups who gave interest and animation to the
scene. The spectacle in the Chapel, from first to last, was
gorgeous in the extreme,
Premier, prelate, potentate, and peer
giving lustre and brilliancy to the whole.
Q
362 Appendix F.
Among the various excellent arrangements connected with
the celebration of her Majesty's marriage, we heard with some
astonishment and regret that the gentlemen of the Chapel
Royal, who were obliged to sustain no unimportant part in the
solemnization, did so, for the first time on such an occasion,
not only without receiving any remuneration for their trouble,
but without even a pair of gloves, a rosette, or any other favor
being allowed them.
RETURN FROM THE CHAPEL ROYAL.
The deep interest taken by the spectators in the colonnade
in the proceedings of the day was shown by the general silence
which prevailed unto the period of the Queen's approach.
As soon as she had passed into the Chapel every tongue
seemed set at liberty, and a confused murmur arose, which
compelled the attendants to close the doors of the ante-chap-
el, lest it should penetrate into the Chapel where the solemn
rites of religion were performing. A word, however, from one
of the officers of the lord chamberlain was sufficient to put an
end to this impropriety. The doors were again opened, the
music of the anthem was faintly heard, the signal guns ceased
to fire, and at a few minutes past one the procession began to
remarshal itself for its return. The bridegroom's procession,
which was, however, robbed of his presence, returned first.
Again were the Duke and Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg
loudly cheered. The nuptial procession then returned in the
same order as before. On the appearance of her Majesty
hand-in-hand with her royal husband, the clapping of hands
and waving of handkerchiefs were renewed time after time
until they had passed out of sight. Whether by accident or
design, his Royal Highness Prince Albert inclosed her Majes-
ty's hand in his own in such a way as to display the wedding-
ring, which appeared more solid than is usual in ordinary
weddings. On their return, cheers were given to most, if not
to all, of the ladies of royal birth who had received them on
their approach* There was, however, one cheer far more long
and enthusiastic than any other of the day reserved for the
Duke of Wellington as he left the Chapel. He was not part
of the royal procession, and it had passed to some distance
before he made his appearance. As soon as he had arrived
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 363
in the centre of the colonnade, spontaneously, without any sig-
nal, and yet as if by common and universal consent, the com-
pany rose and gave him three hearty cheers. The heart of
the veteran appeared gladdened by it.
Lord Melbourne, who must have heard the uproar, took it
as a hint that he had better return another way. At least, if
he did not, his presence did not meet our view in the returning
cortege. Her Majesty then proceeded to the throne-room,
where the form of attestation took place. Her Majesty and
Prince Albert signed the marriage register, which was attested
by certain members of the royal family and officers of state
present. A splendid table was prepared for the purpose, and
this part of the ceremony, with the magnificent assemblage by
which it was witnessed, presented one of the most striking
spectacles of the day.
THE RETURN TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE AND THE
BREAKFAST.
During the interim of the bridal procession's leaving and
returning to Buckingham Palace, there was nothing of any in-
terest that occurred in the Park, unless indeed we may mention
a desperate shower of rain, which besprinkled her Majesty's
subjects, but did not appear to extinguish one spark of their
loyalty. At about one o'clock the firing of the guns an-
nounced that the ring had been put on the finger, the impor-
tant part of the ceremony concluded.
After the ceremony, at twenty-five minutes past one, the first
return reached Buckingham Palace, and consisted of the infe-
rior officers of Prince Albert's suite, the Queen's gentlemen
ushers, and a lady of her Majesty's household. At twenty
minutes to two the Duchess of Kent returned ; her royal
highness was accompanied by her brother, the Duke of Saxe-
Coburg-Gotha, and Prince Ernest. The royal duchess was
loudly cheered, which she acknowledged most graciously.
Viscount Melbourne and Viscount Palmerston followed soon
after in full official costume, then came the Marquis of Nor-
manby, dressed in the uniform of a colonial governor, and at
ten minutes to two o'clock the royal procession returned. The
Prince rode in the carriage with the Queen. His Royal High-
ness assisted her Majesty to alight, and led her into trie Pal-
364 Appendix F.
ace. The royal bride entered her own hall with an open and
joyous countenance, flushed perhaps in the slightest degree,
and in the most smiling and condescending manner acknowl-
edged the loud and cordial cheers which rang through the
apartment The royal bridegroom handed her Majesty through
the state rooms. The Duke of Sussex soon followed. The
duke was dressed in his uniform as captain general of the
Honorable Artillery Company, and wore the collars and other
insignia of the Orders of the Garter, Bath, and St. Andrew.
The Duke of Cambridge arrived immediately after, accom-
panied by the duchess, Prince George, and the two princesses.
His royal highness wore the insignia of the Orders of the
Garter and the Bath, and carried his baton as field-marshal.
Prince George was dressed in the uniform of his regiment, and
was decorated with the Order of the Garter. The duke led
in the little Princess Mary. The invited guests to the dejeuner
followed each other in rapid succession.
WEDDING BREAKFAST.
At Buckingham Palace there was a wedding repast, at which
several of the illustrious participators in the previous ceremony,
and the officers of the household and ministers of state, were
present.
The following is the list of guests :
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent.
His Serene Highness the Duke of Coburg.
Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester.
His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Augusta of Cambridge.
His Serene Highness Prince Ernest of Saxe-Coburg.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Sophia Matilda.
The Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Bishop of London.
Viscount Melbourne.
The Lord Chancellor.
The Lord President of the Council.
The Lord Privy Seal.
The Marquis of Normanby.
Viscount Palmerston.
Lord .John Russell.
The Lord Steward.
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 365
The Lord Chamberlain.
The Master of the Horse.
The Mistress of the Robes.
The Lady in Waiting.
Maids of Honor: Hon. Miss Cocks and Miss Cavendish.
Viscount Torrington.
The Hon. Major Keppel.
Lord Alfred Paget.
Mrs. Brand.
The Lady in Waiting on her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent.
Gentlemen of the Duke of Coburg's suite.
The Lady in Waiting on her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester.
The Lady in Waiting on her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.
The Lady in Waiting on her Royal Highness the Princess Sophia Ma-
tilda.
THE DEPARTURE FOR WINDSOR.
At the conclusion of the breakfast, arrangements were made
for the immediate departure of her Majesty for Windsor, and
at a quarter to four the royal party left Buckingham Palace
amid the cheers and festive acclamations of a vast multitude.
The first carriage was occupied only by her Majesty and
Prince Albert ; the second and three others by the lord and
lady in waiting, the groom, equerry, two maids of honor, and
other attendants of her Majesty and his Royal Highness.
Just before the royal cortege left Buckingham Palace, the sun
shone forth with full brightness, the skies were cleared of
their murky clouds, and all things seemed to promise that fu-
ture happiness which we sincerely trust may be the lot of the
illustrious pair.
The Prince was dressed in a plain dark traveling dress,
and her Majesty in a white satin pelisse, trimmed with swans-
down, with a white satin bonnet and feather.
CONSTITUTION HILL.
At an hour considerably before . sunrise this neighborhood
began to exhibit signs of preparation for the approaching
spectacle, which became more evident and more bustling as
the day drew on. Parties of cavalry and infantry moving to
their posts, orderlies dashing to and fro, groups of sight-seers,
male and female, hurrying from every quarter toward Buck-
ingham Palace ; and last, though not least, numerous swarms
of persons scattered over the Green Park, laden with planks,
366 Appendix F.
casks, chairs, tables, and other means of elevation for the pur-
pose of giving a sight of the procession, de'noting by their wild
cries and determination, and cunning in baffling the efforts of
the police to prevent their ingress into the park, the origin of
the majority of them from the sister island : all these gave a
variety and life to the scene which almost compensated for
the dullness and gloom of the morning. But, gloomy and un-
promising as the morning was, the parties interested seemed
determined to make the best of it, and good-humored jests
circulating among the crowd, and now and then a. petite emeute,
or short-lived squabble, whiled away the damp and heavy
hours. At length, however, about eight o'clock, amusement
began to turn up in the arrivals of the guests invited to the
royal nuptials, who, as they successively filed under the tri-
umphal arch, were challenged by the warder, and showed the
pink or white cards which gave a title to admittance, lent an
air of considerable liveliness to the scene, not unmixed with
something of the feudal and the romantic. First came in va-
rious flies and cabs, and vehicles of low degree, certain dam-
sels who were pointed out to us as maids of honor, or persons
otherwise appertaining to the royal household ; then a strong
body of the Foot Guards marched toward the position allot-
ted to them in the immediate neighborhood of Buckingham
Palace ; then came a body of the Horse Guards Blue, with
fifes and cymbals playing merrily, and then the general com-
pany began to make their appearance, among whom we no-
ticed Mr. Montgomery, Lord Monteagle, the vice-chancellor,
Lord and Lady Langdale, Viscount and Lady Howick, the
Duke of Norfolk (in his robes and with his staff of office as
earl marshal). Sir G. Grey, Lord and Lady Ashley, the Earl of
Burlington, Viscount Morpeth, the chancellor of the Excheq-
uer, Lord John Russell, Mr. Labouchere, Lord Holland, the
Marquis of Normanby, Viscount Palmerston, Lord Duncan-
non, the lord chancellor, the Austrian and other ministers,
and the Marchioness of Normanby. The ministers, with the
exception of the lord chancellor, who wore his legal costume,
were attired in the Windsor uniform of blue, guarded or turn-
ed up with an edging of oak-leaf in gold, but, strange to tell,
they passed in every instance without the smallest notice, fa-
vorable or otherwise, on the part of the immense multitude
who were congregated in this quarter. At a quarter to twelve
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 367
the Duke of Cambridge and suite, in three of the royal car-
riages, drove through the gate, escorted by a guard of honor.
The Duke of Sussex passed in a single carriage at a few min-
utes before twelve o'clock. The illustrious duke wore, as
usual, his black silk skullcap, looked in very good health, and
was very favorably received by the crowd. We should have
said, however, that about a quarter to eleven the rain cleared
off, and we had an opportunity to take a survey of the assem-
bled multitude, and certainly we should say that this assem-
blage, though decidedly greater in numbers than any which
has been collected during this reign on a like public occasion,
was also decidedly inferior in the proportion of well-dressed
persoris, and persons carrying the air of respectability. Of
these we noticed but few ; at the same time there appeared
to be a very much smaller display of military as well as of
civil force than has formerly been usual. The police, how-
ever, in spite of the mob's restless importunity, displayed their
habitual temper and firmness, and the soldiery their own un-
rivaled patience and good-humor. And so the day wore on,
until about half past two o'clock, when, the rain and mist hav-
ing cleared off, the coup d'ceil from the triumphal arch was
certainly striking, for as far as the eye could reach toward
Kensington, along Hyde Park, the Green Park, and Piccadil-
ly, the whole area was more or less thickly crowded with hu-
man beings, all anxiously expecting (though most of them at
a distance disabling them from enjoying) the approach of
their youthful monarch. At length, about half past two
o'clock, the passage of a party of Light Dragoons, on their
way to the Palace, gave people cause to think that her Majes-
^ty's appearance would not be wanting long, for it was conjec-
tured, and rightly, that these troops were intended to form the
escort of the royal pair to Windsor Castle. A few minutes
past four o'clock the much-expected cavalcade drew near, a
carriage with ladies of the household leading the way, a party
of the cavalry following ; the royal traveling chariot convey-
ing her Majesty and Prince Albert dashed rapidly under the
triumphal archway amid the warm and enthusiastic cheers of
the spectators assembled around, who were manifestly much
captivated by the comely , appearance of the Prince, and by
the affable and graceful manner in which he acknowledged
their notice. Her Majesty appeared in excellent health and
368 Appendix, F.
high spirits, and bowed in return to the cheers of her applaud-
ing subjects with much earnestness of manner.
ETON.
The preparations at Eton were on a grand scale. At the
entrance of the precincts of the college, on the right-hand
side of the road coming from London, and fronting the col-
lege itself, a large wooden structure, in form of a Grecian por-
tico 60 feet in height, and of proportionate width, was erect-
ed. The whole of this erection was covered with variega-
ted lamps ; on the pediment were the royal arms. An in-
scription or " legend," with the words " Gratulatio Victorias et
Alberto," surmounted the pediment. The word " Etona" was
also conspicuous among the decorations. Seven large flags
floated gallantly from the summit of the building, which ex-
hibited considerable taste both in the design and embellish-
ments. There were no less than 5000 lamps in this portico,
the effect of which was at night very splendid. The interior
quadrangle of the college presented a brilliant appearance.
The clock-tower, on the eastern side, was illuminated by a
crown, surrounded with a wreath of laurel, having the letters
" V. A.," the whole in variegated lamps. Beneath were three
brilliant stars. The arch of the clock-tower was surrounded
by rows of lamps, and the eastern side of the quadrangle was
elegantly festooned with lamps. The principal gateway into
the quadrangle was also decorated with lamps, having the
words " Floreat Etona" over the crown of the arch. Several
thousand lamps were employed on this part of the venerable
edifice. There was also a triumphal arch of laurels and
lamps across the road by the Christopher Inn.
At the entrance into Eton the whole of the Scholars and
masters of the school were collected, to the number of 5 50,
wearing bridal favors, and from time to time was heard the
noise of maroons, fired in token of loyalty and rejoicing. Be-
sides the preparations at the college, the main street of Eton
presented a lively appearance ; most of the houses were illu-
minated, and the principal tradesmen exhibited stars and oth-
er emblems of the joyous event. The whole place was in a
state of bustle and excitement ; all was felicity. At the Chris-
topher Inn a dinner was prepared for a large party of the in-
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 369
habitants, and there were private parties at most of the houses
of the dames and college authorities.
WINDSOR.
In the morning the appearance of Windsor differed in no
respect from its ordinary character, and scarcely a symptom
was observable of an intention to make any public celebra-
tion of the royal wedding. All the shops were opened as
usual ; every one seemed busy in his customary avocations ;
no merry peal of bells welcomed in the day ; and the rain,
falling in torrents, made the town look very dull and misera-
ble. By degrees this melancholy aspect of affairs wore away.
The rain ceased ; in the afternoon the shops were closed, and
the inhabitants having now nothing to detain them at home,
thronged the streets, decorated with wedding favors and dress-
ed in the gayest possible style, and the prospect — so gloomy
a short time before — became lively and charming. The sun
shot forth its beams, and the bells, as if awakened from slum-
ber, burst out in joyous chimes. As the day advanced, the
weather grew more and more propitious, and numbers of
strangers, anxious to see her Majesty with her illustrious Con-
sort enter the noble palace of her ancestors at Windsor,
poured into the place, conveyed in every conceivable descrip-
tion of vehicle. Most of these persons, after giving a hearty
farewell cheer to the -royal couple as they passed through the
gates of the Castle, returned again to London, resolved to
finish the amusement of the day by a sight of the splendid
illuminations in town. About half past two o'clock consider-
able excitement was occasioned among the various groups of
persons waiting to see the royal cortege pass through High
Street by the appearance of the royal standard, which at that
hour was raised at the Round Tower. Various were the con-
jectures as to the particular circumstance which the hoisting
of this proud and noble banner might be intended to indicate ;
but, having tired themselves with explanatory suggestions, the
crowd came to the conclusion that it must be the signal of
her Majesty's departure from St. James's Palace after the con-
clusion of the nuptial ceremony. At four o'clock a troop of
Life Guards left Windsor for the purpose of meeting the royal
cortege on the road and escorting it to the castle. At this
Q2
370 Appendix F.
hour a dense concourse of persons had collected about the
gates of the castle, which appeared to be the point of greatest
attraction, and an unbroken line of spectators extended from
this spot to the extremity of Eton, near to London. As al-
ways happens in cases like the present, the anxiously-expect-
ed arrival was announced about one hundred and fifty times
before it actually happened, and as each successive rumor
turned out to be false, it would not be easy to depict the mo-
mentary disappointment manifested by the impatient assem-
blage.
The evening had closed in before the arrival of the royal
party. The whole town was therefore illuminated before they
entered the town, and the effect produced by the glitter of the
lights on the congregated multitude was exceedingly splen-
did. Every house in Windsor was illuminated ; many of them
were handsomely decorated with flags, laurels, mottoes, and
artificial bouquets. Ingenious devices and transparent rep-
resentations of the Queen and Prince Albert were not few
nor far between. The Town-hall, the White Hart Inn, the
Castle Inn, and several houses in the neighborhood, were con-
spicuous for the brilliancy and beauty of their decorations.
At half past six the crowd on the castle hill had become so
dense that it was with difficulty the line of road for the royal
carriages was kept clear. The whole street was one living
mass, while the walls of the houses glowed with crowns, stars,
and all the brilliant devices which gas and oil could supply.
At this moment a flight of rockets was visible in the air ; it
.was apparently over Eton, and it was immediately concluded
that the Queen had entered Eton. The bells now rang mer-
rily, and the shouts of the spectators were heard as the royal
cortege approached the castle. At twenty minutes before sev-
en the royal carriage arrived in the High Street, Windsor, pre-
ceded by the advanced-guard of the traveling escort, consist-
ing of a body of the 2d Life Guards, commanded by Lieuten-
ant Totenham, which relieved the i4th Dragoons at Coin-
brook. The shouts were now most loud and cheering, and
from the windows and balconies of the houses handkerchiefs
were waved by the ladies, while the gentlemen huzzaed and
waved their hats. The carriage, from the crowd, proceeded
slowly, her Majesty and her royal Consort bowing to the peo-
ple. Her Majesty looked remarkably well, and Prince Albert
Celebration of her Majesty's Marriage, etc. 371
seemed in the highest spirits . at the cordiality with which he
was greeted. It was exactly a quarter to seven when the roy-
al carriage drew up at the grand entrance. The Queen was
handed from the carriage by the Prince ; she immediately took
his arm and entered the Castle. In the carriages which fol-
lowed that in which the royal pair arrived were Lady Sand-
wich, lady in waiting ; the Hon. Miss Cocks and the Hon.
Miss Cavendish, maids of honor; Lord Torrington, Major
Keppel, and Mr. Seymour, the groom and equerry in waiting,
who formed the royal dinner-party.
In the evening the auspicious event was celebrated by a
public dinner given in the Town-hall. About 100 of the in-
habitants of Windsor attended, the mayor taking the chair,
and being supported on either side by the members for the
borough, Messrs. Ramsbottom and Gordon. At the conclu-
sion of the dinner, " Health and Long Lives to Victoria and
Albert" was proposed by the mayor, and responded to in the
most enthusiastic manner, the whole company rising and cheer-
ing for several minutes. The evening's entertainment was
greatly advanced by the vocal abilities of Messrs. Fitzwilliam,
Jolly (senior and junior), and J. O. Atkins, who executed two
or three appropriate songs written for the occasion.
Two other public dinners were given at the Castle Tavern
and at the Star and Garter ; and several inhabitants of the
town besides had private parties in honor of the royal wed-
ding.
We are happy to say that while the "great" feasted, the
" small" were not forgotten on this joyous occasion. A sub-
stantial dinner of good old English fare was provided for the
poorer inhabitants of the place and the neighboring country,
the expense being defrayed by a voluntary subscription, to
which fund £20 were contributed by her Majesty. Nearly
600 poor families, amounting probably to 2000 individuals,
were by this considerate charity regaled at their own homes
with a good dinner and some excellent beer, wherewith to do
complete justice to the toast of " Health and Happiness to
Victoria and Albert."
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It was once said of a very charming and high-minded woman that to know her
was in itself a liberal education ; and we are inclined to set an almost equally
high value on an acquaintance with the writings of "George Eliot." For those
who read them aright they possess the faculty of educating in it% highest sense,
of invigorating the intellect, giving a healthy tone to the taste, appealing to the
nobler feelings of the heart, training its impulses aright, and awakening or de-
veloping in every mind the consciousness of a craving for something higher than
the pleasures and rewards of that life which only the senses realize, the belief in
a destiny of a nobler nature than can be grasped by experience or demonstrated
by argument. On those readers who are able to appreciate a lofty independence
of thought, a rare nobility of feeling, and an exquisite sympathy with the joys
and sorrows of human nature, "George Eliot's" writings can not fail to exert an
invigorating and purifying influence, the good effects of which leaves behind it
a lasting impression. — London Review.
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is portrayed. — Worcester Palladium.
She resembles Shakspeare in her power of delineation. It is from this char-
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tion for "George Eliot" above all other writers. — Philadelphia Evening Telegraph.
Few women — no living woman indeed — have so much strength as "George
Eliot," and, more than that, she never allows it to degenerate into coarseness.
With all her so-called "masculine" vigor, she has a feminine tenderness, which
is nowhere shown more plainly than in her descriptions of children. — Boat/on
Transcript.
She looks out upon the world with the most entire enjoyment of all the good
that there is in it to enjoy, and with an enlarged compassion for all the ill that
there is in it to pity. But she never either whimpers over the sorrowful lot of
man, or snarls and chuckles over his follies and littlenesses and impotence.—
Saturday Review.
Her acquaintance with different phases of outward life, and the power of an-
alyzing feeling and the working of the mind, are alike wonderful. — Reader.
"George Eliot's" novels belong to the enduring literature of our country-
durable, not for the fashionableness of its pattern, but for the texture of its stuff.
— Examiner.
PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK.
HARPER & BROTHERS will send any of the above works by Mail, postage prepaid, to
any part of tJie United States, on receipt of the price.
Sir. Motley , the Anvrican historian of the- United Netherlands— we owe him
English homage. — LONDON TIMES.
" As interesting as a romance, and as reliable as a proposition of Euclid."
History of
The United Netherlands.
FROM THE HEATH OF WILLIAM THE SILENT TO THE SYNOD OF DOBT. WITH A
FULL VIEW OF THE ENGLISH-DUTCH STRUGGLE AGAINST STAIN, AND
OF THE OEIGLN AND DESTRUCTION OF TUB SPANISH
ARMADA'.
BY JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, LL.D., D.C.L.,
Corresponding Member of the Institute of France, Author of "The Rise of the
Dutch Republic."
With Portraits and Map.
2 rols. 8vo, Muslin, $6 00,
Critical Notices.
His living and truthful picture of events. — Quarterly Revieic (London), Jan ,
1861.
Fertile as the present age has been in historical works of the highest merit,
none of them can be ranked above these volumes in the grand qualities of interest,
accuracy, and truth Edinburgh Quarterly lievieic, Jan., 1861.
This noble work — Westminster Review (London).
One of the most fascinating as well as important histories of the century Cor.
N. Y. Evening Post,
The careful study of these volumes will infallibly afford a feast both rich and
rare Baltimore Republican.
Already takes a rank among standard works of history. — London Critic.
Mr. Motley's prose epic. — London Spectator.
Its pages are pregnant with instruction. — London Literanj Gazette.
We may profit by almost every page of his narrative. All the topics whioh agi-
tate us now are more or less vividly presented in the History of the United Nether-
lands.— New York Times.
Bears on every page marks of the same vigorous mind that produced "The Rise
of the Dutch Republic;" but the new work is riper, mellower, and though equally
racy of the soil, softer flavored. The inspiring idea which breathes through Mr.
Motley's histories and colors the whole texture of his narrative, is the grandeur of
that memorable struggle in the 16th century by which the human mind broke the
thraldom of religious intoleranca and achieved its independence — The World, N. Y.
The name of Motley now stands in the veiy front rank of living historians. His
Dutch Republic took the world by surprise ; but the favorable verdict then given
is now only the more deliberately confirmed on the publication of the continued
story under the title of the History of the United Netherlands. All the nerve,
and power, and substance of juicy life are there, lending a charm to every page.—
Church Journal, N. Y.
Motley, indeed, has produced a prose epic, and his fighting scenes are as real,
spirited, and life-like as the combats in the Iliad — The Press (Phila.).
His history is as interesting as a romance, and as reliable as a proposition of Eu-
clid. Clio never had a more faithful disciple. We advise every reader who?e
means will permit to become the owner of these fascinating volumes, assuring him
that he will never regret the investment Christian Intelligencer, j\". Y.
Published bjr HARPER & BROTHERS,
Frankliri Square, New York.
\W HARPER & BROTHERS will send the above Work by Mail, postage pre-p.iid
(for any distance in the United States under 3000 miles), on receipt of the Mon^y.
'They do honor to American Literature, and would do
honor to the Literature of any Country in the World."
THE RISE OF
THE DUTCH REPUBLIC.
31
BY JOHN LOTHKOP MOTLEY.
New Edition. With a Portrait of WILLIAM OF OKANGE. 3 vok,
8vo, Muslin, $9 00.
We regard this work as the best contribution to modern history that has yet
been made by an American. — Methodist Quarterly Review.
The "History of the Dutch Kepublic" is a great gift to us; but the heart and
earnestness that beat through all its pages are greater, for they give us most
timely inspiration to vindicate the true ideas of our country, and to compose au
able history of our own. — Christian Examiner (Boston).
This work bears on its face the evidences of scholarship and research. Tha
arrangement is clear and effective ; the style energetic, lively, and often brilliant.
* * • Mr. Motley's instructive volumes will, we trust, have a circulation commen-
surate with their interest and value. — Protestant Episcopal Quarterly Review.
To the illustration of this most interesting period Mr. Motley lias brought the
matured powers of a vigorous and brilliant mind, and the abundant fruits of pa-
tient and judicious study and deep reflection. The result is, one of the most
important contributions to historical literature that have been made in this coun-
try.— North American Review.
We would conclude this notice by earnestly recommending our readers to pro-
cure for themselves this truly great and admirable work, by the production of
which the auther has conferred no less honor upon his country than he has won
praise and fame for himself, and than which, we can assure them, they can find
nothing more attractive or interesting within the compass of modern literature.
— Evangelical Review.
It is not often that we have the pleasure of commending to the attention of the
lover of books a work of such extraordinary aud unexceptionable excellence as
this one. — Universalist Quarterly Review.
There are an elevation and a classic polish in these volumes, and a felicity of
grouping and of portraiture, which invest the subject with the attractions of a
living and stirring episode in the grand historic drama.— Southern Methodist
Quarterly Review.
The author writes with a genial glow and lova of his subject —Presbyterian
Quarterly Review.
Mr. Motley is a sturdy Republican and a hearty Protestant His style is live-
ly and picturesque, and his work is an honor and an important accession to our
national literature. — Church Review.
Mr. Motley's work is an important one, the result of profound research, sincere
convictions, sound principles, and manly sentiments; and even those who are
most familiar with the history of the period will find in it a fresh and vivid ad-
dition to their previous knowledge. It does honor to American literature, and
•would do honor to the literature of any country In the world.— Edinburgh Re-
View.
A serious chasm in English historical literature has been (by this book) very
remarkably filled. * * * A history as complete as industry and genius can make
it now lies before us, of the first twenty years of the revolt of the United Prov-
inces..* • * All the essentials of a great writer Mr. Motley eminently possesses.
His mind is broad, his industry unwearied. In power of dramatic description
no modern historian, except, perhaps, -Mr. Carlyle. surpasses him, and in analy
tiia of character he is elaborate and distinct Westminster Reoieio.
3 MOTLEY'S RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC.
It is a work of real historical value, the result of accurate criticism, written
in a liberal spirit, and from first to last deeply interesting. — Athcnceum.
The style is excellent, clear, vivid, eloquent ; and the industry with which
original sources have been investigated, and through which new light has been
shod over perplexed incidents and characters, entitles Mr. Motley to a high rank
in the literature of an age peculiarly rich in history. — North British Review.
It abounds in new information, and, as a first work, commands a very cordial
recognition, not merely of the promise it gives, but of the extent and importance
of the labor actually performed on it — London Examiner.
Mr. Motley's "History" is a work of which any country might be proud. —
Press (London).
Mr. Motley's History will be a standard book of reference in historical litera-
ture.— London Literary Gazette.
Mr. Motley hai searched the whole range of historical documents necessary to
the composition of his work. — London Leader.
This is really a great work. It belongs to the class of books in which we
range our Grotes, Milmans, Merivales, and Macaulays, as the glories of English
literature in the department of history. * * * Mr. Motley's gifts as a historical
writer are among the highest and rarest. — Nonconformist (London).
Mr. Motley's volumes will well repay perusal.. * * * For his learning, his liberal
tone, and his generous enthusiasm, we heartily commend him, and bid him good
speed for the remainer of his interesting and heroic narrative. — Saturday Review.
The story is a noble one, and is worthily treated. * * * Mr. Motley has had the
patience to unravel, with unfailing perseverance, the thousand intricate plots of
the adversaries of the Prince of Orange; but the details and the literal extracts
which he has derived from original documents, and transferred to his pages,
give a truthful color and a picturesque effect, which are especially charming. —
London Daily News.
. M. Lothrop Motley dans son magnifique tableau de la formation de notre R6-
publique.— G. GEOKN VAN PRINSTEBER.
Our accomplished countryman, Mr. J. Lothrop Motley, who, during the last
five years, for the better prosecution of his labors, has established his residence
in the neighborhood of the scenes of his narrative. No one acquainted with the
fine powers of mind possessed by this scholar, and the earnestness with which he
has devoted himself to the task, can doubt that he will do full justice to his im-
portant but difficult subject — W. H. PKEBCOTT.
The production of such a work as this astonishes, while it gratifies the pride
of the American reader. — N. Y. Observer.
The "Rise of the Dutch Republic" at once, and by acclamation, takes its
place by the " Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," as a work which, wheth-
er for research, substance, or style, will never be superseded.— N. Y. Albion.
A work upon which all who read the English language may congratulate
themselves. — New Yorker Handels Zeitung.
Mr. Motley's place is now (alluding to this book) with Hallam and Lord Mn-
hon, Alison and Macaulay in the Old Country, and with Washington Irving,
Prescott, and Bancroft in this.— N. Y. Times.
THE authority, in the English tongue, for the history of the period and people
to which it refers. — N. Y. Courier and Enquirer.
This work at once places the author on the list, of American historians which
has been so signally illustrated by the names of Irving, Preseott, Bancroft, and
Hildreth. — Boston Times.
The work is a noble one, and a most desirable acquisition to our historical lit-
erature.— Mobile Advertiser.
Such a work is an honor to its author, to his country, and to the age in which
it was written. — Ohio Farmer.
Published by HAEPER & BROTHERS,
Franklin Square, New York.
HABMKK & BBOTHF.RS wiU send the above Work by Mail (postage paid (for any
distance in the United States under 3000 miles), on receipt of the Money.
BY MRS. GASKELL.
CRANFORD. i6mo, Cloth, $1 25.
COUSIN PHILLIS. 8vo, Paper, 25 cents.
A DARK NIGHT'S WORK. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
MARY BARTON. A Tale of Manchester Life. 8vo,
Paper, 50 cents.
THE MOORLAND COTTAGE. i6mo, Cloth, 75 cents.
MY LADY LUDLOW. 8vo, Paper, 25 cents.
NORTH AND SOUTH. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
RIGHT AT LAST, and Other Tales. 1 2mo, Cloth, $1 50.
SYLVIA'S LOVERS. 8vo, Paper, 75 cents.
WIVES AND DAUGHTERS. With Illustrations. 8vo,
Cloth, $2 00; Paper, $1 50.
From, the London Examiner.
That tender pathos, which could sink so deep — that gentle humor, which could
soar so lightly — that delicate perception, which nothing could escape — that wide
sympathy, which ranged so far — those sweet moralities, which rang so true: it
is indeed hard and sad to feel that these must be silent for us henceforth forever.
Let us be grateful, however, that we have still those writings of hers which
England will not willingly let die, and that she has given us no less an example
of conscientious work and careful pains, by which we all alike may profit. For
Mrs. Gaskell had not only genius of a high order, but she had also the true feel-
ing of the artist, that grows impatient .at whatever is unfinished or imperfect.
Whether describing with touching skill the charities of poor to poor, or painting,
with an art which Miss Austin might have envied, the daily round of common
life, or merely telling, in her graphic way, some wild or simple tale : whatever
the work, she did it with all her power, sparing nothing, scarcely sparing her-
self enough, if only the work were well and completely done.
From the New York Evening Post.
It is said that George Sand remarked to an English friend : " Mrs. Gaskell
has done what neither I nor other female writers in France can accomplish — she
has written novels which excite the deepest interest in men of the world, and
which every girl will be the better for reading."
PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK.
Sent by Mail to any part of the United States, postage free, on receipt of the
Price.
BY Miss MULOCK.
[MRS. CRAIK.]
These novels form a most admirable series of popular fiction. They are marked by
their faithful delineation of character, their naturalness and purity of sentiment, the
dramatic interest of their plots, their beauty and force of expression, and their elevated
moral tone. No current novels can be more highly recommended for the family library,
while their brilliancy and vivacity will make them welcome to every reader of cultivated
taste.
TWO MARRIAGES, izmo, Cloth, $i 50.
A NOBLE LIFE, izmo, Cloth, $i 50.
CHRISTIAN'S MISTAKE. i2mo,
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JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.
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1 2 mo, Cloth, $i 50.
A LIFE FOR A LIFE. Library Edition,
i2ino, Cloth, $i 50 ; 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
A HERO, AND OTHER TALES. A
Hero, Bread upon the Waters, and Alice
Learmont. i2mo, Cloth, $i 50.
OLIVE. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
OUR YEAR : A Child's Book in Prose
and Verse. Illustrated by CLARENCE
DOBELL. i6mo, Cloth, Gilt Edges, $i oo.
THE FAIRY BOOK. The Best Popu-
lar Fairy Stories selected and rendered
anew. Engravings. i6mo, Cloth, $i 50.
THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY. 8vo,
Paper, 75 cents.
MISTRESS AND MAID. A House-
Hold Story. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
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50 cents.
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Grey DA
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