QUEEN VICTORIA

_Contents_

CHAPTER
I. A LOOK BACK
II. CHILDHOOD DAYS
III. EARLY YEARS
IV. HUSBAND AND WIFE
V. FAMILY LIFE
VI. STRIFE
VII. THE CHILDREN OF ENGLAND
VIII. MINISTERING WOMEN
IX. BALMORAL
X. THE GREAT EXHIBITION
XI. ALBERT THE GOOD
XII. FRIENDS AND ADVISERS
XIII. QUEEN AND EMPIRE
XIV. STRESS AND STRAIN
XV. VICTORIA THE GREAT




_Illustrations_

QUEEN VICTORIA
THE QUEEN'S FIRST COUNCIL AT KENSINGTON PALACE
KENSINGTON PALACE
THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF KENT
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE QUEEN'S ACCESSION
PRINCE ALBERT
BUCKINGHAM PALACE
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE
QUEEN VICTORIA IN THE HIGHLANDS
THE ALBERT MEMORIAL
SIR ROBERT PEEL, LORD MELBOURNE, AND BENJAMIN DISRAELI
THE SECRET OF ENGLAND'S GREATNESS
THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM




CHAPTER I: _A Look Back_


In the old legend of Rip Van Winkle with which the American writer
Washington Irving has made us so familiar, the ne'er-do-weel Rip
wanders off into the Kaatskill Mountains with his dog and gun in order
to escape from his wife's scolding tongue. Here he meets the spectre
crew of Captain Hudson, and, after partaking of their hospitality,
falls into a deep sleep which lasts for twenty years. The latter part
of the story describes the changes which he finds on his return to
his native village: nearly all the old, familiar faces are gone;
manners, dress, and speech are all changed. He feels like a stranger
in a strange land.

Now, it is a good thing sometimes to take a look back, to try to count
over the changes for good or for evil which have taken place in this
country of ours; to try to understand clearly why the reign of a great
Queen should have left its mark upon our history in such a way that
men speak of the Victorian Age as one of the greatest ages that have
ever been.

If an Elizabethan had been asked whether he considered the Queen of
England a great woman or not, he would undoubtedly have answered
"Yes," and given very good reasons for his answer. It was not for
nothing that the English almost worshipped their Queen in "those
spacious times of great Elizabeth." Edmund Spenser, one of the
world's great poets, hymned her as "fayre Elisa" and "the flowre of
Virgins":

Helpe me to blaze
Her worthy praise;
Which, in her sexe doth all excell!

Throughout her long reign, courtiers, statesmen, soldiers, and
people all united in serving her gladly and to the best of their
powers.

Yet she could at times prove herself to be hard, cruel, and
vindictive; she was mean, even miserly, when money was wanted for
men or ships; she was excessively vain, loved dress and finery, and
was often proud almost beyond bearing.

Notwithstanding all her faults, she was the best beloved of all
English monarchs because of her never-failing courage and strength
of mind, and she made the Crown respected, feared, and loved as no
other ruler had done before her, and none other, save Queen Victoria,
has reigned as she did in her people's hearts.

She lived for her country, and her country's love and admiration were
her reward. During her reign the seas were swept clear of foreign
foes, and her country took its place in the front rank of Great Powers.
Hers was the Golden Age of Literature, of Adventure and Learning,
an age of great men and women, a New England.