Queen Victoria (16 page)

On the 5th of September, 1848, when Her Majesty prorogued Parliament in person, she was able to say: ‘‘I have had the satisfaction of being able to preserve peace for my own dominions, and to maintain our domestic tranquillity. The strength of our institutions has been tried, and has not been found wanting. I have studied to preserve the people committed to my charge in the enjoyment of that temperate freedom which they so justly value. My people, on their side, feel too sensibly the advantages of order and security, to allow the promoters of pillage and confusion any chance of success in their wicked designs.”

On the 8th of the same month the Queen saw for the first time Balmoral, which had been rented from the Earl of Aberdeen on the recommendation of Sir James Clark. The site and scenery delighted both the Queen and Prince, who soon became possessors of the whole domain, which they afterwards enlarged, till it has become one of the finest estates in the Highlands, and the Queen’s favourite abode. In the Queen’s “Leaves from the Journal of our Life in the Highlands,” she gives her impression of the place - “We walked out and went up to the top of the wooded hill opposite our windows, where there is a cairn, and up which there is a pretty winding path. The view from here, looking down upon the house, is charming… It was so calm and so solitary, it did one good as one gazed around; and the pure mountain air was most refreshing. All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils. The scenery is wild, and yet not desolate; and everything looks much more prosperous and cultivated than at
Laggan
. Then the soil is delightfully dry. We walked beside the
Dee
, a beautiful rapid stream which is close behind the house. The view of the hills towards Invercauld is exceedingly fine. In the first deer drive in the Balloch Buie forest, the Prince shot a fine royal stag; and the keepers said ‘it was Her Majesty’s coming out that brought good luck.’ I was supposed to have a lucky foot, of which the Highlanders think a great deal.”

Christmas of this year was spent at Windsor, and here, a few days later, was given the first of the series of theatrical performances which was continued at intervals till 1861. Her Majesty had always delighted in the dramatic art, and was a constant visitor to the theatres as well as to the Opera in London, and the playbill of every performance she has honoured with her presence has been carefully preserved. The performances at Windsor Castle took place during the stay of the Court in the winter season, and were given in the large room on the north side known as the Rubens Room, in which a stage of fairly ample dimensions could be erected. The first performance was
The
Merchant
of
Venice
, in which Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean appeared as Shylock and Portia. Mr. Kean continued to direct the entertainments till he gave up his London management in 1857, and under his direction thirty-five performances were given. After his retirement, Mr. W. B. Donne, Her Majesty’s Examiner of Plays, was entrusted with the direction, and under him ten more evenings were devoted to dramatic representations. Plays of Shakespeare were performed on fourteen occasions. The last of this series of entertainments was on the 31st of January, 1861. The next Christmas was the time of the saddest sorrow in the life of the Queen, and it was not till thirty years had passed away that a stage was erected and that the Queen again witnessed a play in the Castle. In March, 1891, the Savoy Theatre Company performed
The
Gondoliers
. The stage was not as formerly in the Rubens Room, but was fitted up at one end of the Waterloo Gallery, which afforded more ample accommodation. Since then, at various times, other performances have taken place, and the Queen has had the opportunity of seeing-the most eminent of the actors and actresses of the day. Besides these professional performances, the members of the Royal family, many of whom have inherited the Queen’s love of the drama, have organized in the comparative privacy of Osborne and Balmoral, entertainments of a similar character, carried out with much care and completeness.

On the 2nd of February, 1849, the Queen again personally opened Parliament. The outlook was clouded by the continued distress in Ireland and by a revolt in the Punjab; the latter was speedily quelled, but the former still gave ground for serious anxiety. It had long been the wish of the Queen and Prince to visit Ireland, and it was hoped that the sympathy of their sovereign, marked by her presence among her suffering subjects, might have a cheering influence. In August, therefore, the Queen and Prince, with their four children, embarked at Cowes on the Royal yacht, under an escort of four steamers, and landed at the Cove of Cork. At the moment when the Queen stepped for the first time on Irish shore, the sun burst in splendour from the clouds, and to a deputation of the townsmen Her Majesty communicated her pleasure that the town of Cove, in commemoration of her visit, should henceforth bear the name of Queenstown. Having re-embarked, the Royal party proceeded up the river to Cork, where their reception was most enthusiastic. The Queen in her Journal specially notes, “The beauty of the women is very remarkable and struck us much; such beautiful dark eyes and hair, and such fine teeth; almost every third woman was pretty, and some remarkably so.”

On the morning of August the 5th, the squadron dropped down the river, and made direct for Dublin, arriving at Kingstown the next afternoon. Of this approach to the capital of Ireland the Queen says, “It is a splendid harbour and was full of ships of every kind. The wharf, where the landing place was prepared, was densely crowded; and, altogether, it was a noble and stirring scene. It was just seven when we entered, and the setting sun lit up the country, the fine buildings, and the whole scene with a glowing light, which was truly beautiful. We were soon surrounded by boats, and the enthusiasm and excitement of the people were extreme.” The Queen landed on the 6th of August, and, passing through Dublin to the Viceregal Lodge in the Phoenix Park, was again highly gratified with her reception. “It was,” as she records in her Journal, “a wonderful and striking scene, such masses of human beings, so enthusiastic, so excited, yet such perfect order maintained; then the number of troops, the different bands stationed at certain distances, the waving of hats and handkerchiefs, the bursts of welcome which rent the air - all made it a never-to-be-forgotten scene, when one reflected how lately the country had been in open revolt and under martial law.” On the 8th the Queen held a Court and Levde at the Castle, at which addresses were received from the Lord Mayor and Corporation, the University, the clergy, and others, and two thousand of the Irish gentry were presented. Next morning was devoted to a review, and in the evening the Queen again visited the Castle to hold a Drawing-room, at which one thousand six hundred ladies were presented. After a short visit to Carton, the seat of the Duke of Leinster, Her Majesty re-embarked at Kingstown. It is recorded that, as the yacht approached the end of the pier where the crowd was densest, the Queen ran along the deck and, mounting the paddle-box to join Prince Albert, took his arm, and waved her hand to the people on the piers. The speed of the vessel was slackened, and the Royal standard was lowered five times in courtesy to the cheering thousands on shore.

After a rough passage Belfast was reached, where the reception was as loyal and hearty as in Cork and Dublin. In her progress through the city Her Majesty witnessed with much interest the exhibition of the flax and linen manufacture. In the afternoon the Royal party returned down the Lough, intending to make for the Firth of Clyde; but a heavy gale rendered it impossible to get under way, and it was not till the next afternoon (Sunday) that it was decided to attempt the journey. After a most tempestuous passage, Loch Ryan on the west coast of Argyllshire was reached, and the yacht anchored. From Loch Ryan Prince Albert made a visit to Loch Lomond, the weather being too stormy for the Queen to attempt to accompany him, and rejoined Her Majesty at Roseneath Bay, whence they proceeded to Glasgow, and after spending a night in Perth, passed by the Spittal of Glenshee to Balmoral, where their younger children were waiting their arrival.

The life of the Queen and the Prince in their Highland home is best described in the Queen’s own book; but an interesting account of a visit paid to the Castle during this year (1849) is given by Greville in his Journal: “I am glad to have made this expedition, and to have seen the Queen and Prince in their Highland retreat, where they certainly appear to great advantage. The place is very pretty, the house very small. They live here without any state whatever; they live not merely like private gentlefolk, but like very small gentlefolk - small house, small rooms, small establishment. There are no soldiers, and the whole guard of the Sovereign and the whole Royal Family is a single policeman, who walks about the grounds to keep off impertinent intruders or improper characters… They live with the greatest simplicity and ease. The Prince shoots every morning, returns to luncheon, and then they walk and drive. The Queen is running in and out of the house all day long, and often goes about alone, walks into the cottages, and sits down and chats with the old women. I never before was in society with the Prince, or had any conversation with him… I was greatly struck with him. I saw at once (what I had always heard) that he is very intelligent and highly cultivated, and, moreover, that he has a thoughtful mind, and thinks of subjects worth thinking about. He seemed very much at his ease, very gay, pleasant, and without the least stiffness or air of dignity.”

The Prince’s mind was indeed at this moment full of things worth thinking about. Before leaving London for the visit to Ireland he had held the first meeting on the subject of the Great Exhibition, which was two years later to inaugurate a new era in the arts and manufactures of the country. The first germ of the movement may be traced to the Frankfort fairs of the sixteenth century. The idea was still further developed by the French, who brought together great collections of art and industry with a view to the improvement of both. The Society of Arts in London had also held on a small scale several exhibitions of the same nature, which had produced beneficial results on our own manufactures. But to Prince Albert is due the idea that, by making this kind of exhibition international - an idea for the first time practicable owing to the improved means of communication afforded by steam and rail - an opportunity would be given for every country to show what it could produce in raw material and finished products of every kind, as well in arts as in manufactures. This would enable each nation to see what itself was doing, and to compare its work with that of other countries whose competition in the markets of the world would have to be taken into account. On the 30th of July the Prince summoned to Buckingham Palace four of the most active members of the Society of Arts - Mr. Cubitt, Mr. Cole, Mr. Fuller, and Mr. Scott Russell, and to them he explained his views. These gentlemen, with Mr. Digby Wyatt, undertook to make the necessary inquiries of the great body of manufacturers throughout the kingdom, and to see whether the idea would meet with their favour and support. Their reports proved highly encouraging. The sympathies of the Colonies and of the East India Company were enlisted, and the cordial assent of the Prince President of the French Republic was given. From this time the movement went forward, without serious hindrance, towards the attainment of its magnificent success.

On the 27th of September the Queen and Prince left Balmoral, and, halting for a night at Howick on a visit to Earl Grey, proceeded to Osborne. There, a few days afterwards, news reached them of the sudden death of Mr. Anson, the Prince’s private secretary, and Keeper of the Queen’s Privy Purse - offices afterwards filled by Colonel the Hon. Sir Charles Phipps and General the Hon. Charles Grey. Of the Prince’s regard for Mr. Anson mention has already been made.

The opening of the new Coal Exchange of the City of London had been fixed for the 30th of October, 1849, but the Queen was unfortunately prevented from performing the ceremony in person owing to a slight attack of chicken-pox. The building was therefore opened by Prince Albert, accompanied on the occasion by the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal, who thus made their first public appearance. The route to the City was by water.

The Royal barge, manned by seven-and-twenty watermen, conveyed the party down the river, which on the north side was covered by a line of steamers moored close to each other from Whitehall to London Bridge, and on the south side by a similar line of barges and lighters, the whole of which were thronged with spectators. The Royal barge was escorted by the City barge, and followed by the barges of the Admiralty and the Trinity House. No pageant of the same character had been seen on these waters for scores of years, and has never been witnessed again. On landing at the Custom House, an address was presented to Prince Albert, after which the party were entertained at luncheon by the Lord Mayor, when, among other toasts, the health of the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal was received with enthusiastic demonstrations.

For some time past the Dowager Queen Adelaide had been seriously ill, and on the 2nd of December she died at her house at Stanmore. A few days before, the Queen and Prince Albert had seen her for the last time, and in a letter to King Leopold the Queen wrote: “I shall never forget the visit we paid to the Priory last Thursday. There was death written in that dear face. It was such a picture of misery, of complete
aneantissement
- and yet she talked of everything. I could hardly command my feelings when I came in, and when I kissed twice that poor dear thin hand… I love her so dearly. She has ever been so maternal in her affection to me. She will find peace and a reward for her many sufferings.” Again on the 4th the Queen wrote to her uncle: “Though we daily expected this sad event, yet it came as suddenly, when it did come, as if she had never been ill, and I can hardly realise the truth now. You know how
very
kind she was at all times to me, and how admirably she behaved from the time the King died. She was truly motherly in her kindness to us and to our children, and it always made her happy to be with us, and to see us! She is a great loss to us both, and an irreparable one to hundreds and hundreds. She is universally regretted, and the feeling shown is very gratifying… Poor Mama is very much cut up by this sad event, and to her the Queen is a very great and serious loss.”