Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

The prince was engaged daily in fulfilling a multitude of claims on his strength and leisure. Writing from Osborne to the princess royal he speaks of the delightful air and rural aspects of the place, to which one might abandon one's self, but that "one's feelings remain under the influence of the treadmill of never-ending business. The donkey in Carisbrook, which you will remember, is my true counterpart. He, too, would rather munch thistles in the castle moat, than turn round in the wheel at the castle well; and small are the thanks he gets for his labour.

"I am tortured, too, by the prospect of two publie dinners at which I am, or rather shall be, in the chair. The one gives me seven, the other ten toasts and speeches, appropriate to the occasion, and distracting to myself. Then I have to resign at Oxford the Presidency of the British Association, and later in the season to open the Statistical Congress of all nations. Between these come the laying the foundation-stone of the Dramatic College, the distribution of the prizes at Wellington College, &c. &c.; and this, with the sittings of my different commissions, and Ascot races the delectable, and the balls and concerts of the season all crowded into the month of June, over and above the customary business, which a distracted state of affairs in Europe and a stormy Parliament . . . make still more burdensome and disagreeable than usual."

This letter does not exhaust the special engagements which awaited the prince on his return to Windsor Castle. He had, as a domestic as well as a public duty, to settle all the details of the visit of the Prince of Wales to Canada, and to draw up memoranda of the tone to be taken in replying to addresses, according to the conditions and circumstances of the different places where they were likely to be presented. Then there were meetings and correspondence with the promoters of the forthcoming International Exhibition of 1862, and there were the duties of hospitality to observe amidst a numerous assembly of guests, including the King of the Belgians and his second son, and the young Prince Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt and his brother.

Before the end of June, however, there was

one great public demonstration in which both the queen and the prince necessarily took the leading part. On the 23d of that month the first great Volunteer review was held in Hyde Park. Her majesty and the royal party arrived on the ground at four o'clock, the queen entering the park in an open carriage with the King of the Belgians, the Princess Alice, and Prince Arthur, Prince Albert riding by the side of the carriage and followed by a brilliant cortége. Her majesty drove along to the extreme left of the line of volunteers on the Bayswater Road, and thence along the whole front to the extreme right at Albert Gate. The royal stand was about the centre of Park Lane, and in front of this the whole 21,000 men marched past in companies, taking two hours to pass. The various corps then took up their original positions, and the line advanced in battalion columns with salvoes of cheering for her majesty as they moved onward. Of the vast force assembled, 15,000 belonged to London and 6000 to the provinces, the City of London sending 1800 men, and Manchester about 2000. By eight o'clock the whole body of volunteers had got entirely clear of the park without accident, and after admirably executing the few movements which could alone be effected by so large a number within the allotted space.

At the Trinity House dinner, where he presided the same evening, the prince said :—

"We have witnessed this day a scene which will never fade from the memory of those who had the good fortune to be present—the representatives of the independence, education, and industry of this country, in arms, to testify their devotion to their country, and their readiness to lay down their lives in its defence. The Volunteer force exceeds already 130,000 men; and to what extent this country is capable of exerting itself in real danger is shown by the number of volunteers, which in 1804 reached the extraordinary figure of 479,000! We are apt to forget, however, that, in contrast with every other country of the world, all our services are composed exclusively of volunteers: the navy, coast-guard, coast volunteers, army, militia, yeomanry, constabulary. May the noble and patriotic spirit

REVIEW OF VOLUNTEERS BY THE QUEEN.

which such a fact reveals remain ever unimpaired! And may God's blessing, of which this nation has seen such unmistakable evidence, continue to rest upon these voluntary services!"

Congratulatory references were everywhere heard, and the Volunteer force was soon afterwards almost likely to be impaired by the manifestations of popularity which it enjoyed. On the 2d of July the first meeting of the National Rifle Association was held at Wimbledon. The weather was brilliant, which, after such a dreary season, was a delightful change, and a brilliant assembly had gathered to witness the proceedings.

The first shot at the targets was fired by the queen; and Mr. Whitworth had so adjusted one of his rifles as to secure a good score for her majesty at the 400 yards range. An address was presented to the queen on her arrival at the camp by Mr. Sidney Herbert as president of the association, after which her majesty, accompanied by the prince, advanced to a tent, in which the rifle had been fixed which was to open the competition. A touch of the trigger was followed by the flutter of the red and white flag before the target, an intimation that the "bull's-eye" had been hit, and that her majesty, in accordance with the rules of the association, had scored three points.

For six successive days the competition for the prizes for the best shooting continued. The number of volunteers who entered for the regulated prizes was 292, while 494 competed for those open to all comers. The first queen's prize of £250 with the gold medal of the association was won by Mr. Ross of the 7th York, who, in the determining contest, made eight points at 800, seven at 900, and nine at 1000 yards. About £2000 was taken for admission to the camp.

At the beginning of August, the court moved to Balmoral, taking Edinburgh in the way for the purpose of holding a review of the Scottish volunteers.

The scene of the review (on the 7th of August) was Holyrood Park, a long level space stretching eastward from Holyrood Palace at the base of the steep ascent which is crowned

45

by Arthur's Seat, and also commanded by the great breadth of slope westwards which terminates in the picturesque ridge of Salisbury Crags. "A nobler arena for such a display could not be imagined," says one account of the scene; "and the enthusiasm of the multitudes, which covered every inch of ground on slope, and peak, and crag, from which it could be seen, made even more exciting a spectacle that abounded in features peculiarly fitted to satisfy the eye and to quicken the imagination. Of all the cities of Europe none presents so many points as Edinburgh for giving effect to holiday movement and display. The spot, moreover, on which the review took place was not merely dear to Scotchmen from the associations of history and romance, but it has in itself more features of mingled beauty and grandeur than any other in the 'gray metropolis of the North.'

"The gathering was a truly national one. From all parts of the country vast multitudes flocked to Edinburgh to testify their loyalty to the queen, and the hold which the Volunteer movement had upon their hearts. As the English counties had sent the flower of their local corps to the review in Hyde Park in June, so now came a goodly array of the best blood and bone and sinew from nearly every county in Scotland to swell the general muster. From the Orkneys, 'placed far amid the melancholy main,' from Caithness, from Inverness, from Aberdeen, from the hills of Argyleshire, from the banks of Loch Tay, from the straths and upland pastures of the valley of the Tay, from Forfarshire, Fifeshire, and Stirlingshire came the picked men of each district. Nithsdale, Annandale, Galloway, Roxburghshire, and Selkirkshire sent their contingents from the south, swelled by troops from Tynemouth, Alnwick, Sunderland, and Whitehaven; while Glasgow and the West of Scotland furnished about one-third of the entire force of at least 22,000 men, of whom 18,000 or more were Scottish corps, who came together on that day to salute their sovereign under the windows of the ancient palace of Holyrood."

In the morning the queen and prince had visited the Duchess of Kent, who was staying at Cramond House, a small cheerful house look

ing across the Firth of Forth, and her royal just previously been formed, and for which highness was present at the review. the prince strongly advised that boys should be trained:

"Mama arrived," says her majesty's diary, "about a quarter to three, and waited with us, looking at the splendid scene-Arthur's Seat covered with human beings, and the volunteers with bands marching in from every direction on to the ground close in front of the palace. We waited long, watching everything from the window." Soon after halfpast three the queen came upon the ground in an open carriage and four, in which were seated with her the Duchess of Kent, the Princess Alice, and Prince Arthur. The Princess Helena, Princess Louise, and Prince Leopold followed in the next carriage. The Prince Consort rode on the right side of the queen's carriage, and the Duke of Buccleuch, as lord-lieutenant of the county and captain of the Royal Body-guard of Scottish Archers, on the left. As her majesty passed along the lines of the volunteers, who stood at the salute, the whole assembled multitudes that crowned the slopes of the great natural amphitheatre of the adjoining hills broke into acclamations. "The effect," wrote a spectator, "of the cheering on the hill-side was not less than sublime. Peal after peal broke forth in thunder, carried away by the strong wind, to be again and again renewed."

The marching past lasted an hour and ten minutes, and the men then advanced in line cheering.

"We came home," the queen writes, "at near six, so delighted that dear Mama could be present on this memorable and never-to-beforgotten occasion. She had not witnessed anything of the kind for long (the distribution of the Crimean medals in 1854, and of the Victoria Cross in 1857, excepted), and had not driven with me on any similar occasion for above twenty-six years!"

Alas! The shadow of sorrow followed by its deep reality was soon to fall within the royal circle by the sickness and death of that mother so revered and well beloved. There was much to do even during the holiday at Balmoral, and we find the prince writing to Lord Palmerston on the subject of the coast volunteers and the naval reserve, which had

"What I have never understood is, that the admiralty does not try to raise and train for the service more boys, who are most easily got, cheap to keep, and make much better sailors for the royal navy when grown up than men entered in the ports, and who have been brought up in the merchant service, and may have contracted every vice of indiscipline. We actually require on an average 4000 boys a year, and we have only 1880 in our school ships (this number including even the novices!). If we had a reserve of 5000 boys these would almost supply the navy in peace time. And if an equal number of men who have served in the navy were placed in the naval reserve, when these boys grow up and take their places, we should soon have an efficient reserve force, not requiring any further training, and most valuable to the merchant service from the previous training received in the royal navy."

The court was back at Osborne in September, and the queen, the prince, and the Princess Alice prepared for a long-contemplated journey to Coburg. The voyage from Gravesend to Antwerp was made in the royal yacht. They had scarcely entered the railway carriage at Antwerp when a telegram from Prince Ernest (Prince Albert's brother) announced the serious illness of the dowager Duchess of Coburg, who had been joyfully anticipating their coming. The visit could not be put off, and at Verviers another telegram gave intelligence of her death. The journey was naturally a sad one, since, though the health of the duchess had been so feeble that she was not expected to live long, her death was sudden and unexpected. There were, however, so many dear associations at Coburg, and the presence there of Prince Ernest and of the princess royal, with her husband Prince Frederick William and their boy, the queen's first grandchild, now seen for the first time, made the reception deeply affecting. space in these pages will not suffice for dwelling upon the incidents of that visit to the scenes of the prince's early days; nor need we

The

THE PRINCE OF WALES IN AMERICA,

describe them at length, for the narrative has been written in simple, touching, but graphic language by the queen herself in her journal, from which it has been partly transcribed into the Life of the Prince Consort.

Prince Albert had had a narrow escape at Coburg in consequence of the horses of a carriage in which he was being driven alone taking fright and dashing onward to a spot where a bar had been placed across the road to divide it from the railway line. The prince leaped out only just in time, and though shaken and sustaining some grazes and contusions, was not seriously hurt, and at once endeavoured to assist the driver, who had been badly injured by the collision. Two of the four horses broke away and galloped towards Coburg, where they were seen by Colonel Ponsonby, the prince's equerry, who immediately obtained a carriage, and with Dr. Baly and another doctor drove along the road to the scene of the disaster.

During the latter part of the visit, and on the homeward journey, the queen suffered greatly from illness, brought on by a severe cold, and aggravated by the inclement weather which prevailed for a great portion of the time of their stay. To mark her sense of gratitude to Almighty God for the escape of the prince from imminent peril her majesty afterwards established a trust called the Victoria Foundation by investing 12,000 florins (a little over £1000) in the names of the burgomaster and chief clergyman of Coburg as trustees for the distribution of the interest of the fund on the 1st of October in each year among a certain number of young men and women of exemplary character belonging to the humbler ranks, the money being intended to apprentice or otherwise to assist the young men to pursue some industrial occupation, or to assist the young women either by enabling them to earn their livelihood or to furnish a marriage dowry.

The two princes had been expected back in England by the end of October, but adverse winds were blowing, and Prince Alfred did not arrive in Portsmouth till the 9th of November, the birth-day of the Prince of Wales, who was still absent. Prince Alfred, who had

47

gone out in the Euryalus, and while on board served strictly as a midshipman, had been received at Cape Town with much enthusiasm, and had re-embarked in company with the governor, Sir George Grey, on his tour through the colony, where he every where experienced the loyalty and hearty good-will of the people. The Prince of Wales, who arrived at Plymouth on the 15th on board H.M.S. Hero, had reached Canada amidst great popular rejoicings and an enthusiastic welcome, which was in no way diminished when he left the British possessions and continued his journey, as Lord Renfrew, in the United States of America. Nothing could have exceeded the enthusiastic hospitality of the American people and their demonstrative pleasure at the presence of the heir to the British crown in the cities of the great republic from Chicago to Cincinnati, Washington, New York, and Boston. Everywhere arrangements were made for his reception, but at first there was an observance of the fact that the queen had represented the visit to be a private one. In Chicago and Cincinnati the streets were filled with enormous crowds, whose demonstrations were quiet and respectful; and the municipal and other authorities exhibited genuine and

courteous hospitality.

courteous hospitality. At Washington the prince accompanied the president to the home and the burial-place of Washington at Mount Vernon, and the prince planted a chestnut by the side of the tomb. In New York the reception had broken out of the bounds of a general, but at the same time not an officially national, welcome; and Boston, the city of intellectual culture, was almost as demonstrative. Mr. Charles Sumner, writing from the latter city to Mr. Evelyn Denison, speaker of the House of Commons, said:

"You will have heard something of the uprising of the people to welcome the prince. But I doubt if any description can give you an adequate idea of its extent and earnestness. At every station on the railway there was an immense crowd, headed by the local authorities, while our national flags were blended together. I remarked to Dr. Acland that it seemed as if a young heir long absent was returning to take possession.' 'It is more

than that,' said he, affected almost to tears. For the Duke of Newcastle, who had so grave a responsibility in the whole visit, it is a great triumph. I took the liberty of remarking to him that he was carrying home an unwritten treaty of amity and alliance between two great nations."

President Buchanan wrote to the queen on the 6th of October:

"When I had the honour of addressing your majesty in June last, I confidently predicted a cordial welcome for the Prince of Wales throughout this country, should he pay us a visit on his return from Canada to England. What was then prophecy has now become history. He has been everywhere received with enthusiasm; and this is attributable not only to the very high regard entertained for your majesty, but also to his own noble and manly bearing. He has passed through a long ordeal for a person of his years, and his conduct throughout has been such as became his age and station. Dignified, frank, and affable, he has conciliated, wherever he has been, the kindness and respect of a sensitive and discriminating people. His visit thus far has been all your majesty would have desired; and I have no doubt it will so continue until the end.

"The prince left us for Richmond this morning with the Duke of Newcastle and the other members of his wisely selected suite. I should gladly have prolonged his visit had this been possible consistently with previous arrangements. In our domestic circle he won all hearts. His free and ingenuous intercourse with myself evinced both a kind heart and a good understanding. I shall ever cherish the warmest wishes for his welfare.

"The visit of the prince to the tomb of Washington, and the simple but solemn ceremonies at this consecrated spot, will become an historical event, and cannot fail to exert a happy influence on the kindred people of the two countries."

This letter was received with great satisfaction. In returning it to the queen, Lord Palmerston wrote of it as doing “equal honour to the good feelings and just appreciations of the person who wrote it, and to the royal

prince to whom it relates." In reply her majesty wrote:

"Your letter has afforded me the greatest pleasure, containing as it does such kind expressions with regard to my son, and assuring me that the character and object of his visit to you and to the United States have been fully appreciated, and that his demeanour and the feelings evinced by him have secured to him your esteem and the general good-will of your countrymen.

"I purposely delayed the answer to your letter until I should be able to couple with it the announcement of the Prince of Wales's safe return to his home. Contrary winds and stress of weather have much retarded his arrival, but we have been fully compensated for the anxiety which this long delay has naturally caused us, by finding him in such excellent health and spirits, and so delighted with all he has seen and experienced in his travels. He cannot sufficiently praise the great cordiality with which he has been everywhere greeted in your country, and the friendly manner in which you have received him; and whilst as a mother I am most grateful for the kindness shown him, I feel impelled to express at the same time how deeply I have been touched by the many demonstrations of affection towards myself personally, which his presence has called forth.

"I fully reciprocate towards your nation the feelings thus made apparent, and look upon them as forming an important link to connect two nations of kindred origin and character, whose mutual esteem and friendship must always have so material an influence upon their respective development and prosperity.

"The interesting and touching scene at the grave of General Washington, to which you allude, may be fitly taken as the type of our present feeling, and I trust of our future relations."

The Prince of Wales was to go to Cambridge for a year, Prince Alfred was to start in January on a voyage to Jamaica, but the betrothal of the Princess Alice to Prince Louis of Hesse on the 30th of November was the next important event in the royal household.

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »