CHAPTER VIII
A HOME OF OUR OWN
It is very delightful to live in palaces and entertain kings andemperors; but Queen Victoria's palaces belonged to the English nationand not to herself, and, as has been said, their royal tenants had tosuffer many inconveniences because they were not at liberty to managetheir own housekeeping as they chose. "If we only had a home of ourown!" said the Queen and Prince Albert to each other, and at last theydecided to buy one. They talked the matter over with Sir Robert Peel,whom they had come to look upon as a faithful friend, and he told themof a beautiful estate which was for sale.
This property was situated on the Isle of Wight. It was far enough fromLondon to assure them of privacy, and it was so near that there need beno delay in matters of government. In this charming place there weretrees and valleys and hills, a wide stretch of sea-beach, with thewoods growing almost to the water's edge; and, best of all, the royalfamily could walk and drive and wander about without feeling that theywere on continual exhibition. There was a palace at Brighton which theQueen had sometimes occupied for the sake of being near the sea; butBrighton had become so much of a city, and the houses had clustered soclosely about the palace, that there was no longer any view of theocean from the lower windows, and no member of the royal family couldgo outside of the grounds without being followed by inquisitive crowds.At Osborne, as the new purchase was named, there was perfect freedom.Perhaps the "grown ups" of the household appreciated the libertyindoors quite as much as that out of doors, for here there were no"departments" to consult, and if a pane of glass was broken, there wasno need of sending over the kingdom for the signatures of five menbefore it could be mended.
The house was pretty, but it was too small, and a new one had to bebuilt. Prince Albert made all the plans for it, and he was as eager asthe Queen to get into a home of their own. Nevertheless even in hiseagerness he did not forget the good of others. The longer the work ofbuilding and beautifying the grounds lasted, the better it was for theworkmen; and so when harvest time came, he discharged large numbers ofhis men, saying: "Work in the fields now; then, when the harvest is in,come to me, and you shall have work here again."
The cost of the house came from the Queen's own purse, from the regulargrant made her by Parliament, though most sovereigns have called uponthe nation to build whatever dwellings they thought desirable. Thepeople of the kingdom were pleased to hear the English Court called themost magnificent in Europe, and many statesmen expected that when a newpalace was to be built or a royal guest to be entertained, thesovereign would ask Parliament for a special grant of money to pay theexpense. Frequently far more was expected of members of the royalfamily than their purses could provide, and then came debts. KingLeopold had not been able to live within his grant, and the Duke ofKent had left indebtedness at his death. The little Princess, who hadnot been allowed to buy a box until she had the money to pay for it,meant, now that she was on the throne, to carry out the principle onwhich she had been brought up. The first thing that she did was to payher father's debts, and while living in as much splendor as her peopledesired, she managed her income so well that she could afford to builda palace if she chose. Prince Albert heartily approved of this wiseeconomy, and he carried out the same plan in managing the farm of thenew estate; he spent lavishly in improving the land, but unlike most"fancy farmers," he made his costly improvements so skillfully thatthey were paid for in the generous increase in crops.
When the new house was done, there was a joyful homecoming. As theQueen passed through the door, one of the maids of honor threw an oldshoe after her, "to bring good luck," she said. To the Prince, enteringinto the new home brought memories of his childhood in Coburg, andafter the first dinner he said, "We have a hymn in Germany for suchoccasions. It begins:
"Bless, O God, our going forth, Bless Thou, too, our coming in."
So it was that the new house was opened. Not only the grown folk, butthe merry little company of princes and princesses, were very happy init whenever a few days could be spared for its pleasures. As they grewolder, a Swiss cottage was built for them, and this was _their_ house.There was a charming little kitchen, with a cooking stove, so that thegirls could try all sorts of experiments in the cooking line; and happythey were when they could persuade their father and mother to partakeof a "banquet" of their own preparing. The boys had a forge and acarpenter's bench, where they built small boats and chairs and tablesand wheelbarrows. Every child had a garden, and there he raised notonly flowers, but fruit and vegetables. In this little paradise thechildren did what they liked, but they were shown the best way of doingit. A gardener taught them how to manage their gardens, and whenevertheir vegetables were a success, they either gave them away or soldthem at market price to the royal kitchen. Prince Albert himself taughtthe boys how to use tools, and helped them to begin a museum ofinsects, minerals, and all sorts of curiosities like the one that heand his brother Ernest had had in Coburg when they were boys.
Not only at Osborne, but wherever the royal children were, they werebrought up as simply as the Queen herself had been. Whatever materialwas bought for their clothes had to be shown to the Queen, and if itwas rich or expensive, she would refuse to allow it to be used. As soonas the princes and princesses were old enough, they were taught to takeas much care of their clothes as if they had been a poor man'schildren. One of their nurses wrote that they had "quite poorliving--only a bit of roast beef and perhaps a plain pudding;" and sheadded, "The Queen is as fit to have been a poor man's wife as a queen."Baron Stockmar was consulted on all nursery questions, and he said thatit was more difficult to manage a nursery than a kingdom.
The Queen tried to make her children understand that they were nobetter than other children just because they were princes orprincesses, and they were obliged to behave with perfect courtesy tothe servants of the palace as well as to kings and emperors. It is saidthat once upon a time two of the children thought it very amusing totake possession of the brushes and blacken the face of a woman who wascleaning a stove; but when the Queen mother discovered their prank, shetook the small culprits by the hand and led them to the woman's roomand made them apologize most humbly. The little Princess Royal "Vicky"was so independent a young lady that she would sometimes break throughher mother's teachings. The story is told that one day a sailor liftedher on board the royal yacht, saying as he sat her down, "There youare, my little lady." "I'm a princess I'm not a little lady," the childretorted; but the watchful mother was listening, and she said, "That istrue. Tell the kind sailor that you are not a little lady yet, but thatyou hope to be some day." Occasionally this willful little Princesspreferred to bear a punishment rather than give up her own way. TheQueen and the Prince addressed Dr. Brown as "Brown," and the smallchild followed their example. "You will be sent to bed if you do thatagain," said the Queen, but the next morning when Dr. Brown appeared,the little girl said with special distinctness: "Good morning, Brown,and good night, Brown, for I'm going to bed, Brown," and, with hersaucy little head high in the air, she marched off to bed.
Happy as the Queen and the Prince were in their home life, one subjectin connection with her husband always troubled the loving wife, andthat was the annoying question of precedence. She wrote of him in herjournal: "He is above me in everything really, and therefore I wishthat he should be equal in rank to me." In England she could "put thePrince where she wished him to be," but Parliament had given him norank, and therefore out of England some sovereigns, like King Ernest,positively refused to grant him any honors that were not due to theyounger son of the Duke of Coburg; and when precedence was accordedhim, the Queen had to express gratitude as for a personal favor toherself. Unknown to the Prince, she had a long talk on the subject withBaron Stockmar.
"I wish him to have the title of King Consort," she said earnestly.
"A king consort without the authority of a king would be a novelty,"replied the Baron, "and the English people do not like anything forwhich there is no precedent. Queen Anne'
s husband was never calledking."
"But Queen Anne's husband was stupid and insignificant," declared theQueen. "There has never been a case like ours before. Albert and Ireign together. He is sovereign as much as I. We discuss all mattersand decide together."
"True," admitted the Baron, "but the constitution does not provide forsuch a condition of affairs. I will talk with Peel about it."
Peel felt as Stockmar did, that it was not wise to propose such atitle. The subject arose again some years later, and the shrewd Baronwrote to the Prince in his usual straightforward fashion: "Neverabandon your firm, powerful position to run after butterflies. You havethe substance; stick by it." The title was never given him, but it wastrue that he had "the substance." The Queen no longer met her Ministersalone; the Prince was always with her to help and suggest. Whenevereither she or the Prince spoke to the Council the word "I" was notused; it was always "We think so-and-so should be done."
Not only the Council but the whole country were gaining in knowledge ofthe Prince's wisdom and devotion to the good of the kingdom, and in1847 a valued mark of appreciation was given him in his election asChancellor of the University of Cambridge, one of the greatest honorsthat could have been bestowed upon him. The Queen was delighted,because she knew that the position was not given out of compliment toher, but was something that he himself had earned. Soon after theelection, came the installation. The magistrates and Yeomanry went tothe station to meet the Queen, and then marched before her into thetown. She was escorted into the Great Hall of Trinity College and ledto an armchair which stood on a platform under a canopy. Soon after shehad seated herself, the new Chancellor entered at the farther end ofthe hall, followed by the long line of university dignitaries. He worea robe of black and gold, so long that it had to be held up by twogentlemen. When he stood in front of the armchair that represented thethrone, he made a low bow and delivered his address. "The situation wasalmost absurd for us," said the Queen afterwards, but the Prince readhis address with perfect command of his countenance and the Queen wasquite serious until she caught his eye for a moment at the end of thespeech. She half smiled, but in an instant she was again the dignifiedsovereign, and she declared with a little emphasis that brought forthshouts of applause, "The choice which the university has made of aChancellor has my most entire approbation."
Not long afterwards the new Chancellor and his royal wife paid anothervisit to Cambridge. It was a little muddy, and the Queen hesitated amoment before getting out of the carriage. Instantly one of thestudents threw his gown upon the ground for her to step on, and othersfollowed his example.
When Victoria thought of her husband and her children, she wassupremely happy, but when she thought of the different kingdoms ofEurope, and even of her own realm, there was much in 1847 and 1848 tomake her unhappy. All Europe was restless and uneasy. Revolt had brokenout in Italy, France, Germany, and other countries. The reigningsovereigns in most of these kingdoms were related to her either byblood or by marriage, and she could but feel grief for their trials,and, in some instances, fear for their safety. Indeed, the King andQueen of France had to flee to England and they spent the remainder oftheir lives at Claremont. In Victoria's own realm, there was trouble.Ireland was suffering from a terrible famine. Thousands of Irish weredying of either starvation or fever. In England there was nostarvation, but everyone felt the hard times more or less. Those whohad money did not dare to invest it, because business was so unsettledthat they were afraid of loss. As capital was not invested, there waslittle work to be had, and the poor suffered severely. The rich as wellas the poor felt the general stagnation. Greville said that his incomewas only half the usual amount, and even in royal palaces stricteconomy was practiced.
There was a special reason for great uneasiness in London. According tothe laws at that time, no one could become a member of the House ofCommons who did not own land enough to receive from it an annual incomeof $1500. This law had been made in the belief that a man who ownedland would be more interested in the welfare of his country than a manwho had none. Thousands of workingmen were not allowed even to vote.When work was plenty, and they were comfortable and busy, they did notthink so much about their rights; but when work failed, they began tosay to one another: "This is all the fault of the laws. If everyonecould vote, and if poor men as well as rich men could become members ofParliament, laws would be made for the good of the whole nation and notmerely for the landowners."
These men held meetings to discuss such matters, and they concluded tosend in a petition to Parliament, setting forth their wrongs anddemanding that changes should be made. The plan was explained in whatwas called the People's Charter, and therefore its supporters werespoken of as Chartists.
No one would have objected to having as many petitions sent toParliament as the house would hold, but among the people were manyhot-headed persons who had much to say about "oppression" and"revolution." The crowds sometimes became noisy and turbulent, and oneevening some of them rushed wildly toward Buckingham Palace. The onlyharm that they did was to break some street lamps; and when theirleader was arrested by the police, he made no resistance, but began tocry. Nevertheless, people felt very uneasy, and when it was reportedthat on the 10th of April the petition would be presented by 1,000,000men, there was much alarm in the city. Shops were barricaded, weaponswere put where they could be caught up in a moment, and old musketsthat had not been used for half a century were brought down from thegarrets and put in order for the riots that were feared. The Duke ofWellington, as commander-in-chief of the army, made very wisepreparations. There was no display of soldiers or cannon, butBuckingham Palace and the public buildings were quietly filled witharmed men, and gunboats were brought up the river. The Queen had shownagain and again that she was no coward, and she would have stayed inLondon, but her Ministers persuaded her to take her three-weeks'-oldbaby to Osborne House. All London trembled when the 10th of Aprilarrived; but when night came, those who had feared most laughedheartiest. The whole affair had ended in a few thousand men startingfor Parliament with the petition. "You cannot cross the bridge inmass," said the police, and the Chartists went home meekly, sendingtheir petition in cabs.
The Queen had long wished to go to Ireland, and in 1849 she and thePrince and the four older children went to that country in the yacht_Victoria and Albert_. Now, however indignant the Irish might beat England's rule of their country they would not give the Queen anybut the most cordial greeting; and when the yacht sailed into the mouthof the River Lee, the people of the place called Cove of Cork askedthat she would step ashore, if only for a moment. "We wish to changethe name of our town," they said, "so that it may mark the place wherethe Queen first set her foot on Irish soil." The flag was run up onwhich was written the word "Cove," but as soon as the Queen had goneback to the yacht, the flag was dropped, and another was run up marked"Queenstown."
The _Victoria and Albert_ went on to Cork, and the party also visitedseveral other places in Ireland. Wherever they went, the crowds pressedto the water's edge with cheering and shouts of welcome. Cannon werefired and bells were set to ringing. Every little cottage had its flag,or at least a wreath of flowers and evergreens. All were interested inthe royal children, and at Kingstown an old lady cried out: "Oh! Queendear, make one of them Prince Patrick, and all Ireland will die foryou."
When the Irish visit had come to its end, and the Queen was about toleave for England, the crowds on the shore cheered her more wildly thanever, and both the Queen and the Prince climbed the paddlebox and wavedtheir handkerchiefs again and again. "Go slowly," ordered the Queen,and the boat moved very slowly along, keeping close to the pier. Thecrowds cheered with more enthusiasm than before, and three times areturn was given to their salute by lowering the royal standard. One ofthe Queen's party said: "There is not an individual in the town whodoes not take the Queen's going on the paddlebox and lowering the royalstandard as a personal compliment to himself."
The year following the visit to Ireland the Queen's seventh
child wasborn, a boy.
"Now we are just as many as the days of the week," cried the brothersand sisters joyfully.
"But which of us shall be Sunday?" asked one.
"The new baby," answered Princess "Vicky" decidedly, "because he's justcome, and we must be polite to him and give him the best."
The little boy was named Patrick, as the old woman in Ireland hadsuggested, but his first name was Arthur, for the Duke of Wellington,on whose eighty-first birthday he was born.
The days of the Queen were full of joys and sorrows that came almosthand in hand. Her home life was perfectly happy, but her duties as asovereign took much time that she would have gladly given to herfamily. "It is hard," she said, "that I cannot always hear my childrensay their prayers." She had the warmest, most devoted friends, but inthe six years preceding 1850, she had lost several who could never bereplaced. Sir Robert Peel and Lord Melbourne had died, the opposingMinisters who had both won her confidence and gratitude; and the "goodQueen Adelaide," who had loved the little Princess Victoria as if shehad been her own child, was also gone. The sorrow which Prince Albertfelt at the loss of his father had been to his wife a grief almost asdeep; and both she and the Prince were saddened by the loss of theCoburg grandmother, who loved him so that she was almost heartbroken onhis leaving her to make his home in England, and called piteously afterhis carriage, "Oh, Albert, Albert!" The three who had been nearest tothe Queen in her childhood were living, her mother, Dr. Davys, andBaroness Lehzen. The kind, scholarly clergyman she had made Bishop ofPeterborough, and she saw him from time to time. After the marriage ofthe Queen the Baroness Lehzen returned to her friends in Germany, butthe busy sovereign found time to send her long and frequent letters.
The losses of the Queen were many, but with Prince Albert by her side,she felt that she could bear whatever came; and it was a greathappiness to her that the better he was known in the country, the morehighly the nation thought of him. They could hardly help esteeming him,for he seemed never to have a thought of himself; all was for the Queenand for her people. For several years he had had a plan in his mind fora great industrial exhibition. When he first laid the scheme before thepublic, the people were wildly enthusiastic. Then, as the difficultiesarose, there was much criticism. The building would cost $1,000,000,and subscriptions were slow. _Punch_ brought out a cartoon inscribed,"Please to remember the Exposition." It represented a boy holding outhis cap for pennies Under the picture was written:
"Pity the sorrows of a poor young Prince ---- Whose costly scheme has borne him to your door; Who's in a fix--the matter not to mince-- Oh, help him out, and commerce swell your store."
Prince Albert laughed heartily at the cartoon, added it to hiscollection, and worked all the harder for the exposition.
There was much opposition to admitting foreign exhibits, for manyEnglish manufacturers had a wild fancy that the sight of them wouldprevent the English from patronizing home products. "All the villainsof the Continent will be here," declared the grumblers. "They willmurder the Queen and begin a revolution." In Parliament, one of themembers invoked the lightning to fall from heaven and destroy thehalf-finished building. Nevertheless, enormous masses of goods wereconstantly arriving, and the mighty structure continued to rise. It wasmade of iron and glass, and was like an enormous greenhouse. Thackeraywrote of it:
"And see, 'tis done! As though 'twere by a wizard's rod, A blazing arch of lucid glass Leaps like a fountain from the grass To meet the sun."
The Crystal Palace, the people called it, and no better name could havebeen given. It stretched out one thousand feet in length, and part ofit was one hundred feet high, so high that two elm trees which had beengrowing on its site grew on in freedom under its glass roof. Theironwork was painted a clear, bright blue. There were scarlet hangings,fountains, statues, banners, tapestries, flowers, palms, everythingthat could make it bright and beautiful.
May 1, 1851, had been named as the day of opening. In the royal familythe day began with birthday gifts for the little Arthur--toys from theparents, a clock from the Duchess of Kent, and, strange presents for ababy, a bronze statuette and a beautiful paper-knife from the Princeand Princess of Prussia. Long before noon, the Queen, the Prince, andthe two older children drove to the Crystal Palace. As they entered,there was a flourish of trumpets, followed by tremendous cheering. TheQueen was radiant with happiness as she walked down the broad aislewith her husband. She wore a pink silk dress of Irish poplin, and onher head was a diamond tiara. She led by the hand the Prince of Wales,a bright, handsome little fellow. The Princess Royal wore a whitedress, and on her head was a wreath of roses. She held her father'shand. The cheers grew louder and louder, then the deep tones of theorgan broke in upon them. The music of two hundred instruments and sixhundred voices followed, leading the thousands present in the NationalHymn. After this the Prince left the side of the Queen, and, returningat the head of the commissioners, he read her the formal report. Shemade a short reply. The Archbishop of Canterbury offered up prayer, andthe wonderful "Hallelujah Chorus" resounded through the lofty arches.While this was being sung, a Chinese mandarin, who had been walkingabout most perfectly at his ease and quite indifferent to the gazingcrowds, now took his stand before the Queen and made a very profoundobeisance. He proved to be of considerable use a little later, for whenthe long procession of distinguished Englishmen and foreigners wasformed, it occurred to someone that China was not represented, and thedignified mandarin was taken possession of as an addition to the train.He made no objections, but marched along with his former tranquillity,thinking apparently that all foreigners were treated in such manner bythose remarkable people, the Englishmen.
The Duke of Wellington was in the procession and the walk around thebuilding was to him a triumphal progress, for the women waved theirhandkerchiefs and kissed their hands, while the men cheered andshouted, "The Duke! The Duke!" In the midst of all his glory, he didnot forget his little year-old namesake and godson and later in theday, his eighty-second birthday, he called at Buckingham Palace with agolden cup and some toys of his own selection for the little boy.
So ended what Victoria called "the proudest and happiest day of mylife, a thousand times superior to the coronation." In her journal shewrote: "Albert's name is immortalized, God bless my dearest Albert, Godbless my dearest country!"