LIFE OF THE PRINCE CONSORT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4344, 20 February 1875, Page 2 (Supplement)

LIFE OF THE PRINCE CONSORT.

(From Public Opinion.) 'Hie appearance of the first portion of the narrative of the Life of the Prince Consort will bo warmly welcomed. The Queen has been singularly happy,in the choice of a biographer. Mr. Theodore Martin has brought to his honorable task not only all the resources of the literary art of which he is an acknowledged master, but the rarer qualities of judgment, discretion, reserve, a manly independence and an enlightened and discerning sympathy. Throughout this volume the biographer seems to efface himself as much as possible, and to let his story tell itself in the words of the documents to which ho had access. Wherever he has occasion to introduce an episode or an incident, or to connect passages in the history by comment of his own, fhen/is not a word too much or too emphatic in tone ; no flights of rhetorical eulogy, but a calm, self-possessed, and dignified simplicity congenial to the theme and to the character of his hero. The preface, in the form of a letter of dedication to the Queen, sums np in a few sentences the principles by which the biographer was guided in the composition. Mr. Martin confessed “the extreme diffidence—l might even say reluctance,” with which he accepted the responsibility of continuing the Life of the Prince which had been begun by General Grey. The present volume embraces the first twenty-nine years of the Prince’s life.

BIRTH OF TIUNCE ALBERT .AMD PRINCESS VICTORIA. Albert, the future Prince Consort of England, was horn at the Eosenan, about four miles from Coburg, on the 26th of August, 1819. Throe mouths before, on the 24th of May, 1819, the Duchess of Kent, sister of the Prince’s father, gave birth to the Princess, now Queen, Victoria. The Prince was baptised by the clergyman who had the year before officiated at the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. The mother of theDnchess, writing to her of the birth of the Prince, expressed the hope of seeing “ the May Flower of Kensington.” Two years later the Dowager Duchess of Coburg, writing to the Duchess of Kent, speaks of the beauty, vivacity, and intelligence of “little Alberichen,” with his lar"e blue eyes, and calls him “ the pendant to his pretty cousin” (the Princess Victoria.) The portrait of the child, which is reproduced from the “Early Years” as an illustration to the present volume, justifies the fond grandmother’s description of “a little angel with fair curls,” and his disposition seems to have been at once serious and thoughtful beyond his years, and yet humorous, frolicsome, and playful. There was nothing in the slightest defwee priggish in his love for knowledge, and the force and sweetness of his character were discovered more in the energy with which he was always learning, and which he carried alike into his studies and his childish sports, in his aversion from anything that he thought unjust or dishonest, in his eager desire to do good and assist others, and his gratitude for any kindness, however trifling, to himself. His coarse of instruction was comprehensive and exact, and he early showed a marked inclination for natural science, for music, and the arts of design. For field sports in them-' selves he cared less than for the healthy exercise they gave, and though a capital shot, and, as he afterwards proved in England, a bold rider to hounds, he could never understand people making a business of shooting or giving np whole days to the chase. He trained his body for the sake of his mind, and so grew up from a delicate childhood into an active, cheerful, healthy boy. The alliance between the House of Coburg and the Eoyal Family of England had already been sealed by the marriage of Prince Leopold, the youngest brother of Prince Albert’s father, with Princess Charlotte, then presumptive heiress to the English throne. Soon after the lamented death of that Princess, the Duke of Kent .had married the youngest sister of the Duke of Coburg, and widow of Prince Ernest Charles of Leiningen. Of this second marriage there was issue one daughter—Victoria ; and though the Duke of Clarence, afterwards 'William IV., had been married on the same day with the Duke of Kent, the issue of that marriage was limited to two daughters, who died in infancy.

THE VIEWS OF THE PRINCESS VICTORIA RESPECTING HER FUTURE SOVEREIGNTY. The Duke of Kent was in the hahit of showing the infant Princess as the Queen of England to be ; but the Princess herself was not permitted to know until her twelfth year that no one stood between herself and the succession to the throne. The following curious passage in a letter from the Baroness Lehzen, the princess’s governess, shows how well the secret had been kept ; “ I ask your Majesty’s leave to cite some remarkable words of your Majesty’s when only twelve years old, while the Regency Bill was in progress. I then said to the Duchess of Kent 'that now, for the first time, your Majesty ought to know your place in the succession. Her Royal Highness agreed with me, and I put the genealogical table into the historical .book. "When Mr. Davys, the Queen’s instructor (afterwards Bishop of Peterborough) was gone, the Princess Victoria opened as usual the book again, and seeing the additional paper said, ‘ I never saw that before.’ ‘ It was not thought necessary you should, Princess,’ I answered. ‘ I see I’am nearer the throne than I thought.’ ‘ So it is, madam/' I said. After some" moments the Princess resumed, ‘ Now, many a child would boast, but they don’t know the difficulty. There is much splendor, but there is more responsibility.' The Princess having lifted up the forefinger of, her right hand while she spoke, gave me that little hand, saying, ‘ I will be good. I understand now, why you urged me so much to learn, even Latin. My cousins Augusta and Mary never did ; but you told me Latin is the foundation of English grammar, and of all the elegant expressions, and I learned it as you wished it, hut X understand all better now/ and the Princess gave me her hand, repeating, 1 1 will be good !’ X then said, ‘ But your aunt Adelaide is still young, and may have children, and of course they would ascend the throne after their father, William IV., and not you, Princess.’ The Princess answered, ‘ And if it was so, I should never feel disappointed, for I know by the love aunt Adelaide bears me, how fond she is of children.’ When Queen Adelaide lost her second princess, she wrote to the Duchess of Kent, * My children are dead, but yours lives, and she is mine, too , The Queen adds in a note, “ I cried much on learning it, and even deplored this contingency.” , ■ SELECTION OF FRINGE ALBERT AS THE HUSBAND OF THE PRINCESS VICTORIA. The sudden death of the Duke of Kent threw upon his brother-in-law, Prince Leopold, the care of his brother and child.. The little “May Hower” of Kensington was an object of the deepest interest to her relatives in Coburg, and the idea of her marriage to one of her cousins had taken such root in the family, that Prince Albert's nuno was in the habit of prattling to her charge about his marrying the future Queen of England. But it was not until the year 1836 that the succession to the throne of England was regarded as certain to fall to the daughter of the Duke of Kent. Leopold had even then fixed upon Prince Albert as best fitted to secure the happiness of his niece, and to fulfil the duties of the Consort of an English Queen. But ho was far too deeply impressed with the responsibility of such a choice to act in haste, and he consulted his friend and private adviser, Baron von Stockmar. The name of this most remarkable man occurs constantly in these pages. He is certainly one of the most striking figures in recent history. A native of Coburg, ho had entered the household of Prince Ijeopold as his private physician in 1816, at the time of the Prince’s marriage with Princess Charlotte. She had died with her hand clasped in his, and he was the first to announce to the Prince that cruel loss. Thenceforth Stockraar resided with Prince Leopold in England as his private secretary and comptroller of his household ; and acquired a thorough knowledge of this country, of the nation, and of the Constitution. BARON STOCKUAR'S OPINION OF PRINCE ALBERT. The Baron’s opinion was expressed in the following characteristic letter, written early in 1836, to the King of the Belgians : “ Albert (he writes) is a fine young fellow, well grown for his ago, with agreeable and

valuable qualities ; aud who, if things go well, may in a few years turn out a strong, handsome man, of a kindly, simple, yet dignified demeanor. Externally, therefore, he possesses all that pleases the sex, and at all times and in all countries must please. It may prove, too, a lucky circumstance that even now he has something of an English look. Put now the question is,—How as to his mind ? On this point, too, one hears much to his credit. But these judgments are all more or less partial ; and until I have observed him longer, I can form no judgment as to his capacity and the probable development of his character. He is said to be circumspect, discreet, and even now cautious. But all this is not enough. He ought, to have not merely great ability but a right ambition and great force of will as well. To pursue a political career so arduous for a lifetime demands more than energy and inclination—it demands also that earnest frame of mind which is ready of its own accord to sacrifice mere pleasure to real usefulness.’ It he is not satisfied hereafter with the consciousness of having achieved one of the moat influential positions in Europe, how often will he feel tempted to repent what he has undertaken ? If he does not from the very outset accept it as a vocation of grave responsibility, on the efficient fulfilment of which his honor and happiness depend, there is small likelihood of his succeeding.”

PRINCE ALBERT’S VISIT TO KENSINGTON PALACE : PRINCESS VICTORIA’S APPROBATION OP THE PRINCE. Stockmar observed the character of the young Prince closely within the next few months, and became persuaded of his high qualifications ; but when the two Princes were invited by - the Duchess of Kent to visit her at Kensington Palace he insisted on the object of the visit being kept strictly secret from the Princess as well as the Prince. The Princess was to be entirely free to follow her own inclinations ; the Prince, it is true, had heard his grandmother speak with hope of the possibility of such an alliance from Ids earliest years ; but it was only when the visit of the Princes came to an end that King Leopold made the Princess aware of his wishes. The answer of the young lady left no doubt as to her feelings, and in a letter to her uncle she wrote, “ I have only now to beg yon, ray dearest uncle, to take care of theTiealth of one so dear to me, and to take him under your special protection.” SPECIAL EDUCATION OP THE PRINCE. He was sent to Brussels, and there was closely occupied with the study of history and modem languages, and, under the eminent statist M. Qnetelet, to whom in after years he expressed in graceful terms his obligation, devoted himself to the higher mathematics, and to social economy. From Brussels he went to Bonn for eighteen months, working with the closest application at Roman law, political economy, and moral philosophy. king Leopold’s proposal, and his estimate OP PRINCE .ALBERT. It was now 183 S, and King Leopold had proposed to his niece some “ decisive arrangement” for the coming year. But to this her Majesty demurred : she thought herself too young, and the Prince hardly qualified as yet to take up his proper position in England. King Leopold reports to Stockmar a long conversation he had held with the Prince, in Avhioh the latter had spoken very sensibly. “I am ready (he said) to submit to this delay, if I have only some certain assurance to go upon. But if, after waiting, perhaps for three years, I should find that the Queen no longer desires the marriage, it Aveuld place me in a ridiculous position, and would, to a certain extent, ruin all my prospects for the future.” Leopold had the highest opinion of his nephew’s character, and especially of his power of self-control, Avhich was in later years so severely tested. From Brussels the Prince jroceeded on a tour in Italy accompanied, by ier Majesty’s desire, by Stockmar, who had no misgivings as to the Queen’s ultimate intentions. In Italy he continued his active and studious habits, “ rising at six and Avorking till noon, dining simply at tAvo o’clock, Avhen his drink was water, and going to bed as a rule at nine.” He played the fine organ in the Church of the Badia at Florence, to the wonder of the monks. He submitted to rather than enjoyed the fashionable frivolities of society ; he visited the Pope (Gregory XVI.), and ventured to argue a point of art with the Holy. Father. THE PRINCE’S CHARACTER AND CONSTITUTION. On his return home to Coburg he was declared of age. Stoekmar’s impressions of the Prince’s character at this date are on record ; and one remark of the old physician is significant :—“His constitution cannot be called strong; still I incline to think that Avith proper dietetic management of himself, it may easily gain strength and stability. After any exertion he is apt to look pale and exhausted. Great exertion is repugnant to him, and his tendency is to spare himself morally and physically.” The Prince, he goes on to observe, is full of the noblest resolutions, but often falls short in giving them effect; he takes no interest in politics. Stockmar, in short, feared that the Prince, from a certain languor of temperament, might degenerate into a dilettante ; he had not Avith all his acuteness discovered the latent vigor of will which, inspired by a high moral sense, Aveuld overcome any predisposition to indolence and indifference. A lurking physical weakness of constitution was no doubt fatally developed in after years ; but he was destined to become the most laborious and indefatigable and practical of men, and to succumb at last to the consequences of overwork and of a constant tension of brain and will.

THE DISPOSAL OF THE QUEEN’S HAND. At the opening of 1839 the disposal of the Queen’s hand was still an object of dynastic ambitions and diplomatic intrigues. In England the state of public affairs was such as to make the Queen anxious for a husband’s guidance and support. The question of the retirement of the Ladies of the Bedchamber, on the attempt of Sir Robert Peel to form an Administration, had greatly embittered party conflict ; and the young Queen’s warm personal regard for the Whig statesmen who had surrounded her from her accession had, as Mr. Martin is at no pains to conceal, “not unnaturally caused her to drift insensibly into political partisanship.” The continuance of this state of things waa most undesirable ; hut though the Queen, in her own .words, “never had an idea, if she married at all, of any one else,” than Prince Albert, she still desired delay, and the Prince actually came to England under the impression that the engagement was broken off—at least, for some years. However, the Prince came, saw, and conquered. He arrived on the 10th of October with his brother at Windsor Castle, and on the 14th the Qneen informed Lord Melbourne of her intention. PRINCE ALBERT’S LETTER TO THE DUCHESS OF KENT. The Duchess of Kent, who had always taken the liveliest interest in the marnage, wrote two letters of congratulation to the Prince. Writing from Wiesbaden (to which place he had returned after his auspicious visit to Windsor) on the 21st of November, he thus expresses himself; — “Wiesbaden, Nov. 21, 1839. “Dearest Aunt,—A thousand • thanks for yonr two dear letters, just received. I see from them that you are in close sympathy with your nephew—your son-in-law soon to be—which gratifies me very very much. All you say strikes me as very true, and as emanating from a heart as wise as it is kind. I regret, ns you do, that I have not still some months at command to prepare myself for my new position—a position new to me in so many ways; yet what little I have shall not fail to bo turned to account, if they will allow me a moment’s leisure in Coburg from other matters. . “ What yon say about my poor little bnde sitting all alone in her room, silent and sad, has touched me to the heart. Oh, that I might iiy to her side to cheer her ! “ You wish mo to give you something I have worn. I send you the ring which you gave mo at Kensington on Victoria’s birthday in 1836. From that time it has never left my finger. Its very shape proclaims that it has been squeezed in the grasp of many a manly hand. It has your name upon it; but tho name is Victoria’s too, and I beg you to wear it in remembrance of her and of myself.

“ Our stay in Wiesbaden will be brief, for we expect to start for koine the clay after to* morrow. We stayed for a couple of hours at Boon, visited our little old home there, and then gave a dijeilner to our old masters, who received us with great cordiality. “Now farewell, dearest aunt, and continue your love for your devoted nephew, “Albert.”

THE PRINCE'S AMBIGUOUS POSITION” I HIS INTEREST IN PUBLIC QUESTIONS. The Prince himself early felt the immense ambiguity of his position ; but the love of the Queen, and his own stedfast resolve to deserve it by perfect study of his duty, set all things right. Stockmar was ever a faithful councillor, adding to German solidity and deepthoughtedness English experience. “ I love and honor the English Constitution from conviction,” he writes to the Prince, “for I think that, under judicious handling, it is capable of realising a degree of legal civil liberty which leaves a man free scope to think and act as a man. Out of its bosom singly and solely has sprung America’s free constitution, in all its present power and importance, in its incalculable influence upon the social condition of the whole human race ; and in my eyes the English Constitution is the foundation, corner, and cope-stone of the -entire political civilisation of the human race, present and to come,”

The times meanwhile—we are talking of the year 1840—were very agitated at home and abroad. “I think,” says her Majesty, in a letter to the King of the Belgians, “that our child ought to be called, besides its other names, ‘ Turko-Egypte’—we talk and think of nothing else.” But certainly at home the Prince was by this time conquering whatever prejudices existed against him ; he showed his large interest in public questions, and delivered the first of many admirable speeches at an anti-slave trade meeting, upon which Mr. Martin remarks as follows :

“He made it his study to acquaint himself with whatever was being done in painting and sculpture, and laid the foundation for that active part which he subsequently took in spreading throughout the kingdom the love and appreciation of these arts, in which it was then conspicuously deficient. At the same time, he early let it be seen that he shared the public interest in the questions of the day, by presiding, on the Ist of June, 1840, at a public meeting to promote the abolition of the slave trade, where by a few concise and weighty sentences he gave a foretaste of that power of saying much in a few words, for which his speeches and addresses soon became remarkable. It was his creed, that representing, as he ■would be held to do, the personal opinions of the Sovereign, no word to be spoken by him on public occasions should be left to the chance of the moment, hut that all should he well considered and presented in the best possible form. This speech, therefore, brief as it was, was, like its succesors, carefully written and committed to memory. *He was very nervous,’ says the Queen, * and had repeated his speech in the morning to her by heart.’ Cicero himself, as we know, in the height of his fame, shuddered visibly over his whole body when he began to speak. In the Prince’s case a , nervousness, which is inherent in all great .speakers, was very naturally heightened by the circumstance that he had to speak in a foreign language, before many thousands of eager listeners, whose good opinion he was specially desirous to conciliate. *My speech,’ he informs his father, with obvious satisfaction, a few days afterwards, * was received with great, applause, and seems to have produced a good effect in the country.* ” Later on we find the following passage in a letter to his father :—“Victoria,” he writes (August, 1840), “ allows me to take an active part in foreign affairs, and I think I have done some good. I ■ always commit my views to paper, and then communicate them to Lord Melbourne. He seldom answers me, hut I have the satisfaction of seeing him act entirely in accordance with what I have said.” THE PRINCE AS A COUNSELLOR TO THE QUEEN : HIS INFLUENCE ON THE COUNTRY. And, indeed, the Prince was becoming a most useful counsellor to her Majesty, the proof of which is her own testimony. “ Albert,” she writes,, “is a great comfort to me. He takes the greatest possible interest in what goes on, feeling with me and for me, and yet abstaining as he ought from biassing me either way, though we talk much on the subject, and his judgment is, as you say, good and calm.” .There are, indeed, copious and touching proofs in this early part of his wedded life how perfectly well the Prince had conceived his duty as a husband and subject. The task which every day brought to this young Prince •was not more supremely difficult than it was nobly met and performed. In reality, it was no life of mere but one of strenuous assiduity and endless self-control, while the appointment of the Prince as head of The Royal Commission of the Fine Arts, while it gave him the opportunity of influencing most happily the reviving taste of the country, added a whole department of work to his already busy mind. But all this dry matter of aesthetics and politic? is perpetually interspersed—as it was, indeed, really—by little cases of simple, tender home delights, such as the following passage from her Majesty’s Journal, on the birthday of the Princess Royal, evinces :

“ Albert brought in dearest little Pussy (the Princess Royal) in such a smart white merino dress, trimmed with blue, which mamma had given her, and a pretty cap, and placed her on my-bed, seating himself next to her, and she was very dear and good. And as my precious, invaluable Albert sat there, and our little lovebetween us, I felt quite moved with happiness and gratitude to God.” And these tender revelations go on in a letter to King Leopold, from Windsor Castle,to which tho Court removed on the 6th December, 1841 :

“We arrived hero sains et saufs with our awfully large nursery establishment yesterday morning. To-day is very bright, clear, and dry, and we walked out early I wonder very much whom our little boy will be like. Von will understand how fervent are my prayers, and I am sure everybody’s must be, to see him resemble his Father in every, every respect, both in body and mind ! 1 Oh, piy dearest nncle, I am sure if you knew how happy, how blessed I feel, and how proud in possessing such a perfect being as my husband, and if you think that you have been instrumental in bringing about this union, it must gladden your heart !” . ; : In another letter a few days afterwards (14th of December) her Majesty reenrs to the theme:— _ “ We must all have trials and vexations ; but if one’s home is hippy, then the rest is comparatively nothing. I assure yon, dear uncle, that no one feels this more than I do. I had this autumn one of the severest trials I could have, in parting with my Government, and particularly from our kind and valued friend, and I feel even now this last very much ; but my happiness at home, the love of my husband, his kindness, his advice, his support, and his company make up for all, and make mo forget it." THE PRINCE AS A SOCIAL REFORMER. And thus the Royal lives flow on, in sunshine and shadow—as all streams must—broad or narrow, shallow or deep—with many little shining traits showing through the ripples. Tho Prince was now thoroughly aware of his task; and grappling with it by daily selftraining, we find him copying out the passage of Hallam, where he speaks of tho British objection to foreigners ; and it was beyond doubt tho intense circumspection necessary to avoid all adverse comment which produced the reserve and caution which some mistook for coldness and hauteur. And yet already the position of this good Prince was becoming so assured, that he was - able to effect a great social reform. He it waa who, after the fatal duel between Colonel Fawcett and Lieutenant Monro, took counsel with the Duke of Wellington, and led the, quiet but decisive movement of public opinion against duolling._ It was from tho Prince that the amended articles of war of April, 1844, really issued, which declared it to be “suitable to the character of honorable men to apologise, and offer redress for wrong or insult committed ; and equally so tor the party aggrieved, to accept frankly and

cordially, explanation and apologies for the same.” * The Prince, Mr. Martin adds, had the satisfaction of seeing that he had hot taken.up the question in - vain ; for a death-blow was dealt by this declaration to so-called affairs of honor. Duelling was so discredited, that it became from that time practically impossible. The picture of the Royal wedded years, as it passes before us in these pages, is tenderly perfect. It is even reflected in the private records of public events. The Royal Exchange was opened on the 28th of October, 1844, and we have her Majesty reporting the proceedings : “Nothing,” she writes to King Leopold the next day, “ ever went off better, and the procession there, as well'as the proceedings at the Royal Exchange, were splendid and royal in the extreme. It was a fine and gratifying sight to see the myriads of people assembled, more than at the Coronation even, and all in such good humor and so loyal. I seldom remember being so pleased with any public show, and my beloved Albert was most enthusiastically received by the people The articles in the papers, too, are most kind and gratifying. They say no sovereign was ever more loved than I am (I am bold enough to write it), and this because of our happy domestic home and the good example it presents.”

TOUR TO SAXONY WITH THE QUEEN. The proposed visit to Ireland having been postponed on account of the disturbed state of the country, the Queen and the Prince Consort formed a plan for a brief tour, by way of the Rhine, to Saxony, the Prince’s birth-country. This was in 1845, and t the circumstance forms the subject of a touching reference by the Queen in her Journal. The royal pair landed at Antwerp on, to use the Queen’s words, “ a pouring melancholy evening.” At Bonn many gentlemen connected with the University were presented to the Queen, who “felt as if she knew them all,” from Albert having told her so much about them. The journey through .Germany is fully described, and will be read with especial interest. At Bonn the Queen and the Prince Consort heard a Beethoven Festival, of which her Majesty writes—“ Unfortunately, though very well executed, there was but very little of Beethoven.” At Cologne Cathedral they were received by Archbishop Geisel, who made a speech which her Majesty thought “ very good.” The Rosenau, Prince Albert’s birthplace, in the heart of a beautiful country, was visited. To the Queen all seemed “ like a beautiful dream.” There were fetes in honor of the royal visitors, and her Majesty was charmed with all she saw. ‘Writing to Baron Stockmar the prince said : “ The visit to the Rhine, all but the unceasing rain, was very pleasant, and our reception brilliant and hearty. Victoria seems to have pleased everybody, and is herself satisfied and extremely interested in all she sees or has seen. The mass of royal personages, who stream in from all sides, is somewhat oppressive, although their enipressment cannot he otherwise than flattering. Here everything up to the present time has been a complete success—simple, hearty, and in good taste.” The Prince's birthday was celebrated at this time naturally with great rejoicings ; and soon afterwards the happy travellers returned to Osborne, where, says the Queen, “ looking like roses, so well and so fat, stood the four children, much pleased to see us.” VARIOUS MATTERS : DEATH OF THE DUCHESS OF COBURG : THE PRINCE’S LABORS. A great portion of Mr. Martin’s book is occupied by matters which, however interesting in themselves, have no particular reference to the main object of the life. We must be content, for example, to skip the pages in which the events bred of the Spanish marriage are voluminously set forth, and he content with merely a passing reference to the election of the Prince as Chancellor of Cambridge University —a circumstance celebrated by Wordsworth in his “ Ode on the Intimations of Immortality from the Recollections of Early Childhood,” which he wrote at the Prince Consort's request. A very considerable portion of the latter portion of this initial volume is taken up by references to the state of the political world between 1846 and 1848. At the end of Febi’uary, 1848, the Duchess of Gotha died—a melancholy event, which seems to have greatly affected the Prince Consort, who wrote the following characteristic and touching letter to the Dowager Duchess ofCoburg : “ Alas 1 the news you sent wgye heavy news indeed. The deal*, good grandmamma ! She was an angel upon earth, and to us ever so good and loving. That none’ of her grandchildren should have closed her-eyes ! Yet it was a boon to us that we wore together when the news came. [The Prince’s brother, the Duke of Coburg, and his Duchess were then on a visit to the Queen and Prince.] What dismal times are these ! I cannot give fall way to my own grief, harassed as we both are with the terrible present. You also will be in deep distress. Augustus, Clementina, Nemours, and the Duchess of Montpensier have come to. us one by one like people shipwrecked; Victoire, Alexander, the King, the Queen, are still tossing upon the waves, or have drifted to other shores ;we know nothing of them. France is in flames ; Belgium is menaced. We have a Ministerial, money, and, tax crisis ; and Victoria is on the point of being confined. My heart is heavy. “ Buckingham Palace, Feh, 29, 1848.”

In the difficulties which beset the Prince at this juncture he found, biographer, “ tho best support in the, cheerful courage of the Queen.” With this reference to the affectionate solicitude of the Prince for all around him the first volume ends; hut in some appendices are given details of the Prince’s love for music, and a long list of his printed musical works. The correspondence between Queen Victoria, the Queen of the French, and the Queen of the Belgians is also given, and cannot fail to be perused with interest. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the volume is the evidence which it furnishes of the vast amount of work done by the Prince Consort for which ha has never received credit. Ho took tho most active and constant interest in home and foreign politics, and his written views upon both are now shown to have been thoroughly sound and English, It is only by perusing some such authentic record of the Prince’s career that one . can fully realise how inexpressibly tender and affectionate wore the relations of the Queen and her beloved Consort. If only on this account the book should be widely read, for it contains much that is both ennobling and inspiriting. • The present instalment of this valuable biography takes us down only to the birth of the Princess Louise in 1848, but-wo know that the succeeding portion of tho narrative will surely exhibit to. us the same steadfast conception of a constrained and embarrassed duty, the same righteous circumspection in word and deed, tho same deep sense of tho responsibility of every day’s account, the same concentrated devotion, made up at once of truest love and deepest loyalty towards the Sovereign Lady who was at once wife and Queen, tho mother of his children, and the mistress of him and of the llealm.