Chapter XIII.
Peace and War.
The year 1851 was memorable to the Queen, for it brought the opening of the Great Exhibition, the crown of success to prolonged efforts made by the Prince against all kinds of opposition and misrepresentation. When first the project was mooted, hardly any one had a good word to say for it. Members of Parliament in the House of Commons prayed that hail and lightning might be sent from heaven to destroy it; it was bound to be a financial failure; it would ruin Hyde Park; it would bring London ever desperado and bad character in Europe. Its actual success was beyond all anticipation, and was only heightened by the croaking which had preceded it. The Queen's delight knew no bounds, for she felt not only that the whole thing was a magnificent success, but that it was owing to the Prince that it was so, and therefore was of the nature of a personal triumph for him. The Queen wrote about the opening ceremony as "the great and glorious first of May, the proudest and happiest day … of my happy life." In her journal she wrote:—
"May 1. The great event has taken place; a complete and beautiful triumph; a glorious and touching sight,—one which I shall ever be proud of for my beloved Albert and my country. … Yes; it is a day which makes my heart swell with pride and glory and thankfulness."
The only event with which she felt she could compare it was the coronation; "but this day's festival was a thousand times superior." The effect produced on her as the view of the interior burst upon her, she speaks of as—
