24th., 1837. The day was kept as a general holiday throughout the kingdom. The city of London voted addresses of congratulation to the Princess Victoria and Duchess of Kent on that occasion, "Which we notice in order to give a few sentiments from the reply of the duchess; she said, "The princess has arrived at that age "Which now justifies me in expressing my confident expectation that she will be found competent to execute the sacred trust which may be reposed in her; for, communicating as she does with all classes of society, she cannot but perceive that the greater the diffusion of religious knowledge and the love of freedom in a country, the more orderly, industrious, and wealthy is its population; and that, with the desire to preserve the constitutional prerogatives of the crown, ought to be co-ordinate with the protection of the liberties of the people."
In four weeks from that day the sudden death of William the Fourth gave the sovereignty of the British empire to this young maiden of eighteen. Beautifully has she fulfilled the expectations of her mother and the hopes of the nation. The manner in which the duchess relinquished her power over her daughter was a fitting sequel to the faithfulness with which she had exercised it. The great officers of state and privy counsellors, a hundred or more of the noblest in the land, assembled on the morning of June 20th., 1837, at Kensington Palace. They were ushered into the grand saloon. Soon Victoria appeared, accompanied by her mother and the officers of her household. After the duchess had seen her royal daughter enthroned on a seat of state prepared for the occasion, she withdrew and left the young queen with her council. From that hour the duchess treated her august daughter with the respectful observance her station, according to court etiquette, demands. No more advice, no farther instructions, not even suggestions, were ever offered. Doubtless, if the queen seeks her mother's counsel in private it is always given in love and truth; but the good seed had been sown at the right time; it put forth, by the blessing of God, spontaneously. The soul, like the soil, must bear its own harvest.
On the 17th. of July, 1837, the young queen made her first public appearance as sovereign over her realm; she prorogued Parliament in person; never was the act done more royally.
On the 28th. of June, 1838, she was crowned in Westminster Abbey. Never were the long and tedious ceremonies more gracefully endured. From that time onward there has been no diminution in her zeal; every duty devolving on her, every form prescribed, every custom held important in the old and cumbrous British government, Victoria has performed, observed, and cherished. She has been the model of female royalty. But this is a trifling matter, compared with the salutary influence her high principles, refined taste, and graceful propriety of manners have wielded over those who give the tone to fashionable society in England. Vice and folly retired abashed from her presence.
This example of strict virtue on the British throne was imperatively needed; hence the great blessing conferred by the reign of Victoria, who is, in her private life, a model for her people. She was married on the 10th. of February, 1840, to her cousin. Prince Albert, of Saxe-Coburg, who had been, for a time, her associate in childhood, and whose development of character and talents has fully justified the wisdom of her choice and the worth of her
