Page:Great Men and Famous Women Volume 6.djvu/205

QUEEN VICTORIA 363 parting and desolation appear in vivid retrospect. But if ever monarch had cause to bless God for His tender mercies, it must be she who can combine with the memory of her own life's hopes and trials the consciousness that, in the great work given her as a sovereign, she has been enabled to fulfil the beautiful desire of her innocent childhood, when, on her first being informed of her royal destiny, she indulged in no vain dream of power, but uttered the simple longing " to be good." That goodness has been her real greatness. The life of her majesty is marked by three great stages her youth, her married life, and her widowhood. Each is bound to each by the tie of a con- sistent growth, passing through those experiences which are typical of God's edu- cation of His children, whether high or low, rich or poor. , Her childhood, with its wise education, is very much the key to her after-life. Possessed naturally of a quick intellectual capacity, and an unusually accurate memory, a taste for music and the arts, and a deeply affectionate heart, she was admirably brought up by her mother, the Duchess of Kent, on whom the train- ing of the future queen devolved from her infancy. If the education was as high as it was possible to afford a young and intelligent spirit, the moral influ- ences were equally beneficial. The young princess, instead of being isolated within the formalities of a court, was allowed to become acquainted with the wants and sufferings of the poor, and to indulge her sympathies by giving them personal help. The contrast was a great one between the court of George IV., or even that of William, and the truly English home where the Duchess of Kent nurtured this sweet life in all that was simple, loving, and pure. There could scarcely have been a better school for an affectionate nature. All that we learn of her majesty at that time gives a consistent picture of great vivacity, thorough directness in her search after truth, warmth of heart, and considerateness for others, with a genuine love for all that is morally good. These were the charac- teristics which impressed those who saw her on the trying occasion when she was suddenly ushered into the foremost place in the greatest empire in the world It was these characteristics which touched the hearts of the good archbishop and of the Chancellor of England when they announced her great destiny to the girl suddenly summoned from slumber. That first request, " My Lord Archbishop, pray for me ! " revealed the depth of her character. It was the same when she had next day to pass through the ordeal of meeting the great councillors of state for the first time. Lord Melbourne, the Duke of Wellington, Peel, and the keen-eyed Secretary Greville, all felt the beautiful combination of dignity with unaffected simplicity, and of quick intelligence with royal courtesy. But they did not see the episode which followed the fatigue and excitement of the long formalities of the council, when the young queen rushed first of all to her mother's arms, there to indulge her feelings in a burst of tears, and then, with girlish naivete, claiming the exercise of her royal prerogative to procure for her- self two hours of absolute solitude. The earlier years of her reign were happily blessed with the wise and benefi- cent influence of Lord Melbourne. His relationship to the youthful sovereign