The Letters of Queen Victoria Volume I Part 116

_Queen Adelaide to Queen Victoria._

CANFORD HOUSE, _14th February 1843._

MY DEAREST NIECE,--Your delightful letter of Tuesday gave me such pleasure and satisfaction that I must thank you with all my heart for it. Your happiness, and your grat.i.tude for that happiness, is most gratifying to my feelings, having loved you from your infancy almost as much as if you had been my own child. It is therefore happiness to me to hear from yourself those expressions to which you gave vent. I thank G.o.d that you have such an excellent husband, so well calculated to make you happy and to a.s.sist you in your arduous duties by his advice, as well as his help in sharing your troubles. I pray that your domestic happiness may last uninterruptedly, and that you may enjoy it through a long, long period of _many, many years_. You cannot say too much of _yourself_ and dear Albert when you write to me, for it is a most interesting subject to my heart, I a.s.sure you.

What a _shame_ to have put on darling little Victoria a _powdered wig_! Poor dear child must have looked very strange with it! Did her brother appear in _einer Allonge-Perucke_?...

I shall hope to follow you to town early next month, and look forward with great pleasure to seeing you so soon again. Forgive me my horrible scrawl, and with my best love to dearest Albert, believe me, ever, my dearest Victoria, your most affectionate and faithfully devoted Aunt,

ADELAIDE.

Pray tell your dear mother, with my affectionate love, that I will answer her letter to-morrow.

[Pageheading: INTERCHANGE OF VISITS]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

WINDSOR CASTLE, _14th February 1843._

MY DEAREST UNCLE,--Many thanks for your kind letter of the 10th, which I received on Sunday. I am only a little wee bit distressed at your writing _on the 10th_, and not taking any notice of the _dearest, happiest_ day in my life, to which I owe the present _great_ domestic happiness I now enjoy, and which is much greater than I deserve, though certainly my Kensington life for the last six or seven years had been one of great misery and oppression, and I may expect some little retribution, and, indeed, _after_ my accession, there was a great deal of worry. Indeed I _am_ grateful for possessing (_really without_ vanity or flattery or _blindness_) the _most perfect_ being as a husband in existence, or who ever did exist; and I doubt whether anybody _ever_ did love or respect another as I do my dear Angel! And indeed Providence has ever mercifully protected us, through manifold dangers and trials, and I feel confident will continue to do so, and then let outward storms and trials and sorrows be sent us, and we can bear all....

I could not help smiling at the exact.i.tude about Monday the 19th of June; it is a great happiness to us to think with such certainty (_D.V._) of your kind visit, which would suit perfectly. _a propos_ of this, I am anxious to tell you that we are full of hope of paying you in August a little visit, which last year was in so melancholy a way interrupted; but we think that for _many_ reasons it would be better for us to pay you our _first_ visit only at _Ostend_, and not at Brussels or Laeken; you could lodge us _anywhere_, and we need then bring but very few people with us--it might also facilitate the meeting with Albert's good old grandmother, who fears to cross the sea, and whose great _wish_ is to behold Albert again--and would not be so difficult (_pour la lere fois_) in many ways. I could, nevertheless, see Bruges and Ghent from thence by help of the railroad, and return the same day to Ostend.

What you say about Peel is very just. Good Lord Melbourne is much better.

I hope soon to hear more about Joinville and Donna Francesca. Now, ever your devoted Niece,

VICTORIA R.

We are all very well (_unberufen_) and move, _to our horror_, to town on Friday.

[Pageheading: COBDEN'S ATTACK ON PEEL]

_Sir Robert Peel to Queen Victoria._

WHITEHALL, _18th February (1843)._

(_Sat.u.r.day morning._)

Sir Robert Peel presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and begs leave to acquaint your Majesty that the debate was brought to a close this morning about half-past three o'clock. The motion of Lord Howick[14] was rejected by a large majority, the number being--

For the Motion 191 Against it 305 --- Majority 114 ---

The chief speakers were Mr R. Cobden and Lord John Russell in favour of the motion, Mr Attwood, Lord Francis Egerton, and Sir Robert Peel against it.

In the course of the evening there was much excitement and animated discussion, in consequence of the speech of Mr Cobden, who is the chief patron of the Anti-Corn Law League.

Mr Cobden with great vehemence of manner observed more than once that Sir Robert Peel ought to be held _individually responsible_ for the distress of the country.[15]

Coupling these expressions with the language frequently held at the meetings of the Anti-Corn Law League, and by the press in connection with it, Sir Robert Peel in replying to Mr Cobden charged him with holding language calculated to excite to personal violence.

[Footnote 14: To go into Committee on the depression of the manufacturing industry. The debate turned mainly on the Corn Laws.]

[Footnote 15: To this attack Peel replied with excessive warmth, amid the frantic cheering of his party, who almost refused to hear Cobden's explanation in reply. Peel, alarmed at the fate of Drummond, thought (or affected to think) that Cobden was singling him out as a fit object for a.s.sa.s.sination.

For years Cobden resented this language of Peel most deeply.

"Peel's atrocious conduct towards me ought not to be lost sight of," he wrote in February 1846. A _rapprochement_ was effected by Miss Martineau--see her letter to Peel (Parker, vol. iii. p. 330)--and a reference to the matter by Disraeli in the House of Commons led to satisfactory explanations on both sides.]

_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Lincoln._[16]

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _18th February 1843._

The Queen, immediately on her arrival yesterday, went to look at the new Chapel, with which she is much pleased, but was extremely disappointed to find it still in such a backward state. As it is of the utmost importance to the Queen to be able to _use_ it _very soon_, she wishes Lord Lincoln would be so good as to hurry on the work as much as possible; perhaps Lord Lincoln could increase the number of workmen, as there seemed to her to be very few there yesterday.

[Footnote 16: Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests.]

[Pageheading: f.a.n.n.y BURNEY'S DIARY]

_Viscount Melbourne to Queen Victoria._

BROCKET HALL, _21st February 1843._

Lord Melbourne presents his humble duty to your Majesty. He received safely your Majesty's letter of the 18th inst. Lord Melbourne entreats your Majesty that you never will think for a moment that you can tire him by questions, or that it can be to him anything but a great pleasure to answer them. He will be only too happy if any information that he possesses or can procure can be of the least use or pleasure to your Majesty. Lord Melbourne conceives that your Majesty must be surprised at his complaining of sleeplessness. He is much obliged by the suggestion of the camphor. He mentioned it to the gentleman who attends him, and he said that it was a very good thing, and certainly has a soothing and quieting effect, and that in fact there was some in the draught which Lord Melbourne now takes at night. But Lord Melbourne has taken to going down to dinner with those who are in the house, and sitting up afterwards until near twelve o'clock, and since he has done this he has slept better. We expect the Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Bedford for two nights on Wednesday next. Lord and Lady Uxbridge and Ella and Constance often come over in the morning and eat their luncheon here, which Lord Melbourne takes very kindly of them. George Byng[17] came the other morning in a waistcoat of Peel's velveteen.

Lord Strafford brought the whole piece off the manufacturer, and let George Byng have enough for a waistcoat. It is a dull blue stuff, and the device and inscription not very clear nor easy to make out.[18]

Adolphus is, as Aberdeen says, too rigidly Tory, but there are plenty of narratives of the same period, such as Belsham[19] and others, of whom it may be said with equal truth that they are too Whig....

Lord Melbourne read the _Edinburgh_ on Madame d'Arblay, which is certainly Macaulay's, but thought it unnecessarily severe upon Queen Charlotte, and that it did not do her justice, and also that it rather countenanced too much Miss Burney's dislike to her situation. It appears to Lord Melbourne that Miss Burney was well enough contented to live in the Palace and receive her salary, but that she was surprised and disgusted as soon as she found that she was expected to give up some part of her time to conform to some rules, and to perform some duty. Lord Melbourne is sorry to say that he missed the article on Children's Books,[20] a subject of much importance, and in which he is much interested.

Lord Melbourne has received the engraving of the Princess, and is much pleased by it, and returns many thanks. It is very pretty, very spirited, and as far as Lord Melbourne's recollection, serves him, very like. Lord Melbourne remains, ever, your Majesty's faithful, devoted, and attached Servant.

[Footnote 17: Brother-in-law of Lord Uxbridge, and afterwards Earl of Stratford.]