the sincerity of the self-devotion. On the eve of quitting Germany the Prince wrote to his grandmother :

'To live and to sacrifice myself for the benefit of my new country, does not prevent my doing good to that country from which I have received so many benefits. While I shall be untiring in my efforts and labours for the country to which I shall in future belong, and where I am called to so high a position, I shall never cease to be a true German and Coburg Gotha man.'-P. 243.

It is perhaps very natural that a young Prince, who had made such admirable use of the advantages which his country crowded around him for the cultivating and maturing his excellent understanding, should believe that that country possessed the secret of education and the key to true knowledge; but we have our insular prejudices, and sufficient conceit of ourselves to suppose we can impart something worth knowing to the stranger. It would not then have inspired much of the sympathy, which belongs to fondness, to discover that this amiable and ingenuous young Prince, full of enthusiasm for the great path of usefulness that was opening before him, and bent on a self-denying exercise of all his powers, came among us full of the notion of doing us good, but with no expectation, as far as this intimate correspondence reveals, of getting any good from us, or of learning anything beyond such technical information as was essential to an insight into our polity. Nor were his rigid, and rigidly held, resolutions-though probably politic -to hold no intercourse with English society beyond what is strictly formal and regal, means towards that influence upon the English aristocracy which was anticipated. With fond iteration, these pages dwell on the perpetual sacrifice of inclination to the duties of office; they enlarge on the distaste the Prince felt for our English usages; on the irksomeness of our late hours; on his disgust for London; and yet how he bore it all for our sakes, and to do us good;-and seem to expect that the fondness and idolatry, that did not arise out of the contemplation of work done, will awake with penitent fervour when we see the motives that stimulated them; not affection for us, not identifying himself with us, but the sense of a mission for our benefit. We are reminded on every page how infinitely above the whole English character and nation was Albert the Good, the Pious, the Energetic; and how incapable we were of appreciating him.

We do not believe that such popularity was ever an aim, nor even an object of conscious desire, with Prince Albert. All the brighter parts of his character belonged to his country andremoved from that-his wife and his family. In fact it may have been part of the plan his youthful sagacity marked out for

himself not to be popular. He may, perhaps justly, have considered it not his place to charm, to excite loyalty and grateful devotion. When these laurels were to be won, he sought the background, and chose to be subordinate, designedly yielding the conspicuous place, and all gracious action to another, the observed of all observers; whose favour must be the more valued as it is spontaneous, and not the result of system and previous calculation. We have the less scruple in noting down these excuses for any national shortcomings, because, whether designed or not, the repressing effect of the Prince's cool and guarded public attitude told chiefly upon the casual thoughtless observer, the aggregate of whom constitutes the Public which confers popularity. Those who knew Prince Albert bestthose who were admitted to his confidence-above all, the few who saw into his inmost thoughts-were at all times devoted to him with that ardour of affection which sweetness of temper, unselfishness, and high aims carried out to their ends, must inspire.

In reading of Prince Albert's family we are especially struck with certain qualities and practical self-reliant virtues as a general characteristic, especially suited for success in life. The strongest family affection prevails among them. It is the threefold cord. The family correspondence is a model in this respect. The interest of one is the interest of all. The progress of Prince Albert, and his brother, the hereditary Prince, their health, and their studies, are an universal topic. King Leopold's care and regard for his nephews is parental. King Leopold adores his mother. The two grandmother duchesses are supremely occupied with their grandchildren's prospects and expectations. The letters are all examples of this close union, and give indications from the first of ulterior views for Albert's advancement. In fact, the position of the family was peculiar. We English have never been able to attach ideas of high importance and consequence to a German duchy; and herein, perhaps, was one cause of difference when the Prince's pretensions came to be discussed; but the Coburg family have always felt the highest titles and positions as within their reach. Possible kingdoms were among their prospects. When Albert and his brother were little boys their grandmother dictated her letters through them on the question of her son's being king of Greece. No elevation would seem beyond their reasonable expectation. And that this had its effect on our Prince is very evident, and no doubt operated greatly in his favour, as giving him a sense of worth and independence when the turning point of his destiny arrived.

It may not be superfluous to some of our readers to give some particulars of the parentage of the distinguished subject of this memoir. Prince Albert's father was Duke Ernest of Saxe

Coburg Saalfeld, but not long after the Prince's birth the male line of the allied family of Saxe Gotha became extinct, and an arrangement was come to by which Saalfeld was transferred to the Dukes of Meiningen, and Gotha passed to the Coburgs. Prince Albert's mother was Princess Louise, daughter of Augustus, duke of Saxe-Gotha-Allenburg; of her the Queen writes:

"The Princess is described as having been very handsome, though very small; fair, with blue eyes; and Prince Albert is said to have been extremely like her. She was full of cleverness and talent; but the marriage was not a happy one, and a separation took place in 1824, when the young Duchess finally left Coburg, and never saw her children again. She died at St. Wendel in 1831, after a long and painful illness, in her thirtysecond year.

'One of the first gifts the Prince made to the Queen was a little pin he had received from her when a little child. Princess Louise (the Prince's fourth daughter, and named after her grandmother) is said to be like her in face.'

The Prince never forgot his mother, and was deeply affected in after years on hearing the account of her sad and painful illness. The grandmother by the father's side, the Dowager Duchess of Coburg Saalfeld, thus describes to her daughter, the Duchess of Kent, the birth of Prince Albert :

'I am sitting by Louischen's bed (at Rosenau). She was yesterday morning safely and quickly delivered of a little boy. Siebold, the accoucheuse, had only been called at three, and at six the little one gave his first cry in this world, and looked about like a little squirrel with a pair of large black eyes. I found the little mother slightly exhausted, but gaie et dispos. She sends you and Edward (the Duke of Kent) a thousand kind messages.'

The young mother is spoken of as brilliant and clever, but so injudicious in her preference for her second son (born fourteen months after Ernest, the eldest and hereditary prince) that for his sake her place was well supplied by the two Dowager Duchesses, his grandmothers; both devoted to their grandson, both more than commonly sensible and amiable women. Dowager Duchess of Coburg is thus described by the Queen :

The

'The Queen remembers her dear grandmother perfectly well. She was a most remarkable woman, with a most powerful, energetic, almost masculine mind, accompanied with great tenderness of heart, and extreme love for nature. The Prince told the Queen that she had wished earnestly that he should marry the Queen, and as she died when her grandchildren (the Prince and Queen) were only twelve years old, she could have little guessed what a blessing she was preparing not only for this country but for the world at large. She was adored by her children, particularly by her sons; King Leopold being her great favourite. She had fine and most expressive blue eyes, with the marked features and long nose inherited by most of her children and grandchildren.'

King Leopold speaks of her as a most distinguished person: certainly her letters give the idea of sound motherly good sense in addition to higher qualifications. She begs the Duchess of

Kent not to tease her little puss' (Victoria) with learning; not yet four years old, she is young enough yet; and again, counselling that the children should not take much medicine, nor hear much talk about their health. She amuses herself with finding pet names from the friskiest members of the animal kingdom for her princely descendants. Albert was always handsome :

'Little Alberinchen, with his large blue eyes and dimpled cheeks, is bewitching, forward, and quick as a weazel. Ernest is not nearly so pretty, only his intelligent brown eyes are very fine; but he is tall, active, and clever for his age.' And again : 'Albert is very handsome, but too slight for a boy; lively, very funny, all good nature, and full of mischief.'-P. 19.

Some very pleasant letters are given of hers to her daughter, the Duchess of Kent; one on our Queen's attaining her eleventh year :

:

'May 24th, 1830.

'My blessing and good wishes for the day which gave you the sweet blossom of May! May God preserve and protect the valuable life of that lovely flower from all the dangers that will beset her mind and heart. The rays of the sun are scorching at the height to which she may one day attain. It is only by the blessing of God that all the fine qualities He has put into that young soul can be kept pure and untarnished, though well I can sympathize with the feelings of anxiety that will possess you when that time comes. God, who has helped you through so many bitter hours of grief, will be your help still. Put your trust in Him.-P. 75.

Another, after the death of George IV. in June:

'God help old England, where my beloved children live, and where the small blossom of May may one day reign! May God yet, for many years, keep the weight of a crown from her young head, and let the intelligent, clever child grow up to girlhood before this dangerous grandeur devolves upon her.'-P. 76.

And again on the Regency Bill passing, appointing the Duchess of Kent to that office:

'May God give you wisdom and strength to do your duty, if called upon to undertake it. May God bless and protect our little darling. If I could but once see her again! The print you sent me of her is not like the dear picture I have. The quantity of curls hide the well-shaped head, and make it look too large for the lovely little figure.—P. 77.

On her death, her place in the hearts of her grandchildren was fully supplied by the maternal grandmother, the Duchess Dowager of Saxe-Gotha; the Queen's only rival, as we may almost term her, for the sentiment of Prince Albert towards this lady is that of a devoted son to the most charming of mothers. There is something in this particular relation which shows off one of the best qualities of the German character-its warm, all-embracing domesticity. Heine somewhere says that a Frenchmen loves liberty as he does his mistress, the Englishman as his wife, the German as his grandmother; and this picture of family life makes

us understand the saying. The influence of King Leopold over his nephews and nieces is derived from the same strong family feeling. This shows him in a very amiable light. At two years old his mother writes:- Albert adore son oncle Léopold, ne le quitte pas un instant, lui fait des yeux doux, l'embrasse à chaque moment, et ne sent pas d'aise que lorsqu'il peut être 'auprès de lui.' It is very clear that among all these good people the marriage of the two cousins was a thing to be brought about by all wise and fair means; and the Prince, who learnt these expectations in the nursery, was of a force of character and early sagacity to hold this destiny steadily before him, not so much as a point to aim at as a probable position to prepare himself for. Faithful and loyal to this idea, he held himself as a man dedicated. Youth and beauty within sight and familiar intercourse had no attractions for him. He was shy, and disliked the society of young ladies, and had to be teased into the slight politenesses which his place demanded of him.

In one letter, we are told, he alludes playfully to the advice given him that he should accustom himself more to society, and pay more attention to the ladies; which (in a memorandum by the Queen) was an occupation he particularly disliked;' and the remark of the Grand Duke of Tuscany is quoted, on seeing the Prince talking to the Marquis Capponi during a ball at Florence Voilà un prince dont nous pouvons être fiers. La belle danseuse l'attend; le savant l'occupe.'

It is with pleasure that the Queen records that he told herself that he always expected to marry her, and when he thought of marrying at all, always thought of her." Thus his plans for life were founded on this anticipation. It had become his one prospect, to which his consistent course of self training tended, and this accounts for his early resolution not to endure any long suspense or delay. It was necessary for such a man to have a course of action before him. He was only nineteen, when upon the young Queen's desiring a little delay, and showing some hesitation and coy reluctance to make up her mind, he gave his uncle to understand that he declined to wait an indefinite time for her decision. Perhaps this was a position particularly contrary to his temper: for from the age of four, the Queen tells us, he had a great dislike to be in the charge of women. eighteen, when, out of respect for his early maturity, and probably with a view to his future position, he was declared of age at the same time as his elder brother, he writes to his friend, 'I am now my own master, as I hope always to be, and under all circumstances,' to which the Queen, with amiable pride in his independence, adds the note,- How truly this was ever carried out!'

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