1852 BY THE PRINCE. 469 generation it has declined in the Spartan virtues, and let itself be ruled too much, as the Spectator says, by Calico and Cant. "We honour in him," says that paper, "those manly virtues, but for the manifestation of which at an earlier period Calico and Cant would have had but a poor time of it." 'We need some of this manly virtue now, for we have still much to do, and it will still cost much before we can reach a state of perfect security against French invasion. Lord Hardinge is hard at work and has accomplished much at the Board of Ordnance during the last six months. The numbers of the Militia will soon be made up. The letter from Baron Stockmar, in answer to which the following is a reply, has apparently not been preserved. But the Prince's language is noteworthy, as showing how thoroughly content he was to sacrifice all thought of personal ambition, and to have his best efforts ignored or even misunderstood, so that only they strengthened the Monarchy and raised the prestige of England: ... Your appeal to me to replace the Duke for the country and the world shall stimulate me to fresh zeal in the fulfilment of my duties. The position of being merely the wife's husband is, in the eyes of the public, naturally an unfavourable one, inasmuch as it presupposes inferiority, and makes it necessary to demonstrate, which can only be done by deeds, that no such inferiority exists. Now silent influence is precisely that which operates the greatest and widest good, and therefore much time must elapse before the civilised world. His campaigns were sanctified by the cause; they were sullied by no cruelties, no crimes; the chariot wheels of his triumphs have been followed by no curses; his laurels are entwined with the amaranths of righteousness, and upon his death-bed he might remember his victories among his good works.' 470 THE DUKE'S FUNERAL. 1852 value of that influence is recognised by those who can take cognisance of it, while by the mass of mankind it can scarcely be understood at all. I must content myself with the fact that constitutional monarchy marches unassailably on its beneficent course, and that the country prospers and makes progress. How, and with what accessories the last honours should be paid to the remains of the Great Duke, was among the first thoughts of Her Majesty on hearing of his death. He had himself left no instructions as to his funeral. Following the precedent in the case of Nelson, the Queen might of her own authority have given orders for a public funeral. But Her Majesty was anxious that this tribute of veneration should not emanate from the Crown alone, but that the nation should stamp the ceremonial with increased solemnity by a vote of its representatives, and thus associate her people with herself in paying honour to the memory of one whom no Englishman can name without pride or sorrow.' Parliament was not to meet till November, and in the meantime the body of the Duke was placed under the care of a Guard of Honour until the approval of both Houses should be obtained (which was done on the 11th November) to its being deposited at the public expense, and with all the solemnity due to the greatness of the occasion, in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul's, there to rest by the side of Nelson-the greatest military by the side of the greatest naval chief who ever reflected lustre upon the annals of England.'" More glorious tribute never closed a glorious life than was paid by the full heart of the nation when the day came The words quoted in the text are taken from a letter, made public at the time, by Lord Derby to Mr. Walpole, the Home Secretary, written from Balmoral on the 20th of September. 1852 ITS SOLEMNITY. 471 that saw the Great Duke laid, in accordance with this resolution, in his final resting-place. All had been said of him in Parliament and elsewhere, that eloquence could draw from memory or imagination to do honour to his worth. But history will hereafter dwell with prouder emphasis on the triumph which that worth achieved in the spectacle of the myriads, who stood for hours under the chill of a grey, bleak November sky, to watch the long procession that attended the last great Englishman' to his tomb beneath the stately dome of the Metropolitan Cathedral, and a great silence, not unbroken by sobs, marked how deep and universal was the reverence for him, who had laid the country under obligations so deep by great deeds done and high example set. Nor was England alone in the tribute thus paid to her illustrious chief. Every first-class State in Europe, except one, sent its representative to the funeral. That one was not France. On the contrary, its ruler, who might perhaps have been expected to hang back from joining in the last honours to the great World-Victor's victor,' was among the first to announce his intention to send a representative.8 'Honour, my Lords,' said Lord Derby, speaking in the House of Lords, the day after the funeral, Honour to the people who so well know how to reverence the illustrious dead! Honour to the friendly visitors-especially to France, the great and friendly nation, that testified by the representative their respect and veneration for his memory! They regarded him as a foe worthy of their steel. His object was not fame or glory, but a lasting peace. We have buried in 6 • When Count Walewski asked Prince Louis Napoleon, whether he was to attend the Duke's funeral, the Prince replied, Certainly: that he wished to forget the past, that he had every reason to be grateful for the friendly terms in which the late Duke had spoken of him, and that he wished to continue on the best terms with England.' This is reported in a private despatch at the time on the authority of M. Drouyn de Lhuys. 472 LETTER BY THE QUEEN. 1852 our greatest hero the man among us, who had the greatest horror of war.' The Queen, who had watched the funeral procession from Buckingham Palace, as it passed from the Horse Guards towards Constitution Hill, and again from St. James's Palace, as it came down St. James's Street into Pall Mall, thus writes of the great event of that memorable 18th of November to her uncle, King Leopold. His children were at this time on a visit to the Queen, and his eldest son, the present King of the Belgians, witnessed the ceremony at St. Paul's: 'Windsor Castle, 23rd November, 1852. 'You will have heard from your children and from Charles [Prince Leiningen], how very touching the ceremony both in and out of doors was on the 18th. The behaviour of the millions assembled has been the topic of general admiration, and the foreigners here all assured me, that they never could have believed such a number of people could have shown such feeling, such respect,-for not a sound was heard! I cannot say what a deep and wistful impression it made upon me! It was a beautiful sight. In the Cathedral, it was even much more touching. The dear old Duke, he is an irreparable loss! 6 There is but one feeling of indignation and surprise at the conduct of Austria in taking this opportunity to slight England in return for what happened to Haynau because of his own character.' Some there were, however, who remembering events yet recent, saw only a fitness in the absence of representatives from that country at the funeral of the Great General, 'whose campaigns were sullied by no cruelties, no crimes;' and who, on his deathbed, might remember his victories among his good works.' CHAPTER XLVII. LEAVING Balmoral on the 12th of October, the Court reached Windsor Castle on the evening of the 14th. Their route was through Edinburgh, where they rested on the night of the 12th; proceeding next day, by way of Preston and Chester, to the Penrhyn Arms Hotel at Bangor, on the Menai Straits. Mr. Robert Stephenson's tubular bridge for carrying the Holyhead Railway across the Straits had just been completed, and the main object of this hurried visit to North Wales was to inspect this signal monument of engineering skill and daring. The Prince walked along the top of the tube, while the Queen drove through it, and they then went down to the sea level to inspect the work in all its gigantic proportions. Splendid' is the Prince's brief record in his journal of the effect produced. Both the Queen and himself were delighted to have another glimpse of the beautiful scenery of this part of North Wales, which a very fine day enabled them to see to advantage. 6 A few days after the return to Windsor Castle, the Prince was elected Master of the Trinity House, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the Duke of Wellington. On the 2nd of November he took the oath of office, and at the same time Lord Derby was sworn in as an Elder Brother of the Corporation-an honour for which he had been recommended by the Prince. As usual with him, the Prince did not accept the position of Master as a mere honour, which involved no responsibilities. He made himself fully conver |