Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 4, April 1852Various
General
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 4, April 1852
Various
Literature -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals
Hence it is that the reigning family now upon the English throne
presents a spectacle extraordinary upon this throne, or upon any throne
in the world. The Queen and her husband stand before the people as the
personation of every domestic and public virtue! The Queen is an
excellent wife and mother; she attends to the education of her children,
and fulfills her duties as sovereign, alike conscientiously. She is an
early riser; is punctual and regular in great as well as in small
things. She pays ready money for all that she purchases, and never is in
debt to any one. Her court is remarkable for its good and beautiful
morals. On their estates, she and Prince Albert carry every thing out in
the best manner, establish schools and institutions for the good of the
poor; these institutions and arrangements of theirs, serve as examples
to every one. Their uprightness, kindness, generosity, and the tact
which they under all circumstances display, win the heart of the nation.
They show a warm sympathy for the great interests of the people, and by
this very sympathy are they promoted. Of this, the successful carrying
out of free-trade, and the Exhibition in the Crystal Palace, projected
in the first instance by Prince Albert, and powerfully seconded by the
Queen, furnish brilliant examples. The sympathies of the Queen are those
of the heart as well as of the head. When that noble statesman, the
great promoter of free-trade, Sir Robert Peel, died, the Queen shut
herself in for several days, and wept for him as if she had lost a
father. And whenever a warm sympathy is called forth, either in public
or in private affairs, it is warmly and fully participated by Queen
Victoria and Prince Albert.
In confirmation of this opinion regarding Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert, which I heard every where, and from all parties in England, a
number of anecdotes of their life and actions were related to me, which
fully bore it out.
This universal impression, universally produced by the sovereign, who,
properly speaking, can govern nothing—because it is well known that the
monarch of England is merely a nominal executor of the wishes of the
people, a hand which subscribes that which the minister lays before it
in the name of the people; this great power, in a Queen, is without any
political power.
Monarchs and their people no longer bear the same relation to each other
as in the time when, for example, Charles the Ninth put forth his
demands, with the addition,—
“Do it, and be off with you!”
This injunction to do a thing, and then take themselves off, can no
longer be given to the people by the King, but by reason. The people
have arrived at years of discretion, and the monarch is the executor of
their laws and their wishes. He is so in England, it is said.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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