Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901 -- Fiction
Miss Lehzen, or Baroness Lehzen, for King George had made her a German
baroness, was a finely educated woman, the daughter of a German
clergyman. She had come to England with the Duchess of Kent as
governess to the Princess Feodore, and she had performed her duties so
satisfactorily that the Duchess was glad to be able to place the
Princess Victoria in her charge. She was a woman of keen, sagacious
judgment, with the ability to see everything that was going on about
her, and not at all afraid to express her opinions. One day when an
aide-de-camp of one of the royal dukes was presented to her, she
greeted him with the frank speech: "I can see that you are not a fop or
a dandy, as most of your Guardsmen are." She was severe in her manner,
but her bluntest speeches were made with such a friendly glance of her
shrewd and kindly eyes that most people who met her became, like the
aide-de-camp, her loyal friends. Many years later her former pupil said
of her: "I adored her, though I was greatly in awe of her. She really
seemed to have no thought but for me."
The education of the schoolgirl Princess went on in much the same way
as during the previous years. Her study hours were observed with such
strictness that even when a favored guest at Kensington was about to
take his departure, she was not allowed to leave her work for a moment
to say good-by. Occasionally, however, an interruption came, and three
months before she was twelve years of age the books had to be closed
for one day that she might make her first appearance at Queen
Adelaide's drawing room. She wore a white dress, hardly more elaborate
than her ordinary gowns, but a diamond ornament was in her hair, and
around her neck was a string of pearls. She stood beside the Queen, and
although the ceremonies were almost as unwonted to her as they would
have been to any other child of her age, she did not appear
embarrassed, but seemed to enjoy her new experience. Baroness Lehzen
wrote a letter to a friend about this time describing the little girl.
She said:
"My Princess will be twelve years old to-morrow. She is not tall, but
very pretty; has dark blue eyes, and a mouth which, though not tiny, is
very good-tempered and pleasant; very fine teeth, a small but graceful
figure, and a very small foot. Her whole bearing is so childish and
engaging that one could not desire a more amiable child." The Baroness
seems to have just returned from some absence when she wrote the
letter, for she adds, "She was dressed to receive me in white muslin,
with a coral necklace."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account