The personality and the position, too--the wonderful combination of them--that, perhaps, was what was finally fascinating in the case. The little old lady, with her white hair and her plain mourning clothes, in her wheeled chair or her donkey-carriage--one saw her so; {306} and then--close behind--with their immediate suggestion of singularity, of mystery, and of power--the Indian servants. That was the familiar vision, and it was admirable; but, at chosen moments, it was right that the widow of Windsor should step forth apparent Queen. The last and the most glorious of such occasions was the Jubilee of 1897. Then, as the splendid procession passed along, escorting Victoria through the thronged re-echoing streets of London on her progress of thanksgiving to St. Paul's Cathedral, the greatness of her realm and the adoration of her subjects blazed out together. The tears welled to her eyes, and, while the multitude roared round her, 'How kind they are to me! How kind they are!' she repeated over and over again.[41] That night her message flew over the Empire: 'From my heart I thank my beloved people. May God bless them!' The long journey was nearly done. But the traveller, who had come so far, and through such strange experiences, moved on with the old unfaltering step. The girl, the wife, the aged woman, were the same: vitality, conscientiousness, pride, and simplicity were hers to the latest hour. [1] Hallé, 296. [2] _Notes and Queries_, May 20, 1920. [3] Neele, 476-8, 487. [4] _More Leaves_, _v_. [5] _More Leaves_, passim; Crawford, 326-31; private information. [6] Martin, I, 88, 137-43. [7] _Ibid._, II, 285. [8] _The Times_, April 20, 1882. [9] Letter from Sir Herbert Stephen to _The Times_, December 15,1920. [10] Morley, III, 167. [11] Private information. [12] Morley, III, 347-8. [13] Jerrold, _Widowhood_, 344; private information. [14] Lee, 487. [15] _More Leaves_, 23, 29. [16] Eckardstein, I, 184-7. [17] Grant Robertson, 458-9; Busch, III, 174-188; Lee, 490-2. [18] _Quarterly Review_, CXCIII, 305-6, 308-10. [19] _Quarterly Review_, CXCIII, 315-6; Miss Ethel Smyth, _London Mercury_, Nov. 1920; private information. [20] _Ibid._, CXCIII, 325; Miss Ethel Smyth, _London Mercury_, Nov. 1920. [21] Buckle, V, 339; Morley, III, 347, 514. [22] Quarterly Review, CXCIII, 315, 316-7, 324-5, 326; _Spinster Lady_, 268-9; Lee, 504-5. [23] _Quarterly Review_, CXCIII, 322-4; Martin, _Queen Victoria_, 46-9; private information. [24] Buckle, V, 349-51; Laughton, II, 226. [25] _Private Life_, 13, 66, 69, 70-1, 151, 182. [26] _Private Life_, 19. [27] _Ibid._, 212, 207. [28] _Ibid._, 233. [29] Private information. [30] Lee, 514-15; Crawford, 362-3. [31] Wilberforce, Samuel, II, 275. [32] Martin, II, 185-7. [33] _Quarterly Review_, CXCIII, 319-20. [34] Crawford, 349. [35] Eckardstein, I, 177. [36] Martin, Queen Victoria, 69-70. [37] _Girlhood_, II, 142. [38] Lee, 485; private information. [39] Lee, 555.