Victoria, Empress, consort of Frederick III, German Emperor, 1840-1901
Not long after the Princess Royal's arrival in Berlin, a German observer
wrote to the Prince Consort: "She sees more clearly and more correctly
than many a man of commanding intellect, because, while possessing an
acute mind and the purest heart, she does not know the word
'prejudice.'"
Less than a month after her marriage, on February 17, the Prince Consort
sent his daughter a letter full of wise warning:
"Your festival time, if not your honeymoon, comes to an end to-day; and
on this I take leave to congratulate you, unfeeling though it may sound,
for I wish you the necessary time and tranquillity to digest the many
impressions you have received, and which otherwise, like a wild revel,
first inflame, and then stupefy, leaving a dull nerveless lassitude
behind. Your exertions, and the demands which have been made upon you,
have been quite immense; you have done your best, and have won the
hearts, or what is called the hearts, of all. In the nature of things we
may now expect a little reaction. The public, just because it was
rapturous and enthusiastic, will now become minutely critical and take
you to pieces anatomically. This is to be kept in view, although it need
cause you no uneasiness, for you have only followed your natural bent,
and have made no external demonstration which did not answer to the
truth of your inner nature. It is only the man who presents an
artificial demeanour to the world, who has to dread being unmasked.
"Your place is that of your husband's wife, and of your mother's
daughter. You will desire nothing else, but you will also forego
nothing of that which you owe to your husband and to your mother.
Ultimately your mind will, from the over-excitement, fall back to a
little lassitude and sadness. But this will make you feel a craving for
activity, and you have much to do, in studying your new country, its
tendencies and its people, and in over-looking your household as a good
housewife, with punctuality, method, and vigilant care. To success in
the affairs of life, apportionment of time is essential, and I hope you
will make this your _first_ care, so that you may always have some time
over for the fulfilment of every duty."
Baron Stockmar had also been watching the details of the Princess's
reception in her new country with anxious interest. He, too, saw the
danger of a reaction, and he wrote a letter to the Prince Consort, in
reply to which the father, after commending the Princess's tact, said:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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