The Letters of Queen Victoria
Chapter 97 : Lord Melbourne presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and acknowledges with many tha

Lord Melbourne presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and acknowledges with many thanks your Majesty's letter of the 24th inst., which he received yesterday morning. Lord Melbourne learns with the greatest satisfaction that Lady Lyttelton has undertaken the important and interesting charge, for which she is so well fitted. Lord Melbourne is most sincerely of opinion that no other person so well qualified could have been selected. Lord Melbourne will keep the matter strictly secret; he has not yet mentioned it to any one, nor has he heard it mentioned by any other person, which, as it must be known to some, rather surprises him. Unreserved approbation cannot be expected for anything, but when it is known, Lord Melbourne antic.i.p.ates that it will meet with as general an a.s.sent as could be antic.i.p.ated for a choice in which all the community will take, and indeed have, so deep an interest.

[Pageheading: GOETHE AND SCHILLER]

_Viscount Melbourne to Queen Victoria._

BROCKET HALL, _15th May 1842._

Lord Melbourne presents his humble duty to your Majesty. He is very sorry indeed, and entreats your Majesty's pardon for his great omission on Monday evening. He was never told that he was to pa.s.s before your Majesty at the beginning; at the same time he admits that it was a blundering piece of stupidity not to find this out of himself. After this he never saw the glimmer of a chance of being able to get near to your Majesty.

Lord Melbourne wonders much who could have whispered to your Majesty that he felt or expressed anything but the most unqualified admiration of the ball, which was the most magnificent and beautiful spectacle that he ever beheld. Lord Melbourne also believes it to be very popular, for the reasons which your Majesty mentions.

Your Majesty having generally chosen handsome and attractive girls for the Maids of Honour, which is very right, must expect to lose them in this way. Lord Melbourne is very glad of the marriage. Lord Emlyn[30]

always seemed to him a very pleasing young man, and well calculated to make a woman happy.

Lord Melbourne felt quite sure that there had been a mistake about Ben Stanley, which was the reason that he mentioned his name. He is sorry that he has made a fool of himself by writing. Having had so much to do with invitations during the two last years, he was not altogether unnaturally mortified to find himself not invited there.[31] Stanley is not a man to whom Lord Melbourne is very partial, but we must give every one his due. Lord Melbourne always discourages to the utmost of his power the notion of any one's having a right or claim to be asked, which notion, however, has a strong possession of the minds of people in general.

Lord Melbourne is come down here again, being determined to see this spring thoroughly and completely. His feelings are like those, so beautifully described by Schiller, of Max Piccolomini,[32] when, after a youth pa.s.sed entirely in war, he for the first time sees a country which has enjoyed the blessings of peace. The Germans seem to Lord Melbourne generally to prefer Goethe to Schiller, a decision which surprises him, although he feels that he has no right to dictate to a people, of whose language he does not understand a word, their judgment upon their own authors. But the one, Schiller, seems to him to be all truth, clearness, nature and beauty; the other, princ.i.p.ally mysticism, obscurity, and unintelligibility.

Lord Melbourne intends to return on Wednesday, and will have the honour and pleasure of waiting upon your Majesty on Thursday.

[Footnote 30: The second Earl Cawdor, who married Miss Sarah Mary Cavendish.]

[Footnote 31: Edward John, afterwards second Lord Stanley of Alderley, was nicknamed Ben, after "Sir Benjamin Backbite."

He had mentioned to Lord Melbourne that he was disappointed at not receiving an invitation to the Royal Ball.]

[Footnote 32: In the Wallenstein Trilogy.]

_The King of the Belgians to Queen Victoria._

LAEKEN, _20th May 1842._

MY DEAREST VICTORIA,--I found here yesterday a very long and dear letter from your august hand, which made me very happy. Your _fete_ I believe to have been most probably one of the most splendid _ever_ given. There is hardly a country where so much magnificence exists; Austria has some of the means, but the Court is not elegant from its nature. We regret sincerely not to have been able to witness it, and will admire the exhibition of your splendid costume.

[Pageheading: MR EDWIN LANDSEER]

_Sir Robert Peel to Queen Victoria._

WHITEHALL, _27th May 1842._

... Sir Robert Peel humbly submits his opinion to your Majesty that Mr Landseer's eminence as an artist would fully justify his having the honour of Knighthood, and would not give any legitimate ground of complaint to any other artist on account of a similar distinction not being conferred on him.

Sir Robert Peel proposes therefore to write to Mr Landseer on the subject, as your Majesty's opinion appears to be in favour of his name appearing with the others, should he wish for the distinction....

_Queen Victoria to Viscount Melbourne._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _28th May 1842._

The Queen is quite vexed at having been quite unable to write to Lord Melbourne sooner, but we have been so occupied that she could not. She was so vexed too to have not had her head turned the other way when she met him yesterday, but she was looking at the Prince, her Uncle, and Cousins riding, and only turned to see Lord Melbourne's groom whom she instantly recognised, but too late, alas! The Queen spent a very merry, happy birthday at dear old Claremont, and we finished by dancing in the gallery. She was grieved Lord Melbourne could not be there.

We have got our dear Uncle Mensdorff[33] and his four sons here, which is a great happiness to us. Dear Uncle (who Lord Melbourne is aware is a _most_ distinguished officer) is a delightful and amiable old man, and the sons are all so nice and amiable and kind and good; Lord Melbourne remembers seeing Alexander here in 1839, and that the Queen was very partial to him. The two eldest and the youngest--Hugo, Alphonse, and Arthur--are all amiable, though none near so good-looking, but so very well brought up and so una.s.suming. The second is very clever. And it is quite beautiful to see the love the father has for his sons, and _vice versa_--and the affection the four brothers have for one another; this is so rarely seen that it does one's heart good to witness it. The Queen has appointed the d.u.c.h.ess of Norfolk in Lady Lyttelton's place, and intends appointing Lady Canning in Lady Dalhousie's, who has resigned from ill-health.

Lady Lyttelton _is_ established here in her new office, and does everything admirably.

The Queen must conclude here as she has got so much to do--hoping Lord Melbourne is well.

[Footnote 33: _See_ p. 97.]

[Pageheading: LANDSEER DECLINES KNIGHTHOOD]

_Sir Robert Peel to Queen Victoria._

WHITEHALL, _31st May 1842._

Sir Robert Peel, with his humble duty to your Majesty, begs leave to acquaint your Majesty, that he has just seen Mr Landseer.

Mr Landseer repeated his expressions of deep and sincere grat.i.tude for the favour and kindness with which your Majesty had contemplated his claims for professional distinction, but appeared to retain the impression that he had yet scarcely done enough to ent.i.tle him to the honour which it was contemplated to bestow upon him.

In the course of conversation he observed that he was now occupied upon works of a more important character than any that he had yet completed, and mentioned particularly an equestrian portrait of your Majesty. He said that when these works were finished, and should they prove successful and meet with your Majesty's approbation, he might feel himself better ent.i.tled to receive a mark of your Majesty's favour.

As these were evidently his sincere impressions and wishes, Sir Robert Peel forbore from pressing upon him the immediate acceptance of the honour of Knighthood.

[Pageheading: ATTEMPT ON THE QUEEN]

[Pageheading: JOHN FRANCIS]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._