from it; the only difference being, that the Queen came back with the chosen companion of her life her husband-by her side; that it was her husband who handed her from the carriage at the Palace door; and that she walked up the grand staircase, in the presence of her Court, leaning on her husband's arm!

Then followed the wedding breakfast at the Palace, with a toast to the health of the Royal couple; and it is worthy of remark, considering the popular belief in the Queen's luck in weather, that the day which had been dark and dismal all the morning, with rain and fog, cleared up soon after the return of the bridal procession from the Chapel, and before the departure for Windsor the sun shone forth with all the splendour which distinguishes what is now proverbially called "Queen's weather."

A little before four the Queen and Prince took leave of the Duchess of Kent, and left Buckingham Palace for Windsor Castle. An immense crowd was gathered before the palace to see their departure, and the road was lined with people anxious to catch a glimpse of their sovereign and her chosen husband nearly the whole way to Windsor.

"Our reception," the Queen says in her

Journal, "was most enthusiastic, hearty, and 'gratifying in every way; the people quite "deafening us with their cheers; horsemen and gigs, &c. going along with us." At Eton the whole school had turned out to receive and welcome the Royal pair; and the boys in a body accompanied the carriage to the Castle, cheering and shouting as only schoolboys can. They swarmed up the mound as the carriage entered the quadrangle, and as the Queen and the Prince descended at the grand entrance, they made the old Castle ring again with their acclamations.

But the sovereigns of this country cannot enjoy on such an occasion the privacy which is the privilege and happiness of their subjects.

On the 12th the Duchess of Kent, with the Duke of Coburg and the Hereditary Prince, attended by the whole Court, followed to Windsor. There was dancing there that night and the next; and on the 14th the Court returned to London. Addresses had now to be received from the Houses of Parliament and other bodies both by the Queen and Prince. State visits were paid to the theatres. On the 19th the Queen had a levée, at which the Prince,

8

8 From the Queen's Journal.

who led her in, took the place on Her Majesty's left hand which he ever afterwards occupied. On the 25th (Sunday) the Queen and Prince attended service for the first time at the Chapel Royal, being much cheered as they drove there through the Park and on the 28th the Duke of Coburg left England. This separation from his father was deeply felt by the Prince. "He "said to me," the Queen records in her Journal, "that I had never known a father, and could "not therefore feel what he did. His child

"hood had been very happy." "Ernest" (the Hereditary Prince remained for some time in England after his brother's marriage)—“Ernest, "he said, was now the only one remaining here "of all his earliest ties and recollections; but "that if I continued to love him as I did now, "I could make up for all. He never cried, "he said, in general, but Alvensleben and "Kolowrath" (they had accompanied the Duke to England, and now left with him) "had cried "so much that he was quite overcome. Oh, "how I did feel for my dearest, precious husband "at this moment! Father, brother, friends, country-all has he left, and all for me. God grant that I may be the happy person, the "most happy person, to make this dearest,

"blessed being happy and contented! What "is in my power to make him happy I will do."

How this prayer was answered will best appear as we trace the course of the Queen and Prince's married life in future volumes. In another chapter, which will conclude the present volume, an account will be given of the arrangements that were made immediately after the marriage for giving the Prince precedence next to the Queen, for the formation of his household, &c., as well as a general description of the mode of life now established in its wellregulated division of duties and amusements, from which there was no material deviation in after years.

"9

The Queen was now married to the husband of her choice, amid the sincere and general rejoicings of her subjects. "It is that," Lord Melbourne said to the Queen, "which makes "your Majesty's marriage so popular, as they 'know it is not for mere State reasons." Heartfelt were the prayers offered up for the happiness of the Queen and Prince, and we can estimate but too well how completely those prayers were granted, writing as we do when all that happiness has passed away.

9 From the Queen's Journal.

CHAPTER XIV.

1840.

FIRST YEAR OF MARRIAGE.

THE PRINCE'S POSITION-FORMATION OF HOUSEHOLDSETTLEMENT OF PRECEDENCE-FREEDOM FROM PARTISANSHIP -GENERAL LIFE IN LONDON-AT WINDSOR, CLAREMONT, ETC.-LOVE FOR THE COUNTRY-ATTEMPT ON THE QUEEN'S LIFE THE REGENCY BILL-BIRTH OF THE PRINCESS ROYAL.

THE Hereditary Prince remained in England with the Queen and his brother till the 8th of May, but with his departure the last tie that bound the Prince to his native land seemed to be severed. England was to be henceforth his home. He was to forget his own country and his father's house; or, if not forget-an impossibility to a heart like his-he was at least to act as though he did. Duty now required at his hands an unreserved dedication of him