1847.]

THE DEFENCES OF ENGLAND.

*

303

were with the

foreign relations rendered the Duke of Wellington most anxious about the defence of the country; in fact, he was, says Charles Greville, "haunted" by it night and day. Lord Clarendon and Lord Palmerston Duke. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was against him; John Russell, he was neutral.

as for Lord

In January, 1848, the Duke of Wellington, however, startled the country by a letter which he had addressed to General Sir John Burgoyne early in 1847 on the unfortified state of England. At that moment, he averred, the feet was the only defence the nation possessed. He doubted if 5,000 men of all arms could be sent into the field, unless we left those on duty, including the Royal Guards, without any reliefs whatever. He pleaded for the organisation of a militia force at least 150,000 strong, and for strengthening the defences of the South Coast from the North Foreland to Portsmouth.

This letter was a private one. Lady Burgoyne and her daughters, however, had distributed copies of it among their friends, and one Pigou, "a meddling zealot," says Mr. Greville, "who does nothing but read Blue Books and write letters to the Times," got hold of a copy and printed it in the newspapers, much to the annoyance of the Duke and Lord John Russell. The Duke of Wellington all through the latter half of the year had indeed given the Ministry and the Queen some uneasiness, and this might have had serious consequences, but for the fine tact and delicate social diplomacy of her Majesty. Enfeebled by age and anxious as to the defences of the country, which the Government persisted in neglecting, the "Great Captain " querulously threatened to resign-a step which the Queen dreaded because she considered that it would greatly reduce public confidence in the Government. A statue in the worst possible taste had been put up on the archway opposite Apsley House-the first equestrian statue, indeed, ever erected in England to a subject. It was put there only provisionally, but the Duke held that to take it down would be an insult to him, and this further strengthened his resolution to retire. The Queen, however, was "excessively kind to him," and her winning courtesies soothed the irritated veteran. "On Monday," says Mr. Greville, writing on the 19th of June, "his granddaughter was christened at the Palace, and the Queen dined with him in the evening. She had written him a very pretty letter, expressing her wish to be godmother to the child, saying that she wished her to be called Victoria, which name was SO peculiarly appropriate to a granddaughter of his." After that the country was no longer disturbed by rumours of the Duke's impending resignation.

Of Court life outside the sphere of politics, in this year of distress, we gain some interesting glimpses in the Memoirs and Diaries of the period. In February wheat was selling at 102 shillings a quarter, and in May the Queen herself

* A strong Memorandum by Lord Palmerston on the National Defences, December, 1846, is giver. in exterso in Lord Dalling's Life of Lord Palmerston, Vol. III., p. 390.

says she had been obliged to limit the allowance of bread to every one iz the Palace to one pound a day, "and only secondary flour to be used in the Royal kitchen." Still a generous but not ostentatious hospitality was dispensed by her Majesty all through this dismal season. The Baroness Bunsen says, in her Diary, on the 1st of March, 1847:-" We dined at Buckingham Palace

on Monday, where there was a ball in the evening-that is, a small dancing party, only Lady Rosebery and the Ladies Primrose coming in the evening, in addition to those at dinner. The Queen danced with her usual spirit and activity, and that obliged other people to do their best, and thus the ball was a pretty sight, inspirited by excellent music."

Another description of a Royal dinner-party at this time is given by Lord Campbell, in his Autobiography.* Writing to his brother, Sir George

Campbell, on the 22nd of March, 1847, he gives us a bright glimpse of Palacelife. "You will see," he says, "by the Court Circular that Mary and Loo and I dined at the Palace on Saturday. The invitation only came on Friday, and we were engaged to dine with Sir John Hobhouse. There is not much to tellto gratify your curiosity. On our arrival a little before eight, we were shown into the picture gallery, where the company assembled. Burnes, who acted as. Master of the Ceremonies, arranged what gentleman should take what lady.. He said, Dinner is ordered to be on the table at ten minutes past eight, but I bet you the Queen will not be here till twenty to twenty-five minutes after.. She always thinks she can dress in ten minutes, but she takes about doublethe time.' True enough, it was nearly twenty-five minutes after eight before she appeared. She shook hands with the ladies, bowed to the gentlemen, and proceeded to the salle à manger. I had to take in Lady Emily de Burgh, and was third on her Majesty's right-Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar and my partner being between us. The greatest delicacy we had was some very niceoatcake. There was a Highland piper standing behind her Majesty's chair, but he did not play as at State dinners.' We had likewise some Edinburgh ale. The Queen and the ladies withdrawing, Prince Albert came over to her side of the table, and we remained behind about a quarter of an hour; but we rose within the hour from the time of our sitting down. A snuff-box was twice carried round and offered to all the gentlemen; Prince Albert, to my surprise, took a pinch. On returning to the gallery we had tea and coffee. The Queen then came up and talked to me. She does the honours of her palace with infinite sweetness and grace-and considering what she is,. both in public and domestic life, I do not think she is sufficiently loved and respected. Prince Albert took me to task for my impatience to get into the new House of Lords, but I think I pacified him complimenting his taste. A dance followed. The Queen chiefly delighted in a romping sort of country dance called the Tempête. She withdrew a little before twelve, and we went off to Lady Palmerston's."

Again, writing on the eventful day when the Royal Household had been put on short rations, the Baroness Bunsen, in a letter to her mother, says:"Last night we were asked to the Queen Dowager's, who had invited a small party, at which the Queen was present and the Duchess of Gloucester. The object was to give a German named Löwe, who had come with prodigious. recommendations from Coburg, opportunity of showing his musical talent,. and it turned out that he had none to show "*-not by any means the first imported adventurer who has tried to take advantage of the Queen's good nature, and her sympathy for Art.

The great scientific event of the year was a discovery in which the Queen not only took a deep personal interest, but the application of which she:

*Life and Letters of Baroness Bunsen, Vol. II., p. 8.

1847.]

PRINCE ALBERT AND CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY.

307

subsequently used her influence to popularise. It was the substitution of the use of chloroform for ether as an anesthetic agent in operative surgery. Chloroform was first introduced into Great Britain by Dr. James Young Simpson, Professor of Midwifery in the University of Edinburgh, and he claimed for it several advantages over ether. A smaller quantity produced unconsciousness.

It acted more rapidly, and was less evanescent than ether. It was alleged to be safer, though this is still a matter of doubt. The old masters of surgery used to consider a surgical operation the opprobrium of their art. By rendering all operations painless, Simpson did not remove this opprobrium, though he reduced it to a minimum.

Two great events in the domestic life of the Court in 1847 were the visit to Cambridge and the visit to Scotland, which took place after Parliament was dissolved. Baron Stockmar was not the only quiet observer who had noticed that Prince Albert had "made great strides lately." Learned men in England had come to recognise in the thoughtful and scholarly young Prince a choice and kindred spirit. On the 12th of February, 1847, his Royal Highness was deeply gratified to receive from Dr. Whewell, the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, a letter asking permission to nominate him for the vacant Chancellorship of the University. Acting quite inde pendently of Dr. Whewell, Lord Lansdowne sent a similar request, and Mr. Anson, Prince Albert's secretary, received a communication from the Bishop of London (Blomfield), assuring him that a great many of the leading members of the University were deeply interested in the election of his Royal Highness, and would consider his acceptance of office alike honourable and advantageous to Cambridge. The Queen was touched with these expressions of kindly feeling, for if there had ever been a shadow over her happiness, it had been due to a lurking suspicion that her husband was not fairly appreciated by the people, among whom for her sake he had elected to work out a career of self-effacement. Here, at last, it seemed to her Majesty, there was an indication that her husband's high qualities were meeting with their just reward. The offer of the Chancellorship of Cambridge she regarded as an honour conferred on the Prince for his own sake rather than for hers— as the first mark of distinction won by him in England, outside the sphere and range of her influence.

This feeling was strengthened when, on the 18th of February, there arrived at Buckingham Palace an address, signed by all the most distinguished resident members of the University, urging the Prince to accept nomination. But in Cambridge, as elsewhere, little local jealousies often rob great movements of some of their grace and sweetness. St. John's, ever

envious of Trinity, thought the University should have a Chancellor of its choosing, and had accordingly put Lord Powis in nomination. The Prince, not quite estimating these petty academic rivalries at their true value, shrank from the competition, and ordered his name to be withdrawn. Dr. Whewell