CHAPTER 2 THE SCHOOLDAYS OF A PRINCESS

CHAPTER 2 THE SCHOOLDAYS OF A PRINCESS

Nothing could be simpler than the life of the Princess at Kensington. Breakfast was at eight，and it was eaten out of doors whenever the weather was good. Whatever other children might have，there were no luxuries for this child. Bread and milk and fruit made up her breakfast，lunch and dinner，and nothing more would have been given her no matter how she might have begged for it.

It was a simple，happy，healthy life. The great objection to it was that the child rarely had a playmate of her own age. Two little girls，daughters of an old friend of the Duke's，came once a week to see her，but they were several years her seniors. Feodore was never weary of playing with her，but Feodore was almost twelve years older，so that when the child was four years old，Feodore was quite a young lady. Perhaps no one realized how much she needed children of her own age，for she was so merry and cheerful，so ready to be pleased and amused，and so friendly with everyone who came near her.

When the Princess was nearly four years old，her mother began to feel somewhat anxious about her education. Thus，she decided to engage a governess and a tutor for her. She herself and Feodore were reading English with the Reverend Mr. Davys，the clergyman of a nearby church，and during even the first few lessons the Duchess was so charmed with his gentle，kindly manner and his intellectual ability that she said to him one day：“You teach so well that I wish you would teach my little daughter.”

So it was that the learned clergyman appeared at the palace one bright April morning armed with a box of alphabet blocks. He，along with a recently hired governess named Lehzen，proceeded to perform his duty as teacher of the girl until the age of eight，when it was thought to be time for her education to receive still more attention. Mr. Davys was now formally appointed her tutor，and he went to live at Kensington. Then，indeed，there was work. A writing master made his appearance，who taught her the clear，refined，and dignified hand that never changed；a teacher of singing was engaged；another teacher instructed her in dancing；a Royal instructor taught her drawing；German and French were also studied.

Mr. Davys' special work was to teach her history and English，and the number of books that she read with him is somewhat startling. One book on English history and one on modern history in general appear on the list. Geography and grammar are each represented by two small volumes. Poetry was also studied. There was also a book on the famous picture galleries，castles，and other important structures in England，and another describing the occupations and trades of the land.

In 1828 she began Latin. She also studied the Catechism and then a shortened version of the two Testaments. Remembering that the little girl was studying French，German，music，dancing，and drawing，one wonders how she ever“crowded it in.”Fortunately，her schedule for the week has been preserved，and it is interesting reading. Her day's work began at half past nine. On Monday morning the first hour was given to geography and natural history，the second to a drawing lesson. From half past eleven till three was devoted to dinner and either playing or walking.

From three to four she drew or wrote a Latin exercise. The following hour was given to French，and from five to six came music and“repetition”—whatever that may have been—for Mr. Davys. After her three hours of study in the afternoon，without even a ten-minutes’break，the day's work was at an end，and from six to nine there was no more studying；but there seems to have been some reading aloud by the Duchess.

No two days in the Princess’week were alike. One hour a week was devoted to learning the catechism，another to a dancing lesson，another to sewing and learning poetry by heart with the help of governess Lehzen. All this teaching went on for six days in the week，for she had no Saturday holidays；and on Saturday morning came an hour that would alarm most children，for it was devoted to a repetition to Mr. Davys of all that she had learned during the week. Her lessons were made as interesting as possible by explanations and stories and pictures and games. A history and a little German grammar were written expressly for her；but，after all，the little girl was the one who had to do the work. She had to understand and learn and remember，and even if she was a princess，no one could do these things for her. Sir Walter Scott dined with the Duchess of Kent during Victoria's ninth year. He wrote in his journal：“I was presented to the little Princess Victoria，the heir apparent to the throne as things now stand.”It is no wonder that he added，“This lady is educated with much care.”

The same year stole away the beloved Feodore，for she married a German prince and went to the Continent to live. This was a great loss to the little Princess，for she was so carefully guarded that Feodore had been almost her only playmate. Other children had companions without number；they went to children's parties and had good times generally；but a party was a rare thing in the life of the Princess，and she was ten years old before she went to a children's ball.

This famous ball which she then attended was her first sight of a court ceremony. It was given in honor of a little girl of her own age，Maria，Queen of Portugal，who was making a visit to England. The Princess wore a simple white dress，but the little Donna Maria was gorgeous in red velvet all shining with jewels. Everyone was comparing the two children in dress and looks and manners. The plain dress of the Princess was generally preferred，and her graceful manners were admired，but the Portuguese queen was called the prettier. When the King first talked of giving this ball，a lady of the court exclaimed，“Oh，do！It will be so nice to see the two little queens dancing together.”The King was very angry at the speech，but he finally decided to give the ball，and the“two little queens”did dance together.

注释

luxury[´lʌkʃ∂ri]n. 奢侈品

objection[əb´dʒekʃ∂n]n. 缺陷，妨碍（其后常与介词to连用）

rarely[´rɛəli]adv. 很少地，罕有地

weary（of）[´wiəri]adj. 厌倦的，令人厌烦的

e.g. We are weary of this arguing. 我们对这些争吵感到厌烦。

somewhat[´sʌmhwɔt]adv. 有些，相当

governess[´ɡʌvənis]n. 女家庭教师

tutor[´tjuːtə]n. 辅导教师，家庭教师

Reverend[´revərənd]adj. 尊敬的（对牧师的尊称，前面与the连用）；n. 教士，牧师

e.g. the Reverend John Jones约翰·乔伊斯牧师

clergyman[´kləːdʒimən]n. 牧师，教士（与之相对的词为layman俗人，非神职人员）

intellectual[ˌinti´lektʃuəl]adj. 高智商的，显出智力水平的

alphabet[´æːlfəbit]n. 字母表：一种语言的全部字母

block[blɔk]n. 硬块，木块

proceed[prə´siːd]v. 开始，继续进行

perform[pə´fɔːm]vt. 履行，执行

e.g. perform one's contractual obligations履行合同规定的义务

formally[´fɔːməli]adv. 正式地

appoint[ə´pɔint]vt. 任命，委派

refined[ri´faind]adj. 优雅的，精确的

dignified[´diɡnifaid]adj. 有威严的，有品格的

hand[hænd]n. 笔迹，个人的书法风格

instructor[in´strʌktə]n. 教师

startling[´stαːtliŋ]adj. 令人吃惊的

volume[´vɔlju（ː）m]n. 书籍；卷，册

poetry[´pəuitri]n. 诗歌，诗作，诗集

structure[´strʌktʃə]n. 建筑物

Catechism[´kætikizəm]n. 教义问答手册

shortened[´ʃɔːtnd]adj. 简短的（shorten v. 缩短，（使）变短）

version[´vəːʃ∂n]n. 版本

Testament[´test∂m∂nt]n. （首字母大写）（基督教）圣约书，圣经的两个主要部分之一（注：圣约书包括《旧约全书》The Old Testament和《新约全书》The New Testament两部分。）

schedule[´ʃedjuːl]n. 时间表，进度表

preserve[pri´zəːv]vt. 保持

repetition[´repi´tiʃ∂n]n. 重复，背诵

alarm[ə´lαːm]vt. 使惊恐

expressly[iks´presli]adv. 特意地

e.g. These tools are designed expressly for left-handed workers.

Sir Walter Scott瓦特·司各特，英国小说家、诗人（1771-1832），曾写过七部长篇叙事诗，二十七部历史小说和一些中、短篇小说及历史传记等，多取材于苏格兰历史事件和民间传说，丰富和发展了19世纪的欧洲文学

journal[d´ʒəːnl]n. 日志，日记，（私人）记录

present[pri´zent]vt. 引见，介绍

heir apparent确定继承人（其继承权不因其他人的出生而受影响）；heir presumptive推定继承人（其继承权可能因其他人的出生而丧失）

apparent[ə´pærənt]adj. 显然的，显而易见的

It is no wonder that...该句句型为“It's no wonder that...”意为：“难怪…，不足为奇”，句中that引导主语从句，he added是that从句中的插入语。wonder n. 惊奇

companion[kəm´pænjən]n. 同伴，共事者

without number或beyond number无数的，数不清的

e.g. Mosquitoes without number filled the yard. 院子里有无数的蚊子。

ceremony[´seriməni]n. 仪式，礼节

inone's honor/in honor of sb. 专为某人而举办，为了向…表敬意

e.g. The ceremony was held in honor of the Queen's birthday.

gorgeous[´ɡɔːdʒəs]adj. 美丽的，眩目艳丽的

exclaim[ik´skleim]v. （惊奇或激动地）喊叫