CHAPTER 13 MOTHER AND EMPRESS

CHAPTER 13 MOTHER AND EMPRESS

While the German wars were going on，the Queen was thinking for her country as a sovereign and feeling for her children as a mother. In the midst of all the claims upon her，she had one aim that she never forgot，and that was to make her country understand and appreciate the talents and character of Prince Albert. She concluded to have a book prepared that should tell the story of his life，for she felt that no one who really knew him could fail to honor him. When the first volume was published，even her children were surprised that she should tell matters of her own private life so fully；but she loved and trusted her people，and she was as frank with them as she would have been with an intimate friend.

The year after this book was brought out，the Queen herself became the author of a book，“Our Life in the Highlands.”It is made up of extracts from the journal which she always kept. “Simple records，”she calls them，but they often give charming pictures of the merry times at Balmoral. Sir Arthur Helps aided her in preparing the book for the press. “He often scolds me，”she said，“because I am careless in writing；but how could he expect me to take pains when I wrote late at night，suffering from headache and exhaustion，and in dreadful haste? ”She arranged to have Sir Theodore Martin complete the life of the Prince，and she spent much time in arranging her husband's papers and letters for him to use. She generally chose the selections to be inserted，and she read every chapter as it was written.

About her own authorship the Queen was very modest，and when she sent a copy of her book to Dickens，she wrote in it，“From the humblest of writers to one of the greatest.”At Sir Walter Scott's home，she was asked to write her name in his journal；and，although she granted the request，she wrote in her own journal，“I felt it was a bit presuming on my part.”When Carlyle met her，he said，“It is impossible to imagine a politer little woman；nothing the least imperious，all gentle，all sincere；makes you feel too（if you have any sense in you）that she is Queen.”

Her being Queen gave her a peculiar power over the marriages of her children，for they were not legal unless she gave her formal consent. Early in 1871 she was called upon again to exercise her right，for far up in the hills about Balmoral there was a momentous little interview between the Princess Louise and the Marquis of Lorne. “Princess Louise is so bright and jolly to talk with，”one of the Scotch boys had said of her when she was a very young girl，and this Scotch Marquis was of exactly the same opinion.

The Queen had guessed before how matters stood with her daughter and the gentleman whom she had once called“such a merry，independent child.”The young man had proved his independence by asking for the hand of the Princess，as it was three hundred years since a member of the royal family had married a subject，but the Queen paid no attention to tradition. She felt sure that the Marquis would make her daughter happy，and that was enough. Most of her subjects agreed with her；and one of the newspapers said excitedly，“The old dragon Tradition was routed by a young magician called Love.”

The wedding was celebrated at Windsor. It was a brilliant scene，of course，and if all the gentlemen were dressed as vividly as the Duke of Argyll，the father of the bridegroom，the ladies did not dominate gorgeousness of dress. The Duke was a Scottish chieftain，and he appeared in Highland dress. His kilt and the plaid thrown over his shoulders were of the gay Campbell tartan.

The Queen's daughters were now in homes of their own except the Princess Beatrice，a merry little girl of fourteen，who had been radiantly happy in her new pink satin at her sister's wedding. The Queen was devoted to her children，but it would have been easier for her to pass through the next few years if she had been all sovereign and not woman. War broke out between France and Germany，and both Prince Fritz and Prince Louis were in the field. Anxious as she was for them，she was even more troubled for the Princess Alice，who was really in quite as much danger as if she had been in the army. For several years she had been deeply interested in lessening the sufferings of the poor in times of illness；and in providing trained nurses for wounded soldiers. While this war was in progress，she not only went to the hospitals daily，but she brought the wounded men to her own house and cared for them herself. She was exposed over and over again to disease，but she seemed to be entirely without fear.

Princess Alice little thought of what value her skill in nursing would be to her own family，but near the end of 1871，the Prince of Wales was taken ill with typhoid fever，and her help was of the utmost value. It was just ten years before that Prince Albert had died of the same disease，and to the anxious Queen every day was an anniversary. She hurried to the home of the Prince at Sandringham，and when she saw how ill he was，she sent at once for the other members of the family. The days passed slowly. One day，he seemed a little better，and there was rejoicing，as the telegraph flashed the news not only over England，but to Canada，India，to every part of the world. Then came a day of hopelessness. The Queen mother watched every symptom. “Can you not save him? ”she pleaded；and all the physicians could answer was，“You must be prepared for the worst. We fear that the end is near.”

Bulletins were sent out to the public every hour or two. All London seemed to tremble with fear and anxiety. Stores were open，but there was little of either buying or selling. Day and night the citizens crowded the streets in front of the newspaper offices. They talked of nothing but the Prince's illness.

“It'll kill the Queen，”said one man. “The poor woman's had all she can bear，and she'll never get through this.”

“And the Prince's boy is but eight years old，”declared another. “There'll be a regent for ten years，and no one can say what harm will come to the country in that time.”

So the days passed. The fourteenth of December came，the anniversary of the day on which the Prince Consort had died. The Prince breathed and that was all. The people about the offices were silent. Everyone dreaded to hear the next message，but when it came，it said“Better.”London hardly dared to rejoice，but the Prince continued to gain，and at last the Queen joyfully granted the wish of her people and appointed a Thanksgiving Day. The special service was held at St. Paul's Church，and there were many tears of joy on the occasion.

After the religious ceremony was over，the guns roared out the delight of the people，and a wild excitement of happiness began. At night，St. Paul's was illuminated，and everyone was joyful. The Queen was deeply touched and pleased with the warm sympathy shown by her subjects，and a day or two later she sent a little letter to be published in the papers to tell them how happy they had made her.

Only two days after this letter was written，there was a great alarm，for when the Queen went out to drive a young fellow sprang towards the carriage and aimed a pistol at her. He was seized in a moment and proved to be a mad boy of seventeen whose pistol had neither powder nor bullet. Most of the Queen's personal attendants were Highlanders，and one of them，John Brown，had thrown himself between her and what he supposed was the bullet of a killer. Both the Queen and Prince Albert were always most grateful for faithful service，and looked upon it as something which money could not buy. She had been thinking of having special medals made to give to her servants who deserved a special reward，and she now gave the first one to John Brown. With the medal went an annuity of $125.

John Brown seemed to have no thought but for the Queen. To serve her and care for her was his one interest. He cared nothing about court manners，and was perhaps the only person in the land who dared to find fault with its sovereign to her face. Statesmen would bow obediently before her，but the Scotchman always spoke his mind. He even ventured to criticize her clothes. The Queen never did care very much for fine clothing，and in her journal where she narrates so minutely as to mention the fact that a glass of water was brought her，she describes her dress merely as“quite thin things.”John Brown thought nothing was good enough for his royal mistress. “What's that thing you've got on? ”he would demand with most evident disapproval，if a cloak or gown was not up to his notion of what she ought to wear；and this Queen，who knew so well what was due to her position，knew also that honest affection is better than courtly manners，and kept Brown in close attendance.

Despite being quite safe under the loyalty of her guardsmen，the hand of fate was still quite capable of injuring the tender heart of the Queen. And soon she was，once more，deeply grieved by the death of dear friends. The cherished Feodore，the Princess Hohenlohe，died；then the Queen lost Dr. McLeod，the Scotch clergyman who had so helped and comforted her in her troubles. Hardly two months had passed after his death before heartbroken letters came from Darmstadt. Princess Alice had been away for a short time，counting the hours before she could be with her children again. At last，she was at home with them and happy. The two little boys were brought to her chamber one morning，and as she stepped for a moment into the adjoining room，one of them，“Frittie，”fell from the window to the stone terrace，and died in a few hours. The heartbroken mother longed to go to her own mother for comfort in her trouble，but she could not leave her home，neither could the Queen come to her.

Warm，tender words of sympathy came from England，from a Queen mother who well knew what sorrow meant. “Can you bear to play on the piano yet? ”she asked some three months after the accident；for it was long after the death of Prince Albert before she herself could endure the sound of music. Princess Alice replied，“It seems as if I never could play again on that piano，where little hands were nearly always thrust when I wanted to play. Ernie asked，‘Why can't we all die together? I don't want to die alone，like Frittie. ’”

While the heart of the Queen was aching with sympathy for her daughter，she had also to attend to arrangements for the marriage of her sailor son Alfie，now Duke of Edinburgh，with the daughter of the Emperor of Russia. She herself could not go to the wedding at St. Petersburg，but she asked Dean Stanley，a prominent man of the church，to go and perform the English ceremony；for as the bride was a member of the Greek Church，there was a double ceremony.

In so large a family as that of the Queen there was always a birth or a marriage，a coming or a going. Not long after the marriage of his brother Alfred，the Prince of Wales left England to spend some months in India. This journey was not a pleasure trip，it had a state purpose，and that was to pay honor to the native princes who had aided the English in their efforts to govern India. The Prince was well accustomed to being received with cheering and the firing of guns，but his Indian reception was something completely new. At one place，twenty-four elephants painted in different colors trumpeted a greeting. In another，which was ruled by a lady，the sovereign met him，but she could hardly be said to have made her appearance，for her face was covered by a veil. At still another，he was carried up a hill in a superb chair made of silver and gold. There was a wild pig hunt，an antelope hunt，and an elephant fight；there was a marvelously beautiful illumination of surf；and there were addresses presented by people of all shades of complexion and all varieties of costume.

This visit of the Prince of Wales was followed by the Queen's assumption of the title of Empress of India. There was a vast amount of talk about the new title，for many English thought that it was foolish and childish to make any change. On the other hand，“Empress”was the proper title for a woman who ruled over many kings，even kings of India. There were stories that one reason why the Queen wished to become an Empress was because the Russian Princess，who was the daughter of an Emperor，had claimed a higher status over the English Princesses，who were only the daughters of a Queen. However that may be，the title was formally assumed in 1876. It was proclaimed in India with all magnificence. Sixty-three princes were present to hear the announcement.

Queen Victoria was much pleased with the new title，and soon began to sign her name“Victoria，R.I. ，”for“Regina et Imperatrix，”to all documents，though it had been expected that she would affix it to her signature only when signing papers relating to India. Another title which she enjoyed was that of“Daughter of the Regiment.”The Duke of Kent had been in command of the“Royal Scots”at the time of her birth and therefore they looked upon her as having been“born in the regiment.”

In the autumn of this same year she presented them with new colors，and there was a little ceremony which delighted her because it was evidently so sincere. Two officers knelt before her，and she presented them with the new colors，first making a little speech. The Royal Scots were greatly pleased，because in her speech she said，“I have been associated with your regiment from my earliest childhood，and I was always taught to consider myself a soldier's child.”In spite of her many years’experience in making short speeches and of her perfect calmness in public in her earlier years，the Queen was never quite at ease in speaking to an audience after Prince Albert died，and she said of this occasion，“I was terribly nervous.”She never ceased to miss the supporting presence of the Prince，and she wrote of her first public appearance after his death，“There was no one to direct me and to say，as formerly，what was to be done.”

The Queen was soon to feel even more lonely，for late in the autumn of 1878 there came a time of intense anxiety，then of the deepest sorrow. Princess Alice's husband and children were attacked by diphtheria. “Little Sunshine，”as her youngest daughter was called in the home，died after three days’illness. The mother hid her grief as best she could that the other children should not know of their loss. Three weeks later，she too was taken with the same disease，and died on the seventeenth anniversary of her father's death. Little children and poor peasant women of Hesse were among those who laid flowers on her grave and shared in the grief of the sad monarch across the Channel.

The Queen had built a pile of stones at Balmoral in memory of the Prince Consort. Others had been built from time to time，one rising merrily with laughing and dancing to commemorate the purchase of the estate；others erected to mark the date of the marriage of the sons and daughters of the house. To these a cross was now added to the memory of the beloved daughter，“By her sad mother，Queen Victoria，”said the inscription.

So it was that the happy circle of sons and daughters was first broken；so it was that the years of the Queen passed on，full of the joys and sorrows that seemed to come to her almost hand in hand.

With the exception of Prince Alfred，the Queen's children had married according to the German proverb，“The oldest must leave the house first.”The next in age was Prince Arthur，or the Duke of Connaught. He married in 1879 Princess Louise of Prussia with the usual magnificent display at St. George's Chapel. The real home welcome，however，was awaiting them at Balmoral，where they arrived a few months later. When the train came to a stop，there stood the Queen and Princess Beatrice，with the Royal Scots for a guard of honor. The Queen gave the bride flowers，and they set off for the castle. At the end of the Balmoral Bridge was an arch of moss and heather with a motto in flowers，“Welcome to Balmoral.”There stood the castle guests，and there were all the tenants，the women in their Sunday clothes，the men in kilts，and the pipers playing their best and loudest，while the children tossed flowers into the carriages and shouted their welcome.

Of course，a pile of stones had been begun in honor of the marriage，and two or three days later the happy party went to visit it，the Queen on her horse and the others walking. There was a speech of congratulation made，and the health of the young people was drunk. “The health of the Princess Beatrice ought to be drunk，”Brown declared，and that was done with so many cheers that even the dogs objected to the noise and began to bark. After the cheering，each one of the party walked up to the stone pile and laid an additional stone upon it. One of the stones in the foundation was already marked with the names of the Duke and Duchess and the date of their marriage.

Three years later，St. George's Chapel was again lit with the brilliance of another royal wedding，that of Prince Leopold，the eighth child of the Queen，to Princess Helene of Waldeck Pyrmont. In the evening，a state banquet was given，and some of the guests were much amazed when，just before the Queen was to rise from the table，her two Scotch pipers in their full Highland costume appeared at the door and marched twice around the room，playing merry Scottish airs.

The home of the newly married couple was to be at Claremont，the place where the little Princess Victoria had so enjoyed herself. It had been granted to King Leopold when he married Princess Charlotte，but on his death it again became the property of the Crown. The Queen now bought it for the King's namesake. She had given to her son the title of Duke of Albany，and some of the superstitious among her subjects shook their heads at that，for so many who had borne the title had met with misfortune or even with early death.

The wedding celebrations were hardly over before the Queen's thoughts were centered upon Egypt. The Khedive of Egypt was a great borrower，and to fill his ever empty purse he had offered England some seven years previously his shares in the Suez Canal for $20,000,000. England had been very ready to buy them and also to guarantee that people who had loaned money to this fellow should not lose their interest. In 1882 some of the Khedive's subjects rebelled against him and got control of the government. To maintain taxation and so pay the promised interest，England must support the Khedive and put down the rebels.

注释

empress[´empris]n. 女皇帝

aclaim on sb. （tosth. ）对某人（某物）提出要求的权利

e.g. He has a claim on me because he is my father. 他有权对我提要求，因为他是我父亲。

They denied his claim to the property. 他们拒绝承认他对那份财产的所有权。

intimate[´intimit]adj. 亲密的n. 知己，至交

extract[iks´trækt]n. 摘录，选粹

take pains（with/over/to do sth. ）尽力地做某事pains n. 辛苦，努力

e.g. He takes pains with his work. 他工作兢兢业业。

Great pains have been taken to ensure the safety of passengers. 为确保乘客安全而不遗余力。

exhaustion[iɡ´zɔːstʃ∂n]n. 极度疲劳，筋疲力尽

selection[si´lekʃ∂n]n. 节选，精选品

humble[´hʌmb∂l]adj. 粗陋的，朴实无华的

presuming[pri´zjuːmiŋ]adj. 冒昧的，过分自信的

onone's part就某人而言

Carlyle卡莱尔，托马斯：（1795—1881）英国历史学家和散文作家。

imperious[im´piəriəs]adj. 帝王的，专横傲慢的

momentous[məu´mentəs]adj. 重要的，有突出意义的

Marquis[´mαːkwis]n. （某些欧洲国家的）侯爵

jolly[´dʒɔli]adj. 令人愉快的，轻松快活的

dragon[´dræɡən]n. 龙；严密警戒的人

rout[raut]vt. 击溃，使溃退

magician[mə´dʒiʃ∂n]n. 魔术师，有魔力的人

vividly[´vividli]adv. 生动地，鲜明地

Argyll阿盖尔郡（英国苏格兰原郡名）

dominate[´dɔmineit]v. 占支配地位，占优势

gorgeous[´ɡɔːdʒəs]adj. 美丽的，眩目艳丽的

chieftain[´tʃiːftən]n. 酋长，首领

typhoid（fever）[´taifɔid]n. 伤寒症

anniversary[ˌæni´vəːs∂ri]n. 周年纪念（日）

Sandringham桑德灵厄姆：英格兰东部一村庄，维多利亚在1861年为其儿子威尔士亲王，即后来的爱德华七世购买。

symptom[´simptəm]n. 症状

plead[pliːd]vi. 恳求

bulletin[´bulətin]n. 简短公告，新闻快报

grant[ɡrαːnt]vt. 同意，准予

appoint[ə´pɔint]vt. 指定，任命

pistol[´pistl]n. 手枪

deserve[di´zəːv]vt. 应受，值得

annuity[´ənju（ː）iti]n. 年金，年金享受权

criticize[´kritisaiz]v. 挑剔，评价优缺点

narrate[næ´reit]v. 描述，讲述

minutely[mai´njuːtli]adv. 详细地

disapproval[´disə´pruːvəl]n. 不赞成

cloak[kləuk]n. 宽大外衣

notion[´nəuʃ∂n]n. 观念

courtly[´kɔːtli]adj. 适合王室的，典雅的

guardsman[´ɡαːdzmən]n. 卫兵，近卫兵

cherish[´tʃeriʃ]vt. 珍爱

terrace[´terəs]n. 阳台，露台

thrust[θrʌst]v. （强行）挤入，伸出

St. Petersburg圣·彼得堡（沙皇时代俄国首都）

pay hono（u）r to...向…致敬

be accustomed to（doing）sth. 习惯于accustomed[ə´kʌstəmd]adj. 习惯的，适应的

e.g. I am accustomed to sleeping late.

superb[sju（ː）´pəːb]adj. 豪华的，华丽的

antelope[´æntiləup]n. 羚羊

marvelously[´mαːvələsli]adv. 奇特地，绝妙地，一流地

surf[səːf]n. 海浪，冲浪（运动）

shade[ʃeid]n. 颜色深浅

complexion[kəm´plekʃ∂n]n. 面色，肤色

assumption[ə´sʌmpʃ∂n]n. 担任，承当

assume[ə´sjuːm]v. 担任…的职务（官职）

e.g. assume the presidency担任首相职务

childish[´tʃaildiʃ]adj. 幼稚的

proclaim[prə´kleim]vt. 公开宣告

af fix[ə´fiks]vt. 附上，使附于

present[pri´zent]vt. 授予，赠送；present sb. with sth.

colors[´kʌləz]n. 旗帜（国家或军队的旗帜）

at ease轻松的，放松的

formerly[´fɔːməli]adv. 从前，以前

diphtheria[dif´θiəriə，dip-]n. 白喉症

commemorate[kə´meməreit]vt. 纪念

erect[i´rekt]vt. 树立，建立

inscription[in´skripʃ∂n]n. 题字，碑铭

proverb[´prɔvəːb]n. 谚语，格言

Connaught康诺特（爱尔兰共和国西南部一省）

await[ə´weit]vt. 等待

guard of honor仪仗，仪仗队

arch[αːtʃ]n. 拱门

moss[mɔs]n. 苔藓，苔癣纲绿色植物

motto[´mɔtəu]n. 题词

toss[tɔs]v. （轻轻地）投，掷

that of Prince Leopold，the eighth child of the queen，to Prince Helene...该句中that指代其前的wedding，是同位语，其后的of短语为定语，说明谁与谁的婚礼，即：wedding of Prince Leopold to Princess Helene...；the eighth child of the queen是插入语。

Helene[hə´liːn]n. 海琳（Helen的异体）

namesake[´neimseik]n. 同名的人或物

superstitious[ˌsjuːpə´stiʃəs]adj. 信迷信的

khedive[kə´div]n. 埃及总督

guarantee[ˌɡæːrən´tiː]vt. 保证，担保

loan[ləun]v. 贷款，借给

maintain[men´tein]vt. 维持，保持

taxation[tæk´seiʃən]n. 课税，税款