Countries Around The Globe
THE BRITISH EMPIRE
The population of the Empire is estimated to be 355 millions of
coloured and 60 millions of white people.
CANADA
1840. The Act of Union passed. The two colonies of Upper and Lower
Canada united, and a representative Assembly formed.
1867. Bill for the Federation of Canada passed. The various provinces
united under the
Governor-General, nominated by the Crown. The Central Parliament,
which dealt with matters relating to the Dominion, established at
Ottawa.
1885. Completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which led to the
opening up of the North-West. The great stream of emigration from
Europe commences.
AUSTRALIA
Australia became a United Commonwealth at the beginning of the
present century.
From 1851 onward the transportation of convicts was prohibited.
The expansion of the Commonwealth has taken place to a great extent
during the reign of Queen Victoria. The majority of the settlers are
of British descent.
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa finally united in 1910 with self-government.
INDIA
Disraeli, in 1876, introduced the Royal Titles Bill, by means of
which the Queen was able to assume the title of Empress of India.
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A Home Of Our Own
It is very delightful to live in palaces and entertain kings and emperors; but Queen Victoria's palaces belonged to the English nation and not to herself, and, as has been said, their royal tenants had to suffer many inconveniences because they we... A Look Back
In the old legend of Rip Van Winkle with which the American writer Washington Irving has made us so familiar, the ne'er-do-weel Rip wanders off into the Kaatskill Mountains with his dog and gun in order to escape from his wife's scolding tongue. H... A Marriage A Death And A Birth In The Royal Family
The rest of the autumn and early winter passed in busy quiet and domestic happiness. In November, the Queen honoured the Duke of Wellington by a second visit to Walmer. She was no longer the girl-princess--a solitary figure, but for her devoted mo... A Queen At Eighteen
During the years from 1833 to Victoria's eighteenth birthday, on May 24, 1837, her life was sometimes that of a child, sometimes that of a young woman. Much of the time she lived quietly at Kensington. She studied, rode, walked, sketched, and play... A Royal Pair
The Queen and the Prince were only one whole day holding state by themselves at Windsor. It is not given to a royal couple to flee away into the wilds or to shut themselves up from their friends and the world like meaner people; whether a prolonge... Albert The Good
The year 1861 was a black year for the Queen. On March 15th her mother, the Duchess of Kent, died. She had been living for some time at Frogmore, a pleasant house in the Windsor Home Park, and here in the mausoleum erected by her daughter her stat... Allies From Afar And Death And Absence
Lady Bloomfield describes a set of visitors at Windsor this year such as have not infrequently come a long way to pay their homage to the Queen, and to see for themselves the wonders of civilisation. The party consisted of five Indian chiefs, two ... Antecedents
I On November 6, 1817, died the Princess Charlotte, only child of the Prince Regent, and heir to the crown of England. Her short life had hardly been a happy one. By nature impulsive, capricious, and vehement, she had always longed for liberty;... Baby Drina
"Elizabeth would be a good name for her," said the Duke of Kent. "Elizabeth was the greatest woman who ever sat on the throne of England. The English people are used to the name, and they like it." "But would the Emperor Alexander be pleased?" a... Balmoral
It was in Balmoral Castle that the husband and wife most loved to be with their children. Here they could lead a simple life free from all restraints, "small house, small rooms, small establishment. . . . There are no soldiers, and the whole guard... Birth Of The Duke Of Albany
At Balmoral the following autumn, the Queen heard of the death of her most illustrious subject--the Duke of Wellington, and green are those "Leaves" in the journal of her "life in the Highlands," devoted to his memory. She wrote of him as a sovere... Birth Of The Duke Of Connaught
Early in this year of 1850, Prince Albert, though not in his usual health, began in deadly earnest on his colossal labors in behalf of the great "World's Exhibition." England owed that magnificent manifestation of her resources and her enterprise ... Birth Of The Prince Imperial Of France
At Balmoral, where they took possession of the new Castle, the Queen and Prince received the news of the approaching fall of Sebastopol, for it was not down yet. It finally fell amid a scene of awful conflagration and explosions--the work of the d... Birth Of The Prince Of Wales
The next sensation in connection with the Court was the discovery of the famous "boy Jones" in Buckingham Palace. This singular young personage was by no means a stranger in the Palace. He had made himself very familiar with, and at home in that a... Birth Of The Prince Of Wales Visit Of The King Of Prussia
On the 9th of November, 1841, the happiness of the Queen and Prince was increased by the birth of the Prince of Wales. The event took place on the morning of the Lord Mayor's Day, as the citizens of London rejoiced to learn by the booming of the T... Birth Of The Princess Victoria
After the loss of his wife, Prince Leopold left for a time his sad home of Claremont, and returned to the Continent, but came back some time in 1819, to visit a beloved sister, married since his own bereavement, and become the mother of a little E... Childhood
In the months of March and May, 1819, the following announcements of royal births appeared in succession in the newspapers of the day, no doubt to the satisfaction alike of anxious statesmen and village politicians beginning to grow anxious over t... Childhood
I The child who, in these not very impressive circumstances, appeared in the world, received but scant attention. There was small reason to foresee her destiny. The Duchess of Clarence, two months before, had given birth to a daughter; this inf... Childhood Days
On the western side of Kensington Gardens stands the old Palace, built originally in the solid Dutch style for King William and Mary. The great architect, Sir Christopher Wren, made notable additions to it, and it was still further extended in 172... Civil War In America
We now continue our summary of public affairs. The Crimean War had been finished, and the mutiny had broken out, whilst Lord Palmerston was prime-minister. In 1858 he was obliged to resign his post; but he returned to office next year, and this he... Close Of The Great Exhibition-anecdote
The great Exhibition was closed about the middle of October, on a dark and rainy day. The last ceremonies were very solemn and impressive. It had not remained long enough for people to be wearied of it. The Queen, the Prince and their children see... Comments Upon The Young Queen By A Contemporaneous Writer In Blackwood
A writer in Blackwood, speaking of the Queen about this time, said: "She is 'winning golden opinions from all sorts of people' by her affability, the grace of her manners, and her prettiness. She is excessively like the Brunswicks and not like the... Countries Around The Globe
THE BRITISH EMPIRE The population of the Empire is estimated to be 355 millions of coloured and 60 millions of white people. CANADA 1840. The Act of Union passed. The two colonies of Upper and Lower Canada united, and a representative As... Death Passes By
On the 10th of June, 1840, occurred the first mad attempt to assassinate Queen Victoria--made as she and Prince Albert were driving up Constitution Hill, near Buckingham Palace, in a small open phaeton. Prince Albert, in a letter to his grandmamma... Distribution Of Victoria Crosses By The Queen
For a long time the Turkish empire had been gradually falling into decay, and the possessions of the Turk--the 'sick man,' as he has been aptly termed--had excited the greed of neighbouring countries. Russia especially had made several attempts to... Early Years
God save thee, weeping Queen! Thou shalt be well beloved! The tyrant's sceptre cannot move, As those pure tears have moved! E.B. BROWNING When she was five years old the Princess Victoria began to h... Examination Day
When Queen Victoria was a tiny child, she is said to have asked her mother one day, "Mamma, why is it that when Feodore and I are walking all the gentlemen raise their hats to me and not to her?" In 1830, when she was nearly eleven years old, her ... Failing Health Of Prince Albert
All this time while the Queen was absorbed by anxious care, or passionate grief for her mother, the health of the Prince-Consort was slowly but surely failing. The keen blade of his active mind was wearing out its sheath. His vital forces must hav... Family Life
"Upon the good education of princes, and especially of those who are destined to govern, the welfare of the world in these days very greatly depends." The love of children was always a strong connecting link between the Queen and her people. No... First Meeting With Prince Albert Death Of William Iv
The first great event in the young princess's life, and that which was destined to colour it all for her good and happiness, was her first meeting in 1836 with her cousins, her mother's nephews, the young princes Ernest and Albert of Saxe-Coburg. ... Fresh Attempts Against The Queen's Life And The Death Of The Duc D'orleans
On the 30th of May a renewed attempt to assassinate the Queen, almost identical in the circumstances and the motive--or no motive, save morbid vanity--with the affair of Oxford, awoke the same disgust and condemnation. This was a double attack, for ... Friends And Advisers
Possibly the person to whom the Queen owed most--next to her husband--was Lord Melbourne. His position at the time when the young Queen came to the throne was a unique one. Victoria was just eighteen years of age--that is to say, if she had been a... He Queen And Prince Albert Make Their First Visit To Germany-
This year--1844--there was a death in the household at Windsor, and a birth. The death was that of Eos, the favorite greyhound of Prince Albert. "Dear Eos," as the Queen called her, was found dead one morning. The Prince wrote the next day to his ... Housekeeping In A Palace
Common people may make a wedding tour, but kings and queens are too fully occupied to afford such luxuries. The sovereign of England could spend her honeymoon in Windsor Castle, but it must be a honeymoon of only four days. Those four days, howeve... Husband And Wife
After four short days the Queen and her husband returned to London, and from this time onward the Prince acted as his wife's secretary, attending to every little detail of the mass of correspondence and State documents which grew larger with every... King William Jealous Of Public Honors To Victoria
The indifference of the Duchess of Kent to the heavy pomps and heavier gayeties of his Court so offended his unmajestic Majesty, that he finally became decidedly inimical to the Duchess. Though he insisted on seeing the little Princess often, he d... Last Years Of The Prince Consort
I The weak-willed youth who took no interest in politics and never read a newspaper had grown into a man of unbending determination whose tireless energies were incessantly concentrated upon the laborious business of government and the highest qu... Lord Melbourne
I The new queen was almost entirely unknown to her subjects. In her public appearances her mother had invariably dominated the scene. Her private life had been that of a novice in a convent: hardly a human being from the outside world had ever ... Lord Palmerston
I In 1851 the Prince's fortunes reached their highwater mark. The success of the Great Exhibition enormously increased his reputation and seemed to assure him henceforward a leading place in the national life. But before the year was out another... Louis Philippe's Visit
The Queen and the Prince returned to Windsor to receive a visit from Louis Philippe. The King, who had spent part of his exiled youth in England, had not been back since 1815, when he took refuge there again during "the Hundred Days," after Napole... Marriage
I It was decidedly a family match. Prince Francis Charles Augustus Albert Emmanuel of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha--for such was his full title--had been born just three months after his cousin Victoria, and the same midwife had assisted at the two births.... Marriage And Delicacy Of The Prince's Position
Nowhere does the genuine unselfishness and sweet womanliness of the Queen show more than in her record of those days. She did not, like too many brides, think of herself as the only or even the principal person to be considered. She did not grudge... Marriage Of The Princess Royal
Meanwhile a domestic incident had made a great change in the royal family. The Princess Royal had become engaged to Prince Frederick-William of Prussia (for three months Emperor of Germany), and the marriage came off on the 25th of January 1858. I... Ministering Women
Honour to those whose words or deeds Thus help us in our daily needs; And by their overflow Raise us from what is low! LONGFELLOW No account of the reign of Queen Victoria would be complete witho... 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 un...