_The Princess Victoria to the King of the Belgians._
_16th January 1837._
MY DEAREST UNCLE,-- ... We saw Van de Weyer[1] on Tuesday, and his conversation was most interesting. He praises our dear Ferdinand most exceedingly, but as for the poor Queen, what he told us does not redound much to her credit; one good quality, however, she has, which is her excessive fondness for and real _obedience_ to Ferdinand. She is unfortunately surrounded by a _camarilla_[2] who poison her ears, and fetter all her actions; poor soul! she is _much_ to be pitied.
About Lavradio[3] you will also have, I fear, heard but too much.
Honesty and single-heartedness seems to have left Portugal. Van de Weyer is so clear in all that he says, so sensible, so quiet, so clever, and, last but not least, so agreeable; I hope we shall soon see him again. You see, dear Uncle, how much interest I take in Portugal; but I must say that I think every one who knows dear Ferdinand, and particularly who loves him as I do, must feel a very deep interest as to the fate of the unhappy country in which he is destined to play so prominent and difficult a part.
I have been reading to-day a very clever speech of Sir Robert Peel"s (not a political one) to the University at Glasgow, on the occasion of his being elected Lord Rector of that college. There is another speech of his at the dinner at Glasgow which _is political_, but which I have not yet read....[4]
[Footnote 1: Sylvain Van de Weyer (b. 1802) was, in 1830, Belgian Plenipotentiary at the Conference of London. He returned to his own country and became Foreign Minister.
His exertions contributed greatly to render successful the candidature of Prince Leopold for the throne of Belgium. The King appointed him Belgian Minister in London, to which post he returned in 1851, and held it till 1867. He was treated by the Queen until his death in 1874 as a very intimate friend and adviser.]
[Footnote 2: _I.e._ a clique.]
[Footnote 3: The Portuguese Statesman who had gone to Gotha to arrange the Queen"s marriage, and was destined to act in a similar manner for her son in 1857.]
[Footnote 4: Sir R. Peel was installed as Lord Rector of Glasgow on 11th January, and delivered an address on the principles of Education: strong political feeling was manifested, groans being given for Lord Melbourne and the Ministry. At a civic banquet given in Sir R. Peel"s honour, he expounded the principles of Conservative Reform.]
[Pageheading: SPAIN AND PORTUGAL]
_The Princess Victoria to the King of the Belgians._
_23rd January 1837._
MY DEAREST UNCLE,-- ... The affairs of the Peninsula are indeed very distressing,[5] and what you tell me in your letter of the 20th, as also in the former one, is highly interesting and, alas! but too true.
I trust, not withstanding what you say, I may yet live to see Spain and Portugal settled. But I greatly fear that the time is far distant.
Do you know Mendizabal?[6] I saw him at our house in 1835. Alava[7]
presented him to us; he is a tall, dark, fine, and clever-looking man.
I remember his being so much struck with my likeness to Donna Maria, which I was not aware was the case. Pray, dear Uncle, may I ask you a silly question?--is not the Queen of Spain[8] rather clever? You know her, and what do you think of her? And do you know what sort of people are about poor little Queen Isabel?[9] Poor, good Donna Maria! I feel much for her; her education was one of the worst that could be. As long as those Ficalhos and Melos remain about her, nothing can be done. Could they not be got rid of in time?
I was sorry to see that the French Chambers were rather stormy.[10]
I thank you much for the list of the ball of the 18th, which must have been very splendid. The last ball _I_ was at was our own, and I concluded that very ball at half-past three in the morning with a country dance, Albert being my partner.
Pray, dear Uncle, tell both young gentlemen, with my kindest love, that I _often_ think of that night and of many other pleasant evenings we pa.s.sed together. The singing will come all in time. Who is their singing-master? I wish they had my worthy Lablache. I sing regularly every evening, as I think it better to do so every day to keep the voice manageable. Oh, my beloved Uncle, could you join us, how delightful that would be! How I should delight in singing with you all our favourite things from _La Gazza_, _Otello_, _Il Barbiere_, etc., etc.
The little Cousin[11] must be a little love: oh, could I but see him and play with him! Pray, dear Uncle, does he know such a thing as that he has got an Aunt and Cousin on the other side of the water? ...
Pray, dear Uncle, have you read Sir R. Peel"s two speeches? I wish you would, and give me your opinion of them.
[Footnote 5: Some interesting observations on these events may be read in Borrow"s _Bible in Spain_.]
[Footnote 6: Don Juan Alvarez y Mendizabal (1790-1853), Spanish politician and financier.]
[Footnote 7: Miguel Ricardo di Alava (1771-1843), Spanish General; he acted as the representative of Spain at Paris, at the Court of the Bourbons; he was a great friend of the Duke of Wellington, and was with him at his headquarters during the Peninsular War.]
[Footnote 8: The Queen Regent, Christina.]
[Footnote 9: Then six years old; she died in 1904.]
[Footnote 10: This was in reference to the trial at Strasburg of the confederates of Prince Louis Bonaparte (afterwards Napoleon III.) in his abortive attempt to establish a military despotism on 30th October. The Prince was permitted to go to the United States, being conveyed in a French frigate; the other conspirators were acquitted.]
[Footnote 11: Leopold, born in 1835, afterwards Duke of Brabant, the present King of the Belgians.]
[Pageheading: PARLIAMENTARY LANGUAGE]
_The Princess Victoria to the King of the Belgians._
CLAREMONT, _30th January 1837._
MY DEAREST UNCLE,-- ... I am very sorry that the Portuguese news are still so very unfavourable; I trust that, in time, things will come right. The Portuguese are, as you say, a most inconceivable set of selfish politicians.
Our friend, Mr Hume,[12] made a most violent speech at a dinner given to him and old George Byng[13] at Drury Lane last week.[14] He called Sir R. Peel and some other Tories "the cloven foot," which I think rather strong. I think that _great_ violence and striving such a pity, on both sides, don"t you, dear Uncle? They irritate one another so uselessly by calling one another fools, blockheads, liars, and so forth for no purpose. I think violence so bad in everything. They should imitate you, and be calm, for you have had, G.o.d knows! enough cause for irritation from your _worthy_ Dutch neighbours and others.
You will, I fear, laugh at my _politics_, but I like telling _you_ my feelings, for you alone can put me right on such subjects.
[Footnote 12: Joseph Hume, leader of the Radical party, was now M.P. for Middles.e.x.]
[Footnote 13: George Byng, for many years Member for Middles.e.x, was great-grandson of William Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, of the 1711 creation. His younger brother, Sir John Byng, the well-known General of the Peninsula and Waterloo, was created Earl of Strafford in 1817.]
[Footnote 14: This was a dinner given by the Middles.e.x reformers to their representatives. Grote also spoke and said that the Tories well knew that their dominion rested upon everything that was antiquated and corrupt and anti-popular in the nation--upon oligarchical predominance in the State, and sectarian pride and privileges in the Church.]
[Pageheading: POLITICAL Pa.s.sION]
_The King of the Belgians to the Princess Victoria._
_3rd February 1837._
MY DEAR CHILD,-- ... I am sorry to see so much violence in England at this moment; I consider it as the most lamentable circ.u.mstance, as it renders matters so very difficult to settle. Besides, the poor Crown is more or less the loser in all this, as it generally ends with the abolition of something or other which might have proved useful for the carrying on of Government. A rule which you may thus early impress on your mind is, that people are far from acting generally according to the dictates of their interests, but oftener in consequence of their pa.s.sions, though it may even prove injurious to their interests.
If the Tory part of Parliament could have brought themselves to act without pa.s.sion, much in the reform of Parliament might have been settled much more in conformity with their best interests. I was authorised, in 1831, to speak in this sense to the Duke of Wellington by Lord Grey;[15] the effect would have been highly beneficial to both parties, but pa.s.sion made it impossible to succeed. This is a dangerous part of the business, and we must see during the present session of Parliament if parties are grown wiser. I fear they are not.
The business of the highest in a State is certainly, in my opinion, to act with great impartiality and a spirit of justice for the good of all, and not of this or that party.[16]
[Footnote 15: This refers to the rejection of the Reform Bill by the House of Lords in 1831; as a consequence, mobs broke the windows of Apsley House, and fired Nottingham Castle.]
[Footnote 16: On 14th April 1837, Sir Robert Peel wrote to J.
W. Croker:-- ... "We are, in short, in this state of things.