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IX.

ROYALTY AND ARISTOCRACY.

ENGLISH Society exists in wide extremes on one side, towering wealth, pride, and fashion; on the other, degradation and wretchedness. There is no place in

the world where a man may live in the midst of so many gay, fashionable influences, provided he has money, as in London; and there is no place where he may suffer more, or feel more lonely, if fortune has forsaken him, than in that same city. While there, I saw a little of both ends of life, and think I can say more truly now than ever, with an ancient Hebrew, "Give me neither poverty nor riches;" for in my heart I would rush as soon from the position occupied by many of the nobles of that great kingdom, as from the poverty of the poor, uneducated, but honest yeomanry of the poorer districts.

On the throne of England now sits a queen who is a favorite to an unusual extent. Wherever I went, I found the people enthusiastic in her praises. I scarcely heard a sermon, prayer, or public speech in which the name of Victoria did not find a place; and I was somewhat amused to find how soon an American, with a decided contempt for royalty, and who holds the baby play of kings and queens in derision, can fall into the habit of crying, "God save the queen!"

The first time I saw her majesty was one day in the great exhibition, when, with Prince Albert and several

of her friends, she came in to lend her presence to the occasion. As I was passing along, admiring the objects of interest, a hurried whisper-"The queen is coming"-called my attention; and, the crowd falling back, I saw advancing her majesty, leaning upon the arm of Prince Frederic William of Prussia. Prince Albert was escorting the Princess Louisa of Prussia, and behind them followed several gentlemen and ladies. of the court. A description of the queen is somewhat difficult, inasmuch as she looked so much like other ladies, that it was hard to distinguish her from those who attended her. She breathed the air, walked upon the ground, and, for aught I know, was human, like those who gazed on in such admiration. It may be interesting to the ladies to know something of her dress, which was as plain as one half of those worn that day in the Crystal Palace, and less gaudy than some I saw last Sabbath in the streets of our own city. Her dress was a green changeable silk. Over her shoulders was carelessly thrown a black "Jenny Lind,” which now and then would fall, leaving her neck covered by a collar of plain-worked lace, fastened with a single brilliant. On her head was an orange-colored silk bonnet, with a few blue flowers and a simple ribin inside. She is a small, delicately-formed woman, plain, but prepossessing, with but little to distinguish her as the queen of this powerful nation. Prince Albert is a fine-looking man, and is very much respected and beloved by the people. I afterwards saw them, on various occasions, in the exhibition, and riding out with their children. On almost every fine day in summer, a plain carriage, with a single outrider, may be seen driving through Hyde Park, and in it Albert, Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, and Princess

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Alice; for by these imposing titles are these children called. I also saw, on one or two occasions, the Duchess of Kent, and other persons connected with the royal family Kings and queens may become familiarized to their mode of life, and learn to love it, but in what way I do not see. What peace or domestic enjoyment Victoria can have, it is hard to tell. Every particular relating to her movements is mentioned in the public journals. Who dines with her, who dances with her, to whom she speaks, when she sits, what she wears, and where she goes, are all matters which are recorded every morning with all the certainty of the appearance of the Times. The most minute particulars, the little affairs of table talk, are all paraded before the public. Her majesty is thus subjected to a species of complimentary espionage and voluntary slavery which must often be most tedious and unpleasant. It seems to me that a crown is not worth what it costs to keep it; but of that others may be better judges. The Queen of England is much beloved by her people, and strangers in London are always eager to see her. The gate of the palace is besieged in the afternoon by a crowd, waiting to see her drive out; and as she dashes on, congratulations and blessings are heaped upon her. She may thank God that she lives in a day when the habit of putting kings and queens to death does not exist. She may read the melancholy tales of Anne Boleyn and the beautiful Lady Jane Grey, with no fear that her own head will ever rest upon the bloody block.

Next to the queen, the stranger will desire to see the "Iron Duke," as the hero of Waterloo, the conqueror of Napoleon, is often called. The old man is now near the grave. The form which once was seen amid the din and carnage of battle is bending downward

to the tomb. We met him, one day, on horseback, riding slowly through the streets, observed and honored by all. Little boys cried, "Here comes the duke," and uncovered their heads; and their parents, who had seen the old hero a hundred times, still stopped to gaze after him as he passed. No one who had ever seen a portrait or statue of the Duke of Wellington could fail to recognize him. His countenance is marked and peculiar, and his dress somewhat singular for a man of his age. A dark coat and white pants united upon the person of the venerable warrior, who sat upon a powerful white horse, rendered him, as he moved on, a conspicuous figure. He is respected and beloved by all. The English people regard him as a national deliverer, and statues and monuments to his fame arise in every part of London.

I also saw, and became familiar with, the countenances of other distinguished persons in London, among whom were the Duke of Argyle, the Earl of Chichester, Lord John Russell, Lord Ashley, with several other earls, dukes, lords, and nobles, with titles of which I know not the meaning, and which I did not care to remember. They look, for all the world, so much like other men, having noses, and mouths, and eyes, and hands, and feet just like yours and mine, that any description of them would be tedious. Go out into the street, and stop the first man you meet; dress him in a dignified suit of black; and, instead of calling him John Smith, the cooper, just add a half dozen titles to his name, before and behind, and you have a very correct idea of an English nobleman. This order of English society live in aristocratic style. Buckingham Palace is the town residence of the queen, and is a fine, stately building in St. James's Park. Orders to visit

this structure are given only during the absence of the royal family, and I did not enter it. The old St. James's Palace is not now used as a royal residence ; but its spacious halls and saloons are set apart for levees and royal frolicks, which are held there two or three times a year. The building will hardly compare externally with some of our brick boarding-houses in manufacturing cities, and has a deserted and dismal appearance. The apartments in which died Queen Mary I., Queen Caroline, and several of the royal line, and in which were born James the Pretender, Charles II., and George IV., still remain.

Lambeth Palace, an old castle-like-looking place, and which brings up the idea of ghosts and hobgoblins, is the town house of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Duke of Wellington lives in the Apsley House, a sort of genteel-looking prison in Piccadilly, while all over the metropolis rise fine buildings, in which reside the honored descendants of an illustrious ancestry, many of them beggared by their excesses, but still retaining the appearance of splendor.

The interior of these palaces, in many cases, presents a rich appearance. By an order kindly given us by his excellency, Hon. Abbott Lawrence, we visited the town house of the Duke of Northumberland, who, leaving the city during the summer, left his palace open, that the wondering people from the country might see how nobles live. The house is in Trafalgar Square, in the midst of the din and confusion of business. We were admitted by stewards, in whose charge the place now is, and at once a scene of great magnificence met the eye. The floors of the hall, and the splendid staircase,— wide enough for an army to march up in regiments, were of polished marble The walls were of composite

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