DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1311#0081
OF THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY. 57
the birth, of another prince is announced to us by the joyful firing of cannon on the
occasion.
Prince Albert's fame preceded him on English ground. We had heard of him as
a scholar, and a ripe and good one. A fellow-student of the Prince at Bonn, in a
letter published in the Times, stated that the Prince was not only conversant with
several European languages, but that he was deeply learned in the classics—that when
at Bonn he had published an elegant volume of lyrics for the benefit of the poor—that
his skill in painting was also considerable—and that in the composition of several songs
he had showu himself a good musician. Proofs of these qualities have now become
familiar enough. "We were prepared for them, and not surprised at the manifestations
of them j but we were not prepared for the untiring philanthropy, for the graceful
domestic life, for the greatness of aim, evinced by Prince Albert. For the birth and
realisation of that great idea which, more than any event in our own time, has aided pro-
gress, and has prepared the way for the brotherhood of man, the world must ever hold in
veneration the memory of the Prince. Isfo prouder monument could man desire. When
the pyramids shall have crumbled away—when the monumental brass shall have decayed
—when London shall be what Tyre and Sidon are now—still 1851 will be memorable in
the annals of the world; and labour's sons will remember, as they toil at the loom, or
the forge, or the plough, or the mine, who it was that vindicated for labour her proper
place in the breasts of men—who it was that asked the world to do homage to peace
and its attendant arts. With all our great institutions—with all our national celebra-
tions—with all our national sympathies—have the names of Victoria and Albert become
entwined. When revolutions raged in neighbouring lands—when blood was spilt in
Vienna, in Paris, in Berlin—when thrones tottered to their fall—in our land peace and
order remained secure. The future historian will have to tell how, when Victoria went
amongst her people—whether she visited the cotton-spinners of Manchester, or the pea-
santry of Buckinghamshire, or in the presence of the denizens of every clime, in fitting
manner, with the organ's peal and the voice of prayer, opened the Crystal Palace—all
along the way glanced eager and admiring eyes, and everywhere were the teeming
manifestations of a nation's loyalty and love. Already an inscription commemorative of
the virtues of our Queen has been written by our poet-laureate. We extract from it
the following appropriate lines :—
" Her court was pure; her life serene;
God gave her peace; her land reposed j
A thousand claims to reverence closed
In her as mother, wife, and queen.
She brought a vast design to pass,
"When Europe and the scattered ends
Of our fierce -world were mixed as friends
And brethren in her halls of glass.
And statesmen at her council met,
Who knew the season when to take
Occasion by the hand, and make
The bounds of freedom broader yet
By shaping some august decree
Which kept her throne unshaken still,
Broad-based upon her people's will,
And compassed by the inviolate sea."
VOL. II. Q
the birth, of another prince is announced to us by the joyful firing of cannon on the
occasion.
Prince Albert's fame preceded him on English ground. We had heard of him as
a scholar, and a ripe and good one. A fellow-student of the Prince at Bonn, in a
letter published in the Times, stated that the Prince was not only conversant with
several European languages, but that he was deeply learned in the classics—that when
at Bonn he had published an elegant volume of lyrics for the benefit of the poor—that
his skill in painting was also considerable—and that in the composition of several songs
he had showu himself a good musician. Proofs of these qualities have now become
familiar enough. "We were prepared for them, and not surprised at the manifestations
of them j but we were not prepared for the untiring philanthropy, for the graceful
domestic life, for the greatness of aim, evinced by Prince Albert. For the birth and
realisation of that great idea which, more than any event in our own time, has aided pro-
gress, and has prepared the way for the brotherhood of man, the world must ever hold in
veneration the memory of the Prince. Isfo prouder monument could man desire. When
the pyramids shall have crumbled away—when the monumental brass shall have decayed
—when London shall be what Tyre and Sidon are now—still 1851 will be memorable in
the annals of the world; and labour's sons will remember, as they toil at the loom, or
the forge, or the plough, or the mine, who it was that vindicated for labour her proper
place in the breasts of men—who it was that asked the world to do homage to peace
and its attendant arts. With all our great institutions—with all our national celebra-
tions—with all our national sympathies—have the names of Victoria and Albert become
entwined. When revolutions raged in neighbouring lands—when blood was spilt in
Vienna, in Paris, in Berlin—when thrones tottered to their fall—in our land peace and
order remained secure. The future historian will have to tell how, when Victoria went
amongst her people—whether she visited the cotton-spinners of Manchester, or the pea-
santry of Buckinghamshire, or in the presence of the denizens of every clime, in fitting
manner, with the organ's peal and the voice of prayer, opened the Crystal Palace—all
along the way glanced eager and admiring eyes, and everywhere were the teeming
manifestations of a nation's loyalty and love. Already an inscription commemorative of
the virtues of our Queen has been written by our poet-laureate. We extract from it
the following appropriate lines :—
" Her court was pure; her life serene;
God gave her peace; her land reposed j
A thousand claims to reverence closed
In her as mother, wife, and queen.
She brought a vast design to pass,
"When Europe and the scattered ends
Of our fierce -world were mixed as friends
And brethren in her halls of glass.
And statesmen at her council met,
Who knew the season when to take
Occasion by the hand, and make
The bounds of freedom broader yet
By shaping some august decree
Which kept her throne unshaken still,
Broad-based upon her people's will,
And compassed by the inviolate sea."
VOL. II. Q