life in public; for the daily papers of every morning give us an account of the things in which she has been engaged, the company favoured by her reception, and the places which she has visited. In another respect her Majesty lives a comparatively private life; for people whom she honours do not at once rush into print, and tell boastful stories of the distinguished privileges which have been accorded them. But we are very much mistaken if the additional incidents which have been culled from various quarters, and are here grouped together, will not prove interesting to many of her Majesty's loving subjects, for they show, at all events, that she is worthy of their love. No sketch of the life of the Queen could have been written without reference to the times during which she has reigned. And these have been remarkable in every respect. The progress made in industry, art, science, and literature has been astonishing. Steam and Electricity-mighty forces to move the world-have been developed; and by them all nations have been brought together. In Painting and in Music great advances have been made. Education, from being the possession of only a favoured few, has become the heritage of every British child, and England has become a nation of readers; for the periodical and newspaper literature is in every home. Nor are books absent. We have not even mentioned the names of one in a dozen of the authors who have exercised a vast influence over the minds of the age; but such men as Brewster, Herschell, Faraday, Huxley, Mill, Dickens, Thackeray, and a host of others, have added to the renown of the Victorian era. Our Queen has done all that she could to promote the advancement of that which is good. She is herself the patron of all true work; and the ablest minds of our age know that they will receive encouragement from her. In commerce, art, science, literature—and last, but not least, in religion—her Majesty is as deeply interested as her subjects. As we think of the great advantages that we enjoy, the old words of the Hebrew writer become altogether applicable to our modern life :-" Happy is that people that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord.” |