The Letters of Queen Victoria, Volume 1: 1837-1843 | Page 9

had become divided, the Count of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Hardenburg,
was raised to the rank of a prince of the Empire, but the Peace of
Lunéville (1801) deprived him of his ancient possessions, extending
about 232 miles on the left bank of the Rhine. Though no longer an
independent Prince, the head of the House retains his rank and wealth,
and owns extensive estates in Bavaria and Hesse.]
The Duke of Kent died prematurely--though he had always been a
conspicuously healthy man--at Sidmouth, on the 23rd of January 1820,
only a week before his father.
A paper preserved in the Windsor archives gives a touching account of
the Duke's last hours. The Regent, on the 22nd of January, sent to him a
message of solicitude and affection, expressing an anxious wish for his
recovery. The Duke roused himself to enquire how the Prince was in
health, and said, "If I could now shake hands with him, I should die in
peace." A few hours before the end, one who stood by the curtain of his
bed heard the Duke say with deep emotion, "May the Almighty protect
my wife and child, and forgive all the sins I have committed." His last
words--addressed to his wife--were, "Do not forget me."
The Duchess of Kent was an affectionate, impulsive woman, with more
emotional sympathy than practical wisdom in worldly matters. But her
claim on the gratitude of the British nation is that she brought up her
illustrious daughter in habits of simplicity, self-sacrifice, and

obedience.
As a testimony to the sincere appreciation entertained by the politicians
of the time for the way in which the Duchess of Kent had appreciated
her responsibilities with regard to the education of a probable heir to
the Crown of England, we may quote a few sentences from two
speeches made in the House of Commons, in the debate which took
place (27th May 1825) on the question of increasing the Parliamentary
annuity paid to the Duchess, in order to provide duly for the education
of the young Princess.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Robinson, afterwards Lord Ripon,
said:
"The position in which this Princess stood with respect to the throne of
the country could not fail to make her an object of general interest to
the nation. He had not himself the honour of being acquainted with the
Duchess of Kent, but he believed that she had taken the greatest pains
with her daughter's education. She had been brought up in principles of
piety and morality, and to feel a proper sense, he meant by that an
humble sense, of her own dignity, and the rank which probably awaited
her. Perhaps it might have been fit to have brought this matter before
Parliament at an earlier period."
Mr Canning said:
"All parties agreed in the propriety of the Grant, and if Government had
anything to answer for on this point, it was for having so long delayed
bringing it before the House. There could not be a greater compliment
to Her Royal Highness than to state the quiet unobtrusive tenor of her
life, and that she had never made herself the object of public gaze, but
had devoted herself to the education of her child, whom the House was
now called upon to adopt."
[Pageheading: EARLY REMINISCENCES]
In the year 1872 Queen Victoria wrote down with her own hand some
reminiscences of her early childhood, the manuscript of which is

preserved at Windsor, and which may be quoted here.
"My earliest recollections are connected with Kensington Palace, where
I can remember crawling on a yellow carpet spread out for that
purpose--and being told that if I cried and was naughty my 'Uncle
Sussex' would hear me and punish me, for which reason I always
screamed when I saw him! I had a great horror of Bishops on account
of their wigs and aprons, but recollect this being partially got over in
the case of the then Bishop of Salisbury (Dr Fisher, great-uncle to Mr
Fisher, Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales), by his kneeling down
and letting me play with his badge of Chancellor of the Order of the
Garter. With another Bishop, however, the persuasion of showing him
my 'pretty shoes' was of no use. Claremont remains as the brightest
epoch of my otherwise rather melancholy childhood--where to be under
the roof of that beloved Uncle--to listen to some music in the Hall
when there were dinner-parties--and to go and see dear old Louis!--the
former faithful and devoted Dresser and friend of Princess
Charlotte--beloved and respected by all who knew her--and who doted
on the little Princess who was too much an idol in the House. This dear
old lady was visited by every one--and was the only really devoted
Attendant of the poor Princess, whose governesses paid