ADELAIDE.

THE life of Queen Adelaide has yet to be written. A faithful chronicle of her many private virtues can hardly be expected in the generation in which she lived. It was a part of her nature to avoid ostentation ; but while we have only the land-marks of general history to assist us in pointing out her career of charity and humility, it is at least satisfactory to observe, that all classes of her subjects are now ready to testify their approval of their Queen Consort, and their respect for their late Queen Dowager. Hers was a life, however, singularly barren of the multifarious accidents and adventures which befel so many of her predecessors on the English throne; her destiny seems to have been cast according to the quiet, religious bent of her mind, and the strict morality of her retiring disposition.

She was the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Meiningen, one of the small states of the German Empire, and was born August 13th, 1792. She had a sister two years younger than herself named Ida, and a brother eight years her junior, named Bernard Henry, who succeeded to the dukedom. Adelaide was but eleven years old at the death of her father, which left her mother regent and sole guardian over their childhood. To her early lessons was owing, doubtless, that secluded and pious character which our late queen bore through life, for she was educated in the strictest privacy, and with a profound regard for religious observances. Adelaide early displayed this sedate disposition, by avoiding even the ordinary amusements adapted to her youth. Her benevolence shone forth, too, at the same early period, in her co-operation with her sister in the establishment of schools for the poor, and in the relief of the infirm and needy. The exercise of these virtues reached the ears of Queen Charlotte of England, who recommended her as a fitting companion for her third son William Henry, Duke of Clarence. A correspondence was accordingly entered upon

between the two courts, which terminated in the arrival of the Duchess of Meiningen with her daughter in this country, and the marriage at Kew on July 13th, 1818, of the Duke of Clarence with Princess Adelaide. The Duke and Duchess of Kent were re-married at the same time, the service being performed in the queen's drawing-room, where an altar had been erected for the occasion, the Prince Regent giving away both the brides. They took possession of Clarence House, and shortly after proceeded to the Continent, having previously bid a last farewell to the aged Queen Charlotte, who died in the following November.

The ensuing winter and spring were spent with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Hanover. Prince George of Cambridge was born there on the 26th of March, and on the next day the Duchess of Clarence was delivered of a seven months' female child, which lived but a few hours. In consequence of a debility of constitution, which displayed itself at this early date, she was recommended to travel, and she accordingly visited for a month her birth-place, Meiningen, where she was entertained with a series of fêtes and public rejoicings. Their royal highnesses thence repaired to the waters of Liebenstein, and not long after started on their return to England. The fatigue of the journey, however, was too great for the weak state of her health, and she was detained by illness, first at Dunkirk, and afterwards for a period of six weeks at Walmer Castle. During these serious attacks the duke never quitted her side.

The year 1820 beheld the birth and death of the only other living child of the Duchess Adelaide. That year, so eventful as regarded the succession to these realms, by the death of the old King, George the Third, and of the Duke of Kent, extinguished also all hopes of heirs to this third branch of the royal family, and left the little Princess Victoria, after the death of her three uncles, presumptive heiress to the Crown.

In June, 1822, the Duke and Duchess of Clarence again proceeded to the Continent, for the benefit of the health of the duchess. They visited most of their relatives in Germany on this occasion, the result being most beneficial to the health of the royal invalid, and they were accompanied on their return to this country by the family of Saxe Weimar. In the intervals between their foreign tours they alternated their residence between Clarence House, St. James's, and Bushey Park, which latter residence had been prepared for their reception soon after their marriage. In 1825 they returned to Meiningen, to be present at

the nuptials of its duke, the young brother of Adelaide; but the festivities there were abruptly brought to a close by the death of her uncle, and shortly afterwards by that of another more distant member of her family. The death of the Duke of York also at this period, while it gave to the Duke and Duchess of Clarence an increased importance in the eyes of this nation, added to the gloom of mourning into which they were so suddenly thrown.

They resided a good deal at this epoch at the Château à Quatre Tours at Ems, a favourite spot with the duke, because its scenery reminded him of that of the river St. Lawrence in North America. The birth-day of the Duchess of Clarence in the year 1826 was celebrated with great honours. Eighteen princes and princesses, all related to her, were present at the banquet, a song was composed in her honour and sung by the peasants, and the peasant girls in token of affection decked her with garlands, amid all sorts of festivities. In 1827, William as Lord High Admiral was much occupied in inspecting the ports and arsenals of the kingdom, and during this time Adelaide made a tour among the English nobility, from whom she received a

cordial welcome.

The death of George the Fourth in 1830 at length called Adelaide to the throne of Great Britain as Queen Consort. A detail of the pageants with which the accession of William the Fourth, the Sailorking, and his queen, Adelaide, were attended, will not be expected in this place. Parliament immediately testified its satisfaction by the munificent vote of £100,000 to the queen in the event of her surviving his majesty, and Bushey and Marlborough House were assigned as her royal residences for life. The royal couple acknowledged this ample provision in person in the House of Lords. The king and queen together visited the Tower in great state, and among their earliest public appearances were two visits to Greenwich Hospital. They walked in procession over the new London-bridge at its opening, and showered medals among the crowds, who received them with acclamations. In 1832 they opened the new bridge at Staines, and more than once presented themselves at the celebration of Eton Montem. While on the course at Ascot together, a man named Denis Collins hurled a stone at the King, occasioning much alarm and equal danger to the Queen. The great political feature of their reign, the passing of the Reform Act in the same year, cannot be omitted in this place, though, from the bias of the Queen's character as exhibited in subsequent events, it is supposed that this great

enactment was by no means agreeable to her, and might have met with her resistance, had she possessed the power.

Their majesties honoured the musical festival at Westminster Abbey with their presence during four several performances in the year 1834. During the months of July and August, Queen Adelaide paid a visit to her mother on the Continent. Her sister, the Duchess of Saxe Weimar, came over to England in the following year, and accompanied the queen on a state visit to Oxford. The court of England, during her short reign, was a model of purity, and a fitting resort for the young. Her virtues won the respect of all classes of the community.

Her affectionate heart was doomed to bear its two severest trials in rapid succession, in the year 1837. The first was the death of her mother; the second, the loss of her husband. King William had himself sustained a heavy affliction in the sudden decease of his child, Lady de Lisle. During his last illness, of some weeks' duration, Queen Adelaide devoted herself exclusively to attendance upon him. For twelve days she is reported never to have changed her dress, nor to have taken more than a brief repose at a time. Her hand chafed the cold hand of the king, and her voice responded to the religious offices performed at his bedside. She supported him for a whole hour before the fatal moment, and he died in her arms. But such a paroxysm of grief then fell upon her, as threatened her life. She privately attended his funeral.

Adelaide, now Queen Dowager, resigned the pomp of her regal station without a sigh, and retired to Bushey, between which place, Marlborough House, and St. Leonard's, she divided most of the remaining twelve years of her life. She was present at the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, early in the year 1840. Her name, throughout her life, appeared before the public at the head of lists of subscribers for the relief of the distresses of different classes, as well as for the erection of new churches and other religious objects. But her health now rapidly declined, and she made a voyage to the islands of Madeira and Malta. At the latter island she founded and endowed the Church of Valetta. She was nineteen years a wife, and fifty-seven years of age, when she died. That event took place at Bentley Priory, on December 2nd, 1849, the princess, her sister, being present. The humility exhibited in her will renders it a standing lesson for princes. Following its instructions, her remains did not lie in state, but were removed to St. George's Chapel, Windsor, borne by sailors, and without procession.

Queen Adelaide loved hospitality, but well knew how to practise economy when she was Duchess of Clarence. Her reading was extensive, her love of music and pictures great. Perhaps, after all, the quality for which she deserved to be most respected has not yet been told. This was her unremitting kindness and attention to the sons and daughters of her husband by Mrs. Jordan. Her steady practice of this exalted generosity is beyond all commendation, and shows her to have been morally worthy of the title of queen.