The Life of King Edward VII
English royalty than this premature and much-mourned death of the good
and really great Prince Consort. To the young Heir Apparent it meant the
loss of a loving father, a careful guardian, a watchful and wise
adviser. To the wife and widow it meant the ruin of a great happiness
and a sorrow which no passing years could ever remove. Sir Theodore
Martin's beautiful description of the scene at the death-bed, at which
knelt the Queen, the Princess Alice, the Princess Helena and the Prince
of Wales, may well be given here: "In the solemn hush of that mournful
chamber there was such grief as has rarely hallowed any death-bed. A
great light, which had blessed the world, and which the mourners had
but yesterday hoped might long bless it, was waning fast away. A
husband, a father, a friend, a master, endeared by every quality by
which man in such relations can win the love of his fellow-man, was
passing into the Silent Land, and his loving glance, his wise counsels,
his firm, manly thought should be known among them no more. The Castle
clock chimed the third quarter after ten. Calm and peaceful grew the
beloved form; the features settled into the beauty of a perfectly serene
repose; two or three long, but gentle breaths were drawn; and that great
soul had fled to seek a nobler scope for its aspirations in the world
within the veil, for which it had often yearned, where there is rest for
the weary, and where 'the spirits of the just are made perfect.'"
Not long before his death the Prince Consort had readily agreed to his
son's wish for a visit to the Holy Land and had planned the
preliminaries of the tour before he was stricken by the disease which
carried him off. After that sad event it was felt by the Queen that such
a journey would now be doubly wise and proper and she made arrangements
for General Bruce to accompany the Prince, together with Major Teesdale,
Captain Keppel and a small suite. By special wish of the Prince Consort
and at the urgent request of the Queen, the Rev. Dr. Arthur Penrhyn
Stanley consented to accompany the Prince. He joined the Royal party at
Alexandria on February 28, 1862, and they at once proceeded to Cairo and
from thence visited the Pyramids. A little later Palestine was reached
and, following in the historic steps of Richard Coeur de Lion and
Edward I., another Heir to the British Throne finally reached Jerusalem.
The closely-guarded Cave of Macphelah was opened to the Prince of Wales
as well as the famous Mosque of Hebron which for nearly seven hundred
years had been closed to even Royal visitors. Lake Tiberias, Bethany,
Bethlehem, the Groves of Jericho, were visited and some time was spent
in tents upon the journey to Damascus. From thence the party traveled
to Beyrout, visited Tyre and Sidon, and proceeded to Tripoli. The
journey was made by the Prince so as to include Patmos, Ephesus, Smyrna,
Constantinople, Athens and Malta. From every place where it was possible
the Prince collected flowers which he carefully sent to his sister, the
Princess Royal. Of His Royal Highness during this interesting tour Dean
Stanley put on record his opinion at the time: "It is impossible not to
like him and to be constantly with him brings out his astonishing memory
of names and persons.... I am more and more struck by the amiable and
endearing qualities of the Prince."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Sarah, Lady Lyttelton, daughter of the second Earl Spencer and wife
of the third Lord Lyttelton. Born 1787, Died 1870.
[2] This officer afterwards became Major-General Sir C. C. Teesdale
V.C., K.C.M.G., C.B. and was A.D.C. to the Queen in 1877-87. Major
Lindsay was better known in later years as Colonel Sir Robert
Lloyd-Lindsay K.C.B. In 1885 he was raised to the Peerage as Lord
Wantage.
[3] He afterwards became a Major-General in the Army and died in 1862 of
fever caught while with the Prince of Wales during his Eastern tour.
[4] Martin's _Life of the Prince Consort_.
CHAPTER III.
Royal Tour of British America and the United States
The first important public event in the career of the young Prince was
one which, during forty years, has held a marked place in Canadian
memories and a prominent place in Canadian and American history. In some
respects the tour of the Prince of Wales, in 1860, through the scattered
and disconnected Provinces of British America has wielded an influence
far out of proportion to the contemporary judgment of the event; beyond,
perhaps, what the Queen and Prince Consort in their wise and patriotic
policy of the time hoped to achieve. It was, in reality, the first break
in the hitherto steady progress of the Manchester school theory
regarding ultimate Empire disruption; the first check given to the
widely accepted doctrine that the Colonies were of no use except for
trade and, in any case, were like the fruit which ripens only to fall
from the parent stem.
Mr. Bright, Lord John Russell, Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Mr. Cobden,
Lord Ashburton, Lord Ellenborough, Lord Derby, and many others, were at
this time touched with the blight of these theories and to them there
was no sense, and nothing but expense, in trying to cultivate Colonial
loyalty or promote Colonial co-operation.
IMPERIAL CONDITIONS IN 1860
To this school--and it was one embracing many able men and
thinkers--trade was more important than any other consideration, and the
greatest object of external policy was the development of friendly
relations with the United States. American extension of territory was
not looked upon with alarm even when it took a slice of the Maine
boundary and threatened trouble over that of Oregon. The Republic had
not yet gone in seriously for high protection and did not, therefore,
vitally touch the pockets of patriots who could not foresee, even in
their keen regard for commerce and its development, that trade and
territory were in the future to be most intimately related.
The Queen and Prince Consort did, however, understand something of the
future of the Empire--dimly it might be but still effectively. It had
been announced during the progress of the Crimean War that a Royal tour
of British America might be arranged within a few years, and the
Canadian Legislature, on May 14th, 1859, took advantage of the coming
completion of the great Victoria Bridge across the St. Lawrence, at
Montreal, to tender a formal invitation to the Sovereign herself to be
present at the opening ceremonies; to receive a personal tribute of the
unwavering attachment of her subjects; and to more closely unite the
bonds which attached the Province to the Empire. This unanimously-passed
address was taken to London by Mr. Speaker Henry Smith, and the response
elicited was most favourable to the indirect request of the Assembly and
Legislative Council--the initiative in the matter being due to a motion
by the Hon. P. M. M. S. Vankoughnet in the latter House. The
Governor-General received a reply, dated January 30th, 1860, and signed
by the Duke of Newcastle, Colonial Secretary, which stated that Her
Majesty greatly regretted that her duties at the Seat of the Empire
would prevent so long an absence, but that it might be possible for H.
R. H. the Prince of Wales to attend the ceremony at a later date. "The
Queen trusts that nothing may interfere with this arrangement for it is
Her Majesty's sincere desire that the young Prince, on whom the Crown
of this Empire will devolve, may have the opportunity of visiting that
portion of her dominions from which this Address has proceeded and may
become acquainted with a people in whose progress towards greatness, Her
Majesty, in common with her subjects in Great Britain, feels a lively
and enduring sympathy."
THE PRINCE COMMENCES HIS TOUR
Preparations were at once commenced in the British Provinces to properly
receive the Royal guest. By the 9th of July all arrangements in England
had been made, including the acceptance of an invitation to visit the
United States--as a private gentleman under the title of Lord Renfrew.
On that date the Prince sailed from Plymouth in the ship _Hero_
after replying to a farewell address, when he declared that he was
proceeding to "the great possessions of the Queen in North America
with a lively anticipation of the pleasure which the sight of a noble
land, great works of nature and human skill and a generous and active
people must produce." The Royal suite was composed of the Duke of
Newcastle--practically guardian to the youthful Prince; the Earl of St.
Germans, Lord Chamberlain to the Queen; General, the Hon. Robert Bruce;
Dr. Auckland and two Equerries--Major Teesdale, V.C., and Captain Grey.
Newfoundland was first reached on July 23d. An enthusiastic reception
was given to the Royal visitor at St. John's by ringing bells, lusty
cheers, waving flags and evening illuminations. The Prince was received
by the Governor, Sir Alexander Bannerman, and then passed in procession
through beautiful arches and decorations to Government House. A levee
was held, many addresses received and a collective reply given, in which
the Prince made the statement that "I shall carry back a lively
recollection of the day's proceedings and your kindness to myself
personally; but, above all, of these hearty demonstrations of patriotism
which prove your deep-rooted attachment to the great and free country
of which we all glory to be called sons." A ride around the town
followed, without ceremony, and in the evening a state dinner and ball
were given. The attendance at the latter was very large and the Prince
delighted everyone, and particularly the ladies, by dancing with evident
zest and pleasure until three o'clock in the morning. During the day
thus commenced he left the Island amid every evidence of popularity and
loyalty--after accepting a handsome Newfoundland dog as a present from
the people and presenting Lady Bannerman with a set of jewels in
commemoration of his visit.
ARRIVAL AT HALIFAX
The Royal squadron arrived at Halifax on the morning of July 30th and,
despite unpleasant weather, the entire city turned out to welcome the
Queen's son. The streets were lined by the regular soldiers and
volunteers and were beautifully decorated with arches, transparencies
and evergreens. The arches numbered seventeen and included one which the
Roman Catholic Archbishop Connolly had erected at his own expense. The
Prince was received by His Excellency the Earl of Mulgrave--afterwards
Marquess of Normanby--and Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne,
Major-General Trollope and the members of the Provincial Government.
Mayor Caldwell read an address expressing "devotion to the British
throne and attachment to British institutions" and His Royal Highness in
reply referred to the noble Harbour of Halifax in which all the navies
of Great Britain could "ride in safety." There was much enthusiasm shown
in the streets and at one point 4000 children sang an adaptation of the
National Anthem as a sort of welcoming ode. At Government House the Hon.
William Young read an address from the Executive Council of the Province
in which special reference was made to the Nova Scotians who had won
laurels "beneath the Imperial flag" in the recent Crimean campaign. It
was signed by the Hon. Joseph Howe, the Hon. A. G. Archibald, the Hon.
J. McCully, the Hon. William Annand and others and, in replying, the
Prince made a significant allusion to the Confederation policy of
several years later when he expressed hopes for their happiness as a
loyal and united people.
On the following day a Royal review was held and in the evening a state
dinner and ball were attended while illuminations turned the darkness of
the outside night into brightness. At the ball the ladies selected as
partners, according to a contemporary historian, were "principally the