Ox the twenty-eighth of June, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, exactly forty years ago, Victoria was crowned Queen of Great Britain and Ireland in Westminster Abbey. The ceremonial was as superb as on any former occasion, and the youth and amiable character of the Girl Queen excited the affection and loyalty of all parties. But the most sanguine hopes of those who thronged the streets to see the corona. tion pageant, and shouted "God save the Queen" until they were hoarse, have been more than fulfilled in the forty years during which the Queen has occupied the Throne of the Isles.
Steadily and faithfully Victoria has fulfilled the compact between Horself and Her subjects, and has adapted Herself with unexampled tact and wisdom to the performance of the difficult part She was called to undertake. The secrets of Her success have been simplicity and truthfulness. She has never affected to move in a different world from that in which her subjects moved. She has assumed no superb isolation unsuited to the temper of a levelling age, but has presented Herself always as the first public servant of the realm, anxious to understand the questions of the day, indefatigable in Her discharge of Her public daties, and keenly sympathizing with the trials and misfortunes of the humblest of Her subjects. The Queen's Journal in the Highlands is a picture of Royal life, the like to which has never been drawn before, and reveals the frank and genuine character of the Sovereign who, in Her early girlhood, Lord Melbourne described as the Konestest person he bad ever known."
The reign of Victoria divides itself into three periods. The first may be called the period of Public Peace and Domestic Happiness, which extended over the first twelve years and reached its climax in the Exhibition of 1851.
Then followed the Period of War and Bereavement, This comprises the Russian War and the Indian Mutiny, and closes with the death of the Prince Consort in 1861. To this succeeded naturally enough a long, perhaps an unduly long, Period of Moning and Seclusion. This, however, has distinctly come to an end; and we are entering on a third and possibly the most remarkable division of the Queen's reign, viz, that in which she appears more conspicuously than before a personal raler, guided as ever by Her sound constitutional training, but giving Her Ministers the results of Her proteand and peculiar experience, and aiding—evencolouring—thoir measures by the suggestions of this experience. The best proof of the absolute confidence which the Queen inspires from Her directness of aim and trathfalness of character, is found in the fact that this additional prominence of the personal clement excites no apprehension. Tu most cases when a Sovereign in a constitutional country is known to be putting his or her hand on the machinery of Government there is a vague feeling of suspicion. In Eng-laud we may say, with perfect truth, that this idea is unknown. The Queen has unbosomed Herself to the people. They know Her whole life and Her guiding principles too well to question the purity of Her motives or the thoroughness of Her devotion to their interests. Therefore, to stand well with the Queen is always a telling point in favour of any Minister. The Royal judgment is known to be sound and the Royal discernment of character is known to be keen, and perfect re-hance is placed in both, To retarn to the ceremony to-day commemorates, The well-known picture by Sir George Hayter presents to this generation the most impressive moment of the Corona tion pageant. The personages who take part in the ceremony are easily recognised. Prominent amongst the notables appear two great soldiers, the Duke of Wellington and the Duke of Dalmatia, for Sault was French ambassador to the Court of St. James at this-time. The Premier, Lord Melbourne; the Chancellor, Lord Cottenham; and the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston; are all conspicuous. Amongst the spectators was one who has left on record an eloquent memorial of the impression the ceremony made upon his mind. Fow probably of our readers are familiar with the passage, and few will be content with reading it only once, when they learn that it represents the opinions held forty years ago by Mr.
"Thus" in the coronation, "is the double character, the composite idea, of the Church as Catholic and as National, fulfilled in this most majestic office, of which it may with troth be said that the gorgeous trappings and oven the magnificent pile within which it is por-formed, are far less imposing than the grandeur of its language and the profound and affecting truth of its idea."
We add no comment, but leave these words to be read and pondered over. They will suggest many and conflicting may recur to-day to the mind of him who penned them and awaken strange regrets.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.