It is often said that the Queen has been so successful. simply because she has allowed herself to be so completely It is a popular impression of some ex that she is a mere figure-head—a sort of automaton for signing her Ministers' do-crees. Personally, the nominal ruler of the British Empire is' asserted tobe ap exeellent mother to her family, sand: nothing besides. The Victorian Aye owes much more than this to Victoria. The Queen's silence has been the golden reticence of discretion, not the leaden dampness. of stupidity." While always profoundly" respect ful of her limitations as a cons'it tional monarch, she has exercised a strong influence upon the actions of her advisers, and has made many an. effective protest against their policy. It is wonderful how frequently her womanly instinct has surpassed in foresight the statesmanship, of her fers. She refused to believe Lord Canning's assurance that the first outbreak of the Indian Mutiny in 1857, nieant nothing dangerous. In 1859 Sir George Grey
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.