rvous out driving, and I start
at any person coming near the carriage, which I am afraid is natural.
We have, alas! now another cause of much greater anxiety in the person
of our excellent Sir Robert Peel,[25] who, as you will see, has had
a most serious fall, and though going on well at first, was very ill
last night; thank God! he is better again this morning, but I fear
still in great danger. I cannot bear even to think of losing him; it
would be the greatest loss for the whole country, and irreparable for
us, for he is so trustworthy, and so entirely to be depended on. _All_
parties are in great anxiety about him. I will leave my letter open to
give you the latest news.

Our good and amiable guest[26] likes being with us, and will remain
with us till Saturday. We had a concert last night, and go to the
opera very regularly. The _Prophete_ is quite beautiful, and I am
sure would delight you. The music in the _Scene du Couronnement_ is,
I think, finer than anything in either _Robert_ or the _Huguenots_; it
is highly dramatic, and really very touching. Mario sings and acts
in it quite in perfection. His _Raoul_ in the Huguenots is also most
beautiful. He improves every year, and I really think his voice is the
finest tenor I ever heard, and he sings and acts with such _intense_
feeling.

What do you say to the conclusion of our debate? It leaves things just
as they were. The House of Commons is becoming very unmanageable and
troublesome....

I must now conclude. With Albert's love, ever your most affectionate
Niece,

VICTORIA R.

I am happy to say that Sir Robert, though still very ill, is freer
from pain, his pulse is less high, and he feels himself better; the
Doctors think there is _no_ vital injury, and nothing from which he
cannot recover, but that he must be for some days in a precarious
state.

[Footnote 24: The Queen, as she was leaving Cambridge House,
where she had called to inquire after the Duke of Cambridge's
health, was struck with a cane by one Robert Pate, an
ex-officer, and a severe bruise was inflicted on her forehead.
The outrage was apparently committed without motive, but an
attempt to prove Pate insane failed, and he was sentenced to
seven years' transportation.]

[Footnote 25: On the day following the Don Pacifico debate,
Sir Robert Peel, after attending a meeting of the Exhibition
Commissioners, had gone out riding. On his return, while
pas