, her feet in slippers and her long
brown hair flying over her shoulders!

As in a dream she heard the words, "Your Majesty," and received the
first kiss of homage on her trembling hand, then with sweet pleading
grace she spoke her first words as Queen of England, looking into the
kind eyes of the Archbishop, "I beg your Grace to pray for me," she
said, with utter simplicity and sincere desire, and raising his hand in
benediction, the Archbishop's voice asked a blessing on the fair young
sovereign of so great a land.

The hours following that first knowledge of her new dignity were
overwhelmingly full of strange experiences for Victoria, but among them
all she found time to go to her desk and write a letter to Queen
Adelaide, expressing sympathy for her in her sorrow, and begging her to
remain as long as she felt inclined at Windsor. Giving the letter to her
mother, the Duchess noted that the name on it was to "Her Majesty, the
Queen." With a smile she said, "My dear, you forget who is the Queen of
England now. The King's widow is only Queen Dowager."

To which Victoria replied quickly, "I know that, but _I_ will not be the
first person to remind her of it!"

How many girls would have been as thoughtful as that, I wonder?

In a few hours she was obliged to meet many high officials, and even had
to read her first speech from a throne which was hastily erected for the
occasion. Then while the great bell of St. Paul's was tolling for the
dead King, the young monarch, dressed very simply in mourning, which
brought out in bold relief her clear fresh complexion, took an oath "for
the security of the Church of Scotland," and received the oath of
allegiance first from her royal uncles, the Dukes of Cumberland and
Sussex, whom she kissed as affectionately and impulsively as if she
were still the little Princess. Following them came a great number of
notable men to kneel before her and kiss her hand, among them the Duke
of Wellington and the Premier, Lord Melbourne. To each she showed the
same degree of winning courtesy, and only for a brief moment seemed
disconcerted by the new and dazzling ceremony in her honour as Queen of
the realm.

Evidently since the day when she had first learned that she was some day
to be a Queen, she had been studying how to proceed when the momentous
hour should come, for now she thought to do all those things which would
have scarcely been expected of an older and experienced statesman. She
ev