to go through a great parade and ceremony to
dissolve Parliament. We are told that "the weather was fine and the
whole route from Buckingham Palace to Parliament House was lined with
shouting, cheering people, as the magnificent procession and the
brilliant young Queen passed slowly along." A London journal of the day
gives this account of the ceremony: "At ten minutes to three precisely,
Her Majesty, preceded by the heralds and attended by the great officers
of state, entered the House--all the peers and peeresses, who had risen
at the flourish of the trumpets, remaining standing. Her Majesty was
attired in a splendid white satin robe, with the ribbon of the Order
crossing her shoulder, and a magnificent tiara of diamonds on her head.
She also wore a necklace and a stomacher of large and costly
brilliants."

Having ascended the throne, the royal mantle of crimson velvet was
placed on Her Majesty's shoulders by the lords-in-waiting, and she
carried herself with the air of having been born to such ceremonies, yet
it was evident that she was much affected by the ordeal, and for a
moment was so absorbed in her own conspicuous position as to forget to
notice that the peers and peeresses with her were still standing. In a
low voice, Lord Melbourne, who was standing beside her, reminded her of
this, and with a gracious smile and inclination of her head, she said
quietly, "My Lords, be seated," whereupon they and their wives and
daughters sat. The incident had brought the Queen back to herself, and
she was now so self-possessed that when the time came to read her
speech, although she did it with quiet modesty, her voice was so clear
that it rang through all the corners of the great room, and everyone
could hear her words. A great statesman from America, Charles Sumner,
who was present, was so astonished and delighted with Victoria's manner,
that he wrote to a friend, "Her voice is sweet and finely modulated, and
she pronounced every word with distinctly a fine regard for its meaning.
I think I never heard anything better read in my life, and I could but
respond to Lord Fitz-William's remark when the ceremony was over, 'How
beautifully she performs!'" As days went on, this and other golden
opinions were universally echoed about the eighteen-year-old Queen, who
was not only strong of character, but possessed of personal charm, being
then, we are told, short in height, but well formed, with hair the
darkest shade of flaxen, with