page break

The Queen Reading the Bible.

In ancient times—times of rude barbaric splendour and of unholy cruelty—he was esteemed the greatest and best sovereign who had with his own hand slaughtered the greatest number of men. They were his enemies whom he killed, true, but they were still his fellow-creatures—beings fashioned in the same shape as even a king, endowed with a soul by the same God that can make and unmake even a king. Alexander is said to have wept because there were no more worlds to conquer. Having taken away innumerable lives, the insatiable thirst for blood still craved for more of the bloody drink. Yet Alexander was surnamed the Great!

How times have changed and how we have changed with them. "Happy is the country that has no history." Happy indeed is the sovereign who can point proudly to a reign unmarked by war and bloodshed. If our most gracious Majesty Victoria cannot quite boast of such an Utopian reign, her loving subjects tell with affectionate pride of her earnest desire to alleviate by all means in her power the anguish and suffering of the sick and wounded.

Very touching too are her visits to the poor, described in the Journal of our Life in the Highlands. When we see the poor cotter's home made radiant, not merely by the presence of royalty but by the queenly attributes of sympathy and benevolence. Very pleasant must the recollections of these visits be to Her Gracious Majesty, and no better wish was ever uttered than that which a poor old Highland cotter woman gave expression to, when she said, "May the Lord ever attend ye and yours, here and hereafter; and may the Lord be a guide to you, and keep ye from all harm." "We went," says Her Majesty, "on to a cottage (formerly Jean Gordon's) to visit old widow Symons, who is 'past four-score,' with a nice rosy face, but was bent quite double. She was most friendly, shaking hands with us all, asking which was I, and repeating many kind blessings: 'May the Lord attend ye with mirth and with joy; May He ever be with ye in this world, and when ye leave it.' To Vicky, when told she was going to be married, she said, 'May the Lord be a guide to ye in your future, and may every happiness attend ye.'" Words like these are far more precious than the richest gem in the Queen's possession. Our artist gives us an admirable sketch of one of the Queen's visits to the bedside of a sick man, whose sufferings are mitigated by listening to the precious words she is reading from that good old book—the Bible. Acts like these have endeared our Queen to the hearts of her people, and it is by deeds of a like nature that monarchs will make their thrones more secure than if guarded by legions of soldiers. May her gracious Majesty ever continue to bless her reign by manifesting a kindly interest in the welfare of her poor, and our prayer is that she may some day exert her royal influence in helping true and earnest workers in their endeavours to suppress the great national sin—intemperance—which makes Britain a by word and a reproach for its richness and greatness on the one hand, and its squalid poverty and misery on the other.

page break