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activity; and his demeanour was dignified. He had a staid, earnest, thoughtful look when he was in a grave mood; but when he smiled (and this is what no portrait can tell of a man) his whole countenance was irradiated with pleasure; and there was a pleasant sound and a heartiness about his laugh not soon to be forgotten by those who heard it. He was very handsome as a young man; but, as often happens with thoughtful men who go through a great deal, his face grew to be a finer face than the early portraits of him promised; and his countenance never assumed a nobler aspect, nor had more real beauty in it, than in the last year or two of his life. The chief attraction of the countenance was, however, its clear, open, pureminded, and honest aspect-there were none of those fatal lines which indicate craft or insincerity, greed or sensuality. Marks there might be of care or study, but there was readable evidence that the soul within was at peace with itself, and was troubled, if trouble there was, only by solicitude and love for the welfare of others.

The intellect which animated so noble a tenement possessed qualities which are noteworthy in a man of the Prince's birth and position-originality and independence. His ideas and opinions were his own-and whether they coincided with or differed from those of other men, he arrived at his conclusions by careful examination, study, and reflection. To this ripeness of judgment his facility and candour were valuable aids; no man could bear the criticism of his ideas, and the opposition of argument, with more patience and openness to conviction. His opinion once formed on rea

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sonable grounds was maintained with a firmness not less decided because it was gentle-of which a remarkable example has already been given in his wise resolution to decline the command of the army, in opposition to the opinion of so great a man as the Duke of Wellington. In this firmness he was upheld by the same ruling sentiment which was the characteristic of the great Dukethe sense of duty-he felt that his duty was to the Queen, and all personal predilections were made to yield. That his temper was sweet the uniform current of his life, the devotion of his wife, the affection of his children, and the love of friends, are ample proofs. That with such endowments he should shrink from intolerance and prejudice, that he should have an instinctive contempt for low men and low motives, that he should sympathize with and promote worthy thoughts and deeds, is only to say that his life was consistent throughout.

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His temperament was, in general, joyous and happy. It made his home and his household glad-to use the common expression, "he was the life and soul of the house -he delighted in wit and humour; and in his narration of what was ludicrous, exactly struck the limits of becoming mirth," preserving always the manner of a high-born gentleman. Yet there was beneath this joyousness a vein, not exactly of melancholy, but certainly of pensiveness, which grew a little more sombre as the years went on. Yet this possibly was rather the outward expression of his peculiarly gentle, tender, and pathetic cast of mind-of a character in this aspect rather German than English. Though emi

nently practical, and therefore well suited to the people he came to dwell amongst, he had in a high degree that gentleness, that softness, that romantic nature which belong to his race and nation, and which make them very pleasant to live with, and very tender in all their social and family relations.

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"The Prince," says the Introduction, which has supplied the materials for this personal sketch, was a deeply-religious man, yet was entirely free from the slightest tinge of bigotry or sectarianism. His strong faith in the great truths of religion co-existed with a breadth of tolerance for other men struggling in their various ways to attain those truths. His views of religion did not lead him to separate himself from other men; and in these high matters he rather sought to find unity in diversity, than to magnify small differences. Thus he endeavoured to associate himself with all earnest seekers after religious truths."

Again, the Introduction says, "If any man in England cared for the working classes, it was the Prince. He understood the great difficulty of the time as regards these classes; namely the providing for them fitting habitations. He was a beneficent landlord; and his first care was to build good cottages for all the labouring men on his estates. He had entered into minute calculations as to the amount of illness that might be prevented amongst the poorer classes by a careful selection of the materials to be used in the building of their dwellings. In a word, he was tender, thoughtful, and anxious in his efforts for the welfare of the labouring man."

Having mentioned the Prince's

care for the labourers on his estates, it will be appropriate here to mention his practical management of his farms. The Prince was much attached to agriculture as a science, and was particularly skilful in his appreciation of improvements in management. No farms throughout the kingdom were more carefully kept or presented finer examples of economical industry. He was one of the first to appreciate the advantages of deep drainage, to employ steam power in cultivation, and to apply the resources of chemistry to practical agirculture. The example thus set by the highest gentleman in the land, however different from the personal interference of "Farmer George," was productive of equally beneficial effects, for none could scoff when the Prince led the way.

If the Prince was thus a practical master of his own property, he showed in the management of his son's property an amount of zeal, industry, and success which is perhaps without example in the history of guardianship. In former reigns it had been the custom for the Sovereign to appropriate to himself the whole revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall during the minority of the Prince of Wales; it had further been the evil custom to grant leases at nominal rents on fines, the whole of which went into the pocket of the recipient for the time being, without any consideration for future possessors. Her Majesty, on the contrary, deemed that this appanage of the Prince of Wales was equitably his property, and that she was merely trustee for his benefit. On the birth of the Prince of Wales, a Council was appointed for the

management of the Duchy property, of which the Prince Consort was the President. The whole aspect of affairs was rapidly changed. As the leases fell in the farms were relet on terms of years at full rents, responsible and improving tenants were preferred, the lands were drained, enclosed, and planted, excellent farm-houses and homesteads were built, roads laid out, quarries opened, and the whole property showed the unmistakable signs of able administration. Moreover, the scattered lands were sold, new lands conveniently placed purchased, and plots of ground that had become valuable for building sites were sold for large prices. Moreover, sites were granted for schools and chapels, churches were repaired, and the spiritual and educational welfare of the tenantry cared for in a liberal spirit. The years of the Prince of Wales' minority allowed space for this expenditure to prove re-productive. Before the appointment of the Council the net revenue of the Duchy had sunk to 11,000l. When the Commissioners, on the Prince of Wales attaining his majority, presented their final report, the annual gross income approached 50,000l. In addition to this there were accumulations amounting to 540,000l., ready for transference to the Prince's privy purse. And this is what the Commissioners say of their President. "It is unnecessary to allude to the deep interest which His Royal Highness took in all that related to an improved administration of the Duchy possessions; but we should not do justice to our own feelings if we did not humbly ask leave to record on this occasion our sense of the irreparable loss which we sustained by

his death. To his just mind and clear judgment, his quick perception of what is right, his singular discretion, his remarkable aptitude for the conduct of affairs, we never looked in vain for guidance and advice on any occasion of difficulty. The soundness of his opinions in all our deliberations was rendered more apparent by the toleration with which he listened and was always ready to defer to those of others. He never lost sight of the improvement of the condition of the tenant and labourer, whilst anxiously seeking to restore the property of the Duchy to a state of prosperity; and to him we may truly say it is mainly due that the Prince of Wales will now enter into the possession of an estate greatly increased in value, free from nearly all disputes with neighbouring proprietors and others which at one time prevailed."

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There remains one part of the Prince's character to be referred to; but that belongs too much to the privacy of domestic life for much to be known-his love of art. It was," says the Introduction, "peculiar to himself. saw through art into what, in its highest form, it expressed, the Beautiful. He cared not so much for a close representation of the things of daily life, as for that ideal world which art shadows forth, and interprets to mankind. Hence his love for many a picture which might not be a masterpiece of drawing or of colouring, but which had tenderness and reverence in it, and told of something that was remote from common life, and high and holy.

"Joined with this longing for an interpretation of the ideal, there

was in the Prince a love of art for itself-a pleasure in the skilful execution of a design, whether

executed by himself or others. He was no mean artist, and his knowledge of art stretched forth into various directions. But this was not the remarkable point. There have been other Princes who have been artists. It was in his love of art-in his keen perception of what art could do, and of what was its highest province-that he excelled many men who were distinguished artists themselves, and had given their lives to the cultivation of art. "Again, there was the Prince's skill in organization, that almost amounted to an art, which he showed in all the work he touched, and in everything he advised upon. "It may, therefore, justly be said that the Prince approached the highest realms of art in various ways, which are seldom combined in any one person; in his fondness for what is romantic and ideal, in his love of skill and handicraft, and in his uniform desire for masterly organization."

Such, as far as circumstances have permitted them to be known, were the most distinguishing traits of the Prince's character. It is evident, from the uniform success that attended all those undertakings in which he was able to take a personal direction, that the Consort of the Queen was no common man. His influence for good, alike in the affairs of State, over public morals, and over the sentiments and conduct of private life-his interest in the arts, in the sciences, and in those manufactures into

which art and science enter as vivifying forces, were ever alive, ever present, and ever most beneficially exerted. He was wise and temperate in his judgment of public events; he influenced the counsels of a great nation in its relations with foreign States by a love of order united with an equal love of freedom. His personal character commanded the respect of foreign Sovereigns, and the alliances of his family with the rulers of other kingdoms gave him opportunities of good counsel which we know to have been beneficially exercised. It must be remembered that the Prince was only 42 years of age when he died. The sagacity and prudence which had already obtained a wide recognition, were manifested at an age when many other men, even of the highest and brightest intellect, are far from showing maturity of judg

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POETRY.

DEATH OF THE PRINCE CONSORT.

ADDRESS OF THE NEW ZEALAND CHIEFS TO HER MAJESTY, ON THE DEATH OF THE PRINCE CONSORT.

(Forwarded by Sir George Grey, the Governor of New Zealand, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, for presentation to Her Majesty)

You, who are all that

"OH, Victoria our Mother!-We greet you! now remains to recall to our recollection Albert, the Prince Consort, who can never be gazed upon by the people.

"We, your Maori children, are now sighing in sorrow together with you, even with a sorrow like to yours. All we can now do is to weep together with you. Oh, our good Mother, who hast nourished us, your ignorant children of this island, even to this day!

"We have just heard the crash of the huge-headed forest tree which has untimely fallen, ere it had attained its fallen growth of greatness. Oh, good Lady, pray look with favour on our love. Although we may have been perverse children, we have ever loved you.

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This is our lament.

"Great is the pain which preys on me for the loss of my beloved. Ah, you will now lie buried among the other departed KingsThey will leave you with the other departed heroes of the land"With the dead of the tribes of the multitudes of "Ti Mani.

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"Go fearless, then, O Pango, my beloved, in the path of death; for no evil slanders can follow you.

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Oh my very heart! Thou didst shelter me from the sorrows and ills of life.

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"Oh my

'Oh my pet bird, whose sweet voice welcomed my glad guests! noble pet bird, caught in the forests of Rapaura! "Let, then, the body of my beloved be covered with Royal purple robes!

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