urne presents his humble duty to your Majesty. He received
yesterday morning your Majesty's letter of the 30th ult., for which
he sincerely thanks your Majesty. Lord Melbourne is delighted to
find that your Majesty was pleased with the bouquet. The daphnes are
neither so numerous nor so fine as they were, but there are still
enough left to make another bouquet, which Lord Melbourne will take
care is sent up by his cart to-morrow, and left at Buckingham Palace.
Lord Melbourne is very much touched and obliged by your Majesty's very
kind advice, which he will try his utmost to follow, as he himself
believes that his health entirely depends upon his keeping up his
stomach in good order and free from derangement. He owns that he is
very incredulous about the unwholesomeness of dry champagne, and
he does not think that the united opinion of the whole College of
Physicians and of Surgeons would persuade him upon these points--he
cannot think that a "Hohenlohe" glass of dry champagne, _i.e._ half a
_schoppen_,[29] can be prejudicial. Lord and Lady Erroll[30] and Lord
Auckland and Miss Eden are coming in the course of the week, and they
would be much surprised not to get a glass of champagne with their
dinner. Lord Melbourne is very glad to learn that the Prince's Levee
did well, and feels that His Royal Highness undertaking this duty must
be a great relief and assistance to your Majesty. Lord Melbourne hopes
to see the Baron here when he comes. The spring still delays and hangs
back, but it rains to-day, which Lord Melbourne hopes will bring it
on.

[Footnote 29: A _schoppen_ is about a pint; it is the same
word etymologically as "scoop."]

[Footnote 30: William George, seventeenth Earl of Erroll,
married a sister of the first Earl of Munster.]

[Pageheading: THE ROYAL CHILDREN]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _4th April 1843._

DEAREST UNCLE,--Many thanks for your very kind letter of the 31st,
which I received on Sunday, just as our excellent friend Stockmar made
his appearance. He made us very happy by his excellent accounts of
you _all_, including dearest Louise, and the children he says are _so_
grown; Leo being nearly as tall as Louise! _En revanche_ he will, I
hope, tell you how prosperous he found us all; and how surprised
and pleased he was with the children; he also is struck with Albert
junior's likeness to his dearest papa, which everybody is struck wi