in England and never to
have left it a moment,[56] it would be odd enough if people tried
to make out the contrary. 3. The Established Church I also recommend
strongly; you cannot, without _pledging_ yourself to anything
_particular_, _say too much on the subject_. 4. Before you decide
on anything important I should be glad if you would consult me; this
would also have the advantage of giving you time. In politics most
measures will come in time within a certain number of days; to retrace
or back out of a measure is on the contrary extremely _difficult_, and
almost always _injurious_ to the highest authority.

[Footnote 56: The Duke and Duchess of Kent were settled at
Amorbach, in Leiningen, till a short time before the birth of
their child, when they came to Kensington.]

[Pageheading: THE MINISTERS]

_Queen Victoria to the King of the Belgians._

_25th June 1837._

MY BELOVED UNCLE,--Though I have an _immense_ deal of _business_
to do, I shall write you a few lines to thank you for your kind and
useful letter of the 23rd, which I have just received. _Your_ advice
is always of the _greatest importance_ to me.

Respecting Claremont, Stockmar will be able to explain to you the
_total_ impossibility of my being out of London, as I must see my
Ministers _every_ day. I am _very_ well, sleep well, and drive every
evening in the country; it is so hot that walking is out of the
question. Before I go further let me pause to tell you how fortunate I
am to have at the head of the Government a man like Lord Melbourne.
I have seen him now every day, with the exception of Friday, and the
more I see him, the more confidence I have in him; he is not only a
clever statesman and an honest man, but a good and a kind-hearted man,
whose aim is to do his duty for his country and not for a _party_. He
is of the greatest use to me both politically and privately.

I have seen almost all my other Ministers, and do regular, hard,
but to _me delightful_, work with them. It is to me the _greatest
pleasure_ to do my duty for my country and my people, and no fatigue,
however great, will be burdensome to me if it is for the welfare of
the nation. Stockmar will tell you all these things. I have reason
to be highly pleased with all my Ministers, and hope to God that
the Elections[57] may be favourable, as I well know that the present
Ministry is the best and most moderate we can have.

Do not, my dearly beloved Uncle, fear