the plants in the beds of Kensington Palace,
and the blue-eyed child was no other than the Princess Victoria
Alexandrina, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, the child who was
one day to become Queen of England.

In fancying one's self a Queen-to-be, there is never any place given to
the prosaic duties of ordinary life, but Princess Victoria's child-life
at Kensington was a very simple one such as any little girl with a
sensible mother might have had.

At eight o'clock daily the Duchess had breakfast, and the Princess had
hers at the same time, at a small table near her mother, then came an
hour's drive or walk, and from ten to twelve lessons with the Duchess
herself, after which Victoria amused herself in the suite of rooms which
extended around the two sides of the palace, where she kept most of her
toys. Then after a plain dinner came lessons again until four o'clock,
after which came another walk or donkey ride in the Gardens, a simple
supper, a romp with her nurse, whose name being Brock, Victoria called
her "dear Boppy." In fact, so secluded a life did the young Princess
lead that, except for those glimpses of her in the Gardens, she was
almost unknown to all but intimate family friends; and King George the
Fourth, called by Victoria her "Uncle King," sometimes expressed his
displeasure that the child was not allowed to be present more often at
his court. But the Duchess had her own ideas about that matter, and as
they were not at all flattering to the court manners and customs of the
day, she wisely continued to keep her little girl out of such an
atmosphere, though in fear lest the King should carry out his threat of
taking the child away from her, to bring her up in gloomy Windsor
Castle, unless she was allowed to go there more often,--which threat his
kingly power would allow him to carry out, if he so chose. But
fortunately he never did as he threatened, and Victoria remained at
Kensington with her mother, where with her half-sister and brother, the
Princess Feodore and Prince Charles of Leiningen, the four formed a
family group so loyal and so loving that nothing ever loosened the bond
between them.

Although Victoria knew herself to be a Royal Highness, she was yet
ignorant that some day she would be ruler of Great Britain, and she
continued to do simple things as unconsciously as other girls might with
a far different future. She was very enthusiastic over anything which
took her fancy, and one da