rge, when William IV succeeded to the throne, he was
jealous of any honours paid to the young Princess or her mother, and
even objected to their little journeys, calling them, with a sneer,
"Royal Progresses," and forbade the salutes given to the vessel which
carried them back and forth from the Isle of Wight, to which petty
jealousies the Duchess paid no heed, but continued to bring up her
daughter as she thought fit; persevering in the "Progresses" which so
annoyed the King, and all of his objections failed to make the Princess
less than an object of intense interest and devotion to those people who
would one day be her subjects.

Although she was still unconscious of the part she was to play in the
history of the nation, the day was coming when she could no longer be
kept ignorant of it. A bill was before Parliament called the Regency
Bill, which named the Duchess of Kent as regent if the King should die
before Victoria came of age, and she heard much conversation about the
bill. The Duchess felt that the time had now come to tell her of the
position which was to be hers in the future of England, and finally
after a long talk with Baroness Lehzen, Victoria's old governess, the
way of telling her was decided upon.

On the following day, when the Princess was busily reading a book of
history, the Baroness slipped a genealogical table on the page which
Victoria was reading. She glanced at the slip of paper with an
exclamation of surprise, then read it carefully and looking up, said
with a startled expression, "Why, I never saw that before!"

"It was not thought necessary that you should," replied the governess,
and then there was a long silence. Then, after examining the paper
again, the Princess glanced up and said with quaint solemnity, "I see I
am nearer the throne than I supposed," adding, "Now many a child would
boast, not knowing the difficulty. There is much splendour, but there is
also much responsibility." Then placing her little hand in that of the
Baroness, she said:

"_Oh, I will be good!_ I understand now why you urged me so much to
learn even Latin. You told me it was the foundation of English grammar,
and all the elegant expressions, and I learned it as you wished it, but
I understand all better now."

Then pressing the Baroness's hand again and looking solemnly into her
eyes, she repeated, "I will be good!" and the Baroness felt a moisture
rise in her eyes at the thought of what life might bring to