Page:Life of Her Majesty Queen Victoria (IA lifeofhermajesty01fawc).pdf/245

 how intense the pain, the ending of a bright little existence causes." The resemblance between the mother and daughter came out in their grief. After the Prince Consort's death, the Queen's chief comfort was to speak of him constantly to those who had known and loved him; and the Princess Alice's letters continually dwell on her darling child whom she had lost in such a terrible way.

Several of the Queen's daughters, notably the Empress Frederick and Princess Alice, have shown the greatest sympathy with what is known in England as the women's movement. They have promoted by every means in their power improved opportunities of education and employment for women, and greater social liberty for them. The Queen, it must be confessed, has never shown that she sympathizes with her daughters in their attitude on this question. Princess Alice's letters show that Her Majesty was rather anxious and nervous about the women's meetings and associations promoted by the Princess, and not really pleased at the ceaseless activity of her daughter's mind on these subjects. She inquired anxiously if Princess Alice took counsel with her mother-in-law, Princess Charles of Hesse, upon them; when the Princess was studying anatomy and physiology, she, as it were, apologized to her mother for her interest in them, and said it might even be useful to be not entirely ignorant on such things: she added that she knew her mother did not like such studies, but affirmed that for her own part, instead of finding them disgusting, they filled her with admiration to see how wonderfully the human body was made. Though, on the whole, the Queen has been very far from giving encouragement, except by the magnificent example of her own life and character, to the modern movement among women for sharing in political work