Page:The Queens of England.djvu/594

 536 THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. for this purpose Melbourne had himself to learn. I gave him the Council papers and explained all that was to be done ; and he went and explained all to her. He asked if she would come into the room accompanied by the great officers of state, but she said she would come in alone. When the Lords were assembled, the Lord President informed them of the King's death, and suggested, as they were so numerous, that a few of them should repair to the presence of the Queen and- inform her of the event, and that their Lordships were assembled in consequence ; and accordingly the two Royal Dukes, the two Archbishops, the Lord Chancellor and Melbourne went with him. The Queen received them in the adjoining room alone. As soon as they had returned, the proclamation was read and the usual order passed, when the doors were thrown open and the Queen entered, accompanied by her two uncles, who advanced to meet her. She bowed to the Lords, took her seat, and then read her speech in a clear, distinct and audible voice, and without any appearance of fear or embarrassment. She was quite plainly dressed and in mourning. After she had read her speech and taken and signed the oath for the security of the Church of Scotland, the Privy Councillors were sworn, the Royal Dukes first by themselves. * * * * When the business was done she retired as she had entered. After the Council she received the Archbishops, the Bishops, and after them the Judges. They all kissed her hand, but she said nothing to any of them ; very different in this from her predecessor, who used to harangue them all and had a speech ready for everybody." On the 20th of November the Queen opened the first Parlia- ment of her reign, with the Whigs in power and Lord Mel- bourne as Prime Minister, chief advisor and instructor in mat- ters political. In fact she came to look upon him almost in the light of a father, for his counsels to her engendered a warm friendship. His nearness to the throne was not altogether well pleasing to the opposite party ; there was a natural jealousy and they felt they had no chance. However, both parties soon learned that their Queen was balanced with prudence and strong sense, and when it became necessary for her to do without the services of her first Premier she continued to give him the respect and affection of a friend. Conciliatory by nature, he advised the Queen to send for Peel, who was the next to accept the responsibility of the Pre- miership, and no doubt the generous act on the part of the re- tiring Melbourne, in giving advice out of his long experience, through Greville, to his successor helped in reality to lubricate the new political machinery of a new ministry and party. At the first Parliament the royal income was fixed at £385,000 per annum, with £30,000 for the Duchess of Kent. The coronation was not until the 28th of June the following year, and was perhaps the most magnificent ceremonial that