Page:The Queens of England.djvu/600

 540 THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. much less to measure the spirit of love as embodied in hospitals, homes and comforts for the poor, sick and afflicted, all tending toward the greater brotherhood of man. All these and more have served the progress of the British Empire, and the develop- ment of the world at large. The Elizabethan age had its glory that shines with a fixed light down through the centuries upon us of today, but the Victorian age is greater — brighter ; we are so within the radiance that it blinds us to the extent and power of its influence. Only under a monarch at peace within herself, within her home, within her borders, the law of love dominating heart and rule, could such advance be possible. In the interests of peace and prosperity, Prince Albert set on foot the idea of an International Exhibition, and against heavy odds by way of hindrance and ridicule, brought about the huge Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, and the eminently successful achievement of a World's Fair in 185 1. So great was the dis- dain for this enterprise, even in Parliament, that members of the House of Commons are said to have prayed that hail and light- ning might be sent from heaven to destroy the building. It would ruin London and its boasted park, for the offscouring of foreign countries would flock to and pollute the city. We have seen the astonishing results of this initial exhibition, on ever increasing scales, serving as milestones along the path of ma- terial progress. The discoveries and developments of mechanical arts and sciences during the reign have added in untold measure to the extension of power on land and sea. One who has done great service to his Queen and the age, with pen and eloquence, was a child of four years when a gorgeously habited troop of cavalry trumpeted attention in the streets of the little town where he lived, and halting with drawn swords glittering to the sun, an elder officer proclaimed the new sovereign. The glory and acclaim of trumpets fastened to the boy's memory, also the sight of a vender selling a novelty for a half-penny each — little sticks that would strike fire as he drew them through a folded bit of sandpaper. Thus early did the lucifer match contribute its little light to the new era. The electric power, previously caught by Franklin, now tamed, trained and harnessed to telegraph, telephone, engines for light and power, has aided materially in uplifting, enriching and unifying human interests. Gold, the ignis fatus of mankind, has lured on to territorial