the confidence of English statesmen. "I esteem England highly; but
as to what the French say of me, I care not."

He was, however, undoubtedly jealous of this country's growing
friendship with her old enemy, France, but any attempt to weaken this
met with no encouragement.

The Queen, in writing to her uncle Leopold, said, "He gives Albert
and myself the impression of a man who is _not_ happy, and on whom
the burden of his immense power and position weighs heavily and
painfully. He seldom smiles, and when he does, the expression is
_not_ a happy one. He is very easy to get on with." In a further letter
she continued, "By living in the same house together quietly and
unrestrainedly (and this Albert, and with great truth, says is the
great advantage of these visits, that I not only _see_ these great
people, but _know_ them), I got to know the Emperor and he to know
me. . . . He is sincere, I am certain, _sincere_ even in his most
despotic acts--from a sense that that _is_ the _only_ way to
govern. . . . He _feels_ kindness deeply--and his love for his wife
and children, and for all children, is _very_ great. He has a strong
feeling for domestic life, saying to me, when our children were in
the room: 'These are the sweet moments of our life.' One can see by
the way he takes them up and plays with them that he is very fond
of children." And again she wrote: "He also spoke of princes being
nowadays obliged to strive to make themselves worthy of their
position, so as to reconcile people to the fact of their being
princes."

The effect of this visit was to make France somewhat suspicious, and
the Queen expressed her wish that it might not prevent the visit which