When man has well nigh lost his hope in life,
    Upwards in trust and love still looks the wife,
    Towards the starry world all bright with cheer,
    Faint not nor fear, thus speaks her shining tear.

The Great Exhibition was sufficient proof—­if any had been needed—­of how the Prince with his wife laboured incessantly for the good of others.  Without his courage, perseverance, and ability there is no doubt that this great undertaking would never have been carried through successfully.  He recognized the fact that princes live for the benefit of their people; his desire for the improvement in all classes was never-ending, and from him his wife learnt many lessons which proved of the greatest value to her in later life when she stood alone and her husband was no longer there to aid her with his unfailing wise advice.

A second Exhibition was held in 1862, and so far as decorative art was concerned there were distinct signs of improvement.  ’Art manufacture’ had now become a trade phrase, but manufacturers were still far from understanding what ‘Art’ really meant.  As an instance of this, one carpet firm sent a carpet to be used as a hanging on which Napoleon III is depicted presenting a treaty of Commerce to the Queen.  Particular attention had apparently been paid to the ‘shine’ on Napoleon’s top boots and to the Queen’s smile!

The Prince’s great wish was to restore to the workman his pride in the work of his hands, to relieve the daily toil of some of its irksomeness by the interest thus created in it, and, where the work was of a purely mechanical nature, and individual skill and judgment were not called for, he wished the worker to understand the principles upon which the machine was built and the ingenuity with which it worked.

His schemes for the building and equipment of Museums of Science and Art were arranged with the purpose in view that both rich and poor should have equal opportunities of seeing what improvements had been made throughout the ages, and how vast and far-reaching the effects of such improvements were on the lives of the whole nation.

It was under his direction that the pictures in the National Gallery were first arranged in such a manner as to show the history and progress of art.  In his own words:  “Our business is not so much to create, as to learn to appreciate and understand the works of others, and we can never do this till we have realized the difficulties to be overcome.  Acting on this principle myself, I have always tried to learn the rudiments of art as much as possible.  For instance, I learnt oil-painting, water-colours, etching, lithography, etc., and in music I learnt thorough bass, the pianoforte, organ, and singing—­not, of course, with a view of doing anything worth looking at or hearing, but simply to enable me to judge and appreciate the works of others.”