When she suddenly emerged from this deep obscurity, the impression that she created was immediate and profound.

Her bearing at her first Council filled the whole gathering with astonishment and admiration; the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, even the savage Croker, even the cold and caustic Greville--all were completely carried away.

Everything that was reported of her subsequent proceedings seemed to be of no less happy augury.

Her perceptions were quick, her decisions were sensible, her language was discreet; she performed her royal duties with extraordinary facility.

Among the outside public there was a great wave of enthusiasm.
Sentiment and romance were coming into fashion; and the spectacle of the little girl-queen, innocent, modest, with fair hair and pink cheeks, driving through her capital, filled the hearts of the beholders with raptures of affectionate loyalty.