Page:The golden book of King Edward VII.djvu/19

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THE GOLDEN BOOK OF


"A quiet evening at home with the Princess and the children."—that, in later years, was his own thoroughly English ideal of happiness. But he was already convinced of the fact that "happiness, to be perfected, must be shared": as witness a remarkable letter he wrote:

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Yes; I have been a most fortunate man—heir to a great throne, and yet able to enjoy liberty. I have an admirable mother, an exquisite wife, and charming children, a whole nation—nay, many nations in one—to love and please. I sometimes wonder how I manage not to become selfish and hard-hearted. Yet I pity misery and want, and when I have seen an anxious and worried face, I cannot sleep before I have enquired into the poor creature's distress. I catch very vivid impressions when I travel, and I daily write to the Princess such descriptions of landscapes and people

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