The old
line-of-battle ships 'which Nelson led to victory' have given place to
huge iron-plated monsters, moved by steam, and carrying such heavy guns,
that one such ship would have proved a match for the united fleets of
Britain and France at Trafalgar.
In matters which are more directly concerned with the welfare of the
people, the country made remarkable advances during the reign of Queen
Victoria. Political freedom was given to the masses, and many wise laws
were passed for improving their social condition. Education became more
widely diffused, and a cheap press brought information on all subjects
within the reach of the humblest. Our literature was enriched by the
contributions of a host of brilliant writers--Macaulay and Carlyle, the
historians; Dickens, Thackeray, Lytton, and George Eliot, the novelists,
and the poets Tennyson and Browning. But if we have no names of quite
equal eminence now living amongst us, we have still a splendid array of
talent in all departments of literature, and the production of books,
periodicals, and newspapers never was more abundant.
The blessings of progress were not confined to Britain alone. The
magnificent colonies of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa
abundantly shared in them.
The population of the country had more than doubled during that period.
The chief increase took place in the metropolis, the manufacturing towns
of the north, the great mining districts, the chief seaports, and
fashionable watering-places.
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