Peter Parley's Visit to London, During the Coronation of Queen Victoria

by Anonymous

  CHAPTER V.

  PARLEY CONTINUES HIS ANECDOTES OF THE QUEEN.

  "THERE was one anecdote of the Queen from which Peter Parley derivedmuch pleasure, because it showed that, notwithstanding her highstation, she is not unmindful of Him by whom 'Kings reign, and Princesdecree justice.'

  "A noble lord, one of her Majesty's ministers of state, notparticularly remarkable for his observance of holy ordinances, recentlyarrived at Windsor Castle late one Saturday night.

  "'I have brought down for your Majesty's inspection,' he said, 'somepapers of importance, but as they must be gone into at length I willnot trouble your Majesty with them to-night, but request your attentionto them to-morrow morning.'

  "'To-morrow morning!' repeated the Queen; 'to-morrow is Sunday, mylord.'

  "'But business of state, please your Majesty--'

  "'Must be attended to, I know,' replied the Queen, 'and as of courseyou could not come down earlier to-night, I will, if those papers areof such vital importance, attend to them _after we come from churchto-morrow morning_.'

  "To church went the royal party; to church went the noble lord, andmuch to his surprise the sermon was on '_The duties of the Sabbath_!'

  "'How did your lordship like the sermon?' enquired the young Queen.

  "'Very much, your Majesty,' replied the nobleman, with the best gracehe could.

  "'I will not conceal from you,' said the Queen, 'that last night I sentthe clergyman the text from which he preached. I hope we shall all bethe better for it.'

  "The day passed without a single word on the subject of the 'papersof importance,' and at night, when her Majesty was about to withdraw,'To-morrow morning, my lord,' she said, 'at any hour you please, andas early as seven if you like, we will go into these papers.'

  "His lordship could not think of intruding at so early an hour on herMajesty; 'Nine would be quite time enough.'

  "'As they are of importance, my lord, I would have attended to themearlier, but at nine be it;' and at nine her Majesty was seated readyto receive the nobleman, who had been taught a lesson on the duties ofthe sabbath, it is hoped, he will not quickly forget.

  "Exemplary as the young Queen is in her religious duties, however,Peter Parley was pleased to find that she does not allow her religionto consist in mere theory, but that in reality she clothes the poor andfeeds the hungry.

  "On one occasion when her Majesty, accompanied by her suite, wastaking an airing on horseback, in the neighbourhood of Windsor, shewas overtaken by a heavy shower, which forced the royal party to seekshelter in an outhouse belonging to a farm yard, where a poor man wasbusily employed making hurdles. Her Majesty entered into conversationwith the man (who was totally ignorant who he was addressing), andfinding that he had a large family and no means of supporting thembeyond what he gained by making these hurdles, her Majesty enquiredwhere he lived, and on taking her departure presented him with asovereign. Next day she went, accompanied by her Royal Mother, to thecottage of the poor man, and finding his statement to be correct,immediately provided some good warm clothing for his wife and children.Her Majesty seemed very much pleased with the neatness and regularityof the cottage, and on taking her departure presented the poor womanwith a five-pound note.

  "There was no end to stories of this description, but I can only affordroom for two or three more; one of which, in particular, shows howearly the Queen has been taught to look up to the only source of realcomfort in affliction.

  "An old man who once served in the capacity of porter to the Dukeof Kent, and who, in his old age and infirmity, has long since beenpensioned by the Duchess, is not a little gratified at receiving a nodof recognition from her Majesty whenever her carriage chances to passhis cottage. The aged man has a daughter much afflicted, and who hasbeen confined to bed for eight or ten years. On the evening of the lateking's funeral this young woman was equally surprised and delightedat receiving from the Queen a present of the psalms of David in whichwas a marker worked by herself with a dove, the emblem of peace, inthe centre. It pointed to the forty-first psalm, which her Majestyrequested she would read, at the same time expressing a hope that itsfrequent perusal might bring an increase of peace to her mind.

  "Another poor man named Smith, who had for several years swept thecrossing opposite the avenue leading to Kensington palace, and whom herMajesty always kindly noticed, rarely passing through the gates withoutthrowing him some silver from the carriage window, received a messageon the morning after the Queen's accession informing him that herMajesty had ordered that a weekly allowance of eight shillings shouldbe regularly paid him. The poor man, however, did not long enjoy hispension, dying within six months from its commencement.

  "Short and brilliant as has been her Majesty's career however, andfondly and carefully as she has been watched over, her life affords avery striking instance of providential preservation.

  "During one of their summer excursions on the southern coast ofEngland, the Royal party sailed in the Emerald yacht, and proceeding upthe harbour at Plymouth for the purpose of landing at the dock-yard,the yacht unfortunately, from the rapidity of the tide, ran foul of oneof the hulks which lay off the yard. The shock was so great that themainmast of the royal yacht was sprung in two places, and her sail andgaff (or yard by which the sail is supported) fell instantaneously uponthe deck.

  "The Princess happened unfortunately to be standing almost directlyunder the sail at the moment, and the most fatal consequences mighthave ensued, had not the master of the yacht, with admirable presenceof mind, sprung forward and caught her in his arms and conveyed herto a place of safety. The alarm and confusion caused by the accidentwas for a time heightened by the uncertainty as to the fate of herRoyal Highness, who had been preserved from injury by the blunt butwell-timed rescue of the honest sailor.

  "'There is one thing which pleases me mightily, Mr. Parley,' said MajorMeadows, 'and it is this, that with all this goodness our young Queenhas a truly British heart. Often and often has she manifested this, andwhen quite a girl though perfectly acquainted with several Europeanlanguages, and particularly with French and German, she never could beprevailed upon to converse in them as a habit, always observing that'she was a little English girl and would speak nothing but English.'There is a healthiness of feeling in this, Mr. Parley, which is quitedelightful.'

  "Long before Major Meadows had finished his anecdotes about the Queenwe had reached home. As it is the custom to dine late in London,we dined after our return, and during the repast, the Queen and thespectacle of to-morrow formed the chief subject of conversation, myfriend continuing from time to time to give interest by some newanecdote, of which his store seemed to be inexhaustible.

  "Peter Parley is fond of early hours, so we retired to bed betimes,which was the more necessary, because by sun-rise to-morrow we must beup and away to Westminster Abbey."