PARLEY CONTINUES HIS ANECDOTES OF THE QUEEN.
"THERE was one anecdote of the Queen from which Peter Parley derived
much pleasure, because it showed that, notwithstanding her high
station, she is not unmindful of Him by whom 'Kings reign, and Princes
decree justice.'
"A noble lord, one of her Majesty's ministers of state, not
particularly remarkable for his observance of holy ordinances, recently
arrived at Windsor Castle late one Saturday night.
"'I have brought down for your Majesty's inspection,' he said, 'some
papers of importance, but as they must be gone into at length I will
not trouble your Majesty with them to-night, but request your attention
to them to-morrow morning.'
"'To-morrow morning!' repeated the Queen; 'to-morrow is Sunday, my
lord.'
"'But business of state, please your Majesty--'
"'Must be attended to, I know,' replied the Queen, 'and as of course
you could not come down earlier to-night, I will, if those papers are
of such vital importance, attend to them _after we come from church
to-morrow morning_.'
"To church went the royal party; to church went the noble lord, and
much 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 grace
he could.
"'I will not conceal from you,' said the Queen, 'that last night I sent
the clergyman the text from which he preached. I hope we shall all be
the better for it.'
"The day passed without a single word on the subject of the 'papers
of importance,' and at night, when her Majesty was about to withdraw,
'To-morrow morning, my lord,' she said, 'at any hour you please, and
as 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 her
Majesty; 'Nine would be quite time enough.'
"'As they are of importance, my lord, I would have attended to them
earlier, but at nine be it;' and at nine her Majesty was seated ready
to receive the nobleman, who had been taught a lesson on the duties of
the 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 religion
to consist in mere theory, but that in reality she clothes the poor and
feeds the hungry.
"On one occasion when her Majesty, accompanied by her suite, was
taking an airing on horseback, in the neighbourhood of Windsor, she
was overtaken by a heavy shower, which forced the royal party to seek
shelter in an outhouse belonging to a farm yard, where a poor man was
busily employed making hurdles. Her Majesty entered into conversation
with the man (who was totally ignorant who he was addressing), and
finding that he had a large family and no means of supporting them
beyond what he gained by making these hurdles, her Majesty enquired
where he lived, and on taking her departure presented him with a
sovereign. Next day she went, accompanied by her Royal Mother, to the
cottage 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 regularity
of the cottage, and on taking her departure presented the poor woman
with a five-pound note.
"There was no end to stories of this description, but I can only afford
room for two or three more; one of which, in particular, shows how
early the Queen has been taught to look up to the only source of real
comfort in affliction.
"An old man who once served in the capacity of porter to the Duke
of Kent, and who, in his old age and infirmity, has long since been
pensioned by the Duchess, is not a little gratified at receiving a nod
of recognition from her Majesty whenever her carriage chances to pass
his cottage. The aged man has a daughter much afflicted, and who has
been confined to bed for eight or ten years. On the evening of the late
king's funeral this young woman was equally surprised and delighted
at receiving from the Queen a present of the psalms of David in which
was a marker worked by herself with a dove, the emblem of peace, in
the centre. It pointed to the forty-first psalm, which her Majesty
requested she would read, at the same time expressing a hope that its
frequent perusal might bring an increase of peace to her mind.
"Another poor man named Smith, who had for several years swept the
crossing opposite the avenue leading to Kensington palace, and whom her
Majesty always kindly noticed, rarely passing through the gates without
throwing him some silver from the carriage window, received a message
on the morning after the Queen's accession informing him that her
Majesty had ordered that a weekly allowance of eight shillings should
be regularly paid him. The poor man, however, did not long enjoy his
pension, dying within six months from its commencement.
"Short and brilliant as has been her Majesty's career however, and
fondly and carefully as she has been watched over, her life affords a
very striking instance of providential preservation.
"During one of their summer excursions on the southern coast of
England, the Royal party sailed in the Emerald yacht, and proceeding up
the harbour at Plymouth for the purpose of landing at the dock-yard,
the yacht unfortunately, from the rapidity of the tide, ran foul of one
of the hulks which lay off the yard. The shock was so great that the
mainmast of the royal yacht was sprung in two places, and her sail and
gaff (or yard by which the sail is supported) fell instantaneously upon
the deck.
"The Princess happened unfortunately to be standing almost directly
under the sail at the moment, and the most fatal consequences might
have ensued, had not the master of the yacht, with admirable presence
of mind, sprung forward and caught her in his arms and conveyed her
to a place of safety. The alarm and confusion caused by the accident
was for a time heightened by the uncertainty as to the fate of her
Royal Highness, who had been preserved from injury by the blunt but
well-timed rescue of the honest sailor.
"'There is one thing which pleases me mightily, Mr. Parley,' said Major
Meadows, 'and it is this, that with all this goodness our young Queen
has a truly British heart. Often and often has she manifested this, and
when quite a girl though perfectly acquainted with several European
languages, and particularly with French and German, she never could be
prevailed 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 quite
delightful.'
"Long before Major Meadows had finished his anecdotes about the Queen
we 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 the
spectacle of to-morrow formed the chief subject of conversation, my
friend continuing from time to time to give interest by some new
anecdote, 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 be
up and away to Westminster Abbey."