I once was spoken to by a king; I had great anticipations. When I saw
him, I found, to my astonishment, that he was only a man. I had to go on
a knee and show my affection for him, which I did not feel, by kissing
his hand, which was large and flabby. This gentleman was named William;
there had only been three of that name before him.
The next day I saw a queen; her name was Adelaide. This lady bowed to me,
smiled at me.
This introduction did not lead to any intimacy, as may be supposed, but
it entitled me to the acquaintance of our ambassadors abroad, and to the
_entrée_ at foreign courts.
On the evening of the Drawing-Room, my friend Mr. Nussey took me to dine
with Sir William Martens, at St. James’s Palace. He belonged to the
Court, and on the subject of royalty was emotional.
The conversation turned on the ladies at the Drawing-Room. I spoke
of a daughter of Lord Stewart de Rothsay as the one great object of
admiration. He went into raptures over the name, and congratulated me on
having seen the most beautiful woman of the day.
This lady married the Marquis of Waterford, and is the mother of our
naval hero, Lord Charles Beresford.
An old friend of mine, Madame Gandillot, whom I knew at the late Lady
Ripon’s, was brought up by Sir Herbert, the Privy Purse, and Lady Taylor.
I heard from her many amusing anecdotes of the king and queen, one of
which I may relate. Sir Andrew Buchanan had just returned to England,
and was at Brighton, where the Court was staying. It was suggested by
Queen Adelaide to dress Sir Andrew as a Turk, and to inform the king
that the Turkish ambassador, whom he expected, but did not then know,
desired an audience of him. This, by the assistance of the Taylors, was
fully carried out, and Sir Andrew, fully disguised, was introduced by Sir
Herbert; the queen, Lady Taylor, and my friend being the only persons
present.
The king received the supposed ambassador graciously, but looked puzzled;
he received his message in due form, but still had a puzzled look, as
if, as was surmised, the face of the envoy was not new to him. So the
interview passed off, to the great amusement of the queen, followed by no
remark from the king either then or after.