The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1870-05-17 00:00:00

VISIT OF THE Q.O.Y.C.

At last the Weymouth season is fairly open! The
long-delayed spring showers burst upon us just in time
to give • prospect of • proaperous year for agriculture,
and therefore in some measure for everything else, and
they ciliated off in good time to ellow tif the advent of
the gallant yeomen in the brightest of weather, and
under the most favourable auspices It will be in the
memory of every one how the cold north and east winds
retarded the growth of vegetation, while the scarcity o/
rain amounted to a drought, so that the Jarman began
to look aahanes upon their well.cared for looks and
herds. and to woo&r how they should find them in
"'esti." So extraordinarily late wee the season that
we had Mareh winds in April, while the latter month,
tonally es fickle and showery, was one of almost
uninterrupted bright weather. It was • brighterathat
was delusive, for the oold and want of rain mode the
long-wieh.for showers weleonie *Selo in May. although
they threatened to interfere with the comfort of our
Yeomanry visitors. Deem not, gentle *mide reader.
that a "few remarks" on the well-worn subject are out
of place in • chronicle of the doings of the Queen's Own
Yeomanry Calmly. You yourself may be pleased with
nothing SO mach aa fine bright weather, sad. as longs.
the rain keeps off, you may not care for the cold,
In spite of which you may wear your thin delicate
aud boots, sport your cigar, and twirl your cane
on the Esplanade, or, if a lady, promenade with
your tresses (of the fashionable tint) gathered inW a
formidable chignon, or hanging like &breeds of gold to
be dry-salted in the most approved style of the dole for
wield,. What Would berme of you, Dondreary and
Chignonne'e, we wonder, if it were not that beyond
.bat you call the endurable part of the world, on thou
dark Beldy that you vote "hew! deck me in slow—you
knew," beyond abet Ridgeway bill that is "too mach
of • hew for a fellah—you know," there are solid,
steady. hard-working men, jolly enough under it all
too ! who lau stoat boots to their feet, and put their
legs across 'tout horse., and address themselves day
after day, all the year round, to the task of winning
from those heavy clods a nation's food. It is well for
you that you should see those sturdy, honest, manly
Douai yeomen, hardened end browned by constant per-
eeverence in the battle with the soil, and should be
forced to mark that f. martial spirit burns also in their
bosoms, and that, should our dear old country ever be
desecrated by the invader's foot, there is a stout Seine
wall that only requires proper guidance to lead them to
resist to the death the invasion of the foe. And to
these Englishmen, let it be remembered, • continnoue
odd and dry spring means that field after 8.-14 i. hared
of its gram, and that the hay and the turnip. in store
are being eaten up by the hungry 'took, that the retchu
are being cut faster than they can be 'opined, th.t the
lucerne is not enough for the pressing need, and that there
I. • sore temptation to feed off even the slow-growing
wheat. It mous that the farmer, who feels for hi.
cows and sheep as if he ruffered the hunger the; alio, is
grieved week after week them getting mere and
more hollow in acme, and when the poor things look
wistkrry at him, he is foreed to spend lariahlY for corn
and cake, sines his heart won't let them want, until Igo
expenses threaten him with impending ruin, if the
drought be not relieved. It was, therefore, no ordinary
cause of satisfaction that set agricultarilte throughout
the country to cry, on Tuesday, and Wednesday, sod
Thursday. and Friday, spin, "Meek God for the
rein!" and might bare made them buret out with the
seldom-appreciated words of PP&IIE 1e.., 9to 13. If it
hail not been for the timely relief, it is to be feared but
a poor Yeomanry meeting we eouJd have Cad this year,
for who could have left his Books at home starving. and
come down to be mocked by the sight of unayeilable
water at tYuymouth ! lio* could tbe drill be attended
to by those who did come, and how, least of ell, mull
the amusements be heartily enj.iyed? And eti the rains
of Tuesday to Friday have, we venture to say, had •
goodcleal to do with allowing us • Yeomenry meeting
at all, and certainly they have given we a more hearty
and cheerful one than we otherwise could have had. If
anything was needed to add to the indueement to
undertake the journey, it wu surely the glorious weather
that buret upon us on Saturday I It was really
Quip'', Own wattle?. Noah as I3er Majesty herself
generally favoured with, and therefore poet appropriate
for the parsley that glory lb their proud title of Queen's
Own. Rain and eueshine thus combined to invite to the
saws*, one of the results of which is a considerable
amount of hard labour in the way of drill sk , but which
also, we hope, has some anticipation of pleasure. At
leut Weyroonthians under their Worshipful Mayor, are
proud to endeavour to provide unneenseet after the toils
of drill are over, and private hospitality also welcomes
the visitors to more homely Joys. Knowing this we can
faacy that the yeoman all over Dorset having bad his
we. relieved by the timely rein. we. anyhow for bright
weather that he might go to the seaside, end when the
warm sun of Saturday morning shone forth, we can tansy
him accepting it aa • joyous invitation to the journey.
If re may be piudoeed for a rather free perodv of an
Ameriean'poet, the following rhymes may describe the
:

''-Three-hundred tealerert rtght um. were lifted up on kogh.
Three hundred manly yoke. ant back their loud reply ;
Through the thronged towns of Dorset the }oyous eutnmons
And up from farm, from bern, from geld, her µDi* ye.

MOW
The men of free broad Donetabire—of hundreds h. of me—
The hill of Ridgway calling to that of Babylon—.
rfoig Pgrbeck.f tad", village.; from giiton's northern bound
ran to whore Portiosul feels the arms of occan close her
round,
, Prom rich and rural Blandford, where, through the calm Terme
' Of cultured calm and hinging woods the gentle &oar flows,
Where o'er Root Pastry'. lonely booth tbe sullen gr true ware
To where the enbta of kingly Lyme the angry ocean brava
And ohingly Abbotabory rise up, wet with the salt ses spray,
r And Brldport sent her answering about, &down the deep Wait
Bar;
Far buried in her circling downs Oerne Abbas felt the thrill,
' And all the toornlem district, 'tween that and Oketord Hill."
Farly on Saturday afternoon, the uniforms of the
Q.0.Y.C.. which had only appeared by ogee and twos
, in Weymouth early in the week, began to get nuMeroes
as party after party rode in on their it.. horns. This
i was only a foreteete of the rosin body; but they served
, to awaken the inhabitants more thoroughly to what
, they might expect. The cleaning up from the dull
winter the painting and decorating generally, had all
been cemented, and flap were (pinkly hoisted from
the principal points whish could be seen from the front.
The lodging houses, hotels, and official readiness, facing
I the Bay of course, Sew their bunting, and among the
pasta in the streets where we observed flap, were the
realism* of Mr. Williams, chemist, Kr. Norm•n,
builder, Le., Mr. Wehiford, who few the tricolour of
the French immolate. Mr. J. J. H. Longman, of the
Black Dog Inn. Mary-street, with many others. The
gay denizens of Weymouth began to collect on the
points of mange on the steps in freed*, the large
houses, while some promenaded awaiting the arrival,
and others evea seat so far as Corte Hill to meet their
visitors. The sth D.R.V. at 3.45 mustered, attended
by eleven of the drum.and-ife band, led by Bandmaster
Sergeant Cosh, nth.) King's Statue, under the tom maad
of Captain Thresher, and it was very pleasing to see the
corps marinated so well. On former omissions as few
es 11 files have turned out to meet the yeomanry, but
on Saturday there were no lees than 23 files. The
&Sean present were—Captain Thresher, Lieut. lizard,
Hon. Assistant-Surgeon lizard, and Paymaster-Sergeant
Frampton. From the inane the amps macshed to •
field on the Dorchester road, belonging to their Lieut.
and opposite the grammar sebool. Here they filled up
the spare time by a variety of company and light in-
Naar, movements, preparatory to the visit of Captain
and Adjutant Herren, on Monday week. In the memo-
time the 4.15 train brought in from Portland •
strong addition to the local rolmiteer force. This
consisted of Captain Barrington Browne, Lieutenant
Eliot, Lieutenant Anderson, and a number of men of
the Portland Volunteer Artillery, with swords and
carbines, and they were noompanied by their band,
numbering 17, thus making up • total force of 73.
Ceder Kr. Bridgman, who led. in plsoe of Bandrouter
G. W. P. Jones, to-day engaged in the band of the
Q.0.Y.C., the Portland musicians played the Fourth
Dorms, Artillery March (Jones), and the forced
manned up briskly and smartly to the usual station
opposite Donet Place, where they were &awn up to
mann the Yeomanry Cavalry. Shortly after five the
Weymouth Riese also marched to the lame Inality,

' &times glieborst sad Yeovil