The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-01-14 00:00:00

I •

COUNTY EXPRESS

the flret tad tone between the part and the present,
sad which also illustrates the qotet habit of the
Royal writer to go unknown among her people :
I revisited Taymouth last autumn, on the 3rd of
Ortober, front Donkeld (incognita), with Louisa the
.Dowager Duchess of Athole, and Mimi MacGregor.
A. we Could not have dri rev through the grounds with.
oat asking pgrmigaioo. and we did not wish to be known,
we decided upon not attempting to do so. and oonterited
ourselves with getting out itt • gate elm" toe small
fort, into which we were led by a woman from tha
gardener's house, near to which we Lad stoppe I, and
who had no idea who we were.
We got out, and looked from this hetght down upon
the house below, the mist having cleared away
sufficiently to show ur everything; and then, unknown,
quite in private. I gased-7not without deep emotion
on the serene of our recrotion twenty-four years ago, by
dear Lord Bredalbane, in • princely stole, and not to
be equalled in grandeur or poetic elfaet.
Albert and I were then only twenty-three, young,
and h..ppy. Mow many are gone that were with no

-
then!
Issas very thankful to h,ve seen it main.
It seemed unaltered.-1866.
The second visit to Blair Athol°, in 1844. opens
with • bit of pure domesticity, fall of homely leave.
taking, and the chill early dejcaner of a start.
Monday, Sept. 9, 1244.
We got up at • quarter to sic o'clock. We break-
fasted Mamma came to take leave of us ; Alice and
the babe' were bvmght in, poor little things, to wish
us "good-rye." Then good Bertiet °erne d ,wn to see us,
and Vo3ky: appeared es "Tommie.," and was all in.
patience to go At seven we set off with her for the
railroad, Viscountess Canning and Lady Caroline Cocks
in our carricge. A very wet morning.

. -
Oa landing at Dundee the Primer Royal behaved
" lake a little lady ."

Albert wa;ked up the steps with me, I bolding his
arm and Vicky his hand, amidst the loud cheers of the
people. all the way to the carriage, oor dear Vicky be-
bevulg like a grown-up person— not put out, not
. .

. ..
frightened, nor nervous.

The small Pnoces stops at a little inn " to have
some broth," and makes a pretty curtsey to the
people, "not at all put out or frightened, ' writes
the glad sod happy mamma. At Blair Athole the
superb prospect fills Her Majesty with delight.
The tour was rich in demonstrations of Scottish

loyalty and enthusiasm. On returning the diarist
is really sorry to leave such glorious slava "Oh !
tbe dear bills," sibs writes, "it makes missed to
leave them behind," and the Es 4 Coast naturally
_

appears "very flat." But we soon have notes ol
another trip to the West Coast of Sontland, in 1847,
in the course of which Her Majesty pot into
Dartmouth, and visited the Scilly Islands, of which
we have • little hasty outline sketch; as also
another of a Welsh girl at Milford Haven—" • very
pretty datrynsaid." Returning, the weather was
most disloyal, and. although " Britannia roles the
waves" the journal' freelylconfeasee " I was very
ill, but Albert stood it perfectly, and the children
tolerably well." So, with "considerable rocking."
fr.tin the rebellious ocean, the Royal party arrives
at Fleetwood, and proceeds by train to tondo°.
This perfectly unadorned and homely daily
narrative brings us now to the happy days at
Balmoral—in its first phase, before the Highland
palace was built, The Queen describes the beauty
of the spot on her first sojurn there; and launches
out in acetic, at the glory of mountain and glen.
Here, surrounded by honest, nocoortier-like,
faithful dependent, pureed the brightest hours
of Victoria's life, and never is the name
of an attendant meal ioned without some
generous tribute or gracious recollection of
service, Her Majesty and " Bertie" often go out
with the Prince Consort to see something of his
sport HMO is • piece from such 1411 expedition
We scranab!ed up an almost perpendicular place to
where there wasa little box, made of hurdles and inter.
woven with branches of fir and heathrr, &b rut five feet
in height. Tnere we seated ourtelves with Hartie,
Macdonald lying in the heather near us, watching and
quite concealed ; some had gone round to beat, and
others again were at • little distaste.. We sat quite
still, and sketched • little; I doing the landscape and
sYme trees, Albert drawing Kaorlona'd as be ley there.
This laat,d for nearly an hour. when Albert fancied he
heard • dmtant mound, and in a few minute. Moadonalil
whispered that he saw stags, and that Albert should
w•iit and t•ke a steadY aim. We then lvard
!Min corning pant. Albert did not look over the
box, but through it, and fired through the
branches, azd then •g•in over the box. The
deer retreated; but Alb. rt felt certain he had hit a
stag. lie ran up to the keeper., and at that moment
they called from below that they "had got him," and
Albert ran on to see. I wait • d for a hit; bat soon
scrambled on with Bettie and Maedonald'a help; and
Albert joined toe directly, and we all went down and
.aw a niarnifleent .tag. ' • royal." which had dropped,
1,0,11 after Albert bad hit him, at one of the men's feet.
The sport wa••trece-sfel, and everynne wait delightad—
M.elontild and the keepera in part color ; the f inner
'sting "that it was Her Majesty'', coming out that had
brought the good luck." I was suppeeed to have "a
luck. foot," if which the Highlanders " think • great
deal." We walked down to the price we last came up,
got into the carriage, and were home by half-past two
o'clock.
All sorts of pleasant "outings" are recorded.
"Albert" picks tip a little Gaelic, and superintends
the building of a "bothie," or rows his household on
dark Loch Much; they fish, sketch, scramble and
ramble, and. at night kill an hour or two in the
plainest way—"at whist, with Caroline Dawson and
Dummy," or reading Scott, or playing masc. One
morning, the journal notes, " I heard the children
repeat their poetry," and that night Lady Douro
took Dummy, whilst the whist party laughed over
"old John Gordon's" description of the day's ride,
which was "something steep and something rough,
and that was its only beet." The Highlanders at
the Braemar sports race up the mountain side with
such tremendous emulation that many of them spit
blond afterwards the Queen will have no more of
such work —"it is to be discontinued." They
"leister" salmon, and have • greet bight :

In one place there mu s deep pool, into which two
men very foolishly went, and one could not swim ; we
suddenly saw them sink, and in one moment they
s-emed drowning, though surrounded by people.
There was a Cr, for help, and • general rush, including
Albert, tower is the spot, which frightened me so much
that I grasped lord Carlisle's arm in great agony.
However, Dr. R..bertson swam in and pulled th• man
out, end all was sally over; but it WS...horrid moment.
The goodness of the Queen's heart, indeed, always
comes forth ; she is pleased with the Balmoral
people for wading into the river to bring the Forbes
pipers over to her, and never leta a courtesy or
good service pans unacknowledged. Another
excursion on Loch Mulch introduces the name of
a well-known attendant of Her Majesty, who led
her pony all these happy isys through, and was
especially trusted by the Prince Consort in all that
related to her safety and comfort. Among many •
passing note about faithful servants, one is placed at
the foot of the page which first mentions John
Brown, and it escelleatly illustrates the writer's
clear appreciation of character.
The same who, in 1858, became my regular attendant
out of doors everywhere in the Highland.; who corn.
nienced a. gillie in 1849, end was selected by Albert
end nie to go with my carriage. In 1851 he entered our
sei•ice pertnanentlr, and began in that year leading my
pony, and advanced step by step by his good conduct
and intelligence. His attention, care, and faithfulness
cannot be exoee led; and the stole of my health, which
of late years hail been sorely tried and weakened,
renders such qualifications most valuable, and, indeed,
roost needful, in a c -instant attendant upon all occasions.
lie has Muse most deservedly ben promoted to be an
upper servant. and my permanent personal attendant.
(December, 1865). He has all the independence and
elevated feelints peculiar to the Highland race, and is
singularly straiAhtforvrard, simple.minded, kindhearted,
and disinterested ; always ready to oblige ; and of a
ilieeretion rarely to be met with. He is now in his
fortieth year. His father was • small farmer, who
lived at the Bush on the opposite side to Balmornl. He
lithe second of nine brothers—three of whom have
died—two are in Australis and New Zealand, two are
living in the nrighhourhood of Balmoral, and the
youngest Archie (Archibald), is valet ti oar son
Leopold, and is an eacellent trustworthy young men.
With the Highlanders the Queen was delighted.
" All the Highlanders are in amusing, and really
pleasant and instrective to talk to—women as well
as men —and the latter so gentlemanlike." In
another passage she observes:—" We were always
m the habit of convening with the Highlanders,
with whom one come. so mini& in contact in the
Highlands. The Prince highly appreciated the
good breeding, eimplinity, and intelligence which
make it so pleasant and even instruotivis to talk to
them."
iiiiMpeee are caught of her Majesty's visite to the
poor. One old woman of 88, to whom she gave a
warm petticoat, .book the Queen's hands, and
prayed to God to bless her. Another old dame of
(36, who received a similar present, said, " May the
Lord ever attend ye and yours, here and hereafter :
and may the Lord be a guide to ye, and keep ye
from all harm." Another poor creature, "past
fourscore," admoniehed her royal visitors with pious
solemnity ; and another hearing that the Primes,
Royal was about to be married, abruptly remarked
" I'm very sorry,liand I think she is sorry hersel';"
but immediately went no, "I am very sorry I said
that, butt meant no harm; I always say just what I
think—not what is fut (fit)."
In an expedition to Glen Fishie the royal pair
travelled as Lord and Lady Churchill and friends,
Lady Churchill passing ea Miss Spencer, and General
Grey is a doctor, an affair culminating in dinners of
hodge-podge, mutton-broth, and cranberry tarta—
and in • meeting with &suspicions landlady who said,
" the lady must be terrible rich, with so many gold
rings on her fingers." Royalty had to be tarried
across a river in &carpet, to dress in the small mom
of a Highland cabin, with a peasant'. prees.bed in it.
and to dine in the commercial room and sleep at the
Ramsay Arms, unknown of all except the host,
being mistaken by the commonalty for "• wedding
party frnen Aberdeen."
In 1655 the betrothal of the Prince= Royal took
place :
Our dear Victoria was this day espied to Prinee
Frederick William of Prussia, who bad been on a visit
to us sines the 11th. lie had already spoken to us on
the 20th of his Indies, but we were onerrtain, on
secount of her extreme youth, whether he should sneak
to her himself, or wsie till he came hack again. How-
ever, we felt it we. better be shoall do in ' • and dangle
nor ride up Orsigna-lian this afternoon he picked a

• Priam Alfred, thee ally Awe weeks old.
t Nome by obi& the Primes of Woke la alweya collod
bi hi. family.
2 Vista* Prime= Rey•L