The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 26, 1859.

HER MAJESTY'S ENTERTAINMENT TO THE
MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

The visit paid by 200 members of the British
Association to the Queen's Highland'home, on the
invitation of her Majesty, will long be remembered
by those who were fortunate enough to be of the
number present in Balmoral on Thursday last. It
will be in the recollection of our readers that the in-
vitation was originally limited to the members of
the general committee of the association. It was
afterwards extended to life members of the associa-
tion, to gentlemen who had read papers during the
late meeting of the body, and to the officers of sec-
tions, precaution being, however, taken by the
executive of the association that the entire number
to whom invitations were issued should not exceed
200. It is not believed that this limitation was at
the command or even the desire of her Majesty or
his Royal Highness the Prince Consort. It is sup-
posed to have been the act of the council of the
learned society to which this distinguished honour
was paid, who apprehended that at so ahort a notice
sufficient posting accommodation could not be had
to convey more than 200 from Banchory, where the
Deeside Railway ends, to Balmoral, a distance of 33
miles. This was, however, a mistake. A larger
number might have been carried down on similar
terms as those charged by the association for the
conveyance of the members to whom they had dis-
tributed invitations. At all events, parties might
have gone by the ordinary public 'conveyances, or
by vehicles hired on their own account; and there
can be no doubt that the limitation and the mode of
distribution fixed upon by the council gave rise to
much discontent amongst the general body of mem-
bers. The gates of Balmoral were thrown open with
Royal hospitality on the occasion, and all who en-
tered, even the most humble, were regaled with
right Royal abundance. But in saying this now
we are rather anticipating what is to follow.
Six o'clock was the hour named for the starting
of the special train which was to convey the
favoured 200 to Banchory. There had been a gene-
ral breakfast in Douglass' Hotel at rive, and in
three-quarters of an hour after the invited had mus-
tered in strong force at the railway station. At a
few minutes past six the engineer's whistle screamed,
and the train set off under the most favourable
auspices—a genial atmosphere, a sunny sky, and
a " merrie companie." The road by the Deeside to
Banchory is very beautiful. About three miles from
Aberdeen is Banchory House, the residence of Mr.
Thompson, convener of the county of Aberdeen.
This was the house at which his Royal Highness
the Prince Consort stopped when ho visited Aber-
deen to open the meeting of the British Association.
Some three miles farther on is the Roman Catholic
College of Blairs, the only establishment of the kind
which the professors of that religion have in acot-
land. On the lands of Cutler, nine miles Trom
Aberdeen, the line crosses the burn of that name,
and runs quite close to the remains of a Roman
camp, called Norman Dikes, and supposed to be on
the site of the Roman town and station of Devusia.
This was, as may readily be supposed, an object of
great interest to the archceologists w who were of
the party. Several mansions of Scottish gentry-
meet the eye between the burn of Culter and Ban-
chory ; the most remarkable of which is Crathes
Castle. the residence of Sir James Hornett Burnett,
Bart., of Legs. This is a fine old Flemish build-
ing, and looks down from the :fight on a sloping
mass of thick woodland rich foliage. The banks of
the Dee are exceedingly picturesque from this to
Banchory, about 17 miles from Aberdeen, and which
the special train reached at about seven o'clock.
Here there were six vehicles with four horses each
waiting to convey the members of the association
to Balmoral. Two of them were ordinary stage-
coaches; the other four were omnibuses of very
large size, such as are to be seen in Glasgow and
other large Scotch towns. Some ladies and.gentle-
men—for be it observed that there were ladies of
the party, though we are not aware that there are
ladies on the general committee or amongst the
officers of sections, or that any of the fair sex read
papers at the late meeting—had conveyances pro-
vided for themselves and friends, but travelled in
line with the associates' carriages. Several ladies
graced the roofs of the latter. Soon after seven the
whole cavalcade left Banchory without any of the
party having partaken of the breakfast which the
proprietor of the refreshment rooms had prepared
for them. On the road more than one benevolent
philosopher expressed his sympathy with the caterer
who had Euch a quantity of eatables left upon his
hands in a place where the sale of even such com-
modities cannot be very brisk; but as will be seen
hereafter, that disappointed individual contrived to
compensate himself when he got the savans into
his hands on their return at night. Banchory, the
point from which the Queen and the royal family
invariably post to Balmoral when proceeding to the
Highland palace, is a rather straggling village ; but
the country about it is very pretty. A very grand
prospect is had from the Bridge of Feugh, at which
the Dee is joined by the Feugh, which comes
roaring down from the mountain and dashes its
moss-stained foam over the huge rocks that lie
beneath and at either side of the bridge. To
the north rises the magnificently wooded hill of
Sculthe, topped by a tower, from'which an exten-
sive view of sea and mountain scenery is had. The
first village of any size passed through by the com-
pany is Kincardine-O'Neill, which is about eight
miles from Banchory and 26 from Aberdeen. From
this to Aboyne is five miles more, and here the phi-
losophers, who had been waxing hungry for some
time before, literally " pitched into" breakfast. It
is a matter of no small credit to the resources of

:he Huntley Arms," the inn of this village, that

. _
the proprietor was able to comply with an unex-
pected demand for 200 breakfasts. Having
nourished " the inward man," the company re-
mounted, and entered the wild heath called the
Muir of Dinnet. A stream which crosses this deso-
late ground is generally accepted as the boundary
between the lowlands and the highlands. Here
the mountains commence to appear in their gran-
deur. The hill of Morven is the highest in this
direction. It is round and somewhat flat in the
outline, and from the road where the traveller
catches a glimpse of the Loch of Kinnaird, where
there are the ruins of a castle supposed to have be-
longed to Malcom Canmore. A little beyond this
several high mountains appear one after the other
till the traveller is almost surrounded by hills, the
tallest and most distant of which is the famed Loch-
nagar, the summit of which is 3,800 feet above the
level of the sea. To many of the company, as they
saw the noble mountain for the first time, there at
once came the remembrance of Byron's splendid
lines, commencing—
" Away ye gay landscapes, ye gardens of roses I
In you let the minions of luxury rove ;
Restore me the rocks where the snow flake reposes,
' Though still they are sacred to freedom and love.
Yet, Caledonia, beloved aro thy mountains,
- Round their white summits though elements war,
Though cataracts foam 'stead of smooth flowing fountains,
I sigh for the valley of dark Loch na garr.
A little further on, and the poetical gave place to
other feelings ; for as the party approached Balla-
ter the clouds opened, and down came such rain as
can be seen and felt only in the Highlands. To say
that it " rained," would give but a very meagre
idea of the downpour that in a few minutes had
percolated Scotch rugs, saturated waterproof hats,
and' given to all the outsiders the appearance of a
company en route to hot baths, after having been
rescued from drowning by the timely exertions of
the Royal Humane Society. The ladies who rode
on the roofs stood or rather sat it gallantly. Several
of them opposed propositions for taking them in-
side, and declared that they liked it, as it made
them feel that they were " doing" the Highlands
in the orthodox manner. This tremendous rain
stopped in about twenty minutes or half an hour
after its commencement as suddenly as it had come
on ; the sun again shone out brilliantly, the roofs
were cleared of drenched rugs, hats and caps were
shaken, and it was unanimously agreed that the
scenery looked nothing the worse of the shower. A
short stay was made at Ballater, which is 24 miles
from Banchory, and nine from Balmoral. It is
a beautiful village. Tho Rock of Oaks, or in
the vernacular, " Craigendarroch," a steep round
hill, rises from the village to a height of about 800
feet. At the base of the hill stands Monaltrie House,
the residence of one of the Farquharson family.
Craigendarroch is separated from a loftier and more
precipitous rock by a very picturesque chasm known
as " the Pass of Ballater." On the south side of
the river stands the farmhouse of Ballatrich, in
which Byron lived for some time. On every side
the scenery from Ballater to Balmoral is magnifi-
cent. There are two roads along by the Dee ; the
one on the north bank is that by which the party of
British associates travelled. Within about a mile of
Balmoral is Abergeldie Castle, which is usually oc-
cupied by the Duchess of Kent when the Queen is
at the Highland Palace, but which, during the pre-
sent season, in the absence of her Royal Highness,
has been placed by her 'Majesty at the disposal of
Lord J. Russell, who with his family is at present
occupying it. This castle is splendidly situated.
It lies by the side of the river encircled by birch
trees, and surrounded within a distance of a few
hundred feet by lofty mountains. The building is
an irregular one, surmounted by a square tower, the

turrets of which have a good effect, as they start up
here and there amongst the tall trees, which are in
great luxuriance about the castle. The road runs
very close to the house, but between them flows the
river, which is crossed by a rope and cradle bridge.
This rustic contrivance adds an additional charm to
this enchanting residence. Continuing on by the north
side of the Dee the party reached the village of
Craithie. This village is a very small one indeed. It
consists of not more than a score of cottages and a
very unostentatious looking church. This is the one
in which her Majesty and the Royal household attend
Divine service. The cottages are all of the better
class. A few yards beyond the church the river is
crossed by a new and very simple-looking iron
bridge. This bridge leads directly to the principal
entrance to Balmoral, which is not more than about
100 yards from the south end of it. The gate and
lodge at this entrance are of the most unpretending
character. Two piers, some six or eight feet high,
support a plain iron gate; a modest looking lodge,
built of granite, stands to the left. Through this
gate the party entered without alighting, and were
conveyed to the palace, which is situated at a short
distance from the entrance to the demesne. The
reversion of the lease of the Balmoral estate was
bought by the Prince Consort in 1848, and in 1852
the fee simple was purchased by his Royal High-
ness from the Fife trustees for a sum of £32,000.
The new castle has been erected at the expense of
his Royal Highness. It stands near the margin of
the Dee, which here flows by the base of the moun-
tain range of Craig-an-Gowan, and the royal resi-
dence is on a peninsula. It is of the Scottish
baronial style of architecture, modified in some of
the details so as to combine the more bold and pro-
minent features of the ancient stronghold with the
more domestic character of modern times. The
design is two separate blocks of buildings connected
by wings. At the east angle is a tower thirty-five
feet square, and eighty feet high. i This is sur-
surrounded by a turret, which is ascended by a
circular staircase. The top of the turret is 100 feet
from the ground. The main entrance to the castle
is on the south side. The north side faces the Dee.
The north and west of the structure are both very
ornamental, the granite, of which the entire build-
ing is constructed, being on those two sides highly
finished off with carved corbellings, riband and rope
mouldings, &c. The architecture on the south side
is very simple, but the granite' is all dressed in
ashler work; and the castle, standingas it does in
the midst of giant mountains, seems in every way
a fitting residence for the Sovereign when dwelling
amongst her North British subjects'. Refreshments
were served up to her Majesty's visitors on this oc-
sion in a fine apartment at the north side of the
castle. It is unnecessary to say that they were
supplied on a scale of queenly hospitality, and in-
cluded all that any could expect to find in such a
place. The liquids included even the national sti-
mulant, Scotch whisky, as well as the choicest
wines, and nothing in its way could exceed the
attention shown by her Majesty's domestics to the
Royal guests. The visitors from Aberdeen arrived
about two o'clock, and at about half past two the
Queen and Royal Consort with the Prince of Wales,
Prince Arthur, the Princess Alice, the Princess
Helena, and the. Princess Louisa came out to the
terrace on the west of the Castle. Her Majesty
wore a dress of Stuart tartan, with a light grey
cloak and straw bonnet. The Princesses were at
tired in dresses and cloaks somewhat similar to
those of her Majesty, their tartans being of a
smaller pattern. Their Royal Highnesses wore
round black hats. Their Royal Highnesses the
Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales, and Prince
Arthur were attired in the full Highland costume,
their plaids being of the Stuart tartan. In front of
the terrace is a flat green award. This was ap-
proached from the terrace by a flight of steps,
whch were, on this occasion, covered with
scarlet cloth.l At the head of the steps was a
beautiful little military tent, inside and also
in front of which were seats for her Majesty
and the Royal family. At the foot of the
steps on the grass were also seats for the same
illustrious personages. These chairs and couches
were all covered in rich scarlet leather. Here and
there about the ground in front of the Royal tent
wore other tents, to the nnmber of about a dozen,
and of various shapes, which were so arranged as to
form within their boundary a grassy space on which
the Highland games were to be gone through in
presence of the Sovereign and her visitors. The
largest of the tents was to the north of the play-
ground, and was a very splendid affair indeed. The
Queen and the Royal family stood under its shelter
during a portion of the games. When her Ma-
jesty came from the castle and took up her position
in front of the Royal tent the scene in Balmoral
demesne was a groat one. In front of her Majesty
stood at short distances apart three Highland clans
—the Duffs (Earl of Fife's), the Farquharsons (Mr.
Farquharson s, of Invercauld), and the Forbeses
(Sir C. Forbes's), all in their peculiar costumes, at-
tended by their pipers, and headed by their chief-
tains. The Duffs curried very warlike looking
spears, which added greatly to the picturesqueness
of their appearance. To her Majesty's left, but in
the hollow below her, was the band of the 93d
Highlanders, who played " God save the Queen,"
as her Majesty approached to the edge of the ter-
race. Behind the clans, but still in front of her
Majesty, and in a position to see all that was going
on, stood the tenants on the Queen's and the neigh-
bouring estates, who were by her Majesty's gra-
cious command admitted, without any exception,
to witness the games her Majesty had commanded
for the amusement of her visitors. The strains
of the military band were almost drowned in
the enthusiastic, though respectful, greeting which
the clans and the people gave the Queen when
she appeared amongst them, His Royal Highness
the Prince Consort was also loudly cheered. In the
Royal party was has Royal Highness the Count de
Flandres, and near the august personages were Lord
John Russell, Lady and Misses Russell, the Earl of
Elgin, the Earl and Countess of Fife, Mr. Farquhar-
son, Mrs. Farquharson, and the Misses Farquhar-
son of Invercauld, the ilon. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon,
Sir James and Lady Clark, and many other dis-
tinguished persons. Her Majesty had in the most
condescending terms intimated her desire that the
members of the British •Association, her visitors,
should be accommodated on the terrace in her im-
mediate vicinity. When the Queen had signified
her Royal pleasure the games commenced by that
of " throwing the hammer." Men from each of the
clans took a share in it, and after a display of great
strength and agility on the part of all, the first
prize was awarded to one of the Forbes men. The
prizes consisted of claymores, dirks, horns, and
plaids, all provided at the expense of her Majesty.
The claymores and dirks -were of beautiful work-
manship, and richly mounted. The mountings on
the horns were also very costly. When the Queen
was informed of the name of the victor she descended
to the foot of the step', and taking the prize pre-
sented it with her own hand. The next game was
" throwing the caber." The caber is a large and heavy
pole, about twelve feet high, somewhat flattened at
the top, and heavier at the bottom than above. This
is lying flat upon the ground, when the High-
lander comes, and taking it by the heavy end raises
it to an upright position, the top being, of course,
very considerably above his head, and the part he
holds being on a level with his breast. He poises
the pole, which has very much the appearance of a
young tree stripped of the bark, for a few seconds,
and dm, with an effort of much muscular force
and adroitness, throws it from him, at the same
time heaving it into the air above. The feat to be
achieved is to make the pole perform a somer-
sault and. fall flat at the greatest distance possible
from the thrower. The display is a mostinterest-
ing one to the spectators. In the first place, you
watch with great eagerness the skill of the High-
lander in balancing the pole into a favourable posi-
tion far the heave. He moves about under it like
an acrobat, till it is quite perpendicular with the
earth. You then see by the display of muscle on
his back, neck, shoulders, and arms, that all his
strength is being summoned for the coup. A
second or two more and the pole is floating in the
air, the heavy end going slowly up to change places
with the lighter, but sometimes, alas ! for the gal-
lant fellow who has thrown it, to fall back again
just as it has reached a perpendicular! When this
takes place the buzz of excitement on the part of
the spectators gives place to a scarcely expressed,
but unmistakeable demonstration of sympathy.
But in the majority of cases the heavy end goes
clean over, and a warm expression of approbation,
though without cheering, which is never indulged
in till the Queen has given the signal for it, greets
the manly fellow who has accomplished the feat.
The palm is given to the Hercules who has both
caused the great pole to perform the somersault
and thrown it the greatest distance from him.
But besides the chief prize het' Majesty bestowed
two others at the end of each game performed in
the Royal presence. Throwing, or, as they
call it in the Highlands, "putting he stone,"
followed. This was done in the ordinary manner
known in England; the stone was, however, of
great weight. A very exciting contest succeeded,
namely, a foot race, in which some 10 or 12 High-
landers contended. This to southern and foreign
eyes was an extraordinary scene. The Highlanders

who ran wore no coats or jackets, but were in their
shirt sleeves. Only two out of the entire number
were burdened by shoes or stockings. They ran
bare-footed, bare-legged, and bare-headed. They I
were started from the edge of the terrace, and left
of the Queen, and proceeded on for about a quarter
of a mile in the direction of the wild pass of Inver-
cauld, which, with its overhanging and noble cliffs,
faces the side of the castle on which her Majesty
stood. The appearance of so many kilted men
with their bare legs and feet, with their hair float- ,
ing distractedly in the breeze, rushing at full speed
amongst the giant mountains that looked down on ,
them from every sde, was something that carried
one's mind back to the ancient Britons, as we may
suppose them to have been in the days When the
efforts of Agricola were directed to keeping them
in order. A line was kept along the return quar-
ter of a mile by men of the 93d Regiment of High-
landers, who stood at distanees of a few paces from
each other, and held small flags. All the runners
came home at a capital pace, but one of the 'Duff
men was, in sporting phraseology, " a good length"
in advance of his competitors, and received from the
hands of her Majesty the first prize, in the shape
of a splendid tartan plaid. The dances followed.
They were in great variety, and some of them
were certainly altogether new to most of the
Queen's visitors, though they did not " astonish the
natives." The Abbe Moigno, ono of the distin-
guished foreigners present, remarked that he had
seen somewhat similar dances in Brittany. In
some instances six or eight of the clansmen danced,
in others only two. The sword dance was one of
those which attracted most attention. There was
something very pretty in seeing ,men from each
of the three clans dancing together with such cor-
dial good feeling, after the contests in which they
had previously been engaged. Her Majesty and
the young princesses appeared to greatly enjoy
this portion of-the-nmeements. The Queen seve-
ral times gave the signal for applause, and bowed
graciously to the Terpsichorean mountaineers, who
displayed their agility for her entertainment and
that of her visitors. The whole was brought to a
close by four young gentlemen, sons of Highland
chiefs, who danced iu splmidid style, and in a
manner perfectly characteristic of their clans. Her
Majesty and the Royal family then bowed in the
most gracious manner to the Highlanders and all
others assembled in the demesne. The Duffs raised
their spears, and the men of all clans took off their
bonnets and flourished them over their heads whilst
they gave three tremendous cheers for the Queen,
followed by three for the Prince Consort, and three
for the Prince of Wales. The people joined in this
demonstration, which was altogether spontaneous
and heartfelt. The band of the93d then struck up
the National Anthem, and the Queen and Royal
family retired to the castle.
It was now precisely half-past five o'clock. The
members of the British Association found their car-
riages in waiting by the south side of the palace,
and in a few minutes more they were all under
weigh. On passing along the avenne through the
Queen's grounds, and on coming out at the entrance
gate they were greeted with loud cheering by her
Majesty's tenantry. As they crossed the bridge
over the Dee the Duff men were marching along
spear in hand, and presented a very imposing ap-
pearance indeed; they cheered the members of the
'association and received a cheer in return.
While the games were being performed there
were one or two light showers. Her Majesty took
no heed of them, and did not seem to even think of
an umbrella until one was handed to her by the
Prince of Wales. It was a general remark that the
Queen never looked better nor happier than on this
occasion. The same observation applies to her Royal
Consort. Several photographic apparatus were
placed in desirable positions for taking views of
the various scenes that presented themselves in the
Royal grounds during the day. To what extent
the artists succeeded we cannot say.
The members of the Association arrived at Ban-1
chory soon after eleven p.m. Here, at the railway
refreshment rooms, they, found plenty to eat and
drink. On asking the price of any article the in-
quirer was informed, " Oh ! sir, everything is to be
paid for afterwards." From this reply, and from
the fact of the persons in attendance declining to
take any money then tendered to them, it was sup-
posed that this entertainment had been provided tit
the expense of the association. This, however,
proved to be a mistake; for when the company
were seated in the railway carriages, a man came
round and demanded and received one shilling for
every cup of tea or coffee consumed, and sixpence
for one or two biscuits. On being remonstrated
with for this excessive charge, and- for the manner
in which the ladies and gentlemen had been thrown
off their guard, he coolly said, "We have not the
British Association here every clity."
The special train left Banchory at twelve, and
reached Aberdeen at ten minutes before one o'clock.