Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-03-18
The British Metropolis.

There was an historical scene at Wind
sor Castle. The Qneen had rather Of
busy time of it, First there was "a
council" at which the Queen, the then
Lord Chancellor Lord Shelborne), Lord
Abcrdare tMr. Bruce), Viscount Halifax,
aud the Lord d-Chamberlain alone were
present. Then followed a melancholy
spectacle. All the members Of the lata
Government had come down TO Windsor
to deiveer their seals Of Office. They
carried these seals in little bags, Or i'll
little cases of leather. velvet and iron.
They were now admitted to the Queens
presence-the Lord Chancellor at their
head. There we're eight of them fLord
Shelborne, Viscount Halifax, Mr. Lowe,
Earl Granville, Earl Kimberley, Mr..
Cardwell, the Duke of Argyll, anl Mr..
Bright. Mr.. Gladstone had performed
his share of this unpleasant BUSINESS two
days before. These gentlemen delivered
up their seals of office-that is, they laid
them down on the table before the Queen,
and then retired from her august presence.
Unhappily, no representatives Of the
press are present on these occasions, aud
there is no chance of knowing what is
said. Did the Queen condole with the re-
jcctcd of the nation, or did she express
her entire appreciation Of the popular ver-
dict? No one can say. But the one
fact that is certain is that these lords aud
gentlemen, having giver up their seals of
sfiice, left the castle and returned to Lon
don. They did not receive any attention
at the Windsor station. There was
crowd there but no one cried, God
bless chem" Mr. Lowe had taken
third-class ticket the rest travelled first
class.
Now this happened at half.past one p.
NJ. and for more than an hour AFTER
wards the Queen was left alone with the
seals, and England was without govern
ment! Her Majesty might have done
anything she liked with the seals; she
might have made her faithful retainer,
John Brown, Lord Chancellor she ght
: have thrown all the seals into the fire;
she might have locked them up in a closet
and refused to give up the key. Happily
she did none of these things,
The train which conveyed the dismissed
Ministers up to town passed on its way
another train which was conveying the
new Ministers down TO Windsor. Had
these two trains ran into each other, what
smash would have been there, my cOun-
trymen! But the second train arrived
safely at Windsor. and its occupants got
out of the garages they were welcomed
by the paudlts of the crowd which had
allowed the ex-Ministers TO go away in
silence. Some royal carriages were wait
ing for them, and they drove away III these
to the castle. They arrived at quarter
to three, and the Queen Immediately held
: another council. All the twelve members
Of the new Government we're present, and
the Queen delivered the seals of Office, all
safe and sound, to Lord Cairns, as Lord
Chancellor the Earl of Malmesbury, as
: Privy Seal; Mr.. Gross, as Home Secrc.
tary Earl Derby, as Foreign Secretary j;
the Earl Of Carnarvon, as Colonial Sec-
retary; Mr.. Hardy, as War Secretary !;
! and the Marquis of Salisbury, as Secreta.
ry for India. Thus, after an awful inter.
regnum of an hour and half, England
: had Government agaln.-Graphic.