Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-12-23
HER MAJESTY VICTORIA
n Pleasant View Of the EnGnsh sevsrsies
-Hsr slaple Life In the Scotch Highlands

~ bA.Bic h<us IN tno SooSoA mig niARd8
4 good deal has been said lately ia
the newspapers concerning Queen Vic
toria. but so much of il is calculated te
/ give false impressions with regard &c
/ the Queen that | AM tempted to send
! you a few notes about her, and, as
have had the honor fo- a long time past
of personally being acquainted with heI
Majesty, l hope you will believe they
are true ones.
With regard to the Queens public
capacity il is needless for Inc to speak,
as all the world knows how she has
| fulfilled her numerous and arduous
duties, and l shall therefore contine
myself to endeayoring to give some
idea of her private life, and especially
of her in her Scotch Highland home, as
I, it is there that have seen her mosj
and have had the best opportunity oj
judging.
The Queen rises early in the morn.
ing, and after breakfast reads and
answers her letters aud transacts busi-
ness. She is fond of the open air, and
if the weather be favorable often has
! her papers taken into a tent or sum-
! mer-house upon the lawn, which CON-
view of Lochnagar, Its SURROUNDING
mountains, and the Valley of the Dee.
| After this comes a walk or drive in
! a pony carriage, and then luncheon al
which no one is ever present excepl
members of the royal family.
During the afternoon the Queen
takes long drive, often extending to
| over thirty miles and always in an open
| h. l.,
$50 p. m. An hour spent in the draw
ing-room talking with the guests who
NAV have been invited finishes the day,
and the Queen retires to rest
| No question of state is ever decided
finally until her Majesty has been con-
suited, and she is such q sensible and
clever woman that she has often put
her Ministers right and settled a diff
cult point and generally for the best.
The Queen is faithful to her old
friends and thoughtful for everybody
with whom she comes in contact, re-
membering the smallest details about
them, their families, and their occupa-
tions, and giving evidence of this al
most unexpected moments. A circum.
stance which happened to me justities
strongly the truth of this. Four years
ago l was singing at the Royal Opera
at Berlin, and was not even aware that
the Queen knew of my engagement
there. l, soon after my debut was al
a large dinner party at the English
Embassy. and sitting next to me was
one of the gentlemen OF. the Crown
| Princess household. During dinner
he put into my hand a telegram, tell
ing me to read it. This was from the
| Queen to her daughter (now the ex-Em.
press Frederick), recommending me tc
her and desiring her to do all she
could for me. Needless to say that
after this l was so excited that l could
eat no dinner, and | insisted on keep
ing the telegram, one of my preciou.
| souvenirs.
Her Majesty is fond of music and is g
| good musician. She studied music
with Mendeilssohn and singing with
Lablache. As a consequence of thi:
teaching she prefers the old Italian
music to any other but at the same
time she can appreciate anything thai
is good in the modern music. This
know from experience, as l have sung
all kinds of music 20 her, the new anC
the old. The Queen is much touched
by a simple, homely ballad, and after
have sung to her songs like "Robir
Adair" or ''Old Folks at Home" l have
seen tears in her eyes.
She has been in retirement for
| great many years, and during that tim,
has not been present at a single oper
attic performance; yet she remember!
well the old artists and the manner il
which they rendered the various well
| lnnuufn rAlaG For nSta tx-ha
told her that / was studying tn,
"Huguenots," and was going to sing i
in America, she said that was one o
her favorite operas; that she though
Mario was superb as Raoul, and, tina
although Grisi sang the music splen
didly. she never realized her idea of til,
character of Valentine.
The Queen has been present at :seV
concerts for many years past. She oc
casionally has noted artist TO sing o
play before her, but this always take
place in private, and when / sing a
Balmoral there is nobody in the room
but the Queen and perhaps one or tw,
members of the royal family who ma,
be staying at the castle. With regar,
to these little concerts l RECALL a funn,
incident. sat down at the piano 4
accompany myself. and was just be
ginning to sing. wien the legs of tn
stool gave way and l rolled on the foo
at the Queens feet. Her Majesty wa
rather concerned at first, thinking
must have hurt myself, but when sh
saw that / was all right she burst ou
laughing. We all had been rathe
solemn before, but after my tumbl
everybody was so amused that it was
long while before l could proceed wit
my song.
The Queen herself looks after tn
welfare of all her tenants and servants
aud if any Que of them is sick she is tn
first one to pay them a visit and tax
them little comforts.
During her stay in Scotland she take
pleasure during her drives in STOP
ping at various cottages to ask after tn
welfare of the inmates. When so oC
cupied the Queen is as kind and simpl
as any ordinary lady could be. Whe
she paid me one of her first visits an
took tea with me my little boy was S
much struck with this that he said t
me after she had gone, 30 mamma
what little woman for such a bi
Qusenr' 1t is all this that has mad
the Queen so beloved by all her sui
lSces-
1 have endesvored in these few io
tings to give slight idea Of ouee
Victoria. and if in doing so / have il
truded myself too much it is because
cannot help it. the above being my pc
sonal e1perieras of her Majesty. =
h.GJ
He who thinks better of his neigh