Los Angeles herald., 1892-01-01
"A GARDEN OF A QUEEN.
VICTORIA HAS ONE. SPOT SACRED
FROM HER SUBJECTS.

England's Sovereign Has Mania for
Planting Trees-A House That the
Prince of Wales Built and in which
Many Royal Children Have Played.
Queen Victoria considers herself really
at home in the private garden of Osborne
only. For in this little corner of the
Isle of Wight alone does the sovereign,
whose possessions cover one-seventh OF
the globe, have powers absolute. Else
where, and especially in the parks of the
royal residences. she is under the re-
straint of the officials of constitutional
monarchy.
The commissioner of public buildings
and works treats the crown as an insti-
tuition of which the rights are strictly
limited. Her majesty cannot cut tree
without the consent Of the proper official.
To escape this vigilance the queen has
bought in the neighborhood OF her castle
at Osborne some acres of ground where
she may have gardener not subject to
changes of administration. She has
even gone so far as to disregard for once
her position. of political impartiality and
chosen a former gardener of Lord Bea-
consfield, a man accustomed to the grow
ing of Tory flowers.
But any imprudences which he might
commit will not easily reach the public.
For while it is easy to get permission to
roam about the grounds of the castle,
this little garden is carefully shut off
from visitors. A correspondent OF an
English paper recently had the good
fortune to get into the Swiss chalet,
which her majesty has made into
family museum, and to walk about the
aisles of trees where each tree commem-
CRATES an episode in the history of the
royal house and recalls day of happi-
ness or sorrow.
A short distance from the entrance to
this private garden is wooden play
house, built with their own hands by
the Prince of Wales and the Duke of
Edinburgh in 1857. The heir to the
crown has missed his vocation. He
clearly had in him the making of nota-
BILE carpenter. Even to the present day
the prince is very proud of his work,
and whenever he visits Osborne he goes
straightway to see if the playhouse is
still standing Not nail has fallen,
not plank has sprung. The house is as
solid as at first.
A HOUSE BUILT BY WALES.
In the little house are preserved the
playthings of the royal children. Each
of the children had little carriages of his
own, and all are here preserved with the
;,;4;o1e of &I,a own, NOM nc r,,,o fharn
The Duke of Edinburgh was a jack Of
all trades. He was a carpenter with his
older brother, mason with his younger
brother, the Duke Of Connaught. The
miniature fortress they built together is
still preserved in this same garden. II
is made of stone and brick. and is at
least strong enough to brave the seasons.
The princes worked under the eyes of
their father, who was trying to teach
them the art of fortification.
This fortress has undergone some as
saults. The Prince of Wales, having
his five sisters and the youngest of his
brothers under his command, attacked
its garrison, the Dukes of Edinburgh and
Connaught. Almost always the heir ap-
parent carried the parapet and drove the
two dukes into a casemate, where they
had plenty of arms and whence hunger
alone conld dislodge them.
Nowadays the children of the Duchess
Of Albany and of the Princess Beatrice
attack and defend the fort which their
parents, their uncles and their aunts
have SO often captured with great valor
after long and glorious sieges.
The day of her Oldest daughters wed
ding Victoria took sprig of myrtle from
the brides bouquet and planted it in this
garden. 1t rooted itself SO firmly that
now it is grown into great bush. Every
time one of the grandchildren marries,
the myrtle bush at Osborne is called into
requisition.
MEMORIAL TREES.
Not far from the matrimonial bush is
row of mourning trees. In February,
1862, every member of the royal family
planted tree to perpetuate the memory
of the prince consort, who died in the
December just before. Of the eight
trees those of the Prince of Wales and
the Princess Alice have grown most
luxuriantly. A little distance away the
| queen planted the parasol pine, which Is
her memorial of her husband.
In another place are the trees com
memorating marriages-the trees Of the
Prince and Princess Of Wales, of the
Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, of the
Duke and Duchess of Connaught, of the
Duke and Duchess of Albany and of the
Princess Beatrice and Henry Of Batten
berg. 1t is in the shade of these trees
whose foliage murmurs the memories O
happy times, that the queen likes t.
take tea during the hot days of August.
/ Now it is the new generation which j
taking it's turn at tree planting in thi
garden devoted to royal highnesses. Tn
children of the Prince Of Wales and o
the Duke of Edinburgh have the plac
of honor. But the invading family o
Prussia casts not a little of it's shad
upon soil which should remain exclusive
" for British. Although the childre
of the queens daughters are not repre-
sented, the descent of the Empress Fred
erick has taken root there. The Prir
cess Victoria of Prussia, her sister, tn
Princess Sophia, and the Prince VALID
mar, who died in 1879, have each tre
The collection lacks nothing but the TIRE