The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1893-12-16
VICTORIA'S SIMPLE LIFE.
How Her Majesty Passes Her Time
at Her Scotch Retreat.
Anecdotes of John. Brown. the Favorite
and Favored Old servitor of the
Oueen-Something About the
Royal Household.

If her majesty were the wife of
some middle-class gentleman in COM
Portable circumstances her life could
not be simpler. At eight o'clock she Is
awakened by one Of her four maids,
who sleeps in an ante-room adjoining
her royal mistress bedchamber The
very heavy window curtains are pushed
aside to admit the daylight, and on a
little table drawn up to the bedside
the queen has all her letters (Which
she opens with a plain ivory knife,
which is relic of her girlhood) and
cup of tea or cocoa. Breakfast at
balf-past nine is, in pleasant weather,
served in a small pavilion containing
four rooms, all upholstered in very
ugly tartans, designed by the queen
herself. This summer house, says the
Boston Transcript, is on the lawn, at a
little distance from the castle, but her
majesty goes to it in loose dressing
Gown. belted with ribbons, and made
of some old fashioned material OF
which she is fond, and none but mem
bers of the royal family ever join her
at this simple meal. During the re-
past the head piper plays various
Spirited tunes on the bagpipes about
quarter of mile away; for, though the
oueen is fond of the instrument, she
believes that distance lends enchant-
nent to the sound. At eleven the
vocal lady goes out, dressed in black,
for her morning airing, in species OF
bath chair, drawn by pony and LED
bv Francis Clark, John Browns sue
cessor and cousin, who, of course, dis
PLAYS his stalwart proportions in kits.
Once a week the chair is drawn down
TO the churchyard, and the queen in
spects the grave of the faithful and
departed John Brown. The village,
too. is often visited, and her majesty
thinks no shame of herself purchasing
serpes and fannels to distribute among
the poor at the one little shop kept by
Mrs. Symons.
At 1890 she returns to the castle, re-
freshes herself with an egg beaten in
milk, and is then ready to see Sir Henry
Ponsonby, her private secretary, and
the minister in attendance. Luncheon
is the queens favorite meal, and she Is
then pleased to converse IN a lively
fashion, discussing the ncws OF. the day,
and often showing a fund OF amusing
anecdote. In the afternoon she again
drives out, and often stops for tea at
some cottage on the estate, where
room is specially reserved for such
erne,-rencies. Humble friends of the
queen are visited, and sometimes she
is pleased to use her sketching mater1-
nIs. After her return an hour is de-
voted to the little grandchildren, and
there is an interval of rest before the
nine O'Clock dinner, after which her
majesty, though she is such an early
riser, usually spends two hours or more
with her private secretary.
Francis Clark, by the way, is of the
same type as his cousin, John Brown,
but. although he is deservedly loved
bv his mistress, he would not venture
upon the liberties his predecessor was
privileged to take. Some funny ana
authentic anecdotes were told me by
nv friend of the faithful Brown. One
dav. during his time, the queen was
nreparinr to sketch near Glassalt Shlel,
where she had spent the previous night.
Even the queen sometimes sgets out OF
bed on the wrong side" and this hap
nened to be such morning. One table
after another was brought from the
Sh.eluntil the supply was exhausted and
the servants were plunged in despair,
but vet none of them suited her fretful
majesty. At last John Brown took one
of tbe rejected articles and set 1T down
rather hard and with much decision
before hismistress. "They Gamma max
one for ye," said he. The queen could
but laugh; the table was accepted and
amiability restored. Sometimes her
majesty would appear ready for her
drive in some comfortable old cloak of
far from prepossessing appearance, but
of this descent from royal dignity the
seryitor strongly disapprovcd. "And
what kind of thing is that we've got
on the day." he would grimly say, and
the pood-natured sovereign would usu-
allv,dress to please her attendant on
the next OCCASION of the kind.
The Indian empire is represented in
the ROYAL household by her majesty's
Indian secretary, and her personal at
tendent, a very handsome Asiatic, who
is always gorgeously appareied in
scarlet. white and gold. And these
men have Endorsements and their own
suite of apartments in the castle,
where the fragrance of curry is said
never to be absent. The queen isvery
good to her servants and takesgreat in
terest in their personal welfare. And
of course the happiness OF her humble
subjects helps to make her happiness.
But 1 wonder how many women would
be contented with the dull and mum
drum life led during the larger portion
of the year by England's queen
Recent Russian Regulations
The latest ukase of the car of all