The herald., 1896-09-04
THE QUEENS TABLE
A GIRLS AccouNT or HER DiNNGa
WITH ENGLAND's RULER ~

WITH ENGLAND'o HOISrb ~
- I
She Was Naturally Very. Timid -
Frightened. but 1t Appears Thss -
Observed Her surroundings-It Wsat
After All, Much Like Other Dinnses.
We arrived so late at Windsor oast1s thao
there was no time to do anything bat ~
to work to dress at once, 20 ~ not to b
late for dinner. OF course you must b
aware that it takes much longer to mako .
full court toilet than to put on an ordinary
dinner dress, and really don't know
which would have been worse-to b
obliged to rush into the presence of The
queen in an unfinished condition or to
keep her majesty waiting. However, We
were not late. My maid and worDsd
hard, and really at the end, when sur
not help feeling that looked rather mica.
was all in white-my mamma says tha1
white suits me, and really think itdcaa
and tho length of my train set OF tho
height Of my slender figure, and the white
feathers nestled very becomingly In my
dark hair. I knew that I was looking my
very best, but my heart was beating un-
comfortably fast, and, though had looked
forward to dining with the queen a. quits
the most delightful thing in the woelds
now that the moment had arrived woul4
have given worlds to have been able -
escape from the ordeal. However, there
was no help for it. So followed my mann
ma into the grand corridor, and we pro
ceeded slowly in the direction of the dining
room, which was right at the extreme end
in the Prince of Wales tower.
1t was wonderful place, that cotridoGk
Imagine an endlcssly long, lofty apart
ment, lighted by tall windows looking ont
into the courtyard and extending round
two sides Of the great quadrangle On the
inner side innumerable doors opened int
suits on suits of rooms of all kinds
guest chambers, including special suit
for the Prince and Princess Of Wales and
another known as the tapestry apartment
which is given to other distinguished visit
ors, like the Empress Frederick or the
Duke of Connaught; the queen n'sown bed
room and boudoir, the threet drawing
rooms, the private and state dining rooms
and the suit devoted to the use Of Princess
Beatrice. On the outer side, in the spaces
between the windows, were huge pictureo
representing events Of tho reign.
We turned round the angle Of the corT1-
dor, and then the second arm Of 1t opened
before us, with it's long vista of windows,
portraits, pictures and cabinets. About .
quarter Of tho way down we perceived .
small group Of people standing near ono Of
the doors. These were evidently the Other
guests. AS we came nearer we recognized
several faces, and one dear old man began
to talk to me about the ways and wonderl
of Windsor. "We shall not dine in tho
state dining room," he said, "but in tho
oak room, which Is the queens privaas
dining room, and there she always receives
her guests when the party Is under 16
That is the door, the one near the picture
of Lord Beaconsfield. - He told me furtha
that Princess Beatrice's rooms were by I'd
the most beautiful in the whole castle, and
they were full Of the most exquisite works
of art. The queens own rooms were mag.
niflcently Furnished, but the stylewasl stafH
and antique-more grand than comforts
able. Her toilet service was one Of the cu-
riosities of the castle, for 1t had belonged
originally to Queen Anne. He was going
on to tell me about some Of the portraits
when the master of the household and sev-
eral other officials came toward US and d.
rected us to arrange ourselves In two rows
along the corridor, the ladies on ono side
and the men on the other. My mamma,
who was the most important lady present,
stood farthest away from the door Of the
oak room, and l stood next to her, from
which it was evident that was the next
important person, though I waa certainly
the youngest, and two of the other lAd1a1
were wives of ministers
We waited for few minutes In this pos
sition, and then somebody hustled In and
announced that the queen was coming.
My heart began to thump violently, and
curious thrill crept down my back-and
then there was her majesty in the black
dress and white cap and small coronet
which are so familiar to us. Then I real
lied that while l was staring my mamma
was courtesying, and so, quite overcome
by shame and confusion, courtesied, too
--as low as possible to hide my blushes
and not at all in my best style, which my
mamma used to say was quite swanlike.
But anyhow l had just sufficient sense to
take Mr.. Politicus' arm when he offered
it to me, but otherwise 1 must have be-
haved as if had got softening of the brain.
However, discovered later that it did no1
matter, because it was not considered eti-
quette to speak loud or talk much, and the
proper thing really was to keep one's at
tention fixed chiefly on the queen, In tho
hope that she would condescend to address
one. I must admit that this was the very
last thing that L hoped for, and a. I
thought it highly improbable that she
would speak to me when there were mann
ma and the minister's wives to talk to
allowed my eyes to wander and to admire
the beautiful gold plate and flowers, the
magniilcence of the whole display on the
table, the fine tapestry with which the
walls wero adorned, and the portraits Of
the dear darling Princess of Wales, the
sweet little Duchess of Albany and tho
well, the Duchess Of Coburg. Nor was Z
mistaken. Her majesty did not address
me at all, but confined her conversation I'd
my seniors-if that can be called con-
versation which is chiefly carried on BY
one person. In spite of my intense awe
L almost burst out laughing at the sight
of mamma sitting up SO mtm apd saying
SO little.
But, after all, there was q marvellous
sameness between this and other dinners
when the first impressions had worn of q
little. The plate was gold instead Of sill
yer, the servants were in scarlet and gold
liveries and there was the queen. But
otherwise the Chief distinction was that II
was more than usually solemn, and I was
very glad when the queen arose and we all
followed her in silence. After dinner we
adjourned to. the corridor, and not, as I
had half hoped, to the drawing rooms
1Joxuorar tho in IT. chorfo,. In r,va-