The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1899-1900, 1899-06-07
QUEENS PRIVATE MUSEUM.
All About the Contents of a Little
known Room at Windsor
Castle.

Castle.
There is at Windsor castle a private
museum, which is of very recent date
and in the formation of which her
majesty has taken an immense amount
of interest. Its treasures are in many
cases of unique value, both from their
associations and their intrinsic worth.
In 1896 some workmen engaged in
clearing out a set of apartments that
had long remained unused, and which
were situated in the Tower, came upon
some old lumber as they imagined it
to be, in a passage which was quite
blocked up with it. On closer examina-
ton, however, the ''lumber" turned out
to be collection of most interesting
and valuable relics, whose very exist
ence had been forgotten for genera
tions.
Her majesty took great interest in
the find, and, in conjunction with the
inspector, conceived the idea of max
ing a private museum for these and
similar treasures in the lower yesti-
bule, an apartment near the equerries
entrance, on the ground floor.
1t was just at this time that Sir Her
bert Kitchener, now Lord Kitchener,
of Khartoum, paid visit to Windsor,
on the conclusion of the Dongola eX-
pedition, 1897. He brought with him
several trophies of the campaign,
which the queen promptly ordered to
occupy the first case of her new mu-
scum, These treasures consisted of
Wad Bishara's red banner, with its tin
rattle, which was captured at the bat
tie of Firket; also a Crusaders sword,
found in his house, and with Spanish
motto in Roman characters, which
says: "Do not sheath me without hon
or" In this case, too the queen has
placed the Afghan trophies presented
to her by Lord Roberts ten years pre-
viously.
The second contains several notable
articles, chief of which is fine speci-
men of eXecutioner's AK, which has
evidently seen great service, and which
was given to the queen by Sir William
Congreve, who invented the war rock
ct.
The next case has unique collection
of beautiful feather cloalis, formerly
belonging to some chiefs of the South
Sea islands. On a charming network
are sewn feathers so minute that they
form a smooth, finished surface in
black, yellow and red colors. Most of
| these are single feathers OF a very rare
species of parrot, and each of the mag
nifcent cloaks has BEEN valued by eX-
perts at no less than 100000. On fur
ther inquiry it was found that they
had been given by the king of the Sand
wch islands, in 1924, to his majesty,
King George ".
In the fourth case are set of Ne
paulese knives and daggers used in our
Indian frontier campaigns by the
Ghoorkas and similar tribes. The
"Kokri." or Ghoorka, fighting knife
which the native lses in preference to
he sword or bayonet, is well worth at
tention.
Case No. displays the head and skin
of an enormous Indian lion, around
which have been grouped the ancient
Hanoverian standards of the first three
Georges; some weapons of the Zulus
taken at Isandhlana, some finely capar
isoned saddles OF war horses, and g
"sampit," or blow tube, used to shoot
poisoned darts by the natives of Bor
neo.
The next collection is very fine ant
unique one, being that of succession
of spurs, of all shapes and sorts, from
the Wars of the Roses till to-day. Will
these are placed six pieces of plat,
which formerly belonged TO the Thir
ty-second regiment. They will at one,
strike the spectators attention by theil
extraordinary shapes, being twisted
into most fantastic arrangements
This was due to the effects of a sho
which struck the regimental plat,
chest during the siege of Lucknow.
Case No. may be said to repre-
sent war weapons of various countries
They are old muskets and blunder
buses of the Prussians, French, Han
overians, Russians, Portuguese, Span
ish and English; also African war hat
chefs and hammers, together will
bundles of spears and arrow heads o
the North American Indians. Thel
there are the shields and weapons o
Asiatic sayages, as well as of such ma
tions as the Chinese and Japanese