Evening star., 1901-02-16
WlNDSOR'S NEW MISTRESS
QUEEN ALEXANDRA HAS THE COST
LIEsT OF DINNER SERVICES.
She Must Now Keep House on q Cor
geous Scale and EcOnOm-
ical, Too.
Written for The Evening Star.

icQI, Too.
Written for The Evening Star.
One of Queen Alexandra's important
occupations is the government of her new
household, which numbers just under one
thousand persons. Queen Victoria was IN
every sense mistress and head of her house
hold. All housekeeping questions were set
tied by the royal mistress herself, who per-
scrally ordered the meals, and even Kept
an eye on the household linen. the smallest
details of domestic economy not being re-
garded as beneath her notice. To TINS
vatchfulness was due the fact that the
queens was considered the best regulated
household In the entire kingdom.
The new queen will not shirk her domes-
tic duties, although they may be In de-
gree irksome and worrying.
No servant Is ever dismissed from the
palaces and to this is attributed the free
dom of gossip about royal domestic ar
rangements. When marriage occurs, the
couple are usually provided with a small
post. carrying with it a residence. Most OF
the royal lodges are occupied by couples
who have served royalty for many years.
The only additions to the royal household
since the time of Henry VIII are two steam
apparatus men. 1t will hardly be credited
that even now it is the lord steward VINO
still orders the fires to be laid, but the
lord chamberlain alone who can cause them
to be lighted! A servant in receipt or toO
year arrangeS all the candles-waXfltter Is
his official title-but two others-a first and
second lamp lighter-at a salary OF fl00
each are required to light them. as We'll as
the lamps, while it costs f492 to have the
table laid by five functionaries. whose Of
fetal title is table deckers. Their sole duty
Is to lay the dinner cloth, and see that the
niotp
forth. The salary of the chief butler, who
locks after the wine. is $500 year.
A Housemaid Army.
There are sixty housemaids at Windsor,
and the late queen knew the name OF each
and her special line Of duty. Going into an
unused room upon one occasion, she no
ticed a cabinet that had not been busted
that day. She promptly wrote the royal
autograph in the dust. and beneath 1t the
name Of the particular maid whose duty 1t
was to dust the room.
The kitchen is ruled over by chef. whose
salary Is f70O a year. Under the chef are
four master cooks, who are on duty about
fortnight at a time. Then there are two
assistant cooks two roasting cooks, about
sixteen apprentices, half a dozen kitchen
maids, two yeomen of the kitchen and the
clerk of the kitchen, who keeps the ac-
counts and does the carving. He receives
f3OO a year. The confectioners get f3OO and
apart on one side of the kitchen; the others
work in the one room, and one can imagine
that the entire scene, with Its mingled
noises, the rush of feet the hum Of voices.
the clatter of pots and pans, the many diff
ferent odors that rise in cloud to the oak
roof Is like another edition of Walpurgts-
nacht. At the moment when dinner is
being served there is a constant stream OF
stalwart pantrymen bringing in the grand
golden dishes, tureens and sauce boats. Out
at another door flock the footmen, bearing
the same dishes, daintily dressed and served
The functionary who receives the lowest
salary Is the rat catcher He must exc out
an existence on f75 year. He Is the only
servant whose salary is provided outside the
civil list, and every session the house Of
commons, in committee of supply, consider
this vote and gravely agree to it.
The royal washing costs $1,000 yearly, and
is done at a picturesque building near
Richmond Park, called the royal laundry.
The linen Is carried to and from the laun-
inscribed with the different names, for ex-
ample: 'The King, L." The Queen. p
Princess Victoria The boxes carrying
the household linen are marked with the
p" Primrose soap, slightly scented and
quite free from alkalies. is used, and Is ex-
tremely costly. Queen Alexandras body
linen is exquisitely fine and severely plain,
and she never wears a flannel petticoat
after it has been washed.
The royal household costs in the aggre-
gate f132, 900 a year in salaries. while an
average of f172,0O0 a year is paid to the
butcher, the baker and the candlestick
MAKER and the other tradespeople who
feed the members Of the household.
The ultra private apartments of Queen
Alexandra at Windsor, which Is the official
royal residence, consist of four rooms-the
audience chamber, the sitting room, bee
room and dressing room. They are on the
fist floor of that portion Of the castle
known as the Victoria tower, and are ap-
preached from without by secluded por-
tico, where the queen may enter her car
riage unobserved by any one, except those
in immediate attendance. The suite of
rooms Is entered through two large double
dc ors of oak, picked out with gold and pan
eled in Gothic style. A cozy lift, oak uphol-
stored in crimson, conveys the queen from
the portico up to her rooms. In the
| audience chamber the queen receives peo'
pie with whom 1T is her wish to speak
either on matters of business or pleasure
Her sitting room, which faces south, is OF
great height From a wide oriel window Is
a fine view of the long walk" the Home
Park and the Great Park. There is a mag
nificent marble mantel and a fireplace, in
which is burned nothing but beech logs.
Sixty-VOIume List.
| In a cabinet in this room are kept ths
sixty leather-bound volumes or catalogues
| in which is the inventory of all the fur
nishings of Windsor Castle-china, glass
silver, draperies and furniture of the sever
hundred apartments. This inventory was
| made by order of Queen Victoria, and fr
| accordance with her ideas Like a goot
| housewife, the queen was fully aware Of
| the Individual merits and the places where
| they ought to be kept, Of hundreds Of hel
possessions, although there were. Of course
| thousands Of which she had no reckoning
| The most costly dinner service In thu
| world Is at Windsor Castle. 1t Is of solit
| gold and valued at 100000. OF the numer
| Gus services of plate and china, but three
| are ever in use. In the crimson drawing
room Is kept magnificent collection o.
china.