In October grand preparations were made for the reception of King Louis Philippe. The Duke of Wellington went with Prince Albert to Portsmouth to receive him and accompany him to Windsor, and everything was done to make a favorable impression on both sides, because his visit was the first one ever made by a French to an English sovereign. The king was no stranger in England, for he had lived there for five years during his exile from France; and it gave him much pleasure to visit the old familiar scenes, and to reflect upon his improved condition. He could not forget how, under a feigned name, he had been glad to earn twenty pence a day while in exile,--and now he was King of France! His visit had a good effect, for it removed much of the angry feeling that had existed between his country and England, and established a bond of friendliness. [[A.D. 1845.]] When the Queen and Prince Albert accompanied Louis Philippe to Portsmouth they saw Osborne, in the Isle of Wight, for the first time, and were so pleased with the prospect it offered for a quiet retreat that they purchased it. There were eight hundred acres at first, but more were added, until the estate comprised twenty-three hundred acres. The prince cultivated the whole place, and improved it year by year, until he made it one of the most delightful country-seats in the world. {363}On the ninth of August the queen prorogued parliament; and the same evening she and the prince, attended by Lord Aberdeen, Lord Liverpool, Lady Gainsborough, Lady Canning, Mr. Anson, and Sir James Clark sailed from Woolwich for Antwerp in the royal yacht, their destination being Saxony. This is what her majesty wrote in her journal on the morning of her departure:-- "A very fine morning when we got up. Both Vicky and darling Alice were with me while I dressed. Poor, dear puss (the Princess Royal) would much have wished to go with us, and often proposed that she might go, and said,--'Why am I not going to Germany?' Most willingly would I have taken her, and I wished much to have taken one of dear Albert's children with us to Coburg; but the journey is a serious undertaking, particularly the first time, and she is very young still. But what chiefly decided us is the visit to the King of Prussia, where I could not have looked after her. All four children were with us at breakfast, after which I gave Lady Lyttelton my last instructions, and then with a heavy heart we bade them adieu in the hall. Poor little Vicky seemed very sorry, but did not cry. It was a very painful moment to drive away with the three poor little things standing at the door. God bless them and protect them; which He will! And they are in excellent hands. Our dear Osborne is so lovely and so enjoyable that we left it with the greatest regret." Sir Robert Peel met her majesty at Buckingham Palace, and gave such a satisfactory report of public affairs that the royal travellers set out on their German tour with nothing to mar their pleasure.