The Life and Times of Queen Victoria; vol. 1 of 4Wilson, Robert
History
The Life and Times of Queen Victoria; vol. 1 of 4
Wilson, Robert
Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901; Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, 1819-1901
Next day they visited the quaint little town of Marazion, or Market Jew,
which lies behind the Mount where the Jews used to traffic in old times.
They inspected the castle, and Prince Albert played on the organ in the
chapel, to the great delight of the Queen and “the children;” after
which he made what the Queen describes as “a beautiful little sketch” of
St. Michael’s Mount itself. On the following day (the 7th) the municipal
dignitaries of Penryn invaded the Royal yacht, and begged to be
introduced to “the Duke of Cornwall.” “So,” writes the Queen, “I stepped
out of the pavilion on deck with Bertie, and Lord Palmerston told them
that that was the Duke of Cornwall; and the old Mayor of Penryn said ‘he
hoped he would grow up a blessing to his parents and to his country.’”
The Fal, winding between wooded banks of dwarfed oaks, and the beautiful
Ruan, with its shores clad with foliage to the water’s edge, were
explored; and at the city of Truro, says the Queen, the whole population
turned out on the banks to give her a welcome, “and were enchanted when
Bertie was held up for them to see.” On the following day the Royal
tourists visited Fowey, “driving,” writes the Queen, “through some of
the narrowest streets I ever saw in England,” and proceeding to the
ivy-clad ruins of Restormel, a castle which belonged to “Bertie” as Duke
of Cornwall.
Here her Majesty was bold enough to explore the iron mines. “You go in
on a level,” she writes. “Albert and I got into one of the trucks and we
were dragged in by the miners, Mr. Taylor” (mineral agent to the Duchy)
“walking behind us. The miners wore a curious woollen dress with a cap,
and they generally have a candlestick in front of the cap. This time
candlesticks were stuck along the sides of the mine, and those who did
not drag or push carried lights. The gentlemen wore miners’ hats. There
was no room to pass between the trucks and the rock, and only just room
enough to hold up one’s head, and not always that. It had a most curious
effect, and there was something unearthly about this lit-up cavern-like
place. We got out and scrambled a little way to see the veins of ore,
and Albert knocked off some pieces.” On the way back they visited
Lostwithiel; and then they returned to Osborne, vastly delighted and
refreshed by their tour.
The Queen’s new house at Osborne was now ready for occupation, and she
and her husband held a “house-warming” ceremony on the 16th of
September,
[Illustration: THE MUNICIPAL DIGNITARIES OF PENRYN INTRODUCED TO THE
PRINCE OF WALES.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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