The Public Life of Queen VictoriaMcGilchrist, John
History
The Public Life of Queen Victoria
McGilchrist, John
Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, 1819-1901
Exactly at four o'clock the Queen arrived on the ground in an open
carriage. Accompanying her were the King of the Belgians, the Princess
Alice, and Prince Arthur. The Prince Consort and the Prince of Wales were
on horseback. The Queen was attended by a magnificent following of general
officers, aides-de-camp, staff officers, foreign military men of
distinction, and the Lords-Lieutenant of the counties which furnished
contingents to the force on the ground. There were also in attendance on
the Sovereign the Duke of Cambridge and Mr. Sidney Herbert, the official
heads of the army. Remarkable amongst the group was Field-Marshal Lord
Combermere, who had counted no fewer than seventy years of military duty.
As the cortege swept on to the ground the volunteers stood to arms, their
bands playing the National Anthem. The scene now presented was in truth a
magnificent one. On one side, from north to south, stood the thick lines
of the volunteers, their somewhat sombre ranks varied by masses of dark
uniforms, with here and there a mass of scarlet, the whole thrown into
relief by the background of the trees of Kensington Gardens. From west to
east, dense lines of people extended, many being raised head over head by
the most precarious and illusory elevations. From north to south, at the
eastern end of the park, and facing the line of volunteers, a glittering
line of military uniforms of officers and the gay dresses of ladies who
accompanied them gave a varied and rich fringe to the human masses of the
_elite_ of the land who occupied the galleries above them. The green space
so enclosed was dotted and animated by the bright scarlet, glittering
cuirasses, snowy plumes, and jet-black steeds of the Life Guardsmen, who
kept the ground.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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