Still the Queen made
up for it, by afterwards making a grand State-procession through the
grand old town. All the country for many miles about, poured into the
city on that day, and among some amusing anecdotes of the occasion, I
find this: "A gentleman living near Edinburgh, said to his farm-servant,
'Well, John, did you see the Queen?' 'Troth did I that, sir.' 'Well,
what did you think of her?' 'In truth, sir, I was terrible 'feared afore
she came forrit--my heart was maist in my mouth, but whan she did come
forrit, I was na feared at a'; I just lookit at her, and she lookit at
me, an' she bowed her heid at me, an' I bowed my heid at her.'"
The Queen traveled then with a much larger Court than she takes with her
nowadays, and to this were added the escorts of honor which the great
Scottish nobles and Highland chiefs furnished her, till it grew to be a
monster of a caravan. Among the items, I find that in conveying Her
Majesty and suite from Dalkeith to Taymouth, and from Taymouth back to
Dalkeith, 656 horses were employed. Yet this was nothing to the number of
animals engaged on the royal progresses of former times. It is stated
that 20,000 horses were in all employed in conveying Marie Antoinette,
her enormous suite and cumbrous belongings, from Vienna to Paris.
Pages:
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179