" I like that bringing
in of the dogs to complete the-picture.
The Queen continues: "We went to see Affie's (Alfred's) table of birthday
presents--entirely nautical. ... We went with the children, Alice and I
driving, to the Swiss Cottage, which was all decked out with flags in
honor of Affie's birthday. ... I sat (at dinner) between Albert and
Affie. The two little boys (Princes Arthur and Leopold) appeared. A band
played, and after dinner we danced, with the three boys and three girls,
a merry country dance on the terrace."
A little later, the Queen and Prince made a visit to their daughter in
Germany. Her Majesty's description of the happy meeting is very sweet.
"There on the platform stood our darling child, with a nosegay in her
hand. She stepped in, and long and warm, was the embrace. ... So much to
say and to tell and ask, yet so unaltered--looking well--quite the old
Vicky still."
From beautiful Babelsberg, she wrote: "Vicky came and sat with me. I felt
as if she were my own again."
This was not a long, but a very happy visit; the Queen and Prince had
received many courteous attentions from the Prussian Court, and had found
their beloved daughter proud and content. From Osborne, in a letter to
his daughter, the Prince-Consort writes: "Alfred looks very nice and
handsome in his new naval cadet's uniform--the round-jacket and the long-
tailed coat, with the broad knife by his side.
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