through her most extraordinary character."
Sometimes the delightful routine of domestic existence had to be
interrupted. It was necessary to exchange Windsor for Buckingham
Palace, to open Parliament, or to interview official personages, or,
occasionally, to entertain foreign visitors at the Castle. Then the
quiet Court put on a sudden magnificence, and sovereigns from over
the seas--Louis Philippe, or the King of Prussia, or the King of
Saxony--found at Windsor an entertainment that was indeed a royal one.
Few spectacles in Europe, it was agreed, produced an effect so imposing
as the great Waterloo banqueting hall, crowded with guests in sparkling
diamonds and blazing uniforms, the long walls hung with the stately
portraits of heroes, and the tables loaded with the gorgeous gold plate
of the kings of England. But, in that wealth of splendour, the most
imposing spectacle of all was the Queen. The little hausfrau, who had
spent the day before walking out with her children, inspecting her
livestock, practicing shakes at the piano, and filling up her journal
with adoring descriptions of her husband, suddenly shone forth, without
art, without effort, by a spontaneous and natural transition, the very
culmination of Majesty. The Tsar of Russia himself was deeply impressed.
Victoria on her side viewed with secret awe the tremendous Nicholas. "A
great event and a great compliment HIS visit certainly is," she told
her uncle, "and the people HERE are extremely flattered at it. He is
certainly a VERY STRIKING man; still very handsome. His profile is
BEAUTIFUL and his manners MOST dignified and graceful; extremely
civil--quite alarmingly so, as he is so full of attentions and
POLITENESS. But the expression of the EYES is FORMIDABLE and unlike
anything I ever saw before." She and Albert and "the good King of
Saxony," who happened to be there at the same time, and whom, she said,
"we like much--he is so unassuming-" drew together like tame villatic
fowl in the presence of that awful eagle. When he was gone, they
compared notes about his face, his unhappiness, and his despotic power
over millions. Well! She for her part could not help pitying him, and
she thanked God she was Queen of England.

When the time came for returning some of these visits, the royal pair
set forth in their yacht, much to Victoria's satisfaction. "I do love a
ship!" she exclaimed, ran up and down ladders with the greatest agility,
and cracked jokes with the sa