that dive so prettily. We passed under the arch with the great
horse on the top. I asked my cousin if he knew what country such horses
were found in, but he could not tell me, and we walked on and soon came
to the Queen's Palace.
Here let me take breath;--just at the very moment we reached the
gateway, out rolled the royal carriage, and in it, to our great
happiness, we beheld her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, and His Royal
Highness the Prince Albert; and with them were those dear children, the
Princess Royal and the Prince of Wales--Heaven bless them! How I did
long to kiss them both. When the last wheel of the royal carriage was
quite out of sight, we turned to look at the palace that the Queen
lived in, and Drinkwater pointed out to me the funniest creature that
ever I saw standing on a pedestal by the gate. He said it was a Unicorn,
and that it was put there on purpose to make the Queen laugh. After we
had counted the thousand and one windows in the front of the Palace, we
strolled along the pleasant path by the little lake, and watched the
children as they came with cakes in their hands to feed those greedy
geese, that seemed as if they would gobble up cakes, and children, and
all.
While we were resting ourselves on a seat under the trees, some distant
relations of ours, the Sparrowes of Evryware, passed by. It was well
they did not see us, for some of them know me, and I must confess that I
should not like to have been seen speaking to such shabby, ill-looking
fellows. I wonder what their relations in the country would have said,
had they seen them in such wretched condition. Their coats were torn,
one of them had lost part of his tail, and their faces looked as if they
had not been washed since the last shower of rain. Fearing lest the
Sparrowes should return and discover us, I asked Drinkwater to take the
ferry-boat to the other side; and just as we landed we had the pleasure
of seeing the great Lord Bison introduce his sister, Lady Dorothy Zebu,
to the renowned Admiral Macaw. You should have seen the polite bow of
the admiral, and the delightful curtsey of the lady. I was charmed
beyond expression. Lord Bison has a fine military air; they say he
fought many battles on the American prairies. Lady Dorothy, who has just
come from India, has, on the contrary, a mild, benignant countenance,
and, I am told, is very religious. The admiral was covered with gold,
and purple, and scarlet, and looked for all the wo
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