ndeed, it was a very slow cargo,
Jorrocks being the only character on board, and he was as sulky as a
bear with a sore head when anyone approached. The day was beautifully
fine, and a thin grey mist gradually disappeared from the Kentish hills
as we passed down the Thames. The river was gay enough. Adelaide, Queen
of Great Britain and Ireland, was expected on her return from Germany,
and all the vessels hung out their best and gayest flags and colours to
do her honour. The towns of Greenwich and Woolwich were in commotion.
Charity schools were marching, and soldiers were doing the like, while
steamboats went puffing down the river with cargoes to meet and escort
Her Majesty. When we got near Tilbury Fort, a man at the head of the
steamer announced that we should meet the Queen in ten minutes, and all
the passengers crowded on to the paddle-box of the side on which she
was to pass, to view and greet her. Jorrocks even roused himself up
and joined the throng. Presently a crowd of steamers were seen in the
distance, proceeding up the river at a rapid pace, with a couple of
lofty-masted vessels in tow, the first of which contained the royal
cargo. The leading steamboat was the celebrated _Magnet_--considered
the fastest boat on the river, and the one in which Jorrocks and myself
steamed from Margate, racing against and beating the _Royal William._
This had the Lord Mayor and Aldermen on board, who had gone down to the
extent of the city jurisdiction to meet the Queen, and have an excuse
for a good dinner. The deck presented a gay scene, being covered with a
military band, and the gaudy-liveried lackeys belonging to the Mansion
House, and sheriffs whose clothes were one continuous mass of gold lace
and frippery, shining beautifully brilliant in the midday sun. The royal
yacht, with its crimson and gold pennant floating on the breeze, came
towering up at a rapid pace, with the Queen sitting under a canopy on
deck. As we neared, all hats were off, and three cheers--or at least as
many as we could wedge in during the time the cortege took to sweep past
us--were given, our band consisting of three brandy-faced musicians,
striking up _God save the King_--a compliment which Her Majesty
acknowledged by a little mandarining; and before the majority of the
passengers had recovered from the astonishment produced by meeting a
live Queen on the Thames, the whole fleet had shot out of sight. By the
time the ripple on the water, raised by t