d with books, but
hardly accessible, imperfectly warmed, and only tenanted by the
librarian: it is a mere library, too, unfurnished, and offering
none of the comforts and luxuries of a habitable room. There are
two breakfast rooms, one for the ladies and the guests, and the
other for the equerries, but when the meal is over everybody
disperses, and nothing but another meal reunites the company, so
that, in fact, there is no society whatever, little trouble,
little etiquette, but very little resource or amusement.

[Page Head: LIFE OF THE QUEEN AT WINDSOR.]

The life which the Queen leads is this: she gets up soon after
eight o'clock, breakfasts in her own room, and is employed the
whole morning in transacting business; she reads all the
despatches, and has every matter of interest and importance in
every department laid before her. At eleven or twelve Melbourne
comes to her and stays an hour, more or less, according to the
business he may have to transact. At two she rides with a large
suite (and she likes to have it numerous); Melbourne always rides
on her left hand, and the equerry in waiting generally on her
right; she rides for two hours along the road, and the greater
part of the time at a full gallop; after riding she amuses
herself for the rest of the afternoon with music and singing,
playing, romping with children, if there are any in the Castle
(and she is so fond of them that she generally contrives to have
some there), or in any other way she fancies. The hour of dinner
is nominally half-past seven o'clock, soon after which time the
guests assemble, but she seldom appears till near eight. The lord
in waiting comes into the drawing-room and instructs each
gentleman which lady he is to take in to dinner. When the guests
are all assembled the Queen comes in, preceded by the gentlemen
of her household, and followed by the Duchess of Kent and all her
ladies; she speaks to each lady, bows to the men, and goes
immediately into the dining-room. She generally takes the arm of
the man of the highest rank, but on this occasion she went with
Mr. Stephenson, the American Minister (though he has no rank),
which was very wisely done. Melbourne invariably sits on her
left, no matter who may be there; she remains at table the usual
time, but does not suffer the men to sit long after her, and we
were summoned to coffee in less than a quarter of an hour. In the
drawing-room she never sits down till the men make their
appea