The Queen was so delighted that some days
later, without my being told of it, she summoned to Windsor, Madame Gye,
wife of the manager of Covent Garden,--the famous singer Albani--to ask
to have _Etienne Marcel_ staged at her own theatre. The Queen's wish was
not granted.
I returned to Windsor seventeen years later, in company with Johann
Wolf, who was for many years Queen Victoria's chosen violinist. We dined
at the palace, and, if we did not enjoy the distinction of sitting at
the royal table, we were nevertheless in good company with the young
princesses, daughters of the Duke of Connaught. We were lodged at a
hotel for the honor of sleeping at the Castle was reserved for very
important personages--an honor which need not be envied, for the
sleeping apartments are really servants' rooms. But etiquette decrees
it.
Dinner was over, and princes in full uniform and princesses in elaborate
evening dress stood about, waiting for her Majesty's appearance. I was
heartbroken when I saw her enter, for she was almost carried by her
Indian servant and obviously could not walk alone. But once seated at a
small table, she was just as she had been before, with her wonderful
charm, her simple manner and her musical voice. Only her white hair bore
witness to the years that had passed.
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