The "Waterloo Chamber" is 47 feet in length and 45 in height, and has a gallery of magnificent portraits, by Lawrence, all of whom were, in some fashion, connected either in the closets of diplomacy, or the fields of strife, with the downfall of Napoleon; hence the name of "Waterloo Gallery." Here are life-size portraits of Wellington, Lord Castlereagh, Humboldt, Alexander I, Count Nesselrode, Capo d'Istria, Prince Schwartzenburg, Archduke Charles, Blucher, Platoff, the Marquis of Anglesea, Francis II, of Austria, Pope Pius VII, and others equally famous.
In the Grand Chamber is a piece of ordnance, taken from Tippo Saib, at Seringapatam, a table made from the wreck of the Royal George, and an elaborately worked shield of silver, inlaid with gold, made by Benvenuto Cellini, which was presented by Francis I, of France, to Henry VIII, of England, at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
The Throne Room has a fine ceiling, ornamented with the different emblems of the Order of the Garter. Here the Queen sits enthroned on occasions of State, and receives her guests habited in a scarlet velvet mantle, trimmed with miniver. On one occasion, when her Majesty took her seat here, her costume, including the jewels and Crown, was valued at £150,000, a vast sum to be thrown away on such heartless vanities, when it is recollected that myriads of people were dying of want and starvation in her Kingdom at the time.
The Throne is a very fine piece of work, and is covered with heavy hangings of red velvet, and is ornamented with the rose, shamrock and thistle.
IN THE QUEEN'S CHAMBER.
By special permission I had the pleasure of beholding the Queen's bed-room, or Private Closet. This is a favor seldom shown to any but foreign noblemen, or Embassadors, but by diligent efforts I had succeeded in getting permission to look at this sacred place.
On the day that I visited Windsor Castle, it luckily happened that very few visitors had called, and as I had a note from a most high personage, with permission to see the private apartments of Her Majesty, I was glad that there was not a crowd to witness the result of my mission. As a point of honor, I find it impossible to mention the name of the great personage who gave me permission to visit the Queen's Chamber, as I fear it might give him trouble, and perhaps deprive him of his lofty position.
Even the attendant, to whom I showed the note, was afraid to allow me to enter the apartments, as the Queen had only left them early that same morning to take a drive, and was expected back during the evening. It was now two o'clock in the afternoon, and I began to fear that I would not see the private saloons of her Majesty.
The attendant said, in answer to my request: