To be appointed to Her Majesty’s yacht was in those days considered a very great distinction.  Even now the Queen invariably chooses officers who have seen what is called ‘service.’  Such an appointment, apart from the honour of being so near Her Majesty, always tends to rapid promotion.

The Queen at the time I write of was very fond of cruising in her yacht, paying visits to foreign potentates, &c.  Her Majesty had been then five years married, with a young family springing up around her, and her beloved husband the Prince Consort always with her, participating in all her pleasures; so we, the officers of the Royal yacht, had a rare time of it, were made a lot of wherever we went, and thought ourselves very great men indeed.  Amongst other trips, we conveyed the Royal family up the Rhine, where Her Majesty visited the King of Prussia at Stolzenfels.

Afterwards we went to the Chateau d’Eu, where Her Majesty was received by King Louis Philippe and the Reine Amelie.

I shall never forget the condescending kindness of Her Majesty and Prince Albert to all on board the Royal yacht.  As to the Prince Consort, he treated the officers more in the light of companions than subordinates, always ready to join us in a cigar and its accompanying friendly conversation.

Apropos of smoking, I cannot refrain from mentioning a little incident that happened on board the ‘Victoria and Albert,’ that I, for one, shall never forget.  Her Gracious Majesty never approved of smoking, and it was only through the kind consideration of the Prince Consort that we were allowed to indulge in an occasional cigar in the cow-house.  The cow-house was a little place fitted up for two pretty small Alderney cows, kept specially for supplying milk and butter for the Royal table.

Her Majesty was very fond of these animals and had the habit of visiting them every day, and the young Princes used to be held up to look in at the window, out of which there was room for the favoured cows to stretch their heads.  One evening we were smoking as usual when I espied a pot of blue paint on the deck of the cow-house, with, as bad luck would have it, a brush in the pot.  I cannot say what induced me, but I deliberately took the brush and painted the tips of the noses and the horns of both animals a pretty light blue.  Having done this I thought no more of the matter.  The next morning Her Majesty—­well, I think I had better say no more about it.  I, the culprit, was denounced and had to keep out of the way for a day or two.  Then it was that the good-natured Prince proved himself a friend, and got me out of my scrape.

I passed two of the happiest years of my life in the Queen’s yacht, after which I was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and appointed to a ship in the Mediterranean, where I passed for several years the usual humdrum life of a naval officer during times of profound peace.