COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 55 



" All Wednesday I was in a state of excitement 

 as to whether John could come to take me to the 

 Coronation, as I had two tickets for the gallery above 

 the north transept. Uncle Fred, who did not intend 

 to go, remained in town instead of going to Rich- 

 mond Park, in case John should not come in time, 

 which was so good-natured, for he would much 

 rather have stayed at home. On Wednesday night, 

 after I was in bed, John arrived, having had great 

 difficulty in getting leave, and came off so quick that 

 he could not bring his uniform. So he was in despair, 

 and sat up for an age, sending to his tailor and Cap- 

 tain Williams and all the world, in vain, to try to get 

 a uniform to go with me. However, he could not. 



" At a quarter to five Uncle Fred and I set off, 

 he in full uniform and such a number of orders, and 

 me having trimmed my last year's tulle gown with 

 gold vine leaves, and got a wreath of gold leaves for 

 my head. We got into the line in Regent Street, 

 and got to the Abbey after six. On the way Lord 

 Glenelg saw my uncle, and gave him two tickets for 

 the choir gallery, thinking we should see better. 

 When we got into the gallery we could see nothing, 

 and only be made deaf with the organ ; so Uncle F. 

 went to see if he could manage to put me among the 

 Privy Councillors, but that would not do. Mr. Gray 

 and Mary Anne were in the same scrape. At last 

 Uncle F. and I went to the gallery above the north 

 transept and opposite the peers. We were so high 

 up we could hardly make out faces, but we saw the 

 throne, and the place where the Queen sat when she 



