Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 3.djvu/28

 NOTES AND QUERIES. [11 s. m. JAN. H, 1911.

word is mentioned of Leigh Hunt's neces- sities until the following December.

In these circumstances it seems likely, either that Rogers may have forgotten, or perhaps in the first instance mistaken, the object for which Shelley begged a loan ; or that the compiler of the ' Table Talk * may have misunderstood the allusion. It appears to be only bare justice to a man who, in after years, was not so scrupulous, to remember that, in the hours of adversity which he passed in prison, he showed a fine spirit of independence.

RICHARD EDGCUMBE.

Edgbarrow, Orowthorne, Berks.

STATUES AND MEMORIALS IN THE BRITISH ISLES.

(See 10 S. xi. 441 ; xii. 51, 114, 181, 401 ; 11 S. i. 282; ii. 42, 242, 381.)

I AGAIN desire to thank all correspondents, anonymous and otherwise, who have supplied information.

Having given a first instalment of Queen Victoria Memorials at the last reference, I devote the present contribution mainly to Memorials of Prince Albert, after which I must proceed to other subjects now demand- ing attention.

ROYAL PEESONAGES (continued).

Hastings. About the centre of the town, on a site where seven roads converge, stands the Albert Memorial. It is 65 feet high, and was erected by public subscription at a cost of 860Z., to the memory of Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. Above the entrance door of the tower is inscribed : " Erected to Albert the Good, in the year of our Lord 1862." Higher up on the same side is a statue of the Prince, represented in the robes of a Knight of the Garter. Above the statue is an illuminated clock. A drinking fountain is incorporated in the lower portion of the tower. The memorial is from designs by Mr. E. A. Heffer of Liver- pool.

Edinburgh. A bronze equestrian statue of Prince Albert stands in the centre of Charlotte Square Gardens. The Prince is represented in the uniform of a. field-marshal. On the granite pedestal are bronze bas-reliefs depicting events in his life : (E. ) his marriage, (W.) opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851, (N.) distributing Orders, (S.) the Queen and Prince surrounded by their children. At the angles between are groups representative of (1) Art and Science, (2) Labour, (3) Nobility, (4) Service. The statue is the work of the

late Sir John Steell, and the groups are by other sculptors. The work cost nearly 16,000?., and was inaugurated by Queen Victoria on 17 August, 1876. On the evening of the ceremony the sculptor received the honour of knighthood from his sovereign at Holyrood Palace.

Ramsey, Isle of Man. On 20 September, 1847, the Royal Yacht with the Queen and Prince Albert on board anchored in Ramsey Bay. The Queen remained on board, but the Prince Consort landed and visited several points of interest in the neighbour- hood. The party had again embarked before the inhabitants were aware of the visit. A subscription was shortly after- wards started to erect a suitable memorial of the event. It consists of a tower 45 feet high, built of granite and slate, and furnished with a winding stairway in the interior. Over the doorway is inscribed :

" Erected on the spot where H.R.H. Prince- Albert stood to view Ramsey and its neigh- bourhood during the visit of her most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria to Ramsey Bay, the 20th of September, 1847."

Belfast. At the bottom of High Street, near the Quay, is the fine clock-tower known as " The Albert Memorial." It was erected by public subscription, was begun in 1865, and completed in 1868. It rises to a height of 138 feet, and was constructed from the designs of Mr. W. J. Barre. On the side facing High Street is a statue of the Prince ; and the tower terminates with a clock-chamber, open belfry, and spire.

Balmoral. On Craig-lour-achin, one of the* most beautiful hills near Balmoral, a statue of Prince Albert stands on the apex of a pyramid or cairn of rough granite blocks. The Prince is represented clad in Highland costume, and bare-headed. His right hand rests upon the head of a large collie-dog standing beside him. The inscription con- tains the following quotation from the Apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon (chap. iv. verses 13 and 14) :

" He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time. For his soul pleased the Lord, therefore hasted He to take him away from among the wicked."

Lochlee Forest, Braemar. At a spot in this forest known as Hall o' Craig o' Doon is a well from which Queen Victoria and Prince Albert once drank. The eleventh Earl of Dalhousie, who owned the demesne, placed over the well a memorial stone,, bearing the lines :

Rest, traveller, on this lonely green,

And drink and pray for Scotland's queen*