'She is as merry
and playful as a kitten,' wrote Sir John Campbell.... 'She was in great
spirits, and danced with more than usual gaiety a romping, country-dance
called the Tempest.' An observant writer of this date says: 'She had a
fine vein of humour, a keen sense of the ludicrous; enjoyed equestrian
exercise, and rode remarkably well.'
N. P. Willis, the American poet, who saw her on horseback in Hyde Park,
said: 'Her Majesty rides quite fearlessly and securely; I met her party
full gallop near the centre of the Rotten Row. On came the Queen on a
dun-coloured, highly groomed horse, with her prime-minister on one side of
her, and Lord Byron on the other; her _cortege_ of maids of honour, and
lords and ladies of the court checking their spirited horses, and
preserving always a slight distance between themselves and Her Majesty.
... Victoria's round, plump figure looks exceedingly well in her
dark-green riding dress.... She rode with her mouth open, and seemed
exhilarated with pleasure.' James Gordon Bennett, who saw her at the
opera, describes her as 'a fair-haired little girl, dressed with great
simplicity in white muslin, with hair plain, a blue ribbon at the back....
Her bust is extremely well proportioned, and her complexion very fair.
There is a slight parting of her rosy lips, between which you can see
little nicks of something like very white teeth.
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