Balmoral, October 6, 1879

At ten minutes past four drove with the Empress Eugenie [The Empress was staying at Abergeldie, to which I had urged her to come for a little quiet and change of air after her terrible misfortune. ] (who had driven up from Abergeldie) in the victoria to the Glen Gelder Skid, or Ruidh na Brian Righ (the Queen’s Shiel). The evening was perfectly beautiful, warm, and clear, and bright. The Empress was pleased with the little Shiel, which contains only two small rooms and a little kitchen. It stands in a very wild solitary spot looking up to Jochnagar, which towers up immediately above the house, though to reach Lochnagar itself would take a very long time. We walked on along the footpath above the Gelder for a mile and a half, the dogs, which had come up, following us, and the Empress talked a great deal, and most pleasantly, about former times.

When we came back to the little Shiel, after walking for an hour, we had tea. Brown had caught some excellent trout and cooked them with oatmeal, which the dear Empress liked extremely, and said would be her dinner. It was a glorious evening—the hills pink, and the sky so clear.

We got back at twenty minutes past six, and the Empress drove back to Abergeldie with her lady.