The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-04-05 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.

ten o'clock by special. train from Liverpool, which
town be left at 6.20—a run of remarkable speed. Im-
mediately upon his Royal Highness receiving the news
of his brother's death he made arrangements
for a special train. On arriving at Marlborough
House he found General Sir Henry Ponsonby
awaiting him with her Majesty's commands.

The Lord Mayor of London received during.
Friday evening the following letter from the Home
Secretary :
"Whitehall, 28th March, 1884.—My Lord,—lt is
with great concern that I have to inform your lord-
ship of the death of his Royal Highness Prince
Leopold, Duke of Albany, .K.G., fourth son of her
Majesty the Queen, which took place at Cannes at
two o'clock this morning, to the great grief of her
Majesty and the Royal family. I have to request
that your lordship will give directions for the tolling
the great bell of St. Paul's Cathedral.—l have the
honour to be, my lord, your lordship's obedient ser-
vant, W. V. HAR.counT.—The Right Hon. the Lord
Mayor."
In accordance with this request the Lord Mayor at
once gave directions, through the Dean of St. Paul's,
for the tolling of the great bell, which took place
between eight and nine o'clock in the evening.

A second supplement to the Landon Gazette con-
tains orders for the Court's going into mourning
from March 30th until the 11th My for the late
Duke of Albany. A notice is issued from the College
of Arms, signed by the Duke of Norfolk, Earl
Marshal, to the effect that it is expected that all
persons do put themselves into mourning for three
weeks. Orders are also issued for the wearing of
mourning by the officers of the army, navy, and
marines.

possible, but the fact leaked out, and a considerable
number of persons congregated outside the station.
The Prince, who was accompanied by Colonel Ellis,
looked pale. He was received by those present in
respectful silence, every head being uncovered.

Her Serene Highness the Princess of Waldeck..
Prymont and suite arrived at Victoria Station at 7.55
on Sunday morning from Germany, vici Flushing and
Queenboromgh. The Princess was received at the
station by her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales
and his Royal Highness Prince Albert Victor, and
left for Marlboro.ugh House. Her Serene Highness,
after a brief 'tap left for Claremont, where she
arrived at ten o clock. The meeting between the
Princess and her heart-broken daughter was of the
most painful description.

A large number of letters and telegrams expressing
sympathy with the Royal Family in their bereave-
ment have been received at Marlborough House,
Clarence House, Buckingham Palace, St. James's
Palace, and Kensington Palace. The visitors at
Marlborough House on Saturday were very numerous.
On Sunday, at the various churches and other
places of worship in London, special reference was
made to the death of the Prince, and although the
order for general mourning was not issued until
Saturday night, black was very generally worn by the
different congregations. At the clubs and hotels and
many mansions in the West-end the blinds were
drawn down, in fact, all along Pall-mall, St. James's-
street, Piccadilly, and in the great squares there was
scarcely a house to be seen with the blinds
raised. This was also the case at Marlborough
House, Buckingham Palace, and St. James's Palace.
Flags were floating half-mast, as a tribute of respect
from the Tower of London, the Church of St. Martin's-
in-the-Fields, the Church of St. Margaret, West-
minster, the ships below London Bridge, and from
several hotels and private establishments. Volunteer
corps assembled for drill on Saturday evening were
dismissed in solemn silence. The band of the London
Irish Rifles did not, as usual on Saturday evenings,
play at Somerset House. All the steamers of the
London Steamboat Company had the City flag at half-
mast as they plied on the Thames. The bells of many
churches kept tolling during the day, and in every
qUarter of the metropolis there were indications in
various forms of the depth to which the death of the
Duke of Albany had stirred the feelings and sym-
pathies of the people of the metropolis.

Sympathetic references were also made to the sad
event in the Nonconformist places of worship, includ-
ing the Tabernacle, where the Rev. C. IL Spurgeon
chose a most appropriate text from the Epistle of
James, chap. iv. and v. 14—" For what is your life?
It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time,
and then vanisheth away."

From all parts of the country telegrams have been
received showing how general is the feeling of sym-
pathy for the Queen and the widowed duchess in the
loss they have sustained. Church bells rang muffled
peals at intervals during Saturday and Sunday, and
flags were displayed half-mast high on public buildings
and on ships in harbour. In many cases concerts
which were fixed for Saturday were postponed. Reso-
lutions have been passed by meetings of public bodies
held in the provinces expressing sympathy with the
Queen and the Duchess of Albany.

At Berlin the Duke of Albany's death creates nearly
the same sympathy as would the decease of a member
of the Prussian Royal Family. Immediately on
receiving the news the Emperor, with his daughter,
the Grand Duchess of Baden, followed later by the
Empress, called on the Crown Princess, who is in
great affliction for the loss of her youngest brother.
The Court is to go into mourning for a fortnight. At
Darmstadt the mourning period extends to six weeks,
and the Royal wedding is put off till May.

Several Amsterdam papers publish articles expres-
sing deep sympathy on account of the sudden death
of the Duke of Albany. They recall the happy cir-
cumstances of his Royal Highness's marriage with
Princess Helene of Waldeck7Pyrmont, sister of the
Queen of the Netherlands, and declare that the Dutch
nation profoundly shares the grief now felt by the
august mother and afflicted wife of the deceased
Prince.

initial of the Guelph family, to which Her Majesty
belongs. A low pyramidal car, on which were hung
the countless wreaths that had adorned the mortuary
chamber at the Villa Nevada, preceded the hearse,
which was escorted on either side by soldiers.
The Prince of Wales, in an open carriage, with the
Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on his left, and the
duke (his uncle) opposite, followed immediately after.
All along the line of route his Royal Highness re-
turned the salutations of the crowds in the streets and
balconies. Every head was bare, as the hearse passed,
in fact, the utmost possible respect was manifested.
A long string of carriages wound up the procession,
which reached the railway station at 1.10 p.m.
There a considerable force of soldiery was posted,
which presented arms on the arrival of the hearse.
The coffin was at once placed in a van, the interior of
which was hung with black cloth. The Prince of
Wales remained until this part of the sad ceremonial
had been accomplished, and then withdrew with the
Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the
principal waiting room. All the wreaths having been
placed with the coffin in the van, it was shunted from
tbe siding on to the main line, General Du Plat
remaining standing on the step until the doors were
sealed with leaden seals, in accordance with the
French law. The Prince of Wales, during the
interval between his arrival at the station and his
departure, had purposed honouring M. Leon Rigal,
son of the well-known banker here, with a short visit
at his villa, close by, in order to seek a few moments'
repose. But time did not permit of his carrying out
this intention.

His Royal Highness consequently remained in the
waiting-room, where several presentations were made
to him, and he took the opportunity of expressing in
the most gracious terms to General Thi6ry the satis-
faction which he felt at having the last honours
rendered to his dear brother's remains by soldiers of
that gallant French army which he admired so highly.
To the Prefect, M. Lagrange de Langre, the Prince
also expressed his deep sense of the delicacy and atten-
tion which the Administrative authorities had displayed
throughout, declaring at the same time that he intended
to acquaint the President of the Republic with his
feelings in this respect. Not more than a quarter of
an hour having elapsed from the arrival of the cortege
at the station, the express train, by which the Prince
and his suite were to travel with the body of the
Duke of Albany, steamed in from Nice, and another
fifteen minutes having been occupied in adding a
carriage for his Royal Highness and his suite, together
with the mourning van, the Prince of Wales bade a
particularly cordial goodbye to poor Captain Perceval
and to all his acquaintances, and having kissed the
Duchess and Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha affectionately,
entered a saloon carriage with Captain Ellis. In
the next compartment were General du Plat, the
Hon. A. Yorke, and Dr. Royle, and the suite fol-
lowed in another carriage. His Royal Highness
remained at the window, bowing repeatedly as the
train moved out of the station at 1.40, and thus ter-
minated a painful but memorable ceremony of which
Cannes and the Governmental authorities in this dis-
trict may with reason be proud, for it has shown that
cordiality towards England is not everywhere extinct
in France.