The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-05-22 00:00:00

Cie (stourbribse eirseriler.

SATURDAY, MAY 22, 1875.

PUBLIC LIFE IN ENGLAND.

TENNYSON has written of "the fierce light
which beats upon the Throne, and the sentiment
is undoubtedly true of all who move within the
limits of the Royal circle. The Court Newsman
is a very important functionary, and his
chronicles are daily read by thousands who re-
gard his communication as forming the most
interesting parts of the public prints. What
though some of his records deal with matters
which in an ordinary human being would be of
a common-place character 2 The interest
attaching to any earthly circumstance all de-
pends upon the quality of the personage men-
tioned in. connection with it. Thus it comes to
pass that no one would ever dream of inserting
in the journals an announcement that the son
and daughter-in-law of Mrs. Cireen dined with
that lady on a certain evening. But it is a very
different thing indeed when we are told in the
Court Circular that the Prince and Princess of
Wales have been dining with the Queen. Mr.
Smith's neighbour had been assuring him that
the relations between these illustrious persons
were of anything but a cordial nature; when the
whole fabric of misrepresentation is at once
tumbled into the dust by the official statement
here put forth. Again, let us take such a pal a-
graph as this—and it may be seen very often in
the Court news—" The Queen walked and drove
in the grounds of Windsor Castle yesterday
morning." Mr. Brown reads this in the paper,
and suddenly remembers that, only on the pre-
vious night, in the bar parlour of the " Pig and
Whistle," he was gravely assured by Mr. Jones,
on the most trustworthy authority, that her
Majesty had been alarmingly ill, and that the
most strenuous exertions were made to keep the
intelligence from the public. Brown is a
staunch Royalist, and Jones's information has
kept him awake half the night. He remembers
that dark hints have been thrown out by:iindis-
creet and extreme Republicans concerning the
succession to the Throne. In the silent watches
of the long dark hours he recollects the stories
of destruction wrought in Paris four years ago
by maddened Communists; and in his distorted
imagination, he already sees St, Paul's Cathedral
on fire, the Tower in ruins. the Houses of Par-
liament a wreck, and the Nelson Column in
Trafalgar-square sharing the fate of the Column
Vendome, and being brought level, with the
ground. But as the bright rays of the rising
dawn chase away the shadows of the night, and
flood the landscape in a sea of light and glory, so
the return of the morning disposes of the
phantoms which often enough seem to haunt the
chamber at a time when a deep sleep falleth upon
man. Our friend already feels better. The
fresh morning air revives him. The matter of
fact waves of every-day life again murmur in
his ear. He has got half-way through his coffee
and his buttered roll at breakfast when the news-
boy brings in the paper. The first line upon
which his eye alights when he opens it is that
which we have quoted above. " Why," he ex-
claims„ " the Queen is perfectly well all the
time !" A heavy load is lifted off his mind ; lie
smiles complacently upon his wife, pats the
curly heads of his children, and mentally resolves
in future to accept the statements of Mr. Jones
with a great many grains of salt. The public
buildings and monuments of the capital are safe
from the assaults of a revolutionary multitude,
and the streets of London are not to be deluged
with the blood 3i its bravest citizens.
But the chronicles of the Court are perused
not only by representatives of the masculine
gender. Let a Drawing-room take place at
Buckingham-place, anti note laiw the eyes of a
lady sparkle as she reads : ‘• The Queen woro
a black silk dress with a train trimmed wi h
crape and ostrich feathers, and a long white
tulle V it, suroiounted by a coronet of diamonds
and sapphires." Ituininating,, she reflects that
her lioljesiy is a widow, and allows no time to
dial her memories of the good husband whom
she lost so lona. ago. Then the fair reader goes
on to notice the attire cf the Peincess of Wales
—a dress of roso satin, with reverse of chestnut-
coloured velvet, trimmed with Honiton haetl and
ribbons of pair blip., satill tying bunches of
crimson and roses. Train of pale blee satin
trimmed to correspond. The lady takes all this
in at a g!al.ce, and comes to the conclusion th-t
the amiable. consort of tile Heir-apparent must
have looked ve.y well. Then comes Princess
Christian, with a dress of cream-coloured satin,
trimmed with Irish point lice, tea roses and
brown vilvet leaves ; train of brown Maltese,
trimmed with lave and flowers the same. Only
one more left, and very P,orry is the fair reader
that the story is so soon told : " Her Royal
Highness Princess Beatrice wore a dress and a
train of peaeh-eoloured silk, trimmed with
y)denciennes lace and garlands of Marguerites."
Oft have the inahifo;d glories of the Boyal Draw-
ing-roon, been confesAed, but what must it be to
b.- there P All the time this studs' of splen lid
wearing apparel has been going on. the lady'
husband h s elhaps been waiting to have his
cup re-Ii led with choc late, or a fresh
piece t.f !.uttered toast Prepared. So be ven-
tures timidly to suggest that the city train won't
wait for laiia if he that ready ; but that if bul

wife will descend for a moment to terrestrial'
affairs, he Nv ill buy her some garlands of
Marguerite on her approaching birthday. She
takes the hint, and postpones the perusal of the
long list of presentations until her husband he:,
arisen ani walked.
There is another and a more serious light
wherein we may view the interest with winci!
the people generally regard the movements of
those who are placed in authority over them.
It is written of one of the Prussian armies, when
defeated in a great battle, that while retreating
before the enemy, by whom they were solely
pressed, they gatla red round their Sovereign
with the determination not to allow him to he
taken prisoner by his ~ictorions foes. In the
stormY hour of misfortune, they still hold fast
to the monarchical institutions of their country.
On the other band, when sorrow and disaster
fell upon the arms of France five years ago, the
first thing which the population of Paris did was
to depose their Sovereign and to exile his
family. We have never been placed is such
terrible straits as were the people of France
when the German armies came thundering at
the gates of their capital; but if we were, no one
can believe that the monarch would be turned
out into the wilderness as a scapegoat for the
sins of the people. The shadows of athousands
years look down upon the institution of
sovereignty in these islands ; and although, like
all human organizations, it cannot be perfect, it
his survived the extinction of many a dpnasty
of the fall of many an empire in other lands.
Political intrigue is unknown near the Throne ;
the inner life of the monarchy is constantly be-
fore us; and the way in which its details are
followed shows abundantly that, whatever faults
it may theoretically possess, the time is yet far
distant when it shall he uprooted in the confi-
dence of the people of these realms.