The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-02-07 00:00:00

A STORY OF THE EMPRESS OF
RUSSIA.

The marriage of the illustrious lady who now lies ill
at Cannes was almost a romance (says the Echo). In
1831, when the present Czar was twenty. three years of
age, a list was prepared at St. Petersburg of marriage-
able German princesses, and under the care of Count
Orloff the Czarevitch went to visit them. He had
been to Berlin and the Courts of North Germany, and
was on his way to Carlsruhe when he arrived at
Frankfort. The Prince was about to resume his
journey, when he received an invitation horn the
Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt to dine at the
Palace of Darmstadt. As a matter of courtesy
only the invitation was accepted, and after dinner
the Court adjourned to another roma for tea. There
the Russian Ccelebs in search of a wife saw a young
lady of sixteen accompanied by her governess, whose
appearance was so charming by its simplicity that he
inquired who she was. The Princess Mary was the
daughter of his host, but her name was not upon the
St. Petersburg list. Presently the Royal and lasperiAl
personages proceeded to the drawing.room, where
Alexander asked to be presented to the attractive
girl, and a long conversation with her confirmed his
first impressions. Next morning Count Orloff in-
formed the Prince of the arrangements for proceeding
to Baden. "My dear Count," said the Grand Duke,
"we shall go no further: I have made my choice ; my
tourney is finished." Orloff had not suspected how
matters stood, and expostulated. The Princess of
Baden had not been seen, the name of the Princess
Mary of Hesie was not on the list. Alexander would
go to Carlsruhe if politeness required, but he had made
up his mind to marry none other than the Princess
Mary, When the news reached St. Petersburg the en.
tourage of the Emperor endeavoured to prevent this mar-
riage ; but Nicholas was tenderly attached to his son, and
would not allow him to, be thwarted in an affair of the
heart. An old diplomatist, the Count de Reject, tells
this story in his unpublished memoirs. The Czarevitch
married. the Princess Mary a few months later.
Eleven years after this the same writer saw the
Czarevna at KrasnoseSelo, watching through the
Palace window the first guard of her eldest sou at the
door of his grandfather's palace. Heavy rain was
falling; the little fellow had put on a big soldier's
cloak, in which he marched to and fro with difficulty,
and the mother's heart was anxious about the exposure
of her firstborn. Thirteen years later still, and all the
careful nursing of the Empress did not suffice to save
the life of this same son, who died at Nice, after
putting his brother's hand in that of his own betrothed,
the Princess Dagmar of Denmark. So there are
romances of love and sorrow beneath the etiquette and
glitter of Courts,

In consequence of the large number of forged notee
oi the German Imperial Bank which have of late been put
WO circulation, the Berlin authorities have, according to
the Krenz Zeitung, determined to call in all the existing
pant% In their place there will be issued new notes of en-
fresh designs. The material to be used is the Wilcox
vegetable fibre paper, experience in the 'United States having
lawn gut to be the mat effective &ohms tomato.