The Express.
London, England, 1862-11-20 00:00:00

Cbt Court.

WINDSOR CASTLE, Nov. 19.
The Queen, accompanied by the Princess Louis
of Hesse, walked and drove in the grounds this morning.

The Counter of Caledoa has succeeded the Counted; of
Gaineborough as lady in Waiting.
Genend and Madame d'Oxholm have arrived at the Castle.

A Cabinet Council was held yesterday at the
official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury
in Downing-street The ministers present were
Viscount Palmerston, the Lord Chancellor, Earl
Granville, the Duke of Argyll, Sir George

Grey, Earl Russell, the Dace 'of Newcastle,
Sir G. C. Lewis, Sir Charles Wood, the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, the Duke of Somerset, the
Right Hon. T. Miner Gibson, the Right Hon.
Edward Cardwell, Lord Stanley of Alderley, and
the Right Hon. C. P. Villiers.

Viecount Palmerston left town after the Cabinet Council
yesterday afternoon for WiodsorCaatle.
Despatches were sent yesterday from the Colonial-office
to the Governors of Gibraltar, Malta, the Mauritius,
Ceylon, Hong Kong, Labuan, and the Australian C 04011111114

THE APPROACHING MARRIAGE OF THE
PRINCE OP WALES.

A banquet waa given at Wick blot week to cele-
brate the coming of age of the Prince of Wales, at which
the Earl of Caithness presided. In propm,ng the West of
the evening, the earl, who is one of the lords in waitilg,
said :

" When I saw that the Queen in Council had sanctioned
the prince's marriage with the Princess Alexandra of
Denmark I wrote to him a congratulatory letter. He
immediately sent me an answer by return of poet ; and,
though it is not right to make public the contents of
• private letter, I may, without any breach of confidence,
I think, repeat to you a single sentence from that letter.
His royal highness says :
,•I beg to return my most sincere thanks f, Lily
' Glibness and yourself for your good wishes ; and I feel
Dow what it is to be redly happy.'
" His royal highness says further :
" • If I can make the future life and home of the princess
a happy one I shall be content. I feel doubly happy in the
thought that my approaching marriage is one which has
the approval of the nation ; and I only teat thst I may
not disappoint the expectations that have been formed of
ms's

Tan Paiwcz or WALM—Hia Royal Highnesa
the Pnoce of Wales will prepare for his return home to-day.
after his extended tour in company with their Royal
Highnesees the Crown Prince and Princess of Preside.
Since Monday letters and papers for the Prince of Wake
have been directed to Marseilles.

Their Royal Highnesses tho Duchess of Cam-
bridge sod Prtnoess Nary, attended by Lady Geraldine
Somerset and Captain Cost, arrived at Cambridge Cottage,
Kew, on Tuesday evening, from Brighton, at which wets'.
ing place their royal highnesses have been residing for the
last pis weeks.

The Duke of Devonshire will shortly receive a
sues:onion of guests at Chatsworth. The s'iitors will cam.
mence to assemble on Saturd►y.

The Duke and Duchess of Argyll and the Duchess
Dowager of Sutherland arrived at Stafford House, St.
Jamey's, yesterday, from Glidden, Bucks.
The Duchess of Sutherland left Paris last week
for Turin, on her way to Naples. The duke has left Staf-
ford House, for Trentham, StaffordsF-e, for a few days.

The Marquis of Exeter was to leave Paris yes-
terday morning in order to join the marchionew and Lady
Victoria Cecil in the south of France.

The Earl of Dudley arrived at Witley Court,
Worcestershire, on Tuesday, from a shooting excursion in
Norfolk.

The Earl and Countess of Chesterfield, who ar-
rived at Bretby Park last Friday from a :siting the Earl and
Countess of Camerae° at Highclere, near Newbury, left
their seat on Monday, to join the circle assembled at Willey
Park, Salop, on a visit to Lord and Lady Forester.
The Earl and Countess of Ashburnham, who
peeled through town last week on their way to Ashburn-
ham Place, their seat in Sumter, are placed in mourning by
the death of the Marquis of Creadalbana. The late lamented
Marchioness of Breadalbane was sister to the Countess of
Ashburoham.

Viscountess Jocelyn and the Misses Jocelyn
have left tows for Wrest Perk, Beds, to speed a few days
with the °mattes Cowper.

Viscount and Vince untess Lisinnre have arrived
at their residence in Groevenovetreet from Ireland,

Lord Brougham proposes to leave town on Satur-
day next for Paris, as his way to Cannes, in order to pass
the approaching winter at his villa in that neighbourhood.
Lord Crewe has left his residence in Hill-street
forOrewe Ball, Cheshire.

Lord and Lady Abereromby have left Thomas's
Hotel, Berkeley-square, for Airthrey Castle, N.B.
Lord Xlcho has arrived at the Queen's Hotel,
Upper Norwood.
The Countess of Stradbroke gave birth to a son
sad heir yesterday, at 33, Belgrare-square.

The Duke and Duchess of Atholl have arrived
in Paris from Loonies. The Countess of Elgin has also
arrived from London, on her way to India; also Lady
Augusta Bruce, Lady Georgina Grey, and Sir Arthur and
Lady Jenkinsou—sll are stopping at the Hotel Mirabeau.
Rue de la Pais.

It is currently reported that the King of the
Belgians will spend the winter in Torquay.
The first meeting of the 109th session of the
Society of Aria was held at the home of the society, John-
street, Adelphi, last evening. Sir Thomas Phillips, the
president, delivered an inaugural address. He made allu-
sion to the death of the Prince Cossort, and spoke at some
length in reference to the late Exhibition, and the want of

The very arduous task of playing, blindfolded,
ten games of ages simultaneously. was undertaken by Mr.
Blackburn. in Staab/tater yesterday. The play extended
from about two o'clock till inidaight.

THE RUSSIAN REPLY TO THE PROPOSED
MEDIATION IN AMERICA.
The following is the full text of the Russian
reply to the French proposal of mediation in
America :
DIMPATCII OF PRINCE GORTCHAIOFT TO M.
D'OVBILIL, CHAPATI D'AFFAIIIM AT PARIS.
" St. Petersburg, Nov. 8.
" Sir,—l transmit to you herewith a copy of a
despatch of M. Drouyn de Lhuys, which the Duke
of Montebello was desired to communicate to us.
It relates to the affairs of North America, and has
for its end to invite us to an understanding with
France and England, in order to profit by the
present weariness of parties by proposing iu
common a suspension of hostilities. In reply
to this overture I have reminded the
ambassador of France of the solicitude which
our august master has not ceased to de-
vote to the American conflict since the mo-
ment when it broke out —a solicitude caused by
the amicable relations existing between the two
countries, and of which the imperial cabinet has
gives public proofs. I have assured him
that nothing would be more agreeable to our
wishes than to be able to accelerate
the termination of a strife which we deplore, and
that for that purpose our minister at Washington
has orders to seize all favourable occasions for re-
commending moderation and conciliation, in order
to appease conflicting passions, and bring the
interests at stake to a wise settlement. I have ac-
knowledged that these counsels would cer-
tainly be of so much the greater value if they
were given simultaneously, in the same amicable
form, by the great powers which are interested in
the issue of this struggle. But I have added that,
in our judgment, it was necessary above all to
avoid the appearance of any pressure of a nature
to wound public sentiment in the United States,
and to excite sensibilities very ready to be
aroused at the bare idea of foreign intervention.
Now, according to the information we possess up to
this time, we are led to believe that a combined
movement on the part of France, England, and
Russia, however conciliatory it might be, and with
whatever precaution it might be surrounded, if it
presented itself under an official and collective cha-
racter, would be liable to issue in a result
opposed to that ,pacificstion which is the object of
the three oourta. We have concluded that if the
French government persist in thinking a formal
and collective step opportune, and if the cabinet
of London shares this opinion, it would be impos-
sible for us, at the distance at which we are placed,
to anticipate the reception which such a proceeding
would naturally meet with. But if in this
case our minister does not participate officially
his moral support is not the less assured before-
hand to every attempt at conciliation. In
tending this to his colleagues of France and
England, under the officious form which he will
believe is the fittett to avert the appearance of a
pressure, M. de &Leek' will but continue
the attitude and language which by the
orders of our august master he has
not ceased to maintain since tbe com-
mencement of the American difference. It is
iu this sense that I request you to explain yourself
to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, in reply
to the communication which he has sent us.—Re-
ceive, &c., "GORTCHAKOFF."