The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-30 00:00:00

HEALTH OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES.

The following extract from a letter received by
the Crown Prince of Denmark from Madame de Bille,
lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Denmark, has just
been communicated to the Danish Rigodag :—" Her
Majesty the Queen found the Princess of Wales better
than she ventured to expect. Of course her royal
highness is still very weak ; but according to
what the physicians state, a great change for the
better has taken place within the last few days. The
pain in the knee is reduced, and her royal highness
sleeps much better. Last night she enjoyed four
hours of quiet, natural sleep ; to-day she took her
meals with pretty good appetite. Her royal highness
speaks and asks questions about everything with
great interest, and she hi so very happy at having her
beloved mother about her. I saw her for a moment
this morning, and altogether I found her looking much
better than I had ventured to expect ; the voice was much
stronger than I had believed it would be. We hope
that with the help of God the improvement which has
set in will continue, and the physicians entertain great
hopes from the presence and nursing of her Majesty the
Queen. Great care and quiet are still necessary, and it
is probable that the recovery will be slow ; but we
must all be thankful if the improvement will only
continue even though it be but slowly." A telegram for.
warded from London, by his Majesty the King of Den-
mark, addressed to the Speakers of the two houses of the
Rigsdag, and received at Copenhagen on Tuesday, con.
firms the report that the health of the royal invalid
continues to improve satisfactorily; and also expresses
the thanks of the King to the members of the Rigsdsg
for the warm sympathy shown by them during the ill-
ness of the Princess.

The Duke of Cambridge dined yesterday with
the Earl and Countess Stanhope, at the noble earl's
family residence in Grosvenor•place.

TIM Duke of Rutland has for some days been
honoured by the company of the Duchess of Cambridge,
the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Princess Mary
Adelaide, and his Serene Highness Prince de Teck.
Among the company have been the Earl of Chesterfield,
the Earl and Countess of Scarborough and the Ladies
Lumley (2), the Earl and Countess Spencer, Lady Eliza-
beth Drummond, Lord and Lady Wharticliffe, the Rev. F.
and Lady Adeliza Norman, Colonel Leslie, Captain E. and
Mn Drummond, Miss E. Norman, Mr. and Mrs. Welby,
Mr. Gilmour, the Rev. P. Mules, Mr. E. Norman, Re.

Viscountessliolmeadale gave her second assembly
this season last evening, at her residence, in Grosvenor-
square. Previously to the reception the noble viscount
and viscountess entertained his Excellency the Prussian
Ambassador and the Countess Bernstorfr, and the Countess
Theresa Bernstorff, the Earl and Countess Amherst and
Lady Margaret Amherst, Lord Brabazon, Lord William
Hay, M.P., Baron Beck Prus, the Right Hon. Mr. and
Lady Mary Nisbet Hamilton, Miss Moulscy, Lc., at
dinner.

The Earl and Countess of Dartrey entertained at
dinner last evening, at the family residence in Curzon-
street, Mayfair, the Archbishop of Armagh and Mrs,
Beresford, the Marquis and Marchioness of Salisbury, the
Earl and Countess Percy, the Earl and Countess of Claren-
don and Lady Emily Villiers, the Earl of Morley, the Earl
and Countess of Belmore, the Right Hon. Robert Lowe,
M.P., and Mrs. Lowe, Mr. D•lane, Hon. Miss Weetenrs,
Mr. Edward Stanley, &c. Later in the evening the noble
countess had an assembly.

The programme of the Birmingham Festival is
nearly arranged, and will probably include, nays the Athe-
neum,the following principal works:—Mr. Benedict'.
Legend of St. Cecilia, Elijah, Se. Paul, The Messiah of
course, Dr. Bennett's new work (which we learn is maned),
Beethoven's Choral Symphony, Signor Roesini's Man,
Alezawder's Feast, and Mr. J. F. Barnett's Cantata, The
ne4ns4 Mariner.

In and after the examination of candidates for
Woolwich Academy, in January, 1868, no candidate will
be allowed to °mint any marks in the voluntary portion of
the mathematical examination, unless he shall have
obtained one-sixth of the maximum assigned to that
branch of the subject.
A committee has been formed with a view to
organise excursions to Paris at re-lured fares for efficient
volunteers who intend to take part in the Easter review
at Dover ; the excursions to leave London on Monday, the
16th, end Tuesday, the 16th of April, returning to Dover
on Friday, the 19th, and Saturday, the 20th. Uniforms
will not be worn. Further particulars will be published in
a few diva.

Under the title " A Song of Italy," Mr. Swin-
burns le about to publish a new poem of nearly 800 lines.

. --
The Army and Nary Gazette regreta to hear that
Mr. Duncan Gordon 80y.., the only midshipman who had
gained the Victoria Crow, has been aentenced by a court-
martial at Bermuda to be dismissed the service.

We (Army and Navy Gazette) believe that it is
intended by the Admiralty to equalise the pay of chaplains
and naval instructors. This will only be fair to an ill-
paid, and, for a long time, a very neglected set of officers.
Mr. Young himself wrote a letter of self-defence
to the Standard of yesterday, in which he gives an account
of his career, commencing with the following eccentric
observation :—" From muses too tedious to relate, I was
born in the year I799,"—which reminds us (Spactator) of
a philosophical observation in a private diary, attributed
to a living politician when a boy of thirteen :—"On this
day mamma presented papa with a fine boy. The suocession
of phenomena which led to this event I leave for future
investigation."
THE PRINCE or WALES IN THE HUNTING-FIELD.
—Yesterday his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales
hunted with his harriers. He was accompanied by Lieut.-
Colonel Koppel and Colonel Kingacote, and came from
town by an ordinary train on the South Western HIM
which stop specially at Ratchet station to put down
his royal highness and party. At the station yard the
Prince mounted his hunter and rode to the place of the
meet at Mr. C. B. Cantrell's, Riding-court farm, about a
mile distant. His royal highness, after partaking of a
slight refreshment at Mr. Cantrell's, proceeded with the
Hon. A. N. Hood and a very large field, including Colonel
Richardson Gardener, Mr. H. Seeker, Messrs. Stevenson,
Boyce, Pyearoft, Jones, Alnutt, and several of the officers
in garrison at Windsor. to a field on the farm. After
drawing the fields on Mr. Cantrell's farm without finding,
they went to Mr. Stephen Pullin's farm at Wraysbury, where
they found several hares, which gave 1101114) good ringing
runs without killing. They afterwards crossed to Mr.
Nashe's farm at Langley, and soon found a hare which
after a good run got away. In one of the runs the hare
doubled and ran right through the pack without being
killed. The scent was good, and the ground in capital
hunting order. The prince and attendants afterwards left
for town by the four o'clock ordinary train on the Great
Western line from Slough.