The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-01 00:00:00

person id the world whom any one would suspect
of jesting. Her Majesty used to cha'ge the Lord •
Chancellor with fiirtng with her dangater Miry ;
and the Chancellor iael to reply that he was not
Emperor, King, or Prince, and that, moreover, he '
was married already—a reply which reminds u 3 of
that reported by Charles Lamb of §ix Scotchmen,
who, on somebody wishing that Burns was present,
all started forward on their seats to 'declare that
that was impossible, because Burns was dead. But
we must suppose that Lord Edon, who realty had
humour in his way, considered the above as near
an approach to jocularity as could be permitted in
the presence ef royalty.
In 1814, when the Prince of Orange was in Eng-
land, and his fat er announced his approaching
mairiale withalic,Princess Charlotte, Princess Mary
looked bright and happy, Lerd Malinesbnry re-
corded in his diary what her manners were like
when the charm of youth was past, and the 'charac-
ter of womanhood was marked. He said she "was
all good humour and ple'isantness ;" adding, "her
manners are perfect, and I never saw or coaveved
with any princess so exactly what she ought to be."
And no one living, perhaps, knew more princesses,
or more .of what they really were, than the old di
plomatist. The Prince. of Orange went away, and
Princess Mary. droopeJ. Everybody was saying
that the Duke of Gloucester must be the Princess
Charlotte's bridegroom of er all. But a few months
more put an end the long suspense. When the
Princess Charlotte descended the great staircase at
Carlton House, after the ceremony of Ler marri,iote,
she was met at the foot with., open arms by the
Princess Mary, whose face. is bathed. in tears.
The D uke -anet.Ducblaaas of 6' l ester were :married
in a few weeks—oh the 23d of Jcly, 181 g. The
bride's demeanour was so interesting and affecting
that it opened the sluices of .Lord Eldou's ready
tears, which he declared ran down his cheeks ; but
the Caief Justice, Lord Ellenboraugb, also present,
niust have been in another mood. Some 'persons
were talking in a corner of the crowded room ; and
the Chief Justice called to them, iu the in'dst of the
ceremony, "Do not make anch a noise in that corner
-if you do, you shall be married yourselves." It is
rather pathetic now to think of the details of that
marriage—the crowded saloon—the royal mother
and sisters on one. sidee the altar, and the royal bre-
thers on the other—the bride, though no longer
young, "lot king ,very lovely," in a remarkably
simple dress ; to remember how the scene was re-
lated at every fireside in England; and th;-ii to
think that none of the family, and probably no one
who was .present, survives. No application was
made to Par!iament for an increase of income in
this case The benevolent habits of the Duke and
Duchess had taught them in a prac-ical way the
value of money; and they arranged their plan of
life so as to make their means suffice, and leave
enough for much support -of schools, and aid to
many a good cause.
They lived together eighteen years—the Duke
dying in November, 1834. It surprised n one
that3his wife proved herseT the most assiduous and
admiraLie of nurses-during her husbands de•Aine.
After his death, she livetin as much retirement as
her rank admitted, doing good .itch re she' could,
and universally beloved. She saw the last of her
immediate relatives drop from her side, and her-
self left the survivor of that long family t ain that
used to look so royal and so graceful when return-
ing ;the ',admiring: salutations of the public on the
terrace at Windsor. All that kn.; series of haat t-
histories was closede The wretched avowed mar-
riages, . and the wretched, or happy, or chequered
secret marriages, and the mete formal st Ate mar-
riages, which took place in consequence of the
Princ, si Charlotte's decease, were .alike dissolved
by death. What a .world of misery could th'i sur-
vivor haye told of, arising from the laWamade
in-
comeatability between royalty and the natural
provi,iion for the domestic affeetiona Tice elabo-
rateend publio prep..ration required by VI e Mar-
riage Act in left own care, by which her marriage
was made an act of the s!a•e, was painful enough ;
but her lot, with its-one steady affection, long in
suspense and late gratified, was a happy one in
camparisen, perhaps, With that of any other mein-
-ber of the family ; and many a painful meditation
must she have had on that.piece of enforced
seer -
lation of her father's early and headstrong yews.
Those varloes love stories are bidden now in the
grave 2 • and she who was the depositary of so many
them has followed them thither. There, then, let
them rc t.

But the lesson they yield should not be neglected.
There was a strong. hope that when .our young
Queen Victozis, who was at fulldiber%y, as Sove-
reign,,, to please het self in marriage, had m id) her
choise, this wretcl-ia and demoralising Marriage
Act, always reprobated by the wisest and Lest
men of the time, would be repeale 1. There
were then none left of the last generation who
could be pointed at, or in any way affected,
by such a iepcal ; and -it was thought that
it would ba wise to do the thing before there was a
new generation to introclucedifficul'y into the case.
The opportunity has almost been allowed to slip
from ut. The royal children have ceased to be
children, at least the elder ones. Meantime, there
as .we all kn .w, a wrong and growing popular
distrust, in our own country and in others, of she
close dynastic connexions which are Multiplying by
means of tho perpetual intermarriages of a very few
families. The political difficulties recently, an I
indeed constantly, experienced from the complica-
tion of family interests, involving almost every
throne in Europe, are a mattar of universal feeling
and conversation. Thera is no chance for the phy-
Bice! and intsllectual welfare of coming generations
when marriages take place among blood rely ions ;
and there is no chance for reothlity and happiness
when, under legal or st tte compulsion, young peo- .
ple love in one direction and marry in another.
No evils that could possibly .arise from mar, isges
out of the royal pate can for a moment compare
with the inevitable results of a royal m triage law
like ours, perpetuated through other generations
than the unhappy one that is gone. -Royalty will
have quite difficulties enough t 3 contnd with, all
through Earope, in coming times, wltlrtut the
perils consequent oa this law. Its operations will
expose all the intermarriedroy d families in Europe
to criticism and ultimate rejection by peoples who
will not be governed by a coterie tat :3ersons diseased
in body through narrow intermarriage, enfeebled in
mind,—strong only in their prejudices, and large
only in their self-esteem and in their requirements.
There is yet time to save the thrones of Earope—
or at least the royal palaces of England—from the
consequences of a collision between the great na-
tural laws ordained by Providence, and the narrow
and mischievous artificial .law ordained by a wilful
King of England. The King,is in his grave, and
the.last of his children is now gone to join him
there. Let the time be lsid hold of to bury his evil.
work in the tomb which is now to be sealed
over him and his for ever ; and the act will
be gratefully acknowledged by a long line of fu-
ture ptinces and princesses, who will be spared the
bitter suffering of those who have gone before. It
can never be, as was said by wise men 89 years ago,
that royal . personages Who are declared of age at
18 will have no wilt of their own, in such a natter
as marriage, at five-and-twenty. Marriage is too
solemn and sacred a matter to be so treated as a
piece of state politics ; and the ordinance which is
holy in' the freedom of priva'e life may be trusted
with the domestic welfare of .prince and peasant
alike.

( From the Times. )

•
The last of the childron of George 111. has de- I
parted this life. Her Royal Highness the Duchess
of Glocester, expired yesterday morning at the age
of 81. She was born on the 25th of April, 1776,
and consequently had long passel the ordinary
limit of human life. It is impossible not ti feel
that the extinction by the death of this Royal lady
of a family placed in so eminent a station is a note•
worthy event. There were thirteen chddren born
from the marriage of Geor.ze 111. with Queen Char-
lotte—George Prince of Wales,. afterwards Ge irgo
IV. ; Frederick, Duke of York •, William, Dukeof
Clarence, afterwards William IV. ; Edward, Duke
of Kent ; Ernest, Duke of Cumberand, afterwards
King of Hanover : Augustus, Duke of Sussex :
and Adolphus, Mike of Cambridge. Of the six
daughters three died unmarried, and three were
married. The names in the order of birth Stand
thus :—The Prince=s Royal; Charlotte Augusta,
who was married to the King Of Wurtemberg ; the
Princess Augusta, who died unmarried ; the Prin-
cess Elizabeth, who was married to the Prince of
Hesse ,Homburg ; the Princess Mary, the lady
jest dead, who was married to her cousin the Duke
of Gloeester ; and, finally, the Princesses Sophia.
and Amelia, both of whom died unmarried. With
Bo copious a race there was little danger of a
disputed succession or of a vacant throne. It
ig'singular, however, how few in
.nuniber are the
representatives of this numerous' family in the pre-
sent generati,,n. Queen Vicloria, the King of
Hanover, and the three chirclren-Of the late Duke
of Cambridge are, we believe. now the only sur-
vivors, and the .Princess Charlotte, daughter of
George IV., is the only one who has passed away.
There is, however, happily but' able chance that
the Royal Family of Angland will be ppeoclily ex-