The Sun.
London, England, 1850-10-14 00:00:00

DEATH OF THE QUEEN OF THE

BELGIANS.

We announced the death of this most estimable
lady, which took place on Friday morning, at Ostend,
in our paper of Saturday; but it is only due to the
memory of one whose loss will be regarded by the en-
tire people of Belgium as a truly national calamity,
to endeavour to give a slight record of a lit at once
so valuable and so unostentatious.

The illness under which the late Queen laboured
had been of long duration, dating so tar back as the
birth of her last child, the Princess Charlotte; but
to the intestinal complaint then engendered there
had been superadded within the last two years a
decided affection of the lungs, and a tendency to
dropsical consumption, the complaint which proved
fatal to her sister, the Princess Marie. The
wreck of her father's fortunes, and the subversion of
his dynasty in France, produced a marked change in
her health, and it was observed that, since her last
visit to her parent in England, her condition had gra-
dually become worse. Sheer inability to undergo the
fatigues of the journey alone prevented the late Queen
from being present at the deathbed of her father.
Within the last fortnight before her death the
Qmptoms of the complaint under which the late
ueen suffered became more complicated, and official
bulletins hourly appeared, announcing to the anxious
Belgian population the variations observable in the
Royal patient's health. On the night of the 9th in-
stant the Queen had a few hours' rest, but at six
o'clock on the morning of the 10th a crisis appeared,
and her Majesty fell into a state of complete prcstra-
tion. Shortly afterwards, however, she rallied, and
regained sufficient strength to converse with her con-
fessor. Although exhausted to the last degree
she retained possession of her mental facul-
ties, and at two o'clock on the afternoon of the
10th she received the communion and the extreme
unction. She met her fate with heroic resignation,
and although a prey to the most excruciating pain,
her strength of mind prevailed so far as to enable her
to console her deeply afflicted husband. At the mo-
ment of her Majesty's decease all the members of the
Belgian Royal Family were assembled at the Palace,
where preparations were made to offer up the priere
des agonisants. The whole of the family of the late
ex-King of the French, with the exception of the
Duke de Montpensier, were also at Ostend on the
occasion. As soon as the bulletin was issued, an-
nouncing the death of her Majesty, the utmost grief
was manifested by the people. All the places of
Lousiness, shops, houses, &c., in the port were closed,
and the bells of the churches were tolled throughout

the day. In the course of the afternoon the King,
accompanied by the Queen Amelie and the whole of
the Orleans family, proceeded to the great church,
where mass was performed for the repose of the de-
ceased Queen.
Louise Marie Therese Charlotte Isabelle, Princess
of Orleans, was daughter of the late King Louis
Philippe and Queen Marie Amelie, and was born at
Palermo on the 3d of April, 1812. At the time of
her decease, therefore, she had only attained the early
age of thirty-eight years and six months. It is well
known how deeply the education of his children en-
gaged the attention of the late King of the French.
His family has ever been a model of union, good
morals, and domestic virtues. Personally simple in
his tastes, order and economy were combined with a
magnificence becoming his rank and wealth. Under
the able and discreet management which marked the
early and subsequent education of his family, those
virtues and benevolent tendencies which in after life
constituted the principal charm of her highly useful
career, exhibited themselves in the youthful days of
the Princess of Orleans, and procured for her the
love and esteem of all who came within her influence.

On the 11th of August, 1832, the Princess of
Orleans was wedded to Leopold, King of the Bel-
gians. The nuptials were celebrated at Compeigne.
From the moment she became Queen Consort, the
august lady commenced that uninterrupted career
of boundless Clarity and benevolence which fbr the
last eighteen years has made her the idol of the Bel-
gian people.
An involuntary comparison is suggested between
the character of the deceased lady and that of our
own good Queen Adelaide. Both were remarkable
for their extreme piety, for the extent of their chari-
ties, and the unostentatious manner in which they
dispensed them. Their patronage of the poor was
not simply that of name, nor their help merely that of
the purse ; they personally administered to the
wants of the hungry and the needy. The
quantity of work performed in the Queen
of the Belgians' own family, and by others
under her superintendence, in the shape of
clothing for the poor in inclement weather, was enor-
mous ; and in the ever-recurring lotteries on behalf of
the poor, scarcely an exhibition took place in which
the Queen did not contribute articles of clothing,
screens, chair• covers, and little nic-nacs in Berlin
wool, &c. The deserving never applied to her for assis-
tance in vain, and a great number of our own country-
women are indebted to her for many acts of private
benevolence. But it was not only for her charities
that the deceased Queen was revered by the people.
She was destined to play a not unimportant, although
a very unostentatious, part in Belgian politics. The
King being a Protestant and herself a Catholic, she
coustitated herself a sort of link between the Catholic
13"

►arty and the throne. When the Catholic party
evinced a disposition to exceed the limits enjoined by
ajust toleration, the Queen stepped in as a rnecliatrix ;
and when, on the other hand, the liberal party showed
a tendency to apply too tight a rein to the church,
the same good offices were never refused.
The deceased Queen has left behind her three
children, of ages varying from eleven to sixteen.
They are the Duke of Brabant, the Count de Flan-
dres, and the Princess Charlotte ; one child died in
early infancy. The loss of the Queen will be the
more severely felt, as the education of the royal chil-
dren was under her own superintendence.
The visits of the Queen of the Belgians to this
country were frequent, and her virtues much en-
deared her to her Majesty Queen Victoria.

COURT CIRCULAR.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited
the Queen on Saturday morning, at Buckingham
Pal ace.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert, with their Royal
Highnesses die Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the
Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice, attended by
the Viscountess Jocelyn, Hon; Elizabeth Lennox,
Colonel the lion. Charles Grey, Major-General
Bowles, Lord Alfred Paget, Lieut.-Colonel Francis
Hugh Seymour, Sir James Clark, and Mr. Birch,
left Buckingham Palace at five minutes past eleven
o'clock on Saturday morning, for Osborne, Isle of
Wight.
Her Majesty and the Prince were conducted to
their carriage by the Duke of Norfolk, Lord Edward
Howard, Colonel Wylde, and Lieut.-Colonel the Hon.
Alexander Gordon.

OSBORNE, OCT. 13.
Tier Majesty and his Royal Highness the Prince Al-
bert, accompanied by his Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales, their Royal Highnesses the Princess
Royal, Prince Alfred, and Princess Alice, and at-
tended by the Viscountess Jocelyn, the Hon. Eliza-
beth Lennox, and Miss Hildyard, the Lord A. Paget,
Colonel. the Hon. C. Grey, Colonel F. Seymour, Sir
James Clark, Major• General Bowles, and Mr.Bircb,
arrived at Gosport at about half-past one o'clock yes-
terday, and .crossed to Osborne in the Fairy, royal
,yacht, commanded by Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence.
There was no addition to the Royal dinner party
,yesterday.
Lieut.-General Sir Edward Bowater left Osborne
'yesterday afternoon for London.
EDINBURGH, OCT. 10.

Her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Al-
bert, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, the
Princess Royal, Princess Alice, and Prince Alfred,
left Balmoral this morning at eight o'clock, and tra-
velled to Stonehaven, where the royal party took
luncheon, and then left at two P.m. by the railroad
for Edinburgh, arriving at Holyrood Palace at a
quarter before seven.
The suite consisted of the Viscountess Jocelyn, the
Hon. Miss Lennox, Miss Hildyard, Sir George Grey,
Lieut.-Colonel Hon. C. B. Phipps, Lieut.-Colonel
Hon. Alexander Gordon, Sir James Clark, and Mr.

Birch.
The Hon. Charles Murray and General Wemyss
had the honour of dining with her Majest at
Holy y-
rood Palace.
The band and the pipers of the 93d HighlandErs
played at the Palace during dinner.

Mr. Pressly had an interview with the Chancellor
of the Exchequer on Friday, at his official residence
in Downing-street. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
left town on Saturday for his seat, Hickleton Hall,
Yorkshire.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne left
town on Saturday for Brighton.

MELANCHOLY DEATII OF MRS. MACLEAN. —We
regret to announce the untimely death of this lady, wife of
Donald Maclean, Esq., late M.P. for Oxford (and of Witton
Castle, in this county), in the prime of life, at Castellamore,
near Naples, on the 20th ult. It appears that Mrs. Maclean
was taking a drive in her carriage, when the horses took
fright and ran away, and the unfortunate lady sustained
such severe injuries that she expired a few hours afterwards.
She was daughter of the late General Maitland.—Derby
Alercury.

-- -
DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT ESHER, SURREY.—On Sa-
turday night, about eleven o'clock, a destructive fire broke
out on the calm of Mr. James Alder, West-end, Esher. En-
gines were procured from Claremont and Esher-place, but,
notwithstanding every exertion, no fewer than eleven ricks
of wheat, barley, &c., were destroyed. Two large barns and
the stables were also consumed. Some valuable horses were
saved with difficulty. Strong suspicions exist that the fire
was occasioned by an incendiary. One poor fellow, who was
very active in endeavouring to arrest the progress of the
flames, had his face and hands severely scorched, one of the
burning ricks having fallen upon him. It is stated that Mr.
Alder i. insured.