The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-09-04

rated nom MS father when the young
Prince Albert was only five years old.
/ During the remaining seven years of
her, life, his mother never saw her
children. Her Majesty writes, "that
the Prince never forgot her, and
| spoke with much tenderness and sor-
row of his poor mother, aud was
deeply affected in reading, after his
marriage, the accounts of her sad and
painful Illness" One of the first
gifts made to the Queen, was a little
pin he had received from her when
little child. At two years of age,
"ittle Alberinchen" was described as
with his large blue eyes and dimpled
checks, bewitching, forward and as
quick as weasel" or again, rs Give
ly, very funny, MI good nature, and
full of mischief" The Prince after
wards spoke to the Queen of his
childhood, when his mother was yet
with him, as the happiest time of his
life. He and his brother Ernest, q
year older than himself, were educated
under the direction of Mr.. Flor
schultz. In 1925, aged six, he enters
in a childish diary, ''I cried ut my
lesson to-day. because I could not
find verb; and the tutor pinched
me, to show me what n verb was; and
cried about it."
In 1895, the Prince and bis brother
made little German tour, and in the
following year paid their first visit to
London, whence Prince Albert re-
ported home of the Princess Victoria,
Our cousin is very amiable." In
April, 1887, the princes went to the
University of Bonn, where they re-
malned for the next year and half.
1t was on the Goth of June, 1887, that
Princess Victoria, at the age of eight
cen, and but three months older than
the cousin, who was even then pointed
to as her future husband. became
Queen of England. That the mar
riage was long contemplated by the
Princes friends from his infancy, is
obvious from many passages i'll this
volume. And though, as the Queen
says more than once, nothing had
passed between her and her future
husband till after the second visit of
the Prince in 1929, it is clear that the
project had been made familiar to
both some time before A tour to
Switzerland and Italy was recon-
mended by the King of the Belgians,
in order to divert public attention
from the matter. Further on we read:
1T was probably in the early part of
that year that the King, in writing to
the Queen, first mentioned the idea of
such marriage; and the proposal
must have been favorably received"
After some delay and preliminary
correspondence, on the 9th of Octo-
Der, 1889, the Prince arrived ut Wind
sor, and on the 18th the Queen, hav-
ing previously communicated with
Lord Melbourne, offered him her
hand. An intimation was accordingly
given to the Prince, through Erren
Alvensleben, Master of the Horse to
the Duke of Coburg, who had accom-
panied the Prince to England, that
the Queen wished to speak to him the
next day. On that day, the 18th, the
Prince had been out hunting early
with his brother, but returned at IL.
and half an hour afterwards obeyed
the Queens summons to her room,
where he found her alone. After
few minutes conversation on other
subjects, the Queen told him why she
had sent for him; and we can we'll
understand any little hesitation and
delicacy she may have felt in doing
so; for the Queens position, making
it imperative that any proposal of
marriage should come first from her,
must necessarily appear painful one
to those who, deriving their ideas on
this subject from the practice of pri-
vate life, are wont to look upon it as
the privilege and happiness of
woman to have her hand sought in
marriage, instead of having to offer it
herself. On the same day the Queen
announced her intention to the King
of the Belgians, in letter, from
which we extract the following:
"A1Y DEAREST UNCLE: This letter
will, [ am sure, give you great plea
sure, for you have always shown and
taken SO warm an interest in all that
concerns me. My mind is quite made
up, and told Albert this morning of
it. The warm affection he showed
me on. learning this, gave me great
pleasure. He seems perfection, and
think that 1 have the prospect of
very great happiness before me. I
love him more than 1 can say, and
shall do everything in my power to
render this sacrifice-for such in my