The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-01-22
His Two Wounds-A Bullet in Aus
tralia, Cupid's Dart in % oa'
-nr.a .s "a St. Petersburgh. asaogi
THE APPROACHING NUPTIALs.
Sketch Of tho Russian Bride, Princess
.y Maria AlcXandrovna.
LONDON, Jan. s, 1874.

about to marry the Grand Duchess Marie OF Russia,
and who is, In consequence. for the time being
the hero OF European courts.
Alfred Albert Ernest, Duke of Edinburgh and
Earl Of Kent, is the third child and second son Of
Queen Victoria, and was born on the 9th Of Au-
gust, 1874. 1t being tradition in the royal family
OF England that the second son should enter the
navy, Prince Alfred's education was directed
towards nautical studies from the day when he
was old enough to play with toy ship. Had
he been the son OF Fielding's Commodore Trun-
MON, and had Smollett's Lieutenant Bowling been
his godfather he could not have been Initiated
more early to tales OF the and to the mysteries
Of knot splicing sail Mrling and reefng. His wet
nurse was sailors wife, his first servant sailor
and his first tutor naval chaplain. From these
three trainers OF his childhood he learned that the
nrst OF professions was the navy and the British
navy the first Of navies; and had he been inclined
to doubt these facts Marrya:t's novels, which were
put into his hands as as he had passed out of
the nursery, would have been sufncient to dispel
all scepttcism. II is singular enough, by the way,
that Marryatt, who was thus brought into request
to Ore q royal princess marine zeal, and
who has also done 30 much by bis writ
ings to convert other English boys into midship-
men-Marryatt had been IN very bad Odor with the
last Of Brttain's sailor kings, William Nv. First
Lord OF the Admiralty, having one day proposed
his name for promotion and for kniRhth0od, His
Majesty gave start and exclaimed, 'Marryatt
why, he Is the man who wrote against press.gangs
and who has suggested all sorts Of reforms In his
novels. snail do nothing for him." And nothing
was ever done for the author Of 'Peter simple"
and "Midshtpman Easy" Press-gangs were
abolished, and all the reforms Marryatthad advo.
Gated were adopted but the reformer shared the
fate OF many another man before and since who
had moved to ply his pickaxe against abuses.
This, however. US above said did not prevent his
books being highly approved Of by the present
Queen. ~~t r' H'' a-e
THE SAILOR STUFF rs INBRED IN ENGLISH BOYS,
and what with Marryatt's novels, Cooks travels
and histories OF Columbus Drake, Vasco di Cana,
Raleigh, Prince Alfred had more than was needed
to make him long for q sea life. At eight ne was
taught to SWIM ana to swim well, too; at ten ne
could already handle pair Of SOULS and paddle q
canoe on the Virginia water. near Windsor; py the
time he was twelve he could climb up rope lad.
der or swarm up mast as nimby as any OF the
boys at the Greenwich training school. In addi-
ton to this he was thoroughly grounded in mathe.
mates, and his father, with kindly foresight
gave him an excellent music master, saying
that music would be q boon to him in long
evenings on cruise. This has proved to be
true. Prince Alfred is the only one OF the
royal princes who can play on an instrument
OF music but he and his fiddle are household
words in all the British harbors from Portsmouth
70 the Cape, and between them they have helped
to while away the tedium OF many an evening which
must have been devoted otherwise to grOg ana salt
yarns. Prince Alfred was thirteen when he was sent
up to pass his examination as q midshipman, hav-
ing been dispensed from the customary two years
on board the Britannia schoolship. He passed very
satisfactorily and was posted at once to o first
class man-ofwar, the Euryalus, the Queens CON-
mands being that he should be treated exactly like
other midshpmcn-ln fact, tnat he should rough it.
NIDsHIPXAN FRINGE ALFRED.
These commands are invariably given in such
cases. They excite much enthusiasm in news
papers, and are always Loyalty disobeyed. Prince
Alfred had a hammock like the other '.mites," but
1t was sung in private cabin; he dined at the
captains table, too, instead OF messing with his
comrades of the regulation pea soup and junk and
he had an equerry on board to see that lie pursued
his studies and did not get into scrapes. For all
this, being boy of lively spirits and most sociabe
disposition, he was always glad when he could slip
away from the eyes of tutor and cap
tain and put himself on seeming
equality with the middes 1 say seeming
equality, because boys are not less alive to
royal rank and pocket money than their ed RS,
and certainly the young Prince saw no greater
risks OF rough treatment in the gun
room than in the state cabin. The
middies Eoo-tooed to him. laughed at his
jokes, ate OF the good things which his liberal al
iowance could purchase, and could never be quite
prevailed upon to call him Alfred he desired or
politely pretended to desire. They compromised
the matter by calling him nothing at all-neither
Prince, Sir nor Royal Highness-thouph, among
themselves, the nickname they gave him was
"Downy"-an anusion, perhaps, to the we'll
1eathered condition OF the royal REFERS rest In
court biographies, when Queens son is being
sketched he Ia always described as feeling impa-
tient with shose who show him too great respect:
it would be ignorance of human nature however.
TO take this notion Tor granted. Transparent
aycophancy Is, of course, distasteful to prince:
but when q boy is brought up to see bent backs
and smiling lips continually about him, when he is
accustomed to the music of well timed compli-
ments, ne can have no particular taste for the
blun truth which ordinary youngsters are
used to blurt out among one another. A
royal prince naturally gets to feel that
he Is somehow made OF different clay
to the rest OF the world, and al fairly ask
OF him is that ne shall not push this beautiful be-
lief in himself too far. Prince Alfred did not push
1t too far Being so often told he was clever hand
some, witty and irresistible he may not nave
Thought 1t was necessary TO mistrust these sooth-
ing assurances; but his own good sense early
Taught him that 1t would be well to prove his su-
periority by tangible fact now and then, and
when opportunities for SO doing offered themselves
ne gladly seized them. One night, having amused
himself by cutting down the hammock of brother
mldshipman lthe Hon. E. Yorke) while the latter
was asleep In it--an old piece OF fun much reshed
on poard-he found himself confronted by the in
dignant invitation OF Mr.. Yorke to "peel or his
Jacket and fight" The invitation was accented
there and then, and the two habit ont comfort.
ably among the guns until separated by
the marine sentry, who only hurried UP,
however, when each had a black eve and
a bloody nose. This little incident made fast
friends Of Prince Alfred and Mr.. Yorke, VINO later
became his antagonists equerry, ana it served to
make the Prince highly popular in the Euryalus.
But another escapade which occurred soon after
occasoned still greater satisfaction to the iniddies
The Euryalus being in the port OF Cronstadt one