Connecticut western news., 1875-03-05

This be my creed for friend or foe
 Gather the roses as you go. ..+
 =---= ss i.l.. e $- A ROYAL LOVE STORY. te
 On the 26th of August, 1919, boy was born at the Rosenau, the summer residence of Ernest, Duke of Saxs- Coburg -Saalfeld, who was destined to play an important part in the world. He was furnished at christening with long list of names, after the fashion of royalty Francis Charles Augustus Albert Emanuel-but in the household was known simply as Albert, and in later years as Prince Albert, the consort of 1 the Queen of England. The birth of a prince or princess at one of the in- numerable petty courts that once divided Germany between them, before the na- l ton had become consolidated into an empiro, was, as rule, a matter of very little importance to the great world out side; and but for tho influences that made him the husband of Queen Vic toria, Prince Albert would in all proba- bihty have been reckoned with the vast multitude of German royal personages who lived undistinguished but blameless lives, and whose record is found only in the pages of the " "Almanaeh do Gotha.p A different and happier yiht8 awaited the anniable and large-hearted boy, whose t story is so well told in Theodore Mar 1 tins '"Iife of the Prinee Oonsort,'' the first volume of which has just been pub ished by Smith, Elder k& sCo London. The work was undertaken by Mr. Martin in compliance with the express desire of the widowed Queen, who Ipiaced much very interesting material m bis hands His pertraiture of the Prince is most attractive, and will enable the grunbhng 1 British public to understand better the Eprolonged sorrow of the Queen, which it has viewed almost with resentment
 His was rare and excellent nature, royal not only by the accident of birth, but by every moral and intellectual quality which men deem admirable. Americans have every reason to honor bis memory. It was his wise counsel, almost the closing act of his ife, that averted war between this country and England when the Trent affair reused national passion to fever heat, and when the Queens ministry were not unwilling to preeipitate hostilities
 Albert was the second son of his pa- rents. His only brother, Ernest, now Duke of Sa1e-C Coburg. Gotha, was born a little more than Q year. before Both the l young princes were sdistinguished by i their preoocity. ATheabeauty, gentaeness, and viyacity of Albert seem, however, to have made him the favorite. As child his beauty was remarkable. In 1921 the Dowager Duchess of Coburg writes of l him to- the Duchess of Kent, fhe mother of Victoria: " Little Alberinchen, with his large blue eyes and Idinpled cheeks, IS bewitching, forward, and quick as & weasel He can already say everything. Ernest is not nearly as pretty, only bis l intelligent brown eyes are very fine; but he is tall, active, and very clever for his age" And again, a few weeks later '' The little fellow is the pendant to the pretty cousin (the Princess Victoria), very handsome, but too slight for boy; lively. very funny, all good nature, and full of mischief"
 Like his mother in person, and re- sembling her also in quickness, Iyiyacity, and playfulness, Albert was her favorite child, and she made no secret of her pre- \ ference. But this was'not to last. i The Duchess was not only beautiful, but ex- ercised great charm through her inteli- gence and kindness of heart. With Q habit of viewing men and things in a drou and humorous way--characteristics tn which, the Prince strong resembled her-she wasA general favorite inso ciety. Bnt her welded life, which commenced under the fairest auspices, proved un- happy. In 1924 a seperation, followed by divorce in 1926, was arranged be- tween the Duke and herself, but not be- fore she had established hold upon the affections of her children which, although they never saw her again, remained with them to the last. z She died at St.. Wen- del, in Switzerland, in 1881, at the age of thirty two, after alonga and painful illness. "The Prince,' writes the Queen, never forgot her, and spoke with much tender ness and sorrow of his poor motber, and was deeply affected in reading, after his marriage, the accounts of her sad and painful illness" All that could be done to compensate the loss of mothers presence and care was done by the ;, grandmother of the princes, who con- tinued to watch over them with a twofold tenderness. Their education was of the btoad, general character best suited to their position, and included history, geography, mathematics, philosophy, religion, Latin, and the modern Euro pean languages, relieved by the study of music. and drawing, for both of which the Prince early showed a marked inclina- ton. His father was an ardent sports nan, and the two brothers as they grew 1 up took an eager interest in the sports of the field and forest, which in Germany are the prescriptive pastime of their class. Albert, though an excellent shot. enjoyed them, however, chiefly for the sake of exercise and for the pleasures of the scenery into which they carried him.
 The house of Coburg was intimately related by marriage with the royal fam fly of England. In 1916 Prince Leo pold, the youngest brother of Prince AL bert's father, had married the Princess Charlotte, then presumptive heiress to the English throne. After her untimely death the Duke of Kent married the youngest sister of the Duke of Cobarg, and on the 24th of May, 1819, she pre- sented him with Q. daughter, who was destined to become Queen of England. But long before it was known that she would ascend the throne the idea of her marriage with one of her Coburg cousins had taken such root in the family that Prince Albert's nurse was in the habit lsof prattling to her infant charge, when he was only three years old, Of h1s des- tined bride in England. In 1886 there was no longer any doubt as to. the sue cession of the Princess Victoria to the throne, and already several aspirants for her hand were in the fold. King Leo pold, her uncle and loved adviser in all matters, greatly desired her marriage to Prince Albert :; but he also desired that the union should be one of affection, and not merely one of political expediency. He therefore arranged with the Duchess . | 0% Ka,o4 AI,oA zI slE