New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-01
mot MADE IN HEAVEN"
ROYAL AND IMPERIAL MARRIAGES.

Prince William Of Luxembourg receives conflrma-
ton. For in that case her name may be added to
the long list OF royal and imperial personages
whose affections and whose domestic happiness have
been sacrificed 10 political cons erations That
the projected union is entirely due TO the latter is
manifest, and il would be idle to pretend that
Cupid had taken any part in the negotiations
The Prince and Princess have never until now en-
joyed any opportunity whatsoever Of making one
another's acquaintance. owing to strained relations
which existed between the court Of Berlin and
Prince VIII ams father since the annexation Of TIE
latters Duchy OF Nassau by Prussia at the close
of the 1866 war. Moreover while the Princess is
in her nineteenth year, and more homey even than
her sister the Crown Princess OF Greece the husband
who is stated to have been chosen for her is an
elderly and dissipated man Of over forty. He is
very fat. enjoys more or less deserved reputa-
ton If being good humorcd and devotes his whole
time as well as a considerable portion of his enor
nous wealth to the pursuit of selfish pleasures that
are more gross than delicate. Far more Of a gour
mand than of a gourmet, his life at any rate until
few weeks ago. has been dissolute in the extreme.
and marked by long and almost uninterrupted
succession Of scandals which have rendered him
unpleasanty conspicuous among the most dis
sipated Princes OF the present era. This is the
man to whom Princess Margaret. young girl
stlll IN her teens, delicately and carefully reared
amidst surroundings of the most elevated moral
and religious character, is to be sacrificed by her
brother Emperor William for the sake of incorpor-
ating more thoroughly and more indissolubly into
the German Empire the Grand Duchy of LuXem-
burg, which ever since the dismantlcment of it,
fortress continues to rank as one of the most i'm
portant strategical points in Europe.
Royal marriages, l am sorry to say, are not as
a rule based upon love although there are some
notable exceptions. Chief among the latter are
that of the Emperor of Austria and of the late
Gar OF Russia. In each of these cases other
brides had been selected for them than tl,ose
which they insisted on leading to the altar.
Francis Joseph had been afanced by his rela-
tvcs and by his political advisers TO the elder
sister OF the beautiful woman whom he ultimately
married, and who was a mere schoolgirl at the
time when he fell in love with her
Nor was Alexander III Of Russia permitted TO
wed the Princess Marie of Iesse without encounter
ing great opposition. For the gravest doubts pre-
vailed as to her legitimacy, and the Grand Duke
Louis III of IIesse actually refused TO recognize
her as his daughter or to permit her to appear as
such at his court until the infatuation of the
Russian heir-apparent in this royal Cinderella
led him to accord her tardy recognition.
Other love matches have been those of Queen
Victoria and Prince Albert, of the Prince and
Princess Of Wales, of the Duke and Duchess of
Edinburgh, Of the Emperor and Empress Frederick
Of Germany, Of the Crown Prince and Crown
Princess of Greece, Of the late King Alfonso of
Spain with his first wife, the lovely Queen Mer-
cedcs, OF Archdukc Frederick of Austria, and of
Prince Henry of Prussia.
The marriages de CONVEYANCE potiGue" as
they are described in diplomatic phraseology are
far more numerous and constitute large ma orty
Of the matrimonial alliances contracted by princes
and prncesses of the blood Thus for instance,
the marriage of the present Gar. although it
has brought him so much domestic happiness, was
not by any manner Of means love match
at the time Of its celebration. His bride had
previously been bctrothcd to his elder brother
Nicolas The latter bore a striking resemblance
TO his beautiful mother: he possessed the same del
icatc clcar-cut and refined features, and the
slender, elegant and graceful figure His physical
graces were par with those of his mind. Witty,
clever and sparkling his kindly epgrams and his
charming verses remain to this day as an illus
tration OF his brilliancy of intellect. He was an
ideal lover and under the circumstances it was
not astonishing that his betrothed should have
been passonatey attached to him. Her grief
at his death was intense, and it certainly not
love which caused her just one year later TO give
her hand at the altar 10 his younger brother. She
only parted from the medallion containing her
dead lovers hair and portrait which she wore
round her throat wher she donned her wedding
dress on the morning of her marriage to Alexander
iii. The latter, too, appeared during the whole
period preceding the wedding TO see his dead
brothers. spectre arising perpetually between HIM
self and the fair lady whom the eXigences of
national politics required that he should make
his wife. For, during the entire courtship-1
courtship indeed it can he called-he avoided
ever being en- tetc-a-tete with the Princess, or
meeting her except on official occasions. lt was TO
lis Younger brothers Vladmer and Alexis that he
left the duty of representing him at all other times
by the side OF his future wife.
Nor was the marriag" Of King llumbert or Italy
one of affection and inclination. Tor al'er only
a few months of welded life Princess-now Queen
Marguerite was forced TO invoke the Intervention
Of her burly fathcrn-aw TO protect her from the
indignty tn which she was subjected by her nus
bands undisguscd preference for a lady of the
Cour, The old King, moved possibly by the threats
Of his lovely daughter-n-aw 10 return TO her
mother. dismissed the obnoxious lady, famous
nuchcss. from her post in the Royal Household.
and comma dcd her to travel" that is. 10 leave
the kingdom for awhile Time however has i'm
nroycd the once unpleasant relations between this
royal couple, and although King IIumbert mourned
with all the grief of parent the death last
December Of the son of the Duchess above men
toned yet to-day Queen Marguerite and himself
arc on the whole excellent friends.
Still less of love match was the marriage OF
Prince Napoleon TO Princess Clothilde, sister OF
King IIumbcrt. 1t contracted solely Tor the
purpose of consolidating the alliance between Italy
and France the eve of the war with Austria IN
1852 and there not even the slightest preteNt
of affection either side. The princess was then,
and still remains. the most lll-iavored ana
most pious lady Of royal or imperial blood In
Europe and declined to consent to the match until
her father as well as his Prime Minister, Count
Cavour. had soemnly assured her that the marriage
was indispensable to the national welfare ano
noiticol future of Italy, Only fortnight was