The morning call., 1894-04-21
THE ROYAL MARRIAGE.

"A
1t is long time since Europe witnessed
so splendid marriage as the one which
took place on Wednesday at Coburg, in
Germany. The parties were of the highest
royal extraction. The groom was Grand
Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse. son oil the
Duke Louis who married Queen Victoria s
daughter Alice. and whose married life is
SO pathetically described in the memoirs
of that unfortunate Princess. He is 2t
years old, the age at which it is the fashion
to marry young prince and is an officer
in the Imperial Foot Guards-a bright,
dashing, pleasant young fellow. The
bride is Victoria Melita, daughter of that
son of Queen Victoria who used to be
known as the Duke of Edinburgh. and is
now the Duke of SAKE CObnrg. Gotha.
Her mother was the Grand Duchsss Marie,
daughter of the last and sister of the pres
ent Gar She was borE eighteen years
ego at Malta, when her father was in
command of the fleet at that station
whence her name. Melita. Here is royal
blood On both sides.
To see such a distinguished couple made
one royalty focked en- masse. Queen
Victoria, in her chateau at Florence,
planned the whole ceremony, being more
familiar than any one else with the rules
of royal etiquette and court usage. She
sat in an armchair throughout the wed
ding, narrowly watching the performance.
She was received at the door of the chapel
by her son, the Grand Duke of Coburg,
and was escorted by him to a seat next to
her grandson. the Emperor OF Germany.
with whom the venerable monarch entered
into a lively conversation. On the other
side of the Emperor sat the brides mother,
the pet daughter of the late Gar. who had
so narrow an escape from being blown up
by his side in the explosion at the Winter
Palace.
When these august personages had taken
their seats the capelmeister touched the
keys Of his organ and the Emperor William
and the Duchess of Coburg. who had left
their seats to re-enter by the main door.
led the wedding procession up the aisle.
Behind them came the DoWager Empress,
mother of the present and widow of the
late Emperor. walking alone. Then came
the Prince Of Wales, uncle of the bride,
and the CZarewitch, her cousin. After
these followed the groom. who, in the fash
ionable slang of the day, was supported"
by bis uncle and his brother-in-law. Last
of all came the bride. leaning on her faith
er's arm, and with her brother and her
sisters following her. According 10 cur
usage she should have found her iance at
the altar rail waiting for her, but he fol-
lowed him up the aisle, and the party de-
ployed when they got TO the rail-. There
were no bridesmaids; the brides train was
carried by her sister. She was dressed in
plain white silk.
In the body Of the church were members
of the German. English and Russian no.
bility with their wives, all in their most
splendid clothes. The little chapel fairly
rustled with titles. orders and jewels. So
many diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emer-
aids ana pearls were Showered on the bride
that she could set up jewelry-store.
Queen Victoria. whose special function
it is to arrange royal marriages, is evil
IDENTIFY no believer in the theory of crossing
strains of blood. She seems to think that
nothing can be better than the blood
which flows in her veins, and that the
more other personages get Of IL the better
for them. The children TO be born of this
marriage will be her grandchildren on
both sides; the father is her daughters
son. the mother her sons daughter. If
there be any faint in her blood these hu-
man beings yet to be born are likely to in
beritit. Their blood inheritance from their
immediate parents will be dubious. The
Hesse who married the Princess Alice was
not nice person. aud was quite unworthy
of the lovely wife he won. She had only
been a short time in her grave when be
took to his arms morganatic spouse. OF
the Duke of Edinburgh the English have
had nothing good to say. except that he
is an expert fiddler. He has the reputation
of being mean, ayaricious and dull. II
thers is anything at all in the laws of
heredity the future family of Hesse will
hardly shine in the world.
The Queens devotion to family inter-
marriages is the stranger as she has all
round her proofs OF their baleful effects.
Never did a family go so utterly TO moth
ingness as the Bourbons-a line which
ended with Don Carlos the Fretender !;
and the Count of Chambord may we'll be
said to have expired. The family of Or
leans produced many distinguished men,
not the least being Louis Philippe. to
whom history has never done justice; but
his sons showed a decline in the quality of
the blood, and their children have seem
ingly got down to the bottom level. 1t
seems, however, to be the fate of royal
houses to demonstrate the unwisdom of
hereditary institutions by their practice
of intermarriage.