Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-11-05
THE BIG DRY GOODS STORE.


taken place in Europe since the days of
the first Crusade may be attributed 10
the existence of this law, and even in the
present century sanguinary struggles nave
taken place on It's account. Great Britain
and Russia are the only two countries
where IL has never secured any toothoid'
and neither the one nor the other mas
ever had any reason to regret its SOUND
sense In the matter, since the sovereiBns
who have contributed most largely to the
glory Of the country have been women.
Spain. Portugal and Holland have WITH
In the last hundred years erased the law
from their statute books, and have bene-
dted by the change, while since the
reign of Maria Theresa and the seven
years war it exists only In modified
form in Austria, and perhaps not at all
in the Kingdom Of Hungary.
But II is still in force I'm Denmark in
Sweden. in Prussia, and all the other
federal States Of the German empire
as well as in Belgium. Italy, Roumania,
servia. Bulgaria, and Greece, the ma
tiOnal Constitution Of which, being or
more mushroom character, and drawn up
| Inv enliehtened statesmen of the present
| century, might reasonably be expected
TO be more up-to-date and free from such
Medieval preiudces and doctrines.
Under the circumstances, it must be a
matter Of regret that the Sale law should
debar a number OF beautiful, charm-
| ing and clever princesses from succeed
| ing to thrones Thus. there is the pretty
! Princess Pauline OF WurtemDerg now
i'm her 10Th year. the only child Of the
present King, and young girl whom
| II is no eXaggeration 10 describe as The
national idol.
Yet Notwithstanding the fact that all
the affection oi lne people Is centered In
| her. she is compelled by the Sale law 70
| stand aside and to permit her fathers
| crown TO descend 10 a distant cousin,
born and bred, not IN Wurtemberg, but IN
| Austria.
Although King oscar, Of Norway, Is one
| Of the most enlightened and accom-
| plished of men, endowed with charac-
| ter that can only be described az I'M
blemished, he has not proved successful
ruler.
The fact is that the King. in spite Of all
his talents and his projections, moral
and otherwise. IS entirely wanting IN
that personal magnetism and that pubic
tact which distinguished his homely' ge-
NAL. and by no means so intellectual
brother, King Charles XIV.
The latter had only one daughter, Prin-
cess Louisa. who inherited his quail
ties, and who, In spite of her PLAIN
ness was Just as much the idol OF Doth
| the Norwegians and Swedes as Princess
| Pauline, Of Wurtemberg, IS at Stuttgart
over six feet high, and far from being
endowed with intellect above the ave-
| rage. she possesses the best temper III
the world, and an inexhaustible fund OF
merriment and good humor. and "A heart
as big as her laugh, which has Deen COM
pared to that Of horse
Had she been permitted to succeed hei
| father as Queen Regent Of Sweden ana
Norway. it is doubtful whether the pres
ent conflict IN the sister kingdom would
ever have arrived at the acute stage ana
certainly the loyalty to the throne on
both sides Of the border would not have
reached its present low ebb. But belns
debarred from her fathers throne by the
salic law. she married the Crown Prince
OF Denmark. carrying out Of the country
of her birth all the vast wealth which she
had inherited, partly from her father ano
partly. too. from her Dutch granduhcie
which is estimated O { f5OOOOOO
II Is TO the Sale law that the Kingdom
| Of Hanover Is Indebted for the loss OF lts
Independence and for its absorption DS
Prussia. with all the disadvantages wnlcf
that entails. economic political, and so
ciaI Had queen Victoria not been barred
by this statute from succeeding 10 tn'
throne Of Hanover AT the liihe "noh
aecended that Of Great Britain. there u
no doubt that Hanover would have beer
enjoying at the present moment the SANE
commercial prosperity and manifold ga
vantages which have fallen to the lot o
the English since the beginning OF th
Victorian era.
but. instead. the Salic law made neces
sary the separa ion Of the crown OF Han
over from that Of England, and 1t passe'
in 1897. not TO Victoria. but TO the Duk
of Cumberland. His very first act on sue
ceeding 70 the throne was TO repeal IN
grant of all the popular liberties CONCEDED
bv his Younger brother. the Duke Of Cam
bridge. who had been acting as viceroy
and until 1896, Hanover, although ire
from the obligation OF compulsory mill
tary service and unhampered by an
PrussIan restrictions upon trade re
NAMED a hot-bed OF feudalism and one
the most retrograde States in Europe.