The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-11-04
From the London Globe.

From the London Globe
 1 HE serious disagreement between Vp his Majesty, the King of the
 Belgians. and his daughter. the Princess stephenie. had made a some what painful impression on the public mind which a recent occurrence has tend cd to increase. Avoiding details of the painful story which shattered the Princess's dream of oonjugal happiness, suffice 1t to say that she hoped and be- iieved the time had come when she might legitimately look forward to a union with one on whose love and devotion she could rely Europe heard without surprise that she had voluntarily retired from the att fractions of the Court of Vienna to seek repose in private life.
 The Emperor Francis Joseph, who him. self has been so severely tried by adver- sity, both as sovereign and head of a family, had given his consent to the sec ond marriage of his daughter-in-iaw, and the belief was allowable that the King of the Belgians would be equally con- senting. One might ask therefore, if there may not be some other reason to account for the disagreement between father and daughter. there being no oues- ton in this instance of dynastic interests at stake while every sovereign ruler in Europe has seen princely marriages con- tracted outside of regal conventions. A morEanatic wife has no dynastic rank, while the children of such marriage can not, in any circumstances, lay claim to the crown. In this way have reigning families found the means of consolidating their heartfelt desires in one direction with dynastic ambition in the other.
 Louis XIV. contracted a clandestine carriage with Mme. Maintenon at night time, there being no official record ex- tant of the fact. Victor Emanuel also married morganaticaliy the Countess Mi- rafiores, by whom he had two children. For long time. he had been attached to her as the beautiful Rosina, daugh- ter of a gamegeeper. During long ill- ness when his wife was considered to be in danger and on account of con- scientious scruples, he was anxious that this marriage should be legitimatized by the church, and it was by a monk that a nuptial blessing was given 1t, although 1t had never been ratified by civil con tract. In Italy, as In France, a marriage to be essentially regular must be both civil and religious. In after years Victor Emmanuel was anxious to free this mar riage from its clandestine character, but he had to contend against the immutable opposition of his ministers, who pointed out to him that in his case the marriage being recorded in the royal register, his wife would have to rank as queen. So the matter remained in abeyance. and was not settled at the time of his death The Duchess of Genoa, a widow, and sis ter of victor Emmanuel IT., and by birth Princess of Saxe married Count Rapallo an equerry in her late husbands service. They lived happily together for many years afterward in the palace of Turin where their matrimonial status was known by everybody; but at official cer- emonies Count Rapallo only figured. as a chamberlain in waiting on his wife, a capacity which necessitateu great tact on his part. e
 These morganatic marriages are the more complicated when a hereditary prince rather than a princess is in ques- tion, inasmuch as 1t is a matter of suc- cession which has to be considered. In