Year: 1874




noble thinks himself honored by his imperial mas
ter's condescension The young lady added that she
did not think her papa-I beg his pardon; he should
be spelled with big P-would like the sort of
things he would be asked to do in England She
| thought the proposed festivities too popular
Does this sound scandaousi / hope it is, aud
still more do hope the of stories You hear
right aud left about the relations between the
Duchess and her husband, and her husbands fam
| lily, are scandalous-falsely scandalous that is
shall take leave not to repeat those of which no hint
has yet got into the decorous British newspaper.
What would the Gar say If he were kept waiting
Dover pier while we listened to ill-natured gossip
about his daughteri But there is the great fact
that the Duchess of Edinburgh did not so to the
Drawing Room last week-the last Drawing Room
of the season, and Society occupied itself for days
in discussing why she did not go. Discussions of
that sort do not usually err on the side of charity.
and the reasons given were more ingenious than
amiable But on Monday, out came The Times with
this astonishing paragraph in big type:


The absence Of Her ROYAL Highness the Duchess OF
Edinburgh from the last Drawing Room has been very
generally remarked upon but 80 far as we know, the
real though very obvious has not been assigned
We believe have good grounds for announcing that
1cr Dcysi Uchness has honAs of an event that would
her own happiness and that Of the Duke OF Ed
inburgh and which would he most welcome to the loyal
subjects Of Her Majesty, who delighted to greet
every addition to her family. -I


Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Edinburgh
having been married only on the 9th OF last jan
nary there were plenty of prudsh people to excaim
against what they called the indccency OF thus
parading her condition before the world at so early
day. Matronly Mayfair held up its hands IN nor
ror and Belgravia grew red with shame and indgna-
ton. Then people asked, "was that the reason r
Ii the Duchess could not prudently appear at the
Drawing Room how happened it that she was well
enough TO stand about the doorway with her bonnet
on watching the coming of her dear mother-in-aws
guestsi Before this question could be satisfactorily
answered. what little breath we had left was taken
out of us by fresh paragraph which appeared
Tuesday moning-this time not in The Times, but In
every other paper except The Tines, as follows:


We are requested TO state that the paragraph which
was published by cotemporiry yesterday respecting
the Duchess OF Edinburgh was inserted without the
knowledge authorization OF the Duke OF Edinburgh


Without the knowledge or the authorization of the
Duke of Edinburgh Then it must have been the
Duchess who authorized it, and that makes another
Quarrel was the instant comment and it must be
admitted the two paragraphs together have an
awkward look. And can you believe that society
has for some days past been referring to a certain
person as "the little Tartar" and that nobody pre-
tends to be ignorant who is meantf People wiser
than their neighbors undertake to say that it was
from the Queen, by her direction, that the thing
was published. Certain ii is that The Times, the
most cautious paper in the world did not print such
a paragraph without authority from somebody.


One begins to think it were almost as well if the
Duchesss Papa were left waiting on that windy
Dover Pier with only the echoes of the Mayors adj
dress in his ears. Debates about his coming have
not been domestic merely. We have taken political
views also, if you please. So have continental
writer's and there have been plenty of specnlationS
whether the Cars journey is to bring about
closer understanding between Russia and England
For him who has read the history of the Black Sea
business and the Khvan campaign, inquiries of
that sort have great Importance. To be sure, III
was Lord Granville who looked complacently
while Russia tore the Treaty of Paris into strips,
and Lord Granville who acquiesced in Russian re-
pudiation of Russian engagements respecting
Khiva and now Lord Derby is Foreign Minister IN
Lord Granvilles place. Bat that matters httie'
What said at the time of the change i'll the Foreign
Office "a affecting us NAV be said equally affecting
the rest of the world. The spirit that rules English
diplomacy is the same, whoever presdes in Down
ing-st; only the limit to Lord Derby's patience
might possibly under pressure from his colleagues
be reached sooner than the limit to Lord Granvilles,
under less pressure from his. Rightly or wrongly,
RusSla
bv England in any projects she may cherish in
Europe nor hindered in Asia till point is reached
she cannot vet reach. She is scontent-as why should
she not be eg-wlth proving in two grave instances
her mower to do as she chooses 1t is not likely she
coyets au alliance here, that England covets it;
and need not take space to repeat what has been
said in disregard of the most obvious facts and the
known opinions of the governing men of the two
nations. .t


The line of remark in this mornings Times is bet
ter worth notice, though were l an Englishman,
should not take great pride IN pointing IL OUT
What to show the Gar with the greatest credit to
ENGLAND and how to impress him duly with sense
of English greatness, are the questions The Times
puts and tries to answer The Armyf In Russian
ewes it is only handful. The Navy1 The Emperor
"knows all about ironclads, their cost, character,
and capacities as well as we do" land he once had
a distant view Of an English Navy Oft Cronstadt)
He has his Peter the Great set off against the De-
vastation OF Infexible and if-this Is my conclusion


the actual Navy has not suflced heretofore to keep
Russia in order, the mere sight of il cannot be
oxnacted IN do much good What thenf Show him,
concludes The Times in something like despair show
hin, the Mercantile Marine, the Thames between
Jondon Bridge and Greenwich, and perhaps he VIII
begin to believe that "Ships, Colonies aud Ooin-
mercen are the true elements OF nations strength
Nosuch sight anywhere else, and the Russian Inlnu
odn,ires omen waters and boundless navigation. Ii
that fail let him, at any rate, drive through Lon
don and see what lot of people and houses 1t con-
tains. II was the Emperor's predecessor, says me
Trnes who asked, after passing morning in 'he
streets and parks of this capital, where the poor
people were. And it was Bliicher as 1ae Times 1or
oets 70 add. who, after seeing the same sight, e1-
claimed in his blunt way, 4ein Gott, what towh
to riunderw And there was wise man VINO sa,a
to Croesus, when he displayed his treasures nc
who has better iron will some day be master OF all