From The Spectator. THE MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.

Sharpest in outline and best fenced off is the topmost division, comprising the various members of the royal families of Europe. It is laid down as a law, more stringent than any in the Codex Justinianus, that all these members are ebenbürtigs, or equal by right of birth, whatever may be their political or other position. Thus, the Czar of all the Russias, who rules a territory of nearly eight millions of square miles, being one-seventh of the land of the whole earth, stands, according to the Almanach de Gotha, exactly on the same level with the sovereign prince of Lichtenstein, whose realm extends over a few bogs in the Tyrolese mountains, and who furnishes seventeen men and a drummer to the army of the German Confederation. So well, however, is the Codex of Gotha acknowledged among the royal class, that the great Czar never for a moment hesitates to recognize the little prince, and all his little kith and kin, as ebenbürtig; and should the youngest son of Lichtenstein demand the hand of the autocrat's only daughter, the offer would not in the least be held presumptuous, but perfectly en règle. In epistolary intercourse, the Czar addresses the prince as "Monsieur mon frère," and in every other respect the brotherhood is carried into the smallest item of royal etiquette. But great as is the equality on the high tableland of royalty, immense also is the gulf which severs it from the terrace below, containing the second division of Gotha humanity. There are barons in Hungary and Bohemia a thousand times as rich and powerful as the sovereign prince of Lichtenstein, but woe to them if they should aspire to the hand of one of Lichtenstein's daughters! An ignominious refusal would be the least for them to expect in return for such impudent daring; and, even should they succeed in their matrimonial aspirations, the dreadful Almanach would brand the union as

THE fortunate heir to the English crown is, in one respect, the most unfortunate man of the age. His royal highness Prince Albert Edward of Great Britain is young, accomplished, well looking, thoroughly well educated, generally beloved, and in the prospective possession of one of the most glittering diadems in the world; and yet, in the plenitude of all these earthly and heavenly gifts, can only select his partner through life from among seven fair damsels. Tom Brown, the city clerk, who tries to be a gentleman upon sixty pounds a year, would not tolerate for a moment the idea of having his matrimonial horizon narrowed to such dimensions; nor would even John Styles, the plowman, who works for board wages six days in the week, and on the seventh courts all the girls of the parish, bear the restriction. Both Tom and John would certainly think themselves hardly used if, in this era of liberty, when locomotion is cheap and girls are plenty as blackberries, they should not be allowed to pick their spouses, at least, among a hundred fair ones, so as to be able to thoroughly investigate the comparative merits of black and blue eyes, plump and slender forms. They would feel aggrieved the more, as they are fully aware that the human flower-garden through which they are roving has far more than a hundred queens-of-hearts, being practically of almost unlimited dimensions, and expanding with every step downwards in the social scale. It is only on the pinnacle of the pyramid that the space is contracted until, as in the case of a live prince of the blood royal, the matrimonial field is circumscribed by the fatal number Seven. The land on this elevated ground is measured out and registered by a royal Doomsday-book more formidable than the one preserved at the Chapter-house of "morganatic." Equally detestable, from Westminster Abbey. The book is well known and deeply reverenced as the Almanach de Gotha.

The great modern Doomsday-book, the Almanach de Gotha, divides all mankindand womankind, of course-into the three classes of princes, nobles, and plebeians. The boundary between each of these classes, is laid down and most markedly and distinctly making trespass all but impossible.

the Gotha standpoint, yet on the whole attended with lesser punishment, are breaches of the barrier separating the class of nobles from the vulgar herd, which are held up to public scorn under the name of mésalliances. But the law, in this point, has lost much of its rigor of late, and the execution of it is found to be attended with great difficulties. The more serious, therefore, has been the attention directed by the Almanach to the

royal class, and in order that contamination | Protestant faith. But it happens, curiously should become quite impossible the name of enough that though the majority of Euroevery member is carefully registered, to- pean sovereigns are Protestant-thanks to gether with all particulars, and published the mosaic constitution of the German annually forth to the world. It is in this empire-there are, nevertheless, consideralist, and nowhere else on the habitable globe, bly more young princes and princesses that his royal highness the Prince of Wales brought up in the Roman Catholic creed, must look for a wife. than after the tenets of the Reformed The catalogue of princes and princesses Church. The Catholic princes, it seems, is a tolerably long one, extending over near multiply more than their Protestant bretha hundred pages of the royal Doomsday- ren, although, as a rule, they do not arrive book; and it seems rather extraordinary at quite so old an age. The largest of all that there should be no more than seven the royal houses of Europe, are the families fair ones in the list eligible for the selection of Hapsburg and of Lichtenstein, ubi supra, of the heir-apparent to the crown of Eng- both Roman Catholic, and including within land. The fact is owing to some general their sacred circle more matrimonial eligiand some particular causes. There are bilities than a dozen ordinary Protestant about eight hundred members of royalty in households. The house of Hohenzollern is Europe, all ebenbürtig and legitimate; but itself far more productive in its two Cathothe vast majority of them are in the sere lic branches, of Hechingen and Sigmarinand yellow leaf, past marrying and being gen, than in the younger line which has married. Like English law lords and bish- given kings to Prussia. The handsomest ops, princes and princesses, as a rule, attain and, it is believed, most accomplished to a good old age, far above the average of princess of Europe at the present moment, vulgar humanity. The King of Wurtem- is Furstinn Maria of Hohenzollern-Sigmaburg, the Landgraf of Hesse-Homburg, and ringen, born November 17, 1845, and thereseveral other members of reigning families, fore exactly four years younger than the are past eighty; the Duke of Saxe-Meinin- Prince of Wales. But, owing to the difgen has sat on the throne for nigh sixty ference of creed, the radiant Furstinn is years; the Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudol- noli-me-tangere to his royal highness. stadt has ruled his happy subjects since Somebody in Russia, where people are 1807; and Fürst George of Schaumburg- more accommodating in matrimonial religLippe ever since 1787. The greater num-ion than in this country, is said already to ber of sovereigns of Europe and their fami- be looking out for this paragon of prinlies are above fifty years of age; and the cesses. case is not at all rare of four generations After sifting and distilling the contents basking together in the sunny atmosphere of the royal Doomsday-book with the utof a throne. There are two emperors and most care, the sad fact remains at the botthree empresses in Austria, two kings in tom, that, as already said, there are really Bavaria, and two queens in Saxony, not to no more than seven eligible ladies in the speak of a multitude of retired and reign- world to whom the eldest son of Queen Vicing sovereigns in the minor realms of the toria may offer his hand. The list being so world. Many a page of the Almanach de extremely circumscribed, it seems worth Gotha has to be turned over before the eye while to set forth the names of this galaxy alights, in a maze of venerable sexa, septa, of beauteous candidates for the throne of and octogenarians, on a name fit to match, Great Britain and the Indies. First on the in point of age, with that of the young list, according to rank, stands Princess heir-expectant of the British Isles. But Alexandrine of Prussia, born February 1, the search becomes still more difficult from 1842, the youngest daughter of Prince Althe fact that it is not only age, but religion bert, brother of the king by Princess Mariwhich has to be looked after. The consort anne of the Netherlands. It is unfortunate whom England wants for her future king, for this young princess that from an early must be not merely young and comely, age she had to be the involuntary spectator and scion of a sovereign princely family, of domestic dissensions, which ultimately but must be, above all, a believer in the led to a judicial divorce of her parents, pro

mares have been hovering these thirty years and longer. With Ireland on our hands, and the spirit-rappings of the ghostly "Eastern question," the Schleswig-Holstein connection certainly appears undesira

nounced by judgment of the Consistory of Berlin in March, 1849. A happier home was that of the second princess on our list, Wilhelmina of Wurtemburg, born July 11, 1844, the daughter of Prince Eugene by a princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. ble. There then remains only one more Prince Eugene died some five years ago, candidate to complete the list of the sacred and his children are known to be all well seven princesses. This last royal lady is the educated; but the formidable Doomsday- one whom rumor points out as the destined book reveals that there is much "morga- consort of our future king, Princess Alexnatic blood in this family, and the fact andra of Denmark. Her royal highness that the mother of Princess Wilhelmina is was born December 1, 1844, and is the secrelated to Admiral Sir George Seymour ond child and eldest daughter of Prince would probably act as an obstacle to a Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, heir-expecunion with the royal house of Great Britain. tant to the throne of Denmark, and of The third candidate is Princess Anna of Princess Louise of Hesse-Cassel. She is Hesse, born May 25, 1843, the eldest daugh- described as very accomplished, as well as ter of Duke Charles of Hesse-Darmstadt, gifted with no inconsiderable share of physand sister of Prince Ludwig, who lately ical beauty, standing second only in the married our own Princess Alice. Little is latter respect to the far-famed princess known of this young royal lady; but she of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The union is said to be very amiable, though not in- seems desirable in all respects, except the vested by nature with the "fatal gift of one that Prince Christian is as deeply inbeauty." Princess Marie of Saxe-Alten- volved in the Schleswig-Holstein maze as burg, youngest daughter of the late Duke his elder brother Frederick. He has shown, Edward, by a princess of Reuss-Greiz, is the however, either more wisdom or more amfourth candidate. She was born June 28, bition by taking the Danish side, and as 1845, and her father dying when she was recompense has been elected, in 1853, to be only seven years of age; she was brought the successor of King Frederick VII. The up in great seclusion. The fifth princess in friends of Prince Christian assert that he is the list is Catharine of Oldenburg, born aiming at something far higher than even September 21, 1846, daughter of Prince the throne of Denmark, and that it is not Peter of Oldenburg, "doctor honoris juris unlikely he will one day bear on his brow civilis" of the University of St. Petersburg, the triple crown of a new empire of Scanand President of the Civil and Clerical De- dinavia. But these are matters not needed partment in the Cabinet of his majesty to recommend fair Princess Alexandra to Alexander II. of Russia. Though probably the notice of the British public, though the the British public would not much object rumor of her selection as the bride of the to the doctorate of the father of this royal Prince of Wales has already put the diplolady, the office in the Czar's ministry might macy of one-half of Europe in movement, prove a stumbling-block. Princess Augusta created immense excitement at Berlin and of Schleswig-Holstein, born February 27, St. Petersburg, and caused a panic among 1844, the eldest daughter of Prince Fred- the Jews of Hamburg, who have been specerick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg ulating in Schleswig-Holstein scrip. Here Glücksburg stands sixth on the list. The we only ask that our future queen should princess is known to be very amiable and of be a Protestant, her husband's own free charming manners; but her father unfortu- choice, and not entangled with burdensome nately, is mixed up greatly in that never-political obligations,—and all these recomending, still-beginning Schleswig-Holstein mendations, with beauty superadded, seem embroglio over which the Teutonic night- to meet in the princess.

POETRY.-My Tribute, 98. Garibaldi's Fall, 98. The Battle Autumn of 1862, 98. Farewell, my Son! 98.

SHORT ARTICLES.-Bank of England Notes, 110. Improvement in Lighthouses, 110. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, 120. Saxon Language in England, 125. Mr. Hall's Arctic Expedition, 129. Lady Novelists, 133. Daniel Webster in his Coffin, 144. Pope's Generosity, 144. The Stone of Faith, 144. Earl Godwin's Mother, 144.

PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY BY LITTELL, SON, & CO., BOSTON.

For Six Dollars a year, in advanco, remitted directly to the Publishers, the LIVING AGE will be punctually forwarded free of postage.

Complete sets of the First Series, in thirty-six volumes, and of the Second Series, in twenty volumes, handsomely bound, packed in neat boxes, and delivered in all the principal cities, free of expense of freight, are for sale at two dollars a volume.

ANY VOLUME may be had separately, at two dollars, bound, or a dollar and a half in numbers.

ANY NUMBER may be had for 18 cents; and it is well worth while for subscribers or purchasers to complete any broken volumes they may have, and thus greatly enhance their value.