Crown Prince.

Otago Witness, Issue 1861, 22 July 1887, Page 31

Crown Prince.

The latter, like all German .princes, received a, thorough military training. It is, indeed, .almost comic to find that when a babe in arras he was arrayed in a military cloak and soldier's cap ; and that when, as a child of nine years, he stood among sorrowful survivors at his grandfather's deathbed, the Prince had on the uniform of a recruit. By this time, as heir to the throne after his father, the Prince's millitary education commenced in -earnest. A nine he wrote out a report for his father on the condition of the gtard at Potsdam ; and a year later he became sublieutenant, his careful father meanwhile impressing on him the wholesome lesson, " He who would one day command must first of .all learn to obey." The child officer was ifrom the first a soldier in taste and aspira.tion, warmly resenting any departure from military etiquette. One day, when heavy irain. came on during drill, a considerate ser■vant went out with an umbrella ; but while tpushing the man aside the hope of his house remarked, with characteristic warmth, l4 Hast •ihou ever seen a Prussian hehttc't under a thing like that.

But while the Prince was trained as a .soldier, care was taken that his general •education should not suffer. His father, as " true successor of Charlemagne," and as one who also showed "the cosmic, emotional spirit of Goethe," and his mother, who inherited a fine taste for art and literature, took •care that their heir should be instructed by the ablest professors of the day. At the same time, after the custom of his country, the Prince was initiated into the art and .mystery of useful handicrafts ; and hence, "the heir to the throne might have been found in those clays planing and sawing With the Court carpenter, and binding books with the Court bookbinder." In 1815) he took up his residence at Bonn, which appears to have risen immensely in favour with the German .aristocracy, because it was there that Prince Albert and his brother of Saxe-Coburg had so successfully passed.

The Prince visited England at the time of the opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851, and it was then that he saw for the first time his future bride. The Princess was at that time about ten yaars of age; the German visitor was 20, so that there could Lave been no lovemaking, although an alliance in years to come may have been thought of by some who desired to strengthen the bonds of union between two great countries. A certain person who about this time was waiting one day in an ante-room at Windsor Castle had some snch thoughts, for, coming across a view of the Battle of Waterloo— La Belle Alliancehe placed over the battle-scene portraits of the Prussian Prince and the English Princess, an allegory, as it were, of a possible still better alliance than that of the war-time— a union of peace.

"Prince Frederick William paid a long visit to England at this time. He was always more and more impressed with the spectacle of the loyalty of a free people. He admired our constitutional institutions and government. He was struck with wonder and delight to see the ceaseless industry of the Prince Consort. Above all things, however, he was attracted by th« • perfect domestic happiness which he found pervading the heart and core and focus of the greatest empire in the world.'" . The Prince's Visit to Rusria In 1852, then under the rale of the Czar Nicolas, revealed to him a very different state of things. The serfs were virtually in a state of slavery, their sad condition, as well as the discontent destined at no distant day to give oirth to Nihilism and Socialism, made up a marked contrast to what he had witnessed at the English Court. In the same year he visited Pius IX at Rome, when the Pope gave a magnificen fete in his honour. The contrast at the period between the ecclesiastical grandeur and the brutal degradation of the common people there would be even more painful than anything to be seen in Russia. Xt is M. Emile de Laveleye who tells an anecdote of an English nobleman, who, in reply to the question why he hastened away jrom beautiful Italy, replied, " I can no longer bear to see the unhappiness of the «oiaan peasants ; their misery breaks my iieart; they have lost even the human face." £»c readiest way to confirm the heir of Russia in the Reformed doctrines of his ancestors was to allow him, like Luther, to

see Rome and the Roman States. All this time

Tile Itriyal ttaidfen Of thfe Scft-ftlrit h I. •• '-..'l' ... lß ,^i , .I."'' JIM', -h 1!,had been growing in stature -and accomplishmonts,^.ndj,,as may be supposed, shehadnpt bflen. forgotten by the- heir .to tjhe Prussian thrdne. : Princess', .education' had-t been conducted with the greatest care, the ><rV - and also the rmce Contort- liaving themselves clevoled no small amount of attention to their children despite the pressing cares of State. The young people Were Indeed happy in their patents and in their surroiihdings — favoured to a degree rifely equalled) and perhaps never sltrtiasSed 5 in tiastte Br palace. We have pYdol o£ this from mb'r'e than .one *4uirter. The references made by_ the Queen herself reveal to us a picture of domestic happiness which it is delightful to look upon ; while the artless confessions of the Princess Alice concerning what was done ta> make life pass pleasantly and-profitably to the children of the royal household ale no less captivating. When they met hi their German homes, the royal sktors. Victoria and Alice, frequently found their chief pleasure in recalling the scenes of their child hood; •' We both always, say tb one anbther," rUmarked the lattdr-, in a letter to her mbtHer; " that no children ev£r wefe id h&pby, sb 1 spoilt \Vith all the coniifdrts arid enjdymetltS that'chilclreri could Wish £pr 'as, we werje'. j$ usb'drhe Arid. Balmoral—^onieg^of .ttjeir o\\» as distinguished frpm palaces, wh|ph belong to ,the,Sta^er-j-the, royal family appear to haVe especially • enjoyed themselves ; and it was amid the delightful surroundings of the Isle of Wight that the fondparents hada separate cottage erected for their children.

" Thisjjdelightf ul Swiss cottage possessed a real cooking-stove, kitchen utensils, china-closet, small brooms and brushes, to be plied by busy housewives when they awaited with hospitable pride those parental visitors who often came there to see them. These little cooks, when they invited illustrious guests to lunch with them, prepared all the dishes with their own nimble fingers. Once they received AVe'ry learned Sage in their island xiom'e 1 , "a lEffeajb Ghemist, who had 'come frbrn a ra'r"-orE land to visit Prince Albert?. BArdn Liebig afterwards told his Meh'ds h6w charmingly Tie was entertained by the royal 'children when he spent a happy day at Osborne. His Jitfcle hosts led him about, showing him their treasures ; they baked a little cake for him then and therte, using, doubtless, such small crucibles as were not unfamiliar to their gttest, and this cake was eaten with . . . peculiar relish."

The Prince Consort found an apt pupil in his eldest daughter, and one can readily believe that he " delighted in her quick intelligence and lively mind." Whether at home or abroad, the Prince appears to have let slip no opportunity of conimunlcatiiw knowledge; and the daughter At 'A vory early age became inter eft tV'd ltt her father's pursuits. As a.'pMl'd she ever found great delight in Attending ceremonies in which her parents took part, or in accompanying them on their tours. Her first, appearance in public was when the Princc-s and her eldest brother accompanied the Prince on the occasion oC his opening the London Coal Exchange in 1849. Miss Roberts says : —

" A clergyman who was present on that occasion described it to me lately, unconscious of my peculiar interest in it. He could still see, he said, the little upright queenly figure of the Princess Royal, her pretty bows and bright smiles, as, undismayed by the deafening plaudits ol the people, she held her father's hand, and glanced from facejto "face. A glad radiant look came into her eyes, it seemed as if some cherd <6i sympathy was vibrating -within her and stirring her consciousness of human kinship with all those jubilant and kindly people."

The Betrothal of the Prince and Princess

took place in the autumn of 1855, when the Queen herself made this entry in her diary : " Our dear Victoria was this day engaged to Prince Frederick William of Prussia, who had been on a visit to us since the 14th. He had already spoken to Mb Oil the 20th of his wishes ; but we were uncertain on account of her extreme youth whether he should speak to feer himself, or wait till he came back again. However, we felt it was better he should do so, and during our ride up Craig-na-Ban this afternoon he picked a piece of white heather (the emblem of 'good luck'), which he gave to her ; and this enabled him to make an allusion to his hopes and wishes as they rode down Glen Girnoch, which led to this happy conclusion."

The engagement necessarily continued for more than two years, or until the future bride had entered her eighteenth year. So far as the young people were concerned all things continued to go on merrily with the exception of an accident which ,but for a happy intervention of Providence might have ended in deplorable consequences. On June 25, 1856, the late Prince Consort explained what took place in a letter to Baron Stockmar : " Vicky was reading a letter at her table, and was all at once in flames her sleeve having caught fire at the candle' Miss Hillyard was luckily seated at the samel table, and Mrs Anderson was in the room giving Alice her music lesson. They sprang at once to her assistance, and extinguished the flames with the hearthrug. Nevertheless, her right arm is severely burnt from below the elbow to the shoulder. Sir Benjamin Brodie has examined the wound closely with the microscope, and is satisfied that, except on a small spot on the upper part of the arm, the lower skin is uninjured, and that no permanent disabling of the arm is therefore to be dreaded. The poor child showed very great self-possession and presence of mind at the time, and great courage under the pain." The forthcoming marriage was announced to the people of Great Britain and Prussia in the usual way in May 1857 ; and elderly and also middle-aged people will remember 1 the newspaper descriptions of the brilliant scene of The Royal Wcdillng in January 1858. Since that day, however, the Queen herself has allowed passages from her journal to be printed, and from these often times graphic touches we obtain pictures of Court life ■which otherwise would never have been forthcoming. "Such a houseful! Such bustle and excitement!" wrote the royal mother of the bride elect; and well there might be amid such preparations as were in.

progress, when nearly 90 people were found , daily, .around ,t;b.e ro^dl P dihnerrtar%.i . Oh ballsing,, through stheirodmß ftti Windsor Gastle prepared for the honeymoon, the Queen confesses to have been "quite agitated." ,It .is ad,d,ed : , ." We took,a shortwalk with Vicky,, whq.was.. dreamy ups scat this re^ , D]fe . ak jailer -life ;'^ -real Reparation from her childhood. She slept for the last time In the same toom with Alide. Now all this is cut off?' It Is indeed difficult for ordinary people to realise what a time df trial that was for parents su|?h as the Queen and the Prince" Cohort had Been j, ih pick a fcdse m tc# iplpta bftHe Mtlvltles hav§ a mocking rather than a' soothing effect. The Queen's own words best describe how severe was the struggle at parting. " And now the dreadful time was at hand. ... As I came down the stairs my breaking heart gave way. . , . The hall was full. . , , I do not think there was a dry e^e. 1 clasped" he* ifa ihy arrKs and kissed, her, and knew fafcjfc wliafc td say." Otiß SB young a§ the' Priiice'ss tiie'n was \vstiid ftfarfa gfett btihtraat b'e'tweferi .life ih Bngteiid and life in eferlHarty.. THe young couple' were ftelbonied with, an outburst ,<jf . Contiheiitai enthusiasm 1 , -however, an& tiiitL riiust Have seemed like a Boiitiniiatioh b'| M loyal, had greeted themvin t^n^on. Not dnly did the gopd invalid. King (who died about three years later) venture to turn out to welcome his' relatives, but Berlin, with its decorations by day and illuminations by night, assumed a truly winsome face, while all that could possibly be done by private friends and' public admirers to make the Princess feel at ease in the capital of the Prussian Empire, and in the ancestral home of the Hohenzollern princes, was done without stint.

" The sun was shining ottfc of a cloudleßs blue sky ; countless flags ahd banners fluttered in the fregh morning breeze ; the scaffoldings which had arisen in all th.6 wider streets and squares Were bright with crimson cloth and green branches, arid tilled With Well-dressted ladies, T"he foot-passen-ger^ ih hbllday garb, who were thronging ev<?ry space, brought a warmth of feeling, to this, great, sbectacle^ that was c^uite touching", al'rnost overpowering; \o witness. feverv h'6use nild hung out gayc'6lb\irisd siuSs and flags, and was garlanded with green; not only were windows and balconies crowded with expectant faces, the very roofs were covered with people. The air was filled with the clanging of bells and the hum of voices, broken at short intervals by the roar of the great guns. . . . When the court of the old palace was reached, the whole of the royal family came forward to welcome and embrace the heir to the Hohenzollern throne and the Princess from the seagirt isle,"

ffd m continued.)