HOME TALE.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume IX, Issue 445, 10 January 1867, Page 3

HOME TALE.

(From the Home News, 26th October.) The Temple, 26th Oct. Our Queen is still in favored Scotland. Her Majesty was pleased to select this part of her dominions as the locality where she first made a speech, in her Royal character, since the death of the Consort. The occasion was the opening some waterworks at Aberdeen. Tfie irreverent said her Majesty ought to have been attended by Mr Walpole, the weeping Minister, whose presence would have been appropriate on a hydraulic occasion. Prince Princess Christian (Princess Helena), are with the Queen, The Princess is stated to be likely to increase the happiness ■of the Royal family by increasing its number. lam not informed that the dislike which was entertained in regard to the marriage, on the part of the most exalted personage but one and his bride, has diminished, but there is no doubt that the reason of the Queen giving away the Priu. cess was that the Prince of Wales refused to do so, and I am informed, by a lady who was entitled to be present at the ceremony, and was present, that the Princess,of Wales managed by means of a little of that graceful tact which ladies alone possess, to avoid sacrificing her own feelings by shaking hands with the bridegroom, and yet to avoid the seeming to avoid him. Of the royal reasons for the dislike of the match some are evident, others less. I am glad to be assured that the Princess Christian herself, who is the party principally concerned, is perfectly happy. The Prince of Wales is entertaining his mother-in-law, the Queen of Denmark, and Princess Thyre, who are on a visit here, while the sister of the Princess of Wales, Princess Dagmar, is in course of espousals to Cesarewitch, having, as it will be remembered, been betrothed to his elder brother, who died prematurely. I have nothing to add to my paragraph of royalty except that the Queen, when in Scotland, rides about on her pony, attended by John Brown, and evinces the most kindly curiosity as to all the doings of her neighbors—it is in no spirit of cynicism that I put the matter, as I am told I may do, even more pointedly, and say that no village matron can take more interest in the affairs of her friends than is taken by the excellent Queen of England. This homely peculiarity the royal lady nherits from George the Third.

At the Wimbledon shooting this year, many Belgian marksman came over, and were very hospitably received. They were greatly pleased, and an invitation in return was given to British volunteers to go over to the Belgian tir this year. Over a thousand went, for your Britisher is locomotive. But no one could have been prepared for the splendid reception with which the

Belgians repied our rough and ready campcourtesies. The King, officials, the people,

Lave all vied ia doing honor to the

glish, and magnificent entertainments, reviews, and theatrical displays, have been the features of the period, while the private hospitalities of the Belgians have been

joroed upon their guests. I atn happy to say that the Tolnnteers behsred Tory ■well - on the whole, and that if some of them got tipsy, it was only in company with their hosts, who were gratified that such should have boon the case. The Lord Mayor of London, Mr Phillips, was sent

tor, oiid he rode about in a carriage *nth the King, and confirmed the continental Densf that next to the the J.-yn'mains is the greatest man inEngland. The organisation of the whole business, on the part of the Belgians, was so perfect that I shudder to think of the blundering that will attend our endeavor to »opay their courtesy in kind. I have resigned myself to the belief that it will be my fate, for an indefinite period, to insert a Jamaica paragraph in this letter. I endeavor to avoid it, but I cannot do so, there is always something to add. The committee who desire to prosecute Mr Eyre have discovered that they cannot hope to do so without £IO,OOO, for which, therefore, they are now sending round the hat. But the sort of folk who gush, and weep and howl over Quashibungo, are not the sort of folk who are very ready to draw cheques, and it may be that the raising this fund will take some time, unless, for a political reason, some of the leaders make up the money. NeiLiberal nor Tory Government will have anything to do with prosecution. Mr Forster, the Badical members for Brad' ford, who held office under Earl Bussell, had the courage to declare at a large meeting the other night that it would be wrong to prosecute, because it could not be supposed that Mr Eyre acted from a wrong motive ; for which candid and honorable declaration Mr Forster has since been furiously assailed by the fanatic negrophiles. On the other hand, the Defence Committhe increase its numbers, and Alfred Tennyson, though as a sort of official the Laureate could not well take part in the work, has sent a subscription to the fund. With Carlyle, Kingsley, end Tennyson as one’s friends, it seems possible to bear an unlimited quantity of yelling from other persons. But lam sorry for the whole business.

Our friends the Ritualists, those who are trying to assimilate the ceremonials of the Church of England to those of Rome, are going ahead in the most flagrant manner, and # unless the hierarchy do something, I fear that “popular” action will be taken. Vestments, incense, a diluted cup, prostrations, a’.mumbled liturgy, the elevation of the wafer, are all being directly copied from Rome, the priests are affecting to discourage marriage in the priesthood, and they try very hard to get people to confession, and succeed with the weak and foolish. The bishops do not know what to do, but the fact is that there are no strong men on our episcopal bench. If there were half-a-dozen, they would first discover whether they had power or not, and if they had not they would unite and obtain it from Parliament. But they are mostly well-meaning, excellent men, who dislike any kind of scandal and disturbance* and it must be a very great matter that moves them. They could j oin to denounce Dr Colenso, but they knew that they were obeying, not leading the opinion of the majority in the religious world. In this ritualistic question they are bewildered, partly by having countenanced a great deal of what is now so obnoxious, and partly by an impression that Churchmen dislike any sort of interference with anybody who believes that he is doing good. The ritualists say, with a certain truth, that the lower orders are utterly without any religion at all, and aa they will not attend the ordinary churches, and could not, if they did, understand what was said to them, a legitimate way of laying hold of them is by dazzling their eyes and pleasing their senses. The answer is obvious, but in the meantime the ritualists point to the hideous condition of the lowest classes, and declare that missionary work is being done. So the bishops bewail “ eccentricities,” and exercise graceful hospitality. I hope noi to hear that the ultra-Protestants have token the law into their own hands.