The Queen's Brother-in-Law's Autobiography.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 333, 12 January 1889, Page 5

The Queen's Brother-in-Law's Autobiography.

The Puke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's auto" biogiaphy, which has just been published in English, throws an unromantic light on the courtship of our gracious Queen by ** the great and good." JSlosb people, t fancy, shared my impression that the Queen's marriage with Prince Albert was a love match. The Duke says this was not so at ali. The airangement, in facfc s wap purely one of expediency. The Queen respected her fiance and he liked her, but several of Pi inco Albert's friends (amongst them hib brother) had serious doubts whether the union v» oulcl turn out a. happy one. Even after they were tnai ried, wo are told of "a daily increasing midei'standinfr between the young married pair, to both of whom their strongly - defiued characters made it oy no means an easy task to understand the art of yielding one to the other." " Nevertheless," it is added. "1 could see the birjinit'U'joi the heartfelt relations which afterwards bound them so closely together." This process the Duke calls "heart - training.'' So late as October, 1839, it appears, when Prince Albert came to England, he had no idea of the fate which destiny had almost in readiness for him. Any projects which may have been formed years before with regard to sneh a union as w as about to take place were, it appears, " nothing more than idle ideas or good wishes." The Puke thinks it possible his uncle may have had some such notion in his head when he sent the two young princes on a visit to England in 1836 ; but in any case nothing came of it. for William IV., who rather turned his thoughts to Punce Alexander of the Netherlands as husband for his niece, took good caro not to allow her to have too^ much of the good-looking young stranger's society The Prince Consort did not, we know, take readily to English ways His brother says he complained bitterly of our inability to understand him. On one occasion he remarked : " The English have no idea of what the words ' to be "lad ' mean. If they laugh, it is over the laceration of a fellow creature ; if a festival, which is always looked upon as work, is successful, they say, l lt went off well,' as if they were speaking of an accomplished task." The Puke docs not seem to have had much to do with English political celebrities. Pisraeli, whom he met justat the time when " the wondrous boy who wrote Alroy " was beginning to astonish the world with his speeches and his novels, produced the impression of a vain young; Jew of remarkably Radical tendencies. Ho carried hit. arm in a black sling, a peculiarity which was sneered at by his enemies on the ground that he only wore the sling to make himself interesting, as he had never met •vrifch any accident which rendered it necessary. He seemed to belong to the class 6f men who have made up their minds to " play a great part, and who are certain to gain the end in view." The only English literary celebrity he mentions is Captain Marry at, who fe erroneously described as a " military " man. Of our diplomatists, on the other hand, he has much to say. He was thoroughly comersant with the details of the Spanish maVriages dispute, and is able to throw much light upon the diplomatic manoeuvres and eounter-manceuvres in that not very creditable business. It is evident that he has not so high an opinion of Lord Palmerston as has been expressed by some other foi'eign observers. Speaking of the Don Pacifico affair and Palmerston's famous speech, in which he made the proud boasb civis JRomanu-* su?,?, he says that Palmersfcon all the time had quietly made his peace with Brunnow, and had been assured that the affair would have no further international consequences. One is forcibly reminded of the scene enacted at "Berlin years afterwards, when two Biitish Plenipotentiaries- received instructions from themselves as Cabinet Ministers urging upon themselves the necessity of resisting certain claims of Russia which they had already conceded in a private treaty.

Christmas Books. You will find "Commodore Junk,'' by Manville Fenn, the best of the new batch of Ridery-F/aggaruy stories of adventures. "The Capitan-Gene'al, a Tale of the Dutch Attemot to Coloni=c New Holland '' (or Australia), by W. J. Gordon, and "The Land of the Hibiscus Blossom " are prosy and pretentious. The Hon. Lewis Wingfield's "Curse of Koshin," a Japanese romance, T haven't read yet : but, for boys, I can cordially commend ' ' Under Hatches," byF. F. Moore, and ""Quicksilver," by G. M. Fenn. For a present for a girl nothing can equal the first volume of "Atalanta," which I have so frequently praised to you ; or, if this is too expensive, either " Giannetta," by Rosa Mulholland, or " Meg's Friend," by Alice Corkran, will give satisfaction. The amusing papers on " Proposals," which appeared *in " Temple Bar," have been reprinted in the form of a shilling brochure, and Routledges have issued a sixpenny edition (the only English one) of Ame'lie Rive3's notorious "The Quick and the Dead." Miss Brad - don's "Mistletoe Bough," contains the usual average mixture of tale?, the first, ■which is from her own hand, being the best. Far more satisfactory is Major Arthur Griffibhs'a readable "The Silver Spoon," which composes the " "World " Christmas number. Mr Carruthers Gould, as usual, does " Truth's "' annual farrago of verse and cai'icature, and there is nothing special to say aboub " Belgravia " annual^ save that Grant Allen has a pood story in it. A fresh series of " All the Year Round " commences with the Kew Year. The Christmas IS; umber, instead of being a talc by Besant, aa usual, is a miscellany by second -raters, puch as Farjeon, Mrs Pirkis, Miss Price, F. Talbot, and " Rita,"