sets of amulets about her neck, as well as her blue cord, and a large flat silver case (purporting to contain a talisman, but more often some scented cotton) ornamented with a lot of silver bells hanging to the bottom edge of it, and the whole suspended by four chains of the same metal. Three pairs of massive silver and gilt bracelets are on her wrists, and a similar number of "bangles" on her ankles; while over her insteps and to her heels are a quantity of little silver ornaments, strung like beads on a silk cord. Her fingers (even the upper joints) are covered with plain rings, often alternately of silver and silver-gilt; and a silver hair-pin, something similar to those now worn by English ladies, completes her decoration. Women of the poorer class, and ladies on ordinary occasions, wear ivory or wooden pins neatly carved in various patterns, and stained red with henna-leaves. The Abys sinian ladies, like those of most Eastern nations, stain their hands and feet with henna, and darken their eyelids with antimony. feet long, and the weight at the end is one hundred ST. PAUL'S CLOCK.-The pendulum is fourteen weight; the dial on the outside is regulated by a smaller one within; the length of the minute hand on the exterior dials is eight feet, and the weight of each seventy-five pounds; the length of the The fine-toned bell, which strikes, is clearly dishour figures, two feet and two and a half inches. tinguished from every other bell in the metropolis, and has been distinctly heard at the distance of twenty miles. It is about ten feet in diameter, and is said to weigh four and a half tons. The Royal family, of the Lord Mayor, Bishop of Lonbell is tolled on the death of any member of the don, or Dean of the cathedral. The whole expense of building the cathedral was about a million and a half pounds sterling. GOOD. ALBERT EDWARD, PEINCE OF WALES. this, we believe, is due to the traditional BIOGRAPHIES OF THE GREAT AND popularity of preceding Heirs Apparent; but, there can be little question, that a good deal of it is founded on the recommendations ALBERT EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. of youth in so exalted a position, and to the influence of the disposition that usually acBY FOLKESTONE WILLIAMS, F.G.S., F.R.G.S. companies it, to enjoy the bright aspect the THE Princes of Wales, partly from their world then presents, and show the agreeable near relation to the sovereign, and partly effect of its sunshine. Certain passages in from their more frequent association with our national history here suggest themthe people, have been regarded in England selves, which indicate an immoderate indulwith a marked degree of favour. Much of gence in the pleasures of the situation, as D well as a total forgetfulness of the dignityson, Albert Edward, these circumstances that belongs to it. But such improprieties underwent special review. The Prince are few, and have been greatly exaggerated. Consort possessed many advantages over In a period of six centuries we can only the fathers of preceding Princes of Wales refer to the escapades of Henry of Monmouth at Gad's Hill and the Boar's Head at East Cheap, of which no reliable trace can be found in contemporaneous authorities; and those of George, Prince of Wales (afterwards Prince Regent), whose transgressions were as much the result of injudicious training as of the vicious state of society, when he entered it in the first blush of adolescence. Against such unexemplary examples we are enabled to quote the heroic Black Prince, winning his spurs in his boyhood in the glorious field of Cressy; Prince Henry (son of Henry VII.) acquiring pre-eminence in scholastic learning and knightly accomplishments, under the greatest masters which the revival of classical scholarship in Europe had produced; Prince Arthur, Prince Edward, and Prince Henry Frederick, who in succession gave the highest promises of moral and intellectual eminence, and one after another disappointed the hopes of an enthusiastic people by an early death. For the two remaining Princes of Wales of the Stuart family, there is not much to be said in commendation either of their youth or of their manhood; but they, like those of the House of Guelph, appear to have commenced their several careers under most unfavourable influences. Prince Frederick (son of George II.), however, we have reason to believe, was infinitely better than he has been represented, and the truly English virtues of his heir (subsequently George III.) made amends for the shortcomings of his immediate predecessors. It is singular that whatever may have been the failings of the Prince of Wales of the time, he was sure to be the object of a large amount of popular affection; indeed, in the instance of the first of the Stuart princes, his extraordinary endowments and singular amiability of disposition created such intense and general devotion, that the weak mind of James I. became alarmed. "What! will they bury me alive?" he cried, impatiently. Something of the same jealousy may have been the foundation of the ill-treatment of their heirs by George I. and George II. But although a political party has always existed ready to take advantage of misunderstandings between the sovereign and his eldest son, no opposition to the throne of a serious character has ever for many generations. To a highly cultivated mind, familiar with all the most intellectual of modern accomplishments, his Royal Highness united rare purity of morals, and a disposition that secured to him the devotion of one who had the good fortune to come within its influence. To these truly princely characteristics must be added a sound judgment, not to be swayed either by partiality or prejudice, and a determination that could take a right course, even if it were a deviation from Court precedents; and persevere in it, even though it might excite objections from persons by whom such precedents were regarded as inviolably as the laws of the Medes and Persians. The Queen, whose education under an admirable mother had fitted her to perform with equal grace her regal and domestic duties, appeared to feel the obligations imposed upon her by this important connection with the nation she had been called to govern, and with profound solicitude Her Majesty directed the nurture of the Heir Apparent, and addressed herself to the consideration of the best available means for assisting his physical and mental development. The period arrived when the resources of the royal nursery, abundant though they were, could be no longer sufficient to satisfy the demands made upon them by the child in whose well-being such vast interests were centered, and then came earnest consultations as to the best mode of education. Retrospection showed the inefficiency, as well as insecurity, of the methods of instruction in the greatest repute. Buchanan had succeeded, after infinite painstaking, in making his pupil but an indifferent pedagogue-a less scholastic and more religious tuition made his grandson a still more indifferent monk. Indeed, it can safely be asserted that this mode of education produced two of the worst kings that ever disgraced a throne. Bishops have not been more successful than less distinguished tutors. Dr. Brian Dupper, saintly character though he was, produced the profligate Charles II.; and although_three prelates, Drs. Ayscough, Hayter, and Thomas, succeeded in making a far more creditable pupil of George III., it was well known that, notwithstanding the possession by the latter of many kingly attributes, his mind had been kept too completely in a groove to render his intelligence sufficiently expansive to understand the requirements of the people of England. The important question of morals gave from the same sources anything but assuring replies. Strictness and seclusion two bishops and two distinguished clergymen had created the lover of "the beautiful Perdita," and of a long list of fair and frail successors, just as readily as early independence and accessibility to similar temptations had produced those far less attractive Lotharios, his grandfather and great-grandfather. Indeed, the royal road to knowledge had been beset by as many seductions as obstacles; so that, from a consideration of the past, it was scarcely possible to secure an education for the Prince that should render him a wise king, a sound scholar, or a good man. Nevertheless, those who were most deeply interested in the subject felt assured that, by unceasing vigilance and devoted affection, they should be able to exhibit to England, and to the world, a Prince of Wales in every way qualified to be pronounced worthy of his position. Mr. Gibbs may have laboured under the disadvantage of not having, as a teacher, been initiated into the routine studies of Eton or Harrow, of Winchester or Rugby, of Westminster or the Charter House; but, to make amends, he enjoyed the confidence of the Prince Consort; and having from his Royal Highness accepted what was both a distinction and a trust, he applied himself to the fulfilment of its duties with the fullest sense of the responsibility it imposed. Such a task has always been surrounded by difficulties. The royal pupil must be induced to learn, not forced; and therefore it became necessary to make his studies agreeable to him. With this object the tutor commenced his educational course by exciting the attention of the Prince [in a manner that could not fail of affording him entertainment. He told his Royal Highness an amusing tale, or related some ludicrous anecdote. The Prince evinced the usual boyish enjoyment of humour, and constantly made fresh demands on the imagination and the memory of his instructor, perfectly unconscious that while he laughed he learned. The mimicry that formed the chief source of the pupil's amusement assisted in rendering acceptable some interesting fact, that was now fixed upon the memory; and the droll Irishman or the shrewd Scot, the stolid Dutchman or the keen-witted Jew, were made to pass under his observation, leaving a lesson not likely to be speedily forgotten. Some useful truths having thus been inculcated, and a desire for more general information excited, the Prince was encouraged to acquire knowledge by personal observation. The master and pupil proceeded together to examine the ordinary phenomena of Nature, and explanations were given of what was not quite intelligible to the latter, in the same felicitous manner. Fair progress became evident in other directions-not by making a toil of pleasure, but by doing exactly the reverse. The arts, which have conferred so refined a grace on modern social life, had, as is well known, been cultivated with singular success by the Queen and the Prince Consort. The artistic ability of the former has been made known to the public by exhibited drawings. But Her Majesty's and His Royal Highness's skill in design is best displayed in the series of etchings they have produced, some of which were referred to during a trial that took place in our criminal courts a few years back. In music, also, their taste is equally cultivated; both being able to produce vouchers for their skill, of which that accomplished musician, Henry VIII., and his lionhearted daughter, Queen Elizabeth, might have been proud. It is not surprising that they should have wished such talent to be hereditary, but it is surprising to find such a desire realized to the extent it has been. The Prince of Wales learnt to draw with facility, and was encouraged to render the accomplishment useful. Having by this time arrived at a period when impressions of a more serious nature might with advantage be given to his mind, it was arranged that His Royal Highness should take a tour in what is known as the Lake district of England. Among the gentlemen selected to attend him was Dr. Armstrong, of the Royal Navy, who had been Surgeon and Naturalist of H.M.S. "Investigator," that had been sent in search of Sir John Franklin, and had remained five years blocked up in the polar ice. This expedition, however, was the one to which geographers are indebted for the solution of that time-honoured mystery, the North-West Passage; and an able account of its discovery was published by Dr. Armstrong. It is a singularly curious and interesting coincidence, that one Prince of Wales, Henry, son of James I., should have arranged an expedition to go in search of this passage, and that more than two hundred and forty years afterwards another Prince of Wales should have had in his service a member of an expedition that had made the long-desired discovery. Both princes were nearly of the same age, and took a profound interest in the subject. Dr. Armstrong was frequently appealed to for tales of arctic adventure; but, during the tour in Cumberland and Westmoreland, these interesting narratives had to be varied by explanations of the geology of the district through which the Prince was passing. His Royal Highness descended into mines and climbed mountains with equal eagerness; collected specimens of the rocks and metals; sketched the scenery; inserted in his journal an account of the day's adventure, or wrote home a narrative description of everything he had seen worthy of relation, together with such traits of individual character as had come under his observation. With the latter he was sometimes greatly amused. One incident deserves preservation. The party having arrived at a town that contained little worthy of notice except its jail, they proceeded to call on the governor to procure admission. That official received them as though far from pleased with their visit, and Mr. Gibbs having explained its purport, he replied, impatiently, Well, I can only allow you a quarterof an hour; for I have received information that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales has arrived in the town: he will, of course, be wanting to inspect the jail, and I cannot permit you to be in the way of the Prince, when his Royal Highness comes.' The Prince was close to the speaker, and maintained an unmoved countenance, which was not disturbed when one of the gentlemen of his suite answered, submissively, that he and his friends would take especial care not to be in the Prince's way." They then proceeded to the inspection-the governor hurrying them from place to place, evidently anticipating to be called away every moment to receive the Prince of Wales, and ill at ease till he had seen his illustrious visitor out of the building, who, then at a safe distance, made amends for his enforced gravity. The tour was most successful; for, with useful knowledge that half a dozen bishops could not have inculcated, the Prince gained health and strength. He was not robust; indeed, was of a frame and constitution that sedentary habits would have made feeble; but climbing on foot over the mountains, or riding fearlessly on his pony along the moors, was a bracing exercise that hardened his muscles and strengthened his lungs. At this period His Royal Highness was in the habit of indulging in frequent draughts of aêrated waters, much too common a custom with young men of rank, but one exceedingly injurious to the stomach. The Prince, however, had always shown a readiness to listen to good advice, and the remonstrances of his medical attendant were received with his usual amiability. But, "to make assurance doubly sure, "his conscientious physician thought it his duty, on his return to town, to make a representation in the highest quarter, which was listened to with the attention invariably given to good counsel, and that excellent tonic, genuine bitter ale, substituted. Next time the doctor dined at the palace, the Prince in his presence took a full tumbler of the sparkling beverage and drank it off, saying, good humouredly, "You see, Doctor, how carefully I follow your prescriptions." The next tour made by His Royal Highness was a foreign one. He already knew the general features of some of the most interesting portions of his native land. From Osborne he had enjoyed frequent explorations of the beautiful Isle of Wight; from Balmoral had penetrated to the wildest and most picturesque districts of the Highlands. This early familiarity with the charms of nature his skilful preceptor had turned to profitable account, and the mind of the pupil had expanded with the field of observation so brightly and pleasantly extended before him. Now it was considered expedient by his careful guardians to introduce to him an entirely new set of images. He was to become acquainted with the scenes and customs, the institutions and the people, of other lands. These could not fail of suggesting new ideas, worthy of being added to that store which had for some time been steadily accumulating in his memory. As the tour included highly-interesting portions of Germany, France, and Switzerland, the geological information that could thus be conveyed was of a singularly suggestive nature. Very pleasant, indeed, was knowledge so obtained; and the solid advantages the mind of His Royal Highness received were much increased by the zealous attentions of Mr. Gibbs to realize the greatest amount of profit from other instructive lessons that formed a part of the day's study. A knowledge of the sublime mysteries of nature was agreeably diversified by an insight into national characteristics; nor were the personal adventures of the Prince and his suite without occasional incidents that gave a comic variation to their serious routine. (Concluded in our next.) |