The marriage of Queen Isabella the Second has been curiously
discussed at a meeting of the Ministers and Grandees of Spain. The present favourite, it seems, is Don Francisco de Assiz, eldest son of Don Francisco de Paula. There are.reports that the young man once promised never to interfere with the pretensions of the Count of Montemolin, Don Carlos's son: but even if so, it is ex pected that the offer to share a throne will be too much for his constancy.
The agitation in Germany about the Schleswig-Holstein sugA cession increases, and by some it is held to threaten an explosion.- The learned doctors of Heidelberg University have issued a decla- ration supporting the German view, with a greater warmth of lan- guage than it is usual to find in law papers. But the professors of that country hold a totally different position from ours : they are at once the representatives of the national" learning and the deposi- taries of liberal opinions ; so that they necessarily take a more leading part in active politics. It is reported that the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia have entered into a conven- tion to protect German rights in Schleswig and Holstein. On the other hand, the Emperor of Russia, whose rights are re- served to him by the King of Denmark's letter-patent, the origin of all the agitation, is said to have declared that he will not interfere.
While the French Chambers are busy with forms, the principal events recorded in the Paris papers are not of a political kind. Joseph Henry, the assassin, has been under trial, and turns out to be, if not msane, at least what would be called a " natural"— a puzzle-headed dolt, inflamed by mortified conceit. In the pro- vinces, the rise of prices has provoked bread riots. Across the Mediterranean, in the African colony, Abd-el-Kader has once more shown himself, near Ouchda--snatchnig victory with the suddenness of his incursion, evading pursuit, and influencing the superstitious feeling of the tribes friendly to France. It is- clia- racteristic of his strange position, that he vainly asked the Morocco authorities for leave to enter a mosque where he might celebrate his victories over the Infidel.
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