NEWS OF THE WEEK.
.THE King and Queen of Italy arrived at Portsmouth on 1. Ttiesday, and proceeded straight to Windsor on their visit to King Edward. The reception was a little marred by the rain, 'but there was no doubt of its hearty cordiality. On Wednesday -the two Kings enjoyed some shooting, and in the evening there was a State banquet at the Castle, when both Monarchs made short speeches of welcome and acknowledgment. That of our own King was marked by a graceful reference to the
• visit of Victor Emmanuel I. in 1855, and that of the King of Italy by the statement that the feelings of unity and friend- ship which unite Italy and England "constitute for my people a tradition, for my Government important factors in their policy,"—words the more noteworthy because, like the rest of the speech, they were uttered in English, a language which
• Victor Emmanuel III. thoroughly understands. On Thursday the King and Queen were entertained by the City with great pomp, but also with great cordiality, and lunched at the Guildhall with all the notables of the nation. The King and Queen of Italy have made themselves very popular while in England. His Majesty is one of the moat cultivated as well as one of the longest descended Sovereigns in Europe. We see it stated, indeed, that his is the oldest reigning house ; but ' that is a mistake. King Edward, though it is a custom to date our Monarchy from the Conquest, descends from Cerdic,
• who was independent in Wessex two hundred years before Charlemagne. The house of Savoy, then called Counts of Maurienne, claim Royal rank from the time of the great Emperor.
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