The Duke of Sussex has been able to enjoy the
sports of the field ; as last Saturday he was (WWII shooting rabbits in the beautiful park of Colonel Wildman, at Newstead Abbey, in company with Lord John Churchill, Sir Hussey Vivian, and other visiters ; where his Royal Highness shot from eleven to twelve couple of rabbits, and appeared as eager about the diversion as any of the party. —Morning Chronicle. In the following rather querulous letter, the Duke of Sussex has announced his intention of retiring from the Presidency of the Royal Society.
" Gentlemen—As it has ever been my rule to take no step connected with the interests of the Royal Society, without either consulting the membeis who form the Council. did I want their advice, or without informing them of any determination to which I may have thought it right to come iu connexion with their concerns, it now becomes may pailoul dui y to make to you the follow Mg communication, previout. to my de- Future Mr the country. " Circumstances over which I have no control. and which I did hope to hare seen re- medied, hen onee fairly represented, ovoi properly e.oplained Cm, those whose duty it teas to hare noticed and Cu hare considered them.) Mice me to absent myself for awhile from London. TIis naturally must prevetit my regular attendance and appearauce amongst you awl them, :is often as I ought to tio, :old a., you end they have a right to expect from the President Of the Royal Society. With this impression, I lea myself under the heart-rending and distressing necessity of returtiing into their hall& that trust which they have confided to my care for so many years, and of tendering to them the resignation of au Oki• which, under any other eircomstauce or cousideration. would be the summit of my ambition and my lutist anxious wish to hold. But, for the pre. sent, geutlemen. I cannot till it either with credit to myselt (being unable to do the lemmas ol the situation in a outfitter soited 111 may tank iota the station I (117CUIP!, is the country) or with advantage to the character and dignity of the establishment itself. I trust, gentlemen, that I Ilart. performed the ditties imposed upon inc faith- fully. Zeal, I venture to affirm, has not been wanting on my tied ; my sole desire and anxiety has ing constantly beet' to haw aril to the utmost of Illy power the best interests or the society, anti to upliehl the tecognized anti established merits of its in- dividual members. How far I lime hitherto succeeded remains for you as well as them to consider and to say. In my present sititation, one of the severest pangs which I feel is my si•paration from you, although, please God. it is only for a time; but my heart and nmiti will always be with you at your meeting ; and, when no longer your President, I shall ever bli proud to consider myself one of your most attached fellows, and on my return to reside at Kensington I shall be most happy to appear again amongst you, ill my private capacity of a member. " I cannot take my leave of you, gentlemen, w About caressing to the several mem- bers forming the present Council, tiny best thanks for the coin tesy which they, as well as their predecessors, have ShOWIA to me on 1.11 occasions during my Presidency for the last eight years ; a recollection I shall ever cherish as most emending in my solitude. I hope that, although retiring into privacy for a time, I may still be allowed to keep up with yon and them the same friendly Midcourse which has so much contributed towards my happiness, instruction, and improvement. "Ifl tnay be permitted, on retiring from oilier', to give you it piece of parting advice, it would be to express to you a wish, aud to impress upon 3 out as my opinion, ii 1110 strongest manner possible. ass, even to implore toil, to cunt-nate to cultivate that same goodwill annul; the Fellows of the Society, autt more especially amongst the members of the Cumuli, which it has ever been my most anxious desire to promote, and w Inch I was so fortunate as to establish hoot the earliest hour that I had the lividness and honour to preside over your councils and labours. 1 hope and ntost fervently pray that the Royal Society may long continuo to prosper and flourish; but for this pur- pose, gentlemen, you must join heart and hand, and cautiously avoid all matters which are of a tendency to create angry feeling,, or heartburuings, on questions of a reli- gious or a political nature. They have nothing to do with science except to create diffi- culties and to impede philosophical researches. From these let me conjure you most cautiously to abstain. In electing my successor, let this rule guide your choice. as it has ever dictated my conduct in all transactions coutiected with the weltare of the Royal Society. 1 mu sure the advice is friendly, uud as sound as it is well meant on my part. " And now it only remains for me to state to you. that on the /ffith of November I shall, with the deepest regret, forward my resignation to the members of the Royal Society, as their President ; and that you will therefore consider this letter as my for- mal notification of the event to the council, by whom it ought to be communicated to the fellows ; and I du this with a view of showing my respect to them, as well as to serve the fast interests of the establishment, by affording you aud them a proper time to look out for aunt to consider who may Inc the individual most lining and best cal- culated to fill a situation of such importance :old of an high a distinction in this country. Believe me, gentlemen, it is only after a long, painful, and the m .st mature cousiders- thm. as well as after the most severe snuggling with my own private feelings, that find myself forced to this couclusioo, and to Luke the consequent step, which I do most unwillingly.
" Once more, then, acccept of my warmest thanks for your past kindness, as well as of my best wishes; and consider me always, gentlemen, with esteem and regard, your sincere friend aud constant coadjutor in the prometion of science.
" AU01.7bTUS F., P.R.R."
The Duke of Sussex, it appears, expected an increase to his income on the accession of the Queen, and has been disappointed. It is urged by the Downing Street journalists, who seem to have got their cue to raise a little bit of agitation on the subject, by way of affording Ministers an excuse for a message from the Crown next session, that tie Duke is not so well provided for as his brothers of Cumberland and Cambridge. How this may be, we cannot tell. He has no legiti-
mate heir, and hence did not partake in the augmentation of income granted to the two others when they married and bad chilaren. He has, however, the Rangership of St. James's and Hyde Parks ; and his children by Lady Augusta Murray are provided for at the public expense. He has also apartments in a royal palace, for which we pre- sume he pays no rent. His income in various ways is certainly over 20,000/. a year—surely enough even for a royal bachelor. Something has been said about the munificent encouragement of arts and charities by his Royal Highness ; but we should like to know whether it is eti- quette to call upon a Royal Duke to pay all the subscriptions for which his name is set down ?
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