TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE KING OF PRUSSIA.
THE King of Prussia has gained golden opinions in London. The homely frankness and kindliness of his deportment—the judicious selection of objects of rational curiosity which have engaged his attention—the easy manner with which he has mingled among men of all ranks and pursuits—his careful avoidance of bustle and parade at the public places he has visited, so as not to interrupt the avocations or disturb the pleasures of those who frequent them—have each in its turn contributed to this effect. The sim- plicity of the ceremonial at the Chevalier BUNSEN'S entertain- ment—where his Majesty had a civil word for every stranger and a friendly shake of the hand for every acquaintance presented to him— left a pleasing impression upon all who were present. His manly modest deportment at the Mansionhouse and the Theatres was equally in his favour. And his visit to the British Museum ihowed, by the care taken that it should cause the least possible interruption to those engaged in literary pursuits there, that be- neath the affable exterior there was that considerate anxiety to put nobody out of his way which marks the true gentleman.
For those who know the Court of Prussia as it is at present, and still more for those who have looked at its history, there is nothing new or unexpected in the King's deportment. Much of it belongs to his own benevolence and good sense, but part also to the tradi- tional tastes and habits of his family. From the earliest period of their appearance in history down to the time of FREDERICK " the only," the founders of the Royal Family of Prussia were charac- terized by firmness of purpose, business habits, and the absence of empty show. FREDERICK added refinement and a taste for intel- lectual pursuits, without deviating from the simplicity of his an- cestors. The terrible experience of the wars in Germany which succeeded the French Revolution, while it tended to strengthen in the late King of Prussia the hereditary business habits and in- difference to personal display, instilled into him at the same time a tone of devout sentiment, at once softening and elevating his mind, which seems to have been wanting in his distinguished ancestors, ' and whieh perhaps more than any other of his qualities won for him the love of his subjects. The bearing of the present Monarch N. seems to indicate that in him a happy natural disposition has been Tleveloped and confirmed by the character impressed upon the eoura in which he grew up by the kindred characters of his prede- th tessors.
-4.1,t It is mainly tw.-ttre simplieity-and energy and the taste for busi- - less- of the Kings of Prussia that the state is indebted for its im- pliant position. They have been, and must be, the children and champions of that spirit of which LUTHER and ERASMUS were the heralds; or they must be nothing. The very name of the mo- narchy identifies it with the innovations of the Lutheran sera : the transference of Prussia, the life-benefice of the Master of the Teu- tonic Knights, into Prussia the heritable dukedom, was the reward of the first of the race who embraced the Lutheran faith. The inhabitants of the Mark of Brandenburg—the heart of the state— have in their veins the -mingled blood of those who from the Ne- therlands, Bohemia, France, and Tyrol, have from time to time sought an asylum in which they might worship God in security according to the dictates of their own conscientious opinions. The means by which the court of Prussia has hitherto sought to im- press men with a sense of its dignity are, patronage of art, literature, and science, and the display of the talent for governing. The dis- positions of the rulers of Prussia have in general harmonized with the tendencies of the wra of their house's ascendancy. To thia in a great measure is it owing, that since the days of LUTHER their dower has been rising and spreading upon the ruins of the old Empire.
The object of these remarks is nothing more than an expression of acquiescence in the justice of that esteem and good-will which the Prussian King has won from all who have approached him during his brief residence among us. He has come here as a royal gossip to the christening; he has come as a man and a kind neighbour : grave talk of state affairs would be out of place on such an occasion. Such interchange of friendly offices is fitted to awaken feeling which can only be weakened and rendered less operative for good by seeking too anxiously to give them definite form and expression. They may pass away, (as in life they are too often found to do,) or they may prove abiding ; but it is not the gill of man that can determine which.
We may however be allowed to express a hope that the example of the simple dignity of the King of Prussia, and of the favourable impres.ion it has everywhere left, may not be lost upon a court the character of which has yet to be formed. The history of the Kings of Prussia is intimately connected with that of the Revolu- tionary Sovereigns of England of the houses of Orange and Hanover. All three emerge into notice about the same time ; all three have been marked by strong similarity of character; all three have owed their greatness to their adapting themselves to the sera in which they have prospered. Even more than the Germans
are the English characterized by a distrust of showy exteriors. This disposition is spreading over the whole of Europe. The time is past when pomps and pageants could prop up a throne : if monarchy is to survive, it must be by kings making it felt that they are useful, and by substituting in their courts the severe grace of -imaginative and intellectual distinction for the adornments of the tailor and jeweller. May our young Prince, and in the course of
nature future Sovereign, imbibe something of Prussian simplicity and bonhommie from his royal godfather.
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