NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ALL Italy is trying to conceal a disappointment, accentuated, it is probable, by a trace of superstitious alarm. Queen Helena has given birth to a daughter, her first child, and as tlie Monarchy inherits a Salle Law from Piedmont the suc- cession is not yet secured to the direct line. Vehement clerics therefore are saying that as Victor Emanuel was excommuni- cated, and his son married a lady born in the Greek Church, no descendant of the first King will ever reign in Italy. As most Italians contrive to believe and disbelieve at the same time, the postponement of the King's hopes is unlucky, and with the 'Russian situation, which really depends to a singular extent on the sex of the expected child, induces us to ask in another column why so many dynasties maintain a law which has ceased to be justified by any adequate reason ? The Sovereigns could, we fancy, get rid of the restriction as the Emperor Karl VI. did. At the same time, it is to be noted that the democracies agree with the Kings, and that in all Republics, without exception, women are struck out from the headship of the State. That is a curious fact in history, considering that very recently two women, Queen Victoria and the Empress-Regent of China—whose official name is reported to be Tsu-Hsi—were governing half the human race. People say all races are alike, but just think of the mental and moral chasm between those two ladies.
