NEWS OF THE WEEK.
"0= Queen is a true British sailor." The ballad composed in honour of William the Fourth need not go out of use yet; like the.national antheffi, it may by a simple change in the designation be made to fit the present wearer of the crown. Duly as autumn comes round, our Sovereign takes to the water with all the gusto of a water-spaniel. Were not the phrase vulgar, one might say she is " a duck of a Queen." A fortnight ago, she was coasting the English shores of the Channel, exploring the leafy labyrinths of Cornubian and Devonian rivers. This week she has crossed the sea to Belgium ; disdaining to be turned from her purpose by a gale which might have made bearded men strike sail and remain at anchor.
It is possible—probable—that Queen Victoria's visit to her royal uncle of Belgium is nothing more than ono of her customary au- tumnal trips. Since the dethronement and death of poor Louis Philippe, the Palace at Laecken has come to supply the place of the Chateau d'Eu. But the presence of the Queen of England in Belgium at the present moment is a fact of political importance, even though nothing of the kind be intended. -It cannot fail tc, remind the French President, that personal ties unite the British and -Belgian Sovereigns, as closely as common commercial in- terests and common constitutional sentiments unite the two na- tions • that the independence of Belgium is guaranteed by treaties to which England is a party—treaties of a later date and more homogeneous with the existing balance of power on the Continent than the old almanacks of 1815.
