KING ERNEST ON LOVE.
Tamale are no lovers in Hanover ! Monstrous as it may appear, .the fact is evident from the "general order" issued by the King for the regulation of marriages in his army ; for if there are lovers then the regulations are still more monstrous. The .royal match-maker, or rather match-breaker, begins with a para- graph that ought to delight the Protectionists here, it is so kind an its professions of taking people's affairs out of their own hands
• for their own good— "his Majesty the King, owing to the present state of society, which makes greater demands on the position of married officers, and in consideration of the frequent applications by the widows of officers (who are devoid of personal pro- perty) for pecuniary aid, has been induced to alter essentially, the conditions -under which a prospect has hitherto been permitted to officers of obtaining per- - mission to marry., m order that (as well for the benefit of the service as for that of the individual himself) betrothals may not be entered into, and consequent matrimonial connexions be formed, whose admission would only be prejudicial to the participating parties."
This looks formidable enough. One can fancy the blank dis- may which it may have cast on many a warm heart. But the -sequel is worse. The King propounds ten rules which are to be "the undeviating standard" of applications for permission to marry.— "1 No officer may enter into a formal betrothal until he shall have obtained
• his Most Mightiness 's consent to his marriage; and any such formed without that „consent shall be considered invalid."
No Gretna Green, alas ! under pain of illegitimacy to the children I No stolen sweets in all Hanover Because King Ernest is virtuous, or at least because he is old, "there shall be no more cakes and ale." A particular class is especially excluded -from matrimony- . "2. No application for marriage permission' may be forwarded by a second lieutenant to his superiors, as it will under no circumstances be taken notice of."
, Also officers under twenty-five years of age are no longer nubile, by the regulations. But it is wonderful how the anti- :hymeneal Monarch searches out, heaps up, and minutely con- structs obstacles to the fulfilment of lawful love- " 5. The documerits which an officer applying for marriage permission' has to furnish, shall, in the first place, refer to the descent of the bride, as his Majesty will not permit any officer to marry under his station; and shall consist—a. In a -circumstantial account of the station and affairs of the bride's parents ; b. In a certificate of baptism of the bride; c. In the consent of the parents or sponsors tithe bride to the intended marriage. "Further, forthcoming documents shall extend to the pecuniary circumstances of the applicant; who, in this regard, will have to show in a credible mannner and form that he or his bride, or both together, possess a salary by means of -which they shall be enabled to support themselves and a family in a manner suit- • able to their station, without being obliged to have recourse to the military pay .0f the applicant, the free disposal of winch, in the event of a war breaking out, • must remain with him. This income, exclusive of the pay of the officer, is to con- sist of—a. For a rittmeister and captain of the second class, and for a first lieu- . tenant, 800 dollars; b. For the commander of a company or squadron, 1,000 dol- ' lam; c. Fora staff-officer, 1,200 dollars.
- Besides these documents, the applicant must furnish his superior officer with a certificate of his own baptism." LThe superior officer must also satisfy himself that no obstacle to the intended marriage exists arising from any cause.] "And When he shall find himself in the above respects in a condition to forward on the application, he will still be only justified in doing so when he can speak favour- ably of the personal good gualaies and military zeal of the officer, and can re- commend him as a good housekeeper (I) The application must be accompanied by the pedigree of the officer. "7. The number of married officers shall not exceed one-third of the regiment."
Finally, applications for marriage sent to the Adjutant-General must be referred to a committee of field-officers!
How would these regulations operate among our own gallant officers? Would they like, in all cases, to submit -their pedigrees to the committee of field-officers 't We suspect that some very brave fellows, some men who have done the state good service, Would not have been able to produce very frondiferous genealo- gical trees, and ergo would not have proved marriageable by the Hanoverian regulations. Then again, how many of our young red-coats are "good housekeepers"?
?
We do not know what wilrbe the feeling produced among the brave Hanoverians; but if they have any pluck among them, the regulations are likely to have a very different effect from that intended. They should be read inversely : instead of construing them to mean that the King will not suffer any of his officers to marry except under the conditions specified, they ought to be accepted in this sense—mo one who resents this prying into purely personal matters should consent to be an officer in the Hanoverian army.
There is, indeed, one loophole in the regulations. When Sir Robert Peel spoke lately of furloughs granted to common soldiers, and of their visits home, as conducive to morality, the House of Commons laughed ; we all know why. Soldiers take licences. In Hanover, it seems, licence is to be the rule : the regulations say nothing against unlawful love.
But as to chaster attachments a new regime must be established. Suitors must woo by authority—must pray the consent, not of blushing beauty, but of Major-General Freiherr Von Baring, Colonel Rittberg, and Lieutenant-Colonel Potten, the Committee aforesaid. The next thing will be to treat marriages by whole- sale—to assemble eligible brides by scores, to let eligible bride- grooms make their advances in rank and file, and lire off their burning addresses at the word of command. Marriage will be come a military evolution. This is not exactly a political affair ; but it is in such social, such intimately domestic matters, that we see the working of despotism when it is not enlightened—and how often is it better? When we say that a people are not "free," we mean that they are liable to these visitations.
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