To marry so early she can't be inclined;
A suitable Villikins some day she'll find.
Moreover, in her case, we know very well,
There exist no "stern parients" her hand to compel,
Affording the Laureate a theme for a lay,
With a burden of "Teural lal leural li day."
Whether the German newspaper had been merely exercising "intelligent anticipation" or not, the projected alliance was confirmed in 1856. Punch's comment on the Princess's dowry was unsympathetic, but the betrothal was celebrated in verse at once ceremonial and friendly. References to the Queen during the Crimean War are noticed elsewhere; we may note, however, that when one "Raphael" published a Prophetic Almanack in which he took liberties with the Queen's name, Punch administered a severe castigation to the offender. Punch did not like his monopoly to be infringed.
[11] The imbroglio of the Ladies of the Bedchamber had been settled in 1840. But Scribe's Verre d'Eau, under the title of The Maid of Honour, with the real incident turned into farce, had been adapted to the English stage and produced at the Adelphi.
[12] In reference to the then prevalent mania for railway speculation.