apology--dignified but explicit--on the part of the Queen's Government, for having permitted the escape of the _Alabama_ and other cruisers from British ports, to the injury of American commerce. England, it was loudly protested, had never apologised to any other Power; she would never had been so humiliated had "Old Pam" remained at the head of affairs; the whole British case had been given away before the matter got to the stage of arbitration. So said the British Press, and so said a large section of the public. However, Great Britain having professed herself ready to pay something to secure the friendship of President Grant's Government, the claims went before a tribunal of five arbitrators, of whom one was appointed by Queen Victoria, and one each by President Grant, the King of Italy, the Emperor of Brazil, and the President of the Swiss Confederation. This tribunal assembled at Geneva in 1872, and decreed that Great Britain should pay an indemnity of £3,250,000 for the acts of the _Alabama_ and other Confederate cruisers. The fine was paid, but the impression produced on the minds of the British people cannot be said to have been favourable to the doctrine of arbitration. It was felt that John Bull had been made to "knuckle down" to Brother Jonathan, and the amicable intentions of the British Commissioners at Washington of promoting cordial relations between the British and American peoples were frustrated almost as thoroughly as they might have been had the dispute been fought out in the ordinary way. [Illustration: ROYAL ALBERT HALL, KENSINGTON GORE. So named in memory of the Prince Consort, whose Memorial it faces. It was opened by the Queen in 1871. The Hall itself is oval, 200 feet by 160 feet, and 140 feet high to the dome. It accommodates 10,000 persons, and cost £200,000.] [Illustration: ALBERT MEMORIAL, KENSINGTON GARDENS. This monument, which is of marble, gold, bronze, and mosaic work, was designed by Sir G. Gilbert Scott, R.A., and is 175 feet high. The statue of the Prince, of bronze gilt, is by Foley. Above the arches runs this inscription: "Queen Victoria and her people to the memory of Albert, Prince Consort, as a tribute of their gratitude for a life devoted to the public good." The cost of the Memorial exceeded £130,000.] [Illustration: _G. H. Thomas._} {_From the Royal Collection._ MARRIAGE OF H.R.H. PRINCESS ALICE TO H.R.H. PRINCE LOUIS OF HESSE IN THE DRAWING ROOM AT OSBORNE, July 1, 1862. On the left are Her Majesty the Queen, the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, and Prince Leopold, and Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, attended by the Duchess of Wellington and the Duchess of Athole. On the right are the parents and brother of the bridegroom. The bridesmaids were Princesses Helena, Louise, and Beatrice, and Princess Anna of Hesse.] [Sidenote: Marriage of the Prince of Wales.]