In the case of a distinguished person whose public life has a claim to be regarded with national and social interest, his fiftieth birthday must be considered a jubilee; and Monday, Nov. 9, in the present year, completing that number of anniversaries for the eldest son of her Majesty the Queen, the heir apparent to the crown of the United Kingdom, is manifestly an occasion demanding such congratulations as must arise from sentiments of loyalty to the monarchical constitution and of respect for the reigning family. His Royal Highness, it is understood, has preferred to have it treated simply as a private and domestic affair, entertaining a party of his personal friends, and not inviting any formal addresses from the representatives of municipal corporations or other public bodies. Nevertheless, it may be permitted to journalists, taking note of this period in the life of so important a contemporary personage, to express their continued good wishes for his health and happiness, and to indulge in a few retrospective observations on his past career.

Born on Nov. 9, 1841, second of the offspring of Queen Victoria by her marriage with the late Prince Consort, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, inherited the greatest blessing of humanity, that of having good parents and wise guardians of his childhood and youth. His instruction at home was, no doubt, wider in range of studies than that of ordinary English boys, including an acquaintance with several European languages and with modern history, needful to qualify him for the duties of a prince. He was further educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and at Trinity College, Cambridge; was enrolled a law student of the Middle Temple and held a commission in the army.

His earliest appearance in a leading part on any public occasion was in 1858 or 1859, we think at the laying of the foundation stone of the Lambeth School of Art at Vauxhall; but after the lamented death of his father, in December, 1861, the Prince of Wales naturally became the most eminent and desirable performer of all ceremonies in which beneficent or useful undertakings were to be recognized by royal approval. This work has occupied a very large share of his time during thirty years; and we can all testify that it has been discharged with such frank good will, cordiality, and unaffected graciousness, with such patient attention, diligence, and punctuality, as to deserve the gratitude of large numbers of her Majesty's subjects in almost every part of the kingdom. No prince of any country in any age has ever personally exerted himself more constantly and faithfully, in rendering services of this kind to the community, than the Prince of Wales. The multiplicity and variety of his engagements, on behalf of local and special objects of utility, would make a surprising list, and they must have involved a sacrifice of ease and leisure, and endurance of self-imposed restraint, a submission to tedious repetitions of similar acts and scenes, and to continual requests and importunities, which few men of high rank would like to undergo.

THE PRINCE OF WALES AND FAMILY - FROM THE PHOTOGRAPH OF MESSRS. BYRNE, RICHMOND.

The marriage of his Royal Highness to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, on March 10, 1863, was one of the happiest events within the memory of this generation. It tended visibly, of course, to raise and confirm his position as leader of English society, and as the active dispenser of that encouragement which royalty can bestow on commendable public objects. Charity, education, science, art, music, industry, agriculture, and local improvements are in no small measure advanced by this patronage. The Prince of Wales may not be so learned in some of these matters as his accomplished father, but he has taken as much trouble to assist the endless labors of the immediate agents, in doing which he has shown good judgment and discretion, and a considerable degree of business talent - notably, in the British preparations for the Paris Exhibition of 1867, the Indian and Colonial Exhibition of 1886 in London, and the organization of the Imperial Institute. The last-named institution and the Royal College of Music will be permanent memorials of the directing energy of the Prince of Wales.

These are but a few examples or slight indications of the work he has actually done for us all. It is unnecessary to mention the incidental salutary influences of his visits to Canada and to India, which have left an abiding favorable impression of English royalty in those provinces of the empire. Nor can it be requisite to observe the manner in which the prince's country estate and mansion at Sandringham, with his care of agricultural improvement, of stock breeding, studs, and other rural concerns, has set an example to landowners, the value of which is already felt. We refrain upon this occasion from speaking of the Princess of Wales, or of the sons and daughters, whose lives, we trust, will be always good and happy. It is on the personal merits and services of the head of their illustrious house, with reference only to public interests, that we have thought it needful to dwell, in view of the fiftieth birthday of his Royal Highness; and very heartily to wish him, in homely English phrase, "Many happy returns of the day!" - Illustrated London News.