2.J- MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD BY EDWARD LEGGE X OF "KING EDWARD IN HIS TRUE COLOURS' "THE EMPRESS EUGENIE" ETC. "THE Universe was his school; the Sovereigns and Statesmen of all Eurora were his professors. " BOSTON SMALL, MAYNARD AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS . MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD BY EDWARD LEGGE AUTHOR OF "KING EDWARD IN HIS TRUE COLOURS" "THE EMPRESS EUGENIE" ETC. "THE Universe was his school; the Sovereigns and Statesmen of all Eurooe were his professors."/ BOSTON SMALL, MAYNARD AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS PREFACE "Whatever record leaps to light, he never will be shamed." AFTER the first shock I ceased to grieve. I could not repress a feeling of exultation that the King had died quickly, gloriously, painlessly, in a beautiful calm, and had been spared that long lingering on the brink of the river which is the only sting of death. His " agony " was of the briefest, if, indeed, there was one. He fell asleep. I was glad, too, because he died at the right moment, when his fame was greatest, and his name most refulgent, when he had no peer ; and because he died rejoicing in the knowledge that he had left a dear and loving son, who could have said with Perkin : " We will in all points give our subjects cause to think that the blessed and debonair government of our noble father, King Edward, in his last times is in us revived." * Edward the Seventh's life had been a very happy one, although at times darkened by those clouds which ofttimes overshadow the careers alike of Monarchs and of men. " Post nubila Phoebus." As a Sovereign, he had accomplished all that is 1 In his proclamation as " the very Richard, Duke of York, younger son and now surviving heir male of the noble and victorious Edward the Fourth, late King of England." vi PREFACE possible to one man. He had achieved his purpose. In his death there was, as Milton says : " Nothing for tears ; nothing to wail or knock the breast." Like Augustus Csesar, Edward vu., " sober and mindful of his mortality, seemed to have thoroughly weighed his ends, and laid them down in admirable order. For first he desired to have the sovereign rule, next he endeavoured to appear worthy of it, then thought it but reasonable, as a man, to enjoy his exalted fortune, and, lastly, he turned his thoughts to such actions as might perpetuate his name and transmit some image and effect of his government to futurity." l His name " spelt success." He could not have become greater, or more esteemed, or more respected, or more loved by the people. As he lay dying peacefully, and with a good countenance, he was entitled to say : " I have done my duty." Had he lived a few more years, such is the instability of all things temporal, his glory might have dimmed, his influence diminished. Already coming events had cast their shadows before : " Those around him knew how earnestly he was concerned at the present strained position of political affairs, and this fact should not be lost sight of in an all-round consideration of the King's health." 2 The full meaning of Goethe's saying, " Mighty is the Goddess of propinquity," was grasped by Edward vn., because, while he was English to the marrow, he had a Teutonic environment from his 1 Lord Bacon. a Vide Chap. XII., History of the King's Illness. PREFACE vii cradle. He was, in fact, Germanised by his parents. I do not say this to their detriment. The foundations of Albert Edward's education were solid, and he greatly benefited by them. Had his mother and father been wholly English, he would have been less of a great man than all, with one trivial exception, admit him to have been. Knowledge of all kinds was Nasmyth-hammered into him, doubtless much against the grain, for, like most boys and youths, he was a firm believer in the axiom : " All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." At Cambridge, Charles Kingsley, Professor of Modern History, taught the future King history. Sir Sidney Lee's comment on this part of the Prince's instruction is this: "History, the chief subject of study, was carefully confined to bare facts and dates." This is untrue, and is proved by a living witness to be untrue ; the witness is Mr. H. Lee- Warner, of The Paddocks, Swaffham, who writes : I am one of the few survivors out of the class of eleven undergraduates who, in the year 1861, used to meet the Prince of Wales twice a week in Charles Kingsley's drawing-room to be lectured on the reigns of our British Sovereigns from William in. to George iv., inclusive. I still regard those lectures as among the most stimulating hours of my life. . . . Can any one imagine Kingsley conducting a course of lectures confined to facts and dates ? Till I read Miss M. Bowen's presentation of William in., I had never read since the year 1861 anything so full of life as I listened to in Fitz- viii PREFACE william Street, Cambridge. We were not confined either to persons. 1 Kingsley " treated exhaustively " (Mr. Lee- Warner tells us), for the benefit of the Prince of Wales and the ten other undergraduates, the questions of Divine Right, the growth of the National Debt, freedom of the Press, bribery at elections, the right of Sovereigns to appoint Ministers or not against the choice of the Commons, the growth of our Empire, and the French Revolu- tion, and other questions which Mr. Lee- Warner does not particularly remember. " Kingsley would have indignantly denied that it was difficult to interest His Royal Highness in his lessons." So much for the Dictionary's assertion that Charles Kingsley taught his pupils only " bare facts and dates." Mr. Lee-Warner's letter was published in the " Spectator," but elicited no reply from the editor of the Dictionary. Kingsley's teaching was of incalculable benefit to King Edward, who made the best use of it. I have dwelt upon this point because in the newspaper reviews of the Dictionary's Memoir (June 1912) so much was made of it to the detriment of the King. It is well known that the principal daily news- papers prepare biographies of Sovereigns and others in view of eventualities assassinations, sudden deaths, and the like ; otherwise the journals could not possibly publish long memoirs on the morning following the event. The King of the Hellenes J The "Spectator," June 15, 1912. PREFACE ix was assassinated one afternoon at Salonica ; on the next morning our papers gave their readers a complete memoir of the ill-fated Monarch. On June 30, 1913, shortly before midnight, Henri Rochefort died at Aix-les-Bains. The bare fact was announced next day in the evening papers' first edition, on sale at 12 o'clock : the " Star," in its edition published about 4, gave an admirable biographical sketch of the celebrated journalist, occupying nearly a column a feat worthy of record. It may not be we will assume it is not necessary for a publication like the " Dictionary of National Biography " to adopt this plan, as in the case of such a work two or three years make little difference. The truth is that our journalism has attained such perfection as to render so-called biographical dictionaries not merely unnecessary, but comparatively useless. The memoir of an eminent person is in its right place in the daily paper, because it is published as a matter of news. We learn, moreover, all that we want to know about celebrated people while they are alive, and that is the proper time for book-makers to write about them, for, if inaccurately depicted, they are in a position to defend themselves. There is scarcely a person of any distinction of whom we have not had full details in the daily, weekly, or monthly publications, usually accompanied by portraits, which are sometimes more appreciated than the letterpress. All the leading events and episodes in the lives of Queen Victoria and King Edward x PREFACE were made known to the public while they were still among us. What more did the most loyal of their subjects desire to know about them ? They certainly did not want to be told two years after his death that King Edward was not pre- cisely the great man the whole Press and the whole world of statesmen, diplomatists, and politicians had assured them he was, but a rather indifferent Sovereign, whose very title, " The King-Peace- maker," was only !( symbolically just," whose intellectual powers were so limited that " he was no reader of books," and indeed " could not con- centrate his mind upon them," added to which was such bathos as "he was not much of a dramatic critic " ! These are examples of the sorry stuff which was gravely put before us two years after his death. Would Sir Sidney Lee have dared to write so of the King during his lifetime ? Was it not a thousand times more indefensible to have so written of Edward vn. when he was in the grave ? May other members of King Edward's family one in particular look forward to being similarly maltreated apres mort ? When he was trying a man for writing treasonable letters, Lord Chief Justice Mansfield held that to satirise even a dead Sovereign was punishable. 1 The depreciatory passages in the Dictionary are not intended for satire they are deliberately put before us as facts, and Sir Sidney Lee has publicly declared that they are " all true." Of the King and the Entente Cordiale, Sir 1 Vide Chap. VII. PREFACE xi Sidney Lee says : " No direct responsibility for its initiation or conclusion belonged to him." The " Times " (June 24, 1913) declares : ' When M. Fallieres was our guest, the friendship of which King Edward and M. Loubet had sowed the seed had proved that it was too deep-rooted for any storms to shake." The " Daily Mail " (same date) speaks of " the Entente, which owed its birth to the late King's memorable mission to Paris just ten years ago" The *' Daily Graphic 5! (same date) writes : ' When the foundations of the Entente were laid by the audacious good humour of King Edward" etc. M. Poincare's " Message to the British Nation " (published by all the papers on June 26) contained these words : " The visit I have come to pay to His Majesty King George affords me a unique opportunity of testifying to the unanimous senti- ments of the French nation towards the son of the glorious Sovereign under whose auspices the fruitful friendship between Great Britain and France was established." Those who believe the Dictionary must dis- believe the solemn words of the President of the Republic, and regard the opinions of the " Times " and the other journals quoted as moonshine. If the Dictionary's assertions depreciating King Edward were accurate and provable, all the leading articles published by the world's Press in May 1910, and all those published in June 1913 ; all the speeches, all the publicly-expressed opinions of statesmen and diplomatists of every country, xii PREFACE all the eulogies of preachers, all the resolutions passed by public bodies, would have to be blotted out, and on the pages containing them we should have to write in red ink : " All these are untrue." The portraits of Sir Sidney Lee's " informers " have not yet graced the pages of the " Sketch " or the " Tatler." The " informers I "a noble band I Though those that are betray'd Do feel the treason sharply, yet the traitor Stands in worse case of woe. Tacitus defines " informers " as "a description of men introduced for the public destruction, and never sufficiently restrained by penalties." They were " invited to action by rewards." They " swarmed and flourished in Imperial Rome." They have swarmed, but I hope not flourished, in Imperial London in the reign of George v. By a combination of betrayals and deplorable editorial credulity our great King's repute was for a while besmirched and his intellectual prowess obscured. Ruskin has told us in a biting sentence what one "fool" can do: " In all things whatsoever there is no design so great or good but it will take twenty wise men to move it forward a few inches ; and a single fool can stop it ... a single fool will bring it down." Although the Dictionary is criticised, although its memoirs of Edward vn. and the poet Swinburne have lessened its prestige, it will probably survive the ridicule which it has drawn upon itself, PREFACE xiii and continue to be patronised by club fossils and dipped into by the privileged persons who pass their lives in the British Museum reading-room. A museum is a fitting receptacle for it. But those patient grubbers who go to Bloomsbury in quest of information concerning the men and women of the past will remember, when they turn to the pages containing the memoirs of the great King and the great poet, how the " Daily Telegraph " pilloried the gaucheries of the Dictionary, and how the " Daily Mail " trampled its unfortunate asser- tions underfoot ; and they will hardly have missed reading the Swinburne correspondence and his poor sister's complaint in the " Times." The success of " King Edward in his True Colours " was fully anticipated by me. A second (English) edition followed closely upon the heels of the first, and there were Colonial and American editions. I have been honoured by the most gracious recognition of the accuracy of my portrait of the King. Such unsolicited testimony to the historical value and usefulness of the book will ever be a cherished souvenir. This highly-prized appreciation of the volume has been fully endorsed by my public. My readers felt that nothing but the plain truth concerning our dear King had been placed before them, and that the pen which wrote it had been inspired by patriotism and loyalty to the Dynasty as well as by a consuming desire to replace Edward the Seventh of glorious and loving memory upon the pedestal which he had justly occupied. xiv PREFACE " A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword." When a King such as Edward vn. is in question, we cannot listen without deep pain and impatience to those who, on the printed page of a monumental work," would have us consider him a mediocrity. No, we resent such '' injuries " with all the force at our command. And we ask this gentleman Where w r as your patriotism, where your loyalty to the King who honoured you, when you wrote those words which filled the heart of your Socialist admirer with joy, and sent the Paris journalist Judet into paroxysms of delight ? Did you bestow a thought upon the widowed Queen, still in her garb of woe ? Did you ask yourself if your wounding phrases would soothe her lacerated heart ? Did you think of the dead King's children one a King, another a Queen ? Do you respect, or do you mock at the injunction, " De mortuis nil nisi bonum " ? In my second volume are presented more of the King's characteristics his attributes which a plethora of other matters and a desire to give the reader variety prevented me from previously noting. The theft of the Crown Regalia from Dublin Castle is narrated, and, for the first time, the effect upon the King is described. I regard this episode as one of the leading events of the nine years' reign. I am sure the King so con- sidered it ; I am equally certain, from the infor- mation which has been placed at my disposal by knowledgeable Irish friends, that this ugly business caused the Sovereign the utmost exasperation PREFACE xv and dismay. It was not merely the material loss of the jewels which provoked the anger of one who was ordinarily so self-possessed ; environing circumstances, the nature of which I am not disposed to describe explicitly for reasons of public policy, added fuel to the flame. I believe this story of a crime has not its parallel. The " information " which has been unwisely pub- lished in the papers from time to time has been denied by the Chief Secretary in the House of Commons, the libellous statements reflecting upon Lord Haddo (son of the Lord-Lieutenant) included. The Dictionary's Memoir has been now supple- mented by the momentous assertion of the " Times " (May 1913) that " it is well known that King Edward was no very devoted student of poetry ! " This nonsense appeared in an article on ' The Laureateship," the writer of which displayed his intimate acquaintance with poets and poetry by attributing to the serious Words- worth a Bon Gaultier parody ! Some blunderer will next be assuring us that the King had never been " a very devoted student " of the art of spelling, and was compelled to have frequent recourse to the Dictionary (not the D.N.B.). To the King's attitude to poetry a chapter is devoted. Edward vn. both as Prince and as King, but particularly as Heir-Apparent, passed some of his happiest days in Austria-Hungary, with whose Emperor-King he had been for many years on terms of the most charming intimacy, and to whose son, Rudolf, he was sincerely attached. xvi PREFACE For this reason his visits to the twin-countries are narrated by an eye-witness of the events. I regret that the necessity of putting this volume in the printers' hands at the beginning of July deprived me of the advantage of hearing from the lips of Prince Tassilo Festetics those additional details which this devoted friend of the King so generously promised to place at my disposal when he next visited London. It is to be deplored that by the death of Edward vn. a strong international personal tie between the two empires was snapped. I could not resist the opportunity of paying a tribute to Lord Knollys on his retirement from the Private Secretaryship. To that distinguished guide, philosopher, and friend of King Edward the Empire owes a debt of gratitude for his life- time of service loyally, efficiently, and silently performed, and continued to the great advantage of our present sagacious and tactful Ruler for nearly three years after the calamity of 1910. It is matter for congratulation that there has been found in Lord Stamfordham so worthy a successor. I hope the account of the attacks made upon Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort will add to the historical value of this volume. They should prove interesting if only because they show that the eldest son of Victoria and Albert was not the sole victim of the traducers' en- venomed shafts, and that the Legislature as a body and Mr. Gladstone as an individual hastened to protect the young Queen and her husband PREFACE xvii from their dastardly assailants. Mr. Gladstone had his own bitter experiences of detraction, but it should be remembered to his eternal honour that he rallied to the defence of the Monarchy in its time of stress. The services so rendered by the great Liberal Minister were not too deeply graven in the Queen's otherwise retentive memory. The Monarchical Renaissance which set in with King Edward's Reign, the Parliamentary discus- sion over the Royal Children's allowances, the late Sovereign as Prince of Wales, and the present full- steam-ahead Monarch as Duke of York, the history of King Edward's last illness, and the canards respecting the problematic official biography are subjects treated in more or less detail, and there are some stories for the amusement of the idlers in literary pastures. My gratitude to the British, Colonial, American, French, and Hungarian reviewers of " King Edward in his True Colours " is unbounded. In a spirit of delicate compliment the " Daily Telegraph " hinted that I ought to have written an orthodox biography of Edward vn. But that was not my intention. I could not have produced a satis- factory work of that kind without being accorded " facilities " permission to copy original docu- ments, letters, and memoranda in general ; and without many other aids to compiling a cut-and- dried biography. All that kind of assistance will rightly be afforded the compilers of the properly- called " official " work. My sole object was to present such episodes and events as I could treat b xviii PREFACE with some satisfaction to myself and the public. And that I have done to the best of my ability. I will only add that my experiences concerning my first volume were interesting and amusing. The present book was completed before the Presidential fetes and the celebration of Alexandra Day in June 1913. M. Poincare, on his return to France, favoured the "Daily Chronicle's" correspondent with some confidences that he had not given to others. He declared that his recep- tion in London was " the apotheosis of the Entente Cordiale," as it unquestionably was. But it was also the apotheosis of Edward vn. This was admitted by leading papers the " Times," the "Daily Mail," and the "Daily Graphic "not in the precise words here used, but in their spirit. This view of the event may not have occurred to the populace until they read the papers, but we may hope that it will not be lost sight of. The President had returned to the Elysee when the " Temps," the most influential of the French papers, remarked : " We ought to render thanks to Edward vn. and M. Delcasse, the authors of the Entente" It was a felicitous utterance, but un- fortunately it escaped the notice of our journals. As, in the language of the all-powerful " Temps," the " authors " of the Franco-British Under- standing were King Edward and the former French Minister for Foreign Affairs, so were the King and Count Benckendorff the " authors " of the Understanding between Great Britain and Russia. The obituary notices of Arminius Vambery PREFACE xix (September 1913) gave him credit for all but one of his achievements his defence of our late Sovereign, which appeared in my first volume. I am grateful to the editors of the " Daily Chronicle," " Morning Post," " Globe," and " Evening News " for allowing me to rectify the omission. By a happy conjuncture of circumstances, President Poincare, the eulogist of Queen Victoria at Nice and of her son at Cannes in April 1912, participated in the celebration of Alexandra Day. In exchange for a crisp piece of paper three pretty " misses " gave him an armful of the emblems of the occasion ; and he witnessed the clou of the spectacle the promenade of THE QUEENS. Not only was this the event of the day it was the event of the Reign. Never before had Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary gratified the million by riding together through the decorated streets of London. The announcement that they would so appear was a delightful surprise. It was the happening of the unexpected. At five minutes to three by St. James' Palace clock we saw the younger Lady drive unescorted through the gate- way of Marlborough House. Five minutes later came the sortie, the " present ar-r-ms ! " and the National Anthem, which, labouring under the intoxication of the moment, we took the liberty of changing into " God save the Queens ! " Frenzied cheers, waving of handkerchiefs, baring of heads, and a chorus of " Weren't they lovely ? " E. L. CONTENTS CHAPTER I ATTRIBUTES OF EDWARD vn. THE KING'S PORTENT PAGE The Sovereign's tragic words Strained position of political affairs and its effect upon the King's health His last years of stress His firmness The image-breaker A retrospect The question of Queen Victoria's abdica- tion The King a man of moods : " Le Roy le veult ! " M. Poincare's tributes to Queen Victoria and King Edward The King as the world's Peacemaker King and Tsar at Reval Prince of Wales and Crown Prince of Prussia (Emperor Frederick) Gambetta . . 1-32 CHAPTER II KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES (continued) His fiftieth birthday : French tributes The King arranges marriages of Princess Maud and Princess En a Europe spellbound by Edward vn. The King and the German Press Mr. Bottomley's eulogy of the King General Booth A supper on the stage of the Lyceum Their Majesties and Henry Irving Busts of the King: addresses at Manchester University . . . 33-54 CHAPTER III THE IRON FIST Theft of the Dublin Crown Jewels "I will have no scandals ! " The King's indignation Proceedings of xxi xxii CONTENTS PAGES the Crown Jewels Commission Statements in the House of Commons Royal visits to Ireland Lord Salisbury and the Viceroyalty Various Lords-Lieu- tenant How Lord Salisbury chose Lord Zetland . 55-76 CHAPTER IV RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY Unpopularity of Queen Victoria after the Prince Consort's death : suggested abdication Criticisms of the Heir- Apparent His Diary of social engagements in 1891 The Queen's ceremonial duties delegated to the Prince The Monarchical situation saved by the Prince and Princess of Wales The Prince's work detailed Accession of Edward vn. Pageantry in the new reign Descriptions of scenes . . . 77-101 CHAPTER V THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN" ABROAD "The Runabout King" Personal narratives of visits to Austria- Hungary and to the Riviera At Marienbad : the King and the English Church, amusing scene at Fischl's shop, visitors bowing to an empty chair, Marienbad made famous by Edward vn. as Prince and as King, an historical interview with the Emperor of Austria, dinners and illuminations, the King of Bulgaria visits King Edward, silhouettes of Edward vn. by Pick, story of a boot-shop keeper and the King's pneumatic tyres, the King visits Mrs. Standish, his dog steals some cake, a charming anecdote of the King when hunting with the Archduke Rudolph, British and Australian girls honour the King at Ischl, the King and the Victoria Home for British Governesses at Vienna Intimate sketch of the King and his dog CONTENTS xxiii PAGES Peter at Cannes by a friend of His Majesty's host and hostess 102-124 CHAPTER VI ROYAL CHILDREN'S MONEY-BOXES Debates on the grants to the young Princes and Princesses Chamberlain, Dilke, Bradlaugh, Labouchere, Stead, Gladstone, and W. H. Smith An extra annual allow- ance of 36,000 granted to the Heir-Apparent as trustee for his children (Mr. Gladstone's scheme) 125-133 CHAPTER VII CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD The Dictionary of National Biography's Memoir of Edward vn. Criticisms and refutations Newspaper attacks on Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort and discus- sions in Parliament Mr. Gladstone, in a newspaper, champions the Queen and the Prince The attacks (in 1789) on the Prince of Wales and the Dukes of York, Clarence, and Cumberland The "Times" and the Royal Princes (1789) Sir Richard Holmes on King Edward and his libraries The " Quarterly Review" on Sir Henry Burdett's "Prince, Princess, and People " " The Golden Book of King Edward VH." on the King's literary tastes and his purchases of books Mr. Keir Hardie, M.P., eulogises the Diction- ary's Memoir of King Edward The " Daily Mail's " criticism of the Memoir The "Times," "Daily Graphic," and "Daily Mail" on King Edward and the Entente Cordiale The "Evening Standard" on " The Character of the King " (1912) Herr Maximilian Harden on King Edward and the Kaiser Miss Isabel Swinburne complains in the "Times" of the Dictionary's xxiv CONTENTS PAGES Memoir of her brother, the poet Mr. James Douglas on the Memoirs of King Edward and the poet Swin- burne Becky Sharp and the " Dixonary " . 134-178 CHAPTER VIII LORD KNOLLYS An appreciation of the famous Private Secretary . 179-182 CHAPTER IX WHEN EDWARD vn. WAS PRINCE AND GEORGE v. DUKE Reminiscences of 1893 The engagement of the Duke of York and Princess "May" and their appearance together in public Scenes in the Park Queen Victoria ..... 183-197 CHAPTER X THE " OFFICIAL " BIOGRAPHY What the papers said Some amusing statements Mr. Oliver Gwynne (Manchester " Sunday Chronicle ") on the Memoir of Edward vn. and King Edward's influence with the Press Queen Alexandra and newspaper mis- statements ..... 198-207 CHAPTER XI KING EDWARD AND POETRY Comments on the "Times" assertion (1913) that the King "was no very devoted student of poetry" A poem "In Memory of Princess Alice Maud Mary, Grand Duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt/' by the late Miss Lcetitia CONTENTS xxv (PAGES Probyn (sister of General Sir Dighton Probyn, Comp- troller of Queen Alexandra's Household) " For Papa's Birthday," lines written by Queen Alexandra for her children to repeat to their father on November 9 208-220 CHAPTER XII HISTORY OF THE KING'S ILLNESS The Authorised Report drawn up by His Majesty's Physicians (1910) Leaflet issued by the Parliamentary Anti-Vivisection Society Queen Alexandra's letter thereon read in the Court of King's Bench (1913) 221-227 CHAPTER XIII KING EDWARD IN STORY Anecdotes of Edward vn. and others The King and the deaf-and-dumb language His Majesty and Miss The esprit he admired The orange-woman and "Teddy" Queen Victoria shows "How the Prince Imperial looked " What happened to the Empress Eugenie The Heir-Apparent and the stranger "That does not matter, my dear Febvre" The King as a "proof-reader What he told Paoli The Prince and Mr. Hooley : words of advice A Sandringham story Vivian , the King, and the Marlborough Club " Punch " and the Prince's cricket bat What the King carried in his pockets A Marlborough House dinner-party Jostling the Prince Enterprising American Publishers and Editors Vambery and the Royal Birthday Book A Marlborough House incident The King gives Lionel Brough two "winners" The Prince's right eye The Prince of Wales and the Shah What the Prince saw at the " Figaro " office "The Prince is more liberal about Home Rule than most of them" "Hullo! There's Smith ! "The xxvi CONTENTS PAGES Prince, the Duke of Cambridge, and Mr. Bottomley " My friend Farini " How an interview with the Tsar was obtained The Two Queens . . 228-358 CHAPTER XIV AROUND KING EDWARD'S FAMILY Queen Alexandra's characteristics "The Queen is a fair woman, not a brunette " The Empress Marie Feodorovna, " One of the silent forces of Europe " The Sisters The Empress and her son as " prisoners " at Copenhagen and Peterhof : fantastic stories Queen Alexandra and her regiment : verses from the " Green Howards' Gazette" The Empress Frederick, her Consort, William n., Bismarck, and others, portrayed by Gustav Freytag in his Letters to his Wife The Emperor Frederick's Doctors and Sir Morell Mac- kenzie Queen Victoria and the Ambassador-Extra- ordinary of Emperor William n. The Kaiser's opposition to his Mother Freytag's statements traversed by Professor Leinhaas (friend and Librarian of the Empress Frederick) Queen Alexandra and King George v. Her Majesty and the late Duke of Devonshire ..... 359-389 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS KING EDWARD vn. ..... Frontispiece Reproduced exclusively for this work by permission of Mr. ALBERT BRUCE-JOY, the distinguished sculptor. Photo, W. E. GRAY. FACING PAGE KING EDWARD ON BOARD THE DREADNOUGHT (August 1907) ....... 44 Photo, STEPHEN CRIBB, Southsea. QUEEN ALEXANDRA ..... 96 From a photo by LAFAYETTE. KING EDWARD AFTER HIS CURE AT MARIENBAD IN 1904 . 104 From a sketch never before reproduced. BRONZE RELIEF OF H.I. MAJESTY FRANZ JOSEF AND OF KING EDWARD vn. . . . . .112 In King Edward's Walk, Marienbad. Reproduced by special permission of the eminent Vienna sculptor, GUSTAV GURSCHNER. Photograph by SCHRAMM, Vienna. KING EDWARD AS GRANDMASTER OF THE KNIGHTS HOSPI- TALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM AND CHEVALIER OF MALTA . . . . . .184 The costume he wore at the famous Diamond Jubilee Ball at Devonshire House. Photo, LAFAYETTE. , KING EDWARD ON HIS LAST VISIT TO BIARRITZ AT THE 224 END OF MARCH 1910 ..... PhotO, JUGAND. KING EDWARD AND QUEEN ALEXANDRA . . . 246 From two little known Danish photographs. xxvii xxviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGE A FAMILY GROUP AT SANDRINGHAM IN 1.902 . . 324 King Edward, the German Emperor, Queen Alexandra, King George, with his sister (Princess Victoria), and his children. Photo, LAFAYETTE. THE Two QUEENS ...... 358 Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra on " Alexandra Day," 1913. Photo, DAILY MIRROR. THREE ROYAL SISTERS AT THE CASTLE BERNSTOFF . 374 Queen Alexandra (centre), The Dowager Empress of Russia (left), and the Duchess of Cumberland. Photo, FERSLEW & Co., Copenhagen. MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD CHAPTER I ATTRIBUTES OF EDWARD VII. THE KING'S PORTENT He is possessed by a commanding spirit, And his, too, is the station of command. And well for us it is so. Well for the whole if there be found a man Who makes himself what Nature destined him, The poise, the central point of thousand thousands. SCHILLER. "Mr son may reign, but my grandson never will ! " These tragic words were wrung from King Edward by the events which embittered the last two years of his life events which had a disastrous effect upon his bodily health, so that he was said to have been " worried to death." x That was characterised by the " Manchester Guardian "as " an exploded fable." The King's physicians did not so regard it, for in the authorised report of his last illness 2 this significant sentence appears : " It must here be said that those around him knew how earnestly concerned he was at the present strained 1 " King Edward in his True Colours." Eveleigh Nash, 1912. 2 The " Lancet," May 14, 1910. i ? MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD position of political affairs, and this fact should not be lost sight of in an all-round consideration of the King's health. FRANCIS HENRY LAKING, M.D. ; JAMES REID, M.D. ; R. DOUGLAS POWELL, M.D." Disintegration of the empire, overriding of the House of Lords was it not within the bounds of possibility that the extinction of the Monarchy might have been anticipated by the King ere his grandson could ascend the Throne ? The King, in his hours of chagrin (and about these there will be no dispute) at his impotence to resist the rushing torrent, may have been unduly pessimistic ; yet he could not refrain from uttering the words cited, which I know he spoke. And who would regret the abolition of the Monarchy who, even the most loyal, would raise a finger to save it if the estimate formed by Sir Sidney Lee of King Edward, and endorsed by the Socialist Keir Hardie and the fiery Judet, were true to the letter ? But it was not. There is never any surplusage in such docu- ments as the one above cited, signed by the King's doctors. Every word is weighed ; only plain facts are stated. Rarely does a medical memo- randum contain a sentence parallel to that quoted from the " Lancet." Plain-spoken people who loved their King (and I hope he was not merely respected and esteemed, but truly loved, by all 'twere pity, indeed, were it not so !) may be pardoned for saying to one another : " The worry killed him ! " That is, perhaps, un peu fort, but it might not be far from the truth to assert that KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 3 the " worry ' and the terrible strain upon his mental faculties told upon him to a greater extent than " the uninitiated crowd " would have deemed possible. He knew his time had come ; but, brave man, he would, and did, " work on till the end." " The first attribute of a good sportsman," said the King after his Ambush n. had won the Grand National in 1900, " has always been con- sidered to be neither unduly elated by success nor dismayed by reverses." This was his own rule of life, but there were times when the precept failed to sustain him and he relapsed into one of his moods. It was, I believe, in one of his moment- ary fits of depression, within a year or so of his death, that he gave utterance to those desponding thoughts touching the duration of the Monarchy to which I have referred. These gloomy fore- bodings may have been prompted by the trend of political events which are too fresh in the memories of all to need recapitulation here. As we know through Vambery, and as I further know from a lifelong friend of King Edward, the Sovereign " read everything in book and pamphlet form " concerning his "trade," his " Guild," and we must not be led astray by anything to the contrary. It may well be, then, that the King, who really could read, as well as write, had perused in Sir Spencer Walpole's " Studies in Biography" certain Disraelian dicta culled from " Coningsby v and " Sybil " ; e.g. : " The only way to terminate class legislation is not to entrust power to classes. 4 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD . . . The only power that has no class sympathy is the Sovereign." " The proper leader of the people is the individual who sits upon the Throne." " As the power of the Crown has diminished the privileges of the people have disappeared, till at length the sceptre has become a pageant, and its subject has degenerated into a serf." Some such thoughts may have been in King Edward's mind when he ruminated on the " stay- ing " powers of the Monarchy, and (according to a living witness) ventured upon the amazing prediction : " My son may reign, but my grandson never will ! v Gloomy utterances of this description did not come within the category of his attributes far from it. But it must be remembered it can never be forgotten even by the least reflective that the last two years of his life were times of grievous stress, when the iron entered into his soul, when he may well have been driven into dire forebodings of what might conceivably happen. Home Rule with empire disintegration, the Parlia- ment Act, and the expressed intention of the Cabinet to procure, if necessary, the creation of five hundred new Peers for the sole purpose of carrying out the behests of an iconoclastic Ministry the King would have been less than human had he not regarded these as evil portents. His mind was perturbed, his body was weakened not seriously perhaps, but still weakened. And he was not the man he had been. How could it have been otherwise when he had heard the knocking at KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 5 the very doors of the Palace and the stern dema- gogic summons : " Do as you are bidden, or " Or what ? "Or you will be compelled to do it by force majeure ! ' We shall not see another Victorian or Edwardian reign. While both our late Sovereigns sustained occasional rebuffs, a strong tide flowed in their favour during the long rule of the one and the short rule of the other. Victoria i. had passed into the realm of legend long ere she was lost to us. The manner of her accession comprised many of the elements of a fairy story of a romance, at the very least. The summoning of the girl of eighteen from her bedroom at Kensington Palace at five in the morning to be told that the King was dead and that she was Queen ; her " coaching " by that rough diamond, Melbourne ; her early betrothal and marriage ; her tussles with her Ministers ; her forcefulness, sometimes carried to domineering ; her sentimentalism, as shown by her letters to her uncle Leopold ; her pity for her soldiers and sailors in time of war, and for the victims of disasters at home ; her paralysing grief for her Consort, and her withdrawal from the world, which moved the Press to remonstrate with her, and to remind her of the duty which she owed to the nation these events individually formed epochs in her sovereignty. She had not only many hours, but very many years " of glorious life," and her reign, as a whole, is rightly characterised as magnificent beyond com- parison. The reign of her son, had it begun earlier, would 6 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD have been perhaps even more splendid than his mother's. They were devoted to each other. The Queen would never have " said things " to her son's detriment. Had she done so none but the most callous would have revealed such con- fidences to a biographer. " The Queen talked most, and very freely and confidingly, about the Prince of Wales." * Considering the brevity of King Edward's term of governance, it was more brilliant than any similar period of Queen Victoria's. He had " a heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute." 2 These qualities were ripen- ing from his early manhood, so that when he at length ascended the throne he was fully equipped for the discharge of his functions. This was a sur- prise to most people, even to many whose intimacy with him had been closest and longest. He was so smooth-spoken, so urbane, so mild that com- paratively few suspected the firmness which was within him. Because he did not "rattle the sabre," or preach about the Heaven-sent glories of " my great ancestors," it was often predicted of him that he would be a roi faineant, a slothful king, lacking high ideals. These predictions, made at random, were falsified. Blustering he left to others ; but he could be as firm as a rock. He was " wax to receive and marble to retain." He wielded a sceptre even more potent than Agamemnon's, forged by Vulcan. " Whatever record leaps to light, he never will be shamed." 1 Mr. Gladstone (1864). 2 " Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 7 Although this country is Protestant to the backbone, and as a consequence our people are not given to bending the knee before the emblems of the Old Faith still to be seen in our cathedrals and parish churches, they are ardent worshippers of the marble and bronze figures of national heroes and Sovereigns whose lives and achievements are writ large in history. And when some iconoclast with his hammer approaches these revered forms, chipping off a piece here and a piece there, and so outraging the mighty dead, we resent the deed. In the years that are as yesterday the People set up an Image of one whom the Empire had agreed to honour in death as they had honoured and obeyed him in life. The image - breaker came. The People were told that they had been worshipping a false god ; and some believed, but many did not believe, the cruel words written by one who had been Spared to lift his hand against the King Who made him Knight. Cavour, the man who freed Italy, relates that Victor Emmanuel n. said to that other eminent statesman, D'Azeglio : " Am I to play the honest King ? This seems to me an easy business." And thereafter the nickname, " Re Galantuomo " " King Honest-Fellow," or "The King who keeps his word " stuck to him. 1 Edward vn. not only earned the title " The Peacemaker," of which the dyspeptic " Dictionary " would rob him, but of 1 " The Life and Times of Cavour," 1912. 8 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD " King Honest-Fellow." Did not he also " keep his word " and " play the honest King " ? But he may not always have found it an " easy business," or, as Alfonso xn. is credited with saying of the kingly " trade " generally, " devilish well paid " rather the contrary. What is a King? A man condemned to bear The public burthen of a nation's care. 1 The Prince, as his mother's deputy, earned the grateful thanks of the nation by forwarding every movement for the amelioration of the condition of the poor and by the earnestness and thoroughness with which he discharged the manifold tasks im- posed upon him ; while he gave ample proof that he possessed those qualities which a people look for in their rulers. Save for an occasional journey to the Continent often as much on business as on pleasure ; sometimes on the saddest of errands- supplemented by the necessary breathing-time at Sandringham, varied by a visit here and there to friends in the country, the Prince devoted the greater part of his time to the delegated discharge of those public duties which crowded ever thicker and faster upon him. Withal he managed to be seen in the Row at the modish hour ; often, too, with a cigar, an innovation of his own making, for in the seventies who save he would have dared to profane with tobacco-smoke the Route du Roi, vulgarised into "Rotten" Row? Nor was H.R.H. a stranger at the play, where he 1 Prior, " Solomon." KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 9 enjoyed himself more than anybody else, laughed louder and applauded more heartily. After dinner you saw the Royal brougham, followed by a cab containing a couple of the suite, now pelting along Piccadilly and setting down at Princes Hall, where a private view was " on " ; later, taking the Prince in the direction of Covent Garden ; for he lived every moment of his life, and seldom indulged in that after-dinner nap which many less busy men are constrained to take. In the morning, business permitting, he made a call here and there on some favoured person, or some invalid ; he took a special pleasure in looking-in upon sick friends. Were Sandown on, you were perfectly safe in betting Verena a pair of gloves that H.R.H. would be there, enjoying himself and causing enjoyment to others. Needless to catalogue the Royal movements, for was not the Prince everywhere? Even Sunday brought with it little surcease from the endless round of duty, business, or pleasure the last often the most fatiguing of all. No man was more written and talked about ; no man's actions and conduct were discussed with more freedom ; no one received so much censure and so much praise. To do the Prince justice, this grand persifleur took both with equanimity, conscious that he was doing his best in the station in which he was born. The applause of the multitude or of " society " did not unduly puff him up ; the abuse of the vulgar did not depress him until 1891. Happily, the rough wear-and-tear of life had not set its ineffaceable 10 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD seal upon him. He looked better fitted than ever to cope with those little worries and troubles of which the world outside the Palace heard nothing, suspected nothing, it might almost be said cared nothing. With each succeeding year the Queen appreciated more fully the help accorded to her so dutifully and loyally by her son ; and when, as often happened, he was the representative of a Throne in mourning, he was a still more prominent figure, exercising greater power, making his influ- ence more generally and more widely felt, and in- spiring a deeper confidence and affection among the peoples over whom he was destined to rule. In the comparisons made between Queen Victoria and her elder son from 1861 down to 1900 truth compels me to say that it was the Royal Lady who suffered often more than she deserved, for there was much to be said on her side. It was written of the Prince, for example : Although jealously debarred by his queenly mother from any active share in the government of the nation, he wields a sovereignty of his own creation which is far more powerful and auto- cratic than hers. For its character is of a social nature, and he is able to decree either the social success or the social death of any one that may attract his notice. A few quiet hints as to the fact that he objects to some particular individual are sufficient to cause social ostracism, whereas a word of commendation from his lips is all that is needed to become a leader of society. It is he alone who has made the social position of the Rothschilds in London. KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 11 Another case was cited to show the Prince's social power, " an autocracy which, all things considered, has been of a beneficent and fortunate nature." Some may think these observations a little strained, but they are not very wide of the mark. However, " the Rothschilds " are emin- ently worthy of the commanding position which they have so long occupied ; any Monarch would be proud of them as subjects ; the pity is that there are not more of them. But for the opposition of Lord Salisbury (says M. Aubry), 1 the reign of Edward vn. would have begun four years earlier. At the beginning of 1897 Queen Victoria, feeling her strength declining, weary of the burden of those duties for which she had never had much inclination, thought of abdicating and ending her days in retirement. She thus gave another instance of the conscious- ness which she possessed of her responsibilities. Unfortunately for her glory, her Ministers, and notably Lord Salisbury, energetically opposed her desire. The reasons which they adduced in support of their views were, however, specious ones. There were, they declared, no precedents for such a course. Our history had not produced one single case of the voluntary abdication of a Sovereign. In Europe, not reckoning Sylla's abdication of the Dictatorship of Rome and Diocletian's abdication of the Imperial throne, there have been only four voluntary abdications : those of Charles Quint of Spain (1555), of Christian of Sweden (1654), of Philip v. of Spain (1724), 1 For taking umbrage at a Deputy's remarks deprecatory of M. Poincare in November 1912, M. Aubry had to exchange harmless shots with the Prime Minister's detractor. 12 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD and of Louis Bonaparte of Holland (1810). This being so, Parliament (said Ministers) would not consent to ratify Queen Victoria's abdication. This was one reason ; the other was more tangible, but equally futile. Upon ascending the throne the Queen had consented to relinquish the here- ditary revenues of the Crown, which her pre- decessors had enjoyed, on condition that the nation provided her with an annual Civil List. At first (in 1837) this was a good arrangement for the country, but, in course of time, it proved the reverse of beneficial, inasmuch as the Civil List considerably exceeded the Crown revenues. As Queen Victoria entered into this arrangement only for herself, leaving it to her successor's choice to continue it or not, it was contended by Ministers in 1897 that Her Majesty's abdication would have the effect of raising grave questions in Parliament. The Queen acted on the advice of her Ministers, but w r as grieved at finding herself once more the victim of the Constitution, and the nation learnt that Her Majesty had entered upon the seventh decade of her reign with the firm intention of dying Queen. So Ministers triumphed. Their real reason for acting as they did was that they wished to retain that freedom of action which they enjoyed under the late Queen, with whom they could take things easily. It is probable that with the advent of Edward vn. they will find things different. Events did not, perhaps, altogether belie that prophecy ; for " The Strong Man of Marl- borough House " became " The Strong Man of Buckingham Palace." Generosity of spirit and a will strong as iron KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 13 were the predominant attributes of King Edward, and these I will endeavour to illustrate by examples which will reveal him in the light familiar to his legion of friends and acquaintances and totally unfamiliar to his critics. I will speak first of his generosity, as exemplified by one of those surviving friends of old who was in immediate touch with him longer, with perhaps two exceptions, than any others still among us. " During all the years I was with our dear King Edward," said this personage, immediately after the great calamity of May 6, 1910, " I naturally made many mistakes. I remember I cannot forget my Royal master saying to me, 6 Well, don't worry over it now. But don't do it again.' " This was the !t soft answer which turneth away wrath," and fully served its purpose. Moodiness was alien to the King's nature his temperament was far otherwise ; yet he was a man of moods, oftenest when in the Palace solus cum solo ; " alone by himself " he was occasionally distrait. But when he was opposed, when he was more than ordinarily vexed, the inflexible will-power asserted itself. " Le Roy le veult ! " It was the end of it the ukase of the Autocrat, an amalgam of Caesar and Charlemagne. Not only was the King well versed in the intricacies of international and constitutional law, which could be explained to him when necessary by his attached friend Lord James of Hereford, often his host at " shoots," but he had a fair 14 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD knowledge of our civil and criminal procedure. Did he not honour with his intimacy the late Sir George Lewis, and was not Sir Henry White his solicitor ? This triumvirate could " coach 5! him on all those legal points with which he was not seldom confronted. Sir George Lewis, who saw what others overlooked or were too obtuse to see, is credited with many amusing sayings ; e.g. (at a " strawberry crush ?: at Marlborough House) : " Some of these people would be in solitary confinement if they had their deserts ! ' : This, if not true, is certainly " well invented." People who saw very little of the Royalties except at the annual garden-party in Pall Mall received an enviable social cachet by the publica- tion of their names in the " Morning Post." To have passed through the gates and on to the lawns, to have quaffed champagne cup and " taken tea " while the Prince and Princess looked smilingly on it was " the time of their lives," never to be forgotten. One year in 1890 the guests had the further felicity of bowing and curtseying to Queen Victoria ; and some of them those who edged closest to the tent erected for Her Majesty were able to assure their friends that they had seen the Prince of Wales actually run to meet his mother and lead her to her tent. It is true that the most affectionate of mothers had in her " Bertie " the most devoted and respectful of sons, let others say what they will to the contrary. Englishmen were gratified at the election as KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 15 President of the French Republic of M. Poincare, who is to be credited with the delivery of one of the finest eulogiums of King Edward vn. ever spoken or written. At the unveiling of the King's statue at Cannes, on April 13, 1912, the eminent man who is now President, and whom we feted in June 1913, depicted Edward vn. as Prince and as King in an address which evoked the praise of our Press and the gratitude of our people. That speech was more than a spirited eulogy of our great Sovereign it was a vindication of his gifts and talents, as displayed in everything to which he put his hand, and devoted his active brain and tireless energy, on behalf of the Empire : When, at the age of sixty (said M. Poincare), he ascended the throne, all his accumulated stock of foresight, of wisdom, and of cleverness blossomed into brilliant political qualities. Having been gradually initiated into the mysteries of Chancel- leries and the ways of Courts, he knew better than any one else in England, or abroad, the character of individuals, the mind of rulers, the feelings of the governed. He knew the strong and the weak points, the ostensible and the real character of every man and of every thing. He was acquainted with the financial, military, and naval resources of all the nations of Europe. . . . He did not violently snatch England out of the splendid isolation in which she had enveloped herself. Methodically and circumspectly he pre- pared the way for the necessary evolution ; with moderate and gentle pressure he touched the helm in order to alter the course. . . . With one swift glance, Edward vn. calculated the work 16 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD to be done. . . . We cannot forget that it was Edward vn. who first encouraged the friendly co-operation between France and England. . . . He did try to do his duty, and he entirely succeeded. Happy are the Heads of States, and happy the citizens, whose praise is established in these simple words ! This fervent and honest tribute, paid in all sincerity by the new President of the Republic to the dead King, forms a striking contrast to the deliberate slights which have aroused the indignation of all true friends of Edward the Great and of all true loyalists throughout the Empire. Yet stab at thee who will, No stab the soul can kill. 1 Sir Francis Bertie was equally happy in his remarks. When our National Anthem had been played our Ambassador said : The King, my august Sovereign, is most grateful for the generous sentiments of respect for the memory of his father which inspired those to whom the erection of this statue of the Prince of Wales that we have just inaugurated is due. For it was as Prince of Wales that King Edward knew and loved Cannes, and that Cannes knew and appreciated him. It was in consequence of the frequent visits which the King paid to different parts of France that His Majesty was able to appreciate the sentiments of the French people and to see the opportunity of establishing between the two neighbouring countries relations of true 1 Sir John Davis, " The Soul's Errand." KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 17 and cordial friendship. The desire of King Edward was completely realised ; the presence of the Prime Minister and the association of British and French sailors at the unveiling of the statue of the Prince of Wales at Cannes, as well as yesterday's ceremony at Nice, furnish happy evidence of that fact. My Sovereign highly appreciates these manifestations. Queen Alex- andra, profoundly touched by the respect shown for her beloved husband, requests me to express her grateful acknowledgments. I am happy to be the interpreter of the feelings of their Majesties. I am likewise happy to have the opportunity of expressing in my ow r n name to the eminent sculptor to whom we owe this statue my sincere con- gratulations, and to express the hope that this monument will contribute to perpetuate in the recollections of the inhabitants of Cannes the memory of a Prince who counted the hours that he spent in the midst of them as among his happiest moments of rest. Among King Edward's gifts was the expression of the mot juste choosing the right word and putting it in the right place. In this he was an adept. " I hope, with you (the Mayor), that this ceremony may be a fresh pledge of cordial relations between France and Great Britain." These words, spoken at Cannes by the Prince of Wales when he had laid the first stone of the new jetty (March 10 the anniversary of his marriage 1898), were forerunners of the entente to the conclusion of which he later so largely contributed. ' You know," he said, " what pleasure it gives me to spend a few weeks in your beautiful country, 18 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD where I always meet with a hospitable reception. I desire to tell you especially how touched I was at your having thought of giving the jetty my name." Never did Edward vn. more strikingly reveal his talents as a world's Peacemaker (a title which, it has been asserted, was only t( symbolically just ") * than when, two years before he was taken from us, he and Queen Alexandra visited the Tsar and Tsaritsa at Reval (June 1908). Of the party also was the Dowager Empress, Queen Alexandra's sister Dagmar, who, as Comte d'Haussonville has told us, 2 was a factor in the Anglo-Russian entente sketched out years ago by King Edward and the Marquis de Breteuil. How did the King comport himself at Reval in 1908 an epoch in our history ? Dr. Dillon records it : King Edward is not only in high spirits himself, but seems endowed with the precious gift of putting in equally good spirits those statesmen and courtiers with whom he comes in contact. Yesterday (June 10) M. Stolypin, whom he had long been desirous of meeting, was presented to him, and in the afternoon the Premier and the Foreign Minister went aboard the yacht " Victoria and Albert," where they were received in audience by the King. M. Stolypin had a long talk with His Majesty, who literally fascinated him. Not only what His Majesty said, but the manner in which he expressed it, bore the peculiar impress of an artist in international politics, whom Europe 1 " Dictionary of National Biography." 2 " King Edward in his True Colours." KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 19 is now come to regard as the first statesman of the age. Although M. Stolypin reads English with ease and speaks it with a certain fluency, the language spoken by the British Monarch and the Russian Premier was French, and, accord- ing to competent Russians who have now for the first time heard His Majesty use it, King Edward's mastery of the French language is remarkable. His careful choice of words expressive of every shade of meaning, words which yet flow unchecked, is mentioned with admiration by all. But what most particularly and agreeably surprised the Russian Ministers was the precise knowledge of Russian political parties and public men that underlay the remarks of the King, whose familiarity with international relations alone presupposes long and continual study. The Foreign Secretary, M. Izvolsky, had also a long audience with His Majesty, in the course of w r hich the conversation turned on a variety of topics, chosen mainly from the political domain. At five o'clock the audience came to a close, as the King and Queen received the Tsar and Tsaritsa, who came to tea, and remained a con- siderable time on the yacht. Meanwhile, on board the cruiser " Almaz," Sir Charles Hardinge had called upon M. Izvolsky, and both statesmen, plunging at once in medias res, were soon engaged in a thorough discussion of the sole knotty political problem which has called for a display of give-and- take since the Convention was signed last year. At dinner both Sovereigns made speeches. King Edward, addressing the Tsar, said : I thank your Majesty most heartily, on behalf of the Queen and myself, for the cordial manner in which you have welcomed us in the waters of the 20 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Baltic, and for the affectionate words in which you have proposed our healths. I have the happiest recollections of the welcome which I received on the occasions of my previous visits to Russia, at the hands of your illustrious grandfather, your beloved father, and yourself, and it is a source of the sincerest gratification to me to have this opportunity of meeting your Majesties again. I most heartily endorse every word that fell from your Majesty's lips with regard to the Con- vention recently concluded between our two Governments. I believe it will serve to knit more closely the bonds that unite the people of our two countries, and I am certain that it will conduce to the satis- factory settlement in an amicable manner of some momentous questions in the future. I am convinced that it will not only tend to draw our two countries more closely together, but will help very greatly towards the maintenance of the general peace of the world. I hope this meeting may be followed before long by another opportunity of meeting your Majesties. I drink to the health of your Majesties, to that of the Empress Marie Feodorovna, and the mem- bers of the Imperial family, and, above all, to the welfare and prosperity of your great Empire. His Majesty's reply was absolutely extempore, and as none of the distinguished guests jotted down the words spoken or could recall them exactly, and as the Russian translation had also to be made, considerable delay ensued in distri- buting the text of King Edward's speech. 1 1 " Daily Telegraph," June n, 1908. KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 21 Refutations of the Dictionary's slighting refer- ences to King Edward are " plenty as blackberries." One may well ask, with Bacon : " How can a man comprehend great matters that breaketh his minde too much to small observations ? " Writing on the entente cordiale in May 1910, General Zurlinden, a former French W^ar Minister, said : " This entente, for which Sovereigns of France like Louis-Philippe and Napoleon in. had worked, is now realised, and it is due to the high, persever- ing, and intelligent intervention of the great Sovereign whom England has just lost, and whom we mourn so deeply with her." WTiat is the testimony of Baron de Courcel, well remembered as French Ambassador in London? He said immediately after the King's death : There is no exaggeration in the regret so un- animously manifested by the French at this mo- ment. From his youth up King Edward had a very pronounced personal sympathy for our country. The amiable Prince, so full of life and activity, liked our expansive manners ; he shared our sociable habits, and his friendship was faith- ful. Scarcely had he succeeded Queen Victoria when he made his beneficent influence felt. His experience of the world and of the realities of life, his natural spirit of observation and conciliation, his personal charm, associated with a precise senti- ment of practical interests, soon assured him con- siderable authority in England and in Europe. Every one felt that he had to be reckoned with, and also that his power would be exercised in favour of ideas of peace and of mutual toleration. In a nation agitated by party strife, in a Europe 22 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD disturbed by the survival of cruel resentment, he was truly the King of Peace. His death throws into mourning the diplomacy of every country, which saw in him an eminent master. And Dr. C. Sarolea, in his remarkable work, "The Anglo-German Problem," 1 writes, a propros of aggressive Imperialism : There are other causes which have contributed even more efficiently to produce the pacific temper of the English people. Both the Transvaal war and the Russo-Japanese War, with the frightful sacrifices they entailed, have had a sobering effect on the national mind, and have laid bare the dangers of aggressive Imperialism. On the other hand, the remarkable results achieved by the diplo- macy of King Edward have brought home the con- viction that in the promotion of national interests more can be achieved by tact and sympathy than by brute force. In my previous volume" will be found the accu- mulated tributes of great men and great journals to the memory of Edward vn. They come from all parts of the world. And, if you would fully realise the heinousness of the Dictionary's offence that of reducing the King almost to nothingness compare its Memoir with these noble words of a gifted Frenchman, whose name should be held in honour throughout the British Empire for his eloquent portraiture of the Sovereign whom we mourn : 1 Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1912. , KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 23 In January 1901 Queen Victoria finished one of the greatest reigns, perhaps the greatest reign in English history. In May 1910 there disappeared with King Edward the greatest King England has had since Elizabeth. British opinion did not deceive itself. The same honours rendered to the remains of both Sovereigns marked the difference in the national sympathy. As regards the regula- tion panegyrics and the traditional pomps, how much more eloquent were the unanimous satis- f ecits, and the civic wreaths, and the sincere regrets accorded by this business people to this business King, who, entering in 1901 upon the manage- ment of a firm which had been slightly shaken, knew, in his ten years of control, how to gain for it more credit and more world-influence than it had ever possessed before. His diplomatic work was the great achievement of his Royal life. After the interview of the King and the Tsar at Reval in 1908 I explained the debuts and the developments of that Royal work. We see the greatness of it better now, being able to compare its beginning and its ending. The England of 1901 was paralysed, discredited, and, still more, demoralised by the war in the Transvaal ; exposed by the military destitution of its Island and of its Indies to the objurgations of Europe, given over by the defeat and odium of that unequal war to the world's mockery and indignation, given over more especi- ally to the unreasonable demands of Berlin, which, from 1898 to 1901, obtained a series of public or secret understandings, all prejudicial to British commerce and prestige, all favourable to the expansion of German industry, German maritime power, and German influence in China, Africa, and Turkey The England of 1910 was 24 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD restored to the front rank of nations less by the prestige of victory and the value of its armaments than by the number and solidity of its alliances ; served in Europe by the cordial devotion of the four Latin nations, France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal ; served in the Levant and in the Middle- East by the collaboration of Russia, in the Far East by Japan ; everywhere dreaded, esteemed, or loved yes, loved, a sentiment which for centuries John Bull has inspired only among his near relations across the ocean or even in his own colonies ; while from Germany, in a circle of relations, London has obtained friendship only by loyal contracts and reciprocal concessions after the exchange of public words and mutual services. Such, in the reign of Edward vn., is the personal work of the King. Without speaking of Sovereigns that a Richelieu or a Bismarck reduced to the role of actors in a piece conceived and managed by another, there are Victor Emmanuels who would have done nothing great without the mind of a Cavour and the arm of a Garibaldi, and French who have gained nothing but through the cunning of a Metternich. . . . Continuously, without blows, without decrees, Edward vn. did between 1901 and 1908 that which from the first he had determined to do, that wilich, in the England of 1901, he alone believed possible and desirable, deeming it necessary, that which on the Continent in 1901 only one woman and two great Frenchmen desired or dared to foresee : the woman is the Dowager Empress of Russia the men are the then French Minister of Foreign Affairs and the French Am- bassador at Rome. If ever our great-nephews dream of glorifying the authors of these results of the Triple Entente it is the names of Marie KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 25 Feodorovna, of Paul Cambon, of Theophile Del- casse, and of Camille Barrere that they will have to engrave under that of Edward vn. The Triple Entente had other helpers in the first and in the second hour, it had a knot of labourers at the twelfth hour, but that Entente would still have been in the realm of impossibilities without the collaboration of those five statesmen, and whatever may have been the work and the tenacious energy of the other four it is probable that without Edward vn. the Entente would not have passed from the region of their hopes to the adhesion of three great nations and the sympathy of others. 1 There we have a portrait of the real Edward vii., the Monarch we know him to have been. Where is the Englishman who will have the boldness to publicly question the literal accuracy of M. Berard's eloquent and vivid synopsis of the lif ework of our great departed ? Such a man does not breathe. I recall those words. As Randolph Churchill "forgot Goschen," so I forgot Keir Hardie. There is no rule without an exception. The foundation of the friendly relations between France and England, developed and finally cemented by King Edward, was laid by his mother. In her frequent visits to the South the French, whose emotions are so easily aroused, saw the Queen's preference for their country over other lands when she was in quest of a few weeks' repose. Her continued presence among them flattered their amour propre. Their own crowned figure-heads 1 M. Victor Berard, " La Revue de Paris," 1910 26 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD had vanished as in a dream, and were beyond resur- rection. Queen Victoria became endeared to them by the sheer force of her magnetic personality. She was a crowned ruler, but how delightfully democratic, how simple, how like one of them- selves ! The humble folk round Cimiez, Grasse, Mentone, Cannes, and Hyeres gaped when they heard that such was the homeliness of their guest that she brought her own bed with her. What domesticity ! And those who chanced to pass her hotel saw her promenading in the grounds in her donkey-chaise ! This was the comble. One day the Royal carriage overtakes a group of mourners on their way to the cemetery. The coachman would have passed rapidly by. " No, no," says the Queen ; " drive slowly behind them." Here was a Queen's respect for the dead, indeed ! Her bounty to the very poorest was so lavish that Xavier Paoli, " Protector of Sovereigns," was moved to protest ; but he could not prevent the Queen from " throwing her money about." From 1870 until 1888 the two sons of Sove- reigns upon whom the world's gaze was most closely and continuously fixed were the Crown Prince of Germany and the English Heir-Ap- parent. In the characters and temperament of the brothers-in-law there was a general similarity, while both had a strong individuality. For his sister's husband our Prince had a strong affection as well as the highest admiration for the soldier who had behaved so gallantly in the two campaigns of 1866 and 1870-1. A man who could satisfy KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 27 the requirements of Queen Victoria and her Consort found it easy to win the respect of and " get on " with the somewhat more expansive Prince of Wales. Thus there was never anything approaching friction between the two Princes. " Unser Fritz " was the most magnanimous and forgiving of men, and, despite the anti-Teuton outburst of a section of our Press, led by the " Times," when his engagement to Queen Victoria's firstborn was made known, the Prince who lives in history as " Frederick the Noble " retained till the end his admiring respect for this country, our people, and our institutions. Had he lived to witness the rule of King Edward, it is safe to assert that the good relations between the two countries would never have been impaired ; never should we have seen that crazy and mischievous armaments struggle which has equally discredited England and Germany in the eyes of the world. With the aid of " business " Monarchs such as King Edward was and as Kaiser Frederick would have become we should have continued to "join hands across the sea," while the bond of union would have been cemented by the eminently practical and conciliatory " wake-up England " Sovereign who now so happily rules us. In 1887, within a year of his death, the Crown Prince Frederick William rode in the forefront of the Jubilee procession through the gaily- decorated streets. The crowd, often so supine, hailed him with cheers and waving of hats and handkerchiefs. The heroic figure in that White 28 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Cuirassier uniform captured the imagination of the people. With curious infelicity " the lying jade, Rumour," spread it about that the Prince of Wales had been vexed at the tribute paid to his Imperial brother-in-law, and the calumny has reappeared at intervals between 1887 and 1913. It has never been contradicted. I now give a point-blank denial to this wholly unjusti- fiable slur upon King Edward, who, as were all the members of his family, was inexpressibly delighted at the splendid reception accorded to the German Crown Prince. Frederick the Noble and Edward the Great equally recognised and appreciated the importance of the Press. Readers of my previous volume will remember the good service done to the English Press by the Prince of Wales at St. Peters- burg when, in 1874, he insisted upon the repre- sentatives of our newspapers being admitted to the Winter Palace to chronicle the marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh and the Grand Duchess Marie. Margaretha von Poschinger * tells us that " the Crown Prince was well aware of the power of the Press, and always treated journalists with great cordiality. It created some sensation when he first received journalists and editors of the leading newspapers at Potsdam. At official ceremonies at Berlin he was often seen chatting with a group of journalists. Once at some great 1 " Life of the Emperor Frederick." Based upon the German of Margaretha von Poschinger. With an Introduction by Sidney Whit- man. KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 29 public function he asked the representatives of the Press whether they were satisfied with the places assigned to them. Upon receiving a reply in the negative he administered a severe reprimand to those responsible for the arrangements, con- cluding with the words : " These gentlemen are more important than you are, for if they did not write about it the world would know nothing of what is going on here to-day." As King Edward was a lifelong reader of the Radical " Reynolds's," so his brother-in-law at Berlin read the Radical " Volks-Zeitung." When one of the higher Court officials wished to replace that paper by one of a more moderate tendency, the Crown Prince would not allow a change to be made. " But, your Royal Highness," said the functionary, "it is a regular revolutionary paper." " Never mind, my friend," answered the Crown Prince, " I know what the Government thinks ; I want to know what other people think as well." And as Charlotte " went on cutting bread-and-butter," so " Unser Fritz " went on reading the " Volks-Zeitung." Something more than conventional grief was displayed by the Prince of Wales when, in June 1888, like the other near relatives of the House of Hohenzollern, he took his final farewell of the great Dead by the simple, yet deeply touching, act of kissing the Kaiser's coffin. Indeed, those whose acquaintance with the two Princes entitled them to speak on the subject agreed that there were not a few strong points of similarity in their 30 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD characters. Not seldom those who are born in the purple, and so are accustomed to the slavish homage of the world, exhibit an arrogance and a pride which go far to deprive them of the real friendship of those by whom they are surrounded ; but if Edward of England and Frederick of Ger- many had two distinguishing traits, they were simplicity and geniality. Those know best the entirely unaffected spirit of the Emperor Fred- erick who saw him in the field. Bonhomie was the rule among officers and men alike when they were fighting " fur Gott und Vaterland " in Eighteen Hundred and Seventy ; but the sunny good-nature and open-heart edness of " Unser Fritz " did much to lighten the labour of all with whom he came into contact, and to make the hardships and miseries of war more endurable than they otherwise would have been. Without straining the parallel too far, it may be said that the home-life always possessed a great charm for our King and for his brother-in-law. From the year of their marriage they were the centres of a large and ever-widening family circle ; and painters and poets portrayed their domestic lives in so fascinating a light that the whole world became familiar with the hearths of the two Princes. King Edward had a predilection for the family of Napoleon in., but he did not fail to remain on the most friendly footing with the Orleanists, and especially with the Due d'Aumale. Between the Prince of Wales and the exiled Orleanist Prince there were many points of similarity. Both were KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 31 devoted to sport, and both horresco referens were students of books. The former owner of Wood Norton was an author of note, and could, and I am sure did, " coach " his young friend as Napoleon in. had done, but with a difference. Like Kingsley, the Emperor and the Due d'Aumale taught King Edward something more than " dates," so that, while Queen Victoria's son was thoroughly versed in his own country's history, he was an equal " dab " at French history, and exceptionally well acquainted with that of other countries. All the " nigglings " to the contrary which were published in 1912 were fictions, and I have proved them to be so. King Edward himself may be cited in corroboration of what has been now related. In one of his numerous confidences with Paoli, His Majesty said : " You see the Due d'Aumale is a grand seigneur of the past in our days, a belated grand seigneur. He represents the flower of that French politeness which is so charming, and whenever I talk to him I seem to be taking a lesson in French history, so vast is his knowledge, so accurate is his memory." The King never neglected an opportunity of adding to his store of information, or he would not have stood out among sovereigns and princes as the Admirable Crichton we know him to have been. It is further to be noted that during his reign no one ever ventured to doubt his all-round attainments and capacity. The moment he is dead the " belittlers " crawl out of their shells 32 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD and relegate him to the arriere-plan like bandits who have been lurking in ambush for their prey. But, to change the simile, the literary engineers have been " hoist with their own petard." And now " "Tis the sport to see them in their discomfiture." The King's perceptive powers are exemplified in what he said to the " detective courier " about Gambetta : " The first time I saw him," observed King Edward, " he seemed to me to have such a common look, and his dress was so negligent, that I thought, ' Can this really be the man who exercised an irresistible fascination over crowds ? ' Then he talked, and Gambetta developed his ideas and his plans. His admirable lucidity, the breadth of his views, the 'taking ' charm of his eloquence, made me forget the deception which his appearance had produced. In my turn I was carried away, as were the others present. I saw him again once or twice before his death. I regret him. He was a great politician and a marvellous virtuose de la parole." Edward vn., who could be sufficiently ruse among diplomatists and Continental politicians, was not, we see, the man to wrap up his thoughts when conversing with a friend ; nor did he fail to " own up " when he made a mistake, as he certainly had momentarily done over Gambetta. The Tribune, however, was not always heedless of his personal appearance, and could " look nice " when he chose. The contrast between the two men was all the greater because the King was tire a quatre epingles " dressed up to the nines." CHAPTER II KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES (continued) WE can obtain still further and abundant know- ledge of the King if we cast off the trammels of bias and take careful note of the opinions of others our foreign friends in particular ; for the true history of a man is largely composed of shreds and patches, " smeared paper," as Bismarck called diplomatists' despatches. Of " smeared paper "' relating to Edward vn. as Prince and King there are tons, and not a little of it issued forth from the printing presses of the " Figaro," as witness this birthday tribute (November 1891) : Having attained his fiftieth year, with his round face, blue eyes, closely-cropped grey beard, and a head from which most of the naturaKcover- ing has disappeared, the Prince of Wales, who is invariably attired in the latest fashion, is still the king of elegance in his country. It is sometimes said that the Prince of Wales' s life is too free ; there are even people in Paris who pretend that they have witnessed it. It would be bad taste of England to complain of it, and only a few Radical journals murmur about it, in the name of " great principles." The people, however, have more good sense, and flatter them- selves that the Heir to the Throne has all the 34 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD political qualities of his ancestors, if not of his mother. He prepared himself quite early in life for his metier of king, for hardly had he completed his classical studies than he began to make long voyages. ... In 1878 he displayed much activity in making our great Exhibition a success. Do not forget that this is an answer to those who pretend that the Prince is our enemy. The Prince's absence from the Portsmouth fetes was much commented on ; and Lord Salis- bury being also absent, it was to the Queen that we had to address our gratitude. However, public opinion in France having appeared surprised, perhaps even froissee, at the conduct of the Prince of Wales, he did not hesitate to write a letter excusing himself. In that communication he said that, events having precipitated them- selves at the last hour, he had disposed in advance of his time in order to make a cure at Homburg pour combattre Fobesite. Let us be just : the Prince is menaced therewith, even attacked by it, at an age when it still has some chance of developing. As an example of the kindly feeling of the French Press for King Edward I cite this inter- change of messages between the " Echo de Paris," the King, and Lord Knollys. These gratifying New Year wishes on the part of the French journal were headed " Le Roi Edouard vn. et les souhaits de ' FEcho de Paris ' pour Fentente cordiale et le maintien de la paix dans le monde." On December 31, 1906, the London correspondent of the paper telegraphed : Selon vos desires j'envoyai hier a Sa Majeste KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 35 le roi Edouard vn. les voeux de "1'Echo de Paris" par le telegramme suivant : A SA MAJEST^ LE ROI EDOUARD vn., SANDRINGHAM Au nom de " 1'Echo de Paris," j'ai Fhonneur de transmettre a Votre Majeste les voeux respectueux et sinceres qu'a 1'occasion ae la nouvelle annee les directeurs et le personnel du journal forment pour le bonheur de Sa Majeste et de la famille royale, souhaitant egalement qu'au cours de 1'annee 1907 1' entente cordiale, fortifiee par des relations encore plus etroites entre les peuples de la Grande- Bretagne et de la France, continue a contribuer au maintien de la paix entre les nations. Daigne Votre Majeste agreer mes tres respec- tueux hommages. DE LAPRE. R&PONSE DU Roi D'ANGLETERRE (envoyee par lord Knollys, secretaire particulier du roi) SANDRINGHAM, 31 decembre 1906, 7 h. 10 du soir. I am commanded by the King to request you to thank the directors and staff of the " Echo de Paris " for the telegram which they directed you to send to His Majesty in their name on the occasion of the New Year. The King greatly appreciates their good wishes towards himself and likewise the sentiments which they express as to the maintenance of the warm feelings of friendship which exist between the two countries, and which His Majesty earnestly trusts may never be disturbed. 36 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD (Translation) D'ordre du roi, je vous prie de remercier les directeurs et le personnel de " 1'Echo de Paris' 5 pour le telegramme qu'ils vous ont demande d'envoyer a Sa Majeste en leur nom a 1'occasion de la Nouvelle Annee. Le roi apprecie grandement leurs bons voeux a son egard et aussi les senti- ments qu'ils expriment pour le maintien des rapports de chaude amitie qui existent entre les deux pays et qui, Sa Majeste en a la ferme confiance, ne pourront jamais etre troubles. KNOLLYS. It is easy to understand the attraction which, as Prince and as King, Edward vn. always presented to Continental authors, who gave themselves abundant latitude when sketching him. It must be admitted that many of these foreign chroniclers produced word-portraits of the Sovereign at once audacious and diverting, although here and there too rich in their colouring to please all palates. The omniscient and mysterious Vasili, who is supposed to have been one of several shrewd litterateurs content to sink their individuality for the common benefit, gave a more minute analysis of King Edward before his accession than any of his or their competitors. Through his glasses the King, or rather " the Prince," appears as " The most accomplished gentleman in the United Kingdom ; his courtesy is perfect, and if he aspires to be considered the ' First Gentleman in Europe,' it is not surprising. He knows how to combine in his dress extreme refine- KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 37 merit with the utmost simplicity, and he is possessed of an irresistible grace, making each one whom he addresses believe that he, and he alone, enjoys his Royal Highness's special favour." " We [the Emperor William i. and his Chan- cellor] are not persons to go to Canossa," said Bismarck during the " Kulturkampf." Kaiser Henry iv. had " knuckled down " to Pope Gregory in 1077, and had done penance in " the snow- covered court of Canossa " ; but Kaiser William I. was not, and Kaiser William n. is not, cast in the same mould as was Henry iv. Nor will any English Sovereign or Prime Minister of to-day dream of making a pilgrimage to Canossa. Seldom has there been a more transparent or a more impudent hoax than that which, three months before King Edward's death, imputed to Lord Curzon that he had taken the initiative in pre- paring the way for the establishment of regular diplomatic relations with the Vatican. Worst of all was the dragging into that galimatias of King Edward, whose goodwill towards his Roman Catholic subjects was well known. This country has got on perfectly well without any direct diplomatic representation at the Vatican, and there is a very general reluctance to make any change. There was, in 1848, a proposal to estab- lish a Legation, or a Diplomatic Agency, at the Vatican, but it was promptly snuffed out by the House of Commons. During the Pontificate of Pius ix. our Government certainly sent a " re- presentative," but he was of the genus known as 38 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD "officious," not "official." That step was due to Mr. Gladstone, who, in 1880, when the agitation in Ireland threatened to disrupt the United Kingdom, sent Mr. Errington to Rome on a confidential mission to request the Pope to bid the Irish Catholics to act with more loyalty to the throne. Leo xni. complied with that wish, hoping that his mediation with the fractious Irish would result in our Government sending to the Papal Court a permanent British Diplomatic Agent. His Holiness was, however, speedily dis- illusioned. The most vehement opponent of the Pope's wishes was Cardinal Manning, between whom and Mr. Gladstone an intimate friendship existed ! The marriages, of Princess " Ena " of Batten- berg with the King of Spain and of Princess Maud of Wales with the King of Norway, were arranged by Edward vn. despite all the attempts of the German Emperor to bring about alliances with Teutonic Princesses. The Kaiser's failure to secure King Alfonso for one of the latter ladies was particularly conspicuous. When the Spanish Monarch visited Berlin eight or nine years ago he was overwhelmed by the Kaiser's attentions. The " Imperial Hunt " uniform was even given to him a rare mark of the " All-Highest's " favour ; and in the Court and diplomatic coulisses the Emperor's unceasing efforts to " place " a German Princess in Madrid caused unconcealed amusement. In both cases the Emperor was outwitted by his gifted Uncle Edward, compared KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 39 with whom in matters demanding delicate handling, as in most other respects, the Imperial inventor of the " mailed fist " and " sharp sword " was of little account. The Spanish Press the Ultramontane journals excepted waxed enthusiastic over King Edward, who had for proteges Alfonso xn. and his son, the consort of Princess " Ena." The King's villegiature at Biarritz in 1907 lasted just thirty days. The Madrid papers struck a harmonious note in advance of the meeting of the English and Spanish Sovereigns at Cartagena, and their cordial remarks were immediately brought to King Edward's notice. The " Heraldo," which represents the opinions of the leader of the Radical-Democratic group, found King Edward's visit to the Murcian seaport an event of undoubted importance for Spain. ' There is not the slightest reason to temper our joy with the unfounded and vain suspicion that this approximation to England menaces our proud independence. That may be credited by the Spanish Ultramontanes, those who have viewed, and still view, with disfavour the Royal alliance with a Princess belonging to a country where liberty of conscience is a dogma and democracy a living reality. But it cannot be believed by the Liberals " ; and so on, in high- flown, but most complimentary, terms. Even the Republican "El Liberal" highly praised English policy, and warmly approved the Royal meeting at Cartagena. " The marriage of King Alfonso gave the Ultramontane Press a 40 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD terrible attack of Anglophobia, from which those papers have not yet recovered. For their fears over the Cartagena interview there is not the slightest foundation." I have not dwelt upon the late Sovereign's efforts and achievements in the home field of social reform, his deep interest, both as Prince and as King, in the amelioration of the lot of the people. Sir Henry C. Burdett had every facility for dealing with this phase of the then Heir-Apparent's career nearly a quarter of a century ago, and he acquitted himself of his task in a manner which left nothing to desire. 1 Not less valuable than Sir Henry's work was the full analysis of it given in the " Quarterly Review." In any " official " Life of King Edward which we may have some day the " Quarterly's " article should be embodied, for it could hardly be improved upon, and it is impossible for any Judet, French or English, to use it for his own depreciatory purposes. We have shown (said the writer) that the Prince has identified himself at one time or another with every great charitable object known to our time, and he has also been associated with all the most important public works of the age. He drove the last rivet into Stephenson's bridge over the St. Lawrence ; he opened the Thames Embankment ; docks, harbours, bridges, exhibitions innumerable, have been " inaugurated " by him ; he founded the Royal College of Music ; and he originated the Fisheries and Colonial Exhibitions, which 1 " Prince, Princess, and People." Longmans, 1889. KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 41 were so popular, and did so much to bring the resources of our colonies under the very eyes of the home population. In every duty that he has undertaken he has always acquitted himself well. Without the most wonderful powers of endur- ance, he could never have gone through the wear and tear of his endless engagements. An ordinary day in his life would tire most men out. In this respect he has always been the same. . . . For ten entire days in Ireland during one of his visits, he scarcely had an hour to himself, except during the very brief interval snatched for sleep. . . . Without a very considerable knowledge, not only of the ordinary questions of the day, but also of art, science, and literature, and a still greater knowledge of human nature, it would be impossible for any man to pass successfully through such ordeals as these. We should infer that for a Prince of Wales to become popular in these days, and to remain so, it is necessary that he should have a fair knowledge of everything ; that he should be familiarly acquainted with the chief European languages and literature, have great discernment and pene- tration, be a good judge of music and painting, have a thorough sympathy with the sporting instincts of Englishmen, show an interest in agri- cultural pursuits, have at least a superficial knowledge of the principal manufactures of the country, watch attentively the course of politics without talking about them, be on good terms with the leaders of parties without falling under their influence, be gifted with great shrewdness in judging of character, possess all the accomplish- ments of ordinary men, with a good many added, show amiability to all, and in all circumstances, and be absolutely iron-clad against fatigue. 42 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD The position is clearly not in the nature of those sinecures of which we hear so much in the present day. We believe we only express the general sense of the country when we affirm that the Prince of Wales has filled this position in a manner which has won for him universal respect, and even a much warmer personal feeling, as was made manifest in the deep anxiety of the nation during his almost fatal illness in 1871. Without entering into invidious comparisons, it may be confidently asserted that no heir to the British Crown ever before took such pains to prepare himself for the high duties which in course of time await him. He has submitted himself to a hard and stern ap- prenticeship. He is known to have devoted the greatest care to the education of his children, and to have stimulated in them that desire for travel which, in his own experience, he had found to bring so great a reward. Living in the full glare of publicity, the man above all others in the nation around whom personal gossip will continually revolve ; exposed at all times to misrepresentation, or the shafts of malice ; * in spite of all this, the Prince has never rendered himself fairly vulnerable to the least of the attacks which were habitually levelled at some of his predecessors. The late Emperor [Frederick] of Germany and our own Prince of Wales stand out among most Royal personages of the present generation for their anxiety to deserve well of their countrymen, and for their earnest efforts to fulfil every requirement incidental to their stations. The path of duty was very different in both cases, but in both it was conscientiously followed out. It would be almost miraculous if any one occupying a foremost position in any country 1 As, for example, in 1891 and 1912. KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 43 entirely escaped the voice of detraction ; but, in justice to the good sense and good feeling of the English people, it must be acknowledged that this unwelcome voice is almost wholly silent where the Prince of Wales is concerned. Few, indeed, are they who will not cordially and frankly acknow- ledge that his personal qualities and his lofty sense of duty well entitle him to share with his illustrious mother, the Sovereign, the loyalty and affection of the British people all over the world. " Attributes " of King Edward ! They are noted in scores of volumes and in thousands of newspaper articles and magazine essays, written in all languages, and, with rare exceptions, frankly eulogistic of our Prince and King. Where, as in 1891, Continental and other writers across the sea let fly their poisoned arrows they took their inspiration from the diatribes of English journalists some of them (like those of the " Tomahawk " and the precious " Annuals ") Government clerks, 16 smearing paper " by day and defaming Queen Victoria and her son by night. Europe was spellbound by Edward vn. His movements, his alleged sayings (mostly fiction), his objects (mostly imaginary also) exercised the minds of the people who count. The calendar tells us that it is August 1907. It is the holiday- time of the Earth's Rulers, and consequently the witching hour of the canard. Every day for the next three or four weeks the telegraph wires will throb, and at the world's telephone there will be collected diplomatists, financiers, merchants, and 44 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD journalists, all agog to learn what is passing in the coulisses. It is gratifying to our chauvinism that our amiable Monarch should be the principal object of attention in the vacation, as he has long been at other times of the year. Abroad, they have affectionately dubbed him " POncle de PEurope " ; and there can be no doubt about his ability to play the part to perfection : it " fits him like a glove." His wide experience of peoples and affairs has given him a knowledge of the business of nations not possessed by any other crowned or uncrowned head. Thus it comes to pass that, as in the golden days of his Princedom his advice was sought in matters of grave import to " society," so, since his accession to the Throne, his sage counsel has been constantly in request by the wearers of other crowns and the wielders of other sceptres. It is the penalty which King Edward pays for his popularity that whenever the opportunity is afforded him of a talk with his Imperial nephew of Berlin the world is rife with anxiety to know what has passed between the two Sovereigns. Nor is our curiosity doomed to remain unsatisfied for long. When Berlin, Vienna, and Paris com- bined cannot slake our thirst for " information," we may expect a cataclysm. King Edward takes Cronberg on his way to Marienbad for the double purpose of seeing his niece the daughter of his sister, who reigned as Empress for three months and his nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm. But we may fairly anticipate, judging from experiences of the Photo} [S. Cribb, Southsea. KING EDWARD ON BOARD THE DREADNOUGHT (AUGUST 1907). KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 45 recent past, a series of journalistic " indiscretions " of a more or less improving description, ingeniously written, and made the most of by the ready- witted conductors of the organs of opinion in which these attractive plats are served up. Based upon these appetising items will be comments in the editorial columns, secundum artem ; and when King Edward reaches Schonbrunn we shall have placed before us a mass of those specula- tions, the incubation of which is as much a specialty of the Austrian capital as are its famous Schnitzel, its Backhoendel and gurkensalat, and its altogether extra-special Esterhazy Rostbraten. In the preparation of deliciously - stimulating fare of this description the culinary and journal- istic chefs of the Kaiserstadt can easily give those of all other capitals seven pounds and a beating. We must not leave the St. Petersburg cooks unrepresented in the cuisine. Their skill has been put to the test of late, but they have not once been found wanting. Towns and palaces in flames and besieged, holocausts of dead, the Army seamed with disloyalty, the Fleet revolutionaries to a man, and " probable abdication of the Tsar ' : all these dishes have been laid before us until the appetite has become somewhat cloyed with the wealth of the diurnal repast. Almost without exception the German papers paid high tributes to King Edward between May 7 and 22, 1910. In the presence of death the hearts of the most ferocious Anglophobes were softened, 46 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD and an influential jorunal l even opened its lead- ing columns to Baron d'Estournelles de Constant, president of the French section of the Inter- Parliamentary Union, who entreated the German people to abandon the mistaken idea that the King's policy had ever been antagonistic to Germany. Of the meeting of King Edward and the Emperor William at Kiel in 1904 the Baron wrote : I was at Kiel at that time, and no one en- couraged me more than the King in my efforts to demonstrate, after the reconciliation between England and France, the possibility of a German- French rapprochement on the basis of mutual concessions, a rapprochement which alone can relieve the world of the burden of unceasing armaments. Far from watching these endeavours with unfriendly eyes, the King supported them with sincere cordiality, and with his unique tact. On the day when the Emperor and Count Billow watched the course of the regatta with him on board his yacht " Victoria and Albert " he steadily and openly encouraged me in my efforts by attentions of every kind. Nor was the Emperor hostile. To-day the conscience of every one is shaken by the thought of the catastrophes which would be the consequence of a European war. The conscience of every one deplores the increase of the sacrifice with which this impossible struggle is being prepared for. But the will of two men is not strong enough to suspend the operation of past errors, even when 1 The " Berliner Tageblatt," May 20, 1910 (the day of the King's funeral). KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 47 these two men are Sovereigns of nations. A fresh education of public opinion must support their goodwill. In any case, however, the peace for which King Edward worked was no peace against Germany ; it was peace for all ; honour and benefaction for every one. Even an extreme Radical politician like the ex-M.P., Mr. Bottomley, takes a view of King Edward's diplomatic achievements and all-round ability totally at variance with the discredited opinions of the victim of the " informers." Mr. Bottomley thus admirably expressed himself * four years before the King's death : We write in a spirit of reverence and love ; reverence, because you are the head of a mighty State mightier than the mightiest that yet has been (for we do not believe that either in ancient Egypt or Assyria, or Babylon or Judea, or Greece or Rome, or in the moaning bed of the lost Atlantis, was there ever civilisation that could dim the glory of your empire) ; and love, because, although a King, you are a Man. You are of us, and with us, and ever for us. It is said by the scientists that in the after-rest of death the bones of the sleepers are as one ; but it has been reserved to you, Sir, to prove that in life (whatever that may be) the soul and the blood of a king may be the soul and the blood of his people. With your Majesty on the throne, a Parliament is almost a redundancy. You are more of a De- mocrat than most of its members. When your speech was read to the Commons at the beginning 1 " John Bull's " Open Letter to His Majesty King Edward the Seventh, June 9, 1906. 48 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD of this Session, it was said by some, " The King has turned Socialist." We have always believed that at heart your Majesty is a Republican. The very embodiment of individualism, you, Sir, are always teaching us what the Man, as distinguished from the State, can do. You are our Foreign Minister our Ambassador to all the Courts. So long as you live, European war with England is impossible. Clouds may appear on the horizon, spots on the political sun ; but the spectroscope of statesmanship is applied, and all men turn to the King. You have already won your place in history as Edward the Peacemaker. You love your subjects as they love you. The cottage and the hospital are as dear to your heart as the palace and the throne. The hardest worker in the land, you join in our pastimes and our sports. The cant of the bigots falls lightly on your ears for you are King of England, the home of the free. Claiming no monopoly of our virtues, and looking with an indulgent eye upon our weaknesses, you are essentially our King. Sir, what you are, and all that you are, to England we shall never know till you are gone. They were critical days for the English monarchy when you came to the throne. You came, you saw, you conquered. But your task is a heavy one. In these days the security of the Crown is eternal vigilance. " L'entente cordiale " is a democratic sort of thing. It does not make for the stability of the throne ; only a great personality can do that. Hence there are but two safe Crowns to-day in Europe and your Majesty's is by far the safer of the two. Long may you live to wear it ! What shall come after you, who shall say ? . . . The force of your personality is reflected in all KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 49 departments of public life. . . . The " King God bless him " is the toast at every banquet and woe to him who would dare to disrespect it ! When, on the eve of your Coronation, you were stricken down by sickness, men looked at one another with inquiring eyes, but scarcely spoke. They were too busy, thinking. When, pale and worn, you drove through the streets, at last to claim your crown, people sighed and prayed. To-day they rejoice. They are not ready to face the problems which your life obscures and which, may be, it will even solve. Mr. Bottomley addresses every week a vast number of readers who doubtless share his views, and who will consequently be in full accord with their political guide in his fine tribute to the masterfulness of King Edward. These worthy people in theory may be democrats, but, being believers in Mr. Bottomley, we may take it that they also believed in King Edward, and so regarded with contempt and loathing all that they read to his discredit in 1912. The King gave an audience, in 1904, to the late General Booth, to whom His Majesty said : " You are doing a great work, the success of which I regard as of great importance to my Empire." Then the King made some interesting and im- portant remarks on Socialism, revealing the interest he felt not only in the working classes, but in the notions that they entertain respecting the material changes which they regard as remedies for their difficulties. King Edward's liberal ideas of re- ligious liberty greatly impressed the Salvationist 50 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD chief, who seems to have been unaware that His Majesty regarded people of all sects and creeds with the same friendly eye and never refused his protection to any one of them. It was well, however, that Mr. Booth should have learnt the King's opinions on religion. It was not a particularly tender critic of his Majesty when he was Prince who wrote : It is only due to H.R.H. to say that for con- stancy in friendship, loyalty to all those who have once served him, and generosity in many direc- tions he has never been surpassed by any Heir- Apparent to the throne. All classes owe him a deep debt of gratitude for his zeal in the public cause. His labours in that cause have been ceaseless, while his relatively shallow purse has never been closed to the cry of distress. Those gentle twins of a noble heart benignity and benevolence have never deserted him. . . . Soli- citous of the feelings of others, tolerant, even to misplaced complacency, and never arrogant, he has evinced many of those characteristics most admired of the people, and it was but in the nature of things that popularity should be the reward of such a Prince a Prince, too, who un- complainingly has taken upon himself many of the labours of his Sovereign mother, who, though in private conscientiously attending to the political affairs of the Crown, has in large measure left to her son the performance of the more demonstrative part of those high social duties, particularly the business of her supreme office. The Prince of Wales at a supper-party on the stage of a theatre was a novel sight for the very KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 51 few guests whom Irving had invited in May 1883 ; they were Bancroft, Fernandez, Toole, and Sala. I think it was a new experience for King Edward, who that evening had attended the performance of " Much Ado about Nothing." Scanning Mr. Brereton's attractive " Life," * I gather that, as King and Queen, their Majesties witnessed " Dante " at the same theatre (1903). As Prince and Princess their first visit to the Lyceum was to see " Charles the First" (October 1872). In 1877 they wit- nessed " The Lyons Mail," of which the Prince said Irving's performance was " one of the best pieces of acting they had ever witnessed." In 1882 it was " Romeo and Juliet," in 1885 " Faust," in 1887 "The Bells" and "Raising the Wind" ("for the benefit of the Actors' Benevolent Fund "), and in 1887 " Olivia " (" by desire "). In April 1889, at Sandringham, "The Bells" and "The Merchant of Venice " were given, and for the first time Queen Victoria, who was visiting her son and the Princess, saw Irving and Miss Ellen Terry. Sir Henry Irving died at Bradford on October 13, 1905, and was buried at Westminster Abbey. Queen Alexandra sent a wreath and wrote on a card, " With deepest regret from the Queen. 4 Into Thy hands, O Lord into Thy hands,' " the last words spoken by Becket, "in which character," says Mr. Brereton, " Irving may be said to have died." We are gravely assured by the Dictionary 1 " The Life of Henry Irving." By Austin Brereton. Long- mans, 1908. 52 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD that " King Edward was not much of a dramatic critic." One of our best-known experts says : Before the death of the Prince Consort there was no more enthusiastic playgoer than Queen Victoria, who particularly enjoyed farces and funny plays, and was, of course, an excellent audience. Thanks to the good offices of the Prince of Wales, who knows more about plays and good acting than most men, and has been the best friend to the players of this and all countries that they have ever had, the semi- Court theatricals at Balmoral, Windsor, Osborne, and Sandringham have been partially revived, thus enabling Queen Victoria to see the distinguished actors and actresses of what may be called the Henry Irving period of dramatic art. 1 Most people will prefer Mr. Scott's opinion on this point. Of seven marble busts of King Edward which were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1911 one (Mr. Albert Bruce-Joy's) was executed for Man- chester University, and was unveiled by Sir William Mather less than a month after the King's death. Those who are disposed to underrate King Edward should keep Sir William Mather's happily-con- ceived address before them : This ceremony is invested with pathetic sad- ness inseparable from the thought of the death of our great King, whose image and likeness this marble bust so faithfully represents. The eminent 1 " The Drama of Yesterday and To-day." By Clement Scott. Macmillan & Co. Limited, 1899. KING EDWARD'S ATTRIBUTES 53 sculptor whose good fortune it was to interest the King in this piece of work as it grew under his skilful hand to become an object of the finest art, has earned the gratitude of the Governors and Council of our University. A well-known poet has said there are " sermons in stones," and if ever stone spoke to thoughtful men surely this piece of marble, portraying, as I think, not only the features but the spirit and character of King Edward vn., will speak through generations to come. It will remind them of his genial bearing to the poorest of his subjects, of his beneficence to and sympathy with the suffering ; of his noble, dignified kingship ; and his untiring efforts wisely directed in the cause of permanent peace among all nations. This speaking likeness of our lamented King the last taken in life will be to all of us who were privileged to feel the influence of his impressive personality a precious memento of his attributes. The students of the University will in future generations find in this bust the outward and visible signs of the King whose reign was a benediction not only to the British Empire but to the whole world. What lesson can the universities of this country derive from the life of King Edward the Peace- maker ? Surely it should inspire them to incor- porate in the curricula of their colleges the teaching of peace and goodwill among nations as the fairest fruits of all knowledge from science, art, literature, philosophy, and religion. A Chair of International Laws and Arbitration should be established in all universities for the purpose of imparting historical lessons to the rising generations, showing the futility as well as the barbarism of wars, and the paramount and vital necessity of international laws and tribunals to settle all disputes by reason, 54 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD knowledge, conciliation, and justice. May the University of Manchester take the lead in causing the spirit of King Edward to reign for ever in the hearts and minds of all nations ! The Vice-Chancellor termed the bust " a wonderful work of art, a marvellously faithful likeness of a King who won the affections of his people as no Sovereign in the world's history had done before." The King took the greatest interest in the bust as it progressed, and warmly praised it when it was completed. His Majesty and Queen Alexandra knew who had commissioned Mr. Bruce-Joy to execute it, but to the public the name of the loyal donor of the bust to the University of Manchester has never, by his own request, been divulged. CHAPTER III THE IRON FIST Kings too tame are despicably good. DRYDEN. " I WILL have no scandals ! " It is the King who speaks. Speaks ! He thunders ! The velvet glove is pulled off almost savagely, and the Iron Fist is revealed in all its strength. With the Iron Fist he bangs the table. " I will have no scandals ! I will never come to Dublin again ! I will give nothing ! " (meaning no " honours ")/ Lord Aberdeen listens patiently. He is prepared for an outburst of indignation, but not for this flow of passion, this unrestrained torrent of anger. It is not his fault. Never before had the King been seen in such a rage. He was needlessly furious with Lord Aberdeen. He would not allow the Lord-Lieu- tenant's escort to accompany himself and the Queen to Leopardstown. It was his first visit to Ireland during Lord Aberdeen's Viceroyalty. What chagrin ! It was most unfortunate that another occur- 1 Queen Victoria had been lavish in her distribution of " honours," and bestowed a baronetcy on a Dublin fish importer. 55 56 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD rence had greatly upset King Edward. While he was at the Viceregal Lodge with the Lord Lieu- tenant, his favourite Irish terrier, " Pat," had suddenly died. (" Pat's " successor in the King's favour was " Caesar.") Some Colonel Blood had been at work, and the Regalia had vanished. Only this. " They 6 went away ' once before, but were brought back," said a Castle official (now de- ceased). The arrival of the King and Queen at Kings- town in July 1907 coincided with the announce- ment that day that His Majesty had granted a free pardon to Colonel Arthur Alfred Lynch, who had been elected Nationalist member for Galway in 1902, and was sentenced to death on January 23, 1903, for high treason, having fought on the Boer side during the South African war. His sentence had been commuted to penal servitude for life, but he was released on licence in January 1904. On July 6, 1907, four days before the King and Queen landed at Kingstown, Sir Arthur Vicars, Ulster King of Arms, told his secretary, Mr. Burtchaell, that " a dreadful thing had happened. The Regalia of the Order of St. Patrick the Crown Jewels had been taken out of the strong room and taken away," The 29th of July 1905, the fifth year of King Edward's reign, is the date of the Statutes of the Order of Saint Patrick Statutes which were appointed by virtue of Letters Patent passed by THE IRON FIST 57 His Majesty dealing with the Order "and with the very custody of these jewels." l By the 27th Statute it is ordained " that our Ulster King of Arms for the time being " (then Sir Arthur Vicars) " shall be the King of Arms Knight Attendant on the Order, and shall have the custody of the seal and of the archives of the Order and the jewelled insignia of the Grand Master." The words " jewelled insignia " of the Grand Master mean the jewels that were abstracted. Statute 12 thus defines them : " It is ordained that in pursuance of the Royal ordinance of our Royal predecessor King William the Fourth, bearing date the 7th of March 1831, the jewelled insignia of the Grand Master made by order of his said late Majesty for the use of the Grand Master of the Most Illustrious Order, of which a description is here- unto annexed and which are Crown Jewels, shall be handed over by each Lord-Lieutenant-General and General Governor of Ireland, Grand Master of the said Most Illustrious Order, to his successor at such time as the Sword of State is delivered over, and shall be deposited by our Ulster King of Arms in the Chancery of the Order along with the other insignia of the Order." " The other insignia of the Order " means the badges and collars worn by the Knights Com- panions, " and some of these collars, it is common knowledge, were part of the jewels abstracted on 1 The Solicitor-General, at the second sitting of the members of the Crown Jewels Commission (Ireland), in the Office of Arms, Dublin Castle, January n, 1908. 58 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD the occasion " (Solicitor- General). The jewels are to be deposited, along with the other insignia of the Order, in the Chancery of the Order. Clause 20 of the Statutes says : " It is further ordained that the said collars and badges shall be deposited for safe keeping in a steel safe in the strong room of the Chancery of the Order in the Office of Arms in Ireland until they are disposed of by the Grand Master." In that way the Ulster King of Arms becomes their custodian. With the official Blue Book * containing the evidence taken by the Commissioners before us, we can avail ourselves of the privilege of entering the Office of Arms and seeing the young gentlemen at work from 11 a.m. until 5.30 p.m. Here is Mr. George Dames Burtchaell, member of the Irish Bar and secretary to Sir Arthur Vicars from 1893 downwards. (Sir A. V. was in that year appointed to the post of keeper of the valuables which were abstracted by the Blood of the period. 2 Whether Blood is Irish or English has yet to be made known to an anxious world.) We cannot see Mr. Blake, because he left the Office at the beginning of 1907. There is Miss Gibbon, " the lady who does the scrivenry and typewriting work " (Mr. Burtchaell's descrip- tion), and there are, or were, Mr. Glencross, Mr. Pierce Mahony, junior, and " the other Heralds 1 Crown Jewels Commission (Ireland). Report of the Viceregal Commission, 1908. Appendix to same Report : Minutes of Evi- dence. Both published in 1908. 2 Vide the chapter " King Edward in Story." THE IRON FIST 59 Mr. Shackleton, Mr. Bennett Goldney, and Mr. Horlock," Stivey, the Office messenger, and Mrs. Farrell, an office cleaner. Messrs. Shackleton, Goldney, and Horlock were simultaneously ap- pointed at the beginning of 1907. " Mr. Shackle- ton," said Mr. Burtchaell, " was very seldom here . . . The jewelled insignia were shown occa- sionally by Sir A. Vicars to friends of his own, or sometimes friends of my own, generally ladies that were shown the Office. . . . Stivey used to open the strong room and lock it up." Six persons had keys which would enable them to open the outer door of the strong room at any time of the night Mr. Burtchaell, Mr. Mahony. Mrs. Farrell, Stivey, Sir A. Vicars, and Detective Kerr. Nobody slept on the premises. On Saturday, July 6 the fatal day Mr. Burt- chaell first heard that the jewels were gone. " I was just preparing to go away," said Mr. Burtchaell, " about half -past three o'clock, when Sir A. Vicars came up and told me that a dreadful thing had happened. I thought when he told me at first that it was something that had happened to the King about his visit to this country, and then he told me that the safe had been opened and that the collars and jewels had been all taken out and taken away I said it was a dreadful thing, and he told me to say nothing at all about it. ... Sir A. Vicars asked me whether I remembered if he had shown the jewels to Dr. Finney, and I said he had not, to my knowledge. Then he asked me had he shown 60 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD them to Mr. Hodgson, and I said I believed he had. . . . He said that burglars had broken into the Office. Some time after we had come down Sir A. Vicars said he (the burglar) was at the strong room also." One day five or six months before the jewels had vanished from the lynx-eyed officials " a strange gentleman arrived at the Office." Mrs. Farrell, the charwoman, said : He came in here and opened the door, and he said to me, like, " It's all right," or something like that, and I looked at him, and the sun was in my sight, and he, like, stopped there, at the end of the desk, and I did not like it. I did not know whether he was a gentleman connected with the Office or not, and he apparently came down to this end as if to write a note, and he then went out again, and he nodded to me, and I thought he was some fentleman connected with the Office, and then came to see if there was a note on that table, and there was no note. . . . That was before any of the officials arrived. There was nobody but myself about. He must have had a key. When I was passing the strong room door (Saturday, July 6, the day of the discovery of the theft), I saw the door partly open. Mr. William Stivey, a messenger, was asked by Sir A. Vicars if he would carry a key of the strong room. " He had four keys and he liked me to have one." This mark of confidence was accorded to Stivey upon his entering the Castle service. " There was no reason for my carrying THE IRON FIST 61 a key except that Sir A. Vicars wanted me to carry one." On the Wednesday before the Saturday (July 6) Stivey told Sir A. Vicars what the charwoman had said that she had found the hall door unlocked ; and Sir Arthur said, "Is that so?" or "Did she?" and Stivey replied, " Yes." Sir Arthur said nothing more. He did not tell Stivey to go and inform the police of (in the Solicitor - General's words) " that remarkable fact " that Mrs. Farrell had said she " had found the strong room door open." On the Saturday, Stivey said to Sir A. Vicars : " Sir Arthur, the last time you were at the safe you could not have locked the door." " Oh," said Sir Arthur, " I must have done." " Well," said Stivey, " I find that the safe door is un- locked." "Oh," he said, "you didn't. What do you mean ? " "So Sir Arthur came down with me, and then I was able to show him the exact state in which I found the lock when I came to it. Sir Arthur himself opened the safe door, and the first thing he said was, ' The key is in the lock.' He said, ' I wonder if they are all right ? ' meaning, I suppose, the Crown Jewels. With that he opened that case, and then he opened this, and went down on one knee and said, c My God, they are gone ; the jewels are gone,' and he said that he wondered if anything else was gone, and put his hand on a box which had contained a collar, and he said, 6 Lord Cork's collar gone.' And then he said, c Anything else ? ' and he removed all of these collar boxes, and finding them empty as he opened them he remarked in 62 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD each case, c This gone ! ' and c This gone ! ' and at last he discovered a case of jewels which be- longed to his family, private property, and he found that that was gone also. ' Oh,' he said, 6 my mother's diamonds gone also ! ' He made no further remark." When Detective Kerr went into Sir A. Vicars' room on the day of the discovery, Sir Arthur said : " Kerr, the jewels are all gone. Some of the smart boys that have been over here for the King's visit made a clean sweep of them:" Who stole the jewels ? The evidence taken by the Commission did not tell us. On April 1, 1908, in the House of Commons, Mr. Birrell (Secretary for Ireland) contradicted indignantly a widespread rumour, which had appeared in print, connecting Lord Haddo, son of the Viceroy, with the theft. " The robbery," said Mr. Birrell, " occurred between June 11 and July 6, 1907, and Lord Haddo had lived in Scot- land, without intermission, from March 7 until December 7." Once more the mystery, which is really not much of a mystery, came under Parliamentary review on February 13, 1913, when Captain Faber asked the Chief Secretary "whether anything had transpired to throw light on the subject of the theft of the Dublin Crown Jewels, and whether either now or at any time since the robbery in- formation relating to the crime had been available which, for the sake of shielding any individual, had not been used ? " THE IRON FIST 63 Mr. Birrell : Nothing whatever has been dis- covered to throw any light on the mystery of the theft of the Crown Jewels, nor is there any evidence whatever in existence at the present moment which would justify the arrest of any person. The story which some one must have invented out of spite that any one is being shielded from prosecution is simply a lie, and I am sorry to have to add that it has lately been revived in connection with the name of Lord Haddo. The introduction of his Lordship's name into the matter is a particularly cruel outrage, for, as already stated, he was not in Ireland for months before the robbery, he had no connection with the Office of Arms, and was only inside that Office once in his life. Mr. Ginnell : On what grounds, except In- spector Kane's report, did the Chief Secretary ask Lord Haddo to say that he was absent from Dublin at the time ? Mr. Birrell : I inquired about the movements of Lord Haddo because, I regret to say, in some infamous newspaper in this country his name was connected with the theft. Mr. Ginnell : Why was not Lord Haddo pro- duced before the Commission ? No answer was given. Earl Winterton asked " who were the persons holding official positions entitling them to have access, or acting as clerks or secretaries to those entitled to have access to the jewels at the time immediately preceding the theft, how many of those persons had subsequently resigned their offices, and what reasons were given in each case ? " Mr. Birrell : The only person entitled to have access to the Crown Jewels was Sir Arthur Vicars, Ulster King of Arms. The persons employed in 64 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD the Office of Arms immediately preceding the theft were Mr. Burtchaell, secretary to Sir Arthur Vicars ; Mr. Horlock, clerk, and Miss Gibbon, typist. These persons were in the personal em- ployment of Sir A. Vicars, and their employment ceased on his removal from office. Mr. Burtchaell was subsequently placed in charge of the Office, and has since been appointed Athlone Pursuivant. The officials attached to the Office at the time were Mr. Mahony, Cork Herald ; Mr. Shackleton, Dublin Herald ; and Mr. Goldney, Athlone Pur- suivant. In October 1907 it was decided, with the approval of the Crown, that the Office of Arms, Dublin Castle, should be reconstructed. This involved the retirement of the Dublin Herald and the Athlone Pursuivant, who were notified accordingly, and resigned office. Mr. Mahony, the Cork Herald, resigned in 1910, assigning no reason for doing so. Mr. Ginnell : How is it that during the last five years the right hon. gentleman has not been able to get anybody in Ireland to believe his version of this story ? No answer was given. Had the Dublin police, a few days, or a few weeks, or a few months, after the robbery, gathered sufficient information to warrant a prosecution of a suspected person or persons ? If so, why did they not move ? There was a reason, a very good reason. It may be found in the opening words of this chapter : "I will not have any scandals ! 5: The robbery, the loss of the jewels, was bad enough, but a prosecution, successful or unsuccess- THE IRON FIST 65 ful, would have been a calamity, the effects of which would have been felt for years. Why ? Because it might have necessitated the publication of evidence having no bearing upon the crime, but a direct bearing upon the reputations of persons not in any way implicated in the robbery of the jewels. Thus the innocent might have suffered by the mere dragging in and publication of their names side by side with those of very undesirable individuals. Casual introductions are often followed by something more than temporary unpleasantness, and so it might have proved had this case of the theft from the Castle been taken into a criminal court. Dublin Castle is a Royal Palace. The Viceregal Court is only second in importance to the Sovereign's own Court, although the former has been often described, in Parliament and in the Press, as a sorry imitation of the latter. The Castle and its ceremonies, although not lacking in brilliancy and picturesqueness, have been derided even by the Irish themselves. From 1870, if not earlier, down to the accession of the ]ate King, successive Governments have been urged to abolish the Viceroy alty as it now exists, and to replace the Lord-Lieutenant by a Royal Prince. Five-and-twenty years ago (in 1888) a Royal Prince, the Prince of Wales, declared his willing- ness to " go to Ireland." The Princess was equally willing. Had they been allowed to go we might have been spared the Home Rule pother some of it certainly, perhaps all. 5 66 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD In May 1889 a correspondent of the (Paris) " New York Herald " had an interview with a friend of the Prince of Wales. " What is the truth about the Prince's attitude on the Irish question ? " asked the reporter. " I am not at liberty to repeat conversations," was the reply, " but I sincerely believe in fact, I know that had the Prince of Wales been sent to Ireland years ago to administer its affairs the long series of troubles over there would never have happened. We should never have heard of the outrages that have distracted the Irish people. He would not only have been a successful adminis- trator, but he would have made the country as prosperous as any on the globe. The people would have been happy, and the Prince would have been beloved by them. It is unfortunate that such a state of affairs could not have been brought about. The Prince is a man of a comprehensive mind, great tact, a genial temper, and good business qualifications." At the critics' view of the Royal Academy (1889) I met a representative of the principal Press Agency, who remarked proprio motu, " We have extensively quoted your articles on the Prince of Wales and the Irish Viceroyalty. We knew the information which you published was absolutely true, or we should not have helped to give it the wide publicity which it has now obtained." King Edward's first acquaintance with the Green Isle dates from 1849, when he and his eldest sister, the late Empress Frederick of THE IRON FIST 67 Germany, and two other of the Royal children, accompanied their parents to Ireland. In the previous year, the memorable '48, the country was seething with disaffection, yet, from the moment of landing until their departure, the Queen and Prince Albert were the objects of the most enthusiastic demonstrations. A squadron escorted the Royal party to the Cove of Cork, which, in honour of the occasion, was named " Queenstown." The sight of the Sovereign's young family aroused the people to a loyal frenzy, and one fair Milesian, in the exuberance of her admiration, made this direct personal appeal to Her Majesty, " Oh, Queen dear, make one of your dear children Prince Patrick, and all Ireland will die for you ! ' : An " interesting event " occurred in the following year, when the nouveau-ne was christened Arthur Patrick Albert, while in later years, as another proof of her regard for the Sister Isle, Her Majesty created him Duke of Connaught. In 1861 Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort paid their second visit to Ireland, the Prince of Wales being then engaged in the performance of his military duties at the Curragh Camp. The Royal hosts were Lord Castlerosse and Mr. Herbert of Muckross. The beauties of Killarney were all new to the Queen, who revelled in this Irish wonderland. When the Queen and her Consort drove to the Curragh to see the Prince of Wales, the weather was very stormy, and Prince Albert, like everybody else, was drenched to the skin. Later that autumn the Prince Consort caught 68 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD another chill at the review by the Queen of the Eton College Volunteer Rifle Corps at Windsor, and his fatal illness dated from that day. Hurried, or, to use a popular phrase, " rushed," legislation is generally to be deprecated, as incom- plete and in some respects scamped. 1 Considerate it may be to some interests, but unmindful of others ; and in our very complex civilisation and unsystematic system of polity constitutional changes and reforms require long and serious con- sideration ere they can be successfully launched into working existence. So probably thought in 1889 our prudent and pensive Premier 2 about the ticklish question, the maintenance or abolition of the Viceroyalty in Ireland, raised by the diffi- culty of finding a suitable successor to Lord Londonderry, who merely accepted the onerous office for a certain term to assist the Government, and only held office at considerable sacrifice of his own interests till proper provision could be made for the succession. That Lord Salisbury, with his intimate know- ledge of the history of Ireland in the past as in the present, and in the possession of all the facts bearing upon the case, should not have been even in advance of public opinion in seeing that the Court and Castle at Dublin are an archaic ana- chronism, whose raison d'etre has been supplanted by steam and electricity ; that the holder of the Sword of State is to a certain extent in a false position, representing his Sovereign as Lord- 1 M. O'Connor Morris (1889). 2 Lord Salisbury. THE IRON FIST 69 Deputy while he is really and practically the nominee of a Party ; and that all practical power and the machinery of government have drifted mole sua, or by gubernatorial gravitation, so to speak, into the hands of his Chief Secretary this must have been evident to all candid minds, as well as the fact that the Premier gave due weight to the considerations urged for supplanting ' the unreal mockery," the Milesian mirage of Royalty, by its actual and visible embodiment in the person of a Royal Prince, who at that time was the Heir-Apparent, and a real Court. But Lord Salisbury held much to the constitutional dogmas of " quieta non movere " and " festinare lente," while he saw the great advantage of maturing or, in Beaconsfieldian philosophy, " educating," the public mind for any great change which it might have been necessary to make by an ad interim arrangement which would have formed no obstacle to the due threshing out of the subject and gaining the alliance of the commonsense judgment of the people of the United Kingdom ; for, curiously enough, the exponents of the opinion of one large section of interested Irishmen had expressed their decided antagonism to the abolition of the Viceregal office, although but a few years previously no Cato was ever more sententious in his utterances against the existence of Carthage than they were against Dublin Castle and Dublin Court, whose fate, they said, was to be that of " rats." That Lord Salisbury should have found it 70 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD difficult in 1889 to fill the post of Lord-Lieutenant was not surprising. The office was described by Bernal Osborne as a " gilded pillory," and the pillory is associated with infinitely more pelting now than it was seventy years ago, while, from one cause or another, it has become a most costly corvee. Some years since it would have been an easy matter to follow the cautious and careful Kimberley in the Castle, but the tenure of the Sword of State of such open-handed men as the Duke of Abercorn, Lord Londonderry, and Lord Spencer (who had not joined the " Salvation " squadron openly then) makes it extremely hard for any but rich men to undertake the post ; and rich men have become rather rare among the classes who derive their revenues from agrarian sources. Nor can any save a somewhat pachydermatous patriot fill a post where, as in Lord Spencer's case, the most fearful accusations can be hurled at your private and public character with com- parative impunity, and every action and expression be warped and misconstrued to your prejudice. History will do justice to the splendid public and private liberality of the Londonderry regime, to the gaiety and brilliancy of his Court, and to the support he accorded to the best interests of the country over which he presided. An Ulster land- lord, his popularity in Ulster is unbounded, and but for the teachings of a violently and virulently hostile Press his presence would have been equally pleasing to masses and classes alike in the other provinces ; but his courtesy title was " Castle- THE IRON FIST 71 reagh," and that, to National notions, was a deadly crime, though, for all that, in the Valhalla of illustrious Irishmen few will take a more conspicu- ous place than his ancestor or rather relation Castlereagh the Great : salvator imperil, con- jointly with Arthur Wellesley, his countryman. Even Lord Londonderry's strenuous support of one of Ireland's great resources horse breeding and horse culture was made an article of im- peachment, and " the people " were instructed to oppose his modest hunting excursions not under- taken vi et armis, like those of that sporting satrap, Lord Spencer, whose pursuing progress involved a posse of police and a squadron of cavalry, plus detectives and aides-de-chasse galore. I have already said that Lord Londonderry undertook the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland for a limited term in obedience to the dictates of patriotism and the promotion of the interests of his Party, which he and many more hold to be identical ; but if Lord Londonderry consented to sacrifice his will and interests at the altar of duty, what shall we say of the far greater sacrifices which in 1889 Lord Zetland made for the cause so dear to himself and his friend the then Viceroy ? Lord Londonderry owns an Irish estate and has a residence in the County Down. Lord Zetland had hardly a single tie to Ireland, save a few relations residing there ; nor does he own an acre of its shamrocky soil. His estates lie in Yorkshire, Durham, and Northern Britain, and the due development of their resources mineral, marine, 72 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD pastoral, and agricultural is enough to give active and constant employment to the most energetic mind and body ; while the splendid picture by Hardy of Aske Castle and the Aske Hunt shows one scene of the seignorial style in which Lord Zetland provides, proprio sumptu, " the sport of Kings " for his neighbours and friends, as well as for the pursuing public, who are welcome to join his hounds if so be they will only observe the canons of the chase, known, if not read, by all of the foxhunting guild. From all these sporting sodalities from firstrate hunting and splendid shooting of every description from scenes and societies where he is warmly welcomed and highly honoured, Lord Zetland started off at the trumpet- call of duty to face functions which, if not dangerous, are dispendious to a degree and dis- agreeable to a still further extent. The Press of party launched its missiles (bruta fulmina, however) at his head ; the " Daily News " damned him with the faint praise that " nothing can be said against him," and urged that he was an utterly unknown man ; and Lord Spencer, who had most unfortunately forgotten that silence is sometimes golden, called him " a young man from Yorkshire," forgetting that Lord Zetland, then in his ninth lustrum, was not many years younger than him- self, while he had been infinitely more fortunate in his career, for Lord Zetland, since he attained his majority, had made troops of friends and hardly one enemy. In the " Blues " he was most popular ; as in the Queen's Household. In Yorkshire his is a THE IRON FIST 73 name to conjure with, and the voters of Richmond, where he is best known, returned him to Parlia- ment till his uncle's death promoted him to the Upper House, and then his brother filled his place in the Commons for many years. The splenetic scribe to whom I have already referred called Lord Zetland, inter alia, a " titled tool." Lord Zetland, who was neither ambitious nor self- sufficient, proved an effective lever in aiding the pacification and amelioration of Ireland, while he did not attempt, like one or two I wot of, the rash feat of solving the Irish question d'emblee, or off his own bat, without proper connaissance de cause ; but those who have faith in heredity readily acknowledged that Lord Zetland might well be expected to inherit statesmanlike gifts from a long line of statesmen forbears, nor, pace the " Daily News," was his hereditary wealth any barrier to his success in Ireland ; for, if the average Hibernian be occasionally lukewarm in his love to his Sovereign, he has certainly no strong antipathy to her image and superscription on a golden token. " Essayez " is the family motto ; the essay was a thorough success. Lord Zetland, who is related to the Talbots and Fitzwilliams in Eastern Ireland, had previously added largely to the long list of his friends by a couple of visits to the Viceregal Lodge, when he hunted several times with the Meath Hounds, and was very fortunate in skimming the cream of the season on three several occasions ; for although his Lordship is heavily handicapped in the hunting- 74 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD field by short sight, yet with the aid of glasses he managed somehow to keep in the first flight and to hold his own with the best of the natives. Even in these days of polemical and political discord, of Parliament Acts and Marconi scandals, sports- manlike proclivities and straight riding have not wholly lost their spell in Ireland, nor can Irish- men forget the gallant struggle between Russ- borough and Voltigeur over the Town Moor, for valour inspires respect. Neither is a taste for the turf any disadvantage to a Viceroy of Ireland, for none was ever more popular than that turfite Lord Normanby. Au reste, Lady Zetland, a sister of Lady Newport and Lady Grosvenor, fully and deservedly shared in her husband's popularity, and kept up the stately success of charming chatelaines, or Vice- Queens, most worthily ; and the advent of Laurence Dundas in the land of the " Larries " proved not only a great social success, but also " Auspicium melioris cevi." 1 A few years ago the Reform Club was shaken to its foundations by the report that Lord Aber- deen had resolved to abdicate and leave the Viceregal functions to be performed by some other of Mr. Asquith's friends. There was not an atom of foundation for the canard, as the noble Lord promptly declared, to the great relief of the Party. 2 The rumour reminded one of the speculations 1 M. O'Connor Morris (1889). 2 Lord Aberdeen publicly contradicted a similar statement in March 1913. THE IRON FIST 75 indulged in in the May and June of 1889, when Lord Salisbury found more difficulty than he had bargained for in choosing a successor to the Marquis of Londonderry, prince of Lord-Lieu- tenants. The choice ultimately fell upon Lord Zetland, who was created a Marquis three years later. Previous to the appointment of Lord Zetland there had been much discussion anent the main- tenance or the abolition of the Viceroyalty. Weighty arguments were adduced in favour of abolishing what, it was contended, had become " the Milesian mirage of Royalty," and substitut- ing for " the unreal mockery " its visible embodi- ment in the person of a Royal Prince and a real Court. Those who advocated this view certainly had the courage of their opinions, for they did not conceal their wish to see the position of Viceroy filled by the Prince of Wales King Edward. After going carefully through the pages of " Burke," and finding nobody willing, and at the same time qualified, to go to Ireland, nominally as Lord-Lieutenant, but really as locum tenens for the Prince of Wales, Lord Salisbury, just when he had come to the end of the alphabet, much puzzled, hit upon " a jolly young Yorkshireman," named Lord Zetland, who was willing to do his best if sent across the Channel. So he was sent to the Castle as " the Prince's " warming-pan. The post was filled by Lord Zetland with great distinction and success from 1889 until 1892, and he proved himself a worthy successor of Lord 76 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Londonderry, whose regime is still remembered for its exceptional brilliancy. Lord Zetland's predecessor in the title, as sportsmen will not need to be reminded, was his uncle, the popular " Tom Dundas," who obtained world- wide fame as the owner of Voltigeur, the winner of both the Derby and the St. Leger. Lord ClonmelFs mot touching the Viceroy alty is too clever to be omitted. He told Lord Cloncurry, in one of the last letters he ever wrote, that he (Clonmell) would rather be a chimney-sweeper than be connected with the Irish Government. I have heard other peers notably the late Earl of Charlemont say much the same thing in slightly different words. CHAPTER IV RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY " THE constitutional and hereditary Monarchy that we happily possess is not an outworn relic of the past, as some shallow, theory-ridden minds suppose. It is their theories that are outworn, and out of tune both with the facts and with the deeper instincts of the people. The Monarchy is a living thing which has grown with the nation, changed with it, and adapted itself to the new conditions brought about by new deeds, new ideas, and the whole process of change which no living thing escapes. It has not the place it once had, but it has become far more important in a different way. It is the central ganglion which extends its fibres through all the limbs and organs of the body politic, and holds them together as a living organism." * From 1862 onwards there were complaints (1) of the invisibility of the Sovereign, and (2) of the lack of the externals of Royalty. Where, it was asked, were " the shows of yesteryear " ? It was a drab Court ; trade was suffering. " We are not getting enough for our money." Radical 1 The " Times," January 3, 1911. 78 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD speakers and writers, with a fine display of in- dignation, taunted the Queen with her parsimony, and accused her of hoarding the money with which the taxpayers supplied her. She had invested 1,000,000 in ground-rents in the City. It was useless for Sir Henry Ponsonby to deny this fable. " The Queen buries herself in the Highlands ; we see nothing of her." This, unfortunately, was true ; and the most was made of it by the cavillers and carpers. The Queen was unpopular no doubt of it. "She ought to abdicate." "She does not even open Parliament." In February 1889 three facts naturally pre- sented themselves for consideration by those whose thoughts were not exclusively occupied with social frivolities. I summed them up thus : " (1) Parliament is to be opened by Royal Commission instead of by the Sovereign ; (2) the Queen leaves England for the southernmost point of the South of France, on a day as yet un- fixed, in the first week of the coming month ; and (3) the Prince of Wales, dreading the Ides (or, at least, the winds) of March, has betaken himself to Cannes, there to enjoy himself under the blue sky of the South and by the blue waters of the Mediterranean. I shall not, I presume, be accused of disloyalty if I say, as the leading journals have said so often, that the Queen makes a great mistake in refusing to take the opportunity afforded her session after session of showing herself to her loyal subjects on the one day in the year when the thoughts of all are drawn towards the High Court RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 79 of Parliament. It used to be said by the Radical Press that Her Majesty would not open Parliament in person as long as Mr. Gladstone was in office ; that was very much like passing from the sublime to the ridiculous. For some reason impossible to penetrate, the Queen has a rooted aversion to enacting the principal part at the ceremonies attendant on the opening of Parliament, and thus, in the eyes of the People, the occasion is shorn of its brilliancy and loses more than half the interest which ought to attach to it. The apathy with which the masses receive the stereotyped announce- ment that Parliament will be opened by com- mission is not a cheering sign of the times far from it. The indifference is too evidently sincere not to cause a feeling of apprehension for the future ; and, this being so, it is deeply to be regretted that the Heir- Apparent has not this year been deputed to represent the Sovereign to-morrow at Westminster. ;c Now, putting other considerations aside, what is one result of the Queen's persistent abstention from the ceremonies incidental to the opening of the two Houses of the Legislature ? Why, that the Sovereign it must be unconsciously plays into the hands of the Radicals and the discontented portions of the community generally. ' Oh ! ' say the leaders of the would-be abolitionists of Royalty, ' here is Parliament opening again without the Queen, whom we allow 385,000 a year for keeping out of our sight ! What is the use of Royalty if we never see anything of it ? ' 80 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Of course this is a reductio ad absurdum ; never- theless it is the argument adduced in hundreds of workmen's clubs by leather-lunged speakers, who find it the easiest matter in the world to take captive the minds of their hearers by means of this and other equally specious arguments. It cannot be denied, either, that such contentions possess a modicum of reason and commonsense. In all countries the people like to see that which they help to support ; and it is therefore a thousand pities that the Queen cannot be brought to see how much pleasure would be afforded to the million were she to make it a rule to open Parliament in person." Until his accession the Radical papers impressed their readers with the idea that the Heir- Apparent 's attributes were solely those of a pleasure-loving Prince ; and at the end of 1891 there was com- piled a " Diary " showing the social engagements of the then Prince of Wales during that year. The marvel was that any one individual could have survived the physical fatigue resulting from so resolute and determined a performance of social duties, undertaken in order to prevent society from " falling into chaos and collapse." Multiply that one year by forty years, and the result might well " stagger humanity." Let the " Diary ' speak for itself : JANUARY l.-Left Sandringham to shoot with Baron Hirsch at Wrotham Hall, Norfolk. RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 81 6.-Returned to Sandringham after five days' shooting with Baron Hirsch. 8.-Had Mr. Hare's theatrical company down to Sandringham to play. 12. -Arrived in London from Sandringham and dined with Colonel O. Montagu. 13.-Went to Newmarket for some shooting. 16. -Back to London ; dined at the Amphitryon Club, and went to the Empire Theatre. 17.-Returned to Sandringham for shooting. 2 6. -Arrived in London. 28.-Returned to Sandringham. 31. -Arrived in London. Attended the opening of the English Opera House. FEBRUARY 2. -Lunched with the Duke and Duchess of Fife. To the Opera Comique in the evening. 3.-To lunch with Count Kinsky. To the Hay- market Theatre in the evening. 4.-Presided at a meeting of the Naval Exhibition, and visited some picture galleries in the afternoon. 5. -Returned to Sandringham. 11. -Returned to London. To the Lyric Theatre in the evening. 12. -Dined with Lord Dudley at the Amphitryon Club. 13. -To the Court Theatre in the evening. 14.-To the Lyceum in the evening. 15.-( Sunday) Gave a dinner to several actors at the Marlborough Club. 6 82 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD 17.-To Sandown Park Races, and in the evening to a ball at Co vent Garden. 18.-To the Opera Comique in the evening. 19.-St. James's Theatre. 23,-Lyceum Theatre. 24.-To a dinner at the Amphitryon Club. 25,-Drury Lane Theatre. 27.-Sandown Park. 28.-Gave a dinner at Marlborough House, and witnessed Mrs. Langtry's new play. MARCH 1. -Sunday at Windsor. 2. -Returned to London, and dined with Lord Carrington. 3.-To the Horse Show, and dined with Mr. Walter Gilbey. 4.-Smoking Concert at the Amateur Orchestral Society. 5.-The Horse Show, and in the evening to Lyceum. 6.-Sandown Park, and in the evening to St. James's Theatre. 7.-Sandown Park. 9.-St. James's Theatre. lO.-Gave a wedding-day dinner at Marlborough House. 14.-Dined at the Athenaeum Club. 15.-(Sunday) To lunch with the King of the Belgians. 18. -Gave a dinner at Marlborough House to the King of the Belgians. RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 83 19.-Dined with Baron Ferdinand Rothschild. 23.-Went to Sandringham for the Easter holidays. 31. -Came to London for the day, and dined with several friends at the Marlborough Club. APRIL l.-Back to Sandringham for the rest of the Easter holidays. 6.-Came to London from Sandringham. 7.-Epsom Races. 8. -Epsom, and to the Princess's Theatre. 9.-Sandown Park. Dined with the Benchers of the Middle Temple. lO.-Sandown. Dined with Lord Calthorpe. ll.-Sandown, and back in the evening to Sand- ringham. 13.-West Norfolk Steeplechases. 14. -Newmarket till Thursday. 1 5 .-Newmarket . 16. -Newmarket, and back to London. Prince of Wales's Theatre. 21.-Covent Garden Opera. 22.-Dined with the Dowager Duchess of Marl- borough to " send off " Lord Randolph Churchill. 24.-Naval Exhibition. 25.-To Kingsclere to see his horses, and in the evening to the Opera. 26.-(Sunday) Dined at the Garrick Club to meet Mr. Toole. 27.-Covent Garden Theatre. 84 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD 28.-Newmarket for the Two Thousand week. 2 9. -Newmarket. 30. -Newmarket. MAY 1. -Newmarket, and back to London. The Opera. 2. -Opened the Naval Exhibition and attended the dinner of the Royal Academy. 4. -Dined with the Duchess of Manchester. 6.-Dined with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. 8.-Kempton Park. Opera at Co vent Garden. 9.-Kempton. Covent Garden Theatre. 10. -(Sunday) Dined with Mr. Arthur Sassoon. ll.-To Mr. Sims Reeves's farewell concert at the Albert Hall and afterwards to Lady Rothschild's ball. 12.-To Messrs. Graves's Picture Gallery, and in the evening to the Opera. 13.-Suffering from influenza. 14.-Court Theatre. 15. -Gave a luncheon at Marlborough House, and drove out in the afternoon, 16. -Co vent Garden Opera. 17.-To lunch with the Duke of Fife, and to see his new-born grandchild. 18.-Horse Show at Islington. 19.-To lunch with the Queen at Windsor, and to the Opera in the evening. 20.-Dined with Mr. Rose at the Amphitryon Club. 21. -Prince of Wales's Theatre. 23.-Dinner of the 1st Life Guards. RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 85 25.-Dinner of the Grenadier Guards' Club. 26.-Epsom. 27. -To Epsom for the Derby, and gave the usual dinner to the Jockey Club. 28.-Epsom. Dinner of the 10th Hussars. 29.-Epsom. 30.-Dined with Lord Salisbury, to celebrate the Queen's birthday. JUNE 1. -Attended the Gumming- Wilson action. 2.-Gave evidence in the action ; to the Opera in the evening. 3.-Attended the action in the morning ; Military Tournament in the afternoon ; ball at Buckingham Palace in the evening. 4.-To the Law Courts in the morning. Dined with Colonel Montagu. 5. -At the Law Courts. Later held a Levee. 8. -Ascot for the race week, after attending the Courts. 9, 10, 11, and 12.-Ascot. 13. -To a cricket match at Windsor and a water party at Virginia Water. 14. -To a military church service at Windsor and lunch with the 2nd Life Guards. 15. -Back to London. Royalty Theatre in the evening. 16.-To the Duke and Duchess of Teck's silver wedding fete and afterwards to the Opera. 17.-State concert. 86 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD 18.-Dined with the Duke of Cambridge. 19.-Sandown Park. Dined with Lady Brooke. 20. -To Eastbourne to lunch with Lord Hartington, and back to dine and sleep at Windsor. 21. -(Sunday) Returned to London. Evening party at Mr. Alfred de Rothschild's. 22. -Miss Ponsonby's wedding. Dined with the Russian Ambassador. 23.-On a visit to Lord Fitzwilliam for the Don- caster Show. 24.-To the Show at Doncaster, and lunched there. 25.-Back to London and to the State concert. 26. Dined with Lord and Lady Londonderry. 28,-Opera and Mrs. Stanhope's reception. 29.-Dined with the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn. 30,-Newmarket . JULY 1 .-Newmarket. 2. -Newmarket, and then to Sandringham. 3. -Attended the sale of his farm stock, and back to London for the Duchess of Portland's ball. 4. -Met the German Emperor at Port Victoria, and accompanied him to Windsor. 4 to 8. -At Windsor Castle for the wedding festivities of his niece. 8.-Came to London, dined at Buckingham Palace, and attended the State representation at the Opera. 9. -Lunched with Lord Londonderry, gave a garden party at Marlborough House, and to concert at Albert Hall. RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 87 10,-To lunch at the Guildhall. Dined with the Duke of Cambridge, and to State ball. 11. -Lunched at the German Embassy. Attended Volunteer Review at Wimbledon, and dined at the Crystal Palace. 12.-To Hatfield, on a visit to Lord Salisbury. 13.-Returned to London, dined with Lady Dudley, and saw the German Emperor off for Scotland. 14, 15, and 16.-At Newmarket. 17.~Returned to London. To the Savoy Theatre in the evening, and to the Duchess of Westminster's ball. 18.-To the wedding of the Hon. Julia Stonor, and afterwards to Waddesdon on a visit to Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild. 20.-Back to London, and to the Countess Cadogan's dinner and ball. 22.-To dinner and ball at Lord Alington's. 23. -Gave a dinner at Marlborough House to the Prince of Naples. 24.-To a dinner and ball at Madame de Falbe's. 25.-To Luton Hoo on a Saturday to Monday visit to Madame de Falbe. 27.-To Goodwood, on a visit to the Duke of Rich- mond, for the races. 28, 29, 30, and 31. -At Goodwood. AUGUST l.-Left Goodwood for Cowes. 4.-To the dinner of the Royal Yacht Squadron at the Cowes Club. 88 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD 4 to 10. -At Cowes for the regatta week. lO.-To London for the opening of the Health Congress, and to dine with Sir Andrew Clark. 13.-Back to Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. 14.-Returned to London and attended the Shaft esbury Theatre. 15.-To Paris by the Club train. 16. --(Sunday) Left Paris for Homburg. 17.-Stopped at Frankfort, and thence to Hom- burg for three weeks. SEPTEMBER 9. -Returned to London. lO.-To the Comedy Theatre in the evening. 11. -Left London for Sandringham. 14. -Returned to London and attended Lord Dudley's wedding, and to the Avenue Theatre in the evening. 15. -Left for Scotland. OCTOBER 8. -After three weeks in Scotland, returned to London. 9.-Savoy Theatre. lO.-To Sandringham from Saturday to Monday. 12.-To Newmarket for a day's shooting. 13.-At the races for four days, till the 16th. 16.-Returned to London after the races. Criterion Theatre. 17. -Opera Comique. RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 89 19.-Lunched at the Veterinary College, Camden Town. Italian Opera. 20,-Left London on a visit to Lord Cadogan in Suffolk. 25. -Returned to London, and dined at the Naval Exhibition. 27.-Left London to shoot near Newmarket, and then on to Newmarket for the races. 30.-After four days' racing at Newmarket, left for Easton Lodge on a visit to Lord and Lady Brooke. 31. -Over to Elsenham to see Mr. Walter Gilbey's horses. NOVEMBER 2. -Left Easton Lodge for Sandringham, to see what damage the fire had done. Back to London. Gaiety Theatre. 3.-Dined with the Duke of Fife. Comedy Theatre. 4.-To Windsor for pheasant-shooting, and to Covent Garden Opera in the evening. 5.-Shaftesbury Theatre. 6.-Shooting at Windsor. Terry's Theatre in the evening. 7.-To Sandringham, where he entertained a birthday party. 9. -Celebrated his fiftieth birthday at Sandringham. 13.-After a week at Sandringham, returned to London. 14. -In London. 15. -Dined with Mr. Christopher Sykes. 90 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD 16 to 18. -Detained at Marlborough House by his son's illness. 19.-To Goupil's picture galleries. Dined at Amphitryon Club. 21. -To the wedding and breakfast of Lady Sarah Spencer Churchill with Mr. Wilson. 23.-Victoria Picture Gallery. Lunched with Lady Dorothy Nevill. 24,-Left London for Luton to shoot with M. de Falbe. 28. -Returned to London, and dined with Mr. Alfred de Rothschild. 29.-Dined with the Duchess of Manchester. 30. -Shooting in Windsor Park. Dined at the Amphitryon. DECEMBER l.-Gave a luncheon at Marlborough House for the Princess of Wales's birthday, and dined with the Duke of Cambridge. 2.-St. James's Theatre. 3.-Newmarket for three days' shooting. 5.-Returned to London. Royal Italian Opera. 7.-To the Cattle Show, and gave a family luncheon party at Marlborough House for his eldest son's betrothal. 8. -To the wedding of Prince Pless and Miss Cornwallis West ; Savoy Theatre in the afternoon ; dined with Mr. Henry Petre. 9. -School of Music Concert, and dinner of Civil Servants at the Hotel Metropole. 10. -To Sevenoaks for shooting with Sir H. James. RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 91 11. -Avenue Theatre. 12.-Shaftesbury Theatre. 14.-On a visit to the Queen at Windsor Castle. 15. -To Welbeck Abbey on a visit to the Duke of Portland. 18.-After three days' shooting at Welbeck, returned to London. 19. -Dined with Lord and Lady Brooke. 21. -St. James's Theatre. 22. -Stock Exchange Smoking Concert, Princes' Hall, Piccadilly. 23.-Criterion Theatre. This record of the ornamental work done by the Prince of Wales in one well-remembered year was intended to discredit him in the eyes of the public. It was published by the " Weekly Dispatch," then owned by Mrs. Ashton Dilke, sister-in-law of Sir Charles, to whose valuable " notebooks " Sir Sidney Lee has told us he was privileged to have access when preparing his monu- mental Memoir. This choice morsel of information was sent in all good faith by the Editor of the Dictionary to the " Daily Telegraph," which ad- duced it as an additional proof of the Diction- ary's gaucheries. The effect of the publication of the Diary was the reverse of what its compilers had antici- pated. The classes addressed by Mrs. Dilke's paper were mostly traders, great and small London tradespeople and their hundreds of thousands of " hands " in particular. All these, 92 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD and all in a similar position in the country, knew that the more the Prince Leader of Society went about the better it was for trade trade as represented by themselves. And they regarded the Diary, not as an indictment of the Prince of Wales, but as an index of the good he was doing by spending money on ^ational^ pleasures and causing others to spend it on entertainingTiimseH and tKFTriends of both hosts~~ahd guests! The ^Prince, alwayjTcheery and" deBonair7"was i keeping things going on behalf of the Queen, of whom Dr. Norman Macleod, speaking at Glasgow in 1871, said : I have never seen her in better spirits and stronger in mind than she is at present. At the same time I am far from saying that she has recovered her strength so as to be able to do more than she is doing ; indeed I am certain that the Queen has done all that her nervous energy permits her to do. . . . It is a cruel and cowardly injustice the manner in which Her Majesty is often criticised when she cannot make any reply, but must endure in silence. This might have been said with equal justice of the Prince in 1891. Mr. Disraeli, also in 1871, testified to the Queen's habits of strict attention to all public business that claimed her supervision, although, he said, she was " physically incompetent for the discharge of mejre ceremnnjfl.1 rhrhies." She delegated those duties to the Prince of Wales. How scrupulously he performed them RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 93 the Diary shows, although only partly. Can any one believe that the Queen did not appreciate the efforts of the Prince (and the Princess) to replace her by discharging the " ceremonial duties " for which, in Disraeli's words, she was " physically incompetent " ? To put it plainly, from his marriage in 1863 until the Queen's death in 1901 the Monarchical situation was saved over and over again by the activities of the Prince of Wales and the fascination of his consort. We were told that the Prince had often wished to find relief in politics from the " sentry-go " of exhibition openings, hospital foundation-layings, and the like ; and a writer who on some previous occasions had not laid himself open to the charge of flattery sagaciously remarked : From time to time the Prince struggled against the soul-deadening routine of his Royal existence, but when he ventured to make a way for himself he was politely but firmly thrust back. The visit to India was one welcome break in the dreary round, and his appointment as one of the Royal Commissioners on the Housing of the Poor was another. How on earth her Majesty's Ministers ever mustered up courage sufficient to permit the Heir- Apparent to touch, be it only with so much as one of his finger-tips, the responsible duties and burdens of citizenship remains to this day a mystery. Mr. Gladstone was then Prime Minister, which may account for it, and it deserves to be noted as a welcome and bold innovation, which, if it had been followed up, might have redeemed everything. Unfortunately, it was not followed up. The Prince attended all the sittings, 94 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD went "slumming" in the East End, invited the Commissioners to Sandringham, and in short did his first commission excellently well. But never again was he permitted to share in anything serious. At the time referred to, the Labour Commis- sion was to the fore, and it was known that all pertaining to the labour question, the housing of the poor, and similar questions had always occupied the closest attention of the Heir- Apparent : It is an open secret that the Prince of Wales was very anxious to serve on the Labour Com- mission. He had served on the Commission on the Housing of the Poor, and he saw no reason why he should not be a member of the Commis- sion which owed its existence to Sir John Gorst. But for reasons of State the Ministers of the Crown snubbed the Prince, and excluded him in the same arbitrary fashion as they excluded women from the list of their Commissioners. It is easy to see many good reasons why a prudent Prime Minister might deem it undesirable to sandwich the Prince between Mr. Livesey and Tom Mann. But it is equally easy to see that if the Prince had occupied a seat on the Commission it would have brought him into close contact with the stern realities of existence among the poor, and would have given him opportunities of which he would have been able to avail himself to use his undoubted abilities in the service of the nation. An ideal position for the Prince would have been that of Viceroy of Ireland, which (the Princess RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 95 concurring) he was willing and ready to accept. Was it the Queen who blocked the way ? The good time was long coming ; but it came, and the periodical " openings " of Parliament by the King brought home to the people the great truth that Monarchical decadence had given place to Monarchical vitality a vitality which remains unimpaired, and is being greatly strengthened by the Fifth of the Georges. It was a sumptuous pageant which, in the last reign, successive springs brought before our gaze a pageant such as we cannot feast our eyes upon in any other of the world's capitals : a pageant of gold and purple, of ermine and plumes, of richly - caparisoned horses, of bravely-clad servitors, of officials in tabards, of all the panoply of State. That long cortege of the Sovereigns wending its way to Old Westminster to speed the Lords and Commons on their laborious task what a grandiose panorama ! We crane our necks to watch its passage once again, for there is always about it something fresh and quaint something which we do not remember to have seen last year, or the year before, or a score of years ago. The State coach was !t drawn by eight cream-coloured horses " oh, that delightful old cliche, how often have we not read it ! The chroniclers revel in describing it all, as well they may. The artist limns it as deftly as of yore, and that modern creation, the snapshotter, glides through the serried ranks of citizens, and guards of honour, and files of mounted police, and constables on foot, exulting, 96 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD doubtless, in the triumph of the unobtrusive little box of tricks over the antiquated pencil and notebook, held with numbed fingers, while often the snowflakes are falling or the clouds are dis- charging their deluges. And so one picture passes. Then the panorama shows us Victoria Tower, where the " setting down " is performed. With slow steps, and stately, goes the King, fresh from Paris as cheerful of face, as radiant, as debonair as we were wont to see him ere he had " come to forty year." The incarnation of humour, which he cannot disguise under the mask of decorous gravity such is our Royal Master, Edward the Seventh. And in the Royal Lady have we not the incarnation of grace and the quintessence of beauty? Even so. ... Here are ,the Great Officers of State, proudly conducting the Sovereigns up the staircase to the Robing Room, into which no curious eyes may peer. There pass before our dazzled vision the Pursuivants, Heralds, Equerries- in- Waiting, Gentlemen Ushers, Grooms-in- Waiting, Gentleman Usher to the Robes, Comptroller and Treasurer of the Royal Household, the King's Private Secretary, Keeper of the Privy Purse, Norroy King of Arms, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, Garter Principal King of Arms, Earl Marshal, and Lord Great Chamberlain. Comes the Sword of State mighty emblem of power ! borne in front of the Sovereign by a Peer, as a rule a member of the Government ; and then a gay cohort Lady of the Bedchamber, Photo} QUEEN ALEXANDRA. RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 97 Mistress of the Robes, Woman of the Bedchamber, Master of the Horse, Lord Steward, Lord-in- Waiting to the King, Queen's Lord Chamberlain, Pages of Honour, Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, Gold Stick, Captain of the Corps of Gentle- men at Arms, Gentleman Usher of the Sword of State, Field Officer in Brigade Waiting, Silver Stick in Waiting ; and the splendid procession closes with the appearance of the Officers of the Yeomen of the Guard, that historic guard known to all and sundry of the lieges as the Beefeaters. The blare of trumpets stirs the blood and quickens the imagination the while the Imperial cortege passes, with measured tread and slow, through the Royal Gallery, crowded, but not uncomfortably, by eight hundred favoured mortals ; then traverses the Prince's Chamber, and so into the great gilded Chamber of the Peers, where the mellow light falls upon beautiful women, re- splendent garb, and jewels, and plumes. Am- bassadors and Ministers mingle among Right Reverend prelates, and, between the Ministerial and the Opposition benches, lo ! " the Judges all ranged, a terrible show ! ' : They cast furtive glances around, and murmur in low tones to one another, do these lights of the Law, and who shall say what grim jokes they crack amidst all this glitter and gorgeousness, if but to relieve the tedium of the long wait ? Peeresses and their daughters any number of them make a bright picture ; here and there some splendidly-apparelled grandes dames find the spectacle a trifle tiring, 7 98 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD for they have seen it so often that the gilt has vanished from the gingerbread. Now on the throne the King has taken his place. Now Alexandra Regina is in her chair of State, to her consort's left. On the steps the Cap of Maintenance is borne by this Peer, the Sword of State by that one. Edward the King, through the Lord Great Chamberlain, commands Black Rod to summon the faithful Commons to attend him in the House of Peers. There is a wait. We know what is happening. As the portentous news reaches the members of the Lower House (where they are doing nothing in particular) the doors are hastily closed and locked. Black Rod delivers the legendary three taps at the portal, which summons operates as an " open sesame." . . . He advances to the Table with a profound obeisance, twice repeated, and, some- times boldly, sometimes with no inconsiderable trepidation, speaks his little speech : ' ' Mr. Speaker, The King commands this honourable House to attend His Majesty immediately in the House of Peers." And then ? Deign to look yet once again on the painted strip of canvas, and you will observe the rush of the Commons to the " other place," the hush which comes over all, the regal form standing, and the reading, in resonant, clear tones, of the King's Speech. It is all over. The glittering pageant becomes a dissolving view ; and the rest is newspaper ! Once more ! Once more music is in the air RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 99 and sunshine in the sky, and the great doors of the Palace of Westminster are thrown open for the representation of the great national drama of Parliament. And once again (January 1908) we are in the Mall, shorn of much of its leafy glory, but beautified and modernised, transformed by the Ruler's wand into the grandest boulevard in Europe. It is Processional Road now, and under the white-flecked blue canopy, in a blaze of winter sunshine, King and Queen pass between two living walls. They have come forth, once more, to open Parliament. Hold high your babes, ye mothers, for their eyes to fall upon the fairest of womankind, the mightiest of men Alexandra Queen and Edward King, Seventh of his name. Rex est qui metuit nihil ; Rex est qui cupit nihil a King who fears nothing, a King who desires nothing. Seneca's words might well be graven on his shield. And so they pass in the gold chariot, and the red and the white plumes nod, and the steel weapons flash, and the resetted Yeomen, with their halberds, proud of mien, close round the Sovereigns. Much to be envied are all who see this superb picture for the first time. It lingers in the cells of memory like a beautiful dream. Now we are in the Palace of St. Stephen itself, and the gorgeous spectacle dazzles us to-day as it stupefied us by its colour in the years that are gone the years when the Sovereign's appearances were sadly fitful. The corridors are ablaze with 100 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD uniforms ; Peeresses in sweeping trains, bejewelled, radiant (some) in beauty; here is a Pursuivant, there a Herald ; here are Lords-in- Waiting, Court officials of every grade ; Field - Marshals and Generals, Lord Chancellor's secretaries, jostling Peers in scarlet robes and ermine collars ; the Archbishops, in scarlet and capes of ermine ; Judges, some in scarlet and white, others in black and gold ; and Ambassadors and Ministers, in gold and in silver embroidered coats : like the glittering pieces of a kaleidoscope, shaken up by children's tiny hands. You gaze upon it with bewildered look, until a feeling of vertigo creeps insensibly over you and reduces your thinking powers to nothingness. You are glad to see a grey stone wall before you for a change ! Fortunate for you should you be placed in one of the galleries, for then you will see a sight not to be paralleled in any Parliament House in the world. This is not to say that at Rome, and Madrid, and Vienna, and St. Petersburg there are no scenes of splendour far from it. But here, at Westminster, there is about this historic function a certain solidity which makes it unique. Call this insular, call it chauvinistic, call it anything you will ; but there it is, and none know it better than those who have witnessed all the spectacles which the capitals furnish year in year out. There is King Edward himself to symbolise it : a living picture of power, and gravity, and grace, and I dare to say it stolidity. None could better play the part He enters the Chamber leading RENAISSANCE OF THE MONARCHY 101 the peerless Lady by the hand. Bareheaded, he advances through a multi-coloured human hedge in his crimson velvet gold-laced robe and flowing ermine mantle, the white-plumed Field-Marshal's hat in his left hand. Anon the robe is thrown back, revealing the scarlet uniform and the Garter ribbon. Queen Alexandra is a vision of splendour ; the corsage glittering with the jewelled insignia of her Orders ; the swan-like neck decked with pearls a rope of them. The Gentleman Usher to the Robes performs his function, and then we hear the King say, in a tone at once dignified and familiar, " My Lords, pray be seated," and those near enough to catch the inflection note the trill of the r's. The imposing figure immediately to the Sove- reign's right is that of the Lord Chancellor, 1 whom one remembers in and about the Temple long years before he had dreams of the Woolsack, when, as yet, briefs were not too plentiful, and when the daily lunch coffee, roll, and butter, sixpence was at " Groom's." Now he is bravely clad in a Baron's robes, and on his head is the Chancellor's whity- grey wig. There, close alongside the Sovereigns, is Lord Crewe, with the Imperial Crown of gold and diamonds, the " cap " of dull purple. There, Lord Winchester holds the crimson-purple Cap of Maintenance, on a short staff. The Earl Marshal stands at the foot of the Throne a sympathetic personality ; the one man who scorns gloves. 1 Lord Loreburn, who was succeeded by Lord Haldane. CHAPTER V THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN " ABROAD Circumstances have imposed upon the Prince of Wales the crushing duties of a Sovereign, and he has carried them out with honour and devotion. More than one institution owes its existence to the interest taken in it by the first gentleman in England. 1 Life is composed of duties, and in the due, punctual, and truthful performance of those duties the true Christian, the true soldier, and the true gentleman is recognised. To the servants and those below you you will always be courteous and kind, remembering that, by having engaged to serve you in return for certain money payments, they have not surrendered the dignity which belongs to them as brother men and Christians. 2 The King goes touring about, about, With his comely face and his jovial smile ; You hear the Foreigners' soulful shout, " O, linger with us a while, a while, If only a little while ! A King of warrant, a King, a King ! We'll give him welcome if he'll but come, For he's the Monarch to make things hum The King, the runabout King ! " 1 Mr. Gladstone. 2 Memorandum written by Queen Victoria for the Prince of Wales on his seventeenth birthday (1858), quoted by Lord Ports- mouth at the unveiling of a statue to King Edward, at Tiverton, Devon, May 23, 1912. 102 THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN " ABROAD 103 So he goes to Paris he gladly goes ; They joy to see him ; he likes them, too. Wherever he travels the money flows, And he bids all a How-d'ye-do, d'ye do? He bids them a How-d'ye-do? A King of warrant, a King, a King! He knew his Paris this long ago Tell me, sirs, what he doesn't know, The King, the runabout King! To Biarritz now ; make way, make way ! Oh, the furbishing up before he appears! The men bow low, and the riddles play, And the ladies beam, the dears, the dears! The native and foreign dears ! A King of warrant, a King, a King ! "Where is the motor-car? Bring it out His Majesty's coming," you hear them shout The King, the runabout King! The good ship's waiting across the sea : Toulon ! Toulon ! is the cry this morn. " The Queen is calling for me, for me ! " And Biarritz looks forlorn, forlorn No wonder it looks forlorn! A King of warrant, a King, a King ! He says to the captain, " Full steam ahead For Cartagena." They're painting it red For the King, the runabout King! "Where next, where next?" And they make reply, "To Malta, an' it please you, Sire." "Well, hurry along, tho' the sea runs high, For such is Our desire, desire, Tho' the waves mount higher and higher ! " A King of warrant, a King, a King ! How all Melita doth laugh and skip Hear them giving a hip, hip, hip For the King, the runabout King! 104 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD A call comes up from the Royal saloon, "Weigh the anchor for Naples steer; Send a e wireless ' saying we're coming soon Are those the big guns I hear, I hear? We surely can't be so near ! " A King of warrant, a potent King See Victor Emmanuel grip his hand, While all around at attention stand To greet the runabout King. So, " Kolnische Zeitung," stow your gab ; "Rundschau" and "Tageblatt," lie you down; Pin-prick you may, but you shall not stab The wearer of Britain's Crown, our Crown We're proud of our ancient Crown. A King of warrant, a King, a King! List to the shoutings of lusty throats, From far Land's End unto John o' Groats, For our King, our runabout King ! E. L. IN the summer of 1897 I was at Marienbad for a course of the waters. 1 The place was then very small compared with what it used to be, although from quite early in the nineteenth century the little spa had been visited by sove- reigns, princes, the high nobility, and the elite of the world of literature, including Goethe, who went there three times at the beginning of the twenties of the nineteenth century. Other great men repaired to the healing waters, which, combined with the air of the pine-forests, gave them renewed health and vigour. It was at Marienbad that Wagner, torn by the conflicts everywhere going on around him, sought shelter. Here, tradition says, he wrote the " Flying Dutchman," or " Tann- 1 A. Levetus. KING EDWARD AFTER HIS CURE AT MARIENBAD IN From a hitherto unpublished sketch- 1904. THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN " ABROAD 105 hauser " one is not sure which but no doubt he did compose something there, and the house still remains to tell us where he lived, while " Goethe Haus " reminds us of the visits of this universal genius. Many English people frequented the place. Every day during his brief summer holiday, Sir Henry Campbell - Bannerman and others were seen sipping their waters on the promenade or wandering in the charming woods. The season 1897 was an eventful one. The Archduke Ludwig Victor had been here, and the excitement caused by his visit had not subsided when it was noised about that a great English personage was coming, and that rooms had been taken at the Hotel Klinger for him and his suite : a great English lord, so it was said : and this fact was confirmed by a lady of my acquaintance who was obliged to give up her rooms, which were required for this personage. Just then the English papers were guessing where the Prince of Wales was going that year ; it was certain he was not going to Homburg. I put two and two together, and concluded that the mysterious personage who was about to reside at the Hotel Klinger must be the Prince of Wales. And later I knew that " Lord Renfrew " was indeed coming. The Prince came, I think, on August 11. By that time, everybody in Marienbad knew all about it. The visitors lined the streets to watch his arrival ; the photographers, amateur and pro- fessional, were eager to secure snapshots, but few were taken because the authorities were in 106 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD possession of the coigns of vantage. Who would be his doctor ? The Prince naturally went to Dr. Ott, father of the present doctor, who was, I think, his physician, after the second visit, the senior having retired. The Prince passed his days as did the other guests. In the early morning he wandered up and down the promenade, listening to the music and sipping his water. He then either took his bath or wandered through the woods, breakfasting at one or other of the cafes situated in the woods, which are so great a feature of Marienbad. He was soon the best-known man in Marienbad, and won the esteem of everybody with whom he came into contact. He distributed his favours equally. There was hardly a cafe or restaurant which he did not patronise at least once. He went freely among the people, and passed as easily through the throng as the humblest of us. All had got accustomed to his presence, and curiosity was stilled. He did much shopping, buying hats at Pistl's, deep-red roses from the old women, em- broideries and fine linen at Fischl's, the rendezvous for years of all the notable folk of every nation who visited Marienbad. The renowned General the Marquis de Galliffet was a frequent visitor for very many years, and had often expressed a wish to die in Marienbad. Probably it was this hero of the cavalry charges at Sedan who persuaded the Prince of Wales to take the Marienbad waters. But they were never there together. THE "FIRST GENTLEMAN" ABROAD 107 The Prince amused himself in many ways ; for shooting he was invited by Prince Richard Metter- nich, then the head of the house, and his wife, Princess Melanie Metternich-Winneburg, herself an excellent shot. Their seat was at Konigswart, a four hours' ramble through the woods ; but, naturally, the Prince drove. Here he was a very frequent guest, and the Prince's friends were asked to meet him. Princess Titi, only daughter of the late Prince, is a very fine violinist, and there was much beautiful music. The only son, now the reigning Prince, Dr. Clemens Metternich, and his father, Prince Richard, often visited our Prince at the Hotel Klinger, and accompanied him on his drives. The Metternichs had an English governess, Miss Neville, who had been with Princess Titi many years. The Prince, with his usual courtesy, paid some little attention to the old lady. A beautiful story, and a true one, shows how real a gentleman he was. One afternoon it was decided that the whole party Prince and Princess Metternich, Princess Titi, Prince Clemens, and all the other guests should be photographed in a group on the lawn before Schloss Konigswart. One or two pictures had been taken when the Prince of Wales noticed that Miss Neville was absent. He requested his hostess to send for her, and so it happens that Miss Neville forms one of the group of an excellent photograph. " Every Sunday His Royal Highness attends the English Church " so it was said in 1897 ; but I know he did not. Naturally the good English 108 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD people thought he ought to have shut himself up there for a short time, instead of taking his walk in the woods. In later years he went to church every Sunday. The visitors venerated the Prince, and still more the King ; many of them, after he had left Fischl's shop, went in on some pretext or other, asked on which chair he had sat, and made their " reverences " before it. It would have vexed him had this reached his ears. " Kowtowing to an empty chair ! How ridiculous ! " he would have said. It was his geniality which won all hearts. I remember how surprised everybody was to hear that, when he said adieu to Marienbad that first time, he shook hands with even the humblest of those who had served him a gracious act, till then unknown in Austria, but since happily fol- lowed. With this Prince everything was so natural ; that is what all felt. He made ex- cursions to Karlsbad, Franzensbad, the Premon- stratensian Monastery at Tepl, and other places. The whole of Marienbad belongs to that Monastery, and the mineral sources are under the Abbot's own management. There is a wonderful library there, with many rare manuscripts, which greatly interested the Prince. During his many visits he was a frequent guest at the Monastery, and with the Abbot and some of the monks he chatted continually. His evenings were spent at the theatre, at concerts, or in walks through the woods. THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN " ABROAD 109 The second time the Prince of Wales visited Marienbad was during the Boer war. He could not conceal his anxiety, which adversely in- fluenced his cure. News was brought every day, and people realised that he thought seriously about politics and matters of state. In previous years the trivialities and the betises published in the English papers about the future Sovereign were commented upon, and unfortunately believed, by Continental peoples, who, contrary to the English, prided themselves on their knowledge of foreign tongues, and read the English papers. It was that form of gossip which made so many believe that when he ascended the throne he would be a roi faineant, or something like one. And I re- member somebody telling me that history would repeat itself and we should have another Richard n. People had got into a light manner of speaking about the Prince of Wales which was extremely annoying to one who believed that, given the chance, he would prove his greatness. But the Boer war presented the Prince in another and a better aspect to those who had hitherto judged him only from externals. Marienbad has become famous through King Edward. After his first visit he always stayed at the Hotel Weimar, which is situated on the highest point, and commands the whole town. It is, more- over, in that part which first rose, and from the beginning was patronised by the chief visitors. The Goethe Haus is next door to it ; the Richard Wagner Haus but a few steps away. Then the 110 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Hotel Weimar had nothing to distinguish it from other small hotels in Marienbad ; now it is a vast establishment, replete, as the advertisements say, " with every luxury." The King's apartments are still kept as they were in those days when he paid his annual visit. The hotelier has kept all in order, and so it is to remain. But not only has the Hotel Weimar grown, but the whole of Marienbad; it is very different from the tiny spa, buried in a nest of wooded hills, as I first knew it twenty years ago. No doubt Marien- bad would have grown even without the King's visit ; but his visits have lengthened the season, which formerly ended early in August, but now extends to September. His visits, moreover, made Marienbad known all over the world, and brought visitors from every part. Marienbad has, then, every reason to be grateful to King Edward. He, too, was grateful to Marienbad, and expressed his intention to go there every year as long as he lived. It was on the King's initiative that the golf links were laid out, and during his stay he was to be seen there every afternoon. He was also often at the lawn-tennis matches, and always gave a prize. The theatre has assumed quite another aspect since the Prince of Wales first visited it in August 1897. It, too, has an extended season. At first the usual performances were given ; later a " star " was engaged, but the King was too great a lover of the German drama to be content with inferior pieces. As soon as this was known, some of the best plays were given, and THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN " ABROAD 111 when the Director found how great an admirer of Wagner His Majesty was he gave performances such as had never before been seen in this little theatre. More than once it resembled a miniature Covent Garden the ladies in beautiful toilettes, and wearing their treasures of jewels ; the men in uniforms. I recall such a scene one night when the great singers came over from Bayreuth to per- form before the King acts from his favourite Wagnerian opera. The house was a veritable theatre pare. Marienbad's memorial to King Edward, under the colonnade, is a marble bust in relief, by the sculptor Hujer. During His Majesty's life a small promenade was made parallel to the great colon- nade. It is adorned with a double plinth, bearing on its face large bronze medallions of King Edward and Kaiser Franz Josef, the work of the Vienna sculptor, Gustav Gurschner, to com- memorate the visit of the Emperor to the King. That meeting will go down to posterity in the history of Marienbad. The Emperor had only been there once before the year he ascended the throne of Austria. He was then accompanied by his brothers, Ferdinand Maximilian (who later became Emperor of Mexico) and Karl Ludwig. It was on Thursday, August 16, 1904, that the historical interview took place. King Edward wore his unform of an Austrian marshal, with the ribbon of the Order of St. Stefan. He awaited the Emperor on the platform of the little station. With him were the Duke of Teck, Sir Horace 112 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Plunkett, Ambassador at Vienna ; Count Mens- dorff, Austrian Ambassador then, as now, in London ; Count Coudenhove, Major- General Sir Stanley Clarke, Captain (now Sir Frederick) Pon- sonby, Mr. Johnstone and Mr. G. Rennee, First and Second Secretaries to the English Embassy in Vienna ; Count Trautmannsdorf, Prince Metter- nich and his son, Prince Dr. Clemens Metternich ; General Konigswart, Wenzel, Freiherr Holz von Dobaz, Geheimrat F.M.L. Heiligenkreuz, Carl Erwin, Count Nostitz-Rieneck, Carl Max Count Zedtwitz, Count Berchem, Prince Jaroslaw Lobko- witz, Count Bruno Zedtwitz, and many other Austrian and Hungarian notables. The Emperor wore his uniform of an English admiral. The two Monarchs embraced and then shook hands with the members of the suite and the others. The Emperor remained twenty - four hours, returning to Ischl for August 18, where he always spends his birthday. King Edward gave a dinner at the Hotel Weimar to the Emperor, inviting the Duke of Teck, Count Paar, General der Cavallerie ; Colonel Ramel-Dietrich- stein, Hofrat Dr. Kerzl, Count Coudenhove, Count Mensdorff, a favourite at our Court ; Bezirkshaupt- mann Pezzelin, Pralat Gilbert Helmer, Sir Schom- berg McDonnell, the Hon. Sidney Greville, the Hon. Allan Johnstone, the Burgomaster, Dr. Nadler; Dr. Ernest Ott, Mr. Rennee, Major- General Sir Stanley Clarke, and Captain Ponsonby. King Edward drew up the menu, taking care to order the dishes which the Emperor preferred. THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN " ABROAD 113 Before the meal the Austrian National Hymn was played. After dinner came the English Anthem. In the evening, Marienbad was illuminated, and Emperor and King wandered about the streets chatting. The Emperor stopped at the Villa " Lugins- land," which was bequeathed to the town of Marienbad by Mr. Max Klinger, brother of the owner of the " Klinger " when the Prince of Wales stayed there, on condition that it was to be used only for royal guests and nobles. The Emperor was the first of these sojourners. Marienbad has to thank King Edward for the visit of the King of Greece in August 1903, when the brothers-in-law spent a very happy time together. In 1906, the Prince (now King) of Bulgaria paid a visit to King Edward at Marienbad ; and again a dinner was given by the King in his apart- ments at the Hotel Weimar, when the following were present : Ferdinand of Bulgaria, the Due d' Orleans, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, General Sir Stanley Clarke, Sir Edward Goschen, General Markow, Sir Sidney Greville, Major Ponsonby, Mr. Ernest Scott, of the Vienna Embassy ; Abbot Helmer, the Burgomaster, Dr. Dietl. Bezirks- hauptmann Pezzelin, Dr. Ernest Ott, Corvetten- kapitan Frankl, and the Marquis de Soveral. In 1907 another grand dinner was given by the King to the Grand Duke Michael Alexandro- witz, the Prince and Princess of Oldenburg, the Duke of Teck, and others. After dinner the whole 8 114 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD party wandered in the woods till they came to the Egerlander Cafe. On their way they stopped at the open-air atelier of Mr. G. Pick, the well-known silhouette-cutter, who visits Marienbad every year, and who had frequently cut out portraits of the King, the first time when he was Prince of Wales. The whole party were now silhouetted by Pick. Events were much the same as those noted during all the visits of the King. They did not change ; only the people who happened to be there gave the place another face. All with whom the King came into contact say he was a Man first, and then a King. But he was always a King in the charm and geniality of his manner. There was something so unaffected about him, particularly in his intercourse with those of the lower ranks of life, that everybody worshipped him. In 1899, when the Prince of Wales was for the second time at Marienbad, pneumatic tyres were very uncommon. When the Prince arrived not a carriage possessed them, and he could not go for his drive in the woods. A man called Paprika Schlesinger (since dead), who had boot shops in different parts of Austria, including Marienbad, was very anxious to lend the Prince his carriage, which had pneumatic tyres. As he did not know how to distinguish the Royal visitors from others, he came to me in a great hurry and asked me which was the Prince of Wales. I pointed him out, but no sooner had I uttered the words, " the Prince of Wales," than Schlesinger dashed off, stopped before the Prince, and, with a low bow, THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN " ABROAD 115 offered the use of his carriage. The Prince accepted gladly. A day or two afterwards, at Karlsbad, I saw a photograph in Paprika Schles- inger's shop window, labelled : " On this day the Prince of Wales drove in this carriage." As the King was walking on the Podhorn he saw a veteran, with whom he entered into conver- sation. The old soldier, who did not know to whom he was speaking, explained the view and the points of interest. The King asked him about the year " sixty-six," when the veteran had fought at Koniggratz. After a time they parted, cordially shaking hands, and the King invited him to breakfast next day at the " Weimar." The old man came, was received as an honoured guest, had breakfast, and was presented with a new ribbon for his medal and something more substantial. One day the King, accompanied by his dog, went to visit Mrs. Standish in her lodgings at the Goldener Falke. Madame Du Bos was expected that day, and a large cake had been prepared, cut in slices, but placed together in form. The rooms of these two ladies opened on the same balcony, and the windows were open. While his master was talking to Mrs. Standish the venture- some dog had a look round. Presently a bell rang, cries were heard, " Der hund ist schlecht " (" The dog is ill. What is the matter with him ? He is choking "), and all was bustle and excite- ment till they found that a piece of cake was missing. The King's dog must have stolen it, 116 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD and the crumbs had stuck in his throat. It was a painful moment for the King and all concerned not forgetting the dog. The first time King Edward went boar-hunting he was the guest of the Archduke Rudolph. The famous artist, Pausinger, a great favourite of the Archduke, accompanied them, and painted a picture of the Prince of Wales and the Austrian Archduke hunting in the Slavonian primeval oak forests. Pausinger told me this charming story. It is inedit, and shows that Edward vn. was not only a King, but, in Vambery's phrase, a Man one with a heart of gold. In the villages near the scene of the boar-hunt the people were unaware that their Crown Prince was in the woods ; of the Prince of Wales they had never heard. After the sport a basket of provisions, brought with them by the two Princes, was opened in the presence of several villagers. Among them was a young girl, looking very cold and pinched. Our Prince noticed her wan figure, and, before taking bite or sup himself, gave her some sherry from his flask and a handful of his sandwiches. Then, refilling the cup, he drank from it without rinsing it out. If, as a sardonic Frenchman once wrote, " kings and valets are made from the refuse clay of creation," Edward vn. certainly did not come within that category. In order to do honour to King Edward when he reached Ischl the young girls spending the summer there wore the national costume still affected by the natives of the Salzkammergut, and, provided THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN " ABROAD 117 with baskets of flowers, formed an espalier, through which the Emperor and King walked to the carriages waiting for them outside the station. Their path was strewn with flowers. The espalier was a long one, for the women of the place and their daughters were there, all displaying the English and Austrian colours. There was also a gathering of British girls and a few Australians. The latter caused much discussion in the " Neue Freie Presse." Naturally the English corre- spondents noted the presence of the Australians, the young girls of the party being in Ischl national costume. But the correspondents did not know the difference between Australians and Austrians. It was the Australian girls who made an English flag in honour of the King, and carried it proudly aloft. The actual facts were these : Some Australians (friends of mine) were staying in Aussee, a beautiful place near Ischl, about two hours' railway journey, and we made up our minds to see the King. The most enthusiastic of us all was an old lady from Melbourne, Mrs. Watson, who had seen King Edward more than fifty years previously, and naturally wished to see him again. She had gone to Australia more than half a century before, and had never returned to England. She is now (1918) living in London. As soon as we knew that the King was to be there, we scoured all the shops for material to make the flags which we carried. They were large ones, so that the King could not fail to see them. I am sure that, had he known an old lady was there from Australia, 118 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD he would, in the greatness of his heart, have spoken to her. Mrs. Watson came to Vienna with her daughter and grandchildren, as her granddaughter was to study the violin under Professor Rose. Her name is Leila Doubleday, and she has since made a name as a violinist in London, Vienna, Berlin, and other cities. The other Australians present included Miss Maude Mary Puddy, a student of Professor Leschetisky ; and she too has made a reputation as a pianist. At Ischl the Emperor and King Edward drove about without escort. I saw them several times one day. On the way to Ischl the train stopped at Gmunden, so that the King might pay a short visit to the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland (Queen Alexandra's sister Thyra). In Vienna the Ambassador and Ambassadress, Sir Francis and Lady Plunket, gave a lunch for the King, who gave an audience to Miss Baillie, then Lady Superintendent of the Victoria Home for British Governesses, which was founded to celebrate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. It was under the patronage of the Empress Eliza- beth, and on her death the Emperor's younger daughter, the Archduchess Valerie, became its patroness. King Edward inquired into every- thing concerning the home and its work, and promised to tell the Queen about it. This he did, the result being that she also became a patroness of the home, to which the King gave a donation. Miss Baillie told me His Majesty was most kind ; he went forward to meet her as she THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN " ABROAD 119 entered the room, shook hands, and put her at her ease at once just like him. A short time after- wards the Prince and Princess of Wales came. King Edward must have said something to them about the home, for they expressed a wish to see Miss Baillie, and she was only too glad to be sent for by them. The British residents presented the King with a cassette of red Morocco leather, with views of Vienna, done in water-colours let into the leather. I believe it was to hold his cigars. Those who were familiar with the Cote d'Azur when Queen Victoria was wont to visit it from time to time will recall the frequent presence of ' the Prince " at the battles of flowers on the Promenade des Anglais at Nice and on the Croisette at Cannes ; and at the Cercle de la Mediterranee ; in fact, everywhere along the Riviera. He moved about in the crowd at Carnival time, threw flowers like everybody else from a brake heaped high with blossoms, or drew from a bag handfuls of multi- coloured scraps of paper, and scattered them right and left. To the cosmopolitan crowd " the Prince " was " part of the show." I often met His Majesty at Nice at private gatherings, when it was my privilege to see him with mutual friends. 1 That was when he was still Prince. I stayed a week with a foreign prince and his charming wife, both of whom were great favourites with all the colonie elegante of the Littoral. They owned a villa a magnificent 1 Alexis Merikoff, Paris "Figaro." (By permission.) 120 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD dwelling on the hills at Cannes, amidst the orange trees and myrtles. The Prince of Wales came every day to see my friends, the Prince and Princess, and our days passed in this fashion. Until noon we all remained in our rooms beautiful rooms they were, too ; fitted with all the luxurious English comforts. Just about twelve o'clock we descended to the salon, and here the Prince of Wales would come to join us. Then we went into the salle a manger to breakfast. Immediately afterwards we started on a long carriage-drive into the country. At five o'clock came tea, which was sometimes served at the Princess's model farm in the environs of Cannes. At other times we strolled to the golf-links and ate straw- berries. Between six and seven all returned to the villa and dressed for the eight o'clock dinner. The dinner, in English fashion, was prolonged by a slow sipping of various liqueurs, placed by the servants on the table after the removal of the cloth. We saw then that the table was covered in moire rouge, with a lace border. The evening was given over to conversation. King Edward was a charming talker, full of humour and wit, au courant of everything. Some- times we played poker, or bridge the latter just then coming into vogue. We used to sit up very late, for in those days the King was un noctambule impenitent ; and towards three or four, when everybody began to look rather tired especially the ladies we retired, only the Prince remaining alert and gay, without a trace of fatigue. THE " FIRST GENTLEMAN " ABROAD 121 Sometimes, instead of dejeuner at the villa, we started off, at ten or eleven o'clock, in a carriage, for some picturesque spot, and breakfasted in the shadow of the orange trees, while the grass- hoppers chirruped merrily. One of these picnics lingers in my memory, for everything was per- fection the number and the composition of the guests, the weather, the place, and the menu the latter not to be disdained ! The party com- prised five men and five ladies. At half -past ten we started from the villa in five carriages two in each vehicle. As the hotel where the Prince of Wales w r as stopping was on our road we all halted there to take him up. He was ready arid waiting for us. He wore a dark-grey suit, a soft felt hat of the same colour, and grey shoes (daim gris). His reputation for elegance was certainly well deserved. He never looked as if he were " got up " for the occasion, yet it had the effect of supreme refinement. It was he who set the fashion, yet he was never a la mode. That morning, for instance, he wore a collar with * wings," although at the moment turndown collars were the rule. The only lively note in his sober garb was the blue scarf, tied in a sailor's knot. With that easy manner which was so characteristic, he came up to the carriages, and said he was obliged to keep us waiting for a moment ; !f an important personage had not completed his toilette " (this was said with a meaning smile). We understood ; he referred to his favourite dog, Peter. 122 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Peter was indeed an important personage ; he was fort coquet. He knew that he had to look very nice when he was going out with elegant company. He was a delicious bulldog, black as coal, with a coat as sleek as velvet. He had three beauty marks on his left jaw, and extraordinarily mobile ears, illustrating the various moods of a dog at once spoilt and intelligent. At the moment his ears denoted impatience. He was listening to everything to the horses champing their bits and pawing the ground with their hoofs, and to the voices of the party. After his tub he was frictioned with eau-de-Cologne ; then, seated in a chair, he held out first one paw, then the other, while the servant who had charge of him brushed his paws and cut his nails ! Meantime the horses were getting impatient. Peter loved horses, and did not like to keep them waiting ; and he turned his black muzzle to the valet as if he would say, " Well, where is my collar ? Be quick with it ! ?: A collar was shown to him, but he turned away from it disgusted. Was it possible that any one could offer him such a collar under the circum- stances ? A white varnished collar with gold plaque to wear at a lunch in the country ! De- plorable want of taste ! With a bound Peter jumped from the chair and made for the place where all his collars were ranged. He selected one with his humid jaws, a collar of fawn-coloured leather, bordered with squirrel's fur. A la bonne heure ! Now he was " in the note," and he came frisking along to rejoin us. Politely he said " Bon jour " THE "FIRST GENTLEMAN" ABROAD 123 to everybody then stretched himself at his master's feet. It was glorious weather. Those who have not lived in those morning hours in Provence do not know the beauty of the world. What are words amidst such scenes ? Of what avail are descrip- tions ? We pass, first, between walls covered with scarlet geraniums and pale blue plumbagos ; from the terraces droop roses Marechal Niels and La France ; and then there are the mimosas and the olive trees. The walls disappeared, and we were in the open country, amongst the almond and orange trees. In the carriages everybody was talking. The Prince of Wales said, " Often as I have been here I never tire of this glorious country. It is always new to me every time I discover some new beauty." Now we were in the wood which skirts the Siagne, the little stream in the environs of Cannes, where it was arranged that we should lunch ; and amidst the trees we saw the white table- cloths and the sparkling glasses. At this spectacle everybody remembered that it was the luncheon- hour, and that the open air gives one a tre- mendous appetite. The servants had arranged everything most artistically. The table was not far from the stream. All the chairs were on the same side of the table, facing the water. We were in the shadow of the planes and the pines. All subjects were talked about, and we were never tired of admiring the surprising youthful- 124 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD ness of the Prince of Wales. He was quite as vigorous mentally as physically. Suddenly there came the sound of a guitar, and a tenor voice was heard singing " O sole mio." Some wandering musicians, with the extraordinary flair of their kind, had followed us on foot that was why they had not appeared when we were lunching. You hear them everywhere on the Littoral ; they are in harmony with the country. They carry about a little of its sun, and it is that sun which makes their eyes so bright and their voices so vibrating. In this wise the time flew by, and the deep violet shadows were creeping up as we started on the return homewards. The fading light enveloped all Nature in its melancholy majesty, and we all felt its influence. In front of his hotel Edward vn. left us. We said "Au revoir " gaily. Peter careered about gleefully, as though not sorry to get back. CHAPTER VI ROYAL CHILDREN'S MONEY-BOXES IN the sixties and the seventies, and in 1889, a dead set was made against the Monarchy by the extreme Radicals. The most active, and certainly the most talented, of the grumblers during the first portions of the period indicated were Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, 1 Sir Charles Dilke, and Mr. Bradlaugh. The names of others it is needless to mention. There were two main pretexts for the hubbub : Queen Victoria's seclusion and the cost of maintaining the Monarchy. When oppor- tunity arose brickbats were thrown in the direc- tion of the Prince of Wales, who took them without flinching. In 1889-91 the most hostile critics of the Prince of Wales's Children Bill were Mr. Labouchere and Mr. Stead. The question at issue was the " Royal Grants," in which the future King Edward was greatly interested. In 1889 Mr. Stead 2 was telling us, in the 1 By 1889 Mr. Chamberlain had become " plus Royaliste que le Roi," and was accusing his former supporters of being " the Nihilists of English politics." Nihilists ! It amused the Prince, who remembered that only six years before " Joe " had been the Tories' bogy-man. * In consideration of his services to the Monarchy, Mr. Stead in 1891 was graciously permitted to pose as the apologist of the Prince of Wales. 126 126 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD then Radical "Pall Mall Gazette," that we had " too little Monarchy for our money." The " Times " obliged him with a lead by " shaking its head solemnly ?: and admitting that " the debate which will begin to-day " [on the Royal Grants] " threatens to excite a startling amount of disturbance both within and without the lines of party demarcation." Thus stimulated, the Pall Mall Gazetteer, in his " fearless old fashion," pontificated in this fashion : The public does not complain that it has too much Monarchy, but rather that it has too little Monarchy for its money. Roughly speaking, the demand that the new allowances should be met out of " grandmother's million " is at bottom based upon the popular conviction that the Queen has not altogether acted fairly with her subjects. We gave her a salary on the distinct understanding that she would do the thing in style, and keep up the Royal pageant with the splendour dear to the popular heart. She has drawn her pay with the regularity of any official, but she has failed to keep up the style. The public therefore feels that she is pretty much in the position of a commercial traveller receiving travelling allowance at first- class fare, and who goes third class in order that he may pocket the difference. That is not a fair thing to do by your employer, and John Bull has not been over well pleased by the way in which Her Majesty, who has been salaried as a Queen, has lived as the matron of a drab Republic. But although he did not like it he put up with it without serious protest. The Prince of W T ales made shift to serve as a substitute for his absentee mother, and every one hoped that in some way or other ROYAL CHILDREN'S MONEY-BOXES 127 she had made it up to him and that he was not left to do her work at his own charges. Now, however, that it is proposed to add 36,000 a year to the Prince's allowance, because the expenses which he has incurred in filling the Queen's place render it impossible for him to provide adequately for his own children, a very unpleasant feeling prevails which finds much more vigorous expression in private than anything that the newspapers are likely to print. Broadly stated, the popular feeling is that as the Queen has not seen fit to do the work she contracted to perform, but has put the money allowed for it into her own pocket, it is from that capacious receptacle that all new grants to grand- children should be drawn. We admit fully that the Queen has done the solid, useful part of her work admirably. It is the firework side of the Royal job that she has scamped. It may fairly be objected that the pageantry of the Monarchy is not of much importance, being merely a matter of gilded gingerbread, or even worse, and that the nation is better when it has none of the pomp and glitter of Royal spectacles. That may be the case, but, if so, the nation ought not to go on paying for that which is properly denied it. As we have gone on paying in full, and more than in full, all the money required for the gilded ginger- bread of monarchical state, while we have not had the Show for our money, we feel, now a fresh demand is made for Royal grants, that our opportunity has arrived for expressing our dis- satisfaction with the way in which we have been treated. We paid for silk and satin and got instead linsey - woolsey, which may be better material, but is certainly not so dear. As the other party has saved a million out of the differ- ence it is only fair that she should provide for 128 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD her grandchildren without making any further demands on the taxpayer. The Conservative party was in power, and when, in the House of Commons, it was proposed to go into Committee to consider the message from the Queen with reference to the allowance to be made to Prince Albert Victor of Wales and the Princess Victoria of Wales, Mr. W. H. Smith pointed out that Her Majesty's Ministers alone were responsible for the consequences of any advice which they might have given to the Crown. Commenting upon the Report presented to the House, Mr. Smith said it showed that the annual sum paid to the Crown in 1837 amounted to 227,000. It was now 152,000. They were proud of the fact that no application had been made to Parliament for the payment of any debt incurred on the Civil List during the reign of Her Majesty. He was sure Mr. Gladstone would agree with the doctrine which he laid down namely, that it was never the duty of the Crown or of the Prince of Wales to make provision for his own family. Her Majesty had directed that no claims should be pressed in respect to the issue of her younger sons and daughters. Mr. Smith, amid derisive cheers from the Radicals, protested against dragging the sacred institutions of the country into the arena of political discussion. Therefore he hoped there would be no embittered contro- versy on the point at issue. It was possible that he might be exposed to blame from his own side ROYAL CHILDREN'S MONEY-BOXES 129 of the House because he did not contest the sug- gestion of Mr. Gladstone that the allowance of the Prince of Wales should be reduced from 40,000 to 36,000. He did so because he thought the support of Mr. Gladstone would be more im- portant to the Prince of Wales than the few thousands difference. Mr. Labouchere moved that " an humble address be presented to Her Majesty, respectfully setting forth that, in the opinion of this House, the funds now at the disposal of Her Majesty and of the other members of her family are adequate, without further demands upon the taxpayers, to enable suitable provision to be made for Her Majesty's grandchildren, and that such provision might, if it be desired, be increased, with the ap- proval of Her Majesty, by the withdrawal of many salaries in Class 2 of the Civil List, and by other economies in Classes 2 and 3, and this without trenching upon the honour and dignity of the Crown, and without inconvenience to Her Majesty." Mr. Smith's policy was like the charge of Balaclava very noble, but by no means consistent with the practice of the House. Mr. Smith on every occa- sion endeavoured to make himself the scapegoat of the Government, and made himself alone re- sponsible for many acts. What must be made perfectly clear now was that the Government was responsible for every word spoken and every act done by Mr. Smith. Mr. Labouchere declined to be a party to the proposed grants, and taunted Ministers with having acted with indecency in this 9 130 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD matter. They had gone into Committee with a definite programme of their own ; they then consented to accept a portion of the sum originally fixed by themselves, and had permitted an amount of chaffering and bargaining that tended more than any action that might be openly taken against these grants to lower the respect which ought to be entertained for Her Majesty and the Royal Family. His contention was that there ought to be sufficient funds available for the purposes in question (he had indicated their sources) without necessitating any appeal to the taxpayers of the country. While Mr. Labouchere respectfully disagreed with Mr. Gladstone, he could not forget that his moral ascendancy on the Committee saved the country a sum of 33,000 per annum. Mr. Morley l was much in the position of a traveller who had to travel a road infested with brigands. He felt him- self bound to pay blackmail, in order to secure himself immunity from future attacks from these brigands. Seeing, however, that this immunity had not been secured, he had no doubt that Mr. Morley would vote for his amendment. Mr. Labouchere quoted from a speech made by Lord Brougham in 1837 on the right of the Crown to the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall. Up to the reign of George in. Parliament never voted one shilling for either the children or the grandchildren of any monarch. This custom came in in the reign of George in. He did not 1 The present Lord Morley. ROYAL CHILDREN'S MONEY-BOXES 131 look back with any particular respect to the reign of George in. To his thinking it was a period of exuberant servility. After enumerating a number of items in Classes 2 and 3 of the Civil List he totalled up the various sums paid to Her Majesty, which might be described as pin money, and reached a total of 136,000 per annum. There must be a considerable sum of money saved annually, and he was sorry he could not disclose the sum saved by Her Majesty and communicated to the Committee under the pledge of secrecy. The House of Commons had to decide between these two propositions : THE CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT'S SCHEME To Prince Albert Victor . . 10,000 To Prince George . . . 8,000 To the three Princesses . . 9,000 27,000 Extra on marriage Prince Albert Victor . . 15,000 Prince George . . . 7,000 The Princesses . . . 1,200 50,200 MR. GLADSTONE'S SCHEME To the Prince of Wales, as trustee for his children, an extra allowance of 36,000 132 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Mr. Gladstone's proposal was adopted, to the intense dissatisfaction of the Radicals, Although Mr. Labouchere was, as we have seen, a merciless critic of Royalty when it became a question of dowries, King Edward was so tolerant a man that he bore the often humorous attacks of " Labby " and the more incisive assaults of Brad- laugh with equanimity. Labouchere's flouts and jeers were not too seriously taken, and the Prince could afford to smile at them. With Bradlaugh it was different, and the Heir-Apparent was not slow to recognise the vindictive force of the Atheist's blows. A third antagonist was " Reynolds's Newspaper," a paper carefully read by Queen Victoria's eldest son from his early man- hood until his death. King Edward lived long enough to see " Reynolds's " change its note. In a negative way it became friendly ; towards the end of the last reign it developed into a Government organ, and one of its brightest lights x was not too proud to accept a knighthood. King Edward bestowed the accolade not, I think, without a smile but it was reserved for King George to admit the member for the Kirkcaldy Burghs to the Privy Council. Sir Sidney Lee is also a Georgian knight, but not yet a P.C. Had Labouchere lived to read that King Edward " was unable to sustain a long conversation," he would have laughed the perpetrator of such a tarradiddle to scorn. In the presence of bores the King took refuge in brilliant silence ; where the company was con- 1 Sir Henry Dalziel, M.P., P.C. ROYAL CHILDREN'S MONEY-BOXES 133 genial he was very talkative, yet not monopolising the conversation. Mr. Gladstone a thick-and- thin admirer of the Prince and a devotee from the outset at the shrine of the Princess would have endorsed this. CHAPTER VII CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD Injuries are writ in brass, kind Graccho, And not to be forgotten. x " MON DIEU ! qu'il est difficile d'ecrire Phis- toire ! " This heart-cry was wrung from that past- master in the art of the chronique, M. Jules Claretie, after an experience of nearly half a century, and it will find a responsive echo among those many talented writers who, to the advantage of the public, are delving in the mines of great or little history. No one knows better than the erudite director of the Theatre Frangais the pit- falls which await those whose historical domain is classed as the biographical ; but he would be the first to admit that the occasion sometimes arises when the task of the biographer is of the pleasantest, as my effort to show the world the real King Edward has been. "It is easy to triumph in a just cause," says Cicero; and my triumph has been of the easiest. I had merely to " tell truth and shame the Devil." " I am certain that you have done your utmost 1 Massinger, " The Duke of Milan." 134 CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 135 to mitigate the bad and false impression caused by that article* and to place our beloved King's character and career in its true and proper light before the public" This is a generous tribute, gilded with truth and the right to speak. It sets the seal of approval upon all I have written about King Edward. I want no other testimonial. The Dictionary's Memoir has caused a " bad and false impression." The author has told us that he was aided in his task by some who (so he has written) were on " intimate terms " with King Edward, and consequently, we must sup- pose, with Queen Alexandra and King George. Naturally the " informers " desire to preserve their anonymity. " Willing to wound " and not " afraid to strike," they are unwilling and afraid to reveal their identity in 1913 as they were in 1912. What Bismarck said to Busch is not inappli- cable to the eavesdroppers : " You drew conclu- sions from occasional utterances which you jotted down under the tablecloth." The whole question has occupied the attention of the British and Colonial Press, and to a certain extent the American papers have also discussed it some with knowledge, some without. And it is in no vainglorious or recriminatory spirit that I now, for the information of the readers of this volume, recall the events of September and 1 The " Dictionary of National Biography's " Memoir of Edward vii. 136 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD October 1912. My only desire is to show those who may not have followed the controversy how the slighted reputation of King Edward was restored by the Press when the truth and nothing but the truth was put before it by Professor Arminius Vambery, Comte d'Haussonville, and myself. The " New York Times " remarked : The astonishing thing is that there has not been a great outburst of popular indignation against a Memoir which is destructive of a cherished popular trust and approval. Perhaps the out- burst will come later, when a knowledge is dis- seminated of the things that have been said and written about King Edward by men who have read the " Dictionary of National Biography." Mr. Legge's survey of the life of Edward vn. furnishes a very good and much-needed antidote to the disparaging biography of the King written for the Dictionary by Sir Sidney Lee. Of the Dictionary's Memoir of Edward vn. the " Athenseum " (June 15, 1912) said : " It also embodies a very carefully considered view of the King's character, based on information supplied by those about him." The "Athenaeum" is a serious paper, formerly owned by Sir Charles Dilke, 1 and it would hardly have brought lightly such a charge for a charge it is against those com- posing the Royal entourage : the words " those about King Edward " can have no other meaning, 1 Sir Sidney Lee has told us, in the " Daily Telegraph " (June 8, 1912). that he had access to Sir Charles Dilke's diaries. CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 137 unless the " Athenaeum " intended to imply that Sir Sidney Lee's " view of the King's character " was >c based on information supplied " to him by the domestic servants of the Palace. The " Daily Telegraph's " denunciation of the Memoir appeared on June 7 the " Athenaeum's " statement on June 15. There was ample time for the weekly paper to inquire of Sir S. Lee or of the publishers of the Dictionary as to the precise sources from whence the former derived his information. Did the " Athenaeum " so inquire, and if so was it told, as a matter of fact, that Sir S. Lee wrote the Memoir " on information supplied by those about " King Edward ? Sir S. Lee was quick to reply to the " Telegraph's " severe strictures. Why did he not inform the " Athenaeum " that its statement was incorrect, if it were so ? If it were true, we have a clue to the identity of the " informers." But even so it does not, of course, necessarily follow that they are all living : for their own peace of mind I hope they are not. It must have been known to " the authorities " that the article in this " standard work of refer- ence," as the " Dictionary of National Biography " is called, and in most respects doubtless is (this I cheerfully concede), was being prepared for publica- tion in June 1912. Judging by statements in the newspapers it was intended to lead the public to believe that the Editor of the Dictionary had written his Memoir from information supplied to him by persons in authority. The " Daily Mail " 138 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD (June 6) said : " Sir Sidney Lee has had access to private and official sources of information that enable him to illuminate some recent passages in history." He " illuminated " them with a ven- geance ! On October 28 the " Daily Mail's " " Englishman " slaughtered Sir Sidney Lee and stamped upon his Memoir. Readers of my article published in the " Fortnightly Review " in October will remember Sir S. Lee's reply to the question asked him by the " Daily Chronicle's " interviewer whether the Memoir was "approved of by those nearest to the late King " ; and they will recall Sir Sidney's enigmatical words : 'You must not ask me that question, for I cannot answer it." On June 6 the papers were full of that Memoir of Edward vn. All the depreciatory " titbits " were printed by the journals. The writers whose duty it was to " notice," not to " review " (which is another matter), the Dic- tionary knew what would titillate their readers' palates the passages which unblushingly pro- claimed King Edward to be a mediocrity. The papers did not then question the accuracy of the Dictionary. The preliminary puffing paragraphs hinting at the sources of information tapped by the receptive, but not too perceptive, writer of the Memoir of our King " pauvre Sire ! ' : to quote the eminent French critic, M. Gerard Harry were accepted as guarantees that all that was contained in the Dictionary was absolutely accurate. And when, on June 7, the " Daily Telegraph " CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 139 denounced the " gaucheries," Sir Sidney Lee, in his letter of justification prominently published by the " Telegraph," persisted in affirming that it was " all true." That being so, what was the obvious duty of " the authorities " ? It was this : to get an absolute denial of the " belittlings " of King Edward inserted in the newspapers. Why was this course not adopted ? Why was the matter not brought before Parliament ? 1 On June 7, simultaneously with the " Tele- graph's " just tomahawking of the Dictionary's misconceptions, a letter penned by the writer of these lines appeared in the " Daily Mail." It was very plain-spoken. Yet no official or semi-official denial of the Dictionary's assertions, deductions, misconceptions, blunders, or " gaucheries " call them by any name you will was sent to the newspapers. All was silence the silence of the Windsor grave. '' Say nothing about it ! Cover it up ! It will soon be forgotten ! " Poor King ! Far different was it in 1854, when King Edward's father and mother were the subjects of newspaper attacks, as recorded in the Greville Memoirs. Then Mr. Gladstone came forward in print as the champion of Queen Victoria and her Consort, and ultimately the subject was discussed in Parliament. In 1912 the Dictionary's "belittlings" of King Edward were contemptuously ignored by those who were in a position to give them an authoritative 1 In June 1913, to "clear" two Ministers of the Crown, the whole legislative machinery was set in motion. 140 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD public contradiction, and it was left to others to expose them. Greville tells us thus pointedly what occurred in his time : January 15, 1854. I have never yet noticed the extraordinary run there has been for some weeks past against the Court, more particularly the Prince [Consort], which is now exciting general attention and has undoubtedly produced a con- siderable effect throughout the country. It began a few weeks ago in the Press, particularly in the " Daily News " and the " Morning Advertiser," but chiefly in the latter, and was immediately taken up by the Tory papers, the " Morning Herald " and the " Standard," and for some time past they have poured forth article after article, and letter after letter, full of the bitterest abuse and all sorts of lies. The " Morning Advertiser " has sometimes had five or six articles on the same day all attacking and maligning Prince Albert. Many of these [attacks] are very vague, but the charges against him are principally to this effect that he has been in the habit of meddling improperly in public affairs, and has used his influence to promote objects of his own and the interests of his own family at the expense of the interests of this country ; that he is German and not English in his sentiments and principles ; that he corresponds with foreign Princes and with British Ministers abroad without the know- ledge of the Government ; and that he thwarts the foreign policy of the Ministers when it does not coincide with his own ideas and purposes. He is particularly accused of having exerted his influence over this Government to prevent the CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 141 course which they ought to have done with regard to Turkey, and of having a strong bias towards Austria and Russia and against France. Then it is said that he is always present when the Queen receives her Ministers, which is uncon- stitutional, and that all the papers pass through his hands or under his eyes. He is accused of interfering with all the Departments of Govern- ment, more particularly with the Horse Guards, and specifically with the recent transactions and disagreements in that office, which led to the retirement of General Brown, the Adjutant- General. Then he and the Queen are accused of having got up an intrigue with Foreign Powers, Austria, particularly, for getting Palmerston out of office last year ; that she first hampered him in the Foreign Office by insisting on seeing his despatches before he sent them off, and then that she compelled John Russell to dismiss him on the ground of disrespectful conduct to herself, when the real reason was condescension to the wishes of Austria, with which Power the Prince had intimately connected himself. Charges of this sort, mixed up with smaller collateral ones, have been repeated day after day with the utmost virulence and insolence by both the Radical and the Tory journals. For some time they made very little impression and the Queen and Prince were not at all disturbed by them ; but the long continuance of these savage libels, and the effect which their continued re- futation has evidently produced throughout the country, have turned their indifference into ex- treme annoyance. I must say I never remember anything more atrocious or unjust. Delane (Editor of the " Times ") went to Aberdeen (Prime Minister), and told him that immense mischief 142 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD had been done, and that he ought to know that the effect produced was very great and general, and offered (if it was thought desirable) to take up the cudgels in defence of the Court. Aberdeen con- sulted the Prince, and they were of opinion that it was better not to put forth any defence, or rebut such charges in the Press, but to wait until Parlia- ment meets, and take an opportunity to rebut the charges there. . . January 16. The attacks on the Prince go on with redoubled violence, and the most absurd lies are put forth and readily believed. It is very difficult to know what to do, but the best thing will be a discussion in the House of Commons, if possible in both Houses. It is now said that Sir Robert Peel is going to raise one. January 21. The Press has been infamous, and I have little doubt that there is plenty of libellous matter to be found in some of the articles, if it should be deemed advisable for the Attorney- General to take it up. January 25. I wrote a letter in the "Times" (signed " Juvenal "), showing up the lies of the " Morning Advertiser," and how utterly unworthy of credit such a paper is. I find Palmerston and Aberdeen have come to an understanding as to what shall be said in the way of explanation, which is a good thing. It will not be much, and they will tell the same story. The whole subject was brought before Parlia- ment : February 1. Parliament met yesterday . In the Lords Derby made a slashing speech, but very imprudent, and played into Aberdeen's hands, who availed himself of it very well, and CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 143 made a very good answer. Derby afforded him a very good opportunity of vindicating the Prince, which he did very effectively, and then Derby followed him and joined in the vindication. Derby was put into a great rage by Aberdeen's speech, and could not resist attacking me (whom he saw behind the Throne). He attacked my letter, (signed C) in which I had pitched into the Tories for their attacks on the Prince. I saw his people turn round and look towards me, but I did not care a fig, and was rather pleased to see how what I wrote had galled them and struck home. In the Commons the Government was still more triumphant. The Opposition were disorganised and feeble . . . John Russell made a very good speech, and took the bull by the horns about the Prince, entered at once on the subject, and de- livered an energetic vindication of and eulogium on him in his best style. It was excellent, and between his speech and Aberdeen's and all those who chimed in, that abomination may be con- sidered to be destroyed altogether, and we shall probably hear no more of it. February 2. The run upon the Prince was carried on equally by the " Morning Herald " and the " Morning Advertiser " till ten days of the meeting of Parliament, when the former was stopped ; the latter never ceased. I have heard it surmised more than once that these attacks proceeded from Paris and were paid for by the Emperor Louis Napoleon, but I never could believe it. The other day I met M. Alexandre Thomas at dinner at Marble Hill, and we came to town together. He told me he had no doubt the abuse of the Prince was the work of the Emperor and paid for by him. ... I cannot help partaking in the opinion that the whole 144 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD thing has been got up, managed, and paid for by Louis Napoleon, Walewski (French Ambassador), and another person here. Mr. Gladstone wrote an elaborate article in the " Morning Chronicle " (Jan. 16, 1854) warmly defending the Court against attacks that had clouded the popularity of the Prince Consort. They came to little more than that the Prince attended meetings of the Privy Council ; that he was present when the Queen gave an audience to a Minister ; that he thwarted Ministerial counsels and gave them an un-English character ; that in corresponding with relatives abroad he used English influence apart from the Queen's advisers. Mr. Gladstone had no great " difficulty " in showing how little this was worth, either as fact supported by evidence or as principle sup- ported by the fitness of things. What Mr. Gladstone did in 1854 we " had no great difficulty " in doing in 1912 not much " difficulty " in showing how little the " belittlings " of King Edward were " worth, either as fact supported by evidence or as principle supported by the fitness of things." In 1789 there were newspaper attacks on the Prince of Wales and the Dukes of York, Clarence, and Cumberland. Mr. John Walter, the founder (January 1, 1785) of the " Times," died in November 1812, in the seventy-fourth year of his age ; and on November 16, 1912, that paper commemorated his death in CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 145 an article remarkable for its admirable candour and regard for truth : Walter (we read) was just the man to get into conflict with the law of those days by nothing worse than an outspoken independence. In 1789 the " Times " appears to have said that the rejoicing of the Dukes of York, Clarence, and Cumberland at the King's recovery was insincere. For this Walter was prosecuted for a libel by the Duke of York, and he was this time condemned to pay a fine of 50, to undergo a year's imprison- ment in Newgate, to stand in the pillory for an hour, and to give recognisances for good behaviour for seven years. During his imprisonment he was again convicted of a libel not merely on two of the same Royal Dukes, but on the Prince of Wales as well. Of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York the " Times " had said that they had incurred the just disapprobation of the King ; of the Duke of Clarence, that he had returned home from his command afloat without the authority of the Admiralty. A fine of 100 was inflicted for each of these offences, and for the former Walter was also sentenced to a second term of a year's imprisonment, to follow on the expiry of the sentence he was at the time under- going. But before the second term had expired the King's pardon was granted to him at the instance of the Prince of Wales. Walter stated subsequently, in a letter to Lord Kenyon which is extant, that this libel was directly inspired by the Treasury, from which he was accustomed, as an independent supporter of the Government, to receive private communications for publication ; but that when, at the instance of the Prince of Wales, he was prosecuted at the suit of the Treasury IO 146 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD for a Treasury offence he was left in the lurch by the Department, and made to bear the whole punishment of fine and imprisonment himself ; for he disdained to implicate his betrayers, or even to apply for compensation. It is possible that the Prince of Wales, who had no love for the Government, and was not without impulses of generosity in his earlier years, had some inkling of this, and for that reason procured Walter's pardon from the King. The devoted friend and undaunted champion of the " Peacemaker of Europe," Arminius Vambery, wrote to me from Budapest University : " Court people generally shun publicity, and silence or close curtains are much more valuable in their eyes than the highest praise or encomiums." I am in full accord with him. I honour this illustrious savant for what he has written, and I believe all our people are likewise thankful to him. June 7, 1912, is a " date." Three events hap- pened : (1) the " Daily Telegraph's " famous article appeared, (2) my remonstrance was printed in the "Daily Mail," and (3) M. Ernest Judet improved the occasion by circulating among the thousands of his "Eclair " readers the most outrageous diatribe against a dead man, who was also a King, that ever befouled a newspaper : an article avowedly based upon the extracts from the Dictionary's Memoir of Edward vn., which had appeared in the English papers only the previous day. 1 1 A full translation of the article may be read in my book. On October 24, 1912, the " Times " characterised the " Eclair " as an " obscure " paper. That was untrue, for that journal is quoted almost daily by the " Figaro " (1913), and very frequently by the London daily papers (Reuter's telegrams). CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 147 I come to the next act of the tragedy of King Edward. On September 24, 1912, the papers once more returned to the subject of " King Edward," on account of an article in the " Fortnightly Review." The honour and the character and reputation of a great King were at stake. The British Press generously admitted that it had been misled, and that Edward the Seventh was in truth the potent Sovereign the world had thought him to be, and not the mediocrity, the " roi faineant," the dullard, of the "informers." I fully realised the responsibility I was in- curring in daring to pronounce an adverse verdict upon the work of the Editor of the Dictionary, who, I feel certain, took all possible pains to ensure accuracy, and who would have produced a wholly satisfactory Memoir had he submitted it for revision to some competent person ; Lord Glenesk having, alas ! passed away in the plenitude of his unrivalled powers. The Memoir was an outrage because of its glaring errors of fact and its insularity. And here I cannot refrain from ex- pressing surprise that its author should have accepted as truths what most men of his capacity and scholarship would have detected as errors and eavesdroppings. Scholarship does not always make the complete Editor. There are, however, exceptions ; Sir Edwin Arnold was one, and I could name others, happily still among us, who are brilliant scholars and equally brilliant editors. But, as a rule, the men who are the most capable 148 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD editors and can claim to be rarely wrong are those who have gone through the Sturm und Drang of journalism. These, happily for the public well- being, are fairly numerous. The moment the " Fortnightly " article, " King Edward vn. : His Character and Personality," was circulated, the papers seemed to be genuinely anxious to make the real facts about the King known. They printed columns of extracts from that article, with most attractive " headings." The "Times" had its commendatory note (October 1) : Although not directly connected with present- day politics, Mr. Edward Legge's article in the " Fortnightly " on " King Edward vn. : His Character and Personality ' will be widely dis- cussed. It shows some knowledge of facts not generally known, but over and beyond this it is interesting because of its uncompromising criticism of several of the statements and deductions con- tained in Sir Sidney Lee's monograph on the late King in the " Dictionary of National Biography." What did this mean ? " I mentioned at the time that King Edward's circle felt themselves outraged by Sir Sidney Lee's Memoir. A very exalted lady has now gone so far as to ask for a public apology from the author." 1 This statement was not contradicted by Sir S. Lee, or by any one on behalf of " the very exalted 1 " Manchester Guardian," November 20, 1912 (reproduced on the same day by the " Pall Mall Gazette," which termed it " a piquant item "). CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 149 lady." But the " Nineteenth Century and After " published in the following month (December 1912) an article by Sir S. Lee entitled "At a Journey's End," an exposition of the whole art of the biographer. Some might have discerned in that essay an oblique reply to Professor Vambery's and my criticisms in the " Fortnightly Review " and in " King Edward in his True Colours." Professor Vambery, after reading Sir S. Lee's article, wrote to me : ' The author of the caustic criticism [in the Dictionary's Memoir of King Edward vn.] which we thought it our duty to oppose seems to have taken refuge in the Latin saying, ' Contemptu multa servantur.' 1 Such, at least, can be read between the lines of the article published in the ' Nineteenth Century and After,' under the title of ' At a Journey's End.' " I cull some impressive sentences from that article : Where suppression is required useful auxiliary guidance is offered by Cicero's wise dictum that when you are debarred from saying all that is true you must say nothing that is false or that conveys a false impression. The contemporary biographer who works on these lines will not fall into serious error. This is admirably put ; but has Sir Sidney Lee lived up to it in his Memoir of Edward vn. ? He has told the Dictionary's clientele that King 1 " Regard with contempt those who attack you and do not trouble to answer their criticisms." 150 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Edward was " no reader of books. He could not concentrate his mind upon them." Does that, or does it not, " convey a false impression " ? Professor Vambery terms the statement " the greatest possible calumny." One who was for many years intimately associated with our late Sovereign, and who is still a prominent courtier, wrote to me : "It is, of course, absurd to say that King Edward did not read books." Another close friend of King Edward com- plained of the "belittling" character of the Memoir. That fiery Paris publicist, M. Ernest Judet, ac- claimed the author of the Dictionary's Memoir as " this honest writer," and published in his widely- circulated journal, the " Eclair," a vitriolic article, extracts from which were given in the " Fortnightly Review " and are to be found at greater length in " King Edward in his True Colours." The trans- lation of M. Judet's article shocked, as it was certain to shock, English readers. I reproduced it for the express purpose of showing the mischief which the Dictionary's Memoir was, and is, capable of doing. Sir Sidney Lee wrote in the '' Nineteenth Century " : National biography which hopes for a long life should respect the needs of the future student, and every precaution should be taken against the risk of misleading him. An excellent precept. I am sure Sir S. Lee took CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 151 every " precaution against the risk of misleading the future student." None the less the student is to be pitied who believes the Dictionary's rash assertion that King Edward " was no reader of books." We read on The biographer's historic sense is bound at times to qualify in the light of his researches the contemporary estimate of a career. This principle is adopted in the Memoir with the result that those (if there still be any) who pin their faith to the article in the " Dictionary of National Biography " must believe that the eminent men of all countries and the Press of the whole world talked nonsense, and worse than nonsense, when, in May 1910, they eulogised the King's diplomatic skill, and spoke of him as the "Peacemaker," " a title," says Sir S. Lee in his Memoir, "which is symbolically just, but is misleading if it be taken to imply any personal control of diplomacy." Moreover, the Editor of the Dictionary would have us believe that it was merely " some French journalists " who " be- stowed on the King the title of ' le Roi Pacifi- cateur ' ! 5: Did, then, the whole world British and Colonial statesmen and the British, Colonial, Continental, and American Press included take their cue from " some French journalists," and thenceforward refer to our departed Sovereign as the " Peacemaker " without pausing to ask 152 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD themselves whether the title was only " sym- bolically just " ? Let the reader turn to the book on Edward vn., and to the newspapers of June 24, 25, 26, and 27, 1913, 1 and he will find over- whelming testimony as to the accuracy of the title. That accuracy has never been, and never will be, questioned outside the narrow and un- enviable circle of the " belittlers." " Every serious biographer," writes Sir S. Lee, " prays for ' the happy talent ' with which Cowper credited Johnson of ' correcting the popular opinion upon all occasions where it is erroneous.' ... A man's public achievements are the man's gift to the world, and are at the world's service to be described and valued by efficient biography in a spirit of becoming charity, but at the same time in a spirit of liberty and historic truthfulness." In a defamatory article in the " Eclair " (June 7, 1912), 2 M. Ernest Judet, in his panegyric of the author of the Dictionary's Memoir of Edward vn., wrote : The English spoil us. They themselves bring us successively all the proofs of the mystification of which we were nearly the victims, thanks to the thoughtlessness and the trickery of a Delcasse. Let us recall the brilliant eulogies of M. Poincare in front of the monument at Cannes, 3 and the triumphant gratitude of the tradesfolk and the 1 The " Poincare " week. 2 Vide the "Fortnightly Review" (October 1912) and "King Edward in his True Colours." 3 April 13, 1912. CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 153 tourists of the Cote d'Azur when M. Poincare evoked amidst applause King Edward's " keen good sense, his spirituelle bonhomie, instinctive diplomacy, and the supreme art of adaptation, which were the characteristics of his genius" (italicised in the original). What did not M. Poincare add to justify his enthusiasm ? M. Poincare's panegyric was altogether unrestrained when it passed to the intervention of Edward vn. in the preparatory work and the consummation of the entente cordiale. What a disconcerting contrast it presents with the English writer's Memoir, so disenchanting, so mortifying for the bluff which has kept a whole generation under the influence of its delusions ! It requires the tenacious credulity and the stubbornness of the woman who wants to be beaten to question the rectifications and the details of that with which the sudden frankness of our neighbours across the Channel gratifies us, although tardily. To acquaint the British public with the outrage perpetrated on King Edward by the French writer was, I was told, " playing into the hands of the King's enemies " ! I took a different view ; for, after all, M. Jtidet was only gloating over the Dictionary's " showing-up " of the late Sovereign's fictitious f aiblesses ; and. as a French patriot, he was within his right in expressing his candid opinion of Edward vn., for he honestly believed in the fidelity of the portrait painted of him by the Editor of the ' ' Dictionary of National Biography," "in a spirit of becoming charity." And on this point these reflections of the author of " Religio Medici " (" Enquiries into vulgar and 154 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD common errors ") may be read with profit, for what the learned physician published in 1646 holds good in 1913 i 1 Now, as there are many great wits to be con- demned who have neglected the increment of arts and the sedulous pursuit of knowledge, so there are not a few very much to be pitied whose industry being not attended with natural parts, they have sweat to little purpose, and rolled the stone in vain. Which chiefly proceedeth from natural incapacity and genial indisposition, at least, to those particulars whereunto they apply their endeavours. And this is one reason why, though universities be full of men, they are oftentimes empty of learning ; why, as there are some men do much without learning, so others but little with it, and few that attain to any measure of it. For many heads, that undertake it, were never squared nor timber'd for it. A third cause of common errors is the credulity of men ; that is, an easy assent to what is obtruded, or a believing, at first ear, what is delivered by others. This is a weakness in the understanding, without examination assenting unto things, which, from their natures and causes, do carry no persuasion ; whereby men often swallow falsities for truths, dubiosities for certainties, feasibilities for possibilities, and things impossible as possibilities themselves. Which, though a weakness of the intellect and most discoverable in vulgar heads, yet hath it sometime fallen upon wiser brains and great advancers of truth. A fourth cause of error is a supinity, or neglect of enquiry, even of matters whereby we doubt ; 1 " Pseudodoxia Epidemica." By Sir Thomas Browne. Lon- don : H. G. Bohn, 1846. CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 155 rather believing than going to see, or doubting with ease and gratis than believing with difficulty or purchase. The " Times " l made this frank admission : " Sir Sidney Lee and his contributors have com- piled a sterling three-volumes supplement to the 'Dictionary of National Biography,' which contains much sound and some disputable matter. Sir Sidney's Life of King Edward in that supplement has been hotly discussed." On October 24 the " Times," in its notice of " King Edward in his True Colours," extolled the chapters by Comte d'Haussonvilte and Professor Vambery, the latter of whom roundly asserted that the Dictionary's Memoir calumniated King Edward in the passage declaring that the King was no reader of " books could not concentrate his mind upon them." Of Sir Sidney Lee and myself the "Times" said: "Both disputants are right." On June 6 the " Times," reviewing the Dic- tionary's Memoir, had covered Sir Sidney Lee with glory ; and had failed to discover anything " disputable " in it. For thirty-five years the late Sir Richard Holmes was librarian at Windsor Castle, and so had charge of what he declared to be one of the finest collections of books in the world. Sir Richard considered King Edward one of the best-informed men in the world : 1 December 31, 1912 (" Review of the Year "). 156 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD I recollect one evening when Professor Vam- bery, the great authority on Eastern Europe, and an old friend of mine, was visiting him at Windsor. His Majesty sent for me to join them, and for an hour or two they discussed the problems of that region. I listened, and, as I listened, I marvelled that the King should be able to hold his own in talk with a world- wide authority upon his own particular subject. He had a wonderfully re- tentive memory. It has been said of him often that he never forgot faces. I think it is equally accurate to say that he scarcely ever forgot facts. He was proud of the fine library at Windsor, and would make a point of taking Royal visitors over it himself. He would have been there much oftener if it had not been so far away from the Royal apartments. There was nearly a mile to walk ! It was this distance which made him decide to take the collection of miniatures away from the library and to put them where they could be more easily seen by his guests. This was only one of the many changes he had to make at Windsor. When he came to the throne he inherited two residences, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, where everything had been left exactly as it was in the Prince Consort's time. Queen Victoria never had anything altered. She did not like anything upon which Prince Albert had looked to be moved. Many books from the Prince Consort's collec- tion at Buckingham Palace were sent to Sandring- ham, where King Edward took the greatest interest in his library. He was pleased to consult me in connection with it. He was anxious to make it a feature of the house. Of course, he did not try to rival national collections, but as a private library the one at Sandringham stands very high. Some of his entourage were inclined to consider it an CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 157 extravagance, but the King would not hear of objections. He was determined to make it as complete as possible? The Dictionary's accusation that King Edward was "no reader of books" is met also in very positive terms by the writer of a criticism of Sir Henry Burdett's " Prince, Princess, and People " in the ''Quarterly Review" as far back as 1889. An extract from this article is given in the chapters on " The Attributes of King Edward," so it is only necessary to say here that the Quarterly Reviewer emphasises the King's " very considerable knowledge of art, science, and literature" The mischievous effect of the Dictionary's Memoir has been already illustrated by reference to the article published in the Paris " Eclair." That Memoir is also responsible for the extra- ordinary change it wrought upon Mr. Keir Hardie. That gentleman, addressing a meeting of Socialists at the Prince's Theatre, Preston, on Sunday, May 8, 1910, expressed his sense of the national loss in these graceful terms : Needless to say I associate myself with what has fallen from our Chairman concerning the death of King Edward. One's opinions of the Throne as an Institution need not necessarily bias our judg- ment against its occupant. " Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." I say with perfect sincerity that since the late King Edward ascended the Throne he has added both dignity and lustre to 1 " Daily Mail," May 21, 1910. 158 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD his great position, and I can only express the hope that his successor may follow worthily in his father's steps. Exactly two years later the Dictionary's Memoir appears, and, after reading it, Mr. Hardie changes his loyal tone and unreservedly accepts the Memoir as giving a true portrait of the King ! The Merthyr " Pioneer " of June 22, 1912, published a review of the Memoir, headed " King Edward and Others. By J. Keir Hardie, M.P." The London papers devoted only a few lines to this eulogy of Sir Sidney Lee. I will be more generous, but only for the purpose of showing how entirely the iconoclastic Royalty-hater and the eminent author of the Memoir are now in accord. First, however, I must note that in a little volume entitled "The Golden Book of King Edward vn.," I find this further confirmation of the authoritative statements contained in the " Fortnightly Review ' : and in my work, and bearing out the views of Sir Richard Holmes : As for King Edward's literary tastes, which are evinced in the Royal library at Sandringham, it is evident that his chief interest was in the history of his country, and especially of his own time. He bought every work he could hear of dealing with the public or private administration of the Eastern Empire, with the history of the Crimean War, with Colonial history, and reports of the Indian Mutiny. The collection generally is that of a man of business whose interests are many and diverse. CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 159 Like M. Judet, Mr. Keir Hardie, a man of un- doubted ability, unfortunately misdirected, wel- comes the Dictionary's Memoir as an exposure of King Edward's incapacity and weaknesses. Throughout his long article reviewing its deplor- able assertions and innuendos, Mr. Hardie ridicules the King, finding his justification for doing so in the gaucheries contained in the Dictionary. Here is convincing proof, if any were needed, that the Dictionary has delivered Queen Alexandra's con- sort into the hands of the Socialistic and Monarchy- hating enemy. The few papers which have done their best to shield Sir Sidney Lee from my criti- cisms and from the heavy batteries of the " Daily Telegraph '' and the " Daily Mail " may make the best they can of Mr. Hardie's championship and eulogies of that gentleman. Mr. Hardie, after assuring us that Queen Victoria's " mental make-up and whole attitude was ( of the petty bourgeois or lower-middle class," proceeds : Then came King Edward, who, during his short reign, was raised to the highest pinnacle of fame for his efforts in the cause of international peace. During the last two or three years of his life it was as " Edward the Peacemaker " that he was best known. Now we know that the title was wholly fictitious, and that whilst he was supposed to be labouring abroad for his country's good he was simply enjoying himself as a very amiable, pleasure- loving man of the world, who was bored by politics and had not the capacity to understand foreign relationships. The nation is indebted to Sir Sidney 160 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Lee for putting us in possession oj some of the out- standing facts of the life of King Edward. Those who wish to read them at length will find them embodied in the last issued volume of the ' ' National Dictionary of Biography." Mr. Hardie, who had referred to the King so generously in 1910, now revels in the depreciatory passages which disfigure the Memoir : In the early years of the nineteenth century the slightest incident would have toppled the Monarchy in this country over and established a Republic. It is only during the past twenty-five years that this feeling has almost died out, and it was a common prediction about the time of the Mordaunt scandal that Christian England would never tolerate the Prince of Wales ascending the throne. Even as King Edward vn. he took but a languid interest in politics. Every night when Parlia- ment is sitting the Prime Minister sends an officii note of the business of the day to the Sovereign, Queen Victoria, even to the end, read this care- fully and criticised and made comments upon its contents. It is doubtful whether Edward ever read the documents although they were type- written for his special benefit. If he did read them, he made no comments. . . . His love of pleasure remained his ruling passion. He liked the excitement of the turf, from which, by the way, he made a very large income. He liked the frivol ity of Continental watering-places. During those periods when treaties were being made with France and other Powers he, happening to be enjoying him- self abroad at the same time, was credited with being their real author, whereas it is really doubtful CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 161 whether he even knew of their existence. Mr. Swift MacNeill, M.P., used to wax frantic at the King going about negotiating treaties behind the backs of his responsible ministers. We now know how groundless were his fears. He certainly took no active part in the negotiations. " He cannot" says Sir Sidney Lee, " be credited with broad diplo- matic views or the faculty for tactical negotiation. . . . To his unguarded utterances no real weight attached either at home or abroad." Thus, whilst he was supposed to be labouring in the interests of peace, he was in the full " enjoyment of life under foreign skies quite unencumbered by the burden of diplomatic anxieties." It was with difficulty that he would be induced to meet the late Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman even at a private dinner. The Budget, he thought, was laying burdens upon land and property, and caused him much " searching of heart," and Sir Sidney Lee finally sums him up in these words : " No originating political faculty can be assigned him. . . . King Edward cannot be credited with the greatness that comes of statesman- ship and makes for the moulding of history." I have given only a few extracts from Mr. Keir Hardie's article, containing most of the points in the Dictionary's Memoir which tell against the King. What a handle for the Socialists ! They will be testimonialising the Editor of the Dictionary one of these days, for he has furnished them with material which, although some of it is, as the " Times " admits, " disputable," they would be more than human not to utilise. " The late King Edward was clearly a man of very amiable disposition, but limited intellect." ii 162 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Inspired by the helpful Dictionary, Mr. Hardie made a few concluding remarks which showed how deeply his heart had been stirred by the Memoir : The man [King Edward] never had a chance in life. That, however, has nothing to do with the fact that because he was born to be a king the nation was supposed to worship him as though he had been a god. In these modern days there is nothing for a king to do except to aid in the work of hoodwinking the common people. The role assigned him is that of leading mime in the panto- mime in which the great unthinking multitude is kept amused while it is being imposed upon, and there is no reason to suppose that the present occupier of the throne in any way differs from either his grandmother or his father. He, like them, is of under stature, and has never given any indi- cation of more than very ordinary intelligence. I know of nothing quite so revolting as his marriage. It will be remembered that his brother, the Duke of Clarence, was engaged to be married to the Princess Mary ; he was seized with illness, and died. In the course of a few months the betrothed of the deceased prince was transferred to his brother, and ultimately married him. The thing was a public scandal, and no man of any character would have submitted to it. There is nothing kingly about either the office or person of the modern king. He is no longer a leader or a ruler. He does not lead forth the hosts in war, nor does he hold turbulent barons in awe. A king is an anachronism in these days, and is only kept in being as a valuable asset of the ruling class. As such no self-respecting workman can have either act or part in any official welcome. CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 163 These, then, are Mr. Hardie's opinions as expressed in his review of Sir Sidney Lee's Memoir of Edward vn. If Mr. Hardie is reproached for what he has written he may fairly retort that in what he has said about that Sovereign he has only echoed the " Dictionary of National Biography," which he evidently, and rightly, regards as some- thing for which the Socialists, whose ranks are daily swelling, have every reason to be grateful. He possibly considers Sir Sidney Lee to be on the same plane as himself and his brother Socialists and would-be wreckers of the Monarchy. This may not be precisely what Sir Sidney Lee antici- pated ; but there is the position, and it is for him, if he can, to disentangle himself from it. Some few of Sir Sidney Lee's admirers have been unintentionally the means of increasing the popularity of " King Edward in his True Colours " by denouncing me for my criticism of the writer of the Memoir of Edward vn. I may say with Congreve : "I was conscious where a true critic might have put me on my defence. I was prepared for the attack . . . but I have not heard anything said sufficient to provoke an answer." l As it is said that King Edward's memory is to be still further insulted by the issue of a cheap edition of the Dictionary's Memoir, it is desirable that all King George's subjects particu- larly those in the colonies should realise the tendency of that Memoir and the deplorable effects it may possibly produce unless the antidote to the 1 " Epistle Dedicatory " to the Right Hon. Charles Montague. 164 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD bane is placed before them. One of many such antidotes was provided by the " Daily Mail," which, in a review 1 of the Dictionary's Memoir, endorsed every point of the criticism of that Memoir contained in " King Edward in his True Colours " and previously in the " Fortnightly Review," a very striking proof of the precise similarity of thought between two minds, and a proof also that the writer ("An Englishman ") of the " Mail's " scathing denunciation of the Dictionary's Memoir had had the advantage of perusing my volume before penning his article. All that is printed in a daily newspaper is neces- sarily ephemeral read to-day and forgotten to- morrow. For the reason which I have given I am perpetuating parts of the " Mail's " article, which is as creditable to its author as to the popular journal in which it was published : When Sir Sidney Lee's article first appeared it was received with an almost unbroken chorus of praise. Here, we were told, is a perfect specimen of biography, just, true, and courageous. The passage of a few months has already corrected the favourable verdict. To read the biography at leisure is to discover a bias to which the "Dictionary of Biography " has always been proclaimed a stranger. Sir Sidney is careful to tell us that in preparing his article he " has had the benefit of much private information." He does not tell us whence the information came or by whom it was imparted. It is impossible, therefore, to put a high value upon it. Before we accept his authorities we must know what 1 October 26, 1912. CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 165 they are and cross-examine them (so to say) in the light of their prejudice. The unsupported state- ment of A to B is tittle-tattle, and no more. The untested judgment of an unnamed critic in so difficult a matter as the character of a king is not worth more than the echo of the voice that spoke it. Nor can we take much comfort in the statement that Sir Sidney Lee was privileged to consult the unpub- lished papers of Sir Charles Dilke. Whatever was the process of the biography, its result is to belittle the character and judgment of Edward VII. You rise from a reading of it with a sense of amiable incompetence. In small things, as in great, Edward VII. seems to have failed lamentably. Queen Victoria hesitated to ask his advice, we are told, because " she deprecated the discussion of national secrets over country house dinner tables." From which owner of private information, I wonder, was this priceless gem of tact obtained ? Even at bridge, " though he played regularly and successfully, he developed a moderate skill." This is a cryptic saying. . . . Worse still, when tried by the standard of the schoolroom, our late King is given no marks at all. His " dramatic criticism " was much at fault, and this is not the worst. !< He lacked the intellectual equipment of a thinker, and showed on occasion an unwilling- ness to exert his mental powers. He was no reader of books." Again we demand some sort of authority for these absolute statements. The mere word of a biographer is insufficient. Before we accepted it we should want the evidence of a dozen witnesses supported by signed and attested documents. And if it be true, is it not wholly irrelevant ? Why should a king be a dramatic critic or a reader of books ? His life is given to affairs and far more difficult pursuits than " intellectual thinking." 166 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD After all, they profit most by books who can do most without them. In politics, foreign and domestic, Sir Sidney Lee allows Edward VII. no ability. . . . As at home, so abroad, he could do nothing right. The impression was encouraged that he " was exerting abroad diplomatic powers which, under the Con- stitution, belonged to Ministers alone." It was an impression only. For, if we may believe Sir Sidney Lee, Edward VII. achieved very little in the counsels of Europe. (( No originating political faculty can be assigned to him." " He was a peacemaker not through the exercise of any diplomatic initiative." The French journalists who called him " le Roi Pacificateur " were " mere rhetoricians." " The title," says Sir Sidney, " is symbolically just, but is misleading if it be taken to imply any personal control of diplomacy." Time, I believe, will prove the injustice of these words. Of the entente cordiale it may be said that Edward vn. was actually and visibly the creator. . . . But even if all the miscellaneous information collected here and there by Sir Sidney ^Lee had the merit of truth, which few would admit, it would still have been a monstrous error in tact to publish it. We are far too near the death of Edward vn. and the public controversies which attended it to form a definite estimate of his character and genius. Above all, being a king, he deserved the tribute of discretion? Further confirmation of the accuracy of my views of the Dictionary's Memoir of King Edward 1 Sir Sidney Lee did not reply to the "Daily Mail's" criticism, although he had replied to the "Daily Telegraph's" denunciatory leading article in June 1912, and by so doing brought upon himself further censure. CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 167 was furnished by the London Press as recently as June 24, 1913, the day of the arrival of M. Poincare. In a leading article on that event the " Times " said : " When M. Fallieres was our guest [1908], the friendship of which King Edward and M. Loubet sowed the seed had proved that it was too deep-rooted for any storms to shake." The " Daily Mail's " leading article on the same day contained these words : " The Entente, which owed its birth to the late King Edward's memorable mission to Paris just ten years ago, has since proved its strength and value in a hundred ways." The principal Republican journal, the Paris " Temps " (June 29, 1913), has again declared that King Edward was one of the two authors of the entente : " Sachons rendre grace aux auteurs du rapprochement de 1904, le Roi Edouard VII. et M. Delcasse" What does Sir Sidney Lee say of the King and the Entente ? He says this : " No direct responsi- bility for its initiation or conclusion belonged to him [the King]. . . . The King had no conception of any readjustment of the balance of European power." And to this opinion he sticks. The opinions of the " Times " and of the " Daily Mail " are, I suppose, as naught to him. As for M. Poincare, he is, doubtless, in Sir Sidney Lee's eyes, a negligible quantity. Nevertheless we will see what the President said on this particular point at the Guildhall on June 25. M. Poincare's words (reported in the papers on June 26) were these : ' In 1904 an understanding was reached which put 168 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD an end to all differences in the relations between England and France, and not one of my com- patriots has forgotten the impulse which was given on that decisive occasion by His Majesty King Edward VII. to the creation of a concord which has survived him." And in his " Message to the British Nation " (published in the papers on June 26) M. Poincare said : " The visit I have come to pay to His Majesty King George affords me a unique oppor- tunity of testifying to the unanimous sentiments of the French nation towards the son of the Glorious Sovereign under whose auspices the fruitful friend- ship between Great Britain and France was estab- lished: 9 " Monsieur Poincare is as clear-headed and wholehearted a believer in what he called yesterday ' the fraternal confidence and commonweal of the two peoples ' as was the King who took the first step ten years since to make such relations possible" (" Daily Telegraph," June 26.) The extracts here given are alone sufficient to discredit the Dictionary's Memoir ; but the papers which printed these articles and circulated them in the dawn perish at sunset. Enshrined within the covers of a book they remain as living witnesses. This letter, signed " W.," and headed " King Edward and the Entente," appeared in the "Pall Mall Gazette " on June 7, 1912, the day on which my first criticism of the Dictionary's Memoir was published in the "Daily Mail" and for which a very prominent member of the Court of to-day CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 169 warmly thanked me in writing. " W.'s " letter, herewith given, is one more confirmation of my views of the " belittlings " : That Sir Sidney Lee, in his biography of the late King, is inclined to underestimate the part played by His Majesty in the consolidation of the Entente will be denied by none of those English people who happened to be in Paris at the time the Sovereign paid his first State visit to the French capital. The Entente Cordiale was then in an embryonic stage, and, as far as the French nation at large was concerned, had practically no existence at all. The dead silence, rendered all the more striking by the utterance here and there of an unmistakably British cheer, that greeted the Sovereign on the day of his entry ; the huge force of police, evi- dently under strict orders to suppress any attempt at a hostile demonstration ; the freezing attitude of the crowds, must have been as painful to the feelings of the King as they were to his subjects. ' The whole thing is a fiasco," said a prominent French politician, one who had been most active in endeavouring to promote a better understanding between the two countries, as the Royal carriage disappeared behind the gates of the British Embassy. But before twenty-four hours had passed the magnetic personality of the King had worked a miracle. He had taken hold of the imagination of Paris. In a night the attitude of the crowd had changed from utter indifference to warm sympathy, which soon turned to positive enthusiasm. Those three or four days did more to clear away the mis- understandings of years than any political agree- ment. A few far-seeing statesmen gave the 170 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Entente their support from its inception, but it remained with King Edward to conquer for it the sanction of Paris. From a powerful leading article, " The Char- acter of the King," published in the " Evening Standard" on October 19, 1912, I make a short extract : The fierce light that beats upon a throne is manipulated in these days by urbane stage-manage- ment. This management if so we may describe the courtesy of civilised peoples directs a rosy hue on a living King, but on his death changes the light to more lurid colours. Such has been the case with King Edward vn. Not long since Sir Sidney Lee threw a cold, clear, rather cruel light on King Edward. He showed us a monarch full of amiable qualities, whose capacity had been so stunted by injudicious education that when he came into his kingdom he knew little or nothing of its responsibilities. And Sir Sidney Lee expended much ingenuity and honest endeavour in bringing out the mediocrity of King Edward so far as the arts of government and diplomacy were concerned. His idea seemed to be that while the King lived an exaggerated notion had developed of his influence on the affairs of Europe. This notion Sir Sidney set himself to dissipate by means of the cold, clear, and rather cruel light of which we have spoken. The King he exhibited on the biographical stage was one who did not deserve the reputation of diplomatic acuteness and energy with which he was credited. Then, proceeding to comment on " Monarchs and Men," by Herr Maximilian Harden, the writer says: CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 171 Another hand now takes possession of the illuminant. Herr Maximilian Harden, the famous German journalist, has written a book called " Monarchs and Men," and a translation has been published in England by Mr. Eveleigh Nash. A prominent place among his monarchs is given by Herr Harden to King Edward. Nobody could possibly recognise Herr Harden' s monarch as Sir Sidney Lee's. The contrast is magnificent, and not without amusement. Whereas the English writer's view of his King was that he lacked at least half the cleverness he was supposed to have devoted to the maintenance of peace and power, the German writer would have us believe that Machiavelli was a duffer compared with the paragon of guile who was Edward vn. He does not expressly relate him to Machiavelli or the Machia- vellian school. Indeed, there is a trifle too much of Bismarckian brutality in the picture for the parallel with the Italian to be complete. But, at any rate, the picture is as unlike the King Edward we thought we knew as was that of Sir Sidney Lee. Let us follow Herr Harden in a few of the broader outlines of his analysis. It appears, then, that King Edward came to the throne without very much of a welcome. Towards the end of his mother's life angry voices had protested, wherever he came, that he had " speculated in gold mines, disturbed the waters of the Vaal with Rhodes, Milner, and Beit, taken part in the preparation for the Jameson raid, and used his influence to frustrate the inquiry into it." He was not dis- mayed by these rumours ; "he was more irritated by the jeer that he had been ' made in Germany '." As this might be dangerous, he abjured his father's name, " since it recalled the small princes of Germany," and chose to be known as Edward, 172 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD which " suggests to the Briton the king of the time of the barons' wars, who organised the government, sustained Magna Carta, and brought the princi- pality of Wales under the law of England." Furthermore, King Edward was " no soldier and no sailor ; neither a blind assailant nor a vain seeker of fame ; he was a royal merchant, with a shrewd, often majestic, intelligence, a thorough knowledge of men, and an inborn amiability." In this capacity he desired peace with Germany, and ensued it by keeping his Imperial nephew, of whom, by the way, Herr Harden speaks with a delightful, condescending freedom, under his thumb. One gets the impression of a terrible uncle and a nephew paralysed by weakness. The King read the Emperor's character as follows : " Active, but will do nothing." For years he maintained this view, pursuing " his personal policy as if it were sport." It took the place of the pastimes of his youth. 66 He took a right royal pleasure in the effect of his bluff, and paralysed German diplomacy in its most important negotiations by an artful wink, which meant ' Don't be intimidated ; there is no intention whatever to appeal to the last resort of peoples and kings behind all his high-sounding words ; my nephew, whom I know to the marrow of his bones, will not go to war." Two persons out of the millions of Great Britain and France maintain that the Memoir of Edward vn. contained in the " Dictionary of National Biography " is absolutely true in substance and in fact. One is M. Ernest Judet, editor of the " Eclair " ; the other is Mr. J. Keir Hardie, M.P. With the first named I have fully dealt, and I have briefly noted the second's cascade of praise CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 173 of the Memoir. Some journals, in their anxiety to support the Dictionary, have, as I have in- dicated, abused me for my efforts to preserve intact the reputation of King Edward ; but not one paper has disproved, or even attempted to disprove, the facts adduced by Professor Vambery, Comte d'Haussonville, and myself. The Press has, on the contrary, disseminated our hard facts all over the world. Sir Sidney Lee has not ventured publicly to traverse them. In the streets we see little errand boys, in the ' Metro " and the Tube and the tea-shops youths and girls, all poring over newspapers and periodi- cals, their eyes glued to the printed page. Among the millions of our London population there is not a girl or a boy over twelve who would not be scouted as an ignoramus were she or he unable to settle down to " a good read " of a book or periodical of some sort or other. Yet there was a King a King of England to whom, so we have been assured, the printed volume was almost as useless as if he had been deprived of the blessing of sight. King Edward is not the only victim of the ' Dictionary of National Biography." Miss Swin- burne came forward, in the " Times " in April 1913, to complain of and deny some of the state- ments concerning her brother, the eminent poet (Algernon Charles), in the Memoir published in the Dictionary. Sir Sidney Lee and Mr. Edmund Gosse (the author of the Memoir) replied in the ' Times " to Miss Swinburne's letter, and the 174 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD correspondence on " Swinburne's Juvenilia " terminated on April 16 with this letter to the editor of the " Times " from the poet's distressed sister : I think you will agree with me that, under the circumstances, it would be fair to suggest to Sir Sidney Lee that the article should be withdrawn from the " Dictionary of National Biography," as it is inaccurate in so many important details. ISABEL SWINBURNE. 61 Onslow Square, S.W. April 15, 1913. One would have supposed that Sir Sidney Lee would have made some sort of response to Miss Swinburne's mild appeal. But he neither replied to the lady in the " Times " nor to her privately. In a letter to the " Times " Sir S. Lee had pre- viously admitted that no " proof " of Mr. Gosse's article had been sent to Miss Swinburne ! She tells us she did not know what the Memoir of her brother contained until she saw it in the Dictionary itself. One writer, and one only, was gallant and honest enough to fight Miss Swinburne's battle in the " Daily News and Leader " (April 15, 1913) and in " London Opinion " (April 26). That man was Mr. James Douglas, who has now de- nounced the Dictionary's Memoir of Swinburne as I have denounced its Memoir of King Edward, and as the " Daily Telegraph " denounced it on June 7, 1912. Mr. Douglas's double exposure of the Die- CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 175 tionary in regard to Swinburne, and the assertion of the poet's sister that the Memoir is " inaccurate in so many important details " that she suggests its withdrawal from the volume, have an intimate bearing upon the Memoir of Edward vn. In " London Opinion " l (" A Swinburne Sensation ") Mr. Douglas wrote : The (f Dictionary of National Biography " is becoming a quite notorious publication. If Sir Sidney Lee does not take care he will be offered a huge salary by Mr. Hearst to cross the Atlantic and edit the New York " American." As a rule we do not expect to find thrills and sensations in a staid and sober work of reference. It is said that Leslie Stephen, the first editor of the Dictionary, gave his contributors as their motto : ''' No flowers, by request." If Sir Sidney Lee has not rioted in flowers, he certainly seems to have wallowed in sensations. The Memoir of King Edward has provoked a tempest of controversy. And now the Memoir of Algernon Charles Swin- burne has burst in the literary world like a bomb- shell. Many a news-editor in Fleet Street must have read it with pangs of despairing envy ; for there in cold print were things that even the Yellow Press would have hesitated to publish. But the Dictionary can rush in where journalists fear to tread. It says things about King Edward that no newspaper would have ventured to suggest. And the article on Swinburne is still more sensa- tional. It was written by Mr. Edmund Gosse, one of Swinburne's oldest friends. Even if all the 1 This is a weekly journal, with a circulation verging upon half a million, edited by Mr. Lincoln Springfield, a man of ripe experience and many gifts. 176 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD statements were true it is hard to justify their publication so soon after the poet's death and while relatives are alive to whom such revelations would be the most refined form of torture. But Miss Swinburne shows, in her exposure in the " Times," that two statements made by Mr. Gosse are not true, and thus she has thrown upon all the other statements a shadow of suspicion. It will be noted that Mr. Douglas says in " London Opinion " : ' The Dictionary of National Biography is becoming a quite notorious publication . . . The Memoir of King Edward has provoked a tempest of controversy . . . The ' Dictionary ' can rush in where journalists fear to tread. It says things about King Edward that no newspaper would have ventured to suggest." In the opening chapter of " Vanity Fair " we are told some interesting things about Becky Sharp and the " Dixonary." Miss Sharp and Miss Amelia Sedley were leaving (in Mrs. Sedley's coach) Miss Pinkerton's Academy for younj ladies on Chiswict Mall. Miss Sedley had been presented with a copy of " the Great Lexico- grapher's " standard work. Miss Jemima Pinker- ton wished her sister, the head of the Academy, t< give Becky one also, and she took a copy from th< shelf for presentation to Miss Sharp, but Jeminu was bidden to " replace the Dixonary in the closel and never take such a liberty in future." Despit< this admonition, however, kind-hearted Jemii handed Miss Sharp a copy of the book, togethei with some sandwiches, as the coach was driving off. CALUMNIATING KING EDWARD 177 Becky kept the sandwiches, but sent the Dixonary " flying over the pavement of the little garden, and sank back in the carriage in an easy frame of mind, saying, ' So much for the Dixonary, and thank God, I'm out of Chiswick.' " After reading the Memoirs of King Edward and Algernon Charles Swinburne, some people, despite the " monumental " character of the work, may be disposed to treat Sir Sidney Lee's Dixonary as Becky treated the " Great Lexicographer's." For sending threatening letters to King Edward when he was Prince of Wales more than one person was severely punished. The man Mylius was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for foully libelling King George. People " in society " had made Mylius's lies the topic of conversation years before that arch-villain printed and published them. The Memoir of Edward vn. was issued in the ' ' Dictionary of National Biography ' :i some five months or so after the conviction of Mylius. Probably only lawyers are aware that, at the trial of Dr. Shebbear for writing treasonable letters, that eminent judge, Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, laid down the law that satires merely satires on dead Kings were punishable. 1 Certain writers in the newspapers have dis- played more anxiety to rescue Sir Sidney Lee from the pit into which he has fallen than to defend King Edward from the depreciations of the Dictionary. As these worthy persons were shielded by their anonymity I cannot say if any of them 1 Horace Walpole's " Letters," vol. iii. p. 153. 12 178 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD chance to be among the contributors to the Dictionary. The " informers," again, have possibly friends who might not be averse to vent their rage upon one or other of those who have exposed their treatment of the King, to whom in life they probably truckled like valets, to whom in death they are faithless among the faithful. " What people, what a set ! " l 1 Matthew Arnold. CHAPTER VIII LORD KNOLLYS CONVERSING one day with an august personage, King Edward, then Prince, said : " There is a greater distance between my mother and myself than there is between the Queen and her humblest subject." It should be hardly necessary to say that these pregnant words were not intended to convey the impression that personal differences existed between the Heir-Apparent and Queen Victoria : it was the son's way of expressing the great altitude of the Sovereign as compared with the position of one who was only a probable Monarch. Of many striking sayings of King Edward which have filtered through to me I quote now only the above, and that merely for an illustrative purpose. What was the " distance between " the late Sovereign and the eminent man who relinquished the heavy burden of the Secretaryship on a memorable date Queen Alex- andra's Jubilee ? I should say it could be gauged with a yard measure ; perhaps even with a foot- rule. Many were honoured with the little con- fidences of King Edward, but he had only one confidant where State and purely personal affairs 179 180 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD were concerned the man, the friend, whom he made a Peer as some slight recognition of the service of a lifetime ; a souvenir, as it were, from Sovereign to subject ; a token of gratitude for unselfish devotion. Lord Knollys may be justly proud of the fact that he filled for a longer period than any other man similarly placed the post of Secretary and (I do not hesitate to say it) adviser to Sovereigns. He saw everything, heard everything, and was consulted about everything for forty-two years. And, above all, he knew how to be silent. With the Secretaries of Sovereigns this is the quality most valued, as it is the rarest. The terrible secrets of the confessional have not been more jealously kept by the priests than the secrets of the Palace by Lord Knollys. In the course of forty years the feather-bed may have burst more than once, but those who would have picked up the feathers were stayed by the warning hand of the guardian, the soldier who never slept at his post. If King Edward found his great consoler in times of stress and there were some such in his consort, there was one other who, with rare ex- ceptions, was always at hand to soothe the wounded feelings of his Royal Master the placid, imper- turbable Secretary, whose calming powers and ability to " put matters right " were unrivalled. The King was not naturally of an irritable dis- position ; but occasionally his indignation at some unlooked-for occurrence was so great that it momentarily overmastered him, and then the LORD KNOLLYS 181 persuasiveness and " sweet reasonableness " of Lord Knollys were effectual restoratives. To a phenomenally acute mind is allied in Lord Knollys a highly-sensitive organisation oftener met with in the most intellectual women than in men steeped in the drudgery of a Court, overladen with a knowledge of the daily faits et gestes of a Sovereign, and called upon at a moment's notice to solve a difficulty or dispel a doubt. To these characteristics may be added yet one more the quality of self-effacement ; for this aide-de-camp of Kings is the most modest and retiring, as he is the suavest and most patient and tolerant, of men. I doubt if, even in the most trying circumstances, any one man, woman, boy, or girl ever heard him utter a hasty or an unkind word. But the gracious phrase came naturally to his lips as well as to his pen. A letter, in his firm business-like writing, which carries distinc- tion with it, would not contain a superfluous word, while it was punctuated with the care of a litterateur. You hardly look for commas and semicolons in the letters of a King's Secretary ; but you will find them in any missive signed " Knollys." Here, then, one may be pardoned for saying, is the man more fitted than any other for the task of, I will not say writing, but editing, that " official " Life of King Edward about which we have been hearing so much all inaccurate of late. Although this would be a labour of love to him, and although he is still happily " quite the young man," vigorous in mind and alert in body. 182 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD he might fairly (supposing him to have done so, which I do not assert) have excused himself from entering upon so onerous a work at seventy-six. However this may be, we may rest assured of this that in the event of an authoritative and " docu- mented " record of King Edward's reign (and not only his reign) being decided upon at no] very distant date, Lord Knollys will lend a guiding hand, or, at least, illuminate it with his profound experience and exceptional knowledge of facts. He knows better than any one else how baseless are the recently-published statements that the materials for such a " Life " are " very scanty," that " all letters have been destroyed," and that there remains little more than a few memoranda jotted down by the King on stray scraps of paper. To crown these commerages came the announce- ment that Queen Alexandra had confided th( preparation of the " Life " to the Hon. J. W. Fortescue ; which I can certify to be untrue. However much we might appreciate it, we muj not look forward to Lord Knollys's own memoii not, at all events, for many a long year to come. King Edward's life was in many respects the life of his Secretary ; yet the latter, were he ever in the mood to do so, could put on paper records of incidents and episodes which would not properly come within the rigid boundaries of a " Life " of our late Sovereign, although they would rekindle 01 interest in the history of the Empire since th< Tenth of March 1863. " CHAPTER IX WHEN EDWARD VII. WAS PRINCE AND GEORGE V. DUKE WHAT a change it will be from Babylon and its Institute pageantry to Balmoral ! But at least one person will welcome it, and that one is Her Majesty. Not a few members of the Royal House- hold were anxious to see how the Queen would get through the fatigues incidental to the Dra wing- Room and the inauguration of the Imperial In- stitute, and there was a feeling of relief when both functions came to a brilliant end, leaving our gracious Lady but very little the worse for her exertions. 1 Nobody is fonder of playing a little practical joke than Her Majesty. One of these bits of fun she perpetrated on the day of the Dra wing-Room, when, after hastily changing her ceremonial garb, she went for a drive all round the least-known quarters of the West End, returning (and this is a fact, though none of the papers have mentioned it) through the slummy parts of Chelsea, to the amaze- ment of the neighbourhood and the bewilderment of a solitary policeman here and there, who could 1 Diary : May 10, n, 1893. 183 184 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD hardly believe their eyes as they saw the Royal carriage dash past them. The manner in which the great function passed off pleased the Queen immensely, so that all concerned in the making of the multitudinous arrangements have been pluming themselves ever since. And first and foremost in the list is, of course, " my dear son," whose " day " it proved to be, without any reservation whatsoever. As the Prince of Wales would have had to bear the brunt of any break- down, so he was accorded all the glory resulting from the perfect success of the business from first to last. If the idea of retiring from the Sovereignty ever entered the head of the Queen, it must have been after the South Kensington ceremony, which proved that the Prince of Wales has a very clear perception of the duties of the Heir- Apparent. Her Majesty now sees clearly that she will have a most fitting and suitable successor in her eldest son, who, albeit he is in no hurry to assume the immense responsi- bilities attaching to the Crown, feels, to a greater extent than ever before, that, when the psycho- logical moment arrives, he will have the support of the country generally. The loyalty of the Nation is not at fever heat, but not very far below it ; and one reason is that people no matter what their politics may be are not only most heartily sick of the Home Rule business, but angry to think that so much of the precious time of the leaders and of the rank and file also of both parties has been, and is being, Phot \ [Lafayette. KING EDWARD AS GRANDMASTER OF THE KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM AND CHEVALIER OF MALTA. (The costume he wore at the famous Diamond Jubilee Ball at Devonshire House.) WHEN EDWARD VII. WAS PRINCE 185 wasted in the pursuit on the one hand of a chimera and on the other in the effort to resist the designs of the " Separatists." The general opinion is that the attempt to split up the United Kingdom has been of incalculable value in cementing the old attachment of the People to the Crown, and that the longer the insensate struggle is continued the better it will be for the Throne. A few years ago many people viewed the possibility of the Prince's accession to supreme power with no little anxiety. That feeling of apprehensiveness now seems to have disappeared if not wholly, to a considerable extent ; while it is certain that the Queen has now attained her apogee, and that, were she to delegate her functions to the Prince of Wales as (let us say) Prince Regent, she would withdraw from the stage in the full blaze of popularity and triumph. People think about these things but are too timorous to utter them, except under the seal of secrecy. No harm, however, can arise from their temperate discussion. A sentiment of pained indignation prevailed at the absence of the Princess of Wales ; and everybody was asking the reason of her non-attendance at a ceremony only second in importance to that of Jubilee Day. People cannot understand this voluntary exile of the Princess at such an important period in the social history of the country ; and they will not rest content with the somewhat feeble explanation that she is touring for her health's sake and change of scene. A painful impression has got abroad, 186 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD and the non-participation of the Princess and her daughters in the exceptionally magnificent pageant caused much surprise. There was another very general sentiment of astonishment when it was found that the Prime Minister was not present at the ceremony. Probably in no other country would a Queen's or King's First Minister the one man primarily responsible for the business of the nation have deemed it fitting, or decorous, or even civil, to have absented himself on such an occasion. In the evening :f Mr. G." dined with Sir Arthur and Lady Hayter ; so it was not indisposition which kept him away from South Kensington. What, then, was it ? The Royal dinner-party on Drawing-Room night was all gaiety and sparkle, and it was said that the talk was all about the fiangailles and the Institute. Her Majesty set the example for the toasting of the young couple (who were the hero and heroine of the evening) by raising her glass of champagne, and the Prince of Wales, Princess Mary, the Duke of Teck, and all the other Royalties at the table were not slow to follow suit. To say that May 10 was a second Jubilee Day would be a glaring exaggeration. 11 approached that ever-to-be-remembered occasioi in some not unimportant respects, it is true ; bu1 there the simile must end. To the intense surpri* of that tremendous concourse of spectators th< Royal procession passed through the Park un- accompanied by a note of music. This was the WHEN EDWARD VII. WAS PRINCE 187 one disappointing part of the display, and many were curious to know the reason why. What would have been easier than to have stationed half a dozen bands at intervals along the route ? (It was said that there were two some- where.) Tens of thousands of people must have been standing in one position for four or five hours many probably much longer. How grate- ful they would have been for the livening up which would have resulted from the performance of some appropriate music before the appearance and during the passage of the procession ! As it was, there was little or nothing to remove the ennui which even the most ardent loyalists must have experienced until the carriages containing the personages invited to the gathering began to rumble by. One had only to be in the crowd mostly a well-dressed one to perceive that lamentable ignorance prevailed concerning who was who. Twenty thousand invitations were sent out, inclusive of cards sold, so that he or she would indeed have been wise who could have named more than a very few of the personages as they drove more or less rapidly through the Park on their way to the Institute. The turn-outs were exceedingly varied, a par- ticularly dashing equipage being followed by a hansom or a " growler " which would have reflected more credit on Peckham than on Hyde Park or Piccadilly. There must have been much " Court- dress " hiring, judging by the numbers of men who made their appearance in that guise, some, at 188 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD least, of whom are not generally known as courtiers. The representatives of the foreign Powers made a brilliant " splash." They had the finest carriages (save, of course, the " Royals "), and the most magnificent of all was the German Am- bassador's a huge coach, the body in bright yellow, picked out with black (the " national " colours are opposed to those of Prussia, which are black and white). I suppose some of the Court t( tabbies " of both sexes would have been shocked could they have seen his Excellency puffing a cigarette as his carriage, splendidly horsed, rolled along. For some reason or other, known only to the select few, there had been numerous changes in the programme ; and even on the day itself it seemed doubtful who would actually figure in the more important parts of the procession. Some, at least, of the morning newspapers had not been kept very accurately informed as to who would accompany the Prince of Wales. The choppings and changings appear to have begun in the previous week. Only a minority were prepared for the announcement of the Royal betrothal, which was not received quite as enthusiastically as it might have been. The Duke of York had accepted the invitation of the Treasurer and Benchers of the Middle Temple to dine " in hall " with them on Friday evening the 5th, and disappointment was caused by a letter from the Duke, at the last moment, begging to be excused from attending. This was con- WHEN EDWARD VII. WAS PRINCE 189 sidered rather rough on those who had intended to specially honour the young gentleman, and it will be some time ere the feeling of soreness will disappear. The Prince of Wales's apology for his son's absence was that the Duke " had only been engaged two days." No little uncertainty consequently prevailed as to whether the recently-engaged couple would be in the procession. There was a feeling of pleasur- able surprise, then, when, after an interminable wait, the Prince of Wales's carriage came into view, and it was seen that the two ladies facing the Heir- Apparent and his only son were the delightful Duchess of Teck and her daughter Princess " May." Their reception was hearty, without being bois- terous, and both seemed highly gratified. The Duchess did not look particularly well in health, the result of a heavy cold from which she had been suffering for several days ; while on the young Princess's face there was an indication of painful pleasure. Had she been wreathed in smiles she would have been something more than human, and nobody was surprised at the shadow which every now and again came over that sweet young face. ' Poor girl ! " murmured many a spectator, as the carriage went past at a snail's pace, and that was the general feeling. The Duke of York has a little of that shyness which, until very recently, was the marked char- acteristic of his uncle Alfred ; and he responded almost timidly to the hurrahs of the crowd. His beard does not become him particularly well, and 190 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD (odd as it may sound) I heard more than one lady express her wish that the second of our sailor Princes would shave ! Considering the endless reports which have been put about concerning the health of the Prince of Wales, there was curiosity to see how the Heir- Apparent really looked. The croakers must have been very considerably surprised and (let us hope) agreeably disappointed, for H.R.H. was bubbling over with delight, and appeared to rather enjoy riding with his back to the horses, a position which I had not seen him occupy before. It takes a great deal to surprise the Prince, but I fancy he was amazed at the extent of the crowd and the warmth of his reception, which would have been infinitely more pronounced but for the fact that nobody expected to see him and the Royal coachman dos-a-dos. Whenever a slight surcease in the acclamations enabled the Prince to say a few words to the Duchess and Princess May he did so, pointing out what seemed to strike him here and there, and also directing " George's " attention to the more remarkable features of the route. The young man, however, was decidedly distrait, perhaps because his right hand was well-nigh glued to his hat, in acknowledgment of the salutations which greeted him and his fair fiancee. The Duchess of Edinburgh was in more smiling mood than I had seen her since her ante-marriage days, close upon twenty years before. People seemed more than surprised to see her she is so WHEN EDWARD VII. WAS PRINCE 191 rare a participant in our little ceremonies, which must appear to her of small account in comparison with those to which she was accustomed in her native land. She made her public entry into the Metropolis on a bitterly cold, snowy day, and looked half frozen and more than half disappointed at the woebegone aspect which London presented. It is often said that our people never took kindly to the only sister of the Tsar ; l her friends (and she has many staunch and true ones) tell a very different tale, and have nothing but good to relate of her. The Duke of Edinburgh, too, has had his time of unpopularity ; but he could hardly have com- plained of his greeting, and his looks betokened his gratification. He was in as good spirits as his elder brother, and whenever he " spotted " a friend in the crowd he waved him or her a cordial salutation. One of the young Edinburgh ladies was as radiant as a granddaughter of an Empress- Queen, niece of an autocratic Tsar, and sister of a future Sovereign can ever be. Thousands seemed to be unaware that the handsome " Connaughts " were in the show. Prince Henry of Battenberg was an unknown quantity to the bulk of the spectators, but Prince Christian came in for a fair share of plaudits, and looked very little changed by the gun accident at Osborne. The crowd cheered the Commander- in-Chief Cambridge's Duke ; and wondered who the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, one of 1 Alexander in. 192 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD the smartest-looking men in the procession, might be. One figure was looked for in vain. " She ought to have been there," said everybody, but as a matter of fact the adorable Princess of Wales was at Brindisi while the Imperial Institute was being inaugurated. Her daughters have been with her during the tour. Despite this fact, how- ever, a reporter discerned the two young ladies " in one carriage, looking, as they always look, graceful and good-tempered." By common consent the comeliest figure was that of Princess Beatrice, who, with Princess Christian, accompanied Her Majesty. Prince Henry of Battenberg's consort's popularity, indeed, in- creases, and no wonder, for she has always been gentle, sympathetic, and unobtrusive. The Queen has become charmingly venerable of aspect, and her white hair was more conspicuous than ever. Her white sunshade, fringed with black lace, relieved the gloom of her robe, all black, save the white guipure lace with which the satin cape was edged and the white aigrette in the Chantilly lace bonnet. The gown was ornamented with cut jet, which glistened in the sun, but Her Majesty had eschewed everything in the shape of orders and decorations a fact which provoked no little surprise. Her sombre raiment made the dresses of the two Princesses the gayer by comparison ; and the ladies all along the route and at the Institute were loud in their eulogies of the helio- trope and gold robe worn by Princess Christian and the terra-cotta gown of Princess Beatrice. WHEN EDWARD VII. WAS PRINCE 193 The gold filigree bonnet of the latter also came in for admiration. Despite the cream-coloured ponies, with their purple and gold trappings, and the rich liveries of the Royal servants who walked by their side, and the sheen of the Life Guards' uniforms, the element of the picturesque would have been lacking but for the presence of the Indians and the Colonials. The Queen's bodyguard was unique, and the crowd feasted their eyes on the blue uniform of the Canadian artillerymen, the dazzling and gorgeous garb of the Bengal, Madras, and Hyderabad Lancers, and the Poonah Horse. But this was not all, for there were those Central India Horsemen to give additional colour to the pageant ; and the Australian Lancers, in their brown tunics, trousers of the same hue, buff boots, and brown Tyrolese sombreros, with cock's feathers. Very few in number were these Colonials, but the recollection of their presence will not fade soon. This, then, was the artistic part of the pageant. The tawny Indians, swathed in silks of all colours ; the swarthy volunteers from New South Wales, with their free-and-easy bearing ; and the Canadian gunners, formed the most attractive items of the show. Probably not one in a thousand spectators had had any idea of the radiant spectacle which they were about to witness ; and this accounted for the spontaneous bursts of applause all along the line as the Royal escort made its appearance. The perfect training of these Indian and Colonial 194 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD warriors was good to see. The cheering which greeted them from first to last the fusillade of applause, which began at Buckingham Palace and was maintained until the Institute was reached, did not move them. The Indians were splendidly impassive, the Australians and Canadians gloriously stolid. There was nothing theatrical about this part of the pageant ; it was all magnificently real. A better-tempered crowd I have rarely, if ever, seen ; yet the fierce glare of the sun and the frequently overpowering heat were quite sufficient to have made people testy and disagreeable. Those tens of thousands who lined the Ladies' Mile had by far the best of it, although, as the Queen passed at high noon, the trees offered little, if any, protection from the sun, and the ladies were in many instances compelled by the vox populi to close their parasols. Most remarkable was the number of women and children in the crowd. Thousands of the fair sex were to be seen, unescorted, apparently determined to be " in it," or perish in the attempt ; while everywhere you met with the rising genera- tion, as anxious as their elders to get a fronl place. Artful people were those who drove int< the Park about the breakfast hour, and had thei: carriages drawn up in the open space betweei the Serpentine end of the Row and fronting " th( Mile." The horses were sent away, and goodnej only knows how they were ever found and brought back again ; but there were the rows of carriages, and their owners picnicking on and in them, as if WHEN EDWARD VII. WAS PRINCE 195 it were a Derby Day, and the scene Epsom Downs instead of Hyde Park. Every householder along the best parts of the route seemed to have invited all his or her friends to " see the show and have lunch," and the hospitality was boundless. The French Embassy and the other great mansions at Albert Gate were crowded, the balconies were draped with royal crimson, and the ladies came out in the newest and most brilliant costumes pink and green being the colours most in favour. The huge building in which the Hyde Park Club is located formed a rallying-place for a vast number of elegantes, and in the gardens of all the houses at Albert Gate tents, pavilions, and platforms had been erected. Very gay were the luncheons which followed the passage of the Royalties, and it was not until the evening was well advanced that the festivities came to an end. Very few thefts were reported, nobody having been so un- fortunate as Mr. Herbert Gladstone. The con- fiscatory principles which the " G.O.M." has sanctioned and applauded of late years met with a practical application in the case of " my son Herbert." That guileless and paternally-handi- capped youth was watching the Royal procession when some light-fingered professor of Gladstonian principles relieved him of his gold watch and chain. This is really taking the utterances of the Hawarden family much more seriously than they were ever intended to be taken. But perhaps, after all, the theft was the work of some rascally 196 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Orangeman, reckless as to whether he " did time " in this fashion or on the treadmill. The thief was evidently not a Separatist, for he " lifted " the chain with the watch. "Take time by the forelock/' the adage doth say, And the thief who young Herbert relieved Of his watch-chain and "ticker" on Institute Day That adage most firmly believed. "The rights of the propertied classes are not As sacred as some people think/' Remarked the Old Chief when debating ran hot ; And the thieves took it on with a wink. As a time-thief the Premier all-comers can beat When he mounts the rhetorical stump ; Yet he isn't a match for that man in the street Who took all Herbert's "Time" on the jump. There were a good many cases of fainting in the Park during the long wait for the coming of the procession ; and it was pleasant to see how readily " fine ladies " produced beautiful vinai- grettes and smelling-bottles for the benefit of their poorer fellow-creatures. As I inclined before our Sovereign Lady my thoughts went back to that distant noon when, facing the vast assemblage which filled the Albert Hall, Her Majesty declared that magnificent memorial to her beloved Consort " open to the public." Prince Albert had then been dead some ten years only ; but there had been mutterings and murmurings at the Queen's seclusion, and even the daily papers had joined in the chorus of complaint at the disappearance of Court pageantry and its depressing effect upon WHEN EDWARD VII. WAS PRINCE 197 trade. Nearly two-and thirty years have elapsed since the rustling of the wings of the Angel of Death was heard at Winsdor ; yet here is the Queen, apparently in the best health which any human being can reasonably expect to enjoy once threescore years and ten have passed, fulfilling one of those duties which it is pre-emi- nently her province to discharge, smilingly return- ing the acclamations of the million, and seemingly every whit as " popular " in the ordinary sense of the word as she was on that May Day in 1851 when she rode to Hyde Park to " open " the Palace of Glass, the precursor of so many in- dustrial and art exhibitions in the various capitals of the Old and New World. There have been times during these thirty odd years when not only Royalty, but the Crown itself, was under a cloud ; but nobody who wit- nessed this magnificent fete would have thought for a moment that " Victoria, Our Queen and Governor," the mother of " our King to be," had ever suffered the slightest waning of her pristine popularity, for from Buckingham Palace to the Imperial Institute it was one sustained chorus of jubilation a resounding paean of the people's praise, which must have dulled the spirit of the most stalwart of democrats, and made him rub his eyes in dreamy amazement that there is still extant so much effervescing loyalty. CHAPTER X THE " OFFICIAL " BIOGRAPHY 55 1 THE publication in the " Fortnightly Review of the article, " King Edward vn. : His Charater and Personality," was prolific of results, all tend- ing to perpetuate the honour and glory of the greatest of our Kings. For the first time there was a general awakening to the glaring defects of the previously much- vaunted Memoir; and the Press blossomed forth with assertions that an :< official " biography of the King was imminent. The effect of all these statements was to still further discredit the Memoir. The first of the canards appeared in the " Pall Mall Gazette " (September 1), which apparently borrowed it from the " Birmingham Daily Post," and was in these words : The suggestion has been made that Viscount Knollys should be invited to edit the " official " biography of the late King Edward when it comes to be prepared. There is no man better fitted for such a task. Next (October 1) the same paper reproduced this elaborate hash : 1 October 1912. THE " OFFICIAL " BIOGRAPHY 199 KING EDWARD'S BIOGRAPHY. It is said to be highly probable (writes the London corre- spondent of the " Birmingham Post ") that, as a result of certain recently-issued publications l deal- ing with the life and character of the late King Edward, Queen Alexandra will revise her original intention and allow an " authorised " Life of His Majesty to be published much sooner than was intended. The late King left all his private papers to Queen Alexandra to destroy or retain for publica- tion as seemed fit to her, and these Her Majesty has since gone through very carefully with the assistance of the King and the Princess Royal. The work of writing this biography will be entrusted to a former friend of His Majesty, and the name of Viscount Knollys has been mentioned promi- nently in this connection. If he were chosen he might relinquish his present position at Court at the end of the year to devote himself to the task, so that the book could make its appearance next autumn. The " Pall Mall " again (October 4) : It is definitely settled that Lord Esher will be invited to undertake the preparation of the authorised biography of King Edward. The original choice would have been Lord Knollys, but it is understood that his lordship has asked to be excused, owing to his advanced age and his lack of experience of literary work. Queen Alexandra has entrusted the whole of the private papers of the late King to Lord Esher. It is expected that the book will make its appearance towards the end of next year. 1 There was only one "recently-issued publication" the " Dictionary of National Biography." 200 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD The " Standard " (October 4) : Queen Alexandra, it is rumoured, has con- sented to the preparation without any further loss of time of an authorised " Life of King Edward vn.," and it is stated that the work will be confided to Viscount Knollys. It is an open secret that Sir Sidney Lee's estimate of the late King in the pages of the penultimate volume of the "Dictionary of National Biography " has been received with quali- fied approval in influential quarters. Lord Knollys has been associated more or less closely with the Court since 1868, and was Private Secretary to his late Majesty as Prince and King for no less than forty years. It stands to reason, therefore, that no one now alive is in a better position from in- timate and confidential knowledge to deal not only with the personal characteristics, but the public activities at home and abroad, of a Monarch who as Prince and Sovereign did more for the welfare of the nation than is commonly supposed, and whose reign was all too short. The " Sunday Times " (October 6) : It is now possible to announce that during the past few days a very important step has been taken in connection with the " authorised " bio- graphy of the late King. This is to place the whole of such private papers as His Majesty left behind him, which the present King and Queen Alexandra deemed suitable for publication, in the hands of Viscount Esher, who is to have the general control of the writing of the book. It was at first thought that Viscount Knollys was the most suitable person to undertake the work of compiling the book, but his lordship asked to be excused. Viscount Esher, as part author of the official THE " OFFICIAL " BIOGRAPHY 201 " Life " of the late Queen Victoria, is qualified in every respect to undertake this further task, and will be given very considerable assistance from the private secretariat in the actual writing of the book. Among others who will be invited to contribute reminiscences of Hisl Majesty's career are Lord Knollys, Sir Dighton Probyn, Lord Farquhar, and Prince Christian of Schleswig- Holstein. The latter was King Edward's con- fidant upon many occasions, and his contribution will be most valuable. The " London Mail " (October 19) : THE LIFE OF KING EDWARD. As we antici- pated, Lord Knollys has declined the invitation to write the official biography of King Edward, and the task has been entrusted to Lord Esher, who supervised the preparation of Queen Victoria's letters for publication. No man living knew the late King so well as Lord Knollys, but this very familiarity would naturally be a difficulty in the preparation of an "official " Life, for which too much intimate knowledge is a drawback. King Edward was himself fully aware of this difficulty, and re- marked on one occasion, when approached on the question of a biography, that such a work would probably be offensively fulsome, or, " very much the reverse." Queen Alexandra is, however, wishful that the biography shall not be lacking in actuality. :t Reynolds's Newspaper " (October 20) : There is no truth in the statement which has been made that Lord Esher is writing the Life of the late King Edward. 202 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD " Reynolds' s " (the Government's weekly organ), which King Edward regularly read all his life, was right all the other papers were wrong. The Manchester " Sunday Chronicle " (October 6) published the appended statement, from the pen of the prescient Mr. Oliver Gwynne : Several times I have mentioned in this column that those connected with the Royal Family are far from contented with the " Life " of King Edward which was published in the " Dictionary of National Biography." Among those who were most closely associated with the late King and by that I mean his secretaries, his equerries, lords-in-waiting, and his friends (through whom he directed his work, as a constitutional monarch must do) the bio- graphy caused intense anger. They consider it wide of the facts, and utterly unjust to the superb qualities of statesmanship shown by the late King. My own experience is all against anything that would belittle the abilities or the influence of King Edward. The forthcoming biography by Mr. Legge, to which reference was made in the " Sunday Chronicle " last week, is certain to excite remark- able interest, because the author has had oppor- tunities which were not possessed by Sir Sidney Lee for learning the truth. Large numbers of people in this country continue to think that the death of King Edward was a very untoward and untimely event, and represented a serious national loss. They point to the fact that since his death we have had nothing but rumours of wars and fierce defiances from one nation to another, while it cannot be said that at home things are at all comfortable. THE " OFFICIAL " BIOGRAPHY 203 Mr. Legge is, I believe, to say something about King Edward's influence even with those difficult subjects, the newspapers. That influence was one of King Edward's most remarkable acquirements. There are London editors to-day who could tell strange stories of invitations to call at Buckingham Palace, where, politely, but firmly, their delin- quencies were pointed out to them, and sug- gestions made and proffers of assistance given which would keep them in the right path in future. I know that when, from the first week of his last stay at Biarritz, His Majesty was lying ill with bronchitis, a simple request to the correspondents, who were told the full facts, not to say more than that he had a bad cold, was quite enough. The absence of news of an alarmist kind in the English papers caused intense anger to certain financiers who were staying at Biarritz at the time. They had hoped for a great fall in stocks, and as day after day passed they took to telegraphing on their own behalf to the Stock Exchange and to newspapers. Editors, however, took it for granted that the whole thing was a money-making job, and paid no heed, and when, within seven days, the King was once more fully restored to health and moving about as usual, these financiers went nearly crazy over the coup which the King's influence, as I have said, had prevented them from making. What must Lord Knollys's feelings have been when he read this persiflage in " P.I.P. " ? (October 12) : Viscount Knollys, principal private secretary to the King, is to relinquish the position at the end of the year. He has received several invitations from publishers to write the story of his nearly 204 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD half-century's connection with the Court, and one well-known firm has offered him a cheque running well into five figures. It is highly improbable, however, that this or any other offer will be accepted for a book that would be of the deepest interest. Lord Knollys, like every one connected with the British Court, was honour-bound not to keep a diary or connected notes of any description while he acted as confidential adviser to successive sovereigns, and for this reason alone it would be quite impossible for him to tell the story of his career at Court in connected form. Indeed, it is difficult to see at all how the book could be written without indiscretion of a serious character, and Lord Knollys has always enjoyed the reputation of being the most discreet man in Europe. A London evening paper (January 31, 1913) gave this item from the " Yorkshire Observer " : THE " LIFE " OF KING EDWARD. I hear that a beginning has at length been made upon the official biography of King Edward, and that the editorship has been entrusted to Mr. John Fortescue, Royal Librarian at Windsor. Mr. Fortescue, it may be remembered, was re- sponsible for the official description of their Majesties' Indian tour. The late King left very little material behind him of biographical value. He never kept a diary, and such memoranda a< he left are of a scrappy nature, and mainly writtei upon odd pieces of paper. The private archives of Windsor Castle will be called upon for some material, but the work will depend for the most part upon the personal recollections of his friends and entourage. Amon^ those who have volunteered their assistance are THE -OFFICIAL" BIOGRAPHY 205 Lord Farquhar, the Marquis de Several, and Viscount Knollys. The above is inaccurate throughout, with the exception of the sentence : " Mr. Fortescue was responsible for the official description of their Majesties' Indian tour." The editor of the "Bookseller" 1 "fears that the rumour is too good to be true which suggests the possibility that Queen Alexandra may permit the publication of some selections from the private diary which she is understood to have kept during the greater part of her life. Yet there is the memorable precedent of Queen Victoria's * Leaves from the Journal of our Life in the Highlands,' which gave so delightful a series of glimpses of the simple home life of the great Queen. The diary of Queen Alexandra would necessarily be, in some ways, more interesting still, since in her life there has been nothing to correspond with the long period of retirement and seclusion which covered practic- ally the entire latter half of the life and reign of her august mother-in-law. If Her Majesty should happily be persuaded to allow us to see some extracts from the diary of her experiences and observations as Princess of Wales and as Queen Consort, we should have what would almost certainly be the most interesting Royal book ever published. But it is best not to build too much upon a rumour which may prove, as likely as not, to have been put about without any sort of 1 March 21, 1913. 206 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD authority." When we see Queen Alexandra's " Diary " (!) we may confidently look out for the Millennium. The man who is reputed to " run " the Royal 44 show " is Lord Esher, whose " reign " set in during the latter years of King Edward's life, and has gone on developing ever since. He is the handy man of the Palace, whose word is law. In September and October 1912 the " Pall Mall Gazette " gave a series of Lord Esher day-by-day announcements, each more amusing than the other, and all tending to beguile its innocent readers into believing that the noble lord had been selected to write the Life of King Edward. Queen Alexandra, it was said, had placed in his hands all the King's private papers, and the " official Life" was to be issued "next autumn" (1913). That galimatias was too ridiculous to evoke an official denial, and it was left to one of the Government's most powerful organs to contradict it : the paper was " Reynolds's," whose devotion to Mr. Asquith is frequently rewarded by the gift of " items of interest." The idea of printing King Edward's letters is truly comic. Queen Alexandra's naivete would not carry her thus far. Fancy giving to ribald, scandal-loving world the letters written to King Edward by Napoleon in., the Empress, the little Prince, Queen Sophie of Holland and " Citron," Princess Loetitia Bonaparte (Dowager Duchesse d'Aoste, the flutterer of the dovecotes of the Quirinal), George Russell (praying to be THE "OFFICIAL" BIOGRAPHY 207 taken back into the Royal favour), Sir Jacob Wilson (who disposed of thousands of shares in one of Hooley's companies on commission), Count " Sherry-and- Whisky," Dupplin, "Jo" Aylesford, Duleep Singh, and the Venuses who posed before the camera in an era which seems a hundred years ago ! Yet a befooled public swallowed it all open-mouthed and, like Oliver Twist, " asked for more." Queen Alexandra has had reason on more than one occasion to complain of the publication of unauthorised statements concerning her future movements. Such announcements cause her much vexation personally, and are productive of not a little inconvenience to herself and many others. Our Sovereigns have been fortunate in the possession of an exceptionally discreet entour- age. ' Leakage " in that quarter is unknown. The domestics at the Palaces have been also, and as a rule are, superior to the blandishments of inquisitive inquirers. After the publication by several papers of one of these unofficial announcements I asked a personage if there was any foundation for the statements. " Not the slightest," was the reply. ' There is not a word of truth in any of them. They have caused Her Majesty great annoyance. I wish the writers of such absurdities would confine their remarks to gossip about the Queen's horses, dogs, and birds. Then no harm would be done." CHAPTER XI KING EDWARD AND POETRY 4 c IT is well known that the late King was no very devoted student of poetry. At a banquet upon a semi-literary, semi-State occasion when the names of the guests had to be submitted for the King's personal inspection, that of an extremely well known poet was objected to on account, it is said, of its unfamiliar and plebeian sound. Explanation led to frank admission of the King's unfamiliarity with some of the chief poetic reputations of the day. Yet the poet in question was one of the daintiest and most accomplished writers of vers d'occasion that the country has produced." * Probably the writer accurately describes King Edward as " no very devoted student of poetry " ; but I demur to the assertion that " it is well known" that this was one of his faiblesses, just as, until June 1912, it was anything but " well known " that " he was no reader of books. He could not concentrate his mind upon them." 2 How well qualified the " Times " writer was to discuss x The "Times Literary Supplement," June 5, 1913. Article on the " Laureateship " 2 " Dictionary of National Biography " 208 KING EDWARD AND POETRY 209 such a question as the Laureateship and King Edward's aloofness from poetry and from " some of the chief poetic reputations of the day " will be seen from this extract from an evening newspaper, 1 headed " The Laureateship. An Extraordinary Error " : Although a vast deal of nonsense is published nowadays as literary criticism or appreciation, one does expect accuracy in these matters in the more reputable and serious journals. Yet in to-day's (Thursday's) issue of so weighty an organ as the " Times Literary Supplement," in an article on " The Laureateship," I find the following paragraph and quotation: "The Laureateship was not effectually raised above the dust of faction and party until 1843, when it was conferred by acclamation upon William Wordsworth, who took the bays, as he said, with palpitating hand and bound them upon his locks of snow. He inscribed a sonnet upon the occasion, marked by that strange inversion of modesty which repelled Hazlitt and at times staggered Lamb : There shall ye bide, till he who follows next, Of whom I cannot even guess the name, Shall by Court favour or some vain pretext Of fancied merit, desecrate the same, And think, perchance, he wears them quite as well As the sole Bard who sang of Peter Bell." Will it be believed that a serious writer in a serious paper could have gravely made the amazing error of attributing to Wordsworth himself the 1 The " Globe," June 6, 1913. 14 210 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD lines quoted, which, as I should have thought everybody knew, are from the exquisite series of parodies in Bon Gaultier's Ballads ? It makes one despair indeed when such an egregious mistake can appear in the columns of what I suppose we must still consider our leading literary paper. Even if the writer of the article knew not of the existence of the parody, surely his own common sense might have told him that Wordsworth did not write, and never could have written, the sonnet in question. The " Times " took no notice of the article in the " Globe," but in its next Literary Supple- ment (June 12) it published, without comment, this letter from a correspondent pointing out the error which was originally detected by the " Globe " : To THE EDITOR or THE "TIMES" SIR, I hope you will not put it down to an inherited lack of humour if I venture to protest through you against the writer of the article on the Laureateship in your issue of June 5 definitely ascribing the sonnet from Bon Gaultier to Words- worth without any hint of its real authorship. I yield to no one in my appreciation of parody, but such a use of it as this seems to me wholly illegitimate, confusing to posterity ; but here, perhaps, my sense of humour is at fault, unjust to the person parodied, and unjust to the parodisl especially as in the present case, when he is f less read and quoted than he deserves to be.- Yours very truly, GORDON WORDSWORTH. The Stepping Stones, Ambleside, June 10. KING EDWARD AND POETRY 211 Probably some of the " new readers " whom the "Times" has been so joyously addressing day after day (May 1913), pointing out where they will find this and where they will find that, will jump to the conclusion that King Edward lacked appreciation of poetry. Such an assumption would be a mistake. It is curious to note that the editor of the Dictionary made no reference to the assertion of the " Times " that the King was " no very devoted student of poetry " ; but, having committed himself to the grotesque state- ment that the Sovereign was " no reader of books," he probably considered it would be superfluous to add that His Majesty was unacquainted with the works of the world's poets " could not," in fact, 46 concentrate his mind upon them." Having admitted that the King was, as the " Times," wishing to say something pleasant, puts it, " no very devoted student of poetry," I will record the fact that His Majesty greatly admired and fully appreciated certain classes of verse, and most assuredly would never have taken a Bon Gaultier parody for a sonnet by Wordsworth. It is fairly certain that the King and all his brothers and sisters made acquaintance with " We are Seven " and other Wordsworthian verses which fascinate all children when they are in the nursery. And I will undertake to " eat my hat " if any one will prove, in the " Times Literary Supplement," or in any other equally fair-minded and accurate publication, that King Edward had never read and re-read the " Idylls," " Enoch 212 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Arden," the ode on the death of Wellington, " The Brook," " The Princess," " Maud," " Crossing the Bar," and many other Tennysonian gems. It would be a reflection on his memory and his capacity for enjoying the deathless imagery of the great poets to suppose that he had not a fair acquaintance with the poems of Goldsmith, Cowper, Thomson, Pope, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Coleridge, Burns, Moore, Macaulay, Swinburne, Mrs. Hemans, and a score besides, not forgetting Dibden, Tom Hood, Longfellow, Kipling, Praed, and Henley. As for what the " Times " writer (and nobody else) calls " vers d'occasion," we may be certain that the King was very familiar with many of those agreeable and entertaining trifles best known as " vers de societe." The " Times " article- writer who came such a " cropper " over the great Lake Poet would doubtless consider unworthy his notice the light verse which has appeared for years in the " World " from the pen of Mr. Mostyn T. Pigott and that which of old " Truth " published under the head- ing " The Barrel Organ," yet I will venture to say that among the tens of thousands of readers who found these verses entertaining was Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, Edward vu. Of sue it is within the bounds of possibility that he was even " a devoted student." And would such an admirer of persiflage have ignored the " Bab Ballads," the charming verses which helped make the little "Owl" the talk of our " al London," Henry S. Leigh's " Carols of Cockayne, 5 KING EDWARD AND POETRY 213 and Calverley's and J. 'K. Stephens' inimitable parodies ? Would it not be the height of absurdity to suppose that King Edward had such a disaffec- tion for literature that he had never tried to " concentrate his mind " even for half an hour upon " The Ingoldsby Legends," " John Gilpin," Macaulay's " Lays of Ancient Rome," " The Song of the Shirt," Keats's "Hyperion," "The Eve of St. Agnes," and " La Belle Dame sans Merci," " The Lay of the Last Minstrel," " The Lady of the Lake," and " Marmion " ? And Chaucer, Milton, Herrick, George Wither, Ben Jonson had he never dipped into their pages ? I presume that the " Times " writer will not deny that the Russian poets who are best known in Europe are Pushkin and Lermontov, both of whom were young men when they were the victims of fatal duels. I will hazard the conjecture that King Edward knew something of the works of the former, if only by hearsay. That he had read Lermontov's " Demon," or parts of it, I am fairly certain, inasmuch as it was translated by one of my friends many years before he became one of the King's favourite Gentlemen-in-Waiting Sir Alexander Condie Stephen, who Englished " The Demon " when he was preparing himself for our diplomatic service. Bismarck and his Imperial master, William i., had, after all, figuratively, to "go to Canossa " ; but it would have been preposterous to have told King Edward, at any time of his always full life, 214 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD that he must "go to Parnassus " if he desired to figure in history as the King who had been " a very devoted student of poetry." In modern times there has been only one King who devotedly studied poetry (and music), and he drowned him- self in the Starnberger See. George n., we know, openly confessed to hating " boetry and bainting," and his successor also immortalised himself by de- claring of Shakespeare : " Much of this is sad stuff, only one mustn't say so." Edward vn. was cast in a different mould. He did not waste his time by seriously studying poetry, yet there were many forms of verse for which he had genuine admiration, while it would be folly to assert that he had not a respectful regard for every class of poetry. Only those who do not know that King Edward was one of the best of good Churchmen, neither too " High " nor too " Low," will be inclined to smile when they read that all devotional poetry strongly appealed to him, as it has likewise always appealed to King George and the other members of the Royal Family. I will illustrate this side of King Edward's character by a quotation : IN MEMORY OF PRINCESS ALICE MAUD MARY, GRAND DUCHESS OF HESSE-DARMSTADT. DIED DECEMBER 14, 1878, AGED 35. "Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita." DANTE, Inferno, C. I., v. i. Half-way upon Life's journey, like a rose That's gathered while the leaves are still unfolding, Death gathered her; and, all-triumphant, shows The fearful might with which he keeps his holding. KING EDWARD AND POETRY 215 Half-way upon Life's journey, like a song That suddenly the whirlwind has arrested, Death hush'd her voice , . . And now in vain we long To hear her speak. Death's power is uncontested ! Half-way upon Life's journey, like a star That, ere its time for setting, clouds have hidden, Death has o'ershadowed her; though, still afar, 'Tis true, he seemed at first, and came unbidden. Half-way upon Life's journey, Death drew near ; She saw Life ebb away, nor wished to save it ; For even what on earth she held most dear Unmurmuringly she left for Him who gave it. Half-way upon Life's journey, met by Death, She bowed beneath the sceptre that he wielded, And, scarcely sighing with her latest breath, She peacefully to God her spirit yielded. Half-way upon Life's journey ? ... Is it fact That Death has laid his hand on what we cherished? That youth and beauty, gentleness and tact, And mind and heart, in one fell swoop have perished ? Though half-way on Life's journey, 'twas a whole Life she worked out in youth ; and thus before us, Unperished all her charms, she's reached the goal Where, blessed, glorified, she watches o'er us ! This poem was handed to, and printed by, me at the time thirty-five years ago. It was un- signed, and there was much speculation as to the authorship. The verses, as I immediately learnt, had made a great impression at the Palace and at Marlborough House before it became known that they were written by Miss Lcetitia Probyn, a sister 216 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD of Sir Dighton, the present Comptroller of Queen Alexandra's Household. It was natural that Queen Victoria, the deep-feeling Prince of Wales in particular, and the other Princes and Princesses should have been gratified, and, I should say, in a large measure consoled, by this beautiful spontaneous tribute to the memory of Princess Alice, who, with the Princess of Wales, had nursed the Heir- Apparent during the whole of his almost fatal illness at Sandringham in November- December 1871. Miss Probyn also wrote for me an article on the same subject, "A White Wreath," which, I was told, was received with equal favour by all those who were directly concerned. No one more highly appreciated elegiac verse than King Edward. This I heard in Miss Probyn's circle. Like everybody else, the King had his favourite hymns. Had not this King who, we are now for the first time told, was " no very devoted student of poetry," something more than a nodding acquaint- ance with such masters of the poetic art as Moliere and Racine, Beranger and De Musset ? Had he not, year after year, revelled in the sonorous verse of the two first-named at the Theatre Fran^ais ? Had he not been stirred by the magic of Beranger and touched by the sentiment of " Ce n'est pas toi, Lisette " ? A regular visitor for many years to the South of France, the King could not possibly have been ignorant of that pulsating Provenal verse of which the venerable KING EDWARD AND POETRY 217 Mistral is still the chief producer ; and, with a glossary to guide him, King Edward, an exceptional master of foreign tongues, would have had little difficulty in reading Mistral's, and others', poems in that Provenyal dialect which is so puzzling to most people. I should be much surprised were I told on respectable authority that Edward vn. was un- acquainted with the great, and some of the minor, German poets with Goethe, Heine, Burger, Uhland ("Take, O boatman, thrice thy fee"), Ruckert (many of whose verses were set by Schumann), Lenau, and the writer of the delightful ' Wer hat dich du schoner Wald " (Mendelssohn). And will any one worthy of credence have the boldness to assert that the King had not read, and often heard sung, and himself joined in singing, some of the many stirring Soldaten- Lieder !< Ich bien ein Preusse," the pathetic ' Ich hatt' einem Kameraden," the glorious f< O Strassburg, O Strassburg, du wunderschone Stadt ! " " Die Wacht am Rhein," x and " Husaren Heraus " ? King Edward's father, who, with the Queen, taught the Royal children to love poetry, was enthusiastic over the " Idylls," in the prelude to which the immortal lines are enshrined. The Prince Consort wrote to " My dear Mr. Tennyson " asking him to be good enough to write his admirer's I 1 sent to London the first English translation of this war-song early in August 1870. All these rousing songs I heard in bivouac and on the march to Paris after Sedan. 218 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD name " in the accompanying volume of ' Idylls of the King.' You would thus add a peculiar interest to the book containing those beautiful songs, from the perusal of which I have derived the greatest enjoyment." And Princess Alice (who lives again in the Empress of Russia and the Grand Duchess Serge) wrote that the Laureate's !( marvellous dedication " (to her adored father) " expressed everything I feel and could wish to say. All I can add, and with a heavy sigh, is that I would be worthier of such a father." How often had the Prince and Princess of Wales read with dim eyes and joyful hearts these lines of Thanksgiving addressed by the Laureate " To THE QUEEN ! " O loyal to the royal in thyself, And loyal to thy land, as this to thee Bear witness that rememberable day When, pale as yet, and fever-worn, the Prince Who scarce had plucked his flickering life again From half-way down the shadow of the grave Passed with thee thro' thy people and their love, And London roll'd one tide of joy thro' all Her trebled millions, and loud leagues of man And welcome ! witness, too, the silent cry, The prayer of many a race and creed, and clime Thunderless lightnings striking under sea From sunset and sunrise of all thy realm . . . l Of the verses which Queen Alexandra used write for her children to repeat to their father 01 1 Written by Tennyson on the recovery of the Prince of from his illness in 1871. KING EDWARD AND POETRY 219 November the 9th, only these were allowed to be published : x FOR PAPA'S BIRTHDAY, 9TH NOVEMBER. Day of pleasure, Brightly dawning, Take the gift Of this sweet morning! Our best hopes And wishes blending Must yield joy That's never ending. It was not the fault of Queen Victoria and her consort if the Royal children were not steeped in German poetry, which they imbibed almost from their infancy. They were thus led to love those captivating Volkslieder which they were always hearing. The Queen sang Mendelssohn's songs to the composer's own accompaniment. In that atmosphere King Edward grew up ; there was no necessity for him to pore over the " Gradus ad Parnassum," that " most intellectual trap-door to the classics," either in his youth or his man- hood. What a touch of nature was apparent in that scene at the Town Hall at Berlin, in 1909, when, in honour of the King and Queen Alexandra, a male choir chanted "In einem Kiihlen Grunde," one of those sweet Lieder so loved by Edward vn., and more in accordance with his simple, homely tastes than the theatrical Court ceremonies which 1 The " Sketch," January 15, 1913. 220 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD he had to attend ! At one time or other some one must have told him, to his amusement, that, when his parents went to France during the Crimean war, his father and Napoleon in. sang in unison in a carriage some of the German Volkslieder, with for sole audience Queen Victoria. Would it have added to King Edward's fame had he been " a very devoted student of poetry " ? And how many precious hours a day should he have given to the study ? ' To become a blacksmith you must work at the forge." Edward vn. knew as well as any of us that, as Fanshawe wrote . . . With a load of care Men cannot climb Parnassus cliffe. CHAPTER XII HISTORY OF THE KING'S ILLNESS Miss LIND-AF-HAGEBY, editor of the " Anti-Vivi- section Review," stated in the Court of King's Bench * that, after King Edward's death, a leaflet was issued by the Parliamentary Anti- Vivisection Society in which reference was made to a course of vaccine treatment, and it was said that the cause of His Majesty's death was vivisection. Mr. Duke asked Miss Lind if Queen Alexandra wrote a public repudiation of that charge, and Miss Lind replied that she did not remember. Sir George Kekewich, of Feltham, Middlesex, gave evidence in the case. Cross-examined by Mr. Duke, Sir George said that the words referring to the vaccine treatment which King Edward under- went were the words of the " British Medical Journal," but a leaflet was issued by the Parlia- mentary Anti- Vivisection Society : Do you believe that the cause of the King's death was that treatment ? I believed it, and I believe it now. 1 In an action (which failed) brought against the " Pall Mall Gazette " and others. The above evidence was given on April 6, 1913- 221 222 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Did your society withdraw the leaflet and apologise for it ? They withdrew it because Queen Alexandra objected. Why she objected I do not know. One reason for publication was that I felt resentment against the doctors for having used that treatment. Mr. Duke then read the following letter, which Queen Alexandra sent to the Press on May 24, 1910: Queen Alexandra is very grieved that a report has been printed and circulated by some society that the death of the late King was caused by a vaccine treatment he had received to prevent him from contracting influenza and pneumonia before His Majesty went to Biarritz. Her Majesty wishes it to be known that before the late King left Eng- land he had never been in better health or spirits than after this vaccine treatment. It kept His Majesty in perfect health for 15 months. Her Majesty wishes it to be known that his attack was in no way connected with his professional treat- ment. Mr. Duke (to Sir George Kekewich). You do not understand why Queen Alexandra desired to contradict the statement ? No ; and there was no intention whatever of saying anything that would diplease Her Majesty in any way. It was intended as a protest against the horrible, dis- gusting vaccine treatment. Miss Lind had nothing to do with it. Mr. Duke. It was your society ? The Witness. It is merely an attack on myself. In re-examination Sir George Kekewich said in his opinion the late King's malady was not such HISTORY OF THE KING'S ILLNESS 223 as to lead to sudden death, but he thought the natural thing to suppose was that His Majesty suffered from blood poisoning in consequence of the injection and use of vaccine. Queen Alexandra's letter of May 1910, although generally published, was less generally read than in April 1913, when it came upon many people as something new. In these circumstances it is de- sirable to place on record not only Her Majesty's communication, but the authorised report of the King's last illness drawn up by His Majesty's physicians. That document is as follows : The brief illness of the King and its rapid and fatal termination can only be understood after reference to his physical condition as a whole, when the sequence of events becomes clear. His Majesty had for some years suffered from emphysema, with an attendant bronchial catarrh, the signs of which were permanently present at the bases of the lungs. On several occasions digestive disturbances and other symptoms had caused his medical attendants to realise that His Majesty no longer had the reserve of constitutional power which stood him in such splendid stead after his serious operation in 1902, and that any inter- current catarrhal or bronchitic attack of a severe kind would at once call upon both heart and lungs for their fullest effort. It must here be said that those around him knew how earnestly concerned he was at the present strained position of political affairs, and this fact should not be lost sight of in an all-round consideration of the King's health? 1 The sentence which I have italicised bears out my contention in " King Edward in his True Colours." AUTHOR. 224 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD On March 7, it will be remembered, His Majesty started for Biarritz to obtain a little leisure from these anxieties. He had received some months previously a vaccination treatment which it was hoped would secure him for some time from catarrhal attacks. He broke the journey in Paris, and on the first night there had a severe attack of acute indigestion, with subsequent dyspnoea and considerable cardiac distress. The symptoms had arisen out of exertion, and yielded promptly to treatment. The next day His Majesty exchanged visits with President Fallieres and fulfilled his ordinary social engagements. But on arrival at Biarritz it became clear that he had contracted a chill which developed into a regular bronchitic attack the raised temperature, accelerated pulse and respira- tions, and the physical signs in the chest occasion- ing his physician no little anxiety. The attack lasted ten days, during several of which he was confined to his bed, but the symptoms passed off, and for the rest of the visit His Majesty led his usual life, making excursions and entertaining quietly. His Majesty came back from Biarritz on Wednesday, April 27, better in every way, and at once took up the thread of his very full life. On Saturday, April 30, he went down to Sandringham feeling a little unwell, and on Sunday, after attend- ing service, he spent a long day looking at some extensive new planting and gardening alterations, with the result that a fresh chill was contracted. On Monday, May 2, he returned to London in very cold weather, feeling somewhat chilly and out of sorts. He, however, fulfilled a social en- gagement to dinner. That evening, on returning from dinner, His Photo} [Jugami. KING EDWARD ON HIS LAST VISIT TO BIARRITZ AT THE END OF MARCH 1910. HISTORY OF THE KING'S ILLNESS 225 Majesty was seen by one of his physicians, who found him complaining of some dyspnoea, with slightly raised temperature and quickened pulse and respirations ; distinct bronchial crepitations were present over the bases of both lungs. He passed a disturbed night. On Tuesday morning, May 3, the symptoms had abated, he felt better, and the temperature was normal, but he suffered from much cough and expectoration, and con- siderable dyspnoea. Notwithstanding the urgent desire of his physicians that he should rest quietly, His Majesty again received official visitors and gave audiences. That evening at 7 p.m the King told his physicians that he felt ill, and he had more than one attack of severe dyspnoea during that night, the attacks not being occasioned, as hitherto, by exertion. On the morning of Wednesday, May 4, the tempera- ture was 99 F. and the pulse 90, and he com- plained of irritation in the throat. He was seen by the throat specialist who had seen him on former occasions, but the only condition found was catarrh, and there was now an irritable and catarrhal condition also observable in connection with the other organs. His Majesty again, however, gave several im- portant audiences. At 6.15 p.m. a consultation was held by his three physicians, who found that the two consecutive bad nights and some severe attacks of dyspncea had told seriously upon His Majesty. There was a very imperfect entry of air at both bases and much fine bronchial crepita- tion ; the right side of the heart was embarrassed. The temperature was normal and the respiration 34. One of his physicians remained at the Palace, and the King passed a disturbed night. On Thursday morning, May 5, His Majesty's con- 15 226 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD dition was not improved ; he again, however, gave audiences. The attacks of dyspnoea were more frequent and distressing, and with increas- ing cyanosis were gravely suggestive of threat- ened cardiac failure. In the afternoon the Queen arrived from the Continent, and the fact that the King was not at the station to meet her was the first indication to the public that His Majesty w r as indisposed. With the permission of the King, the physicians now issued their first bulletin, that " The King is suffering from bronchitis, and has been confined to his room for two days. His Majesty's condition causes some anxiety," which appeared in some of the evening papers, but not until it had been seen by His Majesty, who somewhat modified its terms. Sir Francis Laking and Sir James Reid remained at the Palace. Up to 4.30 a.m. on Friday morn- ing His Majesty had a better night, but in the early hours of Friday he had several severe attacks of dyspnoea, and when visited that morning by his physicians it was at once seen that the gravity of the symptoms had increased. A bulletin was issued, stating, " The King has passed a com- paratively quiet night, but the symptoms have not improved, and His Majesty's condition gives rise to grave anxiety." Thereafter His Majesty's condition grew rapidly worse. He had more than one attack of dyspnoea of a dangerous character, following upon slight movements, from which he was only rallied by powerful remedies. About three p.m. conscious- ness began to fail, and the third bulletin was issued, stating, " The King's symptoms have become worse during the day, and His Majesty's condition is now critical." Consciousness never completely HISTORY OF THE KING'S ILLNESS 227 returned. The end came at 11.45 p.m., after a prolonged period of perfect calm. FRANCIS HENRY LAKING, M.D. JAMES REID, M.D. R. DOUGLAS POWELL, M.D. CHAPTER XIII KING EDWARD IN STORY Anecdotes of Kings, Princes, Ministers, or any celebrities, are always acceptable. I have often thought that my Journal would have been more entertaining if I had scribbled down all I heard and saw in society. C. C. F. GREVILLE (" Memoirs "). " A THEORY as to how and why the Crown Jewels disappeared " from Dublin Castle in 1907 has been propounded by the well-known writer, Mr. Filson Young, 1 who thinks that those who accept his theory will agree with him " that Sir Arthur Vicars has suffered in his own esteem and in that of the public far more than enough for whatever faults of ill- judgment or negligence he may have committed. Such is the course of this strange affair, that there is no ordinary and official avenue by which he can regain the position he has lost. The King, whose command arrested the only machinery which could have cleared Sir Arthur, is the only person who can restore him to public honour. I cannot help thinking that King Edward could have done it if he had liked ; and it would be an act both of grace and justice of King George if he were thus to complete the work of tactful 1 In the "Saturday Review," July 12, 1913. KING EDWARD IN STORY 229 and powerful interference that King Edward's death prevented him from finishing." The " Times " of July 5, 1913, reported that on the previous day, in the King's Bench Division, Sir Arthur Vicars, formerly Ulster King of Arms, was awarded 5000 damages in an action for libel against the proprietors, printer, and editor of the " London Mail," a weekly publication. The libel was contained in a reference to the disappearance of the Crown Jewels from Dublin Castle in 1907, and it was described by Mr. Campbell, K.C., the plaintiff's leading counsel, as !< an abominable and atrocious libel, persisted in with extraordinary cruelty and malice." [While the learned Counsel was speaking Mr. Montague Shearman, K.C., who appeared for the defendants, said he had already told Mr. Campbell that no attempt would be made of any kind to justify what had been written. Mr. Campbell said he had been informed of this only on that day.] Continuing his opening, Mr. Campbell said that at the first meeting of the Commission Sir Arthur Vicars attended before it by his counsel, who first asked if the inquiry was to be a public inquiry, and he was told it was not. In answer to further inquiries he was told that the testimony taken would not be on oath and that there would be no power to compel the presence of witnesses. Sir Arthur Vicars then by his counsel refused to have anything further to do with the inquiry. The Commission went on and continued their proceedings in private, and they eventually found that there had been 230 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD negligence in the custody of those jewels. Sir Arthur had many friends on his side in the matter, and among them all the Knights of St. Patrick. The plaintiff had petitioned His Majesty for redress and he had every hope of the petition's meeting with a favourable result. The learned counsel concluded by saying that no one knew what a life of misery and suffering the plaintiff had gone through during the last few years. Sir Arthur Edward Vicars, in his evidence, Baid he had been petitioning for redress for years, his petitions being supported by numerous in- fluential people, including Knights of St. Patrick. He had petitioned the King, who had referred the petition to Mr. Birrell, but he had heard nothing more about it : it was under consideration. There was not a shred or particle of foundation for any of the statements contained in the libel. He never knew a woman named Molly Moloney or Mme. Robinson. He was not playing cards on the night before the removal of the jewels with Lord Ronald Sutherland-Gower, Mr. Shackleton, and that woman. Sir Arthur said when he took office in 1893 he did not know of the existence of these jewels. They were required for his in- vestiture, and the key and the box containing them were handed to him by an Office messenger. He (Sir Arthur) took them to the Assistant Under- secretary and asked him to put them in the Under-Secretary's safe. He then asked the Board of Works for a proper safe in which to keep them, and one was provided. Some years later new KING EDWARD IN STORY 231 offices, containing a strong room, were provided for him, and he intended to put the safe into that room, but it was found that the door had been made too narrow to admit it, so that the safe was left outside. The strong room had windows looking out into the Castle yard. The jewels belonged originally to the Crown Jewels of England, and were sent over to be used by the Grand Master of St. Patrick. Mr. Justice Darling : Of what did they consist ? Sir A. Vicars : Of a badge with a chain to go round the neck, and a large diamond star. Mr. Justice Darling : Then when you refer to the Crown Jewels you mean those two things only ? Sir A. Vicars : Yes. Anyone could carry them away in his pocket. Mr. Campbell : Have you the slightest know- ledge or idea as to what has become of them since ? Sir A. Vicars : Not the slightest. 1 King Edward and his mother were probably better linguists than any other Royal personages in Europe. This, of course, is a truism ; but only a very few outside the Palaces can be aware of the fact that both mother and son were pro- ficients in the mechanical language of the deaf and dumb. "I was at the Palace," said one of my friends, " when, besides Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales, only two or three persons were present. An active conversation went on, to my surprise, between mother and son, not in audible sounds, but with the aid of their fingers. In this silent language the Prince conveyed to 1 Vide Chap. III., "The Iron Fist." 232 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD his mother something which caused the Queen to smile as if she thoroughly enjoyed whatever it was that was signalled to her by her son's fingers, and, leaning forwards, she playfully tapped him on the shoulder with her fan, meaning thereby (or so I took it), 6 That's very naughty, Bertie.' During this little comedy the members of the Queen's suite who were present looked straight before them with impassive countenances, as if they were listening to a play in Chinese or Turkish." Who were King Edward's greatest friends outside the official circle ? Had His Majesty been asked the question, and had he deigned to reply, I think he would have admitted that the men who had rendered him services which he most appreciated were Sir Ernest Cassel and the late much-maligned, but eminently just and generous, Baron de Hirsch. As Prince of Wales, King Edward, as Queen Victoria's deputy for so many years practically from the death of the Prince Consort in December 1861 until the passing of the Queen in January 1901 was forced into lavish expenditure. He bore the natural result of this vast outlay without any apparent irritation. A man of a weaker temperament would have succumbed. He was doing " the right thing," he was representing his Sovereign-Mother, he was gratifying the nation, he was " keeping things going " during the Queen's long absences from the public stage. The man in the street, " the man with the umbrella on the 'bus," who swore by the Prince, knew as well as any M.P. that he was KING EDWARD IN STORY 233 underpaid for his work. A common observation among the horny-handed was : " W'y, 'e don't git 'is ex's ! 5: And that was true. Nevertheless, he went on his way with a smile and a brave heart. The few who knew the difficulty, some- times the tragedy, of the position said nothing very properly. Those who did not know started the wickedest untruths, some of which I was able to deny. It was told of King Edward that, when he was Prince, he " took up " Baron de Hirsch (some of whose wealth was inherited by Baron de Forest) " and pitchforked him into the whirlpool of London society, of which he has now (1889) become a shining light " : The financier has been honoured in London with the exceedingly rare privilege of the private entree at Buckingham Palace, and has blossomed forth into an honoured guest, not only at Marl- borough House, but also at the mansions of men so exclusive as the Dukes of Richmond and Westminster, which the Prince frequents. I mention these cases to show the Prince's extra- ordinary social power, an autocracy which, all things considered, has been of a beneficent and fortunate nature. . . . Aside from the natural disinclination to provoke outbursts of ill-temper on the part of so good-humoured and jovial- hearted a prince, there is a universal disposition to abstain from all individual criticism or censure of his conduct. He lives in an atmosphere of such loyalty that it may almost be described as sycophancy, and although he may be made the object of collective and indirect criticism from those 234 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD who do not come into actual contact with him, yet there is no one who ventures personally to point out to him the right and wrong of his ways. The ridiculous assertion made by several papers in 1896 that one of Baron de Hirsch's bitterest disappointments in life was the absolute refusal of " the Rothschilds " to " recognise " him was inaccurate. Neither was there any foundation for the statement that the Prince of Wales borrowed " enormous sums " from the deceased gentleman. Among the surviving friends of King Edward Lord Suffield is perhaps the one who can claim longest acquaintance, for he enjoyed His Majesty's confidence for the greater part of half a century. Lord Knollys, of course, stands on an altogether different plane ; as Private Secretary since 1870, he was in more intimate relationship with King Edward, and later with King George, than any one outside the ever-extending circle of the Royal Family. There are two or three well-known personages who were on such exceptionally good terms with the beloved Monarch that they were requested, and expected, to address him without any formality whatsoever. When the King re- turned to London after a Continental sojourn these favoured friends might approach him with some such congratulatory and welcoming phrase as, e.g., " How well you look ! Never saw you looking better ! ?: No need of formal phraseology like " Your Majesty " or " Sir." KING EDWARD IN STORY 235 Some few there are who, like Lord Coventry, have agreeable recollections of the manifestations of loyalty which were made when, in 1867, the Prince of Wales first appeared in the hunting fields of Worcestershire. I have vivid memories of that fine day's sport, in which all the territorial magnates of the shire took part. The Prince was the guest of the Due d'Aumale, at the chateau of Wood Norton, by Evesham, which was bequeathed to the Due d' Orleans by his Royal uncle, and sold by the Royalist Pretender in 1912. The Orleanist host of the Prince of Wales of those days was on the most friendly terms with the then Heir- Apparent and the Royal Family. On the occasion referred to I remember the admiration expressed by a record " field " at the plucky, but not venturesome, " going " of the Heir- Apparent, who retained his excellent " seat " until the last, although of late years he was not seen often in the saddle, except on a pony at Sandringham. The bolder rider of the two was Queen Alexandra, who, in the earlier seventies, was a charming figure in the hunting field, and notably when she and " the Prince " were the guests at Trentham of the then Duke and Duchess of Sutherland. 1 That duke was one of the earliest- chosen friends of the Prince, and both, in suitable dress, were sometimes to be seen on an engine dashing off to a great fire. The names of a score of intimate friends of King Edward rise in the memory. Among others 1 Parents of the Duke who died in June, 1913. 236 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD are Count Albert Mensdorff-Pouilly, Austro-Hun- garian Ambassador, who, as a relative, was oftener than most of the habitues of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Sandringham to be seen in the Royal circle ; the Marquis de Soveral, ex-Portuguese Minister; Mr. Alfred de Rothschild, Sir Ernest Cassel, a valued adviser of the late Sovereign ; Mr. Arthur Sassoon, Lord Howe, holder of the double post of Lord-in- Waiting to King Edward and Lord Chamberlain to Queen Alexandra ; Lords Esher, Alington, Marcus Beresf ord, and Ilchester ; and Lord Burnham, so often His Majesty's host at the annual " shoots " at Hall Barn. Edward vn. was for forty years on the friendliest terms with the late Lord Glenesk. No one more than the King, as Prince, enjoyed the audacious and witty articles, paragraphs, and verses which, in the late sixties, made the little " Owl," under Algernon Borthwick's editorship, the most enter- taining journalette in the world. It was Mr. Borthwick (as Lord Glenesk then was) who, owing to his intimate relations with Napoleon in., was able to inform the Prince of what was happen- ing at Chislehurst when the exiles took up their abode at Camden Place ; and from the editor of the " Morning Post " Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales learnt the details of the serious, but futile, attempts made by the Emperor, the Empress Eugenie, and their supporters to restore the Bonapartist dynasty. By the King's death the Empress lost her most powerful and most cherished friend. KING EDWARD IN STORY 237 Lord Alfred Paget was one of the companions of the Prince "in the days that were earlier." There was a time and a considerable time when the two were almost inseparable. That was the gay period when the jeunesse doree swarmed around the Prince-Leader of London Society. ** Lord Dupplin, Lord Blandford (" Jo," later Duke of Marlborough), George Russell, Christopher Sykes, Oscar Clayton, Dr. Quain, Lord Carrington, and Oliver Montagu, to name only a few, were all prominent figures in " the Prince's set." The social chroniclers of those joyous days had plenty to write about; marvellous, and most amusing, were the stories which were retailed by our " all London " in the later sixties and throughout the seventies. Lord Alfred Paget was in exceptional favour at the Court of Queen Victoria. The genial Clerk Marshal had a large family, and one day the Queen, who could be very humorous on occasion, and appreciated wit in others, said : " How many children have you now, Lord Alfred ? " He mentioned them by name. " Are you sure you have not forgotten one ? " inquired the Queen. ' I don't think so, Ma'am," he replied. " Oh yes, you have," remarked Her Majesty ; " you have omitted one the young lady who happens to be my god-daughter ! " Few, if any, ladies could claim closer acquaint- ance with King Edward than Miss Agnes and Miss Fanny Keyser, the good Samaritans who, in 1900, converted their beautiful home, 17 Grosvenor 238 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Crescent, into a private hospital for officers who had been wounded in the Boer war. These gallant soldiers found themselves in a paradise, which they quitted with heart-felt gratitude and regret. King Edward was precisely the man to appreciate this patriotism, and was never happier than when he was visiting No. 17. He delighted in the " intimate " dinner and supper parties arranged for him by his charming hostesses, whose cook was second to none. I should be tempted to say much in praise of the charming sisters and the King's exceptional liking for them, were they not known to shun publicity, even to dread it. One of the first of the heroes to find a blissful refuge in ie King Edward's military hospital " was, I remember, Major Dashwood, of the Dublin Fusiliers, through whose body a Boer bullet passed within an inch of the spinal cord. One of King Edward's cronies was Colonel John Ross Farquharson of Invercauld, as familiar a figure in Pall Mall as the Prince himself until his death in 1888. A few days before, " Jim " Farquharson, as everybody called him, was at his clubs, active and cheery, looking as if he would live to a great age. Besides being a foremost member of the Marlborough House clan he was one of Queen Victoria's favourites, as was another of the then Prince's intimates, Major Jim Macdonald, who died in 1882. The Major, whom I often met at the house of some friends, was the closest com- panion of the Duke of Cambridge, who wrote of his death that it was " a severe blow after a KING EDWARD IN STORY 239 friendship of close upon thirty- eight years on my personal staff. . . . My dear old friend Bernal Osborne " (father of the present widowed Duchess of St. Albans) " died on the very same day." x Colonel Farquharson and Major Macdonald were noted raconteurs, and knew everything that was going on ; the latter was particularly expansive, and required no " tapping." Without " listening at the door," as Lord Rosslyn stupidly accused Charles Greville of doing, I heard many of his bons mots, and kept them to myself. The Duke and his " dear old Jim " were like brothers, and dragooning " George " never " got into a sweat " with his faithful henchman, whose manner and white locks were equally silky. The Duke had such an exalted opinion of himself as " C.-in-C." that he frequently indulged in " langwidge " which was bitterly, and not always silently, resented. The slightest criticism in the papers upset him, and on one occasion, speaking in the House of Lords, after the appearance of some wounding remarks in the " Daily Telegraph," he gave it to his presumptuous critic " straight from the shoulder," and sat down feeling much better. Archibald Forbes was a thorn in the Duke's side ; and, in a manner of speaking, Prince George had rather a contempt for the Press generally. Queen Victoria knew how to smooth her impetuous cousin down after the papers had been pin-pricking 1 " George, Duke of Cambridge." Edited by the Rev. Edgar Sheppard, C.V.O., D.D., Sub-Dean of His Majesty's Chapels Royal. Longmans. 240 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD him, and " Jim " was always at hand to apply ointment to the sore. Those who went about with notebooks in their hands at reviews and parades took particular care to give the fiery " C.-in-C." a wide berth. Yet he could be the tenderest- hearted and most sentimental of men, as his delightfully explicit and racy " Diary " amply proves. He loved all his Royal relatives ; after the Queen, " Bertie " and Alex " were the objects of his unceasing adoration. Other men in the good books of the Prince of Wales (but there were so many !) were Colonel " Harry " Armytage and Lieut. -General Sir Seymour Blane ; the first a tall, stalwart, pleasantly-bluff, handsome man, liking good cheer the second a tall, slightly-built, perfect-mannered old soldier, very proud of his " C.B." and of the walking-stick given him by the Prince. Sir Seymour, one of the oldest and best-liked members of " White's," had concerned himself in companies, one of them being started for the production of concentrated beer. Even Mme. Steinheil can boast of some ac- quaintance with our late Sovereign. She says in her " Memoirs "r 1 I met King Edward, then Prince of Wales, several times. He asked me one day, quite un- expectedly, what I thought of his French. ' Your Highness," I replied, " speaks our language un- usually well." if For one who is not French ? " '' For one who is not always in France. But perhaps your Highness speaks it too grammatic- 1 Eveleigh Nash, 1912. KING EDWARD IN STORY 241 ally." " I see," said the Prince cheerfully ; !t my French is too perfect to be perfect." Of that intimate friend of King Edward, Lord Dupplin, who died in 1886, this story was told by Mr. Labouchere, in " Truth," which still occupies the foremost place in that social journalism of which the "Times" is so fond. "'Duppy' was cheery and good-natured. I remember some years ago coming across him in Westminster Hall. ' What are you doing here ? ' I asked. ' Well,' he said, ' I am a " co " in a divorce suit, and I am going to be called as a witness.' ' Is the charge true ? ' I asked. ' That,' he replied, ' is my diffi- culty. I really cannot remember whether it is true or not.' I felt utterly dumbfounded at this magnificent forgetfulness." Until his death in 1911 Lord James of Hereford the " Henry James " of the Law Courts and the House of Commons was not only a close friend, but a valued adviser, of King Edward. Occasion- ally the King, when he was still Heir-Apparent, drove from Sandringham to Westacre, sometimes accompanied by our present Sovereign and " Fife," for a day's, or two or three days', shooting with Lord (then Sir Henry) James. At Westacre they would meet the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of St. Albans, and Mr. Mackenzie of Kintail ; and even then the future George v. was accounted about the best with the gun. There was the closest friendship between King Edward and Sir Frederick Johnstone, dating from 16 242 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD 4 their Oxford days. Before me is one of Russell's photographs, taken at Goodwood in 1868, showing the Prince and " Freddy " Johnstone seated on a bench and Oliver Montagu and Arthur Ellis stand- ing behind them. At his friend's villa, Le Nid, at Monte Carlo, the Prince often stayed. Sport was one of the ties between the two. Sir Frederick won two and the King three Derby s. The baronet had latterly lived at The Hatch, near Windsor, and there he had been regularly visited by the King every Saturday in Ascot week. At The Hatch he died (June 20, 1913) as the last race was being run at Ascot. Sir Frederick was probably better acquainted with the vie intime of the King before his accession than any one else now sur- viving (Lord Dupplin having died many years ago). He was one of Lady Mordaunt's numerous friends, and figured in the " case." One of the few men who had much influence with King Edward prior to his accession was the late Duke of Richmond, who was as fond of " flanning " as Mr. Gladstone, although, unlike " Mr. G.," he did not beguile his solitary rambles through the streets by peering into the bookshops. The Duke had a great antipathy to card-playing and all other forms of gambling, and on one occa- sion, when the Tranby Croft affair was fresh in the public mind, his Grace did not scruple to say to the Prince, " You can do as you like, Sir, when you are under my roof ; but no baccarat ! 5: With "the Dudleys" (the parents of the present Earl) the King was particularly friendly, KING EDWARD IN STORY 243 often visiting Witley Court, their Worcestershire home. It is rather more than an hour's drive from the old county town, the seat of the glove, sauce, pickle, vinegar, and " British wine " trades ; the " Faithful City," which the Royalists defended so stoutly, and which the " crop-ear'd rogues " successfully besieged. The " Court " stands on high ground, and commands glorious views over Worcestershire and Shropshire. Like many palaces, it is an exceedingly plain structure, and externally anything but architecturally beautiful ; within, you are confronted by the most magnifi- cent specimens of art in all its branches that money can buy and a dogged perseverance obtain pictures, statuary, and objets d'art of every description, for the late Earl was a connoisseur of connoisseurs, and spent some of the best years of his life in the congenial occupation of collecting. The present Dowager Countess and the late Earl were great archers in the years that are gone, and Witley Court was the scene of large gatherings of Midland toxophilites the Isaacses, the Martins, the Allsopps, and many more. The contests on the greensward used to be followed by what some would call a " collation " ; the right title for it, however, was a " square meal," which, at the autumn gathering, took the form of ham and broad beans anyway, that was the principal dish. Few men were more eccentric than the present Lord Dudley's grandfather. He had a curious way of wearing his hair very long, so that it looked like a wig, and gave rise to a stupid story that he 244 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD had had his ears cut off by an irate Pasha as a punishment for attempting to penetrate into the interior of a harem. He was very absent-minded, and there are numerous stories of the curious results which sprang from this failing. He was dining with Queen Victoria. A choice dish was handed round, to which Lord Dudley helped him- self, and, finding it much to his liking, he thought it his duty to tell his neighbour of it. So, forgetting where he was, and all about the etiquette of the Palace, he turned to the Queen, and said, " You really ought to take some of this ; it is most excellent." The Queen smiled and thanked him. A minute afterwards the same thought came into his head, and again he strongly urged the Queen to " have some," with the same result. After another short interval, for the third time he pressed the merits of the dish upon the Queen, who then replied, " I am very glad you like it, Lord Dudley. It must be very good, for this is the third time you have told me of it." Then, remembering that, but forgetting everything else, he exclaimed, loud enough to be heard all over the table, " D the woman, so it is ! J: King Edward, who so highly appreciated esprit, even when, as sometimes happened, the joke went against himself, was once very neatly " scored off " by a lady whom later he deservedly esteemed for her many good works. She had been just presented to him, and was somewhat nervous. To put her at her ease His Majesty said, " Oh, Miss , I want to have a long chat with yoi KING EDWARD IN STORY 245 but if I should unfortunately bore you pray tell me so." The King, who was an adroit cross- examiner, wished to ascertain the young lady's age, which she had no intention of divulging. " You have already said you were born at ," said the Monarch. " May I ask in what year ? " ' You ' bore ' me, sir ! " was the smiling reply, and His Majesty, taking the checkmate in the greatest good humour, diverted the conversation into a less embarrassing channel. The particular form of esprit most appreciated by the King was, I imagine, that embodied in the cynically-amusing saying of Harriet Lady Ashburton : " If I were to begin life again I would go on the turf to get friends. They seem to me the only people who really hold close together. I don't know why ; it may be that each knows something that might hang the other, but the effect is delightful and most peculiar." Similarly Lady Waldegrave's incisive dicta on card-sharping could not fail to have found a responsive echo when they came to the King's knowledge : " One can pardon a man almost anything save cheating at cards. In most cases, when a man decides on committing a crime he is inspired with some of the dare-devil bravery which is bred of despair, and is ready to risk his neck or his liberty ; whereas when a man cheats at cards he robs his friends, and is well aware that he will never be prosecuted, exile and ostracism being the worst penalties he has any reason to fear." With this kind of esprit many other 246 MORE ABOUT KING EDWARD Englishwomen are endowed, although we seldom see it recorded in print. King Edward could have given examples of it, but they will not appear in the " official " biography. In the eighties there was a rage for banjo- strumming, the result of the Prince of Wales receiving a few lessons from the Bohee Brothers, one of whom admitted that H.R.H. was not among his cleverest pupils. Mr. Bohee asserted that the best ban joists were those with thin, even scraggy, fingers. Mr. Gladstone was a very fine performer ; his singing of " Camptown Races," to his own accompaniment, was, if not a " thing of beauty," certainly " a joy for ever," to those who heard it, the Prince among many others. On a racecourse. The King passes. Old orange- woman, loq. : " Buy an orange, Teddy ! Two a penny. All sweet and juicy." In the late seventies and the early eighties there was to be seen in the St. James's quarter a man who strongly resembled the Prince of Wales. He was of similar height, walked exactly like H.R.H., and wore his hat at the same slight angle. A well-known member of the Stock Exchange- Mr. Percy Marsden is (incorrectly) supposed to be the " double " of King Edward, and for many years has been jocularly referred to by his City friends as "His Majesty." Somewhat resembling King Edward was Lord Glenesk, whose walk, however, was more springy than the King's. I have often seen the King's walk described in print as a "roll." Nothing could be more inaccurate. OS s gg < -^ X c li at 3 5" 0-. MHK - 1 IffiTD FEB 2 6 18 S2 " DEC 03 1988 vuroDisajwlZ -eg UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY -ORM NO. DD6, 60m, 3/80 BERKELEY, CA 94720 @$ YC 28642 GENERAL LIBRARY - U.C. BERKELEY BDOD3mD37 UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORWA UBRARY