"EDWARD THE PEACEMAKER."

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 812, 9 May 1910, Page 2

"EDWARD THE PEACEMAKER."

KINGLY BUBDEIS, A HEAVY TASK FAITHFULLY PERFORMED. BRIEF BIOGRAPHY.

\ King Edward VH was born at BucHngf bam Palace on November 9,1841, and was ; the second child of Queen Victoria. By J Inheritance Be became at once Duke of \ Cornwall, and a month later he was t created by patent Prince of Wales and ( Earl' of Chester, titles which are not i hereditary. His baptism, in 1842,. in St. E George's Chapel, Windsor, -was attended jby the King of Prussia as a sponsor. Hie J school, like John Wesley's parish, was Jus wide as the world. The formal part ■of his education he received from.private "tutors, at Edinburgh. University, at I Christ's College (Oxford), and at Trinity 5 College (Cambridge), and ,an invaluable ; experience of men and things was gained ;from long waiting tours in the United I Kingdom and Germany; and more cere»monial; visits, made at an early age, to i;the chief countries of. Europe. In 18601 \ he visited Canada and the United States,! ; und was welcomed with the greatest en-f -, thusiasm m both countries, creating t everywhere a highly favourable. impresjsion by his genial manners and princely i boaring. The visit did much to strengthen Imperialistic ties in the Dominion, jind to confirm the* friendship. of the > United States with Great Britain. Just I before hie father's death the Prince had U taste of soldiering in Ireland, at the . Curragh. of Kildare, and in the same year, during a.tour in Germany, he fell •m loveiwith the,beautiful Princess Alex- < andra of Denmark, whom he married on ; March 10,18G3, amid the rejoicings of two :, nations. Just before his marriage lie i enlarged the area of .his travels by - a tour i of Egypt and the Holy Land.

i Busily' In: Public " Life. i The_ Prince now threw himself entlrasl--3 asfacally into the public life of his coun!,try, taking a prominent part in national \ movements, whether philanthropic, oduP S~n i or "H^ o,lß - Hβ soon became (;me b&st Known figure and most popular! \ personality in the United Kingdom. A* fe ceremoniotw visit to Russia, in 1861, and \ a l° u S , tour of En f°t>e and the Near East < : which h« made with the Princess in 1868hb», extended his popularity abroad and I Ms kßowledge of-foreign affairs, so valu- §??« ■to a J u tiire Hng. At the close of 1 1871 an attack of typhoid fever bronghl a him almoet to the' grave, -and the nation b: realised, dunng days of anxious snshow mnch the heir to the throne Ste d himself ,to their hearts. $ ™,5 thantegiving 'service for his recover? f l held ] ul St. Paul's Cathedral was a naStional demonstration of the greatest sisI nmcanw. A.tour of India in 1875, nndor J] thei guidance of Sirßartle Frere, may bo |i said to havp completed the Prince's edusj cation, while doing more "than all the k aws that Parliament has ever passed to |bring home to India the reality of British

£•• Snndringham, in Norfolk, the Prince? •ffiad. an seven thousand acres, onl when he was. not attending to eo-f Mandlord, establishing herds' of Short- 1 ! florae and flocks of Southdowns of; highl ;VceUenee j, and .breeding- his own race! '-!horses with much success. The late Kind! *as_ always an. ardent sportsman. His' racehorses won most trilliant victories •! Uis yacht won numerous prizes at re'--f bI S/ s , me in India and on j fheContuienti and deer, gronse, pheasfWV lf nd on SoottislT and mnfi^ ? e T aß n enthusiastic i d f«n oi! the Tear, the Prince of Wales visited Russia with the Dute of York par t^, th ! funeral ceremonies.! Hβ made a highly fevonrable impression on, the Russian royal family and people i Prior to his coronation the Prince inter-? ested himself deeply in the London hospi ! Ws inaugnrabng, in 1897, the Prince of: Wales (now the King's). Hospital fund '■ for the improvement of their finances. He •lleo founded the Royal College of Music ; and was responsible fa, »& eetaSi \ U ?¥>V>™l Institute, which he i desired, in his own words, "should be| «fl* A* M •, t}l l of tno Empire!! P « W llustrai:e th l resource and! ? a paWihes of every section of Her Jlal lesty s Dominions." . ■ . ■ E

j Proclaimed King. * Quern Victoria died on Jamiary 22,1901 iSS on the following day Prince Albert Mward was proclaimed King. The coro- ;] nation ceremony was fixed to iako place |m,tne following June, and great preparations were made in Great Britaia and mroßghout the Empire to celebrate the !iday with dne festivities. On June 16 jjwaen these preparations were virtnaUy S complete, aad oxcitement; itas at a high > pitch in new of the approaching cerejmony, the King was prOTemted from re»newing a body of troops at Aldershot bt ( what was officially reported to be an ati^S. k ° f , lumba S° i Not much alarm was Stelt, an 4 reassuring statements' as to the ; King s health were daily made mtffl the ;25th, when toe British-speaking world I was filled with consternation onlearnine j that His Majesty had undergone a wave ! operation for peritypnyUtie; that-a eec(Ond Jugaly critical operation was eesen- ) bal, , and that the coronation would prob- ; ably have to be postponed for an indefii nite period, For several dajs the King's Ilifeliung rathe balance, but at length his ': sound constitution, his courage and calm;<a«B daring .a period of ; gravest danger, i and the skill of hie pnyaicians combined ] to bring about a, recovery. I The coronation ceremony took place on : August 9,1902, in the presence of represenjtatrres of all the colonies and of the i foreign powers. The occasion was imbued swith a remarkable solemnity after the I danger through which His Majesty had 3 passed. "However much the spectators j might admire the pageant from its specl tapular aspects, and however greatly they 1 might be struck by the incessant stream fjof the flower of the British aristocracy in il their traditional splendour, of the Min- \ isters, of the rulers and builders of the [lEmpire, and of tho representatives of its I military and naval' greatness, yet the ! predominant feature to all observers iras S the devotional nad religious: character of s the oeremony."

"whole institution of Kingship on to the| I dust heap. | I John Burns's Chair. | b And his saving graca of humour en-ij Sables him to enjoy and poke fun at thejj Sj folly of the tuft-hunter and the collec-i I tor of Eoyal cherry stones. Ho laugh- Ji Singly inverts the folly. "You 6co tli&tfj 5 chair," ho said in tones of awe to ag I guest entering his smoking-room at a I Windsor. "That is. the chair Johiip k Burns sat in." His Majesty has ajj I genuine liking for "J. 8.," who, I have ij no doubt, delivored from that chair a k I" copious digest of his Eapor lecture, 8 6 coupled liith illuminating, statistics on $ f infantile mortality, eome approving com- p Ijments on the member for Batfersea, ami l! Iα little wholesome advice on. the duties E of a King. This liking for Mr. Burns| s as characteristic of the King as hisß iking for France. Ho prefers plain, i ireezy men who admit him to the com-| wmon humanities rather than those whoj IremiiKl him of his splendid isolation. He fi R would have had no emotion of pride s I when Scott, who, with all his great i Equalities, was a deplorable tuft-hunter,| put the -n-ine glase that hade 8 touched the Boyfll lips into the tail p ipocket of his coat, but he would haveij mimmensely enjoyed the moment when hc;| ft inadvertently sat on it. s I Educational Gymnastics, i S He would laughingly disclaim, that "he 'I awas either a seer or a, saint,'though in • Shis education every effort was employed!! I to make him at onco an Archangel aaid| I an Admirable Crichton. There has prob- i a ably never beqn a .personage in. history •; Supo'n whoso upbringing there was ex-5 I pended eo much thought. and such < of 'influences as upon that of^

all _ his life, humming it to him-i ;self in odd corners end secret places' i o&il yet, according to his friends, had? S still not come witnin several quavers off ;it. Lamb did not know his good for-' J trae. King Edward . probably regards! J him as the most enviable man in his-i ■ tory. For his Majesty would not be hui man if. he did not tire of that eternal! !s reminder of tie gilded cage in which hs ( » is doomed to live. Does he go to church! S then. "God Save the King" thunders! through the aisles; does Uβ appear in! public, then enthusiastio bandsmen ealutol * him at every street corner with "Godla s Save the King"; does he go to a dinner,® • then grave citizens leap to their feet.ra j; and break out into "God Save theH

jKing. , He cannot escape the Boeotian! f< strain. He never will escape it. It isS it the penalty we inflict on him for beingK SKing. It is a penalty that Bhould tmichl I any heart to sympathy. If one were of-& sfered the choice: "Will you dwell atß (Windsor and hear 'God Save the King'ii i morning, afternoon, and evening, at workK < and at play, at homo and abroad, ore lj work, a free man, in a coal mine," can 'i '? there be any doubt what the answei t jj would be if one wore sane ? f, I ■ ■ Z f Kingship a Prison. 8 I When the Archduke John of Austria ? ;disguised himself as a seaman and van-* |ished for ever from tho tyranny pi's. 'i Courts he was regarded as a victim of [mental aberration. He was, of course,?;. Sone of the sanest men in history. No a {man in his senses would be a King if he? 5 could be a cobbler. For a cobbler ha.* •'the two. priceless privileges o£ freedom! <and obscurity, and a King has only ni J prison and publicity—a prison, none the 5 »less, bocauso its Wills are not of stone s 5 but of circumstance. The cobbler ma\P friends; but where among theß I crowd that makes eternal obeisance be-1 .fore him is the man whom the King caul ilcall friend? AValled off from his kind - j living in an unreal and artificial sphere of ceremonial, pursued by the in-3 i tolerable limelight wherever ho goes, eutft pit from the wholesome criticism of thel •i world, fawned on by flunkeys, without! >the easy companionship of equals, with-l { out tho healthful renovation of privacy I jjwhat is there in' Kingship Ho make 'ill s endurable? The murvel is not that* 5 Kings should so often fail to be Kings f ibut that they should ever succeed in be¥ tolerable men. / f

In respect of foreign affaire, the late fl King was ever a strong influence peace, and hie diplomatic gifts were uui-'j jversally recognised. The entente oor-| diale with France was consnmmated X mainly by his offices, and on several other jj loocaeione he has achieved; in connections Iwith the international relationships of v i Great Britain pacific victories no less sub- 'i jstantial, if less renowned, than those of-! I; The late King had eix children. Thefj Leld«et eon, Prince Albert Victor, was '■; 5 born at Windsor on January 8, 1865, and J pied in his twenty-seventh year; the sec-? Spnd son, Prime George, wae born at Marl- § j borough House in June, 18GG, and threes I daughters followed,' the. Princesses Louise, '} I Victoria, and Maud. A third son, Alex-f Sander, onTy lived a day, being born ini 3AprU,. 1870. ' !

!jA Very Human Man, ' | [5,,^ ow ', Kin S Edward ie, above everv-l fe, thing olse, a very human man. He 'is? ■i not deceived by tlie pomp and circwiil gstanoe in the midst of which it has been!* |his lot to live, for ho has no illusions f <5He is eminently sane. 110 was cast fort , - * a part in the piece of lite from hi J Joradlo, and ho plays it industriously andfe I thoroughly; but ho has nevor lost tlieP S point of view of the plain man. He ; - has much more in common with the S i president of a free State than with the! ;Kmg by divino right. Hβ is simply (he? I Qbiet citizen, pnnnis inter pares, and 5 », the fact that lie is chief by heredity i! jand not by election docs not qualify his'! S"ew<rf toe realities of Hie position. 1 ji ■ B u ll ° norer associatesi? ] tho Almighty wjth his right to rule i' 5 though ,he associates Him with his rule' | I His common-sonso and his eeneo of- :; humour'save him from tneso exalted § j and antiquated aesumptions. Nothing js" chaxaotoi-ietie of this sensible at' atitude than his love of the French people! S(aaid French institutions. No King by'' S'Tlivine right" could be on |tenns with a country which has swept tJie' :

CHARACTER SKETCH.

BY A CANDID CRITIC. KING'S IETTER TO AECHBISHOP. The following remarkable article, on phases of King Edward'e life and duties appeared in the Radical "Daily News" in 1203, over the signature of "A.G.Q.":— Charles Lamb, referring to the faot that he had no ear for nraerio, said he had been praotiemg "God Save the

\ Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. There ; have been cases Lα which equal solicitude I lias been displayed by fond parents on jbehalf of _ their children. In the preface ; to Montaigne's Essays we aTe told thai I the great writer's father, resolved thai (his son should bo a perfect Latinist, so I arranged matters that the boy heard nc I language but Latin till he was seven oi jeight years of age. In hie presence even the servants had to speak Lathi or not at all, tho result being that in Montaigne's native village there was for long after a strong clement of pure Latin in the local French. Montaigne was never allowed to bo awakened suddenly, but was wooed back to consciousness by soft music played near his chamber. And so on. But this was a case of mere paternal affection. The education of the Prince of Wales, on the other hand, was a national, almost an international, question, Baron Stockmar, the Coburg adviser of the Queen's family, wrote elaborate treatises on the subject, bishops, and peers -and educationists wore consulted, rival schemes o{ treatment were considered, and every precaution was taken ato make the; little Prince a prodigy of jscholarehip and a miracle of virtue.

Lures of Vanity Fair, But there is no royal road either to saintship or knowledge. The Prince was endowed neither with the attributes of intellectual passion, nor of mystical fervour, nor .of artistic emotion, and the attempt to graft these upon tho etem of ordinary humau instincts was destroyed by the world of levity and flattery into which he was plunged as a young man. It is easy to cast stones■ at the King; but it would be more rational, to ask how many of us would have come through , such a career of temptation with

Edivard VII, King of the Cnrted Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of th« British. Dominions fceyo&e tie jj Seas, and Emperor of India,- whose death is tho subject of national and international grief, was born on November 9, fc 18-11. When little more than a year old he, was created Prince of Wales, a title which he held for over fifty-nine years. He jj ascended the throne on. the death of has mother, Queen Victoria, on January 2, 1901, and was. orowned at Westminster * Abbey on August 9, 1902. On March 10, 1863, he married Princess Alexandra,. daughter of the King of Denmark., Their | surviving children are the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Fife (Princess Royal), Princess Victoria, and the Queen of i Norway. ' t

1 better record. When Huxley was enA jaged in denouncing the efficacy off prayer he chose the Prince of Wales as! his example. He was unfair both to the Prince and to prayer. It is true that the world has prayed much for King Edward. It is estimated on a modest calculation, that daring sixty years a thousand million prayers have been offered on hie behalf. But while the world prayed,' instead of helping him co fulfil its prayers, it encouraged him by its sycophancy to think he was a law unto himself, and left him in the heart .if Vanity Fair, a duty save a desolating ceremonial and the pursuit of idle pleasure.

A Remarkable Letter, It is just, too, to remember that the KjDg'e private life is not only subject to a merciless scrutiny that the lives of liis people are fortunately spared, and to the prurient gossip of every club idler; but that his position denies hini the defence which the law accords to humbler people. He must be mute under all attack. There is only one instance in which-he has been heard in his own defence. It is the letter to Archbishop Benson, written after the Tranby Croft scandal, and published in the life of the Archbishop. Iα it he say.a: "A recent trial which no one deplores more than I do, and which I was powerless to prevent, gave occasion for the press to make most bitter and unjust attacks upon, me, knowing that I was defenceless, and I am cot sure that politics were not mixed up in it! "The whole matter has now died out— and I think, therefore, it would be inopportune far me in any pnblio manner ta allude again to the painful subject which brought snob, a torrent of abuse upon me not' only by the press, but by; Ehe Low Church, and especially the Non-j conformists. ■ I

Hoe-, It js thes that on* tmderetandij the bosedem of Kingebip, and the hero' ism that enables him to play his part a* cheerfully and unfailingly. Hard by the , brilliant eceae you may ©cone suddenly! opon solitude and a ookiny of rooks boW iag high rwel in fhe immemorial Their cry—the most ironio eonnd in say ture— «eenis Kfc« a scornful comment oa the momentary , 6cene yonder and all it signifies. I fancy that when, the ehadosre fall atiraaxt the greensward and the last roast has gone King Edward strolls off with a agar to tabs oounsEl of these -wise birds who eeem to know so well wliat is real and what is transitory, and tell Ltjrith each refreshing raniWr,

r~"They have a perfect right, I am well| I ivwsre, in a free eomitry lifce our own, to | > oxpress their opinions, oat I do not con-1 j sider that they have a jnst right to jump \ 3 at conclusions regarding myself without £ \ knowing the facts. / : % I "I have a horror of gambling, and !j (should always do my utmost to discour- 8 ; age others who have an inclination for § < it, as I consider that gambling, like in- f, I temperance, is one of the greatest cniso£| I which a- country could he afflicted with, j? I' '■ "Horso-racing may produce gamtlingj! Sor it may not, .but I have always looked? : 3 upon it-as a manly sport which is popu-Sl Har with EngUshmeu of all classes; and| j there, is no reason why it should beß i looked upon as a gambling transaction, j> ;■! "Alas! those who gamble will gambleß lat anything. I have written quite openly s it to you, my deer' Archbishop, whom I| Jihave had. the advantage of knowing for? gso many, years." , S 8 The sentiment of the letter—which yrss.i faf coTiree, published, with the King's 8 perhaps better ' than tne f alogicj but it reveals a man keenly sensi-| Stive to criticiem under which he must?

Abe eilent, and anxious to avoid collision Swith ■ public'• opinion. Aa .expression of fliiorrbr at gambling was not ■ Jacking in Scourage in ench.a connection; but the freference to ■• horse-racing suggests that Shis Majesty does ' not quite appreciate |the view of those who regard it not as fevil in 'itself, but evil in its associations. fJNoone imagines thai horse-racing per ise is immoral. Did .not Gromwell own irace-horsee? Hβ was a sportsman. Ie SMr. Eobert' Sievier a sportsman.? It lis the parasite ttat is immoral, and his Majesty ' would do a lasting service to |the sport that he loves, as well as to .the Icommonwealth which is. bo largely his yoare, if he emphasised his horror of and gave his conntenance to athe suppression not of laolng news, tut |of betting news which brings to rnin fmnltitndes who never see a horse-race, p'and is poisoning the blood of the indusItrial classea. ....

isKing Edward and Henry V. 1 When Henry V. ascended the throne, Sand the news was.'borne to Falstaff, the aboon' companion of Ms riotous youth, piat. splendid vagabond tanned'to Pistol fani eaid: "Ask srhat thou wait; 'tis jjthine," and calling Jot hie horse he hasStened back to London: to'-lecoiTe the reSwaide ofiriendehip. But Vhen he sloulSdered his way through the crowd and fsahited the King as'he rode from the the monarch tamed cm him |and cried: I"I know thee isot, old man.-. FaU to thj a prayers; bHow ill itiiite haiis become a fool and

jPresume not that I am the thing I was; S For Heaven doth know, bo shall the* world perceive | That I have turned away my formers self; . ■ ' S fSo will I those, that kept me company. £ ; ;' King Edward is not built in. tne heroic t Imould., Hβ did not "turn away his ijfomier 6elf"' when he • came to the jj jThronej but he did reveal a seriousness it jof purpose and a delicate appreciation J %>{ his office that we were not entitled to 5 Sjlook for from such an apprenticeship.; ■He is, indeed, by far the ■, ablest man 5 ;and the best King hie stock has pro-S: Siuced. Contrast him with' the Four 5 JGeorges and he ie an angel of light. > \ Judged even by more severe standards \ if he emerges with credit. For he has that 5 ': plainness of mind which ie the beet attrd- j of a constitutional monarch. j, \ A Constitutional Rul«r. . J t Genius ie the essential of an autocrat, j 5 for exceptional, powers alone can justify! >; and sustain exceptional pretensions. But s lin a constitutional monarch the beet we ;' can ask for is common-sense and a nice \ I regard for the true limits of the kingly js I function. And King Edward is in these ■< I respects am ideal King. He realises that | 2Me function is not active, but passive, \ Snot positive, but negative. He has leaned < \ to no party, cultivated no "King's men," ji t aimed at no personal exaltation, uttered ji; no "blazing indiscretion." Few men in j 5 his position would have done so well.; <; No man with strong convictions would \ iihave done so well. We want a Kinge : ; whose convictions hang about Mm easily, a L "like an old lady's loose gown," who| >bas many sympathies and no antipathies, e '•Who nau.be all things to all men, who, 5 .fin fact, stands for citizenship which is J {common, and not for sect or party which £ ijis particular. We want, that is, a plain k Atprosaic, simple citizen, and that is Kingß .-(Edward's character. He is the citizens; ''{King, and the most popular of his line.| ■ilt ever we have a man of genius as King, gj : /iwe shall probably end by cutting off 3 head. s $ He is the Imperial smoother, and de-t I serves the jolly title of "I/oncle dtj '} I'Europe," which France has conferred | lon him. There is an avuncular benevo-? '1 lence about him which, is irresistible.;) SHe likes to be happy himself, and hej' )'< likes to see' the world happy. Does Nor- s § way want a king? Then ne is the man >< rto 'arrange it. Does the king lack a? "■wqueen? .Who so accomplished to fill thefSrole of uncle? Does tfie King of Spain| Ss want, like Dame Marjory, to be "settled f *in life"? Again he assumes the familiar kf part. And.his activity does not end with;! I marriage bells. He loves to play the? {part of missionary of peace. He playss •Sit skilfully and constitutionally, and not!? tin any assertive or authoritative spirit.r (fee is far too astute for that, and they;* V are his worst enemies who oneourage. il fatal theory that the King is his own s 'i Foreign , Minister -a theory which would J 1 make the extornal relations of a great \ \ people dependent on the private feelings? \ of an individual whom.it could not con- 1 S: trol and whose mind it could not know. 3 I Model of Public Deportment. j f Considering the delicate path he has jj 8 had to tread in public and , the fierce ij I light that has beat upon it, -he has madej Singularly few false steps. His ■ presence 5 ■• at a raco meeting on the day that Tennv- 1 ■J son was buried left an unpleasant im-5 ■a |)r?»sion on the mind, and the exclusion 1 J of certain members from a garden party '■ j apparently because of a vote given, by 3 Btheni in the House of Commons was a;i : \ startling departure from correctitndo that 3 i by its singularity emphasised the. general 1 of his conduct. But these i f lapses apart, his career is a model of j jApnblic deportment, and we can have noi ■i more sincere wish than that this country t $ will have always upon the throne one \ >\ who understands his place in the Consti- 1 H lution as well and does his taek as honest- 5 Sly as Edward VIL • p I like to think of him as one sees him; il on tfcesß Emmy days at 'Windsor when 5 She holds Wsgardsn, party; and moves \ •\ about todnatrroaely, Bmilfng and goeeip- 'i i me while tha band plays the intormin- \ ■ able bmo and a tho fashioiiaMe world ' ': orowdgatoundliimmeagaT anxiety for no- ■

EPISODES AND PHASES OF HIS UFS.

I EARLY EDUCATION. ' j- In th».earij edncatran.- of tfcslflte TTrng, \ \ 135 father, tii© Prince Consort, tess caiDe- * J rol to restrain the elation wiicii voold j f sometimes spring from a knowiedga this exalted station. Mrs. Oliphant has' \; recorded one or two iasianoes of tines f>_ oare. ii-«? o '*Ai w<B '' t leam ">? kseon/ , a» ! iflittlo Albert is reported to lawe 6aad, ; 5 {ratting his small fist thuoogh a pane- of i Etne window to emphasise hie-iefnsal. '"Is iffont stand in the'oomsc I am the; j, Pxince of Wales." ■ s y The decision iawslved in ttus-etatement i I iras promptly dissipated, to ate told, byi g & wnippuig admimstored unflinchingly i f. by his fathei.. On another occasoatlM 6 little boy was esrorely pnmnttiUed by a: g fisher boy, basW Iβ had npssi» " iThe Estomskmont of both oMdicn ea3

I great wiien the parents of the Prince S approved the fisher aad insisted oa aa S apol<!gy on the part of the Royal chad— I a practical mstance of moral equity J which ao donbt told bcttar. than, any 5 sermon. ' ' • ■ •■ ~ I "It is troe," the Prince Consort Jβ" !*• Sported to have said, "that you are'the if Prince of Wales, and if you ooudooi t, yourself properly you may become' e man of high station, and even, after the death £;of your mother, Kins of England. Birt j now yon are a little boy, u4e most obej f- his tnters and governors." - I Much care was taken to adapt flte edugnatfon of the fntnre kkg to the mani- ; fold responsibilities of his promeetrre f rule. Mr. Henry Birch, aftentarde Kec--stor of Proalwick, was chosen, in I£4B «£ • his first iutor. . ; : ■ . •: ' . j "It is an important step," the Prince i Consort wrote at the time, "and God'e * blessing be upon it, for npon the good ! education of princes, especially of. those S who are destiied to govern tne welfare 5 of the world in these days very, greatiy S depends." , The principles which' shonld nitderKe

lie Eoyal student's 'ediicaiion.; totb laid ij iomi in a thoughtful memorandum pr«-' pared by Baron Stockmar, at the instance ■' of the Prince Consort. Hβ pointed out 5 that tie Eoyal children "ought not dirfy'j to be brought up to be moral characters, E; |but also fitted to' (fechsrge successfully; the arduous duties which may eventually i devolve upon them as future sovereigns." j In a later memorandum to Lord Palm->i erston the Baron expressed the opinion \ that the education of the Prince Should j be such as would tead to make him notj a demagogue or a moral enthusiast,, but i a man of calm, profound comprehensive • undergtandrng, imbued with;a deep con-1 riotion of the indispensable .necessity of| practical morality to.the.wjelfexe of,both| sovereign and people.- The proper dutTj| of the sovereigns of England,- he. urged, 'S ■was mot to take the lead in .charge,■•wita ■ to aot oe a balance-wheel on the more-i I meats of the eocial body. - ■■ ij i In. addition to Mr. Birch, the Prince Jj ae tutor Mr. CKbbs, baxrieter-at-law, S Sthe Eev. C. F. Tarver and Mr. H. Vf. | 'Fisher. Having etndied for a session' at?/ I Edinburgh TJniversity, he entered Christy 3 Church, Oxford; where-he attended thei 5 public lectures for a year, and. after- s cwardo resided for three or four terms the .same pnrnosa. jj Prince' waa kept very close to his boots, $ i and many people thooght at one time ttat '& $he was being overcrammed. The physical I land manual sides of his edncaiHoii-werel neglected, and he ,waa _obliged - r fa | « make his seat at a., beach lite (m owfa-s f|naTy ........ . : ]

\ VISIT TO AMEBICA. ; -i ', When Canada supplied a contingent § k for the Crimean War it waa requested fi tthat the Queen would visit hex' Araeri-« scan possessions. This traf found-to be| ? impossible; but it was promised instead & that the'. Prince of Wales would visit ,• f Canada bs eoon as he was old enough, s oln 1860, when the Prince was nineteen! - years o£ age, the promise was fulfilled, f t Sand he started off to open the great i I bridge across the St Lawrence. Landing i; i'd St. - John's, Newfoundland, he received \ ?an enthusiastic welcome, and of the re-j Sception at Halifax a few days later, his | cijuide and mentor, the Duke of Keir-s 5 castle, wrote:— J K "The numbers of people were 60 great = 'i that it is difficult to conceive from whence 1 % thoy had come. Every window, ■ every; place was filled. . . . Enth-usi-f % asm rose to such a height aa to make its Wpression by voice and gesture ijcient for the wishes and feelings 0$ the| S crowd. Many hundreds of bouquets T>er« i % thrown at tlie carriage, which waa half; g filled, thougE not one, in fifty leached j % its aim." ■ v X At the conclusion of the Canadian tour 8 |the,l)uke WTote that rt had beem emin-ji % eriHy successful, and attachment to the 1 SCrown of England had been greatfj- oe-j iimented. . . , " * % In the United States the Prince, travel- 1 t ling under the style of • Baron Eenfrew, S I won all hearts by his urbanity and dig-J unity. At Chicago, St Louis, and Cin- |j t cinatti, enormoTis crowds assembled; The| noted "none of the cheering andjj t\ noisy enthusiasm of the loyal Canadians, i f1 but. great curiostly to Bee the Prince, S S much excitement- and interest, and greats i courtesy, combined with order and self- '$ I respect, which were most remarkable."; iThe Prince visited President Buchanan :■ § at Washington, and with , him stood in reverent silence by the burial place of I I the first great American at Mount Veivc vnon, and also planted a memorial chest- i; 1 uut tree beside the tomb. • s ? "His entry into New York," wrote' the 1 ' correspondent of "The Times," "was ■ an \ [:ovation such as has seldom been ;,, to any monarch in ancient or modern 'i 1 times. It was not a reception. It was | \ the grand, impressive welcome of a 5 ; mighty people." ; ; ;= Equally warm was the reception' of the 1 at Boston. At the conclusion> of -the visit. President Buchanan wrotefi sto Queen Victoria: . '■■•■! \ "He has been everywhere..received with^ enthusiasm, and this is attributable noti Sonly to.the very high;regard entertained! § for Tour Majesty, but also, to his owns i noble and manly •bearing. " He h'as been 5 stiirough a .long, ordeal for a person' oft I his years, and Ms conduct throughout; S has been such as became his ■) station. Dignified, frank, and affable, j Blio has conciliated wherever he has beeng \ and won the landness and respect of a '■ \ sensitive and discriminating people."-" \ I' KIS MARRIAGE. '- ; \ i It was during a tour of Germany made s jin a Cambridge vacation in 1862 that .the '-. elate King met his lovely bride, thePrin-ij Alexandra, whose father had notS I then become Ifing of Denmark. A month £ t before he is said to have fallen in love § ? with her portrait, which was shown to \ \ him by a friend of his own age. TheJ i meeting itself was purejy accidentai. The 5 i<princess," accompanied, only.by her father,s S was sight-seeing in the Cathedral . of j i Worms, whither the Prince, attended» Sonly by his equerry, had gone for the* • same purpose. His tutor was talking to;i {the verger, and there was ample oppor-.; ■tunity for that whieb so happily oc-S |curred-love at first 6ighfc. "They wokoa ;ian instant liking to one another," wrote \ { the Prince Consort, "and-Bertie cainej, i back greatly pleased with his interview." i !-0n March 10, 3863, after the Prince's, s visit to the Holy Land, the marriages 5 was celebrated in St. George's Chapel, {Windsor, with magnificent pomp. ; Queen I I Victoria was present, in mourning for th« ; 0 Prince Consort, and the incomparable» penny Lind was in thechoir. The banquet* 1 were held in every town of note_ in th« j ; Kingdom, followed by iQunnnaijpns o^ } .1 unprecedented Bolendour. ■ \ \ ' fii order to enable him to fulfil worth- i ■1 Uy the duties which his position as heir 1 'i to the throno entailed. Parliament now , ', j voted to the Prime an income of S ■; per ftniiuin, L nol3i roi -

raroe from Ms ducky of Cornwall, gave J"? ' an annual income of over .£IOO,OOO. at,the same time, tho Prince formally reiinqimhed,.his right of succession to the •Inronp of Saxe-Coburg. The Princess was voted'by the House of Commons an annual allowance, of .£IO,OOO, and blithe event of her the Prince.

J WORK AS PRINCE'OF'WALES.' I j The burden of social duties for which { ] Queen Victoria was naturally disinclined 5 's in view of her widowhood was cheerfullj « ■ s assumed by the Prince, who travelled'! ; through all parts of the United Kingdom J j opening exhibitions here, and laying f I foundation etones there. . Everywhere he i t was warmly received, especially when ac-ii j companied by the Princess of Wales. His § < position under the Constitution of great J pomp, infinite obligations, and no power ) might well have galled an ordinary inan,u i but if the Prince was ever bored by his J incessant social duties, he never showed; a sign of it in public. At timoe, to con-; { Qdential friends, he expressed his senf» ■ of the position. ' ■ • ■ ' j I "Look at my nephew," he is said toM i, have remarked in reference to the Kai-p i< ser. . "He is but a youth, but ho is the! j centre of. everything. He orders evory-fc i thing, directs everything, is everrthingj ; whereas I-am not allowed to do anything!! jat all." And in his confession of "LikesP ; and Dislikes." in an album belonging toS j his daughter, the . Duchess, 'of Fife, he| ; wrote: "I am happiest When I have nou i public engagements to fulfil; when I can| smoke a good, cigar and read (must If ! confess it?)' a good novel on the quiet ;'{ i when, like, plain Mr. Jones, I can go to! : a; race! meeting. ; without., it being chro-; nicled in the papers next day that his'; J Boyal Highness the Prince of Wales hast I taken to gambling very seriously, »nd S i yesterday .lost more money than he cane ; ever-, afford. , ... ...When I can spend, a E » quiet .evening at home with the Princessjj j and,my family. I am'.unha'ppiest when| I I have a raging toothache, and'have toE attend some.social function where I muste ! smile,'aa..pleasantly, as though I neverg j had a pain in my life." . ' B ; It must-have been a particular trial,E : to,a man of.the late King's keen politicals I interests, that he was prevented by his|i I position from ever showing the for: either of the great poli-g I tical parties. In 1863, upon attaining hisß i majorityj he took his place in the House [1 5 of Lords as Duke of Cornwall, occupying £ ia- seat on the cross-benches,, eo thatfc I neither Liberals nor Conservatives could h \ claim him. as a supporter. He only once fl ■ voted,' and. this, was on the question of S3 i legalising marriage .with a deceased wife's 'i I sister, which is not a party question in is ;the usual sense: Whenever this Bill camel ;■ before, the ..Lords, as it did yearly while a i the King -was a member of the HousfJ? I his vote was always cast for the minorityra ■in favour of the.Bill. .. ■ . •' pj ; In 1870, after his visit to Egypt and thefi ; Crimea, the Prince inaugurated the';] j Thames embankment and opened the suc-W ;cessful Workmen's Exhibition at Islinj-fij iton. . •,■.,•■',-.■ ■..,■ ■■•■*.... -fa

-.;'. STRUCK DOWN BY ILLNESS. E A -chill; caught in the winter of 1871,? at Scarborough, was the first-symptoms!; of an illness which plunged- the Empires into grief and anxiety.' A few days later V. it- was announced that the Prince oft Wales : was-confined to his room by aj< febrile_ attack.- A- few more days, 'andjj the heir, to the throne was at the point! of death. ■' Lord Chesterfield and th<4 Pnnce a'.groom, who had been stricken > with 'illness on , : the same night as 'hiss Boyal 'Highness,-"both died, and scarcelyK any hope out' of : the' Prince'sfe recoT«y.'■•!'■■■■;■'''' ■•■-.- •■■- ■-,_ ■ l,j

iThe manifestations of profound grief $ from everypart of the late Quean's Do-ft * minions-hare only been equalled since onfe i the occasion of the death of the Queen ing Sl9Ol, and 'the illness of King Edward,* preceded his coronation. Through-i gout the Empire prayers'wero offered uu I ;; for ■ the .Eoyal sufferer's' recovery, but I from NOTember 22 until December 14 the :: lannirersary -of -the-''Prince' 'Consort's" ! death, the Prince, with the exception of 1 j snort raUies, sank gradually towards th<" I gjave. The day of hisfather's'deaffi-iwas*! i the : beginning of-the son's return'to" life, a and by Christmas Day the • Prince wasl t dedaredvout of danger.. -To the devoted' ■; ministrations of -'the ■•' Princess ' pf'' Wafes, § ) who'nerer tired in her attendance at hi* 5 I bedadeV his recovery'Vae , utterly duV : ''li • A pr iT ate thanksgiving service,' attend-? I? d °l Remembers of the Royal family, J > in, Westminster Abbey, was followed bv * I Sγ JJ?- fa ? n £. Thanks SiTing of. February $ WW-Sf- Pa f s Cathedral.:at which fc I all the estates and classes of the realm 5" jwcre represented, thirteen thousand per-! 1 rsons thronging the vast. Cathedral W .Thanksgiving services were also held'! , I throughout thq Empire. .Sβ

I . .■_ . ,-. . ; I , VISIT TO INDIA. I In. 1875 • the Prince- of Wales.- visited J India, wiere he received a welcome which surpassed all hie expectations. The feu- | oatory princes seemed to vie with one ;«another, in. .their expressions of devotion jjto nis person and. the Empire, and in i: the splendour of their gifts. One mahaffajah was lndnced with the greatest diffiS culty to reduce the valne of his offerings Hfrom .250,000 to ioOO., Hβ made thirfy k miles of new road for the Prince's special and when he had done this, and thanked His Boyal Highness, he declared that he had' nothing left to wish for in. life. . The Maharajah of Lahore gave to the „? SWOTd - with gems worth m,m, saying as he presented it: If rt be the Prince's will to try it, here Iβ my neck.' As the Prince stepped ashore at Bombay, a salute was fired from end to end of India. At every centre of the Indian Empire His Boyal Highness was received- by immense crowds of cheering people. At iVlinow ae laid the foundation stone of a memorial to the heroes-of the mutiny At Delhi he reviewed twenty thousand ;roops, and attended a ball in the Old Palace which had been the scene of such wrnble events twenty years before. At jwalior he witnessed a sham fight by ;wenty thousand ' natives. At Bombay he held a great reception : on his birthh' H t ? D L m a sUtot ■ throne. At Calcutta, before an assembly of all the foremost rulers, tie Prince conferred several knighthoods, and it was here that a native ruler said to Sir Dighton. Probyri: 'Tell the Prince that from now and; for. ever all. we have are his—our men, our money, and .our lives:". Presents to the value of half a million sterling were brought back- to England.

( LIFE AT SANDRINGHAM. [ ij On his-estate of seven thousand acre«E at Sandnngham the Prince won for Mm-! 5 self the. reputation of a model landlord-! me also showed himself a 'successful! afarmeT, a sanitary reformer, a generous! s philanthropist, ;an esteemed employer I Sand/ttaj most practical.of temperance re-l Sformers... He showed his. interest in'the! of .the villagers on his estate! |by ■ building for them schools andf Jchurches, and the sixty or seventy cot-5 iJtages.in'which the labourers lived, with* gardens back and front, were models oft ( neatness...... . | 1 Mr. Arthur Mee, in his book, "Kim;: jand-Emperor, the Life History of Ed-i .ward yil" writes:-"Every labourer on* J the. estate finishes work at 3 o'clock ins |tho afternoon; and as their 'wages arcJ Sbetween ,£4B and .£6O a year, and rents! jonly £3 per annum, they may bo said! ftf'lo have an extremely happy lot. The; club-house at Sahdringham provides a! comfortable homo for the .tenants when i |their work is done. No betting is tole-! |rated; and, though beer is not forbidden,' Snobody. can obtain more than a , .pint. li May, and.wine and spirits are not kept. \ sWhaieVCT he was in- theory King Edward I $ivae a prohibitionist in practice. There! S's. not a single pnblichouso on hiei festate. Instead, there are technical! |scboo!s for boys, cosy reading-rooms andlj ilibraTies, a hospital for sick servants, aV jamede! kitchen, where cooking is taughtj! 4a spinning-sshool, where delicate girUJ; |receive instruction in an occupation theytj jean follow at home, a place whoro giiisr, Scan. be' instructed in housework and in lecientific dressmaking, and every help sand convenience a working community jneeds for the development of its higher jalife.'.- For thirty years King Etlward ha? |been solving the housing problem,, and Isocial. reformers can find no better examiple.tq follow, than the King's estate at SSandringham." J Some of the sheep bred at Sandringijham have.come to this colony to improve tthe quality. of. the ' New Zealand flocks. aThe late. King was also highly successful [as a breeder oi catlie and horses.

> S In 1893 ho sat on tho Commission for . athe Housing of the. P6or, attended every ■ gone of its sittings, visited in person sonic >j}of,tho poorest alums in London, and in- ; avestigating. for himself the condition of iflthe "submerged tenth," He pleaded for jathem in tho House of Lords in one of . J the few speeches made by him in that i] assembly. On another occasion he told ijthe House of Loixls: "Tho subject of th<? '■ housing .of the poor, is, not entirely jiii- § known to me, as,, having occupied a projj perty in Norfolk now tor' twenty years, 11 have had something to do in. building j J fresh dwellings for the poor and working solasses. On arriving there I'found the j!j dwellings in the most deplorable coiuli- • i tion, but I hope now that there is hardly

ftone on the estate who can complain of s s»not being adequately housed." Hβ in- J ftvited the commissioners to- Sandringham, a •jwhere'they w.ere able to see, in actual |ivorking, the conditions they were seeksing to bring about in London. ■■-,•• §• The churches of Norfolk found in the f aKing a liberal patron, and in educational j I matters also he took a foremost part. ! VISIT TO RUSSIA. \ \ In 1891, on the death'of the Tsar, King I {Edward (then Prince of Wales) hasteneub \ with the Duke of York to Russia, wheroß I lie made a very gocd impression. The S ! correspondent of a Parisian paper wrote: i£ i"No other prince in the world,, perhaps, J i loves his ease better than the heir to the jj [English throne, yet see , the.terrible taski I undertaken by' him for more than a fort- ;■ I night from Livalla to the day of the | I funeral of Alexander 111, accompanying! j iho Kiissian Eoyal Family twice a day jj ito • the ■ religious ceremonies solemnised S \ before tlie open coflin of tho late Em-1 aperor, and after each 6orvico mounting; »tlie' steps of the: catafalque behind thetj} Sl)lmpres3 and Nicholas 11, .to kiss thMj "brow of the august deceased."; His atti-| hide was'not-less remarkablo ■in the pri-rc vate circle of tho Anitchkoff Palace.R There he endeavoured after each of thesew sad'ceremonies to effect a consoling reac-fc \ tion against grief, being affectionate to-* i wards nil, and even going the length oil I playing with the children. This attitude | f was certainly deliberate, but who can say j it. was not sincere?' How could it helpg being highly appreciated, and how could * it help bearing fruit? The Eussian- Royal \ Family, particularly /the Emperor Nich-| ■jlas and the Empress, are deeply gratefulg for it. The Emperor was reported to j have -sajd that tho life of tho Prince*, of Wales was exactly what ho should likeH his own life to be." s " ■'■ ' : ■ ' J

I ACCESSION AND CORONATION. 3 The late King acceded to the'throne on alhe death'of Qiieen Victoria, who died on 22, 1901. For years prior to his succession, he had been the. trusted ad--Hvis'er of his mother, and the nation 'felt •| I he fullest coniidence in his ripened judgement and l capacity for rule. Needles? !to say,' their trust was more than justified, the King showing himself a far-) sighted, statesman, and discerning head jf affairs, while adding by his other gracious qualities to the immense popularity is had previously won. The universal grief which followed the innonnceraent of tho King's illness in June, 1901, was a repetition of the state flof feeling during his earlier attack of ;j typhoid. When tho deferred coronation ■«iceremony took place on Augusts, mil--11 lions of spectators lined tho King's route iptc and from Westminster Abbey. Flags, M 'estoons, and Venetian masts made a 41 jravo appearance, and the colonial and I |l* Pai-liamentarj'. stands'were centres round !i'which'tremendous crowds collected. : The i j need Archbishop of Canterbury '(Dr. i % Tcniple), who was almost blind, porform■jjd the ceremony of crowning the King. .Bffith many signs of physical weakness, r< and after kneeling to do homage was .g assisted to rise by tho. King and two !«of his bishops. The following letter wa? '■ 8 Addressed- by the King to his■ subjects, ;<limmediately before the great event:— Ig "On the eve of my Coronation, nn llpvent which I look upon as ono of the iK Most solemn and important in my life, ;{if am anxious to.express to my People nl and in tho.colonies, and in Indin, ■jk:ny heartfelt appreciation of tho deep ;tg:ympntliy which .they have manifested mo during the tiino that my life jjjivas in such imminent danger. Tho postof the ceremony owing to my Sillness caused I fear, much inconvenience fluid .trouble to all those who intended to Scclebrato it, but their disappointment was i borne by them with admirable patience 5 jud temper.. The prayers of my People S for my recovery wore heard; and I now j-jffer up my deepest gratitude- to Divine J Providence for having preserved my life i \nd given me strength to fulfil the impor- '• Umt duties which devolve upon mo as povereign of this great Empire."

A ROYAL DEMOCRAT. ' |1 The lato King has been truly described! i as the most democratic rnler among the!: great nations of Europe. A biographer! notos that ho has boon as pleased toj; shake hands with a pitman as with ah duke. He addressed with special s.vm- 11 pathy tho workmen on tho Canadian* Grand Trunk railway, who presented! him with a bronze medal. | "I accept with peculiar pleasure," he| Slid, "an address of the artisans and} working men who have, by tho sweat off their brow and tho skilled labour off many hard day's toil, contributed to! erect this monument to the greatness of? their country—a structure scarcely less}

I honourable to the hands which constructed it tliari to' the minds that conceived Sit.: I mourn;'with you'in-'the loss of < Uoss and. Stephenson. In'your address Byo'u bring to mind that it was from your sj class that . his . eminent father sprang. f. Let me further remind, you that England j opens to -all'her. sons'the-prospect ol B success .to genius combined with honest f! industry." • .'. i When,, in Canada, he heard that an I old soldier who had: fought with Nelson I had bocn'court-niartialled, he pleaded for 5 him to -be re-instated.- r During his >visit j to 'Ireland in 1885 he surprised everybody J by. appearing' without notice in some of js the poorest-slums of Dublin. Hissurij prise visits to hospitals showed his sympathy for the suffering, arid on oneoccajsipii, hearing that a working men's ex- / hibition in South London was failing £ through want of patronage, he wont down ; , unexpectedly on a wet day, converting I by. his thoughtful action a neglected inistitution into'a fashionable and prosper--1 ou's resort. > j When it was represented to him that j the provision of hot rolls each Sunday i morning at Marlborough House encourf aged a practico in the West End, which ■ meant Sunday work for bakers, he at |once discontinued the luxury. For many • years when ho was Heir-Apparent the ■ late King was represented in Parliament isby an agricultural labourer, whom his SEqyal Highness visited in his cottage, iand when the Prince and Mr. Joseph ; Arch sat.. on ■ ■ tho ■ Housing Commission, j the Prince constantly 'spoke' of Mr. Arch I as,. "my member,"' '

I THE KING'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS. ' The ' late King was an ■ accomplished :| linguist,- speaking French,.' ■ German, 'altalian, and English-with equal luency, J and as a brilliant conversationalist he was ■ siprobably- unsurpassed in Europe. He in!Bheritcd a love of music from his father, jand in painting and the fine arts he was ;i a discriminating connoisseur and- a libeJ ral patron... His favourite' forms of- en- ; tertainment were the opera and the i v stage; the dramatic profession had no I 1 more appreciative supporter. .. ijj He was : anomniverous;reader, interested most-iii English history and biography, ; especially that concerning modern' times. * Prior to his accession he used to bny % every now. book relating to colonial or K Indian affairs, and astonished his friends i; by tho time he found for reading them. X He' retained Jiis strong youthful affection § for tho.novels of Charles Dickens and'the J; poems of Sir,■'. Walter Scott,, and conk! i repeat long cantos of "Itarmion" and the 3 "Lady ■of the Lake" by heart. \ , EDWARD THE PEACEMAKER.' 4 The late King played much more than a passive and ornamental part in public I affairs. .Though-he. might not overrule i the Cabinet's decisions, ho could criticise, iand so alter or modify them, and this he s did repeatedly. The abandonment of 5 coercion: in -Ireland, and'the pushing'on Saf the measures 'of ;appeasement known £as tho-Wyndham Act, were, it is'said, I directly tho result of his insistence;. and J his influence was not less an inspiration I-and a support to- Mr. Haldano in his J task of military reform. j 1 -In foreign- affairs his influence was % more- noticeably exercised. He raado it \\ his province to : act as' tho representative o but unofficial Ambassador ■of his people Sto tho nations of Enrope. In this respect £tho London correspondent-of the '.'North 5 American Review" -onco pointed out an y English ' King has some peculiar advanj tages. "As a constitutional, but not an \ Autocratic, ■ ruler., ho can speak for Eng- ■ land while committing her to nothing; £ iiid this condition of privileged liberty, Kwith its-endless opportunities for tlie [■? play of personality, is precisely tho con- |> dition that King Edward knows how to J! make the most and best of. An excellent K iudge of men and affairs, learning and 'it ssimilating with extraordinary qnick--5 ness, devoid of prejudices except a certain H vholesomo : prejudice against wavercrsand j3 ools, a past master at staving off fricjstion aud bringing men together, and put'l ting them at their case, at home every- » where, always discreet, pacific, nnd full

p . '■ EDWARD THE PEACEMAKER. 4 The late King played much more than a passive and ornamental part in public I affairs. .Though-he. might not overrule i the Cabinet's decisions, ho could criticise, J and so alter or modify them, and this he s did repeatedly. The abandonment of 5 coercion: in -Ireland, and'the pushing'on Saf the measures'of ;appeasement known £as the-Wyndham Act, were, it is'said, I directly the result of his insistence;. and J his'influence was not less an inspiration I-and a support to' Mr. Haldano in his J task of military reform. ,'i' -In foreign- affairs his influence was i* more-noticeably exercised. He raado it ij his province to : act as' the representative ij but unofficial Ambassador ■ of his people S to the nations of Enrope. In this respect £tho London correspondent-of the '.'North 5 American Review" -onco pointed out an y English ' King has some peculiar advanj tages. "As a, constitutibnal, but not an \ jutocratic,. ruler., ho can speak for Eng- ■ land while committing her to nothing; £ iiid this condition of privileged liberty, Kwith its-endless opportunities for the [■? play of personality, is precisely the conjdition that King Edward knows how to 5 make the most and best of. An excellent K iudge of men and affairs, learning and with extraordinary qnick- % ness, devoid ot prejudices except a certain 3ivholi?somo : prejudice against wavercrsand Mfools, a past master at slaving off fricjstion aud bringing men together, and put- % ting them at their case, at home cvory- » where, always discreet, pacific, nnd full I of bonhomie and enjoyment, aud with

what is scarcely less than a genins for knowing both what to do and say and what uot to do and say, and for holding his tongue when it is all over—King EdWard is perhaps hotter fitted than any living statesman for the position of moderator and healer. . "The country has watched his latest pilgrimage of peace (the- visits to Franco, Spain, • and Italy in the early part of 1907) with a growing recognition of the manifold services tho King Eas rendered to British prestige. Compare England's position to-day with what it was in 1901, whon Queen Victoria died, and you wili at once become awaro of a change that is little- less than a revolution. In eacli stage of that transformation King Ed-

ward has played a part,, often the leading part. If England and France ceasec , to scowl at one' another from Egypt tc Siatn, and are now-- on terms of uniquefriendliness and confidence; .'if English relations with Austria-Hungary and Portugal havo been recemented ■'. and strengthened; if Anglo-Indian' goodwill has now resumed its old.traditional closeness; and if Spain has both forgotten and forgiven the outpouring of British sympathy with Anwrica during, the war oi 189B—the credit of these successes belongs pre-eminently to King , Edward. .-.His two months' tour in the' Mediterranean has brought: fully home, to Englishmen £ national consciousness of t&o rare diplomatic ■ qualities ' that unite in their Sovereign." ''

THE MODEL' GENTLEMAN. Of King Edward VII as "the choices! living example of a Koyal gentleman,' an American magazine once gave an in teresting sketch. The fineness ,of th< Ifing's personal qualities, declared th( writer, entranced the English mind intc almost forgetting that he was the King. Professor Arminiue Vambery, an eminent Hungarian, who was more than onoe King Edward's guest at Windsor, states that, in the selection of his personal guests, his late' Majesty absolutely ignored such adventitious circumstances as socia.r position, difference of religious creed, or the possession of- wealth. "Tho impecunious man.of letters or of learning, the musician,, the. artist,, the 'merchant, and tho proudest peer in the' realm can dine together at His Majesty's table in the capacity ofgentlemen who are the guests.of a gentleman like themselves. There is no. constraint , whatever in his. presence." His love of-ideas as ideas, his knowledge of the, theory of music as distinct from its practice, and'his familiarity with the best'.writers, of prose and verse indicated to/Professor Vambery that King Edward • was' a true' scion, of the bouse of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. "The princes of that house, have over been- inclined - ta art, to ', science,' and' to' literature.'' Barelj have'they sought.power,.in tho ; Senate or in the battlefield. ■ lung Edward's own personal gifts.are so.distinctly social.that lie is at his best'wheri conducting a party of guests through the famous Vandyke gallery or the castle." "In a variety of ways, and more than any other monarch who ever:held sway, lias his Majesty (declared Lady Joune, in ono of her studies of King Edward as a social leader) broken down, tho barriers which in a former age made. English society exclusion iteelf. Hβ will not fashion a Court oubsido the pale of which thero shall Be no society at all, as is,tho case in Russia, in Austria, and in. Germany. . Nor will he countenance a clique of the extremely rich, refusing social recognition to human work'in any form, and thus toning society to tho Imperial Roman pitch affected in some parts of the United States. For Edward. VII insists upon being persuasive throughout England's entire social life. Ail kinds of human distinction in the-British , Isles ■■-scientific, literary, ■ clerical, and oven histrionic—receive tho stimulus of .Royal recognition. Thus literature has its knights liko Sir Arthur Conan Doyl< (what, would Mr.' Johnson have said to a Sir Oliver Goldsmith?); medicino has its knights liko Sir Fredorick . Treves (imagine Charles I bestowing a.title upon ho physician who discovered tho circulation of .the blood!) and even the stage was given 'its Sir.Henry Irving by,the »reat-grandson of a monarch to.whom a Sir David Garrick wonld have signified the world upside down. Only a social renins as brilliant . as King . Edward's could in this-fashion, have laid tho.founlation, and have reared', the. suporstruc-R hiro of the most ambitious edifice' in i, ivhioli the highest society ever, revealed is how agreeable: it can be." ' 'j Tile King's governance, of his doyoted j aristocracy was symbolised, in the opinion jj of the American writer, by his own white 5 li.it with its black band, and by' tho gayjF fiock coats with which London society j was so familiar. These things proclaimed \ the simplicity of tho perfect gentleman j iio was. j

* ■ The new King, George' V.—the Princ: hjf Wales that was—is personally-known t< >: x much larger number of his loyal subejects that was cither Kins Edward:Vll oi )Quean Victoria. He is, in. fact,, thefmosi I travelled King in Europe," if notjhe mdsl >i -ravelled King who has ever roiuned. He \ received a' thorough training .in the .Roya! t Navy, and sailing round the world at an age in the Bacchante, with his elder \ brother, the Duko of Clarence, who was ji in the direct lino of succession to ■ tlif I throne until his early death in • 1892. !-Vgain, in 1507, just after...the.death, of i. Queen Victoria, out present King, at J Duke of Cornwall and York, made a:prolonged tour of tho British.colonies'with Mlis winsome wife, and in.1905-Gho,.madc ?an extensive tour of India. -Wherever I lie went tho Prince's courtesy, tact, ; confor others, and keen interesl sin all that met his sight made an exjeellentjmpression, and the ties of Empire ; should become closer and kindlier under p Iliis King who knows so well every quar;ter of his vast dominions, and is so favourably known, not merely ns a name, but g as an actual person, with whom hundreds, £oven of his distant New Zealand subjects, ? liave exchanged handgrips. '