THE NEW QUEEN.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 812, 9 May 1910, Page 4

THE NEW QUEEN.

THE ROYAL WIDOW

FBOi HER CHILDHOOD TO THE CROWN ___________ ALEXANDRA HER MODEL. NO. 1.-0N THE EVE OF HER WEDDING.

5 ,'irl, from the intellectual point of view. ?Shc plnys the harp and the pianoforte, ■ and plays them well j for she had a very I thorough musical education. Signor Foil, s lior singing master, has trained her voice, * .vliich, though not powerful, .is very fewcet and sympathetic; and heT Germanr' mil French are fluent as her native ■! ionprue. Not long ago, Princess May at- % tended a course of lectures on Elizabethan literature, delivered by Mr. Churton Collins at Richmond, in connection, with the f University Extension movement, thereby •Kinging lierself with the "Extension Students," and by doing so, holping on \me of the host educational, movement! ))f the time. In this simple, practical U-ay, she prepared lierself unconsciously fiot only for the prominent, position S.vhich the future has in store for her, 5 but also, by constant nets of unselfishhess and of self-control, for the stern $ chool of discipline through which Bhc j vas destined to pass so soon.

— ~-j '<i Now that tho Princess of Wales—! pjformcrly Princess May of Teck, who had J t s:the distinction of. becoming betrothed to! . |two Princes of Wales and of wedding 'i lfjono—has become Queen of .England, it is - to recall some of the things 5 1 1 that were said of "her on'the eve of her? to" the present King. In the? T I "Young Woman" of July, 1893, appeared I : rt tho following brightly-written and ap- P, ) ■ character sketch' from the }. of Miss Friedericlis:— i ;|Her Childhood. . | -I Of-tho early . childhood of , golden- \ 4|haired Princess.May nothing.is known tot ■Stho outside world. But those who knew? 4f]tho Duchess of Teck in her girlish days'f i|*fton noticed how' her bright, cheery S iMmanner, her kindly, sympathetic dis-S ■K|po3ition, and, of her personal appear- Sj >Miince, tho clear rosy. complexion and the« Plabundanco of silky, fair- hair, had de-tS

jj'Hor Beauty. f If you have never seen'Princes3 May b roil can hardly form an idea of how ven f< ittrnctive she is. Hers' is not one of tin graces to which either photographer 01 £ artist can do justice, unless, indeed, he Fbe Mr. G. E. Watts, ■ the patriarch pninter, who succeeds in causing <% the soul to shine through the face J ■.vhcro no one else can "catch" the gleams lif inwnrtl light. Tho expression in hci 5? blue eyes—bluo as $11 rapidly, is ono moment so gay and tjroßuish, the next so grave, and thought£ful, and again so composed and calmlj I '.ntelligont. that the photographer maj Uivell despair when ho compares even the i'best of his productions with the original. I Apart from her imiusually expressive face, 5 Princess May is it girl of the true Engtlish tvpe, with a fair complexion, a p healthy glow in her cheeks, a tall pretty figure, and-light and graceful movements. [J Sho is also truly English in her fondness sifni , all kinds of outdoor exercise. She $ rides and drives well and, thanks to I !ipr thrco brothers, all of whom arc Equally devoted to "May," though, with % oharactoristic brotherliness, they disguise i this fact occasionally a little, she is not '}■ easily beaten at tennis. •' ' ;; Broken Privacy. I After the death (in 1692) of the Duke sof York's oldest brother, to whom the t Princess May was first engaged to br S married, Miss Eriederichs says — 'f For many months, though sho was 3 busier than over with her labonrs oi ;love, no ray of sunlight seemed to be f able to pierce the gloom that had fallen iiipon tho lifo of Princess May. All her 'endeavours wero to help others, to inako s't-ho lives of others brighter; bat her own burden—so those around her saw with ijching hearts—her own burdon was, and ■ remained, very heavy. Only once or .j wice she lost her perfect self-control. 3 t was when, by chance, she read of the ' heartless suggestions made by one section jof the public press, that the Duke oi •York should-forthwith, do his. duty to >hor and. to the nation, by marrying her. r"lt is too cruel—too cruel! she said, : with' burning, tears.. "Why may not I l haw the privilege of'privacy'at such a :tim6 as this;' which every'other girl; id ! private life -may,-have?" .- ; Hor Favourite Books. Writing in the same year (1893)_ an i Monymons writer in the "New Review" ; says:-— ' . . ' .frreneh, German, and English are all ' alike. to Princess May. She can con- ! verse fluently in either one or tho other ! language. Novel-reading does not interest her very much—that is to say, novels of i* fri-polous kind. Bnt with the works j f the great novelists she is,, of course,

Prince"Edward- • (Keen Alexandra Princess Mary, Princess Victoria , GraTid Hsshesses Olga and Tatiana | The New Queon ■ The Tsar King Edward Tsarina The Wew King Grand Duchess Marie § The Tsarewitch Grand Duchess Anastasia , b

5 sconded upon tho child. A friend of the;' i Duchess of Teck's youthful days has?' S often told mo how they used to beguile 5 '! tho long winter evenings at tho Castle of j>: .'Mecklenburg Strolitz with morry gamesg * and gambols. Princess Mary, then a very £j i i lovely girl, was fondest of tho games i< • ('which involved much noise and rushing i; I about; and sometimes in a wild, mad* ; chase through tho long corridors, shcjj S would suddenly come to a standstill Is I when the silver aiTow ai'ound which il] ,' was coiled her magnificent mass of fair ;j 'i hair had slipped out, and sho: would Sj I -itnnd enveloped in what looked liko a 5 ; long cloak of waving gold. t t -[" ? Her Industry. | '; Princess May is far too active to waste 'i jj even an hour of her: day. Indeed, it ij i; happens very often that, when visitors % [scall5 call at White. Lodge, she- rises quietly % ; '.luring a pause in her animated chat with i\ t, her own or her parents' friends, and says }, i! smilingly, "You will pardon me, I know, j sjif I get my lenitting and do somo work S bwhilo we talk. There is really so muchji ti to do, it seems qnite wrong to be idle."" ; And sho comes back with a thick, half- i; '; Ciuishod stoclciug, or some piece of plain [x ■; needlework, and stitches whilo talking— !j : j stitches that somo shivering creature 5 ■ may bo less miserable in cold'and vintryE • >liiys. And often, when alone with thejl : : , friends of her home circle, a sigh would)] ■!forco its way across lier lips, aud slks ; would say, with. • a look at clio heaps oIS ;! needlework before her, "Oh, if I hade i!only, half of the time given to me asK !a present, in addition to my own. time, i 5 which so many girls waste in doing no-] I thing at 'all!" i ■I Her Education. -. '}, 3. Princess May is distinctly, a clover 1

!| ENGLISH RULERS. |

INTERESTING STATISTICS OF I . EEIGKS. ■■ ■ s Ago at Duration ? Death. ofR-cign. | Name. Tears. ' Tears. I William I 60 21 i William II .. 13 13 5 Henry I G7 35 « Stephen .. : ... 50 19 J: Henry II ; 5G 35 < Richard I- . 42 10 i John .- w~...___.. • 50 17 j Henry 111 65 56 5 Edward I 68 35. 3 Edward II ..._j -43 20 K Edward 111 65 50 f> Richard n _~. 34 22 fj Henry IV : .... 47 . 13 !!' Honry V „; ; 34 ■ ■ ■■ 0 (5 Henry VI .. :.— .49 3D ' S Edward IV __ 41. 22 3 Edward V 13 , 0 • U Richard IH : 35 2 0 Henry VII ~__ 53 24 sj Henry VIH ™_ 56 38 \ Edward VI 1G . 6-.il Mary I' j 43 5 f Elizaboth „ 70 44 ; James I 59 22 * "i ' diaries I .._— -... 48 2-i 5 Charles.. II 55- 25 v James II ....- — G5 . 3 ) ■ William m 51 13 i Mary n 33 . G i>; Anno 49- . 12 j Georgo I ._ •— 07 13 : -i George II 77 33 I George 111 82 59 ' k Georgo IV ' '. ..'.. 68 10 I William IV _._....„-„„ 72 7 {, Victoria 82 Gi i , Edward VII'. 69 ' 9 k

yieouninted. On her book-shelves you wiU§ ?,find no uncttt and dusty Docks, buffi ■i neatly-cut edges and well-turned pages.ii [ Her • favourite authors are Tennyson, j; ;, Carlyle, Emerson, and George Eliot." Shej i is very fond of well-bound books, and 5 1 valnes highly all presentation copies. '£ j The works of Macaulay, Froudo, Lamb, ■; 2 John ■ Morley, Motley, Moliere, Goethe, i ' Dante, occupy prominent positions on her; ? book-shelves. Hor method is to read ■ ;. something every day, even if it be only a;' i page, and then to discuss what she has i-i j> read. With her companion-governess she | f talks' French and German, and, accord- \, •;ing to arrangement, the discussion takes i :" placo in either one language or the f fiother. Mdlle. Bricka is a very broad-j] S minded woman, and thinks that as prin-1 jv cesses ' are women, they should know asi j much as possible about what appertain? f ' to women. Order and regularity ■ nret s> with her principles of lif er-never ia nny-it t thing out of place, never is an appoint-« I ment missed. There is a time for get- ti <tins up in the morning, aDd, when;' a time for retiring to resit atft jfeht. I flHer Love for Children. s :; The Princess's love of children is; 5 great. A suffering child at once com-1< her sympathy. O.nt of her in- ■ tjcome she always sots apart a sum to give?! Si away to. poor children. Her aim and ob-E; |ject when dealing with the poor is tot; S make their lives pass as pleasantly aai I possible. She carries her sympathy into?' j deeds. Every Christmas, New Tear, andh 5 birthday, card is carefully preserved by»; 3 the Princess, who arranges tlicm in scrap-p I books for the poor children, in homesjti /; and hospitals. No cotillion favour isfi I over thrown away; each tdy and ribbonfj Us put away in a drawer to-be used, whent (tho times comes, for bet "Sea-shell Mis-E

dsion/ . Similar odda and ends ar« coldlectod by her friends, so that often the fjpareelg contain 'sufficient presents to give lijsomething to each child in an institution. Many a sad little heart is made 'A? ~ m ii man y a young life brightened fjby the Pnncess'9 Mission.

had to dnst their own rooms and make themselves useful- at meal times. - A suest of Princo Christian- recalled long afterwards how, at the simple fainill luncheoD, the fntnre Queen of England ivas sent by her mother to fetch'in more butter for the table. ; •■' -- ■■

;;Her Sympathy With the Poop. jI A crippled boy in a village near I Lodge was dying of consumption. Over*: r over again Princess May would either k [arrive or walk over to see the little suf-5 n!f er ' s^^n 8 dow 11 by the bedside inj;i no cottage, would talk and read to him. $ £ Often she carried with her delicacies to fi I keep up his wasting frame. Her last tj gi visit to the boy was one day on her way u jjj to church, when she knew the end was v "oar* Gently giving hiin a kiss, she S ij wished him good-bye with tears in her £ a eyes. I could tell of many actions of a £ 3 similar kind, but this one will suffice to J Miow her tender-heartedness and sympa-* 5 the tic nature. j But it is in her work and in her £ work that she is really in-£ This subject she will discuss?; £ snth animation and a knowledge seldom .• eS. t v in so y° UD S & princess. In| State schemes for the poor of the country 'J she is also greatly interested. During? § the timo tho House of Lords' Sweating l i Committee was sitting she carefully;; thread the evidence given, and evinced the? greatest-sympathy with the hard lives hj poor seamstresses and nail and chain J ji'.workers. With so sensible a guide as* £ her companion, and so sympathetic a ? | mother, it is not surprising that Princess); w May's reading has not altogether I>ccn ,j confined to books for the "young person." ] >; It -is .possibly in gome measure due to i kj this more liberal course of reading that? J *-e find Princess May's knowledgo of* things as they are to be far greater-' than that of any other princess of her age. | I f I I

I Courtship and Marriage. } The Kinff*s courtship mates .a pretty; i'j story. While.he' Was still a Cambridge I student, one of his friends who had re-ii become engaged showed him .a$ portrait of an exceedingly. charming * young" girl. At first the young Prince? thought that this was his friend's fiancee, > and interest was, aroused when, he. was r: told that it was Princess Alexandra .of \ Denmark. Soon afterwards, while on •' j Gennan y» ch'e Prince, accompan- J ted only by an equerry, chanced to bo ) viewing the Cathedral of Worms.' His ~ eyes soon fell upon a lady similarly en- \ m l ®™ ■ was portrait, i the Princess Alexandra, accompanied by • Hjior father. The Prince fell in love with ' tjlier at once, meetings were arranged, and 5 iSon- September 9, 18G2, the engagement was s English and' Danes alike J v.were delighted with the. news. The Prin* * $ess received a v gift of 100,000 kroners, * ulniown as the "People's Dowry," ! and £ pother presents flooded in upon her from < wan classes of the Danish nation. The \ ■ <U rincess ordered that 3000 thalers should ! 1 • distributed among six poor Danish i igbndes during her wedding year.' I lauded at Gravesend.to meet' ytlie Pnnce,. the Lortis of the Admiralty • yand dignitaries of the borough: received ? jjher, an address was presented . express* Sing the gratification of the little 'town at \ tfthc honour it had received, and .'from the? she received, a tumultuous wel-l ,£co'me. Thousands o! well-wishers, cheer- i 'Jed .tho Princess's progress to London,'! Swhere she was welcomed with, tremendous! enthusiasm. i |j On March 10, ISG3, the .marriage' was i ! in St. George's .Chapel,* "Windled 1 with great magnifioenoe. .Queen' Vieatoria, in widow's weeds, && Sgarded as a work of art, the ceremony |was admitted to be perfect. Thehoneygmoon was spent at Osborne, while bridal were held in every town of note Sin tho kingdom, and illuminations on' an 5 unprecedented scale expressed the popular "rejoicing at the event. ; jj' Speaking of the wedding ceremony, the '/'Spectator" said: "The thousands ' of 1 people collected had been brought totogether by a desire to see the Prfncesa ■VThey, saw her, and were content. - The 6 popular verdict .was The 1 E Princess does not need the conventional F'courtesy .'extended to all Hoyal' -person-E-aees. She is a. genuinely beautiful girl,! Kbf the true Saxon type, with a-face, far ; janoiM expressive than the best photo-; Bgraph, and a manner which, already win- j &'ning, though immature, will one day be; Ifroyal'ly gracious." . _.. . ' !

II AS PRINCESS.

a ' AN "M.A.P." ESTIMATE.. 1 An article entitled "The Heal PrinS? cs f"A L in . "M.A.P." gives an interesting jjinsigst into the character of the Pringcess whon weighed by the experience of Slater years, as Princess of Wales: 5 A Devoted Mother. I Some little timo ago this Royal lady Jwas. requested to lend her patronage ami presence to a certain chanty entertain-i nient. She consented, making the btipu- 1 that tho portormance, comaienci/nK at three, should be well over uy fculfi past four. For this she had two caod treasons. One is that her taste for niuijiic js not.so strongly developed as that *at many members of the Eoyal biuse, . the_ other, and more important, that, except when circumstances render it absolutely impossible, she makes it a rule Pto have afternoon tea with her children. T'H.i S tlle one llour in 'J l6 da y which the j little Princes and Princess can count % upon as their very own with their mother, SjiMl they gnard it with, pardonable jeal- .; A Victim of Shyness. 5 The Princess of Wales, like the Prince, ji often confesses that Nature equipped her h indifferently well for her role in l::e. t Ika coldness and stiffness of her pUi'it .manner, tho comparative infrequency of j'ler smiles,, so'often attributed to nan's k ur ' are in reality the result of exceedr ng shyness. As a girl she was norvous a painful degree, but since her marinage placed her in a positim of such ■; sxtreme responsibility she> has unceas- § ingly combated the .nclinati mi to shrink ifrora public life. When one rememborf ;, that, the' Princess Koyal has allowed the f iomo kind of shyness to keep her in v-umost complete retirement,, the' magni--5 ™ e m ot the effort made by the Princes.' £rf Wales is more completely realised. r : she takes the Queen as her model in ij roost things, even to the colours she vears, tho. style of her hats, and her Jaiothod_:of hairdressing, knowing that i; the Queen' has always been the ideal > fl'oraan of the populace. i Housewifely Arts-. ■; -••?■> r 5. Given.the power to follow her own U inclinations, the Princess of- Wales would |, have been .wife, mother, and homemaker M&rst,..and the purely; social would have Splayed part ,in her scheme of ~ ' She is the staunchest friend in| Hthe - world, kindly . arid generous to ' a I fault, and her household and eeTvarite find children.adore her.. Her ideas about £ charity are strongly individual, and, alj chough she will never consent to open i bazaars or sales of work, sho subscribe.' i .avishly to' many, often furnishing a stall i with garments she ha 3 made.. Needle- ', work is her favourite restcure, she if ;! 'killed in the use of the sowing-machine. j and ■ thinks eo highly of knitting and B crocheting as occupations and pastime ri that her sons, as well as her daughter, [j; have been trained to turn out mittens. 5? dockings, and the simpler kinds of lace' £Sho understands the art of cooking, theoj>; rctically. at all events, and is fond of to the ways of.her household; Si Every room prepared for visitors, , for 4 instance,, is personally inspected to see '{> that flowers, an abundance of reading fe matter, and writing materials, good fires 5* (in winter), and the other., essentials to j3 comfort and enjoyment are at hand. f. . ' ' • ' ' ;| Methods With Her Children. a /The Princess likes pretty materials; sj but is not an extravagant dresser, and } m .°", v a middle-class woman has a larger ?milliner's bill. Her children,- too, are delothed and fed with a simplicity that ;■■ would; be bitterly resented in the averjiaßO middle-class home. ■ No sweets are % allowed before the age of ten, and very efew afterwards; and the little ones are ? never permitted to ask for things at table: l>they must tnko what is proffered. 'These \ circumbtauces have doubtless something Ijto do with their perfect health. AbsoHuto obedience is exacted; but in all I; legitimate ways the children are enliconrnged to have a good time, and they ■ v i are taken about freely in ordef that shy||iess may be a-trouble unknown to them. : Thoso n-lio know, say that Princess Mary jijof Wales bids fair to be the most acijjcomplished Princess in Europe, and her j; education, is being reared on a founda- (.• tion of solid common sense. :

Taites and Talents. With all her fondness for housewifely pursuits, and her performance of a thousand public duties, the Princess of Wales finds time to cultivate her considerable mental, powers. She is.. a.. tremendous reader, her taste lying in the direction of the historical, and the library of Windsor Castle is one of her joys. A genuine appreciation of pictures was' fostered during; her years in Italy, and she rarely misses a-n exhibition of anv importance at tho London galleries. She if something of an authority on china and old glass, her opinions on plays are hiehlv regarded by members of the Eoyal family, and ehe can sing really well.

DEVOTED MOTHER, WIFE, AND QUEEN. UNTOUCHED BY SCANDAL Her Majesty the Qneen, Alexandra Caroline 'Marie Charlotte lonise Julia, wife of King Edward VII, i 9 the eldest, daughter of King Christian of Denmark,' and was born in Copenhagen on Decem-' ber 1, 1844. Her marriage with the then Prince of Wales in 1863 was highly pleasing to tho English people as a gonuine; love match, and her dwp sympatbfor all distrcsß, her kindness and gentle-' ness, her affection, for tho members of her own family, and true womanliness in the fullest sense of tho word have since endeared her to the nation's heart in a very special manner. Tho Court of Denmark was not by any means a rich one, and the Qneen Alexandra, as a girl, was taught the value of economy and tho pleasures of a simple life. "Why may not Dagmar and I wear muslin . dresses?" she is said to have asked once when a child, and the; answer came very promptly from her mother, "Because, your father is not a rich man, and muslin dresses cost so much to bo got up." The Palaco boastod few servants, and the young princesses •

Ivisits Abroad. '.;'...:_ .. '. 1 The Princess.accompanied Ser hnshand: an several of his.foreign -trips, 1 -visitiiig J llreland with' him in 1865. ;and. lgSs.;The f Ssecond visit aroused irracn ■■ irtteresT;: and ; Jsomo concern. Although the, Nationalist j Sporty had failed in their attempts .to ex-j |cite hostility, the dynamitaida in- New; had held a meeting, at which it! agreed "That the Prince, of Wales I Kwas an alien invader, and if. he 6et_footj Sin Ireland, merited death." Withhx a! of tho threat the Prince sndi were received in Ireland with; Sthe warmest greetings of the people. At i ICork and Mallow efforts wsre mode to; lexcife a rabble against them, which-only > into relief;..their- "genuine-popu- S parity with, all classes ia the Emerald ii aisle. ■'■■■. " ."■■• ■■■.';■ ' ' \ J Queen Alexandra, wio m en ao- ■ Icomplishcd musioiam, was. honoored at; 'JDublin with the degree of DoctOT/ofi ;, Music. The Princess explained that she i Ei|reoeiT€d it with pleasare at the. hands; Hof the University, "not only because "sheK B felt that it was an honour to herMf,B Sbut because she greatly approved of % action of the ladies of Ireland m accept- a H ing facilities for education which ' the j j* University afforded' them." _ . _ 3 K Queen-;-Alexandra accompanied her' husS 1 band,'prior to.his accession, on many, of \ ffhis journeys for philanthTopio.ends, and; Emth hej.own hands has_ laid many, fonn-f stones, amd conferred imn.umera.bSf ?lprizes on successful students.- '.She!' is Sfrequent visitor, to and. benefactor of. the 'j -Ihospitals foT women at Chelsea and Soho, :• iiQueen Charlotte's Hospital, and-the.yari-5 Sons "children's hospitals..' '.:'_ - s i . ;■ , ' ... ■ : ■ \ I |An Anxious Time. ... ;j y The almost mortal illness of the Prince j |of Wales in 1871 brought out the noblest! %uaiitiee of his wife, who watched and i Stended him unceasingly;.and by her unre-fi ijmitting devotion drew ferth, if that were Impossible, a deeper love from tho people; ijthan. they had given her before. The J 'Jdeath of her eldest 60n, .the' Duke of i !'• Clarence, in 1892, was a terrible .blow Wi ■Ithe Princess,'who retired after this Pi from public and social life to her home i kat Sandringham, where her • pathetic GfiguTe was often'seen riding.slowly and 3 fisadly over the wide moors, or walking? p among the lanes. Her only relief from s? sorrow at this time" was in performing g of thoughtfulness for others m. dis-i| ;itress. An. old' woman, bent under 'a g heavy load of packages' which she - was § S taking to the railway station, • touched 5 ■"the compassion of the . Princess on one of j 'jlthese occasions. "Why are you %hese' things- yoursdf ?" 'she'-asked.- The si iadame replied, with tears, that her eon ir« i Tack, who 'used to carry them, had died. I, ii The Princess "expressed her sympathy, and i S a lew days later a him Httle donkey | is cart was 'sent to the old woman's dooT 7 ■sby the Eoyal lady who had also lost as I' son. . ■ : S The Princess was formerly a clereT and S Sintrepid horsewoman. -Five years after;, i her marriage, when mth the Prince she £ visited the Duke of Sutherland at. Trent-j Sham, Lord Eonald Gowor w.rote as fol-j •ilows of her riding prowess: "The'Prin-5 ilcess looked very lovely ■ on her horse King; ( iTthur, and rodo like a bird. ... The; .'Princess took the hurdles beautifully; i'she has simply no sense of nervousness, jj 'jEeturning from the hunting- after dark, S priding through the woods Where . these« J hurdles were, she leapt them again, al-5 ji though both tho Prince and ■ Staflord had£ them." She is said to be an en-J angler, loves dogs and- eome ilkinds of poultry, and used to keep afe SJmodel dairy at Sandringham, which.-wasg fla feature of- the estate. .' . .- E

m Royal Philanthropist. : •'. . ; .■-. \ I At the two great Jubilee demonstr'a-S Itions of Queen Victoria's reign, theE choso the part of providing din- 6 jfocrs 'for the poor of London. Her ap-g jjjpeal for subscriptions received a , g'ener-S Sous response, and the Princess'" addedh largely to the'contributions from her pri-| >vato puise. She also drove from Marl-s gborough House herself to join in tnefc $feast she had provided. During" theK war she. collected largo sumsji ;for the sick and wounded, and'her caret I and pity for the sufferers id tho recent \ 'ißoer wai will be rotoeinbered. Startings' with a surplus of .£9OOO left over from ; lithe Egyptian fund, which she -supple- < a very largely out of her own iiN*' scome, she organised a-fund to organise « Pand equip with every comfort and medi-' '• Seal convenience" a hospital, 6h'ip, named; Salter herself. She also made a personal! 3visit to Tilbury to inspect this ship be-; ' ijfore it: left the Thames. . As Queen of she confirmed, • by. similar acts i sof thoughtfulness ■ and . kindness,; the! awanri-hearted- affection' which she had; i§long enjoyed fi'oni every section of the., . •' -. : '. .'■.. ■•.•."■.'.:' ~ [ ilnteresting Anecddtes. . ' ■;..:/., ; { In a character sketch of Queen"Alex-•: !(andra, written at the" tiiue of her acces- - Ssion, Mr. W. T. Stead stated:-"Tho en-;" : Shusiastic devotion 'excited by_ tho you,th, athe beauty, ;md the innocent inexperienect: fof tlie sfa-king's daughter from over the;. |sea, has been deepened by tho unbroken : l'«periene» of nearly forty years. ... It; sis true that she has r.ot becai a woman] ,Vof great initiative or of dazzling geniuß.S: ;|No resolute self-assertion has ever loflt ia clear-cut impresskm of a commandingf 1 'Jpei-sonality upon .tlto minds of her peo-<. Sple; but what they knew and revered .l 5 what they loved and respected, was the,; ;Jgentle and gracious and beautiful woman." ;Iwho made tho land of lier adoption hor '1 jown to such an extentj that it reqtrrredi S an effort to remember she waa not born ;i iand bred on English soil. During alii ; Htho thirty-eight years" of her sojourn 1 jlainongst . us, has never, on a singles aoccasion given rise to ill-natured gossip i •|or unkind oritician. In. (he midst of the i aeaglcs, tho hawks, and even the vultures ■' flof society, she has lived and lives uu-j aharmed in tlieir midst, liko a beantifulj

", white dove, whose plumage was. neitherj g soiled nor • marred by the wires of. itss j gilded cage.. . ... { i "Whoever 6et himself to write the life* ; of the Quean would find it summed upinj s the daily round, the common task, wnicn 1 falls to the lot of happy women m every fetation in life. A dutiful daughter, SjbTought up, if not in penury, at least in [severe economy practised'by the frugal Court of Copenhagen, she passed as 11 to the manor . lon to. be the v;ife ot tne heir to the English throne. Married when, only eighteen to a husband who had but -attained his majority, she became, at a time when other women would •have been left alone, to, revel in the delicious fantasies of a bride, the cynosure of every eye, the centre of universal attentionf' She went through the ordeal Iwith sweet and serenity, nor did i the pomps' aid vanities, of a . courtly i world disturb the idyllic happiness of i the prolonged honeymoon. She tog herIself with almost: childlike zest into the ■duties of a young housewife>■ and into* 3 the amusements of her adopted country. § ! Two episodes which stand out plamlyg i in' the trying period when the ' watched 60 lovingly and anxiously liethe sick bed of the' Prince of Wales j < 4 t Sandringham are recorded by Mr.£ i Stead. One was her message to the j I clergyman at the church .at Sandring- < ? ham, when she wrote: "My husband i ' being,' thank God, somewhat better, It am coming to church. ,1 must leave [ I fear, before the service, is concluded ft that" I may -watch by his side. Can yout not say a few words of prayer in the a aarly part' of the service, that I may t join with you in prayer'for my hus-| band?" The other relates to the p-oom g ! who' was smitten with the same lllnessts !as that which laid low his master. Every | ! day messages were sent to the bedside iof the humble patient.. She visited Turn's Uvhen she' could spare; tin-« from her? (husband's.bedside, and wl t last theg \ poor fellow died, she erectt ■ '.omtetone ] over his grave in the chureuyard, with 5 the inscription, "One waa taken and the. other- left." \ [The Queen's Pefc. •■ , . ."■' v J5 A great deal has been written about ji the Queen's pets at Sandringham, com-| (prising beautiful white doves, a cockatoo i iwho for from fifteen to nineteen years c ! was a privileged occupant, oflior dressing' room), cats, ponies, and over three score < dogs, which she used to feed daily her-; self when in residence at Sandringnam,; and all of which she knew by name. She is kindly known to all the peasantry, of the estate. "Picture to yourself," one writer says, "and if you lived near Sandringham you might see the original pic-, ture whenever the Royal .Family is in* residence-rour gracious Princess, assisted by her daughters or her Eoyal husband, \ picking up the dusty little dots of children from the roads, placing them in her | own carriage, until it is completely packsd, and then duly delivering each at its own home, so that they may say they J onjoyed a ride with her that day." was it only the little children to whom; tie Princess tendered her lrindly minis-i trati.ons:;"Sir," said a tenant of thirty g years'' standing, ■ "I have known that b Boyal lady leave a sick labourer's bedsides at ten o'clock- at night, go to her own! home, take delicate things from her own \ linner table, and bring them back herself j to the sick man at nearly eleven o'clock I it night." ' ■ ' . ' ' i Upbringing of Children. s One of the most delightful of annual | Eoyal festivities, Her Majesty's children's jiarty at Buckingham: Palace, recalls the > fact that Queen Victoria held very dif-s ferent views concerning the upbringing of quite, small children from those held by Queen Alexandra. The nine eons and [laughters of the former were not en- [ couraged—indeed, it may be said, were! not allowed—to form ties of childish, intimacy with any of their contemporaries. } In the long and very full biography written by Sir Theodore Martin, of the Prince 5 Consort, no allusion will be found to he 'children even of. members of ' the iRoyal Households. When the then Prince of Wales reached man's estate, .it was 6een to be necessary for him to havefe companions of .' his own I age, but. events then nothing was left to chance, andfe his.friends were as carefully selected forS him. as had been his tutors! -As Prin-| Scess of .'Wales,. Queen Alexandra broke| through ;thjs. unspoken "tradition; 'jsheE gathered about her the children of ■ her« own and of the Prince's intimate friends.B and during the childhood o£ her sons and jj daughters delightful, but quite small,; juvenile parties were often given at Marl-; borough House": . These gatherings, ono I of' which was very prettily described \ by Mme. Waddington in her "Letters off 0, Diplomatist's Wife," were very infor-S mal in character, and were seldom, ifj ever, mentioned in the press. TheySji were, of course, graced by the presence ofw the host's many nephews and nieces, in-K eluding the children of the then Duk'ei of Edinburgh, and the Duchess of Teck,B and her family, vere always eagerly wel-| corned guests. The first children's partj % given at Buckingham Palace created pi quite a sensation in society, and set afS fashion not altogether approved by the § more old-world dowagers. By the Queen's S special wish even the tiniest children | were made welcome,, and , accordingly thefe shyness some people think one of thes| most charming attributes of childhood isE apt to become, conspicuous: only by. itsra absence. In one matter the graciousjf hostess set an admirable example to hum-K bier givers .of children's parties. Thor-s oughly simple and childish forms.of en-H tertainment alone were admitted, and the tea provided was of the substantial and sonsible variety. - ■ The Simple Life. A writer in the "Daily Telegraph" once stated:— TTae Queen never had any sympathy with the extravagant ostentation which is the bane of so many families- in these plutocratic days. Although at the head of Society and- the centre of the Court, she has lived as simply as possible, and has always taught her daugh- \ ters the same lessons which she learned in the frugal days of her youth. She (is .expert' with her needle, and taught : her daughters to cut out, and make thiir jown frocks, and is said to have excited the admiration of Saridringham cottagers by the skill with which she has heeled stockings. Her extravagance—for everyone has extravagances—is in the direction of personal charity, and in giving gaway things. One who know her. well said, 'If you give her .£IO,OOO a year to live upon, she will spend ,£2OOO a year upon herself, and give the other £8000 away. It is the note of her disposition." i "The Queen is a woman of commonsense, of good average ability, of 6ound > principles, and of exceptional personal i grace and beauty. That she will ever : be a great Queen may be questioned, but )no one can dispute that sho will be a ;jood Queen." ' * Queen Alexandra had six children. The son, Prince Albert Victor, was born at .Windsor on January 17, 1864, land died in his twenty-seventh year; the second son, Prince George, was born at ; llarlborough House in June, 1865, and I three daughters followed, the Princesses i Louise, Victoria, and Maud. A third S son, Alexander, only lived a day in April, jjlo/1. ' . . j THE NAVY LEACUE. \ The following telegram was sent on Saturday afternoon to Lord Plunket by the local hon. secretary of the Navv "The Wellington Branch of i the Navy League desires to express pro! found and sincere sorrow on receipt of? the news of the death of our revered t, and beloved King." THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. At the Theos.ophical Society's mcetJ ing the death of the King was marked Iby appropriate references. A fine por-ji trait by J. Snowman was draped in* purple, and the surroundings made fit-jj ting to the occasion. Tho meetings opened witbyßeethovon's Funeral March! |played with great expression by Mrs.' ; Kendall. The president then alludod| I feelingly to the death of the King, ex-j ■j plaining that to those who look upon-' I death in the light of fheosophy it h< I but the recurring incident in nn endless; j> life. Mrs. Davidson prefaced her- loc-| % turo by a few words in reference to the. iIoBS sustained by the nation, saying! \ that she felt sure sho voiced the senti-j i monts of those present in saying that! j their thoughts went out in love and! J sympathy .to those bereaved. At the 'close of the meeting tho Dead March |jn "Saul" was played.