STORIES OF THE KING.

Motueka Star, Volume III, Issue 106, 19 August 1902, Page 4

STORIES OF THE KING.

JSOME INTERESTING.iFAQTS;: ‘

' Ttf©'"-’quaintest * photograph udf the ' King in existenbfe is an. iX-i-ay > ? picture • i of ’bis^hands, o■Besides'. shawftng tb'd Ttoy:ilphalanges.anduttetacai*prtlil>oneia with stkrtlihg distintethe^-tlMj-pictarei repfodncerf tJhtf outline.*--of ihetogoirl ; ' bil'niglfe' which his Royal Highness al- * Wa‘yS Wears* ns «. sou veni»fof his visit fct* •. ‘ Oil a fi «*■ raorninjg. in! quite of-; visitors: from Hunstanton -• other places, came to: • ; -SandribghaUi ilv phaeton; mid waggon.--etitfes-i‘:tp see* the -‘Royals” walk! ihto:! ,;S; church: They* have to lie - content; to i. take a passing .kiofc hniil go home again, ’ for the' chinch i(n .too'Sflatailto acd6mo- ’ date h/cWe thatv"tlW tillage congrega- . ; sc) •well as he does,” said an old ['rh'tete’l&ie day jin a 'Sfcenttfjrian/whispery l >u-l jftaviug a-lUiddred folks*standing;' id . MjhUt^ot'watch him walk into church. *ThC aSide : w&s qoit»4 *andiblie to the I i Roynl jpnrty, and though the Prince it; l . ‘still “kbpt his head /A he* was unable to: keep hts cocniteimiiice. ! •: ;/ i The-'Kinghasakeeneye and an accurate knowledgeafthe insign iaof all , ■■■ ■orders bf mPf it.: Once?at a State ball a beautiful "young,girl wore a .glitter- - irig jewelled decoration on • her breast* She danced Opposite the Prince, as he was then, and when the quadrille was over he said gently :—-“That, is a pretty ornament: May I ask to whom it belongs?” —‘To Lord said the f l igh ten ed yir-1. “He is my fiance. He allows me to wear it.” “Can you unfasten it easily ?” f*Y*es, your . Highness.” “Then may I ask you to take it off, and to tell Lord that it is something more than a bit of gold and a few diamonds, to be worn merely 'as an ornament, even by a charming woman.” The King was once asked to writein a la,dy's-album. He-answered: “A little while ago I spent nearly an hour one evening writing verses, I made up a verse so badly put together that only a Royal Prince or a Duke at tile best could have had the shame to write such stuff. They were, all sold .at a. good stiff price, a‘ week later to provide funds for the Society for Restora - tion of the Stuarts. Perhaps Lad}’ ,.if I write iii your album, you will sell the book to provide funds for the abolition of the Monarchy in England.” While the Prince of Wales was in residence at the University, he hap- , pened, as he was walking into Cam- - bridge with a friend, to be overtaken by a shower. As they were passing the hut of an old woman who sold sweets, they asked for the loan of an umbrella. Not recognising them, she siid: “You cun have my old. market gamp, if you like.; but I knows 1 won’t lend my best ’am to nobody, not the Prince of Wales hisself.” Next day she was horrified at the receipt of her old ur hre 11 a, accompanied by , a h -an l new one, “with the Prince: of Wales’ o unpliments.” ' When five years old the heir ap- . parent sat.for eight days to,a Cornish sculptor, and one day threw the wet clay in the .sculptor’s face. The. Queen j was told of the incident. and insisted j .>n an apology. • The next day .the ■ ! future Ring walked boldly up to the j sculptor; aud calling; him by his sUr-. name, said, “Shake hands, Burnard, and forgive me. Mamma say si am a little donke3 r .” The administration of delicate snubs in deserving cases is a paipful duty of I R >valty, and no one can pei-form the taskmore deftly than our present King. There is a great art in administering a rebuke in such a.,manner that it may snare unnecessary pain; and yet show dainly that the bounds of convention

have been overstepped, and the King understands that art as a King should. The King is an exceedingly good shot, and is never happier than when out after the birds. The injury to his knee, which was feared at one time might interfere with the form of sport, <i >e.s not seem t > have had much effect up m his walking powers, and he is as ready f >r a tiamp across country as most nun < f h s age, An American, in an English newspaper a few years ago, wrote : —“The character, capacity and habits of thought of the Prince of Wales are very different from what those who know him not believe or affect to believe. When the Prince of Wales is Ki ng the world will know the truth. He is a true -Briton and a true Irish nun. If any individual in the Kingdom deserves the title of “a working man,” it is certainly the King. It is not generally known that every letter addressed to him he opens and reads himsolf. The answers of course, are generally written by his secretary, Sir Francis Koollys, but the substance, and often the wmding is the King’s. One of the King’s favorite playthings is a weighing machine, into which it amuses him to invite his guests, especially those who have come to make a lengthened stay under his hospital roof at S indringham For he holds that whatever their v.*eight on arrival, it must needs increase during a visit t) such bracing air. “On one occasion,’ said Sir Edwin Arnold, “ when L was at an important iauction at M irlborough H iuse Sir Francis Knollys came up to the Prince a id remaiked : ‘ S >me gentlemen of t,he Press wish ad mission, sir,’ 4 0b, show them in.’ said the Prince with a laugh. ‘ If they don't obtain admission at the door they’ll come in through the ventilator, A nobleman, intimately connected with the King, one day asked him what he would do if he and ids family were driven from the throne by a sud den revolution. Falling in with the humour of the suggestion the King answered, 44 Well, such a thing is possible. If it did really occur, no doubt I could supp >rt my family by lecturing on constutuiti mal rights in the United States ■ Among the K ug’s many duties as Prince of Wales was the position as \,, uitee of the British Museum. There he might be seen on the occasion of Trustees’ meetip.g,. walking' down tint

galleries to the Librarian’s office, quite unrecognised by the public, the attendants carefully refraining from mentioning his presence until his work over, he quietly departed. Most of his work a« Prince of Wales was of this quiet but useful kind. It is generally svipposed that it is impossible for a 4 Royalty ’ really, to keep up his incognito. But on one occasion our King was successful to an uncoinf >1 table degree. While on a tour visiting the battlefields of the France Germany War, be found himself financially stranded-k-n Metz, with insufficient to pay his hotel bill and his fare back t > Frankfort. Cheques were refused and he was left with only a remedy The Prince pledged his watch with the hotel keeper.