THE DUKE OF ORLEANS AND THE QUEEN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 90, 14 April 1900, Page 4

THE DUKE OF ORLEANS AND THE QUEEN.

Considerable indignation lias been ex- | pressed at the conduct of the Duke of Orleans, who, while staying at a London hotel, made use of mo.-t offensive expressions against the English nation to the representative of a Paris newspaper. He als<» admitted writing a letter of j congratulation to the Paris draughtsman 011 a paper where appeared a scandalous attack on the Queen. The Duke of Orleans left the hotel in ques- j tion simultaneously with the publication of his remarks and before they had been reproduced in this country. It is not known in which direction of the Continent he has gone. The Paris correspondent of the til. j Jtomes's Gazette says:—A paper entitled the Cri de Paris, which is a sort of bad imitation of the lower kind of English " society " organ, published the account of a conversation between one of its contributors and the Due d'Orleans, The duke is described as expressing himself in such filthy terms about England that the Cri de I'arin, which is not a squeamish paper, could only indicate them by means of dots, preceded, however, by certain adjectives always used in conjunction with certain unprintable words, which are thus instantly 'suggested to anyone well acquainted witli French, The duke further emphasised his opinions, it is alleged, by expressive gestures. Itis a matter perhaps of little importance that two Frenchmen should in private run down the country which is giving them hospitality, and employ for this purpose the language of the Paris vot/ou. But a more serious matter is the fact that the Prince admitted having sent a letter of congratulation to the caricaturist who published in a special supplement of the Jiire an abominably filthy attack upon "the entire British nation and an outrageous insult on the Queen. The letter was to have been published 1 in the A'ire, but the prince this should not be done, as nasty consequences might ensue to him in Eng- j land. Referring to this interview, the I L»ndon correspondent of the Paris New York Herald, Mr. Aubrey Stanhope, says:—"l heard indignation expressed by some and refusal by others to believe the reported interview with the Due d'Orleans published in the Cri de I'urin. The lirst lot were furious . . . the second lot did not ci edit the due with having said what was attributed to liiui, but thought ho would do well at once to contradict the report." .Now, I fear that the Due d Orleans will have some difliculty in issuing this duniil if he has any respect for truth. Uue portion of the inter view, and certainly the worst portion, lam able to confirm. A representative called on M. Willette, the caricaturist responsible for the obscene supplement in the Hire. M. Willette admitted without any hesitation that the Due id' Orleans had indeed sent him a letter of congiatulatiun on this particular piece of work. He declined to produce the letter or communicate the text, but' admitted that its tone was violently hostile to England, so much so, indeed, that though anxious to publish it, he hesitated, and before deciding showed the letter to his brother. It is easy to imagine what the letter was like in view of the brother's attitude. M. Willette s brother upbraided him for having shown such a letter to anybody, even to his nearest relations, and told them that his honour was bound up in keeping the unprintable stuff absolutely secret.