QUEEN MARY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 6, 1 July 1911, Page 10

QUEEN MARY.

DOMESTIC lAVR OF THE KING'S CONSORT. Tlii' pergonal character of Queen Victoria was the most potent influence in limping the social life of Great Britain during the last half of the nineteenth century. We now know that in public aiiaiii the Queen never played a mere , passive part, and that in times of crises her power was used courageously and wisely. But the personal influence was I perhaps of even greater importance. The } example of the Queen moulded the life of her people. Queen Mary will have no direct connexion with matters of poiiucs and .-tatesmanship. She will not be called upon to rule. But she will reign with her husband, and it is certain that she will materially all'cct the tendency of hnglish life towards simplicity. Her Majesty Victoria Mary Augusta Ijiiiii.-,- Olga Pauline Claudinc was born in Kensington Palace on May 215, 1867, Ivinjf ushered into the world in the room which had formerly been the nursery of Queen Victoria. The first years of her Majesty's life were passed in the palace in which sue was born and at White Lodge, Richmond. '

VICTORIAN TRADITION. Queen Mary was bred in the tradition of tin- Victorian Court, and she retains all that is best of that tradition. Her childhood was quiet, and her early education was none too complete. But this she has herself counter-balanced by a continuous course of self-education, which began when she went to Florence at the age of Hi, and has continued ever since. The Queen speaks French, Italian and German fluently, and she is a voracious reader.

Tiie Queen is practical rather than imaginative. She never makes a promise that she is not sure she can keep. She is punctilious and careful in all money matters. She is keenly interested in the everyday circumstances of her life. Conversely she has no wide artistic knowledge or appreciation. She i.s fomi of music, but prefers the music of Mendelssohn to that of Wagner. She herself has rather a pleasant contralto voice, which was trained by Signor Tosti. Her favorite amusement is the theatre.

She is, indeed, naturally inclined to lie sny and retiring, preferring (lie quiet of linnio to tlie glare of public life. She i.s a wise and devoted mother. Her children are being brought up on the wisest possible plan. Work comes before play, but play is never forgotten, oucdienec and discipline are enforced, but there is no absurd severity and no mediaeval disregard of the fact, that children have both judgment and character.

Her friends are women of truth and euaracter, and generally of her own simple tastes. Indeed, it might be said of Queen Mary that she is Victorian without the wax flowers and the antimacassars. There is, indeed, mucn that was splendid and virile in the Victorian spirit. Its incidental stuffiness was not essential.

Queen Mary is deeply religious, retaining the evangelical faith in which she was brought up. Her religion is more concerned with morals than with imagination, with, conduct more than with belief. Here, again, the practical note of her character is evidenced.

Sho is a shrewd judge of men but careful in the expression of her opinion. It may be, indeed, that she carries her reticence too far. Certain it is that there will he no indiscretions in her comments on men and affairs.

FRIEND OF CHILDREN. She is generous to the point of considerable personal inconvenience, and the pught of poor and suffering childhood is a constant concern to her. No ease is ever brought to her without speedy aid being forthcoming. The King and Queen are on terms of peculiarly close affection. Partly on account of the dominating personality of her father, partly owing to his own dislike to push himself, the King as Prince of Wales has been comparatively little in the public eyes. He lias never needed encouragement to duty when it has occurred, but his wife has always urged him to seize every occasion of public service. It is good for the Country to know that in these cany days of difficulty and sorrow he has by his side a counsellor on whose opinion and affection he can absolutely rely. Both the King and Queen loathe gambling. The Qlueen dislikes cards. The King plays bridge sometimes, and for small points, but without any enthusiasm. The King is interested in athletics but the Queen cares little or nothing for sport of any kind. She is a keen walker and an enthusiastic needlewoman.

She is in all respects the mistress of her household. The detail* of the clothes and food of her children are all submitted to her. She is methodical and orderly even in small matters. She is intensely patriotic, and she has never given up her custom of buying clothes made by British workers of British material.

THE SERVANT PROBLEM. In this connection it is interesting to know that her Majesty has much interested herself in the servant problem. She has stated that to her mind the real root of the unsatisfactory state of things is that mistresses are too little concerned about the comfort of thos« whom they employ. They ought, she says, to do everything the" can to make the leisure hours of their servants as agreeable as possible, and her Majesty has practised what she has preached. When the King and Queen move from Marlborough House, Buckingham Balaea will be filled with children for the first time since the death of the Prince Consort, forty-nine years ago. Children, indeed, will be the note of the new Court. The Queen is above all things a mother, and she will appeal to the heart of the nation as the mother ruling her home in wisdom and love

The Royal children are as typically English as their father and mother, wellmannered, unall'ccted, fond of outdoor games. Prince Edward—now Duke of Cornwall—is perhaps the cleverest. Princess Mary, the only daughter, has the most character, and was, when she was younger, something of a pickle . Between parents and children (here is the most perfect, affection, and the King is never so happy as when spending a holiday with his boys. The diameter of his wife ami the completeness of his family life are the great possessions which ' King (leorge carries to bis throne. They will stay him in times of perplexity. They will endear hint to hi.s people.