New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-06-05
THE HEAD or THE BRITISH army.
From The London World.


In round mellow voice. Singh arly unlike that
of his Royal cousins the Commander-inC hicf talks
ailaby, and tolerantly Of army systems, new and
old He * intrcnched behind an enormous writing
table which everything il ~ big. solid and sub
stantia as II II were embemaiic Of the mental and
physical constitution Of its MASTER A. the quality
Of his voice almost entirely free from cultural
sounds, j. strlkngly unlike that of Queen |ctoria's
sons, so II his nonation distinctly and purely Eng
lish and n clear coherent and impressive speaker
in public he has few equals. is, perhaps due to
the fact that his father was an Englishman that his
speech II free from any touch Of the foreign accent
40 remarkable in the Royal Family; vet lac speaks
German perfectly without the fantest English
cent. When talking 10 TWO of his equerries General
Macdonald or Colonel Tyrwhitt. he always speaks
in English and to Captain Mildmay almost inyari-
ably in German. His French IL also rrnarkably
good, il hardly perfect as his English and Ger,
man; but in whatever language he may he called
upon TO address audience he never prepares his
speeches. after the manner now coming generally
into fa. hion.
On this iinc May morning the Duke of Cambridge
has Just III from his morning ride of two hours
in the Park bis solitary recreation of the day. Always
a very early riser. he la time TO look over little
correspondence before he rides out, an exercise
never omitted IN any thing approaching possible
weather At IL o'cock-f0r he IL punctUalIty itself
he is back again at Gloucester House seated az
the big table, ready to get through work with the
equcrry on duty. thorough man of business, he
gets rad of It at rapid pace. Tonight he has t,
speak at a charity dinner on a subject nEconnected
with the army, aud few statistics have been pre-
pared by the secretary of the institution These
are read. explained. annotated. consigned to his
pocket ana never hcafu OF again Dy mortar ulan
till the Du rises 10 ma ke the speech OF tue even
ing when he is found Il have perfectly assmilated
and arranged the information supplied To him.
The COmmander-ln-t h Of. who ~ endowed with the
fine uial appetite proper 10 the family Of Guelph
restraints tendency To dipose tissue by restricting
himself 10 couple of meals per day. Morning
work and exercise are one before breakfast-a
substantial deaRer Ia fouchette eaten a,Dut noon.
Thus luncheon is avoided. and the day lett clear
until dinner. great part OF this WIDE interval Is
spent in the work falling upon Commsnder-in-
Chief which could only be kept do vn by the pune
tuallty and method proper To the Duke OF Cam
bridge. who hears every complaint and goes INTO
the merit OF every application
The Duke of Cambridge IL a perfect master Of
that important part of the mehr dt prince which
consists in never forgetting any body. just ~ the
Prince of Waless brgilt-bue eye Is the hrst thing
one sees in a room. surely IL the Duke OF Cam
bridges white hand one OF the iIrst offended IN
greeting II is said by those who ought to know
that his father never known to be ont Of tenn
per for gwen years al a stretch. IL would be too
ouch 10 say this Of the old Colonel OF the lIth
Lanccrs. but, matter of fact. he IL one of the
best pcTed men in the world. doubtless nnch
of this uuruilled demeanor il due first, to natural
kindness and generosity and secondly to All ex-
trmrly methodlcal life, which permits OF proper
attention being paid 10 everything and everybody,
without hustle or hurry OF any kind. The maxim
that punctuaty II the poutenes, oil princes Is
amply and practically a. knowledged.
One of the most endearlng qualities OF the Duke
is his keen affection for hls family The portrait Of
his venerable mother still living at -. James,.
painted by Won Angel occupies prominent posi-
lion IN hi, own room and the numerous boxes and
trinhcts used 10y his father tendery put under
glass and preserved. 1t IL needless Ia say that his
housn contains many choice arms and curosties Of
all Minds and that hIr diamond sword. presented
by the Shah of Persia. and another given by the
Cty Of London, are worn by him on grand occa-
slons The Duke. who II "A very well dressed man,
appears To great advantage III multi and especially
in full evening dress. vi hen the fine limbs aud very
small feet peculiar hls family lend an elegance TO
his appearance which IL lost IN uniform. Agreeable
at a dnncr-table in a drawiDg-room, he Is not
less at home IN stubble or coppce As cool and
clear headed i'll hot corner Elsewhere. he IS
sOrcly tempted by multitudinous offer of the best
shooting in the country. But his prime devotion Is
10 his work ~ a military chief. As private gentle
man hc administers ms affairs with his own hand.
As fortunes 20 he is not a very wealthy man for
Prince OF the Blood Royal with a large family; but
he is ~ punctual i'll hir payments in hls CORE
spondrnce. He never lets himself owe either a
letter or a shilling.