Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-09-08
THE QUEEN AND THE PRINCE.

The QUEEN AND THE PRINCE.
What the British Subject Thinks of Them
"A Rose-Cotored Picture of Wales.
m. D. Conway's London Letter in Cincinnati
Commercial Gazette.
It is about time that Americans should
be given hint that they are in danger of
making themselves little ridiculous in
the way they sometimes indulge their sen
timental side in speaking Of Queen Victo-
RI. Not long ago I was present at the
annual dinner given by the Novimagians,
a club Of antiquarians, when ex- Gov. Hall
dayssof Virginia made speech, in which
he fairly decorated ''That noble woman"
with rhetorical kohinoors, and left her
framed in a constellation of admiration
points. The English people smiled and
winked at each other; there were whispers
about distance lending enchantment, and
American provinces. And new comes
in London for tims in order to write q
life Of Queen Victoria "for the young
found her also taking the most pictures
que views Of victoris and her career, end
gathered from her remarks lesson as to
how mythology is made. Some paragraphs
in American papers, about the time Of the
queens birthday, show how potent lie the
perspective of 5000 miles in making TO
M antio figure out Of as prosaio figure as
ever sat on throne. The English people
arc loyal to the shrons; every man Of them
would shed his last drop of blood for his
queen; but, personally, queen less loved,
or even cared for, never reigned in England
than Victoria. If one hears any enthusi-
asm expressed for the queen in this country,
unless it be in the neighborhood of Bal
moral, he knows the speaker to be an
American. It is ascribed to American
gosd nature. combined with provinoialism.
The queen is certainly not liked by the
English people. I have formed a pretty
largo acquaintance in the course of 20
years. residence here, and I do not know
one English man or woman who person
ally likes Or admires the queen. She is
variously objected to as morose, morbid,
stingy, grasping, ugly, sullen, Illhumored
and torpid, if not stupid. I do not say
that these opinions of her are correct. but
they are generally held, though, of course,
not publicly expressed. There are num-
Der Of English radicals Of the Bright school
who set high value on the queen really
because she has brought large degree of
of unpopularity on the throne. They
would like to have her live long time,
because every year the people learn moro
and moro how unimportans the throne is
to them, and are gradually forgetting the
traditions of court splendor and gaysty.
Their appreciation of the Victorian reign
is as little complimentary to the queen
personally as the dislike Of the average
people. The queen has offended the NEST
influential women Of lHgland by her hos
Utility to all movements for enlargilg the
sphere Of occupation and influence Of her
sex. The thinking and literary people are
ashamed that her only elusive patronage
should be accorded b military nen whose
gtories have boon woA BY attacks on small
tribes. The great conservative middle
GLASSES sheer at her hsaping up idle mill
lions Of money aAd giving none Of it TO the
prince Of Wales, while he performs most
of her public ssrsaelial duties for her.
Again ! say am net making charges
against the queen, bat rspsrting them;
and if any one think ID xnsracious to re-
port them respect their sentiment ana
that Americans should not be nisled by
loyal silence Of English writer's and speak
ers concerning facts 70 pregnant with i'm
portance as these. So lsna as our country
men at home or abroad indulge in eloquent
Hlatitudss about the personality Of the
queea-because, for instance, she tele-
graphs condolsRoe on the death of a presi-
dent, as if there were soms msrtyrdon in
iEthey will never realize the profoundly
historic significance of her unpopularity
among her subjects, Ths fact is that
England, having outgrovn all the reality
of monarchy, has more fully come to val
ne it as the social and decorative depart
ment of the nation. The monarchy has
finally become ceremony, an ornament,
national drawing room, . center of fes-
tivites; and just as the country has been
politically evolved to distinguish that, as
the sole raison d'etre Of monarchy, behold,
that is just what Queen Victoria il not.
If my reader will recur to the grounds Of
the queens unpopularity given absvs, he
will find them to be mainly the denial to
her Of such qualities % would make gay,
lavish, and decorative monarch. OF course
q deacon might say she is oil the better for
the absence of such worldly qualities, but
the average Englishmsa's reply vosld be
that he can pension q plain, retired old
lady IN apartments at Windsor for very
little money, and, since he pays largely in
money and loyalty for SPLENDID historic
COURT he would like to have it. The mon
arch being a constitutional automaton, SO
far as concerns politics, if she is not soci-
ally and ceremonially adequate, it amounts
to abdication.
The queens growing unpopularity meas
ures the growth Of the prince of Wales's |
popularity. This has been steadily increas-
ing, until it is fast mounting up to enthusi- |
asm. The prince has endless good humor |
and marvellous tact He is clever, toe.
Not long ago the Savage club invited him |
to attend banquet at their rooms; the |
whole thing was slightly snobbish, and |
there WAS good deal of satisfaction when
the prince, after dinner, suggested that SO
large and fine club lit consists chiefly of |
actors and musicians) should found a schel- |