Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-12

| ELs-HELIaoLANp
| LONDON, July
| ONWARD VII will be the name OF the
ine.t king of England, if, as now seem.
| II probable, Albert Edward, Prince Of
| RWales, should succeed his royal mother
on the throne. The prince himself
is said TO have determined on the name Of
Edward, consecrated by old Saxon associations
as we'll as having been borne by the most mill
tary of England's kings. The queen, it is under
stood. would have preferred that her son and
successor should take his fathers name, Albert.
But the prince is eminently polite, and he is
well aware of the popular English prejudice
against the minor princes Of Germany, of whom
Prince Albert was one. Besides, he loses no
opportunity to remind the people that he is an
| Englshman. He thinks that the less his dyn-
asty's German intermixture is thought Of the
better for it's standing in Great Britain. As a
| matter of fact. the prince is as much descend
| ant of the Stusrts and the Tudors as If he be-
longed to the long exiled and now extinct male
line of James ii; but this fact is apt to be over
looked by persons not versed in genealogy, and
| good many yet, both in north and south
Britain, still regard Queen Victoria's house as
| intruding Hanoverians.
! AS A SOCIAL REPRESENTATIVE.
The prince is becoming more and more con-
| spicuous as the social representative of the
queen, and, indeed her majesty shows a dis
position to abdcate in his favor all but the
title Of monarchy. Advanced in years, the
| aged lady is seeking that rest which she semi-
nently needs. if her life is to be prolonged, and
her son has to bear the burden, as yet without
the honors. The late levee, held by the prince
as representing the queen, was a remarkable
scene of royal splendOr, the nobility and
wealth of England being magnifcently repre-
sented. The prince Is not slow to recognize
approved genius, in literature. the arts and
great achievements in science and exploration.
Those who know him best say that he will be
| another William Nv in his liberalty toward
popular aspirations, and that while dis
countenancing any infringement on the honor
and respect claimed to be due to royalty, he
will give such inspiration and impulse as the
crown can give to the cause Of popular pro-
gress.
In person the prince has a decided tendency
to stoutness. He has the Georgian face, modi-
fed by an expression agreeable we'll dig
nified, and he knows how to con6escend with
out familiarity. He is said to be devoted
husband, 80 far as love for his wife can be man
ifested by assiduous attention. and to be proud
OF her beauty and accomplishments. There is
probably no truth in the story that Mrs.
Langtry once took advantage of the princes
favor to ask, How is your wife?" and that the
prince replied with severity: Her royal high
ness, the Princess of Wales, is well" But the
story might well be true, for the prince jeal-
ously exacts respect for his beautiful Danish
consort. He is equally attached to his chill
dren. An introduction to the Prince OF Wales
is not always in the nature of royal recogni-
ton. The prince admits a certain class to his
attentions, just the English kings of old
made themselves familiar with fools and testers
and as eastern rulers today have their dwarfs,
their wrestlers and other favorites to amuse
them. For instance, when the Prince of Wales
admitted Buffalo Bill and John l.. Sullivan TO
personal introduction it was in different
sense from his intercourse with Henry NJ. STAN
ley. The former he regarded simply as curl
osIties for his entertainment; the latter as
genius worthy of royal recognition and friend
ship. This distinction is often lost sight of by
persons who read that so-and-so has been in
troduced to the Prince Of Wales, and hasten to
the conclusion that such are the princes asso-
ciates.
NOT A MILITARY LEADER
Although Edward is a name connected with
some of the grandest military events i'll English
history 1t Is not thought likely that the next
King Edward will adopt the custom of several
of his predecessors of that name of leading
English troops to the field. The Stuart and
Tudor sOvereigns were generals as well
monarchs, even the women-as in the case of
Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth of Eng
land-taking the leadership OF their soldiers
in the time of PERIL but not SO the Georgian
rulers of England, who have always done their
fighting by proxy. There is nothing in the
temper of the Prince of Wales to indicate any
military inclinations. and in this respect he
differs from his nephew, the Emperor of Ger
many, whose warlike utterances now and then
are said to cause his venerable grandmother.
Queen Victoria, no end of anxiety. The prince
is said to be behaving himself in private life
as a man Of his distinguished position aud
mature age ought to behave, and to have put
behind him the follies of his earlier years.
And this brings attention to the fact that Eng
land has just been witnessing a rather novel
divorce case. 1t is. or was. of sort, I'M
happily not novel in America, where peo-
pie 60 from one jurisdiction into another
to seek relief. tiimsy pretenses from
bonds matrimonial. MIR. Harris Gastrell, well
known in the diplomatic service of the queen,
found, as he alleges that there was an incom-
patbility of temper between himself and Mrs.
Gastrell. Mr.. Gastrell seemed to have the
best share Of the family temper and admitted
in his testimony how he sometimes went to a
neighboring forest to cool it off. He could not
produce any evidence that his wife's temper
was bad. but even if he could it would not
amount to anything toward procuring divorce
III England. SO Mr.. Gastrell proceeded to
Wiesbaden in Nassau, Germany, and there
pretended to take up his abode, claiming to be
a resident. He asked the Nassau court to give
HIM decree of divorce from his wife OH the
ground Of desertion and the court granted the
request in a spirit of accommodation that quite
eclpsed the Chicago method. He then applied
in England for an injunction to prevent Mrs.
Gastrell from describing herself his wife.
The English court decided that she was his
wife and that the Nassau court had no authority
to grant the divorce. AS Wicsbaden is a
favorite place of pilgrimage for Americans,
the possibility of easy divorce In connection
with the mud baths may be of interest.
ANOTHER NOTED CASE
in the courts is that of a descendant Of
the illustrious Horace Walpole. Mr.. Robert
Horace Walpole has got himself into the
very worst kind of a pickle with "a German
governess named Valerie Wiedemann. There
is altogether too much to be said on both
Sides but an impartial observer of the case
is likely to be impressed that Miss Weidemann
is good deal of an adventures and Wal
pole good deal of a fool. She claims that she
met him in Constantinople that there he prom
ised to marry her and gave her a signet ring
He asserts that he never promised to marry
her, but only had her under his protection;
and that once when he dropped his signet ring
she picked it up and refused to return it. The
plaintiff, Miss Weldemaun, conducted her suit
without the assistance OF counsel and this pro-
badly weakened strong case. At any rate,
| she failed to convince the jury that she had
been seriously damaged by MIR. Walpole. The
affair is of some interest, as throwing light on
the social existence of English people of rank
in the east. The decencies Of life are evil
IDENTIFY relaxed a good deal when an English
man gets as far as COnstantinople, and the con-
duct of foreigners, even Of the better Class, in
that city is mRnifestly no: calculated to impress
tha aLah Turt Wit If