New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-28
EVERY THRONE A STAGE.
HISTRIONIC CHARACTER OF MODERN
ROYALTY

| liISTRIONIC CHARACTER OF MODERN
Royalty
No more striking evidence Of the hstrlonic
character pf nineteenth century royalty could be
afforded than that furnished by The recent silver
wedding festivities of King 1Ium3crt ana Queen
Marguerite at Rome. Between the professional
actors on the stage and the actors on the thrones
there is after all, little difference. except per
haps, that the latter are more highly paid by the
public than the former. Tie one class ana Inc
other invite the ap2laus" and the favor OF III"
people whose goodwill their existence manly
depends For whose sake was the great nediacva!
tournament organized az Rorlc the occasion
OF the silver wedding Of King llumbert! Ger
tainly not for his own amusement, hut entirely
for that Of the masses; and IN order to increase
the popularity OF the entertainment, as we'll as
of the monarch who has had 10 dcflay the cnor
nous expenses in connection Herewith. his son
and several of the Princes Of his house trdvcstlcd
themselves in fancy dress costumes Of byeonc
age and assumed the leading roles III the piece
In reading the accounts of then performances |
coald not help rejecting to what the proud
and fierce old Counts and Dukes of Savoy would
have said could they have seen their descendants
prancing about on horseback in an ampliithcatrc.
disguised like comedians in eXtIavaeant and me-
daeval costume, and exhibiting TO "a snccrlns
and sceptical public a royalty now reduced to
"encanailcrT itself in order 70 insure its MALL
tcnancc and its existence
For whose sake, too, all the pomp ana
spendor displayed Ly the English coIrt and by
the Government in connection with the recent
opening Of the Imperial Institute in London, II
not for that of the people, who have long been
complaining that owine TO the iarlty OF the
visits of the Queen to tie metropolis, ana her
pronounced aversion 10 state functions, they DID
not get enough foi the 81 ,000.o0 which they
provide every year for her maintenance in Ill"
shape Of a civil list? And as if TO emphasize
the hstiionc character of the Whole ALTAR, II
was smi officially announced that the Queens
Inauguration of the Institute would constitute
positively her last appearance at an. great
state function Queen Victoria IL low old amt
indifferent 10 the public, and II Is 40 secret That
she was avcrs.' To appear at all at inc ceremony
The Prince of Wales. however, rcazlnc that
the day cannot be- far distant when he Will he
called upon to auccod his mother IN her role
and in the possession Of the properties OF
British Majesty, wa, naturally more anxious than
she to maintain, and 10 Increase If possible, the
popularity Of the throne. ana therefor, jIdu~ i
her for I'll, sake OF the dynasty" to give her
audencc-l mean her subjccs-one last grand
spectacular cnl~r,a .nm"nt, exhibiting royalty sur
rounded by all the attributes and snowy tIdppn-s
that ale as empty, as shallow and unreal
are the tlns,.l and the setting the stage
OF all nonarchs now occupying European
thrones, young Emperor William j. as-urcdly ia"
most pIlpahlc and enthusiastic actor. In pr
vatc life, when quite alone with his family, or
with one friend, h- j. natnial, unaffected and
sincere. BIT let Il stranger or even Il second
friend. appear upon the scene. he Immediately
becomes scf-conscious and begins TO pose. III"
poses Emperor, he poses a. political econo-
mist. as statesman. a. musician, a. artist, ~ great
general. skiliul admiral, a. th"olosrn-in fact,
as everything. Indeed. there is not snel" roll"
ia which hc does not consider himself sup ii"f
TO everybody else and he /, even in the habit,
when attending dramatic performances, Of sum
moning the leading actors and actresses 10 his
boA in order 10 Indicate to them how they ought
to play their respective parts. have no, seen I'm
pcior William since he assembled the throne; bat
friends and relatives connected with ia" court
coincide III one expression OF opinion concerning
him-namcly. that he Is an excellent and s''nrl-
BE fellow, thoroughly Unaffected and ancnable
10 reason, if only one speak 10 him alone,
but that from the very moment that any third f,
person approaches. no matter who II l., ms ln1n-
ncr undrrgOcs complete change He. perhaps /
unconsciously, begins 10 pose ANA To play part, !
an admission, either dli"c' VI IihpIci' t,l' ne
Is in the wiOnS would lnJnr" his pi'suGc II had; !
in the presence OF two OF morc Wit rs,'s.
At Madrid ! have several times Witnessed III"
CUSTOMARY saturday afternoon procession OF the /
{ ourt 10 the Church OF the Attocha, and being |
fond Of the late King Alfonso MI. to whom WAS |
indebted Tor many acts Of Kindness, II ns I - pam
me To 50. him crossing the Puerto del Sol in his |
carriage with his bat in his hand, bowling 10 the |
right and 10 the left. practically inviting saluta- |
tons H." part OF III" public that the latter ne
ic. ~. i,
d foreigner, the only person on that great
crowded s1uar" who took the trouble 10 respond |
to the bow of the King by barring my heal. The !
spectacle presented by the King Oh ties, occasions
always had the effect OF recalling my mind that
Of an unpopular actor on the stage pi'ifully en-
dcavOring 10 invite applause which the audience /
was disinclincd to concedc.
The carriages Of the Empress Of Austria and, in
fact, OF almost every royal and imperial parsonage
in Europe, are provided with IA queer kind Of aii- /
tomato mechanism Of the seat and back cushion /
which forces the occupant, by means of gcarcd |
connection with In" aAl,S 10 bow necessarily !
without any cXcriiOn while th. carriag. is in mo
ton. While the cOnfrivance. which resembles the
sliding seat of Il racing shell, is exceedingly in
genious and, as Il rule, saves much fatigue yet
on the other hand. IL is not without its disadvan-
tagcs. since ii Obliccs the ROYAL or IMPERIAL per-
sonaees to continue bowin2 even when there Is
no one 10 respond. There is something very the
atrcal too, about the state carriages Of royalty,
and whereas some of them find their way from
the palace stables TO the circus such as. for in
stance, that OF the late Duke Of Brunswick there
which find their way from the circus {, the royal
news
Indeed. royalty nowadays is as much dependent
upon winning popularity by spectacular represent
tatiOn as are theatrical managers and actors. They
use almost Identical methods to captvate the pub
lie and to win its support and the caioerics en-
plOycd for this purpose by both bear a striking
resemblance 10 one another The masses every
where are fond Of "a good show. matter whether
u be furnished them by royalty or by professional
Ctors. Each year that passes, however, renders
hem more reluctant To pay arg" prices for this
species of entertainment, which, with the increase
IF the standard of education throughout the Old
World, is commencing 10 pail upon their taste.
Monarchs are beginning TO realize this and TO APP
Drccatc the fact that royal and imperial insttu-
ions no longer in accord with the present
growth OF popular enlightenment and progress II
$ gradually dawning upon them that their day is
past and that the time is coming when, by reason
II their inability to please satisfy the public,
hey will be relegatct into the back ground lik,
my other broken-down actors or superannuatcd
actresses. Charitabl, homes have been provided
~ the benevolent public for the latter, and we