New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-18

or the country whose throne they occupy with
out more or less strongly developed foreign
accent. Thus. King Christian and his consort
speak Danish with {, pronounced German accent,
not altogether surprising when II is borne In
mind that it only some ten years after their
marriage that they migrated from Rumpenheim
on the Rhine to Copenhagen, both OF them being
of German birth and education. King Oscar
and his sons the by no means remote descend
ants of the old Pyrenean peasant whose humble
abode is still shown at Pau, speak Swedish with
Just a faint trace OF French accent. King
Leopold Of Belgium betrays the German birth
ana breeding Of his father, Leopold OF Saxe-Co-
burg by the TeutOn character of his French.
King Charles of Rumania, who Is by birth
Prince Of Hohenzollern. and who served in the
Prussian Army until called upon to ascend the
Wallachan throne speaks the language OF his
adopted country with most pronounced TeutOn
accent. and the same may be said for King
George of Greece. who. like the other children
OF the King of Denmark. was born in Germany.
Emperor William, his brother and his sisters
although they all speak German with great pre-
cision and correctness. bctray by their accent
the fact that their mother is an EnglishwOman,
and that English was the language spoken in
the family by preference. This Is all the more
odd since German is what may be called the
home language OF the elder members Of the
royal family of Great Britain. 1t was German
not English. that Queen Victoria was wont To
in speaking with her husband. and which
she still uses To great extent in her inter-
course with her children land grandchildren
Indeed. 1t may he questioned whether she does
not do her thinking in German. The result is
that both her sons and daughters all talk In
English with very pronounced German accent
which likewise predominates when they speak
French. while their German is distinctly English
in It's accent-tha is to say. there Is no language
used by them that is free from some foreign
accent or other. Indeed. when using his father
tongue the Prince of Wales has all the Briton' =
characteristic difficulty in distinguishing between
the relative merits OF der" die and "das"
and his German while forcible and to the point
il sometimes of nature To tax the gravity of
those to whom il is addressed. The only two
members of the British royal family whose ac-
cent in English. as we'll as in German. is abaO-
lutely free of any foreign faint are the Duke
Of Cambridge and his sister. the Duchess OF
Teck.
All this. however. Is not without its advan-
tages; for, as in the case of Mr.. Waddington and
with the other foreign-born statesmen above
mentioned, So too. with the royal personages the
consciousness Of their foreign origin and accent
leads them To seek by every means IN their power
/ to identity themselves more closely with their
fellow citizens by increased devotion and patri-
otto loyalty toward what may be described az
the land Of their adoption. They are in fact
plus royaste que le rO" and 1t is an open
question whether Queen Victoria's eldest son is
not more jealous of his title OF the first gentle
man of England than of that OF the Prince Of
Wales. EN-ATTACIE