The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-11-22


uine. and preventing her from being i'm
posed upon She always acts on ths
maxim, bis dat Gui cito dat, and in num-
beriess cases Sir Henry's kindly-wcrded
letter. with the small sum OF ready money
iuciose6 was me earliest alienation OF
sorrow. the first balm 70 a bleeding heart
But for that very reason Il was all the
more necessary for him 10 he prompt and
searching In his inquiries. The queen
set a wise and truly humane example in
positively refusing TO give anything 20
prorlfscuo charity which simply means
encouraging fraud and bringing discredit
on real benevolence: and the keeper Of
the privy purse showed his ability quite
as much fl what was refused or ignored
as I'm what was granted When the riots
occurred I'm the west end OF London some
years ago, and numbers OF foolish peo-
pie FASTENED To subscribe great sums for
the so-calIed ''unAmploved' the queen
would not give shilling. Sir Henry Pom
sorby made careful inquiries. with the re-
suit that the usual letter and enclosure
never appeared. The radical papers howl
ed and clustered. but the queen does not
care a straw fer thar sort - unpopular
ity. Attacks were made on the royal fam
Ivy and the court officials. but ii all made
no difference. Her nlaiesty's royal purse
remained tightly clasped. and all the rich
people taking their cue from her. the ''un-
employed" fund was a failure. 10 the
=
sense enough TO see that II was only
premium on violence and pauperisn1-
In al such matter as these Sir Henry
Ponsonby was the queens direct and only
adviser. The queen has a temper OF hx
own. and Is very stiff in her opinions. and
sometimes Sir Henry's views on money
matters did not please her at all. She
would give where he would withhold, and
she would withhold where he would give.
The very few mistakes that she has made
in her benevolences have been when she
has acted against Sir Henry's advice or
allowed herself TO be got at by some weak
minded woman OF no knowledge OF the
world.
On two or three occasions the queen has
behaved so foolishly or so wronghead-
edly that people have wondered whether
she was In her right mind, and what sort
OF idiots she had about her. good
many years ago the royal yacht, while
crossing the Solent at the rate Of seven
teen knots an hour, with the queen on
board, cue down sailing boat and drown
ed four persons. including one or two wo-
men The Prince Of Leiningen. a near re-
lative OF the queen. vas in command, and
there was serious talk of having him tried
Cor manslaughteT and a very angry feel
ing about the whole affair Clearly the
proper thing for the queen TO do was 10
express sympathy with the relatives OF
The deceased TO offer compensation for
cry facility for inquiry as TO who was 10
blame. But she yielded 10 some bad adj
vice, and did the wrong thing in every
way. She took no notice of the suffer
ers by the accident, but she sent q hand
some present to the Prince OF Leiningen
for taking such good care of her and OF
her yacht, and, most foolish of all, she
allowed him to refuse to give evidence al
the coroners inquest, on the absurd
ground that he was an officer in the
navy. This all came of her listening to
courtiers and foreigners, instead OF con-
sulting an experienced and level-headed
man OF affairs like Sir Henry Ponsonby.
Nearly as bad a case was this, When
Col. Valentine Baker, or the Tenth Hus-
sars, attempted to assault Miss Dicken-
son, in a railway carriage she. like a
good. plucky girl, got outside and rode
for miles hanging on to the door handles
at the risk Of her life. The colonel was
most justly sent to jail, and the queen,
through Sir Henry Ponsonby. wrote Miss
Dickinson letter of warm praise and
gave her her portrait and autograph for
a keepsake Baker served his term and
went to Turkey and Egypt, where he dis
played such bravery that his female
friends made a. tremendous effort 10 get
him back into society. The Prince OF
Wales befriended him with much more
generosity than discretion, and by some
unaccountabie means the queen was mis-
Dickinson Immediately sent back the
queens portrait with a scathins letter. in
which she said quite truly that TO accept
Col. Baker as a decent man was TO con-
denim her as a decent woman. There was
a roar of public opinion in favor OF the
girl. and Baker had to fly TO parts I'M
known, where he died. Here again the
queen made the fatal mistake OF taking
advice from those who had their own OBJ
tects 10 serve, instead of those who con-
slider solely. what is best for her dignity
and fame. Sir Henry Ponsonby had moth
ing to do with that.
The queen is very hard worker, with
very methodical habits. and she never
spares any OF her employees. She Is an
early riser, and often before breakfast
Sir Henry Ponsonby was sent for TO go
through the letters that had arrived by
the first mail or by special messenger.
and by 10 o'clock the regular business OF
the day was in full swing. the queen look
ing Into everything herself, asking Tn
Vulnerable questions, requiring minute ex-
plantations Of every subject, often having
the leading newspapers read aloud 10 her,
and discussing each item of her huge cor
respondence In a sharp. peremptory way.
The whole morning was thus occupied,
with the result that. while the queen went
for drive. or attended some public func-
ton in the afternoon. Sir Henry Ponson-
by was hard at work I'm his Office, with a
bevy OF trained clerks. dispatchiug letters
or communications preparing replies TO
addresses and getting rid Of the load OF
business piled up ia the morning. Every
single communication from the queen 10
anybody else, except such as are strictly
official or strictly domestic. went through
him. lie also conducted all the confiden-
tial relations between the queen and the
ministers or other great officers OF state,
up 10 the point where they could he taken
over by departmental officials. and he was
largely employed. especially of late years
IN The queens family affairs.
II is no secret that the members Of the
royal family, male and female. young ana
OH. British and foreign. do not always
get on very we'll together. There are
i-Riousies ard dislikes and unpleasant
r~sSes Of many kinds. sometimes quite
dramatic in their character. including love
affairs. money matters. court intrtgues,
and even undeu.ahle scandals. II was Sir
Henry POnsoubys duty 70 know all about
these, % aclIaiut the queen with them
according to his discretion. and himself
20 act on behalf Of the queen in mum ber-
less Instances as mediator. peacemaker or
censor. Many time. Therefore, when he
had "a hard days work and q hurried
dinner. and would gladly spend a quiet
evening with his children or az the club
Departments 20 receive instructions about
ser1e domestic mission. which kept him
busy In ne most unpleasant way till mid
r'Eh.. The truth Is. he became sort OF
indispensable, what me Germans call
'pr1vi3ecz' ga the royal circle. ana snow
~d So much tact ana good feeling and uD-
varying honesty Of purpose that the most
conflicting royalties looked on him "a
'hal- guide philosopher and friend. wei