New-York tribune., 1895-10-13
xs1rpPRESSED PERSONAGES."
o,,r IN THE BACKGROUND WHO IN
WHENCE COURTS AND MONARCHS.

-o,rr IN THE BACKGROUND WHO IN
,,,rrNcE COURTS AND MONARCHS.
oora,np the death of the Princess Of Bat
..-,.rg one OF the English contemporaries OF
". rr,hune refers 10 her as suppressed per-
o,ase" This was a term used by Loro beaoo"'-
s.,a IN certain Of his novels TO describe people
-h, although keeping in the background ahu
rsIstlvely speaking. beyond the ken OF the pup
-, ,.vertheless exercise an influence upon mon
,s courts governments and national aHairs
=, raneral an influence that Is all the more
rsrful for the reason that II Is occult Inere
sovereign no statesman. official or politician
=. 10 M. subject to some influence or another
- -, majority of cases the objects Of this influ-
- 70 unconscious Of its potency or even or its
,s,ence while in a few. such as for instance
aha, NJ Napoleon III. 1t Is good-humoredly ac-
~.ovledged. and its efficacy conceded by the VIC
40, II is a peculiar fact however that II is
uareraly exercised by people who have no con-
s.,,utional or legal right TO impart any direction
90 tho actions OF the great. and whom no one save
,hs initiated would ever dream to be enjoying so
,,,cb rs,wer 1t is rarely that the husband is In
eus,cei by his wife. or the monarch by his Caoi-
"a, Ministers, or yet the Ministers by their par
uarentary supporters. The influence is usually
y, more foreign and private kind. and gains In
..rength as long as II remains concealed from the
urying eye Of the public.
The main object Of every Old World diplomat
is 10 discover the influences guiding the actions
Of the ruler statesmen and politicians of the peo-
ple 10 whose court he is accredited 1t Is not suf-
Acent 70 be acquainted with the face OF the clock.
with It's figures and with its hands 1t is also
necessary to know the handspring. and when
once that knowledge is secured II is relatively
easy to judge and even 10 predict just how the
clock will 60. Some ill-natured people call this
''backdoor diplomacy" and hold II to be un-
worthy Of the profession. But this is a mistake.
There is a back door 10 every Office. no matter
whether II be that Of a monarch or Of a minor
government official. and while 1t is not absolutely
necessary to make of 1t ones self Il is Of great
advantage often 10 the nation that one repre-
eents TO know Just who the people who enter
and leave thereby.
yAvORITES OF THE OLDEN TINES.
In olden times this was far more easy than
nowadays. Kings and queens had their recog-
nized tavorites and 50. too, had the ministers OF
state and the dignitaries Of the realm. Thus. In
the reign Of Louis XIV. the Ambassadors accred-
tied 70 the court of France were accustomed 70
pay their court TO the infamous Nine. Dubarry
as the person who enjoyed the highest degree Of
influence over the almost autocratic King. while
even In the present century the ENJOYS of the
court Of King George " would devote all their
attention TO his beautiful Egerla, the Marchioness
Of Conyngham. But in these times. when the
public has been permitted to ASSUME the role Of a
censor, and TO give expressiOn-nay, even force
10 It's DEGREES. greater circumspection Is neces-
sary, and the persons who enjoy the influence
find II best to keep in the background, and TO
such an extent out OF sight that their very exist
ence is even often unknown. save TO the initiated
Ii would be a mistake II gather from the
above that all suppressed personages are of the
character of Nine. Dubarry and of Lady Conyng-
ham Many OF them eminently respectable
Thus until the death Of Prince Albert in 1861
Queen Victoria was influenced to remarkable
degree in her actions. both political and personal
by the German Baron Stockmar. who having
Joined the household Of her uncle and guardian,
old King Leopold Of Belgium as physician. ended
by becoming the principal confdant and counsel
lor not only Of that monarch but also of Prince
Albert. and through him. Of Queen Victoria
They trusted him and acted upon his advice be-
cause they knew II TO be disinterested. and be-
cause they believed 1t TO be unprejudcd. But
his recommendations often ran counter to those
Of the Cabinet Ministers and constitutional ad
visers Of the Queen. whose onerous task was
therefore rendered doubly difficult by the inter-
ference Of a purely foreign influence.
For many years after her husbands death the
Queen permitted herself to be influenced 10 still
more astonishing extent by her faithful but
brusque Highland gillie. John Brown 1t was
claimed at the time that his influence was con-
fined 10 court circles and court appointments but
there IS doubt that the disappearance of the
Queens once SO strong prejudices against Lord
Beaconsheld was primarily due TO John Brown,
who invariably treated by the astute leader
OF the Tory party with consideration and a dis
tnction that al first sight seemed strangely out
Of place the part Of the Prime Minister Of the
vast British Empire 10 who. after all. occu
pied purely mena position
Yet another man who may be said to have in
fuenced the Queen for a time her German
secretary Hermann Sahl. who. having charge Of
her volum!nous personal correspondence with all
her foreign relatives. was consulted about them,
and by degrees became the adviser Of Her Mates
ty in matters extending far beyond the province
{; his Office.
QUEEN v1CTOR1A's CONFIDANT.
To-day the place Of Baron stockmar and Of John
Brown has been taken TO a great extent by Prince
Henry Of Battenberg The only male member Of
the Queens family who is ever at hand. the nus
band OF that particular daughter who has been
her constant companion since the death Of the
Prince Consort. and bound TO Her Majesty alike
by ties Of gratitude. affection and interest. ii is
only natural that Prince Henry should have
gradually developed into the chief adviser Of HIS
august mother-in-law. the one person with whom
she can discuss questions that perplex or annoy
her, no matter how confidential their character
and upon whom. in her old age she can lean for
moral support. Yet Prince Henry is TO all in
tents and purposes. foreigner. unable express
himself correctly in English not even Of royal
blood. and far from possessing adequate expe-
rence concerning either the political or social in