The morning times., 1895-12-28

Moreover he is actively engaged in business,
not only as banker and broker, but also
as a company promoter, constituting the
London end OF tie SPECTATORS who regard
Cecil Rhodes. The South African magnate
and dictator, as tteir chief.
Then, too, the Duke OF Flies relatives are
exceedingly Objectionable. Each OF his
three sisters has furnished large quota to
the cilronique scandaleuse OF the day, not
on.. of them being sufficiently respectable to
secure, an invitation to his wedding at
Buckingham Palace TO the Prince of Wales
eldest daughter. One of them, Lady Ida
Wilson, cloped with one OF her first hus-
bands servants, TO whom she Is now mar
ried, and was formerly renowned for her
drunken habits.
These habits were probably inherited from
her parents, for the Duke of Flies mother
was a woman of such character that her
children were removed from her, while the
father was renowned for his capacity for
drink. He used frequently to be taken to
task by the queen on the matter, her ma
icsty being very kind and indulgent to ward
him in consequence of his domestic unhap-
piness and the forlorn condition of his chill
dren.
So. one evening. when at dinner at Bal
moral. old Lord Fife remarked: You'll
be glad to hear, ma am. that have givenup
drinking brandy" The queen at once ex-
claimed. ~ am delighted to hear it, lam
sureit will be the best thing for your health"
'.Yes. ina am" continued Lord Fife: that's
what my doctors tell me. so have deter
mined to take to whisky instead" Tes
queen. who has a keen sense of humor. could
not help bursting into laughter at this pc
culiar idea of wha ma be described asalco-
holic reform.
II will he seen from all this that the Eng-
lish people could not dream of allowing the
Duke of life to occupy position analogous
tothat of the late prince consort, iii which he
would necessarily exercise far more influ-
ence than the latter, owing To his wife. the
duchess, being an infinitely less clever
and strong minded woman than her auguas
grandmother. The mere possibility of such
| an cventuality has sufficed TO transform
| the thane OF Fife from one of the most
| popular OF poets, prior to his marriage.
into the most unpopular man in the Kingdom
since that date.
Seldom has there appeared anything more
! preposterous than the announcement in the
| Frankfort papers that Emperor William had
| through his mother, n claim upon the sue
| cession TO the English throne in preference
| to that not only OF the duchess of Fife
! but even of the Prince OF Wales and the
| Duke OF York, on the ground that the
| widowed Empress Frederick Is the eldest
| child OF Queen Victoria and the senior
| by year of the Prince OF Wales.
According to the wcll-defined laws of
succession Empress Frederick could not put
I forward any pretension To the throne until
all the children and grandchildren of the
| Prince OF Wales, of his brothers, the Dukes
of Coburg and Connaught, and OF the late
! Dukeof Albany, hsddied. The daughtersof
| British sovereign only fall into the line
| of succession if there is no son surviving
| or leaving no issue IL need only be re-
membered that when King Henry VIII died
| he was succeeded by his young son. King
Edward V l, and 1t was only after the latter's