The San Francisco call., 1896-04-26

they have built with the other. Baron de
Hirsch's relations with royal personages,
chiefly OF the Coburg and Orleans fam
lilies, mark an entirely new departure in
the development of monarchicaI etiquette.
Princes In all times have had queer deal
ings with financiers, but it was Hirsch
who started the idea of rich Jew who in
return for the privilege of being of one of
royal party, paid all OF the card losses OF
his royal friends and never took any winn-
ings from them. This has now come TO be a
regular institution. 1t is what old Sassoun
was doing at that famous baccarat party
at Tranby Court, and though the Prince of
Wales takes less pains than the rest to dis
semble these things, almost every other
Prince in Europe has his Sassoun on hand
as much as his valet or barber. They say
in Paris that the Orleans Princes among
them must have gathered in literally mil
lions of francs from the Baron's huge
hoard on this basis, and the whole troop of
Austrian Archdukes, even while they pub
hcly professed the bitterest anti-Semitic
preiudices, kept themselves in pocket
money from the same source.
England had national concern in the
baron death. since it is understood that
he had enormous landed and other invest
ments here, which, under the new death
duties, would ordinarily yield revenue
enough to build three or four new first
class men-of-war, which is what the Eng
lish are doing just now with all their spare
money, but he was an Austrian subject and
his will is to go to probate in Vienna and
much doubt exists as to what extent and
how the British tax claims on the estate
are to be enforced.
Leon Say was about the last of genera
tion of French publicists, largely Portest.
ants, whose temperaments and ideas were
formed under the strongly pro- English
regime of Louis Philippe and Napoleon
III. These men visited England, read
English books and papers, got most of
their economic political inspiration from
England and for many years they had
great influence in France, but it began
dwindling as soon as Gambetta died. Since
then they have been more and more back
NUM- bers, till now the London press de-
voted far more obituary space to Leon
Say than did the Partisan, and few other
veterans like him who are left get no hear
ing whatever from the new Gaul of the re-
public, which instinctively hates free
England, or rather pretends to itself to
hate it, solely to excuse to itself its friend
ship with enslaved Russia.
Dagnan-Bouvert again centers attention
on himself at the Champs ds Mars salon
this year by picture of "The Last Sup
per-" which every rypody is talking of. In
grouping It follows, apparently with inten
tion, Leonardo da Vinci's arrangement
but the Savior is standing with large glass
of h1nOd rod ir,h ic hon
sively at vacancy. Aside from the artistic
merits of the work, which are exalted by
some and denied by others, Paris is inter-
ested in identifying the portraits of the
Disciples with well-known living people.
Puvis de Chavannes' five big panels for
Boston, if less popular. excite strenuous
praise from the critics, and our own Ban
mats full-length portrait of Otero receives
place IN all quarters among dozen fore
most pictures
The announcement that the Queen has
established new order of knighthood.
called the Royal Victorian, is received by
the London press with panied silence Bv
intuition many people guess, though no.
pody says more, 1t Is intended to make
Alfred Austin the premier knight. This
new foundation is the Queens defiant an
swer to his critics.
Henry Arthur Jones' new drama at the
Garrick, 1.-The Rogue's Comedy" is sus-
pected to be an old work brought with
somewhat crude haste up to date and
fashioned into one-part play to fit w IL
lard. This it does with so much aptness
that it is likely to make money for both
actor and author, but it will certainly not
enhance the fame of the latter. The pIay
is written with much less than Jones'
usual felicity of diction, and is struc-
turally improbable to the point of bur
lesOup thOuph no finn ia intandad
HAROLD FREDERIC.