Arizona republican., 1900-08-12

loving public in his talents. It may be added that nowhere were the musical gifts of the duke less appreciated than in the bosom of his own family. and so merciless was the criticism of his four attractive daughters that he was wont to declare that he would sooner face any audience. no matter how unfriend- ly. rather than one composed of his girls.
 Of his closeness in money matters stories have been current ever since the time when. as a midshipman, he was wont to put up for auction among his messmates the letters written to him by his mother and which fetched a good prics from those loyal wardroon< and gunroom officers whe were anX- ious to possess an autograph of the queen. When he visited Australia being the first member of the English royal family to do so-he created much indignation by selling in one col ony the souvenirs and gifts which he had received in ether of the antipo- dean dep5 ndencies of the crown. and one of the funniest incidents of this kind was in connection with a newly op- ened gold mine. The owners of the lat ter had, by dint of no end of wire pull ling. induced the duke to visit the mine. and had carefully planted a huge gold nugget. worth several thousand dol lars. at a marked spot. so that the duke should turn it up at the very first blow of the pick which he was to be invited | to wield. The mine owners expected that he would be so delighted with the finding of ths nugget that he would publish the manner in which he had | discovered 1t, and would likewise on his return to London, place 1t on exhi- bition in the South Kensington museum | along with other presents and curios which he had acquired on his travels that is to say articles that he had found unmarketable. In this way they anticipated a Tremendous advertise Elent for their mine, well worth the value of the nugget. But they were sadly disappointed. The duke turned up the nugget in due course with his | pick, gave a grunt of satisfaction as he slipped it into his pocket. said noth- ing whatsoever about it, and as soon a. ever he arrived at Sidney sent it
 straight off to the mint to have it ex- changed for the number of sovereigns that represented it's intrinsic value
 
 When back in England he was fond of loaning :;is various coll5cti to | public institutions, but he never did so without a string being attached to
 his apparent act of kindnes. Thus, if he lent any water color sketches or paintings they were generally in an
 unmounted condition. and loaned on the stipulation that they should be re- turned to him handsomely framed at the expense of the institution in ques- tion. while if he loaned curios or his marvellous fleet of silver models of ships, ancient and modern, it was on
 the condition that they should be r5- stored to him in handsome glass cases with no expense to himself
 At St. Petersburg they tell stories of how. when the late Empress of Russia visited him at the time of her daughter, the duchess. giving birth to her first child. he not merely allowed, but even asked that the cZarina should pay all the expenses of herself and of her suite that is to say board-during her stay beneath his roof. the treasurer of his household actually sending on to St Petersburg coal bill which had been omitted from the account paid by the Empress previous to her departure from England. Economy, while regard ed as a virtue among the humber ranks of society, is looked upon as a positive vice where royal personages and reigning sovereigns are concerned -Marauise de Fortenoy in Washing ton Post.