The age-herald., 1901-08-04
Odd Facts About
 King Edward VII

Ruler of the largest empire the world has ever known, Edward VII of England, the mightiest of monarchs, reigns over about 4O0,00o000 people. or a quarter of mankind. In other words. nearly one person out of every four owes allegiance to him
 AS Prince of Wales his income was about one-half million dollars; as king he gets about $5O00 day. about one sixth of Andrew Carnegies income
 Whether in England or on the contl- nent the king receives by telegraph ev- cry night an abstract of the work of the House of Commons His telegrams average forty daily, and the letters are numbered by the score.
 The king the lord mayor and the con- stable the only ones who know the password of the tower of London. This password Is sent to the Mansion house quarterly, signed by the king. and Is a survival of an ancient custom.
 Four men in London, all of respectable standing in society, so closely resemble King Edward in appearance that 1t is
 
 them. They. carefully dress as little like him as possible, to avoid curiosity. l Edwards usual ncognito when travel 1 ing abroad has been Baron Renfrew. He l has also been known as MT. Mouton, and l in Constantinople, where the Prince and l Princess of Wales visited soon after their | marriage, the royal highnesses were dropped and as plain MT. and Mrs Will 1 Hams the pair went about through the | bazaars.
 | Queen Victoria had not been dead fortnight before the advertisements ap- peared in the papers advising the public | to guard themselves against possible | loss by insuring against the death of the king. The insurance companies are rap | idly approaching the limit of the risk they will accept on King Edwards life. His expectation" according to insur- ance tables, is Al years Allowance for moral hazard'-or the chance of as- sassination-reduces this to ten years. As public speaker the king has shown a mastery of such intricate and diverse subjects as art, literature, dramatic his tory military~EHtters, engineering, ship | ping, civic institutions the study of the Bible and mission work, the history of Egypt, the Irish question, the manage | ment of life boats, collegiate education, | ambulance ana HrSt alu training, dBrlCui- | tural implements live stock breeding, the reclaiming of barren land, the man. | agement of hospitals the housing of the l poor the Darwinian theory, railways and | their management, and musical training. | All his life he has been a good listener | to the best that was in earshot. He has l always inquired exactly what he wanted to know, and stored up much in re- | markable memory.
 Between January and September of last year, Edward went to forty-three public dinners and banquets, to twenty l five garden parties and concerts thirty l times to the opere. and theater, to twen- | ty-eight race meetings, eleven times he | was in attendance at the House of Lords. and he fulfilled forty-f1ve official and charitable engagements.
 In his own set his favorite topic of con- versation has been clothes. Over the fashion of tie, the cut of a jacket, and even the shape of boot he will grow loquacious The way he discovered Poole was by the merest accident. It was when Fechter was playing Robert Macaire." 1 The adventurer's coat was apparently a mass of rents and patches but the Princes keen eye quickly noted that the | garment was singularly well cut. After the play Fechter was sent for, and asked the name of his tailor. The actor replied that MT. Poole made the coat he wore in | the play. The tailor was sent for the next day and since that time was a made man.
 The king is an expert shoemaker, a | handicraft he chose to learn when boy being obliged by his royal parents to learn somestrad He has worn shoes of alis own make.
 One of the happiest moments of Ed wards life was when he won the derby with Persimmon, in 1S96 This had long been the ambition of his life His racing colors have always borne a spotless re- pute trough runs of bad luck and good. No one In the British empire Is better judge of a horse.
 Shooting the king places above all oth- CT entertainments that can be offered him, and his principal visits have always been paid in the shooting season. Yacht ing he understands thoroughly. He Is keen soldier, anxious for war office re- turns, and he has seen more of modern German army maneuvers than any othsS colonel commanding an English regiment An enthusiastic playgoer who pays hand somely and promptly for his box, he is easily amused at light plays and quickly interested in stronger forms of dramatic art.
 The king is an inveterate smoker. The cigar is his solace, of special Havana brand made particularly for him, and costing about s1 each. His mother abom- mated tobacco, as did his father and 1t is said that when the Prince of Wales first tasted the joys of the weed he thought 1t discreet to do so in the seclu- : sion of the royal stables. Under "IAkes and Dislikes," the king, when Prince of Wales, wrote in the Duchess of Fife's album. over his sigma