New-York tribune., 1901-01-21
A TALK WITH THE PRINCE.
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS A BUSY MAN-HIS
CARES AND HIS RECREATIONS.

CARES AND HIS RECREATIONS.
London. Jan. 1.-THE following is the sub
stance of an interview with the Prince Of Wales
| which is to appear shortly in London maga-
zine There is every reason to believe 1t is per-
fectly genuine and it is understood to be the
first interview in which His Royal Highness mas
! been directly quoted:
| A correspondent who had been privileged 10
! meet the Prince of Wales on more thah one
occasion had an interview with England tut,
ure King at Marlborough House. ms lNoSei
Highness's London residence some days ago ago
The Prince talked with great frankness t cotl
| corning himself and his views on various SUI
| jects q .
If any one ever deserved the appellation or a
busy man." the Prince does, and there are lew
city merchants or business men who work haIuer
than ne does, and the London puDilc mas
idea of the quantity of work ne gets t1IousLI
in the course of a day It is only by following
a most methodcal arrangement that ne Is dDle
to do so much as he does in the time. AS a
matter of fact all his engagements are made
weeks and sometimes months ahead, ana every
hour almost every minute, is mapped out Ior
him. -. -.
When the correspondent ushered into his
study at Marlborough House. the Prince was
seated at an old fashioned pedestaI writns uesh, &
the facsimile of the used by his father the
late Prince Consort. which was plled hleh Win
papers and documents of all descriptions. he
wore black morning coat ana WaistCodt' udi
gray trousers square frOnted collar, with d
white spotted black bow tie and patent leather
Shoes and in his fingers he held the lnevltaDle
cigar. His greeting kindness in the eX-
treme. 1t was merely like an elderly business
man smiling kindly welcome to some young
and daring intruder.
Well what do you want me to say?" was His
Royal Highness's query as soon as the' preilhl-
mary greetings were over.
The correspondent launched forth ms queS-
tions beginning with inquiries about the nu-
merous public dinners which the Prince attehd-
ed and alludng to the published statement that
the Prince held the record for obtaining the
largest sum of money ever collected at one oaH-
quet. ,,s
the record in that respect" said the Prince
And presiding at dinners etc, Tor tne peheHC
Of charities, especially Masonic ones; Az rot
a pleasure to me; the only part wnlch 90 not
like about the proceedings is If the dinner drags
itself out to a considerable length That do
not like. and when dining in private at nome the
meal seldom lasts more than an hour
Il have read many times in reports OF dinners
ETC. at which Your Royal Highness has been
present" said the correspondent, that you were
continually smiling during the proceedings and
seemed to be enjoying yourself very much
Yes" replied the Prince. a shade or wearl-
ness creeping into his eyes. that is where act.
II only you knew how terribly bored am oy
the inordinate length of some OF these dinners miners
and the speeches. and how L am all the time
longing to get away, you would be really sorry
for me- But. there-I mustn't say too much on
that subject
With regard to horseracing and betting, your
Royal HighneSS?"
Il think racing is the finest sport in the world.
and l only regret that 1t should be harmed by
the amount of betting which goes on. Person
ally l am strongly averse to the practice. and
/ always use what lntluenCe L possess lO uISSOuH-
tenance it among my personal friends, especially
when 1t is made a regular practice OF and the
stakes are large"
There are many people who think that Your
Royal Highness has a very easy life or H. ana
that the hardest duties which you have to per-
form are attending State functions etc.
Now here Is some information for YOU said
the Prince DO you know that l myself see
every letter which Is addressed 10 me, and in
the majority of instances dictate the reply!
When the mail arrives in the morning 1t Is
opened by my seCretary'S staff and sorted into
three groups: Letters from personal friends and
relatives those bearing State affairs. and.
thirdly, begging letters and petitions. etc. and
| make II my business to make myself aware or
the contents Of each. This OF itself Is no light
task when you take into consideration the fact
that each mornings mail consists of some hun
dreds Of letters. So that those who say mine
is idle life malign me"
Asked his opinion on the South African mat
ter HIS Royal Highness smilingly shook his
head and refused 10 be drawn out; but he said
that he should always remember with the deep
est affection and regard the heroic conduct OF
the troops in the campaign.
"One more question: said the correspondent.
What Is Your Royal Highness's favorite recre-
alton
Shooting" he replied. unhesitatingly. There
is nothing | Ike better than good days shoot.
1t seems the only thing which takes me out OF
myself and makes ne forget the cares and re-
sponsibilIties OF my position"
There remark that the Prince
made which will be OF interest. II bears on
the Americas Cup, for. although His Royal
Highness has not taken much interest in yacht
racing since he sold the Britannia. he openly
confesses that there few things which
would like better than TO see the Americas Cup
come home again
|