The times., 1901-05-05
MoNARcHs IN DISGUISE.
The Desire 10 Cast Aside Royalty
Leads to Amusing Experience.
{Fron Tit-bite.

| (From Tit-bits)
| Most monarchs desire occasionally to
| cast aside all outward semblance of roy
! aity' and TO pass 70, time subjects in
ms Majesty King Edward Is no excep-
| tlon- Indeed, as Prince of Wales Il was
| almost one of his favorite recreations to
| thus pass himself off as some one OF ap-
| pare ntly less Importance than the heir to
| the throne. and. in addition to the obvi-
| Gus personal convenienCes derived from
| ~ ms Majesty rather enjoyed the feel
| ing occasionally that he was doing the
| uitra-curious public out of a little of its
/ usual royal sport
| The method TO which he most generally
| resorted was that of the adoption OF one
! OF his minor titles, especially that of the
Earl of Chester which he very frequent
| ~ employed, and which disguise thin as
! it was. was rarely penetrated
| On one occasion his Majesty, dressed in
! the quletest and most unostentatious
/ manner, was stroliing through the gal
| leries of the Louvre in Paris. in company
| with an equerry, and. the conversation
| between them being conducted in French,
| they felt safe from publicity. In a little
while, however, two Americans were dis
1 covered to be staring hard at them, and
an argument quickely arose between these
Yankees as to the identity of one of the
other couple IN bet you Size it is the
| Prince of Walesi' said one. Done re-
| piled the other, and it was then decided
to draw the equerrys attention and ask
him politely to crafty their curiosity as
to who his companion was. An oppor-
tunity presented itself. and the equerry
was pleasantly communicative. Certain
ly, he exclaimed. my friend is the Earl
of Chester Sold. by Jovei" burst out
the all-unsuspecting Yankee, who thought
he had seen England's future King. and
| his ignorance cost him his s16e, which he
paid up on the spot, while the equerry
turned away with an amused smile.
What assists the King immensely in the
strict preservation of any incognito
which he may assume is his complete
command of most European languages.
which in most cases he speaks with a
perfectly native accent. Especially is this
the case with his French, and his Ma jesty
who is exceedingly fond of sojourning for
few days in Paris in absolute disguise,
rarely experiences any difficulty in doing
so. AT these times his Majesty adopts a
little artifice which makes his security in
this respect almost perfect. He is an
officer of the French Legion of Honor,
and when he goes about he wears the
rosette which only such officers are en-
titled to. He is at once taken for a
Frenchman.
There was one time, however. when his
sAlajesty, through most awkward COM
bination of circumstances came danger
ously near 10 revealing his identity a
time above all others when he most
most wished to avoid doing so; and the
way in which he saved himself is interest
ing.
1t was shortly after the close of the
Franco-German war, and his Majesty was
held OF Sedan; but was at the same time
very much afraid that by doing so he
might run the risk of offending French
susce ptibilities. which were naturally keen
at the time. He did not wish it to appear
that he gloated over the German victories.
Consequently he decided on a little trip
there in the very closest and strictest in
cognito, and accompanied only by Cen
eral Teesdale. The two put up at a little
hotel there, and had decided that no one
should know where they were and that
-En h.
during their brief stay.
All went well until the time came for
thelr departure, and then the very dis
quieting discovery was made that even
between them they had not sufficient
ready cash TO pay their hotel bill They
could not telegraph for any, for their Sc
cret would then be out. Ultimately they
adopted the simplest anH least original
way out of their dilemma which suggest
ed itself. The general went to the near
est pawnShop, and there pawned, not on
ly his own watch, which would not have
realized sufficient TO meet a somewhat
heavy bill, but that of his ajesty also.
The hotel proprietor was settled with, and
his Majesty feeling considerably relieved
ing left behind.
The king has also found it possible TO
maintain a complete disguise i'm the
streets of London itself. Even just recent
ly, Immediately on his return from Ger
many, he paid visits to Westminster and
two or three other places in the heart of
the metropolis on the same day, without
its becoming known at the time except-
to those in immediate attendance upon
him. His business was in connection with
the memorial to the late Queen.
And his Majesty has very frequently
driven about the London streets in a
hired hanson cab, and IL is said that he
finds doing so one of his most pIeasurable
experiences He behaves just like any
citizen, but always gives cabby half a
sovereign al the end of the journey. even
though he may only have driven from
the Marble Arch to Victoria.
When wandering on foot or in hanson
through the streets OF the capital in this
way, particularly in the former case his
Majesty often makes little personal pur-
chaseS which he could not at any other
time Thus. there is in the hall at San
dringham at the present time a splendid
talking parrot which is trophy of one
OF these peregrinationS. He bought the
bird himself from a street seller one day
when he was passing through Trafalgar
Square.