New-York tribune., 1901-01-23
ENGLAND'S NEW QUEEN.
HER GRACIOUS AND KINDLY MANNER
AND GENEROSITY ENDEAR HER
TO her PEOPLE

Uhich embrace one-quarter Of the entire popu-
lstion Of the known world True. there are
many women in English society who are in
aniteIy more beautiful. whose figures conform
Ear more closely to the ideal of the artist, and,
above all. there are many who possess greater
degree Of brilliancy. Of dash and of wit Not
Uithstanding all Of this wherever the gracious
lady who has now become Queen appears not only
does she become the cynosure of all eyes but
more than that, the loveliness of every other
woman present seems to pale; this, too. In spite
n the fact that she is the grandmother Of some
eix little ones and nearer sixty years of age than
fifty.
True she remains amazingly youthful In ap-
pearaa ace, thanks not so much to those vulgar
devices known as making up" as to those
iudicious that entirely legitimate. For
instance, daily massage has been employed to
help nature in warding off wrinkles from the
fair face while the elasticity and elegance Of
the figure have been retained by means Of exer-
cjse moderation and diet, TO the same phenom-
eral degree as in the of the late Empress
oe Austria at the time Of her assassination. The
hair IS dressed in precisely the same quiet and
Characteristic manner of twenty-five years ago.
-ba head retains the same dainty poise on a
neck so graceful that il conveys the impression
" Of a slender stalk supporting flower, while the
ewes assuredly have neither dimmed
GLANCED flashing in days of yore with fun or
mischief or else sweety appealing in that sort
Of pathetic manner peculiar to people who are
hard Of hearing.
Bu+ il is not this that makes the new Queen
of England so fascinating-that renders her so
much more attractive than people Of immeas-
.urablv superior beauty. Nor can 1t be described
as magnetism for magnetism implies something
that is violent and against which one would be
,nclined 10 resist But it is the sweet, gracious
and kindly manner that converts every man
who sets eyes upon her into her sworn admirer.
and that even disarms the jealousy Of women.
transforming them into her devoted friends
II has sometimes been alleged that the con-
sort Of Great Britain's new King is deficient in
. cIeyerness In fact, have it stated in
print-manifestly by people who had never been
brought within the radius OF her charms-that /
she is actually dull. True she is not intellect /
nal in the sense Of her sister-in-law, Empress I
Frederick and It is difficult to imagine her in (
the role Of politician. But from the time OF
her marriage, eight-and-thirty years ago. she
has lived almost increasingly exposed TO that /
full glare OF publicity which beats about thrones,
occupying by reason Of the seclusion OF the late
Queen the role Of the First Lady in the Land.
al any rate in a social sense. And throughout
that entire period she has not made one single
mistake. She has known in her own friendly
and calm manner the people whom 1t was de-
sirable that she should know. She has steered
clear Of all those acquaintances which might
have given rise TO i'll natured comment She
has never lost her head never rendered herself .
guilty Of anything that could be construed as
partaking Of the nature of a faux pas. and
has by means Of the atmosphere Of ideal refine
ment which she seems to diffuse around her
kept within bounds the tendency Of modern So
ciety 10 exuberance and vugarity, and, perfect
in tact has presented through her married life
of he mos domestic
ness Finally, in an age where calumny is so
ripe and all prevalent that not even an angel
descended from heaven would be permitted TO
retain the celestial garments unsullied and the
wings unrufled. no breath Of scandal has ever
tarnished even for a heeting moment the fair
name Of England's new Queen. Surely, when .
one considers all the temptations o. one kind .
and another TO which a woman in the position /
Of the royal lady who has until borne the /
tide of Princess Of Wales is exposed. every one .
intent on hattering her. and many endeavoring /
IN vain 10 poison her mind against those whom
they wish to GUST from her favor, the fact that 1
she could be without a single mistake in her rec
ord indicates that. far from being dull or fool
ish person she must be possessed Of extraordi
nary cleverness.
Equally mistaken is the impression which pre-
walls that she has taken part whatsoever in
public life. It estimated the other day
action she has during the nearly four decades
that have elapsed since she first came TO Eng
land as the bride Of the then Prince Of Wales
been instrumental in securing the subscription
and contribution Of no less than $250.000,000
for charitable and philanthropic enterprises
This in itself is an achievement which conveys
some idea of the usefulness OF the royal lady's
life and the benefit which she has proved to the
land of her adoption
Not merely columns, but volumes could be
written OF her innumerable acts of kindness a.
generosity and of tender consideration for others,
but viii merely relate one little incident which
ocCUrs TO me at the present moment, and which /
may serve 10 illustrate the sympathy which she |
feels and which can only be surpassed by the |
sympathy which she inspires. Some time ago,
when she was in London, an old lady in wait
ing of her mother the late Queen OF Denmark,
lay dying in the Royal Palace at Copenhagen
She had known the present Queen Of England
since the latter's infancy and deeply at
tsched her. King Christian writes every
week to his daughter in England. and in one Of
his letters declared that the dying lady's one
.sh was to speak with her Princess Alex
before she expired. Alexandra was quite unable
70 leave England at the time. but she spoke
tender and sympathetic message into a phono-
graph and dispatched il to Copenhagen by spe-
oal messenger Already the dimness Of death |
had yelled the old ladys eyes when the phono-
grarh out its message Of love and hope,
and as the last words died away ard only the
vibrations OF the phonograph fingered on the air |
she sighed happily, and with God bless YOU.
dear on her lips passed away to another world
IT anything could console the English people
toI the loss which they have sustained in the