Evening star., 1901-02-16
Edward Made Many a Visit as Prince
Of Wales.
FFEN LEFT HlS DIGNITY BEHIND
People Have Always Had Kindly
Feeling for Him.
IN SEARCH OF AMUSEMENT

get in King Edward VII of England the
Prince of Wales, who used to descend"
at the Hotel Bristol on his incognito visits
to their lively capital. 1t will also take
them a long while to cease to plague Cor
''kid'D about those visits.
| The prince would sometimes be accom-
panied by the Princess Of Wales. and
| sometimes he would come without her.
You could easily tell which. If the princess
made one Of the party, the personnel of the
hotel put on severe, swelled-up and rather
countrified manners, as much as to say,
"Its just like at home" But when the
| prince came alone-with a chosen aid-de-
| camp and a friend or two-the garcons ex
| celled each other in smartness. pretty cham
| bermads in bewitching caps and useless
| aprons moved through the corridors to the
musical accompaniment of their cracking.
| stiff-starched skirts.
| In the Days Of tho Empire.
These things began long ago. under the
| empire At that time the life of the prince
in Paris had that antique simplicity about
| 1t which laid the foundation Of general
reputation. Apart from protocol days-days
| of official boredom-he passed from the
| Hotel Bristol to the Jockey Club, from the
| Jockey Club to the Cafe Anglais or the
| Maison Doree, and then from here to there
| until the morning light The prince would
come back to the Hotel Bristol somewhat
| tired, but no one noticed 1t.
| He was always after novelties. and he
| loved chance encounters. He was joyous.
amiable. generous, prodigal even. Iney tell
of a supper-whch became the model ana
| original of many others, but more stories
| than suppers+at which there was served
up in silver dish beneath a silver cover a
| beautiful young creature yelled with how
ers What Is not generally told is the fact
that the generous prince made her pres
ent Of the silver dish and cover, which she
kept a souvenir for years. A few months
ago it was sold at the Hotel Drouot auction
rooms, where its history made 1t fetch
| fancy price.
You must not believe everything you hear
| in Paris. Otherwise you would come to
| think that mighty prince. whenever wor-
years. would run over to Paris for relief,
perhaps for aid. when ship is tempest
| beaten they put it into dry dock for re-
pairs" they say he had the habit Of re-
| marking. IT'S the same with me. Paris
| is my dry dock, where I come to get caulk-
| ed up" The saying became famous one
| the joke of a prince Is always amusing
and the funny thing is that the Parisians,
because OF their inability to grasp an En-
glish pun. never realized its full. rich fla
vOr.
Paris at London. Indeed, even at tho
present time of strained feelings with Eng
land and the English, from Fashoda to the
| Boer war l have never heard anything
worse than kindly blagueing for the prince
| They say he speaks French with but the
slightest accent. This may readily be: for
| the alleged German accent with which he
speaks English is not an accent at all but
simply mumbling or talking down in the
chin. Now that he is King Edward VII of
England the sentiment in his favor may
change. At the same time it will preserve
his memory from the tales of the boule-
ward, in which the king might not care to
remember the prince.
His Pretty Compliment.
When he chose to he knew we'll how to
De serious in Paris. The Parisians have
kindly memory of his visits to the ex-
positions of 1873 and 1889. On the day of
the inauguration Of the former It rained
| torrents, and when Marshal MacMahon in
grand uniform. came for the Prince of
Wales he was already wet through and
| through. Decidedly" he said to the old
| marshal, your victories are decreed to be
marked by rainstorms'. And, as the mar
shall looked at him a little surprised and
not understanding, he added: 'Is 1t for me.
M. !e Marechal to recall to you the tempest
| OF Magenta?' The old warrior was fat
tered and delighted: and Parisians have
never forgotten the anecdote.
Sometimes his good nature got him into
| almost ridiculous scrapes. AS Is well known
1t was always a pleasure for his highness
| to sit for portrait after portrait at the great
Paris photographers. What Is not 80 well
known Is that he had a certain kind of con-
|
Paris guide or courier-or courtier-called
| Richard. For years Richard had taken the
| Prince about Paris from one exclusive nov
city to another. But the prince was not
| always at Paris; and Richard had always
his living to make. Therefore one branch Of
| his profession was to persuade celebrities Of
all kinds to ''sit'' for such photographers as
would pay him-Richard-a good commits
sion. On this occasion he had persuaded the
| prince to go to an establishment in the Rue
Lafftte. without explaining any too clearly
what for. The photographer had made
splendid arrangements. He had decorated
the front of his place. Naturally a crowd
| had gathered. thinking to see a swell we'd
| ding at least. Driving the prince up in a
| muddy cab-Richard was paying for 1t, and
Richard was Of saving turn-the courtier
was the first to descend. Then. holding the
| door open, the terrible fellow waited until
his august client had stepped to the side
his royal highness! Make place for the best
| friend of Francer The Paris crowd, sur
prised delighted and half frightened. SOL
EMMY uncovered. Then 1t cheered. while
| laughter, sat down to rest and recover his
nerve in the photographers parlor.
Visited Even the Dressmakers.
When the Princess Of Wales would be
with him at the Hotel Bristol. Albert Ed
ward made It his duty-and perhaps his
pleasure-to spend a certain part Of his time
with her in the great dressmaking estab-
| lishments. As usual thing royalty does
not go to the dressmakers: the dressmaker
comes to royalty, even as in the little VII
| lagos. The Princess Of Wales has always
made exception. however. in favor of GER
tain establishments Of the Rue de la Paix,
In spite Of her domestic virtues. her auto
graph collecting, her fancy for dogs and
horses, the real weakness of the present
queen has always been for dress. In Paris
she has even been called frivolous" for
this sole reason. "A little futile" says the
| terrible Madame Rattazzi, who nevertheless
| knew her well; "the slave of the mode,
thinking that nothing-not even a coup
details worth a pretty toilet. The day
| that. she shall become queen the people Of
England need not fear that she viii mix in
state affairs
The princess high collar has, of course,
always formed a "style' In England, where
1t. In truth. has proved a godsend to many
a scraggy neck and hollow collarbone That
at one time 1t made style In Paris is per
haps not so well known. I once heard one
Of the Worth sons speak Of this among
other fashions ssa,L Of circumstances" caused
hide an imperfection In her beauty.
The other evening heard Parisienne of
the diplomatic world tell how cruelty the
princess suffered from this same fashionable