New-York tribune., 1903-06-11
ANEWSMAN 0UT0F COURT
1Fr. Escott's Roundabout Papers on
the Nesc English Reign.
London. May 80

-eeentafive of the press at the great functohS vi
state in the palaces. He checks off the naineS oA
invited guests and makes up the lists for pun
lication in the daily journals No other press
man is allowed access to the court on state oo-
casions and such information as the socieH
s,,,-,,,1s S,,nnl1- about the movements and plans
Of royal personages is obtained os hiuiec'
,,,o.-e a, drawing rooms and clubs. An eoitof
f,ook entitled King Edward VII and His court
naturally excites suspicion. since the palaces are
screened from public observation ana 9ouriiahs'S
are excluded from them as unouiy ihauis
-,eople The title of this interesting DOOR, an
Early conv Of which Mr. Fisher Unwin has sent
TO me has obviously been forced The au'iio'
does not supply secret information respec'ihs
the great personages at court, sucn as Was
found in the famous Greville diaries. He
makes up 2 large gallery of portraits OF men anu
women in tie social and political system or
which the sovereign is the central hsure ana IN
this way he illustrates with fresh material the
tendencies and activities of the reign. For an
undertaking of this kind Mr.. T. H. S. Escott is
we'll qualified He was one Of the most INDUS
1rious of brilliant group Of editors "hich
played a great part in the social ana lnleiieo"oi
life of the closing decades Of the victorian rels
Mr. John Morley the broadminded priios-
orher in this group: Mr.. Frederick GREENWOOD
who proposed the purchase Of the Suez shares 10
Lord Beaconsfeld was the constructive states
man among them; Mr.. William T stead was lhe
irrepressible agitator, and Mr.. Escott was the
l,aenest observer of the social transformations
and personal forces of the period HIS health
failed a few years ago and he was compelled to
restrict his literary activities for a long time;
hut this large and racy volume contains eVi-
deuce Of complete convalescence and the re-
sumption Of critical functions,
Mr. Escott,s book may be roughly described as
a series of roundabout papers about Enghsh
public and social life during the present reign.
II contains chapters on the cosmopolitan char
acter of the sovereign, the Kings atutuoe
toward society. the Church and personal frlenos'
the composition of a representative court, the
Diplomatic circle. royal patronage or literature
The stage and sport; representative coioniais ana
Americans in England, the influence OF the
T,othschilds and other mllionaires, club life and
great hostesses. the religious tendencies or the
reign. the statesmen surrounding the throne and
the new men rising in public life Mr.. Escott
does not adopt any definite plan or method IN
niecing together his impressions Of the men and
events of the times out content to gossip
rleasantly and at times thoughtfully, about
England and its court Some OF the chapters
are heavily stocked with "reminiscences unoer
the pretence of enabling superficial readers 10
see everything in true perspective, but not one
Of them is dull. Mr.. Escott is a genial opt1rnls'
who believes that whatever is is right. especially
If il be in approved form: and while he is
keen well informed observer, he is not a cynf-
cal censorious critic. He has written, with
fexibility of style and without a trace of dog
1natism. an entertaining. good natured book
about England's sovereign and public life.
Transatlantic readers will find il particularly
agreeable since he accepts the American as
persona grata. both at court and in society.
Mr. Escott opens his book with a rerniniscence
Of the breakfast given by Ganbetta TO the
Prince of Wales in Paris twenty-five years ago.
and cites II proof that the English royal
family had become cosmopolitan in tastes. He
contends that the King is the modernized YER
sion of the Prince Consort, and that his social
sovereignty more than compensates for curtail-
rnent of political power since the times Of the
Georges AS the Prince of Wales he began by
exercising kind Of providential control over his
personal friends and gradually his concern for
the social welfare has been diffused until 1t
tends over the entire industrial class. Ilustra-
lions Of the comprehensiveness of the Kings
tastes are his personal initiative and systematic
work in providing decent dwellings for the in
dustrial poor and the organization of a move
)nent for the re-endowment of hospitals. Mr..
J1scott gives this practical illustration of the
wholesomeness of the royal example in many
little matters Of everyday life:
Thanks 10 Edward VII the dinner that for
merly filed the whole of evening is now
merely one of the incidents. AT its beginning
1he function has been abbreviated by proceeding
almost Immediately. instead Of after weaTyfns
interval Of entrees and kickshaws to the game
or the Joint. At the other end of the feast des-
Sert is merely name ornament, like the
flowers on the table About the time that
earlier Kings their courtiers in their own
homes were preparing for second, or it might
be third bottle. coffee and cigars are ready,
the eating and drinking both at an end.
Rigid compliance with this new order was the
condition which alone his majesty when
Prince Of Wales could be induced to accept the
invitations Of those countless hosts aspirant
whose ambition in life was TO expend their rev.
enGes in feasting their future King. The sum of
the matter would seem TO be this: The four
Georges had been succeeded by the fourth Will
lam. All these and the fine folk about them
drank hard played high, lived fast. and gen
orally showed a princely indifference to public
opinion to popular necessities. The Prince
Consort fulfilled q mission to make the court,
with those who within the sphere of its in
fluence. respectable. His has improved on
that by causing il to become comfortable as
palace ever be. in less degree rep
resentative, cosmopolitan and smart
The author does not think there is any danger
Of Queen Tictoria's successor tolerating dis
quieting relaxation of ceremonial or etiquette.
AS regards opera or theatre yisits-indeed. all
public appearances-the prescribed routine is not
less unbending and physically wearisome than it
when the Prince Consort with his own
hands drew UP the programme. Those who
ignorantly supposed the personal service of
King Edward and Queen Alexandra would prove
round of easy delights discovered their mis-
take before The coronation day had been fixed.
Co1rt etiquette is not, however, the only art
which the King has mastered. He has "ac-
uuired an extent. a thoroughness and an ac-
curacy of international knowledge comparable
among the sovereigus of the earth only with
that possessed by the Austrian Kaiser He has