Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1905-1906, 1906-01-22

TeduS cuTlOuSlF W many pCopiC, WIZ
imagine that when royalty requires a
thing, they simply order and pay for
it, irrespective of cost. During the
latter years of her reign, however, it
is fact, that Queen Victoria decided
to have her pianos on the hire sys-
TEN, and after her death over thirty
of these instruments were removed
from the different royal residences
by Messrs Erard, who had supplied
them.
Most Of them are magnificent up
RICH grands, superbly decorated, and
are much sought after by all sorts of
people-especially Americans, who
would pay huge prices to secure such
a relic of royalty. Only purchasers
who are likely to appreciate such pr
amos properly are allowed to have
them, and innumerable applications
from undesirable persons have been
refused.
His majesty, the King, when
Prince of Wales, was often very glad
to make use of the hire system. Par
ticularly was this so with regard to
horses, when there were many guests
to be entertained at Marlborough
House of Sandringham. Plenty of
royal carriages always there, but as
many Of them were only used once or
twice year, to keep stud of hors-
es sufficiently large to draw them
would have entailed an enormous
needless expense. When occasion
arose, therefore, horses were jobbed
or hired to fill the gap. When the
Prince entertained large numbers of
people at once-suchas Populations
and delegates-who needed refresh
ing and feeding, the china and glass
were invariably hired-if, indeed as
was often the case, the whole thing
was not put in the hands of caterers.
King Peter, of Servia, is having an
unpleasant experience of the "hire-
purchase" system at the present
time, as his own crown is being paid
for by installments. This is not the
bronze crown which is being made
from a cannon kept las relic of his
grandfather, but is the jeweled struc-
ture necessary for State occasions
1t is to cost f12,500, but money is
scarce in Servia, so the Paris firm
who are making it agreed to accept
payment by installments. Two IN.
stallments of f1,250 each had been
paid before the king discovered that
the officials entrusted with the pay
ments were endeavoring to "square'
the manufactures to put in bogus
Jewels, and divide the illicit profits
between them. The payment of flu
ture installments on the royal crown
is ito be made by King Peter himself
The King of Spain is an exampl,
of poor-wealthy monarch who i
obliged to resort to the hire system
Gold plate, jewels, trophies and al
sorts of costly ornaments he has IL
plenty, but they are the property o
the crown, and useless except to lool
at. He has a descent income-ol
paper-but it is rarely paid, and con
isequently, he has to hire right AM
left, when he wants to "make any
thing of splash,' as the American
| would say.
For his forthcoming European tou
carriages, horses, uniforms-practic
ally everything to be hired, an
the reason that he is not includin
England in his travels is on til
ground of expense. His new castle
which is being built at Guadaiajara
in the province of that name, nea
Madrid, is being paid for on the rent
purchaser or "every-man-his-own
landlord" principle.
His neighbor, the King of Portu
gal, either from choice or necessity
also patronizes the hire system. L
celebrate the visit of King Edwar
to Portugal, King Carlos presente
his consort, Queen Amelia, with
magnificent rope of pearls each o
which was separated by diamond
A Dutch firm got the order and az
cepted payment on the -purchas
system. Very big reunions and elat
crate functions are rare in the Swec
ish court, so that when anything on
of the way happens, hiring has to b
largely resorted to. A few years 40
there was a great party, includin
Queen Alexandra, (then Princess c
Wales) the King and Queen of Der
mark, those of Norway, the Car an
Czarina of Russia, the King an
Prince George of Greece and Germa
Grand Dukes and Princes withor
pup,har Tho ,aup:p., 1vcS lald ,