The Washington herald., 1907-07-21
KING EDWARD AS AN EDITOR
He Is Overseeing Publication of
Queen Victoria's Letters.
Book VIII BE Published This Year.
but Kings Name VIII Not AD-
pear on the Title Page.

1t Is not always easy TO work with
kings. In many matters. even in these
democratic days. nice customs curtsey"
10 them quite as much as they did in the
days Of Henrys wooing-and when royal
~ undertakes to publish a book. printers
and binders are naturally forced to await
tho regal pleasure Happily. there have
not been many occasions in history when
kings OF queens have turned authors
Some Of the old anthologies give speci-
mems Of the verse-making quality Of two
OF three OF the Stuarts. but in modern
times, If mOnarchs write for publication
at ALL they do II by proxy, says the New
York Times.
Now. however. we are promised q right
royal book, containing the letters Of
Queen Victoria between the years 1851 and
1861. edited by King Edward VII The
name of the latter will not appear on the
title page In that capacity, the announce
ment being made there that Arthur Ben
son, NJ. A., and Viscount Esher. @. c. V
o., X. c. B., have edited the book by
authority Of his majesty the King" The
real fact OF the matter is, however. that
King Edward is himself reading all the
proofs and exertlng a most careful cen
so1ship over the whole publication. This
is natural enough. since the letters of a
Queen who held so exalted a position and
was so closely related in many Of the
courts Of Europe as was Victoria are
bound to contain state and family secrets
that might cause no end of trouble should
fhgy~ hp civ+prl n la of los
the very obvious necessity for royal cen
sorship. which, unfortunately for the pub
fishers, is extremely deliberate In its ac-
ton and cannot, under any circumstances,
of course. be hurried
It is on this account that The Letters
OF Queen Victoria" has been so long de-
layed. In November, however, of this
year the publishers. Longmans. Green &
Co, believe the book. the three volumes
of which will he printed at the Cambridge
University Press, Will be out
The historical period covered by this
publication ends with the death Of the
prince consort. The letters dating from
that time TO the Queens death may form
the basis Of a future work of the same
character. The correspondence that will
now be given to the public, as soon as
King Edward has passed judgment upon
1t. pictures the Queen from the days when
she was called upon TO select q husband
Of her own choice. She was surrounded
by ministers at that time TO whom she
was personally opposed. and the account
Of her struggles with them, and the
means that were taken to restore the
crown to the popular favor which 1t had
lost during the reigns of her immediate
predecessors will form a valuable contri-
button to English history.
Throughout the book the Queens corre-
spOndence with her ministers will show
how closely in touch she was with the
varied interests of her subjects, while her
letters 10 King Leopold of Belgium are
said TO Indicate the deep interest which
she took In European politics from
mOnarchical point of view. 1t was a time
when the French government was under
going constant upheavals. and when in
England transportation in railroads and
Australian gold mines brought about the
disastrous commercial panic Of 1917. All
this Is reflected In the royal correspond
ence. which deals besides with the East
ern question. the Crimean war, the Indian
mUtlny the transfer Of the government
Of India to the Crown, the Chinese war.
the Franco-Austrian war, and the strug-
gle for united Italy.