Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-03
WHY KING EDWARD STAYS
At HIRED HOUSES
Special Correspondence OF The Star.

LONDON, September -. 1000.
<<HV1 HY is 1t when the king goes
w visiting In Scotland he always
stays at a hired house," is
the question which is now being discussed
eagerly in London society. and the "a
swer by general consent is that the great
Scottish peers. who own the magnificent
castles and estates in Scotland whch
would be fitting places for the entertain
ment OF the king, are too thrifty to in
wife him.
1t is fact that although Edward Is
very fond OF Scotland in the autumn and
although one would expect that the great
territorial magnates in that country
would be glad OF the honor of entertain
ing him he always goes to the houses
which are hired from their Scottish own
ers by his wealthy English subjects or
instance. he is staying at Tulchan Lodge,
Morayshire, as the guest of Mr.. and Mrs.
Arthur Sassoon. and from there he Is GO
ing to Mamore Forest. Inverness-shire.
where his hosts will! be Mr.. and Mrs
Frank B.bby.
The truth Is that only a very wealthy
man can afford to entertain the king, and
the great Scottish mobiles. while they may
own thousands OF acres OF land, do not
handle much ready cash. Much of tho
land Is unproductive forest and mountain.
and many OF them are glad to let the
shooting to wealthy English and Ameri-
can sportsman In fact, some Of them de-
pend on the rent OF the shootings for the
money to keep up the ancestral castles
and to pay the butchers and grocers'
bills for the rest Of the year.
1t Is not the kings fault that he is an
expensive guest. No one rs simpler I'm
his tastes than the present sovereign OF
clare that he prefers a cut from a cold
joint to the most elaborate CONNECTIONS OF
the most accomplished chef. Custom and
fashion decree. however, that when the
king is a guest In a house the master
must provide the most elaborate ban
Quets. which must be served in the most
expensive manner. There must also be
very large party invited to meet the
king, and this, OF course, increases the
expenses many times. In all but the
greatest establishments q large force OF
extra servants must be brought down
from London, and servants OF the class
that It Is imperative to have ON such
occasions demand and receive high wages.
But perhaps the most expensive fea-
ture OF royal visit Is the renovation OF
the whole wing of the house which Is to
be occupied by the visitor. For months
before the king Is expected the house 10
given over to an army of painters and
decorators, and sometimes In the case Of
houses where the decoration is elaborate
and the original scheme has to be closely
adhered to, the cost of renovation runs
into many thousands Of dollars. Then in
some places even the whole house Is
rearranged. For instance, at Rufford
abbey, In England, where King Edward
paid q short visit to Lord Savile a few
weeks ago. workmen were busy for
months before his arrival. A long seclud-
ed walk was specially made In the
grounds near the river, where the king
could take his morning constitutional
practically unobserved, and In order that
the thing might be as perfect as possible
full grown trees were transplanted from
a forest some distance away to provide
shade and seclusion. The bedroom re-
served for his use was specially decorated
In a beautiful and delicate shade Of old
gold. which cost q lot Of money, and IL
Is safe to predict will not be much use
after the kings departure, as the color
Is one that will fade quickly The din
ing room at Rufford abbey was too small
for the great party invited to meet the
king. and the drawing room was cleared
out and refurnished al q stately dining
room. work that had to be undone i'm
mediately after the royal visitors de-
parture, while long and wide corridor
in another wing Of the house was re-
decorated and converted into q temporary
drawing room.
Lord Savile of course, Is a very wealthy
man and can afford a great outlay. but
he has not spent more than many another
English gentleman who has been privi-
legged to entertain his sovereign.
Under these circumstances 1t IL pretty
clear why the impoverished but proud
Scottish noblemen are not honored with
commando to entertain the king.