Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1910-05-13

OF the grave of Washington, the man
who had whipped the princes royal
ancestor. George III. There is evil
dence that Albert Edward did not are
much for King George, howev~r, since
he was Unfortunately fond of ThsiS keray,
who dashed the four Georges with Il
whip as cutting as that of Junius. 1t
Is not on record that this trip to the
United States had anything to do with
Queen Victoria's friendship for the
north during the civil war, yet it is by
no means impossible that her mind
vas unconsciously influenced by talks
with her eldest son and prospective
successor. The very fact that he had
been here and knew the situation at
first hand would cause her to seek
light from him. Americans may there
fore owe the dead king more than
they know.
Loyal to His Friends.
One of the most admirable traits of
the king was his loyalty to his friends.
1t mattered not what fate overlook
them, his hand was open to them still.
There is the well known case of the
officer in the Boer war who came home
practically disgraced, but who found
no change in his former crony and
then royal master. AS Prince of Wales
Edward ha6 not access to state Sc
crets, but this was more than made
up to him by his freedom to form
friendships with leading men all over
Europe. One of the strangest and
closest of these associations was with
Gambetta, the republican leader of
France. 1t was one of the most con-
spicuous intimacies of the princes life,
but was by no means the only indica-
ton of his liberal tendencies.
There must have been a peculiar
charm about the person and
of this king that gave him such sus-
tanned popularity throughout life, a
popularity that enabled him to set tho
fashions for the English speaking
world. So universal was the liking for
him that even the scandals blazoned
abroad were unable to shake it. To-
day about all the world remembers of
the most notorious II of these cpl
sodes is the phrase coined concerning
his efforts to protect the name of a
woman, HE perjured himself like a
gentleman"
Another charming trait of his char
acter was his loyalty to his mother.
Before his accession he uniformly for
babe the drinking Of his health stand
ing. remHrklng tihat ne was Only q
subject. He went often to the theater.
but refused to have his coming or GO
ing noticed or announced. He also in
sisted on paying for his boxes and or
dered that If he were late the play
should not wait for him. The same
thoughtfulness for others was shown
in other ways. Lord Savile, who often
entertained the king, was once asked
about his royal guest.
my dear SIR" he replied, you
would neve know that he Is other
than an ordinary guest. He has the
utmost consideration for every one,
down to the servants, and nothing an
noys him more than to think he has
put any one out of the way. He falls
in with any suggestions made for his
entertainment, and | have in my time
had many guests who oceasioned me
considerably more trouble"
His Marriage a Love Match.
The marriage Of the Prince of Wales
to Alexandra of Denmark was due to
a love match. One of the incidents
still remembered was the presentation
of a ring to the bride, the setting of
which was made of precious tones
whose initial letters SPELLED his home
name, BERTHE" They were a beryl.
an emerald, a ruby, a turquoise, a ia
cinth and a second emerald. In his
public treatment of his wife and sons
the king always showed the same nice
observance of the proprieties and con-
ventions that marked all the other af-
fairs Of his life.
That this courtesy was natural and
not assumed is revealed by an old
story of a fire and a reporter. The
Prince of Wales one day went to a fire
with the Duke Of Sutherland. Want
ing to know the details, he asked them
Of q newspaper a At the end of
the interview he handed the scribe a
cigar. Tearing a sheet out of his note
book, the reporter carefully wrapped
this up and put it in his pocket. Don't
you smoker asked the prince. "Oh,
yes, your royal highness," answered
the reporter, but l am not likely ever
to get another cigar from the Prince of
Wales" The prince laughed and, once
more producing his cigar case, said.
you had better have another one
this time to smoke"
King Edward was about five feet
eight inches tall and weighed in the
n~eighborhood of 200 pounds. He was
not especially devoted to athletics or
exercise, but did more or less hunting
and spent as much time as possible on
his farm at Sandringham. He was an
inveterate smoker. was fond of mid