Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-06

crimson velvet with which to make him
self robe to be worn at the coronation.
OF course it doesn't take anything like
that quantity of stuff to make the gar
ment but precedent demands 1t, and
precedent must be obeyed or something
awful might happen.
4
The hereditary lord great chamberlain, it
will thus be seen, makes very good
thing out of the coronation in addition
to his regular pay. His billet is abso-
lutely superfluous, but for that very rea-
son many years are likely to elapse be-
fore it is abolished. The more useless
an office which represents an antique
survival the more tenaciously do conser-
vative English folk insist on its reten-
ton.
q The noble marquis enjoys another
unique distinction. 1t is the possession or
a name that nobody was ever known to
pronounce correctly the first time he came
across it in print. The correct pronun-
citation is "Chumley." What Is the true
explanation of this photographic freak
no one has ever been able to discover.
There are many soft snaps in the kings
household for the existence of which his
majesty is in no way responsible. In
fact he is the one man in the kingdom
who has not the right to regulate MS
menage to suit his own notions. The va
rious grades Of exalted f1unkeys attached
to the court are prescribed by cast-iron
custom to which the king has to submit
He can't put down his foot anywhere and
say: This chap isn't earning his pay
and / don't want him around. III give
him the sack, abolish his job and save
the money!
any such action on his part would
cause all sorts of ructions that would
probably shake the throne to its founda-
ls 1latc IN 10 ~
menage are regarded as political plums,
subject to the rule, "To the yictors be-
long the spoils." and they are filled by
the government which happens to be In
a lot Of ornamental igureheads were
bounced to make way for others or q
different political faith.
Thus II came about that the Honorable
Bobby Spencer was made Lord Cham
berlain and created a peer that he might
properly sustain the tremendous dignity
Of the position. The job Is an easy one.
but there is more work attached to 1t
than to the Office of lord great cham
berlain, which is a good and sufficient
reason, according to the English method
of fixing official salaries. why he should
receive less than half as much pay.
posed to be responsible for the smooth
running of things upstairs in Bucking-
ham palace except in the royal sleeping
apartments where the first gentleman of
the bedchamber holds supreme sway. OF
course the real work is done by the
permanent underlings who receive much
smaller salaries. When the lord cham
berlain does official stunts he carries
white staff and gold key attached to
his person by blue ribbon. The gold
key never locks or unlocks anything.
Below stairs. among the kitchen pots
and pans. the lord steward is the nomi-
nal boss He gets the same pay as the
lord chamberlain-$10,O00 a year. The
appointment Is political one and when
the liberals came in the Earl OF I4iver
pool had to clear out to make way for
Earl Beauchamp. AS in the lord cham
berlain's department. the real work Is
done by the permanent staff.
Another virtual sinecure and the best
paying of the lot in the kings house.
hold is that of master of the horse. The
salary is $12.50o a year. The Earl of
Granard, who happens to be rather hard
up for peer. although he married an
American wife, found it paid to be a