The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-18
From the New York Sun.

WYE fancy that Mr.. Thackeray
M would have been puzzled Ii
" he had had to write about
any of the four Georges with so
slender a stock of anecdotes as
is available to light up the character
of the fifth George. who is now King OF
England. We can see the dear old sem
timentalist selling upon the story OF
how Prince George, when comman der
of the Thrush on the West India sta
ton read morning prayers on board be-
cause gunboats carried no chaplains.
George, gay blade enough when not OH
duty, was most conscientious in pre-
pairing for the Sunday service, reading
the lessons to study his voice and sing
ing chants and hymns, as he had done
at home in the household of his pious
grandmother, with those officers and
men whom he could interest in the
exercises.
And we are sure that Mr. Thackeray
would be deeply affected by the princes
goodness when he asked the admiral to
allow him to try his hand in reforming
a scapegracc who was thought to be In
corrixible and actually succeeded with
moral suasion and by giving the fellow
shore leave. Having dressed up this
material, Mr. Thackeray would be
thrown back upon idyllic stories OF
Georges domestic life, and perhaps
wicked escapades and spicy epigrams to
record, concluding that the fifth
George was an Indifferent subject for n
public lecturer.
One gets the impression from what
has been written about George. Prince
of Wales, that his qualities were rather
those of his excellent grandmother than
those of his accomplished father. We
speak of course of the prince retired
from the navy and sobered by the
shadow of a great responsibility. As q
naval officer he bore some resemblance
to the Duke of Clarence, who became
William ", having a BLUM, hearty way
about him and a taste for srog of
which he was not ashamed. 1t will
be well for England. however, If the
parallel does not go further, for Will
liam ~ abused his prerogative and
muddled his way. through brief and
unpopular reign.
By no stretch of the Imagination
could George, Duke of York, be re-
ga. led as a brilliant naval officer, and
as Prince of Wales his public appear
ance never recalled the urbanity,l del
icate tact and easy address of his faith
err, who used to represent Victoria so
admirably. But it must be remem-
bered that George was not educated
to be Prince of Wales or king. and
the navy is not a good training school
for either men of the world or dip
lcmats. Nevertheless. il he failed to
shine as Prince of Wales he did nor
neglect the work and functions that fell
to him. Accounts agree that he gave his
mornings to his correspondence and
toiied through 1t industriously, al
though with a sense of boredom, and
to opening institutions and shows as
heir to the throne he acquitted HIM
self well, although it was plain that
he disliked ceremony and had no love
for pomp and circumstance. That his
popularity declined after he left the
navy there is no doubt; though he con-
tlnucQ 10 DC III lie PuuiiC VSSs az
preferred country joys and was OBJ
scured FIRST by his fathers fame al
Prince of Wales, and then by the pres.
| tige of Edward VII as diplomatist and
peacemaker. Only versatile man ant
one of great originality or force Of
character could have shone under thu
circumstances, and George seems t.
be neither.
| At the same time he has solid Eng
j lish qualities, and there is some testi
mony that he II familiar with publi'