Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-01-05

Gil AaHShstNtS. upon iiridyAlfS SDlIuly thj
intellectual and moral foundations
which in the eyes of, his conscientious
| and hish-minded father alone could
| safely bear the rishty superstructure
] of the throne.
| 1T is no eNaggeration to say that
| every hour of the Prince of Wales
time from his earliest boyhood until
the death of his father, was mapped
| out by his governors and preceptors
and Submitted for approval.
Although he never rebelod, the
prince passively resisted the high
pressure of his fathers system of edu-
ca tion.
king Edward, in referring to those
days, regretted the decision which iso.
lated him during the crucial years of
his later bOyhood from contact with
his equals in age and intellectual at
tainments. II would not have been
surprising if he had acquired no taste
for books, because as he often himself
complained, he was never given any
liberty of choice, and every book came
before hJm as task. History, for in
stance, as he in later life explained,
was presented to him in it's dryest and
most tabulated form"
Later when he was at Edinburgh, an
abridged edition of Gibbon and Sch
mit1's History of the Middle Ages"
appears to have been offered To him
as suitable rccreative reading.
The late king often used to say that
his university life at oxford and Cam
bridge had been a mistake. but ne im-
puted no blame to the prince consort
for deciiirg that for the prince of
Wales 10 live ii life of an ordinary un-
dergraduate Was Impossible.
When he was l. the prince was Civ
en- moderate allowance, out % which
he had to provide his own hats and
ties, ana later on he was privileged to
choose lis own clothes, receiving q
warning from the queen not to wear
anything nXtravagant or slang" AT
II he was allotted rooms for his sole
use. and tie queen and Prince Albert
in an earnest letter pciEt out to him:
A new sphere Of life will open for
you IN which you will have to be
taught what to do and what not To do,
a subject requiring study more impor-
tant tnan any in which you have hith-
ert,, been engaged For it is a subject
~
your life, how to become good man
and a thorough gentleman"
In the Influences that go to make Il
gentleman, the princes parents real
lied the importance of campanionshlp
and tine value to Il young man of be-
coming thrown into a good set This
comes out very markedly in the conf
Dental memorandum addressed by
Queen Victoria to the newly appointed
euuerries of the prince, in which the
following passage occurs:
THE Prince of Wales must not only
be Il gentleman. but his rank and po-
sition point him out as the first gen.
tleman in the country; he can hold no
intermediate position: if not the first
gentleman in England, he sinks at
once to a level incompatible with his
title of Prince OF Wales
Further on it said: "A prince par
ticularly, should treat all around him
with the most scrupulous good man.
ners, eivility and attention. He should
return every mark of respect, not only
with the most punctilous eXactitude,
but with the appearance of good VIII
and cordiality. A salute returned with
the air VI It's ptlilS q p'iN - i'''ttNA 49,
ahront than a civility.'
The lesson was thoroughly learned,
for King Edwards cordial manner IN
returning salutes was one great
source of his popularity. How early
he began qualifying for the title OF
lie Rol Charmeur" which Lord Rose
berry gave him is shown by letter
of Sir Henry Bulwer, written from
Constantinople in January, 1862, dur
ing the princes visit there.
But what pleased and struck me
more than all, l must say was our
princes own manner. He is always
remarkably easy, and knows perfectly
how to make those little speeches
which princes are called upon to have,
so frequently upon their lips. But TINS
was not all; before arriving at the
breakfast. l just gave his royal high
ness a little insight into the sultans
character, and the things to say that
would please him. The manner in
which ne took advantage of those
hints surprised me. The oldest diplo-
matists could not have succeeded bet
ter or in my belief as WE'LL
Already it is clear the personal
charm and tact that largely enabled
King Edward to win the proud title OF
| 1.-THE Peacemaker" was clearly visible
| to the experienced diplomatistS.
The writer of the review in conclu-
sion refers to the kings personal mag
netism.
'rThis magnetism which won the
| hearts of everyone with whom he
came into contact, and of millions VINO
| nAver saw him, was national asset
worth more to us in our king, than the
| military genius of a Napoleon or the
diplomatic gifts of Matternich. be-
| cause Of it's more abiding quality and
| more permanent results. Chicago
Record Herald.