Evening star., 1912-11-24
ENGLAND IS GLOOMY
Queen Mary Wars on World,
Flesh and Devil.
PURISTS HOLD UPPER HAND
Even Life of London Music Hall Is
Endangered.
CROWN PRINCE IS PITIED
Pale, Awkward Lad Practically I'M
prisoned While Pursuing Stud
les at Oxford.
Special Cablegram to The Star.

VI 6Shidi, AAIi6 u"oid AS ioe'iAo
this little island kingdom and gloom is
settling over the country. The purists
hold the upper hand and even the most
harmless form of amusement is to be
frowned down. Queen Mary rules and
her will is law
From the very day that the late King
Edward drew his last breath Queen Mary
has been waging war against what she
considers the world, the flesh and the
devil
She began by merciless persecution of
the kings mother Queen Alexandra,
whose popularity with all classes of the
English people was a thorn in her side.
and whom she would have succeeded in
driving out of the country had the wild
owed queens love of her son, the king,
and her sense of duty toward the Eng
lish people and the many charitable So
cieties here of which she is the head and
moving spirit been less strong.
Dullest Court in Europe.
Having dethroned Queen Alexandra,
Queen Mary began reforming her court,
which she has now succeeded in making
the dullest in Europe. to such an extent
that a command or invitation to attend
a royal court function Is now compared
to a short sentence in the penitentiary.
Had Queen Mary stopped with henpeck-
ing her royal husband, tyrannizing her
daughter, ordering her maids of honor
and other ladies of the court to wear
ugly unbecoming and unfashionaDle
dresses in the name of prudery, no one
would have complained much, but she IS
extending her fed of activity and inter-
fering even with the few pleasures Eng
l.shmen have SO far been permitted 10
enjoy.
She has started with the music halls
and unless she is stopped these places OF
amusement may soon prepare TO ciose
their doors and turn their halls over to
Puritan evangelists for prayer meetings.
Following the example OF MS father'
King George attended a music hall per
formance last year and amused nlmselI
heartily, while the queen sat at ms sioe,
stern, silent, disapprovn her thin ups
growing continually thinner. and an eX-
preston Of growing determination upon
her face.
Blow Has Fallen.
Many who were present at that per-
formance felt what was coming. NOW
the blow has fallen, for the queen has
caused it to be conveyed to the purists
that their efforts have her 'warmest
sympathy. 1t is SO hard to associate
the word warm with Queen Mary.
But the managers of the music halls are
not going to surrender without a ngnt.
They have millions at stake, they KNOW
that hundreds of thousands OF p.easure-
loving Londoners are ready to back them
up and they are preparing to meet tneif
foes, whom they hope to Vanqulsn
are formidable.
The National Vigilance Society, the
Purity League, the Society for the I'M
provement of Public Morals and many
other associations aie about to solemnly
go round the Jerichoes centered around
the white arc lights of Leicester Square
and attempt to blow down their walls by
blasts of trumpets
Prince Deserves Pity.
In a cell at the old college of oxford
sits a pale, awkward boy, the future
King of England. In all the world it
would be hard to find a boy more de-
serving of pity. The pleasures of COM
radeship with other boys of his own
age, which even the poor boy of the Lon
don slums is allowed to enjoy, has been
withheld from him. From his earliest
childhood we'll meaning but foolish
mother has used every effort to stamp
out every glimpse of individuality in his
| character, anXiously watching for any
manifestation of the mental inheritance
she feared might. have come to him from
his exceedingly human grandparents
King Edward and Queen Alexandra. Tn
til now she has succeeded The Prince
of Wales is in the hands of tutor, Mr.
Hansell. who is practically a jaier. per-
haps not because he enjoys playing this
part but because he had the choice either
of giving up his position or carrying out
to the letter the orders given him by
Queen Mary. to whom he submits daily
report accounting for every moment of
| the young princes time.
Every boy who approaches the prince
In a spirit of friendliness, every college
lad who endeavors to draw him into the
is the very soul Of college life, is turned
| away by the human Cerberus, who
guards the royal prince, and who sits
| chained outside his door, the queen hold
And among the other young boys at the
famous college the royal prisoner is
known by his nickname Little Pretty"
conferred upon him not in a spirit of
meanness, but Of sincere pity, mingled
with just tinge of contempt.
Awakening Prophesied.
But there are people who cannot be
barred from the rooms of the prince and
from the lips Of these come whis-
pered stories which would cause the face
of Queen Mary to turn pale and make
her despair of the future, for there is q
less portentous to her than the famous
Meme. meme, tekel, upharsin!' because it
propheses the awakening Of an individ-
nality in the young prince, of the dreaded
inheritance from his grandparents as
serting itself.
Inside his prison cells a certain free
dom has been left to the young prince
To certain extent he has been permitted
to follow his own taste in selecting the
pictures for the walls of his study and
he has chosen two characteristic prints
of no particular artistic merit, to be sure,
but of some symbOlistic Importance. One
is the famous Smile damn you, smile"
and under the other you read Even the
worm will turn"
And the worm is indeed beginning to
turn, for one story from Oxford tells of
the prince having uttered some very revo-
lutionary sentiments showing his con-
tempt of things as they are, for on the
golf links, when Mr.. Hansell was out OF
hearing, he referred to his father as
''figurehead' and himself as ''puppet."
Another story relates that when Lord
Roberts had made his now notorious in
Prince of. Wales rushed off to the post
Office on his wheel and sent long tsle-
gram to the little spitf1re,. and told him
that-he fully agreed with the sentiments
his speech expressed. and that although
he was not able to help him now. he
might be able to do so later The story
of the German crown prince over again!
Political Corruption.
There probably will not be so. much to