New-York tribune., 1912-02-18
1.nndon. January 30.

IN the Duke OF Coiihaue"' ""'
respee a. a word from this side OF the
mol cav for I should like to say sew
Atsnu A,.cs and most of all what l
ere, from private sources concerning
e. go Srect in England Of the Duke Eisit ,iI
Ine ..r, -. York and Washington ana Oh ms
70 Ne" nv the people OF those two
recep'.Od ead of the United states, the more
cinsS 80 has been dispatch or two
- -, New York 10 the effect tnat mes
ilO'n from London have described the
ssse, ~ the English as one OF amuse"
slu'O ..tAr than Of sympathy which l
n's"s '... Nbolly inaccurate account II is
a lnu that some of the New York MARIA
uue S-oy,ded for English consumption
uFes f,scr,bed to this public certain
n"'o io;,ies of American enthusiasm
..,,ain methods of American report
anO LIN are not English-why should
haq But these have had little OF
~ - influence on English opinion as
serious view of the visit mas
.oten here, and there is profound
n.sion that the Duke and his hosts
80 dome a great and lasting service 10
80. American relations. His Royal
,,,a.r.ss has been a great Ambassador
t,Ar Lord Pauncefote's death there
Is nrch question here who should sue
nd him 7 was once asked TO say
.,bom / thought likely to be most ac-
..ntahle 10 the President and to the
.msrlcan people. l named three men,
r,r., the late King; of course impos-
.ihle but the perfect type. Second Lord
rsnsdowne. then Secretary OF state TOT
Var 10 whom 1t was objected that 10
.snr him the American Embassy might
:.syn like an official admission that IT
,.. desired TO allow him to retire grace
tunv from the War Office, the one great
,ost in which his success had not been
great The third name was the Duke OF
connaught: perhaps also impossible be-
csuse he was the Kings brother. But 1t
was partly because he was the King s
mother. and had many Of the qualities
which. made the King the first dipIo-
matlst :. Europe, that he would have
hAen a good Ambassador to the United
states. and partly because he was HIM
self.
And now. after all these years, the
Duke of Connaught has made visit of
four DAYS to the United States. and in
those four days has done work which
no other Ambassador could have done in
as many years That he was not an Am
bassador, technically, only makes his
service the more splendid. He went un-
accredited, unofficially, with no creden-
tIals no mission, no authority OF any
kind. Yet between his leaving Ottawa
and his return the friendship between
England and the United States and be-
tween Canada and the United States had
crown closer and more trustful on all
sides It is a triumph not of to-day
only. but for all time.
| am expressing my own opinion but
an opinion based on what is said and
felt by Englishmen whose opinion is OF
real weight and value; and, in less per-
sonal form. by the English press, which
has for the most part awaited the con-
clusion of the visit before attempting to
estimate its results.
Nor is anybody surprised. The Duke
Of Connaught's place in English life has
long been fixed. think l may say that
he stood nearer to the late King than
either Of his brothers, the Duke of Edin-
burgh or Prince Leopold, both dead.
The Duke Of Edinburgh. who, in a sense
renounced his English birthright and
elected to, reign as Duke Of Saxe-Coburg
and Gotha. in Germany, was, to speak
plainly, never popular. Prince Leopold.
Duke of Albany, died in his thirty
fourth year. not perhaps very widely
known except in society. Both in soci-
ETY. and with the people Of England the
Duke OF Connaught has always held
place of his own. They like him as q
soldier and good one. They like him for
the same reasons we in America liked
him: for his geniality. his sincerity, his
kindly feeling, and much else. Here in
England royalty is a royalty, and his
presence at a dinner. at ball, in a
country house, never passes unperceived.
Royalty is caste apart, and subdued
demeanor in the presence of royalty Is
thought correct. The old idea Of king
ship is not dead,-far from it,-and who
ever is of royal blood shares the homage
paid to him who sits on the throne. 1t
Is paid, of course, to the Duke OF Con-
naugtt, but It was seen here long before
you saw 1t in America that this homage
was not demanded. And because 1t was
never demanded 1t was paid the mere
willingly. The same. or much the same,
may be said Of the Duchess. whose grave
dignity befitted the daughter of Prince
Frederick Charles. There was no need
10 ask; the homage belonged to her and
was cordially offered.
II you ask any OF those to whom Lon
don society Is an open book you will be
told that the Duke Of Connaught is a
personage whose popularity is universal.
He has, for one thing, the memory
which is the inherited gift Of Kings, per-
fected BY practice He remembers faces,
and his own face is a smiling one. l
mean Of course, that he remembers
faces he does not often see, and the
names that belong to them, and for their
owners has the ready greeting due in a
measure to the part he and other royal
ues have to play. but in greater measure
sun to amiability and to his pleasure in
SWING pleasure. If it were asked why
ne mad so many American friends before
this visit, the answer is that not in
Dorchester House only but in many
Ahslo-American houses In London. like