The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-08-28
SPLENDID EMBASSY
FOR FRANCE IN TOXIC

purely and exclusively a court dignity,
and paid as such by the sovereign. has
never bceh considered as a political
Office. It's holder forms part and par
Gel OF the royal household. and. under
the circumstances. tits felt that King
George should have been lefe free to
choose some poet of his own liking,
instead Ut having nomination thrust
Upon him b. Prime Minister Asquith.
For King George. like his father
before him, is far more IN touch ,Hlth
public Sentimrnt than HIS ministers.
and he realizes that hardly one man
In Il million of his I00V0O,00C subjects
In all parts of the world has ever even
heard Of DR.. Bridges or has read ms
poems. Tcrnysor, on the other hard.
was poet laureate whose name was
known. and whose verses were ad-
l,:,ied and appreciated wherever the
Eng lish tongue is spoken
The existence OF poet laureate is
only justified when he expresses the
soul Of a people, and to-day there is
no one who has sung the songs OF tho
Rudyard I,ipling. Ills verses are
known from one end or the British
empire to the other in India, In Aus
tralia, ir Canada. South Afr.ca, and
the United Kingdom lie hos done
more to create and dfruse an English
atmosphere. mocc to emphasize the
imperial sense of tine British people.
than all the other poets alive. II
King George had been left free tC
choose. he would undoubtedly have be
slowed the office OF poet .aureate up
on the one mnn designated by popu-
lair sentiment fol the honor, namely,
Rudyard Kipling.
The salary attached to the post is
not large. 1t amounts to $3.50 a year,
partment. in lieu of "a butt of 52rS,"
or butt OF Canary wine" The lat
ter was formerly perauisi,e OF the
office
1t is a mistake to allege, as has been
printed In ihe newspapers. that the
office dates from Ben Jonson, and that
it was first created by Charles /. for
him in 1911. 1t is of much greater
antiquity. For Richard Coeur-de Lion
had n diEnitary of his court who bore
the title of versiiicator regis. that is
to say, the versiier of the King, and
his name was William or Guliclmus
Peregrinus. Johr Kay is described by
records of the hfteenth century as
"Foet Laureate To Edward ~"
Chaucer was the official poet OF
| Edward III. and received a salary
and pcrquisitcs as ouch; while Spen-
ser. or "fanrie Qleene" celebrity, was
the duly appointed and salaried Of
fetal bard of Queen Elizabeth.
The poet laureate in former times
was responsible for the production OF
| appropriate verses OH royal birthdays
and state occasions. But this custom
ceas ed t. be obligatory acter the DEATH
of Pye. Both Southey, who succeeded
him-Sir Walter Scott having declined
the honor-and Wordsworth stipuIat-
ed. before accepting the office. that no
formal cffusioIis should be considered
as a necessity; ard while Tennyson
was generally happy in his occasional
poems Of this class he did not make
Il rule o: furnishing them regularly.
Sir David de Villiers Graar. mem
Der of the South African Cabinet, ana
who has been taking SO prominent a
| part in the settlement of the labor
troubles at johannesburg, received his
baronetcy about two years ago from
| king George. and. although compare.
lively unknown in England save IN
oiii:ial circles, is one Of the most i'm
| porIant figures in south Africa, being
! one of .he greatest business men and
fnanciera in that part of the world
| He is hand in glove with Prime Min
lister Botha. who IL credited with never
undertaking any important move with
! out consulting Sir David. Indeed. the
| intimacy between The latter and Botha
Is such, tf'at the general mas O1teR
| been described as the jonathan" to
the David" OF GRAF.
Graaf makes his home at CaDetown.
and ENJOYS the reputation OF icing the
| best dressed man in South Africa. He
| is very good looking. of the Russian
| general type With 4 beautifully
trimmed beard. and enormous fierce
! looking mustache twisted upwards.
| lie speaks both English and Dutch
| perfectly. is n cunformeG bachelor, md
/ has such eXcollcit manners and Gull
| ture, that it IS difficult to bell .ve that
| he never enjoyed the advantages Of 4
! university training, having begun life
| as an errand boy. thereupon entering
| the employ of his uncle, who was an
| ordinary CaDetoNn lutchGr.
| Sir DaNids youth was spent In cut
! tins up sheep and cattle, and when
! mis- uncle died. nc Inherited the bust
ness Tie SOUTH African War. and the
supply of meat to the British troops.
converted iraaf int" IL multimillion
| aire. He founded the Imperial Cold
! Storage Company, the greatest concern
of its kind in South Africa. While
he does not boast Of his humble be-
! yinping3, he has no false shame about
| having been butcher boy
| (Copyrie ht, 1913. by the Brentwood
Company
MINISTER ACCEPTS CALL.