Evening star., 1923-03-25
How the Kindly Tact of British Royalty
Converts Radical Foes Into W. arm Friends

where his utterances were of the
most revolutionary description. In
deed. he never lost an opportunity of
assailing the crown and the royal
house when any of its interests were
at stake. The then Prince of Wales.
without appearing to seek it. con-
trivcd to bring about Il chance meet
ing, and found him extremely inter
esting and AS sharing his marked
prediction for the French. In the
course of time this acquaintance
ripened into friendship, which natu-
rally had the result of putting an
end to all Sir Charles attacks on the
royal family.
1t was a friendship which proved
very precious to Dixie in the latter
part of the eighties. when overtaken
by a disgrace which was to a great
extent unmerited, and when over
lowing crusade organized against
him by the late William T. Stead on
the strength of unproven charges of
an hysterical and crazy woman. On
the first day that Sir Charles Dixie
appeared in Hyde Park for his morn
ing ride after his exposure in the
press and his forced retirement from
public life, when everybody. even his
most intimate former associates, cut
him dead. or else turned their heads
away. the Prince of Wales. on catch
ing sight of him. cantered up along
side of him, shook hands warmly and
then rode up and down the full
length Of Rotten row in friendly con-
versation as public demonstration
that he. at any rate, his future king,
still believed in the prosecuted states
man. Moreover. ii was, thanks to
the princes very active champion
ship of Dixie, that Queen Victoria's
intention of removing his name from
abandoned, and one of the first things
that King Edward did on succeeding
to the throne was to reappo:1t Dillle
to the privy council and 10 place
both his name and that of Lady
Dixie once more on the list of people
who had the highly priced preroga-
tive on the "entree" at Buckingham
Palace.
1t is not. however. through Dixie or
through the late Marquis de Breteuil
that the Prince of Wales established
such strong bonds of friendship with
Gambetta, all stories to the contrary
Notwithstanding. Lord Lyons then
British ambassador in Paris. had
drawn the attention of the prince to
the fact that the dominant but occult
power at the time in Franco was
vested in the hands Of Gambetta, then
chairman Of the finance committee of
the chamber of deputies, and as such
controlling the purse strings of. the
French nation. AS Gambetta was an
object Of particular aversion to Mar
sfal MacMahon, then president Of the
republic, and to the premier of the
day. Lord Lyons was precluded from
establishing any contact with him.
But the prince could, and on ono July
day in 1878, in accordance with COM
mands received, / went to fetch Gam
BETA, a very warm personal friend,
at his paper the RepubliQue Fran
caise, of which he was editor and pro-
prietor, and drove him to the Hotel
Bristol. on the Place Vendome, where
the prince was, as usual staying. We
went up to the princes apartment by
his private staircase, which was for
tunate, as Marshal MacMahon, who
had just been paying a ceremonious
call to the British heir apparent, was
just coming down the grand stair
case. That was the first time that the
prince and Gambetta ever met, and ]
remember how surprised the small
party assembled by the prince for de-
jeuner in his apartments were to find
that Gambetta and his royal host
were the only ones who had read
Nassau Seniors then recently pub