Evening star., 1923-07-29

manent head OF the foreign ONCE in
London Is it's so-called permanent
undersecretary OF state. The present
incumbent Of that ONCE, to which ne
was appointed by Lord Curxon, and
who has just received the Grand
Cross of the Order OF the Bath from
the king. is Sir Eyre Grove Indica-
tive OF the high regard and complete
confidence which he enjoys on the
part OF Lord Curzon is the fact that
whenever the latter is away, either
at one of his country seats as the
result of his impaired health or when
required to attend official conferences
and international congresses on the
continent, he leaves Sir Eyre in
charge OF the great department at
Downing street. instead of conflding
It's direction to some other member
of tho cabinet, as had been the prac-
tice before his time.
Both in Paris and in Berlin Sir
Eyre rs regarded as the "Eminence
Grisen OF curzen.s Riehelisu. and it
ed upon with particular aversion at
Berlin, this too, in spite of the fact
that he is half German, son Of a Ger
| man mother and married to a German
wife. 1t ts appreciated at Berlin that,
precisely by reason of these Teuton
ahliations, he knows more about the
Germans and Germany than any one
else in the British government. Above
all, he understands the curious Teu-
TONIC mentality. which Is so puzzling
to foreigners. He received most Of
his education in Germany. where he
spent the greater part Of his child
hood, with his mother, who was a
German, Baroness Won Barby, at her
| castle of Gamburg in Bavaria, to
which. his father, the late Sir Joseph
Grove, withdrew on pension after
| retiring from the ONCE OF commercial
adviser to the principal British en-
! bassies of continental Europe. Sir
Joseph was q very remarkable man
In his way. and. before joining the
great French painter Delaroche. spe-
| cial correspondent of the illustrated
London News In the Crimean war
| and afterward correspondent of the
London Times at Vienna. American
diplomats will recall his son, Sir Eyre
Grove, as secretary of the interna-
! tional sugar conference in London,
| in 1887, and at Brussels in 1889. He
/ was secretary Of the British delega-
| tion to the peace conference at The
| sentative at the international labor
conference in London. His grand
| father. Eyre Evans Grove, was the
! we'll known author and historian OF
| the early Victorian era.
| AS for Sir Eyre's wife, she is the
formerly widowed Countess Clems
| Won Bonin. daughter Of that cele-
brated Prof. Gerhardt, the pet
aversion Of the Iron Chancellor, and
who was so warm a friend and con.
fidant of the ill-fated emperor, Fred.
erick III and of his English consort
eldest sister Of King Edward VII
Asa young girl, Lady Grove saw 9
great deal of Empress Frederick, and
the sufferings which the eldesi
daughter OF Queen Victoria had tc
endure throughout her existence ir
Germany. first ut the hands of Bis.
marck and of his followers, and later
| in her widowhood on the part of he,
| eldest son, the ex-kaiser, and his
government. were not calculated IL
promote the affection and regard Of
Lady Grove for the land of hei
4 birth. Indeed, her father, Prof
iGerhardt, was called upon to undergo
a considerable amount of persecution
at the hands of Bismarck, and ther
| OF the ex-kaiser, because of his re-
fusal to surrender to them for pur.
poses of destruction certain conhden
/ tial documents confidsd to him b,
i Emperor Frederick and by the EN-.
press for the purpose Of eventua
publication.