Evening star., 1923-06-24
ROYALTY RATHER LIKES
TO BE CARICATURE BUTT
1t Remained for Plain People of England
to Resent Liberties With
Reigning Family.

dusty glass case, her grouchy old
highland gillie. John Brown. leaning
his arm presumptuousiy on the glass
case, the queen behind him on a lower
step of the dais, arrayed in widows
weeds and wiping away tears as she
gazed at a bust of her dead husband.
1t was very striking cartoon, which
created an enormous sensation at the
time, by reason of the fact that 1T in
terpreted what was in the minds of
SO many Of even her most loyal lieges.
In some way or another the cartoon
was brought within the range OF the
queens eye. and 1t created complete
revulsion in her mind. 1t led her to
the realization that the nursing of
her grief was causing her apparently
to neglect her duties to the people.
1t caused her to write over her sigma
ture a communication to the press
and in which she virtually sought the
indulgence of her people for having
withdrawn to such an extent from
their sight. at the same time assur-
ing them that she had never allowed
her sorrow to interfere with such OF
her sovereign duties as did not re-
quire public representation. She like
wise conveyed to them the assurance
that thenceforth things would be
different. She had learned her les
son. BY no other means than the
rather brutal cartoon of the Toma-
hawk could this have been accom-
plished.
X X X
The queen was especially interested
in the cartoons of Englands famous
comic weekly. Punch. now nearing
the ninetieth year of it's existence.
These cartoons often showed her the
trend of popular sentiment in a way
that she could understand and appre-
ciate far more readily than II con-
veyed to her by word of mouth or in
the form of a ministerial memoran-
dunn. One could gather SO much more
quickly from these weekly cartoons
In Punch even the passing whim of
the public. its changes of temper and
of its manner of looking at things.
than through any newspaper article
or magazine story. She simply de-
voured the pages of Punch.
Aware of this hobby of her mai
esty. each English statesman who
held cabinet office during her pro-
tracted reign made point of keep
ing her supplied with all the carl
catures that appeared in any do
mestic or foreign paper Of himself.
They were sent to her from time to
time in the form of scrap books of
a certain pattern. all alike and. in
asmuch as every minister who served
her from the time of her succession
to the throne. in 1887. until her
death, sixty-three years afterward.
kept up the practice. which was con-
tinued throughout the rule of Ed
ward VII. and which is being car
ried on without any interruption un-
der the present reign. 1t will be
readily understood that the great
library of Windsor Castle contains
wonderfully complete and absolutely
caricatures of the Victorian and Ed
wardian and of the present Georgian
era. They will form in time to come
an invaluable corollary to the history
of the nineteenth and twentieth CEN
turtles, much in the same way and
in very minor degree the coarse
but clever caricatures and cartoons
of Gilray- enable us to understand
many things in connection with the
reign of George III of England which
would otherwise remain incompre
hensible.
Strange as ii may seem, former
Emperor william took after his Eng
lish grandmother in this particular
respect. At first, on his accession to
the throne, in 1888, the German
particularly the comic
press, held back. being afraid of in
curing the divers pains and penal
ties. including fines and imprison-
ment. provided for the archaic crime
Of lese majestic. But he soon caused
1t to be known that he would look
upon every caricature Of himself as
a joke, and as subject of amuse-
ment. rather than offense. This
caused Teutonic caricaturists to set
aside their apprehension and to
abandon their caution and reserve
But some of the unkindest carica-
lures that have ever been printed
about the former kaiser have been
designed on this side of the Atlantic.
Yet. no matter how much ridiclle
they lavished upon him. they were !
all carefully filed away by him in
his collection. 1t is a collection tie !
examination of which cannot fail TO |
have taught him many a salutary
-oons served to- call his attention to !
all his weaknesses. for the things |
that he had done and the things that |
ne said which invited satire.
No one else, certainly not his min !
listers. not even the members of his
have cared to point out to hinS the |
errors of his ways in the manner that !
was accomplished by caricatures, |
which. every one of them bearing the i
had a greater amount of up-to-date |
common sense than that with which |
he has been generally credited. and |
that he also had a keen sense of |
humor. which is saving grace in |
every human being, and especially in |
monarchs. Finally the fact that the |
rx-kaiser should have so Industrious
y compiled all the caricatures max |
ing fun of him, both in Germany and |
abroad. throughout the thirty years |
IF his reign, shows that at heart he |
had far less confidence in himself |
than his appearance of self-suff-
cheney seemed to convey. At heart !
about himself. largely due |
to his physical infirmities. his some
what brutal affectation of self-assur-
ance was often. If not most of the |
time. employed by him to conceal his !
diffidence. Having been personally ac- I
luainted with him since he was seven ]
years of age. and up to the eve of |
the great war. / may claim to speak |
with some knowledge, on the subject |
1t would be interesting to know what =
has become of this wonderful COL |
lection of caricatures, which he must |
have left behind him at Potsdam. For |
there would hardly be room for them
HE ~ ~.