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MEMOIRS OF 
 PRINCE JOHN DE GUELPH 
 
THE MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 PRINCE JOHN 
 DE GUELPH 
 
 EEX ET IMPERATOR DE JURE 
 
 OF 
 
 Great Britain and Ireland 
 
 With Introduction and Many 
 Photographs 
 
 NEW YORK 
 B. W. DODGE & COMPANY 
 
 1910 
 

 COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY 
 
 WILLIAM RICKEY. 
 
 Registered at Stationers' Hall, London. 
 (All Rights Reserved) 
 
 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 PRESS OF WILLIAM 0. HEWITT, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 
 
 g_GU 280059 
 
gjetfijcatim* 
 
 TO MY BELOVED MOTHER 
 
 To the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, to the people of the Colonies and British Possessions 
 beyond the Seas, to the people of my beloved India, and to the 
 people of the United States of America (whose hospitality and 
 friendship I have enjoyed for the past twelve years), this 
 book is dedicated in the name of the Most High — the King of 
 Kings. 
 
 Ekam eva advUiyam. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter I 
 
 Direct Lineal Succession and Royal Titles of John II Rex et 
 Imperator de Jure of Great Britain and Ireland and of the 
 Empire of India Page 1 
 
 Chapter II 
 
 Casper Hauser Redivius — not quite — Comparing the Early 
 Fate of John De Guelph with that of the Famous Foundling. 
 
 Page 19 
 Chapter III 
 
 Marriage of the first Princess Consort to H. R. H., the Prince 
 of Wales — Facts About the Marriage— The Place of Meeting of 
 the Prince of Wales as a Young Man Page 24 
 
 Chapter IV 
 
 The Royal Family Council at Buckingham Palace— The News 
 of the Prince's Marriage has reached the Queen — Plotting at 
 the Family Council Page 30 
 
 Chapter V 
 
 The Royal Tiff— Lively Scene in the Queen's Closet— The 
 Queen wants to Manage the "Affair" all by herself and the 
 Prince Consort objects — Details of the plot hatched by the 
 Queen — The Marriage to Princess Alexandra Page 35 
 
 Chapter VI 
 Early Impressions Page 40 
 
 Chapter VII 
 
 Earliest Recollections— I snub my Grandmother, the Queen — 
 
 I declare a "Holy War" Page 49 
 
 yii 
 
viii Contents 
 
 Chapter VIII 
 
 A Pathetic Meeting — Fruits of Scarlet Sin of Royal Court 
 visited on Second and Third Generations — Why King Solomon 
 was Favored of God Page 60 
 
 Chapter IX 
 
 A series of Amusing and Painful Incidents — I remove to 
 Lichfield, Staffordshire Page 10 
 
 Chapter X 
 
 Chafing under the Injustice of my Disinheritance and Re- 
 straint in my False Position I throw off my Yoke and go into 
 the World — a Man among Men Page 8% 
 
 Chapter XI 
 
 I enlist in the Bedfordshire Regiment stationed in Ireland — 
 Amusing Incidents with Irish People — I refuse Promotion to 
 become better Acquainted with the Soldier's Life. .. .Page 100 
 
 Chapter XII 
 
 Amusing stories of a Soldier's Life in Ireland — With Col. 
 Hillier on Spike Island— Outbreak of Convicts — I play the role 
 of Commander of Cork Harbor Page 111 
 
 Chapter XIII 
 
 Spike Island University of Experience — The Sorrows of Ire- 
 land Portrayed in Chains — Inhuman Evictions, Starvation, Pes- 
 tilence, and Death — My soul Stirred with Pity, I take up the 
 Burden of my Mother's Ancestral Home Page 122 
 
 Chapter XIV 
 
 Queen Victoria's Pro-German Policy Cause of Oppression in 
 Ireland — Proclamation for the Emancipation of Ireland. 
 
 Page 139 
 
 Chapter XV 
 I sail for India — Incidents of Voyage Page 1^5 
 
Contents ix 
 
 Chapter XVI 
 
 My Welcome to India in Striking Contrast to that of my 
 Father's — My first Impressions of the Land of Famine — "In- 
 dia's Coral Strands," "The Valley of Dry Bones"— The Dying 
 and the Dead — Shape my Future Life and I resolve to solve the 
 Problem— Incidents of Early Military Life in India. . .Page 152 
 
 Chapter XVII 
 
 Military Life in Secunderabad — I attend Military School — I 
 begin the study of Oriental Languages — Sorrow and Soli- 
 tude—Ordered to Cannonore, Malabar Coast — Incidents of 
 March — Elephant runs Amuck in Camp! — Diamond fields and 
 ruby mines of India and Burma Page 165 
 
 Chapter XVIII 
 
 Military Duties— Influence of Missions on Social Life of Mili- 
 tary Camps — Oriental Philosophy — I assume the role of "The 
 White Yogi! " Page 115 
 
 Chapter XIX 
 
 At Malliapurem — I visit the Warlike Maphlas— In Maphla 
 Town— The Sacred Temple of Talliparamba— A personal en- 
 counter with Tiger!— In Bed with a Cobra! Page 183 
 
 Chapter XX 
 
 A False Alarm!— The Blind Missionary— A True Romance— 
 I refuse the Management of a large Tea and Coffee Planta- 
 tion— "Pangs of Regret" Page 194 
 
 Chapter XXI 
 
 I rejoin my Regiment — Military Life in Burma — An Exciting 
 Time with a Company of Madras Native Infantry! — I leave the 
 Army — Appointed Inspector of Police — An Exciting Arrest! 
 
 Page 201 
 
 Chapter XXII 
 
 Epidemic of Cholera— My Experience in the Cholera Sheds — 
 I go to sleep with Dead Convicts, Victims of Cholera! Page 212 
 
x Contents 
 
 Chapter XXIII 
 
 I Amuse the General's Daughters — Detective Duty — Chasing 
 Dacoits!— Visit of the Viceroy— A Wild Drive— Rangoon en 
 fete et en Grande Tenue! Page 219 
 
 Chapter XXIV 
 
 Transferred to Mandalay — I am placed in Command of the 
 Burma Military Police— Ambushed and Captured, I Surprise 
 my Captors Page 230 
 
 Chapter XXV 
 
 I enter the Prison Service — I Supersede my Superiors — In- 
 novation in Prison Administration — A Study of Criminology — 
 The Practical Application of Physiological-Psychology to Ab- 
 normal Data, as Found in the Criminal and Insane. .Page 237 
 
 Chapter XXVI 
 
 Prison Reforms which Affect the Judicial Department and 
 Put a Stop to Wholesale Executions Page 2U 
 
 Chapter XXVII 
 
 An Outbreak of Convicts— Warders Killed and Wounded— 
 Others escape — I run to their Assistance and Find Myself Un- 
 armed and Unsupported before Two Thousand Armed Convicts! 
 
 Page 25k 
 
 Chapter XXVIII 
 
 Transferred to Bassein — In the Power of Assassins — I estab- 
 lish Schools— I visit the Malay Peninsula Page 262 
 
 Chapter XXIX 
 
 A Comedy of Errors— I am taken for an ex-Convict— Shad- 
 owed by General Manager of a Department Store — The Bishop's 
 "cooking brandy! " Page 272 
 
 Chapter XXX 
 
 A Passage of Arms with the Rebels— I run Risk of being 
 Converted into Pemican Page 279 
 
Contents xl 
 
 Chapter XXXI 
 
 I am Taken Dangerously 111 — Being Urged Upon by my 
 Spiritual Adviser I send a Message of Forgiveness to my 
 Grandmother, the Queen, and my Father, and Thereby Reveal 
 my Identity Page 286 
 
 Chapter XXXII 
 
 I am Recommended for Chair of Burmese in Cambridge Uni- 
 versity — I Sail for England — Buffeted by Southwest Monsoons, 
 we reach England much Battered and Crippled Page 292 
 
 Chapter XXXIII 
 
 I Return to Burma— I Espouse the Cause of the People — My 
 Growing Popularity a Menace to those who had Usurped my 
 Rights — Fifteen years of Political Intrigue and Persecution fol- 
 low Page 298 
 
 Chapter XXXIV 
 
 I Sail for the United States to treat a Blind Millionaire, but 
 fall into the Hands of the Philistines of New York. . .Page 309 
 
 Chapter XXXV 
 
 Travels in the Interest of Science — I go to California — In the 
 Earthquake of San Francisco — I return to England — Cancer 
 Research — I Receive the thanks of my Father, King Edward VII 
 
 Page 315 
 
 Chapter XXXVI 
 
 Business in New York — I found The American Statist — In- 
 terest myself in American Politics — A Lady of Worth — The 
 American Legislative Union — Public Health Society to Raise 
 the Standard of the Public Health Page 325 
 
 Chapter XXXVII 
 Conclusion 
 
 Prince John Thanks his Many Friends and Faithful Sup- 
 porters in the British Empire, the Press and many Friends 
 and Supporters in America — Was "The lady in black" the Dis- 
 carded Wife— the Rightful Queen of England — my Mother, per- 
 
xii Contents 
 
 mitted to view the Remains of her Husband— my Father, the 
 King, who, moved by a False Sense of Duty to the Nation and 
 the Coercion of his Mother, had Discarded boh Wife and Child? 
 
 Page 334 
 DIEU BT MON DROIT. 
 MAY GOD DEFEND THE EIGHT. 
 
 ADDENDA Pages 339-1,61 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Prince John de Guelph Frontispiece 
 
 Lineal Successor to Late King Edward VII. 
 
 facing page 
 Prince John de Guelph 143 
 
 Rex et imperator de jure. 
 
 Prince John as a Missionary 285 
 
 His Majesty King Edward VII 288 
 
 Queen Victoria 306 
 
 Late Rev. Geo. A. Carpender 430 
 
TO THE OPEN-MINDED READER 
 
 Heke comes a story, a realistic romance, which 
 simply, as such, compels a reading by its human 
 interest and sets us thinking over the mysteries of 
 life and luck. The writer of these lines had known 
 nothing of the author of the book, nor had he ever 
 seen him, when by sheer chance some of its printed 
 pages came to hand. 
 
 A general prejudice against claims of this na- 
 ture gave piquancy to the reading. After allowing 
 it full play, the outcome of a fair consideration of 
 the entire case is this : 
 
 The claimant verily believes in his claim, which 
 fact alone lifts him out of the vulgar impostor 
 class. He is not a nobody, with nothing individual 
 to claim our attention but his claim. He has lived 
 a large life, crowded with activities so varied, and 
 in the main so clearly conducted toward the intro- 
 duction of desirable reforms in the Home and 
 Colonial Government for the better administration 
 of the Empire in the interest of the people, and in 
 the furtherance of universal peace, as proven by 
 the official data cited, that his story would be good 
 and instructive reading without its supreme at- 
 traction — the claim. Then, independently of these 
 features, stands the powerful protest against those 
 by whose sanction the most sacred and legal mar- 
 xiii 
 
xiv To the Open-Mmded Reader 
 
 riage of love can be shattered, its victims torn 
 apart forever, the offspring outlawed from its 
 birthright by the mere sway of a sovereign's scep- 
 tre, the decrees of the Bible and the Common Law 
 which governs the common people, who make and 
 unmake kings, set aside at the whim of a despotic 
 or degenerate or meddlesome crowned head, or for 
 the equally convenient screen, "reasons of State." 
 
 The personal interest is overshadowed by these 
 vaster issues which it illustrates, questions of vital 
 moment to every citizen of professedly Christian 
 countries. The Eoyal Marriage Act of George III 
 is no mere antiquated legal bauble, for royal jest- 
 ers to tickle their courtiers' heads with. In cases 
 besides the one presented in this book it can 
 become a gilded bludgeon when wielded with in- 
 tent to kill — say trifles like hearts, sacraments, 
 fortunes or just laws. Its interest is not only for 
 British subjects. Our Eepublic is fast linking it- 
 self, fashion by fashion if not heart to heart, with 
 European royalty and English aristocracy in the 
 bonds of holy or other wedlock. American wom- 
 anhood should have a say in a matter so serious 
 for their exported daughters and posterity. 
 
 Over and above the romantic interest in this per- 
 sonal record and plea there is that without which 
 no claimant can ask serious attention, that is a 
 plain, strong, self-proving and temperate presen- 
 tation of the case. These elements are here and 
 command respect. The rest lies with the reader. 
 He is invited to sit and weigh as he reads. The 
 author has the advantage of not being a profes- 
 sional literary man. He tells his tale with the 
 
To the Open-Minded Reader xv 
 
 artless candor of a child. His earliest recollec- 
 tions are simply recorded ; so, too, the adventures 
 of his boyhood as a foster child who from the first 
 had an inkling of a higher parentage. Then fol- 
 low the strangely ordained series of experiences 
 in the army, with real peril episodes in India, quick 
 and seemingly unusual promotions ; then as an offi- 
 cer of rising grades in the prison there, with re- 
 markable incidents, suggestive of the possession 
 of a power, or temperamental gift supposed, but 
 wrongly, to be the peculiar endowment of Orien- 
 tals. In the healing art, ordinary church and edu- 
 cational work, and his acknowledged genius for 
 "doing things" outside the routine of service duty, 
 the author surprises by his versatility and pluck, 
 for such things are heretical to your machine- 
 made official. 
 
 In the later years his efforts have been to turn 
 these practical experiences to practical ends for 
 himself, a man's first duty, and then for his country 
 and this country. Now, when such an one devotes 
 his personal, private efforts to the extremely deli- 
 cate duty of pursuing his search for what he hon- 
 estly believes to be the bare justice withheld 
 unjustly by persons, or by a "reason of State," in 
 a country where all royal acts and "reasons of 
 State" are commonly viewed as more than semi- 
 sacred it is obvious that his path must be pe- 
 culiarly an uphill one, and it is certain that all 
 sorts of big and little stones will be sent rolling 
 down upon him by the fortunate creatures who 
 live away up. 
 
 This is the common lot of all claimants. So it 
 
xvi To the Open-Minded Reader 
 
 is not surprising to read of sudden interferences 
 when business affairs are on the verge of success- 
 ful completion and of majestic refusals by liveried 
 servants to present perfectly proper messages to 
 their masters, who, when they learn of flunkey pre- 
 sumptions, administer corrections. These are in 
 the comedies of life and are good for our temper, 
 but a public claimant almost necessarily dwells in 
 the pillory. This is a whiff of the romance of life 
 and serves a wholesome purpose. It is so cheap 
 and easy to fling stones at a deaf and dumb man 
 when bis back is turned and he is carrying his load 
 of affairs in both hands that perhaps we should be 
 as indulgent to the sort of people who think it fair 
 sport as we are to the imps who make a midsum- 
 mer day a fiery torment to the sick and aged, who 
 have no rights, and, anyway, can not get out to hit 
 back. Kings and commoners have their full share 
 of these joys. 
 
 Looking not merely at but into this moving pic- 
 ture of a life, strangely shaped by the mysterious 
 forces that bear no name, it would not surprise us 
 if the claimant had pitched his story in a shrill 
 key. He might have made it scandalous and 
 pleaded that, its text being a scandal, the sermon 
 should be to match. But, as already stated, the 
 temperate, and not seldom dignified, tone and 
 spirit of the whole commands respect. If every 
 just claim was absolutely demonstrable, at any 
 moment of time, through every item and document 
 and circumstance from A to Z, laws and law courts 
 would never have come into existence. Probably 
 the extravagant verbiage of the jury bamboozler 
 
To the Open-Minded Reader xvii 
 
 originated in the dearth of tacts in hand which 
 reasonably prove facts past resurrection. The 
 case here presented needs no vulgar screeching; it 
 would be fatally injured by it. 
 
 The author had no lack of models and authori- 
 ties, such as they are, if he had chosen the sensa- 
 tional method, so alien to kingly grace and noble 
 blood. The press wields more than the power of 
 kings in this our true Republic, and right royally 
 does it use it in matters outside the Treasury and 
 politics departments. If it has a failing it is its 
 liability to mistake its sceptre for a shillalah. It 
 can not whack this book as a book of royal scandal, 
 which would be to advertise it as a "best seller." 
 We have an over-sufficiency of little scandals of 
 our own, but it is nice of course to keep up with the 
 foreign fashions. The more curious, therefore, it 
 is to see writers earn a respectable, certainly a 
 genteel, livelihood by purveying to respectable, at 
 least genteel, newspapers catering to high caste 
 people a daily re-hash of new and decomposed 
 scandals, royal, aristocratic, plutocratic, exclu- 
 sively besmirching the adored old families of 
 Europe. 
 
 The author who submits this book to public 
 analysis does not belong to either of these 
 classes. He does not invite us to sit down to a 
 silver dish which, when we lift the cover, is odor- 
 ous of slanderous scandal and rotten-ripe apples 
 of Sodom. His claim to royal blood carries at 
 least the stamp of courtly manners. Not so with 
 the garbage gatherers who make their scanty liv- 
 ing by it, nor with those who, by selling it at cheap 
 
xviii To the Open-Minded Reader 
 
 retail, rake in the millions which pay their en- 
 trance fee into the grand stand where they wear 
 the badge of a dollarocracy not yet aristocracy. 
 Leaving those who hunger for high-spiced, mythi- 
 cal "mysteries of the Courts of London" to these, 
 their daily caterers, the present claimant is content 
 that this budget of biography, facts, attestations 
 and arguments shall speak for itself and for his 
 claim. 
 
 More than this he does not ask; less than an 
 open-minded reading will be a denial of every 
 claimant's common right. 
 
 Novembek 1, 1910. 
 
 An Englishman. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 BRITISH-AMERICAN PATRIOTISM AND JUSTICE 
 
 Patriotism and justice actuated by the all-per- 
 vading spirit of moral principle, and directed by 
 the judicious exercise of the divine intelligence 
 of the super-cosmic consciousness, are the mag- 
 netic corner stones upon which the British- Ameri- 
 can people have built the allied world-power 
 Empire-Republic, the center of civilization and 
 Christian enlightenment to which all other nations 
 turn in friendship and peace. 
 
 The subject of these Memoirs appeals to the 
 high moral sentiment and spirit of justice of the 
 British- American people, in particular, and of the 
 whole civilized world in general. 
 
 British loyalty to the Sovereign is proverbial. 
 
 The subject of these Memoirs appeals to British 
 loyalty to protect the direct line of legitimate 
 lineal succession to the throne, and to loyally 
 support the legitimate heir-at-law of the late 
 deeply lamented Sovereign, His Majesty King 
 Edward VII. 
 
 As a Christian nation, England, in framing the 
 laws by which the civil contract and religious sac- 
 rament of holy matrimony, and the right of in- 
 heritance, are regulated, based the said laws 
 upon the Divine Laws in the Holy Scriptures, 
 xix 
 
xx Preface 
 
 which are quite clear, and which no earthly Sov- 
 ereign has power to change, for it is written, "Till 
 heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall 
 in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." 
 
 A Sovereign who violates the law of God, and 
 the nation, both collectively and individually, 
 that countenances and approves or even tolerates 
 such violation of the Divine Law by their Sover- 
 eign, stand equally guilty before God. 
 
 The direct line of legitimate lineal succession 
 to the British throne is determined by the follow- 
 ing law: 
 
 "If a man have two wives, one beloved, and 
 another hated ; and they have borne him children, 
 both the beloved and the hated; and if the first- 
 born son be hers that was hated; 
 
 "Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to 
 inherit that which he hath, that he may not make 
 the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of 
 the hated, which is indeed the firstborn; 
 
 "But shall acknowledge the son of the hated 
 for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion 
 of all that he hath ; for he is the beginning of his 
 strength; the right of the firstborn is his." Deu- 
 teronomy, 21 : 15, 16 and 17. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth recognized and observed this 
 law by reviving the Act 32, Henry VIII C. 38 
 (repealed in part by 2 and 3 Edward VI C. 23, 
 and in whole by I and 2 p. and M. C. 8, but re- 
 vived by the I Elizabeth I which enacts that 
 "No prohibition, God's law except, shall trouble 
 or impeach any marriage without the Levitical 
 degrees." 
 
Preface xxi 
 
 It can not be said that the reigns of Henry VIII 
 and Elizabeth were marked by a higher manifes- 
 tation of Christian principle and moral sentiment 
 than during the past fifty years. But, the indiffer- 
 ence and apathy with which Christian England 
 and the Christian world have countenanced the 
 practice of royal bigamy, and the setting aside by 
 Princes of the Eeigning House of their lawful 
 wives, without cause and without due process of 
 law, and the disfranchising and casting off of their 
 legitimate offspring, in favor of plural wives and 
 their illegitimate issue, is a blot upon the refined 
 fabric of our vaunted Christian piety and ad- 
 vanced civilization; since the so-called and de- 
 spised "heathen" would not stoop to such barbar- 
 ous and unholy acts. 
 
 The harems of the followers of the derided 
 "false prophet" are havens of domestic peace 
 and felicity, when compared to the torture of mind, 
 and body, and soul, of the repudiated wife of a 
 "Christian" Eoyal Prince. The Buddhist Mon- 
 arch, His Majesty the King of Siam, has for some 
 years past been conducting a continued model les- 
 son in England for the edification of the British 
 Royal Family and the British public in the ethics 
 of true morality and paternal duty to offspring. 
 
 The small army of sons of His Majesty, by his 
 first and plural Queens, attending schools and col- 
 leges in England, has been frequently commented 
 upon by the English press. Such, however, is the 
 common misconception of the Christian world of 
 their particular form of religious faith, and of 
 the immunity with which their Kings may violate 
 
xxii Preface 
 
 the laws of God, that they are loath to accept the 
 lesson of Christian love and paternal duty as illus- 
 trated by this so-called "heathen" King. 
 
 The ' * still small voice," the voice of the con- 
 science, speaks to the people of the United King- 
 dom of Great Britain and Ireland, and to the 
 Christian people of the great Republic of the 
 United States of America and of the world, to 
 demand that the barbarous custom of Princes in 
 repudiating their lawful wives, and casting adrift 
 their legitimate offspring be stopped, and that the 
 direct line of legitimate lineal succession to the 
 Throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain 
 and Ireland be protected, and that British loyalty 
 and justice be shown to the eldest legitimate 
 son and heir-at-law of His late Majesty King 
 Edward VII. 
 
 John, Prince of Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
SUMMARY OF THE CASE OF PRINCE JOHN 
 
 DE GUELPH OF GREAT BRITAIN 
 
 AND IRELAND vs. ROYAL 
 
 POLYGAMY 
 
 MAY GOD DEFEND THE RIGHT 
 
 I was born in Windsor Castle on the 8th of Janu- 
 ary, 1861. 
 
 I have resided in the United States of America 
 for more than ten years. 
 
 With the assent of Queen Victoria, my grand- 
 mother, and with the consent of my father, the late 
 King Edward, I assumed the family name of the 
 reigning dynasty of Great Britain and Ireland: 
 Guelph. Thus for many years prior to my advent 
 to America I enjoyed the recognition and protec- 
 tion of my father as a legitimate member of the 
 House of Guelph. 
 
 My mother, the first Princess Consort of King 
 Edward, comes from one of the most historic of 
 the noble families of the United Kingdom, her an- 
 cestors having come in the train of William the 
 Conqueror, and she was considered to be the most 
 beautiful lady in the Royal Court. She has lived 
 in voluntary exile and has been engaged in preach- 
 ing the Gospel and doing pious service in Asia. 
 
 The mutual attachment which sprang up be- 
 
xxiv Summary 
 
 tween the heir apparent to the throne and the 
 beautiful lady of his choice was frowned upon by 
 the Queen and the sovereign will was brought to 
 bear upon the young Prince in a manner calculated 
 to make him amenable to the Queen's own plan in 
 the choice of his future consort. 
 
 The Prince of Wales was required to attend the 
 manoeuvres at the Curragh, County Kildare, Ire- 
 land, in the early spring of 1860. 
 
 It was about that time that my father took the 
 opportunity to exercise his self-will and diplo- 
 macy, for which he was noted throughout his life, 
 by marrying the bride of his choice — in order to 
 escape the political alliance for which he was 
 slated but which was repugnant to his refined 
 nature. 
 
 When Queen Victoria was informed of the mar- 
 riage she summoned her son and daughter-in-law, 
 establishing the latter in apartments in Windsor 
 Castle and sending the Prince on his travels across 
 the sea to Canada and to the United States. From 
 this fact it is to be presumed that if, in the mar- 
 riage contracted by my father and mother, there 
 had been one word omitted from the ritual, or any 
 of the ecclesiastical or civil disabilities recognized 
 by English law, the first Princess Consort, my 
 mother, would never have been allowed to set foot 
 in Windsor Castle, much less to live there as a 
 guest to be confined in the royal residence. Hence 
 the reasonable conclusion that their marriage was 
 legal, and, consequently, the expected issue thereof 
 legitimate. My mother was above reproach or sus- 
 picion, and her rank was sufficiently high to entitle 
 
Summary xxv 
 
 her to be the Queen Consort in that it was the 
 equal of that of some of the queens and crown 
 princesses of continental powers of the present 
 day and vastly superior to that of several former 
 Queens of England ! 
 
 The reason why this book was not published 
 during my father 's life is twofold. I was naturally 
 reluctant to embitter the last years of my parents' 
 life by reviving these painful memories, and, sec- 
 ondly, because my father, on October 23, 1906, 
 having found that it was inexpedient, at that time, 
 to further emphasize his sovereign pleasure by 
 royal "command" for due recognition of certain 
 reforms introduced by me, and already supported 
 by His Majesty, expressed his regret that he was 
 ' 'unable to do anything further in the matter," in- 
 timating that it was impossible to force the issue 
 without precipitating a national political crisis 
 which would have caused a rupture in the reigning 
 house and which he was naturally anxious to avert 
 during his life. 
 
 Recognizing the fact that my father had no al- 
 ternative but to obey the sovereign command of 
 Queen Victoria in separating from his first Con- 
 sort, my mother, and, further, that my father's 
 exalted station as Sovereign of the Realm justified 
 his desire that I should allow a matter of such vital 
 political importance as the one in question touch- 
 ing the direct legitimate lineal succession to the 
 throne to rest until after his death, I considered it 
 to be my duty to him and to the Empire to respect 
 his wishes, even at the expense of further self- 
 sacrifice. 
 
xxvi Summary 
 
 Foreseeing, toward the end of 1909, the ap- 
 proaching dissolution of my father, King Edward 
 VII, the long pent-up sorrow of my life broke 
 the bonds of silence, and I decided that the hon- 
 ors, so long withheld from my cruelly wronged 
 mother, should be done her before her husband's 
 demise. 
 
 Accordingly, in the month of December last, I 
 wrote to the King, urging him as sovereign, con- 
 sort and father to lose no further time in publicly 
 acknowledging my mother. Then, also, I began 
 to compile these memoirs. 
 
 Under date of January 10, 1910, I again wrote 
 to my father, duly advising him of my intention 
 to publish these memoirs, and, in order that he 
 might be fully informed of my attitude while it 
 was still in his power to exercise his sovereign 
 prerogatives and a husband's privilege to right 
 the wrongs inflicted upon his lawful wife, my 
 mother, I sent him as much of the first draft of 
 the MS. as was then finished. 
 
 The legal recognition and protection as a legiti- 
 mate son which I enjoyed from my father since 
 the time when he first made known my identity 
 in 1893, persuaded me that, even should the King 
 fail to rectify his matrimonial tangle ere he passed 
 from life — an affair involving the question of di- 
 rect, legitimate, lineal succession — his possible 
 neglect, I said, to take decisive action ought to 
 be considered as indicative rather of his Majesty's 
 statesmanlike conviction that the adjustment had 
 better be left until after his death, than to ill- 
 favor, either toward my mother or myself. 
 
Summary xxvii 
 
 The King offered no objection to my memoirs, 
 though there can be no manner of doubt that 
 the far-reaching effect the publication of a book 
 of this kind must, of necessity, have upon his 
 second family and the British Empire at large, 
 was clearly mirrored in that wise head of his. 
 He also knew of my intention to cause the so- 
 called Royal Marriage Act and the barbarous Act 
 of William and Mary, the Bill of Rights, to be ex- 
 punged from the statutes of Great Britain yet pro- 
 tested not. 
 
 My last letter to my father, under date of April 
 10, 1910, conveyed my final appeal that he take 
 the necessary steps in the above important mat- 
 ter, but the condition of his health at that time, 
 coupled with the political crisis in England due 
 to the strained relations between the upper and 
 lower houses of Parliament, made it absolutely 
 impossible for King Edward to comply with my 
 filial request, as I realize now. 
 
 My father having now been taken from me and 
 from our loyal and devoted people, it becomes 
 my duty as his eldest, legitimate son to right the 
 wrong done my mother, and to put a stop to the 
 practice of unholy royal polygamy, repugnant to 
 the tenets of Christianity and the moral sentiment 
 of all good people. 
 
 Even if I were the poorest subject of the United 
 Kingdom, a son of the people, understanding the 
 law as I now do, I would be in honor bound to 
 make war on this Royal Marriage Act in order to 
 enforce compliance with the constitutional law 
 
xxviii Summary 
 
 providing for direct legitimate lineal succession 
 to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
 Let me state beforehand that I bear no ill will 
 to any member of my late father's family. In my 
 correspondence with my half-brother George — 
 known as George V of Great Britain and Ireland 
 — George, the incumbent of honors, prerogatives 
 and millions, my rightful patrimony, no trace of 
 rancor, of annoyance, even, will be discovered. 
 Being satisfied that justice is bound to triumph in 
 the end, I read with satisfaction of the appoint- 
 ment of my uncle, the Duke of Connaught, to the 
 vice-royalty of Canada ; let sister Louise (by half, 
 I am sorry to say) glory in the empty title of Prin- 
 cess Eoyal, and let my other sisters, sisters-in- 
 law and nephews enjoy their appanages from the 
 nation and the family treasury — my family treas- 
 ury. I envy them not, and, unlike Cousin d'Artois 
 (afterward Charles X), who steeped his body 
 naked in the yellow metal pouring from barrels 
 of coined gold discovered in the Tuilleries cellars 
 after Napoleon's defeat, the inevitable success of 
 my present efforts will find me more worried, per- 
 haps, but no less calm than at the outset of this 
 campaign. 
 
 I repeat that I bear no ill-will to George, nor to 
 our common sire. It was an infamous law that 
 separated my mother and the father of her un- 
 born babe; that tore the infant from her young 
 breast; that cast both mother and child adrift — 
 the one to go through life a heartbroken woman, a 
 distracted mother; the other committed to the 
 care of strangers, to be illtreated as a babe, neg- 
 
Summary xxix 
 
 lected in youth, persecuted in manhood, a wan- 
 derer on the face of the earth, a homeless man, 
 a prince without country, maligned, tormented, 
 subjected to poverty through political intrigue and 
 malicious interference with his business interests, 
 falsely accused, beset for years by hired assassins 
 and exposed to imminent and violent death a thou- 
 sand times. 
 
 And the separation of my parents, ordered by 
 Queen Victoria, is but one of the crimes sanc- 
 tioned by this law that winks at the scarlet sin 
 of royal polygamy. In 1884 the royal lady, my 
 lamented grandmother, appealed to it to force 
 Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt to expel 
 his morganatic wife of a few hours from his do- 
 mains. That H. R. H. was a German Prince and a 
 sovereign availed him nothing since, first and last, 
 he was Victoria's son-in-law, slated to marry my 
 Aunt Beatrice — the Deceased Wife's Sister's bill 
 permitting — and when on January 14, 1892, my 
 oldest half-brother, the Duke of Clarence and 
 Avondale, died rather suddenly, the present de 
 facto King, then Prince George Duke of York, was 
 ordered, under the same law, to separate from his 
 lawful first wife and their children in order to 
 wed Princess May, Clarence's betrothed. 
 
 Disregarding the Hesse case as without British 
 jurisdiction, we have seen the throne of England 
 twice dishonored, within fifty years from date, by 
 crimes against helpless wives and children : Eoyal 
 Princes cast off their lawful wife and marry again 
 without procuring a divorce from their first wife. 
 
 According to the canonical and civil statutes 
 
xxx Summary 
 
 by which marriage is regulated in the United 
 Kingdom, or in any other civilized country for 
 that matter, such second matrimonial alliances are 
 null and void, because bigamous ; their issue, con- 
 sequently, is illegitimate. 
 
 However, that royal wives, consorts of the high- 
 est in the land, are discarded, royal Princes and 
 Princesses of Great Britain disowned; that the 
 bar sinister is raised over Buckingham Palace, 
 and the nation's wealth bestowed upon individuals, 
 who, whatever their personal worth, have abso- 
 lutely no claim on the public bounty, is not due 
 to my remoter ancestor, the third George, and the 
 actions of my grandmother, Queen Victoria, alone 
 — the citizens of Great Britain and Ireland are 
 equally guilty. Where my relatives sinned, they 
 connived. Whenever, intoxicated with arbitrary 
 power assumed over their immediate family, the 
 sovereigns disregarded the constitution and every 
 moral law, British subjects acquiesced. 
 
 That the King can do no wrong has been 
 drummed into the ears of Englishmen so per- 
 sistently; the story that Mr. Pitt went down on 
 his gouty knees before the King ; yes, and my Lord 
 of Marlborough, too, and their Graces of Canter- 
 bury, as well as statesmen and conquerors — all this 
 is so popular in our isles that loyalty shrinks from 
 inquiring too closely into rumors of sovereign 
 acts inconsistent with the dignity of the crown 
 and manly honor, inconsistent with proper re- 
 gard for womanhood and the rights of legitimate 
 offspring. 
 It is due both to the throne and to the people 
 
Summary xxxi 
 
 to end this scandalous state of affairs. If I were 
 but an humble subject of the great British realm, 
 it would, as stated, be my privilege to contribute 
 to this end — as the King de jure it is my sacred 
 duty, and I now ask the people of the United King- 
 dom of Great Britain and Ireland : 
 
 First: To put an end, now and for all time, 
 to the practice of bigamy by princes of the royal 
 house, or the sovereign. 
 
 Secondly : To recognize the legal status of the 
 first and only lawful wife of his late Majesty 
 Edward VII, their real Queen Dowager, my 
 mother, which act, as a logical consequence, guar- 
 antees recognition of my own rights under the 
 laws of Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
 John, Rex et Imperator de jure. 
 
Memoirs of 
 
 Prince John de Guelph 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 DIRECT LINEAL SUCCESSION AND EOYAL TITLES OF 
 
 JOHN II. REX ET IMPERATOR DE JURE OF 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND AND OF 
 
 THE EMPIRE OF INDIA 
 
 The lineal descent and succession to the royal 
 title of Prince John de Guelph is determined under 
 the provisions of the following laws, to wit : 
 
 I. (a) Under the provisions of the Marriage 
 Acts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, and (b) the Ecclesiastical and Civil Dis- 
 abilities. 
 
 II. Under the provisions of the so-called Royal 
 Marriage Act, the 12 George III C. II. 
 
 III. Under the provisions of the law govern- 
 ing legitimate genealogical descent and succession, 
 by which legislative measures it is provided that 
 legitimate offspring only possess the legal right 
 to bear, and to transmit to posterity, the family 
 name of the paternal house. 
 
 1 
 
% Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 IV. Under the provisions of the legislature 
 governing lineal succession to titles of descend- 
 ants of the House of Guelph and Saxe-Coburg- 
 et-Gotha. 
 
 The provisions of the Ecclesiastical and Civil 
 Marriage Law are very clear ; the mutual consent 
 of the parties to the marriage contract, whether 
 in the presence of witnesses or not, and whether 
 committed to writing or not, is all that is neces- 
 sary within the meaning of the Marriage Acts to 
 establish the validity of marriage. 
 
 Any man and woman are capable of marrying, 
 subject to certain disabilities, canonical and civil. 
 The effect of a canonical disability as such is to 
 make the marriage not void but voidable. The 
 marriage must be set aside by regular process, and 
 sentence pronounced during the lifetime of the 
 parties. 
 
 England. — In England the civil disabilities are : 
 (1) The fact that either party is already married 
 and has a spouse still living; (2) the fact that 
 either party is of unsound mind; (3) want of full 
 age (puberty), which, according to the Roman 
 law, still in force, is placed at fourteen years for 
 males and twelve years for females; (4) proximity 
 of relationship within the prohibited Levitical 
 degrees. 
 
 The most important Acts in force in England 
 are the 4 George IV C. 76 and 6 & 7 William IV 
 C. 85. By the 19 & 20 Victoria C. 96, "The con- 
 sent of parents is not necessary to the validity of 
 the marriage, even of minors ; but marriage under 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 3 
 
 the age of puberty, with or without such consent, 
 is void." 
 
 The Eoyal Marriage Act (12 George III C. II), 
 passed in consequence of the marriages of the 
 dukes of Cumberland and Gloucester, enacted that 
 "no descendant of his late Majesty George II 
 (other than the issue of Princesses married or 
 who may marry into foreign families) shall be 
 capable of contracting matrimony without the pre- 
 vious consent of his Majesty, his heirs and suc- 
 cessors, signified under the great seal. But in 
 case any descendant does contract a marriage dis- 
 approved by his Majesty, such descendant, after 
 giving twelve months' notice to the privy council, 
 may contract such marriage, and the same may be 
 solemnized without the consent of his Majesty, 
 and shall be good, except both Houses of Parlia- 
 ment shall declare their disapprobation thereto." 
 
 There is nothing within the meaning of the so- 
 called Eoyal Marriage Act to invalidate a mar- 
 riage contracted by a "descendant of his late 
 Majesty George II," without having previously 
 obtained the consent of the sovereign under the 
 great seal, within the meaning of the canonical 
 and civil disabilities, or within the meaning of 
 the statutory legislation, by which the contract 
 and sacrament of marriages is regulated. 
 
 The statute which establishes the rule on 
 canonical and civil disabilities, and the unconsti- 
 tutionality of the Royal Marriage Act, 12 George 
 III C. II, and the validity of a marriage contracted 
 by a royal Prince, "descendant of his late Maj- 
 esty George II," without the consent of the sov- 
 
4 Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 
 
 ereign, is the 32 Henry VIII C. 38 (repealed in 
 part by 2 & 3 Edward VI C. 32, in whole by 1 & 2 
 P. & M. C. 8, but revived by the 1 Elizabeth C. I), 
 which enacts that "no prohibition, God's law ex- 
 cept, shall trouble or impeach any marriage with- 
 out the Levitical degrees." 
 
 With reference to the first marriage of his 
 Majesty King Edward VII, contracted without the 
 formal consent of her late Majesty Queen Victoria, 
 with the most beautiful daughter of one of the 
 most noble families in the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, and therefore duly 
 qualified by birth and title to have become the 
 Queen of England, there is no record of a royal 
 proclamation under the great seal to set aside the 
 said marriage. 
 
 In the absence of any public record of a royal 
 proclamation by the sovereign or legal process to 
 set aside the first marriage of his Majesty King 
 Edward VII, the formal consent of the late sov- 
 ereign, as contained in the royal proclamation 
 under the great seal, to the marriage of his 
 Majesty and the Princess Alexandra would be ir- 
 regular, and the second marriage was contracted 
 in violation of provisions of the canonical and 
 civil disabilities, which, according to the State 
 Legislature, include: (1) "The fact that either 
 party is already married and has a spouse still 
 living"; and (2) in violation of the provisions of 
 the 1 Elizabeth C. I, which enacts that "no pro- 
 hibition, God's law except, shall trouble or im- 
 peach any marriage without the Levitical de- 
 grees." 
 
Memoirs of Frincc John De Guelph 5 
 
 The provisions of the Acts of the Legislature 
 governing legitimate genealogical descent are 
 clear and are generally understood. 
 
 Legitimacy of offspring is legally established 
 in a person who bears, and who is publicly known 
 by, the family name of the paternal house. 
 
 A paternal parent by recognizing the right of 
 his offspring to be so known and called by his 
 family name, legitimatizes and thereby legally 
 recognizes and protects the rights and privileges 
 of such legitimate offspring to bear and to trans- 
 mit to posterity the family name of the paternal 
 house. 
 
 In the case of the late sovereign, his Majesty 
 King Edward VII, the King was the head of the 
 royal House of Guelph, and had, therefore, the sov- 
 ereign power to recognize the legitimacy of, and to 
 legitimatize, offspring of the House of Guelph, ac- 
 cording to his royal pleasure. 
 
 His Majesty King Edward VII could command 
 the recognition of the legitimacy of his own off- 
 spring by his Majesty's first Princess-Consort, or 
 other offspring of the reigning family, by one or 
 more of the following methods of procedure: 
 
 I. By royal proclamation signified under the 
 great seal. 
 
 II. By his last will and testament. 
 
 III. By the royal command that such offspring 
 shall be known and recognized by the family name 
 of the royal House of Guelph, or by such other 
 name or title as his Majesty may be graciously 
 pleased to confer upon such offspring. 
 
 IV. By permitting such offspring to bear and 
 
6 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 to be publicly known by the name of the royal 
 family of the House of Guelph, and authorizing 
 the recognition of the same, by general usage 
 and custom, by correspondence or otherwise. 
 
 To determine the legitimacy of the issue of the 
 first marriage of his Majesty King Edward VII, 
 Prince John de Guelph, the subsequent setting 
 aside of that marriage by royal proclamation or 
 by other legal process would not have invalidated 
 the said marriage during the time of its exist- 
 ence, up to the time of such royal proclamation, 
 or sentence by other regular process according 
 to law, assuming that such royal proclamation 
 had been issued, nor would such annulment, had 
 it been legally carried out, have illegitimatized the 
 said issue. 
 
 Under the provisions of the Ecclesiastical and 
 State law, and irrespective of the consent or non- 
 consent of the late sovereign to said marriage, 
 and of the question as to whether the said mar- 
 riage was or was not set aside according to law, 
 the legitimacy of the said issue of the marriage 
 was legally established by the recognition and 
 protection accorded to him for many years past 
 as a legitimate member of the House of Guelph 
 by his late father, his Majesty King Edward VII 
 as the sovereign head of the reigning house. 
 
 Confirming the foregoing statement of facts 
 relative to the legal recognition and protection of 
 the legitimate lineal descent of Prince John de 
 Guelph, it may be stated that while the said John 
 de Guelph, for political and State reasons, during 
 the early years of his life, lived in seclusion, his 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 7 
 
 identity was made public in India, during what 
 was thought by his physicians to be a fatal illness, 
 in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety- 
 three, and was confirmed at that time by his 
 father, then Prince of Wales. 
 
 From the above-named year the subject of these 
 memoirs continued to bear, and has been publicly 
 known by, the family name of his paternal parent. 
 The legitimacy of John de Guelph is legally es- 
 tablished by virtue of such public recognition of 
 his identity as a legitimate member of the House 
 of Guelph. 
 
 His legitimacy was further confirmed by his 
 Majesty King Edward VII, immediately follow- 
 ing the coronation of his Majesty in 1902, by a 
 command to the War Office to entertain official 
 relations with the business house of Guelph & Son, 
 under which firm name and style John de Guelph 
 was then and is at the present time conducting 
 his financial business. 
 
 The London offices of Guelph & Co. were then 
 at Grosvenor Mansions, 82 Victoria Street, West- 
 minster, S.W., and at 20 Bishopsgate Street 
 Without, E.C. 
 
 The legitimacy of John de Guelph is further 
 established by extensive documentary evidence of 
 private correspondence of an affectionate and 
 filial nature between him and his father, King Ed- 
 ward VII, and the mass of official correspondence 
 between him and the various departments of the 
 British Government covering a period of many 
 years. 
 
 In corroboration of the above statement, part 
 
8 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 of the aforesaid private and official documentary 
 evidence is reproduced. 
 
 The hereditary titles and qualification thereto 
 of all members of the House of Guelph are defined 
 by law, as set forth in the Almanack de Gotha, 
 to wit : 
 
 MAISON BRUNSWICK-LTTNEBOURG 
 
 (Maison des Guelfes) 
 Les enfants du chef act. de la maison portent 
 le titre de prince roy. ou princesse roy. de Grande- 
 Bretagne et d'Irlande, due ou duchesse de Bruns- 
 wick et de Lunebourg avec la qualification d'Alt. 
 Royale. 
 
 GRANDE-BRETAGNE ET IRELANDE 
 
 (Maison des Guelfes ou de Brunsivich-Lunebourg) 
 Les cadets portent le titre de princes et prin- 
 cesses roy. de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande, 
 princes et princesses de Saxe-Coburg-et-Gotha, 
 dues et duchesses de Saxe, avec la qualification 
 d'Alt. Royale. 
 
 GRANDE-BRETAGNE ET IRLANDE 
 
 (Maison des Saxe-Coburg-et-Gotha) 
 Les cadets descendant de la reine Victoria por- 
 tent le titre de princes et princesses royale de 
 Grande-Bretagne et Irlande, et les princes et 
 princesses de Saxe-Coburg-et-Gotha, dues et 
 duchesses de Saxe, avec la qualification d'Alt. 
 Royale. 
 
 During the lifetime of the late King Edward, 
 then, the hereditary titles and qualifications of the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 9 
 
 subject of these memoirs, John de Guelph, were 
 Prince of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of 
 Saxe, Koyal Highness. In addition, as the direct 
 legitimate issue of the House of Guelph, the cre- 
 ated titles of Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, 
 Count of Chester, Count of Carrick, Count of 
 Dublin, Baron of Renfrew, and, according to the 
 law of both Church and State, heir-apparent to the 
 throne of Great Britain and Ireland and the 
 Empire of India. 
 
 The foregoing presentation of the case in brief 
 is confined to facts, statutes and the canonical and 
 civil disabilities, by which all marriages in the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland are 
 regulated. These memoirs are given to the public 
 to fill a higher purpose, however, than that of 
 self-interest. 
 
 For the future protection of the honor of 
 womanhood, of the sanctity of the divine institu- 
 tion of matrimony, of the rights of innocent off- 
 spring, of the honor and dignity of the Consti- 
 tution of the State and Empire, of the holy order 
 and divine authority of the Church, and of the 
 more sacred observance of the Laws of Almighty 
 God, it is my purpose to arouse public sentiment 
 that immediate action may be taken for the aboli- 
 tion of abuses against the sacred rights and privi- 
 leges of Princes of the reigning House, and of the 
 people, to be effected by the repealment of two 
 Acts of the British Legislature, which are as un- 
 constitutional as they are barbarous, bigoted and 
 unholy in the sight of God and man : 
 
10 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 I. The Royal Marriage Act 12 George III C. II. 
 II. The Statute of William and Mary (The Bill 
 of Eights.) 
 
 In order to understand the importance of ad- 
 justing the first of the above Acts it is well to 
 study the subject from a legal standpoint, as never 
 presented to the public before. 
 
 He who is guilty of willfully deceiving a virtu- 
 ous woman by inducing her to go through a form 
 of "mock marriage," the victim being led to be- 
 lieve that she is being legally married to the man, 
 would be personally dealt with by nine hundred 
 and ninety-nine out of a thousand fathers, or, 
 would be lynched by the outraged community in 
 order to expedite justice. It may be safely con- 
 jectured that the jurists of the civilized world 
 would hold such a father or community justified 
 in meting out swift justice to such a villain. By 
 the due process of law such a criminal would be 
 sentenced to a long term of imprisonment. 
 
 What shall we say of the so-called Royal Mar- 
 riage Act? 
 
 We can not take seriously the verdict of laymen, 
 or the babblings of irresponsible persons who pose 
 as authorities on the subject, and declare that ac- 
 cording to the provisions of the Royal Marriage 
 Act, a prince is "incapable of contracting a mar- 
 riage" without having obtained the consent of 
 the Sovereign thereto signified under the great 
 seal. 
 
 King George III was in spirit, if not in fact, an 
 autocratic monarch. So exaggerated were his 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 11 
 
 ideas of the exalted station of Kings and royalty 
 in general, that he looked upon the descendants of 
 George II as beings of a more celestial order than 
 he considered his non-royal subjects to be. 
 
 His sensitiveness on this matter filled him with 
 a desire to curb the matrimonial inclination of his 
 two brothers; and, at the same time, to keep his 
 son, the Prince of Wales, in leading-strings, that 
 he might exercise his sovereign rights as a match- 
 maker in disposing of his royal relatives. Hence, 
 his ridiculous bluff, the creation of the Royal Mar- 
 riage Act, the 12 George III C. II. 
 
 Had George III in his speech from the Throne 
 commanded the sun to stand still, the moon to re- 
 verse its course, and the oceans to become dry 
 land, he would have acted with greater wisdom 
 than he did by his insane attempted usurpation 
 of the attributes of the Almighty, in presuming 
 to turn the course of human love. Edicts on the 
 sun, moon and ocean would have been harmless; 
 whereas, the royal decree against the affairs of 
 the human heart has wrought untold injustice in 
 the lives of many of England's most noble princes 
 and Britain's purest maidens, not to speak of in- 
 nocent offspring robbed of their birthright, or of 
 the confusion occasioned thereby in matters of 
 grave importance to the State and Empire. 
 
 Bearing in mind, then, the fact that the so-called 
 Royal Marriage Act was the creation of the whim 
 of George III, to prevent, if possible, the form- 
 ing of mesalliances in the royal family, can it be 
 supposed that had George III considered his 
 Royal Marriage Act to be constitutional he would 
 
12 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 have been a party to what he could only have 
 looked upon as mock marriages between his 
 brothers, the dukes of Cumberland and Gloucester, 
 with Mrs. Horton (Lord Ianham's daughter) and 
 the Dowager Countess Waldgrave? Can it be 
 thought that he would have connived at a mock 
 marriage by his own son? Can the world think 
 that the royal dukes of Cumberland and Glou- 
 cester, brothers of George III, and George IV, 
 and, during the last reign, the late Duke of Cam- 
 bridge, Edward VII, when Prince of Wales, and 
 George, Prince of Wales, and others of the Royal 
 House, would be guilty of going through "mock 
 marriages" to deceive and betray the ladies whom 
 they loved and whom they wished to make their 
 wives'? The idea is too preposterous to be enter- 
 tained for an instant. And yet, should we hold the 
 so-called Royal Marriage Act to be constitutional, 
 mock marriage would be the only explanation of 
 the alliances contracted by those royal princes con- 
 trary to the provisions of the said Royal Mar- 
 riage Act. 
 
 Be it said in all honor to the British Royal 
 Family, that the so-called Royal Marriage Act 12 
 George III C. II, is unconstitutional and invalid, 
 and that Princes of the Royal House were not 
 guilty of deceiving the ladies concerned by mock 
 marriages. 
 
 The marriage of George IV when Prince of 
 Wales, contracted in violation of the provisions 
 of the said Royal Marriage Act, was held to be 
 valid, both as a contract and as a sacrament, by 
 (1) George III, the creator of the Act; (2) by 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 13 
 
 other members of the royal family; (3) by the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Moore, who chal- 
 lenged both George III and the Prince of Wales 
 in consequence of his convictions; (4) by the Prin- 
 cess Caroline, the bigamous wife of George IV; 
 (5) by the Houses of Parliament; (6) by the 
 Pope, on whose decision the first wife of George 
 IV returned to live with him after his separation 
 from the Princess Caroliine; (7) by William IV, 
 by whose command the widow of George IV wore 
 widow's weeds in mourning her late husband; 
 (8) by Edward VII, who authorized the publica- 
 tion of said marriage on removing the marriage 
 certificate and other documents from Coutt's 
 Bank. 
 
 That the foregoing is historically true, and that 
 the said Sovereigns, including George III him- 
 self, the Privy Council and the Legislature, and 
 all authorities of the present time, is fully borne 
 out in history, as shown in the previous pages of 
 this chapter. 
 
 It is fortunate that George IV had no issue by 
 his legal wife, and also that she was of the Roman 
 Catholic faith, as in the adjustment of the laws, 
 such issue would have been the legitimate lineal 
 descendants, and in direct line of succession to the 
 throne. 
 
 The omission of her late Majesty Queen Vic- 
 toria to set aside by legal process the marriage of 
 my father and mother contracted in 1860 contrary 
 to the provisions of the so-called Royal Marriage 
 Act, was a grave error of judgment and is un- 
 fortunate for all concerned. It must be stated, 
 
14 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 however, that, as in the case of George IV, the 
 omission was by design and not through ignorance 
 of the unconstitutionality of the Royal Marriage 
 Act. The effect is the same in both cases in so 
 far as the position of the second wife is concerned. 
 Evidence is not wanting either in England or 
 in Denmark to substantiate the fact. Former 
 members of the royal household of the late King 
 Christian have testified to having been present at 
 animated discussions in 1860 on the proposed mar- 
 riage of the then Prince of Wales and the Prin- 
 cess Alexandra. The late Prince-Consort strongly 
 disapproved of the proposed marriage: 
 
 1. On the ground that the rank of the Prince's 
 living Consort was too high, and the exalted sta- 
 tion of her family too important to admit of the 
 marriage being set aside by regular process of law 
 in favor of the Danish Princess without raising a 
 storm of public indignation throughout the King- 
 dom. 
 
 2. That the issue of the existing marriage be- 
 ing a Prince, the position of the children by the 
 plural wife, the Princess Alexandra, should the 
 Queen persist in carry out this alliance, and should 
 there be any offspring from such an alliance, 
 would be no better than was that of the Princess 
 Caroline (the bigamous wife of George IV.). 
 
 The late King Christian of Denmark, it is said, 
 supported the views of the Prince-Consort, and 
 was likewise averse to the proposed matrimonial 
 alliance between the Prince and His Majesty's 
 daughter. 
 
 The autocratic will of the late Queen Victoria, 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De GuelpJi 15 
 
 which, as is well known, in matters of matrimony 
 in the royal family, was more pronounced even 
 than that of George III, was brought to bear with 
 all the diplomacy of a woman upon Queen Louise 
 of Denmark. As is usual in such cases petticoat 
 perversity prevailed against the sound judgment 
 and wise counsel of the Prince-Consort and the 
 King of Denmark and against the divine decree 
 of the King of Kings. 
 
 The Prince-Consort, it is said, solemnly warned 
 his Royal Spouse that in Albert Edward, Prince 
 of Wales, they had not the unstable character as 
 exhibited by George IV under similar circum- 
 stances, but that they had to deal with a Prince 
 and nobleman of dominant will and determined 
 character. That His Royal Highness had, in fact, 
 positively assured them that he would never deny 
 his lawful wife, or their legitimate offspring — the 
 Prince John of Wales. 
 
 The parental recognition and protection ac- 
 corded to me by my father,* in the face of much 
 unpleasantness, has proved that he religiously 
 kept his royal word, for at the last fleeting review 
 of a spent life he said, "I think I have done my 
 duty." 
 
 The juggling with marriage laws for no other 
 purpose than that of conniving at the propensity 
 of an occasional dissolute royal prig to play ducks 
 and drakes with the honor and virtue of the most 
 noble, the most virtuous, and the most innocent, 
 of Great Britain's fair daughters, is a reason that 
 
 *See complete story in addenda. 
 
16 Memoirs of Prince John De Giielph 
 
 can not be entertained for a moment ; but the ex- 
 istence of the Act is a menace to every innocent 
 and unwary lady in the land. 
 
 The existence of the so-called Royal Marriage 
 Act of 1772 is an insult to the intelligence of every 
 Prince of the Royal House, in that it would reduce 
 him to the position of a minor in leading-strings, 
 or an imbecile, incapable of exercising his own 
 judgment in a matter in which the natural law of 
 love is the right and privilege even of the brute 
 creation, to say nothing of the right of judgment 
 in the choice of life companions being enjoyed by 
 the least of the subjects of the realm. 
 
 Thus it is in the vast Empire on which the sun 
 never sets, the Sovereign who is credited with in- 
 telligence enough to rule over more than one-third 
 of the inhabitants of the earth is placed in the 
 ludicrous position of being deprived of the two 
 fundamental rights which constitute the basic 
 principle of our civilization, and enjoyed by his 
 five hundred million subjects, the royal princes 
 excepted : 
 
 1. The Divine right to choose for himself a 
 wife, in accordance with the institution of holy 
 matrimony. 
 
 2. The Divine right to worship Almightly God 
 according to the dictates of his own conscience. 
 
 By the Statute of William and Mary, or the Bill 
 of Eights, the Divine right of man, and the basic 
 principle upon which the Christian world is gov- 
 erned to-day, the Law of God is made secondary 
 to the law of the land. The Heir-Apparent who 
 would worship God according to his conscience, if 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 17 
 
 his conscience dictated the observance of the 
 Roman Catholic faith, would have to choose be- 
 tween God and the crown, with the only alterna- 
 tive of committing perjury, by swearing against 
 his own conscience. The Sovereign is moreover 
 reduced to the farcical position of having to choose 
 between his choice of a wife and the crown, should 
 his choice happen to be, as was the case of George 
 IV, a professor of the Roman Catholic faith. The 
 law of the land may thus abuse the most sacred 
 rights of man and woman, and encourage apostacy 
 and sacriligious acts of professing a change of re- 
 ligious views, by leaving one faith, or, what is 
 more pertinent, professing to do so for ulterior 
 purposes, thus debasing the very first rights of 
 our being. 
 
 It is well to bear in mind that while Mr. Glad- 
 stone's Religious Disabilities Removal Bill was 
 defeated, and the fanatical Act of a bygone age 
 is still observed in this twentieth century of re- 
 ligious liberty, and that, while the Sovereign and 
 Heir- Apparent to the throne with their respective 
 wives are prohibited from these most sacred rights 
 of man, according to the present system of con- 
 stitutional government, it is possible that any 
 law, even to the changing of the form of Constitu- 
 tional Monarchy, may be enacted by the majority 
 of a single vote of a Roman Catholic member of 
 either the House of Commons or Lords, and the 
 Sovereign thereby deposed by the Catholic ma- 
 jority of one! 
 
 The foregoing was written in November, 1909, 
 prior to the last general election, the result of 
 
18 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 which gave the Roman Catholics the balance of 
 power in the British Parliament. Hence, the 
 statement that the Sovereign, who is barred from 
 serving God according to the dictates of his con- 
 science, should his conscience dictate the Roman 
 Catholic faith, may be deposed by a small majority 
 of Roman Catholic members is quite within the 
 bounds of possibility, and I am not alone in antici- 
 pating the event. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 CASPAR HAUSER REDIVIVUS NOT QUITE 
 
 Nearly forty-eight years before I saw the light 
 at Windsor Castle, the Prince of Wales-to-be as 
 the first-born son of the first-born son of Vic- 
 toria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, the 
 Consort of the heir to the Grand Duchy of Baden 
 became the mother of a healthy male child at 
 Carlshruhe Palace (September 29, 1812). 
 
 Like my own mother, H. R. H. happened to be 
 not of the blood royal, but, unlike the great lady 
 referred to, my mother belonged to the highest 
 aristocracy of the ancient kingdom of Ireland, 
 while the Beauharnais were looked upon as 
 rather an itinerant lot. That notwithstanding Na- 
 poleon deigned to bestow her hand on Prince 
 Charles and she was recognized as hereditary 
 Grand Duchess by all the great powers and the 
 small. Stephany proved to be all that could be 
 asked of a ruler's wife. As my grandmother, 
 Queen Victoria, favored England with numerous 
 princes and pricesses, so the sprightly Napoleonite 
 peopled the barren castles of her pretty adopted 
 fatherland — only they did not live long. Though 
 begot by parents noted for health and vigor, and 
 
 19 
 
20 Memoirs of Prince John De Gudph 
 
 surrounded by every luxury and care, one and all 
 contracted the fatal habit of dying soon after birth 
 — a terrible blow to the young mother, but a de- 
 cided comfort to the Hochbergs, claimants of the 
 Baden throne by a left-handed marriage. 
 
 However, while the offspring done away with 
 were girls, the suspicious number of deaths in the 
 Grand Ducal nursery was looked upon as a mere 
 family affair. But when, on the date mentioned, 
 a son was born to H. R. H., the court and diplo- 
 mats accredited in Carlsruhe began to regard the 
 situation seriously: A son of Napoleon's adopted 
 daughter destined for a German crown! 
 
 Napoleon — the air was full of ugly rumors re- 
 garding his Russian enterprises just then. "He 
 was bound to retreat, his grand army to be cut 
 to pieces on the way back to civilization. ' ' Was it 
 the beginning of the end so long phophesied? 
 
 At any rate, this semi-French grandson of the 
 great Napoleon (fast becoming "Little Nap") — 
 was he to thwart the hopes of the German claim- 
 ants? 
 
 Even while these portentous questions were dis- 
 cussed, stories whispered about palace and town 
 intimated that the "White Lady" had been seen at 
 the castle — at that period every little burgrave 
 commanded one of these conveniences — and dur- 
 ing the night from October 15th to 16th the sentinel 
 stationed in the corridor leading to Stephany's 
 apartments came running to the guard-room, pale 
 and atremble, and reported that the historic ghost 
 had just stepped from the wall, "all white and 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph ££1 
 
 fearsome-looking," sending him sprawling down 
 the stairs. 
 
 This "White Lady" was none other than Coun- 
 tess Hochberg, who brought a dying babe to 
 Stephany's lying-in chamber, carrying away her 
 healthy Prince through a secret door, hidden by 
 tapestry. The stolen Prince was turned over to 
 one Burkhard, chamberlain, and by him to one 
 Hennenhofer, as big a scoundrel as the other, who 
 spirited the child away to Falkenhaus, the Hoch- 
 bergs' country seat. Next morning, when H. E. H.'s 
 attendants awoke from the sleeping draught, 
 they found the heir to the Grand Duchy cold and 
 stiff, and his death was bulletined accordingly. 
 Three days later, by the way, the stolen boy's 
 grandfather began his disastrous retreat from 
 Moscow. 
 
 Fifteen years passed. Stephany had borne an- 
 other son and lost him like the first; two or three 
 more daughters had "blessed" her union with 
 Charles, and they had joined their sisters. She 
 grieved for them as mothers will grieve, but, some- 
 how, retained an abundant faith that her oldest 
 son was alive. Behold his first public appearance 
 in the tallow market at Nuremberg, May 26, 1828, 
 a biped, more animal than man, walking on all 
 fours, slobbering, whining, pronouncing with dif- 
 ficulty a few one-syllable words that sounded more 
 like yaps or grunts than product of a human voice. 
 For sixteen years this heir of a Grand Duchy had 
 expiated for the crime of being a Napoleonite's 
 son by solitary confinement in a Hochberg stable, 
 goats and sheep his sole companions. 
 
22 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 The world held its breath and royalty hid its 
 head in shame as Caspar Hauser's story gradually 
 leaked out. Offers to educate him, restore him to 
 his rights ! On April 1, 1830, the reigning Grand 
 Duke, Leopold, declared in the state council that 
 he would receive Caspar in his family and give 
 him one of his daughters for wife. Noble prom- 
 ises, fine words — perish the thought of man's in- 
 humanity to man! To jail with the dastard who 
 hints at royal turpitude, particularly when my 
 Lord Stanhope comes forward to be a second 
 father to Stephany's son. 
 
 But on December 14, 1833, said Eoyal Prince 
 was foully murdered at Ansbach, Bavaria, and 
 " Finis" was written under the affair of Grand 
 Duchess Stephany and her first-born. 
 
 ''Finis" Queen Victoria tried to write under 
 the affair of John de Guelph, too, when, on or 
 about January 8, 1861, she turned over the new- 
 born babe of Albert Edward's Princess-Consort to 
 a maid-servant to "bring up in obscurity and ig- 
 norance of his rank"; but somehow my grand- 
 mother's intentions with regard to the lawful heir 
 to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland mis- 
 carried, for my foster-mother's sense of duty 
 was as pronounced as her rugged honesty was 
 aggressive. 
 
 Unlike Caspar, I never suffered an entourage of 
 sheep and goats — those useful animals would have 
 been quite out of date gamboling attendance upon 
 a Prince in the latter half of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury — nor were the three R's kept from me as 
 State secrets, and I was long past the ag:e allotted 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 23 
 
 to the heir of Baden ere threatened by assassins 
 for the first time. 
 
 More's the pity that the royal "Finis" cut 
 short the European career of my beloved mother, 
 who shared with the Grand Duchess Stephany the 
 sad pre-eminence of beauty and a mother's worst 
 misfortune— separation from her child. 
 
 The foregoing is ample proof that a crown is 
 no protection against man's longings, either physi- 
 cal or sentimental, and that, while it's easy enough 
 to be the son of a King, for a Prince Royal to be 
 labeled differently is easier still. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 MAKRIAGE OF THE FIRST PRINCESS-CONSORT TO 
 H. R. H. THE PRINCE OF WALES 
 
 My mother was as great an Irish beauty in her 
 teens as ever lived when she renewed acquaint- 
 ance with my late father, then Prince of Wales, 
 at the Curragh of Kildare, in the second or third 
 month of 1860. 
 
 They had previously met at court and at the 
 town houses and country seats of relatives and 
 friends, with a hundred eyes watching their every 
 movement, with listeners galore, for the Prince 
 was young and impressionable and Lady Mary fit 
 to be a Queen, every inch of her. 
 
 An English Queen come out of Ireland! High 
 treason most horrible to even think of such an 
 eventuality, for the England of the Normans and 
 Plantagenets, of the Houses of Lancaster and of 
 York, of the Tudors and Stuarts, had been com- 
 mitted to German rule a hundred and forty-five 
 years and more, and Queen Victoria would as soon 
 have adopted the religion of our earliest claimed 
 ancestor, King David, than consider the marriage 
 of any of her kith and kin outside her hallowed 
 German family circle and connections. 
 
 24 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 25 
 
 As everybody knows, the Curragh is a famous 
 military camp southwest of Dublin, and because 
 my grandmother had given strict orders that her 
 son be treated like any other army officer assigned 
 to duty during the manoeuvres, the Prince of 
 Wales was accorded such freedom of action as he 
 had never known in England. 
 
 For the first time he durst mingle freely with 
 congenial persons ; here he was permitted to give 
 rein to his native tongue without being reminded 
 that German was the language par excellence in 
 the highest circles. What a revelation when he 
 met Lady Mary unheralded by court marshal and 
 without the leading strings of a mistress of the 
 robe! 
 
 Ladies invited to the court of England in those 
 days had to dress after a certain abominable style 
 favored by ultra-German taste. This my father 
 hated with a fierce hatred, born of love for the 
 picturesque, of contempt for formalism — the 
 blooming Irish lass of ducal lineage attired in the 
 quaint costume of her native isle became his beau 
 ideal. And they loved, these happy young people. 
 All the time the Prince could steal from his duties, 
 he devoted to the woman of his choice, destined to 
 become the mother of his oldest son. 
 
 About Curragh Camp and my father's stay in 
 February and March of 1860, I collected much 
 interesting material from persons that knew him 
 while there, several ladies and gentlemen now de- 
 ceased, but before I had time to put the material 
 in order or to copy the various papers and docu- 
 ments kindly lent, the earthquake and conflagra- 
 
26 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 tion of San Francisco destroyed these never-to- 
 be-replaced records, and I durst not trust myself 
 to reproduce them from memory. 
 
 I remember having seen a letter from my grand- 
 mother, the Queen, to the commanding general, 
 thanking him for courtesies extended to the Prince 
 of Wales, and expressing hope that my father 
 would profit by the experience gone through under 
 the eyes of so many distinguished army officers. 
 Her Majesty's letter was based, of course, on 
 reports made to her, and she knew only what the 
 Prince of Wales' official mentor told her. And 
 that gentleman said, of course, no more than he 
 knew himself, or considered desirable for the 
 Queen to have knowledge of, laying particular 
 stress on the fact that my father had conducted 
 himself throughout in a "most soldierly" manner. 
 
 How it must have hurt the Queen to find, some 
 years later, the German press united in declaring 
 that the heir to the crown of Great Britain had 
 "no notion whatever of military affairs!" It 
 was after my father had been created honorary 
 colonel of some Prussian Hussar regiment. 
 
 When he went to inspect his troopers, he cut 
 short some of the official tomfoolery and masquer- 
 ades, which gave grave offense. At the same 
 time he refused to don regulation shaft boots, 
 such as Abraham Lincoln used to wear, only more 
 fancy and set off by silver lace. Instead, he wore 
 ordinary walking boots, clothing his lower limbs 
 in riding shafts appropriately trimmed. While 
 the first transgression was bad enough from the 
 German standpoint, the last was rated nothing 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 27 
 
 short of crime, and the papers solemnly avowed 
 that a Prince who would not wear jack-boots was 
 unfit for a war lord's dignity. 
 
 "The British army is bound to deteriorate if 
 H. E. H. becomes King," they cried; "but, of 
 course, that will not be Germany's disadvantage," 
 added some of the journals slyly. 
 
 Those who appreciate how completely my father 
 out-generaled our good cousins and particularly 
 my Cousin William I. R. when he came to the 
 throne, will smile at the prophecy, but at the time 
 of its launching it was no laughing matter. 
 
 No doubt my father joked about it, for his sense 
 of the ridiculous was keener than most English- 
 men's; but Victoria, ever ready to accept as gos- 
 pel truth anything with a German trademark, was 
 much distressed, and jack-boots figured in her cor- 
 respondence with my father for quite a while. 
 
 To return to the Curragh. The general com- 
 manding had seen nothing — whether he closed his 
 eyes, or suffered from dull man's blindness, we 
 will not investigate now — and my parents enjoyed 
 a short season of undisturbed bliss, probably no 
 more than a month in duration, though. 
 
 Their marriage took place at Kingstown on or 
 about April 1st, and one of the most pretentious 
 houses in the town is still pointed out to visitors 
 and tourists as the temporary residence of the 
 "Prince of Wales and the first Princess-Consort." 
 "The Honeymoon House" they call it in popular 
 parlance to this day. 
 
 The private wedding and the Kingstown sojourn 
 occurred after my father's service at the Curragh 
 
28 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 had officially terminated, and while he was sup- 
 posed to enjoy a furlough with his chum, the Earl 
 of Sandwich, who afterward accompanied him to 
 the United States. 
 
 Scions of the House of Sandwich have always 
 been among the most resourceful, you know — be- 
 hold the first that sprang into world-wide notice, 
 Lord John, whose profligacy was wont to shock 
 my "Dutch" uncle, the third George, the gentle- 
 man who "practiced all the virtue he knew," and, 
 accordingly, thought himself privileged to com- 
 mand the faith, control the thoughts and even the 
 hearts of the hundreds of millions subject to him. 
 George could not manage his own family; the 
 Prince of Wales ignored him when he married 
 Mrs. Fitzherbert; his son of York refused to be 
 stupefied by the dullness of the courts of Kew and 
 Windsor, and decamped ; and the Duke of Cumber- 
 land, marrying Mrs. Horton, caused the King to 
 promulgate the iniquitous Royal Marriage Act, 
 preaching polygamy as do the laws of the Prophet. 
 
 Such being the state of things in the bosom of 
 the royal family, it's small wonder that the 
 King's frown and his persistent preaching failed 
 to reform Lord John, who thought nothing of 
 spending night and day without ever moving from 
 the gaming table, and, when hungry, ordered a 
 piece of meat between bread. In the clubs and 
 gambling houses such an impromptu meal became 
 known, as we know it to-day, as "sandwich," and 
 "Jemmy Twitcher" — nickname for the Earl — 
 thought it better fun than people's allusions to 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 29 
 
 Miss Ray, the actress, whom a rival, Reverend 
 Hackman, murdered from jealousy. 
 
 Strategy and diplomacy, crystallizations of 
 Jemmy's cleverness immortalized in the " Heroic 
 Epistle," were the portion of the Earl of Sand- 
 wich, my father's chum — qualities that helped to 
 smooth the path of the royal lovers and keep 
 discovery at a distance for a time at least. But 
 there were several in the secret, and they were 
 whispering so much of the Prince of Wales' mar- 
 ried happiness and the bonny Irish Queen he was 
 to seat on the throne of the United Kingdom — 
 official Kingstown, withal, was so alive to the honor 
 conferred upon her: the " affair" could not be kept 
 long from so active a sovereign as was Queen 
 Victoria. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE ROYAL FAMILY COUNCIL AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE 
 
 Any one at all acquainted with her late Maj- 
 esty's character may imagine the result: The 
 mother's outraged feelings, the monarch's fears 
 and apprehensions, the beloved German kin's rav- 
 ings! A family council was called in all haste 
 at Buckingham Palace, my grandfather, Prince 
 Albert, presiding. 
 
 The Queen, who had a judicial mind and, above 
 all, desired matters of State or semi-State con- 
 ducted in proper style, had commanded the Lord 
 Chamberlain to submit the points at law. 
 
 The first point raised by his Lordship was to 
 the effect that there was possibly no ground for 
 apprehension whatever, as the lady, being of Irish 
 birth, was, in all probability, a Catholic, which 
 eventuality rendered her marriage to a royal Brit- 
 ish Prince null and void under the law. 
 
 The Queen could hardly restrain herself from 
 interrupting his Lordship's preamble. When he 
 was about to begin arguments, she cut him short 
 by an imperious gesture. 
 
 " Unfortunately, the marriage of my son does 
 not come under that head," she said, "for his 
 bride is a Protestant," whereupon the Prince- 
 Consort read some official dispatches to that effect. 
 
 30 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 31 
 
 "Your Lordship will proceed," commanded my 
 grandmother, without even attempting to hide her 
 impatience. 
 
 The Lord Chamberlain drew from another 
 pocket of his portfolio the Royal Marriage Act 
 (12 George III C. II). After explaining, for the 
 benefit of the alien members of the family council, 
 that this Act was passed in consequence of the 
 marriages with commoners of George Ill's broth- 
 ers, the Duke of Cumberland and the Duke of 
 Gloucester, his Lordship read the law setting forth 
 that no member of the British royal family shall be 
 capable of contracting a legal marriage without 
 the previous consent of the reigning sovereign, 
 signified under the great seal. 
 
 So intense was the Queen's excitement that, for 
 once, she forgot her dignity and jumped from her 
 chair, and the wish being father to the thought, 
 she seems to have considered the Lord Chamber- 
 lam's business finished. -We thank vour Lord- 
 ship," she said, with a gesture signifying dis- 
 missal. -The family council will now go into 
 secret session." 
 
 Though understanding that his presence was 
 no longer desired, the Chancellor kept his place, 
 facing her Majesty. Slowly and deliberately he 
 drawled out: "Begging your Majestv's pardon, 
 my oath of office binds me to submit' the law in 
 lull, to wit: that in case a member of the roval 
 family does contract a marriage disapproved by 
 the ruler, such marriage, if otherwise legal, will 
 become lawful after twelve months' notice to the 
 
32 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 privy council, except both houses of Parliament 
 shall declare disapprobation thereto." 
 
 A dark shadow passed over Queen Victoria's 
 face. "As a matter of course," she said, "I am 
 familiar with the act quoted, though memory was 
 at fault concerning the exact wording. Do I now 
 understand that your Lordship quoted the entire 
 statute?" 
 
 "At your Majesty's service, in a general way, 
 but not as fully as in the written argument 
 submitted," replied the Chancellor, handing the 
 Queen's secretary a memorandum of half a dozen 
 or more pages. "But before I have the honor to 
 retire, let me draw your Majesty's attention to 
 the paragraph stipulating that the sovereign may 
 annul a marriage such as referred to by royal 
 proclamation. ' ' 
 
 "Boyal proclamation!" cried Prince Albert; 
 "that solves the question." But the Queen made 
 him a sign to go no further. Assuming the 
 ralis majestatis, she said in her haughtiest tone: 
 
 "We, the sovereign, will announce our will and 
 pleasure regarding this matter in due time." 
 
 In the meanwhile the Chancellor had retreated 
 to the door. As he bowed himself out, the Queen 
 gave a sniff of impatience. 
 
 "My good cousins," she addressed the assem- 
 bled royalties, "we thank you for your ready at- 
 tendance and bind you by your honor to keep the 
 matter brought to your attention a profound 
 secret. Not a word of it to any one, least to our 
 relatives outside the kingdom." 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 33 
 
 Then, looking straight at the Prince-Consort, 
 she added slowly: "We have quite made up our 
 mind what to do, but in case of unforeseen emer- 
 gencies will be glad to avail ourselves of your 
 valued advice." 
 
 Victoria motioned to her secretary, who sounded 
 a bell. The big folding-doors were thrown open, 
 and the distinguished assembly filed out after 
 every one had kissed her Majesty's hand, the Duke 
 of Cambridge being the last to withdraw. 
 
 When the Consort, who had attended him to the 
 door, stood once more in the sovereign's presence, 
 my grandmother said curtly: "We will announce 
 our plan in the Queen's closet. Your arm, Prince." 
 
 The imperious manner in which the Queen had 
 been pleased to conduct the "council" had se- 
 verely tried Prince Albert's patience, for, though 
 jealous of her prerogatives, Victoria, as a rule, 
 asked the Consort's advice, even if she did not 
 intend to follow it. Now that they were alone, 
 he expected her to recognize his rights as father 
 and husband. The haughty "we" and "our" 
 therefore struck him as incongruous with the 
 situation. 
 
 Dropping into German, as he was wont to do 
 under certain circumstances, he said : "Mein liebes 
 Frauchen, don't you think that the father is en- 
 titled to be heard as well as the mother?" 
 
 "No sentimentalities, please," replied the 
 Queen with threatening emphasis on the last word. 
 "The heir to the throne has disgraced himself 
 by defying the law of the land. Hence, at this 
 moment, I can think of our child only as the Pi 
 
S4i Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 of Wales, and with kirn the sovereign must deal, 
 not the mother. After the boy comes home you 
 may give him a thrashing, if you like, but until 
 then the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland will 
 conduct the affair according to her sovereign will 
 and pleasure." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 A RIGHT ROYAL. TIFF — LIVELY SCENE IN THE QUEEN 's 
 CLOSET 
 
 The royal couple had entered the Queen's closet. 
 ''Ladies, I will not require your services until 
 an hour before dinner," said the Queen to her 
 maids of honor as she seated herself on the sofa. 
 She did not ask the Prince to sit down while she 
 unfolded her plans. 
 
 "The War Office," she began, "will order the 
 Prince of Wales to report for duty without a mo- 
 ment's delay. You will attend to this and make it 
 plain that any officer, high or low, who fails to 
 carry out my orders promptly, will be cashiered. 
 The Prince must travel without stop, and his at- 
 tendants will be held responsible that he communi- 
 cates with no one en route. 
 
 "Arrived in London, he shall be conducted to 
 Buckingham Palace, there to await my orders. I 
 intend to summon him even before he has time to 
 change his traveling dress," added the Queen, 
 "and you shall be present at our meeting." 
 
 The last was said in rather a condescending 
 tone, which the Consort did not like, but that her 
 Majesty had done him the honor not to ignore him 
 entirely was enough encouragement for the time. 
 
 35 
 
36 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 "And what shall be done about Lady Mary?" 
 he demanded in an attempt to show his authority. 
 
 The Queen slapped her knee impatiently, as her 
 cousin of Weimar, wife of the Prussian King, was 
 wont to do when agitated. 
 
 "The sovereign will deal with that young per- 
 son, and the sovereign only," replied her Majesty 
 in a petulant voice. 
 
 "But may I not inquire the nature of your 
 plans, at least?" pleaded the Consort. 
 
 "The Queen resolves as follows," said my 
 grandmother, accentuating each word: "An aide 
 of the Lord Chancellor, whose name will be sent 
 to me presently, will leave for Kingstown to-night, 
 bearing letters of a business character to Lady 
 Mary's father. I myself will forward a few lines 
 to the Duchess by my trusted maid Susan, sug- 
 gesting that my servant take charge of Lady Mary 
 and conduct her to London and then to Windsor. 
 At Windsor she is to remain in the strictest se- 
 clusion until after her confinement." 
 
 "You mean to recognize the marriage! What 
 about our arrangements with Prince Christian?" 
 cried the Consort excitedly. 
 
 "The Queen will act as set forth," replied her 
 Majesty coldly — "her mind is made up. The 
 young woman is understood to be with child by 
 the heir to the throne. It devolves, therefore, 
 upon the monarch that the affair comes off de- 
 cently and without scandal. Windsor," added her 
 Majesty with a complacent smile, "is vast enough 
 to hide a hundred State secrets." 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelplv 37 
 
 iX Mein liebes Frauchen, I am sure, will arrange 
 everything for the best," said the Prince-Consort, 
 who seemed dazed by her Majesty's air of self-suf- 
 ficiency, "yet I confess not to fully comprehend 
 the line of action your Majesty has resolved 
 upon. ' ' 
 
 At this point the Queen's sincere affection for 
 her Consort mastered her wish to pose as sover- 
 eign even in family affairs. 
 
 "My dear Albert," she said, relenting, "we will 
 talk about details after measures to end an intoler- 
 able and scandalous situation are under way of 
 execution. While you repair to the War Office, 
 I will settle things with the Lord Chancellor and 
 prepare my letter to the Duchess. When our peo- 
 ple are en route for Ireland, we will take advice as 
 to the next thing to be done." 
 
 "By the way," she added abruptly, "do not 
 fail to instruct your secretary to send the answer 
 to Prince Christian's letter, received this morn- 
 ing by the ordinary mail. While my trust in the 
 Queen's messengers is unshaken, I think it hardly 
 advisable to send one to Denmark just now." 
 
 "But, my dear Victoria, if you enjoin the utmost 
 secrecy, no matter what the provocation, the 
 officer will be in honor bound " 
 
 ' ' There you are again, ' ' interrupted the Queen, 
 "making confidants of people, taking risks when 
 there is not the slightest need. 'German senti- 
 mentality run riot,' as one of the papers put it 
 recently. ' ' 
 
 "No, no," she went on, observing that her Con- 
 sort's face flushed with anger and humiliation, 
 
38 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 "let ine finish, sir, I command you. Understand,' ' 
 she continued in a hard, business-like tone, "that 
 suppression of the facts is our only safety. As 
 far as I can gather, fully fifty persons have knowl- 
 edge of the marriage outside of Lady Mary's 
 family, some knowing more, some less, others be- 
 ing mere guessers. Our interests demand that 
 we placate them, one and all, i.e., pay them for be- 
 ing discreet if necessary. Pshaw!" — this with a 
 contemptuous shrug of her ample shoulders — "I 
 expect to confer a considerable number of titles 
 to make their bearers behave like gentlemen. I 
 will let down the bars even for authors and jour- 
 nalists, if it must be." 
 
 The Queen lowered her voice to a confidential 
 whisper. "If we succeed in putting a premium on 
 silence, the affair will soon blow over," she said, 
 "while to tolerate or encourage gossip about the 
 marriage, in any form whatever, would magnify 
 Bertie's escapade into a grave affair of State. 
 This is my reason for not allowing a Queen's mes- 
 senger to go to Denmark. Possibly Christian 
 heard some vague reports, and you know him and 
 the Princess Louise for astute cross-examiners. If 
 from one of our own people they obtained but the 
 flimsiest sort of admission, why, their political de- 
 mands would become insupportable overnight. 
 They would not hesitate a moment to ask us to go 
 to war with Prussia and Austria to compel these 
 powers to recognize the Protocol." (Her Maj- 
 esty referred to the London Protocol of May, 
 1852, by which Prince Christian was recognized 
 as heir in Denmark, including Schleswig-Holstein, 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 39 
 
 by all the great powers except the Diets of the 
 Elbe Duchies.) 
 
 The Prince bent low over his wife's chair and 
 carried her hand to his lips. ' ' If Lord Palmerston 
 was as clever a politician as my wife," he said 
 gallantly, "neither the Eastern question nor the 
 Holy Alliance would keep him awake nights." 
 
 "You flatterer," said the Queen, while a broad 
 smile of satisfaction stole over her face; "but now 
 to work. We have kept the Lord Chancellor's 
 aide waiting long enough, and the War Office must 
 be getting impatient, as the secretary expected you 
 half an hour before this." 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 EAKLY IMPRESSIONS 
 
 If there is in this world a case in which greatly 
 wronged innocence was fully sensible of the wrong 
 inflicted, and suffered the tortures of cruel injus- 
 tice from infancy, mine is that case. In any event, 
 I pray God that if others have been subjected to 
 similar injustice they may have been spared the 
 knowledge of the extent of such injustice. 
 
 From information given to me in childhood and 
 which has been corroborated in later life, I was 
 committed to the care of a maid, Esther Norman, 
 in infancy who was to treat me as her own son, on 
 the understanding that I was never to be informed 
 of my true parentage. 
 
 This plan, I understand, was adopted by my 
 grandmother, the late Queen Victoria, with a view 
 to suppress all knowledge of the secret marriage 
 of my father and mother and to protect my heart- 
 broken mother from being made the subject of 
 Court scandal. 
 
 That the outrage thus perpetrated against Eng- 
 land's motherhood and against the state and 
 nation utterly failed in its diabolical purpose is 
 clearly proved. 
 
 40 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 4>1 
 
 In the first place the fact of the marriage of 
 my father and mother was known to at least a 
 number of persons; and the true love affair be- 
 tween the young couple was known throughout the 
 Kingdom. Then came the reaction of my grief- 
 stricken mother. Her grief over the double separ- 
 ation from husband and babe was uncontrollable; 
 and, instead of resuming her place at Court, she 
 became the object of pity of the nation and more 
 particularly in the neighborhood of the castle in 
 which she lived. Her only comfort was in being 
 alone with her great sorrow ; with Nature and with 
 God. Her principal exercise for years, I have 
 learned from an eye witness, was walking unat- 
 tended in the castle grounds. The daily walks of 
 this most beautiful lady naturally attracted at- 
 tention and the people gave their sympathy, the 
 sympathy of womanhood and of motherhood, to 
 the royal lady who was known throughout the 
 country as the " first love and bride of the Prince 
 of Wales and the mother of the missing Prince 
 John." 
 
 Eobbed of her only child, the children of the 
 village gave this poor mother much happiness. 
 One of those children, now a woman of refined 
 tastes, Miss Carmichael (Bonnie), whom I met in 
 1904 in San Francisco, California, related to me 
 that she and many others had been in the habit of 
 going to the castle "to admire the beautiful heart- 
 broken lady" upon whom they all looked as "their 
 ideal of a lady and a Princess." The lady, whose 
 sorrow was known to the children, enjoyed their 
 visits and found consolation in their presence. 
 
458 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 Thus it proved that the attempt of the Sovereign 
 to destroy the evidence of the love of a wife and 
 mother was doomed from the inception of the plot 
 to ignominious defeat. The nation knew the 
 identity of my father's first love, but in loyalty 
 to the Throne respected the wishes of the Sov- 
 ereign and of my mother's family in sparing that 
 wounded soul as much as possible from public 
 gossip. 
 
 It was decreed by the Sovereign that I, the 
 issue of the most romantic and, withal, the most 
 tragic marriage of the first Prince of England in 
 modern times, should be removed as far as possi- 
 ble from the environment and influence of the 
 royal Court, in order that the characteristics of 
 race transmitted to me by my parents might be 
 obliterated if possible through confluence from in- 
 fancy with influences and environments of an en- 
 tirely different character. 
 
 My revered grandmother did not, I believe, 
 have a more ardent admirer than myself of the 
 wisdom and justice with which she so long ruled 
 her vast Empire. My admiration for her, in later 
 life, caused me to stifle the bitterness of feeling 
 which I entertained toward her in my youth and 
 early manhood, for her crime against my saintly 
 mother. Her action, however, in making such 
 disposition of an innocent infant as above stated, 
 is one thing in her life that will remain with me 
 to the day of my death as an illustration of the 
 weakness of the sex. When actuated by jealousy, 
 anger or desire for vengeance her good judgment 
 forsakes her; discretion, logic and reason give 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 43 
 
 place to blind impulse sometimes dangerously 
 near insanity. The injustice committed against 
 me is not the matter to which I have reference; 
 it is the outrage of which my grandmother was 
 guilty against her own intelligence which I can 
 not forget. 
 
 In her normal condition the Queen-mother would 
 not have been guilty of committing such an in- 
 human crime against her son and his bride and 
 their innocent child, much less would she have 
 been guilty of anything so illogical as to sup- 
 pose for a moment that the identity of the infant 
 Prince of the House of Guelph could be obliterated 
 by placing him in humble surroundings and call- 
 ing him a laborer. As well might she have taken 
 the foal of an Arabian thoroughbred and placed 
 it on a farm and called it a cart-horse. The high 
 pedigree of the racer would be the more striking 
 by contrast. 
 
 The confusion of mind under which my grand- 
 mother acted in order to enforce ultimate obedi- 
 ence to her own plans relative to the matrimonial 
 disposition of my father becomes more pronounc- 
 ed when the irregularity which marked the separa- 
 tion of my mother from her royal husband is con- 
 sidered. I am reliably informed that in order to 
 suppress from the public the knowledge of the fact 
 of the marriage of my parents, she omitted to issue 
 a royal proclamation or to take the necessary legal 
 action to annul their marriage. The attempt to 
 thus "hush up" a legal ceremony has led to polit- 
 ical complications now that the question has 
 arisen concerning direct legitimate lineal succes- 
 
44 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 sion to the throne. But upon that subject the writer 
 has nothing to say, my only motive in alluding to 
 the matter, as brought to my attention, being to 
 show that my grandmother did not act with her 
 usual good judgment in having disposed of my 
 mother and myself in the manner in which she did. 
 
 Having been placed with a foster mother as 
 an infant my memory does not serve to give the 
 exact date. Esther Norman was commanded to 
 have me baptised in the name of John, for the rea- 
 son as I was informed in 1874, that the name 
 of John in England was at that time distasteful to 
 the Royal Family because of King John I, who 
 signed the Magna Charta which gave to the people 
 some liberty of conscience and a voice in the gov- 
 ernment of the realm. To the Imperialists this was 
 an unpardonable offense. 
 
 It was, therefore, decreed by the autocracy that 
 no other John should reign over Great Britain 
 and Ireland lest a little more freedom should be 
 given to the people. 
 
 The Royal Command to my foster-mother was 
 not obeyed. In 1874, Esther Norman informed 
 me that she had not carried out instructions given 
 in reference to my baptism; that I had not 
 in fact been christened at all, for the reason, as 
 she stated, that, while she had consented to repre- 
 sent herself as being my mother, her conscience 
 would not allow her to bear false witness in this 
 respect in the Church and before God in a re- 
 ligious sacrament of such importance as the bap- 
 tism of the first-born son of the heir apparent to 
 the Throne of England. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 45 
 
 I was, therefore, in the ridiculous position of 
 having been confirmed by the Bishop of Lichfield, 
 in the Cathedral of that city, 1874, without having 
 been previously baptised, a fact which I only dis- 
 covered subsequent to my confirmation. 
 
 As an infant I was placed with a nurse in Ton- 
 bridge, Kent, one Mrs. Nutley. My career was 
 nearly brought to an abrupt and violent end be- 
 fore I could either walk or talk. A nurse girl, 
 since married, named Mrs. Emma R. Curd, in 
 company with some other tomboys of the neigh- 
 borhood, climbed upon the railway wall near the 
 Tonbridge station to watch the workmen employed 
 on construction. 
 
 From the top of the wall to the tracks below is 
 something like twelve feet or more ; for some un- 
 explained reason I was placed upon the wall and 
 carelessly dropped by the nurse onto the tracks 
 below. I sustained serious injuries from the fall, 
 my head being injured by coming in contact with 
 the rail, and by receiving a blow from the pick 
 of a workman, who had it raised at the moment 
 of my fall upon that spot. 
 
 The man, I was told, tried to prevent the pick 
 from striking me, but his surprise was so great 
 at my appearance there that he dropped the pick 
 sidewise upon my head. In after years I was in- 
 foKmed that I was taken up for dead, and that it 
 was later thought for many weeks that I could not 
 recover. 
 
 On the occasion of my last visit to London, a 
 refugee from the San Francisco earthquake and 
 fire, in 1906, I took occasion to hunt up the nurse, 
 
46 Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 
 
 Emma Curd. I found her still residing in the town 
 of Tonbridge; her address at the time was 18 
 Priory Koad, where I believe she is still living. 
 Not having seen me for about forty years and hav- 
 ing been informed that I had died many years ago, 
 she was greatly shocked when I inquired if she 
 remembered Johnny "Nutley" whom she had 
 nursed as an infant. 
 
 Throwing up her hands she exclaimed: "Do I 
 remember! Can I ever forget as long as I live 
 how I dropped him from the top of the railway 
 wall under the workman's pick, and we thought 
 he was killed." 
 
 I then requested her to place her hand in the 
 depression in my skull caused by that accident, 
 which more than convinced her that I was the 
 child whom she came so near to killing. Mrs. 
 Curd can verify the above statement and furnish 
 more particulars relating to that accident than I 
 can give. 
 
 In 1907 I also traced the daughter of my old 
 
 nurse, Emily Nutley — now Mrs. who also 
 
 remembers the above accident. She remembered 
 me very well and related many incidents of my 
 childhood. She informed me that her mother had 
 died four years previously, about 1903. She had 
 also heard that I had been dead for many years. 
 
 The first act in my life of which I was told, is 
 the first evidence I have to introduce to show that 
 the plan to eradicate the traits and characteris- 
 tics of race and parentage by change of environ- 
 ment was doomed to failure. The incident oc- 
 curred in Kent, the County Seat of my parental 
 
'Memoirs of Prince John 'De Guelph 47 
 
 great grandmother, the Duchess of Kent. My age 
 at the time can be ascertained by inference ; I do 
 not remember it. My foster-mother had just ar- 
 rived from London ; I was on the floor. With all 
 the instinct of motherhood at her command, she 
 approached me with outstretched arms and ma- 
 ternal solicitude for the purpose of taking me in 
 her arms. ' ' Come to mamma, baby, come to mam- 
 ma!" resulted in such a manifestation of out- 
 raged dignity that they who witnessed it repeat- 
 edly reminded me of it for many years. I stormed 
 at her as only injured innocence can storm. Every 
 spark of energy in my being was brought into 
 operation in violent protest against the claim to 
 maternal relationship. Finally, rather than sub- 
 mit to dishonorable surrender I entrenched myself 
 under a large arm chair and continued an unin- 
 terrupted fire of shrapnel, "not mamma, not mam- 
 ma!" until the false position of motherhood was 
 no longer tenable. 
 
 Had it not been for the fact, as above stated, 
 that this incident was frequently related to me in 
 following years I would in all probability have had 
 no recollection of my first actual battle to protect 
 my individuality. 
 
 It was the above incident which later led to my 
 being informed of my parentage. The experience 
 disconcerted my foster-mother and caused her to 
 reflect upon her position and my possible future. 
 Indeed, I have reason to believe that the denial of 
 her claim of maternal relationship to me, from the 
 lips of an innocent and much wronged infant, was 
 largely responsible for the impressive lessons 
 
48 'Memoirs of Prince John Dc Guelph 
 
 which I received from her during my childhood 
 and early youth and which have been my inspira- 
 tion in the carrying out of all my objects and 
 purposes in life. 
 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 EARLIEST RECOLLECTIONS. I SNUB MY GRANDMOTHER 
 THE QUEEN — I DECLARE A HOLY WAR 
 
 I have now to relate the first incident of which 
 I have actual recollection in my life. 
 
 Here I am again face to face with the experi- 
 ences of my childhood, of my youth, of my life — a 
 horrid nightmare of mental anguish and torture of 
 my soul, which seems as though it would cause my 
 heart to break, and convulses my very manhood 
 with emotion that will not be silenced. 
 
 I would to God that I had not been born, or, 
 that having been born-, that my life had been mer- 
 cifully destroyed ere I saw the light of day. The 
 people of England can- not conceive of the anguish 
 of my soul. I have passed through the temples 
 and pagodas in India and have actually envied 
 the lepers their lot as they sat begging on the 
 steps of the sacred shrine. I have bathed and 
 dressed the leprous sores and mutilated limbs 
 from which toes had been eaten away by that most 
 loathsome of diseases, and have wished the while 
 that I could have changed places with one of them, 
 until checked by the selfishness of the thought, as 
 I would not willingly see a pariah dog endure the 
 
 49 
 
50 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 life that had fallen to my lot. My duty to God 
 and to humanity demands the suppression of the 
 emotions and of sentiment. I must go on. 
 
 The spirit of England's outraged motherhood, 
 and the spirit of tortured innocence for forty- 
 nine years stifled by the agonizing grief of broken 
 hearts burst the bonds of injustice with the cry 
 
 Dieu et mon droit 
 
 and 
 
 May God Defend the Right 
 
 As I look across the broad expanse of the Atlan- 
 tic Ocean and see the Royal Standard floating to 
 the breeze from the tower of Buckingham Palace 
 and flashing in the sunlight the royal motto of the 
 Sovereign, and of Englands greatness, I can not 
 but reiterate the prayer, 
 
 May God Defend the Right. 
 
 And, yet, again, as conveyed in an anniversary 
 greeting to my father; that the prayer of the son 
 might be the prayer of the father to mingle at the 
 throne of the King of Kings : 
 
 "Give the King Thy judgment, God, and Thy 
 righteousness to the King's son; He shall judge 
 Thy people with righteousness and Thy poor with 
 judgment." 
 
 The voice of the people is the voice of God. Let 
 the people of my beloved England and Ireland, of 
 Scotland and Wales, of the British Colonies and 
 Dominions, the people of long-suffering India, the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 51 
 
 land in which I spent so many years of my volun- 
 tary exile that I might be permitted to emancipate 
 them from the horrors of famine and pestilence, 
 the people of Europe, and of America, the great 
 republic of the United States under the courteous 
 protection of which I have sought seclusion and 
 peace, if that be possible, from the relentless grief 
 of my mother's and my own secret sorrow, read 
 the narrative of my life, of my experiences, and 
 of my unutterable sufferings, the faint tracing of 
 which may be seen in crimson stains between the 
 lines of these pages. 
 
 Let the whole world read and suspend its 
 judgment until after mature deliberation as to 
 whether it is possible that the fruits of my life's 
 work are calculated to promote the cause of uni- 
 versal peace and of prosperity. If that be the 
 verdict of the people, what I have to give, I am 
 prepared to give freely. I ask no reward, I covet 
 no honor, my motive in life is, as explained, for 
 God and humanity. 
 
 The experiences which I am about to relate are 
 responsible for the course which I have pursued 
 in life ; without the inspiration which impelled me 
 to further action I could not have lived and, in 
 spite of all inspiration, the yearning of my soul 
 to bring honor to my mother, and the motive 
 which prompted me to serve suffering humanity, 
 no man ever courted death so long and so earn- 
 estly as did the subject of this biography. 
 
 The memory of the first incident has recurred 
 to me many million times in the past forty-four or 
 forty-five years, but never has the prophetic sig- 
 
52 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 nificance of divine retribution attached to it ever 
 occurred to me with the force with which it is now 
 impressed upon me. Let the reader bear in mind 
 that the incident referred to was the first experi- 
 ence in my life of which I have any absolute recol- 
 lection. 
 
 The town of Tonbridge was one day en fete 
 about the year 1864-5 (the date can be deter- 
 mined and the story verified by investigation) the 
 royal train in which Her Most Gracious Majesty 
 Queen Victoria was traveling was to stop at Ton- 
 bridge station. The town's people, young and old, 
 in gala attire, turned out en masse in evidence of 
 their loyalty. There was great excitement in the 
 family of my old nurse, as indeed there was 
 throughout the town. 
 
 I was about three or four years of age at the 
 time. My old nurse, who had carefully prepared 
 my best frock and other articles of my juvenile 
 wardrobe, called me to be washed and dressed to 
 "go to see the great lady, the Queen, who lives 
 in the big palace in London." Then came the 
 startling revelation which pierced the heart of the 
 child through and through, the revelation which 
 has caused me more anguish of heart than any- 
 thing and everything else in life. ' ' The great lady, 
 the Queen, is Johnny's grandma. "Poor Johnny 
 can't live in the big palace in London like grand- 
 ma." Childish questions elicited the information 
 that "Johnny's grandma is the Queen of Eng- 
 land"; that "Grandma does not love Johnny's 
 mamma"-; "Johnny's grandma was very angry 
 with Johnny's mamma and papa and would not let 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 53 
 
 mamma live in the palace"; and that "Grandma 
 sent Johnny away from the palace and from his 
 papa and mamma to live with nurse. ' ' 
 
 My nurse was surprised at the effect produced 
 by her story upon my young mind. She had 
 thought that I would have been pleased to go to 
 the station to see ' ' the great lady, "my" grandma, 
 the Queen." I pondered over the disclosure made 
 to me which made a deep impression upon me. I 
 refused to go to see the Queen. She had been angry 
 and cruel to my mamma. She had sent my mamma 
 away from the big palace in London. She had 
 taken me from my poor mamma, and had sent me 
 to that place so that my mamma should not find 
 me. I did not cry. I did not make a scene. I 
 decided that I did not love my grandma, and 
 walked into the street that I might be alone with 
 my first great grief which has never been lifted 
 from my weary soul in all my wanderings. 
 
 The populace began to throng to the station 
 hours before the time for the arrival of the royal 
 train. The houses in the street in which I lived 
 were soon deserted, and the throngs of people 
 passing down the street from outlying districts 
 diminished until only stragglers passed by. At 
 this stage I became the center of public interest. 
 Many ladies expressed surprise at my having been 
 left unattended; and many stopped to speak to 
 me about the "great lady, the Queen"; and not a 
 few endeavored to persuade me to go with them 
 to see the Queen, feeling that I ought not to bo 
 left alone on the street, promising to take care of 
 me and to bring me back safely to "mamma." 
 
54> Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 How many times in life have I recalled those 
 terrible hours and thought of the solicitude of 
 those good people, and wondered what they would 
 have thought could I but have told them the pain 
 that their kindness and sympathy caused me. 
 How the oft-repeated question of "Where is your 
 mamma ? ' ' stabbed my young heart until my grief 
 became unendurable. Finally I was alone, except 
 for the vast concourse of people which I could see 
 in the distance and the hum of thousands of voices 
 faintly heard. 
 
 I was alone. The multitude might have been off 
 the earth, and I in the lonely wastes of a vast 
 desert. The solitude and desolation that over- 
 whelmed my childish heart is beyond the power 
 of expression in cold hard-steel type, beyond the 
 power of expression in words of the most sympa- 
 thetic soul that ever breathed, beyond the power 
 of expression in the heart-broken sobs by which 
 I am convulsed at the recollection of that agoniz- 
 ing experience after the lapse of over twoscore 
 years. By the language of silence — the cry of the 
 soul to the Almighty Father alone can expression 
 be given to the great and terrible grief wrought 
 by that awful experience — and the Almighty Fath- 
 er alone can conceive of the enormity of the suf- 
 fering of my soul at that hour, and through the 
 long secret sorrow of my life. 
 
 The foregoing incident awakened within my 
 childish heart a sense of righteous indignation 
 which changed the innocent child of four years 
 into a being of more mature age. The problem of 
 my life weighed heavily upon me, and serious 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 55 
 
 thoughts of the ways and means whereby I could 
 right the wrongs of my mamma, were she still 
 alive, took the place of play. I went every day to 
 the churchyard a short distance from the house 
 in which I lived, and spent much time under the 
 shadow of the church and in walking among the 
 graves. I felt that the church was the House of 
 God ; that God was my heavenly Father ; and that 
 my one great need was a Father's love and a 
 Father's protecting care. The graves represented 
 to me the resting place of the bodies of the people 
 who had died and gone to heaven ; and I thought 
 that God was there and watched over the graves. 
 In short, the churchyard was to me as holy ground 
 in which I could walk and talk with God, my 
 Father. I used to ask God to bring my mamma to 
 me; then, as time passed and she did not come, I 
 thought that she must have died and gone to 
 heaven; so I asked God many times every day to 
 take me to my mamma. I spent much time in 
 searching for her grave in that city of the dead, 
 that I might lie down upon it and die that I could 
 be with her, for life without her was too terrible 
 to me after I had heard that my grandmamma 
 had sent her away from the big palace in London. 
 I thought of her as being very unhappy, if she was 
 alive, and that she was always crying for me. 
 
 After many weeks of vain search for my 
 mother's grave I concluded that she was not dead. 
 I did not think that God would let her die far away 
 from me, but that He would bring her there if she 
 died. I felt that God called to me to avenge my 
 mother's wrong. I felt that I must go out into the 
 
56 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 world, to the big city of London to find her, to fight 
 for her and to make her happy. I would go to the 
 big palace and see my grandmamma, and make her 
 tell me where to find my mamma ; and, if she would 
 not tell me I would blow up her big palace and 
 everybody in it. 
 
 I nursed my childish grief alone, for there was 
 no friend to share it with me. The world had been 
 cruel to me and to my mother and I resolved that 
 I would submit to no more injustice with impunity, 
 but that I would fight for my mamma that she 
 might be taken back to the big palace where she 
 belonged, as I had been told. I did not mind being 
 punished when I was disobedient, but to submit to 
 unjust punishment only to be kept from my mam- 
 ma was another matter. 
 
 I had not long to wait for an opportunity to put 
 my childish resolution into execution. My old 
 nurse frequently found errands for me to do, 
 which made me late in my attendance at the public 
 school. The master had reprimanded me a num- 
 ber of times for my want of punctuality, notwith- 
 standing that my nurse was responsible for my 
 irregular attendance. One afternoon I went to 
 school some fifteen minutes late, taking with me 
 the usual note of "excuse"; on presenting it to 
 the master he threw it away and said he would 
 make an example of me; I should receive twelve 
 lashes of the cane, six in each hand. I was made 
 to stand for some time before the class as an ex- 
 ample and in anticipation of punishment. I took 
 the thrashing philosophically; but when it was 
 over I decided to put my resolution to avenge my 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 57 
 
 wrongs into practice. A few seconds after the 
 punishment had been inflicted, my nurse came into 
 the school hoping to save me from such unjust 
 treatment ; a loyal friend had run from the school 
 to apprise her of my plight. I was taken home by 
 the nurse, who dressed my welted hands. That 
 done, I begged permission to go out, a request that 
 was granted under the circumstances. I lost no 
 time in arranging my plans to avenge this latest 
 outrage on innocent childhood ; I was at that time 
 still in frocks. I went to the room of a son of the 
 house, whom I knew had a gun and sometimes went 
 shooting. In a drawer I found a flask of powder, 
 which I promptly appropriated. My plan of at- 
 tack having been decided upon, I proceeded to 
 carry it out. I went to the school yard, and having 
 located the position occupied by the master's desk, 
 which was near the wall in the centre of the build- 
 ing, I dug a hole in the ground to the depth of two 
 bricks with an old knife brought for the purpose. 
 I then charged my mine with the powder from the 
 flask, set the fuse which I had prepared from darn- 
 ing cotton, and filled in the mine with the earth 
 previously removed. I then waited to hear the 
 master's voice from his desk; the moment came at 
 last ; I fired the mine by setting a light to the fuse, 
 and took shelter in the gateway across the square, 
 waiting patiently to see the school blow up, my 
 thoughts being busy in the meantime planning a 
 similar fate for the big palace in London. 
 
 After what seemed an hour, the mine exploded 
 with a sh — sort of sound, gravel, dust, and smoke 
 went up in the air, but much to my disgust the ex- 
 
58 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 plosion had failed in its purpose — the schaol still 
 stood as ugly as ever. 
 
 The dismal failure of my well-conceived plan to 
 begin a holy war against those who had been guilty 
 of gross injustice to my dear mamma and myself 
 led me to the conclusion that I was not quite big 
 enough to carry out such a campaign by myself. 
 Profiting by my experience, I assumed the role of 
 leader among the boys, organized my army corps, 
 and thus acquired my first training as a field- 
 marshal. 
 
 The next incident within my recollection and 
 which created great excitement among the women 
 present, occurred when I was about five years of 
 age. Two ladies came down from London to see 
 me. On the way from the railway station to the 
 house of my nurse they saw a number of children 
 playing soldiers; they had no difficulty in recog- 
 nizing in the youthful commander of the party 
 storming the citadel, the child whom they had come 
 to see, although neither of them had seen me 
 before. 
 
 Upon their arrival at the nurse's home, I was 
 sent for to be presented to the ladies. On entering 
 the house I firmly refused to meet the ladies until 
 I had been made presentable by the removal of all 
 the traces of my recent military expedition. My 
 shoes had to be cleaned, face and hands washed, 
 hair curled, and my robes of state donned in honor 
 of my fair guests. I had not seen the ladies, and 
 wondered if it were possible that my mamma was 
 one of the party. I was anxious to find out, but 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 59 
 
 etiquette demanded of a gentleman that he must 
 be properly groomed to receive company. 
 
 My action in this matter caused considerable 
 comment, which was continued for some years. 
 Being so particular in the matter ozone's toilet 
 was "an unmistakable mark of high birth." 
 "Blood will tell," I well remember having heard 
 repeatedly in the discussions over such trifling in- 
 cidents of my childhood. "They may place the 
 children of royalty and nobility out to nurse, but 
 they can't rob the innocent babes of the blue blood 
 in their veins and of their high-bred manners." 
 "You can't make a commoner out of a child who 
 was born a prince." 
 
CHAPTER Vni 
 
 A PATHETIC MEETING FBTJITS OF SCARLET SIN OP 
 
 EOYAL COURT VISITED ON SECOND AND THIRD 
 
 GENERATIONS — WHY KING SOLOMON 
 
 WAS FAVORED BY GOD 
 
 When about five years of age I was removed 
 from Tonbridge to Snodland, Kent, where I was 
 placed with a married sister of my foster-mother, 
 a Mrs. William Diprose. It was while living with 
 this family that my foster-mother took me to Mail- 
 ing for the ostensible purpose of paying a visit to 
 "a lady friend," but whom I discovered was my 
 own mother. "Her friend," she said, had ex- 
 pressed a desire to see John, and that she wished 
 me to accompany her when making the call. Un- 
 usual care was bestowed upon my toilet before set- 
 ting out for our destination. When en route my 
 foster-mother appeared to be nervous and excited ; 
 she frequently readjusted my collar and groomed 
 me down. On arrival at the house at which her 
 friend was calling, the final touch was given to my 
 toilet; we were then shown up to the drawing- 
 room. I had expected that my foster-mother would 
 have entered the drawing-room to greet her lady 
 friend and then to have introduced me ; instead of 
 
 60 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 61 
 
 which she placed me in front of her, laying her 
 two hands against my arms, gently pushed me for- 
 ward into the drawing-room, remaining meanwhile 
 in the doorway. A number of ladies who had 
 risen from their chairs as I entered the room, 
 stood seemingly at a loss as to what to do. One 
 lady who had approached the door as I entered 
 placed her hand on my arm and greeted me in a 
 kindly manner, to which I responded quietly. My 
 attention was on the ladies further in the room. 
 My gaze scanned the face of each lady from left 
 to right of the room until in the center of the 
 party my eyes looked for a second into the eyes of 
 a lady, eyes which spoke to mine as the eyes of a 
 tender, long-suffering love only can speak. Simul- 
 taneously each bounded toward the other, drawn 
 by the irresistible law of love. In the center of the 
 drawing-room my mother lifted me up in her arms 
 and embraced me as I was never embraced before 
 or since. The memory of my mother's heart- 
 breaking sobs is too sacred to admit of publication 
 to an unsympathetic public. I offer no apology 
 for drawing the curtain upon what was at once 
 the happiest and the most bitter moment of my 
 life. I refer to it only to record the deep effect 
 which the bitter anguish of my mother 's heart pro- 
 duced upon me; and that the world may have at 
 least some conception of the great grief of my 
 much wronged mother. 
 
 While my mother was holding me tightly to her 
 bosom, in a paroxysm of grief, I was greatly dis- 
 tressed at the evident anguish and bitterness of 
 her soul. 
 
62 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 One of the ladies present eventually came quietly 
 forward and placing her arms about my mother 
 endeavored to console her. With a last shower of 
 kisses sealed with tears of a broken heart my 
 mother put me down. I stood for a moment as she 
 was led to a chair. I then said, ' ' Good-bye. ' ' Bow- 
 ing myself out of the room, I resolved, as I was 
 leaving, that I would never pain her again with my 
 presence, until I had avenged her wrongs, by the 
 achievement of some great work, through my own 
 personal effort, for the good of the nation, in rec- 
 ognition of which my country would be bound to 
 honour her, as is her right before God and man. 
 
 At that early age my life was full of sorrow, I 
 had been subjected to unkind treatment from the 
 time of my birth, as I understand that I was taken 
 from my mother very shortly after I first saw the 
 light. I was certainly subjected to unkind treat- 
 ment from the time I can remember up to the time 
 of my removal. My soul yearned for my mother, 
 for a mother's love and a mother's care. The af- 
 fection bestowed upon other children by their par- 
 ents tended to make my life the more lonely. 
 
 I know of nothing in life that produces in all the 
 intensity of which it is possible to conceive the an- 
 guish and bitterness of heart which may be de- 
 scribed as an aching void, as the loss of a 
 mother's love and a father's care, under circum- 
 stances such as those by which I lost my parents, 
 unless, indeed, it be the grief of a distracted 
 mother robbed of her child. Under natural con- 
 ditions or causes such as the removal of parents 
 or children by death we become reconciled to the 
 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 63 
 
 loss, knowing that our loss is their gain, and do 
 not suffer as keenly through such bereavement as 
 when the thought is constantly before the mind 
 that mother and father have been cruelly separ- 
 ated from each other and from their innocent and 
 helpless infant under the most distressing cir- 
 cumstances ; and, that that mother is grieving as 
 only a mother can grieve under the burden of such 
 a terrible and unjust fate ; and, that a barbarous 
 custom of royalty renders the father helpless to 
 protect either one of his loved ones,— the so- 
 called royal custom of morganatic marriage— the 
 scarlet sin of royal courts and the plague-spot of 
 the Christian world in this twentieth century of 
 boasted civilization and hypocritical profession 
 of Christianity. A so-called law which presumes 
 to make null and void the law of Almighty God in 
 the divine institution of holy matrimony when 
 solemnized without the sanction of the earthly 
 sovereign. 
 
 When it is remembered that in lands called 
 "heathen," the "ignorant," "superstitious," and 
 "barbarous" people whom we unjustly condemn 
 as being ignorant of the true God and true relig- 
 ion (such is our own misconception of God and 
 religion), treat all matters relating to private life 
 with a reverence and sanctity that reduces the 
 standard of life in Christian nations below the 
 lowest of the brute creation in comparison. Let 
 the reader put himself or herself in the place of 
 the writer, not that I would have them experience 
 the torture of heart and mind endured by me for 
 forty-nine years, but to take a sweeping sketch of 
 
64 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 an infinitesimal portion of the multitude of the 
 trials, sorrows, and experiences of that period; 
 and then, dear reader, imagine, if you can, what it 
 must have been to have had this horrible living 
 picture of a greatly wronged mother constantly 
 before the mind for over forty years. 
 
 Let us visit for a brief space the continent of 
 Asia, the land from which the first dawn of civili- 
 zation broke upon us. It is well known that among 
 the peoples of that continent a plurality of wives 
 has been the custom from the most ancient time. 
 The children of kings by plural wives are treated 
 as royal princes, and in every way enjoy the 
 rights and privileges appertaining to birthright. 
 The same thing is true of the offspring of all 
 classes of people. Not only are the children of 
 plural wives thus sacredly honoured and pro- 
 tected, but the same is true of the natural off- 
 spring of concubines or mistresses; and why 
 should it not be so? Shall the law of God be set 
 at naught by an adulterous and hypocritical 
 twentieth century Christian community by shirk- 
 ing the responsibility of parentage, and laying 
 claim to virtues which it does not possess? 
 
 Let us recall to mind the published statement 
 by which it was said that the late Queen Victoria 
 traced the genealogy of the Royal Family of 
 England to the House of David. Without com- 
 menting upon the private life, or, in modern 
 phraseology, the morality of King David, it may 
 not be out of place to remember that the lineal de- 
 scendant of that King who succeeded to the 
 throne, and whom God abundantly blessed with 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 65 
 
 wisdom, wealth and power far transcending the 
 glory of any other monarch in history, enjoyed the 
 happiness of having three hundred wives and 
 seven hundred concubines, not to speak of the 
 Queen of Sheba and other beauties not included 
 in the royal household. It is significant that the 
 biblical historian in writing the inspired word of 
 God did not hesitate to record without comment 
 or qualification the fact that the number of King 
 Solomon's concubines was two and one-third times 
 greater than the number of his wives. Evidently 
 no disgrace in the sight of God that King Solomon 
 had seven hundred concubines in addition to his 
 three hundred wives. The reason that King Solo- 
 mon thus enjoyed God's favor was because he was 
 not guilty of the crime of repudiating his wives or 
 of casting off his offspring. 
 
 If the geneaology of the present reigning dy- 
 nasty of Abyssinia is to be accepted, Emperor 
 Menelick is the direct descendant of King Solomon 
 and the Queen of Sheba. The Emperor of Abys- 
 sinia is not, therefore, so far removed in relation- 
 ship with the British royal family as the latter 
 is removed from the moral and sacred responsi- 
 bility of parentage to legitimate offspring, when 
 such offspring is the issue of a marriage con- 
 tracted by a royal prince contrary to the whim or 
 fancy of the reigning sovereign. The moral re- 
 sponsibility of parentage, whether the offspring 
 be by plural wives or concubines is still religiously 
 observed in other branches of our family, branches 
 not yet corrupted by the influences of modern 
 civilization and idolatry. The idol of self-right- 
 
66 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 eousness attributed by the Lord Jesus Christ to 
 the Scribes and Pharisees has been so perfected 
 by the embellishments of modern social etiquette 
 and a false conventionality that the first century 
 hypocrisy so condemned by Jesus Christ becomes 
 devout piety in this twentieth century. 
 
 "We will now examine briefly the modern genea- 
 logical history of the House of Guelph. 
 
 King William I, more generally known as Will- 
 iam the Conqueror, it is recorded is the progeni- 
 tor of the Royal Family of Great Britain, for the 
 reason that the Norman invader, having been pro- 
 claimed King after the conquest of England, be- 
 came the first sovereign of the Norman line; but, 
 presumably, for the more convenient reason that 
 King William I, the progenitor of the British 
 Royal Family, was the natural son of Robert II, 
 Duke of Normandy, by Herleva, a tanner's 
 daughter. 
 
 The fact that the Conqueror was the illegitimate 
 offspring of a foreign nobleman is somewhat awk- 
 ward to record in plain English, but is most grace- 
 fully presented in the symbols of heraldry. It is 
 worthy of note that the illegitimacy of William 
 I of England and the fact that his mother was of 
 plebian birth did not debar him from the rights 
 of recognition as a nobleman, from the rights of 
 conquest, or from being proclaimed the King of 
 England. 
 
 My mother's ancestors, who came in the train 
 of William the Conqueror, were of equally noble 
 lineage as that of the Conqueror's father, and had 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 67 
 
 no such record of illegitimacy as in the case of 
 their Royal Commander. 
 
 The history of England is blurred by the record 
 of bloody crimes against members of the Royal 
 Family, and by the shadow of still darker deeds 
 recorded only in the "Great Book" of the King 
 of Kings. 
 
 The crimes of Henry VIII in disposing of his 
 wives by divorce and by execution were acts ol 
 justice and mercy when considered in the light of 
 the inhuman treatment meted out to my dear 
 mother, who was torn from the arms of her hus- 
 band without cause and without any pretense of 
 legal process'. The only effort made was to sup- 
 press the knowledge of her marriage from the 
 public. 
 
 The various consorts of King Henry VIII were 
 at least accorded the honor due to their high sta- 
 tion while it lasted ; and they were finally removed 
 by some show of legal formality; their children 
 were, moreover, recognized as princes of the 
 blood royal, and were decorated accordingly with 
 princely honours. 
 
 In the case of Henry VIII it must have been ap- 
 parent that the disposition made by him of his 
 first and second consorts revealed the true charac- 
 ter of the man, and that each succeeded consort 
 went to her fate with her eyes more widely open to 
 the probability of her doom than her predecessor 
 had done. 
 
 Let my readers now consider for a moment the 
 case of my own father, who, as it is well known, 
 loved and loved deeply and truly the first and 
 
68 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 only bride of his choice. That that love was a 
 sacred and undying love in the heart of the young 
 prince is known by those who read the handwrit- 
 ing on the wall, described by the late Prince Con- 
 sort as "a trying time for the Royal Family at 
 home" in the summer of 1860, when the Prince of 
 Wales was sent to Canada ; and by those who have 
 knowledge of the domestic infelicity which marked 
 the Royal Household from the year 1863. 
 
 That that first love, the cruel wrecking of which 
 wrecked the life of my father, was recipro- 
 cated by the bride of his choice, was generally 
 known to the older generation and to their own 
 generation throughout the United Kingdom and 
 Europe. Public sympathy has been with the 
 greatly wronged Princess Consort in her unceas- 
 ing bitterness of life during the past forty-nine 
 years of her voluntary exile. 
 
 In justice to the United Kingdom of Great Brit- 
 ain and Ireland and to the honor of the Empire, I 
 am happy to record that the barbarous morganatic 
 marriage custom, which applies to some countries 
 on the continent of Europe, does not apply to the 
 Royal Family of England. 
 
 There is, therefore, no reason why the people 
 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire- 
 land, and of the possessions beyond the seas 
 should countenance or tolerate the practice of 
 bigamy or the repudiation of lawful wives and the 
 disfranchisement or disinheritance of legitimate 
 offspring by Princes or by Sovereign of the Brit- 
 ish Empire, a practice which is not only repugnant 
 to the tenets of the Christian Faith, of which the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 69 
 
 Sovereign is the "Defender," and revolting to 
 every moral sentiment, but which is abhorred as a 
 barbarous and inhuman custom by the vast ma- 
 jority of the subjects of the great British Empire, 
 whom a self-righteous and bigoted Christian com- 
 munity are pleased to term "heathen," — our loyal 
 and faithful subjects of the Empire of India ! 
 
 What shall we say of the Christians of the Brit- 
 ish Empire if they longer countenance or tolerate 
 the scarlet sin of royal polygamy by princes of the 
 Reigning House, a sin which is abhorred by their 
 three hundred million fellow subjects, — Moham- 
 medan, Buddhist, Hindu and Zoroastrian? 
 
 What shall we say of the Christians of the Brit- 
 ish Empire if they fail to demand justice for the 
 disfranchised eldest legitimate son and heir of 
 their late Sovereign, His Majesty King Ed- 
 ward VII, the Prince John Eex et Imperator de 
 jure? 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 A SERIES OP AMUSING AND PAINFUL INCIDENTS — 
 I REMOVE TO LICHFIELD, STAFFORDSHIRE 
 
 After about a year in Snodland, I was again 
 returned to the tender care of Mrs. Nutley, in 
 Tonbridge, where I remained until I was about 
 eight years of age. 
 
 It was during my second residence in Ton- 
 bridge that I was once more reported dead. I had 
 gone in company with another boy to a pond 
 called Osborn's Pit. An attempt to wade through 
 eighteen feet of water proving futile, my com- 
 panion waited until he saw me disappear below 
 the surface of the water and then ran away and 
 reported me drowned. A searching party went out 
 and dragged the pit from about 12 o'clock noon 
 until the next morning ; Mrs. Nutley, her two sons, 
 William and David, and her daughter Emily with 
 Emma Curd returned home about 3.30 A. M. Mrs. 
 Nutley came into my bedroom wailing frantically 
 and threw herself upon her knees by my bed, cry- 
 ing out, "What will become of me! My poor 
 Johnny, the dear child, is dead." 
 
 The girls came into the bedroom to take Mrs. 
 Nutley away when the trio screamed in chorus — 
 "Why there is Johnny in bed." 
 
 70 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 71 
 
 She eventually somewhat recovered her com- 
 posure, only to promptly faint on discovering me 
 in bed. 
 
 I distinctly remember the look of horror on my 
 companion's face, a boy about my own age, Ted 
 Saxby, as he turned and fled from the scene as my 
 face once more came to the surface. I managed 
 to clutch some briars that were running from the 
 bank some distance into the water and drew my- 
 self ashore. I do not remember just how long I 
 was lying at the foot of the steep bank, as I lost 
 consciousness. Upon recovering consciousness I 
 crawled up to the top of the bank where I found 
 my shoes and socks, but my companion was no- 
 where in sight. I called, but there was no 
 response. 
 
 I left the scene and went into a neighboring 
 hay-field, where hay-making was going on, and 
 rolled in the hay as a means to recuperate from 
 the effects of the dipping and at the same time to 
 dry my clothes. Not caring to venture home, as 
 I was supposed to be drowned, I remained with 
 the hay-makers until they left off work in the 
 evening. The hay-makers adjourned to a public 
 house on leaving the field and invited me to ac- 
 company them, an invitation which I readily ac- 
 cepted, as it afforded me the time necessary to 
 wait for the people to go to bed before I would 
 venture home. We remained in the tap-room 
 drinking beer and amusing ourselves by shooting 
 out the gas at which sport I became quite proficient 
 before leaving the "pub" at "turning out time." 
 
 I was at that time about seven years of age, 
 
72 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 and afforded the hay-makers much amusement 
 by my marksmanship with the gun in shooting out 
 the gas eveiy time I fired. 
 
 I then paraded the church yard for an hour or 
 more thinking it still too early for the folks at 
 home to be asleep. Some time after midnight I 
 made my way through the kitchen window to bed, 
 thinking myself very clever in having got in with- 
 out arousing any one from their slumbers. 
 
 It transpired, as stated above, that the people 
 were not asleep but still dragging the pit a few 
 miles away. 
 
 It was not long after the drowning accident that 
 I was finally removed from Tonbridge to return 
 to Snodland. In 1869 Mrs. Diprose, my nurse, 
 died. A peculiar circumstance in connection with 
 her death and illness may be related in the inter- 
 est of psychologists: 
 
 I knew, of course, that" Aunty" (as I was taught 
 to call her) was ill. I did not, however, know 
 the nature of her illness. The small thatched 
 house, in which we were living in this village was 
 of the old fashioned kind with diamond shaped 
 window-panes, having a very fine grape vine spread 
 over the back and side walls. The stairway was 
 situated in the kitchen with a door at the bottom 
 which was kept closed. 
 
 One morning I was sitting in the old arm-chair 
 by the fire-place and facing the stairway door. 
 By the side of the door stood an old "Grand- 
 father's" clock which had done service for genera- 
 tions. The clock gave the warning to strike the 
 hour of 10 A. M. ; at the same moment the stair 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 73 
 
 door was opened by Elizabeth, the fourth of the 
 seven daughters of Mrs. Diprose, who had just 
 come down from her mother's room. As the door 
 opened I looked up at Elizabeth and before she 
 could step from the lower steps to the floor, I 
 burst into tears. 
 
 Elizabeth, surprised at this sudden and unex- 
 pected outburst, said, "Whatever is the matter, 
 Johnny?" Pointing to the clock, I said, "Aunty 
 is dying." 
 
 Elizabeth replied, ' ' No, no, mother is not dying. 
 She is much better this morning. You must not 
 cry." 
 
 I protested, saying that her mother would die 
 when the clock struck 10. 
 
 Elizabeth replied, "Nonsense, I have just raised 
 mother up in bed. She is quite easy. ' ' 
 
 Pointing to the clock, I said, "When the clock 
 gave warning to strike something told me that 
 Aunty will die as the clock strikes ten." 
 
 The girl, terror-stricken at my emotion and the 
 manner in which I had informed her of my pre- 
 monition, turned and ran upstairs ; she arrived at 
 her mother's bedside just in time to support her 
 mother on her arms as she sank back dead as the 
 clock was striking the hour. 
 
 On my return to England from India in 1894, I 
 looked up the Diprose family and found Eliza- 
 beth the happy mother of a number of children 
 living at Lamberhurst in Kent. I asked her if 
 she remembered the incident above related, in or- 
 der to satisfy myself that it was not an imagina- 
 
74 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 tion conjured up in childhood and exaggerated by 
 reflection in after life. 
 
 Elizabeth informed me that she remembered the 
 incident perfectly well and had often wondered 
 how the premonition of her mother's death came 
 to me in such a remarkable manner. 
 
 I may relate an amusing incident which occurred 
 during my last sojourn with the Diproses. Mr. 
 Diprose was working in the harvest field. I was 
 sent to him on an errand and remained for some 
 time playing about. The men struck work for 
 dinner and invited me to join them in their re- 
 past. 
 
 This was no champagne banquet, but ale, bread 
 and cheese and fat pork. Not being partial to 
 either fat pork or cheese, strong enough to walk, 
 the only thing on the bill-of-fare of which I would 
 partake was the beer. 
 
 As the harvest field has a tendency to sharpen 
 the appetite I partook somewhat heartily of the 
 "Malt Extract." Some time after this repast 
 "Uncle" Diprose suggested that I had bet- 
 ter go home and requested me at the same 
 time to take a large basket of potatoes 
 which he had procured from the neighbor- 
 ing farm house. I proceeded on my homeward 
 journey laboring under my double load of Malt 
 Extract and potatoes. After having struggled 
 along for some" three-quarters of a mile over the 
 stubble of the harvested wheat field, my course 
 thence on for another mile lay between two stands 
 of wheat ; the path being about a foot wide at the 
 base and very uncertain and uneven at the top; 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Dc Guelph 75 
 
 nothing more or less than a rough ridge. I well 
 remember the brave effort I made to maintain my 
 balance on this razor-back ridge. In the even- 
 ing of that day when ''Uncle" William Diprose 
 was wending his way homeward along this self- 
 same path, he was startled to observe that some- 
 body had been planting potatoes about one-half of 
 the distance, but a greater surprise was in store for 
 him on finding that the potato scattering terminat- 
 ed abruptly with about a peck and a half scattered 
 in a small circle like a punctuation mark. He 
 thought it a "full" stop and began to investigate. 
 He found his potato basket lying upside down a 
 few feet from the path, and a break in the wheat 
 led him to believe that further investigation on 
 his part would lead to some further discovery. 
 
 Some three or four yards further in the wheat 
 he discovered me "dead to the world," the heat 
 of the harvest field and alcoholic poisoning had 
 rendered me unconscious. "Uncle" William 
 placed me in his potato basket and carried me 
 home and called in a doctor; restoratives were 
 duly administered and I was not much the worse 
 for my experience. 
 
 Having been very delicate as a child it was 
 thought by my foster-mother that life on a farm 
 would be beneficial to my health. During the two 
 or three last years of my stay at Snodland I 
 worked on the farm, but the long hours and insuffi- 
 cient rest tended to further impair rather than im- 
 prove my health. 
 
 At the age of twelve it was decided that 
 it was time for another change of scene. On 
 
76 Memoirs of Prince John Dc GuelpJi 
 
 the 14th of February, 1873, I was, accord- 
 ingly, sent as a novel valentine to a brother 
 of my fostermother, a Mr. George Norman, of 
 Lichfield, Staffordshire. I can not say that the 
 idea of this change appealed to me in any way 
 from the time it was suggested. Notwithstanding 
 that it was not always pleasant to a child of eight 
 to ten years of age to be routed out of bed at three 
 o'clock every morning to trudge off two or three 
 miles to commence his early labors of farm work 
 by five A. M., and that this experience was the 
 more difficult by reason of the fact that I was fully 
 cognizant of my identity and that my proper place 
 at such hours was to be snugly tucked away in a 
 comfortable bed in a palace ; I had adapted myself 
 to the modest environments and had learned to 
 love the girls of the family, as also their father. 
 
 I had a presentiment that the proposed change 
 to Lichfield would not be agreeable to me.' 
 
 Having been deprived of the love and care of 
 my mother and father, it was hard to be repeatedly 
 deprived of such affection as was accorded to me 
 by the different families with which I was placed 
 as a child only to go again among strangers. 
 
 On being sent to Lichfield I explained to my 
 foster-mother and also to her brother that this 
 life of being kicked about from "pillar to post," 
 thus depriving me of any lasting human friend- 
 ship, was too much for my sensitive nature, and 
 that I intended henceforth to make my own way 
 in the world. 
 
 I would go to work and earn my own living. 
 While at that time I was obliged to live with my 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 77 
 
 guardian, I started to work at the Priory for 
 Squire Brown. My work there was to take care 
 of eight cows, assist in the dairy and incidentally 
 in the stables. 
 
 I soon became expert in the task of milking my 
 eight cows and quite enjoyed such good company. 
 With the exception of a little red-and-white vixen 
 the rest of the happy family bestowed upon me 
 as great, if not greater, affection than I had re- 
 ceived at the hands of any members of the human 
 family. 
 
 On my first introduction to the red-and-white 
 cow in question, I sought to gain her confidence by 
 kindness and gentle treatment. It had been cus- 
 tomary to strap her legs and bar her in during 
 the process of milking. This treatment I con- 
 demned as cruelty to animals. Acting upon this 
 conscientious conviction, I took my milk can and 
 stool and, dispensing with the restraining straps 
 and the rail, proceeded to milk my pet. 
 
 The freedom of action in her legs and body dur- 
 ing the performance of this maternal function evi- 
 dently took her by surprise, as some minutes 
 elapsed before she availed herself of the privilege 
 thus accorded her. In due time, however, she 
 came to a full realization of her advantage and of 
 the fool-hardiness of her latest "calf," and pro- 
 tested vigorously against the ribs of her inno- 
 cent victim. 
 
 Possibly the only other evidence at present ob- 
 tainable of that amusing incident would be the 
 mark on the corner of the cow-shed against which 
 my aerial flight was abruptly terminated, unless 
 
78 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 Squire Brown, or some of the household can still 
 be found to corroborate the story. 
 
 I was obliged to part from my pets after an ac- 
 quaintance of only a few months in consequence 
 of my health. 
 
 While strong and healthy as an infant, I was in 
 very delicate health for many years after having 
 been dumped over the railway wall in the first 
 year of my existence. It was the opinion of 
 medical men then that with my skull crushed in 
 I could not live many months, and, as time went 
 on they declared I could not be reared to the age 
 of twelve years. It was not surprising, therefore, 
 that I should have suffered from the effects of 
 having been so nearly drowned. 
 
 I was quite ill for some time following this ac- 
 cident. 
 
 I suffered a good deal also with my eyes; the 
 trouble being attributed to my having taken a 
 severe cold through the ducking and remaining 
 in my wet clothes. 
 
 This trouble with my eyes continued for some 
 years. At the age of twelve, shortly after my 
 change of residence and guardians, from Kent to 
 Staffordshire, in the city of Lichfield, it was fear- 
 ed that I would lose my sight. I suffered from a 
 very severe attack of ophthalmia. 
 
 I was placed under the treatment of a noted 
 Birmingham oculist, as an out-patient of the Bir- 
 mingham Eye and Ear Hospital. I well remember 
 my first visit to that institution. My condition was 
 so serious that it was not deemed advisable that 
 I should make this short journey of a couple of 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 79 
 
 hours by train in one day. I was accordingly 
 sent to Walsall, only a few miles from Lichfield, 
 one afternoon, where I was met by the late Sister 
 Dora, who took me to the Cottage Hospital of 
 which she had charge. 
 
 Sister Dora treated me with the kindness, gen- 
 tleness and loving sympathy of a mother. I was 
 in great agony from the pain in my eyes, but 
 I felt that I could cheerfully suffer a great deal 
 for the privilege of being for a few hours under 
 the care of this saintly woman, who was my ideal 
 of a ministering angel from the Almighty. 
 
 The following morning I was put on the train 
 for Birmingham only a few miles distant from 
 Walsall. On reaching that town I made my way 
 unattended to the hospital. I will not torture my 
 readers with the horrid details of the treatment or 
 suffering I endured during the months that I at- 
 tended that institution. 
 
 Suffice it to say that my case necessitated an 
 increased supply of leeches to the hospital and 
 that I furnished nourishment to a thousand and 
 more of these blood suckers. 
 
 Seemingly fearful lest my blood supply should 
 prove insufficient for the ever-increasing number 
 of leeches to gorge themselves upon, the doctor 
 filled me up with cod-liver oil to such an extent 
 that I ultimately took to the sea. 
 
 Following the leeches the doctor, evidently bent 
 upon increasing the mortality of the hospital, ran 
 setons through my temples to keep up the suppura- 
 tion, following this up with the probing of the eyes 
 
80 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelpli 
 
 and the application of poisons which only in- 
 creased my suffering. 
 
 In later years I reflected with feelings of right- 
 eous indignation on this system of treatment and 
 the painful difficulties under which I had to grope 
 my way alone through the streets of a strange 
 town from the hospital to the station, suffering un- 
 speakable torture of both body and mind. The 
 agony of one of the most painful afflictions of the 
 body that it is possible to bear, and deprived 
 of sight, a helpless boy of twelve years, I was 
 buffeted about by the crowd and congested traffic 
 in that busy manufacturing center of the "black" 
 country. The torture of my body was, however, 
 not to be compared with that of my mind which 
 was overwhelmed with grief through the knowl- 
 edge of my painful position : the grandson of the 
 Queen of England, the first-born son of the Prince 
 of Wales, Prince of the blood royal, deserted and 
 cast adrift, blind and helpless to struggle alone 
 through dangers that threatened my life at every 
 step. 
 
 My mind at that time was pre-occupied with 
 thoughts such as experienced by one at the point 
 of death. Years of suffering had robbed me of 
 the joys of childhood, my thoughts were those of 
 a maturer being. 
 
 I was carried in thought to the palaces to see 
 my royal grandmother, whom I could not help 
 but despise ; I could see my father and the woman 
 who had displaced my own beautiful mother; I 
 could see my half-brothers and sisters gamboling 
 in luxury ; I could see my broken-hearted mother 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 81 
 
 as she walked alone in the grounds of the old Scot- 
 tish Castle where Queen Mary had spent much of 
 her time. The only rift in the dark clouds of my 
 suffering was the pleasure of meeting Sister Dora 
 and the fond recollections of her loving sympathy 
 and caress. A statue has been erected in Walsall 
 to the memory of Sister Dora. It is the one statue 
 in England which in my opinion should have been 
 made of gold. 
 
 At the end of about six months' treatment the 
 condition of my eyes was much worse than when I 
 commenced treatment, and hopes of saving my 
 sight had been despaired of. At this juncture I 
 contemplated very seriously upon the prospects 
 of my future life. Was it not enough that I had 
 been cruelly cast adrift and that my mother was 
 pining in solitude bereft of both her husband and 
 child; must the greatest of all afflictions, blind- 
 ness, be added to the already bitter cup of the un- 
 christian and barbarous acts of my Queen and 
 grandmother? Hitherto, most of my time had 
 been spent in a darkened room and under a large 
 table with a spread reaching nearly to the floor to 
 further protect my eyes from the little light that 
 penetrated the humble apartment. The torture 
 of mind and body, the gross injustice and neglect, 
 at length became intolerable, and I sought the soli- 
 tude of the fields, where I might be alone with my 
 Heavenly Father. I spent many hours lying on 
 the grass in deep meditation and prayer. I found 
 that the soft green of the grass was more sooth- 
 ing to my eyes than was the darkness and im- 
 pure atmosphere of my room. 
 
82 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 One morning I threw myself upon the grass in 
 a field in which I saw numerous plants having deli- 
 cate bird 's-eye flowers and small leaves of a dark, 
 soft green. 
 
 Placing my face close to the plant, I soon ob- 
 served that it produced a most soothing effect 
 upon my eyes. I was immediately impressed to 
 tear out the setons from my temples, to throw 
 away my medicines and to substitute the treat- 
 ment before me for the barbarous treatment which 
 I had been undergoing. I tore the plants up by 
 the roots, filled my pocket handkerchief and my 
 pockets with them and returned home. I went to 
 the kitchen, washed the plants thoroughly, put 
 them into a saucepan with water and proceeded 
 to brew my decoction, much to the amazement and 
 alarm of Mrs. Norman, the wife of my guardian. 
 
 She remonstrated with me in vain: "You will 
 blind yourself/' she said. "You may poison 
 yourself and die," and such like expostulations. 
 
 I replied that "Dr. Solomon, with all his wis- 
 dom, was certainly making me blind, and that he 
 had expressed the opinion that I could not live." 
 This I had overheard him tell my guardian. 
 
 I told her that I was not prepared to go through 
 life blind; and that I intended to live to make a 
 home for my mother, to show my grandmother 
 that I did not want her support and that I could 
 become a greater man without her aid than I would 
 become if coddled up in the palace where I could 
 learn nothing of the world. 
 
 When my guardian returned from work in the 
 evening, I had already applied my home-made 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 83 
 
 "lotion" to my eyes several times with consider- 
 able benefit. He was dumbfounded when I told of 
 my act, and inquired why I had torn the setons 
 from my temples. I informed him that I had 
 torn them with a single jerk instead of torturing 
 myself morning and night to tear them out by de- 
 grees. 
 
 I further explained that I was not going to see 
 Dr. Solomon again. 
 
 At bedtime I applied the leaves from my decoc- 
 tion as a poultice to my eyes. Each day I gathered 
 a fresh supply and made a fresh decoction. After 
 about a fortnight's treatment my eyes were strong 
 and well. 
 
 I remember having heard my guardian, when 
 speaking of this unusual experiment, remark that 
 it was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen 
 or heard of in all his travels during his twenty- 
 one years' service in the army. He said: "Mur- 
 der will out. They talk of the King's touch for 
 the 'King's evil;' I do believe that this boy must 
 have it in him or he would never have done such 
 an extraordinary thing." 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 CHAFING UNDER THE INJUSTICE OF MY DISINHERI- 
 TANCE AND RESTRAINT IN MY FALSE POSITION I 
 THROW OFF THE YOKE AND GO INTO THE 
 WORLD A MAN AMONG MEN 
 
 It was in my thirteenth year that my foster- 
 mother showed greater anxiety than usual over 
 my refusal to study. She promised to give me, as 
 pocket money, one guinea for each copy-book that 
 I could fill in a year ; and estimated that I ought 
 to fill three or four books a week, and she had a 
 gross of assorted books sent to me, in addition 
 to books on arithmetic, history, geography, etc. 
 
 By way of encouragement she impressed upon 
 me very seriously my duty as a Prince to qualify 
 myself for the " exalted station to which my coun- 
 try would some day call me," and pointed out 
 the advantages of the practical education possible 
 to me. 
 
 Having already repudiated the miserable pit- 
 tance allowed for my support and education, and 
 having gone to work to earn my own living rather 
 than accept their miserable "mess of pottage," I 
 naturally failed to "bite at the cherry" offered 
 me with the copy book. 
 
 Needless to say that at the end of the year I had 
 not earned a single guinea by the art of the pen. 
 
 84 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 85 
 
 If I had the ability to earn my own living under 
 circumstances so far removed from those to which 
 I was born, i. e., in the stable and cow-shed, I con- 
 cluded that I was also capable of exercising and 
 developing the intelligence transmitted to me by 
 my royal parents and long line of cultured ances- 
 tors. 
 
 My next position was with W. H. Tanner & 
 Co., wholesale and retail grocers of Lichfield, 
 where I became somewhat familiar with the art of 
 the confectioner and the " counter-jumper. ' ' 
 
 I also had some experience of the business of 
 the traveler, as it was my duty to drive out to all 
 the neighboring towns with the traveling sales- 
 man several times a week. 
 
 Another position held in Lichfield was with 
 William Norman, the wholesale draper. 
 
 My principal duty there was to attend in the 
 shop ; accompany the outside salesman three times 
 a week on our various routes. There being nine 
 different routes, we covered each route only once 
 in three weeks, which made these trips more inter- 
 esting than more frequent visits would have been, 
 as our sweethearts in the various towns had time 
 to feel our absence and, naturally, were always 
 looking forward to our coming. 
 
 Still another experience was in the shop of Mr. 
 Simpson the shoemaker, where I learned to both 
 mend and make shoes, and, at the same time, de- 
 veloped athletic tendencies in the way of riding 
 the " flying horse," the principal sport of the hard- 
 working cobbler. 
 
 The novel sport of the " flying-horse" not be- 
 
86 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ing much understood by others than the members 
 of our " fraternity," I may enlighten my readers 
 on this exciting experience — the first time that the 
 secret has been made public. The pedigree of the 
 "flying-horse" can not be traced to the thorough- 
 bred Arabian steed or to the English racer. It 
 is a species peculiar to the steed of the shoe- 
 maker's shop. 
 
 To bring the "flying-horse" to perfection for 
 animated action, two holes are bored in the seat 
 of the cobbler's bench about an inch and one-half 
 apart and a groove in the seat cut out from hole 
 to hole large enough to admit of a strong waxed 
 end operating without obstruction. A cobbler's 
 needle of some three inches is then threaded with 
 a waxed end of suitable length to reach around the 
 room; the needle is then placed eye downward 
 through one of the holes in the seat, the point be- 
 ing flush with the top. The other end of the 
 thread is then passed along the groove and down 
 through the opposite hole, passing, generally, from 
 the back of the seat along by the wall like a tele- 
 phone wire, but concealed. The end of the thread 
 is within reach of the operator in some other part 
 of the room. The whole staff, including employ- 
 ers and employees, having found some excuse for 
 visiting the work room, the operator pulls the 
 thread o-r bridle of the "flying-horse" with a jerk 
 which springs the needle up the one hole penetrat- 
 ing the breech saddle of the novice rider, who in 
 turn parts company with the needle by a dexterous 
 vault into space. My experience in this feat broke 
 the previous records of the sitting high-jump. By 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 87 
 
 the time he descends from the ceiling the "flying- 
 horse" and its equipment have disappeared. 
 
 I next entered the railway service as a clerk, 
 in 1874. I was at that time chafing under the re- 
 straint of my guardians and was consequently very 
 unhappy for the reason, as some may understand, 
 that where a child is under the guardianship of 
 strangers the dutiful affection that would be 
 natural from a child to its parents and vice versa 
 is lacking. 
 
 I told my guardian on several occasions that I 
 would not submit to this treatment but would start 
 out into the world that I might enjoy the independ- 
 ence that one is entitled to in life. 
 
 My guardian expressed himself that it might do 
 me good to have a taste of the world, but, that if 
 I should leave his protection, he was sure that a 
 few days' experience in the cold world would be 
 quite enough to bring me back. 
 
 In the month of March, 1876, I told them one 
 evening that I intended to leave the next day. The 
 following day I left home without taking a change 
 of linen or clothes or so much as a clean pocket 
 handkerchief. I left in my office suit. I chose this 
 course for the reason that I feared that if I took 
 my belongings they would be apprehensive about 
 me and think that I was going for good, which 
 might be rather awkward. 
 
 I purchased a railway ticket to Birmingham and 
 was seen to leave by train for that city. I had 
 selected a compartment in which there was no 
 other passenger. When the train was well out 
 of Lichfield, I opened the door of the compart- 
 
88 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ment, stepped out onto the step, closed the door 
 and dropped off of the rapidly moving train. 
 
 Picking myself up from the bottom of the bank, 
 where I had rolled, I went across fields and finally 
 struck the road leading to Derby and Nottingham. 
 I walked to Derby that day and the following even- 
 ing arrived at Nottingham with about two shillings 
 in my pocket. I put up at a hotel on the station 
 road, paying eighteen pence for my bed and four 
 pence for a glass of beer and bread and cheese. 
 My exchequer being now down to two-pence it was 
 imperative that I obtain employment forthwith. I 
 got up at 2.30 A. M. and by three o 'clock was out 
 looking for work. I found a coffee stand owned by 
 a man named Jackson. He was blind. This 
 poor fellow I learned had been a stocking maker 
 and had lost his sight in the factory. He was a 
 devout Methodist, and had his coffee stand to sup- 
 ply factory hands going to the factory in the early 
 hours of the morning and the night shifts, etc. I 
 thought that I would invest in a cup of coffee for 
 a penny, which I did. The blind man treated me 
 cordially and inquired if I did not want a bun also. 
 I replied that I did not, that it was rather early 
 for breakfast, and that I only wanted a cup of 
 coffee. 
 
 He invited me to sit down in his coffee stand and 
 insisted upon my having a bun with my coffee, re- 
 fusing payment for the bun. The blind man knew 
 every one of his customers, man, woman and child. 
 He also knew that I was a stranger in that town. 
 He inquired what I was doing out so early. I 
 told him that I was out looking for work, at which 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 89 
 
 he smiled kindly, and said, "three o'clock in the 
 morning is rather early to start out to look for 
 work. It is useless for yon to go to any place on 
 that errand before eight or nine o'clock." He in- 
 vited me to remain with him until that time and 
 offered to go with me to see if he could help in 
 securing me a place. 
 
 He said that he supposed that I had run away 
 from home but that he did not wish to ask any 
 questions about me or my people and would help 
 me in any way possible. I accepted his invitation 
 with thanks and at eight o 'clock assisted in taking 
 down the booth, packing away his coffee urns, 
 etc., and wheeling the same to his house where I 
 was introduced to his aged mother and invalid 
 sisters, whom this poor blind man was supporting 
 by his coffee stand. I was made quite at home by 
 this good-hearted family and after breakfast start- 
 ed out in company with the blind man in quest of 
 work. He suggested looking through the papers 
 to see if I could find a congenial position ad- 
 vertised. I concluded that this would be a waste of 
 time as any position that I might wish to apply 
 for would require a character, which, under the 
 circumstances, I could not produce. I explained to 
 Mr. Jackson that I was half Irish and that like a 
 certain Irishman I had once heard of, who, when 
 being asked for his character, vainly searched his 
 pockets and then innocently replied, "An', faith, 
 sor, I have lost it." Mr. Jackson readily agreed 
 with me that under the circumstances it would be 
 advisable to apply for work in some of the fac- 
 tories, which we accordingly did. He led the way 
 
90 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 to Cox's lace factory, the manager of which was 
 a woman. Mr. Jackson went in and saw this good 
 lady and commended me to her motherly sympa- 
 thy. I was then called in and informed that I could 
 have a position in the factory at fourteen shillings 
 a week. 
 
 Being asked when I would like to commence, I 
 replied "that I would start at once." I was ac- 
 cordingly introduced in the "drying room" and 
 started to work. I boarded with the blind man and 
 his family. 
 
 Work became short in the factory a few weeks 
 later and as hands were out on half time I accord- 
 ingly sought another position. Seeing a place ad- 
 vertised at Gilliver's Hotel and confectionery, I 
 applied for the position, relying on my former 
 experience in that line to favor me in my applica- 
 tion. I got the job. Some three months later while 
 out making the early morning purchase in meat, 
 for pork pies, etc., I looked through the advertise- 
 ments in the morning paper and saw a position 
 advertised for a billiard marker in the Caledonia 
 Hotel, ten shillings a week, board, lodging and 
 washing. This was considerably better than the 
 job I held. I called on my way back with my bas- 
 ket on my arm to apply in person for the position. 
 The proprietor appeared to be amused and pleased 
 with my timely appearance and smiled at the man- 
 ner in which I had presented myself. He told 
 me that I could have the position, providing my 
 present employers would recommend me and that 
 he wished me to start as early as possible. Need- 
 less to say ihe recommendation was all right and 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 91 
 
 that my employers were pleased to know that I had 
 an opportunity to better myself, and said that I 
 could go at once as the Caledonia was without a 
 boy, but I declined to leave them until they had se- 
 cured the services of another boy to take my place. 
 This was readily done and I started upon my new 
 position. I knew nothing about "grooming" bil- 
 lard tables, my work in that line having been with 
 cows and horses. However, the billard tables were 
 perfectly harmless and so I entered upon my task 
 of brushing and ironing without fear. I enjoyed 
 the work and also the pay and very soon became so 
 proficient in that game that I seriously contem- 
 plated challenging the champion of England to a 
 game of one-thousand up. 
 
 Some six months later another opening occurred 
 for advancement which was at the Royal Hotel, 
 just across the street from the Caledonia. 
 
 I secured the position and was doing very well. 
 I had joined the Good Templars and otherwise 
 tried to improve my time. Mr. Thomas Beckett, 
 as the name implies, was a good Irishman, and 
 all the employees of the hotel were Irish, with the 
 exception of myself, who was taken for a full- 
 blooded Englishman. Fear of betraying my iden- 
 tity caused me to suppress the real Irish part of 
 my nature, which, however, would persist in bob- 
 bing up. There was one incident through which 
 my Irish descent was nearly betrayed. 
 
 I was the youngest member of the staff, a deli- 
 cate boy of fifteen and a half years. The head 
 "Boots" was a big raw-boned fellow with the map 
 of Ireland well defined on his features and the 
 
92 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ancient Gaelic infliction apparent in his every 
 utterance. 
 
 One afternoon I ventured to play a practical 
 joke upon him, which he resented. He turned upon 
 me saying, "Ye spalpeen ye, I'll be afther boxing 
 yer ears" — and, suiting the action to the word, 
 raised his hand to carry out his purpose. Before 
 he could get in the slap, he lost his own wits from 
 the shock received from a lightning-like pummel- 
 ing about his own sweet countenance and spare- 
 ribs. Seizing a carving knife from the table he 
 came after me to cut out my "English heart." 
 Upon this demonstration of Irish hostility, I went 
 at him in real earnest, declaring that I was a bet- 
 ter Irishman than the whole d — d outfit of them. 
 He went over the table, upset a few chairs and 
 broke up the crockery and created such a racket 
 in general that Beckett and the whole household 
 rushed into the room to ascertain the cause of the 
 tumult and dismantling of the kitchen. 
 
 When they saw the ' ' Boots ' ' kicking and squirm- 
 ing on the floor trying to free himself from the 
 wreckage, and I standing over him promising to 
 repeat the punishment if he did not behave him- 
 self, everybody roared at the ludicrous situation 
 of the victorious youngster standing over the van- 
 quished giant. 
 
 Some weeks after my arrival in Nottingham the 
 Jacksons informed me that they had seen an ad- 
 vertisement in a newspaper about a boy of my age 
 and description who had run away from home and 
 that they were wondering if I was the boy. 
 
 I told them that there were many boys like me 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 and I had no donbt many had mn away from home 
 as I had done. I did not think that there was any 
 one snffieiently interested in me to offer -. reward 
 for my retnrn. On the contrary I though t tha t it 
 m y people got an inkling that I had f^ 1 £ 
 turning they would he more likely to offer a re 
 lard for me to stay away. They decided that it 
 was not worth while informing about me. 
 
 I was not to be allowed to remain taj-d* 
 ed I had been in Nottingham about eighteen 
 months when one morning, as I was passing 
 Through the market place, I looked into a draper s 
 S and saw standing behind the counter and star- 
 fng'at me, a salesman who had been taeg » 
 ployed at Norman's shop in Lichfield._ Placm 
 one hand upon the counter, he was over in a twm- 
 kUng and making for the door. When he got out- 
 b de I was nowhere to be seen. A fortnight later 
 I was walking along the Trent side to take my 
 morning dip. I had proceeded about a mile along 
 ttie bank of the river when I saw my friend of 
 Se counter approaching from the , opposite .dire, 
 tion in company with a couple of friends. With a 
 hedee on one side, the river on the othei and no 
 conve Jent corners to dodge around or alley-ways 
 n whhm to lose myself as on the previous occa- 
 sioZ ther was nothing for it but to face the musi. 
 men we met he asked me, "What are you doing 
 
 hpre'" • > 
 
 I replied that I was about to take my morning s 
 dip. He seemed annoyed and said sharply, 1 
 mean, what are you doing in Nottingham? to 
 which I truthfully replied, "I am not in Netting- 
 
94 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ham." He then inquired if he had not seen me 
 passing his shop in the market place a fortnight 
 ago. 
 
 I told him that it was quite possible, as I came 
 into Nottingham on market days. He informed 
 me that he had telegraphed to my "uncle" at 
 that time, who, he said, had been looking me up 
 in Nottingham but having failed to trace me had 
 returned home. 
 
 In reply to further inquiries made for the pur- 
 pose of informing on me, I told him that I had been 
 apprenticed to a carpenter in Beeston some three 
 miles from Nottingham. 
 
 Taking in my dress, gold watch and chain and 
 other articles of jewelry, he said, "You don't look 
 much like a carpenter's apprentice. I am going 
 direct to the telegraph office to wire for your 
 ' uncle.' " 
 
 I told him that he might save himself the trouble 
 and the other people the annoyance, as I was going 
 off to the training ship that morning, having en- 
 listed in the Marines. I turned up the lapel of my 
 coat but failed to find the "ribbons" to corrobor- 
 ate my statement and explained that * ' I must have 
 left them with the sergeant." 
 
 I informed him that my gala attire was my 
 "Sunday best," donned in honor of my last day 
 as a civilian. 
 
 This all seemed plausible enough, but he did not 
 believe it and my pleasant life with the Beckett's 
 and in Nottingham was destined to be cut short 
 that evening. I was playing a billard match at 
 the Royal in the early evening of that day, at the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 95 
 
 conclusion of which I heard a familiar voice behind 
 me, saying, " Well done, John ! I did not know that 
 you were a champion billiard player. But now 
 this sort of game has to stop. You have to go 
 home with me to-night. Why did you run away 
 from Mr. Bradbury when he saw you pass by his 
 shop a fortnight ago?" 
 
 I replied that "Not having seen Mr. Bradbury I 
 did not run away from him. Possibly I was turn- 
 ing a corner at the time when he says he saw me, 
 or, he may not have seen me at all. Had he seen 
 me on the market place, it is strange that I should 
 have vanished into thin air while he was getting 
 to the door. As to returning home with you, I 
 can not do so, for the reason that I am employed 
 here, doing well and quite happy in my own way. ' ' 
 
 He said, "That has already been arranged. I 
 have spoken to Mr. Beckett and explained to him 
 that I am your lawful guardian and have come 
 here to take you home. It is only left to you to 
 put on your hat and say good-bye." 
 
 Finding that protestation was useless and that 
 I must once more have my painful position forced 
 upon me, a child without parents' love or care, 
 robbed of my own home and of my rights as a 
 legitimate child in a Christian nation, to be again 
 obliged to become a wanderer on the face of the 
 earth rather than return to environments which 
 were so obnoxious to me, I invited my friends to a 
 private room to take a light repast before leaving. 
 I excused myself that I might go and pack my lug- 
 gage. This I had the "Boots" place in a cab, and, 
 
96 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 having wished the Becketts ' ' good-bye, ' ' returned 
 to the room to see how my guests were faring. 
 
 In reply to the question as to whether I was 
 nearly ready, I explained that I was, and would 
 now see that all my traps were brought down 
 from my room. Closing the door and gently turn- 
 ing the key on the outside, I stepped into the wait- 
 ing cab and drove with my luggage to the Lion 
 Hotel. 
 
 I saw the " Boots" there and asked him to take 
 care of my traps. I slept in his room that night, 
 leaving town early the next morning, once more 
 riding "Balaam's Ass" in preference to risking 
 my precious body near any railway station to be 
 unceremoniously packed off to Lichfield. 
 
 Having left all my baggage with the "Boots" 
 at the Lion Hotel, I was once again out in the 
 world without a change of garments. I went to 
 Newark, and early the following morning I made 
 my way towards London, not knowing what to do 
 or where to be safe from molestation. 
 
 I made up my mind to go to the metropolis and 
 try to locate my mother. I had proceeded only 
 a few miles when I came across a gang of navvies 
 working on a new railroad cutting. I stopped and 
 watched the men at work for a few minutes. Here, 
 I thought, was an opportunity for me to lose my 
 identity and to safely evade, at least for some 
 time, the search which I knew would be made for 
 me. 
 
 Nobody would think of looking for me working 
 ns a "navvy" with pick and shovel in cutting out 
 a roadbed. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 97 
 
 I immediately inquired for the foreman and ask- 
 ed for the job. He looked me up and down with a 
 broad grin, and then said, ' ' Let me see them aris- 
 tocratic hands of yours." 
 
 I turned them up for him to see, upon which he 
 ejaculated, "I be d — d if they aren't as soft as 
 silk! I know'd you hadn't done any hard work, 
 but I be hanged if I thought ye had hands as soft 
 as a lady's. I guess ye must need a job awful bad 
 to want to tackle this. The pay is five 'bob' a day. 
 You'll have to pay eighteen pence for the pick and 
 shovel, but you can turn it in again when you leave 
 the job and draw your money." 
 
 "Navvies," like convicts, are known by their 
 numbers. I have never forgotten mine which was 
 509. 
 
 I at once started in to work and my appearance 
 there, like a peacock among a flock of crows, gave 
 cause for much amusement among those big, 
 rough, good-natured fellows. The work was hard, 
 it is true, and my hands at the end of the first day 
 were not quite so much "like silk," for they were 
 practically raw, blisters having formed and broken 
 one after another, but I have never regretted that 
 I worked for two days as a "navvy." The experi- 
 ence enabled me to understand that class of men 
 in a manner that I never could have done by look- 
 ing on from a royal palace or state-coach. The 
 favorable impression made upon me by that 
 "happy-go-lucky crew" was such that I am always 
 ready to give the "navvy" a hearty handshake 
 and a treaWhenever I meet him. 
 
98 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 I next found myself in Bedford on the 25th of 
 June, 1877. 
 
 Fifty miles only now separated me from Buck- 
 ingham Palace, from my grandmother, the Queen, 
 who had so cruelly wronged me, from my father, 
 and, could it be possible, from my mother ! 
 
 For ten years the "great palace" in London had 
 entered largely into my plans of campaign to right 
 the wrongs of my mother, when I should become 
 a man. 
 
 I was now sixteen years and six months old. I 
 spent a sleepless night in thinking over my plan 
 of action. 
 
 I decided upon seeing my grandmother to ask 
 her to give me my mother's address that I might 
 go to her. Should my request be refused, I would 
 go to France to secure the support of that country 
 and return at the head of the French Army to 
 invade England. I would capture London, place 
 my father and mother on the throne, and send my 
 grandmother into exile, as she had exiled my 
 mother and myself by robbing us of our rightful 
 station. 
 
 This course I thought would be the right one 
 to follow and perfectly just. It was the least she 
 could expect, and I could not reconcile myself to 
 the thought of sending my own grandmother to 
 the Tower, no matter how richly she might have 
 deserved it. 
 
 This plan of campaign was, however, consider- 
 ably modified the following morning when a re- 
 cruiting sergeant entered my Council of War. 
 The suggestions of the sergeant that I should enter 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 99 
 
 the army were quite in keeping with my proposed 
 ultimate line of action. 
 
 Military training and experience in active serv- 
 ice were essential requirements of good general- 
 ship. I would avail myself of the opportunity of 
 obtaining such training and experience. The 
 British army, I concluded, afforded me the best 
 possible opportunity for the carrying out of my 
 purpose in regard to the necessary training for 
 the proposed conquest. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 I ENLIST IN THE BEDFORDSHIRE REGIMENT STATIONED 
 
 IN IRELAND AMUSING INCIDENTS WITH IRISH 
 
 PEOPLE 1 REFUSE PROMOTION TO BECOME 
 
 BETTER ACQUAINTED WITH THE 
 
 soldier's LIFE 
 
 I entered into ray military career with the 
 determination to make the most of my practical 
 training. 
 
 The changing from one station to another in 
 different parts of the Empire would afford me 
 many good opportunities to familiarize myself 
 with the customs and manners of the peoples of 
 the Empire and the conditions under which they 
 live. 
 
 I realized that, as my foster-mother had im- 
 pressed upon me, the best means to acquire a full 
 understanding of the lot of the people was by be- 
 ing one of the people. 
 
 To understand the life of the private soldier 
 one must be a soldier. I would be a soldier. 
 
 It is the duty of the Secretary of the State for 
 war, through various departments, and the com- 
 mander-in-chief, generals commanding divisions, 
 officers commanding regiments, and captains of 
 companies to bring the army to the highest state 
 of efficiency. To study scientifically the difficult 
 100 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 101 
 
 problem of equipment of troops on peace and war 
 footing. It is the duty of company and battalion 
 commanders to study the individual characteris- 
 tics and temperament of each and every man un- 
 der their command. 
 
 In order to successfully carry out this duty 
 something more is necessary than the perfunctory 
 daily inspection of barrack rooms, and weekly 
 "kit inspections," and the visit of the officer of 
 the day at meal times with the time-worn: "Any 
 complaints?" 
 
 These inspections, like the inspections on parade, 
 are carried out for the purpose of exercising, in 
 many cases, the superior authority of the officer 
 to enforce a servile submission rather than to com- 
 mand obedience in the soldier. Scarcely an inspec- 
 tion was made without some unfortunate fellows 
 being reprimanded or punished on the most trivial 
 grounds. 
 
 Some young officers on first entering upon regu- 
 lar duty, entertain exaggerated ideas of their duty 
 of condescension to get in closer touch with the 
 men. 
 
 An amusing illustration was afforded by a sec- 
 ond lieutenant on the occasion of his first visit as 
 officer of the day to the barrack rooms. 
 
 The men were at breakfast. The orderly offi- 
 cer sung out his maiden, — "Any complaints?" — 
 he then proceeded to inspect the tables. One man 
 was enjoying a delicacy not served in the officers' 
 mess or even in the sergeants' mess. 
 
 It is no wonder, therefore, that this young sprig 
 of an officer should not have seen it before. 
 
102 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 The appetizing dish enjoyed exclusively by 
 ' ' Tommy Atkins ' ' consisted of bread soaked in his 
 bowl of coffee. 
 
 The officer looked astonished when he saw this 
 mixture. Speaking in a patronizing manner, he 
 asked the man what he called that dish. 
 
 "Slingers," replied Tommy A. "You seem to 
 enjoy it very much; is it good?" inquired the offi- 
 cer. ' ' Fine, ' ' replied T. A. 
 
 Turning to the orderly sergeant, the officer in- 
 structed him to see that henceforth the men should 
 all have "Slingers." He thought it a more suit- 
 able diet for breakfast than beefsteak or ham and 
 eggs. 
 
 Needless to say, "Slingers" were taken as de- 
 sert and not intended to displace the ration of 
 beef, mutton or fish. 
 
 In the month of July I was drafted with other 
 men from the Eegimental Depot, Bedford, to the 
 headquarters of the First Battalion 16th Regi- 
 ment, then stationed at Buttevant, Ireland, and 
 was attached to Company B. 
 
 I now felt that I was secure from further moles- 
 tation from my guardians, and for the first time 
 in my life felt free, although under military dis- 
 cipline. I enjoyed the life of the soldier, includ- 
 ing both duties and labors. 
 
 I soon became popular with the men and the 
 non-commissioned officers of my company. I de- 
 voted my spare time to study and getting about the 
 neighboring country and at once became much 
 attached to the good-natured and happy disposi- 
 tioned people. It was a matter of surprise to me 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 103 
 
 to discover that people could be so happy and con- 
 tented under the trying circumstances and miser- 
 able condition in which the poorer classes lived. 
 
 Most of the men spent their pay either in the 
 canteen or the regimental coffee shop on beer and 
 extra diet, while others would bank their money. 
 
 My hobby was to patronize the old apple women 
 and others of that class who would sit the live- 
 long day in all weathers to peddle their goods. 
 
 I enjoyed very much turning over my three or 
 four shillings a week to these good souls whose 
 lot in life is not, by any means, rosy. 
 
 I received good returns for my money, not only 
 in the way of "good measure," but the pleasant 
 conversations were a means of obtaining knowl- 
 edge at first hand from the people whose condition 
 I longed to improve. 
 
 One old apple woman, Mrs. Finigan, I particu- 
 larly remember, whom I patronized every day. 
 
 I was always greeted with a hearty "Arrah, 
 God bless you, my child, and it's a fine, warm 
 marning," — or, if raining "pitchforks," — "It's a 
 fine saf t marning, ' ' — or, on the coldest day in win- 
 ter, with her basket on the snow and ice, — "It's a 
 fine hard marning." No matter what the condi- 
 tion of the weather, good or bad, to those happy, 
 philosophical people the weather was always 
 "fine." 
 
 My regiment was only a few months at Butte- 
 vant after I joined; but I made the most of my 
 time in seeing as much of the country and the peo- 
 ple as possible in that locality and in the neigh- 
 boring towns. I made many happy acquaintances 
 
104 Memoirs of Prince Jolin Dc Guelph 
 
 and enjoyed visiting the homesteads of tenant 
 farmers and other classes. Indeed, the happiest 
 years of my life were spent in Ireland. The cheer- 
 ful disposition of the people and their quaint lives, 
 always full of mirth, produced an effect upon me 
 in striking contrast to the heartaches of my child- 
 hood. 
 
 I was once spending a very pleasant Sunday 
 afternoon with a family some miles from town, 
 shortly after my arrival in Ireland. We were tak- 
 ing tea in this humble cottage; the happy family 
 seated around the table. My chair was located so 
 that my back was to the front door, which was 
 open. Suddenly there was some considerable com- 
 motion at the back of the house, the cause of which 
 I did not understand. I had heard of the raids 
 made on the helpless tenants and that cruel evic- 
 tions were of common occurrence. 
 
 Before I had time to inquire what the trouble 
 was, my chair and myself were raised bodily from 
 the ground and pitched outside. It was my first 
 experience of unjust eviction in Ireland, without 
 notice. 
 
 I remember the good house-wife remarking as 
 I was thus being unceremoniously evicted, " Arrah, 
 be aisy wid ye, it's only the pig." The pigs had 
 stampeded from the back yard through the house, 
 one passing under my chair by way of "a short 
 cut." 
 
 One other incident in Buttevant which I shall 
 never forget was a little affair of the heart. 
 
 Mary O'Connor, daughter of an inn-keeper, had 
 charge of the Buttevant Inn, while her father con- 
 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guetpk 105 
 
 ducted a more pretentious hostelry in Cork. Mary 
 was a very sweet and pretty girl, with many ar- 
 dent suitors. 
 
 I was an occasional visitor of the Buttevant 
 house. On calling there one evening, I found great 
 rejoicing. Mary was engaged, and the happy lover 
 was ' ' treating the house. ' ' He was going to Cork 
 to receive the congratulations of Mary's father, 
 but ' ' could not, ' ' he said, ' ' tear himself away from 
 Mary until the following week." 
 
 The Irish side of my nature was developing 
 rapidly in its native soil. I seized the opportu- 
 nity to play a practical joke on the happy pair. 
 
 I accordingly obtained leave of absence for 
 seven days, proceeded to Cork, and introduced 
 myself to Mary's father as his prospective son- 
 in-law. 
 
 Mr. O'Connor was jubilant at the surprise trip 
 and most profuse with his congratulations and 
 praise of my sense of duty in so promptly paying 
 my respects to him. He collected all the patrons 
 from the different rooms in the house, sent 
 messengers to call relatives and friends "post 
 haste ' ' to drink the health of his son-in-law to be. 
 Irish whisky was "flowing like rivers of rum," 
 served in gallon measures, and passed round to 
 the happy guests in half -pint mugs. 
 
 Every Irishman present was impatient for his 
 turn to toast me, and the rapidity with which 
 those mugs were emptied and replenished, as toast 
 followed upon toast, was one of the most astonish- 
 ing and amusing scenes I ever witnessed. My 
 joke had succeeded beyond my most sanguine an- 
 
106 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelpli 
 
 ticipations. I was so convulsed with the ridicu- 
 lous situation that I was voted to be the jolliest 
 fellow alive. It was long after closing time when 
 the reception broke up and the guests "rolled' : 
 out of the back door and led each other home. 
 
 This "wake" ("wake" was the more applicable, 
 for the reason that I foresaw somebody's funeral 
 should Mary's lover appear) continued up to the 
 date set for the other fellow to arrive. On the 
 morning of his expected arrival my prospective 
 "father-in-law" received a letter from Mary an- 
 nouncing that her intended husband would be in 
 Cork that day to pay his respects to him. 
 
 Mr. O'Connor nearly had a fit. 
 
 "What in the name of hivens does she mane? 
 Has she gone crazy entoirely? Here yer afther 
 being here nearly a week and bedad she says yer 
 only coming to-day. What does it all mane?" 
 
 In order to avoid unpleasant developments I 
 had to explain that "Mary was quite right; that 
 when I left her I told her that I was going to Dub- 
 lin and would come directly from there to see 
 you," and was due to arrive that day. 
 
 I said that I could not stay away any longer 
 from Mary and suggested that he should accom- 
 pany me to Buttevant and make her a surprise 
 visit, to which he readily agreed. 
 
 By this ruse I got 'Connor out of the way be- 
 fore my rival arrived, and whom we passed on the 
 way. 
 
 On reaching Buttevant I suggested that O'Con- 
 nor should remain at a neighboring inn for half 
 an hour or so, to give me a chance to greet Mary, 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Dc Guelph 107 
 
 and also to make the surprise of his visit more 
 complete. 
 
 I saw Mary, invited her to have a glass of wine 
 and confessed to her the joke that I had played, 
 also telling her that I had given the other fellow 
 the slip by bringing her father away. 
 
 The whole thing appealed to her humor im- 
 mensely, and I thought she would never stop 
 laughing. At length she said, "But the other 
 John was too slow to see through a fence," and, 
 that "he wasn't worth bothering her head about." 
 
 Mr. O'Connor now came in and I was again 
 treated as the "real thing" by both Mary and 
 her father. Mary could not refrain, however, from 
 telling the old gentleman the joke I had played, at 
 which he and everybody present roared with 
 laughter. 
 
 He very graciously told me that a young fellow 
 as bright as I was, was well worthy of Mary. An- 
 other round of festivities followed, notwithstand- 
 ing that I had not proposed or even made love to 
 Mary. 
 
 It was some time before Mary could bring her- 
 self to forgive the other fellow for having allowed 
 himself to be outwitted in love. 
 
 I had been at recruits' drill a few weeks, when 
 one morning while on parade Lt. Col. Bostock, 
 the officer commanding the regiment, rode onto the 
 parade grounds, a very unusual occurrence at re- 
 cruits' drill. 
 
 Riding up to the officer in charge on the oppo- 
 site side of the square from that on which my 
 squad was drilling, he made some inquiry. The 
 
108 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 officer in question called to a drill sergeant and 
 spoke to him. 
 
 The sergeant, raising his pace stick, pointed 
 across the square, singling out the squad to which 
 I belonged. The colonel, without paying atten- 
 tion to any other squad on the parade ground, 
 rode directly to my squad. 
 
 Stopping just out of hearing, he called my drill 
 sergeant, who went up and saluted. 
 
 The colonel spoke to him, whereupon the ser- 
 geant turned and, calling me by name, called me 
 up to the commanding officer. On my saluting 
 the colonel, he said, "Your name is John Norman, 
 is it not?" 
 
 I replied, saying, ' ' My name is George Norman, 
 sir." (I had enlisted under the name of George 
 Norman and dropped the John for the obvious 
 reason that I did not wish to be discovered by my 
 guardians, being still a minor, although wearing 
 the Queen's uniform.) 
 
 The colonel looked surprised. l ' George ! " he ex- 
 claimed; "I thought it was John?" "George, 
 sir," I replied. 
 
 As though not satisfied, he unfastened his tunic 
 and drew a letter partly out of his pocket. Then, 
 on second thought, he thrust it back, saying as he 
 did so, "Oh, well, George, then." 
 
 He then said, "Now, George, you are a bright 
 young fellow, and must be pushed rapidly for- 
 ward. You must be promoted at once, and in the 
 course of two or three years you ought to receive 
 a commission. Immediately you are dismissed 
 from this parade, go to your Pay Sergeant and tell 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 109 
 
 him that it is by my orders that an application is 
 to be sent in to-day for you to be made a Lance- 
 Corporal. The Captain of your Company will sign 
 the application, and you will be in orders to-day. ' ' 
 
 Here was a revelation ! 
 
 Why had the Colonel come onto the parade 
 ground at the nine o'clock recruits' drill for the 
 express purpose of singling me out from some 
 two hundred recruits, most of whom were further 
 advanced in drill, having been longer in the regi- 
 ment? 
 
 Why the mistake in the given name, John, when 
 George was the name on the roll ? 
 
 Why his surprise at the "George?" 
 
 What had the letter in his pocket to do with 
 settling the name? 
 
 He had just received the morning mail, and it 
 was evident that he had received some communi- 
 cation from somebody, which called for prompt 
 attention. 
 
 While I regretted to discover that I had not 
 eluded the "powers that be," it was a matter of 
 relief to know that I was not likely to be inter- 
 fered with, as was shown by the Colonel's de- 
 clared intention to push me forward rapidly, with 
 a view to my obtaining a commission in the brief 
 period of three years. 
 
 I saw through the whole thing. The intention 
 of those responsible for that communication and 
 visit of the commanding officer, in wishing to see 
 me rapidly promoted was very good. But I could 
 not forget that I had been robbed of my legitimate 
 birthright, and that I had spurned the miserable 
 
110 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 pittance allowed for my support as a child, and I 
 wanted no promotion at their hands or through 
 their influence. I therefore replied to the Colonel, 
 thanking him for the honor done me, and for his 
 good wishes, but begged to be allowed to decline 
 his offer, on the ground that "the first duty of a 
 soldier is to learn to obey, ,, and that "he who 
 would command must first learn to obey," and 
 that in my opinion a recruit with but a few weeks 
 service, who had not yet learned his drill, was 
 not fitted to command soldiers with twenty years ' 
 experience and service. 
 
 The Colonel tried to talk me out of it, but I was 
 firm, and refused absolutely to take promotion 
 for upwards of three years. I was then promoted 
 without my knowledge or consent, which was in 
 India. There was nothing for me to do but to 
 obey the published orders of the commanding 
 officer. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 AMUSING STORIES OF A SOLDIER 's LIFE IN IRELAND 
 
 WITH COL. HILLIER ON SPIKE ISLAND OUTBREAK 
 
 OF CONVICTS 1 PLAY THE ROLE OF COM- 
 MANDER OF CORK HARBOR 
 
 An amusing incident which occurred while my 
 regiment was stationed at Buttevant, was when I 
 
 joined Sergeant P in a practical joke, which 
 
 we played upon his beautiful and charming wife. 
 and by which the Sergeant hoped to cure her of 
 a most trying fault. , 
 
 Sergeant William P had been in charge of 
 
 the mess and was a most congenial comrade. 
 
 Mrs. P was a woman of many accomplish- 
 ments and most fascinating, but she was of an 
 extremely jealous nature. 
 
 I was frequently a visitor at the P resi- 
 dence, which was outside of the barracks, and much 
 enjoyed Mrs. P 's general topic of conversa- 
 tion, "Billy and his flirting propensities." 
 
 A lady in high life,* who was blamed for demor- 
 alizing the German Army, is reported to have said, 
 "One does not look for virtue in a soldier." 
 
 *" Private Lives of Kaiser William II and his Consort" by 
 Henry W. Fischer. 
 
 Ill 
 
112 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 Had the Duchess met "Billy" P 
 
 she would probably not have set up such a defense, 
 for "Billy" was an exemplary little fellow. 
 
 Mrs. P spent a great deal of time and lost 
 
 a lot of sleep watching her beloved spouse. 
 
 Almost any day or night at the hour Billy was 
 
 expected to be off duty, Mrs. P might be found 
 
 waiting to escort him home. 
 
 One fine afternoon word reached Mrs. P 's 
 
 ears that a beautiful young lady was spending the 
 afternoon with Sergeant P in the mess. 
 
 Mrs. P lost no time in making her way to 
 
 the mess. 
 
 She was not unexpected. Billy espied her from 
 the window as she was crossing the barrack square. 
 The young lady also looked from the window and 
 
 was observed by Mrs. P , who quickened her 
 
 pace. The young lady opened the front door ; es- 
 cape was impossible from that direction, Mrs. 
 
 P being too near, and at that instant started 
 
 on the "double-quick." Slamming the front door 
 the girl, accompanied by Billy, beat a hasty retreat 
 from the back door. It was a case of ' ' follow the 
 leader" around the barracks, through the ser- 
 geant's mess, in and out of different company 
 rooms, until, finally, the culprits reached the bar- 
 racks gate with Mrs. P less than thirty yards 
 
 behind. 
 
 The public thoroughfare being reached, Billy 
 and his fair companion felt somewhat relieved. 
 They dashed across to an adjacent hotel, Mrs. 
 
 P in close pursuit. Without waiting to answer 
 
 questions the pair hurried past the astonished 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 113 
 
 hotel clerks and through the back door, as Mrs. 
 
 P entered the front; and so the merry chase 
 
 continued for well-nigh an hour, through streets 
 and alleys, public houses and hotels, until poor 
 
 Mrs. P was almost exhausted and began to 
 
 lose ground. The scene created much amusement 
 through the town. 
 
 The more the people laughed the more exasper- 
 ated Mrs. P became, and finally gave up in 
 
 despair and made her way home. 
 
 I was enjoying a quiet chat with Sergeant P 
 
 in the front parlor of the sergeant's residence 
 
 when Mrs. P came in. With a scream of rage 
 
 she flew at Billy, seizing his hair in one hand and 
 his long moustache in the other she pulled and 
 shook him nearly out of his boots. 
 
 For many years Sergeant P had been proud 
 
 to boast of possessing the longest, heaviest and 
 most "fetching" moustache in the British Army. 
 
 The above was the only occasion that I ever 
 heard him curse this flowing ornament as a mis- 
 fortune. 
 
 Mrs. P commenced a tirade of abuse at the 
 
 unfortunate Billy ; and accused him of his perfidy. 
 
 Now, Billy and I were chums, and I naturally 
 
 tried to pacify Mrs. P , assuring her that I 
 
 had been in her husband's company the entire 
 afternoon, and had not left him for a single mo- 
 ment ! I was, therefore, confident that he had not 
 been in the company of any young lady. 
 
 Mrs. P was indignant and asked me if I 
 
 thought she was "craz3^ or dreaming," to which 
 I rather ungallantly replied, "Possibly a little of 
 
114 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 both. Jealousy, carried to extremes, can hardly 
 be said to be a normal condition, and, unless you 
 can show me the girl I shall have to conclude that 
 you were either dreaming or very much mistaken." 
 
 Mrs. P said she would very much like to 
 
 have the opportunity to show me the girl. If she 
 had that opportunity the girl would fare very much 
 worse than Billy had done. 
 
 On being asked if she would know the girl if 
 she saw her, she replied that she would know her 
 the moment she set eyes on her ; and at once pro- 
 ceeded to describe her dress, hat, and general ap- 
 pearance, remarking that the hat worn by the girl 
 was very similar to one of her own. 
 
 I thought it time to withdraw to give husband 
 and wife an opportunity to talk the matter over, 
 as I did not wish to interfere in their domestic 
 affairs. I left, promising to return within half an 
 hour. 
 
 I adjourned to an adjoining room and proceeded 
 to change my military uniform for the petticoats, 
 gown, hat, and wig, which I had discarded less than 
 two minutes prior to Mrs. P 's return home. 
 
 On giving the finishing touches to my toilet I 
 stepped from the house, only to ring the front- 
 door bell. A moment later, and, lo, the rivals 
 stood glaring at each other through the open door. 
 
 Had it not been for a roar of laughter from Ser- 
 geant P at the psychological moment the poor 
 
 "girl" would have fared very badly at the hands 
 of a jealous wife. 
 
 The game was up ; but it was worth the playing. 
 Mrs. P laughed until she became hysterical. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John l>e G-uelph 115 
 
 She declared that she would never again watch 
 Billy — she was cured of jealousy. 
 
 My regiment was now ordered to Athlone, where 
 rny life as a British soldier continued to be a happy 
 one, replete with amusing incidents and pleasant 
 memories. 
 
 While stationed there I had occasion, one even- 
 ing, to go to the kitchen in the officers' mess, at 
 dinner time, to ascertain the cause of delay in 
 sending up the various courses. It was my duty 
 to supervise this function. 
 
 I found the cook, Cook by name and cook by na- 
 ture, as well as by occupation, weighing some- 
 where in the neighborhood of three hundred and 
 forty pounds, and with a face like a Christmas 
 pudding, considerably the worse for liquor, ag- 
 gravated perhaps by the heat of the range. 
 
 This, however, being his natural condition, it 
 would have been a matter of surprise to have 
 found him in any other state. Indeed, the very 
 possibility of finding Mr. Cook sober reminds me 
 of a chief officer of a certain vessel, who, having 
 been frequently reprimanded by his Captain, was 
 finally entered on the log for drunkenness. In 
 vain he pleaded the following day to have the 
 charge erased from the log. The Captain was 
 firm, and asked, "Is it true that you were drunk!" 
 "Yes, it is true," replied the mate, "but you 
 might take it off." "Well," replied the Captain, 
 "if it is true, it stands on the log." Repeated en- 
 treaties failed to move the Captain. Some morn- 
 ings later the Captain, on looking at the log, after 
 relieving the mate, was astonished to find the fol- 
 
116 Memoirs of Prince John Dc Guelph 
 
 lowing entry: ''Captain Smith was sober to-day." 
 The indignant Captain called for the mate and 
 demanded that the obnoxious entry be forthwith 
 removed from the log. "Is it true?" thundered 
 the mate. "Of course it is true, you lubber." 
 "Very well, then," rejoined the mate, "if it is 
 true, it stands on the log." 
 
 In all my experience in the officers' mess with 
 Mr. Cook, both of Cork and Athlone, I found no 
 opportunity to make any such entry as that made 
 against the Captain. 
 
 I remonstrated with the cook for the dilatory 
 manner in which dinner was being served. 
 
 He was in the act of removing the "Jack" from 
 the front of the range and then proceeded to empty 
 the fat from the large tin dripping pan into a 
 pan in the larder. As he was skimming the fat 
 with a spoon, he continued his tirade of abuse, 
 which was too much for my young blood to stand. 
 Placing my hand on the top of his head, I ducked 
 his head into the dripping fat. The hot fat caused 
 him to splutter and bawl. In taking his head from 
 the pan, the fat soon became cool on his face, 
 forming a mask back to his ears and under his 
 chin. 
 
 The commotion caused by this little incident 
 
 brought the caterer, Mr. S to the scene. 
 
 Mr. S , like the cook, had his load to carry, 
 
 and was inclined to be boisterous. He insisted 
 upon the cook going directly to the mess room to 
 report the matter to Captain Wickham, the presi- 
 dent of the mess committee, and show him the evi- 
 dence of the assault upon him, namely, the mask 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 117 
 
 of fat. Foreseeing the amusement it would cause 
 in the mess room, I encouraged him to do so, and 
 myself offered to inform the Captain that the cook 
 desired to see him. 
 
 I accordingly preceded the cook to the mess 
 room, explaining to Captain Wickham that the 
 cook wished to see him, and in response to his 
 inquiry as to what the cook wanted to see him 
 about, I said, "The usual thing— drinking, and 
 had his own grievances. He overbalanced himself 
 while emptying the fat into the dripping pan and 
 buried his face in the fat (this loud enough to 
 be heard by all the officers present. He now thinks 
 that I pushed his head into the dripping pan." I 
 requested Captain Wickham to see him. 
 
 The officers left the mess room en masse to in- 
 spect the cook, who had by this time struggled up 
 to the ante-room. His appearance caused a roar 
 of laughter from the younger officers. Captain 
 Wickham, after having listened to his complaint, 
 ordered the cook downstairs and to bed as the 
 best place to sleep off both the drink and the fat. 
 
 Soon after my arrival in Cork I was some 
 months in the hospital, suffering with my eyes. 
 
 On leaving the hospital Lt.-Col. Hillier, who had 
 been appointed officer commanding Cork harbor, 
 sent for me, and said that he would be glad if I 
 would go with him to Spike Island to take charge 
 of him and his bachelor apartments. He thought 
 the sea air would benefit me. This was in 1878. 
 
 Spike Island is the headquarters of the officer 
 commanding Cork harbor, and a great convict set- 
 tlement. At that time there were a number of the 
 
118 Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 
 
 noted Fenian leaders in that convict settlement, 
 some of whom were afterwards pardoned and are 
 now living in New York and other places in 
 America. 
 
 Some little time after Colonel Hillier took over 
 command an outbreak occurred one night. The 
 alarm was sounded, the troops turned out and the 
 officer of the day and staff officer called for the 
 officer commanding. He was absent from the 
 Island, having gone to Cork. He had not, however, 
 notified other officers of his absence. I, there- 
 fore, at the age of seventeen, assumed the respon- 
 sibility of the officer commanding Cork Harbor. 
 
 Leaving the officers at the door I went to the 
 Colonel's rooms under the pretense of calling him, 
 and getting orders. I then went back to the staff 
 officer and gave the supposed commands of the 
 officer commanding for the necessary action to be 
 taken by the troops to suppress the outbreak. I 
 added that the Colonel was getting up and would 
 be on the ground as soon as possible. In the 
 meantime I myself would come up with any other 
 commands that he might have. I pointed out that, 
 as the Colonel weighed some twenty odd stone, 
 and was afflicted with the gout, both in mind and 
 body, it would take him some little time to get 
 to the scene of action. 
 
 I followed the officers up to the scene of trouble 
 and gave another command to a staff officer, as 
 though the same came from the officer command- 
 ing the Harbor. 
 
 The riot was quelled before the Colonel returned 
 to the Island. Having sent a message to him at 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 119 
 
 the beginning of the outbreak, I met him at the 
 landing, and, in response to his inquiry if the next 
 senior officer had assumed command, I said, "No. 
 The officer commanding Cork Harbor was in com- 
 mand and gave the necessary orders." He looked 
 dumbfounded. "The officer commanding Cork 
 Harbor, sir?" "The Devil! The officer com- 
 manding Cork Harbor was in Cork, and not in 
 Spike Island. How the h— then, could he give 
 commands I " I informed him that as I understood 
 he was absent without leave, I did not care to see 
 him called upon to explain, and that I had accord- 
 ingly taken command myself, but that none of the 
 officers were aware of his absence from the Is- 
 land ; whereupon he roared with laughter, and jok- 
 ingly threatened to court martial me for imper- 
 sonating the officer commanding. 
 
 He said afterwards, he wondered "what some 
 
 of those d Fenians would think if .they knew 
 
 that their desperate attempt to escape had been 
 successfully suppressed by the troops in command 
 of a boy." 
 
 My friend, Colonel Hillier, was later gazetted 
 to the command of the Second Battalion of the 
 Bedfordshire Eegiment in India. He asked me if 
 I would go to India with him. I said that I would 
 be glad to go if he went. I asked him if he seri- 
 ously contemplated going ; to which he replied that 
 he did, if he had to "walk all the way." Later, 
 however, on my asking him when he expected to 
 leave for India, he asked me if I thought he had 
 ' ' no better sense than to go to India and be roasted 
 alive." He did not go, but retired. 
 
120 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 I accordingly rejoined my regiment in Cork. 
 During my two years and three months ' service in 
 Ireland, I was on Staff employ for two years. 
 
 In 1878 I volunteered for active service when 
 war was expected with Russia, which country was 
 mobilizing a large army on the frontier of Af- 
 ghanistan, threatening to invade India; and 
 whose agents were active in stirring up trouble in 
 Afghanistan, which finally led to the Afghan War, 
 and threatening Bulgaria and Constantinople at 
 the same time. 
 
 The reserves were called out, and there was 
 great excitement in the barracks. Men were eager 
 to get a slap at Russia. A large number of men 
 were sent out from my regiment to the Afghan 
 War, but for some reason the doctor passed me as 
 "unfit" for active service. From words passed 
 by the officers of my own company, and from the 
 conduct of the army surgeon, I was of the opinion 
 that somebody was responsible for preventing my 
 going to the front, and I so expressed myself in 
 rather indignant terms to the army surgeon. 
 
 Some of the reserves were drafted to my regi- 
 ment, among them an Irish sergeant, who cre- 
 ated much amusement. One day when orderly ser- 
 geant he went to take the regimental orders in the 
 usual way. It was his duty to read the orders to 
 the company the same evening. He did not do so, 
 for reasons found out the next day at the com- 
 manding officer's parade. 
 
 After the inspection of the company, by the Cap- 
 tain, he called for the order book, and, opening it, 
 said, "Pay attention to orders." Looking at the 
 
Memoirs of Prince Jtlm Be Guelph 121 
 
 book, he read, l ' Regimental Orders. ' ' He stopped, 
 called for the Lieutenant and asked him to read 
 the orders. The Lieutenant, upon looking at the 
 book, begged to be excused. The Pay-Sergeant 
 was then called and instructed to read the orders. 
 The Pay-Sergeant looked at the book and gasped ! 
 The Captain asked the latter, "Who wrote those 
 orders ? " to which the Pay-Sergeant replied, ' ' The 
 orderly sergeant." "Then make the orderly ser- 
 geant read them," said the Captain. 
 
 Sergeant Flynn came forward, and the Captain 
 asked if he had written the orders, to which Ser- 
 geant Flynn replied, "Yis, sorr." "Well, read 
 them, then," said the Captain in disgust. Sergeant 
 Flynn staggered the Captain by the following 
 reply : 
 
 "And indade, sorr, I had the divil's own job to 
 write them. I tried to read thim to the company 
 last night, but the divil of a word could I make 
 out of thim. I 'd be af ther asking you to excuse me 
 this toime. I think the parade would be dismissed 
 before I could get through with the first line." 
 He was excused. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SPIKE ISLAND UNIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCE — THE SOR- 
 ROWS OF IRELAND PORTRAYED IN CHAINS INHU- 
 MAN EVICTIONS, STARVATION, PESTILENCE AND 
 
 DEATH MY SOUL STIRRED WITH PITY, 
 
 I TAKE UP THE BURDEN OF MY 
 MOTHER^ ANCESTRAL HOME 
 
 My experience on Spike Island gave me food for 
 deep reflection. 
 
 To stand and watch the heavily chained gangs of 
 desperate convicts as they passed to and from 
 Spike Island and neighboring Islands to labor and 
 back to their dormitories to sleep ; and to visit the 
 scene of their servitude, caused me to ponder on 
 the lot of the convict. 
 
 For what causes had this large body of men been 
 sentenced to long terms, many for life, to this 
 convict settlement? 
 
 What was the cause of so much violent crime in 
 Ireland ? 
 
 In a country well governed, the industries and 
 trades protected, would mean prosperity ; and men 
 would surely rather labor in peace and enjoy do- 
 mestic happiness and prosperity than turn to vio- 
 lent crime to be banished to penal servitude, 
 chained like animals on a desolate island. 
 122 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 123 
 
 Investigation soon satisfied me that the devel- 
 opment of the natural resources of Ireland had 
 been retarded, her manufacturing, agricultural, 
 and other industries ruined ; the tenants were un- 
 able to meet their rents, and were in consequence 
 being evicted in large numbers. Famine and pes- 
 tilence stalked throughout the land. 
 
 I have already stated that the daily witnessing 
 of thousands of heavily fettered convicts moving 
 along in silent procession, the only sound being 
 the clank of the chains which could be heard for 
 some considerable distance, caused me to study 
 the subject very seriously. 
 
 The distress then prevailing in Ireland, and 
 which in the following year, 1879, was probably 
 greater than at any time since the famine of 1847, 
 led me to seek the cause. 
 
 In order to acquire any adequate knowledge of 
 the prevailing conditions of poverty, it was neces- 
 sary that I should familiarize myself with the 
 history of Ireland, and more particularly with the 
 agricultural and manufacturing industries of the 
 past. 
 
 I must confess that when I read the history of 
 the suffering of the Irish people and the grossly 
 unjust manner in which that unfortunate country 
 had been ruled and its people persecuted I could 
 not help but weep for Ireland. 
 
 The terrible famine and plague which fell upon 
 Ireland in 1846 should have appealed to the Brit- 
 ish Parliament and to the British people ; for, not- 
 withstanding, all the talk about the Anglo-Saxon 
 
1!^ Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 race, the people of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland are in reality of Celtic descent, 
 Celtic blood largely predominating in England as 
 in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. 
 
 It is a blot upon the British Parliament and the 
 British race that the same tyrannical feudal system 
 of landlordism should have been permitted to con- 
 tinue after the appalling experience which devas- 
 tated Ireland during the famine of 1846 and 1847, 
 and the plague that followed. Where two in a 
 family died from starvation, whole families were 
 swept away by the plague. 
 
 It is not my purpose to give in these Memoirs 
 a history of the terrible sufferings of that country 
 from that time up to 1877-79, the time of my so- 
 journ there. In order to make clear to the public 
 what led me to determine to devote my attention 
 to the emancipation of Ireland from economic 
 starvation, I will give a few illustrations of the ter- 
 rible conditions in that country from 1846 to 1879. 
 
 In 1846 the Inspectors-General of Prisons re- 
 ported that the committals in that year over the 
 year 1845 sometimes amounted to one hundred 
 per cent.; and further reported that ''in a very 
 great number of instances small crimes have been 
 committed for the purpose of obtaining that sup- 
 port in prison which could not be procured else- 
 where."* 
 
 The prisons became to the starving nation the 
 only harbor of refuge. 
 
 As the suffering became more acute, sheep steal- 
 
 ♦"Census Commissioners" p. 304. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 125 
 
 ing and violent crime increased to an amazing 
 extent. When industrious, honest, self-respecting 
 men are driven to such a condition of starvation 
 that they deem themselves most fortunate should 
 they succeed in being sentenced to transportation 
 for a long term of years, the Government of such 
 a nation stands arraigned and condemned before 
 the tribunal of Almighty God, the King of Kings. 
 
 In the year 1847 the Inspectors-General of Pris- 
 ons reported "the terrible catastrophe which has 
 disorganized the whole framework of society in 
 Ireland, fell with its full force on establishments 
 under our charge. Disease and death increased to 
 a degree that could never be contemplated by those 
 acquainted with the usual orderly and healthy 
 state of our jails. The crowding together of 
 12,883 prisoners in jails calculated to contain 
 5,655 increased the deaths in Irish prisons in a 
 single year from 131 to 1,315." * 
 
 Dr. Browne of the Castlebar jail wrote in 
 March, "Our county jail was crowded to more 
 than double its capacity, those committed being in 
 a state of nudity, filth, and starvation. By the end 
 of April we were in a state of actual pestilence 
 (typhus fever). Every hospital servant was at- 
 tacked, and from our wretched over-crowded state 
 the mortality was fearful — fully forty per cent. 
 . . . Not a few of those committed were in- 
 mates of the fever wards a few hours after com- 
 mittal, "t 
 
 * Census Commissioners pp. 300-301. 
 tCensus Commissioners pp. 304-305. 
 
126 Memoirs of Prince John De Gudph 
 
 "In the year 1848 the increase of committals 
 over those of 1847 was 34,105." * 
 
 The Census Commissioner's report on number 
 of deaths from fever (Tables of Death, page 243), 
 comments : 
 
 1. "No pen has recorded the number of the 
 forlorn and starving who perished by the wayside 
 or in the ditches, or the mournful groups, some- 
 times of whole families, who lay down and died 
 one after the other upon the floor of their miser- 
 able cabin, and so remained uncoffined and un- 
 buried till chance unveiled the appalling scene." 
 
 Justin McCarthy, at that time a reporter on the 
 Cork Examiner, related incidents of the horrors 
 he witnessed at that time. 
 
 The sinister hinged coffin, invented to keep up 
 a semblance of Christian decency in burying the 
 dead, served for an indeterminable number of 
 corpses to be passed through. 
 
 In Skibbereen I saw the sites of two large pits, 
 into which hundreds of victims were buried with- 
 out coffins, or were passed through the hinged 
 coffin into the pits. 
 
 The years 1848 and 1849 were as bad as that of 
 
 •The Inspectors-General of Prisons report included the fol- 
 lowing:— "The calamitous visitation of the last few years, 
 operating with no exclusive pressure — affecting the most opu- 
 lent and the humblest poor alike — suspending employment 
 and staying the hand of charity has sorely tried the integrity 
 of our people. Larcenies have multiplied, because ordinarily 
 men will steal food rather than die." Report of Inspectors- 
 General of Prisons: — "Census Commissioner's Tables of 
 Deaths," p. 311. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 127 
 
 1847, the official death roll being higher in 1849 
 than in 1847. 
 
 The total number of deaths reported from chol- 
 era and other epidemics in 1849 was 240,797, and 
 from zymotic diseases 123,386. 
 
 The foregoing is but a meagre description of 
 the horrors of the famine and pestilence which 
 devastated Ireland in 1847, 1848, and 1849. 
 
 The famine and plague can only be attributed 
 to the feudal landlords, or, to go to the real source, 
 to the British Parliament, through the violation 
 of the terms of the Act of Union, thus making such 
 barbarous treatment of tenants possible. 
 
 Humanity demanded that tenants should have 
 been protected during the period of famine. Rents 
 should have been reduced, or cancelled, as is cus- 
 tomary with English landlords. But, what was 
 done in Ireland 1 I can not go into details to show 
 how hundreds of thousands of people were driven 
 from their homes to starve or die from pestilence 
 throughout the country, even where no rent was 
 due. 
 
 The Blue Book, No. 1089, on "Reports and Re- 
 turns Relating to Evictions in the Kilrush Union, 
 1849, p. 3, by Captain Kennedy, serves to show the 
 enormity of the crime against this helpless famine 
 stricken people. 
 
 The report covers the period from Nov. 25, 1847, 
 to June 19, 1849. I only give a few extracts from 
 Captain Kennedy's report. They tell their own 
 story : 
 
 "November 25, 1847. — An immense number of 
 
128 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 small landholders are under ejectment, or notice 
 to quit, even where the rents have been paid up. 
 
 "February 11, 1848.— . . . Upwards of 120 
 houses have been "tumbled" on one property 
 within a few weeks, containing families to a 
 greater number, many of whom are burrowing be- 
 hind the ditches, without the means of procuring 
 shelter. 
 
 "March 16, 1848. — We admitted a considerable 
 number of paupers, among whom were some of the 
 most appalling cases of destitution and suffering 
 it has ever been my lot to witness. The state of 
 most of these wretched creatures is traceable to 
 the numerous evictions which have lately taken 
 place in the union. When driven from their cabins 
 they betake themselves to the ditches or the shelter 
 q£ some bank, and there exist like animals, till 
 st ition or the inclemency of the weather drives 
 them to the workhouse. There were three cart- 
 loads of these creatures, who could not walk, 
 brought for admission yesterday, some in fever, 
 some suffering from dysentery, and all from want 
 of food. 
 
 "April 6, 1848. — While hundreds are being 
 turned out houseless and helpless daily on small 
 property in Killard division, no less than twenty- 
 three houses, containing probably one hundred 
 souls, being tumbled in one day, March 27 ; I believe 
 the extent of land occupied with these twenty- three 
 houses did not exceed fifty acres. The suffering 
 and misery attendant upon these wholesale evic- 
 tions is indescribable. The number of houseless 
 paupers in this union is beyond my calculation; 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 129 
 
 those evicted crowd neighboring cabins and vil- 
 lages, and disease is necessarily generated. On its 
 first appearance the wretched sufferer, and prob- 
 ably the whole family to which he or she belongs, 
 is ruthlessly turned out on the roadside. The 
 popular dread of dysentery seems to excuse any 
 degree of inhumanity. The workhouse and tempo- 
 rary hospital are crowded to the utmost extent 
 they can possibly contain; the crowding of the 
 fever hospital causes me serious anxiety. The re- 
 lieving officer has directions to send no more in: 
 yet, notwithstanding this caution, panic-stricken 
 and unnatural parents frequently send in a don- 
 key-load of children in fever a distance of four- 
 teen or fifteen miles for admission. How to dis- 
 pose of them I know not. 
 
 "April 8, 1848.— I calculate that 6,000 houses 
 have been levelled since November, and expe^.. JO 
 more before July. 
 
 ' ' July 5, 1848. — Twenty thousand, or one-fourth 
 of the population, are now in receipt of daily food, 
 either in or out of the workhouse. Disease has 
 unfortunately kept pace with destitution, and the 
 high mortality at one period since last November, 
 in and out of the workhouse, was most distressing. 
 I have frequently been astonished by the sudden 
 and unexpected pressure from certain localities; 
 this naturally induced an inquiry into the causes, 
 and eventually into a general review of the whole 
 union. The result of this inquiry has convinced 
 me that destitution has been increased, and its 
 character fearfully aggravated by the system, of 
 wholesale evictions which has been adopted; that 
 
ISO Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 a fearful amount of disease and mortality has also 
 resulted from the same causes, I can not doubt, 
 I have painful experience of it daily. [The italics 
 are mine.] To make this understood, I may 
 state, in general terms, that about 900 houses, 
 containing probably 4,000 occupants, have been 
 levelled in this union since last November. The 
 wretchedness, ignorance and helplessness of the 
 poor on the western coast of this union pre- 
 vent them seeking a shelter elsewhere; and, to 
 use their own phrase, "they don't know where 
 to face"; they linger about the localities for 
 weeks or months, burrowing behind the ditches, 
 under a few broken rafters of their former dwell- 
 ing, refusing to enter the workhouse till the 
 parents are broken down and the children half 
 starved, when they come into the workhouse to 
 swell the mortality one by one. Those who obtain 
 a temporary shelter in adjoining cabins are not 
 more fortunate. Fever and dysentery shortly 
 make their appearance, when those affected are 
 put out by the roadside as carelessly and ruth- 
 lessly as if they were animals; when frequently 
 after days and nights of exposure, they are sent 
 in by the relieving officers when in a helpless state. 
 These inhuman acts are induced by the popular 
 terror of fever. I have frequently reported cases 
 of this sort. The misery attendant upon these 
 wholesale and simultaneous evictions is frequently 
 aggravated by hunting these ignorant, helpless 
 creatures off the property, from which, perhaps, 
 they have never wandered five miles. It is not an 
 unusual occurrence to see forty or fifty houses 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 131 
 
 levelled in one day, and orders given that no re- 
 maining tenant or occupier should give them even 
 a night's shelter. I have known some ruthless 
 acts committed by drivers and sub-agents, but 
 no doubt, according to law (the law of Christian 
 England!) however repulsive to humanity; 
 wretched hovels pulled down, where the in- 
 mates were in a helpless state of fever and 
 nakedness, and left by the roadside for days. As 
 many as 300 souls, creatures of the most helpless 
 class have been left houseless in one day, and the 
 suffering and misery therefrom attributed to in- 
 sufficient relief or maladministration of the law: 
 it would not be a matter of surprise that it failed 
 altogether in such localities as those I allude to. 
 "When relieved, charges of profuse expenditure 
 are readily preferred. The evicted crowd into the 
 back lanes and wretched hovels of the towns and 
 villages, scattering disease and dismay in all direc- 
 tions. The character of some of these hovels de- 
 fies description. I not long since found a widow, 
 whose three children were in fever, occupying the 
 piggery of their former cabin, which lay beside 
 them in ruins ; however incredible it may appear, 
 this place they had lived in for weeks, measured 
 five feet by four, and of corresponding height. I 
 offered her a free conveyance to the workhouse, 
 which she steadily refused; her piggery was 
 knocked down as soon as her children were able to 
 crawl out on recovery ; and she has now gone forth 
 a wanderer. I could not induce any neighbor to 
 take her in, even for payment; she had medical 
 aid, and all necessary relief from the union." 
 
132 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 When it is borne in mind that the above report 
 refers to one union only, the extent of suffering 
 throughout the country must have been appalling 
 and indescribable. 
 
 What is the manner of the evictions ? 
 
 Let us quote an eye-witness, the Most Reverend 
 Dr. Nulty, Lord Bishop of Meath. The event oc- 
 curred in September, 1847, near Mount Nugent, 
 county Cavan. Dr. Nulty says: 
 
 ' ' In the very first year of our ministry, as a Mis- 
 sionary Priest in this diocese, we were an eye- 
 witness of a cruel and inhuman eviction, which 
 even still makes our heart bleed as often as we 
 allow ourselves to think of it. 
 
 "Seven hundred human beings were driven 
 from their homes in one day and set adrift on the 
 world, to gratify the caprice of one who, before 
 God and man, probably deserved less considera- 
 tion than the last and least of them. And we re- 
 member well that there was not a single shilling 
 of rent due on the estate at the time, except by 
 one man ; and the character and acts of that man 
 made it perfectly clear that the agent and himself 
 quite understood each other. 
 
 "The Crow-bar Brigade, employed on the occa- 
 sion to extinguish the hearths and demolish the 
 homes of honest, industrious men, worked away 
 with a will at their awful calling until evening. 
 At length an incident occurred that varied the mo- 
 notony of the grim, ghastly ruin which they were 
 spreading all around. They stopped suddenly, and 
 recoiled panic-stricken with terror from two dwell- 
 ings which they were directed to destroy with the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 133 
 
 rest. They had just learned that a frightful 
 typhus fever held those houses in its grasp, and 
 had already brought pestilence and death to their 
 inmates. They, therefore, supplicated the agent to 
 spare these houses a little longer; but the agent 
 was inexorable, and insisted that the houses should 
 come down. The ingenuity with which he extri- 
 cated himself from the difficulties of the situation 
 was characteristic alike of the heartlessness of the 
 man and of the cruel necessities of the work in 
 which he was engaged. He ordered a large win- 
 nowing-sheet to be secured over the beds in which 
 the fever victims lay — fortunately they happened 
 to be perfectly delirious at the time — and then 
 directed the houses to be unroofed cautiously and 
 slowly, 'because,' he said, 'he very much disliked 
 the bother and discomfort of a coroner's inquest.' 
 I administered the last sacrament of the church 
 to four of these fever victims next day ; and, save 
 the above-mentioned winnowing-sheet, there was 
 not then a roof nearer to me than the canopy of 
 heaven. 
 
 " The horrid scenes I then witnessed I shall re- 
 member all my life long. The wailing of women ; 
 the screams, the terror, the consternation of chil- 
 dren ; the speechless agony of honest, industrious 
 men, wrung tears of grief from all who saw them. 
 I saw the officers of a large police force, who were 
 obliged to attend on the occasion, cry like children 
 at beholding the cruel sufferings of the very peo- 
 ple whom they would be obliged to butcher had 
 they offered the least resistance. The heavy rains 
 that usually attend the autumnal equinoxes de- 
 
134 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 scended in cold, copious torrents throughout the 
 night, and at once revealed to those sufferers the 
 awful realities of their condition. I visited them 
 next morning, and rode from place administering 
 to them all the comfort and consolation I could. 
 The appearance of men, women, and children, as 
 they emerged from the ruins of their former 
 homes — saturated with rain, blackened and be- 
 smeared with soot, shivering in every member 
 from cold and misery — presented positively the 
 most appalling spectacle I ever looked at. The 
 landed proprietors in a circle all around — and for 
 many miles in every direction — warned their ten- 
 antry, with threats of their direst vengeance, 
 against the humanity of extending to any of them 
 the hospitality of a night's shelter. Many of these 
 poor people were unable to emigrate with their 
 families; while, at home, the hand of every man 
 was raised against them. They were driven 
 from the land on which Providence had placed 
 them; and, in the state of society surrounding 
 them, every other walk of life was rigidly closed 
 to them. What was the result? After battling 
 in vain with privation and pestilence, they at last 
 graduated from the workhouse to the tomb; and 
 in little more than three years, nearly a fourth of 
 them lay quietly in their graves." 
 
 The foregoing gruesome history of 1847- '48- '49 
 will serve to give the reader some idea of the suf- 
 ferings in Ireland during the time that I was there, 
 1877-79. 
 
 The famine and evictions, while not so bad as 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 135 
 
 the famine and pestilence of 1847- '48- '49, was suf- 
 ficiently heartrending to make a lifelong impres- 
 sion upon me. The wholesale evictions and the 
 heartless manner in which the people were thrown 
 out of their homes proved that the Irish landlords 
 of 1879 were as barbarous and inhuman as they 
 were in 1846- '47- '48 and '49. 
 
 The more closely I have followed the Irish ques- 
 tion during the years which have intervened since 
 I sailed from Cork to India, on September 29, 
 1879, the more I have blushed for shame for the 
 manner in which the British Parliament has op- 
 posed every measure introduced for the ameliora- 
 tion of the condition of the people of Ireland. 
 
 The late Charles Stuart Parnell and other 
 champions of the Irish cause were subjected to all 
 manner of unjust treatment as representatives 
 in the House of Commons by their bigoted oppo- 
 nents, who, rather than allow a measure to pass the 
 House, have suspended Irish members, stooped to 
 diabolical intrigue such as tiring out the few faith- 
 ful Patriots by extended sessions of thirty-six 
 hours or more, which was nothing to the plotters, 
 who arranged for relays or reliefs of their own 
 party. 
 
 They did not hesitate to throw these gentlemen 
 into prison or even to transport them to Spike Is- 
 land, Dartmoor or other convict settlements, un- 
 der the barbarous and absurd Act the 34, Edward 
 III of 1360 (obsolete in Great Britain but still in 
 force in Ireland). 
 
 To what can we attribute the cause of this suf- 
 fering, misery, injustice, persecution and misrule? 
 
136 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 The answer to the first part of the question is 
 illustrated in the two following paragraphs; and 
 the answer to the latter part of the question will 
 be found in the next chapter. 
 
 The great number of silk-hatted and frock- 
 coated commercial travelers met with in Ireland, 
 representing English manufacturers and whole- 
 sale houses tells its own story. The trade was 
 practically in the hands of the English. The poor 
 Irish salesmen in their plain attire failed to pro- 
 duce the psychological impression upon the shop- 
 keeper that the English dandies made upon them. 
 
 It is an old saying that ' ' there is something rot- 
 ten in the State of Denmark. ' ' 
 
 Since the introduction of Alexandra, and with 
 her, the Danish rule in England in 1863 there has 
 been something rotten in Ireland. Danish influ- 
 ence at the English Court is responsible for the 
 Danish invasion of the English market, to which 
 Ireland owes much of its poverty and distress. 
 While Ireland has suffered for many years, there 
 is no parallel in the history of the misery of her 
 people since that time, as is shown by the fact that 
 there were two hundred thousand evictions during 
 the reign of my grandmother, the late Queen Vic- 
 toria, and by the terrible scenes enacted against 
 the Land League and other organizations estab- 
 lished by Irish patriots for the protection of the 
 honor of their hearth and home. 
 
 The application of the absurd Act 34 Edward 
 III of 1360 (see paper on Empire Reform League 
 and Addenda) to suppress the efforts of such men 
 as Charles Stuart Parnell, Michael Davitt and 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 137 
 
 others, by throwing them into prison without trial, 
 reflected upon the Government rather than upon 
 the noble "offenders." 
 
 Some idea of the sufferings of the people in Ire- 
 land during my three years' sojourn in that coun- 
 try may be gathered from the following figures 
 showing the depreciation in the potato crop from 
 1876 to 1879 : 
 
 VALUE.* 
 
 1876 £12,464,382 
 
 1877 5,271,822 
 
 1878 7,579,512 
 
 1879 3,341,512 
 
 The average crop for ten years was 60,752,918 
 cwts. The crop for 1879 was 22,273,520 cwts. 
 
 The official record of evictions for the same 
 years was as follows : f 
 
 1876 1,269 
 
 1877 1,323 
 
 1878 1,749 
 
 1879 2,667 
 
 Thus there was no mercy shown by the Irish 
 landlords to the famine stricken tenants. Under 
 such conditions it is little wonder that violent 
 crime should have been prevalent, or that men of 
 principle should stand for liberty and justice. 
 
 The painful impressions which I took with me 
 
 *Thaw's Directory. 
 tHealy, p. 2. 
 
138 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 from Ireland have remained with me throughout 
 my life. 
 
 The agrarian difficulties have since been ad- 
 justed by legislation, and the economic conditions 
 much improved, but through my present political 
 campaign I hope to further help that long-suffer- 
 ing people, on lines set out in the communications 
 published in the addenda hereto. (See paper on 
 "The Empire Reform League.") 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 QUEEN VICTORIA^ PRO-GERMAN POLICY CAUSE OF OP- 
 PRESSION IN IRELAND PROCLAMATION FOR 
 
 THE EMANCIPATION OF IRELAND 
 
 If evidence be wanted to prove the pro-German 
 policy of my grandmother, the late Queen Victoria, 
 for the Government of the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, to the detriment of the 
 latter Kingdom, it is not far to seek. 
 
 I. In the bitter antipathy entertained by her 
 Majesty toward the Irish race in general and to 
 the Irish Princess Consort of her first-born son, 
 Albert Edward Prince of Wales, and to the future 
 Celtic King John in particular. 
 
 II. In the readiness with which Her Majesty en- 
 couraged the Emperor William's selfish demands 
 for something for nothing whereby to strengthen 
 the strategic position of Germany— preparatory 
 to the German invasion of England ! My grand- 
 mother, while tracing her ancestors back to the 
 House of David through the ancient Irish Kings, 
 was born and brought up under purely German in- 
 fluence. Her whole character and make-up was 
 German. She could wed none other than a Ger- 
 man ; and she wedded as many as possible of her 
 children to Germans. The Deceased Wife's Sis- 
 
 139 
 
140 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ter's Bill was her pet hobby. She wanted it passed 
 in order that she might then marry the Princess 
 Beatrice to the Reigning Grand Duke of Hesse- 
 Darmstadt, the widower of the Princess Alice. 
 
 The Grand-Duke thwarted his irate mother-in- 
 law in this scheme by marrying Madame Kalo- 
 mine, referred to in another chapter. 
 
 Nothing daunted, the Queen found another Ger- 
 man for Beatrice — Prince Henry of Battenberg. 
 
 My poor, dear, autocratic grandmother ! I can 
 imagine the scene which occurred when the news 
 was first gently broken to her in the Spring of 
 1860, that the Consort of her successor would 
 mean an Irish Queen in England; and that the 
 next generation would see an Irish King, who had 
 imbibed Irish principles, Irish virtues, and the 
 essence of sympathy for Irish suffering, with his 
 mother's milk. 
 
 Little wonder, indeed, that my grandmother 
 suddenly remembered that many years previously 
 she had promised Canada that her son should visit 
 that Colony. The opportune moment had arrived ; 
 and Canada was forthwith advised that the Prince 
 of Wales was about to make the long promised 
 visit. 
 
 Little wonder that my poor dear mother was 
 kept virtually a prisoner in Windsor Castle pend- 
 ing her accouchement ; small wonder, indeed, that 
 that pro-German Queen should have torn from its 
 mother's breast the infant Prince, in whom she 
 saw the overthrow of her cherished plans for the 
 continued German rule over the United Kingdom 
 of Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 141 
 
 To effectively remove the danger of a Celtic 
 King, it was necessary that the most drastic meas- 
 ures should be taken to remove the infant heir pre- 
 sumptive to the throne as far as possible from the 
 environments of court life and to keep from him 
 all knowledge of his identity and rightful inheri- 
 tance. 
 
 While treating upon the subject of Ireland and 
 the late Queen's policy in regard to the future of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, it may be well to make 
 public, to some extent at least, how the Emperor 
 William II of Germany fell in with his grand- 
 mother's plan in this direction. It is well known 
 that William seldom visited his grandmother 
 without attempting to wheedle some concession 
 from her, even though it might be nothing more 
 than a coaling station for his fleet. 
 
 That William was familiar with Queen Vic- 
 toria's pro-German policy may be seen from his 
 cunning but ill-conceived plans for the invasion of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 England has had an acute attack of Germana- 
 phobia for some time. Let us diagnose this 
 dreaded disease. The primary cause is a German 
 parasite of abnormal mental proclivities, which 
 induce visions of imaginary conquests of British 
 Armadas and British strongholds. 
 
 Its attack upon the unprotected and unwary 
 Britisher need not necessarily be fatal to the 
 Briton. But, like a pest fly tormenting an ele- 
 phant, it needs to be swished off with the tail. 
 
 The hallucination from which my deluded cousin 
 is suffering is the idea that it is up to him to save 
 
142 Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 
 
 the world, or, in other words, to rule the world 
 with his imperial right hand. 
 
 Taking advantage of the British misrule in Ire- 
 land, and the consequent suffering, starvation and 
 the wanton sacrifice of life for centuries past, 
 William's agents have been active in condemning 
 the injustice of England in insisting upon main- 
 taining the Act of Union, the provisions of which 
 have been violated with impunity, and which viola- 
 tions are responsible for the terrible injustice and 
 misery inflicted upon that unhappy country. In- 
 deed, William has intimated his willingness, had 
 he the power, to give Ireland her independence, 
 and the same to Scotland and Wales — under a 
 German protectorate of course. He would even go 
 so far as to allow England to retain her indepen- 
 dence on the same terms — with a German King on 
 the English Throne. 
 
 This plan was matured and ready to put into op- 
 eration in June, 1902. How? 
 
 I. The death of my father, the late King Ed- 
 ward VII was momentarily expected a few days 
 following the date set for his coronation. 
 
 II. The nation was pre-occupied with its grief, 
 and an invasion at that time would have been a 
 complete surprise. 
 
 III. The military strength and home defenses 
 had been materially weakened by the South Afri- 
 can War. 
 
 IV. While the British Navy was cruising in 
 peaceful waters with a small fleet sleeping in false 
 security off Portsmouth, an imposing and for- 
 midable German fleet under the command of Prince 
 
Photograph by Pach Bros., New York 
 
 PRINCE JOHN DE GUELPH 
 King-Emperor de Jure Great Britain and Ireland, and India 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 143 
 
 Henry of Prussia was lying in Dublin Bay, Ire- 
 land. The presence of the German fleet in Dublin 
 Bay at so critical a moment gave rise to no ap- 
 prehension in the War office or Admirality. The 
 German fleet was merely cruising to give Prince 
 Henry a "good time." 
 
 V. Had King Edward VII died at that time it 
 requires no stretch of the imagination to see the 
 German fleet cross the channel; to hear Prince 
 Henry of Prussia proclaimed King of England! 
 That such was William's programme I learned 
 from reliable authority shortly after my father's 
 recovery, when I was in San Francisco. 
 
 VI. The German invasion of England under the 
 conditions prevailing at that time would have been 
 a "dress parade" affair, and the Germanizing of 
 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire- 
 land, as separate Kingdoms of England, Ireland 
 and Scotland, and the principality of Wales, with 
 the Emperor as the actual autocratic ruler, would 
 have proceeded with the lightning-like rapidity, 
 possible only to one afflicted with the abnormal and 
 exaggerated mental visions of a world empire in 
 a decade, such as is fast carrying William to the 
 unhappy fate of his great uncle. 
 
 Fortunately for the Celtic race, as also for Eng- 
 land, and the world at large, William's little plan 
 between "Me and Gott" was not destined to meet 
 with divine sanction or support. 
 
 As has been seen from the sixty years ' reign of 
 the pro-German Queen Victoria, German interests 
 are opposed to Irish independence. 
 
 A German protectorate over the proposed in- 
 
144 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 dependent Celtic kingdoms of Ireland and Scot- 
 land and the independent principality of Wales, 
 would not benefit the Celtic race in the end, any 
 more than German domination in England would 
 benefit that country. German influence operates 
 for German interests and German interests alone, 
 as witness the German Millers' "combination 
 rings," paying unfortunate cultivators in India 
 from sixty per cent, to seventy-five per cent, of the 
 actual cost of production for rice and wheat. 
 
 As such robbery in the name of commerce is re- 
 sponsible for the frequent and terrible famines in 
 India, the introduction of similar measures in Ire- 
 land would be attended by the same disastrous re- 
 sults, and the last condition of the Irish race would 
 be worse than the first. 
 
 William's agents are again urging a German- 
 American-Celtic alliance on the foregoing terms. 
 
 In the interests of my people, being myself Cel- 
 tic by birth and lifelong associations, and in the 
 interest of peace, I most devoutly pray that the 
 Irish people in particular and the Celtic race in 
 general will not risk losing their identity by en- 
 couraging the introduction of German blood, and 
 German rapacity into Ireland. 
 
 The future peace and prosperity of the Celtic 
 race lies in their loyalty to their rightful Celtic 
 King. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 I SAIL FOR INDIA INCIDENTS OF VOYAGE 
 
 In the month of August, 1879, I received the 
 welcome news that I was, at last, to be drafted to 
 India to join the Second Battalion of my regiment 
 then stationed at Secunderabad, in the Hydera- 
 bad Deccan. 
 
 The number of officers, non-commissioned offi- 
 cers and men drafted from the First to the Second 
 Battalion with me was about two hundred and 
 fifty. The last few weeks we spent in Ireland 
 were full of excitement in preparing for foreign 
 service. Indian kits were served out, and the men 
 about to be drafted obtained leave of absence to 
 go to their homes to say good-bye to their parents, 
 brothers and sisters and to their sweethearts. 
 This latter manifestation of filial love of the sol- 
 dier to father and mother awakened very painful 
 emotions in my own heart. The soldier, son of the 
 very poorest people of the slums of our great 
 cities, took his leave of absence with a light 
 heart, and, purchasing presents for those whom 
 he loved, went home to take a last farewell before 
 proceeding to the distant shores of India, from 
 which many of them never returned, having fal- 
 len victims of cholera, fevers, dysentery and other 
 
 145 
 
146 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 tropical diseases. But I, the first-born son of the 
 first gentleman of England, the first peer of the 
 realm, the (then) heir apparent to the throne of 
 Great Britain and Ireland and the Empire of 
 India, was obliged to bury my identity and sup- 
 press the emotions of a heart full of sorrow, and 
 in response to the solicitations of my officers as 
 to whether I did not wish leave of absence to bid 
 farewell to my parents, I, the rightful heir-per- 
 sumptive to the throne, could only reply, "I have 
 no parents to whom to say good-bye." 
 
 I was a member of a regiment a thousand strong, 
 but I had to bury my secret sorrow, and had I 
 been alone upon that great Egyptian desert I could 
 not have been at once cast into greater solitude. 
 
 I had never experienced such a feeling of ut- 
 ter loneliness as at that time. I felt like a child 
 utterly cast out, and about to depart to a land 
 far removed from my dear mother for whose lov- 
 ing embrace my heart yearned as never before. 
 
 The 29th day of September, the day for our de- 
 parture at length arrived and we entrained at 
 Athlone for Cork Harbor and embarked on board 
 H. M. Troopship, the Malabar. 
 
 There were on board about twelve hundred 
 troops, composed of drafts to various infantry 
 and calvary regiments and artillery stationed in 
 India. We sailed the same afternoon, Saturday, 
 September 29th, 1879. 
 
 We had an uneventful voyage. The monotony 
 was broken by the daily parades and inspections, 
 watch and other duties, sports, minstrels and 
 threatrical entertainments. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 14<7 
 
 Our first clay at sea was made somewhat im- 
 pressive by reason of the church service parade, 
 which was a strange and novel experience on the 
 broad expanse of the ocean. 
 
 On Monday morning, while my mind was pre- 
 occupied with the painful reflections of my posi- 
 tion, and of the fact that I was exiling myself to 
 a. land where I would be still further removed from 
 my parents and my birthright, I could not stifle 
 the pangs of regret at this cruel separation nor the 
 anger that would arise against my grandmother 
 for her cruel treatment of my mother and myself. 
 
 This natural indignation was not appeased when 
 on answering my regimental bugle call, I found 
 myself to be one of a party to swab the deck of 
 the ship. 
 
 I looked at the senior sergeant in charge of our 
 party, Tom Williams, a man with only a few days 
 more service than myself, and whose senior or 
 superior I would have been had I accepted my 
 commanding officer's offer of promotion more 
 than two years before. 
 
 Glancing along the deck of the troopship, I 
 observed some sprigs of officers in the Queen's 
 uniform whom I concluded would appear to bet- 
 ter advantage were they tagged onto their 
 mothers' apron strings. 
 
 Here were upstart sons of the gentry and aris- 
 tocracy, fresh from Sandhurst with an abnormal 
 expansion of chest and head that made the Gen- 
 eral and field officers on board look like common 
 marines. It is surprising to contemplate the pow- 
 er of imagination of some of these young snobs 
 
148 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 in finding fault with their betters — the trained 
 soldiers. 
 
 It was this momentary review of the situation 
 and the secret of my false position that gave me 
 the first twinge of regret at not having pushed 
 myself ahead in my two years' service, during 
 which time I could have become quarter-master 
 sergeant with a commission in near view. 
 
 As the men were ordered to proceed with the 
 swabbing of the deck, Sergeant Williams called 
 me from the ranks and said, "You have no busi- 
 ness here ; this is no work for you. You had bet- 
 ter go down and report yourself to Lieut. Begbie 
 of the South Wales Borderers. He wants someone 
 to look after him during the voyage. ' ' 
 
 I accordingly made the acquaintance of Mr. 
 Begbie, who occupied a cabin with Lieut. Grant on 
 the main troop-deck. 
 
 Mr. Grant was already familiarizing himself 
 with the pleasures of the first sea-voyage — mal- 
 de-mer, and was also very grateful to have my 
 assistance. 
 
 So it was that I had the run of the officers' 
 saloon, could enjoy the quietude of a private cabin 
 and all the privileges of the officers' mess in return 
 for looking after the comfort of these two young 
 officers. 
 
 As Grant's sea-sickness grew worse from day to 
 day, my sympathy led me to try to relieve him. I, 
 accordingly, sought advice from a marine who had 
 seen much service. 
 
 That worthy recommended a pint tumbler full 
 of sea-water, which I accordingly prescribed for 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 149 
 
 poor Grant and saw to it that he took the medi- 
 cine. It was in vain that he pleaded to be excused 
 from taking the last quarter of the dose. 
 
 I insisted that what he had taken would have no 
 beneficial effect unless he took the full dose. Like 
 a brave soldier he made a final charge and swal- 
 lowed the remains of the tumbler of sea-water, and 
 promptly brought up an ocean. I thought poor 
 Grant would have died, but laughingly consoled 
 him with assurances that he was already looking 
 better and would be able to go on deck and get 
 the fresh air in another five minutes. 
 
 I gave him a little champagne to settle his 
 stomach and to get his mind in more cheerful 
 channels than that on which it was set, for he de- 
 clared he was dying and would never see his poor 
 mother again. 
 
 I would most cheerfully have changed places 
 with him, but as that was impossible I further as- 
 sisted him in drinking the champagne. 
 
 Whether the remarkable results that followed 
 were due to the sea-water, the champagne or my 
 good-humored banter I do not pretend to say; I 
 accompanied him on deck a few minutes later and 
 the sea-sickness passed off. 
 
 Needless to say that when my style of treatment 
 leaked out, Grant was made the butt for a good 
 many jokes during the voyage. "Jonah," he was 
 told, "was spewed up by the whale," but it was 
 left for Grant to "spew up the ocean." 
 
 Having been thus transferred to the officers' 
 saloon, I was relieved from all military duty and 
 enjoyed practically the same advantages as the 
 
150 Memoirs of Prince John De Gudph 
 
 officers during the voyage, both as regards ac- 
 commodation and mess. 
 
 Lieut. Begbie was a devout Christian man and as 
 I was similarly inclined I very much enjoyed the 
 privacy of his stateroom for meditation and de- 
 votion. 
 
 Our first stop was at Gibraltar and our next at 
 Malta. Our stay at each of these British military 
 stations was only for an hour or so. 
 
 On dropping anchor at Malta the ship was im- 
 mediately surrounded by native boats, manned 
 by a most picturesque crew of natives. Their 
 cargoes consisted of all kinds of fruits, laces, 
 shawls, curios, and a variety of other wares. 
 While the men and women were doing a great 
 trade with the troops on board, the small boys 
 caused much amusement by diving to great depths 
 after money thrown into the water. 
 
 This was a very amusing but expensive pas- 
 time for Tommy Atkins. 
 
 A great number of officers and men had been 
 sea-sick during the first part of the voyage and 
 many of them had fully recovered, but our ex- 
 perience in that direction had been nothing to 
 what followed on sailing from Malta. 
 
 There was a heavy swell, which soon caused a 
 fermentation of the half ripe fruits ravenously 
 consumed by the men in Malta. 
 
 One man who had bought a bunch of bananas, 
 not quite half ripe, remarked that he had always 
 heard that the banana was a very delicious fruit; 
 he had never tasted anything more like mottled 
 soap in his life, and if the nobility thought that 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Do Guelph }$1 
 
 was like custard they were welcome to it; suiting 
 the action to the word, he invited a young officer 
 to join him with a banana. The subaltern readily 
 fell into the trap, just to show that there was no 
 ill feeiing toward the "common" sailor, and 
 munched heartily at his hard banana with the re- 
 sult that he promptly threw it to the fishes. 
 
 When lying in the Suez canal one evening a 
 number of officers went ashore and walked across 
 the sands in search of game. My friend Lieut. 
 Grant, who was one of the party, managed to sep- 
 arate himself from the rest and lost his way. 
 
 It was quite late before he eventually got his 
 bearings and found his way back to the ship. In 
 order not to give an alarm and thereby get himself 
 in trouble, Grant swam the canal with his clothes 
 on, and came aboard long after midnight like a 
 drowned rat. 
 
 The most impressive incident of the voyage to 
 the young soldiers was the burial of a comrade in 
 mid-ocean. We were prepared to be shot and have 
 our bones bleached by a tropical sun, but to be fed 
 to the sharks was something that we had not cal- 
 culated upon. 
 
 On October 28th, we landed at Bombay, where I 
 took farewell of Lieut. Begbie, Grant and others, 
 as the members of the different regiments set out 
 for different parts of that vast peninsula. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 MY WELCOME TO INDIA IN STRIKING CONTRAST TO THAT 
 OF MY FATHER — MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE 
 
 LAND OF FAMINE " INDIANS CORAL STRANDS " 
 
 "THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES " THE DYING AND 
 
 THE DEAD — SHAPE MY FUTURE LIFE AND I 
 RESOLVE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM INCI- 
 DENTS OF EARLY MILITARY LIFE 
 IN INDIA 
 
 After having breakfasted in the beautiful new 
 railway station of Bombay, one of the most mag- 
 nificent structures in India, we entrained for 
 Poona, where we encamped for about a fort- 
 night, before proceeding to join our regiment. 
 
 Poona is a military station, and troops on arri- 
 val in India are sometimes quarantined there. We 
 eventually proceeded on our way to Secunderabad ; 
 leaving Poona in the evening we reached Shaha- 
 bad at about eight o'clock the following morning, 
 at which station we were to breakfast. 
 
 The terrible sight that I witnessed as our train 
 was approaching Shahabad was one that will re- 
 main with me as long as I live. That scene which 
 extended about half a mile outside of the station 
 up to the platform determined the course of my 
 life during the whole time I was in India and since. 
 
 152 
 
Memoirs of Prince JoKn De Guelph 153 
 
 Had our train run into the valley of dry-bones, 
 and had those bones come together in the form of 
 living skeletons, the sight could not have been 
 more appalling. There, before us, were thousands 
 of living skeletons, men and women, victims of the 
 terrible famine which had carried off more than 
 one hundred million of their unfortunate country- 
 men during the British occupation of the Em- 
 pire. 
 
 These miserable sufferers as they cried for food, 
 were beyond the reach of human aid; some of 
 them, no doubt, would linger for months or possi- 
 bly a year, but their doom was sealed. 
 
 Needless to say that the breakfast of our men 
 went further toward quieting the piteous clamor 
 of these unfortunate people than toward appeas- 
 ing their own appetite. 
 
 This sad experience led me to resolve then and 
 there to ascertain the real cause of famines in 
 India and to devote my life to overcoming this hor- 
 rible curse. 
 
 I was fully aware that the Government was do- 
 ing everything possible to stop famines, and that 
 I had set myself a stupendous task in trying to do 
 in my subordinate position, single-handedly and 
 without means, what the British Government had 
 not only failed to do with the vast resources at 
 their command; but which evil had actually in- 
 creased in frequency and severity in spite of all 
 the effort of the Government to prevent it. 
 
 As the train pulled out of Shahabad and we left 
 these miserable creatures behind I was heart-sick 
 at the thought of what the people of that vast 
 
154 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 Empire had suffered and were suffering, under 
 our paternal Government. 
 
 It grieved me to think that as this condition of 
 things had continued to grow worse for the past 
 century, many years must necessarily elapse be- 
 fore I could hope to introduce or to bring into 
 operation any effective measures to overcome 
 these terrible famines. 
 
 I was but a young man, nineteen years of age, 
 having no knowledge of India, of the people, of 
 the industries or commerce, or of the natural 
 resources of the country. 
 
 Knowledge of all these matters had to be ac- 
 quired under the greatest possible disadvantages 
 and difficulties. I resolved, however, that I would 
 not leave India until I had solved the problem. 
 In saving India from famine in the future I felt 
 that I had a duty that appealed to me as the 
 grandson of the Empress of India, far more 
 than anything else in the whole of the British Em- 
 pire could do. I would rather be there living in 
 the humble capacity of a private soldier and en- 
 during the privations of a soldier's life to save 
 those helpless people from famine than lie in 
 luxury and affluence with my royal parents in a 
 palace, ignorant of the actual prevailing condi- 
 tions of our people. 
 
 Thus my secret sorrow was temporarily ab- 
 sorbed in the greater misery of the multitudes of 
 India. 
 
 We arrived at Secunderabad on the evening of 
 the day that we left Shahabad, which I think was 
 the 12th day of November, and joined the head- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 155 
 
 quarters of the regiment, under the command of 
 Colonel Wetherall. I was attached to C Com- 
 pany, Captain F. F. Johnstone in command. The 
 following day we were busy in getting out our 
 arms and accoutrements and Indian kits prepara- 
 tory to entering upon military duty for the first 
 time in India. 
 
 Secunderabad is the chief military station of the 
 Hyderabad Deccan, the largest and most impor- 
 tant of the feudatory States in India ; it is situated 
 about three miles north by west of the capital 
 city, Hyderabad. 
 
 The garrison was composed of two British in- 
 fantry regiments, one of British calvary and three 
 batteries of artillery in addition to one regiment 
 of India calvary (Bengal Lancers) and one regi- 
 ment of Indian infantry, all British troops. 
 
 The purpose of the British military force in 
 the independent State of Hyderabad is to protect 
 the Nizam from his own subjects — composed 
 largely of a rebellious race. 
 
 Hyderabad is a walled city having a population 
 of about four hundred and fifty thousand. 
 
 Owing to the treacherous character of the na- 
 tives of Hyderabad and their enmity to the Brit- 
 ish, English soldiers are not allowed to enter the 
 city of Hyderabad without special leave from offi- 
 cers commanding regiments. 
 
 One of the first stories that I heard on joining 
 my regiment in reference to the war-like Moham- 
 mendans of Hyderabad was about a rebellion in 
 the capital some time prior to my advent in those 
 parts. 
 
156 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 The rebels, it was said, had taken possession 
 of the city and Government officers, and had closed 
 and barricaded the gates of the city against the 
 British troops. 
 
 Immediately on the receipt of information of 
 the rebellion, the British force was rushed to the 
 capital and took up position around the city walls. 
 
 The guns being trained upon the gates and at 
 various points of the walls, word was sent to the 
 rebels to surrender within a given time, failing 
 which the capital would be bombarded. 
 
 The rebels held out. 
 
 The officer commanding the artillery stood with 
 watch in hand; three minutes only remained to 
 the time limit given; two minutes more, and the 
 British guns would hurl their message of destruc- 
 tion and death into the besieged city; one minute 
 only remained ; thirty seconds more ; ten seconds ; 
 five seconds more; the officer standing ready to 
 close his watch and to give the order: "Fire!" 
 
 Suddenly, as if by magic, the gates of the city 
 of Hyderabad were thrown wide open within two 
 seconds from the striking of the hour. 
 
 The eagerness with which the troops were wait- 
 ing for the fray, and their indignation at having 
 been thus hoaxed by the wily Oriental was well 
 illustrated by the effect this sudden turn in affairs 
 produced upon the officer commanding the artil- 
 lery, who, upon seeing the gates of the city fly 
 open on the stroke of the clock, smashed his gold 
 watch into a thousand pieces on the gun by which 
 he was standing. Thus ended the rebellion of 
 Hyderabad. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 157 
 
 To the young soldier on first arriving in India 
 the stories of such expeditions are more or less 
 exciting according to the temperament of the new- 
 ly arrived. 
 
 The stories which produce the greatest effect 
 upon the imagination of the inexperienced recruits 
 are, perhaps, those in which it is shown that rebels 
 are in the habit of frequently visiting the mili- 
 tary lines by night, and that they steal into the 
 bungalows by one or more of the dozen doors, and 
 picking the locks of the arm-racks, get clean away 
 with all the rifles of one or more companies with- 
 out even being heard. 
 
 "It sometimes happened," it was said, "that a 
 man or two would awake and, jumping out of bed, 
 would seize the thief, whereupon the Indian would 
 leave his cloak or garment in the hands of his cap- 
 turer and escape. Other men awakened by the 
 commotion would jump and seize the thief or 
 thieves by their bare arms only to have them slip 
 through their fingers like so many eels, the thieves 
 being well smothered with oil. 
 
 A few evenings after joining the regiment, my 
 comrades and I were entertained with the above 
 story. We retired, to dream of savages, and as- 
 sassins stealing our rifles and then cutting our 
 throats. 
 
 About 3.30 A. M., as I was lying in bed, 1 
 heard the stealthy step of bare feet upon the brick 
 floor of our barrack room. I was lying on my 
 right side and the footsteps approached nearer to 
 me from the part of the room behind me. What 
 good fortune was mine ! Here was an opportunity 
 
158 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 to show some of the old soldiers how to capture a 
 slippery savage. 
 
 I dared not look around or make the slightest 
 move lest I should give the thief the opportunity 
 to bolt. 
 
 Lying perfectly still and feigning to be asleep 
 I waited somewhat impatiently, and, I may con- 
 fess, more or less excited over the pending adven- 
 ture. At length, after what seemed to be an eter- 
 nity the savage was at the foot of my cot. He had 
 taken two paces further when he was struck with 
 a sudden inspiration that the end of the world had 
 come. 
 
 Throwing aside my quilts I bounded out of bed 
 and landed him behind the ear with such force 
 that he bounded into the air with a yell that awoke 
 every man in the various bungalows for a mile 
 around. The victim finally landed on the top of 
 a kit box at the foot of a soldier's cot some twelve 
 feet distant from where I met him. Every man in 
 the company was on his feet in a second and rush- 
 ing to the scene of action. 
 
 I was the first, however, to get at the rebel again. 
 Before he could pick himself up, I was upon him, 
 and, knowing that any attempt to arrest him would 
 be futile, as he would leave his garments in my 
 hand and slip through everybody else's fingers 
 like a meteor through the air, the only course open 
 to me was to follow up the tactics which had an- 
 swered so admirably thus far. Without risking 
 getting the palms of my hands too oily, I closed 
 my fist and again sailed into the intruder, at the 
 same time calling for a rope to tie him up. ''You 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 159 
 
 can't tie a slippery eel," shouted a dozen voices; 
 the only thing to do is to pummel him until he 
 can't run." 
 
 A half dozen or more men were upon him al- 
 most as soon as myself, and the unfortunate man 
 was getting the lesson of his thieving life. 
 
 The Sergeant and Color-Sergeant, aroused by 
 the commotion, came up at the "double quick" 
 just as the corporal punishment had ceased. Be- 
 ing satisfied that there was not much danger of the 
 culprit escaping, I had pushed the men back to 
 stop the onslaught on the unfortunate fellow, and 
 to have him dealt with by the proper authorities. 
 On restoring order, the Color Sergeant commenced 
 the investigation. The trespasser was pulled to- 
 gether, his clothing adjusted and his disheveled 
 hair pushed back from his face that we might get 
 a view of his swarthy and bruised physiognomy. 
 It was a revelation. I had captured and nearly 
 killed — our head cook. 
 
 In each company a British soldier is detailed 
 to superintend the cooks of the company. 
 
 At the close of each day's work the cook-house 
 is locked up, and the soldier takes charge of the 
 key. He invariably hangs the key near the head 
 of his cot, and the master-cook steps in before 
 daybreak to get the key in order to prepare the 
 early morning coffee served to the men at reveille. 
 
 Thereafter our master-cook refrained from 
 passing through the bungalow while the men were 
 asleep. 
 
 The serious side of army life is seen on foreign 
 service. While the Empire of India is under Brit- 
 
160 Memoirs of Prince John De Gwelph 
 
 ish rule, the sixty thousand British troops sta- 
 tioned there are held in readiness to meet any 
 emergency at any hour, day and night. The 
 surprise of 1857, when the troops were at 
 church service and their arms and ammunition in 
 the barracks, the terrible result of the Indian 
 mutiny was a lesson that the British did not want 
 repeated. Hence, even in time of peace, and in 
 our own dominion it was necessary to be as much 
 on the alert as though we were in an enemy's 
 country. This condition of things struck me as 
 being somewhat peculiar and calling for investi- 
 gation. If the paternal Government of Great Brit- 
 ain was all that it is claimed to be, why should 
 there exist this feeling of political unrest in India, 
 and of distrust on the part of the Government. 
 
 What of the famines? What was the cause of 
 them and the loss of millions of our Indian sub- 
 jects from starvation? Had these famines in- 
 creased in frequency and severity, as had been 
 said, since the British occupation, and, if so, 
 wherein did our administration come short? If 
 we are responsible for the famines and the conse- 
 quent sacrifice of a hundred million lives and un- 
 told poverty, suffering, and distress, among the 
 three hundred million human beings in India, eco- 
 nomic reform rather than force of arms offered 
 the only solution of the problem, if we would con- 
 tinue to rule over India. This was a subject that 
 presented itself for study and consideration. 
 
 For a young private soldier subject to the re- 
 strictions of military discipline and garrison or- 
 ders, his limited freedom of action and move- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 161 
 
 ments to the confines of the garrison boundary- 
 was, in itself, a disadvantage that would deter the 
 boldest spirit from attempting to solve the politi- 
 cal and economic problem which all the authori- 
 ties at the command of the British and Indian 
 Government had not only failed to solve in a hun- 
 dred years, but which they were evidently getting 
 into a greater tangle from year to year. In addi- 
 tion to the difficulty of my observation being 
 confined to city limits there was the greater diffi- 
 culty of being only a "common soldier," looked 
 down upon by even the junior subaltern as being 
 something less than human, and by the "dumb 
 millions of India" as a "professional man killer" 
 eagerly awaiting orders to slay them on the least 
 provocation. 
 
 This difficulty will be better understood by my 
 readers by the following illustration: 
 
 Corporal S , gymnasium instructor, accom- 
 panied by two privates of the Sixteenth Bedford- 
 shire Begiment, one day went out on the innocent 
 sport of catching butterflies, of which some of the 
 most beautiful specimens are found in the vicinity 
 of Secunderabad. The day was hot, and the 
 men, after having wandered over the plains for 
 many hours, were very thirsty. They finally came 
 in view of a toddy-tope, a plantation of cocoanut 
 trees, from the trunks of which a palatable liquid 
 flows on being tapped; earthenware chatties are 
 tied to the tree to catch the toddy, being changed 
 as often as necessary. 
 
 The men made for the toddy-tope, hoping to be 
 able to purchase some of this tempting and re- 
 
162 'Memoirs of Prince John De Guelpli 
 
 freshing beverage. On reaching the tope, Corpo- 
 ral S approached a native and, offering a 
 
 rupee (about 33 cents), said they would like to 
 purchase some toddy. 
 
 The money tendered was more than the value 
 of a chatty of the beverage. The Indian refused 
 to sell to the white men or to touch the money. 
 He was told that they were parched for a drink 
 and must have it. Again the Indian refused to 
 
 serve them; whereupon Colonel S tossed the 
 
 rupee on the ground near the man, saying, "I will 
 save you the trouble to climb the tree, I will do it 
 myself," and proceeded to run up the eighty-foot 
 trunk of the cocoanut tree with the agility of a 
 native. 
 
 Waiting until Corporal S had reached the 
 
 top of the tree, the Indian raised a yell, which was 
 immediately responded to by hundreds of armed 
 men jumping up from holes in the ground in all 
 directions in the toddy-tope. 
 
 Corporal S , perceiving his predicament, and 
 
 the danger of his companions, who were unarmed, 
 shouted to them to run for their lives. They pro- 
 tested, but he commanded, saying it was their 
 duty to get away. Being at the entrance of the 
 toddy-tope the way was clear for their retreat, and 
 they made their escape. 
 
 By the time Corporal S had descended from 
 
 the tree, it was surrounded by hundreds of blood- 
 thirsty natives, yelling and brandishing their cut- 
 lasses. 
 
 Corporal S 's butterfly net with a bamboo 
 
 handle, one inch thick, was standing against the 
 
Memoirs of Prince Jolin De Guelph 163 
 
 tree ; seizing the innocent toy, Corporal S con- 
 verted it into a weapon. 
 
 Being the instructor in swordsmanship gave him 
 some advantage over his dusky foes. Singling out 
 the leader of this horde, who had a very formid- 
 able cutlass, he gave that gentleman a rap on the 
 knuckles of his sword-hand which caused him to 
 throw up his hands and yell "blue murder." His 
 cutlass fell in reach of and was promptly taken up 
 
 by Corporal S . That gentleman then set about 
 
 cutting a way for himself through the dense crowd 
 of enraged natives, which he succeeded in doing, 
 but had to fight every inch of his way toward the 
 barracks for a mile and a half against overwhelm- 
 ing odds. 
 
 Having been already parched with thirst before 
 
 this encounter, Corporal S certainly had the 
 
 time of his life in conquering that crowd without 
 receiving a scratch himself. 
 
 When within about a mile and a half of the mili- 
 tary garrison the natives fell back, a part of them 
 taking charge of the weapons of the whole. A 
 large body of the natives proceeded to the barracks 
 to lodge a complaint with the officer commanding, 
 against the British soldier for having "murdered 
 and wounded a number of their tribesmen." 
 
 The Bedfordshire's regimental call and assem- 
 bly was sounded, upon which every man in the 
 regiment fell in with their respective companies. 
 Corporal S , who had had time to refresh him- 
 self and to change his clothes, was in his company. 
 
 The regiment being formed into lines the natives 
 were instructed to identify the man. 
 
164 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 Corporal S was identified and placed under 
 
 arrest, was court-martialed and sentenced to be 
 reduced to the ranks and to serve a term of three 
 years in prison with hard labor, as a deterrent to 
 British soldiers to protect their lives against the 
 murderous assaults of barbarous hordes of sav- 
 ages; but more particularly to appease the na- 
 tives, who would have avenged themselves on every 
 unfortunate British soldier who might come within 
 their reach had not this man been convicted. 
 
 The General commanding the division, in re- 
 viewing the court-martial proceedings, took into 
 consideration the plea of self-defense and set aside 
 the finding and sentence of the court-martial. 
 
 Corporal S was transferred from head- 
 quarters. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 MILITARY LIFE IN SECUNDERABAD — I ATTEND MILITARY 
 SCHOOL 1 BEGIN THE STUDY OF ORIENTAL LAN- 
 GUAGES — SORROW AND SOLITUDE — ORDERED 
 TO CANNONORE, MALABAR COAST INCI- 
 DENTS OF MARCH ELEPHANT RUNS 
 
 AMUCK IN CAMP! DIAMOND 
 
 FIELDS AND RUBY MINES 
 OF INDIA AND BURMA 
 
 Military life was very quiet in Secunderaoad 
 garrison, the usual morning parade, an occasional 
 field day and the general routine of garrison and 
 regimental guards, pickets and other duties occu- 
 pied but a small portion of a soldier's time. The 
 morning parade was held before breakfast. The 
 military school for such non-commissioned officers 
 and men who were required to attend to qualify 
 for their examinations was in session from 11 
 A. M. to 12.30 daily, with the exception of Satur- 
 days and Sundays. The children of the married 
 non-commissioned officers and men attended school 
 from 8.45 to 11 A. M., and from 2 to 3.30 P. M. 
 
 The school staff was composed of the regimental 
 schoolmaster and non-commissioned officers duly 
 qualified. The ordinary parade and school hours 
 
 165 
 
166 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 take only about two hours and a half to three hours 
 per day, after which time the men were free. 
 
 I devoted my spare time to study of ordinary 
 subjects, referred to elsewhere, and also studied 
 Hindoostani under the Moonshee (Hindu teacher 
 of languages). 
 
 My mind was, however, constantly preoccupied 
 with thoughts of my mother and her cruel fate. 
 Try as I would I could not overcome my terrible 
 grief for her. 
 
 My sorrow of heart further caused me to seek 
 solitude; I accordingly took my books and Testa- 
 ment every day and went out among the rocks 
 on the burning plain, where I could be alone with 
 my thoughts and with God. 
 
 Seeking the shelter of some huge rock with 
 which the parched ground was covered for miles 
 around, I spent much time in study and meditation 
 on my peculiar situation and forming plans for the 
 carrying out of my project to ameliorate the condi- 
 tion of the people. The only interruption to my 
 meditation was caused by the huge rock snakes, 
 measuring from twelve to thirty feet in length, 
 and snakes of every description which infested the 
 locality. 
 
 Strange as it may seem, I had no fear of these 
 reptiles; and my presence among them did not 
 seem to arouse more than passing curiosity on 
 their part. 
 
 Every evening when off duty I attended the re- 
 ligious meetings conducted for the soldiers of the 
 garrison, or at some of the missions or churches 
 of Secunderabad. The religious meetings in the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 167 
 
 garrison were held in the meeting-house set apart 
 for the purpose, built on the top of a hill and called 
 Mount Zion. 
 
 The meetings were conducted principally by 
 some of the Christian men of the various regi- 
 ments, and occasionally by the chaplain, and by 
 the different missionaries of the station. 
 
 About a fortnight after my arrival in Secunder- 
 abad I began to take my turn in leading the 
 meetings. 
 
 The English Wesleyan Mission, then in charge 
 of the Rev. Mr. Gladwin, offered an opportunity 
 for good work among the European and Eurasian 
 community. I therefore became a frequent at- 
 tendant at the Wesleyan Mission House, and was 
 thus afforded many and good opportunities to 
 study the different classes of people, from the 
 European officials down to the native masses, and 
 to observe the customs and manners of the people 
 and the conditions under which they lived. 
 
 I made many acquaintances and took the oppor- 
 tunity to familiarize myself with the various 
 views held by different classes as to the cause and 
 effects of the famines; and also the attitude of 
 the Indian population toward British rule, and 
 toward possible Russian invasion of India, which 
 was threatened at that time. 
 
 I think it was in the month of April, 1880, that 
 my regiment was ordered to Cannonore, on the 
 Malabar coast. The next week or ten days was 
 busily occupied in packing the military stores and 
 baggage. At length the day arrived for us to leave 
 Secunderabad. Our march commenced, and, curi- 
 
168 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ously enough, the route from Secunderabad, which, 
 as previously stated, is about three miles north by 
 west of Hyderabad, instead of being southwest to 
 reach the west coast was taken eastward to the 
 east coast, for the benefit of exercise of the troops 
 and strategic purposes. From Rajahmundary on 
 the Godavervi River our course was continued 
 south to Pondicherry, a French settlement; from 
 Pondicherry to Cuddalore ; thence due west across 
 the Peninsula to Cannonore, on the west coast, 
 about three miles from Calicut. 
 
 Reveille sounded sometimes at twelve midnight, 
 sometimes 12.30 or 1 A. M., according to the length 
 of march ; coffee was served, after which we struck 
 camp, loaded the baggage on the elephants and 
 our march commenced within forty-five minutes 
 from reveille. 
 
 The commissariat department and advance 
 guard preceded the main body by about half an 
 hour. After a march of about ten miles the regi- 
 ment halted to partake of coffee again. We had 
 half an hour's rest, and then marched to the next 
 encampment, which we reached by about 9 A. M., 
 pitched camp, and rested for the day. 
 
 The camp was generally pitched between two 
 towns. As a rule I spent the greater part of the 
 day in exploring the surrounding country, return- 
 ing about sundown to take a few hours' rest be- 
 fore the next march. In this way I covered each 
 day about three or four times the distance of the 
 actual march. 
 
 These excursions gave me some opportunity of 
 visiting towns and villages, historic battlefields 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 169 
 
 and many places of interest. The whole march 
 was covered without incident worth mentioning, 
 with one exception, and that was a little excite- 
 ment created by the caper of a "must" elephant. 
 
 One afternoon I was returning to camp with a 
 few comrades, and, when passing through the ele- 
 phant lines, the elephant in question raised his 
 trunk and tore off a bough of a tree. We assumed 
 that he had done this to enable him to feed on the 
 smaller branches; but as we approached within 
 reach of the gentle beast, he made a vicious at- 
 tack upon us with the said bough. He swung it 
 around with great force; I was on the inner side 
 of the party or nearest to the elephant. The 
 thick end of the bough struck my helmet and 
 knocked it off. Some of my comrades became ex- 
 cited and got out of reach of harm. Upon picking 
 up my helmet, which' was somewhat damaged by 
 the onslaught, I could not help expressing my self- 
 congratulation that my headgear was not a low- 
 crowned affair, as in that case, the blow would 
 have taken off the top of my head. 
 
 The reveille sounded at twelve o 'clock that night, 
 camp was struck, and this particular elephant was 
 detailed to carry my own tent. I assisted in the 
 loading, and was standing by the head of the ele- 
 phant, which was lying down, when the keeper of 
 the elephant came near me. Like a flash of light- 
 ning he disappeared from my side. The elephant, 
 reaching round with his trunk, seized the man by 
 the waist, and, with a terrific trumpeting, raised 
 the unfortunate keeper in the air and bounded off 
 at top speed through the camp. When outside of 
 
170 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 the camp the elephant stopped arid brought his 
 victim down with such force on the sandy soil that 
 the impact resounded for a mile around with a 
 sickening thud. 
 
 The wild run of the elephant caused a stampede 
 among the troops and animals. I stood and 
 watched the beast in its mad career and saw in 
 the moonlight the spectacle of the man raised in 
 the air during the flight, and then brought down 
 to the earth. Upon the instant that he struck the 
 earth the elephant bent his knee upon the chest of 
 his victim and crushed the life out of him; this 
 done he again bounded off, trumpeting and mak- 
 ing every effort to bring down his driver. Fail- 
 ing in this, he tore off into the jungle with the de- 
 liberate intention of knocking the driver off under 
 the trees. Order was restored in camp and the 
 march commenced to the next camp, leaving the 
 elephant and its driver behind. All through the 
 night the driver stuck to his post. On reaching 
 camp two elephants were detailed to return to 
 bring in the defaulter. They escorted the culprit 
 into camp. He was tried by drumhead court-mar- 
 tial and was sentenced to be flogged and dis- 
 charged with ignominy from the service. 
 
 The elephant prisoner was escorted in, with a 
 very crestfallen demeanor, well knowing what was 
 in store for him. 
 
 This elephant had killed at least half a dozen 
 men and the British Government did well in get- 
 ting rid of him. 
 
 The novelty of a twenty-mile march before 
 breakfast may be very interesting once in a while, 
 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 171 
 
 but when it is repeated day by day on the dusty 
 roads and in the sultry atmosphere of Southern 
 India, it becomes more or less monotonous. Much 
 of the route was overshadowed by shade trees, al- 
 together unnecessary to us, as we marched by 
 night, and the only effect the trees produced was 
 to break the moonlight and to cast ghostly 
 shadows upon the road, and, at the same time, 
 served as a mantle by which the cloud of dust set 
 up by the feet of a thousand men and several hun- 
 dred bullock carts, elephants, etc., was deflected 
 upon our unfortunate heads. 
 
 The men of the Bedfordshires were as game as 
 any in the British Army, but, naturally, each 
 march saw a few of our men falling out from ex- 
 haustion. I was amused on different occasions to 
 find some of my comrades, who had too much grit 
 to report sick, actually marching along the road 
 fast asleep; my right-hand man on one occasion 
 pitched head-over-heels down an embankment 
 while marching asleep. 
 
 While the actual marches did not exceed twenty- 
 five miles a day and sometimes not more than 
 twelve, I covered on an average of between twenty 
 and thirty miles per day between the time of arriv- 
 ing in camp at eight A. M. and "tattoo" at eight 
 to nine P. M. 
 
 Notwithstanding the facilities for travel in this 
 twentieth century by airships, subterranean tubes 
 and ocean surface motor-boats, and such means of 
 communication as wireless telegraphy, as com- 
 pared with the antiquated system of travel and 
 communication of fifty years ago, the great ma- 
 
172 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 jority of our intelligent and European population 
 still look upon India as being a benighted and 
 heathen country, having only two seasons in the 
 year — nine months hot and three months hotter, 
 and, being populated entirely by blacks. Such 
 was my opinion of India at the time of my arrival 
 in that country. This march and my personal ob- 
 servations convinced me of the general miscon- 
 ception. On passing through Pondicherry, I gave 
 way to the hereditary characteristics of my race. 
 Heretofore we had been marching through a coun- 
 try populated by people of various shades from a 
 pea-nut brown to the Ethiopian ebony, but here 
 in Pondicherry we had a type of beauties that 
 could not be excelled in ancient Rome. 
 
 This striking contrast brought me to a realiza- 
 tion that vastness and diversity are the most im- 
 portant features of the Indian Empire. 
 
 This diversity of race led me, as a youngster, 
 to closer investigation of India, the area and pop- 
 ulation under British rule. The area of India, or 
 that part of it known as British India, is 1,500,000 
 square miles ; the peninsula is two thousand miles 
 long, and the greatest breadth is also two thou- 
 sand miles. The population was at that time 287,- 
 223,431. This does not, of course, include the 150,- 
 000,000 who have been sacrificed to famine and 
 pestilence since the British occupation. 
 
 There are one hundred and fifty-seven states 
 and no less than forty-two nationalities or tribes 
 speaking as many different languages. 
 
 The climate of India is as diversified as its peo- 
 ple, ranging from 128 degrees in the shade on the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 173 
 
 plains, to perpetual snow on the Himalaya Moun- 
 tains. 
 
 The soil varies also as much as the climate and 
 the people. In the Middle West and Western 
 States of the United States of America they 
 justly boast of the fertility of the soil and the 
 vast grain fields, but, notwithstanding the richness 
 of the American soil and its abundant crops, the 
 fertility of much of the soil of India equals the 
 most fertile on the American Continent. Again, 
 vast deserts are to be found, where there is no 
 vegetation either for man or beast. 
 
 The Indian diamond fields, which have produced 
 the most famous diamonds of the world, will again 
 be re-opened, when we secure proper administra- 
 tion for India. The famous Burma ruby mines 
 are not yet exhausted, notwithstanding all reports 
 to the contrary. Incidentally it may be mentioned 
 the Burma rubies and those of the island of 
 Ceylon are practically identical, while the 
 rubies of Siam, found over an imaginary 
 or defined political boundary line from Burma, are 
 classified as being the most inferior in the world. 
 From the time that Burma annexed a certain por- 
 tion of Siamese territory, the rubies found in that 
 territory have, of course, been advanced to the 
 quality of Burma rubies. 
 
 A personal friend, Moung Gyi, of Maulmein, 
 Burma, spent a great many years in prospecting 
 for rubies in Siam under license of the King of 
 Siam. Specimen stones forwarded to me by 
 Moung Gyi have been declared by the best Euro- 
 
174 Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 
 
 pean and American experts to be the genuine 
 Burma ruby. 
 
 As a matter of fact the pigeon-blood corundum, 
 no matter whether from Burma, Ceylon, Siam. or 
 Montana, is commercially a "Burma Ruby." 
 
 The march due west across the peninsula to Con- 
 nonore occupied about a week and we were very 
 pleased to be at the end of our long march. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 MILITARY DUTIES INFLUENCE OF MISSIONS ON SOCIAL 
 
 LIFE OF MILITARY CAMPS ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY 
 
 1 ASSUME THE ROLE OF "THE WHITE YOGl" 
 
 Military duties now again occupied our minds 
 in the usual way. We much enjoyed the sea-bath- 
 ing, which was more or less enlivened by the preva- 
 lence of man-eating sharks off that coast. 
 
 In Cannonore we had a branch of the Basil Mis- 
 sion, of which Dr. Weisman was the most active 
 leader. Brother Weisman was a great musician, 
 and formed a choral which met at his residence 
 twice a week ; in this choral I figured with Corpo- 
 ral Flowers in the role of first tenor. Dr. Weis- 
 man 's friendship with the "common" soldiers 
 roused the ire of some of the officers, who asked 
 him why he preferred the company of "common 
 soldiers" to that of the officers. 
 
 To this query the Doctor replied, "I associatte 
 with ' common soldiers, ' as you term them, for the 
 reason that I prefer rather to be in the company 
 of gentlemen than with blackguards." 
 
 My associations with Dr. Weisman were of a 
 very pleasant nature and afforded me many op- 
 portunities to study the work of that mission. 
 
 When the Basil Mission was first established in 
 
 175 
 
176 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 India, the Missionary Board in Germany decided 
 that missionaries sent to India should adopt the 
 customs and manners of the people of their respec- 
 tive territories — in short, to live as natives of the 
 provinces, adopting their costumes and domestic 
 life. The missionaries married Indian women, 
 Tamil, Telegu, Maphla, and even the despised 
 Sudra; as a matter of fact, as very few converts 
 were made among the Brahmin and other high- 
 caste Hindoos, the majority of missionaries' wives 
 were from the low castes and the pariah or out- 
 cast. After some years' experience this custom 
 was discontinued, and the missionaries were al- 
 lowed to live according to European customs, and 
 to marry women of their own country. 
 
 These marriages were, as a rule, a matter of 
 greater speculation to the missionary than were 
 the marriages contracted with the women of India. 
 
 In the latter case he had ample opportunity to 
 study the character of the dusky damsel of his 
 choice, and there were thousands of them for him 
 to select from; whereas brides from Germany 
 were, in many cases, arranged for by proxy, and 
 the missionary had no opportunity to see his 
 future bride until she landed at his station in 
 India, when the marriage ceremony was immedi- 
 ately arranged. 
 
 The wife of my friend, Dr. IVeisman, was sent 
 out to him in this manner ; he knew nothing of her 
 previous to her arrival in India for the marriage 
 ceremony. It is remarkable that such marriages 
 invariably prove to be happy unions. 
 
 He explained to me that he was very well satis- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 177 
 
 fied with the choice made for him, both as to quan- 
 tity and quality, for his wife was a large woman, 
 while he was small of stature. 
 
 In Cannonore our missionary meetings were 
 held every night in the week, the Rev. Mr. Stock- 
 ing, a descendant of the old-time Missionary In- 
 dian Marriage System, who had charge of the local 
 mission under the direction of other missionaries. 
 These meetings were attended by both military 
 and civil European, Eurasian and Indian Chris- 
 tians, and gave me an opportunity to make many 
 pleasant acquaintances, which enabled me to come 
 in close touch with the various classes and to study 
 the domestic and economic conditions of the coun- 
 try. 
 
 At Calicut, a few miles from Cannonore, the 
 Basil Mission had an extensive weaving estab- 
 lishment, an institution which was very beneficial 
 to the Indian converts. 
 
 The practice of the Indian Yogi in the applica- 
 tion of so-called charms, ceremonials and incan- 
 tations of magic and mystery for the treatment of 
 disease has ever been universally condemned by 
 the regular physicians of Europe and America. 
 
 The following extract taken from the medical 
 encyclopedia by one of the most progressive and 
 successful physicians of America, the late R. T. 
 Trail, M. D., is a fair expression of the sentiments 
 of the Occidental medical profession on this sub- 
 ject. 
 
 In the part treating on "Medical History," we 
 find the following : ' ' The diligent student of medi- 
 
178 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 cal history cannot fail to discover that the ancient 
 and more ignorant practitioners were more suc- 
 cessful in curing diseases than are the modern and 
 wiser physicians." 
 
 The reader will observe that the poor "ignor- 
 ant" and "superstitious" physician of a less civil- 
 ized age had much more to be thankful for than his 
 "modern and wiser" medical brethren, viz., 
 greater success as a scientist with his so-called 
 "ignorance," than the modern physician with his 
 so-called wisdom. This fact evidently did not es- 
 cape Dr. Trail, as shown by the following qualifi- 
 cation, which is equally absurd. 
 
 ' ' The remedial agents of the ancients were com- 
 paratively inert and comparatively harmless, and, 
 while they inspired their patients with a due 
 degree of confidence and hope by the charms and 
 ceremonials of magic and mystery, they really 
 relied on judicious hygienic regulations to aid and 
 assist nature in effecting the cure. 
 
 ' ' Modern intelligence repudiates the arts and in- 
 cantations of a less civilized age; and in their 
 stead has substituted the stronger potencies of 
 modern invention, while the habits of living and 
 thinking with medical, as well as with other men, 
 have become so unnatural and artificial that, in 
 managing diseases, hygienic agencies are almost 
 wholly overlooked." 
 
 It is customary to offer prayers for the sick 
 throughout the Christian world. That is quite 
 right. But, if the Oriental prays or intones thus : 
 "Please have mercy, O God! Please have mercy, 
 God! Please have mercy, God;" or, again, 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 179 
 
 " Please give strength, O God! Please give 
 strength, God! Please give strength, God!" 
 they are uttering " incantations or ceremonials of 
 magic and mystery. ' ' 
 
 In the year 1903 a number of medical societies 
 in the United States of America adopted a reso- 
 lution requesting the establishment of a psycho- 
 physical laboratory in the Department of the In- 
 terior, at Washington, D. C, for the practical ap- 
 plication of physiologcal-psychology to abnormal 
 or pathological data, such as is found in public in- 
 stitutions for the criminal insane, and as observed 
 in hospitals and schools, and in the defective 
 classes generally." 
 
 Practically all universities in the civilized 
 world now have chairs of psychology. But, the 
 masters of psychology, physiological-psychology, 
 and transcendental-psychology in India, where the 
 science was cradled and brought to a perfection 
 as far transcending the superficial knowledge of 
 the Occidental "Professor" as the light of the sun 
 transcends that of the twinkling star, are still per- 
 forming their "incantations and ceremonials of 
 magic and mystery. ' ' 
 
 As previously stated, one of the objects of my 
 being in India was to seek enlightenment as to the 
 nature and value of the "arts, charms, incanta- 
 tions, and ceremonials of magic and mystery." 
 
 About the month of August, 1880, 1 had my first 
 opportunity to apply the "ceremonials," or, if I 
 may be permitted the scientific term "physiologi- 
 cal-psychology," to abnormal pathological data. 
 
 My first case was that of Private Ely Story, age 
 
ISO Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 twenty-four, Company C, Second Battalion, Bed- 
 fordshires, at Cannonore. 
 
 Private Story was not only a temperate but a 
 religious man, of a very quiet demeanor and ami- 
 able disposition. It had been noticed that Story 
 had been quieter than usual for some weeks pre- 
 vious to the incident I am about to relate. 
 
 One morning before reveille the whole regiment 
 was aroused by a maniacal yell that made every 
 man shudder. The next instant a couple of hun- 
 dred men jumped from their beds and darted off 
 in hot pursuit of Private Story, whose mind had 
 been affected by the sun. 
 
 Two or three hundred flying shirt-tails, vainly 
 trying to overtake their owners in their headlong 
 rush across the barrack square, was an exhibition 
 that I had not seen equalled on any stage in 
 Europe or America ; even Coney Island, New York, 
 can not boast of such a spectacle. 
 
 The flying legs represented the long and short, 
 the thick and thin of Her Majesty's Second 
 "Beds," and as I witnessed it I could not help but 
 wish that Her Majesty had been present to review 
 this impromptu shirt-tail parade. 
 
 The unfortunate patient reached the bath- 
 houses well in the lead of the foremost of his pur- 
 suers, where he most effectually barricaded him- 
 self against capture. 
 
 I was sleeping in the same room as the patient, 
 but waited to partially dress myself before going 
 out. I then went over to the bath-houses, where, 
 by the time I arrived, about one-half of the regi- 
 ment, attired and unattired, were endeavoring to 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 181 
 
 gain admission by the doors and windows. One 
 would have supposed that the whole noisy mob 
 had just been let loose from " Bedlam." 
 
 The pounding on doors and windows, and the 
 shouting was sufficient to drive even a sane man 
 crazy. 
 
 As practically all the senior non-commissioned 
 officers of the company were present, I, being 
 merely a recruit, had no right to assume com- 
 mand. However, I called for silence and ordered 
 the men from the doors and windows. 
 
 I suggested that some of them would look better 
 if they would return to their rooms and put on 
 Her Majesty's uniform; then, turning to the color 
 sergeant, I said, "Make the men retire and I will 
 attend to Story." 
 
 Order having been restored, I called, very 
 quietly, "Ely!" A few seconds later Ely's face 
 appeared at the window at which I was gazing. 
 Without noticing the crowd of men, Story 
 looked directly at me. I simply said in a quiet 
 tone, "Come!" He immediately climbed down 
 from the window and opened the door. I received 
 him at the door, placing my arm in a brotherly 
 way about his shoulders. I thus escorted him 
 through the astonished crowd, which he did not 
 appear to notice in any way ; nor did he speak. On 
 reaching the barrack-room, I dressed him and took 
 him to the military hospital by order of the Color 
 Sergeant. 
 
 He was admitted to the hospital and duly regis- 
 tered as a mental case. Two men were detailed 
 to be with him constantly in a private ward. For 
 
182! Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 a number of days I was the only person whose 
 presence the patient seemed to recognize. 
 
 He would do anything I asked him to do, but 
 only spoke incoherently. 
 
 My power was recognized, and I was accord- 
 ingly allowed to attend to him at any time, day or 
 night. I made frequent visits and devoted con- 
 siderable time to my comrade. In about a week 
 Story was once more in his normal mental and 
 physical condition. In another week he was dis- 
 charged from the hospital, cured. Story continu- 
 ed thereafter in perfect health during the remain- 
 ing years of his service. 
 
 Reference to the regimental and hospital records 
 will substantiate the above account. My connec- 
 tion with the case was widely discussed in the regi- 
 ment, and that and other incidents unfortunately 
 caused me to be "dubbed" in the regiment with 
 the sobriquet of "Jesus Christ, , ' and later, by the 
 Indians, "The White Yogi," and the "Great 
 Royal Physician." 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 AT MALLIAPURAM— I VISIT THE WARLIKE MAPHLAS— 
 
 IN MAPHLA TOWN— THE SACRED TEMPLE OF TAL- 
 
 LIPARAMBA— A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH 
 
 TIGER IN BED WITH A COBRA 
 
 After about six months in Cannonore I was or- 
 dered with my company, to Malliapuram, a detach- 
 ment furnished from the garrison of Cannonore. 
 
 The inhabitants of this district were principally 
 the Maphla tribe, which has probably given the 
 British Government more trouble than any other 
 race in India. A short time before my company 
 was sent there a rebellion took place and the bar- 
 racks of the British troops were destroyed by fire 
 by the Maphlas. 
 
 The only buildings left standing were the mar- 
 ried quarters, which were later occupied by the 
 troops. Many British soldiers, it was said, had 
 lost their lives or had mysteriously disappeared 
 by venturing into Maphla town. 
 
 The district at fhe time I arrived was "out of 
 bounds." In other words, there was a regimental 
 order prohibiting soldiers from entering Maphla 
 
 town. 
 
 The military order in question did not prevent 
 my venturing into this district, from which it was 
 
 183 
 
184 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 said no individual soldier ever returned. One 
 morning about nine o'clock, I entered Maphla 
 town. The principal thoroughfare is a narrow 
 street, a little more than a mile in length. I had 
 proceeded only about twenty yards when a Maphla 
 called to me from an upper window, and speaking 
 in English ordered me to go back; at the same 
 time asking me if I did not know that I was in 
 Maphla town, and that no white man ever suc- 
 ceeded in passing to the end of the street, or in re- 
 turning. 
 
 I replied to him in Hindoostani that I had heard 
 about Maphla Town and the Maphla people, and 
 that as I was interested in all that I had heard of 
 their daring attacks on individual soldiers and 
 also upon the garrison from time to time ; I wanted 
 to know more of this warlike race from personal 
 observation. The man showed great apparent 
 concern and repeatedly urged upon me to leave 
 the place while I had the opportunity. 
 
 He called my attention to the large number of 
 men congregating on either side of the street at a 
 cross-road about half way through the town. 
 
 He said, "You see the number of men is in- 
 creasing. All the Maphlas are gathering at the 
 cross-roads. There are many more on either side 
 whom you can not see. You can not go past them. 
 You will disappear either to the right or to the 
 left. ,, 
 
 I smilingly assured him that I did not believe 
 that his people were quite as bad as they had been 
 painted. If they had molested soldiers in their 
 town or had attacked the troops that were in gar- 
 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 185 
 
 rison such attacks had originated through some 
 imaginary or actual grievance. They would soon 
 see that they could have no cause for offense at 
 my presence among them, for the reason that I 
 neither intended to offer nor take offense. "My 
 visit is made in consequence of the interest I have 
 in the welfare of your people, and your friendly 
 advice to me assures me that my confidence in the 
 Maphlas is not misplaced." With a respectful 
 salaam, he left the window. 
 
 When I entered the street it was a busy thor- 
 oughfare; with the exception of the gathering 
 crowd of men at the cross-way referred to, the 
 street was deserted. As I walked along, casually 
 glancing at the houses, I observed that while quiet- 
 ness reigned supreme there were people quietly 
 watching my approach ; and, as I got further down 
 the street I observed that business had been re- 
 sumed in my rear, while the number of men at the 
 crossing showed signs of restless activity, some 
 disappearing around the corners as others ap- 
 peared. 
 
 It was apparent to me that an attack was in- 
 tended and that the resumption of business activ- 
 ity and noise, made by the venders, was intended 
 to cover the assault from observation from the out- 
 skirts of the town. When I came to within thirty 
 yards of the cross-road about fifty men were in 
 view on either side and evidence of a number being 
 behind or in the buildings. After having ad- 
 vanced about ten paces more, the Maphlas came 
 into the open and formed a line across the street. 
 On either side of the street business had now been 
 

 186 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 resumed. I went up to a fruit vender on the 
 right-hand side and purchased some green cocoa- 
 nuts, bananas and other fruits and asked the fruit 
 vender to kindly present them with my compli- 
 ments to his fellow people, and to thank them for 
 the courtesy they had shown me in having thus 
 left their business to accord me so hearty a re- 
 ception; to say that I appreciated the honor paid 
 to me and regretted that my limited knowledge of 
 the language did not admit of my giving any ade- 
 quate expression of my appreciation of their loy- 
 alty and friendship. 
 
 The astonished fruit vender looked at me as 
 though he wondered whether I had taken leave of 
 my senses, or, if I really thought the town had 
 turned out in my honor. 
 
 The natural politeness characteristic in the 
 Asiatic races asserted itself in my friend the fruit 
 vender, and, stepping from the porch he ap- 
 proached certain men whom I had already singled 
 out as the chiefs of the town. He delivered my 
 message of thanks and informed them of my gift 
 of fruits. I had myself approached the party be- 
 fore the chiefs had recovered from their surprise, 
 and invited them to step to the store and accept 
 of my hospitality of refreshing milk from the 
 green cocoanuts and other fruits. 
 
 The party then came to the fruit vender's and 
 enjoyed the cocoanut milk; there not being enough 
 cocoanuts to go round, a larger supply was 
 brought from the neighboring bazaar. The 
 Maphla chief insisted upon paying for the major 
 portion of the fruit. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 187 
 
 A moment or two after the invitation to my 
 newly-made friends, my former acquaintance of 
 the window dialogue approached me with a pro- 
 found salaam, and congratulated me upon my fear- 
 lessness and graciousness, both of which quali- 
 ties, the Maphlas, as a race, ardently admire, and 
 assured me that I would always be welcome in 
 Maphla Town. 
 
 Some of the leading men, including my first ac- 
 quaintance, whose names I can not recall, as the 
 incident occurred about twenty-eight years ago, 
 escorted me to the other end of the town and 
 showed me every courtesy. 
 
 The above incident and many other observations 
 in various parts of India during my long experi- 
 ence in that country convinced me many years ago 
 that the solution of the problem of the peaceful 
 and successful administration of the Indian Em- 
 pire; the removal of famines and promotion of 
 prosperity amongst its three hundred millions in- 
 habitants, lies not in the " mailed hand" repre- 
 sented by the 60,000 British troops and an Indian 
 Army, but in the establishment of equity and jus- 
 tice in our commercial and political relations 
 within the Empire ; so, too, the solution of the per- 
 plexing problem of universal peace, now agitating 
 the civilized world, lies in the establishment of the 
 "Reign of the Law" — Equity and Justice in the 
 administration of political and commercial re- 
 lations in and between the great centers of Occi- 
 dental and Oriental civilization. 
 
 My experience in Malliapuram was pleasant. 
 I went about a great deal in the surrounding coun- 
 
188 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 try where the British soldier had never been in 
 the memory of some of the oldest residents. 
 
 On one occasion I paid a visit in company with 
 my faithful comrade and friend, Benjamin Hor- 
 nett, to Talliparamba, about sixteen miles distant. 
 
 That the people of this quaint religious town had 
 never seen a white man, with the exception of our 
 friend the missionary, Dr. Weismann, may be seen 
 from the fact that half the town came out at least a 
 mile to meet us when they saw us coming along 
 the road toward the town. We visited the Mis- 
 sion there, where Dr. Weismann was staying at 
 the time. 
 
 Each time we went out to see the interesting 
 sights of the surrounding country, of which we 
 could get a splendid view from the surrounding 
 hills, hundreds of natives followed at a respectful 
 distance. There is a temple standing on a hill, 
 which is closed to all but the faithful. Dr. Weis- 
 mann presented a deputation of the principal rep- 
 resentatives of the town, who were much pleased 
 at our voluntary assurance that we respected the 
 religious faith of all people as we did also their 
 sacred temples, and that we recognized the truth 
 of the text of their sacred 
 
 Eig Veda X, 82, 3. 
 "He who is our Father that begot us, He who is 
 
 the Creator, 
 He who knows all places and all creatures, 
 He who gave names to the gods, being One only, 
 To Him all creatures go, to ask HIM." 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 189 
 
 Ekam eva advitiyam — "There is but One Being, 
 no second." 
 
 And we hold that religion is broad enough to 
 accept the spirit of the following beautiful lines : 
 
 "There is, we know, one primitive and sure re- 
 ligion pure — 
 
 Unchanged in spirit, though its forms and codes 
 wear myriad modes — 
 
 Contains all creeds within its mighty span — 
 
 The love of God displayed in love for man. ' ' 
 
 One afternoon, shortly after my arrival in Mal- 
 liapuram, when passing the barracks to my quar- 
 ters, I met the officer commanding the station, Ma- 
 jor F. F. Johnstone. Saluting him, I was about to 
 pass on my way when he interrupted me with the 
 surprising question, "Corporal Norman, where 
 are your stripes?" 
 
 "I replied that the only stripes I had were in 
 my trousers, unless he took my good-conduct badge 
 for a corporal's stripe." 
 
 If I was surprised at the question, a greater 
 surprise was quickly to follow. His next remark 
 was, "You are in orders to-day for lance-corporal. 
 You ought to have been shown the orders. Go at 
 once to the tailor's shop and have your stripes 
 attached." 
 
 "But, sir, I have protested for the last three 
 years that I did not wish for promotion." 
 
 "Yes, sir, I know you have; and had you not 
 
190 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 been such a fool in having refused promotion you 
 would have had a commission by this time instead 
 of a lance-corporal's stripe. Promotion goes very 
 slowly in India, but I congratulate you in having 
 won the respect and confidence of the officers, non- 
 commissioned officers, and men to the extent that 
 the first step has been given you without your 
 knowledge or application; I wish you every suc- 
 cess." 
 
 Two incidents occurred shortly after this which 
 threatened in each case to bring my career as a 
 non-commissioned officer to a sudden end. 
 
 The first incident occurred the day following my 
 promotion. It was my first experience as com- 
 mander of the guard, having charge of all the de- 
 tachment posts. 
 
 After having posted my sentries at 2 A. M., I 
 threw myself upon my cot, which was standing 
 across the open door of the guard room, in order 
 to receive the full benefit of the fresh air. I was, 
 of course, fully dressed and wearing my side arms, 
 prepared to turn out at any instant. 
 
 The officer of the day might visit the guard, or 
 an alarm might be given at any moment ; but, fail- 
 ing these I was free to take a nap until time to 
 send out relief sentries at 4 A. M., unless I should 
 wish to go my rounds of the sentries in the mean- 
 time. 
 
 I was enjoying a quiet doze, a light sleep 
 through which I could distinctly hear the sentry 
 pacing to and fro just in front of the guard-room 
 about 3 A. M. 
 
 His post extended only about fifteen paces to 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 191 
 
 the right and left of the guard-room doOr. Hence 
 very little danger of the guard being surprised 
 without knowledge of the sentry. My nap was 
 suddenly terminated by something bounding onto 
 my cot. I was conscious that the creature, what- 
 ever it might be, was in search of prey, and that 
 it was standing over me, as I felt its heated breath 
 close to my face. 
 
 Opening my eyes, I looked up to see — the 
 dreaded tiger which had been terrorizing the town 
 and which a number of officers and men had been 
 hunting with rifles for two days. The beast had 
 me at a disadvantage, as his position, standing 
 across my body, rendered it impossible for me to 
 seize him by the throat or to move without the 
 brute anticipating my action. My only chance 
 seemed to be that the sentry, looking in at the 
 door as he passed, could shoot the beast as he 
 stood over me, but this was only problematical, 
 as his attention is supposed to be directed in any 
 other quarter than gaping into the guard room. 
 
 I accordingly struck up friendly relations with 
 my visitor. As I heard the sentry approaching the 
 door, I said, "Hello! Tiger, old man, how are 
 you?" 
 
 The sentry, thinking I was talking in my sleep, 
 was about to pass by, but casually glanced in at 
 the door. There was a light in the guard-room, 
 and he was only five paces from me. He was hor- 
 rified at what he saw and halted. I gave a quiet 
 order: "Load, and fire!" 
 
 He brought his rifle to the "ready," and opened 
 the breech to load, when the tiger, thinking di's- 
 
193 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 cretion the better part of valor, bounded off my 
 cot and out of the open door, passing the sentry 
 before that astonished individual could thrust 
 him with his bayonet. 
 
 The beast had again escaped — and so had I es- 
 caped a most horrible death from hydrophobia, — 
 for Tiger was a huge mad dog. He had hitherto 
 been the Mascot of the regiment, and was named 
 " Tiger," as he bore a striking resemblance to the 
 tiger in size, color and strength. Tiger was the 
 property of a bugler. Any pensioner of the Bed- 
 fordshires who served at Malliapuram at that time 
 will recall both the faithful Mascot, the above in- 
 cident and the sad end of old "Tiger." He was 
 shot by a search party later in the day. 
 
 A few days later I was placed in charge of the 
 regimental post-office and coffee-shop, which stood 
 in an isolated place on the bank of the river. 
 
 Immediately behind the building was a steep 
 embankment of about a hundred feet, densely cov- 
 ered with an undergrowth, forming a safe retreat 
 for thousands of reptiles and wild beasts. The 
 barracks formerly destroyed by the Maphlas had 
 stood on the wide area which now separated me 
 from the regimental quarters. 
 
 A few nights after taking charge of my new 
 duties I had undressed and put out the light pre- 
 paratory to retiring. It being the hot season I 
 threw back the sheet and stretched my weary body 
 on the bed. I had no sooner done so, however, than 
 I had a sudden inspiration to get up again. As a 
 student of psychology I had frequently profited by 
 my knowledge of physiological-psychology, but at 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 193 
 
 last I had embraced the wisdom of the serpent — I 
 was not only lying with, but on, a deadly cobra. 
 
 The blissful communion of "a man and a maid" 
 bears no comparison with the psychological effect 
 on ' ' a man with a cobra. ' ' 
 
 As with the one so with the other, they are 
 branches of transcendental knowledge attained 
 only by experience. The magical sensation experi- 
 enced by a weary warrior when he feels the circle 
 or coil of wisdom — the clammy folds of a serpent 
 in communion with the lumbar regions of his 
 psycho-physical being must be experienced to be 
 appreciated. 
 
 I can only say that the intercommunion so elec- 
 trifies and vitalizes the highest cortical centers that 
 perfect connection between mind and matter is 
 established like a flash of chain lightning, and, lo ! 
 the man of knowledge has become "as wise as a 
 serpent" — the natural issue of the social congress. 
 Moral. — Let him who seeks wisdom, go to Eden, 
 and, like Adam, embrace the serpent, 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 A FALSE ALARM! THE BLIND MISSIONARY A TRUE 
 
 ROMANCE 1 REFUSE THE MANAGEMENT OF A 
 
 LARGE TEA AND COFFEE PLANTATION 
 
 " PANGS OF REGRET" 
 
 When taking over my duties as manager of the 
 regimental post-office and coffee-shop I was ad- 
 vised to be on the alert for hostile Maphlas, who 
 prowled about the military lines at night. One 
 night, shortly after midnight, I was awakened by 
 stealthy footsteps of some bare-footed person or 
 persons at the back of my quarters. Taking my 
 rifle and twenty rounds of ammunition, I went out- 
 side to investigate without attempting to awaken 
 my assistant, lest in doing so I should alarm the 
 enemy. 
 
 Should his assistance be necessary the first shot 
 would call him and the whole garrison to arms. 
 
 All was clear in front of the building; the in- 
 truders were now coming along the north side, 
 evidently to attack either through the north win- 
 dow or for the purpose of entering the front door. 
 It may be stated that owing to the heat both door 
 and windows were open. 
 
 To forestall an attack through the window, 
 which might prove fatal to my assistant, Private 
 
 194 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 195 
 
 Cooper, I turned the corner and brought my rifle 
 to my shoulder, covering the man who was then 
 looking in at the window. My sudden movement 
 so startled the disturber of my peaceful slumbers 
 that he jumped and yelled as I thought only a 
 frightened man could yell. Not wishing to send 
 a man into the next world while laboring under 
 such a mental shock, I spared his life. It was — 
 Private Cooper taking a little fresh air in his 
 pajamas, contrary to orders. 
 
 In the latter part of 1881, not having yet be- 
 come acclimated, and having suffered as most 
 men do from the change of climate and mode of 
 life during the first two years, I was ordered to 
 the Health Station of Wellington, near Ootaca- 
 mund. This Health Station serves for all troops 
 in the South West of India. 
 
 I became an assistant master in the military 
 school, where I remained through my first season 
 in Wellington. 
 
 As the junior member of the teachers' staff and 
 as the junior non-commissioned officer, I was as- 
 signed to the primary grade with the children and 
 to the fourth grade of the men. In the absence 
 of the head master from his class in the High 
 School with the children and the first and second 
 grades for non-commissioned officers, it was cus- 
 tomary to have the first assistant master, a ser- 
 geant, take his classes. A few days after my 
 appointment I called to take charge of the head 
 master's classes over the heads of my superiors. 
 
 During my second season, I was in the pay- 
 master's office. My evenings were mostly spent in 
 
196 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 participating in missionary meetings at Coonoor, 
 about three miles distant from Wellington, or at- 
 tending choral practice and social gatherings, be- 
 ing a member of the church choir; the Rev. Mr. 
 Browne was the army chaplain at that time, and 
 thus passed a most enjoyable and edifying time. 
 
 It was my custom to go up to Ootacamund every 
 Saturday afternoon, situated about ten miles fur- 
 ther up the Ghats from Wellington, to remain 
 over the week-end. The reader will probably be 
 of the opinion that there must have been some 
 great attraction to induce me to take a weekly 
 climb from ten to twelve miles up the mountain 
 side. To satisfy their curiosity I will relate what 
 the attraction was. 
 
 The pastor of the English Baptist Church of 
 Ootacamund at that time was the Rev. Mr. Pearce, 
 who was spending the "winter" of his long mis- 
 sionary service in the peace and quietude of that 
 European settlement in the bosom of the Nilgiri 
 Hills. 
 
 Mr. Pearce has, no doubt, long since gone to his 
 reward for his long labors in the Master's vine- 
 yard, for at that time in 1881-2 he was well beyond 
 the age of four score years. 
 
 He was totally blind and rather feeble. It was 
 a joy to him, however, to continue in the pastorate 
 of his church, notwithstanding his great age and 
 sore affliction. It was my pleasure and privilege 
 to read from the Scriptures and other works to 
 him, and the greater privilege of profiting by the 
 wise and fatherly counsels of that saintly patri- 
 arch. It was also my pleasure to assist the pastor 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 197 
 
 at the church services on each Sabbath; the read- 
 ing of the lessons and hymns falling to me. 
 
 I can not touch upon the social privileges afford- 
 ed by the many pleasant associations in Ootaca- 
 mund without first paying due honor to the lov- 
 ing devotion of Mrs. Peabody-Pearce to her hus- 
 hand. 
 
 Mrs. Pearce herself had been for many years a 
 missionary in India. She was less than one-half 
 the age of Mr. Pearce, whom she married when he 
 was over eighty years of age, blind, and otherwise 
 afflicted, in order that she might nurse him and 
 care for him during his last days on earth. Words 
 utterly fail to adequately express the devoted man- 
 ner in which she carried out this self-imposed ser- 
 vice to the aged man of God. I can only describe 
 their home as being the nearest appro'ach to the 
 "Holy of Holies" of anything of which it is possi- 
 ble to conceive upon earth. Mrs. Pearce is an 
 American lady, and related to the celebrated Pea- 
 body family, of which the inventor of the famous 
 Peabody rifle was also a member. 
 
 Mrs. Pearce, I have no doubt, is still living at 
 "Woodend," a beautiful bungalow in Octacamund, 
 the building of which I was privileged to assist 
 in supervising in the year 1882. 
 
 I received an invitation to spend some weeks 
 with my friends, the Rev. and Mrs. Pearce, an 
 invitation which I highly appreciated and accept- 
 ed. I arrived on Saturday evening. Many dis- 
 tinguished guests were present from Octacamund 
 and elsewhere; among others was a young and 
 most beautiful French widow, whose name for ob- 
 
198 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 vious reasons I will omit. The responsibility of 
 the management of a very large estate had been 
 thrust upon her by the death of her husband, a 
 great undertaking for a lady so young and lovely, 
 as the successful management of such an estate 
 necessarily involves not only experience, but con- 
 stant supervision over a large number of coolies, 
 scattered over a vast area, and the thousand and 
 one duties connected with the business of the 
 estate. 
 
 One morning Mrs. Peabody-Pearce surprised 
 me by stating that my French friend, Madame 
 
 , had expressedia wish that I would undertake 
 
 the management of her tea and coffee plantation. 
 
 Looking at Mrs. Pearce, I replied, "I am sur- 
 prised that Madame should have made such 
 
 a request. She is so talented and accomplished 
 and such a good business woman that I can not 
 understand why she should desire to place her 
 large estate in the hands of a young and inexpe- 
 rienced man like me. She needs the friendly 
 counsel of older heads. Please advise her to ob- 
 tain the services of a thoroughly experienced 
 man to take charge of her estate. She can not be 
 too careful in selecting a man for such a respon- 
 sible position. I would suggest that she commu- 
 nicate with some reputable agents to secure the 
 services of a man of integrity, one who can be re- 
 lied upon to protect her interests." 
 
 ''But," persisted Mrs. Pearce, " Madame 
 
 says she can rely upon you to protect her inter- 
 ests. She wants you to manage her estate. She 
 is quite aware that you are inexperienced in the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 199 
 
 management of tea and coffee plantations, but she 
 says, and I agree with her, that after two or three 
 years' experience you would be a past master in 
 the business of tea and coffee raising" (this with 
 a smile). 
 
 "It is inconceivable," I said, "why Madame 
 should put herself to the unnecessary ex- 
 pense of paying double salaries during the time 
 I would be learning the business, when she can at 
 once obtain the services of a proficient manager." 
 
 Mrs. Pearee smiled and said, "I fear that you 
 are almost as inexperienced in the ways of a 
 woman as you are in growing coffee. To speak 
 
 plainly, Madame has fallen in love with you 
 
 and wants you to manage her. She appreciates 
 your gentlemanly bearing and courtesy to the 
 ladies, and I take this opportunity to thank you 
 for your tact and diplomacy in the company of my 
 guests and the young ladies of my school (refer- 
 ring to the Young Ladies ' Seminary of which she 
 was principal). I hope you will see more of Mad- 
 ame and that you will, in due time, become 
 
 the proprietor of the estate." 
 
 Much to Mrs. Pearee 's surprise, and to Mad- 
 ame 's grief, I explained that it was utterly 
 
 impossible for me to think of marriage at that 
 
 time. I could not help but admire Madame 
 
 very much and wished I could serve her, but that 
 I owed my duty to my country, the details of 
 which I could not explain, and that in carrying 
 out my duty to my country, I was also performing 
 a most sacred duty to my mother. Personal in- 
 
200 Memoirs of Prince John Be GuelpJi 
 
 terests and feelings could not, therefore, be taken 
 into consideration at the expense of duty. 
 
 Madame , although much affected by the 
 
 disappointment, expressed her appreciation of my 
 sentiments. I am not ashamed to acknowledge 
 that I had, myself, fallen in- love with the beau- 
 tiful French lady before I learned anything about 
 her estates or wealth, and that it was not without 
 a pang of regret that I had to turn from a love 
 so noble as that offered to me in this remarkable 
 manner. 
 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 I REJOIN MY REGIMENT MILITARY LIFE IN BURMA — 
 
 AN EXCITING TIME WITH A COMPANY OF MADRAS 
 
 NATIVE INFANTRY 1 LEAVE THE ARMY 
 
 APPOINTED INSPECTOR OF POLICE AN 
 
 EXCITING ARREST 
 
 Early in 1883, 1 bade good-bye to my friends of 
 Ootacamund and Wellington to rejoin the head- 
 quarters of my regiment, which during my ab- 
 sence had removed from the Malabar coast to 
 Thayetmye (Taw-Kyoung), then the frontier sta- 
 tion of lower Burma. Here, for the first time in 
 my service, I was assigned to regimental duty. 
 
 A few days after joining my regiment I passed 
 my final examination in military tactics as com- 
 pany and battalion commander. I was, shortly 
 afterwards, promoted to the rank of corporal and 
 assigned to Company G., Captain W. A. Aid- 
 worth. I took up the study of the Burmese lan- 
 guage as well as that of the customs and man- 
 ners of the people and their religion, Buddhism. 
 Here, again, I was a member of the church choir 
 of the late Rev. Mr. Briscoe, Army Chaplain. 
 
 In Thayetmyo our missionary meetings were 
 attended by many Eurasians, which new associa- 
 201 
 
202 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 tions afforded me a channel through which to 
 come in closer contact with the Burmese than I 
 could otherwise have done while in the British 
 service. 
 
 A very pathetic case of the tragic death, follow- 
 ing a remarkable dream, of one of our men is of 
 such value to psychologists that I will relate it. 
 
 Private 's (whose name I do not recall, 
 
 but which case can be easily verified) cot was next 
 to mine in the barrack-room, of which I had 
 charge. On the day in question a sham battle 
 was ordered. My regiment was to form part of 
 the invading army to capture the garrison town 
 of Thayetmyo. Eevielle sounded about 1.30 A. M. 
 On getting up to dress for the field-day, Private 
 
 came to me and explained that he had had 
 
 a dream which made him feel very bad. I asked 
 him to relate the dream to me, and added that if 
 there was any way in which I could relieve his 
 mind I would be pleased to do so. Being thus en- 
 couraged he stated as follows : 
 
 "I dreamed that we had inarched out from the 
 barracks to the country and after having been 
 formed in order for attack upon the Thayetmyo 
 Fort, the return march was commenced. I was 
 attached to the section of which you had command 
 in escalading the walls of the fort. The attack 
 in our advance across the open plain to the Fort 
 was all very vivid to me. At length we reached 
 the moat under heavy fire from the artillery and 
 infantry defending the fort. The attacking party 
 reached the walls in good order; escalading lad- 
 ders were placed against the wall. As I said be- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 203 
 
 fore, I was with your section in the escalading 
 party; you, being in command, were the first to 
 ascend the ladder. I followed at your heels. As 
 you stepped onto the rampart I had reached the 
 top of the ladder, and, as you stepped to the 
 right, I stepped onto the parapet. I had no sooner 
 done so than I was killed by the gun trained over 
 our ladder. 
 
 "I am not superstitious and much less a coward, 
 but, you know I have served ten months over my 
 time and go home by the first troop-ship next 
 month. My dear old mother has been counting 
 the days for more than a year, thinking, of course, 
 that I ought to have been sent home when my 
 time was up. It would be a terrible blow to her 
 if I should not go home." 
 
 On hearing the recital of this dream, and re- 
 membering equally remarkable dreams of my own 
 which had come true, I called the orderly corporal 
 
 and ordered him to put Private 's name on 
 
 the sick list. This action satisfied Private 
 
 for the time being, but, about ten minutes before 
 time for the parade, he said, "I am not sick, and 
 can not shirk my duty even though it be only that 
 of a field-day, on account of a dream." 
 
 He insisted upon attending parade and was 
 killed exactly as he had foreseen, as he stepped on 
 the rampart the instant I had made room for him 
 to step from the ladder. 
 
 This sad fatality was the fault of the gunners 
 who had trained their guns immediately over our 
 ladder, or rather, on the point at which my men 
 would step off. This was contrary to military 
 
204 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 field-day regulations. The parade was under the 
 command of Major General Prendergast. 
 
 At a sham fight in Thayetmyo I was placed in 
 command of a detachment of the Bedfordshires 
 and ordered to attack, and, if possible, capture a 
 company of the 28th Madras Native Infantry of 
 the opposing force. Having driven them from 
 their fortified position, I pursued them across 
 the open plain, and thus put them out of action. 
 The military umpires ordered the buglers to sound 
 the ''cease fire" and " retreat" for the 28th Mad- 
 ras Native Infantry. The Madrases, however, 
 refused to obey orders and continued their fire. 
 The Madras blood was up and as they could not 
 be killed by blank ammunition, they continued to 
 blaze away. Being hard pressed, they finally re- 
 treated in disorder to the compound of a neighbor- 
 ing bungalow after having been driven about a 
 mile and a half across the plains. 
 
 The Bedfordshires in close pursuit were drawn 
 up in front of the wide gate-way before the 28th 
 was prepared for action. I ordered the 28th to 
 "Ground Arms." Instead of obeying this order 
 the officer in charge, who was, like his men, much 
 excited, gave the order, "28th, fix bayonets!" 
 
 It is against orders to "fix bayonets" during a 
 sham fight. It is also against orders for troops 
 to carry ball cartridges on such a field-day (the 
 wisdom of such an order, considering the church 
 parade surprise to the British troops in 1857, is 
 to be questioned). The action of the 28th was, 
 therefore, of a mutinous character, and had to be 
 nipped in the bud; I accordingly determined to 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 205 
 
 give the 28th the scare of their lives. I was credit- 
 ed with having as powerful a word of command as 
 any officer in the garrison. My next command 
 rang out over the plains causing a sensation 
 among the umpires and the general staff, then 
 galloping at top speed toward the scene of mutiny ; 
 the command was, "Bedfordshires, fix bayonets !" 
 "Fire a volley and charge!" "With ball cart- 
 ridge, load ! " " Present ! " " Fire ! ! " 
 
 The umpires had by this time thundered up to 
 the adobe wall surrounding the compound, only 
 to find all the fight taken out of the Madras Native 
 Infantry. Needless to say the (ball) cartridge 
 existed only in the word of command; but the 
 psychological effect produced on the Madras In- 
 fantry would form an amusing subject for the 
 vitograph. 
 
 The officer commanding the 28th was placed 
 under arrest for disobedience of orders, while I 
 was complimented for the tact displayed by my 
 ruse. 
 
 The political unrest in Burma and the conditions 
 under which the people lived caused me to wish 
 for better facilities for investigation than those 
 afforded to me under the restrictions of military 
 discipline and the disadvantages of being a soldier 
 against which profession much prejudice existed 
 among the people. 
 
 In the month of October, 1884, I purchased my 
 discharge from the army, much against the wish 
 of my commanding officer and the officers of my 
 company. In January, 1885, I was appointed In- 
 spector of Police and assigned to duty as ship- 
 
206 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ping inspector at Bassein, on the Bassein River. 
 The principal shipping at Bassein is rice, which is 
 shipped to the principal markets of the world. 
 
 My office as shipping inspector afforded me the 
 opportunity to study one of the principal indus- 
 tries of the country, — the rice trade, and also to 
 familiarize myself with the real cause of famines 
 in India. The Government reports published in 
 the official Blue Books show that from 1861 the 
 deficiency of the rainfall in the districts affected 
 by famine was never more than such as would 
 cause a temporary lift in prices. The late William 
 Digby, C. I. E., who was one of the greatest au- 
 thorities on the economic conditions and famines 
 of India, said the increasing frequency and sever- 
 ity of famines in India must be attributed to our 
 system of administration of that Empire. In view 
 of the fact that the British Government had spent 
 several hundred million dollars and had construct- 
 ed the most elaborate irrigation system in the 
 world, advantages not enjoyed previous to the 
 British occupation when famines were much less 
 frequent, it became apparent to me that the prin- 
 cipal cause of this scourge, through which over a 
 hundred million lives had been sacrificed, must 
 be looked for somewhere outside of the adminis- 
 tration. It did not take me long to discover that 
 the real cause of the terrible famines and the 
 consequent wanton sacrifice of life was due to the 
 White Peril in India! Not to British rule or 
 British administration of the domestic affairs of 
 that vast Empire, but to the rapacity of so-called 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 207 
 
 Christian merchants. The White Peril of Robbery 
 in the name of commerce ! 
 
 When capital and influence combine in nefarious 
 intrigue against the Government, the best efforts 
 of the administration to ameliorate the condition 
 of the people are rendered ineffective. 
 
 Much is said against trusts and monopolistic 
 corporations. 
 
 The laws of Great Britain, which also apply to 
 India, are rigidly enforced against monopoly in 
 trade. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that the evils aris- 
 ing from monopoly are due to the dishonesty of 
 the rapacious beasts of prey, called princes of 
 commerce ! 
 
 Monopoly in the various lines of commerce, con- 
 ducted on the lines of co-operative public service 
 organizations under honest and conservative 
 management and progressive policy, would be the 
 greatest boon to the human race. 
 
 Who are the commercial filibusters in India, 
 who despoil the unfortunate people of their prop- 
 erty and their very means of existence ? Are they 
 British merchants and millers? 
 
 If the reader will refer to the business direc- 
 tories of Rangoon, Bassein and Akyab, in Burma, 
 and of the large centres of India, he will find that, 
 with one exception, the rice millers in Burma are 
 all foreign corporations and firms, principally, if 
 not exclusively, Germans ; the one exception being 
 a Chinese firm ; foreigners also control the milling 
 business throughout India. 
 
 To evade the law prohibiting monopoly in trade, 
 
208 Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 
 
 the various rice millers enter into a private agree- 
 ment to control the price of paddy (unhusked rice) 
 the price agreed upon ranging anywhere from 
 sixty per cent, to seventy-five per cent, of the 
 actual cost of production. The same rule applies 
 to the wheat millers in the northwest and in the 
 Punjab, and in fact throughout India, as it does 
 elsewhere; which means that every grain of rice 
 and wheat cultivated in India is produced at the 
 cost of the sweat of ,the Indians ' brow, and princi- 
 pally for exportation without either paying the 
 market value for the commodity to the purchaser 
 or a living wage to the unfortunate coolies in the 
 rice and grain fields. 
 
 About four o'clock one Sunday afternoon in the 
 month of May, 1885, I was in the main street in 
 Bassein when a man reported that a lot of Eu- 
 ropean sailors had murdered a man in one of the 
 outlying districts of the town. Sending my order- 
 ly at the double to call the reserves from the 
 guard, I proceeded to the scene of the crime, ex- 
 pecting that my men would reach there by a dif- 
 ferent route about the same time as myself. I 
 had reached the end of the town, followed by a 
 •crowd of Burmese, and was proceeding along a 
 lonely road when a gang of thirteen half-drunken 
 sailors armed with sticks, whisky bottles, bottles 
 of soda-water, jack-knives and other weapons came 
 into view from, a turn in the road ahead of me. I 
 was unarmed, and with the exception of one pair 
 of handcuffs, had no means to secure so many men 
 even if I could arrest them. I was in mufti, and 
 decided to pass through the crowd. One of the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 209 
 
 gang, however, identified me and with an oath 
 threw a bottle of soda-water at my head. The air 
 seemed alive with bottles and sticks for a few 
 seconds. I arrested my foremost assailant, hand- 
 cuffed him and threw him to the ground. His 
 twelve infuriated companions while waiting their 
 turn for arrest, amused themselves by disposing 
 of their stock of bottles of soda-water by throw- 
 ing the same at my head. Sticks were then 
 brought into play and jack-knives flashed in the 
 air. 
 
 I seized one man who appeared to be the ring- 
 leader of the crowd, and called to a Burman to 
 lend me his goungboung (turban). He threw it 
 to me. With this I tied the hands of my prisoner 
 behind him and threw him down. Other Burmans 
 came forward with their turbans, and I had ar- 
 rested and secured eleven of the thirteen sailors 
 when the men arrived. 
 
 On seeing the approach of the police in force, 
 two men ran away. I ordered the removal of the 
 eleven to the police station, and then went in pur- 
 suit of the other two. About three-quarters of a 
 mile from the starting point I discovered one of 
 the men whose escape had been obstructed by a 
 lot of Burmans ; I arrested him, tied him up and, 
 having made him over to a couple of constables, 
 again took up the chase for the thirteenth man. 
 I overtook him at the highest point of a bridge, 
 where he turned to make his last stand. He was a 
 red-headed Norwegian, six feet four inches and 
 one-half in height, and a big muscular fellow. I 
 could not help but smile as I ran up the grade to 
 
210 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 see this giant with his arms swinging wildly over 
 his head with a whisky bottle in one hand and a 
 bottle of soda in the other. 
 
 Hundreds of Burmese had followed me in the 
 chase ; the noise and din that they set up was final- 
 ly drowned by a sound that seemed like a roll of 
 thunder or an explosion. The Norwegian had 
 been lifted off his feet and had struck on the road 
 over the culvert. The report called forth applause 
 from the crowd. 
 
 The sequel to the foregoing adventure nearly 
 lost me my official head as an Inspector of Police. 
 
 The senior inspector who happened to have been 
 out of town at the time the arrest was made, and 
 who feared a reprimand for his absence, dis- 
 patched me to make an important gambling raid, 
 saying that he would attend to the making up of 
 the charge sheets against the thirteen sailors 
 whom I had arrested. The following morning the 
 Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate, 
 Mr. St. Barb, called me, and, to my astonishment, 
 asked me where I had been on the previous after- 
 noon, and how it was that I had not been present 
 to make the arrests of the sailors charged with 
 murder! Looking at him, I asked, "Have you 
 seen the charge sheets in connection with the case 
 to which you refer?" 
 
 ' ' I have, ' ' he replied, ' ' they were brought to me 
 
 this morning by Inspector B , the arresting 
 
 officer. You will be called upon to explain why 
 you were absent from duty during a serious oc- 
 currence of this nature." 
 
 "Very good, sir, my absence requires no ex- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 211 
 
 planation. I, myself, arrested the thirteen men 
 in question. B is a liar." 
 
 "How dare you make such a statement. Inspec- 
 tor B came to me yesterday immediately fol- 
 lowing the arrest. He was quite exhausted from 
 his terrible encounter, so much so that I had to 
 give him two or three glasses of brandy to revive 
 him." 
 
 At this audacious report of Inspector B I 
 
 could not help but laugh. Turning to the Deputy 
 
 Commissioner again, I said: "Inspector B 
 
 certainly got one on me. Is it too late for me to 
 feel a little faint after the encounter of yesterday? 
 Brandy, please!" 
 
 With that I left the astonished Deputy Commis- 
 sioner, and, going to the District Magistrate's of- 
 fice secured Inspector B 's charge sheets in 
 
 which he had, truly enough, shown himself as the 
 arresting officer. 
 
 Tearing them up, I made out charge sheets in 
 the regular manner and sent them over to the 
 Deputy Commissioner for his signature, which ex- 
 plained my "absence" from this important duty. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 EPIDEMIC OF CHOLERA MY EXPERIENCE IN THE 
 
 CHOLERA SHEDS — I GO TO SLEEP WITH DEAD 
 CONVICTS, VICTIMS OF CHOLERA 
 
 In the month of April, 1885, Mr. Carapeet, as- 
 sistant superintendent of telegraphs, who had been 
 on a tour of inspection, was brought in from the 
 jungles suffering from cholera. He had been at- 
 tacked two days previously and had experienced 
 much difficulty in getting a boatman to bring him 
 down the river to Bassein. His condition was 
 very serious when he reached Bassein. 
 
 He was placed in a gharry (cab) and driven to 
 the central jail about noon in the hope of rinding 
 the civil surgeon, who was also superintendent of 
 the jail. The chief jailer, Mr. Henry H. Harri- 
 son, went from the jail office to the gharry, which 
 was outside of the jail. He was horrified to find 
 Mr. Carapeet on the floor of the gharry in a help- 
 less condition. He ordered the patient to be driv- 
 en at once to the hospital about a hundred and 
 fifty yards away. 
 
 I was in the District Magistrate's Court prose- 
 cuting a case for the Crown when news of poor 
 Carapeet 's condition was brought to me. I im- 
 
 212 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 213 
 
 mediately asked permission of the Court to allow 
 Inspector Beal to take charge of the case in ques- 
 tion, to which he consented. I then hastened to 
 the hospital and remained with poor Carapeet up 
 to the time of his death, three days later. 
 
 The civil surgeon, who was in charge of the case, 
 did not at any time enter the ward to examine the 
 patient. He was afraid, he said, of carrying the 
 infection into the town, which, being interpreted, 
 meant to his own precious carcass. It was this 
 inhuman conduct and criminal neglect which 
 caused me to stay with the patient to console his 
 grief-stricken wife and children. 
 
 Cholera broke out in the jail the evening that 
 Mr. Carapeet was brought into the hospital. 
 
 The morning that I rendered my last service 
 to my friend, that of closing his eyes in death, I 
 was placed in command of a detachment of police 
 detailed to guard the two thousand prisoners re- 
 moved from the jail to camp on account of the 
 cholera epedimic. 
 
 A bamboo cholera shed about 100x20 was erect- 
 ed at the back of the jail which it was thought 
 would accommodate all the cases. 
 
 This cholera shed was soon full, and another 
 shed had to be hastily put up. The daily average 
 number of patients for nearly three weeks was two 
 hundred and fifty to three hundred. The medical 
 staff consisted of the medical officer of the jail, 
 and two hospital assistants (East Indians). The 
 medical officer every morning and evening "visit- 
 ed" the cholera sheds, L e., came within hailing 
 distance, using his hands as a megaphone, inquired 
 
214 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 the number of patients, number of deaths, number 
 of "admissions" and repeating his wise instruc- 
 tions to keep up the same treatment, whatever that 
 might mean, took his departure without having 
 run any risk of contagion ! 
 
 Eealizing that a couple of native hospital assist- 
 ants, no matter how proficient or how zealous to 
 duty, could not possibly cope with the tremendous 
 task evolved in the routine work of admission, 
 and death reports, diet, dispensary, and the thou- 
 sand and one details of a prison hospital, and at 
 the same time give proper attention to two or 
 three hundred cholera cases day and night, I asked 
 for and obtained permission to place my junior 
 officer in command of the guard, and went into 
 the cholera sheds to render what aid I could to 
 the unfortunate convicts. 
 
 For a fortnight the epidemic continued un- 
 abated, and each day the death roll increased. 
 Early in the third week the chief jailor remarked 
 to me that "he had enough of it." The terrible 
 strain of the last fortnight, day and night duty, 
 had, he said, "played him out." He felt that 
 he would himself "fall a victim to the epidemic." 
 
 Mr. Harrison was an athlete; a man of strong 
 will, and weighed three hundred and twenty 
 pounds or more. I endeavored to divert his mind 
 from the melancholy subject, and laughed at his 
 fears of falling a victim of cholera. 
 
 "Why," I said, "the idea is absurd, you have 
 not time even to think about cholera." Leading 
 him away from the vicinity of the cholera sheds, 
 I accompanied him to his quarters and entertained 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 215 
 
 him for half an hour with stories and light conver- 
 sation. I took the precaution to give him a glass 
 of brandy with a few drops of spirits of camphor 
 before leaving him to return to my duty about 11 
 A. M. 
 
 That evening about seven o'clock a messenger 
 brought word to me that Mr. Harrison, the chief 
 jailer, was down with cholera. I at once went to 
 Harrison's quarters and took charge of his case. 
 About 10 P. M. the civil surgeon was announced. 
 As that celebrated physician appeared at the front 
 door and inquired how the patient was (it was not 
 his custom, as previously stated, to risk conta- 
 gion), the patient said, "Do not let that villain 
 come near me, he will kill me as he did poor Cara- 
 peet." 
 
 The doctor expressed his sympathy for Mr. 
 Harrison and further remarked that he was in 
 "good hands." For fifty- four hours I remained 
 with my friend, leaving only at intervals to make 
 a flying visit to the prisoners' camp and cholera 
 shed. About 2 A. M. on the third day after Har- 
 rison's attack, I left him sleeping restfully, and 
 went to the cholera sheds. 
 
 I passed through the first shed, administering 
 medicine to the long rows of patients and also 
 nourishment. I then passed into shed number 
 two, and as I stood for a moment and looked along 
 the ghastly rows of victims of this terrible 
 scourge, lying on either side of the bamboo floor, 
 so close together that in many cases the patients 
 were touching each other and sometimes had to 
 be moved to enable me to step between them, I 
 
216 Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 
 
 experienced for the first time, as poor Harrison 
 had explained, that I too "had had enough of it." 
 The constant strain of nearly three weeks' duty, 
 night and day, spent almost entirely in the cholera 
 sheds, without rest and with but little nourish- 
 ment, with the scene of suffering and death that 
 beggars description ever before me, was beginning 
 to tell upon exhausted nature. I passed along the 
 shed, attending to the patients as I had done in 
 shed number one until I reached the middle of the 
 shed. 
 
 There were about one hundred and fifty cases 
 in the shed. I stepped between two patients to 
 render them a last service. I had to move one 
 of them slightly to enable me to step between 
 them. Kneeling on one knee I remained for some 
 time watching them. I began to think of the hor- 
 rors of the past three weeks ; of the scores of the 
 dead that had been carried out from those sheds. 
 I tried, while watching the two souls passing from 
 before my gaze, to total up the whole number of 
 the three weeks' dead. My thoughts passed to 
 the Great Beyond, and I wondered what would be 
 the future state of all those convicts who had 
 died during the epidemic. I bent over to close 
 down the eyelids of the Burman on my right, a 
 convict no longer — death had released him. 
 "Free — at last," — I involuntarily exclaimed, and 
 I could not help but feel that the future of that 
 patient Buddhist held brighter prospects by far 
 than that of some Christians I had known. The 
 patient on my left breathed his last. As I leaned 
 forward to render the same service to him as I 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 217 
 
 had to the body on my right, my reverie continued, 
 — but in oblivion — I had fainted. 
 
 Exhausted nature had asserted itself and I was 
 " asleep" with the dead, my head pillowed on the 
 breast of a former convict, a corpse. In this posi- 
 tion I was later discovered by the hospital assis- 
 tant who, needless to say, was terribly alarmed. 
 He called for assistance and carried me from the 
 shed. 
 
 The chief jailor made rapid progress, and a few 
 days later the inspector-general of Prisons, Sur- 
 geon General Sinclair, arrived from Rangoon with 
 reinforcements for the Medical Department, one 
 assistant surgeon and four hospital assistants; 
 also a jailor to take up Mr. Harrison's duties. 
 
 News having been brought to me in the cholera 
 sheds about eight o'clock one morning, that the 
 Inspector General and party had arrived at the 
 jail, I proceeded to the jail office. On my way 
 down in front of the jail the inspector general and 
 party were standing in front of the jail gates. 
 When some little distance away I heard Dr. Sin- 
 clair ask the civil surgeon, as he waved his hand 
 in my direction, ''Who is that gentleman?" To 
 which the doctor replied, "The devil, I think." 
 
 That Sinclair was in no mood to tolerate such 
 an unprofessional and ungentlemanly remark, was 
 shown by the manner in which he demanded an 
 explanation. 
 
 "What do you mean, sir?" he said in no gentle 
 tone. The doctor added, "A man who can remain 
 three weeks in a cholera shed without food or sleep 
 
218 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 between two corpses and still live must be the devil 
 if he's anything." 
 
 Sinclair, giving his subordinate a withering 
 look, came forward and extending his hand, said, 
 "Inspector, I am most proud to meet you; and I 
 beg to thank you in the name of Her Majesty, the 
 Queen-Empress, for the service you have ren- 
 dered the Prison Department of which I am the 
 Inspector General. I would like to add that, if at 
 any time you desire the transfer from the police to 
 this department I shall be most proud to welcome 
 you." 
 
 The words of the Inspector General touched me 
 deeply. He did not know how his thanks in the 
 name of the Queen-Empress affected me, and I 
 could not help but wonder what my grandmother 
 would think were she present to see me as I stood, 
 physically exhausted from my long watch over 
 her convict subjects — natives of India. 
 
 I explained to the Inspector General that I had 
 done no more than my duty; first as a public ser- 
 vant ; and, secondly, as a man to my brother man. 
 In thanking him for his kind assurance of a warm 
 welcome to the prison service, I explained that, 
 "being a police officer I may find myself in jail 
 soon enough, as I am of opinion that it is the place 
 where most policemen ought to be." 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 I AMUSE THE GENERAl/s DAUGHTEES DETECTIVE DUTY 
 
 CHASING DACOITS A WILD DRIVE VISIT OP 
 
 THE VICEROY RANGOON EN FETE 
 
 ET EN GRANDE TENUE 
 
 At the close of the shipping season I was trans- 
 ferred to the charge of the Cantonment Division 
 in the capital city of Eangoon. The Cantonment 
 Division, which included the military and Euro- 
 pean section, was the most important charge in 
 the capital. My division covered an extensive ter- 
 ritory outside of the Cantonment lines. My head- 
 quarters faced the ornamental public gardens and 
 was within a hundred yards of the celebrated 
 Shwedagon Pagoda, the place of pilgrimage for 
 Buddhists from all countries. There was a great 
 deal of crime in the city of Rangoon, and violent 
 crime increased from year to year; not that the 
 people of the country were any more dishonest or 
 more murderously disposed after the British oc- 
 cupation than they were previous thereto, when 
 there were no jails, but because of the facts above 
 stated. A petty farmer who spends one thousand 
 dollars to cultivate a crop of rice on a few acres 
 of land, and then is forced to hand it over to the 
 German miller for from six hundred to eight hun- 
 
 219 
 
.":20 Memoirs of Prince John Dc Guelph 
 
 dred dollars soon finds himself under the necessity 
 of looking elsewhere for the support of himself and 
 family. He is forced into crime. 
 
 The General commanding the Division of Ran- 
 goon, whose bungalow stood in the center of large 
 well kept grounds, reported a number of thefts of 
 plants, shrubs and flowers from his beautiful gar- 
 dens. All my efforts to trap the thieves proved 
 futile for some weeks. The General became impa- 
 tient at my apparent incompetency as well as that 
 of the whole force under my command and report- 
 ed to the Inspector-General of Police, Colonel 
 Lowndes, direct, thinking possibly that the Inspec- 
 tor-General might, himself, watch the General's 
 precious shrubs. 
 
 Now there was a military guard of twelve men 
 and two non-commissioned officers on duty at the 
 General's house, and three sentries being on duty 
 in the grounds from which the plants were disap- 
 pearing. I had previously suggested to the Gen- 
 eral that I would station one of my men inside of 
 the grounds to catch the thief, and that it was use- 
 less for me to place a man outside for the reason 
 that in my opinion the thief or thieves were none 
 other than his own sentries or members of his 
 guard. It was this assertion, I think, which led 
 him to report the matter to the Inspector-General. 
 One evening when I returned to my headquarters 
 from a raid on a Chinese illicit still, I found a mes- 
 sage awaiting me from the Inspector-General of 
 Police instructing me to take such measures as I 
 might think necessary to secure the arrest of the 
 thieves of the General's plants. I drove around to 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 221 
 
 the police station of the quarter in which the Gen- 
 eral's residence was located. I ordered a sergeant 
 and four men to take up positions at various points 
 in the grounds and to remain in the shade, without 
 letting the military sentries know of their presence 
 and to remain so concealed while on the lookout 
 for the plant thief. I then drove into the com- 
 pound up to the General's house. My high dog- 
 cart was of a similar build to that of the General 
 commanding the Division. As I drove into the 
 gate in the darkness of the night I observed two 
 beautiful young ladies, daughters of the General, 
 at the window. Simultaneously they cried, ' ' Papa ! 
 papa! — and, turning from the window, ran down- 
 stairs to greet their fond parent. As I pulled up 
 near the house, they ran up to me with the excla- 
 mation, "You dear old thing, you have come home, 
 we are so glad." 
 
 Leaping lightly from my dog-cart I stood before 
 them — a Chinaman! Before they had recovered 
 from their astonishment, extending a hand to each 
 I said, "You little darlings, I am very pleased to 
 be here." 
 
 One of them at last found her tongue, and asked, 
 "Whatever does this mean?" 
 
 Explanations were soon forthcoming. I had 
 been making a call on some Chinese and had 
 dressed in costume for the occasion. Having re- 
 ceived intimation on my return to headquarters 
 of the renewed thefts of their beautiful plants I 
 had lost no time in coming round, lest, perchance, 
 the thieves might steal the two most beautiful 
 flowers in the garden during papa's absence. 
 
&#& Memoirs of Prince John De GuclpJi 
 
 They were naturally interested in me attired as 
 I was, and also in my recent exploit among the 
 Chinese. I entertained the young ladies for some 
 time with accounts of interesting adventures of a 
 police inspector. We had been thus engaged for 
 about twenty minutes when there was some little 
 commotion at a point of the grounds at the back 
 of the house. 
 
 "Whatever is the matter?" cried one of the 
 young ladies. 
 
 " Nothing to alarm you," I said; "some of my 
 men have, I think, caught the flower thief." 
 
 The next moment my sergeant and a couple of 
 men came forward with one of the General's 
 guard, carrying a few choice shrubs. I had de- 
 clined the invitation of the young ladies to go up 
 to the drawing room, as I wished to be on hand in 
 order to be on the ground when the thief was 
 caught, so as to avoid possible complications be- 
 tween the military guard and the police. 
 
 Most of the missions and mission schools and 
 colleges are located in the Cantonment Division of 
 Eangoon. To revise the operations of these insti- 
 tutions through the official field-glass of police a 
 striking contrast is presented to the religious as- 
 pect with which the merely ordinary visitor is 
 impressed. 
 
 My investigations and experience in various de- 
 partments of service, and in the economic and so- 
 cial affairs of Asia, enabled me to observe the dis- 
 advantages under which the Christian missions 
 are laboring, and at the same time to see the weak 
 points in the policy of the various missions 
 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph %%3 
 
 operating in Asia, and the cause of the great mis- 
 sionary failure of which we have heard so much. 
 
 In discussing the missionary question with mis- 
 sionaries both at home and abroad I am forced to 
 the conclusion that the observant official is the 
 critic whose criticism should be accepted in the 
 spirit in which it is given, for the* purpose of 
 eliminating such part of the field policy as is dis- 
 advantageous to missionary effort and for the in- 
 troduction of measures calculated to effectively 
 advance the kingdom of God. This subject is 
 treated upon in a later chapter. 
 
 About the month of February, 1886, I was sent 
 on special detective duty to Pyuntaza in the Shweg- 
 yien district, where a band of dacoits had been 
 terrorizing the whole district for some three years. 
 Various district superintendents of police had lost 
 their official heads for having failed to account for 
 this band of a hundred desperate rebels. On re- 
 ceipt of telegraphic communication that District 
 Superintendent Porter, one of the most experi- 
 enced and efficient officers in the service, had shot 
 himself when asked to explain why he had failed to 
 answer for this party, I was ordered to proceed, 
 on half an hour's notice, to take charge of that 
 district. 
 
 When the Inspector-General telephoned to me 
 of Porter's suicide, instructing me to make over 
 charge of my division and- meet him at the station 
 in half an hour's time to accompany him to Pyun- 
 taza to take command of an expedition, in which 
 military and police alike had failed, I laughingly 
 told him that I thought he had a better opinion of 
 
224 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 me. He said I did not seem to realize the honor 
 he was conferring upon me by selecting me, the 
 junior inspector in the department, to succeed the 
 senior district superintendent. I assured him that 
 I fully appreciated the honor, but as this partic- 
 ular command had led my predecessors to dis- 
 grace and death, it would appear on the face of it 
 that he desired to bring my career to a speedy end. 
 To this he replied, "No, but I wish to bring the 
 career of that gang of rebels to a speedy end and 
 you are the one man to do it. Can you get to the 
 station in time to meet the train? If not, I will 
 order a special." 
 
 "I will be there," I answered. Within two 
 months from the time I took charge of this impor- 
 tant post, the district was clear of the band of da- 
 coits in question. 
 
 I attributed the failure of my predecessors to 
 the strength of their forces. There were three 
 companies of infantry and about two hundred po- 
 lice at Headquarters, the whole of which force was 
 at their command. In addition to this force there 
 were some three hundred or more police in the va- 
 rious towns and villages through the district. As 
 the rebels had a perfect system of scouting, with 
 representatives throughout the district gaining 
 information of the movements of the troops, while 
 the main body kept to the jungles, turning up in 
 the most unexpected quarters, it was impossible 
 for the troops to get near them. By the time the 
 military would arrive at the scene of the last dep- 
 redation in the south, word would be received of 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 2S5 
 
 another town being burned a hundred or more 
 miles north. 
 
 Selecting two men, I took train to Paungdawthe, 
 and from there rode to Bawnee, a village of about 
 two hundred houses, where I obtained information 
 of the rebels. Notwithstanding all the precautions 
 I had taken to fool the dacoits, they were aware 
 of my presence in Bawnee, and some weeks later 
 burned that village for the purpose of intimidating 
 the people throughout the district. 
 
 Hence, it will be seen that it was very difficult to 
 obtain reliable information concerning the move- 
 ments of the dacoits, and much more so to give evi- 
 dence against them in the villages, as it would 
 mean death to the people giving evidence against 
 them. 
 
 I was one day called to headquarters through a 
 special courier from the Deputy Commissioner, 
 who sent word that the dacoits were within a few 
 miles of headquarters, and it was said that they 
 would attack the town that night. Poor Deputy 
 Commissioner ! He had twenty European officers 
 and two thousand men if he needed them within 
 call, and yet 'he did not feel competent to defend 
 the town against an attack of a handful of rebels, 
 without the assistance of myself and my two men. 
 Sending my two men to strengthen the Bawnee 
 station I rode into Paungdawthe, a distance of six- 
 teen miles, through the jungle, where I arrived 
 without incident except that my journey was ob- 
 structed by a tiger, which resented being disturbed 
 from a nap on the jungle trail. Having no rifle, I 
 
2£6 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 had to negotiate with Master Stripes for the right 
 of way, in which I was successful. 
 
 Needless to say that on my arrival by train at 
 my headquarters in Pyuntaza from Paungdawthe 
 investigation showed that the alarm was occa- 
 sioned by a false report. I again set out for Baw- 
 nee. On reaching a village three miles from the 
 town I learned that a band of a hundred and fifty 
 men had been seen about four or five hours previ- 
 ous on the road to Bawnee. I was about to gallop 
 on to that place when a refugee from there ar- 
 rived with the report that Bawnee had been sacked 
 and burned and was still in flames. 
 
 I lost no time in reaching the scene of disturb- 
 ance. On arriving there, I found the place desert- 
 ed with the exception of about half a dozen men 
 sitting in a bamboo shanty on the outskirts of the 
 town, which had escaped the fire. They turned out 
 to be villagers. 
 
 With their aid I got together some twenty vil- 
 lagers, which party, added to my ten policemen of 
 the Bawnee station, who had discreetly retired to 
 the jungles during the occupation of the town by 
 the rebels, made quite an imposing expedition. 
 
 Having despatched a couple of couriers by dif- 
 ferent routes to headquarters with instructions to 
 have troops rushed to different points north to in- 
 tercept the rebels, I started in pursuit, and on re- 
 ceiving my reinforcements succeeded in breaking 
 up the band. 
 
 About a week before I went to Pyuntaza I had 
 received a present of a wild horse just caught in 
 the Shan States in Upper Burma. It took two 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 227 
 
 grooms and a few assistants from 7.00 A. M. to 1.00 
 P. M. to bring the animal from the steamer to 
 Police Headquarters in Cantonments, a distance 
 of about a mile and a half. The blacksmith in 
 shoeing the animal had to throw him and tie his 
 legs. He had never been ridden nor had any 
 harness on. 
 
 While I was on special dacoit duty, the Viceroy 
 and Governor- General in India, Lord Dufferin, 
 paid a visit to Burma. The evening previous to 
 his arrival in Rangoon, I decided to take a vacation 
 and run down to Rangoon to be present at the offi- 
 cial reception. I arrived at the headquarters 
 about half an hour before the time set for the Vice- 
 roy to land. With the exception of half a dozen 
 policemen the place was deserted; and the only 
 horse in my stables was the wild chestnut. There 
 was nothing for it, therefore, but to put him in 
 the high dog-cart, the only vehicle left, if I would 
 reach the landing place on time. I got him har- 
 nessed and put him in the dog-cart, and started on 
 the wildest drive of my life. 
 
 The animal bounded out of the gate of the sta- 
 tion yard, but instead of turning to the right down 
 the Godwin Road, as I desired, he bolted through 
 the gate into the public gardens to the Pagoda 
 Road, on which runs a double track steam tram- 
 way, with large shade trees on either side of the 
 road, leaving barely room for a carriage drive. 
 Here I was successful in turning him to the right, 
 possibly because the steam train was coming from 
 the opposite direction. I made record time in get- 
 ting down Pagoda Road and turned into the 
 
228 Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 
 
 Strand, which was lined with troops and crowds 
 of people. The road had been cleared for the pro- 
 cession. Sergeants in charge of police stations I 
 passed en route, being much impressed by the pace 
 I was traveling, telephoned to the Inspector-Gen- 
 eral at the landing place that something very seri- 
 ous had happened, as I had arrived in town, and 
 was then driving at a furious rate on my way to 
 the landing station. 
 
 My chestnut and I created quite a sensation all 
 along the route of the procession. I arrived at the 
 landing stage just as the Viceroy was landing at 
 the other end. The Inspector-General of Police 
 and other officials, instead of waiting to receive the 
 Viceroy, had come out to ascertain the cause of my 
 meteoric arrival. Great excitement prevailed 
 among the thousands of guests occupying the 
 chairs on the landing stage. As I drove up the In- 
 spector-General, stepping forward, sung out, 
 "What the devil has happened?" I managed to 
 pull up about thirty yards beyond the landing 
 stage. Jumping from my dog-cart, while a number 
 of policemen took charge of my horse, I turned to 
 the Inspector-General and other officials, who had 
 followed me up, calling out, "What the devil has 
 happened?" "Nothing; I have simply run in to 
 pay my respects to the Viceroy." "Your respects 
 
 to the Viceroy be d d, sir. Why the devil did 
 
 you alarm the town by driving at that break-neck 
 speed?" 
 
 I suggested that he might ' ' try my gentle beast 
 himself" if he thought he could handle him better. 
 I then suggested that as the Viceroy's procession 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 229 
 
 was about to start we might invite His Excellency 
 to lead with my chestnut. 
 
 This was horse-breaking with a vengeance, and 
 after that I could do anything with him. He would 
 follow me about like a dog, but, strange to relate 
 that when, some four years later, I presented my 
 favorite to a friend, no one was ever able to man- 
 age him. He ran away many times, causing nu- 
 merous accidents, and became very vicious. 
 
CHAPTEE XXIV 
 
 TRANSFERRED TO MANDALAY, I AM PLACED IN COMMAND 
 
 OF THE BURMA MILITARY POLICE AMBUSHED AND 
 
 CAPTURED, I SURPRISE MY CAPTORS 
 
 I was transferred to Mandalay about the month 
 of June, 1886, and assigned to duty as Senior In- 
 spector in the City of Mandalay. 
 
 The officer of the Inspector-General of Police, 
 Colonel Lowndes, was, like the Military Headquar- 
 ters, located in the palace of the deposed King 
 Theebaw. The police headquarters of the Man- 
 dalay District was located within the city near the 
 palace gates. The District Superintendent of Po- 
 lice, Mr. Ford, being ill, the responsibility of that 
 office fell upon me. 
 
 My tenure of office as acting District Superin- 
 tendent of the Civil Police was of short duration, 
 as I was transferred to the command of the head- 
 quarters of the Burma Military Police, stationed 
 in the King's monasteries some three miles to the 
 southeast of Mandalay. 
 
 The position held by my command was the most 
 important in Mandalay, being at the extreme end 
 of the line of troops garrisoning the frontier un- 
 der the range of mountains running north and 
 south the Yankintoung, and the most liable to 
 attack. 
 
 230 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 231 
 
 At the extreme northern end of the line was sta- 
 tioned the artillery and a little further south the 
 cavalry, and about another half-mile further south 
 the 66th British Infantry, while adjoining their 
 lines was stationed a regiment of Gourkas, and 
 some six hundred yards to the south the Police 
 Levy, and half a mile from that post, the head- 
 quarters of the Burma Military Policemen, and a 
 few hundred yards still further to the south, an 
 outpost furnished from my command. 
 
 The Burma Military Police was composed of 
 officers, non-commissioned officers and men from 
 the various regiments of the Punjab and North- 
 western Provinces, the best men that could be se- 
 lected from the Indian Army. 
 
 The Burma Military Police were drafted to ev- 
 ery district throughout Upper Burma and played 
 the most important part in the pacification of the 
 country. The headquarters at Mandalay was kept 
 up to the full battalion strength and drafted con- 
 tingents to the interior as reinforcements arrived 
 from India. The work entailed in thus constantly 
 receiving and drafting troops, added to the drills 
 and instruction of troops to raise their efficiency 
 to meet the requirements of the changed condi- 
 tions, and general military duties, was enormous. 
 
 The responsibility of this command was greater 
 than that of any regiment in Upper Burma, and 
 called for the appointment of a colonel with full 
 complement of field officers, a fact to which I, on 
 more than one occasion, called the attention of the 
 Inspector-General of Police and the General com- 
 manding the forces. I also pointed out that I only 
 
232 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 held the rank of inspector of police, while a num- 
 ber of British officers attached to my command 
 were my superiors in rank. 
 
 In reply to these objections raised by me the In- 
 spector-General has often assured me that I was 
 the only man in Burma best qualified for that par- 
 ticular command, and that I should be promoted on 
 the first vacancy. I was repeatedly thanked by the 
 General commanding the forces in Burma and the 
 Inspector-General of Police for the high efficiency 
 of the military police and for the expeditious man- 
 ner in which the efficiency of the troops was raised 
 and transferred throughout the country, without a 
 single mishap. 
 
 When it is understood that hardly a night passed 
 that the sentries of the different commands along 
 the line and the patrols were not fired upon, and, 
 that all patrols from all parts of Mandalay, north, 
 east, south and west, had to report at my head- 
 quarters, some idea of the difficulty of my position 
 may be comprehended. 
 
 It was my custom to go about the country at all 
 hours of the day or night unarmed and without 
 escort. 
 
 One evening on my return from the palace I 
 called in at the officers ' mess of the 66th Eegiment, 
 where I remained for dinner. After dinner one of 
 my inspectors, De la Taste, came into the mess 
 and we remained for some time. 
 
 We were riding quietly on our way home, when 
 we heard firing at our headquarters. Putting 
 spurs to our horses we galloped off, expecting that 
 we were in for a little fun. About three hundred 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 233 
 
 yards from our headquarters a small wooden 
 bridge crossed the road. As we were going along 
 at full speed, neck to neck, De la Taste's charger 
 made a jump at the bridge, and the last I saw of 
 De la Taste he was turning somersaults in the air 
 and landed on his back clear over the bridge. I 
 could not stop to pick him up, but on reaching my 
 command, I sent an escort to carry him in. He 
 was not much the worse for the experience. The 
 firing had been occasioned by a small party of the 
 evening having crept up to the walls and fired on 
 some of my sentries. They made off under cover 
 of darkness, and no trace of them could be found. 
 
 When riding back to my quarters from the 66th 
 officers' mess one night shortly after midnight, en- 
 joying the cool night air and in no hurry to reach 
 my destination, I was suddenly surprised by eight 
 armed men springing out from the darkness on 
 either side of the road, four of them seizing my 
 horse's head, the other four coming up on either 
 side of my saddle. They politely informed me that 
 they would take charge of my horse and my per- 
 son. Thanking them for the courtesy I told them 
 that I thought my horse was well able to take 
 charge of himself, while as for me if I desired 
 company I preferred to choose my own. 
 
 My apparent indifference to my changed situa- 
 tion had the desired effect. The bump of humor 
 is very strongly developed in the Burman, and you 
 may save your hide every time by appealing to 
 their humor, in that you gain time by the joke. 
 
 They laughed but persisted in trying to impress 
 upon me that neither my horse nor I had any 
 
234 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 choice in the matter. I told them that I thought 
 we had, and asked them to get the opinion of the 
 horse on the subject. 
 
 This amused them a great deal, but as there was 
 no time to lose, they said, that as they did not un- 
 derstand horse language, we would have to move 
 on, and raised their dhas (swords) menacingly and 
 prepared to lead my horse. 
 
 I was, as usual, unarmed — a hunting crop being 
 my only weapon. I told my captors that a perfect 
 understanding existed between me and my horse 
 and that we both protested against their interfer- 
 ence, and therefore requested that they would take 
 their departure. As they failed to do this I brought 
 my hunting crop into play about their heads, while 
 a touch of the spur to my horse shook off the rebels 
 like so many grasshoppers. The yells set up by 
 the fellows rolling on the ground brought an officer 
 and escort from the guard of the Gourka Regiment 
 to the scene. Making known my identity as the 
 party approached, I instructed the officer to pick 
 up the half dozen who had fallen under the hammer 
 of my hunting crop, and if possible to catch the 
 two who had taken to their heels. 
 
 The officer wished to send an escort with me to 
 my headquarters, but I declined, preferring to fin- 
 ish the journey as I had commenced, alone. 
 
 I have stated above that the Inspector-General, 
 Colonel Lowndes, had promised me promotion to 
 a rank suited to my command on the first vacancy. 
 Unfortunately Colonel Lowndes was relieved by 
 Mr. W. W. Daly before a vacancy occurred. 
 
 Mr. Daly came from the Northwestern Prov- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 235 
 
 inces, and, judging from the number of half-castes 
 he brought from the Northwest and appointed as 
 inspectors and assistants to superintendents of po- 
 lice, he must have had a large acquaintance among 
 native and Eurasian women of the Northwest 
 Provinces. 
 
 These young half-castes were as ignorant of the 
 duties of a police inspector as they were of the 
 language and of the customs and manners of the 
 people of Burma. 
 
 Colonel Lowndes, on being relieved by Daly, in- 
 formed him in my presence that I was slated for 
 the first assistant superintendentship vacant. Not- 
 withstanding this specific instruction, Daly created 
 half a dozen vacancies for half-caste bastards from 
 the Punjab and took every opportunity to insult 
 me and to make things as unpleasant as possible. 
 
 I demanded to be relieved from my military 
 command and to be returned to the civil police, to 
 which I belonged. To this Daly would not agree. 
 He took the position that he had no one fitted to 
 take my place. Having become thoroughly dis- 
 gusted with his attitude toward me, I told him 
 that he could send to the Northwest for another 
 of his half-caste bastards to put in my place and 
 that I intended to resign. I told him that the ap- 
 pointments made by him and the mess he was mak- 
 ing of the Department generally showed that he 
 was no more qualified for the important office of 
 Inspector-General than was any one of his ap- 
 pointees. I also told him that he would be ousted 
 from that office within a year and that he had bet- 
 
236 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ter keep his family at home in the Northwest, to 
 save traveling expenses. 
 
 My straight talk to Mr. Daly was rewarded by a 
 manifestation of vindictiveness and hatred such as 
 I had never witnessed. 
 
 Shortly after the above scene a charge was 
 trumped up against me which was so preposterous 
 on the face of it that it was at once thrown out. 
 Indeed, had there been any foundation for it every 
 British officer, civil and military, would have been 
 equally liable, not excepting Daly himself. 
 
 I resigned from the Police Department and took 
 a vacation. My superior officer, Inspector-General 
 Daly, was removed from the Department and sent 
 back to the Northwestern Provinces within the 
 year, as I had predicted. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 I ENTER THE PRISON SERVICE — I SUPERSEDE MY SUPE- 
 RIORS INNOVATION IN PRISON ADMINISTRATION 
 
 A STUDY OF CRIMINOLOGY THE PRACTICAL 
 
 APPLICATION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL-PSY- 
 CHOLOGY TO ABNORMAL DATA AS 
 FOUND IN THE INCORRIGIBLE 
 CRIMINAL 
 
 On returning to Rangoon in 1887, I called on 
 the Inspector-General of Prisons, Dr. Sinclair, and 
 explained that I would be pleased to avail myself 
 of his invitation to join the Prison Service. He 
 said there was only one vacancy in the Depart- 
 ment and that was for a warder in the Rangoon 
 Central Jail. I told him the wardership was good 
 enough for me ; that I wanted to get into jail any 
 way, and that I might as well be there as a warder 
 as in any other capacity. 
 
 Dr. Sinclair gave me a letter to the superintend- 
 ent of the jail and suggested that I should present 
 it at once, which I did. 
 
 The superintendent, who was a stranger to me, 
 on looking me over, said, "I am sorry, but there 
 is no vacancy in this jail." 
 
 "But," I replied, "the Inspector-General told 
 me that there is a vacancy. "Well," said the 
 
238 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 superintendent, " there are many applicants for 
 the appointment, and you are too delicate for the 
 duties of a warder. I can not appoint you." 
 
 Thanking him for the information about my 
 delicate constitution, I wished him "good morn- 
 ing." 
 
 As I left the jail I met the Inspector-General 
 approaching in his dog-cart. He pulled up, say- 
 ing, ' ' Where are you going f " "To the nursery, ' ' 
 I replied. "To what! — To the nursery!" he ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 "Yes," I said, "the superintendent thinks I'm 
 too delicate to be allowed out alone." 
 
 The Inspector-General laughed and asked me to 
 return to the office. The Inspector-General in- 
 structed the superintendent to appoint me to the 
 vacancy. The superintendent protested declaring 
 that I was too delicate, and that as he was respon- 
 sible for the jail he had a right to select his own 
 staff and he wanted men of muscular strength, men 
 of vigor and energy. 
 
 Sinclair laughed at him, and said, "Do you know 
 this gentleman? Perhaps you have heard of an 
 Inspector of Police who arrested, single-handed, 
 thirteen European sailors who were all armed 
 while the inspector was unarmed. You may have 
 heard of the cholera epidemic in the Bassein jail 
 between two and three years ago and of an inspec- 
 tor of police who voluntarily served in the cholera 
 sheds for three weeks practically without food and 
 without rest; the man who saved Harrison's life 
 and who did more through that epidemic than the 
 whole medical staff put together. You may have 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 2*9 
 
 heard of the inspector who was sent to take the 
 place of the district superintendent, Mr. Porter, 
 who shot himself in Shwegien, and who went in 
 pursuit of a hundred armed rebels, and broke up 
 their band — the inspector of police who has been 
 looked upon by European and natives as a "holy 
 terror,' — a man who has no fears, and who never 
 failed. This is the inspector to whom I refer — 
 the man whom you say is too delicate to be trusted 
 to the charge of convicts. I will undertake to say 
 that if you have an outbreak in this jail among 
 the five thousand convicts, this delicate individual 
 will be the man to suppress it. He is appointed to 
 the position." 
 
 Eleven months after joining the prison service 
 I was promoted to the office of deputy jailer of 
 Rangoon, superseding the jailers, deputy jailers 
 of the various jails throughout the country, an 
 honor which came as a complete surprise to me. 
 Hitherto I had had charge of about three thousand 
 five hundred convicts employed in the various 
 work sheds at all manner of trades, where I was 
 responsible for the quality of the work turned out. 
 
 I will enumerate a few of the works under my 
 supervision. Receiving raw cotton, ginning, spin- 
 ning, warping, looming and weaving into fabrics 
 and finally converting the fabrics into clothes, was 
 one line of industry. 
 
 I had over three hundred looms in operation all 
 the year round. I not only made all the clothing 
 for our family of five thousand convicts, but fur- 
 nished a lot of cloth for our salesmen. 
 
 There was the saw-yard in which logs of teak 
 
240 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 and other timber were converted into lumber of 
 various descriptions. More than a thousand men 
 were employed as carpenters, cabinet makers, 
 polishers, upholsterers, coach builders, turners and 
 wood carvers. 
 
 Every conceivable description of household fur- 
 niture; dog-carts and vehicles of all kinds were 
 manufactured. Cane and bamboo were converted 
 into every conceivable description of rattan and 
 bamboo furniture, baskets and bric-a-brac, mats 
 and screens. 
 
 The husk or outer shell of the cocoanut was con- 
 verted into coir and from that into cocoanut mat- 
 ting, door-mats, screens, rope, and a hundred and 
 one other articles of utility. 
 
 Some two hundred men were employed in the 
 blacksmith shop and foundry ; and about two hun- 
 dred in the flour mills and as many more in the oil 
 mills. To supervise these varied manufactures 
 and to be responsible for the quality of the work 
 of three thousand men and the prompt fulfilment 
 of outside orders was a Herculean task, but in 
 addition to all this I was responsible for the dis- 
 cipline and the general supervision of all the con- 
 victs, and the placing of them at the various tasks. 
 
 A work of many volumes would be necessary 
 to portray or recount in detail the many valuable 
 and interesting features of the administration of 
 the jails with which I was connected and the vari- 
 ous reforms I introduced. 
 
 I can not do more than barely touch upon this 
 important subject by relating a few incidents of 
 my five years' service. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 241 
 
 When I first entered the prison service I was 
 struck with the large number of convicts wearing 
 short fetters and cross-bar and ''bad character" 
 clothing. 
 
 One man known as "Long John" was confined 
 in the ' ' strong shed, ' ' and was never allowed with 
 other convicts. 
 
 Originally sentenced to six months' vigorous im- 
 prisonment for an alleged assault, Long John, in 
 1887, had served eighteen years and had about 
 eight years unexpired portion of his sentence to 
 serve. 
 
 Long John belonged to one of the leading Bur- 
 mese families. The disgrace of the imprisonment 
 and the greater disgrace of having had his beauti- 
 ful long hair cut turned this man against the Brit- 
 ish. He declared there was no ground for the of- 
 fence for which he had been punished; a mere al- 
 tercation between himself and another man. 
 
 Resenting the injustice of his first sentence and 
 disgrace, he assaulted every English official who 
 came within his reach. For these offences he had 
 been tried and sentenced from time to time, thus 
 adding about twenty-eight years to his original 
 sentence of six months. 
 
 For several years no British official had gone 
 near him, and I was cautioned against entering 
 his place of confinement. 
 
 On the occasion of my first official visit to him, 
 I ordered the turnkey to unlock the door of the 
 prisoner's strongshed. This done I left my order- 
 ly outside and entered alone. 
 
 Going up to the convict I took hold of his history 
 
242 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ticket, which is attached to an iron ring aronnd his 
 neck. After observing the date of his sentence, 
 and sections of the penal code under which he had 
 been tried, I looked into the astonished man's eyes, 
 saying, "You appear to have been mistaken for a 
 wild beast; hereafter you will be looked upon 
 and trusted as a man. I am going to have 
 those short fetters and cross-bar removed, and this 
 striped (bad character) clothing changed for or- 
 dinary clothing, then I shall send you from this 
 cage to work in the workshops. I shall look for- 
 ward to entering up your remission marks every 
 week, and to making you a warder as soon as you 
 have earned the marks." 
 
 Firmness tempered with kindness saved Long 
 John, and in due time restored him to his family 
 a respected member of society. 
 
 Cha Gyi (the great tiger) was an appropriate 
 name for a convict who was scarred like a chess 
 board from the crown of his head to his feet 
 with sword wounds. The most notorious criminal 
 and convict ever incarcerated in the Rangoon Cen- 
 tral jail. Cha Gyi was an old offender, having 
 served several terms of penal servitude. He was 
 kept constantly in short fetters and cross bar (a 
 .ourteen inch triangle of three-quarter inch iron at- 
 tached to ankle rings). He was flogged about once 
 a month for a long time for offences against jail 
 rules, and was kept where he could harm nobody. 
 
 I removed his fetters and put him in the carpen- 
 ter 's shop to work. 
 
 In order to create the psychological impression 
 desired, I gave Cha Gyi an adze (the most danger- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph MS 
 
 ous weapon possible in the hands of a desperate 
 criminal) to knock off the knots of a log, as the 
 work for which he was best suited. I visited the 
 work shop unarmed and unattended, turned my 
 back to Cha Gyi's adze and in this way turned the 
 greatest criminal into a man, who subsequently be- 
 came my trusted orderly and bodyguard. 
 
 The innovation in the administration of the jail 
 by the substitution of the application of physiolo- 
 gical-psychology for corporal punishment, short 
 fetters and cross-bars, resulted in better discipline, 
 better work and a pleasanter atmosphere within 
 the prison walls. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 PRISON REFORMS WHICH AFFECT THE JUDICIAL DEPART- 
 MENT AND PUT A STOP TO WHOLESALE 
 EXECUTIONS 
 
 Following the close of the last Burma war a 
 large number of Burmans who still resisted British 
 rule, were arrested and tried under the penal code 
 with the result that several thousand prisoners 
 were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment and 
 penal servitude and wholesale executions were car- 
 ried out at the Central jails. 
 
 In the Rangoon Central jail the forty cells for 
 condemned prisoners were kept occupied for many 
 months and executions were of almost daily occur- 
 rence. It frequently happened that four men 
 would be executed together, to be followed by four 
 more the next morning. It was, in fact, a rare oc- 
 currence in those days that a single execution took 
 place, the date set for the execution of two, three 
 or four men being more frequently the same. 
 
 The executions were carried out at five o'clock 
 under the direction of the superintendent of the 
 jail, the chief jailer, assistant jailers and ward- 
 ers and the medical staff being present. 
 
 Notwithstanding the large number of executions, 
 the system of hanging was barbarous to a degree. 
 
 244 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 245 
 
 The executions were carried out by a native con- 
 vict and it was no uncommon thing for a condemn- 
 ed man to have the rope around his neck for fifteen 
 or twenty minutes before the trap was sprung. 
 There was no excuse for this torture. 
 
 One morning we had four men to be executed 
 together. The condemned men were paraded at 
 the foot of the gallows. The superintendent read 
 the warrant of the first man in the usual manner, 
 and asked if he had anything to say. He had not. 
 He was then taken to the gallows, the rope was 
 placed about his neck, his arms and legs strapped. 
 In the meantime the superintendent was going 
 through the formality of reading the warrants of 
 the other prisoners who were handed over in suc- 
 cession to the executioner. The third and fourth 
 men had statements to make, which were taken 
 down. The torture of mind of numbers one and 
 two as they stood on the gallows, pinioned, with 
 the rope around their necks, and the cap drawn 
 over their heads, during these formalities and 
 statements may be better imagined than described. 
 
 When the executions were over, I turned to the 
 superintendent, Dr. MacDonald, and said, "Doc- 
 tor, this sort of thing has to stop." 
 
 He turned on me in astonishment; and well he 
 might at the insubordinate nature of my remark. 
 
 "What the devil do you mean?" he asked. 
 
 "I mean, sir, that the first man you sent to the 
 gallows stood there with the rope about his neck 
 for twenty-two minutes before you gave the signal 
 for the drop. Imagine yourself in that man's 
 place. You would need the rope to support you." 
 
£46 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 To this explosion of just indignation the super- 
 intendent replied, "I carried out the executions as 
 expeditiously as possible. Could you have done 
 better?" 
 
 "I could," I replied. 
 
 "Then," said he, "there are four more men to 
 be executed to-morrow morning. Will you, sir, 
 superintend those executions ? ' ' 
 
 "I will," I replied. 
 
 1 < Very good, it is understood that you will take 
 charge of the executions to-morrow morning," 
 whereupon he turned on his heel and left in no 
 pleasant mood. 
 
 The following morning the prison staff gathered 
 to witness the executions as usual. The prisoners 
 were brought out. The superintendent on being 
 handed the warrants of the four condemned men 
 looked at me and said, "Are you ready?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, I am ready," I replied. 
 
 I had myself tested the ropes and carefully ad- 
 justed the length of the drop for each of the con- 
 demned men according to height and weight. 
 
 The warrant of the first man having been read, 
 the superintendent, turning to me, said, "Take 
 this prisoner." 
 
 I instructed the prisoner to step forward. The 
 superintendent therefore said, "Take this pris- 
 oner on the gallows. ' ' 
 
 "How many men are to be executed this morn- 
 ing?" I demanded. 
 
 "Four, sir," roared the superintendent. 
 
 "At what hour are the other three to be execut- 
 ed?" I asked. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 247 
 
 "They are all to be executed together," said 
 the superintendent. 
 
 "Very good," I replied, "When you have made 
 over the four condemned men I will attend to my 
 duty; you attend to yours." 
 
 "Take that man to the gallows," again thun- 
 dered the superintendent. 
 
 "I am responsible for the executions," I replied, 
 "perform your own duty, sir, and leave me to 
 mine. If you wish this man to be executed sepa- 
 rately I will have the execution carried out ; but, if 
 the four men are to be executed together, they 
 will go on the gallows together." 
 
 The superintendent was furious, but proceeded 
 with the reading of the warrants. When the four 
 condemned men had been handed over to me, I had 
 them escorted onto the gallows. They were pinion- 
 ed and the ropes and caps adjusted by the men I 
 had detailed for that duty, and the trap was sprung 
 within ten seconds from the time the condemned 
 men reached the gallows. The executions were a 
 complete success from a humane standpoint, the 
 neck being broken in each case. 
 
 The superintendent was very much pleased and 
 congratulated me for my persistency in regard to 
 the manner of conducting the executions. Need- 
 less to say the reform thus introduced was there- 
 after observed in the Rangoon Central prison. 
 
 For some months I had been studying ways and 
 means to put a stop to these unjust and wholesale 
 executions. 
 
 This was a difficult matter as, in my official 
 capacity as the deputy jailer, I could not in any 
 
2*8 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 way interfere with the judicial department or with 
 the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court or the local 
 government. At length an unexpected opportunity 
 presented itself. A Burmese boy, in his sixteenth 
 year, who had been sentenced to serve seven years 
 of penal servitude under sections 395 and 396 of the 
 Indian Penal Code, for dacoity and murder, ap- 
 pealed to the Supreme Court against the sentence. 
 
 A brief outline of this case will illustrate how 
 many of the unfortunate men executed were vic- 
 tims of injustice. 
 
 The military authorities having received infor- 
 mation that a band of rebels contemplated an at- 
 tack upon a village in Upper Burma at a given 
 time, an expedition was sent for the purpose of 
 protecting the village. 
 
 The rebels attacked the village only a few min- 
 utes before the arrival of the troops; they were, 
 in fact, sacking the place when the troops arrived 
 on the scene. The villagers had abandoned their 
 homes on the approach of the rebels and had taken 
 to the jungle. The rebels in turn ran from the 
 troops, who pursued them through the jungle. 
 The villagers, frightened by the fire of the troops, 
 ran in all directions. It was impossible to dis- 
 tinguish between rebels and villagers. The boy 
 above referred to, who belonged to the village, was 
 shot through the thigh and was the only person 
 captured. As he was running away it was con- 
 cluded that he was a rebel and was accordingly 
 sent up for trial, convicted and sentenced as stated 
 to serve seven years penal servitude. 
 
 The day that his appeal was brought before the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 249 
 
 Appellate Court, the chief jailer was on duty in 
 the evening and received the prisoners from court. 
 
 The following morning I visited the condemned 
 cells at about six o'clock. 
 
 On entering the corridor I was astounded to see 
 the boy in question in cell No. 1. Taking his his- 
 tory ticket, I noticed that the Appellate Court had 
 confirmed the finding of the Lower Court, but had 
 enhanced the sentence from seven years to — death ! 
 
 "Why are you here," I asked in Burmese. 
 
 ll Cho hpa lo bai" (to be hanged), replied the 
 youth. 
 
 "You were sentenced to seven years," I said. 
 "How is it you are now sentenced to death?" 
 
 "I was not guilty of the crime for which I was 
 sentenced to seven years, so I appealed to the Su- 
 preme Court hoping that I would be released, but 
 I am to be hanged instead. ' ' 
 
 "You must appeal to the Chief Commissioner," 
 I told him. 
 
 The youth smiled sadly as he said, " I am to be 
 hanged in three weeks' time as the result of my ap- 
 peal. If I appeal to the Chief Commissioner, he 
 would probably have me hanged at once. My 
 counsel wants me to appeal again but my parents 
 think I am right in wishing to live as long as I 
 can. So if I do not appeal again I shall live three 
 weeks longer." 
 
 "If you will appeal to the Chief Commissioner," 
 I said, ' ' the finding and sentence of the courts will 
 be set aside and you will be discharged." 
 
 I could not prevail upon the boy to appeal as 
 I advised, but I determined that that boy's life 
 
250 Memoirs of Prince John Be GuelpJi 
 
 should not be sacrificed in this manner. I told him 
 that he should "not be hanged." I then passed 
 on my rounds, and found that six other prisoners 
 whose appeals had also been heard the day pre- 
 viously, had had their sentences enhanced from 
 various terms of years to capital punishment. 
 Here was a pretty state of affairs ; seven men who 
 had appealed against what were undoubtedly un- 
 just sentences, as in the case of the boy, instead 
 of receiving clemency were to be railroaded to the 
 gallows. 
 
 The following morning the Rangoon Gazette 
 and the London Times published a full account of 
 the gross miscarriage of justice against these seven 
 condemned prisoners. At 7.30 A. M. when in the 
 main jail, I heard a great commotion in the office 
 of the superintendent. A few moments later the 
 big gates leading into the main jail swung open, 
 and the Chief Commissioner with his staff and the 
 superintendent of the jail, Dr. Davis, and the chief 
 jailer appeared in sight. It was evident that some- 
 thing very serious had happened, for the Chief 
 Commissioner was talking in a most excited man- 
 ner. I expected to see the party turn to the left 
 to go to the condemned cells, but they came directly 
 up to the main jail. 
 
 Approaching the party I paid my respects to the 
 Chief Commissioner. The superintendent of the 
 jail, falling a little to the rear of the Chief Com- 
 missioner, said to me, sotto-voce, "Where are those 
 men?" 
 
 "What men?" I innocently inquired. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 251 
 " Ah, I forgot; you have only just joined us, the 
 men sentenced to death I mean." 
 
 "The men sentenced to death? Why there are 
 forty of them in the condemned cells," I said. 
 < < Which of them do you mean V ' For once in my 
 service I appeared to not comprehend. The Chief 
 Commissioner, having heard the last remark, turn- 
 ed abruptly and said severely, "I want the seven 
 men whose sentences have been enhanced from im- 
 prisonment to death." 
 
 "Very good, Your Excellency, the men are in 
 the condemned cells; I shall be pleased to hand 
 them over to your orders." 
 
 On discovery that he had been brought out of his 
 way, and had to retrace his steps, he was more 
 furious than before and I could not help thinking 
 that the cablegram he had received from London 
 must have called him down very severely. 
 
 Leading the way to the condemned cells I escort- 
 ed the party to the cell door of the boy, and, point- 
 ing to him said, < ' This, Your Excellency, is the first 
 mm, whose sentence was enhanced from seven 
 years to death." 
 
 The Chief Commissioner was staggered. 
 "This!" he ejaculated, "Why he is a mere 
 
 child!" 
 
 After having asked the boy his name, age, 
 charge, and original sentence, the Chief Commis- 
 sioner said, "Sentence of death is set aside, the 
 original sentence to stand." 
 
 The death sentence in the other six cases was 
 set aside in the same manner, after which the party 
 
252 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 proceeded to the office of the superintendent of the 
 jail. 
 
 The Chief Commissioner at once took np the 
 investigation. Some jail official, he said, had com- 
 mitted a breach of prison rules by giving informa- 
 tion to the special representative of the London 
 Times and to the local press. The offender must 
 be found out and summarily dismissed from the 
 service. 
 
 The superintendent got out of an awkward hole 
 by shouldering the responsibility of the investiga- 
 tion on me. He reminded the Chief Commissioner 
 that I was the "celebrated detective" and that I 
 could no doubt bring the offender to justice. 
 "Just the man," said the Chief Commissioner, 
 and addressing me, "if you find the guilty man you 
 shall be promoted immediately upon securing con- 
 viction against him." 
 
 "I thank you, sir, for your promise of reward," 
 I said, "what is my promotion? I am the official 
 who gave the information of the cases in question 
 to the press." 
 
 Had I struck the Chief Commissioner in the face, 
 he could not have been more surprised. 
 
 In reply to his torrent of questions as to why I 
 had not reported the matter to him instead of go- 
 ing to the press, I told him that as the red tape 
 in the judicial department had become so terribly 
 tangled that the whole department had apparently 
 run wild, it would have been impossible for me to 
 unravel it to enable me to place these cases before 
 him. My only course of action was through Lon- 
 don. The cables were very convenient for the ad- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 253 
 
 justment of such a miscarriage of justice at short 
 notice. I further explained that my object in hav- 
 ing given publicity to these cases was not merely 
 to save the lives of the seven unfortunate men 
 whose death sentence he had set aside, but to put 
 a stop to the wholesale executions which had been 
 going on for a year or more, the majority of 
 which men were in my opinion as much the vic- 
 tims of injustice as the "mere child" whose death 
 sentence had just been set aside. 
 
 The Chief Commissioner said that my audacious 
 remarks reflecting on the courts of justice amazed 
 him. 
 
 To this I retorted that my remarks could not 
 amaze him more than the gross miscarriage of 
 justice, the report of which to London had brought 
 him there, had amazed the British public, and un- 
 less steps were taken to stop the wholesale execu- 
 tions, it was my intention to make a full report on 
 the matter to Her Majesty the Queen-Empress. 
 
 The number of executions from that time mater- 
 ially decreased. I had gained my end at the risk 
 of my own liberty, but I was not tried or dismissed 
 for my offense, nor, did I get the promised pro- 
 motion. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 AN OUTBREAK AMONG CONVICTS WARDERS KILLED AND 
 
 WOUNDED, OTHERS MAKE THEIR ESCAPE 1 RUN 
 
 TO THEIR ASSISTANCE AND FIND MYSELF UN- 
 ARMED AND UNSUPPORTED BEFORE TWO 
 THOUSAND ARMED CONVICTS 
 
 The Rangoon Central Jail opened at 5.30 A. M. 
 The convicts, numbering from four thousand to 
 five thousand, were marched to their respective 
 work-yards by six o'clock. About three thousand 
 men were employed in what is termed the "round 
 house, ' ' which is constructed on the plan of a huge 
 wheel, the hub being the office of the assistant 
 jailer in charge and work-shop at the same time. 
 Shoemakers and tailors were on the ground floor 
 on which the office was located, a store-room and 
 lookout tower being above. The spokes were rep- 
 resented by twenty-one work-sheds, with from one 
 hundred to two hundred convicts in each. About 
 another thousand men in adjoining work-yards 
 were engaged as sawyers, carpenters, coach-build- 
 ers and blacksmiths. 
 
 At 8 A. M. the convicts were marched to the 
 main jail for breakfast; at nine A. M. work was 
 again started. 
 
 One morning as the last gang of convicts had 
 
 254 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 255 
 
 reached the round-house, and before being locked 
 up they attacked the warders and seizing the keys, 
 unlocked a number of the other work-sheds, and 
 the gate leading to the adjoining work-yard. 
 
 After having killed, wounded and routed every 
 prison official, they proceeded to the adjoining 
 work-yard where they were reinforced by the con- 
 victs employed there and the bad characters on 
 the treadmill, at least one thousand men more, 
 making between two and three thousand mutineers 
 
 in all. 
 
 At the time the alarm was sounded the chief 
 jailer, Mr. Harrison, and I were in the jail office, 
 over which the jail guard of about two hundred 
 men is located. Hastily telling Harrison to wait 
 and take charge of the guard and to surround the 
 jail walls, I ran in to the round-house to take 
 charge of the staff there. 
 
 The round-house was situated about two hun- 
 dred yards from the jail office. It was an easy 
 matter to cover the distance when once I had pass- 
 ed through the two main gates, but on reaching 
 the outer gate of the work-yard, the turnkey of 
 which was on the inside of the wall, I had some 
 difficulty in getting the gate opened. Again, on 
 reaching the gate of the round-house work-yard, 
 which was also locked on the inside, it was not until 
 a convict warder, who had not joined in the out- 
 break, found the bunch of keys left by the muti- 
 neers to unlock the gate, that I could gain admis- 
 sion. On entering this gate I stumbled over the 
 body of a warder who had been struck down while 
 attempting to escape. A few yards from his body 
 
256 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 was the body of another man. The convict warder 
 who had unlocked the gate for me, told me that the 
 convicts had all gone to the treadmill and carpen- 
 ter shop. The big gates were standing wide open, 
 and I at once ran to the treadmill side. I found the 
 large gates of the carpenter shop thrown wide 
 open. Pandemonium reigned supreme through 
 the four large sheds, constructed in the form of a 
 square without partitions and in the courtyard in 
 which the saw-yard was located. 
 
 There were upwards of two thousand convicts 
 armed with legs of tables, chairs, bedsteads, bars 
 of iron, adzes, axes and other weapons secured 
 from the carpenter and blacksmith shops. 
 
 There was nothing between them and freedom 
 but an open square and the jail wall which could 
 be easily scaled with or without the aid of carpen- 
 ters ' benches, planks, and other articles which 
 were plentiful in the workshops. Had the rush 
 been made, a great number of them would un- 
 doubtedly have made good their escape before the 
 military could have been got on the ground to 
 support the jail guard. Instead of finding my 
 assistant jailers and European warders and In- 
 dian staff as I had expected, there was not a free 
 man to be seen. The only European warder left 
 in the work-yard, whom I later discovered, was 
 "Warder Doyle, who, having been injured in the 
 leg, had taken refuge under the large platform 
 on which the tailors worked, in the round-house 
 tower building. 
 
 As I entered the gate of the carpenter shop, un- 
 armed and having not so much as a hat to protect 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 25*7 
 
 my head from the axes, sledge-hammers, table 
 legs, etc., the ring leaders were calling loudly for 
 the dash for liberty. It was an impressive sight 
 to see this mob of excited convicts brandishing 
 their promiscuous array of weapons in the air 
 and every one yelling, like so many demons. 
 
 There was no time for thought. A moment's 
 hesitation would have been fatal to John De 
 Guelph. Standing inside of the centre of the gate- 
 way where I commanded full view of two sides 
 of the square, I raised my right hand and in a 
 word of command, cultivated in the army, I called 
 for— "Silence!" 
 
 My sudden appearance on the scene took them 
 by complete surprise, and the roar of my voice 
 produced a magic effect. Within a few seconds 
 not a voice was heard but my own. Calling upon 
 one of the mutinous convict warders I ordered him 
 to "close and lock the gates," which he did. 
 
 I roundly lectured the desperate convicts for 
 their fool-hardiness and by way of emphasizing 
 my remarks pointed to the locked gates and told 
 them how impossible it was for them to escape. I 
 then seated myself at the desk of the assistant 
 jailer, who had disappeared from his post, and, 
 calling for all the convict warders ordered them to 
 get the men of their respective gangs together, 
 and to march them back to their work. 
 
 Order had thus been restored, I had segregated 
 the ringleaders of the outbreak, and had formed 
 a large part of the mob into gangs, when the su- 
 perintendent of the jail, Dr. Davis, and the chief 
 jailer, Mr. Harrison, with a part of the jail guard 
 
258 Memoirs of Prince John De Gwelph 
 
 arrived on the scene, by way of the female part 
 of the jail. 
 
 The superintendent was so much affected by 
 the shock that he had to drop into a chair; as he 
 did so he placed his revolvers on the desk at which 
 I was seated. Taking up the revolvers I threw 
 out the cartridges before the astonished convicts, 
 to show them that I needed no weapons to control 
 them. 
 
 A number of the ringleaders were subsequent- 
 ly sent up for trial, some were hanged for murder 
 and others received additional sentences. A large 
 number of those implicated in the outbreak were 
 put to stone breaking in the round-house for 
 punishment. 
 
 Superintendent and Leading Officials of Jail 
 
 Caught Like Rats in a Trap — Their 
 
 Massacre Opportunely Averted. 
 
 The day following the jail-break a council was 
 held in the office of the round-house for the pur- 
 pose of considering ways and means to better pre- 
 vent jail-breaks. 
 
 The superintendent, chief jailer, myself, two 
 assistant jailers, and four or five European ward- 
 ers were present at the conference. The superin- 
 tendent was seated at the head of the table, and 
 the other officials were mostly standing around the 
 table. I was standing with my hand upon the back 
 of the superintendent's chair with my back to 
 the open door of the round-house tower building. 
 
 
'Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 259 
 
 My hat was on a shelf on the opposite side of the 
 large table, and I was, as usual, unarmed. 
 
 We had been discussing the situation about fif- 
 teen minutes, when a tremendous shout rang out 
 from the stone shed in which many of the muti- 
 neers of the previous day were undergoing their 
 punishment. The door of the stone shed is im- 
 mediately facing the door of the tower-house and 
 only six paces distant. The stone shed was a 
 skeleton frame, as most of the work-sheds were. 
 The door was supported by two hinges, which 
 were old and none too secure. 
 
 A good blow with a sledge hammer from the 
 inside would be sufficient to break them down. 
 The door was secured by a bolt and padlock. 
 
 The shout— "Toung— Hta e'! Toung Hta e'! 
 (break jail, " " Thatt lik ! Thatt lik ! (pronounced 
 thot, i. e. kill, kill) brought us to our feet. 
 
 Instantly the yell was taken up and about three 
 hundred sledge hammers and huge granite stones 
 were pounding against the door and the scantlings 
 of the shed. 
 
 Turning on my heel I stepped over to the stone- 
 shed. The hinges were already loosened. Seizing 
 the turnkey, who had started to run away, I pulled 
 him back and ordered him to unlock the gate. He 
 being too excited and frightened, I seized the keys 
 and removed the padlock, which I handed to the 
 turnkey with the orders to close and lock the gate 
 the moment I was inside. Shooting back the bolt, 
 I threw open the door and, stepping inside, press- 
 ed back the leading convicts whose sledge ham- 
 mers were raised over my head. The gate was 
 
260 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 closed and locked behind me. Raising my voice 
 so that it could be heard above the yelling and din 
 of three hundred hammers, I ordered the convicts 
 to "fall in, in the centre walk." 
 
 Order was instantly restored and the would-be 
 assassins were once more conquered. After hav- 
 ing put them through a little drill, I marched them 
 to their respective stone boxes where work was 
 resumed. I then walked up and down between the 
 rows of stone boxes. Work had been resumed 
 about ten minutes when the guard, having arrived, 
 the superintendent and chief jailer came into the 
 stone breaking shed under strong escort. As I 
 saw them enter, I gave the order to their guard, — 
 "Right about, turn!" and sent them out of the 
 sheds. The superintendent remonstrated with me 
 for what he was pleased to term my fool-hardi- 
 ness" in rushing headlong into such danger, un- 
 armed. 
 
 Placing my hand on the gate of the shed I raised 
 the gate up and down, saying as I did so, "The 
 lives of our whole party depended upon my ac- 
 tion. Two seconds more and we would have been 
 in the clutches of this murderous mob." 
 
 On returning to the office from the first out- 
 break, the ludicrousness of the part just played 
 by me in this jail tragedy presented itself. 
 
 I had rushed to the support of my brave men 
 only to find that such of them who had not been 
 killed or wounded, had made their escape, thereby 
 leaving me to face the situation alone. I could 
 not refrain from indulging in the following im- 
 promptu lines for which I hope to be excused. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 261 
 THE JAIL-BREAK. 
 
 As the prisoners were returning 
 
 From breakfast to their work, 
 The alarm was loudly ringing, 
 
 'Twas heard beyond the kirk. 
 
 A row! A row! What is it now? 
 
 A-chin-tha-toung hta dai 
 
 (A jail outbreak of convicts) 
 Take up your staff, contract your brow 
 
 And level pair by pair. 
 
 I saw they'd killed a Gemadar, 
 
 And smashed another's head, 
 While poor old Doyle is hidden far 
 
 Inside the tailor's shed. 
 
 I missed poor Murphy from the fun, 
 
 And feared for him the more, 
 But soon I learned that he had run 
 Slap bang right through the door. 
 
 The gallant Jersey buck has gone, 
 
 The boast of all the jail ; 
 Was ever such a coward born, 
 
 Or cur so soon turn tail? 
 
 The row! The row! Where is it now? 
 
 "They've gone the treadmill side," 
 Where, when I reached I made a vow 
 
 To stem that convict tide. 
 
 Athirst for blood and freedom, 
 
 Two thousand men or more, 
 Like Milton's Pandemonium, 
 
 I conquer 'd by a roar. 
 
CHAPTER XXVni 
 
 TRANSFERRED TO BASSEIN — IN THE POWER OF ASSAS- 
 SINS 1 ESTABLISH SCHOOLS 1 VISIT THE 
 
 MALAY PENINSULA 
 
 In 1889, the former deputy jailer, having been 
 reinstated, I was transferred to Bassein as deputy- 
 jailer. 
 
 My advent in Bassein was anything but pleasing 
 to the jailer, Mr. Bell, who had previously run 
 foul of some of my reform measures in the Ran- 
 goon Central, and who was one of the officials I 
 had superseded. This gentleman's freedom of 
 action, like his perquisites, was somewhat cur- 
 tailed during my incumbency. 
 
 Both in the Rangoon and Bassein Central jails 
 the convicts manifested a great deal of respect 
 to me for my policy, as is shown in the fact that 
 almost every prisoner discharged from the jail 
 would wait sometimes all day for the opportunity 
 to thank me for the humane reforms I had intro- 
 duced and to wish me good-bye. 
 
 With the exception of one occasion I never ex- 
 perienced any danger from going about the jails 
 unarmed and even without a stick, notwithstand- 
 ing that I had been warned a thousand times that 
 
 262 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 263 
 
 I took my life in my hands every time I entered 
 the jail without a weapon of defense. 
 
 In the central tower of the main jail at Bassein 
 about two hundred lifers were kept at work on the 
 second floor weaving dunnage mats. These men 
 were too dangerous to be sent to the work-yards. 
 The central tower was in view of the prison guard 
 stationed over the jail offices about a hundred 
 yards away. 
 
 The circular floor on which the lifers worked 
 was divided in two halves ; there being four doors, 
 two at one side and two on the other, thus leaving 
 two small passage ways at the divisions of the 
 half-circles. 
 
 It was my general custom to visit the central 
 tower about 9.30 A. M. 
 
 No tools whatever were necessary in their work. 
 The bamboo shavings, about two feet in length, 
 was the only thing used by them with which to 
 weave their mats. The only danger to be antici- 
 pated, therefore, was by common assault by the 
 convicts in either one or the other half-circles. 
 
 One morning about seven o'clock I had an im- 
 pression that something was wrong in the central 
 tower. I scented trouble in the air, and proceeded 
 to investigate. Accompanied by my convict order- 
 ly I went upstairs. On reaching the passage way 
 between the two doors, I discovered that there was 
 good reason for my impression. As the convicts 
 looked up and saw me, a low spontaneous murmur 
 broke out, for which I severely reproved them. I 
 knew there was trouble in one or the other side 
 
264* Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 of the circle. I also knew that violence was con- 
 templated against my own person. 
 
 In describing this room I omitted to state that 
 a circular hollow tower, about thirty feet in diame- 
 ter went up through the center from the ground 
 to the top of the building, which made two com- 
 plete rooms of the outer part of the circle around 
 the tower. There were two rows or semi-circles, 
 of convicts ; one lot sitting with their backs to the 
 central tower, and the other lot facing them with 
 their backs to the outer wall. 
 
 Ordering the turnkey to unlock the gate on my 
 right, I proceeded with my inspection of the right 
 half, the circular construction of which prevented 
 my seeing more than a portion of it at once. 
 There was some murmuring in front of me, and 
 excited talk among the convicts on the left half of 
 the building. I critically inspected the work of 
 every man and spent an unusually long time on my 
 rounds. At length I reached the first gate of the 
 division of rooms. The fight was evidently in 
 front of me. The turnkey, standing between the 
 two gates, said, "You had better return the way 
 you came or turn in an alarm, there is trouble in 
 there. " 
 
 Ignoring his warning I ordered him to unlock 
 the door in front of me; I was determined to go 
 through it. As I entered the second room a fur- 
 ther mutinous murmur greeted me. Standing be- 
 tween the two rows of convicts I roundly berated 
 them for their mutinous conduct. 
 
 I passed around more slowly than I had done in 
 the first room and booked more men for punish- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 265 
 
 inent. I had finally got to the middle of this part 
 of the circle and could now see to the end of the 
 room. The intended attack upon me must come 
 soon, and I was looking for it. My only safety lay 
 in giving them plenty of time — time alone would 
 enable me to locate the ringleader, the villain to 
 lead the murderous assault. 
 
 I had started on the last quarter of the circle. 
 Was the danger ahead of me or in my rear? It 
 was certainly very close, and it was greater by 
 reason of the fact that the construction of the 
 room made it impossible for me to see all the con- 
 victs and that I had not the room for action that 
 the straight sheds afforded. 
 
 I gained a point at which only ten men were in 
 front of me on my right, and eight on my left. I 
 took one more step, when I was rewarded for the 
 "waiting game" I had played. The second con- 
 vict from me on my right shuffled forward, under 
 the pretext of doing something to the front part of 
 the mat which he had nearly completed. This 
 brought him three feet from his original position 
 and close up to the pathway by which I must pass 
 him. 
 
 The object of his move was apparent — to throw 
 himself upon me as I passed, to seize me by the 
 legs and throw me backwards would be the work 
 of a second. The rest would be easy. It subse- 
 quently transpired that I was right in my hasty 
 conclusion. The convict had been selected to start 
 the attack in this manner on account of his weight 
 and strength and for the further reason that he 
 was a past-master in the art of murder. He 
 
266 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelpli 
 
 weighed two hundred and seventy-eight pounds 
 and was one of the most dangerous convicts in the 
 country. Seeing his movement, I knew that I was 
 then standing in the middle of would-be assassins. 
 
 In front of me, behind me, and on either side of 
 me, desperate convicts were squatting, and only 
 awaited the signal to set about their ghastly work 
 of converting my head into mince-meat. 
 
 The time for action had arrived and a second's 
 delay would have meant immediate death to me. 
 I thoroughly understood the character and fiend- 
 ish purpose of my foes. I had seen British offi- 
 cers mutilated and their heads and quarters sus- 
 pended from different trees, and only a short time 
 previously the jailer of the Akyab jail had been 
 assassinated and his head chopped up with chisels. 
 
 Stepping forward to within one pace of the con- 
 vict awaiting me, and fixing my eyes upon him, 
 while, with the index finger of my right hand I 
 pointed to his place by the wall, I said severely, 
 "Back!" Absolute silence prevailed throughout 
 the building. The tension of the few seconds that 
 followed was very great. Quietly I stood, my eyes 
 riveted on those of my giant foe, and my fore- 
 finger still pointing to the spot to which I had com- 
 manded him to move. 
 
 At last! His eyes fell before my gaze. He 
 moved back to the wall. But still I remained. The 
 task of subduing this monster of iniquity and his 
 companions in crime must be thoroughly accom- 
 plished once for all. For fully five minutes I stood 
 there and denounced him and his companions in 
 the most scathing terms. Finally I passed on, and 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 267 
 
 on reaching the door I again turned and stood for 
 a few minutes facing the assassins from whose 
 power I had just escaped so providentially. 
 
 I then ordered the turnkey to open the gate and 
 went down stairs for the purpose of securing the 
 assistance of some other officials to search the con- 
 victs for the concealed weapons which I knew they 
 possessed. 
 
 As I stepped from the building a second-class 
 convict warder came running from the direction 
 of the work-yards. 
 
 He was too exhausted to do more than fall at 
 my feet, and put his arms about my legs and said, 
 "Sir, sir — do not go!" He had seen me in the 
 doorway of the central tower, and thought I was 
 about to go up stairs on my inspection. For an 
 hour this fellow had been running from one part 
 of the jail to another to warn me of my danger. 
 
 Telling him to rest himself until he could speak, 
 I sat down to await his report. When rested, he 
 said, "Sir, do not go up to the central tower. 
 You are to be murdered this morning on your first 
 visit. A number of chisels have been smuggled in 
 to the convicts in the bundles of bamboo shavings. 
 There are more than twenty lifers in the plot. 
 The big fellow sitting under the window on the 
 left hand side is to lead the murderous assault." 
 
 Thanking him for his loyalty and faithfulness, 
 I told him that I had just been round the central 
 tower and knew that what he had told me was 
 true, but that the murder had not come off. 
 
 I then proceeded to make arrangements for the 
 search. At this moment I saw Mr. Bell, the jailer, 
 
268 Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 
 
 hurrying to the main jail from the office. When 
 he reached me, I said, "You are just in time, Mr. 
 Bell." 
 
 1 ' Why, what is the matter ? ' ' said Bell. ' 1 Have 
 you been attacked?" 
 
 "Why should you think I had been attacked? 
 Are violent assaults on prison officials of daily 
 occurrence?" 
 
 Mr. Bell was much confused, and stammered 
 out, "I thought — perhaps — there had been an as- 
 sault made on you." 
 
 "Why should you have thought so, Mr. Bell? 
 Everything is quiet here. I am about to make a 
 search in the central tower and would like to have 
 you accompany me." 
 
 "For concealed weapons?" said Mr. Bell ex- 
 citedly. 
 
 "Why concealed weapons, Mr. Bell? Have you 
 ever had occasion to search for concealed wea- 
 pons? Tobacco, opium and money are the things 
 for which search is generally made. However, 
 please lead the way." 
 
 With two sergeants and my convict orderly 
 whom I armed with a baton, the party proceeded 
 upstairs, Mr. Bell being in the lead. 
 
 It is significant that the jailer did not so much 
 as look to the room on the right but turned at 
 once to the door on the left and looked directly 
 at the convict who had been detailed to lead the 
 attack upon me. 
 
 On entering the room, I told the jailer to super- 
 intend the search of the ward and I would attend 
 personally to the convicts. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guclplt 269 
 
 My search of the convicts resulted in the dis- 
 covery of charms sewn in their clothing. The 
 charms were supposed to give them power over 
 their enemy and to protect them from injury. 
 
 Twelve convicts had twelve inch spike nails, 
 ground up like chisels, in their possession. Eigh- 
 teen men were implicated in the murder plot. The 
 convicts were taken before the superintendent 
 and sentenced to be flogged, each man received 
 thirty lashes, was put in short fetters and cross 
 bars, and bad character clothing, and placed in 
 separate confinement. 
 
 A fortnight later the superintendent, Dr. Dal- 
 ziel was transferred and Mr. Bell at once recom- 
 mended that the short fetters and cross bars be 
 removed from my assailants, stating that the men 
 had committed no offence. 
 
 Not one of the convicts implicated in the mur- 
 der plot had any personal grievance against me. 
 On the other hand I had crippled the tobacco and 
 opium trade carried on at a good profit by cer- 
 tain officials. I had also caused a reduction of 
 about fifty per cent, in the contractors' monthly 
 bill for bamboos supplied to the jail. 
 
 For two years the superintendent had been re- 
 peatedly called upon to explain the cause of heavy 
 expenditure for bamboos as compared with the 
 number of dunnage mats made. 
 
 He had made many tests to see how many mats 
 could be obtained from a given number of bam- 
 boo. The result of all tests was satisfactory, but 
 the monthly output of mats fell fifty per cent, 
 short of the tests. 
 
270 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 The explanation was simple. The tests were 
 genuine, while there was a miscalculation in the 
 number of bamboos used each month, by which 
 the department was paying for about double the 
 number actually received. 
 
 On my return from leave of absence ten days 
 prior to the attempt on my life, I was told that 
 it had been said that I "would be carried out of 
 the jail feet first within a fortnight" of my re- 
 turn to duty. I resigned from the prison service 
 shortly after the above incident. The jailer was 
 dismissed from the service not long after and be- 
 came a printer's devil at ten dollars per month. 
 
 It was while I was in the Bassein jail that I es- 
 tablished my first school for the benefit of the Bur- 
 mese. 
 
 The Bassein Day School was opened near the 
 Baptist Mission. This school was established for 
 the purpose of affording a secular education with- 
 out prejudice to the religious faith of the pupils. 
 Many Buddhist parents object to the religious in- 
 struction given in mission schools, on the ground 
 that their children readily acquire the habits of 
 the nominal Christians, the prevailing weaknesses 
 of intemperance, immorality and our vaunted 
 "Christian Charity" — better defined as man's 
 inhumanity to man. The beautiful character of 
 the Buddhist child, the predominating feature of 
 which is that of a Christ-like reverence and honor 
 for their parents and elders undergoes a sad 
 change. The parents are treated with a care- 
 less indifference, and later with gross disrespect. 
 The boy, whose Buddhist faith teaches abstinence 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 271 
 
 from the aforesaid social evils, adopts the customs 
 of the nominal Christian — the curse of missionary 
 effort. 
 
 When I assumed charge of the Cantonment divi- 
 sion, Rangoon, as inspector of police, the retiring 
 officer in making over the charge, said, "When 
 cases of assault or theft are reported, you will do 
 
 well to go through St. College. You will be 
 
 surprised to learn how frequently you will find the 
 offenders there." 
 
 The rule of the Bassein day school was to give 
 religious instruction to those children whose par- 
 ents desired it, and instruction to the Buddhists 
 in their own faith. The late Bishop Bigandet, 
 Roman Catholic Bishop of Burma, used to say, 
 "Teach a Burmese boy to be a true Buddhist and 
 you will have an ideal Christian." 
 
 The experiment of the Bassein Day School prov- 
 ed most satisfactory, and I determined to extend 
 my work in that direction. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Cronkite in charge of the Karen 
 Mission there, which I attended, was favorably 
 impressed with my school. 
 
 I could not, of course, do more than pay casual 
 visits to the school, but I had a good staff of teach- 
 ers in charge. 
 
 After leaving the prison service in 1891, I took 
 a trip to the Malay Peninsula, where I spent about 
 two months in looking over the mission field. 
 
 The mission to seamen interested me very much, 
 and I enjoyed the services conducted on board 
 different vessels each Sabbath, in which it was my 
 privilege to participate. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 A COMEDY OF ERRORS — I AM TAKEN FOR AN EX-CONVICT 
 SHADOWED BY GENERAL MANAGER OF A DEPART- 
 MENT STORE THE BISHOP *S " COOKING 
 
 BRANDY" 
 
 On my return to Burma I decided to look into 
 the operations of the newly established Services 
 Co-operative Stores. 
 
 Pursuing my policy of practical investigation, 
 I called on the general manager one morning to 
 apply for a job. 
 
 I was directed upstairs to the office and ushered 
 into the presence of that official, who was fresh 
 from England. 
 
 "Have you had any experience in this line?" he 
 inquired. 
 
 "Yes, I had some experience in this line about 
 eighteen years ago," I answered. 
 
 "Eighteen years ago!" he said. "What have 
 you been doing since?" 
 
 "Oh, I have been 'Jack of all trades,' " I re- 
 plied. 
 
 "Where were you last?" he asked. 
 
 "In jail," I said. 
 
 "In jail! How long were you there?" he asked 
 in astonishment. 
 
 272 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 273 
 
 " About five years," I replied. 
 
 "Five years in jail ! I am sorry, but I have no 
 vacancy. ' ' 
 
 "I thank you," I said, "good morning, sir." 
 
 Leaving the august presence of this simple- 
 minded individual, I sauntered through the upper 
 floor of the Service Co-operative Stores. I had 
 no sooner closed the door on the manager's office 
 than he quietly opened it again and peeped 
 through the slight opening. When I had pro- 
 ceeded only a few paces he followed. Being in the 
 humor for a little fun, I spent some time in in- 
 specting the wares of the various departments, 
 paying particular attention to the jewelry depart- 
 ment and others, where the most expensive goods 
 were displayed. 
 
 The general manager, like a faithful servant, 
 paid close attention to his duty. He not only 
 shadowed me himself but had an assistant accom- 
 pany him. 
 
 After having spent considerable time in the 
 store and worked up the nerves of the manager, I 
 met the assistant manager, Mr. Charles Pascal, 
 whom I knew very well, and who was a member 
 of my church. He had not seen me since my re- 
 turn from Singapore, and emphasized his pleasure 
 at our meeting by placing his arm around my 
 shoulders and walking with me in this friendly 
 way. I glanced around. to see what effect this ex- 
 pression of affection on the part of the assistant 
 manager would have upon his superior. 
 
 I observed that gentleman clinging to a counter 
 for support — so overcome was he to discover his 
 
274 Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 
 
 trusted assistant in league with a supposed ex- 
 convict. 
 
 After having shown me around the various de- 
 partments, upstairs and down, every minute of 
 which was an hour's torture to the general man- 
 ager, he escorted me to my carriage. 
 
 I was subsequently informed that the moment 
 I had driven away, the general manager stepped 
 up to his assistant and asked, "Do you know that 
 man?" 
 
 "Yes, very well," replied the assistant. 
 
 "How long have you known him?" 
 
 "I have known him for many years." 
 
 "Judging from your friendly greeting I pre- 
 sume you have not seen him for some time?" 
 
 "Quite so," replied the assistant, "he has been 
 away. ' ' 
 
 "For five years, I believe," suggested the man- 
 ager, and then adding, "five years in jail. Do you 
 know, sir, that you are making a bosom friend of 
 an ex-convict? I have had the warmest half -hour 
 of my life to see that chap safely off the prem- 
 ises." 
 
 If the general manager had been surprised by 
 his mysterious applicant, he was more surprised 
 when Pascal held his sides and roared with laugh- 
 ter. 
 
 Explanations followed, and a messenger was 
 sent after me post-haste. On again meeting the 
 general manager, I said, "Have you missed any- 
 thing ? You may search me ; I have not taken it. ' ' 
 
 The general manager inquired why I had not 
 explained what I was doing in jail. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 275 
 
 I told him that I had answered his questions. 
 Had he wished to know what I was doing in con- 
 nection with the prison service I would have been 
 pleased to have enlightened him on that subject. 
 I was informed that I could enter upon my duties 
 as an assistant at any time. I was ready. I had 
 been in the Service Co-operative Stores about 
 three weeks when I was performing the duties of 
 three men ; that of an assistant behind the counter, 
 cashier and checker of all invoices. 
 
 One of the most interesting members of the 
 Service Co-operative Stores was His Lordship the 
 
 Bishop of and his wife— "Lovey." 
 
 Shortly after entering upon my duties I put up 
 an order for the Lord Bishop. His Lordship had 
 made it distinctly understood that under no cir- 
 cumstances was the liberty of substitution to be 
 practised upon him. I had not been informed of 
 the Bishop's eccentricities, and not having his 
 favorite cheese in stock, I substituted some good 
 ripe gorgonzola for cheddar. The order was de- 
 livered before my mistake was discovered. 
 
 The manager informed me that he would leave 
 me to "face the music" the following morning 
 when His Lordship would be sure to come in and 
 raise a storm. 
 
 At eight o'clock the following morning the 
 Bishop's carriage pulled up at the door and "Mr. 
 Gaiters" nearly turned turtle in his hurry to get 
 out of his carriage. 
 
 Vaulting over the counter, I met him at the 
 door. Seizing him by the hand I shook it most 
 vigorously as I said, "Ah, my Lord, I am de- 
 
276 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 lighted to see you. I knew you would drop in to 
 congratulate me on the quality of our last ship- 
 ment of gorgonzola. I know your taste for good 
 things, and so cut out the mild cheddar and sent 
 you the choice of the whole store. No, don't com- 
 pliment me, let me accompany you to the man- 
 ager's office, he will be delighted with your Lord- 
 ship's congratulations." 
 
 Taking his Lordship by the arm we toddled off 
 to the manager's office. 
 
 The Bishop was profuse with his compliments 
 for the good judgment I had shown, notwithstand- 
 ing that he had called for the express purpose of 
 kicking up a row. 
 
 During Christmas week, 1891, the Bishop and 
 "Lovey" came with their Christmas order. 
 
 I was standing near them when a certain item 
 on their list was reached. The Bishop, observing 
 me, nudged his wife, saying as he did so, "Skip 
 that, Lovey, skip that." 
 
 "Why skip it?" said "Lovey," looking up inno- 
 cently at her Lord Bishop. 
 
 ' ' Umph ! Don 't you see ? " as he glanced in my 
 direction. "Wait, wait, put that in last." 
 
 When they were nearing the completion of their 
 order, I again took my position by the assistant 
 waiting on the Bishop. At length the last item 
 was given. 
 
 Then commenced an amusing comedy. 
 
 Glancing from me to his wife his lordship 
 "hummed" and "hawed" in a variety of keys and 
 inflections; he scratched his head as though in an 
 effort to rake up his memory, searched his pockets 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 277 
 
 and patted his epigastrium and forehead alter- 
 nately. He put on his specs to look over the list, 
 and examined the ceiling, bringing his handker- 
 chief into play, he mopped his forehead and finally 
 remarked, "I am sure we have forgotten some- 
 thing. What is it, Lovey?" 
 
 "I really can't think, Bishop, but I am sure we 
 have missed something," his wife replied. 
 
 Together they went carefully over the list and 
 "Lovey's" pencil rested for a moment on the 
 missing item, but still neither the Bishop nor his 
 wife could bring themselves to mention it. 
 
 After having enjoyed the Bishop's discomfort 
 for some time, I volunteered to assist his memory. 
 "I think I can help your Lordship," I suggested. 
 ' ' The item which you can not recall is, perhaps, an 
 uncommon one at Bishop's Court, and it is not 
 surprising that you do not recall it. I believe it is 
 cooking brandy for the Christmas pudding." 
 
 "Well done, you are a marvel!" exclaimed the 
 Bishop. "That is the very thing." Then turn- 
 ing to his wife, he continued, "Oh, Lovey, this is 
 the gentleman who sent us that beautiful gorgon- 
 zola." 
 
 The assistant had produced three or four brands 
 of brandy for inspection. 
 
 "I am afraid my memory is at fault again," 
 said the Bishop ; ' ' Christmas comes but once a year 
 and I do not quite recall the brand we had last 
 year. I am sure it was not of these. It had a 
 very nice flavor and I would like to have the same 
 brand again." 
 
 The assistant had nearly exhausted our various 
 
278 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 brands of brandy without success. ' ' I would know 
 it if I saw the bottle," explained the distressed 
 Bishop. ' ' The name of the brand is on my tongue, 
 but I can not quite say it. ' ' Turning to the assis- 
 tant I spoke to him, soto voce, whereupon he pro- 
 duced the familiar wire-netted bottle with the seal 
 of Egshaws No. 1. 
 
 ''That's it, that's it," cried the delighted 
 Bishop, like a school boy. The assistant waited 
 patiently for the order for the "cooking brandy" 
 for the Bishop's Christmas pudding. 
 
 Again they were in a quandary. 
 
 "How much did we have last Christmas?" in- 
 quired my Lord Bishop. 
 
 "I really forget, Bishop," replied "Lovey." 
 
 "That is very awkward," said the Bishop. 
 
 Again I came to the rescue. ' ' Shall we make it 
 a dozen cases?" I suggested. 
 
 "Upon my word, I believe that is just what we 
 had last Christmas," exclaimed the Bishop. "Yes, 
 send a dozen cases, it gives the pudding a delicious 
 flavor." After which the delighted couple took 
 their departure. 
 
 Six months ' experience in the Service Co-opera- 
 tive Stores gave me a good idea of the advantage 
 of co-operative service organizations to supply 
 food stuffs, wearing apparel and other articles 
 and wares of domestic utility, at much lower cost 
 than obtains in other establishments. 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 A PASSAGE OF ARMS WITH THE REBELS 1 RUN KISK OF 
 
 BEING CONVERTED INTO PEMICAN 
 
 I omitted to mention an interesting experience 
 shortly after I had resigned my command in the 
 military police, early in 1887. 
 
 Having joined the Public Works Department, 
 I was placed in charge of the executive engineer 's 
 office at Toungdwingyi ; (within the mountains), 
 situated about fifteen miles east of Minbu in Up- 
 per Burma. 
 
 Peace had been declared for some time, but the 
 natives of this locality had not yet submitted to 
 British rule. A few days prior to my arrival at 
 Minbu the deputy commissioner of the district, 
 Colonel Phayre, was brutally murdered on the 
 road over which I had to travel. 
 
 His party had been surprised by the rebels. 
 His remains were later found by a search party. 
 He had been decapitated and quartered, his head 
 and quarters being found suspended from the 
 branches of different trees — a grewsome spectacle 
 which filled every European, military and civil, 
 with horror. 
 
 I left Minbu with a convoy under strong mili- 
 tary escort for Toungdwingyi. When about two 
 
 279 
 
280 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 miles out from Minbu I told the officer command- 
 ing that I was going ahead. 
 
 He remonstrated with me for my foolhardiness 
 and asked me if poor Phayre's fate was not suffi- 
 cient to deter me from my recklessness. The con- 
 voy was expecting an attack, and, as I cantered 
 ahead the officer commanding the convoy called 
 out, "Good-bye." 
 
 I knew my position; I also knew the strength 
 of the rebels and my relation to them, therefore I 
 had no fear. 
 
 I had proceeded about five miles ; had long lost 
 the creaking of the bullock carts and was enjoying 
 the stillness of nature in the jungles, disturbed 
 only by an occasional snake, deer or bear, when 
 I suddenly came upon two men carrying baskets 
 of betel-nut leaves. 
 
 A few words in conversation convinced me that 
 they were rebel scouts. I passed on and shortly 
 afterwards came upon a party of about fifty armed 
 men. 
 
 As they brought their arms to the " ready," I 
 bandied them in Burmese, saying — "This is very 
 foolish. I am not a tiger. What do you wish to 
 shoot?" 
 
 I was smiling and looking at the leader. I have 
 stated elsewhere that the bump of humor is large- 
 ly developed in the Burmese. I repeat it that per- 
 chance some who read these remarks may profit 
 thereby. 
 
 The leader remarked, "This is a very witty fel- 
 low," then turning to me he asked, "Are you not 
 afraid to die?" 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 281 
 
 To this I replied, "You are Buddhists, are you 
 not? How then, can you speak of death, when 
 there is no death ; life being but an ephemeral con- 
 dition, a transitionary stage in the evolution of 
 our spiritual being. As we are on earth for spiri- 
 tual development only, so our transition hence is 
 by merit or demerit. If I have attained merit 
 to justify my transition I am very happy ; but, if 
 you have attained to demerit to cause my transi- 
 tion, I am very sorry for you." 
 
 To these remarks the leader said, "This Eng- 
 lishman is a Buddhist and a great teacher. We 
 must hear him. But he is our enemy, therefore 
 would we kill him." 
 
 Again addressing the leader, I said, "Will you 
 please define the expression, — 'enemy?' " Con- 
 tinuing, I said, "An enemy is an armed man or 
 body of men who destroy their fellow man. As you 
 observe, I have neither gun, sword, nor spear. I 
 am, therefore, a man of peace. You, on the other 
 hand, are armed with guns, swords and spears. 
 Hence you are the enemies of the man of peace. 
 
 "You think you are justified in killing an Eng- 
 lishman simply because you take the position that 
 England made war upon your country. Do you 
 think that I represent the whole British army and 
 navy combined that you would raise fifty guns 
 to kill me? You asked me why I smile while fac- 
 ing your guns. I did so for the reason that I was 
 both happy and amused. Happy at the mere pros- 
 pect of the future life ; and amused to see so many 
 men trying to shoot one man. My life is perfectly 
 safe before so many guns. If any one of your 
 
282 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 men could shoot straight enough to kill me, it 
 would not be necessary for fifty to try." 
 
 The above sally caused a hearty laugh among 
 the whole party, after which I was invited to join 
 them in their repast which had been disturbed by 
 my approach. 
 
 I took the opportunity to impress upon my 
 hosts the absurdity of so many unskilled marks- 
 men attempting to attack a properly disciplined 
 army of "professional men-killers." It took fifty 
 of them to try to kill a man of peace ; whereas, one 
 professional man-killer could easily kill one hun- 
 dred or more of them. I told them that peace had 
 long been declared and advised them to return to 
 their homes and families, with the assurance that 
 the British Government would make their lives 
 very much brighter and the country better than 
 in the past. 
 
 The party thanked me for my advice and dis- 
 persed to their homes. 
 
 I reached my destination in safety. I was taken 
 ill shortly after my arrival at Toungdwingyi and 
 resigning my position I returned to Rangoon 
 within a few weeks. 
 
 About the fall of 1891, I engaged in lecturing 
 on and teaching the Burmese language. I had 
 classes in the Burma Volunteers, taught officers 
 and men in the regiments, missionaries, civil ser- 
 vants, and the various classes in the Methodist 
 school. 
 
 My phonetic system in teaching this difficult 
 language was highly commended by the highest 
 authorities; Bishop Bigandet, the greatest author- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 283 
 
 ity on the language, said that the only thing that 
 surprised him was "that the system had not been 
 adopted fifty years ago." 
 
 I was not allowed to remain long as a professor 
 of Oriental languages. The director of public in- 
 struction, Mr. J. Van Someran Pope, wished me 
 to undertake the responsibility of establishing 
 an Anglo-vernacular school in Upper Burma. 
 
 I accordingly went to Myingyan (the country 
 of the wild horse) and established a government 
 school, early in 1892. 
 
 Two or three weeks after my arrival there I 
 was taken ill with cholera, and was alone in my 
 quarters, without medical aid through a day and 
 night until Father Berard, a Roman Catholic 
 priest, whom I was instructing in Burmese, came 
 to my assistance about 3.30 A. M., the day after 
 my attack. 
 
 He had been out all night attending to a sick 
 person and came to me the moment he heard of my 
 condition. The priest brought two bottles of com- 
 munion wine thinking it might be useful in the 
 absence of other remedies. He also brought me 
 the only quilt or comforter and pillow which con- 
 stituted his bed — an example of true missionary 
 spirit and Christian charity that other mission- 
 aries would do well to follow. 
 
 On my recovery I left for Mandalay, where I 
 established the "Mandalay Myo Theikpan 
 Choung-Daw-Gyi (The Mandalay Royal Town 
 School of Science and Art)." This was a private 
 enterprise. I employed only European teachers 
 and followed my former policy of affording the 
 
284 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 children of the country the advantages of advanc- 
 ed Western education without prejudice to the re- 
 ligious faith of any. 
 
 The school became very popular and met with 
 the support of the leading representatives of all 
 nationalities in Mandalay. 
 
 In the month of February, 1893, the Rev. 
 Thomas Ellis, superintendent of the St. Barnabas 
 and St. Luke's Mission Schools (Society for the 
 Propagation of the Gospel), urged upon me to go 
 to Rangoon to take charge of the St. Barnabas 
 Schools, which for twelve years had stood at the 
 bottom of the list of all schools in the country at 
 each successive examination. The government 
 had decided to withdraw the government grant 
 from the schools. A formal examination was to 
 be held in two weeks' time for the purpose of con- 
 demning the school. 
 
 Making over charge of my school to another 
 party, I proceeded to Rangoon and took charge 
 of St. Barnabas School. 
 
 The day for the formal examination arrived 
 and a new inspector fresh from Cambridge was 
 given the unpleasant task of condemning a mis- 
 sion school as his first duty. The result of the ex- 
 amination was a surprise to him and a still greater 
 surprise to the director of public instruction, the 
 whole school gaining a hundred per cent, in all 
 subjects and excellent in discipline. 
 
 Needless to say the school was not condemned. 
 At the following annual examination, held three 
 months later, St. Barnabas School jumped from 
 
The Prince John as a Missionary 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De GuelpJb 285 
 
 the bottom of the list to the first place of all 
 schools in the country in merit and discipline. 
 
 I devoted a great deal of my time to attending 
 to the sick, treating cases of leprosy and other 
 diseases of remote origin. My success led to my 
 being designated by the natives ' ' The Great Royal 
 Physician of the East." I also devoted consider- 
 able time to teaching and lecturing when not en- 
 gaged in mission duties. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 I AM TAKEN DANGEROUSLY ILL BEING URGED UPON 
 
 BY MY SPIRITUAL ADVISER, I SEND A MESSAGE OF 
 
 MY FORGIVENESS TO MY GRANDMOTHER THE 
 
 QUEEN AND MY FATHER AND THEREBY 
 
 REVEAL MY IDENTITY 
 
 The strenuous mental and physical labor of the 
 past year following upon the attack of cholera 
 from the effect of which I had never fully recov- 
 ered, had been depleting my vitality and I finally 
 collapsed from heart-failure. 
 
 This attack commenced about the month of No- 
 vember, 1893, but I persistently refused to follow 
 the advice of my physicians, Dr. Baker, the civil 
 surgeon, and Dr. A. H. Ellis, a member of the 
 S. P. G. Mission, with which I was connected, who 
 urged me repeatedly to return to England. I 
 insisted upon attending to my duties until the 
 Easter vacation. I had also arranged with Mr. 
 Moodray Pillay, a noted Hindu philanthropist, 
 to establish a hospital in Rangoon for the treat- 
 ment of the sick poor, for which purpose that gen- 
 tleman had placed at my disposal one of his large 
 school buildings. It may be stated here that Mr. 
 Moodray Pillay had established large schools in 
 Rangoon on the lines introduced by me, where 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 287 
 
 Hindu children could receive thorough western 
 education without prejudice to their religious 
 faith. 
 
 The projected hospital, I regret to say, fell 
 through at the very time our arrangements for 
 opening it were completed. 
 
 On returning to my residence one Saturday 
 evening, following a very heavy day's work, I 
 was seized with an attack of heart-failure from 
 which I remained unconscious for several hours, 
 Dr. Ellis, who was summoned immediately after 
 I was stricken, doing everything possible to re- 
 store me. These attacks recurred at intervals for 
 two months. 
 
 On the occasion of the second attack, which 
 came a few days after the first, Dr. Ellis, fearing 
 that I was at the point of death, called the Eev. 
 Thomas Ellis, superintendent of our mission. 
 
 Taking advantage of a slight rally, my spiritual 
 adviser begged of me to send a "last message" to 
 my "people at home." Neither of my fellow 
 laborers in the Lord's vineyard knew of my iden- 
 tity. They did know, however, that there was 
 some great secret sorrow in my heart, which they 
 had hitherto respected with brotherly silence and 
 sympathy. 
 
 I at first declined to make any statement, but 
 as I saw that my silence pained my friends, I con- 
 sented to make what I firmly believed at that time 
 to be my death-bed statement before God and His 
 ministers. The statement was made to my spiri- 
 tual adviser as a sacred trust. 
 
 Rev. Thomas Ellis thoughtfully suggested that 
 
288 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 the Kev. A. H. Ellis should retire to another 
 room, but I explained that it was important that 
 he should be present. First, for the reason that 
 he was a member of the mission and therefore an 
 important witness to what I was about to say ; and, 
 secondly, for the reason that as my physician it 
 was still more important that he should be in a 
 position to state whether or not my mind was clear 
 and rational at the time of making the statement. 
 I then explained to them my identity and the par- 
 ticulars of my birth; and also the names and 
 addresses of the different nurses and people with 
 whom I had lived, giving the dates and years dur- 
 ing which I had lived at the different places ; I also 
 showed to them marks of identification upon my 
 body and the depression in my skull caused by the 
 fall over the railway wall when an infant. 
 
 I also sent to my grandmother, the late Queen 
 Victoria, and to my father, then Prince of Wales, 
 a message of my forgiveness for the cruel man- 
 ner in which I had been robbed of my legitimate 
 birthright, as his first born son torn from my 
 mother's breast. 
 
 I again relapsed into unconsciousness; prayers 
 were offered and, finally, as Dr. Ellis pronounced 
 life extinct, he uttered the words, "Into Thy 
 hands, God, we commend his spirit, Amen." 
 
 Thus it was thought that I had departed from 
 this life. The two clergymen had adjourned to 
 another room, to discuss the arrangements for my 
 funeral the following day, Sunday. 
 
 They remained for some time conversing in 
 an undertone. Here I must relate a manifestation 
 
H. M. KING EDWARD VII 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 289 
 
 of a psychological phenomenon which may be of 
 interest to psychologists and to the medical pro- 
 fession. 
 
 While my body was lying cold, in apparent 
 death, I was conscious of being present in the 
 room where my fellow missionary workers were 
 seated and planning for the services on the mor- 
 row and for my funeral to take place in the after- 
 noon. I understood the conversation as distinctly 
 as I could have done had I been present in the 
 body. I was also conscious of passing through 
 other experiences, the particulars of which I will 
 not relate at this time. 
 
 I recovered consciousness about eight hours 
 later, and my appearance on the stage of life on 
 Sunday morning gave my friends quite a shock. 
 
 I wrote to my father immediately after my re- 
 covery, and explained that I was about to return 
 to England on sick furlough. 
 
 It was at this time that my father communicated 
 with the Lieutenant Governor of Burma, admit- 
 ting our relationship and suggesting that I should 
 go to Australia or New Zealand for my health. 
 
 This communication, while of a confidential na- 
 ture, had to be made known to the Lord Bishop of 
 my diocese, the director of public instruction and 
 other officials, with the result that within a week 
 it was an open secret. 
 
 Being unable to live longer in seclusion, I as- 
 sumed the family name of Guelph, which my 
 grandmother resented. 
 
 Captain J. Eegan, superintendent of the Gov- 
 ernment Printing Department in Burma, dropped 
 
290 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 in on me at Evershed's Hotel one evening. After 
 a few casual remarks he suggested that I should 
 discontinue to use the family name of the Keign- 
 ing House; he also explained to me that if I would 
 discontinue the name of Guelph, a title commen- 
 surate with my birth would be conferred upon me 
 and an office suited to my station would be pro- 
 vided for me in the colonies. 
 
 I explained to him that for over twelve years the 
 doctors had repeatedly urged me to return to Eng- 
 land, saying that I could not live in the climate of 
 India; that I had as persistently refused to leave 
 India where I had enjoyed my life of seclusion, 
 preferring rather to die in seclusion than to return ' 
 to England where the bitterness of my position 
 was ever present with me and made life a misery. 
 The injustice and indignities heaped upon me and 
 my mother from the time of my birth were simply 
 intolerable and words failed me to adequately ex- 
 press the contempt in which I had held my grand- 
 mother, my father and the nation at large for the 
 parts they had played in the infamous and bar- 
 barous crime committed against me and my 
 mother. Now that my identity had been made 
 known through my father's communication to the 
 authorities, and my desire to live incognito was 
 no longer possible, the assumption of my family 
 name was the only course left open to me. I fur- 
 ther explained to Captain Regan that I possessed 
 certain royal titles by right of birth, and that as 
 my name was not Esau I was not disposed to bar- 
 ter my birthright for a "mess of pottage." He 
 would please convey my compliments to Her 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 291 
 
 Majesty the Queen-Empress, my grandmother, 
 and tell her that it was my intention to be known 
 thereafter by the family name as the legitimate 
 issue thereof. And, further, that I purposed to 
 return to England as advised by my physician. 
 I added, however, that out of respect for her feel- 
 ings, I would, during her lifetime, continue the 
 incognito hitherto observed, and would be known 
 by the family name hyphenated with the name by 
 which I had always been known, i. e., John R. 
 Guelph-Norman ; but, that the day my father 
 should be crowned King of Great Britain and Ire- 
 land, I would thereafter be known only by the fam- 
 ily name of Guelph or by my rightful titles. 
 
 The Lord Bishop of my diocese complimented 
 me on the stand I had taken, and, stating that I 
 had "the lash in my hand," urged me "to go home 
 and use it." 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 i am; recommended for chair of Burmese, cam- 
 bridge UNIVERSITY 1 SAIL FOR ENGLAND BUF- 
 
 FETTED BY SOUTHWEST MONSOONS, WE REACH 
 ENGLAND MUCH BATTERED AND CRIPPLED 
 
 I took passage by the tramp steamer S. S. Afri- 
 cander, Captain C H , as jolly a skip- 
 per as ever sailed the seas, for two reasons: I 
 was going on sick furlough without pay, with an 
 empty pocket and no bank account ; had my salary 
 in the mission been ten times greater than it was 
 I would have been in the same impoverished con- 
 dition, since a missionary agent can always find 
 good use for surplus money. The cheap passage 
 by the tramp was, therefore, a consideration to 
 me. In the second place, being the only passen- 
 ger I would have the advantage of quiet and rest, 
 not easily obtained on the regular liners; more- 
 over, the Africander being a slower boat I would 
 have the advantage of the longer voyage which 
 would benefit my health. 
 
 I had not, however, bargained for the exciting 
 experience I was entering upon. The excitement 
 commenced before we put to sea, by the chief of- 
 ficer shooting me in the right foot at two-foot 
 range with his air gun. Congratulating myself 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 293 
 
 that he had chosen my foot instead of my head 
 as a target for his tomfoolery, I dismissed the 
 matter from my mind. All went well until we 
 reached Columbo, where we coaled. The ship was 
 overloaded on leaving Rangoon, and on steaming 
 from Columbo about midnight we were a foot be- 
 low the water line. Captain H had been 
 
 for many years on the South African Mail Ser- 
 vice, but was unfamiliar with the far Eastern 
 trade routes. 
 
 His unfamiliarity with the monsoons led him to 
 take the regular course of mail steamers in good 
 weather instead of following the course as marked 
 on the chart for the monsoon season. 
 
 The course followed by the captain was where 
 the greatest force of the monsoons was concen- 
 trated and the most confused seas were encoun- 
 tered. 
 
 The three forward hatchways were stove in 
 and tons of water soaked the cargo of rice, the 
 life boats smashed into matchwood and the davits 
 snapped up like so many slate pencils, the bul- 
 warks and deck torn up, and the after-saloon 
 damaged and flooded. 
 
 When off the island of Socotra about 5.30 P. M. 
 a sea was shipped which gave the Africander a 
 spasm. The chief engineer on calculating the 
 force required to do the damage done by that sea 
 found it to be 21,000 tons. 
 
 The chief officer was on the bridge. The helm 
 was put hard a 'port and all hands called on deck 
 to clear away the wreckage and once more to cover 
 the hatchways. By an error of judgment the Cap- 
 
294 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 tain, on reaching the bridge again, turned her 
 head to the sea, with the result that another sea 
 was shipped, endangering the lives of the whole 
 crew and came near sending the boat to the bot- 
 tom. 
 
 The following morning about nine o'clock we 
 were abeam the Island of Socotra, having made a 
 "record" run of eight knots in sixteen hours 
 steaming at full speed. It was with feelings of re- 
 lief that we passed this point where two liners had 
 been wrecked about a week previous. In sixteen 
 days we had made a run from Columbo which, 
 under ordinary circumstances, should have been 
 made in six days. We arrived safely at Suez, 
 called at Port Said, Alexandria, Beirut, Jaffa, 
 Tripoli and other ports. 
 
 Captain H , who was considerably alarm- 
 ed for the safety of the vessel and for his own 
 skin during the worst part of the voyage, sought 
 my companionship a good deal of the thne and we 
 spent many hours together. The afternoon be- 
 fore reaching Socotra, I wished to take a nap, and, 
 calling the steward, told him that if the captain 
 should call for me, he was to say that ' ' I had gone 
 ashore." 
 
 A little later I heard the captain calling for the 
 steward. He ordered the steward to convey his 
 compliments to me and to say that he would like 
 to see me. I heard the steward carry out my in- 
 structions by saying, "he's gone ashore, sir." 
 
 "Well," replied the captain, "when he comes 
 aboard, tell him I would like to see him." 
 
 "Aye, aye, sir," replied the steward. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 295 
 
 A few moments later I heard the captain roar 
 for the steward; when that dignitary responded, 
 the captain shouted, ' ' Gone ashore, has he ! ! ! 
 Gone ashore, you lubber, and we sixteen days at 
 sea"?" 
 
 Here followed a fusilade of sea-boots and other 
 movable articles to the accompaniment of further 
 picturesque sea language, after which the captain 
 made his way to my cabin. 
 
 We reached Alexandria on the anniversary of 
 the bombardment of that port. 
 
 An affray took place that evening between a lot 
 of Egyptians and English sailors in port. 
 
 I had gone ashore early in the afternoon and 
 knew nothing of the trouble. About midnight 
 when returning on board I was attacked by a 
 dozen stalwart Egyptians, not far from the pier. 
 Being unarmed, I "borrowed" a club from one 
 of my assailants and gave them a lesson in the use 
 of the weapon — and escaped without injury be- 
 yond having my coat torn. I reported the matter 
 to the police and returned to the steamer. 
 
 On reaching Gravesend I said "good-bye" to 
 the captain and officers and proceeded to London 
 by train. 
 
 I reported at the office of the Society for the 
 Propagation of the Gospel on my arrival in Lon- 
 don. 
 
 It was necessary for me to find some occupation. 
 I had expected to have been appointed to the chair 
 of Burmese in the Cambridge University, for 
 which I had been recommended before leaving 
 Burma. As I had been more than two months on 
 
296 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 the voyage, or more than a month longer than I 
 had expected, the position had been filled before 
 my arrival. A number of the missionary socie- 
 ties in London said they would be glad of my serv- 
 ices when they made their appointments in Novem- 
 ber, but it was difficult to find congenial employ- 
 ment during the summer months. 
 
 The curacy of St. John's Church, Birmingham, 
 was offered to me from the 1st September, 1894, 
 but as the letter was mislaid in the office of the 
 S. P. G., I knew nothing of the offer until the 
 middle of September when it was, of course, too 
 late. 
 
 I had written to my grandmother, the late 
 Queen Victoria, and also to my father two or three 
 times during the voyage home, and had given them 
 the name and address of my London agents in 
 case they desired to communicate with me, but I 
 gave my father to distinctly understand that not- 
 withstanding that I was returning on sick fur- 
 lough and physically unfit for work, I desired no 
 financial assistance from him except my legiti- 
 mate birthright. As I had been thrown upon my 
 own resources from infancy, I would accept no 
 compromise. 
 
 Having looked in vain for employment among 
 all the Home Missionary Societies and being re- 
 duced to my last shilling, I took to the lecture 
 platform; lecturing on the medical systems of 
 India, Ayurveda and Yunani, giving at the same 
 time demonstrations on the platform of the prac- 
 tical application of physiological psychology to 
 abnormal or pathological data of both physical 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 297 
 
 and mental nature. I established consulting 
 rooms in Liverpool and Manchester on the sug- 
 gestion of my friend H. L. Squires, of Hope Street, 
 Liverpool. 
 
 My services were much in demand, both in the 
 lecture field and in treating disease. The sick, 
 the lame, and the blind were brought from differ- 
 ent parts of the country and also from the con- 
 tinent of Europe to me. The press notices of that 
 time show that some people much appreciated my 
 services. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 I RETURN TO BURMA — I ESPOUSE THE CAUSE OF THE 
 
 PEOPLE MY GROWING POPULARITY A MENACE TO 
 
 THOSE WHO HAD USURPED MY RIGHTS — FIF- 
 TEEN YEARS OF POLITICAL INTRIGUE AND 
 PERSECUTION FOLLOW 
 
 At the end of April, 1895, I cancelled all my 
 engagements and returned to India by the S. S. 
 Ameer of the Brocklebank Line, sailing from 
 Liverpool 7th May for Calcutta, from which port 
 I took the British India line for Eangoon, where 
 I arrived on the 15th June. 
 
 My furlough did not expire until the 24th May 
 the following year, but it was too painful for me 
 to remain in my false position in England living 
 among the people, while others enjoyed my right- 
 ful patrimony. 
 
 On my arrival in Burma I established an insti- 
 tute for the treatment of diseases found intracta- 
 ble by ordinary medical treatment, such as leprosy, 
 diseases of the eye and ear and nervous system, 
 the neurosis and psychosis of alcoholism and men- 
 tal diseases generally. 
 
 Wishing to continue my investigations, I re- 
 signed from the Anglican Church Mission and 
 went on a tour through India, treating the sick at 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 299 
 
 the various centres en route. It was during this 
 tour that I first met with political persecution, 
 which was continued up to the time of the death 
 of my father, in May, 1910. 
 
 At the end of 1896, I returned to Burma and 
 established the Maulmein Sanatorium. My clien- 
 telle was principally among the poor Burmese and 
 Hindoos. The number of people seeking relief 
 was so great that my strength was taxed to the 
 limit. 
 
 One morning I decided to take a rest. Accom- 
 panied by two attendants I took a row boat up 
 the Salween river to the village of Kadoe. On 
 reaching that place the bank of the river was lined 
 with crowds of Burmese, many of whom, having 
 learned that I was going there, had proceeded by 
 the road. On leaving Kadoe on my return trip, 
 shortly after the boat had pulled into the stream, 
 I discovered a Burman concealed in the small com- 
 partment at the stern of the boat. 
 
 I directed him to come to me. He crawled out 
 on hands and knees, and as he approached pros- 
 trated himself before me begging for mercy — he 
 was a leper. He pleaded with me to treat him for 
 his horrible disease ; his appeal was not in vain. 
 
 I established a special consulting room for the 
 treatment of the sick poor under the care of the 
 Hindu Charitable Association. 
 
 In February, 1897, I established a Buddhist 
 Girls' School in Thatone. This school I subse- 
 quently made over to the Buddhist Association 
 and from this, the Empress Victoria Diamond 
 Jubilee Buddhist Boys' School and the Empress 
 
300 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelpfi 
 
 Victoria Diamond Jubilee Buddhist Girls' School 
 were established by a prominent Buddhist, Mr. 
 Houng, of Elgin House, Rangoon, who was then 
 the assistant comptroller of Burma. 
 
 The famine in India and Burma, the epidemic 
 of bubonic plague in Bombay, then spreading to 
 other districts, and the political unrest in Bengal, 
 the North Western Provinces and the Punjab, and 
 throughout Upper Burma, demanded conciliatory 
 action on the part of the Government to avert a 
 bloody revolution. College students and political 
 agitators were lecturing and spreading sedition 
 through the leading Burmese officials, magistrates 
 and members of the Bar were meeting in secret 
 council with private citizens to discuss ways and 
 means "to throw off the oppressive and tyrannical 
 yoke of a British rule," in which, as stated in a let- 
 ter addressed by me to my father in 1902, I held 
 them to be victims of our injustice and quite 
 blameless. 
 
 A brief outline of the effect of our short- 
 sighted administration will suffice to justify my 
 action in resigning from the Anglican Church 
 Mission in Burma to espouse the cause of the peo- 
 ple of Burma and India. 
 
 At the close of the last Burma war, 1886-7, a 
 royal proclamation was issued in the name of the 
 Queen-Empress of India, calling upon the people 
 to return to their homes and to their peaceful 
 avocations ; being assured of the protection of Her 
 Imperial Majesty's government — enjoyed by all 
 loyal subjects throughout the Empire. Among 
 other things, the Burmese people were assured in 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 301 
 
 the name of the Queen-Empress that they would 
 not only be permitted to enjoy their religious 
 rights and privileges, whether Buddhist, Hindu, 
 Mohammedan, Zoroastrian or Christian, but that 
 their right to worship according to their religious 
 faith would be protected and supported by the 
 Government. 
 
 At the time this royal proclamation was being 
 posted throughout the country, practically the en- 
 tire British and Indian army in Upper Burma was 
 located in Buddhist monasteries from which Bud- 
 dhist priests had been expelled — sometimes with- 
 out an hour's notice. Buddhist temples were wan- 
 tonly desecrated and their church properties con- 
 fiscated. 
 
 When appointed to the command of the head- 
 quarters of the Burma military police referred 
 to in a previous chapter, I was obliged to turn out 
 the high priests and a large number of priests 
 at a moment's notice from the King's monasteries 
 to put my men in them an hour or so later. This 
 occurred weeks after the royal proclamation had 
 been issued. The above was only one of the hun- 
 dreds of similar violations of the spirit and letter 
 of the proclamation. The thousands of troops, and 
 all the military police drafted by me to various 
 stations throughout the country for months later 
 were placed in Buddhist Monasteries in the same 
 manner. 
 
 The jewels, gold and sacred emblems stolen 
 from the temples amounted to many lakhs of 
 rupees and the rapacious and sacrilegious acts of 
 desecration by so-called Christian officials were 
 
302 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 only equalled by the maladministration of a set 
 of incompetent representatives of the most pow- 
 erful ''Christian" government on earth. 
 
 An inspection of the missionary schools and col- 
 leges of Rangoon, and reference to the old regis- 
 ters of students will do much to open the eyes of 
 the Christian world. Some of these institutions 
 have six hundred students. During the past forty 
 years thousands of half-caste students have gradu- 
 ated from St. John's College alone, many of them 
 the illegitimate offispring of British officials. The 
 late president, the Rev. John E. Marks, D.D., who 
 had charge of St. John's for about thirty years 
 prior to 1896, showed me that many of the greatest 
 names in the United Kingdom were on his regis- 
 ters — the sons of dukes, earls, generals and so 
 forth, down to those of the plebeian Thomas 
 Atkins. 
 
 As a rule scions of some of the noble houses 
 of England thus left with their Burmese mother 
 were allowed about ten dollars per month, and 
 on graduating from college were put into govern- 
 ment positions by officials, who trusted to their 
 successors to do the same for their children in the 
 future, in conformity with an unwritten law among 
 Christian governors of a Christian empire. The 
 boys, like the girls, were required to be known 
 by a Burmese name. 
 
 The Burmese official who might have a good 
 looking sister or daughter was slated for promo- 
 tion on the presentation of the damsel to his 
 superior "Christian" officer. But the Burmese 
 official who would protect the honor of his sisters 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 303 
 
 or daughters not infrequently made a vacancy for 
 some more accommodating and aspiring official. 
 
 There is probably no more moral and temperate 
 people in the world than the Buddhists of Burma. 
 
 Where a Burmese maiden is taken to "wife" by 
 a British official, she is faithful to the official, 
 which is more than can be said of the official. It is 
 no wonder, therefore, that the intemperate and im- 
 moral practices of nominal Christians greatly 
 handicap missionary effort in Asia, for what ap- 
 plies to Burma, applies also to India and other 
 parts of Asia. 
 
 When the official is transferred from Burma, 
 he can not, of course, take his Burmese wife and 
 children with him to Europe. 
 
 Hence some provision as above outlined has 
 to be made. 
 
 I have stated in a previous chapter that famines 
 in India have increased in frequency and severity 
 since the British occupation ; and have shown that 
 the famines are due to the combination of capital 
 and influence which have rendered ineffective the 
 best efforts of the Government to improve the 
 economic conditions and to ameliorate the suf- 
 ferings of the people. So long as dishonest and 
 barbarous customs of robbery and oppression by 
 Christian merchants continue in Asia, so long will 
 missionary effort among the peoples of Asia con- 
 tinue to be a failure. Moreover, the continuance 
 of such robbery in the name of commerce, by the 
 Christian world against the Asiatic races, must 
 inevitably lead to the most terrible war in the his- 
 tory of the world. 
 
304 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 The combined forces of the Asiatic alliance, with 
 its nine hundred million population to draw from, 
 will, within the next few years, enforce a change of 
 policy, if not of government in the United States 
 and Europe. 
 
 When I resigned from the Anglican Church 
 Missions in Burma, my bishop, the clergy and mis- 
 sionaries generally were surprised. "When I iden- 
 tified myself with the Buddhist Union, organ- 
 ized by the assistant commissioners of Thatone, 
 Maung Hpe, a nephew of Mr. Houng, above re- 
 ferred to, their consternation knew no bounds. I 
 was preached against in their churches under the 
 text of "The Anti-Christ Now in Our Midst." 
 Daily prayers were offered in the churches and 
 schools for "strength to fight against him who 
 has lent his aid to the heathen." That their 
 1 ' arms might be strengthened to fight against him 
 who is fighting against Thee, Lord." 
 
 This insane opposition spread rapidly and the 
 mania was contracted by the British official. And, 
 when I caused the organization of a Buddhist 
 Council of Temporalities to hold in trust all Bud- 
 dhist temporal properties, the primary purpose of 
 which was to sue the Government of India for the 
 recovery of Buddhist Church properties confis- 
 cated by the local authorities as above referred to, 
 the dunderheads representing the Government of 
 the Queen-Empress only saw in me a future Em- 
 peror of India. I was, according to them, prepar- 
 ing for a bloody revolution for no other purpose 
 than that of self-aggrandisement. 
 
 Having the "Burma head" (softening of the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 305 
 
 brain), they could not see that I was the only loyal 
 British subject living up to the spirit and letter 
 of the royal proclamation, every provision of 
 which they had grossly violated, holding the Brit- 
 ish Government up to ridicule and bringing re- 
 proach upon British honor and Christian senti- 
 ment. 
 
 It was their unjust and unlawful oppression of 
 the people that was responsible for the political 
 agitation at that time, and which has been respon- 
 sible for the political crimes committed from time 
 to time. In the Addenda will be found extracts 
 from letters addressed by me to His Excellency 
 the Viceroy and Governor-General in India and 
 to my father, the late King Edward VII, on the 
 above subject, dated from 1897 to 1910. 
 
 My activity in the interests of my country and 
 my people gained for me the good will and unani- 
 mous support of all India and of Asia. 
 
 My growing popularity, it was considered, 
 would endanger the interests of those who now 
 occupy my rightful position, as the head of the 
 reigning dynasty of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland. Hence, the political intrigue 
 and infamous persecution which has followed me 
 for fifteen years. 
 
 Some time ago, when writing on this subject, I 
 stated what I repeat here, viz., That when this 
 political intrigue was set in motion against me, I 
 said — ''Time and rope are the two things neces- 
 sary for my political enemies to hang them- 
 selves"; whereas, "time and opportunity were the 
 only two things necessary for me to accomplish my 
 
306 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 purpose for the emancipation of my long suffering 
 people of India and Ireland — and for the amelior- 
 ation of the condition of the people throughout 
 the United Kingdom." 
 
 I have given my political enemies all the time 
 they wanted, without so much as raising a dis- 
 senting voice against the unjust persecution to 
 which I have been subjected. I claim no special 
 credit for my forbearance, as to have taken legal 
 steps against the injustice done me and my 
 mother during the lifetime of my father, would 
 have precipitated a revolution in which the coun- 
 try at large would have suffered. 
 
 The untimely death of my revered father has 
 precipitated my opportunity, and the prevailing- 
 political unrest in the United Kingdom, and, more 
 particularly in Ireland and India, the result of 
 unhealthy economic conditions and the conse- 
 quent distress and great sacrifice of life, makes 
 it my imperative duty to enforce the introduc- 
 tion of measures for economic reform in the in- 
 terest of the people and for the peace of the Em- 
 pire. 
 
 Recognizing the vital importance of this duty 
 to my country, owing to the far reaching effect 
 the said reforms will have upon the empire, I 
 now submit to the people of Great Britain, Ire- 
 land and India, and to British subjects every- 
 where, the following excerpt from my letter of 
 10th January, 1910, to my father. 
 
 My father and King having been taken from 
 us, it is for the people of the British Empire to 
 take the necessary action thereon. Justice to a 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 307 
 
 loyal and faithful servant of the people demands 
 it; and justice to the people themselves demands 
 it: 
 
 "I am about to have published in form of a 
 biographical sketch of my life some particulars 
 of the results of my researches and my plans for 
 industrial development and economic reform in 
 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire- 
 land and India. 
 
 "As my efforts to introduce the said measures 
 and to put the same in operation have been 
 quietly, but systematically, opposed on political 
 grounds, the public being thereby deprived of the 
 benefits that would immediately accrue from the 
 inauguration of said operations, I am of opinion 
 that the matter should be referred to the people 
 of the United Kingdom and of the Empire, that 
 they may judge as to whether the peace and wel- 
 fare of the nation should be permitted to suffer 
 and the safety of the Empire be jeopardized 
 through political intrigue against an individual, 
 a loyal and faithful subject, who has given his life 
 and sacrificed his happiness to serve his king and 
 his people."* 
 
 To fully appreciate the injustice done to the 
 people by the suppression of my various reforms 
 through political intrigue and persecution against 
 me, reference should be made to the correspon- 
 dence reproduced in the Addenda. 
 
 'The copy of this letter will be found in the Addenda. 
 
308 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 It was my privilege to treat one of the first 
 cases of bubonic plague in Bombay in 1896, the 
 daughter of a Koja merchant. My patient recov- 
 ered. 
 
 See my letter of 4th February, 1897, to the Vice- 
 roy of India; also excerpt from my letter of 12th 
 December, 1902, to my father, and my letter of 
 17th June, 1910, to my half-brother, George, King 
 de facto, to learn where the responsibility rests 
 for the bubonic plague epidemic in 1896 and the 
 following decade, during which time over eight 
 million lives were sacrificed. 
 
 Eeference should also be made to the corres- 
 pondence of 1906 between myself and the King, 
 the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Colonel A. J. 
 Hills, and the Incorporated Medical Practitioners' 
 Association on the subject of "The Guelph System 
 of Treatment for Cancer," for the introduction of 
 which I received the thanks of the King, while the 
 professional clique suppressed the system without 
 any investigation whatever. 
 
 Better that millions should die from cancer than 
 that the identity of Prince John of Great Britain 
 and Ireland should be brought so prominently be- 
 fore the nation as a servant of his people by the 
 introduction of the rational system of treatment 
 for the greatest scourge of mankind. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 I SAIL FOR THE UNITED STATES TO TEEAT A BLIND 
 
 MILLIONAIRE BUT FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE 
 
 PHILISTINES OF NEW YORK 
 
 The modern town of Thatone on the Salwein 
 river is the site of the ancient city of Soovana- 
 boome, the capital of the Burmese Kingdom. 
 
 The ruins of the walls of this ancient city still 
 remain. The Buddha Sakyamuni, according to the 
 zat-thas (anterior birth stories of Buddha) was 
 the crown prince of that Kingdom in one of his 
 anterior existences. 
 
 For more than two thousand years Thatone has 
 been a place of pilgrimage — the Mecca of Bud- 
 dhists. The first Buddhist missionaries sent to 
 Burma by the Buddhist Council of King Asoka 
 the Great were sent to Thatone in honor of the 
 Prince Sidartha Sakyamuni. 
 
 In the month of March, 1897, it was my privilege 
 to attend the annual festival in Thatone, which 
 is attended by many thousands of Buddhists from 
 all parts of the Buddhist world. 
 
 The High Priest, U-Thee-la (the endowed one 
 or one who has attained wisdom), was present at 
 the festival of that year. 
 
 U-Thee-La was reverenced as a man of God. 
 He lived in the jungles, sleeping under the trees, 
 
 309 
 
310 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 partaking of the fruits and herbs of nature. He 
 was a friend of the wild beasts of the jungle, there 
 being an understanding between them. 
 
 In other words, tigers, bears, elephants, and 
 other wild beasts were on friendly terms with this 
 holy man. 
 
 For over sixty years he had lived thus, sepa- 
 rated from all human habitation. 
 
 While separated from the world U-Thee-La 
 exercised great power for good; the sick sought 
 his aid and were restored to health by his word 
 and blessing. Those who will study the life and 
 works of U-Thee-La will be convinced of the truth 
 of the statement made by Jesus of Nazareth, ' ' The 
 things that I do shall ye do also, and greater 
 things shall ye do." 
 
 During the festival the High Priest, U-Thee-La, 
 camped in the jungles, according to his custom, 
 several miles from the town. Accompanied by 
 Moung Hpe, the assistant commissioner, Moung 
 Hpo, a Barrister-at-law, and other representative 
 Buddhists, I one day paid a visit to the High 
 Priest. Much to the surprise of those present, he 
 made obeisance to me and, addressing the assem- 
 bly in Burmese referred to me according to the 
 Buddhist custom, metaphorically, as "The door 
 of the church — the Way. ' ' 
 
 He then described my work in England in 1894 
 and 1895 ; and described places and halls in which 
 I had lectured, and people whom I had treated, 
 although he had never been out of Burma. He ex- 
 plained the mission work in which I was then en- 
 gaged and of my plans for extending the same, 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 311 
 
 but told me that my work would be left to 
 others as I would receive a than-cho-sa (a cable- 
 gram) calling me on a journey to the West which 
 would occupy three months. He also foretold 
 many things that would happen to me when in the 
 United States. 
 
 I did not see how any journey could occupy three 
 months, and I had not the remotest idea of leaving 
 Burma at that time. 
 
 In the month of June, 1897, I received a cable- 
 gram calling me to New York to treat the blind 
 millionaire, the late Charles Broadway Rouse. I 
 sailed from Rangoon on the 30th of June, 1897. 
 
 I had a commission from a certain organization 
 to the King of Siam, who was then in London 
 attending the Diamond Jubilee of Her late Majes- 
 ty Queen Victoria. This commission detained me 
 for some time in England; but I finally reached 
 my destination on the 30th September, or exactly 
 three months from the date of my departure from 
 Burma. 
 
 Many of the things foretold by the High Priest 
 U-Thee-La have been verified in the same manner 
 as was the predicted change in my life from India 
 to America. 
 
 Previous to my arrival in America I had en- 
 gaged the services of a consulting physician. This 
 gentleman, as I thought, bore a most estimable 
 character and was, supposedly, a man of such pub- 
 lic prominence that I considered him a great ac- 
 quisition for the mission which had brought me to 
 this country. He was an M. A., M. D., the author 
 of many books, the pastor of "The People's 
 
312 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 Church," president of "The Humanitarian 
 League," and lecturer in a large medical institu- 
 tion which it was said employed many lecturers 
 and physicians. 
 
 I requested my representative, Dr. M to en- 
 gage a room for me. He placed a hall room at my 
 disposal in his own house at the moderate rental 
 of $10 per week. He was receiving rent from the 
 New York Woman's Hospital, which occupied the 
 parlor floor and basement of the house, during the 
 improvements then being made in the hospital. 
 He was also receiving rent for the upper floors of 
 the house. I discovered later that in addition to 
 paying $45.00 per month for the hall room, as a 
 sub-tenant, I was also supposed to be the tenant 
 of the house, being responsible for the rent of 
 $200 per month; I further learned that the furni- 
 ture of the whole house had been purchased at 
 my expense. Investigation revealed the fact that 
 the medical institution with which my representa- 
 tive was supposed to be connected had never ex- 
 isted, and that the other concerns, while on paper, 
 had no standing whatever. 
 
 The bubble burst and the landlord secured the 
 eviction of his tenants when I exposed the fraud. 
 
 Charles Broadway Rouss, the blind millionaire, 
 sent his private secretary, a Mr. Smith, to me with 
 the information that his substitute was at my dis- 
 posal. He was a poor blind man whom Rouss had 
 engaged at $1.00 per day, to try the treatment, 
 with the promise of a decent funeral in case he 
 should be killed by any of the many systems he 
 submitted to. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 313 
 
 The substitute informed me that he had been 
 treated by one hundred and eighty-six quacks in 
 eighteen months and feared he could not survive 
 much further punishment. 
 
 I sent word to the millionaire that I wanted no 
 dogs on which to try poisons. If he wished me to 
 treat him I would do so, and would do what I could 
 for his substitute after I had commenced on his 
 own case. 
 
 Reference to the newspaper files of 11th to 15th 
 of October, 1897, will show that the New York 
 Press devoted much space to this noted case, and 
 within a week from the time that I took charge of 
 Broadway Rouss's case had an examination made 
 by their own representatives, who reported that 
 ' ' a wonder had already been worked, ' ' as when the 
 sight was tested Rouss could see and describe 
 small objects between one and two feet from his 
 eyes. 
 
 The improvement continued and within three 
 weeks Rouss could describe small objects between 
 three and four feet away. 
 
 Discovering later that the millionaire had given 
 wide publicity to his case by the offer of one mil- 
 lion dollars to any one who could restore his 
 sight for the purpose of making a few million dol- 
 lars, and as his private secretary informed me 
 that Rouss had no intention whatever of paying a 
 million dollars, as he had not thought it possible 
 to benefit from any treatment, I threw the case up. 
 
 The wide publicity given to this case brought 
 the millionaire thousands of letters from the blind 
 and people with failing sight from all parts of the 
 
31 4< Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 
 
 world. It was said that his mail from such people 
 exceeded half a ton in one day. It was explained 
 to me that a certain Chicago millionaire had 
 agreed to pay one million dollars in advance for 
 treatment on receipt of a letter from my patient 
 confirming the newspaper reports of the improve- 
 ment in his case. This letter my patient was pre- 
 pared to write on my entering into partnership 
 with him on a 50 per cent, basis, which I refused 
 to do on the ground that as my patient had pre- 
 viously stated that he did not believe it possible 
 to benefit in any way from my treatment he was 
 still prepared to recommend my treatment for 
 the purpose of gaining a large sum of money. 
 
 As his sight had actually been improved to some 
 extent at that time he could, of course, have truth- 
 fully recommended my treatment, but this fact 
 did not alter the lack of principle in the motive 
 by which he was actuated in the first instance. 
 
 Broadway Rouss had agreed to pay me ten 
 thousand dollars on the least improvement of his 
 sight, and the balance of the contingent fee of 
 one million dollars when he could see well enough 
 to walk about without aid. The improvement was 
 made, but I did not receive one penny from my 
 patient. I had come to this country from further 
 India at my own expense, more in the interest of 
 science than for any pecuniary benefit to myself, 
 but had not counted upon the philistines into 
 whose hands I had fallen. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 TRAVELS IN THE INTEREST OF SCIENCE 1 GO TO CALI- 
 FORNIA IN THE EARTHQUAKE OF SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 1 RETURN TO ENGLAND CANCER RESEARCH 
 
 1 RECEIVE THE THANKS OF MY 
 
 FATHER, KING EDWARD VII 
 
 I sailed for Germany in April, 1898, and crossed 
 over to London a few weeks later, where I had 
 the pleasure of again meeting the Countess Con- 
 stance Wachmeister, who had previously gone to 
 New York for the purpose of consulting me about 
 her eyes. As she wished to continue the treatment 
 she followed me to Europe and remained under 
 my care in Paris for about three months. 
 
 I had gone to Europe for the purpose of taking 
 a little rest. My hopes in this matter were very 
 soon shattered. Within twenty-four hours of my 
 arrival in Paris I was a very busy man, having 
 a clientele which included a number of the royalty 
 and nobility of Europe and Asia, this number 
 being daily increased by patients from all parts 
 of Europe. 
 
 The Season of 1898 in Paris was somewhat ex- 
 tended by some of the fair patients, whose im- 
 provement justified a few weeks longer stay in the 
 French Capital. 
 
 315 
 
316 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 After a short tour through Europe I spent the 
 summer at Tunbridge Wells. The winter of that 
 year I spent in London and returned to the United 
 States in the month of March, 1899, when I pro- 
 ceeded to California. I had intended to have re- 
 turned to the Orient, but seeing the possibilities 
 of the Golden West to secure the necessary capi- 
 tal to inaugurate my various plans for economic 
 reform and medical institutions I remained in 
 San Francisco and went into the mining business. 
 
 In December, 1899, I entered into partnership 
 with the celebrated cancer specialist, the late 
 Eev. George W. Carpender, M.D., the founder 
 of the rational medical treatment for cancer. We 
 established the International Polyclinic, with 
 which was incorporated the Institute of Ayurveda. 
 Dr. Carpender had been a specialist in the treat- 
 ment of cancer for forty years, and for many 
 years enjoyed an extensive practice in Chicago, 
 patients being sent to him from all parts of the 
 country as well as from Europe. 
 
 Our association in practice was mutually bene- 
 ficial in that, while Dr. Carpender 's system was 
 for the treatment of external cancer, my own sys- 
 tem of treatment was by internal medication and 
 external application, the basis of which systems 
 I acquired during my investigation of Ayurveda, 
 the ancient medical system of India. The value 
 of these systems of treatment was demonstrated 
 by successful clinical results covering a period 
 of many years. 
 
 The combined systems of Dr. Carpender and 
 my own were subsequently submitted to the Im- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 317 
 
 perial Cancer Kesearch Fund in 1906, under the 
 style of "The Guelph Sterilization Cure for 
 Cancer." 
 
 The subject was also brought to the notice of 
 His late Majesty King Edward VII, the Founder 
 and Patron of the Imperial Cancer Research 
 Fund. 
 
 His Majesty thanked me, officially, for having 
 introduced the Guelph Systems; he also com- 
 manded that the same be submitted to the Imperial 
 Cancer Research Fund. 
 
 I was advised by physicians in London previ- 
 ous to the submission of these systems by my- 
 self and His Majesty the King to the Imperial 
 Cancer Research Fund, that in the event of my 
 submitting the same they would be suppressed. 
 In the interest of suffering humanity and the 
 saving of life, the correspondence on the subject 
 of the Guelph Cancer Cures is reproduced in the 
 Addenda. It will be observed that the subject was 
 suppressed without even being brought to the no- 
 tice of the General Council, thereby reducing the 
 largest and most important public body engaged 
 in cancer research throughout the world to the 
 ridiculous position of a one-man institution. Not- 
 withstanding that the late King Edward was the 
 Founder and Patron of the Imperial Cancer Re- 
 search Fund, the Prince of Wales the President 
 of the organization, and many noblemen and 
 others, members of the General Council, and that 
 the institution is supported by millions of dollars 
 generously contributed by the public, the one man, 
 Dr. Bashford, did not hesitate to assume personal 
 
318 Memoirs of Prince John De GucJph 
 
 responsibility in suppressing the Guelph Systems 
 without having made the slightest investigation 
 thereof. 
 
 The annual reports of Dr. Bashford in 190G 
 and 1907, stated that all alleged cures brought be- 
 fore the Imperial Cancer Research Fund had been 
 ' ' submitted to impartial tests and that no curative 
 value could be attached to any of them." In view 
 of the fact that the Guelph Systems had been 
 submitted in the regular manner with the request 
 that the same be submitted to "impartial tests" 
 in the treatment of cancer, the reports quoted 
 were obviously misleading and incorrect. 
 
 The public was further informed that our pres- 
 ent knowledge of cancer did not "even justify the 
 hope of a new cure"; and the public was further 
 cautioned against making any attempt to save the 
 lives of any of the hundreds of thousands of vic- 
 tims of cancer by any system of treatment that is 
 not endorsed by that one-man institution. Thus it 
 is that the credulity of the public is played upon, 
 and the victims of one of the greatest scourges 
 of the earth are left to suffer and die through 
 prejudice and bias against the discoverer and 
 founder of a cure for no other reason than that, 
 having been robbed of his birthright as the eldest 
 legitimate son of the King, it was not desired that 
 honor should be done him lest the people should 
 discover the true facts concerning his legitimate 
 rights as the first Prince of the Eeigning House 
 and demand that he be given his lawful hereditary 
 right. 
 
 Great Britain was always just and firm in a 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 319 
 
 righteous cause and to know the truth would be 
 to act with the people. Thus rny half-brother, 
 George, could not afford to have me become too 
 widely known and his flunkey in office, naturally, 
 stood by him. 
 
 But I ask the British public of to-day, Shall this 
 infamous condition of things go on? Will you per- 
 mit the work and research of years in the cause of 
 the saving of life to be thus cast aside ? Will you 
 see fair play in this fight for the welfare and lives 
 of my people, and that I receive just treatment 
 and a fair hearing of and concerning my rights as 
 the heir-at-law of my father, the late King Edward 
 VII? I have unimpeachable evidence to show and 
 the people have a right to see and hear me; Par- 
 liament should investigate my case without preju- 
 dice or bias, such as was shown in the disposition 
 of the case of George IV and Mrs. Fitzherbert, 
 which case was suppressed by infamous lies to the 
 lasting shame and dishonor of the British Par- 
 liament and to the British nation. 
 
 It should also be stated that in consequence of 
 my having received the information above re- 
 ferred to, to the effect that my system for the 
 treatment of cancer and other diseases would be 
 suppressed by the Imperial Cancer Eesearch 
 Fund, I also submitted particulars of the said sys- 
 tems to the Incorporated Medical Practitioners' 
 Association in London through the official solici- 
 tor of that organization, Colonel Arthur J. Hills 
 of Messrs. Burgess, Cosens & Co. Eeference to 
 the correspondence between myself, Colonel Hills 
 nnd the secretary of the Incorporated Medical 
 
320 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 Practitioners' Association, reproduced in the 
 Addenda, speaks for itself. As stated therein 
 it is my purpose to establish medical institu- 
 tions in England as and when my financial cir- 
 cumstances admit, and to challenge the organiza- 
 tions above referred to, by the treatment of cancer, 
 consumption, and other forms of tuberculosis in 
 the proposed institutions. 
 
 It was for the above purpose that I have inter- 
 ested myself in my late mining and other 
 business. 
 
 Practical demonstration of the value of said 
 systems is the most convincing method by which 
 to command both professional and public recog- 
 nition and to silence my traducers. 
 
 In the year 1902, having acquired valuable min- 
 ing interests in California by which I thought it 
 possible to not only establish a large medical in- 
 stitution, but also to introduce my proposed in- 
 dustrial development in India, I addressed a paper 
 on the latter subject to my father and further com- 
 munications to him, and, also to the India office 
 and to the press in India, in 1903. 
 
 A limited liability company was organized for 
 the purpose of carrying out this commercial enter- 
 prise, extracts from the prospectus of which com- 
 pany, as well as from correspondence on the sub- 
 ject, will be found in the Addenda. 
 
 The development of this enterprise was delayed 
 through political intrigue and interference of in- 
 terested parties. The plan had received the most 
 enthusiastic and unanimous support of the press 
 and authorities throughout India. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 321 
 
 In the month of March, 1906, I had acquired the 
 rights of an improved and valuable system for 
 generating power from the current of streams ; a 
 system which had been favorably reported upon 
 by a London engineer who had been engaged in 
 the construction of the Egyptian barrages, as the 
 best suited for the Nile and for the canal systems 
 of irrigation in India. 
 
 I had already arranged to proceed to London 
 in accordance with the terms of my agreement 
 with the Current Power Company in the month 
 of April, when all models, current motors, pumps 
 and other machinery were destroyed by the con- 
 flagration following the earthquake of San Fran- 
 cisco on the 18th of April, 1906. 
 
 My departure for London was delayed until the 
 month of July in consequence of the heavy losses 
 sustained through that catastrophe. 
 
 The experience of the San Francisco earthquake 
 and fire of 1906, in which many lives were lost, 
 about 300,000 people rendered homeless by the de- 
 struction of the city, and causing a loss of $600,- 
 000,000 in property, was one never to be forgotten. 
 
 Having volunteered my services to the Health 
 Department and to the General Relief Commit- 
 tees, my duties took me to various parts of the 
 city during and after the conflagration and af- 
 forded me opportunities to observe the efficient 
 work of both the military and civil authorities 
 under the most trying circumstances. 
 
 The expedition with which so large a body of 
 homeless people were formed into various camps 
 p.nd amply provided for, was most commendable 
 
322 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 to the officers of the Local and Federal Govern- 
 ment, and, also to citizens of the United States 
 who responded so promptly to the urgent need 
 of that afflicted city. 
 
 One of the most noteworthy instances o r 
 thoughtful and noble generosity was that of Mr. 
 William Randolph Hearst's Emergency Maternity 
 Home. 
 
 When it is realized that about 182 women were 
 delivered on the streets of San Francisco, many 
 of them prematurely as a result of shock, within 
 a few hours after the earthquake, the importance 
 of this institution is apparent. 
 
 Mr. W. R. Hearst not only converted his Oak- 
 land residence into a Maternity Home, but also 
 had other buildings constructed for the same pur- 
 pose. He also sent in train-loads of provisions, 
 dress materials of all descriptions, and sewing ma- 
 chines. In addition to the vast sums of money ex- 
 pended in various directions, that gentleman also 
 set aside the sum of $100 for each and every 
 infant born in his Maternity Home. In this man- 
 ner the best medical attention and care was af- 
 forded to over 1,200 mothers and infants who, 
 under the terrible conditions prevailing at that 
 time, would otherwise, no doubt, have suffered 
 severely or perished. 
 
 The records of the institution show that not a 
 mother or a child was lost. 
 
 The Nursing Sisters of San Francisco were also 
 worthy of the highest praise for their heroic and 
 untiring service at the fire lines, in caring for the 
 injured firemen and other fire-fighters, sometimes 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 323 
 
 carrying them a distance of several hundred yards 
 to safety between columns of fire and over burning 
 debris. Many society ladies also joined in this 
 heroic work of rescue at great personal inconveni- 
 ence and danger, conveying the injured in their 
 motor-cars and other vehicles to the hospitals and 
 other places of safety. 
 
 The mementos of this catastrophe which I prize 
 very highly are the following letters of thanks 
 from the General Relief Committee for services 
 I was able to render the city, of which I had so 
 long been a guest, and my Pass through the lines. 
 
 Headquarters of 
 
 BERKELEY RELIEF COMMITTEE 
 
 Mason McDuffie Office, Center St. and Shattuck Ave. 
 
 Berkeley, Cal., April 28th, 1910. 
 Executive Staff: 
 
 The Mayor, Mr. T. R. Rickard, Inter. Municipal 
 Dept. 
 
 Commissary, Prof. E. E. Brown. 
 
 Finance, Mr. F. M. Wilson. 
 
 Distribution of Refugees, Duncan McDuffie. 
 
 Chinese and Japanese, Prof. J. H. Fryer. 
 
 Health and Sanitation, Dr. G. F. Reinhardt. 
 
 Clothing, tenting, etc., Rev. J. H. Lathrope. 
 
 Housing and Camps, Victor Robertson. 
 
 My Dear Doctor: 
 
 On behalf of the Berkeley Board of Health, I 
 want to extend to you our most hearty thanks for 
 the service which you have done us in this trying 
 time. Personally, it has been most gratifying to 
 
324s Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 have the work, which you undertook, so well car- 
 ried out. 
 
 The Relief Committee wishes me to express its 
 appreciation of the service which you have 
 rendered. 
 
 It is to be hoped in our lifetime it will not 
 be necessary for us to contribute our assistance in 
 so great a calamity. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) G. F. Reinhardt. 
 J. G. Norman, 
 Berkeley, Cal. 
 
 To the Civil and Military Authorities: 
 
 Pass Dr. John Guelph-Norman through 
 all lines within your jurisdiction. 
 
 (Signed) Dr. R. Bine. 
 Chief Ass't Sanitary Officer in Charge Golf 
 Links and Richmond District 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 ti 
 
 BUSINESS IN NEW YORK 1 FOUND THE "AMERICAN 
 
 STATIST" INTEREST MYSELF IN AMERICAN POLI- 
 TICS A LADY OF WORTH THE AMERICAN 
 
 LEGISLATIVE UNION — PUBLIC HEALTH 
 
 SOCIETY TO RAISE THE STANDARD OF 
 
 THE PUBLIC HEALTH 
 
 In December, 1909, I came to New York, in 
 the interest of the Current Power Company of 
 Tacoma, Washington, with which I had been as- 
 sociated since March, 1903, and also in the interest 
 of large irrigation and colonization projects on 
 the Pacific Coast in which I had interested Mr. E. 
 H. Harriman and others. 
 
 In the early part of 1909 I established The 
 American Statist, a journal of international 
 finance, industrial development and commercial 
 expansion. 
 
 From one of my editorials in the first number, 
 the following is quoted : 
 
 "In the creation of The American Statist* de- 
 signed to be, like our London contemporary, The 
 Statist, a conservative and authoritative interna- 
 
 *The American Statist, July 17, 1909. 
 325 
 
326 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 tional financial journal, the aim and purpose of the 
 founder and management is to publish in the inter- 
 est of the financial world a reliable statistical, 
 critical and analytical review. . . . The American 
 Statist is conducted under conservative manage- 
 ment, the bulwark of our British house ; and pro- 
 gressive policy, the secret of American financial 
 success. 
 
 " Commercial expansion on legitimate lines of 
 healthful competition and the sealing of friendly 
 relations between all nations by creating and 
 maintaining friendly and equitable commercial 
 relations between all centers of Occidental and 
 Oriental civilization is the only means whereby in- 
 ternational peace can be permanently established. 
 
 "Monopoly is the bloody historian of the 
 world's history of war, slavery, famine and pesti- 
 lence, the plunderer and wholesale assassin in the 
 name of commerce, civilization and Christianity. " 
 
 With a view to advancing my policy for the es- 
 tablishment of international peace on the lines of 
 equity and justice in our domestic and foreign 
 commerce, as outlined in the foregoing quotation 
 from my article in The American Statist, and, 
 realizing that the maintenance of national peace 
 is of paramount importance, and the only founda- 
 tion upon which we can hope to construct inter- 
 national peace, I prevailed upon an American or- 
 ganization to establish The American Legislative 
 Union. 
 
 The object of the organization as introduced 
 by me was as follows : 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 327 
 AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE UNION 
 
 (A Political Censor for Constitutional Government.) 
 
 The American Legislative Union is a national 
 nominative and elective organization for the per- 
 petuation of the national legislature consistent 
 with the Constitution of the United States of 
 America and of the national motto, "In God We 
 Trust, ' ' and, to that end : 
 
 1. To conduct a continuous political campaign 
 to secure the nomination and election of candi- 
 dates for State and National Legislatures who 
 possess qualifications calculated to serve the best 
 interests of the nation by faithful adherence to the 
 spirit and letter of the Constitution, irrespective 
 of the political party or parties to which the can- 
 didates may belong. 
 
 2. To secure the enactment of legislative meas- 
 ures to provide for the proper conduct of any 
 and all matters most favorable to the advance- 
 ment of national prosperity and permanent good 
 of the people. 
 
 Mrs. Alma "Webster Powell, one of the most bril- 
 liant and public-spirited, and also one of the most 
 beautiful ladies in New York, a graduate in Law, 
 Music, and other subjects of the Columbia Uni- 
 versity, very kindly accepted the presidency of 
 the American Legislative Union. Her efficiency 
 as an executive officer is practically demonstrated 
 by the great success which attended the work of 
 the organization during the season of 1909-1910. 
 
 Mrs. Alma Webster Powell further compli- 
 
328 Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 
 
 mented me by carrying out my plans for the es- 
 tablishment of a Public Health Society, on the 
 lines adopted for my international campaign in the 
 interest of the public health, as quoted below. It 
 was decided that the local organization under Mrs. 
 Alma Webster Powell should be incorporated un- 
 der the name of the Public Good Society. 
 
 The Society, the headquarters of which are at 
 the home of Mrs. Alma Webster Powell, on Presi- 
 dent street, Brooklyn, New York, had a most suc- 
 cessful season in 1909-1910. 
 
 It has now a membership of over one thousand 
 of the most influential ladies and gentlemen of 
 New York, and did much good among the sick 
 poor. 
 
 The great success which attends Mrs. Powell's 
 public work must be attributed to her accomplish- 
 ments both as a prima donna of unusual brilliancy 
 and as a public speaker, and also to her personal 
 charm and beauty and wonderful vivacity. 
 
 The international work of the Public Health So- 
 city, of which the American organization is the 
 offspring, is conducted separately from that of the 
 American corporation. 
 
 PUBLIC HEALTH SOCIETY. 
 
 (Founded by Prince John De Guelph.) 
 Brooklyn, New York. 
 
 A nation in arms fighting for existence is irre- 
 sistible. Tuberculosis and cancer claim over fifty 
 million victims in each decade. The national foe 
 demands national resistance. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 329 
 
 Our Demand for Legislative Measures in the 
 Interest of the Public Health. 
 
 Recognizing that the most important duty of the 
 Legislature is to raise the standard of the public 
 health, and, that the Legislature, in order to suc- 
 cessfully perform this national duty, should have 
 the support of the public; and, further, that or- 
 ganized cooperation of public bodies is the most 
 effective means of supporting the Government, the 
 Public Health Society is established for the pur- 
 pose of promoting the public health as an 
 auxiliary to State and National Legislatures, the 
 Public Health Department and other institutions, 
 and to that end : 
 
 I. To secure the introduction of legislative 
 measures to provide for the promotion of the pub- 
 lic health and the prevention of disease, more par- 
 ticularly for the prevention and treatment of tu- 
 berculosis and cancer; and, for the proper con- 
 duct of any and all matters most favorable to 
 the advancement of national prosperity and per- 
 manent good of the people. 
 
 First bills to be introduced to State and Na- 
 tional Legislatures are as follows : 
 
 1. Bills to provide for the introduction of edu- 
 cational and clinical measures for the prevention 
 and treatment of tuberculosis and cancer. 
 
 Educational measures in the public schools for 
 the instruction in hygiene, sanitary science, toxi- 
 cology and allied subjects. 
 
 For the establishment of lecture bureaus and 
 classes for instruction to residents of the tene- 
 
830 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelpli 
 
 ment districts, factory workers and to the gen- 
 eral public. 
 
 For the appointment of health and sanitary 
 commissions to enforce legislative measures for 
 the prevention of tuberculosis and for the promo- 
 tion and maintenance of the public health. 
 
 For the establishment of municipal and State 
 sanatoriums for the proper care and treatment of 
 all classes suffering from tuberculosis or cancer. 
 
 2. Bills to provide for the introduction of 
 measures for the rational solution of the liquor 
 problem. 
 
 3. Medical Jurisprudence. Bills to provide 
 for the more general recognition of medical juris- 
 prudence in the Legislature; to provide for 
 the elucidation of judicial questions by the prac- 
 tical application of forensic medicine and in- 
 stitutional treatment, in conformity with phy- 
 siological and humane principles, in the adjudi- 
 cation of cases in which a breach of the peace or 
 infringement of the law may be caused by, or at- 
 tributed to a manifestation of abnormal or patho- 
 logical data of a psycho-physical nature in ac- 
 cused persons, as in the habitual drunkard, tech- 
 nically chronic alcoholic mania, the neurosis and 
 psychoses of alcoholism and other narcomanias, 
 and as provided for in the "Inebriates Act" of 
 Great Britain providing for institutional treat- 
 ment of chronic alcoholic subjects, in the place of 
 the old "penal act" which, the Home Secretary 
 declared, had "utterly failed in its purpose." 
 
 II. To establish and maintain separate bureaus 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 331 
 
 for the systematic development of the various ob- 
 jects of the Public Health Society. 
 
 Propaganda.— Recognizing the great responsi- 
 bility of the physician as a moral teacher, physi- 
 cians will be appointed as lecturers by the Public 
 Health Society in every town and city at home 
 and abroad. 
 
 Lectures. — Territorial lecture circuits will be 
 established and regular public lectures arranged 
 for in all towns of importance. 
 
 High class musical programmes will be ar- 
 ranged in order to make the work both instructive 
 and entertaining and for general social improve- 
 ment. 
 
 Classes. — Classes will be organized and con- 
 ducted under the auspices of the Public Health 
 Society for the purpose of imparting instruction 
 to mothers in the care of themselves and children, 
 domestic science, social hygiene, and all matters 
 treating on the preservation of health. 
 
 Classes for young women to be conducted by 
 physicians, nurses and others. 
 
 Classes for young men will also be conducted 
 by physicians and others authorized thereto. 
 
 The propaganda will embrace measures for the 
 prevention of tuberculosis and cancer and other 
 diseases of remote origin. 
 
 III. Measures for the prevention of alcoholism 
 and for the amelioration of other degenerating 
 conditions resulting from abnormal sociological 
 influences. 
 
 Psycho-Physical Laboratory.— -This department 
 is established for the purpose of promoting the 
 
332 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 practical application of physiological psychology 
 to abnormal or pathological data in the insane, 
 criminals, inebriates, and in defective classes gen- 
 erally, in asylums for the insane, prisons, hospi- 
 tals and other institutions, and in social com- 
 munities. 
 
 Sanatoria. — To establish and maintain sana- 
 toria at various centers for the treatment of per- 
 sons of all classes suffering from tuberculosis or 
 cancer and for the treatment of all diseases known 
 to be pre-disposing causes of tuberculosis and 
 cancer. 
 
 To establish one or more tent cities in Califor- 
 nia, Colorado and in other places where the cli- 
 matic conditions are most favorable to the recov- 
 ery of patients suffering from the diseases 
 specified. 
 
 The work of the Sanatoria to be made self- 
 supporting. Profits accruing from the medical 
 department, donations, endowments and bequests, 
 to be devoted to the treatment and relief of the 
 sick poor and for the extension of propaganda 
 at home and abroad. 
 
 The sick poor will not be placed in the humiliat- 
 ing position of charity cases, but will receive the 
 benefit of medical treatment and such financial 
 and material aid as may be necessary to their 
 recovery and to assist them to help themselves. 
 The cost of treatment and advances that may be 
 made to those in temporary need may be refunded 
 by them at their convenience, with the exception 
 of extreme cases that may require permanent aid. 
 
 Literary Department. — This department will 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 333 
 
 compile for publication authoritative data on the 
 subjects treated upon by the Society from the 
 results of researches in various countries, from 
 the clinical experience of medical officers of the 
 Public Health Society, from the records of public 
 institutions and other authorities. 
 
 The official organ and other literature of the 
 Public Health Society will constitute a most valu- 
 able feature of the propaganda for the alleviation 
 of suffering, the saving of life, and the improve- 
 ment of the race. 
 
 They who would be free from tuberculosis must 
 themselves strike the blow. 
 
 Your cooperation is invited in this national cam- 
 paign against the national foe. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 In closing this narrative of the history of my 
 birth and of my life's work and research in the 
 interest of the Empire and for the good of hu- 
 manity, I beg to tender my thanks to my many 
 faithful friends and loyal supporters throughout 
 the Empire and also to the Press and to the peo- 
 ple of the United States for the many courtesies 
 extended to me during the twelve years of my resi- 
 dence in this country, and, more particularly, for 
 the many letters of condolence and expression of 
 sentiments of sympathy, friendship and loyalty 
 received by me from all parts of the Empire and 
 of the United States. 
 
 I am especially indebted to the New York 
 American, The New York Tribune, The New York 
 Times, The Neiv York Herald, The New York 
 Journal, The New York World, The Brooklyn 
 Eagle, The Boston American, The San Francisco 
 Examiner, The Los Angeles Examiner, The New 
 York Staats Zeitung and other papers. First, for 
 the great courtesy extended to me by the first 
 three papers above mentioned, at the time of the 
 serious illness and death of my father, the late 
 King Edward VII, by having had transmitted to 
 
 334 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 335 
 
 me by telephone, each successive bulletin report- 
 ing my father's condition immediately upon the 
 receipt of the same over their private wires from 
 London. 
 
 Secondly, for the courtesy extended to me by 
 all the above mentioned papers and the Press 
 throughout the United States for the favorable 
 mention of the various political messages and 
 documents forwarded by me to the British Par- 
 liament, the Prime Minister, and to my half- 
 brother, George, and also for their plain statement 
 of my case through their columns whereby my 
 rightful position as the eldest legitimate son of 
 the late King Edward and the first Princess Con- 
 sort has been made known throughout the civil- 
 ized world. 
 
 The importance and value of the services ren- 
 dered to me by the Press in telephoning the bulle- 
 tins to me as the same were received will be better 
 understood from the fact that it was due to that 
 courtesy that I was enabled to send my last mes- 
 sage by cable through George and the Prime 
 Minister in time to reach Buckingham Palace some 
 hours previous to my father's death. 
 
 I have stated in an earlier part of these Memoirs 
 that my sensitive nature has suffered much 
 through the secret sorrow of my life which I have 
 been obliged to bear in silence. This suffering 
 has increased as years have passed by, and my 
 every effort to demand that due honor be paid to 
 my mother by the nation was quietly but sys- 
 tematically opposed and the knowledge that she, 
 the legal wife and rightful Queen of England, was 
 
336 Memoirs of Brince John De Guelph 
 
 growing prematurely old under the burden of a 
 broken heart, through the political intrigue insti- 
 gated by those whose representatives have dogged 
 my steps through Europe, Asia, and America, and 
 also that through the same political intrigue my 
 every effort to give to my country the results of 
 my life's work have been likewise secretly sup- 
 pressed, notwithstanding the recognition and sup- 
 port accorded to me by my father. 
 
 But all the secret sorrow and suffering of my 
 life, too great to be expressed in words, was as 
 nothing to be compared to the torture and agony 
 of mind when I realized that, notwithstanding all 
 my personal efforts, all my prayers, and all en- 
 treaties to my father, the last of which under date 
 of April 10th, 1910, will be found in the Addenda, 
 my father was not only passing from this life with- 
 out paying proper honor to his first and lawful 
 wife, my mother, but that he was passing away 
 while I, separated from him by thousands of miles, 
 was unable to see him during his last days on 
 earth to demand justice for my mother, myself 
 and the nation. 
 
 I had foreseen the approaching dissolution of 
 my father and called his attention thereto in my 
 cablegram of November 9th, 1909, in my usual 
 birthday greeting, which was as follows: 
 
 "My filial affection deepens as each anniversary 
 brings us nearer to God." 
 
 Realizing during the present year the shortness 
 of time that my father had to live, I wrote: 
 
 ' ' Should it not be the will of God that we should 
 be so blessed on earth (that we may enjoy in our 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 337 
 
 maturer years the affection and companionship of 
 father and son, of son and father, that personal 
 affection and companionship so long denied to us 
 by the intervention of a cruel fate), we know that 
 in a few short years at most we will meet with 
 those of our race who have gone before, where we 
 will stand, equal before the King of Kings — father 
 and son and mother! No more will a false and un- 
 holy custom permit of our separation as in this 
 so-called Christian world." 
 
 As in the last years of his life and during his 
 fatal illness, so, too, in death, I was unable to be 
 present to pay the last honors of a son to father. 
 Separated by the broad expanse of the Atlantic 
 Ocean, my only consolation was in attending the 
 funeral service held at St. Paul's Church in New 
 York City. 
 
 Was the discarded wife, the rightful Queen of 
 England — my mother — permitted to view the re- 
 mains of her husband — my father, the King, who, 
 moved by a false sense of duty to the nation and 
 the coercion of his mother, had discarded both wife 
 and child? 
 
 It is for me to discover and reveal to the civil- 
 ized world the identity of the "mysterious, veiled 
 lady in black," who, I am reliably informed, pre- 
 sented herself at Buckingham Palace, attired in 
 deepest mourning and bowed with grief, and re- 
 quested that she might be permitted to view the 
 remains of the King. 
 
 Upon her request being refused and being or- 
 
338 Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 
 
 dered from the Palace, it is said that she de- 
 manded and obtained an audience with the Dowa- 
 ger Queen Alexandra, and that upon her reveal- 
 ing her identity she was received with deference 
 and permitted to remain alone with her dead. 
 
 It has been intimated to me that the lady in 
 question was none other than the first Princess 
 Consort, my mother. 
 
 If the publication of my Memoirs will lead to 
 the adoption of the reforms to which I have re- 
 ferred for the improvement of the condition of 
 the people of Ireland and India in particular, and 
 of the British Empire and of the world in general, 
 my personal sacrifice of all that life holds dear — 
 home, and the birthright of every creature, the 
 love, care, and protection of father and mother, 
 will not have been in vain. Half a century wan- 
 dering over the face of the earth in search of 
 knowledge has been patiently and silently pursued 
 by me in the hope that my Heavenly Father, the 
 King of Kings, would, in due time, defend the 
 right and establish justice in the interest of my 
 people and for the peace of the world. 
 
 DIEU ET MON DROIT. 
 
 MAY GOD DEFEND THE EIGHT. 
 
ADDENDA 
 
ADDENDA 
 
 The following copies of correspondence and photographic re- 
 production of telegrams and letters between the Prince John 
 and his father, the late King Edward VII; with his half- 
 brother, the de facto King George, and Premier Asquith, and 
 other Members of the Houses of Lords and Commons, prior to 
 and following King Edward's death; and with the various 
 Departments of Government Service covering a period of 
 many years afford, even to the person of ordinary intelligence, 
 conclusive evidence of the legal and official recognition and 
 protection accorded to Prince John by his father, the King, 
 as the direct legitimate issue of the House of Guelph. 
 
 The fact that since 1893-4, when the identity of Prince John 
 was first officially recognized by his father, his relationship 
 as the eldest legitimate son of King Edward has been univer- 
 sally known through the wide publicity given to the same, and 
 is in itself prima facia evidence that it was the will and pleas- 
 ure of the late King that Prince John should be honored as 
 his legitimate son and heir-at-law. 
 
 If further evidence be wanted it is to be found in the Com- 
 mand issued by His late Majesty under date of 17th Novem- 
 ber, 1902, for official recognition of the Author of these 
 Memoirs as a Guelph. 
 
 340 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 341 
 
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344 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 Copies of letters sent to King George, Premier 
 Asquith, Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, Lord Rose- 
 bury, Lord Hugh Cecil, M. P., the Right Hon. 
 Winston Churchill, Right Hon. John Redmond, 
 Right Hon. David Lloyd-George : 
 
 106 Montague Street, 
 Brooklyn, New York. 
 19th May, 1910. 
 My Dear Brother : 
 
 Some weeks ago I wrote to our revered father 
 intimating that I desired to introduce certain 
 measures for the elucidation of the existing diffi- 
 culties between the Lords and Commons. 
 
 My delay in submitting the same has been due 
 to a delicate sense of my appreciation of father's 
 superior knowledge and ability to solve the prob- 
 lem without interference on my part. 
 
 In forwarding the enclosed recommendation for 
 the amendment of the Constitution to provide for 
 the introduction of measures to establish an Im- 
 perial Parliament on the lines set forth therein, I 
 trust that I am rendering a service to you and.to 
 my country. 
 
 Copies of the enclosed paper have been for- 
 warded to the Premier and Lord Balfour and 
 other representatives in Parliament. 
 
 You have my full sympathy in the trying cir- 
 cumstances in which our father's death has placed 
 you. 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 (Signed) John Wettin-Guelph. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 345 
 
 106 Montague Street, 
 Brooklyn, New York. 
 19th May, 1910. 
 
 The Right Hon. Premier Asquith, 
 House of Commons, 
 
 London, S. W. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I have the honor to request that you will be good 
 enough to bring before Parliament at an early 
 date the enclosed recommendations for the amend- 
 ment of the Constitution to provide for the estab- 
 lishment of a third House, to be composed of an 
 equal number of Peers and Commons, and, if the 
 same be deemed advisable, of Privy Councillors, 
 as the Supreme Legislative Council to be presided 
 over by the Sovereign. 
 
 It appears to me that an Imperial Parliament 
 equally represented by each political party and 
 by representatives of each Kingdom would consti- 
 tute a supreme authority satisfactory to all parties 
 and people of the United Kingdom, in that not 
 only would each party and Kingdom be fairly 
 represented according to their respective strength, 
 but the plan would add dignity and authority to 
 both the Lords and Commons rather than to de- 
 tract from the authority as at present invested 
 in each House. 
 
 I am, Sir, yours faithfully, 
 (Signed) 
 John George Edwaed R. Wettin-Guelph. 
 
346 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 PKOPOSED AMENDMENT OF BRITISH CONSTITUTION 
 
 TO RESTORE ORDER IN BRITISH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN GEORGE EDWARD REX WETTIN-GUELPH. 
 
 BILLS PASSED BY COMMONS AND VETOED BY HOUSE OF 
 
 LORDS TO BE SUBMITTED TO 
 
 THE IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT, 
 
 COMPOSED OF SEVENTY MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, 
 
 SEVENTY PEERS AND SEVENTY PRIVY 
 
 COUNCILLORS. 
 
 THE SOVEREIGN TO PRESIDE OVER THE IMPERIAL 
 
 PARLIAMENT, 
 
 THE SUPREME LEGISLATIVE BODY. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 347 
 
 TO THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT 
 
 OP 
 
 THE UNITED KINGDOM OP GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 
 
 Whereas, the dissensions between the House of 
 Commons and the House of Lords are responsible 
 for the present political crisis in the Upper and 
 Lower Houses of the British Parliament and 
 
 Whereas, the existing crisis has caused a condi- 
 tion of chaos throughout the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, the British possessions 
 beyond the seas and the Empire of India affecting 
 commerce and concomitantly the peace and well- 
 being of the people, a menace to the power and 
 authority of our Constitutional Government and 
 
 Whereas, that in the event of the dissolution of 
 the Constitutional Monarchy of the United King- 
 dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the safety of the 
 Empire would be jeopardized, and the peace of 
 the Christian world endangered, and 
 
 Whereas, the remedies heretofore brought be- 
 fore Parliament with a view to the consummation 
 of an amicable settlement of the existing differ- 
 ences between the Upper and Lower Houses of 
 Parliament are inapplicable in that the same are 
 incompatible with the dignity of our Constitution 
 and the prestige of the Empire, to wit : 
 
 1. — To abrogate the right of the power of veto 
 of the Upper House is capable of only one in- 
 terpretation, that is to say, the House of Lords 
 
348 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 as proposed to be thereafter constituted would 
 be impotent and meaningless as a legislative 
 body, having no authority in the government of 
 the Empire. 
 
 2. — To create Liberal Peers for no other purpose 
 than that of procuring a majority vote of the 
 latter over the House of Lords would be to make 
 our Constitutional Government an object of 
 ridicule, and, at the same time a cause for shame 
 to the posterity of the British Empire. 
 
 3. — To abolish the House of Lords and to continue 
 to observe the growing tendency to displace 
 trained Statesmen in Parliament in favor of 
 men who have enjoyed only limited educational 
 advantages, and who possess but indifferent 
 knowledge of foreign affairs, would eventuate in 
 the dissolution of our Constitutional Monarchy, 
 to which system of Government we owe our 
 greatness as the first of the nations of the earth, 
 only to be succeeded by a season of chaos and 
 disaster far exceeding the tragic results of the 
 Cromwellian blunder, 
 
 Therefore, I, John George Edward Rex of 
 Great Britain and Ireland do maintain that the 
 best interests of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, the British possessions be- 
 yond the seas, the Empire of India and the peace 
 of the world will be protected by the perpetuation 
 of the Constitutional Monarchy of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and I do. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 349 
 
 Therefore, recommend to the Upper and Lower 
 Houses of Parliament the amendment of the Con- 
 stitution to provide for the introduction and adop- 
 tion of the measures and reforms hereinafter set 
 forth for the consummation of the foregoing ob- 
 jects, so devoutly to be desired. 
 
 1. — To provide for the establishment of a Supreme 
 Parliamentary Body to be designated as the Im- 
 perial Parliament or such other title that may 
 be deemed appropriate. 
 
 The Imperial Parliament to be composed of 
 seventy (or more) Members of the House of 
 Commons, seventy (or more) Peers from the 
 House of Lords, and (advisedly) seventy Privy 
 Councillors. Members of the Imperial Parlia- 
 ment to be styled Imperial Councillors. 
 
 Imperial Councillors from the House of Com- 
 mons shall be elected by ballot at any general 
 or special session of the House duly called and 
 shall be represented by all political parties and 
 by the respective Kingdoms of the United King- 
 dom of Great Britain and Ireland in the exact 
 ratio to the full strength of each and every 
 party and Kingdom respectfully. 
 
 Imperial Councillors from the House of Lords 
 shall in like manner be represented by all par- 
 ties and kingdoms in the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and Ireland in the exact ratio to 
 the full strength of their respective parties, and 
 shall be elected by ballot at any general or 
 special session of the House of Lords. 
 
350 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 Imperial Councillors from the Privy Council 
 (if such be approved) shall in like manner be in 
 the same ratio representing all political parties 
 and Kingdoms of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, and shall be appointed by 
 the Sovereign of the Realm. 
 
 The Imperial Parliament shall be dissolved 
 at the dissolution of each Parliament and re- 
 elected at the first session of each new Parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 Vacancies through death or other causes shall 
 be filled in the manner hereinabove described 
 at the earliest session of Parliament. 
 
 FUNCTION OF THE IMPEKIAL PARLIAMENT. 
 
 The Imperial Parliament shall be the Su- 
 preme Legislative Council and the adjudication 
 on all legislative measures shall be final, sub- 
 ject only to the signature under the Great Seal 
 of the Sovereign. 
 
 Each and every bill or legislative measure of 
 every kind and description and of every De- 
 partment of State brought before Parliament, 
 regularly deliberated upon and duly passed by 
 the House of Commons, which shall fail in regu- 
 lar passage through the House of Lords may be 
 returned to the Commons for amendment. In 
 the event of the Lords and Commons failing to 
 agree or to arrive at a satisfactory issue, any 
 and every such bill or legislative measure which 
 shall so fail passage through the House of 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 351 
 
 Lords shall be submitted to the Imperial Parlia- 
 ment for final action and disposition thereof. 
 John George Ed. R. Wettin-Guelph. 
 106 Montague Street, 
 Brooklyn, New York, U. S. A. 
 16th May, 1910. 
 
 MESSAGE OP JOHN GEORGE EDWARD REX OP 
 GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND 
 
 To the Members of the Upper and Lower 
 Houses of the British Parliament; to the people 
 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire- 
 land; to the people of the Colonies and possessions 
 of Great Britain beyond the seas; to the people 
 of the Empire of India; to the Chief Magistrate 
 and Ministers of the United States Government 
 and to the people of the United States, under the 
 courtesy and protection of which great Republic 
 I have enjoyed the privileges of a guest and resi- 
 dent for a period of upwards of ten years, and to 
 the Rulers and Ministers of the Church and State, 
 and to the people of the civilized world, I, John 
 George Edward Rex of Great Britain and Ire- 
 land hereby extend greeting ; and desire to express 
 my grateful appreciation for the courtesy and 
 sympathy extended to me privately and through 
 the public press in the bereavement which it has 
 pleased Almighty God to bring upon me and the 
 British Empire in the death of my revered father 
 and King, His late Majesty Edward VII — a be- 
 reavement so great as is herein explained by rea- 
 son of my painful separation from my father at 
 
352 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 the hour of death, that I have resolved to proclaim 
 before God, the Church and the civilized world, 
 for the future enforcement of the observance of 
 the moral and divine law; for the protection of 
 England's motherhood, for the just and legiti- 
 mate protection of the birthright of innocent off- 
 spring, whether issue of Royal or other parents, 
 that I, John George Edward Rex of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, the legitimate and lawful is- 
 sue of the marriage of His late Majesty King 
 Edward VII and the first Princess Consort, was 
 unjustly and unlawfully deprived of my birth- 
 right as the first-born son of the rightful Sover- 
 eign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, and that I was still more cruelly and un- 
 justly deprived of the birthright of every creature 
 — the right of a mother's love and a father's care 
 in infancy, childhood, and youth, by the unlaw- 
 ful exercises of traditional prejudices and jeal- 
 ousies of a so-called "royal custom," a custom as 
 barbarous and cruel as it is unlawful against both 
 Church and State, the unjust action of my late 
 grandmother, Queen Victoria, as Sovereign, in the 
 cruel separation of my father and my mother and 
 myself; the painfulness of the separation having 
 forced itself more and more upon me as each suc- 
 ceeding year brought us nearer the grave, and is 
 now rendered inexpressibly great in consequence 
 of the agony of soul arising from the ties of na- 
 ture, which give to me the right to be present to 
 render the last sacred offices of a first-born son to 
 my father and to my country; and, I do hereby 
 further proclaim it to be the duty of the people of 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 353 
 
 England and of the Christian world to demand the 
 abolition of the so-called "royal custom" of royal 
 polygamy which is an abomination in the sight 
 of God and man, being a violation of the laws of 
 God and of the Church and State ; I further pro- 
 claim my firm intention and resolve that in the 
 event of my failing to rouse the Christian world 
 from its apathy in regard thereto by this appeal 
 for the protection of the virtue and honor of 
 motherhood, that I do by the Grace of God sol- 
 emnly swear to devote my life to the enforcement 
 of the law in this matter. 
 
 I proclaim in the name of justice that the so- 
 called Royal Marriage Act of 1772, designated 
 12 George III C. II, to be and that the same is 
 unconstitutional and a violation of the Statutes of 
 Great Britain and of the canonical and civil dis- 
 abilities by which marriages are regulated, and 
 that the so-called Act was recognized by George 
 III, the maker thereof, and by his successors, 
 George IV, William IV, Victoria, and Edward, as 
 unconstitutional and invalid; and that the afore- 
 said Monarchs, the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 (during the reign of George III, also His Holi- 
 ness the Pope of Rome, and all ecclesiastical and 
 civil authorities from and including the reign of 
 George III have ever recognized the validity of 
 marriages, both as a sacrament and as a contract, 
 where such have been solemnized contrary to the 
 provisions of the so-called Royal Marriage Act; 
 and I do 
 
 Demand, that measures shall be taken by the 
 Houses of Parliament of the United Kingdom 
 
354< Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 of Great Britain and Ireland to proclaim the val- 
 idity of any and all marriages which have been 
 contracted contrary to the provisions of the so- 
 called Royal Marriage Act, but otherwise in ac- 
 cordance with the provisions of the laws of Church 
 and State, whether knowledge of such marriage 
 has or has not been suppressed from the public, 
 as in the case of the marriage of George IV, the 
 validity of which was recognized by the then reign- 
 ing Sovereign, George III, and other authorities, 
 notwithstanding that the same was contracted in 
 violation of the Act of William and Mary, known 
 as the Bill of Rights, and also in violation of the 
 12 George III C. II; and as in the case of the 
 first marriage of Edward VII, the first marriage 
 of my half-brother, the Prince George, and others, 
 and, I further 
 
 Demand of the Houses of Parliament of the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 
 that the legitimacy of the issue of any and all 
 marriages contracted by any descendant of George 
 III as aforesaid in violation of the provisions 
 of the so-called Royal Marriage Act (12 George 
 III C. II) shall be duly recognized and recorded 
 in the usual manner and that such issue of any 
 and all such marriages shall be proclaimed by 
 proper authority in their respective order of legit- 
 imate lineal succession as to their rightful suc- 
 cession to titles and estate according to law, irre- 
 spectively as to whether any such marriage may 
 have been, or may not have been, set aside by 
 Royal Proclamation, or by due process of law; 
 I further 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 355 
 
 Demand of the Upper and Lower Houses of 
 Parliament that measures be taken forthwith to 
 have the said so-called Royal Marriage Act of 
 1772 (12 George III C. II) declared to be null and 
 void, the same being unconstitutional and invalid, 
 in that the said so-called Act is in violation of 
 the provisions of the Acts of Parliament and con- 
 trary to the provisions of all laws of Church and 
 State by which marriages are regulated in the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; 
 and that the Houses of Parliament shall cause the 
 said so-called Act of 1772 (12 George III C. II) 
 to be expunged from the Statutes and be duly pro- 
 claimed by proper authority as having been, from 
 the date of its enactment, inoperable, illegal, and 
 therefore null and void. 
 
 (Signed) John George Edward Rex 
 of 
 Great Britain and Ireland. 
 106 Montague Street, 
 
 Brooklyn, New York, U. S. A., 
 12th May, 1910. 
 
 106 Montague Street, 
 Brooklyn, New York* 
 
 10th April, 1910. 
 My Dear Father: 
 
 The disquieting reports relative to your health 
 cause me great anxiety. 
 
 Through the long years of my life, I have cher- 
 ished the hope that you would pay due honor to 
 my dear mother before you pass from this life and 
 
356' Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 that the time might come when you would make 
 it possible for my mother and I to be reunited in 
 an honorable way, in order that, in the absence of 
 her husband's love and protection, her declining 
 years might be brightened in some measure by the 
 companionship of her son. 
 
 The ties of blood strengthen as advancing age 
 brings us nearer to our eternal home and nearer 
 to God; and each day the longing of my heart, 
 hitherto suppressed, forces itself more and more 
 that I may yet be privileged to enjoy some mani- 
 festation of your affection and the advantage of 
 my father's counsel so long denied me, through 
 our sense of duty to the State and Nation. 
 
 Above all personal consideration, however, the 
 political crisis through which the nation is now 
 passing renders your continued good health of the 
 greatest importance to the Empire. 
 
 The uncertainty of life, in my own case as in 
 yours; the political struggle in England, and the 
 ominous outlook for the future of the Empire and 
 of the Monarchy itself, should you be called to our 
 fathers at so unfavorable a time, coupled with the 
 very painful circumstances under which my 
 mother and I have been obliged to live, sacrificing 
 our personal interests and happiness in the inter- 
 est of our country, and the equivocal position in 
 which my mother and I might possibly find our- 
 selves should you pass from this life before I shall 
 have had an opportunity to bring before Parlia- 
 ment certain measures for industrial and economic 
 reform in the United Kingdom of Great Britain 
 and Ireland, India and the Colonies, and which, 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 357 
 
 authorities agree, will furnish the solution of the 
 political problems of the day, have led me to de- 
 cide upon the publication of my Memoirs, a rough 
 copy of the manuscript of some chapters of which 
 I sent to you some time ago. 
 
 For some years past I have, as you are aware, 
 endeavored to give the country the benefit of the 
 results of my investigation for the improvement 
 of the economic conditions and to raise the stand- 
 ard of the public health. This I have done without 
 giving undue publicity to the identity of the au- 
 thor. My efforts to carry out my plans have, I 
 believe, met with your approval, in that the moral 
 support accorded by you to the same, as in the 
 case of my systems for the prevention and treat- 
 ment of cancer, which you caused to be forwarded 
 to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in Sep- 
 tember, 1906. 
 
 This evidence of your good-will, and apprecia- 
 tion of my work has strengthened my love for you, 
 and has enabled me to meet with fortitude the per- 
 secutions to which I have been subjected as a re- 
 sult of the political intrigue which has been 
 brought to bear against me. Actuated by respect- 
 ful consideration for the memory of my revered 
 Grandmother, her late Majesty, the Queen, and 
 my love and devotion to you and my long-suffer- 
 ing mother, supported by my patriotic desire to 
 maintain a discreet silence on a subject which so 
 directly affects the Constitution of both Church 
 and State, I have patiently submitted to false ac- 
 cusations, indignities and humiliating experience 
 rather than expose and punish my persecutors. 
 
358 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 This policy is now impossible, for the reason that 
 so much publicity has been given to my identity as 
 your son that any further evasion of the truth on 
 my part can only result in unpleasant comment 
 by the "yellow" newspapers in this country. 
 
 When Captain J. Regan called on me in 1894 in 
 Rangoon, acting, I understood, in accordance with 
 a command of the late Queen, my grandmother, 
 with a request that I would not return to England, 
 and intimating that if I would go to Australia a 
 title would be conferred and an office given suited 
 to my rank and birth, I declined the honor for the 
 reason that I thought I could come to the United 
 States and bury myself as I had done for so many 
 years in India. In that opinion I was mistaken 
 and I have many times regretted not having 
 availed myself of the offer conveyed through 
 Captain Regan. 
 
 The indiscretion of the officials in Rangoon in 
 having communicated the contents of your private 
 letter, as was done to unauthorized persons, led 
 to my identity being made known throughout 
 Burma, and, on my leaving Rangoon for America, 
 missionaries or others must have written the facts 
 to this country. In any case, news of my identity 
 had preceded me to the United States. It was 
 in vain that I evaded all questions of newspaper 
 representatives, the story of my identity has been 
 repeatedly published throughout this country dur- 
 ing the past twelve years. 
 
 The publication of my Memoirs at this time, I 
 believe, most opportune, in that the publication of 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 359 
 
 my plans for industrial development in England 
 and Ireland, and the formation of Corporations 
 to put the same in operation will at once be recog- 
 nized as the means for the solution of the economic 
 and political questions now perplexing all parties. 
 
 My work will, therefore, benefit the nation and, 
 at the same time, may be the means of bringing 
 my dear mother some happiness from the knowl- 
 edge that I, her son, so long separated from both 
 mother and father, have done something for my 
 country at a time when such service was most 
 needed. 
 
 I trust that you will excuse me, my dear father, 
 for thus expressing myself in writing, but as time 
 passes without my having an opportunity to put 
 these matters to you personally, I have no other 
 alternative. 
 
 I pray God that I may have the happiness to pay 
 my respects to you in person in the near future 
 and that we may enjoy in our maturer years the 
 affection and companionship of father and son, of 
 son and father, that personal affection and com- 
 panionship so long denied to us by the interven- 
 tion of a cruel fate. 
 
 Should it not be the will of God that we should 
 be so blessed on earth, we knoiv that in a few short 
 years at most we will meet with those of our race 
 who have gone before, where we will stand equal 
 before the King of Kings — father and son, and 
 mother! No more will a false and unholy custom 
 permit of our separation as in this so-called Chris- 
 tian world. 
 
360 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelpli 
 
 Hoping to hear of your improved health, and 
 with expressions of my deep affection, 
 I remain. 
 
 My dear father, 
 
 Your dutiful son, 
 
 (Signed) John Guelph. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Dougherty, who had represented 
 me in certain matters relative to the publication 
 of these Memoirs, being a loyal British subject, 
 decided to assume the responsibility of reporting 
 to His late Majesty, King Edward VII, the fact 
 that I was arranging for the publication of my 
 Memoirs. 
 
 He pointed out to His Majesty that the publi- 
 cation of this work would inevitably result in a 
 revolution, and urged His Majesty to have the 
 necessary steps taken to suppress the publication. 
 Mr. Dougherty exercised great care to have his 
 letter presented to His Majesty with the utmost 
 secrecy. 
 
 The letter was written and despatched without 
 my knowledge. 
 
 At the time that Mr. Dougherty wrote the above 
 mentioned letter he was not aware of the fact 
 that I had not only written to my father, King Ed- 
 ward, reporting my intention to publish my Me- 
 moirs, but that I had also forwarded the manu- 
 script of the Summary and first three chapters in 
 order that His Majesty might be fully cognizant 
 of the nature of the publication and the effect that 
 the same would produce in the British Empire. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 361 
 
 Mr. Dougherty was, therefore, much surprised 
 upon receiving the letter from Lord Knollys here- 
 with reproduced. 
 
 On receipt of the said letter, Mr. Dougherty 
 called on me and explained the nature of the 
 letter addressed by him to the King and hand- 
 ed to me His Majesty's reply, with the remark 
 that the said letter was conclusive evidence 
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 
 
 26th January 1910. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I am commanded by The King to 
 acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
 of the 11th inatant, and to express his 
 regret that he is unable to assist~you, 
 in the matter to which you refer of 
 Mr John R.de Guelph. 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient Servant, 
 
 JLJKO 
 
 T.C.Dougherty Esq. 
 
 that His Majesty not only declined to cause the 
 suppression of the publication of my Memoirs, but, 
 that the letter having been addressed to him, a dis- 
 
362 Memoirs of Prince John Be Guclph 
 
 interested party, was a definite acknowledgment of 
 my action in publishing my Memoirs to establish 
 before the Empire and the world at large my legal 
 right as the eldest legitimate son and heir of the 
 Sovereign. 
 
 The following letters dated the 12th and 17th 
 November, 1902, from the Secretary of State for 
 War, are reproduced in order to show : 
 
 1. That as the firm name under which I had 
 previously conducted my business, i.e., J. R. 
 Guelph-Norman & Co. had been changed on the 
 26th June, 1902 (the date set for the Coronation 
 of my father), to Guelph & Son, and being aware 
 that the Department of His Majesty's Government 
 could not enter into business relations with my 
 Firm of Guelph without the sanction of the Sover- 
 eign, I wrote to my father requesting that he would 
 command the War Office to enter into business re- 
 lations with me under the name of Guelph. 
 
 2. The letter from the Secretary of State for 
 War, dated 12th November, 1902, bears out the 
 foregoing rule, in that it will be observed that the 
 same is simply an acknowledgment of the receipt 
 of said letter, but did not entertain the business 
 referred to therein. 
 
 The letter from the Secretary of State for War 
 of 17th November, 1902, in reply to the letter ad- 
 dressed to His Majesty, the King, it will be ob- 
 served, entertained the business therein referred 
 to, by the Command of His Majesty, the King. 
 
 The said Command of His Majesty to the De- 
 partment to enter into business relations with the 
 firm of Guelph & Son has been observed from that 
 
Showing official and private recognition as the legi 
 Prince of the House of Guelph, by the late 
 King Edward VII 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 363 
 
 date by the various Departments of the British 
 Government. 
 
 WAR OFFICE, LONDON, S.W.. 
 
 I am directed by the Secretary of State for War to acknowledge' 
 receipt of your letter of the 4/ (£■ h~^t*~^sf. 
 
 xl^u. +v~i^l^ y^u 
 
 •1 am, 
 
 Sfour obedient Seivaat; 
 
 O W V MO H-01 
 1000 1 — 03 
 
364* Memoirs of Prmce John Dc Guelph 
 
 Entered ^-^J^fQJaffsJ 
 
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 subject should be 
 
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 tod the above cumber-quoted. 
 
 1 am directed by the Secretary of Suite for War to acknowledge 
 
 the receipt of your letter of the ^V ^ liAAJ/flX^G f 
 
 ou the subject o f Q^faxrA. ^frttd XcCtS „ 
 
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 official relations with British Government opened by command 
 of King Edward VII. following his coronation. 1902 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelpli 365 
 
 Any further c 
 
 ommunication od tbi« 
 
 subject should be 
 
 addressed to— 
 
 The Serve 
 
 tuft 
 
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 ax Office, 
 
 
 .London, S.W., 
 
 and the following 
 
 number ouoted. 
 
 War Ojfice, 
 
 London, S.W. 
 
 84A/2100. (A.*.) ,,**■ 
 
 II- June, 1907. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 With reference to your letter of the 28th 
 ultimo, on the subject of a water penetrating projectile 
 I am directed to acquaint you that an interview can be 
 afforded on any day between the hours named in your 
 letter when if sufficient details are furnished the 
 question of the suitability of the invention for 
 adoption into His Majesty's Service will.be considered 
 under the terms stated in the accompanying Memorandum 
 for Inventors. 
 
 It Is not considered necessary for the 
 Inventor to bring samples to England at the present 
 stage. 
 
 I am to add that no expenses which may be 
 Incurred in submittingdetalla, as above, can be 
 paid by this Department, and in the absence of details 
 It is not possible to consider whether it would be 
 desirable to take any special action such as would be 
 the authorisation of expenditure in developing the 
 invention. 
 
 I am, 
 
 M « 83 ™ ^ el P h * c °" ^ir.etor of Artillery. 
 
 20 Biahopsgate Street Without, 
 B.C. 
 
366 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 GUELPH & SON, BANKERS AND BROKERS, 
 
 London and New York, 
 81 New Street, Suit 29-33. 
 
 10th January, 1910. 
 
 To His Majesty, King Edward VII., 
 Buckingham Palace, 
 London, S. W. 
 Sire, 
 
 Permit me to state in further reference to my 
 letter dated 4th November last relative to the 
 above subject, and the reply thereto by His Ex- 
 cellency, the Secretary of State for India, under 
 date of 10th December, that in view of the great 
 distress existing among the masses of Your 
 Majesty's Indian Empire, owing to the unhealthy 
 economic conditions, the political unrest conse- 
 quent on the long continued depression and pesti- 
 lence, and the great need for the more expeditious 
 development of the natural resources on more 
 equitable lines than observed by existing monopo- 
 listic corporations, "rings," and combinations, 
 the project referred to in my letter of 4th Novem- 
 ber, and previous communications, will be carried 
 out by private enterprise in accordance with the 
 provisions of the Company Act. A limited lia- 
 bility company having been duly incorporated for 
 the purpose, the work will be commenced at once. 
 
 I respectfully beg to state that in the interest 
 of the nation and of the Empire, I am about to 
 have published in the form of a biographical sketch 
 of my life, some particulars of the results of my 
 researches, and my plans for industrial develop- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De GuelpJi 367 
 
 ment and economic reform in the United King- 
 dom of Great Britiain and Ireland, and in India. 
 
 My various projects for improving the condi- 
 tions of the people and the political position of 
 the Empire, having been endorsed by some of the 
 highest authorities as the "niost practical," "the 
 greatest of public benefactions," and "the very 
 thing needed," "the only means whereby the 
 country can be saved," and as my efforts to in- 
 troduce the said measures and to put the same in 
 operation have been quietly, but systematically 
 opposed on political grounds, the public being 
 thereby deprived of the benefits that would im- 
 mediately accrue from the inauguration of said 
 operations, I am of opinion that the matter 
 should be referred to the people of the United 
 Kingdom and of the Empire, that they may judge 
 as to whether the peace and welfare of the nation 
 should be permitted to suffer, and the safety of the 
 Empire be jeopardized through political intrigue 
 against an individual, a loyal and faithful sub- 
 ject, who has given his life and sacrificed his hap- 
 piness to serve his King and his people. 
 
 I enclose for the favor of Your Majesty's 
 perusal and consideration the manuscript of the 
 biographical sketch, not yet in the press. * * 
 
 I trust that my effort in this direction may meet 
 with Your Majesty's approval, and that the publi- 
 cation of the book will be for the public good, as 
 I have reason to believe it will. 
 
 I beg to assure Your Majesty that it is most 
 painful to me to find myself, owing to circum- 
 stances over which I had no control, brought so 
 
368 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 prominently in the public eye, with no alternative 
 but to publish my biography in order to give to 
 my country that which I have long offered in a 
 manner which did not necessitate my being pub- 
 licly known in connection therewith. 
 
 I am Your Majesty's most obedient servant, 
 (Signed) John E. De Guelph. 
 
 [On pages following will be found photographic 
 reproductions of a few messages sent by Prince 
 John to his father.] 
 
 London, 9th November, 1906. 
 To King Edward VII, 
 Sandringham : 
 "Accept my filial and dutiful congratulations 
 on the sixty-fifth anniversary of Your Majesty's 
 sonship of God. May He lengthen your days in 
 the interest of peace and the public health. 
 
 (Signed) "John Guelph/' 
 
 London, 25th December, 1906. 
 To King Edward VII., 
 Sandringham : 
 "I rejoice to be in England to-day that our 
 prayers and praise in celebrating the anniversary 
 of the nativity of the Prince of the House of David 
 may ascend as from one heart to Almighty God, 
 who giveth the blessing of peace and good will. 
 May His peace be with you. Filial love. 
 
 (Signed) "John Guelph/' 
 
A. 
 
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Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 369 
 
 London, 9th November, 1907. 
 To His Majesty, the King, 
 Sandringham : 
 "Please accept my hearty congratulations on 
 this anniversary. My prayer to God is that you 
 may be spared to enjoy many of them. Give the 
 King Thy judgments, God, and Thy righteous- 
 ness unto the King's son. He shall judge Thy 
 people with righteousness, and Thy poor with 
 judgment. 
 
 (Signed) "John Guelph/ ' 
 
 London, 25th December, 1907. 
 To His Majesty, King Edward VIL, 
 Sandringham : 
 "Please accept my filial greeting and heartiest 
 wishes for a happy Christmas. May Almighty 
 God sustain and direct you in your efforts to 
 hasten the consummation of the object and pur- 
 pose of the nativity of Our Lord — 'Peace and 
 good-will among men.' It is my privilege to an- 
 nounce at this season that Your Majesty's untir- 
 ing efforts to stamp out the national scourges of 
 cancer and consumption are about to be crowned 
 with success through the successful results of ex- 
 tensive research and clinical tests of Messrs. Car- 
 pender and Guelph. 'The system for the preven- 
 tion and cure of these diseases is my Christmas 
 offering to my King and Country.' I pray Your 
 Majesty's acceptance thereof for the good of the 
 Empire. 
 
 (Signed) "John Guelph/' 
 
370 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 | POST OFFICE TELEGRAPHS 
 
 EGRAPHS. "■•'t-vjr.. ' / 
 
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Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 371 
 
 Fremont, Indiana, 9th Nov., 1908. 
 To King Edward, Sandringham : 
 
 "Please accept my dutiful and filial greetings. 
 Many happy returns. (Signed) "John Guelph." 
 
 On November 9th, 1909, foreseeing His Maj- 
 esty's death, I sent the following cablegram: 
 
372 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 106 Montague Street, 
 
 Borough of Brooklyn, 
 New York City, N. Y., 17th June, 1910. 
 
 My Dear Brother George: 
 
 It has pleased Almighty God to remove our 
 father from the Throne and from our midst, at a 
 time when the Upper and Lower Houses of Par- 
 liament were in the throes of a crisis without 
 parallel since the Cromwellian blunder, and the 
 Empire again faces a bloody revolution, which, 
 should it come, would be followed by the inevitable 
 disintegration of the Empire. 
 
 Had our father's life been spared for only a 
 brief period the pending catastrophe would un- 
 doubtedly have been averted, by the judicious ex- 
 ercise of his influence with the contending parties. 
 The imminent danger in which the crisis has 
 placed the Empire would have led him to temper 
 his Sovereign influence with his wisdom, superior 
 judgment, and resolute courage in order to bring- 
 to a speedy end the turbulent unrest. 
 
 An all-wise Providence, the King of Kings, de- 
 creed otherwise; our father and King was not 
 privileged to bring about the peaceful issue which 
 he so devoutly desired. 
 
 The political crisis continues as acutely as be- 
 fore his passing and the turbulent unrest is still 
 capable of developing into a bloody revolution. 
 
 Recognizing my duty to my country, as the 
 eldest legitimate son of our father, to assist in 
 the carrying out of the task of solving the diffi- 
 cult problems confronting the Houses of Parlia- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 373 
 
 ment, I submitted to the Prime Minister, under 
 date of 19th May, a plan suggesting the establish- 
 ment of an Imperial Parliament, as a Supreme 
 Parliamentary Council to be composed of Mem- 
 bers of both the Upper and Lower Houses of 
 Parliament and representing all political parties 
 and Kingdoms in the ratio of their respective 
 strength in each House ; a copy of which proposi- 
 tion was forwarded to you on the same date. 
 
 The seriousness of the present situation calls 
 imperiously for immediate and resolute action in 
 the interest of peace. Hence, my action in this 
 matter. Were I but a private individual, I would 
 consider it to be my duty to proffer a similar 
 suggestion for the adoption of measures to avert 
 the suffering and horrors of a revolution. 
 
 In view of the existing crisis in England, and 
 of our relative positions in relation thereto, I deem 
 it advisable in the interest of the public welfare 
 to place before the people of the United King- 
 dom of Great Britain and Ireland, some particu- 
 lars concerning my life ; and also an outline of the 
 policy for industrial and economic reform as pro- 
 posed by me from time to time and encouraged by 
 our father, for the purpose of averting the present 
 crisis and political unrest in the United Kingdom 
 and India. 
 
 In order that the public may understand the 
 motive which prompted me to devote my life to 
 the service of my country with the object of im- 
 proving the condition of the people, I have de- 
 cided to include in this open letter to you, a few 
 excerpts from my Memoirs, the MS. of which 
 
374 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 was submitted to our father on the 10th January 
 last with the intimation that the same would be 
 published at an early date, and to which publica- 
 tion he raised no objection. 
 
 The following excerpts from the second chapter 
 of my Memoirs (but subsequently eliminated) 
 give expression to the natural characterictics 
 of race and parentage which have impelled 
 me to apply my energies for the emancipa- 
 tion of Ireland and India from the deplorable 
 effects of our mal-administration of these coun- 
 tries, and for the removal of the burden of over- 
 taxation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain 
 and Ireland, by the introduction of measures for 
 industrial development, thereby ensuring the fu- 
 ture maintenance of healthy economic conditions, 
 and peace and prosperity, in the place of the long- 
 continued condition of poverty and political 
 unrest : 
 
 "Having been begotten and brought forth into 
 being a human mite of potentialities under cir- 
 cumstances over which I had no control, I owe no 
 apology to my contemporary beings, similarly in- 
 troduced into the world, for my advent into life, 
 for my royal parentage, my nationality, or for 
 the racial characteristics inherited from my par- 
 ents, grandparents and remoter ancestors. I 
 am but the reincarnation of the spirit of my fore- 
 fathers ; and the characteristics transmitted to me 
 by my parents and the progenitors of my race 
 through succeeding generations constitute the 
 dominant factor in the development of my own 
 character. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 375 
 
 "From the human mite of potentialities has 
 evolved the mature man, and expression is given 
 to the characteristics of my race; the manifesta- 
 tion of the actualities of the spirit of my progeni- 
 tors ; the exercise of the right of man in the world 
 of men. 
 
 "The characteristics of race and parentage 
 transmitted to offspring are modified by environ- 
 ment and confluence with sociological influences 
 and by impressions of a physiological and psycho- 
 logical nature. The most potent agent, however, 
 which an All-wise Creator 'breathed into' man, 
 whereby the traits and characteristics inherited 
 from parents and ancestors may be modified in the 
 life of the offspring, in the super-cosmic conscious- 
 ness, the spiritus vitae, the divine WILL, the 
 'breath' of life which united the finite with the 
 Infinite Being. 
 
 "This great truth was impressed upon my mind 
 while yet a child The lessons im- 
 parted to me by my foster-mother made a great 
 impression upon me, to which I am indebted for 
 the strength and fortitude with which I have at 
 all times endeavored to meet and overcome the 
 difficulties encountered in life, and which not in- 
 frequently have seemed to be well nigh insur- 
 mountable. 
 
 " 'Always remember,' she was wont to say, 'that 
 your father is the greatest man in the land; that 
 he must occupy the most exalted station in the 
 Kingdom, and that to him the nation must look 
 for the maintenance of peace and continued pros- 
 perity. It is your duty to profit by the example 
 
376 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 and experience of your grandmother, the Queen, 
 and that of your father and forefathers. It is 
 my earnest desire and prayer that you may be- 
 come as great a man as is your father. What you 
 lose by having been removed from the environ- 
 ments of the Eoyal Court, and by having been de- 
 prived of the advantages of the education and 
 associations consistent with your royal birth, need 
 not affect you unfavorably; on the contrary, it 
 should prove to be a gain to you in the end. 
 Being free from the trammels of Court and State 
 and from the restrictions under which Princes of 
 the Reigning Dynasty are brought up, you can 
 obtain by personal application and by practical 
 experience a more thorough training to qualify 
 you for the exalted station to which your country 
 and your people will some day call you, than you 
 would receive under ordinary circumstances.' 
 The strong impression thus made upon me in my 
 childhood and early youth, coupled with the spirit 
 of my ancestors, which latter was sorely wounded 
 by the knowledge of the terrible agony of mind 
 in which my dear mother was living, inspired me 
 to devote my life to the service of my country and 
 my people; to subordinate personal interests to 
 the interests of humanity. 
 
 "The mental picture of my mother's tortured 
 soul was an ever-present appeal to my sensitive 
 nature for justice, and spurred me on to what 
 might be termed super-human effort to achieve 
 something worthy of a Prince of the House of 
 Guelph; something of which my dear mother 
 might be proud; something of which my country 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 377 
 
 might accept for the good of the Empire as a 
 tribute of my devotion to my people under the 
 most painful circumstances. It is the inspiration 
 which has followed me through life, and which 
 has many times saved me from death, which 
 prompts me at this time when the Empire is facing 
 a bloody revolution which threatens the safety of 
 the Constitutional Monarchy and the prosperity 
 of the people, to authorize the publication of this 
 biography in the hope that by so doing the people 
 of the British Empire and of the world at large 
 may benefit from the results of my investigations, 
 by the adoption of my policy leading to the estab- 
 lishment of universal peace 
 
 For sixteen years I have been repeatedly urged 
 by friends and others to publish a book giving an 
 account of my travels, experiences, and re- 
 searches. Such a book, I was assured, would 
 bring me a fortune ; and thus furnish capital with 
 which to establish some of my projects for the im- 
 provement of the condition of the poor, and to 
 inaugurate the great movement for economic re- 
 form by which alone can be brought about the 
 consummation of the object so devoutly desired, 
 the establishment of international peace." 
 
 As will be seen from the following extracts from 
 my letter of 10th January, 1910, to my father, I 
 steadfastly refused to publish my Memoirs dur- 
 ing that period. The publication of such a work 
 could have only resulted in civil war. The main- 
 tenance of peace was my first consideration, no 
 matter what the personal sacrifice to myself might 
 be. Hence, from the year 1893 up to the month 
 
378 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 of December, 1909, 1 adhered strictly to the policy 
 of putting forward my plans for industrial de- 
 velopment and economic reform, and for raising 
 the standard of the public health, without bring- 
 ing myself prominently before the public as the 
 originator of the measures in question: 
 
 ' ' In the interest of the nation and of the Empire, 
 I am about to have published in the form of a 
 biographical sketch of my life, some particulars 
 of the results of my researches, and of my plans 
 for industrial development and economic reform 
 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and in 
 India. 
 
 "My various projects for improving the con- 
 dition of the people, and the political position of 
 the Empire, having been endorsed by some of the 
 highest authorities as being the 'most practical,' 
 'the greatest of public benefactions,' 'the very 
 thing needed for the salvation of the country,' 
 'the only means whereby the country can be 
 saved;' and as my efforts to introduce the said 
 measures and to put the same in operation have 
 been quietly but systematically opposed on politi- 
 cal grounds, the public being thereby deprived of 
 the benefits that would immediately accrue from 
 the inauguration of said operations, I am of opin- 
 ion that the matter should be referred to the peo- 
 ple of the United Kingdom and of the Empire, that 
 they may judge as to whether the peace and wel- 
 fare of the nation should be permitted to suffer, 
 and the safety of the Empire be jeopardized 
 through political intrigue against an individual, a 
 loyal and faithful subject, who has given his life 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 379 
 
 and sacrificed his happiness to serve his King 
 and his people." 
 
 For many years past I have kept my father ad- 
 vised as to my various plans for improving the 
 economic conditions, and he was aware that my 
 practical experience in various branches of the 
 Service, including the Army, Police, Prison Ser- 
 vice, Educational Department, and the Anglican 
 Church Missions, covering a period of about nine- 
 teen years, supplemented by some fifteen years 
 of active public work, gave me ample opportunity 
 to study, and that I was taking full advantage 
 of that opportunity to familiarize myself with the 
 political and economic conditions and the needs 
 of the people at home and abroad. My father also 
 knew that it would have been impossible for me 
 or any other member of our family to have bene- 
 fited from such an excellent opportunity to inves- 
 tigate by actual experience and personal contact 
 with the people and their environments, had I 
 not been free from the trammels of court eti- 
 quette. 
 
 It was only by living the life of the people that 
 I was able to familiarize myself with the actual 
 conditions of both the rich and the poor, and to 
 solve the problem whereby our work-houses may 
 be converted into industrial and educational in- 
 stitutions, and thus convert the large army of pau- 
 pers and criminals into wage-earners and tax- 
 payers, and the multitude of beggars into useful 
 citizens, to contribute their per capita toward the 
 Old Age Pension Fund and the national revenue; 
 and thereby reduce the taxation by fifty per cen- 
 
380 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 turn, and increase the revenue in the same pro- 
 portion. 
 
 My investigations were commenced in Ireland 
 in the seventies. Three years' study of the 
 economic conditions caused me to consider what 
 plans could be devised for the relief of that long- 
 suffering people. It has been with feelings of 
 deep concern that I have watched the painful 
 struggle by the people of that country for exist- 
 ence since that time, and my inability to help them 
 hitherto has caused me much regret. 
 
 I am now taking steps for the development of 
 the mineral resources of Ireland and for the resto- 
 ration of her manufacturing and other industries. 
 
 So long as Ireland continues an integral part 
 of the United Kingdom, it is the imperative duty 
 of the Government to protect the commerce of that 
 country in the same degree as it is to protect the 
 commerce of England, Scotland and Wales. 
 
 This has not been done. The development of 
 the mineral resources of Ireland has been handi- 
 capped; her manufacturing industries ruined and 
 even her agricultural pursuits crippled for many 
 years past. 
 
 England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are well 
 able to supply the English market, and it is our 
 imperative duty to see to it that home industries 
 are protected, and domestic trade encouraged and 
 supported. 
 
 It is to be regretted that Denmark, through the 
 influence of Danish Rule in England, has "cor- 
 nered" the English market, and that provisions 
 of all kinds are imported from Denmark, while 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 381 
 
 the Irish agriculturists and manufacturers suffer 
 in consequence of the Danish invasion of the rights 
 of our domestic commerce. 
 
 Public sentiment demands that this evil be reme- 
 died by the protection of our domestic trade 
 against foreign monoply. 
 
 The emancipation of Ireland from the misery 
 and suffering inflicted upon that unhappy country, 
 is the first duty of the Government. 
 
 The impoverished condition of Ireland, result- 
 ing from centuries of oppression under the feudal 
 system of landlordism (changed only in recent 
 years by legislation), and its relation as a part of 
 the United Kingdom, gives to that country the 
 equal right with England to supply the English 
 market, and to receive the profits of their industry 
 and labor. 
 
 Industrial development and the establishment 
 of healthy economic conditions in Ireland, as also 
 in India, affords the only solution of the Irish 
 question and the political unrest in India. 
 
 I have repeatedly put this matter before the 
 proper authorities during the last ten years, and 
 our father, as Sovereign of the Kealm, did his 
 best, as may be seen from the correspondence, to 
 cause my plans to be adopted, and encouraged in 
 every way the introduction of the measures in 
 question. As a matter of fact operations on the 
 above lines were inaugurated, and the same re- 
 ceived the warmest support of the press and the 
 public, but owing to political intrigue the work 
 has been greatly retarded. 
 
 As explained in my letter of 4th November, 1909, 
 
38£ Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 to our father, a limited liability company was 
 registered for the purpose of carrying out the 
 project (in 1903). "Arrangements were concluded 
 with banks and trust companies to underwrite the 
 Company's securities in order to absolutely pro- 
 tect shareholders from possible loss. Every share 
 of capital was guaranteed by the issuance of gold 
 bonds, bearing interest at six per cent, per an- 
 num, and held in trust by the trustees for the 
 stockholders, and protected by real estate security 
 of double the value of the amount of the invest- 
 ment, in addition to having the first claim on the 
 entire assets of the Company. 
 
 ' ' The Corporation had acquired the rights to ir- 
 rigation (and both machinery and other assets 
 valued at $10,000,000, or double the amount of the 
 total Capitalization) preparatory to the inaugura- 
 tion of the proposed operation 
 
 "The Corporation in question having taken 
 every precaution to safeguard the interests of 
 shareholders, and having incurred considerable 
 expense for the carrying out of the enterprise 
 which all authorities to whom the project was sub- 
 mitted declared would double the revenue of dis- 
 tricts in which it might operate, in less than ten 
 
 years, was declared to be the ' only 
 
 means whereby India could be saved to the British 
 Rule,' contemplated bringing suit against the Sec- 
 retary of State for India Foresee- 
 ing that any action that might be brought by the 
 said Corporation against the Secretary of State 
 for India, who had apparently confounded an in- 
 dividual, myself, with a duly registered Corpora- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 388 
 
 tion, would inevitably lead to very unpleasant de- 
 velopments, involving explanations of the identity 
 of the director of the Company who had been thus 
 attacked, I caused the matter to be dropped." 
 
 The political intrigue through which this most 
 important cause was maliciously interfered with, 
 to the detriment of not only the Empire of India 
 and its suffering multitudes, but of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well, 
 has been in operation for many years. 
 
 Under date of 4th February, 1897, 1 addressed a 
 letter to the Viceroy and Governor-General in 
 India recommending the introduction of certain 
 measures to check the threatened epidemic of bu- 
 bonic plague in Bombay, which was then only in 
 a mild form as compared with later developments. 
 I pointed out that unless the measures proposed 
 by me were adopted, that the epidemic would con- 
 tinue for years and that millions of lives would be 
 sacrificed. The Viceroy, following the advice of 
 his incompetent medical Council, took the posi- 
 tion that there would be no epidemic, declaring 
 that the few isolated cases presented no danger 
 to the city, and flouted my recommendations 
 simply through personal prejudice and jealousy. 
 According to the policy followed by him at that 
 time, it was better that millions of lives be sacri- 
 ficed than that credit should be given to me for 
 averting such calamity. The plague continued, 
 and according to statistics some eight million lives 
 have been thus wantonly sacrificed. 
 
 My plan for the development of the natural re- 
 sources of India en modern scientific lines by pri- 
 
384? Memoir* of Prince John De Gurfph 
 
 vate enterprise supported by the Government by 
 means of appropriations to provide for loans to 
 encourage such industrial development by indigi- 
 nous corporations, to remove the evils of foreign 
 monopolies and combination rings, and the loss of 
 lives sacrificed by famine, and the political unrest, 
 in India, while approved by the highest authorities 
 of England and India, and certain of my recom- 
 mendations adopted by the Empire, were quietly 
 but systematically opposed for the reason that it 
 was thought that my growing popularity in India 
 might prove to be too powerful to admit of my 
 identity being longer concealed as the eldest legiti- 
 mate son of our father, and, therefore, the rightful 
 successor to the Throne of England, and to the 
 Empire of India. It was considered by the princi- 
 pals of the political intrigue to be better that India 
 should suffer, and that a bloody revolution should 
 wrest India from British Rule rather than justice 
 should be done to myself and my mother. 
 
 Under date of 25th September. 1906. I for- 
 warded to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund 
 (of which you were then the President), a memo- 
 randum on the Guelpli Sterilization System in 
 the treatment of cancer. I also addressed a 
 letter to His Majesty the King officially on the 
 same date, and forwarded a copy of the said memo- 
 randum on the Guelph System for the treatment 
 of Cancer. In a letter dated "Buckingham Palace, 
 28th September, 1906," the King conveyed his 
 thanks to me for having introduced the Guelph 
 System, and advised me that he had caused the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 385 
 
 same to be "Forwarded to the Secretary of the 
 Imperial Cancer Research Fund." 
 
 In your presidential address at the annual meet- 
 ing of the General Committee in July, 1907, act- 
 ing, no doubt, in good faith, you stated that, ''The 
 fact that alleged cures are being submitted to im- 
 partial tests will, I hope, assure the 
 
 public that everything will be done to take full 
 advantage of any means that may be discovered 
 to alleviate suffering'' and. again, "It is recog- 
 nized that the work is conceived and carried out in 
 a liberal spirit; that whatever facts are ascer- 
 tained are immediately made known to every one ; 
 that our material is freely placed at the disposal 
 of all who are qualified to use it to good advan- 
 tage; that our staff is not working for its own 
 ends, but with a whole-hearted desire to help on 
 a solution of the problem. 
 
 "Although many new facts have been ascer- 
 tained, they do not as yet justify hopes of a new 
 treatment." You expressed the hope that, "The 
 public will continue by its sympathy and financial 
 assistance to support the work of the Imperial 
 Cancer Eesearch Fund, and be willing to exercise 
 the patience necessary for prolonged and sys- 
 tematic investigation." 
 
 My reason for having submitted the Guelph 
 System for the treatment of cancer to my father, 
 the King, was because physicians with whom I 
 had conferred in London, explained that Dr. 
 Basliford would not submit to "impartial tests," 
 or to any test at all. anything that I might sub- 
 mit to the Imperial Cancer Eesearch Fund. Fp- 
 
386 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 on my declaring my intention to send the matter 
 through the Founder and Patron of the Fund, the 
 same gentleman replied that, "The professional 
 clique by which the Fund is dominated, would ex- 
 ercise its 'professional' prerogative and 'turn 
 down' the King with as scant ceremony as would 
 be shown to me." Bashford could not afford to 
 take any chances on the honors and awards for 
 such discovery coming to a son of the King, whose 
 popularity might prove to be a little embarrassing 
 to the other branch of the family. 
 
 It was, therefore, with a view to ascertaining 
 whether or not a public institution of such im- 
 portance as the Imperial Cancer Research Fund 
 would thus insult the Sovereign, the Patron of 
 that Institution, and suppress this matter, thereby 
 becoming guilty of the diabolical offence of refus- 
 ing to accept a treatment for cancer from which 
 disease some millions of lives are wantonly sac- 
 rificed each year. 
 
 The Guelph System was suppressed by Dr. 
 Bashford ; the matter was not even put up to the 
 General Committee. The King was ignored, and 
 this important Imperial Cancer Research Fund, 
 which assumes the authoritative attitude of a cen- 
 tral organization which, as you claimed in your 
 address above referred to, has "influenced the 
 whole nature of investigation at home and 
 abroad," is placed in the ridiculous position of a 
 one-man institution, public funds squandered, and 
 life sacrificed, reports falsified, the public deceived, 
 and asked to "exercise patience," to suffer and die 
 by millions per year, victims of a political in- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 387 
 
 trigue against the unfortunate Prince, who has 
 spent his life to save victims of this dread disease. 
 In order to make this important matter per- 
 fectly clear to you and to the public, I must state 
 that, having been advised beforehand that my 
 system would be suppressed on political grounds, 
 i.e., as it was not desired by certain persons at 
 Court that I should acquire any popularity, I was 
 careful to state in my memorandum that the late 
 Reverend George W. Carpender, M.D., (Ann Ar- 
 bor, Michigan, '53), for forty years the most noted 
 cancer specialist in the United States of America, 
 1 'was for years associated with the writer (my- 
 self) in the practice of medicine and in scientific 
 research, for the perfection of the system of medi- 
 cal treatment for cancer and consumption," and 
 further that that eminent specialist, who had hun- 
 dreds of cases sent to him from every part of the 
 country, and even from England, "had the re- 
 markable and enviable record of no deaths and 
 no return of cancer, and no failures in the hun- 
 dreds of cases treated by him. I invited investi- 
 gation, and requested that representatives of the 
 Imperial Cancer Research Fund should be ap- 
 pointed to "watch cases then under treatment in 
 the Ladbroke Nursing Homes and at South End. ' ' 
 The disease implies unspeakable suffering and a 
 most terrible death. Millions of lives are sacri- 
 ficed and the governments of the civilized world, 
 the medical and all public-spirited people are tak- 
 ing full advantage of any means discovered to 
 alleviate suffering, and to discover a cure for 
 cancer. 
 
388 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 My father wrote me a second letter on the above 
 subject, under date of 23rd October, 1906, express- 
 ing his "regret" that he was "unable to do any- 
 thing further in the matter." This intimation 
 was, of course, intended to convey to me the wish 
 of my father that I allow the matter to stand over 
 for the time being. 
 
 The foregoing account of this important sub- 
 ject speaks for itself. Conservative solicitors, 
 however, have not hesitated to state that the same 
 would be rejected by the public as incredible. The 
 idea that a public institution, supported by public 
 funds, in the interest of a matter of such vital im- 
 portance as that in which the Imperial Cancer Re- 
 search Fund is engaged would suppress all knowl- 
 edge of a probable cure submitted to that institu- 
 tion by the Founder and Patron of the Fund and 
 Sovereign of the Realm certainly justifies such in- 
 ference on the part of every intelligent man and 
 woman. The following copies of letters from the 
 Secretary of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund 
 and from Dr. Bashford (the Fund itself) furnish 
 irrefutable evidence as to the truth of my state- 
 ment that the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, 
 with its Royal Patrons, its Vice-Presidents com- 
 posed of the cream of the United Kingdom, its 
 millionaire supporters, and its multitude of sym- 
 pathizers is, in reality, a "one-man show," 
 — Bashford. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 389 
 "imperial cancer research fund 
 
 Examination Hall, 
 
 Victoria Embankment, 
 London, W. C, 3rd October, 1906. 
 1 ' Sir : I have to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 letter of the 25th ult., with enclosed memorandum, 
 and I have to inform you that it is contrary to the 
 practice of the Imperial Cancer Eesearch Fund 
 to countenance the application of secret remedies 
 [the Guelph Systems are not 'secret remedies,' 
 but, like Koch's and other proprietary prepara- 
 tions which have been submitted to 'impartial 
 tests,' were put forward in accordance with the 
 general custom of presenting proprietary prepara- 
 tions] the nature of which has not been the sub- 
 ject of independent investigation in our labora- 
 tories. 
 
 "I have to add that a somewhat similar com- 
 munication addressed by you to His Majesty the 
 King has been forwarded to tins Office, 
 "lam, Sir, 
 
 "Yours faithfully, 
 (Signed) "Frederic C. Hallett, 
 "Secretary." 
 
 "imperial cancer research fund 
 
 Examination Hall, 
 
 Victoria Embankment, 
 London, W. C., July 15th, 1906. 
 "Sir: With reference to your letter of the 11th 
 inst., I have again perused your previous com- 
 
390 Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 
 
 munication and the memorandum accompanying 
 them, and I beg to inform you that I am unable to 
 take any action in regard to the matter to which 
 you draw attention. 
 
 "I am, Sir, 
 "Yours faithfully, 
 (Signed) "E. F. Bashford." 
 
 To any person of ordinary intelligence reading 
 between the lines of the last paragraph of the first 
 letter the contempt in which the sovereign au- 
 thority of the King is held is most apparent. 
 
 I trust that the foregoing brief outline of the 
 measures which I now intend to introduce will 
 appeal to my people and to the civilized world as 
 being worthy of consideration and support. 
 
 I trust, too, that you will see the advisability 
 of accepting this communication in the peaceful 
 spirit in which it is tendered to you. 
 
 The peace of the Empire rests with you and the 
 British Parliament. I wish to be distinctly under- 
 stood, however, that since the death of our father, 
 I am no longer under obligations to remain silent 
 and inactive; and, further, that in the event of 
 yourself, the British Parliament and the people of 
 the United Kingdom failing to recognize the jus- 
 tice of my position as the rightful heir-at-law of 
 our father, the late King Edward VII, and the 
 value of the reforms which I intend to introduce 
 in the interests of universal peace, it is my inten- 
 tion to take such measures as may be necessary 
 to enforce the recognition and acceptance of the 
 same for the good of the Empire. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guetph 391 
 
 This being a national question, I desire to still 
 inscribe myself, notwithstanding forty-nine years 
 self-sacrifice on the part of my mother and my- 
 self, as 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 (Signed) John R. and I. 
 Domiciled in the United States of 
 America, under the title of Prince 
 John De Guelph, in which title all 
 correspondence should be addressed. 
 To His Majesty King George V., 
 Buckingham Palace, 
 
 London, S. W., England. 
 
 106 Montague Street, 
 Brooklyn, New York, 
 
 * 28th June, 1910. 
 The Rt. Hon. Hugh Courtenay F. Luttrell, M.P., 
 The House of Commons, 
 London, England. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 My attention has been called to the " pointed 
 objection" raised by you at a recent hearing of 
 the Regency Bill in the House of Commons to the 
 clause in which it is stated that, "if the heir-ap- 
 parent marries without the Regent's consent the 
 marriage shall be null and void." 
 
 The question as asked by you, according to 
 press reports, was, "Does not this provision set 
 up a direct temptation to enter into a marriage 
 knowing it can be lightly set aside afterward? 
 lc . . Such a law would be very severe on any poor 
 
392! Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 
 
 girl who might fall in love with her sovereign. 
 She would be punished while he goes scot-free." 
 
 I desire to convey to you my sincere thanks for 
 the bold stand taken by you as a champion of the 
 virtue of England's womanhood and motherhood 
 and the rights of legitimate issue of marriages con- 
 tracted in accordance with the provisions of the 
 several Acts of Parliament and the canonical and 
 civil disabilities by which marriages of Kings, 
 princes, and peasants are regulated in the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
 The Prime Minister in framing or presenting the 
 said Regency Bill was, of course, familiar with the 
 provisions of the 12 George III C. II of 1772, 
 designated as the Royal Marriage Act. 
 
 It must, therefore, be apparent to any person of 
 ordinary intelligence that the clause herein re- 
 ferred to was embodied in the said Regency Bill 
 for one of two reasons: 
 
 1. That the said Royal Marriage Act (12 
 George III C. II) is admitted to be contrary to 
 the provisions of all other laws of both Church 
 and State, and, therefore, invalid and inoperable, 
 as it was so recognized to be by George III, 
 George IV, William IV, and also by the ecclesi- 
 astical and civil authorities and by the general 
 public during the reign of the aforesaid sover- 
 eigns, or, 
 
 2. That the same was inserted for the pur- 
 pose of testing the sentiment of the British Par- 
 liament as at present constituted, and of the 
 British public in this twentieth century of ad- 
 vanced civilization. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 393 
 
 I have the honor to state that copies of the en- 
 closed papers were forwarded to my half-brother, 
 known as King George V, to the Prime Minister, 
 to the Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour, to Hon. David- 
 Lloyd-George, and to a number of other Members 
 of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament 
 some time prior to the framing of the said Re- 
 gency Bill. 
 
 I trust that you will give the enclosed papers, 
 my Message to the Members of the Houses of Par- 
 liament, and "May God Defend the Right," your 
 careful consideration and loyal support. 
 
 As intimated in the enclosed documents it is my 
 purpose to abolish this diabolical custom of royal 
 polygamy. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 (Signed) John Edward Wettin-Guelph. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM A LETTER FROM PRINCE JOHN R. 
 DE GUELPH TO HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD VII. 
 
 50 Broadway, New York, 
 
 4th November, 1909. 
 To His Majesty King Edward VII, 
 Buckingham Palace, 
 London, S. W. 
 Sire: In view of the political unrest in India, 
 
 I am once more constrained to 
 
 place my services at Your Majesty's command. 
 
 In my communication to you, under date of 12th 
 December, 1902, I placed before Your Majesty 
 some details of the results of my investigations in 
 India, I ventured to assure you 
 
394 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 that I was prepared to undertake any mission of a 
 diplomatic nature in India, Burma, Siam, Japan, 
 or China. I advised Your Majesty that the Japa- 
 nese Government conferred with me, through a 
 Commission, in reference to the political, commer- 
 cial and economic conditions in China, Japan, 
 
 Corea, Siam, Burma, India, and Ceylon. 
 
 # # * # * * # 
 
 In 1903, 8th January, I again took the liberty 
 to address Your Majesty on the subject of an im- 
 proved policy for the administration of India, 
 whereby the economic conditions would be ma- 
 terially improved, and the political unrest would 
 be practically removed. 
 
 Following upon the communication here re- 
 ferred to, which was heartily commended by states- 
 men, princes, the press and the public throughout 
 India, I submitted to the India Office a plan which 
 I proposed to carry out in India for the improve- 
 ment of the economic and commercial conditions 
 in the Indian Empire, on the lines of my proposed 
 policy herein referred to, for the extensive devel- 
 opment of the natural resources of the country on 
 modern scientific lines, by the formation of an 
 indigenous corporation, to be controlled and oper- 
 ated by local capitalists, to counteract the de- 
 plorable effect of existing trusts, or combination 
 rings, which render ineffective the efforts of Your 
 Majesty's Government to improve the prevailing 
 conditions of poverty and distress among Your 
 Majesty's subjects in India. 
 
 The said plan was submitted to the late Illius 
 A. Timmis, the well known engineer of No. 2 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 395 
 
 Great George Street, Westminster, who, after hav- 
 ing made a tour of inspection through India and 
 Burma, "heartily approved" of the plan in its 
 entirety. 
 
 The plan was also submitted to the press in this 
 country. The project was immediately taken up 
 by the press throughout India. A few brief ex- 
 tracts from editorials of leadings newspapers, 
 from letters received from the editor of the lead- 
 ing Hindu paper in Calcutta, and from prominent 
 bankers and other authorities, will convey to Your 
 Majesty some idea of the far-reaching effect that 
 the operation of my plan in India must have had in 
 removing the political agitation, and restoring 
 peace and prosperity throughout the Empire. The 
 Armita Bazaar Patrica, under the head of "Glad 
 Tidings for India," stated, "The news is too good 
 to be believed, but it seems the salvation of India 
 is at hand." The project was attributed to Lord 
 Curzon, who was then Viceroy of India. The arti- 
 cle, as the result of this error, continued, "Lord 
 Curzon is the alleged saviour." At the close of 
 this article of a column and a half the following 
 statement was made, which showed the depth of 
 feeling and gratitude manifested by Your 
 Majesty's subjects in India at the bare prospect of 
 the introduction of measures which they knew 
 would forever solve the terrible problem of famine 
 in India : ' ' Here we end our meagre account of a 
 project which will fill the Indian's heart with 
 gladness and hope." 
 
 It was necessary for the Company to remove 
 the misunderstanding with reference to the con- 
 
396 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 nection of Lord Curzon's name with the project. 
 When that was done, one of the leading bankers 
 in Calcutta wrote, "The press and the public de- 
 mand to know to whom India is indebted for this 
 project, which means practically the fingering of 
 the plague spot in India." The editor of the 
 above-named paper wrote, "As soon as we saw an 
 account of the project in the Philosophical Journal 
 we were led to take immediate notice of it ; we saw 
 that it was just what was wanted for the salvation 
 of India. We will give our life 's blood for the suc- 
 cess of the enterprise." 
 
 A Prince of India wrote, offering the Company 
 two thousand acres of land for the purpose of the 
 first of the proposed schools of technology. And 
 many other offers of cooperation and support were 
 sent in to the Company. Bankers wrote that 
 "there would be no hitch in raising the entire 
 amount of capital required, when once the work 
 was launched." As a matter of fact the entire 
 allotment of securities promised to the bankers of 
 India was reserved before the share lists were 
 opened. 
 
 A limited liability company was registered for 
 the purpose of carrying out the project. Arrange- 
 ments were concluded with banks and trust com- 
 panies to underwrite the Company's securities, in 
 order to absolutely protect shareholders from pos- 
 sible loss. Every share of the capital stock was 
 guaranteed by the issuance of a gold bond, carry- 
 ing interest at six per cent per annum, and held 
 in trust by the trustees for the stockholders, and 
 protected by real estate security of double the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 397 
 
 value of the amount of investment, in addition to 
 having the first claim on the entire assets of the 
 Company. A measure that was deemed advisable 
 to meet the contingencies of the possible inter- 
 ference with the Company's business through the 
 outbreak of war (see facsimile of prospectus). 
 
 The Corporation had acquired the rights of irri- 
 gation machinery and other assets preparatory 
 to the inauguration of the proposed operations. 
 American capital was offered for the financing of 
 the enterprise, but was declined for the reason that 
 it was considered desirable to employ British 
 capital. 
 
 Your Majesty may be surprised to learn that 
 when the Corporation in question was all prepared 
 to inaugurate the work, the representatives of the 
 Corporation in India were visited by local officials, 
 who brought such pressure to bear upon the repre- 
 sentatives that they were compelled, much against 
 their will, to drop out. 
 
 The Corporation in question having taken every 
 precaution to safeguard the interests of share- 
 holders, and having incurred considerable expense 
 for the carrying out o± an enterprise which all 
 authorities to whom the project was submitted 
 declared would double the revenue of districts in 
 which it might operate, in less than ten years, and, 
 at the same time, was declared to be the "only 
 means whereby India could be saved to the British 
 rule, ' ' contemplated bringing suit against the Sec- 
 retary of State for India, for this unheard of ac- 
 tion against their representatives. 
 
 I subsequently learned that the trouble was the 
 
398 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 result of some personal feeling against myself. It 
 was not deemed wise by certain parties to have me 
 identified with so popular an enterprise as that 
 which had already caused me to be acclaimed by 
 the press throughout the Empire as "The saviour 
 of India." Foreseeing that any action that might 
 be brought by the said Corporation against Your 
 Majesty's Secretary of State for India, who had 
 apparently confounded an individual, myself, with 
 a duly registered Corporation, would inevitably 
 lead to very unpleasant developments involving 
 explanations of the identity of the director of the 
 Company who had been thus attached, I caused the 
 matter to be dropped. 
 
 I have no hesitation in saying that the action 
 of the officials in India in having opposed the in- 
 auguration of this most worthy enterprise, which, 
 in the words of a prominent banker and the press 
 of all India, "Had been received with open arms 
 by all classes and all communities," has played a 
 very important part in the rapid development of 
 the "terrorist" activities referred to at the be- 
 ginning of this letter. 
 
 It is most regrettable that any personal feeling 
 against an individual should be permitted to inter- 
 fere in any way with a matter of such far-reaching 
 political importance as the subject herein re- 
 ferred to! 
 
 When in London in 1907 I addressed His Ex- 
 cellency, the Secretary of State for India, on the 
 subject of the activity of the socialist party in 
 India, offering to render Your Majesty's Govern- 
 ment such service as my intimate knowledge of the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 399 
 
 situation there would enable me to do. I regret 
 to have to state that my loyalty to Your Majesty's 
 person and throne was not appreciated as I had 
 hoped it would have been; presumably for the 
 same reason that my previous efforts to serve Your 
 Majesty have been opposed by a narrow and short- 
 sighted administration, which is responsible for 
 much of the political unrest in Your Majesty's 
 Indian Empire. 
 
 If Your Majesty will do me the honor to com- 
 mand that I may be permitted to serve Your 
 Majesty's Government and the Public Service, by 
 the carrying out of my plans for the improvement 
 of the economic conditions in India and for the 
 peaceful adjustment of the present political dis- 
 turbances throughout the Empire, in such capacity 
 as Your Majesty may be pleased to command, I 
 beg to assure you that the opinions expressed by so 
 many authorities will be substantiated in every 
 particular, and that the troublesome events, and 
 the long continued unrest in India will be rapidly 
 overcome and peace and prosperity firmly es- 
 tablished. 
 
 If for any reason Your Majesty should deem it 
 inadvisable that I should personally be identified 
 with the active work, or in the actual carrying out 
 of the proposed improvements, I shall be happy 
 to arrange my plans for the industrial develop- 
 ment of India, and to submit my suggestions for 
 the future policy for the better administration of 
 Your Majesty's Indian Empire, in such manner 
 that the same may be carried out in such manner 
 as Your Majesty may approve. As stated before, 
 
400 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 I am indifferent as to receiving personal honors, 
 my life lias been devoted to, and my investigations 
 conducted in, the entire interest of Your Majesty 
 and the British Empire. 
 
 I pray that my services and loyal devotion to 
 your Majesty's person and to the Throne may be 
 acceptable. 
 
 I am Your Majesty's Most Obedient Servant, 
 John R. De Guelph. 
 
 J 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 401 
 
 ptringency in the meat 
 faliure, can affect die i 
 And, lastly, because I 
 
 Repre*entatn« men ot Great Britain, Aaeria • 
 •Alii will shortly be added to Ac already effiri. 
 Board. " ..''•' 
 
 : profitable enterprises I 
 
 America and British Columbia with India and 
 porta of call' has been sanctioned Also lor the 
 Coast Trade in Asia. 
 The first steamer, the " Saotidah," will sail as 
 
 Thelims-CoNTiNEirTAi. ajtoPen- 
 ntstjUAR CoHUzaoAL Company. 
 Limited, was organized as the re- 
 i Europe, America 
 
 between Great Britain and the 
 United States with Asia. 
 
 The originator of the plans to be carried out by 
 the Company has had an experience 
 twenty-four years in the Asiatic tra 
 He is a man thoroughly familiar wit! 
 c-i Asia, their customs and manners, i 
 s;uage and commerce. The project a 
 leading authorities of Europe and As 
 
 of Shlpo. 
 
 Maritime Agency, 150 
 
 Le&denhal] 
 
 
 Street, London, E. C England, 
 
 have been 
 
 appointed again to secure 
 
 charter on 
 
 
 ■ the Company. 
 
 
 
 The ccnsrrcctlon of 6>e rice mills 
 
 Rice Ullla. has ben sanctioned and will be 
 
 
 proceeded with at the t 
 
 arlkstpos- 
 
 sible date. 
 
 Three in Burma and two 
 
 m Bengal 
 
 Others v»i 
 
 U be edded a= needed. 
 
 
 The De- 
 
 p^Qu of twisting fuUa are 1 
 
 
 cent to l: 
 
 ■0 per cent per annum OS 
 
 nivestmenL 
 
 These will be exterid'.d to ( 
 occasion demands. 
 
 TimJit Sucd.:i Laul Mfssrr, i 
 
 :at beggars description. 
 
 The general agents of the Com- 
 farming pany in India, Messrs. Guelph & 
 
 Colonics end Son, are engaged in securing large 
 Institutes of tracts of land by lease and pur- 
 Technology. ^^ for ^ ptir p 0Se of farmingi 
 milling and manufacturing. Farm- 
 ing colonies and institutes of technology will be 
 established on a practical basis. Existing colonies 
 are conducted at a great profit 
 Lands will be leased and sub-leased to' farmers 
 
 tion with the of.iccrs of the Company. 
 
 The British Government 
 Irrigation. trcduced extrusive system 
 
 The Compel 
 agreement • 
 
 tivate long-stapled cot- 
 
 frequency of famine. The mo:t elaborate of these 
 sjriems beinp the Ganges Canal with its branches, 
 and the canal system of the odtas of the rivers 
 Mahanadi, Gcdaviri. ICriihna. and Kaveri. The 
 five rivers of ftc Punjab have also their great 
 canals, and the Indur. is la Sind what the Nile il 
 
 Britiih Government of $I7V 
 
 ton. The general agents 
 ence with the leading cotton centers of 
 with a view to furnishing long-stapled cot 
 which there is an increasing demand. 
 
 The Company is arranging 
 Modern introduction of modern m; 
 
 Machinery .^nd farming implements 
 •nd Methods development of the agrii 
 to be Intro- manufacturing and mining 
 duced In tries in India, The sam, 
 
 India. sold, leased or hired for 
 
 land in the Punjab have been irri- 
 gsted and colonized through the 
 Chenab Canal, at a cost of $3 P*' 
 
4021 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 lit is requested that in any further com- 
 munication on this subject the under-men- 
 tioned letter and number may be quoted, and 
 the reply addressed to the Under Secretary 
 of State of India, 
 
 India Office, 
 
 Whitehall, 
 
 London, S. W. 
 J. & P. 4490. 
 
 India Office, 
 
 Whitehall, 
 
 London, S. W., 
 December 10th, 1909. 
 
 Sir : I am directed by the Secretary of State for 
 India to inform you that your Petition dated 4th 
 November last has been laid before the King and 
 that His Majesty was not pleased to issue any 
 commands thereon. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your Obedient Servant, 
 
 R. Ritchie. 
 John R. De Guelph. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 400 
 
 THE LADBROKE NURSING ASSOCIATION AND HOMES, 
 
 111 Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, 
 
 London, "W., and 6, Royal Terrace, 
 
 Southend-on-Sea. 
 
 September 25th, 1906. 
 
 To His Majesty, Edward VII., 
 
 King of Great Britain and Ireland, etc., 
 Buckingham Palace, S. W. 
 
 Sire: I beg to address Your Majesty as the 
 founder and patron of the Edward VII Sanato- 
 rium for Consumptives, and to invite Your Maj- 
 esty's attention to the arrangements recently made 
 by the Red Cross Army Medical Corps of the Royal 
 Asiatic Academy of Science, for the admission and 
 treatment of cases of consumption and cancer, in 
 the Ladbroke Nursing Homes in London, and at 
 Southend-on-Sea. Cancer cases will be received in 
 the London Home, at 111 Ladbroke Grove, North 
 Kensington, W. ; and consumptives, in most cases, 
 at the Home at Southend-on-Sea, Essex. 
 
 The system of treatment to be followed is the 
 ''Guelph Sterilization Cure for Cancer and Con- 
 sumption," adopted by the Medical Department 
 of the R. A. A. S. some years ago in America, and 
 which has been attended with most successful and 
 indisputable results. 
 
 It is now intended to introduce the "Guelph 
 Sterilization Cure for Cancer and Consumption, " 
 in all the large centers of Europe, Asia and 
 America, and to appoint Medical Officers and Sani- 
 tary Commissioners to cooperate, as far as possi- 
 ble with the Government and municipal authorities 
 
404? Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 in combating the aforesaid diseases and in all mat- 
 ters governing the public health. 
 
 For myself, personally, I could wish for no 
 greater honor than the privilege of offering to my 
 king and country the fruits of my life 's study and 
 research during my wanderings in Asia and other 
 lands; and thus, at last, have the honor of con- 
 tributing in some measure toward stamping out 
 the national scourge — the "White Plague." 
 
 The amelioration of the suffering of my coun- 
 try would be ample reward for the years of my 
 voluntary exile and the loss of all that life holds 
 dear — home. 
 
 I gladly bury my personality in a public insti- 
 tution in order to better serve the public interest 
 and so fulfill my obligation and duty to my King 
 and nation. 
 
 I would, therefore, beg that Your Majesty may 
 be pleased to favorably consider this communica- 
 tion and the enclosed paper on the subject of the 
 adoption of the "Guelph Sterilization Cure for 
 Cancer and Consumption," and that Your Majesty 
 may be pleased to have the same forwarded to the 
 management of the "Edward VII Sanatorium for 
 Consumptives," for their information and to in- 
 vite the management to avail themselves of the 
 advantages offered by the "Guelph Sterilization 
 System in the treatment of Consumption." 
 
 It will afford me great pleasure to attend per- 
 sonally to any cases in the Edward VII. Santorium 
 for Consumptives or other Institutions and to re- 
 ceive cases for treatment in the Ladbroke Nursing 
 Homes. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 405 
 
 I beg to point out the fact that it is not intended 
 to disclose the details of the " Guelph Sterilization 
 Cure for Cancer and Consumption" at this time, it 
 being the purpose of the Academy to compete for 
 various awards offered for any discovery for the 
 cure of cancer and for the cure of consumption. 
 
 When the merit of the Guelph Sterilization Sys- 
 tem shall have been recognized, which recogniza- 
 tion is inevitable, the awards that may be received 
 will be devoted to the establishment of other in- 
 stitutions for the benefit of the public in general 
 and of the sick poor in particular. It should be 
 stated that the "Guelph Sterilization Cure for 
 Cancer and Consumption" was adopted by the 
 Academy as a result of many years of investiga- 
 tion and clinical experience in Europe, Asia and 
 America, during which period hundreds of cases 
 of cancer have been cured without the knife, with- 
 out a death, without a return of cancer and without 
 a failure. 
 
 The ' ' Guelph Sterilization Cure for Cancer and 
 Consumption" consists of a graduated system of 
 internal and external hygienic medication, selected 
 from the Occidental and Oriental Schools of 
 Medicine. 
 
 The internal treatment for both cancer and con- 
 sumption is comprised of vegetable compounds, 
 the ingredients of which were selected chiefly from 
 the ancient Sanskrit Medical authorities of India 
 and at the present time are unobtainable in 
 England. 
 
 The result of observation and clinical experi- 
 ence, covering a period of 25 years, has established 
 
406 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 the fact that the physiological and therapeutic ac- 
 tion of the vegetable compound renders sterile 
 pathological germs, fungi, bacteria, tubercle, 
 baccilli, etc. 
 
 In the pretubercle stage of consumption, the 
 tubercle bacilli are aborted, and the disease ar- 
 rested in the early stages. 
 
 In the advanced stages of tubercle, cancer, or 
 other malignant growth, the physiological and 
 therapeutic action of the compounds is directed 
 to the pathological tissue, and the baccilli bacteria, 
 cancer cells, etc., are rendered sterile and inopera- 
 tive. The pathological tissue separates from the 
 healthy tissue, and the healing process is aided 
 by the creative action of the medicine on healthy 
 tissue. 
 
 From the foregoing it will be observed that the 
 "Guelph Sterilization Cure for Cancer and Con- 
 sumption" is specific in both the prevention and 
 cure of cancer, consumption, catarrhal affections 
 and other scrofulous diseases. 
 
 The external treatment by the "Guelph Sterili- 
 zation" system, for the removal of cancer and 
 other malignant growths has been rendered prac- 
 tically painless, and, as in the internal treatment, 
 renders the cancerous growth sterile. 
 
 The cancer cells being drawn from the blood 
 are absorbed by the parent cancer during the proc- 
 ess of sterilization, with which they are rendered 
 abortive, and in from three to five days is then 
 lifted out bodily from its nest without inconveni- 
 ence to the patient, or is allowed to slough itself 
 off, according to the nature of the growth. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 407 
 
 The healing process is rapid, as all cancer cells 
 having been removed the danger of return of can- 
 cer is practically eliminated. 
 
 In conclusion I beg to enclose a copy of a paper 
 on the adoption of the ' ' Guelph Sterilization cure 
 for Cancer and Consumption, ' ' from which it will 
 be observed that the system of treatment is based 
 on rational hygienic medication, to aid and assist 
 nature in its remedial effort: and is opposed to 
 surgical operation for the removal of cancer, by 
 which operation the cancer cells are diffused 
 through the blood, and, later manifest in return of 
 cancer, or are forced back upon the lungs or other 
 vital organ. The Guelph Sterilization System, it 
 will be seen, is also opposed to inoculation of 
 serums, anti-toxins and other measures, such as 
 vaccination, whereby the virus of Kine-pox or 
 other diseased germs are forced into the blood to 
 manifest at a later date, in an aggravated form 
 of consumption, or other scrofulous diseases. 
 
 Trusting that Your Majesty may be graciously 
 pleased to have this matter brought to the notice 
 of the "Edward VII Sanatorium for Consump- 
 tives" and before the health department of your 
 Majesty's government, for the purpose of having 
 the "Guelph Sterilization Cure for Cancer and 
 Consumption" adopted by the Sanatorium, and by 
 Your Majesty's Government. 
 
 I beg to remain, Sire, 
 Your Majesty's Most Obedient Servant, 
 (Signed) Jno. R. Guelph-Norman, M.D., 
 
 Medical Director, R. C. A. M. C. 
 
408 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ftr BUCKINGHAM PALACE. 
 
 Tne Private Secretary is commanded by 
 The. King to thank Ur J.R.G.'Tornan for his 
 letter of tne 25tn Inst: on tne subject 
 of the Guelph Sterilization Cure for 
 Cancer and Consunption which has been 
 forwarded to the secretary of tne Cancer 
 Kesearcn Fund. 
 
 28th September 1906. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 409 
 
 IMPERIAL CANCER RESEARCH FUND. 
 
 Patron. 
 H1S_,MAJESTY THE KINCT. 
 
 HRH. THE PRINCE OF WALES. 
 
 Vice- President!. 
 
 LORD LISTER. LORD STRATHCONA 4 MOUNT ROYAL, CC.M.C. 
 
 RIGHT HON. A. J. BALFOUR. M.P. SIR WILLIAM BROADBENT, Bakt , K.C.V.O.. 
 
 SIR JULIUS WERNHER, Bast. Mr. H. L. BISCHOFFSHEIM. Mr. W. WALDORF ASTOR. 
 
 :i„enr, Tramtnr . •_ M R. HENRY MORRIS. Sttrttar, i-M*. FREDERIC C. HALLETT." 
 
 Cirxral SutcrtrU.nJtM ■>/ f!i,tar,J, a*J , 
 Dtrtdor of l/u Central Laboratory :— j 
 
 Dr. E. F. BASHFORD 
 
 Ofitr of lit Fmd ■— 
 
 EXAMINATION HALL, 
 
 VICTORIA EMBANKMENT 
 
 LONDON. W.C 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have to' acknowledge Xhe receipt' of your letter of the 25th. 
 ult., and enclosed memorandum,, and I have to Inform you that It 
 Is contrary to the practioe of the Imperial Cancer Researoh Fund 
 to count enanoe. the application of secret remedies, the nature of 
 nhioh has not been the subject of . independent investigation in 
 our laboratories. 
 
 I have to add that a somewhat similar cospunic&tioii addroese^ 
 hy you to His Majesty the King has been forwarded to tills Office. 
 I am. Sir, 
 
 Yours faithfully. 
 
 
 Jh^ 
 
 Seoretary, 
 J.R. Guelph Norman, Esq. M.D. 
 
410 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 111 Ladbroke Grove, 
 North Kensington, W., 
 21st October, 1906. 
 To His Majesty, the King, 
 
 Buckingham Palace. 
 
 Sire: I beg to thank Your Majesty for having 
 caused my communication of 25th ultimo, relative 
 to the Guelph rational system of treatment and 
 prevention of cancer and consumption to be for- 
 warded to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund 
 for investigation. 
 
 It is with profound regret that I have to ap- 
 prise you of the contempt in which Your Majesty's 
 pleasure is held by a professionalism as prejudiced 
 and bigoted as in the days when the illustrious 
 Harvey was its victim. 
 
 I had watched with great interest and pride 
 Your Majesty's attitude toward the amelioration 
 of suffering; and the active measures introduced 
 in past years, by your command, for the reduction 
 of the terrible death roll of over five million per 
 annum from consumption alone. 
 
 The organization of the League of Mercy, the 
 Imperial Cancer Research Fund, the King Edward 
 VII Sanatorium for consumptives, and other insti- 
 tutions, under Your Majesty's patronage, define 
 not only the policy for the good of the Empire, 
 adopted by Your Majesty as the principal feature 
 of your reign, but a heart full of sympathy for 
 suffering humanity — a reign to be marked by the 
 introduction of measures for the prevention and 
 cure of the scourge of cancer and consumption, 
 an example deserving of the attention and con- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 411 
 
 sideration of every medical man in the world ; and 
 a policy that should demand and command the 
 support, cooperation and dutiful service of every 
 subject in Your Majesty's Empire. 
 
 The contemptuous manner in which Your 
 Majesty's action in the present matter was treated 
 by the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, shows but 
 too plainly that bigoted professional prerogative 
 will assert itself even in the twentieth century as 
 high-handedly as in the dark ages — no matter if 
 the King command, or the death rate be five times 
 five million a year. 
 
 In bringing to the notice of Your Majesty the 
 results of some twenty-five years' research con- 
 ducted in various parts of the world, I was sure 
 of the favorable consideration shown by you, and 
 I had hoped that Your Majesty's exalted position, 
 if no other qualification, would command the at- 
 tention of an investigation by the department or 
 public body to which you might refer the matter. 
 
 I had been prepared by professional brethren 
 for some opposition from organizations. 
 
 It had also been intimated to me that Your 
 Majesty "is entirely in the hands" of the same. 
 
 In my communication addressed to the Imperial 
 Cancer Research Fund I introduced the subject 
 of the Guelph system for the prevention and treat- 
 ment of cancer and consumption. I was aware 
 that the rational hygienic medical system in ques- 
 tion is opposed to much of the line of research be- 
 ing followed by that body. I was fully sensible 
 of the fact that in criticizing the line of research 
 as the line of action that will cause rather than 
 
412 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 prevent and cure cancer, I was challenging the 
 most "eminent" medical men in the world to in- 
 vestigate the Guelph System, against which bias 
 and prejudice would be the principal and only 
 witness. 
 
 After a successful clinical experience of many 
 years by myself and the late Medical Director of 
 the Institution which I have the honor to repre- 
 sent, the Rev. Geo. W. Carpender, M.D., I knew 
 that the only safety to the traditional prejudice of 
 that body was to refuse to investigate my Guelph 
 System. Hence I desired to present the subject 
 to Your Majesty, that you might insist upon just 
 investigation — not that I am personally anxious 
 for further publicity, but for the good of the na- 
 tion — and of the world! 
 
 The reply of the Secretary of the Imperial Can- 
 cer Research Fund, was as follows : 
 
 "and I am to inform you that it is contrary to the 
 practice of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund to 
 countenance the application of secret remedies, the 
 nature of which has not been the subject of inde- 
 pendent investigation in our laboratories. I am 
 to add that a somewhat similar communication ad- 
 dressed by you to His Majesty, the King, has been 
 forwarded to this office. 
 
 "Yours faithfully, 
 (Signed) Fkederic G. Hallett, 
 ' ' Secretary. ' ' 
 
 Here it is observed that a strong and influential 
 body of medical men take shelter under the pres- 
 tige of their King as the "patron" of the body, 
 and of H. R. H., the Prince of Wales, as presi- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 413 
 
 dent thereof, whose exalted position and personal 
 feelings and intelligence they do not hesitate to 
 ignore and insult by a cnrt refusal to consider or 
 respect the vote or suggestion of their King when 
 His Majesty's intelligence and humanity is op- 
 posed to their prejudices. Care has apparently 
 been taken to safe-guard the professional element 
 from the exposure of their ignorance by the official 
 or non-official action of their "Patron," the King, 
 or their "President," who are thereby placed in a 
 most unenviable light before the great body of 
 medical men of every civilized country. 
 
 So long as one of the most important medical 
 research organizations in the country shall be per- 
 mitted to ignore or refuse to "countenance" the 
 research of independent medical men, and to dis- 
 miss an important communication forwarded to 
 that body by Your Majesty's command, in the curt 
 manner shown herein, so long will Your Majesty's 
 efforts to stamp out this dread disease of cancer 
 and consumption be in vain. 
 
 The plausible excuse presented by the Imperial 
 Cancer Research Fund is inconsistent with the 
 general practice, I believe, as I am of the opinion 
 that various "secret remedies," such as serums 
 and other proprietary preparations are made the 
 "subject of independent investigation in their own 
 laboratories." 
 
 The Guelph system is a proprietary one, and is 
 open to the same independent investigation by 
 any scientific body, under fair conditions. 
 
 The actual details of the process of preparation 
 will be withheld from a prejudiced profession at 
 
414 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 least until the matter of awards shall have been 
 settled. 
 
 The Guelph Sanatoria will control the remedies. 
 
 In conclusion I beg to state that the Guelph 
 Sanatoria, now being established, will arrange to 
 treat cases of consumption and cancer in other 
 medical institutions, the first of which are the 
 Ladbroke Nursing Homes. 
 
 If Your Majesty will cause this matter to be 
 brought to the notice of your Sanatorium for con- 
 sumptives, and to the civil and military medical 
 departments for investigation, the prevention and 
 cure of cancer and consumption in Your Majesty's 
 Empire will speedily become an accomplished 
 fact, as has been established by absolute clinical 
 experience elsewhere. 
 
 I am Your Majesty's 
 
 Most Obedient and Faithful Servant, 
 
 (Signed) Jno. R. Guelph-Norman, M.D. 
 
 Medical Director Royal Academy of Science. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guclph 4il5 
 BUCKINGHAM PALACE 
 
 
 ^3 &*7?U) ty& 
 
416 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 47 Victoria Street, 
 
 Westminster, 
 London, S. W., 11th July, 1907. 
 
 To Imperial Cancer Research Fund, 
 Examination Hall, 
 
 Victoria Embankment, 
 London, E. C. 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 On the 25th of September, 1906, I addressed a 
 letter to the Imperial Research Fund, and en- 
 closed a memorandum on the subject of the 
 Guelph Sterilization Cure for Cancer and Con- 
 sumption. A similar communication treating on 
 the same subject was forwarded to your office by 
 the command of His Majesty, the King, on or 
 about the 26th of September. 
 
 In your reply to the above mentioned communi- 
 cation, under date of 3rd October, 1906, you were 
 good enough to inform me that "it is contrary to 
 the practice of the Imperial Cancer Research 
 Fund to countenance the application of secret 
 remedies, the nature of which has not been the 
 subject of independent investigation in our 
 laboratories." 
 
 I beg to point out that in inviting the Imperial 
 Cancer Research Fund to cooperate with the 
 Guelph Sanatoria "in advancing the rational 
 medical treatment of the diseases named (cancer 
 and consumption), in the interest of the public 
 health, I was fully sensible of the fact that the med- 
 ical profession can not countenance the application 
 of "secret remedies" and was careful to explain 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 417 
 
 in said communication that the Guelph System of 
 treatment was introduced for the consideration 
 of His Majesty, the King, and of the Imperial 
 Cancer Research Fund as the result of many years 
 of independent investigation and clinical experi- 
 ence in the treatment of cancer in the private 
 practice of a qualified medical man, in a strictly 
 professional and ethical manner. The successful 
 results obtained in the treatment of several hun- 
 dred cases of cancer I pointed out in my memo- 
 randum, viz, that in a practice of over forty years 
 there were "no failures" "no deaths," and "no 
 return of cancer" among the cases treated, the 
 cases being kept under observation as much as 
 possible for some years after treatment. 
 
 Under date of 3rd November, 1906, I again 
 urged the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, "in 
 the cause of humanity," to "at least condescend 
 to watch cases that may be treated in the Guelph 
 Sanatoria about to be established, even though 
 the Fund may not see its way to make the Guelph 
 System of treatment the subject of independent 
 investigation in the laboratories of the Fund, as 
 I understood has been done with other proprietary 
 preparations in their laboratories." 
 
 No answer having been received to the above 
 appeal, I refrained from further correspondence 
 on the subject. 
 
 The recently published report of the General 
 Committee of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund 
 is, however, so misleading to the general public 
 and more particularly so to the thousands of vie- 
 
418 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 tims of cancer, that I am compelled to take ex- 
 ception to certain statements made therein. 
 1. — The report of the General Superintendent and 
 the Presidential address of His Royal High- 
 ness, the Prince of Wales, state that impartial 
 tests have been made of alleged cancer cures, 
 and that no curative value can be attached to 
 any of them. 
 2. — That so far there is "nothing to justify the 
 hopes of a new treatment." Reference is made 
 to full advantage being taken of any means that 
 may be discovered for the alleviation of suffer- 
 ing, etc. 
 
 The empirical attitude of the Imperial Cancer 
 Research Fund in presuming to brand the results 
 of investigations conducted by private practi- 
 tioners as "so-called cures," "alleged cures," 
 etc,, and in assuming to be the central and only 
 authority on the nature of and treatment for can- 
 cer — of which the Fund confesses it knows noth- 
 ing, involves a grave responsibility. 
 
 The responsibility for the loss of many thou- 
 sand lives annually from a curable disease, and 
 from a preventable disease. 
 
 The only inference to be drawn from your re- 
 port by the public is : 
 
 1. — That the Fund is the official and only au- 
 thority on cancer. 
 
 2. — That physicians throughout the world who are 
 engaged in the study of cancer submit the re- 
 sults of their investigations to the Fund. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 419 
 
 3. — That nothing so far is known of the nature of 
 or treatment for cancer. 
 
 4. — That publicity given to any treatment for this 
 disease is to be discredited, unless it bears the 
 "hall mark" of the Fund. 
 
 Under the above circumstances, and considering 
 the appalling mortality from cancer and the rapid 
 increase in the number of cases, I am once more 
 impelled to ask the Imperial Cancer Research 
 Fund to submit to "impartial tests" by practical 
 clinical application to cancer in the human being, 
 the Guelph Sterilization Cure for Cancer and Con- 
 sumption. 
 
 The Guelph System is not a "secret" remedy, 
 but it is an ethical proprietary remedy of a nature 
 such as is in regular use by the medical profes- 
 sion in all civilized lands. The only protection 
 asked for is the protection of "proprietary 
 rights," as is usual in such cases. 
 
 The investigation asked for and required for 
 this established system of treatment in the preven- 
 tion cure of cancer is the practical application of 
 the remedy to cancer in the human being, in which 
 cases the results are irrefutable — a cure in every 
 case. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 (Signed) Jno. R. Guelph-Norman, M.D., 
 
 Medical Director, Guelph Sanatoria. 
 Ladbroke Nursing Home, 
 
420 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 111 Ladbroke Grove, W. 
 3rd November, 1906. 
 
 To the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, 
 Examination Hall, 
 
 Victoria Embankment. 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 In further reference to my letter of 25th Sep- 
 tember, and enclosed memorandum, on the subject 
 of the ' ' Guelph Sterilization Cure for Cancer and 
 Consumption," I have the honor to state that since 
 the receipt of your reply thereto, I have received 
 the thanks of His Majesty, the King, for having 
 introduced the Guelph rational system for the pre- 
 vention and cure of cancer and consumption. I 
 have also been advised that the communication 
 addressed by me to the King had been forwarded, 
 by His Majesty's command, to the Secretary of 
 the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. 
 
 It was, therefore, a matter of surprise and re- 
 gret to me that a communication of such vital im- 
 portance to the public health and in the saving of 
 life referred to the Imperial Cancer Research 
 Fund by His Majesty, the King, who is also 
 patron of the Fund, should have been dismissed 
 by the Fund without any attempt whatever to in- 
 vestigate its merits. 
 
 I find, from your letter of 3rd ultimo, that I have 
 been laboring under a grave misapprehension as 
 to the purpose for which the Fund was formed, 
 and I believe that His Majesty, the King, patron 
 .of the Fund, H.R.H., the Prince of Wales, Presi- 
 dent of the Fund, and other influential supporters 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 421 
 
 of the Fund are victims of the same misunder- 
 standing. 
 
 That His Majesty, the King, as patron of the 
 Fund, should have been graciously pleased to have 
 caused the attention of the Imperial Cancer Re- 
 search Fund to be called to the Guelph rational 
 system for the prevention and cure of cancer and 
 consumption, in the interest of His Majesty's 
 people, knowing that it is contrary to the practice 
 of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund to coun- 
 tenance such applications, or the researches of in- 
 dependent medical men, and that neither the 
 King's pleasure, his exalted rank, nor his official 
 and personal connection with the Fund would be 
 respected or considered in a matter of such mo- 
 ment, shows on one hand, His Majesty's great in- 
 terest in and sympathy for his people, in that he 
 was willing to risk the reproof of the conserva- 
 tive professional element dominating the Fund 
 under His Majesty's patronage. 
 
 On the other hand, which, I think, is apparent, 
 His Majesty was under the impression that the 
 Fund was formed and is supported by public sub- 
 scription, for the purpose of liberal and unpreju- 
 diced investigation and research into the nature 
 of and treatment for cancer. 
 
 Second, that said investigations would not be 
 limited to the researches, experiments and experi- 
 ence of the few medical men who are members 
 of the Fund, but that the results of the researches 
 of any medical man, or other person, in the 
 furtherance of the objects of the Fund, would be 
 entitled to courteous consideration, and, if the 
 
423 Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 
 
 same gave evidence of any apparent value, should 
 be made "the subject of independent investiga- 
 tion in the laboratories of the Imperial Cancer 
 Research Fund." 
 
 I would state that from inquiries I believe that 
 the above opinion is that of the general public. 
 
 The attitude of the Imperial Cancer Research 
 Fund in having ignored the King's desire to es- 
 tablish the merit of the Guelph system for the pre- 
 vention and cure for cancer and consumption, 
 without so much as making it a matter for the in- 
 dependent investigation in your own laboratories, 
 is the more remarkable when the statement of the 
 General Superintendent of Research and Director 
 of the Central Laboratory in his fourth annual 
 report before the Executive Committee of the 
 Imperial Cancer Research Fund, is considered. 
 
 He there states that attention had been given 
 to the examination of various so-called "cancer 
 cures," which had appeared from time to time in 
 the public press. 
 
 The action of the General Superintendent of 
 Research in examining into the merits of what he 
 styles "so-called cancer cures," and refusing to 
 investigate the bonafide results of the researches 
 of independent medical men when the same are 
 presented through the regular course by the dis- 
 coverer, and subsequently sent to the Imperial 
 Cancer Research Fund by His Majesty, the King, 
 and Patron of the Fund, is, to my mind, incom- 
 prehensible. 
 
 I beg to state that I brought this subject to the 
 notice of His Majesty, the King, and sought the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 423 
 
 cooperation of the Imperial Research Fund, with 
 a view to the speedy reduction of the enormous 
 death rate from consumption (five millions per 
 annum) and the present rapidly increasing mor- 
 tality from cancer. 
 
 The interest shown by His Majesty, the King, 
 both in his letter of thanks to myself and in com- 
 manding that the subject of the Guelph System 
 of cure for the above diseases should be brought 
 to the notice of the Imperial Cancer Research 
 Fund is most commendable, and characteristic of 
 his superior intelligence and judgment, and sym- 
 pathy for his people. 
 
 The attitude of the Imperial Cancer Research 
 Fund, on the other hand, is most regrettable. 
 
 In conclusion I would state for the information 
 of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, that in 
 addition to the reception of cases of cancer and 
 consumption in the Ladbroke Nursing Homes in 
 London and at Southend-on-Sea, for treatment 
 by the Guelph System, it is intended to establish, 
 as rapidly as possible, institutions at various cen- 
 ters throughout the United Kingdom, the conti- 
 nent of Europe, Canada, the United States of 
 America, Asia and Australasia for the introduc- 
 tion of this treatment (the necessary funds for 
 which will be furnished by a physician who comes 
 of a family many members of which have died 
 from cancer, and who, himself, was cured of can- 
 cer six years ago — having had a cancer removed 
 from the neck by the Guelph Sterilization Cure 
 for Cancer, without a return of the disease. It 
 may be here mentioned that t«he hereditary disease 
 
424 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 in the family of the medical man in question in- 
 variably shows itself in the neck and throat.) 
 
 I trust that in the cause of humanity, the Im- 
 perial Cancer Research Fund will at least con- 
 descend to watch cases treated in the Guelph 
 Sanatoria about to be established, even though the 
 Fund may not see its way to make the Guelph 
 System of treatment the subject of independent 
 investigation in the laboratories of the Fund, as 
 I understand from the Superintendent's report, al- 
 ready quoted, has been done with other proprie- 
 tary preparations in their laboratories. 
 
 I feel it my duty to state in the interest of the 
 medical profession and the public health that from 
 my experience and researches throughout the 
 world during the past quarter of a century, and 
 from the successful clinical results of my prac- 
 tice and the results of the practice during the 
 past forty years of my colleague and partner, 
 the late Rev. Geo. W. Carpender, M.D. (Ann Ar- 
 bor, Michigan, '53) — the noted specialist for can- 
 cer — a more general knowledge of the Guelph 
 System throughout the British Empire will mark 
 His Majesty's reign by the conquest of the scourge 
 of the earth — cancer and consumption. On the 
 other hand the lack of cooperation or a manifesta- 
 tion of primitive professional jealousies and pre- 
 judices may prolong, for a brief season only, the 
 sacrifice of human lives. 
 
 Then, as in the case of the late Emperor 
 Frederick of Germany and Sir Morell Mackenzie 
 and his persecutors, the awakening will come, and 
 the present system of human sacrifice to tradi- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 425 
 
 tional and conservative medical bigotry will be a 
 thing of the past, and, as in all history, the oppo- 
 nents to rational and intelligent progress will be 
 buried in oblivion. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 (Signed) Jno. R. Guelph-Nokmtan, M.D., 
 
 Medical Director, Guelph Sanatoria. 
 
 IMPERIAL CANCER RESEARCH FUND,. 
 
 HIS MAJESTY THE KING. 
 
 President. 
 
 H.R.'H. THE PRINCE OF WALES. 
 
 Vice-Presidents. 
 
 LORD LISTER. LORD STRATHCONA 4 MOUNT ROYAL, ■ CVC.M.G. 
 
 RIGHT HON. A. J. BALFOUR. M.P. SIR WILLIAM BROADBENT, Bart., K.C.V.Oi 
 
 SIR JULIUS WERNHER, Bart. Mr.. H. L. BISCHOFFSHEIM. Ms. W. WALDORF ASTOKi) 
 
 Honorary Trtoiurtr r-r- Mr. HENRY MORRIS. Srtrtiorr .— Mr. FREDERIC G. HALLETT. 
 
 GtrureU SuccnnltnMnt of Rtuorcx and \ 
 
 D,r, l ,orof,i.C<n,ro 1 Laoora l ory:- \ ^ * F ' BASHFORD. 
 Hvnirr- °**" "f "^ F "" d ~ 
 
 EXAMINATION HALL, 
 \to«e"~ VICTORIA EMBANKMENT, 
 
 ! " COH '°j:;„.. 'LONDON. W.C 
 
 'July. 15th., 190r„ 
 
 Sir, 
 
 With reference to your letter of the 11th. inst . , 1 have 
 again perused your previous co.maunications and the memorandum, 
 accompanying then, and I beg to inform you that I am unable tb' 
 take any action .in regard to the matter to which you draw atteftr- 
 tlon. 
 
 J am, Sir, 
 
 Youra faithfully, 
 
 J.R. Guelph-Normaj. Esq., M.D. 
 
 -fjQ^ 
 
4<%6 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelpfi 
 
 GUELPH CUKES FOR CANCER AND CONSUMPTION. 
 
 1st January, 1908. 
 His Majesty, King Edward VII., 
 Sandringham House, 
 Sandringham. 
 
 Sire : Permit me to wish Your Majesty a Happy 
 New Year. I pray Almighty God that the New 
 Year may witness the realization of the two great 
 objects which have characterized Your Majesty's 
 reign as that nearest approaching the Divine Con- 
 stitution of the King of Kings, viz : 
 
 The establishment of the reign of the (moral) 
 law, by the adoption of an International Con- 
 stitution of the United Nations of Earth, to the 
 Glory of God and the Salvation of men, and — 
 
 To confirm the last two paragraphs of my 
 telegraphic message of Christmas Day to Your 
 Majesty, which read as follows: 
 
 "It is my privilege to announce at this season 
 that Your Majesty's untiring efforts to stamp out 
 the national scourges of Cancer and Consumption 
 are about to be crowned with success through the 
 successful results of extensive research of Messrs. 
 Carpender and Guelph. The systems for the Pre- 
 vention and Cure of these diseases is my Christ- 
 mas offering to my King and Country. I pray 
 Your Majesty's acceptance thereof, for the good 
 of the Empire." 
 
 Supplementing the foregoing telegraphic com- 
 munication of my offer as a Christmas gift, 
 through Your Majesty, to the British Empire, of 
 the said systems of medical treatment, viz : 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 427 
 
 1. The Guelph System for the prevention and 
 cure of Consumption and other forms of tuber- 
 culosis. 
 
 2. The Guelph System for the prevention and 
 cure of cancer and other abnormal growths. * * ;! 
 
 Unfortunately for suffering humanity, the same 
 traditional prejudice of the medical profession 
 which prevailed fifty years ago still stalks through 
 the ranks of the profession, and not less than one 
 hundred million lives have been sacrificed on the 
 altar of Conservative Professionalism from Can- 
 cer alone since the father of the rational cure for 
 Cancer (Dr. Geo. W. Carpender) first demonstrat- 
 ed that this dread disease can be both prevented 
 and cured, and gave his discoveries to the world, 
 only to be discredited and assailed by those who 
 were not worthy to lace his boots. 
 
 In the introduction of remedial agents for such 
 diseases, I fully recognize the importance of due 
 investigation before adoption of the same, but 
 when the results of years of research by an emi- 
 nent physician, and the incontestable results of 
 clinical tests are condemned by those who sit in 
 the seat of the scornful, without any investigation 
 whatever, while five million lives are annually sac- 
 rificed from consumption, and about the same 
 number from cancer, while the doctor and physi- 
 cian stand by the bedside of the victims, and say, 
 "No, don't try that, the patient must die," what 
 can he say, who knows that such victims can be 
 saved by rational medical treatment, if only the 
 same is adopted before the vitality has been com- 
 pletely exhausted. He can only look upon those 
 
428 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 whose prejudice and bias condemn the untold mil- 
 lions to death, and say : ' ' You are the greatest ene- 
 mies of the human race — you are responsible for 
 more murders than have been committed by all 
 other murderers from Cain to the present day — 
 you have sacrificed more lives on the altar of ig- 
 norance and bigotry than have been slain in bat- 
 tles in the history of the world — you are the great- 
 est hindrance to the progress of science and to the 
 legitimate demands of suffering humanity." 
 
 Commencing about fifty years ago, the Eev. 
 George W. Carpender M.D. (Ann Arbor, Mich., 
 '53), published the results of his researches and 
 early clinical experience in the treatment of can- 
 cer. He also demonstrated his system for many 
 years by means of lectures before various medical 
 colleges and medical associations. The incredu- 
 lity, bias, and prejudice with which his statements 
 and clinical reports were received by the profes- 
 sion did not, be it said to their honor, prevent 
 medical men from sending their cancer cases from 
 different parts of the country to this eminent and 
 fearless specialist. Of all the cases taken up and 
 treated by him, not one was lost ! 
 
 The practitioners who sent the cases and 
 watched the treatment, admitted the cures, but 
 they invariably changed their ground by stating 
 that they and others who had diagnosed the cases 
 as cancer, including, of course, the most eminent 
 specialists, were clearly in error, as shown by the 
 cure — as cancer, an "incurable disease," could not 
 be cured. Hence, it is that there was not found a 
 case of cancer in the land; and, according to the 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 429 
 
 "wise ones," the uselessness of "cancer re- 
 search," in so far at least as the idea of finding a 
 cure for an "incurable" disease is concerned, and 
 cancer research, according to this "professional" 
 opinion, a most ridiculous farce. 
 
 For some years prior to my entering into part- 
 nership with Dr. George W. Carpender in 1899, 
 my colleague had discontinued to publish in the 
 medical journals the results of his later, and im- 
 proved, methods of treatment. His reason for so 
 doing being chiefly on account of the fact that 
 while the members of the medical profession re- 
 fused to admit the truth of what they beheld with 
 their own eyes (as in the case of the contempo- 
 raries, over forty years of age, of the illustrious 
 Harvey), the unqualified quack, taking advantage 
 of the indisputable results of Dr. Carpender 's 
 treatment of cancer and the published formulae on 
 the one hand, and the professional prejudice and 
 bigotry on the other, entered the field and reaped 
 a rich harvest, and, incidentally, brought the great 
 discoveries of one of the greatest physicians that 
 ever lived, into greater disrepute. 
 
 Without elaborating further upon the now per- 
 fected systems of treatment herein referred to, I 
 can not but feel that the unceasing practical in- 
 terest which you have taken in the subject of can- 
 cer and consumption for so many years, both as 
 Prince and King, for the saving of life and for 
 the alleviation of the suffering of so many mil- 
 lions of Your Majesty's subjects, will enforce the 
 claim of Your Majesty's commands respecting the 
 proper investigation of the system of treatment 
 
430 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 for the diseases specified herein, a brief history 
 of which I have prepared for submission to Your 
 Majesty. * * * 
 
 It will afford me great pleasure to depute Wil- 
 liam Pitt Carpender, M.D. (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 
 and Frank Blair Humphreys, M.D. (Ann Arbor, 
 Mich.), nephews of my colleague, Dr. George W. 
 Carpender, or other practitioners, to meet any 
 Commission that Your Majesty may he graciously 
 pleased to appoint in the interests of the public 
 health and the advancement of science, to demon- 
 strate before such Commission the merit of the 
 various lines of preventive and curative treatment 
 comprising the Guelph Systems for the Prevention 
 and Cure of Cancer and Consumption, according 
 to the various stages -of development of the re- 
 spective diseases in different cases. 
 
 When the value of the Guelph Systems shall 
 have been thus satisfactorily reported upon by 
 Your Majesty's Commission, and my offer for- 
 mally accepted by Your Majesty on behalf of Your 
 Majesty's Empire, the full formula and other par- 
 ticulars governing the treatment of the respective 
 diseases will be formally handed over to Your 
 Majesty or to such authority as you may be gra- 
 ciously pleased to empower to receive the same. 
 
 Awaiting Your Majesty's most gracious per- 
 mission to submit the Eeport herein referred to 
 for Your Majesty's personal inspection, 
 I beg to remain, Sire, 
 Your Majesty's Most Obedient Servant, 
 
 John R. Guelph, M.D. 
 
'HE LATE REVEREND GEORGE W. CARPENDER, M. D. 
 
 The celebrated specialist of Chicago. Father of the rational 
 
 medical treatment of cancel'. For some years a 
 
 colleague of Prince John De Guelpn 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 431 
 
 PRINCE OF WALES AND CANCER RESEARCH IMPORTANT 
 
 WARNING AGAINST MISLEADING STATEMENTS — • 
 PUBLIC HEALTH SACRIFICED TO PRO- 
 FESSIONAL PREJUDICE. 
 
 In the published report of the sixth meeting of 
 the General Committee of the Imperial Cancer 
 Research Fund, held at Marlborough House, un- 
 der the presidency of His Royal Highness, the 
 Prince of Wales, in July, 1907, certain statements 
 are presented to the public as being official, au- 
 thoritative and absolute on the present knowledge 
 of cancer; of its nature, cause and cure of which 
 the public is assured, nothing is yet known. 
 
 The grave responsibility incurred by members 
 of the Royal family in consenting to act as the 
 mouthpieces of a professional body, such as the 
 Imperial Cancer Research Fund, is amply illus- 
 trated in the presidential address of the Prince 
 of Wales at the meeting. 
 
 In expressing the satisfaction of the General 
 Committee at the "growing confidence of the pub- 
 lic in the work of the fund, ' ' as shown ' ' from the 
 endeavors which are now being made in France, 
 Belgium, Scandinavia and the United States to 
 organize similar investigations," and last, but 
 not least, by the munificent donation of £40,000 
 from Mr. and Mrs. BischofTsheim, the Prince said, 
 "the broad lines of inquiry undertaken by the Im- 
 perial Cancer Research Fund have, we feel, in- 
 fluenced the whole nature of investigation at home 
 and abroad." And again, "It is recognized that 
 the work is conceived and carried out in a liberal 
 
13& Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 
 
 spirit; that whatever facts are ascertained (for or 
 against the curative value of 'alleged' cures) are 
 immediately made known to every one; that our 
 material is freely placed at the disposal of all who 
 are qualified to use it to good advantage ; that our 
 staff is not working for its own ends, but with a 
 ivhole-hearted desire to help on a solution of the 
 problem. ,, 
 
 ''Although many new facts have been ascer- 
 tained, they do not as yet justify hopes of a new 
 treatment." "It is hoped, therefore, that the pub- 
 lic will continue by its sympathy and financial as- 
 sistance to support the work of the Imperial Can- 
 cer Research Fund, and be willing to exercise the 
 patience necessary for the prolonged and sys- 
 tematic investigation." 
 
 "The fact that alleged cures are being submit- 
 ted to impartial tests, such as the report shows 
 to have been done in the case of trypsin, will, I 
 hope, assure the public that everything will be 
 done to take full advantage of any means that may 
 be discovered to alleviate suffering." 
 
 The above excerpts speak for themselves (the 
 italics are mine), "broad lines;" "liberal spirit;" 
 "alleged cures" submitted to "impartial tests," 
 "facts immediately made known;" "alleged 
 cures" condemned, "no curative value" could be 
 attached to any of those which had been tested; 
 no hope yet for a new treatment, and the public 
 is expected, of course, to accept this as authori- 
 tative, final. 
 
 Be patient, suffer and die by tens of thousands, 
 we are the Imperial authority — wait till we have 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 433 
 
 concluded our experiments in breeding cancerous 
 mice. 
 
 The tenor of the addresses and of the General 
 Superintendent's report is that of Imperialism. 
 The whole world takes its cue from the Fund ; and, 
 rightly or wrongly, the public must accept the 
 ruling of that august body. 
 
 To the interested public, the line of research fol- 
 lowed by the Fund is anything but "broad," "lib- 
 eral" and "impartial." The report of the Gen- 
 eral Superintendent for 1906 stated as follows : 
 
 ' ' The advance in our knowledge now enables us 
 to reproduce at will all the features of spontane- 
 ous cancer in mice, and to protect healthy mice 
 from all the consequences of inoculating them 
 with experimental cancer. This having been 
 achieved, it is not too much to hope that the 
 further development of the experimental study of 
 cancer will ultimately yield results having a di- 
 rect bearing on the nature and treatment of can- 
 cer." This year the same fad is being closely 
 followed. "By removing tumors surgically, mice 
 had been got to breed, and by successively cross- 
 ing them with other mice naturally suffering from 
 cancer, any hereditary tendency which might exist 
 was being concentrated. In the course of a few 
 years ( ?) the vexed question of hereditary would, 
 therefore, be settled one way or the other." 
 
 It would seem that experimental inoculation of 
 cancer in mice to produce cancer; to remove tu- 
 mor surgically in mice; to breed by scientifically 
 crossing cancerous mice to prove or disprove the 
 hereditary nature of cancer (in mice), has been 
 
4341 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 the hobby for some years, and is expected to be 
 so for at least "a few years" to come. 
 
 In the meantime forty thousand people are dy- 
 ing in England annually from this dread disease, 
 and the public is assured in all seriousness that 
 the Fund is examining all so-called or " alleged " 
 cures brought before it and that every advantage 
 is taken of any means that may possibly alleviate 
 suffering. The only thing the public is asked to 
 do is to support the work financially and to wait 
 — or die — patiently; try nothing to save life, 
 because the General Superintendent has subjected 
 every "alleged" cure to impartial tests and de- 
 clares that there is nothing of any curative value 
 — awful responsibility. 
 
 On the 25th of September, 1906, the writer ad- 
 dressed a letter to His Majesty, the King, Patron 
 of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, relative 
 to a specific treatment for the prevention and cure 
 of Cancer and Consumption. A memorandum was 
 enclosed giving some particulars of the treatment ; 
 and His Majesty was asked in the name of hu- 
 manity to cause the system to be made the sub- 
 ject of investigation, i.e., submitted for "impartial 
 tests." 
 
 I am happy to be able to state that His Majesty 
 at once recognized the importance of the sub- 
 ject, and commanded that the paper be forwarded 
 to the Secretary of the Imperial Cancer Eesearch 
 Fund, and conveyed his thanks to the originator 
 of the Guelph system. 
 
 On the same date, 25th September, a similar 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 435 
 
 letter was addressed by the writer to the Imperial 
 Cancer Research Fund. 
 
 The following is a copy of the reply : 
 
 Examination Hall, 
 
 Victoria Embankment, 
 London, W. C, 3rd October, 1906. 
 ' ' Sir, I have to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 letter of 25th ult. and enclosed memorandum and 
 I am to inform you that it is contrary to the prac- 
 tice of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund to 
 countenance the application of secret remedies, 
 the nature of which has not been made the sub- 
 ject of independent investigation in our labora- 
 tories. 
 
 "I have to add that a somewhat similar com- 
 munication addressed by you to His Majesty, the 
 King, has been forwarded to this office. I am, 
 Sir, Yours faithfully, 
 
 "Frederic G. Hallett, Secretary. 
 
 Thus the authority, pleasure and interest of His 
 Majesty, the King and the Patron of the Fund, 
 was ignored, and the last paragraph of the above 
 letter fully expresses the contempt in which His 
 Majesty's opinion is held by the "Committee." 
 
 I am now waiting funds to establish Sanatoria 
 for the treatment of these diseases and will pub- 
 lish the full report and correspondence on the sub- 
 ject and also challenge the Medical members of the 
 Fund, who, sheltering themselves under the influ- 
 ence of the royal patron, and other royal and in- 
 
4<S6 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 fluential supporters ; deliberately turn down a sys- 
 tem of cure of the disease for the discovery of 
 which is the sole purpose for which the Fund was 
 established. Considering that the system spoken 
 of here also applies to the prevention and treat- 
 ment of consumption, from which disease one mil- 
 lion deaths occur annually in Europe, sixty thou- 
 sand being contributed by England, and possibly 
 over two million in the British Empire, and that 
 more deaths result from cancer than from all the 
 following diseases — smallpox, diphtheria, typhoid 
 fever, scarlet fever, measles and whooping-cough, 
 and the terrible responsibility resting on the 
 shoulders of the Official of the Imperial Cancer 
 Eesearch Fund, who refused to investigate a sys- 
 tem, even at the suggestion or command of His 
 Majesty, the King, and then hoodwinked the public 
 by saying that "alleged" cures are impartially 
 tested, is one that calls for investigation. 
 
 The Guelph system is not an " alleged" cure, but, 
 as previously stated, an established "fact," which, 
 according to the Prince of Wales, should be "im- 
 mediately made known to everybody," that some 
 of the 5,000,000 lives lost annually from consump- 
 tion, and some of the millions dying from can- 
 cer might be saved and the disease prevented. 
 
 (Signed) Jno. E. Guelph. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Dc Guelph 437 
 
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 I. 
 
 :S.C. Hovr 10tn-~X?Q6 
 
 Dr Ouelph Norman, 
 
 7. Caldervale Road, 
 Glapham Park, 
 S.-W. 
 
 Bear Dootor, 
 
 "AmritaaT ig before some likely peopla, 
 
 and I am waiting fhelr dioislons* I am 
 
 almost as Impatient in the matter aa you 
 
 must t&vh but It would be fatal to show ltg 
 
 Otis I have set out moat fullj^and 
 In detail for the council of the Incorpora- 
 ted Medieal Practitioners Association, but. 
 I have hot heard any report upon it 80 far. 
 X have also taken stops to make It known 
 that you would be'"prepared to aooept a 
 partner, and would prefer a pby3ioian|ln 
 tha establishment of your homes, but that 
 you are not prepared to take any person. 
 It suet be a persona gratsg 
 Yours truly, 
 
 tf&a 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 439 
 
 ^Jcrts/otr.AC. UK* Deer" /.9 <* 
 
 ilCtP»» LOMOOH- 
 
 Dr Ouelj-h Noiuan, 
 
 7 Caldervale Road, 
 Clapham Park, 
 
 s.w. 
 
 Dear Sir, ^UA^P*^ 
 
 T have receive* today a letter froa 
 the Incorporated Medical Practitioners 
 Association, of which I enoloae a copy. 
 The concluding part or this letter strikes 
 me as- pretty strong\ I wonder what they 
 axe going upon? I, ahould aay that they, 
 or some or them, have approached the 
 aemhers, or a M-be^aT the Royal occasion, 
 and that^as you are at loggerheads with 
 tM», tney nave put a spoke » your wheej* 
 with the I.M.P.Ai 
 
 ■yours truly, ( 
 
 THE INCORPORATED MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS' ASS'n 
 
 Moorgate Station Chambers, 
 London, E. C, 17th December, 1906. 
 
 A. J. Hills, Esq., 
 
 5 Laurence Pountney Hill, 
 Cannon Street, E. C. 
 
 GUELPH-NORMAN TREATMENT. 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 At the Meeting of the Council held in Novem- 
 ber, it was resolved that your letters on this mat- 
 
440 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 ter shall be given to the President, who should 
 go through them and report to the next Meeting 
 of the Council. That Meeting was held last Thurs- 
 day, the 13th inst., and there was a general dis- 
 cussion on the matter after the President had 
 given his views, and it was resolved that I should 
 write and thank you for the trouble you have 
 taken in the matter, and for your endeavor to 
 benefit the members of this Association, but to ad- 
 vise you that the Council can only consider it in 
 the nature of a quack remedy, and that, there- 
 fore, they cannot be connected with it in any way. 
 Yours truly, 
 (Signed) John Sell Cotman. 
 
 7 Caldervale Road, 
 Clapham Park, S. W. 
 19 December, 1906. 
 
 I.M.P.A. AND THE GUELPH TREATMENT. 
 
 Major A. J. Hills. 
 My Dear Sir: 
 
 Your favor of yesterday with copy of a letter 
 from the I.M.P.A., reporting the action taken 
 by that august body on the Guelph Sterilization 
 System for the prevention and cure of cancer and 
 consumption was duly received. 
 
 Pray accept my thanks for having brought this 
 important matter to the notice of the Incorporated 
 Medical Practitioners' Association. In having so 
 caused this representative body of British physi- 
 cians to record the resolution adopted at the meet- 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 441 
 
 ing of the Council on Thursday, 13th inst., you 
 have, in my opinion, done the public a service. 
 
 The concluding part is, as you remark, "pretty 
 strong," but withal, perfectly natural— it was ever 
 so, " quack, quack, quack!" Medical history is 
 full of the familiar cry. All that is deserving 
 of any consideration in the realm of medicine has 
 been forced upon the medical world, and for the 
 saving of life, to the accompaniment of the pro- 
 fessional chorus — " quack! quack!! quack!!!" 
 
 The report of the I.M.P.A. on the conquest of 
 cancer by the Guelph System will be most care- 
 fully preserved as the richest, if not the most 
 highly prized, of the records of the Institution. 
 In justice to the medical profession, and for due 
 protection of the public health and general interest 
 the unqualified verdict of the I.M.P.A. against a 
 system of treatment without even a pretense to in- 
 vestigate the merits of the same, shall be duly re- 
 corded by or through the official organ, when the 
 same shall be published, in a column facing the 
 clinical reports on results of the practical appli- 
 cation of the system. 
 
 My letter of last evening explains the position 
 of the system. The attitude of the institution 
 must be aggressive pioneer effort in combating 
 the scourge of the earth — (cancer and consump- 
 tion) — and its greatest ally, the "Quack! quack!! 
 quack ! ! ! element of the medical profession. 
 
 A year from now the Guelph medical will be 
 held in as high esteem as is the Guelph political 
 to-day. Yours very truly, 
 
 (Signed) Jno. R. Guelph. 
 
442 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 solicitors C£» CJ2<r^ 
 
 'MUNrCEPS. LONDON: 
 
 Dr Guelph Norman, 
 
 7 Caldervale Road, 
 Claphain Park, 
 S.W. 
 
 Dear Doctor, 
 
 Your plan and challenge ought to 
 them sit up! t am rather diggusted ( 
 
 XX your euro be worthless, the Doctors 
 did not stand to ouxi'er by it in any way, 
 neither would you have gained, Ir it be 
 valuable, then^or a silly rod ( they are 
 simply flouting it^&JwiA/ ^jMxtt **£ » 
 Yours truly. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelpfo 443 
 THE LORD naYQR'S CRIPPLES FUND. 
 
 Tifie Aansion Hoose. 
 
 London. E.C. 
 
 Clo^vfeonv ftwA, SOU. 
 
 SJiav-fe i^ou veAy much -fot <joua. -letter, <JmxM<^ hx& 
 
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 an d^tyoAMmaM,* 
 
 (Seti/eve me. 
 
 j^£ 
 
 The following is the copy of a letter from a gen- 
 tleman of prominence who went from England to 
 see Prince John De Guelph. It furnishes an idea 
 of what the attitude of the British public will be 
 
444 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 when the wrongs inflicted upon the Prince John 
 and his royal mother are fully comprehended : 
 
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446 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
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Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 447 
 
 STORY OF QUEEN VICTORIA AND PRINCE ALBERT 's 
 NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE DANISH COURT. 
 
 When in San Francisco I one day made the ac- 
 quaintance of a pretty little woman, a Mrs. Mae 
 Ogden, wife of a member of the police force of 
 that city. 
 
 I took an artistic interest in this lady's voice 
 and consequently she was for a time almost in 
 daily touch with me. One day while she was sing- 
 ing for me the Prince came home (he was then in 
 business with my father), and I begged him to 
 come in that he might give his opinion of my 
 newly discovered "song-bird." 
 
 After he had listened to her and manifested his 
 pleasure and expressed his good wishes for her 
 future, he retired and we took up our private 
 conversation again. 
 
 Mrs. Ogden then turned to me and said, "What 
 did you say the gentleman's name was?" 
 
 "Mr. Guelph," I replied. 
 
 "Guelph," said Mrs. Ogden, that is the name 
 of the Royal family of England. I did not know 
 there were any others by that name." 
 
 "I believe there are not," I again replied. 
 
 "Why then how do you make that out?" 
 
 she said, deeply interested. 
 
 "I mean that his intimate friends know him as 
 a Prince, he belongs to the Royal family of Eng- 
 land and is the legitimate issue of King Edward 
 VII and his first Princess-Consort- It is pretty 
 generally known that King Edward married a 
 beautiful Irish belle, who was a descendant of one 
 
448 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 of the proudest, most ancient and noblest Houses 
 of the United Kingdom, whose ancestral seat was 
 in Ireland. The lady was said to be the most 
 beautiful in the four kingdoms." 
 
 As I spoke her face flushed crimson and then 
 paled as though she were more than ordinarily in- 
 terested and she finally stopped my remarks by 
 saying — 
 
 "Oh, I believe I know all about it — isn't this the 
 most extraordinary meeting in the world? Why, 
 my mother and father have entertained my 
 brothers and sisters and myself through our child- 
 hood with the story of the Prince of Wales' first 
 love, the unhappy bride, and the unfortunate little 
 Prince," she stopped and thought a second or two 
 and said, "His name is John, is it not?" 
 
 "It is," I replied. "How do you know that 
 it is?" 
 
 "Because that was the name of the poor little 
 Prince who was to be put away from his mother 
 among strangers that he might grow up among 
 the people and away from the influence of the 
 court. ' ' 
 
 "My father," she continued, "took charge of 
 the Royal hunting farm and both my parents were 
 Royalty's trusted servants. When the marriage 
 of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, with Prin- 
 cess Alexandra was first talked of, Queen Vic- 
 toria, Prince-Consort, Prince Christian (he was 
 not yet King), and the Princess Louise of Den- 
 mark retired to the hunting farm for the con- 
 ference upon that matter and my parents were in 
 'and out of the room in attendance upon their 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 449 
 
 Majesties all during that conference. The matter 
 of this meeting had been kept quite a secret. My 
 parents have told us often how the two Royal hus- 
 bands advised Queen Victoria and Princess Louise 
 of Denmark afterwards Queen Louise), that under 
 the circumstances it would be a dangerous experi- 
 ment to form any new alliance for the Prince of 
 Wales and more especially on account of the high 
 rank of the Prince's young and beautiful bride, 
 and also because there was issue and that issue a 
 Prince. The Prince-Consort also warned Queen 
 Victoria that she must remember that in Edward 
 they had no such unfaithful and vacillating Prince 
 as was George IV and that he had warned them, 
 in fact had sworn that if they insisted in thus 
 separating him from the wife of his choice, whom 
 he considered quite qualified in rank and in every 
 way fitted to be the future Queen of England, that, 
 if his first marriage, his bride or the issue, the little 
 Prince John, ever faced him or claimed their first 
 right, he would never disoivn them. The Prince 
 Christian said that there was no doubt but that, 
 as the first marriage had been duly performed in 
 the regular way, the issue would become a serious 
 obstacle to the heirs of Alexandra and he seriously 
 advised Queen Victoria to permit the first mar- 
 riage to stand. The Prince-Consort also stated 
 that if the English people ever came to know the 
 truth of the matter and the manner in which 
 Queen Victoria meant to hush it up and to 
 put away the Prince, that the people would rise 
 up in righteous indignation at such proceedings 
 wihch might actually form the basis for serious 
 
450 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 trouble and revolution, more especially as the 
 British people were very religious as a whole 
 and most particular on the marriage ques- 
 tion. That this in fact was the trend of the argu- 
 ment and it was because Queen Victoria did 
 have misgivings on this subject that she kept the 
 bride in Windsor Castle until after the birth of the 
 Prince John that she might take care of and keep 
 all the evidence as nearly as possible in her own 
 hands; that she had engaged nurses from her 
 own county and whom she felt certain she could 
 trust ; that the bride was afterwards turned away 
 with a broken heart bereft of her husband and her 
 little son." 
 
 So, she said, the story went and that all Den- 
 mark knew of it before Alexandra's marriage. 
 
 I saw Mrs. Ogden a few days after the earth- 
 quake. She was well, but her parents were both 
 in very bad health as a consequence of the shock 
 and terror they had experienced. Whether they 
 are now living I do not know, but the daughter 
 was living and well a year ago, as I had a very 
 nice letter from her. 
 
 Since I came to Brooklyn I met a Miss Jacobs, 
 from Denmark, and she said she had often heard 
 of King Edward's first marriage and that it was 
 well known and was common talk in Copenhagen 
 at that time and that the people had no sympathy 
 with their methods of doing the first wife and the 
 little Prince John out of their rightful inheritance 
 in that wholesale manner. They were pleased at 
 the honor paid to their Danish Princess, but did 
 not approve of ignoring a marriage that was a 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 451 
 
 sacrament, and legal contract in the eyes of 
 Church and State. 
 
 Anne Elizabeth, Princess De Guelph. 
 18th August, 1910. 
 
 EMPIRE REFORM LEAGUE. 
 
 The Empire Reform League is established to 
 secure the abrogation of certain laws enacted in 
 the Middle Ages and at later periods which are 
 inapplicable in the twentieth century in that, the 
 provisions of said Acts are contrary to the princi- 
 ple of religious liberty, are arbitrary, oppressive, 
 and unjust. The said Acts have been productive 
 of gross injustice, poverty, distress, and wanton 
 sacrifice of life; the said Acts are responsible 
 for the long-continued oppression in Ireland, the 
 wholesale evictions and unjust executions; for the 
 increasing frequency of famine and pestilence in 
 India; for the excessive taxation of the people 
 and the unhealthy economic conditions through- 
 out the Empire and the consequent political un- 
 rest, jeopardizing the peace of the world. 
 
 Lastly, the said barbarous Acts are responsible 
 for the* infamous custom of Royal polygamy in 
 the Reigning House, for the discarding of the 
 rightful Queen and the disfranchisement of the 
 eldest legitimate son and heir, the King-Emperor 
 de jure. 
 
 The following are a few of the Acts to be re- 
 pealed, the same being prejudicial to the peace of 
 
45£ Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 the world, repugnant to the tenets of the Chris- 
 tian religion, and revolting to the moral senti- 
 ment of the civilized world: 
 
 1. To repeal the Act of Union — A just and 
 necessary measure looking to the emancipation of 
 Ireland, and to the development of closer friendly 
 relations between the parties thereto than is pos- 
 sible under the said distasteful Act of Union. 
 
 2. To repeal the barbarous Act of William and 
 Mary (the Bill of Eights.) The said Act being 
 inapplicable in the present age of civilization in 
 that it is contrary to all principles of religious 
 liberty and to the moral sentiments of all civilized 
 nations. 
 
 3. To repeal the Act 34, Edward III, passed at 
 a Parliament heM at Westminster on the Sunday 
 next before the Feast of the Conversion of St. 
 Paul A. D., 1360-61, obsolete in Great Britain, but 
 still applied in Ireland. The said Act has been re- 
 sponsible for gross injustice in that long-suffering 
 country, in that it dispenses with: 
 
 a. The production, as accuser, of any person 
 
 threatened or injured by the accused. 
 
 b. The right of an accused person to a trial 
 
 by jury, and 
 
 c. To institute those proceedings before the 
 
 Court of King's Bench, from which deci- 
 sion there could be no appeal. 
 
 4. To annul and abrogate the 12 George III 
 C. II. of 1772, the so-called Royal Marriage Act, 
 which is a violation of the Laws of both Church. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 453 
 
 and State, and of the Canonical and Civil dis- 
 abilities by which marriages of Kings, Princes, 
 and peasants alike are regulated in the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; and which 
 said so-called Act has from the date of its enact- 
 ment been recognized as unconstitutional and in- 
 operative and therefore obsolete, until the year 
 1860, when the late Queen Victoria resorted to it 
 to satisfy her autocratic whims in controlling 
 royal marriages in the Reigning House, a weak- 
 ness for which Her Majesty was most noted. 
 
 The Empire Reform League will secure the en- 
 actment of legitimate measures to provide for po- 
 litical and economic reform and the more efficient 
 administration of all matters tending to the ad- 
 vancement of national prosperity and permanent 
 good of the people, with special reference to the 
 development of the natural resources, manufactur- 
 ing, agricultural and other industries of Ireland 
 and in India, for the amelioration of the condi- 
 tion of long-continued adversity and suffering in 
 those countries, and for the promotion of more 
 friendly relations between Great Britain and Ire- 
 land and America, and the development of inter- 
 national commerce on lines of equity and justice, 
 looking to the establishment of international 
 peace. 
 
 The case of the Prince John of Great Britain 
 and Ireland, domiciled in the United States and 
 known as Prince John de Guelph, the eldest legiti- 
 mate son and heir-at-law of His late Majesty, 
 King Edward VII, is supported by The Empire 
 Reform League. 
 
454 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 CAMPAIGN. 
 
 The Empire Reform League will conduct an 
 active political campaign throughout the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the 
 British Empire, and through the United States 
 of America, by means of public lectures, through 
 the public press, and through its literary organs. 
 
 Councils and branches of The Empire Reform 
 League will be established in all large cities and 
 towns, and the reforms herein referred to and 
 other legislative measures that may be adopted by 
 The Empire Reform League will be brought be- 
 fore the Imperial Parliament in the regular man- 
 ner and carried to a successful issue. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen in sympathy with the ob- 
 jects of The Empire Reform League are cordially 
 invited to send in their applications for mem- 
 bership. 
 
 (Signed) John S. Lewis, 
 Secretary. 
 
 95 Cliff Street, New York City. 
 
GUELPH 
 EDITOR'S NOTE 
 
 A GENEALOGICAL SKETCH 
 
 A.D. 1000 : — Oldest known ancestor, Hugo, Mar- 
 quis of Este, a district in the province of Padua, 
 Italy. 
 
 Year 1055: — Albert Azon II, Marquis of Este, 
 acquired by his marriage with Kunigunde, daugh- 
 ter of Guelph II, Count of Altdorf, in Wurtem- 
 berg, the domains of that house, and became a 
 recognized Prince of the Holy Roman Empire of 
 German nationality. This original German seat 
 of the Guelphs in Germany is now known as Wein- 
 garten, and has a famous abbey founded by the 
 Guelphs. 
 
 From 1070 to 1138, and from 1156 to 1180, the 
 Guelphs of Este-Altdorf reigned as Dukes in 
 Bavaria. 
 
 On or about the fourth decade of the twelfth 
 century, the Guelphs acquired by heritage the 
 fief of Nordheim-Supplingenburg, their kinsman 
 Henry of Orgueilleux marrying Gertrude, daugh- 
 ter of the last Count of Supplingenburg, this 
 Countship being an enclave in the Duchy of Bruns- 
 wick. 
 
 455 
 
456 Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 
 
 About the same time the Guelph Henry the 
 Black, Duke of Bavaria, acquired the right of 
 succession in the Countship of Billin by his mar- 
 riage to a daughter of the last Count, Magnus. 
 
 From 1137 to 1138, and from 1142 to 1180, the 
 Guelphs reigned as Dukes in Saxony. 
 
 In 1811, as successors to the ancient Saxe Dukes, 
 they acquired the Stewardship in Brunswick and 
 Luneburg, ranking as German Duchies. 
 
 On August 8, 1235, a Guelph assumed the style 
 and title of Duke of Brunswick. 
 
 In the year 1520, the Guelphs added to their 
 titles that of Duke of Celle. 
 
 In the year 1569 they assumed the government 
 of Luneburg. 
 
 March 28, 1660:— Birth of George, son of Elec- 
 tor Ernest Augustus of Hanover, who, on August 
 1, 1714, became King of Great Britain and Ire- 
 land as George I. 
 
 On March 22, 1692, the head of the House of 
 Guelph assumed the style and title of Prince- 
 Elector of Hanover. First Prince-Elector of 
 Hanover: Ernest Augustus, Consort of Sophia, 
 daughter of the Princess Palatine, Elizabeth 
 Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, .granddaughter of 
 James I of England, and.gi»eai-granddaughter of 
 Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. 
 
 In the year 1697 the head of the House of 
 Guelph was invested with the title of Duke of 
 Saxe-Lauenburg. 
 
 January 23, 1698 : — Death of Ernest Augustus. 
 Succeeded by his son, George Louis, who dropped 
 the last given name when he became King of 
 
'Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 457 
 
 Great Britain and Ireland in addition to Elector 
 of Hanover. 
 
 1700:— Death of the Duke of Gloucester, last 
 surviving son of Queen Anne of Great Britain and 
 Ireland. 
 
 March 22, 1701:— The British Parliament de- 
 clared the Electress Sophia next in succession, 
 and her son George was created Duke of Cam- 
 bridge, the "Act of Settlement," so called, stipu- 
 lating that the heirs of the Electress Sophia must 
 be Protestants. 
 
 May 28, 1714:— Death of Electress Sophia. 
 
 August 1, 1714: — Death of Queen Anne. 
 
 August 1, 1714 : — George Louis of Hanover suc- 
 ceeded to the English throne by virtue of the Act 
 of Settlement, and in default of issue from Anne 
 and William. Took the name of George I. He 
 was married to Sophia Dorothea of Celle. 
 
 King George brought no Queen to England, as, 
 on December 28, 1694, he had divorced his wife, 
 Sophia Dorothea, heiress of Duke George William 
 of Celle and Eleonore d'Olbreuze. 
 
 When hereditary Princess of Hanover, Sophia 
 Dorothea became the mother of a Prince (after- 
 ward King George II), and a daughter named 
 after her (later wife of Frederick William I of 
 Prussia). In 1694 she was accused of holding il- 
 licit relations with Count Philip of Koenigsmarck, 
 "than whom a greater scamp does not walk the 
 history of the seventeenth century, ' ' and Koenigs- 
 marck was murdered outside of Sophia Dorothea's 
 apartments at the Hanover Palace by order of 
 her husband and father-in-law, on July 1st of that 
 
458 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 year. After the divorce, Sophia Dorothea was 
 banished to the castle of Ahlden and became known 
 as Princess of Ahlden. There she was kept a 
 prisoner of state until her death, November 23, 
 1726. 
 
 September 27, 1714:— The only son of King 
 George I proclaimed Prince of Wales. He was 
 married to Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline of 
 Ansbach. 
 
 June 11, 1727: — Succession of George II — the 
 Princess of Ahlden 's son — as King of Great 
 Britain and Ireland. 
 
 April 27, 1746 :— Battle of Culloden, making an 
 end of the Jacobites under the "Young Pre- 
 tender. ' ' 
 
 October 25, 1760: — The grandson of George II 
 mounted the throne as George III. His father 
 was the late Prince Frederick Louis of Wales, 
 married to Augusta of Saxe-Coburg. He was the 
 first Guelph King of Great Britain and Ireland 
 born in England (June 4, 1738). Charlotte Sophia 
 of Mecklenburg was his wife. Under George III 
 England acquired Canada from France and 
 Florida from Spain, and lost the American colo- 
 nies during the war begun in 1775 and concluded 
 by the peace of Versailles, September 3, 1783. 
 
 Up to 1811, George III had several temporary 
 attacks of mental derangement ; he became hope- 
 lessly insane in that year. He is the author of the 
 infamous Royal Marriage Act, known as "12 
 George III C. II," which practically sanctions 
 bigamy in the royal house of Great Britain. He 
 
Memoirs of Prince John Be Guelph 459 
 
 was probably insane when he conceived this state 
 paper and forced its passage. 
 
 January 29, 1820 : — Succession to the Crown of 
 George IV, regent since 1811. He was the oldest 
 son of George III. 
 
 December 21, 1785: — Marriage of the above to 
 Mrs. Fitzherbert. 
 
 April 8, 1795 : — Marriage of the above to Caro- 
 line of Brunswick, without divorce from Mrs. Fitz- 
 herbert; but he refused to allow his plural wife, 
 known as Queen Caroline, to be crowned. 
 
 June 6, 1820: — George IV instituted divorce 
 proceedings against Caroline in the House of 
 Lords, charging infidelity, but the suit was aban- 
 doned for want of evidence. 
 
 June 26, 1830 :— Succession of William IV, 
 brother of George IV, born at "Windsor, August 
 31, 1765. His marriage to Adelaide of Meiningen 
 was without issue. 
 
 June 20, 1837 : — Succession of Victoria, Queen 
 of Great Britain, the first Empress of India. She 
 was the daughter of the Duke of Kent, a son of 
 George III and a Coburg Princess. Victoria was 
 born May 24, 1819, and on February 10, 1840, 
 married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. She had 
 issue as follows: 
 
 Princess Victoria, afterward Empress Freder- 
 ick of Germany ; Albert Edward, Prince of Wales ; 
 Princess Alice, afterward Grand Duchess of 
 Hesse (deceased) ; Prince Alfred, died as Duke of 
 Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Princess Helen, after- 
 ward Princess Christian (deceased) ; Prince 
 Arthur, created Duke of Connaught; Prince Leo- 
 
460 Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 
 
 pold, created Duke of Albany (deceased) ; Prin- 
 cess Beatrice, widow of Prince Henry of Batten- 
 berg. 
 
 In March, 1860, the Prince of Wales, afterward 
 King Edward, married a noble Irish lady at Kings- 
 town, Ireland. 
 
 January 8, 1861 : — Issue of the above marriage 
 born at Windsor Castle, named John, Prince de 
 Guelph. 
 
 March 10, 1863:— The Prince of Wales con- 
 tracted another marriage, without the first being 
 dissolved, with Princess Alexandra, daughter of 
 the heir-presumptive of Denmark, Prince Chris- 
 tian, afterward King Christian IX. 
 
 Issue of this second marriage: Albert Victor, 
 created Duke of Clarence and Avondale (de- 
 ceased) ; George, Prince of Wales, now George V 
 (uncrowned); Louise, Duchess of Fife; Princess 
 Maud, now Queen of Norway. 
 
 Status of the Queen of King George V: 
 
 Mary, the Queen of George V, de facto King 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, is the oldest daugh- 
 ter of the late Princess Mary of Cambridge, first 
 cousin to Queen Victoria and her husband, a mem- 
 ber of the lower German nobility. 
 
 Queen Mary's father is the issue of Duke Alex- 
 ander of Wurtemberg and his morganatic wife, 
 Claudine, Countess Ehedy, subsequently created 
 Countess Hohenstein, but never recognized by any 
 of the Continental courts. The King of Wurtem- 
 berg named him Teck, after a ruined castle on 
 the Danube, and threw in the title of Prince when 
 the boy became of age. 
 
Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph 461 
 
 After Prince Francis had been married to Prin- 
 cess Mary five years, the Wurtemberg King cre- 
 ated him Duke of Teck, and conferred the title of 
 Prince and Princess on his issue. The Teck Ducal 
 title was never recognized by any of the Conti- 
 nental courts except that of Stuttgart. 
 
H 156 79 
 
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