A^^' C^^ - '.V y c>_ r>\' V ^' .'' ^,^' a'^ ''" ,X>x^ ^ , ^ dt^^^^-. ,^^- \ .^ .^f:^. -■^s^.S' s^"^. ,-o- ■s, ,-0- V ^^ ^ \0 o^ V, ..x\ o'<'' -0- A^^- '^^ v^' "< '•^o^ S" "%. 'r\- ' I c- ^. c^- .^:^'•% o, " cX .^ \ ^ y::^>oj^'"fy'':j:^^ ^i x^ '■^^.. ■^"^'A V^'?I2^ DEDICATED TO G. W. TURNER BY THE ISIAROUISE DE FONTENOY. WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. A BRILLIANT AND CHARMINGLY WRITTEN Inner Life View of Emperors, Kin§:s, Queens, Princes, and Princesses. Their Daily Habits, how they Woo and Wed, their Characteristics, Virtues and Vices. Their Pleasures in the use of Untold Wealth, Matchless Luxuries, Superb Equipages, Priceless Jewels, Closet Skeletons, Grand Balls, Banquets, Haunted Palaces, Royal Hunting Sports, Crazy Kings, Intrigues, Marital Relations, &c. Written from a personal knowledge of Scenes Behind the Thrones, By the MARQUISE de FONTENOY, with the reigning families of the old world. A foreign lady of rank, lately from Europe but for years intimateUr associated ' y \ % With an Introduction by "W. FLETCHER JOHNSON, Esq., The popular Author and Litterateur. HANDSOMELY ILLUSTRATED. Z^O^b? "^ / HUBBARD PUBLISHING COMPANY, Publishers, PHILADELPHIA AND ST. LOUIS. ^ COPYRIGHTED 1892 BY HUBBARD PUBLISHING COMPANY. INTRODUCTION. THIS is not a biography, but an introduction. It nuist be sufficient, therefore, to say that the Marquise de Fonte- noy is the daughter of an ancient and lordly house, and the bearer of a name that is everywhere in caste-charmed Europe an " Open, Sesame !" to the most aristocratic coterie and to the courts of royalty. She is, too, the wife of a man of worthy lineage and of social, literary, and diplomatic distinction ; so that both by inheritance and by alliance she possesses the full spirit of the brilliant regime of which she writes. Her social and official career, moreover, has been such as to bring her into and make her a part of the court life of many European capitals, both in its brilliant public manifestations and in its less conventional domestic phases. With unusual opportuni- ties for observation she has joined an admirable ability to see, to remember, and to reproduce in fitting and expressive lan- guage. Beside the privilege of reading in manuscript the pages which follow this, the writer has for many years enjoyed the personal acquaintance of the Marquise de Fontenoy and her kinsfolk, and heard from her own lips many of the most interesting incidents and descriptions that adorn this book long before the book was written or even planned. And, listening thus, and knowing well with what assured authority she spoke, he more than once ventured to suggest that what was so pleasant for a few to hear would be equally pleasant for many to read. This belief was strengthened by perusal of the manuscript, and will doubtless be amply confirmed by the reception the public will give to the completed volume. INIKODICTIOX. As to the book, its title but imperfectly denotes its actual character. It is really the transformation of court life into current speech. It is a presentation of royalty in all its phases of splendor or of meanness ; a history of statesmanship and a chronicle of anecdotes, a gallery of portraits and a show-case of jewels. It opens the doors of the audience-chamber and of the boudoir. It places before the reader the occupants and close neighbors of the thrones of Europe ; their intel- lects, their characters, their speech, their faces and forms, their passions and manners, their very garb and equipage ; and all by virtue of the author's unchallenged ability to say, *' These things I myself have seen ; these things I myself have heard. These things I know." It is, then, a book on a most popular theme, written by a person of extraordinary fitness for the task. For such a work there can be needed no apology, nor felt a fear for its favorable reception. If one approaches it with even the least exalted motive — mere curi- osity — he will be more than satisfied ; nor will he be less who, in an austere spirit, seeks in it historic facts or encyclo- paedic information. Between the two there will be a multitude of readers of varying tastes and motives, all gaining here imfailingly the object of their quest — an instructive, enter- taining, and amusing living panorama of royal and imperial life, showing equally the jewel in the crown and the blot on the escutcheon. Unnumbered readers will thus find in the perusal of this work great pleasure, but not greater than the present writer finds in uttering these few and inadequate words of introduction. \V. F. J. TABLE OF CONTENTS. THE ROYAL FAMILY OV GRKAT I'.RITAIN. ^- PAGE Queen Victoria's Reign Degun vvilli Prayer — Tiie \'oung Queen's Training — The Coronation — Her Lovemaking — The Marriage — The First Born, Princess \'ictoria — The First Son, the Prince of Wales — Death of the Prince Consort— The Prince of Wales' Wedding — Madame Kaloniinc's Escapades — The Queen's Wrath — " The (irand Duke"s Wife is not Prepared to Sell ller Rights" — The Duchess of Albany — " Her Most Gracious Majesty's" Court — Tenants' Balls at Balmoral — "Earl Gray's Mixture" — The Queen's Diet —A Tiny Toddler's Mishap —The (Queen's Robes, • . , 17 n. The (Queen's Entertainments at Buckingham Palace — The (Queen's Receptions — A $250,000 Dessert Service — A Haunted Palace — Fishing at Invercaukl Bridge — The Queen's Deer Forests — The Royal Stables — The Royal Riding School — The Prince of Wales' F'amous Stables — The Royal Hounds — Her ^LrJesty's Fe'ine Friends and Pomeranian Dogs, 48 III. The Princess of Wales — A Little Autocrat — Prince " Eddie " and Prince George — Betrothal of the Duke of Clarence and Princess May — The Duke of Clarence's In- come — " Jolly l>ittle May Blossom " — The Penniless Prince of Teck — Prince George, the Sailor — The Duke of Clarence's Death — The Duchess of Fife — The Duke of Fife a Money-maker — The Decendants of (Jucen \'ictoria — The F'aithless Prince of Saxe- Coburg (iotha — Tlie Duchess of l'>(lini)urgh— The (Jueen's Pretty (Jranddaughters — An Actress Wife, 65 IV. (^ueen Victoria's Picturesque Court — Some Court Salaries — Superb and Imposing Footmen and Trumpeters — T'he Heralds — The Throne — The Queen's Enormous Civil List — Her Division of it— The Jewel House — The (Queen's Private Railway Saloons, 103 V. Contra>ting Characters — The Prince of Wale,>' Diplomacy — A Happy and Pleas- ure-loving Prince — A Great Improvement Attributable to the Prince of Wales — liask- ing in the Royal Sunshine — The P>accarat Scandal — Unworthy Friends — The Prince'^ Charity — An Anniversary Incident — Sandringhani, II5 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF H■AL^■. L mherti) 1 — " I have Done Nothing but my Duty" — Tlic King Loves a News- paper, and Dreads a Book— /.<• /u:/ i/i-s Mariiiiottes — A Mountaineer's Life — Victor TAl'-LK OF COXTHXTS. PAGE Emanuel's Extravagance — (^ueen Marguerite the Belle of Her Court — A Devoted Couple — The (Queen's Clialct — The Prince of Xaples — Royal Economy — The Duke of Aosta's Many X'icis.situdes — A 34,000,000 Dowry — Madame Rosalie, 153 TflE ROVAL FAMILY OF ROUMAXIA. King Carol I of IlohenzoUern — Sigmaringen — " Herr Lehman, Merchant" — Queen Elizabeth — Carmen Sylva — " Doing Something " — The Asyle Helene — A Fight- ing Prince and His Sympathetic Wife — Carmen Sylva's Literary Labors — Her Country Residence at Castle Pelesch — A Hypnotized Queen — A Royal Betrothal — The Rou- manian Political Situation — The King's Civil List 1S7 THE ROVAL FAMHA^ OF DENMARK. King Christian — A Ruffian's Assault — Queen Louise's Affliction — The Princess Waldemar — A Royal Boxer — The Old Queen's N'ervous Fears — The Castle of Peace — The Sailor Prince — Crown Prince Frederick — The Cost of Greatness — The Famous Countess Danner, 203 THE REIGNING FAMILY OF MONTENliGRO. Cettigne — The Royal Palace — The National Dress — The Montenegrin Heir to Sovereignty — A Gambling Prince — A Popular Prediction Realized — A Romantic and Somewhat Unpleasant Experience, 215 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF MONACO. The Owner of the Great Gamiiling flell — The Crowning Indignity — A Chivalrous Guest — A Most Captivating Princess — The Prince of Monaco's Marine Researches — • His Interesting Methods — Marie Heine — The (JamMing Tables and their Victims — A Vivid Description, 231 THE IMPERIAL FAMILY OF RUSSIA. I. A Majestic Emperor — A Touching Incident — A Continuously Threatening Dan- ger — The Imperial Brothers — A Greek Betrothal — .Vlexander's Intolerance and Bigotry — i'hrowing Off the Cares of State — Continuously Guarded by Troops — Gov- ernment Loans — The Czar's Intimacy with F'ather Zudmawski — The Favorite Resi- dence of the Czar and Czarina — The Czar's Superb Collections —Receptions, .... 245 IL The Czarina's Domesticity — Her Gorgeous Home Surroundings — " King Nico- tine's' Slave — Her Private Sitting-room — The Crown Jewels — The Czarina's Ex- quisite Taste — A Muscovite Dining-room — Regal Sporting in the Surf — .V Shameful Act — A Sad Accident — The Czarewitch — The Heir Apparent's Trip — The " Der- shawa " and the " Czarewna " —A Russian Fete —AnitchkolT and the Winter Palace, 263 TA15LE OV CU-\TENrS. III. PAGE A Much Maligned Monarch— " It is an Infamous Cahimny " — a ]5eautiful but Unscrupulous Sister-in-law —A Philadelphia Adventuress and her Russian Victims — The Jealous Grand Duke — A Prodigious Theft — Escorted Outside the Borders — The (Jrand Duke's Second Scandal — The Intrigues of the Panslavists — (irand Duks Alexis' X'iolent Love — His Marriage Annulled — The (hand Duke Exiled — 1 he Ambitious Duchess tie Peauharnais — An After-tbeatre tete-a-tete — Pobiedonotsoff Honored — A Sub Lieutenant's Escapade — A Jealous Count —Countess Dasckow — The Czar's Atti- tude toward the Hebrews, 281 THE ROYAL FAMILV OF SAXON V. The So'dier-King — King John's Scholarly Attainments — A Silver Wedding Anni- versa'y — (^ueen Caroline's Great Sorrow — A Charming Actress Captivates the King- ( )ld King lohn's Insane Passion — His Subsequent Confinement in a Mona^^tery, . . . 309 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF PORTUGAL. A Romantic History — Love Succumbs to Policy — A Young Queen Poisoned — The two Princes vi>.it England — .\ Strange Coincidence — An Englishman's Antidote — .\ Dramatic .Scene in the Privy Council Chamber — King Luis' Energetic and Clever Wife — (iranja— Queen Amelie's Love of .Sport — An Ancient Custom — Viewing Mum- mies (f Family Ancestors, 315 THE IMPERIAL FAMILY OF GERMANY. I. An Ordained Ruler — A_Witty, Worldly, and Cynical Cardinal Prince — " Such is the youth whose damp and clammy hands white-haired statesmen kiss " — A King's Extraordinary Vagaries — A Long List of Insane Monarchs — Emperor William's Hope- less Ma'ady — The F^mperor's Tact — Professor Hintzpeter's Influence Over Emperor William's Mind — An Astonishing Exhibition of .Self-control —'' Ein (ilimmstengel " — .\n Interesting Menu — The History of Tokay Wine — Extravagant Table Luxuries — The Fabulous Value of the New Crown Jewels — A Characteristic New Year Celebra- tion — -V Little Joke that Cost Dear — A Dangerous Guest —A Hiibertusstock — The Flmperor's Shooting Lodge — Emperor William as a Dancer — An Aversion to .Signing Death Warrants — '1 he luiiperor in London, 327 11. A Royal Pride — .Vn Imperial Wedding Gown —A Wonderful Wedding Dance — Unparalleled Splendor in the Royal Theatre — A Christening Festival — Extraordinary lindura-^ce— A Superb Dining-ha I— Some Beautiful Gowns — In the Army at Ten Years of Age — The Sharp-eyed Little C!rown Prince — Royalty Raising the Financial Wind — The Emperor's Devotion to His Mother — A Beautiful Young Widow — .'\n Audacious Editorial — The Interesting Princess Frederick Charles — Jealous Whisper- ings ii\ (ierman Boudoirs — .\ Laughable Adventure, 363 TABLE OK (OXTEXTS. THE REIGNINC) FAMILY OF BAVARIA. PAGK The Reigning King's Terrible Mental State — Thirty Cigarettes a Day — Sensational Reports — A tJleam of Intelligence — An L'nfortunate Line of Bavarian Rulers — An Emblaniatical Ornament of the King's own Designing — A Pet Craze — A Magnificent Cahiiht de toilcth' — An #8,000,000 Loan — The Demented Duchess Adalbert — Her Love for a German Actor — The Suicide of His Fiancee — Ruinous Extravagance — The Noble Charity of Duke Charles Theodore —His Famous Hostlerie — A Skillful Occu- list — Duke Louis' Actress Bride — His Surrender of Property Rights — The Famous Royal Brewery, Hofbrau House — Its Enormous Profits, 399 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF HOLLAND. A Youthful (^ueen — S jmething to Love — A Clever Little Linguist — Some E.xqui- site Tapestries and Curiosities — " Live, if your Majesty does hurl that beautiful ink- stand at my head the Haguers will have been correct in their assertions" — Diploma- cy's Reward — The Little (^)ueen's Feathered Friends -A 55,000,000 Dinner and Tea Service — The Heir Apparent — Goethe — A Da/./ling Offer — An Open Secret — A Purely Pleasure-Seeking Existence —An Immoral Kinj — His Scandalous Intrigues with an Italian Z^/rv? — A French Variety Singer and a Pennsylvania Adventuress — Three Days of Luxury— An All Powerful Influence — A Sadly Disillusioned King, . 415 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF SWEDEN AXD NORWAY. The King's Doul)le Team Driven with Difficulty — Poetry Laid Aside for Statecraft — A Royal Snub — An Interview with the Pope — Purely Temporal Sovereignty— Ignor- ing a Monarch — The Panama Canal Enterprise — King Oscar's Susceptibility to the Charms of the Gentler Sex — A Gulliver Among Lilliinitians — Procuri g a Husband — Marrying His Mother's \Yaiting-Mai(l, 433 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF WURTEMBERG. The King a Restaurateur— The Story of a (ihitton— Royal Gourmands— .\ "Jolly Good Fel'ow" — A Popular'and Plucky Queen — Beke's Adventures — Duke William's Many Wounds— Enormous Civil Li,ts, , 445 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF SPAIN. A Spanish Tradition — Chocolate at Seven — The Queen's Methodical Habits— A Tender-hearted Sovereign — A Loving Mother — Extravagant Waste Checked — Twelve Thousand Girls Address their Queen— Her Reception of Them— Bull Fighting the Popular Sport of Spain — A Combat that Beggars Description — The Enterprising and Widely-Circulated Bu'l Fighting Gazette — Affectionate and Mischievous Little Alfonso — " I am your King and the Ruler of all Spain " — A ( irandiloquent Bishop Interrup ed by the Baby King —The Many Trivial Functions and Ceremonies of the Madilene Court — A Popular Superstition Fulfilled— The Baby King's Annoying Pranks — His Fond- ness for Pantomimes— The ()ueen Pardons a Criminal under the Death Sentence each TABl.K OF CONTENTS. PAGB Good Friday — The Ceremony of "Ahmohada " — A Quaint Court Ceremony — Princess Josefa's Romantic Marriage — "A little man with a squeaky voice" — An Unfortunate Alliance — The Gruesome Custom of Mummifying Kings — Isabella's Open and Shame- less Immorality — " Good-nitured with all " — Don Alfonso's Ardent Passions— A Civil List of Si, 5O0,ODD— The Carlist Question 453 THE IMPERIAL FAMILY OF AUSTRIA. I. Archduke Charles Louis's Aversion to Politics — Fond of Art and Literature — His Great Grief— His Ultra Aristocratic Ideas — President of the International Exhibition at Vienna — The Exquisitely Beautiful Archduchess Maria There-a — One of Her Ball Costumes of Fabulous Cost — Her Elegant Private Apartments— The Austrian Crown Jewels — A Remarkaljle Chatelaine Watch, 495 IL The Empress's Court Drawing-rooms — Four Hundred Invitations — Beautiful Dia- mond Decorations — A Court Reception- — The Hall of Ceremonies — A (Quaint Custom — Christmas at the Austrian Court— A Dainty Table — The Laborious Duties of a Lady- in-Waiting — An Appreciated Mother-in-Law, 543 III. The Late Crown Prince Rudolph — Arcliduke Charles Louis's Peculiaritie> — A Bride — The Friend of the Poor — Archduchess Maria Theresa's Magnificent Ball Cds- tuma — The Hofburg — The Empress' Luxurious Private Apartment, 5*^^ THE ROYAL FAMILY OF BULGARIA. " Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown " — Steering a State Through Conspiracy and Intrigue — An Excellent and Astonishing Appointment — A Wily Conspirator — " Old School Manners " — " You Astonish Mel'' — A Deep-laid Plot — Few Joys and Great Anxieties — Princess Clementine, 573 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF BELGIUM. King Leopo'd — The Panama Enterprise — The Insane Queen — Her Fortune Squandered — A Present Withheld — The King's Simple Tastes at Home — " Never Shall a Drop of Blood Flow During My Reign " — An Amateur Photographer — A Queenly Gift — Ciergnon, 5^7 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREECE. King George's Unpleasant Position — A Beautiful Country — Court Life at Athens — Queen Olga at Athens — Queen Olga Adored — A Clever Crown Princess — A Royal Greek Wedding — Prince George, . . . . • 595 TABLE OF CONTENTS. THE ROVAL FAMILY OF TURKEY. PAGE The Sultan's Biographers — The Early Training of Hamid — Court luimorality — An Orthodox Turk — Private Theatricals — A Play with a Moral—The Sultan's Power — " Happy-go-lucky " Methods, 607 Tin-: ROYAL FAMHL OF SER\ lA. A Melancholy King — Wealthy and Unscrupulous — Natalie — " Well, gentlemen, I am what you have made me " — (Jrientalism — Expensive Prussians, .621 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. (IREAT BRITAIN. PAGE. (^UEEN Victoria in Her Jurilke Veak (rhotogravme) Fnmtispiece. 15UCKINGHAM Palace, 21 jLiKJE HuDDLESTON OF THE Slpremk Bench 25 (^LEEN Victoria, 29 Lady Brooke, 2,}, Pii'ER 92D (Gordon) Hi(;hi.ani)Eks, 39 JosEi'H Chamberlain (./« Aulograph Portrait] 41 Salisk^RY [An Autoi^rnph Portnnt), 45 AuuiENCE-RotiM AT Windsor Castm:, 56 The Duke OF Noreolk, 58 A Fox Hunt — The Start 59 .\ I'ox Hunt— The Finish 60 Hampton Court, 61 The TKhNCESs of Wales, 67 The Duke of Clarence and Avondale, 71 The Duke of Cl\rence and Avondale and Princess Victoria May of Teck, . 75 Prince George of Wales, 79 Signor TosTi, Queen Victoria's Favorite Musician, 83 The Marchioness of Stafford 95 (^ueen Victoria's Throne, m The Prince OF Wales, 117 PR1NCE.SS Victoria OF Wales, 121 The Duke and Duchess of Fife, 141 ITALY. The Kin(; of Italy, 154 Dra\vin<;-room OF THE King, 156 Queen Marguerite, .158 A Bird's Eye View OF Florence 161 Boudoir of Queen Marguerite, 163 The ()ueen's Bed-room, 166 The Crown Prince, 168 \'\.K Roma, Naples, 173 San Carlos — Royalty's Superm Theatre 179 ROU. MANIA. The Queen (Carmen Sylva), 195 The King, 18S The Crown Prince, 200 LIST OF ILIASTKATIONS. DENMARK. page The Kinc; hf Dknmakk, 206 The Crown rKi.NXE AND Family, 211 MONTKXFGRO. The Rekjning Prince, 216 The Princess, 222 MONACO. A View oi- THE Princii-ality, 233 The The.vtre OR Casino OE Monte Carlo, 236 Ante-room in the Casino, 237 A Decorative Panel in the Casino, 238 RUSSIA. The Czar, 247 The Palace at Kremlin, 264 The Czarowitch, 274 Saloon on the Czar's Private Yacht, 276 Study on the Czar's Private Yacht, 276 The Czarina, 277 Grand PJuKE Vladimer 284 Grand Duchess Vladimer, 2S5 Grand Duke Alexis, 291 Grand Duke Geor<;e, 300 tiif: royal family of saxony. The KiNc; of Saxony, 310 PORTUGAL. The KiNi; OF Portucal, 317 The (^ueen of Portugal, 320 The Dowager (^ueen, 323 GERMANY. I-^MPEROR F'REDERICK, 328 The Old Kaiser, 341 The Emperor's Bed-Ciiamber, 344 Summer Residence of the Emperor, 346 Diadem of the Empress, 348 Crown of the Emperor, 349 The Emperor's Hunting Lodge, 352 Troika Presented to the Emperor BY THE Czar of Russia, 357 The Four Gener.\tion.s, 359 "William II and His Family, 366 LIST OK ILLLSTRAIIONS. PAGK Thk Standard OF iiiK K.MrERuK, 369 Crown Prince Frkdkrick, 376 William II AND His Son oi-F i-OK TnKiR MoRNiNc; RiDK, 381 The Widowed Empress, 384 Count Hatzfeldt, 389 The Duchess OF Mecklenp.erc-Strelitz, 395 liAVARTA. The Imfekial CoAUH of THE Re(;ent, 401 The Regent of Bavaria, 404 The Imperial Sleigh OF the Recent OF Uavaria, 406 Duke Charles Theodore, 409 HOLLAND. The Queen of Holland, 416 The Queen Regent, 423 SWEDEN AND NORWAY. The King OF Sweden AND Norway, 434 The Queen, 436 The Crown Princess, 439 The Crown Prince, 443 VvURTEMBERG. The King of Wurtemberg, 446 SPAIN. The Royal Family at Tea, 458 Don Carlos, 468 Little Alfonso XH, King of Spain, 471 Princess Isabella, 480 Princess Eulalie, 485 f^x-QuEEN Isabella, 489 The Late King, 490 Princess Mercedes, 492 La Orange, the Summer Residence OF THE Royal Family, 493 THE IMPERIAL FAMHA' OF AUSTRIA. Emperor Francis Joseph, .^ 497 Crown Prince Rudolph, 507 Archduke Albrecht and Family, 511 Peristyle OF THE Empress' Villa, 512 Archduchess Maria Theresa, 523 Archduchess Valerie, 526 The Imperial State Carriage, 529 LIST OF Il.IA'STR.VI'IONS. pac;e Crown Princess Stephanie's Dau(;htek, 536 The \Vn)OWED Crown Princess Stephanie, 547 Archduke Charles Louis, 562 The Empress of Austria, 566 Reception-room of the Imperial Palace, 569 Library ok the Imperial Palace, 571 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF BULGARIA. Prince Ferdinand, 585 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF BELGIL M. The King ok the Belgians, 588 The Queen of Belgium, 592 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF (GREECE. The King ok Greece, 596 The Queen OF Greece, 599 Prince George, 603 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF TURKEY. Dining-room in THE Sultan's Palace, 612 The Sultan's Audience-room, 613 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF SERVIA. The King ok Servia, 622 Ex-KiNG Milan, 623 F'x-Qi KKN Natalie, 625 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. I. VERY characteristic is the manner in which Queen Vic- toria received the news of her succession to the throne, on the night of the 19th to the 20th of June, 1837. The young Princess had just celebrated her i8th birthday and was then a blooming girl full of life and spirit who, if not regularly pretty, yet possessed a charm of her own quite undeniable in its winning erace and sweetness. A little after three o'clock in the morning the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chamberlain, and Sir Henry Hal- ford (the Royal physician) , who at twenty minutes after two o'clock had seen King William die, went off from Windsor to the palace at Kensington to hail the Princess Victoria as Queen. When they reached the Palace all its inmates were wrapped in profound slumber, and it was only with the greatest diffi- culty that they could obtain admission. After some delay the young Princess came to them, wrapped in a loose white dressing gown with her magnificent hair falling over her shoulders and with her eyes full of tears. She entered the room with her mother by her side. Neither were unpre- pared for the news, but the Princess was nevertheless greatly affected, and it went forth to the world as an omen of the happiest augury that the young girl had " wept to learn she was Queen." 2 17 ig WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. As she entered the room the Archbishop and his two com- panions dropped on one knee before her and kissing her hand hailed her as Queen. Then, by the special request of the new sovereign, they all knelt together in prayer, the Archbishop invokino- a blessine on the era about to open for the Princess and the people of Great Britain. It may therefore be said that Queen Victoria's reign was begun by prayer. The young Queen had been carefully trained with her high destiny in view. She had not been much before the public, though by judicious travel she had become acquainted with a considerable part of her future kingdom. Her education had been conducted by the Duchess of Northumberland, under the constant superintendence of her mother, the Duchess of Kent, who devoted the privacy of her second widowhood to the preparation of her daughter for public duty, and her per- fect demeanor and bearing when she first assumed her duties as a sovereign filled everybody with admiration and wonder. The reign, therefore, not only began most successfully, but with unusual anticipation and satisfaction. A new era had indeed begun, for from that time Court profligacy and Court extravagance were at an end in England. The young Queen paid her father's debts in the first year of her reign, paid her mother's debts in the second year, and never incurred any debts herself, nor asked Parliament for any addition to her income. The Coronation took place on June 28th, 1838, and there was more than usual splendor displayed at the ceremony, and more than usual rejoicing all over the land. The scene in Westminster Abbey was a brilliant spectacle. A large proportion of the gentlem.en present were either in military or official attire, and the Ambassadors were superbly THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 10 arrayed, one of them, Prince Esterhazy, being covered widi diamonds, even to the heels of his boots, whilst the peers were in robes of State, and the peeresses " shone like a rain- bow " in their profusion of precious gems. The Queen walked up the nave escorted by two Bishops, eight daughters of English Dukes bearing her train, and fifty ladies of rank holdino- offices in her household followinor. The Archbishop of Canterbury having presented Her Majesty as the " undoubted Queen of the realm," the building re- sounded with the shouts of "God save Queen Victoria." The customary ceremonials followed, and then the final act was performed by the Archbishop reverently placing the Crown on the Queen's head. The peers and peeresses, at the same moment put on their coronets, and the effect of the flashing jewels as this was done was startling in its brilliancy. The Queen was then enthroned in the Chair of Homage, and the peers came forward in turn, touched the Crown, and knelt and kissed her hand. It is a testimony to the truly womanly and domestic char- acter of the Queen that her marriage was, what it should be to every woman, the central event of her life, the point on which her whole after history turned. It was generally known that before she came to the Throne an intimate friendship had existed between the young Princess and her maternal cousins, the sons of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha. Albert, the younger of these two sons, was three months younger than his cousin, " the Mayflower," as the PrincessVictoria was designated by their maternal grandmother. It was, of course, for the Queen to ask Prince Albert to marry her, and not for him to ask her, and on the 1 5th of October, whilst he was on a visit at Windsor, she sent for him to her room, where he found her alone. They 20 WITHtN ROYAl. PALACES. talked for a few minutes, and then she told him her love, and that it would ensure her whole life's happiness if she married him. I need not add that the Prince responded with heartfelt gratitude and joy to this outburst of affection on the part of the young sovereign, and that halcyon hours began for them both on that memorable day. Victoria had nevertheless not only to declare her love to the man of her choice ; she had on a later day to tell it to the assembled Privy Council. " Precisely at two," she went in. The room was full. Lord Melbourne, then Prime Minister, looked kindly at her with tears in his eyes, but he was not near the Queen. She then read her short declaration. She was trembling violently, but did not make one mistake, and she felt most happy and thankful when it was over. The marriage was not long delayed. The wedding was cele- brated on the loth of February, 1840, with a splendor unu- sual, even in Royal marriages, and the popular rejoicing was universal. Contrary to the established custom, by which Royal marriages have been performed in the evening, the Queen's marriage took place at one o'clock in the afternoon, and thus a new precedent was set which was followed all through the reign. The Prince, with his father and brother, left the Bucking- ham Palace at a quarter to twelve for St. James's Palace, and half an hour later the Royal bride made the same journey, accompanied by the Duchess of Kent. The streets passed through rang with joyous acclamations. The Queen was dressed in white satin, with a deep trimming of Honiton lace. She also wore a Honiton veil, and was wreathed in orange- blossoms. The satin was manufactured at Spitalfield's, and the lace at Honiton. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the 22 VVITIIIN ROYAL PALACES. Bishop of London took the service, and the Queen made the promise of " obedience " to her newly-naturaHzed subject. Then the cannons roared from the Tower and the parks, and the bells of London and Westminster pealed forth their con- gratulations. The wedding breakfast was given at Bucking- ham Palace. ♦ The marriage was immensely popular. It was a true-love match, and the people rejoiced in it as though no such mar- riage of affection had ever taken place before. There was, however, a good deal of difficulty about settling the position of the Prince Consort. Parliament had given him ^30,000 a year, instead of ^50,000, which had been asked. His own good sense solved the difficulty of his position. In a letter to the Duke of Wellington, declining the command of the army which had been foolishly offered him, he described the prin- ciple on which he had acted from the first. It was to "sink his own individual position in that of the Queen — to aim at no power by himself or for himself, but to be the head of her household, her sole confidential adviser in politics, and only assistant in her communications with the officers of the Gov- ernment." Even in this line, to which he rigidly adhered, Prince Albert was often exposed to public suspicion, and at one period to considerable unpopularity. He certainly took much part in foreign affairs, and his very last act was to write a memorandum for the Queen on the communication which the Government proposed to make the United States on the afi^air of Trent. He wrote this on his death-bed on the ist December, 1861. The Queen was reverenced, as no other English monarch had ever been before, for domestic virtues which few other English sovereigns have ever possessed, She was known to THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 23 be a orood mother, and Prince Albert was known to be a good father; and by these unusual titles to popular affection they gave new strength and popularity to the Throne itself. The first of the Royal children to present itself was Vic- toria Adlaide Mary Louisa, Princess Royal of England, now the widowed Empress Frederick, of Germany. She was born at Buckingham Palace on November 21st, 1840. It is the constitutional duty of the members of the Privy Council to be in attendance at the birth of an Heir to the Throne ; and, consequently, when the birth was announced there were pres- ent at the Palace the Lord Chancellor, Lord Melbourne, Lord Palmerston, Sir John Russell, and many others, with the Duch- ess of Kent, the Duke of Sussex, the Archbishop of Canter- bury, and a host of medical men. They received an early in- troduction to the Princess, but as the young lady was rather noisy, she was soon taken away. The Tower guns were fired in honor of the event, and there were many rejoicings in the country. On the 9th of the same month in the following year, the career of the Prince of Wales had its beginning. He w^as born at Buckingham Palace, the hour being eleven o'clock. He was also introduced at once to the Privy Coun- cillors and other distinguished people, who signed a declara- tion in the usual way as to the blrtli of an heir to the Bridsh Crown. This second event made the Queen very happy. The Prince was christened with great ceremonial at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Palace, on January 25th, 1842, the King of Prussia being chief sponsor. He was christened Albert Edward, the second name being that of his maternal grandfather, the Duke of Kent. Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, afterward Duke of Edinburgh, was born in August, 1844. The Princess Helena (Princess 24 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. Christian), was born in 1846 ; Princess Louise (Marchioness of Lome) in 1848; Prince Arthur (Duke of Connaught), in 1850; Prince Leopold [late Duke of Albany), in 1853; and Princess Beatrice (Princess Henry of Battenberg), in 1857. The totally unexpected death of Prince Albert was to the Queen so terrible a blow that she can be said never to have recovered from it. Like a destructive flash of lightning out of a perfectly clear sky, came the announcement of Decem- ber 8th, 1861, that he was confined to his room by a very bad cold. A few days later the statement was made that he was suffering from fever, but that it was not attended by serious symptoms, though likely to be prolonged. In another day he was somewhat worse, but still no public apprehension was felt, and when, at midnight on Saturday, the 14th, the people who live within its sound heard St. Paul's bell tolling, and when on Sunday morning the people in the great towns were arrested by a funeral knell, nobody thought at first the meaning of the unusual sounds. The news on that fateful Sunday morning met the people on their way to church and chapel that the Prince had died at ten minutes to eleven the night before, and was everywhere received with consternation and surprise. The body of the Prince Consort now rests in the noble mausoleum erected by the Queen at Frogmore. Since the death of her husband, the Queen — while not neglecting State affairs — has lived to a large extent a retired life, and the cere- monial duties of her position have been chiefly borne by the Prince and Princess of Wales. Prince Albert was in the very zenith of his fame and hap- piness when he was taken away. The Queen herself said of his death, that the loss to her was so great that it would be JUIXJE HUDDLESTON OF THE SUPREME CoURT OF ENGLAND. 26 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. the beginning of a new reign. It was practically the begin- ning of a new reign. The Queen's widowhood severed her from politics. The Court was eclipsed ; and for several years the widowed Queen made no public appearances. The great event of the year 1863 was the marriage of the Prince of Wales with Alexandra, daughter of the King of Denmark. The whole country was alive with excitement and rejoicing. The Princess was accompanied to England by her father, mother, and sister, and was met at Gravesend by the Prince of Wales, who drove with her through the streets of London, amid the enthusiastic cheering of enormous crowds. When Eton was reached, on the way to Windsor, the boys cheered again for the beautiful young Princess. The wedding took place at St. George's Chapel, on the loth of March, the Queen attending in widow's weeds, but taking no part in the proceedings. All the other members of the family were present with the Prince of Prussia and members of many Royal families abroad. The Princess wore a dress of white satin and Honiton lace, with a silver-moire train. Her jew- elry was very magnificent, a riviere of diamonds, presented by the City of London, being alone worth ^50,000. An opal and diamond bracelet which she wore was the gift of the ladies of Manchester. At the close of the ceremony, the bride and bridegroom returned to the Castle, where they were received by the Queen. London and many other towns were brilliantly illuminated that night, and the scale on which the rejoicings were held proved the truth of the Laureate's line, "We are each all Dane in our welcome of thee." The honeymoon of the Royal pair was spent at Osborne, the Queen's beautiful home in the Isle of Wight. A mournful incident, which brought the Royal family within THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 2/ the circle of personal sympathy, even of multitudes who have never seen them, was the death of Princess Alice, on the 14th of December, 1878. The death of the Princess on the anni- versary of the death of the Prince Consort was naturally felt by the Queen as a re-opening of the old sorrows. She had been her father's tender and watchful nurse ; she had lived as the exemplary wife of a Prince who was not rich as English Princes are ; and she died of diphtheria caught in the nursing of one of her children. A few years ago a great sensation was caused in European circles by the anonymous publication of a book which, under the title of the Roi de Thessalie, gave a very graphic and detailed account of the matrimonial adventures of the reign- inor Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, the husband of the late Princess Alice, of Great Britain, Notwithstanding her reported denial, there is not the slight- est doubt but that the author of the book was Mme. de Kalomine, the divorced wife by second marriage of the Grand Duke, and if any further proofs thereof were needed beyond those contained in the narrative itself, the fact of its having been dedicated to the Grand Duchess Serge, of Russia, nee Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, the only lady of the Royal family who showed any sympathy to her father's morganatic wife, would be sufficient to convince the most skeptical. Under the most transparent of pseudonyms the story of the whole scandal is given, showing the part taken therein by Queen Victoria, and it is needless to add that the appearance of the book excited intense wrath in exalted quarters. M, de Kalomine, who was at the time Russian Charge d'Affaires at Darmstadt, became jealous of the unconcealed admiration on the part of the Grand Duke for his lovely wife, 28 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. on whose account he had already been obliged to fight three duels. Warned by an anonymous letter, he met her as she was riding home alone from a tete-a-tete promenade with the Grand Duke in the Heilioenberg- woods, and accused her of being the paramour of the sovereign at whose Court he was accredited ; he lashed her face repeatedly with his riding- whip, causing her horse to bolt. Falling from her saddle, and slightly injured, she was carried home, and remained confined three weeks to her bed with an attack of brain fever. On her recovery she found that in consequence of a private tele- gram from the Grand Duke her husband had been recalled, and had been dispatched on a special mission to Japan. About a week after Mme. de Kalomine's recovery the Grand Duke visited her, and having declared his love, urged her to ask for a divorce on the oround of her husband's ill-treatment, and afterward to marry him. Louis IV of Hesse-Darmstadt, who was then only a little over forty years old, was still one of the handsomest and finest specimens of manhood in Europe, and it was not difficult for him to per- suade her to separate from M. de Kalomine, who, with his correctly-trimmed whiskers, short, stout figure, and generally graceless appearance, presented but a sorry contrast to the Grand Duke. Ten months later, in the spring of 1884, Mme. de Kalomine obtained her divorce, and the date on which she was free to marry again fell just two days before that fixed for the wed- ding of Princess Victoria of Hesse to Prince Louis of Batten- berg, Mme. de Kalomine lived so retired and quietly during the whole time that althouorh the Grand Duke's admiration for her was whispered about the city, nobody dreamed that anything serious was about to happen. Queen Victoria, 36 \VlTHtN ROYAL PALACES, The day before the arrival of Queen Victoria to attend the wedding of her orranddauCThter, Mme. de Kalomine entreated the Grand Duke to hesitate before finally uniting' himself to her. She had fears as to the future, and reminded him that Queen Victoria was most anxious that he should marry Princess Beatrice as soon as ever the Deceased Wife's Sister Bill had been passed in the English Parliament. The Grand Duke smilingly remarked in reply that his respected mother- in-law would know nothino- about the matter until after the ceremony, when it would be too late for any kind of obstruction. On the following day Queen Victoria reached Darmstadt with Princess Beatrice. At length the day — April 30th, 1884 — fixed for the marriage of Princess Victoria arrived. The wedding was to take place without much pomp and ceremony in the evening. At 1 1 o'clock on the morninor of the same day the secret marriage between the Grand Duke and Mme. de Kalomine took place in the Palace Chapel. The only per- sons present were the Ministers of Justice and of the Interior. At the moment of the benediction a terrible thunder-storm ap- peared to predict troubles and sorrows to the newly married couple, who immediately retired to the very room used by the late Princess Alice as her boudoir, where they remained seve- ral hours, while the old Minister of the Interior guarded the door, frightened out of his wits lest the Queen should notice her son-in-law's prolonged absence. At 5 o'clock the grand ceremony of Princess Victoria's mar- riage took place. The royal cortege entered the chapel, the Grand Duke leading his daughter, the Queen following alone, then Princess Beatrice, and following her the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Battenberg family, etc. tHE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 3I The Queen was not present at the subsequent State ban- quet, preferring to dine alone with her younger grandchildren. Suddenly, about 1 1 o'clock at night, when she was about to retire to rest, the Crown Prince of Germany arrived and de- manded an immediate audience on matters of the very high- est importance. The Queen, frightened by the agitation de- picted on his countenance, exclaimed, " Good heavens, Fritz, what has happened?" In a few words he informed her of the secret marriage which had taken place in the morning. On hearing this the Queen uttered a terrible cry. What ! the husband of her favorite daughter Alice had dared to desecrate the memory of his dead wife by marrying a divorced woman — a mere nobody ! She become so red in the face and ex- perienced such difficulty in getting her breath that the Crown Prince, fearing an apoplectic fit, was about to summon help, when she stopped him. "Where are they now?" she ex- claimed. The Prince informed her that they had retired to rest over two hours ago. Furiously the old lady tore open her door and was about to rush to the Grand Duke's apartments, when the Crown Prince, foreseeing the scandal which would ensue, held her back by main force until she had become a little more calm. She then decided to summon the Grand Duke to her presence. The latter was suddenly awakened from his sweet slumbers by the knocking at the door of a chamberlain, who, in trem- bling accents, informed his master that the Queen insisted on his appearing before her at once. His wife, very righdy fear- ing the worst, clung to him in despair, crying that she would never see him again. Her husband soothed her with promises as best he could, and twenty minutes later stood in the presence ^± Within royal palaces. of his irate mother-in-law, with whom were gathered the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany, Princess Beatrice, and his own Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Justice whom the Queen had summoned. "You must drive that horrible woman away this very night," exclaimed the latter, " and you must sign this decree of ex- pulsion which I have already had drawn up by your Ministers. Good God ! if I could drive the creature out of the place with my own hands," shrieked the Queen frantically. The Grand Duke who, although a giant in stature, is blessed with the weakest of characters, and has absolutely no strength of mind, after some hesitation gave way to his mother-in-law's wrath and signed the document. His bride, who, notwithstanding her fright, had finally dropped off to sleep, was awakened about two hours later by the disaofreeable old errand-mistress of the robes, who com- municated to her in the most offensive manner possible the Royal decree of expulsion and stated that she had orders not to leave her until she left the Palace. The unfortunate woman, on seeing her husband's signature to the document, understood that she was forsaken by the man who, but a few hours previously, had sworn to love and protect her. While she was hurriedly dressing, with the assistance of her Russian maid, a post-chaise, with an escort of about forty mounted police, stopped at the nearest door of the Palace, and she was hustled into it and rapidly driven to the nearest frontier. The only person to wish her God-speed was the old nurse of Princess Elizabeth (subsequent Grand Duchess Serge of Russia), who conveyed messages of sympathy and affection from her young mistress to the unfortunate woman, and brough to her the Princess's own rug, as the night was Lady Brooke. 34 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. bitterly cold. As she drove away she caught a glimpse of the pale face of her husband peering out from the window, while at the next she perceived the angry face of the Queen. The ex-Mme. de Kalomine took refuge at a convent just across the frontier. Two days later a Royal messenger arrived bearing a written offer on the part of the Grand Duke to create her Countess of Romrod, and to confer on her the estate of the same name, on the condition thai she would surrender all her rights as wife of the sovereign, and never again set foot within his dominions. She contented herself with returning the letter with a/i in- dorsement to the effect " that the Grand Duke's wife is not prepared to sell her rights." Summoning the leader of the opposition party at Darmstadt, who happened to be a very clever lawyer, she placed the whole matter in his hands. The latter commenced by having a certified copy of the marriage, with the Grand Duke's signature, published in all the Ger- man papers, and then proceeded to defend his client in the action for divorce, on the ground of incompatibility of temper, which the Grand Duke had brought against her. So cleverly was she defended, that the action was about to fall to the ground, when, at the last moment, the Presiding Judge, won over by the promise of a much coveted title of nobility, suddenly remembered that the Grand Duke held a command in the German army, and that officers are not allowed to marry without the Emperor's permission. On these pre- posterous grounds the marriage was declared annulled and illegal and the divorce decreed. The poor woman now resides in relative poverty at Dres- den with the little boy, issue of her marriage with the Grand Duke. The latter, immediately after the expulsion, was taken THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 35 off to England by his mother-in-law, who managed to keep liim at Balmoral for over three months, by which time he had got over any feelings of regret for his lovely wife. The Crown Prince and Princess of Germany left Darm- stadt in disgust on the very night of the scandal, and the Prince and Princess of Wales did not attempt to conceal their sorrow and regret of so unseemly an affair. Less than six years after the death of Princess Alice the Royal family had again to mourn a breach in its ranks. Prince Leopold had always been delicate, but of late years there had been more reason to hope that he might some day be well if not strong. He had gone to Cannes in the beginning of 1884 to escape from the asperi- ties of an English spring. A sprain to his knee in running up-stairs laid him up, and a fit of epilepsy suddenly closed his life. He had not been married two years, and it was scarcely three since he had taken his seat in the House of Lords as Duke of Albany. After his funeral the Queen wrote a letter to the nation, expressing her deep sense of the sympathy that had been felt by Her Majesty and the Duchess of Albany in their bereavement. When this letter was published, the Queen had gone over to Darmstadt to be present at the mar- riage of Prince Louis, of Battenbero^, with her orranddauQrh- ter, the Princess Victoria of Hesse. This marriage, as well as that of the Queen's youngest daughter to Prince Henry of Battenberg, gave great offense to the Prince of Wales, and to most members of the Royal family. Prince Henry is the son of the Princess Julia of Battenberg, whose blood is of the most plebeian hue, and whose brother, a Hebrew socialist, of the name of Hauke, was killed by the military during a riot in 1849. 36 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES, The Queen's infatuation for her son-in-law, Henry of Bat- tenberg, is most extraordinary in a woman of her judgment and comm.on sense, for the Prince, excepting for his good looks, has absolutely nothing to commend him. He is far from bright, and his conduct before and since his marriage has been anything but admirable. How securely he stands in the Queen's favor is shown by the fact that he can afford to leave Court from time to time, and go either for cruises on the beautiful yacht presented to him by Her Majesty, or else visit his brother Alexander, who incurred Her Majesty's bitterest resentment by frustrating her pet project of a marriage between him and her granddaugh- ter, Princess Victoria of Prussia, whom he jilted on the very eve of the date appointed for their wedding at Windsor Cas- tle, in order to become the husband of the beautiful actress, Mile. Loisinger. One of the most popular, unassuming, and kind-hearted of all the members of the British Royal family, however, is the widowed Duchess of Albany, who has recently come before the public in the role of an inventor. The Duchess, though not beautiful, has a very sweet and attractive face, and while she has truly and sincerely mourned her husband, yet, on the whole, she cannot but be happier with her children now as a widow than she was as the wife of the youngest of Queen Victoria's sons. During the Duke's lifetime, after her marriage to him, she was never free from anxiety and care. For he was not only subject to terrible epileptic fits, but, moreover, he was deficient in the normal quota of epidermis. His veins and arteries were insufficiently covered and protected by skin, and the consequence was that the least exertion, the slightest scratch, THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 37 was wont to brinor on hemorrhasfes of the most alarmingf character. What rendered matters very difficult was that he was ex- tremely self-willed; and he insisted on marrying the Duchess, notwithstanding the fact that every one of his family was opposed to the match on the ground of his precarious health. He died very suddenly at Cannes, as I said above, in the midst of a terrible fit of epilepsy and hemorrhage combined, brought on by over-exertion. Indeed, so great was the hemorrhage that it gave rise at the time to a widespread rumor that he had slashed himself to death with sharp scissors during the throes of the fit. In one way, however, his marriage was a great relief to his family, for the Duke possessed the unfortunate habit while a bachelor of making friends and associates of people who were in every way unworthy of the honor. Indeed, on more than one occasion was the Prince of Wales forced to interfere in a rather vigorous and stern manner to prevent his youngest and best-loved brother from showing himself in public with men of more than questionable repu- tation, whose association with the Duke gave rise to many malicious rumors concerninsf his character. The Duchess is a sister of the Oueen Reofent of Holland, a widow like herself. Both are now in easy circumstances, and their present affluence presents a striking contrast to the bitter penury of their youth at the impoverished Court of their father, the r ;igning Prince of the tiny principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Only those who have had an opportunity of coming into frequent contact with Her Majesty the Queen are acquainted with the irritability and imperiousness of her character, which have not been diminished, but rather increased by a half a ^S WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. century of rulership over a considerable portion of the globe. Life at the English Court is by no means agreeable, and popular ideas as to the basking in the sunshine of Royalty are quickly dispelled by the frowns which so frequently cloud the countenance of " Her Most Gracious Majesty." The least trifle annoys her, and although under ordinary circum- stances a woman of extraordinary common sense, she be- comes at times utterly unreasonable, and even harsh. Some of the most loyal and deserving members of her household have been dismissed and turned away almost at a moment's notice, not for any misconduct, but merely because their appearance had ceased to please, and had become tire- some to her very capricious Majesty. There is one case, that of Lord Playfair, who, notwith- standing his long and devoted services to the Prince Consort, was removed from his post of gentleman-in-waiting because the Queen had objection to his legs, which, being short and deflected, did not appear to advantage in knee-breeches and silk stockings. Mr. Lyon Playfair, as he was then, has since been consoled by a peerage, and by his marriage to a very charming American girl, Miss Russel, of Boston. Although the Queen's irritability keeps the members of her household in perpetual apprehension of Royal displeasure and wiggings that are extremely Imperial in their vigor, yet she is constantly doing little acts of considerate and motherly kindness which endear her to both her immediate entourage and to her subjects, I saw the fact mentioned in a paper the other day that Queen Victoria had not enjoyed a dance since the year 1861, when she lost both her mother and her husband. This is THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 39 true as regards the State balls at Buckingham Palace, not one of which has been honored by her presence during the last thirty years. It is a great mis- take, however, to be- lieve that she has never danced since then. For at the ten- ants' and servants' balls, which she gives every year at Bal- moral Castle during her stay in the High- lands, she has fre- quently trod a meas- ure with some one of her favorite attend- ants, who, it may well be imagined, enjoy the privilege with a keen relish. On many occasions the late John Brown was her partner, and it was with mincfled admiration and awe that both the numer- ous guests, whose o^ood fortune it was to be amono- those ^^^^^ 920 (cordon) Highlanders. present, staying at the Castle and the members of the house- s*^- 40 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. hold saw the stout httle lady, their august sovereign, spinning about in the most lively fashion to the tune of a regular Scotch reel. Indeed, so often did the Queen thus amuse herself that she aroused the ill-natured comment in the southern portion of her dominions, to the effect that if she was so fond of dancing she would do far better to select members of the old nobility as partners in dignified square dances than to dance jigs with Scotch menials. Queen Victoria is by no means the only sovereign lady who is fond of dancing. Both Queen Marguerite of Italy and the Empress of Russia are passionately fond of waltzing, and are, moreover, indefatigable. They enjoy a very notable advantao-e over the remainder of their sex, for, whereas, under ordinary circumstances, women are forced to wait until invited to dance by men, ladies of royal rank have the privi- lege of selecting their partners. This they do through their chamberlains and gentlemen-in-waiting, who bear to the partner of their choice the Royal command to dance such and such a waltz with them. If the cavalier in question happens to be already engaged for the dance with some other lady, he is forced to leave her in the lurch, as everything has to give way to these Royal commands. The gardener of the Queen is a very important personage whose post is no sinecure, for Her Majesty absolutely refuses to eat any fruit save that which is grown at Frogmore, near Windsor, and there is a perpetual packing and sending off huge hampers of fruit and vegetables wherever the Queen may be. By the way, the Queen has now to be very careful about TosF.PH Chamberlain. An Autograph Likeness presented to the Author. 42 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. her diet, and never eats underdone beef, mutton, or veal. Pork, Her Majesty never touches, except when made into sausages. Even the Royal cook has to chop the pork as fine as sand, and put plenty of stale bread-crumbs among the meat, and about ten grains of fine powdered dry sage in each sausao-e, and a little home-cured Melton Mowbray dried. Unsmoked bacon is always cooked with the sausages. Crabs or lobsters are not thought of, and very seldom oysters. The game put on the table must be high, but not too much so, and black currant jelly is always on the table. Her Majesty is a very healthy woman, but not very strong. She drinks little, but at luncheon enjoys a small glass of bitter ale. Then there is always afternoon coffee and milk cake. The tea consumed by the Royal household in England is always bought at a quaint, old-fashioned shop in Pall Mall, and has been bought there during* the reigns of Queen Vic- toria's five predecessors. It costs five shillings and four- pence a pound, and was for a long while known as " Earl Grey's Mixture," this nobleman having recommended this particular mixture to Her Majesty. When a dinner is given at Windsor or Buckingham Palace, fish to the extent of $250 worth is ordered ; but for an ordi- nary family dinner three kinds of fish are put on the table, whitino- being almost invariably one of them. A sirloin of beef is cooked every day, and is put on the sideboard cold for luncheon. The Queen takes after her dinner one water bis- cuit and a piece of Cheddar cheese ; the Prince of Wales eats a bit of Gorgonzola with a crust of home-made bread. The tea, the cheese, and the royal bed are always taken along whenever the Queen travels. Her Majesty's wine, which is well known to be incomparable, is kept in the cellars of St. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 43 James's Palace, and is sent in baskets of three dozen to wherever she may be, this being done more for the household and guests than for herself, as when alone she drinks only very weak whiskey and water with her meals, by her physi- cian's orders. At banquets, however, she takes two glasses of Burgundy. The clerk of the Royal kitchens, who always carves, receives $3,500 per annum, the head chef the same salary, and the confectioners $1,500 and $1,250. An allusion which I saw in a London letter, published by one of the New York newspapers, to Queen Victoria's fond- ness for a " nightcap," in shape of Auld Kirk whiskey and Apollinaris, reminds me of an incident which took place on one occasion on board the Royal yacht, " Victoria and Albert." The Queen and her ladies had settled themselves in what they considered to be a very sheltered place, protected by the paddle-box ! Suddenly, she observed a commotion among the sailors, little knots of men talking together, in a myste- rious manner. First one officer came up, then another, look- ing puzzled, and at length the Captain appeared. The Queen, whose curiosity had been aroused, asked what was the matter, and laughingly inquired of the Captain whe- ther there was going to be a mutiny on board. The Captain replied that he really did not know what would happen unless Her Majesty were graciously pleased to remove her seat. " Move my seat !" exclaimed the Queen. " Why should I ? What harm am I doing here ?" " Well, ma'am," said the Captain, " the fact is that Your Majesty is sitting up against the door of the place where the grog tubs are kept, and so the men cannot have their grog." "Oh! very well," smiled the Queen, "I will move on one condition — namely, that you bring me a glass of grog." 44 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. Frogmore, to which I alluded just now, when talking of the Queen's love for fruit, was the house in Windsor Park which was formerly inhabited by the Queen's mother, the Duchess of Kent. In 1863 it was assigned to the Prince of Wales as a country residence at the time of his marriage. It was there that his eldest son, Prince Eddie, was born, some what unexpectedly, I may say, for the Princess of Wales had spent the afternoon of the day on which he made his appear- ance in the world skating and sleighing on Virginia Water. The child was born so quickly after return home that there was no time to summon either the doctors, the Cabinet Min- ister, who should have been in attendance, or even the nurse. It was Lady Macclesfield, the favorite lady-in-waiting of the Princess, who performed the duty of monthly nurse and sage- femme for her Royal mistress, and who was the first to greet the tiny Prince on his arrival in this world. The Prince of Wales soon afterward gave up Frogmore, finding it too damp, dreary, and above all, too near his mother, the Queen, for the latter is exceedingly despotic with her chil- dren, exercising her authority over them not only as mother, but also as sovereign, and ordering them hither and thither, without any regard to their convenience, comfort, or inclina- tions. The Prince loves his independence, and therefore sees just as little of his respected mother as he can possibly contrive to do. One of his greatest annoyances when in her presence is that he cannot smoke. Queen Victoria, notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary, has a very strong dislike to tobacco smoke, and smoking is stricdy forbidden in all those parts of the Palace at Osborne, Windsor, or Balmoral which she frequents. Some time ago one of her Cabinet Ministers received a (/-V*-->^-W*^ 46 Within royal palaces. letter from her Private Secretary, General Sir Henry Pon- sonby, saying that Her Majesty begged that in future he would not send his dispatches saturated with tobacco smoke. The official in question turned the Royal snub onto a score of his colleagues, for he wrote to each in turn, saying that he had received a letter from the Queen, commanding that they should not smoke while writing their dispatches ! Her Majesty has, of late years, shown a tendency to ignore the claims and customs of Christmas. Before the Prince Consort died, in the days when the Queen's children were children indeed, Christmas created, literally, "a great stir" in the Royal house circle, for everybody had a hand in making the monster pudding that was subsequently to grace the Royal table, and great fun was invariably extracted out of the proceedings, but never did the mirth rise to such a pitch as on one memorable occasion when the Princess Beatrice, then the tiniest of toddlers, in reaching down into the recesses of the pan after a piece of candied peel, over-balanced her chubby little self, and tipped headforemost into the lithe mixture. She was rescued in a moment, but not before her fair, curly pate and face were a sticky mass of currants, raisins, peel, and spice. Perhaps the Royal family never enjoyed a heartier laugh together, and certainly Princess Beatrice never screamed so loudly ! It may possibly interest my lady readers to learn that all the washing of the Queen, the Princess of Wales, and, in fact, of the entire Royal family, is done at Richmond, where a laundry has been organized for the special behoof of the Royal households. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIIsr. 47 The wages there are exceedingly low, the employees being presumably satisfied for the paucity of their remuneration by the honor which they possess of washing the soiled linen of Royalty. All the dresses and robes that Her Majesty the Queen has ever worn are kept stored and laid by in large cabinets at Windsor Castle. None are either sold or given away. The practice is a very old one with the British Royalty. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. II. QUEEN VICTORIA devotes ^10,000, or ^50,000, every year to entertainments at Buckingham. Palace. These consist of two State balls and two State Concerts, at each of which Her Majesty is represented by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The Queen limits the expense of the State balls to ^10,000 each, wh'le that of the State concerts is fixed at ^15,000. Under no circumstances are these figures permitted by the sovereign to be exceeded. Court trains are not worn by the ladies at these entertain- ments, while the men, unless they belong to the army or the navy, are forced to don white knee-breeches and white silk stockings, which are very trying to the appearance. The second category of the Queen's guests are those who attend her periodical afternoon receptions at Buckingham Palace, which are known by the name of " Drawing-rooms," and which are held for the express purpose of permitting debutantes to be prese*ied to the Royal family. The majority of American ladies who visit England for the first time appear to believe t^^at presentation at the British Court carries with it the enL ee to London society, invitations to Court entertainments, and a personal acquaintance with the members of the Royal family. This is a great mistake, for there is so little exclusiveness displayed by the Lord 48 THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN, 49 Chamberlain's department, in restricting admission to the Queen's drawing-room, that the mere fact of presentation is absolutely without any social significance whatever. I may add the ventilation of the Palace is terribly defective, with the alternate intense heat and icy draughts most injurious to the health, and that the crush is intolerable. Everybody wants to get ahead of everybody else, in order to get through the presentation and back to her carriage, for a Court pres- entation practically involves leaving one's house at noon, alighting at the Palace an hour later, after interminable waits, and standing upon one's feet thereafter, and amid an elbow- ing, pushing, somewhat selfish throng of women, in an at- mosphere laden with strong perfumes, which are a combi- nation of artificial scents, natural flowers, and cosmetics, until about four or five o'clock, when one finally re-enters the car- riage, crumpled, dispirited, faint from hunger and fatigue, and thoroughly disappointed. All this is undergone for the mere sake of spending about sixty seconds in the Throne-room, just the time required to walk from the door up to the spot where stands the Queen, or, as is more generally the case, one of the Princesses repre- senting her, to whom a low courtesy is made. The Royal lady utters no word of welcome or greeting, but merely acknowledges the salute by a slight inclination of the head, and then the presentee has to back ol . of the room with all possible speed. When the Court is at Windor, invitations to the Castle are usually sent out by Sir John Cowell, but sometimes they come from the Lord Chamberlain, to whom the necessary instructions have been telegraphed from Windsor. Very short notice is given, and an invitation has sometimes reached 4 ^O WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. a guest on the afternoon of the day on which he was expected at the Castle. As a rule, the Queen's guests travel by the 6.30 train from Paddinofton, and on arriving at the visitors' entrance of the Castle they are received by the pages of the chamber, who always have a list of the people who are expected in their respective apartments. The company assemble in the corri- dor by half-past eight, everybody being in full dress, and those who have a right to wear the Windsor uniform are expected to array themselves in that hideous garb. The Queen enters at a quarter to nine with the members of the Royal family, and then the company at once go to dinner. The only personal intercourse between a guest and the hostess takes place after dinner in the corrider, when the Queen always converses for a few minutes with each visitor in succession ; and, after having gone round the circle, bows, and retires for the night. The Queen then goes to her own apartments, where she reads or writes, or listens to a reader for about an hour. Her Majesty occupies either her own sitting-room or the adjoining one, which was formerly Prince Albert's study. After the Queen has retired, the guests and the rest of the company adjourn to one of the drawing-rooms, of which there are three at Windsor, the Red, the White, and the Green, connected by doors covered with exquisite Chippen- dale carvings. These rooms are hung with portraits, and contain many cabinets which are virtually priceless. In the Green Drawing-Room is a Sevres dessert service which is valued at $250,000. It is a curious fact that Windsor Castle should be one of the only great palaces in Europe which is not supposed to be THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 5 1 haunted, especially when It is borne in mind that it has been tlie residence of the most cruel and bloodthirsty of English Kings. Hampton Court is haunted, so is the Tower, the latter by an undoubted ghost which has been on the walk for centuries. Whitehall was haunted by the headless spectre of Charles I as long as there was anything to haunt there ; in St. James's Palace, Queen Caroline of Anspach, wife of George II, wanders at nif{ht in the Throne room, utterinof moans of deep distress, throwing her shadowy hands over her head in an attitude of entreaty. At the Hofburg or Im- perial Palace of Vienna, the dread spectre of " The White Lady " roams around every time a misfortune is about to overtake the reigning family. It was last seen on the eve of the Crown Prince Rudolph's tragical death. At the Imperial Palace of Berlin a gigantic street sweeper, carrying a ghostly- looking broom, appears a week before the death of any member of the Hohenzollern race. In the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg it is a beautiful lady clothed in snowy draperies and crowned with white roses, who is the death messenger of the Romanoffs ; while, according to tradition, a little man dressed in scarlet haunted the Tuileries until the day when the Republic was proclaimed in France and the torches of the Commune reduced the grand old pile to ruin and ashes. The superb old Castle of Heidelberg is visited at midnight on the vigil of St. John by a whole procession of shadowy figures, dressed in the fashion prevailing under the reign of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and it is asserted that their advent is invariably heralded by strains of the sweetest and most enthralling music. Buckingham Palace is far from showy on the outside, and were it not for the red-coated sentinels who unceasingly 52 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. march up and down before the gates thereof, it would hardly give one the impression of being a Royal residence. The building has been considerably enlarged since it was first built, and is now used chiefly for drawing-rooms. State balls, and concerts, for the Queen seldom resides here for more than a few days at a time. The front of this ugly building gives no idea of the pleasant rooms situated at the back, and which overlook a large and beautiful garden, into which one steps through the French windows opening on to a green lawn, shaded all around by fine and well-grown trees, giving no indication in their luxuri- ant foliage of being in the midst of London. This verdant carpet leads to a crystal lake further on, where in quiet enjoyment broods of water-fowl and several swans live in contentment. The galleries, ball-room, and concert-room, which are reached from the staircase, are of great magnificence. Wall seats, draped in satin, are provided for the company assem- bling in these rooms for a ball, a concert, or any other Royal function, and at one end many handsome chairs are placed for the accommodation of Royalty, with the Throne-room further on, where the Queen receives her guests in state ; and where many debutantes with palpitating hearts, as well as more familiar habitues, have made their courtesies. The whole house is splendidly kept — not a suspicion of dust or anything, which in London means a great deal. The deer-forest is the great sporting feature of the Queen's Highland country-seat at Balmoral, and it is now one of the best in Scotland, yielding from eighty to a hundred stags every season. Balmoral forest extends to about 10,000 acres ; but the Queen leases from Mr. H. M. Gordon the adjoining THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 53 forests of Abersfeldie and Whitemount, which ofive an addi- tional 7,500 acres. The latter forest contains the celebrated Corrie Bin, which is the favorite feeding-ground of the red deer, and fine sport is always obtained. In 1874 the Queen enlarged her estate by purchasing from the late Colonel Far- quharson, of Ivercauld, the magnificent forest of Ballochbuie, extending to 10,000 acres, which "marches" with the Balmo- ral ground. The scenery is very grand in all parts of the Queen's forest, and, owinof to the excellent configuration of the grround, three rifles may be out at the same time without interfering with each other's sport in any way. There is quite a net- work of bridle-paths in all ciirections, so that every part of the forest is easily reached. Prince Albert was a keen deer- stalker, and a fine shot. In Balmoral forest, on the Meikle Pass, the Queen has erected a cairn to mark the spot where the Prince shot his last stag, which was in October, 1861, on the day before he left Balmoral forever. Next to the royal deer-forests, the principal sporting feature of the Balmoral domain is the salmon-fishing in the Dee. The Oueen has a stretch of fourteen miles, includine both banks of the river, and beorinnino- at Invercauld Brid^re. These waters yield splendid sport during the spring months, and the pools are easy to fish, eight of the casts being among the best in the Dee. -There is very good trout-fishing in some of the lochs on the Royal estate, which were originally stocked with trout by Prince Albert. Considering the fondness for horses that seems to be in- born in every American, it is strange that so few of the trans- Atlantic tourists should avail themselves of the opportunity of inspecting the Royal and Imperial stables of Europe. 54 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. This is a mistake, for horses constitute one of the pet luxuries of Kings and Emperors ; and the cream-colored horses of Queen Victoria, the " Orloffs " of the Czar, the " Trakeners " of Emperor Francis-Joseph, and the " Meck- lenburgers " of Emperor William are each in their way matchless. Queen Victoria's cream-hued horses reside in the stables, or Royal mews adjoining Buckingham Palace. The first teams of cream-colored horses were brought from Hanover by King George I, and until Queen Victoria's accession to the Throne their successors were supplied from the celebra- ted breeding-stud at the city of Hanover. When, however, in the year 1837, Q^ieen Victoria ascended the Throne, and the Crown of Hanover passed to Her Majesty's uncle, Duke Ernest of Cumberland, the Royal cream-colored horses ceased to be imported and were bred in England, The " Sacred Hanoverians," as the cream-colored are called, are very rarely seen by the public at large, save when taken out very early in the morning for an airing on the Vauxhall Bridge Road. They do no work except on State occasions and remain ever untampered with. They are very showy, dignified animals, conscious of their own importance, and look down on the bays, blacks, or roans in the Royal stables with evident pity and contempt. Napoleon I was the cause of the cream-colored horses being abandoned on State occasions |by British Royalty for black ones during the last great war between France and England. In 1803 Hanover was seized and occupied by the troops of Napoleon, and the French Emperor, who hated Kino- Georofe III, and who, besides all his grenius and bril- liant qualities, had an invincible propensity for appropriating THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 55 what pleased him most amcng other people's goods and chattels, stole the Elector of Hanover's cream-colored stud, to spite the King of England. Adding insult to injury, the Emperor had actually the audacity to have eight cream- colored horses harnessed to the gorgeous and much-gilded State carriage in which he and Empress Josephine were drawn to Notre Dame to be crowned. This was too much for the infuriated English King, and in a paroxysm of rage he ordered the cream-hued stud at the mews in London to be discarded in favor of black ones. This state of affairs continued until the downfall of Napoleon in 1814, at which period the British monarch claimed from the French Govern- ment the cream-colored stud stolen by Napoleon in 1803, but every horse of that tint had mysteriously disappeared from France, and to this day it remains impossible to dis- cover what became of them. The State carriages which are also kept in Buckingham Palace ought to be scarcely less attracdve to American vis- itors than the historical " cream-colored " above mendoned. The '• gilded ark " in which Queen Victoria rode to her coro- nadon has a very noteworthy history of its own, and certainly is a most remarkable-looking object. It was built in 1761. It is seventeen feet long, weighs four tons, and the figures of the four Tritons suppordng the traces are of exquisite Italian workmanship. The panels are beautifully painted, and it is surmounted by a golden Royal Crown. The majority of the other carriages in the Royal coach- houses convey the impression of being built on altogether too heavy lines, and in fact of lacking modern grace ; but, of course, they are exceedingly stately and some of them ex- tremely gorgeous in their appointments. They all, however, 56 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. look as if they had been specially constructed for traction by the huge " Clevelands," which, until a few years ago, were the only horses used by Royalty in London. Within a stone's throw of the mews is the Royal Riding School, standing in the superb garden at the back of Buck- ingham Palace. It is there that all the Queen's children were AUDIENCE CHAMBER AT WINDSOR CASTLE. taught riding by a riding-master of the name of Meyer, whom Prince Albert had imported for the purpose from Darmstadt. It is to his instruction that must be attributed the thoroughly German seat of the Prince of Wales and of his brothers in the saddle. Indeed, it is only the Queen's grandchildren who i'ide with the incomparably superior English seat. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 57 The Stables are under the control of the " Master of the Horse " — one of the grand officers of the household — who at the present time is the Duke of Portland. He chang-es with the Ministry. His deputy and the permanent superintendent is Colonel Sir Charles Maude, who bears the title of Crown Equerry. For her own personal use at Windsor and in other places in the country the Queen invariably makes use of a four- seated barouche, with a rumble behind for servants in attend- ance, and drawn by four invariably gray horses, less than sixteen hands high, and ridden by two postillions in very sober liveries. Ordinarily their jackets are black. The car- riage is preceded by a single outrider, and on each side canter two equerries on duty. These equerries, who are colonels or generals in the army, belong to the department of the Master of the Horse. The latter has nunierous peculiar privileges, one of wliicli is the use of the Rciyal liveries during his term of office, and the second is his right on all State occasions to a seat in the Queen's own carriage. The Prince of Wales stables are at Sandringham, where His Royal Highness goes in extensively for breeding hack- neys and cart horses. During the summer his hunting stud is sent down to Windsor for grazing in the Home Park. His stables cost him j^8o,ooo a year. This, of course, does not include the cost of his racing stud. The Queen's fox and buck-hounds are magnificently kept and trained animals. The historical associations of the Royal pack go back to times beyond the research of consci- entious modern historians, as there were kennels at Swinley before Henry VIII ascended the throne ; and it is alleged by Duke of Norfolk, K. G. Premier Peer of Qreat Britain and Earl Marslial of the United Kingdom. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 59 Robert Huish that for at least four centuries wild staofs and hinds were hunted by English monarchs. Every one who is an habitue of the meets of the buck-hounds at Uxbridge Common or Ruislip Town End, or a dozen other trysts, must have heard of the famous run of Charles II's reign from Ascot after a warrantable stag, which was not caught until night had fallen, the eager hounds, with their bristles erect, A FOX-HUNT — THE START. running into their prey at a remote point in Essex, more than seventy-five miles distant from the spot where they found him. It has long been customary in autumn for the huntsmen of the Royal Buck-hounds, assisted by Her Majesty's chief game- keeper, and many other employees, to select from the herd in Windsor Great Park the red deer intended to be uncarted in the ensuing winter before four or five-and-twenty couples ot 6o WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. the best fox-hounds that Belvoir, Badminton, and other famous private kennels can supply. The usual place of deer capture is a grassy paddock below Cranbourne town — a sheltered spot, belted with primeval oaks and colossal beeches. The driving of these selected quarries — all of which have names bestowed upon them, with a view to their becoming as popu- lar as " Harkaway," or " Lord Charles," or " Savernake," or A KJX-HLi.M — liih FINISH. "Coningsby," excites the greatest interest and curiosity, and is generally witnessed by a small parly of invited ladies and gentlemen, whose names are well known at the meets over which Her Majesty's huntsmen are wont to pre- side. Both the Prince of Wales and Prince George are passionately fond of fox-hunting, and so likewise was the late Duke of Clarence, who was also an excellent polo-player. During his last stay with his regiment at York the Dike 62 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. was in the habit of devoting several hours a day to this, one of his favorite pastimes. A large number of cats are kept about the mews, one of which, called "Jack," is supposed to be the State Q.2X par ex- cellence. He is a magnificent Persian, of an extremely aris- tocratic nature, as he refuses to acknowledge a helper or liveryman, or, in fact, any one beneath the dignity of the State coachman. It was noticed, however, on the occasion of the visit paid by the Prince of Naples to the stables, that " Jack " at once recognized the presence of Royalty, and immediately paid his grateful respects to the Prince. Formerly there used to be a number of what might be called "performing" cats kept about the mews, and these, on the occasion of Her Majesty's visits, were always made to go through their performances, one of which consisted in their jumping from the back of a horse on to the stall-post, and so on throughout the whole ten-stall stables. The Jubilee landau is so named as it was used by Her Majesty on the occasion of her jubilee. It is a posting landau, driven by postillions, and is drawn by six of the cream-colored horses. Like the other carriages it is colored, lake and vermillion, picked out with gold, and is also decorated on either side with the Royal Arms. The wheels are red and gold with springs. This landau has been all over the country when the Queen has laid foundation stones or opened exhibitions. In addition to these carriages, there are no less than seventy carriages of all kinds for pri- vate use, such as when the Queen pays a visit to the Prince of Wales at Marlborough House. These are driven by pos- tillions with four horses, and plain liveries are worn. The Queen's coachman is Mr. Miller, who was strongly recom- THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 63 mended by Lord Bridport. Mr. Miller's special duty, in the early days of his employment, was to look after the thirty- five saddle-horses then kept for the use of the Royal family for riding. It is the maxim of the Royal Mews that every horse, should be treated with kindness as well as firmness. The young ones are brought up to look upon the stable- men as their friends ; the result is that while they retain their spirited nature, at the same time they acquire wonderful docility. No bearing reins of any degree of tightness are used in connection with the Buckingham Palace stables. It is interesting, in visiting the State horses in company with Mr. Miller, to see how every one of the horses seem to know and like him. Immediately he enters the stables they seem to perceive he is there, and they turn their heads, as if asking for some recognition. One important point in training the State horses consists in making- them accustomed to the sound of the drums and bands. It is the practice at the mews for the children belonorinof to the various stable officials to be sent into the stables frequently with their tiny drums ; and in order that the horses may get accustomed to the bands, Mr. Miller says that whenever he meets a band while he is exer- cising the horse, he makes it a point of always following it closely. In the Royal kennels, the Queen's pets are Pomeranian doc^s which would not only win the hearts of any dog-lover for their beauty, but who have also earned the exacting ad- miration of the judges. These dogs belong to the Eskimo type of the canine species. They have a long, thick coat that seems to stand out from the body, a tail which curls tightly and lies close to the back, a foxy head, small, erect ears, rather short legs, short back, and a generally square and 64 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. thick-set appearance, in spite of which, however, they are ac- tive as kittens. Her Majesty's pets are not Pomeranians in the ordinary acceptance of the term, being rather ItaHan Spitz dogs. They came from Florence, where they were purchased in 1888. The Queen always names the dogs her- self. Collies have always been a breed for which Her Majesty has also shown a preference, and this accounts for their num- ber in the Royal kennels. The majority of them are black- white-ajid-tan. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. III. ALTHOUGH it would be considered as rank treason in England to question in the slightest degree the repu- tation for good taste, chic, and elegance in dress enjoyed by the Princess of Wales, yet the fact remains that it is altogether and entirely undeserved. The merit of telling the fashion for the fair sex in Great Britain belongs not, as is generally supposed, to her, but to her husband, the Prince. The latter's taste, formed as it has been by his intercourse with the Comtess de Pourtales, the Marquise de Galliffet, the Marquise de Castellane, and others of the most famous grande mondaines at Paris, is above reproach. It is he who, amid his other multifarious occupations, finds time to personally supervise every detail of the Princess's toilets, and no innovation of dress or coiffure is ever inaugurated by Her Royal Highness which has not previously been submitted to the approval and received the sanction of the Prince. The only occasion when she was permitted to follow her own ideas with regard to dress was while her husband was in India, and the result was simply appalling, for by birth and education she is thoroughly German, and her personal taste with regard to dress is likewise German. Until she married she was entirely ignorant of all the delicate elegances of the '* toilette intime " of a Parisienne. For a time she had her own way with regard to the dress of 5 65 66 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. her three daughters, and in consequence, although they are nice and pretty girls, they appeared the most dowdy and inele- gant young ladies in the whole of the United Kingdom. It has only been since the Prince was induced to interfere in their behalf that they have been dressed with any degree of chic. The most recent instance, however, of the Princess's somewhat commonplace, and what would be described in London as Bloomsbury tastes, is her craze for photographing on china. The Court Journals gravely announced a little over a year ago that she had completed the entire tea service adorned with the portraits of her family. One can imao-ine, therefore, the feelinors of the Prince gazing on his wife's breakfast table decked with this photo- graph-stained porcelain, when he saw a deep golden stream of tea running down the cheek of his revered mother's face on the teapot while helping himself to milk from a milk jug adorned with the features of his son, and subsequently rinsing his cup in a slop-basin decorated with a group of his family taken in front of the library window at Sandringham. The Princess, who, besides being a pianist of rare talent, plays exquisitely on that most difficult of all instruments, the zither, has now turned her attention to the sweet-toned philo- mele, a stringed instrument very much in shape like a violin, but much more comfortably handled. Not only the Princess herself and her daughters, but also her sisters-in-law are taking lessons, and Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lome, is particularly distinguishing herself on this queer-shaped instrument. A pretty story is told about the Princess. The scene of it was the Mansion House, the occasion was a ball that was given The Princess of Wales. 68 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. some years ago, and to which, among other " invites,'* was a provincial Mayor, who had the honor of being introduced to the pretty Princess. The tale goes, and the truth of it is vouched for, that upon his Worship asking, against all rules of " eti- quette," the Princess to grant him a dance, she replied with a touch of delicate humor : " I do not know whether you will not be rather afraid ; some of my children are only just recovering from the measles, and you might take them." The wearer of the civic chain, however, was equal to the occasion, for, bowing low, he replied : " I should be delighted to take anything from so charming a source." Those employed about the Court and thus brought per- sonally into contact with the different members of the Royal family, speak somewhat strongly about the different manners in which the offspring of the various princes and princesses are being trained up, or, to put it in the homely vernacular of the domestics themselves, " taught to behave." The children of the Princess of Wales have won golden opinions in all directions during their years of pupilage. Her sons, when quite little fellows, used to be allowed to join in the games of some of the Windsor lodge-keepers' children, and would amuse themselves for many a \onQ- morninor swino^ine and being swung by their lowlier playmates, with hearty enjoy- ment that never degenerated into boisterous or unruly pro- ceedinofs. When the Princess was complimented on their pretty behavior, she remarked that it was her especial object to teach courtesy and good feeling. The Duchess of Albany has now the same charming repute for inciting her little ones to speak politely to their attendants and to treat all classes alike with gentle consideration. When taking her morning THE ROYAI FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 69 walks with her tiny daughter, if the Duchess chance to meet a gardener or laborer in the grounds, she is at once heard saying to the little Princess : " Now don't forget to say * Good morning,' darling." But the Duchess of Connaught, excel- lent woman though she is, has educated her offspring on an entirely opposite system ; and rich stories are told of the magniloquence and exacting demeanor of these young people. One of them was heard to impart to his father, with dire indignation : " Papa, I passed by the sentry in the grounds this morning and he did not salute me." *' I dare say, my dear," placidly replied the good-natured Duke of Connaught. " But, papa, won't you have him put into the guardroom for such a piece of neglect ?" This, however, the Duke declined to do, to the exceeding disgust of his offended son. Strange indeed is the blight that appears to rest upon the first-born sons of the Imperial and Royal families of Europe. The list of Princes holding the position either of Heir Appa- rent or Heir Presumptive to the Throne of the old world, who have been overtaken by premature death is one of considerable length, and includes the names of the Crown Prince of Austria, of the Duke of Brabant, and Prince Bald- win, of Flanders, of the Prince of Orange, the Czarowitz Nicolas Alexandrowitz, the Duke of Orleans, the Prince Imperial of France, besides those of many others, including the name of Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the eldest son of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The ultimate demise of the young Prince on the eve of his marriage constituted the partial fulfillment of a popular superstition current in England, according to which Queen Victoria is destined to outlive both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Clarence, and to be succeeded on the 70 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. Throne of Great Britain by a King bearing the name of George V. Possibly it was just the knowledge of this widespread belief, coupled with the dread of witnessing the realization of the public premonition on the subject, that caused both the Prince and Princess of Wales, to regard their eldest boy with sentiments of more than ordinary parental affection. Delicate from the very moment of his premature birth at Frogmore, he was always a source of particular care and of considerable anxiety to his parents. The Prince of Wales himself gave public expression to a feeling of this kind in 1879, in an address which he delivered on the eve of the depci-^cure of his two boys for their first cruise as naval cadets on board the " Bacchante." His Royal Highness declared on that occasion that he thought so much of the navy, and had received so much kindness from that branch of the Queen's service in different parts of the world, and that he had at first intended to make sailors of both his boys. But he feared that the delicate state of his eldest son's health precluded the hope. Still, he trusted that his second son, George, who was sturdy, would carry out the traditions of the service, and make a good sailor. Fortunately, the seafaring life on board the " Bacchante " proved beneficial to Prince Eddie's constitution, and when, four years later, he took up his residence at Trinity College, Cambridge, after having sailed round the world, and visited every portion of the vast British Empire, It was believed that he had in a great measure outgrown his delicacy of health. At the University, Prince Edward displayed the same ami- able characteristics which had endeared him to all those with whom he had been brought into contact during his life on Duke of Clarence and Avo.nuale. 72 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. board the " Bacchante." And it must be borne In mind that quahties of no ordinary kind are requisite to win and retain the regard of one's associates in a position such as that occupied by the Duke-Prince. Young England is essentially demo- cratic, and reverence for rank must be regarded as being one of quality that is conspicuously absent from its constitution. It is therefore necessary for the Prince, both on board ship and at college, as well as subsequently in regimental barracks, to steer midway between hauteur and that familiarity which is apt to degenerate into contempt. This he succeeded in doing remarkably well, and in such a manner as to win golden opin- ions from all with whom he was brought into contact, display- incr in the matter much of that orenial tact and considerate forethought which renders his father, the Prince of Wales, so deservedly popular. Nothing- could be more touchinor than to watch him with his mother, to whom he bore much moral and physical resem- blance. She held, at any rate until the date of his betrothal to the pretty and winsome Princess May of Teck, always the foremost place in his thought and in his conversation. He surrounded her with the most loving attentions, and it was in her society almost alone that he appeared to lose that diffi- dence which was not one of the least attractive phases of his nature. He seemed to realize that she understood and appre- ciated him more fully than any one else, and that she at least would never be guilty of attributing to lack of intellectual brilliancy a silence that was ascribable in the main to an unusually modest and retiring disposition. Not that this timidity of manner ever extended to the length of in any way affecting his personal courage and pluck. That was beyond reproach, and manifested especially THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 73 on one occasion in the saddle as a steeple-chase rider over an exceedingly stiff course at York. He rode his own horse, Skraptoft. There were numerous bad falls. But the Duke was more fortunate than his companions, and went over hedges, ditches, and walls in fine style, and without a single spill. He presented an amusing contrast to the other riders ; for while they, every one of them, manifested intense anima- tion and excitement, he retained an absolutely impassive demeanor from the start to the finish. His color never varied, and so imperturbable was his gravity that one might have been led from the aspect of his features to believe instead of riding a spirited and difficult horse in a steeple-chase, he was seated at dinner with the Archbishop of York. It may interest the young clubmen in this country to know that the late Duke of Clarence received an annual allowance of ^50,000 from his father. In addition to this, the Duke had his pay as a Major of the loth Hussars, amounting to fifteen shillings a day, with the usual allowance for forage. Not that the regiment pay can be considered as having been of any great help, for it did not even suffice to cover his mess-bill. These mess expenses consisted of 50 cents a day for his breakfast, half a crown, or 65 cents, for luncheon, $1 for dinner, and $2 for wine at the same, besides incidental " pegs " and bottles of bitter beer throughout the day. From this it will be seen that an officer in the British army requires a considerable private income in addition to his scanty pay in order to make both ends meet. Nor did Prince Eddie's ^50,000 a year go very far, for, as a Prince of the blood, he was expected to subscribe to all kinds of charities ; to keep a first-rate stable, as well as steeple-chasers to run in the military handicaps, and to pay the salaries of at least a 74 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. couple of gentlemen in waiting. This naturally ran away with most of the money, and it is greatly to the credit of the late Duke that he never exceeded his allowance, and died without leaving any debts behind him. His surviving brother, the Duke of York, who up to the date of his brother's demise had to content himself with an annual allowance of ^25,000, now receives ^75,000. notwith- standing which he is frequently in debt, being far more inclined to extravagance in money matters than Prince Eddie. Until the death of her Royal lover, H. S. H. Princess Victoria Mary of Teck was like that nation which was declared to be exceptionally happy because it had no history. She was born some twenty-four years ago, at Kensington Palace, and is the eldest child and only daughter of His Royal Highness the Duke of Teck, and Her Royal Highness Princess Mary of Cambridge, the Queen's first cousin, and most popular member of the English Royal family. Even when quite a little girl, " Princess Polly with the golden hair" was much beloved by the British public, who had first seen her, a pretty, rosy-cheeked maiden of five, leaning over the balcony of Cambridge House, watching the glittering pageant of the Coronation pass slowly along Piccadilly on its way to West- minster Abbey. The Duchess of Teck and her daughter have their own sitting-room in the wing once occupied by the Prince of Wales some thirty years ago, when he was first allowed by his parents the dignity of a bachelor establishment. The business-room and boudoir combined show clearly how Princess May and her mother spend their time. The list of their good and practicable charitable works cannot be given 'lH\: l)fKK OF Clarence AND AvoNDALF,, AND PRiN<;r,-,s Victoria May of Teck. 76 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. here ; suffice it to say that both the Duchess and her daugh- ter take the keenest interest in all sorts of good works. Princess May has a plainly-furnished sitting-room of her own, close to the little study used by her three brothers when they happen to be at home. There she now sits for hours toQfether orazintr listlessly throuofh the laree window at the beautiful landscape beyond. Since the Duke of Clarence's death, the once so gay and joyous Princess has become an entirely different being. She looks as if she were yet stunned by the blow which she sustained, her sunny smile has disappeared, and her light-hearted merry laugh is never heard echoing as of yore through the halls and passages of the White Lodge. A poetical figure, draped in the sculptural folds of a sable crape gown, a pale, delicate face lighted by inexpressibly sad and wistful eyes, a step out of which all vigor and buoyancy have disappeared, and a voice now low and subdued as had the silvery ring of youth died out of it, this is what remains of the happy young Princess whom the Duke of Clarence used to call "his jolly little May-blossom." The Duke and Duchess of Teck are generally considered as the ne'er-do-wells of the Royal family. The Duchess, it is true, has retained much of her former popularity among the masses, but by both Court and the smart set of London, the Duke and herself are treated very much in the manner of poor relations. To such an extent do these sentiments prevail that the Marquis of Bath, one of the haughtiest of British Peers, declined to permit his eldest son to marry pretty Princess May, to whom he had become engaged, and that the Queen herself never lost an opportunity of displaying the most marked unfriendliness and coldness toward the entire THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 'J'J family until she was made to consent to her grandson's en- o^aoement to the Princess. This aversion of the Queen and Duchess dates back to the time when both were young girls together, and when the popularity and striking beauty of the daughter of the old Duke of Cambridge contrasted glaringly with the unpopu- larity of the Duke of Kent's daughter. For the latter, before her accession to the Throne, was by no means liked by either the classes or the masses. Indeed, the recent attacks of the English press on the Prince of Wales, in connection with the Baccarat case, appear as milk and water when compared with the bitter and even brutal insults hurled in those days by platform, pamphlet, and press at the head of the young Queen. Although the great beauty of Princess Mary of Cam- bridge brought her many suitors, both from home and from abroad, and notwithstanding the fact that her hand was sought by at least three reigning sovereigns, yet the Queen as chief of the family, made a point, for reasons which can only be attributed to personal jealousy, of declining to sanc- tion alliances proffered to her cousin. At length, when over forty, Princess Mary revolted against the tyranny to which she had so been subjected, and annoimced her intention of marrying with or without the Queen's per- mission a handsome young officer of the Austrian army who had struck her fancy. The officer in question, many years the Princess's junior, was the penniless Prince of Teck, who has since been advanced to the rank of German Duke. He is the morganatic issue of a left-hand marriage between a Prince of a reigning House of Wurtemburg and a Countess Rheday. His birth and status 78 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. were scarcely of a character to render him a desirable match for an English Royal Princess, but " Fat Mary " was deter- mined — not to say desperate — and the marriage took place at Kew, near London. Unfortunately the Duke, although a charming and amiable fellow, with the good and bad points of a typical Austrian cavalry officer, possessed a very susceptible heart and afforded many opportunities to his wife's English relatives to rail against him. On one memorable occasion he actually eloped with the pretty governess of his children to the Conti- nent and had to be brought back from Vienna by his brother-in-law, the Duke of Cambridge, who was sent off after him in hot pursuit. Nor was this the only incident of the kind, and ''keeping brother-in-law Frank straight" has taken up almost as much of the Duke of Cambridge's time as his duties of Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. Another reproach to which the Duke and Duchess of Teck laid themselves open was that of extravagance. Although provided with a town residence at Kensington Palace, in Hyde Park, and a suburban home at White Lodge in Rich- mond Park, they lived beyond their means, and about eight years ago there was a most disgraceful smash-up. Neither the Queen nor any other members of the Royal family con- sented to come to their assistance, and the consequence was that London was treated to the extraordinary and very fin de siecle spectacle of a Royal household being sold out at public auction for the benefit of the confiding tradesmen who, unmindful of the Psalmist, had put their "trust in Princes." The auction actually took place at the historical palace of Kensington, where the Queen was born, and innumerable heirlooms and relics, which for very decency's sake should Prince George of Wales. So Within royal palaces. have been retained in the Royal family, were disposed of to the public. The Queen, by way of punishing the Tecks for this scandal, which she could easily have prevented — for the indebtedness was not so very great — deprived her cousins of their apart- ments at Kensington Palace, and insisted that they should reside abroad for several years. It was not, indeed, until the death of the Duchess of Teck's mother, the nonogenarian Duchess of Cambridge, that the Queen relented and allowed them once more to reside in Engfland, thoug-h no lonofer at Kensington Palace. The late Duke of Clarence's younger brother George, who stepped into the vacant place as Heir Presumptive to the British Crown, bears a striking likeness to the Princess of Wales's sister, the Princess Dagmar, present Empress of Russia, not only in the general form and cast of countenance, but also in detail of feature and expression. For the first eighteen years of his life he was the insepa- rable companion of his brother ; and probably there have rarely if ever been two brothers that were more attached to each other than these two. Each seemed to find in the other the complement of his own individual characteristics. The quick liveliness of Prince George acted as a constant and welcome stimulus both in work and play hours to the more lymphatic temperament of his brother, while the brother's quiet staidness often served as a counterpoise to the younger's impulsive decisiveness. Were they following the hounds together as boys, it was Prince George whose pony had to take the fence or hedge the first, and give Prince Eddy the lead ; were they bathing together in the sea, it was Prince George who was the first to leap off the ship or yacht into the THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 8 1 water, and not till he was swimming around and encouraging his brother to follow him did the elder take the inevitable plunge. In many ways the elder constantly leant upon the younger brother ; and the younger reciprocated the confidence with warm-hearted manliness and devotion. Prince George is full of vivacity, spirit, and go ; he has always been regarded from childhood as the enfa?U terrible of the Royal family, and innumerable are the stories related of his wicked practical jokes and everlasting scrapes. The mere mention of his name in England is sufficient to cause the features of John Bull to relax, and to develop into a broad grin. He is as noted for his facility of getting into mischief as his eldest brother is for keeping out of it ; and it is pos- sibly this which has endowed him with a popularity among the masses that was withheld from the Duke of Clarence until the last few weeks previous to his death. Moreover, England being essentially a maritime power, sailors hold a strong place in the regard and affections of their countrymen, who are ready to extend to seafaring men an indulgence withheld from every other profession. This, too, is no doubt accountable for much of the public favor accorded to Prince George. The latter has now, however, been forced to give up all further active service in the navy, and to settle down on dry land. His life has become doubly precious to his family, as well as to the nation. Aside from the question of love and affection there are grave considerations of a dynastic and political nature which render it imperative that he should be prevented from incurring any risk, at any rate until he has married and provided one or two heirs to the Crown. For were he to die unmarried, it would be his sister, the Duchess of Fife, who would assume his place in 6 82 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. the line of succession to the Crown, and the British people would be brought within a measurable distance of seeing a Commoner, in the person of the Duchess of Fife's little dauo-hter, Miss Alexandra Duff, styled Lady Alexandra merely by courtesy, seated on the Throne of England. Were this ever to occur, the very foundations of the monarchy would be shaken, for the prestige attached to Royal blood and Royal birth, which forms the chief basis of the monarch- ical system in England, would become a thing of the past. If the Duke of York ever comes to the Throne of England, his subjects will, at least, have the sadsfaction of knowing that he has a pracdcal knowledge, to his cost, I may add, of the meaning of the good old-fashioned word spanking. When serving as midshipman he declined one night to turn out, as he should have done, to go on watch. His fellow middy, whom he was designated to relieve, and who wanted to turn in, endeavored to arouse the Prince. The latter, after receiving two or three good shakings, sud- denly opened his eyes, swore a big oath, and let drive his fist at his fellow middy's right eye. The young fellow made no response, but returned to his post, resumed his watch, and thus did duty for the Prince. But on the following day he stated his case and showed his eye to his comrades. The midshipmen held a drum-head court-martial, found the Prince guilty, and sentenced him to be spanked by the lad whose eye he had blackened. Accordingly, the Royal culprit was seized by four of the seni- ors and held face downward on a table, while the midshipman with the disfigured optic, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, carried out the sentence of the midshipmen's court until his hands smarted. ._„,iM SiGNOR TOSTI. Queen Victoria's Favorite Singer and Musician. 84 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. When the Prince was released he was furious with rage, and threatened vengeance, but in a day or two he thought better of it, and went to his messmate who had spanked him and apologized for the blow which he had given him. The midshipman accepted his apology, and tendered his owa in return for the spanking which he had administered. During the remainder of the cruise, the Prince put on no airs, but he was as agreeable and charming a young fellow as could be. There is no doubt that he was benefited by the spanking. The death of the Duke of Clarence drew public attention to the direct and collateral line of succession to the Royal Crown of Great Britain and the Imperial Crown of India. The Crown of England descends like a barony in fee, to the nearest heir of the last wearer, be that heir male or female — daughters being, of course, postponed to sons. Were Prince Georee of Wales to die unmarried, the Crown would pass to the Duchess of Fife, and afterward descend to her, at present infant daughter, the Lady Alexandra Duff, always supposing that a son was not born to her in the meantime. In that place the son would naturally take precedence. We might then (and the possibility is by no means remote) wit- ness the curious sight of a Marquis of Macduff stepping direct from the Guards, or the benches of the House of Commons, to the Throne. In that case, the junior partner in the great London Bank- ing house of Scott & Co. would find himself in a position even more anomalous than that of the late Prince Albert — a posi- tion, in fact, to find a parallel for which it is necessary to go back to the days of Mary Queen of Scots and the Earl of Darnley. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 85 The Duke of Fife who, besides his income derived from his partnership in the banks, and from his directorships in various raiJroads and industrial enterprises, enjoys the revenues of a vast estate of some three hundred thousand acres, is one of those fortunate men who, in high favor at Court, and blessed munificently with rank, wealth, and talents of every kind, has succeeded in achieving an immense popularity with all classes of the people. He has never been known to do a mean, unchivalrous or in any way questionable action, and while by no means a saint by nature, and exposed to every kind of temptation, his private life has hitherto been without reproach. Of Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, and possibly Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, there is but little to say. She has been most carefully trained, and brought up in the very simplest manner by her mother, the Princess of Wales. While neither so graceful nor so captivating as her mother, the young Princess is much liked by all those who know her, her behavior being singularly simple, natural, and unaffected. Many of the hats and dresses worn during the past years by her two sisters and herself have been made entirely with their own hands. Little Lady Alexandra Victoria Duff, the infant daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Fife, who was held at the font on the occasion of her christening by no less a personage than her great-grandmother, the Queen of Great Britain, Empress of India, etc., possesses three aunts, sisters of her father, whose aquaintance she will never be permitted to make. Their social position is such that, although sisters of the Duke, and the only surviving members of his immediate family, it was found impossible to invite them to be present 86 WITHIN ROYAL PALACfiS. at their brother's wedding-. Unfortunately, they all three take after their mother, the late Countess of Fife, who, to put the matter as mildly as possible, was the reverse of respect- able, and who rendered herself so conspicuous that her son was not allowed to see her during his youth. The youngest of these three sisters of the Duke of Fife is Lady Agnes Cooper. She was married early in the seven- ties to the late Lord Dupplin. "Duppy" was, however, neither physically nor morally what might be termed a model husband, and one fine morning in the very height of the season — I think it was on the Cup-day of the Ascot races- — the word passed that the Viscountess had fled with Herbert Flower, who enjoyed the well-deserved reputation of being the hand- somest and finest-looking man in England. Lord Dupplin took matters philosophically, and secured a divorce from Lady Agnes, who forthwith married the companion of her flight. In 1 88 1, Herbert Flower died, and after a few months of widowhood Lady Agnes married a third husband, the famous surgeon, Dr. Alfred Cooper, by whom she had several chil- dren. Of course she was ostracized by society and cut by her brother. The second sister is Lady Ida Wilson, who, after marrying Mr. Adrian Hope, scandalized all Vanity Fair by repeatedly appearing on the promenade of Rotten Row in a state of noisy intoxication, and then capped matters by eloping with her courier. For some time she resided in Switzerland with her valet de coeur, but has now returned to London to brazen matters out as the wife of one William Wilson, whom nobody knows, but who is generally believed to be the courier referred to above. The Duke's eldest sister, the Marchioness of Townsend, THE ROVAL family of great BRITAIN. ^y has the advantage of possessing a half-crazy husband, who while closing his eyes to her numerous indiscretions, is by no means blind to the violations of the vagrancy and mendicancy laws. Until the moment when his own eccentricities and the conduct of his wife necessitated his leaving London he was in the habit of causing the arrest and of prosecuting in person every beggar that he could catch sight of. To such an extent did he carry this mania that it was im- possible to open a daily newspaper without seeing an account of his appearance in Court against some unfortunate mendi- cant or other. I may add that, his son being childless, the Marquisate will in due time devolve upon a man who is now a five-hundred-dollar clerk in a city merchant's office, and who is, moreover, the husband of an actress of the cross-river variety and music-hall stage. Everything that the Duke of Fife touches seems to turn to gold. Some founders' shares, which had cost him $150 apiece a few years ago, have just been disposed of by him at the rate of ;^45,ooo or ^225,000 each. Notwithstanding the pre- vailing depression in the value of land in the United King- dom, he has been obtaining exceptionally high prices for the farms, houses, and estates which he has been selling up in Scotland. His reason for thus getting rid of the larger part of his landed property, is because the latter only yields him an interest of 2^ per cent., whereas he can obtain double that amount, and even more, by investing its value in the well-known and prosperous London bank of Samuel Scott & Co., of which he is now the principal and managing partner. It may be of interest to give here a list of the line of succession as it now stands, comprising the names 88 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. of every possible Heir to the Throne claiming through George III. There are other heirs descending from earlier monarchs of the House of Brunswick ; but they are so exceedingly remote that it is not worth while to trace them. There are, of course, also in the following list certain per- sonages who would obviously, from motives of public policy, never be allowed to succeed, e. g., the German Emperor ; but foreign nationality, or the possession of a foreign Crown, does not of itself vitiate their right. Parliament could, and in the case of the Throne passing to a foreign sovereign, would bar their claim, save perhaps in the case of the Duke of Edin- burgh. That Prince will, in the course of nature, become Duke of Saxe-Coburg ; and in the lamentable and highly improbable case of a failure of all the Queen's more immedi- ate heirs, he would have to choose between Coburg and Eng- land. The Prince of Wales, it will be remembered, became upon his father's death heir presumptive to the Duchy of Coburg; but to avoid the inconvenience of a potential British monarch beino- also the heir of a Continental reienine sovereign, he renounced his rights in Coburg in favor of his next brother. It is sometimes said that such-and-such a female member of the Royal family, has renounced her right of succession. Neither the Act of Settlement, however, under which the Crown devolves, nor any other Act, make provision for renunciation upon any ground whatsoever. It will be observed that the Princess May, whose melancholy posi- tion has excited sympathy so wide and so keen, stands last, and that, had she become Duchess of Clarence, she would have been at once elevated from the last to the second place in the list : THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. S9 THE DESCENDANTS OF QUEEN VICTORIA RANGE AS FOLLOWS I 1. The Prince of Wales, son. Children of the Prince of Wales : 2. Prince George, grandson. 3. Duchess of Fife, granddaughter. Grandchild of the Pnnce of Wales : 4. The Lady Alexandra Duff, great-granddaughter. Children of the Prince of Wales : 5. Princess Victoria of Wales, granddaughter. 6. Princess Maud of Wales, granddaughter. 7. The Duke of Edinburgh, son. Second son of Queen Victoria. Children of Duke of Edinburgh: 8. Prince Alfred of Edinburgh, grandson. 9. Princess Marie of Edinburgh, granddaughter. 10. Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh, granddaughter. 11. Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh, granddaughter. 12. Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh, granddaughter. 13. The Duke of Connaught, son. Third son of Queen Victoria. Children of Duke of Connaught : 14. Prince Arthur of Connaught, grandson. 15. Princess Margaret of Connaught, granddaughter. 16. Princess Victoria Patricia of Connaught, granddaugh- ter. Children of Queen Victoria's ^th son, Duke of Alba?iy, who died 1884 : 17. The Duke of Albany, grandson. 18. Princess Alice of Albany, granddaughter. 19. The Empress Frederick of Germany, daughter. Prin- cess Royal of England. 90 WITHIN ROVAL PALACES. 20. The German Emperor, grandson. Grandson of Queen Victoria. Children of German Emperor : 21. The Crown Prince of Prussia, great-grandson. 22. Prince WilHam Frederick of Prussia, great-grandson. Children of Gerinan Emperor : 23. Prince Adalbert of Prussia, great-grandson. 24. Prince August of Prussia, great-grandson. 25. Prince Oscar of Prussia, great-grandson. 26. Prince Joachim Franz Humbert of Prussia, great- grandson. 27. Prince Henry of Prussia, grandson. Brother of Ger- man Emperor. 28. Prince Waldemar of Prussia, great-grandson. Son of Prince Henry. 29. The Hereditary Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen granddaughter of Queen Victoria, sister of German Emperor. 30. Princess Fedora of Saxe-Meiningen, grandaughter of Queen Victoria, daughter of Princess Charlotte of Saxe- Meiningen. 31. Princess Victoria of Prussia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and sister of German Emperor. 32. The Crown Princess of Greece, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and sister of German Emperor. ^i^i' Prince George of Greece, great-grandson of Queen Victoria and son of Crown Princess of Greece. 34. Princess Margaretta of Prussia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and sister of German Emperor. 35. The Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse, grandson of Queen Victoria, and son of her second daughter, Princess Alice. TliE royaL family of great BRttAii^. ^t 36. Princess Louis of Battenberg, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and daughter of the late Princess AHce. 37. Princess Victoria Alice of Battenberg, great-grand- daughter of Queen Victoria, and daughter of Princess Louis of Battenberg. T,S. Princess Louise Alexandra of Battenberg, great-grand- daughter of Queen Victoria, and daughter of Princess Louis of Battenberg. 39. The Grand Duchess Sergius of Russia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and daughter of the late Princess Alice of England. 40. Prince Henry of Prussia, wife of No. 27, granddaugh- ter of Queen Victoria, and daughter of Princess Alice. 41. Princess Victoria Alice Helena of Hesse, granddaugh- ter of Queen Victoria, and daughter of Princess Alice. 42. Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, third daugh- ter of Queen Victoria. 43. Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein, grand- son of Queen Victoria, and son of Princess Christian. 44. Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, grandson of Queen Victoria, and son of Princess Christian. 45. Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, granddaugh- ter of Queen Victoria, and daughter of Princess Chris- tian. 46. Princess Franziska of Schleswig-Holstein, grand- daughter of Queen Victoria, and daughter of Princess Chris- tian. 47. The Marchioness of Lome, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. 48. Princess Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg, fifth daughter of Queen Victoria. 92 WITHIN ROYAL tALACES. 49. Prince Alexander Albert of Battenberg, grandson of Queen Victoria, and son of Princess Beatrice. 50. Prince Leopold of Battenberg, grandson of Queen Victoria, and son of Princess Beatrice. 51. Prince Donald of Battenberg, grandson of Queen Victoria, and son of Princess Beatrice. 52. Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, granddaugh- ter of Queen Victoria, and daughter of Princess Beatrice. DESCENDANTS OF KING GEORGE III. 53. The Duke of Cumberland, great-grandson. 54. Prince George of Cumberland, great-great-grandson. 55. Prince Christian of Cumberland, great-great-grand- son. 56. Prince Ernest of Cumberland, great-great-grandson. 57. Princess Mary of Cumberland, great-granddaughter. 58. Princess Alexandra of Cumberland, great-great-grand- dauo-hter. 59. Princess Olga of Cumberland, great-great-grand- daughter. 60. Princess Fredrica of Hanover, Baroness von Pawel Ramminoren, o-reat-Qfrandauohter. 61. Princess Mary Ernestina of Hanover, great-grand- daughter. 62. The Duke of Cambridge, grandson, 63. The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, grand- daughter. 64. The Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, great- grandson, 65. Prince Frederick George of Mecklenburg, great- grandson. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 93 66. Princess Victoria Mary of Mecklenburg, great-grand- daughter. 67. Princess Augusta of Mecklenburg, great-granddaugh- ter. 68. The Duchess of Teck, granddaughter. 69. Prince Adolphus of Teck, great-grandson. 70. Prince Francis of Teck, great-grandson. 71. Prince Alexander of Teck, great-grandson. 72. Princess May, great-granddaughter. There are, therefore, 52 princely personages in the direct line of succession as descendants of the Queen, twenty more being descendants of George III, who come in as collateral heirs. It does not, of course, follow that if the Crown of England were inherited by the German Emperor (and stranger things than that have happened in the chequered history of Royal successions), or, still more unlikely, by the Duke of Cumberland, either the one or the other would be allowed to wear it. The first eventually, is improbable, and the second, humanly speaking, is impossible. But it is a curious fact that there is at this moment practically only one life — that of Prince George — between a Commoner and the Throne. A repetition of the terrible calamity of January 14th would make the Lady Alexandra Duff heiress presumptive, once removed, to the Throne ; although she might, of course, be set aside at any moment by the birth of a son to the Duchess of Fife. As I said above, the possibility of a Commoner m»;unting the Throne is apparently regarded with alarm by a number of persons in whom the historical sense is not strong. But when we remember that the crystallization of Royalty into an exclusive caste is, in England, a good deal less than two hundred years old, there is nothing either very new or very 94 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. Strange In the possibility. Lady Jane Grey was a Commoner; so was Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII, and the last Lady Knight of the Garter. Queen Anne and Queen Mary II were daughters of a Commoner mother and the o-randdauorhters of a self-made man. There is nothing^ alarm- ing in the possibility — which we all trust that Providence may avert — of the Duke of Fife becoming a Royal consort. He is himself a great-grandson of William IV, and his children will consequently possess a Royal descent from both the present and the last occupant of the Throne. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, brother-in-law to Her Majesty the Queen, may be said to be one of her pet aver- sions. It is difficult to imagine any more striking contrast than that which existed between him and his younger brother, the late Prince Consort of Great Britain. The latter's conduct was beyond reproach, and so blameless that it won for him the name of " Albert the Good." The elder brother is noted throughout Germany for his drinking propensities, and for his fondness for the society of ladies of questionable reputation. Indeed, there are few wives of any of the sovereigns now reigning who have been subjected to more constant abuse, neglect, and Infidelity than Duchess Alexandriana, who Is a sister of the reigning Duke of Baden. It was about a couple of years ago that the Duke openly quarreled with his nephew and heir, the Duke of Edinburgh, owinof to the Duchess of Edinburorh's refusal to invite to one of her entertainments a couple of ladies who were on terms of too marked Intimacy with Duke Ernest. The latter stormed and raged, urging that his two fair The Marchioness of Stafford. gS WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. friends should be invited. The Duchess of Edinburgh, how- ever, who has all the obstinacy of her brother the Czar, refused to accede to his demands, and for more than a year the Edin- burghs were not on speaking terms with their uncle of Saxe-Coburg. Recently, however, there has been a reconciliation between them, but Queen Victoria absolutely declines to have anything to do with her brother-in-law, who has offended her, not only in this matter, but also by his mode of life, and by his unau- thorized publication of a number of confidential letters which the Prince Consort addressed to him on English political affairs. His publication of these letters was a source of im- mense embarrassment and annoyance to the Queen. The Duchess of Edinburgh has played a very important ro/e in international politics. The wife of the least popular of all Queen Victoria's children, occupying an altogether sub- ordinate position among the members of the British Royal family, since she is forced to yield the " pas " even to Princess Beatrice of Battenberg, and possessed of no personal beauty or charm, she has nevertheless succeeded in acquiring an influence over European politics, which has produced a com- plete and most beneficial change of their hitherto clouded aspect. In the first place, she has utilized her relationship to the Czar, whose only sister she is, to bring about a relaxation of the tension between Germany and Russia, and it was her influence alone that led the Muscovite ruler to atone for his past discourtesy to the Emperor William by visiting the latter at Kiel. It is the Duchess to whom belongs the credit of having negotiated the marriaore between the Crown-Prince of Rou- THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 97 mania and her eldest daughter, Marie — a matrimonial alliance that will contribute more than anything else to the peaceful settlement of the ever-smoldering Eastern question. For a longf time the Czar declined to mve. his consent to the marriage of his favorite niece to the Roumanian heir apparent, who is a member of the Prussian House of Hohen- zollern, but at last he yielded to his sister's arguments and signified his approval of the match. The latter gives universal satisfaction, and is regarded as a powerful guarantee of peace in connection with the Balkan difficulty. It invests the Court of Bucharest with ties of close and intimate relationship with that of Russia and of Great Britain, which cannot fail to impart strength and solidity to the hitherto perilous Roumanian throne. It also pleases the Roumanian people, who being of the orthodox Greek faith, are glad to find in their future Queen a Princess of the same Church. For, while the sons of the Duke of Edinburgh are brought up as Protestants, his daugh- ters, according to the terms of the marriage contract, are edu- cated as members of the Greek Church. The principal danger to which the Roumanian throne has hitherto been exposed is that of Russian invasion, and the entire resources of the kingdom have been devoted toward putting the country in a fit state of defense. Henceforth this menace will not exist, since the Czar, more than any one else, will be interested in the welfare of his favorite niece, the future Queen of Roumania. Princess Marie of Edinburgh is by far the prettiest of the Queen's granddaughters, though Princess Maud of Wales runs her very close in point of looks. She has been very carefully and strictly brought up under the supervision of the 7 gS WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. Duchess, who is certainly an excellent mother. She is accom- plished in many ways, is an excellent linguist, and a good musician. Her study of Russian will help her with the Rou- manian tongue, which is near akin to Russian. In personal appearance she takes after her father, whereas her two sisters rather favor the Duchess. The Duchess of Edinburgh is a woman of remarkable strength of mind and common sense. The expression of her features is not pleasant, as it gives one an impression both of sulkiness, bad temper, and arrogance. But she is really a very kind woman at heart, and when among her intimate friends, simplicity itself. That she is very fond of England and of the English, it would be idle to assert. As the only daughter of the late Czar, and his favorite child, she had been spoiled in the most extraordinary manner, and, owing to the delicate health of her mother, she occupied, until her marriage, the Empress's place at all the Court ceremonies and functions in Russia. When, therefore, she came to England and found herself relegated to almost the tail-end of the Royal family there, and regarded with public ill-will by reason of her husband's exces- sive unpopularity, she naturally felt both disappointed and dissatisfied. The only persons of the English Royal family with whom she is able to get along well are the Princess of Wales, who is full of kindly attentions and affectionate deference toward her, and her mother-in-law, the Queen. The Duchess, indeed, is the sole member of the British Royal family over whom Her Majesty does not attempt to domineer. With her other children the old lady is exceed- ingly imperious, and, in her double capacity of mother and THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 99 sovereign, orders them about in the most despotic manner, exacting impHcit and unswerving obedience. The Duchess, however, assumes a very independent atti- tude toward her, does not permit herself to be bulHed, and answers her Royal mother-in-law in the latter's own fashion, giving her, so to speak, a taste of her own medicine. The result is that " Marie," as she is called by her rela- tives, enjoys an altogether extraordinary consideration at Windsor, and her portrait is the only one which adorns the walls of the Queen's private breakfast room, which looks out on the great quadrangle. The Duchess, who does not like the free-and-easy way of the British people toward their Royalty, spends as little time in England as possible. She makes her home in the beautiful castle of Rosenau, near Coburg, a country of which she will become the reitrninof Duchess on the death of the present Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The Duchess keeps all her effects at Rosenau, where she is surrounded by a little court and treated with an immense amount of honor and consideration. Her husband, however, makes his headquarters in the Royal palace, known as Clar- ence House, which has been assigned to him by the Queen as his London residence. It is there that he keeps his valu- able collection of barbaric weapons, hunting trophies, glass, and rare porcelain. True, the Duke has never given rise by his conduct to any matrimonial scandal. But he is blest with an abominable temper, the most glaring want of tact, and has lost much of that comeliness which caused the Grand Duchess Marie to fall in love with him, and to persist in marrying him notwith- standing the objections made by his relatives. lOO WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. The Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief of the Bri- tish army, is probably the most popular man of the Royal family. A great deal of good-natured fun is poked at him by the press, but, notwithstanding this, there is no doubt that he is more in touch with the English public than any of the others. He is a fine, tall old man, with white mustache and whiskers, white hair and very florid face. His manner is frank, bluff, and hearty, his grasp of the hand honest, and his whole being inspires good-will and sympathy. He is noted for the picturesque character of his language, which is almost as highly colored as his complexion. His oaths are strange and awe-inspiring, and his temper being exceedingly short, they are somewhat frequent. His remarks during an inspec- tion of troops when everything is not in first-rate condition are of a nature to be remembered. With all that he is very kind of heart, and his anger, though violent, is quickly over. Born about two months before his cousin. Queen Victoria, he spent most of his youth in Germany, first of all at Hano- ver, where his father acted as British viceroy until it was converted into an independent kingdom in 1837, and after- ward at Berlin. The result is that his English, like that of the Queen and her children, is distinguished by a strong and gutteral Teutonic accent. That is, however, about the only German thing about him, for in everything else he is English to the very core. He will leave no heirs to his name, for I regret to say that his children are not legitimate. In his early days he was the hero of many love affairs, being gay, dashing, brilliant, and, above all, a Royal Prince. He was fortunate enough to succeed in keeping his name out of the divorce court, and THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. lOt never permitted himself to become incriminated in any public scandal. His affaires de coeur culminated in a marriage with a Dub- lin actress, which ceremony, being unsanctioned by the Queen, was, in the eyes of the law, null and void, for the English statute-book, prescribes that no marriage of a member of the British Royal family shall be regarded as valid unless spe- cially authorized by the sovereign. After his marriage, the Duke George settled down and remained true to his actress-wife until her death a couple of years ago. She did not live with him at his residence at Gloucester House, Picadilly, but in a smaller mansion, in an adjacent street, where he has wont to visit her every day, and to take at least one meal. At his country residence, at Coombe, near Wimbledon, where he possesses a large estate, they lived together as husband and wife, she being known by the name of Mrs. Fitz George, vv^hich is the patronymic borne by her five children. Two of these are girls, both of them now married ; while the other three are sons, one in the navy and the others in the army. They are very popular, both in military and social circles, and one or the other is always in attendance on the old Duke. Mrs. Fitz George was altogether unknown to society, and was a very simple-minded, worthy lady, perfectly contented to remain entirely in the background. The only person besides herself who shared the Duke's attentions was his mother, the venerable Duchess of Cambridge, who died within a few months after the death of her plebeian daughter-in-law. The Duke was the most dutiful of sons to her, and never allowed a single day to pass when In town without going around to St. James's Palace, where she resided, to spend an 102 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. hour in retailing to her the gossip of the town, in which she, to the very last, displayed a most extraordinary interest. She was a wonderful old lady, a German Princess by birth, and at the acre of fourteen witnessed from the terrace of her father's chateau the retreat of Napoleon I after his defeat at the battle of Leipzig. The Duke distinguished himself by his personal gallantry, though not by his generalship, in the Crimean war, where his conduct presented a marked contrast with that of Prince Napoleon, and where he won for himself a considerable amount of popularity among the British soldiers. It is this popularity which causes them to close their eyes to his idio- syncrasies and mannerisms, such as, for instance, when he undertakes to review them seated on horseback in full war paint, and holding an umibrella over his head to shield him from the rain. In fact, this led to his being named the " Um- brella Duke." Whenever his cousin, the Queen, has hinted to him that he has reached the age appointed by the statutes for the retire- ment of her officers from active service, he has invariably responded by suggesting that he was still quite as capable of performing the duties in connection with the Commander- in-Chief of the army as she was to fulfill her duties as Queen of England ! In claiming that his faculties are unimpaired by age, he is not far wrong, for, never having been very brilliant or remarkable for the penetration of his mind, his senility has not yet become very conspicuous, and the evidences of his age are limited to his falling asleep after dinner, and sometimes even during the meal, when his head is apt to slip on the shoulder of the lady to his right or left, and the con- versation to be temporarily hushed by a snore of Royal and Georgian proportions. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. IV. AMONG other picturesque and ornamental features of Queen Victoria's Court are her two body-guards, the one composed of pensioned Colonels and Majors, with distinguished service records, who are entitled the " Gentle- men-at-Arms," whilst the other is recruited from non-com- missioned officers, and its members are known by the name of the "Yeomen of the Guard," the public, however, for some reason or other, designating them as " Beefeaters." A yeoman usher and a party of yeomen now compose the Guard that attends in the Great Chamber on Levee days and Drawing-Room days, their office being to keep the passage clear, that the nobility who frequent the Court may pass with- out inconvenience. The usher is posted at the head of the room, close by the door leading into the Presence Chamber, to whom, when persons of a certain distinction enter from the stairs, the lowermost yeoman next to the entrance of the Chamber calls aloud, "Yeoman Usher!" to apprise him of such approach. To this the Usher makes answer by audibly crying, " Stand by 1" to warn all indifferent persons to leave the passage clear. The Captain of the "Yeomen of the Guard," who is inva- riably a Peer of the Realm, and who changes with each ad- ministration, receives a salary of ^5,000. He is ex-officio a member of the Privy Council, wears, like other officers of the 10.^ 104 WlTJtlN ROYAL PALACES. corps, a military uniform, and carries an ebony baton tipped with orold as his badgfe of office. The Lieutenant of the " Yeomen of the Guard " receives ^2,500 per annum, and his baton is only mounted in silver instead of being mounted in gold. Then again there is an Ensign, enjoying a salary of ^750 per annum, although there does not exist the smallest evidence that the Corps ever pos- sessed either banner or standard. Like the Lieutenant, the Ensign bears an ebony baton mounted in silver. Then there are four Exempts, Exons, or Corporals, and these gentlemen command in the absence of the Lieutenant or Ensign, one of them sleeping at St. James' Palace, as Commandant of the Yeomen on duty, a thing which no other officer of the Corps does, and having in this way a delegated authority, which he exercises in the absence of his superior officer. The Gentlemen-at-Arms, when instituted by Henry VIII, were intended to be recruited from a higher class of his sub- jects than the " Yeomen of the Guard." Avowedly, like many similar corps in other Courts, an imitation of the "Gentlemen of the French King's House," a body composed almost en- tirely of young grandees, the members of the new guard were to be "chosen of gentlemen, not that to becommen and extracte of Noble Blood." All the Captains have been noblemen of high rank, and the present corps is composed entirely of ex-commissioned officers of distinction. For a long time the Gentlemen-at-Arms and the Yeomen of the Guard were the only standing forces tol- erated in the Kingdom. In those days they figured in all ceremonials — marriages, coronations, and funerals. They received Ambassadors, and escorted foreign Princes on visits to the Sovereign, et militave runt non sine gloria, for they THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. IO5 were at the seige of Boulogne, the Battle of Spurs, and on other battle-fields of France. When the Queen came to the Throne only three of the Guard were old soldiers, though all of them bore the courtesy title of "Captain," and in precedence ranked immediately after Privy Councillors. The Corps now contains over 40 members, every one of whom has served with more or less distinction, and perhaps at no period in its history has the ancient Guard reached a hiorher social standard. One of the most peculiar offices in connection with the Royal household is that of the " Queen's Champion," which is held by the Hon. F. S. Dymoke, by right of inheritance. The "Champion of England," for that is his official title, only appears once during the reign of a British Monarch — namely, at the coronation. While the coronation banquet is in progress, which has hitherto always taken place in West- minster Hall, the Champion enters on horseback, arrayed from head to foot in steel armor, and with closed visor. Raising the visor, he challenges all comers to deny the title of the sovereign, and offers, if necessary, to fight them on the spot. It is needless to add that no one is ever found to take up the gauntlet which he casts down on the floor. A ofolden ofoblet full of wine is then handed to him, which he drains to the health of the monarch, after which he backs his charger from the Royal presence, carrying with him the mag- nificently chased golden goblet as his perquisite. The office is a very ancient one, and is popularly supposed to have been instituted by William the Conqueror, who con- ferred it upon Robert de Marmion, with the Castle of Tam- worth and the Manor of Scrivelsby. At the coronation of Richard II the office was claimed by Sir John Dymoke, of Io6 WltMlN ROYAL fALACES. Scrivelsby Manor, and Baldwin de Trevill, of Tamworth Casde. It was finally decided that the dtle of Champion of England went with the Manor of Scrivelsby, and belonged to Sir John Dymoke, in whose family it has remained until the present day. Should Mr. Dymoke die, it will be his nearest male relative who will inherit the manor and office. Her Majesty's footmen are exceedingly imposing and superb. They used, however, to be somewhat more exalted personages than they are now. Early in the Queen's reign the salary of the Royal footman was $550 a year, with a possible rise to the rank of a Senior footman with ;^6oo a year. This was not, it may be thought, very splendid, but the dignity of the service, and the fact that it was always followed by a pension, and sometimes led to higher rank, rendered it attracdve to stalwart members of the respectable middle class on the lookout for a career. Moreover, there were perqui- sites — bread and beer money, for instance — amounting to ^70 a year. Besides this, a footman sent on a journey, however short, would have six shillings a day for refreshment. All that, however, was in the good days before the besom Reform swept out the Queen's establishment, when Prince Albert was in the prime of his vigor. Nowadays even so gorgeous a gentleman as the Queen's footman has to begin with a modest $250 a year, which in course of time may expand to ^400, but no further. Perquisites, too, have been abolished or curtailed. There is an allowance of six guineas and a half for hair-powder, bag, and stockings; but, sad to say, each man has to find his own blacking and boot-brushes, and to pay for his own washing. A suit of State livery is said to cost $650. They are rarely used, and of course rarely renewed. When they are renewed, however, the old garments become the tH£ ROYAL FAMILY O^ GREAl- BRITAIN. 10/ perquisites of the wearers, and the gold lace upon them is, of course, of considerable value. The Queen has fifteen footmen, and one sergeant-footman with a salary of $650 a year. For- merly the sergeant-footmen or one of the six senior footmen was often promoted to the position of Page of the Presence or of a Queen's Messenger, either of which was worth ^1,500, or ;^2,ooo a year. But this practice has gone the way of most of the perquisites, and the position of a Royal footman is no longer sought for as it used to be, though, of course, there are plenty who would be glad to get it. But there are corresponding positions in less exalted households in which a well-built young man, with the necessary development of calf, who aspires to become a footman, may do better for his fortunes than in the service of the Crown, Next to Her Majesty's footmen, the State trumpeters are among the most popular of functionaries on all great occa- sions. There are eight of them, with a sergeant at their head. They form part of the State band, which, distinct from Her Majesty's private band, is only called upon on important occasions. As in the case of the footmen, their o-orofeous raiment, their silver trumpets, and their stately demeanor might suggest to the uninitiated dignitaries of large emolu- ments, if not of exalted rank. Their sergeant gets $500 a year, and each of the eight minor musicians ^200, though there are, in addition, fees paid to each of them on each occa- sion of their performing in public. From footmen and trumpeters to pursuivants, heralds, and kings-at-arms is a great stride up the social and ceremonial ladder. These functionaries have both a popular and his- torical interest. Their quaintly gorgeous costumes always attract attention on State occasions, and their undoubted an- iO§ WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. tiquity and mysterious functions — their declarations of war and of peace, their announcements at coronations, and their solemn annunciations of titles and dignities over illustrious graves — all tend to invest them with a curious interest in the eyes of all beholders. The heralds must be gentlemen "skilled in the ancient and modern languages, good historians, and conversant in the genealogies of the nobility and gentry." The direct emolu- ments of the office are trivial. But it is their function "to grant coats armorial and supporters to the same to such as are properly authorized to bear them ; where no armorial arms are known to belong to the party applying for the grant they invent devices and emblazon them in the most applicable manner, so as to reflect credit upon their own fertility of knowledge, and to afford satisfaction to the wearer." They are, of course, entitled to more liberal fees than fall to the lot of most inventors, and, moreover, they are the great sources of the ofenealoo-ical lore. Pursuivants, heralds, and kinors-at- arms are under the Earl- Marshal of England, the Duke of Norfolk, and, indeed, are now created by him. Formerly when kings-at-arms were more important functionaries than they are now, they were crowned veritable kings by the sovereign himself. They go through the same ceremony of installation now, but it is performed by the Earl-Marshal, by Royal warrant. Upon this occasion the chosen functionary takes his oath, wine is poured out of a gilt cup with a cover, his title is pronounced, and he is invested with a tabret of the Royal arms richly embroidered upon velvet, a collar of SS, with two portcullises of silver gilt, a gold chain, with a badge of his office. Then the Earl-Marshal places on his head a crown of a king-of-arms, which formerly resembled a ducal THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. IO9 coronet ; but since the Restoration it has been adorned with leaves resembling- those of the oak, and circumscribed accord- ing to ancient customs with the words, " Miserere mei Deus secundum magnum misericordiarrv tuam!' Garter has also a mantle of crimson satin as an officer of the order, and a white rod or sceptre with the sovereign's arms upon the top, which he bears in the presence of the sovereign. There are three kings-at-arms. Garter is King- at-arms of England, Clarencieux is king of the province south of the Trent, and Norroy is king of the northern provinces. The heralds go through an initiatory ceremony as the kings, except the crowning. They are all military and civil officers, and in token of this they are all sworn on sword and Bible, The office of Earl-Marshal is amonof the hiofhest and oldest. He is the eighth great officer of State, and is the only Earl who is an Earl by virtue of his office. The Lord Steward is another holder of a slip from the scep- tre. He has a white wand as an emblem of his authority under the Crown. He is supposed to have the sole direction of the Queen's household, and receives ^10,000 a year, though except on State occasions he is not required at Court, the practical functions of his office being discharged by the resi- dent master of the household. The Queen's establishments, however, excepting only the chamber, stables, and chapel, are supposed to be under his entire control. All his commands are to be obeyed, and he has power to hold courts for the administration of justice, and for settling disputes between the Queen's servants. The Lord Steward always bears his white wand when in the presence of the sovereign, and on all ceremonial occasions when the sovereign is not present the wand is borne before him by a footman walking bare- no WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. headed. He takes tliis symbol of delegated power directly from the sovereign's hand, and has no other formal grant of office. On the death of the monarch the Lord Steward breaks his wand of office over the corpse, and his functions are at an end, and all the officers of the Royal household are virUially discharged. The principal throne of Queen Victoria is in the House of Lords. It is elevated on a dais, the central portion having three, and the sides two steps, covered with a carpet of the richest velvet pile. The ground color of the carpet is a bright scarlet, and the pattern on it consists of roses and lions, alternately. A gold-colored fringe borders the carpet. The canopy to the Throne is divided into three apartments, the central one, much loftier than the others, for Her Majesty, that on the right hand for the Prince of Wales, and on the left that which used to be Prince Albert's. The back of the cen- tral compartment is paneled in the most exquisite manner. The three lowest tiers have the lions passant of England, carved and gilded on a red ground, and above them in a wide panel, arched, and enriched with dainty carvings, are the Royal arms of luigland, surrounded by the Garter, with its supporters, helmet and crest, and an elaborate mantling form- ing a rich and varied background. The motto, '^ Dieu et Mon Droits is on a horizontal band of deep blue tint. In small panels, traceried, parallel with the large arched one, are roses, shamrocks, and thistles, clustered together, and crowned ; and above them, in double arched panels, the Royal mono- gram, crowned and interwoven by a cord, are introduced. The Crown Jewels of Great Britain are kept at the Tower of London, and are entrusted to the care of the " Keeper of the Regalia." The office dates back to the reign of King 112 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. Charles II, when Colonel Blood attempted to steal the Royal crown, and the holder thereof ranks ex-officio with the first Knight Bachelor of the Kingdom. It may be of interest to the many American visitors to the Tower to learn that there is no foundation for the popular belief that the crown, the orb, and the other symbols of Roy- alty borne before the Queen on State occasions are merely imitations of the originals. This belief, however, is not one of long standing, and it may possibly have originated in the fact that some years ago a noble duke, to whom had been entrusted the proud and much envied privilege of carrying the crown on a cushion before the sovereign, accidentally dropped it. This was considered at the time an occurrence of ill-omen, especially as one of the famous stones was forced out of its setting by the fall and rolled upon the floor. It is the genuine Crown which is always taken to the House of Parliament and brought back to the Tower in one of the Royal carriages, escorted by Tower warders and by a strong force of mounted police. The civil list which the Queen receives from Parliament amounts to $3,000,000, out of which she pays the salaries of the Royal Household, amounting to over $1,000,000. The Prince of Wales receives from the State an annual income of $500,000 and his wife $50,000 per annum. In addition to this, the Prince of Wales receives another $200,000 from the State for the use of his children. Each of the younger sons of the Queen receives from the State an allowance of $125,- 000 per annum, while Her Majesty's daughters have to remain content with allowances of $30,000 per annum. In addition to this, Queen Victoria's daughters have each received from the State a dowry of $150,000 at the time of THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. I 1 3 their marriage. All the vast Crown domains which formerly belonged to the reigning family were surrendered to the National Government during the reign of Queen Victoria's uncle, King George IV. The Queen's private property is far smaller than generally supposed and her landed property limited in extent. The Jewel-house contains all the crown jewels of England, inclosed in an immense case. Prominent among them is the crown made for the coronation of Queen Victoria, at the ex- pense of about ^600,000. Among the profusion of diamonds is the large ruby worn by the Black Prince, mentioned above ; the crown made for the coronation of Charles II ; the crown of the Prince of Wales, and that of the late Prince Consort ; the crown made for the coronation of James IPs Queen; also her ivory sceptre. The coronation spoon, and bracelets and royal spurs, swords of Mercy and Justice, are among the other jewels. Here, too, is the silver-gilt baptismal font, in which is deposited the christening water for the Royal children, and the celebrated Koh-i-noor diamond, the present property of Queen Victoria, and the object of such interest at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 185 1. It formerly belonged to Runjeet Singh, chief of Lahore, and was called the "Moun- tain of Light," and its value is untold. The Queen's two railway saloons for Continental journeys, which are the private property of Her Majesty, and which are kept at Brussels, at the Gare du Nord, are connected by a passage, and are fitted with electric bells, and lighted with oil lamps, as the Queen does not like the electric light for reading or writing. The day saloon is furnished with sofas, arm-chairs of various kinds, and foot-stools, all covered with blue silk, with fringes and tassels of yellow. The walls are 114 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. hung with blue and pearl-gray silk, brocaded with the rose, shamrock, and thistle, in yellow. There is a writing-table of walnut-wood, two small tables, and one large one, on which meals are served during a journey. The floor is covered with an Indian carpet of dark blue, and the curtains are blue and white. There is a separate compartment in front for the Queen's Highland attendant, Francis Clark, the successor of John Brown. The night saloon is a larger carriage, and it is divided into several compartments. The dressing-room is decorated in Japanese style, and the floor is covered with bamboo. There is a white metal bath, and the toilet service and large basins on the washstand (which is covered with dark morocco leather) are of the same material. The bed-room is decorated in gray and light brown, and contains two beds, the largest of which is occupied by the Queen. There is another com- partment, in which is stored away the luggage needed by the Queen during the journey, and two maids occupy it, and sleep on sofas. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. V. IF the chivalrous and knightly character of the Austrian Em- peror reminds one of ancient rather than modern times, that of the Prince of Wales, on the other hand, must be re- garded as thoroughly in keeping with the present age. Eng- land's future King is exceedingly what the French describe as ''Jin de siccW" (end of the century), whereas Francis Joseph would be set down by many as an old-fashioned man. The one is the knight of the Round-Table epoch, the other the gentleman of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and possessing all the merits and a few of the vices of the English club-man of to-day. That the Prince is quite as fully imbued as others with the sacred character of Royalty is clearly to be seen from the harsh and cuttino- manner in which he has resented his sister Louise's marriage to Lord Lome and that of Princess Beatrice to the Hebrew-descended Henry of Battenberg. While, however, he loses no opportunity of making these two brothers-in-law of his feel the impassable gulf which separates his rank and station from theirs, he is most careful to conceal from the general public his opinions as to the divinity that hedges Kings and their offspring from the common herd. He possesses in the most marked degree that principal in- gredient of power, influence and success, namely tact, and it is to this particular that he owes his widespread popularity. I remember witnessinfr an amusing manifestation of this tact on the part of the Prince. The Right Honorable A. Il6 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. Mundella, who was born in England as the son of an exiled Carbonari, held for many years the leadership of the extreme Radical — nay, I might almost say, the Republican Party in the Kingdom. He was a bitter foe of Royalty, and as member of Parliament for Sheffield was always the first to protest against money being granted to the members of the Sover- eign's family. One autumn day the Prince and Princess of Wales happened to pass through Sheffield on their way to their Scotch castle at Abergeldie. Their train only halted for about ten minutes in the station — just long enough to change engines and to examine the wheels. But the Prince made good use of the time. Hearing that Mr. Mundella was on the platform of the station awaiting some friends, and that he was billed to deliver one of his usual inflammatory and almost revolutionary addresses in the afternoon, the Prince caused him to be summoned to the door of his saloon carriaofe. After shaking hands most heartily, he presented him to the Princess, who, following her husband's cue, was equally gra- cious to the Radical leader. The Prince thereupon ex- claimed : " I hear, my dear Mr. Mundella, that you are about to de- liver one of your eloquent addresses to your constituents this afternoon. I do wish you would oblige both the Princess and myself by availing yourself of that opportunity to inform the good people of Sheffield how sorry we are not to be able to stay here for a few days on our way north, and that you would tell them with what pleasure we look back to the royal and enthusiastic demonstrations with which they welcomed us on the occasion of our last visit." At that moment the engine whistled, the bell clanged and the royal train moved out of the station, leaving Mr. Mun- The Prince of Wales In Royal Attire. Il8 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. della bowing- low in response to the friendly smiles and waves of the hand of the Prince and Princess. That same after- noon he completely staggered his constituents by appearing in the guise of an emissary from Royalty, instead of that of its most bitter assailant. On rising to address the meeting, he began: "Gentlemen, I have been commissioned by their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales, to com- municate to you the following gracious message," which he then proceeded to deliver in his most unctuous and senten- tious manner. After such an opening it was obviously out of the question to expect him to deliver his customary dia- tribes against Royalty, and, like Balaam of old, he blessed those whom he had been summoned to curse. From that date forth Mr. Mundella's political sentiments underwent a considerable change. The ex-factory boy became a frequent guest at Marlborough-House, and in a short time became so much reconciled to the doctrines of Royalty that he aban- doned his hopes of a future Presidency of an eventual British Republic to become a Privy Councillor to the Queen. He has since held ofifice as Cabinet Minister, and according to present appearances will die a rabid and bigoted Tory of the old school. Hundreds of similar instances might be cited to illustrate the Prince's extraordinary tact. The latter is indeed one of the principal sources of his power in England, For although jealously debarred by his queenly mother from any active share in the Government of the nation, he wields a sover- eignty of his own creation, — an extremely beneficial one in many respects — which is far more powerful and autocratic than hers. Its character is of a social nature, and he is able to decree either the social success or the social death of THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. II9 any one that may attract his notice. A few quiet hints as to the fact that he objects to some particular individual is suffi- cient to cause the social ostracism of the latter, whereas a word of commendation from his lips is all that is needed to become a fair leader of society. It is he alone who has made the social position of the Rothschilds in London, and that, too, within the last fifteen years. Before that they were kept out- side the pale of the social world, whereas now they are be- coming its leaders. Baron Hirsch, the Hebrew millionaire, is another case in point. His financial dealings with the Sub- lime Porte and with other Governments were of so exceed- ingly unsavory a nature that, notwithstanding all the efforts of the Orleans Princes to secure his election, he was black- balled by the Paris Jockey Club. The Prince, however, took him up a short time ago and pitchforked him into the whirl- pool of London society, of which he has now become a shin- ing light. The financier whose reputation was considered as being too shady to admit of his election to the Paris Jockey Club has been honored in London with the exceedingly rare privilege of the private entree at Buckingham Palace, and has blossomed forth into an honored guest, not only at Marl- borough-House, but also at the mansions of men so exclusive as the Dukes of Richmond and Westminster, which the Prince frequents. I mention these cases to show the Prince's ex- traordinary social power, an autocracy which, all things con- sidered, has been of a beneficent and fortunate nature. Good-natured almost to a fault, his otherwise sound judgment and common-sense become sometimes warped by the in- sidious influences of unworthy friends. When his record comes to be written in the Great Book, I think that it will be found that the chief and almost only I20 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. wrong-doings of this most happy and pleasure-loving Prince will be on the score of bad companionship. It is, however, impossible to retain any notions as to the divine or sacred character of his Royalty when hearing of him as bandying witticisms of a rather risque nature with sprightly French actresses, and absorbing a hearty midnight supper in some boulevard restaurant with a few boon companions. More- over, it seems to me rather incongruous that right reverend fathers in God, such as the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, should ever be called upon to kiss the hand which has a moment before clasped that of some frail queen of the opera bouffe ; and rather than attempt to force myself to re- gard his jovial Royal Highness with the awe and veneration due to an anointed of the Lord, if not in esse, at any rate in fuhu'o, I prefer to continue to consider him in the light of a warm-hearted friend, as an honorable and kindly gentleman in every sense of the word, and as a man whom, either as Prince or peasant, any one would be proud and happy to pos- sess as a friend. With traits of character such as these, it is only natural that he should be exceedingly popular with all classes. Indeed it is open to question whether the English people do not prefer the presence to the absence of his faults. For the latter are those of a generous, pleasure-loving nature, and without these " petits vices,''' as the French call them, he would run the risk of being regarded with the same disfavor as his father, the Prince Consort, whose blameless life and faultless char- acter led to his being considered by the English people at large as something of a prig. On the whole, they are right to view the faults of the Royal Welshman with indulgence. For, aside from the natural dis- Princess Victoria of Wales. 122 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. inclination to provoke outbursts of ill-temper on the part of so good-humored and jovial-hearted a Prince, there is a uni- versal disposition to abstain from all individual criticism or censure of his conduct. He lives in an atmosphere of such loyalty that it may almost be described as sycophancy, and although he may be made the object of collective and indirect criticism from those who do not come into actual contact with him, yet there is no one who ventures personally to point out to him the right and wrong of his ways. If he has remained an honorable and true-hearted gentleman, and if his record is free from all but mere venial sins, it is due to his own sound common-sense, his innate honesty of purpose, and his in- grained horror of everything that is mean and vulgar. And with reeard to this distinction between collective and Individ- ual criticism, it is well to bear in mind that all the sentiments which foreigners are disposed to regard as indicating dis- loyalty and latent Republicanism in England are merely col- lective, and not individual. The average every-day English- man is at heart as much a snob now as he was in the days when Thackeray held him up to the ridicule of the world. There is no son of John Bull who is not susceptible to the influence of rank, and perhaps the best illustration that can be aiven thereof is the mention of the fact that the Reverend Lord Normanby has been obliged to resign the rectorship of his parish at Worsley owing to the influx of corpses. Since the excellent parson's succession to his father's title five years ago, everybody that could possibly afford it in the neighboring towns and districts seemed to have given directions before dying that their funeral should take place at Worsley, so that they might enjoy the post-mortem satisfaction of having a real marquis read the burial service over their bodies. As long THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 123 as sentiments such as these prevail in England the days of republicanism are far off. At any rate the Prince has a most excellent influence on the English people, and has done more g'ood than can be recorded here, both to the classes, and to the masses. I am perfectly aware that my assertions with regard to the beneficial character of the influence of the Prince of Wales upon English life will sound strange to the ears of those who have been accustomed to regard the eldest son of Queen Vic- toria as responsible for most of the loose screws that appear in the social system of Great Britain, and that they will be dis- inclined to believe that he has ever contributed in any way to the amelioration of the character, the behavior, and the morals of John Bull. If, however, the Englishman of to-day is more respectable, less coarse and boorish, and more correct both in feeling and manner — an improvement which no one will venture to deny — it is mainly attributable to the Prince of Wales. Up to the time when the latter commenced his social reign in 1863, heavy drinking at dinner after the ladies had left the table was the invariable rule, and the phrase " as drunk as a lord," a term not of reproach but of praise. Inebriety was not con- sidered as a vice — nay, not even as bad form ; and but small respect or consideration was accorded by society to the man who could not dispose of the traditional " three bottles at a sitting." Of course the example thus set by the classes was followed and adopted in a still more intensified degree by the masses, the only difference consisting in the character and the quality of the liquor. Indeed, during the early portion of the reign of Queen Victoria, the drunkenness in Great Britain was something 124 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. perfectly appalling-. The very marked decline of that vice — which was formerly regarded as a peculiarly English failing — is due to the Prince of Wales. It is entirely owing to the influ- ence of that social despot that hard drinking is no longer countenanced by society ; and as in everything else so also in this the masses follow in the steps of the classes. Drunken- ness is now regarded as being bad form in the banqueting halls of the Peer, as well as in the back parlor of the small shopkeeper, in the smoking-room of the crack London Clubs as in the cafe or barroom of the suburban "pub" or gin- mill. Swearino- and coarse lanofuacre too have o-one out of fashion. Neither Lord nor commoner deems it necessary any longer to preface every remark with an oath or to interlard each sen- tence with blood-curdling blasphemy. This change for the better is, like the decrease of hard drinkine, attributable to the Prince of Wales. One of the very best features of the Eng- lish people is the respect which they, one and all, manifest towards the ordinances of the Church. It may be that there is more conventionality than real heart-felt religion in the attitude of many of them, but be the motives and causes what they may, the result achieved is an excellent one. For regular attendance at church is certain to exercise an influence far more benefi- cial than injurious, and the moral tone of a nation which has been brought by its social autocrat to look upon this regular attendance at church as a sine qua non of respectability, can- not be considered otherwise than as healthy in the extreme. Now this church-going is but another instance of the potency of the Prince's influence. He makes a point of never miss- ing to put in an appearance at church at least once every THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 125 Sunday. The classes have scrupulously followed his example in the matter, and so too again have the masses. Anent this phase of the Prince's character nothing can be more amusintr than to watch him when at Sandrineham mar- shalling his guests off to church on Sunday morning. Shortly before eleven he will make his appearance in the hall, and chaffingly order everybody nolens volens to get ready for church. Those who happen to belong to the Catholic creed are sent off in carriages to King's-Lynn, while the Church of England people walk through the Park to the small but exceedingly pretty little church which the Prince had built on his Norfolk estate. He will invariably remain in the hall until he has seen the whole party off, and will then bring up the rear guard himself, keeping a sharp lookout for stragglers. I do not desire to be regarded in any way as an apologist of the Prince — the kindest, most considerate and thoughtful of friends. For an apology always implies evil perpetrated. But I should like to show the Prince as he really is : I may claim to know something about him, much more probably than those who, without any personal or direct knowledge of the man, have so systematically blackened his reputation, both in speech and print. Among all those persons who are so especially ready to write and repeat stories of the Prince's profligacy and depravity there is very likely not a single one who has been personally acquainted with him, or who knew of his mode of life otherwise than by hearsay. The best criterion of a man's character is furnished by his home life, and writing from personal experience I do not believe that in all the broad lands of old Eng-land, there exists a more unaffected, happy, and altogether charming home than that of the Prince of Wales at Sandrinorham. There are 126 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. doubtless many country houses as luxurious and some more magnificent, but there is hardly another where so much com- fort is united with such exquisite taste and refinement. It is the Prince himself who welcomes the arriving guests in the hall, and who, after taking you off to the Princess's room on the ground floor for refreshment in the shape of five o'clock tea, brings you upstairs himself to your room, in order to see that you have everything you want. Nor will he leave you until he has rungr the bell and instructed one of the servants to specially attend to your wants and comforts. Dinner, which usually takes place at a number of small round tables, each laid for a party of six or eight at the very most, does not usually last more than an hour, for the Prince, although a great gourmet, hates long and overloaded menus. After the ladies have retired to the drawing rooms, the men remain to discuss a glass of claret and smoke a cigarette ; then they join the ladies. At about midnight the latter withdraw, while the men accompany the Prince to the smoking and billiard rooms. One of the favorite o-uests at Sandrin^ham is the American Duchess of Manchester, whose infamous treatment by her late husband had aroused the sympathy of both the Prince and Princess in her behalf Everything that both of them could possibly invent to brighten her unhappy lot was done, and I should imagine that some of the very best moments of her otherwise sorrowful life have been spent under the roof of her kind-hearted and considerate friends, the Prince and Princess of Wales. She is usually accompanied by one or more of her children. Children indeed, and young people in general, constitute one of the most attractive features of the house-parties at Sandringham, and the Prince is seen at his best when among them. I remember often silendy wishing THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 127 that some of his calumniators could have the opportunity of watching him surrounded by a group of merry and affectionate children, in all of whose sports he is wont to join in the most boyish and unconstrained manner. For it is sufficient to banish from one's thoughts all unkindly feeling, as well as all belief in the stories which set him down as a selfish and heart- less libertine. Children are proverbially the best judges of character, and in order to form an estimation of the manner in which the Prince is regarded by them, it is only necessary to hear with what decree of tenderness all his numerous nephews and nieces talk of " Uncle Bertie." Another phase of the Prince's life which affords an indica- tion of his character is his behavior to the Princess. I am fully aware that there are many, on both sides of the At- lantic, who regard Her Royal Highness with feelings of com- miseration, and who look upon her as a woman deeply in- jured by the innumerable infidelities ascribed to the Prince. The pity of these sympathizers has been, however, alto- gether wasted, for I do not know of any couple who through- out thirty years of married life have maintained such intimate and loving relations to one another — relations which consti- tute the best refutation of all the calumnies circulated about the Prince. When at Sandringham, and at Marl borough- House, the Royal Couple invariably occupy the same room — a trivial bit of information, yet indicative of the feelings that exist between husband and wife. For it is manifest that had one-thousandth part of the stories about the Prince's de- pravity been true, the Princess, who is a woman of far more spirit than she is credited with, would never tolerate such intimacy. Quite a number of these stories owe their orig-in to ladies 128 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. who desire to have their names coupled with his. It is per- fectly impossible for any one who has not witnessed it to con- ceive the absolutely flagrant manner in which ladies, even of the highest rank, set their caps at him and hunt him down like a quarry. At balls, garden parties, race meetings, etc., the whole aim of the fair sex present is to have their presence noticed by the Heir Apparent, who, apart from his power as autocrat of English society, possesses the most gracious and winsome manner imaginable. He has the reputation, and justly so, of being an admirer of the fair sex, and hence the members of the latter are wont to put forth all their charms and wiles in attempts to obtain the privilege of basking in the Royal Sunshine. Nothing can be more entertaining than to watch one of these fair ones with cheeks flushed and eyes charged with magnetism, bendinof forward to the Prince. " No harm meant " — but they are prepared to go many lengths to obtain, and after that to retain the special favor and good will of the genial despot. The Prince, who is the es- sence of good nature, seldom repels these gushing demon- strations of the dame, and the result is that fresh stories are hinted forth to the effect that the Lady A, or Mrs. B, has become another victim of His Royal Highness's depravity. Many persons on reading this will feel disposed to inter- rupt me with the remark, " But what about Lady Mordaunt ? " In reply thereto I would merely draw their attention to the fact that the Prince declininof to avail himself of his leo-al im- munities and privileged station voluntarily entered the wit- ness box, submitted both to examination and cross-examina- tion by counsel, and was finally acquitted by a jury composed of his countrymen. Like many members of London society, he is on terms of friendship with Lady Mordaunt as well as THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 129 with her sisters, the Countess of Dudley, the Duchess of Athole, and Lady Forbes. In consequence of the etiquette which prohibits the presence of any other visitors during a Royal afternoon call, the Prince generally saw Lady Mor- daunt alone, and hence had peculiar difficulty in justifying himself. He was placed in an exceptionally painful position from which he issued with flying colors and increased popu- larity. While on the subject of the Prince's appearance before Courts of Justice, it may be as well to say a few words con- cerning the circumstances which led to his only other acte de pi'esence in the witness box. Of course, I refer to the much- discussed baccarat scandal. While it is quite possible and even probable that the unfortunate and impardonable be- havior of the Wilson family in the matter was prompted by a malice and a hatred towards Sir William Gordon Cumming, which prevented them from acting with either discretion, tact or hospitality in the affair, it is altogether a mistake to waste any sympathy upon the Baronet, But few people are aware of the fact that when the charge of cheating at cards brought against him first became known, his brother officers of the Scots Guards Reeiment met together and offered him to form themselves into a private and non-official Court of Inquiry. They added that the honor of the Regiment was at stake and that on this ground as well as on that of old comradeship tliey were anxious that he should furnish them with means of con- vincine all others of their firm belief in his innocence, thus enabling each officer of the corps to become a champion of his (Gordon Cumming's) cause, and of his honor. Notwith- standing their assurance that the inquiry should be conducted with entire secrecy and not as an official investigation, but as I30 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. a private endeavor on the part of a number of good and true fellows to get a friend out of a scrape into which he had be- come involved by signing the promise never to play cards again. Sir William declined the offer. It was then, and then only, that his fellow-officers and former friends cut loose from him, for his refusal was equivalent to a confession of guilt. Moreover, I doubt whether many women will continue to feel sympathy for him when they learn that his habit of bragging about his gallantries and his liaisons had led to his being dubbed in London with the significant nickname of "Wil- liam Tell." Far from ever being guilty of disloyalty to a friend — a charee which was brought against him In connection with Sir William Gordon Gumming, the Prince's one great fault throughout his life has been that his loyalty has led him to cling to friends that have proved themselves unworthy of the honor, and to persist in closing his eyes to the shortcomings on their part that were patent to everybody else. No man that I have ever known has stuck more closely and loyally to his friends, a fact In itself sufficient to win for him the good will of every one possessed of proper feeling. Every mem- ber of his large household, from Lords-in-waiting and equer- ries, down to the very lowest stable-help and under-gardener, has been In his employ for ten, twenty, and in more than one case even thirty years. Few people who enter the service of the Prince either care or are forced to leave It, save only when they cover themselves with terrible disgrace, such as In the altogether exceptional case of Lord Arthur Somerset. The Prince of Wales when he comes to the throne will be an ideal constitutional Sovereign, far more so even than Queen Victoria, for whereas the latter has repeatedly manifested her THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. I3I very strong- preferences for the Tories, the Prince has never throughout his long career furnished the shghtest indication as to his poHtical inchnations. Neither his friends and ac- quaintances, nor yet the pubHc, have the remotest idea whether his tendencies are in the direction of the Conserva- tives or in that of the Liberals. Indeed no one can even boast 'of knowing how the Prince feels on the subject of Irish Home Rule. He displays just as much good-will, courtesy and attention towards Mr, and Mrs. Gladstone, as towards Lord and Lady Salisbury, and not a birthday of the Grand Old Man has ever been permitted to pass by without his re- ceiving a kindly telegram of good-will and congratulation from the Prince, whom the venerable Statesman, so often subjected to unmerited neglect by the Queen, must long to hail as King- before called upon to intone his Nunc Diniittis. This extra- ordinary impartiality displayed by the Prince in all political matters — a characteristic in which he offers a most strikino- contrast to every other Prince of Wales who has ever stood on the steps of the Throne — must not be in any way ascribed to indifference, for the Heir Apparent is far too good and true a Briton, to remain unmoved or uninterested by the political questions of his day. There is no more familiar figure than his, seated in the Peer's Gallery whenever an im- portant debate takes place In the House of Commons, and it is with every appearance of the most keen attention that he leans forward, his irreproachably gloved hands folded in one another, and resting on the balcony rail as he gazes down on the oftentimes tumultuous scene below. Moreover the For- eign Office in accordance with his request is wont to forward to Marlborough-House a copy of every despatch received or sent that is submitted to the Queen. There is every reason 133 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. to believe therefore that the Pnnce is quite as keen a politi- cian as the majority of Englishmen, and under the circum- stances the fact that he should have even in the moments of greatest popular excitement been able to maintain a de- meanor so impassive that no one could discover the direction of his sentiments affords an extraordinary and striking illus- tration of his wonderful power of self-control, of his marvel- lous tact, and his altogether unparalleled obedience to that un- written clause of the British Constitution which demands strict political impartiality on the part of the Sovereign either in esse or in futuro. Throughout the last five and twenty years there has not bee« a single philanthropic or charitable enterprise of any importance which has not been indebted to the Prince of Wales for vital assistance, and in numerous cases for initia- tion. He renders charity and philanthropy fashionable, and many hundreds of thousands of pounds have been devoted by wealthy persons to good works in the knowledge that there was no surer road to the Prince's favor than unstinted and free-handed charity. It was with the object of pleasing the Prince that Sir Francis Cook, the London merchant, crave «^200,ooo towards the endowment of a home for girls attend- ing the Royal College of Music, and it was with the same purpose in view that the great building contractor, Sir Thomas Lucas, constructed and presented a building worth another ^200,000 for use as the home in question. Both men earned the Prince's good will, which took the form of a couple of Baronetcies. The number of hospitals which have been founded by the Heir Apparent, or which have been assisted by him either with direct donation or with appeals to the pub- lic, reaches over a hundred, and up to this time the Prince has THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 133 brought into life no less than forty Orphanages. Moreover, he is responsible, in a great measure, for the enormous devel- opment of the art of industry and trade which has followed the various national and international exhibitions held in Great Britain under the patronage, and in many cases, under the personal and active direction of the Heir Apparent, With such a record as the one which I have attempted to describe, it is impossible to do otherwise than to admit the claims of the Prince to have a place not alone in the hearts of his countrymen, but also in the history of the nation. His life, which may at first sight appear to superficial observers frivo- lous, useless, and altogether wasted in selfish pleasures, will now bear a different aspect in their eyes. Few men, and certainly no Princes, are able to have the consciousness of having done so much, both directly and indirectly, to improve the condition of their fellow-creatures — aye, and of the dumb animals as well. While no one will ever dream of attempt- ing to canonize Albert Edward, and to Include him in the list of more or less reputable Saints when he dies, I venture to assert that he will figure on the pages of the Great Book with far more good to his record than many a man with a greater reputation for Saintliness. The life of the Prince is an extremely useful one to his fellow-countrymen to whom he devotes it, and the benefits of his long work in their behalf are likely to endure, not alone in tlieir hearts, but also in let- ters of gold on some of the brightest pages of the History of England. More than any other Englishman, either in official or pri- vate life, is the Prince an advocate of the maintenance of the closest possible relations between Great Britain and the United States. His sentiments toward the latter seem to 134 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. have dated from the period of his visit to America. One of the most memorable incidents of this visit by-the-by was when he, the grandson of King George III, bowed his head in prayer before the tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon, and subsequently planted a tree in the adjoining ground for the purpose of commemorating his pilgrimage to that historic spot. No non-English people ever receive a more hearty welcome at Marlborough House than Americans, whom he prefers to regard not as foreigners but as kinsmen. Indeed, so marked is the predilection which he manifests for the so- ciety of Americans that his own subjects frequently allude to Marlborough House as the "Yankee Mecca." A peculiarity of the Prince of Wales is the amazing fashion in which he keeps a clear head under the most trying circum- stances. The following amusing account, of which the truth is vouched for, is given of the scene which took place with the Prince on the occasion of the earthquake along the Riviera. It appears that His Royal Highness had come back in the early morning from a dance, and after a quiet half cigar on the balcony — the night was exquisite — had gone to bed and very soon fell asleep. The hotel was silent, as usual, the only sound upon the air being the distant rumble of the bag- gage-car on its way to the station, and the occasional wail of a coy de chasse, which some niofht-walkino- wretch down on the Promenade de la Croisette was fitfully and tipsily blowing. And then all of a sudden came the earthquake. Every room in the hotel groaned with its walls, creaked with its floor and rattled with its furniture. All the dogs in it howled together, and the noisy macaw in the manager's office screeched at the top of his voice. Then came a lull, as sudden as the disturb- THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. I35 ance, and the smothered sound of many slippered feet and soft rustHng dressing-gowns were hurrying along the corridors and down the marble stairs. And the Prince ? At the first suggestion of danger his faithful equerry, Col. Clarke, bounded out of bed, and making his way across the smoking saloon knocked at the door of the Prince's bedroom : "What's the matter? " asked a drowsy voice. "There's an earthquake come, Sir," was the shouted reply. " Then why didn't you send it away ? " was the Royal answer. " Won't you come outside. Sir ? " "Outside? No, certainly not. I'm in bed. Go away." The equerry, his duty performed, followed the hurrying crowd out into the open air, under the deep blue sky and tranquil stars. After an hour of this peaceful scene, alarm died away and every one had returned to the hotel to dress when the second shock came, driving them all out again into the orarden. The equerry's thoughts again at once flew to the sleeping Prince. The Heir Apparent to the Throne of Great Britain was, in a measure, in his special charge. How had he ac- quitted himself of his sacred stewardship ? A twinge of con- science made him feel uncomfortable as he sat out there in the still garden on an inverted watering-pot, expecting the tall chimneys of the diplomat's house across the square to come toppling down over him. He had not aroused the Prince at the second shock. So he got up, returned to the hotel, and, passing through the public rooms — His Royal Highness was on the ground floor, in a sort of annex, that projected into a private flower-planted court — reached the Prince's door and knocked. There was no response. He 136 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. knocked again. Still no answer. A third, louder than be- fore, loud enough in fact to rouse all the seven sleepers. But still no answerinor voice. And then the horrid truth, sudden as was the earthquake shock, flashed into the wretched equerry's mind. Something was wrong. Had the Prince perished ? In an instant he had flung the door open and dashed across the ante- room. The curtains at the door of the bed chamber were drawn close together. With a frenzied hand he seized them and drew them apart. As he did so, something, but whether an aerolite, a thunder-bolt, or a falling beam, he knew not, struck him full in the face. Strange lights danced before his eyes. His head swam, and in a momentary faintness he leant against the door. But the next moment a voice fell on his ear, grave and reproachful : " Look here, Clarke, I won't have any more of this, and if you don't shut up making that beastly row and let me go to sleep, I'll shy the other boot at you." The Prince does not as a rule, I must confess, find the at- mosphere of the continental courts congenial, and he fails to hit it off with any of the Monarchs now reigning. He does not get on well for any length of time with his nephew, the Emperor of Germany. The Emperor of Austria, who was once fond of him, has become exceedingly cold and distant toward him since the scandal in connection with his attempt to force the company of Baron Hirsch upon the various members of the Austrian and Hungarian aristocracy, who made preparation to enter- tain him. Neither King Humbert nor the Czar, nor yet the young King of Portugal, has ever liked him, while it is antipathy THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 137 rather than sympathy that exists between King Leopold and his Enghsh cousin, the Prince of Wales. With all this, few people enjoy more universal popularity among the people at large in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and Rome, than the British Heir Apparent. The reason of the ill-will, manifested in a more or less silent fashion by the various Monarchs of Europe toward the Royal Welshman, is attributable mainly to the fact that they, one and all, regard him as too careless of his princely dignity, and altogether too free and easy and sans facon. The fact is that the Prince of Wales is altofrether too un- affected and too \\X,\\^ poseur to suit their tastes. Continental rulers are almost invariably in uniform, belted, spurred, sabred and decorated, and that the Prince should prefer a pot hat, a shooting jacket and a cane to regimentals is to them altogether inexplicable. They seem to like what may be termed the theatrical and decorative part of their work. They want to show the peo- ple that they govern, and from morning to evening they are at "attention," in full regimentals. The majority of them would no more think of going about their capitals without some distinctive mark of their rank than Leo XIII. would of taking off his white cassock and of don- ning a derby hat and tweed suit for a stroll on the Corso, with a cigarette between his lips. Pomp, parade and show are the very breath of their life, whereas there is nothino- that the Prince of Wales detests so much. He is far more of the world than one who aims to be above the world. Ceremony and all the theatrical portion of Royalty are to him an insufferable bore, and he infinitely prefers a good cigar and a chat with a pretty woman or a 138 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. clever man to galloping about, reviewing troops or presiding over state functions. In a word, the Prince of Wales, in the eyes of the Conti- nental Sovereigns, permits his role as the private gentleman and the leader of society to encroach too largely on his Royal dignity. In this, however, it is he who is right, and they who are wrong, for, as the arbiter of English society, of the entire so- cial system of the British Empire, the Prince exercises a far greater and more real power than any foreign despot. The very strongest proof of the truth of my assertion is furnished by the acknowledged fact that he is able to maintain his rank and to possess intimate friends among his future sub- jects without being forced to adopt any of the safeguards that are needed by the European Monarchs to protect their dignity from the presumption and impertinence of inferiors. There are few European Sovereigns who venture to address a subordinate in rank without imparting to their voice and to their manner a kind of condescending tone, with a view of thoroughly keeping the person with whom they are speaking at a distance and in his proper place. There are some potentates indeed who even go so far as to assume almost a baby voice, as if speaking to a child, when addressing an inferior and wishing to be particularly amiable and pleasant. With the Prince of Wales, however, there is no necessity for any such manoeuvres as these. He has no need of affectine condescension, and when he does condescend, he conceals the fact with the greatest deli- cacy and tact. With all this, he is the last to tolerate pre- THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 1 39 sumption, but so careful and so diplomatic is his manner that he has scarcely ever been exposed thereto. Cards are not the only amusement patronized by the Prince of Wales. He is exceedingly fond of shooting, and a first- rate shot. Hq contrives, however, to get the largest amount of sport possible with the least amount of exertion. His per- sonal attendants are given the benefit of most of the exercise, and His Royal Highness gets the fun. Unconsciously, the Heir Apparent is most exacting when out for a day's shooting, and wants more waiting upon than a woman in delicate health. " Just do this," and " Just do that," are his constant commands, and the end of the day finds his victims weary beyond expression and fit for nothing but bed. The joke is that the Prince always looks perfectly innocent of the undue demands he is making upon the endurance of those about him, and having escaped all exertion himself, cannot understand how it is that his companions are so fatigued. The Prince never liked cricket, at least never since the date of a memorable game organized specially for his entertain- ment shordy after he took up his residence at Sandringham, about five and twenty years ago. It was in this match that the Prince was to make his debut as a cricketer, and all the local magnates were present. It was Mr. Charles Wright who was the captain of the eleven opposing that of the Prince. Before the game commenced Mr. Wright carefully coached each one of his men on the necessit)^ of letting the Prince have a chance and of helping him to run up a nice litde score, which might conduce to that self-satisfaction so essential to enthusiasm in any pursuit. 140 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. All went well until the Prince came to take his innings, when, Mr. Wright being the bowler, either forgetting his elaborate cautions to others, or else unable to resist the temptation to add to his fame, incontinently bowled his future King out with the first ball, and so ended forever the hopes of the Prince of Wales's patronage for the cricket fraternity. The Prince could never be prevailed upon to play again. Among the idiosyncrasies of the Prince of Wales, which those about to make his acquaintance would do well to know, is his invincible horror of black ties with evening dress. The sight of a man thus arrayed at any entertainment which he may happen to attend is sufficient to upset and to sour him for the entire evening, and in his eyes it is an unpardonable infraction of the laws of orood taste and orood form. The rural home at Sandrino-ham of the Heir to the Throne of Britain lies in the warm sheltered hollow behind the range of low-wooded bluffs that line the southern marorin of the Wash. From the low-lying station of Wolferton the road traversed by the visitors to Sandringham Hall gradually as- cends through a region, the natural bleakness and barrenness of which is slowly and reluctantly yielding before the per- sistent energy of taste and skill. Carefully tended young plantations of fir and birch stud the undulating expanse of scrub and heather, and the quaint rustic gables of the " Folly " peep out from the heart of a clump of sturdy evergreens, backed up by well-grown and vigorous young pines, by the edge of which the Princess's favorite drive wends away to the left through the bushy copses of the Josceline wood that mantles the indented crest and undulating summit of the up- land ridge, looming down over the intermediate low-lying fields, farmsteadings and plantations upon the broad bosom The Duke and Duchess of Fife. 142 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. of the great estuary. Presently the heather gives place to greensward, and the pine thickets are succeeded by the mossy boles and spreading branches of fine ancestral oaks and beeches, which but partially screen the view of the wide- stretching expanse of the home park, where the deer are pas- turing in the elades, and the water, set in a cincture of lux- uriant evergreens, gleams mirror-like in still glassy pools, or sparkles and tumbles over the picturesque rockwork of red- dish brown. Close on the left rises the hoary square tower of the quaint little Sandringham Church, within whose walls Prince and peasant worship together in the modest God's acre, surrounding which rest side by side the mortal remains of the babe of the blood royal and the child of the peasant. There is a glimpse, over the sward and the water and the rockwork, of the long, picturesquely broken garden front of the Hall — a mere passing gleam of warm red, here and there, hidden in the loving embrace of the dark-green ivy ; and then with a wide sweep the road turns the corner of the park, the beautiful " Norwich Gates," with their delicate ironwork tracery, are passed, and there remains but a short drive along a broad, straight avenue, lined on either side bv massive old trees, to the principal entrance of the Hall. At a glance it is apparent that Sandringham is no stately palace where com- fort is a secondary consideration to splendor, where sumptu- ous suits of apartments bear the chilling impress of being un- inhabited and uninhabitable; but a veritable English home, designed not for show, but to be lived in, every detail elo- quent of unostentatious taste and refined domesticity. The keynote to the theme of didce domimi (home, sweet home) is struck on the very threshold. In the inner wall of the vesti- bule above the Hall door is set a tablet bearing the inscription; THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. I43 In old English characters: "This house was built by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and Alexandra, his wife, in the year of our Lord 1870." The home-savor of Sandringham begins from the very door-step, for there is no formal entrance-hall. The vestibule is simply a part and portion of the great salon which may be called the family parlor of the house. This noble apartment has a lofty roof of open oakwork ; its walls are covered with pictures, and its area is almost encumbered with cosy chairs, occasional tables, pictures on easels, musi- cal instruments, flowers in stands, flowers in pots, flowers in vases, and a thousand and one pretty trifles, each one of which has an association and a history linked to it. Peering out from under the palm-fronds are two miniature cannon, which were a present from the late Emperor to the Royal children. Above Count Zichy's charming sketch in water colors, illustrative of the various phases of home-life at Sand- ringham, is a large picture of the birthplace of the Princess. Over the fire-place is Borlasc's oil painting of the Prince and Princess, with two of their children. The King and Queen of Denmark look down from the walls on the scene of the afternoon romp of their English grandchildren. On one of the round tables stands the casket in which the Sandringham tenantry inclosed their address of congratulation on the Prince's safe return from India. Above the arch of the vesti- bule facing the main entrance is fixed the beautiful, fierce head of the Chillingham bull, shot by the Prince in 1872, with Scott's fervid lines underneath : " Fierce on the hunter's quivered band He rolls his eye of swarthy glow, Spurns with black hoof and horn the sand- And tosses high his mane of snow." 144 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. From the salon opens the business room, occupied by Gen- eral Sir Dighton Probyn, V. C, the Controller of the Prince's household, and by Sir Francis Knollys, His Royal Highness's Private Secretary ; and in this room it is where the Prince transacts his correspondence, gives interview to other than social visitors, sees his tenants on questions of improvements — for Plis Royal Highness shirks none of the obligations of a landed proprietor — and gives his personal instructions to his land steward, gardener and head-keeper. A plain room, furnished in a plain and business-like style, this apartment has for its sole embellishment a few portraits, among which may be mentioned those of the late Admiral Rous and of Field Marshal Lord Napier, of Magdala. On the right of the vestibule, as one enters the house, lies the library ; a pleasant room in blue and light oak, the shelves of which are filled with books belonging almost exclusively to the departments of history and travels. A whole compart- ment is devoted to works on the Crimean War, another to books — many of which are hard reading enough — on India, both British and native. The " Greville Memoirs " are sand- wiched between the " Nelson Dispatches " and the " Narra- tive of the Euphrates Expedition," and the " Seven Weeks' War" is in close proximity to the "Rise of the Mahometan Power in India." Through the equerry's room, the next of the suit, is reached the second library, which might appro- priately bear the name of the " Serapis Room," for it is full of the belongings of His Royal Highness during his voyages in the big troop-ship, and the familiar feathers in gold between the initials " A. E." meet the eye everywhere. This room opens into the vestibule of the garden-entrance, which, by reason of its proximity to the drawing-rooms, is THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. I45 always used on ball nights. From the main corridor stretch- ing to the great staircase there open, on the right, the princi- pal reception rooms ; but before these are reached there is passed the Prince's private morning room, a family room, pure and simple. The admixture of feminine and masculine tastes, of which this pretty room is, more than others in the house, an exemplar, speaks eloquently of lives blended in an accord of close-knit domesticity. The walls of cool neutral tint are partly decorated with rare china and pottery, pardy paneled with crayon pictures of deer-stalking episodes in the Highlands by the most celebrated English painters of our day. A large windowed projection, which is in part a lounge, in part a boudoir, and in part a writing-room, is half partitioned off from the rest of the room by a screen devoted to the dis- play of family photographs. A truss of mignonette trees, with lilies of the valley blossoming around the bushy stem, half hides the panel on which Leighton's brush has depicted " The Bringing the Deer Home ; " the spreading skin of a huge tiger, shot by the Prince in India, lies on a quilt-carpet of patchwork, which was a tribute of loving respect to the Princess from the children of one of the schools she finds time to foster with so much personal attention. From this room a door opens into the ante-room of the great drawing-room, a pretty little apartment in French grey, having for its chief ornament a large picture of the Emperor of Russia and the Prince driving together in a sledge, whose three horses, in a furious gallop, are fore-shortened with great skill and fine effect. The principal drawing-room, like all the rooms on this side of the house, looks out into the park, across the flower beds, water and rockery, to where the andered deer are browsing 146 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. in the beech-glades. It is a room of fine proportions, the walls of which are in a pale salmon color, and its fixed decorations are studiously simple, consisting merely of a few mirrors placed panelwise, some floral mouldings, a painted ceiling and a single group of statuary. Mme. Jerichau's '' Bathing Girls " embrace each other on a pedestal, from around the base of which flowers and blossoming exotic shrubs rear the glories of their bloom and the quieter hue of their foliage against the pale marble. The sweet scent of spring violets nestling among moss perfumes the air, and there are flowers every- where ; indeed the whole house is a floral bovver, for the Prin- cess is passionately fond of flowers, and literally lives among them. A door-window of the drawing-room " gives " on a small domed conservatory projecting from the garden front of the house. Here the arched fronds of the palms form a sombre glory over the pedestal, upon which Jerichau's two white marble children press lip to lip within an encircling thicket of flowers, in which the orange of the euphorbia, the pale rose of the calanthe, the wax-like trusses of the white hyacinth, the gleaming scarlet of the poinsetia, the blushing purple of the primula, and the fair pale sweetness of the lily of the valley at once vie and blend with each other. En suite with the drawing-room is the dining-room, a warm-tinted, genial-looking room, suggestive of comfort in its every item. A great bow window expands from the centre of its front, whence the light streams in upon Landseer's " Mare and Foal " above the oaken side-board. Over the fire-place, where the logs are blazing on the wide open hearth, is a full-length por- trait of the Prince in the blue-and-eold of the Tenth Hussars. " Unzer Fritz " and his Princess flank Landseer's chcf-d'' ceiivre on either side, and life-size portraits of the Princesses Alice THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 147 and Louisa hang on either side of the door opening from the drawinof-room. From the dining-room the way leads through a " Corridor of Weapons," where the " white arms " of all ages are ar- ranged in elass-fronted cabinets on the walls, to the billiard- room. Here the walls are brightened by Leech's inimitable hunting sketches, and there are three-side windows, set in ivy, lookine out on the Italian wardens on the site of the old fish- ponds, and so athwart the park of the church. The annexed smokino-room is the ante-chamber to the lone vista of the bowling alley, lighted both from sides and roof, with raised seats at the upper end, whence ladies may look down on the tournament of their squires. Beyond the bowling alley is a little room over which Macdonald reigns supreme — the gun- room, in whose glass-fixed cupboards are arranged shooting- irons in bewildering number and variety. The chief adornment of the main staircase is a fine portrait in oils of the Princess in riding-dress. Immediately at the top of the stairs a door opens to the right of the school- room, a light, pleasant room, in which flowers and photo- graphs compete for elbow room with school books and story books. The impulse is to pause here in this sketchy descrip- tion of the interior of Sandringham Hall, lest the going further savor of intrusiveness. Yet it is hard to shun a refer- ence to that beautiful room on the same floor, with its pale salmon-colored and French-gray walls ; its pink and lace hangings round the deep bay of the bow window; its medley of old China, photographs, water colors, dwarf palms, flowers ; its thousand and one pretty knick-knacks ; its singing birds ; and with the indescribable, yet felt, although unseen, presence of delicate and refined womanhood which pervades the whole 148 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. of the exquisite chamber. This is the boudoir of the Princess — the room that so grew into the heart of Her Royal High- ness, because of early grateful memories associated with it, that when Sandrinorham Hall was rebuilt she made it her special stipulation that it should be reconstructed on " the ancient lines " in the minutest particular. No excuse is needed for an allusion to a room in the same corridor, be- cause of the deep historical interest which attaches to it. It is difficult, indeed, standing to-day in the big comfortable home-like' chamber, whither, through the open door, comes the sonof of the linnets in the Princess' dressino-room ; whither, through the open bay window in the great recess be- yond the crimson Priedieu on the further side of the bed, with its hangings of blue and white to correspond with the tapestry paper on the walls, is wafted on the breeze the fresh, briny scent of the sea — it is difficult to realize the scene to which these silent walls could bear witness ; the time when the Prince, on this same bed, battled for breath in the very straits of the dark valley, while his dearest kinsfolks were gathered around for the sad, solemn duty of bidding him a final farewell, while in the corridor hushed retainers wept for the imminent untimely fate of one not less loved than hon- ored, and while outside in the snow-slush grief-stricken labor- ing folk longed yet feared for tidings of their " master." Yet there in the ceiling- above the bed is the mark of the orifice whence projected the hook supporting the trapeze cunningly devised by Bentley, and by the aid of which the Prince, when on the slow and weary road towards convalescence, was wont to change his recumbent position, or pull himself up into a sitting posture. During the shooting season the routine of Sandringham THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 149 life has for variety little other than the change of scene and of sport. One day the Venue may be Flitcham for partridge- driving ; the next may be dedicated to the pheasants of the Commodore and Dersingham Woods; or the "hot corner" may be at the angle of Woodcock Wood, with the "Folly" as the luncheon rendezvous. The start is at 10.30, and, if there is any distance to be traversed, the gunners travel to the scene of their sport in the char-a-banc and wagonette. The Sandringham corps of beaters is forty strong, each mem- ber wearing a Norfolk smock-frock of brown fustian, with a number on a red badge. Luncheon is at two, served in a fuarquee in some convenient spot, and at this meal the Prin- cess, who drives to the trysting place her own four-in-hand team of pretty ponies, joins the gentlemen with the ladies who are her o-uests. Durinor die afternoon shootino-, which takes the homeward direction, the ladies walk, or ride on pony-back, with the guns. Afternoon tea, to which all the guests join in the saloon, is one of the great institutions of Sandringham home-life. M. Zichy has sketched the scene of charming informal domesticity with appreciative felicity. The Prince, tea cup in hand, stands with his back to the vestibule fire, one of his sons and a group of his male friends standing about him. The Princess is at the tea-table, with one of her daughters by her side and a number of guests of both sexes around the board. An adult gentleman with a mustache is obviously flirting with a young lady, over whose flaxen curls quite seven summers must have passed. From 6 to 7.30 the Prince addresses himself to correspondence and business in Sir Francis Knolles's room ; but indeed there is hardly an hour in the day which His Royal Highness devotes wholly to pleasure, for his land steward generally accompanies him in I50 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. shootinor excursions, at hand to note suo^ofestions as to im- provements which may occur to the Prince as he tramps over the estate. It is reputed of the Prince in Norfolk that no landlord in the country is better acquainted with the details of his property, and with a greater zeal for its improvement. The dinner hour is 8 London time, 8.30 Sandringhani time, for the Prince will have Sandringham time half an hour fast, the better to insure "taking time by the forelock." On the dinner table the chief decorations are flowers brought fresh every night from the region of glass and heated air. On the birthday of His Royal Highness, afternoon tea gives place to a visit to the stable-yard, in one of the coach-houses of which all the laborers on the estate, some two hundred in number, are entertained at a " square meal " of the most substantial character. On the night of the same day occurs the annual country ball ; while on the night of the Princess' birthday is given the annual tenants' ball, to which are bidden not alone the tenantry of the Sandringham estate but representative tenants from the various properties which the Prince has visited in his shooting expeditions. The Sunday is the most characteristic day of the week at Sandringham. After luncheon the whole house-party walk out past the "Bachelor's Cottage," which is now being or- ganized as a separate residence for the Duke of York, to the kennels. A flock of foreign goats immediately beset the Princess, wise in their generation and in the full expectancy of tid-bits. There is a leisurely stroll through the pheasantry and along the snugly sheltered cages in which are housed the Nepaulese birds which were one of Sir Jung Bahadoor's gifts. The bear-pit looked down into, and the bears coaxed to climb the pole, the dogs claim attention. The noble Plima- THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 151 layan deerhounds are clamorous for liberation, and effusively grateful when that has been accorded — a boon which Her Royal Highness may extend to the shaggy Scotch terriers which have greeted her so noisily. The monkey-house can- not be passed over; and then the party, with multitudinous dogs as eclaireurs, stroll away to the gardens. New Indian plants developing unexpected characteristics; cacti from Rangoon flourishing like green bay trees, and rare flora from South America putting forth quaintly beautiful blossoms. From the hot-houses and gardens the pleasant peregrination is pursued to the farm-yard, where there is quite as great an embarras de richesse in the way of things that ought to be seen and are seen, as in the kennels or the gardens, and where everything is as clean as a new pin. The big cross and the two dainty Devons that are in feeding for next year's Smith- field Club show are paraded and criticised ; the pretty Alderney calves find admirers and connoisseurs among the ladies; and cart-horse stalls are found in the occupation of shaggy Heratee ponies, and of the team of pretty Corsicans which, with their miniature drag, were the Prince's parting present to the Princess on the day he left Sandringham for his Indian tour. From the Indian bullocks in the paddock it is but a step to the sheep-house, where the Southdowns are feeding for win- ning some more prizes, the certificates of which adorn the rafters of their snug abode. While the gentlemen are tramp- inor it over the arass-land to the site of the new works which are presently to supply virgin spring water to the hall and its dependencies, the Princess is showing to her lady guests her dainty dairy, with the exquisite little tea-room attached, whose panels are gradually filled up with votive decorative tiles. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. THE character of Umberto I, second King of Italy, may be summed up in one single word which would go far toward explaining his acts, his preferences, and his faults. I mean the word courage. None of his long line of ancestors have been more thoroughly imbued with the motto of his house, '' Deva?it Savoier No sovereign, hov/ever glorious, has displayed so enthusiastic an admiration for bravery, and his calm appearance and somewhat distant manner are only due to a constant effort to suppress the longings of a nature apt to attract him to every danger. It is indeed unfortunate that he, the scion of a warrior race, whose education has been entirely military, should have been forced by circum- stances to become a mere constitutional monarch. At the battle of Custozza, in 1866, he was at the head of the ad- vance guard, among the first to throw himself into the ranks of the enemy, whence he was only rescued with the greatest difficulty by General Nino Bixio. Instead of being grateful to the latter, he apostrophized him, rudely exclaiming : " I will never forgive you for not having allowed me to fight my way out of the difficulty by myself." King Hum- bert's warm sympathy for Germany is due to his peculiar temperament. He loves victory not for the sake of conquest, but for the sake of its glory. A victorious army appears to him as the most enviable jewel in a sovereign's crown. French people reproach the King with ingratitude. I do not believe that he wished France to be defeated in 1870, but I (153) 154 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. am certain that his feelings toward France would have been entirely different had the latter been victorious on any occa- sion durino- the war. The one thino^ he could not forg-ive was that she should have allowed her- self to be beaten Another reason why he does not like France is in consequence of the ill-dissembled hopes of the French clerical party, that he may soon be driven out of Rome. At Naples, dur- ing- the cholera, his conduct was splen- did, and aroused the greatest enthu- siasm on the part of the people. When he fearlessly visited the worst cases, the dirtiest slums, he was extremely amazed to find his conduct praised. Aeain and ao-ain he repeated, almost impatiendy, "I have done nothing but my duty." Again when Passanante attempted to assas- sinate him, he showed the oreatest coolness and couraee. UMBERTO I, SECOND KING OF ITALY. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. 155 A thorough Piedmontese, he is a perfect g-entleman in every sense of the word, a splendid cavalry officer, serious, grave, and reserved. He has a holy horror of brag, exag- geration, and superlative epithets. The difference be- tween the characters of the people in the North and South of Italy is that of fire and water, and this will go far to ex- plain His Majesty's lack of sympathy for the Southern por- tions of his dominions. Like his grandfather and his father, his education has been exclusively military, and like them he has never really understood ihe real meaning of politics. The various political parties are considered more in the light of a game of cards, and parliamentarism is only liked on account of the excitement of the game. The misfortune of this is that notwithstanding the cleverness which he displays in handling the parliamentary cards, nothing is ever consid- ered in the broad-minded, intellectual, and moral point of view. Too much importance is given to intrigues, and to the personality of individuals. King Humbert always makes a point of reading all the newspapers in order to keep himself au courajit of public opinion. His Majesty, however, never takes up a book. Like his forefathers he knows nothing of political philosophy. But this is more than compensated by the fact that he is a singularly upright man, and gifted with a rare amount of common sense. The King hates talking politics, and as a rule, avoids conversations with politicians. He loathes theories and always wants to be placed face to face with facts. He is of an exceedingly generous nature. He likes jewels and has presented magnificent ones to the Queen, but, like his ancestors, he has absolutely no artistic tastes. He scarcely 156 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. knows a Raphael from a Rubens, and like his father and grandfather hates all music except that of the trumpet and the drum. Like most of the Princes of his family, his sympa- thies are more in accord with the masses than with the aris- tocracy. He needs to make no effort in order to be cordial with the mob, and displays almost as much graciousness in PRIVATE DRAWING-ROOM OF THE KING. conversing with the lower classes as he would in talking with his equals. This is why he is often nicknamed Le Roi des Marmottes^. He is essentially a democratic monarch, and rather a per- fect sfentleman than a g-rand seigneur. In his youth he was THE ROVAL FAMILY OF ITALY. ir'7 always exceedingly delicate in health and appearance, and he remained somewhat frail-lookinor and small in stature. One day, during- the lifetime of his father, a newly-arrived diplomat was stupid enough to mistake King Victor Eman- uel's illegitimate son, the Marquis de Mirafiori, for Prince Humbert. The Re Ganlant 'uomo immediately turned on him and shouted with a thunderinof voice for the edification of the gamekeepers and surrounding crowd : " No, no, that is the Prince ; this is Mirafiori ; look at him ; it is the blood of kings mingled with that of the people." King Humbert, however, possesses a very elegant figure, his manners are easy, while somewhat cold. He is a splendid horseman — the beau-ideal, in fact, of a cavalry officer. At one time he smoked to excess ; but his doctors having prescribed abstention from tobacco, he has now completely renounced the habit. It is related that when the advice was given that he should give up smoking for a time, he answered, " On my kingly honor, I will never smoke again." And he has kept his word. Without leading the mountaineer's life affected by his father, his greatest pleasure consists in passing whole weeks under canvas in the mountains of the valley of Aosta, stalking the chamois and subsisting on the same simple fare as the peas- ants. He rises at early dawn, and confronts all weathers with the utmost indifference. Even when dressed in civilian cos- tume he does not hesitate to allow a heavy downpour to wet him to the skin rather than put up an umbrella, nor does he shrink from standing for hours, if need be, under the scorch- ing rays of the sun on the occasion of some popular fete, mocking at those who seek shade and shelter. One of Umberto's first acts on ascending the throne earned 158 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. for him well-merited praise. As is well known, Victor Em- manuel was most extravaoant, not so much with regard to the gratification of his personal tastes as to his charities. His open-handedness, indeed, knew no bounds. It was found on his death that his debts were very considerable, and it was proposed by Parlia- ment that these should be paid by the State. This, however, Um- berto resolutely re- fused, declaring that his father's debts were his own, and that he should undertake the liquidation thereof. In 1878, an attempt to assassinate King Umberto was made by an Italian named Gio- vanni Passanante, a cook by occupation, and 29 years of age. The King, accompa- nied by the Queen Marguerite, the young Prince of Naples, and Premier Cairoli, had arrived at Naples at twenty minutes after two o'clock, and was given a most enthusiastic reception by all orders of the populace. The royal carriage stopped for a moment to enable a delegation to present a petition to the King, when Passanante, who had been carrying a banner in MARGUERiTE, QUEEN OF ITALY. THE ROVAL FAiMlLY OF ITALY. 59 the trade processions which were taking part in the recep- tion, rushed forward with a dagger and succeeded in inflict- ing a shght scratch upon King Humbert's left arm. Signor Cairoh seized the would-be assassin by the hair, and received a wound in the left thigh, while the King whipped out his sword and struck the culprit on the head. The Queen and the young Prince of Naples retained their presence ot mind in a wonderful manner, and altogether the royal party be- haved with great coolness and courage. A captain of cuiras- siers ended the struggle by seizing the culprit, who was promptly consigned to prison. He had no excuse to offer except that he was poor, and " did not like kings." He fur- ther averred that he belonged to no society, and if he told the truth in this regard, neither the Socialists nor the Red Re- publicans of the day, nor even the organized Carbonari of the past were to blame, as organizations, for the attempted assassination. Since the great Democratic upheaval in 1848, there have been numerous attempts, successful and otherwise, to assas- sinate hereditary rulers in Italy. The list begins with an attack upon the Duke of Modena on November 26th, 1848; and then came an attack on the late King Victor Emmanuel on April i6th, 1853, while he was ruler of Sardinia only ; the killing of Ferdinand-Charles III, Duke of Parma, on March 20th, 1854, by an unknown man, who stabbed him in the abdomen ; and the stabbing of Ferdinand II|, King of Naples, on December 8th, 1856, by a soldier named Angesilas Milano, who used his bayonet in the murderous work, Italians have also figured during the same period in three different con- spiracies against the late Emperor of the French — three Italians attempted to end his earthly career in 1857, the fa- l6o THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. mous Orsini plot of 1858, and another tripartite conspiracy by the Itahans against him in 1862. The only person given to extravagance at the present Court is perhaps the Queen, who shares with her country- women an inordinate love of dress — a matter in which she unfortunately sets her subjects a bad example, encouraging them yet further to dress beyond their means. At the last Court Ball of the season this year, Queen Marguerite was, as usual, the belle of Xki^fete, and her dress was remarkably elegant and becoming. It was one which no one but so perfect a beauty as Her Majesty could have ven- tured to wear. The train was of pale green faille, trimmed all around with a raised pattern of leaves in varied and darker shades of green. An underskirt of a still paler shade, visible only at one side, was embroidered with gold. Her Majesty wore long gloves of the very latest shades of cafe- au-lait. A coronet of diamonds and large emeralds, sur- mounting her superb hair, and a splendid necklace, bracelets, and shoulder clasps of the same gems made up this truly regal toilette. The emeralds were indeed the subject of uni- versal admiration, being of great size and beauty and har- monizing perfectly with the details of the dress. This mag- nificent get-up, with the jewels to match, were a present from the King, who is exceedingly proud of his wife's re- markable beauty, and is never so pleased as when she is dazzling the eyes of all who attend the Court functions. The ceremonial of an Italian Court Ball is at once graceful and essentially hospitable. Ranged round three sides of the ball-room are a triple row of crimson-cushioned sofas, behind which a certain space is left clear. The ladies, as they enter, are conducted to these 1 62 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. seats by the masters of ceremonies, while their attendant cavaliers take up their position in several ranks behind them. All the guests are, of course, expected to have assembled be- fore the entrance of the King and Queen, and the ladies rise as a few bars of the Royal march announce the arrival of their Majesties. They are preceded by the chamberlains and at- tended by their ladies and gentlemen-in-waiting. The Royal chairs of State are placed on a raised crimson dais in the centre of one of the sides of the room. The King leads his wife to her seat and, as she quits his arm, she makes him a graceful obesiance before sitting down. Queen Mar- guerite is really remarkable for the grace and finely-gradu- ated meaning of all her ceremonial salutations, and her mode of curtseying to the King in public especially is always quite perfect. The King does not sit down, but remains standing near Her Majesty. Queen Marguerite then bows to all the company, taking the three sides of the room, one after an- other, bows which say so expressively : " You are all wel- come ; pray, sit down !'' that the signs of the masters of the ceremonies inviting the ladies to resume their seats are hardly necessary. The King never dances, but the Queen opens the ball by dancing the quadrille d'honneur with one of the Ambassadors, and after that general dancing is carried on according to the programme. The dance favor presented to the ladies on entering is usually quite a little work of art in velvet, satin, silver, etc„, the one prepared for the Queen being identical in design, although more richly ornamented. Early in life the Queen was very delicate, and so thin as to be almost transparent; but in the course of years she has grown stouter, and now may be said to be almost too stout for beauty, She knows both German and Italian literature THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. 163 well, is fond of music, and sings herself widi taste and feeling. She likes the society of men of thought and letters, and at her intimate evening teas may be met some of the leading men of the land, who drop into chat away an hour without cere- mony. The Italians have a sort of sentimental cultus for their BOUDOIR OF QUEEN MARGUERITE. Queen ; her name. Marguerite (Daisy), is symbolized in many ways, and the daisy occurs in every form of festive decoration. Her own favorite emblem is the pearl, of which she wears strings upon strings around her neck, so that by. her rows of pearls the Queen can always be recognized if by no other sign, Every year these rows of pearls grow richer, for the 164 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. King, who shares the Queen's semi-barbarian love of precious stones, adds annually a string to the precious necklet, until it now descends far below her waist, and has really lost some of its eleofant and decorative character. Whilst talking of the jewels of Queen Marguerite of Italy, it may be worth while mentioning that the Queen Regent of Spain owns the very finest pearl in the universe. It is called the Peregrina, and was fished up in the year 1560 by a negro boy. The latter considering the oyster almost too small to be worth opening, was about to throw it back into the sea. But thinking better of his resolve he pulled the shells asunder, and found between them the priceless jewel, which at present forms the most valuable ornament of the Spanish regalia. The master of the little negro boy presented it to King Philip II, but it was not recorded what remuneration was given in return. The King and Queen of Italy are a most devoted couple, and Umberto relies much on his wife's judgment, which is both clear and sound. Some pretty anecdotes are told of their domestic life. Thus the Queen was anxious that her husband should follow the example of his father, and the fashion among early Piedmontese officers, and dye his hair, which has become quite white. Her pleadings were in vain. Umberto's is an honest nature, that does not love these subterfuges. .Seeing entreaties were in vain, the Queen had recourse to stratagem. She caused a quantity of fine hair-dye to be sent from Paris and put in the King's dressing-room, together with directions for its use, making, however, no allusion to the subject. The King, too, said nothing, though he could not fail to see the pigments. Now the Queen has a large white poodle of which she is very fond. What was her horror, a few days later, to THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. 165 see her pet come running into her room with his snowy locks of the deepest black hue. King Umberto had expended the dyes upon changing the color of the poodle's hair ! From that day forth the subject of hair-dyeing was dropped between the Royal couple. On yet another occasion the husband gave the wife one of those quiet rebuffs into which enters a sense of humor, and which are on that account less hard to bear. It appears that Umberto once asked one of the Queen's secretaries what would be an acceptable Christmas present for Her Majesty. This gentleman, a truer friend than courtier, had the courage to suggest to the King that the Queen had a large number of unpaid milliners' and dressmakers' bills. The King took the hint, and begged that they should all be given to him. On Christmas morning Umberto placed all these bills, receipted, under the Queen's table-napkin. There was no other pres- ent ! It is said that she took the hint, and has been less ex- travao^ant since. The Queen has built herself a chalet in the Alpine Valley of Gressonay, where she spends perhaps the pleasantest days of the year every summer. As soon as the sovereign arrives there she adopts the costume of the country, which is very picturesque, consisting of a skirt of fine scarlet cloth ; attached to the skirt is a bodice, without sleeves, of the same cloth, covering- a chemisette of white muslin, with high neck and long sleeves ; over this, when it is cold, is worn a smart, short jacket of black cloth, bound with silver braid, or embroidered with the same, and a black silk apron. A prettier and more becoming costume cannot be seen. On the head the Gressonaises wear a sort of gold cap ; that is, a band of gold, richly en- 166 WITttiN ROYAL PALACES. graved on the forehead, and over this a sort of sparkling diadem, also of gold ; but, of course, all the Gressonaises do not wear this, as it is very heavy and costly. Most of the women wear a black silk handkerchief round the head, as in Southern Italy; but the Queen prefers a black veil. The Queen receives no visitors. Those families who are in the gUEKN M\Ri;rEKITF. neighborhood write their names in a book kept for that pur- pose in the ante-room, out of politeness ; but they do not see Her Majesty. If they meet her on the road, Marguerite bows to them, and nothing more. On Sundays and fete days the Queen goes to hear mass at the village church at eleven o'clock — the so-called Queen's Mass. Her Majesty wears the usual costume, and THE ROVAL FAMILY OF ITALY. 167 goes and kneels down close to the high altar. She appears to pray most fervently among her faithful mountain friends. An old organ with a thin, soft tone plays old melodies of the hills, and after mass the Priest blesses the Qn^een and the people. To an ancient air two choristers sing the " Tantum ergo," and during the benediction the congregation draw out of their pockets small wax lights, and burn them while the Monstrans is held up alike over the heads of the Queen and the contadini. Another interesting moment is the coming out of the church, when Her Majesty stops to talk a few minutes with the people she knows ; but it is soon over, and the pretty red dress moves off and disappears over the little bridge and through the iron gate of the villa. In the after- noon, sweet songs are heard in the valley, and if it be not rainy or windy, in the evening bonfires are lit on the hills as a sign of respect of the simple villagers for their Queen, thus biddinor her au-revoir and grood ni^ht. The Prince of Naples, eldest son of the King of Italy, is a very charming young fellow, although far too small in stature to be called handsome. The idolized son of his mother, he has inherited from her the charm of manner that won from her loving subjects the name of the " Pearl of Savoy ;" from his father a rectitude and unswerving integrity which are not the least characteristic of his race. The King, who has a vast deal of common-sense, insisted on the strong, practical elements of his education ; the Queen, by her presence and solicitude, invested it with a soft poeti- cal grace. He had foreiofn nurses and an excellent Encrlish o^overness in his childhood, the best masters as he grew older ; he could speak three languages fluently w^hen other children barely i68 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. lisp their own, and, far from being indulged because he was Heir to the Throne, he was early taught that less immunities and orreater efforts were his lot in life. Good examples have not been wanting. From his boy- hood he has seen his parents conscientiously fulfilling their duties, sacrificino- their tastes and inclinations to the exiofcncies of royalty, forsaking their well-beloved Monza, the most perfect residence in the fertile plains of Lombardy, to visit in rotation Tu rin, Florence, Rome, and Naples, and in each city, in each province, making their name respected and their sovereignty revered. Prince Victor Emmanuel worships his beautiful mother, and the ties that unite them are closer and more tender than is often the case even in the private domestic circle. Unbounded confidence exists in their inter- course, spontaneous on one side, unexacting on the other. They understand each other with a word, a look, a mute pressure of the hand, and when their eyes meet they have a touching, tender glance, which is almost a caress. CROWN PRINCE OF ITALY. THE ROYAL FAMILY OP ITALY. 1 69 Queen Marguerite has had the courage not to spoil her son by over-indulgence. She has carried out, or allowed her husband's system to be carried out, and by her judicious training has developed the truthfulness and respect for his word which the King so highly prizes. The young Prince has given many instances of his steadfast loyalty and affec- tion for his mother; insignificant little traits, perhaps, but showing sufficiently of what stuff he is made. Once at home, when he couid not have been more than seven years old, he was called into the drawino--room after dinner and told to o-o and speak with an Italian Ambassador at Berlin, Count de Launay, who was on a visit to his parents. He advanced at once and shook hands ; the Count immediately attempted to draw him into conversation ; the child, who, however, did not seem in the least shy, smiled prettily, nodded his answers, but never opened his lips, whether he was addressed in French or Italian. The Queen, after repeatedly ordering him to talk and finding him still mute, a little sternly gave the order for his removal. He retired silently, obediently, his eyes filling with unshed tears at his mother's evident displeasure. Late that evening she came, as was her wont, to bid him good-night. He threw himself into her arms, sobbing and crying. " Oh • do not be angry; and tell Count de Launay I was not rude or naughty ; but it was Sunday, and you made me promii£e the other day that I would only speak English on Sundays, and he would talk nothing but French or Italian." His allowance of pocket-money in those days v/as so small that it would have excited the derision of any moderately well-tipped schoolboy ; but the King had so willed it, making, moreover, a rule that he should husband his weekly income tyb WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. SO as never to exceed his budget. Grandly generous in a,V his dealings with others, Umberto practices as far as he is personally concerned a praiseworthy self-denial ; by strict economy and judicious retrenchments he has been able to pay off the heavy debts which King Victor Emmanuel left behind him, and cleared the memory of II Galantuomo from the posthumous reproach of improvident extravagance. The Prince of Naples, conscientious in this, as in all things, had never been in debt, nor did the child ever complain of being stinted in his little allowance. At one time the Queen noticed that he left off making any purchases ; that he refused to buy a somewhat costly toy which he had long coveted, although she had suspected him of hoarding his pocket-money for that purpose. She forbore to question him. till one day he asked her what the price of a silk gown was. On receiving an approximate answer, he emptied the contents of his money-box in his mother's lap, saying, " I don't think there is quite as much, but if you will let me go out on foot one morning and go alone into a shop, I can bargain for a dress and get it cheaper, and I do so want to buy one for my nurse, who won't have to wait any longer. ' In the same way he would sacrifice his childish fancies to buy a present for the Queen, more especially when he went with her to Courmayeur, in the picturesque Aosta valley, during the summer, where he enjoyed freedom and more of her company. There the mother and son lived happily and quietly at the Hotel Royal, an inn of small pretensions and less comfort, which the Queen patronized because its chief recommendation in her eyes was that it faces the glorious prospect of mountain scenery and can be reached without passing through the little town. She would leave her jewels THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. T7I and matchless toilettes behind her in the cities and walk abroad all day dressed in a short, serviceable woolen gown and plain straw hat, talking unrestrainedly with her lady-in- waiting and her aide-de-camp, while the Prince, strengthened and exhilarated by the Alpine air, was as bright, active, and joyous a lad as ever spent his holidays 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. His first Gouverneur was General Oslo, formerly military attache to the Embassy at Berlin, and that officer is with him now. It was an excellent choice, the General being not only a man of great merit, but of high moral authority. He has acquitted himself of his charge with conscientious ability. He was accused by some of undue severity, but the strong affec- tion his pupil bears him shows the accusation to have been groundless. In the earlier days of their companionship, when the boy had successfully accomplished some difficult task which he had not been allowed to lay aside, he would bring it to his instructor, and, watching his face anxiously, say, "Colonel, are you pleased with your little Prince?" Even now he frequently refers to him, seeks his advice, and values his approval. The Prince of Naples is below middle height. His physi- cal development was slow, while his mental one was un- usually rapid. His hair is fair, his complexion pale, his eyes blue and soft ; he bears a striking resemblance to his ma- ternal grandfather. King John, of Saxony, and has fevi^ of the more characteristic features of the House of Savoy. His memory is remarkable in so young a man ; his favorite study is history. Few Princes in Europe, whatever their age, are so thoroughly master of the involved history of the Middle Ages; he knows in all its details the complicated part played t^2 WITHIN ROYAL MLACES. by Italy at that period, and he has in elucidation and com- plement to his researches begun a collection of medals and coins which bids fair to become very interesting. In 1886, the King sent him on an extended traveling tour which lasted a twelvemonth. The journey was undertaken merely for pleasure, but had a more serious import; it was his father's wish that he should see with his own eyes what was oroino- on in foreign countries, be initiated to the work- ings of other Governments, and under enlightened guidance from his own judgment, enlarge his views, and gain personal experience, in a word fit himself to become in his turn a ruler of men. Those who know best say that the Prince more than fulfilled the expectations of King Umberto ; that on his return to Rome, the stripling had become a man, ma- tured in mind, and gravely impressed with the magnitude of his future responsibilities, having lost, however, nothing of the gentle, submissive charm which is so endearing to his mother. It was not the King's wish that the Prince should remain too long under tutelage, and to this the Queen consented — as she would do anything her husband thinks best. Albeit, with a regretful sense that her boy was no longer all her own. The Queen has a deep sense of her obligations and duties, and is ever ready to relinquish her own wishes if they clash with political or diplomatic claims. For instance, not very long ago it had been her great desire to be present in Dresden, at the marriage of her cousin, Princess Josepha, of Saxony. She had manifested her intention of so doing, and made all her preparations to start for Germany with her mother, the Dowager Duchess of Genoa, sister of the King of Saxony. But King Umberto disapproved of the journey. The Emperor THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. / v) of Austria was bidden to the wedding, but as he had not yet returned the visit of the King of Italy to Vienna, comphca- tions mi^ht arise which it was wise to avoid. Oueen Mar- guerite pleaded her relationship to the bride. '' You are her cousin, it is true," answered the King, " but you are also . « « .Af'iiiiaig iiiiiii VIA ROMA, THE LliADlNG THOROUGHFARE OF NAPLES. Queen of Italy, which is more." Without further demur the "Queen of Italy" gave up her projected visit. The Prince of Naples looks well on horseback, and more to his advantage than on foot, owing to his diminutive stature. When he arrived at Berlin in March, 1888, for Kaiser Wil- jjA WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. helm's funeral, he was met at the station by the chief members of the Embassy, and by the dignitaries of the German Court attached to his person during his stay. The Ambassador had brought a superb wreath of violets, bound with broad ribbons of the Italian colors, to be deposited by the Prince on the dead Emperor's coffin. When he was asked whether he would repair at once to the Cathedral or go first to the quarters prepared for him, he shot a quick glance at Colonel Osio, and apparently understanding the meaning conveyed, expressed his intention of first doing homage at the Dom. This decision seemed to gratify the German escort, which took their place at his side, and with him left the platform. As fate would have it, two of the tallest of the gigantic generals of the Prussian Army had been deputed to attend him, and as he walked out of the station between them he looked even more slender and delicate, but withal possessed with such sweet simplicity of manner and grave composure in this, his first representative mission, that he won the warm regard of his colossal companions. The Duke of Aosta, although as yet but a very young man, having been born in 1869, has witnessed many vicissitudes and changes in his family. He is the eldest son of the late Prince Amadseus, a brother of King Humbert, by his wife, the beautiful Princess Maria dal Pozzo della Cisterna, and was named Emmanuel after his paternal grandfather. At the tender age of two, he accompanied his parents to Madrid, his father having been elected King of Spain in December, 1870. However, the Duke de Pouilles — as the baby was then styled — occupied the position of heir-apparent to the Spanish throne but two years, until his father abdicated in 1875. The Duke's mother died in 1876, and in i888 his father married THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. jjc Princess Letitia Bonaparte, his niece, who was only three years older than her stepson. Prince Emmanuel is a captain of the i8th Regiment of Artillery, and an officer of the highest promise, with all the sterling qualities of character hereditary in the House of Savoy. After his cousin, the Prince of Naples, heir-apparent to the Italian throne, the Duke of Aosta, stands next in order of succession. Shortly after the old Duke of Aosta's death, rumors be- came current in Italy concerning the disposal of the hand of the widowed Duchess at the close of the customary twelve months of mourning. The bridegroom chosen by popular report was no less a person than her stepson, the eldest of the three children of the late Duke by his first marriage. In 1888 the young Prince was not only deeply attached, but head over ears in love with his cousin Letitia, and only awaited his twenty-first birthday in order to make a request in due form for her hand. His father, the Duke, may or may not have been aware of his son's sentiments in the matter. At any rate, he appeared to ignore them, and put forward his own more mature pretensions to his niece's heart. The boy, horrified at the idea of becoming the rival in love of his father, to whom he was passionately devoted, started off on foreign travels, from which he did not return until three months after the wedding had taken place. The Prince is exceedingly handsome, bearing a striking resemblance to his mother. As he has inherited an enormous fortune from the latter, his marriage with the widowed Duchess would have cleared up the money difficulties which she is called upon to face, her husband having left her almost penniless and dependent on the bounty of King Humbert, 1^6 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. The affinity between the Prince and his stepmother would not, according to the Canon law of the Church, have consti- tuted as difficult an impediment to the marriage as that which subsisted between the late Duke and his niece, and in view of the fact that the young man stands next to the weakly and delicate Crown Prince in the line of direct succession to the throne, and that he is, like his father, very devout, it Is prob- able that the Vatican would have granted the necessary dis- pensation. Should the marriage ever take place, it is to be hoped that the ceremony will not be attended by the same ominous acci- dents which occurred at the wedding of the late Duke, Probably the most tragical of these incidents was the death of the Duke's favorite aide-de-camp. Count de Castiglione, who, having galloped alongside the carriage which bore the newly-married couple to the Castle of Stupinigl, where they were to pass their honeymoon, was stricken with apoplexy and fell dead from his horse as the carriage drew up in the courtyard of the chateau. Princess Letitia Bonaparte, widow of the Duke of Aosta, is at the present moment one of the most beautiful women In Europe, bearing a striking resemblance to the portraits in existence of Pauline Bonaparte, the lovely sister of the first Napoleon. Pauline, it will be remembered, was the Princess Borghese who posed for the sculptor Canovas In such exceedingly scanty attire, and who, in response to an inquiry as to whether she had not felt uncomfortable in showing herself thus to the artist, replied : " Oh ! no ; there was a fire in the room !" From what I know of Princess Letitia, I should say that her beauty, her insouciance, and her dislnvolture render her The royal family of italy. 177 perfectly capable of emulating her grand-aunt Pauline, even to the extent of the characteristic reply above quoted, for Letitia is a thorough Bonaparte, morally and physically, and unless I am very much mistaken, will yet become the heroine of some sensational episode. Her debut in life, at any rate, furnishes grounds for the anticipations of this nature. The young Duke of Aosta is still madly in love with Prin- cess Letitia, who is not devoid of ambition, and who, seeing no other crown within her reach, would gladly place herself once more in the line of succession to that of Italy. It was for the sake of eventually becoming the Queen of Italy that Letitia formerly jilted the son, whom she loved, to marry the father, who stood nearer to the throne ; and now that her old and ill-favored husband is dead, and that her calculations have been disappointed, she would be perfecdy willing to repair matters by marrying the eldest son of her late husband. As an illustration of Princess Letitia's truly Bonapartist carelessness with regard to the conventionalities of life, I may mention that, although in mourning for her husband and for her father, she starded the good people of Paris during her last stay there by her unconstrained gayety as well as by the gorgeousness of her manifold-hued toilets. The Count of Turin, the second son of King Humbert's only brother, the Duke of Aosta, is a tall, handsome young fellow about 22 years old, who has inherited not alone a moiety of the enormous fortune of his mother, but also a considerable share of her comeliness. For the sake of the Italian Royal family it is to be hoped that his reported engagement to Dona Teresa, the 16-year- old daughter of the Duke of Torlonia-Ceri will prove to be 178 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. without foundation. While it is perfectly easy to understand the attractions which are to be found even for a Royal per- sonage in a dowry of ^4,000,000, yet not even that sum should blind the young Prince to the disadvantages of such an alliance. The fact is, that the family of the young girl who appears to have been selected as the bride of the Count of Turin constitutes one of the least desirable branches of the House of Torlonia. The Duchess of Torlonia-Ceri's mother died a raving maniac ; her only sister likewise died demented, while she has herself the half-sad, half-vacant look of her large black eyes, which gives one the impression of being a woman who is fated sooner or later to lose her reason. With regard to the Duke of Torlonia-Ceri, he is not a Torlonia by birth. He is a younger brother of the Prince Paul Borghese, whose bankruptcy created so great a sensa- tion throughout the civilized world. Giulio, for that is his name, at the time of his marriage with old Alessandro Torlonia's daughter, whose dowry amounted to no less than ^25,000,000, was induced in con- sideration thereof to abandon his grand old family name of Borghese, so celebrated in mediaeval history, in order to adopt the comparatively plebeian patronymic of his wife. He is a handsome man from a physical point of view ; but with regard to his intellect, the less said about it the better. If any further indication was required of the character of this man, who traded his name and his lineage for the Tor- lonia-Ceri gold and the Torlonia-Ceri strain of insanity, it would be furnished by the fact that when his elder brother became insolvent he declined to contribute even the smallest sum from his colossal wealth toward savine the historical l8o WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. name of Borghese from the disgrace which had overtaken it. He was content to stand quietly by without stirring a finger, while all the heirlooms and treasures of the Boro^heses were dispersed to the four winds of heaven by public sale. He might have prevented the whole thing, both the bank- ruptcy and the forced sale, without scarcely feeling the loss of the money which would have been needed for that pur- pose. But he maintained the attitude of a perfect stranger in the matter. Such is the man who, if the news of the Royal betrothal is confirmed, may one day stand on the steps of the Italian throne as father-in-law to the King. For the Count of Turin is in the direct line of succession to the Crown. One of the most charming personalities whom I met at the Court of Italy is Count Nigra, Italian Ambassador in Vienna. He is a great favorite of the Queen Marguerite, and a most witty and interesting conversationalist. The manner in which he began his diplomatic career is so characteristic that I shall say a few words about it here : " Have you not some donkey here whom I could take with me?" exclaimed Count Cavour, the famous Italian Prime Minister, one evening in 1854, when on the point of a sudden and unexpected departure for Paris. The inquiry was ad- dressed to one of the Chiefs of the Department in the Min- istry of Foreign Affairs at Turin, who forthwith replied: " Un asinotto (a donkey), Excellency ? Certainly. Here, Nigra, ' come down." A young man who had been standing on the top of a ladder, arranging some books on a shelf, stepped down, and without displaying any trace of annoyance at the implied insult, approached and made his bow to the Minister. The- latter ordered him to be at the railway station in half an THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. igj hour, to accompany him to Paris as his private secretary, Baron Blanc, who ordinarily filled that office, being confined to his bed by sickness. By the time that the Count reached the French Capital he had come to the conclusion that his young companion was very far from deserving the appellation of " asinotto," so graciously conferred upon him by his chief, and four years later Signor Constantin Nigra, who was barely thirty years old at the time, found himself Minister Plenipo- tentiary of King Victor Emmanuel to the French Government. Such was the origin of the career of the statesman, who a couple of years ago was invested by Emperor Francis Joseph with the Order of St. Stephen, one of the most rarely con- ferred and highly-prized of any European decorations. The honor was all the more significant, inasmuch as the relations between the Court of Vienna and the Quirinal at Rome were at the time exceedingly strained. This, however, was not allowed by either Signor Crispi or Count Nigra to interfere in any way with the official relations between Austria aud Italy as members of the tripartite Alliance, and it was for his services in connection therewith that the Count undoubtedly received this marked token of Imperial favor. But although Count Nigra contributed so much toward the continuance and prolongation of the tripartite agreement, it is doubtful whether he had in reality much confidence as to its efficacy in case of war. He told me one day at a dinner, upon my asking him if it were really true that the three Powers were marching arm-in-arm : " Yes, that is just what we are doing ; but we are very much like three men going out bear-hunting arm-in-arm. Whether we shall maintain that pleasant attitude when we meet the bear is quite another question." The answer is characteristic of the man, who is famed as 1 82 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. being one of the most witty and cynical diplomats in Europe. While Ambassador at the Court of the Tuilleries in the palmy days of the Empire he bore the reputation of being second only in brilliancy of intellect to Princess Pauline Met- ternich, whose principal collaborateur he was in all the comediettes and charades which enlivened the Imperial villegiature at Fontainbleau, St. Cloud, and Compiegne. Exceedingly chivalrous, the Count was the only one who remembered in the days of their trouble the kindness received at the hands of Napoleon III and of his beautiful consort. For it was he who, on the memorable September 4th, imme- diately after the battle of Sedan, made his way to the side of the deserted Empress and escorted her from the Tuilleries through the streets of Paris to the house of the American dentist. Dr. Evans. Had it not been for his timely assistance she would undoubtedly have fallen into the hands of the mob who invaded the Tuilleries at the moment of her departure, and in view of the frenzied state of the populace at the time, it is probable that she would have fared little better than the ill-fated Princess de Lamballe in 1792. Count Nigra has generally been credited with a sentiment somewhat stronger than mere admiration for Eugenie of Montijo, and it is pos- sibly owing to this fact that he has remained single all his life. This constancy, however, is of a purely sentimental nature and not a political 'one, for the Count has never per- mitted his heart to interfere with his head, or to render him unworthy of the praise awarded by the famous old Prince Metternich, who was \Yont to declare that Count Nigra was the only real diplomat in Europe — besides himself. A graceful poet and brilliant conversationalist, the Count has succeeded in rendering himself popular at every Court THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. 183 to which he has been accredited, particularly to those of St. James, St. Petersburg, Paris, and Vienna. One of Queen Marguerite's pet aversions was and is, how- ever, Signor Crispi, in spite of the fact that his power in Italy is enormous. So strong were Her Majesty's feelings on the subject that she flady refused to receive Mme. Crispi when her husband became Prime Minister. The Queen's conduct in the matter is hardly surprising when the very peculiar matrimonial experiences of Crispi are taken into consideration. The latter was one of the chief promoters of the insurrection of Palermo against the Bour- bons in 1848, and after the victory of the Royal troops was forced to seek refuge at Malta, where, with the object of sweetening the bitterness of exile, he married a beautiful and estimable Maltese peasant girl. In 1859, leaving his wife behind him at Malta, he joined Garabaldi and landed with the volunteers of the latter at Palermo, fighting in their ranks as a simple soldier. The vivandiere of his regiment was at that time a celebrated character. Dressed in the traditional red blouse, with a musket on her shoulder, Rosalie, for that was her name, took part in all the battles and slew with her own fair hands countless numbers of the King's troops. Enrap- tured by so much heroism, Crispi, forgetful of the trusting wife whom he had left behind him at Malta, gave vent to his ardent patriotism by offering his heart and hand to the some- what masculine Rosalie, and the marriage was celebrated in due form without delay. After the successful termination of the insurrection, Crispi was elected to represent his native city, Palermo, in the Italian Parliament, and soon acquired great prominence and high office. Madame Rosalie after having shared his dangers, was nat- i84 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. urally also called upon to share his successes. She was pre- sented at Court, and owing to the position of her husband be- came one of the most constant guests of the Queen, who vastly enjoyed her eccentricities of character and picturesque- ness of her lanoruaore. Of course no mention was made to the deserted wife at Malta, whose very existence had been kept a profound secret by her faithless spouse. The latter, after acting for some time as President of the Chamber of Deputies, was holding in 1877 the post of Minister of the In- terior in the Depretis Cabinet, when suddenly Rome, and in fact the whole of Italy, was convulsed by the announcement that Crispi had just contracted another marriage at Naples. On inquiry at the latter place it was discovered that by order of the Minister of Justice the local authorities had dispensed with the usual banns and publications, and that the marriaqe had been duly solemnized. Of course there was a tremen- dous outcry, and the Minister of Justice was called upon to explain by what right he had authorized his colleague at the Interior Department to contract a bigamous marriage. The former in self-defense then made public for the first time Crispi's Maltese marriage, and added that Madame Crispi No. I had just died. He explained that the marriage with Mad- ame Rosalie being null and void by reason of bigamy there was now no legal obstacle to prevent Crispi from wedding wife No, 3. It is needless to add that the scandal caused by this extraordinary behavior on the part of the Minister of the Inte- rior was immense and necessitated his immediate withdrawal from the Cabinet. Madame Rosalie is still alive and resides at Rome. Her hair is snow-white, and she makes a point of taking part in all the Garibaldian processions and demonstrations. Her stout THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ITALY. ig^ figure, dressed in the red blouse, and with a large array of medals on the breast, is one of the most conspicuous. Madame Rosalie has never attempted to prosecute Crispi for bigamy and has agreed to leave him to his own devices in consideration of receiving a yearly allowance of ^1,200 for the remainder of her life. At Rome she is known by the name of Madame Crispi No. 2, while the Minister's present wife is known as No. 3. The Ouirinal is one of the smallest of the many Royal Palaces of Italy. Under the Papacy it was only used for a short time during the summer, and when Rome became the capital of the new kingdom, King Umberto was obliged to build an additional residence in the gardens, called the Pal- lazino, to accommodate the Duchess of Genoa, his mother-in- law ; Queen Maria Pia, of Portugal, his sister ; Prince Thomas, the Queen's brother; the Duke of Aosta, and other members of the Royal family when they were his guests in the Eter- nal City. However, these visits have always been few and short ; it would seem as if the scions of the old Catholic House of Savoy, the once loyal supporters of the Church, felt ill at ease under the sombre and reproachful shadow of the Vati- can. Yet the Queen does not care for the Pitti at Florence — it is too large, too public, more of a museum than a home ; the huo-e accumulation of art treasures, on which countless o-en- erations from all climes come to gaze, oppresses and saddens her. Under the roof that shelters them it appears to her that there is no room for that happy w> d'interieur o{ w\(\q\\ she is so honestly fond ; she feels more removed from her husband and her child, perhaps also from her poor. The best dressed woman in Italy is not only a loving wife 1 86 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. and tender mother, but a warm-hearted benefactress of the suffering and afflicted ; her charity is not carelessly dispensed ; she personally investigates the cases that seems deserving of assistance, and when assured that they are genuine, sends prompt relief. She enters sympathetically into the tastes and occupations of the King, and is proud of his loyal, enduring admiration for her. The Kincr's stables and stud at his summer residence at Monza are unrivaled in any royal establishment of Europe, and the perfection obtained in all things pertaining to the adminis- tration of the Italian Court attains its climax there. The King and Queen both adore Monza, which they are embellish- ing yearly. The park surrounding the palace is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. In spring the velvety lawns are one mass of frao-rant violets and of blossominor shrubs, and silvery fountains rise everywhere under the dark vaults of the superb trees. It is in the Cathedral of the little town of Monza that is kept the famous "Iron Crown." It is deposited in a richly decorated cross over the altar, and consists of a band of gold lined with a thin strip of iron, said to have been made from a nail of the true cross, brought from Palestine by the Empress Helena ! The gold band is adorned with numer- ous precious stones. With it were crowned thirty-four Lom- bard Kings, tlie Emperor Charles V, Napoleon I, in 1805, the Emperor of Austria, Ferdinand I, in 1838. It was removed by the Austrians during the Italian war in 1859, but returned after the peace of 1866 The Treasury contains numerous valuable relics ; a golden hen with seven chickens, representing the seven provinces of Lombardy ; the cross placed on the breast of the Lombard Kings at the time of their coronation ; two silver loaves, presented by Napoleon at the time of his coronation, and other priceless relics. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ROUMANIA. I. KING CHARLES, Karl, or Carol I., of Roumania, was born April 20, 1839, son of the late Prince Karl of Hohen- zollern-Sigmaringen ; in 1866 he was elected " Domnul," or Lord of Roumania, comprising the United Danubian Princi- palities of Moldavia and Wallachia, previously ruled by Prince Alexander John Couza, as a feudal dependency of the Turk- ish Empire. The Russo-Turkish war of 1878 converted Roumania into an independent sovereignty; and the Hohen- zollern Prince was proclaimed King on March 26, 1881. The Queen of Roumania, who was Princess Elizabeth of Neuwied, is the accomplished lady known as "Carmen Sylva " by her literary productions. Their Majesties have no children. The election of the Hohenzollern Prince Charles as the reigning Prince of Roumania in 1866 was a surprise to all Europe, with the exception of Napoleon III., who objected to the previously successful candidate for the vacant throne — to wit, the Count of Flanders, as he was the son of a Princess of the House of Orleans. For this reason the French Em- peror had privately suggested to the late M. Joan Bratiano the young Hohenzollern Prince, then a. lieutenant in the Sec- ond Prussian Reoriment of Dragoon Guards, as a more suita- ble candidate. The consent of King William of Prussia to this candidature was easily obtained, but Prince Bismarck dis- liked the whole affair, and for many years afterwards the . (187) WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. German Secundoeeniture on the Lower Danube was a source of anxiety to the ex-Chancellor, who feared that it might some day involve Prussia in dif- ficulties. The election of the Prince occurred o n the eve of the Austro- Prus- sian war, and was so ex- ceedingly un- welcome to the Vienna Cabi- net that the tall youngGer- m a n officer, then twenty- seven years old, had to find his way to his future capital incog- ni.o. In fact, durinor a three days' stay at Vienna, on his way thither, he travelled under the name of " Herr Leh- mann, mei chant," and subsequently assumed the disguise of a ship's cook, on proceeding by the A astrian steamer down KING CAROL I. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ROU>L\NIA. 1 89 the river Turn Severin, where he first touched Roumanian soil, on the 20th of May, 1866. He found the country rent by political factions, and filled with revolutionary and Republican ideas, the upper class cor- rupt, the lower ignorant, the finances in a hopeless state, and the army worthless. On the other hand, Russian agitation was predominant, and the Sultan's authority was not to be defied. Indeed, the Prince, in order to secure his recognition by the Suzerain power, had to go to Constantinople. If we compare Rou mania to-day with what Prince Charles found it on his arrival, we shall be able to realize the immense services this hard-working German Prince, who is a model of patience, perseverance and foresight, has rendered to his adopted country within the past quarter of a century. In spite of the violence of parties, including Republican factions, the Throne of Roumania is as safe as possible. The proclamation of the King's nephew. Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern, as heir to the Throne, has been accepted by the country with the greatest enthusiasm, so that the continuance of the Dynasty rests on a solid basis. The army, created anew by Prince Charles, was able at Plevna to save Russia from otherwise certain disaster, and, since Prince Charles had at Grivitza shown what he could do with his Dorobanzes and Kalashari, the Roumanian Army has been filled with self-con- fidence which promises well in the event of any future struggle against Russian aggression. Queen Elizabeth of Roumania was born in 1S42, in the Castle of Monrepos, a massive and forbidding stronghold set on a ruGf^ed and rockv heiofht in the heart of the Black For- est. The solemn, dreamy solitude of the dark pine woods, the loud moaninor of the north winds throuo-h the branches tgd WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. of the tall Siberian Arolla and Norwegian oaks seem to have left an abiding impression on her sensitive temperament. The pen name adopted by the Queen when she began to devote herself to literary work, " Carmen Sylva," means " the song, the wood," and was chosen by her in recognition of all that her soul owed to the forest where her youth had been spent. She loved to wander alone in the shady glens of the Black Forest, with her huge St. Bernard dog for sole companion. Her early life was made melancholy by her pity and sympa- thy for the sufferings of her invalid brother. Otto ; and when he died, the nineteen-year-old girl went through an anguish of erief which came near wreckings her entire existence. A terrible restlessness possessed her after his death, and having collected every memorial of her brother into one great dark room overlooking the Castle moat, she spent hours there writing pathetically about her beloved Otto. As time went on, however, her buoyant nature asserted it- self. She longed for absolute peace. She found her most agreeable companionship when alone in communion with her thoughts. " How beautiful it is to be old," she writes in her journal ; " to have a great hush over one and to feel a great rest, although this can be reached only through much struggle and strife." In October, 1869, Queen Elizabeth met again Prince Karl of Hohenzollern, then lately elected to the Principality of Roumania. In childhood they had been playrnates, and on occasion of this meetinof she rave her heart to her old com- panion. Only a month afterwards, on November i8th, the wedding was celebrated with the most impressive ceremonials, tHE ROYAL FAMILY OF ROUMANIA. I9I and a week later the bride and groom entered Bucharest in state. She had once remarked that the " only throne I would care to ascend is that of Roumania, for there is on it still some- thing for me to do." She entered upon the task of " doing something" for her people with such energy that writing be- came a secondary consideration. The education of her sub- jects was her first and foremost thought. She gave material aid to the home industries that were fast decaying. She founded schools and societies to help and encourage various crafts and art throughout Roumania. The "Asyle Helene," where nearly five hundred girls are in attendance, received her particular care. The Societe Elizabeth, an institution for spreading education among the poor and lower classes, was founded by her. She strove to elevate the ambition of her people, to en- courage and patronize music and the drama. She worked indefatigably in translating many of the standard German and French writers into the Roumanian language for her subjects. She published a book containing the legends and quaint songs .of the peasantry. She revived the art of weaving, which had nearly disappeared from the country, and instead of the Rou- manian nobility following Parisian fashion they followed the example of their Queen in adopting the national costume. The Queen's favorite dress when she is at wo.rk in her study is this national garb, which consists of a white linen sleeveless garment, made very plain and with as few folds as possible, resembling, in fact, the well-known "gandourah" of the Egyptian Fellaheen. This is thickly embroidered around the armholes, collar and bottom of the pseudo-skirt with a design of cross-stitch executed in red, blue, yellow and black silk, in- igi WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. termingled with gold thread. Around the waist is a band of the same embroidery, from which depend streamers of bright red, blue and yellow ribbons falling straight down front and back. The hair is plaited in four braids intermingled with tiny gold pieces and tied with ribbons hanging loosely. Red silk stockings and crimson kid slippers are worn with this dress. In 1877, during the war between Russia and Turkey, Prince Karl led his army to battle and the Princess headed the staff of nurses at home. She devoted her entire time, day and night, to the care of the wounded and the consolation of the dying, and with her own hands she administered chloroform to those who were about to undergo a surgical operation. Carmen Sylva's lite has been burdened by sorrow upon sorrow. Her favorite daughter died when five years old, and the mother fell into such a dangerous illness that her life was despaired of. During her convalescence she wrote the biog- raphy of her brother Otto. Her home is at Castle Pelesch, on the rocky slopes of the Carpathians. When there, before she became ill, the Queen devoted six or seven hours of the day to hard literary work. Arising at 6.30 a. m. and after taking a cup of tea she sat down to write without interruption till eight o'clock, when she awakened her maid of honor, Mile. Helene Vacaresco, to dis- cuss her mornino; labors. Mile. Vacaresco is the dauo-hter of a Roumanian Senator and Statesman of ancient lineage. She won fame as a poetess while still a girl, and when she be- came of age she resolved to attach herself entirely to the Queen's service. The carpet of the turret chamber was generally littered with proof sheets and manuscripts, for the Queen has written THE ROYAL FAMILY OF RoUMANIA. 193 among many other things a romance about Wales and the Welsh, and many Yolumes of poems, one of which is called Les Rhapsodies de la Dinibovitza. From the date of her arrival in the country of her adoption, Elizabeth addressed herself to the difficult task of winning the hearts of her subjects, instinctively averse to and suspicious of foreign persons. Her efforts in this direction were soon crowned with complete and unexampled success, as their in- telligence deserved. She devoted several months of unremitting labor to the study of the Roumanian language, literature, legendary lore, and music, choosing her friends and instructors among the most eminent poets, historians, and archaeologists of the country. She translated the ballads, fables, and love-songs of Alesc- sandri, Negri, Bolintineanu, Eminescu and other popular Dacian poets into German verse, and published them, thus spreading the fame of Roumania's cherished bards far and wide throughout civilized Europe. Her gentle manners, en- gaging appearance, sweet disposition, and, above all, Inex- haustible interest in history, traditions, and customs of the " scumpa tsera," rapidly effected the conquest of Trajan's rugged but warm-hearted descendants, and before she had been a year on the Throne, " Marea Sa " (Her Highness) had attained the summit of her ambition, an unexampled popu- larity in her brave and sagacious husband's realm. A few years ago, as I was on my way from Constantinople to Vienna, I accepted an invitation of " Carmen Sylva " to visit her in her wonderful country residence at Castle Pelesch. A vast stretch of green and undulating plains surround the 13 194 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. immense gardens, and the huge structure, half palace and half fortress, which for centuries has belonged to the rulers of Roumania. Renovated by a French architect shortly after the present Monarch's accession to the throne, the Castle is a place of great beauty with its many halls and chambers, its wide marble staircase, and its treasures of art. It was eight o'clock in the evening, a warm, sultry, July night, when I arrived. The sky was radiant with that pecu- liar radiance which comes to the Carpathian range in mid- summer, and the silvery lustre of the rising moon shone over all the scene, making the gardens with their gorgeous par- terres of flowers and the water of the little lake in front of the Chateau light as day. The august Chatelaine, sitting in a bamboo rocking-chair on the marble terrace overhanging the park, looked out into the wide stretch of moonlight dancing on the water as I walked up the steps attended by her chamberlain. She was a very lovely woman then, infinitely graceful in all her movements and actions, and possessing an intricate mixture of vivacity and languor which was extremely taking. Her eyes looked immensely large in her delicate white face, and her hair rippled in soft silky curls all over her small patrician head. Leaningr back in her lone, low chair, she wore a loose white woollen crown with a ereat deal of old lace ruffled at her neck and on her arms and falling in a perfumed shower down to her tiny feet. A necklace of enormous pearls gleamed be- hind the lace at her throat, where a cluster of noisette roses was fastened, and I could not help casting an admiring gaze at her, sitting there quite unconscious of my approach, and wrapped in one of those reveries which are among her most marked characteristics. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ROUMANIA. 195 " Carmen Sylva " was then and is still a strangely attrac- tive woman, whose nature is full of contrasts and whose originality is indescribable. During my short stay we used to sit down together after dinner on a low otto- man in a great hall, with groves of palms in huge bronze vases against the walls, which were all covered with bril- liant paintings like a Byzantine Church. Great brass mosque- lamps shed a sub- dued liorht through- out the lofty room, and quantities of cut roses and narcissus in bowls of silver repousse-work filled the air with their perfume. It was at these moments that she would talk most charminglyand unrestrainedly, touching many different topics with a skill and bravo very rarely found in a woman. Of late, I understand that her mind has become affected, THE QUEEN OF ROUMANIA. 196 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. and it is quite possible that she may yet be sent to join the crowd of distinquished inmates of the great private lunatic asylum at Gratz. For since leaving Bucharest, after the termination of the love affair between her nephew, the Crown Prince, and her maid of honor, Mile. Vacaresco, she has fallen into a state of complete despondency, refusing at times to speak or eat. It is currently reported at Bucharest and also at Vienna that the influence which the Queen's secretary, Schaeffer, and Mile. Vacaresco obtained over her extremely impressionable Majesty was entirely due to Spirit- ualism, and it is claimed that not only is the maid of honor a medium, but that the Queen herself is a very favorable subject for hypnotic experiments. The Queen spent several months at Venice, and her con- dition was such that during this period her husband, as well as her mother and brother, left in all haste to take charge of her. One of the first things which they did was to remove from any further contact with the Royal patient the rather mature and stout maid of honor. Already once before the Queen lost her mind to such an extent as to render it necessary that she should be kept under surveillance. It was after the death of her only child, and I fear that in the present instance her complete recovery is extremely doubtful. Schaeffer, the Queen's private secretary, has been igno- miniously dismissed and banished from Roumania. He was an Alsatian with ultra-Franco-Russian sympathies, and had been recommended to the Queen by Mme. Adam, the edi- tress of La Nouvelle Revue, in Paris — scarcely a recommen- dation which should have carried much weight at the Hohen- zollern Court of Roumania. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ROUMANIA. 1 97 The enorao-ement of Prince Ferdinand of Roumania to the young Princess of Edinburgh has caused great satisfaction. It had for some time been tallied of in Bucharest, where there is every reason to beheve it was ardently desired both by the King and his subjects. The Roumanian dynasty will thus find itself closely connected with the English, German, and Russian reigning houses, and, as a matter of course, it has the warm sympathy of the Austrian Imperial Family. It is to the credit of the Roumanian people that the anti-dynastic agitation which made its appearance in certain parts of the country some time ago came to an ignominious end, and has left no perceptible trace behind. The King is popular, not because he inspires any sentimental attachment, but because he is a recognized necessity. As a result of the intelligent and conscientious manner in which he has unremittingly fur- thered the interests of his adopted country, he commands personal regard. He is the idol of his army, to which he has devoted himself heart and soul, and which he has, moreover, led to victory. Everything that is known of the Heir Apparent is highly favorable to him, and he has won golden opinions in Rouma- nia. The gossips at Bucharest pretend that the marriage which has now been arranged was approved of by the Czar some time before Princess Marie of Edinburg was of age for any steps to be taken, and I have heard it said on respectable authority that through the medium of the Duke of Nassau, who has since become Grand Duke of Luxemburof, it was mentioned to Queen Elizabeth of Roumania more than a year ago. The first time Prince Ferdinand of Roumania met his future bride was, if I mistake not, at the weddine of Princess Victoria of Prussia, in Berlin, eighteen months ago. On his re- 198 Within roVal mlac£s. turn to Bucharest the possibihty of a marriage was discussed between the Prince and King Charles, of Roumania, though the Princess herself was then too young for there to be any im- mediate question of it. It is extremely difficult to keep such matters entirely secret, particularly at a small Court like that of Bucharest, and it is quite conceivable that the fact that this alliance was under consideration should have become known some months ago. There were probably never any very se- rious obstacles in the way, Roumania holds in south-eastern Europe a position not un- similar to that of Belgium in the west, and the Roumanian Royal Family bears much the same relation towards the peo- ple of Roumania as does the royal house of Belgium towards the people of that country, both being of foreign origin, and called to the Throne by the force of circumstances. Roumania is almost as thrifty and industrious a country as Belgium, and there is a useful field of action for an upright constitutional monarch in the one country as in the other. The English people may witness a Princess of their Royal house share the destinies of the Roumanian Crown Prince without concern, for it would be difficult to find on the Continent of Europe a country more prosperous and promising than the little king- dom of Roumania is now. Roumania possesses a population of about 5,500,000 inhab- itants, of whom all but about 400,000 belong to the Czarite, and practically regard the Czar of Russia in the same light as the Spanish, Austrian and French Catholics do the Pope. Although not Russian by descent, yet to all intents and pur- poses the vast body of the population have Russian ideas, customs and traditions, and up to the year 1864 the system of serfdom and of communal lands was almost identical with THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ROUMANIA. I99 that of the dominion of the Czar. Moreover, the common people regarded the latter as a liberator from the bondage of Turkish rule and tyranny, and, notwithstanding all statements to the contrary, have retained a very friendly recollection of the Russian occupation of 1877, when the Czar's troops made a point of paying liberally for all they required, and of treat- ing the population with consideration. It should also be added that the large Roumanian popula- tion of the province of Bessarabia, which was acquired by Russia at the Congress of Berlin, in 1878, appear to be ex- ceedingly satisfied with their position as subjects of the Czar. There are no complaints from that source, and consequently there is no feeling in Roumania on behalf of " unredeemed " Roumanians in Bessarabia, nor any aspirations in the latter province toward Roumanian citizenship. With regard to Austria, the feeling of King Charles's sub- jects is very different. In the first place, the Austrian troops who occupied Moldavia and Wallachia during the Crimean War left exceedingly bad impressions behind them, and are asserted to have behaved with great brutality and tyranny. Secondly, there are no less than 3,000,000 Roumanians setded in Transylvania and Hungary who are subject to the Emperor of Austria's rule, and who are as bitterly discontented with their lot as were the Venetians at the time when the " Pearl of the Adriatic " was sdll under the oppressive sway of the Vi- enna Government. Several methods of repression and even of persecution are used by the Hungarians in their futile efforts to " magyrize " their Roumanian fellow-citizens, toward whom they display on all occasions the most undisguised and insulting contempt. The Hungarians wish to form a unified kingdom with a Parliament in the English fashion ; and, consequently, 200 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. they endeavor to assimilate and lessen all peculiarities in in- stitutions, languages, customs, religion, and ideas. With this object in view, the Diet at Pesth has suppressed the autonomy of Transyl- vania, which is almost ex- clusively in- habited by Roumanians, and which had its oflori- ous past, very much in the same way as the English Parliament at the begin- ninor of the present cen- t u r y des- troyed the autonomy of Ireland. Moreover, in direct contra- diction with the terms of the Austrian Imperial law of 1863 concerning Transylvania, the use of the Roumanian language in the Government documents, law courts, churches THE CROWN PRINCE OF ROUMANIA. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ROUMANlA. SO 1 and schools, has been prohibited, and the autonomy of the churches and schools have been abolished. The Roumanians are a very impulsive and hot-headed people, and bitterly resent the above instances of "Austrian tyranny," as they term it, and yearn for deliverance from the heavy Austrian oppression. The position of their compatriots on the other side of the western frontier excites the most intense interest, sympathy, and compassion on the part of the Roumanians under King Charles's rule, who see in Transylvania a genuine case of " Roumania Irredenta." The feeling throughout the little Danubian Kingdom is most distinctly hostile to Austria and favorable to Russia, and since Roumania's neutrality in the case of an Austro-Russian war would be but a polite fiction, and she is under the disagreeable necessity of saving herself from destruction by allying herself with one or the other of the two combatants, the population prefer that the alliance should be contracted with the Czar rather than with the Em- peror Francis Joseph. Kine Charles, however, notwithstandinor all his devotion toward his adopted country, is, before anything else, a Hohen- zollern, and entirely influenced on all matters of foreign policy by the head of his house at Berlin and by the latter's Chan- cellor, Count Caprivi. In accordance with their instructions and his own inclinations, but in direct opposition to the wishes of his subjects, he has thrown himself into the arms of Austria and contracted an offensive and defensive alliance with the Vienna Government. In this course he was warmly sup- ported by M. Bratiano, who, until quite lately, was the all- powerful Prime Minister of the Kingdom. For over twelve years this unscrupulous man, who, in 1858, was expelled from France in consequence of his implication in an attempt to as- 202 WiTttiN ROVaL palaces. sassinate Napoleon III., had been the despotic Premier of Roumania, and although at the time of his fall he possessed a majority of no less than 137 votes in the Parliament, yet his party had entirely ceased, either in home or in foreign matters, to represent the wishes of the country. This some- what anomalous state of affairs was due to the pressure and influence exercised on the electors by his vast network of officials. As an instance of M. Bratiano's impudent efforts to induce the peasantry to vote in his behalf, it is merely necessary to state that among other ingenious contrivances he had invented, for the use of the peasantry, bright blue vot- ing tickets in transparent envelopes, and had caused the be- lief to be spread that not to vote blue would be to incur not only the displeasure of the Government, but also of the local collectors of rates and taxes. M. Bratiano's name has like- wise been implicated in the long series of boodle scandals which have ended by giving the Roumanian Administration the reputation of being the most corrupt Government in Europe. Among their number may be mentioned the con- tract for the construction of the railways which was awarded to a German company at the rate of ^40,000 per kilometer, whereas French and English syndicates offered to do the work for ^20,000 a kilometer, the War Office frauds, and many others. The King has an annual allowance of 1,185,185 lei, or ^250,000. The succession to the throne of Roumania, in the event of the King remaining childless, was setded by Art. S^ of the ConsUtution, upo'n his elder brother. Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who renounced his rights in favor of his son, Prince Ferdinand, the act having been registered by the Senate in October, 1880. Prince Ferdinand is affianced to the daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF DENMARK. I. OF all men King Christian IX., of Denmark, is the most unaffected and most easy of access ; and when a man, be he in ever so modest a situation, has been presented to His Majesty, it is more than Hkely that on the following day one of the two big dogs which ever accompany Christian in his diurnal and pedestrian rambles through Copenhagen, will run up against him and that he will hear a cheery but rather ofuttural voice callinof out, " Good morningr '' and informing him that he intends asking him to the Palace in a day or two. Nobody in Copenhagen thinks of bowing to the King in the streets, as it is customary in some countries to bow to the Sovereign — although, of course, all those who know him per- sonally salute him ; and he lounges about almost unnoticed in the streets of his capital. In most cases, indeed, the ap- proach of the two dogs above-mentioned alone gives any inti- mation of the Royal presence. Christian IX. has no vices — he neither orambles nor drinks, and a favorite is unknown in Copenhagen ; his only two weak- nesses being a love for splendid horses, which he is not wealthy enough to indulge in, and a passion for the theatre. The patriarchal purity, indeed, not only of the King but of the Crown Prince, is a source of much comment and not a little amusement to the worthy Danes, who are noted as a na- tion for a lively appreciation of the charms of the fair sex. (203) 204 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. Perhaps the most agreeable chapter of the King's Hfe was His Majesty's visit to Iceland in 1873, and he is never tired of relating the various incidents of the journey, and of remind- ing his hearers that it was the first time in a thousand years that the Icelanders had seen their Sovereig^n. On the whole, the King of Denmark is what may be called a very good fellow, perhaps. If one wants to be critical, one may accuse him of a little want of distinction, but he is a pleasant companion and an excellent father. Indeed, the Danes, who are rather cynical, sneer sometimes at their King for pro- viding so very carefully for his numerous children and call him "the best father in the country." His Danish Majesty has, I must say, provided remarkably well for his offspring. His eldest son, the Prince-Royal, whose civil list is about ^20,000 a year, has married the Princess Louise, of Sweden, who is an heiress, his second child is the Princess of Wales, his third is the King of the Hellenes, his fourth the Empress of Russia, his fifth the Duchess of Cumberland, whose hus- band is a perfect Croesus, and his sixth and youngest. Prince Waldemar, is married to the very wealthy daughter of the Due de Chartres. Like Napoleon III. and the present Emperor of Germany, King Christian has never been crowned, the Danish war with Prussia and Austria having broken out almost imme- diately after his accession to the throne. Of late he has be- come very popular with his people, but it must be confessed that there seemed little prospect of his becoming so at the date of his accession, for on his being proclaimed King the people cried " Down with the King ! " and when he attempted to drive in his carriao-e from the Christiansborsf to the Amal- ianborg the mob became more violent than ever. THE ROYAL FAMILY OF DENMARK. 205 One ruffian, indeed, spat full in the face of the present Em- press of Russia, while a large stone struck Queen Louise on the cheek. All the windows of the Palace were smashed and a revolution appeared imminent. The King, however, re- mained perfectly quiet, made no manifestation, but stayed shut up in his palace and let the storm blow over. This line of conduct met with success, and after a day or two of brawling the mob settled down and decided to see what the new Kinof was worth before condemninof him. Indeed there is no more remarkable spectacle in modern history than the real undoubted affection the Danish people have exhibited for their ruler in the twenty years past, while they have been engaged in a constitutional struggle with the King, in which he has yielded not one inch. In any other land, under like circumstances, dynamite would long since have been the order of the day. In Denmark there has never been a day all through that long and weary fight when the personal popularity of the Sovereign has abated. Old Queen Louise, of Denmark, is about the only person in Europe, male or female, who can boast of being able to exercise any serious influence on the Czar. She is an exceedingly clever and masterful woman, her character in this respect presenting a striking; contrast with that of her three daughters, the Em- press of Russia, the Princess of Wales, and the Duchess of Cumberland. She entirely shares her Muscovite son-in-law's antipathy to Emperor William, and has given great offence at Berlin by absolutely refusing to stop there, even for an hour, on her way through to call on the reigning family. She has very old-fashioned and despotic ideas concerning the autocratic powers of Kings and Queens, and, far from at- tempting to soften the tyranical sides of Alexander III.'s char- 206 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. acter, she rather fosters them. It is she, too, who is mainly responsible for King Christian's absolute refusal to terminate the unconstitutional conflictwhich has so loner existed between the Leg- islature and the Executive, by giving way to the former. Queen Louise has now become completely deaf This, however, has neither di- minished her in- terest in politics, her taste for music, nor les- sened her vast private corre- spondence. These letters are all of the most wit- ty and interest- ing character,and KINC t>F DENMARK. •, 1 quite a number of them are remarkable for their match-making drifts, for Her THE ROYAL FAMILY OF DENMARK. 207 Majesty is celebrated as one of the most persistent match- makers in Europe. Much of her time is spent in needlework, preparing birth- day presents for absent and present children, and writing letters to the ones who are abroad. These letters are gen- erally about domestic subjects, and contain homely gossip about relatives at home and old and favorite servants. There are family meetings in summer at Fredensborg and Rumpen- heim. They include the Hesses of the Landravine branch, to which the Queen belongs. It was the marriage of her brother with the favorite daughter of the Czar Nicholas which was the origin of the singular and rapid ascent, in the ' Alma- nach de Gotha," of Christian and his family. He was, when that event took place a wretchedly poor lieutenant in the German army. Queen Louise had a German passion for etiquette, which keeps those who are not of her family and household at a distance. She does not approve of the French manners of the Princess Waldemar, who was hoydenish as a young girl ; has a greater taste for sports than needlework, and shows herself headstronof when griven a lesson in manners and con- duct. The Princess longs to reside again in France, although the brilliant hunts at Chantilly and the parties in the splendid castle which followed them, entirely belong to the past and will never be revived. She wants to go somewhere on a voyage with Prince Waldemar, in compliment to whom she has tattooed naval emblems on her arm. The Court of Denmark is a very slow one, and the Queen's not naturally angelic temper has been rendered gloomy by the danorer in which the Czarina is of beino- hoisted with the Czar into eternity on a Nihilist petard. 208 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. While at Copenhagen last summer the Czar distinguished himself as a boxer, boxing having become the favorite form of exercise of this imperial Hercules. His great difficulty is, and has always been, to find any one ready or willing to stand up against him and to respond to each blow by a counter one. Neither his Russian brothers nor any of the dignitaries of his Court are particularly willing to oblige him in this matter, as they dread not only the force of his powerful fist, but also fear to incur his resentment in the event of their responding to his blows. Indeed, the only man who ventures to put on the gloves with him and to meet him fairly and squarely is his young brother-in-law, young Waldemar, the Sailor Prince of Den- mark. Some time ago during the performance of one of Wagner's most wearisome operas, the Czar and the Prince withdrew to a vacant room and had a good set-to, which was on the point of ending fatally, for the Czar's huge fist struck Prince Wal- demar's chin with such force as to dash him to the ground, where he lay for a quarter of an hour before the Czar and his attendants could restore him to consciousness. The Czar would do well to abandon the gloves, for he is apparently unable to realize the extent of his strength, and does much damage with his sledgre-hammer blows. Indeed, it was a blow such as this which struck his elder brother, the late Czarowitz Nicholas on the chest, and which enabled Alexander not only to marry one of the most attractive Princesses in Europe, but also to become the heir to, and eventually the occupant of the Russian Throne. The Czarina, Marie Feodorovna, is a woman of a very sweet disposition, but she has, as often as circumstances will THE ROYAL FAMILY OF DENMARK. 209 allow her, the heroism to share her husband's danger, as for instance when she accompanied him on his visits to the cholera wards of the crowded St. Petersburg hospitals. The old Queen of Denmark never sees any one come into the room where she is, without fearing that she is going to hear of the assassination of Alexander III. and his wife. On learning she is mistaken, she devoutly thanks God. She often says it would be happier were the Czarina married to some Princelet whose life was safe until its natural course would be run. The Kingf rides a o-ood deal, and when he walks out has for his escort two immense dogs, of which I spoke above and who are the parents of the Czar's great dog and constant companion. All the Royal Family are fond of music. The old Queen still plays duets on the piano- forte with her grandchildren. She often goes to concerts to oblige musicians, and is fond of spectacular dramas, the action of which suororests the dialooue. The Danish queen dresses well and for the occasion of her golden wedding her gowns were especially magnificent and appropriate. It is noteworthy that they were not ordered from foreign modistes, but from an establishment in her hus- band's own capital. The " Golden-Bridal " robe was of gold brocade, trimmed with ostrich feathers ; it had a low-necked bodice, with high sleeves, held in place by large diamonds. Her Majesty's veil was ornamented with golden ears of corn, and she wore a parute of diamonds of extreme' magnificence. For the State concert at the theatre she wore a scarlet velvet robe, trimmed with rich brocade. At the party given by the Crown Prince and Princess, the Queen was dressed in mauve velvet, with a trimming: of brocade. And on the foUowingr Sunday, the good old lady was very smart in a toilette of 14 2IO WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. heliotrope velvet and ecru — dress, mantle, and bonnet all ensuite. When at the Castle of Fredensborg the Royal Family leads a most patriarchal existence. This charming residence is twenty-five miles from Copenhagen. It was built in 1720 by Frederick IV,, of Denmark, shortly after the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace with Sweden, hence the name, " Fredens- borg" (the Castle of Peace). The centre portion of the edi- fice is higher than the wings and contains the famous dome hall. There are two wings, which on one side look out on the spacious courtyard, and on the other face the park. King Christian's apartments are in the centre, to the left of the hall, and look out on the marble garden. His study, — a delightful room — contains a vast collection of photographs, of all sizes, of the members of the Royal Family. The library, which is filled by several thousand books, adjoins the King's apartments, and a portion of his political correspond- ence is kept in it. The Queen's apartments are next, and they have superbly painted ceilings, and portraits of Scanda- navian beauties of the last century, which are let into the oak paneling. The red drawing-room is furnished in the roccoco style, and next to it is the morning room, furnished in the style of Louis XV., where are placed two grand pianos, upon which the Queen and her daughters used to play every day. The dinner, in spite of the easy-going ways of the Royal Family, is an affair of stiffness and etiquette, as the Maids of Honor (of whom the Queen has three, and who live in the Palace), the Master of the Ceremonies, the King's Adjutants, and the officers of the guard on duty, all dine at the same table as their Majesties. After dinner, they all retire to their THE ROYAL FAMILY OF DENMARK. 211 respective rooms, and reassemble at nine o'clock for tea, when the rest of the evening is spent in card-playing. The King, as a rule, has a rubber of whist, and the rest of the party play a round game. Prince Waldemar, the "Sailor Prince," and the r-zrrp- youngest of the family, when at Cope nhag en, lives in the so- called Yellow Palace, the same in which his par- ents lived before they were King and Queen, and where all their children, with this last excep- tion, were born. Prince Walde- mar, as I just mentioned, is united to Prin- cess Mary of Or- leans, daughter of the Due de Chartres. It is worth recording that this couple were married quite simply, without any ceremony, by the Maire of the Parisian arrondissement where the Princess lived. They have two sons, the eldest of whom. Prince George, not yet three years old, is the Queen's favorite companion in her daily drives. THK CRiiWN rKINCE ANT) FAMILY. 212 WITHIN ROYAL PALACES. Crown Prince Frederick, who is already forty-six years of age, has seven children. He is a model father of a family, and an excellent type of Heir Apparent — studious, eloquent, amiable, rich, open-handed, and yet not extravagant. His wife, eight years his junior, is remarkable for her quick-wit- tedness and intellicjence. On her first advent at the Danish Court, she shocked it a little by her mode of dressing and her freedom of manners, but she has now toned down and fitted herself into the simple burgher old-world milieu. She is, moreover, famous for being the tallest and wealth- iest Princess in Europe. Her stature is absolutely gigantic, being over six feet two, and, so far as her fortune is con- cerned, she inherited ^15,000,000 from her maternal grand- father. Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, besides the entire wealth of her father, the late Kino^ Charles of Sweden. She is extremely fond of Paris, a fact which is perhaps attributable to the existence of French blood in her veins, her father's father having been the famous French General, Bernadotte, who was adopted as heir to the Swedish throne by the child- less Kino- Charles XIII. in 1802. Her grrandmother, who died in i860, as Queen of Sweden and Norway, was Made- moiselle Desiree Clary, the daughter of a Marseilles stock- broker, who jilted Napoleon Bonaparte, afterwards first Em- peror of the French, in order to marry his comrade and class- mate, Bernadotte. Although devoted to the land of her birth, Queen Desiree never once visited it after the fall of Napoleon in 1814, and her life can scarcely be said to have been a happy one. Berna- dotte was far from what can be called a model husband. During his lifetime he subjected her to much neglect and even downright cruelty. Tttfi Royal family of deI^mark. 21^ Oblivious of his own humble origin, he was everlastingly- taunting her with her bourgeoise birth. A strange story, in- deed, might be written of the misfortunes which have befallen every one of the women who have been raised from the ranks of the people to seats on the thrones of Europe. Josephine de Beauharnais, her daughter. Queen Hortense, Eugenie de Montijo, and Nathalie de Ketchko, have each in turn contrib- uted sad chapters to the history of the heroines of Royal ro- mance, and have paid dearly for their greatness. The Crown Princess of Denmark is said to have inherited her magnificent eyes from her grandmother. Queen Desiree, but certainly not her height, since Bernadotte's consort was extremely petite and piquante. Bernadotte, himself, however, was very tall. The Danish civil list is not long, especially since the loss of the Duchies, All included, it scarcely amounts to two million francs (^200,000) ; nevertheless, the Royal couple are most liberal. The Queen especially takes a lively and per- sonal interest in all the charitable institutions existing in the realm, and, above all, in asylums or hospitals for children, as she is essentially a child's friend. The Kinof of Denmark's orandson, Prince Frederick, son of the Crown Prince and Princess, is about twenty-two years old now, and recently he was very much captivated by the charms of an actress at the Theatre Royal. She was a good, honest girl, and lived, according to the Copenhagen fashion, with her parents, respectable bourgeois of the city. Prince Frederick called upon her ; but as soon as this came to the ears of Grandmamma Louise, commands were laid upon him to drop the acquaintance, and word was sent to the parents ^14 WtTttiN roVaL palaces. that they must not receive the Prince's visits ; and both piaf- ties submitted to this ukase actually without a murmur. The golden wedding festivities at Copenhagen recalled memories of the famous Countess Banner, who occupied at the Court of King Christian's predecessor, Frederick VII., the same position as Mme. de Pompadour filled at that of Kine Louis XV. of France. Towards the close of Frede- rick's reign, he married the Countess morganatically. She was a French woman by birth, and in her earlier days had been the first assistant of the once famous Parisian modiste, Mme. Charpentier. To the very last she retained her skill with needle and scissors, and it is no secret that both the Princess of Wales and the Czarina of Russia are indebted for much of their knowledge and skill in dress to this morganatic aunt of theirs. A thing which most people seem to have for- gotten is the fact that the first and royal-born wife of King Frederick of Denmark, from whom he was divorced, died only a few months ago in her grand and historical old Cha- teau of Glucksburg. The daughter of a king herself, she was too high-spirited to submit in silence to her husband's avowed and openly displayed preference for the dressmaker, and ac- cordingly she secured a divorce. Three months after it had become law she contracted a second marriage with Duke Charles of Schleswi