FOOTNOTES:
[7] Personal statements made to the writer of these pages.
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Death of King Edward
There had been rumours flying around London early in 1910 as to the King's health, but it would seem that only a limited circle understood that, while there was no serious disease involved, there was a general weakness of the system which rendered great care necessary and made it easy to see danger in any otherwise trifling illness. Occasional cablegrams to this Continent were largely disregarded and looked upon as more or less sensational and little was thought of the attack of bronchitis at Biarritz in March. There seems small reason to doubt that the political situation hastened the end though it did not actually cause the sad event. The conditions of weakness were there; the worry of a great and urgent responsibility was added to the King's normal work and subjects of thought. Though the constitutional crisis was probably not as serious as the press and politicians made out, it must undoubtedly have had its effect upon a ruler conscientiously devoted to his duty. On May 5th, it was announced that the King was again ill with bronchitis and that his condition caused "some anxiety;" a few hours afterwards it was officially stated that "grave anxiety" was felt; on May 6th, near midnight, there came the sorrowful announcement of his physicians that the King had passed away in the presence of Queen Alexandra, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal [Duchess of Fife], Princess Victoria and the Princess Louise [Duchess of Argyll].
So unexpected was any serious or immediate issue of His Majesty's condition that the Queen was still on the Continent when he was taken ill and the King himself was transacting state business in an arm-chair the day before he died. A pathetic incident of the latter date was the bearing of the well-known purple and gold colours to victory at Kempton Park Races by "The Witch of the Air." When the news came it was hard to believe. People throughout the Empire were entirely unprepared. In Britain, Canada, Australia, etc., public functions and social arrangements were at once cancelled; black and purple drapings rapidly covered the important buildings—and many that were even more important as representing individual and spontaneous feeling—of the British world; mourning was seen everywhere in the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent in the other countries; papers appeared universally draped in black. In Canada, H. E. the Governor-General cabled to Lord Crewe an official expression of regret—one which was real as well as official: "The announcement of the death of King Edward VII, which has just reached Canada, has created universal sorrow. His Majesty's Canadian Ministers desire that you will convey to His Majesty, King George, and the members of the Royal family, an assurance that the people of Canada share in the great grief that has visited them. In discharge of the duties of his exalted station His late Majesty not only won the respect and devotion of all British subjects, but by his efforts on behalf of international harmony and good-will he became universally esteemed as a great Peacemaker. Nowhere was this gracious attribute of Royal character more deeply appreciated than in His Majesty's Dominion of Canada."
Every kind of loyal tribute was paid to the late King by the Press and in the pulpit of all the countries concerned, while from the United States came expressions of admiration and respect very little short of those dictated by the natural loyalty and knowledge of his own subjects. In Canada the Premiers of the Provinces were amongst the first to express their feelings. At Quebec Sir Lomer Gouin, supported by the Opposition Leader, moved the adjournment of the Legislature on May 6th: "Those who love in a Chief of State the greatest qualities, peace, goodness, nobility and entente cordiale, all feel his loss. It is for that reason that we cannot do otherwise than suspend our sittings, and I am convinced that all the Members of this House will endorse this proposal for adjournment."
In Toronto Sir James Whitney, the Provincial Premier, declared that "it would be difficult to express the feeling of love, respect, and admiration entertained by British peoples for their late sovereign, who in his comparatively short reign, has so borne himself and has so done his part, that the whole human race has participated in the benefit resulting from the wisdom shown by him. Probably no wiser monarch ever reigned over a nation." To the New Brunswick press the local Premier, Hon. Douglas Hazen, said: "King Edward's reign was a comparatively short one, but the verdict of history will undoubtedly be that he was one of the wisest and greatest rulers that ever sat upon a throne. He took a most keen and active interest in all his country's institutions, endeavouring at all times to promote the well-being of his subjects and to show his appreciation of the British Dominions beyond the Seas." The Hon. A. K. Maclean, Acting-Premier of Nova Scotia, stated that "to his pacific tendencies and his powerful mediation is due the existence of friendly relations between Great Britain and other nations and the removal of many long-standing differences and historic prejudices." The Conservative leader at Ottawa, Mr. R. L. Borden, gave eloquent expression to his feelings:
"The tidings of sorrow which have just been flashed across the ocean come to the people of Canada with startling suddenness. Words of foreboding had hardly reached us before the last message came; 'God's finger touched him and he slept.' To the people of the overseas Dominions the Crown personifies the dignity and majesty of the whole Empire; and through the Throne each great Dominion is linked to the others and to the Motherland. Thus the Sovereign's death must always thrill the Empire. But to-day's untimely tidings bring to the people of Canada the sense of a still deeper and more personal bereavement. They gloried in their King's title of Peacemaker, and they believed him to be the greatest living force for right within the Empire. In him died the greatest statesman and diplomat of Europe."
The Hon. R. Lemieux, Postmaster-General and a Liberal leader in Quebec, added this succinct description: "As a peacemaker and as a constitutional king he had no equal in the history of modern times." He expressed the hope that "in the common sorrow of his subjects at the death of an exemplary Sovereign the ties making for unity and common interest throughout the Empire may be strengthened and his influence for good find continued fruition." The Hon. G. P. Graham, Minister of Railways, also touched on the Empire thought: "His part in the growth and increasing solidarity of the Empire in matters of defense, of trade, of common effort for the common interest, must bulk large in history. Since his assumption of the throne there has been a steady growth in Canada's loyalty to the Sovereign based on esteem for his personal character, confidence in his judgment and statesmanship, and pride in his commanding position among the world's sovereigns." From Mr. Richard McBride, Premier of far-away British Columbia, came the declaration that King Edward was infinitely tactful and always patient, the first gentleman and best beloved monarch of his time; that he was "an unusually gifted ruler who performed unostentatiously and with inspired ability his part in the making of British history." To Archbishop Bruchési of Montreal he was "a great and good King;" to the Rev. Dr. Carman, Canada's Methodist leader, he was "royally born and ruled royally over a free, loyal and loving people;" to Archbishop McEvay (Roman Catholic) of Toronto he was a ruler "trusted and loved by all his subjects;" to President R. A. Falconer, of Toronto University, there was a special appeal in his "experience, sympathy and broad humanity."
There is no need to largely quote the tributes of Britain, Australia or South Africa. Their people thought and felt and acted as Canada's did. Great Britain felt the loss, of course, in a more strictly personal sense than the Dominions beyond the Seas. The reverent crowds with bared heads, and every sign of severe personal grief, standing outside Buckingham Palace grounds could hardly be exactly duplicated abroad, though the scenes in countless churches, as memorial sermons were delivered and memorial services held amidst tokens of obvious and sincere sorrow, came very near to it. In particular, was the open-air service in Toronto facing the Parliament Buildings and attended by silent masses of people, with respectful and sympathetic addresses, with drapings and evidences of mourning on every hand, with the solemn strains of muffled music from many bands, and the presence of thousands of loyal troops, an indication of the popular feeling shown throughout the Dominion on May 20th, which was appointed to be a day of mourning, a holiday of sorrow for the people. But this is anticipating. Perhaps, in England, the tribute of Mr. Premier Asquith, at the special meeting of Parliament on May 11th, was most significant of the innumerable tributes of earnest loyalty and appreciation expressed at the passing of one who was not only a great King but a much-loved personality.
After pointing out the nature of events in recent years, the growth of international friendships and new understandings and stronger safeguards for peace, together with the ever-tightening bonds of corporate unity within the British realms, Mr. Asquith went on to say that: "In all these multiform manifestations of national and Imperial life, the history of the world will assign a part of singular dignity to the great ruler Great Britain has lost. In external affairs King Edward's powerful influence was directed not only to the avoidance of war, but to the causes of and pretexts of war, and he well earned the title by which he will always be remembered, the Peace-maker of the World." Continuing, the Premier said, that within the boundaries of the Empire his late Majesty, by his broad and elastic sympathies, had won a degree of loyalty and affectionate confidence which few Sovereigns had ever enjoyed. "Here at home," he added, "all recognized that above the din and dust of their hard-fought controversies, detached from party, and attached only to the common interest, they had in the late King an arbiter ripe in experience, judicial in temper, and at once a reverent worshipper of their traditions, and a watchful guardian of their constitutional liberties." King Edward's life as a devotee of duty, as a sportsman in the best sense of the word, as an ardent and discriminating patron of the arts, as a good business man at the head of a great business community, possessed of intuitive shrewdness in the management of men and difficult situations, as a keen social reformer with "no self apart from his people," was then dwelt upon. It would be impossible in any limited space to analyze the views of the British press. The Times declared that "his people loved him for his honesty and kindly courtesy. To all he was not merely every inch a King but every inch an English King and an English gentleman. His influence was not the same as that of Queen Victoria, but in some respects it was almost stronger." The Daily Mail considered that "to his initiative his subjects and the Empire owe the pacification of South Africa and the final reconciliation with the Boers. The system of understandings with foreign powers which is our security to-day was in a great part his handiwork." To the Radical Daily News he was "the supreme example of a people's King by common consent" and this the Liberal Morning Leader echoed with a further tribute to "the sheer instinctive deference paid to his proved wisdom, his large-minded statesmanship, his unequaled knowledge of the world, and the tact that never failed him in the greatest or the least occasion."
A notable incident of this first week of mourning, during which the people were waiting to pay their final tribute of loyal sympathy on the day of the Royal interment, was the unanimous Resolution of the Legislature of Quebec. Coming from a French-Canadian people, amongst whom special interest had been aroused by King Edward's creation of the entente cordiale with France, something earnest and sympathetic as well as loyal in expression might have been expected and, if so, the hope was certainly realized. The Legislature in its address to King George V. (May 10th) put the feelings of the people of the Province in the following expressive words:
"We mourn the loss in him of a monarch whose chief aim was to draw all the nations closer together and to promote universal peace. Ever mindful of the great principles of the British constitution, through his broad-mindedness, his tolerance, and the exquisite charm of his personality, he succeeded in creating a potent bond of union between the various parts of our common country, and in closely consolidating the different branches of the greatest Empire that ever existed. Representing as we do the Province of Quebec it gives us pleasure to recall that the development of the idea of a powerful Canadian nation, devoted to the interest of the Mother-Country, was favoured by that great King. Imbued with the grandeur and nobility of his mission he won our admiration and our love through his solicitude in respecting our laws and our dearest traditions, aspirations and liberties."
The individual utterances of the Ministers were equally patriotic in terms. Sir Lomer Gouin spoke along the lines of his earlier tribute and declared that King Edward's reign had been "a glory to his people and a blessing to humanity." Mr. J. M. Tellier, the Opposition leader, joined the Premier in expressing the "confidence and sincere affection" of his people for this "the most powerful King of the most powerful of Empires" and in presenting to the new King "the allegiance, the faith and the heartfelt wishes of Canadians." Mr. H. Bourassa, the Nationalist representative, Hon. P. S. G. Mackenzie, the English-speaking member of the Cabinet, and Hon. J. C. Kaine and Hon. C. R. Devlin, the Irish Ministers, joined in these tributes.
The view of Foreign countries was unique in its friendliness, in its expressions of admiration for the great qualities of heart and head in the late Sovereign, for appreciation of his broad sympathies and international statecraft. One of the earliest official telegrams of sympathy to King George was from President Fallières of France: "I learnt with emotion of the death of your beloved Father. The French Government and the French people will regret profoundly the demise of the august Sovereign who upon so many occasions has given them evidence of his sincere friendship; and associate themselves fully in the great grief which his unexpected loss brings to you, the Royal family, and the entire British Empire. It is with a heart full of sadness that I ask Your Royal Highness to accept my personal condolences, those of the French Government and of all France." From the President of the United States came a prompt message of condolence to Queen Alexandra, and from the American Congress a unanimous Resolution of adjournment and expressive words of sympathy with the British people "in the loss of a wise and upright ruler whose great purpose was the cultivation of friendly relations with all nations and the preservation of peace"; from ex-President Roosevelt, speaking at Stockholm on May 8th, came words of regret and of regard for the people "who mourn the loss of a wise ruler whose sole thought was for their welfare and for the good of mankind, and the citizens of other nations can join with them in mourning for a man who showed throughout his term of Kingship that his voice was always raised for justice and peace among the nations."
From United States newspapers, the exponents of public opinion in a great kindred nation, came a wonderfully unanimous and kindly expression of real feeling. To the New York Herald the late King appeared as blessed with "a genial personality, a kind heart and a strong common sense, together with that highest quality of supreme importance in a ruler and statesman—tact"; to the Buffalo News King Edward was "the ablest Royal ruler England has known in centuries;" to the Baltimore American "he was, and the world to-day generously accords him the distinction, the first diplomatist of his time, the man who beyond all others shaped the policies of the world." To the Indianapolis News he had "served his country and the world wisely and well, and will go into history as one of the most successful monarchs that England has ever had." The New York Journal of Commerce paid special and high tribute to King Edward's diplomacy and, after dealing with the French entente cordiale went on as follows: "Even more marvelous than the closing of the secular feud with France was the termination of that with Russia, which seemed more bitter and more hopeless of adjustment. The seemingly impossible was, nevertheless, accomplished, and the power which but a few short years before had been the chief menace to the safety of British India became one of the guarantors of its immunity from attack. It will be reckoned one of the miracles of history that Russia could have been induced to abandon a policy which she had steadfastly supported and been ready to concede that the affairs of Afghanistan were purely a British interest and those of Korea exclusively Japanese."
In most of these tributes of regard and respect—British, Imperial or Foreign—there was a reference of affectionate admiration for the Queen Consort who, at this moment, allowed it to be understood that she would like in future to be known as the Queen Mother. The far-famed beauty of person, the charm and graciousness of manner, and nobility of mind and character, which had won a way so quickly and permanently into the hearts of the British people and had been such potent forces in the life of King Edward and of her own family, brought to Queen Alexandra at this time a world-tribute of sympathy and regard. British subjects all over the Empire, multitudes outside of its bounds, were ready to echo those famous words of Lord Tennyson, applied to the similar sorrow of Queen Victoria:
May all love,
His love, unseen but felt, o'ershadow Thee,
The love of all Thy sons encompass Thee
The Love of all Thy Daughters cherish Thee
The Love of all Thy people comfort Thee
Till God's love set Thee at his side again.
Few more touching words have been written than the Queen's Message to the Nation which was made public on May 10th: "From the depth of my poor broken heart," she wrote, "I wish to express to the whole Nation and our own kind people we love so well, my deep-felt thanks for all their touching sympathy in my overwhelming sorrow and unspeakable anguish. Not alone have I lost everything in him, my beloved husband, but the nation, too, has suffered an irreparable loss in their best friend, father, and Sovereign thus suddenly called away. May God give us all his Divine help to bear this heaviest of crosses which He has seen fit to lay upon us. His will be done. Give to me a thought in your prayers which will comfort and sustain me in all that I have to go through. Let me take this opportunity of expressing my heartfelt thanks for all the touching letters and tokens of sympathy I have received from all classes, high and low, rich and poor, which are so numerous that I fear it would be impossible for me ever to thank everybody individually. I confide my dear Son to your care, who I know, will follow in his dear Father's footsteps, begging you to show him the same loyalty and devotion you showed his dear Father. I know that both my dear son and daughter-in-law will do their utmost to merit and keep it."
It may be added that the surviving children of King Edward and Queen Alexandra at the time of the King's death were his successor—George Frederick Ernest Albert, Prince of Wales; Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, who was born in 1867 and married in 1889; Princess Victoria, who was born in 1868 and was unmarried; Princess Maud, Queen of Norway, who was born in 1869 and married in 1896 to Charles, then Crown Prince of Denmark. King Edward's only surviving brother was H. R. H., the Duke of Connaught, who was born in 1850. His surviving sisters were Princess Helena, married to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein; Princess Louise, married to the Duke of Argyll; and Princess Beatrice, widow of the late Prince Henry of Battenberg.
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Solemn Funeral of the King
The death of King Edward was an event of more than British importance, of more than Imperial significance. His funeral was a stately, solemn and splendid ceremony preceded by two weeks of real mourning throughout his Empire, of obvious and sincere regret throughout the world. In London and Cape Town, in Melbourne and Toronto, in Wellington and Dawson City, in Ottawa and Khartoum, in Calcutta and in Cairo; wherever the British flag flies, efforts were made to mark the funeral as one of individual and local and national sorrow. All the great cities of the Empire, the smaller towns, and even the hamlets, had their drapings of purple and black. In every church and chapel and Sunday meeting-house during the two weeks of mourning at least one service was given up to the memory of the late King. In all foreign countries preparations were made for the formal expression of the general admiration which the qualities and reign of the dead monarch had aroused. Formal resolutions, public meetings, the appointment of national representatives to the coming funeral were world-wide incidents.
At home in London the casket to contain the Royal remains was fashioned of British oak from the Forest of Windsor and on May 14th, the body of King Edward was removed from the room in which he died to the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace, and there placed on a catafalque in front of a temporary altar where it was guarded night and day by four Royal Grenadiers. On May 16th, amidst a solemn and imposing but preliminary pageant the late King was carried from the Palace where he died to Westminster Hall, where the remains were to lie in solemn state. A farewell family service had been held by the Bishop of London and then the body at 11.30 in the morning was transported to its new resting-place between double lines of red-coated soldiers, flanked by dense and silent masses of mourning people, with buildings on every hand heavily draped.
Preceded by the booming of minute guns, the slow pealing of bells and the roll of muffled drums the procession passed to its destination. It included the Headquarters Staff of the Army with Lord Roberts leading, the Admiralty Board, the great officers of Army and Navy, dismounted troops, Indian officers. These preceded the plain gun-carriage on which rested the Royal remains, the coffin covered with a white satin pall and the Royal Standard, on which rested the Crown, the Orb and the Sceptre. Drawn by eight magnificent black horses and flanked by the King's Company of the Royal Grenadiers the bier was followed by King George on foot with his two eldest sons and behind them were the Kings of Denmark and Norway, the Duke of Connaught, various visiting royalties, or representatives, and the household of the late King. A mounted escort succeeded and then came a carriage containing the Queen-Mother, her sister the Dowager Empress of Russia, the Princess Royal and Princess Victoria, another with Queen Mary, and others with the Queen of Norway and various members of the royal family. Last of all came a body of mounted troops. All along the route, which was scarcely half a mile in length, the attitude of the uncounted multitude was one of deep personal grief. No word was spoken and after heads had been uncovered, the masses of people were described as looking like an assembly of graven images. At the noble Hall, famous in British history for more than 800 years, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Duke of Norfolk received the coffin and preceded it to the catafalque. No attempt at funeral decoration marred the noble simplicity of the grand interior. The spacious floor was laid with dull grey felt. In the centre, on a slightly elevated dais spread with a purple carpet stood the lofty purple draped catafalque. No flowing draperies softened its outlines and it appeared like smoothly chiselled blocks of purple granite.
The west front of Buckingham Palace, showing the windows of the room in which King Edward died. (Nos. 1 and 2, King Edward's bedroom; No. 3, Queen Alexandra's bedroom.)
The Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace, where the family service was held on the Sunday following King Edward's death.
Photo by Paul Thompson. N. Y.
Monarchs in the funeral procession of King Edward. King George, the German Emperor and the Duke of Connaught are seen in the center of the photograph.
Photo by Paul Thompson, N. Y.
The funeral procession of King Edward passing the Marble Arch. The gun carriage bearing his body is seen in the foreground, followed by the late King's horse with empty saddle.
Photo by Paul Thompson. N. Y.
King Edward's funeral procession moving into Edgeware Road, flanked by thousands of military and tens of thousands of mourning citizens.
Slowly and quietly a great company assembled and then the Westminster Abbey choir of men and boys clad in white surplices and scarlet cassocks, took its position. On the left, preceded by the mace-bearer with his glittering mace, came the Speaker of the House of Commons in his flowing robes of black and gold, followed by 400 members of the same House led by the Prime Minister. All the members of the Cabinet were there while Radical, Labour and Unionist members mingled behind the low purple barrier. A little later the Lord Chancellor, wearing his full-bottomed wig and black and gold gown and preceded by the mace-bearer, led the Peers down the staircase in front of the choir to an enclosure on the right side of the catafalque. On bars immediately opposite each other rested the masses of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Behind each there was arranged a nearly equal number of Commoners and Peers. Between them stood the catafalque. Presently, amid a deep hush, great military and naval officers led the procession into the hall. Proceeded by the Garter King-at-Arms, and Heralds they marched slowly and ranged themselves in a glittering array over the steps below the choir while the coffin was borne in by soldiers. Behind it was carried by other soldiers the covering of the coffin on which rested the crown, sceptre and orb. Very gently the heavy coffin was raised to the catafalque and the glittering emblems of royalty replaced on its top. Then, leaning on either side of the catafalque, and resting on the ground, were placed two plain wreaths of cypress. Behind the coffin followed the Queen Alexandra, King George and the Dowager Empress Marie of Russia, each holding one of her arms. The purple carpeted dais was occupied by the dead King's family and royal visitors. A short service followed and the first part of the royal funeral was over while from the heart and pen of the great poet of the Empire—Rudyard Kipling—came verses addressed to and representing the people of which a few lines may be quoted:
And God poured him an exquisite wine, that was daily renewed to him
In the clear welling love of his peoples, that daily accrued to him.
Honour and service we gave him, rejoicingly, fearless;
Faith absolute, trust beyond speech, and a friendship as peerless.
And since he was master and servant in all that we asked him
We leaned hard on his wisdom in all things, knowing not how we tasked him.
For on him each new day laid command, every tyrannous hour
To confront, or confirm or make smooth some dread issue of power.
To deliver true judgment aright at the instant unaided
In the strict, level, ultimate phrase that allowed or dissuaded;
To foresee, to allay, to avert from us perils unnumbered;
To stand guard at our gates when he guessed that our watchman had slumbered;
To win time, to turn hate, to woo folly to service, and mightily schooling
His strength to the use of his nations; to rule as not ruling.
These were the works of our King; earth's peace is the proof of them.
God gave him great works to fulfil and to use the behoof of them.
Following these events Westminster Hall for two days was thrown open to the public and a continuous procession of half a million mourners passed the coffin and looked for the last time upon the face of their well-loved Sovereign. Into Windsor, meanwhile, there poured innumerable evidences of the peoples' sympathy from the costliest tribute of wealth and aristocracy to the thousands of simple green wreaths sent in by the poorer classes. To Westminster Hall, on May 19th, the Emperor William of Germany, soon after his arrival, proceeded with King George, stood for a while in the private enclosure as the countless stream of people passed slowly by, then descended to the floor of the Hall—the Kaiser carrying a wreath of purple and white flowers—and together knelt within the rails while the stream of passers-by was temporarily suspended. When the two monarchs arose the Emperor William held out his hand which King George clasped and held for some moments.
By May 20th the preparations were all in readiness for the final functions and splendid ceremonial. The streets were draped from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, and thence to Paddington Station, in great masses of purple and white and black; Venetian masts lined the route on which hung masses of funeral wreaths from the people; half-masted flags were everywhere. The town of Windsor was almost buried from sight in the purple trappings of grief and royalty. On the day itself solemn, silent multitudes of men and women, estimated at from three to five millions, were massed along the route of the procession with 35,000 soldiers lining the streets and a parade which even London had never equalled for mingled splendour and solemnity. At 9:10 a. m., the deep-toned bell of Westminster announced the beginning of the royal obsequies. King George, Queen Mary, the Queen Mother, the royal family and the visiting monarchs and representatives of the powers and the Empire, left Buckingham Palace and proceeded with a small escort to Westminster Hall amidst the tolling of bells and the firing of minute guns. Only Queen Alexandra, the Princess Victoria, the King and the Emperor William entered the Hall and saw the body removed from the catafalque to the gun-carriage outside where it rested under conditions similar to those of the earlier removal from Buckingham Palace. Outside, the Queen Mother entered her coach and, as the body-guard of Kings wheeled around and passed her carriage, three by three, each saluted her with silent reverence.
The procession left Westminster at 9.30 headed by a long column of troops and bluejackets and the greater officers of the Army and Navy. Bands of the Household cavalry, the new Territorial troops, Colonial soldiers, were first and then came various volunteer corps, the Honourable Artillery Company, officers of the Indian regiments in their picturesque uniforms and turbans, followed by detachments of infantry, Foot Guards, Royal Engineers, Garrison, Field and Horse Artillery. Naval representatives came next with the military attaches of the foreign embassies, the officers of the Headquarters Staff of the Army and the Field Marshals and massed bands playing solemn funeral marches. Then followed the chief officers of State, followed by the Duke of Norfolk and succeeded by a single soldier carrying the Royal Standard; the gun-carriage carrying the mortal remains of the King came next and just behind it walked a groom leading his favourite charger and another with his favourite dog "Caesar"; King George followed, riding between the German Emperor and the Duke of Connaught, all clad in brilliant uniforms with a long and unique line of nine Monarchs, Princes of great States and special Ambassadors and Imperial representatives. They rode in the following order:
The Duke of Connaught, King George and the Emperor William.
King Haakon of Norway, King George of Greece, and King Alfonso of Spain.
King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, King Frederick of Denmark and King Manuel of Portugal.
Prince Yussof Zvyeden, the Heir Apparent of Turkey, King Albert of Belgium and Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austro-Hungary.
Prince Sadanaru Fushimi of Japan, Grand Duke Michael of Russia, the Duke of Aosta, representing Italy, the Duke of Sparta, Crown Prince of Greece, and the Crown Prince Ferdinand of Roumania.
Prince Henry of Prussia representing the German Navy, Prince Charles of Sweden, Prince Henry of Holland, the Duke of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, the Crown Prince of Montenegro and Crown Prince Alexander of Servia.
Prince Mohammed Ali, Said Pasha Zulfikar, Watsen Pasha of Egypt and the Sultan of Zanzibar. Then followed the Princely and Ducal representatives of a dozen German States, the members of the British Royal family, the Duc D'Alencon, and Prince Bovaradej of Siam.
The mounted group was followed by twelve State carriages. The first was occupied by the Queen-Mother, Alexandra, and her sister the Russian Dowager Empress Marie, the Princess Royal and the Princess Victoria; the second carriage contained Queen Mary of Great Britain, Queen Maud of Norway, the Duke of Cornwall, heir to the British Throne, and the Princess Mary; the next four carriages carried Royal ladies and ladies-in-waiting; the seventh carriage contained Prince Tsai-Tao of China and his suite; the eighth carriage was shared by Special American Ambassador Theodore Roosevelt, M. Pichon, French Foreign Minister, and the representative of Persia; the ninth carriage was occupied by Lord Strathcona, High Commissioner for Canada, Sir George Reid, High Commissioner for Australia and William Hall-Jones, High Commissioner for New Zealand.
The train to Windsor contained a funeral car upholstered in purple and white silk with a catafalque on which the casket was placed and around it were grouped the near members of the Royal Family and eight Sovereigns of Foreign States. From Windsor station to the Castle the procession formed in the previous order except that the Royal mourners walked while sailors drew the gun-carriage to the famous home of Britain's monarchs and to the entrance of the historic St. George's Chapel. Here, where King Edward was christened and married and shared in so many stately functions, the final religious ceremonies were performed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. While the coffin rested on a purple catafalque before the altar, which was almost buried in floral emblems, and minute guns boomed and bells tolled, the briefest service of the Church of England—at Queen Alexandra's request—was proceeded with and the body slowly, reverently, lowered into the vault. A prayer was then uttered for the new King and the Benediction pronounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
What can be said of the day elsewhere? A full record would fill many volumes. In Canada, in Australia, in South Africa, in New Zealand, in Newfoundland, in all British countries and territories, there was a great similarity of solemn and popular demonstration. Everywhere factories and financial institutions and commercial establishments closed their doors. Wherever that was impossible in Canadian factories work was stopped at a certain stage in the funeral ceremonies and every man stood in silence, with bared head for the time arranged; on all the great railways of Canada at the moment when the King's body was lowered into his grave, and for three minutes, everything stopped, every kind of work ceased, every one of at least 40,000 men stood in reverent silence. Military parades took place with muffled drums and passage through long lanes of silent people, in Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Chatham, London, St. Catharines, Kingston, Woodstock, Ottawa, St. Thomas, Winnipeg and Victoria, and other places. Memorial services were everywhere held; in Ottawa, Vice-Royalty and the Ministers took part in a great open-air ceremony in front of the Parliament Buildings, with troops and massed bands and superb drapings, to still further emphasize the solemnity of the occasion. Toronto had 100,000 people attend a similar service under the auspices of the Government in front of its Parliament Buildings and so with other centres. It may be added here that besides Lord Strathcona, Canada had as representatives at the funeral ceremonies Hon. A. B. Aylesworth, Minister of Justice; Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; Hon. C. Marcil, Speaker of the House of Commons; Hon. S. A. Fisher, Minister of Agriculture; Sir D. M. McMillan, Lieut.-Governor of Manitoba; Mayors Geary of Toronto, Sanford Evans of Winnipeg, and Guerin of Montreal.
In other parts of the Empire similar scenes occurred. Throughout South Africa the most solemn memorial services were held and attended by vast congregations. There were scenes of heartfelt sorrow and hundreds of magnificent wreaths were deposited on the statue of the King at Cape Town. Funeral services were held throughout India, the Hindus joining in the services in a remarkable manner. All military trains were halted for fifteen minutes. In Australia the Governor-General and all the Ministers assembled on the great tier of steps at the Parliament Buildings, Melbourne, in the presence of perhaps the most solemn assembly ever gathered together in that country. For a long space there was a reverent silence and the crowd then sang the National Anthem. The day was observed as a day of mourning in Sydney, bells were tolled from noon to sunset, and salutes of sixty-eight minute guns fired in the afternoon. A hundred thousand persons attended the memorial service in Centennial Park at Wellington, New Zealand. Services were general throughout that Dominion while every outpost of the Empire flew the Union Jack at half-mast and paid a tribute to the dead Sovereign's memory.
Thus there passed away and was buried a great King, a man of whole-souled, genial and honourable type, a character rich in graces granted to few in this world, a ruler who combined intellect with heart and knowledge with discrimination, a Briton who could love and believe in the greatness of his own country and Empire without antagonizing the legitimate pride and aspirations of other nations, a diplomatist made by nature's own hand to soothe international acerbities and embody the ideal of peace in an age of preparation for war.
Photo by Paul Thompson, N. Y.
Funeral procession of King Edward VII from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall for the public lying-in-state. King George, Prince Edward and Prince Albert are seen following immediately behind the gun carriage.
Photo by Paul Thompson, New York.
Bearing the Coffin of King Edward into St. George's Chapel, Westminster. The Dowager Queen Alexandra and other royal mourners following the body.
Photo by Paul Thompson, N. Y.
The lying-in-state of King Edward VII at Westminster Hall.
Photo by Paul Thompson, N. Y.
The gun carriage bearing King Edward's body drawn by sailors from Windsor Station.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The New King and His Imperial Responsibilities
In assuming the burden of his great position and manifold duties King George V had the disadvantage of succeeding a great monarch; he had also the advantage of having been trained in statecraft, diplomacy, and the science and practice of government, by a master in the art. He was young in years—only forty-five—strong, so far as was known, in body and health, equipped with a vigorous intelligence and wide experience of home and European politics and, what was of special importance at the time of his accession, instinct with Imperial sentiment and acquainted, practically and personally, with the politics and leaders of every country in the British Empire—notably India, Canada, South Africa and Australia. He was not known to the public as a man of genial temperament but rather as a strong, reserved, quiet thinker and student of men and conditions. Great patience and considerable tact, common sense and natural ability, eloquence in speech and fondness for home life and out-door sports, he had shown as Prince of Wales or Duke of Cornwall. He spoke German, French, and, of course, English with ease and accuracy; he had seen much service in the Royal Navy and was understood to be devotedly attached to the wide spaces of the boundless seas; his Consort was beautiful, kindly, and graceful in bearing, with a profound sense of the importance of her place and duties and a sincere belief in the beneficence and splendid mission of British power.
The Prince of Wales became, of course, King at the moment of his Father's death; on May 7th His Majesty met the Privy Council, signed the proclamation relating to his Accession and accepted the oath of fealty from the Lords and gentlemen assembled. To them he delivered a brief address expressive of his personal sorrow and sense of his onerous responsibilities: "In this irreparable loss, which has so suddenly fallen upon me and the whole Empire, I am comforted by the feeling that I have the sympathy of my future subjects, who will mourn with me for their beloved Sovereign, whose own happiness was found in sharing and promoting theirs. I have lost not only a Father's love, but the affectionate and intimate relations of a dear friend and adviser. No less confident am I of the universal and loving sympathy which is assured to my dearest Mother in her overwhelming grief.
"Standing here, little more than nine years ago, our beloved King declared that so long as there was breath in his body he would work for the good and amelioration of his subjects. I am sure that the opinion of the whole nation will be that this declaration has been fully carried out. To endeavour to follow in his footsteps, and at the same time to uphold the constitutional government of these realms will be the earnest object of my life. I am deeply sensible of the heavy responsibilities which have fallen upon me. I know that I can rely upon the Parliament and on the people of these Islands and my Dominions beyond the Seas for their help in the discharge of these arduous duties and their prayers that God will grant me strength and guidance. I am encouraged by the knowledge that I have in my dear wife one who will be a constant helpmate in every endeavour for our people's good."
This speech, delivered with obvious feeling and indicating a real understanding and appreciation of his late Father's character and career, made a most favourable impression upon the Council, the Nation, and the Empire. It was followed by others—all showing tact and a clear grasp of the fundamental conditions of the time and of his new responsibilities. To the British Army King George issued the following Message: "My beloved Father was always closely associated with the Army by ties of strong personal attachment, and from the first day he entered the service he identified himself with everything conducive to its welfare. On my accession to the Throne I take this earliest opportunity of expressing to all ranks my gratitude for their gallant and devoted service to him. Although I have been always interested in the Army, recent years have afforded me special opportunities of becoming more intimately acquainted with our forces both at home and in India, as well as in other parts of the Empire. I shall watch over your interests and efficiency with continuous and keen solicitude and shall rely on that spirit of loyalty which has at all times animated and been the proud tradition of the British Army." To the Royal Navy His Majesty's Message was issued with special and personal interest. He was devoted to that arm of the service. From the year 1877 when he entered as a Cadet of twelve years old, and 1879 when, with Prince Albert Victor—afterwards Duke of Clarence—he went around the world in H. M. S. Bacchante, and 1885 when he became a Midshipman, he had delighted in the Naval service, imbibed the free air of the seas of the world and become instinct with pride in England's naval record and achievements. He had been attached to and served in several great battleships; in 1888 he commanded a torpedo boat and in 1890 the gunboat Thrush; in succeeding years he held more important commands and finally in 1897 had become an Admiral. To his Navy King George spoke as follows:
"It is my earnest wish on succeeding to the Throne to make known to the Navy how deeply grateful I am for its faithful and distinguished services rendered to the late King, my beloved Father, who ever showed great solicitude for its welfare and efficiency. Educated and trained in that profession which I love so dearly my retirement from active duty has in no sense diminished my feelings of affection for it. For thirty-three years I had the honour of serving in the Navy, and such intimate participation in its life and work enables me to know how thoroughly I can depend upon that spirit of loyalty and zealous devotion to duty of which the glorious history of our Navy is the outcome. That you will ever continue to be, as in the past, the foremost defenders of your country's honour I know full well, and your fortunes will always be followed by me with deep feelings of pride and affectionate interest."
Parliament met in special Session on May 11th to tender its combined condolences and congratulations to the new Sovereign. The Addresses from both Houses were identical in terms and referred eulogistically to the great work of the late King in building up and maintaining friendly Foreign relations. To them His Majesty replied briefly as to his personal grief and the national sorrow and then added: "King Edward's care for the welfare of his people, his skill and prudent guidance of the nation's affairs, his unwavering devotion to public duty during his illustrious reign, his simple courage under pain, will long be held in honour by his subjects both at home and beyond the Seas." Meanwhile an infinite variety of articles were being written about the new King. In Canada and the United States the same despatches, practically, came to the leading papers; in Canada were reproduced many of the attractive articles written by special American correspondents in England. Some of them could hardly have come from personal knowledge; others contained much of current gossip, passing stories, hasty impressions; all were interesting. A remarkable feature of nearly all that was written regarding His Majesty was the absence of serious criticism or the slightest cause for condemnation in a life of forty-five years lived in the continuous white light which beats upon Royalty with such merciless precision.
The facts are that King George was and had been essentially a sailor Prince; that he had in his younger days been open-handed, free, and possessed of a certain natural and bluff and pleasant geniality which was, however, quite different from the urbane, charming, courtly geniality of King Edward; that something of this characteristic had disappeared from public view after the death of his brother, the Duke of Clarence, and his own assumption of public duties and public work as heir presumptive—functions greatly enlarged by the accession of his father to the Throne; that in his travels through the outer spaces, the vast Colonial Dominions, of the Empire he was too hedged about with etiquette, too much surrounded by a varied, and constantly changing, and bewildering environment to exhibit anything except devotion to the immediate duty of the moment; that under the circumstances of his Imperial tours, amidst political conditions wherein a wrong word or even an unwise gesture might, upon occasions, evoke a storm, where not even his carefully-selected suite could be expected to understand all the varied shades of political strife and the infinite varieties of public opinion, it would have been more than human for him to show continuous geniality—as that word is interpreted in democratic countries; that upon many occasions and despite these obstacles he did thoroughly indicate a personal and unaffected enjoyment very different in manner from that of a prince receiving a formal address—notably so in his drives around Quebec during the Tercentenary; that the responsibilities of his position, the personal limitations of his environment, the difficulties always surrounding an heir to the throne, had however, and upon the whole, sobered the one-time "jolly" Prince into a serious and thoughtful personage—a statesman in the making; that he was, what none of the Royal family had ever been, something of an orator as he proved by his splendid speech in London upon returning from the Empire tour of 1901 and by his delivery of otherwise routine addresses upon many occasions; that there could be absolutely no doubt as to his love of home, his devotion to wife and family, his personal preference for a quieter life than that which destiny had given him. King George was married to Princess May of Teck, on July 6, 1893, and the children of the Royal pair at the Accession were as follows:
| H. R. H., Edward Albert | Born | June 23, 1894 |
| H. R. H., Albert Frederick | " | Dec. 14, 1895 |
| H. R. H., Victoria Alexandra | " | April 25, 1897 |
| H. R. H., Henry William | " | March 31, 1900 |
| H. R. H., George Edward | " | Dec. 20, 1902 |
| H. R. H., John Charles | " | July 12, 1905 |
Of the new Queen Mary much might be said. Unspoiled by the social adulation, the personal power of her environment; devoted to her home, its duties and its responsibilities, and believing her children to be the first object and aim of a woman's study and attention, she yet found time to master the underlying principles of her future position, to become thoroughly conversant with all the details of sovereignty—not only in the ordinary sense but in that new meaning which has come to stamp the British Monarchy with such an international and Imperial prestige. The future Queen had some special qualifications for her position. She was British by birth and training and habit of thought—the first Queen-Consort who could claim these conditions in centuries of history. A great-granddaughter of George the Third she was the popular child of a popular mother—Princess Mary of Teck—and was born in Kensington Palace on May 26, 1867, in a room adjacent to that in which Queen Victoria first saw the light of day. Interested in the theatre, in music, and the drama, charitable by nature and incessant in her work for, and amongst, the poor, a cheerful though not exactly eager participant in social affairs and presiding at the Marlborough House functions with tact and distinction; winning during her tour around the Empire the unstinted liking and respect of the people; the mistress and careful head of her household, a constant friend and adviser and associate of her Royal husband, a loving and devoted mother; the Princess of Wales before she entered upon her inheritance of power had well proved her right to help in holding the reins of a greater position and in setting the example of leadership in her natural and important share of the duties surrounding the throne of Britain and its far-flung realm.
KING GEORGE V
Son and successor of Edward VII upon the throne of England
QUEEN MARY, CONSORT OF GEORGE V
THE KING AND QUEEN AT TORONTO
King George V and the Queen when they visited Toronto, Canada, October 10, 1901, as Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York
KING GEORGE V LEARNING TO SPLICE ROPE
In this interesting old photograph King George (on the left), and his older brother, the Duke of Clarence (on the right), are shown as boys on the "Britannia," where they were thoroughly taught the principles of seamanship. The Duke of Clarence, who was Heir to the Throne, died in 1892 at the age of 28 years, leaving the right of succession to his younger brother.
Photograph by Paul Thompson, New York.
THE ROYAL CHILDREN OF KING GEORGE V AND QUEEN MARY
Reading from left to right: Their Royal Highnesses, Henry William; Albert Frederick; Edward Albert, Prince of Wales; John Charles; Victoria Alexandra, George Edward.
What can be said of the future? It may be assumed that King George V will know his people well. He is thoroughly English in life, character, feelings; he knows Europe and the Empire better perhaps than any other living man; he is in sympathetic touch with rich and poor alike and has taken for many years deep interest in philanthropic and other schemes for the betterment of the poor; he has been trained in the school of constitutional monarchy by the personal teachings of his father and the potent example of Queen Victoria. The London Daily Telegraph said of him at the time of his accession—speaking probably with the knowledge of Lord Burnham, its proprietor, who had for many years been on intimate terms of friendship with the Royal Family—that the new King had undergone sedulous training and been educated to rule by learning to obey. "The country will discover in him what those admitted to his confidence have always realized—admirable traits of kindliness and strength; wise common sense, practical judgment of affairs; shrewd insight into character; and a singularly upright and lofty conception of his kingly duty. He has a frank, generous, unspoiled nature, is quick in apprehension, deliberate in thought, careful in expression, controlled by a far-reaching consciousness of duty and is animated by a vivid sense of his exalted mission. He is a keen sportsman, an admirable father and husband, and a lovable man."
King George has also been trained Imperially. He has trod the soil of his empire in every part of the globe and visited seas and lands which no other British sovereign ever saw; he has seen the courage and commercial skill and success of his more distant peoples, the pioneering activities and growing civilizations of new states and territories thousands of miles apart; he has obviously learned from them lessons of great import. It required considerable courage in 1902 to make that speech of "Wake up, England," to a people who do not readily take advice from their rulers and who notoriously dislike being hurried along the lines of their development. In other directions there is much to be hopeful for. His Majesty has chosen his friends well. They are said, in an intimate sense, to be few in number, but the fact of Lord Rosebery being one of them augurs well of the others. He has a strong sense of duty, his addresses indicate the principle of Imperialism in its best sense, his life has commanded the respect of his people. It may well be, and surely will be in his case, as with the late Queen, with Wellington and Nelson and King Edward himself, that
"Not once or twice in our fair Island's story
The path of duty was the road to glory."
To the political situation at his accession, therefore, King George brings a trained intelligence, detailed and intimate knowledge, a keen perception of the basic interests and feelings of his people. No one knows, no one can know, what are his political opinions. The probabilities are that his principles are not those of any so-called party. If they were closely analyzed in the light of environment, education, instincts, and natural predelictions the King's policy might, perhaps, be found to be something like this: (1) The maintenance of British power, including a strong Navy and a United Empire; (2) the maintenance of the Monarchy in all its essential rights and privileges and absolute independence of party. These two lines of ambition would really be, and are, one, as in his opinion and, indeed, in that of most thinking men who are not blinded by passing party phantoms the interests of Great Britain, of the Empire, and the Monarchy, are identical.
In the political crisis of 1910 two questions are uppermost—a constitutional change and a fiscal change. In order to defeat the latter proposals the Liberals in part have created the former situation. The King can act only upon the advice of his Ministry unless tacitly and by unusual agreement, as latterly was the case with King Edward, he acts as a conciliatory force. If the Government asks him to create 300 peers so as to compel the acceptance of legislation curbing and crippling, if not abolishing, the Upper House, he can either assent or refuse. Assent means the destruction of a portion of the Constitution—and a portion very close to the Throne and which acts as a real buffer against the hasty action of an impetuous and sometimes imperious Commons. Refusal means that the Ministry must resign or go to the country on an issue in which it is quite possible the people will not support them.
Against the Government, also, in this contest will be urged the full force of the growing fiscal feeling, the desire for Tariff Reform, the development of an Imperial sentiment which wants some means of giving the Colonies a preference in the British market, the pressing need for some weapon of retaliation upon highly protective foreign nations. Whatever course the King takes under all these conditions will bring the Crown into the conflict—either as yielding to the Liberals and thus antagonizing the Conservatives, or by refusing the demands of the former, raising up a party—small but vehement—against the Monarchy itself. There is another element in the situation to be remembered. England, "the dominant partner," is not really behind the Asquith Government. Its majority at the recent elections was infinitesimal; what there was came from Wales and Ireland and Scotland; and that of Ireland was divided upon the fiscal issue. The whole situation is, therefore, very much clouded to the eye.
So far as one writer can estimate the end of such a crisis it will probably be one of compromise. Almost everything in the British constitution is in the nature of a compromise. Constitutional monarchy in its essence is a half-way house between Autocracy and Republicanism and its great advantage to the minds of its supporters is that the system has the extremes of neither, the best qualities of each, and all the advantages of that strength and permanence which moderation and toleration always afford. In Britain the system certainly has the affection and devotion of the great mass of the people. Mr. Asquith is not an extremist, Mr. Haldane and Sir Edward Grey are moderate forces in the Cabinet, and though Messrs. Lloyd-George and Winston Churchill are more heard of it does not follow, and it certainly is not the fact, that they are more influential. They hold the same place in Liberalism that Mr. Chamberlain with his republican tendencies (which they do not profess) and his "three acres and a cow" held to Mr. Gladstone and the Liberal leaders of thirty or forty years ago. The Conservatives, also, are not desirous of pushing the issue too far. They believe in and have tested the affection of rural England for the aristocracy and the preference of nearly all England for a second Chamber of some kind. But they do not intend to fight the issue on the hereditary principle. The acceptance, by a very large majority, of Lord Rosebery's motion in the Lords declaring that "the possession of a peerage should no longer, of itself, give the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords," removes this point from the actual conflict and leaves the Conservatives as urging a strong, reformed and democratised Upper House against the Liberal policy of a weakened, emasculated echo of the House of Commons.
THE YOUNG PRINCES AT THE WALL OF MARLBOROUGH HOUSE WATCHING THE PROCLAMATION OF THEIR FATHER AS KING; AND TEXT OF THE PROCLAMATION.
Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign Lord King Edward the Seventh, of Blessed and Glorious Memory, by whose Decease the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is solely and rightfully come to the High and Mighty Prince George Frederick Ernest Albert:
We, therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm, being here assisted with these of His late Majesty's Privy Council, with Numbers of other Principal Gentlemen of Quality, with the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of London, do now hereby, with one Voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart, publish and proclaim, That the High and Mighty Prince George Frederick Ernest Albert, is now by the Death of our late Sovereign of Happy Memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord George the Fifth by the Grace of God, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the British Dominions Beyond the Seas, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India:
To whom we do acknowledge all Faith and constant Obedience, with all hearty and humble Affection; beseeching God, by whom Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the Royal Prince George the Fifth with long and happy years to reign over Us.
GOD SAVE THE KING!
PROCLAIMING THE ACCESSION OF KING GEORGE V TO THE CROWDS IN LONDON.
The third proclamation by the Heralds was made from the Royal Exchange and was witnessed by an enormous crowd. The ceremony opened with a fanfare of trumpets, after which Somerset Herald read the proclamation. He then lifted his hat and cried, "God save the King." Three cheers were then given for King George V, followed by three more for Queen Mary.
Reading from left to right—Sir Almeric Fitzroy (Clerk of the Privy Council), Earl Beauchamp (Lord Steward), Viscount Althorp (Lord Chamberlain), the Earl of Crewe (Lord Privy Seal), the King, Prince Christian, Lord Loreburn (the Lord Chancellor), the Earl of Granard (Master of the Horse), the Duke of Fife, the Duke of Argyll, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
KING GEORGE'S FIRST OFFICIAL ACT.
According to ancient procedure a meeting of the Privy Council was held at St. James's Palace on Saturday, May 7th, the morning after King Edward's death. After the Earl of Crewe had officially informed the Council of the death of the late King, and of King's George's accession, His Majesty entered the Council Chamber and after addressing the Councillors, took the usual oath for the security of the Church of Scotland.
Genealogical Chart
SHOWING DESCENT OF KING GEORGE V, FROM EGBERT (A. D. 827)
There is plenty of room for compromise in this, and there is every possibility that something will be done along the lines of, perhaps, restricting the financial veto of the Lords, leaving the other questions open, and, meantime, reforming the structure of the House. Whatever the developments of the future, the new King may be depended upon to preserve the general principle of a second chamber; to conserve the legitimate interests and influence of the aristocracy and landed classes in the state—when, of course, they do not conflict with the well-being of the people as a whole; to stand for stability and gradual reform rather than change for the sake of change; to prefer and enforce evolution rather than revolution. In all this His Majesty will voice the deliberate and well-known opinions—instinct it may almost be said—of his people in general. Be it also said, in conclusion, that these thoughts are generalizations; that the King's opinions are his own and are not known to the people; that newspaper writers in England, the United States, or Canada, who proclaim an intimate acquaintance with his views, and hidden qualities, and private conversations, only betray their absolute ignorance of actual conditions. King George is an honest, honourable and patriotic Englishman, guarding the greatest birthright that a man can have, watching over the evolution of the greatest of world-empires, sitting at the heart of vital and powerful political movements. The steps he takes, or does not take, will be carefully considered, and all public knowledge of the new King's character and life leads one to believe that they will be wisely taken—in this respect following the precedents left by his august father and grandmother and realizing the principles and training and looming responsibilities of a lifetime.