The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 23, 1903, Page 45

" & oQ (@) W i (&, et o Y 1oo 1 %fi%lfi?’ @ &MI Pages 45 to 4 Ko g —_— . SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 1903. KING EDWARD'S SUBJECTS HELP PAY HIS SOCIAL DEBTS, BUT PLAYING. THE ROLE OF A ROYAL HOST. COMES HIGH With a $3,000,000 Income Ruler Must Practice Economy. poor, e he had to live on the aside from it is esti- not less private Majesty $100 or thereabouts, and when he and the Queen entertain “at home” the price of the dinner frequently runs into the four figures. His Majesty pays out of his own pocket, figuratively speaking, for the speclal trains which take his guests to and from ¥indsor and Sandringham. When there are “command” performances, while act- ors and actresses are not paid anything, the leading lady alwdys receives a costly present and the leading men souvenirs of some kind, all at the personal expense of the King. He also hires the train that s the company to him. As “com- 4" performances are reported to be Majesty's pet diversion, and as they E certainly the diversion most fyequent- ly provided for his house parties, the s he spends on theater trains and ter people is not inconsiderable. 's not to be wondered at that econ- omy is practiced in the royal ‘honsshold. For example, “ticket of admission” is 4 THE ZIGF TIEWING FOOM IR DU CHTNGEAY, FELA—2 & @ r rare occa- sions when tely. For certain distingut esty has spent for a house. A the Mariborough Ui ool IHE Grasy FRWDLTOL on. cASTE. £ Uy controlied by the King and whose necessary if any person emplcyed on the at tea. This is, obviously, when the em- wembers are mostly Princes-costs his royal estates would entertain his friends ploye is fed, as so many are. out of th family flour bin. Queen Victoria intro- duced this careful system and King Ed- ward has adhered to it rigorously. o But King Edward alone is responsible for reducing the time of his own dinner- eating to one hour by eliminating innu- merable petty courses. The private dinner at Buckingham Palace costs less to-day than it did even In the days of qulet Queen Victorla, simply because it is not thought necessary to have so many things to eat. The King’'s example In this in- stance has affected every dinner-table in polite London. The formal private entertaining of both the King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales is far too big a thing to be arranged by themselves. They signify who shall be Invited and then they can go about their affairs and not trouble themselves further to remember the list. Lord Knollys, the King's secre- tary, is his aild in chief. Lord Knollys’ nrincipal duty in connection with tha King's entertaining is to tell his Majesty ‘whom he is about to entértain. Sir Dighton Probyn, who lives at Buck- ingham Palace and who has an apart- " ment in the Mornam Tower, Windsor, and a house at Sandringham, stands be- tween the King and his bankbook. | ‘When the Queen doesn’t wish to trou- ble the Hon. Charlotte Knollys, her pri- vate secretary, to write her invitation notes for her, she lays the duty upon the Hon., Sydney Greville. Mr. Greville is technically her Majesty's secretary, but he also has innumerable other social du- ties imposed upon him by the Queen. He plays cards with her, for instance, and makes a fourth hand often in a game In which the King, the Queen and Princess Victoria participate. Sir Arthur John Bigge is the prime mover In the soclal affairs of the Prince of Wales. He personally writes many notes of invitation for his Royal High- ness and as his private secretarv is in attendance on him at nearly every social function. Naturally the royal family issue invi- tatlons for their own formal affairs with prodigious ceremony. Their favorite in- vitations are big square cardboards with the blackest of black engraving. “‘The King and Queen desire the company of” is the conventional phrasing of the invi- tation. But when the King wants a friend just to run into Buckingham Pal- ace for luncheon he is very likely to serib- blé on a bit of plain note paper (in very A Y ING EDWARD VII, while Prince of Wales, earned a repu- tation of good fellowship at the expense of his assets and but for the liberal provision made him by Queen Victoria, Baron Hirsch and others would have had a hard time getting along on his annual salary of $550,000. As it is, with an income of about $3,000,000, only the aid of his wealthy subjects and the financial genius of his advisers keep the royal purse from col- lapse. His Majesty is well provided with royal residences, as is shown by the accompanying illustrations. ® I DECLARES DYSPEPSIA INSPIRED WAGNER Dr. Gould’s Odd Discovery Concern- ing the Famous German Composer. LONDON, Aug. 22.—The latest theory about Wagner's music Is that it was due to fil health. “Wagner,” says Dr. Gould in the Lan- cet, “throughout life was a martyr to dyspepsia, headache nervousness, mel- ancholy, insomnia and indescribable suf- fering. Other men bave had some of these symptoms all of the time, but Wag- ner had all of those symptoms all the time.” People who cannot appreciate Wagner are greatly consoled by Dr. Gould's dis- coverles. He adds: “A peculiarity in Wagner's left,eye caused the. forehead to arch in concentric curves. This the master's ad- mirers described as ‘the eye of genius,’ as if geniuses had a peculiar sort of eye defect.” Wants to Sue the Shah. PARIS, Aug. 22—Phillppe Mariat, a French architect, is endeavoring to have the Shah of Persia summoned before The Hague tribunal to secure the payment of a debt of 300,000 francs ($60,000). If he suc- ceeds he will establish a precedent cover- ing payments of disputed claims between governments and individuals. The ques- tion is whether The Hague tribunal is competent to try the case. B e i e S e e ] ] illegible hand, by the way): “Dear —: 1 wish you'd look in on me to-morrow about 1. I'll hope to see you at luncheon. Yours sincerely, “EDWARD * | — o — ‘<CorLawEr Q/‘D\THM (88770 e ok BOLE FRANCE IS ACCORDING RECOGNITION TO WOMEN Some Recent Incidents That Show a Departure From Time-Honored Customs. PARIS, Aug. 22.—At the latest meeting of the Academy of Sciences in Paris the eminent English scientist, Lord Kelvin, and his wife were present. The admit- ting of Lady Kelvin was contrary to a custom of many years’ standing, but she was graciously received by the French savants. A woman was recently appointed a ship’s doctor at Marseflles. Mme. Gaussel passed a brilliant exam- ination yesterday and was appointed chief surgeon in the midwifery section of the medical college at Montpelller. She is the first woman to obtain such an ap- pointment. Yesterday also a woman presided for the first time at the distribution of prizes in the girls’ college—Mrs. Bert, the widow of a great educator and one who was in- strumental In establishing girls’ colleges in France. . —_—————— Plant Enemy of Mosquite. PARIS, Aug. 22—The discovery that a plant called ocimun viride, or green basil, is destructive to mosquitoes has caused much discussion among scientists, but till now no one was aware that the sweet basil plant, common in the south of France, Spain and Italy, is equally de- structive. Charles Raymond, the dramatic author, however, writes that during a visit to Venice he obtained complete protection by putting pots containing the plant along the window sill, as not one mos- ~mita neassad throush.