"A

NOTHER Tailor King like George IV. !" That was an experienced diplomatist's premature forecast soon after Queen Victoria's death. He had been reading the "Greville Memoirs," and was impressed with superficial analogies between the characters of Edward VII. and the last of the Georges. He assumed that the ceremonial side of royalty would be uppermost during the new reign. He gave the sovereign full credit for resourceful tact, distinction of manner, and social graces, but considered him incapable of submitting to the daily drudgery of examining state papers and of exerting personal authority in home and foreign affairs. He was confident that a sumptuous coronation would be ordered, that niceties of etiquette would have increased importance, and that Court functions would be conducted with unexampled dignity and stateliness; but he lacked either discernment or imagination for anticipating that Edward VII. would become one of the foremost figures in world politics. When an accomplished diplomatist, favored with long acquaintance with the King as Prince of Wales, displayed so little insight, it was not strange that there was a lack of public appreciation of the potentialities of a unique personality.

At the opening of King Edward's reign Berlin was the center of European diplomacy, as Paris had been when Bismarck entered upon his series of machinations and triumphs. The personal ascendency of the German Emperor was unchallenged in Europe. The dismissal of Bismarck had been a stroke of masterly audacity, since it disclosed inherent strength of character and an inflexible determination not to be overshadowed even by an empire-maker. It had in creased the young sovereign's authority, and moderation and self-restraint had come after sensational and theatrical

incidents. His will had become the strongest force in Europe; and England was isolated, distrusted, and discredited. In the course of seven years conditions have been transformed. London is now the diplomatic capital of Europe. sentful enemies like France have been reconciled; friendships with America, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Spain have been strengthened; strained relations with Russia and Germany have been eased; and by the alliance with Japan forces have been readjusted for the maintenance of existing order in the Pacific. A new balance of power has been established in Europe, and the diplomatic resources of the British Empire have been reinvigorated and enlarged. While there have been eminent statesmen in the British Foreign Office--Lord Lansdowne and Sir Edward Grey-these transformations have been mainly King Edward's work. Fifty years hence there may be a true sense of proportion, so that his services as an empire-builder and a peace-maker can be judged aright. At present there is only a vague conception of the momentous influence which he is exerting in world politics. Critical estimates are premature because a sense of historic perspective is lacking.

As the most conspicuous diplomatist of the time, King Edward may be treated without formality, but not without great respect. His character is a composite one, with a strong strain of hereditary traits and with qualities developed in the environment of a prolonged apprenticeship as heir to the throne. What may be described as the Victorian heritage includes absolute truthfulness, capacity for work, shrewdness of judgment, persistency of purpose, high-minded patriotism, and consciousness of moral obligation. These virtues were less apparent while he was Prince of Wales than some of his mother's minor characteristics, such as stately elegance of

manner, kindness of heart, intense inter est in small details of Court etiquette, and a lively sense of humor. Light hearted and volatile in spirits, the patron of the turf and the idolized leader of the smart set took his pleasures easily and reveled in bright, spirited conversa tion and the luxurious recreations of country-house life. He could not be suspected of having the indolent habits of the Georges, when he was displaying untiring energy in promoting public charities and in conducting ceremonials; but his reserves of working power were not divined until he ascended the throne and devoted his talents to the service of the state. The Victorian virtues then shone out with unimpaired luster, and along with them were qualities of his own which facilitated his work.

There was the precise knowledge of detail which proved helpful to him when great state functions were planned or diplomatic policies carried out. There were the resources of tact, simplicity, and bonhomie, which were serviceable in the management of men at home and abroad. There was the quickness of decision as a safeguard against procrastinating habits, suspension of judgment, and vacillation of will. There was the flexibility of mind for adapting him to circumstances and protecting him from harassing controversy over minor details. There was the freedom from prejudice which had left him on terms of close friendship with both Gladstone and Beaconsfield when his mother could not conceal her antipathies and preferences, and which was to enable him to balance his social activities so impartially that he could work as readily with one Prime Minister as with another. To his nat ural trend to greatness on a high plane of action was added a special equipment from his protracted training in public life. The King has taken a more active interest in foreign affairs than in any other branch of state business. Diplo macy has become with him little short of a ruling passion. His success in it is due in large measure to his honesty and sincerity. He is trusted at home and abroad. He has his mother's in stinct for going straight and keeping faith with men and nations. Heredity

has left a strong impress, for here, whatever may be said of his remote Hanoverian forbears, his father and mother were conspicuous for absolute truthfulness. Queen Victoria was so careful of her reputation for candor that when Gladstone was dead she refused to accord to him pre-eminence in statesmanship or to profess for him a warmth of personal attachment of which she had never been conscious. She never deceived either her own subjects or foreign governments. King Edward commands confidence by similar directness of purpose. He plays an honest game of diplomacy, with the cards on the table in plain view, and with motives, methods, and objects frankly disclosed. Napoleon III., whose statecraft was tainted with Machiavellian intrigue, would have considered his straightforward method clumsy and deficient in cleverness; and Bismarck, who had a cynical indifference to ways and means and made flagrant use of secret wiles and backstairs agreements, would have described it as unbusinesslike; but it is suited to a time when plain dealing and publicity are indispensable. The entente between England and France was brought about because the King was trusted personally by a sensitive nation suspicious of "perfidious Albion." The German Emperor's subtle play over the Morocco Conference came to nothing because the King was against him and Frenchmen knew that they could depend upon England in an emergency. In the King's relations with sovereigns, presidents, ambassadors, and nations there is not a trace of dissimulation or double dealing.

To truthfulness is added the sovereign's representative character. He is as English as the nation. The German Emperor is in close touch with the Fatherland, and controls its foreign and maritime policies because he understands the interests of the Empire and the natural aggressiveness and racial ambitions of his subjects. King Edward, with equal discernment and fidelity, represents England-its conservatism, its respect for established order, its conciliatory disposition, and its practical instincts. He is in sympathetic relations with his subjects. He has the incomparable gift

of forecasting the trend of forces of pub lic opinion. Reconciliation with France as a Mediterranean Power, a reasonable understanding with Russia respecting Asia, and more neighborly relations with Germany have been brought about without undue haste or surrender of any vital principle; and each policy in turn has received popular support in the King dom. The most difficult undertaking was the restoration of good feeling with Germany, for French suspiciousness had to be guarded against and English jealousy allayed. The visit of the German Emperor to Windsor was deferred until the right moment, and it was then converted into a state event of supreme importance. The two sovereigns, after being pitted against each other for a long period, met on equal terms as though there had been a drawn battle. Berlin could not claim a victory for ag gressive diplomacy, and the only ground for rivalry was honorable emulation in peace-making. The King is an optimist, who believes that all things are working for the peace of the world; but he is neither credulous nor in a hurry. He stands for something essentially English, enlightened self-interest, when as an opportunist he arranges an armistice in South Africa or proposes working arrangements between rival nations based on mutual accommodation.

One of King Edward's salient qualities--and it is a portion of the Victorian heritage--is his common sense. He has an unerring perception of the adaptation of means to ends, and a subtle comprehension of what can be done and of what is impracticable. Favre formed this estimate of Bismarck in conducting negotiations with him: "I found him to be a political man of business. He seems only to calculate with what is actually before him; his point of view is only directed toward positive and practical results, and he is indifferent to everything that does not tend to useful ends." King Edward is a diplomatist of the same practical turn of mind, although he is more scrupulous than Bismarck in the choice of means, and prefers the full glare of publicity to the half-lights of intrigue. He is as businesslike in his objects as he is orderly

in his methods and processes. He deals with facts and tendencies as they are, works with the grain of public opinion rather than against it, considers a good understanding between rivals more profitable than strained relations, and is content with a stroke of practical business here and there in the interest of peace without claiming credit for his diplomacy as anything heaven-sent, or particularly brilliant or deep.

Her

Flexibility is one of the secrets of the evolution of the King's character. shown in his methods of dealing with men and of accomplishing results. Queen Victoria had her own point of view, especially in foreign affairs, and was drawn into many vexatious controversies with her Ministers when state pape's were not submitted to her, or decisions were reached of which she disapproved. She had her own mentors and advisers outside the Cabinet, notably the Prince Consort, Stockmar, Melbourne, Beaconsfield, and Granville, and hampered the independence of Palmerston, Russell, and other Ministers. letters recently published show that she was in the habit of revising diplomatic correspondence with her own hand, and of interfering strenuously in the conduct of foreign affairs. There has been no revival of Stockmar's sophistries during the present reign. The King accepts the constitutional theory that there is no stronghold of administrative authority outside the Council of Ministers of the Crown. He finds a clearly defined field of activity for himself in keeping in constant communication with his responsible advisers, and working with them tactfully and effectively. An outside mentor he does not need when his knowledge of affairs, is capacity for business, and his resources of influence and prestige are unrivaled. If the initiative in diplomatic policies sometimes comes from him, there is no shifting of constitutional authority, for his Ministers are easily persuaded that, with his dynastic relationships and friendships, his experience and judgment, and his popularity at home and abroad, he is the safest adviser whom they can have. He does not wait for emergencies to arise, but discusses them in advance as possible contingen

cies; and when the necessity for action. comes, he and his Ministers are of one mind. His supremacy in foreign affairs is complete, because he has broken away from the conventional formalities of court life, and, without straining of royal prerogative or any challenge to Parliament or Ministry, is exercising much of the masterful authority of an American President.

The King's method is the art of managing men and regulating affairs by short talks, informal conferences, and quiet understandings. He writes fewer letters and state papers than Queen Victoria. When his reign comes to an end, his diplomatic correspondence may be as meager as hers was voluminous. This will not be a proof of lack of industry or neglect of public business. It will merely mean that he was economical of his time, left the drudgery of correspondence to his secretaries, and found it easier and more effective to talk over matters of state and diplomacy with public men than to dictate or to revise letters, which would be exposed to critical examination. If he were a diplomatist with inscrutable mysteries to conceal, like Napoleon III., this might be a dangerous practice. His own methods are SO straightforward and his motives so sincere that frankness is a safe resource. He wants honest dealing among nations and a peaceable solution of every question, and his opinions are as candidly expressed to foreign Ambassadors as to his own Ministers. He is an attentive listener, and his unforced, businesslike comments, while not brilliantly phrased, are practical and to the point; and whoever hears them is impressed with the reasonableness and unaffected good sense of his opinions. He brings to every conference and discussion the spirit of good breeding and conciliation. Without sacrifice of dignity or relaxation of etiquette, he blends distinction and cordiality in charm of manner. The result is the same whether he is conferring with public men at English countryhouses, or entertaining distinguished Europeans in Paris or Marienbad. He begins by setting them at their ease and ends by securing their co-operation and support.

He

The King, with his high qualities and flexibility of mind and method, has unrivaled distinction and fascination. There is no lack of either firmness or power, and there is a characteristic charm which suffuses his personality as a smile softens and irradiates a face. It is a winsome rather than a commanding personality. He is neither selfopinionated, nor argumentative, nor domineering. He is tactful, considerate, and persuasive. He deals with matters of state or of diplomacy with the light touch of a keen observer and a man of the world. While not without sentiment and ideals, since he has a lofty enthusiasm for peace-making, he is content with proving how useful the business of reigning can be made. He does not exaggerate the value of his services, nor consider himself indispensable to the Empire, nor encourage flatterers to talk about his mission in world politics. does not love power for its own sake, nor is he dogmatic respecting any order of policy. If he lacks the German Emperor's artistic sensibility and eclectic faculty for absorbing information, he does not pose as a many-sided genius who knows a good deal about everything, nor does he persist in taking the center of the stage and overshadowing rivals. His knowledge is precise and at his fingers' ends; his memory of details, names, and faces is phenomenal. He evades publicity, and prefers to work, so far as possible, without observation. His quickness in noticing petty things like a misplaced decoration or a flaw in a court ceremonial has given place to mastery of great affairs. He labors strenuously for high-minded ends, but does not encourage heroics over his career. His is a personality that does not repel support by affectations of manner or vagaries of mind. He attracts and hypnotizes men and nations by communicating to them his own conciliatory spirit.

The King's activities are not restricted to foreign affairs. His Ministers are responsible agents of Crown administration under the supervision of Parliament; but he himself stands apart from political groups and exercises a salutary influence in facilitating solutions of

national and Imperial questions. There is no meddlesome activity, but there is diplomatic use of the resources of his exalted station and social prestige. Peace was made with the Boers on magnanimous terms, because he thought that the time had come for a suspension of barren warfare. Under two administrations he has shown his faith in conciliatory processes in Ireland. Military reorganization was a miscalculated failure until he took it up; and it became a definite policy when the report of Lord Esher's commission was issued. When Mr. Haldane's scheme for the creation of a new system of home defense was exciting only languid interest, it was the King who imparted a powerful impulse to it by inviting the Lords Lieu tenant to a conference at Buckingham Palace. The settlement of the railway controversy was due in no small degree to his personal influence with the Chairman, brilliant as was Mr. Lloyd-George's management of a difficult affair; and it was not until the seven years' armistice had been concluded that there was public knowledge that he had been helpful in averting a calamitous struggle. He stands behind his Ministers in grave emergencies and assists them by timely hints and judicious suggestions to the right men, and the reinforcement generally proves irresistible. He cannot be deprived of opportunities for free action by the settled order of constitutional practice, and there is no risk of the development of absolutism when his persistence is held under restraint and he is indifferent to the issues of party politics. The King is able to work in his own way because he is screened from observation. The cymbals are not sounded either at Court or in the press. In place of self-advertisement and undiscriminating laudation there is wise reticence. Etiquette protects him against thoughtless discussion, and it is not considered good form in society to talk about him. The newspapers are discreetly silent, and there is no dazzling glamour from publicity to blind his subjects. They trust him, and no safeguard is needed against irresponsible power.

The King's personality, with its attractive charm, restrained force, and

widening sphere of activities, is adapted to modern conditions and to world politics. Old ideas of diplomatic intrigue and racial aggression are passing away, and a new sense of community of interests is felt by progressive nations. Napoleon III. was a crowned intriguer; Gambetta was a tribune of democracy ; Cavour had an enthusiasm for national unity; Bismarck completed the work of Frederick the Great; Gladstone was the world's most conscientious citizen. Edward VII. is an equally characteristic man of his time. He represents the modern idea of the responsibilities of power, and that is more potent than any mediæval theory of sovereignty by divine right. He is the central figure of a system of social and political order, and he has set an example of personal service for his country and for the world, of keeping faith with nations, and of promoting a neighborly feeling of peaceable fellowship outside the Empire as well as within it. He has increased the dignity and prestige of the Crown until the destinies of nations are powerfully swayed by a single will; and the Kingdom is not less settled. in its constitutional order from his silent activities, and a world pulsating with the free competition of the progressive forces of Western civilization is more peaceable, conciliatory, and reasonable in consequence of his diplomacy. He knows that he has resources and opportunities for supremely useful work, and, recognizing moral obligation, he does it quietly and effectively.

On the human side the King may be said to have been specially trained for this work, which has been inherited with the Victorian traditions and is a portion of the practical business of reigning. His career is a study of the evolution of character. While his mother was writing state papers in seclusion he touched the world on every side and became intensely human. In place of the Tailor King, preoccupied with etiquette and ceremonial, there is a master workman in a progressive world; and so human is he that he can confer Knighthood upon a workingman and invite sturdy John Burns to Windsor as an honored guest to meet the German Emperor.

London.