TOPICS of the DAY

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 242, 11 October 1902, Page 1 (Supplement)

TOPICS of the DAY

(From Onr Speelal Correapon-tntJl

LONDON, August 29. THE KING'S CEUISE,

PICNICS IN MANXLANJO AND ARRAN.

' The King could not have chosen a ' course more likely to endear him and I his consort to his people than his • present cruise round Great Britain ;in his yacht. It was most, appropriate that from a review of his ships the King of the mistress of the seas should proceed by sea to his northern home. Royal cruises on the West Coast of our island have been rare, t and the King's surprise visits to Pembroke, to the Isle of Man, and to Arran have been all the more welcome 1 from their spontaneity and informality. The descriptions of some of the scenes read very much like extracts from Queen Victoria's journal, and the spontaneous demonstrations of loyalty and unrestrained affection by the Manx men and the Scottish folk must have been a welcome change from the obeisances, backward progresses and other formalities which make up the daily round of life at Buckingham Palace. John Brown, we used to be told, spoke to the late Queen with blunt directness, but he could hardly have been plumper in hi., speech than a sturdy Scottish shepherd during the sheep dog trials at Dougarie, in Arran. At one moment part of the flock which the collies were convoying in obedience to their master's voice alone began to break in the direction of the Royal party. "Stand back, Yer Majesty," cried the shepherd to the man to whom peers and prelates and princes had done lowly homag-e a fortnight before. When so many English people simply "slobber" over the Royal Family, as if it were composed of paragons of beauty, virtue and intellect, and go into ecstacies over Roya/l condescension and graciousness if a Royalty does a simple, courteous act, such as might be reasonably expected of any lady or gentleman, it is well that we should occasionally have a reminder that the English Monarch is a constitutional one, and that there are occasions when he should "stand back." There are quite a large number of people here quite ready to believe that the King made the peace quite "off his own bat," and that his desire in national affairs should be as implicitely obeyed as if it were an inspired Divine command. But to the cruise. Accompanied by the cruiser Crescent and the torpedo boat destroyers Gipsy and Lively, the Victoria and Albert steamed from Cowes to Weymouth and thence last Friday to Milford Haven. Saturday afternoon was spent by the Royal party in a visit to Pembroke, the ruins of Pembroke Castle, and other sights of the neighbourhood. After lunch with Colonel Lambton at Brownslade Court, the party drove out along the cliff road to the Stack Rocks. Here they fell in with a picnic party,, who lined up and sang "God Save the King" and gave three hearty cheers. Their Majesties ordered the carriage to stop and the Queen got out and walked about, mixing freely with the picnickers. An old woman from one of the neighbouring cottages handed her a bunch of flowers, which the Queen accepted with a winning smile. The Royal party remained over a quarter of an hour and then left amid hearty cheers, having delighted everyone by their charming manner. While the King was smoking at Brownslade Court with Colonel Lambton and admiring a herd of black Welsh cattle, the Queen, rambling round, found that four boys of the Duke of York's School were present, and promptly marched them up to the King.

Monday last was a memorable day for the Manxmen. Never before had a Sovereign set foot on the island. In 1847 Queen Victoria paid a visit to Douglas and Ramsey, but did not land, although the Prince Consort went ashore unexpectedly, and was taken by the local barber to the top of a hill at Ramsey, now crowned by the memorial "Albert Tower." On Sunday night the Victoria and Albert anchored in Ramsey bay, and shortly before noon on Monday the King and Queen, Pricess Victoria and the Portuguese Ambassador proceeded to the pier, where they were met by the Acting-Governor and Speaker, the Bishop of Sodor and Man, and several members of the Manx Legislature, including Mr Hall Came. The day's tour embraced the greater part of the island.

From the Isle of Man they went on to Brodick Bay, in the Isle of Arran, where on Tuesday they called at Brodick Castle, the residence of the Duchess of Hamilton. After lunching at the shooting lodge the party watched the collie competition with great interest. About one hundred sheep were enclosed in a pen, and the shepherd stood in a corner of a large square, from which he directed his dogs. Half a dozen sheep were let out into the field, and the sheipherd, who must remain in the same corner all the time, directed his dog by voice and gesture' to drive the sheep between flags and posts over about a mile of country. It was here that the "Stand back, Yer Majesty" incident occurred. The Victoria and Albert had come round to Dougarie, and the Royal party and Mary, Duchess of Hamilton, and Lady Mary Hamilton breakfasted on the yacht on Thursday morning, and then the King went ashore and shot a fine stag with a head of twelve points. He hit it twice, but it bounded away into a neighbouring wood, and a torpedo boat destroyer was left to wait for the stag's head, while the King proceeded in the victoria and Albert to Colonsay /sian", which ia owned by Sir John V-O, equerry to Queen £»£*£* a warm personal ircenu