KING'S HOME LIFE.

Mataura Ensign, 18 October 1913, Page 8

KING'S HOME LIFE.

S1J)I0 LIGHTS ()\ HIS TASTKS. Interesting and intimate personal dotal Is of tTTe private life and tastes of King George arc given with much irunkness by tlie well-informed writer (usually Sir Edward Russell) who contributes "From a Club Window" to the 'Liverpool Daily Post.' Ilio Kind's interests, lie says', apart h'om his State duties, are l>o\uid up with his children and with agriculture. "So iar front being a ladies' man, as Iris lather was, one is tempt<»d to say," the writer adds, "that, apart from his wile and daughter, the King is completely indifferent to the fair sex.

' 'Xotliitio; during his reign lws irritated him so much as the militant Suffragette movement,, and he sjteaks of this with bitter contempt, and in doing so departs from his otherwise invariable, rule of not giving an opinion on controversial topics of the day.

"Jn private life lie is the simplest and quietest of English gentlemen. liy habit he is inclined to lie taciturn, but as it is not etiquette to address him unless he first speaks, lie is for ever breaking his own tendency to silence. "He is the most domestic, of men. the kindest of fathers, and always in the bosom of his familv. ft is no'sot*rot that the Queen has the main voice in directing the trend of all the education of their children.

"Hut it must not be thought that the King is a domestic cipher. On the contrary, lie not only occupies himself with every detail about all his offspring, but when he thinks it right he insists on having his own way. "Next to his children, the Kinu best likes agriculture, but he has practically no time for this. Ho would have mado a capital country gentleman, but ho wmild never have been an M.F.H., for ho is not keen on hunting, and has- not a particularly good scat when riding. "As ho advances in middle age, though he has no tendency to corpulence, the King finds an increasing need for exercise, which is why he not only rides every day when in London, hut generally manages to obtain a set of lawn tennis. Indeed, in the grounds of Buckingham Palace he has often had as many as half a dozen sets in an afternoon. He is not a good server, hut is strong when close to the net, though he moves rather slowly. "Golf possesses no interest for him, and though he once, in a way plays a hundred up at billiards, ho can seldom make a break of 20. Of course, his supreme sport is shooting, at which lie excels.

"His Majesty is a most abstemious man, not fond of champagne, but as a rule drinking a light white wine or whisky well diluted. Tho King loves a good English dice so both at lunch and when he is dining nuietly. He likes' a choice, somewhat mild cigar, arid it is not unusu.il for him to con~ sumo a dozen a day. "Those around him are well ;uwo of the obstinate tenacity of his opinions, and nothing modifies bis views of a thing except on the grounds of public utility. "He has very little leisuro for reading, beyond what he devotes to studying the daily papers, but when ho takes up a book it is never ;i novel, but a volume of geographical < ''.oration, and bo is fond of studying tho reports of the Geographical Society. "The King is, of course, served by a marvellously efficient staff of secretaries, but ho conscientiously investigates everything, and he is not a man of quick apprehension which renders his task the more onerous."