EUROPE’S MONARCHS IN CARTOON

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 9, 26 August 1908, Page 48

EUROPE’S MONARCHS IN CARTOON

r The “ Cri de Paris,” one of the cleverest of the satirical papers of the French metropolis, seized the occasion of the rebent visits of President Fallieres to the Various European capitals, to pass in factorial review for his benefit the men ho would be his hosts. Roubille, one of lhe most brilliant cartoonists in the •world, has drawn a scries of caricatures of theee rulers, a few of them good-na-tured, but most of them mordant in their

Satire, every one of them hitting off the Character eit her of the individual monarch or of the country of which he is taken Vs the type. It is evident from the spirit of the cartoons that King Edward has lost none of his popularity in Paris. He is such a good-natured, magnetic man that Frenchmen have always loved him. Their caricatures of him have, with few exceptions, been animated by gentle humour. The

exceptions were notable at the time of the Boer war, when French sympathy was ardently anti-Britisb, but the very virulence of the cartoons of Willette and one or two others defeated their purpose and left the British sovereign as popular, as ever. The “ Cri de Paris ” prints with these cartoons a story of King Edward which it vouches for as a fact, remarking that the incident is typical of the ealm courage

that has stood him in good stead so often. The story goes that a few weeks ago at Biarritz King Edward and some of his friends were playing bridge in his rooms at the hotel when there was a fearful crash, accompanied by the smashing of glass right under the window. The bridge players turned pale and gasped: “ A bomb I” The King alone smiled and said: “One of the incidents of my profession.

Then, as he stepped to the window and motioned his companions to keep back he addted: “ This is my affair, not yours.” On looking out he laughed, for all the excitement had been caused by a child, at an upper window throwing some bottles of milk into the street, where they had made a royal smash. We only reproduce a selection of Roubelle’s caricatures. King Edward is represented in Scotch costume, eigar in hand, dlancing a step which might be Scotch or even possibly French. Leopold of Belgium is represented holding a bag full of Congo gold, with the motto (a play on the phrase “ Union makes strength ”) “ Boodle makes strength.” The Sultan of Turkey is pictured in truculent pose: “ Allah is great and Abdul Hamid is his butcher.” King Alfonso of Spain is dancing a

vi'c findango: “And what of it? The Queen is not my mother! ” The King of Italy figures as‘an organ grinder, holding out his hat: “If you please * * * the Triple Alliance has not made me rich.” The Emperor of Austria is holding a flag, made up of pieces sewn together, representing the heterogeneous parts of his empire: “My poor successor! What an inheritance! ” The artist pourtrays the Czar on horseback with a caption of which a free trans-

lation is: “I am the Little Father, though it cost the knout.’ The Cri de Paris, prefaces its review of rulers with a little story of an evening at the house of the Comtesse de Tredero, when a witty Russian Grand Duchess was the centre of an admiring group. Her name is not mentioned, but it is

easy to recognise the Grand Duchess Vladimir as the original. The conversation turned on Siberia, conspiracy, massacre, and other such subjects as arise at the mention of Russia. “And those dreadful revolutionaries?” some one asked. “Why, the Czar is in absolute communion with his subjects,” replied the Grand Duchess, calmly and authoritatively. Then, in reply to looks of incredulous interrogation, she addted, “He has taken to drink!”