Three Days Too Late

1901

The Duke of Cumberland, whose reconciliation with the kaiser is said to have taken place, is a man of whom English people know little, though he might now have been the first personage in the empire had his father been born a week earlier than he was. He missed the throne of England by three days, having been born on May 27, 1829, exactly 70 hours after Queen Victoria. Had the duke's father been born before the queen he would have been king of England instead of merely king of Banover.

Youthful Essayists on the Evils of Drink

1907

In the Hull elementary schools a prize was offered for the best essay on the evils of drink, and nearly 12,000 pupils competed. Extracts from their compositions were given by Dr. Eccles in a lecture before the Society For the Study of Inebriety. He quoted the following gems:

"Today many people are in jail for committing suicide while under the influence of drink."

"Alcohol has an effect upon a medical man's conclusions."

"Doctors say that fatal diseases are the worst."

"Doctors say that the increased death rate shortens lives."

"Some people think that the abuse of drink is right; some take it as a medicine." — London Tit-Bits.


What Is the English Throne?

The English throne — what is it? Is it the stone chair of Westminster abbey? That is only occupied once by each king or queen, and that only at the coronation ceremony. Is it the chair of state in the house of lords or the reception chair at Buckingham palace or the sumptuous gilt thing which the king uses at Windsor when he receives the foreign envoys? It is an interesting question, which some people would like to have answered. Most everybody, however, has come to the conclusion that in the majority of countries the throne is merely a symbol, and the expressions "he has succeeded to the throne" and "speeches from the throne" are only metaphors.