THE HEAD THAT WEARS A CROWN

It certainly seems that the Prince of Wales is dealt with unnecessarily harshly by the English press. As though the life of the heir to the British throne were not hard enough anyhow, the engaging Prince has been practically forbidden by the newspapers to divert himself with horsemanship--all on account of a few paltry falls and broken bones which every horseman experiences at one time or other. For the British, one is led to believe, take their royalty quite seriously. As the Evening Standard says, "it is one of the penalties of his position that he cannot regard himself entirely as a private individual."

The Prince, however, refuses to pay the penalty. Perhaps he reflects that after all, nearly any one of his brothers would make a perfectly satisfactory King of England in case of an accident. Or perhaps he believes in republican institutions. At any rate he goes lightly on his way and "insists on riding horses too big for him," having apparently no faith in the saying that "the bigger they come the harder they fall,"--and the Press censures him in no uncertain terms for his recklessness.

Without wishing to add to the trials and tribulations of the popular Prince too popular, in fact, for his-own comfort--it might be pointed out that the American press owes to its public the duty of adding its entreaties to those of the English papers. The Prince of Wales has recently been performing a most necessary service in standardizing men's fashions in America, and his taste has on the whole been excellent. When it is remembered that one of his not remote ancestors once appeared with his trousers creased down the sides, the Prince's forbearance and conservatism excite admiration. Without doubt he owes some slight consideration to the British throne but his responsibility to the American public must not be neglected.