was in the habit of devoting several hours a day to this, one of his favorite pastimes.

A large number of cats are kept about the mews, one of which, called "Jack," is supposed to be the State cat par excellence. He is a magnificent Persian, of an extremely aristocratic nature, as he refuses to acknowledge a helper or liveryman, or, in fact, any one beneath the dignity of the State coachman. It was noticed, however, on the occasion of the visit paid by the Prince of Naples to the stables, that “Jack” at once recognized the presence of Royalty, and immediately paid his grateful respects to the Prince.

Formerly there used to be a number of what might be called "performing" cats kept about the mews, and these, on the occasion of Her Majesty's visits, were always made to go through their performances, one of which consisted in their jumping from the back of a horse on to the stall-post, and so on throughout the whole ten-stall stables.

The Jubilee landau is so named as it was used by Her Majesty on the occasion of her jubilee.

It is a posting landau, driven by postillions, and is drawn by six of the cream-colored horses. Like the other carriages it is colored, lake and vermillion, picked out with gold, and is also decorated on either side with the Royal Arms. The wheels are red and gold with springs. This landau has been all over the country when the Queen has laid foundation stones or opened exhibitions. In addition to these carriages, there are no less than seventy carriages of all kinds for private use, such as when the Queen pays a visit to the Prince of Wales at Marlborough House. These are driven by postillions with four horses, and plain liveries are worn. The Queen's coachman is Mr. Miller, who was strongly recom

mended by Lord Bridport. Mr. Miller's special duty, in the early days of his employment, was to look after the thirtyfive saddle-horses then kept for the use of the Royal family for riding. It is the maxim of the Royal Mews that every horse should be treated with kindness as well as firmness.

The young ones are brought up to look upon the stablemen as their friends; the result is that while they retain their spirited nature, at the same time they acquire wonderful docility. No bearing reins of any degree of tightness are used in connection with the Buckingham Palace stables. It is interesting, in visiting the State horses in company with Mr. Miller, to see how every one of the horses seem to know and like him. Immediately he enters the stables they seem to perceive he is there, and they turn their heads, as if asking for some recognition. One important point in training the State horses consists in making them accustomed to the sound of the drums and bands. It is the practice at the mews for the children belonging to the various stable officials to be sent into the stables frequently with their tiny drums; and in order that the horses may get accustomed to the bands, Mr. Miller says that whenever he meets a band while he is exercising the horse, he makes it a point of always following it closely.

In the Royal kennels, the Queen's pets are Pomeranian dogs which would not only win the hearts of any dog-lover for their beauty, but who have also earned the exacting admiration of the judges. These dogs belong to the Eskimo type of the canine species. They have a long, thick coat that seems to stand out from the body, a tail which curls tightly and lies close to the back, a foxy head, small, erect ears, rather short legs, short back, and a generally square and

thick-set appearance, in spite of which, however, they are active as kittens. Her Majesty's pets are not Pomeranians in the ordinary acceptance of the term, being rather Italian Spitz dogs. They came from Florence, where they were purchased in 1888. The Queen always names the dogs herself.

Collies have always been a breed for which Her Majesty has also shown a preference, and this accounts for their number in the Royal kennels. The majority of them are blackwhite-and-tan.

A

THE ROYAL FAMILY

OF

GREAT BRITAIN,

III.

LTHOUGH it would be considered as rank treason in

England to question in the slightest degree the reputation for good taste, chic, and elegance in dress enjoyed by the Princess of Wales, yet the fact remains that it is altogether and entirely undeserved. The merit of telling the fashion for the fair sex in Great Britain belongs not, as is generally supposed, to her, but to her husband, the Prince.

The latter's taste, formed as it has been by his intercourse with the Comtess de Pourtalès, the Marquise de Galliffet, the Marquise de Castellane, and others of the most famous grande mondaines at Paris, is above reproach. It is he who, amid his other multifarious occupations, finds time to personally supervise every detail of the Princess's toilets, and no innovation of dress or coiffure is ever inaugurated by Her Royal Highness which has not previously been submitted to the approval and received the sanction of the Prince.

The only occasion when she was permitted to follow her own ideas with regard to dress was while her husband was in India, and the result was simply appalling, for by birth and education she is thoroughly German, and her personal taste with regard to dress is likewise German.

Until she married she was entirely ignorant of all the delicate elegances of the "toilette intime" of a Parisienne. For a time she had her own way with regard to the dress of

her three daughters, and in consequence, although they are nice and pretty girls, they appeared the most dowdy and inelegant young ladies in the whole of the United Kingdom. It has only been since the Prince was induced to interfere in their behalf that they have been dressed with any degree of chic. The most recent instance, however, of the Princess's somewhat commonplace, and what would be described in London as Bloomsbury tastes, is her craze for photographing on china.

The Court Journals gravely announced a little over a year ago that she had completed the entire tea service adorned with the portraits of her family.

One can imagine, therefore, the feelings of the Prince gazing on his wife's breakfast table decked with this photograph-stained porcelain, when he saw a deep golden stream of tea running down the cheek of his revered mother's face on the teapot while helping himself to milk from a milk jug adorned with the features of his son, and subsequently rinsing his cup in a slop-basin decorated with a group of his family taken in front of the library window at Sandringham.

The Princess, who, besides being a pianist of rare talent, plays exquisitely on that most difficult of all instruments, the zither, has now turned her attention to the sweet-toned philomele, a stringed instrument very much in shape like a violin, but much more comfortably handled. Not only the Princess herself and her daughters, but also her sisters-in-law are taking lessons, and Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne, is particularly distinguishing herself on this queer-shaped instrument.

A pretty story is told about the Princess. The scene of it was the Mansion House, the occasion was a ball that was given