ain or else pay calls
in his private hansom and then dine quietly with friends or have a few
of them to dinner at Marlborough. Sunday afternoons at Sandringham were
always greatly enjoyed by Sir Frederick Leighton and Lord Beaconsfield
but Mr. Gladstone is said to have best liked long, lonely rambles
through the woods of the estate.

An important part of the character of a man in the position so long held
by the Prince of Wales is the fact of moderation, or otherwise, in
eating and drinking. It is a vital factor in the lives of all men but
how much more so when great banquets are for months a daily function;
when every luxury, or delicacy, or combination of cookery known to the
civilized world and the barbaric East is at one time or another offered
for his delectation; when the power of rulers and the wealth of
millionaires are devoted to the furnishing of choice wines and
_liqueurs_ and drinks for his use. The good health always enjoyed by the
Prince was perhaps proof enough of his moderation at the table. His
habits in this respect became pretty well known. Tea at breakfast and in
the afternoon he always liked; Moselle cup he enjoyed and was rather
proud of possessing the receipt brought from Germany by the Prince
Consort; champagne for many years was almost his exclusive beverage
though afterwards claret took its place. Between meals he seldom drank
anything though a well-known "cocktail" in the London clubs is credited
to his invention. He always strongly disapproved of ladies drinking
anything but a little wine and this was well understood by his own
guests or by those at houses where he visited.

Reference must be made here to one unpleasant incident in the Prince of
Wales' later career--unpleasant in its results and in the comments of
the press and pulpit. To playing cards for an occasional evening's
amusement the Prince was always partial, but not to the extent which was
sometimes asserted.

CARDS AND THE BACCARAT AFFAIR

During his journeys abroad he seldom or never played and he made a
strict and early rule against playing in clubs. His friends say that he
used to frequently dissuade younger men or the sons of old friends from
forming a habit in this connection and as a well-known man of the world,
without affectation and with wide experience and a naturally commanding
influence, his views no doubt had great weight. Hence the most
regrettable feature in the famous Baccarat case of 1890 which was, for a