eminent men
and beautiful or clever women of Great Britain and the world have been
entertained and here, or in the well-kept grounds, the intimate friends
of the Prince and Princess have gathered from time to time.

The society received at Marlborough was always cosmopolitan in its
variety but it was never of the kind which slander sometimes insinuated.
No man has ever been more democratic, so far as mere class barriers are
concerned, than was the Prince of Wales, but no one knew better than he
where to draw the line in his entertainments. The Princess, for her
part, was at all times a model hostess, and each knew too well what was
due to the other to make the social life of the Palace anything more
than a correct embodiment and representation of the social life of
London. The liberality of the Prince was made evident in later years in
making cultivated and representative Americans or Jews welcome at his
functions. His very proper and openly-avowed liking for beautiful women
encouraged at one time a social class of "professional beauties," but as
soon as this patronage was found to have been misused and vulgarized in
certain quarters, he and the Princess quietly dropped those who were
making a trade of the Royal recognition. A story has been told
illustrating the capacity which the Prince of Wales always showed for
keeping people in their proper places. On one occasion, at a great
charitable bazaar in Albert Hall, which he had honoured with his
presence, he went up to a refreshment stall and asked for a cup of tea.
The fair vendor--there was no doubt of her beauty--before handing the
cup to His Royal Highness took a drink from it, saying, "_now_ the price
will be five guineas!" The Prince gravely paid the money, handed back
the cup of tea and said, "Will you please give me a clean cup?"

The Royal etiquette, as to social entertainments and the acceptance of
invitations to country houses, or city functions, was always very exact
and was carried out along lines fixed by the Prince and Princess in
their early married life. Outside of the aristocracy, or a small list
of personal friends, very few hospitable invitations were ever accepted
and as such acceptance meant certain admission to the higher ranks of
society the pressure upon personal friends or officials can easily be
imagined. The Prince always objected to the lavish and extravagant style
of such entertainments and this was one important reason for limiting
his ci