Paris, April 2, The late Duc d'Orleans was not a great auceeis as a Pretender, and his demise leaves the French public perfectly cold. He lacked the "panache" the slightly theatrical Jelement which made General Boulanger a popular idol some 40 years ago, and he gave the impression of resigning himself to a comfortble exile, which is, of course, the last, thing a pretender should do.
His death places his cousin the Due de Guige in a very unwelcome! position. The Due de Guise is the} son of the Duc de Chartres, a younger brother of the late Comte /de Paris, who, as the head of the Orleans family, was expelled from France in 1886 under the law of fail land their direct heirs.
Guiee becomes head of the house! in succession to the Duc d'Orléans, and he now has to decide whether: he will take up the political role of leader of the French royalists, A Patriot If He Might Be It is an adventure on which no tone of the duke's age—he is now 52—would Feadily embark, His tastes are those of a country gentleman, and he has kept fon good terms with the existing regime. When the war broke out} in 1914, he applied to the President] of the Republic for permission to verve in the French army, although, for political reasons entrusted with a diplomatic mission to his cousin King Ferdinand of Bulgaria. On his return from this fruitless endeavour, he} joined a civilian organization for the care of the wounded. For 17 months he was in charge of a jcantecn near the front line, where. he was frequently under fire from the German artillery. His services faired him a mention in general orders.
His chief interest is agriculture. He has a large estate at Nouvionen-Thiérache and another and still larger one near Larache, Morocco, If he decides to do' what he has hitherto avoided and, cut a sense of duty to family tradi-to raise the banner of the Cause, he will no doubt have to abandon his estates and his prevent mode of life and withdraw to exile, The Government might be erly too pleased to his existence if he publicly repudiated any chare in the Royalist activitier, but it could hardly allow a Pretender to go on living its terri tory.
Tt fs probable that a good deal will depend on the terms of the Duc "'Orléang' will, which are not yet known, Then there is the question of the remains of depart. ed Orleans princer. The Comte and Comtesse de Paris are "previsional ly" interred in England. They: wanted to be laid to rest in the royal chapel at Dreux, but only if their remains could be followed, in the funeral procession, by the surviving head of the house, who-fever he might be, and the Due @Orkans may have expressed a similar dire, The Legitimists It should not be forgotten that all the French Royalists are not] Oriéaniets. There are also Lecitimsts who hold that no one Lut a Bourbon can be the rightful King of Fraree. Their leader, the! venerable Comte Maurice d'Andigné, looks with scorn upon the members of the House of Orleans, who are: descendants of the notorious Phi pipe TEgalité, and even calls them traitors, because both the Comte de Paris and the Duc d'Aumale refused to declare hostilities against the Republi The Legitimists consist of al handful of priests and members of decayed noble families scattered about the provinces. The Orléarists have the money, the organiza, fora national union.
This,' of] rcouree, is the thing which must dope ifthe near future."
Maurras.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.