The King of the Hellenes is on a visit to
King Edward VII., his brother-in-law, and on Wednesday his Majesty was enter- tained by the Lord Mayor at a State luncheon in the Guildhall. On his progress from Paddington to the City the King was very cordially welcomed by the people, and at the luncheon, which was attended by a remarkable collection of the leading Greek citizens of London, the Lord Mayor assured his Royal guest that he was regarded by London with "warm esteem and respect" as a Sovereign who for forty-two years 1.1.0 successfully done service to his kingdom. The King's reply was marked by much warmth and rather unexpected eloquence, one sentence about the way in which "the liberation of Greece has inspired some of the most brilliant pages of your literature and the most glorious achievements of your diplomacy" being peculiarly felicitous. The King has worked hard for his adopted land, and though the last war with Turkey was probably a mistake, and certainly unfortunate, he has never lost the affection of his subjects. There is no position in the world more trying than that of a King of whom his subjects expect impossibilities, and who fears with justice that if he thwarts their unwise or premature ambitions he may break the cord of sympathy which binds him and them together. That is the danger at present in Greece, the fear of losing Macedonia to the Bulgarians tempting the more impatient Greeks to outrages on their rivals, which it is as difficult to tolerate as to restrain. We trust they will be restrained, however, and that some endurable inodus vivendi may be found until Europe agrees to which of them Macedonia is to be ultimately assigned. There must, we fear, be a partition, even if Austria consents to delay or abandon the realisation of her dream of an Empire stretching south to Salonika.
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