, 1885-07-15
soynRrIan or rng CONGO.
Peeuiinritfe. of King Leopold. Of Bel
Eium-His various Accomplishments.

.,nm-ui. y,r,o.. ccomnlishm.nt
New yor, sum
rvarv day the hing eithar rides or
ar;,as - NPsnsaals aceomnanied hv ona
~ Two "a utsnts1 In The naiscc Sf the
.ac,,.l- -giva. his andiences The
- cot srart Tor tlcse cc-nmonias is ON
IN round aoor -onenino ontbc asrdsns
snd il coached bv another drawino,
-ao,n rhara tbs oHicar on dnfv
h H. atterd,nr TIM fling ia most
accsssihia and easilv grants an
intervie, He I. afable and enters
freely into conversation annarentIv IN
teresied and eager for i~nforn,ation Thu
walls nj The audience chamber are
li,eralIv crovrded with naintinos soDno
of great value and merit 10Th ancient
and odern eopold III IL AZ once n
oonnoissenr and m amateur. and has
ae,oired some priceless pictures bv
an Dyck. Rubens, Hohbema. and
other artists. The magnificent ceiling
represents Day driving away Nigla BIZ
lean francois MilIet. Near this salon
is the Cabinet de Travail. to which he
retires Immediately after the visitors
have departed. lie resumes work .ill
it is time to return to / aeken for dinner
When lie entertains civilian guests. the
king appears in black evening suit.
with the order of the Golden fleeee-
otherwise ALWAYS in uniform. After
dinner he reads the evening papers
dips into new books and publications
and retires early.
is tastes, idiosyncrasies and antipa.
thies are strong and decided. As al
ready said, he does not care for wine.
he is not fond of music, dislikes hunt.
ing and shooting, and hates tobacco.
while his brother Is an inyeterate smoker
and sportsman. he does not even swim,
although at Cstend during the bathing
season he spent an hour in the sea. He
is fond Of walking and riding, but his
horses are trained for him, while tho
queen trains her own. lie has ne err
worn gloves even in uniform, and re-
fused to wear the hat, which his father
used to think the proper headgear at tho
opening of parliament, p%ronouncing the
speech from the throne bareheaded.
His dominant passion Is architecture.
and his f~avorito taste laying out grounds
and planting At his own expense he
gave 10 the parish of It. Giles a splen-
did public park and another to the
township of Laeken. In the Bots de la
Camore, the Bots de Boulogne Of Brus.
sells. he purchased for 100, 600 francs a
piece of land which no converted into a
square so as to preserve for the holiday
makers the magnificent panorama Of
Ixelles-E tterbeek. In the Ar ennes he
rebuilt the castle and created Tierson.
At stend he erected n palace called a
chalet, made OF wood, a marvel Of com
fort and elegance, planned and con.
structed entirely at lowestoft in Ing
lind, brought over in sections, and put
together at his favorite seaside resort.
lie takes a lively interest in all in.
ventions. His hot houses and winter
gardens are heated by the most ap-
proved sytem. He has repeatedly
visited the model dwelling houses Of
] ondon, in order to found similar ac-
commodation for the working classes in
Belgium. He speaks Engl sh, French.
and German alike luently, as well as
flemish. He is courteous, amiable, and
Of a most equable disposition. If
slightly skeptical, he Is neither bitter
nor severe, and seems to have taken as
a motto the words of Napoleon at st.
Helena, ITO un erstand ali is to forgive