St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-06-06
AN EMPRESS IN GUM BOOTS.
Her Investigation of the Grievances of
Her Subjects.

Her Investigation of the Grievances of
Her Subjects.
The details of the peculiar pilgrimage
of the Empress of Austria have just
been made public, and have created
much amusement mixed with admira-
ton for TIE royal lady.
1t has long been the custom of the
reigning house of Austria to initiate the
doings of the Caliph of Bagdad at the
beginning of the Lentcn season. The
custom gives the royal rulers an oppor-
tunity, which they would not other
wise have, of ningling among their
subjects without being known, of
listening to their complaints, and get
ting an insight to their grievances.
This year the handsome and popular
Empress disguised herself in an oldssuit
and pair Of gum boots belonging to
one of the palace washerWomen. Her
valuable iewelry was left at home, and
she slept with her hands in a pail of
water for two nights in order to give
them rough appearance. Her maids
of honor did not recognize the Empress
as she pulled the cloak of her water
proof over head, and walked down the
back stairs.
The Empress took her way to the
poorest quarter of the city, where the
tumble-down shanties and Zig tene-
ments are jumbled together.
In front of No. Is Strasse de Raven
ne pretty girl stood crying bitterl ".
She looked up as the Empress APP
preached, and eyed her curiously.
What is the matter, my dear?" ex-
claimed the Empress Tell me what
troubles you, and will remedy it if it
be in my power. J"
II want a pair of roller skates, "
sobbed Beatrice Vincenzo. "Olivette
Murphero has pair of nickel-plated
ones and she has taken all my beaux
away from me"
The Empress promised to see that
Miss Vincenzo got the skates and made
note of it in her diary
Crossing over to that part of the city
whose residents spent their time tear
ing up the pavements, putting them down
again, and voting for the Commissioner
of Public Works, the Empress walked
up several flights of stairs in tall tene-
ment. Hearing woman crying in
small room she opened the door and
walked in.
''My daughter has run off with an
organ grinder, (" exclaimed the weeping
woman, sand our family will never get
over the shock. We are rag-pickers,
and | never imagined after the way I
brought that girl up that she would dis
grace her family BY marrying beneath
our circle"
The Empress tried to comfort her, and
at length promised to give her any
thing within reason that she might ask
for. After thinking for some time the
afflicted mother replied:
I'D like to have pair OF those
eighteen-cent vases at Schmidt's. They
are job lot and dirt cheap.
They were sent to her next day by the
Empress.
a big man in his shirt-sleeves sat ON
the curb-stone in detected manner op-
posite the Castle Spinola. Tears from
| his eyes flooded the gutter, and his
throbs threatened to shake him apart.
Touched by the mans apparent misery
the Empress approached him and SAID:
s'What troubles you, sr?'
81 want to get on the police force,
but the Commissioners say that I'm too
thin, said the man. Il can only strike
a two hundred-pound blow, and they
want man who can kill with one crack
of the club
Once more the Empress promised to
use her influence That evening she
started for Niantica, small village
about forty miles from Vienna, where a
great number of workmen are employed
in the macaroni works.
The Empress walked until almost ex-
hausted. The sight Of a mile-post
marked '"Niantiea, thirty miles, " dis
couraged her, and she boarded Blue
line street-car and returned to the pal
ace.
The Empress is greatly impressed
with the knowledge of the everyday
life of her subjects which she has ac-
quired, and proposes to write book
dealing with her adventures while
journeying around incog. NJ Z. Morn
ann To7Lyn0I