Morning journal and courier., 1886-11-12
swEDEN,s ROYAL FAMILY.
Their Habits, Manners, Custo mas ani
Interior Life at Home.

| Their Habits, Manners, Customs and
Interior Life at Home.
| 1Stockholal Correspondence St. Louis obe-Dsmo-
cratJ
Queen Sofia, who was a grand duchesse
| of Nassua, is quite invalid and, her
| subjects say, very cold and formal, caring
| littls for society, melancholy in disposition,
and, although Protestant, almosta fanatic
| in religion. All such gossip aside, her por-
traits show her to be woman with a fine,
clear-cut, sensitive face, with every indication
| of refined and cultivated mind and tastes. In
her apartments in the palace are gathered
more treasure in the way of old Sevres, SAKE
and Danish porcelain than one could believe
| had ever found their way to this northern cap
ital, and with them are countless other treas
ures of art, paintings, carving, ivories, an
tique silver and things beyond naming. She
has boudoir fitted with stove tan mirror,
tables, cabinet, candelabra and chandelier,
all of priceless old Dresden. Of the four
sons of the royal couple each has his separate
suite and home in the palace, the Crown
Prince, Prince GustAf, and his wife, who is a
daughter of the Grand Duke of Baden, and
granddaughter of the Emperor of Germany,
are plainly gifted with artistic tastes, if not
talents. The Crown Prince is q tall thin
slender man, with dark hair, wears eyeglasses,
and is altogether a Frenchman in
appearance. Princess Victoria is very Ger
| man and rather plain, except when arrayed
| in the full glory of evening costume; and
when she bows to the populace from her open
| carriage, she does it with the grace of q
machine working herself forward and back
ward If she had but the one hinge in her
body, never looking to the right or left, and
wearing set smile. The Queen can do
this gracious act with perfection, but her
royal daughter law burlesques the thing
to the extreme. Princess Victoria has modelled
busts of herself, her husband, her parents
and her imperial grandfather, whose great
pet she has always been. In her pretty
salon, which is arranged in a way pleasing
that one wants to have a sketch of the furni-
ture in each of the different nosks and CEN
ters, she has innumersble portraits of the
Emperor William, among them several where
the grizzled ectogenarlan is holding her in
FAINT son in his leng baby dresses. The
Grown Prince has brilliant room where he
has snshrined many anxious pieces of ancient
Swedish and Norwegian wood carving, and
antique brass plaques, resurrected and pol
ished, have been used as panels in dark
wooden screens and pieces of furniture.
The second SON of this family of Sweden
is Prince Oscar, an officer in the navy, who
recently returned from a trip around the
world, and brought home ship full of curl
ous and beautiful things to adorn his apart
ments in the palace. Prince Oscar is rather
heavy and stolid in appearance, but good look
ing, and it is said that when the Prince of
Wales visited Stockholm year ago he deli
cately hinted at marriage between his eldest
daughter and Prince Oscar. When Prince
Oscar later saw the very plain and stupid
looking daughter of the Prince of Wales it is
said that he fatty refused to have the matter
considered for another minute. He would
not have her under any circumstances. Prince
Oscars apartments in the palace are dream
of oriental magniheence and perfect study
in decorations. His walls are covered with
Turkish, Indian and Chinese embroideries
and Japanese brocades, set with trophy
pieces of weapons, brassware and porcelains,
and the furniture is of carved Bombay
blaokwood and Turkish woods inland with
pearl.