Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-20
ROYAL AND LOYAL.
The Crown Prince of Greece Really
in Love With His Betrothed.
PREPARING FOR A BIG WEDDING.
The LivelieSt Parliamentary Recess in
England on Record.
BOULANGER SICK AND REARTSORE
EBY GABLE TO THE DISPATCH,


LONDON, October Copyright. j
The royalties of Europe are looking forward
to a gay little time all of their own at the
wedding of the Princess Sophie, of Ger
many, to the Duke of Sparta, Crown Prince
of Greece, at Athens, a week from to-mor-
row. There are to be no fewer than SO
royal personages present on this occasion,
including one Emperor, William, of Ger
many, brother of the bride; two Expresses,
Frederick. the brides mother, and Augusta
Victoria, her sister-in-law; two Kings,
Christian, of Denmark, grandfather of the
groom, and George. of Greece, the groom s
father; two Queens, consorts of the afore-
mentioned; two Crown Princes, beside the
groom, Albert Edward, of Wales, uncle of
the bride. and the Czarowitz of Russia,
cousin of the groom; and one Potential
Crown Prince, Albert Victor of Wales,
cousin of the bride. The Emperor William
will be escorted by four aids-de-camp; the
Empress Frederick will be attended by two
of the highest mobiles of the German court,
and the King of Denmark. the Prince of
Wales, and the Czarowitz will be attended
by three Lords each.
AN IDEAL LOVER.
The Duke of Sparta is said to be an ideal
lover; he does nothing but talk of his bride,
and can scarcely conceal his impatience for
the arrival of the wedding day. He is 81
years of age, and his bride is 49, The we'd
ding presents are of enormous value, and
there is every indication that the marriage
will be happy one-a rare circumstance In
the annals of royal alliances
One curious custom of German tradition
which still survives in the Hohenzollern
family, will be commemorated in modified
form at the wedding in Athens. In earlier
and ruder ages the best man at German
wedding was allowed to remove the brides
garter when she retired on her wedding
night, and to keep it as a trophy. A Ber-
lin jeweler has just completed six gold gar
ters set with diamonds, to signalize the sur
vival Of this ancient custom. The garters
are identical in workmanship. Two of them
will be worn by the Princess on her we'd
ding day, and the other four will be pre-
sented to the four best men at the ceremony,
as keepsakes.
THE BRIDES GARTERs
will be sent to the Royal Museum in Ber-
lin, TO be added to the collection there of
mementoes of other weddings in the Hohen-
zollern family.
The wedding ceremony will be one Of the
most splendid ever witnessed. During the
ceremony old Byzantine chants will be
sung, and Immediately afterward a great TIE
Deum will be celebrated, in which all the
bishops of the country will take part, in
magnificent vestments. The Persa of
Eschylus will be performed to music by
the hereditary Prince of Meiningen, and the
Philoctetes of Sophocles, with music bv
Ferdinand Bender. A great ''Kreip," or
drinking festival is also to be given under
the direction of the Rector of the Athens
University, to which all Greeks who have
been members of the German polytechnicai
institutes and military and art academies
are to be invited.
Delegates have also been appointed from
Constantinople and other Turkish towns
where Greek residents are numerous, to pro-
ceed to Athens with
PRESENTS AND LOYAL WISHES
from the Hellenic subjects, on the day of
the wedding. The Sultan will be repre- |
sented by high state officer with suite.
The Emperor and Empress of Germany |
started on their journey to Athens last even |
ing, accompanied by their court marshals |
and ladies-in-waiting. The Empress Fred |
erica, accompanied by her four daughters |
and her son-in-law, the hereditary Prince of |
Saxe-Meiningen, left Berlin this morning.
The King and Queen of Denmark and the |
Czarowitz have already arrived at Munich, |
and will resume their journey tonight. The |
King and Grown Prince of Greece will meet |
the Empress and her party at Kalamata.
whence they will proceed by water to |
Athens. Already The Piraus is being |
decorated for the landing, and the Via |
Triumphalis is being laid bare for the royal |
procession.
After the wedding the Prince and Princess
of Wales will visit Egypt, where
GREAT PREPARATIONS
are being made for their arrival, and the
Emperor and Empress of GERMANY will |
visit Constantinople. The unfortunate Sui |
tan has negotiated loan of e6O. 900 from
the Ottoman Bank, to entertain his illus
trious visitors. and probably wishes with
all his soul that they would stay away.
Owing to the death of the King of Portu-
gal to-day some of the 90 odd royalties who
have promised to be present at the wedding
may have to stay away. His late Majesty
was reputed to be an able man, and be had
considerable literary abilities. In personal
appearance he resembled Mr.. Cleveland.