Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-10-02
Ex-Queen Natalie.

After, comparatively spcAhlnb' an uh-
usual period Of smouldering. which al
most justified the hope of their ultimate
extnguishment. fires of revolution, when
would probably involve the continent OF
Europe in conhagration, again threaten
20 burst forth in the Balkans. Seryia is
once more the sensitive and dangerous
SPOT in Europe, and on that country the
eyes Of the great Powers, particularly the
Powers associated in the triple alliance,
have set an apprehensive watch. Inc
causes Of this are the return Of ex-Queen
NATALIE 70 Belgrade and the demonstra-
ton over that event in Seryia. There IS
more than n reasonable suspicion that the
whole affair is another feature of the Rus
sian programme Of design upon the Balkans,
but the details are rs yet n matter of mys-
ferry and speculation. II Russia, with the
hold she has upon the Scrvian regents, IS
behind the ex-Queen's movements, that
fact would seem 10 imply change OF front
on the part Of the Gar. Yet would such a
change of front surprise any one? There
is no keeping up with the phases and mu-
tatious of st. Petersburg diplomacy and
intrigue. and no telling when, where, and
with what instruments Russia Is going to
strike. The eX-Queon has announced her
intention of holding aloof from party poll
tics and conspiracics, and the impression
is sought 90 he made by Russia that that IS
the Cars desire. Still NATALIE cannot be
insensibe to the significance of the mag
nifcont and spontaneous reception that
WAS accorded her. She * said TO be Wo-
man of extraordinary beauty. and that she
is "A woman with "a grievance and IS pos
scssed of great ambition are unqucstloncd.
She is also represented rs having all the
instincts of the true mother. Her son, the
King of Scrvia. Is a mere brat, mere
cipher. and il is hardly going too far to as
sert that he is virtually "A prisoner OF the
regents. who. while in the grip of Russia,
still fear Austria, and could not perhaps
stir up the enthusiasm necessary for the
success of a revolution or outbreak that
would play into Russia's hands. The
Czar'e desires, il Is we'll known, are those
that are concealed rather than those that
are eVpressed. and 1t is also well known that
Russian emissarics are constantly at
work endeavorng TO incite feeling be-
tween Soryia aud Bulgaria and stimulate a
thirst for Seryian revenge for the defeat Of
the Servians under the dehauchee MILAN
Ly the Buloarians under ALEXANDER. The
national feeling in Servia has recently be-
come much intensified. The same fierce
spirit prevails there now that made kosoyo
such a historic and bloody page in the
annals Of the Balkan peninsula. Ex-Queen
NATALIE is from all accounts of that type
of woman the poet had in his mind when
he exclaimed:
"Disguise our bondage az we Will.
lis woman, woman, rules as still"
She has to deal with people inspired
LARGELY with the sentiment that actuated
the Hungarian mobiles in proclaiming their
Noriamur pro rcge noStrO Maria Theresa.
which proclamation, as the carnage Of
many battlefield attests, embodied no
idle boast. and the loyalty and chivalry Of
which were we'll repaid. The abused eX-
Servian Queen and wife could, it would APP
pear. arouse just such devotion and en-
thusiasm among the Seryians as "Our
King MARIA THERESA aroused among the
| Hungarians when they determined to seal
the pragmatic sanction with their lives.
| She has every incentive to do thistle In
centive Of mothorly love and pride, the
| incentive OF revenge. the incentive of a
most far-reaching ambition, the incentive
Of a desire for vindcation. That Russia
appreciates the potency of these incentives
goes without saying, but whether the CzaI
will ignore the opportunity TO turn them
to his advantage is the question that Eu.
ropean statesmen are specializing upon
The temper of the foreign papers as con-
veyed in their advice TO ex-Queen NATALIE
and their covert warnings to Russia implies
| a fear that he will not.