, 1892-08-03

the Roumanlan Throne, by birth q PrusSlah
Prince, and the second son of the amlable ana
accomplished gentleman whose candida fure
for the parish Crown served France as a
pretext for picking a "querelle dAllemand'
with the Fatllerland Just twenty-five years
ago. Only a few days ago her Majesty was
pleased to publicly signify her as sent to the
h%etrotlal Of Princess Marie Alexandra Veto
ria, the Duke Of Edinburgh's eldest daughter,
to Prince Ferdinand Victor Albert Mainrad,
second son Of Prince Leopold Of Hohenzollern,
and nephew of the reigning King OF Rouma-
MIA, who, with the consent and approval OF the
Dacian Legislature and people, has chosen
his youthful kinsman as his future successor IN
the sovereignty Of the youngest but one Of
European Kingdoms. The adoption Of an heir
to the Roumanlan throne, it will be remember
ed, was rendered necessary by the %unfortu-
nate unfruitfulness of King Carols union to
the Princess Elizabeth of WED, known
throughout the literary world as Carmen
SYLVIA under which pseudonym she has
written many works If conspicuous merit and
interest, in prose as we'll as in verse. The
only child born to the soldier-prince by his
gifted consort was a girl, who had scarcely
emerged from infancy when she was stricken
do wn by Danube fever, and, after a brief
illness succumbed to that insidious malady,
her untimely death plunging her mother into
a condition of physical and mental prostitution
in which she remained for more than two
years after the date of her lamentable bereave-
ment. 1t was not until 1876, when the East
ern Question assumed an aspect rife with me-
mace TO the fortunes Of her gallant husband
and of her adopted country, that the Princess
of Roumania reused herself from a long le-
thargy Of grief and mourning, and resumed
the abits Of bodily and intellectual activity
which had characterised her g%irlhood and tho
happy opening year Of h'r married life.
The valiant little army that turned the
scale If war in favour Of turkeys foes during
the campaign Of 1877 bad good reason to be
grateful to he Princess for the tender caro
She lavished upon its sick and wounded, and
for the high example Of patriotism and self
sacrifice She set to Roumanian women, Nor are
the Daciau people likely to forget the services
she has rendered Them III connection with the
development Of national education and local
industries during the period intervening be-
tween The conclusion Of the war and her own
withdrawal from public life-a retirement I'M
happily due tc chronic illness and growing IN
frmities. Shortly after the elevation Of Rou-
mania to the rank Of a kingdom, and therefore
nearly u decade before the lIretrievable break
down Of he Queens health, the contingency
involved in the birth of a direct heir to the
throne came to be regarded by a large maJoTl-
ty Of King Carols subiectsas an absolute hope
less one and it was very strongly felt through
out the country that oefnite measures should
be taken for occurring the succession, IN the
male line, to a member Of the HohenZollern
family. The importance to Roumania Of the
intimate connection between hel dynasty and
that Of Prussia. W ich, had, perhaps, not been
adequately appreciated during the earlier
years Of Prince Carols reign, impressed itself
deeply upon the popular mind after the con
soidation of the German Empire under Kai
ser Wilhelm l. II obtained full recognition
from all classes of Dacian society when the
venerable Emperor's near kinsman exchanged
his Princely coronet for a Royal crown, not
made Of mere gold and jewels, like the ordi-
nary conventional diadem, but Of Furnished
steel, supplied by a captured Turkish cannon
such an emblem Of sovereignty as was tit
ted to adorn the brows of a warrior King.
When the Roumanian nation, thoroughly
alive to the advantages it had already derived
from its connection with the House of Hohen-
zollern, made up its mind to ensure the con-
tinuance Of that connection by nominating a
kinsman of King Carol as his heir, it was ma
tural that it's choice should fall upon his Ma
ipsty's second nephew, whose elder brother,
the Hereditary Z Iince Of HohenzolIern, was
out of the question for obvious reasons. This
Young gentlemen, at the time Of his nominal