Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-11-16

There are but few of us, either IN
the new world or in the old, who have
not at one moment or another Of our
existence experienced a feeting panS
OF envy toward those who are figura-
lively described as born on the steps
of the throne" There seems at first
sight something delightful III beng
addressed as Your Majesty, as Your
Royal or Imperial HighneSs, i'll feeling
yourself superior in rank TO nearly
everybody around you, and in being i'll
Il position to command almost universal
Difference and subserNdency. Besides
these, writes Ex-Att;tche in the New
York Tribune, there appear to be many
other advantages and attractive priyi-
legeS possessed by members of reign
ing houses which | have neither time
nor space to enumerIte here. UnfOrt-
unately, they are nearly all on the
surface, and Of a character that can
only be descr. bed us superficial, where
us the drawbacks and disadvantages
to which plinceSSeS, and in particular
princes, are subjected by reason of
their birth, though not patent at first
are of far more deep and serious ma
ture-SO much SO that we find princes
ana pFinceSSeS of the blood beWaihng
their purple and lamenting that they
have not been born Il simple bourgeois,
or even us mere peasants. If we are to
believe them, the attributes of their
rank constitute nothing more nor less
than bonds us calling as those of any
longtcrm Prisoner. They are bonds
that restrict the activity of mind and
Of body, of speech and of deed, in
every direction, which shut them off
from all sorts OF cOngenial Occupa-
tons and associations, and which de
prive them of every ambition and
healthy object in life The late duke of
Sake Coburg Gotha was wont to de-
scribe his lot as nothing more nor less
than downright slavery. Il am de-
priyed," he would eXclaim, 'Of nearly
every pleasure and satisfaction enjoyed
by ordinary mortalS. When | visit an
exhibition or Il show | should like to
be able to stop and to inspect when |
see anything that interests me, and to
be able to pass by when / don't. But,
being n prince, | am forced to do Just
the reverse | should like to be able
to sit down here Gt was III the public
square ut Coburg that this conversation
took place. Just like any one else and
to watch the people pass But, 10; they
won't let me. They think it necessary
to surround me with q kind of Gordon
the moment | sit down, so as to keep
hnIu from .lnn1.l1 I.l1jnU close
to one of the anointerd of the Lord. No
matter how strict my incogrito when
i travel, l always manage to fall into
the hands of some funCtionaly or Off
cial who recognizes me and who con-
SiderS it to be his bounden duty 10
poster me with his attentions, to con-
stitute himself as my keeper or bear
leader and to prevent me from follow
ing my own inclinltions. All this Ell
quette and intricate official machinery
by which we are hemmed in are abS0-
lutely maddening to any sensible man,
such as you or I, and only serve to
absolutely crush every sentiment of
pleasure, of Individuality and OF per
sonal freedom"
The duke was very far from being
alone in this belief. Indeed, the only
two royal personageS that l have ever
known to derive any real enjoyment
from all the pomp and ceremony Of
their surroundings are the present en-
peror Of Germany and his grandfather,
old Kaiser Wilhelm, who was not pre-
ciSely renowned for his brilliancy Of
intellect His son, Emperor Frederick,
ON the other hand, was never SO happy
as when he could drop his imperial
rdnk and travel about unrecOgniZed, IN
known and seeing life from the level
of an ordinary citizen instead of from
the altitude of prince of the blood.
And it was just this love of simplicity,
this apparent distaSte for and disbelief
in all the fuss and feathers of royalty.
that contributed SO much to endear him
to his own people and to the world at
large. His one aim seemed to be to
meet his fellow creatures not as 4
prince to subject, but as man to man,
with the addition that he endeavored
by his conduct and department to
prove himself the better man of the
two. And he generally succeeded
Why is it that the ear and cZarina are
never so happy and cOntented as dur
ing their annual stay at FredenSbOr@
1t is because there they are cOmpara
lively free from the tramnIelS Of Off
cialdom and etiquette. and they are n
liberty to follow out their own inclina
tons, no matter whether they lead
the ear of all the RuSSiaS to place
himself in the shafts Of 4 carriage anC
drag his imperial relatives around The
COURTYARD. to indulge in boxing mattel
with one Of his brothers-in-law, or 4
play any other kind of bOyiSh prank
His father-in-law, King Christian, OF
the other hand. makes periodical stay
ut Hamburg, where nO~u>.y knows hin
and where he is able to do exactly a
he pleases without any diStasteful al
tentions on the part of the local au
thoritieS. He spends his days strolhn;
about in the streets or along the docks
sitting in front of cafes and peepn
in at all the thearterS and beer garden
of the place. where he occupies tn
most modest and lowest-priced Q
seats.
King Leopold of Belgium every nov
and again goes off, either to LondO
or Paris. for the sake of obtaining I,
lief from the official trammels tina
him, in his own dominion.