The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-11-17

staff of his fellow countryman, General |
Louis Blenker, and one afternoon while |
the army lay in front of Washington, Miss |
Leclercu was included with a party of Wis |
itors from the Capital City who went the |
rounds of the camps to see the sights. |
The prince was introduced, but couldn't |
converse in English. Some of the women, |
among them the future princess knew no
other tongue, but
Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again,
and a brief camp courtship led the way to
the priest, where private ceremony made
the sprightly actress the wife of n soldier.
Such a fate doesn't necessarily involve
remarkable career, but if the soldier chance
to be a prince of restless and warlike stock
there are possibilities in the situation.
The prince for n couple of years did not
get away from he circle of capital intrigue,
and being an honest, modest German he
lacked the diplomacy needed TO make head
way in the scramble for preference. Luckily
for him, his wife was thoroughly schooled
in the secrets of official life, for she had
been reared in the family of cabinet
official aud had noticed the part woman
often plays as IA power behind the throne.
Through her clevcruess entirely Salm-Salm
was saved from the disgrace of dismissal
when his superior, General Blenker, fell
under a cloud, and was appointed colonel
of the Eighth New York regiment. When
dismissal was hanging over him ready to
come at any moment, his wife hurried to
Washington to secure his appointment to
a command 1t was necessary that it
should be among Germans, and but one
vacancy existed, the colonelcy of the
Eighth New York The princess laid the
case before Senator Ira Harris of New
York, who declared that it was hopeless.
Governor Morgan, he said, was II stern
woman hater upon whom Establishments,
smiles or entreaties would be wasted. But
the plucky wife appeared at the executive
chamber in Albany and announced that
she would sit down and wait until the
governor found II German regiment lack
ing head and made out and delivered to
her in person IA commission for Prince
Salm-Salm as colonel of the same. The
tactics prevailed in a couple of hours and
Staff Officer Salm-Salm resigned, honor
ably, to muster in again as colonel OF the
Eighth. The regiment was oue'Ot IA lew
enlisted for two years and was discharged
from service in May, 1868, leaving the
prince again without command. The
colonelcy of the Sixty-eighth, Ger
man regiment, was vacant. but the
ranks were not full by several hun
bred men. Prince Salm-Salm was of
fered the position if he would recruit
men enough to complete the organization
Several plans for this failed and ut las
the princess took the matter i'll hand. Sh'
found in Washington several hundred un
assigned recruits which We're secured afte
a long battle of diplomacy. One hundred
of them belonged to Illinois, and the gov
ernor of that state, Dick Yates, said tina
he was willing to let his men 90 to New
York regiment, but they must he led by I
captain who was not New York " bump
kim" as he expressed it. The princes
quickly assured him that that shouldn'
happen if she had to take command o
them herself. Acting on the hint, Governo
Yates appointed her captain ON a regula
salary, and the whole battalion accompa
MED her to the camp in New York. Salm
Salm was duly commissioned colonel anC
took the regiment to the west, where il
served in the field until the war ended
The princess joined the corps of arm!
nurses and gave the suffering boys in blu'
the benefit of her art in diplomacy. /
there were any supplies to be had, the If
repressible nurse cut red tape and secured
them, law or no law.
One day she broke down the rules o
discipline fixed by the prince himself
Sitting in his tent while he was absent
she heard sounds of human distress at tn
guardhouse nearby. They were traced t
a soldier who had been buclled and gagge
with bayonet in his mouth. His oifens
was refusal to obey an order of Colont
Salm-Salm, then commanding the brigade
The princess demanded from the adjutaI