The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-07-12
HOLLANDS LITTLE QUEEN.
Who Is Considered the Greatest Matr
mOnial Prize In the ROYAL Market.

Who Is Considered the Greatest Matri-
moniai Prize In the Royal Market.
The report which came out recently,
and which was promptly contradicted,
that the young queen of the Netherlands
was engaged to the only son of the Duke
of Coburg and Edinburgh, was probably
but the forerunner Of many rumors yet
to come-reports of her engagement to
every eligible prince of Europe, for the
little queen, though now only 141a
years old, is the greatest matrimonial
prize in the royal market. 1t is said
that she is to visit England this sum
mer, which amounts, we suppose, to
her coming out, and her marriage
will be planned and talked Of as mat
ter Of affectionate interest as we'll as Of
great political Importance, for already
she is much loved by the Hollandors,
Should Wilhelmina die without an heir
the crown of Holland would pass to a
foreign family.
Wilhelmina is pretty, sweet faced
little girl, with fine royal courtesy and
dignity, and she is as good and as interest
ing, it is said, as she is pretty, very
much a loving, thoughtful girl, and very
much queen, most charitable to the
poor and tho aged, most majestic in her
strong will, most unaffected in her
pleasures. Such at least is the notion
one gets of her from her own subjects,
who seem to like nothing better than to
talk of their little queen, and in her
face one may see the blending Of all the
characteristics which they ascribe to her.
1t was the writer's fortune to be in Hol-
land Just before Wilhelmina' S last birth
day, and though he c&lld not stay to see
the actual festivities he did not leave
her capital city of The Hague until the
eve of the anniversary, and SO caught
something of its spirit.
That day Of preparation was glori,
ously perfect one, and the flags and
bunting were early arranged. In the
morning all the shop windows were
filed with the new photographs which
the queen had had taken for the occasion.
They were of various sizes and STYLES
all finely finished, and all showing the
same sweet face, whether the fair smooth
brow supported crown, or whether the
silver headgear Of Dutch peasant close
ly clasped it. The sale of the pictures
seemed to be very great, but then the
stanchest republican might buy one ant
forget that the little girl was queen.
In the evening the arches and the
frameworks for the gas Examinations
began to appear, ard after nightfall thu
streets were noisy with the cries of the
hawkers of her pictures, of flags and o.
badges. OF the latter the most popular
was an orange colored bird, fixed to {
stab pin, to wear in the lapel of one'
coat. By 8 o'clock it seemed as though
everybody in the streets had one, ant
very graceful and pretty they were, ant
the writer was as proud of his us though
he were a Dutchman.
There was something quite touchiD;
and interesting and very foreign to |
republican i'll the thought that who'll
nation was on the eve Of thus loyal,
celebrating the birthday of little girl
only just in her teens. How much i
all meant And was there not somethin,
pathetic in it, too, in the thought tina
such child must seriously note thes'
manifestations of popular love Ssnd nov
in the news that she must think of
husband2 Poor little girl, life's best i
closed to her Rochester Post Express