The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-10-03
PRINCESS HELENE OF MONTENEGRO.

a lion, the physique of an Amazon the
face of an enchant~ess and the spirit CT
a Joan d Arc. She rides like an Arab and
handles a gun like a sharpshooter She
has lived among the most savage and the
most polished people OF Europe, and is
thoroughly at home with both She can
knock over small birds with "A revolver.
or stick knife into a wolf with the same
cOmposure displayed by the average girl
when rafting off a waltz on the piano.
She can converse in half a dozen Ian
guages and knows the political intrica-
cies of Europe as thoroughly as a prime
minister. She has enough OF the savage
in her to make her a lover of the wild and
forocious and she has the Intelligence
and the training to make of her "a finished
woman of the world
This is a crude summary of Princess
/ Helene of Montenegro. who i'm short
/ time will wed the prince of Naples, heir
/ to the Italian throne and all the glories
/ of the ancient house of Savoy. This al
lance has been greedily discussed by the
/ statesmen of Europe one has pointed
out its immediate effect upon the French
| in their relation to Italy. a few days ago
the French hatred for Italy was intense
Now all is amiablity. Russia is the friend
of Montenegro, and France desires Rus
sia's esteem above all things. Another
/ statesman points out that the fate of the
warning king of Abyssinia is sealed; that,
Russia will help Italy regain her lost
treasures in northern Africa. Some one
| else says that King Humbert will abdi-
cate on the day Of his sons wedding,
| handing the throne over to the newly
welded couple These are only few OF
the rumors, but they may all happen, and
many more of equal import, as a result of
this girls marriage.
Some odd Differences.
The Princess Helene is five feet II in
ches tall and weighs 10 pounds. The
prince of Naples is just five one inch i'm
height and weighs us pounds. She is %
years old and he is n The first dozen
years of her life was spent in ram
shackle villa, by courtesy called a palace
in a city of 1000 inhabitants and a single
street, where the mon never appear out
side their houses unarmed. and where
the women do all the work. from raising
children to filling the fields and market
ing the products.
All of his life the prince has lived in the
great art crowded palaces Of Italy's king,
with tutors examining learning into him.
and with doctors working over his puny
body. Some people say that Victor Eman-
uel the prince of Naples is the most
learned man in Europe. He has plenty of
learning and but little knowledge, just
like a great many pedants in this free
land of ours. Every care was laVished
upon the prince. Little or none was given
the princess until she fell under the care
of the dowager empress of Russia.
Not u Model Father.
Her fathers life is not a pleasant one
for a daughter to look upon. He has been
suspected of bringing about the murder of
his own son, a young man whose mother
was one of the kings subjects. His ram
shackle palace is filled with card players
who have fieeced the king for years. His
intrigues with the wives and daughters OF
his best subjects have driven many OF
them out of the country His total in
come is but $4,000 a year, $4,000 of this
D. being given him by the Russian govern
, mcnt and he spends ten times that sum
His only redeeming quality is his courage
and a rough regard for his people wher
it does not call for any sacrifice Of his
pleasures.
The men of Montenegro deem il dis
grace to work. Every man is a soldier
and he carries his arms with him wher
ever he goes. Murders are plentiful, bu
the murderer is never executed, unless
he shoots his victim in the back or kills
him in some cowardly way. The usua
punishment for murder is 10 deprive The
murderer of his firearms for a certain
length of time and force him TO walk vi
and own the public square in the day
! time. This is regarded as an awful dis
grace Theft is a rare crime, possibly be
cause no one has anything worth stealing
CettinJe, where the prince lives, ana tn'
5 single city in the principality, is mostl,
made up of single story houses, built o
stones and with matched roofs. Most o
the houses have but one room. The audi
ence chamber of the prince is a grove o
trees, and he and his councillors, six IL
number sit on wooden benches. Here al
b. the business of the nation is transacted
When the prince wants his subjects to d.
anything, he sets them an example by be
CIR ming the job himself. He introduces
the trade of the blacksmith in this way
D. also the cobblers trade
Ii is easy to understand the peculia
y qualities of the Princess Helene when he
Montenegro life is studied. But notwith
]. standing these. she is fitted to reign owe
Y the Italians or any other European ma
Il ticn. The dOwager empress of Russia in
T tended that Nicholas II. should MARI
q her, but, as all the world knows, he prac
r. tically Tilted the Montenegro girl. To fl
n her for a place on Russias throne IN
e dowager empress took her almost befor
v she was in her teens and put her throug
p a schooling which made her the equal G
any princess in Europe.
q Enough of her time was spent each yea
s with her father at Cettinje to keep aliv
n her fondness for roughing it in the viii
country aroud her home. She has hum
a ed all manner of wild animals, and Ia
never displayed the tiniest symptom {
fear.
She is a welcome daughter-in-law to oil
Is King Humbert, who sees in her vigorou
n health a splendid foil for the bodily nj
q ments of the weakly prince of Naples
h h
Not for Two.