The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-15
KING OSCARS NOVEL.
His Grandmother the HerOine-ROy-
al Annals in Romance.
in New York Tribune.

His GrandmOth the HerOtne-Roy-
al Annals in Romance.
Ex-Attache, in New York Tribune.
Not content with publishing under the
pseudonyme of o. Frederick a volume OF
original poems, as well as Swedish trans
lations of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered"
and Goethe's Faust" King oscar has
now made his debut as a novelist, the title
of the volume which he has just placed
upon the market being "a Romance of
the Times of Napoleon and of Berna-
dotte."
King Oscar has not gone far for a plot.
For he has chosen as heroine his own
grandmother. Queen Desiree, and the
story of how she was Tilted by the first
Napoleon, and subsequently came to mar
ry Bernado tte, who died as King Of SWe-
den, is told in full Nor could King Os-
car have selected a more interesting and
picturesque theme. For, strange as has
been the fate of the Empress Josephine
and Eugene, and of Queen Nathalie of
Servia, that of Desiree of Sweden was
even stranger.
The daughter of a Marseilles stock
broker of the name of Clary, she learned
to know Napoleon in his very boyhood,
the Clarys being on terms of great init
macy with the Bonapartes, who, upon
being driven out of Corsica, had establish
ed themselves at Marseilles. In course OF
time Joseph Bonaparte, afterward King
of Spain, married Julia Clary and
match had already been arranged between
her 16-year-old sister, Desiree, and Ma
poleon and their engagement announced,
when suddenly the young lover was or
dered off to join his regiment. He quick
ly forgot his little iancee, and the MEM
DRY of her piquant and dainty loneliness
III. i . 49, ynlT II
creole beauty of Josephine de Beauhar-
nais.
Desiree was almost heartbroken by the
marriage of her faithless swain, and ac-
cording to her grandson, King Oscar, new
err forgave him. For, after Indignantly
refusing Gems. Duphot and Junot, as wei
as many other suitors supported and spon-
sored by the emperor, she finally accept
ed Bernadotte, not because she loved him,
but because in her eyes he was the only
man capable of facing Napoleon. The
match did not turn out happily. Bernd-
dotte after being elected Grown Prince
of Sweden and subsequently becoming
king, lost his head so completely that for
getful of the fact that he himself was
the son Of a peasant from the Pyrenees,
he reproached his charming wife with
the lowliness of her birth, declaring that
he had been guilty Of a terrible mesalll-
ance and that if he had only waited he
might nave naQ any princess Ol the DlOOu
in Europe for the asking. Queen Desiree
survived her husband many years, and
died shortly before the Franco-German
war, universally beloved in Sweden, and
strangely enough, without ever having re-
visited her native land since the over
throw Of the great Napoleon.
King Oscars course in thus reSorting
to the annals of his house in order to
secure a plot for his novel is one that
might be copied with great advantage by
his brother and sister sovereigns of the
old world. There Is scarcely a single
reigning house in Europe that does not
possess romantic episodes in its modern
history-episodes that are sometimes inf
nitely more dramatic than those that owe
their origin to the imagna ton of the
ordinary novelist. Thus, what more
charming or picturesque theme could an
author wish for novel than the story
of the Austrian Arch-duke John and his
peasant wife? 1t is astonishing that, with
the taste for literature that distinguishes
so many members of the imperial house
of Hapsburg, not one of them should'have
made use of the episode as the subject for
a romance.
The archduke, it may be remembered.
arrived one day at the post station of
Brandhofen, and demanded horses and
position in order to continue his journey.
The worthy postmaster. a peasant of the
name of Ploeschel, was greatly embar-
raised by the demand, for, although he
had the horses in the stable, yet owing to
it being harvest time there was no postil-
ion available or within reach. Realizing
her fathers plight, and aware that he ran
the risk of losing his postmastership for
not having position at hand as required
by the regulations, the young girl sug-
gested to him the idea of Disgusting her
self as a position and of driving the arch
dukes carriage herself. After a little hesi-
he faf ND rfa
of an hour later behold the fair Anna ar
rayed in the traditional Positions jacket,
topboots and buckskin breeches, astride of
one of the wheelers and conducting the
imperial carriage at a rafting pace along
the road leading out of Brandhofen.
The good looks of the position soon at
tracted the attention of the imperial occu-
pant Of the carriage, who, before the end
of the stage was reached, drew the young
position into conversation and obtained
from her a fun confession Of her disguise.
Susceptible to feminine charms, like all
the members of his house, IL was only
natural that the archduke should be con-
siderably interested by the episode, and
the acquaintance thus formed soon ripen-
ed into an infatuation, which finally re-
suited in a morganatic marriage, the fair
Anna being created first Of all Baroness
Won Brandhofen and subsequently Count
ess Of Meran. From this union, which at
tracted an immense amount OF attention
at the time there was only one son born
the late Count Francis Meran, who be-
came a great favorte. not only of the
emperor, but also Of the empress and Of
all the members OF the imperial family
All kinds OF honors and dignitles were
lavished upon him, including the Order
Of the Golden Fleece, high rank I'm the
army and the place Of privy councillor.
He died about year ago, having sur