The San Francisco call., 1897-08-15

travagant ana lnVdfldpiy shoio W S>-'
being compelled to make frequent appeals
to the purse of her son, the King, ana OF
her brother, King Humbert OF Italy. In
deed it is not SO very long ago that seVerai
OF her servants, on being charged In the
Lisbon courts with the theft OF some OF
her bric-a- brac and jewelry, were able 10
plead as an excuse that their wages had
remained unpaid for more than two years
Finally, it is impossible to deny that queen
Pia, in spite of her being grandmother'
is f1ighty in the extreme, while queen
Marie Amelie is excessively domestic ana
imbued with a strong sense OF proprlety,
and there are many people at Lisbon ana
elsewhere who are to this day convinced
that 1t was the younger OF THESE
two royal ladies who instigated the arrest
at night, and summary deportation from
the kingdom of the popular Italian tenor,
Bassini, who was being rendered con-
spicuons in the extreme by the tokens OF
admiration and even infatuation lavished
upon him by the red-hailei Queen Pia.
Had the two Queens shown the good
sense 10 pull together instead OF apart,
and combined their forces to strengthen the
throne of their son and hus sband, the
crown might not to-day be so dangerously
near falling to the ground. Indeed, their
quarreIs which have done so much to
bring discredit upon the court OF Lisbon
are all the more to be deplored as they are
each in their own particular way excellent
people.
Queen Pia for instance wears upon her
breast medal tor the rescue of two chill
dren from drowning by plunging fully
dressed into a gale-swept sea, while Queen
Marie Am ellie deserves immense credit for
her institution OF hospitals and dispen-
saries at LISBON, and especially for her
Inauguration of the treatment by anti
toxine of diphtheria, that terrible scourge
of Portugal, she being the first to submit
herself 10 incubation With the serum in
order TO prove to the poorer classes of the
population that there was no danger in
the remedy. She is, moreover, the only
lady of royal birth who has the right to
add the letters NJ. D. to her name, having
her degree as full-fedged doctor OF
medicine. Her husband, King Carlos,
too, is magnificent swimmer, and
like his mother has rescued fel-
Iow-creature from drowning, while on
another occasion, when out driving on
the outskirts Of Lisbon, he jumped out of
his carriage, felled with his stick 10 the
ground, aud then coIlared single handed
burly highwayman who was endeavor-
ing TO rob and knife wayfarer. More
over, until few years ago the King was
renowned for his prowesses as torrero,
and any one who has had the opportunity
of seeing him tackling an angry bull in
the corr idas, which he was won't to for
merly organize at Lisbon for the enter
tainment of his friends and for the mem
bers OF his court, will acqult him of any
charges of cowardice that may be brought
against him-that is to say, cowardice vi
physical character-since it is impossible
to deny that he has lacked courage in
dealing with the political situation.
Only on one point have the two Queens
been united. namely in the animosity
VIII ich they have each of them displayed
toward that American girl hailing from
Boston, who may be said for time to
have shared the throne of Portugal, al
though she did not bear any sovereign
title, but merely that of Countess. Queen
Maria de la Gloria, whose accession TO the
throne led TO the Miguelist and Legili.
mist evil wars in Portugal, died when
her children were still young. and pend
in Z the minority of her sons, her husband,
King Ferdinand, Prince OF the house OF
Saxe-Coburg. 6 otha, and a cousin there
fore OF Queen Victoria, exercised monar-
chical sway as regent. Almost i'm mediately
on becoming widower, he married Bos-
ton actress named Elise Hensler, whom
he created Countess of Edla, and who
now survives him. She is re-
markably clever woman, and her
royal husband during the period
of her marriage was so blindly
devoted to her that she NAV be said 10
have almost ruled Portugal through him.
Stepmother to the late King and STEP
grand mother to the present ruler, she still
remains conspicuous figure in Portuguese
| life. while the great wealth and vast land
ed possessions bequeathed to her by Fer
dinand. render her factor in politics
sufficiently powerful to be able 10 hold