The times., 1898-05-30
,rt.~ like Prince Albert. and not a tltular

Next to the royal box at the game Of
'.caicio.' at Florence. the young queen of
Holland sat with her mother. The young
queen by the bye, has caused no little
iil-feeling In her travels In Italy by her
obstinate refusal TO appear in her official
capacity. She insists upon being simply
young lady Ike any other tourist. visiting
the galleries and going to the places of
interest in the most simple manner possi-
BILE. She can be seen any morning riding
or driving in the Cascine. and although
her pictures crowd the shop windows not
one out of twenty persons recognizes in
the shirt-waisted tailor-made girl the
errnine-draped sovereign Of the photo
graphs.
Among other interesting people now In
Florence is an Indian princess who is also
a poetess. and who goes about In ier ma
tionai costume to the delight OF artis-
ticaily inclined beholders This listle
princess is charming in every sense of the
term; in figure. slight TO the point of fra
gility: with great. dark eyes, masses of
black hair, and tiny hands. which are so
delicate as to be crushed in a hearty
grasp. The Princess O-ah-tolawanna
speaks English with the greatest fiuency,
and interests herself greatly in all that
concerns women in Europe. especially in
Italy. where she finds women whom she
considers far superior intellectually TO any
English or Americans whom she has met.
She is in Europe studying and observing,
and is carrying back with her many ideas
and modes which she considers will be of
use TO her sex at home.
Among the black sheep of the house
~ Ira1 tNn
Duchess Letizia di Aosta. who causes her
family no end of annoyance and anxiety
on account of her undignified department.
Letizia is the second wife of the late
Duke of Aosta and the stepmother of
the present duke, the Count of Turin and
the Duke of AbruzZl She is but a year
or two older than her eldest stepson, and
far outsteps even him, who Is noted for
his escapades. in her giddy behavior.
During the carnival this year in Turin,
where she lives, she rebelled against the
dullness of the functions which she was
forced to attend. One night she absented
herself, and in mask of domino attended
''veglione" or masked ball, which Is a
feature of Italian carnival season. Her
disguise was successful, and. made bold
by the attempt. she repeated the frolic
until some of her attendants whispered
of her doings and 1t got noised about
that LetiZia was not always safely In
the palace when the doors were closed.
A young lieutenant who happened TO be
on guard one night resolved TO satisfy
himself whether or not the rumors were
true. When, therefore. about O'Clock
one morning closed cab drove up to
one of the side doors and yelled woman
demanded entrance, saying she was an
undermaid who had been called away by
illness and was returning to be in time
for her morning duties. the young guard
asserted his disbelief of the tale and in
sisted upon the unveiling of her face. This
the person refused to do. trying to rush
| past him in the darkness. The lieuten-
ant was too quick. however. and the lady
| was forced to unveil, which she did, fash
| ing her laughing eyes into the light and
| discovering herself to the astonished
young officer. She calmly walked into her
apartment and no more was said of the
affair but the too-clever lieutenant was
| very soon removed to Sardinia, where he
! now measures unheard-of mountains and
amuses himself by walking fifteen miles
to the nearest postoffice in the hope OF
an order OF removal, which will probably
| never come--or at least not just yet. Lett
/ zia was spirited away from Turin in an
| ticpation of the visit of the king and
! queen at the opening of the exposition,
and although she Is nearly always kept
! safely in retirement she sometimes es-
| capes and appears in all her gorgeous
| outfit at the palace where the sovereigns
are staying, demanding to be received
with all honor and respect due her posi-
/ ton.