The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-01-19

of this portion of North Topeka during
the winter months, and the Gypsy Sow
ereign cannot alter her outside sur
rOundings. The picturesqueness viii
come later when the queen is crowned,
surrounded by hundreds of her tribe
CARRIED in the bright cOIOrS they love so
well, in the heart of some woodland
on the outskirts of the city. For week
camp fires will burn and the festivities
continue, and day and night dark
skinned ROmany girls will dance away
the hours and make the woods ring
with their Gypsy songs in honor of the
great event.
Inside the tents, however, it is diff
ferent. There the young queen and
her sister-in-law spend the most of
their time, and their appearance and
surroundings suggest traditions OF the
Gypsy tribes. There are no seats in the
tents, and the women sit in Oriental
fashion on the straw and carpet OF the
floor.
Queen Maria will not be 20 years of
age until May p, and her appearance is
youthful The fact that she has been
in this country but few months and
is unfamiliar with the English Ian
guage-''a, stranger in strange lana
as it Were-is responsible for shy and
diff1dent manner. In the presence of
strangers she sits with her eyes down
cast, not unlike the manner of bash
full American schoolgirl.
Her skin is of a dark olive tint and
her face is lit up by a pair of bright
black eyes which sparkle in converse
on top of her head with bangs over her
forehead. In her ears dangle English
gold pieces, and about her throat is a
necklace of American silver dollars.
On her fingers are two heavy gold band
rings, and a set ring of turquoises ar
ranged in the form of a horseshoe.
A distinct scar on her left cheek
somewhat mars her appearance. 1t
is the result of a burn received when a
child while playing about a camp fire.
The young sovereign elect is a good
type of the Gypsy race
A black skirt, ankle length, and a red
waist with sleeves of large plaid mate
rial form her dress. A pin mounted with
an English gold piece of the denOmina-
ton of a sovereign secures the waist at
the throat. The skirt is short enough
to show bronze cOlOred uppers to a pair
of substantial walking shoes.
Unlike the queen, the sister-in-law is
English by birth and speaks the Eng
lish language duently. Her dress is
similar to that of the queen, with the
exception that both waist and skirt are
red. She is a mother, and her two
year-old son requires the biggest part
of her time.
In the three tents Queen Maria" and
her husband Gustave Stanley, stack
Ovitch) together with Louis Stanley
and his wife reside. The first tent is
used as a cooking establishment and
dining room, and the other two are
four persons arrange themselves
around a square box sitting Oriental
fashion on the floor.
Couches of fur and straw served as
resting places for the Romany sover-
elgns in former years, but the royal
household of today prefer beds, and
have them in their tents. The wood
work is painted yellow and blue, with
the head piece fancifully carved, and
the cOverletS and pi1lOWShamS are of
bright colors. The bed covers are all
woven wooden stuff, the colors arrang-
ed in different designs, and are the
work OF the women of the tribe. Rugs
of the same material ornament boxes
and baskets around the interior of the
tents, and pieces of bright red Brus-
sells carpet cover the floors of the
sleeping apartments.
Queen Maria has grieved much
over the death of her mother, so her
husband says. The old queen was very
kind to her daughter, and allowed her
to travel where she wanted to and do
pretty much as she pleased. She had