The times., 1899-10-29
MONTE oRfa4o ISLAND.
bought ny the Prince OF Naples as n
Refuge
lFom the 81 Louis Repnhlic.l

lTIAiN lilf 4@illS RCpublC.l
What magic there is in name, This
was finely illustraed9a few days ago when
it was announced that the young Prince of
Naples had purchased the Island of Monte /
Cristo as a present for his charming wife.
and had erected there a hunting lodge
which he proposes TO make his Headquarters
whenever the fancy sfizes him to fee from
the glare and bustla of court life and tc
enjoy few days hunting and shooting in
place that knows not the telegraph or the !
pOstman. and that, though a part of Italy !
is practically terra incognita even TO the
Italians themselves The island which the
prince has bought is an insignificant little
strip OF land. and yet there is a fascination
about il that renders the news of its pur-
chase of interest to the thousands in all
countries who are familiar with the name
OF Monte Crsto
If Dumas had not written his famous ro-
| nance, with its wonderful if impossible
! hero, it is doubtful if any one of us would
| pause very long over the despatch that the
! Prince Of Naples had become the owner of
| the island. And no wonder for what would
| one know or care about the place if the
! delightful French story teller had not di-
/ rected our attention to II. and had not
I enthralled thousands by his graphic de
| scTiption of its wild scenery and of the
splendid life which the multi-millionaire
| /
! side of Dumas work you will find very
! little mention of the island One or two
| Florentine chroniClerS speak of it, one
modern historian tells US that it has
weird and romantic appearance at sunset,
| and the leading encyclopedias contain
| merely a few lines about its dimensions
and general appearance OF its past his
| tory no author gives any account, and evil
IDENTIFY for the reason that it has not been
| inhabited for a long time.
Yet that it has had a romantic history is
pretty clear. Situated as il is in the Med
! iterranean, twenty miles south of
| Elbe it is manifestly impossible that it
was always as isolated and as desolate as it
| has been within the last few centuries,
and by cleaning here and there in old
! records one can obtain a fair idea of its
past. First however, it is necessary to
| have clear conception of the island.
AS seen from the Mediterranean, il is a
| cOnica rock of granite, FIVE miles in cir
conference and 1880 feet high In stormy
weather the sea dashes fiercely against 1t,
! and it is not easy to make a landing.
| Neither does it contain anything likely
TO attract the ordinary tourist. The ground
! is mainly covered with powders, and there
| is not an acre of land which can be cul-
! tiyated On the other hand, the sports
| man and the naturalist will find many trea-
/ sures amid this mass OF rock. Wild goats
! have long been suzerains of the place, and
partridges have long made it their home.
The chirping of grasshoppers is heard on
/ all sides, and the brilliant butterflies and
| beetles luxuriate in the dense scrubs and
/ grasses which are found here and there.
! Myrtles and olive trees spread in all di-
rections, forming many a labyrinth, and
/ gray old lichen veiis the defoTmity of many
an uRcouth rock.
! There are grOttoes on the island, but
/ hardly such a one as Dumas descTibes-the
one in which the marvellous treasure was
! found There were at least LOCO ingots
| of gold, each of which weighed from TWO to
| three pounds. Then he piled up $4,000
crowns, each of which was worth about so
! francs, and bore the etfigies of Alexander
/ VI and his predecessors, and he saw that
/ the compartment was not half empty. And
! he measured ten double handfuls OF pearls.
diamonds and other gems, many of which.
mounted by the, most famous workmen,
| were valuable beyond their intrinsic
worth"
At the same time there are few places in
the world where treasure is more likely
TO have been buried. and for the very good
reason that in bygone ages this island Of
| Monte CTisto Vas a faVOrite resort Of
smuggIers and pirates. Therein lies its
past history and If some OF those cd out
laws could only speak, they would surely
! tell many tale OF daredevil deeds done
amid the desolate rocks in the days when
revenue officers were still unknown and
smuggling was still an easy and profitable
/ pursuit. There is indirect testimony that
many jovial banquet was held here by
reckless Italian Robin Hoods, many from
/ Corsica and Sardinia, during that memor-
/ able epoch when Lorenzo the Magnificent
! was playing his superb role in the City CT
/ Flowers, and there is more than one old
| legend which tells how African bandits
frequently found the island sure place of
refuge. And yet all this time the island
was, strictly speaking, uninhabitsd, being
! At the best merely a temporary lodging
place for those whose hands were against
every man as every mans hands were
against them.
Italy has owned this barren place from
! time immemOrial and about twenty-five
/ years ago there was some talk Of establish
ing a penal colony there. According 10
I one authority considerable progress was
made in this direction. but it is evident
/ that the experiment if tried at all, was not
a success. as otherwise the island would
hardly have been sold to the Prince of
Naples. There was certainly grim irony in
the thought Of transforming into prison
for criminals the very place which for so
long was a refuge for criminals.
That the Prince and Princess of Naples
/ Will heartily enjoy whatever days they
may spend on this rugged and romantic
spot is certain Both of them are fond of
outdoor life and there are few better
sportsman than the prince in Europe. For
that matter there are very few women who
are more skillful than the princess with
shotgun or rifle. She frequently goes on
a shooting expedition. and rare indeed is
the day on which some trophies do not fall
10 her gun.
She recently went to Spitzbergen for
some shooting, and was successful in
bringing down many reindeer, as we'll as
a large number Of elder ducks and other
game Delighting as she does in free out
door life she was naturally pleased when
her husband presented her with the island
Of Monte CTisto. and she has interested
herself much since then in the shooting
box which is being built there and in the
arrangements which are being made to
convert the rest of the barren island into
park and TO stock it with various kinds
OF game.
If the Prince ard Princess desire they can
be as isolated on their island as they would
be in the heart Of Africa, but with this diff
ference, that within few hours after the
whim seizes them they can be transported
from their oasis 10 the heart Of Italy;
whereas if they we're sojourning on the
black Continent they wCuld find the jour
ney back to civilization much longer and
more difficult
In conclusion, It may be said that. thanks
to the Prince of Naples we are likely to