New-York tribune., 1900-08-05
MARGHERITA OF ITALY
"oUR KIND QUEEN" is THE TITLE GIVEN
HER BY HER SUBJECTS-COSTUMES
WORN BY HER MAJESTY.

It is a matter of some speculation among persons
who have met the gracious Queen Margherita or
Italy as to whether the great grief which has taen
upon her through the untimely death OF King Hum
bert will crush out that democratic buOyancy OF
spirt for which Her Majesty has been world
famous and which has endeared her so truly to
her subjects
An American woman abroad, in writing about
her. says:
"oueen Marguerite is in the parlance Of her
Alpine subjects 'our kind Queen with a strong
emphasis the adjective. She charms every one
with whom she comes in contact little house
, maid In the mountain hostlery of Casa fanzo'
where the Queen stopped on two of her excursions
from Gressoney, said The Queen patted my
cheek Just think how friendly is our kind queen!
She is far more afFable than even her lady in
waiting
'The kind Queen heard of peasant girl who
had met with an accident and broken her reg
Forthwith Her Majesty dispatched messenger
with Inquiries and present. and promise OF a
carriage to convey doctor and patient to the near
est hospital which whole days drive from
where the accident happened. In one of her long
walks Queen Margherita passed the charred rem
nants of the hamlet of SAINT Antonio She made
instant inquiries to the condition Of the burned
out families and the result ttat each family
received a twenty dollar note from the Queeh-a
veritabIe fortune in poor valley and' Deihs
wholly unexpected most welcome fortune TOO
To a foreigner who had been helpful to some Itai-
ian peasants whose industry is as great as their
poverty the Queen devised enchanting sur
prise making the stranger the channel of the royal
bounty to a number of Piedmontese toilers. These
are random but typical instances OF the queen 5
tactful kindness.
"It is we'll known that the Emperor of Ger
manv on whom royalties apt TO pail, felt
to the full the charm of Italy's Queen. A neigh
Dor of Queen Margharita, when the Court Is at
Monza has been telling me that when the German
Emperor was in italy ball was given in his honor
in the palace at Monza. Just when all were ask
ing Where is the Queen folding doors flew open
and Her Majesty appeared with the silver halo OF
the Lucia pins framing her hair and face Sne
walked upon the local 'zoccoh, which are high
wooden pattens They are rather harder to man
age than stills but the Queen tripped along
mounted upon them If she had worn them
all her life. This royal woman takes an artistic
interest il the various costumes Of her realm
1T was curious at GressOney to contrast the
wearers of French fashions with those habted in
the local dress which the Queen wears daily dur
ing her viegiatura or summer holiday. The uni
form of the valley looked infinitely better than
the Parisiau dresses 1t was becoming to every
woman and somehow. the peasant garb seemed
more dignihed than the fashionable one. The
Gressoney costume consists OF a bright scarlet
dress which is sleeveless. and worn over full
sleeved white linen smock Ornamented with the
Alpine point The bodice in front has black
velvet gold braided triangular piece. with the
point toward the waist. Between the bretelles OF
scarlet the white 'smock shows across the chest
Val Lys is a wide, very green valley and these
scarlet dresses Of its daughters at work in the
rich meadows are most beautiful touches OF color
where all is Ioveness Other Italian Alpine val
Ieys have their traditional costumes. some being
richer and original. the FobellO and
RimelIa uniforms While others strfk-
ing than that of GressOEey-
Not long ago Varalio-Sesis there
well up tailor made girls, taut and trim,
some brightly clad rather overturned Italian
rrons and hundreds OF peasants. with their time
h0nored attire. These peasants differed from each
other materially in their garb. Some Empire
waists Others defined the waist at the sO-called
natural level. A few were Fobelltne, who have
been STYLED the AmaZonS CT the Alps because their
richly embroidered IesgingS look tFouser-like and
their high boots suggest the trappings of a huz-
zar All had on their snowy hOmespun linen. bish-
region A bright silk aproi gave a happy touch
of color some of the patnest uniforms. Rimel-
iese and Fobelne varfegated. Eastern tinted
silken embrOideries, with tassels in pFOfuslon
their dark cloth garb. At Fobellc, too, a deep red
band ends the short dark blue and violet skirts
liz may be readily believed that the 'fashiOnables
in this motley crowd were lost to view.
The Queen holds informal reception the
door of the parish church every Sunday and holi-
day during her stay at GresSoney. One Of her
many admirng subjects said to me: Our Queen
comes to the Val du Lys for a little peace and
quiet. 1t is very fatiguing to live in crowd and
be the centre and handspring OF everything. That
is the Queens life at Rome, at AIonza and every