The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-08-10
ITALY'S NEW KING.
He is sickly but Brave, Bright and
Scholarly.
(Chieago Tribune. J

Victor Emmanuel is barely five feet
tall. He is sickly, weak, and has always
been afflicted with disease. He walks
with perceptible limp and can barely
mount horse without assistance.
The new king is splendidIy educated.
Els first governess was an English woman
from whom he learned to speak English
as perfectly as Italian. and with whom
he used to drive in a royal carriage every
day to Villa Borghese, courteousIy re-
spending with his little hand to the
salute of the military and of the loyal
population.
From the earliest years of his life his
mother ruled the young prince strictly,
wishing his education to be thorough and
complete. His father, then Prince Hum =
bert, and his grandfather, Victor En-
manuel, were, however, more induIgent
with him.
1t was favorite amusement of the
king to put the child on a table and tell
! him to initiate his grandfat her. a feat
which the young prince performed in d
comic manner, assuming fixed stare
and pretending to pull his mustache.
Prince Victor was placed at an early
age under the tuition of Colonel Oslo, a
severe and enlightened officer. who, be-
| sides being a thorough soldier. is a dis
tingulshed Latin and Greek scholar.
From the age of ten the young prince
/ was made to rise at daybreak. summer
bath and cup of broth he commenced
/ his lessons. If perchance he fingered two
or three minutes in bed before getting up
he was not allowed to get his cup of
! broth until after his first lesson was over.
/ On the conclusion of his lesson he was
! mazda To ride for an hmm zho+ tho
weather might be, and the whole day was
spent in study and exercise.
AS he was an only child and had no
playmates, the prince ADJUSTMENTS con-
sisted in the erection of small fortifica
lions in the Quirinal grounds in collect
ing coins and medals shells and flowers,
and in photography. His passion for
numismatics increased with his years.
! His collection is now considered one of
the best in Italy, and even now the pres
ent which the prince cherishes most from
/ his parents is some rare coin a specimen
of which he does not possess.
/ The prince is positive in character and
! his mind is philOsophical-facts viii b
explain his great love for Dante ana his
indifference for ArlostO
His knowledge of geography and his
tory is SO great that he may be called
living encyclopedia, and during his jour
ney to South Africa and The East In 1850
he surprised General Mora and the other
members of his suite by his complete
knowledge regarding all he saw.
History was taught to him in so thor
Ough a manner that when undergoing
an examination in the presence of the
/ king and queen, Generals RiccOtti COsenz
and Pasi, and all the professors, he select
ed as his theme 1.-The Italian REVOLUTION
airy Movements of the First Fifty Years
of tn Q Past Century, and surprised his
examiners by the perfect frankness with
which he dealt with the virtues and de-
fects OF his gIeat-grandfather King
Charles Albert
The prince is joviaI, frank ana expan-
sive to a degree which does not appear at
first sight, and during his visit to Berlin
on the occasion of the death of the EN-
perOr, as we'll as during his Journey to
the East and his visit to the court of st.
Petersburg, he was general favorite
with all with whom he came in con-
4 tact.
His military education has been COM
plete. He commenced as a corporal and
/ passed through all the grades until, in
1890, after the military maneuTers of
ViterbO, where he had commanded two
battalions of the Fifth Infantry, he was
promoted to be colonel of a regiment now
garrisoned at Naples where he has set =
tied at the royal palace.
IA striking proof of his courage was
given on May l, 1888, when, during his
presence at some important experiments
the capital, a terrific explosion occurred.
/ Several officers and men were severely
hurt, and the prince himself was slightly
wounded. His only thought, however
on returning to the royal palace was to
request the king, his father not to pun
ish the officer to whose negligence the
accident had been due.
Victor Emmanuel will be q friend of
| the Italian scientist as well as of learned
men OF all the world. He has never oc-
cupied himself much with art or litera-
/ ture, but in everything appertaining to
/ the application OF electricity to light,
/ motive power, sound, and photography
he is earnestly aroused
! He was one of the first and most sue
| cessful eXperimenters with the X-rays
and is apartments in the PalazzinO. in
Florence, looked like scientific IabOra-
1 tory. Only when he meets men interest
| ed in the same linz of science as himself
is the royal parsonage at all unbendtng
| Hhe new king can talk to his brother
mOnarchs and heads of the countries Of
Europe in their own languages. AT thee
years Of age he could talk Italian. French
and English readily.
Numismatics also interested the new
king. Victor Emmanuel has compiled an
illustrated book dealing with all the
coins of Italy, of which there was no
record until he undertook the work 1t
was task OF great magnitude as Italy
was divided into so many small soVer-
eighties that at one time 300 minis were
turning out 800 different sets of coins.
The king himself has a collection of
49, 600 Italian coins, but there were $4,000
others which had to be recorded before
his work was completed The proceeds
were devoted to the Numismatic Society
of Italy at Milan.
CHM RnwarH Q100