El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-01
WITHDRAWALS DUKE.
She Chose After the Mysterious Man
ner of Women.
Ada Patterson.

II
Little Queen Wilhelmina of Holland,
is responsible, indirectly, for the re-
cent resurrection of the old question.
do Women Love Ugly Mem" In her
case the question has been prefaced
by Why" for it is no secret that
her heart is much involved, any more
than it is secret that Duke Heinrich,
of Mecklenburg Schwerin is stout and
plain of face and the least of all her
suitors in a worldly sense. He is the
youngest son in family of many
boys. he is the least handsome of the
brothers. he has never distinguished
himself in court or in camp in all his
twenty-four years. and yet since Will
helmina first saw him at Potsdam,
nearly two years ago. she had had
pretty well defined idea as to just
where her final choice would settle.
Duke Heinrich's history has been
such as to keep that question alive.
In spite of his poverty and in spite OF
his lack of beauty he would seem to be
the possessor of that sort of faScina
ton there is no use trying to explain.
because it is so safely hidden from all
but the persons fascinated and because
they are always plainly beyond the
reach of reason: even though they be
as sensible. matter-Of-fact and unro-
There was the pretty Princess Helena.
of Russia. for instance. She was safe
ly engaged to Max. of Baden. when
Duke Heinrich. of Mecklenburg
Schwerin crossed her pathway. The
engagement was suddenly broken just
because the Princess Helena hoped to
persuade her parents to let her marry
the duke whom Wilhelmina has select
ed. The youngest daughter of the Duke
of Edinburgh was another who loved
the young duke and who loved him in
vain. Since he was firt about the well
conducted court of Mecklenburg-
Schwerin and Prussia he has not had
the slightest difficulty in winning fem
mime friends and yet he is not over
fond of women's society.
At PotSdam Duke Heinrich appeared
as a mere incidental. He was not even
supposed to aspire to the hand of the
queen and he paid her no more than
the perfunctory courtesies due a SOW
ereign and a charming one at that. AS
a matter of fact no one paid much at
tention to the clean shaver, stout
young duke. while his handsome, clev-
er and interesting elder brother Duke
Adolph, heir to the Mecklenburg-
Schwerin Dutchy. was regarded as
standing high in the young queens
graces. Probably no one gave a second
thought to Duke Heinrich, with one
very important exception. Queen Will
helmina did and the surprising part of
it is that no one suspected. not even
the duke himself. that she had really
fallen in love. tsr-.
1t is said that the news. when it came
was an establishment to Duke Helm
rich. He heard of it first through
Princess Pauline. of Wurtemburg, who
civ 81
queen went last spring to see the bap-
tism of Princess Pauline's baby she
confessed her preference and her cous-
in promised to see that the duke re-
ceived a hint. He has accepted his
betrothal very calmly. while the other
aspirants wonder how the heavy-faced.
and unambitious Heinrich
carried off the prize without making
the least attempt to please either the
capricious little lady herself or the
critical Dutch people. One thing is
and this in a way adds to the
glory of Heinrich's conquest-if the !
Dutch had objected to this choice of
the queen she would have married him
anyway. She said as much when GER
tain doubts were expressed as to how
ne would please the nation. |
Queen Wilhelmina's choice Of the
,lainest prince in Germany is but one
proof of the old truth that women are
otally Indifferent to good looks in
men.