New-York tribune., 1901-08-04

or military, bigotted to the point of fara,,,
ne was ABOUT the very last prince fitted 10 bs
come the husband of such princess as .DrobsN
Marie, and that the latter should have ran,ss.os
a true wife to him until the end of her days ba
name untouched by even the slightest breath =,
scandal speaks volumes for the loftiness of nrf,
ciple OF this high spirited passionate and hrr,
liant woman. Three months after her arrival =.
Italy. her father-in-law. King Ferdinand rra
cumbed TO poison. and her k-sSand ascendsS a.
throne Her influence over Francis was bo
ever. set at naught by that of the Ouaar -,
aSer, his stepmOther an unscrupuIous ,ro-
OF the most reactiOnaTy IDEAS who not onIv =
deavored to estrang" the young couple So as =,
control the King, but likewise resDonsiht
for all those despOtic and HI-advised r,ea.,.-
which precipitat the insurrect.cn that da,r.,,e,
him of his throne after a Jrief reign of rot o,.-
two years. f'e
1hE QUEENS DEFENCE OF GAETA
Ihe siege of Gaeta remains on record as an. =.
the most brilliant examples Of stubborn resis.
ance against ov' whelming odds in the rniIitar
history or the nineteenth century and 80 ,r...
was the admiration excited by the defence e..
When at length it became impossible To bold +b
place any longer the garrison was allowed .
nnarch out with all the OnOrs of war: that 10 .
say with cOiors flying and bands pIavinp ara
being deprived of freedom 1t was Once, ~
| TO whom belongs all the credit for this dasanos
IL was she who induced her husband 70 make
last stand for his throne in the fortress. % -.
| instead OF joining the widowed Queen and ,ha
other members of the reigning family as ,rar, =.
most of the leading statesmen and dignitartos
or the army and navy in their flight after e.
capltulation of Naples to GaribaIdi and IN Kf,o
Victor Emmanuel 1t she too. who nrevant
cd MN from acceding to either the REQUESTS 10
surrender or to the offers of refuge on hoard
either the English or French warsbins rLI.S
held themselves in readiness To receive IT.,
| When the royal residence in the fortres,
was destroyed by the fire of the enerv the
IoSal couple took up their quarters in the case
mates, the Queen dividing her time ba+voau
nursing ana caring for the wounded and en-
| couraging the officers and soldiers on the RAN,
| parts.
| As an Illustration of her indonitabIa cor-,o.
and presence Of mind. I NAV ra,aa+ - 80
| absolutely authentic story nosstb11y l,,o -
some Of my readers. of how one day duri,s +ho
| siege shell burst in the very room where sbo
the hing and the members OF their STAFF nsra
seated at dinner There was a "suave oui naut.,
| ana a rush for the doors and windows Francis
| ii heading the flight. Only one person nreza,t
remained entirely unmoved namely the o,ao-
Walking up to the chimney place she looked =.
herself with a certain amount of coouetrv a,
what had been left of the mirror. and ses,,,
that her hair was literally covered with The
white dust of the shattered plaster and stucca
walls she exclaimed: Dear me. I never dreamt
now well powder becomes my hair. 1 must
really let the soldiers see me in this guise"
A MAGNANIMOUS ACTION.
When the King and Queen ultimately left
Gaeta. more than two-thirds OF the garrison had
succumbed 10 typhus and 70 the fire OF the
enemy. as we'll as 10 injuries inflicted by the ex-
plosion of every Of the magazines To give.
an idea of the intensity of the fire. may men,
| ton that on the day OF January %. 1861, no less
than eleven thousand projectiIes were hurled
against the doomed fortress from sea and
land The defence lasted more than ninety
days. and. out Of compliment 10 the hero
ism of the Queen, the Italian flag was
not hOsted over Gaeta by the victors until
the vessel carrying away the King and Queen to
Civita Vecchia en- route TO Rome had passed out
of sight. Incidentally may mention that when
Emperor Alexander II OF Russia announced
his intention Of comforting upon the Queen his
| Order OF ST. George. she intimated TO him that
| she could not accept II unless he offered the
same distinction 10 her husband, which Alex
ander proceeded to do. appreciating the gener-
osty with which throughout her married life she
Il
sort and 70 shield his reputation
The royal couple thereupon took up their resi-
| dence at Rome. making their home at the Far
| nese Palace. which was their property. and where
| they were welcomed with sovereign hOnOrs by
/ Pope Plus IN. IL during their life at Rome
that Queen Marie gave birth To a little girl, her
/ only child. who died few months afterward,
| and lies entOmbed in st. Peters. A less sorrow
/ ful episode of her stay at Rome was her anus
/ ing encounter with old Countess AntOnelIL moth
| OF of the Cardinal Secretary OF State. on the
subject OF the latter's numerous cats which were
/ accustomed TO hold midnight concerts or the
garden walls Of the royal palace, rendering sleep
/ impossible. The Queen. finding that her cour-
/ teOuS requests and protests about the matter
| take summary measures TO put an end 10 the
! nuisance. and accordingly lay in walt for the
| feline trOubadOurs with an air rife and shot
| every of them. The old countess almost
! crazed with sorrow and indignation at the mur-
der OF her pets and complained not only 10 her
| son, the Cardinal Secretary OF State, but Ike
| wise 10 Pope Plus. who treated the affair as a
| huge joke
| FORCED To LEAVE ROME
The seizure OF Rome by King Victor Erd-
manuel forced the King and Queen to quit the
| Eternal City. and. after spending some time IN
/ England they took up their abode In Paris, on
/ the fourth floor of the Hotel VOuillemont, a
! rather second class hOstlery in the neighborhOOd
| OF the Champs Elysees, turning deaf ear TO all
! suggestions that they should lease or purchase
| mansion, on the ground that IL WOULD tenC 10
\ discourage the faithful adherents 20 their cause
| and give rise the impression that they had
| resigned themselves 10 the loss Of their throne
and were not ready to return TO Naples the very
| moment that their subjects ft to summon
! them home. In spite OF the absence OF any
| tastes in common, the royal couple always spent
| the winters together at their hotel in Paris, the
/ Queen devOtinG herself 10 her racing stables.
| while the King divided his time between the card
| table and religious exercises. his losses at the