Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-04-23

j Yolanda. First she has her tea. and
when her little inner man is full, she
says, papa, papa, play" and literally
/ throws herself on him. Once she
was late, came in with a rush and
precipitated herself on the back of a
man whom she saw in her fathers
accustomed place. He gave a gasp,
. turning to her face she had never
seen before, while the queen, hor-
rified, was trying to reach her in
time. ''Yolanda," said her mother,
say, l am sorry" Il am not sorry,
ugly man. Esped the little imp, $50
away, go away" She was herself
made to go away, and Queen Elena,
| crimson OF face, could only hope that
the visitor. a stiff old bachelor, did
| not understand the bays way Of
! speaking.
! The picture OF the king and queen
at an unpretentious little table with
Princess Yolanda in a high chair be-
tween them, as presented to the i'm
aglnation of the Italian people, has
more than a little direct political
|
heart republicans as much as the
English or Americans, but as a
monarchy seemed the best thing at
the time of the unity they consented
TO 1t, and have maintained it ever
since, just because the sovereign is
more OF president than a king. and
/ the actual political power is in the
hands OF the people. Too great
condescension on the part of the
monarch would in all probability
bring about a revolution in time.
whereas the remarkable democratic
tendencies of the present king and
queen take the wind out of the sails
OF those who want Italy to be a re-
public in form as we'll as in sub
stance
Queen Elena's homely tastes have
had another effect, too. There is no
doubt about it, she was unpopular
when she came so unexpectedly to
the throne. She was not so beauti-
fully, stately and queenly as Queen
Margherita; she came from the little
prlnclpaiity of Montenegro, with
total population rather less than the
city of Washington, D. c., whereas
the proud Italians had yearned for a
matrimonial alliance with one of the
great powers; she was a Slav.
educated in st. Petersburg, and with
| pronounced Russian tendencies.
whereas the Italians are not over
fond OF Russia, and, furthermore, she
uT0 olD1
Italian language when she came to
the country as it's crown princess.
The great ladies of Roman society,
descendants of families that were
princely before Montenegro was ever
heard of, used to sniff at her openly,
and make all sorts of fun at her be-
hind her back.
But Queen Elena's simplicity was
| backed by lot of shrewdness and a
rather vigorous temper, and the re-
suit has been that she has not only
captured the hearts of the poorer
folks, but has at last won the battle
with most of the aristocracy. The
queen is sympathetic and friendly
hostess, often taking her women
visitors by the hand, seating them
! beside her on a sofa and chatting
about children and other domestic
topics as eagerly as if she were not
wearing metaphorically, a crown.
, She is stanchly loyal to little
Montenegro, and has even set apart a
small room in the Quirinal for a
kitchen devoted solely to Monte
negrin dishes. She imported two
cooks from her fatherland and takes
delight in preparing with their as
sistance native dishes, of which the
king dutifully processes to be fond
She is devoted to flowers, too, and
has had all manner of favorite posies
transported from Montenegro and
cultivated with much difficulty in the
softer Italian air. Although she has
not the grand manner Of her mother
in-law, she has learned to make her
public appearance fairly impressive
: But she cares much less for such
things than to run away with his
a7esty on motor car, and without
an escort, and roam about the
country unrecognized. Their adven-
lures in this guise would fill a book,
and on several OCCASIONS the king has
had to avow his identity and prove il
| by Gaming attention to his likeness
on coin.
Only one real shadow falls on the
happy pair. The Sale law holds in
Italy, so that if no boy comes to bless
the young couple the kings cousin,
the duke Of Aosta, will succeed, and
after him his eldest son, Prince
Amadee, aged 5. This to the queen
is gall and NORWOOD. The duchess
of AOsta belongs to the proud BOur-
bon house, and did not make herself
agreeable to the shy princess of
Naples when she first came to Italy.
| The duchess had been led to suppose
that the prince Of Naples-a the
italian crown prince is called-would
never marry, so that she and her
son were, in the ordinary course Of
mature. sure to reign. The prince did
marry and consequently the Bourbon
! duchess disliked his Montenegrin
bride, and made no effort to conceal
it, Naturally, now that the princess
! is queen, she wants to have a son of
/ her own, and, above all, does not
want the I'D of the duchess to be
king.
Notwithstanding this, the little
Aosta boys, Amadee ind Aymon, are
charmiL" children, and have a par
| ticuIar leaning toward their cousin,
: mt