The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-06-13

~. "and I can marry whom 1 please.
attend to your duties and do not NEEDLE
with my private AFFAIRS
With that he dismissed them. They
went away and resigned in a BODY
;. Ex-King Milan. who was then general
II IT. me ne Servlan army. was at Carlsbad TAX
ing tne waters for his hopeless liver when
ne ne heard of his sons determination. He
ttIpn1ned1ately started for Servia. Swearing
rIlh5 ne would prevent his son from mar
LYING eG 4I5,, IA the army and might have caus-
go trouble. King Alexander ordered him
W;ls oe s, at the frontier. Ex-King
nitldH resigned his command in the Ser
Hldn army AT the same his mother
queen Natalie. cut Alexander out OF her
VIII WIN and left her large fortune to the
From the day of his marriage to Queen
Dfaga King Alexander rapidly fell in the
e eS,aI[l lion Of his people. The door Of
his face. ''' 0io'eu III
Alexander was the last Of the Obreno
witch family, and his union with Oneen
Draga was chiIdless. Draga attemnted
70 secure the succession Of the throne to
ner brother. That was the beginning of
the end. Alexander's life, that of his
queen, his ministers. and his household.
went out in the final tragedy in the pal,
ace Of Belgrade and the dynasty of the
OorenoVltch was extinct forever.
Draga, was at Biarritz with Queen Ma
taIe when King Alexander first saw
II and she was well into her 30's. a widow
and an experienced woman of the world
Of W,, Whom the gossips had much to say
mother he encountered the flashing dark
eyes of the fascinating lady-in-Waiting
staring boldly and steadily at him. He
saw nothing in the room but those ewes
paid attention to no one but Draga, and
upon that day he became her willing
slave forever after.
When she returned to Belgrade from
few aft boV
over the boy king was already recognized
queen Natalie allowed it, mindful Of Rus
prospect of knowing his sons movements
through such a trusty source and infiu
eenclng his. mind for Austria. And Nine.
MaShln quietly and Skillfully maneuverad
not Tor Natalie or Milan neither for Rms
sla nor Servia, but always for herself.
J., In less than year her hand was shown
In Alexander's first coup d'etat He had
not yet attained his majority. and his
KIngdom was governed by three regents.
1nese dlgn1taries were feasting one night
barrleaded. the king announced that fhe
authority of the regents was ended and
Ihey We're kept prisoners until he had been
IormaHy proclaimed before the army
After that no one dared ignore the exist
fairs. 80 F0-''4oe'i al
Alexander established Draga in a na1ace
winch was as splendid as any in Ralgrade
There the court f1ocked for gayety: there
the russian and Austrian diplomats held
secret conferences in turn each trying ia
pay more than the other There the ISinoo
OFTEN mingled with the guests. sDeaIines
70 no one but Draga, dancing all the
ing confetti to no one else, and froWnine,
QafKiy upon any one who attempted
word with her
over the king, who had Inherited the
wees OF MS rather and the weaknesses Of
ms mother without the military bravery
OF the former or the personal goodness
of the latter. Nine. Mashin was never
counted beauty; she was dark enough
70 De almost swarthy, and in repose her
FACE was cunning and treacherouS But
her fascination could not be doubted. She
was a bewitching talker, and while talk
ing became beauty. She was tall and
slender, and beautifully formed Of the
oriental type, with masses of soft black
mar and liquid eyes full of subtle flat
terry Before she essayed the role Of
queen she was frequently seen in the Paris
salons, where she was known for her ber-
1ect taste in etiquette as well as for ner
VII and social diplomacy.
Inc SerVlan people and court wanted
their king to marry After his mofhnr
and father had unsuccessfuIly begged the
nana OF many petty princess, they Were
they never thought OF his marrying Nine.
MXiash1n-they would have opposed that
Alexander, however, did not consult
them, nor even his own ministers or his
council Of state. One fine morning in
July 1900, the people of Belgrade aWolta
70 discover that the kings second coup
etat nad taken place during the night
Upon the walls Of the city was a long
proclamation signed by the royaI hand in
Whlch he made known his betrothal to
Draga MaShin, a daughter of the Servian
people, whose home would be 2 pattern
10 all SerVian homes, and who would bring
happiness to the country, as did the wife
pie. -e
Absolutely no Servian official seems to
nave known Of the proclamation before
hand. The capital was in a turmoil Of
excitement. cabinet ministers gatherad in
ag1tated meeting, the council Of state as
sempied to declare against the proposed
marriage; the president of the skup-
Schtlna and the metropolitan, the head Of
the Serv1an church, went down upon their
t knees before the king and begged him
people, and Nine Draga's house had to
be carefully guarded. The king ignored
AL entreaties, and drove boldly through
the streets every day in an open carriage
with MS future queen by his side.
Finally Alexander and Dragra were mar
RED, and from that day Servia's woes
Queen Draga might have made her hold
on the Serv1an throne secure had she pre-
scented ne kIng Alexander with son. Alex
ander was the last of the Obrenovitch
dynasty. The only hope of the nation was
In Queen Draga. Realizing her failure
she sought by a subterfuge common
SerYlans by presenting as her own a
child Of unknown parentage.
This was in May, 1892 Queen Draga's
physician, DR.. Caulet. announced that Ser
Via might expect an heir to the throne.
The announcement was made in the Off
cial gazette and celebrated by an illu-
m1nation of the capital and a parade
of the troops in Belgrade. The car tel
egraphed his congratulations and promised
to act as godfather.
As time passed it gradually dawned up
on the minds Of the Servians that the
report of the queens condition was pre-
mature. Then suspicious were aroused
and the fraud was exposed by the car
who demanded an official Investigation
The Russian minister at Belgrade inform
ed the car that the queens physician had
been mistaken. DR.. Cantacuzene, the IA
NOUS Roumanian specialist. was sent by
the car to continue the investigation.
His report convinced the Servian public
that Queen Draga had attempted a decep-
accordingly.
with an heir Queen Draga began the in
trigue to secure the succession of the
throne to her brother. Nikodem Loungne-
vita.
AT first nobody believed the story that
hoated out of some mysterious quarter
that Alexander intended to adopt his
brother-in-law as a son and name him as
the future king of Servia, because If was
so audacious as to be Incredible but with
in a few days the confirmation was album
dant The king expressed his Intention to
three or four different persons Then the
ministry took up the matter and decided,
after long and serious consultation. that
1t would be an act Of duty and patriotism
to Immediately check the ambition of
their queen. Therefore, the entire cabinet,
with M. Vuitsch the prime minister. at
their head, called at the palace at an UNI
usual hour and asked for an audience.
Alexander must have suspected the pur-
pose of their visit. for, after keeping them
waiting for fifteen or twenty minutes. he
appeared in the full uniform Of the COM