The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1903-11-12
THRONE OF BULGARIA
Behind It Moves the Firm, Able
Hand of the Kings Mother.
Remarkable Traits OF Character OF
Princess CI I<mentine Of Saxe-CO-
burg, Whose Efforts Placed
Prince Ferdinand ON Throne.

Princess CT .mentine OF Saxe-Co-
burg, Whose Efforts Placed
Prince Ferdinand ON Throne.
In some ways the present ruler OF
Bulgaria Is the most interesting of the
royal personages engaged in playing
role in the near east. He has to be reck-
oned with, not only because he is an as
tute and unscrupulous man, but also be-
cause he is imbued by ties Of blood to
the whole Saxe-Coburg clan; that is to
the royal families Of Great Britain, Ger
many, Portugal, Belgium, and last, not
least, Austria, his sister being Arch
duchess Clotilde, wife of the palatine of
Hungary, and his niece, the duchess OF
Orleans.
Prince Ferdinand is the youngest OF
five children who were born to the late
Prince Augustus Of Saxe-Coburg, Of the
Austrian or Kohary branch, and
Princess Clementine of Orleans, the de-
termined, brilliant daughter Of Louis
Philippe. whose brothers nicknamed her.
even as girl, Clementine de Medicis
To this remarkable old French princess.
now IS years of age and the last sur
vivor among the group of princes and
princesses who called Queen Victoria
by her Christian name, Prince Ferdi-
nand owes his unstable throne. He 10
her Benjamin, born seven years after
her eldest child. her favorite, and. In
diplomatic sense, her own creation.
Curiously enough, Prince Ferdinand
was the only one of Princess Clemen-
tines children who was born in Vi
emma. French influences were lacking in
his education and upbringing. His god
parents were the tragic couple on whom
in 1861 all seemed to smile, Macmillan
, and Charlotte; and he was just seven
years old when his imperial godfather
was assassinated in Mexico. During tha
years which followed, Princess Glenn
entine consolidated her elder children's
positions by series of brilliant mar
riages. Her only daughter, az we have
said, married Archduke Joseph, palatins
of Hungary; Prince Philip married his
second cousin, the pretty, wilful
Princess Louise of Belgium, who later
provided Europe with terrible and
sordid royal scandal; yet another Of
Prince Ferdinand's brothers married
daughter of the emperor Of Brazil.
In 1881, Prince Augustus, fayorite
cousin, by the way, of both Queen Vic
toria and Prince Albert, died prema-
turely, and Ferdinand passed entirely
under his mothers influence. Az
young man, he bore, it must be admit
ted, the worst Of regulations. He was
said to be idle, vicious, and what the
French eloquently style un fruit sec, "a
| withered fruit" Princess Clementine's
pride in her youngest born was thought.
even by her nearest relatives. to be q
sign of maternal infatuation, and the
late Comte de Paris refused with indig-
| nation the idea Of marriage between
| one of his daughters and their cousin
| Ferdinand. Great, therefore, was the
| general amazement when the Bulgarian
national assembly elected this little
| known and even less respected prince as
| ruler of Bulgaria; but only the princess.
| mother knew what the cost In brains,
| and what was more important to an Or
| leans, in hard cash, came to before the
triumphant election was secured.
During the six years that followed
| Princess Clementine reigned in Sofia,
adapting herself with astonishing ease
| TO the strange, -barbarous way OF
life which obtained in the Bulgarian
capital. Her constant preoccupation in
those days-as indeed it has again been
| recently-was to find suitable bride
| for her son. At last, repulsed on every
| hand. for neither the man nor his po-
sition inspired confidence, she secured
him a consort in the eldest child OF that
duke OF Parma whose family Of 18 chill
/ dren are the wonder of continental roy
| al circles.
The gentle, pious Marie-Louise, OF
dwarfsh stature, shrinking modesty.
and ardent piety, soon found herself
crushed between the upper and neither
millstones. The birth of Prince Boris
was followed in two short years by the
disgraceful quarrel concerning the
child's religious faith. and to his
mothers horror he was solemnly rebap-
tised according to the Greek rite, in or
der to secure his father the friendship
of Russia. Princess Ferdinand, by way
of protest, left Sofia for awhile. but heI
love for her two little sons brought heI
back. Her death. in childbirth, occurred
four years ago last January, and since
then her four children, two boys and
two girls, have been under the care 81
their redoubtable grandmother. It Ii
difficult to say how Prince Ferdi
nand is regarded in Bulgaria
The astute, noiseless fashion Il
which he contrived to rid himself o
stambuIoff, while apparently in nj
|, sense 10 blame, inspired fear and re
, spect in many who had hitherto onl.
, professed to hate and despise him.
JOHN L. EDwARDA
Temptation.
, First Moth.-Its no wonder your
} trouhled with Indigestion after catin