The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-12-24
QUEEN ELENA.


ever dreamed in those days of conreriing
| on them titles, or treating them in any
way as roya- personages Certain of their
schooifeliows, indeed, the daughters Of
rich Russian mobiles were very much in
clined at first to treat them-well much
as Elton boys might treat the somewhat
! uncouth offspring of a small Highland
/ laird. Not that the young princesses were
| uncouth; on the contrary, they were both
| exceedingly pretty and exceedingly grace
full. and much more intelligent than the
majority OF their companions. The only
| fault even the sharpest of their critics
/ could find in them was that they were
'unvivilized,; and by uncivilzed this critic
admitted, when pressed that she meant
natural. Natural they certainly were
/ as natural as the trees that grow on the
Montenegrin hills, or the flowers that
( S1o~ in their own Cettinje garden. They
said exactly what they thought, and
! laughed and cried, smiled and frowned,
/ just when the fancy seized them And
| therein lay, perhaps, their great charm;
for charm they certainly had, even then,
/ as they proved; for before they had been
| in st. Petersburg a month they We're by
naires in the great Empress Marie Insti-
/ tute. 1t would be well if all sovereign
! consorts could he brought up in the
wholesome, sensible fashion in which
| Queen Elena was brought up. ard could
be taught early in life, as she was. that
happiness is in 10 way connected with
luxurious surroundings Her father
Prince Nicholas OF Montenegro, has nine
children, three boys and six girls, and
but scant means TO provide for them;
for as his dominions consist chiefly OF
mountain tops, and his subjects-there
are only some 900 of them, all counted
there are only 10000 of them, all count
ed-are for the most part peasants, his
revenue Is. of course. but small. His civil
list, 10000 Austrian forins-rather less
than GS.5e0-is probably the very smallest
civil list on which any ruling prince has
ever been called upon to live. Now, no
matter how skillful manager one may
be-and both Prince Nicholas and his
wife, Princess Milene. are very skillful
managcrs-it is impossible to keep UP a
court, even at Cetinje on $500 a year
Besides, neither he nor che has any desire
to keep up 4 court especially on the top
fer spending what money they have in
another wayne on the training of his
soldiers. she on the education and dress
Of her children. They therefore live in the
very simplest fashion; their palace at
Cettinje is merely an ordinary country
house. and is furnished as plainly as
possible: and the life the princess and
her daughters lead differs from that led
by any ordinary well-to-do gentlefol<
family.
The princess is practically her own
housekeeper: her daughters give a help
ing hand with the hous ework for highly
trained servants in Montegro there are
none. Queen Elena spent her early
years at Cettinje. and wa sas happy as
the day IS long there, for she and her
brothers and sisters have all far more
than their fair share OF joie de vivre-
of health, strength, and good LOOKS. too
Whenever they were rot at work. they
were out of doors. scampering about the
countryside in the widest fashion. ard
making the very air ring with their mer-
~ shouts and laughter The little Prin- /
cess must have found life in the Institute
ct ST. Petersburg, when she went there. /
was while she was there that a great i'm
provement took place in the fortunes ofo /
her family. owing 10 Car Alexander sud /
IDENTIFY discovering that Prince Nicholas /
of Montenegro was his one and cniy /
friend. This piece OF good luck was fol- /
lowed by another. and this gain by an /
other. The Grand Duke Peter Nicolaie- /
witch fell in love with her eldest sister.
Militia ana married her: and within a
month the Duke or Leuchteuberg fcli in /
love and married her second sister, Ana 4
stasia. Then the world Suddenly waken-
ed up To the fact that les Mesmoiselles .
Montenegro were great beauties: when /
Princess Elena made her first appearance
at the Winter Palace, princes by the doz-
en- fell in love with her. and the air was
soon alive with Tu1ors as TO her ap-
preaching marriage. As one eligible suit
or after another was rejected. however.
it began to he whispered abroad that the
Princess was being reserved for a very
exalted parti indeed Alexander III. +
with whom both she and her sisters were
great favorites had ST his heart. It was
said. OF her becoming the wife Of his
son. the present Gar. who was then
\ +i4 e ltAH ana very popular ire TElaT-
riace would have been in Russia. not only
because the Princess is a Slav-the Pan
Slavs were wn1 with delight at the
thought OF having & Slav Czaritsa-but
because OF her beauty and gentle sr1-
ciousness she had won the hearts OF all
classes. Il was not % be- however. for
Alexander III. Mould have ncne OF the
match unless it could - love match
and that vas cut Of the question The
CSsrevitch and the Princess were very
good friends but no amount OF pressure
could induce thcm 70 wish 10 be any
hing more TO each other. lie. indeed.
before he ever met her. had ALREADY given
what love h had TO another. while she
kept her love so al least the legend soes.
for The Italian Crown Prince. who met
her in ST Petersburg IL ISos. fell IN love
with he- NJ cnce. ard promptly married
her As The Crown Princes wife P-ia-
cess Elena vas sure OF q hearty welcome
IN Italy. ara she socn became exceedingly
popular there On her vn account Ana
IS Isaly's queen she becomes more popu-
ar the more she = k1owl--Loaco1
world
A man walked into the station house a.
Lawrence. Mass. last week. and asked
to be arrested Tor something be had done
four years aso.