New-York tribune., 1905-02-19


sovereigns Of the Old World that the news of
his having been forced by illness and old age to
surrender his sceptre to his eldest son and to
step down from the thrcne. as incapable of full
filing any longer the oRerous duties Of ruler
ship, VIII be received with feeling of regret
even this country. where popular sentiment is
so averse TO monarchical forms of government.
oscar was until a few months ago a superb
specimen Of manhood. towering head and shoul-
dcrs over every other king and emperor in Eu-
rope. with the exception of Leopold of Belgium,
while his wonderfully varied gifts and talents.
his unusual culture and his singularly sunny
disposition impaired to his manner an extraor-
binary charm and fasciration that made them
selves felt to an those who had the privilege of
approaching him. Indeed. for those-who be-
heve in the advantages OF blue blood and of
ancient lineage it difficult to realize that
this grand looking prince. so truly kingly in ap-
pearance. and yet witha simple and so DEM
ocrauc in his ways. the grandson of a
Pyrenean peasant and the great-grandson, on
the distaf side. of a Marseies shopkeeper.
There are few stories more romantic than
that Of the present Swedish dynasty. Gustavus
". the last monarch but one of the House of
Vasa. brought to the throne at the early
age Of fourteen by the assassination of his
father in that very palace at Stockholm where
Oscar few days ago turned over the reins of
proved most unsatisfactory ruler. and in 1909
was deposed by means of military pronuncia-
nento. forced 10 sign his abdication, after a
most dramatic hand-to-hand struggle with Gen.
eTal AlderhreutZ and the officers implicated in
The conspiracy. and then banished along
with his consort and his children his uncle
taking his place the throne as Charles XIII.
The latter. being childless and an admirer of
France and OF Napoleon. selected the French
Sn1E Re-
IS q peasant near Pau and who had risen from
the ranks. TO become his heir, induced the na-
Cional Diet at Stockholm TO ratify his choice and
established him in the Swedish capital as crown
prince. BeInadotte who took the name of
Charles John. soon made himself the real ruler
Of the kingdom. assocating himself heartily
Hith his adopted land, and in 1913. when Ma
poleon's star began TO wane. joined the powers
which were striving TO crush the Emperor His
services in bringing about the latter's over
throw caused the Congress of Vienna to leave
him undisturbed in the place which he had at
tained at Stockholm and In 1878 on the death
Of Charles Kill the last of the Vasa line of
1dngs. he ascended the throne under the title of
Charles XIV, his wife, Desiree, daughter of the
1Iarseilles stcckbroker Clary and grandchild Of
q Marseilles shopkeeper. becoming Queen of
Sweden and Norway.
Queen Desiree. ii may be added, was at~one
time betTothed to the first Emperor Napoleon,
who Tilted her. Her grandson. King Oscar is
the authority for this assertion. and it will be
found likewise in the novel which he published
some years ago under the pen name Of 20.
Frederick" and entitled "A Romance Of the
Times Of Napoleon and of Bernadotte" Desiree
was according to her grandson, King Oscar
almost heartbroken when Napoleon abandoned
her for Josephine de Beauharnais, and never
<orgave him: for after Indignantly refusing
General JunOt and Duphct, as well as several
other suitors, supported and sponsored by the
Emperor. she finally accepted Bernadotte, not
because she loved him, but because in her eyes
he was the only capable of contending
with Napoleon. The match, as might have
been expected under the circumstances, did not
turn out happily. Bernadotte, on becoming
Crown Prince. and subsequently King Of
Sweden. lost his head so completely that for
getful Of the fact that he himself was peasant
from the Pyrenees. he reproached his charming
Wife with the lowIiness Of her birth. declaring
that he had been guilty of a terrible mesai-
lance, and that If he had only waited he might
have had any princess Of the blood in Europe
tor the asking-this, too, in spite Of the fact
that he had stood as soldier on duty on what
IS now the Place de Ia Concorde at Paris. on
the occasion Of the execution of King Louis XVI
and that he had taken part in the shout Of
Mort aux Tyrans" which greeted the
exhibition Of the severed head Of that
monarch 10 the multitude-words which
along with a Phrygian cap were found
tattooed on his right arm after his death.
Queen Desiree. whose sister Julia married King
Joseph 8onaparte Of Spain. and lived with him
Tor a time at Bordentown, y. j. survived her
husband for many years and died shortly be-
-ore the Franco-P Prussian War, universally be-
loved in Sweden. and strangely enough without
IA " Cd
overthrow Of the great Napoleon 1t is by an
irony Of fate that Queen Desiree's only son.
Oscar L should have fallen in love with Jo-
sephine de Leuchtenberg. daughter of Eul. enc
de Beauharnais. who the only son IF that
Empress Josephine for whose sake she had been
jIted by Napoleon. In spite of his mothers
opposition, Oscar I insisted upon marrying Jo-
sephine Of Leuchtenberg. and in this way the
present King OF Sweden. oscar II. 1nds himself
a grandson Of Desree Clary. and great-grand-
son Of Empress Josephine whose singularly
beautiful and expressive eyes ne alone Of all
her descendants is said to have inherited.
King Oscars contributions to literature have
been very voluminous. He has published sew
eral volumes Of original poems. as well as Swed-
ish translations of Tasso's Jerusalem Deliv-
cred" Of Goethe's Faust" of several of the
dramas Of Shakespeare and Of the Cid" Of Cor
nellie. and TO such an extent is he regarded by
Scandinavian writers as a man of letters that
when Bjornsen learned that Oscar had criti-
cised of his plays he Immediately insisted
that the King had been prompted thereto by
mere literary jealousy. and proceeded to send
him challenge 10 a duel OF course. Oscar
ignored this. and some time later, when at
Christiania. and being serenaded by a number of
choral societies. ne requested them In a loud
tone OF voice from the balcony Of the palace TO