The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-09
KING OSCAR PASSES
 INTO GREAT BEYOND
tContinued from Pose one.y

Baden. They have three sons, the eld-
 est of whom was married in 1905 to
 panss nses maasa5s of Kinss HstGEa D
 The second son of King oscar, Prince
 Oscar Bernadotte, renounced his sue
 cession to the throne in 1888 and mar
 ried Miss Ebba Murck. a maid In wait
 ing at the Court of Stockholm. The
 marriage is said to have proven most
 happy Prince Carl. the third sonia
 an officer in the Swedish army and is
 called The Blue Prince" as he near
 ly always appears in his cavalry uni
 form. Prince Eugen. the youngest son,
 is the artist of the family and spe-
 cial favorite of his father. He has .de-
 veiopcd marked talent as painter and spends much of his time in Paris studying art.
 All things taken into consideration, King Oscar was probably the most &C., complished monarch of his time. There
 are few modern languages with which
 branches of science Literature, art and
 history, he was singulariy proficient. He was an excellent musician, 2 great
 traveller. a doctor of philosophy, a pop
 ular poet and a splendid speaker. As
 the patron of scientific investigation, i,
 King Oscar earned the gratitude of the
 world. So. too, the various explora-
 tions and expeditions which have made
 Scandinavia household word among
 the nations were made possible large
 ly through his muniffcence. Among the
 achievements due largely to his patroffs
 age. those of NordenskjoI Nansen.
 Hedin and many other stand forth@con-
 sricuous. The Nobel prizes and their
 international distribution were among
 the most cherished enterprises of his
 later years.
 The Court of Sweden during the reign
 of Kina Oscar was perhaps l>the most
 homely court in Europe The poorest
 subject might call at the palace and
 speak to the King. with no more form
 ality than tho sending in of his name.
 It was the custom. of the King at
 Christmas time to show himself to the
 people in the shops, where. he made
 many of his-holiday purchases in per son. King Oscar followed a simple daily routine. At 10 o'clock he received per- sons in private audience, or was busy in conference with his cabinet. At ! 2 o'clock he took lunch. and then if the weather permitted, took a promenade some exhibition or made a private call on friends. Returning to the palace he worked until dinner, which was served at 6:So o'clock. In the evening did not entertain some select circle of friends After & light supper the King retired to his private rooms to
 read a few hours or look over State papers.
 The Kings health began to fail some | five or six years ago and several times 1 he -foundN it necessary to retire tempor- arily and turn over the duties of State l to Grown Prince Gustav, as Regent. The dispute which ended in the with drawal Of Norway from the dual mot1- arcffy is said to have worried King os~
 car greatly and doubtless contributed | to his physical breakdown.
 In stature he was every inch a King, standing six feet two inches in height,
 well built, graceful. with a face in which majesty and benignity were singularly combined. r''.a It is not generally known that King Oscar visited America on several oc-
 casions prior to his accession to the crown, and while serving in the Swed- ish navy. In fact, King Oscar was
 reared as a sailor. and always remain ed devoted to the sea, as may be seen from the whole tenor of his poetica! work, The New King. Prince Gustav. Crown Prince, Duke of Wermland. who succeeds his father King Oscar. on the throne of Sweden.
 was born June IS. 1858. Like. other
 members of the Swedish royal family
 the Crown Prince was educated in. a
 great public school in Stockholm. The
 late King had strong democratic no
 dren. The Crown Prince was treated with no more consideration than his companions: The same duties were re-
 quired of him. As boy he walked to
 books, and took part in the work and the play of the other boys, with no tuft to distinguish him from the boys of common people.
 But with all his democratic training and the example of his father before him, the new King has never been popular with his people. From all ac- counts this has not been so much hIs fault as his misfortune. All his life
 he had been afflicted with extreme diff fidence. He appears severe and cold
 in manner and his naughty bearing has won him in some quarters pity and l in others dislike In recent years. however. he Is said to have outgrown these qualities to some extent
 Gustav is said to be an enthusiastic l admirer of Emperor William, and he | has cultivated the army brusqueness
 that gives such an air Of hardihood and discipline to the Germans. But | despite his big ideas about military 1 glory. he is far from being born ruler | of men. His lack of firmness and his | failure to demand the respect and obc- l dience due to one of his position is | illustrated by the following incident. | which Is said to have occurred on the ] occasion of visit he paid to Rome
 some years ago.