The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-17
ROYAL MARRIAGE
 IS NOW EXPECTED Prince and. Princess Have Been Sweethearts for b Years KING LEOPOLD OBJECTED American Women In Paris Inaugurate Benevolent Crusade Against Cru city to Animals With Good
 Effect.
KING LEOPOLD OBJECTED
Rv MARQUIS pE cAsTELLANE.

By MARQUIS DE cASTELLANE.
 Paris, January 16-(Special) 1.-The next royal marriage will surely be that or Prince Victor Napoleon and Princess Clementne, youngest daughter of the late King Leopold of Belgium. Prince Victor is the grandson of Jerome Bona parte, King of Westphalia and brother of Napoleon the Great He is the son of that Bonaparte prince familiarity known as 'plon-plon," who fiourished during the reign of Napoleon the Third. Prince Vic tors mother was sister of King Victor Emmanuel of Italy. He is the standard bearer of the Bonapartists and their claimant to the throne of France Ills marriage with the Princess Clementine, great granddaughter of Louis Philippe adds strength to the imperialistic cause.
 The secret of the engagement Of the royal couple has been kept dark, owing to the fierce opposition of Leopold. They have been sweethearts for 15 years, and in spite of the vigilance of the autooratic Leopold have managed to meet secretly in France. The old king had been known to mount guard, whip in hand, In front of the princess apartments in the palace of Lzelxen to prevent her receiving her royal lover
 once driven to desperation the unhappy girl openly defied him. It was at camp Martin on the Riviera. The King dared to force his morganatio wife on the princess. Clementine-all her royal blood fired with the indTgnity-fed to Brussels, where she planned an elopment and mar riage with Prince Victor. But wiser counsels prevailed It was pointed out they would be exiled from Belgium, and the prince is already an exile from France But the death of the King has happily removed the last obstacle, and there is now no real reason why this union should not take place. King Leo pold opposed the marriage lest republi- can France should take offense-espe- cially while England was casting cove teous eye on the Congo.
 Every Bonapartist Is spending merry Christmas in consequence of this probable marriage. Even the aged Eugenie looks young again. The Cassaignacs are open ly celebrating Everyone wishes the faith ful lovers a speedy union and happy life. They have both suffered cruelty. The courtship has lasted 15 years. Respect for the dead king will defer the official announcement, but we may certainly look forward to it in the near future.
 While Prince Victor is looked upon as the claimant of the French throne (should the republic falD, Q still nearer claimant exists in that Charles Jerome Bonapart of Washington, who was the grandson of Jerome Bonaparte through his first wife, Elizabeth Paterson of Baltimore.
 Prince Victor is the grandson of the second wife, the Princess Katherine He was 47 years of age his last birthday. The Princess Clementine is ST.
 King Leopolds two children by the Baroness de Vaughan have added a new count and & new duke to European nobili- ty. This comforting of titles upon his two illegitimate sons puts Leopold in the rank of many other kings. especially those of England and France.
 For instance, the present Duo d'Orleans is descended from that Duo d'Orleans who was regent during the minority of Louis XIV, and from the beautiful daugh- ter of Madame de Motespan. The baroness is quite as pretty and fascinating as Nell Gwynn, from whom the Duke Of Saint Albans is descended.
 A French King sent the fascinating Louis de Louerouille to spy upon the Merry Monarch" and as a result Eng land rejoices in the Duke of Richmond and Gordon.
 The noble Duke of Grafton boasts an ir- regular descent from royal house marked by a bar sinister on his escutch- con. It was, however. bad taste on the part of King Leopold to call his eldest son Duke de Fervueren, for this is the name of the palace where his ill-starred sister, Empress Carlotta, lived after she lost her reason in consequence of the death of her husband, who was shot in Mexico.
 have seen King Leopold, the Baroness de Vaughan and their two children at the Chauteau de Iormos, which they rented from our Franco-American hostess, Mad anne Henri-Say And never did bour- Seois family frolio more merrily than the aged King, the young duke and count and the lively baroness. They made right merry in the beautiful chateau of Mad anne Henri-Say. Leopold used to compare himself to Louis XIV, who married Mad anne de Maintenon, his children's gov- erness. And truly there may be some comparison. They were both great kings. Louisbuilt Versailles; Leopold Laeken. Louis said: T am the state. And when speaking of the Congo, Leopold said pret- ty much the same think and meant 1t, too.
 Thanks to the humane influence of a number of American ladies, Lucien Mill ] evoye, deputy for Paris, is preaching Q crusade in favor of our dumb animals especially that animal most of all abused-the horse. M. Millevoye Is very eloquent and practice has made him a good orator. Like Saint Francis of Assysi he looks upon beast and bird as our fel- ioW DTotnerS. Ine exact phrase ne en- ploys is our Inferior brethren" Monsieur Millevoye, the modern Saint Francis, whom up to date no one ever accused of being a saint, believes that all animals have souls. In support of his theory he quotes the late Cardinal Newman and Madame Lucie Faure-Gayon. Lucie Faure is the daughter of the late Felix Faure
 M. Millsvoye is preaching a crusade against vivisection. He objects to John D. Rockefeller's institute for that reason. He goes further and takes fling at the Americans for boiling their Holsters alive. His eloquence has completely won over the chamber of deupties and in the fu- ture the school books of Paris are to contain more precepts about gentleness to animals
 M. Lepine. the prefect of police, has is- sued an order forbidding cab drivers to use whips with knots or thongs Better still he has instructed the police to prose- cute employers who make children carry weights too heavy for their years. And all this help for the helpless is due to the leaven of the humane American wom- en residing in Paris.
 Mrs Storling-Postley has just presided over novel and charming reception. If French lady of society met with an accident to & limb she would hide her. self away from her nearest friend untfl she had recovered the use of it. Not SO this plucky American hostess. She had a dias erected in her boudoir and upon 1t was placed simple throne. There she sat and received her frionds after the