The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-01-10
KING REP0RT Z
FOR newspaper
Albert OF Belgium Came Into
Close Touch With Condi-
tions Through Journal.
Nj oNARCHs MASQUERADE

o MAR MASQUERADE
|Rulers Of Sweden and Greece
Have Fancy to Minglc
With Plain People.
LBY La MARQUlsE DIE %FoNTENOY.
: ING ALBERT OF Belgium can
boast of being the only rcignins
IN sovereign of Europe who has done
newspaper work as u reporter.
For the last four years lie has car
rlcd about with him everywhere a
reporters card. duly stamped in ac-
cordance with tho requirements OF the
Belgian police authorities. and accred-
ting him, under his tncosnito nulie'
devoid of II nobiliary title, as u Isp.
resentative and reporter of q weekiy
Belgian newspaper. devoted 20 lna,a.
time questions and affairs or every
kind. lie has made abundant use ol
this card; for. still more deapdds ~ no
development of the maritime trace Oh
Belgium. in the growth of its maI-
camille marine and In the eAteflsioH
of the and prosperity OF AN.
werp as the principal commercial porl
OF his time in visiting and examining
In the most exhaustive manner the
various ports, harbors. elc.'
! France: Italy, German. Sttsit,'
ing them as a mere expert ne~sPhper
writer who had made u study OF sucii
matters. and being treated as sucn by
the people to whom he wen. y an
formation. and who We're IN every case
wholly ignorant of the fact that nc
was tho future King of Belgium.
That he should have been aplc 10
preserve his incoEnito SO suceessiuits y,
wa due to the fact thai Until NIB
succession tho other day his appear
ance. though tolorably familiar IN Bel
GUM. was comparatively unknown
abroad. Moreover. his glasses. and
the diversity of the manner OF ar.
ranging the beard. which he has Q
shaved off. rendered it sometimes DIM
cult even for his own fellow
men to recognize him abroad when
travelling about alone, without any at
tendant, as a mere newspaper re-
portcr.
Albert has not yet shown the same
taste for yachting which was so mark
cd a acteristic OF the late King.
But he surpasses him in his determine
ton to render Belgium a maritime
power. and may be relied upon to
emulate the example of Emperor Will
liam. at any rate in so far as the
creation of q great mercantile navy
! is concerned.
Royal IncoEnito.
Everybody has heard by this time
of the story how King Gustave of
Sweden masaueraded tho other day as
a s%teyedore at Stockholm. and heipcd
during an entire day to load n un-
load shipping. with the object of &C
%auainting himself with the condi-
lions Of which the steyedorcs com
plain by getting into actual touch with
Il 4 -. -z..- - ~ z,,i q - -
stand how no can have escaped de;ec-
ton. with his tall stature, narrow.
sloping shoulders. glasses and marked
features. which must be known tc
leyery man. woman and child in his
capital, mr. which are sufficient to be-
tray him anywhere.
But what is not generally known IS
the fact thatsKing George of Greece
twenty and twenty-five years used
to take part In amateur athletic sports
doulos." Like his sailor son and name
sake. George. and like his brother
Prince Waldemar OF Denmark. he was
from early boyhood devoted to gym
particularly ndent In wrestling and In
iumping. In wrestling In particular
he had all sorts of tricks and knacks
which gave him a facile victory over
muscle led them to imagine that he
could be easily defeated by them.
There Is no country In the world
whore there are 30 many popular holt
days as In Greece. and whore. conse-
quently. SO little real work is done;
and holidays are invariably s%ignalized
especlally in the rural districts and
in the small towns, by amateur sports
including foot-races. throwing the dis
Gus n wrestling. Greece is Of all
backward in the matter of railway
communication and of even ordinary
roads. The intercourse of the towns
and villages of the interior with tho
small, and thus the personal appear
ance of George was relatively 6un-
known to his subjects. save those
among whom he had lived at Athens
and In the district immediately around
his country seat in the n~eishborhood
of the capital. He was able. therefore
to participate In these amateur sports
In tho villages and towns OF the in
terror without much danger OF recog
milton.
ton were brought TO q close through
the following experience. It seem.
that at n small fair he. as usual. de,
feated all Corners in wrestling con.
tests. Unfortunately for him, Their
were among those present people wht
had witnessed his prowess in Other
towns and villages of the province
and the very fact that he should h,
IoPPoa III ASOi9115 rDOuL OH
place to another for the sole purpost
Of taking part In wrestling contest.
led them to believe that he was a mere
i professional masauerading as an ANA,
teur. and thus winning all the prize:
under false pretcnses. This was speed
lily notsed about. naturally found IA,
Vor with those that he had bested ant
Instead OF meeting with an ovation, HI
! became an object of popular hostility
Indeed. he was subjected to 81 sever,
q mobbing. the Greeks beinr hot-head,
ed and passionate, that he was obliged
} to appeal to the police for protcc,
ton n to reveal the fact that Georg,
3Papadoules, the champion amateu,
wrestler, was no other than Ktns
George of Greece. That put an end t.
all further participation in the ANA
; teur sports OF his people, ana til,
; fact that he took the lesson to hear
was shown when at the time of tn,
!. iOlympian games afew years ag IA