The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-05

In her memoirs Carmen SYLVIA gives
quite prominent place to the world of
music as well as to the elite of letters
and of society. In this connection 1t IS
interesting to note that an accomplished
American composer and organist spends
two weeks every spring playing the great
organ at Bucharest FIR Elizabeth of
Rouman1aL His name is Gustin Wright
Of Detroit, Mich, well known among the
musical composers of Paris, where he
is organist of one of the great churches
The late King Leopold was not quite
successful in his efforts to prevent kings
and queens and scions of royal houses
from being literary. King Oscar of Swe-
den incurred the willy Leopold's displeas-
ure by publishing a book OF poems The
King Of the Belgians laid down the broad
principle that sovereign should not
write. This he particularized by saying
that the King of Sweden convinced Eu-
rope by his writings that many of his
subjects surpassed him in talent
/ believe the dean of royal authors to-
day is King Nicholas of Montenegro. AL
though he has celebrated the golden jub-
lice of his reign he Is not much older
than Carmen Sylvia. But 90 winters have
passed since the then athletic young
Montenegrin penned French verses in
Paris, where he attended the Lyceum Of
st. Louis.
The monarch of Montenegro is also a
playwright. Two plays of his written in
the distant past still hold the boards.
One of them is called prince Arbanot,"
the other is 1.-THE Empress of the Bal
kans." Needless to say the latter has no
connection whatever with the play called
1.-The Princess of the Balkans" In the
modest theatre of his mountain capital
of Cettinge King Nicholas has frequently
the pleasure of seeing his own play,
1.-THE Empress of the Balkans" on the
boards.
Europe has 10 reigning dynasties. OF the
dozen by far the most literary is the
House of Savoy. All the members of
the reigning family are boolSish or blue
stockingish oS given to writing books
The Dowager Margherita is the most
literary of the sovereigns. Her knowledge
of Shakespeare has passed into a proverb
Whenever any question Is raised among
italian scholars about the law in Shakes
peare, the theology of the Bard of Avon,
the women of Shakespeare, the Bacon
Shakespeare controversy or some kim
bred questions. 1t is referred to the Queen
Dowager. Her majesty is quite familiar
with 1.-THE Great Cryptogram." the stand
ard American work by Ignatius Donnelly
on the acon-Shakespeare theory, and
while admitting that its literary part
shows splendid scholarship, she holds
the mathematical or crytogramic part to
be purely arbitrary and incapable of
proving anything.
Queen Margherita's Prayer
That Queen Margherita is versed in
Dante goes without saying, for as every
educated person in England knows his
Shakespeare so every one of liberal train
ing in Italy is conversant with his
Dante.
There is a useful as we'll as literary
finish about the beautiful prayer COM
posed by Queen Margherita after the
assassination of her husband. the late
King HumbertO.
King Victor Emanuel inherits his moth
er's literary tastes. Though his great
work on numismatics can scarcely be
called literary, for the subject does not
lend itself to. literary treatment. 1t is
standard book among scholars who spend
their days in studying coins King Vic
tor Emanuel has the finest collection in
the world and Is one Of the highest au-
thorities. His majesty Is member OF
many learned societies Within his own
range his learning recalls what the late
King Edward said of the Duke d'Aum-
ale: 'Monseigneur d'Aumale's learning
is so extensive and his recollections Of
things so accurate that every time tai
to him feel as If I were learning les
son in French history" ria
Queen Eleona does 80 many things well,
from nursing the sick to shooting stag,
that people are likely to overlook her lit
erary attachments. She comes of family
of poets and musicians, and poetry and
music have been highly cultivated at the
old homestead In Montenegro. Some of
her early poetry was inspired by her hus-
band, whom she first met at Moscow
when he was still crown prince. Princess
Eleona 8 love effusions were published
over q p1endonym in a Russian literary
review. There is another exquisite poem
from her majesty's pen on the Bay Of
Naples.
! 1t were stretching the truth to say that