The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-04-28
nfhA ,IAnauIsE DE- FoNrESoY.
= IT. ottVEtHuFIaN DuEc George IT.
OF sake M%ciningcn enjoys the
DISTINCTION Of ncinr ~ nIi,.

SdAc- Alcininscn enjoys the
/ distinction OF ncing tho only
reiSninS sovereign to-day who
mas q morgnnatic consort. Things were
uiifercnt In the nineteenth century.
"hch many of his brother rulers wero
"ilorGanaticaily allied to women vino
we're debarred by the inferiority o.
.neir oirth from sharing their. hus-
oahas throne or llopors. Thus. thnrc
we're Emperor Alexander ii. of Russia
whose widow. Catherine Dolrorout,
NV Eincess Youricffska. is stiIl alive
nihS frederick William III. or prus.
css Tngse rex. nandcd consort, Count
~ 81 iihrracn. had been created BY MIN
am,uess L>iesnltz; KIM Victor En-
manuel III. Of Italy. who married .
~IGainontese peasant woman. Rosina
Alirnnori; King Frederick Vii Of iSeno
mark. whose eX-modiste wife. Ioi,,sc
rasmussen. died as Countess Dunncr.
hnu iNing william !. or the Neither
~Eountess iienriette d'Oultrcmont, be-
longing TO one OF the greatest housce
81 r Inc Belgian aristoeracy.
oiome I1uke OF Saxe-Metningen. now
years Of age. a been three
lines married. Ills first wife was
~irincess Charlotte of Prussia. by.Swhoin
s NJ lhd y SON Prince Bernard. Field
married TO the Iaiser's eldest SIS
Ter. HIS second wife. whom he
married In 1858. was Princess Feodor
~ ionchionc fnvoritc niece OF Queen
Nlctoria, being q daughter OF the lat
ter's half-sister. Thirteen months ar
Ter her death. he married morganatical-
y an actress OF the celebrated Sake
nisinlhseh court Theatre. Helen Franz.
Whomi ne created on the occasion of his
wedding Raroness Heidburg.
ihe ceremony took place In the iitJe
vliinge chnrch OF Schweina and on oe.
ceivinG the notification thereof, ali the
members of the aristocracy holding Of
flee at tho court OF Saxc-Mcinlngcn. re
signed while. the leading members of
s3clG,y IN the little. one-iorse capital
Of Meiningen, ostcntationsly "cut" the
baroness when they met her In the
street. and even went so far ms to turn
their backs apo her.
Still more ridiculous was the nil
ttdc of the stout colonel or the Pr,is-
sian regiment of Infantry stationed at
Meiningeni For in order to escape hay
cap, as he had been accustomed 10 do
while she was still on the stage, he on
one memorable occasion sought TO hide
himself behind a tree: and as the lat
ter was spare, and he himself was fat.
he presented Il sinGularly comical APP
pcarancc. On the following day. the
duke sent his A.. D. c. to Berlin. to
al once CAV directions that all OFF,
GERS should salute the baroness, with
the hand toithe cap. and punished the
colonel by placing him on the retired
The baroness has been accorded by
her husband Official precedence before
all women at the court of Mciningcn
who are not of princely rank, and as
such rs the pas OF countesscs, no
matter how blue-bloodcd their ances-
try. The duke, moreover insists that
every one visiting his court should ac-
cord to the baroness the respect and
courtesy due TO his wife. regardless OF
the question whether she Is or is not
of royal birth. II is owing TO this that
so few OF the reigning houses visit
Mciningen. and that Is the only SOY
ereign state of the German Empire
which Tho present Kaiser has never
visited since his accession to the
throne.
Princess Charlotte of Prussia. the
wife Of the Crown Prince OF saxe-Mc.n-
ingen, a singhlarly witty, sensible and
charming woman, gets on capitally,
ganatic Wife, and is frequently at
Meiningen. / may add that the marri-
age of the old duko has been q very
happy one. and that although he has
been wodded to. Baroness Heldbnrg for
close upon forty years, they are still
n worry united couple.
General Sir Alfred Gaselec. who has
been retired from the English army on
the score of nge, bears a name familiar
To many Americans, as having com
mandcd the British contingent of tho
Observation-Disclosures dispatched to China
some eight or nine years ago. for the
relief or tho foreign legations nj. Pnkin.
He 10 q lephsw or Charles Dickens's