The Washington herald., 1912-12-08

master of Geneva is prosecuting his
thirst for revenge upon the venerable
Emperor Franz Josef. who declined to
receive that upstart" when the Ser
Wan ruler visited Vienna. by insisting
upon being given a port in the Adriatic
as his spoil at the expected dismember-
ment of Turkey, recalls the many vicis-
sltudes and tragedies through which that
volcanic little country was fated to pass
in the past forty years
Contemporary historians have record
| ed that Natalie Ketschko, the daughter
of a colonel in the Russian army. a man
of good lineage and Of great wealth, who
became the wife OF the dashing Prince
later King Milan OF Servia, was by far
and away the most beautiful woman of
her day. II was Car Nicholas who,
when first he beheld her graceful and
charming figure, exclaimed: II would
I were a beggar. that I might ask your
aims and in return might have the hap
plness OF kissing your hand"
It was a case of mutual alteration be-
tween Milan and the handsome Russian
girl, and though warned not to wed her
because she loved to rule as much as
he did. that 1t would be a case of dla-
1
and that she would ultimately over
shadow him, the fond prince gave no
heed and in October. 1875, they were
united at Vienna, where society held
high holiday for the nuptials.
| II was on the Riviera that Prince MI
Ian first set eyes on his future wife.
| Coupled with her beauty was a high,
proud spirit and ambition. A gypsy wom-
s,rl N1nN Gha
to wear a crown-a royal diadem. and
| filled with superstition OF all Slavonic
races, that prophecy had been taken for
| grant True. she was madly in love
| with the dashing, "fesch" Milan, but
| Natalie, II is safe to say. would have
wedded a decrepit old man even II he
were in a position to offer her n crown.
But she paid dearly for her folly.
She was a generous, impulsive girl OF
sixteen. Had she waited another year
she might have learned what all the
world knew. that her adored MIlan-him-
| self but a youth of twenty-one-was a
gambler. a spendthrift, and so bare Of
any moral sense that his amorous IN
trigues were carried on with high and
low, servants at the court included. He
indulged in almost every form OF dissi-
patton. Soon Natalie was fated to dis
| cover that he was a man whose love one
woman never could expect to hold.
Marriage did not change his mode OF
| life. She tried passionate pleadings, then
rcprOaches. but all in vain
Then her proud spirit began to make
itself felt. Heated words were ex-
changed, and the records tell of many
Violent scenes before Natalie had been
six months Princess of Servia. The mis-
cradle life of constant quarreIIng and
disagreement went on-not in secret, but
IOpenly. She was fery-tempered
| strOnE-willed daughter of Russia, and
she gave literally a striking proof Of the
Spirit that was in her at the Easter
reception of 1885, when the wife of a
Greek diplomat. to whom her husband
had been more than kind. presented her
self smilingly TO receive the salute
courteous from her majesty. With a
look OF scorn Natalie COolly surveyed
her rival from head to foot: and then.
in the presence of the court. gave her
a resounding slap on the cheek.
But there were other women who
| baEked in Milans smiles. a much more
formidable rival being Artemesia Chris
Itch, who. not content with the Kings
smiles and favors. aspired to take Nat
| allies place Queen of Servia- II is
said that she eXtorted from him a prom
| ise to make her his Queen as soon as
| his marriage tie could be dissolved. a
compact to which Artemesias husband
| actually agreed. in return for his promo
ton to certain profitable offices Ulti-
mately this woman was obliged to have
police protection to shield her from the
vengeance of the mob when the Serv-
| ians fully awOke to the scandal.
Then came her first-born. Prince Alex
ander. her baby "SasCha." as she fondly
called him, that Inflated prince who in
after years. as King of Servia, was done
| to death in a palace revolution. together
with his queen. Draga Maschin. the di-
vOrced wife Of a Belgrade merchant,
| whom he had married in defiance of his
! subjects.
The birth of an heir instead Of bring
| ing the parents closer together in new
bond OF affection. was the innocent cause
of widening the breach Milan's scanda-
lOus eccentricities continued, and when
the son grew old enough to be influenced
| his father poisoned his mind against his
own mother.
Sick and weary of the whole business,
| Natalie, whose popularity with the Ser
vians was intensified by the wrongs she
had suffered. decided that she would force
her husband to abdicate and secure her
own appointment as regent to her son.
She made the full story of her injuries
public, and enlisted the sympathy not only
Of Milan's most powerful ministers. but
of the entire country.
Then Milan played his trump card He
determined to divorce Natalie and rob
her of her son. The divorce proceedings
were rushed through the Synod. and in
October, 1855, the marriage between King
Milan l and Natalie. born Ketschko, was
dissolved, without the unfortunate Queen
being allowed to defend herself. Further
more, "Sachsa' was torn from her arms,
and the weeping mother was left discon-
solate Well might this most unhappy
of queens write: My fate would draw
tears from the very stones"
Nemesis, however, was at hand. and the
year following the divorce, Seryian tndig-
nation was aroused to such an extent by
the scandals that Milan was forced to ab-
dicate and, while his wife was in exile,
their son was proclaimed King. ultimate
ly Natalie was allowed to return to Bel
grade, and had she then played her cards
rightly and lived quietly, she would have
been allowed to remain IN the capital. But
she threw herself into political agitation,
and thus brought herself into open con-
fiict with the regents, who at last ordered
her Punishment.
But this brought about striking dem
onstration of the poor Queens popular
ity. When, a few hours after the edict
Of her expulsion had been announced, she
was driven through Belgrade under a
strong escort of guardsmen on her way
to her exile, the cOrtege was stopped
by vast and menacing crowd VINO
beat of the soldiers with sticks ana
showers of stones, took the horses from
the carriage and willing hands drew the