Evening journal., 1913-05-20

The King of Roumania has not fully
mastered the language Of his adopted
country after forty years. His Ger
man pronunciation makes something
SO strange when he delivers an adj
dress in the Roumanian tongue in
Parliament that none Of his listeners
pretend TO understand what he says
As ROumanian is like Italian. it IS
especially hard for Teutons to pro-
nOuncc IL we'll The Queen speaks il
much better. King Carol is unpopu-
Tar. Not but that the ROumanians re-
spect him and recognize that he has
done much for their country. but they
cannot bear his policy. which lie keeps
10 HIMSELF as IL were. never taking
his ministers into his confidence. But
he has many good points.
The character of the Roumanian
court Of twenty. and even ten, years
ago is lost The king no longer feels
equal TO entertaining. The queen, Who
used TO make 1t centre Of cultivated
/ talents, who encouraged all the arts,
wrote poetry. played and sketcbed.
/ also feels the weight Of years
When Carmen sylvia wont to Rou-
mania as bride the ladies of the
'BOyard clan treated her with dis
dain. They went TO court. they called
her la Princess Vide (the Empty
princcssl, play on her title of Prin-
cess of WED, because she was neither
rich or connected with the great
rcigning houses. They cared nothing
] for the arts she loved so Well Proud
on their vast wealth and ancient lin
cage, they thought it to be below the
dignity OF well-born women to know
anything at all; and the idea of one
of them putting pen to paper was
worse than reloping with a. friends
husband
Hence the queen had uphill work to
introduce at court that atmosphere OF
cultivation for which it has since be-
come famous. But she succeeded at
last and though the Bibescos, the
GhiSas, and the Philipccos and the
rest OF the ancient aristocracy held
alooi for,some time, they finally fell
% her ideas, and the general tone Of
Roumania has changed so much thas
il Carmen sylvia were to come into
their country as q bride today she
would be idolized.
King Carol is accused OF parsimony,
OF dizziness, and of keeping the coun-
try's foreign policy secret. Not a
cabinet minister has shared It, but
not one has ever asked to share it, so
that the whole responsibility Of peace
or war rests always with the aged
king His old years are full of bur-
dcns. He is by no means pleased with
La Petite COur. as the crown princes
household is called. And yet he does
things for the crown princess which
seem to go against his conscience
Truth is the old gentleman has grown
scnile and in Princess Maries hands
he is as wax. The latter came to
Bucharest about twenty-five years
ago as the counterpart of Carmen
sylvia. She was rich and highly con-
nected. Her relationship with the
reiening house of Russia, England and
Germany, her youth and beauty. put
ali at her feet But society altered
its views. and the princess and her
husband are more unpopular than
Carmen sylvia and Prince Carol ever
have been.
Long ago when Crown Prince Fer
dinand was a young man, he fell in
love with Helene de Vacaresco. a
beautiful maid of honor of whom Car
men sylvia was very fond The Vacar-
escos had been leaders in Roumania
earlier in that countrys history. and
have a long line OF politicians and pa
triots to look back upon. Helene was
the daughter of John Vacaresco, who
had distinguished himself in the war
against the Turks, and also as a dip
lomat. He was rich and respected
His daughter was a poetess This in
itself was enough TO make the Boyard
grandes DANES dislike her. and when
it was known that Grown Prince Fer
dinand was engaged to her, their in
dignation became extreme. If their
future king was to marry a Rouman-
ian. why not one OF their clan? This.
however, did not appeal to Ferdinand.
The court and country we're alame
with the question. The queen, who
aoored the young girl. favored the
union. as did the king. at first. believ-
( ing that an alliance with an old Boy
ard family would strengthen his dy
nasty. But the Boyard clan. far more
4 powerful then than now. hated the
1 idea of a match that they had not been
able to make for one Of their daugh-
tiers. and finally they won over the