The Washington herald., 1913-02-16
GOSSIP OF PARTS OF EUROPE
NOW IN THE PUBLIC EYE

NOW IN
The Balkan war has brought into
prominence the personality Oh queen
Eleonora of Bulgaria-the second wi1e OF
"Czar- Ferdinand, and her prompt ac.oii
In ,organizing Red Cross work at soma,
which has aided greatly in mitisatne
the condition OF the wounded soioiers =:
She also has devoted great oeai VI
attention to all those made homeiess
and destitute which poured INTO 'he
capital by the thousands.
The Queen not only possesses 'erS
tender heart, but also knowledge aho
skill. She recognized early that trained
nurses are needed for the successtui
treatment of the sick and wounded anu
the Bulgarian troops owe great uea .
to her in this respect. Fact Is, that
Queen Eleonora served her apprentice
ship" so to say, during the iate nusso-
Japanese war. when she was actSe IN
promoting Red Cross work ana IN nui
ing the wounded in the field hospitals
n is there where she gained her ex-
nerience which comes in SO very handy
at present.
she is descended from very ancient
nobility, in fact. from a reignlng hoGse.
True enough, the Reuss dynasty never
ruled over a large territory. Their land
being one of the "Duodez" prtncipah :
ties of the Germany OF the ante-beiiufn
DAYS Of 1870. but they are a sovereign
house nevertheless. There Is the eiuer
line and the cadet brancn. each
the head of a separate little domain.
The Queen Of Bulgaria belongs to the
Younger line. She is by birth Protes-
tant. and her work Of mercy In the
panese war was done oy her
before she became the consort OIL fer-
dinand of Bulgaria
Her marriage was soiemnized at 1era'
according to the ceremonials and forhiai-
tiles of her house. the long period OF
whose sovereignty was attested by the
fact that her brother, who gave her
away. was Prince Heinrich XIV OF
Reuss Koestvitz (The princes OF Reuss
of both branches are invariably christened
Heinrich) Unique interest attaches itseH
tn this union, as only eight months aiter
the wedding Of the princely pair the an
Gent kingdom of Bulgaria was restored
by Ferdinand. who proclaimed himsen
"Czar of the Bulgars A.
EIeonora, the first Queen under the
new regime. set herself to preserslhs .ne
ancient traditions, and promoting the
welfare of her brave and Interesting
people in her own way. following tne
axampIe set by her neighbor. the famous
Queen of Roumania Carmen Sylva), ~
reawakening the patriotic spirit OF ths
populace.
Perhaps it was prophetic of the futurS
needs of her adopted country that Queen
Elizabeth devoted herself principaLy
TO hospital work when she came to Bui-
caria, and by her influence proushs
about many reforms. modern appliances
and treatment paying especial attention
20 the training of war nurses for WORK
in the field (the flying lazaretto COL
umn"). -
she organized courses of lectures on
nursing with the object of training edu-
Gated women to give first aid to the
uornded- In order to create more
than usual or perfunctory interest IN
the work, the Queen founded the or-
der of the Samaritans." and those VINO
passed a certain prescribed examination
at the end of a course, besides dong the
required amount of practical hospital
work we're installed as members of that
order. which has proved so useful In
the present war.
Whom war was declared Queen Eleo-
Nora summoned all her 'force," organ
lied women committees for making
dresses, bandages, and unraveling linen
into "charpie' to cleanse and close
open wounds She consulted with psysi-
Clans and nurses respecting the prepa-
ration of more hospital space and ac-
conmodation, so that she ffttingly has
been described as the battle angel, the
d,rectinC genius of the Red Cross work
in Bulgaria
All This naturally required a great
daaI of constant and arduous labor,
which extended from Sofia to Phihp-
popolis and Varna- The queen was
ubiquitous, travelling unattended ana IN
coxnito over the lines OF transport OF
the wounded, and here and there max
ine surprise visits to assure herself that
am th.t was possible was being done for
the sufferers, who, upon their arrival at
tho capital, Sofia. were placed on
stretchers upon electric cars, the sides
NJ which were removable so as to con-
yey the injured soldiers with the least
nossible Earring into them- Thus they
wera taken almost painlessly and with
ease and comfort to the hospitals.
The Queens work was divided between
giving audiences to nurses or 10 oe,e-
rates of societies offering help ana n1-
ing upon their spheres OF work. inspect
ing them, and visiting the woundeo-the
hosn;taIs On these occasions she was
dressed in n somber-hued, plain tailor
ma6e gown. She also was the directing
head of all relief work, which. as the war
devastated the country. sending thou-
sands of homeless persons into the
towns. soon became as formidable an
strort as that Of providing for the
wounded.
In Sofia the mosques and other large
public buildings were converted INTO
refugees for the destitute and into nos
pitfalls for the sick and. injured. Aiter
the battle Of I.ule Rurgas and tne nve
S,vs' .,rhting which ensued, the influx
of persons in distress Of all kinds into
the capital was appalling. Cholera and
dysentery broke out, and underfed men,
women, and. children clamoring for food
were dyins at the rate Of forty to nifty
n day. Even .he horrors OF the Crfmean
or the Turkish war Of 1878 seem to pale
before the condition OF things In the
Ba1kals.