Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-09-17
Upon Royal Palaces Gloom
 Settles More Heavily Than on Peasants Cots.
SUFFERING KEENLY
Nearly All the Royal Households Have Members in Thick of tlIe Battle. Princess Loses Two Sons
 at Liege.

In many a splendid abode sits an an xious care-marked queen, or princess, or grand duchess, fGr eyes red rom weeping, eagerly reading the bulletins of slaughter which aNe brought to her. and going forth only to endeavor 10 show a brave face before her peo- ple and to comfort and encourage the interminable lines of wounded in the hospitals.
 H It is a mistake to represent the autocracies as sending their common people into the hell of shra2nel and rifle fire while themselves sitting in safety. Such a picture is often drawn by the hater of the monarchial idea, but whatever the faults of kings this is not one of them.
 N The young men of royal birth are \ in the thick of the fighting. No family but has many representatives who are officers in the army or navy. And the casualty lists among the officers of the armies in the field are much heavier in proportion than the dead and wounded and missing of the ranks.
 Loses Two Sons at Liege. A traveller just arrived from Der lin tells an appealing story of royal sorrow It was in the grand dining room of the Hotel Cumberland, one of the finest hostelries of the Prussian capital. The Princess Berthe .von Iippe was seated at one of the tables. A telegram was brought to her and she broke the seal and read eagerly l The mask of royalty dropped from her. Forgetting she was princess and in public place she threw her head and her arms on the table be- l fore her and sobbed aloud as any peasant mother would have done.
 Only one word passed her lipe, "Dead.'
 The telegram had informed her that her two sons had fallen at Liege. Later she was told her two younger brothers had been killed at Charleroi. A dreadful toll to pay for war! But i it may not be all-the Princess Ber tha still has numerous o.her relatives in the kaiser's army. She can only console herself with the tales of the bravery of her lost ones.
 How Prince Died.
 Here is the story she heard from one of her sons own men. He was Prince Wilhelm of Lippe, colonel in the Prussian army, who fell in the assault on Liege, August 6.
 After fierce fighting at close quar- ters we proceeded successfully toward Liege." narrated the private. "On the morning of the 9th we succeeded in getting on the northern walls of Liege, where. however. we were completely surrounded by Belgian troops, who drew over closer around us and press ed us hard amid hail of bullets.
 By order of his highness our de- tachment formed circle and we de- tended ourselves stoutly for some time, till at length we saw strong re- 1 inIorcements coming to our aid.
 In order to enable them to locate the exact spot where we were. the Prince rose to kneeling position, pointed with his sword to the ap- preaching column, ani gave me. who lay a hands breath away from him, on top of our flag, the order to raise tho flag so that we might be recognize | ed.
 l T raised the flag and waved it in 8 circle, which at once drew an extra hail of bullets from the enemy. The flag was shot out of my hands. while the same volley wounded the Prince fatally in the breast and throat. His | last two words were. Remember me-"
 Seats Not Safe. But added to the horror of having | near relatives in the shambles of Armageddon are two other depress-, ing thoughts, which harrow the wo- men so unfortunate to be of royal birth. There is first the ever constant realization that their allegiance is mixed, that while most of those in whom they are interested are fighting on the sides of their own army, rela- tlves nearly as dear are leading the cause of the enemy. Kin fights against kin. This is due to the con- stant intermingling of royal blood which has gone on in Europe for cen turies
 Then there is the disturbing real ization of the precarious position of the throne. Not dynasty of the solidity of which does not tremble in the balance. The queens realize ful- ly that the future of their houses de- bends upon the outcome of the vast conflict. Defeated they will be over whelmed by the indignant forces of democracy or socialism or reduced to impotence by their countries S>n- querors.
 Cxarina Tragic Figure. | Perhaps the czarlna of Russia is the most tragic figure in the whole tre- mendOuS world-drama s'Tha Saddast face in Europe" she has long been and now the lines of her face must be l deeper than ever.
 She sees Slavs and Germans locked in death struggle. All her blood relatives battle against her husband. She was tho Princess Alix of Hesse 1 and became the bride of Nicholas | 1 becanse he fell in love with her and 'refused to marry the daughter Of the 3lav king of Montenegro. as the Rus