Imperial Valley press., 1914-03-10

not take this one or that one to please
her fathers prime minister.
This changed attitude of the royal
young lady seems to have been the
stone wall on which the plan for seal
ing the Balkan peace by royal match
making was shattered.
Last fall there was much indigna-
ton, and just indignation, over the pit
iless plan by which the diplomats in
tended to mate up the young folk OF
eastern European nobility.
In the first place Olga was to be
married to Prince Alexander of Ser
via, the heir apparent to a throne
stained with blood. 1t will be remem-
bered that King Peter, Alexander's
father, took this throne from assas-
sins who killed King Alexander and
Queen Drafa, and. even tore the lat
ter to pieces and cast the remnants
of her body out of her bedroom win
dow. Prince Alexander's elder
brother, George, committed many hor-
rible crimes, including the murder OF
the husband of his mistress, and was
shut out from the line of succession.
Alexander is said to be little better,
sot and a debauchee. The court at
Belgrade is rude and barbarous. OIL
gas fate in such a union might we'll
be pitied.
Then Tatiana, she if the witching
eyes, was to be wed to Prince Charles
of Roumania. He is the oldest son
of the Crown Prince of Roumania,
who is the nephew of the aged king
and queen. Roumania is slightly
more civilized than Servia, but the
Roumanians seized some of Bulgaria's
snoils of war recently and the fierce
Bulgarians will come some day seek
ing vengeance. Charles reputation
is fairly good. yet 'twould be a love-.
less match little to the taste OF twen-
tieth century princesses.
The girlish Marie, third daughter
of Nicholas, has been rumored TO- be
a sacrifice to Russian Diplomatic re-
lations with Greece. She was to
marry Prince Boris, oldest son of the
King of Bulgaria. She is IA and he
17-yet this is considered none too
young by the diplomats when the
friendship of two countries is to be
cemented.
Little Anastatia is still too young
even for rumors. The czar. sore per-
picked over the problem of the elder
three. already sees her as an added
difficulty in the distance.
The czarina is little help to him.
The constant attempts on the life of
her husband. the almost daily con-
spiracies within the palace. the me
nacing of the lives of herself and the
children. the disastrous war with
Japan, the exposure of the scoundrel-
ism of the czars' near relatives, the
outbreak of a bloody revolution and
her. strained relations with the czar
himself. have tended to unbalance
her mind.
Her own is a marriage of conven-
ience. She lived with her brother as
a pirl and her surroundings were any
thing but happy. She was treated IN
an off hand way in st. Petersburg on
visits there before her marriage. The
idea of a German marriage was not
popular in Russia. However, the ad-
vice of Queen Victoria of England,
who was anxious for her granddaugh"
ter to accept the brilliant match thus
offered to her, and the fact of strained
relations with her brother. combined to
prevail upon her and she finally con-
sented to become the bride of Nicholas
Alexandrovitch.
Today she would probably have re-
fused Much history would have to
be rewritten had princesses always
been as independent as they are now