The Washington herald., 1915-10-03

Europe thought there were republics
| enough already, and they >chose a
| Danish prince. And this prince, who
had married his English cousin, the
Princess Maud. daughter of Edward
VII and Alexandra, was crowned
King Haakon VII in the old cathe-
dral OF Trondhjem.
Although the Scandinavians now
have three Kings. they are chiefly
decorative. Norway and Denmark at
least are more democratically gov
erned than any republic except Switz-
erland, but Sweden is more or less
burdened by an aristocracy which Is
a legacy of her martial glory.
Norway might be called a peasant
nation. For when mobiles were in the
| making there was no Norwegian
the only aristocrats she saw were
Danes. Her native aristocracy. there
fore. is the nobility of merit which
needs must have its patents renewed
each day and must be forever poi-
| ishing it's decorations.
Denmark, too is under peasant
rule. In the United States a third
of the farmers are tenants. But in
Denmark 80 per cent own their farms.
Not only that. but by an elaborate
system of cooperation, the Danish
mess that touch their welfare. They
are their own middlemen and their
own bankers. Naturally, such men
are their own rulers. nearly half the
members of the popular house being
peasant farmers. and the same class
holds several portfolios in the cabi-
net of the King.
Josephin Mother of Kings.
I,a ,e S@ft y,@f I,,x ,,r,D
ly upholstered berth in Scandinavia The
crown is a sinecure.
Nevertheless, Scandinavian royalty is
rather interesting crowd. The Danish
royal family, for example, supplied Kings
for both Greece and Norway. And the
Dowager Empress Marie of Russia and
the Dowager Queen Alexandra of Eng
land are. Danes
The origin of the Swedish royal fam
ily is one of the romances of history.
The Corsicans proudly pointed out to me
a stone bridge which the founder of the
reigning house of Sweden helped to
build while serving in that island as a
French sergeant of marines.
When a childless old man sat in the
twilight of the kinsly race of Vasas, Ma
pcleon stood at his blazing meridian and
the Swedes turned to France for a sue
cessor to the throne. But Willingly or
not they proposed to take that one Of
his marshals whom the emperor disliked
and distrusted most of all Nevertheless.
he consented to their selection Of Berna-
dotte. and bade the new crown prince Of
Sweden go and let our destinies be ac-
complished."
In the eyes of Napoleon the only re-
deeming thing about Marshal Berna-
dotte was his marriage to Desiree Clary.
For she had been the first of his avowed
sweethearts and she had arraigned him
for breaking her heart when he took up
with Josephine, He was relieved. there
fore, when Bernadotte stepped In to re-.
pair the break. and he stood godfather
to their baby boy. Oscar.
Much as he secretly resented the ele-
walton of her husband to the rank of
royalty, ne was somewhat consoled by
the thought that though he had deprived
Desiree Of the crown Of France. she
would yet wear q crown. ''Bernadotte,"
he growlsd, may thank his marriage for
his baton. his principality of Pontecorvo
and the crown OF Sweden"
And the romance has q sequel. Al
though Josephine was put away by Ma
poleon because Of her failure to become