Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-03-09
R0UMAN|A' QUEEN
MOTHER DEAD At
THE AGE OF 70 YEARS
German Princess Who Won Lit
crary Fame under Nom dc
Plume of Carmen
Sylvia"

London, March a Bucharest dcspa CHI
by way of Amsterdam says that the
queen Mother Elizabeth of Roumania
Cni1ncn sylvia died this morning.
The pen name Carmen sylvia" by which
the Queen Mothc. Elizabeth of Roumania
was most widely known. was chosen 10y
her in expression oi her love for song
and the woods She was one Of the most
charming figures in the courts OF Europe,
and practically the only one of recent gen.
cratiols to gain fame as poetcss
In her own words. she was born Tar
from u throne" FOR although she was Il
princess Of WED, one OF the many tiny
principalities with which Germany
aboundcd. her youth WAS that nt an
ordinary robust country girl who learned
to cook and sew and who romped in the
open with her companions at the villaga
school. She was born December -. 1915,
and IN her childhood she showed
prediction for the poctcal fancies that
had such an influence on her later life
She .1osorbcd innumcrable fairy stories
aud. with some Of her own ina gina ton
added. she delighted her playmates with
her fancies. At home she received
Spartan training, and with a father who
was IN invalid for lfc nnh Il brother
who vas ncurablY i'll, she experienced
many sorroWs and hardships.
! Upon the death of her brother, the
| Princess was sent away to visit her aunt
| the Grand Duchess Helena Of Russia. who
! took her travelling TO various parts Of
! Europe. II was during this tour, how
ever, that the princess herself was strick-
! en- with typhus fever, and when she re-
! covered it was to learn that her father
! had passed away. She was deeply affect
ed by the sorrow in her family, and music
/ and poetry became her only cCnsoa ion.
/ "Must all ! love on earth be borne to the
grave" is the burden OF mournful
poem that she wrote at the time of her
, fathers death.
Among her friends about her home on
the Rhine, the little wild rosebud Of
WED" had evinced an almost savage
dislike to matrimony, and had often eX
: claimed; Il do not want to marry unless
I can be Queen Of Roumania.' The prin
cipality of Roumania had at that time
lust been founded. and there was no sense
in the young princess remark except
that she believed 1t sufficiently safe way
! 10 say mat she ulun | want 10 marry a.
, all.
There is remarkab bic romance attached
to the fact that some Years later hel
sutton became Prince Carries Of Hohen-
zollcrN, who was refused on the same
fancifull pretoXt that the princess would
not marry unless she could be Queen OF
/ Roumania In 1868, Prince Charles was
chosen ruler Of Roumania, and in the
autumn of the next year he returned tC
| WED to remind the Princess Elizabeth
Of her desire to rule over that kingdom.
Married, and settled i'm the palace n
| bucharest, the Princess threw hersel
! with great ardor into the life of thu
country. She learned to read and write
| Roumanan, made herself acquainted Will
the needs and requirements of the land
and became so beloved that the people
called her The Little Mother" out o
her own private purse she founded
schools, hospitals, and art galleries, anC
devoted practically her whole ,fc 4
philanthropy. Although she had practicec
her literary talents in limited way 70
: many years, II was not until the dealt
of her first. and only child, at the ag'
of four that much of her work was pub
lished, Though her poems lose much from