The Washington herald., 1920-04-25
7 TERRIBLEo ANGEL OF MERCY, OLGAALEXANDROVNA
Battlefield She
Her

LIVERY family has its "Enfant Terrible"
- as they say in French, and the sister OF
the unfortunate Nicholas II, the Grand
Duchess Olga Ale1androvna certainly fills the
role. She was the youngest child Of Alexan-
der III, his special favorite, and as such in
ordinately spoiled. This might have turned
out very badly. il hers had not been the
sweetest nature imaginable, coupled with
strong common sense, which made her realize
long before any other member of her family
did, that she had been put into the world Tor
something better than to amuse herself.
When her father died she was thirteen
years old, and she became her mothers con-
slant companion, too constant one might
almost say, because the Dowager Empress
kept her daughter under such strict control
and surveillance that the independent spirit
of the latter rebelled, and made her seek the
means Of winning her liberty and being able
to lead her own life without interference
from anybody.
She had never cared for court etiquette or
court pomps. Her happiest days were spent
roaming in the splendid park of Gatschina,
where the Empress Marie lived in spring
and in summer, or riding with her brother.
the Grand Duke Michael, in the woods sur
rounding the imperial residence. She had
wonderful talent for painting and used to
draw lovely sketches Of the scenery which
stretched under her eyes. The long sandy
beach of the Baltic sea appealed to her, and
to that latent sadness which lies at the bot;
tom Of the Russian character, and which she
had inherited from her father, in whom it
was developed to even a greater extent than
Is generally the case among Slaves. None
had ever realized more completely than this
mighty czar the vanity of all earthly things,
and MS daughter also could never bring her
self to gaze with hopeful eyes at all the
luxury and waste amidst which she lived.
When quite a baby, she had once declared
that when she would grow up she intended
to become a doctor, an idea which amused
her mother and brothers exceedingly. Alas
it turned out to have been a foreboding as to
what the future was holding for her, because
the Grand Duchess Olga was really to exert
her skill in treating others, and in applying
to suffering humanity her innate talents as a
7~se and sick attendant.
In the year Of grace 1890, when Olga
had attained her eighteenth year, no one
suspected that evil days were to come for
Russia and its rulers, and the Grand
Duchess made her appearance at the few
balls In st. Petersburg during the winter
season, balls at which her mother, the
empress, acted as hostess, as her daughter
in-law, the Czarina Alexandra, had al
ready withdrawn herself from society. Olga
became a favorite in St. Petersburg society
from the very first day she was introduced
20 it, and she enjoyed exceedingly all the
entertainments she was allowed to attend,
enjoyed herself so much that the Dowager
Empress became alarmed and annoyed at
what she termed her daughters worldly
tastes, and she forthwith carried her of to
Copenhagen, the serious and sedate atmo-
sphere of which she deemed more suitable
TO her wayward child than that of the Court
f st. Petersburg.
Now, If there was one place in the world
which the children of Marie Feodorowna
hated it was Copenhagen and its dullness
The days spent there in doing nothing but
taking long walks in the park of Bernstorf
Castle were a bore as was listening to the
everlasting gossip which was going on amidst
the family circle. Olga Alexandrovna in
particular shared her uncle's, King Edward
VII, dislike for the dull but eminently
rpspectable pleasures of Copenhagen and
would have liked nothing better than to
rScape them, but for this, there existed one
issue, and that was marrying and setting I'D
home of her own, and to this desire Of
hers there existed one difficulty, there was
no one in Russia whose rank would have
entitled him to marry the daughter Of a
r.
If wedding abroad being profoundly at
tached to her native country, which she had
declared many times nothing would ever in
duce her to leave, even to make the most
brilliant marriage in the world.
WHEN say there was one in Russia
w whom she could have married, 1 ought
rather have said. nearly no one, because
the Duke Alexander Of Oldenburg and hi,
talented wife, the Princess Eugene Of
Leuchtenburg, had one son who was sup
posed to represent a derby in the matri-
nonial royal market in Europe, from the
point Of view Of position and fortune, the
latter being an enormous one. His branch
Of the Oldenburg family, too, had been
settled In Russia more than sixty years, 50
the only objection which any one could have
had to Prince Peter as a suitor for the
hand Of the Grand Duchess Olga was his
religion-he belonged to the Protestant faith
and his state of health, which was known
to be such that marriage was for him quite
out Of the question.
But the Grand Duchess Olga was of an
snterprising turn Of mind, and the first thing
she did upon her return from DENMARK with
her mother. was to seize the opportunity af-
forded by a visit Of the Princess Eugene to
the Dowager Empress, to ask the formers