Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-05
Enjoys Sports, Dancing and
Looks on Airmen as
Heroes.
Declares American Women
Intelligent, Beautiful and
Understanding.
BY EDWARD STORER.

!
bert of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, and
heir to the Italian throne, who moved
into the old Roman Palace here upon
coming of age September Is, 1925,
enjoys a popularity in Italy that Is
constantly increasing.
Good looking, tall and with Win
ming smile, the Italian Crown Prince
has won a real place in the affections
of his people.
To obtain first hand a picture of
Prince Humbert and his court l ap-
piled for an audience. My request
was graciously granted. | was in
structed to present myself at the large
brick-red palace that houses the
Prince and his suite.
Guarded by Carabinieri.
The palace was guarded by cara
hinieri Respondent in black, crimson
and silver uniforms. Two infantry
sentinels were on duty at the gate.
Tshered into an anteroom, l con-
yersed with two aides until the prince
was ready to receive me. The prince
has four aides-Capt. Sovera, Capt.
! Sestini. Capt. Gilberti and Capt. De
| Rossi iii Santarosa. Two are army
captains, one an aviation captain and
| the fourth a naval captain. Capt.
| Sovera took me into the reception
| room.
Prince Humbert was standing near
| a window. He is a tall, slender young
man. He moffoned me to come for.
ward, greeted me and asked me to be
seated
Talking with the prince is easy.
He gives one the impression of having
met one before. He speaks the fine
accentless English which the royal
and noble families of Europe seem to
maintain as a kind of perquisite.
Neither oxford nor Yale, Cambridge
nor Harvard; just gracious English
without affectation or emphasis.
The prince agreed to be questioned.
We spoke first of sports. Sizing, mo-
toring, tennis and flying are the
princes favorites.
Fond of Snow.
'I am very fond of the snow" the
prince said. II love skiing especially.
| In Winter / often go to Clavieres or
Bardonnechia" These are villages in
| the Alps near Turin. Its great fun,
| and one of the best sports imagin'
| able"
| Alpine avendtures the prince dis
| claimed, though he spoke of thrilling
| channels hunting on the Kings AL
pine preserves, the finest in the coun-
| try.
| Seeing my glance resting upon the
| many old masters and collection of
china which is one Of his minor In
| terests, the prince asked If 1 should
! care to see his rooms.
Moving a door to the right he
opened the green shutters of a nearby
window, revealing beautiful vista of
| the palace gardens framed in sub
alpine hills.
| mice view, isn't it?" he said. '"That
hill over there" he added, indicating
| one of the chapel-crowned many that
surround Turin, lis where my family
is buried
The prince then showed me his
study and work table.
Would your highness like to go
to American" I asked.
Yes, indeed, l should" he replied.
"And I hope to one day. But If 1 go.
l should like to stay a while and see
the country. 1 shouldn't care to go
only for 10 days or a fortnight's visit.
Probably / shall make the trip some
day, though nothing of the kind is
under consideration at present"
Way Fly ID u. ..
A moment earlier we had mentioned
Lindbergh, Chamberlin and Byrd, for
whom the prince had expressed great
admiration. Coupling this with our
new turn in the conversation he said:
"I'll fly there, perhaps"
This was said in fun, but there
was something in the princes voice
| that made me feel that he will fly if
prOUi6ad fhp nnnOrt1IOifxy
The princes bedroom proved to be
square chamber, some 10 or Is yards
across. A big talking machine stood
on a table.
docs your highness like modern
dance music?" I asked.
The prince said he liked both music
and dancing.
"Any your highness' favorite dance
lis it fox-trot or Charleston"
81 like them BOTH" he replied. "I'm
quite keen on them; they're great
| fun
The prince then told me that he
| buys regularly all the modern dance
records as soon as they arrive in
| Turin. His friends say he is fine
| dancer.
Ensuing conversation revealed the
prince as a lover of classical and op-
cratic music. He plays the piano.
Prince Is BibIiophile.
Prince Humbert's real enthusiasm is
for book collecting, a taste he inherits
from his father. History is his IA
vorite subject. Among the many
! books in the handsome collection he
has made for himself are number Of
classical historical works, monographs
on famous persons and rare pamphlets
on the lives of notable men of the past,
mostly kings and statesmen, soldiers
and patriots, both Italian and foreign.
MY special collection" said the
prince, "is that on my own family. l
have books in many languages con-
corning my family. l believe my col
lection is larger even than my
fathers"
In our conversation the prince al
ways referred to the House of Savoy
as my family" and to King Victor
as my father"
The prince then showed me his col
lection Of pictures, portraits and prints
of members of the House of Savoy.
This has been his special hobby for
the last two or three years. Its i'm
portance is now generally recognized
by experts. In addition to the pic.
lures. the prince has large collection
of canoes, medals and bronZes. He is
his own archivist for the collection.
Reads American Magazines.
The prince told me that he fol-
lows the British and American liter.
airy reviews and the literary pages of
the newspapers with interest and that
he keeps in close touch with new his.
torical books in English.
The prince reads from time to time
American publications whose names
are household words in the United