New Britain herald., 1928-12-18

at Mons during q public ceremony in
which she took part.
The girl. who in all probability will one
day be the Queen Of the Belgians, ap'
peared at the open-air celebration clad in
the height Of fashionable apparel. But
certainly her exquisitely modelled frocl
displayed no more daring than that Of thu
average woman today who has youth ant
beauty which she wishes to frame at
tractively.
The princess was photographed by 4
newspaper cameraman as she stood on Z
raised platform. It cannot be denied that
her skirt DID fail, by an inch or two, Of
covering her knee when shesat down.
Yet At Continental breakfast tables the
next morning this fact undoubtedly went
unnoticed BY those who viewed the like.
ness Of the Adorable Astrid." The in
adequacy Of skirt-length was no more
acute than that enjoyed by most Of the
ladies who viewed the picture.
Anyway, who would want the future
first lady Of the land to be even trifle
unsty]ish? Since the couturers Of the
hour dictated comparatively brief cos
tunes for women, shouldn't Princess
Astrid, beautiful, dashing, adored, be the
first to gown herself correctly?
But when the paper containing the
platform photograph" reached the offices
Of lie Vingtieme Ciecle," a journal that
has been taking the lead in a crusade
against the alleged ''immodesty'' Of
modern dress, the conservative clerics
who saw it were deeply shocked.
The skirt worn by the Princess was
we'll moulded to the figure and flared
into a fringe Of brilliants at her knees
Her critic thought it flared too soon.
A priest and contributing editor rushed
to his desk and turned out singing
article on the length Of the Princess skirt.
Among other things he said:
"The radiant beauty of the Princess
aroused admiration in itself without the
addition of such a piece Of trivial daring.
The example coming from the throne, or
even the steps of the throne, is the most
substantial impetus that can be given to
shameless fashions"
The comment at first aroused only in
difference-and a bit Of laughter, mas
much as the Princess had admittedly not
exceeded the dictates Of fashion. Then
came the challenge, and a more serious
aspect to the incident.
All the newspapers printing an account
of the would-be duelist's comeback did not
divulge his name. It was considered
better policy to omit it, since 1t was gen.
orally known that the author Of the bid
to battle was the scion Of m old and
socially prominent family.
1.-The affront which you have seen fit
to bestow gratuitousy upon one OF the
best beloved and most lovable women OF
the Belgian nation, one who will some day
become our Queen, cannot be overlooked"
ran the sharp and to-the-point note Of the
enraged young man.
He went forward, after that introduc-
ton, to brief but explicit challenge.
Nothing but shed blood could wipe out
the insult to Princess Astrid. 1t was the
sort of thing-according to the aggressor
in the duel-that could only be settled Ivy
gentlemen in the immemorial way.
The picture of frocked priest engag-
inx in a duel, with pistols or rapiers, was
one which shocked many Belgians even
more than the brevity Of Astrd's dress
could have annoyed the cleric who wrote
the article.
Of course, the Princess herself made
no comment publicly on the episode.