Show GUSTAF A PLEASING BLEND OF DEMOCRAT AND aristocrat applies himself with great diligence to tasks of administering gov eminent not a soldier by nature stockholm sweden s new king gustaf Is proving a worthy heir to the great tradition running back not only to his own martial ancestor der cadotte but to those which go back to his country s great hero his own namesake and he la meeting his great responsibilities with an earnest ness history has only in notable in stances associated with kingship A correspondent who recently inter viewed the king in his working found him not only busily en but devoting very serious atten tion to the numerous matters of state brought before him tor gustat has come to the throne at a crisis in the history of scandinavia navia due to the secession of norway awakening slum bering antagonisms and rousing a new spirit in the people the king Is con of these dangers for his inter est in politics has been always keen and persona and he brings to them a trained mind and a sympathetic un der standing the king still occupies the apart ments of the crown prince and they are small enough to make one reflect how little of a royal palace as of a royal life Is at the exclusive disposal of a monarch they are working quarters too messengers come and go telegrams and letters arrive min aisters and officers in uniform pass to and fro stewards and chamberl alna hurry from one place to another and the telephone works hard the small low belling room Is as busy as a stock brokers office if king gustat Is a descendant of one of napoleon s marshals he la none the less swedish for his french de scent lie has assimilated the char acter of the race he governs like the king gustaf swedes he Is a pleasing blend of rals socrat and democrat ilia family might be called in evidence of the democratic strain for of his brothers one Is a doctor and another an artist and neither can be styled amateur but this proof of atavism Is not needed if one talks with his majesty ills at toward life Is frankly demo cratic tempered perhaps with a vein of sadness that may be born ol 01 the moment gustat Is not considered to be a sol dier though the descendant of one of napoleon a great marshals and ruler of a land made glorious by the martial deeds of gustavus adolphus that he lacks this particular capacity Is not dee to a lack of courage those who know him best declare that it war menaced his country he would place himself at the head of the army as readily and as confidently as r as the government officers not hesitate to declare that had gustaf been king tn 1905 the preparations of the headquarter staff would not have been tn vain and the kingdom would not have been divided happily the danger of war has ceased to be am eminent and the energies of both coun tries are turned to peaceful rivalries it not a soldier his majesty Is at any rate a sportsman he rides like a centaur Is a crack shot and plays tennis like a doherty some of his subjects hint that it would be more in keeping with the dignity of his alon if he played tennis only with his courtiers they forget that the true sportsman Is the true democrat and hat sport even the sport of kings la not only a bond but a leveler to these exercises and to music of which also he Is a devotee his bajes ty will have little time to give the duties of king in sweden are no sine cure he must preside over every council of state and Is responsible for every act of administration some people consider him impatient of dis and detail but those who know him best declare him to be the embodiment of steady endurance ills courtesy and good nature are inex |