Show A CYCLING PRINCESS I Au Italian Lady Who Defied Court Etiquette Rome Correspondence London Telegraph Bicycles caused no end of bad blood in more senses than one It Is to be feared before finally obtaining the right of citizenship among orthodox vehicles lof the road and universal though they have now become among ordinary mortals mor-tals they have still a deal of uphill work to accomplish before acquiring a status among the surroundings of royalty royal-ty Of course a prince or a king may bestride a wheel and do anything but break a record or his neck but were n princess to so far forget what she owed to her house her dignity and her long line of ancestors as to patronize this democratic means of locomotion the whole civilized world would stand aghast at the desecration of royalty Implied by the act And this Is the horrible deed that has Just been announced by the telegraph and has thrown Italian court circles Into ceremonial convulsions The catastrophe occurred In Turin and the heroine and victim the lady Is both Is the pretty accomplished young widow of the Duchess of Aosta who is staying at the castle of Stupmlgl Princess lilarla Loetizia Isa sisterinlaw of the present King of Italy she having married in 1SSS his brother Prmce Amadeo Duke of Aosta who died In 1S90V V 1 fJ r 1 i The lady who Is a Bonaparte is not merely accomplished and pretty but Is brimful of life and fun and takes a posi tive delight In trampling upon the rigid court ceremonials of past ages The last of her frolics was executed on a bicycle made for one She sat out a few days ago on one of these tabooed vehicles ac companied by a maid of honor and two court cavaliers and after a long ride the party were found flying up one of the shady avenues leading to the palace of the Duke of Aosta when a company of soldiers commanded by a major met them half way glanced at them furtive ly and perhaps a trifle too curiously and critically and marched on without and wihout ing a sign The Duchess rendered more sensitive than usual br the consciousness that she was transgressing the bounds of court etiquette felt hurt at not being saluted In the approved fashion bt the major and his soldiers This was te haps human nature and as such excus able But the lively lady went much further she actually complained much conduct of the major who had she af firmed culpably neglected to salute her The commandant of Turin General DOncion de la Batin at once summoned the officer to appear before him and explain his conduct The major said he was guiltless of any offense as he did not recognize the high born lady oddly dressed and seated between two wheels and would never have permitted himself to think of her permited hlmstt cyclist Had he known or suspected It was she of course he would have etc etc General de la Batln uncertain what course to take appealed to the Solomonic wisdom of the war minister to whom he forwarded a detailed report of the whole occurrence asking for Instructions as to the punishment to be meted out to the major whom he meanwhile kept I In arrest The minister of war if not precisely a Solomon was at least quite shrewd enough to see that the ground he was 1 treading was courtly if not holyand instead In-stead of taking the responsibility upon himself demanded an audience of the king before whom he laid the report of the commandant The monarch cut the Gordian knot In a twinkling He sent a telegraphic order to Turin releasing the major from arrest and entirely exonerating exonerat-ing him in the matter This however was the solution of only onehalf of the question the remaining moiety concerned the lively young widow and the king sent his bicycleloving sisterinlaw an order forbidding her to attire herself in red court costume for the space of two calendar months a prohibItion which Is equivalent to strict domestic arrest for that period The princess Is therefore absolutely invisible to the good citizens of Turin who were wont to watch and salute her two or three times dally as she rode or drove or walked about the streets of the historic old city The inhabitants in-habitants console themselves by gazing for hours through the windows of the photographers shops where a series often of-ten magnificent portraits In various positions po-sitions and costumes attract hundreds of loyal sympathizers I now learn that j sentence has also been pronounced on one of the court cayallers who accompanied accom-panied the duchess on her bicycling ex peditlon The Marquis of Moncrlvello has been summarily dismissed from his post by order of the king who is said to be extremely annoyed at the evident determination J deter-mination of his sisterinlaw to put all traditional notions of court etiquette at naught and to have announced his intention inten-tion to punish much more severely all I future transgressions |