| Show A S C A 11 0 F SWEDEN D 7 fa I 1 the most democratic of monarchs C I 1 A IC 0 FR F F C N 0 C N C EC J oscar 11 II king of sweden Is one of the monarchs who Is not of royal decent he is great grandson of jules bernadotte who was one of napoleon a most notable generals and who was elected to the thrane of sweden in 1810 becoming ung king in 1818 under the name of charles XIV indeed he is the only monarch napoleon set up who Is still depre on a throne among living sovereigns there Is undoubted y no more talented or gift ed monarch than king oscar it if proof were n eded in support of this as artion bis his maje majesty a birth day last year furnished it in the most un able and complimentary manner for the of many countries on that occasion conferred more degrees upon king oscar than have it is believed ever before been held by any one individual let alone a king hing king oscar Is a poet a his torian a writer on military and per haps more especially naval matters a great lover of and authority on mu sic and an orator of singularly wide and comprehensive fayge range both as regards subject and language language As a speaker he 13 possessed not only of the happy gift of aying abing the right thing ft tt the right time and place but of en er lowing his utterances with a rare at times most dramatic eloquence the I 1 ing L L also a jour calist of merit and it is authority aut honta horita dively stated that he occasionally con tributes to more than one paper ar tides on various subjects A limet w Posses possessing these faculties Is excell excellent ht company qu te independent of the charm wh ch proverbially beally ca to royalty he is a first rate host active and attentive and al though of the tat liest imaginable presence there is altogether a con sid erable amount of lancien 1 ancien regime state about the swedish court his majesty moves about in his sal salons ons with almost almest youthful having a I 1 md ind word for everybody and in the guest a own language king oscar walks in the streets of his cap tal often unattended hp vis its the theaters attends all athletic and mil tary tournaments and I 1 loves oves nothing so well as to board Hs vaci t th the e dr drott 0 tt a and 12 d be 0 off ff to marstrand or some other qu et seaside be tore h a court know that he bontemp con temp ates the trip his constant companion Is capt and his children have inherited belth er his physical nor intellectual aties king oscar Is not ashamed ct of the grandmother maho who took the peasant ants s pence in exchange tor for the wine of the south before napoleon napoleons s mar bernadotte happened by the little inn and carried her away on horseback the comparative promis acuity of the 6 5 0 clock suits king Os car well he hates pomp and cere k 4 an inland lake mony and there a very little of it to bore him there the queen of sweden has of 0 late years been somewhat of an invalid although her majesty Is able to take outdoor exercise on horseback queen sophie is the vue rue and faithful friend of ill all in trouble and her work in the cause of charity is manifold and comprehensive work in which her royal husband often helps her the queen only rarely attends court tune eions her tastes lying more la in the dl di of homely quietness she Is a great reader of books and papers and exceedingly clever at artistic needlework their majesties have tour four sons but no daughters the crown prince gustavus Is tall and Is like his father the king a good sportsman and a capital shot but more retiring and reserved in manners and tastes the crown princess a cousin of the german emperor ia is delicate and to the great sorrow of the royal family and loyal stockholm the beautiful capital of sweden loves ea a court and all that thereto appertains she has of df late years been compelled to spend a great portion of the year in more southern climes their royal high nesses have three fine boys who promise ta to grow tall like their father and grandfather prince oscar the king a second son renounced his right to succession on the occasion of his romantic marriage and he and his wife have more and more withdrawn from court life but prince carl the soldier prince and his charming wife nee princess 8 in deborg of denmark are extremely popular prince eugene the youngest ot of their majest majesties les eons has inherited his full share of the bernadotte tal ests cuts lil e his uncle the late king charles XV of sweden he wields the we brush and Is passionately fond of his art he has studied under the masters of pans paris and elsewhere and R zap 4 protected baboon bay on swedish coast aul einkorn who has been by th eside of his king everywhere and at all times for nearly sixty years the I 1 ing a great love for his coun try and countrymen was abundantly proven to the writer of this article who in 1901 had the honor of visiting majesty upon the drott the I 1 ing a first question upon learning that his visitor was an american was what sort of citizens do my countrymen co in your northwest ter ri tories mal e ea the best we have your majesty was the natural answer whereupon his face beaming the king ling answered that del gats me immensely more than I 1 can tell ou king oscar thanks to his peasant origin is a superb specimen almen of man hood and in point of stature ap pear bearance pe arance arce and intellect the most ma jestic figure among the monarchs of europe he married princess sophia of nassau daughter of a race whose blood has been vi vitiated tinted by a lorg sue assion of consanguineous marriages P it can hold his own even in tho the best company prince oscar it will be kemem bared renounced his rights to the throne to marry one ore of the queca aa a maids and he is now nov known as prince bernadotte he ile is very religious and Is deeply interested in e salvation army he and his wife frequently speaking before the meetings |
