The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 14, 1904, Page 17

SAN FRANCISCO, = SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1904. ALL SPAIN LOOKS FORWARD TO THE MARRIAGE OF KING ALFONSO AND HIS THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD COUSIN, PRINCESS PILAR OF BAVARIA - Prospective—éueen and Her Mother Will Soon Visit Madrid. in marriage bonds with a girl whose true sentiments, character and customs are unknown to me—because I am well aware that we live in practical times, and that it is an easy matter for a maiden to feign to love a youth of my age in order to become queen—still I have sufficient knowfedge of life not to ignore the fact that it is pretty difficult to find a little princess, however aus- terely brought up, possessing that charming purity and candor which I desire my future wifesto have.” BRIDE A MERE CHILD. oo The little Princess Pilar really ap- ot apers, and Dears to deserve on account of her terward some important Physical and moral qualities the love of Don Alfonso and the high place to which he seems disposed to raise her. Although she is not yet 13 years of age, aving heen born in Munich in March, 1gust young lady is tall, well d and fully developed. With her urn locks, her large blue eyes, her in and the mild expression 1tenance, she resembles one f the gins painted by Murillo. Her physical perfections are well matched moral and intellectual qualities. ays accompanies her mother frequent visits which the latter tals and the poor of ich, where she usually resides, and, her mother, the little Princess es of comforting and helping sick and needy. She speaks fluently § sh, French and English, besides a fair sort of German, plays admirably the piano and harp, and when her s and acts of benevolence leave ttle time she takes her work box ts nice little things for the poor en of Munich, not forgetting to some of the gifts from time to > to the little ones of the beneficent of Madrid through her Christina,” who becomes fonder of her, and often su hijita del corazon” (“the jaughter of my heart”). L4 PRINC A GOOD MAN. Of the affection which she entertains r Don Alfonso and Spain, the charm- le Pripcess has recently given sending to the Inter- ion of Postcards, or- re for the benefit of the poor, on which she herself had ten the following: Iy mother me that by writing a few words his card I can contribute toward g some unfortunate person. With aut of her ng folk MARRIAGE IS PLANNED. kes to the chilc utions Aunt Ma heart I write: ‘God protect R : my real fatherland, and my jearest cousin, Alfonso XIIL' Pilar.” h I have hitherto only spoken of the mother of the little Princess without 1 r ficer her father. JFONSO 1S PLEASED. e to be As T should not i interpreted un- 1q faverably d the latter, T hasten to ¢ say that Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria tow so appears that match we i et it P R, e g . o e, a7 - §%'% ek ¥ T M I 21 e - | 1 | Ky AIFQRO XE | — - dicate. The influence with the Queen of the Duke of Manchester's American mother doubtless has something to do with the visit, too ROXBURGHE NOT RICH. It is all nonsense to suggest that the Duke of Roxburghe has plenty of money and did not need a rich Ameri- can bride, for whatever the Roxburghe estate may bring in, t are so many who have claims t that the Duke’s share probably does not exceed $20,000 a year, For many years Floors Castle has been in the market to be let 1 tor only one wéek in the s it usually opened. Then »use party is gathered and given, -at which the Scotch the foursomes and the eight- gomcs are danced. During the Duke’'s long minority his mother saved and s.ved until she had over $40,000, but most of this the Duke had spent long since. Besides his mother and two brothers, the Duke of Roxburghe has four sisters, all whom draw from the estates. The omission of pre-nuptial settle- ments is spoken of with dissatisfaction as becoming a custom among American Turnished, whele ye: a large dane reels, T ¢ Interested Parties'to a Romantic Royal P‘roject of Marrying a Boy King to a Child Bride | -+ FING ALFONSO'S TROSEECTIVE PARFEN Ts~-IN-ZAW - + G WoR S at the same time, in characteristically formal words which have been directly reported to me—"‘and, although 1 do not like the idea cf being impelled to join ~ is a model husband, besides being an eminent physician who attends the poor gratuitously and has published works highly praised in the scientific world. QUEEN ALEXANDRA WILL NOT TOLERATE GAMBLING AMONG WOMEN AT PLACES WHERE SHE IS VISITING Her Majesty Is Especially Opposed to the Fashionable Game of Bridge, and in This She Is Supported by the Duchess of Marlborough. LONDON, Feb. 13.—Queen Alexan- dra has knocked the bottom clean out of bridge playing among distinguished social gatherings. There have been so many card scandals in even the most exclusive set of late that her Majesty now refuses to countenance gambling among, women at any place she is vis- iting and she especially stipulates that bridge must not be included in the pro- gramme, even for men. if high stakes are likely to follow the excitement of the game. Many great ladies are sup- porting her Majesty in her campaign, notably the Duchess of Marlborough, who, next to the Duchess of Devon- shire, is about the smartest player in the high society set. The success of the gathering which is assembled at the Duke of Devonshire’s seat at Chatsworth this week is due to the ahsence of bridge playing from the programme. The Queen said she would not go there, neither would many of the ladies who ‘sympathize with her views, if bridge were to be indiscrimi- nately played. The turn that things have taken is most disappointing to the Duchess of Devonshire, wlw is a devotee of bridge. SOCIETY IS AGHAST. Even among the Queen’s friends in the Jewish community—the Roths- childs and Sassoons—in which the gambling spirit is so strong, she will not tolerate any sort of card playing for high stakes, and it is an open-se- cret in seciety circles that her popular- ity among certain sections is suffering in_consequence of her determined hos- tility to all forms of indiscriminate gambling. Princess Victoria is, like her mother, a determined opponent of gambling. Both are, however, expert whist players, but only for the pur- posés of pastime. Who will entertain the King and Queen during their visit to the west of Ireland in April? The subject is agitating the minds of society at the moment of writing. When the official announcement is made I can predict that it will be found that the Duke and Duchess of Manchesfer will enjoy the honor and that Kylemore Castle will be the scene of one of the most brilliant social gatherings that has ever been seen in'Ireland. The extensive altera- tions undertaken at the castle by the Duchess were in anticipation of this royal visit, and when these are com- pleted Kylemore will be one of the most eligible residences in the kingdom for entertaining royalty. Long before the Duke of Manchester thought of acquiring the property every effort was made to induce his Majesty to make it a royal residence, but great as King Edward admired its beautiful surroundings he made no secret of the fact that he feared to be responsible for the heavy extra expense such an undertaking, would involve, and es- pecially at '/a moment when he was forced to 'practice retrenchment in other quarters. The castle has always been one of the most expensive resi- dences in the country to maintain, and der its altered conditions it will be jore expensive still. King Edward is animated by two motives in visiting Kylemore. He ex- pressed an opinion once that it stood in the midst of the finest natural scenery in the world, and furthermore, he is anxious to give an impetus by his presence in the neighborhood to the rich marble guarries in the vicinity, which are worked by an American syn- brides. Invariably they will spend - | | i —p money on .their homes, which is what they are expected to do, but the lack of security about a regular income for the head of the family is disapproved of, the case of Lord William Neville being continually cited as a point. Mr. Murietta, when ma: his daughter to Lord William Neville, said he could not take money out of his business for settlements, but al- lowed the young couple $30.000 a year to live uvon. Then when the Baring crash came Mr. Murietta went rupt and the tam Nevill left. In the Official Gazette of this week it_was announced that the Duke of Roxburghe had resigned his commis- sion as lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards. ¥f a London house is to be bought or built for the Roxburghes, there is not the slightest doubt that it will be paid for with the new Duchess’ money. MRS. ALLEN HOUSE HUNTING. Mrs. Henry Allen, the widow of the commodore of the fludson River Yacht Club, has for some time been searching to find a house in one of the most fash- jonable quarters in London, which she might make her London home. She has at last settled upon a dainty little house that is perhaps the very small- est in Mayfair, and is situated in Cur- zon street, next door but one to the magnificent house just built for the Duke apd Duchess of MarlBorough, which is probably the very largest Mrs. Allen's house, whie she has taken for six years, belongs to Earl Howe, from whose family name of Cur- zon the street got its title. There is a beautiful confidingness about this little house of Mrs. Allen’s, for immediately the street door is opened the visitor finds herself in the ining-room, out of which leads the staircase to the drawing-room directly above. The house is painted white, both without and within, the decora- tion inside being in the form of little raised flowers, which go round the pan- eling on the walls. Since the death of the commodore, Mrs. Allen has been traveling, but is now devoting herseif to furnishing her new home, making long searches for dainty pieces of fur- niture that would be particularly in keeping with this quaint little house. bank-