The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 27, 1904, Page 17

.- Pages 17to 20 THE C h ] Pagcsl7t020' SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, MARCH o o, 1904. EX-QUEEN ISABELLA LIVES IN ROYAL STYLE IN PARIS ATTENDED BY SECRETARIES, CHAMBERLAINS AND COURTIERS SOy ° | WZx~ QUEEN TSAPELL A | 7‘ SN o Old Lady Is Fond of Artists and Policemen. PARIS, March 26.—Though fallen trom power, and living in exile th fi ears, ex-Queen Isabella of Epain keepf up the semblance of a in Paris, and surrounds her- th chamberlains and secretaries n of the royal household, nothing of courtiers and petty descriptions. At her bi- ees, she receives as a reign- her residence, the Palais Avenue Kleber—and world could induce her d gentieme say ale of a 1 the 2 call. She even pushes her ion of power to the extent of con- ferring decorations on her favorites, and as she is too dignified an old lady to invent decorations of her own she confers authentic Spanish decorations, which only the ruling monarch ie sup- posed to have within his jurisdiction, and which she calmly refers to the Spanish legation in Paris for confirma- tion ALFONSO 1S INDULGENT. . Several hundred such appointments are made each year by her, causing un- told tribulations to the Spanish Embas- sador, the Marquis del Muni, an old friend of Isabella, whom he does not jke to disoblige, while at the same he is com_elled to respect the au- hority of his young liege lord, Al- nso XIIL But Alfonso, while brought up to conz:>>r his royal grand- ,a as a holy horror, is neverthe- indulgent toward her, and, prompt- Del Muni, generally confirms a 1 number of decorations for her. x-Queen’s on is one of the few ueutral grounds in Paris where atives of the uncompromising noblesse” of 1. nce meet members of the republican set in so- L3 Isabella has never been offi- v recognized by a French Presi- and rever been received at lysee—the French White House— the hope of improving her rela- some day she has formed a close cy with Madame de Saint-Prix, set's daughter, sident Loul for himself, has re- d his simple ceuntry dastes, but ‘When was elected President of the which was the first step tow- Presidency of Franc:, Madame t devoted two solid months to a study of the French peerage and pro- tocolary laws. The latier have bheen most useful to her, but sHe has never becn ab’- to profit by her- kuowledge mam € has social ambitions. woubet of the former, and that is her greatest cross in life; wherefore it is just possi- ble that the ruse of the old ex-Queen may succeed, and that through the good graces of Madame de Saint-Prix, seconded by Madame Loubet, Isabella may some day find diplomatic relations established between the Elysee and the Palace of Castille. EX-QUEEN'S FRIENDS. Cabinet Mi ‘sters have followed the lead of their chief anda have never called officially on Isabella; but their wives are sometimes glad to call, and there is not an aspirant or a has-been of the political world who Jloes not seek admission to the ex-Queen’s court circle, and Isabella r~ceives them all in view of the fact th:t they .y some day come to power and will n.t forget her. As for the French aristocracy, it car- - afford to slight a Bourbon, how- ever little it may approve of the old Queen and her mode of life. And thus it is that the republican element stands at Isabella’s levees elbow to elb.w with Dukes and Marquises. such.as the De Rohans, De la Rochefoucaulds, De Bethunes, De Luynes and other prince- ly houses of France. . In spite of her great age—she was 73 at her last birthday—Isabella leads a comparatively active life. Colossally rich, she nevertheless believes in house- hold economy, and while not stinting herself for anything which may add to her comfort or enjoyment, she person- ally inspects every detail of domestic expenditure and sees that it Is reduced to a minimum. But while careful al- most to the point of stinginess in this respect, she enter’ains lavishly, she loves fine horses and carriages for her daily drives, and her charities are enor- mous, However, in regard to her charities | | E2 - — * tion and proceeds to examine him. If he be homely in the royal eyes or if a gray hair or two gives an impression of premature cge, Isabella has him ushered out without parley. -1f, on the cont he passes inspection, he must then sit down at the ‘piano and inter- pret ¢ cal pieces and his own-com- positions, or else produce specimens of his drawing and painting. If the ex- Queen approves he is put down on the list and his future is assuréd, Every quarter a check is sent to him for his current expenses, and ever after he is supposed to.call at fixea intervals at the Palais de Castille. ' Once in a while Isabella gives an entertainment for her proteges, and, omitting all her usual so- ciety. friends,: she -invites local Latin Quarter or Montmartre belles to meet her artists and musicians. . And it is said that the old Queen enjoys ‘these unconventional balls and receptions far more than she does her staid court function: FONDNESS FOR POLICEMEN. Isabella has another weakness be- sides artists and musicians, and that is for policemen, provided they, tog, be young and handsome. Isabella is very particular about her hpdyguard and finds it difficult to fill its ranks with men who are both efficacious and good looking. She has been known to stop her carriage in the Champs Ely- sees to hail a policeman and invite him to call at the Palais de Castille if he wanted to enter her royal service, and on one occasion, sitting in her box at + ldw, Queen Marie Christine of Spain, with all the honors rendered by one monarch to another. The most important event in Isabel- la’s near future is her meeting with Alfonso XIII when the latter offi- cially visits Paris next spring. She loathes her grandson with such inten- sity that members of her court never dare mention his name before her, knowing that it would precipitate a scene. But she considers that her rank has its obligations, and she is prepar- ing to entertain Alfonso right roy- ally. There is, perhaps, only one opin- jon which the two have in common, and on the strength of which they are pret- ty sure not to quarrel; and that is dis- like for Americans. —_——————— SAYS TRAIN ‘WILL RUN 110 MILES AN HOUR Inventor Behr Will Exhibit Model of His Proposed Railroad at St. Louis, LONDON, March 26.—A working model is shown in London of the pro- posed monorail between Liverpool and Manchester. The model, . which is go- ing to the $t. Louis Exposition, is one- sixteenth of the actual size and demon- strates the fact that a monorail train ‘will not jump the line. The running wheels are in the cen- ter of the train, straddling a Roman A- shaped structure, at the apex of which is the rail. The underworks of the car- riage hang down on each side and there is an ir lous arrangement of hori- zontal wheels which Tun along the guide rails half way down the Roman A, with flanges beneath. ‘When the train ‘akes a curve the pressure falls upon these horizontal wheels and there is practically no more as.in other respects, ex-Queen Isabella. the opera, she sent one of her secre- risk in turning curves than in running has her own ideas. She never responds to any petition for pecuniary assist- ance, and rarely adds her name to any subscriptions, but she has two weak- nesses, Mc —martre musiclans and Latin Quarter artists, on whom she will squander her gold in unlimited quanti- ties, provided they be young, handsome and talented. She herself always judges these qualities. She has a spe- cial detachment of secretari-- who have 1.. other duty but to inform her of new discoveries among the meritorious, and to report the concuct of those al- ready under the queenly wing. When the secretaries hav reported favorably on the subject of any one, the C-iecn sends for the per: 1 in ques- taries up to the peanut gallery to make similar overtures to a pleasing young policeman whom she had spied through her opera glass. The policemen are naturally compelled refer her gra- cious Majesty to the Prefect of Police; - and Isabella bears a serious grudge against Monsieur Lepine for the fact that he has never once granted the transfer of a man from his staff to hers. In summer ex-Queen Isabella has no fixed residence, but leases for the sea- son ->me historic chateau. One year it will be on the Riviera, and the next in Normandy or in Touraine. Last summer she was near Fontainebleau, where she received her daughter-in- straight. Mr. Behr, the inventor, said the speed of the railway to be built from the model will be 110 miles an hour, —_—— American Artists Honored. PARIS, March 26.—M. Chaume, French Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, this week visited the first annual exposition of La Triade at the Elysee Palace Hotel and viewed the works of H. Faulkner, a painter; L. Mielziner, a miniaturist, and T. Epeyer Simson, a sculptor. The ex- hibition as an+example of American enterprise was very successful, whr- ranting even @ postponement of the closing. - | | | ‘ i | i | ; | EX- QUEEN JSHABEZIR S ZFEXILE FHOME 77 Zhezs. EX-QUEEN ISABELLA OF SPAIN AND HER HOME IN PARIS. “ e — KYLEMORE CASTLE TO BE REMODELED THAT THE KING MAY HAVE HIS BATH Andrew Carnegie’s Swimming Tanks, the Most Luxurious in Europe, Do Not Suit the Steel Magnate and They Are to Be Overhauled. American Girl Starving in Italy. LONDON, March 26.—Kylemore Cas- tle, the recently acquired Irish home of the Duke and Duchess of Manchester, is competing with Windsor Castle and Buckingham Castle in the matter of equipment. In the accounts of the extensive alterations that have been proceeding there for months past, cne important detail has escaped observa- tion. The fact that the King has had recourse to electric light baths since his coronation illness had been over- looked by the Duke and Duchess when the specifications of the alterations were submitted ‘to them. When it became known that his Majesty would, stay at Kylemore during his tour in the we: of Ireland and the Duchess becoming acquainted with the fact that.Windsor and Buckingham palaces were supplied with the electric baths from ' which King Edward had received so much benefit, she gave instructions. that a similar bath must be installed at Kyle- more. PREPARING A KING'S BATH. The alterations originally planned were nearing completion when the new order was issued, and the builders had some difficulty in finding a room that to their view could be conveniently con- verted into an electric bath to accomo- date such an important personage as the King. The Duchess met the diffi- culty by insisting that if her own boudoir had to be sacrificed the bath must be constructed. Luckily, the late owner of Kylemore had the castle sup- plied with its own electric light installa- tion, otherwise the Duke and Duchess would have to spend some thousands of dollars now to fit up a bath for the King. Nothing attracted King Edward's at- tention so much durfhg his last visit to Skibo Castle as Mr Carnegie’'s luxurious swimming baths. He insist- ed upon having a plunge and after he had emerged he expressed a wish that he could have a similar luxury at one of his own palaces. But in spite of the fact that the Skibo baths are ac- knowledged to be the most luxuriously equipped in Europe they do not satisfy Mr. Carnegie. Since he left for the United States a number of workmen have been overhauling them, giving an additional polish to the beautiful mar- ble of which they are constructed. A service of Russian and Turkish baths is being installed. From The Netherlands comes renewed reports that poor little Queen Wilhel- mina is looking sad and greatly differ- ent from the radiant girl whose wed- ding is still fresh in the memory of all. It is true that her face is round and chubby, but the girlishness has van- ished, and in its place has appeared a set expression of forced calmness. The sturdy, phlegmatic Hollanders shake their heads dubiously when they speak of her. They will not admit that their idolized young sovereign can be at all in fault. All is set down fo the score of the Prince Conmsort, who is said to be dogged of temper and somewhat devoid of tact. CHARITY FOR AN AMERICAN. Although it is common enough for Americans to hear of cases of want and suffering among the Italians who flit to their ghores, it is almost unprecedented that such a thing should happen to an American in Italy, and in consequence, says my Rome correspondent, the Ital- jans are deevly interested in the sad story of a woman now in detention in Rome. Hannah Jackson Stevens, or Stevens Jackson, of Raleigh, North Carolina, a woman about 35 years of age, whe must once have been comely, finding herself without means or friends at home, and having heard in a vague way of the sunny skies of Italy, and that the people could live happily on a few cents a day, determined to try her luck there. No one knows how she got to ples, and the next link in the story is when a peasant near Capua, having gone into the forests to gather wood, suddenly came upon the body of what he took for a dead woman. With the instinct of the Italian peasant against anything dead, he fled, but curiosity, fortunately, overcame super- stition, and he returned to find out who it was. Her theart was still beat- ing, so he carried her to the village, where the good people soon put her to bed and had a doctor in’attendance. Apparently she had been in the wood without food for days. She was wasted to a skeleton, her sodden clothes clinging to Hér limbs, as there had just been one of the worst storms of the season, while her matted hair was full of leaves and twigs, masses of it being between her fingers, pulled from her head in her agony. When somewhat recovered, feeling that the poor peasants were denying themselves the necessities of life to feed her, she declared to them that she had friends near, and left, blessing them -for their kindness. She, poor thing, who has nothing for herself, is now looked upon as a kind of mascot by the family who took her in, as from the time they saw her their worldly affairs have improved. The next that was heard of Hannal was when the American Consul, Mr. de Castro, was told by the police that they had found a woman lying in the streets of Rome, who seemed to be an American. The unfortunate was again dying of hunger and exposure and to repeated appeals would only reply, “Let me die; let me dig?” The authorities cared for her, but ‘it only took a mo- ment for one of her own nationality to understand that suffering had had its effect, and that she was no longer capable of giving a connected story. She was put in a house of restraint, but being so gentle and melancholy, was not sufficiently well watched, she escaped, fled into the country, about two miles from Rome, and laid herself on.the railway tracks. The searchers found her just in time to drag her off as a train thundered by. Again her wail was, “I want to die, why have you prevented me!” She is quite in- capable " giving a connected story, but it is certain that she comes from Raleigh, and she says she is alone in the world. LADY ABINGER'S FORTUNE. It is to his mother, Helen, Lady Abinger, that the late Lord Abinger has willed the property of the family. Helen, Lady Abinger, was the daughter of Commodore Magruder of the United States navy and niece cf Major Gen- eral J. B. Magruder of Texas. Not only Ockley ia Surrey, the little property of which she had the use during her son’s lifetime, has now come to her, but alse the London house in Cornwall Gardens, and erlochy Castle in Inverness- f the reasons for this ct s send-back of the family pos- sessions is that late Lord Abinger's kinsman and presumptive was married to'a man Catholic and he could not the idea of a Roman Catholic r £ at Inverlochy, so hav- ing the power to de so he willed almost everything he p sed to his mother. In consequence the new Lord Abinger receives the title, but finds his inheri- tance reduced to a mere 310,000 a year. Helen, Lady -Abinger, was one of the pioneers of Christian,Science in Eng- land and is still one of its most ardent supporters. Her husband was the Lord Abinger who served with such distine< tion in the Crimea Abbott Graves of Boston is again in Paris studying art. He is a very prom- inent member of the American Art Club in the Latin Quarter in Paris, being on the board of governors, chairman of the entertainment and:of the art com- mittee, etc. During the past summer Mr. Graves has been in Vollendam, Holland, making a number of studies for pictures, and has given one of his sketches for the wall of the American Art Club. Tt is considered to be quite the finest sketch yet received and is of a girl on a piér in bright sunlight with a breezy sea and sky. J. T. Harwood of Sailt Lake City, who is in Paris studying art, has been re- ceiving congratulations from masters and art students of the Latin Quarter, Parts, for a series of successes this ses- sion. Mr. Harwood, not only wom first position in the “Torse Homme™ Con- cours with a strong study, but was first also in the composition competition at the Academie Julian. Mrs. Harwood and their children are also staying in Paris to learn French and to the amusement of both Mr. and Mrs. Har- wood and their friends, the children, so quick at picking up new words, begin to speak the language better than their parents. F. T. Knewing of San Francisco is staying at the Hotel Cecil, London. Miss Alida Ghirardelli of San Fran- cisco, who is in Paris studying art, is exhibiting three examples of her work at the winter exhibition of American Women's Art Association of Paris. Last year Miss Ghirardelli studied at the Lawton Parker Schoeol of Art in Paris, under the professdrs Messieurs Simon and Cottet, going afterward to spend the summer in Holland, where she painted the two. Dutch Interiors now on exhibition for the first time. Miss Ghirardelli is now working in a studio of her own in the Latin Quarter. — e ——— King Will Lay Cornerstone. LONDON, March 26.—The King, who will probably be accompanied by the Queen, has accepted an invitation to lay the foundation stone of the new Liverpool cathedral, which has already been commenced on St. James’ mount. No date is yet announced. Between $2,500,000 and $3.750,000 is to be exp-nded on the cathedral, which will be the finest example of Gothie ecclesiastical architecture in England. Lord and Lady Derby have placed Knowsley at the Majesties’ disposal during the visit