A QUEEN OF GENIUS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8306, 12 July 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

A QUEEN OF GENIUS.

Thk biography of a woman of genius must always be interesting, ami still more will this be the case when the subject of the memoir wears a royal crown. Consequently the reading public will not be ungrateful to Baroness Drichmann for translating from the German Harones* Sbackolberg"The Life of Cm-men Sylva" (Keg.in Paul). As everyone is aware", "Carmen Sylvsi' is the nom d< plume, of the accomplished lady who is the consort, of King Charles of Roumania. Her <rifts as a poet and prose writer, combined with her lofty reputation as a woman, have won her a wide-stretching famo. Some of "Carmen SylvnV poems have been admirably translated for this volume by Sir Edwin Arnold, while in the philosophical _ passages Baroness Drichmann has enjoyed the assistance of Professor Max Midler. Her father. Prince llarmnn of Urail, married in 18-I*2 the youthful Princess Mary of Nassau. A child of th.3 Rhenish house, she was born on the !Hh December, ISIS, at Neuwcidel. a name familiar to many English people for its excellent Moravian schools. " Carmen Sylva" was carefully trained not only on the mental, but on the moral side of her nature. Her bent towards philanthropy was solicitously cultivated. Wo are told that : — " In her childish years at her mother's side she learnt to understand the troubles and misery of the poor people. Her heart was so much touched by all the distress she saw that she naturally gave everything away which she, in her childish mind, thought she could spare. Her mother lot her act. thus, but gave her one day a large piece of checked woollen stilt!'. The little Princess was beside herself with joy. ' Now 1 can giveaway all my dresses !' she exclaimed. ' Will you not rather carry the woollen stutFto the poor children?' asked the Princess of Wied ; 'your white drosses would be of less use to them than that coarse material.' ' Yes,' said she, ' that is true." Then .-he called her little brother, and the tiny couple went down from the castle to the town, carrying the beautiful gift to a house where many children were the only riches of their parents. This same kindliness of heart has never forsaken her. Just as her benevolence found an outlet in her childhood by the hilly woodlands of the Wied valley, when she was but an unknown infant princess, so it is now that she is a famous royal personage, held in high esteem in the world of letters everywhere. Thus we learn that : — "Princess Kli/.ibeth has a motherly love and care for her ladies of honour, and leads (mite a patriarchal family life with them. She is particularly fond of surrounding herself with young "people. Young girls ate constantly invited to spend some weeks at Sinain, where they are allowed to share the laborious life of their mistress, who cannot bear to see anyone sitting idle near her. Everyone around the Princes* must, be in a state'of constant activity. The pet name of • Whirlwind,' given to her in fun in her childhood,w:n uNo applied to her later by a relation. The Prince«* and her ladies write and read, make music, write poetry, work, and paint together. She endeavours to awaken a love of nature in the minds of the young, and to enliven their walks with interesting conversations. The Princess 1constant in her endeavours to awaken intellectual interests in her people, and hopes by this serious foundation to overcome the frivolous tone of society, and to train the mothers of the comir:'_r generation to a more ideal life. It is a lovely sight to see the Princess, in the becoming dre-s of the country, sitting under the tree with a circle of von nil girls around her, some of whom are closely pressed to her. The Princess either reads to them or discusses a charitable institution for the country, and sometimes a plan for a future poem. Then one sees beautiful brown eyes looking up at' I )oamna Elisabeta' with love and admiration, All freely express their thoughts and feelings. The Princess has been compared to the I women of the Middle Aires, and called 'Anne de Bretagne.' She i> indeed a bright example of deep'culturc and feminine virtues to all women." The tri ds of life have not spared "Carmen Sylva." On the- 9t!i of April, 1574. she lost her only child. Baroness Staekelberg describes most pathetically this great grief ai follow : — •• Tilithelast moment the Princes? had not realised that the bright life- of her child waHearing its close. But when all was still, and she grasped the dreadful certainty, she bent with humble resignation before the holy will of Cod. She herself closed the loved blue eyes of her precious child, then rose quite calm ami collected, and thanked the doctor- for their faithful car'. , . No words of complaint passed her lips ■ Her strength remained firm till they placed the body of the child in its little bed. The tender care of the Prince for hi- beloved wife was very touching. He was utterly prostrated by the unexpected Mow, and earnestly sought for I c.iinfort and composure. 'Cod loved my ! child more than ever I did. and so He has taken it- to Himself!' exclaimed the poor mother with wonderful calmness-. when the little body was placed in the coilin, and it had been closed over her, the Princess pit. her hand on it and spoke as in prayer— 'Cod bless my child.' " How nobly and resignedly "Carmen Svlva" bore her sorrow may be judged from this extract from a letter written to her mother, Princess Mary of Wied, on April 12, IS7t: — "(fort has drawn my chill to Himself in His love! May He eternally be praise! for the great happiness which was mine! I would rather become a weeping rook like Niobe than never have been a mot her ! V*:*, it is too much joy for one little human heart ! My child i i! : ; <) happy, my love is stronger than the grave, mid 1 can ivjoiee in it- joy ! There is so much to say about the little one, because sho already had such marked characteristic.", and Wii« si independent, original, and eha/rning. Still she is mine for all eternity ! 1 have not lost, the high dignity of a. mother because my child is separated from me. The great happiness which I enjoy is not too dearly bought with this great sorrow ! Thy pain is ii thousand times outweighed by the joy, for it was joy without a pang, arid now it, is joyful pain !" The breaking oufc of the Kusso-Turkish war aroused in "Carmen Sylva." all the large-hearted sympathy of her nature. Her whole ?oul went out towards the wounded and : — " At her own expense the Princess reared a hospital for one hundred beds in the park at Cotroceni, which was to be under her own supervision—' As she wished to nurse her children herself.' The Princess, also worked unceasingly in all tho other hospitals which she had organised. Sao awaited and received every train which brought, in the wounded from the field of battle, and nursed and tended them unwoaryingly, without giving herself a thought. Day and night the Princess was at work, refreshing the weary and comforting and encouraging the sick. She helped to bind up the wounds herself, and did nob even recoil from those at sight of which even men could not help shuddering. How many of the (lying received the last words of comfort from her lips ! Many of them would only take chloroform from her hands, and she alone could persuade many of the wounded to undergo the necessary amputation.". The pride of the Roumanian soldier rebelled against going through life like a cripple, without a leg or an arm. ' I would rather die than look like a beggar !' exclaimed a young soldier in despair whose leg was to be taken off. But the Princes.? came to his bedside and besought him to remember that a long life might still lie before him, and to let the operation take place. ' For your sake, Regiria, it shall be done !' he murmured. Obstacles that none could surmount were overcome by a kind word from the beloved Princess, She exercised a great moral power over the poor sufferers."