THE NEW KING OF SIALY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2429, 3 October 1900, Page 63

THE NEW KING OF SIALY.

(Sunday Sun.)

Italy knows very little, and the outer world still less, abouC the third Victor Emmanuel, who has managed to live to be 30 without revealing himself except to his mo^t intimate friends. But if all that is said of him 'be true, the son is on the way to as proud a fame as his father. His youth lias not been ss energetic as King Humbert's, who fought for Italy when ho was heir-apparent, and was the only king in Europe who could show a scai received in war. Victor Emmanuel has not fought for his country in battle, and, though he has had a military training, lus leaning is not towards a soldier's lite. His disposition is quiet and retiring. Though he is 30, he has not yet lost the highly impressionable nature of his youth, and Ms nerves are said to be weak. 'Ihe members of the House of Savoy are not usually robust in appearance, and Victor Emmanuel gives one the impression of a young 'man who would not take naturally to a vigorous cdrecr. There may be some foundation for tthe suggestion that he has dreams of -reform in all sorts of directions, but it will be surprising it the new King challenges opposition by leading his people along new paths and inspiring them with new watchwords.

A LOVE 01' SCIENCE,

His inclination is much more marked in the direction of science- and learning than of practical politics. lie will probably prove to be a scholar rather iu?n. a. .statesman. Two of the friends who have influenced him most are Professor Morandi &r>d General (Mo, his old tutors. Languages and science were the principal subjects to which he devoted his early years, and he is something of a bookworm. Somebody has said that he is the only practical electrician in the Royal families, of Europe. He has certainly interested himself in the application of electricity to practical affairs, and he was one of the first to experiment with the "X"' rays. So much, indeed, lias I.c dt-voied himself to the practical &ide of education, that his training in music ar.d painting and the higher arts has 'been rather neglected. THE SON .VXD HIS FATIIEB,. As Prince of Naples, Victor Emmanuel was the most affectionate of sons, and his love for his father was only equalled by the father's love for his onlj son. His Majesty, whose full name is Victor E'muianuel Ferdinand Marie .Januarius, was born at Naples on November 11, 1869. He was a sickly boy, and more than once the state of hi& health gave ri&e to fears that Italy would one day be left without an heir to tine throne. Sncli fears have, happily, not been realised. The young heir grew up deeply actt.ich.ed to his father. He must have recalled the occasion when, as he diove through the streets of Naples with 'his parents, some madman .attempted his father's life. Tne incident may have had something to do with the impressionable nature and highly-strung nerves of the new King. It was his father -who urged him to cultivate a love for outdoor sport, and Victor Emmanuel is now, in ,spite of his tendency to an indoor life, an •aathdisi'Ast in yachting and shooting, and hue of the most daring riders. He was -yachting, as we all know, when the tragic news of his father's death reached him. •The Prince broke down completely on hearing of tihe fate of his father, and he 'could not restrain his tears on meeting 'Jignor Crispi a>t 'the station in Rome.

DREAMS OE ."REFOTtII,

The new King is described as frankness itself in conversation. A French statesman who met him in Rome shortly after his return from a journey in the Far East, where Victor Emmanuel had spent some months, asked the Prince if he intended co write a book of Irs impressions. "What would be the use?" asked Victor Emmanuel; "I should not be able to tell the truth." He has evidently views, of his> o-.i n on the Far Eastern question, which should 'be helpful to him in directing the policy of Italy in the present crisis. a lie King travels with his eyes wide 'open, and if he has brought his scientific training to bear on his observation of the life o'l his own people, we may well believe that there is some ground for stating that lie lias "generous dreams of refoim likely to satisfy Socialists," and that he will make ' sweeping changes in the Royal household."' He is not ignorant of the wretched concVtion of Italy. Not long ago, when staying in Venice for a few days, he received letters from no fewer than 800 miserable people, all asking for help, arid it will not be surprising if he introduces a new spirit o£ s-o-cial reform into Italian politics. Though Queen llargherita is a devout Catholic, the new King is not likely to be greatly influenced by his mother's religious views He is said* to be more strongly anti-Papal than King Humbert, whose relations with the Vatican were anything but friendly. fc

A fIOYAL LOVE STORY

Victor Emmanuel found a charming wife at the Court of Montenegro. Princess Heleno, whom he met for the first time at Moscow during the Tsar's Coronation festivities in 1896, was one of the handsomest princesses in Europe. Rumour has it that had not the present Tsar stupidly fallen in love on his own account, the fates which ought properly to have looked after the affairs of his heart would have so arranged matters that the Princess Helene would ne w be Empres-j of Russia. From her early childhood she had been in close relation with the Russian Royal house, and Alexander 111, who called her father his only iriend in Europe, is said to have defined her as the wife of his heir. Unfortun.ucly for such an arrangement Nicholas IT had n heart of his own, and a mind of his own fo cenifle where it should go. He fell i;i love with he r^iier Princess. There was great commotion amount the Royal mjtchmnker';, 'md ihe obstinate Nicholas at as <enl louncl tho world to cure him of hie whim. Round the world he went, and he came back more in love than evay wiLli the Princess of his ckoica. 2s o I

all the Tsar's horses and all the Tsar's men could pick the heart of Nicholas up again, and the poor little Helene went back Lo her father's Court <it Cettinge. She was to be a Queen after all, however ; and she had not long to wait for her King. It was sail their marriage was a political one, designed as part of a scheme whereby Italy was co outwit Austria in Albania ; but Prince Nicholas of Montenegro declared that his daughter's marriage was a "pure love match and nothing more," adding that ''these young people saw each other for the first time at Moscow, and there and then made up their minds about it.' 1 The new Queen, who is not quite 27 years of age, is a cousin of the Duchess of York through the marriage of her brother, the Crown Prince oi: Montenegro. She is perhaps too fond of shooting, but as her love of sport is balanced by a love of literature and a poetic gift, it is not probable that she will spend all her time with her rifle. She will make an excellent Queen, and her popularity is already remarkable.