tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36886107361299975102024-03-05T03:50:27.466-08:00The Esoteric CuriosaKnowledge Is PowerThe Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comBlogger2343125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-21317077194623146922023-08-14T12:29:00.001-07:002023-08-14T12:29:11.284-07:00Austria's "Man With A Future" ~ A Fly On The Wall For An 1898 View Of The Foreign Minister Who Gets Things Done!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQA4x_Umuy8nw9wPav5361g0DDPjA6ayKZpHiElbzABlQYlhX3FLOPsn0j6NoK559RHy3gEK5dWWO5BeWgcNzA3J1Iu5Jr_MqGm9j55OyyFH_j49Lu_yCiHVhGoUH0cWF2LnEFMNHl1OkmdKhjMZWP5kWC_CDdIAlZZ7maIqg--l3K-emu_nCHL5YibAY/s1828/Golo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1384" data-original-width="1828" height="501" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQA4x_Umuy8nw9wPav5361g0DDPjA6ayKZpHiElbzABlQYlhX3FLOPsn0j6NoK559RHy3gEK5dWWO5BeWgcNzA3J1Iu5Jr_MqGm9j55OyyFH_j49Lu_yCiHVhGoUH0cWF2LnEFMNHl1OkmdKhjMZWP5kWC_CDdIAlZZ7maIqg--l3K-emu_nCHL5YibAY/w662-h501/Golo.jpg" width="662" /></a></div><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The pretentious Houses of
Parliament on the Ringstraße, in Vienna, rarely attracts the interest of the
Foreign Minister. With the Minister of War and the Emperor he forms an inner
cabinet to deal with affairs momentous enough to involve the existence of the
Dual Empire itself. The Foreign Minister attends Parliament to explain the
Imperial policy to the chosen representatives of the Austrian and Hungarian
people on matters common to both. During the remainder of the year he is busily
engaged in the square, grey-painted building on the famous Ballhausplatz, at
the Bellaria corner of the Imperial Burg, with its watchful sentries. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Three years have almost
elapsed since Count Agénor Gołuchowski entered its broad portals as Count Gustav
Kálnoky von Kőröspatak’s successor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
appointment as Foreign Minister – the direct act of the Emperor – caused at the
time, May, 1895, no little surprise both in Austria and abroad. Up till this
time all that was known of Count Gołuchowski in European diplomatic circles was
that he had acted as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">attaché</i> at the
Austrian Embassy in Paris, while in Austria itself he was chiefly remembered as
the Ambassador who had succeeded, in the face of great difficulties, bringing
about a commercial treaty with Romania. Those who had come in contact with him
during his term of diplomatic service abroad had found that he did not treat
those of his compatriots who came to him for assistance in that cool and
off-hand manner which is common to most Austrian diplomatists. In Austrian
society it was known that Count Gołuchowski belonged to that distinguished
Polish family which was the first to give its allegiance to Austria at a time
when the Galician nobles were all declared opponents of the Austrian
Government. His father was for many years Statthalter of Galicia, and
subsequently Minister of the Interior. Count Gołuchowski is married to Princess
Anna Murat, a daughter of Prince Joachim Murat, and at the time of his call to
office was living a quiet family life at his castle in Skala, Galicia. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When he made his first
official speech, in reply to an address of congratulations on his appointment
to office, Count Gołuchowski declared his intention of seconding the Emperor’s
efforts in the cause of European peace, at the same time guarding Austrian
interests abroad with energy and determination. Looking back on the three years
which have elapsed since then, it must be conceded that Count Gołuchowski has
accomplished the rare feat of fulfilling the pledges which he made on taking
office. Enough has been published of what took place in diplomatic circles
during the recent troubles in the Near East for us to know that Count Gołuchowski
was the chief agent in maintaining the unity of the European Concert.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92JM6co5tJMY4m2bOdPVd5UgbcPzgLpmGYsZ4FqsBYWsARdIqajwWdH2vtZub6jqhhR5pg8po9mn8X14lfAsu1C5nXZM-ItMU5Neiq3CyMeCUnRCIj0TFxW0dBRyOCMs33o5TMLi47mg-ofSmDyQqLn2CcY8KOkW1AwssavwoCVnPNAVxA9Lqlp07FiCA/s1200/Carl_Johann_Peyfuss_Erster_Archivbesuch_Kaiser_Franz_Joseph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="1200" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92JM6co5tJMY4m2bOdPVd5UgbcPzgLpmGYsZ4FqsBYWsARdIqajwWdH2vtZub6jqhhR5pg8po9mn8X14lfAsu1C5nXZM-ItMU5Neiq3CyMeCUnRCIj0TFxW0dBRyOCMs33o5TMLi47mg-ofSmDyQqLn2CcY8KOkW1AwssavwoCVnPNAVxA9Lqlp07FiCA/w661-h316/Carl_Johann_Peyfuss_Erster_Archivbesuch_Kaiser_Franz_Joseph.jpg" width="661" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">During the Greco-Turkish
War, there were days when the peace of Europe was seriously endangered by the
manifest desire of Serbia and Bulgaria to take up arms against Turkey. This was
prevented by the joint action of Austria and Russia, which Count Gołuchowski
was chiefly instrumental in bringing about. It is not a little to his credit
that he has succeeded where Bismarck failed, and that, instead of a secret
treaty made without the knowledge of Austria’s allies, he was able to conclude
an agreement by which Austria may act jointly with Russia in the Near East,
while at the same time she maintains her allegiance to the Triple Alliance.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But it is not only in
diplomatic finesse that Count</span> <span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Gołuchowski has shown his ability as
Foreign Minister. Recently, when an Austrian subject had been shamefully
maltreated by Turkish officials in Asia Minor, the Porte was shown in an
unmistakable manner that an iron hand is directing Austrian affairs abroad.
Quite recently Count Gołuchowski rallied by the commercial classes in Austria
to his side by his speech on the international tariff question. He fully
recognizes the necessity of boldly facing this problem, and has expressed his
views with a frankness not often found in a diplomatist. “Just as the present
century,” he said, “has been characterized by the struggles of nationalities,
so the next century will be marked by the struggle for commercial existence
between the countries of the world, and European nations must unite to
successfully defend their existence.” This utterance, which has been
interpreted in various ways, was chiefly directed against America and American
competition, although he probably had in his mind the possibility of a Customs
and Commercial Union of the British Empire. Count Gołuchowski shares the
dislike of England which is common to nearly all Continental statesmen, and has
shown his distrust of her in more than one way. Apart from this inability to
wholly escape the infection of Anglophobia. Count Gołuchowski is an unusually
enlightened and progressive statesman. When replying to a recent deputation, he
rather surprised his visitors by telling them to inaugurate a vigorous
agitation, and so bring popular pressure to bear in official quarters.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It will be seen from this
that Count</span> <span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Gołuchowski is no bureaucrat, but a man fully alive to
the necessities of the times. His aristocratic origin, his diplomatic
experience, and his administrative ability, all aid him in playing an important
role; and he is only forty-eight, he is emphatically a man with a future in
European affairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[Esoteric Illustration ~ On April
18, 1904 Emperor Franz Joseph visits the recently completed Household, Court
and State Archives (Center: the Emperor with a green feathered hat; opposite
him: Archive Curator Gustav Winter; between them the Foreign Minister Count Gołuchowski),
Detail of a mural in the staircase of the Household, Court and State Archives
by Karl J. Peyfuss (completed in 1908).]</span></p>
The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-70485605405319017322023-08-10T22:25:00.000-07:002023-08-10T22:25:48.271-07:00The Esoteric Story Of A Dress & A Series Of Portraits Of England's Lost Heiress Princess Charlotte!<div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAsd0JxeRpxA3YGE7WuKqzgNrkhKl438NRBlj1dSMQaRNjKBeBY3yL4YoKe5aS_27nJGUKZctJaE0OCTLlETZr2ahJumR3rpB5LslssuyDEzriAbKReT9RSA25t5yr2yEsYdfGaFG0gwgENUNPkfp_mWpBtrD2pDngCXbEOKWVTZr-6Z_Bh97NnWq8SJB/s2000/Russ%20Dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1499" height="794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAsd0JxeRpxA3YGE7WuKqzgNrkhKl438NRBlj1dSMQaRNjKBeBY3yL4YoKe5aS_27nJGUKZctJaE0OCTLlETZr2ahJumR3rpB5LslssuyDEzriAbKReT9RSA25t5yr2yEsYdfGaFG0gwgENUNPkfp_mWpBtrD2pDngCXbEOKWVTZr-6Z_Bh97NnWq8SJB/w596-h794/Russ%20Dress.jpg" width="596" /></a></div></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
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<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">A Russian inspired gown of blue
silk, with gold, metallic and silk lace, and gold metallic fringe is one of a
small number of surviving garments in the English Royal Collection which
belonged to Princess Charlotte of Wales, only child of King George IV and
Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and almost certainly one of the
last made for her. It consists of a long straight skirt with a drawstring waist
and separate bodice which are styled as a sarafan. The sarafan is a typical
Russian woman’s dress: tunic-like, sleeveless and front-fastening, they were
initially high-necked with armholes, but later hung from breast-level shoulder
straps. While the blue silk is probably of French manufacture, it is applied
with rich gold lace embroidered in red silk, with gold tassels around the hem,
which are all British, as is the dress itself. The exact date of production is
likely to have been 1817, because the slightly flared skirt has a drawstring at
the top which would have made it more comfortable for the Princess to wear
during pregnancy. Princess Charlotte had married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg
und Saalfeld, later King of the Belgians, on May 2, 1816 and was pregnant when
she chose to wear this dress for sitting for her portrait painted by George
Dawe the following year.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The presence of Tsar Alexander I
in Paris and London in 1814 may have influenced a small fashion trend for dress
in the Russian style. In 1816 Princess Charlotte had worn a similar dress,
which was described by Prince Leopold’s private secretary, Baron Stockmar, in
his memoirs: “I thought her dress particularly becoming, dark roses in her
hair, a short light blue dress without sleeves, with a low round collar, a
white puffed-out Russian chemisette.” Nonetheless, the Empire-line style of the
bodice combined with the straight skirt also conformed to British Regency
fashion of the time. The white lace chemisette worn beneath the dress and
depicted in Dawe’s portrait appears to have been made from diaphanous silk
chiffon with a fine stripe, however this does not survive.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlVdh19Bffh0PONCz4_lJcxDNLjuHJg_-H63tUcqd4HYXPaAhlCr4a7GjYouPzTNpir6-cB-tUPhoeo_qoyx_LHXyNWIL7pEmsPN_0-9zlfDJ2bwye1MmdvVburkxLVymS8Pd9TKfKNpwZD9Cv3jBP2_982gI-aThUR-x9XGbxT9-1ybb58WG0KFQkkB0/s2250/Charl%20RC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1827" height="760" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlVdh19Bffh0PONCz4_lJcxDNLjuHJg_-H63tUcqd4HYXPaAhlCr4a7GjYouPzTNpir6-cB-tUPhoeo_qoyx_LHXyNWIL7pEmsPN_0-9zlfDJ2bwye1MmdvVburkxLVymS8Pd9TKfKNpwZD9Cv3jBP2_982gI-aThUR-x9XGbxT9-1ybb58WG0KFQkkB0/w617-h760/Charl%20RC.jpg" width="617" /></a></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Princess Charlotte of Wales is seated
elegantly on a <i>chaise longue</i>, in her
blue-silk Russian style dress, beneath which is a plain white undergarment. At
her left breast she wears the Star of the Order of St. Catherine, which she
received on July 1, 1817, from the Tsarina Mariya Feodorovna, wife of Tsar Paul
I, in gratitude for hospitality shown to her son Tsar Nicholas I during his
visit to London.<span> </span>Princess Charlotte’s
husband, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg und Saalfeld, also served under the
Russian Emperor during the Napoleonic Wars. The portfolio beneath her arm may
contain etchings and allude to her artistic endeavors. In the numerous painted
versions the gold scalloped braiding of the dress is reversed.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstxFVQVpTWjCr8nlQK51Fw8PPmC7keP8ESt_3wxOQQXSERrWrSOnOHdRoY6Pq4JjLHb484DQGmHykTDEC5oecm3_sn-XWh6pRV5VUwanokr8ViB7vfwiYQjvAFTXMaQdpubz-EgzXPzMAzgY8MOW5msDC-tz6qMYcXEIPACuiCBDc1UgiUTd2ol44lXyG/s900/portrait-of-princess-charlotte-of-wales-george-dawe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="539" height="1020" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstxFVQVpTWjCr8nlQK51Fw8PPmC7keP8ESt_3wxOQQXSERrWrSOnOHdRoY6Pq4JjLHb484DQGmHykTDEC5oecm3_sn-XWh6pRV5VUwanokr8ViB7vfwiYQjvAFTXMaQdpubz-EgzXPzMAzgY8MOW5msDC-tz6qMYcXEIPACuiCBDc1UgiUTd2ol44lXyG/w612-h1020/portrait-of-princess-charlotte-of-wales-george-dawe.jpg" width="612" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The portrait is a contemporary
version of the full-length in the Belgian Royal Collection, dated 1817. The
image was widely published, most notably by William Say on December 1, 1817 and
by Henry Dawe on January 12, 1818. This variation differs in that the Princess
wears the Star of St. Catherine, and her hair is dressed in a simpler manner.
Another autograph version of the painting, in reverse, with an elaborate lace
blouse and without roses in her hair, is in the National Portrait Gallery. Dawe
exhibited two portraits of the Princess at the Royal Academy, in 1817 and 1818.
There is a further version in the Royal Collection in England.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The painting was ascribed to
Benjamin Robert Haydon when it entered the English Royal Collection during the
reign of King Edward VII, although there is little evidence that the artist
worked as a copyist, despite his financial difficulties. A version by Dawe was
sold in the Duke of Cambridge’s sale, in 1904, although the present painting is
not believed to be that version. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIAvQshKy0ohPuLjJk_zH_MXULPX6aUYVK1fB1G_no47KXXc0f5LBJwApKIvZdWDujpuQLZNqem8ZWQpjIG6Mg2xbg4707dnAmt8uxd018Qg50Vzh62sRZfcxj0XB9uNPsAt0s5KVQPUhZz3fC6x8ZsqkwPzrXUG37nqAUxmrcq32sXjpPW5pxhE97-et/s380/Mourning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="86" data-original-width="380" height="42" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIAvQshKy0ohPuLjJk_zH_MXULPX6aUYVK1fB1G_no47KXXc0f5LBJwApKIvZdWDujpuQLZNqem8ZWQpjIG6Mg2xbg4707dnAmt8uxd018Qg50Vzh62sRZfcxj0XB9uNPsAt0s5KVQPUhZz3fC6x8ZsqkwPzrXUG37nqAUxmrcq32sXjpPW5pxhE97-et/w187-h42/Mourning.jpg" width="187" /></a></span></div><p></p>
The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-16584682021788073042023-05-31T23:59:00.002-07:002023-07-16T21:23:49.035-07:00A New Era Dawns Across The Corridors Of The Esoteric Curiosa 2.0!<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxyUQDiM7mwZQuDgfIXS_VDAV-l3SLjmrxJukpvKRrAveG8DzWUKqg2Om6se3sfEUiJzM7by_QG2yLb2rKcGz7RQXUBtS5XsKhckZk8mhs-h2L3LO31NbGM-2W7k7lADT_i7OkbqL-g0hNydKM52UvyZpM92HNKVGGKbMzDd22ZY2K_kkakhSYhZ1IXw/s1151/Baptism_of_William_III_of_the_Netherlands.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1151" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxyUQDiM7mwZQuDgfIXS_VDAV-l3SLjmrxJukpvKRrAveG8DzWUKqg2Om6se3sfEUiJzM7by_QG2yLb2rKcGz7RQXUBtS5XsKhckZk8mhs-h2L3LO31NbGM-2W7k7lADT_i7OkbqL-g0hNydKM52UvyZpM92HNKVGGKbMzDd22ZY2K_kkakhSYhZ1IXw/w719-h562/Baptism_of_William_III_of_the_Netherlands.jpg" width="719" /> </a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgZvrqhYg3eJkgCXM1E1efumv0Eejrupm_INT4Ngmp7oxqKD_viRKm7WZ6uJMQSCoDukigy10oQvtRO8dDQEBBEHYko_0hGKJ63fMDShefBzz5PwVWEYfHjKD-3iLFHxufPR0rFb26U0CdHdWF0JM7wlodU4MUXsKOpaPVFmyzgr6JoW1BjTf6-51rQ/s167/doodad.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="41" data-original-width="167" height="61" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgZvrqhYg3eJkgCXM1E1efumv0Eejrupm_INT4Ngmp7oxqKD_viRKm7WZ6uJMQSCoDukigy10oQvtRO8dDQEBBEHYko_0hGKJ63fMDShefBzz5PwVWEYfHjKD-3iLFHxufPR0rFb26U0CdHdWF0JM7wlodU4MUXsKOpaPVFmyzgr6JoW1BjTf6-51rQ/w250-h61/doodad.png" width="250" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">[Esoteric Illustration ~ Baptism
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</div><p><br /></p><p></p>The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-61861704339106939102014-11-20T21:20:00.005-08:002014-11-21T22:20:25.752-08:00A Broken Mold! Spain's Most Eccentric Aristocrat & Her Blue Blooded Antecedents; Grandee Upon Grandee; Resulting In Too Many Titles To Count!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOPzwTDGHHc7MWDoQ-Wo6Lk8Wnx87UiX8gps7PVxmBoh61lwXLUsEEzIABm903_RSwix9TeFhR54IhUWAe3yoZIkfjJusiAwZMlFaxzY8Kyr-CcyTdL0dCgJUhcvMzmthWaDknkA7XJCZ/s1600/CAT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOPzwTDGHHc7MWDoQ-Wo6Lk8Wnx87UiX8gps7PVxmBoh61lwXLUsEEzIABm903_RSwix9TeFhR54IhUWAe3yoZIkfjJusiAwZMlFaxzY8Kyr-CcyTdL0dCgJUhcvMzmthWaDknkA7XJCZ/s1600/CAT.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: center; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Seize
Quartiers Of “Cayetana”</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1. Doña
Maria del Rosario Cayetana FitzJames Stuart y Silva, 18<sup>th</sup> Duquesa de
Alba de Tormes, Duquesa de Liria y Jérica, de Arjona y de Hijar,
Condesa-Duquesa de Olivares, Marquesa de El Carpio, de Coria, de Eliche, de la
Mota, de San Leonardo, de Sarria, de Villanueva del Rio, de Tarazona, de
Villanueva del Fresno, de Barcarrota, de la Algaba, de Osera, de Moya, de
Almenara, de Valdunquillo, de Mirallo y de Orani, Condesa de Lemos, de Lerin,
de Monterrey, de Osorno, de Miranda del Castañar, de Palma del Rio, de Aranda,
de Andrade, de Ayala, de Fuentes de Valdepero, de Gelves, de Villalba, de San
Esteban de Gormaz, de Fuentidueña, de Casarrubios del Monte, de Galve, de Santa
Cruz de la Sierra y Ribadeo y Vizcondesa de la Calzada.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">28-3-1926
+ 20-11-2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b>Parents:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">2. Don
Jacobo Maria del Pilar Carlos Manuel FitzJames Stuart Falcó Portocarrero y
Osorio, 17<sup>th</sup> Duque de Alba de Tormes, 10<sup>th</sup> Duke of
Berwick, Duque de Liria y Jérica, de Arjona, de Montoro y de Huescar, Conde-Duque
de Olivares.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">17-10-1878
+ 24-9-1953<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
7-10-1920<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">3. Doña
Maria del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, 10<sup>th</sup> Marquesa de San Vicente <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">del</st1:place></st1:state> Barco.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">4-4-1900
+ 11-1-1934<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b>Grandparents:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">4. Don
Carlos FitzJames Stuart y Portocarrero Palafox, 16<sup>th</sup> Duque de Alba
de Tormes, 9<sup>th</sup> Duke of Berwick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">4-12-1849
+ 15-10-1901<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
10-12-1877<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">5. Doña Maria del Rosario Falcó y Osorio,
22.Condesa de Siruela.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1-10-1854
+ 27-3-1904<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">6. Don
Alfonso de Silva y Fernández de Córdova, 17.Duque de Hijar, Duque de Aliaga.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">12-7-1877
+ 8-5-1955<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
8-2-1899<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">7. Dona Maria del Rosario Gurtubay y
Gonzalez de Castejon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">8-10-1879
+ 8-9-1948<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b>Great
Grandparents:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">8. Don
Jacobo Luis FitzJames Stuart y Ventimiglia, 15<sup>th</sup> Duque de Alba de Tormes,
8<sup>th</sup> Duke of Berwick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">3-6-1821
+ 10-7-1881<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
14-2-1844<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">9. Doña Maria Francisca de Sales
Portocarrero Palafox y Kirkpatrick, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Condesa
del Montijo y Miranda del Castañar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">29-1-1825
+ 16-9-1860<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">10. Don Manuel Falcó y d'Adda, Marqués de Almonacir.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">26-2-1828
+ 24-5-1892<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
14-10-1852<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">11. Doña
Maria del Pilar Osorio y Gutiérrez de los Rios, 3.Duquesa de Fernan Nuñez, 7<sup>th</sup>
Duquesa de Montellano, 5<sup>th</sup> Duquesa del Arco.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">10-12-1829
+ 1-9-1921<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">12. Don Alfonso de Silva y <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Campbell</st1:city></st1:place>, 16.Duque de Hijar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">14-8-1848
+ 17-2-1930<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
21-9-1876<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">13. Doña
Maria del Dulce Nombre Fernández de Córdova-Figueroa de la Cerda y Pérez de
Barradas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">5-11-1854
+ 28-9-1923<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">14. Don Juan Cruz Gurtubay y Meatza.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">24-2-1841
+ 22-10-1893<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
1876<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">15. Doña Adelaida González de Castejón y
Torres.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">???? + ???? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b>Great-Great
Grandparents:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">16. Don
Carlos Miguel FitzJames Stuart y de Silva, 14<sup>th</sup> Duque de Alba de Tormes,
7<sup>th</sup> Duke of Berwick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">19-5-1794
+ 7-10-1835<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
15-2-1817<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">17. Donna Rosalia Ventimiglia-Moncada dei
Principi di Grammonte.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">15-8-1798
+ 4-3-1868<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">18. Don
Cipriano Manuel Portocarrero Palafox de Z. R. y Leiva, 8<sup>th</sup> Conde de Montijo,
11<sup>th</sup> Duque de Peñaranda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">15-9-1784
+ 15-3-1839<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
15-12-1817<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">19. Maria Manuela Enriqueta Kirkpatrick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">24-2-1794
+ 22-11-1879<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">20. Don
Juan Falcó y Valcárcel, Principe Pio, 13.Marqués de Castel-Rodrigo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">27-1-1797
+ 4-11-1873<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">X(I)
28-7-1822<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">21. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Carolina</st1:city></st1:place>
d'Adda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">7-7-1803
+ 8-4-1829<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">22. Don Felipe Osorio de la Cueva y Cervellón,
7<sup>th</sup> Conde de Cervellón.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">27-6-1795
+ 5-2-1859<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
26-9-1821<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">23. Doña
Maria Francisca Gutiérrez de los Rios y Solis, 2<sup>nd</sup> Duquesa de Fernan
Nuñez.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">4-10-1801
+ 26-2-1836<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">24. Don
Andrés-Avelino de Silva y Fernandez de Cordoba, 13<sup>th</sup> Conde-Duque de
Aliaga.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">28-11-1806
+ 8-1-1885<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
22-2-1843<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">25. Maria Campbell y Vincent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">29-11-1820
+ 28-1-1894<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">26. Don
Luis Tomás de Villanueva Fernández de Córdova-Figueroa de la Cerda y Ponce de
León, 15<sup>th</sup> Duque de Medinaceli.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">18-9-1813
+ 6-1-1873<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x
2-8-1848<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">27. Doña
Angela Pérez de Barradas y Bernuy, 1<sup>st</sup> Duquesa de Denia y de Tarifa.
9-2-1827 + 13-8-1903<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">28 José Maria Simón Gurtubay y Zubero.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">16-5-1800
+ 14-4-1872<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">29. Rosa Meatza y Basterra.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">30. Don Luis González de Castejon y Gil-Delgado.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">x.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">31. Adelaida Torres y Uribarri.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-8848468854803700012014-11-19T23:21:00.003-08:002015-03-03T20:55:12.493-08:00Esoteric Essays, Tales & Miscellaneous Papers With Nash Rambler: Lord Dresselhuys Fogg Expresses His Shock Over The Impudence Of A Foreign Prince Contemplating The "Vast Undertaking" Of Marriage To His "Princess!"<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A Petty
Prince<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Recently
I recounted my love for the “vastness” of women, one woman in particular, the
Princess Mary Adelaide. Whilst relaxing in my club the other day, I
read an article in one of the London papers, that I think is a – well, I won’t
have any swear words in, so I will say it is a confounded piece of
impudence. It appears that one of the semi-Royal
Princes of Europe has arrived at marriage age.
His title is Prince Franz of Teck.
He is poor as a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berkeley</st1:place></st1:city>
express-man, and it has been hinted that plans are afoot to have him marry my
ideal of womanhood, the Princess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Foreigners
are not to be trusted, and this so called Prince is no exception. Born <i>at
<st1:city w:st="on">Vienna</st1:city>,</i> educated <i>at <st1:city w:st="on">Vienna</st1:city></i>, he entered the Austrian
Army <i>at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vienna</st1:place></st1:city></i>, where he served as a Lieutenant
in the Imperial Guard, acting as aide-de-camp to the general in the disastrous battle
of Solferino. Warmly appreciated at the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Imperial Court</st1:address></st1:street> <i>at <st1:city w:st="on">Vienna</st1:city></i>,
he was deputed to attend the ailing Empress while she recovered in <st1:place w:st="on">Madeira</st1:place>. Amongst
the Habsburg crowd <i>at Vienna</i> he was
very popular with his brother officers, where his good looks gained for him the
sobriquet of <i>“der schöne Uhlan.” </i>also<i> at Vienna.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">There
is nothing worse than a domesticated soldier, absolutely nothing! Besides, it
is said of him that he has a penchant for music which is described as a natural
talent by decree, and also for possessing an expressed skill for drawing; such a
description of the Prince as a musician or artist reflects the more maidenly pursuits
as opposed to those male. Besides, a
man, even a half blood Prince, who prefers decorating ladies drawing rooms and
putters amongst roses is suspicious to be sure!
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Well
– there I was just start to swear again – blast his impudence! I hope and trust
that Ma’am. will have him thrown out of Cambridge Cottage, the first time he
has the audacity to present himself at <st1:place w:st="on">Kew</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Just
fancy, what a reception such a young man would receive who would present
himself at any Royal home and say to the head of the house; “I have made
proposals for the fair hand of the Princess, in spite of my emptiness of Royal
purse and my lack of <i>ebenbürtig</i>.” If
that Royal parent didn’t possess the wherewithal to have a footman to kick him
down the stairs; he’d be a right Royal fool, and if he did, and broke the
fellow’s neck, I would endeavor to get on the jury and render a verdict of
justifiable homicide. On, my beloved
Princess, don’t let this Prince of Teck make a hand-me-down wife of you. Every paper which speaks of this affair
claims that it is not you but your position that he is in love with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Extracts
from English papers further emphasize that the Prince has no proper ancestry to
recommend him, or in other words, he is not descended from any pirates of the
17<sup>th</sup> century, nor from some of the harlots of King Charles II’s
age. No aristocrat of Europe, bears a
prouder title on earth than “my Princess,” a true, full blooded Royal British maiden,
and that she will spurn with the contempt he deserves, the advances of this
parvenu half-caste Prince, I have no doubt! Then the traveling Prince of Teck Road Show and Circus, should decamp from London, and find itself once again <i>at Vienna, </i>where he belongs!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Lord Dresselhuys Fogg,
1866<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b>Lord Dresselhuys Fogg; 1864</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-50174261684852611652014-11-18T20:52:00.003-08:002014-11-19T23:20:18.041-08:00Esoteric Essays, Tales & Miscellaneous Papers With Nash Rambler: Lord Dresselhuys Fogg Expresses His Love For The Larger Woman; Settings His Sites On A Mountain Of A Girl, A Royal English Princess, Cousin To The Queen!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Princess
Mary Adelaide ~<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
have a passion for fat women. If there is anything I hate in life, it is what
dainty people call a <i>spirituelle</i>.
Motion—rapid motion—a smart, quick, squirrel-like step, a pert, voluble tone—in
short, a lively girl—is my exquisite horror! I would as lief have a <i>diable
petit</i> dancing his infernal hornpipe on my cerebellum as to be in the room with
one. I have tried before now to school myself into liking these parched peas of
humanity. I have followed them with my eyes, and attended to their rattle till
I was as crazy as a fly in a drum. I have danced with them, and romped with
them in the country, and periled the salvation of my "white tights"
by sitting near them at supper. I swear off from this moment. I do. I
won't—no—hang me if ever I show another small, lively, spry woman a civility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Princess
Mary Adelaide of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:place></st1:city>
is divine. She is like the description of the Persian beauty by Hafiz:
"Her heart is full of passion and her eyes are full of sleep." She is
the sister of the Duke of Cambridge, my old army chum, who, early on, was
chosen president of the <i>Dolce Far Niente Society</i>—no member of which was ever
known to be surprised at anything. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:place></st1:city>
introduced me to his sister one day, as he was lying upon a heap of turnips,
leaning on his elbow with his head in his hand, in a green lane in the suburbs.
He had driven over a stump, and been tossed out of his gig, and I came up just
as he was wondering how in the D——l's name he got there! The Princess sat
quietly in the gig, and when I was presented, requested me, with a delicious
drawl, to say nothing about the adventure—it would be so troublesome to relate
it to everybody! I loved her from that moment. The Princess was tall as she was
wide, and her shape, of its kind, was perfect. It was not a fleshy one exactly,
but she was large and full. Her skin was clear, fine-grained and transparent;
her temples and forehead perfectly rounded and polished, and her lips and chin
swelling into a ripe and tempting pout, like the cleft of a burst apricot. And
then her eyes—large, liquid and sleepy—they languished beneath their long black
fringes as if they had no business with daylight—like two magnificent dreams,
surprised in their jet embryos by some bird-nesting cherub. Oh! it was lovely
to look into them!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">She
sat, usually, upon a <i>fauteuil,</i> with her large, full arm embedded in the
cushion, sometimes for hours without stirring. I have seen the wind lift the
masses of dark hair from her shoulders when it seemed like the coming to life
of a marble Hebe—she had been motionless so long. She was a model for a goddess
of sleep as she sat with her eyes half closed, lifting up their superb lids
slowly as you spoke to her, and dropping them again with the deliberate motion
of a cloud, when she had murmured out her syllable of assent. Her figure, in a
sitting posture, presented a gentle declivity from the curve of her neck to the
instep of the small round foot lying on its side upon the ottoman. I remember a
fellow's bringing her a plate of fruit one evening. He was one of your lively
men—a horrid monster, all right angles and activity. Having never been
accustomed to hold her own plate, she had not well extricated her whole fingers
from her handkerchief before he set it down in her lap. As it began to slide
slowly toward her feet, her hand relapsed into the muslin folds, and she fixed
her eye upon it with a kind of indolent surprise, drooping her lids gradually
till, as the fruit scattered over the ottoman, they closed entirely, and a
liquid jet line was alone visible through the heavy lashes. There was an
imperial indifference in it worthy of Juno.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Princess rarely walks. When she does, it is with the deliberate majesty of a
Dido. Her small, plump feet melt to the ground like snowflakes; and her figure
sways to the indolent motion of her limbs with a glorious grace and
yieldingness quite indescribable. She was idling slowly up the Mall one evening
just at twilight, with a servant at a short distance behind her, who, to while
away the time between his steps, was employing himself in throwing stones at
the cows feeding upon the Common. A gentleman, with a natural admiration for
her splendid person, addressed her. He might have done a more eccentric thing.
Without troubling herself to look at him, she turned to her servant and
requested him, with a yawn of desperate ennui, to knock that fellow down! John
obeyed his orders; and, as his mistress resumed her lounge, picked up a new
handful of pebbles, and tossing one at the nearest cow, loitered lazily after.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Such
supreme indolence was irresistible. I gave in—I—who never before could summon
energy to sigh—I—to whom a declaration was but a synonym for perspiration—I—who
had only thought of love as a nervous complaint, and of women but to pray for a
good deliverance—I—yes—I—knocked under. Princess Mary Adelaide! <i>Thou wert </i>too
exquisitely lazy. Human sensibilities cannot hold out forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
found her one morning sipping her coffee at twelve, with her eyes wide open.
She was just from the bath, and her complexion had a soft, dewy transparency,
like the cheek of Venus rising from the sea. It was the hour, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:place></st1:city> had told me, when she would be at
the trouble of thinking. She put away with her dimpled forefinger, as I
entered, a cluster of rich curls that had fallen over her face, and nodded to
me like a water-lily swaying to the wind when its cup is full of rain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"Ma’am,"
said I, in my softest tone, "how are you?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"Beamish,"
said she, addressing her maid in a voice as clouded and rich as the south wind
on an Æolian, "how am I to-day?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
conversation fell into short sentences. The dialogue became a monologue. I
entered upon my declaration. With the assistance of Beamish, who supplied her
mistress with cologne, I kept her attention alive through the incipient
circumstances. Symptoms were soon told. I came to the avowal. Her hand lay
reposing on the arm of the sofa, half buried in a muslin foulard. I took it up
and pressed the cool soft fingers to my lips—unforbidden. I rose and looked
into her eyes for confirmation. Delicious creature! she was asleep!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
never have had courage to renew the subject. The Princess seems to have
forgotten it altogether. Upon reflection, too, I'm convinced she would not
survive the excitement of the ceremony—unless, indeed, she should sleep between
the responses and the prayer. I am still devoted, however, and if there should
come a war or an earthquake, or if the millennium should commence, as is
expected, or if anything happens that can keep her waking so long, I shall
deliver a declaration, abbreviated for me by a scholar-friend of mine, which,
he warrants, may be articulated in fifteen minutes—without fatigue.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b>Lord
Dresselhuys Fogg; 1864</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">'Mountain of a girl!'</span></span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-54470382383261602072014-11-17T22:17:00.001-08:002014-11-20T21:25:09.887-08:00Mighty Rome! Where The Imperial Women In Spite Of Being Political Pawns; Often Held Sway Over Not Only Their Own Fates; But The Fates Of Many!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt;">LIVIA
AND JULIA<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
the year 38 B.C. it suddenly became known at Rome that C. Julius Caesar
Octavianus (afterward the Emperor Augustus), one of the triumvirs of the
republic, and colleague of Mark Antony and Lepidus in the military dictatorship
established after the death of Caesar, had sent up for decision to the
pontifical college, the highest religious authority of the state, a curious
question. It was this: Might a divorced woman who was expecting to become a
mother contract a marriage with another man before the birth of her child? The
pontifical college replied that if there still was doubt about the fact the new
marriage would not be permissible; but if it was certain, there would be no
impediment. A few days later, it was learned that Octavianus had divorced his
wife Scribonia and had married Livia, a young woman of nineteen. Livia's
physical condition was precisely that concerning which the pontiffs had been
asked to decide, and in order to enter into this marriage she had obtained a
divorce from Tiberius Claudius Nero.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
two divorces and the new marriage were concluded with unwonted haste. The first
husband of Livia, acting the part of a father, gave her a dowry for her new
alliance and was present at the wedding. Thus Livia suddenly passed into the
house of her new husband where, three months later, she gave birth to a son,
who was called Drusus Claudius Nero. This child Octavianus immediately sent to
the house of its father.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
us, marriage customs of this sort seem brutal, shameless, and almost
ridiculous. We should infer that a woman who lent herself to such barter and
exchange must be a person of light manners and of immoral inclinations. At
Rome, however, no one would have been amazed at such a marriage or at the
procedure adopted, had it not been for the extraordinary haste, which seemed to
indicate that it was undesirable or impossible to wait until Livia should have
given birth to her child, and which made it necessary to trouble the pontifical
college for its somewhat sophistical consent. For all were accustomed to seeing
the marriages of great personages made and unmade in this manner and on such
bases. Why, then, were these nuptials so precipitately concluded, apparently
with the consent of all concerned? Why did they all, Livia and Octavianus not
less than Tiberius Claudius Nero, seem so impatient that everything should be
settled with despatch?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
legend which then formed about the family of Augustus, a legend hostile at
almost every point, has interpreted this marriage as a tyrannical act,
virtually an abduction, by the dissolute and perverse triumvir. I, too, in my
"Greatness and Decline of Rome" expressed my belief that this haste,
at least, was the effect not of political motives but of a passionate love
inspired in the young triumvir by the very beautiful Livia. A longer reflection
upon this episode has persuaded me, however, that there is another manner, less
poetic perhaps, but more Roman, of explaining, at least in part, this famous
alliance, which was to have so great an importance in the history of Rome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
arrive at the motives of this marriage we must consider who was Livia and who
was Octavianus. Livia was a woman of great beauty, as her portraits prove. But
this was not all. She belonged also to two of the most ancient and conspicuous
families of the Roman nobility. Her father, Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus,
was by birth a Claudius, adopted by a Livius Drusus. He was descended from
Appius the Blind, the famous censor and perhaps the most illustrious personage
of the ancient republic. His grandfather, his great-grand-father, and his
great-great-grandfather had been consuls, and consuls and censors may be found
in the collateral branches of the family. A sister of his grandfather had been
the wife of Tiberius Gracchus; a cousin of his father had married Lucullus, the
great general. He came, therefore, of one of the most ancient and glorious
families. Not less noble was the family of the Livii Drusi who had adopted him.
It counted eight consulships, two censorships, three triumphs, and one
dictatorship. Thus the father of Livia belonged by birth and adoption to two of
those ancient, aristocratic families which for a long time and even in the
midst of the most tremendous revolutions the people had venerated as
semi-divine and into whose story was interwoven the history of the great
republic. Nor had the first husband given to Livia been less noble, for
Tiberius Claudius Nero was descended like Livia from Appius the Blind, though
through another son of the great censor. In Livia was concentrated the
quintessence of the great Roman aristocracy: she was at <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city>
what in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>
to-day the daughter of the Duke of Westminster or the Duke of Bedford would be,
and her noble rank explains the rôle which her family had played during the
Civil War. In the great revolution which broke out after the death of Caesar,
the father of Livia in the year 43 had been proscribed by the triumvirs; he had
fought with Brutus and Cassius and had died by his own hand after <st1:place w:st="on">Philippi</st1:place>. In 40, after the Perusinian war and only two
years before Livia's marriage with Octavianus, Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia
had been forced to flee from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>
in fear of the vengeance of Octavianus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Who
on the other hand was Octavianus? A parvenu, with a nobility altogether too
recent! His grandfather was a rich usurer of Velitrae (now Velletri), a
financier and a man of affairs; it was only his immediate father who succeeded
by dint of the riches of the usurer grandfather in entering the Roman nobility.
He had married a sister of Caesar and, though still young when he died, had
become a senator and pretor. Octavianus was, therefore, the descendant, as we
should express it in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> to-day, of rich
bourgeois recently ennobled. Although by adopting him in his will Caesar had
given him his name, that of an ancient patrician family, the modest origin of
Octavianus and the trade of his grandfather were known to everybody. In a
country like Rome where, notwithstanding revolutions, the old nobility was
still highly venerated by the people and formed a closed caste, jealous of its
exclusive pride of ancestry, this obscurity of origin was a handicap and a
danger, especially when Octavianus had as colleagues Antony and Lepidus, who
could boast a much more ancient and illustrious origin than his own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">We
can readily explain, therefore, even without admitting that Livia had aroused
in him a violent passion, why the future Augustus should have been so impatient
to marry her in 38 B.C. The times were stormy and uncertain; the youthful
triumvir, whom a caprice of fortune had raised to the head of a revolutionary
dictatorship, was certainly the weakest of the three colleagues, because of his
youth, his slighter experience, the feebler prestige among his soldiers, and,
last of all, the greater obscurity of his lineage. Antony, especially, who had
fought in so many wars, with Caesar and alone, who belonged to a family of
really ancient nobility, was much more popular than he among the soldiers and
had stronger relations with the great families. He was therefore more powerful
than Octavianus both in high places and in low. A marriage with Livia meant
much to the future Augustus. It would open for him a door into the old
aristocracy; it would draw him closer to those families which, in spite of the
revolution, were still so influential and venerable; it would be the means of
lessening the hatred, contempt, and distrust in which these families held him.
It was for him what Napoleon's marriage with Marie Louise and the consequent
connection with the imperial family of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Austria</st1:place></st1:country-region> had been for the former
Corsican officer, become Emperor of the French. Since, now, a lady who belonged
to one of these great families was disposed to marry him, it would have been
foolish to put obstacles in the way; it was necessary to act with despatch;
time and fortune might change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Such
are the motives that may have induced Augustus to hasten the nuptials. But what
were the motives of Livia in accepting this marriage, in such stormy times,
when the fortunes of the future Augustus were still so uncertain? A passage in
Velleius Paterculus would lead us to believe that he who devised this historic
marriage was none other than that same first husband of Livia, Tiberius
Claudius Nero himself! According to our ideas it is inconceivable; but not at
all strange according to the ideas of the Roman. It is probable that Tiberius
Claudius Nero, feeling that the triumph of the revolution was now assured, had
wished by this marriage to attach to the cause of the old aristocracy the
youngest of the three revolutionary leaders. Already well along in years and
infirm,—he was to die shortly after,—Nero, who well knew the intelligence of
his young wife, was perhaps planning to place her in the house of the man in
whom all saw one of the future lords of Rome. Thus he would bind him to the
interests of the aristocracy. In the person of Livia there entered into the house
of Octavianus the old Roman nobility, which, defeated at Philippi, was striving
to reacquire through the prestige and the cleverness of a woman what it had not
been able to maintain by arms.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">All
her life long, with constancy, moderation, and wonderful tact, Livia fulfilled
her mission. She succeeded in resolving into the admirable harmony of a long
existence that contradiction between the liberty conceded to her sex and the
self-denial demanded of it by man as a duty. She was assuredly one of the most perfect
models of that lady of high society whom the Romans in all the years of their
long and tempestuous history never ceased to admire. Even and serene,
completely mistress of herself and of her passions, endowed with a robust will,
she accommodated herself without difficulty to all the sacrifices which her
rank and situation imposed upon her. She changed husbands without repugnance,
though her marriage to Octavianus occurred but five years after the
proscriptions, while he was still red with the blood of her family and friends.
Likewise she renounced her two sons, the future emperor Tiberius, who had been
born before her second marriage, as well as the one who had been born after. So
too when, a few years later, Tiberius Claudius Nero died, appointing Augustus
their guardian, with equal serenity she took them back and educated them with
the most careful motherly solicitude. To the second husband, whom politics had
given her, she was a faithful companion. Scandal imputed to her absurd
poisonings which she did not commit, and accused her of insatiable ambitions
and perfidious intrigues. No one ever dared accuse her of infidelity to
Augustus or of dissolute conduct. The great fame, power, and wealth of her
husband did not disturb the calm poise of her spirit. In that palace of
Augustus, adorned with triumphal laurel, toward which the eyes of the subjects
were turned from every part of the empire, in that palace where, in little
councils with the most eminent men of the senate, were debated the supreme
interests of the world,—laws and elections, wars and peace,—she preserved the
beautiful traditions of simplicity and industry. These she had learned as a
child in the house of her father,—a house as much more illustrious with
inherited glory as it was poorer in wealth than that which Victory had prepared
for Augustus on the <st1:place w:st="on">Palatine</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">We
know—it is Suetonius who tells us—that this house on the <st1:place w:st="on">Palatine</st1:place>
built by Augustus, in which Livia spent the larger part of her life, was small
and not at all luxurious. In it there was not a single piece of marble nor a
precious mosaic; for forty years Augustus slept in the same bedchamber, and the
furniture of the house was so simple that in the second century of our era it
was exhibited to the public as an extraordinary curiosity. The imperial pair
had several villas, at Lanuvium, at Palestrina, at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tivoli</st1:place></st1:city>, but all of them were unpretentious
and simple. Nor was there any more pomp and ceremony about the dinners to which
they invited the conspicuous personages of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>, the dignitaries of the state and the
heads of the great families. Only on very special occasions were six courses
served; usually there were but three. Moreover, Augustus never wore any other
togas than those woven by Livia; woven not indeed and altogether by Livia's
hands,—though she did not disdain, now and then, to work the loom,—but by her
slaves and freed-women. Faithful to the traditions of the aristocracy, Livia
counted it among her duties personally to direct the weaving-rooms which were
in the house. As she carefully parceled out the wool to the slaves, watching
over them lest they steal or waste it, and frequently taking her place among
them while they were at work, she felt that she too contributed to the
prosperity and the glory of the empire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Simplicity,
loyalty, industry, an absolute surrender of one's own personality to the family
and its interests,—these, in the great families, were the traditional feminine
virtues which lived again in Livia to the admiration of her contemporaries. But
with these virtues were associated also the need and the pride of participating
in the affairs and work of her husband, that interest in politics which had
been common to the intelligent women of the nobility. No one at Rome was
astonished, especially in the upper classes, that Livia should occupy herself
actively with politics; that Augustus should frequently come to her for
counsel, or that he should not make any serious decision without having
consulted her; that, in short, she should at the same time attend to her
husband's clothes and aid him in governing the empire. For so had done from
time immemorial all the great ladies of the aristocracy, mindful of their good
repute and the prosperity of their families. And Livia must have tried the more
earnestly to fulfil all that her education had taught her to consider a sacred
duty, since to a woman of her old-fashioned breeding the times must have
appeared especially difficult and perilous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
civil wars had greatly reduced in numbers the historic aristocracy of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>, and the peace which
followed after so long a time and which had been so anxiously invoked, very
soon began to threaten the prosperity of the remnant of that nobility with a
more insidious but more inevitable ruin. About 18 B.C., when Livia was
approaching her fortieth year, the men of the new generation who had not seen
the civil wars, for when these ended they were either unborn or only in their
infancy, were already beginning to come to the front. They brought with them a
previously unknown spirit of luxury, of enjoyment, of dissipation, of rebellion
against discipline, of egotism and fondness for the new, which rendered very
difficult, not to say impossible, the continuation of the aristocratic régime.
Women submitted with more and more repugnance to those obligatory marriages,
arranged for reasons of state, which had formerly been the tradition and the
sure bulwark of dominion for the aristocracy. The increase of celibacy was
rendering sterile the most celebrated stocks; the most lamentable vices and
disorders became tolerated and common in the most illustrious families, and
ruinous habits of extravagance spread generally among that aristocracy, once so
simple and austere. All this had grown up after the conquest of Egypt, which
had established more points of contact with the East; and it increased in
proportion as those industries and the commerce in articles of luxury which had
flourished at Alexandria under the Ptolemies were gradually transplanted to Rome,
where the merchants hoped to establish among their conquerors the clientele
which had been lost with the fall of the Kingdom of the Nile. The ladies
especially took up with the new oriental customs, and, preferring expensive
stuffs and jewels, turned from the loom, which Livia had wished to preserve as
the emblem of womanhood. Many young men of the great families were beginning to
show a distaste for the army, for the government of the state, for
jurisprudence, for all those activities which had been the jealous privilege of
the nobility of the past. One gave himself up to literary pursuits, another
cultivated philosophy, another busied himself only with the increase of his
inherited fortune, while another lived only in pleasure and idleness. So it happened
that there began to appear descendants of great houses who refused to be
senators; every year an effort had to be made to find a sufficient number of
candidates for the more numerous positions like the questorship, and in the
army it was no easy matter to fill all the posts of the superior officers which
were reserved for members of the nobility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Roman aristocracy then, that glorious Roman aristocracy which had escaped the
massacres of the proscriptions and of <st1:place w:st="on">Philippi</st1:place>,
ran grave danger of dying out through a species of slow suicide, if energetic
measures were not taken to supply the necessary remedies. It is certain that
Livia had a conspicuous part in the policy of restoring the aristocracy, to
which Augustus was impelled by the old nobility, especially toward the year 18
B.C., when with this purpose in view he proposed his famous social laws. The
Lex de maritandis ordinibus attempted by various penalties and promises to
constrain the members of the aristocracy to contract marriage and to found a
family, thus combatting the increasing inclination to celibacy and sterility.
The Lex de adulteriis aimed to reestablish order and virtue in the family, by
threatening the unfaithful wife and her accomplice with exile for life and the
confiscation of a part of their substance. It obliged the husband to expose the
crime to the tribunals; if the husband could not or would not make the
accusation, it provided that the father should do so; and in case both husband
and father failed, it authorized any citizen to step forth as accuser. Finally
the Lex sumptuaria was designed to restrain the extravagance of wealthy
families, particularly that of the women, prohibiting them from spending too
large a part of the family fortune in jewels, apparel, body slaves,
festivities, or buildings, especially in the building of sumptuous villas, then
a growing fashion. In short, it was the purpose of these laws to bring the
ladies of the Roman aristocracy to a course of conduct patterned upon the
example of Livia. In the protracted discussions concerning these laws, which
took place in the senate, Augustus on one occasion made a long speech in which
he cited Livia as a model for the ladies of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>. He set forth minutely the details of
her household administration, telling how she lived, what relations she had
with outsiders, what amusements she thought proper for a person of her rank,
how she dressed and at what expense. And no one in the senate judged it
unworthy of the greatness of the state or contrary to custom thus to introduce
the name and person of a great lady into the public discussion of so serious a
matter of governmental policy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Livia,
then, about 18 B.C. personified in the eyes of the Romans the perfect type of
aristocratic great lady created by long tradition. Having been safely preserved
by good fortune through the long civil wars, this model was now set back again
upon a fitting pedestal in the most powerful and richest family of the empire.
She was the living example of all the virtues which the Romans most cherished,
a beloved wife and a heeded counselor to the head of the state, honored with
that veneration which power, virtue, nobility of birth, and the dignified
beauty of face and figure drew from every one; furthermore, there were her two
sons, Tiberius and Drusus, both intelligent, handsome, full of activity, docile
to the traditional education which she sought to give them in order that they
might be the worthy continuators of the great name they bore. Livia, with all
this in her favor, might have been expected to live a happy and tranquil life,
serenely to fulfil her mission amid the admiration of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But
opposition and difficulties sprang up in her own family. In 39 B.C. Augustus
had had by Scribonia a daughter, Julia. Following in the government of his
family, as in so large a part of his politics, the traditions of the old
nobility, Augustus gave his daughter in marriage when very young,—she was not yet
past seventeen,—just as he early gave wives to Livia's two sons, whose guardian
he was. In each case in order to assure within his circle harmony and power, he
chose the consort in his own family or from among his friends. To Tiberius he
gave Agrippina, a daughter of Agrippa, his close friend and most faithful
collaborator; to Drusus he gave Antonia, the younger daughter of Mark Antony
and Octavia, sister of Augustus. To Julia he gave Marcellus, his nephew, the
son of Octavia and her first husband. But while the marriages of Drusus and
Tiberius proved successful and the two couples lived lovingly and happily, such
was not the case with the marriage of Julia and Marcellus. As a result,
disagreeable misunderstandings and rancors soon made themselves felt in the
family. We do not know exactly what were the causes of these disagreements. It
seems that Marcellus, under the influence of Julia, assumed a tone somewhat too
haughty and insolent, such as was not becoming in a youth who, although the
nephew of Augustus, was still taking his first steps in his political career;
and it seems too that this conduct of his was especially offensive to Agrippa,
who, next to Augustus, was the first person in the empire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
short, at seventeen, Julia desired that her husband should be the second
personage of the state in order that she might come immediately after Livia or
even be placed directly on an equality with her. According to the Roman ideas
of the family and of its discipline, this was a precocious and excessive ambition,
unbecoming a matron, much less a young girl. For the duty of the woman was to
follow faithfully and submissively the ambitions of her lord and not to impart
to him her own ambitions or make him her tool. In contrast to Livia, who was so
docile and placid in her respect for the older traditions of the aristocracy,
so firm and strong in her observance of the duties, not infrequently grievous
and difficult, which this tradition imposed, Julia represented the woman of
that new generation which had grown up in the times of peace—a type more
rebellious against tradition, less resigned to the serious duties and difficult
renunciations of rank; much more inclined to enjoy its prerogatives than
disposed to bear that heavy burden of obligations and sacrifices with which the
previous generations had balanced privilege. Beautiful and intelligent, even in
the early years of her first marriage she showed a great passion for studies,
and a fine artistic and literary taste, and with these a lively inclination
toward luxury and display which hardly suited with the spirit or the letter of
the Lex sumptuaria which her father had carried through in that year. But
fraught with greater danger than all this was her ardent and passionate
temperament, which both in the family and in politics was altogether too
frequently to drive her to desire and to carry through that which, rightly or
wrongly, was forbidden to a woman by law, custom, and public opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
is not to be wondered at, therefore, that a young woman endowed with so fiery
and ambitious a nature did not become in the hands of Augustus as docile a
political instrument as Livia. Julia wished to live for herself and for her
pleasure, not for the political greatness of her father; and indeed, Augustus,
who had a fine knowledge of men, was so impressed by this first unhappy
experiment that when Marcellus, still a very young man, died in 23 B.C., he
hesitated a long time before remarrying the youthful widow. For a moment,
indeed, he did think of bestowing her not upon a senator but upon a knight,
that is, a person outside of the political aristocracy, evidently with the
intention of stifling her too eager ambitions by taking from her all means and
hope of satisfying them. Then he decided upon the opposite expedient, that of quieting
those ambitions by entirely satisfying them, and so gave Julia, in 21 B.C., to
Agrippa, who had been the cause of the earlier difficulties. Agrippa was
twenty-four years older than she and could have been her father, but he was in
truth the second person of the empire in glory, riches, and power. Soon after,
in 18 B.C., he was to become the colleague of Augustus in the presidency of the
republic and consequently his equal in every way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Thus
Julia suddenly saw her ambitions gratified. She became at twenty-one the next
lady of the empire after Livia, and perhaps even the first in company with and
beside her. Young, beautiful, intelligent, cultured, and loving luxury, she
represented at Livia's side and in opposition to her, the trend of the new
generation in which was growing the determination to free itself from
tradition. She lavished money generously, and there soon formed about her a
sort of court, a party, a coterie, in which figured the fairest names of the
Roman aristocracy. Her name and her person became popular even among the common
people of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>,
to whom the name of the Julii was more sympathetic than that of the Claudii,
which was borne by the sons of Livia. The combined popularity of Augustus and
of Agrippa was reflected in her. It may be said, therefore, that toward 18
B.C., the younger, more brilliant, and more "modern" Julia began to
obscure Livia in the popular imagination, except in that little group of old
conservative nobility which gathered about the wife of Augustus. So true is
this that about this time, Augustus, wishing to place himself into conformity
with his law de maritandis ordinibus, reached a significant decision. Since
that law fixed at three the number of children which every citizen should have,
if he wished to discharge his whole duty toward the state, and since Augustus
had but a single daughter, he decided to adopt Caius and Lucius, the first two
sons that Julia had borne to Agrippa. This was a great triumph for her, in so
far as her sons would henceforth bear the very popular name of Caesar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But
the difficulties which the first marriage with Marcellus had occasioned and
which Augustus had hoped to remove by this second marriage soon reappeared in
another but still more dangerous form, for they had their roots in that passionate,
imperious, bold, and imprudent temperament of Julia. This temperament the Roman
education had not succeeded in taming; it was strengthened by the undisciplined
spirit of the times. And with it Julia soon began to abuse the fortune, the
popularity, the prestige, and the power which came to her from being the
daughter of Augustus and the wife of Agrippa. Little by little she became
possessed by the mania of being in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>
the antithesis of Livia, of conducting herself in every case in a manner
contrary to that followed by her stepmother. If the latter, like Augustus, wore
garments of wool woven at home, Julia affected silks purchased at great price
from the oriental merchants. These the ladies of the older type considered a
ruinous luxury because of the expense, and an indecency because of the
prominence which they gave to the figure. Where Livia was sparing, Julia was
prodigal. If Livia preferred to go to the theater surrounded by elderly and
dignified men, Julia always showed herself in public with a retinue of
brilliant and elegant youths. If Livia set an example of reserve, Julia dared
appear in the provinces in public at the side of her husband and receive public
homage. In spite of the law which forbade the wives of Roman governors to
accompany their husbands into the provinces, Julia prevailed upon Agrippa to
make her his companion when in the year 16 B.C. he made his long journey
through the East. Everywhere she appeared at his side, at the great receptions,
at the courts, in the cities; and she was the first of the Latin women to be
apotheosized in the Orient. Paphos called her "divine" and set up
statues to her; Mitylene called her the New Aphrodite, Eressus, Aphrodite
Genetrix. These were bold innovations in a state in which tradition was still so
powerful; but they could scarcely have been of serious danger to Julia, if her
passionate temperament had not led her to commit a much more serious
imprudence. Agrippa, compared to her, was old, a simple, unpolished man of
obscure origin who was frequently absent on affairs of state. In the circle
which had formed about Julia there were a number of handsome, elegant, pleasing
young men; among others one Sempronius Gracchus, a descendant of the famous
tribunes. Julia seems toward the close to have had for him, even in the
lifetime of Agrippa, certain failings which the Lex de adulteriis visited with
terrible punishments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
is not to be wondered at, therefore, if from this time on there should have
been fostered between Julia and Livia a half-suppressed rivalry. The fact is,
in itself, very probable and several indications of it have remained in
tradition and in history. We know also that two parties were already beginning
to gather about the two women. One of these might be called the party of the
Claudii and of the old conservative nobility, the other the party of the Julii
and of that youthful nobility which was following the modern trend. As long as
Agrippa lived, Augustus, by holding the balance between the two factions,
succeeded in maintaining a certain equilibrium. With the death of Agrippa,
which occurred in 12 B.C., the situation was changed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Julia
was now for the second time a widow, and by the provisions of the Lex de
maritandis ordinibus should remarry. Augustus in the traditional manner sought
a husband for her, and, seeking him only with the idea of furthering a political
purpose, he found for her Tiberius, the elder son of Livia. Tiberius was the
stepbrother of Julia and was married to a lady whom he tenderly loved; but
these were considerations which could hardly give pause to a Roman senator. In
the marriage of Tiberius and Julia, Augustus saw a way of snuffing out the
incipient discord between the Julii and the Claudii, between Julia and Livia,
between the parties of the new and of the old nobility. He therefore ordered
Tiberius to repudiate the young, beautiful, and noble Agrippina in order to
marry Julia. For Tiberius the sacrifice was hard; we are told that one day
after the divorce, having met Agrippina at some house, he began to weep so
bitterly that Augustus ordered that the former husband and wife should never meet
again. But Tiberius, on the other hand, had been educated by his mother in the
ancient ideas, and therefore knew that a Roman nobleman must sacrifice his
feelings to the public interest. As for Julia, she celebrated her third wedding
joyfully; for Tiberius, after the deaths of Agrippa and of his own brother
Drusus, was the rising man, the hope and the second personage of the empire, so
that she was not forced to step down from the lofty position which the marriage
with Agrippa had given her. Tiberius, furthermore, was a very handsome man and
for this reason also he seems not to have been displeasing to Julia, who in the
matter of husbands considered not only glory and power.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
marriage of Julia and Tiberius began under happy auspices. Julia seemed to love
Tiberius and Tiberius did what he could to be a good husband. Julia soon felt
that she was once more to become a mother and the hope of this other child
seemed to cement the union between husband and wife. But the rosy promises of
the beginning were soon disappointed. Tiberius was the son of Livia, a true
Claudius, the worthy heir of two ancient lines, an uncompromising
traditionalist, therefore a rigid and disdainful aristocrat, and a soldier
severe with others as with himself. He wished the aristocracy to set the people
an example of all the virtues which had made <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city> so great in peace and war: religious
piety, simplicity of customs, frugality, family purity, and rigid observance of
all the laws. The luxury and prodigality which were becoming more and more
wide-spread among the young nobility had no fiercer enemy than he. He held that
a man of great lineage who spent his substance on jewels, on dress, and on
revels was a traitor to his country, and no one demanded with greater
insistence than he that the great laws of the year 18 B.C., the sumptuary law,
the laws on marriage and adultery, should be enforced with the severest rigor.
Julia, on the other hand, loved extravagance, festivals, joyous companies of
elegant youths, an easy, brilliant life full of amusement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">For
greater misfortune, the son who was born of their union died shortly after and
discord found its way between Julia and Tiberius. Sempronius Gracchus, who knew
how to profit by this, reappeared and again made advances to Julia. She again
lent her ear to his bland words and the domestic disagreement rapidly became
embittered. Tiberius,—this is certain,—soon learned that Julia had resumed her
relations with Sempronius Gracchus, and a new, intolerable torment was added to
his already distressed life. According to the Lex de adulteriis, he as husband
should have made known the crime of his wife to the pretor and have had her
punished. He had been one of those who had always most vehemently denounced the
nobility for their weakness in the enforcement of this law. Now that his own
wife had fallen under the provisions of the terrible statute, to which so many
other women had been forced to submit, the moment had come to give the weak
that example of unconquerable firmness which he had so often demanded of others.
But Julia was the daughter of Augustus. Could he call down, without the consent
of Augustus, so terrible a scandal upon the first house of the empire, render
its daughter infamous, and drive her into exile? Augustus, though he desired
his daughter to be more prudent and serious, yet loved and protected her; above
all, he disliked dangerous scandal, and Julia dared to do whatever she wished,
knowing herself invulnerable under his protection and his love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
this hard and false situation Tiberius, fuming with rage, had to adjust
himself. He lived in a separate apartment, keeping up with Julia only the
relations necessary to save appearances, but he could not divorce her, much
less publish her guilt. The situation grew still worse when political
discontent began to use for its own ends the discord between Julia and
Tiberius. Tiberius had many enemies among the nobility, especially among the
young men of his own age; partly because his rapid, brilliant career had
aroused much jealousy, partly because his conservative, traditionalist
tendencies toward authority and militarism disturbed many of them. More and
more among the nobility there was increasing the desire for a mild and
easy-going government which should allow them to enjoy their privileges without
hardship and which should not be too severe in imposing its duties upon them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">On
the other hand, Julia was most ambitious. Since, after the disagreements with
Tiberius had broken out, she could no longer hope to be the powerful wife of
the first person of the empire after Augustus, she sought compensation. Thus
there formed about Julia a party which sought in every way to ruin the lofty
position which Tiberius occupied in the state, by setting up against him Caius
Caesar, the son of Julia by Agrippa, whom Augustus had adopted and of whom he
was very fond. In 6 B.C., Caius Caesar was only fourteen years old, but at that
period an agitation was set on foot whereby, through a special privilege
conceded to him by the senate, he was to be named consul for the year of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city> 754, when Caius
should have reached twenty. This was a manoeuver of the Julian party to attract
popular attention to the youth, to prepare a rival for Tiberius in his quality
as principal collaborator of Augustus, and to gain a hold upon the future head
of the state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
move was altogether very bold; for this nomination of a child consul
contradicted all the fundamental principles of the Roman constitution, and it
would probably have been fatal to the party which evolved it, had not the
indignant rage of Tiberius assured its triumph. Tiberius opposed this law,
which he took as an offense, and he wished Augustus to oppose it, and at the
outset Augustus did so. But then, either because Julia was able to bend him to
her desires or because in the senate there was in truth a strong party which
supported it out of hatred for Tiberius, Augustus at last yielded, seeking to
placate Tiberius with other compensations. But Tiberius was too proud and
violent an aristocrat to accept compensations and indignantly demanded
permission to retire to <st1:place w:st="on">Rhodes</st1:place>, abandoning all
the public offices which he exercised. He certainly hoped to make his loss
felt, for indeed <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>
needed him. But he was mistaken. This act of Tiberius was severely judged by
public opinion as a reprisal upon the public for a private offense. Augustus
became angry with him and in his absence all his enemies took courage and
hurled themselves against him. The honors to Caius Caesar were approved amid
general enthusiasm and the Julian party triumphed all along the line; it
reached the height of power and popularity, while Tiberius was constrained to
content himself with the idle life of a private person at <st1:place w:st="on">Rhodes</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-58314264485121729032014-11-16T11:23:00.001-08:002014-12-08T19:33:14.973-08:00Esoterica: An Esoteric ‘Just Because I Thought It Interesting!' “The Week Of ‘Meeting The Karalis!’" November 10th - November 16th, 2014!<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 48pt;">ESOTERICA</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">For those of you Esoteric who have not befriended us on Facebook, you will be unaware of a daily feature of that page, “An Esoteric ‘Just Because I Thought It Interesting!’” A truly enjoyable inclusion, with an emphasis of enriching the little gray cells, as well as a visual feast for the eyes! Portraits, accompanied by thumb nail sketches provided for your Esoteric edification are the tenor of the day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">I highly encourage for those of you so inclined, stopping by here as a day by day routine.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u2:p></u2:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">However, I would encourage those of you who enjoy this feature to join The Esoteric Curiosa as a friend on Facebook so that you can relish it on a daily basis without having to wait a full week.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u2:p></u2:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Thank you again for all your support, and don’t forget to click the link at the bottom of this post to become a friend.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 10, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Meeting
The Karalis’, The Decision Of Heaven!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
large ornate rococo bells tolled mournfully, their raucous clangs, muffled to
more dulcet tones, due to large swaths of black cloth wrapped tightly round the
clappers to emphasize the saddened Empire!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">How
well I remember the funeral when young Prince Ranulf Rodolpho was laid to rest
alongside those who had gone before him. The young Prince was buried in the
great church of the Fortress of St. Ladislas where, since Ottokar the Great,
all the Karalis Emperors and Empresses and their kith and kin had been
interred. All through Palaiologoian history, the Fortress of St. Ladislas, - oh
what a sinister sound its name possesses - has been a dark cypher, what
terrible tales are attached to its name. Tales of crime, fear and suffering!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Side
by side, in impressive rows, under oblong blocks of glistening golden streaked
white marble, lie all those great men and women of the past; one tomb exactly
like the other, austere symbols of how death is the greatest leveler of all
things; empty pomp and vain glory, limitless joy and unending pain at an end;
dust to dust. At an end also sin and crime, hope and fear; each stone guarding
its own Imperial secret, the secret of those different lives, many of which had
ended in unspeakable tragedy, lost into darkness; long before their time!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">And
here we were, all gathered together in this great, gloomy cathedral, to lay a
young man and brother in his untimely grave; my second cousin, His Imperial
Highness Prince Ranulf Rodolpho of Palaiologoia, a young man cut off in his
prime, from anyone of countless Royal maladies, it just so happened it had been
consumption in his case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Full
of the pomp and splendor characteristic of all Palaiologoian ceremonies was
that funeral. Stupendous chants rose to the vaults, echoing again from the fortress
like walls; there were thousands of lighted tapers, fumes of incense, and those
thundering bass voices of the cantors which always made one hold their breath,
wondering how human lungs could sustain such an effort without bursting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Clad
in deepest mourning, the Imperial Karalis women; with long black veils on their
heads, stood the Empress, the Princesses, their dull black slashed by the
bright ribbons of their respective orders, blue for the Empress, red for the
Princesses, making their somber apparel appear all the darker by contrast; and
there I stood, the young Emperor, surrounded by my enormous cousins and uncles,
and as chief mourner, another distant cousin, His Imperial Highness Prince
Tancred, a little in front of the others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Frailer
than his brothers, though just as tall, and marvelously slim, Prince Tancred
was a different type; darker and much gentler, he had soft brown eyes and the
beautiful hands of his mother, a Hungarian Princess, whose wealth was
calculated from the Danube to the Urals, limitless in its immensity. In the
white tunic and silver helmet of the Garde à Cheval, there was indeed something
quite Rosenkavalier like about him. I cannot remember if he wore this
particular uniform at the funeral, but it was thus that I best remember him,
long and slim like a slender marble column, with his caressing voice and
luminous eyes. A man full of human kindness and understanding, a man who always
defended those who were being attacked, who was always fair toward others; a charming
companion, gay and intelligent, it was not astonishing that of all relatives, I
loved Cousin Tancred best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
can still see him bending over the bier upon which his handsome young
compatriot lay with crossed hands against which leaned a small holy image we
all had to kiss in turn; his face, a glacial white, a marble Prince in repose.
I remember the tears running down his cheeks and how Cousin Lothair; his
favorite brother, took him in his arms when he made a desperate gesture of
protest when at last they laid the coffin lid over the now silent face he had
loved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
was indeed a scene which made a deep impression upon the very young boy that I
was then; the grand setting, the flickering tapers, the flowers, the impressive
chants and, above all, the grief of that Cousin Tancred, who had to be torn
away from the coffin of his companion. Tout passe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 11, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Meeting
The Karalis’, Meeting Sophia!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">We
paid a visit to my father's cousins, the Breitzensteins, who possessed a
singularly charming place in <st1:place w:st="on">Tirol</st1:place>. The
reigning Duke was moderately rich, very able, and very indolent. He was a
connoisseur in music and the arts. His wife, my cousin Zita, was a very
good-natured woman of seven or eight and thirty, noted for her dairy and fond
of out-of-door pursuits; her devotion to these last had resulted in her
complexion being rather reddened and weather-beaten, leaving her looking less
than a Princess, let alone a Karalis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">We
were to stay a week, an unusually long halt; and even before we arrived I
detected a simple slyness in my good Vosrendorf's demeanor. When a secret was
afoot, Vosrendorf's first apparent effort was to draw everybody's attention to
the fact of its existence. Out of perversity I asked no questions, and left him
to seethe in his over-boiling mystery. I knew that I should be enlightened soon
enough. I was quite right; before I had been a day with my relatives it became
obvious that Sophia was the mystery. I suppose that it is not altogether a
common thing for a youth of eighteen, feeling himself a man, trying to think
himself one, just become fully conscious of the power and attraction of the
women he meets, to be shown a child of twelve, and given to understand that in six
years' time she will be ready to become his wife. The position, even if not as
uncommon as I suppose, is curious enough to justify a few words of description.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
saw Sophia first as she was rolling down a hill, with a scandalized governess
in full chase. Sophia rolled quickly, marking her progress by triumphant cries.
She "brought up" at the foot of the slope in an excessively crumpled
state; her short skirts were being smoothed down when her mother and I arrived.
She was a pretty, fair, hazel-brown eyed child, with a natural merriment about
her attractive enough. She was well made, having escaped the square solidity of
figure that characterized cousin Zita. Her features were still in an
undeveloped condition, and her hair, brushed smooth and plastered down on her
forehead; was tormented into ringlets behind. She looked at my lanky form with
some apprehension.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
truth the thing would not assume an appearance of reality for me; it was too
utterly opposed to the current of my thoughts and dreams. A boy of my age will
readily contemplate marriage with a woman ten years his senior; in regard to a
child six years younger than himself the idea seems absurd. Yet I did not put
it from me; I had been well tutored in the strength of family arrangements, and
the force of destiny had been brought home to me on several occasions. I had no
doubt at all that my visit to Breitzenstein was part of a deliberate plan. The
person who contrived my meeting with Sophia had a shrewd knowledge of my
character; he knew that ideas long present in my mind became as it were
domiciled there, and were hard to expel. I discovered afterward without
surprise that the stay with my relatives was added to my tour at Prince von
Hartburg's suggestion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Many
men, or youths bordering on manhood, have seen their future brides in short
frocks and unmitigated childhood, but they have not been aware of what was
before them. I was at once amused and distressed; my humor was touched, but
life's avenue seemed shortened. Even if it were not Sophia it would be some
other little girl, now playing with her toys and rolling down banks.
Imagination was not elastic enough to leap over the years and behold the child
transformed. I stuck in the present, and was whimsically apprehensive of a
child seen through a magnifying glass, larger, but unchanged in form, air, and
raiment. Was this my fate? And for it I must wait till the perfected beauties
who had smiled on me passed on to other men, and with them grew old—aye, as it
seemed, quite old. I felt myself ludicrously reduced to Sophia’s status; a long
boy, who had outgrown his clothes, and yet was no nearer to a man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">My
trouble was, perhaps unreasonably, aggravated by the fact that Sophia did not
take to me. I did my best to be pleasant; I made her several gifts. She
accepted my offerings, but was not bought by them; myself she considered dull.
I had not the flow of animal spirits that appeals so strongly to children. I
played with her, but her young keenness detected the cloven hoof of duty. She
told me I need not play unless I liked. Cousin Zita apologized for me; Sophia
was gentle, but did not change her opinion. The passage of years, I reflected,
would increase in me all that the child found least to her taste. I was, as I
have said, unable to picture her with tastes changed. But a failure of
imagination may occasionally issue in paradoxical rightness, for the
imagination relies on the common run of events which the peculiar case may
chance to contradict. As a fact, I do not think that Sophia ever did change
greatly. I began to be sorry for her as well as for myself. Considered as an
outlook in life, as the governing factor in a human being's existence, I did
not seem to myself brilliant or even satisfactory. I had at this time
remarkable forecasts of feelings that were in later years to be my almost daily
companions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 12, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Meeting
The Karalis’, The Dukes of Vremea!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Province</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Baza</st1:placename></st1:place> also, lying to the north of the
Apalea Highlands, the Alpine range of the Gigants, was harassed in parts by the
Zelantha. The capital, Baza, was flooded. In the neighbourhood of the
mountain-slopes the province had been spared. There vast terraces of vineyards
lay, alternating with forests of chestnut-trees and walnut-trees and olives.
The glittering white snow-line of the mountain-tops surged up against a
dazzling blue sky, piercing it with its crests and biting long pieces out of
the deep azure in ragged lines; it seemed to whet ice-teeth, gleaming white
fangs, against the metal of the firmament, which was like burnished steel.
There, enthroned on its rocks, twelve miles from the town, stood old Castel
Baza, the castle of the Dukes of Vremea and Counts of Baza, surrounded by parks
and woods, half castle, half citadel, strong, simple, medieval, rough in
outline, with its countless towers, and turrets, it’s rounded and square
patches of battlements, rounding off the horizon about it on every side and
keeping it aloof. Near at hand, a swarm of little villages; in the distance,
the towers and steeples, the huddled roofs of Baza; still farther, in the
circle of panorama that broadly girt the towers, the wide Zelantha, winding
down to hurl itself into the sea, and Lycarona, white in the sun with its
little squares of houses, set brilliantly on the blue of the water; then a
second sea: the mountain-tops, surging away in snowy vistas and distant mists.
And, also glittering in the sun, those strange lakes on the Zelantha: the water
which the full river had vomited, the inundations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
square castle, enclosing a courtyard in its four wings, has two more wings
added at the back, in a newer style of more elegant renascence, and looking
onto the park, in which lie ornamental basins, like oval dishes of liquid
silver, set in emerald lawns. The fallow deer graze there, dreaming, as it
were, and graceful, roaming slowly on slim legs: sometimes, suddenly, extending
themselves, their heads thrown back, their eyes wild, they run some distance, a
number of them, fleeing before an unseen terror; others, calmer, graze on,
laconically, philosophically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Dukes of Vremea and Counts of Baza are one of the oldest families of the
Empire; and their ancestral tree is rooted ages back, before the time of the
first Emperor of Palaiologoia. The present Duke, Court Marshal and Constable of
Palaiologoia, has three children of his first marriage: the heir to his title,
the young Marquis of Xardian, aide-de-camp to the Emperor, and two daughters,
younger; girls still, at a convent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 13, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Meeting
The Karalis’, Astolphe, the Duke of Krešimir!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">General,
Astolphe, the Duke of Krešimir, the former chief of the military service, had
been away from Palaiologoia for three years, ever since the Emperor had removed
him for his post of confidence to give it to a Liberal, thus favoring new ideas
to the detriment of what was then called at Rienzi the Empress’s party.
Certainly he might well be angry with the Emperor, who had coldly sacrificed
him, and let him depart without a word of regret or farewell, - he the
conqueror at Mostarva and Livnos, and the hero of the great Palaiologoian wars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">After
having sold castles, lands, and all, and given his departure the effect of a
strong protestation, the old general settled at Paris, married his son there,
and, during three long years of vain waiting, felt his anger at Imperial
ingratitude increase with the sorrows of exile and the melancholy of an
unoccupied life. And yet, at the first news of the arrival of his sovereigns,
he hastened to them, and now was standing erect in the middle of the salon, his
tall figure almost reaching the chandelier. He was waiting with so much emotion
for the favor of a welcome, that one could see his long pandor limbs tremble,
and the quick breathing of his broad chest under the Cross of the Legion of
Honor on his tight fitting blue frock coat cut like that of an officer. His
face alone – resembling a sparrow hawk’s, with eyes of steel, a nose like the
beak of a hawk, a few bristling white hairs, and a thousand little wrinkles on
its weather beaten skin – wore an impassive look.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 14, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Meeting
The Karalis’, Deathbed Of Guido, Fürst von Haßfurt!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
death of Fürst von Haßfurt furnished the subject of a picture exhibited at
Alapea with great success a few years ago. The old man's handsome bedchamber,
its solid, rich furniture, the large expanse of ancestral paintings adorning
the walls, were faithfully given; the bed was his bed and no other bed; heavily
“crowned” with his coat of arms, his family were living portraits, the doctors
and nurses were living portraits, the Prince's features were exactly mapped; I
myself was represented standing by his side, with a strong light on my face as
I leaned forward to catch his faint words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
artist's performance was, in fact, a singularly competent reproduction of every
external object, human or other, in the room; and with the necessary alteration
of features and title the picture would have served to commemorate the
death-bed of any aged statesman who had a young Prince for his pupil. Haßfurt
is evidently giving a brief summary of his principles, providing me with a vade
mecum of kingship, a manual on the management of men. I listen with an
expression of deep attention and respectful grief. By a touch which no doubt is
dramatic, the other figures are gazing intently at me, on whom the future
depends, not at the dying man whose course is run. Looking at the work as a
whole, I am not in the least surprised that I was recommended to bestow the
Cross of St. Zerezia on the painter. I consented without demur. In mere matters
of taste I have always considered myself bound to reflect public opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Now
for reality. An old man struggling hard for breath; gasps now quicker, now
slower; a few words half-formed, choked, unintelligible; eyes that were full of
an impotent desire to speak; these came first. Then the doctors gathered round,
looked, whispered, went away. I rose and walked twice across the room; coming
back, I stood and looked at him. Still he knew me. Suddenly his hand moved
toward me. I bent my head till my ear was within three inches of his lips; I
could hear nothing. I saw a doctor standing by, watch in hand; he was timing
the breath that grew slower and slower. "Will he speak?" I asked in a
whisper; a shake of the head answered me. I looked again into his eyes; now he
seemed to speak to me. My face grew hot and red; but I did not speak to him.
Yet I stroked his hand, and there was a gleam of understanding in his eyes. A
moment later his eyes closed; the gasps became slower and slower. I raised my
head and looked across at the doctor. His watch had a gold front protecting the
glass; he shut the front on the face with a click.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Very
likely there were no proper materials for a picture here; the sentiment, the
historical interest, the situation would all have been defective. Men die in so
very much the same way, and in so very much the same way men watch them dying.
Death is the triumph of the physical. I must not complain that the painter
imported some sentiment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1HV-cBs31UqSbw-e3NF6xChWycKc7ki__dqdkdS_Hwyh1vmNhp6la59FiS-sJEPqIBLhUdrJr27Rfgi_9ftDLLGsjmYYWX1kO3uZbpfzLL0UNZGquhO08jFETWxZ1XSdpJ4IFBPY2nKu/s1600/Perikles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1HV-cBs31UqSbw-e3NF6xChWycKc7ki__dqdkdS_Hwyh1vmNhp6la59FiS-sJEPqIBLhUdrJr27Rfgi_9ftDLLGsjmYYWX1kO3uZbpfzLL0UNZGquhO08jFETWxZ1XSdpJ4IFBPY2nKu/s1600/Perikles.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 15, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Meeting
The Karalis’, Engagement of Perikles & Nadège!"</span></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“You
say that you also were at the Duraševi</span>ć<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">’s, Basil?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Yes,
mother; but not till I had quite fortified my mind against contamination from
the evil tales of the irrepressible gossips who tend to congregate there –
solemn directors of Sarolta here!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Empress laughed. “I am afraid the fortification was insufficient. But what was
it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Oh,
I renounced the world today from ten till four. I both breakfasted and lunched
with my cousin; Perikles and his most charming Nadège. Eh bien! What could have
been more refreshing?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Nothing
that I know of, Basil. She is like her mother – the Nadège whom I knew long
ago, before she married. Her daughter could have no higher praise. Such a
marriage as theirs will be is what I hope for you my son, some day: - love,
position, character, wealth, - ah! How few, how few of our arranged alliances
are blessed so far! Then, too, they are only third cousins. Their children
should be stronger and finer than most of those in this intermarried,
constantly in-bred world of ours!” And Theodora, though ceasing to speak,
continued the reverie that she had begun aloud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">A
touch of solemnity had fallen upon the other two. Sarolta bent her head, thoughtfully;
but Basil, with a little shake of his lithe body, laid an affectionate hand on
his mother’s arm, and said, half-laughing, half coaxingly: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Come
little mother, it’s not Sunday! And don’t be genealogical just now – bitte!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“My
God! To think that today I’ve actually seen an Imperial Prince completely in
love with the woman’s he’s to marry; - the granddaughter of a King! Will it
last? Perikles swears it will! He’s not young. He’s seen the world. Yet he has
vowed to me that he never wanted a woman in his life till he saw Nadège – in
Athens – at one of those damned Court affairs – Why d’you know, he proposed to
her himself, before any one had spoken to her about the marriage? And she
accepted him on her own responsibility! Ah, that is the way I shall marry!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Your
Imperial Highness may not find it so easy, Princess Nadège has no sister – Ah!
You Royal and Imperial people, whom the whole world envies, - what real
happiness do you ever get, after all?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Well,
after all, you see, we must be above the bourgeois notions of family ties. Our
people are our family; and their welfare, and the birth and blood of their
rulers, are matter more important than personal preference in marriage,” he
replied, somewhat haughtily; and so earnestly that Sarolta dared not laugh. She
was perfectly familiar with these petted maxims of the men and women of Divine
Right; and inconsistencies of the same variety were by no means new. Therefore,
changing front again like the courtier she had been bred to be, she suggested,
in a very low voice:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“At
least Your Imperial Highness knows one person who is not anxious to hear that a
marriage is being arranged for you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGQVPJ_5FErnQzYp3uBHk0IPuE8Sfof9x17USBeX1JRsPxvl3b_f4LZ4_F4LAkrk92wIpV0z_4NwWXwWMIZemHQyGHPS65Dp3bCXcI5GhDxwnbJR7BVqLroM63YJCSeICsgt3IELjmGnp/s1600/Theo+young.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGQVPJ_5FErnQzYp3uBHk0IPuE8Sfof9x17USBeX1JRsPxvl3b_f4LZ4_F4LAkrk92wIpV0z_4NwWXwWMIZemHQyGHPS65Dp3bCXcI5GhDxwnbJR7BVqLroM63YJCSeICsgt3IELjmGnp/s1600/Theo+young.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 16, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Meeting
The Karalis’, Origins Of The Empress Theodora!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
half-gods set up and so earnestly worshipped by humanity, are as changeless as
human nature itself. Wherefore, it is not so strange as logic would have it
that history has to show so few cases of abdication on the part of an acclaimed
sovereign. Of these instances the rarest of all is the voluntary renunciation
of his throne, by a young, vigorous, and untried Prince. The single example of
such an act in the dawn of the 19th century; therefore is remembered by all the
Courts of Europe in relation to the Palaiologoian Empire. For upon, the death
of Emperor Berengar IV, the throne of Palaiologoia was renounced by its
rightful heir in favor of his younger brother, who, for years thereafter, was
to bear off and on, the title, Emperor of Palaiologoia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">This
blasphemous act of Prince Justinian may have been seen as traitorous by some
and praiseworthy by others. It was commended by all who knew his gentle,
pliant, easy going nature; that he was not cut out to be a reigning sovereign and
that it was fortuitous that he realized it himself. And, certainly, during the
remainder of his peaceful existence, “the Abdicator” knew longer and happier
hours of contentment than ever fell to the lot of his storm tossed brother.
After all, he was spared only the labor of ruling; for those Imperial honors
which he had refused were paid him until the hour of his death in the monastery
where he had spent so many of his later years. His children, also, were given
all the honors of an Emperor’s progeny. Prince Justinian’s granddaughter, the
only member of the third generation who had survived childhood; was an Imperial
Highness, and, until her marriage, to the future Emperor, known as a Princess
of Palaiologoia!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
is scarcely necessary to say that, at the time of his abdication, Justinian was
still unmarried. But, soon after this act, he allied himself with one of the
oldest Palaiologoian families by his wedding with the eldest daughter of the
House of Eski</span>ş<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">ehir; the Princess Tamara. Though
born the highes</span><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">t of
nobles, the Princess bore descents from the Komnenid, Amorian and Doukid
dynasties as testaments to her suitably as an Imperial bride. And this
marriage, despite the fact of the husband’s yearly and ever lengthening
retreats in the great Monastery of St. Ladislas, was a very happy one. During
her periods of solitude, the semi-Imperial lady lived quietly among her own
people; either in Apalea, or on one of her great country estates. Bešenovo, one
of her favorites was as expansive as some smaller countries, with a yearly rent
roll that equaled some of Europe's wealthiest Royal families and private
fortunes. It was here where both her daughter, Princess Yolande, who died
unmarried, at the age of nineteen, and Milan her son, were born. He, brought up
to be more a Eski</span>ş<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">ehir than a Karalis, married, at
the age of twenty, a member of his mother’s family, his own second cousin,
Princess Evdokiya Eski</span>ş<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">ehir.</span><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Two
or three years after the marriage of his son, while Justinian’s feeble health
and feebler mind were both wearing away in a senile middle age among his
crosses and icons, Tamara, his wife, died. Thus when, the first child, a son,
was born to the young Prince and Princess, they were living together in
Basilia, under the watchful eye of Emperor Ottokar, their mighty cousin.
Whether the Emperor dreaded his cousin’s influence amongst supporters of his
family, that ever rebellious clique who never recognized Justinian’s abdication
earlier in the century, has not been recorded. Indeed, so faint is the mark
left on history of the Karalis by the insignificant descendants of “the
Abdicator’s” eldest son, that by that very fact some crushing influence might
be surmised. But, if Ottokar, in his age, had any fears of a contested
succession, they were proved groundless. For, of the two sons who came to
Evdokiya and Milan, one, christened Prince Basil died before the age of three
years, the other, Prince Mirko, three months later, shortly after the birth of
that little daughter, who alone was to survive her parentage. And because, at
the very end, a noble woman was given through him to Palaiologoia, the
existence of Justinian and his dreary successors may be forgiven, nay, almost
commended. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
second of the Eski</span>ş<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">ehir Princesses was a woman of
greater strength, mentally an</span><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">d
physically, than her predecessor. She was, indeed, a beautiful, rather
tempestuous Princess, who, in the first months of her marriage, entertained
secret ambitions of a future Imperial greatness. Within months, these desires,
and most of the others in her life, had been merged into one great passion of
resentment against the unforgivable life of the man she was bound to. Later
still, she managed to put this unhappiness partly from her, as she became more
and more absorbed in the growing beauty an intelligence of her only surviving
child, the little Princess Theodora.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-29124791109136660632014-11-15T14:59:00.002-08:002014-11-15T22:05:14.934-08:00Exit The Teutonic King! Sovereign Sinks Over Seven Days, Prussia Loses Its' Napoléonic Monarch During The Time Of England's Victoria!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></u></b></st1:place></st1:state></div>
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<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Berlin</span></u></b></st1:place></st1:state><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">,
May 29, 1840</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"> - The
King's condition gave less satisfaction yesterday; he had had a fainting fit
after expressing a wish to eat herrings, which was speedily satisfied. However,
the Princes went to the theatre. The doctors persist in saying that his state
is not desperate. This is the opinion, among others, of a certain Dr.
Schönlein, who has been appointed professor at the university here; he comes
from Zürich with a very great reputation, and the King has been induced to see
him in consultation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Berlin</span></u></b></st1:place></st1:state><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">,
May 31, 1840</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"> - To-day
is an important day in the history of the country, and one of which the King
awaits the issue with impatience. The Great Elector ascended the throne on May
31, 1640, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Frederick</st1:city></st1:place>
the Great on May 31, 1740, and I am assured of the existence of a prophecy that
the Crown Prince will ascend the throne on May 31, 1840.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
latest news of the King was very sad. He told his chief groom of the chamber
that he had no hope of recovery, but would not speak of his death for fear of
affecting those about him. He is said to have insisted upon being carried to-morrow
to the window of his room, at the moment of the solemn function which has been
largely advertised, and the preparations for which he has supervised from his
bed. The Crown Prince, in the King's name, is to lay the first stone of a
monument in honour of Frederick II at the entry of the promenade Unter den Linden.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Berlin</span></u></b></st1:place></st1:state><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">,
June 3, 1840</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"> - This
morning when I was finishing breakfast M. Bresson came to tell us that the King
was in extremis. In the afternoon I stopped before his palace; he was still
alive, and had even recovered sufficient consciousness to demand the reading of
the newspapers. There is a crowd about the palace; many people are in tears,
and the behaviour of the population is perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Berlin</span></u></b></st1:place></st1:state><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">,
June 4, 1840</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"> - Only
yesterday was the publication begun of bulletins upon the King's health; he
might be dead at the present moment. Hitherto he had forbidden any
announcements; I do not think he knew anything of it yesterday. He has
preserved his consciousness, and is quite calm, simple, and dignified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Since
last night the King has been in a kind of agony, from which he sometimes gains
relief by a few drops of coffee. He can still speak a little, and says not a
word about his condition, though he realizes its gravity to the full. The whole
family, even the grandchildren are at the palace, and the Ministers also. The
crowd still throngs the square and shows the same interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Berlin</span></u></b></st1:place></st1:state><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">,
June 5, 1840</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"> - The
King was still alive yesterday at eight o'clock in the evening. He had said
farewell to his children and solemnly handed his will to his Ministers; he then
declared that he had done with this world and wished to see no one except the
Princess of Liegnitz and the pastor for whom he sent, intending to devote his
remaining time to securing his peace of mind and in considering the life to
come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Berlin</span></u></b></st1:place></st1:state><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">,
June 6, 1840</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"> - The
King was very feverish last night; he can hardly speak, and seems to have lost
all interest. What a long struggle for a man of seventy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Berlin, June 7,
1840</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"> - Yesterday
evening the King had reached the end, the death-rattle set in, and there was
that motion of the hands, mechanical but terribly symptomatic, which common
people call "picking things up to pack." He was unable to speak, and
seemed to have lost consciousness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Berlin</span></u></b></st1:place></st1:state><b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">,
June 8, 1840</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"> - The
King died yesterday at twenty-two minutes past three in the afternoon,
surrounded by all his family, whose hands he clasped without speaking. He died
in the arms of the Princess of Liegnitz, for whom the royal family and the
public are showing the greatest respect. She has perfectly fulfilled her duty.
The Prince Royal fell fainting at the moment when the King expired. Grief is
general and widespread. The Emperor Nicholas is said to have lamented loudly;
he arrived from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Warsaw</st1:place></st1:city>
in thirty-seven hours, accompanied only by General Benkendorff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Yesterday
evening the troops took the oath to the new Sovereign. The Government has
issued a proclamation everywhere of the death, which is touching, simple, and
perfectly correct.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
late King has ordered a military funeral; his body will be placed in the
cathedral by day, and, in accordance with his wishes, taken to Charlottenburg
by night, to be placed in the same vault with the late Queen, his wife. It is
enclosed in a temple in ancient style at the end of a long walk of pines and
cypress-trees; within the temple, between two candelabras beautifully carved in
white marble, is to be seen, upon a raised platform, a bed of white marble,
upon which the Queen's statue is gracefully and simply recumbent, wrapped in a
long robe with open sleeves. The bare arms are crossed over the breast, the
neck is bare, and the head wears only the royal circlet. It is a masterpiece,
especially for the drapery, which is remarkably true to nature, and the best
work of Rauch, the Prussian sculptor, whom the late Queen had educated at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>. The general effect
is beautiful, but too mythological; the religious touch which death imperiously
claims is wanting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
King will lie in state to-morrow and the day after in military dress. The body
will not be embalmed, and will be interred on Thursday, in accordance with his
orders. He also ordered the pastor to pray at his bedside immediately after his
death and aloud in the middle of his family, exhorting them to peace and
concord. This was done, and it is to be hoped that his prayer will be heard,
though there is no immediate appearance that any one heeds it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">NR</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">"Exit the King!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">© 2014</span></div>
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Posted <abbr class="time published" itemprop="datePublished" style="border: none; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" title="2014-09-07T04:41:00.001Z">6th September</abbr> by <a class="url fn" href="https://plus.google.com/112274506000011049025" itemprop="author" rel="author" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #009eb8; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.3s;">Esoteric Curiosa</a></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-52578558087852540462014-11-14T23:02:00.001-08:002014-11-15T22:02:27.214-08:00Watching One's "P's" & "Q's" ~ Making Sure That One "Got It" When It Came To The Language Of Diplomacy! Where "Rocking The Boat," Could Sink A Career!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h3 style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: center;">
THE ALPHABET OF A DIPLOMAT</h3>
<table cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="color: black; width: 100%px;" summary="The Alphabet of a Diplomat"><tbody>
<tr valign="top"><td width="32%"><i>Ambassador</i></td><td width="68%">A man, just a little below God.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Attaché</i></td><td>The lowest rung of the ladder.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Blunder</i></td><td>How absurd! Why, <i>never</i>!...</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Chancellery</i></td><td>The barn-yard where he is plucked.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Chief</i></td><td>The cock of the walk.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Colleagues</i></td><td>A question merely of time and place.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Court</i></td><td>Where one learns to make courtesies.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Decorations</i></td><td>The balm for all woes.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Dinners</i></td><td>The surest road to success.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Disponsibility</i></td><td>The Styx, whence no one returns.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Esprit </i>(<i>de corps</i>)</td><td>The corps is there, but where is the <i>esprit</i>?</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Etiquette</i></td><td>The Ten Commandments.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Finesse</i></td><td>A narrow lane where two can walk abreast.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Friendships</i></td><td>Ships that pass in the night.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Gotha </i>(<i>almanack</i>)</td><td>The Bible of a Diplomat.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Highness</i></td><td><i>His</i>, <i>Her</i>, make a deep courtesy.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Ignoramus</i></td><td>A person who does not agree with you.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Innuendo</i></td><td>An obscure side-light of truth.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Joke</i></td><td>Something beneath the dignity of a diplomat to notice.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Knowledge (private)</i></td><td><i>News </i>which every one already knows.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Legation</i></td><td>Apartments to let.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Letters </i>(<i>de créance</i>)</td><td>The first impression.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Letters </i>(<i>de rappel</i>)</td><td>The last illusion.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Majesté </i>(<i>lèse</i>)</td><td>Too awful to think of.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Majesties</i></td><td>Human beings with royal faults.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Nobodies</i></td><td>People to be avoided like poison.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Opulence</i></td><td>When in service.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Pension</i></td><td>Too small to be seen with the naked eye.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Poverty</i></td><td>When out of service.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Quo </i>(<i>status</i>)</td><td>Diplomatic expression, meaning in French, <i>Une jambe en l'air</i>.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Ruse</i></td><td>A carefully disguised thought as transparent as a soap-bubble.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Secretary</i></td><td>Furniture easily moved.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Traditions</i></td><td>A door always open for refuge.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Traités </i>(<i>de paix</i>)</td><td>A series of dinners paid for by a lavish government.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Uniform</i></td><td>A bestarred and beribboned livery.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Visits</i></td><td>The most important duty of a diplomat.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Wisdom</i></td><td>Good to have, but easily dispensed with.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Xpectations</i></td><td>A tree which seldom bears fruit.</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Yawn</i></td><td><div style="text-align: left;">
What a diplomat does over his <i>rapports</i>.</div>
</td></tr>
<tr valign="top"><td><i>Zeal</i></td><td>Something a diplomat ought never to have too much of.<br />
<br />
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-34774340524471634832014-11-13T19:34:00.003-08:002014-11-15T21:54:25.022-08:00Rock Me Amadeo! Prince Of Savoy, Duke Of Aosta, Teenage War Veteran, King Of Spain, Twice A Husband, Father Of Four, Dead At Forty-Four!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Vignettes Of Amadeo<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Amadeo, the Duke of Aosta
flattered himself with jogging on pleasantly from middle life into old age,
when influenza seized him for its prey.
Between his niece-wife, his prayer-book, and the stewardship of his
first wife’s estates, he had all in life that he desired. The young Duchess was brought up in such
monastic seclusion that every new object or change of scene enchanted her. To please her, the Duke solicited an
authorization of the Pope to take her on a visit to the <st1:place w:st="on">Quirinal</st1:place>
when the German Emperor was there. His
Holiness, who could refuse nothing to a Prince so pious as Amadeo, consented
with good grace. But Cardinal Alimondi;
who was the ghostly adviser of the Duke, prescribed a certain round of
spiritual exercises to be gone through each day when they were at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city> to keep their minds,
hearts, and souls from the evil influence of King Umberto’s Court. A <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turin</st1:place></st1:city>
nobleman, who knew the Cardinal, the Princess Clotilde, and who knew the
deceased Prince, detailed the specifics.
The Royal pair were each provided with a little traveling oratory, which
when they got up in the morning was unfolded, set up, and arranged with the
visible objects of devotion, such as relics, pictures of Saints of the House of
Savoy, Holy personages, whom the Duke held in special reverence, such as St.
Carlo Borromeo, and St. Francis de Sales and one of the Pope, who was
represented as a <i>father of dolours</i>,
with his heart pierced with knives. A
religious sentiment was to be uttered as each picture was being gazed at
appropriate to the life and character of each Saint. When it was the turn of His Holiness, the
illustrious votaries were to pray that he was to be withdrawn by God’s
miraculous power from the difficulties, dangers, and heart wounding situation
in which he found himself, as Daniel was taken from the lion’s den uninjured. Daniel was chosen by the Cardinal because his
escape was a prodigy unaccompanied by any act of celestial vengeance. The King who cast him among the lions was
converted when he found that those beasts were as if hypnotized, and everything
had a pleasant ending. The archaic piety
of Amadeo was picturesque. He was only
happy at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turin</st1:place></st1:city>,
the most narrow minded and most respectable in its conduct of all the Italian
cities for that time. The apartments
which he inhabited in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Royal</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Palace</st1:placetype></st1:place> there were
magnificent, and those done up as private sitting rooms for his late wife, were
luxuriously comfortable and elegant. She
had £40,000 a year: of which he enjoyed a life estate. This fortune went in equal shares to her
three sons. But Amadeo, after her death,
had to pay debts contracted in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
and got into the habit of living in a severely simple manner, which accorded
with his monastic tastes. He soon got
rid of all the creditors, and then he must have had thirteen or fourteen years
invested at the rate of £25,000 a year.
These savings were settled on his niece-wife who thus became a really
wealthy widow. Amadeo, on the throne of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>, showed a
high and honest spirit. As he set
himself straight with both his religious and secular conscience every morning,
he possessed no fear of assassins. He
never desired to be King of Spain, but his first wife, who was ambitious, cared
very much to be the Queen. Rattazzi
advised Victor Emmanuel to close at once with Prim, when he offered to give the
vacant throne of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>
to his second son. If the Most Catholic
King were certain to afford no military aid to the Pope against when the time
came for the Italian troops to enter <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>,
the Temporal Power would be easily got rid of.
When it was done, Amadeo might come back if he liked to his beloved <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Turin</st1:city></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqor7UGYbvgWnut-ySlaymR1j9xLxoTJh_om38LGNijNRQ44EG2VT6ayh76XAkFVDXOQ8e0gxlTmc0juOoMp0YoXGovyrmya2zoFPfd5WRuNjbhBqkImIVbDIWcCaiNdbtWSsA_tWUzICl/s1600/Princess_Maria_Vittoria_dal_Pozzo_by_an_unknown_artist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqor7UGYbvgWnut-ySlaymR1j9xLxoTJh_om38LGNijNRQ44EG2VT6ayh76XAkFVDXOQ8e0gxlTmc0juOoMp0YoXGovyrmya2zoFPfd5WRuNjbhBqkImIVbDIWcCaiNdbtWSsA_tWUzICl/s1600/Princess_Maria_Vittoria_dal_Pozzo_by_an_unknown_artist.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee';">Wife #1 Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo della Cisterna</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee';"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Amadeo was frightfully jealous by
nature, and three years before he was called to hold the scepter which the
“innocent” but jolly Isabella held so unsteadily, he was on his honeymoon trip
with a rather handsome bride, </span><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo della Cisterna, </span><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">who
having been a good deal cloistered as a school girl in a convent, did not ask
better than to see a little of life. Her
intentions were all right, but she visibly enjoyed the attentions of another
Prince who stood on the highest step of a very great throne, and who had the
charm of good humor, of a constant flow of animal spirits, and of good nature.
He laughed and she laughed; he said something gay, and in the nature of an
agreeable truth, and she flung him a rose, which, he said, deserved to be made
the badge of an Order. But he did not
pin it on his chest. The Duke of Aosta
was present, and his eyes, which were very black, showing the white all around
the iris, rolled as if in the head of a Christy Minstrel trying to look
ferocious. It was reported that no one
had ever seen an uglier man than that Royal bridegroom; but he had a
gentlemanly air that was taking, and he always showed himself to be upright in
his manners. He improved in appearance
as the years rolled on and he had a wider experience of life and if its
sorrows. It was thought, on the whole,
that he was the most seductive of all the Royalties who came to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1878
as one of the heads of the Royal Commissions to the Exhibition. <i>Il
tenait cercle</i>, as the French say, with more ease, simple grace, and quiet
dignity than any of them, and had a nice way of making the ladies feel that he
considered them his equals. With them he
entirely thawed. The frightful face brightened
up as he chatted for a few moments with each, with a smile of penetrating
sweetness. It was the smile of one in
whose life there had been far more of sadness than of joy. To begin with; he had low spirits which go
with a narrow and delicate chest, an organic defect inherited from his mother,
Adelaide of Tuscany, a Princess who died of consumption. Though one of the bravest of men that ever
lived, he had a horror of death, and of the possibilities of another
world. His greatest sorrow was his first
wife’s death. As he was not, when he
next married, the right sort of husband for a young Princess with, to quote her
Aunt Mathilde, “the lively blood (sang vif) of the women of her family,” the fatal character of his attack of
influenza may have saved him from more bitter grief than any that he ever went
through in the past.</span><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Amadeo was at once uglier and
better looking than Umberto. He was <i>gracile</i> in figure and when he was with
ladies, in manners. He had one of the
highest foreheads amongst his fellow Royals.
It bulged out like his sister’s, the Princess Clotilde’s. The hair and skin were dark and the features
plain. His cheeks had red spots, which
might have been tear blisters and furrows that perhaps were worn in them with
tears. He married his niece to console
her for losing the hand of the Crown Prince of Portugal, the future King Carlos,
whom it was decided by their mothers, when they were both infants, were to grow
up and marry each other. All the
children of Victor Emmanuel were attached to each other by a strong affection,
which their shyness with strangers, after they grew up and separated, tended to
keep alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It was a rule of the House of
Savoy for its sons to be soldiers.
Amadeo, at the age of fourteen, entered the Army, and was engaged in the
campaign of 1859 against <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Austria</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
and was wounded at Custoza. After the
naval defeat at Lissa, he was turning his attention to the Navy, when Prim came
to offer him the Crown of Spain.
Serrano, Sagasta, and Zorrilla joined in making him the offer, which the
Spanish Parliament ratified by an overwhelming majority. There were only two votes for Alfonso
XII. Zorilla was sent to fetch Amadeo to
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
whither he came in a warship escorted by Italian and Spanish squadrons. On landing he heard of Prim’s assassination,
and ordained that in making his entry into Lisbon he was not to be surrounded
by his escort, but to ride alone and considerably in advance of them. It was thought that this daring attitude was
done to catch the common people, Spaniards of all kinds, Isabellists,
Montpensierists, Carlists, and Republicans.
All the opposition came from the aristocracy and religious
fanatics. It was a special and murderous
opposition. The King and Queen were cut
by the nobility, and they had to ennoble, the butcher, the baker, the
candlestick maker, to have a Court. The
few Grandees who accepted ornamental functions were old and penniless. Their poverty and not their will consented,
and in a few days, they were included in the boycott. The presence of the King and Queen was
ignored when he rode and she drove in the Buen Retiro, by the other
promenaders, unless when attempts were made to assassinate him. One day, he escaped from a fusillade of
revolvers, fired nobody knew by whom, no police being about. His soldiers would not fight the Carlists,
who were carrying all before them in the North.
This was a reason why he should leave, to let the Republicans come in,
as Carlos on the throne might have been trouble to the King of Italy. Amadeo’s Act of Abdication was brief. It was to this effect: “If my enemies were
foreigners, I should stay to fight them; but, as they are Spaniards, I take
myself off.” It was a dignified way of
saying, “You parcel of cutthroats and narrow minded fools, I am sick of you
all, and have had enough of you.” The
Queen and her newborn son, a babe of two weeks old, were carried in an
invalid’s chair to the railway terminus, whence the Royal family went to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Portugal</st1:place></st1:country-region>. She never recovered from the cold she took
traveling on high tablelands in a snowstorm, and died three years later of
decline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Wife #2 Princess Maria Letizia
Bonaparte<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-9972086347788411092014-11-12T22:44:00.002-08:002014-11-22T22:09:24.153-08:00Sisters To The Emperor! Julio-Claudian Damsels Living Large In Ancient Rome During The Reign Of Their Hedonistic Brother; "Little Soldier's Boot!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLPaFXwplqqxdPeAee5_QLolwdFDsn_wlNrI_vOb-nS_JkGCfdJBznZLxoMaX2C03emRYKI61GiiPTC9KNHuvNbeK6hILfda8GD0YLYELsM8NUdx_Uys2mcJHGMpKSN4m4jjfOqm7aI5Y/s1600/Rome_Agrippina_Minor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLPaFXwplqqxdPeAee5_QLolwdFDsn_wlNrI_vOb-nS_JkGCfdJBznZLxoMaX2C03emRYKI61GiiPTC9KNHuvNbeK6hILfda8GD0YLYELsM8NUdx_Uys2mcJHGMpKSN4m4jjfOqm7aI5Y/s1600/Rome_Agrippina_Minor.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Julia
Augusta Agrippina<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt;">THE
SISTERS OF CALIGULA<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">After
the death of Tiberius (37 A.D.), the problem of the succession presented to the
senate was not an easy one. In his will, Tiberius had adopted, and thereby
designated to the senate as his successors, Caius Caligula, the son of
Germanicus, and Tiberius, the son of his own son Drusus. The latter was only
seventeen, and too young for such a responsibility. Caligula was twenty-seven,
and therefore still very young, although by straining a point he might be
emperor; yet he did not enjoy a good reputation. If we except him, there was no
other member of the family old enough to govern except Tiberius Claudius Nero,
the brother of Germanicus and the only surviving son of Drusus and Antonia. He
was generally considered a fool, was the laughing-stock of freedmen and women,
and such a gawk and clown that it had been impossible to put him into the
magistracy. Indeed, he was not even a senator when Tiberius died.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">As
they could not consider him, there remained only Caligula, unless they wished
to go outside the family of Augustus, which, if not impossible, was at least
difficult and dangerous. For the provinces, the German barbarians, and
especially the soldiers of the legions, were accustomed to look upon this
family as the mainstay of the empire. The legions had become specially attached
to the memory and to the race of Drusus and Germanicus, who still lived in the
minds of the soldiers as witnesses to their former exploits and virtues. During
the long watches of the night, as their names were repeated in speech and
story, their shades, idealized by death, returned again to revisit the camps on
the banks of the Rhine and the <st1:place w:st="on">Danube</st1:place>. The
veneration and affection which the armies had once felt for the Roman nobility
were now centered about the family of Augustus. In this difficulty, therefore,
the senate chose the lesser evil, and, annulling a part of the testament of
Tiberius, elected Caligula, the son of Germanicus, as their emperor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
death of Tiberius, however, was destined to show the Romans for the first time
that although it was hard to find an emperor, it might even be harder to find
an empress. During the long reign of Augustus, Livia had discharged the duties
of this difficult position with incomparable success. Tiberius had succeeded
Augustus, and after his divorce from Julia had never remarried. There had
therefore been a long interregnum in the Roman world of feminine society,
during which no one had ever stopped to think whether it would be easy or
difficult to find a woman who could with dignity take over the position of
Livia. The problem was really presented for the first time with the advent of
Caligula; for, at twenty-seven, he could not solve it as simply as Tiberius had
done. In the first place, it was to be expected that a man of his age would
have a wife; secondly, the Lex de maritandis ordinibus made marriage a
necessity for him, as for all the senators; furthermore, the head of the state
needed to have a woman at his side, if he wished to discharge all his social
duties. The celibacy of Tiberius had undoubtedly contributed to the social
isolation which had been fatal both to him and to the state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Therefore
in Caligula's time the Roman public became aware that the problem confronting
it was a most difficult one. A most exacting public opinion, hesitating between
the ideals of two epochs, wished to see united in the empress the best part,
both of the ancient and of the modern customs, and was consequently demanding
that the second Livia should possess virtually every quality. It was necessary
that she should be of noble birth; that is, a descendant of one of those great
Roman families which with every year were becoming less numerous, less
prolific, less virtuous, and more fiercely divided among themselves by
irreconcilable hatreds. This latter was a most serious difficulty; for by
marrying into one of these lines, the emperor ran the risk of antagonizing all
those other families which were its enemies. The empress, furthermore, must be
the model of all the virtues; fruitful, in order to obey the Lex de maritandis
ordinibus; religious, chaste, and virtuous, that she might not violate the Lex
de adulteriis; simple and modest, in deference to the Lex sumptuaria. She must
be able to rule wisely over the vast household of the emperor, full of his
slaves and freedmen, and she must aid her husband in the fulfilment of all
those social duties—receptions, dinners, entertainments—which, though serious
concerns for every Roman nobleman, were even more serious for the emperor. That
she should be stupid or ignorant was of course out of the question. In fact,
from this time to the downfall of Nero the difficulties of the imperial family
and its authority arise not so much from the emperors as from their wives; so
that it may truly be said that it was the women who unwittingly dragged down to
its ruin the great Julio-Claudian house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zcgwJeYGtGttlGHr4lGFscUJTfPJQxh6rAOt4lCzRT6Preouj7r_6ak82DfvlITOghXzSjB8mJMRMEN1s3xMU00_Uu0DJmi9YNLI0F-Ukufe7zD5jR3uQoK85XB7IFpSFyl_V8Evmb_X/s1600/Head_Drusilla_Glyptothek_Munich_316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zcgwJeYGtGttlGHr4lGFscUJTfPJQxh6rAOt4lCzRT6Preouj7r_6ak82DfvlITOghXzSjB8mJMRMEN1s3xMU00_Uu0DJmi9YNLI0F-Ukufe7zD5jR3uQoK85XB7IFpSFyl_V8Evmb_X/s1600/Head_Drusilla_Glyptothek_Munich_316.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Julia Drusilla<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But
if the difficulty was serious, there never was a man so little fitted and so
ill prepared to face it as this young man of twenty-seven who had been exalted
to the imperial dignity after the death of Tiberius. Four years before his
election as emperor, he had married a certain Julia Claudilla, a lady who doubtless
belonged to one of the great Roman families, but about whom we have no definite
information. We cannot say, therefore, whether or not at the side of a second
Augustus she might have become a new Livia. In any case, it is certain that
Caligula was not a second Augustus. He was probably not so frenzied a lunatic
as ancient writers have pictured him, but his was certainly an extravagant,
unbalanced mind, given to excesses, and unhinged by the delirium of greatness,
which his coming to the throne had increased the more because it had been
conferred upon him at a time when he was too young and before he had been
sufficiently prepared. For many years Caligula had never even hoped to succeed
Tiberius; he had continually feared that the fate of his mother and his two
brothers was likewise waiting for him. Far from having dreamed that he would be
raised to the imperial purple, he had merely desired that he might not have to
end his days as an exile on some desert island in the <st1:place w:st="on">Mediterranean</st1:place>.
So much good fortune after the long persecutions of his family profoundly
disturbed his mental faculties, which had not originally been well balanced,
and it fomented in him that delirium of grandeur which violently directed his
desires toward distant Egypt, in the customs of which, rather than in those of
Rome, he, in the exaltation of power, sought satisfaction for his imperial
vanity. From his earliest youth Caligula had shown a great inclination for the
products and the men of that far country, then greatly admired and greatly
feared by the Romans. For instance, we know that all his servants were
Egyptians, and that <st1:place w:st="on">Helicon</st1:place>, his most faithful
and influential freedman, was an Alexandrian. But shortly after his elevation
this admiration for the land of the Ptolemies and the Pharaohs broke forth into
a furor of Egyptian exoticism, which impelled him to an attempt to bring his
own reign into connection with the policies of his great-grandfather Mark
Antony. He sought to introduce into <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city> the
ideas, the customs, the sumptuousness, and the institutions of the
Pharaoh-Ptolemaic monarchy, to make of his palace a court similar to that of <st1:city w:st="on">Alexandria</st1:city>, and of himself a divine king, adored in flesh
and blood, as sovereigns were adored on the banks of the <st1:place w:st="on">Nile</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Caligula
was undoubtedly mad, but his madness would have seemed less chaotic and
incomprehensible, and a thread of sense would have been discovered even in his
excesses and in the ravings of his unsettled mind, if it had been understood
that many of his most famous freaks were moved and inspired by this Egyptian
idea and tendency. In the madness of Caligula, as in the story of Antony and
the tragedy of Tiberius, there is forever recurring, under a new form, the
great struggle between Italy and the East, between Rome and Alexandria, which
can never be divorced from the history of the last century of the republic and
the first century of the empire. Whoever carefully sifts out the separate
actions in the disordered conduct of the third Roman emperor will easily
rediscover the thread of this idea and the trace of this latent conflict. For
instance, we see the new emperor scarcely elected before he introduced the
worship of Isis among the official cults of the Roman state and assigned in the
calendar a public festival to <st1:place w:st="on">Isis</st1:place>. In short,
he was favoring those Egyptian cults which Tiberius, with his
"old-Roman" sympathies, had fiercely combatted. Furthermore, we see
Caligula prohibiting the festival in commemoration of the battle of <st1:place w:st="on">Actium</st1:place>, which had been celebrated every year for more
than half a century. At first sight the idea seems absurd; but it must not be
considered a caprice; for with this act Caligula was intending to initiate the
historical rehabilitation of Mark Antony, the man who had tried to shift the
center of Roman politics from <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city> to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alexandria</st1:place></st1:city>. The emperor
meant to make plain to <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city> that she was no
longer to boast of having humiliated <st1:city w:st="on">Alexandria</st1:city>
with arms, since <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Alexandria</st1:city></st1:place>
would henceforth be taken as a model in all things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Just
as the dynasty of the Ptolemies had been surrounded by a semi-religious
veneration, Caligula, inspired as he was by Egyptian and Ptolemaic conceptions,
sought to have this same veneration bestowed upon his entire family—that family
which under Tiberius had been persecuted and defamed by suits and decimated by
suicides through the envy of the aristocracy, which was forever unwilling to
forgive its too great prestige. Caligula not only hastened to set out in person
to gather up the bones of Agrippina, his mother, and of his brother, in order
to bring them to Rome and deposit them piously in the tomb of Augustus,—that was
a natural duty of filial piety,—but he also prohibited any one to name among
his ancestors the great Agrippa, the builder of the Pantheon, because his very
obscure origin seemed a blot upon the semi-divine purity of his race. He had
the title of Augusta and all the privileges of the vestal virgins bestowed upon
his grandmother Antonia, the daughter of Mark Antony and the faithful friend of
Tiberius; he had these same vestal privileges bestowed upon his three sisters,
Agrippina, Drusilla, and Livilla; he had assigned to them a privileged position
equal to his own at the games in the circus; he even had it decreed that their
names should be included in the vows which the magistrates and pontiffs offered
every year for the prosperity of the prince and of his people, and that in the
prayers for the conservation of his power there should also be included a
prayer for their felicity. This was a small revolution from the constitutional
point of view; for the Romans, though allowing their women ample freedom to occupy
themselves with politics from the retirement of their homes, had never
recognized for them any official capacity. Tiberius, faithfully adhering in
this also to tradition, had gone as far as to prevent the senate, at the time
of Livia's death, from voting public honors to her memory, which, he thought,
might have justified the belief that his mother had been, not a matron of the
old Roman stamp, but a public personage. Caligula, however, was quite
indifferent to tradition, and by his expressed will, as if in reaction against
the persecutions and the humiliations which the imperial family had suffered
under Tiberius, even the sisters of the emperor acquired a sacred character and
a privileged position in the state. For the first time the women of the imperial
family acquired the character of official personages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
cannot be denied that the transition from atrocious prosecutions to divine
honors was somewhat sudden, but this is merely a further proof that Caligula
was endowed with a violent, impulsive, and irreflective temperament. In any
case, there was neither scandal nor protest at that time. Caligula during the
first months of his rule was popular, not for his measures in favor of the
women of his family, but for reasons of far greater importance. He had inaugurated
a régime which promised to be more indulgent, more prodigal, less harsh than
that of Tiberius. Extravagance had made rapid strides, especially in the ranks
of the aristocracy, during the twenty-two years of Tiberius's rule: and
although the latter, especially toward the end of his life, had ceased
struggling against this tendency, nevertheless his well-known aversion to
sumptuous living, and the example of simplicity which he set before the eyes of
all, had always been a cause of preoccupation to the aristocracy—to men as well
as women. There was no certainty that the emperor might not again, some day,
try to enforce the sumptuary laws. When Caligula therefore began his career,
indicating very clearly his sympathies with the modernizing party by his
eagerness to do away with the old Roman simplicity, the young aristocracy of
both sexes did not conceal their satisfaction. After a long period of
old-fashioned traditional policy, enforced by the two preceding emperors, they
welcomed with joy the young reformer who set out to introduce in the imperial
government the spirit of the new generations. No one was sorry that all the
purveyors of voluptuousness,—mimes, singers, actors, dancers of both sexes,
cooks, and puppets,—should with noisy joy break into the imperial palace, which
had been official, severe, and cold under Tiberius, and bring back pleasure,
luxury, and festivals. All hoped that under the rule of this indulgent,
youthful emperor, life, especially at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>,
would become more pleasant and gay; and no one therefore felt disposed to
protest against the official honors which, contrary to custom, had been
bestowed upon the women of the imperial family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
truth, if he, still harking back to Egyptian ideas and customs, had been
content with surrounding his family, especially its women, with a respect which
would have protected them against the infamous accusations and iniquitous
persecutions to which many had fallen victims, he might have had credit for an
action which was good, just, and useful to the state. That strange condition of
affairs which had been growing up under Tiberius was both absurd and dangerous
to the country: the emperor was honored with extraordinary powers and made the
object of a semi-religious veneration; but his family, and especially its
women, were, as a sort of retribution, set outside the laws and fiercely
assailed in a thousand insidious ways. But the lunatic Caligula was not the man
to keep even a wise proposal within reasonable limits. Power, popularity, and
praise quickly aroused all that was warped and excessive in his nature, and
very soon, as he showed at the end of the year 37, he entertained an idea which
must have seemed to the Romans a horrible impiety. His wife died soon after he
became emperor. Another marriage seemed obligatory, and he decided that he
would marry his sister Drusilla.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Historians
have represented this intention as the perverse delirium of an unbridled
sensuality. It was certainly the gross act of a madman, but there was perhaps
more politics in his madness than perversity; for it was an attempt to
introduce into <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>
the dynastic marriages between brothers and sisters which had been the constant
tradition of the Ptolemies and the Pharaohs of Egypt. This oriental custom
certainly seems a horrible aberration to us, who have been educated according
to the strict and austere doctrines of Christianity, which, inheriting in these
matters the fine flower of Greco-Latin ideas, has purified and rendered them
more rigorous. But for centuries in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>,—that is, in the most ancient
of the Mediterranean civilizations,—this horrible aberration was looked upon as
a sovereign privilege which brought the royal dynasty into relationship with
the gods. By means of it, this family preserved the semi-divine purity of its
blood; and perchance this custom, which had survived up to the fall of the
Ptolemies, was only the projection of ideas and customs which in most ancient
times had had a much wider diffusion along the Mediterranean world, for traces
of it can be found even in Greek mythology. For were not Jupiter and Juno, who
constituted the august Olympian couple, at the same time also brother and
sister? Gradually restricted through the spreading of Greek civilization, this
custom was finally eradicated at the shores of the Mediterranean by <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city> after the
destruction of the kingdom of the Ptolemies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
lunatic Caligula now suddenly took it into his head to transplant this custom
to Rome—to transplant it with all the religious pomp of the Egyptian monarchy,
and thus transform the family of Augustus, which up to the present had been
merely the most eminent family of the Roman aristocracy, into a dynasty of gods
and demigods, whose members were to be united by marriage among themselves in
order not to pollute the celestial purity of their blood. A fraternal and
divine pair were to rule at <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city>, like another
Arsinoë and Ptolemy, whom the Alexandrian throngs had worshiped on the banks of
the <st1:place w:st="on">Nile</st1:place>. The idea had already matured in his
mind at the end of the year 37, and among his three sisters he had already
chosen Drusilla to be his wife. This is proved by a will made at the time of an
illness which he contracted in the autumn of the first year of his rule. In
this will he appointed Drusilla heir not only of his goods, but also of his
empire, a wild folly from the point of view of Roman ideas, which did not admit
women to the government; but it proves that Caligula had already thought and
acted like an Egyptian king.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
is easy to understand why the peace and harmony which had been reestablished
for a moment in the troubled imperial family by the advent of Caligula should
have been of brief duration. His grandmother and his sisters were Romans,
educated in Roman ideals, and this exotic madness of his could inspire in them
only an irresistible horror. This brought confusion into the imperial family,
and after having suffered the persecutions of Sejanus and his party, the
unhappy daughters of Germanicus found themselves in the toils of the exacting
caprices of their brother. In fact, in 38, Caligula had already broken with his
grandmother, whom the year before he had had proclaimed <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Augusta</st1:place></st1:city>; and between the years 38 and 39,
catastrophes followed one another in the family with frightful rapidity. His
sister Drusilla, whom, as Suetonius tells us, he already treated as a lawful
wife, died suddenly of some unknown malady while still very young. It is not
improbable that her health may have been ruined by the horror of the wild adventure,
which was neither human nor Roman, into which her brother sought to drag her by
marriage. Caligula suddenly declared her a goddess, to whom all the cities must
pay honors. He had a temple built for her, and appointed a body of twenty
priests, ten men and ten women, to celebrate her worship; he decreed that her
birthday should be a holiday, and he wished the statue of Venus in the Forum to
be carved in her likeness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But
in proportion as Caligula became more and more fervid in this adoration of his
dead sister, the disagreement between himself and his other two sisters became
more embittered. Julia Livilla was exiled in 38; Agrippina, the wife of
Domitius Enobarbus, in 39, and about this same time the venerable Antonia died.
It was noised about that Caligula had forced her to commit suicide, and that
Agrippina and Livilla had taken part in a conspiracy against the life of the
emperor. How much truth there may be in these reports it is difficult to say,
but the reason for all these catastrophes may be affirmed with certainty. Life
in the imperial palace was no longer possible, especially for women, with this
madman who was transforming <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city> into <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alexandria</st1:place></st1:city> and who wished
to marry a sister. Even Tiberius, the son of Drusus and co-heir to the empire
with Caligula, was at about this time defeated in some obscure suit and
disappeared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Caligula
therefore remained alone at <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city> to represent in
the imperial palace the family which only ironically can be considered as the
most fortunate in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>.
Of three generations, upon whom fate seemed to have showered all the gifts of
life, there remained at his side only Claudius, the clownish old man, the
plaything of slaves and freedmen, whom no one molested because all could make
game of him. A madman and an imbecile,—or at least one who was reputed such by
everybody,—this was all that remained of the family of Augustus seventy years
after the battle of Actium.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Alone,
with no sisters now to elevate to the divine honors of the Roman Olympus,
Caligula was reduced to hunting for wives in the families of the aristocracy.
But it seems that even there could be found no great abundance of women who had
all the necessary qualities to make them the Olympian consorts of so capricious
a god. In three years he married and repudiated three—and in a very strange
manner, if we are to trust the ancient accounts of Caligula's loves. The first
was Livia Orestilla, the wife of Caius Piso. The emperor, who had seen the
woman at the marriage celebration, became, we are told, so infatuated with her
that he obliged the husband to divorce her; he then married her, and a few days
later repudiated her. Caligula is said to have compared himself on this
occasion to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Romulus</st1:place></st1:city>
who ravished the Sabine woman, and to Augustus who raped Livia. The second was
Lollia Paulina, wife of Caius Memmius, proconsul of a distant province.
Caligula heard of the prodigious beauty of Lollia's grandmother. The portrayal
of her charms made him fall in love with her granddaughter, though absent and
distant. He gave orders for her immediate recall to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>, and as soon as she could be divorced
from her husband he married her. This union, like the former one, lasted only a
brief time. The third wife was Milonia Caesonia, and to her Caligula was more
faithful, though from the accounts of ancient writers she appears to have been
much older than he, rather homely, and already a mother of three daughters when
he first loved her. It is difficult to determine how much truth there is in
these reports: Caligula was, it is true, a raving maniac, and his frenzy became
more accentuated when under the sway of love—a passion which deranges somewhat
even wise men. It is not strange, therefore, that in regard to women he may
have been guilty of even greater excesses than he was capable of in his
dealings with men. Yet some of these accounts seem a little incredible even
when ascribed to a madman. However that may be, Livia Orestilla, Lollia
Paulina, Milonia Caesonia are figures without relief, shades and ghosts of
empresses, no one of whom had time enough even to occupy the highest post. In
vain the people expected that there would appear in the imperial palace a
worthy successor to Livia. Caligula, like all madmen, was by nature solitary,
and could not live with other human beings: he was to remain alone, a prey to
his ravings, which became even stranger and more violent. He now wished to
impose upon the empire the worship of his own person, without considering any
opposition or local traditions and superstitions. In doing this he did violence
not only to the civic and republican sentiment of Italy, which detested this
worship of a living man as an ignoble oriental adulation, but also to the
religious feeling of the Hebrews, to whom this cult appeared most horrible and
idolatrous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
this way difficulties, dissatisfaction, and sedition arose in all parts of the
empire. The extravagances, the wild expenditures, the riotous pleasures, and
the cruelties of Caligula increased the discontent and disgust on every hand.
We need not take literally all the accounts of his cruelty and violence which
ancient writers have transmitted to us,—even Caligula has been blackened,—but
it is certain that his government in the last two years of his reign degenerated
into a reckless, extravagant, violent, and cruel tyranny. One day the empire
awoke in terror to the fact that the imperial family—that family in which the
legions, the provinces, and the barbarians saw the keystone of the state—no
longer existed; that in the vast imperial palace, empty of women, empty of
children, empty of hope, there wandered a raging madman of thirty-one, who
divorced a wife every six months, who foolishly wasted the treasure and the
blood of his subjects, and who was concerned with no other thought than that of
having himself worshiped like a god in flesh and blood by all the empire. A
conspiracy was formed in the palace itself, and Caligula was killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Julia Livilla<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">'Imperial Gals!'</span></span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-48861312033322824192014-11-11T20:25:00.003-08:002014-11-12T22:24:34.939-08:00July, 1917: Lt. Siegfried Sassoon 3rd Battalion: Of The Royal Welsh Fusiliers Expresses His Deepest Emotions Over The Carnage Of The Great War!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b>Lt.
Siegfried Sassoon<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b>3rd
Batt: Royal Welsh Fusiliers<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b>July,
1917</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
am making this statement as an act of willful defiance of military authority
because I believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who
have the power to end it. I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf
of soldiers. I believe that the war upon which I entered as a war of defence
and liberation has now become a war of aggression and conquest. I believe that
the purposes for which I and my fellow soldiers entered upon this war should
have been so clearly stated as to have made it impossible to change them and
that had this been done the objects which actuated us would now be attainable
by negotiation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
have seen and endured the sufferings of the troops and I can no longer be a
party to prolonging these sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and
unjust. I am not protesting against the conduct of the war, but against the
political errors and insincerities for which the fighting men are being
sacrificed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">On
behalf of those who are suffering now, I make this protest against the
deception which is being practised upon them; also I believe it may help to
destroy the callous complacency with which the majority of those at home regard
the continuance of agonies which they do not share and which they have not
enough imagination to realise.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-11916088490842211052014-11-10T20:59:00.001-08:002014-11-10T21:05:30.178-08:00Esoteric Essays, Tales & Miscellaneous Papers With Nash Rambler: "A Possible ‘Princess’ Fogg," A Beauteous Miss Parthenia Fogg Finds A Continental Prince & An American Store Clerk At Her Feet, Which Beau To Choose?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4kUem3Vyt-Hrdjq-oQZ1IW1daRBd8qWgPc8KBYh5Yxhi-J9EB7jaYRVseQb3JIF0ImgJ1bHlwsksIwUzoWjp_rPfCGL7C1fB6ex2SCiMmZ_sfJVBVD6P9v5-G1VS9NPyk6m_rGso7Gau/s1600/Parthenia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4kUem3Vyt-Hrdjq-oQZ1IW1daRBd8qWgPc8KBYh5Yxhi-J9EB7jaYRVseQb3JIF0ImgJ1bHlwsksIwUzoWjp_rPfCGL7C1fB6ex2SCiMmZ_sfJVBVD6P9v5-G1VS9NPyk6m_rGso7Gau/s1600/Parthenia.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Miss Parthenia
Belladonna Fogg<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
Continent; 1840<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Although they themselves were not entirely
free from blame in the matter, considerable sympathy was felt for the King and
Queen of <st1:place w:st="on">Franconia</st1:place> over the infatuation of
their second son, Prince Rüdiger, for Miss Parthenia Belladonna Fogg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Miss Fogg, it may be explained, was a young
American lady of great beauty and personal attractions, raven of hair and blue
of eye, it was commented that she was as exotic as a black iris, but without
fortune and although connected with that internationally fabled family of
Foggs, one who had no particular claims for recognition from her more elevated
kin, other than the looks of Psyche. She
had recently come to the metropolis of Drexelic to study music under an eminent
Herr Professor Tamanini, who lived in that city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The first time Prince Rüdiger set eyes upon
her, at an <i>omnium gatherum</i> at the
American Embassy, his susceptible heart was smitten at once, and soon his
devotion to the Yankee miss became the talk of the capital.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Now, at first, Their Majesties, King Karl
III and Queen Pauline had rather encouraged the affair than otherwise. You see, Parthenia Fogg, even though her
mother was a Cutlass, was so obviously of inferior rank to Prince Rüdiger, that
marriage between them was admittedly out of the question; and in the meanwhile
the Prince’s passion for the beautiful Yankee insured him against other more
dangerous entanglements – in particular, against a growing attachment, which
had at one time threatened to become serious, between the young Prince and his
pretty cousin, Princess Wilhelmina of Schlippe-Bomburg-Axeldropth. To the latter, as a prospective wife for
their son, the King and Queen objected for two reasons; first, because the
Princess had no dot worth speaking of; secondly because they were opposed, on
principle, to the marriage of cousins-german; especially of those so
confusingly intermarried. Royal reunions were a nightmare in trying to figure
out the convoluted sister, uncle, niece marriages that had polluted the Royal
bloodline a century before when no one knew better of their actions. Therefore,
Their Majesties welcomed, the affair with Miss Fogg as a safe and salutary
antidote to that other undesirable attachment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I might add, that, in addition to the fact
that the disparity of rank between Prince Rüdiger and Miss Fogg rendered
marriage between them impossible, the young lady was known to be engaged
already to a man of her own rank back in the States – one Decatur Stork, head
clerk in a mercantile house at Philadelphia, whose means were at present
insufficient to allow of their marrying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But the King and Queen soon had reason to
regret that they had been so ill-advised as to count upon these safeguards as a
sure preventive against serious entanglements.
When a headstrong, passionate, susceptible young man like Prince Rüdiger
really loses his heart to a girl, as he had lost his to the beautiful Parthenia
Fogg, there are no limits to his mad recklessness; and this was brought home to
the King and Queen of Franconia in a very startling manner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Prince Rüdiger burst in upon his parents
one morning as they sat together in the palace library, and made an
announcement that literally paralyzed them both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Father! Mother!” cried the young man
excitedly. “I have come to tell you that
I am engaged to be married to Miss Parthenia Fogg!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">His Majesty the King, Rüdiger’s father
stared at him, stupefied. The eyes of
the Queen, his mother, always prominent, now bade fair to start from the Royal
head. A terrible silence ensued – a
silence that, like the darkness of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>, could be felt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It was Her Majesty the Queen, who found her
tongue first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Married!” gasped the Queen. “Engaged to be married to that common Yankee
chit! Come, Rüdiger! I wish you would not make these bad jokes. You’d think we
were Bonapartes!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“It is no joke mother,” replied the young
man, the love light shining brightly in his eager, boyish eyes. “It is the sober truth. I have asked
Parthenia to marry me, and she has made me the happiest man in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> by saying ‘Yes’.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Good God! What ridiculous nonsense!”
ejaculated King Karl, who also by this time had recovered the faculty of
speech! “Are you gone clean off your crumpet, Rüdiger?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">For you must know that His Majesty, the
King of Franconia, in moments of losing feeling, frequently had recourse to
idioms of the English vernacular.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Nay, father,” protested Prince
Rüdiger. “Why should you think me mad
because I have fallen in love with the sweetest and the most beautiful girl
that ever breathed?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Oh, if that is all, you have my full
permission to love her as much as you please,” replied the King; “but I
understood you to speak of marriage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“So I did, father. For when one declares’
one’s honorable love to an honorable girl, one necessarily speaks of
marriage. It would be an insult, a
degradation, to speak to her of anything else!” cried the enamored boy, the
color rising in his handsome face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Bah! You talk like an imbecile,” retorted
his father. “Let me hear no more of such
absurd nonsense, you young jackanapes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“If I am a Prince, I am a gentleman and a
man of honor,” answered the lad, throwing back his head proudly. “I have plighted my troth – I am proud to own
it – to Parthenia Fogg, and nothing shall prevent my being true to it and
making her my wife. Indeed, why should I
not? I – “<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Why?” broke in the King. “Why?” he
repeated, with Royal disdain and decisive scorn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Because you are a Royal Prince of <st1:place w:st="on">Franconia</st1:place>, with the blood of a hundred Kings coursing
through your veins and she is a mere commoner – a foreign commoner, too, no
less. Because, moreover, she is already
betrothed to be married to someone else_____”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“She has told me about that,” interrupted
Prince Rüdiger, flushing. “That obstacle
is removed. She found that she – she
loved me better, and she will break the engagement off.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Designing, bare-faced minx,” muttered Her
Majesty the Queen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Well, then, if those trifling obstacles
already mentioned are not enough for you,” cried King Karl, sarcastically, “let
me add another that even your purblind idiocy must admit. You cannot marry this American hussy, because
it is against the Family Laws of our House.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Since the laws of my own family forbids, I
will take her to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and marry her there,” answered Prince Rüdiger, resolutely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“If you do any such thing you will forfeit
your rights as my son, and remain an exile and a pauper for the rest of your
days,” declared the King, menacingly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I will face that rather than surrender
Parthenia,” declared Prince Rüdiger, with the utmost determination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“But I cannot think, father, that you will
really be so cruel, so unjust, so unreasonable.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Unreasonable? Only hear him!” cried the
King, with a ferociously ironical laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Unreasonable?” As if, I demanding my
consent to this ridiculously impossible mésalliance, my son were making the
most reasonable request in the world. I
tell you what it is, my dear Rüdiger, if you talk any longer in this
preposterously asinine strain, I shall certainly find it necessary to take
medical advice upon the state of your mind.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“If you adopt that line with me, Sir, I am
afraid it is of no use my pursuing this interview,” exclaimed the young Prince,
beginning to lose his temper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Not the slightest in the world,” replied
the King, decidedly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Very well, Sire. Since you refuse to listen to me, I shall be
compelled to take my own course independently of you,” said Prince Rüdiger,
folding his arms across his chest and facing the King, his father, defiantly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I think not, you contumacious boy,”
retorted His Majesty, grimly. “Be good enough to retire now to your apartments,
and there await my further instructions.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">With a rebellious and sulky look, and not
without considerable hesitation, the young Prince obeyed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Before night fall it was the talk of the
metropolis that he had been placed under arrest, and sent with a military
escort, to a fortress on the frontier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Let him remain there until his ardor
cools,” remarked the King. “In the
meanwhile, we will see if we can get rid of this American hussy, who has
bewitched him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But that was easier said than done, in
spite of His Majesty being the King in his own realm. The Queen indeed, reckless of diplomatic
consequences – would have had her immediately deported as an undesirable
alien. But the King, knowing very well
the complications that such a high handed act might entail, and feeling,
moreover, that he could not, just then, afford to upset the apple cart of his
friendly relations with the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region>, nor President Van Buren, was for
more discreet measures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">He caused a delicate hint to be conveyed to
Miss Fogg by his Chancellor that, if she wished to avoid unpleasant
consequences, she would voluntarily return to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> without delay. This suggestion was put to her by Chancellor
von Vixen in the politest language, and with the luxuriance of diplomatic
circumlocution of which he was a past master.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Parthenia Fogg, however, conscious of the
strength of her position, and of the difficulties with which the King was
beset, merely laughed at His Majesty’s covert threats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Chancellor von Vixen, I find that I’m very
comfortable where I am, thanks,” she said with blatant chutzpah, and flippant
unconcern. “I really have no intention
of shifting my quarters, at present. And
really I do not see what I have to be afraid of by remaining. After all, His Majesty cannot eat me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The Chancellor looked deeply shocked and
scandalized at the levity of Miss Fogg’s tone in so solemn a connection as his
Royal master.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“It is a dangerous thing,” he answered
gravely, “to disregard the hints of Kings.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“What can the King do? Will he hire bravos
to kidnap me, or will he send a regiment of soldiers to deport me over the
frontier?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“His Majesty will know how to deal with
you,” replied the Chancellor, taking convenient refuge in vague threats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“But what will he do?” demanded Miss Fogg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“He will know how to deal with you,”
repeated the Chancellor, much too discreet to be drawn into anything specific.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Then let him deal with me,” demanded Miss
Fogg. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“In the meanwhile, I guess I’ll stop where
I am.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“After this,” said the Chancellor, rising
to take his departure, “you will have no one to blame but yourself for any
disagreeable consequences to which you may be subjected.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Miss Fogg rose also, looking the Chancellor
full in the face.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“To save you the trouble of further
interviews with me on this matter, you may take it from me that nothing the
King can say or do will frighten me out of my engagement with Prince Rüdiger.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“That is your final answer to His Majesty’s
gracious and kindly intentioned hint?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I guess that’s so.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Oh!” said the Chancellor; and he bowed and
withdrew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The word “Oh!” is capable of a hundred
meanings, according to the expression imparted thereto by him who utters
it. In the mouth of the Chancellor, on
this occasion, the meaning evidently implied was this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I am sorry for you. Your blood be upon your own head.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But though he had assumed his calm and
confident tone in Parthenia Fogg’s presence, the Chancellor’s face, as he drove
back to the palace to report matters to the King, looked very much perturbed
and irritated, nevertheless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The young woman is fully aware of the
extent of her influence over His Royal Highness, Prince Rüdiger,” he told the
King, “and sizes up the strength of her trump suit to a pip. She declines to budge, and dares us to remove
her.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Damn!” ejaculated His Majesty, biting his
moustaches savagely. “Well, my lord,
what is to be done now?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I do not see that anything can be done at
the moment,” replied the Chancellor. “I
would recommend that Your Majesty merely sit still for a few weeks, and trust
to the insufferable boredom and monotony of fortress life bringing His Royal
Highness to a more rational frame of mind.
I shall be surprised if, before we are much older, so gay and society
loving a young Prince is not willing to pay the price demanded, and renounce
the Yankee miss in consideration of having his liberty restored to him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“And even if that should be so,” remarked
the King, scratching his head in irritable perplexity, “who knows but, as soon
as he comes out, he may go and make a silly ass of himself with some other
girl? Rüdiger is such a susceptible fool.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“If only we could get Rüdiger safely
married to some suitable Princess!” sighed the King.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I would if it were possible,” said the
Chancellor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The difficulty would then be solved once
and for all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“But he has never showed the slightest
predilection for any such Princess,” remarked the King, shaking his head,
“except, indeed, for his cousin, Wilhelmina, who is, of course, out of the
question.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Princess Wilhelmina has no dot, to be
sure. Still, she would be a great
improvement on the American damsel,” observed the Chancellor, thoughtfully.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“What! You would bring that nonsense on
again, after all the trouble we had to squelch it?” demanded the King
sharply. “Don’t be a blithering idiot,
my lord!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Nay, nay! Your Majesty misunderstood
me. I should be the last man in the
world to wish to resuscitate the undesirable affair,” protested the Chancellor
with an injured look. “Indeed, have I
not expressed myself against it a hundred times?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">At that moment, an attendant entered
bearing a sealed letter on a gold salver, which he handed to the King.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The King took the letter, dismissed the
attendant, then broke the seal and read the contents. An expression half of rage, half of dismay
escaped the Royal lips while he read. When
he had finished he gave it to the Chancellor saying:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Nice news, I declare. See what you make of that, my lord.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The Chancellor in his turn read the letter
which had so disturbed the King. It was
a dispatch from the Commandant of the fortress in which Prince Rüdiger was
confined and it described a daring and almost successful attempt made by the
young man to break prison and escape over the frontier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“In view of this audacious attempt,” wrote
the Commandant, “which was only discovered and frustrated just in time, I am
keeping His Royal Highness rigorously confined to his apartments, pending Your
Gracious Majesty’s further instructions.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“If he had succeeded; as he nearly did,”
ejaculated the King, pacing the room in great perturbation, “he would have got
away to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place>. This hussy would have joined him there, and
then there would have been an end of everything. It is altogether a damnable state of
affairs. I cannot keep the young idiot
locked up in his apartments forever.
There is public opinion to be considered, and those confounded
newspapers; and yet if I don’t keep him locked up, he will get away and marry
the young woman against my Royal will.
What the devil is to be done?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Then, after a pause, he exclaimed:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“My lord, I tell you what it is. I shall send for the Princess Wilhelmina.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Eh?” cried the Chancellor, in
astonishment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Are you getting deaf in your old age?”
demanded the King, stamping his foot irritably. “I said, ‘I shall send for the
Princess Wilhelmina.’ Is that not plain von Vixen?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The Chancellor preserved a discreet
silence. He felt that it was not for him
to remind His Majesty how, ten minutes ago, he had called him a blithering
idiot for even vaguely hinting at the possibility of such a step. Reminders of that kind are not wisely
addressed by Chancellors to their Sovereigns – at least, not within the borders
of <st1:place w:st="on">Franconia</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Yes, Rüdiger shall have my permission to
marry Wilhelmina,” His Majesty continued.
“The whole difficulty will then be settled, and I shall know peace and
quietness once more.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">So convinced was the King that this was the
only solution of the trouble, that he caused a telegram to be sent to Princess
Wilhelmina, inviting her to come on a visit to the palace at once; and the very
next day he himself took himself to the frontier fortress, where his son was
immured, to announce to him that he now had his parent’s gracious permission to
love and to marry his pretty cousin, Wilhelmina.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">His Majesty made the announcement with
conscious generosity. But, alas! It came
too late. A month ago Prince Rüdiger
would have jumped at it; but now his infatuation for Parthenia Fogg had quite
killed that old tenderness, and the Prince scornfully declining his father’s
permission, scouted the very idea of becoming betrothed to his cousin.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I thought I cared for Willy once,” he
said, “but since Parthenia has taught me what real love is, I have learnt my
mistake. She is the only girl in the world for me, and I will never consent to
marry anyone else, no, not though you keep me in this hole of a fortress for
the rest if my days.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In vain the King used every effort of
persuasion, of remonstrance, and finally of menace. The young Prince remained immovably resolute;
and at length his father withdrew entirely baffled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In the end, after much anxious and
perturbed reflection, His Majesty, King Karl III of Franconia, decided at as a
last desperate expedient to try what he could do with the Yankee miss herself –
not this time through the medium of his Chancellor, but by calling upon her in
person and discussing the position with her in a frank and friendly spirit, as
a man of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">So he paid an informal visit to her rooms,
and finding her at home, was ushered into her presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">She rose to receive him with flushed cheeks
and head erect, after all she was a Fogg and a descendant of Charlemagne – her
manner quite respectful, but yet a little defiant, as much to say:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I know what Your Majesty has come for, but
while I am sensible of the honor you do me by coming, I must warn you that you
will not get any change out of me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Umph!” thought the King, as he scanned her
narrowly. “It is a strong face. The young woman evidently has character. I should say she is practical too, and has an
eye to her own interests. Most Yankees
have; and if that be the case, so much the better – that is to say, provided I
can make it clear to her that it is not in her best interests to marry
Rüdiger.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Aloud, he said, affably:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Pray be seated, my dear young lady; and I
will take the liberty of being seated too.
I just wish to have a quiet, practical little chat with you, as a man of
the world.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Parthenia Fogg seated herself, in
silence. The King took a chair adjacent
to her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Come,” he said, smiling upon her with
quite a fatherly benignity, “let us discuss affairs together in a friendly
spirit, while we take a practical review of the situation. My son, Rüdiger wishes to marry you. It is natural, I admit,” with a meaningful
glance at Parthenia’s beautiful face.
“If I were in his place, I should wish the same. Yet I should have the sense to recognize –
which he apparently has not – that, however much I might wish it, the thing is
quite impossible. You yourself can doubtless
see why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPHWpUD2PMWfniHL580V_PPq_oVszznhSjhXXFKJQTzxsAd33Ul8MuPiDSaPIA969dWn1M1CGBsMrk26L-rpAoKInGp2GxZPWtKZGMnrB39B15Xd-4KJ2v68677n51LfrX1qpqiRAob8x/s1600/Ru+Ossip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPHWpUD2PMWfniHL580V_PPq_oVszznhSjhXXFKJQTzxsAd33Ul8MuPiDSaPIA969dWn1M1CGBsMrk26L-rpAoKInGp2GxZPWtKZGMnrB39B15Xd-4KJ2v68677n51LfrX1qpqiRAob8x/s1600/Ru+Ossip.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Prince Rüdiger
& Ossip His Man-Servant<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“No Your Majesty, I guess I don’t see
anything of the kind,” replied Parthenia.
“If you would give your consent. . . .”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Pardon me, my dear young lady,” interposed
the King, shrugging his shoulders, deprecatingly, “but my consent has nothing
to do with it. My son is forbidden to marry a commoner by the Family Laws of
our House. That is to say, he could only
make you his wife by leaving the country and living in perpetual exile.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Well retorted Miss Fogg, “I believe
Rüdiger and I could live very happily together over in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Your
Majesty.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“In that case,” inquired the King,
placidly, “could you live so very happily together, do you think, on an income
of nothing a year?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“What do you mean?” cried Parthenia
sharply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I mean this my dear young lady; that if
Rüdiger leaves the country, his present allowance out of the taxes of 100,000
marks her annum will, <i>ipso facto</i>,
cease. And I, or my part, am much too
poor to provide for him privately, seeing that, even as it is, I can scarcely
live up to my position and make both ends meet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“You cannot mean that Rüdiger would have
absolutely nothing,” exclaimed Parthenia, turning quite pale. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Such is the distressing fact,” rejoined
the King. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“He would present that most painful, and,
at the same time, most ridiculous of all spectacles, a pauper Prince – the
jest, the pity, the contempt of all who knew him. Can it really be, my dear young lady, that
you can seriously contemplate this future both for him and for yourself?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I don’t believe it can really be as bad as
you say. Prince Rüdiger will surely have something,” ejaculated Miss Fogg, to
whom this novel view of the situation seemed as incredible as it was evidently
unwelcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Not a nickel Kreutzer,” answered the King.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I cannot believe it,” answered Parthenia
Fogg, now trembling all over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Since you doubt my word, you had better
make independent inquiries – through the American Embassy if you like. You will, however, find that the facts are
precisely as I have stated them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Parthenia Fogg remained silent for a
moment. The King saw, with joy, that he
had hit her upon a weak spot. She was
not insensible to the value of money, then; and the idea of becoming a Princess
with nothing to support the dignity upon was evidently both surprising and
distasteful to her. His Majesty,
striking while the iron was hot, pursued his advantage. “Believe me, my dear young lady,” said he,
laying his hand upon his heart, “that, so far from having any wish to be cruel
to you, I am anxious to do what I can in a modest way to advance your
interests. Come, let us strike a
bargain. Give up my son; return to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>; marry
that other lover of yours there, and I’ll show my appreciation of your behavior
by presenting you with a suitable dowry.
What do you say?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Miss Fogg hesitated for a moment. Then she looked straight at the King with a
hard expression in her blue eyes. That look spoke volumes. It gave away her true character on the spot –
that of a callous, mercenary woman of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Well, I guess that’s business, anyway,”
she answered, briskly. “You offer me
compensation and I don’t say but what I’ll entertain the offer – on terms. What’s your figure?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Shall we say 40,000 marks?” suggested the
King.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Make it 80,000 and it’s a deal,” replied
Miss Fogg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">After some haggling, the King consented to
settle the matters on these terms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">When Prince Rüdiger learned that the girl
for whom he had been willing to sacrifice everything had proven so callous and
mercenary as to take money to throw him over, and had calmly gone back to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> to
marry Decatur Stork, the shock of the disillusionment nearly drove him mad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">However, he recovered in course of time,
and found consolation in the affections of his cousin Wilhelmina, his marriage
with that Princess being hurried on as rapidly as possible by his parents, who
were in a deadly fright lest, if he remained single, he might make a fool of
himself with some other impossible young woman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The King, it may be added, patted himself
on the Royal back, with much complacency, over the stroke of diplomacy by which
he had brought about this result.
Whether he would have patted himself upon the Royal back quite so
complacently if he had realized that his son and Parthenia Stork, formerly née
Fogg, had conspired to make a catspaw of him for the satisfactory arrangement
of their respective love affairs, is perhaps open to doubt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-34504429309354378392014-11-09T23:04:00.001-08:002014-11-16T11:17:47.291-08:00Esoterica: An Esoteric ‘Just Because I Thought It Interesting!' “The Week Of ‘Aboard The Big-U!’" November 3rd - November 9th, 2014!<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 48pt;">ESOTERICA</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">For those of you Esoteric who have not befriended us on Facebook, you will be unaware of a daily feature of that page, “An Esoteric ‘Just Because I Thought It Interesting!’” A truly enjoyable inclusion, with an emphasis of enriching the little gray cells, as well as a visual feast for the eyes! Portraits, accompanied by thumb nail sketches provided for your Esoteric edification are the tenor of the day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">I highly encourage for those of you so inclined, stopping by here as a day by day routine.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u2:p></u2:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">However, I would encourage those of you who enjoy this feature to join The Esoteric Curiosa as a friend on Facebook so that you can relish it on a daily basis without having to wait a full week.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u2:p></u2:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Thank you again for all your support, and don’t forget to click the link at the bottom of this post to become a friend.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVpZkwdZ3eYb4GUBWNhPJxBxl3pN88bQZ-A3JZbS-EY0lYgASqhjQ6OaJU6MrFObkNfc8kYkmbtYEoqgDLUomLc__D2DTnDw-vIleatUgBMwS_8FnVPmS7-VSa-nEqmPrc-qxSlIQsOR3/s1600/observation-lounge-ma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVpZkwdZ3eYb4GUBWNhPJxBxl3pN88bQZ-A3JZbS-EY0lYgASqhjQ6OaJU6MrFObkNfc8kYkmbtYEoqgDLUomLc__D2DTnDw-vIleatUgBMwS_8FnVPmS7-VSa-nEqmPrc-qxSlIQsOR3/s1600/observation-lounge-ma.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 3, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Aboard
The Big-U;’ The Observation Lounge!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">.
. . . Just forward from the promenade deck foyer, a First Class passenger aboard
the S.S. United States would enter the ‘Observation Lounge,” aptly named
because of its forward facing location, as well as due to the thirty-two, floor
to ceiling windows that afforded the passengers sweeping vistas of the ocean
rushing by; as the Big-U plied either east or west. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
H-shaped room spanned the entire 101 foot width of the ship, which in spite of
the massive floor plan of the lounge, and the expanse of windows; was in
actuality, confined to a single deck in height, a hindrance dictated by the
fire safety limitations of the United States Navy design standards and
requirements. The liners from a mere generation before were usually designed
with a two or three deck high ceiling; high ceilings, overstuffed couches, and
dark paneling which created the feel a land based grand hotel, ashore in New
York, London, Paris or Rome. Even the S.S. United States’ smaller sister, the
medium sized S.S. America, had a two deck high lounge, adorned with lush murals
and gleaming brass.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">On
the S.S. United States, designer, Dorothy Marckwald, had to make the low
ceilinged lounge feel aesthetically welcoming and soothing to the senses;
despite having to create such an atmosphere in such a claustrophobic space.
Considering its prominent location aboard ship, the Observation Lounge would be
the most used area during the day, where First Class passengers would read
books and magazines from the nearby library, as well as to play afternoon card
games, such as bridge and canasta.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
achieve this inviting milieu, Marckwald bathed the Observation Lounge in rich
greens and tranquil blues for her color scheme, to present the room with a
bright and cheerful appearance, taking inspiration from the colors of the sea.
Chairs and couches upholstered in blue cloth, against a background of sea green
wall-to-wall carpeting; made the room hospitable and extremely popular with the
S.S. United States’ passengers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Marckwald
asked the artist, Raymond Wendell to create two massive murals out of gesso
that would replicate the underwater topography of the <st1:place w:st="on">Atlantic
Ocean</st1:place>; these two murals, highlighted in gold leaf, were placed on
the room’s two curved bulkheads. Rows of tall floor lamps, bolted to the floor,
provided the additional enhancement of mood lighting, especially in the evening
hours, when the large picture windows were shaded with blinds, as opposed to
appearing as restless eyes staring into the abyss of inky blackness beyond,
while at sea. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
further enhance a feel of openness, Marckwald used dozens of glass top card
tables, as well as fourteen small, handcrafted round tables placed
strategically around the room – each glass top was in a different shade of blue
and adorned with small white stars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmXsLFel9CmUCoR_WBnf41m8r9Ew7PSzVWL5fAf3F2vF2SL66D381JJcl9uo-41a1PewH3JQ7GSez-yiRpKohPo7POc6keUOiLcb5zvEOj-42tXLWsT6LxdFSsNATPLYTiYKOHW_7bZVj/s1600/Ballroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="557" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmXsLFel9CmUCoR_WBnf41m8r9Ew7PSzVWL5fAf3F2vF2SL66D381JJcl9uo-41a1PewH3JQ7GSez-yiRpKohPo7POc6keUOiLcb5zvEOj-42tXLWsT6LxdFSsNATPLYTiYKOHW_7bZVj/s640/Ballroom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 4, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Aboard
The Big-U;’ The First Class Ballroom!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">After
night fall aboard the S.S. United States, First Class passengers found their
evening’s entertainment in the First Class Ballroom, which was just aft of the
Observation Lounge through the stair foyer. By far the most impressive public
room onboard, this large and luminous interior space was also designed by
Dorothy Marckwald. Pulling from various fellow artists, she commissioned
Charles Gilbert to create a series of glass panels that would divide the
ballroom into more intimate sections conducive to social gatherings.
Highlighted with gold and silver leafing, each decorative panel was etched with
images of sea creatures and plants, when lit from below, the panels were
stunning backdrops for both men and women in their festival evening dress
attire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Marckwald’s
pièce de résistance was capping the ballroom ceiling space with a shimmering,
white and gold dome, which cast light back down on the dance floor and gave the
room a two deck height at its center. Stark white banquettes and red barrel
backed chairs provide the occasional seating around the dance floor. Somewhat
removed from the music and the general merriment of the ballroom was a bar and
lounging area, located at the aft end of the room. The kidney shaped bar was
forty-five feet long and one of the largest afloat. As de rigueur demanded,
here a white jacketed bartender, would shake cocktails and pour champagne into
the wee hours of the morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 5, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Aboard
The Big-U;’ The Navajo Lounge!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">A
First Class passenger leaving the main ballroom and heading towards the stern
of the S.S. United States, would find a special, intimate retreat for fellow
First Class passengers situated along the starboard side. Arranged with four
large porthole windows overlooking the enclosed promenade deck was a small
cocktail lounge and bar; christened the Navajo Lounge, named for the murals by
artist Peter Ostuni that adorned its walls. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Navajo Lounge, possibly the most popular room on the ship, was outfitted with
lighted sand carvings meant to replicate the South Western murals; while
grommet cocktail tables dotted the space amongst ivory chairs. The United
States Line, described the room as: "This gay cocktail lounge features
ritual sand paintings of Navajo Indians".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
panels formed a frieze, fifty feet long around the room and depicted
interpretations of the ritual sand paintings of the Navajo Indians of the
Southwest. For this commission, Ostuni used pursued an approach similar to the
process used by the Navajo Indians to create sand paintings. Using traditional
sacred imagery, Ostuni applied powdered enamel, in various textures and colors,
but sifting it through his fingers onto flat cutout copper forms. After these
design elements were fired, they were applied to a sand coated aluminum panel
and mounted on the bulkhead. Definitely a true depiction of “the desert goes to
sea!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
featured series of thirteen murals, which like so much of the artwork aboard,
was backlit in the evening hours. The walls of this unique getaway were
Midnight blue in color, which with the lighting, and fantastical artwork gave
the room a sleek, luminous look, especially at night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
was here, that the Commodore of the United States Lines would have
traditionally hosted special receptions for VIP passengers; invitation only
affairs, for the cream of the First Class passenger list.</span><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"> </span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIiEjtJ6GmRfpvZ3hXw2wmtGTwchYglEiGhMtXcyqNuOhDSZ35IqUld3vPeVIj8lZ39bzMm3iooRAImo4uyHiN7KjRTsxaD1kSala-wbGFBI3gRzMPcDL47RRzWKXcxXhb8p6VJRLVBXd/s1600/Smoking+Room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIiEjtJ6GmRfpvZ3hXw2wmtGTwchYglEiGhMtXcyqNuOhDSZ35IqUld3vPeVIj8lZ39bzMm3iooRAImo4uyHiN7KjRTsxaD1kSala-wbGFBI3gRzMPcDL47RRzWKXcxXhb8p6VJRLVBXd/s1600/Smoking+Room.jpg" /></a></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 6, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Aboard
The Big-U;’ The First Class Smoking Room!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Continuing
aft on board the S.S. United States, a First Class passenger would enter the
most masculine domain, where the aroma of cigar smoke and cognac held sway.
Traditionally, this room, as with most smoking rooms on the transatlantic
liners was a clubby, wood paneled refuge, stuffed with large leather armchairs,
green baize gaming tables, baronial paneling, and often a large wood burning
fireplace, topped with an animal head, all which added to the male dominant atmosphere,
in testament to a no ladies allowed mindset. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Dorothy
Marckwald; who derided what she called the traditional “elk horn” style, and
greatly restricted by the fire protection safeguards of no wood or flammable
objects on board, could not panel the walls with oak, mahogany, or teak, nor
could she festoon its windows with heavy velvet curtains of a somber hue; this
coupled with the fact that she abhorred what she referred to as “muddy” colors.
"We try to use all clear colors because we think muddy colors make people
seasick," explained Miss Marckwald.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">As
a departure from the past, she had the smoking room walls on the S.S. United
States painted jet black, and covered the windows, which overlooked the
enclosed promenade deck, with a masculine plaid patterned drapery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">For
the room’s centerpiece, she collaborated with William King, who created a
simple aluminum Mercator projection of the world for the forward bulkhead.
Small clocks positioned above each meridian, showed the times of day around the
world. A well-stocked bar, requisite in any smoking room, was built on the
opposite side of room. Chairs and couches upholstered in red leather, and fully
fireproofed, completed this effect, instilling a "club-like
exclusiveness," with a contemporary flair!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Although
it was not quite reminiscent of the <st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state>’s
University Club, or its English brother across the pond, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place>’s Royal Automobile Club, it was close
enough considering the restrictions, and more importantly, embraced the sleek,
new modern style of the S.S. United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUR99TcXfQ4WdV48D12_Gr66jJkhurmPwyHLfbwDvp2tTqeqkVFhTvGZVslS-MdRwbUu8i3O9BpX5OrlSXRNY5vJECgQjEuvYbos8b81sy5-Sv0r8Goe5wZhW5-nm1iTU8kx9DpIWSkx2/s1600/First+Din+Room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUR99TcXfQ4WdV48D12_Gr66jJkhurmPwyHLfbwDvp2tTqeqkVFhTvGZVslS-MdRwbUu8i3O9BpX5OrlSXRNY5vJECgQjEuvYbos8b81sy5-Sv0r8Goe5wZhW5-nm1iTU8kx9DpIWSkx2/s640/First+Din+Room.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 7, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Aboard
The Big-U;’ The First Class Dining Room!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Dining
on board any liner, especially in the First Class environs of the ship was
always a special experience, and some liners were booked solely for their
cuisine alone, while others presented an irresistible atmosphere within which
to dine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
First Class dining room, situated on A-Deck, a four deck elevator ride below
the other First Class public rooms, was placed near the ship’s center of
gravity, to minimize motion, and hopefully to banish the tendency of mal de
mer. Vast in size, the room spanned the full width of the liner. Not unlike the
other public rooms, Marckwald endeavored to design the room around the concept
of spaciousness, an airy and welcoming space, rather than cluttering it up with
fussy ornamentation. In this respect she was successful, almost to the point of
sterility. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
center of the room featured a vaulted ceiling two decks in height.
Unfortunately, the strict requirements of the Navy dictated that the remainder
of the space would still look chopped up, compared to the more open feel of
dining rooms aboard the older liners. Large stanchions, pillars, and size
restrictions itself, limited the seating capacity to just at 400 hundred
passengers, which meant that the almost 900 first class passengers were
required to dine in two sittings, grouped in tables for two, four, six and
eight diners. Regrettably, having two meal sittings was a major drawback,
compared to the two Cunarder Queens, the United States’ major competitors,
which could accommodate all their First Class passengers at once, allowing them
the ability to dine at their leisure, and with little inconvenience or
restrictions on time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
an effort to try and enhance the spacious aspect of the dining room, Marckwald
used bright and bold, cheery colors. Classical cornices accentuated the simplified
approach the designer took in detailing the room. Lighting, and there was lots
of it, was indirect, eliminating the need for chandeliers and wall sconces.
Spotlights were nestled in the corners and cornices, as well as below the
sculptures, to bring them into relief.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Positioned
at each table were plush vibrantly upholstered red chairs, that gave a strong
sense of color, complementing the oyster colored walls, and snow white table
linens. Dynel fabric curtains were woven with threads of real silver and gold.
As on the S.S. United States’ smaller sister ship, the S.S. America, a
musician’s gallery, which seemed almost archaic on board such a modern liner,
was placed on the second level so that a Meyer Davis Orchestra could serenade
passengers during dinner with light classics and popular show tunes of the era.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
had become a seafaring tradition; that First Class dining rooms tended to
feature a large central decorative element, prominently showcased over the
Captain’s table. On the French beauty, the S.S. Normandie, it was a towering,
gilded statue of Peace; or “La Paix.” One the R.M.S. Queen Mary, it was a great
Art Deco mural depicting the <st1:place w:st="on">Atlantic Ocean</st1:place>,
in which a miniature model of the ship would trace the vessels actual progress
along her route, either east or westbound. As a result, Marckwald was not only
determined, but dedicated to present such a work of art as the visual focus of
the minimalist design approach of the First Class dining room. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Initially
the sculptress Gwen Lux produced a piece that would be hung at the forward end
of the room, titled “Expression of Freedom.” With each figure standing just
over four feet high, if cast in plaster, each figure would weight about two
hundred pounds. The ever vigilant William Francis Gibbs vetoed this idea, with
a curt; “find something lighter!” Next, Lux proposed to mold her figures out of
“foam glass.” Consisting of crushed glass bound together by carbon or
limestone, the material was commonly used as a thermal insulation or a cork
substitute, not a sculpture medium. Lux promised that her sculpture would be
not only fireproof, but also extremely lightweight, with each figure weighing
only forty pounds. Eventually, the final concept was so light in fact, that
they could float and Lux lost no time ins producing an additional forty-eight
foam glass state seals that would be placed around the perimeter of the dining
room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 8, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Aboard
The Big-U;’ The Grill Room!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
twin to the promenade decks starboard side Navajo Lounge; the S.S. United
States offered another secluded refuge; positioned on the port side, was a
private restaurant for First Class passengers, christened as the Grill Room, with
entrances from a foyer at its after end and from the ballroom at its forward
end. Highly trained United States Lines stewards provided service through a pantry
located inboard of the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">From
the early 1900’s with the advent of the Ritz Carlton Grill Room on board Hamburg
America Line’s S.S. Amerika, extra tariff restaurants had been a feature on the
<st1:place w:st="on">North Atlantic</st1:place>, the S.S. United States was no
different. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Grill Room could host fifty of the ships most distinguished First Class passengers,
who wanted to avoid dining with the masses, albeit their First Class brethren
in the First Class dining room, located several decks below. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
bulkheads and carpeting of the room were dark midnight blue. The ceiling was a light
soothing gray. The seven windows of the room overlooking the enclose promenade
deck; were covered with decorative sliding sashes bordered with mirrored
divisions and sand-blasted bands. The windows were then draped with a
hand-woven oyster-white heavy-texture material with vertical stripes.
Alternating stripes carrying bands of 3-inch loop fringe, woven into the
fabric. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
four decorative panels of the room were formed into offsets. While the banquettes
covered with a sapphire-blue texture fabric were also located in the offsets,
below the panel. Pedestal-type tables in front of the banquettes were
constructed to pull forward to facilitate seating. Arm chairs around the tables
were a red and gray-white textured material. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Charles
Lin Tissot executed the decorations of the room. They consisted of four panels,
located at each end of the room and inboard on either side of the entrance to
the service pantry. Inserted in each of the blue-painted panels were groups of
crystals forming designs based on light rays of distant stars and planets. Lighting
behind each design reflected through the glass crystals to give the desired and
unusual effect. To give his crystal light features even more sparkle, they are
mounted them on highly polished sheets of aluminum. The panels were offset from the wall and lighting
from beneath their edges supplemented the other cove lighting in the room.
Lighting of the room was controlled by dimmers. The doors to the service pantry
were covered with green leather. Both of the passages into the restaurant had
metal reeded bulkheads.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">A
former First Class passenger once commented: “the Grill Room had dark blue walls
with brilliant diamond stars of illuminated glass. It was as though they were magnificent
snowflakes, but no, they were heavenly bodies.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Like
its counterpart, the Navajo Lounge, this intimate dining experience radiated
urban sophistication and exclusivity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGm1Nh27j6sIzZA8bdieuDHASSfFxJn5HNUmy-McPk_uSwU9Oe6Y2U3EJa07fsjCk5Zcwkzyy-l3BRtw6eBDIPNAZUzuMN0O6hzD16bF86d-jpIhYFtZ3Hwv8hFqkQ02rpkaRSbCiQhy8S/s1600/suite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGm1Nh27j6sIzZA8bdieuDHASSfFxJn5HNUmy-McPk_uSwU9Oe6Y2U3EJa07fsjCk5Zcwkzyy-l3BRtw6eBDIPNAZUzuMN0O6hzD16bF86d-jpIhYFtZ3Hwv8hFqkQ02rpkaRSbCiQhy8S/s1600/suite.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 9, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Aboard
The Big-U;’ The De Luxe Suites!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
S.S. United States featured fourteen suites, six on the upper deck and eight on
the main deck, allocated for First Class passengers to travel in mid-century
modern luxury. The furniture and fabrics in these suites were custom made, and
were used nowhere else on the ship. Amongst the most popular of these, were the
three-room suites, which were the most spacious on any liner at the time plying
the North Atlantic, having in addition to the three staterooms, three
bathrooms, a dressing room, and a trunk room. The elite of the United States Lines’ most
famous passengers could spend the entire five day crossing in complete comfort,
privately entertaining a select company of friends and fellow passengers
without having to set foot in any one of the public rooms. At a moment’s notice, a bellboy could deliver
full meals, direct from the First Class kitchen. Passengers had complete control of the “atmosphere”
of their accommodations, individually controlled thermostats set the perfect
temperature, and dimmers were another touch of luxury, defusing a warm yellow
glow by night, something unheard of aboard other liners. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Dot”
Marckwald, embarked on a no nonsense design approach and the suites were
relatively simple in their layout, a clear concession to the more informal
American way of postwar living, then in the ascendant. This attitude was clearly evident in the
names of the suites themselves, “Seashell Suite,” the “Butterfly Suite”, the “Tree
Suite”, and the most exquisite and popular one of all, the “Duck Suite”, the
preferred favorite of the Windsors when they traveled aboard on four voyages a
year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Individuality
was apparent in the design of these accommodations; some suites had quilted
slip covers on the head and foot boards of the beds to match the bedspreads.
Other original decorations in the de luxe suites were carved glass panels, with
leaf motifs, ducks in natural settings, enameled plaques of twenty-four
American birds, sea shells, and marine crustaceans. The suites were decorated
to key with their sitting rooms as follows: U-77 Sitting Room, was designed
with walls of dark gray and gray carpets, upholstered furniture, varying from
gray to bright yellow to dark blue. The curtains were white hand-woven
horizontal textured strips. The artistic element consisted of twenty-four murals
depicting American birds hung in close groups. U-80 Sitting Room, was staged
with soft Venetian red walls with trim and ceiling, contrasting in a light
gray. Upholstery was in light gray tweedy material and some in light gray
leather. Curtains were off-white, and hand woven. Leaves of American trees were
executed in glass murals on the walls. U-89 Sitting Room, hosted walls of
aluminum leaf with ducks in their natural setting. Gray carpets, two chairs in
soft gray, and two in reddish orange. The rest of the furniture was light gray,
with hand-loomed off-white curtains. U-92 Sitting Room—Pale sepia walls with
carpets of deep brown, and upholstered furniture in a medium shade of sepia
woven fabric. Three chairs in off-white leather about the color of sea shells. The
rest of the furniture was a deep brown. Curtains were hand woven with a
background of off-white with sepia woven through, highlighted with touches of
copper metal threads. Five wall decorations of sea shells of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Atlantic</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place> adorned the walls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">All
of the furniture was custom made of aluminum with baked enamel finish, and matching
micarta tops. The bedspreads, curtains and chair upholstery materials were all
of a special design, custom made and either of fireproof material or treated to
be fire-resistant.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-7491418278592744192014-11-08T18:45:00.004-08:002014-11-11T20:21:01.842-08:00"Pastoral Praise" French Duchess With Slavic Origins; Waxes Lyrical Upon The Verdant & Medieval Beauty Of The Country Seat Of Her Noble English "Cousin"! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Tunbridge Wells<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">September 16, 1831<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
have just been visiting <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Eridge</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Castle</st1:placetype></st1:place>, which belongs to
a rich and misanthropic octogenarian much persecuted by misfortune. His title
is Earl of Abergavenny, but his family name is Neville. He is a cousin of Lord <st1:city w:st="on">Warwick</st1:city>; the celebrated "King maker" was a
Neville, and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Eridge</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Castle</st1:placetype></st1:place> was his. At a later
date Queen Elizabeth was feasted there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
foundations of the castle are ancient, and it has been restored in the ancient
style, with great care, by the present owner. The effect of the whole is
perfectly harmonious, and every detail is rich and elegant. The perfection of
the carving and the beauty of the stained glass are wonderful. Lord
Abergavenny's own apartments are extremely dismal. The castle occupies a very <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">high point</st1:place></st1:city> on the top of
a hill, with a lake twenty acres in extent at the foot. But the low ground is
surrounded by hills which are even higher than the one in the centre, on which
the castle stands, and which are all covered with trees so splendid, so
numerous, and stretching for so many miles, that they form a veritable forest.
I have never seen a prospect so romantically wooded and at the same time so
profoundly melancholy. It is not English, still less is it French; it is the
Black Forest, it is <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bohemia</st1:place></st1:state>.
I have never seen ivy like that which covers the towers, the balconies, and
indeed the whole building. In short, I rave about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
the park, in the heart of a clump of tall and very sombre fir-trees, there is a
mineral spring exactly like that at Tunbridge; and the park itself is not only
full of deer but has also stags, any number of cows and sheep, and a fine herd
of buffaloes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Lord
Abergavenny is very charitable. A hundred and twenty workmen are constantly in
his employment; but since the visitors from Tunbridge came and damaged his
garden he allows no one to see either his park or his house. Some time ago he
refused admittance even to the Princesse de Lieven. Pleading notes from
Countess Bathyány and from me touched his heart. He was out when we came, but
had left orders for the servants to show us everything; we were guided through
the woods by a man on horseback. His people are very fond of him; they have
much to say of his goodness, and recount very impressively the story of the
misfortunes which have afflicted their unhappy old master.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b>Duchesse
de Dino</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">NR</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">'Noble crib!'</span></span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-4811324527351885262014-11-07T21:20:00.002-08:002014-11-08T18:41:31.510-08:00No Nonsense Marie; Imperial Highness Aside, Grand Duchess, Princess, Duchess, Sees Western Royal Life; Through Quasi Eastern, Slavic Eyes!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlgMeD81BNczdetC5RgMUFUqLhvAiypj9kLkY5SKHqWXRxwGBIXjkjT0QaUu22ycSugmCW2qw-dn5WQ4x0dgVqAIpvVgVXJf7D7f1L2H-J56O1H-C6OzO_WEvggI_xDYfH8Y0p0BlUvgq/s1600/Ed+Stomach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlgMeD81BNczdetC5RgMUFUqLhvAiypj9kLkY5SKHqWXRxwGBIXjkjT0QaUu22ycSugmCW2qw-dn5WQ4x0dgVqAIpvVgVXJf7D7f1L2H-J56O1H-C6OzO_WEvggI_xDYfH8Y0p0BlUvgq/s1600/Ed+Stomach.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Spartan
Treatment For Royal Stomachs<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Because
mama had never learned in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
how to put two pins into her hat, she hated the wind with the healthy hate she
put into all her hatreds through life. There was nothing half-hearted about
mama: What she liked she liked, innovations were abhorrent to her, and she
preferred places where she had not to "dress up," as she called it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">She
wore practical skirts, jackets and hats, though she always stuck to
funny-shaped boots with little leather bows on their tips, boots that were
ordered in St. Petersburg; and she had them specially made the same for each
foot, declaring that it was nonsense to imagine that you needed a left and
right shoe, it was much more rational to have them both alike.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
was only much later that I understood that mama was really somewhat of a
character, to use a literary expression. As a child I imagined that every- body
had those ideas and those strong likes and dislikes which often isolated her
from her neighbors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">No
one could tell a story better than mama. She was a wonderful conversationalist
and could keep a whole table amused. She used to encourage us to 1 talk and
entertain people, always declaring that 1 nothing was more hopeless than a
princess who never opened her mouth. "Besides," she added, "it
is very rude, and please remember that, my dear children."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
have remembered it all through my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Another
thing she was very severe about was that when invited out somewhere for a meal,
you must 7 never refuse a dish set before you, even if you did not like it,
because she declared that nothing was so insulting to a hostess as not eating
the good things that she provided.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"But
if they are not good, mama?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"Then
you must just behave as though they were good."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"But
if they make you feel sick?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"Then
be sick, my dear, but wait till you get home. It would be most offensive to be
sick then and there."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">This
was mama's good advice. Something of a Spartan, she expected her children to
follow her lead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Mama
hated anyone to be ill. She herself had 1 marvelous health, which she handed on
to me, for which I thank her every day of my life as the greatest of my
blessings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">According
to mama's code, one must never complain. A headache must never be confessed or
given way to, a cold did not keep you at home, a fever did not send you to bed.
Yet no one had such an eagle eye as mama. She spotted the smallest indisposition
and was always at hand with pills or medicine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">She
declared that English doses were much stronger than Continental doses, and she
used to call them "des remèdes de cheval."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Mama
spoke perfect English, but preferred French, declaring that it was by far the
most elegant language and that a beautiful letter could be written only in
French. She did not, however, particularly care for the French as a people,
preferring the English, Russians and Germans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">We
children hated speaking French; we considered it an affected language, a
language for grown-ups, not for children, and we willfully threw away all the
good opportunities of absorbing the language properly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">This
exasperated mama, who said we were little fools, which, no doubt, we were, only
we did not like to be told so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"Children,"
mama would say, when giving some of her Spartan advice, "don't let English
people persuade you that certain foods are indigestible; everything is
digestible for a good stomach, but English people spoil their digestion from
earliest childhood by imagining that they cannot eat this or that. I always ate
everything; in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
no one ever spoke about their digestions; it's a most unpleasant subject and
not drawing-room conversation." All this proving that mama herself had an
excellent Russian digestion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Once,
with the greatest satisfaction, mama declared: "Missy"—that was
I—" is like me; she can eat stones and feel none the worse for it."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Without
doubt, this Russian peculiarity, handed down to me from my Russian ancestors,
has been a great asset all through my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Mama
had an old maid called Fanny Renwick. She was a great character. She was dark
and had a mustache and liked to imagine that Spanish blood flowed in her veins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Fanny
ruled us with a rod of iron. We loved and we hated her in turns. Her humors
changed like the weather, but on sunny days she was most affable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Fanny
looked after mama's wardrobe and laid in stores of all that mama might need.
There was a Russian largeness about the size of these needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
was a wonderful day when we caught Fanny inspecting her stores; there were
cupboards and cupboards of them, and these cupboards smelled delicious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Here
were endless rows of scents, boxes of sachets, cold cream, soap, rose water,
but nothing in the form of cosmetics, which mama abhorred as violently as the
prophets of old denouncing the Jezebels of their time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">There
were incredible provisions of pills, especially castor-oil pills that looked
like transparent white grapes, with the oil moving about inside. These, for
some reason, were always ordered in <st1:city w:st="on">St. Petersburg</st1:city>;
perhaps for fear of their being "des remèdes de cheval" if ordered in
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-25371856609927766972014-11-06T21:16:00.002-08:002014-11-07T21:15:04.508-08:00For One Brief Shining Moment; The Imperial German Empire Balanced On The Brink Of Positive Greatness & Enlightenment, Alas It Was Not To Be!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><span style="font-size: large;">THE HUNDRED DAYS’
REIGN</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">On
the morning of March 9, 1888, the Crown Prince was walking in the gardens of
the Villa Zirio, when a telegram was brought to him. He took it up with languid
interest, but when he read the address, “To His Imperial Majesty the Emperor
Frederick William,” there was no need to open the envelope, and it is said that
his habitual self-control deserted him, and he burst into tears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">A
pathetic, and yet in its way a magnificent, scene followed in the great
drawing-room on the ground floor of the villa. The Households of the new
Emperor and Empress had assembled there and stood in a circle waiting....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Suddenly
the Emperor appeared, and we have the following striking description from one
who claims to have been a witness of what occurred:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“He
had become handsome again, as in the radiant days of his youth. His beard, with
a few silver streaks, glowed in the brilliant light cast by the chandelier.
Tall and well built, he dominated the entire company. His blue eyes were
slightly misty. His delicate complexion, now heightened with a little colour,
seemed to show the real tranquillity which had taken possession of his soul;
and his mouth with the red lips had now that fascinating smile which
characterised him. With a firm step he walked straight to a small table in the
middle of the drawing-room and wrote—for the tube in his throat prevented him
from speaking—a few lines, which he signed. An officer read out the paper
aloud—it was the announcement of the death of the Emperor William I and of his
own accession as Frederick III. The Emperor then walked towards the Empress,
made a long and reverent bow, paying full homage to his wife’s devotion, and
with a grave and tender gesture passed round her neck the Ribbon of the Black
Eagle.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
is also recorded that the Emperor walked up to Dr. Morell Mackenzie and, after
shaking him warmly by the hand, wrote for him the following words: “I thank you
for having made me live long enough to recompense the valiant courage of my
wife.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Emperor Frederick, with the Empress and their daughters, set out for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Berlin</st1:state></st1:place> on March 10,
making what was then the swiftest journey in the records of Continental travel.
The only interruption, and that was very short, was to enable the Emperor to
receive the greetings of his old friend, King Humbert of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region></st1:place>, who had himself travelled by
forced marches for the purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Amid
a terrible storm of sleet and snow, on the night of March 11, the Imperial
party entered <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Those
who then saw the Emperor, whatever their political predilections, were amazed
at his look of health and strength. For months past a thick veil of secrecy had
been drawn over the life at the Villa Zirio. Naturally, therefore, rumour had
had it all her own way, and in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>
the general pessimism was undoubtedly fostered by the medical profession. They
had persuaded themselves that the Emperor was already in articula mortis, and
the Empress was openly censured for bringing him back at all. It was even
believed by many that he might very well die on the journey owing to the sudden
transition from the warm, equable climate of <st1:city w:st="on">San Remo</st1:city>
to the biting cold of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Berlin</st1:state></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
one certain fact which had been published was that he had undergone the
operation of tracheotomy, and that he could not speak owing to the tube in his
throat. But, apart from that, to the general astonishment, the Emperor was, or
seemed to be, not very different from his normal condition. At once he took up
the reins of power, granting audiences, and dealing for many hours every day
with State affairs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Though
the joy with which the friends of the new Emperor and Empress hailed their
accession was dashed by the thought of how brief must be the new reign, yet it
is abundantly evident that no such idea occurred to the Empress herself, and
that very fact seems to enhance the poignancy of the whole tragedy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">At
the beginning of the Emperor Frederick’s reign, a distinguished German wrote to
a friend: “The Empress, as you have rightly judged, is making her way among the
people. However brief her tenure of power will be, the more will the public at
large perceive the truly astounding richness and resource, the practised
leadership, and the affectionate disposition of that rare creature. She is
indefatigable, and gives a fresh indication of the grand aims she has in view
each day.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
is significant to note how all those who knew the Empress even slightly
welcomed the fact of the Emperor’s accession. Thus Mrs. Augustus Craven:
“Somehow I hope the present Emperor will live. Anyhow I am thankful that he is
still alive, and that she is Empress of Germany, also that perhaps after all
the very great deal there is in her is not to be lost for <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> and for <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
feeling in the Court and political world is clearly shown in the memoirs of
Prince Hohenlohe. He was received by the Empress a week after her return to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Berlin</st1:state></st1:place>, and he says that
he found her unchanged; “her frank and cheerful manner filled me with
astonishment.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Three
days later Prince Hohenlohe noted in his diary that already officials were
complaining of the interference of the Empress in public business.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Bötticher
told him that she had induced the Emperor to refuse his signature to the
Anti-Socialist Bill, and that he had only given way after <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:city></st1:place> had explained the matter to the
Empress. The Minister added that the Emperor had little power of resistance to
the influence of the Empress, and that she, again, was under the influence of
“certain advanced ladies.” If the Emperor’s illness, he went on, was of long
duration, all kinds of things might happen, but if the Emperor were well, or
should become so, the influence of the Empress would diminish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">A
few days later Prince Hohenlohe was himself able to judge how far this was true
about the Empress, for he went out to call on his Sovereign at Charlottenburg,
and found him with his wife. The Empress excused her presence by pleading the
necessity of supporting the Emperor during the audience. The whole of the
conversation had to be carried on, so far as the Emperor was concerned, by
means of writing-tablets. Hohenlohe observed that the Emperor would benefit by
the amount of work he had to do, at which the Sovereign nodded approvingly. At
the end of the interview:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The
Emperor placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled sadly, so that I could hardly
restrain my tears. He gave me the impression of a martyr; and, indeed, no
martyrdom in the world is comparable with this slow death. Everyone who comes
near him is full of admiration for his courageous and quiet resignation to a
fate which is inevitable, and which he fully realises.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But
it is plain that the Empress had not yet resigned herself to consider his death
as in any way imminent. Later in the same month, Hohenlohe had an audience of
the Empress, and during their conversation she said something which made it
clear to her old friend that she still entertained illusions as to her
husband’s real condition—indeed, he was himself so shaken by what she said that
he wrote in his diary: “It is perhaps possible that the illness will be of long
duration. The expectation of a speedy end has not yet been confirmed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">There
can be no doubt that the accession of the Emperor Frederick was expected in not
a few quarters to mean the almost immediate fall of Bismarck, but this expectation
left out of account various important factors of the situation. Both the new
Emperor and his Empress, though, as we have seen, they profoundly disapproved
of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:place></st1:city>’s
policy as a whole, nevertheless fully realised the Chancellor’s patriotism and
the unparalleled services which he had been able to render to the German
people. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:place></st1:city>,
in his own account of his relations with the Emperor, recalls that they began
as far back as 1848, when Prince Frederick William was only seventeen, and he
had since received from him various proofs of personal confidence, notably on
the occasion of the Dantzig episode in 1863. This confidence was, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:city></st1:place> declares, quite
independent of political principles and differences of opinion, and though many
attempts to shake it were made from interested quarters, they had no permanent
success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Later
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:city></st1:place> also
asserted roundly that the Emperor Frederick made it easy for him, by his
amiability and confidence, to transfer to him the affection he had cherished
for his father. He was both more open than his father had been to the
constitutional idea of Ministerial responsibility, and also less hampered by
family traditions in adjusting himself to political necessities. And <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:city></st1:place> goes on to state
that “all assertions of lasting discord in our relations are unfounded.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">On
the subject of the Crown Princess’s influence <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:place></st1:city> said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I
could not assume that his wife had the same kindly feeling for me; her natural
innate sympathy for her home had, from the beginning, shown itself in the
attempt to turn the weight of Prusso-German influence in the groupings of
European power into the scale of her native land; and she never ceased to
regard <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1:place>
as her country. In the differences of interest between the two Asiatic <st1:city w:st="on">Powers</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>, she wished to
see the German power applied in the interests of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> if it came to a breach.
This difference of opinion, which rested on the difference of nationality,
caused many a discussion between her Royal Highness and me on the Eastern
question, including the Battenberg question. Her influence on her husband was
at all times great, and it increased with years, to culminate at the time when
he was Emperor. She also, however, shared with him the conviction that in the
interests of the dynasty it was necessary that I should be maintained in office
at the change of reign.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
is interesting here to recall that on August 31, 1870, after the battle of <st1:city w:st="on">Beaumont</st1:city>, Busch obtained from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:city></st1:place> the following opinion of the then
Crown Prince:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“He
will be reasonable later on, and allow his Ministers to govern more, and not
put himself too much forward, and in general he will get rid of many bad habits
that render old gentlemen of his trade sometimes rather troublesome. [It is to
be feared that this uncomplimentary allusion is to the old Emperor.] For the
rest, he is unaffected and straightforward; but he does not care to work much,
and is quite happy if he has plenty of money and amusements, and if the
newspapers praise him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">A
very superficial judgment of the Emperor Frederick, and the suggestion that he
was too fond of money is particularly gratuitous. As a matter of fact, only the
year before his accession, in 1887, a certain Frenchman, Ballardin by name,
died, leaving the whole of his fortune, valued at several million francs, to
the then Crown Prince. M. Ballardin appeared to have been so embittered by
disputes with the French authorities that he determined to show his hatred and
contempt for his native country by the novel method of bequeathing his property
to the German Crown Prince, who, however, absolutely refused to accept even the
smallest portion of the legacy. That is certainly not the action of a man who
could be accused of a love of money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
may here be stated, on this subject of money, that when the Emperor Frederick
succeeded to the throne, there was in the hands of Baron Kohn, the private
banker of the old Emperor William, a sum of fifty-four million marks
(£2,700,000), which was bequeathed to the Emperor Frederick as a kind of family
treasure, to be controlled by the head of the House of Hohenzollern for the
time being. When the Emperor Frederick died, however, it was found that the
great bulk of this money had been invested abroad by his orders in the name of
his widow; her uncle, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and her cousin, King
Leopold of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Belgium</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
being the trustees. It is even asserted that the late Prince Stolberg resigned
at the time his office of Minister of the Imperial Household in consequence of
what he considered the diversion of this sum of money from the Hohenzollern
family. According to another version, however, only a portion of this money
became the absolute property of the Empress, the remainder being hers for life,
with power of appointment among her younger children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
return to Busch; he also obtained from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:place></st1:city>
a curious anecdote of the Empress:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“I
took the liberty to ask further what sort of woman the Crown Princess was, and
whether she had much influence over her husband. ‘I think not,’ the Count said;
‘and as to her intelligence, she is a clever woman; clever in a womanly way. She
is not able to disguise her feelings, or at least not always. I have cost her
many tears, and she could not conceal how angry she was with me after the
annexations (that is to say of Schleswig and <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hanover</st1:place></st1:state>). She could hardly bear the sight of
me, but that feeling has now somewhat subsided. She once asked me to bring her
a glass of water, and as I handed it to her she said to a lady-in-waiting who
sat near and whose name I forget, ‘He has cost me as many tears as there is
water in this glass.’ But that is all over now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">This
incident about the glass of water evidently much impressed Bismarck, for he
told it to Busch again some months later, when he said of the Crown Princess,
“She is in general a very clever person, and really agreeable in her way, but
she should not interfere in politics.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Empress’s relations with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:city></st1:place>
after her husband’s accession were more pleasant than they had ever been
before. The Emperor naturally leaned upon his wife, and her influence perhaps
appeared greater than it was. But, whatever its precise extent, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:place></st1:city>, with his
intensely practical mind, saw that it was at any rate a factor in the
situation, and he made use of it accordingly. It was, indeed, as natural for
him to cultivate her good will now, as it was for him a little later to heap
contumely and insult on her head. Such conduct was utterly incomprehensible to
the Empress, with her upright, loyal nature; she would have suffered less from
the Chancellor had she been able to find the key to both his greatness and his
littleness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But,
even at this time, when <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:place></st1:city>
had the strongest reasons for conciliating the Empress, there was one question,
that of the Battenberg marriage, on which he felt compelled to do battle with
her, and in which he vanquished her in fair fight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Empress, different as she was in many respects from her mother, was absolutely
at one with Queen <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Victoria</st1:state></st1:place>
in her views of everything which should regulate family life. Thus, she was as
firm a believer in the importance of securing happy marriages for her sons and
daughters as the Queen had proved herself to be. That the union of two human
beings should be guided by State considerations was to her abhorrent. She had
welcomed with eager delight her niece, Princess Irene of <st1:place w:st="on">Hesse</st1:place>,
as a daughter-in-law; she knew that the latter’s sister, Princess Victoria, had
formed a happy marriage with Prince Louis of Battenberg. Now it was Prince
Louis’s brother, Alexander of Bulgaria, who had been from boyhood a favourite
with her sister, Princess Alice, whom the Empress desired to see married to her
second daughter, Princess Victoria. The alliance had been mooted some four
years before, but was then considered, by <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:city></st1:place>
especially, as quite out of the question, if only because the hero of Slivnitza
had earned the intense hostility of the Tsar Alexander.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
July, 1885, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:city></st1:place>
told Hohenlohe that, whereas the Emperor and the Crown Prince were in favour of
the marriage of Princess Victoria with the King of Portugal, the Crown Princess
and the young Princess herself preferred the Prince of Bulgaria, and that there
was “great skirmishing” going on over the business.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">More
than a year later, in October, 1886, the old Emperor himself spoke to Hohenlohe
of the matter, and with some bitterness, declaring that the Crown Princess and
Princess Victoria still entertained the idea of this alliance. He said he had
questioned the Crown Prince, who had denied it, and he further observed that in
politics his son was ruled by his wife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
1888 the Empress still desired the marriage because she believed that the
affections of her daughter were seriously engaged. But, changed as were all the
conditions of her own and the new Emperor’s life, she at once found arrayed
against her the same powerful influences as before, with the addition of that
of her eldest son, the new Crown Prince. The difference of opinion in the
Imperial family became known to the whole of <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>,
and was very frankly discussed in the English and Continental Press. Matters
seemed at a deadlock. On the one side were ranged the Empress and all those
Royal personages who by kinship or marriage were connected with the Battenberg
family; on the other were the Crown Prince, Bismarck, and, it was whispered,
the Emperor Frederick himself, who had a great dislike to any marriage that
savoured of a mésalliance.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">This
was the position when Queen <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Victoria</st1:place></st1:state>
arrived at Charlottenburg to visit her stricken son-in-law. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:place></st1:city>, with his usual unerring eye for the
potentialities of a situation, seized the opportunity. He sought an audience of
the Queen, and succeeded in convincing her by his arguments that the Battenberg
alliance was really extremely inadvisable. Not until she found her mother
ranged among the opponents of the marriage did the Empress yield, and consent,
to use her own phrase, “to sacrifice her daughter’s happiness on the altar of
the Fatherland.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">We
have a slightly different, and probably less accurate, account of the
termination of the affair in Hohenlohe’s journal of May 17, 1888:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The
Empress had said that in the end it would be no misfortune if <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:place></st1:city> did retire. This was at once
retailed to him, whereupon the newspaper war. Malet reported to Queen <st1:state w:st="on">Victoria</st1:state> at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Florence</st1:place></st1:city>
that it was very disadvantageous for English interests that the Queen should
appear to interest herself in the Battenberg match. It would be well, more
particularly in view of her impending visit to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state>, to prevent people from thinking she
favoured the marriage. The English Ministry also concurred in this. Thereupon
Queen <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Victoria</st1:place></st1:state>
wrote a severe letter to her daughter, the Empress; and during her stay also
she expounded her views in an energetic fashion, which produced unhappy and
tearful scenes. The relations between Queen Victoria and the Imperial
Chancellor have shaped very well. They were enchanted with each other.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Empress’s belief that she had been fighting for her daughter’s happiness added
a special bitterness to her defeat at the hands of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bismarck</st1:city></st1:place>. It may, however, be stated that the
day came when the Empress Frederick acknowledged that she had been mistaken, at
least to some extent, in the qualities which she had attributed to Alexander of
Battenberg, and she lived to see her daughter make a happier marriage than the
Battenberg alliance would probably have ever been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Not
the least pathetic feature of the Hundred Day’s reign was the gallant
persistence of the Empress in fulfilling the duties of her new station. She
only held one Court, and one who was present has left a vivid description of
the strange scene:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The
Empress was dressed in the deepest mourning, indeed wrapped in black from head
to foot, her face hidden by a crape veil, while a long procession of women
likewise veiled in crape filed past the throne, their black gowns high in the
neck and skirts banded with crape a quarter of a yard wide, while long folds of
double crape fell upon the floor in guise of Court trains.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">On
May 24, the marriage of Prince Henry, the second son of the Emperor and
Empress, to his cousin, Princess Irene of <st1:place w:st="on">Hesse</st1:place>,
was celebrated at Charlottenburg. It was a bright and happy day in the midst of
sadness, and everything was done to surround the ceremony with brilliance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Death
was now drawing very near to the doomed Emperor. On June 1 he was conveyed by
boat from Charlottenburg to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">New</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Palace</st1:placetype></st1:place>, where he had been
born, where he had spent the happiest days of his married life, and the name of
which he now changed to “Friedrichskron.” But he was not allowed to die in
peace; his last days were disturbed by what is known as the Puttkamer incident.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Puttkamer,
a typical Bismarckian, had been Minister of the Interior for seven years. In
his official announcement of the old Emperor’s death, he had actually made no
allusion to the new Emperor; the latter in consequence insisted on the
Minister’s retirement as the condition of his signing the Bill prolonging the
life of the Reichstag to five years. Puttkamer’s resignation was gazetted on
June 11, and on the same evening Prince Bismarck gave a dinner at which the
fallen Minister was the guest of honour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Emperor Frederick died at Friedrichskron on June 15. The first message written
by the widowed Empress was to the aged Empress Augusta:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“She
whose one pride and happiness it was to be the wife of your son grieves with
you, afflicted mother. No mother ever had so good a son. Be proud and strong in
your sorrow.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-21630149035561289232014-11-05T22:02:00.002-08:002014-11-07T21:15:24.966-08:00With The King's Auspices, Mrs. Keppel's Seal Of Approval, The Countess Of Granard Eases Into A Comfortable Placement Within The Royal Coterie!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFDlrsoRMqgXFn1aa25P9o1gj3dZv11KdvAgienigSySdOJfAMYCOp7Qg4fgdTx97yWKRyM4EyDlvVqvPBEbFp4lU9ahu_WSekJsRFqwES-6_axetrRfD41Sw-Xa3XMb0iilODreoFUBQ/s1600/Granard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFDlrsoRMqgXFn1aa25P9o1gj3dZv11KdvAgienigSySdOJfAMYCOp7Qg4fgdTx97yWKRyM4EyDlvVqvPBEbFp4lU9ahu_WSekJsRFqwES-6_axetrRfD41Sw-Xa3XMb0iilODreoFUBQ/s1600/Granard.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt;">MRS.
KEPPEL LIKES COUNTESS GRANARD<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Countess of Granard and her husband, for that is the order in which they are
placed by society – will be the guests of the King at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Windsor</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Castle</st1:placetype></st1:place>
for the Ascot Race Week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Lady
Granard has eclipsed all the efforts made by titled Americans in this country
and at one bound has entered into the innermost circle of the King’s
friends. This is largely due to the fact
that Mrs. George Keppel has taken a great liking to her. “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Alice</st1:city></st1:place>”
as Mrs. Keppel is known, has never understood the meaning of jealousy and that
is the secret of her great success, not only with men, but with women. Her position is unassailable, and she knows
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
other night, Mr. and Mrs. George Keppel gave a very exclusive little bridge
dinner for the King. Lady Granard cannot
resist wearing a quantity of jewels and her attire was in striking contrast to
the other women invited to meet His Majesty.
Lady Arthur Paget, for instance was in black, and only wore a few
diamond ornaments and no jewels in her hair.
Lady Granard wore one of her famous wedding gift tiaras with huge
diamond drops, a diamond dog collar and any number of diamonds in her corsage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
is already whispered that some of the King’s older friends are criticizing Lady
Granard as being noisy and overdressed, but they have not reckoned with the
King, who enjoys noise when it is accompanied by flashes of wit as in Lady
Granard’s case, and who likes to see everyone round him looking their
best. Lady Granard’s success is assured
trustly because she does not allow a day to go by without a “boom” of some
kind, and, secondly, because when giving a purely political reception she
alters her manner to suit the occasion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">She
is demureness itself when addressing the dowdy wife or a Liberal member of
Parliament and she has a sweet word for each guest. Morever; she is studying politics and can
already talk brilliantly on the subject of the labor movement as it interests
her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1909<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">'Seal of approval!'</span></span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-45884854498581747002014-11-04T20:41:00.001-08:002014-12-26T21:27:37.149-08:00Keeping Up With The Karalis! Nash Rambler Introduces His Cast Of Characters From Imperium: Ottokar's Reflection!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 16pt;">Imperium</span></u></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-size: 21.6000003814697px;"><b><i><u>Ottokars' Reflection</u></i></b></span></span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt;">Archduke Heinrich Eugen Von</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt;">Saxe-Wurzburg-Gronenstahl</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">My second source of greatest diversion
and quite honestly amusement was found in my future “honorary brother-in-law”, Archduke
Heinrich Eugen von Saxe-Wurzburg-Gronenstahl. “Heini” was, in himself, a
thoroughly heavy fellow, although admirably good-natured and, I believe, a practical
and competent soldier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In physiognomy, he was tall and dark haired,
possessing a vapid stare from cold, limpid eyes, which only substantiated his
Habsburg lips and jaw, barely hidden by his moustache; a less than
positive hold over from his mother, Archduchess Helmtrud, whose notorious evil eye once scared away a rabid dog crouching over the gilded crib of her precious infant, Heini; even at this time inclining to a stoutness; which time decreed that he became afterward exceedingly corpulent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Ironically, at first he did not promise
amusement, but a rather malicious humor found much in him, owing to the extensive
and laborious circumstance that the poor fellow was acquainted with the
negotiations touching the marriage first suggested for Melita, and was fully
aware that he himself was in his lady's eyes only a <i>pis-aller</i>. As a Gronenstahl, his dignity might have refused such a
situation; but in the first instance he had been hardly more of a free agent
than Melita herself, and later on, as though he were determined to deprive
himself of all defense, he proceeded to fall genuinely in love with my
capricious but very attractive honorary sister. I was sorry for him, but I am
not aware that sympathy with people excludes amusement at them. I hope not, for
wide sympathies are a very desirable thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Heini, looking round for a friend,
honored me with his confidence, and during his visits to Scharttenberg used to
consult me almost daily as to how he might best propitiate his deity and wean
her thoughts from that other alliance which had so eclipsed his in its
prospective brilliance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"Girls are rather difficult
to manage," he used to say to me ruefully. "You'll know more about
them in a few years, Ottokar!"<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">'Meet the </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Karalis</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">!'</span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-64167918646015268782014-11-03T21:52:00.000-08:002014-12-18T21:27:45.110-08:00ESOTERIC NEWS: UPDATE! So You Think You Can Write? Or The Lure Of The Pen With Nash Rambler! The Imperial House of Karalis Saga Has Grown Into Four Volumes; Journey from 1848 – 1914 With Gripping Resonance! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">For those of you Esoteric who have
waited so patiently for the publication of my novel <b><i>Porphyrogénn</i></b></span><b><i>ē</i></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b><i>tos</i></b>,
I thank you for your continued support and excited interest, and although I
must sincerely apologize that it has seemed an eternity in the making; I too
share your disappointment in the delay!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Promised publication dates have
come and gone the way of the dodo with such rapidity; that the reality of such
a literary endeavor has almost become moot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Ironically, the initial push back
was of my own making, based on my insistence of editing to as near perfection
as possible, to eliminate any blemishes that would hinder the Esoteric
experience of reading the tome. What followed next was the dragging of feet by
our partner in this process, Amazon, which grew into further disagreement over
sundry items, leaving me no option but to pull the project altogether. After this belletristic denouement I decided
to perfect my attempts as a novelist by completing the entire four volumes
chronicling the Karalis family before further attempts were considered for the launching of books. Last week, just as <i>The Esoteric Curiosa</i> celebrated its
fifth anniversary of publication, I completed the last volume; which as it
turns out, is in reality, the first volume of the series. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">All four novels; <b><i>Patrikios</i></b>,
<b><i>Imperium</i></b>,
<b><i>Porphyrogénn</i></b></span><b><i>ē</i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">tos</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">,
and <b><i>De</i></b>
<b><i>Ceremoniis</i></b>;
portray the various members the Imperial House of Karalis and their respective reigns. The unraveling of this Imperial tale is
set against a backdrop of Court balls, conniving nobles, beautiful women, dashing
men, familial squabbles, a rebellious Empire, tragic assassinations and the
full force of Mother Nature herself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The novels begin with <b><i>Patrikios:
Anastasia’s Dilemma</i></b> and the Revolutions of 1848; with the Imperial
Karalis like so many of their Royal brethren, in exile, forced from their
throne; a throne of Balkan origin,
though a bit more evolved in the general sense of things, as Empires go. An exile that is hard to bear for the young
matriarch, the Empress Anastasia, a strong willed heroine, autocratic to her
finger tips; who fought so gallantly to save the throne of her husbands’
ancestors. An Empress, who feeling a
life in petty exile with her weak willed husband, and only child and heir,
Ottokar, Count di Zen</span>ē<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">tos, a fate worse than death; who
kept her Imperial brow ever focused on regaining the ancient throne for her
son. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Imperium: Ottokar’s Reflection: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">is
told in diary form, a first person appraisal and close analysis, of a third
person mindset. The young Emperor recounts his life in the beginning of his reign
in mid 19<sup>th</sup> century Europe, his boyhood coronation, early affairs
and duels, and his eventual marriage to a young girl; an arranged match that
caused the future Empress to be ignored by the Emperor, even though he was
compelled to woo her for the sake of the Karalis dynasty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Although the Karalis had been well
established for many centuries; thereby escaping the pettiness of a Ruritanian
stature, not unlike many Kingdoms and Empires of 19th century <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>,
there existed a state of flux within the realm of Palaiologoia. Historically a full-on autocracy; the
Imperial House of Karalis is finding itself at odds with the rising challenge
stemming from the politics of change, juxtaposed against the modernity of the
free thinking man. Nowhere is this more
apparent than the struggle that exists between, Crown Prince Arsène and his
father, the Emperor Ottokar, the focus of <b><i>Porphyrogénn</i></b></span><b><i>ē</i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">tos:
The Story Of Arsène.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">
The young Prince, on the brink of manhood, striving to come to terms
with the heavy burden of duty that lies so menacingly before him, is forced to
make decisions to offset the tradition of his ancestors against the peace of
mind he so desperately seeks; with the novel becoming essentially his journey
into becoming a man and a ruler.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Inspired by historical figures,
locales and situations, this historical quartet will introduce you to the fascinating
members of the Imperial House of Karalis.
Besides Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Ottokar and Empress Sophia, and
His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Arsène, you will meet a fair daughter of the
house, the beautiful Princess Xenia, and the younger heir and spare, Prince
Andronikos, this young sprig of Imperial blood, fated too early to be gathered
to his ancestors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Volume four,<b><i> De Ceremoniis: The Fall Of Basil</i></b>,
concludes our story with the tumultuous disintegration of fabled the Karalis on
the devastating precipice of World War I, a family now bankrupt of able bodied
minds to steer the Empire through the ragged shoals of Balkan diplomacy, with
the death of the Crown Prince Basil, a shy dreamer, who possessed none of the
typical characteristics of a future Emperor, but still idolized by his adoring subjects. A young Prince forced into a
loveless marriage, which set the stage for tragic romantic consequences that
would shake the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Imperial Court</st1:address></st1:street>
to its core. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Stay tuned my fellow Esoteric, I
am working diligently to make expedite these works and making them available to
you all as soon as possible -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">'The </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Karalis In Print</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">!'</span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-10741277076690256632014-11-02T20:20:00.002-08:002014-11-10T07:22:49.495-08:00Esoterica: An Esoteric ‘Just Because I Thought It Interesting!' “The Week Of ‘Vignettes By Marie, Week Second!’" October 27th – November 2nd, 2014<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 48pt;">ESOTERICA</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">For those of you Esoteric who have not befriended us on Facebook, you will be unaware of a daily feature of that page, “An Esoteric ‘Just Because I Thought It Interesting!’” A truly enjoyable inclusion, with an emphasis of enriching the little gray cells, as well as a visual feast for the eyes! Portraits, accompanied by thumb nail sketches provided for your Esoteric edification are the tenor of the day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">I highly encourage for those of you so inclined, stopping by here as a day by day routine.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u2:p></u2:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">However, I would encourage those of you who enjoy this feature to join The Esoteric Curiosa as a friend on Facebook so that you can relish it on a daily basis without having to wait a full week.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt;"><u2:p></u2:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Plantagenet Cherokee'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Thank you again for all your support, and don’t forget to click the link at the bottom of this post to become a friend.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just Because I Thought It Interesting!' October 27, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Vignettes By Marie, Week Second;’ A
Belgian Fashion Plate!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But there was especially a certain
dress worn by an aunt during the time of Queen <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Victoria</st1:place></st1:state>'s first Jubilee that I still have
in mind. The aunt was Louisa of Coburg, wife of Uncle Philip of Coburg Kohary,
brother of King Ferdinand of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bulgaria</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
She was the eldest daughter of King Leopold II of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Belgium</st1:place></st1:country-region> and one of the Grandes
Élégantes of her time. Her love for dress, in fact, was what the Puritans would
have called sinful, and was certainly ruinous and did much to make of her a
difficult wife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Otherwise she was a good-natured,
if somewhat foolish, lady who loved to be paid attention, even if it was only
to be teased by others. In fact, she was very much disappointed when one forgot
to tease her. She wanted to be teased about her clothes, her habits, her ideas,
her flirtations. She loved to be considered somewhat eccentric, which she was
in a way that was innocent enough had it not been so expensive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">We children called her Aunt
Philipa, which, according to us, cleverly united her and her husband's name,
Philip and Louisa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Aunt Philipa was, because of the
exaggerated number of her clothes, a grand source of interest to us younger
ones. It was like going to the theater. Even when she came to stay for only a
few days, she would bring so many hats that no cupboards sufficed, so she
generally pinned them all the way up the curtains, as far as her arms could
reach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">There was a memorable occasion at
Reinhardsbrunn when two of her hats were burned on a stove and one was eaten up
by the dogs. Aunt Philipa was very fair and had the small eyes and long nose of
her father; but all the same she was a decorative person in a showy sort of
way, and dress helped her greatly, though mama, of course, thoroughly
disapproved of the eccentricity of her fashions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">She had a killing way of laughing,
her nose playing a great part and her eyes nearly disappearing during the
process; it was, besides, a slow laugh which began gradually and went on for a
long time increasing in volume, even after everybody else had finished
laughing. She seemed to relish, so to say, the physical pleasure of laughing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">My parents poked fun at her all
the time, and this used to make her expand with a sort of childish glee. Her
absurdities were discussed and everybody made a point of inquiring with
exaggerated interest how many dresses, hats, cloaks, tea gowns, and so on, she
had brought with her. Clothes, in fact, were her very raison d'être.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">She would change her attire at
every hour of the day, and there was always a little bag, or so-called
reticule, to match each dress, and goodness only knows with what these
mysterious little bags were filled—powder and paint, mirror, scents and
sachets, smoking pastilles, nail polish, cigarettes, and so on. She was always
fiddling about in her little reticule.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">During the Jubilee she was our
parents' guest at Clarence House, and her toilettes were the excitement of the
whole household, from the scullery maid to the lady in waiting. The memorable
dress in question was an astonishing creation; one mass of small beads
shimmering between fire red and sapphire blue. I had never before seen anything
like this dress, nor perhaps since! It was a "stunner," as the
schoolboy would have said; it knocked you down and, as it was in the time of
the bustle, it was not only astonishing as to color but complicated as to
shape. She received ovations from all sides and, much gratified, started one of
her slow, long laughs that went on and on, increasing in volume, whilst she
screwed up her small eyes till they almost vanished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Later on, Aunt Philipa disappeared
out of our lives, and her end was less gay and brilliant than her beginning.
Poor Aunt Philipa!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just Because I Thought It Interesting!' October 28, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Vignettes By Marie, Week Second;’ The
Birth of Ileana!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Having been born at a period when
I had been very unhappy, I loved her with the love a lion mother might have for
her cub. Mignon was, so to say, the child of my flesh. I could almost feel with
my own body when Mignon had an ache or a pain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">If Mignon was the child of my
flesh, Ileana was certainly the child of my soul. She came only in the year
1909, and I was no more young; life had already to a certain degree disciplined
me. I was a more conscious personality, my character had ripened, I had learned
self-control and how to look life and circumstances squarely in the face. My
shoulders were thrown back and I was ready to take my own responsibilities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Her birth was a great joy to me
and I was glad she was a girl. Even at the hour of her birth her eyes were
enormous and dark blue. I remember how I lay on my back, the struggle over, the
new little world wanderer pressed to my heart, listening to the royal
salute—twenty-one guns for a princess. Had it been a son, there would have been
one hundred and one. Perhaps some would be disappointed that it was not a boy,
but I was not, and those guns were like the voice of my people rejoicing with me
over the birth of this fifth child. Later there could still be a boy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Today I no more resented being
told that my children belonged to the country; today it was my pride that it
should be so. I had gone a long way since October, 1893, when my first child
was born; then I was seventeen, today I was thirty-three, and had learned
something of patience and abnegation, and had understood the necessity of
constant effort toward a central goal, had understood also that serving was the
real object of life. We all have to learn to serve; some of us do not learn it
easily. I was amongst these, but today I was beginning to understand and, with
this understanding, uncle's personality became more comprehensible, more
sympathetic. He was not infallible—he, too, could err—but he was wise in most
things; above all, he was earnest and entirely convinced. He loved <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rumania</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and
although occasionally unnecessarily ponderous, he had a straight line of action
from which he never deviated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Ileana, from her earliest infancy,
had an earnestness about her which the other four did not possess. Her large
dark-blue eyes looked at you with deep inquiry, and the child seemed to
understand your every emotion with almost uncanny lucidity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Ileana was naturally well behaved.
Ileana, as is so seldom the case, was born with the law within her; it was
never necessary to teach Ileana the difference between right and wrong; Ileana
knew. But this did not make of her a prig. She was a gay, happy child, full of
life and high spirits, and when Mircea appeared early in the year 1913, Ileana
loved him with motherly ardor, and Mircea adored Ileana more than anyone on
this earth—more than his mother, more than his nurse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Thus we were a very happy family
before the war came to tear so many things up by the roots.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I have already related elsewhere
that it was one of King Carol's theories that he—not we—was to choose those who
were to educate and bring up our children. Later in life I understood many of
uncle's views and what seemed to us unnecessary tyrannies, but even today, with
the judgment of my ripe years, I consider that here he made a grievous mistake.
It gave rise to endless trouble in the household and the final result was
anything but satisfactory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">This, however, is one of those
inner griefs that it is unnecessary to enlarge upon; but much misfortune might
have been avoided, and much was brought into our lives, with far-reaching
consequences which, in a way, changed the face of history for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I can only say that we were not
allowed to bring up our two eldest children, and with this order of things
elements and influences were brought into the household which were disastrous
in more ways than one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But, nevertheless, I have many-
happy memories of our family life; some stand out quite particularly—visions of
the past, drenched with sunshine, gay with the sound of children's voices and
the pattering of small feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just Because I Thought It Interesting!' October 29, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of ‘Vignettes By Marie, Week Second;’ <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The Coronation of the Last Czar!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The second coach is not crowned
and the woman who sits within, though sumptuously attired, has no crown on her
head, for only after the Sacrament does she enter into her rights; it is the
empress mother who today still has precedence, and with it all crowned rights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Much more handsome than her
mother-in-law ever was, she sits magnificently upright, but she does not smile and
her expression is one of almost painful earnestness. There is a tightness about
her lips which, is disconcerting in one so young. There is no happiness in the
large, steady eyes, none of youth's buoyancy in her attitude, none of the
sweetness and confidence one expects in a young bride. It is as though she were
holding Fate off at arm's length; a-s though darkly guessing that life might be
a. foe, she must set out to meet it sword in hand. She is fully aware of the
solemnity of the moment, of all she represents, but it seems to awaken dread in
her rather than joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The golden coach passes, heads are
uncovered before the uncrowned brow; she bows very low in response to the
homage offered her. She is young, beautiful, dignified, but no smile softens
her lips, she looks into no man's eyes, but straight before her, as though
keeping her gaze fixed upon some inner vision—and yet for her, also, life
stands open like an unwritten book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">All through the many ceremonies,
the young empress never relaxed this severely aloof attitude, which was in
part, no doubt, timidity. Nothing ever seemed to give her pleasure; she seldom
smiled; and when she did, it was grudgingly, as though making a concession.
This, of course, damped every impulse toward her. In spite of her beauty, no
warmth emanated from her; in her presence enthusiasm wilted. Serious,
earnest-minded, with a high sense of duty and a desire toward all| that is good
and right, she was, nevertheless, not of those who win; she was too
distrustful, too much on the defensive; she was no warming flame. Life, like
all else, needs to be loved; those who cannot love life are vanquished from the
very start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">How well I can still see Alexandra
standing in all her glory, side by side with the emperor in the golden
cathedral in which they were to be crowned. The very atmosphere seemed golden;
a golden light enveloped the glittering assembly, come to render homage to
these youngest amongst the sovereigns of <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>;
golden also were Alexandra's robes. All eyes were fixed upon her. A beautiful
woman is always a source of interest, and how much more so when she stands,
crowned before all eyes, a figure apart, raised above her sisters, anointed,
imbued with a glamour few ever achieve. And Alexandra was beautiful; she was
also tall and dignified, actually dwarfing the emperor standing beside her. The
heavy vestments he wore seemed to overwhelm him—the prodigious crown of his
ancestors to be too heavy for his head; instinctively one remembered the giant
stature of those gone before him; his face was pale, but there was the light of
the mystic in his eyes. But his young wife stood steadily upright; her crown
did not appear to crush her, and the golden flow of her mantle cascading from
her shoulders made her appear even taller than she was. Her face was flushed,
her lips compressed; even at this supreme hour no joy seemed to uplift her, not
even pride; aloof, enigmatic, she was all dignity, but she shed about her no
warmth. It was almost a relief to tear one's gaze from her to let it rest upon
the emperor, whose caressing eyes and gentle expression made every man feel his
friend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An impressive ceremony, in a
gorgeous setting, the air a-throb with chant's so solemnly beautiful that they
were almost unearthly. They rose and swelled, filling the church with such
mighty waves of harmony that one's heart felt like bursting; but when the
strain became next to unbearable, the volume of sound would gradually decrease,
almost dying away into a whisper, and a great peace which was a strange blending
of joy and pain would flood the soul, and one was as though released. Through a
fragrant haze of incense, mysterious rituals were taking place; it was more
like a dream than reality. With slow movements grandly vested priests moved
hither and thither, hands raised in gestures of prayer or benediction. Their
robes were in tone with those of the saints who, with heavily haloed faces,
looked down from their walls upon the great of this world. Wherever the eye
rested, gold, nothing but gold, with here and there the flash of a precious
stone, red, blue or green.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">All faces were dim in this
atmosphere of solemn expectation; they had taken on something of the
immaterialness of the frescoed saints.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Alone the figures of the emperor
and empress stood out with symbolic significance, two shining apparitions
imbued for an hour with transient glory. And the thousand tapers reflected in
the glittering iconostas were like stars in God's heaven.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6DX1QOraqX8koOLxV4XLDyKgOQN_sgV_tiWpuWzSRFav0LYAoh5tLnNic8sYwCG9vgm4jWl_zkNDTIp3rvxMuwZnqANXw3DZzp6WMDDuENfJ2GEWzTs2Y6AcqMTdI1aebCSNySooLail/s1600/Willy+Wills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6DX1QOraqX8koOLxV4XLDyKgOQN_sgV_tiWpuWzSRFav0LYAoh5tLnNic8sYwCG9vgm4jWl_zkNDTIp3rvxMuwZnqANXw3DZzp6WMDDuENfJ2GEWzTs2Y6AcqMTdI1aebCSNySooLail/s1600/Willy+Wills.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
October 30, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of
‘Vignettes By Marie, Week Second;’ The Crown Prince Comes!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Crown Prince of Germany's visit to Bukharest in the spring of 1909 was a gayer
business; it, so to say, sounded another key; it was less ponderous, more
colorful and quite in keeping with the early-flowered season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Tall
and exceedingly slim, although not handsome, in his white cuirassier uniform,
polished top-boots and shining, eagle-crowned helmet, William was a goodly
sight, and as he was out for gaining hearts, he was at once exceedingly
popular. When on his best behavior, his manners were perfect, and he had a
charming way with the king, full of deference and attention, so that the old
gentleman was much pleased with him, though he was always somewhat disconcerted
by youth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Young
William had, however, a weakness, and this was his overgreat appreciation of
pretty ladies, which kept his uniformed guardians in a constant state of
anxiety. This anxiety was passed on to uncle, and joining forces, the Crown
Prince's every velleity toward freedom and arranging things pleasantly for
himself was ingeniously frustrated by the elders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
the great displeasure of the generals of his suite, he managed to get out of a
visit he was to pay to Constantza, in the hope of spending that day with me and
my young lady friends. This pleasant little plan was, however, brought to
naught by those in authority, annoyed at his refusal to inspect our seaport,
where an eager colony of Germans had been awaiting his coming with feverish
excitement. Therefore, instead of being allowed to enjoy himself in the company
most congenial to him, he was marshaled about from one dull institution to
another, and instead of drinking tea at Cotroceni, as he had hoped to do, he
finally had to take it with aunty, who talked to him about his grand and
great-grandfather, declaring that she was in intimate communion with Emperor
Frederick's spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Certain
concessions were, however, made both to William's tastes and youth, and he was
allowed to be amused, not perhaps as he would have liked, but strictly within
the limits of court etiquette.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">A
huge garden party was arranged at Buftea, the country seat of the Stirbeys;
dances in national costumes were danced on the grass, and as there were young
ladies galore, the bright young prince was able to use his charm to his heart's
content, both offering and receiving homage in a manner which betrayed perfect
routine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQpDpWWU_8OjB2i45vWu6BUiLAE0CuX-ED2hAITyRiF6GE199IqTfev0cnA537dj7UAJ-O7TpsKigrWpYoQV1A07aAZIyM3YNI-LJ0Bk85vmNdWQmyNL6vZO4QrbpFQcy7_kscs7AjnsF/s1600/CountFlan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQpDpWWU_8OjB2i45vWu6BUiLAE0CuX-ED2hAITyRiF6GE199IqTfev0cnA537dj7UAJ-O7TpsKigrWpYoQV1A07aAZIyM3YNI-LJ0Bk85vmNdWQmyNL6vZO4QrbpFQcy7_kscs7AjnsF/s1600/CountFlan.png" /></a></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
October 31, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of
‘Vignettes By Marie, Week Second;’ Aunt Marie Flanders!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Countess of Flanders, with her son Albert, now King of the Belgians,
represented that country. She was the only living sister of King Carol and
Fürst Leopold, and sister-in-law to King Leopold II of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Belgium</st1:place></st1:country-region>; and
Albert was, therefore, Nando's first cousin. He was extremely amusing and
witty, and we immediately became firm friends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
Countess of Flanders had a characteristically Hohenzollern profile. As to face,
she much resembled our dear Onkelchen; she had the same kindly drawl in her
voice; as to character, however, she was much more energetic and intransigent.
There was something manly and decided about her. Though handsome, she entirely lacked
feminine charm and her clothes smacked of the masculine. Jewels and evening
dress seemed out of place on her. Squarely built and forcible, she inspired you
with a feeling of confidence; but one sensed that there was nothing pliable or
yielding about Aunt Marie Flanders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtsM3s3lcOib9O9wps7TxTj84qMV-PrcPBL5vQBfPJ5ezTGg4M0LkgHkdpLdrRx1DvtDUBKAheXMj7Vjy6AzlBszZ9aBIs1An3CUbsTmUWWUuKWrCiVTNstCS3Trfks0jolkeJoJ-0Ipb/s1600/MB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtsM3s3lcOib9O9wps7TxTj84qMV-PrcPBL5vQBfPJ5ezTGg4M0LkgHkdpLdrRx1DvtDUBKAheXMj7Vjy6AzlBszZ9aBIs1An3CUbsTmUWWUuKWrCiVTNstCS3Trfks0jolkeJoJ-0Ipb/s1600/MB.jpg" height="640" width="502" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 1, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of
‘Vignettes By Marie, Week Second;’ ‘Our Hero’!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
greatest of all our friends—so to say, our hero—was Maurice Bourke, at that
time commander of our father's yacht, H. M. S. Surprise. How we loved him! He
had every quality needed to make him the ideal of three little girls with high
spirits and a desire for hero worship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">A
broad-minded, warm-hearted, genial gentleman was Maurice Bourke, with a
humorous way of seeing the good in his neighbor and of excusing the bad.
Generous, amusing, he allowed each man his due, and knew how to plead for a
culprit; besides, who could resist that crooked, white-toothed smile of his?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">For
us, Captain Bourke had extraordinary prestige, he was able to arouse in us
complete and undiscussed allegiance. I, for one, to quote a poet's undying
words, loved him "with the passion put to use in my old griefs and with my
childhood's faith."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">We
would have gone through fire and water for him. He could make us listen, obey
and submit as no one else. His word was magic. All revolts could be appeased by
Captain Bourke; he could make us yield to any rule and accept even those things
we most violently opposed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
remember a tragi-comic scene when Captain Bourke was sent to us because we had revolted
against our skirts being lengthened. We smelt danger, a trap! We did not want
to grow up, life was too exquisite as it was, we feared any change, anything
that might curtail our glorious liberty and independence. We had a subconscious
knowledge that there could be no going back. Lengthening skirts was a sign of
certain restrictions to our wild ways, it had something to do with the clipping
of wings and the putting on of chains, and we were prepared to oppose this innovation
with all the strength of our wills, which could become steel when rebellion
rose within us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Mama,
who was at her wits' end, sent our beloved captain to bring us to reason. This
was indeed a wily move; no deputy could have been better chosen. I cannot
remember what argument Maurice Bourke used, or in what way he beguiled us to
submission, but he did carry the day, and from then onwards we wore our dresses
the few inches longer considered in keeping with the growth of our limbs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Each
time there was rebellion in the air, Maurice Bourke was the one deputed to talk
reason to us, and such was our love for him that he could obtain from us the
most difficult concessions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Whenever
he was away, Captain Bourke would write long and amusing letters, which we faithfully
answered, and in this way a very regular correspondence was kept up—a
correspondence which did not cease till his death many years later, but much
too early for those who loved him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">H.
M. S. Surprise was the yacht at the disposal of the commander in chief. My
mother often followed the cruises my father made with his fleet. Thus she saw
many interesting places. I have chosen a letter in which she describes a visit
to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montenegro</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
She was an excellent letter writer, and I am sure that this picture of those
regions which have now changed hands will be interesting to anyone who reads
it. All this, as can be seen by the date on the letter, was a very long time
ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">CETTINIE</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">MONTENEGRO</st1:country-region></st1:place>,<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"October 3rd,
1887.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"My
Darlings: Here we are in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montenegro</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
and this curious country is so unlike anything else that I think myself in a
dream. But I must tell you what we did after Zara. The night before we left
that place, we had a ball at the governor's. I did not dance, as I knew nobody,
but had to talk to some ladies who only spoke Italian. We left after an endless
supper and next day started very early for Spalato and separated from the
squadron, which came on straight to Cattaro. We had the idea of stopping at
another pretty place before Spalato, called Trau, and spent the night at anchor
there. We saw a very interesting and fine old church there and a most curious
small town. In the evening came a frightful thunderstorm, to which we are
getting quite accustomed, though they make a terrific row.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"Now
Mrs. Monson reads to Captain Bourke and myself when we have free time, and he
sticks in all the things in the scrap book of our cruises. It is getting quite
interesting and Captain Bourke does it beautifully. Photographs, menus,
invitations, newspapers, sketches, all goes in, and our kind captain is so
pleased to have this occupation in his free hours. He is a wonderfully
practical and kind man, thinks of everything and makes our life very
comfortable and pleasant. At Spalato we saw the most interesting remains of
Diocletian's palace, into the middle of which is built the town. The cathedral
is an ancient Roman temple.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"In
the afternoon we went to see the remains of the old town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Salona</st1:place></st1:city> which are just being excavated, but it
began to pour with rain and before we got home we were almost drenched. When we
had to cross from the shore to the ship, there was such a downpour that we
could hardly distinguish the Surprise and got on board at last all dripping.
The weather being so bad, we decided to start only next morning. It was blowing
hard then, but as we had to travel the whole time between the islands, we did
not feel it and anchored again at night in a small bay, to arrive at Cattaro
next morning and not in the dark. I got up before six, to be ready before we
began to toss about, and we had a few nasty hours before we got in to the
wonderful <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Cattaro</st1:placename></st1:place>. It is exactly like a big lake
surrounded by immense mountains. We took an hour and a half before we reached
the end of it where the small town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cattaro</st1:place></st1:city>
is situated. We found there the whole squadron. Next day, Saturday, we went to
a picnic given by the officers of the Alexandra on the shore, in a small bay.
It was great fun; they had all sorts of games, races, jumping through the
water, and got all very hot and dirty. Some even played various instruments and
were like a lot of children.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"Yesterday
morning we started from Cattaro at eight and had a magnificent drive of six
hours over the mountains. You never saw such a splendid view and such a magnificent
road. George went with us, and we had, besides, Mrs. Monson, Captain Bourke and
Mr. Keppel. Unfortunately, we got into a mist and could not see the marvelous
view from the very top. At the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montenegro</st1:place></st1:country-region>
frontier the Prince met us, and we were very pleased to see him, as he is a
very old friend and such an amiable man. He had prepared a luncheon in a small
house belonging to him and we were very hungry after the long drive. The Prince
himself and every man in the country wears the beautiful national dress. They
are such handsome men, even the common peasants, and so very friendly and
respectful.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"But
curious enough it seems to us hardly ever to meet a woman in the streets. They
are very modest and stay at home, but the men walk about, and in the evening dance
a very curious war dance, much wilder than the Scotch reel. They sing to it
some wild song which sounds so curious in the stillness of the night. Before we
reached the town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cettinie</st1:place></st1:city>
we were met by the Prince's eldest son, a very pretty boy aged sixteen, very
tall and dark, with most excellent manners and such a bright, clever look. He
was on horseback at the head of a cavalry escort, mounted on very small, strong
ponies. . . .”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"On
the Tuesday we went on an expedition to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">lake</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Scutary</st1:placename></st1:place>,
and it was lovely scenery. We first went by road, then down a river in a small
steamer and into the lake, with grand mountain scenery. The Prince is building
a small house on a peninsula, and we had to land on the rocks and go up steep
hill, which I did not like much in the heat, but the good people pull one up
with such energy that one has to get on without stopping. We had Lunch
out-of-doors. On the way back, the Prince killed a very poisonous make that was
going to get up on its tail. We returned to Cattaro yesterday for luncheon with
the Prince and his son, and they visited most of the ships; then papa gave a
big dinner on the Alexandra and they left this morning.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"I
was so pleased to get news twice from you here. I hope Sandra has been to the
dentist, as she ought soon to take off her plate. Arrange a nice birthday for
Alfred. But how sad to be far away on mine! I send you all many kisses.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"Your old<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"MAMA”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">"I
am so pleased Mademoiselle liked her presents."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
his uniquely humorous way, Captain Bourke would also paint his future portrait
as that of an old red-faced admiral with thick, curly white hair and jovial
smile. He never lived to become an admiral, alas, and the latter part of his
career was darkened by a terrible naval disaster, the loss of H. M. S. Victoria.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Well
do I remember receiving the news of that disaster, a few months after my
marriage, whilst I was struggling amidst the difficulties of adjustment in a
foreign country. My mother telegraphed the loss of the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Victoria</st1:place></st1:state>, but that Maurice Bourke, thank
God, was amongst the saved. The shock was terrible, but I remember my tears of
gratitude because nothing had happened to "Captain dear," as we
called our great friend.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">An Esoteric ‘Just
Because I Thought It Interesting!'
November 2, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“The Week Of
‘Vignettes By Marie, Week Second;’ ‘Alas, Alfred’!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Alas,
Alfred is in bed, he is not at all well.
We decided to take a long expedition up to the top of the
mountains. We started at eight in the
morning and rode till twelve noon or one and then had lunch right at the top of
the highest mountain then sent away our horses and prepared to go down a very
difficult descent. Foolishly enough, Alfred
whom it seems had been feeling already not at all well when we started, never
said a word. At the end of a ¼ of an
hour, he was entirely exhausted and could not walk another step. He was seized by a violent attack of fever
and we could not get him on at all. There
we were! Right at the top of the mountains, hours to walk to get home and no
possibility of Alfred taking another step; it seems he has still some other
compliant which I cannot explain as I do not know well, all the gentlemen of
the party carried him by turns; you must understand that the whole way there
was nothing but rocks, so you can imagine the difficulty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
really have no free time at all to myself, Boris always sits with me while I am
with Alfred and we have become so fond of each other. He is such a nice, nice boy when one knows
him better, and I do so enjoy having somebody so young. Alfred continues to be well enough, but has
to remain quite quiet and cannot take party in any of the fun. But he is really a very good and quite
patient. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
have talked to Alfred very seriously, but I am sure it has made no impression
upon him, because he has nothing to hold him, no moral feelings, no particular
affection for anyone. The greatest luck
for him, would be that he should meet with a really nice Princess whom he would
love and marry; I am sure the only way to keep him well would be to marry him,
but then the two questions are; Would he be a good husband and is he well
enough? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-74465334655884383372014-11-01T22:09:00.001-07:002014-11-04T20:59:13.437-08:00Keeping Up With The Karalis! Nash Rambler Introduces His Cast Of Characters From Patrikios: Anastasia's Dilemma!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpcSMuQYmd3xyiYFH4iIEgMXF9qhauKlL9UL_ERGkgfnSG-gm7-XXAU41w3kvB6KO6PT2bTIVlbNheSnhLes2N5LsZPUFKVVc30kAf69QOtgdGAfxrduqJqbrnZ3ZhiOQwwU0gmMYXWBO/s1600/Princess+Anastasia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpcSMuQYmd3xyiYFH4iIEgMXF9qhauKlL9UL_ERGkgfnSG-gm7-XXAU41w3kvB6KO6PT2bTIVlbNheSnhLes2N5LsZPUFKVVc30kAf69QOtgdGAfxrduqJqbrnZ3ZhiOQwwU0gmMYXWBO/s1600/Princess+Anastasia.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 16pt;">Patrikios</span></u></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-size: 21.6000003814697px;"><b><i><u>Anastasia's Dilemma</u></i></b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14pt;"></span></b></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: medium;"><b>Princess Anastasia</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Her
Imperial Highness, the Princess Anastasia raised herself from the organ, the smile at once
left her regal face, and she stood expectant, erect, even rigid with
sovereignty. Her Imperial Highness was
tall beyond the height of a woman, Royal or otherwise, slender framed, but of a
gentle fullness. The lines of her long
body rose through her draperies, soft and suave and round, modulated to the
play of her great stature. The Princess’ arms sloped slowly upwards from her little hands into the smooth plumpness
of her shoulders. Her eyes were large
and equitable, cool. Soft and abundant with emotion, two wondering, and
changing hazel globes of thought. Her
hair struck an impression of darkness upon the first sight, but, more nearly
observed, was flooded with auburn, and ran ever to red upon the verges. The face was pale, of a clear color, delicately
molded, and fastidiously set upon a beautiful neck. The features showed trivial inequalities, but
were all harmonized and attuned in the gentle curves and contours of that
admirable and melancholy face. A
charming woman, but a trifle self-willed; one who felt Royal eyes brew no
tears; Royal hearts beat to no other tune than that of a proud
sovereignty. The face of pride she
showed, the presentment of haughty anger, her glittering eyes, and the scornful
posture of her lips, all underpinning her chilled politeness. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">'Meet the </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Karalis</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">!'</span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-73128504230630616522014-10-31T20:39:00.004-07:002014-11-05T22:00:16.804-08:00Five Years, Thousands Of Posts, & Almost Ten Million Visitors Later, The Esoteric Curiosa Evolves Into A Place To Learn & Be Entertained!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXdUj3mQzG7gDT1yTeFyRULlgrRQnDQDQNVPTwdshNnrPXJ0H8QG8GMZ_tOndrjnbmnJ8aMPrBE1ur-8r8dXEO1TsNuRE-O3j6bUwbZ_BE3dfI91qaD-tzkCBZOtPaRGxYit52aik6C-y/s1600/WSH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXdUj3mQzG7gDT1yTeFyRULlgrRQnDQDQNVPTwdshNnrPXJ0H8QG8GMZ_tOndrjnbmnJ8aMPrBE1ur-8r8dXEO1TsNuRE-O3j6bUwbZ_BE3dfI91qaD-tzkCBZOtPaRGxYit52aik6C-y/s1600/WSH.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">“Pure history, a rigid
exposé of the past, a faithful portrait of the things, that were - a study of
universal history, that resembles a magazine of materials for building, the general
edifice of history itself!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Though
the journey from October 31<sup>st</sup>, 2009 to October 31<sup>st</sup>, 2014
has been a long one; much change has occurred, most of which, I think is for the
better, however, one aspect of <i>The
Esoteric Curiosa </i>that remains firmly entrenched in it’s makeup, is that the
very purpose of its existence is to primarily fulfill the obscure interests of the
fellow <i>Esoteric</i> who enjoys the more
arcane subjects available to human knowledge.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
individual object of interest which every <i>Esoteric</i>
proposes to themselves in studying history, whether they wish to make it their
own as a principal department of knowledge, or only as a science auxiliary to
another chosen department, or as a branch of instruction belonging to a general
scientific education, must indeed have an important influence upon the method
and extent of this study; but the ideal basis of the same will always be a
summary, general history, or the history of the world in its acquisition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Such
a history makes the <i>Esoteric</i> who
consults <i>The Esoteric Curiosa</i> acquainted
with the extent and the most general form of the historical province, with the
coherence of its principal parts, and with their reciprocal relations; it
raises the <i>Esoteric</i> to that elevated
point of view, from which they can survey and judge innumerable facts; its
forms, since it exhibits only the greatest, the historical taste; teaches,
consequently, in studying isolated histories, to view, appreciate and class
events justly, and gives a rational direction to the choice of these particular
studies, or these fields to be selected for <i>Esoteric</i>
edification.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
philosophy of <i>The Esoteric Curiosa </i>and
it’s stating of history; is that which converts a sterile treasure of the
memory into nourishment for the head and heart, or that which makes it a
pleasure in obtaining a true science.
Without a philosophical view, all investigation, study, or criticism of
history is fruitless. As belonging to
this research are usually reckoned in particular: (A). Examination of the importance and
authenticity of facts; (B) Acquaintance with the causes and consequences of the
same, and finally, (C), rational and useful application of this knowledge to
educational growth, fulfillment of research, or pure entertainment, or a
combination thereof. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
is indispensably necessary to apply, in various ways, logic, psychology,
anthropology, and the greater part of the other branches of practical and
speculative philosophy; and it is in the very application of these sciences,
and the advantage derived from it, in illustrating and enriching history, that
the philosophy of history consists. In
general, history is the most worthy and inexhaustible subject for Esoteric
investigation; but it ceases to be so when it loses its purity. History ought not, therefore, in its
investigations and representations, to depend upon or be biassed by any
retrieval system. It has one single object;
the representation of the past. It is to
what results this will lead the Esoteric to peruse <i>The Esoteric Curiosa</i>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">My
deepest gratitude to the almost 10 million of you who have visited, and
continue to visit <i>The Esoteric Curiosa</i>,
it is indeed a pleasure for me to share what I find to be the most fascinating.</span><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">NR</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Esoteric Curiosa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;">'Learning Station!'</span></span></div>
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The Esoteric Curiosahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964769499598784261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3688610736129997510.post-22011993264936175902014-10-30T23:20:00.002-07:002014-10-31T20:37:15.601-07:00"Ancestral Portraits" ~ Heredity Behind The Face; The Source Of Catherine The Great's Biggest Fear, Ivan VI, Russia's Infant Emperor Of Germany Origins!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ahnenreihe
Of Tsar VI<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1. Ivan VI, Tsar de Russie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1740-1764<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Parents:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">2. Anton Ulrich, Prinz von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1714-1775<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">3. Anna Leopoldovna, Grand Duchesse de
Russie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1718-1746<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Grandparents:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">4. Ferdinand Albrecht II, Herzog von
Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1680-1735<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">5. Antoinette Amalie, Prinzessin von
Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1696-1762<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">6. Karl Leopold, Herzog von
Mecklenburg-Schwerin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1678-1747<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">7. Catherine Ivanovna,Tsarevna de Russia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1692-1733<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Great Grandparents:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">8. Ferdinand Albrecht I, Herzog von
Braunschweig-Bevern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1636-1687<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">9. Christine, Prinzessin von
Hessen-Eschwege.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1648-1702<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">10. Ludwig Rudolf, Herzog von
Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1671-1735<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">11. Christina Louisa, Prinzessin zu
Oettingen-Oettingen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1671-1747<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">12. Friedrich I, Herzog von
Mecklenburg-Schwerin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1638-1688<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">13. Christine Wilhelmine, Landgräfin von
Hessen-Homburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1653-1722<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">14. Ivan V, Tsar de Russie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1666-1696<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">15. Praskovia Feodorovna Saltykova.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1664-1723<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Great-Great
Grandparents:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">16. August, Herzog von Braunschweig-Dannenberg-Wolfenbüttel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1579-1666<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">17. Sophia Elisabeth, Herzogin von
Mecklenburg-Güstrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1613-1676<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">18. Friedrich. Landgraf von Hessen-Eschwege.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1617-1655<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">19. Eleonore Katharina, Pfalzgräfin von Zweibrücken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1626-1692<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">20. Anton Ulrich, Herzog von
Braunschweig-Lüneburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1633-1714<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">21. Elisabeth, Prinzessin von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1634-1704<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">22. Albrecht Ernst I, Fürst zu
Oettingen-Oettingen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1642-1683<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">23. Christine Friederike, Herzogin von
Württemberg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1644-1674<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">24. Adolf Friedrich I, Herzog von
Mecklenburg-Schwerin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1588-1658<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">25. Maria Katharina, Herzogin von
Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1616-1665<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">26. Wilhelm Christoph, Landgraf von
Hessen-Homburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1625-1681<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">27. Sophie Eleonore, Landgräfin von
Hessen-Darmstadt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1634-1663<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">28 Alekseï Ier Mikhaïlovitch, Tsar de Russie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1629-1676<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">29. Mariia Ilyitchina Miloslavskaïa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1625-1669<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">30. Feodor Petrovich Saltykov.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">31. Anna Mikhailovna Tatichtcheva.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Great-Great-Great
Grandparents:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">32. Heinrich, Herzog von
Braunschweig-Dannenberg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1533-1598<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">33. Ursula, Prinzessin von Sachsen-Lauenburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1545-1620<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">34. Johann Albrecht, Herzog von
Mecklenburg-Güstrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1590-1636<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">35. Elisabeth, Herzogin von
Mecklenburg-Schwerin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1584-1616<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">36. Moritz, Landgraf von Hessen-Kassel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1572-1632<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">37. Juliana, Gräfin von Nassau-Siegen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1587-1643<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">38. Johann Kasimir, Pfalzgraf von Zweibrücken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1589-1652<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">39. Katharina Vasa, Prinsessa av Sverige.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1584-1638<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">40. August, Herzog von Braunschweig-Dannenberg-Wolfenbüttel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1579-1666<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">41. Dorothea, Prinzessin von Anhalt-Zerbst.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1607-1634<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">42. Friedrich, Herzog von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1581-1658<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">43. Eleonore, Prinzessin von Anhalt-Zerbst.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1608-1681<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">44. Joachim Ernst, Graf zu
Oettingen-Oettingen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1612-1658<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">45. Anna Dorothea, Gräfin zu
Hohenlohe-Neuenstein.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1621-1643<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">46. Eberhard III, Herzog von Württemberg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1614-1674<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">47. Anna Katharina, Gräfin zu Salm-Kyrburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1614-1657<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">48. Johann V, Herzog von
Mecklenburg-Schwerin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1558-1592<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">49. Sophie, Prinzessin von Holstein-Gottorp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1569-1634<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">50. Julius Ernst, Herzog von
Braunschweig-Dannenberg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1571-1636<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">51. Marie, Gräfin von Ostfriesland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1582-1616<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">52. Friedrich I, Landgraf von Hessen-Homburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1585-1638<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">53. Magdalena Elisabeth, Gräfin von
Leiningen-Westerburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1604-1667<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">54. Georg II, Landgraf von Hessen-Darmstadt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1605-1661<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">55. Sophia Eleonore, Prinzessin von Sachsen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1609-1671<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">56. Mikhaïl I, Tsar de Russie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1596-1645<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">57. Eudoxia Strechnieva.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1608-1645<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">58. Ilya Miloslavski.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">1594-1668<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">59. Untraced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">60-63.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Untraced.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";"><b><u>THE
DEAD FOES</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">It
had wofully chanced then the youthful retainer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
behold on earth the most ardent-belovèd<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">At
his life-days’ limit, lying there helpless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
slayer too lay there, of life all bereavèd,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Horrible
earth-drake, harassed with sorrow:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
round-twisted monster was permitted no longer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
govern the ring-hoards, but edges of war-swords<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Mightily
seized him, battle-sharp, sturdy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Leavings
of hammers, that still from his wounds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
flier-from-farland fell to the earth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Hard
by his hoard-house, hopped he at midnight<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Not
e’er through the air, nor exulting in jewels<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Suffered
them to see him: but he sank then to earthward<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Through
the hero-chief’s handwork. I heard sure it throve then<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But
few in the land of liegemen of valor,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Though
of every achievement bold he had proved him,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
run ’gainst the breath of the venomous scather,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Or
the hall of the treasure to trouble with hand-blows,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">If
he watching had found the ward of the hoard-hall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">On
the barrow abiding. Beowulf’s part of<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
treasure of jewels was paid for with death;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Each
of the twain had attained to the end of<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Life
so unlasting. Not long was the time till<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
tardy-at-battle returned from the thicket,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
timid truce-breakers ten all together,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Who
durst not before play with the lances<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
the prince of the people’s pressing emergency;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">But
blushing with shame, with shields they betook them,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">With
arms and armor where the old one was lying:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">They
gazed upon Wiglaf. He was sitting exhausted,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Foot-going
fighter, not far from the shoulders<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Of
the lord of the people, would rouse him with water;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">No
whit did it help him; though he hoped for it keenly,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">He
was able on earth not at all in the leader<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Life
to retain, and nowise to alter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
will of the Wielder; the World-Ruler’s power<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Would
govern the actions of each one of heroes,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">As
yet He is doing. From the young one forthwith then<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Could
grim-worded greeting be got for him quickly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Whose
courage had failed him. Wiglaf discoursed then,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Weohstan
his son, sad-mooded hero,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Looked
on the hated: “He who soothness will utter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Can
say that the liegelord who gave you the jewels,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
ornament-armor wherein ye are standing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">When
on ale-bench often he offered to hall-men<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Helmet
and burnie, the prince to his liegemen,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">As
best upon earth he was able to find him,—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">That
he wildly wasted his war-gear undoubtedly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">When
battle o’ertook him. The troop-king no need had<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
glory in comrades; yet God permitted him,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Victory-Wielder,
with weapon unaided<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Himself
to avenge, when vigor was needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">I
life-protection but little was able<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
give him in battle, and I ’gan, notwithstanding,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Helping
my kinsman (my strength overtaxing):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">He
waxed the weaker when with weapon I smote on<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">My
mortal opponent, the fire less strongly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Flamed
from his bosom. Too few of protectors<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Came
round the king at the critical moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Now
must ornament-taking and weapon-bestowing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Home-joyance
all, cease for your kindred,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Food
for the people; each of your warriors<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Must
needs be bereavèd of rights that he holdeth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">In
landed possessions, when faraway nobles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">Shall
learn of your leaving your lord so basely,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">The
dastardly deed. Death is more pleasant<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Plantagenet Cherokee";">To
every earlman than infamous life is!”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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