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A  Child  King  and  a  Child  Queen. 
THE  RESPONSIBILITIES"  OF  TWO  ROYAL  WIDOWS. 
PLAYING  at  royalty  we  have  often  heard  of,  and 
the  phrase  always  brings  to  our  minds  a  thought 
of  masquerading,  of  assuming  a  part  not  really  one’s 
own.  Yet  really  this  playing  a  part  is  all  that  can  as 
yet  be  attributed  to  the  little  king  and  queen,  real 
though  they  be,  who  have  fallen  heirs  to  the  thrones 
of  Spain  and  Holland. 
“  Place  to  the  ladies  !”  is  a  good  thing,  even  for  a 
little  king  to  learn  ;  yet  as  the  little  Alphonso,  though 
younger,  antedates  the  Pride  of  Holland  as  a  ruler,  we 
will  consider  him  first.  The  eyes  of  the  world,  as  well 
as  the  eyes  of  their  own  worshipful  subjects,  are  turned 
with  interest  and  even  affection  toward  these  royal 
children  who,  if  we  may  believe  the  stories  told  of 
them,  are  as  interesting,  even  as  naughty  at  times, 
and  to  the  full  as  lovable  as  each  and  every  other 
mother’s  own  little  ones.  , 
It  has  been  said  of  Alphonso  XIII.  that  he  is  perhaps 
the  most  popular  sovereign  in  the  world  ;  it  may  be 
that  in  his  lovable  childhood,  this  five-year-old  mon¬ 
arch  is  more  popular  than  he  may  be  when  older.  Hut 
his  mother,  the  Queen  Regent  Christina,  is  a  most 
sensible  woman,  and  it  is  hoped  that  she  may  be  able 
to  rear  her  boy  to  be  a  strong  and  noble  and  wise  ruler 
of  his  people.  Hut  many  are  the  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  this — difficulties  which  the  mother  of  less  rank  has 
not  to  encounter.  The  requirements  of  Spanish  eti¬ 
quette  are  most  rigid,  and  even  those  who  are  placed 
in  charge  of  the  royal  boy  can  exercise  no  such  author¬ 
ity  over  him  as  is  given  to  the  guardians  or  tutors  of 
ordinary  childhood.  It  is  said  that  a  palace  footman 
who  saved  the  king  from  a  sad  tumble  down  the  stair¬ 
case  was  discharged  for  having  dared  to  touch  the 
royal  person  with  his  plebeian  hands,  although  he  was 
rewarded  for  the  real  service,  and  another  place  was 
found  for  him. 
The  king  is  carefully  drilled  in  every  feature  of  the 
Spanish  code  of  manners,  court  etiquette,  and  conver¬ 
sation  in  both  Spanish  and  German.  Hut  he  will  eat 
with  his  fingers  instead  of  with  a  fork,  sometimes,  just 
like  any  other  boy,  in  spite  of  what  kings  must  or 
must  not  do. 
People  the  world  over  have  been  laughing  at. the 
story  of  the  king  and  his  squirt-gun.  Naturally,  his 
relatives  are  fond  of  the  interesting  little  fellow,  and 
one  of  them  brought  from  Vienna  a  present  of  a  squirt- 
gun  for  him  to  use  in  watering  the  plants  in  his  own 
little  garden,  for  which  he  displays  much  fondness. 
Hut  the  gun  threw  a  glorious  stream  to  a  great  height, 
and  soon  became  most  enjoyable  as  a  means  of  spray¬ 
ing  works  of  art  and  fine  draperies  ;  and  of  experi¬ 
ments  in  various  interesting  directions.  The  young 
king’s  evil  genius  whispered  in  his  ear  one  day  that  it 
would  be  delightful  sport  to  baptize  some  of  the  court 
favorites  with  his  small  sprinkler.  It  was  the  king, 
however,  and  no  one  dared  to  complain  ;  but  a  big  gen¬ 
eral  in  splendid  blue  and  gold  uniform  made  a  tempt¬ 
ingly  shining  mark  one  evening,  and  although  he  could 
by  no  means  retaliate,  he  was  shrewd  enough  to  place 
himself  within  reach  of  the  queen’s  eye.  The  matter 
was  brought  to  her  notice,  and  it  was  decided  in  solemn 
conclave  that  a  man’s  hand  was  needed  on  the  rein  to 
curb  the  frisky  propensities  of  young  Spanish  royalty. 
Equally  fortunate  in  having  a  wise  and  good  mother, 
perhaps  almost  equally  beloved  by  her  subjects,  yet 
quite  a  contrast  in  character  to  the  Spanish  ruler,  is 
Wilhelmina,  the  10-year-old  Queen  of  Holland.  She  is 
said  to  be  the  richest  heiress  in  the  world  :  but  she  is 
sweet-tempered  and  beneficent  in  disposition  ;  and  in 
addition  to  giving  her  the  most  thorough  education, 
her  mother’s  chief  aim  seems  to  be  to  keep  her  fresh 
and  in  love  with  simple  pleasures  and  simple  habits. 
She  rows,  and  plays  ball,  rides  a  Shetland  pony,  and 
has  a  pigeon-house  with  150  pigeons,  which  she  espe¬ 
cially  loves  to  feed.  She  has  numberless  dolls,  and  is 
allowed  plenty  of  playmates.  She  is  already  some¬ 
what  well  grounded  in  four  languages,  and  has  a  habit 
of  talking  to  herself,  making  up  stories  and  verses. 
The  Queen  Regent  and  Wilhelmina,  upon  the  occa¬ 
sion  of  making  a  visit  to  one  of  the  principal  cities  of 
the  realm,  declined  a  public  reception,  asking  that  the 
money  that  would  have  been  thus  used  be  appropriated 
to  the  help  of  the  poor  of  the  city.  In  consequence 
of  this  unique  action  on  their  part,  30,000  poor  people, 
it  was  said,  were  aided  in  some  way.  In  no  other  way. 
possibly,  could  the  queen  so  quickly  become  intrenched 
in  the  affections  of  the  mass  of  her  subjects. 
Wilhelmina  is  sociable  in  her  manners,  and  has  been 
brought  up  without  any  notion  that  she  is  greatly 
superior  to  other  children.  In  this,  perhaps,  lies  the 
greatest  contrast  between  the  educational  tendencies 
of  the  lives  of  the  Spanish  and  Dutch  rulers.  It  is  said 
that  at  one  time,  when  sleighing  with  her  mother,  the 
little  queen  asked  to  be  allowed  to  engage  in  her  fav¬ 
orite  sport  of  snow-balling  with  some  children  in  the 
street,  who  were  merrily  engaged  in  pelting  one  an¬ 
other  with  snow.  Permission  being  granted,  a  de¬ 
lightful  half  hour  was  spent  with  her  subjects,  and 
the  sleigh  finally  passed  out  of  sight  followed  by  hearty 
cheers. 
It  will  be  but  a  few  short  years  before  this  unaffected 
and  lovable  young  queen  will  wield  the  whole  power 
of  the  nation,  if  events  follow  in  their  natural  order.  She 
will  then  have  to  leave  her  dolls  and  her  pets* to  consider 
and  sign  the  innumerable  papers  which  she  now  re¬ 
gards  with  horror.  We  cannot  but  hope  that  she  will 
be  so  strong  and  sensible,  so  well  fitted  to  understand 
as  well  as  to  sign  state  documents  that  her  reign  may 
rival  that  of  England’s  jubilee  queen,  Victoria,  who 
also  owes  her  prosperous  reign  to  the  wisdom  of  her 
careful,  conscientious  and  sensible  mother. 
A  Princess  in  Sorrow. 
THREE  noble  and  honored  women  whose  names 
are  known  throughout  the  English-speaking 
world  are  overcome  to-day  with  bitter  sorrow,  because 
of  the  passing  from  life  of  the  young  heir  presumptive 
to  the  English  throne,  Prince  Albert  Victor.  To  say 
that  the  Princess  of  Wales  is  prostrated  by  the  death 
of  her  first-born  son  is  unnecessary,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  Queen  and  the  royal  family  at  large  have  not 
received  such  a  blow  since  the  death  of  the  Queen’s 
own  husband,  the  Prince  Consort.  The  sympathy  of 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  mothers  is  with  the 
Princess  of  Wales  and  the  Queen,  yet  it  is  to  the  gentle 
betrothed  of  the  Prince,  Princess  Victoria  Mary  of 
Teck,  the  prettiest  and  most  engaging  of  the  English 
Princesses,  that  the  heart  of  womankind  will  go  out  in 
an  abandon  of  sympathy;  the  contrast  between  that 
which  is,  and  that  which  might  have  been,  is  so  sharp, 
and  the  blow  has  fallen  with  such  suddenness.  How 
can  womanly  hearts  but  ache  for  her?  Only  last  week 
she  was  entering  into  the  pleasures  of  life  at  Sandring¬ 
ham.  with  her  young  lover  at  her  side,  with  the  pros¬ 
pect  of  one  day  being  Queen  of  England  and  Empress 
of  India  before  her,  and  receiving  the  congratulations 
of  the  world;  while  the  great  English  looms  were 
busier  than  for  a  hundred  years  in  weaving  fabrics 
powdered  with  designs  of  the  English  May-flower,  the 
hawthorn  (in  compliment  to  her  pet  name  of  May)  for 
the  bridal  robes  to  be  assumed  in  February.  Now  she 
sits  crushed  under  a  burden  of  grief,  the  joy  of  her  life 
gone  out,  and  all  her  bright  hopes  shattered;  or  wan¬ 
ders  pitiably  from  room  to  room  of  the  palace  in  dazed 
and  wordless  sorrow,  while  all  that  was  mortal  of  the 
young  Prince  lies  ready  for  the  tomb.  Truly  the  sun¬ 
shine  has  been  changed  to  blighting  storm  for  this  sweet 
English  May-flower. 
Removable  Window  Shelves. 
OUSE  plants  if  in  good  condition  add  greatly  to 
the  beauty  and  cheerfulness  of  the  living-room, 
and  every  good  housewife  endeavors  to  have  a  place 
for  at  least  a  few  specimens,  but  in  rooms  where  there 
is  no  bay-window,  it  is  always  more  or  less  inconve¬ 
nient  to  arrange  a  pot-stand  or  table  before  the  win¬ 
dow,  while  permanent  shelves  are  a  nuisance  during 
the  summer  when  the  plants  are  all  enjoying  the  out- 
of-door  air  and  sunshine. 
From  the  accompanying  designs  may  be  constructed 
a  convenient  set  of  shelves  which  are  put  up  or  taken 
down  at  will,  and  without  the  aid  of  any  tool  what¬ 
ever. 
For  material,  use  common  white  pine,  one  inch  in 
thickness. 
The  construction  of  the  uprights  A  A.  Fig.  1,  is  easily 
seen.  They  consist  of  two  strips,  each  two  inches  wide, 
and  as  high  as  the  window  in  which  they  are  to  be 
placed.  At  suitable  distances  are  small  square  blocks, 
oo«,  upon  which  the  shelves  rest.  At  the  top  is  fast¬ 
ened  a  cleat,  h,  which,  when  in  place,  rests  in  the  sash¬ 
way,  and  holds  the  entire  set  of  shelves  securely  in 
the  window. 
With  a  hack-saw  or  file  cut  three  screw-eyes  like 
that  shown  at  C,  and  screw  them  into  the  front  edge  of 
the  upright  at  ddd. 
The  shelves,  B,  are  eight  inches  wide,  with  notches, 
c  c,  cut  at  each  end  to  accommodate  the  uprights.  The 
distances  between  these  notches  should  be  just  two 
inches  less  than  the  width  of  the  window  so  that  the 
whole  may  fit  closely  when  in  place.  The  form  is  that 
of  an  upper  shelf,  the  dotted  lines  representing  those 
which  rest  against  the  lower  sash.  At  each  end  of  the 
shelf  is  a  screw-eye,  //,  with  a  chain  one  foot  long  at¬ 
tached. 
To  arrange  the  shelves,  place  the  two  uprights  in 
their  respective  sides  of  the  window  with  the  cleats  in 
the  sash-way;  the  shelves  are  then  set  in  position,  with 
the  chains  hooked  up  to  the  screw-eyes  above,  as  in  Fig. 
58,  and  all  is  snug  and  secure. 
The  lower  shelf  of  course  rests  upon  the  window¬ 
sill. 
The  shelves  are  a  home  invention,  well  tried,  and  in¬ 
expensive.  .1.  MARION  SHULL. 
Sewing  Conveniences. 
THERE  is  an  old  proverb  the  gist  of  which  is  that 
a  cook  displays  her  skill  best  when  she  concocts 
an  appetizing  meal  out  of  scanty  supplies  and  by  the 
use  of  inferior  utensils. 
To  show  such  skill  and  ingenuity  when  circumstances 
necessitate  it  is  indeed  praiseworthy.  Hut  when  a 
woman  whose  parlor  abounds  in  ornamental  append¬ 
ages,  and  whose  table  is  supplied  with  an  unnecessary 
variety  of  food,  sits  down  to  sew,  and  has  only  the 
shears  that  the  children  use  to  cut  papers  with,  and  one 
paper  of  assorted  needles — with  the  only  ones  adapted 
to  her  work  already  assorted  out — with  thread  which 
is  suitable  neither  in  color  nor  in  quality,  and  a  half- 
worn  thimble  to  use,  I  confess  I  can  see  no  commend¬ 
able  skill  or  economy,  but  rather  ignorance  and  care¬ 
lessness. 
Every  woman  who  does  the  plain  sewing  and  mend¬ 
ing  for  the  family  should  provide  herself  with  proper 
conveniences  for  accomplishing  the  work  quickly  and 
easily.  Of  course  a  sewing  room  where  one  can  keep 
all  her  utensils  and  materials  together,  and  can  leave 
her  work  without  fear  of  its  being  disturbed,  or  of 
annoying  others,  is  one  of  the  greatest  conveniences. 
Few  of  us,  however,  can  compass  that ;  but  by  the  exer¬ 
cise  of  some  ingenuity,  and  a  small  outlay,  one  can 
convert  a  favorite  corner  in  the  living  room  into  a  far 
more  satisfactory  place  for  sewing  than  it  is  now. 
To  this  end  have  a  convenient  stand  or  table,  cov¬ 
ered  with  a  spread,  where  the  articles  in  daily  use  can 
be  kept.  A  medium-sized,  rather  shallow  basket  is  the 
best  receptacle  for  them  ;  but  do  not  attempt  to  crowd 
your  work  into  it  or  allow  it  to  be  made  a  catch-all  by 
the  children.  Many  an  impatient,  stinging  word  of  re¬ 
proof  might  have  been  avoided  had  the  children’s  pen¬ 
cils,  mittens  and  the  like  not  been  allowed  in  “  mother’s 
basket.” 
Have  also  a  large,  deep  basket  for  holding  unfinished 
work,  and  set  it  out  of  sight  when  not  in  use.  If  there 
is  no  center  shelf  to  the  table,  make  a  set  of  three 
hang-ing  corner  shelves,  and  fasten  them  up  over  the 
table.  No  matter  how  cheap  and  plain  they  are,  you 
can  easily  hang  a  drapery  along  the  edge  of  the  upper 
The  old  saying-  that  “consumption  can 
be  cured  if  taken  in  time  ”  was  poor  com¬ 
fort.  It  seemed  to  invite  a  trial,  but  to 
anticipate  failure.  The  other  one,  not  so 
old,  “  consumption  can  be  cured,”  is  con¬ 
sidered  by  many  false. 
Both  are  true  and  not  true  ;  the  first  is 
prudent — one  cannot  begin  too  early. 
The  means  is  careful  living.  Scott’s 
Emulsion  of  cod-liver  oil  is  sometimes  an 
important  part  of  that. 
Let  us  send  you  a  book  on  careful 
living — free. 
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