THE NEW EMPRESS OF RUSSIA.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3118, 25 June 1881, Page 4

THE NEW EMPRESS OF RUSSIA.

The Princess Dagmar, as the Empress is still called in the land of her birth, crew up with her sister Alexandra, now the Princess of Wales, at the Danieh Court with vory modest surroundings. The Queen was an excellent mother, and sought to develop in her daughters the woman in preference to the princess. It used to be said at the capitnl that the princesses were made to help in making their own dresses, and that the f nrnitnre in their common bedroom was covered with ine-rpensivo calico. A story or the naive admiration expressed by Princess DnjjTrmr on being shown the wedding trosseau of one of the noble ladies at Court, and her longing -wonder whether she would ever herself own " such handsome things," was told with a touch of sympathetic pride by the people of Copenhagen, with whom the two princesses were great favourites. Dagmar had won her way deepest into the people's heart, however. Her sweet disposition, the winning grace of her manner, and the perfect freedom with which she, like her sisters (and, indeed, the royal family), moved among all classes of the people, were well calculated to gain for her an affection that followed her to her new home, and found expression at her wedding in a score of ways that touched the heart of the princess profoundly. At every subsequent appearance at her father's court she was received by the people with an enthusiasm that even embraced her husband, despite the rumors of his sinister character and violent temper that from the beginning had threatened to make the match an unpopular one. The Czarewitch apparently took kindly to this popularity, and when at Copenhagen mingled freely with the populace. His bluff, soldierly way soon found favour, and when Dagmar's children, in little kilted suits and with dark hair ' banged' over their foreheads, began to be -•'pn about the park at Fredensborg,' grandpapa's summer palace, the reconciliation to the foreigner was complete. One of the causes that contributed to the popularity of the Princess Dagmar was, perhaps her name. Her father had wisely given to all his children, except Alexandra, old historical Danish names, identified with the past of the nation. Frederic Christian, Valdemar,. and Thyra are all names that hold a high place in Danish history and live in its songs and traditions. But of all the nation' 3 great names none is dearer to the heart of the Danish people than that of Dagmar, the Queen of the victorious Valdomar and the friend of the needy and oppressed throughout the land, whose goodness was so great that on her untimely death-bed, according to tradition, no greater sin weighed upon her conscience than ,' sewing a lace sleeve on Sunday.' The people of Copenhagen among whom the Princess Dagmar moved liked to compare her virtues with those of the beloved Queen, and at her departure for her Eussian homo the fervent wish followed her that she would prove in truth a veritable Dagmar— a ' harbinger'of day' to the unhappy people whose Empress she was someday to become. The Princess Dagmar was not a, handsome child, her features being clumsy, though pleasing ; but she grew into a very beautful woman, like her sister Alexandra. In every print shop in Copenhagen pictures of her and her husband, with their children, are for sale. The children have little of their mother's looks, but bear a strong resemblance to their father.