Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1891. "Carmen Sylva."

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 29 August 1891, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1891. " Carmen Sylva."

♦ The sad news has been " wired " across the world, that the amiable and gifted Queen of the Roumanians has suffered a paralytic stroke. She has become widely known under the adopted norn de plume of " Carmen Sylva"— " Carmen the song and Sylva the wood, Join them together, the Woodsong is heard." But apart from her gifts as a poet, she has, in trying times, shone forth as a dutiful daughter, a loving wife and mother, and a noble Queen. She was born in 1843 and was a daughter of Prince Hermann oi Weid, and in 1869 became the wife of the Prince of Eoumania, as it was not till the year 1881 that the Prince was proclaimed a King. On her arrival at her new home she studied the language of the country so diligently that, within a short period, she could read and Avrite it. She founded schools, hospitals, soup kitchens, convalescent homes, cooking schools and creches, and also founded art galleries and art schools. So earnest were her endeavours to become one of themselves that finding her countrywomen were wearing the tawdry European clothes, though famed for their weaving and spinning, she, out of her own purse, founded a school of embroidery, in which the old Byzantine patterns were carefully reproduced. In the country she donned the national costume, and made her ladies wear it to, the only difference being that she wears the veil, which in old Greek costume is th& mark of queenly dignity. In 1870 a little girl was born, the first and only child, and four years later she fell a victim to scarlet fever. In this hour of trial she is stated to

have said, " God has loved ray child more than I have, therefore He has taken her to Himself. Thank God that he ever gave her to me." Be' lieving that in work must be sought - the comfort for all sorrows, the Queen applied herself more strenui ously to promote the welfare of her people. In 1887 Roumania was drawn into the Russo-Turkish war. During the war the Princess set a noble example of what her biographer describes as " the inborn deaconesscalling of every woman." The throne-room was converted into a work-room, where, under her ira i mediate superintendanee, linen and bandages were prepared. She ministered to all the wounded that were brought from the battlefield. The Roumanian soldier prefers death to amputation, but she induced many to submit to an operation. To one young soldier she pointed out that he had a long life before him and should submit to the operation. " For love of you Regina," he sighed. In the public place of Bucharest, the capital town, there stands a monument representing the Queen in the act of giving a drink of water to a wounded soldier. It was erected by the wives of the Roumanian 1 army. In writing to her mother she says, " When I am not actually asleep, neither my head nor my hands rest for a second ; otherwise it fares ill with me. Constant activity keeps the mind fresh, and sometimes only am I overcome when I remember my beloved one." The Queen used to rise as early as four and wrote til eight, the only hours when she could he " woman and author," the rest of the time having to be devoted to her duties of Queen. Both sovereigns had frequently to talk for twelve or fifteen hours a day and when they sat down to dinner were so tired out that they could not speak a word. The strain of the war time severely tried her health. She has been subjected to repeated attacks of fevtr. At the beginning of 1883 she had a dangerous illness, from which she was saved by an operation. Such is the brief outline of the life of the Queen of the Roumanians, , gathered from the Leisure Hour and [■ the Girls Own Paper of last year, l and such facts help us to understand { how susceptible this noble woman 1 would be to the stroke with which she has been visited. " Carmen ; Sylva " will live in her poetical , works and in the love of her adopted , countrymen by whom she has been ■endearingly called the "little . mother " and the " mother of the '' wounded." >