WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 276, 12 April 1911, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted by " Eileen "). BAJAH'S SON AND PEER'S DAUGHTER. HEIRESS TO THE THRONE OP SARAWAK. Around the wedding at St. Peter's, Cranbourne, Windsor Forest, of Mr. Charles Vyner Brooke to MLss Sylvia Brett, daughter of Lord Esher, a good deal of romance hung. I Mr. Brooke is the son of Sir Charles Johnson Brooke, Rajar of Sarawak, so that his bride is now heiress to the throne of that wonderful kingdom in Borneo—a kingdom with an area of 62,000 square miles and a polygot population of half a million. Sarawak was given to Sir James P-moke by a grateful native Sultan in Fi : !, and the present rajah is a nephew o* Sir James. Kuching, the capital, where the rajah's palace stands, is situated on the Sarawak river, 23 miles from the coast, and has been the scene of fierce rebellions and encounters. But the Sea-Dyaks, the most formidable of head-hunters, have been tamed by the English rajahs, and the peace of the little kingdom is rarely broken. The annual revenue is about £IBO,OOO, and the nnexploited treasures include gold, silver, diamonds, antimony, quicksilver and coal. The army consists of 500 English-trained Dyaks, and the police number 150, both forces being under British officers. • The bride was given away by her father, Lord Esher, and Mr. Ealph Anderson acted as best man. The bridesmaids wore quaker dresses. Representatives of the District Boy Scouts and the Callander (Perthshire) Scouts wero present. Among the numerous wedding gifts to the bride and bridegroom, were:—From the King and Queen, an enamel brooch, with the Royal cypher in pearls and diamonds; the Duchess of Albany, a book; Prince and Princess Alexander of Teck, enamel boubonniere; the Rajah of Sarawak, a cheque; the Ranee of Sarawak, necklace of precious stones; Lord Esher, ruby and diamond cross and earrings ; Lady Esher, ruby bow, ruby brooch and chequt. A PRINCE'S ROMANCE. BRIDE WITH A DOWRY. The romance of Prince Egon Max von Thurn and Taxis forms the sole topic of discussion in aristocratic circles in BndaPesth. Prince Egon, who is a niembe.' of one of the richest and most ancient Hungarian families, and a god-son of the Emperor, was lately betrothed to one of the beauties of Hungarian society, Lola Krauss, daughter of a Hungarian manufacturer. For more than a year the Prince Ims vainlv combated the opposition of his family, who objected to the union on account of the difference of rank between a scion of their house and the manufactir-er's ilnnsrhter. They even solirited the intervention of the Emperor in (lie matter. The family of Thurn and Taxis belongs to the mediatised princely houses, and, according to its house-law, the members are not allowed to form mesalliances, the permission of the head of the house being necessary before a marriage can be contracted. The father of Prince Egon, however, formed a mesalliance by marrying the daughter of a Hungarian landowner, and for many years the marriage was not recognised by the chief of the family. By the grace of the Emperor, however, he became a Hungarian Prince, and founded this branch of the iamily. It was many years before the head of the family, the ruling Prince of Thurn and Taxis, recognised the Hungarian branch as having equal rights, and later he conferred on them the title of Durchlaucht. The male members of the family undertook never to marry. This promiso has only been broken by Prince Egon, by his intended marriage with Lola von Krauss. It is apparent that only the mediation of the Emperor has induced the ruling Prince, after long hesitation, to consent to the marriage. The bride lias a dowry of 6,000,000 kronen (£200,000), and will also inherit the great wealth of her father, whose only child she is. She was recently received into the Catholic Church. LOVE PILGRIMAGE TO AFRICA. A LAST TRIBUTE TO EXPLORER. Letters have been received from Miss Olive MacLeod describing her pilgrimage to the grave of her sweetheart, Lieutenant Boyd Alexander, the famous explorer, who was murdered in Central Africa in May of-last year. She has accomplished this journey of nearly 5000 miles through difficulties and dangers in a country never before entered )by a white woman. Miss MacLeod ac- ) knowledges with gratitude the assistance rendered by French officers in her passage through the Soudan to Maifoni, a British post near Lake Chad, where the remains of Lieutenant Boyd Alexander lie near those of his brother, who died in 1904 during an expedition from the Niger to the Nile. Lieutenant Boyd Alexander left England in 1908, and after many wanderings entered Nigeria with the ' intention of reaching Maifoni, in order to restore the cross on his brother's grave. In the French Soudan he met his death through the treachery of the natives of Wadai, with whom the French were at war. nis remains were recovered and interred by the side of his brother. Miss MacLeod, who is the daughter of Sir Reginald MacLeod, late Permanent Under-Secretary for Scotland, determined to make a pilgrimage to Lake Chad in order to place a memorial cross on her sweetheart's grave. She started on her journey in August last and landed at the mouth of the Niger. For 1000 miles i Miss MacLeod was borne in a litter by native boys, and finally reached Maifoni < without mishap. Many parts of the country through which she passed are still ' disturbed, though the natives who murdered Lieu- : tenant Boyd Alexander have been severe- : j ly punished by the French troops. Miss MacLeod has faced the dangers and en- | dured the fatigues and privations of the i journey with heroic fortitude and with- ' out injury to her health. ' ;