The Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page rartdD r n i I he Unhappy la aches? 06 m 11 ft m. r sbv tv"k4SH l'irv t np. v- If : , "'- ! f II Y - , , .... r . -k , ' ;. ; I 1 :"''' V , I Th Grand Duchet Marie as Her Last Birthday Her THE Grand Duchess Maria ' Adelaide of Luxemburg la one of the moit pathetic figures In the world. This pretty young girl barely twenty-one years old, was adored by her prosperous little country before the war broke out. ' To-day she Is practically a prisoner In her own palace, unable to go out with-, out a military escort and forced to look from her prison windows npon a people starring, terrified and forced to lire upon charity. For over a year the little Grand Duchess has striven bravely to assert her rights and that of her people, In face of the overwhelm ing power of the German Empire, but the struggle la naturally a hopeless one. Luxemburg Is re ported to be occupied by 800,000 'German soldiers, more than the entire population of the country. -To complete her. misery, the urand Duchess has beea informed that she must marry a German prince, the object of course, being to insure future control of Luxem burg. Before the war it was pro posed that she should marry Prince Henry of Bavaria, nephew of the King of Bavaria, but she refused to accept him. Some of the most eligible young princes of Europe then sought her hand 'but she was most exacting. What an amazin? change In her position today 1 Surrounded by a vast army of enemy soldiers, pressed to marry against her will, this little princess Is as unhappy as a Carthaginian Don't Try . to Make Your Cigar Last ALMOST everybody knows what happens when a man who has been accustomed to the excessive use of alcohol is sud denly deprived of It altogether, but we are less familiar with the effects of the abrupt ces sation of the tobacco habit. There are probably several reasons for this. One la that neither the public nor the medical 'profession has yet 'earned to regard the use of tobacco, even in excess, as capable of doing serious harm to the smoker. Certainly the habit is not generally looked npon as compar able to alcoholism In this respect. Another reason is that it is rare for a devotee of tobacco to foreswear it entirely, even though he knows that It is doing him harm. It ts true that be may cut down his customary allowance te one-half or one-third, but those are excep tions where the habit Is suddenly stopped. Such cases do occur, however, and the most distressing feature is the mental depression of the patient This may be so great as to Inter She Appeared at the Time of Twenty - first. . maiden of old chosen to be a vic tim of Moloch. According to the last reports the Grand Duchess has become a phys- ical wreck from ' the hopeless struggle and the sight pf the mis ery around her. She has expressed her intention of abdicating her throne and retiring to a convent to find relief from her Borrows. She wishes to leave her throne to a younger sister, who, being more of a child than herself, has not been so much affected by the tragedy that has overtakenLuxemburg. - This little neutral state, only 998 square miles in area, had the mis fortune to lie on 'the direct path from Berlin to Paris when tho war broke out. Three railway lines from the principal North German' centres of population come together in the little town of Luxemburg, which, situated in a mountainous country Itself, commands the flat "and comparatively unprotected area of Northern France. Two hundred thousand German loI'Jleia were rushed through Lux emburg a fast as they could be burled. The young Grand Duchess bravely stationed herself in the centre of the main road leading into Luxemburg and declared that they had no right to pass. Germaa officers seized her horses and led her out of the way. Considerable mystery has beea maintained concerning conditions in Luxemburg, for it is an impor tant strategic centre and has been the Kaiser's headquarters for a time. Some Interesting news of fere seriously with the dally routine of bis life, and he may come to the conclusion that it is better for him to risk the dangers which lurk in nicotine rather than be a nuisance to his friends and relatives. A little Investigation may prevent such a state of affairs and allow the patient to resume his habit to some extent without harm. The physician should find out not only how much his patient amokes In a day, but also how he smokes. It will be found that many men smoke a cigar or cigarette to the bitter end. The more fastidious ones use holders, while the less par ticular impale the butt on a toothpick or the point of a penknife and stay with It to the last gasp. Whether such a custom Is the product of thriftlness or merely represents an all-consuming affection for My Lady Nicotine Is not elways easy to tell, bnt the affect Is the same ta asy case. The closer the burning tobacco is to the Only 21 Years Old, a Prisoner in Her Own Palace, Forced to Watch Her Once Prosperous People Starve and Die, She Wishes to Abdicate and Bury Her Sorrows in a Convent the beleae-vered Duchy has just been brought to New Tork by Joseph Lenoir, a native of Luxemburg. "Conditions la Lux emburg are worse than la 1 Belgium," said Mr. Lenoir. The Identity of the people ' ttas beea obliterated and every clause of the treaty of 18S7 has been violated' by the Invaders. "A few days before. I left It was announc ed that Grand Duch )s Marie was to en Ur convent and that she had renounced her title In favor of her younger sister. Announcement of the Duchess's Intention was not allowed ' to be made public la the press. "The people are starving, because the Germans have requi sitioned all the food and materials of all kinds. Meat and bread and cannot be bought gone np E00 per cent by poor people. "The dally wage paid to Luxemburg people Is about twen ty cents, a sum too The Little Grand ' Duchess of Luxemburg at the Time of Her Accession to the Throne small to keep "body ( and soul together. "Leading editors and politicians have beea sentenced to death or secretly Imprisoned In Germany. M. rburnelle, manager of a rail road, was sentenced to death on a charge of giving aid to the French, but oa the plea of the Grand Duchess this was commuted to twenty years' Imprisonment "Many houses where French women and children took refuge were burned down, and women' and children shot down by the troops. In Husslgny two German officers attacked a charming young woman and her brother shot and killed one of the officers. The young man was shot down, his father hanged and the young woman turned over to the troops, so that she died within a few days." It is not surprising that the sight and knowledge of such things hap pening all about her should make a sensitive young woman desire to Coarrla-at 1S16. :7! leave the world and go Into 'a convent ; A death-like si .ence, broken only occasionally, has 'alien over Luxem burg. It to rarely that anyone fa miliar with 'the place like Mr. Lenoir Is allowed to reach the out side world. The Inhabitants are not permitted to leave the country except In extraordinary cases. Most of them, moreover, are with out means to travel. It is inevitable tbat there should be many Incon sistencies in reports comlug from a country in such a position. Many reports reaching neutral countries have represented the Grand Duchesa as suffering the extremes of Indig nity and hardships, while some of the German papers, on the other Too Long mouth the more are Its toxic effects enhanced, says a writer In the Medical Record. Nicotine (If that la what causes the trouble) , Is of course present only In an Infinitesimal quantity in tobacco smoke, but It seems to be more poisonous under such circumstances; and then little or none of it is lost when the dis tance traversed is so small. The long pipes which we are wont to as sociate with phlegmatic Dutchmen are un doubtedly much less harmful than the com paratively short pipe favored by the Anglo Saxons. Some of this latter variety, however, are made with a well or some other patent at tachment, and it would seem that these should be recommended to men who suffer from smoking. In the case of cigars and cigarettes phy sicians urge that they be discarded when about three-quarters smoked, no matter how much agony such a course entails to the thrifty or to the tobacco-loving souL by th Star Company. Ortat Britain IT - R ' , - , 1 Mi m A A r The Picturesque City of the Grand Duchess s-.... .-'.:?: ii?F.- wx-K". i"---.. The Grand Duchess Paying Her Last Visit to the Parliament of the Duchy, Been Suppressed by the Invaders. hand, have declared that she sym pathizes with the German cause and Is grateful for the compen sation allowed for the injury done by the German army in Luxemburg. A former governess of the Grand Duchess, now In Switzer land, has described how itie paid to visit her former pupil. When the visitor reached the door way of the grand ducal palace In Luxemburg she was faced by two stern sentries, who presented their bayonets at her. An of ficer then stepped forward and told her she could not enter the palace without explaining her busi ness. "At this moment," says the vis itor, "the Orand Duchess herself rushed out Into the doorway and threw her arms about me. "'My dear old teacherl Do not allow these soldiers to frighten you." "Saying this, she took my arm. and between the two bayonets we passed on Into the palals, where in previous years I had the honor of teaching her little Highness her first French lessons. "I had scarcely seated myself be side her when she began weeping bitterly" The former governess then re lates what the Orand Duchess said to her: "Not satisfied with destroying our beautiful scenery, the Germans have also stolen our public build ings, our local government our post, our educational establish ments, and they have forcibly taken charge of our railroad, for which we have spent more than 15,000,000 francs. Tbey seized our telegraph sys tem, and whenever my people pro Rights TO- Luxemburg, with the Palace Is Held Virtually a Prisoner. tested too strongly they arrested them and sent them to remote Prussian military prisons. More than two hundred of my leading citizens have been sent out of their country to Germany. "My people, my once happy and prosperous people, are to-day poor and at the verge of starvation! "Even I have to receive a per mit from a Pruaslan officer before I can drive my own car on my own roada In my own land. I must even get a permit from a Prussian officer before I can use the telephone, which was established by our own funds. "The people of Belgium have rea son to be proud of their great achievements in fighting the arro gant conqueror, but we feel we were robbed In the small hours of the night "Had wo suspected the treaty breaking Intentions of the Prus sians we would have rushed to arms. "It we had bad forty-eight hours' notice we would have put at least 25,000 men on our eastern frontier. "For all practical purposes my country la annexed, and the misery of my people la deeper than that of the Belgians. "I sincerely envy the Queen of the Belgiana in her present posi tion, for my prexent plight la more bitter than hers. "My country, with Its 300.000 population, haa been harboring hundreds of German spies, and when the appointed hour came these men turned out to be officers In the imperial German armies. Kven r.y t o (Jfmun drivers were .'S1 : I t If I 1 Where disguised officers, and when that fateful firs. . of. August .night had arrived they appeareu In German uniforms. "The Germans had their outposts estab lished everywhere In my country, and my unsuspecting people had always treated , these treacherous spies with, the ut moat consideration. They have publish broadcast that 1 hava recalvnA the 3 Iron Cross from tbe German Emperor. It is not true. I have received a medal from the Red ( Cross offic ials, s. They have also published-, that the Imperial GermanTGor ment has compensat ed my people for the damage they hare done to my beautiful land. That Is also incorrect They cen. not compensate for the damage the 800,000 Which Ha soldiers have done to the scenery of my land with money, and, even then, they have only paid the paltry sum of $100,000 for de atroying hundreds of buildings 'for military reasons.' They seem to think thst one can commit every Imaginable sin and outrage 'for military reasons They never men tion the fact that we have spent more than 1300.000 for our Red Crosa In taking care of their wound ed soldiers." Whatever the rights r wrong of the Invasion of Luxemburg, It Is certain that the Grand Duchess ii the moat unfortunate young prln cess of Europe. The Crand Duchesa la the oldest of six sisters. Her family is a branch of the House of Orange, which rules In Holland. When Wllhelmlna became Queen of Hbi land she could uoi. succeed to Lux emburg on account of the Salic law. A distant cousin of hers then be came Grand Duke of Luxemburg He died In 1890, leaving only girl children, and then the Luxemburg Parliament passed a new law mak ing hla daughters eligible to the throne. Thla was accepted by Germany because It la supposed that country waa satisfied to see Holland and Luxemburg separated, Luxemburg la a tiny country, very picturesque and mountainous, end Its capital, the ancient city of Luxemburg, la the most picturesque spot of alL The people speak a mixture of French and German and use a good many English words. The country lies Just between Ger many, France, Belgium and Hol land. It had an army of 800 men. It was one of the smallest Indepen dent states In the world, but csn be called Independent no longer. 0