victor emmanuel was at this time considered one of the most desirable of eligible princes in all europe, not only because of his inheritance, but because of his intelligence and his character. queen victoria once called him “the most intelligent prince in europe.” as a child he had showed marked individuality and his father and mother, king humbert and queen margherita, both being people of strong characteristics, had reared him in an atmosphere of strictest discipline which naturally had its effect upon the man. like napoleon, the little victor emmanuel was never ashamed to ask any question, nor did he ever ask any question twice. until he was twelve years old his school hours were regulated by the state of his health, which was never robust, but on his twelfth birthday, he was given over into the hands of colonel osio, a famous soldier and disciplinarian, who planned an eight year course of training which included regular hours for everything, and resulted not only in developing the boy’s mind and sharpening his wits, but also in hardening his muscles and accustoming his constitution to all kinds of hardships and endurance tests.{235}
one incident of this period of his life victor emmanuel has never forgotten. as a young boy he was not over strong, and frequently he contracted head colds. one morning he reported as usual at seven o’clock to his tutor, but coughing badly and his nose and eyes sorely inflamed. at eight o’clock colonel osio appeared to take the young prince out for his usual hour of exercise on horseback. the day was rainy and disagreeable. the tutor ventured to suggest to colonel osio that their royal charge was scarcely in fit condition to go out that morning. whereupon the colonel replied, “if war were declared to-morrow, would the prince be allowed to stay indoors because he had a cold?” as the colonel disappeared with the prince the tutor exclaimed: “ah! with these soldiers it is impossible to reason.”
when victor emmanuel began the study of latin, his mother, the beloved queen margherita, took it up also! one day, she proved to him that she had made better progress than he. at the time the prince made no comment upon this, but a little later when his tutor started to chide him about this victor emmanuel retorted somewhat sharply: “that is all very well, but my mother has nothing else to do, whilst i have a hundred other things to attend to!” an answer that every schoolboy and schoolgirl will surely appreciate.
colonel osio was without doubt a stern disciplinarian. as he outlined the daily schedule for the prince, the rising hour was six o’clock, summer{236} and winter. after a bath and simple breakfast, he sat down to his first lessons with his tutor. at eight o’clock he rode for an hour with the colonel, then returned to his studies which continued all day. his very recreations were in the nature of studies, for being raised as a soldier he had to master all military tactics and to dig trenches, erect redoubts and obstructions with his own hands, so that in time of necessity he could the better command and direct his soldiers. as the motto set before the prince was: “to know everything of something, and something of everything,” his studies were pursued the year round. during the dead of summer his books were laid by, but he was taken out of doors and kept busily at work, learning of nature, or all about guns and shooting, and ever subject to the discipline of hours.
the instructions of colonel osio to his tutor were: “treat the prince as you would treat any other pupil. show him no special consideration nor regard. indulge him in absolutely nothing. for example, if, during a lesson something is wanted, he and not you must get it. if a book falls to the floor, he, not you, must pick it up! you must profit by his self-esteem, highly developed in him, to exact from him firmly and always the fulfilment of all his duties.” “as for yourself,” the colonel continued, looking full at the tutor, “i want you to understand that the interests at stake are so great, that if you fail in any way i shall show you no mercy.” as the tutor felt as much subject{237} to the rules and regulations laid down by the colonel as did his pupil, it is needless to say that he was obeyed to the letter.
the rev. alexander robertson who has lived many years in italy, and who has made a searching study of the life of victor emmanuel, says that so completely did king humbert give over the education of his heir to colonel osio that if the prince even asked permission to accompany the king and queen to the theatre the answer was invariably: “ask the colonel.” thus was the young king trained. if the “child is father to the man,” from these gleanings of his boyhood and the stories of his early discipline, we may gather what manner of prince it was who won the heart of the stately and beautiful elena, princess of montenegro.
mr. robertson tells how on one occasion the little prince victor emmanuel was playing with the small daughter of the marchioness of villamarina, who was then a lady-in-waiting to queen margherita, and the two children quarrelled, as all children will, over some trifle. of a sudden the prince became greatly enraged, and lost his temper. “when i am king i will have your head cut off!” he exclaimed loudly. queen margherita overheard these harsh words, and the prince was put on prison fare for three days.
victor emmanuel and his wife, elena, were destined to become sovereigns of italy upon the tragic occasion when king humbert was assassinated at his lovely mountain home of monza in the{238} north of the kingdom. an interesting, if nerve-straining incident occurred when the prince was present at a previous unsuccessful attempt upon the life of his father. this took place when victor emmanuel was only twelve years old. the king and his son were just leaving the railroad station in naples when a man named passananti, calling himself an anarchist, made a lunge with a stiletto full at the breast of the king. a minister who was also in the carriage was quick enough to turn aside the glittering blade. the king, with superb poise, drew his sword, and crashed it broadside over the would-be assassin’s head. throughout the scene the young prince sat immovable, not showing the slightest trace of fear. courage may not be the highest virtue, but it is essential in a king, and in any one, never fails to excite admiration.
queen margherita was as exceptional a mother as she was an unusual queen. as queen elena has of late years proved herself devoted to the royal nursery, so margherita always gave a large part of each day to the rearing of the heir apparent. she it was who insisted upon his keeping a strict account of all the money that passed through his hands. in this way he learned to appreciate the value of money—the little sums, the trifles which in themselves seem of no consequence, but which aggregate so large in the course of months. under directions, he also kept a diary, in order that he might not be prodigal in the use of time—the{239} moments we are all so apt to waste carelessly and thoughtlessly a score of times each day.
it was the custom of the prince to lunch with the king and queen certain days each week. one day the king was occupied with his ministers much longer than usual, and the luncheon hour was long past. the prince ventured to remark to the queen, somewhat petulantly, that he was hungry and couldn’t wait any longer for his meal. crossing the room to a bookshelf, the queen took a copy of dante and laid it before the boy, saying: “read this, and your hunger will all go.”
any boy, especially a prince, would naturally possess qualities of attractive manhood that would appeal to a woman of domestic instincts. that princess elena possessed these innate qualities her life since testifies. to her, unquestionably, victor emmanuel seemed an ideal prince. there was only one element to this romance which is distinctly unromantic, and of this victor emmanuel is very sensitive. he is a small man, distinctly under-sized, while elena towers far above him when they are standing side by side. nowadays the king has his carriage in the royal stables built with a specially elevated seat, like a coachman’s box, so that this discrepancy in size is not so apparent when they drive.
