The Life of Carmen Sylva (Queen of Roumania)Stackelberg, Natalie
History
The Life of Carmen Sylva (Queen of Roumania)
Stackelberg, Natalie
Sylva, Carmen, 1843-1916
Till the last moment the Princess had not realised that the bright life
of her child was nearing its close. But when all was still, and she
grasped the dreadful certainty, she bent with humble resignation before
the holy will of God. She herself closed the loved blue eyes of her
precious child, then rose quite calm and collected, and thanked the
doctors for their faithful care. No words of complaint passed her lips!
Her strength remained firm till they placed the body of the child in
its little bed.
The tender care of the Prince for his beloved wife was very touching.
He was utterly prostrated by the unexpected blow, and earnestly sought
for comfort and composure. “God loved my child more than ever I did,
and so He has taken it to Himself!” exclaimed the poor mother with
wonderful calmness. When the little body was placed in the coffin, and
it had been closed over her, the Princess put her hand on it and spoke
as in prayer--“God bless my child.” The Prince himself helped to bear
the coffin to the staircase of the palace. A troop of young girls from
the Asyle Hélène opened the procession, singing the funeral hymn with
hushed voices. In their white dresses, long white veils, and wreaths of
white flowers, they seemed spirits of light preceding the sunny child
to its last resting-place. Not four years had passed since the little
Princess had been baptized in the Church of Cotroceni, and now the
little coffin stood on the same place covered with flowers. Multitudes
of people from the town and the country joined the procession.
Upon the slope of a hill between the Asyle Hélène and the park of
Cotroceni lies the little grave, hidden in a wood, near the Church of
Elisabeta Dòamna. A low mound with a simple stone marks the place where
the princely pair had laid to rest their little daughter who was so
passionately loved! On the stone is engraved the consoling words of St.
Luke viii. 53: “WEEP NOT, FOR SHE IS NOT DEAD, BUT SLEEPETH.” Trees,
firs and pines, as well as all sorts of roses and flowers, surround
this little sanctum, which is entrusted to the care and protection of
the orphan child of the Asyle Hélène. Beside it stands the simple seat
as a resting-place.
The sorrow of the parents for the loss of their only child can never be
lightened, and will only end with their last breath. But the hope of a
heavenly life beyond the grave is the comfort of these bereaved ones!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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