CHAPTER XXVI

SINAIA

Sinaia and its summer Court--Gay life in the Carpathians--Court ladies in national costume--Sinaia at various seasons--The monastery and the Queen’s room there: she decorates it with caricatures of society ladies--A fête at the monastery--King Edward at Sinaia--Lord Roberts a guest there--The Crown Prince’s residence--Princess Marie’s “cuib” or “Crusoe” amongst the trees--Her sister, the Grand Duchess of Hesse--Little Princess Ella--A merry party in the woods--A tragedy recalled.

This lovely and fashionable resort is situated in the valley of the Prahova, and is surrounded by mountains, which present no very great difficulties of ascent to the ordinary mountaineer. Sinaia itself consists, apart from its villa residences, of a casino, a small concert-room, and a really fine bathing establishment. In the hotel gardens a military band plays three times a week; on the alternate days it is stationed in the forest, in the vicinity of a pretty little restaurant on the road leading up to the palace. On this spot the visitors delight to congregate and listen to the strains of the band. There is no lack of seats, as wooden benches and even tables are generously provided. To sit there inhaling the delicious perfume of the pines, brought out by the warm rays of the sun, sipping at the same time a glass of _țucia_ or other beverage, and lazily criticising the passers-by on the road below, is an important part of the daily life at Sinaia.

Sinaia is reached in about four hours by rail from Bucarest, and in one hour from the Hungarian frontier, and is of course a most fashionable resort. The Court goes there in summer to avoid the great heat in Bucarest. Pelesch, the royal palace, is a fine residence, built by the late King Carol. It is beautifully situated on an eminence backed by the pine-clad heights of the Carpathians, whilst at the foot flows the merry little river Pelesch, from which the palace derives its name.

The monastery at Sinaia is situated upon a high hill which is reached from the valley below by sloping walks. It is a very fine building, having been restored of late years, and is really worth seeing. At one side of the building is a courtyard, around which are the apartments allotted to the priests, as well as a few guest-chambers. Behind the courtyard there is a stretch of green, from which one has a beautiful view of the surrounding country. The road behind the monastery leads past Castle Pelesch and on up into the mountains. As one gradually ascends the incline, one admires the magnificent forest trees as well as the profusion of ferns and wild flowers, which are here seen in abundance. The river Pelesch rushes along on its way from the mountains, and as it descends it forms three lovely waterfalls. The road leads on up to the Carpathian peaks of Caraiman and Verful cu Dor, whence one can see the Balkan mountains on a clear day.

Before Castle Pelesch was built Carmen Sylva often took up her abode at the monastery. The room she inhabited is still shown to visitors, and it is most interesting to anyone who has an extensive acquaintance with Roumanian society, as the walls are covered with pencil drawings done by the Queen, representing, on the whole very faithfully, the features of one well-known lady after another. It is really amusing to pick them out, as some have been caricatured and are not immediately recognisable.

St Marie is the patron saint of the monastery, so on that saint’s day, the 15th August, the poor of the surrounding country are regaled by the Archimandrite and the priests. Large tables are placed in the courtyard, round which are seated the visitors. They are then served with _borsch_, a sour soup, in which float small pieces of meat, with _mamaliga_ cheese, onions, and large flat loaves, the whole washed down with a mug of the thin red wine of the country. Each peasant receives a plate and mug, which he is at liberty to take with him on leaving. All the visitors then at Sinaia go up to watch the proceedings, and very interesting they seem to find it, as crowds are attracted every year.

Residence in Sinaia is sometimes prolonged till far into the autumn. Naturally a good deal of Court etiquette is left behind in Bucarest, with the result that the royal family as well as the members of the Court amuse themselves very well indeed. Tennis (golf has not yet reached Roumania), paper-hunts, and excursions into the Carpathians are among the distractions.

The late Queen, Carmen Sylva, and all the ladies of her Court invariably adopted the Roumanian costume when the Court was at Sinaia. This costume is very picturesque. The petticoat, of a light material, woven by the peasants, is embroidered at the bottom. A wide-sleeved blouse is also richly embroidered, and with it is worn a straight piece of embroidery falling from the waist to the edge of the petticoat. A double skirt, opening in front, shows this embroidered panel. The main part of the costume is completed by a sash wound many times round the waist.

If the wearer be a young girl, she wears a row of broad Turkish gold coins round her forehead (this represents her dowry) and a flower behind her ear. In the case of a married lady a veil is worn fastened to the head and falling to the waist. After a woman is married she is not supposed to show her hair, at any rate among the peasantry.

The custom of wearing Roumanian costume when in residence at Sinaia has, I regret to say, been abandoned since Queen Marie came to the throne.

No guest of the royal family can ever leave Roumania without paying a visit to beautiful Sinaia. The late King Edward visited it when he was Prince of Wales, and I was once shown an old photograph in which he figures standing erect on a rock with Prince Ferdinand at his side, whilst a little lower Carmen Sylva is seated, surrounded by the ladies of the Court. The photograph was taken during an excursion in the mountains. Lord Roberts also spent a few days at Sinaia. He came with his suite to announce to their Majesties the accession of King George. Before leaving, he most kindly received the few British residents who were then in Sinaia, the late Queen being also present and chatting most affably with everyone, as she could easily do, being so very proficient in the English language. Mrs Spender Clay (_née_ Miss Astor) and her brother Waldorf Astor have also been frequent visitors of Princess Marie.

The family of the Crown Prince and Princess did not live at Castle Pelesch in the lifetime of the late King. Their own residence was situated a short distance away. It was of the shooting-box style, built entirely of dark wood, surrounded by a nice roomy verandah. The gardens and terraces in front and at one side of the house were wonderfully pretty. At the other side one walked right into the forest. As their family increased, this house became too small, so another was built still nearer to Castle Pelesch. It is a fine house, much more pretentious than the “shooting-box,” but to my mind not half so pretty. The old house is now reserved for visitors.

In the neighbouring forest Princess Marie, as she then was, had a “Crusoe” constructed. I understand that she adopted the idea from a celebrated arboreal restaurant in the Forest of Fontainebleau which is named after the castaway of Juan Fernandez.

A strong wooden platform was constructed amongst the trees at a considerable height from the ground, and upon this was built a house consisting of two rooms, a kitchen, and a salon.

The kitchen is fitted up with everything necessary for cooking simple dishes or preparing tea. The salon is very prettily furnished, and books in plenty, drawing and painting materials, etc., are always to be found there.

The Queen only takes her special friends to visit her “Crusoe,” and a very charming retreat it is. The windows and open door command a most beautiful view. Access to the “Crusoe” is gained by means of a ladder with wide steps, which is let down when required. When the visitors are safely ensconced in their leafy retreat the ladder is drawn up, and they remain there shut in on three sides by foliage and cut off from communication with the world below save by telegraph, for a wire connects it with the palace. Nothing disturbs the perfect calm and quiet at such a height, and many pleasant hours have been spent by her Royal Highness and a chosen few in that little nest. Nest is indeed the word, for that is the meaning of the Roumanian name “cuib” by which the retreat is generally known.

The Grand Duchess Cyril of Russia, sister to Princess Marie, was a frequent visitor at Sinaia. At the time of her last visit she was still Duchess of Hesse, as she divorced the Duke of Hesse some time later.

She was accompanied by her little daughter, a merry little soul, but not by any means to be compared with her cousins so far as looks were concerned. I often met the child playing about in the forest near the castle, attended by a nursemaid. Although so young, she was an expert horsewoman, and well do I remember one day meeting a riding party of three, the Grand Duchess, her little daughter, and Princess Elizabeth. The two children were in a merry mood, and as the way led past a group of cottages they had evidently made up their minds to “cut a dash.” I heard one of them say, “Now let us go at full gallop,” but the Grand Duchess nipped their aspirations in the bud, as I heard her reply, “You will do nothing of the kind, you will just go past quietly.” I remembered that merry party and the happy laughter floating back to me on the breeze when later I heard of the tragic fate of Princess Ella, and the memory caused the sad news to strike more sharply home to me. Perhaps in England the foul deed to which I refer did not excite so much sorrow, but to us who had known the child it was a terrible tragedy.

Little Princess Ella was on her way to Russia in company with her father, to visit the Czar and Czarina; they were met at a small frontier town by their Majesties. Tea was served here, but it appears that no one happened to partake of it but Princess Ella. Immediately after swallowing the tea she complained of feeling ill, and although medical help was at once available she succumbed a few hours later. Her mother was telegraphed for, but the child was already dead when she arrived. It was understood that the tragedy was the outcome of an anarchist plot directed against the life of the Czar. It was by the merest chance (if there be such a thing as chance) that neither his Majesty nor the Czarina felt inclined for tea.

One scarcely knows when Sinaia is at its best, whether in summer when the royal parterres and the gardens of the different villas are all a mass of colour, the brilliant sunshine lighting up the scene, and, beyond, the peaks of the Carpathians stretching far up into the sky; or in winter, when the ground is thickly carpeted with snow, and every branch and twig stands outlined against the sky. After a sharp frost, when the sun breaks through the clouds, lighting up the frozen branches and turning them into silver, the scene is fairy-like.

Sinaia is also not to be despised in autumn when the foliage is beginning to change. It is a real pleasure to wander through the woods and to feast one’s eyes on the different tints of the changing leaves. The dark green of the pines, mingling with the lighter green, yellow, and crimson of the other trees, makes a blend of colour that delights the eye.

For more than twenty years I spent a few pleasant weeks of each year at Sinaia, where I have frequently been a guest at the beautiful country home of the late Madame Take Jonescu, amongst others. I have visited the lovely place at every season of the year, and know it in all its varying moods.