HUMAN RIDDLES THAT HAVE VEXED THE WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 7, 9 January 1937, Page 4 (Supplement)

HUMAN RIDDLES THAT HAVE VEXED THE WORLD.

TRAITOR DUC.

TERROR IN FRANCE.

ESCAPE FROM GUILLOTINE.

ONE of the arch villains of the French reign of terror was Louis, Due

d'Orleans, a direct descendant of Ring Louis XIII. To save his neck during the revolution he carried water on bqth shoulders. Affecting sympathy with the people's cause, he rcnjunced his titles, assumed the name of "Phillippe Egalite" (Equality) and voted for the death of the unhappy Louis XVL, his kinsman. But all of this while he was paving bis way to escape the guillotine and, after the revolution should blow over, secure succession to the throne to his own blood. He had taken to wife a royal princess, a kinswoman of his cousin the king, and his ambitions to have a son caused him great anxiety, for, according to the French law, no woman could succeed to the throne. So "Philip Equality"' became the object of warm congratulation when it was announced that his first born was a boy, especially inasmuch as Louis XVI. was at that time childless. Named Louis Philippe. This lad in whom the ci-devant Due d'Orleans centred all his hopes was named Louis Philippe. But Philippe

Egalite's schemes did not save his own villainous head. After the accession of the Jacobeans to power in the Convention and within less than a year after the execution of his coiisin, Louis XVL; he was carried to the dreadful guillotine. A year and a half later the iittle Dauphin of France disappeared. Then the young Louis Philippe became involved in a conspiracy against the republic and was banished, from France. His estate having been confiscated, he now found himself penniless and alone. Travelled Incognito. After teaching school for a season in Switzerland, he travelled incognito through northern Europe and, declaring himself a Danish subject, took passage on board a ship bound for America. Landing in Philadelphia, he was met by his two exiled brothers, and the three princes travelled through New England, explored the Great Lakes, toured the valley of the Mississippi, saw the future site of the national capital and visited General Washington at Mount Vernon. Not until after he had been an exile from his beloved France for more than 20 years did there come the final overthrow of Napoleon and the restoration XVIII 6 Bourbon dynasty under Louis Permitted to Return Home. Louis Philippe was now allowed to return hpme, but his travels in the Land of the Free had intensified those liberal and democratic ideals which— unlike "Philippe Egalite"— he cherished, with honesty and sincerity. Hife espousal of these principles soon offended Louis XVIII. But that monarch's rule was shortly to end and next came the succession of Charles X., whose policies, dictated by the Church, precipitated the three-days' revolution of 18.30 and lost . him the throne. "Philippe Egalite's" most cherished wish was now to be granted. The crown was given to Louis Philippe as the result of an -election by i the deputies and peers swayed by th®' ( strong influence of Lafayette. Because of his espousal of the plain j people the new monarch was hailed , The Citizen King" and lie added to his « popularity by calling himself "Kinc of ♦ the trench" rather than "Kins? of France." But like all popular idols, his , days of influence were numbered. The t populace grew weary of him. After lie , had reigned for 18 years another revo- ' lution broke forth and liis throne was overturned. Disguising himself as a , «cu lion, he crept down the servants' stall way of the palace and, taking his i queen with him, escaped to England s where he died two years later. Although official history states that I King Louis Phi ippe was the son of «, Philippe Egalite," there were persistent traditions that he was of very humble f birth. So far as "Philippe Egalite" r himself was concerned, his private life had been quite as treacherous as was l his public career. His whole married life was a succession of hitrigues, and several noted personages wlio«e escutcheons bore the bar sinister traced their ancestry i to him. ' i

By VINCENT TOWNE.

(Copyright.—All Eights Reserved.)

Supposed Father of "Pamela."

By his children's governess, the noted Madame dc Genlis;.. lie is supposed to have been the father of Madame Cap[>clle, whose daughter,» Marie Lafarge, played the stellar role in the most sensational of French murder mysteries; also of that mysterious creature of loveliness, the beloved "Pamela" who married the Irish martyr, Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Indeed, "Philippe Egalite" knew no scruple that would thwart expediency.

Therefore, Dame Gossip found ready listeners when she whispered about the chancelleries of Europe that old Philippe's ambitions had been thwarted by the stork and that a girl, born to him $nd his wife at the time when a son was devoutly desired, had been smuggled away and a bov substituted in her place. According to the story, this -infant daughter, cheated out of her rightful place as a princess of the realm, was allowed to follow the career of & ballet dancer, although later partly compensated by marriage to a wealthy nobleman. Son of Italian Gaoler. King Louis Philippe, according to this story, was in reality an Italian peasant child, one C'hiappini, the son of a gaoler who was paid well for having his baby boy placed in line for accession to the throne of France. The Citizen King's democratic ways and sincere espousal of the people's cause were supposed to have resulted from this plebeian blood.

Whether the story was true or not, old Czar Nicholas placed his stamp of approval upon it, for once, in a moment of wrafl), lie exclaimed sneeringly of King Louis Philippe: "He is a common gaoler's son!"

Arch Villain Of French Reign Of Teifor. What Happened To Richard L. Ashurst ?