ANECDOTES OF ROYAL PERSONAGES.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 24, Issue 18, 7 March 1913, Page 3

ANECDOTES OF ROYAL PERSONAGES.

Louis XL, of France, was so fearful of death that, as often as it came into his physician’s head to threaten him with death, he put money into his hands to pacify him; and Ins physician is said to lui'.r got 55,000 crowns from him in five months Constantine! the Great, in order to re claim a miser, took a lance, and marked out a space of ground of the size of the human body, and said to him, " Add heap to heap, accumulate riches upon riches, extend the bounds v of your possessions, conquer the whole world, and in a. few days such a spot as this will be all you will have." It is remembered as one of the libera) axioms of George 111. that “ no British sub • ject is by necessity excluded from the peerage.” Consistently with this sentiment, he once-'checked a man of high rank, who lamented that a very good speaker in the court of Aldermen was of a mean trade, by saying, “ What signifies a man’s trade ? A man of any honest Jtrade may make himsell respectable if he will." Henry IV., of France, was standing one day with some of his courtiers at the entrance of a village, and a poor man passing by bowed down to the very ground ; and the king, with great condescension, returned his salutation just in. the same manner. At this one of his attendants ventured to express his surprise, when the monarch finely replied to him—" Would you have your king exceeded in politeness by one of the lowest of his subjects ?" Peter the Great made a law, in jyaz, that if any nobleman beat or ill-treated his slaves, he should be looked upon as insane, and a guardian should be appointed to take care of his person and> of his estate. Peter once struck his gardener, who, being a man of great sensibility, took to his bed. and died in a few days. The Czar, bearing of this, exclaimed, with tears in his eyes, ’■‘Alas! I have civilized my own subjects: I have conquered other nations : yet 1 have not been able to civilise or to conquer myself.” When Edward IV. declared war against Louis XI. of France he addressed his Parliament in an able speech, which concluded with the following impressive words: — : " But I detain you too long by my speech from action. 1 see the clouds of dire revenge gathered in your hearts, and the lightning of fury break from your eyes, which bodes thunder against our enemy ; let us therefore lose no time, but suddenly and severely scourge this perjured court to a severe repentance, and regain honour to out nation, and his kingdom to our crown." Oi-iver JVlillard, apopular and energetic preacher of the reign of Louis XL, attacked the' vices of the court in his sermons, and did not 'spare even the king himself, who, taking offence at it, sent the priest word that if lie did not change his tone, he would have him thrown into the Seine, “ The king," replied Oliver, "is the master, to do what he pleases ; but tell him that I shall reach Paradise by water sooner than he will with his post-horses.” (The establishment ol travelling post was instituted by Louis XI.) The bold answer at once amused and Intimidated the king, for he let the priest continue to preach as he pleased, and what ne pleased. When a prince of the blood royal ol France disgraced himself, by committvr robbery and murder in the street of Paris. Louis XV. would not grant a pardon, though eagerly solicited to do so by a deputation from the Parliament of Paris, who tried him and suspended their sentence until the royal pleasure should be known. “My lords and ■'unsellors,” said the king, “ return to your ■’lamber of justice, ana promulgate youi t,;:'.ree.” ".Consider," said the first president, ‘ ihat the unhappy prince has your majesty’s blood in his veins." " Yes," said the king, "but the blood has become impure, and justice demands that it should be let out; nor would I spare my own son for a crime, - for which I should be bound to condemn the meanest of my subjects." The prince was executed on the scaffold in the court of the Grand Chatelet on the izth of Aug., 17J9. ONE'of the favourites of King Henry V., when Prince of Wales, having been indicted for some misdemeanour, was condemned, notwithstanding all the interest he could make in his favour; and the Prince was so incensed at the issue of the trial that he struck the judge on the bench. This magistrate, whose name was Sir William Gascoign, acted with a spirit becoming his character. He instantly ordered the Prince to be committed to prison ; and young Henry, sensible by this time of the insult he had offered tp the laws of his country, suffered himself to. be quietly conducted to gaol by the officers of justice. The king, Henry IV., who was an excellent judge of mankind, was no sooner informed of this transaction, than he cried out, in a transport of joy, “ Happy is the king who has a magistrate possessed of courage to execute the laws, and still more happy in having a son who will submit to such chastisement."

Philip the Third, of Spain, was gravely seated by a fireside, where the firemaker of his court had kindled so great a quantity of wood that the monarch was nearly suffocated- with heat, and his grandeur would not suffer him to rise from the chair, and the domestics could not presume to enter the apartment, because it was against the etiquette. At length the Marquis de'Posa appeared, and the kins ordered him to damp the fires : but he excused himself,, alleging that he was forbidden by the etiquette to perform such a function, for which the Duked’Usseda ought to be called upon, as it was his business. The Marquis departed, the fire burned with increasing fierceness, and the king endured it rather than derogate from his dignity; but his blood was. heated to such a degree that an erysipelas of the head appeared next day, which, succeeded by a violent fever, carried him off in 1621, in the twenty-fourth year of his age. • ■» RELATIVE HEIGHT AND WEIGHT OF MEN. It is well that all persons should know what the normal weight of man really is. The following shows the relative height and weight of individuals measuring 5 feet and upwards:— 5 feet 1 inch should be 120 lb. ; ■: feet 2 inches should be 126 lb.; 5 feet 3 inches should be' 133 lb.; 5 feet 4 inches ihould be 136 lb.; 5 feet 5 inches should be X 42 lb.; 5 feet 6 inches should be 145 lb.; 5 feet 7 inches should be 148 lb.; 5 feet 8 Inches should be 155 lb ; 5 feet 9 inch’sshould be 162 lb.; 5 feet 10 inches should be 169 lb.; 5 feet n inches rbould be 174 lb.: 6 feet should be 178 lb. MEDICINAL VALUE OF LEMONS. To get the better of the bilious sys‘..-m without blue pills or quinine lake the juice of one, two, or three lemons, as appetite craves, in as much water as makes it pleasant to drink without sugar, before going to bed. In the morning, on rising, at least half-an-hour before breakfast, take the juice of one lemon in at goblet of water. This will clear the system of humour and bile with efficiency, without any of the weakening effects of calomel. People should not irritate the stomach by eating lemons clear; the powerful acid of the juice, which is always most corrosive, invariably produces inflammation after a while, but properly diluted, so that it does not burn or draw the throat, it does its medical work without harm, and, when the stomach Is clear of food, has abundant oppor--iiinUy to work tto the system thoroughly.