PECULIAR PETS OF SOVEREIGNS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8333, 3 June 1905, Page 3

PECULIAR PETS OF SOVEREIGNS.

Monkeys as Courtiers. (Tit-Bits.) The stories of the young King of Spain and his pet monkeys, which have been going the round of the Press j lately, remind one that Alfonso XIII. i has had many kingly predecessors who have exalted the ape into a Court favourite. Peter the Great had a marked weakness for monkeys, which were privileged to take the strangest liberties with him, to the extent of running away with his hat and pulling the Imperial nose. While the Royal shipwright was staying in England William 111. paid " a visit to his lodgings in York Buildings, in which an odd incident happened. The Czar had his monkey, which sat upon the back of his chair," Lord Dartmouth wrote, " and as soon as the King sat down the monkey jumped upon him in some wrath, which discomposed the whole ceremonial, and most of the time was spent afterwards in apologies for the monkey's behaviour." So disconsolate was Peter when this particular simian favourite died that lie was. inconsolable for weeks and refused to speak to anyone. Before Frederick the Great 6ame to his throne, and even for a short time after his accession, he was devoted to his band of trained monkeys, which he used to dress in the most grotesque costumes and style his courtiers. They squatted on his shoulders, shared his meals, and followed him like so many dogs. Henry 111. of France, too, included monkeys in that motley menagerie of his which accompanied him, in a waggon drawn by half a dozen mules, on many of his Royal journeys. "The litter," Dumas wrote, "contained Henry, his physician, his chaplain, the jester, four of the Bang's minions, a couple of huge hounds, and a basketful of puppies, which rested on the King's knees, but which was upheld from the neck by a gold chain. From the roof hung a gilded cage,* in which there were white turtle-doves, the plumage of their' necks marked by a sable of feathers. Occasionally two or three apes were to be seen in this ' Noah's Ark,' as it was called." Among the many pets of Queen Marie Louise of Spain were two parrots which tallied French with singular fluency, much to the annoyance of certain or her Court ladies,: who were sworn enemies of all things French. One day one of these ladies, the Duchess of Terra Nueva, took advanr tage of her Royal mistress's absence to wring the parrots' necks. When the Queen on her return learnt the fate of her beloved parrots her "rage was terrible to witness." An opportunity for revenge, however, soon presented itself, for, when the guilty Duchess shortly presented herself to kiss the Queen's hand, her Majesty gave Tier several resounding smacks on the face in the presence of the whole Court — a feminine retaliation which, probably, to a certain extent compensated for the loss of her favourites. Queen Mary of England, in spite of her reputation for cruelty, was a very devoted lover of birds and animals, and was never happier than when surrounded by her pets._ Chief among her favourites was a white lark, for which she paid threepence to the woodman of Hampton Court ; and which would perch on one. of his mistress's fingers and " pour' out his little soul in song." But the lark had dangerous rivals in the Royal affection, the most formidable of which was an - alligator, which his mistress fed daily from her own hand. , James I. had a wide range of animal which included an elephant, five camels, a fawn, a white gyrfalcon, and birds and dogs innumerable. Queen Elizabeth's affection was divided between her dogs, singing-birds and monkeys ; and the Merry Monarch was such a bird-lover that he lined the road on the south side of St James's Park, since known as Birdcage Walk, with aviaries for his feathered pets, ] which he fed daily,- while he was almost equally devoted to the tame j ducks in the park, which afforded him infinite amusement. ,