Heroic Deeds of Royalties

New Zealand Tablet, 15 November 1906, Page 19

Heroic Deeds of Royalties

J There are many brave feats to the >.• credit; > of- __ Royalty. ■ ■- •*■ ' ' ' • -„> - -'' *?' c . 4 It is not- .many years-, since, when .driving in.-/ his capital, the King ,ot Portugal saw a bburlyr r ly highwayman in 'the act of robbing- and knifing a wayfarer." Before the rascal "had time "to escape the i£Thg had jumped from '-his carriage; J sjbruck- -him to -the-*" groundw£lh his stick,; and pinned him there while his coachman and footman" ..secured .jtiis .hands and feejb. ■ On-._ an- . ol|ier.' occasion -,Kiiig--' Carlos',', "who- is;- 'a " '"magnificent "-; swimmer, jumped- in^to.i^the- Riyer - Aloantara;.rescued a- I drowning man'just i as J -he.. .wasV .sinking *'f or ' the Hast -i;. time, , brought him ' safely ashore ;' and, again/ when .^. he was witnessing a bull-fight, he leaped into" the ring and -at • the- a risk- - of*— his life-« distracted, ihe- attention- of «. a fierce bull just as he was about to gore a fallen toreador. „ • - Not less brave iis "King Carlos 's beautiful.-' Queen, • who has probably.- saved more lives than- any -ijbthe'f.; Royal lady -in: -Europe*.- ,^-Once %she plunged into, the Tagus and, battling with the strong current, rescued '- two children fronv: 'drowning*; < and i on'a- moxe^ recent- . occasion "she saved- a "fisheinian" who- v^wasc: drowning -in v a rough sea,- of JCascaes^a feat which* "nearly cost-lier*! her own li£ef^;/ahd Jn recognition of which the 'Kaiser presented her with-'.UiQ German medal for -saving life. -"'; Curiously enough it was near the same sp'oT : >thatCarlos himself was rescued - when a boy.' "Near"" the -"- fortress of -Cascaes, _on,the. Atlantic coast, -is a chasing known as. Hell's Mouth, -in- which the waters 'of* the" - Atlantic form seething whirlpools. Just . beyond the.' chasm the young*. Carlos ' and his brother, were -bathing '- one 'day when they were' caught by -a wave -which would certainly/ have swept* them into the chasm na:d~ it not been for "the ""presence of mind and daring • of-* (yueen Maria Pia, their -mother,,- who rushed into <- ,'l'he r , sea and saved her sons'irom destruction. ",-""•* >_. 7 Another Royal life-saver is King Oscar "of Sweden,, a man of enormous strength - and absolutely fearless..-", His .Majesty was walking in the streets of Stoc&tiolm~ one day when he saw a couple of : runaway horses, attached to a carriage in which were a lady^ and her daughter, racing madly in his direction. The' "coachman had lost all control of- the maddened animals ami a terrible catastrophe seemed inevitable.. As the Horses" drew near' the King walked towards them and, with a " leap, flung himself at their heads, seized the reins, and,., after being dragged some distance,- brought .them, trembling and subdued, to a standstill. For this- deed , of heroism he received the -medal of ,the French Humane Society.

/ "^-Tlfc^late. King of Denmark i d a similar VJie'rpic. acl>, |o which there wa3Jaip'~arlus|hg sequel, by ."Stopping - a ."runaway cab-horse in the suburbs of Uopen'~"'hagenV<-; W-hen the cabman realised -that the danger was -;- passed'-hV turned _to r his, rescueiv, and. sa/id, ' I don't know ' -'who ' you are, sir-; ' J but ' T' "sKall- he*|frdintf 4o^- dTive^ 'you for nothing.' •' Thank you,7-.my friend,' was the smiling answer, 'I think 1 had. "fatfter 'walk.' -• -. Twice at ieast 4he. r JDowager lilmDress of, .Russia saved, her Husband's 'life; 'idnce',il% i^sakil shfejsaw 0 a strange jewel-case on the Emperor's dressing-table, and on picking "it up fouMXt/liat Tifel: was, unaccountably „ -heavy..,' Her^ suspicion wasj aroused, ,;and.. carrying it into ,> 'her "•■ own .-room she placed' "i 6 ''in 1 a At bas^ih' of '"'water and f" sent for- 'the:' Prefect.^of^Pqlice. • . An, t examap«d/ipn rr oJ! t'lie ''_ case .proyedj-that it. was ' a most 'ingenidus '" infernal •-" machine of * terrible power. swz-^-'z One evening when entering her_h,usband's study the "-Empress - heard a slight n,oise which she could not explain. With remark : aipl i e 4 pxe^e^nc^ offlmind-tshcL^askedithe t Emperor to comeVTCilfinier'itfo:H4e''nlir^l^A6'^ay^*gSbd- ' night; '... to -jthe children, ' and as he left the room she -locked? thje ' door. ; - She- communicated -her-- suspicions tp "Jbhe .Captain of the 'Palace- A s3-u.arja: ;p 'ihe -rx>om v w.as^ .^en--**tered, and jt was" dis'epfexje^'^thi^t ,the^lurking^assa§sin '•had r made - : 4is esc^pe CJ through' £ tlie-,"v^UdoVV" A ; v '--' ii > l? ;, -.' :"Jt n " was to the presence of ;m; m ! ind^a v nd to the brawny :^ arm "of TrinjCe George of Greece that the present Czar -' Tundo^ubtedlx^owed his&djfevvfiftTeensi-sifs.ars f ago^/ghe<.Gz'are7 1 y'ilch. _(asvKe"fhen was-)>£was^riding anb-a tjinrricksha^at; Kywheii a fanatic'akinattve;- policeman, at. t- tacked, "-him, furiously withti^a sgirord.^ The^C^ajueyitch -V jumped." dpwn J and tried,, "to '.escape. but' h'i"s ' " assafl'ant "pursued him, and "w^s^'oh * r 'the point' *bf " aisp'atch'inig.> him when Prince George/vwhbTiad- rushed- to' -hisi;rj§scue, felled the would-be. .assassin., with ,,a crushing/ .blow, of .his