The Sun.
London, England, 1825-10-25 00:00:00

DE FACTO, AND DE JURE.

Louts XI. of France was remarkable for the
very low rate at which he estimated every man's
life in his dominions, except his own ; and among
a variety of instances related by historians of the
day, in which this disregard was carried to an
excess almost ludicrous, one of the most extrava-
gant is the story of " the Prior of St. Cosmo."—
In the early part of Louis's reign, this Priest, who
was a favourite of the King, and a man of great
sanctity, undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy
Land, in the execution of which he was made pri-
soner,and carried as a slave into Barbary. Twelve
years after—either escaping, or by some other
means compassing his freedom—after being long
accounted dead, he found his way back again to
France ; but, in the interim, it turned out that a
new Prior, one of the King's chaplains, had been
appointed to his monastery. The case was one
rather of nicety. The original Prior entreated
to be restored to his place ; and this (at first) the
King promised should be done. But there were
difficulties in the way. The new incumbent, in
his turn, was a sort of favourite. Delays arose ;
and the claimant mercilessly petitioned seven
Limes a week, until, at length, Louis, tired of im-
portunity, and seduced, as he was apt to be, to
the readiest mode of accommodating such a mat-
ter, desired Tristan L'Hermite to " rid him of
the Prior of St. Cosmo." Now Tristan, being a
man of few words, merely bowed his obedience
to this intimation ; and, being also a person of
rather literal understanding, he never dreamed,
when he heard a " Prior" mentioned, of any
body but the officer who actually kept the keys
as such, and received the revenues ; therefore,
briefly, he betook himself straight to the mona.
stery of St. Cosmo ; and maugre the prayers of
the miserable superior, carried his orders coolly
into execution. On the next day, when the King
held his levee, the late traveller in Barbary, quite
unconscious of what he had escaped, appeared
with the hundred and eleventh petition. The
King was surprised, for he thought all demands
had been satisfied in full the night before.—
" How is this," said he, privately, beckoning to
Tristan, who was present—" Did I not tell you
to rid me of the Prior of St. Cosmo ?" " The
Prior, my liege !—did your Majesty mean this
man ?" whispered the Provost, with some little
hesitation. " Why whom else should I mean,
sirrali 1" returned the Monarch. " Did I not
speak of him ?" " I understood your Majesty to
mean the other prior—he was hanged last night
at eight o'clock." The King paused for a mo-
ment ; the error probably had beer involuntary—.
" It is soon remedied, my liege," said the Mini-
ster of Justice, " I will take off this Prior to
night also." But Louis, though cruel, never de-
sired blood farther than was necessary to his
safety or convenience—" As the mistake has oc-
curred," he replied, 44 and cannot be helped ;
the man had som right on his side, let him take
the benefit of it. Let him be restored to his
place," continued the Monarch, 44 and, gossip,
keep your own counsel ; fort:lne has done well
for him, and we will not oppose her. It was ne-
cessary that, in some way, I should be freed from
his importunities ; but we shall accomplish that
now in this way, as easily as we could do it in
the other."

MARINER'S CITURCII SOCIETY.-A. meeting of
the friends of this Institution was held at Liverpool, on Wed-
nesday last, the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of CIEESTE R
in the chair. " his Lordship, in a speech of some length, and
of characteristic eloquence, lamented the little provision which
had been hitherto made for the religious instruction of seamen ;
he noticed the arguments used by those who are opposed to
this laudable measure, which, he said, to his mind, were utterly
futile. Whea the business of the day had been completed, and
a subscription made, his Lordship undertook to use his in-
fluence in bringing over such of the clergy as were opposed to
the measure. The meeting then broke up.

AMIENS, OCT. 16.—WOLVES are seldom seen
in this department ; they have been, however, this
year past more frequently seen than usual. The
following is from a neighbouring :
" There is, in the middle of the plain of Toulay,
near Ferriere, an old foss or dyke, partly covered
with wood, and surrounded by a wall, to prevent
the near approach of cattle. The owner of the
land was in the habit of throwing into this foss
such animals as he found dead on his farm. Dur-
ing the night of the 11th and 12th of last month,
a wolf from the forest of Ally, attracted no doubt
by the smell of the carcases that were in the foss,
approached, and fell into it. He was seen for
three days at the bottom, striving, by every spe-
cies of leap and jump from one side to the other,
to gain the top again, and effect his escape. He
sometimes lay down and. rested himself after great
exertions, and then renewed his efforts, but to no
purpose, and he at length fell down and lay ex-
hausted with fatigue. The landowner at last
threw a parcel of straw into the foss, and set fire
to it. The unfortunate wolf redoubled his efforts
to escape, but alt in vain ; he expired in the midst
of the burning furnace, into which his voracious
appetite had led him.