, 1873-08-24

DEATH OF A ROYAL BRUTE.
Within tho Int week, Charles Frederick AL.
gust William, Duke of Brunswick, diod ut Como.
VA. Tho history of this man is Oh ana'gamatcd
record Of personal moannoss dopraVity, vanity,
aVarlco, and imhccllity.
During tho roign Of tho Flrat Napoleon, tho
reigning Duke, Frederick William, was driven
out OF DrunHwiok, and his donlnions transferred
to tho now Kingdom Of Wcstphalia, ovor which
Joromo Bonaparto WIS made King. Ho Was d
great soldier. and WAS killed at Quatre Bras tho
day boforc tho battle OF Waterloo, Juno 10, 1876.
Ho loft two aons, Charles William and Augustus
LouiB, whose mothor had diod boforo them.
Charles William was placed, by tho will Of bis
father, undor tho guardianship OF George tho
Fourth Of England, who was thon. Prince Of
Walos. He roignod in Brunswick under
regency until ho attninod bis majority
in 1895, whom 10 roigned In porson. Tho
boy was naturally bad,-moan, sordid, cruel,
aud generally vioious,- ,-and tho man WAS no i'm
provenent on tho boy. During tho regency, his
worac trsita wore suppressed, 40 far as the Gov
ornment was concerned. Aftor becoming Duke,
he gave himself to unrestrainod personal license.
Ho travelled, but 1oarned nothing good. Roturr-
ing to Brunswick, he set himself up as M abso-
lutte tyrant, adding private dobauchory to politl-
cal dospotism. It did not take long to alienate
tho people, nor to destroy tho respect Of those
Who would hive aided him. Tho popular feeling
which expelled tho Fronch King In 1880 was rife
all over Europe, and especially in Brunswick,
and In 1929 tho German Dict was compelled to
interposo to restrain Ills o1coasos Finally.
IN 1850. no was deposod, nnd doclarod
unflt to reign. Tie loft Brunswick, and
his younger brother, Augustus Louis, has
boon recognized as Duke since then. Charles
spent some years appealing to England mud to
othor Powers to nterfore for his restoration, but
finally abandoned nil hopo. Ho has ainco thon
hvcd IN London, Paris, mud Geneva, having
princely residences at each place.
He Inherited vast wcnlth from lis fathor, aud
haa made it productive during tho forty-threo
years TINT havo intorvcnod sinco his dismissal
from Brunswick. His spocial fancy was tho nc
QUESTION Of diamonds, which l,o carried to such
an oxtent that he has boon styled tho "King of
Diamonds" Ho was win Of hB collection, which
lie has beon accustomed to display mali occasions
in Paris, London, aud elsewhere. Though ex-
coeding1y ostentatious in tho display Of his
woalth, and especially Of diamonds md jewels
of all kinds, Ao was, In his personal dealings 30
moan TINT tradosmon avoided his custom. 1Io
never made purchase without haggling at the
price, and nevor paid bill without trying to
hayc it reduced. The worry precautions ho took
to prevent o3tortion probably provoked it, and
TINT he wns often choatod ia probably tr,1o but
tho fact won for linn no sympathy. He never
married. Ho was too selfish to dcsiro wife,
and to2 contemplate and degraded to bo sought
aftor by any person OF rank. While his
collection Of diamonds was the grand
qualification of his protraetod yoars, It
was at tho Same timo source OF
cndloas misery and apprehension. Ho lived
i'll constant dread of robbery. His house In
Paris, on the Avenue Frielland, was made bur
g1ar-proof. The palace was surrounded by high
walls, and tho doors md windows wero so con-
atructed that thoy could not be opened without
the ringing OF humorous alarm-bells. Hisdiamond
casketB wore secreted within his own chnmbor
where he was always prepared to fight in their
aefonso. His carly taste for dobaucher7 was
succeeded by that Of avarico, and the poor old
man. with his curly silk wig, his nfrectation
Of youth, his evident dccropitude, was ono of tho
'uriositles Of Europe. His appearance on gala
nights, decked out in his diamonds, attracted
much attention, which tho old fool accepted as
to tho degenerate representative
of tho house OF Brunswick, which for 800 years
had boon connected with the royal dynastieB OF
Ill the nations OF Europe, and which had pro-
luced long line Of horoes, scholars, and omi-
aent mon.