Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-01-07

His OCeupatiOns and Amusemen m

His Occupations nd Amusements. 90
When King George of Greece assembled
the throne of the Hellenes, it was generally
believed that his reign would be short
lived, and that the young gentleman from
Denmark would speedily fling away his
crown, and return to his delightful home
On the shores of the sound.
The contrary has been the case; the
Basileus from Denmark is not only very
happy man, but also an exceedingly popular
ruler. Nothing can be less pretentious
than the manner in which he lives. I
brought to him letter of introduction
from his father, and, it being fine Sep
TENDER day, strolled down between 7 and 8
o'clock in the morning to inquire of the
palace guards what hour it would be most
convenient for the King to receive me- To
my astonishment the Greek soldier at the
gate, in his picturesque uniform, replied to
me: at..
"You can see His Majesty now. He is
always UP before six O'clock"
This was singular but, welcome news to
"Where may see the Master of Ceremo-
nies?' l asked. .H..
The soldier stared at me.
"Send in your card by one of those boys
(pointing to two or three pages lettering
about the portico), and you will probably
be admitted at once"
Such proved to be the case. Two Or three
minutes afterward I was in the presence of
the King. Imagine y slender young man
of twenty-eight, with thin, ight-colored
hair, a very expressive, handsome face, rudy
cheeks, dressed in a checkered plaid, with
steel framed eyeglasses, small hands and
small feet, encased in.red morocco slippers,
and you have the Basileus before your eyes.
He glanced over my letter of introduce
ton, and then kindly aided me to be seated.
"You have come all the way from Copen-
hagen ?'' he said
"Yes, sir seven days ago l was yet at
the Trivoli, and took leave of your royal
father"
ooh, yes, he likes to go there and mingle
with the people," said the young King,
smiling, "and to laugh over the farces in
the open-air theatre"
"Your Majestity has no theatre here,', I
remarked; sit must be great privation ~
"Not at ALL" he said believe have no
time to go, if there was a good one at
Athens. am very busy. Look at this"
he added showing me pile of manuscript
[ am writing"
Writing'' | exclaimed in surprise
The King laughed.
eyes," he said, " writing book"
took the liberty to ask on what subject.
con the Bees of Hymettus.' Times
must have changed greatly, or the ancient
Hellenes must have been poor judges of
honey. WaitH'
He jumped up, and brought a tumbler
filled with honey and teaspoon. "Taste
this
I did so, while he looked at me expec-
family.
els it good ?'' he asked
"Not very" said. mot near so good
as Danish honey
"That is just what l am going to prove
in my book
He asked me to accompany him to his
cabinet. 1t was small room full of chemi-
cal crucibles, and glasses covered with wax
ed paper.
/ "Here," said the King, ARE 80 different
sorts of honey-even from Australia aud
New Zealand. Hymettus honey ranks far
below the most of them.
His Majesty made me taste half dozen
different kinds. Is
| asked him if he thought that, in olden
times, the busy bees of Hymettus had done
better.
81 incline to that opinion" he answered.
reason. The climate of Greece is no longer
what it was 1900 years ago. That is my
discovery" he added, almost triumphantly :;
land if I prove the assertion, am | not en-
titled to some philosophical honors ?''
[ ventured to ask for the reasons of this
belief. ...'.
Ahr' he said, laughing; {" that is my
secret. But, believe me, am well fortified
with arguments. I have classics at nv
fingers ends, and | have waded through an
immense quantity of learned literature"
[ asked the King whether he devoted his
leisure hours to this branch of study.
/" No, no." he said eagerly; Is to my
birds. Will you see my aviary? ?" .
There was no refusing, OF course. And
so I followed His Majesty into the court
yard, where he showed me truly beauti-
full avairy.
l expressed my surprise, aud he said,
with genuine pride cleaning from his eyes
"Is it not beautiful? But it cost a great
deal of money-almost more than I was
able to afford' ...... ~an
And now he showed me lis pets-the IA
nous five trained magpies. He took off his
hat, and placed five bright rings on his
head The magpies took them from him,
one after another, and then he whistled land
they brought them back to where they had
got them. They also placed themselves, at
his command, upon his head, forming a
sort of crown; and he shouted "Oikon y!
go homev) fhey flew back to their cote.
Another curiosity was tame vulture, Of
gigantic size, captured near the sits Of an
Gent Delphi. At the Kings call, the terri
BILE creature placed itself with both legs on
his shoulders. I instinctively shrank
back from the vulture; but the King said
"Never nina, old Miltiades is very good
natured. He will now shake hands with
you
Sure enough, Ailtiades grasped my
shrinking hand with an antique grip wor-
thy of his namesake- and with an exceed
ingly ludicrous air of gravity.
The King then ordered him to retire, but
the bird was evidently reluctant. The
King ordered piece of meat to be brought
to Miltiades, who thereupon withdrew
We ventured into the palace, and the
King kindly showed me the most remarka-
BILE apartments, chatting all the while
about his parents and his brothers and sis
tiers He expressed his regret that naugh.
| nv Thvra as he called his vounpest sister