The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1877-09-25
Anecdotes of Prince Joseph.

eign countries, In the garb Of private
citizen, unattended by any suite. BY so
doing, he arrived at many facts regarding
the condition of his subjects which
might never have fallen under his OBJ
servation. His love for adventure was
also gratified, and he enjoyed greatly
the luxury for doing good by surprise
an eccentricity of his out of which
many anecdotes have arisen.
While travelling through remote dis
trict, in the year 1871, he heard some
sounds of festivity proceeding from
roadside inn, entering which, he in
quired of the landlord what the occasion
of the revels might be.
"There is wedding party in the
house, sir, replied the host.
I" May take the liberty of joining
them ?" asked the emperor, whose per-
sonal appearance was unknown TO the
inhabitants of the place-for the mod
ern carte de visite had not yet been
dreamed of, and engravings but seldom
found their way to the remoter villages.
The landlord obtained the necessary
permission, and accordingly the distin-
guished stranger was introduced to the
bridal party. Being man of great So
cial gifts, he soon made himself very
popular with them, drank the health of
the happy couple in a bumper of wine,
and made what the reporters call
neat and appropriate speech" on the
occasion. After some time he took
leave of his new acquaintances, whose
astonishment may be guessed at when
they found, under bottle on the table,a
check for 600 florins, payable at sight,
signed by the Emperor, Joseph II, and
endorsed, I" A dowry for the bride.'
Travelling in plain carriage on one
occasion, upon the good old-fashioned
principle known as posting" that is,
hiring fresh horses at certain stages by
the way, the emperor arrived at sta
ton where no horses were to be had.
The inn-keeper excused himself by say
ing that his wife had lately presented
him with son, and that all of, the
horses were employed in fetching friends
and relatives of the family from all
quarters 10 assist at the christening,
which was to take place that afternoon.
The royal visitor at once rendered his
services to hold the infant at the sacred
font-an offer which was gladly accept
ed by the host-who was quite flattered
at the idea of a fine gentleman acting in
that capacity for him, instead of burly
bumkin-a relative of the family-who
had been already engaged to do SO.
When the proper time had arrived, the
priest asked the sponsor to state his
name.
Joseph replied the Emperor.
And your family appellation ?"
"Well, ," said the Emperor, "you may
write me down Joseph Second
I" But it will be necessary to add your
station in life, aud occupatian."
"Ah, yes, my trade, you mean p-say
1 am an Emperor, then."
There was instantly a sensation among
the astonished guests, and the poor inn
hCCDCl uChlly Wtuu tlbO " llU
fright; but the Emperor quickly re-
assured him, and left some substantial
tokens of good will for his little godson
before taking his leave.
Once he was expected to pass through
q small town in France, and the good
people were on tiptoe to see the Emperor.
1t SO happened that he arrived there
alone, and before any of his suite. The
landlady of the little hostelry where he
put up, being gossiping sort of old
body, put all sorts of questions to him
to find out whether he belonged to the
Emperor's suite, and the way in which
he parried convinced her that he did.
At last, she brought him some hot
water for shaving; unable to control
her curiosity any longer, she asked the
stranger boldly what kind of situation
he held about the Emperor.
Z" sometimes shave him." he replied,
lathering his chin with great composure.
When at Paris he once hired car
riage to take him to the Luxembourg
gardens. AS he was on his way, the
driver expressed much satisfaction at
being engaged to go there, saying that
the Emperor Joseph was expected to be
at the gardens that very day and that
he should hke, above all things, to see
him, hoping that they might arrive in
time. The stranger assured him that
there was no fear of the Emperor arriv-
ing there before they did, and, on being