The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1878-12-11
"A KINGS NEW-YEAR'S NIGHT.

"A KINGS NEW EAkS NlGHT.
It was in the evening of the S1st of
December, 1899, thatKing Henery Nv. OF
France lay yawning on the sumptuous
lounge Of his sitting. room, in the mag.
nitic~Ht palace of the Louvre, in Paris.
He wss then forty-seve years old, but
lool vtl much younger. He had accom-.
plshcd whata.most every body at the time
had denrosd an utter possibility
had n,.:oe himself the sole and sovereign
ruler of % 81 the great nations Of the
Ola World, which, until then, had been
torn ins0 ;iiscrrC!ant and bitterly hostile
fact'o &c. re bad made France more
DOVE! fnl thau ever, and, with the assist
ance Of lie great Sully, restored the pop
ular ,rcsperity 10 such an extent, that
every boi;T said, "FIance has never before
had such & great and wise Monarch
at tho same time his personal amiahil-
itv ard magnetism were such that the
people ito.lled him, and that he could do
with impunity what none OF his Royal
predecessors had dared to do-nsmely,
dc go out alone and unarmed in the dead
Of night into the streets Of Paris, which
were then narrow, crooked and very dark.
But Henry ~, notwithstanding his ex~
r HacrGinary successes and his p-ovsrbial
. good humor, had at times the blues, and
such was the case on this occasion.
"Theso incessant stiff court festivals"
he said 10 himself, shave become disgust
.ing to me- This is New Y ears night, and
do not intend to spend it in the midst
. Of uay fawning courtiers. believe will
: sally out into the street in plain attire
and mingle with the people. That will
be bv far more amusing to me-"
&c dofed his rich velvet suit, donned
rather threadbare clothes, put on an old
,soldier's hat, filed his pockets with gold.
pieces, wrapped himself into white
cloak, and left the palace through a Sc
~cree passage without being seen by any
vbo6y.
AS be stepped into the street, q neigh
boring clock struck ten. He walked
hastily over the yaulting bridge that
.spanned the Seine, and soon found him
.se.s in that labyrinth of narrow and
crooked streets where the bulk Of the
Partisan population lived at that time.
The streets were crowded yet, for the
ParisiaDs ALWAYS went late to bed.
Bending into the Rue de Courboys,
the disguised King saw large crowd fol-
.lowin. a strange procession, which
moved toward the eastern end Of the
street.
AcceLerating his steps, tha King was
not long in overtaking this procession.
He was surprised beyond measure up
on perceiving that it consisted of half
naked women, whom some twenty arch
ers we're dragging along. The women
were weeping and sobbing, and tho crowd
seemed to sympath;ze with them.
Atlasr the procession halted in front
Of lacec and brilliant building.
It wss the Office of the Lieutenant Of
Police. Monsieur De Goroy, one of the
most influential men in the country, as
his powers extended all over France.
The archers dragged the unfortunate
prs onis INTO tha vestibule Of the Office.
There young man received them.
."BaWds' he said to them, hargbtily,
ato-night you will receive your fifty lashes
here ard to. morrow the same dose at the
Spinnin house, where you will be con-
fined for i've years."
The young women burst into loud Ia
mentations. Many OF them protested
seuphstically that they were respectable
girls, and that the archers had dragged
them wantouIy out Of the houses of their
parents. The man who had announced
their sad fate to them, turned his back.
on them scornfully, and ordered the
archers to take them to tho whipping
post, when Henry w., who had quietly
entered the place, said to him:
''uow &c you know that these women
are bawds2" , ....... .....s- -. ,
s'We have to leave that to the archers
who arrest them," answered the man. ''At
any rate, it's none of your business, old
fellow. Get out ofhere!' -.
,"Ho, hop rGoined the King. "None
OF your impertinence. l am the bearer
of 8 message to Monsieur de Goroy, His
Maiasty's Lieutenant of Police"
,"Ahw ..'
"Wl1ere can find Monsieur De Goroy2r
HE is at q carousal at the Golden
Hart tavern. I'm his nephew, Chandon
De Vicjtry, and attend to his business in
his absence. Where is your message2"
"You won't get it, young chap. All, if
King Henry w. knew how you were car
ryipg Gil here!'' ..... +.
81. s'Ycu mean about those women?"
~"We'I, yes" - ~ g..
"Pordieu, Monseigneur De Culavry,
tbs Governor Of Paris, told ray uncle the
other day there were too many bawds in
Paris, and SO be must arrest every night
forty Or fifty girls .s.:u
Il thought the Lieutenant Of Police
did not receive any orders from any Body
Sbut the King?" ...a.~.... .@.s.s. 49,.
cod fellow, you are right. But he
does, though, and how is the King, going
to find it out2 Henry Nv. pays no at
r. tention to such trit1es. They say that he
is now revolving in his mind plan to
conquer the whole world"
"Maybe ho will, one day. remarked
the King, significantly.
"Do you know Henry w. then9''
sDo l know him2' fought very close
to His Majesty at the battle of Ivry."
"Ah! You are al old soldier, Chen,
+" Come with me into the room, and tell me
some Of your stories about the pars.
have some nice warm spiced wine inside.
You will like it. It's genuine New.
Years Night drink. What is your
name9"