The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-12-24
The Tollies Of Petty Princes.

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ilization and to decency. The great
princes aped the court of France Ev-
cry little prince-and there were hum
dreds of them, ruling over kingdoms
which a man could almost walk around
beEre~. breakfast- initiated the great
princes. All lived in extravaganza,
and some of them in gross sensuality.
Their subjects were expected to exhibit
two virtues, namely, to obey and to
pay. The follies of some of these pet
@ty rulers were so extravagant as to be
ludicrous.
One of them, Count William, formed
an artificial island and built citadel
upon it. 1t was elaborately construct
ed, according to the science of military
engineering. 1t and its garrison of
three hundred gunners defended po-
tato-patch. a cabbage-garden. and a
small observatory with a worthless tel
Escape in it.
Another prince, one Gunther, ruled
over seventy-ive thousand men, women
and children, who lived on sixteen
geographical square miles. He built n
palace with three hundred and fifty
rooms, and adorned each room with
several clocks. His exercise was to
wind up each clock.
Travellers passing through his little
capital were invited to the court thea
tire. On one occasion, Prussian ma
jor was sitting by the side of the prince
in his box, smoking n clay pipe. as
the fashion was. The play was a dull
one.
How do you like it?' asked the
.'Surpassing well. your serene high
ness" answered the major, with the
courtesy of q courtier. Il should be
sorry not to have an opportunity of
seeing the piece again"
When the play was concluded the
prince shouted from his box, ''Hey!
hey there! Here's Prussian major
who wants to see the play again; act
it through once more" And the tired
performers were forced to repeat the
whole play.
Prince Gunther prided himself Oh
his ability as wrestler, and frequently
exhibited his dexterity before his sub
jects. OF course. his antagonists were
too good courtiefs not 10 let themselves
be thrown. But on one occasion the
prince met with his match.
Seeing in his park q stout farmer, the
prince challenged him to wre,tle. The
farmer accepted, and in n minute His
Serene Highness was flung sprawling
on the ground.
II slipped on a cherry-stone.' ex-
claimed the mortified prince, with an
oath, forgetting that it was not the time
of the year for cherries.
The farmer intimated his willingness
to try another round; but His High
ness. no longer serene, flew at him with
Il ,I<1 f;c.c I,n rops
shouted to the farmer 10 allow the
prince to trip him up. But he, being
no courtier, entered into the game of
iisticuffs with zeal At last, His High
ness. with bruised nose and blackened
eve, screamed to his guard. ''Of with
him to prisonr' and the victor paid the
penalty of wrestling with o prince by n
fortnight's confinement.
Another of these princes lived so eX-
travagantly that at last his whole in
come would not pay the interest on his
debts Then he resorted to fraud in
order to raise money. He mo tagged
forest of five hundred acres,
which had no existence. He
pawned his villages by making the
school-children subscribe the names of
their fathers to bonds binding them
with him to pay interest.
At last, his crimes became SO enor-
nous that the Emperor Joseph II. of
Austria had him tried. On his convic-
ton he was sentenced to ten years. I'M
prisonment. When he came out of
prison, he could afford to keep only one
horse. One day his solitary attendant
announced that there was no hay in the
loft and no money in the purse.
SWELL, WE'LL" answered the prince,
stake out the horse and give it mouth
full of fresh air.
Ridiculous Sayings.
Gen. Taylor was made ridiculous for
time by the sentence which occurred
near the beginning of his message to
the Thirty-first Congress, December,