New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1890-07-23
THE DWARF BEBE.
q Tom Thumb of the Last Century BE.
longing to TIL e Polisl, Kinn.

longing to the Polish King. 81
The story of Bebe is a quaint BIT Of
last century's history which has Just
been rescued from oblivion by a conti-
mental Dryasdust. .Bebe is. supposed
to have been the littlest man who ever
lived. He was born by a peasant wo-
man in Lorraine just $50 years ago and
was called Bebe because the first few
years OF his life he could articulate only.
lib. s The day of his birth Bebe was
smaller than his mothers hand. Ten
days afterwards he was taken to the
village church to be baptized in his
mothers wooden shoe because he was
too tiny to be carried safely III her
arms. During the next six months
the same wooden shoe served as Bebe's
crib.
Bebe's early childhood was unevent.
full. He did not grow and he did not
talk. He was famous throughout Lor-
raine, however, as the cunningest and
tiniest BIT Of humanity ever seen. He
was perfectly proportioned, had Won
derfully large and beautiful brown eyes,
and was remarkably active upon his
diminutive legs. When Bebe was
about z years old King Stanislaus
Lesczynski of Poland, who was then
living in Lorraine, heard what Won
derful little fellow he was and ordered
the child's father to bring him to court.
Bebe, ST., carried his son to the royal
palace in small basket. As the
father came into the kings presence
the king asked him very grufly why
he had not brought his son with him.
Bebe, ST., answered this question by
opening the basket on his arm and
dragging forth the child. Stanislaus
said at once that Bebe must become
his court dwarf. Bebe's father was in
duced to accede to this proposal with
a good bit of Polish gold and Bebe was
made a regular follower of the kings
court.
AT the time of his introduction to
court life Bebe was just twenty inches
tall and weighed eight pounds. He
never grew larger. At first the king
tried to teach him jokes, and fairy
stories, and bits of questionable poetry.
Bebe's intelligence however, was not
equal to the demands thus made upon
it. His memory was SO weak that lie
forgot one hour what he had learned
the hour before. Reading and writing
were for him quite impossible. With
all these failings, however, he was bv
no means failure as a court dwarf.
He had a sweet little oi.e, good ear
for music. and nimble legs. He could
dance, and kick, and sing with the best
of the kings courtiers. He was very
useful as table ornament at all the
kings great banquets. His most IA
nous appearance in this rather curious
role took place at dinner which Stan
islaus gave to the ambassador of a
great power in 1855. In the middle Of
the table was an immense sugar castle.
Shortly before the guests rose to leave
the door of the castle opened, and a
knight in full armor stepped out with a
drawn sword in his right hand. All
the guests thought the knight must be
some wonderful automation which the
king had obtained from the skilled
mechanics across the Rhine He wasn't,
however. He was none other than lit.
tie Bebe. He walked around the table,
shook his sword in the face of every
guest, saluted the king, and then turn
ed back to the castle entrance where
he assumed the position of sentry At
a signal from the king everyone began
to lombard him with small sugar
balls. Bebe hurried at once into the
tower, locked the door, mounted the
tower, and pretended to return the fire
by setting off a lot of perfumed explo-
sives
Within ten or twelve years after Be-
be's appearance in court he was one of
the most celebrated persons in royal
society on the continent. With fame
however, came to him numerous per-
lis. All the sovereigns Of Europe were
coveting him, and many of them tried
hard to steal them. In 1853 the En-
press Catharine of Russia sent an en-
issary after him to the court of the Pol
ish king. Late one evening, when the
royal palace was almost deserted, Cath
arine's emissary snapped Bebe up and
stuffed him into the pocket of his great
coat. Bebe screamed so Justify that he
revealed the plot to the guard at the
door. The emissarv was arrested, and
Bebe was rescued. Notlong afterward
Bebe accompanied Stanislaus to the
court of Louis XIV, in Versailles,
where he again narrowly escaped alb
duction. A lady Of the French court
had been holding him in her lap be-
tween the courses of a court dinner.
Suddenly she rose to leave the room.
Her first step was accompanied by a
shrill cry from the folds of her gown:
Your majesty, your majesty. this
lady has stuck me in her pocket and
is running away with me- The voice
was Bebe's. He was Immediately
dragged from the court lady's pocket
and placed under the guard of two
pages, whowere instructed bY King
Stanislaus to watch him day and night.
The perils through which he had
passed, and the strict surveillance to
which he was now subjected depressed
:Bebe's spirits and demoralized his
nervous system. He became melan-
choly, morose, round-shouldered, and
hagggard. The king thought he needed
a companion to cheer him up, and
therefore married him with great
pomp and ceremony to Therese Sou
yray, a dwarf of about his age and
greater stature That was