The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1893-10-05
A ROYAL DILEMMA.

PREVIOUSLY to his elevation to the
sovereignty, jerome Buonaparte led Il
life of dissipation at Paris, and was
much in the habit Of frequentiug the
theatres and other public places Of
amusement He had formed an init
macy with some young authors, at
that time in vogue for their wit and
reckless gaity. On the evening of his
nomination to the crown of West
phalia he met two of his jovial com
panions, just as he was leaving the
theatre My dear fellows" said he
Il am delighted to see you; [ suppose
you know that [ have been created
king Of Westphalia?" ''Yes, sire, and
and permit US to be among the first to
--' Eh!what! you are ceremonious,
methinks; that might pass were L sur
OIL nled By my court, but, at present,
away with form, and let's have the
same friendship. the same free and
easy gaiety of before; and now let's be
off to supper" jerome upon this,
| took his friends to one of the best
restauraceurs in the Palais Royal
The trio chatted and laughed, and
said and did thousand of those fool
ish things which, when unpremeditat
ed, are so delightful. Conversation,
it may be supposed, was not kept up
without drinking When the wine
began to take effect, "My good friends" :"
said Jerome, "why should we quit
each other? If you approve of my pro
posal, you shall accompany me. You,
c., shall be my secretary; as for you,
p, who are fond of books, l appoint
you my librarian" The Arrangement
was accepted, and ratified over a fresh
bottle of champagne At last the
party began to think of retiring, and
called for the bill. jerome produced
his purse; but the king of Westphalia,
whose royal treasury had not as yet
been established on a regular footing,
could find only two louis, s,which form
ed but a small portion of two hundred
francs, the amount Of the erestaurateur's
demand The new dignities, by club
bing their worldly wealth, could mus
ter about three francs. What was to
be done? At one O'Clock in the morn
ing, where could resources be found?
It was, at last, deemed expedient to
send for the master of the house. and
to acquaint him how matters stood.
He seemed to take the frolic in good
part, and merely requested to know
the names of the gentlemen who had
done him the honor to sup at his
house. Il am secretary to the king
of Westphalia." And librarian to,
his majesty" ''Excellentw cried the
restaurateur, who now set his custom
ers down for sharpers: "and that
noodle yonder is no doubt the king of
Westphalia himself?" Precisely"
said Jerome, Il am the king of West
phalia." "Gentleman, you are pleas
ed to be facetious, but we shall see
presently how the commisary of police
will relish the joke" For heavens
sake" exclaimed Jerome, who began
to dislike the aspect of the affair,
make no noise; since you doubt US, |
leave you my watch, which is worth
ten times the amount of your bill;" at
the same time giving the host mag
nificent watch, which had been pres
ent from Napoleon.
! There is a general idea that the
Presidents salary of $4,000 a year is
all that he receives, and that when
compared with the salaries paid the
sovereigns of Europe, the sum is not
enough. This is mistake. In ad-
dition to his salary, the president re-
ceives S36,064 to pay the salaries of
his clerks and subordinates His
private secretary has $500; his as
sistant secretary, S2,250; the stenog-
rapher gets $3.50; each of five mes
sengers, 1900; lie steward, S1,6OO;
each of the doorkeepers, 100; while
other employees are paid in proportion
down to the man who takes care of
the fires, who receives 1864
In addition $4,000 are allowed TO,
incidentals, such as stationery and
carpets; S12,500 for repairs and re-
furnishing; $500 for fuel; $4,000 fo1
, the greenhouse, and $4,000 for the
stable. gas and other incidentals. In
all, the president and his house cost