The San Francisco call., 1896-08-16

ment in hunting dress, and when the Presi-
dent began to harangue him on the interests
OF the State he interrupted with the exclama-
ton, 'I am the Statep This is his most
famous saying, the next in rank being the
declaration made at the time of the departure
of the Duke of Anjou to be King of Spain,
There are no longer any Pyreneesp The
kindest speech recorded from him was that
made to the veteran Marechal de Villeroy on
the occasion when he brought to the King the
news OF the defeat at Families: "At our age,
Marechal, fortune no longer favors u.s."
The generals and the ministers of Louis
were much better at repartee than the King
himself. Some one having told the Due de
Luxembourg that William III of England had
been heard to excIaim, "Shall never beat this
cursed hunchback?" replied, 'Hunehback,
says he 2 What does he know of it. He never
saw my back Marechal Turenne, who was
noted for his careless dress and unfailfng good
humor, was walking once through dark pas
sage when servant taking him for another
servant, hit him hard slap on the back.
Turenne turned round and the man recogniz-
ing the Marechal, cried out "Monseigneur,
though you were George" To which Furenne
replied with a laugh: Gwen had been
George, you need not have hit so hard" Of
Colbert, the aplest Minister OF Louis XIV, there
is told story very similar that told of Wolsey
was brought to him a missive from the King.
Without opening it he said to the messenger:
"Let me die in peace. 1t is TO the king of
kings I now have to answer. Had / done for
God what have done for that man 1 should
have found salvation ten times over, and now
know not what viii become of me-"
Louis XIV is regarded by Baron Rothschild
as one of the worst rulers and worst men men
toned in history. 1t is said of him, "He lived
I,I,o rd of q
single thing said by him has been found worth
repeating even by his courtiers. His reign
was made iIlustrious in history by the exceed
ing brilliancy of his court, which shone by
the very excess of its voluptuons corruption.
1t was period marked by the supremacy
of such women as Nine de Pompadour and
Mrne. de Barri. There was no longer sense
of honor OF any kind, hardly even that of per-
sonal courage among the nobles On one oc-
casion young officer of the Royal Guard
went to the Due de Richelieu with the COM
plant that brother officer had spat in his
face. ''Fie," replied the Due; ego and wash
it." Monetary honesty was almost unknown
among the courtiers, even in regard to their
debts to one mother, and rich men had power
everywhere. The King once sent to the mil
Ionaire, Samuel Bernard, to ask the loan OF
few million francs, but Bernard sent back
word: ''When one wishes favor, the least he
monarque" had so little real pride that he
made the application in person and received
the money. One day the Marquis de Fayiere
called on Bernard and said 81 am going to
astonish you greatly. 1 am not acquainted
with you, and yet am going to ask you to
lend me 500 louis" To this Bernard replied:
81 shall astonish you more than you have as
tonished me. I am acquainted with you, and
yet shall lend you the money"
W 41~z
with his head Tor the faults OF others, was in
many respects a really good, warm-hearted
man who sincerely loved his people, but who
did not understand them and had not the
strength of character to govern them. Once
when hunting he met a peasant, of whom he
inquired why he was not making hay.
s'Sire," replied the rustic, ''the keepers have
forbidden haymaking before the autumn to
save the partridges." "And l." replied the
King, "order you to make the hay at once if
you wish it. 1t is not right you should lose
your hay to save my game" When in 1889
some deputies from the provinces received an
audience with the King and knelt as was the
custom, Louis raised them up saying, "Rise,
am your father; the place OF my children is
not at my feet" This kindness OF heart, how
ever, did not make up for the lack OF brains.
and he precip1tated the revolution by the very
means he took to avoid it. He seems, how
ever, to have had premonition of what was
coming. He said to Lafayette: 'I knew a
young man who, having visited a country
where liberty, equality and fraternity re1gned,
imagined he could establish the same condi-
ton of things in his own land. Do you know
what happened to him2" "No, SIRE" an
swered Lafayette. "He was hanged" replied
the King. Lafayette was not hanged, but he
made narrow escape from the guillotine and
passed five years of his life in Imprisonment.
The book ends with the Revolution and
many characteristic anecdotes are told OF the
leaders OF the various factions of those stormy
times. Enough has been written, however, to
show the general nature of the work. 1t is
volume which one can open at any page and
read with interest. 1t gives glimpses of the
men and women who have made the history of
France, and while hardly deserving to be
called history, will do much to enable the
general reader to understand the Characters