The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-06

the king upon his death-bed. few hours
afterward the first gentleman of the bed
chamber threw open the window and
cried: lie roi est mortr three times
He then broke his wand of office, and,
taking a fresh one, exclaimed, "Vive lie
roi!' The ceremony was not to be repeat
ed for another fifty-nine years, that be-
ing the length of the reign of Louis XIV
Louis XIV's great-grandson and success
sor. Thus two successive monarchs reign
ed for the extraordinary period of 1871
years. 1t Is remarkable that, of forty
four kings of France from the accession
of Charlemagne in 76S to the death of
Louis XIV in Ills, these-the first and
last named-were the only two who lived
for more than seventy years.
The former division of Spain into so
many separate kingdoms renders some of
its chronology little obscure, but there
is sufficient evidence to justify the boast
of the Spaniards concerning the prolong-
ed reigns of many of their sovereigns.
James /, King of Aragon, ruled from 1913
to 1916, a period of sixty-three years,
while Pedro ", also of Aragon, and John
II of Aragon and Navarro reigned respec-
lively, for fifty-one and tifty-four years.
From the time of Ferdinand of Aragon
under whom,in 1879, Spain was consoli-
dated into one monarchy-to the death of
Ferdinand VII in 1853, eight kings ruled
whose reigns averaged thirty-fve years.
Alphonso occupied the throne of Portu-
gal from 1112 to 1855, a reign of seventy
three years, and his memory is greatly
venerated by the Portuguese, who regard
him as the founder of their independence
and constitutional government. John l,
who married a daughter of our John of
Gaunt, reigned for fifty years, and three
other Kings of Portugal occupied the
throne for the several periods of forty
three, forty-four and forty-six years.
The reigns of several of the kings of
Prussia have been considerably longer
than what has been called the European
average"-a somewhat unstable quantity,
ba sed upon such shifting and unsatisfac-
tory data as to have little practical value.
Frederick William, the Great Elector, the
founder of the Prussan military power
and who greatly increased and husbanded
her resources, reigning for forty-eight
years from 1910 to 1888. The reign Of Fred
erick the Great Q740-S6) extended to forty
six years and was certainly the most i'm
portant in the annals of the kingdom.
Frederick William III reigned for a period
of fcrty-three years Q797-1S40). Turning to
Germany, we find that Frederick w, sur
named the Pacific, of the house of Aus
tria, occupied the throne from 1440 to 1893.
a period OF ffty-three years; while the
reign Of Leopold 1 covered forty-seven
tion Of the reigns of fifty-three German
emperors, who ruled between 800 and 1885.
including the two above mentioned, was
twenty-five years.
In the history of Russia the longest reign
is that Of Peter the Great Q6S2-1725), which
extended to forty-three years. It was OF
this monarch's rule and character that
Noltaire made the memorable summary:
He gave polish to his people, and was
himself savage; he taught them the art
OF war, OF which he himself was Ignorant. |
from the sight of a small boat on the river
Moskwa he created powerful feet; made |
himself an expert shipwright, sailor. pilot |
and commander; he changed the manners
customs and laws OF the Russians. and |
lives in their memory as the father of his |
country" The Empress Catherine III. also |
a great ruler, reigned thirty-four wears !
AS czars of Muscovy. Ivan III (the frst TO |
adopt the title) reigned forty-three wears
ll462-l5O5) and Ivan Nv ffty-one years oSss-
~, the rule Of the latter. although sur
named the Terrible, marked a great ad-
vance in the civilization OF the nation
~-------@-@n~s-
Appeal to His Record -Isaacs-Votp