El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-03-03
PRACTICAL JOKES AT COURT.
There Were Some Merry Souls in the
Time of King George.

\ practical joke may be defined as
one in which merriment is produced or
sought, not by words, but by action,
practiced upon Il fcllOw-creatuTe-c
monty an offensive or annoying action.
Even if harmless, it holds up the suffer
er to ridicule, and intelligent human be
iugS do not need to be told that such
conduct is reprehensible. But if the
Joke be well Contrived, sufficiently hui
morous in idea, and neatly executed,
we do not care so much as we should
ii it fall under the "practicaI' class.
Who would not have liked to be present
at the royal masquerade when HeldeS-
ger, master of the revels to George H.,
was confronted by his double? The
duke of Mantagu had obtained a cast of
the great mans face, from this he
caused wax mask to be fashioned
and colored. Heidegger'S tailor sup
piled the fac-simile of the new and gOr-
geous dress he was to wear, and the
duke engaged an actor to play the part.
He told the band, at the last moment,
to strike up Charley Over the Water
at his majesty's appearance instead OF
God Save the King" They hesitated.
but it was undeniably Heidegger-fea-
lures, voice, clothes, and also lmpre-
cations when the conductor demurred.
So the king heard that reasonable air,
perha ps for the first time, on entering.
We can family imagine the tumult.
Heidegger rushed to the band, struck
the conductor, set him playing God
Save the King" and rushed back to
apologize. Next moment he returned
to the orchestra, equally furious-thdt
is, his double Misunderstanding the
band to resume Charley Over the Wa
ter" and the bewildered musicians
obeyed. There was never such a scene
in the presence of royalty. The officers
OF the guard in attendance made a dash
at the band with swords, but those II
the secret blocked the way. Heideg-
ger, dancing around the king, made in
articulate prOteStatlOnS and excuses.
whilst his majesty stormed and threat
ened, making for the door. The situa-
ton became perilOus. So the coun-
terfeit stepped forward, crying, with
passionate Indignation: Sire, the devil
has taken my likeness to undo me. Look
at him." Heidegger saw his double,
gasped, gibbered and fell senseless.
One may think that longer and more
complicated business" might have
been developed from such an ingenious
hoax; but for u dramatic situation OF
it's class this could not be beaten.
In some parts of South America good
folks store all the glass and crockery
broken in the twelvemonth, and at car
nival time put it into a sack attached
to the lofty balcony by a stout cord.
lot quite long enough to reach the
ground. When a desirable victim
passes beneath. the sack is quietly let
gC-to be arrested with a hideOus
crash, upon his very heels. 1t is cred
IDLY reported that foreigners unpre
pared for this jest have tumbled head
long at the shock, and others have
taken to their beds with an attack of
fever. These are rare triuInphs.
No time or place is sacred to the
thusiastic joker. Duclos tells, in his
memoirs, how the prince archbishop
of Cologne asked license to preach in
the royal chapel at Versailles, when
visiting Louis XIV. himself. All the
court assembled. 1t was April 1. The
prince archbishop mounted the pulpit
in stately fashion. bowed from side to
side, and stood a moment as if collec,
ing his thoughts, then shouted: April
fools!" picked up his skirts and ran.
At the Sistine chapel on Good Friday
each worshiper received a small whip
on entering. Three candles only burnt
on the altar. When the first was eX
tinguished everyone threw off his coat;
the next his waistcoat; the third was a |
signal to fog himself in pitch darkness. |
Sir Francis Eastwood, afterward chan |
cellor of the eNchequer, founder of the |
Dilettanti club, and parsonage whose
name dwells in history, was visiting |
Rome. He provided himself with a
stout riding whip and pot admittance
to the Sistine; when the flogging be-
gan, instead of titillating his own Shout
ders delicately, ne slashed his neigh |
bors right and left, with British whip |
cord, conscientiously laid on. The
scene is not yet forgotten in Rome
Eastwood had made his arrangements
to escape. Horses and servants stood |
ready in a by-street-he mounted and
rode for his life, but some of his follow
ers were captured, tried for sacrilege |
and sent to the galleys, if we remember
right. 1t may be hoped that when the
re cllless youth became a power in En-
rope he did not forget those poor fell
lows-London Standard.