The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-01-01
FADS OF FAMOUS MEN.
Great Characters Who Had q Fond
ness for Something.
wellington aud Napoleon Liked the
Prattling Of Babes.

Henry Nv OF France, the great Huguenot
king who has lately become familiar 20
many of us In the works of Mr.. Stanley
Weyman, was passionately fond Of chill
dren. 1t Is related Of him that one day he
was discovered by an ambassador crawling
on all fours with the dapphin on his back
and the rest of the royal children urging
him 30 equine fcats He was not abashed,
and, without rising, said TO the intruder,
"Have you children, Mr.. Embassador?"
"Yes sire " "In that case, replied Henry,
81 shall proceed with my sport" A fond
ness for children was feature In the char
scter of the Duke of Wellington, and also
In that of his great adversary, Napoleon.
1t is difficult to realize this imperious man,
this terror Of nations, dandling the young
king Of Rome In his arms and laughingly
daubing his face with sauce from his break
fast plate. Yet so 10 Is recorded Of him.
Another Of his weaknesses was for the
music Of bells. He would stop In the midst
of "a discussion on the gravest subjects to
listen TO village peal, and be surprised
and almost indignant IL those about him
failed TO evince n corresponding interest
"They remind me-" he said on one occa-
sion, "of the 1rst years passed at Brienne.
was happy them"
Music, indeed, in one form or another
has been the hobby OF many great men.
Milton delighted to play upon the organ
and composed many fine chants to psalms.
Gainsborough performed with no little
skill on the violin. Many of the anxious
and feverish hours Of Luther were solaced
by his flute. The great reformer, however,
had another favorite recreation In the shape
of the game Of sklttles or ninepins. Prob
ably the success attending his labors never
gave him so keen an exhilaration Of pleas
uro as did the knocking down OF all the
pins ut q stroke.
Byron loved flowers and kept bis rooms
constantly decked with them. He said
That he drew from them his inspiration.
la the later years Of his i.fs he formed a
great affection for dogs, and generally had
some Of them aboAt him. A favGrite one,
on its demise, received the honor Of O
Byronic epitaph. Many famous men have
displayed "a similar fondness for animals,
and In not few instances the animal
chosen has been of kind usually connect
ed with household pets. Cardinal Richie
lieu found amusement In q cc,'ection OF
cats. The poet Cowper tanned bares and
spent much of his time feeding and fon-
ding them. Goethe made friends with an
animal of far less inviting description.
It Is related of him that be rarely passed a
day without bringing from chimney cor
ner live snake, which he kept there, and
caressed it like a bosom friend. Hardly q
more agreeable form Was taken by Rem
brandt who became devoted to an ape.
When 10 heard of this animals death, he
was 60 overcome with grief that he intro
duced its figure into group he was then
engaged upon of a noble family. Needless
to say, the family In question refused to
recognize this unseemly addition to their
numbers, and, the painter declining to
erase IL, the picture was left ON his hands.
1t Is said TO be still in existence.
More remarkable almost than any Of
these Is tho friendship which Pelisson
made with a spider IN order to beguile tho
tedium Of solitary confinement In the bas-
tile. That creature of this kind should
show itself amenable to such influence is
perhaps more to be wondered at than that
a man SO placed should desire to tame it.
James ! was another lover of animals, but
he does not seem to have confined bis favor
to any particular variety. He kept a pri-
vate menagerie in ST. James park, where
In all manner of beasts were gathered to-
gether and tended with scrupulous care.
Sables, whito gyrfaloons Of Iceland and
flying squirrels were, We are told, among
the most highly priced specimens In this
collection.
About the year 1929 the king Of Spain
obtained the good offices of his majesty by
the diplomatic pre- entation OF an elephant
and five camels The former of these ap-
pears to have been somewhat costly visit
or 90 entertain. He required two Spanish
keepers as well RS two English ones for
his cole service, and "breefe noate what
tho chnrdges of the elephant and his
keepers arc In the yeare" sets the figure
mt 1875 les. s1,37S). This computa-
ton, however, does not seem TO have COW
cred the entire expense, for the "breefe
noate' Is supplemented by the following:
"Bcsides bis keepers aflrme that from the
month of September until April ho must
drink (not water) but wyne-- and from
April unto September he must have gal
Ion OF wyDe the daye,"
Apart from animals, the vagares of
great men nave taken many similar forms.
Beethoven was possessed with continual
desire to change lodgings. Hardly was he
installed in enc set of apartments than he
would discover some defect In them and
set about searching for others. What
field Is there here, surely, for the enter
prising tourist He would be an unlucky
man, indeed, who should fail TO unearth
at least one Of :he great composers many
abodes London Standard.