St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-02-22
UNDERsTUD1Es OF KINGS.
Every European MOnarchs Has One,
But the Job IL Growing
Unpopular.

/ J
tate hires an understudy, whose duty
It is to impersonate his royal master
what time the latter desires to be left
free from public observation and in
trusion.
| At one period posts of this kind were
eagerly sought after; but that was be
fore the evolution of the anarchist
and the nihilist, says Stray Stories.
Candidates nowadays are apt to re.
call with a shudder the fate of Sergius
Komarof, the late cars double, as.
| sassinated in mistake for his sovereign
and employer at Moscow a few years
back; and of Abdul Hamid's unhappy
understudy ESQ like his royal master
that even the palace officials, SO it was
said, could scarcely "tel t'other from
which," who was removed by the
emissaries of one of the Armenian rev
dictionary committees only last sum-
mer.
Not that the "billet" was ever par
ticularly "soft' one. Count Capo
d'Istria, president of Greece, original
ed the idea, and he had the mortifica-
ton of losing two of his best doubles
in less than 10 months.
After that no one would take over
the job on any terms whatever; so the
president has perforce to content him
self with publicly promising that who
soever assassinated him should, if cap
tured, be punished by being immured
within brick walls built round them up
tot heir chins, and that they should be
kept supplied with food in this species
of torment until they died.
The threat, however, fell fat. The
count was murdered shortly after
ward. And the terrible promise made
by the deceased president was carried
out to the letter by his government.
In Spain, where court etiquette 10
exacting and inexorable beyond all con-
ception, it would be well-nigh impos-
sible even for sovereign who was
man or woman grown to do without
an understudy. To child, such an or
deal would be quite out of the uues-
ton.
Consequently, the little Leon Al
phonso, who, as all the world knows,
came into the world king, has had
succession of understudies from his
cradle upwards. They have, for the
most part, however, had fairly safe
if not particularly easy time of it,
their duties being principally limited
to deputizing for the boy monarch in
as many as possible of the endless and
tiresome court ceremonials.
The last understudy of Queen Vic
toria is now living quietly in retire.
ment in little Worcestershire village.
DO We wash Too Much,
For many years medical men and
others have recognized the dangers
accruing from restricted use of
soap and water. There is a generally
accepted belief that people cannot
wash too often. Physicians are now
prepared to say that this is mis-
taken idea. It has been pointed out
that the skin is not well adapted to
frequent applications of water, ac-
companied by even the least irritat-
ing of soaps. A tendency arises to
maceration of the superficial part of
the epidermis, which is too frequent
ly removed. There is no doubt, ac-
cording to the Lancet, that many
cases of roughness of the skin Of
the face comes from too much wash
ing. 1t is a good thing to rub the
face with soft, clean towel two
or three times day. If, in addition,
water is used in the morning and at
night, the skin will be kept in a
sounder, smoother and healthier
state than if, as is often the case,
soaps and water are used three or
four times day.-Chicago Amer
Iican.