The Washington herald., 1906-10-21

bores. and to betTsy their ennui, a spe-
cies Of malady to which royal personages
are particularly prone, yet they usually
manifest the utmost consideration in
avoiding everything that could go 10
snow the sense OF WEAKNESS inspired BY
the remarks Of the person with VIXEN
they happen to be IN conversation. The
late Grandduke Constantine NicOlaivitch
Of Russia used TO have a most amusing
md withaI courteous way Of relieving
himself Of such tedium. When men com
mCnced to bore aim by prOsiness. he
would give 10 his monocIe. which hung
over his neck by an almost invisible elias
tic cord an imperceptble twiiCh. with
the result that il would as II propelled
by some unseen force. fly up TO his eye.
where il remained fixed, without any
apparent effort or action on his part
He would then gaze fXedly through the
eyeglass at the unfOrtunates peaker. Just
as if nothing had happened. The effect
of this little maneuver was generally 20
completely discOncert his interl0cutOr
whose utterances were cut Short not only
by the manner in which the mOn0cle
appeared to fly up into the grand dukes
eye. but also By the fact that his inn
periaI highness seemed totally unmoved
thereby.
Punctuality has often been described
as the poHteness Of kings, a saying which
dates from the old days Of the Court
Of Versailles. where Louis XIV. in spite
of his perfectly extravagant idea as 70
the character OF his superiority above
the remainder Of mankind. and his ina
tense self-cOnsciOUsneSs made il a Tulef
70 always be on time to the very minute. /
/ He required, however, similar exacIitude
on the part Of others, and everybody
recalls the crushing rebuke which he
addressed 70 a deputatiou which instead
Of arriving in advance OF the appointed
hour, had arrived as the clock struck.
/ "Messieurs he exclaimed, TAI fafi
attendre." Gentlemen, almost had 70
waltz
Charles II Of England. who lives IN
history as the most frivolous Of all Eng
lish monarchs, and as the sovereign who
cared for nothing save the satisfaction
OF his pleasures. possessed in a very
/ high degree this particular form Of couF-
/ tesy of kings, which, after all is a
I token Of consideration for the convent
/ ence Of others. For when his ministers
/ and courtiers We're gathered about his
/ deathbed. and the sands in the hour
/ glass Of life were running out some
/ what slowly toward the last few grains,
/ he asked for the pardon Of his friends
/ in attendance for keeping them 50 long.
and for being such an UncOnscionable
/ time In dying.
/ Another phase Of royal pOIiteness IS
/ that Of acknowledging every letter. no
matter by whom sent. This is stand
/ ing rule. and while the writer's may not
always be gratiied by the satisfaction Of
/ the wish which has prompted them 10
address the illustrious parsonage in ques-
| ton. yet they are at least accorded the
/ courtesy Of a response. stating that their
letter has been received. and has had due
/ consideration
! Then. TOO. royal peTsOnageS are paTtic-
I ulaTly courteous in refraining from any
manifestation Of their sense Of ridicule.
no matter how great the tax upon their
gravity, prompted in the matter, Of
course. by their regard for the feelings
Of those furnishing the prOv0cation FOR
laughter IN this connection I always
recall the severe trial to which King
/ George Of Greece. who had a keen sense
OF hum0r, was subjected on the occasion
of one Of his visits TO the Elysee Palace
at Paris. His COnsOTt. Queen Olga. had
been in the French capital few weeks
previously. and had made a point of CALI
ling on the worthy Nine. Jules Grevy. who
had been the then Presidents cook and
laundTess before becoming his wife. Nine
IGTevy keenly appreciated the compliment
paid 30 her by Queen Olga, an elderly
lmatr0n. not particularly good looking and
y grandmother Of d whole tribe of children,
and when King George came afterwardf to
the Elysee. Nine. Grevy. wishing to say
something particularly agreeable 10 him,
exclaimed: 4 am delighted. Sire, TO see
you for a few weeks ago 1 saw your belle
Helene, and found her charming" The
excellent Nine. Grevy, whose social ignor-
lance was on par with her historic knowl-
: edge. knew little or nothing Of Greece. but
had heard the name Of la Belle Helene
frequently mentioned as that of particU-
, larry celebrated Grecian lady. In some
, way she had got it into her head that this
Greek woman, who seemed TO be so pop
ular. and whose name she was all the time
hearing mentioned, could be no other than
the sanity Queen of the Helenes, and,
accordingly, was under the impression that
} she was paying King George g great com
, pliment in confusing his consOrt with that
Helen OF Greece whose depra vities brought
!, IabOUt the Trojan war in ancient times.
land whose adventures constitute the
theme of the most decollete of all the
comic operas of Ofenb8ch. an opera Of
which she is the Helen King George s
/ lips twitChed strongly. but ne managed by
, the most suoerhuman efforts TO maintain
his Composure, and ii was only his eyes
those windows of the soUl-which betrayed
first amusement and then his intense meT-
r riment AT the idea Of his so serious and
pious consort singing the racy couplets
r Of Ia Belle Helene in the elementary
costume adopted for the role. by its cree
b ator, the so celebrated Hortense Sehnei-
b der
; MONTHS GETTING A JURY.