Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-11-29
4 QUAINT CHARACTER
THE ECCENTRlCITlES OF THE ITALIAN
MARQUIS DEL GRILLO.

Grim Joke by which He Attempted
TO ReVoIutioEizc tie Administra-
ton of Justice IN Rome-GfvIng TO
I Caesar what BciouGed to Caesar.
The Marquis del GriIlo, husband OF
the famous actress, Adelaide Ristori,
/ was one OF the best known characters
Of his day. Rich, bearing a title that
made him one Of the most conspicuous
figures in Roman life and absolutely
Indifferent 10 what others thought OF
him, lie indulged in all sorts of pranks
Society called them cccentricities and
pronounced him slightly unbalanced,
/ but in reality he was possessed Of unu-
/ sually bright faculties. He had n keen
| sense Of humor, loved excitement and
! was thoroughly awake to the shortcom-
| ings of his generation. His eccentrici-
! ties were so many object lessons,
| which it pleased him to administer In
| his own quaint way. and they seldom
! went wide Of The mark
| His first attempt at practical joke,
| IL such it may be termed, bade fair to
tice in Rome
| PunctudlIy at 10 one bright spring
morning every church bell in town be-
! gan TO ring "a morto," a long. peculiar
, toll used To announce a death. Plus
| TX was then reigning pontiff and,
! hearing the general tolling, asked who
| the great parsonage was that all Rome
o;,,,y nP hfc aotrl
| knew, but inquiries ut st. Peters elicit
/ cd the fact that the Marquis del Grillo
| had sent the order without specifying
| who was dead. The pontiff was even
more mySttied. and when word had
come from other churches to the same
effect he sent for the marquis, who
promptly answered the summons.
| Il hear" said Plus IN. to the mar
| quis, that it is at your bidding that
every bell in Rome Is tolling Who.
! then, Is deadf'
Justice, your holiness" was the enig-
| matte reply.
"JusticeT'
/ Yes. your holness-justice. The
| goddess IS no more in the pontifical
states"
And thereupon lie related to the as,
! t0niShed pontiff how, becoming aware
! Of the corruption existing in judiciary
! circles, be had made an experiment.
| Claiming that the farm of poor neigh
! bor Of his belonged to him, he brought
! the poor man To court and by liberal
| bribiUc obtained possession Of the
whole estate. to which he had no right
! whatsoever
The pope. after listening attentively,
| censured TIE marquis severely for the
| method used. but history tells us that
! the lesson bore fruit and that many
! changes took place Ia important civic
! positions.
~ another time the marquis, who al
| ways dressed very modestly, made his
way on foot t. rbe palace Of Prince
! MaSsimo. W here big reception was
being held. A. he approached the en-
trance n pompous lackey looked him
| over from head to foot and then barred
| the way.
NO admittaRcc tonight" he said in
solently. ~ reception is going on"
| The nohleman stood amazed. for even
! over princes lc often took precedence,
| but then hc saw the humor of the situa-
| ton and. smiling TO himself. walked
| away.
| Half an hour later a magnificent
| coach drew up before the palace, and
| out stepped the marquis, resplendent In
a gorgeous court uniform and sclntillat-
| Ing with decorations In q minute the
| whole house was astlr, and the hostess
herself met him and led him in The
| night was warm. and soon she invited
| him to have an Ice, an offer which he
| promptly accepted. Imagine her feel
| ingS when. instead OF eating II, ha
| coolly and deliberately proceeded 10
| spread spoonful after spoonful over the
| front of his uniform and on his nu-
| merOus decor. tons.
"Why, marquis" she exclaimed In
| alarm, what are you doingT"
"Giving Caesar what belongs to Cae-
sar," was the quiet reply Your serv-
ants refused to let me in In the garb
of plain gentleman, but promptly ad-
mittcd my costume and decorations
| when | carried them In. Is II not they
! that should be rewarded?'
A peculiarly Of the marquis was his
refusing to have as personal Wallets any
| but the most quick witted of young
fellows, who could help him in his lit
! tie escapades without having to be
coached too much Many amusing
| tales are told of lis experiences in en-
! gaging them. In one instance he was
sitting at the piano trying some church
| music when a new applicant was ush-
| cred In. He didn't stop playing or even
glance around, but began to ask ques-
| tions the answers to which evidently
did not appeal to him, for he suddenly
struck n loud chord and, following the
| tune of the music, chanted In loud
voice, You will never do for me-
Then he rose and without look at the
man started TO walk out Of the room.
! Quick as a flash the applicant stepped
TO the piano and striking the keys with
both fists, chantCd back sOlemnly on
the same air. I'm very glad Of 1t, be-
cause don't like you bit"
Any one else would have had the
man thrown out for his impudence, but
| the marquis p2ue2l at the door and
| smiled with appreciation.
81 guess We shall get on nicely, after
ALL" pc said pleasantly. See my
.maggior,lono' and speak to him about
terms."-Ncw York Times.
~ I f'-ir ing Press.
The first l"ia;.nG press in the eastern
/ L.,