New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-04-01
ALL FOOLS DAY.
Hoe Royalty Was Wont to Obse'z'e
tke FesfiUaI an Europe.

. p,ssfa introduced the April Fool custom quite
sorciby among his people by erecting In l1ls an
,,roense nile Of wood and timber. garnished vita
- nd otber tnnarnnabIe material. on the open
,are in front OF his palace at S. Petersburg, end
gsftipc il on fire during the early morning heCrs
az April J. The flames SHOT up high in the ar
,ns 81 looked from distance as IL the palace and
a.. entire city we're afame. People came from all
-, sorae OF tho peasantry travelling miles in
their seighs. to put out the fire. When finally
ssev reached the seat Of the confagration they
rrere met BY troops formed up round the square
.siutton headsi Pigs! Swine! Donkeys!" the sol
Fisrs shouted. Fall back. by order Of the Car!
g-su hack, can't you understand that the Little
rather has fooled your il is the first of April
to-day"
Another historic piece Of April foollng was the oc-
,ssioa OF a bet between Duke Philip Of Burgundy
md his coart fool in 1866. The wager was TO the
-. 60 che ,es,er succeeded in hoaxlng the
y1,,e On April he was 20 have his FOOLS cap filled
IN Golden ducats: whereas. II the Duke succeed
IA IN hoaxing the Jester the latter was to pay the
.snaltv with his life. The Duke at once set to
work 70 make the Jester very drunk ana suooeeueu
a his Efforts In fact. the Jester was rendered I'M
,scio,s Early on the following morning sol
diers seized him. brought him into a room all hung
,sitb black where a mock trial resulted IN his be-
,,e sentenced 10 death. The block and the exc
-,,tioner were brought in The jester having been
suly shriven by a mock priest had his eyes band
god and was forced down with his head on the
block. The executioner swung his sword but at
that moment substituted long sausage filled with
vsrm blood for the steel. and struck the Jester
.srriac blow Herewith across the neck whereby
tbe sausage skin burst, the blood flowing Freely
-o- the lend and face Of the PROSTATE victim. At
4bis moment the Duke thought it was time TO
laugh So did all those present But the hilarlty
r,opped short when the jester remained sum ana
stark and apparently nfeless in the position In
~hioh he had been placed. Terror has killed
rim cried the Duke. Then he sent for the doc
4,rs who iabored over tie alleged corpse for some
time before the Jester opered his eyes and laugh
sngly cried. April fools. ali Of you. Now Duke.
paw me nay gold"
When Francis. Duke Of Lorraine, and his duchess
escaped from Nantes on April !. disguised peas
ants a woman recognized them and told the SEN
sry who they were. April fool quoth the SEN
sine with wink When he was relieved and told
the story in the guard room there was general
burst Of laughter and he was congratulated on his
discernnent IN not arTesting the peasants. The
Governor was told the story, and he laughed: but
IN the midst Of his mirth came the official
nouncement that his royal prisoners had really
escaped.
THE HISTORIC CLAN OF CoLoUHOUN.
Every reader Of the novels Of Sir Walter Scott
viii recall that Sir Humphrey CoIquhoun. twelfth
Laird Of Iuss and chief of the historic ana power
ful cian of Coquhoun. who figures extensively
es the principal foe Of Rob Roy in the Waverley
novel OF that In fact, SCOTS novel Rob
Roy" is almost entirely devoted to the feuds and
wars waged between Rob Roy. the chief Of the Mac
Gregors, and the clan of CoIquhoun. The death,
therefore. Of Sir James Colquhoun twenty-sixth
Laird Of fsuss and cheftain Of the great clan OF
Colquhoun. cannot fail 10 excite certain amount
Of attention in this country, where by the bye, the
clan has number of representatives. Some OF them.
however. no longer hear the name Of Colquhoun but
that Of Calm. in fact, the Gains in America and in
Sweden claim TO be the principal representatives
Of the house of Cclquhoun. from which the late
chieftain and his successor and cousin, Colonel
Sir Alan John Colquhoun. are only descended
through the dstah side.
II seems that Sir Alexander Colouhoun. had three
sons. J0hn who was created a baronet; William
and George William and George are vaguely de-
sorihed IN the various British peerages having
"ded abroad without pOsterity But this IS untrust-
worthy. For in the sixteenth and seventeenth CEN
turtles, when means Of commun ication between the
various countries were difficult at the best it
found impossible at home 20 keep track Of younger
sons OF patriCian families who had left for foreign
lands IN search OF adventure and OF fortune. Con-
sequently when lost sight of. they were usually
Get down having died abroad without poster
hy" Swedish records however go 20 show that
both William and George entered the service of
King Gustavus Adolphus, fought under his COM
fnand during the Thirty Years War. and after
ward settled in Sweden George died without
ISSUE but William married and left a family Of
children the eldest Of whom. Peter became Cham
neTlsin 70 She Royal Duke Carl OF Sodermanland
and died in 1893 In Sweden the name OF Colouhoun
zane 70 be written Kahun. in accordance with
the Scotch pronunciation. and subsequently during
me course OF time became corrupted into Gahun
5aan. and finally Calm. A branch Of these Swedish
Noiquhouns Gains. directly descended from
Peter ColquhOun is settled in America and
'he OF its members. Henrik Calm, holds an Office
hgt0n
Sir John Colauhoun. the eldest Of the two broth
ts Who had established themselves in Sweden
vas ereated baronet in 1926, with remainder 10
S male descendants. His younger brothers We're
.uefeiore excluded from the Inheritance The title
= nov extinct The Gains Of Sweden have for the
~ =" years always made OF the armoriaI
sa'inss OF the Scotch house OF Colquhoun with the
sanction OF the Swedish Crown and Court Of Her
-iaiE which, as in other monarcHieal countries OF
ne continent Of Europe is quite strict about such
matters
-lhah CHARTER SIGNED BY ROBERT BRUCE
me colquhoun family Was founded. according to
one tradition. by tie Californian chieftain GaIga-
Gus who commanded the Scottish forces against
me Romans under Agricola in the battle OF the
Siampian Mountains in the year 50 A. D.. the
lame GalgacGs being converted into Calgahoun
eaihoun and COlquhoun According 10 another ira
s'''Oi The family was founded by a kinsman Of
ne od Earl Of Lennox. Omfridus Fitzpatrick by
name, who in the reign Of King Alexander IL
acquired from MaldoWin Earl Lennon the lands
Splchone or COlquhOun, within that earldom
e-opung Tor himself and for his descendants the
lne OF the lands as their patrOnymie. The Col
tu'ouns OF to-day have still charters containing
ne grant Of the lands Of COlquhOun bearing the
signature Of King Robert Bruce. Luss in the
NouiAg Of Dumbarton. which is yet I'm the possess
s.on q the family. fl through marriage In
- fegn OF King David H. and from that time
o'm tiie chief OF the ColquhOuns has always been
known as the Laird Of Luss
HOW THEY FIGURE IN ROB ROY"
Ihe annals Of the colquhoun family may be said
= constitute the history of Scotland and are one