Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1909-11-12
JOKES ON MONARCHS,
Some Daring Franks Played
Upon Royal PerSonages.
A FLOWER FOR THE KAISER.
Decorations That Made His Majesty
Explode With Wrath-A Medical Di-
ploma For a Prince of Wales-The
Duke and the Stockholders.

ed in a Berlin daily stating that Prince
Henry, who had just returned from
his visit TO the United States, had
brought home as Il present to his
brother a number of plants of Il new
variety of crimson carnaton. LAS
every one knows" the paragraph con
cluded, the red carnation is his i'm
perial majesty's favorite flower"
On the day after the publication of
this news the kaiser was due at Ak
la-Chapelle. a member of the town
council suggested that every one in
the town wear a buttonhole of the
kaisers favOrite flower.
The suggestion was at once acted
on. The frock coated members of the
deputation which waited next morning
on the platform each wore proudly
buttonhole of the deepest crimson.
The poor fellows could not conceive
why the kaisers demeanor was so
freezing. He dismissed them with
few words, got into his carriage and
drove Off
At the town hall was another deputa-
majesty's wrath exploded. What is
the meaning Of this INSULT" he de-
manded. Some one explained, and
then one of the kaiser's attendants took
the mayor aside. "My dear sir" he
said "surely you know that the red
carnation is the emblem OF the Social
Democrats and of all flowers the one
which his majesty chiefly detestsr'
Many years ago King Edward VII,
then Prince of Wales, was the sub
ject of stupid hoax. He received a
letter informing him Of his unanimous
election as honorary member of the
Princeton medical faculty and signed
by three students. With his invariable
courtesy the recipient requested his
private secretary to acknowledge it.
The reply said, His royal highness
will remember with pride and salts
faction the mark of distinction re-
ceived at the hands of the Princeton
medical faculty"
AS a matter of fact, there Is not and
never was such an organization.
AS impudent a hoax as ever was
heard of was perpetrated in 1904 upon
Il
a Belgian paper. A letter purporting
to be in the handwriting and above
the signature of Princess Louise Of
Coburg was received by the editor,
who very foolishly published it with
out first assuring himself as to its gen
uineness.
This letter gave long catalogue of
the wrongs of Princess Louise and of
her sisters and constituted a most
brutal attack upon her father, the king
of the Begians.
The letter was at once copied by a
number of other papers, including
more than one in England. Naturally
it gave great pain TO the princess her
self, and the only wonder is that a
prosecution for libel was not the i'm
mediate result
Some years ago young American
woman who was staying in Copen-
hagen made a bet with friend that
she would propose to the king of Den
mark.
On one of the kings public reception
days the American lady found her way
to the royal residence.
What can | do for you, MADAME"
asked the king.
Your majesty. | desired to ask you
if you would like to marry me?" was
the reply
The king merely smiled.
81 am afraid | am a little too old"
he said. and at the same moment he
beckOned to one of the officials to con
duct the lady to the door. He had
put her down as a harmless lunatic.
A joke Of. rather a rough order was
played upon the first cousin of the EN-.
peror of Austria, the Archduke Sal
vator, once when he was in Paris. He
was passing the bourse-the Partisan
equivalent of the Stock Exchange
when his companion. a lanky young
French count, suggested that he
might look inside.
IF you walk straight in," he said
mo one will notice you. They will
take you for a stockbroker"
The duke took him at his word, but
of course he was no sooner inside
than he was recognized as a sightseer
His silk hat was instantly spirited
| away, anu ne was at once surrounded
by a mob of dealers with notebooks
shouting fabulous offers to buy or sell
stock.
The duke had a desperate struggle
to reach the front lobby. and when al
last he got there hatless and breath
less, he found that some genial sou
had pinned long price list to the
tails of his coat
1t is not likely that any reigninl
sovereign ever got a more unpleasant
scare than did Ferdinand of Bulgarif
some five years ago. His private sec
rotary, a young baron, was away II
Austria on a vacation when a Letter
arrived for his royal master announc
ing that he did not propose to return
and that he would be glad for the sun
of 100000; otherwise, he wrote, h
would be compelled to sell a number
of secret documents which he ha(
taken away with him.