Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-09-14

I'd
The Caesar line proper ended right
there with EFT tn, Brute" for its cpl
taph. But things being ripe for the
DOSING of Rome, his granddaughter,
Octavius. took charge, and, after him,
Tiberius, who was simply stepson
Of Octavius.
A dozen Roman emperors called
themselves Caesar, and the magic Of
the name rules down even to this day
as synonym for emperor in the title
OF Kaiser Wilhelm. But there never
was a genuine dynasty Of that name,
because it began in the person of Ju.
Illus B. G. A, in the same person. when
Brutus, Cassius and nearly fourscore
assistant surgeons performed their ia
nous Caesarian operation on him. The
line OF the Caesars is, in reality, Dem
ocracy's farce Of the right divine,
The Capets, who managed to keep
their grip on France for several CEN
turtles. began their rulership in the
regular way, with one especially husky
ancestor-in their case, Robert the
Strong, Saxon to whom Charles the
Bald gave the duchy of the lie de
France in 861. They went into the
king business In 987, when the mobiles
reached the conclusion that the Caro-
lingian blood in France was about
played out the only male survivor be-
ing Charles, duke OF Lorraine, whom
those red-handed, two-tlsted fighters
regarded as milksop. Hugh Capet,
having bossed Paris and Its last Caro-
lingian king. Louis W, appealed to
then es being about the size of the
man they all needed. to boss them,
for he had all the nerve and Drawn
OF Robert the Strong, his Saxon an
cestor.
It'was evidently a hearty, healthy
breed; but three and a half centuries
sufficed to bring 1t down to Charles
the Fair Charles IV.-the last of sew
eral Capet kings all cursed with in
capacity and weakness. After half a
dozen years Of reigning. the fair
Charles fiickered out, in 1924, and that
ended the Capets.
The funny part Of this king making
was that. whenever the diyine-right
principle went to smash, Democracy,
in the mobiles and notables, fastened
to get together and give 1t another try
with a fresh breed Of royalty-always
agreeing on some especially bloody
minded slaughterer as their one best
bet. Philip Of valois. who had the
temper Of chronic earthquake, was
the choice Of the French barons, and
he started the Valois line, in 1928, un-
der the title Of Philip VI. 1t took him
only nine years to plunge France into
the hundred years war with England;
and 1t took destiny-or nature only
couple of centuries to bring the valois
family down to Henry II. In whom 1t
aickered out in 1889.
The fate Of these dynastics in
France was paralleled by innumerable
minor houses, there and elsewhere.
Occasionally, the case of Charlemargne
and Godefroy de Bouillon has been
matched, as where the famous family
De la Tour Auvergne came to Its COM
plete end with the death of an illegiti-
mate scion who, although mere pri-
vate in the ranks of Frances revolu-
tionary forces. earned the title Of the
First Grenadier of France"
Again, when the Rohan family,
whose dukes had been kings Of Bre-
tagne, had only Marguerite de Rohan
left as its heir. her husband, Henri
Chabot. was coolly created duke de
Rohan, to keep the name alive.
Geonroy de Lusignan was one Of
the great names in French history.
and the family to which he contrib
.uted distinction faded out SO uncer-
tainly that for years Its name was the
sport of impudent adventures who
protested to be cadets Of house
which only the well informed of the
nobility were positive was totally ex-
tinct. So, too, with the dukes DIES
Ehdes, who In their day were equals
Of the earlier Capets; and the Guises,
dating back to 1903. when Rene III.
conqueror OF Charles the Bold and IA
Their OF Claude. first French duke OF
Guise. presented that lapsed duchy to
his second son. and ending in 1878
with the death Of Francis VII. the
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