The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1911-05-25
CURIOUS CUSTOMS
Norman French Still Used In
LaWmaking In England.
RUSSIAN OFFICIAL FARCES.

RUSSIAN OFFICIAL FARCES.
Amusing History Of Royal Daily RAJ
ton Of Rum and tho Astonishing
Story Of a stoIid Sentry and an In.
nocent Grass Plot.
In Europe there is perhaps nothing
more astonishing to the American
mind than the persistency with which
certain old customs are maintained.
The Romans, for instance, keep up the
saturnalia Of their ancient pagan an
cestors in harmless way, and the
F1orentines go on one morning Of the
year to catch crickets in the grass
simply because the Etruscans did the
same thing 1900 years ago.
John Bull has always had an affec-
ton for the old ways. So persistent
is he In keeping to the forms and
traditions Of the past that his French
neighbor over the way has dubbed the
United Kingdom museum Of an
tiquities" among modern nations.
It IS somewhat odd that the Norman
French Of Edward the Confessor
should still be the language. the le-
gal voice, Of parliament, but so it is
In way. Whenever bill has passed,
the commons the clerk before he
forwards it to the house of lords
writes upon it, according to the ancient
usage, "Soit baille aux seigneurs''
Qet it be sent to the lords). If it is
sent from the peers to the commons it
bears the like Endorsement, "Soit baille
aux communes" Get it be sent to the
commons).
Should bill pass both houses it
needs only the royal assent to become
law. Here the Norman French ap-
pears again. The commons, summon
ed by the usher Of the black rod, are
admitted to the bar of the house of
lords to hear the statement of his
majesty's commissioners. When all
are assembled the lord chancellor
makes a sign to his assistant, who
reads the title Of the bill and then
says in a loud voice, lie roi lie veult''
CThe king wills it). In the case of
financial bills the form is this: lie
roi remercie ses bons sujets, accepte
leur benevolence, ct ainsi le veult'
(The king thanks his good subjects,
accepts their faith and so wills it).
For private bills the form is, "soit
fait CONNIE il est desire'' Get it be
done as is desired). Sometimes, if the
bill is Of special Importance, the sane
ton Of his majesty is given in person.
In such case the king, seated on the
throne at one end Of the chamber,
bows his assent as the clerk reads the
title.
The inflexibility Of Russian official
orders has resulted in some queer and
needless fixtures in the official sys-
TEN. Quite ludicrous discovery of this
sort was made by the Empress Cath
crime, who was the mother Of that EN-
peror Paul who was assassinated in
1901. Catherine at one time was in
spired by some passing whim of econ
Omy to scrutinize the imperial house
keeping accounts. To her amazement,
she found among other queer items that
zone bottle of rum daily was charged
to the heir apparent. Inasmuch as her
son, Naslednik, then young man, had
never evinced any signs of Incorporate
habits. his mother was greatly as
tonished. Going over the accounts to
ascertain how long this sort of thing
had been enduring, she found to her
still greater astonishment that the said
expenditure went back to the day of
his birth, and, indeed, far beyond it.
So, it appeared, the heir to the
throne had not only been charged with
drinking over thirty dozen bottles of
line Jamaica rum ever since he was
born, but for a long time before that.
1t is hardly necessary to add that the
empress made a thorough investiga-
ton of this queer entry. Finally. by
the aid of an antiquarian, she at last
reached the original entry
A century or so before the imperial
physician had prescribed for the Mas
lednik of the period, ION account of a
violent toothache. teaspoonful of
rum, to be taken with sugar." This
dose was given for several days in
ooSNSSoAO11s dAu CuC Ill charge
had deemed it more fitting to the i'm
perial dignity, as we'll as more profit
able to herself, to purchase new bot
tie of rum each day. No one had ever
given the order to discontinue the DUR
chase, and it had gone on for CEN
tury. the rum having constituted one
Of the perquisites of the court nurse.
When Bismarck during the term of
his mission as ambassador at st.
Petersburg was walking one after
noon in the summer garden he met the
emperor, who invited tho diplomatist
to continue his stroll with him. Soon
Bismarck noticed sentry stationed
in the middle Of large grass plot. He
asked what the soldier was doing
there. The car did not know. The
aid-de-cano did not know. So inquiry
was .madeaof the sentry himself.
1T Is ordered" was his reply.
Every official gave the same an