The Washington herald., 1912-03-22
FOREIGN GOSSIP.

lOt sTo9dity and Olner celeuritleS rtSuita
In some curious revelations concerning
the age OF kings and the manner in
which they have shortened their lives by
I-overeatlng
The average longevity OF the kings of
France. for instance. from about the
year 500 down to our own time. Is less
than fifty-two years. Nor. for that mat
ter. has the lot OF the rulers of Britain
been much better. For from william
the Conqueror to Edward VII only two
kings have celebrated their sixtieth birth
day. and only George III and Queen Vic
toria became octogenarians.
But dare say that II Is not the bur-
den of royalty and its duties which
shortens the lives or kings. overindul-
gence. ovefeating above all. has had an
influence on the health and duration of
the life OF monarchs which appears far
too evident TO be denied. Henry l Of
England died because he did too ample
Justice to dish OF lampreys. Edward
VI died as the result OF long-continued
overeating. while Henry VIII spent most
of his time at the table. and was killed
a. the age of fifty-Six. by his last orgy.
Louis XIV, Louis XVI, and Louis
XVIII were veritable ogres as far as
eating was concerned. The first named.
at one sitting. used to devour four kinds
of soup and two or three helpings of
several roast courses, including an en-
tire chicken or pheasant. He also tast-
ed every entree. and at nights needs
must have an extra meal of various
kinds OF game and meat.
Among the modern sovereigns who
have shown themselves partial to good
things to eat are Edward VII OF Eng
land, Emperor Franz Josef OF Austria,
.saHu H.. III.
olas II, and Victor Emmanuel ii. But
they are "gourmets." not "gourmands"
meaning they are men liking quality. but
not quantity. Not so with ex-King Milan
Of Servia, whose table resembled that OF
Sardanapalus. and the Inflated Carlos OF
Portugal with his immoderate love OF
English roast beef. From what one
reads Wilhelmina, the present Queen of
the Netherlands, also is a great admirer
of too bountiful meals.
AS an Illustration of what modern kings
eat. here Is a list OF foodstuffs which the
late King Edward ate in one day:
Breakfast at a. m. consisting of eggs.
cold meat, and toasted bread. plenti-
ful lunch at o'clock, consisting OF four
courses. Tea and cakes at 5 o'clock.
Light supper at z consisting of cold
meats. Plentiful supper at midnight. con-
sisting Of numerous courses. side dishes
and champagne.
Alfonso OF Spain either inherits a ro-
bust appetite from his gluttonous ances-
ter. Louis XIV. or, together with his
young Queen. suffers under the tyranny
of a cast-iron. heaIth-destroying etiquette
This Is what the monarch is supposed
TO consume in a single day: s a M
Tea, chocolate or coffee. biscuit. toast,
cold meat. II a. m, or noon. lunch
Soup. two entrees. roast vegetables
dessert. p. rn.-Tea. cakes. sandwiches,
Spanish wines. : .. informal dinner,
at which several courses always are pre-
sented. and at which some of the court
dignitaries must attend. II consists of
two soups, two entrees. two relieves.
roasts. vegetables, ices. cheese. dessert,
fruit, wines. and champag gne. go p. M
Tea. cold meats. wine, pastry. And
quite often late at midnight still another
meal
In the EIIzabethan era heroic break
fasts were the order OF the day An
early sixteenth century manuscript.
found at Alnwick Castle. names the
breakfast menus for the noble Percy fam
ily, as follows:
For my lord and lady during Lent. a
loaf OF bread in trenchers. two manchets.
quart Of beer. a quart of wine. two
pieces Of salt fish. six baconn'd herring,
four white herring. or a dish of sprats. |
Breakfast fo- the nursery. for |
my Lady Margaret and Master Ingeram |
Percy. manchet, a quart OF beer a dish |
Of butter. r piece OF salt fish. dish OF |
sprats. and three white herring" At |
ordinary times my lord and lady break |
tasted at a. m. on half chine OF NUT |
ton or chine Of boiled besf, with the |
game amount of bread and liquids as
mt
manchet. quart of beer, and three NUT |
ton bones, boiled. -,.'
In connection with the above said |
about the kings of civilization. it may be |
of interest to learn how a Savage" king |
lives, what he eats, and what his daily |
routine Is. In the country now known
as Banyoro. in Uganda, when once a
king is enthroned his person becomes sa-
cred and his food was restricted to milk /
and beef from a sacred herd Of cows. !
When the boy whose duty ii was to call |
the sacred animals. took them to pas
ture, he uttered a shrill cry to warn peo-
pie that they must not come near. At
his approach men and women fed into
the tall jungle grass and covered their
heads.
No person was permitted to see the
king drink his milk, not even his many !
wives. At night he dined of beef from
on Of the sacred bulls, and the cook.
after purifying himself with clay. placed
the meat on the end of a prong and put
il into the kings mouth. II was, of
course, necessary TO exercise great care
not to touch the royal teeth, for 1t con-
stituted a criminal offense 10 do So
The King Of Banyoro never. allowed
himself TO grow old. When age or seri-
Gus illness overlook him and he felt that
his end was near. he called a council. ar
ranged his affairs of state with the prin-
cipal chiefs. returned home and drank
a cup of poison.
AS long as possible his death was kept
secret. Each day the milk and beef were
brought TO the royal residence and in
quirers were informed that the king was
resting" When once the news leaked
out, however, the sons OF the dead king
fought among themselves, brother kill
Ing brother, the survivor becoming king
and attending his fathers funeral. At
this ceremony several OF the widows Of
the late king, as well as his cowmen and
cook, were clubbed TO death. His other
widows preferred to take poison. All the
bodies were placed in the grave with
should minister TO the ghost OF their
king in the next world, just as here in
The world below.
Costume balls have become very popu-
ar in London and several are being Or
yanized. Covent Garden was chosen for
the Artists Revels last night, and the de-
terred Thackeray ball is now definitely