The Washington herald., 1913-05-06
Court Gossip of Interesting
Events on Two Continents

rist of manufacturers and landlords with
each election though he moved a few
points to the left, so as to keep pace with
the majority. As an orator he has a
sort Of ease and grace that go far and
often have saved him from mailing his
colors to any mast to which he was at
tracted.
rhany love and other letters of Mirabeau
He worked them into a book and into
a lecture, which drew the fashionable peo-
pie. But he overlooked the fact of Mira
beau's career and especially his great
power as an orator. Hence he tried to
produce Hamlet without the Danish
prince, and. of course. failed. A BarthoI
and a Mirabeau. The latter a towering
giant who tried to do in his time what
Lloyd-George is doing now. He let lose
the Gallo majority upon the Frankisch
minority. He tried to end class supren-
acy in France just as Lloyd-George Is
trying the same thing in England by
seeking to undo the last effects of Nor
man supremacy over the AngIo-Saxon
The new French premier impresses one
as diiettante. He is soft and swayins
in appearance, and while not at all a
'penseur,' tries to pose as a great
thinker. Being made Of pliable stuff. he
is not brittle. He is far too shrinking,
But he is a pronounced success as
collectors of rarities. which some day
may bring several thousand dollars As
a collector of rare editions and auto
graphs he is today the rival of Baron
Henri de Rothschild.
Every Frenchman likes to he thought
of gallant homme." and judges
jurors, advocates. and even the public.
as far as they can. are on the side OF
the vengeful deserted wife. and if the
object of her vengeance is foolish enough
to prosecute her in court. save for some
horrible injury like throwing vitriol. he
makes of himself a laughing stock
Prince Antonio de Bourbon, era ndson OF
King Louis Philippe, first cousin and
brother-in-law of the King of Spain, and
brother of the Comtesse de Paris never
got over the derision he brought upon
himself by his prosecution of the widow
Gugenheim, who ha Impoverished her
self in his society. Long before doing
this she had been the toast of rich turf
lists as the peerless Breton, Marie lie
Manach. In the evidence against her
appeared an umbrella with a broken
steel handle. She had broken it over
the princes neck. Her attorney took
good care that his speech should furnish
readable copy to newspapers, and the
court imposed a nominal sentence upon
the lady in spite of medical testimony
on the seriousness of the injury and the
thick scar on the noble suitor's neck.
"Le' is a specific Breton prefix. 1t is
the equivalent of the Irish 90" Origi-
nally it meant person distinguished or
pre-eminent for a certain quality. The
Franks" in contradistinction to the
Bretons. attributed all dignity to the
ownership of land. Personal virtues. tall
ents. and capacities did not count for
much in West Franconia, as France was
called before the treaty of Verdun. The
Bretons were given to hero worship in
common life, the others to worship of
the Iandgrabbers who evicted the Gallo
Romans. Thus Lee Manach expressed
some particular excellence in former
days. but 1 am not aware what.
The legal business of NJ. Poincare at
the Paris law courts is like the heritage
of Alexander the Great Those leading
advocates who combine law with politics
are after it. True. if divided among his
| lieutenants, it would give each highly
| lucra tive practice. The great corpora
tons need fer standing counsel barris-
| tiers who have access TO the ministries
and the committee rooms of the Senate
and Chamber of Deputies. Not only In
America are lawyers fees often eX-
| tremely high, for one frequently also
| hears at Paris of pay so high as to
| beggar description. But nearly always
| thew are reaped by lawyers who are
| leading politicians or wfrepulers.
FLANEUR.