El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-10-21


by that crafty monarch Louis NJ. OF
France, who. in giving Instructions to
his ambassadors. would say. IF they
lie 20 YOU. lie still more TO them.
Endeuiably. in those DAYS diplomacy
consisted largely OF intrigue and trick
cry and cunning. backed by IN
scrUpuiousness, was the quality deemef
most valuable m an envoy. In eVe1A
later times the art OF opening letters
and violating the seals Of dispatches
rclariu TO International matters was
brought to q high perfection. Queen
Eliza beth's secretary for foreign az
fairs. Walsingham, is said 10 have
been an adept at this sort Of thing
and hence arose the pratice Of using
siphers for such corrcsp ondence. But
no cipher is so obscure that a clever
Gesclpherer may not translate il, and
ir is douhtfuly how far this method z
OF cOucealment is effective
II was formerly the custom for am
Ddssad0rs TO receive costly Eifts on
arriving ut foreign courts, or when they
went away. Thus i'm 1871. the Prussian
envoy 10 the Porte. on his departure.
was complimented with "A purse Of ten
thousand golden dUcats- doubtless this
was payment for some kind OF ser
vice not specifically acknowledged:
and IL is safe to surmise that the great e
and VIGOROUSLY INSCRIPTIONS Marl-
borough gave some equivalent for the
principally OF Mindelheim (stiu held
BY his family; which the emperorN
Joseph bestowed upon him
Gifts Play Important Part
The giving of gifts has always played
an important part in the diplomatic
y in the Orient Wherever in the Bible !
one reads of the sending of missions :
by one potentate 70 another. the ex-
change Of costly prsents cuts a large
figure When the queen Of Sheba.
acting as her own ambassadors. went
to see King solomon. the wealthiest
sovereign OF his time, she carried
treasurers TO lay at his feet. and was
in return the recipient Of other
treasures Of corresponding value
The republic Of Venice, in 1851 was
first 70 issue an order forbidding its.
lcGates to accept gifts Since thent
the pratice among civilized nations
has come into general disrepute, and
the presents bestowed by mOnarchS up
on foreign ENJOYS are restricted usually
to ribbons and other decorations. The
acceptance OF even these is not per
ritted 70 our, own representatives
abroad, except By special act OF con-
CESS covering each instance
POSe'S Gifts Sacred Bones
II IS worth mentioning Incidentally
that in earlier days the Pope. while
often accepting from foreign am
bassadors gifts Of enormous value.
coutented himself as a rule with the
bestOwal- in return, OF rosaries OF
cious from a religious point OF view.
lacked intrinsic worth IN special
cases. where his Holiness desired to
testify marked appreciation. he would
or saint be boxed up and handed over
TO the supposedly grateful diplomats
Il was in this way that a French en-1
VOy- the Duke OF CreQui. came into "
possession Of the complete remains OF
an obscure saint designated as the
holy Dvidius- Being puzzled TO know
what 10 do with him. he presented
the bones 70 the monks OF a Capuchin.
monastery, whose gratitude was hard
y exceeded by their surprise at the
discovery that the said Ovidius had
been endowed with the miraculous
popularity Of two left legs.
Big Ideas Of Own Importance.
Ambassadors OF ordinary monarciS,
four or five centuries ago. developed
the most astonishing ideas Of their
own importance Ginning the two
sovereigns they represented were in
carnste. at least figurativelv in their
own persons. they demanded 10 bsA
Unfortunately jealous Of their preroga-
tives, and in one instance. II history
IS 70 be believed an envoy actually
died Of rage because OF a fancfed
slight 70 his dignity. To plunge all
Europe into war was an affair OF small
moment from their viewpoint. as com
pared with the preservation Of the
Ella oorate euquet which defended their
privileges o. 50 exactly cid the rules 2
OF THIS teiquet become that princesseS(
or the blood We're accustomed 20 re- \
esive the forreisn ENJOYS lying down
on q coucn. in order that they might
not be expected 10 rise and accompany
them to the door when they departed-
This absurd state OF affairs. however,
did not reach its acme until petit
coats iutruded into the situation In
the Seventeeuthe century, for the first
time the wives OF ambassadors began .
70 accompany them 10 foreign courts
This had sad consequences in more
than one way Up 10 that time ths
business OF a diplomat had had many~
agreeable diversions, his spouse being
AT home. bu-. now that his wife was
with him. haglma nHmn-rU
private life OF a comic actor.
One Kiss Separates Nation
The ambassadresses were quick IA
assert their right and the privileges
TO which they were entitled There
were JealOusies and frightful hicker-
inES- At the congress OF Westphalia
the developed such an amount OF fuss
and feathers that the business OF the
congress could hardly proceed To-
ward the end OF the eighteenth cen
Jury all relations between the govern
practically suspended for six years on
account of q kiss The wife OF the 4
Austrian envoy refused TO kiss the Z,
hand Of the queen OF Sweden unless
she would receive a kiss on the cheek
in return In response to this de-
maud. the queen declined to receive
her. and the result was an interna-
tional quarrel
Nevertheless. there have been a num-
Der OF Instances IN which women have
a
FOR example. the case OF the beautiful (
Countess OF Eonigsmark. beloved OF a
Augustus II. king OF Poland. and one
OF the most celebrated heroines OF
history. who was sent BY the king
as an envoy 10 his enemy, the queen
Of sweden. whom he was anxious TO
placate-
The instance OF the celebrated
Chevalier Dion is familiar He vas
supposed 10 be a woman. though IA
nous as both diplomat and soldier.
The French government sent him to
Russia as Minister PleHipotentiary.
and afterwards to England in the same
capacity. His career from beginnin&
to end was most adventurous ana
romantic Tn London his sex was made
the question at issue in a suit at law.
to settle a wager. and the courts de-
cision was that he was q woman
Nevertheless. when ne died. in 1910. an.
autopsy disclosed the fact that ~
was a man
Diplomatic Love Quarrel.
Diplomacy must always have regard
for the handling Of delicate situa-
tiOns. in order that they may not be
productive OF international embarraSS-
ments- For example. there was the
case Of Lucien BOnaparte. when he