Self-Made Monarchs.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 57, 15 March 1907, Page 4

Self-Made Monarchs.

How Some European Potentates Have Gained Their Present Positions. True aristoorats have rather a cynical way of speaking o£ Royalty. In spite of theii high political position, the majority of the crowned heads of Europe take by no means a high rank in the matter of lineage. In fact, with the utmost respect, be it said, most of Europe's reigning sovereigns owe their lofty positions not to rights of descent, but to good luck, and their own efforts. The dynastic troubles of the kingdom of Servia, settled for the time being by the accession of King Peter, are merely the continuance of a struggle between swineherds. Both the founder of the present dynasty, Karageorgc, and of the late dynasty, Milosh Obrcnovitch, before their entry into the realm of high politics, ministered to the ■' ; "f the humble porker, and that only so .umiilyas the beginning of the last century.

Somewhat more distinguished, bhfc by no means august, it the lineage of the King of Sweden, Oscar 11, His line goes no further back than 1818, to Marshall Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's henchmen, who was jumped into the Swedish throne by his master, on the dethronement of Gustavus IV. The princely throne of Bulgaria is, ol course, of intensely modem origin. Only in 1887 did the present prince, Ferdinand o Cuhurg, ascend the throne, on the abdictiofi of Alexander of llcsse—both entire foreigners to Bulgaria. King Leopold of Belgium is an admirable and popular monarch, but his royal line only comes down from- 1881, when his father a Prince of Saxe-Cohurg, wad nominated king of the newly formed State of Belgium. Newer still is the origin of the lloyal Family of Greece, as only in 18(J3 did the present dynasty assume power, without having ever had the remotest political connection with their subjects. The present- King George of Greece is the first King of his face, and is the son of the King of Denmark. In LsOd the Greeks were without a monarch and almost unanimously elected for the post Prince Alfred of Great Britain, the late Duke of Saxe-Coburg. The position was not, however, selected for him by his august parents, and so the throne passed over to the then Prince Genrgo of Sehleswig-Holstein. For an Empire that dates back far before the Christian era, whose civilisation is thousands of years older than our own, the Chinese dynasty are little moro than modem upstarts. For the Tsing family, who hold sway at present, only came into power in HJ-13, and.were, from the Chinese Mandarin point of view, vulgar usurpers of Tartar origin. The Royal Family of Italy must also be included in a list of newly-made place-hold' ors. Their tenure of the crown of United Italy dates from 3K(»1, when Victor Em* mamiel 11., King of Sardinia, assumed it. Prior to that Victor was the King only of ft small territory, which, in turn, his ancestors had secured by exchange for Sicily, of which ha was previouely King. Before that, Victor Auiadeus was merely Duke of Savoy. The rise of the Savoy family from obscure dukedom to the crown of one of the great Powers is a phenomena of history and appeals greatly to the imagination. When it was announced that Queen Wilhelmina of Holland would marry the Duke Henry of Mecklenburg - Schwerin, opinion generally regarded it as an act of condescension on the part of her Majesty* The German princely family, on their part, regarded it as no small condescension for one of their stock to unite himself with so comparatively modern a Royal family as that of Holland.

For while the Mecklenburgs truce their descent to Genseric the Vandal, who ravaged the western empire in the fifth century, the Dutch Itoyal family of Orange only as* Burned the title of King, and Itoyal rank in 1815. Before that, the Orange position was that of Stadt-holder, a kind of Presidential ollice only. Much is heard of the glories of the Hohenzollern family, of which William 11. is the prevailing ornament, but only in 1701 did the family attain kingly rank, having previously held the obscure position of Margraves of Brandenburg, obtained originally by purchase in the fifteenth century. Aa everybody knows, the Hohenzollcrng only rose to Imperial rank, as German Emperors, after the war with France, in 1871. It is, of course, only to the credit of the Hohenzollerns that they have so raised themselves in the world, and are, therefore, selfmade monarohs, but it is only fair to say that the majority of tho obscure princes of Germany could give them points in the matter of lineage. Bearing in mind these facts, we should not be so ready to laugh to scorn the French gentleman who styled himself Emperor of the Sahara. He was, after all, only doing what many very imposing monarchs had done in days not so very long ago.

Death Dances. The death dances of the Tibetan mystery plays, one of which is performed on the last three day of the year, are called "The ceremony of the sacrificial body of the dead year." The effigy of a man made out of dough, as life-like as possible and having inside a distinct heart and all the entrails tilled with a red fluid, is placed by four cemetery ghouls in sight of the numerous spectators in the centre of the yard, and at once bands of skeleton ghosts rush upon the corpse to attack it. This is the time to display the necromatic power of Lamaism over the evil spirits. Monks and lamas come forth ind go through a series of ceremonies, the magic effect of which keeps the fiends away. But a more formidable devil with great horns and possessed of superior powers makes his appearance and takes the field. Whereupon b saint or an incarnation of Buddha himself goes to the rescue, sprays flour on the enemy makes mystic signs and utters incantations. The skeleton ghosts and the big fiend grovel before him and implore mercy. He graciously yields to their supplications and allows them to [partake of a sacramental meal. While they kneel before him ho gives to each pne of them a little flour to eat and a drink t oufc ojf a vessel of holy water.