The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 19, March 18, 1897 | Page 4

his cruelty.
News has just come that the soldiers sent by England have captured Benin City, and that its king, Drunami, is fleeing before his angry foes.
A part of the soldiers remained in Benin to hold the city, and the rest went in pursuit of the king. They expect to take him prisoner, and if they succeed in doing so, they will keep him a captive, to prevent any more of his cruel outbreaks.
The English must be very glad to have Benin in their possession, because the king used to send out parties of his warriors to lay waste all the country round about the city. He would attack and capture the trading parties carrying ivory to the coast, and would bring the traders back within the walls of Benin, to torture and kill them in cruel and savage ways.
His city was so strongly fortified that none of the surrounding tribes dared to attack it, and he had things pretty much his own way.
So sure was he of the strength of his walls, and the cleverness of his warriors, that he laughed at the idea of the Queen of England punishing him for his wicked deeds, and waited for the soldiers to come to Benin, expecting to be able to make very short work of them.
Now, however, he has learned that there are greater and more powerful monarchs than the King of Benin, and that his boasted stronghold was of no account when attacked by a clever foe. Obliged to flee for his life, leaving his city in ruins behind him, Drunami, King of Benin, is learning that he is not so great or powerful as he thought he was. It will probably be a very useful lesson to him, and make him a better man.
* * * * *
A very curious law case has just come to an end in France.
It is such a silly case, that it seems strange that the French lawyers waste their time over it.
The Duke of Anjou and the Duke of Orleans each claim the right to the title of King of France.
The lawyers on both sides argued and struggled over the matter with all seriousness.
The Duke of Anjou did not want the Duke of Orleans to call himself the head of the Royal Family of France, nor did he want him to have the right to use the royal shield of France as his coat of arms. Only the King of France has a right to use the lilies of France, or fleurs-de-lis, as they are called, on his shield.
The Duke of Anjou was, further, much troubled lest the Duke of Orleans should have the right to sign his proclamations with his first name only, after the manner of kings.
After many a legal wrangle, and many a fine argument, the court finally gave its opinion that the Duke of Anjou had lost his case for the following very good reasons:
First, because there is no longer a King of France--France being now a republic.
Second, because the title of King of France is not one that can be handed down from father to son, like other titles. It is the sole property of the ruler of the kingdom of France. France being no longer a kingdom, it has no king, and therefore nobody has the right to the title at all.
Third, because there being no longer a kingdom of France, nor a king of France, nobody has any especial right to use the coat of arms of the king. The court was of opinion that anybody may use it who feels inclined.
Fourth, because there being no longer a kingdom of France nor a king, neither of the quarrelling dukes has any need to issue proclamations. If they do issue them, no one will take any notice of them, and therefore the court cannot see that it is anybody's business what name is signed to them. The Duke of Anjou has no right to interfere with the Duke of Orleans' signature as a private individual, and therefore the court refuses to dictate to the Duke of Orleans how he shall sign his letters, whether with his first, his last, or with all of his names.
The court therefore ordered the Duke of Anjou to pay all the costs of the trial, and dismissed the case.
Does it not seem absurd for two grown men to quarrel about a title which neither of them has the slightest use for?
* * * * *
On the 1st of January, 1897, a new law went into force, forbidding the convicts in State's prisons to do any other work than hard labor for the benefit of the State.
Up to the time of passing this law, when a prisoner went to jail, the warden found out the work for which he was best suited, and