The Western Democrat

DOINGS OF THE NEGRO EMPEROR.

The Chronique Parisienne contains the following facetious story:

"The Emperor Faustin I., who imitates France in all things, and has, like her, princes, marshals, dukes, counts, colleges, and universities, recently resolved to establish an academy of forty members, like the world renowned French Academy. But it was not easy to select the forty, every inhabitant of the empire who could write his own name thinking himself qualified. So his Majesty decreed that three thousand of his subjects who possessed the reputation of being the most lettered of all, should, at a given day, assemble at his palace and be subjected to a literary test. When they were collected, he announced that the test was the writing of the word citron, and those who made no error in the spelling, should be members of the Academy. Pens, ink, and paper were brought; each of the 3,000 people wrote the word, and the judges of the land and the bench of bishops were charged to examine the 3,000 papers. They proclaimed that 39 only of the candidates had written the word correctly—that is, with a C., the remaining 2,961 having used an S. "Only thirty-nine," cried the Emperor, "and we want forty. Well, I will be the fortieth member myself." "Sir," cried the judges, "your Majesty will no doubt deign to submit to the test?" "Of course," exclaimed Faustin and in a large bold hand he wrote Xitron with an X. The judges looked puzzled for a moment, and then, after glancing at each other, proclaimed that his Majesty had passed triumphantly the ordeal. The Emperor was thereupon proclaimed, amidst the enthusiasm of the assemblage, a member of the Academy. "And I will be perpetual secretary, too," added his Imperial Majesty, with pardonable vanity."