Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 7.djvu/500

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [i2s.vn.Nov. 2 o,io2o.

likeness of him : and an inimitable cartoon of him, drawn by "Spy," appeared in Vanity Fair of July 23, 1887

WlLLOUGHBY MAYCOCK.

It was the fiftieth, not the sixtieth' anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession that gave a name to " the Jubilee Plunger," or, more familiarly, "the Jubilee Juggins." I have a distinct recollection of his cartoon appearing in Vanity Fair in or about 1887, and of the account, in the accompanying letterpress, of his father, " an acquisitive Jewish man of the name of Schlesinger," coming to England from Hamburg.

Benson published in book-form the story of his running thorugh his fortune, a pro- ceeding which did not take him long. Some years later, when the general public had forgotten or was beginning to forget him, he acquired a little fresh notoriety by a cheque-transaction at Nice or Monte Carlo. Let it be remembered to his credit that he introduced, or patronized, the pure white breed of bull-terriers.

EDWARD BENSLY.

In The Times Law Reports of Mar. 19, 1914, is a short account of proceedings concerning the administration of his estate. W. BRADBROOKE.

Bletchley.

[Several other correspondents thanked tor replies to this query.]

POISONED KING OF FRANCE. (12 S. vii. 311, 358.)

I THINK that the best account of the illness of Francis II. is to be found on pp. 291-310, of Dr. Cabanes's book ' Les Morts Mysterieuses de 1'Histoire,' published by Albin Michel, 22 Rue Huygheiis, Paris. Cabaiies heads the chapter concerning Francis ; " Francois II. Mort, le 15 decembre, 1560, de meningo-encepholite, consecutive a une otite suppurfe."

The writer of the account of the death of this king, and of most of the other kings of France, appears to have gone to the root of every statement : he produces copies of evidence given, and the reader must agree with the conclusions that the Doctor arrived at.

I give the gist of the information given on pp. 291-310, but, in some cases, I give the original French of the sixteenth century, as it is interesting, more so than any trans- lation I could give.

Francis, after having been at severaR places in the country, for the benefit of his health, went to Orleans "ou sont reunis les fitats Generaux." On Sunday, Nov. 15,. 1560, the king was present at Vespers, in the Church of the Jacobins, when he had a- sudden fainting fit. He was taken, in haste, to his apartments. On returning to consciousness, he complained of a violent pain in the left ear.

The following days, the fever redoubled! and the headache was persistent. A lull- followed, but of short duration. The ill- ness became worse, and a council of doctors and surgeons discussed the expedient of trepanning. This operation appearing to- be a daring one, they were afraid to do it. No mention is made of any interference by his mother, Catherine de Medicis. Dumas,, generally fairly true in ordinary historical statements, no doubt used the novelist's- license in this matter.

On Dec. 15, the state of the king was desperate ; he died, suffocated, between. 10 and 11 o'clock in the morning.

Regarding the death of Francis " ce roy sans vices et sans vertus," writers, inspired by passion rather than by the love of truth ^ have sought to obtain credit for a version of poisoning, which will not bear investigation- Cabanes states that an ardent Catholic, tutor to the Duke of Lorraine, affirmed that Ambroise Pare, the impeccable surgeon, had been the abettor of the odious crime.

The rapid death of Francis was regarded by the Catholics as the work of the Hugue- nots. It is known that at the time of the- king's death, the Prince de Conde was a. prisoner of State at Orleans, and under sentence of death, on account of the con- spiracy of Amboise. (He would have been executed, had not the Chancellor, Michel de 1'Hopital, refused to sign the sentence. It was at Amboise, in 1563, that the Edict granting the Protestants freedom of their religion was signed.)

It was asserted that a valet de chambre,. a disguised Huguenot, .poisoned the king's night -cap at the spot which would b& against his ear. The following gives, clearly, what was thought to have been the- result ;

" En le luy mettant sur la teste, ce qui auroifc enflamme cette fistule et provoque" par cemoyen un abces dans le cerveau de ce prince."

This accusation by the Catholics has as much foundation as that of the Huguenots, when they accused the Court of the death