Evening Star Newspaper, November 13, 1921, Page 81

2 THE THE BRITISH M. P.—{ &ewaoma_ \———By H. Hesketh Prichard sent as many of the civil guard. But enough of it. These follies must cease, and the next move lies with you. . 'What do you wish me_to do?” “To write & letter to Don Tomas Ingham, the British consul. If you . will take my advice you will tell him that rescue is impossible—although indeed, he has lived so long in Spain that he probably knows that for him- self—and that the ransom must be paid in gold. The sooner it is pald, the sooner, senor, you will again be able to resume your holiday which I regret that-I so rudely interrupted.” “But suppose that the government refuses to permit Ingham to send my ransom and continues its present ef- forts?” Don Q. shrugged his shoulders. *“It will be very much to your interest to prevent any such mistaken efforts, R. APINGTON J. STUDELEY, K. C. M. P, had the reputa- tion of being one of the most - feared men at the English bar, and in many a cause celebre the eross-examination of this great law- yor had been the terror of his oppo- nents. His practice was immense, and there were few cases in which his name did uot figure upon one side or the other. ve highly capable young men “devil- led” for him; the bench itself consulted his convenience. His seat in the mother of parliaments was a safe one, even in these days. But in spite of all these things, and his earned income of more than £20,000 a year,-Studeley was, after all, merely a man, and the strain prov- ed too much for him. He consulted a specialist, as sucoessful in his profession 23 even Studeley himself was in his own. The great physican ordered him to take three or four months complete rest. If Studeley did that, the specialist said, all would be well, if not, he would soon find himself taking an enforced rest of much longer duration. Thus it was that Studeley went to Spain. He chose Spain because he shed to see the galleries, and, after visiting Madrid, he turned his face to the lasy, sleepy south, and wandered through Granada and Seville, grave- 1y noting their glories through the pincenez perched on his high, sharp nose; a grim tall immaculate figure. Studeley felt that modern Spain was hopelessly inefficient, with its sun and its dust and its strange air of passionless decay. The country appealed to him, however, in some curious and remote fashion, and he certainly rejoiced in the pictures. Tt was because the guide book men- tioned some portraits in Castelleno, that he decided to visit that town. He confided his intention to the British consul at Seville. “Certainly, there is a good hotel in Castelleno. You can go, my dear sir, on Friday.” It was then Monday. my intention to start tomor- id Studeley. ‘ou cannot do that.” do not get you. Why not, pray? “There is no escort until Friday.' l;’Eu:or demanded Studeley amaz- ed. The road passes close to the sierra, through the foothills, and Don Q. is ac- tive just now.’ “And who, pray, is Don Q.7 “he is what the Spanish here call a sequestrador,— that is, one who holds to ransom.” “In other words, a bandit,” said Stude- ley. “He would not dare to interfere ‘with me.” The consul smiled somewhat grimly. “T would not build upon that,” he be- gan. But Studeley changed the subject and soon afterward took his leave. * k Xk ¥ s a matter of fact. until he had spoken to the consul, Studeley cared not a great deal whether he went to Caselleno or not, but he was one of those men upon whom opposition has ‘been the most violent effects—one of the reasons of his success in hid chosen pro- Tession perhaps. Suffice it that he left the consul's presence dertermined to proceed to Castelleno, and he set about making his arrangements at once. He began with an inquiry at his hotel, where he was told that the distance was some thirty English miles and that the ‘only means of transport was either carriage or horseback. He made in- quiries as to the possibility of hiring an automobile, but was told that the roads “were too bad. Thq manner of the Span- ish engineer at the garage who gave him this information might have con- veyed some hint to a man less set in the firmness of his own opinions than the great lawyer. So it came about that Apington J.j Studeley, K. C., was reduced to that sim-, ple-minded form of travel of which he had read as a boy, in the works of George Borrow. He hired a piebald horse for himself, which was known as the Overo, and aft- er tramping through many streets somewhere at the back of the bull ring, he secured as a guide a tall, bearded man, who had been reccomended to him by the livery-stable owner from whom he had hired the horse. Thirty miles had not seemed much to Mr. Studeley until he realized the pml of Spanish travel, but as dark came on and he found himself hardly ten miles upon his way, he realized that he would have to slesp upon the road. A ques- tion to his guide led to the information that there was an excellent posada, kept b yone Garillo, at which he could ob- 1ain & bottle of wine, a fowl, and excel- lent tortiMas, and where, though the place was rough, he might sleep until morning. Studeley at first, out of sheer Eng- lish obstinacy, was for riding all night, but the heavens grew darker and darker, and presently there was a little scurry of rain, and it was this shower that decided him. He gave his orders to Gaspar, who turned off in a norlhevxtzrl)‘ direction up what appeared to He a bridle path. Two hours' riding along this brought them within sight of a solitary light, burning against a dark background of what appeared to be an immense snountain. Gaspar, riding first, ap- proached the door and knocked upon ‘it, and a moment later Studeley found himself Inside & low room, in which solitary man was drinking aguard- “Jente at the table, while a dark-haired ~voman of gypsyish good looks, was wooking food over a brazier. The loor of the place was earth, and a .mule was stabled at one end of the |diving room. At the other. behind a {%ind of counter, skins of wine bulged the fireglow. . "Apington J. Studeley was a very fastidious man, and at first his sur- ,Toundings fllled him with disgust, but an excellent meal was soon placed be- Fore him and after it had been washed wiown with equally excellent wine, he “vas conducted to a bed of pine boughs jcovered with sheepskins, ‘and here he jeoon lost himself in the depths of elurnber. I He was a very heavy sleeper, and, as are many such, was when he woke, alow to pick up the thread of ‘his living existence. But now, as soon “as he did so, his acute and highly *irained mind sprang at once to vivid attention. He still lay upon the bed of boughs and skins, but he was slowly aware that his hands and feet were bound and that a particularly villainous looking Spaniard, whom he had never seen before, sat smoking a cigarette and watching him with in- tense interest. - As his eyes opened the watcher be- side him cried out something in’ the mountain dialect, and at once four more men crowded into the room. One of them was the man he had seen mmoking in the posada on the pre- “vious night, and one of them was his &uide, Gaspar. All carried weapons and wore the alpargatas—the rope- soled shoe of the mountaineer. “What s the meaning of thia?" de- ananded Studeley, in the rasping voice which had 0 often brought confusion upon a refractory witness. Gaspar._shrugged his shoulders. “The Benor Inglese will forgive ame,” sald he, “but his presence is wanted above there.” He waved his hands toward the mountains. “But I wish to proceed at once to stelleno.” * % ¥ % TUDELEY got no farther. One of the bandits, while he was speak- ing, had strolled round the head (of his couch and this man slipped \a gag into his mouth, Never befoke had a leading K. C. been so effective) 1y silenced! The sun was not half an hour high, jn the heavens before the next act in the drama in which Studeley was 1he central figure unfolded itself. The five men came in, unbound his Jegs and utterly refusing all his ef- forts to remove the gag and allow him to speak, they carried him out «nd tied him upon the big overo horse which he had ridden on the previous evening. All day the cavalcade traveled on over the wildest and roughest paths, marching with each hour deeper into the grim and gloomy defl 1 delighted, senor,™ -said: Don . to have the pleasure of welcom- ing you into our mountain: Studeley. who had been led into the brigand's presence by Gaspar, placed his pince-nez upon his nose and grim- 1y surveyed his captor. “It is a pleasure,” sald he, “for which you will have to pay very dear- ly. Do you know who I am?” Don Q. waved a deprecating hand. “I am awaiting for you to enlighten me, senor,” said_he. My name js Studeley—Apington J. Studeley. I am an Englishman, a king’s counsel.” The brigand opered a book and. taking up a pen, wrote down his pris- oner’s name. 'And the amount of your income?" Studeley started as if he had been stung. “What is that to you?” he cried in his most rasping voice. “A very great deal,” answered Dor Q.. gently. “A great deal, senor, to both you and to me. You see, senor, it has always been my wish to be just, and unless I know the amount of your income it is impossible for me ‘to assess your ransom.” “Ransom!” “cried Studeley. “As soon as it is known that I have disappeared a regiment or two of soldiers will_come to look for me You would do well to let me go! Should you do so, I will perhap speak a word to the authorities which will cause them to mitigate your sentence.” Up to this, Don Q. had been cour- tesy and geniality itself, but now his face changed. “Senor,” said he. “you are laboring under dreadful delusions. You see this book? In it I have the names of more than 150 prisoners whom T have held to ransom here in the Slerra. To these 150 prisoners one of the two things has always hap- pened.” “And what may those two alterna- tives be?” demanded Studeley. “Either they have paid their ran- soms or they have remained in the Sierra.’ Studeley grew a shade paler. t may be one thing,” said he 0 hold to ransom some petty land- owner, but you will find it vastly an- other to meddle with an Englishman of_position.” It seemed as if Don Q. were about to give an order, but he restrained kimself. You are slow of comprehension, senor, for so great a man,” said he. et me read an entry or two from my book. ¥ “May 27. Maj. Von Kurtzmann. Nationality: Prussian. Captured by detachment 2. Ransom demanded, £4,000, to be paid before June 18. Ransom received June 14. Note: Dur- ing the stay of this officer I often found myself wishing that his ran- som would fail to arrive. “September 1. Nationality: American. Captured by detachment 1 while admiring the in- terior of the Shrine of San Pedro of the Sierra. - Ransom demanded, £3.000. to be paid by October 15. Ransom received October 13. Note: A very charming caballero, who made a de- lightful guest. I may mention that Don Simpson had the good fortune to secure some excellent heads of ibex during his stay among us. In saying good-by, I lost a friend.” “You see, senor,” added Don Q. receive my ransoms. if you do not?”, demanded * K K ¥ DOY @ waved his hand. “Let us not speak of it.” he said, “for I am a very tender-hearted man. Now, senor, forgive the apparent coarse- ness of my question and inform me of the amount of your incom The K. C. was a truthful man ‘Somewhere in the neighborhood of £20,000 a year,” said he. Don Q. bowed. “Then we will place your ransom at that figure, and it must be paid within the month. There you will find the pens and paper. The sooner the letter goes down the mountains the sooner the answer will come. And now, senor, all disagreeables are ver between us and 1 hope that you i1l be my guest during your stay in ur mountains.” At first the days passed in the skerra without any incident. Studeley toRk up his quarters in Don Qs cave, if at first his manner was chilly rd his captor, this at times wore little, for when he chose, Don Q. ckuld be the most charming of compynions. And, at the end-of the firat-week “FOR MY SAKE?” REPEATED STUDELE !enough, a small man of weedy ap- William J. Simpson. } events did begin to develop. Don Q.| always kept an excellent line of com- munication with the towns in the| plain, and the newspapers which reached him were rarely more than a few days old. One night such a packet came up to the Boca de Lobo when Studeley and | Don Q. had just finished dinner and! ‘were sipping their coffee over the fire. Don Q. opened the papers first and then turned to Studeley with grave courtesy Evidently your countrymen value you,” said he. “Ah! what is this?" You told me that your name was the Senor Studeley, but I see here that you are become Sir Apington.” It is the first that I have heard of it” “Then I am glad to be the first one to congratulate you, senor,” sald Don Q. See, look at the announcement for | yourselt, and perhaps you will be so good as to read it out.”” Studeley set his pince-nez on his high-bridged, cut-water nose and read from the paper: DISGRACEFUL OUTRAGE ON AN M. P. Apington J. Studley Captured By Bandits, £20,000 Ransom Demanded. Biography of His Captor, Don 2. “Don Z.! Can it be that they refer to me under that name, senor!" ex- claimed Don Q. It would appear so.” “Will you be so good as to read out the biography?” Studeley at once began to read in his_incisive tones: “Sir_Apington's captor is a_bandit who has long haunted the Spanish sierra, and who is one of the well- known characters_among the male- factors of Spain. He is called Don Z. as short for Don Zurriago, which would be translated into English ‘—my lord the Whip.' He has sev- eral times before held travelers to ransom with more or less success, but he will no doubt soon rue the day when Sir _Apington fell into his clutches. Physically, he is, stsangely Sir pearance. . . . Don Q. seized the paper and threw it upon the fire. “Such creatures,” said he, “crawl out of their holes at night to look for lies in the gutter!” i Studeley stared at Don Q. amazed. He was a man_who. had undergone much criticism himself, and had had many absurd statements made about him, so that the touchiness of Don Q. was a revelation to him of the bri- gand’s character. It was at that mo- ment, I think, that he realized fully for the first time, with how grim a man he had to deal. H * k ok K UT there were many more papers, and after Studeley had gone to his couch Don Q. sat reading them. Itj was his desire fully to understand the estimation in which the man he had captured was held. Some said that Don Q. was an absconding thief who had taken refuge in the sierra; others, that he was the son of a famous con- trabandista. One only—The Morn- ing Delivery—had got hold of the legend, which was perfectly true, of his high birth. But one and all agreed that the ransom demanded for the freedom of Sir Apington J. Studeley, knight commander of the Victorian Order, K. C., M. P., would never be paid. No! England ‘would force Spain to move in the matter, and very soon an expedition would go into the mountains and deliver Studeley! Only one detail was com- mon to all the articles. They all without exception quoted: “Civis Romanus sum.” The press is a great power in mod- ern England and it was not long be- fore Don Q.'s intelligence corps began to be busy. Goatherds came climbing up the mountain with news of mil- itary movements which were taking place in the towns of the plains. In- deed, an expedition was launched, and made its way into the sierra,.but as its every movement was watched and immediately reported to the Boca de Lobo, its success was not great. Don Q. spoke to Studeley upon the subject. , “Senpr,” said he, “it would almost appeaf that a serious attempt is be- ing made to regain you by force of nrkm 3 I regret it very much, for your “For may sake?” repeated Studeley. “Exactly, senor. I demanded & ran- som, and they send instead two hun- dred of these young conscripts that they call soldiers. It would have been more of a complimeat to you bad $aoy | senor,” said he. “They can only be disastrous to you. The time is-pass- ing, and the money must be in the mountains on Friday night. It must be placed upon a mule, and the mule led upward and tled to a tree which has in it three nests. This tree is well known to the villagers of En- cierro. Only one man is to come with the mule, and when he has tied it up. he is to depart at once. Is all this clear, senor?” Studeley was no fool. He had spent three weeks in Don Q.’s company, and, though the knowledge had come to him slowly, he had at last fully realized that he was face to face with two alternatives. If the ransom did not come he could expect no mercy. He therefore took pen and paper and wrote a clear and frigid note to Ingham, demanding that ail Don Q.'s instructions should be followed. We must now go down the moun- tains and look at the matter of the capture of Apington J. Studeley from another point of view. Ingham sat at his desk and looked through the green shutters at the baking town. and at the violet sea which’ he .could see shimmering in the distance. Studeley’s letter had been delivered and the consul had read it over twice with his usual grave attention. At this moment, the Spanish colonel, Sueno, who had.been sent down to Madrid to take charge of the affair in the intercsts of his government, entered. “Any fresh news? he asked id the consul, “thi he handed him the letter. iard read it through. poHave you answered this lettert” & and The Span- d T have no doubt my reply $ 0 WS hane it was your reply?’ «l that I would do as he wish- € no choice. Are you aware, . that to do anything else te playing a very dangerous In my opinion it is better to the twenty thousand pounds and 1 of the matter. I do not think you realize how stirred British opin- ion has bec If anything were to happen to Apington Studeley in the mountains there would be an outery and a searching for scape- goats, of which you would be one, v dear colonel, and I another.” “Then you actually propose to pay the ransom?" “Yes, colonel.” “You have the money?" “Yes." The colonel shrugged his shoulders. “As you wish,” said he, “but whom will you send up with the mule?" “I have already’decided that” sald the consul. “I shall go with the mule myself. You see, this is a very grave matter, and in all the years I have been here Don Q. has always kept his word. Also, I know Studeley; he is a stubborn man, and yet he writes this letter. It means that the pay- ment of the ransom is vital. “If Don Q. guesses who have not the least doubt he will take you prisoner and hold you to ran- som. “In all the years I have been her again repeated the consul, “I have never known him to interfere with an envoy.” . “Your mind is quite made up?" “Quite.” * % % ok THE colonel seemed about to speak, but a look of cunning passed across his features. “Then all I can do," sald he, “is to protest and to withdraw from the affair. The: consul bowed. “I think that will be the wisest course,” said he. “As you wish.” With these words the colonel left the room, and a few minutes later issued some secret or- ders to his secnod in command. “The consul,” said he, “is determined to pay the ransom. "He is going to pay it ifh person. The place where the ransom will be paid is three miles abave the village of Eacierro, where there is a tree with three nests in it. You, my dear captain, will surround that spot with a number of picked men. T have not the least doubt that Don Q. will come down himself, for he would never trust such a sum to any of his men, and if things go well let me express a hope that within a few days you will be promoted to major. You see” added the colonel, thoughtfully, “the British consul h: dealt before with Don Q. and has always acted as he stated that he wonld: indeed, he wishes to do so ou ihig ocomsion, ‘With that we have found themselves surrounded. resistance, for they had half-a-dozen men against them, and all were armed with weapons which they seemed ex- ceedingly ready to use. sul. a monk stepped up to him, letting the cowl slip back from his fac for the brigand’'s feature consul had in the past s likely to forget. i nothing to do, for we shall act inde- pendently.” The captain saluted. It was Friday night, and the Span- ish dusk had just fallep, leaving the moon to light up the world, as a little cavalcade wound into the mountains. ‘This cavalcade consisted of the con- sul and a single attendent. The con- sul rode one mule and the attendant led another, across the back of which were slung two panniers, which groaned and creaked with the weight that was in them. 2 Needless to say, the consul had no idea whatever of the plans which were entertained by Col. Sueno. He had hoped to arrive at the appointed place at an earlier hour, but he had met with several delays on his up- ward way into the mountains. Still, all was well, for he had until o'clock midnight, only some three or four miles on the |lower side of the village of Endierro. He was jogging along peac=iully, when, at a turn in the path, he saw that a tree had fallen across it. he approached this tree he was aware that there was movement in the shad- ows, and a moment later he and his servant, who was leading the mulc, s no chance of es There w: ape or “Who are you?" demanded the con- At this a figure clad in the garb of “Don Q.!" ejaculated the consul, were ell and the known throughout Spain, to-face on an occas “But this is spot where you arranged to meet me.” ‘No,” replied Don Q.. “nor shall we | Bo there tonight. Senor, you are my | oner. ¢ .. On the contrary,” said the consul, I am an envoy, who has come into the mountains, as 1 had understooa. under your own safe-conduct. Do You mean to break that?” “It has already been broken on your side.” "’\r\;]hn! do you mean?” “That you have not acted the part of an honorable man. That you know that the place where I was to meet you is surrounded by half of soldiers.” i R “I know nothin, i i R & of it,” said the “As you wish. senor, but if you know nothin will, no dou you. & of this treachery you bt, have the ransom with ertainly.” replied the cons sald 1 would bring 1t and T ha bx:pught it. It is there upon the mul ‘Come,” maid Don Q. “we will go among those thickets on the hillside and there arrange the matter.” a quarter of an hour Don Q. had assured himse 4 3 pasured! 1f that the ransom was “Senor.” sald he to the consul, “I must lay before vou my very humble apologies and regrets. It 18 very clear to me that those who are sur- rounding the tree with the three nests have nothing whatever to do with you. T trust you will forgive me my unworthy suspicions.” “I will forgive anything,” said the 2 consul, Studeley safe.” a few minutes loomed up in the moonlight. said he. hands with the consul. Studeley, half hours diers surrounding which 1 was lent for the purpose—I thought that you were in the plot. which case, 2 |fully and half turning towagd Don Q., and he was now |“I suppose that you would have pro- ceeded to—ah—extremities? genially. more adequate account of my meth- ods.” THAT night at 10 o'clock a single carried panniers so heavy that they SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, NOVEMBER 13, 1921—PART 4 “when I have Sir Apington Don Q. gave a peculiar whistle and later two figures “Here is Sir Apington Studeley,” Sir Apington laughed as he shook “I fear 1 have been a considerable load upon your mind just lately,” said he. Yes,” said the consul, “you have.” “Rut’ you,yin your turn” added ‘have given me some bad for when I saw the sol- the rendezvous— which 1 did with an excellent glass In added Studeley thought- “Be quite sure of that,” said Don Q. “And now, senores, I must bid you farewell. I am sure, Sir Ap- ington, that if you meet any of those journalists who so malign me in your English papers you will give them a * ok ok k figure led upward a mule which groaned, and duly tied the animal to the tree with the three nests above the village of Encierro. His actions were watched by a hundred eyes which peered through the dim moon- light from the bushes around. Only the mule was fastened to the tree, the figure turned down the mountains. tsmen who have done it say that it is exciting to sit over a goat which has becn tied up to decoy a tiger, but their excitement could have been nothing to that of Col. Sueno wnd his ond-in-command as they waited through the long night for Don Q. At length a raven flew over, first always of birds to move, and pres- ently it ar, dazzling, yellow day. Then Colonel Sueno walked over to the mule and opened the panniers. The sacks were still in them. In great excitement he slit one open. It was fujl of pebbles gathered from the river's bed. One after another he did the same to all the sacks, and from each fell out a cascade of rounded stones. Then at the bottom of the pannier somcthing white caught his and putting in _his hand he drew forth a letter which was, strangely enough, addressed to himself. He opened it. “My dear colonel” it ran. “I trust that you have passed a pleasant night.” though the air in our moun- tains is a little chilly at_this time of year and 1 should be desolate if i1 were the means of causing so_capable a soldier and so_ distinguished a man any physical discomfort. Jt may interest you to know that my men ) been watching every detail of the well thouzht out and masterly dispositions of vour men ever since the first file of them arrived. >ray give my slistinguished com- nents to Sir Apington Studeley and Hritish consul, and belisve mie be, my dear colonel, with renewed e: pressions of admiration, DON Q. % Famous Trees of Washington The Arbor Day Tree. N the west side of 12th street, several hundred feet south of the greenhouses in the grounds of the Departent of Agriculture, stands this tall, slen- der elm, which came from Arbor Lodge, Neb., and was planted by J. Sterling Morton on April 22, 1895, in honor of Arbor day. In 1872, when Mr. Morton was a member of Nebraska's state board of agriculture, he was the Drlglnn(orl | of a resolution which, when passed. established the first Arbor day in the United States. It read: “Resolved, That Wednesday, the 10th day of April. 18 be, “'and _the same is hereby, especially set apart e and consecrated for tree’ planting in the state of Nebraska, and the state board of agriculture hereby name it Arbor day, and urge upon people of the state the vital importance of tree planting, hereby offering a special premium of $100 to the agricultural society of that county in Nebraska which shall, upon that day, plant properly the largest number of trees; and a farm library of $25 worth of books to that person who, on that day, shall plant properly, in Nebraska, the ‘greatest number of trees.” The result was that over 1,000,000 trees were planted in Nebraska on that first Arbor day. Three years later the day had attained such favor with the people that the governor, by public_proclamation, set apart the - AU RV PLANTED IN HONOR OF ARBOR DAY. by L Sterling Morton, at that time ecretary of Agricult Bipmnaar griculture, on his his tree is unique in that i marked. A marble. slab. st flat in the ground states where the tree came from and when it was planted, but it doe not say why, nor by whom. Per- haps Mr. Morton was oo modest to 01 e fact that he wa igi- nator of Arbor das el . The position chosen for its plant- ing was unfortunate. It is crowded by other trees and has grown tall and spindling. As it stands at present it is rather an ugly tree. Handsome red 0aks line 12th street and keep the sun- shine from reaching it on the east. An expert has recently inspected it and his verdict is that the street tre even if they do shade this tree, ought not to be disturbed. Other unimpor- tant trees which are too close on other sides should be taken out. If 1d this is done, the tree will probably thicken up into a good-looking one- sided tree. An elm seems to have the ability to grow one-sided and in spite of it to look graceful and well bal- anced. The well known Cameron elm in the Capitol grounds is a one-sided tree. Just because of its faulty develop- ment, this Arbor day tree should pre- sent a lesson to tree planters every- where, for usually more trees age put into the ground than can_possibly thrive if they all grow to be large. If our tree could speak, it might say: “Don’t, for my sake, let trees crowd and hurt each other. Remember that it is often as necessary to cut trees down as it is to plant them.” third Wednesday of April as Arbor day, and recommended that the peo- ple observe it s a day of tree plant- ing. Annually.thereafter other gov- ernors of the state followed this ex- ample, until at the session of the legislature in 1885 an act was passed designating April 22, the birthday of Mr., Morton, as the date of Arbor day, and making it one of the legal holi- days of the state. Ten years later mei 1tollowlnx wag adopted by the legislature: ERelolved by the legislature of the state of Nebraska, That Nebraska shall hereafter, in a popular sense, be known and referred to as the “Tree Planter’s State.’” Thus Nebraska, which was in the beginning treeless, is no longer tree- less. From her, other states have tak- en example until Arbor day is known and observed the country over. It .is exceedingly fitting that an Arbor day tree should have come from Nebraska, and that it should have been planted Edward’s Sapphire. THE big sapphire on the top of the cross on the state crown of the King of England once had the power of curing rheumatism, sciatica and various other diseases which afflicted men a thousand or so years ago. It 18 not believed that this stone has lost any of the powers with which it began life, perhaps a million years ago, but a large part of the British public seems to have lost faith in its curative properties. This sapphire was once the setting of the corona- tion ring of Edward the Confessor and was buried with that English monarch in Westminster Abbey and was taken -out of his casket in the year 1101, since which time it has been one of the English crown jewels. To whom it belonged before it he- came the property of the pious Ed- ward historians do not tell, R e e e ] | Where Is Where in the U. S.I By Ring W. Lardner. boys got the fever themsclfs and broke up their home and went out there in search of gold and as tho= wasn't no prairie schooners tn tnem they had to make the trip on the . "& O. Some of them struck gold, but the most of them was Pittsburgh- ers and struck out. That was how it come to be dis- covered that they was land west of the Ohio and of course now days you can't travel a 100 miles out there without running acrost signs of hu man habitation and even as far west s Indiana a person will find settle- ments with more people in them than you could put in a Ford and some of them has got their own water plants and has running water and makes their own gin. * %k %k ¥k A FRIEND of mine made an inter- esting trip last summer and took in pretty near the whole Pacific slop going as far west as Des Moines. This is 60 miles from a R. R. and lays right in the middle of what they call v O the editor: I will half to ask those of my readers that lives outside of N. Y. City and sub- urbs to excuse me writeing this article which I don’t suppose it will interest non-residence of N. Y. as it won't tell them nothing they don’t know, but I am writeing it in response to a request from a friend of mine in Youngstown, O., who says it looks to him like the people of N. was laboring under a delusion in re- gards to the gen. lay out of the coun- try of which they are suppose to be a citizen and would I oblige him by takeing the trouble to set them right. So the only way I know of to reach them is a article like this kind so I will ask the kind indulgents of my rural admires before beginning same. My Ohio correspondent said he w in N. city 3 wks. ago and he bought the N. Y. Sunday papers and the front “BOY SCOUTS GOT BACK FROM THEIR SUMMER HIKE 'ORTED THAT THEY WAS PEOPLE LIVEING IN RUDE HUTS AS FAR T AS AKRON.” page of one of them had a littl i- cle about football and he had clipped out a_paragraph from the article and here is the paragraph he had clipped out: “The West scored in another of her intersectional struggles, for Pitts- burgh beat Syracuse, 35 to “Tell them N. Y. editors,” wrote my triend, “that Pittsburgh ain't in the West, but is right in_ the middle of the U. S. as they could see for them- self by looking in their geograph: * k¥ % V 7ELL, some of my best friends is N. Y. editors and T feel like they won’t take it amiss if I point out their mistake in a nice way and I will say at the start that my friend’s letter ain’t the only reason I have got to be- lieve that maybe they is some slight misconception around here as to where is where in America, as I have heard New Yorkers make remarks from time to time that almost proved they was kind of hazy in regards to the strip of country laying west of i2th Avenue. So again asking pardon from my vokel readers for writeing a few dry details which is old stuff to them and also asking my Y. friends to for- give me presuming to correct them, I will set down a few facts about the map of this continent as I learnt them in school and also found out from people that has traveled. ‘Well, in the 1st place Pittsburgh in- stead of being in the exact middle of U. S. lays a few miles east of the mid- dle. Little was known %f what layed beyond till 1349 when some boy scouts got back from their summer hike and | reported that they was people liveing in rude huts as far west as Akron | and that they had the gold fever and gold had actually been found out there and some of the prospectors had | showed them nuggets as big as a bucket. So the parents of some of these The Rambler at Chantilly (Continued from Third Page.) the sage brush country. It is pret:y near a wks. journey on a tricy | from there to Roc nd, where my riend has a uncle that has got x sheep ranch. : The scencry is O. K. the 1st. few days but when you been peddicing tricvele that long you get tired nothing but cactus, palo verde, yuc mesquite : and when vou call down for the night sleep on acet. of ving about prairie dogs, coyote and ‘even rattlers, most of the windows is without sereens. A dozen yre. ago people liveing in Des Moines shot down all that was left of the Indians that had made- their life miserable. _ North of Iowa lays Minnesota which is as far as Admiral Peary suys Do Cook got whereas Peary himself claims to of reached Rat Portage and seen the Pole but all he could think of when he seen it was what a_sucker he had been not to take the old lady’s advice and wear his winter under- wear. They sav that up there the ice zets so thick that you half to break it up to get it in a high ball and when they’s heavy snow fall the snow there the rest of the winter the same as 5th. ave. in New York. Between Des Moines and Pittsburgh is 3 or 4 other states named after bat- tle ships in the U. S. navy like Ind ana, where our national parks is located, and Wisconsin, famous for its grand canyon to say nothing about Micnigan where the troops was sent in 1916 to scare the Mexicans. Some of these states is pretty near a 100 miles acrost and they's places in Wi consin and Indiana where you can board a train early in the mornin and ride all day and get nowheres. So it will be Seen that New Yorkers is kind of balled up on their geo raphy and they’s a whole lot of this country west of Pittsburgh Horace M. Greeley told_that ) man to go west it was Cedar Rapid or Fort Wayne he was_refering to, not Altoona.” RING W. LARDNER. Great Neck, Nov. opinions before the war, ardently as- . serted. a8 was his habit in all mat- like monuments on the plot where |ters which interested him, made it D g Biescon wers Kl somewhat difficult for him to secure 3. such a position in the army as one of his capacity might well have ex- EN. POPE in his account of melnertéd. The prejudice against him second Bull Run campaign, writ- on 13 account was soon shown to be erly groundless, for a & ten many years ago for the Century,|ous and faithful officer nxe“\?er: fififx tells the story of Chantilly. He said: |His conduct in the battle in which he “On the morning of the 1st of Sep- |1oSt his life and in every operation 0 aign was marked by high tember I directed Gen. Sumner _toin cliigonce and the comiect comror, push a reconnoissance toward Little and his death in the front of battle River pike, which enters the Warren- jended too soon a career which woulc ton turnpike at Fairfax, with two have placed him among the forem brigades to ascertain if the ememy officers of the war.” was making any movement toward our right by that road. ‘The senemy was found moving slowly again to- Ward the right, heavy columns mov- ing along the Little River pike in the direction of Fairfax. This move- ment had become so developed by the afternoon of that day and was evi- dently directed to turn our right that 1 made the necessary disposition of troops to fight a battle between.the Little River pike and the road from Fairfax to Centerville. Gen. Hooker was sent early in the afternoon to Fairfax Court House and directed to concentrate all the troops in that Vicinity and to push forward to Ger- Mantown (Jermantown) wikh his ad- vance Pope tells at considerable length of his disposition of troops, and then says: “Just before sunset the enemy attacked us toward our right, but Were met by Hooker, McDowell and Reno and by Kearny's division of Heintgelman's corps. A Very severe action was fought inethe midst of a ferrific thunderstorm and was only ended by darkness. The enemy was driven back entirely from our front and he did not again remew his at- tack upon us. “In this short but !e\'(-‘ro :c(‘lfinhlhe rmy lost two officers of the highest h (I‘}apa.gily and distinction, whose- death | that number, and o with them the (amsed general lamentation in the|circle of the seasons comes round to fymy and country. The first was|the same point. Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny, killed in| That seems to have been a pretty aiuance of his division and while|good calculation to be made by peop Sommanding it. There were few such: who lived 2,500 years ago, and who officers as Kearny in our own or any | had no such thing as a telescope. Other army. In war he was an en-|And it is likely that when Hero&stus thusiast, and he never seemed 80 much at home and so cheerful and confident as in battle. Tall and lithe in figure, with a most expressive and mobile countenance and a manner Which inspired confidence and zeal in a1l under his command, no one could fail to admire his chivalric bearing and supreme courage. Gen. Isaac 1. Stevens, who was killed at the same time and nearly on the same ground, was an officer in many respects contrasted by Kearny. He was short nnd‘ralhe; Btollti' 'lll;l; thy complexion and very brig] AT O P %Was & man of very|be the first to assign altars, images or abilities and of marked skiil | and temples to the gods and to carve ::%“«l»uma. His ' extreme . political } the figures of animals on stope. _° % “Invented” the Year. THE calendar which we use for marking time came to us from the Romans, but the people of old Rome were not the authors or in- ventors of the plan by which the vear was divided Into twelve parts That distinction belongs to the Egyp- tians, if old Herodotus is to be cred- ited, and it is not likely that tho venerable Gree historlan would have given to the people of the Nile Em- pire any honor which he could claim for the people of Hellas. Herodotus wrote nearly 500 years before Christ that “The Egyptians were the first to discover the vear,’which they d vided into twelve parts, and the made this discovery from the stars, and so far I think they acted more wisely than the Grecians. in that the Grecians insert an intercalary month every third vear, on account of the seasons; whereas the Egyptians r=¢k oning twelve months of thirty day each add five days each year above the Nile, pyramids, lotus and the mummy had been observing that kind of a year for thousands of years, di- viding it into twelve months, d viding the month into thirty days, and adding five days each year so that the months of spring would always come in the spring and the months of win- ter would fall in winter. In naming the months Herodotus says that the Egyptians were the first who intro- duced the names of the twelve gods, and that the Greeks borrowed those names from them. They claimed to ‘wrote that the people of the land of "