Evening Star Newspaper, May 31, 1925, Page 76

2 THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., MAY 31, 1925—PART 5. Woman’s Battle With Crocodile at Close Range a Thrill Producer Mammoth Sawfish Also Furnishes One of Big Incidents of Hunting Expedition for Monsters of Deep—Caught in Terrific Storm. ! After winning and perate engagements with tiger sharks and huge sawfish, Mr. Hedges and Lady Richmond Brown ' continue the vursuit of big deep- sea game in the wate off tha Pacific end of the Panama Canal Last week Mr. Hedges told how Lady Brown was in mortal danger from a tiger shark which advanced to within three feet of her as she stood collecting shells in the shal- low water. Their biggest quarry up to this time was a sawfish 24 feet in length, weighing 3500 pounds. In fighting a tiger shark. which had been brought alongside six times, the yacht rocked under blows from its tail. Seven bullets were required to kill it. It weighed 1,760 pounds. They suffered an even narrower es cape from the weapon of an im- mense sawfish when it struck the craft. The creature escaped, but a complete wave of water washed over the Cara. BY F. MITCHELL HEDGES, F.L.S,F.Z.5,F.R.G. S, F.R.A.L a glorious morning, with the ea as smooth as a mill pond put intensely hot—the at- mosphere seemed almost to press one down—we ran out to Melones Island, in the Bay of Pan- ama, in the yacht, to try off the little sandy inlet there. The heat became insufferable as the day advanced. Suddenly the whole of the mainland with the islands of Tortola and Flam- enco became utterly obscured and sea had merged in one. A stygian ¥loom, settling over everything, ad- vanced with great rapidity. Yet not a breath of wind rippled the water where we lay. “Start the engine, Robbie!” I shouted, “and up with the anchor! We've got to make Taboga Island as quickly as possible.” The engine started, and now for the first time the anchor jammed in some —strain as hard as losing des- only one thing to do,” I I'll go ahead and tear it up.” As T started to do this, the first puff of wind struck us, to be followed al- most instantaneously by the full blast of the hurricane. With a wrench I felt the anchor give. But now the fur ale was so great that we were hurled back before it. To complete our misfortune, at that mo- ment the engine faltered and stopped We were at once swept past the lit- tle bay—closer and closer to the rocks which jutted out on either side of the island. Robbie, down below. was fran. tically endeavoring to get the engine started All at once I remembered a big shark we had caught and tied on to our stern, and here, I knew, was the cause of our trouble. Hanging on for dear life, T made my way to the end of the boat, and, looking over, saw that the rope with which it tied up had become wound round the pro- peller shaft. T hacked at it desperately with my knife, cutting it free—but too late! With a sudden grinding crash we struck. “Jump for your life!” I shouted to Lady Brown. o ok THE sea was breaking over us con- tinuously. A receding wave car- ried us off into deep water, and now I could hear the engine at last chug- £ing, but made sure we were lost, for with another horrible bump, we were thrown up on the rocks. It seemed impossible the boat could live. Once more we dropped off into deep water, almost broadside; strug- gling manfully, we drew away a few feet—still a little further—how I praved the engine would not fail us! It is almost impossible to describe | what occurred after this, for, with a frightful noise, we seemed to be in the midst of a waterspout, an un- broken torrent thundering down on deck. In the middle of this raging hell T thought I must be suffering from hallucinations, for a heavy coil of rope and other articles were lifted from the deck into the air and, whirl- ing upward, disappeared. The gloom was now so intense that from the wheel I could not see the bow of the boat, while the smashing of the rain was nearly blinding me. There was nothing to do but drive before the wind. I was suffering acutely from my eyes, when I felt 2 hand held against my forehead, shielding them. I looked round in amazement to see that instead of jumping, as 1 had begged her to do, Lady Brown had stuck to the ship. I seemed to live in a maze. I had not the slightest idea what was hap- pening to us. Momentarily it became lighter, and to my astonishment I found we had circled the island com- pletely. Eventually, afier the storm had raged fully an hour more, I was hor- rified to find that instead of heading toward Taboga, I was actually mak- ing straight out in the Pacific, hav- ing been driven at least 14 miles in the opposite direction T don't think any of us will ever forget the journey back. How we escaped death is an inexplicable mir- acle. In port we found the boat leak- ing badly, and an overhauling dis- closed that the sea was coming in through the tail shaft bearing, a drain pipe was fractured, an exhaust when the vacht was again in trim, with the panga, our flat-bottomed small boat, and natives. A Panaman harpoon expert had given me many hints how to use this weapon, and, placing myslef in the bow, I was all in readiness to strike, should T be lucky enough to see one {of the zreat shapes lying motionless on the bottom. I was just telling the oarsman to work a little closer, when right ahead beneath the surface I perceived a dark qutline. I could not really make out exactly whether it was a fish or not, but on the off chance drove down the harpoon as hard as T could. Ye gods! I was not left long in doubt. Whizz went the rope over the bow of the panga, and back I was hurled into the bottom. As the end of the line was reached we shot for- ward, the water curling from our bow. for we were cutting through at a sreat pace. “We're into a real one this time," I said to them when I had somewhat recovered myself. ‘The only thing to do now was to have the oars in readiness to turn the boat as rapidly as possible in case the fish doubled—to back water was impossible, so strongly and rapidly was the fish swimming: had we done so, the blades would probably have snapped. There was no doubt we were all in considerable danger. Away out across the bay the big fish trav- eled with undiminished speed, and I knew that if everything went in our favor we were in for a long, stern battle. Much, however, depended on whether I had driven the harpoon into a more or less vital spot. At least an hour and a half elapsed when, totally unlike the others we had captured, it appeared to be coming to- ward the surface. Up came the big saw, to be followed by the tremendous shape. It had quite stopped going ahead. Now the oars were got ou for there was more than a possibilis of trouble. Our safest place was as far away as the end of the line would allow. In a fury of rage it commenced to thrash the water both with its tail and flukes. Immediately afterward I witnessed exactly how the saw was used. With immense force it struck alternately to right and left with a rapid slashing motion, when, turning slightly sideways, it drove up and down ‘in the same manner. Then, curving the tail and saw toward each other, so that the body was shaped like a bow, it snapped straight out with tremendous force. Had our boat been within striking distance, one blow from the tail or saw would have spelt disaster. 1 had my rifle with me and, taking snapshot aim, fire twice. The suck of the bullet as it found its mark, fol- lowed by the frightful ingurgitation, was eloquent testimony that I had not missed. Down the big fish drove, but the water in Panama Bay is not particu- larly deep anywhere, so we had no fear of the end of the line being reached. It remained beneath for only a few minutes, when it again came to the surface, bursting the water in every direction. Again I fired, and struck a vital spot. After this last shot its move- ments became perceptibly feebler, while there was a tell-tale and ever- widening circle of red. When at last, with the aid of the vacht, we had succeeded in hauling the great weight in to shallow water, the outgoing tide disclosed a mon- strous bulk. It proved to be, up to now, the mightiest fish I had ever caught. It was 29 feet in length by 19 feet in circumference, and weighed 4,500 pounds. Fon w EVERAL times I had been asked to explore the Chepo and Bayano tver, in the country of Panama. It was reported that one tributary of this stream held enormous crocodiles At length we undertook this exped tion. Pushing up the river as far as we could in the yacht, we took to the dinghy and started our hunt for the crocodiles. At one point we came upon nine—but all disappeared on our approach. One of these I later got with my rifle from the deck of the vacht. On a following day, as we drifted down in the dinghy, I noticed two or three of the big reptiles had crept up the slopes, and were lying asleep, al- most covered by the dense bush on the top. Standing up, T sighted as well as I could and fired. At once with a loud crashing of undergrowth, several shot over the edge, and with terrific plunges smashed into the water, but the one I had aimed at remained quite motionless. “By Jove!” T exclaimed, “I've killed him_stone dead. crossed over, and, crawling up the side with difficulty, cautiously ap- proached the inert form. There is no doubt 1 should have given it another bullet to make sure—we were practi- cally up against it when it galvanized into life. We leaped backward—I had no time to plug it again, and doubt whether, if it had attacked, we should have been able to save ourselves from the onslaught. Fortunately it didn't. With a rush it went over the edge— crash into the water below—my bullet had evidently only stunned it. We were much shaken by thie inci- pipe cracked, the propeller damaged and copper plates torn away from the bottom. TILL keen on getting a bigger sawfish, and making full prepara- tions, I started off early one morning dent, for there are no more evil-look- ing brutes in this world than croco- diles or alligators, and to see this 20- footer suddenly come to life when we were almost on top of it was enough to spring anybody's nerves. “TURNED TURTLE, FLINGING THE THREE OF US INTO THE WATER." e “ITS DRIPPING JAWS WERE WITHIN A FOOT OF LADY BROWN—I £OULD NOT FIRE; SHE WAS ALMOST DEAD IN LINE.® I have met many people in my life who have told me they have never known what fear meant and were afraid of nothing. I wished then that 1 were like them, for I have certainly known fear. 1 think I am really a timid man, and rather believe at times I have been downright cowardly; but certain it is that I can imagine no more horrible death than being seized, carried beneath the water, and su quently devoured by one of these filthy reptiles. Of the two, I reaily fancy I prefer the shark We did no more shooting that day. Before the sun sucked up the va- pors next morning, a heavy miasmic mist, like the steam of a Turkish bath, covered everything. In the gray of the morning all things are gray, and there was very little difference be- tween the atmosphere and our own feelings. However, after some good hot coffee and a substantial breakfast we felt better, determined to have an- other day's hunting, and decided to row up to where we had seen no less than 15 crocodiles the afternoon be fore. * % % JUST before we reached the place we came upon a low-lying bank on which lay a big crocodile. Up till then it had not seen us, but just as I was about to pull on it. off it moved I let fiy, but did not see where the bullet struck, though I knew from the surge of water and smashing of its tail I had found mark. As we rowed forward to look for it, we were all three nearly shot out of the boat. Right beneath us the crocodile, which had only been wounded. rose, at the same time lashing with its tail, flooding us with water—then came at us with mouth wide open. Its dripping jaws were within a foot of Lady Brown, who was sitting'in the stern. The enraged brute, I thought, must surely seize her, and overturn us. 1 could not fire—she was almost dead in line. And with the focking of the boat it would have been mad- aess to risk it. With remarkable presence of mind, without hesitating a second (if she had it would certainly have meant death for her). she whipped the automatic from her belt, and fired three times into the gaping horrible mouth. As it swirled away from the shock, I snap- ped it with my rifle and knew by the thud that I had got home. Lady Brown was as white as a sheet, and I was shaking as If with ague. “By Jove!" I sald, “that's the near- est thing I've ever seen! If you hadn't used your automatic, nothing could have saved you." The body had sunk out of sight, and try as we could we were unable to re cover it. We were much 0o unstrung to hunt further, so returned to the Cara. That afternoon, from the security of the deck, we killed no less than five and the next day ran up to where the Mamoni River joins the Bayano. We got about eight this time, and were returning when, floating upstream we saw a strange sight—a dead crocodile with nine vultures perched on it. I wonder if that's the brute that attacked us?” I said. Driving off the filthy passengers, we got hold of it by the tail and pulled it to the shore. Sure enough! It was the very one, for on prying open its Jaws inside were the marks that were clear evidence of Lady Brown's auto- matic Returning to the fishing srounds, we had an unusual run of luck. On a single day our total bag was six- teen sand sharks and one tiger shark, the latter 14 feet 2 inches in length, and weighing pounds. The total weight of the whole 17 was 6,490 pounds, and the New York newspa- pers, 1 believe, considered this a world's record capture in one day on the line. As a result of the news dispatches recording this exploit, T had many letters from various parts of the United States, England and Canada inquiring about the fshing off Panama. e, WE now had come to the end of our sojourn in these waters. “But I should like to catch a real whale of a fish,” T said, “on this our last_effort.” “We're going to,” i Brown. - A feeling of expectancy gripped me. I watched the lines set out from the vacht carefully. ““Here's the big fish!” she called out. Sure enough, the starboard line was slowly running out. So certain did I feel that this was indeed the fish of my life that I shouted to Robbie and the boy to haul in my other line, tak- ing no chances of an entanglement. With enormous force the line was stretched out. “‘Heavens! rific”” I cried. I had forgotten all about our an- chor, but it did not matter much. The vacht rode ahead. tearing it up as it it did not exist. Now. the Cara’ was being towed by a real monster. Close in to the rocky peint of Taboguilla we passed--too close to please me, as I was afraid the line might foul the sunken rocks. and oh! how 1 wanted to land that fish! It seemed reluctant, however, to leave Panama Bay, turn: ing slightly, and heading for the main channel that runs in past Flamenco. For about two miles it traveled in responded Lady You're right—it's ter- this direction, then, swimming deep, in a semi-circle {t made toward the Island of Morro, some seven miles distant, but after about an hour it swung more to the left, heading for our anchorage at Taboga. We were, of course, ut terly unable to guide this dogged. pow erful creature, but Robbie was await ing the moment when he could start up the engine, and, if necessary, re- verse against it. But for the present this was out of the question, for pow- erful as our line was it would have been burst like a piece of thread. The fish now started back toward Taboguilla. “It's circling in,” I sald. “How these big fellows always make for home again!" Past the sandy beach of the island we traveled, and on arriving off the rocky paint commenced in the same direction as when we first hooked it. It was now traveling in a circle, first toward Flamenco, then heading for our Taboga anchorage, via Morro, and back to Taboguilla, finishing where it was originally hooked. “I've never seen anything like it,” I said. As | spoke there came a jarring on the line. Hard "back it swam, doubling on its tracks, but fortunately ht swung round in time to ease were new covering the same waters again, but in the opposite di rection. Quite unexpectedly, the taut line slackened, then hissed through the water in toward us as straight under- neath the boat the fish dashed. Now surely something must givé, but the tackle stood the shock. though the vacht quivered as the fish was brought up short. Momentarily it appeared to be discouraged, for it commenced to sulk, moving very slowly only a few yards at a time. Again came a violent agitation on the rope; by the erratic motion and the strain on the capstan it was clear what was taking place. The fish was struggling madly deep down, twisting and turning to burst free. How I prayed there would be no break, though I really expected it every minute. I knew the hook must by now be driven completely through some hard portion of the mouth of whatever we had on, otherwise it would have come clear long ago. ok ox "T'HE fish now shot ahead in a series ance scrambled on board. I promptly followed thelr example. From the deck we could see the dinghy disappearing in the distanc bobbing up and down li k, and getting the anchor up as quickly as we could, started up the engine and raced after it. We soon caught up, running close longside. The cars had disappeared— goodness kpows where they had gone to—and at ,this moment the bottom board parted. company. Robbie made an ineffectual grab with the iron .hood as it swirled past, but missed, aid it was seeing him make this atteanpt that zave me an idea. Regula‘img our speed to the same pcce IB%\K[ of the fish, we reached down to where the line was fastened to the sern of the dinghy, and, getting the ixon hook round it, then went ahead a little faster. By hauling all togetheg we managed to et the rope up un?;\xed again round the yacht’s capstan. Once more this giand fighter had the yecht to tow, and we could have a few minutes’ breathing! space. The first thing Lady Brown said to “It serves you right! Yau brought it on yourself—it's a miraclejyou weren't drowned."” It was quite true—I had ybrought it upon myself. * * x % WE bad saved the dinghys which, in the meantime, still subnierged, had been tied to our stern. The fish as soon as it felt the weight of the vacht had scarcely moved, o, ravers- ing the engine slowly, aimost fo by toot, we worked back toward Tabo- guilla. The tide was nearly full, and T de cided to choose—as once before—il sandy spot, and, using the utmost care, nosed the bow of the Cara in; but be fore doing that we got the handle on the little windlass and commenced to wind until we had retrieved about 150 vards of the rope attached to mighty brute; then, as the yacht touched the bottom, we flung the spare line overboard. Robbie and the boy jumped off and made it fast to some great rocks close to the water's edge. 1 backed out and anchored the yacht offshore. Another quandary now arose—how were Lady Brown and I going to land? We had noe oars with which to row the little boat. When I bailed her out we got ovar this little difficulty by pad- dling_ with two flat pieces of wood which I broke off an old box. After much struggling and working we finally manipulated the fish into the shallow water, though how we managed it I really don't know. Of course, every time we got in a yard or two of line we gave it a turn round the rocks while we had a breathing space, otherwise we could never have done it; after which all we had to do was to wait until the receding tide exposed the monster. Although we had first fish early in the mornin struck this t was now the | round 4 o'clock. There was nothing to do but go back to Taboga for help, which was quickly obtained. The Cara returned with a whole crowd of nas tives and we all commenced to haul The fish seemed Guite dead. but, 1o make sure, as soon as its head peared I plugged two bullets into and there was evidently some life le for the saw reared up, then smask swraight down flat with a te 1l spank on the water, while the ! gave two or three convulsive si ders. By wading out we succeeded in getting a three-quarter-inch maniia rope round the tail, and by g pendous efforts it was finally beac It was a colossal fish. Upon measuring and ascertaini the welght it proved to be 31 feet length, 21 feet in girth; the saw 6 fe 5 inches in length, and its total weig around 5,700 pounds—more than tons. (Copyright, 1925.) Rings on Trees. JCIENTISTS of the Field Museum of Natural History expect 1o learn what the weather has been like for 200 years or more in the vicinity of Chicago by studying the rings on oak and willow stumps. It has found that trees of various register within their trunks a falr accurate record of the seasons, cause the wood that grew in Summer and that which grew in Spring can be distinguished ir {Annual rings.” By these comparisor | daductions as to the amount of tah and sunshine that the | ceined can be made | study_further, tk | pectegl to disclose what | wood was formed duri rainy And dry seasons, for ture of \the little sap tubes differs = cording o these conditions. Exper- iments And observ have shown that the greatest growth in trees occul on_the side opposite to the direction of the winds. F stance, ther> are trees in Colora in which the heart of the trunk s close to the Aark on the side from which the pra winds blow jons also Small Bills NEW YORK hroker gets new $5 and $1 bills fvom the bank and sends them to his stationer. who makes them up im pads. The sia- tioner puts one white sheet on the face {of the pad as a protexyion to the first | bill underneath. The byoker claims it lis an easter way to caxry small bills | that they never ger mussed up, land British Embassy, City Landmark, BY HINDA BURKE. HE British embassy,” shouts the megaphone man as the sightseeing bus lumbers along Connecticut avenue. Upon a prominent corner stands this majestic, old English bullding of deep cream hue, with mansard roof of gray slate of the ir- regular désign necessary to real architecture, broad and low, and fronted by its great portecochere—for many vears one of the chief orna. ments of the American Capital. But soon it will be a_memory of the past Since the neighborhood was placed in the commercial zone, the octopus of business is new reaching out toward it on every side and thus its former environment of dignity and seclusion is invaded. And so the building has been sold, British sofl changing its allegiance. soon to be- come the site of a modern office building. But the city will feel a sense of desolation when the hand of the philistine is laid upon those state- Iy walls. And Sir Esme Howard. the present Ambassador, says in connec- tion with the impending destruct 2 “When I walk through these rooms the building seems to reproach m However, he feels the necessity for the change. saving that in 15 years at the farthest the neighborhood will be “impossible.” The entrance to the building may be described as triple—the driveway un- der the portecochere, beyond the spa- cious outer vestibule, and the inner vestibule lined with mahogany, the ponderous doors adorned with bas re- lief and brass knobs. Entering through these zreat doors, an imaginative visitor feels as if Aladdin _had just rubbed a lamp— 44 W8 of short rushes. While it was swimming stolidly there was little need to worry, but I was becoming more anxious each moment—when up to the surface it came—a mighty saw ap- peared, to be followed by a dreadful lashing of water. Then deep down it plunged again. ‘It's @ huge sawfish,” I cried, “‘but it 't fight like this much longe We were now close off the shore of Taboguilla. Nearly five hours had gone by since we struck this mighty battler, and the only excuse I can ca presto change, you find yourself all at once within another realm—a moment before amid the rush and clamor of American business life—the portal closes, and the sudden tran- sition into an atmosphere of kings and queens, majesty and magnificence, jars the mind in an effort of readjust- ment At the rear of the immense rece tion hall, carpeted in dark blue velvet, a tremendous staircase of the Tudor period ascends in the background, the type of stairway up which the dashing make for what followed is that the long-drawn-out fight had got on my nerves. With all the experience 1 had, or should have had, from the numbers of great fish eaptured, it is incompre- hensible why, against all common sense, I should suddenly have been guilty of one of the most asinine upidities ever heard of. 1 conceived the idea that as we were near inshoré, by reversing the engine we could work closer still, then join an another line to that which held the fish and fasten the end to the dinghy, cast off at the capstan and rapidly row the dinghy ashore. fixing the now much-lengthened rope round one of the rocks and so gradually haul the fish to the beach. It seemed quite practicable. We joined on a further hundred yards and slowly reversed the engine, creeping astern toward the beach. The fish appeared to have finally surrendered, seeming ntterly exhaust- ed. Robbie and the boy brought the dinghy round toward the bow, where- upon ‘I dropped the vacht's anchor and stopped the engine Throwing the line off from the cap- stan, I got quickly into the little boat, and we started to pull toward land. This we had almost reached when, with a violent jerk, the line tight: ened on the stern of the dinghy to which it was fastened “It's off again' 1 exclaimed. We struggled madly to reach the shore, realizing there was nobody on board the yacht but Lady Brown, who certatnly could not get the an- chor up, start the engine alone and come to our rescue. Robbie and the boy were frightened to death; the little dinghy was being towed out backward. Quite helpless, faster and still faster out to sea we were being dragged. Freed from the incumbrance of the vacht, our trifiing welght was of no consequence to the fish. We had shot abqut 50 yards past the Cara when the dinghy, by reason of its being towed stern first, slewed sideway and turned turtle, flinging the three of us Into the water. For a minute or two I hung on to the partially submerged boat, which now empty, though waterlogged, would not sink, but quickly realized | the absurdity of this, for I was being drawn away still farther from the yacht. Robbie and the boy (both splendid swimmers) reached the Cara in ne time, and with Lady Brown's assist- Queen Elizabeth enjoyed riding her horse. But at the top of this one is a full-length, life-size portrait of dignified Queen Victoria, seated, gaz- ing down serenely as if awaiting homage. i AT the left are three drawing rooms, the last oné the ball- room, and everywhere one is sur- rounded by these portraits of kings and queens, in robes, crown and scepter, thrilling one with an atmos- phere of the accumulated power of centuries. The portrait.- of the late King Edward seems to dominate the entire establishment, as seen in the ballroom through the vista of wide center doorways. His reign so long delayed, so soon ended, yet his pose suggests the incarnation of imperial power, as he stands forth with scepter in extended hand, the other hand resting on the hip. The deep shadews of the background, with only a sug- gestion of a column, emphasize the brilliant figure in scarlet coat and Soon to Make Way for Business N PORTRAIT OF QUEEN VICTORIA, AT THE HEAD OF THE TUDOR STAIRWAY. BRITISH EMBASSY. velvet, ermine-trimmed robe, thrown back and held by heavy golden cord and tassels. Opposite is the queen, in gown of dull gold crepe and robe of purple velvet hanging from her shoulders— on the table beside her rests the heavy British crown on a cushion of red vel- vet, too heavy for the small head crowned by golden hair. The velvet rug in this Ambassador informed me, was made in 1851, for the Crystal Palace recep tion when Queen Victoria received the delegates for the International Peace Conference, designed tq avert future wars. When the Ambassador made this statement it rather staggered me, sounding so much like recent episodes. The date of this rug is inscribed in Roman numerals in the center in me dallion effect on a ground of old biue, a soft rose hue extending round the central design, with outside a deep border of conventional pattern in rich mingled colors, and final edge of white and two shades of old gold. Here is the grand piane. the fur- niture of green satin and gilt, crystal and gilt chandeliers suspended from the ceiling, and curtains of light green brocade, the entire effect of the room of gavety. The first drawing roem is more formal, the stone-colored rug relieved by smaller rugs of richer hue, the curtains of heavy dark green velvet draped over ecru net. The furnish- ings of the center room are some- what Frenchy, with tapestry medal- lion design in cushions and gold tramework. All about are objects of sentiment and beauty. -A bronze medal by a French artist caught my eve. on a room, the litle ebony table, the power and action expressed in this bit of metal wonderful. It typifies the Brit- ish offensive of the World War, in scribed in French, “Offensive, Brit- tanique, 1917, and bearing the eager countenance of a young British sol- dier behind a fixed bayonet, on the one side, and the British lios ram- pant, on the other, in such as never meen before—the eager. de termined dash of the young soldier. about to meet the enemy face to face carrying out the same motif-—man and lion. *oxr % TTHERE are so muny beautitul pic tures of celebruted people the Queen of Spain, a typical English beauty. regular features and lurge blue eves that gaze afar off in pensive fashion. It reminds me of her wed ding day when the anarchist bomb reli near her carriage, the d: and sinister forces of destruction working then for the conflict that later convulsed the world. Another picture, an ideal photo with bent head and pearls around the throat. bears the inscription, “To Lady Howard with grateful thanks, Marie.” And from what I saw of Lady Howard. it seems as if any one ceminz in con tact with her would feel grateful for something. ‘The Howards are Roman Catholics. In the drawing room is an aut graphed photograph of Pope Piu “Presented to Sir Esme and Lady Howard,” with words following writ- ten in Latin with his own hand. A photograph of Cardinal Merry del Val bears the inscription, “With best wishes to my godson.” Sir Howard belongs to the House of CENTRAL DESIGN OF RUG IN THE BALLROOM OF THE BRITISH EMBASSY. THE ROMAN NUMERALS | INDICATE THE DATE OF MANUFACTURE OF THE RUG, WHICH ORIGINALLY WAS DESIGNED | UEEN VICTORIA TO STAND UPON FOR THE DELEGATES TO THE T A CRYSTAL PALACE RECEPTION IN LONDON MflONAL PEACE CONFERENCE. Norfolk. A painti him_ when small boy is in eviderce, thw blue eyes and fair hair and dark blue velvet si standing out in relief from the back of the chair over which is thrown a m tle of dull red, embroidered in gold The Ambassador is a straight. up standing Englishman, with the suming manners of the crat e writer him proper intention the formal court sentative of hi of England and | but all formality { Spanish thine.” The and an a the you ment life (o the much the sense of withdrawal serve frequently met. with Americans. There is nothing blase or the cynical among these Britons, reality pervades the er ment, imparted by the solid ioned walls, heavy window embrasures, genuine manners of the people. Portraits and photographs {present King and Queen everywhere, though with le magnificence of former times—it would seem the world is losing some thing of the old, gay wantic d As a reminder, several swords. the e blem of might. are seen here and one heavily embossed in silver, and | short sword of carven gold with hea scarlet silk cord and tassels. Upon the top of a rosewood escritoire stands an ebony statue of old Father Time, seeming not to fly so madly as elsewhere. As a young Englishman said to a clerk in an American shop who waited upon him with such mad haste that he brought three times the wrong article, “Oh. cut out your hus tle and bring me what I want B o righ for the eloquent nas with or words to tha ritish effect e supposed rved I owas impress of responsiven wnd er members of the est t of eager as of uttermost a s 4ir liy There is not s d of the ol irvings and 1s well as by ssador's study the reception hall is one %o spacious and so profusion of objects of sentiment and art One contrasted note stands forth—a ple ture of Abraham Lincoln, in black and white, sharply defined in profile giving an effect of detachment The word “Chancery” is inscribed out front in hase relief over that side of the house devoted to diplomati: business. And in the back of the grounds are the embassy offices. cted during the war and of greatly inferior architecture, built for utility merely. The dining room at lof the reception hall. gives effect | simplicity. with table of plain, heavy | mahogany. the graceful, spindlee | chairs relieving any | much we the fearsc in some Ame 71t will be unfort t new embassy building be constricted aion@ less spacious lines Lady Howard anticipates; cramped quarters could mever convey that suggestion of powsr and of far-flung empire. Amt of “here on the the right