Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, May 22, 1897, Page 4

x Published Every Saturday, By E. C. KILEY. YEAR IN ADVANCE 50e TWO DOLLARS A Six Months ..... $1.00 | Three’Months........ Entéred in the postoMce et Grand Rapids Minnesota, as secoud-class matter. — VERE DE VERE MANNERS. Are No Longer Characteristic of Aristo- cratic Society. The high-bred manner that marked the caste of Vere de Véré is certainly not’ characteristic of aristocratic’ so- ciety in France, England or America now, says the New York’ Tribune. The cynical Frenchman who said he could alw: tell the difference between an actress and a countess’ by the superior refinement and good breeding of the actress was not so far wrong. Not long ago an English dame of the old school, who had brought up her daugh- ters in the traditional, admirable, in- sular and essentially British manner, ‘got into a first-class carriage on the Dover mail with two of those daugh- ters and they arranged their various impediments in the neat, orthodox British fashion. Hardly were the three seated when a party rushed down to the platform, talking and laughing, calling each other “Billy” and “Nell” and “Tommy” and “Polly,” and saying good-by in noisy fashion to one of the lot, who was evidently not to accom- pany the rest. “My dears,” said the British matron, bristling with dis- approval, “those dreadful creatures are coming in here. They are evi- dently Americans. Do not on any account permit them tu scrape an ac- quaintance. { am told that they are most objectionable in that way.” As the strangers scrambled in and the guard slammed the door, materfami- lias and her girls glared haughtily at the intruders, one of whom said pleas- antly: “I fear we are crowding you, but there was no other carriage to be had.” To this there was no response. Another well-meant remark about moving some papers was also received with chilling hauteur. So, paying no further heed to the original inmates of the compartment, the new arrivals literally ate, drank and made merry, to the intense and manifest disgust of the solemn trio, who exchanged glances expressive of their annoy- ance, furnishing obvious amusement to the presumed Americans, who,, like naughty children, seemed greatly di- verted by the situation and rather tried to increase the ire of their companions de voyage by an overflow of hilarity. At Dover the two parties stopped at the same hotel and crossed. the next morning to Calais. But what a trans- formation scene on the steamer! The British matron met the noisy young folks with a beaming smile and a bow, to which a supercilious stare was the only response. The prim daughters proffered rugs and other comforts, which were curtly refused. What was the cause of this sudden turning of the tables? Merely that the English matron, with ihe curiosity characteris- tic of her class, had examined ‘the hotel register, and, ‘to her dismay, had yead “Lord and Lady Fitznoddle,” “the duke of Mayfair” and “the Hon’ble Maud Highflyer.” The smartest of the smartest set in London! The most in- timate friends of H. R. H.! The peo- ple of all others that they were most dying to know! A Story of the French Revolution. At the time of the French Revolu- tion, Houdon, the sculptor (whose statue of Voltaire wé have all admired in the foyer of the Theater Francais), was thrown into prison. Mme. Houdon, in despair, went to Barras,.and with streaming | eyes implored his assistance. Barras shook his head; he feared he could do nothing. Houdon was a man of genius and, therefore, as David was one of the condemning judges, he feared there ‘was little chance for his salvation. Mme. Houdon refusing to accept this opinion as finai and using all the arts and. beguilements of which an astute French lady is capable, Barras at last condescended to ask her if her husband had any statue for sale at that time in his~studio. Madame replied that the only finished statue at present in his atelier was a figure of Saint Schol- astice, holding a scroll of MS. in her hand. On hearing this the wily Barras rang the bell and said to his answering sec- retary: ~“M. Houdon has just com- pleted a splendid statue of ‘Philosophy Meditating on the Revolution.’ Hastea and purchase this sublime work of art, and have it placed in the Assembly.” Barras’ orders were carried’ out, with the result tha: not only’ was the sculp- tor’s life spared, but he received more commissions for statues than he was able to execute. On such small issues did the lives of men hang in those tre- mendous times. Not Disqualified. It ig wonderful what good reasons | men have for not serving on juries, but a bright judge is generally equal to the cecagion. In the’ Quarter Session Court, Judge Biddle on the bench, says the Philadel- pia Record, a German asked to be ex- cused from jury duty. “Why?” asked the judge. “Well, your honor, I don’t under- stand good English.” “Oh, you will do,” replied the judge. “You won't hear much good English ‘here. anyhow.” L celebrated French | WRITERS’ PRIDE. The Delight Felt by Dickens, Charies Mathews aud Haydon. Dickens has told us of the keen emo- “en that overcame him on seeing in erifit his first “effusion,” as he styled it, which he had dropped stealthily one uvening at twilight, with fear and trembling into a dark letter-box in a Mark officé up a dark court in Fleet séréet, and how when it appeared next «aorning he went for half an hour into Westminster hall, “because my eyes were so dimmed with joy and pride that they could not bear the street,” says Chambers’ Journal. Charles Mathews, the elder, describes the de- light’ with which he gazed on the first proof of his translation of “fhe Prin- cess of Cleves,” which appeared by monthly installments in the Lady’s Magazine, as “boundless” and how he fancied the eyes of Europe were upon him and that the ladies who subscribed to that periodical would unite in call- ing on the editor to insist in “C. M.” declaring himself. Poor Haydon has left a vivid record of the flutter of elation with which he greeted the re- sult of his having dropped his little compésition into the letter-box of the Examiner. “Never,” he writes, ‘‘shall { forget that Sunday morning. In came the paper, wet and uncut; in went the paper knife—cut, cut, cut. Affecting not be interested, I turned the pages open to dry and to my certain immor- tality beheld, with a delight not to be expressed, the first sentence of my let- ter. I put down the, paper, walked about the room, looked at Macbeth (@ print on the wall), made the,tea, but- tered the toast, put in the sugar, with that inexpressible suppressed chuckle of delight which always attends a con- descending relinquishment of an antic- ipated rapture till one is perfectly ready. Who has not felt this? Who has not done this?” ENGLISH FARMS. in Great Britain Worse Off Than in America. Farms in England are selling at a ruinous reduction of their former val- ue, and in many cases cannot be sold at all, says the New York Tribune. Many properties within two hours’ ride o2 London are deserted. Recently at the sale of Langdon abbey 639 acres of | land with farmhouse, stabling, home- stead and seven modern cottages, only realized £5,700, or less than £9 per acre. Fifteen years ago the property was valued at over £20,000, and four years ago it was mortgaged for’ £14,000. In Essex county, within a day’s walk of the Bank of England, a farm which in 1875 rented for £400 has for the last five years years rented for £1 per an- num, the occupant paying the taxes, amounting to about £150. In many eases farms have been sold for less than one-tenth of their value twenty years ago. Well-to-do farmers are abandoning the business and going to the colonies or to cities to start life anew. Nor does there seem to be any hopeful outlook for the industry in the future. Lord Salisbury recently de- clined to receive a deputation of Eng- lish farmers, saying that he knew as much about the wants of the agricul- turists as they could tell, which was no doubt true, and it is equally true that with the best will in the world the government is powerless to render them any material assistance. Al- though the situation is grievous, there may be some consolation in the fact that it is worse on the continent, and seems to be equally irremediable. We have not yet suffered so severely in this country, but have by no means escaped the depressing influences which seem to have fallen on agricul- ture everywhere: Farmers i The Pulse of Progress. | The phonendoscope is one of the re- cent inventions which promises great | things for the medical practitioner. By | its use the most obscure sounds within | the interior organization of the human | body may be distinctly heard. It‘is the invention of two professors in the Uni- versity of Parma, in Italy. It is con- structed somewhat on the principle’ of j the telephone, only, considering the uses to which it is to be put, it is much more delicate as a sound transmitter. It is about the size and form of a large watch, and consists of two sup- erposed plates and a hearing tube. Ap- plied to the medical sciences, the phon- endoscope serves for the hearing of all the normal and abnormal sounds of the human organism, and its practica] re- sults are very wonderful. Not only can the sounds of the organs of respira- tion and circulation bg heard by’ its use, but also those of the muscles, of | the joints, of the bones, of the capillary circulation, and the first faint indica- tions of prenatal life, A Peet's Chivalry. The poetry of Longfellow reveals its author’s sensitive, chivalrous spirit, so that those familiar with his verses will read without surprise this story told by Mrs. Phelps-Ward in her “Chapters from a Life: Longfellow was reading aloud a poem one day to Madam Mod- jeska, whose eyes filled with tears as the reading proceeded, “TI shall never forget,” qbserves Mrs. Phelps-Ward, “the tone and manner | with which he turned toward her. ‘Oh!’ he cried, ‘I meant to give you happiness! And I have given you pain!’ “His accent on the word ‘pain’ was like the smart of a wound.” Cause for Dissatisfaction. * “Miss Oldgirl doesn’t look pleased at the account of her club meeting in this morning’s paper.” “I guess she isn’t. Bachelor Girls, and the paper has it the Bachelor Order of Ancient Girls.”— fincinnati Commercial Tribune. The club is called the Ancient Order of | “ HAS NO FEAR OF SNAKES. Maryland Man Who Allows the Most Poisonous Reptiles to Bite Him. The only man in’the world who does not fear a snake bite, and upon whom the venom of serpents apparen:- ly has no effect, is William F. Witmer, whose home is in Wolfsville, Md., says the New York Herald. His perform- ances with copperheads, rattlers and vipers are a constant source of won- der and amazement to all who know him, and even to his lifelong friends there is a large element of mystery about the man and his strange power over snakes. He takes great pride in this respect, and when among stran- gers it is a favorite form of amusement with him to hunt up some ugly look- ing speciment of the serpent family —the more deadly the better it fits his purpose—and to let the reptile sink its venomous fangs in his bare arm or hand. Recently, while on a visit in the mountains of western Pennsylva- nia, a half-dozen spotted vipers were found in a bunch under a stone. Roll- ing up the sleeve of his coat until his arm was bare to the elbow, Witmer proceeded with his other hand to take the largest and ugliest-looking viper by the tail and, shaking him apart from the rest of the snakes, swung him about until he was thoroughly enraged. He then allowed the viper to sink its teeth in his arm. Then one by one the other vipers were picked up and al- lowed to seize the arm, until there was a full half-dozen of the spotted writhing things hanging from Wit- mer’s flesh and writhing themselves about the arm in a very frenzy of rage. When the spectators were sufficiently horrified the man took off the snakes one by one by the tail and, shaking them loose from his arm, killed them by snapping them like the lash of a | whip. For the rest of the day no. one would have been surprised to see the man drop dead any moment, but, on the contrary, he seemed among the liveliest of the party. There was no swelling of the arm nor any numbness of the flesh, the only trace of the ex- hibition being a number of tiny red spets on the arm, which looked as if a needle had punctured the flesh. Those were the marks of the snakes’ fangs. Witmer himself says of the strange peculiarities which he possesses that it is something inherited from his an- cestors, one in each generation back as far as he knows having had this same immunity from the poison of venomous reptiles. “I do not try to explain it,’ said he; “all I know is that I have no fear of snake bites; and although I have been bitten hundreds of times I never felt the slightest ill effects from any of them. It is only a pastime for me to hunt and catch the most deadly serpents, and a peculiar feature of it is that once a snake has bitten me I have no difficulty in tam- ing it. In fact, at home I have a num- ber of pet rattlers and copperheads, which know me and will come when I call them, just like a dog. I seem to have the same power over animals, and have yet to meet the first wild animal I cannot tame.” Imperial Ornithology. It is natural enough to think that what we have never seen nor heard of has no existence; but there are occa- sions when this pleasing personal ignorance runs against a hard fact. The story is told by a.German paper, to illustrate the manner in which princes used to be educated in the good old times, that a Russian grand duke | once came to Berlin to pay a visit to | the Prussian court. It was early in the present century. In Russia the imperial two-headed eagle is seen everywhere—not in the woods or in the air, but on decorations of all sorts—stamped, painted, em- broidered and sculptured. Every Rus- sian—even a grand duke—is thorough- ly familiar with it. While the above-mentioned young duke was at the Prussian court, a hunt was given in his honor, and by the assistance of the gamekeepers he was enabled to shoot a certain large bird. “What kind of a bird is that?’ the grand duke asked of another hunter, “Tt is an eagle, your highness,” the hunter answered; whereupon the Rus- sian prince turned on him With a look of indignation and said: “An eagle! How can it be, when it has only one head!” Extremely Literal. It is related of a certain very mat- ter-of-fact man that he was waked one night by a burglar at the foot of his bed, who pointed a revolver at his head. “If you move,” said the burglar, “you are a dead man!” “I beg your pardon,”’ answered the other; “if I move, it wil] be good proof that I'am alive. You should be more ceareful.as to the meaning of your words.” : The fault of this story is that it does | not tell what the burglar did then. Properly he should have fainted, and remained in the faint until the police came and took him away. One of the Two, It was in front of a theater that a number of people observed a showily dressed man. ~ “Itell you,” remarked one of the group, “a man is’ lucky to have’a big fur-trimmed overcoat this “Kind ‘of weather.” ~ “Perhaps,” was the rejoinder, in’a tone of chronic discontent; “he’s eith- er lucky or else he’s an actor.”—Wash- ‘ington Star. For Herself Alone. She—Do you love me for myself alone, dearest? He—Of course I do. You don’t suppose I want your mother about al! the time, ae salen Judy. |shaking hands a la stiff arm, the one | sources, BEST LINE A GREAT SCHEME. Why One Chappie Will Not Have to Work. They met on Fifth avenue one after- noon, greeted each other affectionately, gays the New York Journal, and, after fwith the monocle in his eye exclaimed: “Oh, say, chappie, did you know that I had given up my positjon with Black & Co.?” “Weally, deah boy?” asked the other in amazement. “Yaas, weally,” continued the first speaker. “You know Black would nevah take off his hat to me and has always tweated me with moah or less diswespect and I couldn't stand it any longer. Howevah, I didn’t leave: until a big stwoke of luck befell me.” “Wich old uncle die and leave you his money?” “No, indeed, old chap.” “Engaged to an heiress, pwehaps?” “Wish I was.” “Then you have a new position al- Weady to step into?” “Gwacious, no, foah I’m not going to work again. Don’t have to, and I'll tell you why. You know Algy Faunt- leroy, ¢on’t you?” “Yaas.” “Well, I was telling him about my twubbles some time ago and _ the bwainy fellah got up a scheme foah me in case I was thrown on my own we- Oh he’s the bwainest old chap I evah met.” “But tell me the scheme: deah boy?” “Oh, yes, iet me tell you the bwainy scheme he thought of. Ho got me to wite ]}im about a dozen weal saucy lettahs and now he’s going to sue me foah damages.” “Ab. but where do you come in?” “Why, that’s the bwainy part of it, you know. When he gets the heavy damages he’s going to divide them with me, you see, and we ¢an live comfort- ably on them foah years. Isn’t that bwainy, by Gawge—isn't it, though’ ix “DOMESTIC” Is absolutely the best Sewing | Machine made. Leads in latest and best improvements, SIMPLEew PRACTICAL «DURABLE For over 30 years has been endorsed by the public as the most satisfactory of all sewing machines. We want your trade and can save you money. Write for free catalogue and prices. THE DOMESTIC S. 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