The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 17, 1899, Page 36

36 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1899. CENYON WESTS HEW YOBK LETTER A Breezy Review of Gotham Happenings. i almost bewildered with the er of the at- aters just now, NE gots th It to choose one or for « sideration when s fully as worthy t event just now is, nee of Sir Henry erry after their Monday even- | ented Sardou's first time. The two artists and their large com- val welcome. The rater was crowded by e who came there | ure and de- these distin- 4. Sir Henry | ay with him not only | of American dollars, but he what he has possessed | love and the admira- | pe. . Could any of | 1dors of the Knicke: out into the ng from Thirty- t to the box-office, | at this short engage- of the great financtal | It is very hard 2 the speculators or | charge #4 for the rolncidence that four 0w being pre- | of French and con- Ar- H with the a Marlowe is de- hase of American , but in its gen- nd of absorb- wses se 1 due any lend his in- national and of & ibservient of our jom. Why do we wait *t from Paris or from we feel llke lending our ? Alas, we are in the are adequate and glorious gedy and for comedy in | ng life of this nation, In past, in the man- t. Well for a h, who sees this | for his shaping, ors like Miss Mar- »odwin deserve for making ably stay at the December. Then the iselah. here preser before Met derah, has 1 of t t 6000 years ago. This Ancient Statue, Carved Cen- turies Before the Israelite Cap- tivity, Has Just Been Dis- covered and Brought to America. | Vil /8, { “' 4 J"l" s N That all may see what ths most antique of Egyptian relics looks like, we first photograph taken of the statue of Prince Adu, who lived The statue, which was found in an anclent tomb at Den- t been received at the Museum of Art in New York City. s statue lived in the period of the seventh Egyptian dynasty, or The Mr George Gunning ®). Miss Hyacinth Woodward | ghe has done it st), merely in a sentimental mood of pity for the chivalrous, tender- hearted husband. But, of course, the wife misunderstands it. This is one of the simple things which cause the inter- esting action of this very interesting play. The plot is simplicity itself, but it is acted with such skill and has such | elever dmlogue that the spectator is ab- and his Ar 1 Armitage (Harry | npett power; besides in “Rosemary” | Harwood) and Evans, the butler (Frank | ¥ £ el ss Maude Adams, | Lamb) | n Artist w Mr. Parbury is a popular novelist who N eithe harm or in artistic | gy heen married five years. He has a | & private secretary—Miss Woodward—who | In “On Drew had | prepares his nuscripts for the press. T o lay of those | Colonel Armitage is his wife's father—a | N he shows | gay widower. During the five years of ek A Marriage of | m : has been neglectful he showed his skill in the ot from indifference, ¢ of a comed of manners. acting wife. But ‘ 1 1 * he had fine chanc when the of these old | show tle changes of mood, changes frier come to visit him. He falls Y t or to pathos, fram | in the private secretary of | genta yful banter. In | ¢ v's feel! for this clever | - 1 o help you a mercantilo one, —Bessie Tyranny of X ew this year, is called ment. There are but concerned In the action— (John Drew), Mrs. Parbury P0LLAK-VIRAG provocation | retary kissing her husband's photograph. The wi! 000 © A 1= a description of the way Messrs. Pollak and Virag accomplish X ery remarkable work drum over which left of figure 2 the perforated tape D is passed 1s The perforat In the tape permit the h the drum and thus complete the circuilt. er the steel brushes, causes the circuit to be The current, following the di- recciver R. The mirror T, which , dances as the diaphragm is vi- shows an electric light bulb F, and and being reflected in a beam to the drum per which receives the message photographi- t of the light beam as the mirror causes it to own the perforated tape. The upper row of holes and the lower row of holes represents “dots” as used in at the g » telephor The cut A in figure 3 iking the mirror T. he sensitized p ire 3 shes the Morse code. Figure 1 shows the manner in which the message is written on the photograph fllm. The angles pointing upward represent “dashes” and the engles p g downward represent *“‘dot The horizontal lines connecting the angles are the spaces between words and letters, $i e According to reports, Pollak and Virag made experimental tests in New wding dispatches between that city and Chicago and succeeded In g signgls consisting of letters of the alphabet at the rate of 60,000 an achieve that feat it was necessary to use an electric current of 76 and genuine messages were not transmitted because of the amount of ction to be overcome and the Interference and interruptions with the wire. Further experiments were made in Chicago, first between that city and Mil- ukee and afterward with Buffalo. In those tests real marvels were accom- shed. In the first experiments messages were dispatched at the rate of 122,- 010 words an hour. Then wires were obtained to Buffalo and back, making a cir- cult of 1062 miles, and over that distance messages were sent at the rate of 90,- W wor 1 hour, when, owing to the excessive voltage, there came a blur In ver which stopped further experiments for the time. Over a short p messages were sent, beginning slowly, but gradually increasing in speed until they were run up to the rate of 140,000 words an hour. Bome idea of this phenomenal improvement in telegraphy may be had to layman when it is sald that 2000 words an hour under the regular key trans- mission is a very good rate. g for him is one of pity sawife who tyrannizes over iple but all-powerful meth- g into tears at the slightest | surprises the sec- RAPID TELEGRAPH INVENTION. \ sorbed. All the actors concerned portray their parts with discretion and ease. John Drew's polish and ease, his dig- nity and finish have never been more manifest than in this representation of the tender-hearted husband who has been 80 easily ruled by the quiet tyranny of tears, but who asserts his rights to jus- tice In the end. The climax of the second act, when the wife leaves home for her father’'s house, is remarkably well worked up, and in her acting here Miss Irving is at her best. The third act shows with especial significance Mr. Drew’'s adroit- ness and reflnement. His delivery of his lines {s marked by the clearness, the dis- tinct enunciation, the cultured modula- tions to which we are accustomed. He is an actor of authority and charm. His style is finished, polished, perfect in train- ing and breeding. He shows his fllus- trious ancestry in a thousand attractive ways. Mr. Drew deserves all the success he has had since he left the Daly com- pany and began his career as an inde- pendent star. He has shone with bril- llancy and radiance these eight years, and each year seems to strengthen his hold upon the esteem of the public. His appeal is to the cultured, the refined, the lovers of true and of noble art. The long run of “The Tyranny of Tears” at the Empire Theater is & tribute to his per- sonal popularity as well as to the interest of Haddon Chambers' play. When he leaves New York Mr. Drew will be missed, but the country at large will en- Joy seeing him; and then next year, when he comes again, tlien—then he will receive & welcome befitting his rank in the world of art. E. H. Southern. ‘When I call “The Song of the Sword"” a melodrama, it is in its strictly scientific sense, that is, it is a play in which situa- tion rather than the development of char- acter {s the prominent characteristic. The ordinary melodrama, so called, violates probability at every turn. Its emotions are conventional and commonplace; its sentiment is flimsy, with a constant appeal to the gallery. Not so with the play in which Mr. Sothern is now appearing at Daly's Theater. It is a romantic drama in its best sense. The story is coherent and probable; the characters are natural as well as pleasing. There is “atmos- pher picturesqueness, vigorous action, impassioned dialogue. The costumes and make-up of the actors are rich and con- vineing. Praise must especially be given to the appearance of Norman Parr, who looks like Napoleon, acts llke him and speaks as we Imagine Napoleon would have spoken. It is the General Bonaparte of the Itallan campaign of 17%, with his thin, spare figure, his long black locks, his nervous gestures, his austere expres- slon, that is here represented; and Mr. Parr looks as If he had stepped out of an old picture. The part which General Bonaparte plays is not particularly to his honor. Of course, it is not historical, and @oes not pretend to be. Mr. Sothern is a “cl devant.” Once a Marquis, he has taken sides with the rev- olution, and is now a captain in the army. The scene is laid in Italy, on the eve of the battle of Lodi and a few hours after the bridge has been crossed. Virginia Harned s an Itallan Countess whose sympathles are not with the French. The first act takes place in a hut near the Countess’ castle. The Countess is disguised as a peasant girl. Captain Egalite (Mr. Sothern) rescues her from one of his soldiers, suspects her disguise, but conceals it under an assumed badinage. When he chances to leave the stage, she learns from the man to whom she is betrothed that he has important dispatches to deliver to the Austrian general. But when he learns that the roads are filled with French soldiers he is afrald to start on his dangerous errand. Thereupon the Countess re- proaches bim with cowardice and de- termines to carry the dispatches herself, This furnishes the motive of the play. The plot hinges on the Countess’ effort to carry out her resolvs upon Captain Egalite's pursuit of her; upon her fail- ure; upon her being seen by Bonaparte, ‘who is captivated by her beauty and ani- mated by the desire to win her; upon the FAMOUS MINES INSOUTH AFRICA Gold Reefs That Pay Millions. Now that the war with South Africa is well under way, the story of the gold mines which have led to the conflict is ot the greatest interest. More fortunes have been made in South Africa of late years then in almost any other corner of the world, and the mines are still rich enough to make hundreds of millionaires before they are exhausted. It sounds like romance to say that the English soldiers are now fighting on flelds of gold, yet it is mere sober reality. There is gold enough in the mines already worked to pay off the whole national debt of England, and nobody can say what the futuré may bring forth. It is quite within the bounds of possibility that at any mo- ment a gold mine may be discovered which will surpass in wealth any that has yet been known. Already Bouth Africa is he second greatest gold producing coun- try In the world, and what it may be be- fore the next century opens it I8 impos- sible to foretell. Its wealth may be beyond the most amazing dreams of avarice. Six inches of soil on any Transvaal battlefleld may hide such wealth in gold and dia- monds as the world has never dreamed of. The mines of South Africa cover many miles, and give work to between 60,000 and 70000 men. The famous Witwatersrand mines, nearly the richest in the world, are in a gold basin which extends for 130 miles, and In less than a dozen miles of this reef there is sald to be gold worth The first man to make his fortune in Bouth Africa did not become a millionalre, but he became immensely rich in less time than it takes to read this article. Thirty years ago a Hottentot child was found playing with a bright pebble, which to- day Is in the possession of an English countess, who purchased it for $125,000. That was the first fortune to be made In South Africa, and since that time it has been impossible to keep pace with the gi- fm“c fortunes which men have bullt up n that part of the world. Barney Barnato made moro monev in the Transvaal than he could count. He had barely enough money to pay his hotel bill when he set foot for the first time in the country, but at the end of ree Years he Lad sold some mines for 000, aving mace money at the rate of $200,000 & year, and from that time his wealth grew amazingly. In one day the public subscriptions to four of his companies were more than geven million and a half dollars, and he became the first South African milllonaire. The De Beers mine pays dividends at the rate of $15 a minute all the year around, and the huge fortures it has lrfmda for its owners run into many mul- ons. J. B. Robinson, a youth of 19, happen- ing to be in the country when gold was discovered, established himself at once and bougnt what proved to be the riclLest tract of land in the Witwatersrand als- trict. For $35,000 he purchased the Land- laagte estate, the richest gold producing area of its size in the whole world. There !s still sold in Kimberley a fac- simile of the check for $27,500,000 paid by the De Beers Company for the assets of the owners of the Kimberley dlamond mine, and it serves to remind us of the tremendous figures in_ which South African money makers deal. The wages paid by the various companies run into considerably over 00 cvery year, and in diamonds alone the exports have been over $560,000,000 in the last thirty years. The four De Beers mines are 112 acres in extent, and in one year three million loads of “blue ground” were taken out. It is a strange sight to eee the Kaill | workmen st work with thelr pickaxes, | loosening this hard, blue ground, pil |1t upon rows ana_wheeling it away into the open fields. Here is s left in the rain for mcnths to be subjected to natural decomposition before being sent to the mills, From the three million loads taken up by the De Beers work- men in one year diamonds worth $17.5,- 000 were extracted at a cost of $7,500,000. How long will the golG mines last? Qeiecoisidedeiede® captain's defense of her even at the risk of court-martial; and upon the final solv- ing of all the difficulties, and the brave Countess and the noble captain loving each other and being forever happy. The court-martial scene is a triumph of stage maragement. It is remarkably effective and pictureseque. The stage is crowded with French soldlers in thelr striking uniforms, The scene ends with a battle which could scarcely be sur- passed on the stage. The captain, who has been condemned to death because he has allowed the Countess to escape—in order to save her from Bonaparte—has been permitted to lead a forlorn hope. Before he has a chance to leave the Inn in which the trial has taken place he is attacked by the Austrians and In a desperate struggle is overpowered and taken prisoner. The Countess meanwhile has returned to her home. She finds that the Austrians are to make it their headquarters. Of course Captain Egalite {s brought there as a prisoner. She obtains his release. In this last act Miss Harned shows as artistic and convincing acting as she has ever shown In her career. Her pleading for vindication from the distrust of her lover 18 a beautiful plece of work from first to last. Miss Harned's lovely voice lends itself to tenderness, to love, to womanly dignity, to all the charm which such a scene demands. Mr. Bothern is most skiliful in the scene where he simulates partial intoxication and the gradual clearing of his faculties at the time of stress and danger. His role is not the equal of that he has as D’Artagnan. It does not furnish him with such opportunities for the display of those qualities which have made him such a favorite with the public. He has had sev- eral plays which show him to more ad- vantage. This is not detracting from his work in “The Song of the Sword,” but merely to emphasize what he has done in the past. He is a romantlc actor of rare ability, with much magnetism and dash and fervor. He has much humor, too, and when he diplays it he is sure to please even more than in his tender love scenes. And that s saying a good deal, for as a stage lover Mr. Sothern has won many enthusiastic comments. The suc- cess of his revival of “The King's Mus- keteer” delayed so long the production of “The Song of the Sword” that it is not likely Mr. Sothern will produce *“The Sunken Bell,” which he has been rehears- ing. That charming fantasy which Agnes Sorma and her assoclates produced at the Irving Place Theater ought to suit Mr, Sothern, Miss Harned and their admira- ble company. In German “The Sunken Bell” was very successful. un- ) Daly’s Theater has rematned monogram “A.D." stfll upon it), the uni- g changed—decorations, curtain (with S0 on. Only the foyer looks bare because of the removal of the superb portraits which graced its walls and made it a bower of beauty. One especially misses seeing Ada Rehan's portrait as Kather- ine. And several times as I watched the Sotherns and their company in “The Song of the Sword” I had visions of & door at the left opening and issuing from it that superb and radiant Katherine in her dark red velvet, or Lady Teazle in her flower- ed gown, or the glorious Portia, or the sweet and gentle Viola, or the blithesome Rosalind, or the vivacious Mrs. Ford. Ah, when will New York see Ada Rehan once more? May the Fates speed the day! KENYON WEST. Fattening Show Babies. In the next session of the Paris mu- nicipal council attention will be given to baby shows and prize competition for in- fants, Dr. Dufournier and Dr. Vallin have in- formed the council that in order to en- able the infants to win medals the nurses feed them in a manner which Is not con- ducive to their health. The Infants, in fact, are greatl; ¢ - “ul;_f oy l_over ed, and at a later undue plumpness, they suffer from seri diso iges- tlon.~London" Lancet. o o & is simply John Smith. forms of the ushers and gatekeeper and | hame ply n Sm! HAVE DIAMONDS GALORE YET NEVER WEAR ANY These are the two sisters of the “diamond king,” Cecfl J. Rhodes. Although their brother, who has made $75,000,000 mining diamonds {n South Afric show- ers the lustrous gems upon them the sensible young women never use dlamonds for personal adornment. Both are genuine English girls, fond of outdoor life and devoted to horses. It is due to their influence that Mr. Rhodes no longer avolds the falr sex as once he did. They are now in Kimberley. MUCH DISTRESS T CARBONALD Widows and Children Face Starvation. Special Dispatch to The Call. TACOMA, Dec. 16.—Reports from Car- bonado state that great distress prevalls among the sixteen widows, forty-five or- phans and six old people who were de- pendent for support on the thirty-one miners killed in last Saturday's mine dis- aster. Their tmmediate needs are being provided for, but their future looks very dark. The miners had nothing saved up and carried no insurance. They lived in the company's hou: and bought everything at the company's store. At the end of each month they had nothing left. Now the widows are confronted with the knowl- edge that they must move out of the company’s houses at once unless they can get to work and earn rent money. To do this will be hard for the sixteen widows, most of whom have several chil- dren. The company has so far made no offers of assistance, having devoted its chief energies since the accident to prov- ing that it was not liable for the explo- sion. Rellef funds rafsed this week in Tacoma and Seattle exceed $300), and Include $55% contributed by the Black Diamond coal miners. In acdition the Carbonado miners have agieed to donate one day's pay. These and future contributions will barely provide $100 each for the surviving de- pendents. One of the widows s Mrs. g Dare, who wag married last spring. She relates through her tears that just before she left Penrsylvania to come West and marry Dara she was told by an old for- tune teller tnat she would be a widow within a year. State Mine Inspector Owens returned to-day from Carbonado. He is non-committal regarding the cause of the accident. Mining experts ganerally agree that the mine should not have con- tained enough gas to cause such an explo- sion if ordinary precautions had been rig- 1dly adbered to. FRATERNAL ELECTIONS. Miesion Rebekah Lodge has elected the fol- lowing named for the ensuing term: Parthenia C. Burkhardt, noble grand; Lizzie C. Watson, vice grand; Margaret Duncan, recording secre- tary; Anna Norman, financial secretary; Emily Eastman, treasurer. The following named will be installed as the officers of Aurora Lodge of the Knights and Ladles of Honor for the next term: Lizzle J. Wheelock, past protector; Willlam C. Hearn, protector; Annle Thompson, vice protector; Lil- Ttan B. Holcomb, recording secretary; Lizzle A. . financial ' secretary; Dr. A. 8. Cook, {lr::.!)urv«r‘ Sarah vidson, chaplain; Frances J. Willams, guide; Helena Hearn, guard; ¥mma Sundboerg, captain of the guard; Belle e, sentinel. b:ffie‘;sllowmt named have been elected as the officers of La Estreila Parlor of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, to serve for the ensuing term: Mrs. L. Oltman, past presiden Miss Julla_Vaseelin, president; Mra. E. Thie: ch, Dr. Lillile Boldemann and Miss M. Kle- versahl, vice presidents; Mrs. M. Boldemann, treasurer; Miss Alice Maunder, recording secre- tary; Miss A. Boldemann, financial secretary Miss A. Panella, marshal: Miss G. Bello, out- side sentinel: Mies H. Bello, inside sentinel; Mrs, H. Hall, Mrs. A. Darneal and Miss M. Johansen, trustees. Court Sutro Helghts of the Foresters of America has elected the following named as its officers for the next term: . Baradorl, Junior past chief ranger; J. J. Clancy, chief ; C. E. Morey, sub-chief; W. B. Faulk- ner, treasurer; E. 5. Harding, financial secre- tary; J. W. Oleadeil, recording secretary: C. Rommeil, senior woodward; W. F. Hinz, junior woodward; M. A. Nathan, ‘senior beadié; C. J Jacobeon, junior beadle; Dr. L. H. Gruninj hysician: J. Murray, R. Klumpp and L. Li ngston, trustees; C.' E. Morey and Redmond Bros., druggists, Francisco Temple of the Rathbone Sisters will have the following named as its officers for the ensuing term: Mrs. Siddle P. Daggett, P. C.; Mrs. Ida A. Mercredy, M. E. C.; Mrs. Drusa D. Robertson, E. S.; Mrs. Maude R. Purdle, 3 . Annie C. Terry, M. of T.; Mrs. m d'C.; Mrs. Etta . Welch, M. of F.; Mrs. Eila B. Dwight, Pro.; Mrs. Clara M. O'Brian, G. of O, T.; Mrs. May K1da, O. California Hive of the Ladies of the Macca- bees has elected the following named as its ficers for the next term: Maud Mack, lady commander: Mrs. Pumphrey, lieutenant com- mander: Alice Follett, record keeper; Mrs. H A. Buriingame, chapiain; Miss Delano, mi tress-at-arms: Ida Duncan, sergeant: M Marmon, sentinel; Mrs. Berry, picket; Mrs, I abel Howard becomes the past lady commander. Redwood Camp No. 91 of the Woodmen of the World has elected the following officers for the ensuing term: Jacob Miller, consul com- mander; L. D. Seibert, advisor lieutenant H. Savage, banker (re-elected elghth year Thomas F. Hatton, clerk (re-elected ninth year: George H. Shephard, escort; I. L. Isaae, watchman; E. E. R (re-elected third term): ager for the eighteen-month installation will take place on January 1 —_—— ‘Wenderful if True. According to the tbsumony of a Mil- waukee Eypsy. who was In New York re- cently, the richest man in America {s not one of the Vanderbilts, Astors or Rocke- felers, but a simon-pure gypsy, whose e lves in Mexico, is 80 years old and the owner of countless acres, myriads of cattle and sheep, of gold, silver and onyx munes, of rallway and bank stock and of plantations without number in the heart of Mexico's richest States, says the New York Tele- graph. vhn Smith has no settled home; ha has a hundred homes on his different estates, and he moves from one to another. In each he sees what Is going on and gives his oraers. Then he moves on again. The Milwaukee gypsy, a solld business man, who tells the story of John Smith's amaz- ing wealth, claims he saw him at Orizaba. They beczme great friends. o one knows how rich T am,” said Smith, simply, “but T think I am the rich- est man on the continent.” Sm th was plainly dressed in a suit of English tweec, with hobnalil shoes. But his home was a revelation. Outside It was a veritable fortress, with stout walls of mascnry, loopholed for defense if neces- sary. A two-story wall Inclosed it in a srace as big as two blocks, and a great moat surrounded that. There were the regulation ¢rawbridges and portcallises. Two massive inner doors barred the last entrance. Once open it was a wonderful place, with a courtvard in the center, where played perfumed fountains an where a beautiful garden grew. The entire inclosure was paved with brilliantly pol- ished onyx—the ransom of a king in cost- i oo e gh B by e e, where Smith's of pet Jerseys Wara housed. had the sama costly foar The al Richard | sums aboard, also, ¢ ing of onyx. Servants lounged about, but one of the old man's eccentricities was to have his own children wait upon him at table. It w an incongruous nicture to see him clattering around on the splen- did flooring in his coarse suit and hob- | nails, while a soft light fell on the strange scene shed by great candelabra of solid gold from his mines. Smith is an English gypsy. He went to Mexico before there were any rallways there and was the first man to hauléma- chinery from the coast to the gold mines which now yield him an incalculable in- come. He got in on the ground floor on evervthing that has made Mexico so rich to-day. But his life has been a series of adventures. Twice he has been shot down by Mexican thieves, who attacked his gold trains. He was left for dead each time. All the gypsies In Mexico are wonderfully proud of him and call him “Our John.” —_———— TRADING SHIPS CARRY NO CASH No Wonder the Pirucy Business Has | Fallen Away to Nothing. Jack White of Red Bank, picked up a Mexican silver dollar of 1834 on Sandy Hook the other day. Captain Jack eaid it reminded him of many a dollar he had seen that had been picked up along the Jersey coast'and on Long Island shores. ““Meéxican silver dollars,” he sald, “were the money of the commercial world dur- Ing all the early part of this century, and you could find them whenever there ‘were wrecks. Nowadays pirating would not pay, but in those days every ship had to carry a iot of money every time she went on a voyage. Nowadays a captain doesn't have to have anything but a bit of pocket money, and it s a fact that many a ship goes out on a voyage with hardly a d on board. If the captain needs anything he can elther draw money at any port he enters or else find credit there. “It was very different a_generation ago. In those days a captain had to take out th him money enough to last him for the whole voyage, and something for emergencies besid, He often had big at were used in trad- ing, or that represented a cargo sold “It was not uncommon in those days for a ship to start out with a full cargo, bound for some foreign port, where the captain would have to hunt his own mar- ket. If the cargo wouldn't sell well there he had power to go to any other port to hunt a profitable market. Then when he had sold out he was expected to buy new cargo, either for a home port or perhaps some other part of the world. It was not unusual for a captain to handle half a | dozen cargoes on a long trading voyage, | and come home in ballast, with a big box of silver dollars to help Keep his ship up to the wind. Even the little vessels car- ried a lot of money aboard. *'I guess that dollar was wrecked there fifty years or so ago, and it has been | drifting around in the sands ever since. ———— SAYS NO ONE FEARS DEATH. Experienced Physician Tells of a Popular Fallacy. “I have seen thousands of persons dle under all sorts of circumstances, and never yet have I seen one display the slightest fear of death.” This remarkable statement was made the other day by a hysiclan who has practiced many years n Philadelphia and who has seen a great deal of hospital service. “It 1s a po‘;ula{ fallacy,” he went on, ‘“to imagine that a deathbed scene is ever terrible, other than as a parting between loved ones. The fear of the unknown is never present at the last. Even id 1g- norance and vice I have never experienced such scenes as a novellst who strives after realism will sometimes picture, ‘““When a patient is told that he cannot recover and the end is near, he invarfably seems resigned to his fate and his only thought seems to be of those who are to be left behind. This is true allke of men and women. 'hose who become hysterical and de- clare they are not fit to die are the ones who are not so i1l as they think they are. Those always get well. “A chological reason? Oh, I donm't know that there is any. It's just a human trait.”"—Philadelphia Record. —_————— DIVING WOMEN. Japanese Mermaids Who Harvest Seaweed. Over 100 Japanese women, following the hazardous groffim\lnn of divers, says the Japan Weekly News, are found along the coast of the peninsula. They are divided into four batches, and their ages range from 17 to 30. They come almost exclu- stvely from Shima, Miyeken, a noted fish- ery center in Japan. Their earnings are of course not uniform, as they are paid according to the amount of their work, which consists in diving for agaragar sea- weed, see-ear, sea cucumber and so forth. GENERAL CAONE IS K FATER Way He Handled the Jameson Raid. While Joubert i{s the cunning schemer of the Transvaal army, Cronje fs its rough and burly fighter. Of the two he Is the more representative Boer. Joubert, possibly from his French ancestry, is a man of a certain polish, and can be in- direct when policy requires, Cronje I blunt and always to the point. FHis eraft is that of the hunter, and t y disguises the force that awaits only the oppor= tunity. Something of this is alres observable in his operatic around Mafeking. He is doing all he can to lure Baden-Powell from the Intrenchments, where he can strike man for man. He has made sev- eral assaults. He can be depended upon to stake everything on one desperate fight at the first falr chance. General Cronje is gre: admired by the Boers. They think J rt is a won- derful tactician and organizer, but they love Cronje, the silent man, of sudden and violent action. He Is no man's His steel gray eyes peer out huge, bushy brows, He ne unless necessary then In words. He neve ks a favor. time for action comes he acts, with the force of sideration for himself or his men. That is the way he handled the Jame- son raid. He saved the republic then, in the opinion of the republic. He is & man after the Boer's own heart. Cronje 18 a soldier and nothing else. He hates form. He hates politics, though a born leader of men. He was strongly urged to oppose Kruger for the Presi- dency in 1595, but he would not. He will have none of any rule but that of the rifle. He despises citles. He is a man of the veldt. These iwo men, Joubert and Cronfe, hold in their hands the fate of the Boer republics. The one is commander in chief, the other is second in command. Of Jou- bert we have heard much, of Cronje lit- tle. The most descriptive picture of Cronje is from the pen of Dofiglas Story, the editor of the late Boer newspaper, the Standard and Dlgfivrs' News. It was pub- lished in the London Dally Mall of Octo- 30. and the following is an extract Vily and farseeing as is Plet Joubert, no man of them all can handle troops in the fleld as Cronje. He has the eye of a hawk for position, the nose of a jackal for signs of weakness in an enemy. His maneuvering of Jameson was that of an Oliver Cromwell. “Cronje was commandant at Potchaf- stroom, seventy miles to the south of Krugersdorp, when Jameson crossed the borde He co-operated with Malan and | Potgieter, but the conduct of the fight A son of the old-time yachting captain, | lay with the cool head of Cronje. “I rode out to the scene of Jameson's defeat some time after the battle, and realized how much of the hunter there is still in the Boer fighting man. No mers soldler would bave h patiently into a into the fatal corrs ““All through night _succeeding Jameson's attack on Krugersdorp Cronje kept warily hustling his enemy into the place of ‘death. The brave, foodless troopers, heavy with sleep, were ariven sheep into a shambles. “When the morning vroke, to the right, to the left and in front of them Hoer marksmen kept their rifles tralned upon the raiders. pe there was none. But the battle was won in the night hours, Al at Doornkop. while Jameson was helplessly blundering on in front of his remorseless enemy. Cronje could afford to wait until the me within a hundred yards be- fore he gave the mercy biow. And vet there was a time in the dark- ness when Jameson almost his hunters. Cronje’'s son wounded In the early skirm troopers « moment the father's inst the general's di n. He bore his boy back to Krugersdorp and left him with Dr. Viljoen there. It was a father's and one strangely unlike the rough farm- er's_exterior of the man who mastered Sir John Willoughby. ““The lesson learned that pitiful night dictated Cronje’'s cour s assurance to er of Mafek that the Red safe from him and his. > ra somebody nd ¢ rs in thelr biindness very ne: ered round the flank of the beat v safety. But it was not to be, and long ere daylight Cronje was back to repair damage and ar- s final batt t drizzly, mist a war god among the Boers. “And yet these lid veldt men ve lttle demonstration of their admiration. The Boers are not a grateful nation as the Americans with their Dewey or we British with our Kitchener are grateful. Days after the battle I saw Cronje riding heavily down the Kerk straat in Pre- toria, a h big-boned_peasant upon a shaggy, trippling pony. No man touched his hat to him, few accosted him “And vet it is significant that Cronje, the Boers, Is always known as * Cronje. There is a rude dignity about the man that compel so much of respect. Other men are known by their Christian names, ‘Siim Plet’ Jou- night made Cronje bert, ‘Oom Christiaan’ Joubert, ‘Oom Jan" Hofmeyer—occasional, but rarely nowadays, ‘Oom Paul' Kruger. In a place apart stands ‘Commandant’ Cronje. “8o far as my memory carries, Cronje was not even n“w'mrnlly thanked by the Volksraad for his great services to the state at Doornkop. He was a burgher: it was his duty to repel the invader: he repelled him—and there the matter rested. “They would have censured him had he falled; they refrained from comment when he succeeded. “Cgonje, riding back to Pretorfa, had no guard of honor £0 receive him, no great civic function to fete him, no sword of honor _to adorn him. He was plain Peas- ant Cronje, returning, heavy hearted, from his wounded son’s pallet in Krugers- dorp Hospital, somewhat weary In the bones from those long hours in the steam. ing saddle, nowise elated, nowise altered from his everyday demeanor. “Since then Cronje has received a seat in the Executive Council, and is now a ersonage with a substantial state salary: ut the man 1s no way changed. He was thought to be a supporter of the Presi- dent's when he joined the Executive Council, but neither Kruger nor Joubert has found him amenable. He is not of the race that makes the party man. “He is as Individual as Kruger, strong in the faith of his own generalship as Joubert. Quiller-Couch is pronounced “Killer Kooch." A FIELD BAKERY IN SOUTH AFRICA. One of the greatest problems which the has to face is that of duly giving his men thing to feed 20,000 hungry Tommy Atkinses wh engaged with the enemy a good distance from t! companying illustration will, therefore, dier is supplied with the staff of life missariat department is provided with English officer in South Africa their dally bread. It is no easy en these same gentlemen are he base of supplies. The ac- give a good idea of how the English sol- during active campaigning. The com- a large number of oblong. lightly butlt steel ovens, and these, with the usual during every advance. and firewood, and Im this primitive way boys. corps of cooks, accompany the camp s taken up the ovens are laid down hey are then coversd with hot coals 13 baked the bread of the soldier