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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1915-12-25, Page 6MARY OF ANDREW DARING FOUND TELLING OF ']'Illi.] DEATH OF NAPOLEON. Tho Upholsterer Who Made the Ar- rangements for the Emperor's Funeral. The interest of the world in the life And death of Napoleon,.perennial and inexhaustible as it is, will be quicken- ed afresh by a remarkablem n which rias just been published in London, This is the lost diary of An- drew Darling; the upholsterer who made thearrangements for the fun- eral of the fallen Emperor et St. Helena. He was the representative of a firm of London upholsterers who had undertaken to furnish Napoleon's dwelling and also took some part in the victualling of his household. In the discharge of his duties he was constantly at Longwood, but probably he never came across Napoleon ex- cept by accident. At last when the groat man died, Andrew Darling's op- portunity came. The deputy uphol- sterer became at once the master un- dertaker. His heart was in his work, and if e had any soul above there is . no trace of it in his plain, unvarnished! tale of what he did and how he did it. ! That is why his narrative is both pie-; ttiresque and unique. Those who imprisoned Napoleon at St. Helena, and gave him a Hudson Lowe for his jailer could not see him then as we can see him now. They saw him in the light of the evil he wrought their people, not in the light of his amazing and unique personal- ity—"the ablest of historic men," as Lord Aeton called him. They dared not be generous to him, and could not even be just. They refused him . the title of Emperor which they had recognized while he held it, and would not even allow him to be called by his own name of Napoleon. He Was "General Buonaparte" to then and nothing more. It is true that a Hudson Lowe was no fit jailer for a Napoleon. But he was neither a fool nor a knave. He was a good man in his way perhaps a good pian in the worst sense of the word—and a fine soldier of the martinet type. But his attitude towards his prisoner was impossible, though even so it was not , worse than that of his master Bath- urst, the Secretary of State. Napo- leon said of him, as Lady Malcolm records: "He has not the character of an Englishman. He is a Prussian soldier"—and we now know all that that means, even as Napoleon knew it then. Wellington, who defeated him in public, said of him later, "Sir Hudson Lowe was a very bad choice; he was a man wanting in education and judgment. He was a stupid man; he knew nothing of the world, and like all men who know nothing of the world, he was suspicious and jealous." These appreciations might he multi- plied. "The verdict of history," -es Lord Rosebery says, "is almost mii- formly unfavorable." But, after all, ' perhaps the last word on the subject was spoken by Montholen when he said, as Stokoe records: "My good fellow, an angel from heaven would not have satisfied us as Governor of St. Helena." On May 5, 1821, Napoleon died a! few minutes atter sunset. Darling bad known for some days that the end was near, and bestirred himself accordingly. Daily he went to Long- wood—it was five miles from James- town, where he lived—and hacl al- ready received orders, rooms to he hung in black, and so forth, in an- ticipation of the pending obsequies. The Death Mask. • In the forenoon of May 5 he rode off as usual, and on his way he met a messenger with orders for him to procure some plaster of. Paris, which would soon be vvantetl for the making of a death -mask. There was none to be had on the island, but Darling had already had his eye on certain im- ages to he purchased in the town, which, being ground down, might fur- nish the material renuired. But his frugal mind shrank from incurring the expense without authority. So he went to Longwood, where the Gov- ernor was staying in the new house built for, butinever occupied by, Napo- leon, to obtain the necessary author- ity. Iiaving got it, hack he rode to the town, bought the necessary im- ages, 150 in number, ground them down, and before evening dispatched two Chinamen with the resultingpow- der to Longwood, We May as Well finish here this story of the death -mask; for it i, et this point that Darling's narrative throws some new, but not perhaps quite conclusive light: on what has long been a moot question. Darling tells us that what he calls the "hu=t," by which, as the context show, lie dearly means the death -mask, was taken on itiny 7• --tame 40 hours after Napoleon's death ---by Drs;. Burton and .&nt•omarchi .-so he raps hint, but his real name was Antomnrarchi -"and afterwards a bust was taken from the same which was very fair rnneidering the time be bad been .dead and the roughness of the ma- teriel," pTontholon gave him the or - !der for the eolfins in welting,, and "to he more particular to his exact size" assisted lebn in the measurement of the body, ''The net:size was as fol- lows, --Length, $ feet 7 inches, only 18 inches barely across the shoulder's, and scarcely 10 inches deep," "Expende Ilannibalem; quot libras in due° sttenma Invonies?" Napoleon's Collins, Darling's own =omit of the cof- lilis is as follows: "The description of the coffins were to be, .first, tin, lined with' satin, which was to be stuffed with cotton, e small mattress and pillow of the same materials on the bottom of dit- to; and then, second, a wood coffin; then, third, a lead coffin; and then one of mahogany .covered with crim- son velvet, if it could be procured; but I told them there was not any on the island that I could get, as S had been in search of soma a few days before; it was then settled that outer coffin should be the best ma- hogany a-hogany that was on the island, which was accordingly done so." It will be seen that his account merely mentions "wood" as the ma- terial of the second coffin. But nearly all the official and contemoorary ac- counts of the disinternment in 1840 of Napoleon's remains for the purpose of their translation to Paris, affirm that this, too, like Darling's original outer coffin, was made of mahogany. THE AGY TREE. Mr. James Sibree Tells of the Result of Contact With It. Among the many peculiar and dis- concerting plants and creatures that abound in Madagascar, probably none is more surprising and disconcerting than the agy tree, so-called, which is not a tree, but a climbing plant. The following incident, quoted by Mr. James Sibree, F.R.G.S., in "A Natural- ist in Madagascar," illustrates the painful result of contact with the agy. The story is told by a Mr. Montgom- ery: Walking under some trees and pushing aside the reeds and grass, I was startled by a sudden tingling and pricking sensation over the backs of my hands and fingers. I stopped in sudden surprise, for the pain was severe, and I had touched nothing ex- cept the grass. But in another minute the pain increased, the tingling, burn- ing sensation seemed to be extending rapidly up my wrists, and I could see nothing to cause it. As I lowered my head to look, scalding pain shot into my ears and neck, and grew worse ' every instant. Dazed and bewildered, I stood a few seconds in helplessness, for I could neither see nor guess at the cause of the terrible distress. Then I got back to any company with agony written plain enough on every line of my face. The men started up when they' saw me, crying out, "You have been stung by the agy!" Some of them led me to a seat, others rushed for water from the river, and two or three brought sand heaped up in their hands. Then they chafed me with the sand and water to take out the sting- ing hairs, which they knew caused the mischief. As they rubbed me, I felt the pain abate, and after they had chafed me for about a quarter of an hour I was comparatively free from pain. While the Wren were rubbing me, I was able to discern to some ex- tent the cause of my distress. Count- less hairs, like tiny arrows, almost transparent, pointed at either end, and from a third to a fourth of an inch long, had dropped on me in an invisible shower from the agy tree as I stood under it. Before I came away that afternoon, very cautiously I ven- tured to examine the tree at a little distance, and found that the tiny hairs grew outside a thickish pod or shell, not quite so large as a small' banana. The pods were fully riper (unluckily for me) just at that time,1 and the light wind was scattering their coverings. BY FORTUNE OF WAR. Many a Chance Occurrence Has Had a Marked Effect. It has often been stated that a strike really caused the Spanish- American War. Two destroyers were • on order in England, destined for work on the Cuba coast, but a strike delayed their completion. The Spanish have declared that had these vessels been delivered in time it' would have enabled them to prevent gun -running in Cuba. In consequence the revolt would have been crushed, and there would have been no reason for the United States to interfere. The German Empire might never have come into being had some Trench artillerymen been able to shoot straight. During one of the fights outside Paris a troop of cavalry cane within range of the guns of Mont Valerian. Fire was opened, and a few men fell, disclosing a carriage, but it was driven out of range as quickly as possible. The carriage contained the Emper- or, or, rather, King of Prussia, as he was then, Bismarck, and Moltke. Disappointed. An old Scotswoman, who at con- :•idereblo personal inconvenience had gone a good way to visit a friend who was ill, learned on her arrival that the alarming symptoms had sub- sided. "An' boo are ye the day, Mrs. Craw- ford?" she enquired, in breathless anxiety, "Oh, I'm nearly well note, thank ye, Mrs. Graham," "Nearly well 1eseiaim ed the breathless visitor. "After me cornea' sae ai' to 550 ye, tool" 0 210 4 tee .�a ��°��MrJ• I¢i�i'tdQ� Charge of the Canadians in Flanders BY J. B. PERRY. [Bernard Partridge's cartoon, "Canada," is reproduced in connection with the lines, by special permission of the proprietors of Punch]: Canada heard the world-wide call, "Ready!" she cried. Our best, our all, We freely give; to stand or fall For Truth and Liberty!" "To arms! To arms!" the bugles sang, From East and West the echoes rang; Our foemen, hearing; forward sprang To fight Hun Tyranny. Over the land and sea they came, To play the brave man's gallant game— To wage red war in Heaven's name! To save Humanity! On to the battle front they roll'd, Flow'r of the Free, strong, firm and bold, To 'venge the wrong'd! and right uphold, With Guns and Musketry. Sudden and swift, mid storms of shell, The cow'rdly Huns—foul fiends of Hell! Let loose vile fumes that deadly fell On our brave Infantry. • Then, 0! Great God! Through crash and boom, Through iron rain and deadly fume, Our fearless boys charged through the gloom, To deal with Infamy. "Strike home!" they cried, through fume and flame, "Strike down the ' elfish hordes of shame! Strike for Heaven! for Britain's name! And for Poster" 7!" Down through the reeling Huns they came; Triumphantly they played the game; And "sav'd the day"! won endless fame, And Immortality! FLOWER CLOCKS. The Common Dandelion Orders Its Daily Life Systematically. • Anybody who has flowers enough and a sufficient knowledge of them need never be at a loss to ascertain. approximately the correct time, for there are any number of blossoms that open and shut at regular hours. A practical botanist has made a list of a few of then and says that as far as he is concerned he is willing to order his time according to it. The dandelion opens for the day's work about 5.80 a.m. and closes at 8.30 p.m., being a model of deport- ment, indeed. To be sure, there are other plants that get busy earlier, but they observe shorter hours. In the temperate regions, the plant that wakes up first is the dainty, satin - petaled morniingeglory. It starts to disclose its tints at 2 a.m., and with the increased strength of the morning light continues to open, but when the sun becomes hot the tubes begin to close, and at 10 a.m. they are through for the day. The Rutland Beauty is an hour glass. It opens its eye's at 3 o'clock in the morning and closes them at 11. Rutland Beauty sounds like a new kind of apple or potato, but it is a twining, trailing flower that grows both wild and under cultivation. The blossom is white or light rose-colored and the leaves are triangular or arrow shaped. Any industrious person who likes to tell the time at 4 a.m. can do. so by the oyster plant It wakes up. then, but finishes its day at noon and goes to sleep again. Those who do not recognize the oyster plant, either by that name or by its botanical name of Tragopogon porrifolium, will al- ways know what you mean if you call it goats' beard. The poppy, scarlet and gorgeous, opens its petals at 5 a.m„ but has no regular hour for closing time. Bate. - sweet can be relied upon to come to life about (i am., thus preceding the water lily by an hoer. The water lily is leisurely about preparing for the day, but site has usually made her toilet and is smiling at the sun by 7 a.m. Eight o'clock in the morning is announced by the scarlet pimpernel. This plant, however, is less reliable as a clock than as a barometer. It is so dependable in the latter respect that it is commonly called the poor man's weather glass, but its extreme sensi- tiveness to darkness will keep it from telling the time on a cloudy day. TORPEDO FACTS. It Is One of the Most Terrible En- gines of War. The first torpedo was invented by David Bushnell, in 1777. Eight years later Robert Fulton designed a missile of the kind, which was purchased by the French Admiralty. After Fulton came many inventors. Messrs. Mc- Kay and Beardslee constructed an electric torpedo in 1865; Sir Frederick Abel made one of a better pattern in 1867, and in 1873 the Wightman for pedo was adopted by the British Gov- ernment. This torpedo held its own until 1884, when the famous White- head fish -torpedo was invented. The Whitehead is propelled by an ingenious little engine, worked by compressed air, placed inside it near the propellers. When it is fired from the tube on a torpedo boat or other craft an automatic arrangement pulls over a lever, and when it reaches the water its engines work at top speed— roughly about twenty-five knots an hour. A gyroscope steers the torpedo by manipulating the rudders at the stern. a, Wealthy Australian Enlists. Giving his name as John Wren it man applied at the Melbourne Town. Hall, a few days ago for enlistment. Ile said his business was "racing." "Are you the owner of the race course?" asked the surprised recruit- ing officer. "Yes," he replied. He is perhaps the most widely known of Australia's wealthiest men. He owns several race courses, a newspaper or two and is interested in a greet var- iety of industrial enterprises. He gave $2,l300 as a prize to the first' Australian to win the Victoria Cross, Mr. Wren passed all the teats and promptly was ticketed as a private. MILITARY MOUNTAINEERS, Q'UIZ'ZING THE CI[IMIST. ripe Feats By the Alpine Troops of Franco and Italy. Some of the most picturesque sol- diers who are fighting in the great war are the Alpine troops of France and Italy, They leave already seen much useful service in the Yoages and the Carnic Alps, and if anether winter campaign is fought, they are likely to be called Upon for still Moro difficult and important fighting. The numbers of the Frepeh chis- sours alpine on war footing have not' been revealed by the authorities, In tines of peace there are thirty Petal - lions ofchasseurs a pied, stationed for the most part in the mountatnous country that forms the eastern front tier of France. Their training among; the high peaks has made them as familiar with ski and rope as with the rifle, Theirs is a life of continual risk, IlI Occasionally a whole corps Inas been! overtaken by avalanche and swept away. In 1801, says a writer in the', London Field, there were two such accidents within a very short time. In one case the fourth company of the 13th Alpine Regiment, which is, usually stationed at Chambery, appar- ently brought an avalanche down upon itself by the vibration that its I marching caused. It was some time I before help arrived . in sufficient strength to dig out the men, and when they were rescued, it was found' that thirty were more or less injured, and that of tlee thirty, twelve were suffering from frostbitten feet. In the other case, a detaehment of the 97th Regiment was on its way to revlctual the mountain post on the Col de Frejus (8,200 feet), on the Italian frontier, above the Mont Cents tunnel, when an avalanche' swept down, burying a sergeant and ten men, of whom only five made good their escape. They were roped to- gether,but in two groups, and when the mass of snow and ice struck them, both parties were swept along, the one to death, and the other down tine mountain side until a telegraph post intercepted the rope and saved their lives. On the other side of the frontier the Bersaglieri of the Italian army have just as trying a time in winter. There is apparently nothing in con- nection with mountaineering that the Italian Alpine chasseurs are not pre- pared to undertake. Some years ago, Professor Mosso, being desirous of conducting certain experiments to. show the effect of high altitude on the human constitution, invoked the aid of the Italian Government, and in due cr•trse a detachment of chasseurs under his orders were led to the sum- mit of Monte Rosa, and there set to do gymnastic exercises. In the sum- mer of 1905 forty chasseurs of the. Italian army reached the summit of Mont Blanc, and were there drilled by their officers. Another fine feat of mountaineer- ing was credited to the Italian mili- tary mountaineers in 1904, when, in order to descend to La Thuile, the first town beyond the Pass of the Little St. Bernard, a whole battalion of Alpine troops, engaged in manoeu- vres in the High Piedmont, marched over the highest glacier in the Italian Alps; namely, that of Rutor. The six hundred men who formed the battal- ion carried their full army kit and were roped together, with the oMcora m the lead. The journey that began at Valgrisanche, about five thousand feet, and included the Glacier de Rutor, 10,800 feet, occupied sixteen hours, and was accomplished amidst intense cold and snow. The feat par- ticularly excited the admiration of the French troops, who were exercis- ing on the other side of the frontier, and who were in an excellent position to judge of the difficulties that were encountered en route. —�R.--..-.-.— SUFFERING IN PORTUGAL. Food Rioters Use Bombs Against Lisbon Police. Portugal is more remote :from the seat of war than any other country in Europe, but it is suffering a scarcity of food that is as serious as that in some of the belligerent countries. Provision stores and depots are !.he scenes of almost daily riots in pro- test against the conditions. Recently a mob of 2,000 men, some of them armed with pick axes and other im- plements, stormed the provision store of an important English dealer in the Almada district and plundered the place. The Republican Guard, which crossed the river to restore order, was received by the mob by shots and bombs, The guard fired several vol- leys and numerous persons on both sides were wounded. The scarcity of food is due in part to the fact that successive Govern meats of Portugal have bound them- selves to supply Great Britain with certain quantities of provisions sent to Gibraltar. Under this agreement large numbers of cattle and miscel- laneous provisions are seat out of the country every week, with the result that there has been almost no meat in the markets of Lisbon. The egg supply i$ also lees than half of what it is in ordinary times, the shortage being partly due to the fact that a good many eggs are sent surreptitiously over the border into Spain, where they may be sold for double the price plead officially by the Government in the food markets there. Sir 'Hiram Maxim, the Noted Inven- tor Tells this Story, Having occasion to use some metal - lie mercury in his London laboratory, Sir Hiram Maxim sent his man Sil- verman out to purehase "one pound of metallic mercury in a strong glass bottle with a cork stopper." In "MY Lipo" he tells the story of what hap - petted. Silverman soon returned and said that he could not find any metallic mercury, I asked him whether he had tried at a shoe shop or a beer shop. "No," he 'replied,. "at a wholesale chemist's," X told him' that he must have made a mess of it somehow, and I sat down and wrote out carefully,' W anted — one pound of metallic mercury in a strong' glass bottle with it cork stop- per." • Before long he came back and said there was no such stuff as "metallic mercury" known in the chemist's shop, ancethat be had been to a whole- sale place. As the shopwas not more than two hundred yards away, I went round with him, and said to the than behind the counter: 'I have sent this young man here twice for some metallic mercury, end he tolls me that yott have nothing of the kind," "No, we never have any can for it," he replied. . "But is not this a chemist's shop?" "Yes; one of the largest in Lon- don." "Do you sell all kinds 5f chemi- cals?" "Yes." "Then how does it happen that you have no metallic mercury?" "We have never had any call for it before. We do not know what it is." "Have you any bicarbonate of soda?" - "Yes, tons of it." "Have you any bicarbonate of pot- ash?" "Certainly. Any amount of it" "What is bicarbonate of potash a bicarbonate of ?" "Why, naturally, of potash." "Could you let mo have sonie potash before it is made up into a bicarbo- nate?" "Certainly." "Have you any bichloride of mer- cury?" "Yes. Lots of it." "What is bichloride of mercury a bichloride of?" Here T had him: I asked him if it were his first day on duty. "No, I have been here twenty years." The head mea, who had overheard our conversation, then came up and said, "Why, of course, the gentleman wants quicksilver." Curibusly enough, it had never oc- curred to ire to call it by that name, although I ought to have thought of it. However, it is never called quick - our by scientific men. _3L _ .. • ICE BALLAST ANCHORAGE. May Use Ice for the Foundation of Guns. A proposition was advanced some years ago that a temporary repair should be made in a vessel holed be- low water line by forming around and thickly over the whole a block of fro- zen sea water by means of refrigerat- ing engines and a number of email copper pipes traversing the collision mat. "MVIay I further suggest," says an authority, "the pse of a similar meth- od, of extemporizing gun emplace- ments in this war Take the case of the amphibious fighting at the Dar- danelles, Monitors of light draft have to be run close inshore, and they might be fixed in position by dumping large quantities of cement and rub- ble. But this method of stabilizing the monitor permanently 'an the rocks' would sacrifice the vital.advan- tage of changing position. If the monitor were simply frozen into sand or other loose bottom then by intro= clueing steam to the copper tubing it could be released when desired. Tak- ing the net cost of iceniaking by elec- tric transmission of power from it re- frigerating ship—that is, a converted collier—at _60 cents per ton, $600 would pay the price 1or 1,000 tons of ice ballast anchorage. The system might even find application on land. Of Course. Thera is a certain dear old lady who owns a little farm and takes a few boarders in summer. Recently an anxious young mother who has been industriously delving into mod!cal literature of late, in- quired of the old lady whether or not the milk served at her table was Tasteful zed. "01 course!" was the old lady's indignant reply. "Don't we keep the rows we've got in the pasture ail sunnier long?" Lecture on a Poet. The little agricultural village had been billed with "Lecture on Keate" over a fortnight. The evening, arrived at length, bringing the lec- 1 titer ready to discuss the poet. The oclvertieed'chairnman, taken ill at the last Moment, was replaced by a local' farmer, This forthy introduced the lecturer and terminated his remarks. by shying: "And now, my friends, we shall •0000 all know what I: personally have often wondered, what are Keats?" BIC FORTUNES IN PENALTIES HOW INFRACTIONS 01? THE LAW. ARE PUNISI3ED, Some Gigantic Fines That Have IIad to Be Paid by Law - Breakers. - Soon after the beginning of the war. the French Government absolutely forbade the manufacture of absinthe, Absinthe is probably the most dan- gerous of all alcoholic drinks. Its ef- fects are shiest as bad as those of morphia, and it resembles morphia in that those who take to it cannot give 1t up, .. Devotees of absinthe were naturally willing t� pay almost any price for their poison, and it was 5oon found that certain' manufacturers were dis- tilling it secretly. It was resolved to make an example, and a few weeks later, a distiller at Lunel, in the South of France, was caught making it. He was ordered to pay 2;019 separate fines, five times the excise duties on his stock, and to have his whole stock confiscated. Iiis attempt to defeat the law cost him 846,0001 Distillers who break Italian law are apt .to repent it. Not long ago four Roman firms were convicted of tak- ing alcohol out 52 bond without pay- ing duty. There .ivere sive defendants. The total of the fines which they had to pay was $380,000! The Cigarette Maker's Penalty. Tobacco is in France a Government monopoly. Three years ago a poor woman was found to be 'selling ciga- rettes made out of Government tobac- co which she had purchased. It ap- pears that she acted in ignorance, but this was held to be no excuse. 'She was fined $23,810, and as she could not, of course, pay such a huge sum, was sentenced in default to two years' imprisonment. In this country there is a law that every company must forward yearly to Somerset House its returns, a,reg- ister of its members, and a summary of its accounts, says London Answers. Two years ago, a Chelsea firm of van proprietors were summoned for failing to comply with this Act. It was stated that the full penalty to which"the firm was liable was no less than $225,000. The magistrate at the Guildhall, however, took a more mer- ciful view of the ease, and let the offenders off with a payment of $53-0 and costs. The Directors Had to Pay. Nor does it do to run against our licensing laws. The directors of a London supper - club were hauled up for selling liquor after prohibited hours, and for sup- plying non-members, There were six summonses, and each of the three directors was sentenced to pay $250 on each summons. The total was the nice little sum of $4,500. Smuggling is the most expensive of ail offences. Two years ago—that is, in June, 1913—it was discovered that a certain English firm had been fur years de- frauding the Customs by systematical- ly undcrweighing its tobacco as brought out of a bonded warehouse. It was proved that an employee of the firm was the offender, but the heads of the firm were held to be re- sponsible. In the end the latter offer- ed to pay arrears of duty as from. 1904, on the basis that'alt casks taken 'out from that year had been similarly underweighed. The offer was accept- ed, and the resulting cheque paid to the Excise Commissioners was the enormous one of $131,680! A wealthy merchant of Naples, named Indaco, was had up for smug- gling saccharin. Over half a ton of this valuable chemical had been brought in from Switzerland through his agency without paying duty. He was sentenced to pay fines amounting to $124,000; Burned By His Booty, Tho French Customs people have also to be very sharp on the Swiss border, and especially since the war began. Bellegarde, a chauffeur, was caught bringing in a couple of hun- dredweight of phosphorus, and was sentenced to a month's imprisonment and a fine of 820,080. Another smuggler, named Moultet, with a similar cargo was caught in dramatic .fashion. His ear took fire, and to get rid of the evidence of his guilt he tried to throw the burning phosphorus over a precipice. In this attempt he was fearfully burnt, and was weeks in hospital. When he re-' coverers he was sentenced to a fine of $17,200. The record in fines was that incur- red by Messrs. Duvecn, the art deal- ers. They were charged with de- frauding the United States Govern- ment out of ,duties on their importa- tions. They pleaded guilty, and their soli- citors made an offer of $1,200,000, be- ing three times the estimated amount of the shortage of -duties. TT. "So you honestly think you have the smartest boy en earth.?" "Maybe he isn't yet; but he .will be ii, lie keeps 011 answer ,all me answe ,µ1I thce questions he cin think up,"