HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1951-03-29, Page 7So Many Jewels
She Couldn't Stand
"I.adlystuith?? Isn't that the place
that was besieged outing the :Boer
IVa'?" is the best answer utast of
us could give if questioned about
that South. African town,
In paint: pf• fact,- there is a• richly
romantic -.story connected with it
which hael its beginning in another
siege, culminating in the capture of
Pedalo daring the Peninsula War
in 1812. When the British troops
and heir allies entered the town
after having sustained enormous
losses they became separated from
their officers, and the worst ele-
ments embarked on an orgy of loot-
ang, drinking and violence. These
frightful disorders lasted for three
days, until Wellington marched in
fresh troops and erected a gallows
as a warning to the lawless.
Saved from "Savages"
Officers and the better elements
of the ,nen did all they could to
protect the inhabitants of the town,
escorting women, at the risk of their
lives, to the guarded sanctuary of a
church, and driving back the mobs
dvhich attacked the homes of Span-
ish families. And that is how the
ronience began.
In his uesv book. "The Age of
Elegance," Arthur .3ryant describes
how "two young officers, standing
- at their tent door on the day after
the attack, saw two Spanish ladies
approaching, ,the elder of whom,
her ears torn and bleeding from tete
grasp of drunken savages, confided
to their protection her sister, a girl
of fifteen. Such was her faith in the
British character, she declared, that
she knew the appeal would not be
in vain. 'Nor was it,' wrote one of
the officers„ 'nor could it be abused,
for she stood by the side of an angel
—a being more transcenciantly loves
ly than any I had ever before be-
held. To look at her was to love her
—and I did love .her, but I never -
told niy love, and in the meantime
another and more impudent fellow -
stepped in and -won her!'
"Two days later Juanita Maria de•
Los Delores de Leon was married
-to Captain Harry Smith, of • the
Rifles. The Commander -in -Chief
gave her away, and she became .the
darling of the Army, henceforward .
sharing all its adventures and hard-
ships. Many years later, when her
husband ... had become ... Gov-
ernor of the Cape, she gave her
name to a South African town des-
tined to become the scene of an-
other famous siege."
Dr, Bryant's book teems with de-
lightful historical sidelights like
that. And what fascinating pictures
of the past he paints! He tell us that
in those days—less than a century
and a half ago—a working class
couple with three children would
consume every day five pounds of
bread, two pounds of bacon, a
pound of mutton and one and a half
gallons of beer. London, with a
population of 1,000,000, consumed
annually„ 10,396,000 carcases of
bullock, lambs, calves and pigs,
16,600;000 ib. of butter and 21,000,-
000 lb of cheese, and drank 40,000,-
000 gallons of beer.
Clothing and personal adornment
were on a comparable scale. Oue
lady went to a hall so laden with
jewellery that she was unable to
stand for long and had to have an
escort follow her around with a
chair. While -the dandies with their
glistening top fiats. ,pale coloured
waistcoats. ,embroidered shirts and
wasp waists, wore starched collars
so High that they could hardly look
down or turn their heads.
Good Old Days and Bad Old
Days—they were both—their story
as told by .Dr. Bryant makes fascin-
ating readied. And if San clon't be-
lieve history repeats itself, how
about this? jtist after the Napole-
Onic wars Lord Castlereagh wrote;
"It would have been to he vvislted
. that at the cad of so long a
struggle the several Powers might
have enjoyed. some repose., without
forming calculations that always
augment the risks of war but the
tone and conduct of Rusin have
disappointed this hope and 'forced
-upon us fresh considerations."
Windsor Airman And Tokyo Miss—Leading Aircraftman Lewis D. Goodchild, of Windsor,
Ont., a member of the RCAF's 426 Thunderbird Sgadron,on the Korean airlift,'stops to chat
with a pretty Japanese miss during a visit to the Emperor''; Palace in Tokyo. They are stand-
ing beside one of the moats which encircle the palace while., in background can be seen the
last bridge at the main entrance to the palace grounds and, a lookout building. The Thunder-
birds have been flying combat troops and war supplies between McChord Field, T a c o ni a,
Wash., and Tokyo for the past six-Jrnonths.
• Sound Idea
For some unexplained reason the
Move to have national holidays
celebrated on the nearest Monday
has been described as unwise.
It is not.
Business organizations and others -
which have advocated the change
are on sound ground. They should
continue to push for this long over-
dtie reform.
When these holidays fall in the
middle of the week, as May, 24
does this year, there is a costly and
unnecessary interruption for in-
dustry and the average citizen gets:s
little benefit from his day„ oil. This
,hatter is serious enough at any
time but .more so now with the
country concentrating on produc-
tion for defense.
What real difference does a day
or two make in the celebration of
an event that happened to ,take
place ou July 1, 84 years ago or
the birth of a British Queen even
further in the past? In regard to
the latter, as a matter of fact,
Canada is one of the very few
countries in the Commonwealth,
not excepting Great Britain, that
still mark this particular anniver-
sary. •
Indeed we auul others with hardly
a second thought have decided for
reasons of convenience that the
birthday of our present monarch
be celebrated months in advance of
when it actually occurs.
Let's forget this nonsense of
sticking slavishly to calendar dates
and make our national holidays
really mean something to the people
who get thein.- i'rottt "The Finan-
cial Post "
low- to
BY •
HAROLD
ARNETT
------- Jia»
SCREW HOOKS
Y:.
SKIRT'HANGER T P NSFOI M COAT
HANG -MS INTO SKIRT HAt4G RS BY
P'ASTEN!NG' SCREW HOOK y INTO THE HANGEi'tS,
Jig
What's . Going On
At Earth's Center
Is there a molten core of iron
the' Heart of the earth?
For a long time men have be-
lieved so, for such a core would
explain whg,,,,,the earth acts_J.ike,a
huge magnet, and why a small bar
magnet freely suspended and ro-
tating always tends to conte to rest
in a definite position — approxi-
mately north and south.
Recent experiments indicate that
the core might not be iron at all.
They' seem to prove that the great
heat at the core would make iron
non-magnetic, just as heating ens
iron magnet destroys is magne-
tism.
The core, according to a thea•
put forward by British scientist.
W. H. Ramsey, is not pure iron
but is of the sante composition as
the mateiial which makes up the
rest of the earth—mainly oxyg6n,
iron, magnesium and silicon. '
It gets. its magnetic properties
because of the terrific pressure ex-
erted on it at the core.
Hotter than the Sun
This pressure amounts to about
1,400,000 atmospheres, or the equi-
valent pressure a weight -lifter
would feel if he were able to lift
an 80,000, -ton liner in the palm
of his hand.
If wr, could bore right through
the eanh svl at would we tied?
R e c c n t se' 'irnk'';ical `ztudies
(studying and hie;tsnrip n tit-' tre-
mors cut used by t•arthqua'., shocks l ^'
indica,e th;it the it:ep•.'r earth -
quakes neer, at d' pth ciE 4F0 utiles
• and -that there must be a layer
of solid material down to this
depth.
Overlying this is the shell of the
earth, 40 utiles deep and• consisting
mainly of granite.
Beneath these two layers is an
intermediate shell or mantle which
is about 1,100 miles deep and prob-
ably made up of oxygen, iron, mag-
nesium and silicon.
'Beyond this is the mysterious
core.
'1'lte middle of it has been' esti-
mated to be two to five titres hot-
ter than the surface of the sun it-
self, though it bears no comparison
with the sun's centre where tetn-
perature.s reach tens of trillions of
degrees.
Live. More Safely
The little story below is an-
other in our series of farm acci-
.rdent tales fold by a prominent
-.Safety Specialist.' All of them tell
of accidents` -which . really hap-
pened—a1 shouldn't have done •so.
"Toot! Toot! T000—oot!" Little
Chuck McDonald made like a train
whistle froze •his seat atop the saw
horse. "Hete comes the stream-
liner! Clear -the tracks!"
Tim rocked the .barrel,son which
he sat behind the saw horse. "Fas-
ter!" he cried. "Gosh, this old train
sur is slow!"
The McDonald shop was a fa-
vourite spot for Chuck and Tim.
So many interesting things to play
with—tools, chain lift, saw horses.
. Over at Tun's place, the shop was
out of bounds for -small boys. But
not here.
Today the boys were on a train
going to California. The saw hot -se
was the engine, Chuck the engineer.
Strung behind were small barrels,
serving as cars.
As Tim urged more speed, Chuck
stood up on the saw horse. "Here
we go!" he shouted. "Down a big
hill l"
"Ring the bels!" cried Tim. En-
gineer Chuck reached for a rope on
. the wall.
The rope didn't . pull hard.
Chuck's yank pulled it off its hoof.,
sent Chuck sprawling onto a pile
of sinha iron.
",b!s leg, my leg!" cried Churls,
''1 btuke my leg:., "Tim ran for
tstrs. Nle Donald., :jr;:s..
1 ut Chuck's 1e >:hasn't broken.
just badly bruised. In a few days
it was good as new, and the boys
were back playing in the shop-
- with the sate horse, the barrels, and
the pile of scrap iron.
T -tow can you prevent accidents?
How can yott leai;n to live safely?
Why not learn from experience?
.[;low many tines will Chuck have
to get hurt before his parents real-
ize that a farm shop is no place
for children to play? That a 'saw
horse isn't built to stand on?
Experience is the, only way to
learn safe living. But you have to
take advantage of experience ---your
own and that of other people.
Whenever an accident happens,
study it closely. Find out what
caused it. Then, next time, you can
avoid the mistake—and live safely.
Love Passed Him By
So He Turned Hermit
The recent death from starvation
of Arthur Adrian Abbot, a 39 -year-
old textile buyer, reminded us that
there are still hien who prefer a
solitary life in a cave or hut away
from all contact with their fellow -
humans.
Abbot starved to death ill a shed
on the Cumberland hills. An Esk-
dale shepherd found his bracken -
covered body. The only food near
him was half a pound of cornflour,,,.
traditional food of hermits of the
olden days.
Earliest hermit was said to be
Paul of Thebes, Egypt, who, be-
cause of religious persecution, fled
for safety to the desert, where he
lived in a grotto for ninety years,
dying when he was 113 years old.
Strangest of English hermits was
Roger Crab, who described himself
as "the wonder of the age I live
in" because he abstained from all
meat and fish, and drank only
water.
Put In Stocks
He was a hatter, of Ches-
ham, Buckinghamshire, and was
quite prosperous until he suddenly
decided to renounce worldy ways.
He sold off all his stock, gave•
all his money to the poor, and
built himself a but in the country,
where he lived upon broth thick-
ened with bran. turnip leaves, roots,
dock leaves and grass.
Crab, however, was not allowed
to starve himself in peace, possibly
because he prophesied eternal dam-
nation for all those who did not
follow his example.
He was put in the stocks, sent
to prison again and again, and dri-
ven from place to place.
In 1655 he vas living in a cave
near Uxbridge, Middlesex, but he
died in London in 1680 and was
buried in Stepney churchyard.
Never Washed
Edward Trai,., the Gateshead
hermit, became a recluse in his own
back garden because he was dis-
appointed in love. He slept on the
- bare ground for twenty years and
spoke to no one. -
Angus Roy Fletcher, shrinking
from the society. of.men, made him-
self a cave in the wildest part of
Glenorcay, Scotland, his only com-
panions being a ample of goats •and
a dog.
A good hunter and an expert
angler, river and 'moor provided
him with all the food he wanted,
while his goats supplied hint with
drink. -
At night he and his four -footed
.ft,teti4;g;,e1�,ts,tg etherori+•bha,cken.
Tlie -. 'eelitse of'?s arypoat^latiics P,
Weales, died at -the grand old age
of eighty-seven. He lived in a one -
roomed hut which had no roof and
which stood in one of two fields
belonging to hint,
,reales never cleaned his abode,
neper took off his clothes, and de-
clined to have anything to do with
soap and water.
Hardier, Earlier and Better
To anyone who hasn't looked at
a seed catalogue for several years
there will be a lot of things there
today that are completely new.
There are tenderer and larger
beans, sweeter corn, new and much
better varieties in almost every line.
As well, there has been steady
improvement, particularly in hardi-
ness.
It is not so many years since
corn was practically unknown in
Prairie gardens. In fact it was
only introduced into Southern On-
tario about the beginning of the
century. Today one can grow gar-
den corn successfully away north.
The reason? Earlier maturing var-
ieties.
And what has been done in corn
•has also been done in melons, cu-
cumbers, beans, peas, tomatoes and
all sorts of other things. By getting
varieties that mature faster, tate
plant breeder has overcome our
Canadian handicap of late and early
frosts. In the modern seed cata-
logue there is usually listed the
ntitiiber of days it takes to. grow
individual varieties. This is vital
information for the gardener who
lives outside` those very limited
areas where the first of May means
that danger from frosts is practi-
cally over,
For Better Soil
Even the most unpt•ornising soil
has garden possibilities. Look at
what some city gardeners have
done with the assorted blue clay,
mortar and broken bricks • builders
have used for grading up the back,
yard. Almost anything will break
down in time and what won't can
be hauled away or used for drain-
age. With very heavy soil, lying
fairly level, some drainage is need-
ed. With large plots this can be
done by installing tile drains al-
though an open ditch will he a lot
cheaper and may do well enough.
Also it is a goo,d plan where the
plot is small to add sand or ashes.
After this, treatment for very
heavy or very light soil is about
the same. The main"thing is to get
in plenty of humus and cultivate.
Humus is simply a high class name
for ordinary manure—grass cut-
tings, straw or even just greets
.- weeds..atyi other plants. The more
'of' this stuff that is dug in the
more open and porous the soil
becomes. Where possible, it's a
good plan to grow .a crop of clover,
Fall rye. oats or some rank -growing
thing, and dig or plow this under.
After a few years' treatment even
the toughest or most barren soil
becomes mellow and. as the ex-
perts say, friable.
Pies—Just Like IVko•ther Used To Make ----Restaurant owners
and operators from all parts o{ Ontario attended the 7th
annual convention and exhibition of the Canadian Restaurant
Association in the .'Automotive Building. Floc they saw pie -
making demonstrated by Boston Strause, America's number 1
pie maker who supervises tlit' haling of fifth trillion pies each
year. When 111r. Strause arrived in 't'orouto he found a royal
pie reception awaiting hint, part of sNltich is :shown with Helen
Robb and Jack Aitken.
JITrEit
JITSR AMD HIS ','RAMP COMRMFttgt5 FRO fid A
sHAEVAN, TAR Co/STASIS. _THE
Swi.tmTYtTY mfA,i PsNED TO sa yaw Loon 'JAILf
IP .,..'•- \\''\'‘`; ��\�.
Mims =TW O,1 Mass
BA15,JITTE'Ct,AND seta r
WU GAN oar 140l.0 or
Yrla crNsrAat.ti'z
By Arthur Pointer
RUSHY
Our
YOUV-HAVE
..X
T MUST
t
1
VMS
Kon:
--
d
,)OMS
t.0S-Y
To ;TAY
-'`suer
TO 71,1.Z.. you Loosk
IUM 5V5.. GUESS
! i R8 1,1Ld. THE.
TOWN Ci " 1, f'FID
s.
-air_ "
jN
y
p
' -
ti
a;t
P y f1�.
#tt
,. '1/4,..•,, Aw