Zurich Herald, 1954-07-29, Page 3Wild Wmein
One August morning in 1830,
the aged Duke of Bourbon and
Prince of Conde was found
hanging from a window -shutter
latch in his Saint Leu chateau.
Was it suicide -or murder at the
hands of the tyrannical adven-
turess, Mme. de Feucheres?
She had been Sophie Dawes,
buxom, blue-eyed, dark-haired
daughter of Dicky Dawes, a
drunken smuggler. She was a
servant in a Piccadilly house
when she met Henri -Joseph,
Duke of Bourbdn, one Of the
many French exiles then in
England -and heir to a great
fortune,
Her freshness and vigour
under mob -cap and frilled apron
attracted him. He engaged tutors
to teach her music, dancing de-
portment, French, Latin and
Greek.
When he returned to Paris
she went, too, and was noon in-
stalled by him in the vast Pal-
ais Bourbon. Not content with
that, she wanted socia] recogni-
tion and presentation at court.
Posing as the Duke's illegitimate
daughter, she looked about far a
respectable husband and duly
married the Baron de Feucheres,
officer of the royal guard.
She could show only con-
tempt for the man who had serv-
er her purpose. Suspecting her
relations with the Duke, he tax-
ed her with them. At first she
stoutly defended them, then
shrieked in temper: "Very well,
then, If you want to know, I
am the Duke's mistress! Fool
that you are, not to have known
it!"
Outraged, her husband thrash-
ed her with his riding whip,
then repaid her dowry and div-
orced her. She was now 34, the
buke 68, ailing and crippled by
a fall from a horse. To get her
back, he offered to leave her
£40,000 in his will and give her
Saint Leu, a fine estate bringing
in £800 a year,
Sophie, at 38, was "a robust
strapping wench with the inus-
cles of a coal -heaver, the sen-
sibility of an alligator, the per-
sistence of a gadfly," says Mar-
jorie Coryn in fascinating book
of biographies, "Enchanters of
Men." Ruthlessly she set about
,replacing the Duke's servants
with creatures of her own. For
her nephew, James Dawes, a
great, hulking ex -street -porter,
she coaxed from the Duke a bar-
onial estate and the post of first
equerry.
She bullied the old Duke un- •
mercifully, shouted and swore
at him, slammed doors in his
!face, even struck . him. "She
beats me," he pathetically eom-
tlained. "I can't go on living like
his."
To get money, she sold one of
his beloved packs of hounds and
most of his famous stablbs, which
enabled her to turn away more
old servants, adding to his dist-
ress. He was now completely in
her power, could not venture
out unless attended by . one of
her evil crew, could not receive
or send a letter that she did not
first read. When he Locked him-
self in his apartment she ham-
mered furiously on the doors,
hurled threats at him.
One night he July, 1830, he •
came staggering out half-dressed,
calling for his trusted servant
Manoury. A friend found him in
distraught, in semi -collapse, cry-
ing, "Madame de Feucheres is
an evil woman! I wish I were
dead!" His eyes were bruised,
bloodshot, swollen. There were
bruises on his body and legs,
Desperate, his only hope was
to escape. To this end he arrang-
ed with his friend, the Baron de
Choulot, that a carriage be
bought and hidden in a nearby
wood. A million francs were to
be transferred to a London
bank, Manoury to obtain pass-
ports. They would snake their
way separately to the carriage,
and so to the coast and England.
But Sophie got wind of the plan.
ne° fes. '�� '� jaine ,
at
- t+••a,rowner.„mr,X9g,Y,rY.AkiW.>Jb1Y9STZWZVA
•
8le's A nervi "Car"toonist-Th s touring Italian artist has turned his auto into an advertising
sign for his wares. He pauses in the Piazza Cavour, Milan, Italy, to sell a few paintings before
resuming his gypsy -like trek across the countyside.
The question of "how much
water is required for maximum
crop production", is one of the big
problems facing the irrigator to-
day,
Too often the irrigator
works on the theory that if a
little .eater is good, more water
must be better. Unfortunately
this is not entirely true. Too
much water can often do more
damage to the crop than not
enough water. Over -irrigation
can also have very serious long -
At eight o'clock on August 27
the Duke's valet knocked on his
bedroom door. Getting no re-
ply, and finding it locked, he
sent for Sophie. Smashing in a
door panel, he crawled through.
The room was in darkness, .save
for a night -light on the hearth.
The Duke was hanging from
the shutter, a handkerchief tied
about his neck, a second passed
through it and looped over the
latch, his knees bent, the tips
of his toes dragging the floor,
The great bed was pushed out
of place; the door to the dress-'
Ing room into which opened a
private staircase from the lower
floor where Sophie and her at-
tendants lodged, was not bolted
on the inside as normally.
"How . fortunate that, the
Prince should have died like
this!" she exclaimed loudly. "If
he had died in his bed, someone
would have accused me. of pois-
oning him!"
He had left her the value of
£320,000, including Saint Leu, a
fine Paris house, his silver, gold
plate and horses. "The scound-
rel!" shouted Sophie when the
will was read. "It was twice as
much as he promised me!"
Public opinion was shocked,
the suicide theory widely dis-
believed. His physician pointed
out that there were no signs
of strangulation, but both ankles
were badly bruised, and there
were abrasions on his legs. In
his infirm state could he have
tied the handkerchief knots so
tightly or moved the heavy bed?
"I swear that he is innocent be-
fore God of his own death!" de-
clared. the priest at the funeral
service.
The Prince of Rohan, the
Duke's next of kin, cried indig-
nantly: "This devilish woman
has cheated me! But I will have
the law on her!" He alleged
murder, and the case was tried,
but Sophie, though her cruelties
were exposed, went free,
Miss Coryn also writes bril-,
liantly of Cleopatra, Anne Bo-
leyn, Mule. de Montespan, Nell
Gwynne, Mme. de Steel, Marie
Waleska and Lola Montez.
CROSSWORD
PUZZLE
ACROSS .,.P,A,� -
1. h.nOclr
4. Bugle call
5. Step
12. Exist
18. Infrequent
14. Off
15. 2,000 pounds
10. spoken
17, Breathing
sound
10. [find of
n eoktie
20, Siberian
Mongoloid
22. ObsorVed
211 o•ven ifor a
glassware
24. Through
(prefix)
27 Rainbow'
29 Words of
affirmation
$1 Nrr of the
melt
$4. Aftersontri
35. Correct
36. Tolerable;
37. fiblic:a.1 king
32, Presently"•
40. Hawser
44. Razor
sharpener
45. Poplar.
47. Perfume
49. Gni
51. Summer (PI )
52. English acid
hill
60. Tlalf (prefix)
54. Viet.,. -
55. '1Vrittng table
50. Prepare 00
ublieh
87, Crafty
DOWN
1, New Zealand
timber trees
2. 'Ghent up
8. Lnglish
pennies
4. Easy gait
R, Swiss river
0, Talks idly
7. Old Biblical 31. Beverage
word 30. Her Alajesty`e
B. Kind of ronbet.shtab.1
33. Tltinlcsip
9. Bestowed logirallg
10. Wolframite 34. &ge
IL
1. watch 30. Soaked
narrowly 39, Slipknot
I9, Vegetable 41. Begins
21. Snares 12. Part of a
20. Illuminated flower
28. Anglo-1taxo+ 43. Pee
king 45. Long journey
20. Donkey 46, Dismounted
28. Detectine 47. Strange
device 48, Scotch river
30., Anchors • 0. t'riend (Pr,1
,v CtArr4A17'`,fACM
tNitelentetd
Answer Els
term effects on soil properties.
This is particularly true on
heavy clay soils where poor soil
drainage exists. Most of the
irrigation areas in Southwestern
Saskatchewan are located on
such soils, states a report from
the Experimental Station at
Swift Current, Sask.
.
On heavy clay soils, difficulty
is often encountered in getting
water into the soil. But these
soils often crack open very
deeply when they become dry
and enormous quantities df water
can be taken into the soil through
these cracks. This will result in
a water-logged soil. While the
soil is in this condition, oxygen
cannot get into the root area and
carbon dioxide cannot get out.
When this happens, the plants
cannot take up sufficient quan-
tities of the required minerals to
maintain proper growth, and low
yields are the final result. These
low yields are frequently blamed
on an infertile soil, but the real
cause can more often be traced
to over -irrigation.
e. * r
Over -irrigation can also bring
about the formation of an alkali
soil, in areas where alkali is com-
mon, by increasing the concen-
trations of .. sall,:s .in,; the :surfecn
soil„ When' this. happens, the
land is usually abandoned, be-
cause the • cost of reclaiming 'al-
kali lands is too great.
e1: a :.
Irrigation can be a very -useful
method of increasing crop pro-
duction but misuse of irrigation
waters can easily result in very
poor crops, and eventually the
complete loss of the land. There-
fore, every irrigator should care-
fully consider his irrigation
methods to make sure he is not
over -irrigating. Much more care
is required when using the
gravity flood irrigation method
than with the newer sprinkler
irrigation systems. Wherever
possible, two or three light irri-
gations should be used in pre-
ference to one heavy irrigation,
This will enable the irrigator to
avoid the danger of over -irriga-
tion, and at the same time, reap
the benefits of larger ,yields.
in 1953 world consumption of
wool amounted to 2,600 million
pounds,, clean. This was, with
one exception, the highest figure
ever recorded, being .exceeded
only in 1950, when the effects of
the Korean war were particular-
ly felt. The Commonwealth's
share of the world total was
some 600 million pounds, or 23
per cent, which represented a
substantial improvement (22 per
cent) compared with 1952.
World consumption was at its
highest level during the first hall
of the year, when the wool tex-
tile industry was completing its
recovery from the recession of
the previous year and rebuilding
working stocks of tops, yarns
and tissues; in the second half of
1953 the rate of usage fell off to
some .extent, particularly in the
United States, where the level of
activity was the lowest for two
years, Raw wool prices, though,
remained generally firm.
The recovery in consumption
in 1953 was reflected in the in.
dustry's production of wool
manufactures, World output of
wool tops is estimated to have
risen sharply by about 30 per
cent compared with 1052, while
worsted yarn production in-
creased by nearly 20 per cent,
The results for the woollen sec-
tor of the industry, which had
been less affected by the pre-
vious year's recession, were not
so striking; woollen yarn pro-
duction in 1953 was only about
5 per cent higher than in 1952.
World output of woven wool
cloth during the year is "esti-
ere
to have shown practically
ere on This 1'uga no change compared with 1952.
1
Coffee in Britain
Still R,,; ns Second
Before the last war, for every
coffee drinker in Britain, there
were around five thousand habi-
tual drinkers of tea. Then tea
we,s rationed, and for the first
time in large numbers, we be-
came coffee drinkers.
Why was there plenty of coffee
then? Because we captured ene-
my ships laden with the aroma-
tic brown berry. But now world
supplies are down and so the
price of coffee is soaring states
a writer in "Tit Bits."
The beginnings of the coffee
story are shrouded in legend.
One of these is that the Arab
Sheik Oman once fled from his
enemies into the mountains of
southern Arabia. There he suf-
fered hunger, but finding a wild
berry chewed it and found it
sustaining.
Back in his own territory, he
,glade a brew - the first coffee
ever drunk.
Pilgrims to Mecca took the
new drink to sustain . them dur-
ing the long Moslem ceremonies
and by the sixteenth century the
Turks acquired the coffee house
habit.
Then a Venetian, Petro di la
Valle, travelled to Constantin-
ople, drank coffee for the first
time, and returned home with
a supply.
But coffee is not so easy to
brew as teat and it took a French-
man, de is Roque, to master the
art and show just how delicious
the roasted wild berry could be
made.
The first coffee shop in Europa
"BS" opened` "in Marseilles ire
1615. T h e first English coffee
shop opened in Oxford at about
the same time. Then a merchant
was seen near the Royal Ex-
change, London, accompanied
by a foreign -looking man.
"This is my new Greek ser-
vant," he explained. He the
produced a handful of beans.
"These make an incomparable
beverage," he said, "I am going
to open a tavern for. its sale."
The first London coffee house
opened soon afterwards in the
City,
The new drink caught on. Soon
there were two thousand coffee
houses in the Metropolis.
By the time of George 1, cof-
fee drinking • was an established
habit a m o n.g the professional
classes. A little earlier, Charles
II had tried to close the .popu-
lar meeting places. He believed
t 1•i e y were a rendezvous for
political agitators.
Coffee houses were the meet-
ing places of merchants, politi-
cians and all trades and profes-
sions, each coffee house attract-
ing one type of customer o1 an-
other.
For example, Garraways, in,
the City, was mostly patronized
by City merchants; the Grecian
in Devereux Court, Strand, by
authors and lawyers.
in the eighteenth century the
humblest citizen could turn into
a gin shop and for one penny get
all the gin he required to make
himself dead drunk, and, co'Pan-
other penny, straw and a place
to sleep it al,
So terrible had become the
gin habit that it vas . affecting
the health of the nation, The
government at the day took ac-
tion to check gin drinking. but
it was the coffee houses that first
brought about a change in the
pernicious gin habit. As the cof-
• fee houses multiplied, t h e gin
shops began to lose ground.
Coffee has had its rivals, the
chief being chicory The Wrench
relied on chicory after our de-
feat of Napoleon cut that coun-
try off from coffee supplies.
'In England a company launch-
ed a Universal Coffee --- made
of roasted spinach seeds. An-
other concern marketed Can-
tina, 'made from the stone of
the tropical tamarind tree. Pe -
Iota coffee was another rival;
it was made of roasted acorns.
It was drunk during the last
war by the Germans.
Despite b o t h detractors and
rivals, the roasted coffee berry
held its place. It never became
aft nation-wide a drink as tea
A Night At TheTop
Of Fatuous Statue
Many years ago (forty-nine to
be exact, in 1904) I had a merrier-
able experience watching birds
on migration, high in the air,
within the limits of greater. New
York. In company with Madison
Grant, Secretary of the Zoologi-
cal Society, I obtained permission
from the city authorities to spend
a night in the top of the Statue
of Liberty.
As if I were planning an as-
sault on Mount Everest, I made
my base camp in the crown and
my advance perch, or roost, in
the torch. , .
The day had been clear, but as
the sun sank lower, clouds col-
lected, and soon there began that
most wonderful of earthly sights
-an ever familiar, ever new sun-
set. The sun became obscured,
but I knew when it sank below
the hidden horizon by the sunset
guns echoing from fort to fort.
Half an hour later the whole
outlook had changed. After the
beacon of the statue had been
turned on, a feeling of complete
isolation became very real, and
the distant glimmering lights of
the city made this sensation more
intense. One felt suspended in
mid-air with no apparent con-
tact with sea or land. ..
As the fog increased and con-
densed in the warmth to almost
rain, birds began to pass through
the periphery of illumination,
then to strike intermittently
against railing and glass. I
crouched low behind what pro-
tection I could find, to avoid be-
ing hit. One warbler flew against
my coat and sank down panting.
They came in waves, a few scat-
tered birds, then a mob, swift and
dense as a swarm of golden bees.
All appeared bright and shining
as they passed. Occasionally a
dozen or more would seem to
come in obliquely to the general
line of flight, and at slower speed.
In this case they would all keep
on to the light, but put their
feather brakes on in time, so that
I would have five or six spar-
rows clinging to me at one time,
unharmed, wings spread, heads
back, panting.
For the period of a few hours
I was permitted to share the feel-
ings and activities of birds on
migration, sensing altitude, iso-
lation, darkness, wind, speed,
and the awful confusion and.
dangers of light -in -fog.
At three o'clock in the morning
the fog had lifted, and there was
neither sight nor sound of the
birds. They had flown down
somewhere to a precarious land-
ing in the thinning fog, or had
reascended to migration levels.
I climbed again into the torch
and watched for the first hint
of dawn and life. The first came
almost perceptibly as a pale line
of gradually brightening light.
Prosaic tugs appeared and
smoke arose from a hundred
chimneys: a new day had begun
over New York City. --- From
"Unseen Life of New York" by
William Beebe.
- probably for two reasons; it
cost more and was more diffi-
cult to brew.
Now t h e economic factor
checks its war -time, widespread
popularity. Coffee at ten shill-
ings a pound is in view Few
can afford to pay that much,
and tea is once again lengthen-
ing its long lead over its "rival."
By Rev, R. Barclay Warrens,
B.A„ il.11.
Self -]Discipline for Growth
(Temperance Lesson), Matthew
16:24-25; 1 Corinthians 9:24-24l
Hebrews 12:1-4. IVIelmory Selec-
tion: 1!f any man will come aftett
ane, let him deny himself and take
up his cross, and follow fife..
Matthew 16:24,
*
A veteran of two world wars is
in hospital with a• serious heart
condition. He told me some
months ago his doctor asked,
"How much do you smoke?" The
reply was, "A pack a day."
Whereupon the doctor said, "If
you want to live you must cut it
to two cigarettes a day." 1Vly
friend thought it over. "Why,'
thought he, "that wouldn't be
even one after each meal." He
decided there and then to stop
the habit entirely. He is getting
along nicely without it.
If one is to grow as a Christian
he must exercise self-discipline.
Indeed it is a condition of dis-
cipleship that one deny self. take
up his cross and follow Jesus. It
is pitiable to hear people say, "I
know I am eating too much but
I just can't help it." Solomon
said, "Put a knife to your throat
if you are a man given to appe-
tite," Prov. 23:2, One doesn't
have to be a Christian to practise
temperance. But if one is a
Christian then temperance or
self-control which is a fruit of
the Spirit (Gal. 5:23) will be
characteristic of his life.
Temperance is usually thought
of in relation to the drinking of
alcoholic beverages. Actually the
term stands for self-control in.
every area of life. There are
different opinions as to what con-
stitutes temperance in the drink-
ing of alcoholic beverages. Many
men from all walks of life prefer
to abstain. Recent surveys itt
Great Britain indicate that among
those of adult age there are 10
million abstainers. Thomas A.
Edison said: "I am a total ab-
stainer from alcoholic liquor. 1
always felt I had a better use
for my head." Liquor doesn't
make for happy homes.
She was indignant when she
found her husband burning the
love letters he wrote her yearn
ago. "Oh, Harry, how could,
,you? Have you lost all senti-
ment?"
entiment?"
"No, darling. Hold every-
thing. I'm doing this for you1N
,own protection. When I die
I don't 'want anyone attacking
my will on the grounds that f
was always nuts."
Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking
Cathedral of Salt --Under construction in ancient salt mine at
Zipaquirct Colombia, is a huge "Cathedral of Salt," with
four naves, that will be as large as the Cathedral of Notts
Dame in Paris, It was conceived by Jose Gonzalez Concha, a
Colombian architect, in the sombre silence of the mine clean!
hers. Work was begun, but he died last year, before it was
completed. Above is the altar of "Our Lady of the Rosrxry„"
largest of the 10 altars carved out of the walls of the old mined