Three Days Too Late

1901

The Duke of Cumberland, whose reconciliation with the kaiser is said to have taken place, is a man of whom English people know little, though he might now have been the first personage in the empire had his father been born a week earlier than he was. He missed the throne of England by three days, having been born on May 27, 1829, exactly 70 hours after Queen Victoria. Had the duke's father been born before the queen he would have been king of England instead of merely king of Banover.

Tennyson and Sightseers

1901

Tennyson's well known aversion to sightseers and their ways gave rise to many an odd experience. Once, it is said, he complained to Queen Victoria, saying that he could no longer stay in the Isle of Wight owing to the tourists who came to stare at him.

The queen, with a kindly irony, said that she herself did not suffer much from that grievance. But Tennyson, taking her literally, replied in the same strain.

"No, madam," said he, "and if I could clap a sentinel wherever I liked I should not be troubled either."

Peeps at Queen Victoria's Wardrobe

1901

The sorting and arranging of the personal effects of the late queen has proved a tremendous task. One peculiarity of her majesty was never to discard any dress, mantle, hat or bonnet which she had ever worn, and her wardrobe might well be considered the most complete record of the fashion of the last 60 years in existence.

Another fancy of Queen Victoria was to have everything in duplicate. Two hats, two cloaks, etc., were always ordered. Her majesty had a wonderful collection of lace, but this is not to be compared with the collection of the queen dowager of Italy, said to be the best in the world.

The queen's linen, beyond being exquisitely fine, had nothing remarkable about it, as her majesty always adhered to the patterns in fashion in her youth and cared nothing for the intricacies of modern lingerie. — London Sketch.

Why They're Called Tumblers

1896

Every day we drink out of a tumbler. Why is the large glass that holds our milk and water so called? Years ago Professor Max Muller was giving a luncheon at All Souls' College, Oxford, to the Princess Alice, the wife of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt and the second daughter of Queen Victoria. There were not a dozen guests besides the Princess and her husband, and a very agreeable luncheon we had, with talk on all kinds of interesting subjects.

But what excited the curiosity of all strangers present was a set of little round bowls of silver, about the size of a large orange. They were brought round filled to the brim. Those, we are told, were tumblers, and we were speedily shown how they came by their names — a fitting lesson for the guests of a philologist. When one of these little bowls was empty it was placed upon the table mouth downward. Instantly, so perfect was its balance, it flew back to its proper position as if asking to be filled again. No matter how it was treated — trundled along the floors, balanced carefully on its side, dropped suddenly upon the soft, thick carpet, up it rolled again and settled itself with a few gentle shakings and swayings into its place, like one of those India rubber tumbling dolls babies delight in.

This, then, was the origin of our word tumbler, at first made of silver, as are all these All Souls' tumblers. Then, when glass became common, the round glasses that stood on a flat base superseded the exquisitely balanced silver spheres and stole their names so successfully that you have to go to All Souls' to see the real thing. — Jeweler's Circular.

Well-Chosen Gifts

1900

Berlin papers state that the family of Prince Bismarck found a serious difficulty after his death in disposing of the presents sent to him during the last few years of his life by his enthusiastic admirers. The gifts were numbered by the thousand and embraced the most incongruous articles, from a live rhinoceros to a coffin.

All men, says an old proverb, give gifts; but few men give pleasure with their gifts.

Why should a man or woman, striving to express affection for a friend, cumber him with a nuisance? Usually because, in choosing a gift, we are apt to consult our own tastes rather than those of our friend.

After William Penn died, the Indians in his province sent to his widow, Hannah, a cloak of the most costly furs. "To protect her," was their message, " while travelling alone without her guide for the rest of her way through the thorny wilderness."

Here were all the qualities of a perfect gift: a fine meaning embodied in an article of value and of service to the person to whom it was given.

A poor widow to whom Queen Victoria had granted a pension wished to express her gratitude and loyalty. But what could she give that the empress of one-fourth of the world would value?

She was an expert amateur photographer, and it occurred to her to take pictures of all the places visited by the queen when she was a young wife with Prince Albert.

The little volume was finished, simply bound and sent to Windsor Castle, and the queen is said to keep it among her chief treasures.

In the meaning, not the cost, of a gift lies its value. — Youth's Companion.

Queen Victoria Spoke Hindustani Fluently

1900

An Aged Student

Monarchs can never afford to leave off learning, whatever their subjects may do. A striking instance in point is furnished by an article in Pearson's Magazine, an article the proof-sheets of which were corrected by Queen Victoria herself.

From this article it appears that in spite of all her duties and responsibilities, in spite of the fact that she has devoted so much time to the study of politics as to have become one of the greatest living authorities on the practical politics of Europe, Queen Victoria has within the later years of her reign, acquired an intimate acquaintance with a difficult language spoken by a large number of her subjects.

She makes it a custom, we are assured, to note in Hindustani the daily events of her life, keeping a diary for this special purpose. She speaks the language fluently, having devoted a part of every day for the last ten years to instruction in it, and to acquiring a knowledge of the intellectual treasures of the East.

The queen has surprised many of her Indian visitors by making unexpected observations in good Hindustani. As everybody knows, she is always attended, when at home, by one or more of her picturesque Indian servants. It is not, however, so generally known that she always speaks to them in their own tongue. However small the remark, or however serious the command, it comes to them in Hindustani.

Universal admiration has been expressed at the determination of the queen at an advanced age, not only to learn to speak Hindustani, but also to take an interest in the literature of India, and to acquaint herself with the ideas and aspirations of her Oriental subjects. — Youth's Companion.

A Street Incident and Royalty

1896

A significant circumstance occurred during a visit of the Emperor of Germany to England. The kaiser was for one day the guest of the lord mayor, and the city of London received him and several of the queen's children on that day.

The old city was splendidly decorated, and set for a great public function. The streets from Buckingham palace to the lord mayor's mansion were lined with infantry and cavalry, back of whom was a solid mass of people.

Between these lines the royal carriages slowly passed. They moved in almost absolute silence, save for the perfunctory salutes of the soldiery. The queen was not present, and for mere royalty as royalty, there was apparently no popular feeling save that of curiosity.

When, however, the carriage of the Princess of Wales appeared, and her sweet, kind face was seen, the applause grew enthusiastic. Suddenly a burst of cheers was heard, as a low, black wagon came swiftly down the thronged street. It was the ambulance of a hospital, which has precedence everywhere, carrying some wounded man to receive succor. The crowd paid homage to charity in a sincere though inappropriate fashion.

In it was a hint which the scions of the ruling families of Europe present should have understood. Queen Victoria knows that her people pay allegiance to her more as a wise, good woman, wife and mother than as one of the House of Hanover.

"The divinity which doth hedge a king" must now have its bases in humanity and personal respect rather than in descent or etiquette.


Standardize the Bike

A proposition has been made recently by bicycle riders to several agents and manufacturers of bicycles that the manufacturers get together in a convention and agree to reduce numerous parts of their different machines to standard proportions.

Queen Victoria Dead

1901

Passes Peacefully Away, Surrounded by Her Family

London, Jan. 22. — 7:03 p.m. — A telegram from the Prince of Wales to the Lord Mayor, timed at Osborne, 6:45 p.m., says the queen has passed away. The text of the Prince of Wales' dispatch to the Lord Mayor is as follows:

Osborne House, Jan. 22, 6:45 p.m. — My beloved mother has just passed away, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. ALBERT EDWARD.

Cowes, Isle of Wight, Jan. 23. — Queen Victoria is dead and Edward VII. reigns.

The greatest event in the memory of this generation, the most stupendous changes in existing conditions that could possibly be imagined, has taken place quietly, almost gently, upon the anniversary of the death of Queen Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent.

The end of this career, never equalled by any woman in the world's history, came in a simply furnished room in Osborne house. The most respected of all women, living or dead, lay in a great four-posted bed and made a shrunken atom, whose aged face and figure were a cruel mockery of the fair girl who in 1837 began to rule over England.

Around her were gathered almost every descendant of her line. Well within view of her dying eyes there hung a portrait of the prince consort. It was he who designed the room and every part of the castle.

In scarcely audible words, the white-haired bishop of Winchester prayed beside her, as he had often prayed beside her sovereign, for he was her chaplain at Windsor. With bowed heads the imperious ruler of the German empire and the man who is now King of England, the woman who has succeeded to the title of queen, the princes and princesses, and those of less than royal designation listened to the bishop's ceaseless prayer.

Six o'clock passed. The bishop continued his intercession. One of the younger children asked a question in shrill, childish treble, and was immediately silenced. The women of this royal family sobbed faintly and the men shuffled uneasily.

At exactly half past 6 Sir James Reid held up his hand, and the people in the room knew that England had lost her queen. The bishop pronounced the benediction.

The queen passed away quite peacefully. She suffered no pain. Those who were now mourners went to their rooms.

The body of Queen Victoria was embalmed and will probably be taken to Windsor on Saturday. The coffin arrived last evening from London.

It was thought that the queen was dying about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and carriages were sent to Osborne cottage and the rectory to bring all the princes and princesses and the bishop of Winchester to her bedside. It seemed then very near the end, but when things looked the worst the queen had one of her rallies, due to her wonderful constitution, opened her eyes, and recognized the Prince of Wales, the princes and Emperor William. She asked to see one of her faithful servants, a member of the royal household. He hastened to the room, but before he got there the queen had passed into a fitful sleep.

The Prince of Wales was very much affected when the doctors at last informed him that his mother had breathed her last. Emperor William, himself deeply affected, did his best to minister comfort to his sorrow-stricken uncle, whose new dignity he was the first to acknowledge.

For several weeks the queen had been failing. On Monday last she summoned Lord Roberts and asked him some very searching questions regarding the war in South Africa. On Tuesday she went for a drive, but was visibly affected. On Wednesday she suffered a paralytic stroke, accompanied by intense physical weakness. It was her first illness in 81 years, and she would not admit it. Then her condition grew so serious that, against her wishes, the family were summoned. When they arrived her reason had partially succumbed to paralysis and weakness.


President's Message of Condolence

Washington, Jan. 23 — President McKinley sent the following message of condolence to King Edward VII:

Washington, Jan. 22. — His Majesty, the King, Osborne House, Isle of Wight: I have received with profound sorrow the lamentable tidings of the death of her majesty, the queen. Allow me, sir, to offer my sincere sympathy and that of the American people in your personal bereavement and the loss Great Britain has suffered in the death of its venerable and illustrious sovereign whose noble life and beneficent influence has promoted the peace and won the affection of the world. WILLIAM M'KINLEY.

The Queen of Romance

1904

An English lady tells a story of Queen Victoria which she believes has not before appeared in print, and which she knows is true. Three children were walking along the road between Windsor and Stoke Poges. They heard the sound of carriage wheels. It was the queen's carriage, and she was in it.

The oldest child, a little boy, had been reading Oriental stories and fairy lore. He knew what was due to a queen, and cried to the others: "Get down flat in the dust before the carriage, and we'll all call out at once, 'O queen, live forever!'"

Down went the three little bodies flat in the dust, much to the mystification of the coachman, who reined up sharply.

The queen leaned forward and asked, "What in the world is the matter, children? Are you frightened?"

Three voices came out of the dust in a smothered treble: "Yes; O queen!"

Then there was a pause, and one reproachful voice said, "There, we forgot the 'live forever' part!"

The queen grasped the situation and laughed aloud, as her coachman afterward said, "more heartily than she had laughed for years."

The Ghost of the Tower

1901

Superstitious people in merry England are busy prophesying many gloomy events because it has been declared that the ghost of Mary, queen of Scots, has again made itself evident.

The story was that an officer of the guard on duty in the constables' quarters in the Tower of London on Christmas eve heard a long wail from the top of the tower. He stopped to listen and heard it again. Footsteps followed, and a third time the wail rang out over the fog bound river and the sleeping city. He went to search for a cause. but found none.

According to tradition the ghost of the unhappy Queen Mary has frequently made itself manifest in the Tower of London. Mary, queen of Scots, was imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth in the constables' tower and was led from it to execution in the tower quadrangle. Before the death of every king or queen of England since her day her spirit has been reported as having appeared.

All of this is very unpleasant for those to whom the welfare of Queen Victoria is dear and who believe in appearances after death. But apart from any supernatural auguries it would not be surprising to hear at any time of the demise of the Queen of England. It is well known that her health is far from satisfactory and that she is daily growing more and more feeble. The death of the Dowager Lady Churchill threw her majesty into a condition which is alarming to court circles. Lady Churchill was the queen's oldest and closest companion, and Victoria's grief is extreme.

Should England be unfortunate enough to lose its august ruler there would not be lacking those who would sagely wag their heads and recall the appearance of Mary's ghost. But their "I told you so" would be far from satisfactory to more materially inclined individuals.

A Curious Legend — Standing Rock

1874

The new Indian agency between Grand River and Fort Rice, called Standing Rock, derives its name from a large boulder standing out alone upon the prairie about three miles from the river. There is a strange Indian superstition connected with this rock, and the Sioux City (Iowa) Journal thus tells it:

"Many years ago a powerful band of Indians made that section their stamping grounds. The chief of the band deserted his old wife for a young squaw. This so grieved the old Queen that she went back to the river, and sat upon the ground and mourned for several days. Upon the ninth day of her grief she turned into this large boulder.

"The Indians at that agency all believe this story to this day, and worship the boulder as a god. The rock has been decorated with ribbons, pieces of red flannel, and every high-colored piece of cloth they have been able to get hold of since time out of mind. These decorations are replaced as often as they become decayed or blown away by the winds.

"At the time of our visit it was trimmed in the most gorgeous trappings imaginable. Every portion of it was covered either with ribbons and rags or paint. Within a few inches of the sacred stone is a pail of water, which is never allowed to become empty; for it is the belief of those ignorant people that the old Queen of their ancestors frequently assumes the form of a squaw and drinks the water.

"In former years she drank much more than at present, they say; but this is easily explained. Then there was more game there, which, in wandering to the pail, drank the water. To disturb this bucket or any portion of the trimmings of the petrified squaw is considered a great offence against the Great Spirit, and is punishable by death."

The Cameo

1907

Gets Its Name From the Cutting, Not From the Stone

The true nature of a cameo is very much misunderstood by the public generally. Most people think it is the stone itself, when in reality the method of cutting is what produces the cameo. The real meaning of the word is unknown, Its derivation having never been discovered; but, correctly speaking, cameos are small sculptures executed in low relief on some substance precious either for its beauty, rarity or hardness.

There are emerald cameos, turquoise cameos, shell cameos, coral cameos. Indeed, any substance that lends itself to carving in such minute detail can be used for cameo cutting, and nearly all precious stones, except diamonds, have been so used for intaglios, but never for cameos. Emerald is the most common precious stone from which cameos have been made, and there are some very fine emerald portrait cameos in existence, notably those of Queen Elizabeth in the British museum. Shell cameos were first made in the fifteenth century.

Banded onyx is generally used for cameo work because of its hardness and coloring, and it is this fact that has caused the misapprehension, the stone being used so much in making cameos that it has now become better known as "cameo" than by its right name. — St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Youthful Essayists on the Evils of Drink

1907

In the Hull elementary schools a prize was offered for the best essay on the evils of drink, and nearly 12,000 pupils competed. Extracts from their compositions were given by Dr. Eccles in a lecture before the Society For the Study of Inebriety. He quoted the following gems:

"Today many people are in jail for committing suicide while under the influence of drink."

"Alcohol has an effect upon a medical man's conclusions."

"Doctors say that fatal diseases are the worst."

"Doctors say that the increased death rate shortens lives."

"Some people think that the abuse of drink is right; some take it as a medicine." — London Tit-Bits.


What Is the English Throne?

The English throne — what is it? Is it the stone chair of Westminster abbey? That is only occupied once by each king or queen, and that only at the coronation ceremony. Is it the chair of state in the house of lords or the reception chair at Buckingham palace or the sumptuous gilt thing which the king uses at Windsor when he receives the foreign envoys? It is an interesting question, which some people would like to have answered. Most everybody, however, has come to the conclusion that in the majority of countries the throne is merely a symbol, and the expressions "he has succeeded to the throne" and "speeches from the throne" are only metaphors.

Florence Nightingale Dies — "Angel of the Battlefield"

1910

Heroine of Crimea

"Angel of the Battlefield" Revered by All Soldiers

Florence Nightingale's Life Was One Long Sacrifice for the Cause of Suffering Humanity — The First Army Nurse

London. — A woman whose name for over half a century has been a household word throughout the civilized world and who was universally loved and revered as few women have been, was claimed by death when Florence Nightingale passed away in her London home. She had been an invalid for a number of years. During recent years, owing to her feebleness and advanced age, Miss Nightingale had received but few visitors. On May 13 last she celebrated her ninetieth birthday and was the recipient of a congratulatory message from King George.

"The Angel of the Crimea," "The Soldiers' Friend," are titles which were conferred upon Florence Nightingale for her memorable service in behalf of the wounded and dying in the Crimean war. The last honor to be conferred upon her by a grateful country was in 1908, when the freedom of the city of London was bestowed upon her. Before that, in 1907, she received from King Edward the English Order of Merit, the most exclusive distinction within the gift of the British sovereign. She was the only woman who has ever received that honor.

Miss Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, May 12, 1820, and it was in honor of the "city of flowers" that she was named. She was the daughter of a wealthy English landowner and returned with her parents to England when a child. She early displayed an inclination toward philanthropy, and was the first woman to follow a modern army into battle as a nurse. Although her father was a very wealthy man, she insisted on learning all that there was to be learned about the profession of nursing and became famous as a "probationer" in London hospitals. Later on she went to France and subsequently to Germany. A few years later she was in Africa nursing Arabs with such effect, says one of her biographers, "that the Moslems were almost convinced that the woman had a soul."

When the war of the Crimea broke out the British army sent to the front to help the French in the struggle with the Russians was not accompanied by the usual corps of women nurses. The struggle had been going on only a few months, however, when "Bull Run" Russell began sending to his English newspaper heartrending accounts of the frightful conditions that prevailed in the British hospitals and the horrible state of the wounded men. Instantly all England was in an uproar, and for a time the British ministry seemed tottering. Then, almost at the same moment, for their letters crossed each other, Florence Nightingale volunteered to take a corps of nurses to the front and Herbert Sydney, the secretary of war, suggested to her such a commission.

October 15, 1854, Miss Nightingale set forth on her errand of mercy at the head of a corps of 34 women nurses and equipped with most of the material for setting up a first-class field hospital.

Establishing herself on the heights of Scutari, near Constantinople, Miss Nightingale and her aids began the organization of a field hospital. At one time she had four miles of wounded — four miles of cots, side by side — with only 34 women to nurse her patients. Soon after this letters began coming in hundreds into the homes of England Which established permanently in the hearts of the people the supremacy of Florence Nightingale among all English women. She was the "angel of the battlefield," "the angel of the Crimea."

In August, 1856, Miss Nightingale returned to England. A grateful country would have welcomed her royally, but she had no desire for public praise. She arrived in England when least expected and went to her home. The queen, however, was not to be denied. She sent for Miss Nightingale to visit her at Balmoral and decorated her with her own hand. The sultan of Turkey made her a valuable present. The English government, on behalf of the people, was very practical in its expression of appreciation and presented her with $250,000.

Perhaps the greatest good that has resulted from her noble life has been the setting in motion of a force which has led thousands of women to devote themselves to the systematic care of the sick and wounded.

Florence Nightingale — Born May 12, 1820, Died Aug. 13, 1910.

Concerning Beds, Mattresses in Days of Old

1874

During all ages, from the earliest times, men have displayed their invention in designing beds which should gratify their natural love for comfort, for elegance, and for luxury. In the prehistoric times the dwellers in the caves most probably followed the suggestion given them by the animals which they drove out from their rocky dens, in this early stage of the "struggle for existence," and made their beds of leaves. From this condition to providing skins for the coverings of their couches, was a great advance, and with their increasing ability to dominate their surrounding conditions, and provide the materials for gratifying their natural as well as artificial wants, this step was but the first in a long course of invention and improvement applied to beds.

Among the Romans and the Greeks, as well as the other nations of antiquity, such an appliance as a mattress was unknown. They made their beds upon couches of wood, which were covered with skins, furs, woolen and other stuffs. Their luxury in beds consisted only in using more expensive coverings, replacing a sheep's skin by a tiger's or substituting for a rough woolen blanket one of finer texture, or a shawl of silk embroidered in gold and silver thread. These improvements, or those consisting in replacing the wooden bench which formed their support with one of bronze, or even of gold or silver, was really only a display of greater wealth, but could not be considered in these days an advance towards securing the advantages of a comfortable, luxurious, and healthy bed.

In the early period of modern history, beds were almost universally, in Europe, nothing but bundles of straw. As late in England as the times of Queen Elizabeth, when no carpets were used, and the floor was strewn with rushes, the beds were hardly anything better, and a wooden bench, or any rude framework which lifted the bed above the floor, was a luxury. Erasmus, in his letters, describes the social condition of the people during the reign of Henry VIII, and was disgusted at the state of the floors. The rushes, he says, were so seldom changed, and became so damp, that the feet were constantly kept wet, and thence colds and consumption were quite common.

In the dining-rooms, he speaks of the filth collected on the floor among the rushes; the bits of meat and bones thrown to the dogs, who fought around the guests' legs for them; the beer and wine emptied upon the floor; the slices of bread, used as plates for eating their meat on, and then thrown aside, altogether giving us no very high conception of the neatness and fine breeding of the time.

From Delaroche's fine picture of "The Death of Queen Elizabeth," an accurate idea can be gained of the beds of royalty at this period, and consequently those of the common people can be imagined. By a careful study of the times, and from all the contemporary evidence bearing upon this point, Delaroche was enabled to reproduce the scene with a truthful accuracy of detail. The queen is reposing upon a bed formed by spreading cloths upon the floor. She is covered with richly embroidered spreads of velvet, bordered with golden fringe. The moment chosen is when she is upbraiding the Countess of Nottingham for keeping back the ring Essex had sent to his royal mistress just before his execution. The queen herself is gorgeously attired, as was her constant custom, but the comparison between the brilliant coverings of the bed and its position, one which now would be considered as in the dirt, affords an admirable picture of the partial civilization of the times, with its splendor of display and its want of the simplest decencies of the present.

Mattresses were first made of straw or wool, then moss came to be used, and feathers, and finally curled hair. The trouble with all mattresses of these materials is, that they become by use matted and hard, and have to be remade. Besides, too, all of these materials have a greater or a less tendency to retain the bodily exhalations, and in all public places, such as hotels, hospitals, and other institutions where the beds are used in turn by a number of different persons, the danger of contagion, and the difficulty in any case of keeping the beds hygienically clean and pure, according to the demands of the present medical standard, is very great, if not impossible.