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A SWEDISH CITY IN Pml.l
iT BECOMES GERMAN AFTER
y BEING MORTGAGED A
CENTURY. 1
The Odd Taste of Wismar; a Port of
of 18,000 on the Baltic—lt Was
Pledged by King Gustav IV. for a
Loan of $1,000,000. i
Wismar, a port of 18,000 people on
the Baltic, sitnated in the.German
Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, but
belonging legally to Sweden, has re
cently become a German city. It was
pledged by King Gustav IV. for a loan
of $1,000,000, and the King of Sweden
having failed to redeem it within the
century, it has passed to the Duke of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin, from whose.
ancestor the money was borrowed.
Wismar is a very ancient town. Ac
cording to one legend it was 300 years
old at the beginning of the Christian
era. Another tradition says it was
built early in the fourth century by
‘Wismarus, King of the Vandals. It
grew in power and in the European
struggle frequeatly changed Thands,
for it was a strong ally and a for
midable enemy.
In the early part of the eighteenth
century, Denmark, the most powerful
enemy of Sweden, after the destruc
tion of the Hanseatic League (a kind
of trade union established by certain
German cities for safety and commer
cial purposes), captured Wismar and
razed the fortifications. Afterward
peace was declared and the city re
verted to Sweden, but with thé pro
vision that she should not rebuild the
fortifications. The place thus lost its
strength and importance and became
instead an element or weakness to the
Swedes. Its great sea trade was ruin
ed and its inland trade lost.
Under these circumstances it was
not surprising that the Swedes tired
at last of their white elephant, So in
the reign of the incompetent and ex
travagant Qustavus IV., with territory
lost to the French in one war; with
Finland lost to Rusasia, with defeat in
a war against Ncrway, the Swedes
seized an opportunity to relieve them
selves of the burden of possession.
: The direct opportunity was given
by the caacdeliation by Gustavus ef his
engagement to the daughter of Duke
Frederick Franz 1. That person not
unnaturally resented the insult and
threatened dire things. Finally, his
threats crystalized into a demand for
an enormous indemnity. The toney
had to be raised at once. The Duchy
of Mecklenburg advanced 1,258,000
reichsthaler and took Wismar, Neuk
loster and the Island of Poel as secur
ity. :
Under the conditions of the loan the
city of Wismar and the two govern
ment districts were to remain in
pledge for 100 years. At the end of
the 100 years Sweden could claim and
obtain the pledged city and land by
paying back the original loan with
three per cent. compound interest. A
further provision, however, of the loan
was that should Sweden fail to take
anw notice whatever of the expira
tion of the time, the contract would
become renewed automatically for an
other 100 years. The sum which
Sweden would have had to pay if she
wished to claim Wismar aad the two
government districts is figured as
amounting to $27,000,000, and this
alone, quite apart from consideratioas
of policy, operated doubtless as a bar
against the assertion of her rights.
Thus we see that while the immed
jiate business transaction dates back
but about 100 years, any diplomatic
gquabbles over the city now would
have to revert to the surrenders and
armistices of the thirty years’ war
(1618-1648). And the fact that Wis
mar heretofore really was Swedish
territory explains why Germany has
not fortified the port, which is con
sidered the finest harbor site of the
entire Baltic coast. Under the Swed
ish-Danish treaty fortifications were
not to be built and when the Duchy
o! Mecklenburg tocok over the pldce
the stipulation was renewed. !
Among the beautiful buildings that
date back to Wismar's glorious past
are the Archdeacon’s house, etrected
fn 1450, and the old schoolhouse, dat
ing back to about 1300. ;
NAVAJO BLANKET WEAVERS,
Tribe Has 25,000 People, and Most of
Them are Polygamists.
Navajo blanket weaving was
studied at close range by P. D. Tull
on his recent six months’ tour to
Arizona for %is health, says ' the
Spokane Spokesman-Review. Mr.
Tull, who is much limproved in
“health, is back to Spokane with
some fine specimens of Dblankets
which he personally picked up while
in the south. He said:
“These Navajos are one of the
largest tribes in the country, num
bering over 25,000 Indians. Their
reservation is equally large, and is
situated in northwestern New Mex
ico and northeastern Arizona. Out
gide of the reservation proper the
government has granted them an ad
ditional strip of forty miles wide,
known as ‘grazing strip.” The tribe
is self-supporting, and while they
know little of agriculture, they own
immense herds of cattle, horses and
sheep. It is from the latter that the
women spin the wool and weave the
blankets and rugs.
“The Navajos are a roving tribe—
when they settle for any time at one
place they live in a dome-shaped
building called a *hogan.’ This is a
form of adobe construction, made
with poles and sticks and covered
with mud. Wken.on the move they
live in the reguldtion tepces. Their
nearest neighbors are the Apaches,
with whom, in the o!d days, they
were often engaged in war. The
Navajos are polygamists, sometimes
having four or five wives. These
they buy, or trade, as they would
any other piece of property. The
squaws do most of the work. They
wash, spin and dye the wool, and
weave it on primitive looms into
quaint and artistic designs. They
never use figures of people, animals,
or birds, as do the basket weavers,
but their designs are-largely geomet
rical. Red, black, orange, white and
gray are the predominating colors.
“While some saws may' use and
repeat some characteristic design, it
is a noteworthy fact that nn two rugs
are ever alike. This is a'most in
credible, when we consider the hun
dreds of rugs that have been made
by them.
“To say nothing of the time it
takes to wash, dye and spin ctheir
wool, it requires about a month of
steady work to weave a rug four by
six feet. These ar eeasily recognizsd
by the smaller patterns and smooth,
c'ose weave. While the Navajos
have never been Christianized, it is
a fact of interest that the deszign of
the cross is seen in much of their
work. As types they are fine look
ing Indians—strong, tall and well
featured, largely due to their life in
the saddle.” |
Counting a Hen's Feathers. ;
A very unique fearther-guessing
contest was recently conducted by
a prominent company manufacturing
feed for pouliry. Five hundred dol
<lars in prizes was offered for best
estimates, or guesses, as to the num
ber of feathers on a hen. The first
priz2 was $lOO.
Thousands of guesses were re
ceived, including some very amusing
ones. One party, who was probably
looking for some ‘“catch” scheme,
estimated “none at all.”” Many esti
mates in the hundreds of thousands
were received, s2veral in the mil
lions, the highest estimate being
600,060,017. The correct number
was found to be 8,120. The company
says: “We feel a pardonable pride
in having contributed to poultry sci:
ence an item of informaticn actually
new.'—SBt Nicholas.
It bedes no good to pockethooks
when women Dbegin to admire - fall
hats.
WAR WITH BAD NAMES.
Experience Appears to Indicate That
They Will Have Bad Luck.
If one should be so bold as to char
acterize the superstitious sailor as
silly he would at once declare that
‘there is sufficient reason for his be
lief and would proceed to prove that
war vessels named after stinging and
venomous things have been unlucky
and that the country should not be 80
indifferent to the men who follow “a
life on the ocean wave’” as to organize
a mosquito fleet. .
That Snake is regarded as an un
fortunate name for a vessel is shown
by the fact that two of that name have
been lost, one in 1781 and the other in
1847: but no vessel bearing that name
is now known to exist. Serpent,
which is only a substitute name for
Snake, is an unlucky one also, for the
one wrecked in 1892 was the fourth
PBritish war vessel of that name to
meet the same fate. Viper has been
an unlucky name in the British navy.
The first one was wrecked in 1780, but
the admiralty would not swerve, and
80 kept the name on the list, each ves
sel meeting its doom, and the fourth
‘was lost only recently. The French
navy has also been unlucky with ves
sels so named. The Viper, used in the
British service after she became a
prize from the French was lost in
1793. The second was lost a year later
the third in 1797, and the fourth was
recently lost in a collision off Guern
sey. :
The Cobra, another British way ves
’gel, was lost recently at the same time
as the Viper. Among other vessels
similarly named and which met fates
other than in battle are thne Rattle
snake, in 1781; the Alligator, in 1782;
the Crocodile, in 1784; .ne Adder, in
1846; thres Lizards, two Dragons and
one Basilisk, All of these were of tine
British navy. The lst could be made
larger by citing the records of other
nivies,
The Norsemen, who were so fond df
naming their vessels against the laws
of superstition, and using hideous
“heads of dragons and reptiles on their
high prows, were less unfortunate,
ant! these did not meet with frequent
digagiers. They did have a beliof,
however, that it was unlucky and a
sacrilege to select such a name as did
Lo»l Dunraven for his first yacht to
challenge for the America’s cup, the
Valkyrie. And this belief was
strengthened when she was sunk by
the Satanita. The second challenger
with the same name gave trouble, and
she was broken up after only a short
existence.—Navy League Journal.
HOW KING EDWARD DINES.
v
Perfect Discipline of the Palace Corps
of Cooks.
The moment that their British Ma
jesties take their seats at the table
all activity in the kitchen ceases.
Quiet reigns. The dishes Hl€ all in
their assigned places, the courses pre
pared in the forenoon are on special
tables, in summer between blocks of
ice. The meats, fowl and delicacies
that are to be served hot need only be
put on the stove for a moment to be
served when needed.
The soup which is cooked an hour
before the beginning of the dinner,
boils and bubbles, while the “hors
d’oeuvre” (the delicacy taken between
courses) is neatly arranged on small
silver platters within easy reach
either in the kitchen itself or else, as
is the case in Buckingham Palace,
brought to an ante-chamber—-which
in this palace is a generous fraction
of a mile from the kitchen.
The time for the serving of the dif
ferent courses is fixed permanently,
and the arrangement works like a
clock. Every Kkitchen servant must
appear clad in snowy linen and must
have his own wash basin and towel
close at hand.
No sound is heard save the occa
sional orders of the head cook. But
even these are rarely necessary, as
the servants are well drilled. In spito
of this the héad cook, conscious of the
responsibility resting on him, is evei
watchful. Not the slightest thing can
escape his notice. - 5
Close to the dining room is a large
chamber’ into which all the dishes are
brought to receive the last touch be
fore being carried to the board. The
silver-plate, the dishes and glasses re
moved from the table between the dif
ferent courses are also taken to this
room and are left here until after the
repast. The man in charge here is
attired in a faultless dress sn;m‘;\ and
gives his orders in low whispers.
King Edward and Queen Alexandra,
with the other members of thé royal
family, and on special occasions dis
tinguished guests also, have their own
special serving men, while all the oth;
ers present at the board are served
by a waiter.
The entire staff of servants serving
at the table are dressed in black.
Théy appear in knee breeches, “swal
low-tail” coats, high stockings and
buckled shoes, The table service' of
the royal household is -of immense
value, and consists as occasion re
quires of dishes made of silver, of gold
or of the finest Chinese porcelain.
The King is fond of good eating, but
prefers plain, nourishing and substan
tial foods. He is a lover of the oyster
and likes vegetable soups, but cares
neither for mock turtle nor for ox
tail soup. He eats game, fowl pre
pared with toasted bread and aspara
gus heads, preserved fruits and toast,
but eats no pastries. The Queen, on
the other hand, is fond of pastries and
sweets. She once said to an Austrian
diplomat: “I have the appetite of -a
dairymaid.” The Queen usuallr #mb
mits her wishes in regard to the menu
to her lady-in-waiting, the Hon. Miss
Knollys, who in turn acquaints the
head cook with them.
'‘Both the King and Queen are fond
of seeing the board decorated with
flowers, but King Edward has an aver
sion to certain strong-smelling exot
ics, and orchids are consequently ban
ished from the royal dining-room,
PEARLS OF THOUGIHT.
“Man’s first victory is over self; (4
second overselfishness.”
"Rulers always hate and suspect
the next in succession.—Tacitus.
The wonderful thing about a man is
is power to become.—E. I. Bosworth.
Evil never tempted a man whom it
found judicicusly employed.—-Spur
geon,
A man who does not know how {0
learn from his mistakes, turns thn
best schoclmaster out of higs life.—-
Beecher.
Religion unfeignedly loved perfect
eth man’s abilities unto all kinds of
virtuous services in the common
wealth.—Richard Hooker.
When one is sad or out cf sorts for
any cause whatever. there is no reme
dy so infallible as trying to make
snmepody else happy.—J. W. Carney.
Where there is no mother there can
be no child. Their duties are recip
rocal; and if they are badly fulfilled
on one side, they will be neglected on
the other.—Rousseau. ¢
They who are not prepared for this
ordinance cannot be fit -fcr death or
heaven; nay, acceptable prayer cannot
be offered without something of a sim
ilar preparation of heart.—Thomas
Scott.
Not a Tactful Hostess.
As might be expected, the junk shop
guest chamber is sure to prove a pit
fall to the unwary. Having not long
ago to put the finishing touches to a
portrait, I went into the country to.
pass a couple of days with my sitter, a
mere acquaintance. At dinner the first
evening, wishing to start the comver
sation pleasantly, I asked:
*Whose portrait is that in my room?
Such a charming face.”
After a chilly silence my hostess an
swered:
“That is my husband’s first wife.”
The conversation rather languished
during the rest cf our meal, but I
made no efforts to revive it.—The Cen
tury.
e SRR SRR
Egypt imports annually about $150,-
€OO worth of “cigarette paper.”