Newspaper Page Text
The Flirt Weddinb'srTitanfc Tragedy
How Love v r as Born Out (
of the Greatest Shipwreck
of Modern Times and Two
Who Faced Death Side by
Side in an Open Boat
Decide to Sail the Sea of
Matrimony Together.
JT is refreshing to be nble to record
something plersant as an after
math of the Titanic disaster.
Tlie heroisu. displayed by so
tunny of the victims, it is true,
served in a measure to temper the
universal grief which the tragedy
occasioned, but < ven that alleviating
circumstance left much to be sup
plied. Perhaps the necessary reliev
ing touch may now lie furnished in
the shape of n remarkable romance
to which the tragedy gave birth and
which has just come to light.
Karl 11. Behr, the great American
tennis player, and Mi * Helen M.
Newsom, two of lite passengers of
the ill fated vessel that awful April
night were thrown together in the
same open boat and drifted tn tb»
L ice-laden sea for hours until they
K were picked up by the rescue ship,
■ are to live out their lives together.
Their engagement has just beer, an
uouuced and tiie'.r marriage is to
tip lollow shortly.
Perhaps these two favorites of
1 F Lfortune would have married any
4*%A.ay. They had been intimate
friends for a long time. Certain It
Is, however, that on the night of the
tragedy they were friends and no
more. They were not engage i.
What the Principals Say.
Whether their relations became
changed that very night while, for
greater warmth, they were locked
in each other’s arms in the open
aoat in which they bad escaped
from the foundering vessel, with
the shrieks of the drowning victims
ringing in their ears and the "growl
ers" pounding the sides of the frail
lifeboat and threatening every mln
ite to scad them to eternity, may
lever be Known. People don t
usually talk of such things.
“We weren’t engaged before the
disaster.” is as far as Mr. Behr,
who is a lawyer and cautious,
will go.
•‘We’ve been engaged since the dis
aster." is t he ambiguous way in
which Miss Newsom, who Is a
.ontaii and tantalizing, puts it.
It looked very much as if. through
the delicacy which these two happy
individuals naturally feel regarding
this most interesting episode of their
live--, the world might never know
the details of what may have been
the most dramatic proposal of mar
riag.- ever proffereu.
Through an intimate girl friend
of the bride-to-be, however, the real
story, it is believed, has nevertheless
been obtained.
Who the Heroine and the Hero Are.
Miss Newsom Is the daughter of
Mrs. R i- Beckwith, now of the
Weudolyn, Riverside Drive, New
York, but formerly of Columbus, ».
She was a echoomale and intima,
friend of Mr Behr’s sister at Bria •
elift.
Mr. and Mrs. Beckwith and Miss
Newsom ’eft for Europe last Bail
for a six months' trip. Their holi
day over, they shipped on the
Titanic : t Southampton for New
York via Cherbourg, where Mr. Behr
joined them, as had been arranged.
Miss Newsom is a tall brunette
of the athletic type. She was a fair
tenuis player 1 erse’.f. and naturally
felt great admiration tor her school
mate's famous brother, who in 1905
•was ranked third in American
tennis and played on the inter
national team that went to Eng
lund. Mr. Behr graduated from
Yale in 1905 and was regarded as
one of the best allround athletes
that university lias ever produced
With these few details as to the
dramatis personae, the story as told
by the heroine's friend may now be
unfolded.
When the Titanic struck the ice
berg Mr. Behr was undressing In
his cabin on 1) deck. There is noth
ing very romantic in that, but this
is a true romance and the truth
must not be suppressed.
At the sound of the impact Mr.
Behr ran to the bow of the boat on
the lower deck, where were the
staterooms of Miss Newsom and the
Beckwiths.
Miss Newsom was tn the passage
way.
“Yon had better arouse your
parents, Helen,” declared Mr Behr
quite calmly; "I think something
has gone wrong. But don’t get
alarmed about it. it may not amount
to anything."
Mis. Newsom aroused the Beck
wlths Together the party made
their way on dock. When they saw
that the lifeboats were being low
erefi they decided to seek accommo
dations Th. first one they found
was full.
i hey Embark in the Life-Boat.
When Mis Beckwith came to the
second boat, and before she at
tempted to got into it. she asked
r be,’her the met. could go with her.
"Certainly, madtime." replied Mr.
Ismay. The little party were ap
parently the last passengers on the
t<>p deca and they saw no reason io
hesitate about seeking their safety
in the boat awaiting them.
Mr. and Mrs. Beckwith were
ueated in, the bow of the lifeboat.
Mr. Behr took charge of Miss New
som and they were placed in tile
stern. Tlie boat was shoved off and
for seven hours thereafter it drifted
around in the icy sea until picked
up by the Carpathia,
During those seven hours the suf
fering endured by th rescued wr.s
intense. It has already been fully
described. Not the least harrowing
feature of that awful night were
the last despairing shrieks of the
drowning, although the bitter cold
occasioned much physical suffering
among the survivors.
Although there were several mem
bers of the crew on board more
hands were needed at file oars am'
Mr. Bell, was one of the lirst to vol
unteer. A new place was found for
Miss Newsom near the bow of tile
•oat and Behr took a starboard oar
In about the centre of the boat.
For hour after hour he pulled, be
ing relieved from time to time by
other male passengers. Most of the
passengers, unused to muscular
work of any kind, made hut inept
sailors, and Behr was therefore
made to bear the brunt of tlie work.
No one could help admiring the
big fellow as he put nil the power
he could summon Into his strokes
Miss Newsom begged him from time
to time to rest, fearing that he
would overstrain himself, but he
stuck to his task until his strength
gave out. and even then they hnd to
drag him from the oar.
i low the Hero Proposed.
Once or twice Miss Newsom her
self lent a hand, and proved herself
to be a good oarswoman.
The main object of the crew was
to keep the boat from pounding on
the huge blocks of drift ice with
which they were surrounded.
After several hours of the most
arduous work in the bitter cold
passengers and crew sighted the
Carpathia in the distance, and then
tor the first time they were able to
take a much-needed rest.
Making his way to the side of
Miss Newsom, Mr. Behr sank down,
thoroughly exhausted They were
sitting in tlie bow and got the full
benefit of the heavy seas In which
the boat labored. Both were thor
oughly soaked to the skin.
“You don't mind. Helen, do you?"
Behr asked, as lie threw his arms
around her shoulder. “I'm afraid
it we ever get out of this you'll get
your death of cold.”
“You are In greater danger than
1. Karl," replied the girl, softly, "for
you have been exercising violently
and you are soaked through,"
They huddled together In the bow
of the boat to get what warmth
they could from contact.
"Karl,” whispered the girl, after
a long silence, "we have been as
near to death to-night as we shall
ever be. Even now It Is not sure
that the vessel will stop to pick us
up. But, if we are saved, mother
and father and I will never be able
to repay you for what you have done
for us,”
“But I have done nothing. Helen."
replied the big fellow.
“But for you having thought of
os and summoned us when the crash
came. Karl, we should all have been
left on the boat. It Is too horrible
to think of! We owe our lives to
you!"
Karl snld nothing for some time,
but tn the quiet which reigned iii
that boatload of sorrow be had
plenty of time to think.
* . -•» ■ . .'z:?-''‘ ? \ w**^*'/-•- o ....
. . . . , . X
'■ ; ■ Z M-,,. -■ ~L. / •
■ ./ . a- —v '■
• ' . »
■—l__or--.— —-it- • z I 'A
I ft a/ sm
W? X, V wfx
v-
“Made in an open boat, with the shrieks of drowning victims ringing in their ears and the huge
‘growlers’ pounding the frail sides of the craft and threatening every moment to send its occupants
to a watery grave, it was perhaps the most dramatic proposal of marriage ever proffered!”
"If we are saved, Helen, as I am sure we
shall be now." he declared, slowly, a little
later, "will you let me row by your side
through life? To-,night we have faced death
together. By some kind Providence we have
teen saved where hundreds of others have
perished. Perhaps it was ordained that we
should be saved for each other. If we are
saved, Helen, will you marry me?”
The crunching of the ice against the frail
sides of the boat, the moans of passengers
overcome by thoughts of the vast catas
trophe they had been through, and the
shrieks of drowning passengers, which even
at that time could still be heard in the dis
tance, combined to make a confused roar in
the ears of the anxious suitor as he bent his
head toward the girl to hear her answer.
"Karl," site said at length, "I have known
you a long while. 1 have known all along
that you were big and strong and able, good
and worthy, all that a girl could ask in a
busbar I didn't know until this dreadful
• uttpsaw<w»e> * —— .■■ ■■■■»».■. . " „
The Open Boel Wich Mr Behr „„d Mis. Newsom Escaped from the
Ui-fated Titanic-
night that you were also a hero! 1 would
sail by your side through eternity!”
Ihe compact was sealed then and there.
When the boat was finally picked up by the
rescue ship the- Beckwiths, Miss Newsom
and Mr. Behr were reunited.
The grief of the survivors on that home
ward trip was so intense, growing deper and
deeper as the full extent of the catastrophe
became more thoroughly appreciated, that
neither Mr. Behr nor his fiancee felt equal
to the task of breaking the news of their
happiness to the Beckwiths, and it was not
until the party reached New York that the
secret was revealed. Even then it was con
siderod seemly to keen the matter a strictly
■_h Lips, 6-Inch Heels--Which Is More Barbarous?
/«. ■: •-WBO
$ Mte; Z /I
$F .Bb
o'
7*f<' '** ' v ' ; .
< J
The Six-inch Heels of the “Civilized”
Women of Europe and America.
Karl H. Behr,
Lawyer and
Tennis Cham
pion, Who Is
Said to Have
Won the Love
of a Fellow Sur
vivor of the
Titanic Disaster
White Still in
the Lifeboat in
Which They Es
caped, and
Above, Miss
Helen M. New
som, His Bride.
to-Be,
i titanic.
private affair until the horrors of the dis
aster had somewhat abated.
bor the past few months, however, the en
gagement has been known to the intimate
friends of the family, who regard the match
as a particularly appropriate one.
A few weeks ago the engagement was
formally announced.
We might have been married anyway,”
says Mr. Behr.
Mr. Behr is a fine fellow I have knowm
idin a long while. Perhaps our joint experi
ence on the ill-fated Titanic expedited mat
> rs, and yet we might have been married
anyway. Who can tell?” is the way Miss
1\ /T Ot) EKN’ woman looks with
Jy I horror on the artificial de
formities which negro
wonren inflict upon themselves for
the sake of "fashion." One of the
Pictures here reproduced shows a
typical woman of the Sara tribe of
Africa whose lips have undergone
unusual treatment to give them the
desired enlarged size, which among
these primitive people is consid
ered a sign of beauty.
The lips, as elongated, are at
least five inches long! The effect
is produced by piercing the lips in
youth and gradually enlarging the
holes by inserting wooden discs,
the size of which is increased as
the lips get distended.
But look at the other picture—a
photograph just taken of the new
up-to-date shoo worn by the "civil-
£ .. x- WW
■ • -
: , . X ... - i
■ z ■—T ' 1
Lx - & •
; X 2 >. i
1 W Z.. •' |
■'•v «>. 1
r - . , j J
uM .
yfey j jifc^ii^-** l
u h -■ i i n>l hhi
Good and Bad Systems of Diet
Sy F. CHRISTIAN MILLER potatoes, peas, beans, spinach, turnips, cab
bage, onions, prunes, figs, apples peaches and
rwt \ . tu
XA’ '“J I the States, to the systems of
*" diet than do we in England,
•■t you have as a national disease,
dysjtepsia, and we of the British
Empire tcarely know the complaint
even by name. You of America have pale,
sometimes pasty, complexions and we have
clear rosy ones.
What am 1 to infer, from this? That you
do not know how to eat wisely? Far from
it. You do know it, but you do not obey the
voice of your own wisdom. You know, for
instance, that ice cream chills the digestive
juices Yet, how you like your ice cream!
And what quantities of it you eat! We have
ices now and then in England. They are not
quite unknown to us. But we do not eat a
quarter as many ices, or a fourth as much
ice cream as you do.
And sweets! You call them candy here!
What loads of it you consume! That is very
bad for you. True, we have our jam at tea
and our marmalade at breakfast, but they are
assimilated with the rest of our food. You
have the pernicious habit of eating candy
between meals, when without the counteract
ing effects other foods, a mixed diet, they
are a poison to the digestive tract.
We are at the beginning of an era of such
great intelligence about health that it will
soon be regarded as a disgrace to be ill. The
right understanding ot food values will hasten
that end. For instance every one can choose
his dietary more judiciously if he knows
these facts.
Foods that contribute to your great na
tional disease, indigestion, are hot breads,
meats, cereals, cheese, blackberries and dates.
Foods that have the opposite effect are gen
erally accepted, though some physicians dis
_ tl-iic’ nftv plll q'i nn to 1)0 FLLW C&I'GRIS.
ized" woman of fashion. The heels
of these shoes are no less than six
inches in height, and to walk in
them the wearer practically has to
bear her full weight on the tips of
her toes.
There is probably mors actual
pain suffered by the wearer of
these shoes, and certainly more
lasting harm done, than is ever ex
perienced by the African lady
whose lips are distended. As far
as beauty goes, individual tastes
may differ.
But it is safe to scy that in the
tropical clime of Africa the high
heel shoe would be regarded with
as much abhorrence as the West
ern woman feels for the benighted
heathen who distorts her taco to
gratify her vanity in tin manner
shown in the picture.
■ ’
I • >
B.- ' ,'f j
IHL, f i
olives.
Foods which are of average value in this
respect are nuts, crusts of cold bread, toast,
or twice-baked bread, eggs, cold milk, oranges
and lettuce.
Onions are of special value to those per
ons of heavy movements, lethargic tempera
ments and muddy complexions, for they are,
like lemons, a liver tonic. These and apples
clear the complexion because they first clear
the blood driving out the excess of uric
acid. Celery is a tonic food, upbuilding the
nervous and sufferers from rheumatism.
To make fresh, pure blood should be the
aim of every one, and this much eating of
beets and carrots does. Both are rich in iron
which they transfer to the blood.
The kidneys have no better friend than
dandelion, spinach and asparagus.
Tomatoes are the foe of the person with
rheumatism or gout, yet they act directly
when eaten raw, upon the liver. Onions, cab
bage, cauliflower, turnips and water cress,
because they contain much sulphur, are ex
cellent agents for purifying the blood, and
are of especial value at this season.
Melons are cooling to the blood and stimu
late the digestion. Lettuce also cools the
blood. Among the foods that soothe excited
nerves are prunes. Whenever possible eat
fruits without cane sugar and avoid sugar
as much as you can for it tends to make the
lazy liver lazier. Lettuce and celery arc
among the simple cures for insomnia.
lemons are not only an aid to the action
of the liver but they are helpful in cases of
rheumatism, and, like pineapple, reduce the
fever in sore throats. But the lemon is wasted
if you eat it with sugar. And it is too strong
to be taken directly into the stomach Half
a large lemon or all of a small one should
be squeezed into a glass of cold or hot water
and thus drunk. Always take this cleansin’
drink morning and evening. It cleanses the
stomach as scraping the tongue and rinslnr
r “77
>JKT
The Five-inch Lips of the Sara Women
of Africa.
