A STRANGE STORY.

Evening Star, Issue 11451, 19 January 1901, Page 8

A STRANGE STORY.

The* Times of India’ publishes a carious story anent the island of Tbaoa, in the Red Sea, which Germany is reported to have obtained from Turkey. The purport o{ this is that the German vessel Marie, which may be the cruiser of that name, in September took ground at the island of Farr,aft, a large island about eighty miles north of Kamaran. She landed fifty - three tons of coal, got off,and steamed away,leaving the coal on the island, after presenting the Mudir of Fatzan with a gold watch and ring. The matter was reported to the Governor-General of Yemen, who remonstrated, but the German commander declined to take bis coals awav. Subsequently the Governor - General of Yemen received orders from Constantinople to provide facilities for storing German coal, and to construct a depot) to hold 10,000 tens at Koomah or Komo, six miles from Farzin. Three officials, including the Commodore, proceeded from Hodeidah to Koomah to make preparations and draw up plans and estimates. They all returned to Hodeidah on October 20, and presumably work is being proceeded with. Our contemporary adds: •* We can carry this distinctly queer story no further at present, except to state that our latest information is to the effect that the Turkish flag is flying over Koomah, and that a small Turkish gunboat is tow stationed thire.” Thus the ‘Tablet’ on the Duke nf Norfolk's recent indiscretion : “ The verdant rustic from ’Way Back takes for the work of some Jupiter Tonans the stage thunder that is shaken by an ex-cobbler out of a sheet of galvanised iron. In the same way some bucolic minds may bo impressed bv the newspaper fulminations that have resounded in our midst against the Duke of Norfolk. We, for our part, view the paltry clamor with mere contempt. We know that it is the mere hollow-sounding echo of the distant muttcrings of sundry venal garret-scribblers who depend for their morning pagnottello and their double dailv dose of macaroni on the secret service funds of the anti-Catholic Government of ‘ United ’ Italy.” “Venal garret-scribblers” is distinctly good.