ON THE WATCH TOWER

Evening Star, Issue 15432, 4 March 1914, Page 9

ON THE WATCH TOWER

[By Abiel.]

More disasters in th* Antarctic; more . Eagtka disasters at that.' What is the reason of the condensation of disaster on • D«r heads ! Is it that we are mexpwrienced and have more courage than skill? Is it that we venture too much and become ; foolhardy T Perhaps it is useless to ask such questions; yet I think that, for a partv with, three sledges to have nearly all its Joed on one sledge for the sake <.f aafecv leaves something to be desired. Let ir pass, however, for if Mawson was Ml wiw. dearly har-h >law6«n answered it. I know of few scenes in. history so pathetic as that cf men waiting for nine hoars beside the treacherous gulf that, had swallowed mate and, well-nigh, hope together. Then they read the burial service beside that awful grave, and turned homeward—alt that were left of them—one of them to perish and the other to put up a kind of world record of endurance. Truly "skin for akin, yea, all that a man hath will lie give for his life." It seems a little vain to debate whether life is worth living when the most wonderful teats of the wo-la are done 10 avoid dying. Whatever crazy sorrow saith, No life that breathes with tfcroan. breath Hath ev»r truly longed for death- •»****** Dr Mawson, crawling into camp alone from his. terrible march, reminds me oi Dr Brydon coming staggering to Candahair, the sole survivor of the Cabul expedition of 1545. The Mount Cook disaster, which stands related to the Mawson disaster both by ice and by the time of our hearing oi it, reminds "me of one of the horrors and interests of childhood. I suppose it was in the late fifties that a party of aristocratic English attempted the Matterhorn, a peak then little visited and «f freat danger. I think there were four eside the guide. Thev reached the to*) safely, but at the most critical point ot the descent one of them fell, and the whole partv were swept to destruction. (I do not "remember that anyone survived to tell the tale; perhaps some reader can correct me if I am wrong in saying that thev all perished.) The victims fell 7,000't amid an ever-increasing avalanche of snow and ice. The most careful search reveal«l nothing but a boot or so. After the lapse of 50 vears the faithful ice restored the bodies "at the melting end of the glacier. How Ion? wil it be before the continental glaciers oi Antarctica bring the bodies of poor Ninnis and his team of dogs to some terminal face.and set them afloat in some " majestic berg? Possibly thousands oi years. Till then. God rest him. ******* Prince Wied, the chosen ruler oi Albania, has been the recipient of a casket from his future subjects. The casket contained not crown jewels, but sand, earth, and water! This is a. good example of how primitive a people the Albanians are. Far away in the early ages of Greek history, nearly five centuries before our era, there is » story of the Great King (Xerxes, I think) sending his ambassador to the Athenians to demand earth and water as a token of their submission to him. The Greeks led the ambassador to a deep well, and threw him in. telling him that he would find both earth and water down there. • and he could help himself. Alter this came Marathon and Salamis. I have a suspicion that after their great victories the Greeks assumed this very high tone, and invented the grim joke about how . they had treated the ambassador—but that's the Higher Criticism. The arrest of a woman at Charing Cross with documents about the British Navv, which she was conveying to a Continental Power, is a disquieting fact. The influence of spies on the fortunes of war has often been of enormous im- . portanee. We are now at the centenary of Napoleon's desperate struggle with the Allies, which preceded his fall and his banishment to Elba. It may, therefore, not be out of place to notice the career of one of his celebrated spies. This man was an Alsatian, and boat© the -same of- Schahoeister, but he did not ■'Emit himself %to one. name. He had jpanv, some of them highly aristocratic. He "was at first a smuggler, but on*being found bv Napoleon he flew at higher same. "When the new Emperor of v the French was about to invade Austria m 1805 with the army, ostensibly prepared for the invasion of England, he had Schumeister expelled 'from France as 3. dangerous person. This was a firstclass introduction to the Austrian commander. Mack, who received him as. an angel of light, and allowed him to wear jr*Austrian uniform. When Napoleon's whirlwind of invasion came the spy gave Mack some true information, whjch could be of, no use, but sent much that was valuable to hie employer. Napoleon was surrounding Mack at TJlm. When the process was half completed the spy arrived bursting with the information that a revolution had broken out in Paris, and that it was only a question of a day or two till Napoleon would have tc hasten back to deal with it. Poor Mack believed the story, and made no effort tc escape. In a few days he had to surrender without firing a shot! In the meantime, the spy had escaped and carried the news to Vienna. There he was actuallv admitted to a council of war presided over by.the Emperor, at which most vital matters were discussed. Of course, all this was conveyed to Napoleon. After the taking of Vienna, he got himself introduced under a new name to all the commanders in the Austrian and Russian camps before Austerlitz. and Napoleon knew their numbers and positions and plans as well as they knew them themselves. So useful a wan grew speedily rich. But when he asked for a title Napoleon said : "Money, as much as he likes-; but honor, never!" The deported Labor men are appealing to the British people on the ground that the Botha Government wish to turn South Africa into a Boer colony instead of a British colony. This may express the wish of a great many Boers, and that not unnaturally. Still, what right have men who themselves are not loyal to the British Kmpire. and who are loud in the denunciation of British justice and of British institutions, to appeal to' that motive? Ii they were in South Africa, and found it tc their advantage to do so, they would as readily appeal to the anti-British prejudices of the Boers;* as net. Party does much to weaken natural feelings and national feelings; but this new party is the onlv one that has ever flung aside the most sacred and patriotic sentiments oi mankind. These deporting cases raise a new problem in the world. It is deai enough that any country has a perfect right to say who is and who is not a desirable citizen, arid to seed away the undesirable. But where are the culls to be sent to?. If it is the right of one country to send them out of its borders, it is the right of all others' to refuse to receive them. Hence must arise an international Limbo, a lumber room, a place on which the world can put up "Rubbish Shot Here"—either that or each nation must consume its own smoke. ******* "Wilt thou obey him, serve him, love, ~ boner, and keep him in sickness and health,!" It seem* to me that " keep him " ia the part that women ought to object to. H they have to keep him, as some undoubtedly nave to do, then they ought not to be expected to obey him too. But as it is easier to obey him than to keep him they should-take the line of least resistance," and object to the engagement to keep him- But it seems the women have paid more attention to the sound of the words than to the solid facts. I assume, of course, that no one would propose to amend the marriage service unless someone had objected. But here we have the bishop tal*" n g about omitting the word obey, and then it appears that an ecclesiastical assembly now gathered in our own town will be asked to omit .it too. Indeed, it appears that many etargy already omit it I suppose they go on the theory groom who tola the parson notsto waste woe in insisting' on the bride repeating the word: "Never nribd; go on; I'll make her." Or perhaps they go on the . principle that-if ti»a dioa't obey hy

nature, it is useless to make »faem promise; for' really the .question- of tAo is to oboy is always settled by expedience. Bat I wish to point oat to th* reformers that thewife is sheltered in law un<i«r the supposition that «r'ne doe* tmr share of the wrong in obedience to her husband. If the idea, of obedience, is got *id of, then we will have to mice aWsy that valuable shelter, too. * * # ■» * *■' * *

"The police unscrewed ih« knob of Eltoft's bedpost and found some money there," says the cable. I could not help thinking of dear old Sancho Panza. when hj« took his seat to judge the causes of his" island. Two old men appeared,'one of whom swore that he had lent the other 10 pieces of gold, which he now pretended not to.owe. "If he will now swear_ before your honor that he has repaid it I will acquit him." The other repfied : "If your worship will hold down your wand of justice I will swear on the cross of it." Sancho held down his wand, and the defendant, who leaned on a heavy staff, requested complainant to hold it while he took the "oath. He then swore : " I acknowledge Having received the 10 pieces of gold, but I have repaid them, putting them into his own hand." Complainant. was dumbfounded at the glibness of the oath, and stood thunderstruck, while the defendant shuffled off. Sancho was certain that-the complainant was an honest man and the defendant a rogue. Just before it was too late a happy inspiration visited him and lit up his benevolent countenance. "Come back!" he shouted. "Hand me your staff." said he to the defendant. He screwed off the the knob and found the 10 pieces of gold, which he handed to complainant ! / *******

South America may be called the "cockpit of tha world," for it cannot endure peace at any price. There is a certaiii degree of fighting which seems to be constitutionally necessary to the half-breed population of that part of the planet. I nave carefully searched tha early records to see if they have any connection with Ireland, but I am not" able to discover any positive evidence; though there is a story of an Irish saint seeking quiet from the Danes in the Atlantic. After some years he returned, having found "The Isle of the Saints," to which he encouraged emigration. Now, this blessed isle has never been identified, but it may easily have been South America. I merely throw, this suggestion out for men of leisure to follow up, and return to the interesting facts. Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, and San Domingo are all relaxing themselves just now, while Brazil, Columbia, and several other States are as uneasy as hungry jaguars when their neighbors in the next cage are being fed. The constitution of the man becomes the constitution of the State. The fighting crave is like the drink crave—it must have some vent. If it does not get its periodic outbreak, like a' geyser, it will have all the wilder a burst when it does get vent. This is what is the matter with Mexico. President Diaz for many years interfered with the due course of Nature. A general congestion and constipation and stoppage of the functions of man and the State supervened. "" As soon as he was removed the currents of life resumed their natural channels, but with a most necessary violence, and having some 40 years of leeway to make up the violence is naturally prolonged. You cannot get away from Nature, and any disturbance of its delicate balance will certainly avenge itself on the disturber.