SKETCHER.

Lake County Press, Issue 2159, 7 March 1907, Page 2

SKETCHER.

ENGLISH SPELLING. lr nns been of:oa remarked that English 'polling is remarkable for its iudefiuttw variety, cut a facetious foreigner proceeds to illustrate the truth anew. As long as 'j. 1 '" 13 i- spelled 'phthisis,' says ho, tbo voice of the jvlii.'if? reformer should ba heard in tha laud. Mr. Turner, in tbo following incident, in view of the present method of spelling, was •uittrely consistent: — 'Dobbs mot hia friend Turner on the train. They wero both going to London, ;'iid stopped at the sauio hotel. Turner registered his naino : ' E. K. Phtholognyrrh.' ' Dobbs, noticing it, exclaimed: ' Here, what are you a<sumiug such a foreign, outlandish name for? Are you in anv trouble ?' '"Not a bit of it,' replied Turner, ' ana I am not assuming any foreign name.' ' What kiud of a name is that ?' demanded Dobbs. ' That is my identical old name,' persisted Turner, 'and it is English, too—pronounced plainly ' Turner.' «1 can't see how you make ' Turner ' out of those thirteen letters; besides, what is vour object in spoiling that way ?' askod Dobbs. 'Wall, you see, nobody ever noticed my name en the register when I wrote it, ' Turner,* exclaimed the latter, ' but since I commenced writing it 'Phtholognyrrh,' I set them all guessing. They wonder what nation I am from ; what my name is. I cm now hear peop'e talk about me all around. Lt is, as I said before, English spelling. ' rhtk,' there is the sound of 'f in 'phthisis.'; 'olo,' there is tho 'ur' in 'colonel'; 'gn,* there is tho 'n' in 'gnat,' 'yrrh,' is the bound of ' er' in ' myrrh.' Now if that ioesu't spoil Turner,' what docs it spell?' •ENGLAND: HER MARK.' At daybreak on June 21, 1107, the welcome cry of • Laud ho!' from the masthead of Tho Mathew, of Bristol, proclaimed tho discovery of what to-day is England's oldest colony. The warning of tho look-out; was responded to by a round of British cheers from the deck below. Tho tight little pioneer ship, not more than two hundred tons, was namod by West-country sailors. Her commander was John Cabot. His first officer was his worthy son Sebastian. At this period Amerigo Vespucci, whose name was to give a little to tho Now World, had not yet mailo his first voyage across the Atlantic "The importance of Cabot's diecowry can hardly bo over-rated. It gave to iCnuland hor claim to tho sovereignity of a large poriiou of North America. It insured her first impulse of colonisation. But for the C.ibots, Spain would no doubt have iiioiiopoli.-ed discovery in North as well as Sou'h America. Never, perhaps, was a voyage of discovery, the consequences cf which wore so far-reaching, entered upon with less pomp and circumstanco. History has carefully gathered into her golden urn every incident connected with the voyage of Columbus, and eloquent pens havo told the thrilling story with every variety of its picturesquo details. But of the voyage of Cabot wo kuow almost nothing. No diary was kept on board Tho Mathew. The records of the enterprise which have come down to us (I havo investigated every one of them at tho British Museum) were written long afterwards, and are of the most meagre description. 'Tho English,' says Carlyle, ' are a dumb people. Thoy can do great acts but not deseribo them. Like the old Romans and some few others, their epic poem is written on tho earth's surface—England: Her Mark.' Without, flourish of trumpet, Cabot and his British seamen sailed away into the unknown waste of waters. Of the difficulties and hardships which they encountered in crossing the Atlantic in much stormier latitudes than those through which Columbus's course lay we know absolutely nothing. Tko commander was content simply to mention the results of his voyage and littlo more. On June 24 land was discovered, and Cabot named the headland in sight jl'rima Viata. A Bristol manuscript which has survived tho wrecks of time chronicles the discovery in tho following ijurt terms . —' In the year 1497, tho 24th of Juue on St. John's Day, was Newfoundland found by Bristol men in a ship nailed The Mathew.' And the English archives contain no other official notice of tho discovery except a memorandum in the Privy Purse Accounts, set down, no doubt, that the King's 'liberality-' should bo known to posterity : 'August, 10, to Ilvni tliat found tho New Isle, £lo.' >"■ A PLUCK! SEAMAN. *^ At the time when Clivo was conducting his operations on the Hooghly in the early days of cur snuggle for supremacy in our vast In nan Empire, the capture of one of the Jorts by a single seamen still to this day remains unsurpassed, as a deed of naval laving. After a heavy fire from the ships, Olive landed his troops and a detachment of sailors under Captain King, and attacked ortificalions from the laud sido. This brilliant little sortie was successfully carried out, .aid the guns cf the fort having been silenced, it was decided to wait until tho cool of tho evening before thf> final assault ihou'.d Lo mado by the combined forces. 'Che troops and sailors were withdrawn to shelter trenches some littlo distance from tho enemy's lines, and proceeded to enjoy their well-earned mid-day repose. Owing to the peaceful slate of the camp, an ordinary soiman named Strahan. of 11.M.5. Kent, had, after disposing of an extra allowance of prog, found his spirits rather buoyant, and sleep being totally out of the question quietly strolled round the camp in search of something more lively. His rumbles eventually brought him within roach of tho walls of the foit without being seen. Having come j s > far bo came to the conclusion that an . inspection of the place would not be without \ interest. Scaling mud erections ho reached I ' an embrasuro made by the lire of tho ships, md climbing over one of the bastions, ; Strahan saw, to his surprise, several natives silliug upon the platform. Nothing daunted , ho rushed at them, flourishing his cutlass • and firing his pistol, and with three cheers i *t the top of his voice he shouted ' the placo [ is mine.' At once attacked by tho soldiers, I; ao defended himself with remarkable resolution and skill, but in the fray ho had tho misfortune to loose half of his cutlass; : vvbilnt this little combat was taking place i tbroo of Strahan'a comrados, hearing his J cries, disturbed the entire army, who, with- < out orders, poured pell-mell one undiscipi lined mass into tho Fort. Tho sailors led j the way, aud, after u slight resistance), tho enemy were driven oif. Thoy afterwards [' staled that they could not understand tho | wild rush of tho irregular horde. A largo I number of cannon and quantities of stores 5 and ammunition fell into our bauds. On j tho day following, our hero was duly \ brought _ before the Admiral of the Fleer. I who, with assumed anger, inquired cf ( Strahan, ' What is this you havo been doing, i my man ?' Tho sailor mado a respectable i bow, scratching hisheaj, and replied, 'Why, to be sure, sir. it was I who took the fort, ; but I hope your honour will see no harm in it.' Tho admiral with difficulty restrained hL» laughter, and told him of the possible f-itdl result of 6uc.h unseemly conduct, and finally dbiaisßed him, with certain vague Lbf«t of n puuiehtaent for his temerity. Pj.-t 6.\ri»'jdii was astonished at this uuoirMMiAi uwv. ; where he looked for praise h<j retail blame. So on leaving the |j. 4 .miral'a present, Lx said, in an undertone. ■ Wall, (4 t am dodged for ihii 'ere action, )'. will never take aooihsr fart by myself as hn£ eg I lire.' | his wsduot was not forgotten 1 .>? Uie ft.*ajJr»J, who made enquiries in order l iuai bo fiioa.J be promoted to a boatswain's V*mß!,WVWX§tEShsnx t it m t cajeer bad

been irregular as his exploit, consequently bis promotion was not recommended.

REMARKABLE JEWELS. In the old Seraglio at Constantinople is one of tho most wonderful collections of jewols and jewellery the world contains. These priceless treasures are tho private property of the reigning Sultan of Turkey ; aud only upon tbo rarest occasions is it possible for a foreigner to gain access to the vaultlike building which serves as their casket. As a matter of fact, not more than two authorised visits have been mado by Englishspeaking travellers to the Sultan's treasurehouse—that of the late Duke of Devonshire, about fifty years ago, and that of an adventurous American traveller in 18S0. The Emperor's jewels are ranged along the rooms on mats and cushion.s of velvet. They consist of countless numbors of precious stones of every hue, size, aud shape, of a. vast number of docorations, crescents, arms, tiaras, clasps, and necklaces. A Necklace avokjj nr the Phincuss of Wales. Among the necklaces is one, of marvellous beauty aud workmanship, oneo worn for a few hours by the Princess of Wales. When the Princess visited Stamboul, tbo Sultan very ceremoniously presented her with this ornament. She wore it at the reception given by the Sultan and his Cabinet; but, for various reasons, was obliged to return the magnificent gift. The gems of the Seraglio ere, for tho most pare, made up into decorative articles, tbo loose stones being used |to ombroidcr texts from the Koran on tho rich red velvet. Overhead are hung bird-cagps of pure gold wire, with jewelled clocks, set face downwards, in the bottoms. Tho clocks wero so placed that their owners might tell the time at a glance as they lolled on divans beneath. There is a lady's parasol which is unique. This parasol is of white silk, embroidered with gold. The staff is one lone, straight, true piece of perfect corals for a duplicate of which the whole world might be searched in vain. EI'FIGIES OF THE SULTAN. In the Seraglio are effigies of all tho Sultans for the last five hundred years, each dressed in the actual Smtos robes of iia original. These clothes arc of cloth of gold and silk brocade, weighed down with pearls, diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. Tho thrones of the Saltans aro ehown, with gemencrusted canopies ; tho cradles of tho Imperial babies, studdoi with diamonds and turquoises ; and tho satchels of tha Princes, of red velvet, embellished with largo pearls. Two of the oldest authenticated jewels of Europe have places in the collection. Both gems wore found by accident—ouo by a poor man on a dust heap, tho other by a child playing in the street. Tho first, which was promptly annexed by an Imperial edict, now adorns the aigrette worn by tbo Emperor when on parade. Tho Snltau has one uncut emerald larger than a man's list, and two larger than hen's eggs. These jewels are tho relics of a once vast, rich, and powerful empire. Tradition still forbids that thoy shall, uader any conditions, be sold, although some of them wero once utilised as security for tho loan of a large sum of money.