HERE AND THERE

Otago Witness, Volume 06, Issue 2899, 6 October 1909, Page 81

HERE AND THERE

— A Bankrupt Prince. —

,Ruin and practical extinction have followed upon the extravagances of Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisena-ch, tvho ds only 23 years of age, and heir-pre-sumptive to the throne of the reigning GTand Duke, who exercises sway over a territory of 1388 square miles, with a population approaching 400,000, ( in the heart of Germany, It was officially announced that he has renounced for himself and, his posterity his, claim to the, succession as well as the name, rank, and title of member of the Grand Ducal- House, and will, as Count Ostheim, descend to tfo& grade of a private person. He is the elder son of Prince William, cousin of the reigning Grand Duke. His "rig-lit of succession passes to his brother Albert, his junior by only 11 months. It is probable that Prince Albert will eventually come to tli© throne, as the reigning Duke has no children, and is not expected to marry again, lawcause he still mourns the tragic death of lias "bea-utdful wife, Princess Caroline of Reuss, vftjo' died when she was 21. The Prince's renunciation is not entirely voluntary.- He had, in fact, to y^eld to the pressune Jwclught upon him after he had shown qualities which were regarded us undesirable' in a future Tiller >of the State. His habits of life were much «'.tiscussed last- yoar^on the revelation of 'his relations with" ■certain money.-fenders 1 , to Arhom. he owed $>m,e £50;000^Hh'roajfh l-.is extravagance *in tijS'rlin, society" aifcd' bn th# turf. For jpgma-'.'tune. He ,was .an officer in the Cuirassiers of, tie Guard, but his .pecuniary embarrassments .led -to h*£ being 'liransf erred .front tihe capital' -to' alieutenancy in -the .•■Eleventh' Uhlans; in the less expensive atmosphere of Saarburg. He still, however, found an opportunity for prodigalities, and as "his mother refused to pay his debts he was obliged to leave the army altogether, and was placed under guardianship. Ev«n this measure failed to stave off- tihe -threaten ing ca-tas-trophe. At one time there was talk of a match between ■ him and Princess Marie Bonaparte, granddaughter of M. Blanc, of Monte Carlo. He offered her his hand, but th.9 Princess refused him. — Mountaineering Records. — The Duke of the Abruzzi haa failed in his ' attempt to reach the top of . Mount Godwin Austen. He can claim, however, with literal accuracy, that it is a case of high failure beintj b&tter than low succecis.. A telegram from Allahabad announces that the Duke's party has arrived at Bandipur, and "that before he turned back the Duke reached 1 on Mount Godwin Austen a height of 24,600 ft. This is between 3000 ft and 4000 f t, short of the summit, but it is several huitsdred feet higher than any other mounta-iiiser has climbed, either in the Himalayas or in any other part of the world. There has been a good deal of controversy as to who has hitherto held the record for high mountain climbing. In 1883 Mr .W. W. Graham ascended to -within a' few feet of the top of a Himalayan peak, which he believed to be Mount Eabru, which has a height, according to the trigometiricaJ smrvey of India, of 24,015 ft. Grave doubts have been entertained a3 to the correctness of Mr Graham's identification of the peak he climbed, but many eminent mountaineers, notably Dr T. G. Longstaff, se-3 no Teason to dispute the claim. The comparative eas« with which Mr Graham made the ascent was held to be evidence that he was mistaken in thinking be had conquered so lofty a summit, but a couple of years ago two young NorwegiatOT, Mr C. W. Rubeaison and' Mr Morarad-Aas, achieved with apparent ease th© ascent of one of the twin peaks of Kabru tip to a point only 50ft or 60ft from the top, reaching an altitude estimated at 23,900 ft. Apart from these performances, the previous highest climb is probably Dr Long&taffs ascent in 1907 of Mount Trisul, da the Garhwal Himalayas, 23,406 ft high. The American explorers, Dr and Mrs Workman, most indefatigable of mountaineers and most ardent of controversialists, come very close behind. In 1903 Dr Workman ascended a peak of 23,394 ft high in the Karakoram Himalayas above the Ghogo Lungma glacier, while in 1906 Mrs Workman herself climbed to

the top of a peak in the Nun Kun mountain group with an elevation of 23.263 ft. I — Fatal Attempt to Swim Niagara. — j A fatal attempt to swim the Niagara Rapids was witnessed by hundreds of horrified spectators in August, when an 18-year-old- boy named August Spower was caught by the torrent while bathing with threa companions. Spower went to swim in the quiet waters ben-eath the falls, where th« Maid of the Mist used to make daily landings. He struck out for th© mkfclte of the river, heedless of the cries of his companions, who warned him that the current was tco swift, and ' reached the drift before he noticed his ! peril. Then b© tried desperately to turn, I but could not. The rive? runs at this point at 12 miles, incre-adng lower down !in 30 miles an hour. The boy, realising the impossibility of human aid, deliberately swain down the gorge in an heroic efxort to accomplish what Captain Webb, the famous swimmer, dried in. attempting. His 4ight for life was watched by crowds of people. Xever in the history of th.a rapids was such a brave struggle w'tnessed. - Spower wact into the rapids swimniinsj strongly, aaid held his own until he "reached" the Giant Wave, wthich curls backwards to- a height of 30ft. It was this wave, as an old photographer has frequently remarked, that broke Captain Webb's back. Th© boy disappeared here for a nioroent, and then reappeared, being flung by the succeeding wave high above the surSace of the water. Holding j his body erect, the young swimmer battled on, appearing and disappearing at ! least a dozen times befora his strength ' was exhausted. He sank after swimming a hmxircd yards farther than the famous British swimmer. His body was seen in ! the whirlpool. \ — .Awaiting the ,Mil)ennium. — Remarkable scenes- -took' place last month) at '..Balljnamallard, -.County Ferma-' n-agh, - where :the sect 'known as the Coo- - meyites, •dr V Tramp Pieachexs,"' axe aciding a -great- revival convention. The " preaoheEs ?•: ■ profess'/ to be j the , • true j disciples -df Christ... v!They»osohew all worldly-.- 3 good«, live '.on tb®' simplest fare, and rely' or charitably-disposed persons for shelter and food. They take their name from Mr Edgar Cooney, one of their leaders, who is said, to have renounced, a fortune to take up tramp preaching. One of the leaders of the sect has a farm at Ballinamallard. aod most of t-he con-verts sleep on his land in the open air, though thoss who wish can have shelter in wooden huts or tsnts. The religious services last j all day and faT into the night. Some , 2000 pilgrims from various psa-ts. of the j world are gathered together, convinced tha-t the millennium may come at any moment. A daily feature wes the public baptism in Ballinamallard River of hundreds of converts. On the opening day one of the leaders addressed a meeting for live hours. The camp was visited daily by crowds. — Unsuitable Warship?. — Some curious experiments were made on a lake near Chermont-Ferrand (says an Express correspondent) by an inventor who claims to have fouiul a method of preventing warships from sinking or capsizicg, no matter how much they have been damaged. The inventor is M. Chartrain, a pianist. His first, expeiViT.-nl was with a model submarine 6ft in length. complete with water ba.tta^t. It we« first put on the water and floated. Th? water ballast was then put in, a.r.d the Mibmarir.e sunk., but just b-afora it e?i!c a [ hole was purposely made in the side. It remained under water for some tim<>, then came to the surface and floated. It floated, however, upside down. His second experiment was mo»\j satisfactory. A bcatitiful little modal of a v/nr-liip wa.» launched, and the guests were nskod to cannonade it with revolvers. Aitin-ugh the hull of the little ship wrus n idled with bullet holes the ship floated j-or-fectly. It did not even pink any rk?per in the water or appear to be in any danger of capsizing. The inventor refused' tc say anything about his secret until a contract had been signed with the French Government. He declares he is ready to submit to any reasonable test of his invention. — A Wonderful Dinner. — A wonderful dimaer and cotillion were recently given in London by the Baroness Eohardstein in honour of Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein. The room in which the dinner was served was transformed into a lovely English gairden. and the illusion wa« complete in every detail. The garden walls were of trellised red bricks, grown over with maeses of pink roses olimbinjc in every «faection. Roses

were everywhere, and the effect of atmosphere was obtained a canopy of blue gauze, dotted with stars, representing the clear evening sky. About the garden were arches adorned with pink ramblers and pergolas of Toses, which adidied to the beauty of the scene. Off this garden of delight was a sitting-out room, in the similitude of an old-fashioned bowling green, with a sundial and clipped box hedges, and all that one might expect to find in tthe real thing. The cotillion was led by th© Princess Maria Louise, who was carried into the ballroom in a gilded sedan cbair, lighted by electricity, ar.d completely covered by ma.lma.ison carnations. The different figures of the dance were marked by beautiful cotillion pre- | stilts, and in one ca^e 60 sunshades, bordered, and finished by roses, were the '■favours." A very original touch was introduced in one figure by a pair of glass scales on a pedestal decorated with ilowei'3, and surmounted by an open gi'-'led heart. Golden hearts of different Fizes were distributed among the dancers, and the ceremony of weisjhmijj m order to j ascertain whose hearts corresponded iv specific gravity was consul 3r<sti most amusing. — A Rockefeller Story. — ; Of the many stories that are in circu- ■ lation about Mr Rockefeller, here is one ! ■which is not only absolutely authentic, but which throws a curious light upon the- character of the famous millionaire. Many years ago Mr Rockefeller was a clerk in a Chicago house at a salary of £2 a week. He bad an ailment which required a simple and harmless operation. He went to a surgeon of high repute inCleveland, and arranged to pay so much a month. Not long ago the old complaint manifested Hself again, and Mr Rockefeller seat for the doctor of has youth. When the examination was over he remarked. " I won't keep you waiting for your money this time. Things have changed with me." " Oh,"' said th-i other, " I am out of practice ; I wish I no fee." Mo- Rockefeller stepped to his j desk, placed bills to the amount of £259 in an envelope, and . handed them over j to the surgeon with the remark : " .Well, I you don't want to take a fee ; perhaps you will kindly .sjive these to some poor young ! doctor of your acquaintance." —The Papal Court.— Contrasting the simplicity observed' at the Vatican under the present- Popo with th© rigid etiquette undetr his r-'&decessor, M. A. P. says : " Leo XIII was an. aristocrat to his finger tips. Born of an aristocratic family, accustomed from early years to Courts — for he was Papal Nuncio at. several of the Courts of EuTope — brought up in the ways aaid traditions of the Hol,y See at the time when it still had large temporal possessions, and one of the -temporal as well as spiritual } royal ti-ss of Europe, Leo XIII was- like th» late Queen — he never Tola sad the cc e-r-v.nios cf another age. When t:.i: pilgrim was brought in to have an audience he bad tc go through exacMy the tune rules ahd- etiquette as if the Pope had 'belonged to the eighteenth ;n-il«!ad of the [ nineteenth century.' Tharoughouit the I entire interview the- visitor — -whether man or woman — had to kneel down." Leo was ■ gracious and kindly and spoke freely, bu«t all the same the visitor had to kneel; tihere was no relxaitsotn of the old order." — An Oxford Socialist. — A Socialist living in Oxford showed his dislike of the Czar's visit by hoisting a black flag over his house, and displaying a beard on which were the words, "No •Welcome to th© Hanging Czar." Hostile demonstrations were without effect, and an attempt to secure the flag led to water being thrown on the attacking party. A j bonfire was afterwords made, and the Socialist was burnt in effigy. Subsequently the flag wa.s ' secured buyb u v a party of six men.. They assisted one of their number to tihe roof, andt the flag was ripped i off. As it was brought to the ground cheers were given, and tihere were loud shout* of disapproval when any of the inmates appeared at the windows. The man who seized this flag was afterwards hoisted shouldei** -hish and carriel through Ihe streets, the crowd singing "Rule, Britannia." and the XationaJ Anthem. Afterwards the Socialist displayed another black flag. A youth, armed with a Raw. ! climbed to th:- rof s.ni cut the na.k'no'e • down, affixing a Unioni Jack to the t-him- < ney-stack.