REMARKABLE CRANKS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 82

REMARKABLE CRANKS.

That possession of much of the world's goods is frequently attended by the rrianii festatioii of the wierdest eccentricities on | the part of the owners is amusingly illusj trated hy the following curious instances i given in an American, paper : In Vienna there lives a wealthy man, a Pole of noble origin, occupying sumptuous . apartments in the heart of ; the capital's I fashionable quarter, who, when he wishes • to. summon, his servants, does so by means 1 of bugle calls. A favourite pastime of this j eccentric ie to drive an omnibus, attired J like an ordinary driver of such a vehicle, ! wherever be may find aristocratic equip- | pages to be most numerous. -The Viennese i assert that, while he spends a fortune each j year" upon, his raiin'ent, yefrhe is never elad I in any save the discarded garments of his i valet. On, one occasion the Pole astounded I the guests at a ball .by appearing in a ] costume of pure white, with the notable j exceptions of shirt and tie/ ivhich were entirely black. To complete the oddities, it may be added that when dining, which lie invariably accomplishes alone at a table d'hote, he ■ maintains his reputation for crankiness by reversing the usual order of ; things, and beginning his meal with -a i demitasse, working backward to the soup. It was not long ago that there died in i an Eastern town a wealthy eccentric, who. | though he had never for years been oilt- • side the grounds surrounding his residence, was accustomed to boast each day that he had walked to certain towns, generally at a great distance from his house. What he actually did was this: Whenever he decided that it would be an excellent idea to visit a distant town, he ascertained its exact distance from his home and covered it on foot on. a carefully measured walkifljo: track maintained for this purpose Should he desire to call on his friends near by, he would do so by proxy, at the same time conducting a conversation with tlu:m by means of the servants, whom he «?wt ni relays with certain questions, with strict | injunctions to'bring'the'answers as speedily as possible.' j A well-known Parisian, according to his own statement, has for many years defied the weather by drinking a solution of camphor, which in his opinion is an excellent substitute for clothin?. It is .that winter and,. summer .alike -find him

sleeping without a particle of c'cth'ingj with the windows of his apartment tin own wide open. It has been, his custom also to stroll in the garden, even on bitterly cold days, in a garment much resembling that ordinarily worn by normal people only at night. Among the wealthy eccentrics of England was a man who lived near Hastings. Hie fad excited much attention and amusement among his neighbours. Punctually a' noon each day he would appear in his front yard with a crimson turban on his head, his feet covered with richly embroidered and jewelled sandals, and with a coolie doth round hi? waist. Then, absolutely indfferent to the hoots of the people in the street, he would pray aloud to the sun, " the father of light and good," and immediately afterwards prostrate himself before a quaint miniature temple wherein was enshrined a grotesque idol with dia.nond eyes. What made his eccentricity remarkable was the fact that he was not of Eastern origin, nor had he ever been converted to any religious faitli or cult of the East.