Daily British Whig (1850), 15 Apr 1915, p. 14

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AUSTRALIAN IN BAD FiX WHEN WAR BROKE OUT, Farmer From the Antipodes, Whe Has Just Arrived In London Has a Strange Story to Tell of His Adventures In Germany -- Had Been Jailed for Assaunlt--Brothe) Convicts Sent to the Front. An Australian farmer, who has arrived in London from Germany tells an interesting story of the past six months, so far as it concerns his personal history. He says: During May last year I was making a plea- sure trip through Germany. I was going to Hamburg from Berlin, and had engaged a seat in the train by placing my luggage upon it. While I was pmoking a cigar in the corridor, a German removed by luggage and took my place. e refused to give it up and I lost my temper and struck him. In the fight that ensued the Ger- man fell through the door on to the platform and was injured severely. I was imprisoned for two months before I was brought to trial in Ber- lin before & bench of five judges Though my counsel pleaded that the German's fall from the train was the result of an accident, the prosecu- tor's version that.1 threw him out out of the train was accepted, and I was sentenced to five months' impris- onment, 1 was first sent to Siegburg Prison, near Cologne.: Here 1 stayed for severi weeks and heard of the declar- ation of war whils I was there. 1 was set to work at making butions, the first I made being for the British market. After the outbreak of war I was gent away to the prison at Cassel, a gaol which has the reputation of be- ing "easy." Here I had to make lead soldiers for thd English market. About 15,000 soldiers of all kinds are made daily in the Cassel gaol The food was very bad and I was kept working from 6 am, to 8 p.m. As soon as I realized that Great Britain was at war witn Germany, 1 determined that I must hide my na- tionality. The only evidence the authorities had of this was that my prison docket was marked "English," because that was my native fongue, but they had no papers of mine. 1 therefore sald I was an American; and this secured better treatment for me than I should have received if it had been known that I was British. After a time I was given easy work and came into contact with other pris- oners, The German authorities were recruiting soldiers from the prisons. All prisoners under forty were sent for and asked if they wanted to serve Those who volunteered were let off the rest of their sentence. Those who had already done their military ser- vice were sent straight to the front; those who had not yet served were despatched to training camps. Two of the prisoners who used to help me with the food were despatch- ed to the army. One was a clerk from a big shop who was serving a sentence of three years for embezz!- ing. He had eight months of his sen- tence to run when he went off. and another prisoner had a year and two months to do when he was 'released Only the ordinary prisoners, who oc- cupied a separate wing of the prison, were allowed to volunteer for the army. Some of the released prisoners sent back to the gaol officials picture postcards from the front. 1 made friends in prison with a Berblan who was serving a sentence for stabbing a man. He pretended that he was an Austrian. We used to laugh together at the fabulous tales of German victories always circulating through the gaol. As 1 had made myself out to be an American, when my release came I persuaded tho prison governor to give me a ticket to Frankfort so that I might call on the American Consul At Zurich, who had managed to send me word that he had money for me. From Frankfort, after many difficul- ties, 1 reached Zurich. Now I am back in London I mean to have a fortnight's rest and then try to go to the front and get ¢ little o! my own back. Both in face and frame the ..ustra- lian shows traces of the suffering he endured in German prisons. His tlothes hang quite loosely on him When Water Gets Into a Watch. A watchmaker who has worked at the bench for aver a quarter of a century gives this advice to wateh owners who may accidentally get water into their watches: Do not open your watch until you secure some sort of dish into which to place it and also enough kerosene to cover it all over. Any old tin can will do. Open your watch case, both front and back covers, and carefully move it around in the kerosene until you have filled it with oil. Allow it to remit in the kerosene until you can have it cleaned. It will come out of the oil without any of the parts rusting, thus saving much expense and the watch. ' Teuton Nerve! certain whether the German Govern- ment would be willing to consent to an exchange of civilian prisoners in- in "Germany. The German reply was that they would require some such rate of ny en so one a have to release oy SPANISH HOTELS. Plenty of Show and Promise, But Not Much of Anything Else. Some idea of life in a large Spanish hotel may be gathered from Mr. W. D. Howells" book, 'Familiar Spanish Travels." The author says that in mst cases the hotels were hospitable, but bad. At a Granada hotei the door refused to latch, and Mr. Howells tells us that the infirmity of the door latch was emblematic of a tempera. mental infirmity in the whole botel. There was a glitter, almost a glare, of Ritzlike splendor, and the rates were Ritzlike, but there the resemblance ceased. "The porter followed us to our rooms on our arrival and told us in excellent English--which excelled less and less throughout our stay--that he was the hall porter and that we could confidently 'refer all our wants |. to him, but their reference seemed al- ways to close the incident. There was a secretary who assured us that our rooms were not dear, and who could not, out of regard to our honor and comfort, consider cheaper ones, and then ceased to appear until he re- ceipted our bill when we went away. "There wis a splendid dining-room with waiters of such beauty and dig- nity, and so purple from clean shav- ing that we scarcely dared to face them, and there were luncheons and dinners of rich and delicate super- abundance in the menu, but of an ex- quisite insipidity on the palate and of a swiftly vanishing Barmecide in- substantiality, as if they were ban- quets from the 'Arabian Nights' imag- ined under the rule of the Moors. "Everywhere shone silver bright, radiators, such as we had not seen since we left their like freezing in Burgos; but, though the weather presently changed from an Andalu. sian softness to a Castilian severity after a snowfall in the sierra, the ra- diators remained Insensible to the difference, and the air nipped the nose and fingers wherever one weni in the hotel. The hall porter, who knew everything, sald the boilers were out of order, and a traveler who had been there the winter before con- firmed him with the testimony that they were out of order even in Jans uary: There may not have been any fire under them then, as there was none 'now, but if they needed repair. ing now it was clearly because they needed repairing then. "In the corner of one of our rooms the frescoed plastering had scaled off, and we knew that if we came back a year later the same spot would offer us a familiar wel-4 come." Sight Lost and Restored. A farmer's wife who had had much trouble with her servants was accost. ed by one of them. "I fear I shall not be abie to work much longer. I think-I am going blind." "Why, how is that? Yo: seem to get along pretty well with your work." "Yes, but I can no longer see any meat on my plate at dinner." The farmer's wife understood, and the next 'day the servants were serv- ed with very large and very thin pieces of meat. "How nice!" the girl exclaimed. "My sight has come back. I can see better than ever." "How is that, Bella?" asked the mistress. "Why, at this moment," replied Bella, "I can see the plate through the meat."--London Scraps. Knew Where It Would End. An officer attached to the British headquarters In a letter to his wife writes: : "In war the views and ideas of your enemy are at least as instructive and isteresting as any comments you may hear from your own people, Therefore the following notions from the lips of a German officer recently captured are certainly worthy of your consideration, as the conclusion he drew contained a strong element of common sense. "He was asked how long he thought the war would last. He re- plied that he was unable to form a definite opinion, but that he would be very pleased to prophesy where it would end. So he was asked to pro- ceed and then said, "Within forty yards of where I was captured." Easily Gauged. Old Benjamin Dwyer was accus- tomed to treat his guests withsweet cider, and, although the barrel stood in the darkest corner of a dark cel- lar, he never carried a lamp on his trips for a fresh supply. One even. ing Mr. Brookings, the minister, was his guest. "It must be quite an art to fill the pitcher so accurately in the dark without running it over," said Mr. "Waal, no, "taint "xactly diffeult," , NO, n't Benjamin replied. 'You see, when the cider gets up to the first joint of my thumb I stop." Satisfaction. A barefooted darky while hosing : , thinking it was mole's head, hit it and hurt : got tired, set his foot on a stump and sald, "Well, jes pain away now, hurts yeself ~ a 1 doesn't care; you me." .| teen times to wind it clear up," said | [Bary & Practical FHomé Dresr Making Lerrons Prepared Especially For This Newspaper by Pictorial Review THE PLEATED POCKET. self-material. Voile, serge or cotton gabardine looks well made up after this model. In recounting the fashionable detalls of spring agd summer costumes, prom- fnenceé must be given to the pocket Combined with the decorative features of the pocket is service, for women of fashion carry handkerchiefs and little toflet articles that come into frequent use in thé pockets placed opposite the hips. Four yards of 44-inch material are sufficient to make the design. Eeconomy can be practiced in the cutting of the material. After folding the material in half, carefully place the front gore over it so that. although the pattern rests on a lengthwise fold, the edges of the pattern will be even with the selvedge of the cloth. Now. oppo- site the front gore and on a lengthwise fold arrange the back and the collar both of which are marked with tripe "TT'T" perforations. To the right o! these two sections the back gore i: placed (also on a lengthwise fold), anc to the right of the back gore the bel ia laid. Following the beit. but so raised that it rests on a lengthwise thread, Is placed the cuff. The sieeve, pockets and front are laid on a length. wise thread of cloth. The box pleats must be formed very carefully in the pockets to give the proper effect. [If material is scarce, however, the home dressmaker will ind it an excellent plan to stitch narrow bias folds over the pockets and the re- The details featured on this one- sult will be practically the same as it plece costume are pleated pockets of a pleat had been laid in the goods. CUTTING GUIDE 6060 POCKETS 2 ° v ° ° POD) FRONT GORE ove CE AXED i Lo Lf afl [/ y 1 FOLD OF 54 INCH MATERIAL WITH NAP Pateated April 30.1907 Pictorial Review Costume No. 6050. Sizes 14, 18. 18 and 20 years. Price, 18 cents. my FEEDING OF FERNS. ' How To Gauge The War News. . Ee a i The following credibility index has Necessary Once In Two Or Four! pean compiled by {he military expert Weeks for Proper Preservation | of Punch, One hundred, he says, Ferns should be fed once in two or stands in the table for absolute re- four weeks in the place of ordinary) liability; nil for the perfect and ut- watering with dilute nitrate of soda; ter lie: -- (a heapig teaspoonful to a quart of London, Paris, or Petrograd of- water), ammonia water (a teaspoon-| ficial ............ ful of ammonia to a quart,) or ma-, do., unofficial . nure, leachings, says an exchange. Berlin, official Prepared plant food or a little sprin-! "It is believed in military cir- kling of ground bone and wood ash-| cles here that" os also give satisfaction. Ferns as| "A correspondent who has just they come from the florist's prepar-| returned from the firing line ed for indoor culture, should be| tells me that" placed in a strong light, though they, "It grow well without sunlight. They hi should be watered sparingly, but should be kept moist at all times. Improper watering especially keeping the plant soaked or permit- nounces"' ting it to get dry, is the foundation Berlin unofficial of most fern difficulties. It is especi- "I learn from a ally difficult not to overwater when, chant" .... . the fern is in a jardiniere, where| "A story is current in Venice to drainage is necessarily poor. In| the effect that" spring and summer they will require| "It is rumered that" three times the water necessary in, "I have heard to-day from a re- fall and winter. { liable source that" "I learn on unassailable author- ity "It is rumored that" . Wolll's Bureau states .... 100 50 25 24 18 17 dam wires" "Our correspondent at Rome an 13 neutral mer- A Lady Colonel. London Sphere. Colonel Alexandra Koudasheva, commanding the Sixth Ural Cossack Regiment, is the only woman who actually commands such a body of men at the front. She has seen ex- ceptional service since the war be- gan, and has twice been wounded in encounters in East Prussia. At the outbreak of the war Mme. Koudash- eva joined the Cossack regiment in which her husband had served years ago. Since that time she has receivéd the Cross of St. George, the Victoria Cross of Russia, for bravery, and has become a lieutenant and finally a col- in Rotterdam Paying a War Indemnity. How would such a huge war in- demnity as may be imposed on the- | defeated belligerents, be paid? A i London economic writer answers by | telling how France paid her $1,000,- {000,000 indemnity to Prussia after 11871. "The French Government re- mitted $20,000,000 in German notes i and coin bought in the market, $100, {000,000 in Frenth gold and silver, onel. She has also been promised the | $25.000,000,000 in French bank military pension which her husband, | 2Otes. $610,000,000 in bills on Ger- who died several years ago, failed to! Mady, $235,000,000 in bills on oth- receive. | er countries, and was allowed $65,- oy | 000,000 as value of the Alsace-Lor- Why She Stopped. | raine railways. * The mistress engaged the girl. At the end of their first day together, The head and the heart don't al- the maid was instructed to mount Ways pull together. Manyra bleached the stepladder and wind the tall blonde has a light head, with a fourteen-day clock. heavy ' heart. ""You have to turn the key Heart failure four- | wal a lot of medi: clog mistress. "Once for each day the turned the key seven times, --ad she stepped down. "Why didn't you finish?" her mis- 'ause," said the girl, "I am not shall be here longer than oné I am not going to do the work." sure 1 week, next girl's End of the World. . The continuous decay of vegetation generates ammonia. As many sclen- tists have said, -there is more am-, monia in the atmésphere now than there was 10,000 years ago, and con- siderable more than there was one million years ago. Fresh supplies are added year after year, so that in @ future day there will be an exceed: ingly great quantity of it. Now, ammonia has a combustive property. If the atmosphere should get laden with it a universal con-| flagration would be inevitable. The outbreak of a volcano or a flash of lightning would be sufficient to cause space would become a mass of raging' flame which would boil the rivers and seas, converting them into hot vap-| ors, which would devour all living creatures, all forms of vegetable lite, | would bake the earth and perbape burn it to cinders. The earth could be converted into smoke within 'a second. It could be hurled out of its course and made to come into dreadful collision with an- other planet, or, thrown dangerously near the sun, it would be drawn by the wonderful solar attraction into the fiery bosom of that bright mon- arch of the universe. The horror of such a catastrophe appears unspeakably great -- some- thing from which the startled imag- ination recoils and staggers. And yet, after due reflection, we must ad- mit that the prospect is sublime rath- er than horrible. Anticipation of an intolerable pain is worse than the pain itself, A human being Is cap- able of pain up to a certain degree only, as also of pleasure up to a cor- respondingly high degree, and no more. Nay, one person is ¢apable of more suffering and more enjoyment thas another, and it is altogether a fallacious notion that there Is as much agony when a fly is crushed "as when a giant dies." How often, after long and dismal anticipation of a tragic event, we have found at the last that the anticipa- tion of a tragic event outran the real- ity. This is caused not only by the quickness and resourcefulness of mind, but also by the circumstance that we cannot bear more than a cer- tain measure of pain and affliction, Then, too, it must be remembered that as every extreme causes its op- posjte, as a white heat gives a sensa- tion of cold, as frost can burn like fire, as laughter can end in tears and tears in laughter, as wisdom some- times subsides into folly, and the jes- ter will utter the sayings of a sage, so excess of pain may end in a sort of thrilling pleasure, and this may account for the sudden ecstacies of martyrs under tortuge. The passing of earth, then, would not cause so much human pain as is generally believed. It would prob- ably be nothing more than the sudden awakening into a new world from an outgrown condition of being. Thumbs of the Gorilla. The gorilla and chimpanzee, which belong to the higher order of apes. have many points of resemblance to man, byt there is one thing they can- not do=--that is, twiddle their thumbs. In the gorilla the thumb is short and does not reach much beyond the bot- tom of the first joint of the forefinger. It is very much restricted in its move- ments, and the animal can neither twiddle his thumbs nor turn them round so that the tips describe a cir- ele. . There are the same number of bones in the hand of the gorilla as in the hand of a man, but the thumbs of the monkey have no separate flexor or bending muscle. This is why a monkey always keeps the thumb on the same side as thé fingers and nev- er bends it round any object that may be grasped. Plain English. A Frenchman staying in an Ameri-. can town called at the postoffice and inquired whether there were any let- ters for him. "I didn't hear the name," said the clerk. 'My name is Paul Lorendeau. Don't you know how tor understood English?" "How do you spell it?" asked the clerk, "That fs not you' business!" sald monsieur. "Just give me my mails!" "I can't give you your mail if I do not know how you spell the name." "I don't know how for spell him, and I don't care if you don't give to me my mails, but I tell you one thing, you better go straight off and sell dis postofice and buy some schoolhouse!" said the Frenchman, Pain Is a Hint to the Wise. Une thing that should be regarded seriously is pain in any form in any part of the body. If there is a dull headache frequently, find out what Pain in the knee, the arch should be There is one Brookfield story that I a the circumambient air to ignite--all § Se ah Mn Bring then th ME SE SA For Over Thirty Years CASTORIA Ladies' Cloth Top Boots In different styles and ~colors, We have sever- i al of latest heels, as well as the spool heel. $3.50 and $4.00 Street H. JENNINGS, PE ----, - King cata tin. Why Not Telephone? If you telephone him first you may not have to go at ali! 3 If you would just femember to observe this rule of first using the Long Distance Telephone, you would save yourself and your staff many tiresome trips, unnecessary disappointments and much expense. ery much. I have t. Brookfield was in the by an an- who said: 1d that in the Green Room ve seen it in M e-busisss) found that by a systematic and persistent use of the Long Distance Telephone travell- ing expense can be reduced anywhere from 20 to 80 per cent. : : Why not adopt this principle in your business? Telephone first! Try to figure can save you precious time tliers Rell Fotamhane ln Lang Distance Savion The Bell Telephone Co. of Canada. -

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