" BELSIUH'S PLAINS ARE RED WITH BLOOD. Nearly Every Great Commander Has Foughton Her As Mer ack as history reads Bel- gium has been the battling-ground of the races. Before the dawn of '@uthentic history .the degends. of that land i" of -battling between the tribes of an' err Rage wre rn- ary man, too, probably battled there for the supremacy. There is no do but the Celtic peoples coming into Western Europe fought on. the plains of ----- with those who preceded th The first battle "ok the Aisne was fought 1,000 years ago. The Aisne river is a short distance south of the present boundary of Belgium, but it formed the original southern boundary, and it was across the Aisne that Julius Caesar had to cross to subdue the Belgians. In writing about the battles with them Caesar said: "The bravest of the: Gauls are the Belgians." Only after a terrific fight was Caesar able to conquer these fierce people. Cae- sar's main reason for fighting the Belgians was to get at the Germans. Running south from the Swiss Alps is a long range of mcuntains and hills extending into the plains of Belgium. These hills. are fine places for defending armies to en- trench themselves. 'Only by pass- ing to the north of the hills can an invading army meet the defenders on equal terms. These natural obstructions have made little Belgium, with its 11,373 square miles, the fighting ground of the ages. Densely Populated. In spite of the frequent invasions Belgium is the most densely popu- lated country in the world. Its pop- ulation is almost 8,000,000 people. Crowded in such a small.sptee the people, naturally. cannot make a living from the land. The living is made chiefly in manufacture ant trade with other countries. In the earlier days Belgium was everrun by the migrating Teutonic -tribes. The Vandals, Franks and! other tribes of German peoples forcing their way into Western Eu- rope, fought on the plains of gium for a passage. They usually crossed the land. The Vikings de- soénded © from Denmark, Norway and Sweden and for several hun- Ored ¥ rs ravage be cossbs. 1 _» erossed Belgium to g ha the peo- ple farther inland. In all that time Belgiim 'was' known by~* various names and owed allegiance to vari- ous kings: It has been united with the Netherlands. It has been part of F rance. The Austrian and Span- ish kings ruled over it. "It was part of Caesar's empire and a part of the Holy Roman empire. For a time its princes paid fealty to the Danes but throughout all its history the Belgian people maintained their individuality in customs and lan- guage. Above all. else they have maintained the reputation for bravery and love of freedom. Many of the cities of the land have been sacked repeatediy. Take, for instance, the city of Maastricht. In the 500 years be- tween the year 900 and 1,400 it was besieged, taken and plundered six times. In the war with Spain, which lasted fifteen years, it was taken by the Spaniards, the Prince ere, Ni Dutch. Pancer. had 116,697 Prus- sians. Although outnumbered al- most ¢wo to one, Napoleon entered the fight »with confidence. at- tacked Blucher at Ligny and forced him to-fall back. The streets of Ligny were filled ee d fighting was defeat the scicees ts se 1 " 'Blucher's-Masterly Retreat saved his army from annihilation Nepoleon was paygliaren to 'follow up his Sere of Blucher because 'Wel- lington was advancing and threat- ened his aaa He had. had to rs Wel- lington first. If he could have de- feated Wellington 6n that memor- able day 100 years ago next June 18th, he could then have turned his full-force on Blucher. Wellington had the advantage of receiving Na- poleon' s attack. He did not have to win a victory in a hurry. Delay was in his favor because it would come up. Napoleon had to win a decisive victory quickly. Hurling his force against Wellington he pushed the fight, but Blucher came to the rescue. e tide turned against Napoleon and he fled to Paris, leaving his dead and wound- ed on the field to be cared for by the hospitable Belgians. That Belgium and Holland are separate countries is due probably to the fact that Spain onee forced her rulership over the land. The countries are very closely related and there are no natural boundaries between them. The Netherlands, of which Bel- gium.was a part, permitted the Spanish to rule over them until Philip I]. became king of Spain. The people of Antwerp, Amsterdam and other seaports objected to his interference with trade. They were even then a great commercial] peo- ple. War"broke out. Holland, now called the Netherlands, was more successful in resisting the Duke of Alva, Spain's chief general. Wil- liam of Orange cut the dykes and flooded the Duke of Alva out of the lowlands, but the Spanish were more successful in the highlands. Although the Belgian part of the ; Netherlands gained its freedom, it | took longer. In the meantime, the people living under the Spanish in- fluence became Catholic in religion, while the Hollanders were for the most part Protestants. In. these days Protestants and Catholics can live in harmony together, but Demanded Independence. Napoleon annexed Belgium France. It remained a part of France until Napoleon's downfall, when the kings of Europe united it iwith Holland. The Belgians were restive under Dutch rule. Differ- ences in religion were the chief cause of dissention. In 1830, when Europe suffered from rebellion af- ter rebellion, the Belgians also de- manded independence. Placards with red letters were secretly posted one night on the street corners of Brussels defining the following programme: "Mon- day, fireworks; Tuesday, illumina- tions; Wednesday, revolution." The revolution came to pass as scheduled. The biggest fight of that war was in Brussels itself. The Belgians were led by a wooden- legged general from Liege. His name was Charlier. He is one of the national herogs of Belgium. of Orange, Prince Maurice, Fred-| Charlier had the women make dum erick Henry and sacked every time.|mies of straw. These dummies It was besieged four times in the| were shoved upon the breastworks wars between Louis XIV. and Wil-| and the Dutch would open fire. The liam nr., anchin. the Napoleonic; dummies would fall - 'behind the wars \gi iin it was -- during | breastworks to be shoved up again. the revolution of 1830 The Dutch wasted their ammuni- Maastricht's teas Sieges. tion and at the decisive time the ne a Belgians rushed to the attack, Piety TdKe fifteen sieges and Four days the Belgians and captures f v Maas tricht. The Worst |) Dutch fought in the streets. The siege probably was in 1579, when it} streets were filled with the dead and was captured after a siege lasting wounded before the Dutch were 3), months. The captors pillaged finally driven out. Belgium named the city and butchered the inhabit-! yey own king, and since that time ants. Only 400 persons survived of| has been exceedingly jealous of her a vily of 34,000 population. Brussels also has a career of de- struction. The destruction caused by the movement of German troops is not nearly as serious as the de- struction caused by the movement of other troops. Brussels was be- sieged in 169% by the French. In 1706 it surrendered to the Duke of Marlborough. Forty years later the French besieged it. It has been said that no great general in the history of the world, with the exception of Hannibal and Alexander the Great, missed fight Ing a battle on Belgian soil. Na- en fought the final battle there. at was the greatest battle ever fought on Belgian' soil unless some battles of this present war have exceeded it. The numbers then were small eannee' pie adhe 4 num- bers engaged. in con- flict, but the Baile "a D Gators was of more significance: because it ruined Napoleon and r'settled hié:caresr'as the ghief ruler of Eu- rope; Napoleon's army in that bat- tle numbered 192,400 men. Welling- independence. Belgium has been at peace with the world, except with a few smal! uprisings, until the present war. By ile and ski!l the Belgians have built u A Cousiee of Great Wealth. They are a manufacturing people and their factories turn out pro- ducts for sale in all lands. What farming is done is done intensively. The farmers have only a few acres and these acres are made to yield abundantly. Fertilization is car- ried on with the greatest care. Bel- gium owns the most fertile lands in Africa. The Congo State pays tri- bute to Belgium. Under the at a of. Leopold the Congo was cruelly governed. It was exploited for Leopold's private gain. The stories of his cruelty in the Congo: astoun the . world: Bince his death the Congo has been governed with much more consider- ation The greatest horrors of this pre- sent war in Belgium are due more tn's army 'numbered "205,900 men. to the shutdown of the factories sate 'the "horses" Of 3 -lcause their agricultural Jands ~ | one bit. give time for Blucher to reform and | While many cities Bate ye aged, and while many cities been forced to pay tribute to the Germans, yet lack of employme is.at the bottem of the greatest tress With the factories and shipy idle the commerce Belgium' the world is.at a standstill. 'small and Abe German soldiers ha é e. ring 'because of . ment aoe chat Gan not been exaggere Belgian fefuanes haye thron aged Holland, France and England. te who cannot get away. Pb Ta BEA Incident in the Life of the @ Commander. fame when at the beginning of the. war he was given supreme command of the English fleets in the N. Sea, entered the navy in 1872, when | he was thirteen years of age. Ten ine any be en ies re years later, he carried off the £80}; ,4¢ you look? 'I "should," I = prize for gunnery at the Royal Na- plied. 'Well, you can't,' eaid ¢ val College at Greenwich. 'Shortly friend.' ~ after that feat, which is the more strumental in improving the marks- ¥ | manship of the fleet. by nearly thirty / }and tells it with all the more zest, ADMIRAL JELLICOE'S MEDAL.| himesel been Sir Jehn Jellicoe, who leaped intoy; noteworthy because he has been in-|_ _ LORD ALVERSTONE.-- Webster, oe many @ | er- huckled wath over sioaen For |- Alverstone loves a eatery atory, <a, The Spinster's Rebuke. There is another stody, 'too, per cent., he was appointed a junior} staff officer of a vessel under com-' mand of Captain--now Lord--Fish- er; and in 1886, when serving in ie Monarch, he was awar | Board of Trade silver medal for lantry" in saving life at sea. story is told in Tit-Bits: ne incident occurred near Gi- braltar. The crew of a steamer had been stranded on a sand bank, and the seas were running so furiousl any efiect a rescue. But the storm was too great. [Sr The}? which Lord Alverstone tells against ein rence of his fondness for On one occasion when, SirRe Richard W febater, he addressed | W 'B political igri he concluded by ging to the audience. is so b sacred one, was heard with even re attention than his speech. At the close a gaunt spinster arose at the back of the audience and said: "With your face and your voice, Richard, you ought to be ench,"' he Was a member of Kensington Parish Church choir, which he first juined 40 years boat could not live in the seething} sea, and soon capsized. Fortunate-} ly, the crew were all provided with an cork jackets, and, these, they managed to keev alive} until they were washed ashore. That} is hot Jellicoe won his silver ts loss was no less exciting. In June, commander, Victoria, flagship of Sir was. impos|.. ryon, in the Mediterranean, | he was in that ship 'when she € off Tripoli, ered been rammed the Camperdown place, he was on the sick bso first intimation of the catastrophe into collision. te Victoria: at once took a decided | hurried on deck in his pajamas. were hastening below in order to secure some of their belongings. But with half an eye Jellicoe saw that such a course might prove fatal for them, "Come to the upper deck with me," he advised; and the officers, realizing that they were beside' a man who knew how to keep his head, instantly obeyed. Only just in time however. A few moments later the Victoria began to heel over, and all three were pitched into the fea. ne of the two was killed by the propeller, but the other, although injured:in his fall, was picked up with Com- mander Jellicoe. Twenty-one officers and nearly 350 men in all were-drowned in that collision, ha the Victoria went down, " 's" Board of Trade silver me- dai dad down with it; and, a recipient, it did not come up gain. As soon as possible he noti- fied the Board of Trade of his loss, and asked them if he could have an- other medal to replace the one he had lost; to which request the Board polite ly replied that he could certainly have another--if he cared to pay for it! unlike oh Battles of the 19th Century. During the-nineteenth century 586 pasties were fought. This is exclud- ng all the smaller engagements, vii, if reckoned along with the rest, bring the total up to 8,102 -- that is, 81 battles per year, or & fraction over one and. a half every week during the full hundred years. British battle-grounds were spread over the following nineteen coun- tries:--France, India, Austria, Russia, Belgium, Egypt, America, Ashanti, Afghanistan, ina, Zealand, Zululand, Persia, Abyssinia, Burmah, Ma- #honaland, Corea and the Trans- vaal a ee ee After marrying in haste many a poor man-has to hustle-during; his leisure: "Do yéu think married' peo le are happy,.Uncle Jake?' "Dat ar' "pends altogether how. dey'. enjoy themselves Fond Mother--Do you detect any signs of genius, professor? The Professor--Madam, r am not a'de- bugged up by} to an attack of Malta fever, sen his | came when he felt the ships come} (J He leaped ae rok his berth and} Here he met two junior officers, who i Tora Alverstone. ~ and he is still a member of the y Glee Club, which first knew 1m in, 1867 And in Lord Alver- mene. opinion. the - part-singing en at the meetings of the Abbey Glee Club, held on-the second Tues- y of every month during ten months of the year, is quite the best that-can be~heard in London. Tm his college days--half a cen- tury ago--he came out. as a long- distance runner at Cambridge, and won the mile and two miles against Oxford 1865. Lord "Alverstone confesses that he did not work very well in those days, being more de- voted to sport than to study, and racquets, sculling, running and cricket found in him an ardent de- votee. Itis to Lord Alverstone and his friends, Perey M. Thornton and the late C. B. Lawes, that the 'V ar- sity of Cambridge owes its Athletic Club of to-day, which, up to 1863, had not been organized in any way. Is an Early Riser. Thorough in his profssion as well as in sport, there is no doubt that Lord Alverstone owes much of his success to his indefatigableness and custom of rising early. e haa al- ways been a firm believer .in the maxim that an hour in the morning is worth four of five at night, and he thinks a barrister can best do, *, his preparatory work before break- ; Lord Alverstone pays a tribute to the 'wit and humor of Sir "one of my most intimate friends." A new - story concerns an occasion when the re- spondent in a certain divorce case was charged with cruelty to his & who. all alleged book at her; which had. cut Sar head rs) ir Henry James, to whom Sir Frank was as junior at. the time, asked the re nt w aeeen tion he could' give of the inc vsti 9 sd » Sir Henry," he aes "all that I can-say is. that we afew words, and I was turning tee the leaves of a book, when it flew out of, *haaae'" eit i interposed qu uiet- eee a circulating library, I sippoce | 2 dass hon: Teitineie' bs told clerks, bi the fol= ~|stone' does not remeniber to f n't they been asking you he thing ?"' "Oh, yes, cad ie anid; 4 h have asked me prio a by |P provincial towns of France long the sap of the duchy of Lor Lor- as = vicar. through the endless | splendid square, re of a ser gresler: city, 'the Place Carriere, hardly Jess im- ithe Cordeliers, | vietory over Charles of Burgundy, und with iron wire. bectme impregnated with this 'iron, and the-eolor of the pearls was eeri- heve | Lord Hersch hell, ponte aR pipe ove ommer Chief Tuntioe of England Sir. Bonen, had a elerk who Report of. Loves a Goed Story, sch tae ea - "a yous me teed Growers'. . whic r.. Justice ilhes Z ak ng To. his never-failing idee ae Wed back at the end of} A great deal has appeared = in the ¥ pig Vacation, eae press of | ) rege Wisits élerk w was ig "on ea ee - ; clerk said, "Nothing 'a ,"' and Papers of other wn« "Well,"' said Herechell, "but have-| suspected colors. They The city of Nancy, which is edt stantly mentamed in the from the tegion sats the upper Meuse is one of ee most ne rea was * bath to a a time of ti the i eiseck Rev-|': ion. ~ Balaton! and Holland, exe Parts of the ingia, as it was called in the ninth century when Lothair, the great-grandson of Oharlemagne, in- herited it. Little by little its terri astic marriages of the Middle Agee Part' of the time it was a member of the Holy Roman Empire; part of the time 'it was a fief of France ; most of the time it was self- -governing. rey of Bouillon was one of its dukes. Charlee the Bold, Duke of Burgun- dy, tried to it to his omains, nd fafled. He fell in battle under the very walls of Nancy. The-dukes of 'Guise, who disputed with the house of Valois the throne of France, were once rulers in Lor- raine. Duke Francis of Lorraine married the Empress Maria Ther- esa,, and his heirs male sit on the throne of Austria-Hungary to-day; but he had to give up Lorraine to Stanislas, ex-king of Poland, as part of the bargain. Stanislas's daughter Maria was the wife of , and when Stanislas died in 1766 the duchy became part of France. Half of it, including the stronghold of Metz, Germany took after the War of 1870. The rest, in- cluding Nancy, is still French. Few. provincial capitals are. so ugh the fine eee "or triumph | erected in honor of Louis XV. with There are some fine old especially the Church of built by old Duke in 1482 to commemorate his pressive, churches, Rene and the cathedral, which is copied from the church of Santa Andrea' della Valle in oo There is the ducal palace a handsome building erected i in nthe fifteenth cen- tury Naney has seen its share of war. It was besieged again a again during the Middle Ages, and Sedan, Gravelotte and Rezonville, famous fields of the War of 1870, are near} by. But it is no longer a fortified town ; and since Verdun, a little to the west, is the strategic point of the region, it is likely this year, as in 1870, to bear the brunt of the fighting, while Nancy goes compar- atively free. ae | eNNneE PLANTING PEARLS. A Company Is Experimenting in the Indian Ocean. Many attempts have been made to encourage oysters to produce | pearls. The Chinese have done od with a certain degree of success by dropping fragments of nacre into mussel shells. In time, these frag- ments are covered with pearly mat- ter. and are attractive enough to be in considerable demand. According to one authority, a company began scientific experi- ments in the Indian Ocean not many years ago. They put little balls of nacre, weighing from forty to fifty grains, between the shells of a particularly large species of oy- ster, known as the Australian type. After about ten months, these pel- lets are covered with a beautiful layer of pearly matter, and look ex- actly like true pearls. When these pearls come upon the market, they will no dowbt have a ready sale. Some of the experiments made by the company came to nothing, and for a curious reason. The cases in which they kept the oysters were The ghells ously damaged. Since then, nick- eled wires are used, and the success of the company's enterprise seems assured ------_--_i____. If ignorance were bliss most of us would be so happy we should choke. An Irish editor says he sees no earthly reason why women should not be allowed to become medical men. es tective. Drapery lowing is one Which | Lord' Alver- aw , {in Can The City Is pecRdiins aoa ess ee Se eee - Goudy Plenzed. tawa. Whatever its.color may be, ite contents are varied aad - up Saar re Most farmers will admit the - visability of using seed that / high quality, free from weeds, unmixed with other varieties. recognize the <deairabilits growing only those varieties ti. are suited to conditions of soil and climate ; but_not all fully realize the extent = which these things affect' the yields of their crops, and oon? sequently the_returns received from fa 4 Be: The value of Registered Seed is becoming more and mors: recog- nized with each succeeding aeason. "T never had sucha showing o crops; I am sure the seed had a lot to do with it," one grower writes. Another states, "I could naver have believed the difference selected seed makes: my Marquis wheuwt ytelded nearly 50 bushels per wore." An- other: "I never had such a crop-- potatoes--in my life. One short row planted with whole potat« ses of Registered stock y ielded ¢ % bashels."' In order to place buyer and arysw- er in touch with each otier,, the Association issues a catalogue early in each winter containing the names of those who are offering registered seed for sale; together writ the sorts offered and the prick auked The organization of sed. eoentres is a new development. The idea 2 to 'secure sources frum which seed ofa agent trae may be one. plied inca Ins or ms the - et Seine Tithe to the output of one grower, a number of armers living near each other may combine. to grow a variety for se ed under the reguiations. of the Asso- ciation. Here is an illustration : Crop yields, se L. 8, linck, formerly Prof - of Cer- eal: Husbandry at the. Siu Monald College, discussing oil mhinage- ment in relation to rill and qual- ity in seed, are determined hy the amount of available ant food in the soil, by textural! aad racieture conditions, and by th+ character and quality of the seed aovwa. Good soil management has mons-induence upon the yield than upon the quale ity, and the factors nfl' recitiag qual- ity are less perfectiy usderatood. "How to produce larger crops and increase the net profit pec acre without depleting the soil) oi it' fertility isthe: press: ag oe ati Du addition to" Rood ' sai! rea agen : it is necessary that a syebens rotation be followed, th * duct of the fields be live stock, and that the returned to the land, In general pract should furnish a money 2p, hoed or cleaning efor, « } erop, and a lezums { als are soil exhausters ; ali legume are soil enrichers. H ' larger crops whe: llegume, such as pea "er. Therefore clover, and closelr alleod ; i must have a place in any « fal system. In all classes « with the exception of largest average yield h tained from the e#ari! practicable. Moisture, not the determining, fair the rate of seeding eure good crops, and inability to maint stand of grass and eloy too frequently attribu bed te fertility, when as 9, matter the supply of moisture ia quate. The report of the Canadian Seed Growers' Association ala) conta! useful papers on alfadfa, school clubs, and other topics +n it Ore tt Gt 4 Te sr mee al ) lack f fact, inade- Paper for Warmth. In 1870 the French aemy kept themselves warm during the wi inte ® campaign by padding their uniforms with newspapers. Even to-day the, Japanese soldiers on active service, 'wear paper shirts. 'These fate lead: French scientists to recommond that! the army be supplied with paper undergarments. It takes a Supeble wile to yank the. conceit out-of a man. "