Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 83, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 July 1901 — Page 2

AN UNHAPPY WOMAN.

SAD LIFE OF DOWAGER EMPRESS OF GERMANY. Eldest Daughter of Queen Victoria and Wife of Frederick 111., Her Death Will Be Little Mourned by Her German Subjects. Daughter of a Queen and mother of an Emperor, brilliant beyond the measure of most brilliant women, and now unhappy to the last degree, the Empress Dowager of Germany lies near death in the gloomy castle at Crons-berg-on-the-Main. Half deserted by her Imperial son, bereft of her mother, and having the contumely of a foreign nation which never understood her, this daughter of the throne of England lies awaiting the end. Only her iron will has stood off the destroyer for so long. The world has wondered why she should care to live. It has been said even that she herself will have no regrets when at last she lays down her burdens. Her position ds simply that of one who sees the inevitable, but who stands waiting for Fate to turn the last card. Alone in the cheerless rooms of the great gloomy castle the Empress Dowager of Germany mourns her life away. She reads a little and at rare intervals attempts to paint. Twice a week her youngest daughter, the Princess of Hesse, comes over from Frankfort to spend an afternoon. At rare internals the German Emperor comes. He alights from horse or carriage and. leaving his attendants, strikes through the broad courtyard, nodding here and there to an old servant. When he has had refreshments he goes for a few moments to the room of his sick mother. It is a heartless visit. His greeting and parting are perfunctory, and when he has gone there is silence and perhaps tears in the sick room. The eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise, was favored of fortune. Naturally brilliant, she received every advantage that education and her royal position

EMPRESS FREDERICK.

could bestow. Pampered and spoiled, she exhibited an iron will at the age of 6, a will that even the stern queenmother could not break. But as the :hild grew toward cultured womanhood a strong affection sprang up between the mother and daughter and in later years the princess took on the features of Britain’s Queen in marked degree. To-day her likeness might be mistaken for an early picture of the lamented Queen Victoria. At the age of 11 the princess met the Crown Prince of Germony, on the occasion of a visit of the young Frederick to England in 1851. A friendship sprang up between the royal children which ripened into love as the years went by. In 1858 they were married in the chapel of St. James’ Palace, London. Though the marriage was well received in England, the Prussian kingdom was shaken to its foundations. Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor, set his face against it and in every way possible he used his influence against “the Englishwoman,” as he called her. His attitude was reflected in the press and she was pictured as a foreign interloper, intent upon Anglicizing Prussia. At Berlin the English princess was hissed and derided on every occasion. Even when accompanied by the Crown Prince she was not secure from insult. This treatment by his people, while he Knew that they loved him, was a trial to the young prince, but he never faltered and as long as he lived the princess was sure of his affection. That the princess ever became queen was due to her own indomitable will and energy. While the old Emperor Wilhelm lay dying the Crown Prince was known to have the disease that finally killed him. Bismarck was alive to the opportunity. Under the German law no heir to the throne can become Emperor if afflicted with an incurable disease. All the court physicians were under the thumb of the chancellor, ami If he could get them to see the prince and say “cancer” he knew that he would blight the hopes of “the Englishwoman.” But no one knew this better than the Englishwoman herself. 'She shut the doors against the German tools of the chancellor and sent for Sir Morrell Mackenzie, the great English surgeon. Every chance of consultation was refused to the German physicians. A crown was at stake—and the woman won. Dr. Mac kenzie’s opinion was that no Incurable disease menaced the Crown Prince and no one assailed his finding. At the death of the elder William the son assumed the throne of his father, and for the three months of his life remaining Victoria Louise was Empress of Germany. Following the death of her husband. Frederick 11., which was due to coo-

NOTED MANUFACTURER AND POLITICIAN.

HAZEN S. PINGREE

Among all the public men who in recent years have engaged actively in arousing public sentiment and leading the way toward progressive municipal government, Hazen S. Pingree, who. died recently in London, stood foremost. He was a man of indomitable courage and perseverance, and when he undertook a thing he succeeded by force of his remarkable combativeness and the fact that he never knew when he was defeated. Beginning as a cobbler, he made a fortune out of the manufacture of shoes, and then entered politics and was elected Mayor of Detroit to improve the street car service and prevent the theft of the streets. He succeeded in giving Detroit the best street car transportation in the wprld, was three times re-elected Mayor, and then Governor of the State. By hid advancement of the potato patch scheme and other novel ideas he became a national character and was often talked of by his Michigan admirers as a presidential possibility. A remarkable feature of Pingree’s popularity and success is that he never had the support of the most affluent men in his city and State, nor did the so-called “leading politicians” render him assistance. He went into every fight almost single-handed, his co-workers being men in the ordinary and even more humble walks of life. But with all his peculiarities he was honest and straightforward, and made a magnificent public official.

cer of the throat, the daughter of Queen Victoria passed into obscurity, followed by the hatred of the German people which abates but slightly as the years go by. Now living practically in exile, a victim of the disease which carried off her husband, the Empress Dowager presents a sad feature of royal life.

HEN HAD OTHER INTERESTS.

Countryman Explains Why His Prices Varied from Week to Week. As the woman in the suburbs objected upon economical principles to paying more for eggs than she had paid a week before, she held a joint debate on the subject with the man from the country who supplies her. There was just the suggestion of an edge on her tone as she respectfully asked him why eggs should be cheaper the latter part of April than the early part of May, says the Detroit Freee Press. “Hens is hens,” he replied, and it sounded as if he was talking by rote. “You can’t tell nothin’ ’bout them; nothin’ ’tall. I hain’t sayin’ anythin’ fur or ag’inst the female sect, explainin’ which I will say that I’m livin’ with my third wife an<J I wouldn’t make no afferdavid now that any one of ’em was alike. Par’s I been able ter cackerlate, every woman’s a vari’ty jtst in herself. An’ hens, so fur as I been able fur to observe, is all members of the same sect, but dif’rent. Now I got a hen what don’t seem to have no object but fur to fight the cat. All the layin’ she does is a layin’ fur him, an’ when he gits in sight there’s the doggondest row ever you see. There’s another hen in the lot is alius lookin’ fur ” “But what’s all this got to do with he price of eggs? I don’t want the ilstory of your hennery. I’ll pay you

BATTLE SHIP WISCONSIN, RIVAL OF THE ILLINOIS FOR HONORS OF THE NAVY.

The battleship Wisconsin will contest honors of being the fastest vessel of its class with the Illinois, which now holds the record. In a recent trial remarkable speed was shown, the big fighting machine making 18.6 knots an hour for two hours under forced draft. The builders of the battleship insist it will prove the best vessel in the navy. The Wisconsin made a4B hours' trial trip under natural draft and tp test the ship's worthiness. The forced draft trial was held last October, when it made 17.176 knots. Orders from the Navy Department this time were for a 48 hours’ trial tinder natural draft and full power, and the official time made was 16.45 for two hours. For the 48 hours, during which the Wisconsin steamed a little south of Santa Barbara channel and returned to the Golden Gate, the average was 15.3 knots an hour. The trial was made in Santa Barbara channel

what I paid last week, and not a cent more.” “But I’m tryin’ to explain. If a hen is fightin’ cats, understan’, or detectin’ chicken hawks, or ’lowin’ any outside issue fur to occerpy her mind, she’s not layin’ eggs. That’s plain ’nough. She’s not layin’ eggs. That’s -where the immuter’bie law of supply au’ deman’ comes in. Ask your man about it, he’ll understan’. Fur instlnx, if thirty hens outen a hundred is not occupied by business, they is less eggs ’an if they was all producin’. Them as eats eggs “For goodness sake! Give me six dozen.”

Oom Paul a Temperance Man.

Mr. Kruger, as every one knows, is a constant smokier; it is not, perhaps, so well under stool that he has only once tasted alcohol in his life. That was at Bloemfontein, after the signing of the alliance with the Free State. Kruger is said to have taken off a bumper of champagne, and put down the glass with a face of disgust.

His Pessimistic Idea.

“Everybody, you know, marries for better or for worse,” said the married man. ° “Yes,” said the bachelor, gloomily, “and generally gets the worse.”—Somerville Journal.

Entirely New System.

“I have an original idea!” exclaimed the detective. “What are you going to do?” “I’m going to quit collecting clews and take a look for the criminal.”— Washington Star. There is plenty of room at the top, but as soon as a man gets there he tries his best to occupy it all.

WOMEN CARRY U. S. MAIL.

Men Couldn’t Do It» So They Have the Contracts. The determination and nerve of a woman have come to the rescue of the postal authorities in supplying a carrier for the United States mail on the star route between Sterling and Milledgeville, 111. Mrs. Frank Giffrow, of Sterling, has taken the as driver of the mall wagon and stage which makes the trip daily, a drive of thirty miles. The contract for carrying the mall over the route was let some time ago to Chester A. Call, of Algona, la., and it has been an elephant on his hands. A Sterling liveryman was engaged as driver, but gave it up, and then a firm of blacksmiths undertook to deliver the mail for Mr. Call. They lost over a hundred dollars in three months, owing to accidents and lack of business on the stage which carries the mail. Several drivers were hired for short terms, each finally becoming disgusted and quitting. Then Mrs. Giffrow came to the rescue and made a contract to deliver the mail for a year for $420, Contractor Call paying her that price at a loss of S9O to himself on the contract. On her first trip Mrs. Giffrow carried a large quantity of ice cream to supply a lodge banquet at Milledgeville. She has secured a spirited team and new wagon and will make an effort to build up the passenger business, which was once considerable. She has the privilege of carrying all sorts of merchandise, and has already arranged to deliver milk for a dairyman, but she refused to carry a jug of whisky to Milledgeville. The people of Sterling, Jordan, Coleta, and Milledgeville, the line of her route, are confident of her success where so many others have failed. Mrs. Giffrow’s husband is a carpenter and she lias several children, all old enough to attend school while she is making her trips. The Milledgeville star route is one of the few remaining stage routes in this section of the country and has a history of fascinating interest. In early days the old stage route from Freeport to Rock Island was infested by the “prairie bandits,” the band of murders and robbers that was broken up by Detective Bonney and the “Regulators” of the early ’3os. It was along this route that Bonney took the murderers of Colonel Davenport to Rock Island, holding pistols to their heads as the bandits rode up to the stage and preventing the rescue of the prisoners.

It was along this route that the “untlerground railroad” of ante-bellum days ran, and the old stage brought disguised slaves to the homes of Ivory Colcord and other Abolitionists in the region of Coleta. After the war there were several murders along the line between Milledgeville and Sterling, the last one being the killing of George Kauffman four years ago, of whose murderers the officers and detectives have never been able to find the slightest clew. The country now is thickly settled, substantial farm houses and occasional churches and schools line the route, but the road is beset with many difficulties. The spring freshets swell the Elkhorn Creek into a raging torrent, sometimes sweeping men and horses from the road to meet death in the stream. Through Jordan Township a graveled road goes over the hills, and the descent to the plains of Genesee is made on the perilous slope of the “Big Mound,” where, in the winter, treacherous snow banks hide the gullies and where accidents are common the year around. Another Sterling woman. Miss Ethel Wahl, sister of Deputy Sheriff Frauk Wahl, has been engaged as substitute carrier for the three rural free delivery mall routes out of Sterling, and has covered one of the routes successfully. Special Agent Charles Lyun, who has charge of the rural free delivery routes in the Central States, awarded the position to Miss Wahl personally, expressing the utmost confidence in woman mail carriers, who, he said, bad been tried in other places and had tended to the business better, bad covered the routes more speedily and with fewer mistakes and complaints than the men.

A DEMOCRATIC EMPEROR.

»lany Little Acte of Kindness of Feancii Joseph of Austria. Like many who live in the rnrlfied atmosphere of courts, Emperor Francis Joseph enjoys nothing better than a glimpse into the lives of his humblest subjects. So, In order to come closer In touch with the peasants, be has fallen into the habit of walking out alone every Sunday afternoon. Usually he turns his back upon the city and strolls out upon one of the country roads, whf-»e he almost invariably finds a companion going the same way, a simple tiller of the soil. When the Emperor’s questions regarding the details of life in the work-a-day world

bring down no suspicion of his identity; when he is regarded merely as a kind, chatty stranger then he is pleased. On one occasion an old man having listened to the sovereign’s talk with a group of laborers, without knowing who he was, followed Francis Joseph as he retraced his steps to the city. Gradually the old man edged up alongside. “Hello, stranger, you going up to town, too, looking for work?” he inquired, confidentially. His answer was a bright gold piece slipped Into his hand by the “stranger,” accompanied by a few words of cheer. This unexpected liberality on the part of his affable companion so fascinated the

peasant that they walked on together until they reached the palace gate. Some time later a foot passenger found the bewildered old man stumbling along the road, looking first at the gold piece in his palm and then back oVer his shoulder toward the Emper ! or’s palace.

Men like economy in their domestic arrangements, but if there is one woman most of them fear and despise it is the wretch who Jias all sorts of recipes for making cheap dishes out of scraps. She comes fluttering into the domestic dovecotes early in the day. “My dear Mrs. 8.. such a recipe—the cheapest, most dee-11-cious dish imaginable. Any housekeeper can make this salad. An old gum shoe or remnant of mackintosh dressed with oil. vinegar, and paprika, or cream and lemon juice. I am confident your husband will go wild over it.” She is right. He does. He goes so wild that after the doctor

WOMEN MAIL CARRIERS.

has gone home in the night and he is resting easy, he asks who gave the recipe for that salad, and vows to shoot her on sight if he ever gets out again. If the men of the neighborhood had their way they would put a large dose of rough-on-rats in the stocking of this fiend who teaches wives how to make palatable dishes out of gum, broken umbrellas, furniture polish and soiled awnings.—Louisville Times.

Exactly as Advertised. An indignant Woking farmer returned to a horse dealer’s about an hour after purchasing a horse. “Look here, sir!” he exclaimed, “I don’t want this horse you sold me! He shies, I can’t get him to cross the bridge.” “That’s the reason I sold him,” said the dealer, calmly. “Why did you come to me for the horse?” “I saw your advertisement in the paper.” “I thought so. I gave my reason for selling film.” “Yes; to be sold, you stated, for no other reason than that the owner wanted to go out of town.” “Well, if you can get out of town with him,” said the dealer, “it will be more than I can do.”—London Answers.

England, until recently, has boasted of its steam railroads with scarcely a dissenting voice. But Englishmen who have traveled In the United States tell a different story on their return. Although English railroads have the advantage of elevated or depressed tracks, so that they are not troubled with grade crossings, they do not make the speed or run punctually as do American roads. The United States can set an example to the world in the successful operation of railways. The American railroad gives the traveler more comfort, more speed, better connections, and in nearly every particular more value for his money, than he can get at the same rate on any railroad In Europe.—Syracuse Post.

“I insist that my daughter shall play nothing but classical music,” said Mr. Sirius Barker. “For what reason?” “None of the neighbors know a thing about it, and she can murder a piece all she wants to without their daring to say a word.”—Washington Star.

EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH.

Where Economy Fails.

American Roads Superior.

Shrewd.

SHEAR NONSENSE

“Didn’t you have trouble In getting so many antiques?” “Dear me, no— I had them made to order,” Whispered.—The Friend —Her face Is her fortune. The Enemy—How interesting! Made it herself, too, didn’t she?yHarlem Life. Jaggles—ls that hotel very exclusive? Waggles—lt must be; uo children are taken, and it has accommodations for pet dogs.—Town Topics. Mamma (to Freddie, just returned from a call upo’n his aunt) —Well, Freddie, what did auntie say? Freddie (disgustedly) Don’t Freddie—Brooklyn Life. “Johnnie, give me an example of a combination of meaningless phrases.” “Yes’m. A burglar proof safe stood in a fireproof block.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer. Sentimental and—ahem—thirty (?) Did he say he knew me when I was a girl? “Sweet Twenty”—Oh. no! He said he remembers you when he was a boy!—Punch. Blobbs—Wealth will not buy happiness. Slobbs—Well, for my part, I think I should be happier w T ith wealth than vyith happiness without it.—Philadelphia Record. “So you’re singing for money now, eh?” “That was my expectation when I joined the new opera company, but I find I have to ‘whistle for it.’ ’’—Richmond Dispatch. Maggie—Dat lobster, Jimmie O’Rooney, don’t realize wot a woman’s love means! Katie—Nope; His mudder’s whaled him so much she’s queered de hull sex!—Judge. “De man dat’s alius tellin’ ’bout what he used ter do or what he’s gwinter do,” said Uncle Eben, “is usually was’in’ his time jes’ at present.”— Washington Star. Mrs. Galey—Percy Gadsby has had dreadful luck at bridge, lately. Mrs. Inswymm (eagerly)—You don’t say? Dear me! I must invite him up before it changes.—Puck. Mrs. Cobwigger—Poor thing, she tried to reform her husband and failed. Mrs. Dorcas—What is she trying to do now? Mrs. Cobwigger—To reform the world.—Judge. Bill—How much did you give up to see the ball game? Jill—Fifty cents. “How was the game?’ “Neither side scored.” “Then you didn’t get a run for your money.”—Yonkers Statesman. “Aren’t you promising more than you can pay?” “Yes,” answered the Chinaman. “It struck me that this fact might on occasion be offered as an excuse for not paying it.”—Washington Star.

His Busy Day.—Quarryman—Biddy! His Wife—Phwat do ye want now, sure? Quarryman—Pour some kerosense on th’ fire an’ make it hot, so 01 can thaw out me dynamite.—New York Weekly. Mrs. Fijit—Why doesn’t Mr. Smithers come to our house any more? Mr. Fijit—l can’t imagine; I’m sure I always tried to entertain him by th® smart things our baby does, too.—Ohio State Journal. At the Seaside.—Alice—l’m so glad that you are engaged at last! GraceYes, George and I will be married in September. Alice—Good gracious! You don’t mean to marry him, do you?— Brooklyn Life. Jack—l made two calls this afternoon, and I must have left my umbrella at the last place I called. TomHow do you know but that you left it at the first place? Jock—Because that’s where I got it. —Scotsman. “Aren’t you ashamed to go away and leave your wife in tears?” asked the near relative. “Oh, I don’t know,” answered the brutal man; “that’s the way she has a good time when she goes to the theater.”—Washington Star. “My, what an untidy man,” exclaimed the fair visitor to our sanctum. “Who is the one with his desk in such a litter?” And then she was sure she was being jollied when her guide said it was the literary editor.—Philadelphia Press. First Young Thing—l am going to wear evening dress at the party next Thursday. Second Young Thing—And aren’t you looking forward to It? First Young Thing—O, dear, no! The bare Idea frightens me.—Somerville Journal. “No, I don’t like Dr. Thirdly,", said Mrs. Kilduff emphatically. “What’s he done?” asked Mrs. Teuspot. “Well, he asked all the ladies in the congregation to remove their hats. And it was Easter Sunday, mind you!”—Cleveland Plain Dealer. The wicked, witty prodigal returned, and in bis old manner accosted his father: “Well, governor, I’ve come back. Are you going to kill the fatted calf?” But the old gentleman was a match for him and said: “No, my son, I think I’ll let you live.” “Taking into consideration the things Sharp has had to contend against, I think his success as a lawyer has been remarkable.” “Why, what did he ever, have to contend against?” “Every thing. He came of a wealthy family. He didn’t have to work his way through college. He never studied by the light of a pine torch, never had to drive dray, never walked six miles to school, and wasn’t compelled to borrow his books. He bad every possible facility and yet he has done well from the start.”—Chicago Tribune.