The Scranton tribune. (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, February 18, 1897, Page 8, Image 8

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TILE SCBAJSTTON TRIBUNE THURSDAY
INtOPJSTNGr, FEBRUARY 18, ISO 7.
GROUND BENEATH
HEELS OF IRON
Civilian Life In Germany nnd Us
Genuine Grievances.
THE SWAGQER OF THE MILITARY
The Policy of CiiNniid-Hiin us Im
posed by thu liloiiKMiiuits oit (Jur
liimis In Civil J.lfe--CiiNes in Which
Ofllocrs Stormed mill Clvllliuis
Aliololuil mid Pled--Other Casus
in Which mi Ainuricnn Neither
Apologized nor Tied, hut Still Was
Vuiittiihed--Thu Civilian us n
Ntuuo Clown.
From the Sun.
The llinisewltz affair has come to he
regai (led apparently fiH one of the
eiownhiB atrocities of Oerninn militar
ism. The spectacle of un armed oillcer
ossasslnatlnR on the spot an unarmed
civilian whose original offence was to
hump chairs with him accidentally in a
restaurant has hen held up to view by
the press of all civilized lands as un Il
lustration of what the German people
must suffer at the hands of their own
fctniulliifr. at my. The man who knows
Germany and the German's would be
quite likely to think, after reading of
this assassination: The brutality of
oillcer toward civilian could go no fur
ther; no more striking example of mill
try oppression In times of peace could
be given by a highly civilized people.
Yet anybody who has lived In Ger
many In recent years knows that it Is
not the Uruesewltzes who do most In
that empire to oppress and torment
the civilian subjects of the Ilohenzol
lerns. It Is not the olllccrs stamping
about with drawn swords and furious
threats in the saloons, nor yet those
ever ready with their cards to demand
meetings with swords or pistols, who
make the self-respecting civilian long
for other lands and less tempestuous
scenes. Such men of action are rare
in the German army, or, if not rare,
take pains to hide their true natures.
It Is not the mllltury assassin's stab
nor the military bully's challenge that
harrasses the ordinary civilian In Ger
many. It Is rather the load of class
contempt which the olllccrs' corps puts
upon the backs of the rest of the nation,
That Is the burden that kills. You may
resent the Insult of any one man In
Germany. If you are a German, you
at least can fight a duel and save your
self-respect at the expense of a doctor's
bill. If you are an American, you can
thrash your antagonist to your own
satisfaction, even though your stylo of
revenge does not suit anybody else.
Cut who can face nnd demolish
the front of a whole army
corps? Who can stand out against
the thousands of commissioned
olllcers, entrenched In the vest
ed privileges of active service nnd re-
enforced by tens of thousands who have
gone Into the reserves with the same
Ideas of position and prerogative? It
Is like trying to upset centuries of Prus
sian military tradition and to revolu
tionize with one inun'ti strength the
whole political and social fabric of the
German empire. From the present
point of view the effort Is hopeless.
Most German civilians, outside of the
titled class, must compromise with self
respect and take things as they come.
Most foreigners much choose between
a similar course and helping them
selves from dllllculty to dlllleulty, until
the neighborhood becomes too hot for
them and they move on to France or
Knglnnd to escape a series of duels or
a pharlah's life, far even from the civil
ian's smile. The aim of the writer of
this article Is to give a few Instances
of what civilians In Germany bear, how
some bear It and others do not, and why
a man who Intends to become acclimat
ed anywhere between the Vosges and
the Vistula must prepare for occasion
al crises in his continental career, es
especlally If he be an American with
the temperament and temper that an
American usually Is born with. As the
intention Is not to illustrate the traglo
side of the subject, the doings, of Bru
esewltz and his fellow assassins will
not be considered; only the unherolc
every-day side' of the everlasting con
flict will be touched.
A SPKCIMEN INSTANCE.
Early In this month the Ilerlln news
papers .published in. brief narrative,
which, on account of Us familiar inci
dents, is well calculated to define the
principal features of an encounter be
tween a German reserve lieutenant and
a German civilian. The two saw each
other for the first time during the din
ner hour on the fast express between
Dresden and llerlin. The civilian was
a Chemnitz mei chant of considerable
property one who, in New York, would
pass ns an Influential business man,
and would sit on platforms to lend dig
nity to political demonstrations. He
finished his meal In the dining car be
fore the lieutenant reached the des
sert. He threw back his coat front,
lighted his cigar, and leaned back to
puff It at peace with his soul. The lieu
tenant laid down knife and fork and
looked at him. The merchant blew out
smoky rlnss, all unconscious of the
brewing storm, and apparently did
not know there was an oillcer In the car.
Several of, his fellow travelers became
uneasy. They feared trouble was com
ing. They saw that the lieutenant had
"ilxed" (flxirt) the merchant; that 1h,
had fastened his eyes upon him so In
tently as to give cause for the fateful
question, "Why do you stare at me?"
etc., to the lighting point. They tried
to warn the merchant of his danger,
to motion to him that he was offending
the lieutenant and would do well to
cease smoking for the time being, but
In vain. The merchant smoked on In
nerone obliviousness, and the lieuten
ant stared on with growing wrath.
After live minutes' suspense, the lieu
tenant broke the painful silence with
the sharp, rising, nasal tone which is
used by llentenants tc betoken anger.
He brought the waiter to his side with
a cull that roused even the merchant
BTZZ5
SmSSMMAMS.
from Chemnitz. Pointing to the mer
chant, he demanded:
"What kind of a creature Is that with
a elgnr?"
The waiter shook his head In dumb
trepidation. Then the lieutenant
shouted the words are quoted literally:
"Anyhow, you go and tell that fel
low ahead there that he must take that
stinker (stanker) out of his mouth,"
If an unnccllmated American had
been present he might have prepared
to move out of the way of trouble; he
probably would have hauled his hand
luggage Into a remote corner; ho doubt
less would have remarked that the mer
chant, though u little heavy, ought to
carry all the money and win the contest
In style. A Frenchman would have ex
pected a blow and an exchange of cards.
A Russian would have expected any
thing from coffee cups to pistols on the
spot or later, and a German well, a
Gentian would have expected Just what
happened. The Chemnitz merchant
took his cigar from his mouth, and re
marked courteously thnt he had not
Intended to violate any rule against
smoking "stinkers," and that he re
garded It as rather discourteous to call
him a "fellow." Up jumped the lieu
tenant with both arms raised, and
roared:
"if you don't got out of hero Instant
ly, I will put n leg on you that will
help you run. You would not be the
llrst person of your kind that, 1 have
put legs on."
That was the last word In the scene;
the Chemnitz merchant turned and lied
to the next compartment, as ho said
afterward, for fear that he might bo
sacrificed on the spot us was Uruese
wltz's victim. The eight civilians who
had witnessed the provocation, apol
ogy, menace and lllght jumped up,
brimful of indignation, but like the
proper German civilians they were,
they did not let any Indignation spill
over In the lieutenant's presence; that
might have consequences. So Instead,
they iueserved their peace until they
were alone with the Chemnitz mer
chant, when they advised him to make
It warm for the lieutenant In one way
or another that would not Involve per
sonal violence.
THE SEQUEL.
So far this little narrative of the
merchant and the lieutenant has moved
along conventional lines, but the rest
of It Is a little out of the routine. When
the train reached the Anhalt station In
Berlin the Chemnitz merchant, encour
aged and supported by the eight other
civilians, took steps to learn who the
reserve lieutenant was, and to complain
of him to the military authorities. Quit'
unexpectedly this brought the young
man to terms, and he made a grum
bling excuse for his conduct, and re
quested the merchant to let the matter
drop. This exceptional outcome of the
scene on the train Is given merely for
the record; It has no slgnlllcance as re
gatds the essential features of rumpus
es of this class. These features are
that the Gormun olllcers open hostili
ties by grossly insulting the civilian,
and continues them by refusing to ac
cept any apology that the civilian may
offer for being present or being alive.
by threatening to thrash or stab the
civilian, and dually by putting the ci
vilian to lllght. That a civilian should
run to save his skin from an nrmy of
ficer's attack Is a tradition that seems
to bring no shame with It In Germany.
Men toll of their running to escape the
military bully ns frankly ns they
might tell of running from a super
natural monster whom It pnsseth the
power of man to resist.
Persons acquainted with the Bruese
wltz case will remember that the lieu
tenant gave the mortal thrust as the
machinist lied after vainly offering nn
apology. So, too, In the case of Lieu
tenant Baron Sallsch and the young
shopkeeper Weymann in Coblenz. Sa
llsch reproached Weymann for lllrtlng
with a waitress with whom Sallsch had
lllrted first. Salisch threatened and
cowed Weymann, and frightened him
Into the usual lllght. He pursued the
lleelng man to the middle of the Ithlne
river bridge, reviled him, refused to ac
cept his apologies, and eventually
chased him some 200 or 300 feet and
ran him through with his sword.
A rather bumptious young man from
Cincinnati had doubts when he reached
Heidelberg that the policy of cut-and-run
was so common among German ci
vilians under military stress of circum
stances. He was a stalwart German
American, who was the soul of honor
and courtesy under ordinary conditions,
but pugnacious to the last degree when
ho thought anybody was trying to cur
tall a single one of lis inborn lights
and privileges. While Amerlcnn from
scalp to sole, he took considerable pride
In his mother's family, which was line
old professional stock in Goettlngen,
He therefore was reluctant to believe
that humiliation could be an estab
lished and undisputed custom between
two' equally Intelligent classes In Ger
many. He was sceptical for several
weeks, then something happened which
not only changed his views, but also led
to a series of Interesting Incidents. In
the same house with us there lived the
most prosperous hnberdasher In Heidel
berg, about 40 years old, well built,
muscular, active, business-like and
agreeable. Twice a week he came In to
drink punch and smoke with us, and
Improve our German by .conversation.
One AVednesdny night he did not come
at 8 o'clock, the appointed hour. Half
an hour passed, and the Clnclnatl man
remarked that Hnnsen must have
stayed unusually late at Haeberloln's,
and probably would not come at all.
HANSEN'S PLIGHT.
A moment later, however, the door
burst open, and In hurried Hansen
not, however, the sleek, affable, digni
fied Hansen of former evenings, but a
dishevelled, white-faced, rumpled and
exhausted Hansen, looking ds If he
might have slid in from the towering
Gaisberg at our doors. Ills story was
soon told, He had run foul of a lieuten
ant. Ho was playing his regular game
of billiards at Haeberleln's when three
young army olllcers entered. All the
tables were lull; excepting Hansen and
his friend, however, the players were
Saxo-Borussens, who, though only corps
students, are rather pugnacious In their
way, and. If put to it, will light about
anybody with about any weapons. Two
of the lieutenants wlshel to play bll-
zrff v -rrS&ya
i i il"l 'IFMIPIl itjl Mi1aHWil.fi HIIIII""Ofc'"'T "
"A FULL HOUSE." Life.
Copyright, 16'JT, by Mitchell & Mi'ler,
Hards, and they apparently decided to
obtain n table by'strategy. Naturally
their plan did not Involve a Saxo-Borus-sen
table, for the students might make
trouble; they theretote drifted on to the
tuble nt which Hanson und his friend
were playing. First- they stared the
two civilians out of countenance, then
they began criticising the shots. Still
Hansen and 'his trlend stuck to their
guns. Then one lieutenant Inld his
hands on the cushion lust as Hansen
drove the cue ball round the table.
The ball struck the lieutenant's lingers.
"Thunder and lightning, you block
head, didn't you over have any bring
ing up?" shouted the lieutenant, ad
vancing on Hansen, while his compan
ions encouraged him to "teach the
shameless fellow some manners'."
"But you put your lingers there after
I shot," protested Hansen.
"Blockhead, hold your tongue before I
give you n lesson!"
The lieutenant put his hand on his
sword hilt and Hansen' ran. There
wns a table In the way, and Hansen fell
over It. There was a chair, too, and he
stumbled on it. He grasped his hat
and coat, lied with them to the street,
put them on as ho ran, and did not stop
running until ho turned into the Gals
berg strasse. He closed his narrative
with tlie question:
"Did you ever hear of such rude be
havior? Ts It not a shame for an officer
to uttack a peaceable man in this way?"
The Cincinnati young man eyed the
stalwart German angrily.
"What did you run for?" he asked.
"What did I run for?" leiterated the
haber-dasher. "What did I run for?
Why the nu,n might have killed me If
I hadn't run. You don't know how
crazy these fellows are when they are
piovoked. He would have run mo
through with his sword."
"Why didn't you hit him In the jaw?
Ho wouldn't remember long about his
sword If ou landed once with that
right of yours." '
The suggestion seeemed to daze Han
sen. After a little meditation he re
plied, however, with a mixture of awe,
pride and contempt:
"That would cause a great scandal.
We do not do such things In Germany.
You may In America, but here we don't
punch like rowdies."
This reply put the whole thing In a
nutshell; it was the proper thing, ac
cording to the customs of the country,
for a civilian to run from an army oill
cer; It was the improper thing to return
a blow for an Insult, or to knock down
a lieutenant before he could draw his
sword to run you through. This view
did not appeal to the Cincinnati man's
sense of propriety, however; In fact,
Hansen's development of It roused his
ire. Thereby hangs a sequence of tales
which Is calculated to teach a lesson
to foreigners ambitious to demonstrate
their superiority to Hie traditions of
militarism in Germany.
THE YANKEE WAY.
A few days after Hansen's skirmish
at Haeberleln's the Cincinnati young
man, who, for convenience, may be
called Newhlll. sat at dinner In the res
tauranth of Luhr's hotel, In the Haupt
strasse. Every time a man In uniform
entered Newhlll eyed him as if he had
a. special grievance against him. Four
young olllcers came In together and sat
down two tables from the American
party. The gayest of the four had a
single eyeglass, through which he mus
tered the room with ostentatious satis
faction. When the glass was levelled
at the Americans Newhlll pushed back
his chair, folded his arms, leaned
back, and stared as If life, outside of
that lieutenant, had ceased to be. The
lieutenant evidently regarded himself
as "ilxed" (flxirt) by Newhlll, for his
expression of complacency gave place
to one of astonishment, followed quick
ly by anger and resentment. An ac
climated American nudged Newhlll and
told him not to pick a quarrel, but
Newhlll remained rigid and stared on.
The lieutenant rose slowly, evidently
Intending to descend upon Newhlll and
demand an explanation. Newhlll, too,
rose slowly, his mouth set and his face
gradually losing color. When two men
face each other thus In Germany a
panorama of cards, seconds, doctors,
duels, and hospitals whirls past the
mind's eye of every spectator, nn ava
lanche of events is supposed to be
started In the direction of the Held of
honor and Its course is regarded as ir
resistible. So at Luhr's hotel on that
evening everybody ceased eating and
gazed as If hypnotized on the two men
who stood and faced each other. 'The
lieutenant took a step or to toward
Newhlll, and his three fellow-ofllcers
affected to pass a few derisive com
ments on Newhlll's behavior. New
hill did not move. His eyes were fast
ened on the advancing lieutenant, and
his hands were clenched In a way that
the Americans understood, even If the
Germans did not. Just before the
lieutenant was within arm's reach, he
opened his mouth to address Newhlll,
but something must have told him that
he had reached the danger line, for ho
suddenly turned to a table of diners,
politely asked .for a match, lighted a
cigarette and returned to his party. It
was a clear case of funk. To be sure,
the lieutenant's companions tried to
cover hls retreat by casting scornful
looks on Newhlll and remarking "Ridi
culous!" in audible tones, but Newhlll
looked back with as much scorn and
more dellunce, and remarked "Ridicu
lous" still more loudly. Newhlll's pur
pose was to meet the utonant ai
every point, and he cnrrlegMt out, for
the olllcers, without furUerJremai ks,
left the restaurant a fa'wyrnlnutes later.
This little success siaY.e...Nevhlll the
Idea that he had solvedtiio lieutenant
problem. He told his friends that If a
man would only show the needful
amount of grit, he could meet these
fellows and beat them at their own
game. '
It would be purposeless to trace New
hill's course throueh all the numerous
little scenes, like the one at Luhr's,
which were enacted by him at the City
Park concerts, on the Castle Terrace,
and In Haeberleln's. Suffice It here to
saw that within a few weeks he re
garded himself ns competent , to handle
the whole question of militarism In
peace, and was looked on askance by
most of the young olllcers of the Hei
delberg garrison. He was a "bad
American" no doubt, In their opinion,
and the best thing to be done with him
was to make Heidelberg too hot for
him.
AVENGING AN INSULT.
While benrdlnir militarism In Its Inlr
Newhlll had found time also to fancy
strongly a handsome American girl who,
being something uf a Ulrt, had been
written down us unspeakable in the
books of all thoroughbred Germans In
Heidelberg. She had a peculiar red
gown, and this gown and Newhlll's
pride were what went before his fall.
He fell In with her party at a city park
concert one evening and picked her out.
After they had circled round the little
promenade before the band stand and
the refreshment pagoda a few times,
he left her in a seat while he went to
the restaurant for a fresh cigar. He
was delayed thero a minute or two, and
when ho returned to the young woman
In red she wns choking back the tears.
She had nothing to say at llrst except
that Bhe must go home at. once, that
Germany was a horrid country, and
that German oflleers were abominable.
Little by little Newhlll wrung from
her the story of her sorrow. While ho
was In the restaurant, a German lieu
tenant In uniform and a Bohemian re
servo lieutenant had bent toward her
and exclaimed:
"Ah, but sho Is n stunning creature!"
To which the reserve lieutenant hnd
ndded:
"An English bird of paradise; perhaps
she would go back to Prague with me."
The oillcer hud emphasized his remark
with a leer and n. bow,
Newhlll took the young woman In red
to her door. Then he hastened back to
the City park. An American friend
there know something of the trouble,
for ho had noticed the olllcers apparent
ly lllrtlng with the girl in red. He said
he could recognize the two men, but
they had gone. Thero was u long chase
In and about Heidelberg for the two of
cers. Finally the Bohemian was found
alone In the restaurant on the Custle
Terrace. Newhlll walked up tor the
table nt which the officer sat and began
speaking to him. The Bohemian rose.
Newhlll relnted what had happeried In
the City park, and demanded nn apol
ogy. The oillcer, bursting with Insult
ed dignity, refused to give one. That
was about all there wus of It, except
that Newhlll staggered the oillcer with
a blow on the forehead, bowled him
over with another blow on the jaw, and,
In response to a rush of persons, more
or less unconcerned, scattered abroad
a easeful of visiting cards. The officer
gave no signs of Interest In passing
events, and so Newhlll returned to his
quarters in the Villa Uergltclm, nt the
lower end of the town, to which he
had moved recently. Ho recollected
thnt he had told somebody he would be
ut home from 11 to 12 o'clock the next
day. He kept his word, and punctually
at 11.01 he received a call from a lieu
tenant of massive proportions. Evi
dently the largest man In the garrison
had been selected to deal with the
North American savage. "Swords with
out bandages," was the burden of the
lieutenant's message, the privilege of
"raising" the weapons to pistols being
left to Newhlll. After some bentlng
about the bush Newhlll snld ho wouldn't
fight; not that he was afraid of the out
come If he should; he was willing to
demonstrate his qualifications by going
at once with his caller to the tennis
court behind the house nnd pinking a
half dollar on the first shot. However,
ho thought the reserve oillcer hnd been
punished enough; he was satisfied with
things as they were. It was not cus
tomary In America to fight duels, and,
as an Amerlcnn, he felt able to take care
of himself anywhere In the American
fashion. The oillcer remonstrated, but
In vain. Then he told Newhlll that
such conduct was ungentlemanly. New
hlll thereupon walked to the door, threw
It open, and pointed to it, In mute Invi
tation to the lieutenant to go If he
could not restrain his tongue. The lieu
tenant evidently thought that more vio
lence wns coming, lor, with the an
nouncement that his person was inviol
able and that Newhlll would be chas
tised In the stieet, he went out. New
hill replied, "I guess not," and went
down to luncheon.
Newhlll thought at first that he had
triumphed, but he must have had seri
ous misgivings during the week Im
mediately following the encounter, al
though he did not confess them.
Wherever he went he wns frowned on.
If he played billiards at Hneberlln's,
corps students and olllcers scowled at
him from the coffee tables. If he went
to the little city theater, dark looks met
his eyes whenever he raised them. If
he lounged late along the street men
stopped and whispered behind him.
Other Americans came to him with
tales of plots to overpower him and
beat him late at night when he might
be caught on his lonely way home.
Three Englishmen whom he never had
met before called upon him separate
ly and told him he might count on
their help whenever he needed It. They
had heard he was to bo waylaid and
beaten or run through, and they were
ready to see the fight out on his side.
Gradually Newhlll succumbed to the
pressure around him. In the begin
ning he had resolutely returned scowl
for scowl, sneer for sneer, and stare
for stare. If nn officer stopped near
him in the street Newhlll stopped, too.
If the officer grunted "Pful," Newhlll,
too, grunted "Pful." If an officer
made ns If to brush him to one side of
the walk, Newhlll went straight ahead
on a line of microscopical and mathe
matical exactness. For two or three
weeks he did not yield a hair's breadth
to anybody. But he was outnumbered.
Those who glowered on him and whis
pered about him were 20U or 300 to his
one. A man can't go through any con
siderable part of his life scowling,
sneering, staring, and pfuing without
ceasing, even for the Fake of aasslng
some of thnt life In Heidelberg, and
the strain of always being prepared
to Insult somebody and never coming
to the point soon began to wear out
Newhlll's nerves. His purpose of fac
ing down German custom and tradition
grew weak. He began to curse the
country and to stay at home nights,
and then, just live weeks after his cele
brated light, he threw up the game
and announced that he was tired of
Germany; the girl in red had gone to
Switzerland; he would go, too. And
he went, leaving with men all the sou
venirs of the country that he hnd col
lected in Heidelberg. He never sent
for thorn.
ONE FREE MAN.
Dining a five-year sojourn In Ger
many I saw only one English-speaking
foreigner who was able to behave as
he pleased and not be subject to re
peated annoyances from active or re
serve officers. He was an Australian.
He swung Into town with the air of
sole owner of the whole Neekar val
ley. He was six feet tall and of ro
bust build, and wore no braces. As he
strode up and down the Anlage
among officers, students, and profes
sors, he hnd u free athletic way of
hitching hl3 trousers occasionally and
of letting his body1 roll. Although the
best tempered man In the world ac
cording to American or English stand
ards, he might well have been Hugged
with red for the Information of any
body who would seek to bully him. He
had, In fact, the primitive American
notion that It was better to fight, no
matter how, than to run, and his man
ner betrayed his style of thought. One
of the first times he went to Haeber
leln's he nnd two officers reached a
billiard table at the same time, but ho
took possession of the balls and made
the preliminary shots with his English
friend. The olllcers stood by hesitat
ing whether to make a scene or not,
and the Englishman remarked Ironi
cally, but In subdued tones, that the
Australian might better look out that
the officer did not unsheath.
"If any man ilea to run me
through, I'll brealc him In two so
quick that tho bully will
never know what struck his
body, him."
The Australian was tho most fluent
man with unprintable English that had
visited Heidelberg for many years, and
the two officers could not fall to under
stand the fact, for English profanity Is
a Volapuk that everybody on the con
tinent understands; yet there was no
trouble. When the spring fair came
the Australian added ,to his reputation
by driving the sledge so that the metal
recorder Hew up the perpendicular like
a rifle ball and vanished among the
unmarked spaces. He struck the
punching cushion a blow that disabled
the machine, and burst the lungtestcr
on the second trlnl. In tlino he found a
congenial spirit In a Belgian, one of
those International mlBfits whose In
clinations seem ever at war with their
nationalities. The two ripped and
tore through the town with Impunity
In the carnival season, until It seemed
ns If they were of the same kind, but
they were not. Soon after tho Austra
lian loft town unscathed the Belgian
became Involved In a quntrcl which
closed his career as Newhlll's had been
closed.
One I nc I lie lit In the Australian's Hei
delberg cT?r Is worth telling here,
although It Is not necessary to Illus
trate the subject In hand, In n saloon
on the outskirts of the town he had a
misunderstanding with an oillcer who
had Just been transferred to the Hei
delberg garrison, and therefore proba
bly did not know the Australian's repu
tation. When his card was demanded
the Australian was distracted from his
constltutonnl desire to fight on tho spot
for his rights. He hnd In his pocket the
card of a mild young English school
master who was Btopolng at tho Hotel
Victoria, and this he gave to the officer.
The next morning the mild young Eng
lishman was astounded to bo called
from his breakfast to meet n smart
lieutenant with a challenge. It re
quired no end of explanation on the
Englishman's part to prove that ho
never had been In any German saloon,
did not know there was such a place
as the one In which tho trouble oc
curred, und at the time of the quarrel
had been lost In the study of the ruins
In Neckar-Stelnach. The mystery of
the mistake was cleared a week later,
but the Australian heard no more of
the affair. 'Perhaps the officer decided
that It was not worth while to revive
such a trivial matter; perhaps he ac
knowledged to himself that the Aus
tralian was a danserous man to deal
with; perhaps he was advised by col
leagues of longer Heidelberg experi
ence that a man who would fight on
the spot was not u fit antagonist for a
wearer of the king's coat1 not satis
factlonsfohig. At nil events, the Aus
tralian's exemption from challenged
and molestation was not violated.
PETTY EXACTIONS.
It Is not necessary, however, that the
foreigner In Germany should be In
sulted and bullied to learn the oppres
sive power of the officer. Let him go to
almost any theatre where the conven
tional German comedy Is played and
he will see the world In miniature re
volving around a sprig of a lieutenant.
I recall such a play given at the royal
Schausplelhaus In Berlin to Illustrate
the amazing things a civilian would do
If suddenly transported to the higher
plane on which the lieutenant lives. A
young lawyer and a young lieutenant
were to visit Hie same family In the
country, and by some mistake the son,
whose friends they were, was not at
home to receive them. The rest of the
family had not met the visitors. The
civilian arrived first, and was supposed
by the family to be the lieutenant In
chile; thereupon a great llutterlng of
the daughter's heart and grim satis
faction on the part of the veteran fam
ily man servant, whose heart beats
with Joy at the prospect of again serv
ing a uniformed gentleman. Undue
honors are heaped upon the civilian
from all sides; he sinks under them.
He Is too stupid to answer ;'ne coquet
tish advances of the daughter; he has
not dignity to command the respect of
the veteran of the last who had longed
to serve him. He does not curse the
old man once, and the old man retires
to a corner of the stage and curses him
for not cursing him. And, O crowning
horror of horrors, the supposed lieuten
ant offers to shnke hands with the
veteran! On the second day the young
lawyer learns what Is the trouble with
the persons who are bowing down to
him, and becomes so puffed up with
the Idea that It Is possible for him to
pass as a lieutenant that he does not
correct the mistake.
Thereby hangs a tale of civilian sor
row which teaches the same moral as
the fable of the ass In the lion's skin.
The civilian Is Introduced to an old
general, and becomes frightened at the
grand military language of the war
rior. Then he Is Introduced to a young
officer and stands aghast at the wit
and gallantry and dash of this eighth
wonder of society. When tho young
officer snorts through his nose about
war, the civilian cowers and stammers
and edges away. When tho young of
ficer lays his hand on his sword hilt
In an off-hand way, the civilian Jumps
and begins to apologize for an offense
he never committed. Surely something
must be wrong, surmise the unappre
clate coquette and her family and the
veteran man servant. Surely It is not
possible that lieutenant can be as stu
pid and cowardly and clumsy and hum
ble as this supposed lieutenant In civile,
nnd then comes the revelation, accom
plished through the sudden return of
the son, and the wondering household
learn that It Is In fact, as they sus
pected, only a poor thing of a lawyer
that has been with them, nnd no lieu
tenant at all. The visitor is made
comfortable at once In the humble
niche reserved for such Inconsiderable
creatures, and cuts no figure in the
rest of. the piny. When the lieutenant
wunes In ho Is as gay and witty and
superior to all uniformed mankind as
the fancy of the audience has been led
to paint him. He struts and flirts nnd
wins all feminine hearts, young and
old. He pats the young lawyer on the
back, and after recovering from his
fright, the young lawyer beams with
happiness. The servants do every
thing short of lying prostrate In the
lieutenant's pathway to be walked
over, and the daughter of the house
wilts away In his arms when he hints
of love. There Is a gay young girl in
the piece who tnlks with a nasal twang
to Imitate the lieutenant, affects to
walk and wear a slnglebarrelled glass
as he does, and otherwise delights the
audience by rehearsing the hero's class
eccentricities when he himself Is not on
the stage to play the paragon of fas
cination. EXPLAINS MANY THINGS.
After observing the behavior of civ
ilian theater-goers at a play of this de
scription, a foreigner can understand
why many things are as they are In the
great military empire. The clownlsh
ness of the young lawyer, or any other
young man who happens to act as the
typical civilian, excites convulsive
laughter. When ho shakes hands with a
private, for Instance, the people titter;
when he trembles before the truculent
declarations of the old General, they
roar; when he would llee or apologize
for living, because a real lieutenant lays
his hand on his sword hilt, they hold
their sides and shout "Bravo," "Aus
gnzleehnet," "Neln, nberdas 1st famos."
Finally, when tho gay young woman
shows how the demigod of society
walks and talks nnd looks his Infinite
superiority over the rest of Gernianklnd,
the applause and shouts and cheers
come In explosive volleys, again and
again, until sho has bowed and taken
flowers' and taken flowers and bowed
All CI
eatting
KsesSsssoT
ggsgs
and smiled and lllrted across the tttage
In her little act three or four times
more.
The foreigner who has witnessed one
such performance will walk out Unter
den Llnder or Ao der Anlage with a
new understanding or things. He will
wonder no lonuor at the amazing aim
with which the young men In uniform
plume themselves In public places, at
the masterly stares with which they
meet every pretty feminine face, at the
callous contempt with which they Ig
nore the pretence of men In civilian
garb. He will not puzzle his head
longer over the readiness with which
tho young man In the conventional
evening dress yields every point to the
gayly caparisoned rival In the drawing
loom, in the dance hall and ut the sup
per table especially at the supper table
and he will not be astounded to see
the grny-halred Privy Councillor, the
famous professor, and the learned mas
ter of science yield precedence at any
state function to the most youthful and
frivolous member of the officers' corps.
He will not be moved to even a com
ment when Informed that such a young
mini lins at the court of the Ilohonzol
lems a standing which the learning of
a Helmhollz or a Ranko, or the great
national services of a Krupp, or the
statesmanlike achievements of a Mlquel
cannot command. Finally, he will
comprehend why the deed called murder
In Germany when done by a civilian's
hand is called "protection of honor"
when done with the officer's sword.
MONARCHICAL N.UIUS.
Some Trnco oftim ISritisli Rule That
May Re Found in Several States.
From the Sun.
In one of the paragraphs of the Dec
laration of Independence the signers
declare that "the patient sufferance of
the American colonies" at last "con
strains them to alter their former sys
tems of government." Along with
the alteration there was In ninny
of the states, and more particularly in
the New England states, a complete
change of geographical designations,
consonant with the chance from mon
archical to republican government.
In most of the original states no trace
was retained of the titles of royalty or
aristocracy such as congress endeav
ored to do away with In prohibiting the
acceptance of any such title from "any
king, prince, or foreign state." But
notwithstanding this, monnrchlal titles
hnvo survived In some of the orlglnnl
states New York conspicuously
among them. There are In New York,
for Instance, as everybody knows, a
Kings county and a Queens county,
both on Long Island; and there Is,
moreover, Dutchess (Duchess) county
on tho Hudson river line and Richmond
county to tho south. There is a Dukes
county In Massachusetts; and In Vir
ginia, the most populous of the orig
inal states at the time of the Declara
tion of Independence, there are a King
George county, a King William county,
a King and Queen county, a Prince
William county, a Prince George coun
ty, n Prince Edward county, a Princess
Anno county, York and Lancaster
counties, and an Elizabeth City coun
ty. There are a Prince George's county
and u Queen Anne's county In Mary
llnnd, and Pennsylvania has a York
and Lancaster counties, but no nearer
approach to monnrchlal names.
In the extreme west and southwest
may be found King counties (there was
a Vice President named King), but no
Kings county as in this vicinity. One
of the largest of the counties of Wash
ington state, the county which Includes
the city of Seattle, Is King county, and
one of the smallest of tho counties of
Texas, with a population of less than
two hundred by the last federal cen
sus, Is King county, too. But there
Is no Queen or Queens county In either
state, and the same Is true of Cali
fornia, which has, however, a Kings
county, the other designations of geo
graphical divisions being to a great ex
tent Spanish. There is no King or
Queen county in New Jersey and no
monarchical designations of counties
In any of the New England states with
the one exception named, in Massachu
setts. tui: ;i;Ti,3:iiAX's motion.
A Fragrant Incident of Congressman
Dolliver's l.!it Cnuiimigu.
From tliUflWn.shiiiKton Post.
Congressman Dblllver, of the Ttnth
Iowa district, bus a bis tent which he
purchased from a stranded circus com
pany and now utilizes in his campaigns.
Last October, while making the round
of his district, Mr. Dolllvor reached
n town where It was too cold for an
audience In the tent, and adjournment
wus had to a great grocery storehouse,
which was able to accommodate nuin-
ERCEBEAO I Mil
At Our New and
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130 WYOMING AVENUE,
Coul Exchange, Opp, Motel Jcrmyn.
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ings," like un old "stonu in new
settings," shines more brilliant
than ever, und "shines for nil."
Diamonds, Fine Jewlary,
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Rich Cut Glass, Clocks,
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When you see our Net Prices
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Fi
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THE ff. E. FAIRBAUK COMPANY,
Chlcnjo, St. bouls, New York, liostou, I'bliaUelphla.
nj d mi u tv h m
hers of political truth-seekers. In onu
corner there wus a big barrel of sauer
kraut, and near this a great old-fashioned
stove, of the kind that will roar
like an elephant when the draft slide
Is pulled clear back.
With a great fire the crowd began to
feel comfortable, and quickly enthused
under the eloquence of the Fort Dodgo
orator. Everybody seemed to be un
mindful of the sauerkraut barrel, and
lost In the beautiful pictures of return
ing prosperity with the election of Mo
Klnley and the assurance of honest dol
lars and chances galore to earn them.
But In the 'midst of one of Mr. Dolll
ver's eloquent lights his attention was
distracted by an Irishman who said
he rose to u point of order.
"The gentleman may state It," quoth
Mr. Doll Ivor.
"Ol move you, sor," said he, "that a
committee be appointed to place a horsa
blanket on that barrel of sauerkraut."
The barrel had warmed with tho
growth' of the fire, nnd an odor that
was anything but agreeable In a politi
cal atmosphere was forcing Itself up the
nostrils of the faithful. The horse
blanket wns secured from a neighboring
stable and applied to the use designat
ed, after which Mr. Dolllver proceeded
to the end of his speech uninterrupted.
RAILROAD COMPANY.
PERSONALLY CONDUCTED TOURS
MATCHLESS IN EVERY FEATURE.
CALIFORNIA.
Tours to CALIFORNIA and the PACI
FIC COAST will leave New York and
Philadelphia Feb. 24, stopping at New Or
leans during Mnrdi Gras festivities, and
allowing four weeks In California, and
March 27, returning on regular trains with
in nine months. Round trip rates from all
points on the Pennsylvania Railroad sys
tem eusa of Pittsburg: $300.00 for tour cf
Fob. 21, und $210.00 for tour of March 27.
FLORIDA.
Jacksonville tours, allowing two weeks
In Florida, will leave New York and Phil
adelphia Feb. 9 and 23, and March 9, 1S97.
Rate covering expenses en route In both
directions, $30.00 from New York, and $4S.OO
from Philadelphia.
WASHINGTON.
Tours, each covering a period of threo
days, will lcavo New York and Philadel
phia Feb. 11, March 11, April 1 and 22, and
May 13, 1S97.
Kates, Including transportation and two
days' accommodation nt tho best Wash
ington hotels, $14.50 from New York and
$11.50 from Philadelphia.
OLD POINT COMFORT TOURS
RETURNING DIRECT OR VIA
RICHMOND and WASHINGTON,
will leave New York and Philadelphia
Feb. 20, March 18 and April 15, 1897.
For detailed Itineraries and other Infor
mation, apply at ticket agencies, or ad
diess Georgo W. Boyd, assistant general
passenger agent, Broad street station,
Philadelphia.
THE
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141
PENNSYLVANIA
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