The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-07-23
THE GREAT PETER"
The Curious Vandalism of an Cid
A~ristocratic German Family.

Curious tales of life in Europe only
forty years ago are told by Baron de
Malortie in This recent book of remin-
iscences, "'Twixt Old Times and
New" In 1866 he visited a certain old
Freiherr Won Schreckenburg, whose
family was so old that several armies
had sacked his castle and burned
parts Of it. At dinner, when coffee
was served, M. de Malortie noticed q
tiny silver cream jug OF the most ok
quisite old Russian workmanship, on
a very large silver salver, three feet
by two. The jug had been presented
to the family by Peter the Great, who
had spent three weeks at the castle,
and the hostess explained about the
salver:-
"We had the set all complete, she
said, tray. teapot, sugar basin, ket-
tie and the rest; also two cups and
some spoons and forks and knives.
But it gave so much bother to clean.
Besides, we had our wedding set, and
SO | had the old things melted down
and this big tray made out of it. 1t
is the same silver, you know, and we
/ always call it the Great Peter The
Jug was lost at the time, and we only
found it after the tray came home.n
II looked at the Count M. de
Malortie remarks, land the Count
looked at me, and even the old pastor
seemed to acknowledge the vandalism
of our hosts:-'It is the same silver,
you KNOWN The beautiful Gobelin
tapestries on the walls of the
rooms once occupied by the great
Car were tattered and pierced with
bullet holes, because the boys were
accustomed to amuse themselves with
| pistol practice there when it was too
| cold to shoot outdoors. Other tapes
try hangings and rugs of great value
were used as overs in place of
blankets. Blankets, it seems, would
have cost money, while the tapestry
was there. When NJ. de Malortie
suggested hat the hangings might
have been sold, he received this re-
| ply:-'sSold! | should blush for so
mean an act"
This freiherr had so far resisted
modern progress that he had never
travelled by rail, seen a town,
touched a newspaper, or written a
letter.
Is 1t for woman's Greater Happiness?
The Spectator discusses the inter-
esting question whether will
be any the happier for the mathema-
tical and classical distinctions which
they are winning-distinctions which
they are likely to achieve in increas-
ing numbers in the future. Suppose
Gt asks one of these new learners
finds that her first use of her distinc-
ton must be to add to her
| by teaching, and that teaching hap
pens to be to her very far indeed from
an enjoyment? That has certainly
been the lot of thousands of men who
have gained the high prizes in mathe-
NAUTICAL and classical careers; and
| though not a few have enjoyed the
teachers life, thousands ofEthem have
bitterly lamented over the slavery
Of teaching, a slavery which they
could never have incurred but
for their aptitude in learning.
Women will have just the same ex-
perience, and, indeed, it may to many
Of them be even more burdensome,
for, as yet at least, unpalatable intel
lectual toll is probably easier to men
| than to Again, to many of
these new scholars it may seem a duty
to undertake some of those laborious
tasks which have strained all the en-
ergies of the strongest men-like the
compilation of cyclopedias or diction-
aries, or systematic treatises requiring
continuous application from day to
day for years together, and the organ
ization and criticism of a vast quaint
ty of routine work. Will the work of
intellectual mill-horses suit the ten
derer and more sensitive natures of
women? Yet it will inevitably fall
upon some of those who are competent
to discharge these duties, and who
will not see any other mean of earn
ing the incomes which they will
soon come to feel that it is their duty
to earn for those less able than them
selves to add to the of the
family group to which they belong.
We think it all but certain that the
more mechanical departments of high
intellectual toll will exhaust women
even more than they exhaust men of
the same calibre, and yet that they
will not feel that they can in good
| conscience avoid them, where they
are the most obvious means of adding
to the of their families.
Undoubtedly the inevitable conse-
quence of finding a new capacity for
| laborious duties will be the undertake
ing of a great many labOrious duties
which will render wolnen's lives a
heavy burden to them in countless
cases, as it has, of course, rendered
mems lives a burden to them.
Mrs. v~anderbiit's BED.
Mrs. Willie K. Vanderbilt is said to
have the most imposing bed in New
York. 1t revives the ancient style of
posts and canopies, and it stands en-
throned, as it were, on a raised plat
form, two steps high, in the centre of
her room. which has four windows
looking out, two on Fifth avenue and
two on F~ifty-second street. The
bedstead is of rosewood and the,cano-
ply used to be lined with an enormous
plate glass mirror, so that the sleeper
could see her face and figure as long
as she kept awake, but this vulgar
thing has been removed and is now
replaced by the more conventional
panel of old rose satin.-ChatteT.
A Tribute to a Noble Woman.
There is no surer sign of a M ore
liberal civilization and q wiser world
than the perception that the bounds
of legitimate womanly interest and
activity are not to be set by men as
1 1orA+~fCnn ~ ,,,,1~ rk1sr WV, 1Ar.