The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-01-06

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first time, 80 lar as known. III The Childten OF
Limberg" poem cOml osed in the Meth rlaDds
about 1887. According to the story, az told in
this poem, Lady Venus hold her court in The
interior OF such mountains In brilliant style,
with song and dance, banquets and revels.
Persons of earthly mold descend To her abode
and tarry a longer or shorter time, some even
10 the day of judgment, leading life of con-
iinuous pleasure. Heinrich Won Limberg and
Tannbauser, knight, figure In this romance.
Yet mortals run The risk of eternal perdition,
trance TO the mountain and warns pe0pe
against entering. About the middle of the thir
teenIb century there lived in Germany Ger
man knight, named 1aGnnanser, who, as
NeIdhart relates, resided. after his return
from the wars. as MinneslDger at tho
court of the Austrian Dukr. Frederick III.
the Quarrelsome. AT the Dukes death, aud
after navin wasted bis substance in dissipa-
tiOn, he resided with Duke OttOII of Bavaria.
partly led a wandering life and composed bal
lads ana dance songs. He was In love with
Lsaura a lady of MaDtua. He confd d IN
HiauO, philosopher who talked with him
about supernatural subjects. and told him that
lie should we Lady Venus as his love II lie
had courage TO enter NenuSberg TannnauSer,
who did not lack courage and who thought
more of pleasures than he did OF the love of
Lisaura started OF on his journey TO the sub
teiranean palace of Venusberg. When Isisaura
heard of this she put an end 10 her life After
living life OF rotOus pleasure for year he
repenied. obtained permission from DIV Venus
TO leave for a short time. and their partine Is a
painful one. lie returned o Mantua and then
paid a visu Of pendnce another city, where
he made his confession, and at its close, the
minister who heard him and who mad a staff In
his hand told him as he drove IL into the
ground: "Man, you can no more hope for par
don than l expect 10 see this staff put
forth BUDS" Tannhauser departed in despair,
and as The legend has II, returned TO Venus
berg. Tire days after his departure the staff
actually did bud, and search was made I'm all
directions for Knight Tannhauser, but he
could not be found. 1t was out OF tbls-fact
and Lao nd huf Xaon din thf.v nj nf of rio
opera, in which he obeyed his own artistic in
spiration, but when first produced, the musical
taste of The public condemned both the plot
and the music.
LONGEST TUNNEL-A. A, City. The longest
railway tunnel in the world ls The ST. GOthard,
on he line OF the railroad between Lucerne
(Switzerland) and Milan Qtaly). The summit
of the tunnel is 900 feet below the surface at
Andermatt and $500 feet below the peak Of the
Kastelhorn of the ST. Gothard group. The tun-
mel is 261a feet wide, IS feet 10 inches from
the floor to the crown OF The arched roof and
91a miles long, This stupendous enterprise
was commenced In January. 1871, and on
February 20, 1880, the borings from the Swiss
and Italian sides met, though much time and
labor were still required to prepare the tunnel
for railway traffic. The Mount Gents tunnel is
not so long. it measuring only miles 4s4 fur.
longs, but 1t Is wider and higher than the st.
Gothard tunnel. 1t is called the Mount Cents,
considerable distance from the mount of that
name. The chief summit under which IL passes
Is the Grand WALTON, IL ,0CO feet high. 1t con-
meets the railways of France and Italy and Is
on the direct railway route from Paris TO Turin.
At Bardonneche. on the Italian side, 1t Is 434
feet higher than il Is at Modane, on the French
side; therefore II Is on gradient OF 10 4512
from Modane TO the middle. and thence ii falls
1 In 1000 TO Bardonneche, the latter fall being
sufficient to carry of the water. The dimen.
sions at Modane are: 20 feet 31a inches wide
al the base, 26 feet 2A inches at Its widest
part and "a feet inches IN height, the arch
being nearly semi-clrcular. AT Bard0nneche It
is 11s4 inches higher The work was begun In
1857 and on the 25th OF December. 1870. the
working parties met. 1t was formally opened
In September, 1871. The longest river tunnel
in the world is the one connecting Port Huron.
Mich, with Sarnia, Canada, beneath the st.
Clair River. Ii Is $3.50 feet long.
GREEGE-Readers of THE CALL. City. In
1920 the Greeks broke out In rebellion against
Turkish rule, and by their bravery and determ-
ination and the friendly countenance of Chris
tian Europe, the rebels against Turkish ignor-
ance, brutality, tyranny and greed established
Greece as an Independent domain in 1929.
Capo d'Istrias. the frst President OF liberated
Greece. was assassinated in 1881; and after
several candidates for the throne of the infant
kingdom had been proposed and rejected. Ohio,
the second son OF the King OF Bavaria. was, In
1882. chosen by the three powers, Great
Britain, France and Russia which had assisted
in the struggle for freedom from the Turks.
The reign OF Ohio was not peaceful. and In
1862 he was banished. The crown was the
offered to Prince Alfred Of England. but he
could not be elected, as the agreement betwe en-
the protecting powers stood in the way. In
1868 George, son of CHRISTIAN TX Of Denmark,
became King, and known as Georgias /. By