The San Francisco call., 1896-03-22

but protest against it by the Lord Chief
Justice, who said that the bench with a
single exception was opposed to it, and by
others in the name of the liberty Of the
press, renders it unlikely that the measure
will ever pass. at least in its present form.
The superior officers of the Salvation
Army here dislike to say much about the
American trouble, but it has been great
shock to them and fear they will hear
some unpleasant reflex action over here,
especially among their women who can
not fail to be more or less affected by the
news that their seeding American sisters
are to be rid of the odious poke bonnets
and to have uniforms of engaging tlnts
and shape. They profess to see in those
changes ample evidence that Ballington's
head has been completely turned by social
flattery and that he lost altogether the con-
ception of primitive simplicity and
poverty which is the essence of the
army idea, and scout the notion that this
detection will have any disintegrating in
fuence, but it is plain enough that the
poke bonnet issue makes them nervous.
There is a curious report ahoat in Paris
that majority of the Academicians are
privately arranging to elect AIphonse
Daudet to the Dumas vacancy, in defiance
of the old rule about personal visits of ap-
plication by candidate and in spite oi
his savage onslaught on them in Lin
mortel' eight years ago. 1t is even said
that an envoy has been appointed to sound
him as to whether he would accept. His
friends seem to credit the story and are
divided in opinion only as to what view
he is likely to take of the suggestion. The
reactionary papers have been pointing out
for years back. as the standard of literary
performance was steadily lowered in the
Academy elections, that the effect of the
republic was to strangle literature, and
soon, it will be difficult to find people with
any qualification whatever for a 'fau.
teuil," and very possibly some such idea
is underlying whatever there Is in this re.
port. 1t might not be bad politics fol-
what is called the ducal party in the
&C ademy to direct public attention to this
alleged dearth of fit applicants by plump
ing for man who has always laughed the
academy to scorn. Besides, it would have
the merit of slamming the door once more
in Zola's anxious face.
OI. w lllldIu Cdl1Ou, now living IL
Glamorgan, entered his one hundred and
seventh year Monday. There is not the
slightest room for doubt il the matter, fol-
the vicarage record in Wickham, Suffolk
records his baptism on the day of his
birth. This haste is being accounted for
by the fact that he was weakly infant
His father was physician, man of po
sition, so that no confusion on the subj ject
was possible from the beginning. He i.
still in excellent health, though he has no
driven out of doors since his hundredtt
year, and stopped smoking as regular
thing when he was ninety, though now
and then ne has cigarette and drinks
port more freely than he used to do. HI
derives deep pleasure from the faith thai
he is the oldest justice of the peace, the
oldest physician and the oldest Free Mason
in the world, and Gladstone, who is young
enough to be his son, sends him birth
day telegram each year with sincere
wishes for here and hereafter.
Mr.. Bayard quite naturally declines tc
say word one way or the other about the
House resolution, at least until after the
full debate has reached him. Meanwhile
l can recall no other American perform
ance for the past dozen years which has
been so unintelligible to European minds
HAROLD FREDERIC.