The sun., 1897-11-16
The sdunchausen Centennial.

Most people fancied that the material for
centenaries was pretty nearly exhausted.
They thought that the end Of 1t was In
sight with the anniversary OF the battle Of
Trafalgar. But no; the Germans have now
broken the record. They have just cele.
brated the centenary of the far-famed
Baron MUNcHAUsEN.
Unenlightened mortals hereabouts used
to think that MuNoHAUsEN was legen.
Diary hero. There are few people who have
not read the story of his exploits, and many
have seen them and enjoyed the spectacle
hugely in the old English pantomime.
But the Baron was by no means an i'm.
aginary character. He flourished in flesh
and blood, and the pantomime did not
present anything more than mere sketch
of his adventures. He belonged, we nre told
by the German newspapers, to one of Che
most ancient families of Germany, and his
descendants gave to Hanover and Bruns-
wick many distinguished statesmen. He
was born In 1920 in the magnificent do
main of Bodenwerder. He was educated
with great care, like all the young mobiles of
his time, and when he was q youth he be-
came page In the service of his lord,
the Duke of BRUNSWICK. His determined
character and singular intelligence made
him prominent. The Duke of BRUNSWICK
was charmed with him, and when he was
20 years old he became a Lieutenant in the
Riga regiment of Russian cuirassiers, of
which the Empress ANNA afterward made
him the Colonel. MtNCHAUsEN was an
excellent officer. He was conspicuous in
fxuo ;ro T,,, IL
he displayed brilliant military qualities
and unquestionabie bravery. At last he
got married to a charming Livonian lady
named JAooBINE Won DUNTEN. Thereupon
he abandoned the military career and re-
tired to his country seat.
1t was then that his reputation became
legendary. Rich, hospitable, and passion
ate hunter, he made his house the rendez-
vous of all the country nobility In the
neighborhood Of the Weser. In company
with his friends, smoking his pipe and
drinking his punch. he liked to tell ex.
travagant Stories His Imagination was
prodigious and his wit was never exhausted.
Everybody listened to him with pleasure,
because he was comical and good natured.
His companions were always interested
were never presented in the form of facts.
But as he grew older he became feeble
minded and fancied that he was really the
hero Of the marvellous exploits which he
used to laugh at years before.
In that way he lived for several years
with his amiable and good wife, surrounded
by a society of friends who listened to him
with delight, flattering his vanity and glo.
rifying his exploits.
Then fortune abandoned him; his stories
were turned against himself. An English
man among his guests took it into his head
to gather up all the nonsense that he used
to talk about. He published it in volume
which was full of satire. The little book
had an enormous success. Five editions Of
it were published in London in two years.
After that it was translated into German
and reproduced with malignity in in
Vulnerable editions In his own coun-
try. Naturally enough, the Baron did
not like the fame that was given to him
In that shape. He appreciated thoroughly
the ridicule with which his ill.natured his.
torians surrounded him; and when his
good wife died he was foolish enough to
marry for the second time. in spite of his
advanced years. This was a new misfor-
tune for the Baron. His second wife was a
faithless coquette who covered the old
mans forehead with shame and almost
completely depleted his Golfers. He had to
go to law with her in order to get rid of
her. Soon afterward he died. The stories
that he used to tell to amuse his guests
were the cause of all his trouble.
MtNCHAUsEN was always popular in
Germany. His old domain at Bodenwerder
is still preserved as a place of pilgrimage,
and his marvellous adventures are more
read and more enjoyed than ever. They
have inspired many artists, among them
GUsTAvE DoRE, who found good material
in those original compositions. They were
translated and adapted into several Ian
guages. In France, for example, everybody
has read the Adventures of NJ. DE CRAo,"
which has had such glorious success in our
juvenile literature. 1t is nothing more
than an adaptation of the Adventures of
Baron MUNCHAUsEN."
After MtNcHAUsEN it only remains to
have centenary of "Jack and the Bean
Stalk" 1t is said that ROBERT G. niger.
SOIL got his first taste for literature from
that famous story.