Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-01-05
snuffed out on the deck of the we'll

snuffed out on the deck of the we'll
named Victory.
1t Is a gentle intimation, by means
of a nine-ton wreath of green stuff,
that upon occasion England has been
checked once too often, and when that
happened somebody invariably got
hurt.
But as 1 have said, my admiration
the other day was not for Horatio Mel
son. but for the intrepid Mr.. Harrison
and his nimble assistants. He did the
trick with eighteen-foot ladders. He
planted a ladder at the base of the
monument and tied the top of it with
ropes; then another ladder was run up
to the top of the first, the lower part of
the second ladder being roped to the
top rounds of the first. while its top
was fastened firmly to the monument;
thus Mr.. Harrison went up and up in
an incredibly short space of time.
1t was supposed there would be some
difficulty in getting over the coping at
the top of the monument, but this pre-
sented no difficulty to the active Mr..
Harrison who speedily found himself
in position to shake hands with Lord
Nelson hundred and seventy-six feet
from the ground.
Trafalgar square. where the monu-
ment stands, was laid out somewhat
less than sixty-six years ago, and so
is comparatively modern feature of
London. Sir Robert Peel called it the
finest site in Europe, but in that ]
think he was wrong. / should give
that title to the Place de Concord in
Paris, or the top of the hill in Brus-
sells where the huge block of modern
public buildings stands in a position
where 1t can be seen from almost any
part of the city, standing high above
the town, and commanding the wilder
ness of roofs that clusters at its feet.
England was somewhat slow in re-
cognizing Lord Nelson. He bequeathed
to the nation his Legitimate daughter,
and the nation paid not the slightest
attention to his bequest. 1t was not
ed at the cost of nearly hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. Even when the
shaft was erected long time elapsed
before Landseer's lions were placed at
the foot. The great animal painter
took his time over the lions; and in
one respect they were similar to the
base of the statue of liberty in New
York-that is, they became a standard
newspaper joke because of the delay in
placing them in position. 1t was not
until 1868 that they were set to guard
Lord Horatio Nelson, and then the
papers unkindly said that they were
not like lions at all, and that the old
lion at the top of Northumberland
house refused to recognize them as be-
ing of the same species as himself
1t was even said that the lions at the
zoo framed a protest to parliament
against the lions which Sir Edward
Landseer had placed in the most prom
inent position in London. Succeeding
generations, however. have reversed
this newspaper verdict, and artists of
to-day claim the lions of Landseer are
the most noble effigies of that dis
tinguished beast that mankind has yet
executed. The tall monument took
three years in building, and so far as
l know has never been decorated be-
fore.
The old ship Victory, on which Mel
son died, still lies in Portsmouth har-
Dor. and the other day wreath was
placed on the spot where the admiral
expired few hours after victory was
assured. The Victory, on the day the
monument was decorated, was also COW
cred with bunting, and lying near was
French yacht which made sympa-
thetic display of color.
Just as the old battleship and the
new yacht lay in peace together, let us
hope the recriminations between ma
lions will cease, and that lambs and
lions all over this green earth will not
disturb our meditations with their
heretofore eternal row.