The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-01

sho did not possess. The Pasha sentenced the
prieat to be stripped naked. and then TO be
drawn through the pond for cattle, in order, 90
he said. to teach him to baptiZe for nothing.
Tho groat enomy of this Pasha was a man
who 10 now a very important person in
the western provinces OF the Turkish en-
pire. known as the Mollah Zeka, and 10 in
character not unlike the dervish who has
tho special confidence OF the Sultan. He was
not long ago under detention In Constantinoplo,
and when he returned to his own country he was
received with frantic enthusiasm. NJ. Berard,
in his book on Macedonia. describes his triumph
ant return and how the Mollah Zekn remained
apparently insensible 10 the homage Of his peo-
pie, as, with his turban forced down upon his
brows, his eyes half closed and fixed upon the
ground. and his hands engaged In telling his
beads, he passed through the crowds Of his ad-
mirers. This man Is destined to play n leading
part in tho massacres in Macedonia. which.
there Is reason to believe, arc even now in con.
temptation. The massncres in Armenia were
organized by men like him. strange compounds
Of hypocrisy and fanaticisn,. whe spent some
time in Constantinople. then returned to their
country. spoke TO the people as they were gath
cred round the mosques. and communicated to
them the wishes of tho Master"
The annual recurrence OF mountaineering ac-
49,
point to some pertinent remarks in the Lancet
as to a possible cause Of which ordinarily no ac-
count Is made. Loss Of balance, misplaced foot
ing, or rccklessncss are supposed to explain IA
talities which are otherwise unaccountable. No
account is made ordinarily Of probably the COM
monest cause Of all. namely. syncopc due to car
diac lesion. The effects Of great attitudes upon
| persons Of weak circulation-a weakness Of
which they arc probably ignorant-aro most
-.l-,,- " -- rtNA
Three years ago Baron Paccoy. who had for
two days been acting rs guide to the Queen of
Italy. stumbled and fell into n crevasse on the
Lyskamm, not. rs was as first thought, by
inadvertcnco in walking. but by ~iEstanta-
ncous heart failure occurring ut the danger
Gus spot in question. May not this account FOR
the strange disappearance Of Mr.. Cooper at
| Zermatt. now being investigated at the instance
of our Foreign Office by the %cantonal authori-
ties May he not have fallen into the visp
when suddenly overtaken by the syncopc not
unusual in . septuagenarian beside a rushing.
%brawling mountain streami The hypothesis 10
well worth entertaining, strengthened as it 10
by tho circumstances under which. on Sunday,
the 18th inst, the burgomeister OF n Westpha-
liam town met his death on the Furka Pass. This
gentleman, with his wife and a young Italian
officer as compagnon de rogdDe, left Apdermatt
on the morning Of that day for the Rhone
Glacier. Everything went we'll till they came
within sight OF the object OF their journey,
when the burgomeister, rising in the carriage
to get q better view, had barely uttered.
oh! C'est maGnifQueF when he dropped
down dead. The great altitude, the rarefied
air. tho high tcnsion-conditions inseparable
from Alpine ascents-were too much for q
chronic sufferer from weak heart and he col
lapsed accordingly. Now. had this syncope oc-
CURED at a difficult spot Of the Rhone Glacier
itself, had it supervened on the edge Of o
crevasse into which the victim fell, would not
the incident have been classified az accident
due to misadventure to ono or other
OF the merely pedestrian risks encountered
by every Alpine climberi Tho whole
question opens up a series Of consid-
~erations very gravely present to the Swiss
medical faculty. in view Of the multiplication Of
such engineering enterprises as the Jungfrau
Railway, for example, which will shortly DO
'ballooning' passengers Of all ages and bodily
conditions to a height of over II, 900 feet above
the sea level. At a congress OF the said faculty,
held some time ago at Aroma, the perils and the
precautions incidental to such railway develop
ment were fully discussed, and an impressive
warning was given to the travelling public not
to venture on rapid ascents above the snow limo
without previous sanction on the physician's
part"
Another attempt is being made to break down
the inexorable rule printed upon all Covent Gar
den opera tickets: Evening dress indispens-
able" The same rule has all the force Of invari-
able custom in the stalls and dress circle of Lon
don theatres, so that an attack upon 1t In the
lofty citadel of grand opera is the height of
temerity. Nobody of less rank than an earl
would venture to raise such a protest with any
hope OF getting a hearing, but a peer of the
realm has come forward with q very vigorous
expression of democratic views on the subject.
The Earl of Dysart. in a letter 10 tho Times to-
day. says:
ut can surely no longer DO commended that
the majority OF opera-goers find their principal
attraction in the dress OF their neighbors, seein.
that the directors have very wisely adopted the
Bayreuth tradition of darkening tho theatre.
Those who know will. / think, agree with me
that it Is not due to tho efforts of Mayfair and
Belgravia that Beethoven and Wagner have
recently como to tho front; and l am, there-
fore. at q loss to understand why this
section of society should have the power
TO enforce their prejudice to the Inconvenience
OF others. There are few to whom ! have spoken
on the subject. especially Of those In the musical
and artistic world, who are not Of my ~opinioni
With tho opera beginning, as 1t sometimes does,
as early as 7 o'clock, tho Inconvenience of even-
ing dress ESPECIALLY to those who. like myself,
| 10 HOL oSluo III LDuuOuI OuRut " 10 apparent
even to the most bigoted Of its devotees.
One might have thought that what 10 con.
sidered good enough in every Continental capt.
tai. where tho opera house Is an ornament in
the fashionable quarter. should be sufficiently
correct In a capital where the opera house Is
situated In q neighborhood reeking with cab
bage leaves and other market refuse. To me 1t
is a question whether the opera. from an educa-
tional point of view. is not even moro important
than the London School Board. and 1t should.
therefore. BIO thoroughly democratic, and, II this
be the case, I cannot maintain too strongly that
the future of the opera In England, as every
where else. depends on the due recognition Of
this principle.
III Vanity Fair imag.nes that Its privileges
are being tempered with. / would suggest that
ono or two days In the week should be SGT aside
for the star system and diamonds, and their ad-
wlrers, who do not 60 to the opera at 7 o'clock.
to have their full sway. Personally l believe
that many are kept away from the opera BY