The evening times., 1899-02-25
VALUABLE WALKING STICKS.
Interesting Historical Facts About
HiEh-Priced Canes.

(From Tid-Bits.)
In hairdreSSer's window at the hea. tn
resort of La Bourboule some little time
ago an ugly, ungainly cudgel worth about
sixpence was displayed, together with the
notice, "A stick of genuine olive wood
from Jerusalem. 1t formerly belonged to
Pontius PLATE in the year 27 of olW era.
Price, 1000 francs And one dssirous of
wasting little time might have asked the
vender for proofs of his veracity, but we,
having duly recorded the existence OF this
remarkable stick, will pass on to that of
Dr. II. Hale of Detroit, which is, to the
best of our belief. the most valuable stick
eXtant.
1t was formerly the practice of physi-
clans, as old prints prove, 10 carry canes
in the hollow heads of which some disin-
fectant was placed, which the doctor
smelled through perforations in the go d
top DR.. Hale's famous staff, however,
boasts of head containing fine chro-
nometer and is, with its jeweled orna-
ments, worth about s500.
1t is somewhat of a coincidence that two
of Her Majesty's most famous walking
sticks should be intimately connected with
the Stuart regime, but such Is the case.
The staff of the stick she habitually uses
we learn. is of stout English oak, and was
made for and presented to Charles ii by a
loyal subject at Worcester, the wood being
culled from a branch of the famous tree
whose leafy boughs gave the wandering
King shelter from the Cromwellian SOL
diery. The original head of gold was re-
moved some time ago and replaced by an
ornament taken from Seringapatam at the
fall of that city, in order to give Her
Majesty better grip
The Prince of Wales. who possesses no
fewer than 172 walking sticks, is obviously
a W ,I,f
whether he possesses a more interesting
specimen than that purchased at the Gull
loden sale by Her Majesty the Queen In
July, 1897. The stick in question was made
of hazel wood and the head was fashioned
so as to represent Wisdom and Folly. but
the special interest il possesses is the fact
that IL was once the property of Bonnie
Prince Charley" Her Majesty became its
owner by an outlay of G160.
A stick of more than ordinary interest is
one fashioned from an oar belonging to
one OF the most famous vessels OF this half
century, the Confederate steamer Alabama.
that eventually cost this nation some
G3, 500, 600.
The head is carved to represent Captain
Semmes, Of the Alabama below the bust
is dog symbolical Of Mr. John Lancas-
ter's yacht, the Deerhound through whose
agency many of the Alabama's crew were
sarge, off Cherbourg, in 1864. Four can
non. BEAUTIFULLY designed. form the upper
part of the stem, and the remainder of
the shaft is carved TO represent hempen
cables-altogether a walking stick not less
interesting than the one with a gold han
die shaped like a cap of Liberty be-
Queathed by Franklin TO George Washing
ton.
In July, 1890, a walking stick, once the
property OF George ", and before him of
George III, was sold by auction for Els
The staff was of ebony with a top of gold
upon which were engraved &c. R." and a
crown; the top also contained some locks
of hair OF the Princesses Elizabeth, Mary
and Sophie.
1t is somewhat strange that the stick of
Napoleon Bonaparte, Great Britain's ter
rible opponent at the time of the regency
should be sold during the reign of the
fourth George for cas-. The stock, by the
way, was of tortoiseshell