Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-25


| seems probable that, If the two republics
| had not been anxious to emphasize the
| fact that they were separate states. en-
| titled to act Independently Of each other.
| Cape Colony. and not Natal, would have
! seen them strike their first blow
| Feeling in France.
| The French press is showing its hatred
| OF England, as usual. over the TrsnsVaal
war. Many of the Paris papers raised
| Boer flags over their offices as tokens OF
delight when an English reverse was an
| nounced the other day. \ writer in the
| Globe reminds the French OF the different
| attitude taken by England during the
| Franco-Prussian war OF 1870 He says:
| No London newspapers decorated their
| offices because of the fall of Sedan and
! Metz, but the news was received With re
| Spectul sympathy. Moreover thousands
| OF ladies set to work TO prepare lint Tor
| the wounded and when PARIS fell large
| sums We're subscribed by the 'pertidious
| English for the relief of the starving and
| wounded French. on January Is, 1871,
| meeting was held in London to raise iunds.
| and in four days f24.OoO were subscribed.
| the total reaching tl26,Vno. On February
| , siNty-eight tons of food were taken over
! to Paris by Colonel Stuart-N ortley ana
| Mr.. George Moore. IN addition 70 inns
| f44.o00 were subscribed for the french
| peasant farmers seed fund, over to,oJN tor
| distressed in France by the London com
! nittee nearly 10000 for the refugees ne
| nevOlent fund, nearly 5000 for the French
wounded, besides many other contributions
! in money and kind The great sympathy
! shown by tho United States together with
| the gift of the hospital ship Maine, is re-
! garded here with much gratitude, but II is
| no more than was anticipated by those
| who know the generosity of Americans in
| such junctures the present.
Houses for workmen.
| Lord Roseberry opened on Monday three
! blocks of workmens dwellings at Shore
| ditch in the 4-ast End of London. the first
| of their kind that have been built III the
| metropolis by local authority other than
| the London county council or the city cor
poration. They have been erected at cost
| OF 10000 upon site OF some OF the most
| filthy and unhealthy slums in the whole of
| London. and will afford accommodation for
| 400 people. While ShoreditCh has made
| this modest beginning with a system of ar
| tisans' dwellings, Il gigantic project Is now
under consideration in another important
| metropolitan district, St. PanCras, to which
| i have referred in these letters. Here the
| idea Is to spend round million Of pounds
| on clearing away a number of slums and
| building upon the site thirty blocks of
| buildings, each Of five stories. and contain
| ing $50 rooms.
| It is estimated that some 5000 persons
could be housed at a cost which would
| work out at about 800 per room. The site
/ for each block is calculated at 100000, 50
| that the total outlay would cost $4,000 per
block. or 100000 for the whole work. BY
| raising loan at 2is Per cent the eXpeCta-
| ton is that the scheme would become a
! paying venture. As, however, this expec-
tation is based on a rental OF shillingS 4
room and every room is supposed to be
| occupied throughout the year 1t appears
| to be unduly saneuine one The scheme
has yet to receive the sanction of the To-
cal authorities
| New Bicycle.
! a new cycle claiming 10 possess perfect
| rightly without vibration, which was eX-
I,Sls
| nounced by general consent to be a vast
| Improvement on the ordinary machine
Some experts. indeed. went so far as to say
that the difference in riding on it instead
( Of ordinary machine was precisely
| similar to the difference of comfort expert
| enced III travelling in 4 modern carriage
as compared with a journey made in a
srringless cart. The new machine has no
spring frame; It is rather a cycle with an
absolutely rigid frame hung on springs pre-
clSsly in the same way as a locomotive and
| its tender are hung, the hubs of the wheels
sliding in grooves. The principle Of con
structiOn is such that when the springs
are compressed to the utmost on passing
| over any obstacle the distance between the
saddle and the ped8 remains the same.
| The rider took the machine over bricks
and temporary curbs without inconveni-
| ence; and it would seem that the cycle ma
| remove one of the objections raised by
| medical men against the indulgence in
| wheeling by nervous subjects. since It en-
urely obviates the constant vibration which
| Is found to be prejudicial to them.
The Cromwell Statue.
Whatever views may be entertained on
| the constitutions, question involved in the
erection of the Cromwell statue in front of
the parliament building, there can hardly
| be two opinions to the artistic elegance
OF the monument. It is one of the finest,
| IL not the finest of Londons statues. fit
70 THrirl
nificert though fantastic presentment OF
James II in Whitehall. The protector is
splerdidly posed on the summit of a lofty
PEDESTAL of white stone, with the gray walls
of Westminster Hall as an effective back
ground He Is shown h5aded, his long
hair falling III orderly disorder about his
shoulders. His right hand rests on the hilt
of his heavy cavalry sword, and in his left
is a massive Bible. There is half-depre-
catory look about the features, as II the
figure were appealing for the kindly treat
ment OF posterity, but with it all the Crom-
we'll Of the sculptor is decidedly the man of
power and of action that history records.
About the only thing in the memorial which
Is likely to excite criticism is the bronze
lion, which finds a place the tOpmost
step of The base of the pedestal. This is
suggestive of the pet dog upon the domes-
tic hearth rather than the British king Of
beasts doing watch and guard. Looking at
it, one cannot help thinking that the statue
would have gained in dignity If this feature
had been omitted.
A Stirring Scene.
There was a stirring scene at the Alham-
bra Music Hall last night when Kipling's
Absent minded Beggar'' was sung TO
music composed by Sir Arthur Sullivan.
The announcement drew an enormous audi
ence to the Leicester Square house. When
Sir Arthur appeared In the conductors
seat about 10 o'clock he was received with
round after round of cheers. Then John
Coates came out from the wings. and,
amid GREATNESS silence, began kipling's
now famous song, when you've shouted
Rule Britannia, when you've sung God
Save the Queen" i he Alhambra had at
tached to the program the music of the
chorus and by the time Coates got to the
end of the second verse the audience had
mastered the chorus, Dukes son, cooks
con. son of hundred kings" and gave 1t
out with might and main. Sir Arthur has
succeeded in infusing with Kipling's rug
ged but touching and vigorous lines much
of their spirit, and this is especially true
with regard to the chorus, which Will in q
few days be as popular in the streets as It
proved to be al the Alhambra. Both Sir
Arthur Sullivan and Coates were recalled,