The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-19

sympathizing friends. The instruction
thus begun TO spread far and wide among
the oppressed Herzegovinians and later
to Servia, with results which the world
knows.
One of the most terrible wars which
ever devastated China had a ludicrous
origin. A Chinese magnate was travelling
with his retinue in one of the wild DIS
tricts ia the northern part of the empire
and among his baggage was a small tea
pot, on which, through its associations
he set great value.
Part of the baggage, including this cher
ished piece of earthenware, fell into the
hands of rowing band of robbers WHO
promptly smashed to pieces the seemingly
worthless teapot. Its angry owner report
ed the outrage to the Emperor, with the
result that an expedition was dispatched
TO punish the offenders. This raid led TO
the long and bitter war between the noun
taineers and the imperial forces, Whlch
lasted the greater part of century ana
led to the loss of hundreds of thousands
of lives.
1t is known now on the highest authority
that the Franco-German war, with all It's
appalling loss of life and money, was pre-
cipitated by a few slight verbal altera-
lions made in a dispatch by Bismarck
himself. The disastrous seven years
war was the direct result of the vanity
It
see his name in the Gazette" and 1t was
deliberately provoked by a contemptuous
reference 10 France which he himself
made to Nine. Pompadour.
One of the fiercest wars ever waged be-
tween the Spaniards and the Moors was
directly traceable to petucoat which be
longed to a Spanish lady of fashion. The
petticoat, which was trimmed with rare
and valuable lace, excited the cupidlty of
Moor, who saw it hanging out to dry
after being washed.
The Moor purloined the garment and
stripped It of its lace which he foollshly
used to adorn his uniform. The thief was
promptly discovered and arrested, but es-
capped conviction by means of the perjured
evidence of his friends, who swore that he
had bought 1t in Granada
A few days after his acquittal the Moor
was found dead In bed and his friends in
retaliation seized a leading Spanard and
killed him. The feud thus started between
Spanish and Moors quickly spread and
long and bitterly fought war between the
rival races ensued.
One of the most serious of the many civil
wars in Italy was due TO the misplaced
energies which led a Florentine housewife
to empty a bucket of dirty water on the
head OF a passing citizen of Milan; and
as Palmerston used TO say, there were
only three men who ever knew the cause
of the Schleswig- Holstein disputes two of
whom died before the war, while the third
had been completely forgotten.
Few causes, however, have been quite
so trivial as that which is said to have led
to the war of the Spanish succession.
which followed the death of Charles II Of
Spain and crowned Marlborough with
glory.
AT great ball given at the Tuileries the
ambassadors of Great Britain and Spain
were paying court TO a grande dame, who
begged them to fetch her glass of water.
When the two ambassadors had returned,
each carrying a glass of water. II was
only to find that their protege had been
carried off by French courtier to dance.
In the excitement caused by this defec-
ton the English ambassador managed to
upset the water carried by his brother of
SPAIN but an apology promptly put the
matter right. The two ambassadors thus
reconciled, and having a common griev-
ance sought out the rival Frenchman
and challenged him to a duel.
This painful incident led to heated diplo-
matte correspondence and did much to ac-
centuate bitter feeling between the ma
tons and TO hasten the war that followed,