The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1900-12-21
10 w @ @l
"TNE WoRLe ONE RUMpREB
) YEARS l6o TODAY" !:
Copyrighted. Iseo. by r n. Hughes.
DECEMBER 21. 1900.

@~@@%&@4A 41AA @Ae 54C1Vs
Measures against the practice oi
infanticde in India, which ended
years later in its suppression. were
begun by Jonathan Duncan and
Major Walker, of England. This
archaic institution in India was
due not only to some poetical ira
dition of its origin. but to econ
omic facts. Among the aristo-
cratic Rajputs it was thought dis
honorable that a girl should re-
main unmarried or that she should
marry a man not her superior.
The custom making it obligatory
on the brides father to tender rich
gifts to the groom's relatives or
give lavish feasts, prevailed. To
avoid all this the Rajput killed d
certain proportion of his daugh-
ters- sometimes in a very singular
way. A pill of tobacco and bhang
might be given to the new born
child to swallow; or. it was
drowned in milk; or the mothers s
breast was smeared with opium or
the juice Of the poisonous Datura.
***
The idea of building the Suez
canal connecting the Mediterranean
and the Red Sea. or rather restor-
ing this ancient communication,
an engineering feat which, fexa
later accomplished. D~ was
Napoleon, whe..... ?: was due tc
eighteentan. at the close of the
.'lssnei Nth century obtained re-
port from M. Lepre, a French en-
gineer. This was followed, how
ever, by no result, and M. Leprt
therefore shares with no one the
honor of his gigantic success. i
is know, though, that a watel
communication for small vessels
between the two seas was formed
as early as 600 years before tht
Christian era and existed for {
period of 1. 400 years, after which
it was allowed to fall into disuse
~
Nicola Picclni, the noted Ma
Piles musical composer, who was
one of the principals in perhaps
the only pianist war ever conduct
ed, died during this year. Whil'
In Paris the directors of the grant
opera house conceived the mac
idea of deliberately opposing hin
to Gluck, then the Partisan favor
ite, by persuading the two com
posers to treat the same subject
Iphigenie en- Tauride"-simul
taneously. The public divided
itself into rival parties, which
under the names of Gluckists anG
Piccinists, carried on an unworthy
and disgraceful war, equally ruin
Gus to both artists, who would
gladly have withdrawn from its
violent .excesses. That the fina
victory should be obtained by the
Checklists was inevitable, for Pic
cini, though a brilliant ornament
of the Italian school, was no match
for his illustrious antagonist.
Gluck's masterly "Iphigenie" was
the first produced, soon followed
by that of Piccfni. The latter s
was not long in being consigned to
oblivion. The fury Of the rival
parties continued unabated and
went on even beyond the death of
Gluck, which occurred several
years before that of Piccini. The
latter's suggestion that a public
monument be erected to Gluck' S
memory was not supported by the
Checklists. There is hardly any
doubt that this Composers War"
hastened the death of both.
***
Victor Hughes was appointed
governor of Guiana, South Amer
lea, and managed to put the colony
in better shape. This territory
had been the destination during
the terrible times of the French
revolution of band after band of
political prisoners transported
thither from Paris. Their suffering
was very severe. The fate of the