Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28

and there Is a marble slab on the wall upon
which are the words Benjamin Franklin
once lived here" L stumbled across a
statue Of George Peabody, our first charit-
able millionaire. back of the Bank of Eng
land yesterday, and when ] entered West
minister Abbey shortly before ii was closed
10 prepare IL for King Edwards coronation,
L found on yellow card laid on one OF the
tombs quotation concerning the beauty
of the place from Oliver Wendell Holmes.
1 soon drifted into the poets corner and
there upon the wall just next to a statue Of
Shakespeare was most beautiful marble
bust of our poet, Longfellow. with in
scription stating that it had been erected
by the British admirers of the American
poet
st. Paul and Its American Lamps.
You all know something of the wonders
of St Paul's Cathedral. 1t is one of the
largest churches of the world and in many
| respects the most beautiful Many Of you
have visited it. but 1 doubt if you have
seen the vast structure as 1 saw it the other
day lighted with the wonderful electric
lights in the. beautiful fixtures presented
to the church by an American trust mag
nate. Pierpont Morgan has furnished the
money which enables the English to see the
glories of their greatest church, whether
the city in which 1t stands is Shrouded in
fog or not.
1 can't describe the beauty of the church
under the soft lights of these lamps. 1t
looks far better than in the brightest sun
shine. The church authorities told Mr..
Morgan that they could not afford to put
in this electricity and he thereupon offered
to do it for them. He took $4,000 out of
his left breeches pocket and planked ii
down on the pulpit and told them to go
ahead At any rate that is what it cost at
the start.
The fixtures are modelled after the origi-
nal lamps designed by Sir Christopher
Wren and they are in perfect harmony
with their surroundings. Some of the most
beautiful of them are in the choir just be-
yond the dome. They are great chande-
Tiers of gold hanging from the roof, which
| is hundreds of feet higher up. Each cham
Geler has six lamps, but the rays are fill
tered through frosted glass and they give
the effect of bright moonlight.
The Ghosts of st. Paul.
AS 1 sat under these lights in the mighty
cathedral my mind went back to its Won
derful history and it seemed to me that 1
could see the ghosts of its architect, Sir
| Christopher Wren. and of the hundreds OF
England's dead now buried there towering
about the lamps in amazed curiosity. st.
PaulS dates back to the days of the RO-
mans. Some authorities maintain that
temple of Diana stood here in pagan times
and Christopher Wren found the ruins of
church built by the Christians in the days
of the Romans when he laid the founda-
ton for this structure. There was Chris
tan church here as far back as 1000 A. D..
and there was cathedral on this spot
when the great fire of London came and
wiped it ont in 1866.
Sir Christopher Wren began his work upon
the present structure fifteen years later and
he lived to see it completed in 1110. He
watched the job for twenty-nine years and
in that time received the muniffcent salary
of 81 900 per annum as his architect fee.
Nevertheless the cathedral cost $3I00. 900 to
build. Had Sir Christopher received the fee
of per cent which our architects now de-
mand he would have gotten $1S50o0 for ;he
job. and after looking the building carefully
, over am sure it was worth it.
How Americans Made a Million.
Still men of all sorts worked for less In
those days than now. Samuel Johnson,
whose grave l mourned over in the church
his statue stands not far from that of the
Duke of Wellington-made almost nothing
out of his dictionary, his total receipts for
his work being less than IS 900. the most of
which was eaten up by clerical hire. That
dictionary then was great undertake
ing in comparison as the Encyclopaedia
Britannica is now. and the latter work.
which had already run its day in England,
made million dollars for some. Americans
who brought into England the Yankee sys-
tenn Of selling books through the newSpa-
pers. When they first proposed the selling OF
the encyclopaedia in this way to the London
journals the publishers laughed at them.
At last, however, they interested the Lon
don Times and through that paper on the
| installment plan sold so many books that
1t is said their profits were f2J0,0o0, or
$3.50, 900.
What Pierpont Morgan Could Not Buy
Speaking of Pierpont Morgan, he is look
cd upon here the Croesus of the TWEEN
tieth century. The old painting for which
he paid 100000 is now on view in the ma
tional gallery. He will leave it there and
give the people a chance to see it before he
takes it home. The London papers are full
of stories of his wealth and power. He is
supposed to have so much that he can buy
anything or do anything. but L heard Just
yesterday of one bargain which he failed
to make. 1t was for the services of a mid
dle-aged Englishman, and a poor one at
that The man is the head porter at one
of the leading hotels here He stands at
the front door and greets the travellers a
they come in, looks after their baggage and
gives them all sorts of information as 10
how to get about the city and other things
He wears bright livery. with gold lace
on his cap and brass buttons on his coat
He is always ready to accept fee, and If
you don't give him one when you leave he
Will have his own opinion of You. There are
such porters at every hotel. The man whom
Morgan coveted had been head butler t.
one of the best-known of English dukes
and, as the story goes. Mr.. Morgan wanted
him for his American home and offered him
the position at royal salary To every
one surprise the offer was declined The
porter said he was doing We'll enough where
he was and that he did not care TO leave
England. 1t may be that his receipts from
fees are so large that he cannot afford to
The Surprised Artist.
From the Fliegende Blaetter