The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-10

and the system of promotions The
strikers followed the autiquated regula-
rons so faithfully and Sd slowly that
they caused so much delay the whole
postal traffic was upset. The delivery Of
parcels and letters was purposely slack
ened and the postmen walked as lcisurely
as possible and would deliver letters TO
the persons addressed only according to
the obsolete rule of the post-uffice. In
consequence, many letters and parcels
were returned 10 the postal stations as
unbelievable. thereby increasing the en0r-
nous bulk Of matter on hand and ere
atiug tremendous confusion at the busiest
time of the year Il was amusing to Wit
ness the slUuteriug air with which the
pOstmen moved along and the purpOseIv
slow manner in which the mail carts were
driven. The authorities were powerless TO
act. as the men took great care not 20 do
anything unlawful New men were en-
gagged. but they were uusldlled and OF
but little use. Negotiations between the
strikers and the minister of commerce
finally led 20 "a temporary peace. It was
an excellent demonstration OF what may
be accomplished without violence or law
breaking.
4 pathetic story IS being told Of the
seems that i'm the last years OF her life
ike Empress did not take any pleasure in
her numerous costly jewels. and was only
fond of a wonderful necklace Of pearls
which she called the tears OF the Mother
Of Sorrows. One day. however she no
ticed that the pearls had lost their luster
a short time after she dreamed she
heard a voice which said the pearls
would regain their lost Iuster if the neck
lace were sunk in the sea for "a whole
year. Acting on the suggestion, the
Empress had made q long. thin chain
and box of metal, with numerous
holes through which the sea water could
freely pass. At the dead Of night she
rowed with a lady I'm waiting TO Il small
rocky island opposite Corfu, let the box
containing the necklace down i'm the sea,
and fXed the other end OF the chain 10
a large rock Before the year was over
the Empress fell a victim TO the dagger
of Lucchcni. and later. when the court
lady went 10 draw up the box. the chain
was broken. The Emperor Francis
Joseph has ordered the bottom Of the
sea near Corfu 90 be searched. and IL
remains to be seen whether the divers
will succeed in recovering the superb
pearls of his Inflated wife.
There is much stir and great appre-
hension in Italy over the systematic
plumber of art collections and museums.
a recent theft Of valuable bas-relef in
porcelain, the work of Della Robbia. has
called attention 10 the number of such
depr4dations. In Florence alone. fifty
seven Of such thefts have been registered.
while works of art stolen from Siena.
Arezzo, Pisa, and Lucca go to swell the
total Rome has lately waNed indignant
over the defacirg Of the beautiful
fountain, "Dell5. Tdrtarughe but there
are now great TejoiCings over the recovery
OF the missing bronze tortoise, which was
found q week after the robbery lying in
a garden not a hundred yards away, the
thief having been unable to remove SO
heavy an article without being discovered.
The latest act of this band of robbers
is TO steal from the Lateran Museum IN
Rome a manuscript Of Palestrina. the
only one known TO exist in Italy. 1t con-
sists of several large sheets, on which
were written the words and music Of the
"Improperia, used in the church service
on Good Friday. The composer had writ
ten on one Of the pages the words Para
Mea, This is my copy" showing that
Palestrina had directed the performance.
As usual it is stated that the manuscript
was kept i'm a special case, in a special
ROOM in the charge of three special
custodians and was opened only in the
presence OF all three; yet il has disap-
peared It is TUmOred that the Ms.
has been sold in America for $50, 200. These
depletions OF the greatest art treasures
of Italy reveal a state of things well
calculated to cause alarm among those
Italians who value the priceless artistic
heritage OF their country, and they should
agitate movement toward a rigid ex-
animation Of the character and ante
cedents Of those persons employed as
custodians in the museums and galleries
throughout the kingdom.