Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-06

| SANOnS
dressed in skins riding upon bicycles
through the streets and Plantagenet ladies'
| ana Jacobian courtiers climbing upon
trans After all. the actual performances
| are but small part OF the real interests
| or pageant. On Saturday a party was
| taken down TO st. Adams 10 see the prep
| arations there and found the place enor-
| mously busy. Perhaps some people there
may be wondering. with slight qualms,
what the late Lord Grimthorpe would have
| said OF Il all.
. That stern old man ruled automatically
the little clambering market town on It's
NIL about the TANKS OF its long. high
| backed cathedral, and he would have been
ruthless critic of its pageant. The pa
seant. which VIII comprise eight historical
| episodes In the history of the city. will re-
| oeive the assistance altogether OF about
| 1000 performers. including troops of horse
men and horsewomen, knights in armor
| and more humble folk. all dressed in the
| picturesque costumes OF the various pc
| RODS. In addition to narrative chorus of
| a hundred voices. All these performers are
| giving their services voluntarily. and all
| the costumes and accessories are being
| made on the spot
Old women In the almshouses and girls
| IN the schools are busy knitting hundreds
| or suits of chain armor." Boys in the
| technical schools are making tusks and
| bears claws for the ancient Brituns' cos
| tunes and the battle axes of later pc
Rod. Artisans employ their leisure hours
| In constructing crossbows and Roman
| armor. while all the ladies. from the high
| est to the lowest are hard ut work for
several hours each day making wonderful
and beautiful headdresses and robes Four
| OF the most ancient episodes selected oc-
CURED upon the actual site OF the arena,
| and the first of them was the meeting OF
julius Caesar and Cassivelaunus.
The Hague Conference.
European countries have sent the elite OF
| their diplomatic corps to the peace con-
ference at The Hague One of the most
a Ieft Itch
| French plenipotentiary. NJ. Bourgeois has
been prime minister, minister of foreign az
fairs. minister Of public education and
president Of the chamber of deputies. He is
a man Of high literary attainments. and IL
| a polished and eloquent speaker; he is, in
fact, a statesman, a dplomatist and a man
OF letters. But probably just because he Is
so many sided, he has never taken the po-
sition in France that he might have done.
He Is too much the Admirable Crichton OF
French public life. In order to be a great
| success in modern French politics, a man
requires more concentration and less uni
versal ability But at the peace conference
he will undoubtedly play, as he did at the
last one, leading role.
His colleague Baron dEstournelle de
Constant. whom you had on your side a
short time ago at the American peace con-
gress, is a man of much smaller caliber.
The preaching Of peace and disarmament
has become a sort of monomania with him.
and he puts his views before his fellow
countrymen In season and out of season.
He is a good speaker. but somewhat apt
to become tedious. But, of course, II Is
fanatics who make the best leaders of a
cause. Baron d Estournelle de Constant has
worked in the cause of international arbi-
tration as few men have done. even IL he
has at times somewhat bored his country
men.
But probably the most interesting figure
of all the diplomatsts assembled at The
Hague Is Baron Marschall Won Bieberstein,
the German plenipotentiary. He was for
many years secretary of state for foreign
affairs before going to Constantinople as
German ambassador. He probably stands
higher in the confidence of the kaiser than
any other ambassador or minister Tho
eastern policy of Germany Is solely and en-
tirely the work Of the kaiser. The days
when Prince Bismarck declared that 'he
would not risk the bones Of single
Pomeranan grenader for the whole east
ern question" are long past. Since the
kaiser's famous visit to the sultan on his
way home from the marriage of his sister
at Athens, the eastern policy Of Germany
has been changed clock, stock and barrel
It is the kaiser who makes la pluie ct Ia
beau temps at Constantinople, and In this
Baron Marschall Won Bebersten has been
his right-hand man. He is a tall man OF
Bisrharckian mold, heavy, stout, with broad
shoulders. and something Of the iron chan
cellor's rough 1oviality. But he has also
Prince Bismarck's brutal force of charac-
ter and will stand like rock for German
interests Germany's position at The Hague
Is difficult one and that is why the kaiser
has selected MS most capable QlplOmatlsG
to represent 1t at the conference.
McNelidoff the president Of the confer
ence, belongs to the older school of Russian
diplomatists which has almost died out. A
man Of imposing presence and courtly man.
ners he is a very fox for cunning and has
the reputation of being none too scrupulous
when Russia's interests are at stake. He
and Baron Won Bieberstein are old adver-
saries. McNelidoff succeeded Gen. Lana
tieff the famous father OF les and author
of the Russo-Turksh war. as ambassador at
Constantinople and he 1t was who wrung
the treaty of San Stefano from the van
quished Turks and brought about European
Intervention and the Berlin congress. From
Constantinople he went to Rome, and two
years ago was given the blue ribbon" OF
the diplomatic career. the Paris embassy.
He will probably make an excellent pres
ident, as he is a thoroughly trained diplo-
matist and is endowed with suavity OF
manner invaluable in such a position. I
doubt, however, If he is very fervent be-
lever in the efficacy Of peace conference.
Arts and Artists.
Yet another lost "old MASTER redlscov-
cred. This time again the picture is
Raphael and 1t is a picture with pedi-
gree, now lying at Bond street gallery.
The painting, signed by Raffaello da Ur-
bano, 1912, was formerly the property OF
the Earl of Devon, of Powderham Castle.
Dawlish, South Devon, who was the father
of the late Lord Courtenay, recorder of Ex-
eter. The Earl of Devon in 1868 exchanged
this picture for sporting one from Mr..
Preston Of Exeter a well-known connois-
seur Of old pictures. The picture is now in
sured at Lloyds for 100000. but its actual
value of course may be more than that.
The subject of the picture is THE Bound
Christ" representing the Savior seated
with his arms bound in front of him with
cord. The figure is nude save for loin
CLOTH and the blood from the crown of
thorns trickling down the naked body is
finding its way into a symbolical commun-
ion cup At the back in the shadow reclines
the heavy cross Of wood, and elsewhere in
the picture the artist has introduced a cock
growing a fateful reminder of Peters be-
travail. L. H. MOORE.