The National tribune., 1907-09-12

elist whose Italian stories are among
his best, is now engaged in writing a
history of medieval Rome. Mr.. Craw-
ford has been preparing for this for
the last four years by research and
study. and has had rare opportunities
in having the archives of such friends
as the Princes Colonna and Orsini-
names emblazoned upon the history of
the Middle Ages-thrown open to him.
In order to have absolute quiet and un-
disturbed hours for work. he has de-
serted his magnificent villa near Naples,
and gone off in the Calabrian wilder
ness, far from the railroad and civiliZa-
ton, and is living among a people gen.
orally thought to be of a brigandish
turn of mind, and more or less savage
and dangerous. Near the little village
where he has gone he discovered pic
tureSque old medieval castle, gently
Tapped by the blue Mediterranean, with
a watch tower and all that. The views
| from the tower are magnificent, and
Mr.. Crawford has had the interior COM
fortably furnished as study, and that
| is where he is writing his history of
| Rome. Could the conditions for such
work be more ideal? Mr.. Crawford
works eight or nine hours every day,
rising early and retiring with the birds.
I He spends most of his leisure time
talking with the peasants, learning
their dialect and studying their GUS
toms and manners. which are quite diff
ferent in many respects from those OF
other parts of the country. Mr.. Craw-
| ford has two sons, the elder of whom
is now student at oxford. and intends
to be business man, and his second,
a fine young fellow of IS, who already
displays such conspicuous literary tai
ents that he will follow the footsteps of
his father and devote himself to bellies
lettres.
The Society of the Daughters of the
Revolution, as everyone knows, is COM
posed of the female descendants of
those who fought in that great war, but
| it numbers very few real daughters" I"
1t received an addition of this sort to
its ranks the other day, however, in
the person of Mrs. Mary A. Rishel, who
was discovered by the Bellefonte Chap
ter of that Society, and specially invited
to join them. Mrs. Rishel, an active
old lady of Sc, is the daughter of Mat
| thew Allison, an Irishman, who, COM
| ing to this country just before the
breaking out of our Revolution, joined
| the Continental army, and fought till
its close in 1888 He married three
times, and she is one of the youngest
children by his third wife. Mrs. Rishei
is the mother of but two children her
self, one. son, who fought in the
civil war, but her grandchildren and
REORGANIZATION would make a
pretty big Thanksgiving Dinner party.
She has been pensioned by the "Daugh-
ters," and presented by the National
Society with a golden spoon, a mark of
honor conferred only upon real daugh-
ters."
| Here to-day and there Tomorrow"
sings Little Buttercup in "Pinafore."
and the Captain sagely replies, Yes 1
know; that is So" That life is full of
changes is true. "Bromidic" as is the
remark, Saratoga without Garfield is
almost as incomprehensible as the play
of Hamlet without the melancholy
Dane, yet on the beautiful grounds of
| the famous Saratoga Club signs For
| sale" have been conspicuouSly placed.
Years ago Saratoga was perhaps the
most fashionable Summer resort in the
country, then it began to decline in
popularity, and for many years was en-
| tirely deserted by the great world.
About seven years ago it emerged from
| its night of second-claSsdom, and re-
sumed its place in the favor of the
aristocratic and wealthy class. For this
renaissance Richard A. Canfield was
| largely responsible. The races, always
Saratoga's chief attraction, were con-
/ trolled at that time by the old Gutten-
| burg confederacy, and things at the
| Springs had gone pretty much to the
bad. with the place filled with all sorts
| of undesirable people, both men and
women. The Saratoga Club, which
since the days of John Morrissey had
been one of the most exclusive gambling
places in America, suffered in this
change of clientele, and Garfield, then
| its owner, determined to make a
change. He had many rich and desir-
able acquaintances. and suggested to
one of them, particularly interested in
racing, that 1t would be a good thing
all around if the Saratoga track could
be made the ultra-fashonable course
of the country. William C.. Whitney
was interested in the plan, and the end
of the matter was that the old aSSocia-
ton was turned over to those who now
control it. Garfield then began to en-
large the club property, which up to
that time was practically just as when
Morrissey owned it, by purchasing the
rest of the block on which the house
stood, and had one of the most beau
tiful gardens in the country laid out,
costing him 100000. For the past
few years the club has not paid. Every
body knows that to keep up the res
taurant without gaming means a dead
loss to the proprietor. Garfield has
stood the expense for four years, and
is now tired of paying the piper. He
has large commercial interests else
Wnere TO winch he proposes 10 devote
himself. but with the sale Of the club
property one of the most historic gam
ing places on This side of the Atlantic
will have passed into history. Garfield
was the biggest individual gambler the
world has ever known, and his place
the Monte Carlo of America.
Mrs. Bradley-Martfn, whose exceed
ingly lavish and unquestionably vulgar
display of wealth caused considerable
unfavorable comment before she went
abroad to reside, says she would not
live here again if her husband were
President of the United States Mrs
Bradley-Martin cannot forget what the
papers said about the famous fancy
dress ball which she save just before
she left us. The ball cost a small for
tune, but the reporters were remOrse-
less in their handling of the incident,
and the poor Bradley-Martins in spite
of their money, We're represented in a
very unenviable light. Mrs. Bradley
Martin says she prefers England to
America as place of residence on ac-
count of the greater sincerity and nat
uralness of the people, and because they
are not forever talking money. but
there be those who say her real reason
is that she can make all display OIL
wealth she pleaseS over there without
the papers making any uncompliment |
ary criticisms. The society columns or
the English papers are written in
very cut-and-dried style; nothing un-