Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-09

act: even men whose names are In
Who's Who feeling all their pockets for
a lost stamp at the pillar box are caught
before they can assume the pose that will
recall their photographs in THE Book
man."
Brilliant young artists. with brown
paper parcels: proprietors of mammoth
publications caught without their motor
cars-these are some Of the things that
the brake people cannot fail to detect
Gone are the careless happy days when
Warrington could wear a two days beard
and Mr.. George Moore asvast French puce
tie and lavender trousers. The Fleet
street man today cannot move two steps
without the feeling that his audience has
arrived. Verify the tables are turned. He
who has been so long at the ear of the
world is now covering before its eye.
Dorando. the Italian who so nearly but
nightly appearing at London music halls
heraided by an agent. who makes short
speech, in which he describes what q
plucky fight Signor Dorando made In the
Marathon race. and adds that since the
days CT Garibaldi, when Englisnmen wore
the red shirt. the two countries have been
as brothers. Then the band plays. the
runner appears on the stage and makes q
brief speech of thanks. which the agent
translates and also adds as chorus. that
we wish him better luck next time.
4 little later the hero appears at an
other music hall and again the agent steps
forward and makes the same speech. with
slight variation. and the unfortunate
Italian makes his little speech and the
band plays God Save the King. 1t is all
very pretty and English hearts beat more
violently for the Italian than for Hayes
the American who won the race on mer-
its.
Savonarola's Monastery.
The famous San Marco, Savonarola 5
monastery in Florence known and beloved
by so many Americans, has just lost one
of its treasures. a correspondent writes &c
me from Rome. 1t is the bell OF the
campanile of the monastery. which is now
worn so thin after Alb years of constant
use that 1t Is to be placed in the museum
of San Marco and a new one put in its
place. 1t was cast by the order of Lo-
renzo the Magnificent in 1895, who gave il
to the monastery, and thus 1t has helped
to make stirring history. 1t used to ring
in Savonarola's celebrated sermons. II
called the faithful followers of San Mar.
cos great son to arms when IRE was sci
to the doors of the monastery, and after a
desperate struggle the martyr to a degen-
crate age was taken prisoner.
1T tolled out the grief of his brother
monks on the fatal day of his martyrdom
A month later the bell was removed from
its tower. consigned to the public execu.
TONER. who had it carried about Florence
on a cart drawn by asses. while he gave
it sound beating as humiliation and
lesson to the San Marco monks.
Even that was not deemed sufficient
as it was exiled to another church fol
eleven years. and then returned to it's ole
home. where it continued to fearlessly
rejoice or grieve with the citizens OF
Florence. It's home. the Campanile. was
worthy of it's occupant and fortunately
esco. and Michaelangelo said that if he
had to become an inanimate object he
would choose to be that tower.
Business people are beginning to grum-
the matter of the American mails. 1t is
extremely desirable from every public
point of view that the east-bound mails
should be landed at Queenstown and sent
by special through service to London.
and not in any event, except bad weather
off Queenstown. be carried on to Liver
pool. as is proposed. BY carrying them
on to Liverpool they are subjected to
many delays, such as bad weather In the
channel inconvenient tides in the Mer-
sey and congestion of traffic. owing 10 the
large number of passengers and the
quantity of baggage to be handled when
the vessels arrive. In one recent instance
"a voyage of the Mauretania-twenty
hours elapsed from the arrival of the YES
sci off Queenstown to the delivery OF the
mails at the general post Office. London,
whereas if the mails had been sent In
Queenstown In the manner suggested
sixteen hours would have been ample.
An unnecessary delay of four hours
the speed of the service between New
York and Queenstown. The effect of 1t or
business is much more serious than ap-
pears on the surface. For instance. the
tity of specie consigned to London bro
kers. This was landed and dispatched to
London to the consigneeS on the date OF
the ships arrival in the Mersey but for
the fact that their mail was not forward.
The post Office is apparently in need OF
waking up to the fact that an obligation
rests on it to use to best advantage the
higher speed which is provided at great
cost for the transference of its mails
across the Atlantic.
Second Dickens Exhibition.
1t seemed on the surface unlikely that
Dickens. like art. flowers and the building
trades. could produce year after year the
material for a public exhibition. but yes
terday a second Dickens exhibition was
opened by the Dickens Fellowship in the
New Dudley Galleries in Piccadilly. 1t is
less curious and varied than the last,
which dealt with "PickWick Papers" SUBJ
pamper the Dickens bibliophile rather
than the plain Dickensian. who naturally
prefers his relics solid and above board.
There was some real satisfaction in an
unfinished bottle of Madeira from Dick
ems wine cellar at Gadshill place. ex-
hibited at an earlier Dickens exhibition.
and now advertised in the catalogue for
sale at guineas.
The present show has the original sign
of the little wooden midshipman from 12I.
Minories. mentioned in "Dombey and
Son. as 'eternally employed in taking OBJ
servations of hackney coaches" II has
been newly painted. Then there are two
pretty Staffordshire figures of Mr. and
Mrs. Manning. whose hanging at Horse
monger Lane gaol In 1S49 caused Dickens
to begin his crusade against public execu-
tions. A more intimate Dickens relic is a
slashed velvet doublet and other articles
worn by the great man in amateur the
atrical performances. The most uneXpect-
ed exhibit is a letter from Tolstoy. dated
February ,. 1904 in which he writes: IL
think that c. Dickens is the greatest novel
writer Of the nineteenth century. and that
his works. impressed with the true Chris
tan spirit. have done and will continue to
do d great deal of good to mankind
l.. H. MOORE.