The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-25
.OLD CUSTOMS DIE
 OUT IN GERMANY The OId- Time Superstition of
 Throwing Wreath MAY BUY A VILLAGE Is In Way of Testing Big Guns from the krupp Factory-Mysterlous r Double Suicide at
 BresIan.
MAY BUY A VILLAGE
By MALCOLM CLARKE.

 of Silesia nowadays to find the St. Johns wort outside the house:
 For heather white and John his wort
 Do the devil grieyous hurt"
 One must go further afield still, prob ably now as the remote villages of Tyrol, to see the wreath-throwing. Formerly this was a common custom, especially of the vogt-land. The maiden of the villages wove a wreath of various plants, which had to include oranesbell Gin German 1t is called "storksbilD heather (really ling) and fumitory. They then threw the wreath backwards at 8 tree, and reckoned the years they must wait for 8 husband ac- cording to the number of times they threw without the wreath lodging in the tree. But most of these old customs connected with the plants of St. John are disap- bearing in all save the remoter districts, nor do suppose that any would refuse to ferry the stranger across the Rhine any more just because "once upon time" the river god used to demand @ human victim on Midsummer Eve. or (more prob ably) because when the Franks crossed
 
 prisoners into the river.
 But along the Pfalz and on the hills of Thuringia and also in some parts of Eastern Prussia, the traveller on Midsur- mer Eve may still see the bonfires, and even if he be favored the flaming wheel Qmage of the descending sum hurled down the bank into the river. Also, in quite & number of places, he may be present at the fire dance." For, though the dance round and over the midsummer fire is heathen rite, 1t has come to be associated with sort of superstitious loyalty to the house of Hohenzollern. 1t was while attending the rite of the Ire dance in the market place at Tanger- muende that Fair Else of Bavaria re- ceived from q witchwoman the prophecy, "Of thy seed shall blossom a race of Emperors." Now, Fair Else, that Is, Eliza beth of Bavaria, married Frederic the First of Hohenzollern, Eleotor of Bran denburg. and his descendant now sits on the imperial throne. Between the prophecy and it's fullfillment at Versailles there elapsed 40 years.
 The firm of Krupp of Essen is nego- tiating with a view to purchasing the entire village of Schlagbrucken. This vil- lage lies in the direct line of fire from the range at which newly manufactured big guns are tested and every year Messrs. Krupp are obliged to compensate the in habitants for damage caused by proJec- tiles. After buying this village the firm intends to level 1t to the ground. in or der that the range of future big guns may be no longer impeded.
 A mysterious double suicide occurred at a hotel In Breslau yesterday evening. A man, aged about 40, and a lady, consider xUb qr,1ao in the book as Dr. Baumann and mother from Koenigsberg, received a visit from the police, who desired to confirm their names and residence This is not an un- usual proceeding, particularly when, as in this case, the persons had been stAying two or three weeks in the hotel Upon the entrance of the official and as though by a preconcerted signal, the man drew from his pocket two daggers and stabbed himself 20 different places while his com- panion drank the contents of a bottle of poison. They were conveyed to hospital but both expired within an hour.
 A horrible crime is reported from Tser- lohn. A domestic servant, named Cyo- soslti, has been done to death by a re- jected lover. The latter gained access to the girls room and concealed himself under the bed. When the servant en- tered he stabbed her and almost severed her head from her body The murderer then attempted to take his life by lodging bullet in his head. He has made a con fession, declaring that 1t was his intention that the girl should meet the same fate as two other girls who had rejected his addresses.
 Too much ingenuity in the gsttins of presents has brought a young woman named Elsa Stair within range of both civil and criminal proceedings.
 Being of marriageable age, but with out suitors, she decided that the time had come to reap some of the profits of matrimony without any of it's drawbacks.
 She therefore announced that she was engaged to an official in German South west Africa, who. she said had made money in diamond speoulations, and would arrive this month to wed her.
 As Fraulein Stair was a zealous member of several church organizations she had many friends, and these spent large sums in giving suitable gifts to the diamond millionaire's future bride.
 The bridegroom's friends were also busy. They bought for him gold cigar cite case and a, dressing bag and sent them to the Fraulein's fiat, to be kept till the wedding.
 few days ago the bride-elect sud- denly left for Antwerp. Inquiries proved
 
 secretary to hotel and that she had taken both the alleged bridegroom's pres- ents and her own.
 They further showed that she had only spoken to the South African magnate once in her life. and that he had first heard of his approaching marriage from friends who had written him congratula- tory letters.
 The buyers of the presents are threaten ing trouble unless they are returned at once.
 The Assize court at Hrschberg, in Si- lesia, has sentenced a widow, named Glaeser, to death for having poisoned. through greed and cupidity, two children of her son-in-law. The children were the offspring of the son-in-laws former mar riage.
 A singular feature of the trial ia that Frau Glaesar Is the third woman in two years from the same village who has been sentenced to death for poisoning. The first was Frau Feige, who was con demned to death and executed. The s.c. ond submitted to the same fate.
 
 In Extremes.
 From the Harvard Lampoon.
 Irate Father-I will give you one moro