The Washington herald., 1909-10-17
BANoUETS TO STATUES.
Some Queer FancIes of the Over
sentimental.

some queer RANCHES or the over
sentimental.
A Partisan woman who died recently
won a certain amount OF aotoriety In the
French capital by entertaining at dinner
for over a decade marble statue Of her
late husband. From the day OF her part
ner's death until her own decease she al
ways dined with the statue. which was
five feet in height, placing II at the head
Of the table and setting before 1t food
and viauds by way Of oblation. says the
Ohio State Journal
The late King OF Bavaria always had a
bust Of Marie Antoinette by his side when
he sat down to dinner. He regarded the
stone image absolutely the same as II II
were the Queen herself, placing the most
costly vlands for its consumption and
speaking 10 Il in-tender tones.
There Is an old man living near Glas-
gov, Scotland. who has for several years
dined daily with a statue. He IS a bach
e,or, and the statue IS a counterfeit pre-
sentiment OF his sister, with whom he
lived and who died suddenly OF heart
failure. At her death an exact model Of
her IN a sitting posture was chiseled By a
sculptor. and this was attired IN her
clothes and placed by her bereaved broth
er IN a chair IN his dlning-room. From
that day TO this the statue has occupied
a seat at his dinner table. with a maid
servant standing beside II. whose duty Il
is 10 place food and drink for it al every
meal
II VIII be remembered that the late
Clyde Fitch, the dramatist, gave ban
quet once at which there were a number
or half-human-size dolls. dressed to rep
resent the female characters in certain
Of his plays
Cases Of sculptors falling in love with
the figures they chiSel are by no means
uncommon. One sculptor became so en-
tranced with one OF his works that he
used 10 worship II In a most extraordi-
nary fashion Another knight or the mall
let chiseled a Venus and fell in love with
T. 10 such an extent that on several occa-
sions he entertained il at dinner table, in
wiling his fellOw-sculptOrs 10 toast II in
bumpers OF champagne
1t seems incredible that men should live
in the tOmbS Of their wives, yet there are
several cases on record OF men who have
done this. Jonathan Reed. for instance
sat daily in vault IN Evergreen Gene
terry, New York, by the side Of the coffin
containing the remains OF his wife.
Mr.. Reed. who was an eccentric man Of
considerable wealth. erected a tomb at a
cost Of $500. and. after placing the body
Of his wife In It, furnished it with q
dressing table and mirror. chairs, a table,
china vases. and all the property belong
ing to his wife, including old gloves, balls
OF yarn, pieces Of unfinished knitting,
photographs, and boxes of letters
The coffin stood on a shelf and over
this Mr. Reed threw a piece Of cheap
japanese mating, gaudily painted with
flowers. Regularly every morning the be-
reaved husband visited the tomb. and re-
manned there until the cemetery closed
at O'Clock In the evening. he usually
sat on a chair by the head Of the coffin,
but occasionally he would STAND at the
door Of the vault with mementoes OF his
wife In his hand. The vault Is an impos-
ing structure OF granite, and over the
door is engraved Jonathan and Nary E
Reed"