Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-01-25

death entered the family and re-
moved two of its members, one, my
half brother, George Leedham, a
young man aged twenty-one, who
had been afflicted by a sad acci-
dent in his childhood, having been
scalded by the overturning of ket-
tie of boiling water which threw
him into fits from which he never
recovered but which eventually was
the cause of his death, for as he
was wandering about the place one
day one of those fits came on, and
it was my sad lot to find him lying
with his head and shoulders COM
pletely immersed in the mud and
water of a deep ditch into which he
had fallen, while his feet were ly-
ing on the bank. He had been
dead some time when I discovered
him. My poor mother, whose love
seemed to center on him because of
his misfortune, was nearly heart
broken over the sad accident; and
indeed it was hard blow to all of
us for George was gentle, kind
hearted, inoffensive young man,
whom we all deeply loved. About
the same time my infant brother,
Frederick, died Of scarlet fever.
Thus we were called upon to suffer
double bereavement which was a
great affliction to my parents.
The year 1851, which was our
last year at Hyde Farm, was mark
ed by what was to me an event of
extraordinary importance-the first
Worlds Fair. lie Crystal Palace
was held that year in London and
it was my great privilege to see
it. 1t had been widely announced
that the entrance fee was to be re-
duced to one shilling on a certain
day, because on that day the royal
family was to be present and the
price of admission was placed low
so that the common people might
have an opportunity to see the
Queen. 1t so happened that my
father and / were in London that
day, but IL the Queen was at the
show we did not happen to see her,
which was not at all surprising.
considering the vast crowds Of peo-
pie in the vicinity of the palace and
the consequent difficulty of gettipx
about. However, we were not
greatly disappointed for we had
once seen Her Majesty in her car
riage of state driving on the London
and Oxford road, on previous oc-
casion. 1t Is said that the royal
carriage is drawn by eight horses
and that no private family is per-
mitted to use that number. 1t is
the royal prerogative and must not
be infringed upon, for it is dis
feature by which the
royal family en- route is known
from all others, which / suppose is
a necessity. However, those who
have desire to ape royalty can do
so If they choose by driving seven
horses and mule, which ! under
stand is sometimes done.
The Crystal Palace, which as its
name imports, was built of glass and
iron, its floors only were of wood.
OF course it could not compare with
the great fairs which have followed
in Europe or America in the matter
of dimensions or indeed in many
other respects, for it was only 1851
feet in length and covered an area
of only 21 acres. 1t was visited by
six million people. But when we
consider the fact that it was the
pioneer of the great fairs of the
world, 1t was certainly wonder.
Passing a monstrous piece of coal
at one of the entrances, which was
too large to be carried inside, my
attention was caught by the great
Kohinour diamond, chiefly l think
on account of the extraordinary
care that was taken to guard it from
thieves, for / knew nothing of it's
value. The Kohinour was at that
time the largest diamond in the
world, but the enormous Cullinan
stone found by Mr.. Tom Cullinan
in the Transvaal is by far the largest
as yet discovered, for it is said to
be of 1924 1-3 carats, or 1877 lbs
avordupois and is valued at $4,000
900.
But of all the things / saw that
day, there was one that so deeply
interested me that l have never for.
gotten its exact appearance. 1t was
wonder to boy of my age and
would be of considerable interest
even now. 1t was just a common
ordinary pocket knife with bone
handle and blades of steel, but II