The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1911-03-23
A wELL-KNowN actor. who in his

~ time has played many parts ana
now retired to private life, draws
comparison between the audiences OF
today and those of years ago, especially
with regard to the plays of Shaks-
pere. The old-time theater goers
knew their Shakspere thoroly; their
library tables were not piled up with
new hooks and magazines as they are
at present, and they had time to read
him, and when they saw Macbeth,
Hamlet, Othello, Leah, Julius Cecar,
or any of the other masterpieces played,
they never disappointed the old stars,
who paused after each great speech to
receive the round of applause. Nova
days these passages or bits of ''busi-
ness" which were the tOuchstones of
an actors Interpretation years ago,
pass by almost unnoticed- Undoubtedly
Shakspere was more generally read
in those days, and the old-time au-
dience more intelligently apprecfative
of his plays, perhaps Still, when one
thinks of the great crowds who throng
TO see Southern and Marlowe in their
Shaksperian productions, or any other
actors who render such plays sat-
isfactorily, it looks as il the present.
day audiences were not without appre-
citation, tho their way of showing it
may differ from that of their auces-
tors.
A LITTLE, puckered-up, red-faeed
~ English baby, the heir to an an
nual rent roll of s1,500,00 was
chriStened the other day amid scenes
of great jubilation. This was the son
of Earl FitZwilliam, and the occasion
was one of special rejoicing since the
infant is the first direct heir born to
the House of Wentworth in II years.
A large number of the aristocracy and
nobility were invited to the christening
ne g.fN he fQh NV Wis mt
his name wrapped iii the famous old
Norman scarf which had been presented
to one of his ancestors by William the
Conqueror. At least, that is what the
FiltZwilliams say, claiming that at the
battle of Hastings, William took the
identical scarf from his own arm and
bestowed it upon this kinSmaD, as a
reward for his bravery. Like a good
many such claims this will hardly
stand the light of common sense. The
idea of any warrior appearing in bat
tie, his arm encountered with a fancy
lace scarf, is absurd. Moreover. lace
experts say that the earliest eXtant
pieces of medieval lace date only from
the 18th century, while the battle of
Hastings was fought in 1866, and that
such lace was very crude in COMPARE
son with that which adornS the Fitz-
william scarf. But altho the baby
may not have been wrapped in quite
as ancient covering as is claimed By
his family, many of the ancient Eng
lish traditions were observed in the
ceremonies of the christening. The
Earl. his proud and happy father, threw
open the beautiful and extensive park
of the estate to the 1000 tenants, en-
ployees, and trades people with whom
he is connected, where a great OK
whose roasting had been begun sew
eral days previous in order to be done
TO a turn on the day of the christening,
was taken possession of by the crowd
and hacked at by them with their jack
knives until nothing remained but the
carcass. Besides the OK, the Earl had
provided some 10000 meat sandwiches.
10000 r6eat patties, and 10000 buns
for their consumption. In ALL about
10000 people helped to celebrate the
christening of the baby.
NN RS. o. H. P. Belmonts farming
/" scheme has begun to work out.
Twenty young women have been
selected from the 500 factory-girl appii-
cants, who are now at the comfortable
farmhouse on Long Island, and full of
enthusiasm. The period between now
and planting time will be spent by them
in learning the various household duties
connected with>a large farm, the care
of milk, how to make butter, and the
thousand and one things that make up
that life. They. will also be taught the
first principles of scientific farming,
the breaking up of the ground in the
Spring The girls are to receive 81
week for their work during the two
months course of instruction, tho, pos
sibly, out of this may come a small
board. That point is not made clear
They VIII be given the opportunity of
purchasing small farms from Mrs. Bel
mont later on, upon exceedingly easy
terms. providing they agree to- till the
soil themselves.
UDACK' to the soil' is one of the
n slogans of the present day.
Our leading men are loudly ad-
vocating it, and the overcrowding of our
cities seems to demand it. Much is
done now to make life in the farming
districts less dull and monotonous than
formerly, in order to keep the girls and
boys from leaving home at the first
opportunity. The result OF the investi-
CATION which the Government made
some time ago Of social conditions lin
farming communities emphasized such
a necessity. Apropos Of this, in a way,
is Mrs. Potter Palmer's latest fad, tho
the lady might possibly resent this
word. She is going into farming her
self. Fifty miles south OF Tampa
everybody seems to be buying farms in
one mile square, Mrs. Palmer, society
woman, is going to raise grapefruit,
principally. for the wholesale marker.
A RS. Burton Harrison, in the
N March Scribner's. discloses Sc
cret of the Confederacy which
had IL been revealed in the late Summer
OF 1861 would have made Washington
entirely too hot a place for residence,
aside from its climate, for one family
at least. That the men in gray won
the battle of Bull Run on account OF
Gen. Patterson failing to reinforce Gen.
Mcdowell is generally conceded and
Mrs. Harrison says that the Confed-
crate Generals realized fully that their
only hope lay in preventing this con-
centration, and in moving against Nc
Dowell before IL could take place.
Therefore it was of vital importance
that Gen. Beauregard should know ex-
actly when Mcdowell should be order
ed to begin his march, and this piece
of information which LOST us the battle.
was, according to Mrs. Harrison, fur
nished by lady residing in Washing
ton, who sent the following dispatch
by trusty messenger down the Po-
tomac on the Maryland side to the
Confederate headquarters: Mcdowell
has certainly been ordered to advance
on the 18th"
T IS extremely unusual that a wom-
an, occupying position of trust in
the business world, betrays that by
committing theft. This sin seems to
be confined to men. However, a wom-
an SO placed IL sometimes tempted be-
haKs 81 sEus.