The Washington herald., 1912-08-28

The growth in the popularity Of pigeor
flying, to q great extent, 10 due in Eng
land to the example set by the lat.
King Edward. and lately also by KIM
George. who. following the example Of
his father, had loft constructed in Z
cottage at sandfingham- II was no un.
usual thing to see the two lofts com
peting in some of the important race,
| and sharing honors and prizes between
them. In 1883 the late King Edwdrd
when Prince Of Wales. was successful In
winning the National Flying Club ract
from Lerwick on June q. the distance
being $40 miles 10 yards. The speed
OF the winning bird was 1.37 yards per
minute. or forty-five miles an hour. Tc
show how close the competition between
the. two lofts was. It may be mentioned
that the present kings bird competing
In the same race won third prize: fyine
5l1 miles So yards. SO that II had to fiy
| somewhat farther than King Edwards
winner.
A short tinie-ago King George provided
| a further illustration Of his interest In
pigeon-nying by having . beautiful new
left built in Sandringham Park, which
can comfortably house fifty-two pairs
of pigeons. in addition to the young
birds This would mean that possibly
btoCh Vi Soo piI0S Can uc hcpt dHu
raced there. II desired. One feature of
the royal strain Of birds Is the beautiful
appearance Of the pigeons and the superb
feathers they posses This Is no doubt
due TO the fact that they spend q rowing
life in the park, which faces the loft.
King George Is not only president OF
the National Flying Club. the largest in
England, and offers silver cup to the
winner Of the Grand National Race from
no tAlx Il. r. - shu
year, but he takes the keenest interest
In local races. and as recently as June
team Of his pigeons was sent to
compete in Norfolk and Suffolk races.
On June 10 King Georges pigeons won
first and second prizes In the Cromer
Society, and first. fourth. and fifth in
the Kings Lynn and District Societies
race from Bournemouth.
English intermarriages have effaced
from the Lannes de Montebelio family
all traces of the bravest, brainiest, and
noblest of Napoleon's marshals 1t was
he who. on being asked what he thought
CT the coronation ceremony at which the
Pope oficiated, replied: "Unc Belle Ca
pucinade," though his master himself
put the question. The marshal was of
short figure, had a powerful head. bfaz-
ing eyes. the gift OF ready wit, and an
glance. His portrait re-
minds one strongly Of that Of another
Gascon. the late NJ. de Lesseps.
The descendants are generally tall. some
Of them weedy. and have the air of Life
Guardsmen without any Of the duncish
tone that one might expect Of Dundreary-
ish Angio-Frenchmen. They look well in
full-length portraits. Comte Adrien. who
owns the champagne vintage. taking his
name. and had for a brother-in-law
Werle. also a noted champagne vigneron,
stands in his socks six feet seven inches.
and is almost head and shoulders over NJ
Ribot, who used to be the tallest man in
the French chamber. He has the mar
shsfs gift of repartee, but only uses 1t
In committee and at restaurant dinners.
From a fear OF looking too much the
giant of a show at fair he keeps from
the tribune. though a capital speaker.
The late Marquis de Montebelio. who
was killed by a thunderbolt the other day.
was his nephew and descended also as al
great grandson from the Lord Liverpool,
whose administration sent Napoleon toI
st. Helena His wife had an English
grandmother, the Comtesse de Fenelon-
Salignac. Both resided at Versailles un-
Ill on the death Of the late marquis
Ambassador to st. Petersburg for somel
years.. they went to live at the Chateau
OF Stors, on the Disc. near Valmondois.
VI drusuc teHle- II mas peen leIt 10 the
ambassador by NJ. Leon Say. Thel
chateau is of imposing size, and is in
habited by the dowager marquise. Her
son took up residence in the petit
chateau, a roomy country house. and
small only by comparison with the
lordly chateau.
They had riches, as have all the de-
scendants of Lannes. But as appetite
comes in eating, SO in being rich We
want to be richer. The marquis. who !
died So unusual a death last month, left |
ST. Cyr and hen the cavalry school of
Saumur the first of his class. He had a |
fine figure and a fairly good looking
face. and made a handsome full-length |
portrait He secured on leaving active |
service-for he remained in the reserve
the post of chief secretary TO the Banque \
de rEtat ct du Marco. The salary Nas |
a good deal. but the opportunities to |
make investments was far more. He |
had English activity and a medium Eng |
lish mind,
The Pope. who. despite the predictions |
OF the superstitious. has just completed |
the tenth year of his pontificate. main |
tains in the Vatican the simplicity of the |
parish priest of Solanzo. But he cannot |
avoid being the most extensively |
dressed man in the world. For. though |
the Pope may eat when he likes. he must |
be dressed in accordance with the tradi- |
tional etiquette of his high office. which |
prescribes that he should wear different |
garments every day of the year. Nearly 4
all his robes are ornamented with rare
jewels. his surplices are of the most
lace: his gloves are embroid-
cred with pearls in the shape of a cross:
his undergarments are prepared from the
fleece of a herd of sheep kept especially |!
for the purpose, and his rings, set with |
gems of matchless quality. are priceless:
His is by far the most costly wardrobe
IN the world.
In acknowledging the congratulations
Of a group of clerical friends on his
to the cardnalate In 1893, Car
iinal Sarto drew attention to the SYM
'olic and prophetic value which the
lumber nine possessed for Dante and
Tor his heroine Beatrice. adding:
I'm some mysterious way or another
number nine seems to govern my own
ife. was nine years at the seminary
Is student, nine years a vicar at
nine years an archpriest at L
'alzano. nine years a canon Of Trevisco
,athedral, nine years as Bishop OF Man
ua, and now you will see that 1 shall
emain nine years as Patriarch of We
lice."
Then he went on jokingly, Perhaps
shall be Pope for a final nine years;
% you see I'm a paste that can be
mixed with all sorts of sauces"
1t Is an open secret that during his
evere illness last year Plus X con-
tantly expressed his conviction that his
inth year in the Vatican was about to
inish him.