The San Francisco call., 1913-08-17
100000 GYPS|Es
MOVE IDLY ACROSS
EUROPE EACH YEAR
Authorities of the Countries
They Cross Dread Their
Coming = Relieved
When They Go
COPIES OF CANVASES
UNDER HAMMER
Contents of Cellars and Gar
-: rets of Louvre Galleries
to Be Sold

:. =.
sPARIs Aug. 16.-The immense col
. fection OF pictures. many OF them copies
'ef famous canvases, which now encum-
Der the cellars and garrets of the
public auction.
These pictures have been accumulat-
e. isg for over a century, and it is doubt
full If even the Louvre authorities them
,. selves know what is there Most Of
them are copies Of old masters which
:vere made by artists in the course of
their study and then abandoned. Many
a pictures of value may be discovered
eu2der the dust of years. Doubtless a
number of them were executed by art
lists who afterwafd became famous.
THE sale Will at any rate, afford anna
teurs an opportunity. of obtaining copies
Of their favorite picture at a compare
lively How price Lovers Of the lost
o "Joeende" will have the choice of more
than a hundred copies.
MOTHS IN MUSEUM
Some days ago group of visitors
passing through the Army museum at
Les Invalides examined the glass case
IN which the personal relics of the great
Napoleon are displayed.
20 TO their horror, they saw three holes
in the skirt of the celebrated gray
3 oYercoat. Spared by bullet and shell.
afhe famous and legendary garment is
in imminent danger of destruction by
. the ineKorable domestic moth. The gal
lant general who is in charge of the
. museum was at once advised, and meas
ures have been taken to make the ex-
. tstenee of moths in the precious case
> impossible
GYPSIES KEEP MOVING
One million gypsies. with neither
home nor country, move across Europe
eseVery year from east to west with the
= be ginning of summer. Nowhere are
they wanted everywhere they are eyed
1asl<ance. but still every year they wan
der, and the authorities of the coun-
tries they cross dread their coming and
are relieved when they GO
>. There is always trouble at the from
tiers. Here the wanderers are stopped.
:: questioned and often imprisoned as
IVA grants. But there is nothing to do
hut finally let them go, and they In
Z yariably return the next year. An
!, effort TO aid and protect these gypsies,
and incidentally the perplexed authori-
ties. is being made by Swiss clergy
.:man, H. EcuyeF. He has organized a
society, one of the purposes of which
F. is to instruct the gypsies in the Chris
. tian religion, for these nomads are all
= pagans. The success of Mr.. Ecuyer's
efforts. however, is considered very un-
2 certain
+. SWISS GLACIERS SUBsIDING
The levels of the various glaciers of
Switzerland are slowly subsiding. In
. either words, these high, slow moving
Iiyers of ice and snow are gradually
e. drying up for the reason that their
:, ESelume is yearly decreasing. In future
wears they undoubtedly viii present an
appearance considerably different from
what they do today.
- The gradual subsidence of these ice
: fields is established by statistics which
the Swiss Alpine club has compiled
from observation OF some 80 of the
most important glaciers. These figures
show that the greatest Swiss glacier,
Sthe "Alehseh. subsided 10 feet in 1912,
F despite the exceptionally cold weather.
5S feet in 1911. and 76 feet in 1910
The Rome egletscher" subsided So feet
In 1912. ss feet In 1911, and 40 feet in
1910. The two "Grindlewaldp glaciers
increased by SIS feet during 1912 but
had diminished $50 feet the year be-
fore Since 1898 these two glaciers
have subsided more than 1000 feet.
FERDINAND's FORTUNE BY CARDS
Recent happenings in Bulgaria have
brought out the story of an interview
10 years ago between the present king
who told Ferdinand his fortune from a
pack of cards with remarkable ac-
curacy.
In 1903, the story. goes, the late NJ
Mancini was secretary of the French
legation al Sofia. One night at re-
ception at the palace the present king,
then merely Prince Ferdinand, called
him into a little study and asked him
to read the future. NJ. Mancini asked
for a pack OF cards. and after certain
manipulations, said: Il see your in
huence and your power ceaselessly
growing. other rulers listen to your
voice. Your armies become more and
more formidable, The year 1912 stands
out above all others; your fortune in
that year will be meteoric"
SO I must wait for nine yearsep
omuttered the prince. thoughtfullv.
'But tell me, what do you see in Isl3e"
After 1912 the cards are blank: thew
tell me nething," answered NJ Marcini
M- Mareinfs brother diplomats. how
seveT. were not satisfied with his last
answer when they heard of the con-
sultation. Pressed with questions the
young attache finally said II could
not tell the prince what really saw
in 1918, for in that year the cards
spelled disaster"