New-York tribune. [volume], March 08, 1908, Page 3, Image 53

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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EAT UP $100 AT
O\E SITTING? EASILY!
oßS*t OBLIGED TO BE A
PIG. EITHER.
5 ,.". Modern Dinnrrt Cant Com
narc zrith Those of the
Ancients.
B- M. W. Meant
mQ^ oa<? man ret' a hundred dollars' worth
rf »ooc at fr:f ' meal ithout making a pi* of
jf^~ is a question often asked when news-
peblish reports of dinners that cost f 100
l '■■■'■'
. r*:.c aaltres d'hStel of Gotham say he
It all depends cpon the rarity and unsea
—hlenesf of the viand* he coriyumes and the
of the wine* he orders.
*°'X san can. without discomfort, eat a bun
*4i [o!!ar» worth of food at a meal," said
tljM^ya c. -.henheim. proprietor of the
■<«# Asti-r. the other day. "Suppose he calls
/-'a jjjsrhly priced fish, which is brought here
It crest cost and difficulty from its home in
.j^ c&s*> ian Sea: for ptarmigan, from the Arc
.*-■ a delicate bird from Brazil and rare fruit
*-K3 Java, wiih costly, fresh Russian caviar
7j ti^re are as many kinds of caviar as of
»^ I>»t the meal be opened by green turtle
l_r> mad? with fine wine, and continue with
',!,,.•• . terrapin, canvasbaeß; duck and
■*c dishes and sauces concocted of the most
__»utr* articles out of season in the market.
fc*s.s3fr.i: could isily amount to $100. for It
"^ »* ciurV. to provide a specially rare dish
' osf person as for ten "Wines and cigar?
:.r«nal fSO bill dissolve like
r- :-• :•
N - pvcrt j. e j C ss. it remains tru< that the decora
tlcrs at .-, average hiph priced dinner make
-v f«r th«* larger proportion of the cost a
"... •>*■£ the food conies in a poor second on
t V :' -''
jaxßinc»ys COSTLIEK THAH viahds.
jrtfit tlw average pood dinner of to-day
cr*t£ frca $I<* to $15 a plate for food alone. It
.... r to have dir.r.er? costing from
*T« tr £*• a plate, not ar mwmmmmlmi wmm
«m it is considered that in the market enough
, rgpir dp* for one penm cost from f6 to
p. esdive 3 1 • and t<-.:r.atr»f>f 50 cents a pound;
L-Jdsokes _■ cents apiece, and other hothouse
rentable* in proportion: that fine fresh caviar
m p -. and de'.ectable Cape flsh SO to S«>
axis a T •"•und. and diamoadback terrapin $6
tc fT each. Can vas Hack duck is quoted at a
«er=:?r figure -which has never been «k> h:gh.
*tDe the innsTr.crable little thing*-*tich as
ruS^s- mushrooms, snails, cockscombs and the
n-fcich enter ir.to dishes add greatly to their
«gaia T . eeat. Expensive wine* in soups and
mKBt . convert these into costly comestibles.
tid hothou^* fruit- and prepart-d nuts con
tribute their quota to the sum • taL
Artiitects of great banquets say that deco
_. .-,. for the:-? cofl tinnietiTne* fifteen times
if Euch a* the viands. It is charming to dine
i**Ee a iak* where disport fish and aquatic
fcts <wfcich are sometimes presented to gruests
t» (am eqtjairicing home), plants and trees, or
to t!*e isidft of a flower-decked forest. But It
cora aeaietr.: to build a lake in a banquet
JaU, irjike ra:r : r. fountains spout on tables
v± csxrezt a ballroom into c forest. Opera
£=?«* ciiarpe more to fill such scenes with
rcie? d thrilling wmmmwmm than average mu
■Mne aeniar for a mm service. There Is
larSlr any limit to what a dinner may co»t
trier* M-.5y rarr plants and orchids are used in
fi«-ccratioi*; thy richest table service Is' em
pk»«t. «n<i cni; l h^ greatest singers are en
gaged, bet without such 'imjmdmmmaj' Del
coricos chef affirm?, "one can ge: pomething
Titfr icr 5"" With wines ar.d cigars one can
p- s«2«hlng vei> line for Sloo.**
Smnirrre the cost of souvenirs is included in
tJ» charge for a dinner, but not usually.
tarcirfn and cigars are generally classed
K3E^ the Vium" of a dinner Fuitabiy fur
(ttefl »-:»r. ■ •:•=. ■pedal «=ervice and decora
2c=s.
t this age tr.e evolution of the gourmand 1«
lac BBcrmet. In another decade, predicts
■odßkoff. the tabloid bottle will supplant the
■•;•'.'.-• i board.
Grois ss our eating habits may be to-day in
tk. eyes of each FcientL^t^. we are. neverthe-
I a» fat ti.. .- r*-f:n^:n*-nt so far ahead of the
Hfcai la the ■ncr of feastins: that we may
■tS ignore the threats of a "mummy" at our
|M| la the Bbape of a tabloid bottle whose
Mmi soend th<? knell of conviviality in the
TEI FEASTS OF LTTCULUJS.
h comparison with the banquet* ■' the an
seu, ".Little Tim" Sullivan's r-.-nt $100 a plate
&2*r. jatsf-s Hazen Hyde * >-.."**• "blow-out"
r tie St. Rpgis. Senator Tom Grady's *S.Oy»
KXLi at Denver, and young Meyer's recent
*c csner, costing £300 a plate, at Shanleys.'
fck Eke backdoor "handouts" of Bowery
>&-" Compared to the gastronomic feats of
* epicures cf the Middle Ages, ex-Mayor Van
v rJLS consumption of twelve mmWml of beef-
r «k at ose meal appears like the feeble effort
* * confirrr.ed dyspeptic.
3« vwdny and novelty of the dishes pre
**2 lor the jaded appetites of the oldtime
■o&c:.:t would niake ■ VanderMlt $15,000
ironed chr-f ?a-p in astonishment, almost
*»t «*t!j envy and feel like an ordinary
BcnXUon. F^r the delectation of guests
•*■««« court** entertainments were provided
***& would rr^ke the notorious •••->• dinner
Iftßfcr «.daie and decorous. Innovation* were
l«hni »r.!ch would cause a reputed dinner
c tenwt, with a monkey as the guest of
IK. to Bean commonplace, and the Phlladel
5:4 ft . of liberating thousands of bright
*£?*! fettefliea to scintillate through the air
taj^S iht tan.t-st of attractions.
-tt^its. history says, spent 510.000 ■■ an
dir.ncr Jor Caesar and Ponipey. and
tSiirs Ilk- this and much more elaborate
»ere .everyday occurrences in the
"^ v Sip\ea uid coantry seat at Tusculum.
- ttj |a uf :
'"&* ilaiiy catcrtalxuneotfl were ostentatiously
**^4_ not only with r-urple coverlets, and
*«i with precious stones, and dancing
but with the greatest diversity
5 **2ea er.d tnost elaborate cookery."
-i?da, according to Seneca, spent nearly
*"* m one supper.
**SPoria of modern banquet*, such ac took
*** *t Saiey*. recently, we read of foun-
f.itii champagne, M though that
• tht atae o f extravagance, but when
4^ s * Sdt a little bit reckless and extra
5* was wont to drink co^tJy pearls dt«-
fa vinegar. Pearls were no more to him
"** tre j^a<; t o his modern imitators. Cleo-
*1« had a weakness for the pearl cock
*s oecnf Sons when the save one of those
Mincers for Marc Antony and hi.- asso
r5lr 51 Is a rooia carreted a cubit deep with rose
**«. V«rfly the ancient* set & pace that a
r^-^ay exponent of practical politics or an
J^ 1 Plumber can hardly keep up with, and
?* *oul<i fcoon bankrupt institutions even
J^iy «trr.ns»- than • great life insurance
>
'tfate tht- \Tands that were served on the
?*<* Uie Greeks and Romans! The con
* the known world were ransacked in
search of fresh delicacies. And what competent
and iaganioua chefs they moat have bad in
those days! Think of a whole pig boiled on
one side and roasted on the other, staffed with
an olio of thrtuhes. mincemeat, the yolks of
eggrs and various spices, and the Impossibility
of discerning how the animal had been killed
or where the knife had separated Its body! And
that wonderful dish devised by Vitellius, which
consisted of an Ingenious mingling of the Jivers
of charflsh, the brains of pheasants and pea
cocks, the tongues of flamingoes and the en
trails of lampreys! The modern chef is able
to concoct many a mysterious dish, but that
old Roman cook was certainly a past master
of bis art when he prepared a turnip so skil
fully for his imperial master that the lattar
swore it was a delicious anchovy, a fishe he was
longing for at that moment. *
DIVERSIONS AT AJTCIENT BANQUETS.
The cooks in those days were obliged to pre
pare tasty and appetizing dishes with the most
unpromising Ingredients, for Varro, writing in
the time of Julius Caesar, gives direction for
fattening rats for the table, and the menu also
included cacti, thistles, shark's flesh, cuttlefish,
sen. nettles and other extraordinary things. The
peacock, now no longer considered a delicacy,
■was highly esteemed for the table. Pliny says
that the orator, Bortensius, first introduced these
birds as a table delicacy at a feast. given for
the College of Augurs, while Vitelllus and
Heliogabalus at their banquets had favorite
dishes composed of the brains and tongues only
of peacocks.
Consistent with the richness of all this
was the mapnificence of the table appliances,
the couches nn which guerts reclined and the
banquetine halls. A chronicler says that in
Nero's "Golden House."' on the Palatine Hill, the
supper rooms had compartments in the ceiling
inlaid with ivory, which, revolving, scattered
flowers and unguent* upon the revellers below.
A faint imitrftion of this was a Newport dinner
where roses were showered from a rose covered
celling upon the guepte. The celling of Nero's
chief banqueting room was painted wifii ptnrs
and turned perpetually in imitation of the celes
tial bodies.
And what entertainment those princely hosts
provided for their guests between courses! No
"mnnkeyshines" or lonely grand opera star for
them. Not the refined tragedy of broken -winged
butterflies fluttering in suffocating apony. but
Fomethinp really worth while^ — the tragedy of
human lives pacriflced in gladiatorial combat,
and if this was not exciting enough the host
would have slaves or prisoners tortured and
killed. And while the puests feasted and sang
and danced parlands of flowers, costly perfumes
and uneuents were lavished upon them, and as
a fitting climax to all this luxury and satiety,
when they departed they bore with them rich
gifts a 5 souvenirs of the banquet.
Just in proportion as the Roman banquets
surpassed in extravagance modern affairs of
the kind, so may the -Roman functions be classed
a_= Imitations of those of the potentates of the
East. "We are told that during the reign of the
Pharaohs the guests would arrive at midday. A
plave stationed behind each gue?t was ready
to obey the least command, and time paf= sf><l
quickly !n feasting and merrymaking. And
when the senses seemed almost satisfied a slave
appeared bearing a small figure of a mummy,
which he exhibited portentously to the revellers,
saying: 'Gaze here! Drink and be merry, for
when you die such will you be!" One writer pays
that the pronf still exists pictorlally that the fair
sex of that time and country drank more than
was good for them, due to this grewsome stimu
"DODO'S" HUSBAND AS ENGLAND'S PREMIER.
Asquith About to Succeed
Campbell— Banncrman,
Says Ex-Attache
rCopyrisht. 180 S. by th* Brentwood fompar.y
As many eyes, not only m all parts of the
vast British Empire, but also In numerous for
eign countries, are turned Just at present upon
Herbert Asqulth. who since the beginning of
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's serious Illness
ha<= been" taking his place as leader of the gov
ernment and is now about to succeed him in the
Premiership, It may be well to offer to the
readers of these letter? a few brief notes des
tined to enable them to understand a states
man concerning whom misapprehension pre
vail.- Leaving other* to deal with h'.K po
litical experiences and aspirations. I will en
d*avor .a far as is possible to present th. per
sonal element of the man whom Sir Charles
Dilke assuredly no mean Judge in such mat
ters professes to regard as the greatest par
liamentarian in the United Kingdom.
No man in English public life has a colder
manner or a kinder heart. He Is wholly lacking
Jn cordiality, nor has he any trace of that per
.onal magnetism which Bume consider and
wrongly so. as Indispensable to a political
leader. But he impresses one by his extraordi
nary lucidity of utterance and of Intellect. Hi?
absence of humor is more than counterbalanced
by his convincing cleverness, and he possesses
in an altogether pre-eminent degree that one
virtue of all others which the English speaking
races value so highly in their public rr.er.-that
is to say. safeness.
There Is no danger of his ever being carried
away by emotion, of his deferring to mere senti
ment or of speaking on the Impulse of the mo
ment' In fact, no one credits him with any such
thing as impulse In the sense of its subordina
tion to cold logic and reason, and Uie hopes and
expectations which were formed by his friends
and acquaintances concerning him when he took
to golf, that it would inevitably result In his
learning to swear, have not been realized.
HIS SECOND MAREIAGE.
Probably it was Just because of these peculiar
characteristics that he was able to win the
heart and the hand of one of the most brilliant
women in London society, who is his antithesis
in every respect, who is brimful of wit and of
humor, possessed of such magnetism as to ren
der mm such as Arthur Balfour. Lord Tenny
on and William E. Gladstone ber most devoted
admirers and subject to ncr eway, and who.
known from one end of Europe to the other
prior to her marriage as ili.-s Margot Tennant.
is familiar to many people In America through
her portrayal as I>odo in the popular novel
of that name, which first made the literary
reputation of It* author. Edward Frederick Ben
son, younger son of the late Archbishop of Can
terbury.
Miss "Jack" Tenuant is understood to have
rejected Innumerable offers cf marriage before
a/toniahlng not only her friends and acquaint
ances but likewise the public, through becom
ing the seconu wife of Herbert AsQuith, a self
made man in every sense of the word, without
ar ... special comeliness, birth or fortune, and
moreover handicapped in a matrimonial sense
by a. family of six i hlldren. issue of his former
marrla«e It Is difficult to say whether it was
the glaring contradiction between their tempera
mental characteristic, that first attracted Mar
got Tennant to Herbert Asquith. or whether It
tras that with her clever, feminine intuition
she penetrated the qualities of heart that were
"concealed under the cold, academic exterior of
the present Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
foresaw already fourteen years ago that he was
destined one of these day. 10 become Prime
I Minister of the British Empire.
Whatever the cause of her attraction, It c»
NEW-YORK DAILY TRIBUNE. SUNDAY, MARCH 8. 1908
A MOONSHINE STILL. A DISTRICT SCHOOL AND A TYPICAL HOME IN THE MOUNTAIN
DISTRICT WHERE GENERAL, HOWARD IS WORKING FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.
GENERAL 0. 0. HOWARD, U. 8. A,
Now the only living man who commanded an army in the Civil War. Soon to be placed on the
retired list as a tteutenent general.
(Copyright, 1906, by Uillan E Bixby>
lation, probably, while their lords and masters
had frequently to be carried home from a festive
gathering limp as the faded lotus blossoms on
their fe\ered brows.
It Is no longer good form to indulge thus
deeply in potations, as Is evidenced by the fact
that SGOO covered the wine bVI added to a &UX)O
dinner recently given in Fifth avenue for sixty
guests, although the vintages consumed aver
aged S2O to $3U a bottle.
The marriage feast of the Caliph El-ma-Moon
continued for nineteen days, the father of the
bride entertaining on the banks of the Tigris
crowds which no palace could contain. Between
the courses showers of gold coins, bags of am
bergris, and, at length, balls of musk were scat
tered among them, the latter inclosing small
MRS. ASGUItW.
not be denied that the union has turned out a
happy one in every respect, and that while the
wit, the humor, the amusing persiflage, and
above all the great magnetism of Mrs. Asqulth
serve to counteract the arctic chilliness of man
ner of her husband, and to attract those who
might otherwise be. repelled by his icy reserve,
he on the other hand, has invested her with a
poise end with what may be described as an
intellectual ballast which she lacked as a young
girl.
STOOD HIGH AS SCHOLAR.
Herbert A.«quith is to-day fifty-six years old.
and is the son of a manufacturer in a small
way at Iforley, a little unimportant town in
Yorkshire. His father was far from rich. and.
destining him to a commercial career, sent him
to the City of London School, where he distin
guished himself as a scholar, but not as a
schoolboy. That is to say. he showed no taste
whatsoever for the sports and games of the in
stitution, and made few friends, and when by
eeniority and pre-eminence in his studies he
should have been chosen for the place of cap
tain of the school, «v repeatedly rejected by
his fellow pupils in the elections for that office
owing to his unpopularity.
He carried off. however, all tbe school prteea.
including an Oxford University scholarship, and
entering Baliol College, from which so many
men of mark have been graduated, became one
of its most brilliant' lights, and one of the
bright particular stars of Dr. Jowett. its famous
master, achieving a degree of prestige among
his fellow itudents which led eventually to their
electing him president of the celebrated debating
club known as tho Union
Having thus made his mark at Oxford, he
proceeded to study for the bar, working in the
meanwhile as assistant master of his old school;
received his "■-•air' In IS7G. and was, thanks to
the name which he had won for himself at the
university, successful from the very outset in
obtaining briefs-so much so that in the follow
ing year he was enabled to resign his Oxford
fellowship, which assured him an income of
$2 000 a year, in order to marry the daughter of
Frederick Melland. of Oxford. With her he set
tled at Hampstead, and from a social point of
view remained for a number of years wholly
unknown to the great world of London.
His first retainer was as Junior in the petition
against the .election of the Right Honorable
Jesse Collins as Member for Ipswich, which re
sulted in the defeat and unseating of that genial
champion of "three acres and a cow" doctrine.
iCY no other reason than that one of his cam
paign i|M(i had violated ttai BO3MF strict
papers In each of which was a ticket for some
of the different kinds of disposable property
most valuable in Asia— land, slaves, horses, etc.
A tray full of pearls was emptied by the bride's
grandmother upon her and the Caliph as they
sat in state. •
The further back we go in civilization the
magniture of banquets continually increases if
historians can be implicitly believed. There
were the feasts of Ahasuerus and balshazzar.
the former of whom feasted ail the people of
Shushan and the latter a thousand of his nobles.
How unsociable, in comparison with this capa
cious guest Hat, appears the notably beautiful
"Venetian dinner" recently given at the Hotel
Astor by a bachelor to only thirty-nine guests
at an approximate cost of ?H),()U0, when the
HERBERT ASQUITH.
electoral bribery and corruption laws by merely
promising to pay the fum of three shillings and
sixpence for defraying the cost erf the railroad
ticket to Ipswich of a single voter who was
temporarily absent from the borough.
The agent discovered afterward that he had
been wrong in offering to defray the small ex
pense in question— B4 cents— and accordingly re
fused payment. The voter, considerably dis
gusted, was loud in his complaints about the
matter, and hence the circumstances came to
the knowledge of Mr. Collings'? opponents, who
thereupon made a petition against the validity
of his election on the ground of illegal practices.
The judge before whom the case was brought
for trial, after hearing the pleadings of Herbert
Asquith, and of those associated with him in
the case, deemed this single circumstance suf
ficient cause to unseat Mr. Collings.
Asquwn was fortunate enough soon afterward
ir. win the regard and good will of Sir Charles
Russell, at that time the virtual leader of the
bar— who was to die as a peer of the realm and
as the first Roman Catholic Chief Justice of
England since the Reformation, under the name
of Lord Ruesell of Killowen. Indeed. Asquith
became the favorite junior of Russell, and fully
justified all the latters good opinion by the
remarkable showing which he made as hi? as
sistant in the ParneU case.
As a general rule a junior in ■ cause celebre
has but little chance of distinguishing himself.
Bat Asquith was fortunate. In some way or
another matters turned out so that it fell to his
lot to cross-examine John Macdonaid, the gen
eral manger of "The Times," and so masterly
was the example -.vhi- h he furnished of forensic
vivisection that it contributed in no small de
gree to the issue of that great trial.
Asqulth had already previously commended
himself t" the good will of Gladstone by prepar
ing for his private information a clear and con
venient statement of the law in the Charles
Bradlaugh controversy and was therefore wel
comed by him when he secured election to Par
liament as a member of the Liberal party after
the latters memorable defeat on the home rule
bill some twenty years ago. It was in the
House of Commons even more than at the bar
that he showed his cleverness. He spoke sel
dom, but when lie spoke it was always to the
point, with a remarkable mastery of his subject,
and the late Lord Salisbury, who had never been
known to praise publicly one of his own party,
singled out As.juith in his speeches for com
mendation and complimentary criticism.
So well did hf- do that wnen the fnionist gov
ernment was defeated in IMS he was put up by
Gladstone to move its ejection from office, ttls
banquet was spread amid Venetian scenes and
guests looked out of real Venetian windows
upon such lovely gardens as one finds In Venice,
while strains of music floated from gondolas
whose gondoliers played and sang in a fashion
to charm even Venice by its beauty.
Even in the Middle Ages we have accounts of
banquets which In point of wastefulness would
be difficult to surpass. Stowe. In his "Survey of
London" shows from the accounts of the cof
ferer, or steward, of Thomas Earl of Lancaster
that the expenses of the earl during the year —
1313 — for the pantry reached the enormous sum
of nearly £100.000. or $300,000. In the follow
ing reign, on the occasion of the marriage of
his son. Lionel of Clarence with Violentes of
Milan, the King gave a banquet of thirty
courses, and the fragments from the table fed a
thousand persons. In Henry Vi reign, Stowe
tells us that Neville. Earl of Warwick, "was
ever held in great favor by the commons of all
the land on account of his hospitality In all
places, wherever he went; and when he came to
London he kept such a house that six oxen wer»
eaten at breakfasts. The coronation banquet of
Edward 111 cost a sum In those days equivalent
to about $200.00 i). At the marriage feast of
Alexander 111 of Scotland and the Princess Mar
garet, daughter of Henry 111 of England, which
was solemnized at York, the archbishop of that
city presented the English King with sixty fat
oxen, which were all consumed on the occasion.
In Queen Elizabeth's time the first course of
a banquet Is given wheaten flummery,
stewed broth or spinach broth, or smaila*e.
gruel, or hotch-pot. The second consisted of flsh.
among which are lampreys. poor-John, stockfish*
and sturgeon, with side dishes of porpoipe. The
third course comprised quaking puddings, black
puddings, bag puddings, white puddings and
marrow puddings. Then came veal. beef, ca
pons, humble pie. mutton, marrow pasties.
Scotch collops, wild fowl and game. In the
fifth course all kinds of sweets, creams in all
their varieties, custards, cheesecakes. j"Uies.
warden pies, suckets. silllbubs and so on. to be
followed perhaps by white cheese and tansy
cake. For drinks, ale. beer, wine, sack and nu
merous varieties of mead or metheglin.
On an important occasion which wa." honored
by the presence of most of the English nobil
ity the cooks who prepared the banquet entered
into a competition as to which of them could
design the most original dish. The cook who
took the palm for merit sent In a sucking pig
harnessed to a chariot plum pudding with
strings of sausages. The notable show dishes
of to-day, which figure so largely in the bill of
expenses and contain so many costly Ingredi
ents, ar«> intended to be looked at and not par
taken of. The modern diner-out would no doubt
sniff disdainfully at some portions of the menu
which In those early times were considered
delicacies; for example, the flesh of cranes,
herons and hawks, and great pieces of whale
and young porpoises.
ABCHBISHOP OF YOKE'S MENU
Previous to the Reformation the clergy kept
rifjht up with the procession In the way of
elaborate and expensive entertaining, and so
sumptuous were their dinners that a modem
bishop would appear In comparison to be fast-
Ing every day In the year, while the colored
clerical brother would seem not to like chicken
at all!
At the installation of Ralph. Abbot of St.
Augustine, Canterbury, in 1309, six guests were
entertained with a dinner consisting of 3.000
dishes.
This brings us to the celebrated banquet given
Continued on fifth pace
main point of attack was Joseph Chamberlain
It was a wonderfully able attack and a crush
ing Indictment, epigrammatic, sarcastic, terse,
not a word too much, and withal characterized
or a certain Indefinite modesty. It was the
speech of his life and fulfilled all the expecta
tions of the Grand Old Man. who on forming
his Cabinet rewarded him by confiding: to him
the portfolio of Secretary of State for the Home
Department.
Though new to office, he proved a very great
success there, and displayed not only much skill,
but also an altogether unsuspected amount of
tact in dealing with the labor troubles, the
Trafalgar Square meetings and the cab ntrikes.
which had been keeping London In a ferment for
a number of years. Moreover, he began some
very remarkable and effective factory legisla
tion tending to the improvement of the working
classes, at the same time reorganizing the entire
system of factory inspection.
Indeed, his administration of the Home Office
remains on record as the most successful in
every respect of any during the last thirty or
forty years. It was while Home Secretary that,
having meanwhile lost his first wife, he suc
ceeded In winning- the hand of Sir Charles Ten
nant'e. brilliant daughter, and their wedding
was one of the events of the season. King Ed
ward, then Prince of Wales; his consort and the
entire world of fashion and of politics putting
in an appearance at the ceremony. To his fam
ily by his first wife there are now added several
children by his present marriage. Herbert As
quith remained at the head of the Home De
partment after the retirement of Mr. Gladstone,
serving on under Lord Rosebery, and when the
Liberals went out of office he, in defiance of ail
tradition and precedent, resumed his practice at
law. with considerable financial advantage to
himself, though without permitting it to inter
fere with his work in Parliament.
GOLT ONLY EECHEATION.
On the formation of the present Liberal ad
ministration by Sir Henry Campbell-Banner
man. Asqulth was appointed Chancellor of the
Exchequer, and is now about to succeed Sir
Henry as Prime Minister. Asquith Is Sir
Henry's natural successor, and while there are
plenty of men among the members of his party
who have no fondness for him personally, yet
one and all are compelled to admit his superior
qualifications for the post — qualifications which
commend him alike to his sovereign as well as
to all factions of the Liberal camp.
Asqulth is not good looking. Always sitting
bolt upright on the ministerial bench of the
House of Commons, his face has been justly
described as hard and parchmenty— the face of
one who might have been fed upon the calf
binding of Blackstone or Coke, mingled with
ragouts made up of bluebnnk?. Hia figure is
stiff and stocky. Nor does be improve hi.- ap
pearance by the display of any care In dress.
In fact, he is justly reputed as one of the shab
biest garbed men in Parliament— this, too. in
spite of the effort? of Mrs Asqulth to keep him
tidy and well groomed. I have mentioned above
that he has taken up golf, though in a rather
detuitory way. But with that exception he has
manifested no interest whatsoever in any form
of sport.
He neither rides nor sails yachts, and is as
indifferent to racing as he is to cricket, tennis
and football. In fact, his interests In life are
restricted exclusively to politics, to law and to
his family, to which he Is devoted to an extent
that would amaz** those who know him only
as the coldest and most unemotional political
leader in public life since the disappearance of
Lord Beaconsfleid. Whereas the latter, how
ever. Impressed the English people by gifts of
imagination which sometimes frightened them.
Asquith Is absolutely lacking in that particu
lar His intellect is of the positive, sober, un
romantic order, and as such commends him to
the English people as a singularly safe minister
of tbe Crown. JKX-ATTACH*.
GENERAL HOWARD'S
WORK FOR THE SOI'TH
HIS IX IV ER SIT T FO t
MOl ST. I BtXKMS.
Incidents in One of His Vint* to the
Homes of "His Boys."
General Oliv»r Otis Howard, who Is now the oat?
living officer who commanded an army m 0M Civil
"War. Is about to receive the honorary rank ot
lieutenant general by special act of Congress. Ha
was born In Maine and now lives In Burfinffton.
Vt-.bat the interest that lies closest to his heart
Is hidden away in the mountains of the South.
For more than ten years he has devoted great ef
fort to building up Lincoln Memorial University,
founded for the sons and daughters of. the poor
white mountaineers o: Kentucky, V:-^-. and
Tennes.->
Ever since the close of the Civil War. la whicJx
he fought with such honor. General Howar«l has
been Interested In t..'-- mountain white people.
The educational institution which -was establisned
through his efforts near Cumberland Gap. Term— Is
one of the novel institutions of the country. It :•
probably the place where the cheapest colleso
education Is to be obtained in America, for through
a grrnwiriir system of scholarships those who can't
aJTord t.> pay *ret free tuition and are furnished wltlx
work to meet the cost of living, which h.. been
reduced to the marvellously low sum of from 17
to $10 a month.
General Howard's university Is no place for a
youth who is not tuaterl by serious motives, as
these extracts from a recent catalogue go to show:
No help to pay his expenses will be e«t»- to
the user of tobacco, intoxicating liquors or profan*
iawrjage. Those who can get money to pay for
tobacco and drinks mlsrfat save mal money to pay
their expenses at school.
Laziness and deception w:!' not No tolerated for
a single day In this Institution. We do not wish
to aid iri a;iy way thos-- who are ungrateful, an<t
most surely we do not w;?h to edaeata them at th»
expense of benevolent friends.
Nr> cljrarette Mend or those adfli'-r< *l to the us«« of
intoxicants n-o<l apply tor admission to th*» uni
versity. Th-re are no saloons near the school, but
thoee who seek bad company will flnd it or mako
it anywhere, and the univ»rsi y does not offer itself
as a reformatory for those who are too wayward
for home restraints.
Once or twice every yar General Howard
makes a pilgrimage t--> Cumberland Gap and
spends a week or two with his r"v.<». "who, like
Lincoln, thirst for knowledge." Despite his s«»v
enty-eight years he almost becomes a boj- a?aln.
A Tribune correspondent accompanied him to th»
mountain country on a rec»nt trip of inspection
and was amazed at the vitality and energy shown
by the only living commander of an army ia th«
War of the Rebellion.
"I must take you to the rock where you can
■stand on one foot and swing your free leg into
three states with one whirl." said the general "H
the second day of the visit.
The Tribune man was anxious for tlie trip, but
hardly expected General Howard's next sugges
tion.
"I kiT">w of no mnr> beautiful spot from w k .!ch
to see the sun rise." he S2id "Can w« have a
couple of saddle horses at half-past three to-mor
row morning?" he asked Dr. William I*. Stooka
bury. the president of the university, whose aueera
they were.
"You can have anything we have at any hour.
day or nlglit." was L»r. Stooksbury'a hearty re
sponse.
A LEG OVER TEEEE STATES.
It was stiil dark when General Howan!. .fully
dresseC for the sunrise ride, tapped at t;:e cor
respondent's door. The veteran swung into at 9
eaddle like a man In his prime and rode over tha
rough mountain roads at a pace that showed how
easily he could have accomplished the riding test
President Roosevelt recently prescribed for army
officers.
It was a ride of some five miles from the uni
versity campus to the height on which the stats
lines met. A granite bowlder marked the spot,
and one could literally ao a- t..- general sug
gested, swing a free leg over Tennessee. Virginia
and Kentucky with one sweep.
The way to the bowlder led through the town off
Cumberland Gap and ti.en u-p the steep mountain
side past a row of tumbledown shacks and houses.
The two riders were Jaaaei ea the outskirts of tho
town by a colonel who had worn the gray and
who had fought against General Howard's men ia
several battles.
•'We used to call this 11-11 'a Ball Acre." aaM
the colonel, referring to the shacks on the moun
tainsiUe. "Th<-re was a tim- when this clneter
was the worst spot in the mountains. No one)
knows how many murders have been committed ml
this half acre, and you ■■ii,i..l not cou:.: the ro'o
beries. Again and again the revenue men ha.»
pulled Illicit 9t1113 out el the cellars. You see tr.«
half acre is mmi conveniently situated. It .s an
t-asy matter to get cut of Tennessee into Vir
ginia, or out of Virginia into Kentucky, then it
Is simply a matter of stepping over the lii.c."
-We teaH the devil out <■: Hell's Half Acre- sev
eral years ago." went on the ex-Confederate;
"jerked him out bou.;y. alaag with the ?a!oons. Tha
Gap ia local option uotk. and a strangor wou:(*
have as much chance el setting a drink as a
wanderer in the middle of the desert."
A few rods furth-r along he indicated the \"il
ginia line and a huu-e which was built across I'
"We had a great deal ot trouble -with this place.*
he explained. "It wa> a saloon, and the proprietor
had his bar just across the Virginia l.n-:-. '-'..•
could stand In Tenne?s-e and buy drinks In Vu
ginia, where our local option was net effective, but
we finally drove him out."
General Howard led the way in*" the mountains
then, over a road that was roush and strewn wita
rocks. After riding a quarter or an hour : vougt*
scrubby timber the party reached a clearing, in the
centre of which stood a cabin typical of the moun
tains. It was roushly built o£ aalf-hewa logs, ho.il
together by nitches cut in the loss, instead of nails.
The cracks were plastered with clay from a neigh
boring bank. It had a peaked roo:' of "shakes" m>
stead of shingles, and at one end was a leg chim
ney with a top built of rocks. There was a rickety
front porch made by continuing Urn "shake" roof
beyond the front wall, which wa.s punctured with a
door and a couple or" windows. A picket fenco sur
rounded it and inclosed a small garmm
"There is a story about this cabin." said th^
colonel. "In the cellar under It was a stf el whi^
the revenue officers had knowledge for years, jft
they were B**ei atile to arrest the o;-.i woman who
ran It. She weighed four hundred pounds and was
so fat that she could not pr«»t out of the door.
When the officers cam* to arrest her .In
said they were welcome to her. but If -hey Injured
her house she would hay* the 1h« on them. They
could not bring the court to the cabin and they
could not bnntr the prisoner to court wlthour tear
ing out the side of the house. For years she laushet
at the law and ccnunu-1 to distil moonshine. Sa«
died finally, and In order to gft her coffin out of.
the house they had to pull do-wn part of the b»->««
wall."
"Would you like to se» one of the oldtirrn* moon-*
shine stilla?" the colon*! a*ked when the party had
...
ridden on.
The Tribune correspondent was enthusiastic over
the prospect, and Genera! Howard agreed to wait
on the main road. The colonel led the way mte)
a gulch to the right. In spite of the /aij^e.i rock*
which projected here and there It was really a b*
flowered glen, for violets of marvellous sUe. heav
ily weighted with perfume, grew wherever thers
was tha least sign of soil. At the end of the gulch
stood a .huge chestnut tree, to which the horses
were tied. ~'''^'l'~'
AS OLDTUCE STILL.
A sharp scramble up the hillside and the ar.ctmt
■till was revealed. It stood m a little depressloa
and wa» without protection. Th« fireplace, or fur
nace, wu built of slabs of stone, plck'd up on th*
ground. Above it was a home mad* copper kett!*
of curious shape, which contaln-d the worm and :n
which the whiskey injredlents were heated. Abovw
the kettle was a wooden vesae!. from which the dts
tilled liquor was drawn through a bamboo tube.
As it happened, the mountaineer who owned thi»
still wa» there with his dog. He explained th*
making of moonahina in detail.
"If you'd come six or seven years aro." he said.
"you wouldn't hay« been able to get up her*. ena
with th* colonel for guld*. This her* sUU waa
Cbblb*s*s' «• aTi*> saoS>
3