| Show CURRENT TOPICS IN EUROPE just now a somewhat hot hoac fire of attack is directed the I 1 queens son alfred commonly called the duke of edinburgh on account of the loss of the war ship suman sultan he Is blamed for allowing theSul the tanto to cruise in the waters where the dangerous rock lay hidden benthe the locality of the rock being beindit bei ngit lt is said perfectly well known although it is not marked on any chart on the other bandit hand it is denied that the duke is to blame in any way and asserted that he is assailed simply because he is a member of the royal family there seems to be a strong tendency among the english people to assume that the royal family obtain and hold their positions in the public service in spite of their notorious incompetency the case of prince albert furnishes a good example for years and years the press ess continually ridiculed and attacked U aked him everything he did was presented to the people in the most unfavorable light the great journals declared he was trying to Germ anisse england that he was a quarrelsome intermeddler that he wanted to be king etc all this is but the faintest echo of the almost universal tone of the press toward him the world now knows that it was the reverse of the truth prince albert was anxious above all things to promote the welfare of england he was exceedingly modest and retiring in his nature and no public man of his time was gifted with more sagacity or foresight reparation was never made to him during his life and it is not of very much use to offer it over a grave grav in like manner we are now told loia that the duke of cambridge knows nothing about the army and is only commander in n chief because he is the cousin of the queen yet it is a fact that during the last few years he has appeared before several parliamentary lia committees the members of which were by no means predisposed in his favor and he has invariably made a profound impression upon them as a man who is thoroughly familiar with every detail of his business from the smallest to the greatest and who would obviously put the army in a abend and effective condition if he were commander ln in chief in fact instead of simply in name recollecting these things thing sit it may be well to pause before accepting as truth all that is said against the duke of edinburgh he is not very popular as all are aware but that is 18 no DO proof that he caused the loss of the suman at the present moment there is a vague feeling of unrest pervading the minds of many in europe from one end of it to the other europe fairly bristles with unsettled questions some morel more some less lees acute but all liable to be awakened into activity by some sudden turn of events the latest addition to these emergencies is the revival of the armenian question the russian ambassador has 9 addressed a note to the porte calling attention to the condition of armenia and asking that the reforms shall be carried out as provided in the article of the treaty of berlin to jog the the turk regarding these unexecuted PrOvi provisions siOus may well be deemed judicious tactics by the czars azars government for aside from these russia is a creditor of the porte for a large amount which should have been paid long ago of course these of russia always carry with them the tacit hint or suggestion that unless turkey meets these in a proper spirit something worse may follow that standing source of uneasiness the situation in the balkan PrOVI provinces Dees is not likely to improve the servian imbroglio seems to grow more vexed with every mouth month that passes or has passed since the abdication of king milan the latest dispatches from vienna indicate that unless some change soon takes place iu in regard to the treatment of austrian claims by the regents at belgrade the vienna government will consider it ar cause of war I 1 A little further to the east lies another unsettled question prince ferdinands usurpation of the throne of bulgaria is considered a perpetual challenge to the czar and his government and which may be taken up at any moment when it may suit the ends of russian policy to do so at the present moment it would seem that the relations between germany and switzerland are a little strained as the diplomats would say but why they should be so is not so very clear some time ago the swiss officials in the canton of argolia arrested a ger man police agent who was looking after some fugitive german socialists subsequently the federal government at berne inquired into the matter and released the agent from prison but at the same time it ordered him to leave swiss territory which he accordingly did the german government thought that its agent was badly treated and called upon the swiss federal government to rep reprimand r imand the authorities of argolia Ar govia the swiss government declined to do this whereupon some of the semiofficial semi senti official german journals threaten switzerland with condign punishment these newspapers recommend their government to put switzerland in quarantine and to inaugurate a regime similar to that now existing on the alsace lorraine frontier A german newspaper insists that the minister at berne should be recalled and it adds this recall will be all the more significant as all the european powers have not an equal interest in the neutrality of the confederation and the indivisibility of its territory 1 I it is easy to perceive that in the event of war either germany or france might not hesitate to violate swiss neutrality mr henry george of new york is now dow in paris ventilating his land theories but so far with but little success in france as in other countries there are always to be found a number of persons ready to listen to a rehash of old and exploded doctrines but in france the soil is mostly owned by peasant proprietors prie tors and mr george is badly mistaken if he imagines that his agrarian nonsense will be received by frenchmen generally otherwise than with a wild burst of laughter As AB the exhibition season wears on the theatrical managers of paris seem more and more discontented in fact the evening entertainments on the champs de mars seem to be the great attraction for the people this is especially the case with the theatre lately opened on the esplanade des Inva lides the yellow race must be passionately fon I 1 of theatricals for it is said they have more than thirty theatres theartres the atres in the annam capital no one need now go to the far east to boudy the drama the little building on the esplanade des Inva lides is picturesquely oriental there is no moveable moveably move able scenery but pictures by native artists have been painted at the back of the stage the actors and actresses are nine in number and it is their happiness to respond to such names as tho C oho ho phung wang dang etc between the acts a band of musicians seated upon a platform produce wonderful sounds that could not fail to charm bees one of their pieces is the story of an oriental Lear with variations upon shakespeare in the last act all the traitors have their heads cut off among the ten thousand objects that american genius and skill have contributed to the exposition none done excites so much curiosity as the latest improved Edi sons phonograph A meek looking little instrument not much over a foot square resembling a hand sewing machine but with capabilities nearer dearer akin to an entity of mind and brain than anything yet I 1 created 11 shall I 1 say for invented seems a word beneath its dignity how strange it seems to sit in europe and hear the fae fac of the living voices of friends we have known and words they five thousand thou miles away to hear the exact words and tones of our national hymn as it was sung by a sweet voice in our native land be yond the ocean who has not read or heard that quaint poem of Whit tiers telling the bees in which he so beautifully describes an old new eng land custom or rather superstition well this same custom prevails along the banks of the rhine in southern germany and in the pro vince of alsace at the present timo A short time ago an oc currence of this kind took place at colmar in alsace A rich farmer died and at soon as his death was announced lifs bys widow went to the hives of the bees and tapping each hive gently three times she gravely told them that the master was dead whittler Whittier has a wonderful knack of bringing back the old time memories and by the light of this recent A occurrence we can better under stand his beautiful lines trembling I 1 listened to the accents low for I 1 knew she was telling the bees of mo na gone on the journey we all ail must go I 1 and the song son ohe was singing ever since in my ear vonndel son sou ndel on stay at home pretty bees ily fly not hence mistress mary is dead and gone 11 11 J H WARD J EUROPE june 1889 IS |
