EVERY visitor to the field of
Waterloo knows the Lion
Mound, but not one in a thou
sand is acquainted with Its true
history, and the great majority of Brit
ish tourists at least regard it as the
British Lion. In 1829, shortly after
its erection, a French visitor named
Saintine described it as “the Belgic
Lion looking towards and apparently
threatening France.” That description
seems not to have been forgotten, and
probably lies at the root of the sug
gestion just made in Brussels to turn
the lion round so that the threat—-it
needs a very lively imagination to see
any at all—in the pose may be divert
ed from France in the direction of
Holland, writes Demetrius C. Boulger
in the Graphic.
What was the origin of the mound
and the lion? In the first place, the
animal represented is neither a Brit
ish nor a Belgic emblem; it is the
Dutch lion, and somewhere in a corner,
if it has not been obliterated, will be
found, 1 imagine, the motto of Nassau
Orange, “Je Maintiendrai.” Whatever
is done with it, then, the susceptibil
ities of neither Belgians nor British
are involved. The British government
have certainly no inherited claim to a
voice in whatever solution may be
adopted. It is not their concern.
How the Mound Was Built.
In 1826 William I of the Netherlands,
the great-grandfather of the present
t^ueen Wilhelmina and one of the most
obstinate personages to be found in the
whole range of history, conceived that
the field of Waterloo required a
memorial to establish the heroism of
his eldest son, who had received a
wound on the occasion. The king was
actuated entirely by dynastic consid
erations, unless he also wished to pro
vide the foundries of Cockerill, in
which he was the largest shareholder,
with a profitable commission. At all
events it is quite clear that the Bel
gian people took no interest or part in
the matter, which was decided by a
vote of the states-general at The
Hague. The vote being passed, the
governments of Britain and Prussia
were then invited to make a contribu
tion to the memorial. They complied
to a certain limited extent, the British
consenting, for their part, to the re
moval of certain French cannon in
Wellington’s Belgian fortresses in or
der to provide the material for the
proposed lion.
By that time William had decided on
the form of the memorial. It was to
be the erection of an enormous mound
some 200 feet above the crest of Mont
St. Jean, at the spot where his son,
the prince of Orange, had been wound
ed, the mound to be crowned by the
Lion of the Netherlands. The clay for
the mound was brought from the steep
sides of the famous “sunken road,”
which disappeared in the process, by
women of the district, who were paid
at the rate of half a franc a basket, and
the site marked by Wellington's tree
was included within the radius of the
elevation—so that when the duke re
visited the scene in 1829 with his
daughter-in-law, Lady Douro, he made
the expressive comment, “My battle
held has been spoilt.”
Legend of the Lion's Tail.
The memorial, completed in 1828.
had been in existence two years when
the Belgian revolution broke out in
August, 1830. A year later a French
army advanced to Louvain to repel a
Dutch invasion. It was said that some
of the French corps in that advance
crossed the held and took offense, not
at the mound or the lion, but at the
shape of its tail, which, erect In the
air, seemed to express defiance! The
story went on to say that in their
wrath they broke off the tail, and that
the complaisant Belgians supplied the
lion with a new one, no longer erect,
but made gracefully dependent.
I went to considerable pains in 1901
to show that this legend could have no
real basis, because the contemporary
drawings in the Brussels Museum of
Prints showed the lion being hoisted
into its position with the tail in pre
cisely the same form as it wears to
day. There is no evidence of any
change having been made at that time
or any other.
In December, 1832, the French army
rendered a second signal service to the
Belgian people by the siege and cap
ture of the Antwerp citadel, and once
more a French regiment traversed the
scene without doing any damage. A
proposal was then made in the Belgian
chamber by a patriotic leader, M. Gen
debien, to the effect that the na
tional gratitude should be evinced by
the removal of the lion monument al
together. He called it, and justly, as
has been shown, "the hateful emblem
of the despotism and violence which
made us subject for 16 years to the
humiliating yoke which we cast off in
September, 1830.” I could not ask for
a more authoritative corroboration of
my view that the Lion Mound is a
monument to Dutch megalomania with
out any reference to Briton.s or Bel
gians whatever. Certainly the Bel
gians would never have thought of
erecting such a memorial to themselves,
and as to this country, it is not its
way.
It is quite clear, then, that the mere
reversal of the lion’s position affords
no adequate solution to the problem of
satisfying those French sentiments
which M. Saintine expressed 90 years
ago, and which I do not doubt are still
entertained. Once the matter is taken
into consideration, there can be no dis
pute that the position and the pose of
the lion dre offensive and provocative
to the French people, who, on three
historic occasions in less than a cen
tury, have contributed of their best
and bravest to the saving of Belgian
independence.
WORKS OF ART PRESERVED
Art World Interested in Uncovering of
Old Paintings in the Mosque of
Saint Sophia.
An important result that may be
looked for whenever Constantinople
and the mosque of St. Sophia pass
from under the control of the Turks
Is the verification of a belief, not gen
erally known, that the interior aa*11s
of the building still hold in practically
perfect condition the ornamentation
with which the Byzantine artists deco
rated them, says a writer in Christian
Science Monitor. The statement is
made with convincing detail by the
Italian architect, Fossatl, who was em
ployed by Sultan Abdu-ul-Mejid to put
th,e mosque In complete repair. To do
this work Fossatl removed the mat
ting that lined the Avails and took
down the huge disks, covered with
Arabic inscriptions, that here and there
ornamented them; and behind these
coverings he found the work of the an
cient Byzantines. Hagia Saphia, taken
by the Turks in 1453, Avas converted
to their own uses by the addition of
minarets and by covering the Avails,
the religion of its new possessors for
bidding them to make or destroy any
picture or statue of man. Fossati, with
the ancient glories of the Christian edi
fice temporarily uncovered, made the
notes for his book, and painted colored
facsimiles of son\e of the mosaics; then
he sealed them from view by replac
ing the coverings.
He Might.
In summer time the boy scouts roll
down their socks and follow the Scot
tish custom of cool knees. Down at
Camp Kinneuma, in Sullivan county,
the scout executive, who is both very
tall and very boyish, follows the cus
tom of his boys. It is picturesque and
the grown-up visitors understand it,,
but the other night a tiny girl did not.
She stared at the executive most of
the time of her visit. Then when the
family started home she turned to her
her father. “The chief of the scouts
is terribly tall, isn’t he?” she asked.
“Yes,” answered mother.
“I suppose other men’s pants would
be too short for him,” she continued.
“But don’t you believe that if he saved
up a lot of money, mother, he could
find a pair long enough for Sundays
so his knees wouldn’t show?”—Indian
apolis News.
Detects Concrete Defects.
An x-ray outfit for inspecting con
crete ships is stated by A. C. Freeman
to weigh about 90 pounds. The radio
graphs taken by the apparatus are ex
pected to show whether the concrete
mixture has been kept uniform and
compact; to detect any holes or voids
in the structure; and to reveal any
displacement of the reinforcing mate
rial. Such defects, when brought to
notice in time, can be remedied be
fore the work is completed.
Blank Expressions.
Flatbush—I see a recent invention
is a hand telephone with a push but
ton in one side with which telegraph
ing can be done.
Bensonhurst—Good ! Now when the
voice with a smile tells you the line
is still busy, you can use the telegraph
button and make a number of Jblank
Harks. The owner of the voice with a
smile will know what the blanks mean,
all right.
Doomed.
Moving Picture Actor—If you don't
soon give me a “part” that has a larg
er salary connected with It, I shall die
of starvation.
Director—If you don’t die in the
next scene you won’t even havd a
“part.”
& .t 1 > l . Jfci r • '
“IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHETHER YOU ARE m
DESTINED TO BE A SUCCESS OR A FAILURE
IN LIFE YOU CAN EASILY FIND OUT. THE |
TEST IS SIMPLE AND INFALLIBLE: jj
| ARE YOU ABLE TO SAVE 1
j MONEY? |
IF NOT, DROP OUT. YOU WILL LOSE. YOU H
MAY THINK NOT, BUT YOU WILL LOSE AS ||
H HI !'
i SURE AS YOU LIVE. THE SEED OF SUCCESS S
l «. . §3
I IS NOT IN YOU."—James J Hill U
1 * |
8 Bank of Alaska I
j CAPITAL $170,000.00 g
| Branches at Skagway, W ranged and Anchorage M
MimiaMiiMillilMIMlIiaili'BililBlillll.illlB.lllil.liliElWaBgEilllillitlijtBBniBIMiaiEmBP
-V:.. J;,
We take particular pride in calling
your attention to our new and com
plete line of Candies. Everything in
the Candy line to suit the most fastidi
ous taste
Call and inspect our stock and we are
sure we can convince you
NORIHEROtUG CO.
“THE DRUG STORE OF ALA8KA”
“SERVICE” is our motto
ALASKA TRANSFER COMPANY
.
_—
TRANSFER AND STORAGE
COAL AND WOOD
AUTO SERVICE
DAY OR NIGHT
•• _______
Office, Northern Hotel Bldg. Phone 85
j
i
Sixty Steam-Heated Rooms, Electric-Lighted
Hot and Cold Water in Every Room
With or Without Bath
Cordova House
I
DOOLEY & GREENIG
bi.r
Headquarters for Railroad and Mining Men
Satisfaction Guaranteed :: Rates Reasonable
__ -
STEAM HEAT ELECTRIC LIGHTS
Overland Hotel I
MRS. J. W. KENNEDY
Ghitina, Alaska
POOL TABLE IN CONNECTION
BS8T BRANDS OF CIGARS KEPT
FRESH FROM OUTSIDE
Beef, Pork, Veal, Mutton and Poultry
Wholesale and Retail
All Orders G yen Prompt Attention
northern meat market
jT
- _j_v.__.-__ _ ___ _— r
Alaska
Steamship Company
Regular Sailings Between Seattle,
Ketchikan, Juneau, Cordova, Valdez,
Ellamar, Liscum, Latouche, Seward
FROM SEATTLE— SAILS SOUTH—
APRIL 8. ALAMEDA ...APRIL 16
April 15. NORTHWESTERN ...APRIL 23
APRIL 22. ALASKA ...APRIL 30
Frequent sailings of freighters carrying explosives.
This schedule subject to change without notice.
F. B. TRACY, Agent
...-... .—
. * ‘ ' *
Alaska—Washington—California ALASKA ROUTE
Safety Courtesy Service 8peed
OFFICE EMPRESS BUILDING
WEST BOUND SOUTH BOUND
LEAVE CORDOVA LEAVE CORDOVA
WATSON MAY 3 WATSON MAY 13
EVANS MAY 15 EVANS MAY 22
Watson calls at Anchorage and Kodiak
L. A. COUNTS, AGENT Res. Lathrop Apts.
Phones: Office 223, Residence 223—2 rings. ..
tr---11 ...... . .... ■ ■■ .... . ■ - -..Ji
11! ipper River and
Northwestern Ry.
Trains leave Cordova for Chitina Monday and Thursday.
Trains leave Chitina for Kennecott Tuesday and Friday.
Trains leave Kennecott for Chitina Sunday and Thursday.
Trains leave Chitina for Cordova Tuesday and Friday.
Dining Car in Connection with all Regular
Passenger Trains between Cordova and Chitina.
Freight received and delivered at Cordova 9
Wharf from 9 a. m. to 5 p m., except Sundays. 4
Tickets on sale at Second Street Depot office
oue hour before departure of trains.
CALEB CORSER Superintendent
MARK M’ALLEN, TICKET AGENT
s
*!=■■-—-- -—»»
THE NORTHERN CLUB
FRED HAEF, PROP.
POOL, CARDS, TOBACCO
Soft Drinks of All Kinds
The Popular Corner *
PHONE 47 CORDOVA, ALASKA
"■ ...— ... ..— .. —■ ■■■ _
FRED M. SCHAUPP
SANITARY PLUMBING
Steam-Fitting, Marine Pipe and Tank Work
Sheet Metal Work
SECOND STREET, NEXT DOOR TO FEDERAL JAIL
PHONE 72
Clothes That Fit
Come in anl let me make your next suit. I will make it for you right 4
here in town, in my oWn shop. I will give you two real fittings, and
you will get a suit of clothes that fits you. Over one hundred suit
patterns of best quality arrived. Please call and inspect while stock t
is complete. • ,
HARRY NELSON, MERCHANT TAILOR
NORTHERN HOTEL BLDG.
____
OUR SUITS FIT
or we don’t want your money... They are made in the best shop on this
coast... Cut in snappy styles, and at p rices that anyone can afford. Large
assortment of woolens in stock, at $55 to Jb.
Our Cleaning, Dyeing and Hat Work is the Best
T. N. HUBBERT, MERCHANT TAILOR
Phone 130