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10
THE MORNING 0REG0NIAN, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1900.
THE GROWTH OF SHAKESPEARE'S FAME
Copyright, 1000, by
THE ORKGONtAN'S HOMESTUDY CIRCLE:
POPULAR STUDIES
IN SHAKESPEARE
Pstrttmtore to tbte course: Dr. Bdward Dow
, D& WJtHam J. RoUe, Dr. Hamilton "W.
XaMe. Dr. Albert S. Ooek, Dr. Hiram Corson.
Dr. Isaac X. Demmea, Dr. VI da D. Scudder and
XII. SCHOOLS OF SHAKESPEAIIE
CRITICISM.
Shakespeare's Contemporary Reputa
tion. Shakespeare's life was from every point
of view eoeceesf ut. He came up to London
a peuHltew youth, literally to i?eek hii
fortune, and retired a quarter of a cen
tury later with an income which his latest
biographer estimates as equivalent to
some J36.W9 in our day. He was a talent
ed actor and the most "drawing" drama
tist of a theater-going age. He was dis
tinguished by the epeclal favor of Eliza
beth, and James I te said to have written
aim an autograph letter. Shortly alter
lite withdrawal from London six of his
plays were performed during the splendid
marriage festivities of the Princess Ellza
1beth and the Elector Palatine. Elizabeth
an literature, too, swarms with references
te Shakespeare's plays and poems. From
a rather doubtftfl allusion by Spenser in
the early 99's down to the Epitaph by
Milton in 182 "we have an unbroken chain
of references, and with the one excep
tion of Greene's outburst of railing jeal
ousy the tone of these Is one of pral&e.
Tet it was reputation rather than fame
that Shakespeare gained in his lifetime,
"While his c-jntemporarles valued, they
cannot be said to have appreciated him.
He was considered only as one of the
great poets of an age that recognized its
own greatness. That he towered far above
his fellows no one of them was clear
sighted enough to perceive. By some of
the greatest thinkers of hia age Bacon,
for Instance, and John Selden he is not
so much as named. Meres, indeed, assigns
to Shakespeare the first place among the
English both In tragedy and comedy, but
almost in the next breath he ranks him
with such dusty and forgotten worthies
as Dr. Legge. of Cambridge, and Dr.
Edes, of Oxford. Even his fellow-players
in their preface to the first folio spoke
of its masterpieces as "trifles," presented
to their noble patrons. This, In fact, was
the general verdict of contemporary criti
cism m regard to all dramatic productions.
A play in those days was meant for the
stage, not for the cioset. There was a
general laugh when Ben Jonson in the
very year of Shakespeare's death pub
lished his plays under the title of
"Works." But Jonson, who knew eo well
the value of his own productions, was
the only man of his age to estimate Shake
speare at anything like his proper worth.
In the carelessness of confidential con
versation he might indeed laugh at the
shipwreck on the coast of Bohemia, but
when he came to express his fixed and
final judgment he struck another tone. In
the famous lines prefixed to the First
Folio there Is no deprecatory reference to
"these trifles," no ranking of Shakespeare
even with Chaucer or Spenser. He praises
the art that shaped the living line as
well as the nature that gave the matter.
Not only, he asserts, does Sha"kespeare's
comedy cast into the shade the wit of
Aristophanes and Terence, but his sterner
notes summon from their graves the great
tragedians of the classic past to hear a
late-born rival challenge a comparison of
all sent forth by "Insolent Greece or
haughty Rome," and with an even flnei
burst he turns to his country and bids
her know her son aright:
"Triumph, mi Britain, thou hast one to nhow
To whom alt ceeneB of Europe homage owe.
He was net of an age, bat for all time."
Shakespeare in the Age of the
Restoration.
The civil wars and the closing of the
theaters opened a deep abyss between the
age of Shakespeare and that of the
Restoration. The theater reopened by the
returned Stuarts was no longer a national
institution. It depended for its very ex
istence upon the favor of the court; and
the taste of the court was French, de
manding a rhetorical and declamatory tra
gedy, and a comedy of manners, where
wit served as the apologist of shameless
debauchery. Shakespeare, it is true, was
by no means forgotten. His plays were
frequently performed upon the Restoration
stage. But they were too oiten performed
in strangely altered versions. Howard, for
instance, added a happy ending to "Ro
meo and Juliet", D'Avenant amalgamated
"Measure for Measure" and "Much Ado
About Nothing." Even Dryden took part
in the mutilation of Shakespeare, rewr t
ing "Trollus Cresslda." and turn
ing "The Tempest" into a sort of opera,
where the verses of Shakespeare's love.lefct
drama stray like lost sheep amid a wilder
ness of Restoration rant and ribaldry.
Yet Shakespeare's fame owes more to
Dryoon than to any other English critic,
for it was Dryden who in the end vindi
cated the great poet of his nation against
the censures which a foreign school of
criticism east upon him. It is not, Indeed,
easy to state exactly Dryden's estimate
of Shakespeare, for. though one of our
greatest critics. Dryden was no more con
sistent In his critical judgments than in
hie politics or his religion. But his incon
sistency Is explained in part by the struggle
In his own mind between an instinctive
reverence for Shakespeare's genius and a
critical disapprobation of certain Shake
spearean peculiarities of style and diction,
in part also by a steady development of
his powers of literary Judgment In his
first critical essay he unsparingly con
demns Shakespeare's love of puns and too
frequent "bombast," while acknowledging
that "of all modern and, perhaps, all
ancient poets, he had the largest and most
Mflanrehenelve soul.' He prefers the "wit,"
or. as we would say, "the genius," of
Shakespeare to the correctness of Ben
Jonson, at that time generally regarded
as the greatest, because the most "reg
ular" of English dramatists. He is
troubled by Shakespeare's "solecisms of
speech and notorious flaws of sense." and
is especially disturbed "by his inequalities
of style. Little by little, however, Dry
den's own labors in dramatic composition
taught htm something of the exceeding
riches of Shakespeare. He became his
avowed disciple, and in the preface to
his first blank verse drama frankly con
fessed: "In my style I Imitate the divine
Shakespeare . . . and I hope I may
affirm that by imitating him I have sur
passed myself." He dwells with particular
admiration upon Shakespeare's power of
character drawing, due to the "universal
mind which comprehended all the charac
tros and passions." He upholds Shake
speare as the national poet, and insists
that "our English reverence for him Is
much more just than that of the Greeks
for Aeschylus."
Compared with Coleridge or Schlegel,
Drydm's praise of Shakespeare may seem
hesitating and half-hearted. But we must
not leave out of account the critical
temper of the age In which he lived. The
atfrwd of what may be calied profes
sional criticism In his time is represented.
though perhaps hi an exaggerated form.
by Thomas Rymer. to whom "Othello"
was "none other than a bloody farce with
out .salt or savour," and who summed
up Ms critJc'sm of Shakespeare In the
monumental utterance. "The truth if, th's
author's bend was full of villainous, un
natural images."
SR.kcncnrc and the Clnixlcnl School
ef Crltioism.
Drvemn is the father of the so-called
clasrtcal school of Shakespearean est I-
cm. school which has been the mark
for bitter Invective by later eulocis s o
the poet but which contributed noie the
Imub ta fka frotwrti At Q)ialA,nfM.. ...
Its .tes5-"reprunTeT PopdJ
Seymour Eaton.)
DIRECTED BY PROF. SEYMOUR EATON
Johnson, devoted "years to the preparation
of revised and annotated ,edit.ons of his
works. In their prefaces they extolled
his genius In the highest terms, though
not without some measure of fault
finding. The chief tenet of bis sqhool is that
Shakespeare was a poet of vast genius and
profound insight into human nature, but
of equally unbounded extravagance and
Irregularity of style. "Wild, irregular, law
less," are terms of frequent occurrence
In their criticisms. Pope, to be sure, en
deavored to clear Sbnkespeare's fame by
stigmatizing as interpolations of the player-editors
whatever passages seemed to
him unworthy of Shakespeare's genius,
and Johnson elaborately vindicated him
from the common critical charge of violat
ing the dramatic unities. Tet the reader
instinctively feels that neither Pope nor
Johnson was at home with Shakespeare.
It was not so much an emotion of reverent
awe as a sensation of self-conscious un
easiness that come over them at the con
templation of his work. In two noble
metaphors, Pope compares Shakespeare to
an "ancient, majestic piece of Gothic ar
chitecture," and Johnson likens his work
to a "forest of branching oaks and tower
ing pines, interspersed sometimes with
weeds and brambles, sometimes giving
shelter to myrtles and roses." But the
age of Pope and Johnson vastly preferred
the paeudo-clasBlclsm 01 the late Renais
sance to all "ancient and majestic Gothic
architecture," and the trimly cut parterres
of their own gardens to all the un tended
forests of the world. One feels that Pope's
mind dwelt rather on the grinning mon
strosity of the gargoyles than on "the
height, the space, the gloom, the glory,"
and Johnson's on the weeds and brambles
of "tumour, meanness, tedlousness and
uwwuruy, wnicn ne discovered in tne 1
forest of Shakespeare, rather than on the
towering strength of his lmag.nation or
the fragrant beauty of his verse.
Yet, with all its limitations, and In spite
of Its curious habit of stroking with cr.e
hand and str.klng wltn the other, this
school has one great merit. It definitely
established the position of Shakespeare
as a classic, the greatest of English clas
sics. After Dryden's death the natural
predilection of English readers for the
great national poet was sanctioned and
defended against the assaults of critic
asters by the immense authority of three
successive chiefs of English letters Addi
son, Pope and Johnson.
The School of Textual Criticism.
The greatest service rendered to Shakes
peare's fame by critics of the ISth cen
tury, however, was the restoration of his
text, and the preparation of an adequate
body of explanatory and Illustrative com
ment. During the 17th century only four
editions of Shakespeare had appeared, each
of them full of gross and manifest corrup
tions. It Is almost Impossible for the
student of Shakespeare, In the revised and
corrected editions of today, to form any
conception of the difficulty under which
readers of the Augustln age labored who
had before them only the Ill-printed, mis
spelled and at times utterly nonsens.cai
text of the old copies.
The first attempt at correction was made
by the dramatist Rowe, in 1703. He made
out lists of dramatis personae for all the
plays; he divided Into acts and scenes such
dramas as hid formerly been printed in
solid wholes, and he supplied ex.ts and en
trances. In other words, he tried to make
the text as Intelligible to the reader as a
stage performance would be to the specta
tor. He unfortunately reprinted the most
corrupt of the old folios, and made no sys
tematic revision of the text, but he Im
proved the reading from time to time by a
number of happy conjectures.
Rowe was followed in 1715 by Pope, who
promised great things In the way of a purl
fled and annotated text. But Pope was
constitutionally 'Incapable of what he him
self styled the drudgery of an editor, and
the fashion In which he translated Homer
was an ominous warning of the way he
would edit Shakespeare. He took the
greatest liberties with the old text, strik
ing out whole passages that seemed to
him below the dignity of a poet, making
alterations upon no better authority than
his own opinion, and at times simply re
writing a phrase that seemed obscure.
And he cared far too little for the age In
which Shakespeare had lived to gather Il
lustrative matter from the treasury of
Elizabethan literature; often. In fact, his
explanatory notes display Ignorance rather
than knowledge.
In consequence of these defects. Pope's
edition -was a distinct disappointment, and
a rival soon entered the field. This was
the work of Theobald, the "piddling Tib
bald" of the Dunclad, a writer of poor
plays and worse poems, but a critic of the
very highest order. He possessed a fine
ear for the rhythm of blank verse ana
the keenest sense for the nuances of lan
guage. To these qualifications ho added u
vast store of learning In the classical and
modern tongues. He knew Elizabethan lit
erature better than any other man of his
day, and Is said to have read over 800 old
plays in preparation for hU edition. More
over, he was at once conscientious and In
defatigable in the labor of collation and
transcription. His guiding principles,
enunciated in a letter to Warburton, re
main to this day authoritative canons for
textual emendation.
"I ever labor," he says, "to make the
smallest deviation that I possibly can from
the text; never to alter at all where I can
by any means explain a passage into
sense: nor ever by any emendations to
make the author better when It is prob
able that the text came from his own
hands."
He restored from the First Folio a num
ber of true readings which had been lo3t
in later editions, and corrected many cor-
rupt and obscure passages by conjectures
as happy as brilliant. The most familiar
of these, of course. Is the emendatlo cer
tlsslma, which has restored to us the last
words of Falstaff. In spite of the abuso
of Pope and the neglect of professed schol
ars, Theobald's work met with an immedi
ate and gratifying success. Seven editions
of it were published within the next JO
years, a remarkable proof, by the way, of
the growth of Shakespeare's fame when
compared with the four editions which
had satisfied the demand In the preceding
century. '
Theobald's most scholarly -successor was
undoubtedly Capell, who published an edi
tion of Shakespeare in 1768. Some Inherent
defect seems to have rendered him in
capable of expressing himself In English
of even ordinary intelliglbllty. "He should
have come to me," said Johnson, patron
izingly, "and I would have endowed his
purposes with words, for, as It is, he doth
gabble monstrously." But his matter is
excellent. The Cambridge editors call his
preface "by far the most valuable contrib
ution to Shakespearean criticism that had
yet appeared." And the text that he of
fered to the public was uractlcally a new
one, constructed by a most careful and
systematic collation of nil the old copies,
and approaching far nearer to the Ideal
text of Shakespeare than anything that
had yet appeared.
Only one more name needs to be men
tioned In this connection, that of Malone.
He was, by taste and temper, a literary
antiquary rather than a critic. He was an
unwearied explorer of dusty records, and
had access to manuscripts which have
s nee disappeared. Naturally, he turned
to Shakespeare's biography and to the
sources and chronology of his plays. He
made, for example, the first rational at
tempt to determine the succession of
Shakespeare's dramas, and his researches
laid the foundation for much of the sub
sequent knowledge that had been gained
along these lines.
In closing this topic, a word mut be
said o" the Variorum editions of Shakcs
pare. embracing the best notes of all the
editors and sunnlvln? the sttirlMir tvlfh n
i complete aDDaratus eritlcus. These hepan
I ... -d.i.. - t. .. .1.. c. .
soo edlntoT and cl5X
younger Boswell's edit'on in 1S21, based
'upon Malone and including a great number
of thatr scholar's manuscript notes. ,The
American Variorum of Dr. Furness is too
well known and highly prized to need more
than a mention.
Note This study, by Dr. Parrott, of
Princeton university, will be concluded lo
morro,w. On Wednesday, Hamilton W.
liable wil conclude the course with a paper
on "How to Study Shakespeare."
ENTHUSIASM RAN HIGH.-
Patriotic Music nntl Speech, nt the
Clan ainclcny Concert.
The benefit concert given Friday night
in Arlon hall by Clan Macleay, of
the Order of Scottish Clans, in aid of the
widows and orphans of British soldiers
killed in South Africa, was a complete
success in every detail. Long before the
opening number of the programme, every
available seat in the hall was occupied,
and standing room around the walls was
packed to its utmost capacity. Those ar
riving late could not gain entrance, and
had to turn away. The programme was
an excellent one, and withal was the most
artistic and local concert ever given In
Portland. The first number was an over
ture by the Portland orchestra, which was
followed by the clan officers clad in Gor
don tartan marching through the hall to
the stage, headed by the royal Clan piper,
James S. Moon, playing the "Cock o the
North," tho tune made doubly famous
by Piper Flndlater, of the Gordon High
landers, at Darghai ridge. The applause
which greeted the first strains of the well
known tune was a fair Index of the en
thusiasm of the audience.
Chief Gavin acted as master of cere
monies, and In his introductory remarks
stated the objects of the concert. He
said that Clan Macleay, In undertaking
this concert, was only following the ex
ample of the other clans throughout the
united States and Canada In giving enter
talnmnnts tn rwpII tho fund for tVio hnnn.
flt 0f the widows and orphans of the Brit
lsh soldiers killed In South Africa; that It
was not an anti-Boer nor a pro-Boer
meeting, and that, while all clansmen are
in hearty sympathy with the British
cause, yet no part of the proceeds would
he used for any purpose other than to aid
the helpless ones at home.
Miss Ella Hoberg sang "My Love Is
Like a Red, Red Rose" and "An Open
Secret" in a manner highly appreciated by
the audience. It was then announced that
W. TV. McCredle had proffered his place
on the programme to Frank Rushworth,
of the Bostonlans, believing that "It ain't
the time for sermons" when they could
listen to such talent as had been secured.
Mr. Rushworth sang the aria from "The
Serenade," and received a thunder of ap
plause. The Scotch reel, by the Misses
Forbes, Black and Sharp sisters, to the
music or the pipes, was artistically exe
cuted and heartily encored. Mrs. "Walter
Reed, accompanied by the entire orches
tra, sang most beautifully "My Hame Is
Where the Heather Blooms." "Klllar
ney." by Miss Anna Stuart, was rendered
In her usual pleasing manner, to the de
light of the audience. W. H. Kinross cre
ated much enthusiasm by his bass solo,
"The Soldiers of the Queen." which was
loudly applauded. Miss Rose d Almeida,
late of London, made her first appearance
before a Portland audience in "Spring Is
Here," which was highly appreciated by
thp audience, and as an encore saflg
"Mary of Argyle" In a charming man
ner. A tenor soln. "The Anchor's WpIgh"V'
by J. w. Belcher, and his encore. "The
Wanderer." wpi-p genenouslv ann'auded.
Mrs. Walter Reed, In rendering "The Old
o'isaue, u penume Jtsrmsn war sonpr,
aroused tho enthusiasm of the entire audi
ence, and the applause which greeted her
was deafening. Her encore, "The Piper o
Dundee " demonstrated the fact that as a
singer of Scotch ballads she is unexcelled.
The Highland fling by Professor Moon
and his pupils brought down the house.
Mr. Rushworth won the hearts of the
audience by his able rendition of "Come
Into the Garden. .Maud." Tho sailor's
hornpipe, by Professor Robertson, was ex
ecuted in such a manner as to Invoke the
-wildest enthusiasm amongst his English
admirers. The greatest expectations were
realized In Mrs. A. C. Sheldon's rendition
of "The Absent-Minded Beggar." The
singer entered into the spirit of her song,
and the audience went wild with delight.
This number was one of the great events
of the evening, and even the flags flut
tered In appreciation.
At this Juncture G. S. Shepherd, chair
man of the oommlttee of arrangements,
made a few remarks, and said he wanted
publicly to thank Mr. Rushworth. of h
Bostonlans, for his highly appreciated con
tributions to the success and enjoyment
of the evening, and In this he felt assured
the audience would unanimously join. He
said the spirit that prompted Mr. Rush
worth to leave his company for the night
and enter Into the cause with all the kind
ling fervor of his soul, is the same spirit
that is sending the bes blood of England
10 South Africa to dye the veldt. If need
be. In upholding the flag they love, and,
with this spirit burning in the breasts of
her Intrepid sons, England must win at
last.
He explained that the members of the
clan were American citizens in all that the
word Implied, and claimed It did not Im
pair their loyalty to the Stars and Stripes
to love the land of their nativity; that a
man whose dead soul gave no response to
thoughts of native land was an unsafe
citizen of any country; that many a man
of British birth had gone from Oregon to
the Orient to uphold the hpnor of our
country and to plant the starry flag of
freedom there.
He said: "The Briton's Iqve of law
makes him a peaceful and upright citizen
in whatever land he may live. We never
see a Briton going around stirring up dis
content with bombshells In his pockets.
Love of native land Is a virtue to be ad
I mj5ed- J he German is not of much worth
who will not take up the strain of 'Die
Wacht am Rhein.' The American, is un
worthy bf the name who will nvt sing In
whatever land he may oei
'TIs the Star-Spangled Banner, oh, long may It
wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave.
The sentiments of tho speaker were
voiced by the audience In frequent bursts
of applause.
The singers grouped on the stage, and
while the orchestra played "God Save the
Queen" and "The Star-Spangled Banner,"
the audience arose and all sang the na
tional airs with unbounded enthusiasm.
William, Macmaster, president of the
British Benevolent Society; Alex. H. Kerr,
president of the St Andrew's Society;
Chief David Henderson, of the Caledonian
Club, and James Laidlaw, British consul,
occupied seats on tho stage as guests of
the clan.
The concert was a decided financial as
well as artistic success, and the proceeds
will amount to at least $500.
i O ii
HOURS QUICKER
To All Points East.
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hours quicker than any other line. These
two trains run over w dely different routes,
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trains are equipped with latest Improved
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carry diners clear through. For full In
formation call on V..A. SCHILLING,
254 Washington Street.
a
nrsiXEss items.
If Bnlijr Is CrtTtnir Teeth.
Be ur and urr that OW and well-tried remedx
Mrs. VTlnsiow Fcothlnp ayrup. for hl!dren
U-ethlnp It socthe Ihe child. ifrw the gum,
allays all pain, cure wlml colic and lilarrhuea
C
Persons suffering from Blck headache.
dizziness, nausea, constlpaton. pain In the
f$&g& '
THE GOLDEN OLDEN GLORY
' ' i
WHAT saiAttKAJTO MUST HAVE
- j -
BEE tTApEU TAMERlxAXK.
J . I
Sought Out and Brought to His Capi
tal the Most Lcnrncd and Skill
fnl and the Finest.
SAMARKAND, Russian Turkestan, July
24. It fires the Imagination to think what
the market place or reghlstan must have
been in the days of Tamerlane's greatness.
Here Is a public square more than 100
yards across, with three of 'its faces occu
pied by great medressehs', or theological
seminaries, founded by the Tartar mon
arch. The bazaars occupy the streets
which radiates from this square. Even
today, when the glory of Samarkand has
passed, the square and the streets are
filled with a gaily dressed, hurrying
s?
RUISS OK MEMORIAL MOSQUE BUILT BY TAMEELASE FOR HIS FAVORITE
TVIFE.
crowd, bringing their wares to market,
exchanging goods and news, carrying on
their avocations much as they did so
years ago. It Is here that one gets an
idea of the Importance and magnificence
of the place at that period when the Tar
tar was ruler of Asia, and Samarkand
was "the face of the earth," as the pao-
pie still proudly call It.
In those days, we are told, Tamerlane
sought out and brought to" his capital the
learned and the skillful from every part of
nis great empire. Clever stone masons
from Hindustan, architects and workers '
In mosaic from Shlraz, potters from Kas-
nan, modelers, molders and artists from
Ispahan and Damascus, all these crafts
men were liberally encburaged by the
great Mogul In perpetuating each victory
or domestic event of his life and reign.
Here in Tamerlane's time was the center
of learning in Asia, and here was the
great and famous Greco-Armenian library,
founded by that sovereign, which Is sup
posed to have been destroyed by a con
flagration. The reghlstan might bo considered al
most as a campus, with three colleges
fronting upon It. but, instead of students, , to be in my pocket, and told my compan
mf mfn ,CTy "' ?"h nuci"'f s' i Ions to hold tight. Then I sprawled flat
n , ; , and tables, on my face wUh f t oyer th
?aSs nwninJf " '"l fihaft' down whlch y had retreated till
the sort inf ' M E. o m0t thelr boulders were on a level with the
tne sort one sees in Mexico. The t ..ru-.i 1. i i , ..
8SE-1FS- VSKJSWSi
Tilla-karl and Ulug Beg, the latter being
tne name or the grandson of Tlmur, in
whose honor it was founded, and the oth
ers signifying the gold-covered and the
lion-bearing. The first of these Is the
least pretentious, although except by
comparison, a noteworthy building. The
other two, which face each other from op
posite sides of the square, are strikingly
fine examples of Central Asian architec
ture. They are similar In form to the ex
tent of harmonizing, but are not built In
duplicate.
The plan of these great edifices Is sim
ple. Except on the side facing the square
nothing but a baTe wall of brick can be
seen rising to a height of perhaps 40 feet,
with hardly a window In its whole ex
panse. At the four corners of the quad
rangle stand ornate minarets. I hesitate
to estimate their dimensions, but I think
they cannot be less than 150 feet In height,
and perhaps 15 feet In diameter at the
base, tapering but slightly. The hand
somest of these are on the side facing
the square. They are covered with highly
glazed tiles, worked In intricate designs,
some merely ornamental and others sig
nificant. The colors of the tiles, light and
dark blue, green, brown and white, are
contrasted most skillfully. Between these
two minarets and facing the square is the
entrance to the medresseh. It is through
a great canopy arch which shelters a
smaller one, and two doors piercing the
wall. The Inner arch gives access to the
courtyard, and the doors to the chambers
within the walls, themselves. The wall
space over the doors, the spring of the
arch and the face of tho big structure of
which the arch Is the salient feature, all
are covered with the same brilliant tiling.
On the face of the building are gigantic
cuflc characters, verses from the Koran,
so large'and so perfect that they may be
read by the naked eye for more than a
mile. The glazing on the tiles Is so good
that after 500 years In the sun and sands
of Samarkand the reflections from It In
the direct rays flash at long distances and
call attention to the work of tho builders
wherever one may be In the city.
Within the quadrangle the building has
the aspect of a great hollow square, the
walls formed Into dormitories, study-rooms
and classrooms, and looking not unlike a
fortress with two casemates. These rooms
are protected by the thick masonry from
the heat and noise, a mosque occupies a
convenient place In the rear wall oppo
site the main entrance, and, altogether,
the atmosphere Is quite scholastic.
Visit to Interesting Places.
I was making my visits to the Interest
ing places of Samarkand under the guid
ance of my hotel commissionaire, Ivan,
Whom I had surnamed the Terrible. "When
we got to the reghlstan he vanished for a
moment Into one of the dormitories of the
first college we came to. and reappeared In
a moment with a bright younjr Moslem
theological student, who offered to show
me the medressehs. We went first Into
that of Shlr-dar, poking Into the dark
corners, seating a host of pigeons that
nest In the abandoned portions, and exam
ining the faded decorations of gold and
silver that once enriched and beautified
the walls of the mosque and
other chambers. IJiere must have
been a lavish expenditure for
'the ornamentation, for large sur
faces are still covered thickly with gold,
The ornate minarets arc th" most In
teresting feature of these medessehs for
a peculiar property which Is common to
them all. TVlth hardly an exception they
are cut out of perpend'cular, leaning out
ward from the bulldjng to which thev
are attached. Many traveler have cal'ed
attention to the fact and various expla
nations have been offered. One writer
suggests that they were built, In this way
to demonstrate the skill of the builders.
Our own American Schuyler believes It
an optical Illusion, caused by one-half
of the column being vertical and the
other Inclined. Most of the Russians In
Samarkand credit the eccentricity to the
earthquakes which. have done considerable
damage to inany buildings. At any rate,
travelers have always remarked the fact,
except one English writer on central
Asia, Dr. Landsell. He declares that he
could detect no inclination at all. though
he scrutinized the minarets with the
grcate"' care Mr. Dobson characterizes
this interesting dissent from the prevail
ing opinion as a most curious case of
obliquity pf vision in
thp paradoxical
sense of seoing things straight that every
body else sees to be crooked.
: The slant of the minarets is most notlae-
able in those of the Ulug Beg medresseh.
After I had taken a photograph of that
Gliding from the roof of Shfr-dar directly
opposite, which I thought would show
tho fact beyond dispute. I decided to
climb to the top of the minaret that leaned
most, in order to take an observation
from above. We returned to the ground,
crossed the reghlstan, and with some diffi
culty I induced Ivan and Mahmud to ac
company me on the difficult ascent. We
scrambled up the stairs that led to the
roof of the quadrangle, and found a low
door into' the minaret to the left of the
arch, perhaps 60 feet above the ground.
Then for at least 100 feet we clambered
up through the darkness, the space at our
command being about that of an ordinary
factory chimney, while the spiral stairs
that wound around so rapidly as to make
us dizzy wer a mass of crumbling brick
and mortar, which left the steps them
selves at times almost indistinguishable.
At long intervals in the ascent a ray
of light came into the funnel from a
hole -where a brick had fallen from the
glazed exterior, the vent thus opened be
ing wider toward the stairs.
At the Top ot a Minaret.
At the summit, I got my head fairly
out of the. hole, and then sat down on
the brick with my feet on the steps
below. Ivan and Mahmud cautiously took
like positions, and It Is an evidence of
the size of the shaft up which we had
been tolling that the three of us seated
In that fashion Just about filled it. No
one showed any disposition to stand up
and walk about. The entire diameter
of the top of the minaret Is perhaps 15
feet. The outer edges have crumbled away
until there is a distinct slant toward
vacancy all the way around. There is
no sign of a railing. The surface where
It Is approximately level is by no means
smooth. In the center, the mouth of the
well where the stairs descends looks
black as a dungeon. These conditions,
added to a rather stiff breeze that was
blowing, inclined us to avoid restlessness.
However, I had climbed that minaret
to make sure that it was leaning. I tied
my keys to a long string that happened
I MSlS CTS S
neau and snouiders well over the edge
Of the towering structure. And thus, with
a lusty Musselman hanging to each foot,
I took my observation of the tallest min
aret built by Tamerlane 500 years ago
in the wonderful city of Samarkand.
To be very frank, the first Impression
was that the tower was rapidly shifting
Its position, successively from perpendicu
lar to slanting, thence to horizontal, and
Continually repeating the operation. The
Tartar and the Sart held tight, however;
the reghlstan began to take form, the
moving men and animals In the square
became distinct, and In a few seconds I
was positively enjoying the novel point
of view. Then I swung my plumbllne
over the edge and waited for it to settle.
A moment left me with no doubt. Al
lowing for the cornice which capped the
minaret, the wall undoubtedly receded
and the keys hung farther and farther
from it as the string was lengthened. The
slant is by no means as great as that
of the leaning tower of Pisa, but I think
there Is no room for controversy over the
far that it leans
When It was all over, and we were on
the ground again I asked Mahmud If his
class in the theological seminary did not
have a "yell" which we could give ap
propriately to celebrate the affair. He
looked puzzled and Informed me that si
lence was enjoined upon them as more
dignified than noise.
Of all the host of splendid ruins In and
about the city of Samarkand, It Is neces
sary to speak of but one more, the great
est of all. This Is the medresseh of Bibl
Khahym, the favorite wife of Tamerlane,
who was a Chinese princess. Built by
the monarch as a memorial and an evi
dence of his affection, the ruins, although
falling, are still the most Impressive in
their size and beauty, bearing distinct
evidence that the highest art of the em
pire was expended upon the structure.
Its arch is the most graceful, its decora
tions the most elaborate and artistic, Its
minardts the finest. All of the other
medressehs are occupied still for the pur
poses of theological education In the
Moslem church, as they have been for
centuries. This greatest structure of
them all, alone, Is so broken and decayed
that Its use has passed. It stands abso
lutely abandoned In the grove which sur
rounds it, the great stone lectern where
the Koran was read no longer the center
of throngs gathered to hear the faith of
Islam expounded. Arches and walls and
minarets are crumbling to debris., as the
empire of Timur itself crumbled after
his death. TRUMBULL WHITE.
Church Xotes.
At the First Evangelical church, East
Market and East Sixth streets, revival
meetings are In progress under the charge
of Rev. Mr. Goddard, a revivalist from
the East. The meetings will continue
every night the present week.
Yesterday afternoon a temperance mass
meeting was held in the Central Methodist
church, on Russell and Kerby streets, Al
blna. Rev Mr. Ferguson, retiring pastor
of the Third Baptist church, delivered an
able and eloquent address.
Rev. N. Shupp, presiding elder of the
, Evangelical church of Oregon, residing at
Salem, held quarterly meetings at the
First Evangelical church, East Side, yes
terday forenoon. In the afternoon, Mr.
Shupp addressed two audiences at Mil
waukle, one in the German language, and
the other in English. At both services
he had large and attentive audiences.
Preparations are making for the observ
ance of Washington's birthday, February
22, at the Church of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, on Williams avenue and Stanton
street. Father O'Reilly, the pastor, has
the matter In hand. A patriotic pro
gramme will be prepared for that occa
sion. Father Glbney, an eloquent priest,
will deliver an address appropriate to the
occasion.
Lone-Felt Wnnt Is Supplied.
Chicago Times-Herald.
There is a man in New Jersey who says
Bryan will be elected president next fall,
because he the New Jersey man has
three pigs which crook their tails so as
to form the initials "W. J. B." Here, at
last, is a live issue for the democrats,
mfm':. &r
J with prospective pork In It,
WANT CEDED LAND BACK
SCHEME TO EXLARGE DISTRICT OF
COLU3LBIA
Uncle Sam to Ask for Back Part et a
County TVhlcb "Wns Given to
Virginia In 1S4C
As a prerequisite to an appropriation
for the building- of the proposed great
memorial bridge across the Potomac, it
Is understood that the authorities will
insist on the restitution of a part, at
least, of the territory of the original
District of Columbia, which was fool
ishly ceded back to Virginia more than
50 years ago. The eagerness to recover
a valuable asset literally thrown away
then is now shared in ay all classes
here. The burghers of Alexandria county
are said to be in favor of coming back
into the district asain.
People are very much in the dark con
cerning the origin of the movement for
retrocession, and the influences which
made it successful. It Is a curious fact
that, whereas the history of the originat
cessions by Maryland and Virginia lis
years ago Is well known, no other scrap
of information Is vouchsafed in any his
tory or cyclopedia concerning the return
of Virginia's gift other than the bar
statement that It was Tetroceded in 1846.
Even the public documents of the time
afford but little Information upon the
subject. The pending movement, writes
the Washington correspondent of the Bos
ton Herald, to secure back a strip ot this
territory makes It a question of some In
terest. If not importance.
Originally the district was a square of
10 miles, a total area of 100 square miles.
Maryland contributed 64 square miles of
It In 1788, and Virginia followed in 1788
by ceding 34 square miles on the south
side of the Potomac to complete the
square. But it was not until a year
later viz., by the act of June 28. 1780
that the national capital was formally
located here. That act contained the fol
lowing paragraph:
"That a district of territory on the river
Potomac, at some place between the
mouths of the eastern branch of the Con
nogacheague, be, and the same is here
by, accepted, for the permanent seat of
government of the United States.
The district was formally organized by
congress March SO, 1791, and It was pro
vided that the then existing laws or
Maryland and Virginia were to continue
in full force and effect over the portions
of the federal district ceded by them' re
spectively, until congress should other
wise enact, which, by the way, it never
did prior to the retrocession to Virginia.
This provision, of course, carried slavery
into the district, or rather continued it.
This completed the bargain. The gov
ernment, however, was not established
here for more than 10 years afterward.
The capital district contained the two
rival towns of Alexandria and George
town. The capltol was located on the
Maryland side, and all the commercial
advantages accruing from that tact fell
to the lot of Georgetown and the Mary
landers. The "seaport" of Alexandria
was practically left out In the cold, al
though it was much nearer the home of
George "Washington.
The Virginia portion of the district,
about one-third of Its superficial area,
seemed to receive no benefit whatever
from the establishment of the govern
ment at Washington. Having bad great
expectations, of course, the Virginians
were correspondingly disappointed. There
was no marked Increase In population
on that side, nor in the price of real es
tate. In 1S00 the population of Alexandria
county was 5949; 40 years afterward it
had only Increased to 9967, or at the rate
of 100 people a year. Meanwhile, in the
same period of time, Washington county.
Maryland, or the District of Columbia, had
Increased In population from 8144 in 1809
to 33,745 in 1840. The growth of neither
side, under the fostering Influences of
the capltol, was overwhelming, but the
Maryland portion of tho district evident
ly derived some benefit from it, and all
the benefit. This slow growth of popu
lation here Is rather remarkable, when
it Is remembered that the total popula
tion of the country increased from 5,308,
483 In 1800 to 17,069.453 In 1840.
No thought of dissatisfaction with the
august connection appears to have mani
fested itself on the Virginia side until
about 1842. Whether the movement for
retrocession had its origin In the fore
going facts Is not known for certain,
and It may be somewhat doubtful. Possi
bly it had a deeper foundation. Horace
Greeley, In his "American Conflict."
printed 20 years afterward, expresses
the opinion that it had "some covert
reference to the probability or prospect
of disunion." Although the sectional
contest over slavery was then almost at
Its height, there Is no evidence upon
which to ground such a presumption.
It doubtless did derive its chief impetus
from the slavery question in its relation
of slavetradlng. In the Clay compro
mise of 1850 there was a section, prohib
iting, under heavy penalties, the slave
trade In the district. Agitation for abol
ishing slavery entirely in the district
had been going on for years, and some
such culmination as this had undoubted
ly been anticipated.
On the Virginia aide It was perceived
a separation from the district would be
greatly advantageous, should the slave
trade be stopped, which happened only
four years after the retrocession. It
compelled the slave-dealers of Washing
ton and Georgetown to remove their auction-rooms
and fugitive-slave Jails across
the river to Alexandria, and Mr. Gree
ley argued from this that retrocession
was yielded "as if on purpose to facili
tated this arrangement."
From 1842 onward the agitation for ret
rocession grew in volume and per
sistence, until it took the form of legis
lation and eventuated In separation. A
bill was Introduced during the first ses
sion of the 29th congress ceding back to
Virginia that portion of the District of
Columbia called originally Alexandria
county. The Virginia legislature had
unanimously passed a hill assenting to the
anticipated retrocession.
The chief agitation for retrocession
came from the town of Alexandria. A
memorial addressed to congress is on
file,, signed by Francis L. Smith, Robert
Brockett and Charles T. Stuart, a "com
mittee of the town of Alexandria." pray
ing for the passage of the bill. The me
morial argues that the connection is of
benefit neither to the United States nor
the town of Alexandria, and that the
question of retrocession was one of
mere expediency, so far as congress
was concerned. Their chief argument was
that the people of Alexandria county
were disfranchised, "deprived of all the
political rights and privileges so dear te
an American citizen," yet were never
theless taxed to carry on a system of
local courts and for other purposes.
Mainly, the memorial is a mere tissue
of special pleading.
In the archives of the first session of
the 29th congress is found a report on
the bill for retrocession, made by R.
M. T. Hunter, then a Virginia representa
tive, afterwards a leading Confederate
statesman. His report seems to have
been approved unanimously by tho
house committee on the District of Co
lumbia. As might be expected, fathered
by such influences, and in a house so
strongly democratic and pro-Southern as
that was, the report, written by a Virgin
ian, naturally favored retrocession.
Mr. Hunter set out that the Maryland"
side of the district afforded sufficient
scope of territory for the seat of govern
ment; that the "union of the two coun
ties of Washington and Alexandria has
been the source of much mischief; that
the experience of more than 4 years bad
demonstrated its failure. The ground for
thee deductions were that the two por
tions of the district were "two peopw
separated by a broad river under the
operation of different cods of laws. " 7 3
was true, because congress had ne
taken tho titAKHo to make a code of .v
for the government of the district
Mr. Hoatar enlarged upon the aJlPg
tact that tho growth ot Alexandria na
neon rotiwjml by the connection
Jeamuay existed between th two port -i
ot tho datrtct because tho Maryland s
roapod all tho mmoftt, and finally
eluded that tho interest of the genera
government.' of til whole Dtetrict of C
htmbfe, and paticwUkr.y Che people -f
the county ami town of Alexandria, would
bo promoted by a retrocession of nat
county to tho sta of Virginia." No ex
BMUMtton was volunteered of just how ',?
fotorost of tho United States would La
subserved by gtvfcig bak thte 34 miles of
territory.
The power of congress to eode back had
been controverted, by constitutional law
yors on the grownd that It oould not -move
the seat of government from f xe
county of Alexandria, waero It was i
stmcttvely. in part, at least. located M
Hunter reported that congress undoubt
edly had the power to relrocede.
It was also argued that the consent
Maryland must also be obtained to ma ice
the retrocession comefete, Mr Hunt
showed that the acts of gift of the twa
states were made at separate dates, w '
out reference to each other; that a -
state contracted for itself.
"When congress established the seat of
government m the District of Columb'a
it appears that It was located there per
manently." Therefore it was claimed ha
the capital could not be removed wlthou
the consent of both Virginia and Mary
land. Mr. Hunter disposed of that argu
ment by showing that In maktn the rift
of the It miles square ot territory to the
United States neither Maryland nor Vir
ginia made permanence a condition of the
grant. In fact, he made It clear that jr
was In no sense a contract, but a gift of
the two states, pure and simple
xne dim for retrocession appears o
have gone through both houses w'.thm
much opposition. The retrocession atan3
as having been made of date Julv 9 I45
It Is apparent now that the governmen
made a great mistake m returning this
territory to the state of Virginia, although
at the time and for a number of y 3
afterward K was not mteeed. But It la
elear that when the rebellion bnk m
15 years afterward, if the south shnre of
the Potomac had belonged to the T"nld
States It could have been "legally" rrr
pied by the Union army and fortified -wl.
out "invading" the sacred soil of a sv
ereign state." In other ways It w-u"3
have been of immense advantage to the
Union cause.
But as a matter of fact the "gnvem.
ment" in 184 was only another term fr
the faction which had been long work ng
for annexation of Texas solely wt'h a
view to slavery extension, and which pre
cipitated the rebellion m 1841 It rort
trolled all branches of the government
The town of Alexandria derived no 3.
vantage from the retreeewtmn In ""tO fe
entire county had only 1M06 Inhabit ai
an increase of but 41 people In V vea"
Between ISM and 1888 It did some be
ter, rising to M.WB. a gam of 2852 In ""M
its total pomilation was but 18 a gaH
of only 12 888 people in 98 years. It rr-
uuniy couiu nave oone no worse to fn9
remained permanently a part of the Dis
trict of Columbia.
It is reported that large numbers of
people in Alexandria county are now anx
ious to be taken back Into the bosom
Uncle Samuel. It is nulte evident thx
they are verv much m favor of a colossal
memorial bridge.-
HUNTED AND FOUND TROUBLE
Captain Coplan's Statement of a Re
cent Affair at Lebanon.
LKBANON. Or. Jan. 3L (To the Edi
tor.) I notice in today's teeue of The C"-e-
gonian an article beaded "Cavalrymen
Assaulted a Spectator," and then your .n
formant goes on in a greatly exaggerat
ed fashion to describe bow some men
who were attracted to the scene first sup
posed the young man dead and that thev
succeeded in reviving Mm. etc Surely
this cocraomndont or intecmant. la prar
HeJng the enviable art of dime novel
writers, or some other field of literatura
equally as valuable, or else he is an Idiot
pure arid simple. In either case he is thor
oughly unfitted to write a line for a re
spectable paper.
I have investigated the matter fully
and found that while it la true that the
man was knocked down by a blow -le Ir
ered by one of the young men. and was
rendered unconscious through the effect of
that Mow, yet it is equally true that tha
young man you speak of as a half-wifed
fellow came here seeking trouble and em
phasized his demand by assaulting one
of the men with a wooden box he picked
up. He was not molested after the firs?;
blow, according to evidence, and the one
who delivered the blow was the 1rt
one to carry him out doors to cpv'v
him. The man bears no marks excepting
a slight scar on his chin, caused, appar
ently, by coming in contact with a rough
part of the floor.
While K is lamentable that this affair
should have oceured in the armory yet.
to do justice to the troop, I will say that
none of the members were looking fop
trouble. Thhr man came there a second
time, after being ordered out in obedi
ence to my orders, m the shape of a no
tice, "None but members allowed " Tt s
self-evident that he was looking for trou
ble, and. as usual in such cases, was ac
commodated. Our armory is small, the men have drill
ed but a few times, and they object i
visitors crowding m to criticise or to take
up the little space they have. However
bad any of the officers been present no
such thing would have occurred. At any
rate, since it has been done, and $20 add
ed to the city's treasury, with a promiso
of good behavior in the future, the mat
ter should be dropped. I therefore re
spectfully request that The Oregonian
publish this statement and thereby do
justice to the troop and the. men whom
your correspondent has so assailed.
WILLIAM M. COPLAN
Captain Troop A O. N. G
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