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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 1915)
THE STJXPAY OREGOyiAX. PORTLAND, OCTOBER 17, 1915. IWfm W L41D D them OWE - - - - -- . - - J w MotherCthe Merciless Magnates) Olec uuxiove;!,-) iviiicjruKrci Letter o..oioryoi.jjove and BY STERLING HEIL.IG. -ct. PARIS, Sept. 27. (Special.) A $200 per month furnished flat, in the UVonna Iflshn. D..in. . nuiu tar- pets, faded wall hangings, nondescript and gilded furniture and a brand new grand piano. She enters, the descendant of Tha mara. Young yet rouged, Paris gowned yet wild and strange, brusque yet silent, fol lowing you with great black eyes which fascinate, not beautiful, yet with a dangerous charm, i;the, supple and mysterious, she is the living image of her grandmother in 1867. when the Czar Alexander called her a Beautiful Snake. Further back, the Russian Byron, Lermontoff, wrote his poem of "Tha mara," beloved of the Damned Spirit, from another of the family. You have seen her in "The Demon" of Rubin stein. It was her grandmother's "grandmother. You know the ferocious virtue of these women of the Caucasus. I do not know what Lermantoff got for his, but It took the Czar Alenxander a month to make his peace; and the sign was a gold snake rope, three feet long, which Princess Elizabeth Bara toft Inherits. It has great ruby eyes, of extreme value. She drew the Snake from a wonder ful jewel case. "My Jewels are two-thirds sold." she said. "But the Snake I shall never part with. Nor this, nor this! . . . (There was a lire of ancient Oriental stones). The Baratoffs, old feudal family of the highest, lost their productive es tates during the wars in the Caucasus, around the "60s, and accepted office in the Russian bureaucracy secretaries of railroads, finances, taxes, etc Eliz abeth, flower of the ages, might have married fortune and position at home (I tremble. thinking of the awful combinations of Providence. Ah, girls, and you will "lead your life"? Beware!) She went to Paris, to cultivate a won derful voice. She always had money from home. When she craved extras she sold a jewel. And she was chap eroned by a strange old gouvernante, or nurse, whom the ignorant accused of being a witch of the Caucasus! Consequently Elizabeth met him. They were married, in Paris. And the great wax broke out, as a result. He enters, the descendant of thi magnates. He la Baron de Cerando, ex-leader of the Hungarian National Liberty party, exiled nephew of Count Teleki (Teleszky, successively Minister of Justice and Finances) and there is a price on his head. He is tall, muscular, extremely broad shouldered, narrowing down striking ly to waist and hips, of elegant build, but lazy movements. His face is dead white, hair and mustache inky black. He dresses carefully. His clothes set on him as on one habituated to . the Hungarian officer's tight uniform. His feet are small and beautifully shod and his hands perfectly mani cured. A great emerald blazes beside his marriage ring. At first glance he seemed "end of race," silent, empty, too carefully dresses'. un-American, un-English, un French and un-German, too, for that matter. He spoke of Christopher Columbus and showed me the Gerando crest, the family, alone in Europe, bear ing a terrestrial globe. The Gerandos have roots in Genoa, Italy and a tra dition of descending from the family of Columbus, whence the globe and a dove, which was originally a pigeon, or vice versa, which proves it. . . . Then I mentioned Hungary and Ger man influence. Immediately the man lit up; became transformed; and he let out a flood of exact talk, precise, formed, masterly names, dales, titles, cities, boundaries, treaties, grand duchies comitajas, ban ats, Croats, Slovaks all the Donube flowed beside us, waved the golden Transylvanian wheat fields; and, and The full man. the specialist. He has it all at liis fingers' ends. I besan the Hungarian movement against Germany in 1D07," said Baron de Garando. "It was the first time that a movement asainst German in fluence and domination was spoken of in Hungary. When I quitted the country, in 1913, our committees and newspapers were everywhere, and the movement continued. For example. Count Karolyi went to America, to make propaganda among the 5,000.000 Hungarians of the United States. He was to raise money for the flrst elec toral campaign." His eyes burned; yet no color came to the white face. "The movement was formidable," he continued. "You can judge by this, that when Count Tisza realized its ramifications he decided to make war with Servia, simply to avoid the dan ger of being beaten in the elections of 1915. elections which would have been made exclusively on the programme which we had been elaborating during eiKht years." He sat still, never budged, the voice monotonous, but the eyes blazed. "You see. there are three different races in Hungary, all aspiring! to self government in a kind of federation. he said. "All three distrusted Austro Gernian encroachments. For example, I established my Transylvanian news papers in His wife said that she would ring for tea: but he did not take the hint. "The Roumanians of Transylvania have no real craving to be united t.i Roumaiiia. They welcomed the re establishment of the old Grand Duchy, with my liberal programme of univer sal suffrage and the nationalism of vast tracts of land held in mortmain by the seigneurs. That was the trou ble with Korolyi. He is at heart a Mag nate, narrow and caste bound, who could not go to full lengths in demand ing the suppression of the main-morte. 1 could. . . . While as to Servia, King Pettr His wife, this time, dropped a book. An uneasy silence hung upon us. 1 followed the wife's eyes. They were gazing out the window, into the square below, where two men con versed before a corner drugstore. She aiuiled wanly and indicated, two j" ' ' : yC-' s-'- " -f ' r v j- i sw-ti -; ; X :, .-! O VT WIS I, r other men. seated on a cafe terrace. "Pardon, but what of them?" I asked. "There are always four men in that square." she answered, "and eight at night." Her voice broke. A tear rolled down her cheek. "Some day they'll get him." she fal tered. (The descendant of Thamara, be loved of the Damned Spirit, herself loves and trembles ... at last!) I followed his eye. It was fixed on the portrait of a woman and a little boy, which stood on the piano. Stories of the Transylvanian plain, where Protestant towns call Catholic NEW ADVENTURES OF WALLINGFORD TOLD IN STORY AND SHOWN ON FILM THE adventures of J. Rufus Wall ingford and Blackle Daw, as done in the inimitable style of George Randolph Chester, have been seized upon by the movies. The Oregonian is publishing a new series of Wallingford adventures which are being shown in moving pictures. The first two Installments have al ready been published. Next Sunday The Oregonian will publish the third episode in their amusing adventures. For the benefit of those who may have missed the two preceding episodes, however, brief synopses are herewith presented: SYNOPSIS OF FIRST INSTALLMENT. "Blackle" Daw and J. Rufus Wall ingford make the acquaintance of Violet and Fannie Warden on a rail road journey, and learn that E. H. Falls, president of the road, and others have "skinned" them out of the $5,000,000 estate of their father. His profligate son, Benssy Falls, and a group of dissipated companions are at that moment riding in their private car attached to the train. "Blackle," impressed by the two girls, enlists Wallingford in a plan to recover their money for them. Chance enables Wallingford to aid young Benssy after the latter has been punched by the conductor for hie Im pudence. Once aboard the private car, Wallingford becomes intensely inter ested in the model of a portable bunga low Benssy has invented. Wallingford sees great possibilities in the bungalow and organizes the Speckled Bass Portable Bungalow Com pany, with himself as manager and the others as directors. A factory is promptly started and the manufacture of portable bungalows be gun. After a few months, during which much literature has been printed and glowing reports made by Walling ford. he produces patents he has ob tained on the original invention, and five or six improved patents of his own, for which he demands $125,000. After much begrudging, the directors pay him his price. In the meantime, "Blackle" Daw, writing as three men from as many cities, orders 525 of the bungalows, for over $200,000. The directors are charmed. As one of the customers, Mr. Bezazzum. of Berunk. Mich., "Blackle" presently appears and finds objections to the bungalows. He Is satisfied when Wallingford shows him the Improve ments made under his patents. At the psychological moment, when the bungalows are all ready for de livery, the attorney for the National Hollow-Walled Portable Bungalow Company, a real concern doing a real business, obtains an Injunction against the sale or delivery of the bungalows and threatens suit for infringement of patent and damages. Mr. Bezazzum. who declares he has an army of men prepared to put up the bungalows he has ordered, and has been to great ex pense, threatens to sue the company for $200,000 damages. The other two "cus tomers," through "Blackie," of course, write letters in the same tenor, and as they all have gcod cases, the di rectors are panic stricken. To their joy, Mr. Bazazzum offers to compromise by taking over the 300 bungalows. They had barely accepted for him and the other two customers when the National Company agrees to withdraw its suit on the ground that the Speckled Bass Bungalow Company go out of business forever. With a shout of happiness, the directors vote the company out of business. "Blackie" and Wallingford have $125,000 in cash, and accept an offer of $100,000 for the E25 bungalows from the V f V villages "German." were forgotten. Anecdotes of Count Karolyi, landing at Bordeaux, soliciting an interview with President Poincare and volunteer ing in the Hungarian army the day after Tisza saw him in Budapesth. died on he lips that uttered them. In the room a presence silenced all. Is the portrait on the piano stronger than the magic of the Beautiful Snake? It seems a tie, a deadlock. The daughter of Thamara took what his mother held most dear her son. The Merciless Magnate broke her like glass. , Broke her, in creaking her own son! "My mother broke me in a day," he said monotonously, "and in doing it. she made the war." "It wu the rloTrn who Krapplcd with Ellaa," u Incident from the aecead Installment of WitlUnalord'a mew ad ventures. National Company. They pay this over to the girls as tie first install ment of the money recovered for them. The Falls account Is crossed off the list. , SECOND INSTALLMENT. Elias Bogger. a "sporty" farmer, is the second man on the girls' list. He has got $40,000 of their money. "Blackie" and Wallingford get into his town Just as P. T. Barnes' circus comes to town The whole countryside is out for the circus, Bogger among them. "Blackie" strikes up an acquaintance wlih him, and to his astonishment finds him absolutely gullible. More as a Joke than anything else, "Blackie" tells him thi circus Is for sale for $50,000, though it is making thousands of dol lars' profit a day. He points out Wallingford as Barnes, the owner, and indeed, Wallingford fits the description of the absent owner to a "t" In the meantime, "Blackie" has met ' 4 l ih.o I I Vr I I K. J I Hate vivid - sPS-m The Countess Teleki (Teleszky) is a magnate of the magnates, sister of the famous Count Teleki (Teleszky), Min ister of Justice (later Minister of Fi nances). How she ever came to mar ry this man's father, the half French Baron De Gerando. is a race mystery, like the other. The grandfather. Baron Auguste de Gerando, wealthy French diplomat, in 1849 was sent by his government to the Hungarian Re public of Kossuth because he knew the people. He had married there, in 1840. and, I think, died there, after ac quiring great landed estates. His children, later. were expelled ' from Hungary, claimed French citizenship and were educated in Paris where one of them married into the family of General de -Castelnau, of present war fame; but, in 1873, our hero's ' father returned to Hungary to look after the estates. He espoused the Countess Teleki iTeleszky), had this boy and died. ... Countess Teleki (Teleszky) brought tip her boy to be a Magyar of 'the Mag some old cronies of former days in the circus business, who quickly arrange a "frameup" for the old farmer, espe cially as there is to be a side-graft In it for them. Among other things, he learns that Joe Unger, the acting man ager, is grafting money right along while the owner is at home sick, and that some of the show people have not been paid in three weeks. Wallingford, taking the - part of Sears, the agent of Barnes the owner. 7 " y 77 , - i . n ( S 7 f V rl ' W7 ' ':if ,Nxs' yars, Magnate of the Magnates. But he had this French blood. The portrait shows her standing by him. as a child of 8 years, in the astra khan overcoat of his caste, the boyisn features quite recognizable in the man of today. She, the mother, is gotten up in loyal copy of the then living and beloved Empress Queen Elizabeth, from the peculiar dressing of the hair to the caraculla fur coat which Eliza beth affected as an example of modera tion to Austro-Hungarian society women. Time passed. The boy grew to be a man. Countess Teleki (Teleszky) was (and is) cousin to the famous Count Appon yl. great friend of the Germans and who, in 1911, issued the decree forbid ding Hungarian painters to study art in France. It seems never to have oc curred to her that her son might differ from the family politics. "My mother took no interest when x began in 1907," said Gerando. "except that she was glad I might become a come to see what Is wrong with the circus, bluffs his way through into the tent before the eyes of old man Bogger, "fires" a ticket-seller who tries to make him give up a ticket, demands Unger immediately, and makes that slippery grafter quail before him. After having thoroughly frightened him, he lets fall a hint that he is thinking of selling the circus and wants the profits "right." " Unger quickly takes the hint and turns in an amazing profit sheet for the day's business. When Bogger. more intent than ever on buying the circus, finds Wallingford, to whom he has been gently guided by "Blackie," the latter is giving Mr. Unger a ter rific call down. Wallingford explains that Bogger is mistaken in thinking him Barnes, but that he Is Mr. Barnes private agent. Bogger rushes Into the trap head first. When Wallingford refuses $50. 000 he offers $55,000 and finally $65,. man of influence and. place. I imag ined that she knew nothing about the Liberal campaign. She certainly cared nothing. " Then, he desired to marry. Whom? A Russian Princess of the Caucasus, whom he had met in Paris, a descend ant of the Lermontoff's Thamara, be loved of the Demon! "Ah. no!" cried the Magyar mother, "that Russian!" "Ah. yes." insisted the quarter French son, "that Russian!" (These mixed genealogies are as ex plosive as the formula of nitrotoluol.) In a day she became the Merciless Magnaless. Gerando married the Princess in Paris. Three days later his mother had tied up. the entire mass of his property in Hungary, estates, rents, securities, everything except his Paris bank ac count and a bunch of negotiable bonds which ho happened to have there on deposit. This to a man of 32, who had always lived soberly within his Income! "By law," said Gerando, "a conseil judiciaire (spendthrift's receiver) can not be Imposed on one by his family without summons, testimony and proofs 000, which Wallingford accepts. They go up town before a lawyer and a reg ular bill of sale is made out and trans ferred with the money. Then Bogger's troubles begin. The whole circus, hearing that he is the new owner, demand their back salaries. He rushes to escape them into the women's dressing-room and Is cuffed out while one of the men "Blackie's" friend has "framed," pretending to be the husband of one, pursues him vow ing vengeance. An acrobat, asks him to hold a rope a second. He holds it as a man climbs up to the top of the big tent. There is a sudden pull on the rope, it is LOVE'S LABOR REWARDED (Continued From Page 3.) less with a racking pain in her heart to think that Apurba despised her as childish and looked down upon that letter as lacking feeling. "Did you mail that letter?" Mrinmayi asked the maid. "Yes," replied the maid consolingly, "long ago. I dropped the letter in the mail box with my own hand. Apurba Krishna must have received It. How could it be otherwise?" "Bowma," said the mother-in-law to Mrinmayi one day, "Apu has not been home for some time. So I am think ing of going to Calcutta to see him. Wouldn't you like to go with me?" Mrinmayi nodded assent, and at once entered her room, locked the door, fell on the bed, and pressed Apurba's pillow close to her heart,, and began to roll on the bed as she laughed in joy. She gradually became sober and sad. And then, afraid of some kind of un pleasantiness in Calcutta, she began to cry bitterly. The two repentant ladies, without letting Apurba know a thing about it, left for Calcutta, and on their arrival there stopped with Apurba's sister and brother-in-law. That evening, despairing of receiving any letter from Mrinmayi, Apurba broke his promise and sat down to write to her. He wanted to write to her in a way that would at once convey the idea of love and faint dis satisfaction. As he failed to get the right words he almost lost his faith in his mother tongue. Just at this mo ment he received a note from his brother-in-law saying: "Mother is here. Come soon and dine with us tonight. Everything Is all right." In spite of the assurance that every thing was all right, Apurba felt rather sad, anticipating something unhappy. And he reached his sister's home be fore long. "Is everything all right at home, mother?" inquired Apurba "Yes, my child, everything is all right. You didn't go home in the vaca tion, so I have come to see you." "There was no need of taking so much trouble to come here. I have to study so hard to prepare for the law examination." "Brother," asked Apurba's sister at dinner, "why didn't you bring Mrinmayi with you this time?" "The law examination, and so forth," said Apurba, gravely. "That's all a fib," said Apurba's brother-in-law. "He was afraid of me, that's why he did not bring her to Cal cutta." "Yes, you are fearful all right," said Apurba's sister. "That little girl might have been scared to look at you." While they were thus talking and joking Apurba sat sad and silent. Those jokes did not make the least im pression on him. He thought that when his mother came to Calcutta Mrinmayi could have come with her if she so desired. Perhaps his mother tried to bring her along and she re fused to come as before. Apurba, out of a sense of delicacy, could not ask his mother any question regarding this problem that was so vital to him. And that he is dilapidating his property. My mother simply talked it over with Count Teleki (Teleszky). The Minister of Justice telephoned the Judge and my affair was finished, beyond appeal, within the hour!" I asked why he did not rush back and fight it. "I fought," he replied. . "It cost my mother and myself some $80,000. But I did not rush back; I would have been arrested on entering Hungary. My mother simply proved my marriage before the General commanding and X became liable to five years' prison, au tomatically, for marrying without his permission." Worst of all. the mother burgled his safe. "I regretted leaving the papers there." he said, "but how could I lnw agine she would have an expert crack It?" He supposed his mother Ignorant of politics. She knew everything! The Merciless Magnatess took the) mass of papers to Counts Teleki (Tel eszky) and Apponyi it was all In the family. They Btudled , them with, Count Tisza. The entire anti-German Liberal Hungarian campaign, with its universal suffrage and national nation alization of the seigneurs' mortmain lands, stood outlined before them, too popularly rooted for suppress slon. Gerando, the head, was in exile; but the campaign continued. Count Karolyi went to the United States for funds. And there were the letters . of King Peter. "They considered it local politics," said Gerando. moodily. "Count Tisza decided to make war with Servia, to avoid the danger of being beaten In the elections of 1915 on our programme. They regarded it as local!" They did not .realize that Germany; was ready, waiting, watching. Today Germany still watches and waits in Paris. The Princess gazed below, into the square. "They'll kidnap him some day," she said, with a catch. "One night he and I fought them off with revolvers!" "But, in France!" I objected. "They could not get him away." "They want to torture him to learn the names.' she whispered. It appalled me. "And the mother?" I said. The young woman looked at me strangely. "I offered to give him up." she fal tered, "and she wrote back that Jt was too late!" Ah. daughter of Thamara! jerked out of his hand, and the man falls to the ground. He Is picked up, limp and crushed, by four circus hands and wheeled outside, apparently dead. Then Bogger finds that he will be sued for $50,000 damages, with every prospect of losing. His woes multiply. He begs Wallingford to give him back his money, but J. Rufus laughs. Finally, poor Bogger takes $15,000, gives over the bill of sale which Wallingford. promptly tears up. and leaves Walling ford with the other $50,000. Wallingford treats the whole circus with $10,000, and the other $40,000 is given to the girls, squaring their ac count with Bogger. he began to feel that human life and the way of the universe were decidedly wrong from beginning to end. It began to storm and rain hard after dinner. "Brother." said the sister, "you bet ter spend the night with us." "No. I can't," said Apurba "I have to finish some work." "What can you have to do." said the brother-in-law, "so late at night? You won't have to give any explanation to any one if you stay out a night. So you needn't be afraid." After repeated requests. Apurba agreed to spend the night with them. "You look so tired, brother," said the eister. "You better not stay up late. Come, I shall lead you to your room." It was Just the thing Apurba wanted to 'do. He was getting tired of talk ing and answering questions, and was anxious to be left alone on a bed In a dark room. On approaching the room they found it dark. "The candle," said the sister, "must have been blown out by the storm. I am going to get a lamp for you." "No, it is not necessary at all," said Apurba. "I would rather do without it" The sister left him alone, and Apurba walked toward the bed. When he was about to plunge into it two tender arms tied him fast amidet the sweet music of bracelets, and two wet with tears and tender like a rosebud lips fell, like robbers, so suddenly on his and kissed them so fervently that he did not even have the time to express his wonder. .Apurba was startled at first, but In stantly realized that that kiss which was once choked by laughter had i, last found Its fullest expression now that It was bathed in tears. The German Spirit. The subordination of the individual to the state that is the spirit which animates the German, or at all events the Prussian who now dominates all other Germans the spirit of the drill sergeant who is sometimes said to be Prussia's most characteristic product It is not a spirit favorable to the mani festations of genius, but it is a spirit supremely favorable to organization in every field. There is clearly an ele ment In the German temperament which lends Itself to this" Prussianiza tion. German life is a vast network of regulation which has been built up without protest. "Verboten!" has be become the national motto. It may be that, as an American admirer of Ger many is constrained to admit, the Ger man temperament needs prohibitions, and that the traveler in Germany wishes there were even more of them. Yet nothing seems so marvelous to the English mind as the boundless docility of the German to the pressure of this all-enfolding mesh of regulations. It is a pressure which rests ultimately on force, but there is little need to make that force felt, for the spirit of the barracks silently pervades every de partment of life, and even little school girls (so unlike English or American schoolgirln) never wish to be boys, because "it Is forbidden for girls to wish to be boys."