Queen Victoria

150 years ago in The SunMarch 30: The Emperor of Russia has ordered that no person shall establish any telegraph in his dominions without his permission.April 3: A salute of one hundred guns will be fired on Monday, by order of Gen. Smith, in honor of the glorious victory at Buena Vista, achieved by the American arms under Major Gen. Zachary Taylor, on the 22nd and 23rd of February last, over the Mexican forces, commanded by Gen. Santa Anna.April 5: Ellicott's Mills -- Our citizens are on the qui vive for the amusements that are to come off here shortly.

Not so long ago, Labor Day was the moment the cottage door twanged shut. For rentals at the beach, the long season began on Memorial Day, the short on July 4. But long or short, it was over on Labor Day, just before school started.Like many travel patterns in America, this one is changing. While no one has created the endless summer surfers dream of, September and October have become beach time for many.On Cape Cod, in New Jersey and at shore resorts elsewhere along the recreational vehicle flyway, officials all say yes, yes, there is a post-Labor Day influx of retired people, especially those taking a leisurely course to Florida.

Jewelry, antique and discreetQueen Victoria brought the prescribed social state of mourning to a fine art. After her dear Prince Albert died she never fully gave up her widow's weeds -- luxurious as they were -- for nearly half a century. It was in her reign that mourning jewelry design flourished. Widows were expected to dress in black with suitably discreet jewels; that precluded colored gemstones and sparkle. Sober mourning designs for lockets, pins and watch brooches were made up in gold in combination with black enamel, onyx or ebony with subtle touches of pearls or inlay.

During the Great Depression, when millions of people were homeless and despairing, the emotional problems of the very rich in fiction and fantasy entertained them. Not so in recession-plagued Britain today, where people are fed up with their real life fantasy, the royal family, its outlandish extravagance and its failed personal relationships. Polls suggest the British people do not want the Royal Family to vanish, they want it to shape up.This led Queen Elizabeth not only to call 1992 a "horrible" year but to do something about it. She will pay taxes starting next year.

My recent flights were delayed because the airline boarded passengers with seats in the front of the plane first. Why don't they board the back first? We are not aware of any carrier that allows passengers at the front of the plane to board first, unless they are in first class or business class or they need extra time. United Airlines often boards by groups but allows those with window seats to get on the plane first, followed by passengers with middle seats and then those with aisle seats.

In a 2005 article for Disability Studies Quarterly, author Betty Adelson notes that little people "are highlighted in the legends and myths of every nation." Dwarfs were teamed with Amazonian gladiators in Rome; elevated to the status of priests in ancient Egypt. Later they became objects of private amusement for English royalty. The 18th century ushered in the golden era of sideshows and circuses - and greater public exposure. Here are a few highlights of little people in American pop culture: Charles Stratton, dubbed "General Tom Thumb," peaked at 3 feet 4 inches.

Eberhard Bethge, 90, a Protestant theologian and biographer arrested after the failed 1944 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, died of pneumonia March 18 in Frankfurt, Germany. He was best known for his biography of Protestant theologian and anti-Nazi activist Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the uncle of Mr. Bethge's wife who died in Flossenbuerg concentration camp. As a friend of Mr.Bonhoeffer, he was arrested along with dozens of others after the failed attempt to kill Hitler July 20, 1944. After the war, he worked as an assistant to Berlin Bishop Otto Dibelius, and later as a pastor in London and as the head of the pastoral college of the Rhineland churches in Germany.

The death of Helen Hayes at 92 deprives Americans of their First Lady of the Theater, which she was for a half-century. There will be more first ladies of the stage, but none is likely to be so universally admired and mourned for that alone. In her career, to be the star of the Broadway stage meant international celebrity for excellence in acting. Today, such a reputation depends as much on television and film.For all her road trouping -- and she did a great deal -- she was Broadway. Now, Broadway is dingy by day and touristy at night.

Dr. George Margolis, a Johns Hopkins University graduate and neuropathologist who did some of the early research into Alzheimer's disease, died Thursday at his home in Ridgefield, Conn., after several strokes. He was 81.A 1936 biology graduate of Hopkins, who received his medical degree from Duke University, he was on Dartmouth Medical School's faculty from 1963 to 1982 and helped build the curriculum and research in its department of pathology. He was the author of hundreds of scientific papers.

VIRTUAL PETS roll over. An innovative lesson in child rearing has several Westminster High School students spending a weekend with a virtual 7-pound baby.The baby cries at random intervals until its needs are met. There are no mute,discipline or entertainment buttons; students have to "comfort" the child for as little as five minutes or as long as 35 minutes in order to find peace.The high school owns four of these electronic wonders. Dubbed "Baby Think It Over" by the Wisconsin company that makes them, each baby costs $250 to $290.