Celebration of the Imperial Name Day and Shooting Festival in Merano

Austrian Monarchy.

Merano, 4 Oct. Yesterday evening at 5 o'clock, a very large company of imperial-royal and municipal authorities, riflemen, and friends of the shooting society gathered at the Gasthof zum Erzherzog Johann to celebrate the exalted name day of His Majesty our Emperor Franz Joseph. The welcoming, spacious hall, the generous, excellent hospitality, and the cheerful tunes of the brass band, which had assembled on the Sandplatz, were admirably suited to turn the high spirits of the festival into convivial revelry. A lively bustle had already unfolded when Franz Putz stepped into the center of the hall and recited a prologue, *) followed by the Oberschützenmeister Dr. Anton Putz with a toast to His Majesty the Emperor, the noble patron of the prizes. Amid repeated cheers, the band and all guests present struck up the imperial anthem, whereupon District Captain Kopp proposed toasts to the august Imperial House, namely His Majesty Emperor Ferdinand, the founder of the modern rifle system, the Imperial Highnesses, the genial Viceroy Rainer, and Archduke Heinrich, the well-proven marksman; the Mayor Haller toasted His Imperial Highness Archduke Johann, the faithful companion of Tyrol's fortunes, and his illustrious scion, the promising Count of Meran. This series was concluded by Dr. J. F. Lentner with an improvised, inspiring address, the approximate sense of which you will surely permit me to convey. "He had been granted the joy of greeting today the riflemen and friends of the sport who had journeyed from near and far, and offering them the cup of brotherhood; thus might it be permitted him to state what the welcome guests brought to our national celebration: it is 'the marksman's passion – the joy in arms!' In a man's pleasure his character is revealed; thrice blessed the people that finds its joy in weapons, that celebrates its folk festival bearing arms. Gallant Tyrolean people, as far as your eye looks back into the past, you see yourself in martial attire, immaculate and honorable. Many a tribe dwells on this side and that, above and below you, yet you will not find the weapon among their tools. No prince took it from you; rather, sons of Habsburg have placed it by the thousands in your hand, in difficult as in good times. One reach to the wall, and you stand there every inch a man! Woe to him who gives a child weapons to play with; you, however, are a seasoned warrior, you know how to grasp the sport in all its gravity. What you practiced today in harmless joy, prove it faithfully and undauntedly should the dice fall bloody. In conclusion, the words inscribed on one of our targets: What the core is to the tree, so rifle-craft is and shall remain among the people of Tyrol. And so I drink a solemn toast to the serious sport, to the marksman's passion; a threefold cheer to the cherished riflemen and friends of the shooting society." These words, striking right at the heart of the riflemen, sparked enthusiasm on all sides and awakened an indescribable fervor that finally ended in loud rejoicing. Toasts and spirited singing by the Liedertafel then alternated until the festival came to a close at an advanced hour.

The weather had hitherto been unfavorable, and only with today's fine weather does the prelude seem to have been made to those glorious autumn days that make Merano particularly pleasant at this time. It is also attributable to this circumstance that the number of arriving riflemen has so far only reached around three hundred. From Archduke Heinrich we count 3 shots at present, all of them bullseyes, namely: two threes and a one. Six center shots have fallen on the main targets so far. Two were fired in a single day by the youth Christian Mayr of Kastelbell, one by Joseph Tummler of Schlanders, who out of 12 shots at the main prize had only a single one off target and won a two. The others are Alois Pomela of Kurtatsch, Johann Becher of Sillian, and Johann Georg Preu of Niederdorf. Among non-Tyrolean riflemen, we noted Prince Salm and Countess Leiden.

*) We shall publish this prologue in the next feuilleton.