The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, May 16, 1888, Image 6
^
PRAISE AND BLAME.
So the world gives me blame!
Ab, could the world but know
"WTiat secret springs of shame
And self abasement flow
From my cleft heart, below
The sources of all blame!
And friends have given me praise:
Yet noae have hit the love
That spans my nights and days,
Nor seen the little dove
That flies so far above
The arrows of their praise.
?J. 1. 1 roworiage, in iouca s ^umpamoii.
THE LADY IN GRAY.
BY WALTER COOPER.
Naturally I am a very observing man,
and have "a nose for news," otherwise
I should long ago have been looked upon
as unreliable, and would have received j
notices in various shapes that, "owing I
to circumstances," etc., etc.; but such |
has been my fate but once, and that was
the beginning of my romance.
Notwithstanding my observative habit ;
I must confers that there are momeuts !
when I lapse into periods of what might i
be termed "thinking back," and then I j
do not "observe more than half of what
I notice." It was in one of these moods
that I left my home, and to this day I
cannot re. all how I reached the Brooklyn
Bridge on my way to Sew York, but I 1
suddenly awoke from the reverie I was
in and saw standing in front of me a
female figure, ily gentlemanly instincts
awoke at once and L sprang from the seat
I had occupied aud with a touch of my !
hat said : "Beg pardon?take my seat." j'
The lady, for she was a lady, any one '
could see it in a moment, as she wore a
hat that you could look over the top of, j
and you could pass around her without .
L!- . 1 J1 J! 1 . _ i _ 3 !
aisiuroiDg ner rearwaru arapeiy, loosea ,
at me in a half-sad, half-quizzical man- [
ner, and as at the same moment the ' 1
shadow of the New York terminus came | j
over the car, and I realized that we had j
reached our journey's end, I am satisfied j
that I blushed, and said again: "I beg ,'
your pardon. I was preoccupied."
She bowed to me and smiled in a sad 1,
way, as much as to say she did not doubt j j
me, and we went our several ways. I i ]
was not so distrait when I went i
down the stairs leading to Park .
Row, as not to observe that she crossed j
the foot-bridge leadiug to the park. ^
In the contused moment that I had to j
look at her my usual observative habit
came into play, and I noticed that she .
wore a g:ay stuil dress, not at all new,
but well cared for and neat, and not so j1
tight in the arms as to pull out in the *
ba.k, and while she had on the usual;'
Kfrttrn L*i/1 rrlArao flia lio^lro Kn ^
mv? ^ivi mo uav (\ o wuiu wv? (
plainly seen through the stitching, and
the finger ends were neatly darned and
showed long and constant wear.
I weut through my duties that day ip
an entirely mechanical manner, and was
somewhat surprised when the city edi- ;
tor said: j
li What the deuce is this you have
been writing about a gray dress?"
I hastened to his desk and looking
over my copy saidj
meant it for 'great distress,'" and
with a grim look he said:
" Why didn't you write it so?" and I
went away sore at heart, for I am rather
proud of my "copy," and know that the
tvpos like to set it, as it is so clear.
I did not know that I had been think- ,
ing of a gray dress, but it seems that I i
had. and as I crossed the bridere that 1
night?it was nearly midnight?1 looked i ?
in a vague 'way tor a gray dress, which ; *
did not appear, and Ilet myself in my
home with a feeling that I had missed ; :
something. After that night I seemed to !1
live in a gray atmosphere. The ha y 1
days of Indian summer hud come, to le c.
followed by the misty ones of the close- 3
following winter. 11
It grew to be a habit of mine to time j1
my bridge tr.'p as nearly as I could to the ,1
time when I iirst saw her. I scanned the , '
faces on the platform before I entered the ! j
cars. I invariably secured a seat, in the i:
hope that I might give if up to her. At j
length I had ray reward. It was over a i1
month since I had seen her, but finally j J
he entered a full car where I was |1
seated. I at once arose and said: f
"Please accept my seat before we get ;1
over this time." She smiled, bowed and j *
blushed as though she also remembered j J
our first meeting, and not a -word was
said until we reached the New York ;
side, when, as we left the car, I said to j
her: |
"I do not wish you to think me rude, i
but I have been looking for you for over ;
a month to apologize to you for my
seemingly rude conduct to you the first
time 1 met you. Do you remember it?''
Bhe said with a smile:
"Very well, indeed. I did not at the j
time think you iu:ended any ludeness;
but I imagined you were thinking of
something, and had only waked up to
the fact that you were upon the bridce
when we were nearly over it."
I.said that I had often thought of the i
day, and had hoped the day would come | :
when I could see her and tell her that I 11
only intended to act as a gentleman, and !1
not to call attention to her. as she might |
have thought, and as I had seen others ; 1
do, who kindly oTer their seats to ladies ]
after finishing their own journey in the ']
street cap. \
She said: "I did not look at it at all in >'
that light, for I rea ly do not believe you j i
knew where you were when you spoke to i <
me.'' i
"How long ago it seems," I said. ! <
"JHave you any idea when it was?" i
"Oh, yes, perfectly. It was on the
25th of October. I wrote it in ray diary ; . 1
and beside it was my birthday." \ <
All this while I had been walking be-, i j
side her, and then I said: "Will you be ; i
o.fended if I walk with you as far as you <
are going?" '
o f oil n oftlil i?T a?1? y
iivv Ob aiiy oug oniu, i uiu uuij I '
going on the next block, where I work , i
in a bookbinderv."
She looked up at me with honest eye9, ;
and they were gray too, like the dress ,:
she wore, the first one I saw her in, and j:
when wc reachcd th<? door of the tall i,
factory I tore a sheet from my memoran- j
dum book and wrote my name upon it '
with my address, I.asked her if she
would feel oJended if I waited to see her
on the other side of the river the next
morning and she told me "Not at all." j
Then 1 said:
"Whom will I meet":"
She gave me another of her wholly
sweet and half-sAd smiles and handed
me a neatly written card, evidently done
bv her own hand, which read: "Eunice
firav. Clermont avenue. Brooklyn."
I walked on air that day and toil was '
pleasure, and wten it fell to my lot to
write something about a collision be- j
tween an ice-cart and a horse-ca<\ in 1
which an old lady was killed,the matter- |
of-fact editor said to me:
' What's the matter with you? Take:
this plagued blank verse and make a
stickful of common sense of it.''
I came down out of the cloud3 and
did his bidding, and slept but little that
night after finding my pillow.
I kissed my dear old mother with unwonted
tenderness thut morning. ?lie
- -was all I had in the world then, a::d I
" '' " i - - ' " K ~
was all she had, my father having died
ten years before, leaving her with a slender
fortune. and myself and an older sister
to smooth as best we could her path
down the declining years of her life.
A little moie than a year before, my
sister had been ta'<en with a severe cold,
which ended in a fatal attack of pneumonia,
and she was lyiug by the side of
our father in the shades of Greenwood,
and poor mother, like lJachael, "would
not be comforted."
Wheu I met Eunice that morning she
he'd out her hand, covered with trie j
same neatly darned gloves, and I could j
not feel as if we were strangers. I told j
her so, and also what little of history j
J
there was in ray numuruin, uncveuum
life, and asked her if she would allow me
to call at her home that night and finish
my 9torv. ..
She said: "I have but a poor home
to show you, but if you will come I shall
be g ad to see you."
How slow the hours passed that day,
and when the hour of 7 came, I rang the i
bell at a cottage door, which she herself I
opened to me. She had changed her j
street attire and had replaced it by a
house dress of some soft gray material,
and looked lovelier to me than ever.
She took me into the little rear parlor,
where, in a reclining chair, sat, or rather j
lay, a lady whose nair was snowy wane, i
and whosh pinched fare and c*re-fur- j
rowed brow still held the traces of the (
beauty which cnce mu>t have made her i
a remarkably handsome womnn.
"Mother," 8:ud Eunice, "this is Mr. j
Grayson, the gentleman I told you of a j
month ago, and said he woke up and of- j
fcred me his seat in the bridge car after j
we got over on the' other side. Do you
remember, you almost laughed over it?,
And I told you when I came home to- j
night that he was coming to see us. Do j
you remember ?"
"Yes, Eunice, I seem to remember;
but I do not remember things as well as j
when your father was here. Was there i
qo letter to day?" I
"Xo, mother; but there may be one ;
to-morrow. We must be patient, you j
know."
"Mr. Grayson, sit where I can see you
plainly," said Eunice's mother.
She eagerly scanned my face for a i
whole uiiaute, which ?eemed an age,
ind then said. "Yes, I think you could
be patient too, but could you wait for a j
letter for four years?"
And then the tears ian down the !
pinched, wan face, and the sobbing
brought on a cough which euded in a
low of bright blood from the pale, thin
lips.
Eunice took the pillows from under
ier mother's head, and while I offered to
run for a physician, she had po ;red out
?ome styptic already at hand, and the
aemorrhage was stayed. She fell asleep
>oon after, and we sat silent by her side
;or a while, and unconsciously had
:lasped our hands.
Alter a time, when her mother slept
icundly, we walked noiselessly into the
'ront room and almost in a whisper
Eunice told me the story of her own and
lcr mother's life.
Until five years before she, her father
ind mother had lived a quiet, happy life,
lerfather beiug a junior partner in a grain
n<l nrnrision house.in Broad street, and
'rom his share of the profits had bought ,
he home where they now lived, and had
aid by for a rainy day a snug some of
noney in bonds. One day a friend,
vhose judgment he thought infallible,
ratnc to him and unfolded a scheme where
arue profits were sure to ensue, but
vhiich took more money than he alone
:ould command. Mr. Kobert Gray took
ill hU savings except $2000 oncl embarked
in the undertaking. Then a
urther sum was required, and rather
:han take his little remaining hoard, he
ndorsed his friend's notes withh's firm's
lame, which v. as a violation of h's ,
sopartnership agreement. The pro- j'
ect failed, and Mr. Gray, after
vriting a broken-hearted letter to his j;
vife. cxp'aining ali the circumstances, i
ind another to his firm, in which he ,
itated that he would in time make good
he loss he had caused them, had left (
he city, and from that day no word
lad been heard from him. Ili-J firm re'used
to take from Mrs. Gray the little
noney that she had, or even accept from ,
ler the deeds of her homestead, which .
itood in her name, and said they were
willing to wait Mr. Gray's own time for 1
lettlemeut. In all these years no word J
lad come fron her father. They had
,ived as economically as they could, had j'
,et the upper floor of the cottage to a j
;enant, ana still they had to encroach j
>n their small hoarding. The mother's ':
lealth was broken, and she became a '
:onfirmed invalid, which added another j
irain. Eunice, who was but sixteen at j
:he time of her father's flight, saw but j'
>ne way out of the di'ticulty. She must |
?o to vurk. Through her own ex- ]
jrtions sne secure! work in the book- J
jindery where she now was, and was j
jarning fair wage3, and there her story ;
;nded.
When I left her tl at n:ght I told her: j
"I always want to be your friend, and j
f I can be of any service in any way, I
md do not see it my?elf, you will, I ;
snow, point it out to me." And then j
we said our first "good night."
Early next morning I told my mother ;
the entire story of our acquaintance and t
begged her to cnll on Mrs. Grny and see \
if anything could be done to relieve her
in any way, which she promised to do. i
Eunice had told me when we parted at !
sight that she might be late in going |
aver, bu^. I could call the next evening !
if I would, to see how her mother was, j
50 I did not wait at the bridge and took j
i lonely ride.
When I reached home that night I;
e j _ _ - j . e.? 4.,, 1
lUUllU ;i IIULC HUUI luviiiCi ujc t\j .
iome at once to Mr.?. Ciray's. I arrived
there only to find my worst fears real-!
ized. The poor woman had had a return '
jf the hemorrhage shortly after my j
mother's arrival, the physician had been
unable to stop it, and her life had ebbed
lway. ;
There is no need to tell of the quiet
funeral, or of the drive back from the
family plot to our own home, where
mother insisted Eunice should stay for a
few days, until she had learned better to
bear her grief. The days grew to weeks
and every time mention was made by the J
poor girl of the necessity of her going |
home and bai k to her work, mother !
said: "Not yet."
What use is there to tell how they two :
grew to love each other, or of the state
of my own heart, for I was well aware ;
that Ejnice knew, even if I had not j
spoken.
One night as we sat by the fire in our 1
snuir narlor, mother said gently:
"Eunice, dear, you have no mother, I '
havo no daughter. I will gladly be your |
mother if you will bo my child." I
knelt at her feet and said: "For my
sake."
Aud so she stayed. The cottage where
her mother died was rented entire, and I
brought hci in enough means to obviate j
any daily toil, and when June of last j
year was b ightest she really became my j
mo.her's daughter and my wife.
There is a very little romance in all j
th:s, you say, and that, no doubt, is the j
fact, and here is where it comes in. I
} bout a mo-ith ago, as I was looking
over th; exchanges in the office. I picked :
up the Leadville Chronicle and read the
following short paragraph:
A? Mr. Robert Grayson, the owner of the
famous Holy Cross mine, was descending the
shatc in the second level, the bucket rope
parted when near the bottom, and he was
thrown violently to the bottom of the shaft,
sustaininz injuries which it is feared are
fataL Dr. wisner, who was called in, told
the injured man if he had any directions to
give as to the disposal of. his effects he had
better do so at once. He said his will and
letter of instructions were in Counselor
| Peters's hands, and shortly after became unconscious.
He is not expected to live through
j the night.
In the next issue was this:
Mr. Graydon, of the Holy Cross Mine,
died short y after midnight. Counselor Peters,
who held the letter of instruction in bis
iianHa n-h!r>h in nn envelone indorsed:
' To be opened only after my death," says
that he opened it in the presence of witnesses,
and that the only instructions it contained
were a request to find if a Mrs. Elinor Gray
and her daughter Eunice were living at No.
? Clermont avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y., aud in
that event to notify them of his death, as
they were his widow and daughter, and that
his real name was Robert Gray.
His will leaves that after the payment of
his just debts the property reverts to the
mother for natural life, and at her death to
go solely to the daughter. Mr. Graydon, or I
rather Gray, had ju3t sold a half interest in
his mine to a St Louis syndicate for $280,000,
and the transfer of the deeds was to have
taken place next Saturday.
I gave myself my own assignment for
that and many succeeding days. Eunice
and I made the trip to Gunnison armed
with the proper proof of her identity, 1
and carried out tht term? of her father's
contract. The mine pays her about ;
$4000 monthly: the tirm of which Mr.
Gray was a member has been paid in full
with interest, and I no longer fear the
frown of the city editor, but rather pat- j
ronize him when I drop in on him and ;
take him over to the Astor House luncheon.?Drake's
Magazine.
The Rainbow as a Weather Prophet [
As a weather prophet the rainbow's :
fame is widespread. Abundance of proof
of this is given by its nan;e. It is the
rainbow in English, Italian, German,
Picardy, Gaelic, Breton and in the Toda
dialect of India. Germans also ca'l it
"weather sign," and it is also "waterbow"
in Gaelic and Finnish, and "cloudbow"
in Arabian. It is believed in Normandy
that rain will come in nine days
after the appearance of a rainbow. The
weather proverbs concerning the rainbow
are more or less widely known.
Many are simple variations of the following:
Rainbow at night, shepherds' de'ight;
Rainbow at morning, shepherds nave warning.
Or, as the old English work has it:
Ihe rainbow in the momin'
Gies the shepherd warnin'
To gar his girt cwat on his back;
The rainbow at night
Is the shepherd's delight,
For then no girt cwat does he lack.
The nautical version is also welJ
known:
Rainbow at night, sailors' delight;
Rainbow in the morning, sailors take warning.
The French form of the proverb has it:
Rainbow in the morning,
Little man take thy way;
Rainbow at eve.
Little man, do not leave.
In a curio 8 collection of weather ;
signs collected by the signal bureau ;
there is much recorded concerning the |
ra:nbow as a meteorological indicator in |
this country. It is widely belie\edthat :
it is a sign that the rain will come:
If there is a rainbow at eve,
It will rain and leave.
A morning rainbow is usually indica- j
tive of more rain, or of short, heavy rains; i
a night bow, of coming tair weatner. i
Two or three bows are thought to fore- j
shadow pleasant weather presently, but j
settled bad weather in a few days. If the
bow break up all once it is a sign that :
severe weather will :ollow, and that rain |
will follow after a drought or fair i
weather after wet. When the green color :
is prominent rain and cool weather will j
follow, but wind and rain will occur j
after a rainbow in which predominates. |
A rainbow in the air signifies the next |
day will be clear:
A rainbow at morn,put your hook in the corn, i
A. rainbow at eve, put pour head in the sheave, j
When seen in the distance, the rainbow
means fair weather; when near at |
band in ;he mountains, bad weather for !
crops. When it doe3 not touch water
dear weather will follow. A morning
bow indicates rain, a noon bow slight
and heavy rain, and an evening bow fair
weather. An easterly bow indicates clcar
weather the next day, one in the west
means more rain the same day. A rainbow
in spring precedes fair weather for
forty-two hours.
The appearance of the rainbow over a
certain lake in Russia foretells drought to
the fisherman, and they fear to go on the
water bcciuse it produces a whirlwind i
or water spout, which will overflow the
boats.?Ch icajo He raId.
The Bohemian's Lore For Music.
Anton Dvorak says that in Bohemia
every child must study music. "The}
law enacting this is old," said he; "it:
was once repealed, but is now in force j
again. Herein, I consider, lies one great
secret of our national talent for music in
my country. Our national tunes and
chorales came, as it were, from the very
heart of the people, and beautiful things
they were. I intend some day writing an
oratorio into which I shall introduce
some of thi;se chorale?. The Slavs all
love music. They may work all day in
the fields, but they are always singing,
and the true musical spirit burns bright
within them. How they love the dance,
too! On Sunday, when church is over,
they begin their music and dancing, and
of:en keep it up without cessation till
early in the following morning. Each
village has its band of eight or ten musicians?I
belonged to ours as soon as I
could fiddle a little. It is supported by
the dancers, who pay nothing to go in,
but in the middle of their polka or waltz
a couple is stopped by one of the musicians,
and not allowed to continue
until they have paid as many kreutzers
as they can afford. When all is over the
band divide their earnings, and mine, of
course, used to be handed forthwith to
my father."?Providence Journal.
Mourning of Many Countries.
The National Edu&itor gives the following
list of colors used for mourning in
different parts of the world:
Black--The color of mourning in
Euro|:e and ancieut Rome.
D ack and White striped?Expressive j
of sorrow and hope combined; worn by
the South-Sea Islanders.
Ora^iih Bro.m?The color of the earth;
worn in Ethiopia
Pale Brown?The color of withered
leaves; worn in Persia.
Sky-blue?Expressive of hope for the
deceased; worn in Syria, Cappadocia
and Armenia.
^ 1
JJcep-oive-f-1 ne mouruiog 01 w&uuru i
in Central "Asia.
Purple and Violet?Denotes royalty;
worn for cardinals, etc., of France. Violet
is the mourning of Turkey.
Wnite?Mourning of China. Until
1408 it was the mourning of Spain.
Yell-no?Mourning worn in Egypt and
Burmah. Yellow may be regarded as a
token of exaltation.
-r- : -
WOMAN'S WORLD. I
PLEASANT LITERATURE FOR
FEMININE HEADERS,
A Woman's Noble Work.
The Hospital for Incurable Children,
in London, England, was started by a
| lady, who, after a while, gathered about
j hei a zealous committee. It has grown
! until tirst the single house, then the two
small houses, became utte ly inadequate
to meeting the demands made for admittance
by parents of heavily stricken
children Tne hospital for eleven years
ha* taken in suffering little ones d scharged
from other hospitals as incurnn/1
lroona flio n torirlnrlv nnrsPfl
nui^o, auu avvj/o iiuvm wuuvmj
i until they die; or it cures obstinate cases
I of disease, enabling patients who would
have been bedridden to use their limbs
and earn a living.?Good Cheer.
How He Won His Wile.
The Omaha Herald recalls the manner
in which the late Attorney-General
Brewster won his second wife. She was
the widowed daughter of his old fiiend,
Hobert J. Walker, Secretary of the Treasury.
She had supported herself after
her father's death as a clerk in the Treasury
Department, and was a very beauti;
ful" woman. The words in which Mr.
Brewster is said to have sought her
hand are certainly not uncharacteristic
of the man: ''You are beautiful, dear
madam, and I am hideous, but it will not
bo the first instance of the mating of
beauty and the beast, and although you
may never love me, you shall never regret
marrying me." It was a happy
union, for Mr. Brewster was devotedly
attached to his home.
An Inaudible Laugh.
I la one of his letters to the beautiful
Theodosia, Aaron Burr implored his
daughter to cultivate an inaudible laugh,
and that is precisely what fashionable
women are doing in Chicago. The trainin?
is individual, and may be pursued to
suit the face, features and fancy of the
anti-laugher* who, mirror in hand,
studies her glass continually. If the chin 1
is pretty in contour and modeling and
teeth white, the pupil mu3t learn to laugh
with her lips, but wear a rigid brow and
steady eyes. Are the teeth unsightly, i
then she she will have a woeful time,
for the mouth must be kept closed, and ;
how to laugh with the eyes and not (
tirt^nlrla fSn foni* ia n tnalf Hftnflhfinks ! i
and teachers of the art of expreasion tell
the students to train the eyes to smile,
and caution them against the habit of ]
tightly closing the eyes when a pleasing
sensation is felt, a habit which prematurely
wrinkles the lower lids and works
crow's feet about the corners of the :
eyes. ?Inter- Ocean.
Exhaustion From Dress.
The London Lancet says that the weakness
and fatigue of which so many women I
complain as a result of walking is only
the '-natural exhaustion from carrying a
burden of clothes that few strong men ! i
would care to Dear, oxotoniyare iaeii
ordinary movements of the legs and arms
injuriously impeded, but the waist is j
encircled as with a belt or hoop, to (
which a load heav er than a felon's chain j,
is attached." Everybody knows how ,
true this is. "Women themselves do not;
contradict it, but with a courage pitiful | (
to see, they carry the burden until ab- i f
solutely disabled by sickness, even then ;.
preferring to resort to doctors and tonics j
rather than to abandon the "stylish"!
heavy garments which they know are so '
injurious. It is the old story?"you pays 11
your money and you takes your choice." \1
TKa franAnm trt rhnnae thftt which is , '
hurtful involves the penalty of suffering, 1
;he price paid for knowledge, and the i
opposite privilege bring its equally in- <
evitable consequences of health, happi- ]
ness and peace.?Lxwi of Life. <
Superfluous Hair. <
It must ever remain a mystery why a <
woman will permit a dozen or more rank 1
hairs to mar the beauty of an otherwise ;1
lovely face when a minimum amount of j
care would suffice to correct the blemish. j
Moles usually come from birth. They : j
are varied in size and are upt to be j >
studded with three or four long hairs, i ]
Any skilled physic'an can remove the
blemish, but if an aversion is felt to the ! j
operation a bit of caustic will burn away 1 j
the hair. Then, too, odious hair may be i (
?- ?"" h'nnollir if r\ ac>r\ VfcA '
tup ttWttjr uut uuauuuttiij A* ^wf , #
just as one trims the nails or lasfcss. ;
Better than the scissors is a pair of '
tweezers, with which the hairs can be 1
removed individually. There are plenty ,'
of manicures in the city who make a pro-1;
fession of treating such irritations with '
electric needles, by means of which each |
hair is rooted and the cell burnt out. A :1
slight soreness is left for a few days, but j :
the annoyance ceases when the sore heals. ,1
Any day in the week the operation may . <
be witnessed, the most common case be- j
ing the meeting of the eyebrows, which 11
frequently changes the whole appearance 1
of the face. Another disorder is the j
cowlick, of which men as a rule i
nnmnloin nnd tn nvfirrnme which thev
submit to a term of treatment, the extraction
of seven hairs being a good ,
hour's work. Bat electricity, or no } (
electricity, a woman who value3 a nice ;
appearance should not nourish a whisk !
of luir. Get a hand-glass and pull out,
the ngly little crop, and continue the 1
operation until the roots have been re- 1
moved or the nerves killed. Among the
French ladie3 who are prone to mustaches
shaving is made a part of the daily
toilet, or else the dark suits of down are
treated with cosmetics and powdered a
dead white.? Chicago Times.
The Origin of Flower Missions- |
There is nothing more beautiful than
flowers. It was not until the Fourth
Ward mission girls put sweet country
roses into the windows of the poor that
they could get them to learn to read and
sew. It was flowers that unlocked the
hearts of the brutal, drunken mothers of '
innocent young children who had no
childhood. ;
One of the most interesting of all the
charity organizations in ffew York is the
Flower Mission. Fifteen orsixteen years
ago a young girl living in one cf the
suburban towns of New York noticed
the great waste of flowers and fruit in
the gardens of the wealthy. In the city
she knew that there were vast numbers of
poor suffering souls who had none of j
these things. Here, on the one side, !
.1- ~ /4n-nnnd nn the ntViPr '
w it a mc uccu, iut, u^muuv*,
its counterpart, its possible fulfilment. !
Not only in the fields and woods, but
in conservatories and greenhouses, were 1
countless blossoms that might, if only
there was a way, gladden some hearts, j
"If a thing is desirable there is a way
to it." The suggestion passed on to the 1
right and to the left, and the first Sunday
in May, 1800, in several of the city |
churches a brief notice was read inviting
all having either fruit or flowers to spare
to send their gifts to Hollis Street
Church, which would be open on Monday
and Thursday mornings from eii^ht
to twelve for the reception and distribution
of flowers and fruit to the sick and
poor in the city.
On the first day contributions were received
from thirteen sources, distribu
- -
tions made to one hundred and fifty persons?a
good beginning for such a quiet,
unostentatious charity.
The work never flagged through the
long summer. The givers were liberal,
the workers also. It seemed as though
every one had been waiting for just this
chance. Even corporations, supposed to
be soulless, became liberal and generous
to an unwonted extent. Railroads transported
free of expense all baskets and
parce:s for the Flower Mission, not only
over the roads,' but always found ?mong
the employes at the depots some one to
carry the packages to the church.
From a town in Massachusetts twice a
week came two or three washtubs of garden
and wild flowers.
At the close of the first season, in October,
1869, 6718 bouquets had been dis'
??sj? j r_..:? fv.,.
criDUiea, oesiaes piants auu irirn. mc
sewing girls, the inmates of hospitals,
asylums and prisons were among the
recipients.
During the second year of the Mission
over 11,000 bouquets" were distributed,
besides 1800 pond lillies, the latter
chiefly from one friend. Statistics, however,
give very little idea of the work
accomplished, least of all of the amount
of happiness conferred, the human hearts
filled with grateful love and the blessing
which enriches the giver even more than
the receiver.
The Children's Aid Society have
created a similar mission. Some ladies
who had witnessed the working of the
Hollis street charity established a Flower
Mission on Seventh avenue. On Fourth
avenue also a room is devoted to the
mission two days of each week during
the summer.?New York Telegram.
Fashion Notes.
The white cloth petticoat is one of the
novel'styles which seems destined to bemost
popular.
White pilot cloth dresses, gold
braided, with jockey caps to match, are
in high fashion.
Velvet flowers on summer hats and
bonnets seem rather an unnatural combination,
yet they are stylish.
Telegraph blue is one of the new
shades which vie with the already popular
gobelin and porcelain tints.
The fashion of trimming hats from
behind still continues, and if not very
artistic or be:oming it is the mode.
The chambery gauze and cambrics are
in gay figures this season, color being
everywhere in both groundwork and design.
The kilt skirt appears again in the i
washable costumes for summer wear and '
hangs on a yoke from the waist half its j
lonirth
o
Real blues will be worn the coming
season, and some with a changeable
effect have a cross thread of cream color
or white.
Tarasols are in xhe greatest possible
variety and gay and gaudy to the iast decree,
even outshining those of last seasdn
in their glory of color.
Small black mantles of Bengaline, silk
or embroidered cashmere, trimmed with
metallic cord passementeries, are worn
with dresses of all kinds.
Pretty coatumes have the skirts of
3triped silk with a polonaise of cashmere,
the flatter J draped in four points
or opened in front or at the back. t
Young ladies now wear their short
cloth jackets unbuttoned in the street on
5ne days, and have a single fresh flower
thrust through a buttonhole of the front.
A wreath of fine blossoms, forming a
jort of garland makes a pretty trimming i
for a lace or crape bonnet and where a j
color is used in the bonnet white flowers j
lie used.
The silk warp Henriettas and mohairs
ire among the most stylish and desirable ;
of all the stuffs shown and shed the dust !
perfectly, which is alone a sufficient rec- j
smmendation.
In everything flowing lines and long
soft curves have decidedly the call; by
consequence, costumerj now study the
Greek statuary in the Louvre quite as
sedulously as do the artists.
A Paris fancy for turbans and toques
is to make them of rough fancy braid
interwoven with gold thread alternately
with cmbroide.ed bands of silk or surah, j
matching their ribbons in color.
Tulle, net, lace, silk-muslin, all appear :
in new hats for driving; and, airy as J
they be, are garnished with thick ribbon, j
or shells of narrower lace and towering
clusters of the softest 03trich tips.
Among the daintiest and most desirable I
?iP? +VtA ?ftrrr mnKoir 1
01 suniuiur miiL^imiis 19 iuc uvn tuvuun 1
shallie, with almost the lu9tre and 3oft- I
ess of China silk, along with the same
graceful patterns and delicate hues.
The Russian bang and the Recamier i
curls are at this moment rivals in fash- >
ion; the former is very pretty for a face j
of regular features while the curb soften
my face and are never unbecoming.
Narrow colored ribbons, with picot
edges, are sewn Hat, in rows, upon the
figured challies now so much worn.
Narrow moire ribbons are used in the
same manner to trim plain cashmeres.
The fashion of wearing mask veils
tightly drawn over the face is a very bad
one for the eyes, and instead of the
dotted red lace there aro sheer silk
berege9 which are stylish and are to be
found in any of the new tints.
Many of the new parasols of silk or
satin are lined with Pompadour foulard i
Bilk, with lace or net puffed or fluted
on the outside. Other styles are of
mnim )>Arr)oror) with white satin bands !
and white lace. Thefce are especially |
designed for garden parties but not for !
promenade.
Nearly the most popular hat of the j
season is the turban, which is made of a i
big flat piece of straw that looks like a I
paucake. It is plaited ?nd drawn over !
a soft crown and encircled with a puff or I
roll of velvet or silk. Loops are set
high in front and a cluster of flowers is
frequently added.
Fashion prophets declare that silk is
again to become as generally worn as it
was before jute and other nefarious admixtures
shook our faith in and preference
for this elegant material. The price
of the best brands of silk is rising, and
it is officially announced that it will be [
a long time before these can be pur- i
chased at the wonctrousiy tow rates at
which they have been sold for many
years past.
Where the Moccasins Come From.
"Moccasins, ihe genuine article made
by Indians, are not found in Eastern
trade to any extent,'' said a traveling
salesman for a New York firm to a Sun
reporter. "They can only be found in
the West; but even there the supply is
limited and quickly exhausted."
"Don't the red men make moccasins
for sale to customers direct?''
"No, not as n general thing. The
Indians have a peculiar process of tanning
the leather, which makes it very
pliable and soft. It is quite different
from the stock found in factories, and is
much tougher and finer in quality."
"What do the Indians get for their
moccasins?"
"They have no regular prices. They
often exchange them for food or
clothing."
CONDEMNED MOFETT
HANDLING TORN CURRENCY IN
A SUB-TREASURY.
Destroying Spoiled Bills with a Cancellation
Punch?The Summary
Fate of Detected Counterfeits
?Skilful Honey Counters. J
The United States is not only very
rich, but it is exceedingly particular
about the condition and appearance of
its paper money, and whenever one of its
bills comes back into thb hands of its
agents in a mutilated condition it is
seized upon at once, and a brand new
bill i? an ho ti tutor! in itfl nlftpe. This
method on the Government's part is hie
cause of an interesting state of affairs at
the Sub-Treasury in Wall street, New
York, where more ca3h is stored, and
and where the daily receipts and disbursements
arc larger than in any other
one building in the world.
*A glance at the desks in the receiving
department will find them piled with
bills, done up in tidy packages. Some
of them are new, crisp bills; others show
signs of circulation, while others still
are in every possible state of dilapidation,
the effect of wear and tear of mercantile
life. Mutilated bills are those
that have been worn aud torn aad have
become dirty and greasy in passing
through many hands, where the edges
are as ragged and frayed as a wind
whipped flag; or torn and patched till
they look like a crazy quilt. Mutilated
cu rency reaches the Sub-treasury in the
1UIU1 Ui U CfJUOilO, LUX A tu YY UU UDTT Ul'kM,
and occasionally even with counterfeits.
As the deposits are counted the clerk
assorts the bills. Those that are good
and fit for circulation are placed by
themselves and the mutilated pieces are~
culled out and condemued. The great
majority of the mutilated money consists
of the smaller denominations of
bills, though many tens and twenties
find themselves numbered among
the disreputable mass. The hundred,
live hundred, and even the
thousand-dollar notes are not infrequently
found among their less aristocratic
associates, though they seldom present
the ragged and filthy appearance ot some
of the lesser denominations. It is estimated
fchafc nearlv $3,000,000 ner month.
or $36,000,000 per year, of mutilated
currency passes through thesubtreasury
and is sent on to Washington for final
destruction. New bills are substituted
for the old ones so writhdrawn from
circulation, so there is no loss to any
person.
The most of this unsavory money
comes directly, or through the banks,
from the retail sections of the city, particularly
from the neighborhood of Fulton
and "Washington markets. All this
spoiled currency, passes through the
hands of expert money clerks, who count
and assort the bills at the rate of a hundred
per minute. The good clean bills
are sent over to the paying teller for disbursement;
the condemned bills are put
in packages of 100 bills, tied stoutly
and then subjected to a punching process
for cancellation. A machine similar
to a boiler-plate punch, only much
smaller and worked by hand, instead of
by steam, stands in the rear of the receiving
department. The package of
bills is p'aoed under this punch which
cuts out a hole a quarter of au inch in
diameter at one stroke through the 100
bills as smooth and clean as abutter tester
penetrates a firkin of butter. The
punching, or cancellation, is through
the several signatures on the bills.
The rule at the Sub Treasury is that
any United States or National Bank bill
will be redeemed on presentation, no
matter how badly mutilated, provided
not more than one-tenth of the bill is
missing. Beyond that proportion the
bill can be sent to the Treasury Department
at Washington, where it is redeemed
in proportion to the amount remaining
down to fifty per cent, of the
face of the note. If the loss is over half
of the note it will not be redeemed, unless
the owner can prove that the missing
nnr+ Vioa Konn fnfallr flpefrnrPf} in whlP.h
J .. J
case the full value of the original bill
a?ay be recovered.
The clerks in the receiving department,
beside culling out the mutilated
bills that come into the Treasury, are on
the constant look out for counterfeits.
Moreover, if the c'erk by any possibility
allow* a counterfeit to pass him and be
received, he is held personally responsible
and is obliged to make good the consequent
loss out of his own pocket, for
the Government has no profit and loss account.
Its cash must balance every
night in good and lawful money. But
so quick are the several clerks in detecting
spurious paper, that, though they
are counting bills at the rate of 100 a
minute, the momentary glance at the
bill as it parses under their eye is sufficient
for them to select the good from
the bad. On an average, between 200
and ?00 counterfeit bills a month are
brought into the Sub-Treasury. Most
frequently they come as part of deposits,
and from the banks, while very often
men come along and make inquiry about
doubtful bills. The invariable rule, on
disnovering a bill to be counterfeit, is to
stamp it with a steel die that cuts the
word "counterfeit" in large capifal letters
out of the bill. The word is stamped
two or three times across the face, which
so thoroughly multilates it that it is useless
for ever after. No matter who presents
the bill or to whom it belongs, the
insignia of its fraudulent character is
cut into it and its char.-.ctcr so thoroughly
exposed that it can never again be
circulated. After the bill has been
stamped, it is returned to its owner, and
frequently there ensues an exhibition of
anger and rage that is comical as well as
pitiful, a? the owner discovers for a fact
that his bill is worthless. But what
generally hurts him most is, that it has
been so cut and destroyed that he is unable
to pass it on any one else. ? Comnncvi*iiil
Ailrfi.rlinfT.
The Old Hoosicr Selioolliouse.
These primitive school houses were, of
course, very rude affairs, built of round
log3, and with as little expenditure of
tirao and money as the law would allow.
It was required that they should be eight
feet high from floor to joists, and that
they should be provided with sucli furniture
as vas absolutnly neccssarv for
use in the schools. The floors were of
roughly hewn puncheons ; a great fireplace
and chimney, built of sticks and
clay, often extended entirely across oue
end of the roomr the seats were long
slabs with lees driven into them; there
were no desks, but a narrow shelf against
one of the walls afforded the larger pupils
an opportunity to write: and blackboards
were inventions not yet introduced into
the Western country. Close to the place
where the master sat, there were usually
two long pegs driven into the wall for
the purpose of supporting a choice assortment
of hickory switches; for the
rod was then regarded as the most effective
and convenient means of securiug
obedience. These were the days of the
"Hoosier Schoolmaster," happily known
no more in either Indiana or her sister
State3.?Strribncr's Magazine.
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. - /
"" . . ~ ' .;'
CtJBIOCS FACTS.
}
Bean are good swimmers and enjoy
the water.
The farms of the United States are
valued at ten billions.
The first cotton was raised in the* i*
United States in 1821.
Printing was known in China in the
sixth century, but it wa9 not introduced
into America until 1536.
The original of Lincoln's general
emancipation proclamation was burned
in the great Cnicago fire.
Mrs. Sally Summers, of Jones county;
Ga, is 92 years old and rejoices in 885 '
grandchildren, one for every day in th?
year.
An Ohio man has four hogs born with- "1
* i i-i
oar the sign or an ear, ana so lactcing m
hearing that they don't know when it
thunders.
The captain of an incoming Atlantic
steamer tells of icebergs he encountered,
one of which, he says, would weigh not -t
less than half a million tons.
The citizens of a Missouri village act*
ually forgot when election time came
around this year, and by consequefeca /the
old board holds over another year.
When a future Chinese belle is about
three days old she is formally betrothed
to the scion of some acceptable neighbor,
and when she is about fifteen she is carried
to his house and left there and
that ends it
Mrs. Morris, of 8heboygan, Mich.,
possesses as a highly-prized relic a large ^
meerschaum pipe that belonged to a gsg
former King of Denmark, and is now/.~"
238 years ola. It has been an heirloom
in her family for generations.
A Pacific coast missionary relates that
after walking fifteen miless to perform a,
marriage ceremony he received in pay-"
ment a sack of fine cabbages, and
lugged them home on his back for fear . .
of offending his parishioners. v '
The bursting of a creosote tank at the \
freight yard of the Midland Railway, at v
Carlisle, England, allowed a quantity'of
the creosote "to" run into a small stream
which is a tributary to the Mver Eden, ,
and it poisoned tons of fish, including
salmon and trout. ; -5
Three little Buffalo (N. Y.) girls, all
under eleven, lately started to walk to
Indianapolis, where the mother of ona
of them is living. As they took a cash
capital of but one silver dollar along,
they were reasonably glad to be over
taifen oy rescuers xeas uua iwouijr " "
away.
A twelve-pound cannon snot was
found imbedded seventeen inches deep M
in an oak tree in the suburbs of Frank- ; J
lin, Tenn. It was evidently fired from
a Federal cannon during the bloody Vi
battle twenty-three years ago, as it en- .
tered the tree on the side next to the
town. The fibres of oak are still> attached
to the ball, and are nearly at hard
I as the iron itself.
}. A Hartford (Conn.) lady remitted to a r j
large New York house to pay a bijl, and
by mistake sent one cent less than this .,
face of thebilL The New York house
wrote (cost two cents) asking for th*
missing cent, and on receiving it sent
on a new receipt (cost two cents more\v';V.
and of course it cost the debtor two /
cents to forward the one, making in all
six cents expended in paying one cent &
n?:?? _ 1 :
OU31UC53 19 UU3IUCS3.
An umbrella tbat was brought to this ' V
country from Holland in 1630 is On exhibition
in Albany, N. Y, It bears the
name of an Italian maker. It has been
asserted that umbrellas are a later in* vention
than 1630, and that an Englishman
first appeared in the streets of
London in the last century with one to
protect him from the rain. The fact is,
however, that umbrellas were in use by
the Egyptians 4000 years ago. The
umbrellas'seen sometimes attached to a
vehicle in the streets are seen pictured
upon the wall paintings of ancient - - "
Egypt- - .
Tramp Tictimsof the Railway.
"Statistics of the number of tramps
killed annually in railroad accidents . v
are appalling, but no attention is oaid to
this wholesale slaughter of an undesira*
ble element of society," said a brake man.
"HOwever, for the amount of traveling
J L itnnfrw f\4 fllA
UOOC UJT LUU nvikiuuq ^uvij v*
road, the acccident rate is very small.
Scarcely a passenger train or a freight
train makes a trip but one or more tramps
ride on the trucks or 'blind-baggage.'
Should an accident occur they are very
liable to be injured, but the number ot
marvellous escapes they make causes on?
to imagine they bear charmed lives.
"I was on a train two weeks ago when
I saw a tramp escape in a way that was ^
simply marvellous. Our train ran on a
switch and into a freight. The two engines
were badly smashed, and the first
passenger car was piled on top of the
freight engine. The engineer of the
former ana both firemen were killed. />-.
When everybody had rushed out and <
the true state of affairs was discovered, '
there emerged from under the cars piled _j
nn the pn?rine a badlv scared tramp, who
was not injured at all. He walkeS away
very calmly after shaking himself, ana '
no doubt left on the trucks of the next
train. These fellows become very expert
at riding in difficult places, is the cars
are examined at most stations, they hay?\ .. .
to hide between the trucks or get off.
In the latter case they run under the car, \
and rosume their place while the train if
moving.
" 4 Biind baggage' is another method
of stealing a ride. This is a technical
phrase to designate the platform of tha
bftfrcase car that is coupled to the engine.
There" is no entrance to the car, and
hence, when the train starts at night, *,?
the tramp runs and jumps to the plat*
form where he can remain unseen until '
the next station, where he jumps off as
the train slows up. He is safe from the < ?
conductor and brakemau, and is only in
danger of discovery from the engine.
The fireman and engineer, if tender
hearted, will not disturb him, but otherwise
they pelt him with coal and throw
water upon him until he is glad to leave
when the train stops. If he has luck he
can ride all night more safely than on
the truck, but he gets a dose of cinders
and smoke from the engine."?GloU _
Democrat.
Electric Piano Playing.
Electricity has been invoked to supply - _ -
a substitute ior a musical education.
means of the Stcphonium, or "electric
music interpreter,'' Mr. J. C. McGee', of
Edinburg, proposes to enable persons
ignorant of music to play the piano and
other iustruments of similar action. The
music sheet is placed behind wires
spaced to correspond with its scale, and
each successive note is sounded by
touching the wire over it with a metallic
pointer, which closes an electric circuit,
and strikes the proper bell or string. It
is only necessary to follow the notes with
eye and hand until the piece is played.
Jjy sliding the sheet up or down the
whole range of notes is quickly transposed
into another key. The Stcphonium
may be removed to auy distance from ,
the piano or other source of the musical
tones.
' "''-"VvV
Mfa J