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About The news-herald. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1909-1911 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 1909)
Pretty Tea Gowns GREAT LOVE STORIES OF HISTORY Satisfactorily Done Without Other Apparatus or Instru ments Than Strong Clothes-I.lno and u Sharp Meat Saw. By ALBERT PAYSON TERHUNE m&mh s a ARTHUR AND GUINEVERE DEHORNING OF CATTLE IS EASILY PERFORMED iCojijruUl by "She was tho finest woman In the universe. Her stature was noble and elegant, her complexion fair and her eyes the fairest blue of the heavens." Thus one chronicler describes the Princes Guinevere, daughter of the old Celtic king, Leodegraunce. Much of her story and Arthur's Is so shrouded In legend that tho actual facts are hard to determine. Here is the tale as It Is generally accepted: Arthur, a Celtic prince, was spirited away In childhood by loyal servants to save him from assassination. When lie reached manhood he was made knovr. to the people and (about 500 A. D.) became king of part of Uritain. He found the country In terrible con dition. Toverty stalked abroad. The wi'dorness had swallowed up most of the farmland; robbers and cruel bar ons oppressed the poor. Arthur set out to remedy all this. To aid him In tho task ho gathered about him a ' The Knight, of Jand fB noh? tho Round Table. i"0XnMaaSnf Knights of the Round Table," who were sworn to re dress wrongs, help the needy, protect wonun and lead .upright lives. So well did Arthur govern and so ably did lils knights aid him that soon the kingdom was prosperous and safe. The bravest of the Knights of the Round Table was Sir Lancelot of tho Lake. Arthur and Lancelot were as brothers In their affection for one an other. The king saw and fell In love with the beautiful Guinevere. Being detained at home by affairs of state, he did not go to htr father's court to woo her In person, but chose Lancelot as his messenger. Now, Lancelot set forth for the cas tle of King Leodegraunce with every Idea of fulfilling his royal master's commands. But at first Bight of Guine vere's loveliness he wholly lost his head. From that moment he blindly adored her. Honor, loyalty, his knightly vows all were swept away In that mighty tide of love. He could Bcarce bring himself to plend Arthur's suit Instead of his own. Guinevere, on her part, mistook the handsome stran ger at first for Arthur and rejoiced at the thought that she was to become THE CID AND XIMENA A Castllian grandee, De Blvar by name, in the latter half of the eleventh century was slain by the count of Oviedo. De Bivar had one son, Rodrl go Diaz, a fiery youth, destined to be come tho national hero of Spain. Like many another such hero of olden times, his real exploits have become so tangled with legendary feats that Jt Is hard to senarate the two. Here Is his love story, as told In Spanish chronicle and song: To avenge his murdered father, young Rodrigo sought out the count of Oviedo and challenged him to mortal combat. The challenge was accepted. The two fought with swords and Ovie do was slain. Rodrigo had but obeyed the customs of his time In avenging his father's death. He considered the affair now at an end. But Ovledo's daughter, the beautiful Xlmena, rushed to the king of Castile, demanding Just Ice and begging that her father's slay er be put to death by torture. Accoruing io some accounts, Rodri go had already seen Xlmena and (though unknown to her) had lost his heart to the lovely girl. Thus it had A Girl'. Plea been a bitter grief A v. t0 nl"i when filial for -Vengeance. devoton fjrced him to kill Oviedo and by that deed to raise so fearful a barrier between himself and the woman he loved. In any case, Ximena clamored for his execution. He was seized and brought before tho Judgment seat of the king to face his fair accuser. But at sight of the handsome youth Ximena suddenly lost all longing for his punishment. She withdrew her plea that he be slain, and he was ac cordingly set at liberty upon his ex planation that the killing of Oviedo had not been n murder, but a uiattei of fair fight and an act of vengeance for the death of Rodrlgo's own father. Xlmena could not forget the gallant young man. When she saw ho was equally attracted by her own charms, she so far set asido her former hatred ns to come again to the king and ask that her hand bo given In marriage to Rodrigo. The youth eagerly assented to tho plan, which was to change his recent euemy to his wife. "For tho father of whom I deprived you," ho said, "I offer you a hus band." The two were accordingly married. But their wedded life was destined to run far from smoothly. Spain was split up Into several minor kingdoms. Most of them were more or less fre quently nt war with one another. There were also many thousand MoorB In tho country. These controlled cities and wholo districts and were nearly as powerful as tho Spaniards, with wJiom they often clashed. Rodrigo, in the service of King Alfonso of Castile, won for himself by bravery tho titles of "Tho Cld" and "El Campeador" ("The Lord" nnd "Tho Conqueror") and became tho foremost general of the day. A political clique contrived his exile from Castile. Then his true career begun. Gathering about hlin a "free lance Uit Author.) his bride. Learning the truth, she was Inconsolable. But tho welfare of tho kingdom compelled the two lovers to set aside their own wishes. Guinevere sadly accompanied Lancelot back to Arthur's palace at Canielot and there wedded the unsuspecting monarch. But she and Lancelot could not for get each other. Lancelot absented himself for long intervals from tho court in order to drive Guinevere from his memory; and the queen sought to rule wisely at Arthur's side. But, at last, whispers of her concealed love for Lancelot were breathed abroad. The Knights of the Round Table gos siped of It. Since the bravest of their number could so far forget his loyalty as to dare lift his eyes to the queen, the rest began little by little to lose the exalted ideas that had made the Round Table so terrible a menaco to evil doers. Last of all, Arthur himself learned of ftie affair. Ho was horrified; for his own simplo loyalty could not grasp the Idea that his wife and his dearest . . ... . . friend could have Kingdom Wrecked . . . h" kept such a secret oy a woman, . . , x from him. Lance lot withdrew from court, and Arthur's advisers persuaded the king to make war on him. Then it was that Sir Modred, Arthur's treacherous nephew, who hated the king and his reforms, saw that the time was ripe for rebel lion. He headed a revolution against his uncle, and the once peaceful land was plunged once more Into the hor rors of warfare. Arthur freely forgave Guinevere and rode forth at the head of his kntghta to repel Modred's Inva sion. In a great battle near Bath, England, In G20 the two armies met. Arthur Was victorious and Modred was slain. But Arthur received a death wound during the last charge. The kingdom and the reforms he had so wisely built up crumbled to pieces at Ihs death destroyed by one woman's lack of loyalty. Guinevere, heartbroken, retired to a convent; while Lancelot put aside his armor for a monk's gown and ended his days as a holy hermit, praying for the repose of blameless King Arthur's soul. army, the Cid offered his services first to one Spanish monarch, then to another. He sided with Christian or Mahometan alike; burned either churches or mosques, sacked Spanish or Moorish towns. His sword and his army wero at the call of the highest bidder. His warlike deeds were In every mouth. In short, he became a wholesale freebooter. At length he conquered a goodly dis trict in Spain and set up a kingdom on his own account, ruling with Xlme na, who seems to have remained The Man Who fM,f thro"gl) Stole a Kingdom. hardal)Ip and dif). aster. His "kingdom" included nearly all of Valencia and Murcla. Here for a time he ruled wisely nnd with sur. prising gentleness. But he was grow, ing old. When some of his former victims took up arms against him, in 1099, he did not go to battle himself, but sent a trusted lieutenant to lead his forces. This lieutenant was beaten. The disgrace of defeat threw old Rod rigo Into a fit of rage, from which he died. Ximena for two years defended Val encia against the foe, proving herself a brilliant commander. At length, when force of numbers compelled her to flee, she carried to safety with her the body of her hero-husband, in whose memory she had waged so vali ant a war against hopeless odds. Uncle Sam's Human Hinges. In other cities the doors of public buildings are set on springs and slap to nnd fro as the visitor wills, but in Washington it appears necessary to have a special man to open nnd close tho doors human hinges as it were no undignified banging of doors there; this custom has died out in other places, but there are many veteran ne groes In Washington who have seen years of such service for tho govern ment; they have a stately way of per forming this office, which gives a door an official and unofficial swing. Na tional Magazine. Use of Flower, for Food. An interesting development of the use of flowers for food is recorded in tho dally papers, says the London Globe. The use of the candled petals of the violet as a sweetmeat has long been known, but the practlco Is now arising of preserving flowers whole. You may now buy a bunch, say of vio lets, for your buttonhole, and after ward eat them. As a matter of fact, a number of flowers are habitually, eaten. Cloves, capers, cauliflowers and artichokes are all flowers, or parts of flowers, before the blossoms have expanded. Immense Electrical Plant.. The two Waterside stations of the New York Edison Company, In First avenue, between Thirty-eighth nnd Thirty-ninth streets. New York City, are sold to make, together, tho largest electric light and power plant In the world, capable of supplying 500,000 horsepower of electrical Installation. kjy. Tying Cow J Method of Tho dehorning of cattlo can be very satisfactorily performed without other apparatus or instruments than a good strong clothesline and a sharp meat saw, or miter saw with a rigid back. Tho method of controlling the animal with the clothesline is shown In one of tho illustrations. The heavy line is passed around the upper part of the neck and tied in a knot that will not slip, otherwise it will choke tho ani mal. The free end of the rope is carried between the horns, through the stanchion to the front, up over the horizontal stanchion rail, then down underneath the neck and up nnd over the top of the stanchion rail to an as sistant, who should hold It firmly. Tho stanchion is then opened, allow Ing the animal to withdraw its head, and the rope held tightly Is passed once around the muzzle, up over the stan chion rail and through to tho front again to tho hands of the assistant. This effectually restrains tho animal and tho dehorning operation can be commenced. If the stanchion rail is too wide to permit of properly secur ing the lower part as well as the up per part of the animal's head, the turn WEEDS SHOW SOIL FERTILITY Cause the Farmers Greater Loss Than Any Other Factor by Reducing Yields By Harry Snyder. Tho weed crop indicates the con dition of the soil as to fertility and previous methods of farming, and is indeed nn index of the farming that has been practiced. Where grain crops have been grown extensively weeds, as mustard and wild oats, take such firm possession of the land as to seriously decrease both the yield and quality of the grain. Where crops have been rotated and the con ditions have been less favorable for the development of weeds, larger yields have been secured. Weeds take from the soil a much larger amount of fertility than Is gen erally conceded. A light grain crop and a heavier weed crop remove from the soil more fertility than a heavy grain crop. The stronger feeding pow ers of weeds enable them to secure from the soil plant food which would otherwise go to the support of grain crops, the weak feeding cereals be ing unable to compete with the strong feeding weeds. The best use that can be made of a weed crop, is to plow It under for green manure and make It produce humus, of which many of our soils stand much in need. In this way weeds can bo made to add fertility to the land through the Indirect action of the vegetable matter upon the soil. At the Minnesota experiment sta tion analyses have been made of many of the more common weeds nnd It was shown that in some grain fields from 20 to 40 pounds and more of nitrogen, 15 to 25 pounds of. phosphoric acid and 30 to CO pounds of potash had been removed from an acre of land by tho weeds. This is as much as is removed In a grain crop. The produc- BUNCHING AND A Clover Clover seed will be a high, light crop this year owing to the dry weather. Good heavy soed will be scarce and high in price next year. Those having a good stand of clover that will yield one bushel of seed to the acre would do well to save it. One hundred pounds of plaster spread to the aero will bo a help In Increas ing the growth of the clover. Thoso having n mowing mnrhlno and n reap er platform can easily nnd cheaply pave the seed. A light platform of Dehorning. of the rojio round the muzzle may bo omitted and the last lap of tho ropo carried around the stanchion rail to the front and to tho hands of tho as sistant. Caro should be taken that the ropo pass each time over the neck of tho animal between the horns In Buch n way as not to interfere with the work of tho saw. Tho rope uiUBt be held by nn assistant instead of being tied, so that should tho animal throw itself off its feet during tho operation It can bo promptly slackened. This, however, Is rarely necessary, for as soon ns tho bend Is secured, the opera tor should be ready, standing at the riRlit shoulder of the nnlmnl, to saw off first the right nnd then tho left horn. The horn should be severed from a quarter to half nn inch below where tho skin joins tho base of tho horn, cutting from tho back toward the front. If tho cut Is made too high, an irregular, gnarly growth of horn la very apt to follow. The worry, pain and cruelty often inflicted by cattle upon their mates before being deprived of their horns is much more to be considered than the pain of tho dehorning operation. tion of weeds is a heavier draft upon the land than tho production of heavy grain crops. A weedy farm will get out of condition and run down In fer tility faster than a farm that is thor oughly cultivated and upon which Inrge crops are produced. Ventilating Stables. Horses and cows are in the stable at night for reBt. When the weather is warm tho atmosphere in cIoho con finement becomes very warm and op pressive, bo much so that the animals become very uncomfortable and hence fail to get proper rest. The horse that does not get proper rest in not in a good condition for heavy work tho fol lowing day, and the cow that does not sleep in a cool, restful place in hot weather will not give a full flow of milk. The temperature of the work ing or producing animal must be kept normul to give tho beRt results. If thero are no windows in your stables, cut out a number now and let light and fresh air come for the.healtth and comfort of the animals.. . Sheep Need Good Care In Fall. If tho sheep nre left out in tho chilly fall rains, coughs and colds may result. Many an otherwise good shepherd forgets that his sheep" relish salt in winter the same n3 In any other sen son. Ma.-ket some of the older cheep, and retain part of the choice lambs for the improvement of your own flock. Tho best In your flock will be none too good. A poor sheep is as difficult to shape up and fatten as any other poor farm animal. Furnish plenty of proper rations nnd start the sheep through tho winter in good .shapo It will pay. Sheep on Farm. Farming conditions would bo im proved if more sheep wero kept, as they help to exterminate weeds. But i!og3 and other objectionable features nnnear to have driven Khwii frnm I most of our farms. LAYING CLOVER Buncher. sheet iron may bo made to fit tho mower. Bolt tho platform to tho cut ter bar, letting the rear end drag on tho ground. A man should walk bo hind tho mower with rake to draw the clover on tho platform nnd when full It Is pulled oft Into windrows. If there Is a largo growth of clover and little seed, cut when seed Is hard nnd cure as for hay. The Illustration shows a flngerllkr attachment for bunching and laying the clover out of the way of the horses. pi r; M$Am 11 ftlw. wi W ?p i lk i MJis& The gown on the left Is a charming model of white Ninon and a quantity of white luce. The gown Is made up over a closely fitted slip of palo pink satin. A largo roue trims tho bodleo nt the front, nnd there nre touches of palo roso velvet ribbon here and there. Tho gown on tho right is a pale green satin, with lace overdress. IN FASHION'S LATEST WHIM Handsome Gown That Would Make Up Handsomely in a Dove Gray Cashmere. Dove gray cashmere would make up charmingly In this style; a panel is mndo from shoulders to hem In front, and at tho back it is continued ns far as the yoke, which is arranged at tho top of sides of ski; tho lower part of skirt is plaited and set to yoke, the plaits being stitched down about six incites. Russia braid put on in a wavy pattern forms tho trimming; the waist-bund of folded chiffon velvet is taken under tho edges of front panel, holes being cut and button holed for it to pass through; piece lace forms tho yoke, which Is outlined by Russia braid; tho slecvo is set to a deep cuff. Hat of gray straw edged with black and trimmed with wings. Materials required: Eight yards cashmero 48 Inches wide, 1V4 dozen yards braid, Hi dozen buttons, hair yard piece lace. Overcast Together. When henvy Russian crash, such as is now used for portieres, Is too nar row In width, don't be dissuaded from the use of this beautiful colorless ma terial, but Just overcast Its width to gether after the manner of tho Bagdad portiere. You will find no hangings more effective for studio and library use than those soft-toned crash, and the heavy linen overcnsllng down each seam will render them even more at tractive. To do the overcasting uso the coarsest of carpet thread or a flux that la sold tn skeins. JpkT .... ALL HAVE THREAD OF BLACK Season. Materials Marked with Thl Peculiar and Extremely Effective Touch. One of the odd nnd effective touches of tho season materials la to weave a heavy thread of black through everything. This idea is evolved from homespun, the imported variety that has that flickering black or gray thread playing hide and seek otrcr the surface. The new dull rod basket cloth, which Is tho color of grapes, nnd Is to bo quite fashionable, has this thread of black looping in and out or the weave. Smart top coats for autumn wear outsldo of tho city are or white cloth, with a black thread through IL A suit or coat of this rough cloth with a black thread is naturally trimmed In black. It looks as though we wero coming In for a big season of black hats, gowns, wraps, and &c cessorles. One hears more of the all black gown in the dressmaking houses than for years past. It Is not now advised for economy's sake, but for fashion! AH materials contribute to it. It is to bo worn for the street, for the house, and quite n good bit for the evening. There Is no hint of color being combined with It, but always a touch of white. Smart house gowns of black have yoke and sleeves of pin-tucked white tulle and then touches of facetted Jet The top coat or black in rur moire or cloth is highly fashionable and the epidemic of black hats Is in full sway. Conservative women reel they are getting their feet on firm ground again when black and white Is In first stylo. They have been pretty much buffeted by sartorial breakers recently and they are quite relieved to bo safo again. The Despised Flannel Skirt. ' It Is netunlly worn again. It Is fitted as carefully as a princesa frock. It Is wnrranted not to "bunch." Tho lntest Is a silk skirt lined with flannel. This gives warmth, and keeps the flannel from riding up when rubbed against nn outer skirt. The plain flannel skirt is often made with a carefully fitted hip yoke. Again It is completely circular, fit ted over tho hipa nnd with fulness around the knees. Tho most usual finish around tho bottom Is scallops, heavily padded and worked In buttonhole stitch, or cro cheted lace. The New Hat Pins. The arts and crafts are steadily making their way into all channels of decoration. All this work goes espe cially well with the Byzantine and Moyen age, through which we are passing. Their newest contribution to feminlno apparel Is the hat pin. TIicbo are quite popular. They are made with squares or circles, of a greenish bronze, decorated with quaint symbols. Canadian Work. Flax cloth Is a curious homespun made In Canada by the women of tho country districts. Their city cousins have converted it Into attractive fan cy pieces for household decoration. It Is darned with a fleecy wool for bedspreads, tablecovers nnd hangings,
