SiMERICANi
i HOME
Bradford
- EDITOR
it is often said that we have no
American style of architecture, but
that need not worry us because we are
a nation of inventors. This probably
is the very reason why we have no one
distinctive style or manner of building.
Our inventive architects are continual
ly working for improvement and they
are succeeding wonderfully well.
in my experience I have learned that
comfortable, attractive houses cost no
more to build than the ordinary struc
tures usually seen in towns and vil
lages, the only requisite is to know
how to do it. The average American
citizen wants a house that is pleasing
in appearance, but the exterior must
not in any way interfere with the com
fortable arrangement of the rooms.
While a man takes pride in the out -
side appearance, his first thought
usually is for the wife and her life is
spent inside. The good wife lias the
housework to do. and American hus
bands are thoughtful, and they are
good providers. The most popular
houses I ever saw were the most con
venient.
Dwellings *n older countries are
heavier, usually in design, more ex
pensive to build, not so pleasing in
appearance, for the same amouat of
rooms they usually cost more than the
ordinary American home. Of course
we have many incongruities. Some of
the residence streets certainly look
very odd. There is room for improve
in the appearance of the houses. Some
are very neat and tasty, but others are
very- poorly designed. It is cot neces
sary to cut up a house into odd shapes
to make it look good. Very often a
plain square house built in proper pro
portions, with a porch across the frout
and without further ornamentation.
Second Floor Flan.
makes a more pleasing home both in
side and out than a more expensive
house of some fancy design. Such a
house except that the porch is built
in under the main roof is shown in the
illustration on this page.
This house is exactly square, being
:16 feet wide and .'16 feet long, and it
will cost from $1,600 to 52,000.
ment in every section of the country.
In some of our older villages the
struggle for better houses may be read
in the houses themselves. Improve
ments are attempted here and there
by adding bay windows, porches or ex
tensions and generally the attempt is
a failure because the new construction
Ground Floor Plan.
does not correspond with the old. It is
a patched garment, and it shows it.
The interior usually is damaged in
stead of improved. In most cases It
would be better to sell the old house
for a barn, and build new from the
bottom of the cellar up. Repairing an
old house always is unsatisfactory.
Even in the newer streets in our
best towns there is a wide difference
The greater amount of cubic space
inclosed by a given length of wall is in
c ircular form: next to this comes the
square. For economy in construction,
when the amount of room is taken into
consideration, no other plan will equal
the square house and there are other
economies beside that of first cost. A
square house means square rooms
bunched as closely together as possi
ble, which means that: the rooms in
such a house are easily heated in win
ter and that each room may be made
easy of access which is another way of
stating that there is less work in tak
: ing care of the different rooms in a
j square, compactly built house.
This design admits of a center hall
| with rooms on both sides. Such houses
may be heated by turning ail the fur
| nave heat into the lower hall, but I
j am not saying that this is the best and
j most satisfactory way to do. If a
furnace is put in the cellar of any
house, separate pipes should lead the
heat to the different rooms.
This is another one-story house with
bedrooms finished off in the roof
i gabies, which is a great economy It
rightly managed. Never in the history
I of building has this been done to so
much advantage as at the present time
The scarcity and high prices of build
ing material as well as the increasing
price of coal combine to make such
economies necessary and they are not
only necessary but they are desirable.
True economy is a virtue that should
he cultivated.
Gkeateat Nfpb
of Ueligiona
By DR, EMIL G. HIRSCH.
The greatest need
of religions to-day is
that they shall make
men recognize that they
are accountable for their
might, their wealth,
their intelligence. We
need a new science of
economics not vitalized
by prohts. W e should
quit calling men saints who have amassed great fortunes by robbing.
Paul and then giving a portion of their riches to charity. Thev are
doing no more than they ought to do. They are just giving back a
part of the wealth which many men have produced by their labors.
Results never justify the means. It is written, “thou shalt not
steal.” and that is for the rich as wejl as the poor. If the hungry
man steals a loaf of bread he is more justified than the rich who steal.
Of course, he has broken the law, but when conditions exist that men
must steal bread, society is to blame. Animals do not kill and eat
each other, but when the passion for power and wealth overtakes men
they devour one another. No one has a right to rise on the ruins of
humanity.
“Thy kingdom come” of the Lord's Prayer does not refer to
a place above the skies, but to a new social condition founded upon
righteousness here on earth. No religion is a preparation for Heaven
that does not make men better on earth . No man is self made. We
all contribute, and every man should understand he is responsible for
his brother. The great trouble with religionists is that they have
not lived up to their teaching. The liberalists in religion have not
emphasized it. That truth should be reiterated to every man until
he acts accordingly. Man should teach by word and deed that every
man is his brother's keeper in the fullest sense.
HERO OF PHILADELPHIA KIDNAPING.
Charles Frederlch Muth, the seven-year-old son of n Philadelphia jeweler,
who was stolen by a man who lured him out of school, was found in a house
on the outskirts of Philadelphia, the prisoner of .1. J. Kean, a crook, who had
kidnaped the hoy in an attempt to get $320 with which to repuy a man from
whom he had embezzled (hat amount. The hoy hud not been harmed by his
abductor. Kean was sentenced, the day after his arrest, to 20 years in the
penitentiary.
SPIDER EATS BIRDS.
South American Tropic Forests the
Home of Insect with He
markable Appetite.
There has just been deposited in the
insect house at the London zoo a
specimen of the bird-eating spider,
which earns its name by occasionally
including in its menu some of the
brilliantly lined humming-birds ami
varicolored finches of the South Amer
ican tropics.
It is doubtful whether the silken
threads which he spins in profusion
constitute his most effective tackle for
securing his prey: indeed, it is more
probable that the little birds get
caught through alighting upon the
banana and other leaves, in the twist
ed folds of which the spider makes
his home. The similarity of his color
ing to the bark of trees, to which he
attaches himself, is also a powerful
factor in enabling him to approach his
prey.
The silken threads which help to
ensnare so many beautiful birds are
a serious annoyance to the traveler
when riding or driving through the
less frequented forests. As they con
tinually strike the face, one is re
minded of some fiendish motor trap.
The bird-eating spider is much
smaller, although not less ferocious in
appearance, than the famous taran
tula. The body of a full-grown ta-.
rantula is as big as a hen's egg. and
on an average it gives from 2ft to 40
yards of silk, the weaving of which
was expected at one time to prove a
very considerable industry in some of
SCIENCE AND THE OCCULT
Possibility That Twentieth Century
Knowledge Will Admit Progress
from the Unknown.
Will twentieth century knowledge
remove the prejudice against the oc
cult.’ Astronomy and geology and
chemistry are permitted to he in the
hands of the man of science, but life
and mind phenomena are declared to
be outside the province of physical
science, yet the same was said about
astronomy and geology and chemistry
not many generations ago. Was not
war made upon those who undertook
to show that the earth was not more
than ti.000 years old. and were not
the chemists who showed how or
ganic compounds could he formed he
lieved to he enemies of the truth and
bent on misleading mankind? Is it
not curious to contemplate that those
who know least about a given science
should be the ones to set its limits,
who know what cannot he done oi
hoped for so much better than those
who devote their lives and their best
endeavors to discover what is true
ami what seems probable? All the
progress of science is a progress from
the unknown, that is the hidden or
the occult, to the known which is
not hidden but patent. Perhaps the
present century will be able effectu
ally to warn everybody or the dan
ger of setting any limits to knowl
edge.
Sure of His Job.
A Philadelphia lawyer recently bad
cause to make frequent complaints
NAVY LOSES GREAT SAILOR.
I
Rear Admiral B. H. McC'alla, who had charge of the navy yard at Mare
Island, retired on account of age on June 19. McCalla's career in the navy
has been one of distinguished service and high honor. _
the Australian colonies. The silken
output of the bird-eating spider is
greater in proportion.
Why Some Unhappy Marriages.
The late Susan B. Anthony once
attended a wedding in Rochester, and
at the reception she said to the bride
groom:
“If you want this marriage to be
a happy one. you must be as kind
and tender always as you are now.
Never relax for a moment your atti
tude of loving solicitude. Never re
lax it, though you find a hundred ex
cuses for doing so.
"Such excuses, believe me, are easy
to find. I once knew a young couple
whose marriage had not turned out
as happily as it should have done. j
The wife said to the husband one !
evening: ‘Before ive were married, 1
dear, you were always giving me pres- j
ents. Why do you never give me any |
uow?’ *
“ ‘My love,’ the husband replied,
'did you ever hear of a fisherman giv
ing bait to a fish he had caught?’'"
WhyP
At the Hampton (Va.) Indian school,
a teacher, in endeavoring to overthrow
the Indian belief that the earth is flat,
stands still, and that the sun passes
over and under it every 24 hours, said,
In conclusion:
"So you see that it is the earth that
goes around, while the sun stands
still.”
A tall boy asked:
“Then what for you tell us one
Story shout man In the Bible—I for
get his name—strong warrior—fight all
day, hut get dark so can’t fight, and
he say: ’Sun, stand still!’ What for,
he say that if sun all time stand still?”
of the destructiveness of his office
boy, an Irish lad of twelve. The
straw that broke the camel's back
was the smashing of a unique ink
stand presented to the attorney by a
friend in Japan. As the stand was
quite valuable, the lawyer decided to
teach the boy a lesson. So, summon
ing him, he said: "Look here, Tom,
this sort of thing must cease! That
inkstand was worth $20. I shall re
tain $2 of your salary each week till
it has been paid for.”
With a grin the boy replied: "Well,
sir, it looks like I'm sure of a steady
job for some time to come.”
Ever Triumphant Faith.
A good old English mother had two
sons on the sea. captains of vessels
She used to pray mornings, noon and
night, for their safety. But thert
came a time when one son was leav
ing England for Gibraltar and the
other was leaving Gibraltar for Eng
land. Now, if the dear old lady
prayed that the wind would blow witt
the son leaving home, it would be a
contrary wind to the son coming
home. The perplexed woman was at
a standstill before the throne of
grace: but at last it occurred to het
that instead of praying for fair wind
she had better pray for a side wind
and the side wind was favorable tc
both captains.
This illustrates how faith comes to
our relief.—Rev. Dr. Madison C
Peters.
Chip OS the Old Block.
. DeLong—I met your son this morn
ing.
Shortleigh—Don't you think he re
sembles me a good deal?
DeLong—That's what. He tried t«
borrow a dollar from me.
a
FENWAY UNIVERSITY, BOSTON.
Extensive Group of Buildings Which
Have Been Built on the Site
• ! of an Old Salt
}i i Maish.
What a few years ago was an un
sightly salt marsh on the borders of
Boston has been transformed under
the touch or man into a part of the
city's park system and a most charm
ing cite for a great group of education
al buildings, -of which the elaborate
and extensive medical school buildings
of Marvurd university are a part. The
cite is known as the Kenway, and the
group of buildings which have grown
up mound (he spot have been dubbed
Kenway university.
Students coming next fall to any one
of the schools already In this district
ONE OK THE NEW Ki ll.DINGS OK
THE HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL.
(There Are Seven in All Connected by
Esplanades, and Cosl li.tWO.UCJO.j
will be joined for the first time by
the prospective physicians who will at
tend lectures and demonstrations in
the new buildings of the Harvard med
ical si hool— an impressive collection
of marble structures and a noteworthy
neighbor to Mrs. John L. Gardner's
Italian palace, the New England con
servatory of music, Simmons college.
Tufts Medical college and dental
school, and several others.
To this educational community of
the Fer.way will soon he added the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, housing,
besides its immense collections, one of
the best known of American art
sc hools, the Boston normal college, giv
ing training to hundreds of teachers;
the girls’ Latin school, one of the lead
ing preparatory sc hools lor college, to
gether with a number of minor institu
tions.
The Harvard medical school build
ings. themselves the most costly plant
for the study of medicine in the world,
are seven in number, and are situated
on a 2t>-acre lot on the Brookline side
of the Fenway.
The medical school buildings arq
placed on three sides of a longitudinal
court. Of the main structures, four
are for laboratory purposes, and one,
that at the head of the court, for ad
ministration. An engine house stands
some 500 feet to the northwest. An
animal house, where animals for ex
perimental purposes will be kept, Is
situated a little to tbe southeast.
The main buildings are constructed
of white marble, and an esplanade of
the same material with an ornamental
balustrade connects them all. The
vestibule of the buildings are also of
marble. Tbe apparatus for the med
ical school is to be moved in the sum
mer vacation so that the pathological
and bacteriological laboratories will be
in readiness for the incoming of stu
dents late in September.
A turther immense addition to the
south side o: the Kenway may be ex
pected a little later, when several hos
pitals will be located or relocated in
the neighborhood of the Harvard
medical school. Among these are the
children’s hospital, of Boston; tbe
Thomas Morgan Rotch infants' hos
pital, the Samaritan hospital, the free
hospital for women, and, most impor
tant of all, the Brigham hospital, for
which a fund probably aggregating
about $5,000,000 was ieft by the late
Peter Brigham. Affiliated in various
ways with Harvard these institutions
will be an essential part of the "Uni
versity of the Kenway.”
Harvard already has another inter
est .n the Kenway group besides the
medical school. On the north side is
the Conservatory of Music, which, by
an arrangement effected in 1905, has
been allied with the great university
in Cambridge, offering an opportunity
to Harvard students to share certain
of the music school’s facilities.
The whole collection of educational
buildings is to a large extent the re
sult ot offerings of New York and Bos
ton millionaires. J. Pierpont Morgan,
for example, gave three buildings of
the Harvard medical school group, and
two are due to the munificence of Mrs.
Collis P. Huntington and David Sears.
John IJ. Rockefeller gave $1,000,000,
which has purchased the most com
plete equipment of any medical insti
tution in the world, and from Henry
L. Pieice, the Boston chocolate man,
some $400,000 was received.
PURPOSE KEATS MEMORIAL.
Plan Is to Make Place Where English
Man of Letters Lived and Died a
Literary Shrine—Shelley to
Share Honors.
A prophet is not without honor save
in his own country, and sometimes it
is so with a poet, tor it has remained
for a group of American writers to
start a movement for a fitting and per
manent memorial to the English poets,
Keats and Shelley, and a perpetual
guardianship of their graves in the
Protestant cemetery in Rome. An op
tion has just been secured on the
house at the Piazza di Spagna, Rome,
where Keats lived and died, and half
the purchase price, $21,000, has already
been subscribed. The house will be
converted into a literary shrine in
memory of the two poets.
The location of the Keats house is
one of the most beautiful in Rome.
It is at the foot of the Spanish steps,
the lower portion of which is brilliant
with the varicolored flowers which are
sold there. Just below the steps is
an old fountain in the shape of a
boat, made to commemorate the tints
when the swollen Tiber rose so high
that i boat was floated up to the steps,
a good mile front the usual river
bank. The Spanish steps were built
by a F'.enc-hman, and the title of them
at the present day, together with that
of the' Villa de Medici, to which they
lead, rests in the government of
France. At the top of the steps is the
beautiful twin towered church of Santa
Trinita del Monti, where at vespers the
Spanish nuns of this day sing the
music written for them by Mendels
sohn. The Piazza di Spagna is in one
of the business parts of the Eternal
City. At one time it was the center of
the “strangers' quarters," and it is still
often called so. Scarcely half a mile
away Thackeray lived for a time, and
there is a tradition that Shelley lived
in the house opposite which is of sim
ilar architecture to the Keats'.
When the flrst suggestion was made
that the house be made a perpetual lit
erary shrine the Americans thought it
so obviously appropriate that it seemed
strange to them that it had not been
done long before. The letters of Jo
seph Severn, the painter and friend
of Keats, afford the pathetic details of
the Inst illness of the poet in this
house, where he was devotedly nursed
In the last stages of tuberculosis by
Severn. The house is marked by a
tablet which was placed at the time
when William Waldorf Astor was
United States minister to Italy. This
tablet simply records the date of the
poet's death and his age. Unfortunate
ly, neither is given correctly. He did
not die on February 24, but shortly be
fore midnight on the 23d, and he
was 25 years and 4 months old, not
26.
At first it was contemplated to con
fine the movement entirely to Amer
ican authors, but it was decided to in
clude their English cousins.
^^
THE KEATS Bl'Il.DIXG AT ROME.
Edmund Clarence Stedman. whose
efforts to accomplish the object of the
movement have been earnest and con
stant, is the chairman of the American
committee, and Robert Cnderwooc.
Johnson, the secretary and treasurer
Among those on the American commit
tee arc Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, Thomas.
Bailey Aldrich, Mrs. James T. Fields
Aliss Sarah Orne Jewett. Mrs. Louise
Chandler Moulton. Richard Watsor
Gilder, William Dean Howells. Hamit
ton W. Mabie, Dr. Henry van Dyke and
Booth Tarkington, in addition to the
originators of the movement. Amer
icans have subscribed liberally, An
drew Carnegie contributing $2,000.
Harduppe's Mistake.
Caller—I have here several bills
which are long overdue.
Harduppe (desperately)—I am sorry
to say that our cashier is out to-day.
Caller—Oh, well, it doesn't make
much difference. I'll call and pa>
them at some future date. Good day
sir.—Tit-Bits.
His Notion of It.
This was how the geography put
it:
“Where the pine forests of the south
have teen cleared away are now to
be round flourishing truck farms."
This was the teacher’s question:
“What do we now And where the pine
forests of the south have been cleared
away?”
Ani this was the answer: “Stumps.”
—Judge.
The Pot and the Kettle.
“Really.” said the little missus, “it’s
something dreadful with that woman
next door. She does nothing but talk
the whole day long. She can't get any
work done, I'm sure.”
“Oh!” said Browne. “Who does she
talk to?”
“Why, to me, dear, of course,” re
plied the charming creature. “Over
the fence.”
When She Breaks.
“Aren’t the running expenses of an
muto rather burdensome?”
“No; but the stopping expenses
are.”—Houston Post.
Those Pigeonholed Manuscripts.
Magazine Editor—This is a grand
article: noble, glorious! By some re
nowned writer, isn't it?
Assistant—No. sir; by one Tom
Hayseed, of Hayseedville. Shall 1
send it back?
Editor—No, it's too good to lose.
Put it away until he becomes famous
—N. Y. Weekly.
His Picture.
Dib'os (facetiously)—This Is a pic
ture of ray wife’s firet husband.
Dobbs—Great snakes! What »
brainless looking idiot! But I didn’t
know your wife was married befor»
she met you.
Dlbbs—She wasn't. That is a pic
ture of myself at the .age or 20.—Tit
Bits.
There Be Such Things.
“Do you believe there really Is any
such thing as a painless dentist?”
"Yes. I attended the funeral of one
a few days ago."—Chicago Record
Herald.
PLACING THE FURNITURE.
Arrange in Reference to Use for
Which Pieces Are Designed—
Points About a Bedroom.
The most comfortable chairs should'
be placed where there will be a good
light for reading, by artificial light, if
he room is to be used mostly in the
evening, and If it is to be used as jl
Horning room, center the attraction-i
lear the windows. A table where
nagazir.es or needlework can be laid
town should be placed near a chair,
rot away off in a corner where they
lave no value. Again, tables should
be selected that wili not topple over
f anyone passes quickly through the
room.
• A large room is much easier to ar
ange than a small one, as suitable fur
riture can be arranged in such a
nanner that several groups of people
•an be entertained without the conver
tation being overheard by those near
'.hem.
How many old-fashioned houses have
:be chairs set in stiff array around the
vails, with long sofas on either side,
to that a chair has to be drawn up for
.he occupant to converse with the vic
:im on the sofa. It is not necessary to
bave to drag chairs around to make the
•oom inviting, and these points should
borne in mind when it is furnished,
in furnishing a bedroom we have
'ewer to consider. The bureau must be
where the light is good in the daytime
»s well as by artificial light. The bed
should be placed in such a way that
he light will not strike the eyea in the
early morning. This is not always easy
:o arrange, as frequently bedrooms
nave windows on two or more sides
'n such cases it is well to have an ex
tra shade of dark green on the window
•hat throws light on the bed.
Nowadays nobody that knows any
thing about furnishing fastens their
eurtains with loops. They should hang
n soft, straight folds, and the up-to
iate woman shortens her curtains if
they have been made in the days when
half a yard extra was allowed for loop
ing.—Chicago Inter Ocean.
j HOW TO KEEP A HAT NICE
| It Must Be as Religiously Brushed as
One’s Clothes—How to Fresh
en Trimming.
_______
A good hat should be well cared for.
' to keep it looking fresh. Not only
must the hat itself be brushed care
fully. but the trimming must be gone
over; bows pulled up into shape, loose
petals glued into flowers, and loose
threads tightened. Flowers and
leaves should be carefully wiped with
a soft cloth: when colored flowers
fade they can often be touched up
with water-color paints and a camel's
hair brush. Most hats now have trim
ming arranged under the brim, and
they should always be raised up on
a block or stand when put away, to
avoid crushing. It is especially neces
sary to observe this care with a hat
having a maline ruche under the brim
at the back, says the Rural New
Yorker. This material is quite per
ishable, and is likely to become very
•‘mussy” after a short period of wear,
unless handled carefully. We clean
soiled white straw hats with oxalic
acid, scrubbing with a toothbrush,
and sopping up the moisture with a
soft cloth, to avoid staining the straw.
The acid burns colored straw, turn
ing it in ugly red. so care must be
exercised if cleaning a hat in which
white and colored straw are com
bined.
Copper Waste Basket.
The newest waste basket is a most
artistic thing It is of copper, bur
nished and polished to a high degree
of luster, and showing in the front an
inset of jade in large irregular form.
The combination of the green tone of
the ornament and the ruddy hue of
the copper is most effective. One par
ticular waste paper receptacle on this
order was originally intended as a
glorified coal hod. but a woman whose
sense of fitness protested against the
introduction of a willow basket in a
richly furnished apartment where
copper found the proper background,
turned the coal hod to new use, and
her example has been imitated by
other women, who declare that there
is an informal aspect about a willow
.basket that is not in keeping with the
furnishings of certain rooms. In these
copper receptacles there is an inner
box of sheet iron, which is lifted out
when the papers are to be disposed of.
LONG MOURNED AS DEAD.
Frenchman Thought Lost on Martin*
ique Visits Surprised and
Happy Relatives.
The French papers relate a curious
romance. Jean Marie Le Floidec was
mourned as a victim of Mont Pelee,
for he was visiting Martinque at the
time of the eruption. His brother and
sister live at Maisons-Lafltte. and the
other evening the latter was seated
at the piano in her sitting room, when
she suddenly found herself clasped in
the arms of an unknown intruder, who
burst into the room covered with dust
and having all the appearance of long
travel. Her shrieks brought her broth
er rushing into the room, and he com
pleted her amazement by falling into
the embrace of the stranger. Then the
explanations came. The intruder was
uo other than the brother who for
years had been mourned as dead. He
had succeeded in getting on board a
ship bound for Australia. Thence he
made his way to Japan, and during the
war with Russia practiced blockade
cunning with such succes that he made
i million. This crown of his labors
had left him time for thoughts of
home and kindred.
Furniture Polish.
From Scotland comes this recipe for
furniture polish, which might well be
pasted In the scrapbook of every
American housewife. All that |>olish
can do to restore old. weatherbeaten
household goods this will d0, and
much more than most put-up prepara
tions can. Here Is the formula- One
cake beeswax, a ?up of turpentine
Put beeswax In turpentine, let melt
3l°wly. Remember that turpentine is
highly Inflammable, making it better
to melt the mixture over a teakettle
spout. If a flame is used this mu£
be very low. When cold rub hard on
the piece you wish to restore. Theu
rub with a piece of soft rag to polish.
