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THE RED CLOUD CHIEF, EMDAY, JANUARY 22 1897.
UfWKVI
WATCHING TREASURY
AHMED VETERANS ON
EVERY MINUTE.
DUTY
Not ft Dollar llnx Horn Ntotrn Although
All the Mint Andnrlon Crnrkmupn
Have From Thno lu Time Hlrvil Up
the Situation.
(Washington Letter.)
' FEW nlghtH ngo a
reporter prowled
through the Trena
il ry department
frnm nnhrpltnr to
fcy nttlc. His access
wns not surrepti
tious, however. His
prcBonco lu the
building w n r
known to twenty-
flvn ninn nf fX
firillturlv ilnlormltiml ntiiiniirnnrn. the
majority of whom did too much picket
ind pntrol duty during tho war to per
mit thcniRclveH to he cntight napping
In piping times of peace. Each of them
lad at his hand a persuasive seven
chambcrcd army pistol, None looked
hs If ho would hcsltato tho fractional
part of a second to uso his melting
weapon If the occasion were.
In order to mnko his midnight tour
of tho treasury, tho reporter wns
obliged to procure n very much signed
and countersigned pass. No one Is ad
mitted to the building after 4 o'clock
In the afternoon without ono of these
passes.- If (tho secretary of tho treasury
should present himself at the main
door for admittance nt 4:0r, having left
his pass In one of tho pockets of his
other clothes nt homo and not bo recog
nized, ho would have to go home nfter
it Dcroro ho could got In. This hap
pened to Secretary Folgcr on two oc
casions, nnd both times he commended
tho rnptnin of the watch for his zeal
In following orders.
In nil there arc seventy guardians of
tho treasury, under tho direction of a
captain and two lieutenants of tho
watch. Cnpt. P. S. Talbert Is the pres
cnt head of the force. Nearly nil of
tho watchmen aro men who wcro In
tho war as mero boys, and arc there
fore now In the prlmo of life. They
nro thoroughly trained nnd rellnblo
men. Very few treasury watchmen
lmvo been discharged for negligence
slnco tho foundation of tho govern
ment. Tho possibility of a rnld upon
tho treasury 1b regarded ns remote, but
the watch force Is disciplined to stnnd
by for such a rnld nt any time.
To observe the fnshlon with which
tho night watchmen "cover" tholr posts,
It might easily bo thought thnt tho
secret scrvlco Is In constant recejpt of
Information ns to contemplated treas
ury robberies. Yet never n dollnr has
over been taken from tho treasury by
force.
Tho secret service knows that many
celebrated cracksmen, Including "Llt
tlo Jimmy" Hope, who successfully
pulled off tho grcnt Manhattan Dnnk
robbery, have from tlmo to tlmo con
templated the conversion of a few mil
lions of trensury money to their pri
vate uso, but they nil thought better
of It. They decided tho undertaking to
be of too colossal n chnrnctor.
Tho watch force is divided Into thrco
reliefs, like an army guard, only tho
treasury watchman Is on post longer
than tho soldier. Ills tour of duty lasts
eight hours. Tho first watch of tho
day goes on at 8 In the morning. It Is
rclloved nt 4 in tho afternoon by the
watch which remains on duty until
midnight. The midnight watch, which
Is regarded ns the most Important of
tho three, complotca tho triple-linked
guard chain, nnd goes off nt 8 In tho
morning. There are only fourteen men
In tho day wntch, from 8 a. m. to 4
p. m. Each of tho other two watches
consists of twenty-eight men. Al
though, as has been said, the "mid"
watch, so called, is considered to carry
the grentcst weight of responsibility
of tho three, on account of tho well-
A WATCHMAN ON DUTY.
known nocturnal preferences of burg
lars. Captain Talbert, tho head of the
watch force, is of tho opinion that tho
day guard needs to be more on the
alert for surprises than any of them.
Each watchman has a regular per
manent post, and there is rarely any
shifting of rosts. On relieving the man
of the old watch the "mid" watchman
takes the plsto)-be)onglng to tho post
from tho drawer of the table in which
it is placed, sees that it is in proper
shape, asks the 4 to 12 o'clock watch
man if everything is all right, and sits
down under the Incandescent light to
put in his eight hours, most of which
are passed in Duddah-llke contempla
tion of the walls and the shadowy,
client corridors.
The watch is not permitted to smoke,
read or write while on duty. His busi
ness Is solely to watch. If ho goes to
sleep and is discovered by tho watch
patrol, ho Is certain to bo discharged
upon being reported the next day.
Only a very few such cases have oc
curred, and In each case the sleeper
has confessed that his drowsiness was
caused by flask drinking after having
'3S
tGtS-L
V'M
gone on wntch, which did not Improve
his situation fo far ns regaining his
Job was concerned.
The watchmen confess that within
tho compnsq of an eight-hour night
wntch they hnvo plenty of time to nrrny
before them In orderly mentnl fashion
tho mistakes of their past lives, nnd
they nro n unit In expressing tho be
lief thnt the strain of sitting still and
doing nothing for exnetly one-third of
each day, ycar-ln and year-out, would
drive them mnd were not the tlmo
broken by tho complete round of their
bcatH, which they nro required to make
every thirty minutes.
At the end of each of theso rounds
tho watchman touches his electrical
button, which Informs the lieutenant
of the watch nt tils desk nt tho innln
door thnt everything Is well with him.
The watch patrol, consisting of four
men detailed for this duty every night
In each wntch, nnd whose duties are
similar to those of pollco roundsmen,
nro on tour through the corridors all
tho time, partly for the purposo of see
ing that tho watchmen nro nllvo and
nlert, nnd partly to nttend to the sys
tem of electrical button registering,
which they In turn are obliged to car
ry on to Indicate to tho lieutenant their
own wldo-nwakenosB.
OATHERINO SKULLS,
Howard t'lnunr, a lli'dunr, Holm an In
dian tlravrynrd Nightly.
About forty-five mllcB below Port
land, on tho Oregon side of tho Colum
bln, the broad expanBO of water Aowb
without a rlpplo, and Is as deep and
still as death, says the San Francisco
Call. JiiBl nbovc this point Is "Coffln
flock," which was tho starting place
to "the happy hunting ground" of the
various Oregon tribes of Indians, but
tho high water of 18G2 swept Collin
ALWAYS READY.
Rock of all of its deposits to tho point
below. Here tho overflowing waters of
nearly half n century ngo lodged the
remains of many tribes, high and dry,
literally moving tho last resting place
of their dead, for no Pacific coast tribe
over burled their dead below tho sur
face of the earth. Some hedged them
about with rocks, nbovo tho ground,
leaving tho face upward nnd exposed.
Others put n bark covering over them,
whllo others were suspended from
limbs or left In the forks of trees. Time
has robbed every form of Its substanco
and left only tho whitened bones nnd
bleached skulls. Students, dentists
nnd physlcans nro eager to secure theso
trophies for articulation. So great is
the demand that at least ono man has
for years followed tho hazardous busi
ness of gathering these skulls for tho
market. It Is risky, for tho few re
maining Indians still keop vigil over the
remains of their dead, nnd to bo caught
In tho net would mean a prisoner In
tho recesses of the neighboring moun
tains, followed by n death of slow tor
ture, for no quarter or mercy would bo
shown tho victim. Still, knowing this,
Howard Clause, a recluso, nightly risks
his llfo to gather theso grinning, whit
ened skulls, nnd every now nnd then
a box of large and small skulls Is
shipped from Portland, Ore., to tho va
rious noted seats of medical nnd dental
learning in the east.
BOOK TITLES.
An Aimmlng Chapter of Literary Hie
lory Might llo Written.
An amusing chupter of llternry his
tory might bo written on the difficulties
or novelists over tho titles of their
books, sn8 tho Now York Tribune.
Not ono Is sure If he prints n story In
America under n tltlo thnt seems to
him nbsolutely original thnt som0 ono
won't turn out to hnvo used It nlready
In Englnnd, Wo recall that Mr. How
ells not long ngo had to publish a book
In Englnnd under n different title from
that which he kept for Amerlcn, nnd
now Miss Margaret Sherwood, who waB
eiild to bo bringing out a novel cnlled
"An Experiment In Egoism," Is an
nounced to hnvo rcchrlstencd It, before
publication, "A Puritan Bohemln."
Lucas Malet had to go through tho
Bamo operation the other day and- her
now novel, "Carlsslma," comes out un
der the designation only after having
suffered the most puzzling transforma
tions. Thcro ought to bo a placo of
registry somewhere to assist authors In
finding out before they publish whether
their titles have been anticipated or
not. At tho same time, we repeat,
there ought to bo a chapter written
with accounts of the occasions upon
which these changes have involved
serious complications or comical devel
opments. I'anlhrr and lllryctc Itare.
A bicycle race with a panther was
the exciting experience of an English
lady in Singapore one evening lately.
When riding slowly homeward along
a road outside of the town the cyclist
found that she was being quietly
stalked by a huge black panther. She
had the presence of mind to statt off
at full speed and soon distanced her
pursuer. Philadelphia Ledger.
jfp(r !
GINGER BUTTS.
HE Laborer: It wa3
in Newborn, N. C,
that I first locked
hands and swore
ctcrnnl friendship
to Hnrry DuttB.
Thirty years ago
he and I worked
on tho Times of
that city. Tho fav
orite drink with
flip InilH In thnt In.
cnllty wns known as "whisky squeeze."
Tho gentleman behind tho bar having
poured out as mich of the liquid hard
ware as ho thought it prudent to hide
away, the gcntlemin behind that WOOd
pn ntriiptnrn wnnlil with hla tlnvtpr
hand, forco a few drops of lemon Julco
in tho glass nnd your whlBky squeczo
wns rendy for tho sacrifice.
Ono night Hnrry Butts chnnged tho
order of thlngB and requested thnt a
few drops of tho extrnct of ginger bo
deposited In his glass Instead of tho
customary lemon Juice. This modest
request of Harry's tickled tho lads;
and over afterward ho was known ns
"Ginger" Butts. No mnn over drank
nlono in that town. Southern hospltnl
Ity demanded thnt ovcryone should
wait until his neighbor wns nccommo
dnted, nnd tho man who treated would
shout: "Show your glass," when every
glass would bo drnlned. I hnvo seen
a score1 of typos outsldo of tho old
fashioned bar of tho Gnston house,
Which. I believe, wnn altnntiwt nn Pol.
lock Btrcct, wait with truo politeness
for tho cry of "Bhow your glass," at
which commnnd ench tumbler would
be emptied with precision.
Now, Ginger Butts wns a good-nn-tured,
handsome fellow, nnd hnlf tho
whlto girls In Newborn were In lovo
with him, not to mention n few of tho
on-coiorcd ones. But Ginger fought
shy of tho fnlr sex until ho met a
young lady in tho natno of well, Just
hero I'll call her Kate Doverc. Kate
was n typical bouthern beauty. She
had the dark hnir, flashing eyes, ruddy
cheeks, coral lips nnd tho tnll symmet
ric form so often met with in the
daughters of Dixie. That she was
lilgh-BpIrltcd and Imperious, will be
seen Inter on
Now, there wnsn't n lad on tho Times
but would hav3 given his whole week's
string for n smile or a tender word
from Kate, and for n tlmo a certain
Individual who shall bo nnmnloa foit
that he was making rapid progress in
her good graces until OIngor fastened
his blue eyot upon her, nnd then thnt
nnmclcss person's Btock began rapidly
to decline.
One night nt a HttIo social gathering
Ginger confldmtly Informed us that n
week previously ho had said to Kate
"Will you?" and thnt tho young ludy
hnd blushlngly replied, "I will." So it
was nanus uown and eyes off with all
the rest of us after that. Some of us,
the nameless person above alluded to
Included, felt rather sore upon tho re
ceipt of this Information, but It wob
only momentarily. Ginger was such
an all-round favorite that It was almost
impossible to bear him malice, nnd In
the course of n hnlf hour wo wero nil
"showing our bottom" at Ginger's ex
pense. "UNMANLY BOOR! BEGONE."
Tho day of tho consummation of tho
nuptials had been named. They wore
to bo married in October, nnd Ginger
thought it would be a good and friend
ly thing to glvo an entertainment to a
few of his bachelor friends nhnriiv ho.
foro tho wedding. As no paper was
issued on Sunday, a Saturday evening
In tho latter pnrt of September wub
selected ns tho most anDronriatn tlmo
for tho affair.
So on that memorablo Saturday even
ing a score or more of us, by 'special
invltntlon, repaired to Miss Kate's vino
clad cottago, which was situated Just
outside of town, all prepared to have a
quiet, sociable, but Jovial time.
Unfortunately for Ginger, In antici
pation of tho pleasure of tho evening,
ho had Indulged a trlflo too much In his
favorlto beverage during tho afternoon.
Whether It was tho whisky or tho gin
ger that worked tho change In hlra, I
never could ascertain, but certain It
was thnt ho was a trlflo weak in his
limbs, and slightly Incoherent In his
speech.
Miss Revere was alono In tho parlor
when wo arrived and received ua with
true southern hospitality. How beau
tiful she looked! What a vision of de
light sho appeared! "There's nothing
halt so sweet in life as a love's young
dream," said Tom Mooro more than
eighty years ago. That sentiment held
good in 1866, and does yet if an old
timer's opinion is worth recording.
Certainly never before or slnco have I
seen anyone look "half so sweet" as
Kate did on that evening. She was the
very embodiment of love's young
dream."
Well, tho young lady sat down to tho
piano, and for half an hour enter
tained us with the "Star Spangled Ban
ner," tho "Bonnie Bluo Flag," "Hall
Columbia," "My Maryland" and various
other patriotic airs. When she con
cluded Ginger rose, waltzed gracefully
to the old-fashioned sideboard, upon
which glasses and decanters were
placed, andj requested us to Imbibe. As
one man we accepted the invitation.
Then the prospective bridegroom raised
his glass, and stuttered: "N-no, gen
gentlemen sh-show your bot-bottom."
Wo wero about to empty when my eyo
rested on Kate, and I raised my hand
warnlngly.
"Wh-what's matter?" persisted Gin
ger. "Sh-show bot-bottom I"
Again I rn'setl my hnnd. Instinc
tively every eyo turned toward me, and
from me to Kate.
Sho stood erect, her tnll form tower
ing to Its fullest height, and from her
black eyes flnshed forth a glnnco of
scorn nnd contempt.
"Unmnnly boor!" she cried, "Is this
language fit for a lndy's presence? Bo
gono!" and sho haughtily pointed to
ward the door.
As If by magic the recreant lover
stood before her completely sobered.
"Kate," ho cried pltcously. But the
haughty southern bloood within her
wob afire. That blood which overcame
us at Bull Run nnd Chnnccllorsvlllc
and nearly turned tho ttdo of bnttlo nt
Gettysburg, wns boiling In her veins
like n volcano, nnd she ngnin pointed
to the door.
Broken hearted, crestfallen, humili
ated, Ginger seized his lint nnd de
pnrted. Sllcn'.ly wo followed In his
footsteps.
Poor Ginger! Wo tried to comfort
him, but he wns Inconsolable. A few
days nftcrwnrd ho endeavored to ex
plnln and affect a reconciliation. But
'twas of no avail. Tho Imperious
maiden, who should have been born In
tho mlddlo a;es "In the dayB of old
when knights wero bold'.' refused,
most emphatically, to barken to his
frantic appeal, and prcemptorlly or
dered him from her presence. Within
a fortnight he left tho Sunny South
for tho rugged hills of his native New
Hampshire.
A dozen years ago, while touring tho
eastern states I met Ginger in a coun
try town In Massachusetts. He was
greatly changed; presumably old, and
suffering from melancholia. He mado
a confldanto of me; told me lie had
never forgotten his early love; ahe was
still his Ideal, and that's why ho never
married.
INDIAN DIVORCES,
Tho Court I'laylng Uiiwm- with Cantomn
of Marriage.
With most of the plain Indians mar
rlngo consists simply of picking out
tho maiden, leading her to a cnbln or
wlgwnm nnd Instnlllng her ns mistress
of tho house nnd corn-field, sometimes
with the necessary preliminary of pay
ing the father a pony or two or nn
Installment of blankets nnd occasional
ly with somo slight ceremony per
formed by a chief or medicine man,
Bays the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
And when tho brave grows tired of his
partner he can get rid of her as easily
as he won her. Tho people who nro
now flocking to tho Dakotns or Okla
homa to get divorces would bo su
premely happy If they could throw off
tho galling bonds of wedlock as easily
as does tho reservation Indian. Tho
fact having been formally announced
by tho head man of tho clan tho dl
vorco takes plnce when the trlbo is
gathered nt a dnnce. When nil are as
sembled and the circle formed, tho dis
contented wnrrior strikes a drum used
by the revelers, gives away a few pres
ents (ofttlmea making n present to tho
squaw ho Intends to take next) nnd
then In n 3hort, bombnstlc speech ho
stlgmntlzes hla wife by giving her over
to tender mercies of tho other brnvea,
whllo they look upon him enviously nnd
consider that ho hns performed nn net
of bravery in hla desertion. Often as
many ns hnlf n dozen divorces nre thU8
obtnlncd nt n alngle dnnce. No tedloua
wnltlng, no courts, no lawyers nnd no
trouble nbout alimony or the custody of
children. And tho squaws thus enst otr,
ns n general thing, seem to take It ns
a matter of course, and before tho closo
of the dance are using tho wlle3 known
nnd used by womon the world over
In nn effort to repair ns speedily na pos
slblo tho break In their hearts and
matrimonial experiences. With tho tak
ing of land In severalty and putting on
of citizenship, however, the Indian tluds
thnt ho hns contented tho ties thnt were
so looso before, for the courts every
where nro deciding thnt the trlbnl mar
ringes nro legal and binding upon tho
Indian who becomes a citizen. And It
tho weight of one legnl mnrrlago wears
somewhat heavily upon a white man,
how must It bo with the red man, who
has contracted two, threo, four or even
more alliances which the court now
declares legal and at the same tlmo
takes away his formor avenue of re
lief? Htrangn Hurlal Custom.
Tho Grecnlnnders know n thing or
two. In the belief that "a deg can find
Its way anywhere" they bury a living
dog in tho same grave wlthc a dead
child. The canlno is supposed to be
used by tho child an a guldo In tho
other world. The Australians pull out
tho corpse's finger nails, and then tie
tho hands to prevent Its digging its
way out of the grave to engage In the
vampire business. The primitive Rus
sians put a certificate of character in
the dead person's hand, so that no
questions might bo raised at the gate
of heaven.
N mall pox Oldeat Dliraie.
Ono of tho oldest of actual specified
diseases would probably be small-pox,
which, on the authority of Mosudl, at
tacked the African tribes who made ex
cursions Into Arabia and laid slego to
Mecca in the latter half of tho sixth
century A. D.
lira-far Who Are It Mi.
Soveral beggars in Pera own a large
amount of property. Ono well-known
man has a house worth 10.000 llras, and
yet is to bo seen begging in filthy rags.
In the United States there are over
three million unmarried men.
MICHIGAN IDOLS.
Thrco Htrange Image- and h Slah li!cfl
Wcro Itccrntly Due Up.
A remarkable find which seems to In
dicate that the neighborhood of the
great lakes waB at one time inhabited
by a raco of aborigines other than tho
Indians, was recently made by two
hunters near Newberry, Mich., says the
Now York Journal. In digging out n
wild animal they tinenrthed a largo
stone tablet six Inches thick and eight
een by twenty-five Inches In size, the
entire surface of which was carved with
curious symbolical characters. Be
side tho tablet were three stone Images.
The largest was that of a man In a sit
ting posture and nearly life size. Tho
second image, presumably that of a
woman, was threo feet in height and
the third was that of a child In a sit
ting posture nnd nbout three feet high.
All three of tho Images were found
placed with their faces toward the
cast. Scientists who have cxnmlned
the relics regard this as an Indication
that those who made them wcro sun
worshipers. Upon the slab were en
graved Inscrlptlons.ench set In n squnrc
of nbout one and one-half Inches. There
were 140 of these figures carved on
tho slab. Those who saw the statuci
say they look like Egyptian idols,
though tho heads were those of human
beings and not of the sacred nnlmnls
with which the undent race of the
Nile was wont to ornament carved Im
ages. These works bear a strong re
semblance to tho work of the Aztec
and the even more ancient Toltec race,
remnants of whoso craft aro scattered
so plentifully about southern Mexico
and the Central American states. The
trick of lengthening tho eyes, noticed
In tho Michigan finds, was known to
tho ancient Inhabitants of Mexico as
well as to the Egyptians and is notice
ablo In tho carvings of Uxmal nnd oth
er ruins of tho Mlztees, Toltecs nnd
I Aztecs. The strange figures engraved
within the squnrcs nre nltt) not -without
parallel, being found upon the orna
mentation of the sacrificial nltars oJ
Central Amcrlcnn ruins.
A REPUTATION
FOR ONIONS.
Tho OdoroiiM llulli In Kxportcd to
i:iik
hind hy Kgvpt.
English Imports of onions have In
creased from Egypt and it is acknowl
edged that this country is nt present
tho most active and nggresslve com
petitor In the onion trade, says n writ
er in Chnmbers' Journal. Egypt hns
been regnrded by somo people ns the
land of tho pyramids and mummies on
ly, but It has from time immemorial
had a reputation for onions. Ancient
Egyptlana sworo by tho onion nnd re
garded tho plant as sacred. Tho in
scription on the pyramid of Cheops
tells us that the workmen had onions
given to them and from the bible we
lenrn thnt tho Hebrews, when slaves
under Pharaoh, enjoyed these bulbs,
and that when far away they remem
bered "the leeks and tho onions nnd
the gnrllc." The trade with Egypt for
onions Is now so importnnt thnt four
lines of steamers nre engnged In the
truffle, bringing consignments from
Alexandria to Liverpool, Hull nnd Lon
don. The Egyptian onion is a hnnd
8omo and useful vegetable, and by
selecting the beat strains of seed the
quality tends year by year to improve.
Tho Egyptians know two varieties
tho "baall" and the "mlsknoul" but
supplies of the latter kind nro seldom
sent nbroad, as thoy absorb so much
moisture from the frequently Irrigated
ground In which they nro grown that
thoy do not atand a sea voyage well,
Tho "baall" onion Is tho more popular
Egyptian onion and Is grown In yellow
soil, which Is sparingly watered while
tho bulbs are maturing, In order thnt
the onions mny stand a lengthy aca
voyage with little rlak of "aproutlng."
So excellent in quality nro theso onions
thnt efforts are, It is said, being made
in other countries to raise onions from
Egyptian seed.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
Mohave county, Arizona, Is infested
with millions of army worms. The
Wnllapai Indians mnko soup of them,
and find them very fattening.
A fortune of 2,000,000 has Just
dropped to Richard Pllkey, a young
man of 26, who for somo years has
been employed as a laborer on tho
Erlo cannl.
The Mosquo of St. Sophia, nt Con
stantinople, wns built over n thousand
yeurs ngo, nnd tho mortnr used war
perfumed with musk. Tho musky
odor is still perceptible
It is assorted by Lyell, tho geologist,
that at a period comparatively recent
all that portion of the United States
south of tho Black Hills was undei
from 500 to 900 feet of water.
A funny election bet wns settled by
a gentleman In Philadelphia, In view
of a largo number of amused spectators.
With a crowbar he pushed a peanut
four times around the city hall.
Lovo entered tho hearts of a couplo
of inmates of the poorhouse in Dela
ware county, Ind., and they eloped. Tho
groom is a cripple, aged 60, and the
bride Is an apoplectic woman of 27.
A nervous gentleman in Bath, Me.,
is seeking a divorce from his wife on
unusual grounds. He declares that he
can not obtain sleep, because his wife
"persists in eating dry crackers In
bed."
R. T. Brooke, a .wealthy rancher in
Tonkawa, Okla., Is a dead shot. Five
desperadoes attempted to enter bis
home. Ho shot two of them dead,
wounded a third, and the other couple
fled for their lives.
A board on the side of a house at
Forbes, Me., was removed the other day
by the owner, as it appeared warped
He found a hive in the wall, and 12a
pounds of honey. The bees had enttrr4
threugh a knot bole.
MOLIERE'S WOMEN.
now
They
Contimro with
Those of
Miuhrftprarc.
A comparison with tho women char
acters of Shakespeare inevitably sug
gests Itself, but must bo discarded at
the outset, for Shakespenre's creations,
like tho pnsslons he portrays, are on
a gigantic scale, while the people of
Mollcro rarely rise above tho stature of
the average human being, says tho
Chautauquan. Also It Is to bo noticed
that in Mollere the feminine roles In
stead of standing out In bold relief,
with tho strong contrasting individu
alities of Beatrice, Portia, Rosalind,
take their color from the group of plays
to which they severally belong. For
tho exploitation of a heroine aB such
a love story Is esscntlnl in a comedy,
but as In Mollere love pure and Blmple
Is rarely the dominating theme It nat
urally follows that the heroine Is rare
ly the personage of tho play. Taking
thn group of which "L'Avare," "Tar
tuffe," "Lo Malade Imaglnalro" and
"Lo Bourgeolso Gentllhommo" nre
shining examples, the motif Is tho vice
or foiblo of nn elderly man and tho
plot Is worked out on n lovo story of
a rather conventional character.
L'Avare himself, Lo Malade Imagl
nnlre, Le Bourgeolse Gentllhommo and
Orgon, tho victim of Tartuffe, are nil
men of advanced years, heads of fami
lies. Each has a daughter, young,
lovely nnd accomplished. Each daugh
ter loves and Is loved by a youth ami
able, virtuous and devoted. Each
father has picked out a son-in-law ac
cording to his own tastes, which never
happens to be his daughter's, and each
father Is ultimately outwitted through
somo reactionary movement of his own
foiblo and is prevailed upon accordingly
to blesB the rightful lovers. These
girls are all sisters In kind and char
acter. They have charming comedy
scenes, In which they profess their
love, generally to a faithful waltlng
mnld, whose ready wit brings about a
happy solution of their troubles, or in
which they either defy their fathers or
Implore them, preferring death or a
convent to nn unloved husbnnd, nnd
occasionally piquant scones In which
their lovers nppenr In disguise nnd
mnko lovo to them under the very nose
of a stern but easily bamboozled fathor,
A COBBLER PRINCE.
Irllnln'R Ilrlr Apparent I.oarnrd the
Shoriniilirr'a Trudo When 11 Youth.
Custom forces the crowned heads of
Europe to remain mero nmntcura in
tho arts, professions or trades they fan
cied in youth, or which they were
obliged to practise, owing to the prac
tical ideas of wise parents, who may
have foreseen that thrones have a way
of disappearing in theso enlightened
days. Queen Marguerite of Italy is a
fine musician, nnd could enrn her living
as a music teacher; tho Czar of Russia
1b an expert cabinetmaker, and has
made two or three excellent violins,
while the Kaiser of Germany is said to
be a Jack of all trades and a pastmoster
of all arts. Ho can make nnythlng
from a drama nnd n painting to a llne-of-battlo
ship. But it remains for the
world to henr of n royal shoemaker In
tho person of tho Prince of Wales. A
Rus8inn noblemnn turned cobbler in
tho person of Count Leon Tolstoi, nnd,
according to the London Womnn at
Home, It has now been discovered that
Albert Edward, Prlnco of Wnlcs, helr
nppnrent to the throne of Great Brlt
nln, can turn out n pair of patent leath
ers or hunting boots with tho best of
English shoemakers. Tho Queen of
England nnd the Prlnco Conaort, It ap
pears, wlehed that each of their chil
dren ahould learn some useful trade or
occupation, nnd the Prince of Wales
choso Bhoemaklng for his trade, and
ncqulrcd such a degree of proficiency
that boots made by his hnnds wero the
pride of his fellow-workmon, as thoy
were the envy of his friends nt court.
The Prince has never sought to
conenl his tnlent, nnd even today
examines with the eye of n connoisseur
the shoes sent hlra by tho furnishers.
And that Is wny Albert Edward is tho
beBt-shod mnn in England.
The Origin of "Windfall."
Tho origin of the expression "wind
fall," which is used when ono wishes
to refer to a streak of good luck, dateB
back to the time of William the Con
queror. At thnt time It wns n criminal
offense to cut timber in tho British for
ests without roynl consent. All that
could bo gathered for fuel or other pur
poses wna auch Hmb8 ns tho wind
should happen to break and cast to the
ground. On this account tho peasunts
hailed a great windstorm ns a blosslng,
becauso It wns npt to cast enough of
"wlndfnlls" for winter firewood. From
this old-time forestry custom comes tho
modern nppllcatlon of tho expression.
At ono tlmo It wub decreed thn,k. only
such limbs nnd wholo trees 33 snould
fnll during tho threo summer .months
could be used as firewood, but tho un
Justncfis of the act was so plainly ap
parent that no attempt was over made
to enforce it. St. Louis Republic.
A Itootblack'a Novel Hcheme,
The, most' enterprising bootblack in
Now York Is a young negro who haB a
stand on Columbus avenue, not far
from the .Natural History Museum. His
location is one which docs not bring;
much "transient" trade, but he has
a goodly number of regular customers
On days when the weather looks
threatening this wise young man is
sues rain checks, good for twelve
hours, so that if it rains and a cus
tomer's Bjilne is ruined he gets a new
one free of charge. The rajn checka
are slips of paper with tho date and
hour written In pencil. New YorV
Press.
The women of Topeka, Kan., are'M
.1L1 Vtl"" lhat the TPekR J"""!
thinks the town ought to have a horee
how.
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