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About Hemingford herald. (Hemingford, Box Butte County, Neb.) 1895-190? | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1896)
s jm M & W A POET IN HER 12TH. SHE BEGAN WRITING VERSES AT THE. AGE OR SIX. the Work Bono hy Marcrnret V. SIxuro Now 14 Year IIHI Hor Kilurattnn it Homo Hor Instinctive Turn to IttiTtno "Loio for Doll. N tho midsummer St. Nicholas, thero appeared bcvoii pocma by a girl of 12 yearn. The au thor Is little Mar garet Frances Mau ro, nt Washington, D. C, now In her fourteenth year. Her "Sonnet to a Purple Pansy" fol lows: .eJ 0 lovely flower, loveliest of thy kind, hind, Fair an the purple cloud that sunset decks, A beauteous blossom of thy gCntlo ecx, A bit of. fragrance, budding on the wind, A storehouse for tho honcy-gatherlng bee; Now coyly smiling with coquettish grace, Now with a lovely look upon thy face. An upward glanco of grave, sweet purity; drop of purple dew that gleams, then fades, Sets upon earth's green breast an other gem. Then, lifeless, hangs upon Its with ered stem. 'Drops and tho grassy woodland dolls and glades 'Know It no more forgot It did exist fBut In my heart, O flow'r, thou art for ever missed. TO PACIFY M im'V&c (IMfKl Jaw MGR. TCKAMTCHIAN. The suspension nnd exile of tho sul tan r Turkey of tho most reverend -patriarch, or metropolitan bishop, of the Armenian community at Constan tinople, rendered It needful that a "lo- cum tenons" should bo appointed for tho administration of the affairs of that church in tho capital of tho Turk ish empire. An ecclesiastical person . age, Mgr. Bartholomew Tchamtchtan, Perhaps the most wonderful verses cer written by a child not yet In her 'teens aro in tho poem entitled "Ye It -nanco of Yo Oldenno Tyme," which Margaret wrote beforo sho was 12 years old, and had published in tho September number of St. Nicholas. Tho , poem la: mr1 MARGARET FRANCES MAURO, Besides the' almost absolute perfec- lion of tho rhyme, and tho simple rau- bIc of tho verses, tho spelling, the syn- I tactical form of the lines arc true to i tho genius of ancient English. And yot this Uttlq poet, whose years preclude the Idea of any extensive excursions Into tho literature of earlier times. Is unable to tell when or where sho got thcideaa for tho poem. Although not precocious In any other way, Matgaret lias been writing versos sinco sho wb years old. She io tho daughter of Philip Mauro, n patent lawyor, and all the years of her young life, except one, when alio was abroad, havo boon passed In Washington. The child never wont l!P ishooji except at infrequent Inter- 0 wStSf slwtJMki w 111 Mg, vala, as her mother proferred to cd-rsstr her according to her own Ideas of what n llttlo girl should learn. At homo, whore she wns surrounded by her flow ors and her toyB, Margaret's poetical nature expanded. From tho tlmo whon sho was taught to hold a pen her natu ral Inclination was toward tho writing of verses, which, crude at first, gradual ly took on rhyme and rhyth. Tho flowers, tho birds, tho books which sho read, and tho trifling Incidents of her cvery-day life suggested to her the ideas which sho expressed In childish rhyme. Even her dally hour of plane practice, which, with the Instinct of n healthy child, she thoroughly hated, furnished her tho thomo for a poem which she called "The Monster 'Prac ticing.' " The editor of St. Nicholas wrote of her In tho August number oJ that magazine: "Some of our young readers may have 'skipped' the poems on pages 856 and 857, as perhaps too 'old' for thorn, or too llko poems for grown folk. But they will turn again to them with In terest when they realize that these verseB are tho work of a girl of 12 the thoughts that come to her from her favorite flowers and birds, and tho orrery-day experiences of childhood. Ab such, tho poems nro truly rcmarkablo In depth of feeling and power of ex pression, and they seem to us an evi dent promise of a genuine poetic gift." Margaret Francos Mauro Is not yet 11; and most of these verses wero writ ten before sho had completed her twelfth year. Indeed, sho has written proso and verse elnco she was C years old. When the girl was In her thirteenth year her mother took her abroad for a courso in French. After tho sorrow of parting with her father, her chief con cern aa she walked up the gang plank of the ocean steamer was for tho largo doll which she carried In her arms. When Bho returned recently she brought with her In a cage a green paroquet, of which sho Is very fond. The publication of her poems was CHRISTIANS. has been cho3en for the office, not by tho assembly of Armenians, but through the intervention of a mixed council, the members of which were nominated by the sultan. Tho new official enjoys much popularity with the high-rank Turks and It is exp act ed that his great tact will do much toward keeping peace between tho two factions. never dreamed of until her father, struck by the apparent btauty and smoothness of the lines of "Yo Ro mance of Yo Oldenno Tyme," sent them to the editor of St. Nicholas for an opinion as to their poetical merit. Tho answer was warm praise for Margaret's gonlus and an offer to publish to child's best poem3. lluttrrflr Mimics. In the South American forests the butterflies and the birds aro equally brilliant in their colors, but tho but terflies being weaker, fall a prey to tho birds. Ono very brlght-hued species of butterfly, however, la not disturbed by the birds, on account of tho disa greeable odor which It emits. Singu larly enough, some other groups of but terflies, which resemble tho species Just described in color, also escape persecu tion by the birds, although they emit no odor. It 13 evident that the similar ity of color deceives tho birds, and thus serves as a shield for the butter flies. This sort of mimicry of rolor and form, which naturalists call "pro tectlve resemblance," is not very un common among insects. DlttlnEiilthloc Sliiie. By a scientific experiment Pr.'e3sor Cattell of Columbia college has deter mined that the averago person's eyes aro ablo to distinguish about twenty flvo different shades between black and white. He omployed no less Uian two hundred shades In his experiment, but the great majority of these were too near alike to be distinguished by the eye. Those wore not shades of dlf firept colors, but simply gray surfaces passing gradually from white to black. WOMAN "RT1NR A TCOAT) VVUJU.AU J.iUL0 A liUAJJ. MISS JESSIE DELL, AUDITOR OF THESYLVANIA. film Attend to a Inrijn Part of the limine of the Company ami Organ ize Kxcnrtlons Alio l'racttces ljxr with Her Father. ISS JESSIE DELL, of Georgia, is prob ably tho only oung woman in tho United States who is tho auditor of a railroad. Al though sho is not yet 22 years old, sho has held that placo on the Sly vanla railroad for almost threo years. Her father, Col. John C. Dell, Is president of tho rail road. Ho Is a prominent lawyer and n man of extensivo political Influence It was through Mies Dell's devotion to her father that she flrst began to tako un Interest In tho affairs of tho rail road, and in hts luw pnetice as well. By her discernment and Judgment she Doon gained his confidence, and small business matters were committed to. hor, Sho gradually familiarized her Gelf with all tho departmenta of tho railroad's management, and when a va cancy occurred In tho offlco of auditor sho applied to her father for tho place. With a good deal of reluctance ho ap pointed her, and she has discharged tho duties of tho office with cntlro CiTicIency. Passes arc sent to her regularly, as auditor of tho road, by all tho other lallroads of tho south. They are often made out to "Jesse Dell," and sho fre quently receives communications ad dressed to "J. Dell, Esq." Miss Dell'B duties do not tako her cntlro tlmo, and sho devotes part of her leisure to get ting up excursions and picnics from which the railroad may reap an add ed profit. Sho makes a note of every coming event at places along tho road, and when tho proper time comes sug gests to her friends tho possibilities of an excursion. Meeting a group of girls at a 6oda water stand or In a store, sho mentions that a big political meeting is to be held, and that It may bo the last chance to hear the speakers who aro to make tho addresses. Then she prevails upon some young man to circulate a paper ou which to obtain the names of those who aro willing to attend tho meeting. When a sufficient number of these has been obtained she apprices her father and assists him in making tho train arrangements. Then somo amateur dramatic performance in a neighboring town will claim her attention. Sho confides to n few popular chaperons thnt a select and oxcluslvo excursion Is to be made up to attend It. Tho party Ij made up, and a special train is char tered. Another field for this activity is offered by the cheap excursions of tho Central Railroad of Georgia, of which her road is a branch. Last fall she successfully engineered a consider able reduction In rates on her road for special days at the Atlanta exposition. On one of thcbc occasions the Idea of having all tho school children nttend In a delegation occurred to her. Sho in terviewed tho principal, and finally gained his consent to give four holidays and conducted tho delgntlon. Miss Dell prefers to have the general public consider her father the promoter of many of tho schemes, but her personal supervision is usually well known. She sometimes disputes with tho presi dent the price of round trip excursion rates. 4j$& s"'i MISS JESSIE DELL. MIsb Dell, though unofllclous, takes a personal business interest In every em ploye of tho road. Her power is re spected, and shn is vastly popular as well. An amusing Instance of her Im portance occurred on the occasion of a large excursion to tho seashore. The necessary schedule was difficult to ad Just. Tho trip beinfl expensive, -was not at flrst popular, but Jessie se cured somo concessions from tho Cen tral railroad, and tho train was filled when tho starting time came. It was to leave at ft In the morning, but Miss Deli did not apcar on time and the train awaited her coming. Tho time of departure went by. The engineer decided that by means of shorter stops and faster running than usual ho could mako tho trip. The warning whistle blew, tho bell rang, the passengers murmured. The train had to leavo without her. She arrived Just too late at the depot. The station-master tele graphed for tho train to wait for her at the flrst crossing, a mile out of town. She boarded it there, and it rushed on at a frightening speed, arriving at the junction barely In tlmo t make the connection. Although Miss Dell holds a place of responsibility on her father's road, eho is greatly averse to being considered a public woman, and has a prlvsttr post box where all reports are bent to her, and she transacts her business at home. In the absenco of her father tho em ployes go to her homo for information nnd Instruction. Ml6 Dell shows un OCl A &k J Iks-- Wm jyi I- t wxw ifc a if,,JtS interest In her father's Ian prftCtlce Sh0 dIacUM0S wlth hlm th, important cases, and In tho absenco d his partnor at tho stato scnato rocintiy, flho assumed tho position of ccafldontlnl eecrotary. Tho business could not be dono by Col. Doll alono, nnd tho affairs wero too gTavo to bo intrusted to ln ferlor clorks or to any outsider. WASHINGTON LIVED THERE. A Centennial Crlnlirmlnn at thn Old Vi'allncn Mttuslnn In Nnniert lllr. Tho contonnlal anniversary of tho delivery of Washington's farouoll ad dress wns celobrated tho other day at tho old mansion nt Somcrvlllo, N. J which ho once occupied as his head quarters. Tho house is one of ttto. best prcsorvod Revolutionary relics. Tho Revolutionary Memorial Society of New Jersey is negotiating for Its pur chase, and will turn It Into a museum. It stands on tho old coach road leading from tho town, and Is half hidden in nn ancient grove of oaks. It was known as "Hcadquarlcra MIddlobrook," and under Hb roof wna planned Sullivan's campaign against tho Six Nations. It was in tho winter of 1778-79, whllo Washington's seven brigades of infant- totf . " " R5tt -W! ' ' "') w '-"J THE OLD WALLACE MANSION, ry, Including troops of Virginia, Dela ware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, wero encamped at Camp MIddlobrook, Bound Brook, that this old mansion became tho headquarters of Gen. Washington. Tho great oak timbers of the dwelling hnd but Juat been put In place, nnd ,ho house was hurriedly completed especially for Washington's occupancy. Its owners were two broth ers named Wallace, Scotch merchants of New York. Washington took pos session of it nt tho closo of a success ful campaign in which tho British had been driven from New Jersey. Mrs. Washington joined her husband early In December, 1778, and the man sion was the scene of many a brilliant social gathering of army officers and their wives In the winter and spring or 1778 nnd 1779. The house has n wide wainscoted hall- with a wood cornice, ornamented arch, and a broad winding staircase. On the right of the hall Is Washington! reception room, with Its old-fa3hIoned fireplace, and wood cornlco cut in dog tooth design. In tho rear aro Wash ington's sleeping apartments, -with white and blue Holland tllo nnd a Franklin stove. The dining room on tho left contnlns tho original chair rails and windows with small panes of glass. Tho upper sleeping rooms nnd slaves' quarters arc In a fine stato of preservation. While Washington lived In tho houso a brilliant ball was held at Plucke min, five miles away, in honor of tho French alliance. JOSEPHINE'S HOME SOLD. ICctlilrtico of Napoleon's First Wife ISoiight for Utilldlnir Purpose. The chateau of Malmalson, which was tho resldenco of Josephine do Bcauharnala after her divorce from Na poleon I, was sold recently to M. Osi ris, the well-known philanthropist, for 132,000 francs, says the European edi tion of tho New York Herald. Tho Gaulols states that M. Osiris was also the purchaser for 4,300 francs of two pyramids in red granite, orlglnnlly at the Chateau do Richelieu, which arc situated on tho facade of the chateau. The famous billiard table of Napoleon, placed In one of the rooms of Malmal son near to that In which the salo was held, was sold to a curiosity dealer of tho Ruo lo Pclcticr for 725 francs. Tho land surrounding the chatonu, with tho exception of the park, which is sold to M. Osiris, was divided into thirty-five lots. These wero sold to various purchasers. Comteeso do Bari, tho owner of tho small chateau of Mal malson, purchased ono of the principal lots. The orphanage of Notre Dame do Lumlcro Eternelle became the pos sessor of twenty-two lota. Tho sale, which was conducted by the represen tative of Mme. Sourdeau of Bouglval, was attended by a largo number of property owners of the district. The total amount realized was 200,100 franc3. M. Osiris, interviewed by tho Temps as to tho use to which he in tends to put Malmalson, states that ho intends to present it to tho nutlon. Be foro actually doing so, however, he la going to consult certain persons as to the best means of honoring tho mem ory of Napoleon I. For example, he Is contemplating tho possibility of mak ing tho chateau Into a residence for old officers. Itlril SI 1 111 1 cm. Another form of "protective resem blance," which exhibits much Ingen ious contrivance and skill, is some times found among birds. Somo birds hldo their eggs among stones which resemble the eggs In form and color. The little "bottle-tit," in England, weaves a bottle-shaped nest out of moss, lichens und spiders' webs, and when placed in a tree or bush, tho nest so closoly resombles its surroundings that it can hardly be detected. The color and appearance of the nest are Imitations of tho prevailing color and appearance of tho particular treo in which It Is placed. An amusing 3tory is told by Mr. II. F. Withorby In Knowledge, of a "bottle-tit" which made a serious blunder in trjlng to hide Ita nest. Tho nest was placed In a greon holly-bush and was covered with white llchons. It might bo sug gested that tho bird was solobllcll !& m HERE IS A POOH-BAH. niCHARD J. SEDDON, PREMIER OF NEW ZEALAND. lie Alio ItoliU n Brorn of Oilier fimre K-Jtih Is n Orntrn Mait'a Work Time He's Colonlnl Treasurer, l'oitiimster Uoneral, ICtc, Kcr. ERE Is a picture of tho Pooh-Bah of Now Zealand, Rich ard J, Scddon. A. fow of his govern mental nnd other functions aro Indi cated In tho follow ing, which w a a lalo'y pasBCd by tho Duuodin Assembly of tho Knights of I-abor: "Wo protest ngalnBt tho action of tho Hon, Richard Scddon In monopolizing tho positions of promler, colonial treas urer, postmaster gcnernl, minister for cuatoniH, minister for native affaire, minister for labor, minister In charge of tho government llfo Insurance de partment, member of tho Globo nssota board, as well as being advisory di rector of tho Anglo-Gorman gold min ing syndicate, as not being consistent with his professions of democracy." Even if this told tho whole story It would bo nn Interesting oxnmplo of multifarious activity. But It doea not. In addition to tho above offices Mr. Scddon Alls n scoro of others, sub sidiary and supplementary, tho names and character of which would bo un lntolllgblo to one not familiar with tho politics of New Zealand. No man In modem politics falls so llttlo short of being "tho whole thing." His days nro full of business. In his capacity of premier ho must recelvo reports from himself of tho colonial finances, cor rect his own schodulqs of customs, and, If need be, rebuke himself for defective collection and administration of cus- A URAVE MRS. JOHNC. KESSLER, Mrs. John C. Kossler, of Chicago, who W1IJ try to bring a llttlo light Into the llvtn of the children of "Little Hell," has been engaged for years In works of charity and benevolence. Her own llfo was saddened when sho lost her only son, and sho is now devoting her Belf to the poor children who livo In the squnlid districts In the twoaty thlrd ward. She chose this district as tho one In which hor efforts to make llfo brighter for poor children would be spent. In "Little Hell" tho sur toms. It then devolves upon him to give audience to the postmaster gen oral, himself, concerning needed appro priations and reforms in tho depart- f ' PREMIER SEDDON. ment of postofflces and post roads. He must then resolve himself Into the minister for labor and confer with him self concerning tho even perplexing questions which como up in that im portant department. Having then dis missed a few papers, laid by his own hand upon his own desk, concerning government life insurance, Anglo-German mining syndicate affairs, Globo as sets and Maori land questions, ho has tho rest ot the day for the demands of his private busluess und social affairs. His evenings are presumably free for his family. It Is perhaps unnecessary to state that Mr. Seddon is a hustler. Ho is not yet seventy and looks less than sixty. He has all the springiness and i$i m& mm mi. Tmsmam TO,VV.VWTO .-HI wv , AV- yv;7 nctlvlty of forty. Ho was not trained, to diplomacy, but possesses tho advaat ago of perfect knowledge of tho colon which ho may bo said to rule. This latter ho has gained by a llfctlmo of hard werk opant among nil classes ot tho peoplo and In all branchoa of ac tivity. Now Zealand, ono of tho fairest ot tho British colonics, la perhaps tho liveliest and most up to date. It led tho world In woman suffrage nnd Is joint author of tho so called Aus tralian ballot law. It Is tho paradlso of labor organizations, and Its work lngmon nro hotter organized than thoso In any other country, This fact gives added Importance to tho protest nbovo quoted. Another fact ot llko Import 1b that Mr. Scddon has long been tho "worklngman'B friend" In Now Zea land. Ho 1b rugged, democratic, un ceremonious. But tho oldest and moBt perplexing problem In Now Zealand politics is tho "natlvo" question, which Involvca th relations of tho aboriginal Maoris to tho government. Tho Maoris, unllko tho blncka In tho neighboring colony oC Australia, have not succumbed beforo tho advance of Christianity and rum. Indeed, they aro not hlacka at all, but belong to tho comely, light skinned! family found In Samoa and nawall. In tho ruder days, beforo tho British possession, tho Maoris wero trcmend oua fighters among themselves. They had a system ot tribal feuds that is feebly reflected In tho Sicilian ven detta and tho feuds ot tho Tonncsseo mountaineers. ThttB they wero gener ally nt war. Tho British conquered them, but made an engaging pretenso of buying all tholr lands. Indeed, tho purchaso and sale were bona fldo except that tho terma were Inexorably fixed by the purchaser. Somo of tho lands, llko our Indian reservations, and still held in, fee by tho nborlglncs. To this clrcumstanco nnd to tho strong natlvo intelligence nnd combat Ivenoos of tho MnorlB is duo tho fact that the aboriginals are still very much. WOMAN. roundings are not only poverty strick en, but vicious and criminal, and Mrs. Kessler's task Is ono ot tho noblest aa well as tho most arduous assumed by; a philanthropist. Mrs. Kessler began, her work last December by estblishing" a mission In tho district. When eho began to know tho peopld eho resolved to build the Children's Temple, which wns recently opened. Sho has wealth, enough to carry out tho project and energy to reach tho poor children. Chicago Times-Herald. in New Zealand politics. They sit in parliament and hold office. Thoy havo discovered a rich vein ot eloquence. To some extent, since their contact with tho English, thoy havo learned tho pleasing arts of diplomacy, such aa lying and cheating. Thus, if Mr. Seddon had nothing to do but attend to tho Maoris, ho would be what Is ordinarily accounted a busy man. But, as we havo aeon, this Is only ono budget pigeonholed in his capacious and many sided day's work. Three Itemarkuble Sans. At an early hour in tho evenings of September a brilliant star, of a slightly reddish color, will bo visible low hi tho northwest. Tho curved handle of tho "Great Dipper" points to It.. Ita name, Arclurus, can be found In tho book of Job. At tho same hour, nearly overhead, In the middle ot the Milky Way, will be seen tho outlines of a large cross formed by stars. This crosa Is In the constellation Cygnus. Tho largest star, at tho head of tho cross. Is called Alpha Cygni, and the next in size, situated at the point whero the beams of tho imaginary cross meet, is called Gamma Cygnl. Concerning these, three stars Mr. Lockyer, tho English astronomer, has recently made a very Interesting statement. Analyzing their light with tho spectroscope, ho flnda ovldence that Arcturus is almost ex actly similar to our sun in its composi tion and is cooling off. Alpha Cygnl, on the other hand, Is a sun very differ ent from ours, and Is getting hotter, while Gamma Cygnl somewhat re sembles tho sun, but is also increasing Instoad ot decreasing In temperature. r
