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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
