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O fatherland so groat and free
The prize that valiant heroes won
The joyful harp we tune to theo
Commemorates thy noblest son
To him we give our thoughts to day
A thankful childish patriot baud
We twine the laurel and the bay
And crown him father of our land
Oh not like proud Ambitions son
That soared to fame In ancient Rome
Not like the Mars who battles won
And found Helena for a home
ICo chains were forged thy name to ralso
Above the legal lords of earth
No groaning eaptlves sang thy praise
Or flattered crimes to deeds of worth
Sleep on In peace O hallowed shade
Sleep on the father of the free
The trees that guard the southern glado
Their tender sobs are all for thee
The oak that decks our northern vale
And boldly braves the drifting snows
Through summer calm or winter hail
Shall teach defiance to thy foes
V Gormley
A WASHINGTON RELIC
Mansion in Which He Wrote His Fare
well Address a Wreck
That marvel of prophetic wisdom call
ed Washingtons Farewell Address an
nually stirs many hearts in hundreds of
the celebrations throughout the country
but the very house in which Washington
labored to prepare that masterpiece of
American patriotism is now barren of
anything to mak the fact that it once
sheltered the greatest figure in the na
tions history The house is filled with
a rollicking crowd of Italians who per
haps never heard of Washington or at
the best have a very hazy idea as to the
part he played in forming the country
that affords them so many advantages
Yet this house dirty shabby run down
and ugly now forms a conspicuous figure
the roof of the voinda and obtain a splen
did view of the surrounding country The
Berrien place was splendidly kept up in
those days the lands Immediately sur
rounding the house having the appearance
of a beautiful park Now a hundred
clothes lines each burdened with the as
sorted wash of an Italian family disfigure
the once handsome grounds
In Washingtons time there were a num
ber of cabins some distance in the rear of
the mansion These Avere occupied by the
slaves on the estate The cabins disap
peared long ago but masses of debris
still mark the places where they once
stood
Accompanied by members of his mili
tary staff Washington rode every day to
Princeton to confer with the legislators
Those were busy times for the British
army still occupied New York and when
the treaty of peace was signed it was
Washingtons first endeavor to get the last
of the enemy put of the country Many
important conferences were held in the
old house which finally led to the evacu
ation of New York by the British Then
when this was accomplished Washington
prepared for his historic visit to that city
to take formal possession of it A few
days later ho took leave of his Generals
at Fraunces Tavern and then departed
for his Mount Vernon home to reassume
the quiet country life which had been so
roughly interrupted seveu years before
Notwithstanding he grime and dirt in
the Berrien house to day it could easily
be restored to its revolutionary glory The
house was built to last for all time and
to day it is as strong as ever The room
now used by the Italians as a general eat
ing place and formerly the banquet hall
where Washington and his military and
legal aids dined and talked over the af
fairs of the country has still the look of
a handsome apartment about it The
doors are heavy and paneled and al
though the great fireplace is disfigured by
aii ugly cooking range its dignified pro
portions attest its old time splendor Mas
sive oaken beams supporting the floor
above show through the plaster which
has been smeared over the ceiliug Al
together this room if properly restored
would furnish one of the finest examples
of genuine colonial workmanship in the
country
The Berrien house was an old one even
in Washingtons time It was erected at
the beginning of the eighteenth century
by the first of the Berriens to settle in
this country The last one of that name
to occupy it was John Berrien who died
in 1772 after a distinguished career as
Colonel Justice of the Supreme Court of
New Jersey It passed through many
hands before it became the property of
the company which has been working the
THE BERRIEN HOUSE AND ITS PRESENT OCCUPANTS
in the history of the early days of the
Union of States It was really the ex
ecutive mansion when Princeton N J
was the capital of the new born nation
Washington lived in this house when the
treaty of peace was signed with Great
Britain on Sept 3 17S3 At that time
the National Congress was in session in
this place and it was necessary for Wash
ington to benear the legislators during
those critical weeks when the fruits of
the long revolutionary war were about to
be gathered
Congress had assembled on June G of
that year and Washington arrived on the
scene on the 2Gth of the following August
In Princeton proper there was no avail
able house suitable as a headquarters for
Washington so he was established in
what was known as the Berrien mansion
four miles from the town on the Ilocky
Hill road There is a little hamlet near
by now called Rocky Hill Close to the
old house is the Millstone rivsr and in
revolutionary times the lawns fronting
the house swept gracefully down to the
waters edge
It was a famous house in those days
but nothing of its grandeur remains Now
it swarms with Italian laborers employed
in the nearby quarries and their wives
and children The rooms in which Wash
ington and his military family conferred
on the momentous topics of the day are
littered with dirt Every room in the
old house with the exception of two
shelters an Italian family All around
the house are grouped numberless shan
ties each occupied to its fullest capacity
by Italians The house and the adjoin
ing lands are controlled by the Ilocky Hill
Stone Storage Company and the econom
ics of commerce have put the historic
building to snch ignoble uses
There is a gleam of sentiment left how
ever The two unoccupied rooms just re
ferred to are on the second floor One is
the apartment in which Washington slept
the other was his study the room in
which he sat up the better part of many
nights writing his farewell address These
two rooms were stripped long ago of ev
ery article of furniture used by Wash
ington and distributed among several mu
seums The furniture of the rest of the
house was disposed of in the same way
some of it now being among the treasures
of Mouut Vernon
Originally the house had broad veran
das at the front and at the two sides but
these were torn away long ago Wash
JEtcn cculi strp out from his study to
nearby quarries for the past fifteen years
Some time ago a society was formed
for the purpose of obtaining possession
of the historic mansion restoring it and
preserving it as a museum for revolution
ary relics of which there are a great num
ber in the possession of the old families in
the surrounding country
The stories of battle and raid
In the times when our flag was made
Oh let them be often told
And the stripes and stars well raise
In tokens of thanks and praise
To one In the grand old days
Most patient and wise and bold
In honor of truth and right
In honor of courage and might
And the will that makes a way
In honor of work well done
In honor of fame well won
In honor of Washington
Our flag is floating to day
Youths Companion
WASHINGTON STAYED THERF
House Still Standing Here Where the
First President Was a Guest
One of the oldest substantial houses in
Washington is now known as No 2018
K street northwest The ground on which
it Stands was part of the farm of Robert
Peter who was an original proprietor
In the division of lots between the land
owners and the Government the lots on
which the house is built were assigned
to Robert Peter in 1793 seven years be
fore the capital was removed to Wash
ington from Philadelphia The house has
aront of thirty feet and the bricks are
supposed to have been imported from
England The locks on the doors are
large and have the English device of the
lion and unicorn
In 1SG6 Christian Hiues published his
Early Recollections of Washington
City He says that in 179G he lived with
his- father at the corner of High and Mar
ket streets Georgetown that he had seen
all the Presidents of the United States
from Washington to the second Washing
tonMr Lincoln inclusive and that
the first time he saw Gen Washington
was when he came up in a boat and land
ed at the lower bridge at the foot of EI
street north and stopped with his nephew
Thomas Peter Esq who lived in the
house of which I am writing
The fact that Gen Washington was in
the habit of stopping at this house is cor
roborated by the statement of Mr John
Cranch son of Judge W L Cranch who
told me that on Gen Washingtons last
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visit to this city he stopped with Mr
Peter At that time there was a long
balcony in front of the house The George-
AVnBIJE WASHINGTON STAYED
town College boys Mr Cranch said sere
naded Washington on this occasion and
the latter addressed them from the bal
cony
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AN AMERICAN
GENTLEMAN
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That the public observance of Wash
ingtons birthday began during his life is
evidence that not public services only but
personal character as well gave him his
commanding position among the great men
of all time It has happened to no other
man in history to become so distinctly the
representative of a nation in the achieve
ment of its national independence and to
stand at the same time for what is truest
and best in its national character There
have been great statesmen great soldiers
great patriots whose public career was
admired but whose life or motives or
methods in some way repelled this man
patriot soldier and statesman holds our
reverence also by his clear and upright
personality The mousing modem his
torian is fond of finding little flaws in
Washingtons character and inasmuch as
he is clearing away the fictitious glamour
that for a time surrounded the father of
his country and showing him to be human
like the rest of us the historian has been
doing a good service For there was
nothing of the supernatural of phenome
nal in Washington He was simply a
good honest American gentleman who
did his duty seriously and strenuously
with unflinching integrity and devotion
gaining breadth of view and strength of
intellectual grasp as unsought opportu
nity broadened out before him and by
weight of character not less than by the
splendor of achievement that character
made possible writing his name unfading
ly in the hearts of his countrymen of his
own day and for all time In the fresh
accession of popular interest in this anni
versary it is well to bear these things in
mind Washington stands not alon for
devotion to a sentimental cause but for
devotion to everlasting principle He was
able to become the Father of his Coun
try because he deserved its trust and by
his wisdom and judgment his honor and
truth he rose above the turmoil of party
passion and the intrigues of selfish men
and pointed the way to national strength
in national righteousness
MARTHA WASHINGTON LETTER
Lay Hidden in the Capitol Archives
for More than Ninety Years
A copy of the only letter and signature
of Martha Washington is in possession of
the United States Government says Kate
Fields Washington This letter lay for
more than ninety years hidden among
some musty archives at the Capitol and
was lately discovered by Walter H
French clerk of the department of files
House of Representatives The spelling
and punctuation are carefully reproduced
Mount Vernon Dec 31st 1709
Sir
While I feel with keenest anguish the late
Disposition of Divine Providence I cannot
be insensible to the mournful tributes of re
spect and veneration which are paid to the
memory of my dear deceased Husband and
as his best services and most anxious wishes
were always devoted to the welfare and hap
piness of his country to know that they
were truly appreciated and gratefully re
membered affords no inconsiderable conso
lation
Taught by the great example which I have
so long had before me never to oppose my
private wishes to the public will I must con
sent to the request made by Congress
which you have had the goodness to trans
mit to me and in doing this I need not I
cannot say what a sacrifice of Individual
feeling I make to a sense of public duty
With grateful acknowledgment and un
feigned thanks for the personal respect and
evidences of condolence expressed by Con
gress and yourself
I remain very respectfully
sir
Your most obedient humble
servant
MARTHA WASHINGTON
Precaution
Reporter Why have you boxed your
cherry tree up in that fashion farmer
Fanner Slyboy Johnnies Sunday
school teacher has jus giv him th life o
Washington
V- i -
FOE LITTLE FOLKS
A COLUMN OF PARTICULAR IN
TEREST TO THEM
Something that Will Interest the Ju
venile Members of Every Household
Quaint Actions and Bright Sayings
of Many Cute and Cunning Children
A Hard Hit
Little 5-year-old Helen was lecturing
her cousin an Adelbert freshman on
the evils of foolishness says the Cleve
land Plain Dealer
Why she said a big boy like you
shouldnt be so foolish Id be ashamed
t have so much foolishness about me
Why do you call him foolish in
quired her uncle
Just cause he is said nelen
Why if he keeps on hell be most half
as foolish as his father
And the poor uncle hadnt a word to
say
Tommys Mouse Trap
The family had been greatly troubled
with mice Father and mother both
tried in vain to get rid of them and the
cat could not catch them at all Then
Tommy took a hand The ingenious
youngster secured a piece of rubber
hose about four feet long In one end
of the hose he put a piece of cheese fit
ted snug and tight while all around
the outside he smeared some more
cheese The hungry mice soon scented
A XOVKL TIJAP
the free lunch and one by one went
into the trap to investigate After six
bad entered the tubular dining room
the watchful Tommy quickly placed a
cork in the other hole and thus captur
ed the entire parry Every day after
school the scheming youngster repeats
this performance and if the mice keep
on being so accommodating they will
soon be exterminated
How Grandpa Found His Fairy
It was a cold rainy evening and the
Buckbee family were seated around a
cheerful fire popping corn and telling
stories
Now grandpa you tell one they
cried Grandpa appeared to be greatly
surprised but after seating Johnnie on
his knee he began as follows
When I was a small boy I lived in
the State of Maine many miles from
here
Behind our house was a large or
chard with a brook running through it
One afternoon I wandered down to
this brook I filled my pockets with
apples and sat down to eat them
Somehow I fell asleep However I
was soon awakened by a strange
sound and saw close beside me a
what do you think asked grandpa
A bear cried Willie
A lion said Fannie
No said grandpa I saw a beauti
ful little fairy
She had a very soft voice aud I lis
tened attentively to what she said
You are tinder my enchantment
she whispered and are bound to hunt
for me until you find me The place
where I live is called California and is
far from here
Then I awoke and found it was only
a dxeam but the beautiful face and
words still haunted me
I wrote the name- tliat then seemed
so strange to me on a large piece of
paper and hung it in my room that I
might not forget it
And so time passed on still leaving
me under the dream fairys enchant
ment
At last when I was a young man
about 20 years old there was great ex
citement about a piece of land way out
West so ran the report where gold
was to be found in great abundance
A great deal of this land was owned
by Spaniards and it was named Cali
fornia after one of their legends
You can imagine how I felt I rush
ed up to my room and took from my
bureau drawer a crumpled piece of pa
per yellow with age on which was
written in a boyish hand California
Yes it was true and now I could
find my fairy
A month later I started for the Gold
en West as it was called You must
remember that there was no railroad
from Maine to California and so it
was not till after many months of hard
traveling that I arrived there
To us weary travelers California
was an ideal place a land flowing
with milk and honey
One day I was working in my mine
It was the same ldnd of a day as the
one when I had my dream and some
how I kept thinking of it I had not
yet found my fairy and was sorely dis
couraged about it
Crash What was that A boulder
had fallen I sprang to my feet and
looked around There on the rocks lay
the form of a young girl and oh joy
here grandpa became so excited he
could hardly speak there was the
face I had so long been hunting for it
was very pale and the beautiful golden
hair hung all around it
I picked up my fair burden and
hastily carried her to the nearest camp
I need not tell you any more but if
you want to see my fairy you had bet
ter look at grandma
And so children in this beautiful
State I found both my fairy and my
fortune
She Had Different Ideas
A little 5-year-old whose name is
Helen and who lives in the east end
goes to a kindergarten says the Cleve
land Plato Dealer The teacher en
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deavors to give the pupils some use
ful object lesson every day and recent
ly she has been talking to them about
health She has told them that one of
the best means of securing health and
retaining it is plenty of outdoor exer
cise She told them this very slowly
emphasizing each word as she pro
ceed el
Understand children she said
one of the best things to keep us well
is plenty of outdoor exercise Plentj
of outdoor exercise
Nov Helen she said what is one
of the best things to keep us well
Helen has ideas of her own on a
great many subjects
Plenty of warm milk before break
fast she shouted
And the object lesson ended righl
there
WHAT KEEPS THE SUN HOT
It Will Probably Keep Warm fox
Twenty Million Years
According to the most recent investi
gations the temperature of the sun is
somewhere between 5000 and 0000 de t
grees centigrade and there are reasons
for believing that for hundreds of
thousands perhaps for millions of
years it has been radiating heat into
space with no appreciable loss of teni
perature
Were the sun simply a cooling mass
of stone or metal it must ages ago have
lost botb its heat and its light were in
a globe of burning carbon it can easily
be calculated that it would have burned
out in about G000 years Where then
does it get its heat supply is a question
frequently asked
We are so accustomed to regard fire
combustion as the principal source of
heat or at any rate of intense heat
that it is not easy to realize that there
may be other sources equally abund
ant from which the sun may obtain its
perennial supply of this article As
tronomers long since discarded the idea
that there is any sort of combustion go
ing on in the sun
Its heat is more probably of that
sort known in physics as mechanical
heat heat that is produced by fric
tion by hammering or compression
We are familiar enough with the first
two sources though ordinarily the
amount of heat which we perceive to
be thus developed is not great but heat
produced by compression is not so often
brought to our notice From a variety
of experiments however it can bo
shown that whenever a metal as a
piece of lead or the air or Indeed any
gas is forcibly compressed heat is
evolved and this is the source to which
astronomers are now inclined to look
for the main supply of the solar en
ergy
This idea was first suggested by
Helmholz and it has been taken up and
elaborated by Lord Kelvin According
to the theory of these scientists the
sun which as simply a mass of gaseous
matter is now and has been for ages
contracting its dimensions is growing
smaller and the mechanical heat pro
duced in this process is precisely that
which it is continually throwing off in
to space Lord Kelvin calculated that
a contraction of the sun under the
force of gravity which diminished its
diameter to the extent of four miles a
century would fully account for its
heat supply enormous as it is The
sun might contract at this rate for sev
eral thousand years before there would
be any diminution of its size percepti
ble even through a telescope Of
course this process has a limit to it
and eventually the sun having become
too dense to contract further must be
gin to cool off but not for some 10000
000 or 20000000 years says Lord Kel
vin
The First Polar Explorer
The hardy mariners who were the
pioneers in polar discovery achieved
wonders considering that they had
everything to learn about methods of
arctic work and their vessels and
equipment were very inadequate One
of the greatest of all arctic voyagers
says Harpers Weekly was the man
who commanded the first true polar ex
pedition William Barntz He sailed
from Holland in 1504 on the little fish
ing smack Mercurious and the object
of his voyage shows how ignorant the
merchants and seamen of those days
were as to the navigability of arctic
seas Barentz pushed into the unknown
for the purpose of sailing around the
north end of Nova Zembla and find
ing a northeast passage to China and
so for a month he skirted the wall of
ice that barred his way seeking in ev
ery direction for a lane by which he
might travel through the pack putting
his vessel about eighty one times and
traveling back and forth along the ice
edge for seventeen hundred miles The
highest north he attained during this
careful examination of the ice edge
was 014 statute miles south of the
highest point reached by Nansen or
874 miles from the pole
Taste for Apples
The superabundance of the apple
crop lost year has had one good result
for the future of the orchardist I ren
dered apples so cheap that the con
sumption was greater than ever before
A taste of this kind once stimulated
generally continues consequently the
demand will be larger in seasons to
come than it has been hitherto This
year apples have been in Philadelphia
markets the whole year through Last
years supply of late varieties such as
the Baldwin had scarcely disappeared
before the Russian variety Tetoffsky
came in from Virginia These oi
course will be followed by better
kinds Medians Monthly
Lucky Pigs
The favorite badge just now of the
smart Englishwoman is a tiny lucky
pig of bog oak made in Ireland and
worn upoa her neck chain To bring
real luck tnese pigs must be Irish but
they can be bought in the London
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FIREPROOF WOOD FOR SHIPS J
Eome of the Advantaces and DisauV
vantages Incident to Its Use
Non Inflammable wood or fireproof
wood as it is commonly spoken of out
side of the circle of experts has re
ceived considerable attention from
naval constructors and naval engineers
since the Yaloo River fight in the China
Japan war and more especially at the
recent international congress of naval
architects and marine engineers at Lon
don and from the naval authorities of
the United States and Japan The chief
of the bureau of ordnance of the United
States navy recently made some tests
of fireproof wood for the purpose of
reporting upon its value for use In mak
ing boxes for fixed ammunition Hi
report declares that the wood by bein
treated with the chemicals used in the
fireproof process lost considerable
strength and was difficult to work that
it also corroded a piece of brass placed
between two pieces of it absorbed
moisture to a marked extent and re
fused to receive paint This report re-
suited in instructions by Secretary
Long to the board of bureau chiefs to
make a thorough investigation of the
use of fireproof wood and the result
Is predicted that the government will
find it advisable to cancel contracts
that have been made for fitting vessels
under construction with wood thud
treated
The board of bureau chiefs has re
ceived several reports already The
Columbian Iron works at Baltimore
reports that five coats of paint were
tried on a single section of fireproof
wood and it refused to receive any ol
them Of the superintending con
structors at the various naval stations
one report declares that the tools em
ployed in working the wood have been
badly corroded by the chemicals used
In the fireproofing treatment Another
makes a report upon the corrosive ef
fect upon the steel and iron in the shipv
It is also reported that the wood is ex
ceedingly porous and is apt to make the
decks of a ship spongy An article re
cently appeared in an English service
paper written by an expert in which
the writer describes the decks of the
armored cruiser Brooklyn as of uonin
flammable wood and he contrasted
their appearance disadvantageous
with those of the British men-of-war
He also predicted that the decks would
not wear well and was generally un
complimentary to noninilammable
wood
Professor Biles the well known Eng
lish expert has corrected this state
ment by declaring the decks of the
Brooklyn are not of noninflammable
wood but that they are thoroughly
sound and thoroughly durable and in
every respect up to the mark The
decks of the Brooklyn are of Oregon
pine The gunboat Helena is fitted
with a deck made of fireproof wood
and the board of bureau chiefs is to
make a close inspection of the material
and its effect upon the ship and report
upon the advisability of its use in the
future The only large vessel in the
navy the decks of which are built with
the fireproof wood is the battle ship
Iowa
The subject of noninflammable woodi
was discussed at much length by the
international congress of naval archi
tects and marine engineers Charles
E Ellis described the process of mak
ing wood noncombustible said that it
increased the weight from 8 to 15 per
cent and that the arguments for its
use rested upon two grounds only i e
because it is noninflammable and be
cause by reason of its low conductivity
of heat it may be employed in substi
tution for material of greater conduc
tive power Others spoke favorably of
the material Its chief drawbacks
were represented to be its weight and
cost Professor Biles suggested that
the effect of weather on the wood might
be nullified if the decks were washed
with a solution of the chemicals used
in the fire proofing process The sys
tem is really an American invention
and so much discussion was given the
subject by the congress that the British
admiralty has ordered a series of ex
periments to be made at the Chatham
dockyard in order to obtain additional
and valued information of the advan
tages or disadvantages of the fireproof
wood New York Tribune
An Easy Trick When Yon Know ItJ
Writing on How I Do My Tricks-
in the Ladies Home Journal magician
Harry Kdlar explains how to accom
plish the difficult feat of blowing a
piece of cork into a bottle a trick that
will defy every one who does not know
the only way by which it may be done
Ask some one Mr Kellar directs if
he thinks he can blow a small bit of
cork which you have placed in tho
mouth of a bottle so that it will go into
the bottle Lay the bottle on the table
upon its side and place the bit of cork
about an inch or less inside the open
end He will blow until he gets red la
the face and the cork will invariably
come out of the bottle instead of going
into it Simple reason for it too the
direction of the air forced by the one
blowing brings it against the bottom
of the bottle The air compresses with
in the bottles walls and must find out-
let therefore is turned and forced out
at the only vent the battle has neces
sarily blowing the cork out with it
But take a common lemonade straw
place the end of it near the cork in tho
bottle neck blow very gently and thet
cork rolls in I
Length of Horses Lives
InXondon the omnibus horse is worn
out in five years the tram horse in
four the postoffice horse in six and
the brewers in from six to seven while
the vestry horses last eight years
A maidens blush is the pint of pro j
priety
Some men try to do others they
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