THE OMAHA DAILV 1U3E : S iTUHDAY , AUGUST 5 , 18i ) .
o
m A 1
Beginning with the issue of August 6th will be published a series of the best pictures
of the gallant First Nebraska Regiment. It will be a worthy souvenir of the celebration
of the of their return. In order to obtain this pictorial history complete subscribe at once for
Gallant The
IT WILL INCLUDE
First
The Farewells at Leaving Home- On the Field and in Camp
Camp Life at Lincoln Fighting the Insurgents
Life in Camp at San Francisco The return fo San Francisco
The Trip Across the Pacific Nebraska's Reception to Her Sons
itnent
Nebraska Boys in the Philippines- Portraits of Nebraska s Heroes
T
Pictures of the Companies
rom
Five Cents Per Copy. .
JL /
Photographs
With the Sunday Bee , by mail , $2.00 per year
Subscribe at once.
THE BEE
A SUCCESSFUL BOOK AGENT.
I * \ How a Youthful Book Agent's Love for Pears Prcvcnte 1 a Robbery.
By HELEN F. GARDNER ,
"No , I don't want your book , an' I'm
tired an * sick o' havln' you come here tryln'
to soli mo books. I told you the last tlmo ,
Phlneas Rankln , that I liadn't no money
to spend in any Been way. "
There "svas asperity expressed In every line
of Miss Spencer's crabbed old face , In the
tones of her harsh voice and even In her
attitude , as she stood with one hand hold
ing the screen door open a very llttlo way.
The boyish-looking young man on the
doorstep only smiled amiably , Instead of
retreating , 03 eho bad hoped and expected.
Ho loaned against the door casing , looking
up at 'her confidentially , as ho turned the
leaves at the book In Ills hand.
"If you would only look at It , Miss Spen
cer , I'm euro you would bo Interested. Just
think what an addition to your library
'Tho Lives of the lAjiostles' -would bo ! It
la ibeautlfully cotton up , with this green
cloth binding , and all the lettering In gilt.
There nro quotations from a. great many
authors , ( beside the 'Lives , ' as written by
Gteason himself. There nro flfty Illustra
tions , and twelve of them are photo
gravures. Just look at this picture of "
"I toll you , Phlnoas , I don't want your
ibook , an' I wish you'd stop comln' hereto
to sell. I was 'way up In the attlo nhen
you come , on * had to tramp down t\\oj
nights of etalrs to get to the door. I've got \
books enough. iMy brother David left a big I
Jlbrary , on' there's eomo o' them that I'
hain't read yet , an1 I've been meanln' to
for years. There's 'Fox's Hook of Martyrs'
an' the 'Memoirs o' Hannah Crane , ' an'
Leaves rfrom the Diary' o' some one I'vo
forgot who ; they all look Interesting but I
don't git the time. "
"I can't eeem to make a hit with you ,
MUs Spencer , for eorao reason ; that Is , I
can't seem to lilt your literary taste. I
remember the first "book " I brought hero
was iMrs. Crlstlno'a Cook Book. ' "
"Yes ; the Idea o' a woman o' mr years
buyln * a oook book I For thirty-five years
I'vo used the roolpos my mother glvo mo ,
on' what I can get from the Christian Stand-
ord. I guess.I uln't buyin' cook books , at
> ny time c1 life. "
"Then the next book I tried to cell you
was 'Beauty's Secrets Revealed. ' I thought
you'd Jlko that , sure. Moat every lady In
the village bought a copy of that , Miss
Spencer , It tcllo you how to droas , how to
djo an' curl your hair and a lot more. You
couldn't IIVP without It If you once hod the
book. "
"I'hlneaa nankin , I don't want your books
on' you may's well go along. I'm sick o'
liftYln' you bother mo an1 keep mo talkln *
about a lot o' nonsensical trash that I don't
want. My Christian Standard gives mo read
ing enough for the present , an' If you can't
earn the money to take > ou to college ex
cept 'by ' niakln' yourself a nuisance to folks
jou'd better stay at homo an' work on the
farm. I guess your father could afford to
pay your expenses , anyway. "
"All right , MUs Spencer , " replied the
young ealoainan , cheerfully , "but it I hap
pen to bo eelllng a 'book ' that seems peculi
arly adapted to your literary taste you
mustn't mind my coming again , Qco.1 morn
ing , Mies Spencer. "
He boned respectfully , shoved his "Lives
of the Apostles" under his arm and saun
/ tered down the path between the rows of
fruit trees and beds of marigolds and phlox ,
vthUtllng a merry tune.
MUs Spencer matched him depart with
considerable satisfaction. She stepped back
Into the kitchen and elated the screen door ,
then glanced out again at the boyish figure
'la the pepper and salt suit , sauntering along
In the September sunshine.
Near tbo gate It paused and she saw him
gazing with great Interest at the heavily
laden bough of a Bartlett pear tree that
reached far out over the path. Then ho
reached up , gave a slight eprlng , secured a
snuiplo of the delicious fruit and .walked
on Indifferently , leaving the ibough shaking
vigorously , as though palpitating with the
Indignation , of lt owner.
"Well , I never ! " ejaculated Miss Spencer
aloud. "I never sco sech check In all my
'born ' days. I never could bear any o' tbo
family benco his 'father cheated mo on that
wood lot ; or leastways , It seemed to mo he
cheated mo. Phlnoas may too a good enough
boy , but he's mighty cheeky , an' the Idea
o' takln' that pear ! "
Siho opened the screen door , and walked
out and down the two broad Etono steps.
"Mis' PerklnsI" she called.
"Yes what Is It ? " replied a volco from
ooniowhoro the other eldo of the apple trees.
There was a house a Short distance away
and a stone waH separated the two farms.
In winter the houses eeciued near together ,
but during the summer months the thick
foliage formed a barrier. iMIss Spencer
know very well that Mrs. Perkins was
standing In her kitchen doorway , but the
two women could not sco each other.
"Has Phlpeas Rankln bo'n to your house ? "
asked Miss Spencor.
"Yes a few minutes ago. Why ? "
"Oauso ho's Jubt bo'n here an' I think he's
tin' awful nuisance. Ho helped himself to
my pears , too , as ho went out o' the yard. "
"Ho Is sorter cheeky , " replied the volco
from behind the trees.
"Yea , I should say BO. I was goln' to ask
of you over see tilm comlu' here , will you
send Gyp over ? "
"For the land's sake ! I hope you ain't
u-goln' to set the dog on him ? "
"No , I ain't , o' course but I'd Jeat's soon
ecaro him with It ; that's nil ! "
"There , " said Miss Spencer , half aloud ,
as she came back into the kitchen she had
lived entirely alone BO many years that she
had acquired the habit of talking to herself
"Thoro , now , I'll go back to the attic ,
an' get out the silver to clean. I should
a-bo'n well started by this time , cf I hadn't
bo'n Interrupted , She closed and bolted the
heavy Insldo door , as was her custom when
Bho brought out her valuables ; then started
for the attic.
Twice a year , on a certain day In the
months of September and March , MUs
Spencer cleaned her silver. During the re
maining 303 dajs of the year It was packed
away In the attic , but MUs Spencer allowed
nothing to Interfere with the duties of those
two da > s.
The dates were never changed , unless
they came on Sunday ; neither extreme heater
or extreme cold , equinoctial storms or
rheumatism , Interfered with ( ho anticipated
task. Since sbo had lived alone , Christmas
and blrthdajs bad como to be less and less
regarded by the solitary spinster , but the
silver cleaning days were never forgotten.
There was her grandmother's silver serv
ice of six pieces ; spoons that had descended
to her from both sides of the family , nnd
a pair of silver sconses that had been
brought from England by < MUs Spencer's
onccitors. She gazed fondly at them as
she arranged thorn on the kitchen table.
The September sun poured Into the llttlo
kitchen , and the beads of perspiration stood
out on 'Miss ' Spencer's forehead and upper
lip as she worked.
"How dreadful warm It 1 . " he mur
mured to herself. "Such hot ware as
this Is kinder bard to bear , this time o'
jear. I've a great mind " She glanced
toward the door , but did not finish her
sentence.
She 'worked on about half an hour longer ,
then leaned back In her chair with a gasp.
A drop of perspiration trickled slowly down
the bridge of her nose.
"I can't stand this , " said she aloud. "I'm
goln' to open the door on' let In some air.1
She opened the Insldo door , and reaching
far "behind " It fastened It to the wall with
a strong hook , placed there for that pur
pose.
"I wish this screen door had a hasp , "
she said to herself ; "but I guess no one'll
come. " She looked out down the path ,
where all seemed peace nnd flowers and
summer sunlight. Then she returned to her
polishing.
She had worked on a few minuted longer ,
when there < was a step on the path. Bho
glanced up , and there on the top step stood
a man. his face pressed close to the wlro
screen of the door , and his greedy eyes
gazing straight at the silver treasures at
her sldo.
"Glmmo riomethln * to cat ! " ho commanded
rather than asked , without moving his fas
cinated eyes from the silver.
Bliss Spencer half rose , her eyes fixed
upon him , nnd terror written on ovcry fea
ture of her sallow old faco. Her lips felt
parched with fear , and It was with diffi
culty that she articulated her words.
"I hain't got nothln' fer you , " she said.
"Yer hain't ! " replied the man with an
ugly chuckle. "Yes , yer look poor. "
"I'll give yer eomo doughnuts or a piece
o' pie , of you're really hungry , " said Miss
Spencer , hastily coming to the conclusion
that a charitable course might be the safer
one to pursue.
Without removing her eyes from his face
she backed slowly Into the pantry and
reached Into a Jar , filling her bands with
doughnuts.
She walked bock across the kitchen and
pushed open the screen door a very llttlo
way. But the man did not take the dough
nuts. With a sudden movement of his left
hand ho threw open the screen door , and ,
with a rough motion of his powerful right
arm , thrust MU Spencer out of his way
and sent her reeling against the wall at
the back of the llttlo kitchen.
The next Instant he was Inside the door
and in another moment had gagged the
trembling woman and had secured her bands
behind her.
Ho dragged a folded burlap bag from his
pocket , Into which ho began to thrust the
articles.
iMUs Spencer watched him helplessly , her
face pallid and her eyes protruding with ter
ror and dismay.
Suddenly she saw something that the
tramp , with his back to the door and the
rattle of the silver In his cars , did not per
ceive. A slight , boyish figure In a pepper
and salt cult was sauntering leisurely up
the path. Just outeldo the door It paused ,
and in an instant seemed to grasp the whole
situation.
With a catlike movement the screen door
was thrown open , and Pblneas nankin , with
the "Lives of the Apostles" held high above
his head In both strong young hands , dashed
Into the kitchen with one spring.
Before the tramp could turn , the heavy
book descended with stunning force on the
back of his bead , and Tie reeled back a
step and fell heavily against the kitchen
table. In another instant he was on bis
feet again , and turned upon the boy ,
Phlneas had raised the book for another
blow , for It was hli only weapon , but It
would have availed little that time. At
that moment he heard a yelp and growl
and saw Gyp bound up the steps. Mrs.
Perkins had not forgotten Miss Spencer's
request.
Miss Spencer closed her eyes to shut out
the scene of the next few momenta , but to
her dying day she remembered the savage
yelps and crowla of the don and th mad
dened curses and yells of pain from the
tramp that filled her ears. Almost with
out her knowledge Phlneas removed the
handkerchief from her mouth and unbound
her hands.
"Go over to Miss Perkins , " he com
manded. ' "I'll lock up this brute an' the
dog'llwatch him till I can get the sheriff
here. "
Hours after , when the commotion was all
over , Miss Spencer had related tbo episode
to each neighbor separately and she was
trying to rest nnd compose herself In her
cool , quiet sitting room , a question entered
her mind and she wondered that It had cot
occurred to her before.
"Phlneas , " she asked ho had come after
his book , which he had feft In the morning
and which ho found bad not been Improved
by its encounter with the tramp's head
"Phlneas , how'd you happen to come back
this mornln' , Jest when that man was
here ? "
"Well , Miss Spencer , as I was leavln'
your house this mornln , ' the first tlmo I
called , I took one o' your Bartlett pears.
It tasted mighty good an' after awhllo It
occurred to mo that perhaps wo could strike
a bargain. I'd glvo you the 'Lives of the
Apostles' for a bushel o' these pears. "
"You can have a bushel o' them pears ,
Phlneas , " said Miss Spencer slowly. "An1
I'vo been thlnkln' , " Bho went on medita
tively , "I guess I'll buy a copy o' your
book for each o" my Sunday school class.
That'll make fourteen copies. An' , Phlneas ,
when I dlo them silver sconces will go to
my nloco , Matilda Spencer ; she's my only
llvln' relative ; but the ullvor service an'
the spoons ' 11 all bo willed to you. "
FAKE TOIUVADO FICTOIIBS.
Deception In PhotOKrnplilnK the Pun-
Iicl-Sliaiicil ClnuilK.
The efforts of photographers to make the
public believe that they have succeeded In
getting photographs of tornadoes have gone
so far that the United States weather bu
reau has taken cognizance of them , says the
Kansas City Star. An article In the month
ly Weaher Ilovlow , published by the govern
ment , from the pen of Alfred J. Henry of
the weather bureau , makes light of these
triumphs of photography. Mr. Henry be
lieves , llko many other citizens , that when
a tornado Is tearing up railroad tracks and
moving buildings within the range of an or
dinary camera , men are not disposed to
spend their tlmo trying to get pictures. They
are more likely to bo thinking of cellars
than of dry plates'films or other photog
raphers' supplies.
But each tornado has had Us photographer ,
who caught it Just at the right time. A
year ago there was a tornado at Waynoka ,
Okl. , and tbo I'h lade'ph a Pro is printed what
purported to be a enap shot photograph of
It a few Sundays since. That picture has
a history. A photographer furnished a copy
of It to Observer Connor of Kansas City ,
who thought It so good a counterfeit that
be sent it to Washington. The photographer
told him ho had snapped the camera 1.000
yards from the cloud nnd then dodged Into
a cellar llko a pralrlo dog , but somehow
Connor wondcre-1 how be happened to have
the camera so handy and how , when the
dark , low-banging clouds that accompany a
genuine tornado have covered the earth and
clouds of dirt adll to tbo darkness and con
fusion , a photographer could get the right
kind of light to make a good "snap nhot. "
Meditating over these things he cent the plc-
turo to Mr. Henry , who refers to the pic
ture in hU story. Mr. Henry says :
"We have watched with interest and curi
osity the efforts of eomo manipulators of the
camera to reproduce the phenomena of na
ture In all her varying moods. There can be
no particular fault found with the enterprise
of the photographer , bo ho amateur or profes
sional , who ealtles forth at high noon , or
soon thereafter , and under the friendly
shadow of an unaccommodating cloud makes
moonlight views by the oore. We confesi ,
too , that "KB can pass Into the waste basket
without hesitation the many poor attempts
to fabricate the lunncf cloud of a tornado.
Wo received one euch not very long ago from
Mr. Connor. It was better than the average ,
and Instead of going Into the trash basket
It went Into a convenient drawer. Now wo
are glad that we kept It , for along comes a
photograph kindly eent up by Mr. Gosowlsch
of the tornado cloud that brought death and
destruction to so many homes In Klrksvllle ,
Mo. , on April 27 , 1S9D.
"We thought wo had seen that tornado
cloud before , and the more wo looked at It
the more certain -no were that wo had met
an ofd friend. When we first saw It our
funnel cloud was stirring up the dust and In
cidentally frightening the Inhabitants of
Waynoka , In far off Oklahoma , and this was
more than a year ago. The scene has now
changed to a quiet road In Missouri across
which our Oklahoma tornado cloud appears
to bo crossing , while a couple of artistic
Rubens watch Its progress In wonder and
amazement. The Job Is well done. There Is
no particular fault to be found cither with
the conception or the execution , but it pains
us to think that people will take such liber
ties with the business end of a tornado. Only
think , 'It was taken at 100 yards ! ' Wo sin
cerely hope that the pioneer who 'took It at
100 yards' will some day meet a real , robust
tornado.
"It Is possible that the Waynoka picture
was made by superposing a tornado funnel
upon a beautiful photograph of sunset clouds
nnd landscape. The Klrkvllle picture retains
the funnel and clouds of the Waynoka pie
ture , but substitutes a view of a road and Its
osage bodges , such as might ocur In Mis
souri. But where did the original funnel
como from ? It Is evidently not a photo
graph from nature of a genuine tornado fun
nel. It has ovcry appearance of having been
drawn in India Ink on glaes and then photo
graphed by printing upon tbo landscape neg
ative. The retouching of original negatives
so ns to convert a portrait from nature into
a beautiful work of art Is carried on In great
perfection by modern artists , but any appli
cation of this art to photographs that are to
bo used for sclentlflce purposes docs inoro
harm than good ,
"The latest turn In the history of this pic
ture has been given by Its publication In the
Philadelphia Press of Sunday , June 23 , 1899 ,
whore our Klrksvllle picture with Us Missouri
landscape appears an 'the Waynoka tornado
of May 18 , 1898 , at about 1,000 feet distance. '
This change of distance would seem to have
been neccsHtlated by tbo perspective dis
tance Inherent in the beautiful Missouri
landscape ; the change of date is possibly a
misprint
"Wo shall doubtless see the Waynoka
clouds and funnel reproduced again , at no
distant date , in connection with some other
dreadful disaster. The argument seems to
be : 'If there was a disaster it must have
been a tornado ; if a tornado , it must have
had a funnel ; If a funnel , there must bo a
picture ; this Is a photograph , therefore It
will do , ' "
Incidentally , it may be remarked that Mr.
Henry Is the first of mortal men to put hu
mor in a government publication.
OII1 I'lCTimiJ 1SXPKIIT.
It Took Him Forty Yeiir * < o Get Into
III * I'rofemlou ,
"Speaking of old pictures , " said a New
Orleans dealer to the Times-Democrat , "it U
very interesting to see a really high-class
European export making an examination ,
The extent and diversity of tbo Information
of such men are somotblng astonishing.
Some years ago I spent a couple of dajs
with , a gentleman who la recognized as one
of the foremost connoisseurs of Paris. Wo
visited several country places which con
tained pictures eald to be of great value
and In all he Inspected upward of two dozen
canvases.
"In every Instance be settled the questions
of date , period and painter beyond nil rea
sonable doubt. The -warp and woof 08 the
canvas , the wood composing the backing ,
the nature of the boring made by the worms ,
the workmanship of the tacks , the character
of the pigment and certain mlnuto peculi
arities in the mounting wcro all llko BO
many pages of print to him. Ho was inti
mately acquainted with the style of hun
dreds of different artists , the models they
used , the colors they most affected , their
tricks of composition and their peculiar
methods of expressing the effects of light
and shade.
"To an outsider It seoratxl like magic. 'A
copy , ' he would say , for Instance , after a
swift glance at a painting. 'It was made by
So-and-So , a pupil , who had very much tha
style of his master. The date Is about ( hero
ho would naino It with Infallible accuracy ) ,
and If you clean that loft band corner I dare
say you will find the signature In vormil-
llon. ' In several cases ho was fully berne
out by documents In possession of the owner
and In all ho was sustained by circumstan
tial evidence. Ho told mo very modestly
that ho had devoted forty years to the cloao
study of his profession and was Just be
ginning to apprehend how llttlo ho know. "
Peculiar Li-Rill Complication.
NDW YORK. Aufc. 4. Lucius L. Sloan ,
who arrived here from Havana a few daya
ago and was arrested yesterday at
quarantine on a charge of having boon con
cerned in the theft of $1,000 In Havana , was
discharged from custody today. The dcteo-
tlvo who arrested htm said In court that tha
Havana police had boon notified of Sloan's
arrest , but had failed to reply to the message -
sago sent to them ,
Sloan's counsel said that even If hlu client
were guilty , ha could not be sent hack to
Havana for trial. Inasmuch as no extradi
tion or rendition treaty exists between this
country and Cuba.
, 'AN ' EXPENS1VE DISEASE.
Dr. Phil Graves My patient is suffering from acute appendicitis.
Oh , by the way , is he Billions , the millionaire ?
Dr. Wpodbury Mann Why no ; he hasn't got any money at all.
Dr. Phil Graves Pshaw ! I made a mistake in my diagnosis. He's
only got a pain in his stomach.
HULLED.
"What's the matter ? You look all broken.up ? "
"Got caught in de pea-huller. "
