0
OMAHA ILLUSTRATED JJEE.
April 8, 1IKX).
Children's Corner in
Omaha's Public Library
Ono lnrp, lightsome rootn at the Omnha
Public library the children cnll their own.
It opens to tho nouth arid enst and Ih lined
with bnokfliclves eo high thnt nit tho smnllor
tots must climb n flight of three Bteps to
reach tho upper row. Tho room Is on tlin
second lloor nnd contains li.OOO volumoj.
lleloro It wan nolzod by tho children It wns
used an a lecture room. From tho pint
form dill t people rend tiresome treatises.
Tho Juveniles wero crowded Into a small
rhamb(!r on tho lloor below. Hero they wero
rnimpod; they Jostled olbows; they chcrhhed
an Injured feeling. Their old quarters bo
ll ml tho circulation shelves had been pre
empted no tho library grow nnd their pride
no longer roso an they entered their al
lotted spam. They glowered at tho Olym
plnns who woro privileged to uho the gen
eral circulation shelves and wished thoy
wr.ro grown-up. "When Aunt Jnno used
to come to vlHlt lis," complnlncd ono small
rebel, "I took her to tho library nnd tho flro
engine house; now I only tnko her to the
flro engine hounc."
Oneo more, howovor, tho children's room
Is worthy of any aunt's Inspection. New
kIioIvob hnvo Just been erected around Ita
ontlro length nnd all tho child's books hnvo
been transferred from downstairs. In tho
cei'ter long tnbles with comforlablo chairs
on either nldo offer their hospltnllty to tho
visitor. Hero ono may dovour rich feasts
out of hugo volumes. Hero nro tho year's ls
BUOH of Our Young Posplo, tho Youth's Com
panion, St. Nicholas, Harper'n Young People
nnd mnny other faithful histories of strango
and delightful occurrences. And then, moit
precious of all, aro tho scrap books compiled
nt grent pains by tho young womnn -whoao(
word In law. '
( oiiiimcI Freely Aviillnlile.
Hut tho nttendnnt Is no awful dignitary;
who Is not oven n tcnclier. She Is only a
helpful ifrlend, a wlso counsellor, a sym
pathetic confidant. She moots her guosts
on their personal sldo when they nro off
their guard and her Influonco Is boyond that
of a tencher. Over hnlf of the books tnkon
from tho shelves nro choson nt her sugges
t!on nnd the others moro or lews directly
nt her Inntnnce.
It Is Intended, however, that each patron
shnll learn to discriminate, to pick nnd
choose for himself. Much hns been accom
plished nlong this lino. Children who bo
gnn on adventure havo been led to rend
stories of trnvol and hnvo oven ndvanced
of tholr own freo will to history In moderate
quantities, noys who would havo passed
over tho scientific department of n cnta
loguo without a second glnnco comn
naturally to such topics when thoy havo
tho run of tho shelves.
It Is a trlhute to tho honesty nnd clennll
ness of young America thnt It Is nllowed to
handle tho books and wnnder among tho
shelves without restriction. This prlvllogo
Is not extended to men nnd women, who
are compelled to stnnd In fllo nt tho windows
with lists of numbers, Although 4,000
children nro entitled to drnw books from
the library and another 1,000 nro In the
habit of reading nt tho tables, leas thnn n
dozen books hnvo been missed during tho
Inst four years. Tho tidiness of tho pa
trons Is nlso moro thnn could ronsonnbly
bo expected. Tho llrownlo books nnd others
In cnnstnnt servlco show occnslnnnl senrs
nnd finger mnrks, It Is true, but nro still
presenlnble. Fnr In the eyes of tho high
priestess unclennllness Is tho sin cardinal
which wnter must Instnntly wash away.
Tho groups shown In tho Illustration
were tnkon without nny cholco of eccnslon,
nnd thero Is senrcely n moment In the diy
when tho room Is not comfortably filled,
tho nttendnnco renchlng 300 nnd on Satur
dny nlmost double thnt number. Thoro Is
no bnr as to ngo nnd thoro nro mnny visi
tors In kilts whoso knowledge of tho nrt
of rending niny bo summed up In three
letters, They come with their brothers nnd
sisters nnd nbsorb grndunlly a lovo for
books which will play Its part In later days.
AmiiNiMiieiil n m Well ii h liiNtnif (Intl.
Itecently on a chilly nftornoon nn In
truder watched a group engaged In n fns
clnatlng pnstlmo nt one of tho tnbles. It
wns not n new play; It wns tho fnvorlto of
Kenneth flrnhnmo's children In "Tho Oohlon
Age," nnd of mnny othors before nnd since.
The center of attrition was n hugo volumo
full of pictures In whleh thero wns plenty
of nctlon. Everybody hnd his turn nt
choosing first.
"That's mlno," nnnounced tho biggest
lny, nfter mnture dollberntlon. A benrdod
physlclnn sitting nt a child's sick bed be
enmo his pcrsonnl property, and he In turn
wns bound to stand sponsor for nny np
pnrent shortcomings In tho oblect of his
choice, He wns tho doctor's chnmp'on nn
regnrded the length of his noso or tho style
of lils gnltors.
"That's mo rn tho bed." proclaimed tho
child with tho sorond choice, putting Ma
flncer on tho unconscious patient.
Then tho fnthor nnd mother, standing
sorrowfully In tho bnckground, nero rapidly
appropriated nnd flnnlly tho family dog. Tho
latter would hnvo been chosen much cnrller
In tho pnmo except that ho lnbored 'inder
the hnndlcnp of being obscured to tho head
and shoulders by tho housowlfo's skirt.
All humnn nnd nnlmnl llfo In tho picture
had been oxhnustod bofore tho Inst par
ticipant c-uld express his cholco. Ho wns
obliged to be content with possessing tho
lamp with tho tilted shnde, which shed a
soft effulgence over tho Bcene, but wns con
soled with first cholco In tho next picture,
This hnd a moro cheerful sotting aud pro
sontcd a knight on a charger. Tho knight
could have llttlo hopo of cscnpo; ho wns
fair prey and was seized beforo all others,
Dewy I lie ('lillilren'N lilol.
At another tablo sat a small lover of bold
deeds engrossed In tho llfo of Dowcy, Idol
of tho child-world, and of moro maturo itnd
commonplnco realms as well. Tho youth
was disinclined to talk; ho had only gotten
tho admiral as fnr as a lieutenancy nnd
wns pushing on townrd tho climax In Mu
nlla bay "You ought to read a cliapter
back a ways," ho Interrupted himself to
say. "Thero's a placo thero where- Dewey
had a scrnp twlth a follow and gave him n
hi uo eye, You could seo right there what
he was going to do to tho Spaniards,"
Alt of tho children whoso opinions wero
Invited had marked preferences na to au
thors, and each know wheru his favorites
woro located on tho shelves. As nn nld
to such Idenllllcntlon small placards arc
tacked upon each shelf. Thero aro Henty,
Marryatt, Trowbridge, Alcott, and dozens of
others. Other books nro clnsslflod by sub
jects; under science nro electricity, nstron
omy, physics nnd chemistry, nnd there nro
endless travels In Japan, In Africa, In tho
troples, In Europo nnd various other plnccs.
Hotwecn tho shelves pnnols havo boon
plnced on which good engravings or photo
graphs nro displayed. Ono Is dovoted to a
series of Lincoln pictures, trnclng tho war
president from his log cabin blrthplnco to
"IHJRIED IN HOOK LORE" CHILDREN'S
ROOM AT THIS OMAHA PUHLIC LI
HRA It Y Photo by Louis n. Ilostwlck.
tho chief executive's chnlr. An effort Is
mndo to give vnrlety to tho dlsplnys nnd
make them significant of tho season. This
week tho predominating decorations
naturally typify Raster. Reproductions of
all tho best Christ pictures aro shown, be
sides lilies, eggs nnd chickens.
Stories About Preachers
Relating his experiences as "A Missionary
,n tho cirent West," In tho Ladles' Homo
Journal, Rev. Cyrus Townsend Ilrady tells
of two weddings In tho same town nn tho
BUtno day ono In the morning and one In
tho nftornoon nt which he officiated "Tho
first wedding feo I received was $10 a very
large remuneration for the placo nnd people.
"NOT SEATS ENOUGH AFTER SCHOOL
Hostwlck.
After tho second wedding the best mnn
cnlled mo Into a prlvnto room and thus ad
dressed mo: 'What's tho tax, parson?'
'Anything you like, or nothing nt all, I
answered. I havo frequently received noth
ing. 'Now,' unld he, 'wo want to do this
thing up In proper shnpe, but I have had
no experiences in this business nnd do not
know what Is proper. You nnmu your
figure.' I suggested thnt the legnl charge
was $2. 'Pshaw!' ho said, 'this ain't legal
Wo want to do something handsome.' 'Oe
nhead nnd do It,' I said, whereupon ho re
flected for a moment or two nnd then asked
mo how much I had received for tho wed
ding of tho morning. 'Ten dollnrs,' I re
plied. Ills face brightened; here wns a
solution to tho dllllculty. 'I'll seo his nnte,'
ho remarked, 'and ralso him l",' whereupon
ho handed me $15."
Iist summer Right Rev. Thomas U.
Dudley, Episcopal bishop of Kentucky,
thought he would make a Journey through
tho mountains of eastern Kentucky, reports
tho Now York Post, nnd look up tho scat
tered members of his flock nnd endeavor to
get a foothold fnr his church among the
mountnlueers. Hut as he journeyed from
settlement to settlement without meeting n
man who had ever even heard of the Kplsco
pnllnn church, ho grow somewhat dis
couraged. 'At last ho enmo to a village
where, upon Inquiry, ho was told that thero
was "an Episcopal" In tho neighborhood,
nnd bo tho good bishop proceeded to look
him up. After Introducing himself und dis
closing the object of his visit, Bishop Dud
ley nsked tho mountaineer If It wero a fact
that ho was an Episcopalian.
"Oh, yes," replied he, "I'm an Eplsco
pnl." "Whoro wero you confirmed?" Inquired
tho bishop. Tho poor mnn hnd never even
henrd the word. 'Where, then, wero you
baptized?"
"I know nil nbout that," replied ho,
"though precious fow folks Is baptized In
theso pnrts, but I don't know whether I wbb
ever baptized or not."
"Then why do you cnll yourself nn Epls
copnllnn?" continued the bishop.
"Well, now, Btrnnger, I'll tell ye," said
he. "Some flvo or six years ago ,1 was
summoned down to Louisville ns a witness
In ono of theso 'moonshine' cases, you
know. Well, we wns kep' over Sunday, and
nfter brenkfnst, ns I knowed nobody thnr
nnd nobody knowed me, I tuk a walk down
tho street, from my lodglu's, nnd directly I
Bnw everybody goln Into a great big flno
church, sez I to myBeJf, I'll go too. So I
went In and sat down, nnd In n llttlo whllo
tho boll It stopped n-JIngllng, thnr wns
somo kind of big music rolled nround, nnd
then it stopped, too, nnd a feller In a long
white gown ho got up at the other end of
HOURS" CHILDREN'S ROOM OMAHA1 PUHLIC LIHRARY Photo by Louis R.
tho room from mo nnd snld something or
other I couldn't henr, nnd then every mnn,
womnn and child In thnt room got down on
their knees and sez thoy: 'Oh, Lord, we've
dun tho things wo ortn't to ha' dun,' and
sez I myself, that's me. I'm ono of them
very kind of fellers nnd when we nil cum
out I nsked n feller what kind of a church
that thnr wuz nnd sed he, 'It's nn Eplscopnl
church,' nnd so, stranger, I've called myself
nn Eplscopnl ever slnco that trip to Louis
ville." Bunch of Short Stories
Onco when General nutlcr wns In con
gress, relates tho Now Englnnd Magazine,
ho roso In his placo and gontly insinuated
that tho member who was occupying the
lloor wns transgressing tho limit of debate.
"Why, general," said tho member, In re
proachful tones, "you divided your time with
me." "I know I did," rejoined tho grim old
warrior, "but I did not dlvldo eternity with
you." Hut perhaps Ilutler's most savage re
tort was mndo In a political convention, In
which a distinguished Unltnrlnn divine, I
think It wns James Freeman Clarke, sat as
a delegate. When tho subject of candidates
wns being discussed this clergyninn nn
nounced thnt If a certain nomination was
mndo ho would bolt It. "Very likely," Ilut
ler blurted out. "You nro good nt bolting;
In your religion you bolt two-thirds of tho
trinity." Tho convention broke Into a roar
of lnughter, In which tho clergyman Joined.
Mnny yenrs ago when President Kruger
wns In Englnnd ho wns npproached concern
ing somo concession, railway or otherwise,
by a business man In London. Tho negotia
tions lasted for somo time. Ono evening
tho Londoner, who wns stnylng nt the snme
hotel, having spent many hours with Mr.
Kruger nnd his companion, went to bod
much exhausted and fooling that ho had not
got qulto all ho wanted. Next morning ho
nroso nt 9 nnd went nlong tho corridor to
Mr. Kruger's bedroom. To his astonish
ment It wns empty and nil tho luggngo was
gono. "Oh, sir," said tho chambermaid,
"Mr. Kruger and his frlond left nt C this
morning." Then, with n glgglo of amused
reminiscence, tho girl ndded: "They wns n
queer couple, sir, nnd no mistake. When 'o
passed your door, sir, Mr. Kruger, 'o started
dancln' right outside your door, sir, 'o and
his friend. They didn't know ns nny ono saw
them, sir, but Dosslo nnd I seo them, unbe
known, from tho top of tho stntrs. Then thoy
went downstairs, sir, fairly spllttlu' their
sides 'with lnughln', though they didn't say
a word."
That Admiral Porter wns not afraid to
bravo tho Iro of an unpropltlous parent
doubtless raised him In tho esteem of his
Indy love, says the Kansas City Star When
' ISHBSSS IJ iAh
viHiyBlHilBHPViBrl
"THE CHILDREN'S ROOM IS THE MOST POPULAR DEPARTMENT OF THE LHJRARY" OMAHA PUBLIC LinitARY-Photo
by Louis R. Uostwlck.
a midshipman on board 'the flagship of a
commodore who wns accompanied by his
family, which Included a young nnd lovely
dnughter, young Porter nllowed no parental
commands to frighten him. Tho orderly was
told not to allow tho midshipman to enter
tho cabin without special permission. Young
Porter, however, mnnnged to contlnuo his
vlslta to his fair one. One bright moon
light night tho commodore, rousing up from
an after-dinner nap, discovered young Porter
and his sweetheart liohlnd ono of tho win
dows of tho stern ports.
"Young man," thundered tho commodore,
"how did you enter this cnbln?" Tho mid
shipman replied: "The orderly Is not to
blame; I camo over tho mlzzen chains nnd
through tho quarter galley window."
Midshipman Porter, through tho balanco
of tho crulw, was regulnrly ndmltted to visit
tho cnbln, nnd on tho ahlp's nrrlvnl home the
marriage trek plnce.
A good story Is told In West Virginia In
volving two of tho congressmen from that
Binig llttlo stato and Thomas n. Reed, tho
gigantic speaker or the last house. Tho two
West Virginians nre Hon. Blnckburn n. ,
Dovener nnd Hon. Romeo Hoyt Freer.
Uoth nro small In stature and wonderfully
nllko In their general appeamnce. Together
they wont up to tho ponderous Mnlne mnn
to bo Introduced.
"Humph!" snld Mr. Reed, "Is thnt tho
hoBt the persimmon state can do?"
"What do you menn?" asked Mr. Freer.
"Nothing." drawled tho elephantine
speaker. "I was only wondering nt tho uni
formity of things down your way. I sup
pose tho horses aro all ponies nnd tho per
simmons nil dwarfs ."
"Well," Interrupted Mr. Freer, "there Is
ono thing In our fnvor, tho persimmon has
moro tnsto than tho pumpkin."
Tho laugh wns on tho spenker, nnd ho nc
knowledgod It by cordlnlly grnsplng tho
hnnds of tho lllllputlnns nnd Joining In the
merriment.
Tho Impression is 'current In thentrlcal
circles, writes Congressman Knhn In Suc
cess, thnt Mr. Jefferson never guys. Ho
Is n stickler for professional etiquette, It Is
true, nnd tries to mold his compnny Into
ono hnrmonlnus picture, Into a perfect urn
chine, nut thoro wns ono night upon which
ho yielded to the temptation to guy. It
wns during n performnnco of "Tho Rivals,"
In which his matchless portrayal of Rob
Acres proceeded smoothly, until tho scene
Is reached In which Falkland, Captain
Absoluto and Hob Acres havo a wordy
altercation. At this point tho actor playing
Fnlkland ranted violently, rnlsod his volco
to nn unnecessary pitch, nnd flnnlly In n
burst of nnger slnmmed a door as ho mndo
his exit. It Is pnrt of the "business" for
i npinin Aosoiuto to Bay at this Juncture,
"Poor Fnlkland!" Ho did so, nnd Mr. Jef
ferson promptly replied, "Tho poorest I ever
snw!"
An Old Easter Bonnet
Atlnnta Constitution.
I wish the Enster dnys were now like those
that onco I knew.
hen Jenny wore the bonnet plain, with
ribbon bows of blue;
When we walked to Sundny meetln" o'er
m 'hi'tneadows green nnd sweet,
W here lilies waved in welcome, with violets
at our feet.
It ain't tho fancy ilxln's I mind so much
tho bills
For birds an' Huffy feathers-all the lino
new-fangled frills;
' "now urn i rastilon changes, that It
i, , r.VU's V1.0 ?vorl11 fomplete; '
Hut the old-time Enster bonnet wns so'
..i,t' , nu nweei:
Its rlbbo,1!( nllltPi,0(1 tIlo co)or ()f thQ
hk oerlieau,
lh'k1na,n!,,;,tnyHmr0-l, 80 tiy-never
';'!orn;,a1r.r,y.fnsh,o,,s-t,,e,,vc
fa?Vawny-,,lm"10 U",m',s of tlm r',r n'
A"' inVhoniofe0 M "' '"'"-there,
