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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 1903)
Artistic -' fT"T( )RN'HI'8K and grass basketry Is I I the latest fad of the worker who I J twists and weaves nature's ma- terialn into useful and be-tuttful forms. It Is particularly apropos at this time of year, when the corn crop Is being harvested in the great corn hell. The originator of this practical idea is a young woman, who believes in creating out of the common materials utilitnrian and ornamental things, as the Indians have always done. Since the value . of manual training In schools and colleges has been realised, basketry has taken an Important place In the course, and the child who enters the school fresh from the kindergarten Is ena bled to apply the principles he has learned there. The summer vacation schools, too, recognize the Importance of this particular pLase of work, which Is not only delightful li school, club and settlement, but as a home Industry as well. Rattan, rush and rafila have been in use for many years, and they have proven highly satisfactory in carrying out the Ideas of the worker, but with the advent of the movement to return to the materials our forefathers used, basitclry Is destined to be something more than a fad. The so-called cornhnsk baskets belong to the colled school, the weave of which has always been a favorite with the best basket makers in the wnrld, because It Is capable f such a Urge variation. The foundation Wm. E. Curtis In Chicago Kecord-Herald. iLTHOLGH so much of old London k is being torn away, St. Paul s I cathedral still stands Immovable, Incomparable in its style of archi tecture, the greatest work of Sir Christopher Wren, who was paid a rotary of $1,000 a year for designing It and superin tending its construction. It is a common statement that the whole building was completed by one architect and one master mason (Thomas Strong) under one bishop "(Dr. Compton), but that Is Incorrect, al though It Is true that Sir Christopher de signed It In ltiTS and was able to attend divine service within Its walls on Sunday, December S, 1697. The dome was not com pleted until thirteen years after, nor the decorations until two years ago. St. Paul's was paid for chiefly by a tax on coal, al though there were large contributions by rich people toward Its construction, and the cathedral haa received many legacies dur ing the lust 200 years. The old priory, which originally stood upon the ground, and Is believed to have been built by Ethel bert, king of Kent, about the year 610. held considerable real estate. Including a large farm In Essex, which has been owned by and worked for the benefit of the church since the seventh century, and doubtless represents the most venerable land tenure In Great Britain. For the first time In many years the eathctfra! has been without scaffolding slnco the coronation, and the decoration Is prac tically completed. Ninety per cent of the population of London,' who have never seen It without scaffolding before, can now real ize Its full beauty and splendid proportions. Although St. Paul's is not nearly so larze St. Peter's, It Is simpler, more symmetri cal and satisfying to the soul. There Is less color and more carving; the scheme of adornment is limited to marbles and mora les, hut you cannot compare the two any mort than you can compare Pike's Peak with Mount Shasta. St. Paul's Is not the second church In Christendom, ss Is gen erally supposed, but the fifth, being sur passed In slse by St. Peter's and the cathe drals of Milan, Florence and Seville. The trunk of the crrss is S00 feet long and IIS feet broad, and the arms are 250 feet long. Use of the .. ' BASKETS MADE FROM CORNHUSKS of these baskets Is of grass and sedge, the cornhusks being used for padding and to carry out the design. ' For Instance, to make a large scrap basket the first step Is to procure a pound of manila hemp. Begin the basket with the hemp, as the coll Is no small It is diffi cult to use the stiff, hard grasses. Sew wi(h raftia, as the stitches can be made finer. Then proceed to build as the name Indicates, Ith a continuous coll of the grass or fiber bound completely together with the familiar stitch of the southwest ern Indians. This is done by sewing with a strong tapestry needle, threaded with raffia, over the coll and through the stitch underneath until the top is reached. When ready to build the Bides, take sev eral strands of grass for a foundation and wrap the cornhusk about it; then sew as already indicated. It will thus be been that the baskets are really of grass, the corn husks being merely for ornamentation. In fact, they can only be need when wrapped over grass, for the pieces are too short for anything else. This form of basketry Is called the colled, because it is devckd from a coll of gras and takes the same shape of coiled pottery. Other forms of basketry are much mo:e elementary than this one. for In the colled basketry, even though It is simple and con structive in character, the builder must know something of design and ufe only those which are harmonious and capable Glory of St. Paul's Cathedral The dome Is 3C4 feet high and 112 feet In diameter, thirty-seven feet less than that of St. Peter's. Nowhere on this earth can you hear such heavenly music as at the vesper services at St. Paul's, where sixty boys, chosen for their voices and trained with greater care perhaps than any other choir in the world, sing as you imagine the angels may slug in paradise. It Is safe to contend that no where are sweeter and nobler sounds pro duced by human voices. The monks at the monastery of St. Alexander Navky, Just outside of. St. Petersburg, have what Is considered the finest choir In the world, and the floods of harmony that pour from throats can scarcely be surpassed, but the music at St. Paul's Is very different. The childish tones of the boys are llshter, sweeter and more angelic, if we can use that term, than the maturer tones of the monks. The great choir at St. Peter's In Rome does not compare with the bay choir of St Paul's, and the florid Ita'lan music was never Intended for purposes of worship. ' The services at St. Paul's Is intoned like those of the Roman Catholic chuicles. Last Sunday a sweet-voiced priest o .Healed and chanted in the same key as the chclr, whirl) harmonised beautifully, but yo.i couldn't understand a word he utter.d. You can seldom understand an Kng Is'i parson. Elocution Is not taught In the divinity schools over here and the c gy of the established church are the poorest readers I have ever he-ard in a pu'plt. During the pan-Episcopal conclave that was held In London several years ago, when bluhopfc from all the Eiiglish-spejk-Ing countries assembled. Hie Ame'lcins made a distinct impression by Hie e'o cutlonary effect of their reading the ler-vlc-e and the deliveiy of their sermons. The Englishmen thought it was wonderful and unite u reform inowment was slarteJ at that time The young and ubilious cur ates throughout the country undertook to Improve their reading. They dropped the "dearly beloved brethren" monotone to which they are accustomed and under took to read the wrvlce with accentuation and inflections so as to bring out Its meaning, but the reform did Dot go very Homely Cornhusks .f-f vAV'' "3H v,;v THK LARGEST 18 A COILED SCTCAP of being interpreted. In the cornhusk work the design Is naturally subjected to conditions. Fo ex ample, wrapping on the coil gives It fl diagonal effect. For (his reason it Is a little difficult to keep the form and control the materials unless the worker has a clear Idea in mind to which she leads up. The coll is one of tne conntructlve ele ments and the stitch another, because It follows the shape of the basket and leaves a diagonal line of sewing. The cornhusk baskets are especially com mendable, us they are handsome, solid and give wide range of coloring for carrying out designs. There are pale yellows, greens, browns, purples and reds, which may be woven to suit the individual taste. The cornhusks should be gathered now, and great care taken In selecting good colors and firm husks. The larger they are the better, for sometimes one can be split In several pieces, and used to wrap a coll of grass. Many other things are capable of being colled besides cornhUBks, and few are the localities which do not furnish abundant material for the art. Grass, sweet grass, broom corn, shredded cat tail, spilt willows and an Infinite variety of rushes and sedges are Invaluable to the worker. The coloring on these grasses,- which have the advantage of permanency, vary at different seasons from rose, purple, brown and vivid red to all the beautiful shades of green, giving far and does not appear to have been suc cessful. There is a dean, four canons, thir teen minor canons, three prebendaries and six choral vicars connected with 8t. Paul's, but not one of them can read the service decently. There have been a lot of deans of St. Paul's since It was established, and upon the walls the brass . tablets, giving their names in order from Wulfstan, who was In charge from 10H6 to 1090. down to Arthur Foley Ingram, who died in 1891. Reforo the services commenced we wan dered about studying the monuments and reading the epitaphs of the military and naval heroes who were buried there, for In the great temple of peace the British na tion bestows tributes upon Its dead war riors. A few civilians are burled among them. Including the great artists. Turner and Sir Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin West and more recently Sir Frederic Ielghton, the seven'h prerHent of the Royal acidemy, whose tomb, recently finished. Is one of the finest pieces of modern sculpture. Bit-hop Heber, the hymn writer; Dr. Sam uel Johnson. Henry Hsllam, the historian, and xeveral hlphops and deans of the ca thedral have found a resting place under the beautiful dome, but the numerous monuments of men who have made Eng land great give the cathedral the appejr ance of a temple of fame. Lord Cornwallls has a splendid tomb ami a long epitaph, but it contains no refer ence to hW participation In the American revolution. Opposite, In a similar niche, lies the. body of Horatio Nelson, lord of the p.rltlsh navy and the hero of Trafalgar. ("uiIcuhIv enough the saic iphagus In which his body lies, a solid block of black marble, was originally prepared by the great Car dinal Wobey for his own tomb In St. George's chapel, Windsor, but Wolsey fell from power before he needed it, and after lying uiiued for three centuries the tomb wu i e no. el by George III. to St. Paul's to rtctlve the axlies of Nelson. Wolsey was buried In St. George's chapel through tlio grace, of Henry VIII., although bis tomb Is not as splendid as It would have been If he had lemalned In power. Henry VIII. and Charles I. lie in the same tomb In St. George's chapel. It was origlnnlly Intended for Henry and Jane Seymour, hi wife, .v i1 BASKET. an almost endless combination of tones. In many grasses the smooth and shining stem offers a charming contrast to the duller tones of the leaf itself. The chief value of these materials Is the fact that they are always available and never commercial. They can be gathered according to Individual taste, without depending on the judgment of another; hence, the object when completed will be un expression of the Individual In stead of an expression of commerce. The woman who goes south for the winter cun gather the leaves of the Georgia pine, the smooth strips of the palmetto, and the pliable shoots of the osier willow. In the west she will find yucca and other beauti ful things. During her mountain rambles she can gather pine needles for her baskets and mats, and at the seashore the rushes and sedges will attract her. The materials should be carefully dried and weathered In the proper season, an art which can only be acquired by experi menting. Of the gras.s baskets, one of the prettiest Ideas Is to combine the green steins and the purple blossoms. The foundation of such a basket Is of colled hemp, like the scrap basket, but In this case the hemp Is dyed a purple, like the blossoms, with vegetable dyes. The coll stitch Is used exactly as In the cornhusk work. When the grasses dry out. as they do In time, the basket may Ik refreshed by brushing with a whisk broom clipped In water. : and her Infant child, who lie by his stele, and when Charles I.'s body was recovered from his executioners it was concealed 111 the tomb, where It lay unknown until George HI, found the body while he was constructing the present royal vault anil permitted it to remain where It is. Lord Charles Napier. Sir John Moore and other heroes of the army. Admiral Howe, Lord Colllngwood and other heroes of the navy have splendid monuments In St. Paul's, but the most Imposing tomb la that of the duke of Wellington. Since I was here last the tomb of Chinese Gordon has been erected In St. Paul'c a bronxe, re cumbent figure upon a sarcophagus of mar ble with a notable Inscription, read'ng: "To Major General Charles George Gor don, C. B., who at all times and every where gave his strength to the weak, bU substance to the pcor, his sympathy to the suffering, his h?art to God. Born at Wool wich, Jan., 1H33; slain at Kartoum, 38 Jan., 1885. He saved an empire by his war like genius, 'he ruled vast provinces with Justice, , wisdom and power, and, obedient to his sovereign's commands, he died In a heroic .attempt to save men, women and children from Imminent deadly peril. Greater love hath no man than that a man lay down his life for his friends.' " Since i have been here, Sir Arthur BjI llvan, the musician, has been burled near the grave of Benjamin West, the American painter, and his bust bus been placed upon a pedestal upon the London embankment in frcnt of the Savoy hotel. The Q.nlus of Music, a graceful figure in bronze, em braces the marble with her head bowed In sorrow, and a musk, a lute, a flute and other muHtcut Instruments with a scroll of music He at her feet. It is a grateful ten sa'ion to find in various parts of Iondon these tributes to notable men paid by the muslcul corporation. It Is alio the practice in German and French cities to honor In that way those who have honored their fel low citizens. . The shuttle of the feet of the choir boys as they came trooping Into the cathedral like a drove of wild colts dicturhed our meditations and reminded us that service (Continued on Page Fifteen.)