r
HRK.K hundred anil nfty men In love with one
p W I Kirl; nearly a of them openly professing their
I I love; 14 of them declaring that she shall marry
JL I thcm-that Is the record of a Chicago girl-a
shopgirl, who standi" each day bctiinu a curiam
counter, on the third aisle from the main en
trance of one of the great State street depart
ment stores.
She refuses to wed-not because she does not believe In
marriage but because slie declares that. In all her army of
suitors, she has not found the tight man. There are wealthy
men, pr men, worklngmen, and professional men among her
admirers; rlerks and floor walkers, department heads and
erand boys, and many of them are " right men," but not THE
right man.
She will not let her rnme be told, but If you go In the
main entrance, turn Just s bit to the right, walk down that
aisle three counters, and see a sweet faced, brown haired,
brown eyed, slender girl, with beautiful hands, smiling as she
shows her wares-that Is the girl. Half the men on State
street know her. and, strange to say, although she would not
be classed as beautiful, everybody refers to her ns " the
beauty at There are scores of prettier girls on the
floor, dozens whose clothes cost more, many whose hair Is
better, many with finer figures, some with prettier eyes but
there Is something about her that makes her THE beauty,
something of her sweetness of character and lovctlness of
life thnUdlstingulshc her from the others and causes men to
bow down and worship. Or. perhaps, because she won't wed
men want her all the more.
Nothing Extraordinary in Detail.
"Why Is she called a beauty?" asked a woman who had
heard of the conquests of the slender, brown eyed girl.
" There Is nothing extraordinary about her hair, or her eyes,
or her forehead, or her mouth, or her complexion."
"That's true," admitted the floor walker, "but her team
work Is gn at."
This girl has been at the counter five years, going there
Just after she graduated from high school, and she works
hard to earn the $0 or so a week which she needs to help
support the family and provide little pleasures for her
younger sisters. Yet, when a rich man wl.o will some dny
be a member of the great firm tenderly pleaded with her to
wed him she said no, gently but firmly, and when pressed
for a reason she said she did not love hinf. Every girl In tho
department declared she was old fashioned.
" I don't know how she wins 'em, do you, Jen?" said the
girl at the fifth counter. " She must i.ave men hypnotized.
Her shape ain't In it with Hat s, an' her pompadour ain't a
marker to Sue's, an" she ain't half as pretty as Annie but the
men all swarm to her. She was on the handkerchief counter
last Christmas time, an' a dozen men stood around an' Just
bought handkerchiefs to get to talk with her. All Uie men In
the store are daffy over her."
Began Proposing Five Years Ago.
" It Is embarrassing to talk about," said the Oirl, " but it
Is true that men do Insist upon marrying me. I don't know
why it Is. I came Into the store five years ago, almost, and
the week after I started to work the young man who was
working with me at the counter proposed to me. I had been
friendly with him, but never Imagined such a thing until
one afternoon, when the customers wcro few, he came to
my end of the counter I was selling linens then and pro
posed to me. It startled me. I didn't know what to do or
say. I had hardly even noticed him except to say ' good
morning,' and I never Imagined that he was In love.
" I finally told him that I was not In love with him, but
he went away cheerful and told me to think It over. I did.
Tho more I thought the more Indignant I got. I thought he
was cheapening love by Imagining that on one week's ac
quaintance I would marry him. He asked mc twice after that,
and then he grew discouraged and was transferred to another
department. As I thought, he was not really in love, but Just
imagined .he was.
" That was my first experience, but less than a month
later a floor walker, one of the handsomest men In the store,
asked me to be his wife. All the girls were smitten with
him, but he was too self-satisfied. He proposed as If he ex
pected mo to feel grateful.. I didn't love him a bit hurdly
knew him. In fact and even If I had loved him I never would
have consented to marry a man who expected a girl to fall
Into his arms for the mere asking. He wasn't In love, either.
He proved that by being nasty to me after I refused him.
' " I can't Imagine why they thought they were In love
with me. I never gave any one of them the slightest encour
agement, or flirted with any of them, or went out with them
like some of tho other girls did, but they seemed to like that
all the more. My third proposal wos from a messenger boy
the dearest little fellow In the tore. He came one day,
leaned against the counter, and talked big and brave about
what he was going to do In the world. Then he asked me to
marry him when he got older, and I came nearer accepting
him than I ever did any of the others. He was Just like a
happy, Innocent small brother and I almost loved him.
" I had been working about two months when I began
to notice a fair haired, plump young man, with brown eyes,
who came every day and bought something. He alwayt
waited until I was at leisure ond then came to me. We got
so that we greeted each other when he came to buy, and once
In giving nn order he directed that It be sent to his address,
so I learned his name and place of residence. One afternoon
he came In and purchased several things which It seemed
strange for a man to buy, and while I was waiting for the
package and the change to come back he proposed. He told
me that he had loved me from the first time I waited on him.
He wanted me to give my address so he could call and meet
my family. Of course I refused. But he kept coming to the
counter and buying things for which he had no possible use
for months. I didn't see him after that for nearly a year,
and one day he came along with a pretty, stylish, and well
dressed young woman, and he stopped and told me proudly
that she was his wife. He didn't offer to Introduce her, but
when they started on he whispered that I might have been In
her place. And I was glad t wasn't.
At First Annoyed; Now Used to It.
" For a time the constant attendance of men and their
Insistence on morrylng me annoyed me. I never gave
them any encouragement. But there were half a dozen who
kept coming to my counter Just to talk to me, and almost
every one of then) asked me to marry htm. The way In
which they asked, as if they were doing me a great honor,
annoyed me more than their, attentions. In the first year
that I was at work ninety-two different men, over half of
them employes of the store, proposed marriage to me, either
half Jokingly or wholly seriously. The other girls got to
twitting me about ft and I began to dodge men. I don't be
lieve more than one of those ninety-two If that many was
In love with me. The others simply liked me and had an Idea
that they would like to get married. Several men InBUlted me
during the same time two, I believe but the others were
all perfectly honorable In their offers of marriage. I began to
think that Chicago men were either poorly supplied with girl
acquaintances or that they were so anxious to marry that
they would marry any one. The consideration of true lova
seemed to count for little with them. They simply felt the
desire for a home and were ready to marry any nice girl who
pleased them.
" The funniest proposal I ever had was after I had been
working in the store about two years. One day I recelred a
notice to call at the office. Now, when a girl Is late to work
In the morning she is summoned to the office, but I had not
been late, so I was puzzled. I reported at the office at once
and one of the department managers was waiting. He asked
me to be seated. Then In cold blood he proposed marriage
to me. He proceeded to tell me about his salary and pros
pects, quite business like. When ho had finished I said:
' Mr. , I am not for sale.'
. .,. it ii i t ,i . h n
, . ..ilf life ?
. Mips im. i - ffi
i f,-ttv lint-
pnpl!iai vv i fMl -M
vAMw'v' u V ? 0 MS vjL ft w VUY!
" ' Vnu misunderstand me," he said. ' I want to make you
my wife.'
" ' I understand that,' I said. ' Hut I cannot marry a
man I do not love'
"He thought for a moment and then said: 'Perhaps you
are right. I have been so busy I didn't have time to come
around and make love to you, but I have been In love with
you since the second or third time I saw you. I had Intended
to come around and make love, and take you out to tho
theater, but my duties have kept me from It. I assure you,
though, t lint I love you devotedly.'
" I was obliged to decline his offer, although I am sure
he was perfectly sincere. He did show me several notable
kindnesses afterward, and several times Invited mo to go
to the theater or to dinner with him. I might have loved him
- but I thought of the lot of a wife who had a husband who
placed business so far ahead of love.
" After awhile proposals benan to get tiresome. I never
Imagined that men wen- so foolish. I have sold men dozens
of handkerchiefs and refused them while waiting for the
change. I have been proposed to by utter strangers. It Is
queer what a slight Importance tin n attach to love. Hearing
them has destroyed some of my Illusions,
Sometimes Five Proposals in a Day.
" The most devoted lot of lovers 1 have are the boy clerks
between IS nnd 20 years. They seem to think It their duty
to admire me and to propose to me at the first opportunity.
Their motives are of the purest, but not one of them is really
and truly In love with me, although each one thinks he is
for a time. I have had as many us Ave proposals of mar
riage In one day.
" The way men propose Is funny at least, when one Is not
in love with ,fhe man. I have read novels about men falling
on their knees or seizing the girl In their arms but not ono
of the arid that have asked me to marry them has done either
of these things, or even attempted them. They usually begin
by telling about themselves and their hopes In life and
their prospects, and then blurt out the question. Over half
of them ' hedge ' by covering their proposal with a half Jest
ing manner, so they can retreat without losing any of their
dignity or suffering a rebuff.
" I have old fashioned Ideas In regard to marriage. I
don't think any girl should marry until she finds the man
she loves and who loves her, and then she should marry
him whether he is a cash boy or the owner of tho store."
" Have you an ideal?" was asked.
"I have," responded the girl, calmly. "I am waiting for
him. I met him once but he never noticed me. Some day
he will come, or else
"Yes, madam; C5 cents a yard this week reduced
from $1."
--s4' -3? EfV--
3
.n
D
R. MANTEL HJLASIAS, the Portuguese physi
cian and explorer, Is to reud a most remarkable
paper before the next meeting o( the Royal
Portuguese Geographic and Ethnographic so
ciety, giving the details of his discovery of an
entire village In southwestern Brazil peopled by
nyktaloptlcs.
A nyktaloptlc Is a person who can seo In the
dark but not In daylight. The phenomenon Is familiar to med- .
leal science, for nearly 2H0 nyktaloptlcs have, been recorded
the world over In the last fifty years.
The Interesting feature of Dr. Iglasias' discovery lies in
the fact that the entire village In question was peopled by
nyktaloptlcs, and In practically every case the nyktaloptlc
was " advanced "that is, complete. All conditions of life
In the village were reversed. The Inhabitants slept all day.
The men hunted, fished, played games, and otherwise amused
theniBclves In the night time. The women wove blankets and
baskets of grass, did rude beadwork, made garments with
clumsy thorn needles, all in the darkness.
In this strange village daylight was darkness. Bright
moonlight was hazy, dim twilight, and darkness was day
light. Found in Brazilian Forests.
Dr. Manuel Iglasias discovered the village In 1903, during
his exploration of the upper Purus river, In the western part
of Brazil. The village ws found In the dense forests which
cover the region between the Purus and Jurna rivers, and
Is located 125 miles south of a line drawn between the town of
Qulcla, on the Purus river, and Curua. on th Jurna river, and
Is therefore near the boundary of the disputed territory of
Acre, over which Brazil and Bolivia severa' times have been
near the verge of war.
No European had ever visited the region before Dr. Igla
sias arrived. This was evident by the asDnlshment of the
nutlves upon seeing him.
The Portuguese explorer's Journey up the river Amazon
to the port of Manaos, hto voyage up the Purus In a nmall
river steamer, and his arrival at Qulcla were accomplished
without notable Incident. At Qulcla Dr. Iglasias, In April,
l'.Kia. left his steamer, Intending to make the Journey overland
to the headwaters of the Jurna river. The steamer. In the
meantime, was to return to Manaos. eecur fresh supplies,
and then proceed via the Amazon and Jurna rivers to the
town of Curua, where Dr. Iglasias was to meet It.
Dr. Iglasias had a party of twenty-three men, all natives
of Brazil and all skilled forest men. He left Qulcla April
'Si, lPott, striking boldly westward Into the forest, collecting
botanical data as he went. He encounteied a number of
Indian villages, tut was not molested. The fact that he and
his purty were well arnud probably added to his security.
J J
Dense Forests All In Darknest.
Dr. Iglaslus declared that no one who hat not been there
can describe the weird gloom of the forests of the region
between the Purus and Jurna rivers. So numerous and so
lofty are the trees, so luxuriant their f ullage, and ho matted
the vines and creepers that grow trom treetop to treetop, that
thousands of acres of ground are covered with a thick can
opy of verdure, almost rainproof. H traveled sometimes for
day beneath the natural canopy of follugo without once see
ing the sun or even the sky. At noon the everglades through
which the party cut Its way were In dim twilight.
The only sounds to be heard were the tio'tea made once In
a while by the crash of a f.Uling tree or the sorrowful note of
a bird, the plaintive howling uf a monkey, ri the occasional
cream of a Jaguar which had fallen a vlctlrr to a predatory
boa constrictor.
One afternoon Dr. Iglasias and his party emerged from the
forest gloom Into a natural clearing, where, for the first time
In muny days, he had an opportunity to 'ac a welcome sun
bath. He had seen occasional signs of human habitation and
inew that be was neurlng u village.
f' fi
ZhZSr fft? ;M :'til'A V s'jSf
All at once he was surprised to find two children asleep In
the grass a boy and a girl, both brown and naked. The ex
plorer awakened them. The girl, with a scream, started
wildly to her feet, shaded her eyes with her hands, and start
ed to run straight-against a tree. The boy, In his efforts to
escape, ran toward the men in the doctor s party instead of
away from them. Then both children cowered down on the
grounu trembling with fright.
' Dr. Iglasias offered them food, but apparently they did
not see It. Then he put it. In their hands. They felt of the
bread cautiously, smelled of It, and then began to eat as tf
starving, holding out their hands for more.
The explorer concluded that both children were blind. He
showed them his pocket compass and hi watch, his knife.
They felt of the strange objects and held them close to their
strained, wide open eyes, but apparently could not see them.
Then Dr. Iglasias held a lighted match In front of their faces.
'I liey did not see the flame, but shrank from the heat. Clearly
they were blind.
Saw with Approach of Night.
Night came on and the party went Into camp, the blind
children showing no restive desire to run away. As the dark
ness fell the children seemed to become alert and more awake.
They began to run about the camp and to examine the bag
gage, the guns, the cooking utensils, with every degree of
Interest.
Dr. Iglasias watched them from his sent near the camp
fire with Increasing wonderment. The children apparently
were not blind, although In the sunlight they could not sea
his watch.
Struck by a sudden thought, the doctor called the boy to
him and again showed him the watch. The boy held It In
his hands, and then suddenly ran away from the firelight,
going to a thicket thirty feet away where the darkness was
Intense. There the children examined the watch and chattered
over It In apparent wonderment.
Then Dr. Iglasias realized that he had found two exam
ples of complete nyktaloptla, and, with the enthusiasm of a
physician and a scientist, prepared to n.ske a close study
of the phenomena from personal observation.
Suddenly a young monkey whimpered from the treetopi,
fifty or sixty feet above the ground. The rlr listened Intent
ly and then, with an exclamation, darted te the tree and,
clinging to the tough vines which encircled Its trunk, begun
to climb up Into Its topmost branches. Dr. Iglasias could hear
her scrambling among the branches, swinging from one tree
to another, apparently In chase of the monkey. The boy had
followed her. and the doctor and his wondering companions
could hear the little savages laughing and chattering" as they
scrambled through the treetops.
Climbing Trees in the Dark. .
Finally the girl came funning to the carn Wth a half
dead bird In her hands. She had caugh Vt'ln a tree standing
LMii feet away from the one which 8heiai flrnt c,mbedi iwiIlg.
lng from branch to branch and fpj,, trle t0 tree
As the children became lefTimoroug they answered ques
tlons put to then, by one othe niUlve, , the whffl WK
able, in a way to make. KxwM understood It was gathered
which wis " thre'e rU" 'a" thelr '9'
which was three X.epa .. to lhe wegtward.
Th chlhlren
am uiuri, inn COUIC1 Dl
and the explorers could not cut their way
rgrowtli or cross the deep streams in the
he only thing to do, therefore, was to search
n trust to luck. At night the children clayed in the
V
v..
ce In dayllgh
through the
darkness.
blindly an
xhy a
indei
forests in the day they dipt und were carried on Improvised
litters by the natives.
In two days Dr. Iglasias came upon the village. Here a
I reiiiemluUM surprise await d him. All the people in the vlllaga
were nyktaloptlcs. Every man, woman, and child, by some
hereditary whim of nature, could see only in darkness.
Dr. Iglasias made fi lends wit. the villagers, the children
being able to tell much of his kindness to them. Ha was
thcrtfoty- able to make a close study of nyktalopla, which
forms the subject of the scientific paper he has prepared to
lead before the Royal I'ortugucso Geographic and Ethno
graphic society.
For convenience of reference Dr. Iglasias named the vil
lage Nyktuloptia. i- remained there four weeks, making
4
if
mnny tests of the peculiar defect In tho vision of this strango
people.
J
All Inhabitants Slept by Day.
Naturally the entire village was asleep In the daytime.
When night fell the vllUge awoke. The men gave up their
time exclusively to hunting and fishing. The women cooked
the meals, wove grass cloth, made the few rude garments
they wore. The children plHyed games.
Dr. Iglasias contrived a lantern by which he was able to
watch these strange people at work and play. By covering
the glass with several thicknesses of mosqultc netting he was
able to reduce the strengm of the light so that It would not
"darken" the vision of the natives, while at the same time
he himself could see dimly what they were doing.
It was a curious sight to see a nyktaloptlc woman weave
grass cloth. For material she had the stenib of a tough flliered
grass, four, five, and even six feet long. Part of the grass
she would dye a deep red, a rich logwood brown, or a bright
yellow, securing the dye from vegetable substances. Seated
In her hut. In absolute darkness, she would weave the grass
wl'h deft lingers, selecting, from time to time, with unerring
Judgment, the different -olors she needed. To Dr. IglaMlas It
seemed uncanny to see i woman pick up a bunch of grass and
select the r"d. brown, or y How stems at will.
Dr. Iglasias tested the men's vision In many ways. At
midnight he would hear a bird twittering In a treetop far
above him lie would point upward and a native, with n
quick glance Into the darkness, would pi ire an arrow to his
bow, draw the cord quickly, let fly the in row, and then run
and pick up the bird, transfixed with the arrow, still quiver
ing. Skillful at Catch in the Dark.
Again, the doctor would come up to a group of men sit
ting in the darkness. With a quick exclamation to attract
their attention he would toss his pocket knife, his compass, his
pencil case to them. Inv.irlubly they would catch the objects,
running up to him to show them and restore them.
At other times he would throw his hunting knife out Into
the darkness. A boy or a girl would run Instantly and plc
It up.
Dr. Iglasias arranged .n archery target of straw matting,
with a bell behind the bullseye, so placed that If struck by an
arrow It would ring. Th.'ii he would set the target up In the
darkest spot he could find and Induce the young men to shoot
their arrows at It. When they learned that each time they
shot an arrow Into the center of the target, thus making tlia
bell ring, they would receive a prize, they Flint their arrows
so accurately even at a distance of 2U0 paces that Dr. Igla
sias was compelled to abandon the test because he ran out
of trinkets for prizes.
After several weeks In the village Dr. Iglasias was com
pelled to continue his Journey to Curua, in order to meet his
steamer. He returned to Lisbon Inst winter and has since
been busy in writing up 'lis notes.
How Science Explains the Case.
Optical science explains nyktaloptla as "a condition In
which sight Is better by night or In seinl-darkness than by
daylight a symptom of central scrotoma, the more dilated
pupil f the eye at night allowing a better Illumination of the
peripheral portions of the retina." I
As already stated, many Isolated Instances of partial nyk
talopla have been known to science, but It remained for Dr.
Manuel Iglasias to discover a whole village of perfect nyktal
optlcs. Ho tan only explain the phenomenon by the fact that
for generations this particular tribe of Brazilian India us hud
lived In the dense gloom of the forests until nyktalopla grad
ually developed until It assumed an abnormal phusu.
