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About Savannah weekly news. (Savannah) 1894-1920 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1897)
WOMAN'S DAINTY FANCIES. ■■ t- ■ BAB TALKS OF 1 THE DRESS OF THE GEN TLER SEX. ... ' X-*’’* ' . y- ■ - f ■ - * The Fur Collar and Muff, and What They Mean to a Costume—Where Ribbons, Jabots and Laces Help—The Feather Aigrette After the French Fashion—How to Properly Care for the Tnrquolse, Which Is a« Thelicate as the Pearl. New York, Jan. 16.—How pretty the women look nowadays! A couple of years ago a fur collar, or a fur muff, meant that and nothing else. But now! Now the fur of the collar has its beauty enhanced by loops of ribbon, jabots of lace, or most magnificent jeweled or enajneled clasps ; while the muff, well, no brown ribbon is used upon it by which to swing It about the neck of beauty, but, instead, there is a gold chain for this purpose, and 'oftener it is a gold chain threaded with pearls, or emeralds, or sapphires, or, best of all, dia monds. Then the muff itself is lined, not with a dull, dark satin, that means de struction to dainty white gloves, but in . place of that there is a llnirtg of a rich, light brocade, while about the sides are full frills of fine lace; on top is ,a many- , looped bow of ribbon, and. sometimes, the head of a silver fox, sometimes a mink's head, sometimes a few sable tails, or whatever i« in harmony with the fur itselfJ and forms the fcreatest* contrast to th<» other garnitures. People talk abotit five long chains for muffs, and for the half o f hundred other things for which they ma y be used the watch, the purse, tDe vinaigrette or the lorgnettei —as bein new, but, if anybody will take the trouble to look at some of the photographs of Titian's ladies, it will be seen that al>out their necks are t hese very long chains. Then, too, the It alian ladies have worn them for centuries, it be ing counted a great virtue to hav*e ones chain made after some famous desiirn fan cied by a Venstian beauty of iQng ago. Dressing was nbver more beautiful than now, and there never was a tl/me when greater thought was given to the small be longings that really go to make or mar a toilette. Brooches are utilize/, in every way. A rich enamelled one fawiens a knot of ribbon on a bonnet; two, sqt with sap phires, are arranged like but tons on the front of a bodice; while another, a tur quoise framed in diamonds, fastens the feather aigrette, that aftqrr the French fashion, is placed pertly at 'the back of the head. Next to the great advantage of possess ing beautiful jewels comes the ability to utilize them with originality Nobody wears anything as it was originally in tended it should be worn. Consequently, I was not surprised the other day at seeing, clasped around the simple knot of hair that is Yvette Guilbert’s favorite coiffure, a heavy chain of gold, set about with tur quoise hearts, I kv.ew it to boa bracelet, but the clever French woman had found an original way to dispose of her ornament, and one that waif a thousand times more effective than the mere wearing of it On the wrist. Never before were there so many turquoises worn. I think It Is be cause all womankind is indulging in hor love for color, and these gems are so in tense in the beautiful tints. However, when you go to buy a turquoise, be careful, tor the inferior quality, which looks well at first, and would deceive anybody but the expert seller and some equally expert buyer, will in time fade and grow to have a dirty look, a look that is absolutely greasy, while Its color will be spotty. By-the-bye, the turquoise, like the pearl, requires great dare. Be careful that no perfume falls upon it. Be careful that no 1 cosmetic touches it. Be careful that no oily i substance is nedr it, and never attempt to clean it with water. It is m|her interest -1 Ing to know thurit while some of the best of I the beautiful blue gems are found in Por -1 sia, quite a number of those; recently put 1 upon the mark'd come from Egypt, and ■ formed the fnamings of the gold maiiks B that Invariably cover the f.ices 9 of those mummies who were ■ of royal blood. Pearls are, ■of course, the istones of perfect purity and ■ ‘nnocence, hut alas! good pearls were ■ never more expensive than they are now, ■ .nd consequently it may be concluded that Xre than three-quarters of tln> imitation. Still, they are so well imi tated that one finds an excuse for their • existence, and that is a wise woman who wears the pearls given her with Happiness and without question. Everything intended for feminine wear or to hold feminine belongings Ls not only Vainty but rich. When Mademoiselle (debutante went to the opera for the first dine this season she carried on her arm a |ong pouch-like bag, swung by a wide satin ribbon tied in a big bow. This bag was made of the same magnificent bro cade as that used for her opera cloak. It was lined throughout with satin of a single tint that harmonized with tho bro cade, but it was not stiffened, as the bro cade Itself was rich enough, as it is pro verbially said, to stand alone. The top of > the bag was finished with a band of fur and then there camo a wide frill of lace. ' With the rich cloak, the lovetv gown, this bag was the dainty touch needed, and one did not need to possess second sight to realize that tn it was a tiny fan of great I value, artistically, a bonbonniere set with jewels and having upon its lid the minia- I ture of some beauty of long arc, a vinai grette with a star sapphire framed In dia monds in Its top, a tiny lace handkerchief, and all the pretty trifles rhat women count as necessities. These bags, aome how. suggest more than anything else that is worn, tho bags that were carried by our great-great-grandmothers, and no body can doubt, that, packed away tn many an old chest, are quaint old bags that held just such pretty and in which had been slipped many a time and oft. as there will be to-day. perhaps, a bil let-doux. That the opera bag was a fa vorite gift at Christmas time is easily un derstood. and that it was appreciated doseu't need to be told. Half of society wknt to Russia last sum mer, and society's jewel box gained there by. Not only does one aee clasps, brooches and buttons of Russian enatnel, but there are marvelous umbrella handles rich with enameling and heavy with uncut semi precious stones of the kind that the Rus sian worker In jewels knows so well how to utilize. A favorite trifle is a box intend ed to hold tiny wax matches, and this may ho offered, even to the most conventional of young women, since it Is meant not to furnish light* for cigarettes, hut to he laid on the dressing ease or the writing desk, or to be swung front the chatelaine when an outing is contemplated, a tobogganing party tn view, and a match might be re quired. Apropos of chatelaines, those I usetal and certainly artistic ornaments • are still in vogue, but as tq* silver ehate- I lain® was sup«ra»'de*l by the gold one. so I the gold one is now counted as bizarre. | and the ambar one, mounted In gold, takes I its place. A clasp of amber etched with gold, and ! front It swing gold chains that terminate | one. in a pure* of amber, mounted, as is • each article. In gold, another, a whistle. I then a knife, then a mirror, then a glove - but toner, then a pencil, and then a puff- : hox. Nothing quite so artistic M this has I been seen for many <« long dky, unless, in- * deed, it should be the funniest of small be longings for the breakfast table, and that .is a honey pot. It Is in the form of a large bee of ruby glass, and he is mounted in stiver; he stands on his four legs, with ills wings upraised, his body holding the honey, and the whole effect of the little bibelot is to suggest that it is as sweet as sugar. I wonder if you are like me? If you reqlly care to hear about beauti fu Ibelongings? If you have learned the wisdom of life—that is, the being able to admire that which you cannot possess? If so, then you will look with delight, as I did, on a writing basket; it is a square basket with silver-gilt handles, lined with red leather. Slipped through the proper receptacle on the inside of the lid are the silver-gilt penholder, pencil case, clipping , scissors, knife and paper knife. The lock is silver-gilt and the little key so dainty that it could be swung on a chatelaine, but so good! and by good I mean secure, that once turned in its lock and taken out without reversing, even the most expert of curious maid-servants could not force the Jock to open, even with that most valuable of picks—a. common hairpin. Fancy how useful auch a basket would be to a woman who went away from home often, and, who, during her absence received import ant letters, which she did not wish to put either among her gowns, or in the dress ing table. The amateur photographer has been wishing for a long time that she could combine pleasure and an increase to her income. Everybody was willing to let her take a picture, but nobody seemed anxious to pay for such photographs. One girl has been clever enough to make her fad pay. She devoted ail her time to photographing interiors, and now her friends are inform ed that she will come and photograph a dining room just as it looks when it is pre pared for a dainty luncheon, or an elabo rate dinner; that she will photograph a boudoir, a drawing room, or a nursery, and do it at a reasonable price. What woman is there, away from her mother, who doesn’t long to send home a picture of “how our dinner table looked the night we entertained the Marquis of Carabas?” Or what loving mother doesn’t want to have a picture to go to a doting grand mother, or an effectlonate aunt, that shows “just how the nursery 14 when nurse is going to give Jack his bath?” And what girl in love doesn’t long to send to her-sweetheart “a picture of my boudoir with your dear, dear photograph on the table with my religious books and flowers that I always put before It every morn ing?” Properly managed this special amateur photographer will make money, and If the people in New York are not wise enough to appreciate her, I can only give to her, though I do not know her at all, the advice that the Duchess gave to Alice in Wonderland: “If you don’t succeed in St. Petersburg, go to Timbuctoo.” JJy-the-bye, if the button of a bodice is lost, hunting it becomes not only a mat tei* of Importance, but finding it results in a certain reward. Beautiful porcelain but tons, with miniatures upon them, framed in brilliants, are the ones that my lady likes on her evening gowns. She can get them for $7 a button, and she requires four. Sometimes the face on one button is a Watteau study; sometimes it is the head of Marie Antoinette or Madame Re caimer; and sometimes Raphael’s cherubs look out at you‘from a button as if to say, "It’s all vanity.” But they are pretty, these dainty buttons, and so are those others of Delft ware, framed in silver; but these are. meant for a less elaborate bodice, than that one on which miniature buttons appear. For a cloth gown, or a fur coat there are tortoise Shell buttons, framed in a narrow rim of gold. The button bag of the future will hold treasures. Fancy your great-granddaughter looking through it! Will she appreciate these ar tistic buttons as you do? Or will she call them queer and out-of-date, and laugh at the idea of ladles wearing them? Who can say what the future will hold for any thing ? And yet the future only copies the bast. Bah! 1 began with talking about trifles, and I am drifting into moralizing ; that’s the way with everything—we begin with a song and end with a sermon. Which do you like best—the song or the sermon? I think it depends on how well you can sing, or how badly you preach. Well, there Is one consqjatlon, whether we have to listen to songs or to sermons, we can always make the best of everything— even of a poor bargain. Though I assure* you I shouldn’t thank anybody for writ ing: “This is a poor bargain” opposite the name of Bab. DIEL OVER FAIR AMERICAN. 11 ns bn nd and Lover Wound Each Other With Rnllets. From the Philadelphia Press. Berlin, Jan. 7.—Another American wo man figures prominently before the Euro pean public, and as the cause of the fa mous duel between Baron von Wangen helm and Lieut. Count Waldemar-Uexkcll of Gyllenband. It is altogether a very common-place family drama. The baron, who is now 37 years old, was married on April 29, 1886, to Lucie Ahrenfeldt, a daughter of Charles Ahrenfeldt and Helene Mtnlos, a wealthy American family then and still living in Dresden. Lucie's dowry was sl,ooo.r**>. Two children were born to them. Wan genheim. who was in the diplomatic ser vice. was transferred from the Danish cap ital to the embassy at Madrid and thence in the autumn of 1595 to Stuttgart. For some time he and his wife have not lived happily together and the finish ing touch came in Stuttgart, where they made Count Uexkell’s acquaintance. The young lieutenant, who was only 29 years old, soon became Wangenheim’s Intimate friend and was dally at his home. The Baroness Lucie soon took a strong fancy to him and asked her husband to con sent to a divorce, but he refused. She left for Paris four months ago, all the while keeping up a lively correspond ence with the lieutenant and eventually they agreed on a rendezvous at Dresden, where she often went to visit her family. In order to discuss plans for their future. Wangenheim, however, was Informed, and when Uexkeil left for Dresden, he fol lowed him and succeeded in surprising the couple together, A duel was the conse quence and its conditions were pitiless. A military jury fixed the distance at fif teen paces with permission to advance to five and exchange three shots. Uexkell’s life is still in danger from the bullet wound in his forehead, but Wan- I genheim has almost recovered from the I injury to the lower part of his body. The rumor was that the latter will fight I a second duel because his wife has had I another love affair, is untrue. But it | seems true that he will not even now con | sent to a divorce, the supposed motive I being his wife's large fortune. The | bareness has disappt axed from Stuttgart.. ? —According to a Parisian newspaper in • terview, Madame Adelina Patti is anxious | to secure the decoration o£ the "Legion of THE WEEKLY NEWS (TWO-TIMES-A-WEEK): THURSDAY. JANUARY 21. 1897. CHASED BY AN ALLIGATOR. Terrible Experience of a Young Clergyman in Louisiana. From the Philadelphia Times. Miles Point, La.—This place was the picture of animation on Wednesday even ing in happy anticipation of the wedding of Etta Whitmore and Jack Harvey, two of the best known and most popular young people in this town. Another fact which added interest: to the affair was that the benedict was the much-loved pastor of the Baptist persuasion. In view of this it was only natural that the whole place and surrounding country wanted to and did lend a hand in not only assisting in the decorations, but in bringing such use ful presents that the couple were fitted up for housekeeping in its entirety, and had groceries enough added to last them months. The hour set for the marriage was 9 o’clock, but funny as it may seem many guests fearing to be late began to arrive early in the afternoon. Os course, the whole country was invited, so for a time there seemed to be no end to the long stream of people coming through the big gate towards the bride’s home, which was then the prettiest and brightest spot any where to be seen, inasmuch as fully two thousand Japanese lanterns and torch lights illuminated the whole house and patn to the church. The old minister at Burnside, the next town, was to officiate, but he was as much too late as were a good number of the guests too early. So while the latter caused only a little mirth, the former aroused a great deal of disconfiture among all, most especially within the two con tracting parties. So that when 10 o’clock came without the minister’s appearance there was consternation depicted over the faces of everyone. Only those who have had a similar experience can imagine the bridegroom’s state of mind. Unable to endure longer the great suspense he slip ped away unseen except by one or two who were pledged not to breathe It to the bride-to-be, mounted his wheel and started rapidly down the nearest cut to Burnside on a voyage of discovery as to the cause of Brother Henderson’s failure to mater ialize. The distance was not to be ac complished in less than an hour and a half when the road was in the best possible condition, and as it was then no one ex pected his return before midnight at least. So in the meanwhile there was nothing for' the anxious guests to do except wait, and this they did, although none too patiently until after 12 o’clock. By this time, as the old minister had not yet arrived, nor sent any message and Jack Harvey had not returned it was known something was wrong. Just what it was mystified every one, and so in tensely that the men felt it their duty to be up and doing, and forthwith they were. There are two roads which lead from Miles Point to Burnside, one, the main street, and usually the chosen one, the other a side path through the woods, therefore very rough and hard to follow, and only resorted to occasionally when time was the chief object. About two dozen men divided up and started down the two routes to Burnside. When the first party got about half way down the mountain road to Burn side they saw Parson Henderson, and in such a predicament that it aroused con siderable mirth within the spectators, al though the parson himself is still at a loss to know what was funny about it, as it appeared to him, and would have to any one else under like circumstances, as very serious. He was sitting upon his horse waiting, hoping, praying for help, and had been since 8 o'clock in the even ing. To avoid the mud in one particular ly bad place in the street he turned aside and was riding over a marshy part of what appeared a side path. W’hen his horse suddenly stopped and refused to take another step. At first he thought he was in a bog, but ere many minutes he knew that by the way his horse went down that they were in quicksand. He without mercy used whip and spur, but without avail, for the animal could not!, owing to the great suction of the mud, pull himself out, much less retrace his steps. Seeing that hie horse contin ued to sink down, and not knowing the depth, he did not dare leap off and take the chances of going down almost imme diately, and no one coming in sight, left nothing for either the horse or rider to do but to await their fate. Luckily for both, however, the animal only sank to within a few inches of being over his back, which fact, with the timely aid, ‘saved both. For several minutes the men stood wondering just what was best to be- done, when the minister suddenly made it knowh that they—he and the horse —were again sinking. This called for ac tion at once. But what was to be done? They needed a rope, but, of course, had none, and were several miles from svhere any could be procured. The men looked about them wildly, and, seeing twisted about a tree near-by a huge wild vine, they made haste to cut it down and throw one end to the Rev. Henderson, who, after many unsuccessful attempts, finally succeeded hi getting it around the horse, after which he threw the end back to the men. Immediately this was tossed over a strong limb of a tree, brought down and made fast to a projecting root. By this means both horse and rider were saved from go ing down until ropes could be gotten from the nearest store. A sort of pulley ar rangement of the rope, with the united strength of the men gradually raised the horse and rider until they were almost upon the surface of the quicksand. And by noon on Thursday they were, much to their joy, once again upon terra firma. And It may be imagined that the identity of both were well concealed by the wear ing of a mud coat. The parson was ex hausted from the strain upon his enrves, and it was necessary to take him home at once for medical treatment, but the horse seemed none the worse off for his quick sand bath. But while this experience had within it a goodly share of terror, it was not half so formidable as that of the young min ister, Jack Harvey, the bridegroom-elect, who, in speaking of it, said: “I was rid ing along swiftly, making excellent time, until about half way to Burnside, when I reached the worst part of the path. Here It was dark, full of briars, bull rushes and decidedly marshy, therefore no route for a w-heel. Nevertheless, I had started and ’ determined not to give up until I reached Burnside. But man proposes-*-well, you know the rest. While speeding over or through the boggy places, bouncing up and down and nearly being thrown off as I came in contact with the hard roots of underbrush, I ran over something, the movement of whose body threw me off my wheel several feet forward. “Being unhurt, I raised up quickly and retraced a few steps to see, if possible, what it was. But scarcely had I done so when my mistake was realized by my life suddenly becoming in jeopardy. Strange sounds echoed through the air, and. worse still, the atmosphere was stagnant with the musk of an alligator. I knew then i what I had done, and what the result I woyld he. I had run over and doubtless ICUREFITS When 1 say I cure I do not mean merely to stop then* for a time and then hare them return again. I mean a radical cure. I hare made the disease of FITS. EPILEPSY or FALLING SICKNESS a hfo lootf study. I w arrant my remedy tt> cure the worst •asea. Because other* bare failed lie no reason for sot now reoetvinr a cure Send at once for a treatise and a Free Bottleof my infallible remedy. Give Ei press and Poetothce address. Prof.W.B.PEEKE.F.D.,*Ceaarst..MewYort injured a young alligator; the odd mother had heard its cry, discovered what was done, and the letting out of its musk was proof conclusive of its fury, which in no way could be quieted until either she had caught and killed me or I killed her. That she would prove the victor was quite pos sible, as I was unarmed, and no man can equal them in fleetness. There was but one thing to be done, and that was fly for my life, and this I did. But in a few min utes I was chased, and like mad, by this infuriated thing. The muddy water splashed, the rushes rustled and cracked, and ere I had gotten scarcely any distance she was upon me. There was no riding a wheel then; no time to think, or do any thing except fight for my life. And this was done. The wheell was kept in front of me, used as a shield, and protected me until it was clutched in the thing's jaws and torn away from me. Fortunately the rubber on the bicycle tangled for a min ute the alligator’s teeth. “So, taking advantage of that, I did the only thing there was for me to do—took to my heels towards the nearest tree, yehich I began to climb. The alligator was at my feet in a twinkling and, rearing up, made a dash at my leg and gouged a piece out of it before I could tear it away. The pain was excruciating, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that I finally manged to climb above the reach of the. mad beast, who, seeing her failure to kill me, stood guafld at the base of the tree to see that I made no escape.’* And thus the young minister was found. The men took in his terrible situation at a glance and realized that there was some work ahead of them. The only firearms in their possession were two revolvers, the effect of which were little more than toy pistols upon the knotty head arid body of the alligator. Preparing them selves for the bloody conflict by collect ing each a stout hickory stlpk, they emp tied each revolver, fourteen shots in all, at the thing's body, but not a bullet took effect. The alligator lashed her tail and dashed at the twelve men as though de termined to devour all at the same time. And they, throwing down the pistols, grabbed the sticks, dodged, fought, slash ed and battered away for fully two hours before they felt in the least rewarded. By this time they were almost exhaust ed, and, happily so, was the alligator. A few more hard licks and its head was crushed in, which blinded her so that the men had but little trouble in killing her. The alligator is the largest and was the most ferocious ever seen in this part of the state, measuring seventeen and a half feet from tip to tip. The battle was the most bloody and dangerous ever experi enced here, and that they escaped is noth ing less than a miracle. Jack Harvey was taken home, where he is still suffering from his wounds, from which hopes are entertained for his re covery, but not for several weeks yet. The bride-elect is suffering from the nervous shock brought about by the nar row escape and illness of her lover. The guests, weary after their long wait, excited and disappointed, have at last re turned to their respective homes. And the marriage is indefinitely postponed. And thus endeth for a time that which would have been one of the prettiest wed ding ever celebrated in this section of the country. THE UTILITY OF PAIN. The Best of Reasons Why Pain Should Accompany Illness and In jury. From the Literary Digest. The statement of Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, in his address on “The Birth and Death of Pain,” at the recent Boston celebration of the semi-centennial of anaesthesia, that the purpose of pain is “a riddle to which earth can give no answer,” is called in question by the .editor pT the Hospital in a leading article (Dec. 5).‘ For the ed itor the use of pain, far from being a rid dle, is so clear that he who runs may read. Pain is to the ordinary man a warning of danger. Says the editorial to which we refer: “Here is a man with a painful, broken arm. Does the pain serve any special purpose, any purpose which might not as well have been served without it? Most assuredly it does. But for the pain the average man—not, perhaps, the scientific man, but the average hot pay heed to his injury; would not, in fact, de vote the necessary time and trouble to its perfect repair. We have to consider what my average man is for the purposes of this discussion. He is not the average modern American, or modern European, tinctured with all the culture, all ( the science, all the high morality of the mod ern world. He is the typical person of no education, who has made up the gen erations of men from the earliest times when mankind emerged from the practi cally brute condition into dawning moral consciousness. That is the average man to be considered when we ask what may be the purpose of pain. Has pain had a purpose of any kind for all those count less generations of the uncultured past who have constituted the solid mass of mankind? Most assuredly it has had a purpose—many purposes. It has compelled attention to injured structures; it has en forced rest and sleep by the distress of weariness; the taking of food by the tor tures of hunger: and, in short, has been the general indicator and corrector for man and beast in the exercise of physi cal and physiological energy of every kind. Not only so, but the moralist and the re ligious teacher will unite in insisting that the educational value of pain in the regions of morals and religion has been and con tinues to be incalculable. So far from agreeing with Dr. Weir Mitchell that pain has no purpose in the world, we affirm that one of the most obvious of all the facts connected with pain in its definite and in calcuable value, as an indicator, corrector, educational force, alike in physical, men tal and moral spheres.” This being so, an objector may say why interfere with pain at all? This stand was actually taken by many who held, at the time of the introduction of anaesthe tics, that to use them was to fly in the face of the Almighty. But the Hospital points out that such a course would be quite illogical. It says: “That which is esential for one period of human development may not be essential for another. The sharp physical stimuli, the clubs and spears of the early savage, are not needed by the later races of men. in earlier times hunger, thirst, fear of wounds from enemies, the most elemen tary of all sensations, were needed to compel even the highest races of men to do the best that was in them. In our times there are millions who work in obedience to motives altogether different from the driving forces of hunger, cold, and physical fear. Ambition compels ex ertion. duty, mere love of work. And so the element of painfulness, being less and less needed, plays a less and less conspic uous part as a driving and correcting force in the world. Will pain, or the pos sibility of pain, ever be eliminated from the experience of man. or ‘killed,’ as Dr. Weir Mitchell might prefer to put it? Most probably not. so long as man is en dow’ed with his present nervous system But it is possible, nay. it is quite easy, to imagine a time when mankind in general shall have reached such a stage of men tal capacity and culture, such a wide and masterful victors - over nature, such a de gree of physical vigor and material pros perity. that pain shall be a very excep tional fact in his experience. This is the goal at which a philosophical medical science must at any rate aim. with all the energy of which it is capable.” —Rudyard Kipling recently refused a handsome price for his Vermont farm. It is said that after next year he will occupy it permanently. RICE TELLS CIRCUS SECRETS. THE IRISH STRONG MAN AND HIS CANNON RALLS OF INFLATED RUBBER. The Fake Bear That Drank—Shows Are Troubled With Hoodoos—A Red-Headed Girl in the Company Always Brings Luck, However. From the Philadelphia Times. There are tricks in all trades, and I suppose the circus business is included in the category, said Dan Rice, the veteran clown and showman. In all my career I guarded against impostures and fraud of all kinds, well knowing that I had a rep utation to maintain, but in spite of all my strenuous efforts, my agents would occasionally trick me and succeed in clev erly humbugging the American public which, as all showmen know, loves to be humbugged. One instance of the kind in particular occurs to my mind. It was while playing the eastern states in the early 50s that I picked up Bill Tur ner, who, I am safe in saying, was the shrewdest showman I ever saw, but he was unscrupulous and as ingenious as he was unscrupulous. Bill was a likely looking young Yankee, smart and active, and quickly rose from one position to an other until he became assistant manager of my circus. At Newburyport, Mass., Signor Gustivo, the Italian Samson, other wise Bill Smith of Bennett’s Mills, New Jersey, Who had been astonishing circus goers by his prodigious feats of strength, got angry at something and deserted the show. That put me in a serious predicament, for he had been widely advertised, and I ha-d no one to take his place. It was at that juncture that Bill Turner appeared and sought an interview with me at xny hotel, which ended in my engaging at SIOO a week Don Sebastian, the Spanish man of iron, whose specialty was toying with large cannon balls. Turner was engaged at a moderate sal ary as attendant upon Don Sebastian, who was as bright a looking Irishman as I ever saw. The engagement began at an afternoon performance, when it took four men to carry Sebastian’s chest, contain ing four cannon balls, into the ring. The ringmaster announced the performance of a few feats of strength and endurance by the strongest man in the world, who handled cannon balls of 200 pounds weight as easily as a lady could handle balls of yarn. Sebastian picked up the balls from the chest and laid them with a deep, dull thud upon the platform. Then he placed a ball upon each shoul der, where he balanced it, while he light ly tossed a third to the top of the tent and gracefully caught it in its descent. The audience went wild over his per formance, and manifested their enthusi astic appreciation in a tremendous out burst of applause as he ran lightly from the ring. I was more than satisfied with his success. E>on Sebastian proved to be one of the strong drawing cards of my circus for several weeks, when to my surprise I one day noticed that when he laid the balls upon the platform the sound of their fall did not ring out until a sus piciously long time afterwards. I at once realized that there was fraud concealed in the strong man’s performance; the therefore unrivaled reputation of my cir cus was at stake, and so at once quietly began an investigation, with the result that the Spanish iron man was satisfac torily proven to be a rank fraud. The cannon balls proved to be made of rbbber and were Inflated with air like foot balls. The dull, deep thud which re sounded when the balls touched the plat form were made with a heavy hammer in the hands of an accomplice behind the curtain. I felt outraged at the deception, and sorry for the duped public, and haul ed Turner vigorously over the coals, while Don Sebastian was reduced in rank and made a candy butcher. Had I known that Turner was a party to the deception, said the old showman, earnestly, I would have immediately dis charged him. In view of subsequent events I concluded that Turner was the leader in the iron man fraud. Upon enter ing a Kentucky town, after a few days’ absence from the show. I found one of our most extensively advertised attrac tions to be the “Great Hooded Python of the Amazon, thirty-eight feet in length. The only specimen ever in captivity.” It was further represented that so powerful and venomous was this reptile, it was necessary to keep the monster constantly under the influence of opiates. Upon en tering the circus I found a great crowd of people viewing the python, which was coiled in apparently deep slumber In a glass enclosed cage. It was a great, loath some reptile, eight inches through. Tur ner satisfactorily accounted for its pres ence and it drew crowds until I accident ally discovered that it was cleverly made of linsey woo Ise y and stuffed with saw dust. In calmly looking back now over the years I can plainly see that Bill Turner lacked conscientious scruples, said the veteran clown, with a smile. There was the inebriate bear, for instance. That was his contrivance. It was somewhere in the south that I learned such a crea ture was exhibited in Dan Rice's show and lavishly advertised as “A great ani mated temperance lecture, approved by pulpit and press.” I saw the attraction. It was a black bear that at every per formance waddled into the ring and drank whisky until thoroughly intoxicated, when it would ludicrously stagger back to its cage. One day I was horrified to hear the drunken bear burst out with a tor rent of profanity, which was followed by the maudlin singing of “Landlord, Fill the Flowing Bowl,” while the disgusting creature was led to a cage behind the cur tain I humbly apologized to the audience and said that there was no accounting for the work of whisky. Without delay I went behind the cur tain, stripped th® bearskin from the in sulting drunkard and gave Ben Dole, a canvasman, the worst licking of his life for his part in the most outrageous fraud ever perpetrated upon an unsuspecting and gullible public. And the matter didn’t end there, for the newspapers got hold of the affair and vigorously denounced me, and that was the first stain ever cast upon my character as a moral showman. A CLEAR HEAD; good digestion; sound sleep; a fine appetite and a ripe old age, are some of the results of the use of Tutt’s Liver Pills. A single dose will convince you of their wonderful effects and virtue. A Known Fact. An absolute cure for sick head ache, dyspepsia, malaria, sour stomach, dizziness, constipation )ilious fever, j liles, torpid liver and all kindred diseases. Tutt’s Liver Pills What is Castoria is Dr. Samuel Pitcher’s prescription for Infants and Children. It contains neither Opium, Morphine nor other Narcotic substance. It is a harmless substitute for Paregoric, Drops, Soothing Syrups, and Castor Oil. It is Pleasant. Its guarantee is thirty years* use by Millions of Mothers. Castoria is the Children’s Panacea —the Mother’s Friend. , Castoria. "Castoria is so well adapted to children (hat X recommend it as superior to any prescription known to me.” H. A. Archer, M. D., 11l So. Oxford St., Br ooklyn, N. Y. “Theuse of ‘Castoria’ is so universal and Its merits so well known that at seems a work of supererogation to endorse it. Few are the intelligent families who do not keep Castoria within easy reach.” Carlos Martyn, D. D., New York City. How did you settle with Bill Turner? Col. Rice was asked. Discharged him at once, was the He wandered to the west and became a missionary or something or other among the Indians. It took me some time to re cover from the ill-effects of the inebriate bear episode, which was one of the best paying attractions I ever had on the road. It was a pity that to me was attached the blame of foxy Bill Turner’s imposture. But I got a lot of free advertising from it, whether profitable or unprofitable. You may not know* it, but there are hoo doos in the circus business, as well as in other lines of trade, said the voluble jes ter. The only difficulty is to be able to know what the hoodoo is and to get rid of lit. I remember once John Robinson’s circus constantly lost money on the cen tral states circuit, where two seasons be fore it had made an unusually successful tour. Old man John couldn’t understand it, but finally concluded that he had a hoodoo somewhere in his company. He knew it could not be among the members of his staff, neither was it one of the per formers, for every one on that side of the circuit had been with him the season be fore, which was one of unequaled prosper ity. th perplexity he began to reorganize the other part of his concern, and new hands were discharged by the wholesale. At last he discovered the hoodoo. It was a side show lecturer, who always wore an alarmingly red necktie. As soon as the lecturer was discharged the circus pros pered. Rhine as T. Barnum one season had a hoodoo that stayed with him until his employer was well nigh ruined before he was discovered and discharged. In that instance i the Jonah was a very clever plate spinner. The trouble with the hoodo i s that he does not imagine the ill effec ts of his mere presence in the circus. Adam Forepaugh’s worst hoodoo was a cross-eyed candy butcher, and his great circus had very bad luck until the vender of sweetmeats was discharged. John O'llrien’s hoodoo was a sweet-faced, soft-spok.en lady performer, who brought him mighty bad luck until he released her. Old'. Van Amburg made barrels of money and prospered traveling through the country with Scriptural mottoes painted upon the animal wagons, but all that changed as soon as he employed a peg-legged colored cook. His ticket wagon receipts a<t once fell off amazingly, there was bad luck in the ring, constant desertions from his company and several valuable amknals died. Is not the hoodoo sometimes an animal? Take, for instance, old Romeo? the show man was ask-ed. No, sir, not to the best of my knowl edge, was the positive reply. I am per fectly familiar with the history of the noted deathdealing elephant Romeo, who killed three keepers before being brought to this country, , whe.re he succeeded in killing four more. No, Romeo was never anything else than a. money maker and a devil on four legs. In his day he was the greatest drawing' card a circus or traveling menagerie could possibly have. Why, the first clergyman I ever saw visit a circus went solely for the purpose of seeing the notorious man-slayer. Nearly every circus proprietor in the country was eager to get possession of that elephant and anxiously endeavored to buy him, for his value as an advertisement was some thing enormous. I opened my dicker for him at $25,000, but others raised it un til the animal was finally sold for >47,500. Now, a red-haired girl or lady in the company is always said to bring luck to a circus, the old showman interestingly continued. Call it auburn hair, if you pre fer. but the redder “her hair, especially If she be a performer, the better the luck the little lurid locks will bring. I have had them more than once in my circus, and so know whereof I speak. I recall one In particular, Mlle. Germaine de Greville, otherwise Eliza Butcher of Ohio. When She joined my company business at once began to boom and continued to boom throughout the several seasons she was in my employ. I presented her with a magnificent, well-trained white horse, and her hair was so dangerously red that when performing upon her snowy charger she looked like a rocket flashing around the ring. My success while she was with my circus was really wonderful and mysti fied the most experienced circus propri etors of the country. I knew one of the secrets of that success, but kept silent. Liza, or Mlle. Greville, if you prefer, knew that she was appreciated by her employer, and, upon completing her turn in the ring, was often presented with a magnificent bouquet of flowers. That took well with the audience, and kept her con tented with her position. But, despite my thoughtfulness, I at last lose 'Lize. She went and got married, and to the home liest man that ever drew breath. When her boy twins were born she split my name in two and gave each one hajf. EIGHT GREAT STEAMSHIPS Bnilding For German Lines—They Will Be the Largest in Existence. From the Pittsburg Dispatch. Eight immense steamships of which the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse is the biggest, and each capable of carrying more passen gers and cargo than the famous Great Eastern, are now under construction in German shipyards for service between New York and Europe. Two of these new steamers are consid erably longer than the great Pennsylvan ia, of 20,000 tons, recently launched at Bel fast. The Great Eastern was longer, wid er and deeper than the new marine giants, The Centaur Company, 77 Murray Street, New York City. Castoria. Castoria cures Colic, Constipation, Sour Stomach, Diarrhcea, Eructation, Kills Worms, gives sleep, and promotes dfr gestlon, Without injurious medication. • “For several years I have recommended ‘Castoria,’ and shall always continue to do so, as it has invariably produced beneficial results.” Edwin F. Pardee, M. D., 125th Street and 7th Ave., New York City. but external lengths do not represent the size of a vessel’s capacity. Shipping peo ple the world over measure vessels by their carrying capacity. The modern ship builder is able to construct a vessel small ler than the Great Eastern, but one that will be a greater carrier. Tlje Great Eastern was built to carry 20,000 tons of cargo and 1,000 passengers, or 5,000 passengers and no cargo. Some of the new leviathans will not only carry 20,000 tons of cargo, but from 1,500 to 2,000 passengers also. If the coming queens of the sea were to carry troops only, about 10,000 men could, be accommodated on each. When the length of these vessels is stat ed in figures they do not convey an ade quate idea of the ships. If the Kaiser Wil helm der Grosse could be stood on end among the sky-scrapers of lower New York, it would tower 340 feet above the tallest building in the metropolis. To load the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse with a full cargo of grain, the yield from a wheat field of 40,000 acres would be con sumed. This enormous amount of grain, would need 1,300 railroad freight cars, with 650 bushels to a car, making over 60 trains of 20 cars each. Give the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse a full cargo of soft coal, and 1,000 coal hop pers, laden with twenty tons each, would be necessary to fill her. Were she loaded with water she would carry 5,000,000 gallons. This would ba enough to give two gallons of water to all the population of Greater 'New York. She is also capable of carrying enough food to give a pound package to over half the pop ulation of the United States, or, to be ex act, 41,800,000 pounds of flour, coffee or meat. It has been calculated that in these ships a piece of coal the size of a walnut will drive ten barrels of flour one mile. Each craft will consume from 200 to 300 tons of coal a day and boil 100 tons of water. Down in the bowels of the ships will be found 100 stokers and trimmers, of course not all working at one time, but in gangs of twenty-five, feeding twoscore of fur nace mouths. The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse is the longest of all. She is to have four funnels and 28,000 horse-power in her quadruple engines. She will be 649 feet in length. The Kaiser Frederick, 15 feet longer than the new Pennsylvania, but 49 feet shorter than the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, will have three funnels and 24,000 horse-power. The other four, known as the Barbarossa class, will have two funnels, and are to be 14-knot boats, with the exception of the Bremen, which will be a 15-knot boat. The Pennsylvania and her sister ship,, building for the Hamburg-American line, will have four masts and a single funnel each, the stack being broad enough to drive an omnibus through it. The steel structures will be divided by a non-com municating bulkhead running from the keel to the upper deck. To go from one to the other side of the hull it will be ne cessary for the officers and crew to as cend to the deck. This arrangement, in addition to a num ber of bulkheads, makes the ships almost unsinkable, were they to be flooded witii water. The two engines, with quadruple cylin ders, occupy separate compartments, each working independently of the other., In addition to 20,000 tons of cargo, these ships will carry 1,500 passengers. The finest cabins have been arranged above deck amidships, the second cabin aft and the steerage passengers on tha main deck and the upper deck amidships. Above the saloon deck is an extra deck, containing the dinning and smoking rooms. The Pennsylvania and the Barbarossa will be the first of the new steamers to arrive here. They will reach New Yorlc early In the spring. The Kaiser Wilheinx der Grosse will not appear until some time later. She is the longest ship ever built, with the exception of the Great Eastern, but is bigger than the latter in her capacity for carrying cargo and pas sengers at a profit. The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse is a new type, and one which) it is now expected will have many imi tators. The boldness and thoroughness with which such a vessel has been de signed and built in Germany have excited the jealousy of British shipbuilders, who are already predicting that she will be a> failure. The Flirt of the Heavens. From the Baltimore American. Venus is one of the planets that well deserves the name that has been given her by the astronomers. She is a beauti ful little body, and she evidently knows it. Whether from modesty and coyness or from a love of hiding behind her fan, she has kept astronomers from knowing very much about her, and even her movements are not always easy to trace. In fact, very little more is known about her now than was discovered when telescopes were first turned her way and she began to blush to know that people here on earth had found her out and were watching her. Just at present Venus is engaged in a desperate flirtation with the 'Man in the Moon, and is so bold about it that she can be seen with the naked eye, and in the daytime at that. Os course, her conduct is not to be approved, but on this point she cares but little. She has done the same thing before and will do it again. She is an arrant flirt and doesn't seem to care a picayune whether the rest of the planets like it or not. —Paul Leicester historian and novelist of New years old. He has frfltn Midhood devot ed himself to books. 7
