Newspaper Page Text
SOME big chunks of gold.
rot 'D n CALIFORNIA THAT
V SRE WORTH A FORTUNE.
ft.e Disff't Wflßheil 131 Poonila 8
Ocof e;. on* l *’>* Worth 30,270
po!!ar— Lot* cl Icggett Worth
Sore Than 3,000 Dollar*.
Frcn the New York Sun.
Los Argeies. Cal.. Jan. *7.—"That story
te jiso Sun about the finding of a gold
rst ggti in the mining regions of Pata-
W ;rth $5,000." said Col. T. P. Brooks
t " m j-is been a gold miner In California
—3 Arizona for forty-five years, "seems
to bate made a great commotion among
‘ ko . e miners down in South America, but
,y V vas only a boy of a nugget by the
sjae o," many that have been taken out
, ,v e and rocks in California. Dan
j{ji' who died of delirium iretnecs, in
j :r. Los Angeles several years ago,
; r.e luckiest man I ever knew or
tear! of in getting suddenly rich twice,
•te dug two chunks of solid gold out
of the grave! as simply and easily as a
B a.-, roils a stone out of the hillside. The
*-st nugget was found in June. 1866, in the
F.ut: Belie claim, north of Plumas. It
was as large as a man's head and was
combined with water-stained quartz. C.
p. lit tington’s brother In' Sacramento,
toutbi h for cash down. In the fall
of IS7I. Hill was placer mining on his own
account in Dutch Flats, and by hunky,
he washed out another nugget of gold
and quart* about the size and shape of a
hors’ s hoof. He quit work and went
rig!' down to 'Frisco, where he got $14,399
for his lucky find. He had spent every
jini. of his little fortune In s.x months,
tad went back to hard work In the moun
tains again. But that ended his streak of
luck and he never made over iiO in any
one day after that; more often $2 or $3 a
day and sometimes not a dime."
The Miners' Association of California
has among its great mass of literature
conni i.d with the gold industry and the
development of mining operations In this
stal many interesting tacts concerning
his nuggets of gold. The largest nugget
! ever tout'd In this state was that known
as the Oliver Martin Chunk. It weighed
111 ; -and ounces. The precious ore
aylBG dlgrt uh’teu: shrdlu shrdluuu uu
was nilied with white quartz, and it was
fold after having been converted into
bullion for $36,270. Hundreds of pictures
hr. b.en made of the golden mass, and
all the schoolboys In California are ex
pected *o know the weight, size, and value
of the famous nugget. There are bronze
fac-simlles of the chunk in many min
eral collections in museums In Europe
and America. The nugget was found near
Camp Corona in Tuolumne county, in
Central California. The date of the finding
w - Nov. 18, 1854.
*tin. p nn" t"*.e s-a ro*
the proverbial dollar to his name, and
compan.on. nainew Jouti r.jv, u . „re
’ramping on their way up country to new
diggings They camped one night in a
mountain canon, when a sudden and ter
rific rain storm came up in the darkness.
The water in the canon stream suddenly
rise The miners attempted to climb the
bill, but the flood overtook them and both
sere carried t’cwn the stream. Flower
drowned, but Martin, though severely
injured, escaped. While trying to bury his
r.ompan on's body by tfie roots of an up
"irntl tree, Martin discovered the rich
r-Ssa that bears his name. Ho was too
weak to move it. He attempted to reach
tome neighboring miners, but fainted from
exhaustion, and was found on the trail by
'hem. When able to walk, some weeks
later. Martin took them to the spot and
the nugget was removed. Martin made
the nugget the basis of a large fortune,
that he accumulated in the next two de
cades.
In August, 1569, W. A. Fartsh, A. Wood,
i."instead, F. N. L. Clevering and Harry
' arner were partners in the Monumental
claim near Sierra Buttes, in Sierra county.
In the last week of that month they dis
covered a gold nugget which weighed
1,621 ounces troy. II was sold to R. B.
tloodward of San Francisco, who paid for
tf 521.C36.52 for exhibition purposes. It was
afterward melted and $17,654.91 was realized
from it.
The birgest nugget of gold ever found
m'Shasta county was discovered in the
eorinr of 1870. One day three Frenchmen,
two of whom were named Oliver Long
••hamp and Fred Rochon, drove into the
old town of Shasta in search of a spot
tu mine. They happened to have some
business with A. Coleman, a dealer in
hardware and notions. The three asked
him where was a good place to mine. He
carelessly po'nted in a northerly direc
tor, and said; “Go over to Spring creek.”
Jh'v took his advice, located a claim on
ih creek some eight miles north of Red
oing, and a few days later one of the
Frenchmen picked up a nugget of gold
thttd at $6,200. Ten years iater a miner
named Dent Young found a $520 nugget on
Hat creek, near where the Frenchmen
four ! their famous chunk.
Plumas, though one of the richest min
>r ? counties in California, has y.elded few
valuable nuggets. The largest was found
by a Chinaman near the mouth of Nel
son creek, and was worth $2,500. A miner
at E .zabethtown named Archie Little, dis
covered a $2,600 nugget, and Messrs. Hays
and Steadman found one above Mohawk
l al!oy near ths county line, that weighed
, ounces, and was worth $6,700.
Hvrra is justly famed for Us valuable
m p” s of gold, found both pure and
rnl xed with quartz. George H. Normar and
'■mr.k Anian found near Gibsonvlile in
"ji 5 nugget that weighed over 100 ounces
and was worth $1,700. In 1851. at French
Havin’, a lump of quartz and gold to
te r r was discovered from which $8,u09
m goid was taken. In 1855 in the same
nav r.c a still more valuable nugget of
vci i and quartz was found, and from it
W ;, s obtained. At Minnesota, in the
■; amt county, a nugget that weighed 231
'"as found. This was valued at
• At French Ravine in 1830 a mass of
e<>u, and quartz was picked up that
J'tifned 263 ounces and was worth $4,893.
r ‘ a splendid nugget of gold was dis
" • red in the Rainbow mine at Alie
. which was ’mmedistely shipped to
.‘•or. oh. and was there'sold for $23,C00. In
P a chunk of gold that weighed ninety-
Pye pounds and six ounces was discovered
“ the ,ame county.
, lD Placer county in 1359 Edwmrd Gil
• ms unit mine near Butcher
twelve miles from Auburn, found
■ y-- c; of gold ond quartz that weighed
- Pounds. Eight pounds of this he
' JC sl6 an ounce, or $31,536, wnile the
‘dnairung twelve pounds were sold for sl2
; ■■<•o. or $1,728, making $3,264 for the
, ; 'py same man, many years later,
■ cd in the same rq.ne another very
,; • H nugget. It was ten inches long,
- '/.Me to seven inches wide, and over
j" ; ; :h thick. The gold was embedded
1 °t crystalijed quartz, with clear-
Sl -rs, the sides of which shone with
( s rlli!ancy. When thoroughly cleaned
j, ; - IHi ounces, and sent to the San
i.." 1 " : ’-.o mint, where it brought $2,852.
•V. ; ? fcar Michigan Bluff, a nugget of
■' ,r weighing 226 ounces and val
l" '’.204 was found. In July, 1876, J.
, v-ovt' of Dutch Flat found a white
y" 1 _ boulder iri the Polar Star mine
, : ontained $5,700 worth of gold.
• J ; VI county in 1553 u 105-ounce
■ P' y- of rold was disco.erd that was
]/ ; * y H.SjO. Another was found near
r, _ ;; i the . >tro county which sold
v. In 1867 at Pilot Hill a oculder
Wli foua<l wbitcU yielded
wes S!ai ' !er nuggets
u she5 he Boulder Gravel claim
a-d V*l MI , U Several large
TuoiiTt 1 )! b ‘ £ SO and cug Fs were founi In
wefihme Unly ' In a mass
lumbuf ™ ° UnCe * fcas foun -> at Co
s Hfll T "u aS Valuecl at 5' J .625. At
Virein H * ,U ’ f the ?ame coun tJ. aMr
[ au r J . oc elghlng 380 ounce, and
r *,“t 4 at A Frenchman In Spring
Gulch, near Columbia. In the same countv,
1°“"? °r-l ot almost pure gold which was
ortn L,.owj. The rich ma-s of gold ren
atred the miner insane on the following
anJ J- e w as sent to the Stockton
asylum. The r.ugget was sold and the
France f ° r U * aS Seat to hl * faml! >' ln
Near the Knapp Ranch, half a mile
east of Columbia, a Mr. Strain found a
large gold quartz nugget which weighed
nfty pounds. After the quartz was crush
ed and the goid .melted, the amount ob
tained was $8,500. On Sullivan's creek. In
the same county, in 1840, a twenty-eight
pound nugget was picked up by one of the
pioneers. It was sold for $7,165.
- j ear Mag.Ua, in Butte county, on Aug.
14, 1859, Ira A. Willard found on the west
_ an 6h of the Feather a nugget that
weighed fifty-four pounds avoirdupois and
was worth $10,690. On finding this the
miners quit work for the day and cele
brated the event by a grand jollification.
In the last decade several nuggets have
been found in the mining regions of Cal
ifornia that have brought over $3,000 each.
In October, ISS9, two men were tramping
up the coast, were put off a Southern
Pacific freight train at the little station
of Caliente. and started off to walk to
Bakersfield. Two days later they cami
back to Cliente with a lump of gold and
crystalized quartz. They were suspected of
having robbed a mining camp, and even
of having murdered a miner to get their
gold. They, however, proved that w.ii'e
going about the dry bed of an ancient
stream of water, two miles from the
Beaievilie placer mining camp, for fagots
for a fire, they had stumbled upon their
lucky find. They had offered the gold for
sale to a railroad man at Caliente for
$lO, but he, suspecting fraud, would not
bargain with the strangers. Subsequently
the nugget was sold in Los Angeles for
$2,750. It weighed 216 ounces. In less than
a week after the find there were over 100
men from all parts of southern Califor
nia hunting daily up and down that old
river bed for gold nuggests, but beyond a
few $3 or $4 finds there was nothing
worthy the search.
In January, 1891, a nugget of pure gold
that weighed 110 ounces was found in a
drift of coarse gravel in the Goier dis
trict north of the Mojave desert. The very
next day another nugget of pure go’d
about the size of a goose's egg was found
by a manufacturing jeweler in Pomona.
The former brought $2,13J and the latter
$975. Several months ago a nugget that
-old for about $1.4u0 was brought into
San Diego by a poor, weak consumptive
from New Jersey, who had been roughing
it up in the mountains with some sheep
ranchmen. In his long daily walk3 fo*
health and exercise he amused himself in
looking for Indian relics in a canon, lie
found the nugget among a lot of rock
one day after a heavy rainstorm had
washed down immense masses of gravel
and earth from the side of the canon.
There was no one more astonished 'Uan
he at the value placed upon his find when
he offered it for sale tn San Diego. Ex
perienced gold miners vis ted the locality
where the chunk was picked up, but not
one of them has yet found another sign
of gold there. It Is one of the perplexlt'e"
and aggravations in hunting for new gold
fields.
The largest nugget ever found in North
Carolina weighed 80 pounds. Tbe largest
ever found In S berla weighed 96 pounds
and 4 ounces. The largest piece of gold
ever found In Colorado weighed 13 pounds,
and this was by no means pure gold. The
largest ever found ln the world was discov
ered ln Australia in 1832, and was known
as the King of the Water Moon nugget.
It weighed 223 pounds and four ounces
and was worth about $55,050.
SIIYLOCK IN A PRISON.
A Money Lender* Operations Among
Union Prisoners.
From the Chicago Times.
Los Angeles, Cal., Jan. 27.—" Whenever
I see a steamer approach the Southern
Pacifid wharf out there,” said a former
officer in an low'a regiment, now an in
mate of the soldier's home at Santa Mon
ica. "I recollect an Incident in the war. I
was one of 600 union prisoners sent from
Macon to Charleston ln 1864. Wo were to be
placed under the fire of union batteries,
which were then shelling Charleston. We
were never in great personal danger, for
shelling a city at a distance of four or five
miles was not then very effective and
probably never will be so far as killing
peopie is concerned. The shells made It
uncomfortable to do business within
the danger line and citizens found It con
venient and comfortable to move out of
the dictricts of the city reached by Gil
more’s messengers. The union officers soon
got used to situation, and I do not
think one of them lost any sleep after
the first day or two on account of the
bombardment. Not one of them was In
jured during bis stay.
"But ail of them got very hard up for
money. When they were in Richmond in
Libby prison, communication with the
north was comparatively easy to those
who had friends willing and able to send
provisions or money. In Charleston it was
very different. The prison fare was very
poor and the medical attendance was as
bad as could be. In the cradle of secession
the people seemed to be very poor. Before
we had been thgre very long the money
even of the richest of the prisoners was
gone. There were many among us who
wore the sons, brothers, or near relatives
of those in the north who had plenty of
money, but they were cut off from com
munication with us. Many people in the
north sent gold to friends in prison, but it
never reached us.
"There then appeared among us anew
prisoner. He was. he said, a union officer
from a New York regiment. He had very
little of the soldier about him. He rather
reminded you of a whisky drummer or a
Chatham street jjjothing dealer. Hut ha
had a charm. He had money to lend—con
federate money. The money would not
bu>’ much, but it would buy something. A
dollar in gold could be sold for about $29
in this currency outside the prison. We
did not have any gold, but he did not de
mand gold. He lent his confederate
money for northern drafts at double the
rate of gold in the Charleston market.
That is, he would give you SI,OOO tn con
federate money for a draft for SIOO on a
father, brother, wife, or son, in any of
the great northern cities. He said he
would take the risk of collecting the
drafts, and plumed himself on his gen
erally. He soon had customers and did
a fine business. From officers he took
notes indorsed by other officers. For these
he charged at the rale of $590 in confed
erate money for a note of s!oo— four
times the rale for go’d in the Charleston
market.
"He was a shrewd fellow, and picked
his customers with as much care as a
curbstone broker. It was scon discov
ered that he had an unlimited supply of
confederate money, and it was also dis
covered that he was a favorite prisoner,
lor he seemed able to come and go on
parole at will. He visited the hospital
irequently, and there he found his best
customers, --e took from each of the
sufferers a letter to friends at homo de
scribing the privations of the sick. From
all of the cfficeis not in the hispital he
took, loiter ot transmittal wiu, the
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. FEBRFARY 10,1805.
drafts,%ettlng forth that the bearer had
done him a great service In cashing the
draft, and expressing the hope that It
would be paid.
‘ These operations occupied about six
weeks. Altogether the man had secured
drafts to the amount of about $50,000 tn
gold, for every draft stipulated that It
was to be paid in goid. Gold was then
at a big premium in the north, so the
draft for SIOO would be worth $l5O or per
haps s2ou in the north, if It was paid in
gold. The speculator intended to make
money both ways. If he could collect all
he would have from $75,000 to SIOO,OOO in
greenbacks for his drafts.
"One day two union officers were ex
changed by the flag of truce ln the har
bor. One of the lucky fellows was the
money lender. The other was a cavalry
officer who had been a prisoner for many
months. The latter had long watched the
performances of the money lender and
had resisted all Inducements to borrow.
The two went out of the harbor together
and were received on board the Cosmopoli
tan by Gen. Stewart L. Woodford, the ad
jutant general of the department of the
south. They were transferred at Hilton
Head to the steamer Arago, a government
transport bound for New York. The Arago
was ordered to stop at Fortress Monroe to
let the two exchanged prisoners and dis
patches from Gen. Gilmore go thence to
Washington. The money lender and the
cavalry officer had occupied the same
stateroom on their northern voyage. Dur
ing the voyage the money lender became
convinced that he had never been an offi
cer in tbe union army, but that h" was
simply put Into the prison at Charleston
to "work” the prisoners for the benefit of
the shylocks of that city.
“As the Arago s,earned up the bay to
ward the dock at Fort Monroe the money
lender pulled from under his mattress a
small sachel. This was 'nis only baggage.
The cavalry officer had only the clothes
on his back, and those he had borrowed
from Gen. Woodford. The two went on
deck. The money lender pushed his way
eagerly to the forward deck and stood by
the capstan. Near him stood the cavalry
officer, amid the crowd of passengers, who
were watching the shore and participating
in the excitement of a landing after a
three days' sea voyage. Some Incidents of
the occasion produced a sudden rush to
the vessel’s side. In that Instant the
money lender let go his grip on the sachel.
Quick as thought it was seized by another
hau l and quietly dropped into the waters
of the Chesapeake bay.
“No one saw It done, for it was dropped
over the side of the ship where none was
looking. The cavalry officer w r as calmly
leaning over the starboard rail contem
plating the beautiful expanse of Hampton
Roads, apparently caring nothing for the
strife and clamor of the landing. The
money lender exclaimed at his loss, and
offered a reward for the return of the
sachel and Its contents, but no one could
offer him any comfort. He went down
to the pier a very sad man, and no one
seemed to sympathize so deeply with him
as his comrade of the Second cavalry.
“It is needless to say that none of the
drafts ever turned up to plague the union
prisoners after their return, although some
of them received letters, from the money
lender In after years, asking for a settle
ment of accounts. Some doubtless paid,
but the iruzjority concluded that such
losses as tflat of the shylock ought to be
counted among the fortunes of war.”
OMENS OF WEAL OR WOE.
Sure Thing* In Prognostic, of tke
Superstition*.
From the Washington Post.
“Year dem chickens crowln’ ler clear
weather?” said one of the colored finest
to a Post man, who was scouting In a
suburban precinct the other evening.
“Shore sign,” said the dusky officer, in
reply to a smile that the dripping sky
had provoked ln the face of the omen.
That set the newspaper man to think
ing as to the number of “signs” and su
perstitions that still prevail here In Wash
ington, some of them distorted remnants
of folk lore from all quarters of the
globe, moulded to fit their present sur
roundings, and others with more basis in
reason and less ln superstition, being
drawn from the phenomena of nature,
by which the earlier inhabitants used
to forecast weather, crops, and other
things, before the creat’on of the weather
bureau and the crop bulletin.
A mere list of these signs that are cur
rent to-day among a large part of Wash
ington’s population, though not by any
means confined to this locality, may be
interesting.
As the colored policeman said, chickens
crowing in the rain foretell a change of
weather. Something on the principle of
the old Dutch "weather breeders,” the
fair days that were certain to be fol
lowed by a sterm.
The cat washing its face on the door
step foretells rain, and the tree frog
singing in the trees in the evening w II
bode a shower before morning. During
a drought In summer, to kill a frog or a
snake produces rain. One reason for this
may be that in the excessively dry spe’ls
of summer both snakes and frogs make
themselves scarce so that It is a tolerably
safe prediction.
During a severe summer drought it is
not an uncommon thing to find dead
snakes hung across the fences over on
the Virginia side of the river as an offer
ing to the rain spirit. Tffe Egyptians had
a sim'lar sacrifice to Typhon.
The locusts singing at dawn on a sum
mer morning are said to be calling, "Heat,
heat, heat,” which their notes does not
sound unlike. “Three white frosts bring
a rain,” is confidently believed by many,
end another rain omen, probably brought
over from England, is that if It rains the
first Sunday after Easter, it will ra'n for
seven successive Sundays. Also there is
never a Saturday In the year when the
sun does not show Its face.
The superstition of the wet and dry
moon is curent with the negroes, and is
said to have existed among the Indians
of the rotomac basin. It is that the cres
cent floating on its back forebodes a
dry month, but if tipped up on end it
will be wet, as the water can then run
out.
"Everything is lovely when the goose
hangs high.” is said to be a corruption
of “when the goose honks high,” mean
ing there will be clear weather when the
geese fly high on a winter’s morning.
Geese and crows flying south early in the
fall forebode a cold winter, and the farm
ers of the region foretell the severity of
the coming season by the depth to which
the angle worms burrow in the ground.
The first rain ln the spring, after which
the argle worms come to the surface,
shows that the winter is over for good,
and there will be no more frost. Like
wise the sn3kes, which sleep ail through
the winter, are waked up by the first
thunder of the season. The catbird calls
“snake, snake” in jhe bushes when the
reptiles are out robbing birds’ nests.
“Rain before 7, clear before 11,” Is
stud <to be Infallible, and there are other
b’ts of doggerel, most of them brought
over from the mother country, which bear
on the same subject. "Rainbow in the
morning is the shepherd’s warning; rain
bow at night is tbe shepherd’s delight.”
Evening red and morning gray
Lights tbe traveler on his way.
Evening gray and morning red
Brings down storms upon his head.
There would seem to be jnme ground for
this, for a red sunset often foretells a
foul day.
There is one superstition. If such It
may be called, which is peculiarly local
to Georgetown. It is that to hear the
tIUT HAVE THE ROOM! *
We have removed our Fine Goods from the second floor / I
to the ground floor. 4|jf I tj
SPECIAL OFFER. [lf
Come take your choice of Suit or Overcoat, no matter . |TIT
what the price may be, for TEN DOLLARS.
STYLES. G MATERIALS.
Single-breasted Sacks, 4% ; /Wj | Black Clay Worsted,
Double - breasted Sacks, HR - Cheviots,
No goods sent on approval, but will refund the money if not satisfactory.
m THIS .
h INAPPROACHABLE A
price xV #r
ill, for fkjjfes |A r
trains rumble across the long brid~e
means rain.
This may be owing to a peculiar condi
tion of the atmosphere, or to the fact
that it takes a southeast wind to bring
up the sound.
Leaving the weather, the signs for
good and bad luck are manifold. It Is
bad luck to meet a woman the first thing
on Monday morning. Can any one tell
why?
It is good luck, as everyone knows, to
see the new moon over the left shoulder,
and if one has a piece of sliver to show
It they will have silver ln their pockets
all that moon’s duration.
“See a pin, pick it up, and all that day
you'll have good luck.” If the point of
the pin is toward you, however. It means
danger or an enemy.
You can wish on the first star you see
ln the evening. In the summer when the
children are playing on the front pave
ment it is the commonest thing at dusk
to see them stop and say, "Star light,
star bright, first star I see to-nighi, I
wish I may, I wish 1 might, my wish come
true." Not very classic poetry, but said
to be supremely effective.
The red headed girl and the white horse
are proverbial, but If, after you see the
red headed girl, you count the next twenty
white horses you see, and add one white
mule to the list, you have a lead pipe cinch
on futurity, for the next man you shake
hands with you will marry, or the other
way If the one who counts is a man.
The unsavory turkey buzzard Is an
oracle.. Say to him when he is soaring
overhead: "Lonely, lovely, and interest
ing turkey buzzard, who is he who comes
to visit me?” Straightway the turkey buz
zard will fly off toward the quarter from
which the visitor is to come, and from that
data you have to Judge for yourself.
The sign of an Itching palm Is older
than Shakespeare. The old darkies v, !1
tell you to “rub It on wood to make It
good,” then put It in your pocket without
telling anyone, and it will bring you
raonev,
It is bad luck to encounter a toad on go
ing out of the house. Half the darkles in
town will turn back and miss a parlor so
cial when starting out for the evening,
rather than cross the path of this reptile,
In which the devil is so fond of concealing
himself.
It is well established that toads are pro
ductive of warts, and here is the counter
charm to effect their removal. Steal a
piece of raw meat—it must be stolen—
rub the warts, and bury the meat under
the eaves of the house where water drips
on it. When the meat decays and disap
pears so w ill the warts.
It is bad luck to have a cat follow you
in the dark; It is a witch's animal. Hut to
have a cat come and make your house its
home Is the best fortune. The wanderer
should be named after the (Jay of the week
on which it appears.
The virtue of the left hind foot of a
graveyard rabbit killed in the dark of the
moon, Is too patent to be descanted upon,
and many Is the respectable Washing
tonian who carries a horse chestnut in his
pocket to ward off the rheumatism, as old
Arcadians to cure fever wore "a spider
hung round the neck in u nuteholi.”
The “burr” on the wick of the candle
foretells a letter, the “cow’s foot” is al
ways seen in a cup of milk if it is the
simon pure article, and bubbles on fresh
poured coffee mean “nfoney” if drunk be
fore they disappear.
The white spots on the nails have each
their own meaning, and starting at the
thumb Indicate "a friend, a foe, a sweet
heart, present or Journey to go.”
Sneezing on the various days of the
week indicates different things. "Sneeze
on Monday, sneeze for danger; sneeze on
Tuesday, sneeze for a stranger,” and so
on to the end of the week, but the Post
rnun is not up on the list.
Your nose itches and a stranger is
coming; your foot Itches, and you will
walk on £tra.Dge ground, and last, most
gruesome of all, when srou5 r ou fee! those in
voluntary shivers that creep without
any apparent reason up and down your
spine, someone Is walking over the place
where jour grave will be.
The dog howls under the window* for
death In the house and “the coon come
out In the broad daylight, somebody
’gwlne ter die 'fore dat night,” is gospel
law> among the plantation-bred darkies.
If the scissors fall and stick up in the
floor someone Is coming, and If you take
a piece of bread from the plate when you
already have a piece the visitor Is c om
ing hungry. If your ears burn someone
Is talking of j'ou, and if they bun se
verely and turn red, the things sail are
not pleasant. If four people shaking
hands accidcntallj’ cross hands In doln-;
it, one of (hem is to marry before (ho
j'tar is out. If you fall up stuirs, how
ever, there Is no chance of marriage
for you In a year.
Breaking a looking-glass Is seven years’
trcubl", and spilling salt will get you a
whipping if j'ou don’t throw some* of It
into the lire or over j’otir left shoulder.
"Blessed Is the bride, that the sun shine*
on, and blessed Is the corpse that the
rain fall* on.” President Garfield's coffin
was drenched with rain on being carried
into the capitol, and as the procession
moved down the Cast steps the sun came
out and foil across the casket.
May is an unlucky month for weddings,
as the bride is likely to die within a year.
It Is uhlucky lo clean the swallows out
of the chimneys.
A sty, one of those little abcesses on
the eyelid, may be cured by the touch of
a wedding ring, and a wart pricked v.'ith
a moss rose thorn through a wedding
ring will disapear.
1 he black ”W” on the wing of a seven
year locust means war, and there are
“flea years,” when these lively insects
leave their four-footed hosts ln piefor
ence for people.
You never see a jaybird on Frldnj', as
one of the penalties for the sins of Ids
ancestors is that he has to shovel coal
for the devil till sunrise Saturday morn
ing.
“A green winter makes a fat church
yard,” but there will be no chance of
testing the truth of this the coming sea
son.
THE BIG THEATER HAT.
Condemned a* a Nuisance by a Club
of Women.
From the New York Sun.
The members of the Professional Wo
man's League who attended the “Literary
Afternoon” yesterday enjoyed themselves
uncommonly, for everybody had a chance
to talk. And everybody did talk some
times all together. The meeting was to
have been a Round Robin, but several
members who were to have given papers
being ill, only two papers were presented.
Mrs. Bertha Welby, who pres.ded, then
Invited someone to open an Informal
discussion, and Mrs. Ida Jeffreys Oood
frltnd introduced the subject of big hats
at the theater.
Everybody's tongue was loosed at the
same Instant. When the hubbub had some
what subsided Mrs. Goodfriend proceeded
to say that the men were not alone in
having a grievance against the big hat.
She had one herself, and knew how to
sj'mpathize with the unfortunate male
theatergoers who were made miserable
bj' the woman with the Mg hat.
"Why,” she said, "I was in the theater
not long ago, and couldn’t see a bit of
the stage because of an immense hat Just
in front of me. I asked the wearer very
politely if she would remove It, and, would
you believe it, she turned to me, drew
herself up haughtily, and said; 'Remove
my hat? Most certainly not. I wouldn’t
think of doing so.’ Now,” concluded Mrs.
Goodfriend, “Just think of such selfish
ness.”
Everybody did think of It and ejaculated
her surprise, and Mrs. Charles Barnard
said:
“Well, women will have to consider this
matter very seriously, no doubt, before
long, for the legislature seems to be dis
posed to tuke It up ln earnest. You all
know about the hill lately Introduced at
Albany. Well, I think It would be a good
thing. We have all suffered Inconvenience
from big hats.”
Mrs. Charlotte Gregory declared It was
all very well to talk, but that there were
other obstructions than big hats.
“Now." said Mrs. Gregory, ”1 went with
a friend to the theater the other night,
and she couldn't see a thing on the stage
because a man ln front of her had folded
up his overcoat and sat upon It, And he
was a great big man over six feet tall,
and broad-shouldered, too. My friend fin
ally made o remark which he evidently
overheard. He blushed, looked nervou*
and finally, as slyly as possible, pulled hla
coat out so we shouldn’t notice he did It,
and then he tried to shrink down ln his
seat—"
Mrs. Gregory got no further, for Mr*.
Goodfriend Jumped up, exclaiming:
“There, I’m glad Mrs. Gregory gave
me this chance. You see. Just as soon as
that man found out he was a nuisance
to someone, he Immediately removed the
obstruction, and even tried to make him
self small. Of course, he couldn’t help his
size. But that's Just it, a man will be
obliging If ho can, while—well, I’m sorry
I can't say as much for women. She Just
thinks about herself, her own looks or
comfort."
“Yes,” said someone sympathetically,
"and maybe there was a big hat ln front
of the poor man, too."
“Very likely,” said another.
But Mrs. Gregory was determined that
the men should not be credited with a
monopoly of the virtue of unselfishness,
and said she thought the habit men had of
"going out to see a man" between acts
was fully as much to be condemned as
women’s wearing big hats.
"They crowd past you.” said Mrs. Greg
ory, "crushing your dress, and often com
pelling you to get up In order to avoid
having your toes stepped on. It's Just as
big a nuisance as not being able to see
the Htage."
Mrs. James Fairman suggested that the
members present be asked to express their
sentiment by vote as to whether they ap
proved the big hat for the theater.
"Well," put In Miss Clara Thropp, ”1
guess we won’t have much chance to
exercise our own pleasure In the matter
If the legislature takes It up seriously.”
“The Professional Woman’s League]”
said Mrs. Goodfriend somewhat severely,
"should be In advance of any legislation
on this subject, and should decide as a
body not to wear big hats.”
Miss Louise Muldener declared she must
say something ln excuse for women who
wore big hats.
“New York,” said she, “Is a great me
tropolis. and everybody Is always In a
hurrj'. Sometimes you get theater tickets
at the last minute, and haven’t time to
fix your hair. A big hat is very handy
then, and certainly you don’t want to take
it off when your hair is hoc nicely done
up.”
“I’d take my hat off, 1 don’t care how my
hair looked, If anybody said It annoyed
them, and asked me politely to remove It,”
said Mrs. Goodfriend. Everybody appre
ciated the heroic unselfishness such an
act would require, and Mrs. Goodfriend
was enthusiastically applauded.
"It’s all very well,” said Miss Muldener,
“for you people who live within easy
reach of the theaters, but there are people
who live In Brooklyn, that horrible Brook
lyn,” with emphasis, "and In Jersey Cltv
and Hoboken, and get all blown to pieces
coming over the water, and their hair
looks like the mischief by the time they
get here, and they can’t wear just a bow
and a flower or bit of lace, for they’ll catch
cold, and Bel Blip and neuralgia. <n d ••
Miss Muldener paused for breath, and
everybody began to talk at once, advocat
ing the wearing of lace or light wool
scurfs, caps and various other things
over the head to prevent the calamities
Miss Muldener had suggested. Home one
who hail lived In Montreal said that all
women there wore small bonnets or took
their hata off. Mrs. liarnard was of the
opinion that managers should put up post
ers Informing women that If they wore
big huts they would he requested to re
move them, and that the ushers should
be empowered to enforce the rule.
"1 think.” said Mrs. Falrman, “that
when we have a law or rule about this
matter we will (lnd it easy enough to
follow. Although Miss Muldener favors
big hats ”
Mercy on us! No 1 don’t!” broke it)
Miss Muldener.
“I am sure,” continued Mrs. Falrman,
calmly, “her hair Is always in perfect
order .
"I protest," said Miss Muldener, her
color rising. “X don't approve of big hats,
but I thlrk sometimes there is an excuse
for them.”
“I think it will be grand," said Mine.
K 1 de Louie, "for the league to set the
example of this matter,” and then she
said she always encouraged young girls
to refuse to go to the theater with men
who went out between the acts to drink,
or even smoke.
Miss Alice Campbell told how she had re
moved her hat at the theater, only to have
the Impolite, unappreciative man back
of her remark audibly, "She Just took off
her hat to show her hair." This was the
worse case of ingratitude on record the
league agreed.
Mrs. Charlotte Gregory then said:
“Don't you think It will be well for the
league to have a sort of uniform bon
net, so we could all be Identided, like
the Salvation Army?" “That's an Idea,”
said one, but Mrs. Goodfrlend said with
great dignity, "May I ask, Mrs. Gregory.
If you are serious or Joking?” And Mrs.
Gregory responded, "Oh. I started as a
Joke, but I’ve got serious since you spoke.”
A motion being put, the sentiment was
found unanimously In favor of small bon
nets and the removal of large hats If
worn.
Before the discussion Miss Adelaide
Ober read a paper on “Fashions and
Fads,” and Miss Thropp discussed “The
New School of Success."
Ones of the most attractive features of
the Cotton States and International Ex
position will be the reproduction of the
World's Columbian exposition In minia
ture by Mr. G. W. Ferris, the builder of
the Ferris wheel. The great world's fair
will be reproduced In Its entirety, com
plete in every detail, on a scale of l-140th.
Tills makes the manufacturers and liberal
arts building about ten feet long, and the
whole exposition seventy-flve feet long.
Search lights will be shown on the bat
tleship and the various buildings, the In
tramural railway will be seen with ears
In motion, the whaleback steamer will be
seen arriving and departing, and Lake
.Michigan will appear In the distance. By
electrical and mechanical effects, sunrise
daylight, moonrlse and the white city by
moonlight will appear In succession.
A hotel in Chicago ls"so heavily charged
with electricity that the guests cannot
move around without getting a shock
which is often painful. It is so bad that
when cue walks across the room a spark
will leap over a space of two Inches. The
guests have had some funny experiences
One man came near getting a gash cut
In his face when he went to get shaved,
because he was so startled by a spark
from the razor. Then another man
thought he had stepped on needles when
he got into a bathtub. This peculiar con
dition of the building puzzles the elec
tricians, and some think the whole house
will have to and revised. •
Paul Jones, who started from Boston a
few months ago to travel around the world
with no clothes nor money, and make
{.'j.ixw on the way, has got as far as Port
land. Ore., on the way back. He Is due
In Boston on Feb. 12 to win his wager, and
has made nearly the requisite sum of
money. ,
7