Evening Star Newspaper, December 14, 1889, Page 7

> ROCK A-BYE BABY. How Little Tots of Savage People Are Cradled. —__ Primitive Modes of Caring for Infants— Indians Who Flatten Their Babies’ Heads—Queer Contrivances for Car- rying the Little Folks. —_—___ RADLES and chil- } dren! The two ideas are inseparable, and Christmas completes _ the alliterative trio. The correlatives also show asimilarity, and sleep, saints and Santa Claus all begin with 8. Christmas is near at hand and old Santa will soon be here, providing the railroads let up a lit- fle on the blockade. Children are always with Us and a cradle of some sort has from time im- memorial been considered a necessary adjunct toachild. It may be a soap box. or it may be @ gaudily-decorated bag or wooden frame car- Tied by some Indian mother, or it may rise to the height of patent springs and dainty lace, but all nations and all tribes have been obliged to recognize the cradle. The national museum has a large and grow- ing exhibit of the cradles used by the people of this continent. and it is interesting to note in this collection, which has been closely studied by Prof. Otis T. Mason, the points of similarity between the widely se ed nations, Many questions of ifie and general in- terest, said one of the scientists at the museum toa Star reporter, depeud upon the knowl- edge of the manner in which a child passes the first year of its life, and the museum bas gone extensively into the subject for this reason. Deformation of the heads, in some of our mod- ern tribes and in nearly all of the aboriginal tribes. was brought about purposely or acci- dentally by means of the cradle board or frame in which the children were confined almost en- tirely for the first period of their existence. Cradles in this case serve many purposes. They are nests for the helpless infants, serving as beds, in which the child sleeps m eitner vertical or horizontal position.and as a vehicle in which the child can be easily carried from place to place. It is in every sense a cradle to be hung on a limb of a tree and be rocked Ly the breeze. And still again it forms a play house for the yours Indian, many dangling objects being ang upon it to amuse the youth or maid not Yet graduated to shooting blunt arrows or talk- ing scandal. The study of cradles also answers another purpose in marking the climate of different countries. The Eskimo mother carries her ebild inahood oa her back, as the method practiced by the southern women of strapping the youngster toa board frame would in that severe climate insure a very sad Christmas for the youthful Eskimo. Why any human being should live in as cold places as Greenland and Labrador is yet to be Satisfactorily explained, but the baby Eskimo is hardly responsible for this vagary during his first year or so of existence, and we can examine into the means provided for his com- fort with some degree of patience, The mother in this paradise for ice men has the hood of her skin robe made very large so as to carry therein the babe, which nestles around the mother’s neck secure from the cold. Some writers have also spoken of Eskimo mothers carrying their children in their wide boots. ‘These, for northern people, are not ve gratory. In their benighted way they know a good thing when they see it and are well con- tent to stick pretty close to their homes. The hood therefore answers their purpose, besides being warmer than any carrying frame. Coming further south we find the natives on Upper Yukon using a very ingenious trongh-shaped cradle of birch bark, made from three pieces, forming the bottom, the top and hood, and the awning. Rows of beads or- nament the awning. which, ina country the main mbabitants of which are monsquitoes, 1s found a very useful portion of the outfit. Play- things of various kinds are also hung to this awning and the infant is at liberty to enjoy Bimself as much as he sees fit. / On the eastern coast of Labrador the infant, immediately after birth, is laid naked on a layer of moss in a bug made of leather and lined with hare skins. This bag is securely laced, leaving the child freedom to move the head only. The youngster closely resembles an Egyptian mommy and is kept in this state until about one year old. At Cape Breton the children are ticd up much after this manner and then hammocks are used, partaking con- siderably of southern methods. ox ae West of the Rocky mountains trough-shaped frames of cedar wood are generally used, Angies and bends near the child’s knees are effected by boiling and bending the wood into shape. The characteristics of these cradles are the headboards, like @ little gravestone, and ted in red and black with the symbol of owner. Streaks of red paint skirt the mar- gin, and the bed consists of a mass of finely shredded cedar bark. The Indians, ancient and modern, of Oregon have been accustomed to flutten the heads of their children by liances attached to the cradle, which is weuslly made of cedar wood. These cradles show considerable skill in work- ip and are nded by strings to pliant poles and swung by the mother with her hand oF great toe. The Chinook cradle from the Co- Jumbia river is of this class. The mother ecar- ries the cradle in an upright tion on her , often hanging it to some branch during a _ an = infant dies the —e also ge coffin, being put in some lake or pool left to float, the water even often being re- to the end of the nose, after which the young Adonis is released to commence his career of breaking hearts. In California the Indians weave very pretty and artistic sige moved cradles of wicker work, which they decorate elaborately with beads. The Modoc women make a very loses baby basket of fine willow work.cylinder-shaped, with one-half of it cut away except afew inches atthe ends. The little fellow is placed in this and weyeee around like amummy, with noth- ing visible but his head. The cradle of the Pitt River Indians isa tran- sition type. A pole of wood, with the bark re- moved, is bent in the middle, the two ends crossed and lashed together. Across this frame are laid broad laths perforated at the corners and lashed to the poles with buckskin strings. The foot rest isa block of wood, perforated, and through it are passed the two ends of the pole. This cradle passes from the stage of a mere nest, in hicks the child is tied, to a primitive cradle, aswe know the article. The Mohave cradle is also of this class, being a prettily made ladder or trellis, A dainty quilt or counter- pane of braided bass is used with this, ‘The Yaqui cradle belongs to the open un- hooded type. It is made of reeds, held in the same place by a dowel-pin. A bed of shredded willow is laid on this. a . The children of the California peninsula don’t have as good atime as they might for the first year of their existence. When they are born they are cradled in the shell of a turtle. As soon as the child is a few months old the mother places it, perfectly naked, astraddle on her shoulder, its legs hanging down on both sides in front. In this guise the mother wanders around all day, exposing her helpless charge to the hot raysof the sun or the chilly winds that delight in sweeping that inhospitable country. . ‘The Montana infant has any amount of pains spent on both himself and his cradle boacd, ‘The board is covered with a tanned elkskin or deerskin and beads worked on it, The poe where the child reposes is loose and is laced and tied up when the child is placed in it. cure The Ute Indians of Nevada use a flat wicker cradle frame, kite-shaped or roughly triangu- lar. Over this is stretched a covering of buck- skin and the young Ute is also provided with a sometimes elaborately decorated awning. The elements of the Moki cradle frame are the floor and the awning. As a foundation a stout stick is bent in shape of the ox yoke bow. Rods of the size of a lead pencil are attached to the curve of this bow and stretched parallel to the limbs. Twigs are closely woven on this warp by regular basketry weaving. An awning is also provided. The Comanche cradle is the most primitive eradlein the national musenm. It is a strip of black bearskin 30 inches long and 20 wide, doubled together in the form of a cradle frame. Along the side edges loops of buck- skin are made to receive the lacing. AFRICA The Sioux Indians are very particular in their baby habitations, Itis a frame of two diverging slate pees yellow, held in place at the head and foot by cross slats. The to) of the side picces project above the cradle. each at least 18 inches, and are studded with brass-headed nails in straight lines. The case is shoe-shaped and all over the outside 1s orna- mented with bead work. If the infant dies during the time allotted to it for remaining in the cradle it is buried and the mother fills the empty shell with black quills and feathers and carries it around with her for mouths, East of the seeps ji river, north of the Tennessee and south of the Hudson bay the In- dians used a simple flat cradle board. Farther south the Indians were accustomed to use one of the forma already described, with various adjuncts for flattening the head. Some nations in Louisiana used = which was wrapped around the infant's head and binds and compresses until the proper is reached. ud CHRISTMAS IN MANY LANDS. Various Ways of Celebrating the Great Christmas Festival. MERRIMENT AND GOOD CHEER THAT CHARACTER- 12E8 THE DAY IN OLD ENGLAND—OUTDOOR CARNIVALS IN SPAIN AND ITALY—THE LAND OF SANTA CLAUS—A MEXICAN CHRISTMAS EVE, Wherever the Christian religion is known, no matter what the country, the race, the people or their creed, Christmas—the birthday of the great founder of that faith--is the most uni- vereally and joyously celebrated festival, both religious and social of the entire year. But though Christians of every shade of belief unite in honoring the occasion, yet every country and every people impart to their observance of it certain distinguishing features, which har- monize with and are the outgrowth of the national characteristics, To the traveler in foreign lands nothing presents itself of greater interest than the different methods of celebrat- ing Christmas in different countries, CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND. The English Christmas is, perhaps, the rich- est of all in that hearty hospitality and merri- ment and that profusion of substantial good cheer which our people, like their British cousins, so closely associate with the occa- sion, The old English Christmas, as it was celebrated centuries ago in the great halls of the feudal barons, may be best known from the Pages of Sir Walter Scott, who frequently deseribes it and who in his poem of “Marmion” admirably sums it up in a few words when he saya: ‘neland was merry England whe Old Christuns br as t werein nas zunibol oft would ches A poor man's heart through ualf the year.” The “Decemier liberties,” as the wild gam- bols, pranks and masquerades of Christmas time were ca hiv famous Christmas dinner of the baron 3 dish of boar’s head borne upon a massive silver platter in great state the whole length of the immense banqueting hall by the major domo of the household, attended by n large number of servants and vassals, the “mumming” or masquerading, the singing of Christmas carols, the playing at snap dragon, hot cockles and all the other Christmas sports and games, presided over by a specially ap- ointed officer of the houccholt called the lord of misrule or the abbot of unreason—all these and countless other features of the old English Christmas, Seott, that wonderful “wizard of the north,” has described as only he could do it. The modern English Christmas found its apostie in Dic'sens, who, m his vivid word pic- tures, has most clearly and aceurately por- trayed its every ligit and shadow. The wild abandon of its predecessor of centuries ago has beeu somewhat restrained, but within the limit of becoming mirth there is still no merrier Christmas, It is a strange fact, however, that in England the day after Christinas, or “boxing day” as it is called, is an occasion of even greater festivity amoug the working classes than Christmas day itself. It derives its name from the “Christmas bo: or donations of Christinas spending money which are collected on that by letter carriers, milk men, butchers’ boys and other equally useful mem- bers of society. A SPANISH CHRISTMAS, The Spanish Christmas is largely an outdoor celebration as I found while residing in the city of Seville some years ago, The Spaniards, like the French, are much in the streets at all times and even more than usual during the Christmas season. For more than three weeks before Christmas the magnificent cathedral of Santa Maria de la Sede, as well as the* noble churches of San Juan de la Palma, Santa Cata- liua aud 8: Maria la Bianca, are crowded to repletion with devout worshipers every morn- ing at the mass, which is sung daily throughout the year. As boxing day isto the English so is noche buena to the Spaniards, The words literally me “the good night,” but they are also used in Spain to desiguate Christmas eve, which is even more joyously celebrated than Christ day itself. hen tbe whole city seems to have turned out en masse into the thoroughfares and the great pubiic squares of the plaza dei Triunfo, the plaza Nueva, the plaza del Due and the plaza de la Constitu- cion. Even the most unlucky pedestrian in all that great throng—he who hus lost a loosely fitting hat or has bud his pocket*Picked (Spanish pick- pockets are the most expert of all artists in their line), or whose ribs have been bruised or his corns trodden upon—even he must find some alleviation of his misfortunes and misery in contemplating the scene that meet his gaze on Christmas eve in any of the plazas named. Numerous flaming torches throw a rich crimson glare upon the winning brilliancy of jellies, artfully heightened by a light placed behind them to display their transparency, red fes- toons of chorios (sausages), jamones (hams), both salt and sweet, a thousand dainty combin- ations of hog. fruit and sugar, luckless capons, retlectiug upon past misfortunes, and fatted turkeys lying in fetters among aromatic heaps of apples, figs, oranges, lemons and countless other delicious fruits displayed by hundreds of venders who have converted the plazas into temporary fair grounds, There is the kaleido- scopic mingling and changing of sex, nation- ality, costume and language, the angry re- monstrances of buyers against the exactions of venders, the joyous shouts of children, the music of street bands and your own ejacula- tions of pain as some big fellow plants himself on your favorite toe form the obligato accom- paniment to the brilliant scene presented by a Spanish Christmas eve. ‘The Italian Christmas presents many features identical with the Spanish aud the scenes enacted in the streets of Florence during the Christmas season closely resemble those of Seville. Italy pays great attention to the Christmas decoration of her churches and I have found it more elaborate than that of any other country. On Christmas eve young men and women assemble at the churches and aid in th decoration, a collation being served to them after midnight mass, ‘Lhe devout Ital- iuns have @ poetic idea that to cheer and en- courage the virgin through the pangs of ma- ternity they must play upon instruments and sing before her shrines on Christmas eve. KRIS KINGLE’S LAND, The German Christmas has supplied us with two of our best-known Christmas customs— hanging up stockings and attaching gifts to sprigs of pine, called Christmas trees, From the German Christmas also come Santa Claus and Kris Kingle. The latter is a corruption of Christ Kindlin or Christ Child, of whom they have the beautiful fable that with his own hands He places Christmas toys und sweet meats in the stockings of good children while those of bad ones receive nothing but a small birch rod placed in them by one Pelsnichol— literally “Nicholas with the fur,” that is St. Nicholas dressed in fur, Itis a rare sight ina German household on Christmas morning to see the expression of abject misery on the face of some poor little wight who, having been disobedient or otherwise naughty on Christ- mas eve, finds only a birch rod in his stocking instead of bon bonus and play things. The dread of getting the rod from old Pelsnichol on Christmas keeps many a German child in order all the year. CHRISTMAS IN MEXICO, There is no country in the world where Christmas is better observed than in Moxico, asI found during my long residence in the Mexican capital. There, as in Spain, the Noche Buena or Christmas eve is an occasion scarce! secondary to the Nos Navidad (Christmas) ly it- self. The streets and plazas are thronged. Of ali the shop windows so gay and brilliant in their houeey attire none isso bright as the confectioner's. Nowhere is the confectioner’s art carried to greater perfection. ‘Ihe window of every large confectionery in Mexico is a revelation, crowded as it is with cakes of such an elaborate character as are never seen in our own country, many of them consisting of numerous alternate layers of the richest creams of various colors and flavors, vo, pete and glaced fruits, &c. If we look beyond the rich display such'a window contains, this C eve, we shall see within troops of bewitching senoritas readily complying with the invitations of their debonnaire escorts and elaborately constructed cr t it of joc forsakes ite pleasures and to the Misa del Gallo or mass of the @ high mass of the most im character which, in every one of the nt temples reared by the Catholic church in the City of Mexico, is cele- brated exactly at midnight on Christmas eve ebure! ve ent and a orchestra for Christmas bef 1885—your most attracted in all the Christmas catherings, of which you form a part, whether in the streets, the home or the church, by the close association of whites and blacks, and you will find upon inquiry that intermarriage between the two races is so common as to excite no re- mark. I passed my Christmas as a guest in the home of an English gentleman of noble family—an attache of the governor general's staff—whose wife, a coal black negress, was one of the most intel nt and refined ladies and without exception tho best amateur pianist I ever met. To my surprise I found that tho mixed race resulting from such intermarriages toga the wealth, culture and influence of 6 islan The Swedish Christmas has many quaint superstitions. In Sweden, for centuries past, there has been handed down from generation to generation a popular belief that all cattle fall upon their knees at midnight on Christmas eve, asthe ox and the ass of Bethlemem are said to have done when Jesus was born in the mauger beside th G.W.C, see. A DIAMOND NECKLACE. The Romantic Story of a Devoted Sis- ter’s Love. From the New York Press. Avery wealthy man gave to his wife some years since a diamond necklace which cost him $4,000 in Paris, Her brother, under peculiar circumstances, defaulted. The family was in unspeakable grief. The great corporation whose assets he had made way with was quite willing to com- promise the felony if it could be recouped pecuniarily. Taking her diamond necklace to & world-renowned establisument, she asked for how much it could be duplicated in paste and was told that for $2,500a necklace absolutely a reproduction, absolutely undetectable save by expert tests, couid be made in three months’ time. It was ordered, paid for, the original was sold, tho brother was saved. "Shortly after that. or perhaps a few years thereafter, this lady, who was in what our cotemporaries call “high life’—that is, she was rich—attended a charity ball. Sitting in her box, resplendent in costume, magnificent in tasteful decoration, her necklace go far outshone the jewels of her friends and neighbors as to be included in a reportorial description the following day in the chief paper of the city. But it was paste, all the same. The necklace was famous, Everybody in her set knew she owned it. Her friends congratulated her on its possession, and her critics envied her the ep. Never mind how the story came out—it did come, but not until after her husband's death, when whispers circulated through her circle until, almost upon the verge of devpair, she went again to the great concern, Unfortunstely the necklace had been broken up a could uot be reproduced here for anything like the sum it cost in Paris, Nevertheicss a duplicate was ordered, and, for many venta thereafter, was worn over a breast that beat high, coe 1 Dislikes. icle-Telesraph. Affinities and repulsions are queer things. Sometimes they allow analysis or explanation. but just as often they don’t. Our likes and dis- likes do not appear to be under our control any more than that very powerful emotional im- pulse toward a particular one which is called love. It may be said generally that where there is esteem there can't be any strong dislike, though there may be no attraction. Yet. curi- ously enough, there may love without esteem. Women have been known to love the most worthless characters, for whom they could not possibly have any esteem. It is an enigina after all. ¢ loss of faith in one might seem to shatter nffection in one, but it dovsn't, Affection survives confidence. Peo- ple are drawn together whose tasics and pur- suits widely differ by some one strong trait which they hold incommon, and persons of wonderful identity of taste and psychological resemblances never contrive heartily to like each other by a collision revolving arouud some point of radical moral difference which makes all the joint and kindred qualities go for nothing. Aud so the queerest marriages and the queerest friendships are contracted. on the one hand and the apparently strongest an- tagonisms kindled on the other hand. No Balzac has ever sounded this depth with his plummet, ‘There aro instinctive forces which allure and repel despite reason, philuso- phy and circumstance. It still re: ins true, owever, that there are a few magnetic people whom alllove. It seems as natural for them to be sovereigns of hearts as for Cesar or Napoleon to command the enthusiasm of legions, No one inquires into the secret of their witchery and ail acknowledge it, young and old, men and women alike. ee is perhaps as great a puzzle as all the resi +00 The Cafe Molineau. The Cafe Molinean is where A dainty little minx Serves God and man ag best she can By serving meats and drinks. Oh, such au air the creatur as, And such pretty face, T took delight that autumn night In hanging round the place. I know but very little French (Ihave not long been here), But when she spoke her meaning broke Full sweetly on my ear. Then, too, she seemed to understand Whistever I'd to say, Thoug'\ most I knew was “oony poo,” “Bong zhoor,” and “see voo play.” ‘The female wit is always quick, And of all womankind 'Tis here in France that you, perchance, ‘The keonost wits can find: And here you'll find that subtle gift, ‘That rare, distinctive touch, Combined with grace of form ‘and tace, That glads men overmuch. girls at home,” I mused aloud; “Lack either that or this; They don’t combine the arts divine, As does the Gallic miss, Far be it from me to malign Our belles across the sea, And yet I'llswear none can compare With this ideal She!” And then I praised her dainty;foot In very awful French, And parleyvood In guilefal mood Until the saucy weuch Tossed back her haughty auburn head And froze me with disdain: “There are on me no flies,” said ah “For I come from Bangor, Main EUGENS FIELD. Why Women are Fascinating. From the Brooklyn Eayle. The power of fascination inherent in women may, moreover, be divided into two kinds. All of us have seen the old lady, generally white- haired, with kindly, pleasant features, on which time has set no unfriendly mark, who still re- tains all her attractiveness, Note how the boys and girls adore her. They will go to her and confide their sorrows, their hopes, their ambi- tions, even when they would not breathe a word to their mothers. The kindly, loving in- terest evinced in a lad’s affairs by such a one has time and again first implanted the impulses in his heart which eventually led him on to an a egaickly, ‘cimost by stealth, the good most by si a is-dor bysuch, and the good seed’ sown which will pen in after time into a rich and abundant crop. Ou the other hand, we have most of us seen, perbaps in real life, certainly on the stage, the fascinating adventures who, by her thrall- ing beaate de diable, enslaves men’s souls and leads them (on the stage) to dare all for her sake. Such is directly opposed to the sweet old lady in her old-fashioned chair, and these two form the opposite poles between which the women rere vary. : fer, and any one you may select has some | Sash between these poate posites. Take, ee = eet and ma: ‘a9 witty woman who, hardly: er own free makes every man fall in love with her less her & intention, but vastly removed A TALK WITH JOE JEFFERSON. The Veteran Comedian Discourses of Plays and Players. ‘HIS IDEAS ABOUT THE NEEDS OF THE sTAGE— THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE BRITISH BLONDE BURLESQUE—THE AMERICAN STAGE IN NEED OF TALENTED AND ATTRACTIVE YOUNG WOMEN. “Comedy is a very pleasant line of business,” said Joseph Jefferson, the nestor of American comedians, as he sat with one night last week at the Arch street theater, Philad>!phia, in his dressing room while filling an engage- ment at that house. ‘Audiences like to laugh,” he continued, “and it is usually very easy to make them do so. In fact, a comedian’s greatest annoyance is that auditors will persist in thinking that every thing he says or does is funny, and in laughing at it, just as English society used to laugh when the late Sydney Smith asked some one to pass the mus- tard, “In that scene of ‘Rip Van Winkle’ in which poor Rip. after returning from his long sleep, reveals himself to his daughter Meenie, which, to my thinking is indescribably pathetic, I have heard people laugh as though it were the funniest thing in the whole play. Iam con- vinced that this ill-timed mirth is not due to auy insensibility to the pathos of the situation, but to the fact that the people who give vent to it, having come to see a comedian, think that his every word and action must necessarily be funny and that if they do not laugh others around them will do so, while they will be thought ignorant and stupid by reason of their silence, A comedian should always derive his humor from the character he is playing and not from himself. If his humor is developed from him- self itis always the same; if from his characters it will always be in keeping with the spirit of each, RIP AND CALEB PLUMMER. “Thus the humor of Rip Van Winkle and that of Cakb Plummer are widely different, yet, in the hands of a comedian who developed his own humor and not thatof his part, both characters would be presented in precisely the same humorous aspect. Of all modern humor I think that of Charles Dickens the best and the most lasting. It will never lose its charm. Like Shakspeare, he wrote for alltime. The oftencr you read him the funnier he seems. He grows aeen you, That last phrase, by the way, reminds me of a capital thing I heard once ata dinner party in Loudon, It was dur- ing a rage for false hair among the ladies and one gentlemen was speaking to another of the | hair of a female friend, ‘She has the most ex- quisite hair, but. beautiful as itseems, when you first see itit grows upon you.’ ‘Ab,’ said the other, ‘but does it grow upon her?” “One of the most humorous burlesques I ever saw was one produced in London called ‘Broken Hearts and Cracked Heads.’ The heroine of the piece was in love with the town | oar and when she implored it to wear one of er Tings as a pledge of affection the pump re- plied: Put it up the spout.’ For broadly hum- orous writers there is certainly no better ficld than burlesque, yet it isa form of entertain- ment, which, in this country, is entirely dead. The kind of burlesque which I mean—that which really does burlesque some serious pro- duction—has been dead for a number of years. but what old theater-goer does not remember Stuart Robson’s capital burlesque of ‘Hamlet; or, The Wearing of the Black,” and his equall funny “‘Black-eyed Susan; or, The Little Bill ‘That Got Taken Up?” This admirable style of burlesque died out, however, and was succeeded by meaningless ‘extravaganzas burlesquing nothing and serving merely to introduce pretty girls in handsome costumes and songs and dances, together with any nonsensical dialogue or ridiculous, grotesque actions that might suggest themselves to the performers. style of burlesque was first made popular in this country by Lydia Thompson, and for a loug time it seemed as though American theater- goers would never tire of it; but at length they did, and it now seems to have lost all attrac- tion for them. A striking proof of this is afforded by the fact that during the past season there was but one such burlesque company playing in first-class legitimate theaters in this country. Doubtless one reason of this is that the per- formance of the less objectionable French and German comic operas—so general of late years —has taken the place of burlesque. It has all the features that make the latter attractive— beautiful women, broad fan, rapid action and rich, picturesque costumes, while the infinitely better quality of its music draws a class of edad who found mer 2 to interest them in urlesque. ‘The place of the latter is also partly supplied by the so-called farcical comedies now so popular, ‘Their generic title is a misnomer, as they are mere meaningless absurbities, per- formed for the most part by song and dance men and serio-comic singers who have gradu- ated from the variety stage. WHAT THE STAGE NEEDS. “One of the greatest needs of the American stage at the present time is young, talented and attractive women—such women, for ex- ample, as Mary Anderson and Annie Pixley. I shall never forget the first time I ever saw the former, It was in one of the parlors of the Fifth Avenue hotel. She had just returned from the theater onacold winter night, and as she came into the room, with her eyes spark- ling aud her cheeks all aglow, her beauty greatly heightened by a white nubia thrown about her head, I thought her the very embod- iment of womanly loveliness and purity. “Annie Pixley I first saw while playing in California. There wasa stock company at- tached to the theater at which I was about to commence an engagement in San Francisco, and I was not quite satisfied with the lady who was cast for (Gretchen in ‘Rip Van Winkle.’ While I was anxiously wondering whom I could obtain to replace her I chanced to see Miss Pixley play a part in ‘The Danites’ and was at once convinced that she possessed great ability, At my suggestion she was engaged to support me, and during my San Francisco en- gagement she played not only Gretchen but also Lydia Languish in ‘The Rivals,’ and Cicely Homespun in ‘Che Heir-at-Law’ surprisingly well, I advised her to visit the east, and sub- sequently meeting the late John E. McDonough, who was in search for some one for the role of M' Liss, I recommended Miss Pixley in the high- est terms. He engaged her and the result was, as everybody knows, that she became a success- ful star. “I have often been asked what effect the con- stant repetition of one part has upon an actor. There is one curious effect .it has, and that ia, that after playing one part for a great length of time an actor is apt to forget his lines and take up wrong cues. A story is told of an En- glisn actor, who, after playing one part for a very long time, forgot his lines one night. ‘It's very strange,’ said the stage manager when the actor came off, ‘that you are not perfect in that part by this time. You have been playing it for two hundred nights.’ ‘Well,’ said the actor, ‘do you expect me to remember it forever? I think one part cannot be played too often if the actor docs not lose his interest in it. It is cod it is with our age. We are old accord- ig to our feelings not our years, You know Sam Weller says of Mr. Pickwick, ‘Blest if his heart weren’t born five and twenty years arter his body.” Thus it is with many men who are peer at sevehty-five than many others at : OVER FIVE THOUSAND TIMES. “It was in 1865 that I first appeared as Rip Van Winkle, and Ihave played that part over the plece adapted by Dion Boucicault and myself. The tam legxlags Burke wore when p! Rip Ihave Ape bag gig ett, be van Wink also had a version of ‘Rip Van Winkle’ in wi he some success. * RIDING WITHOUT STIRRUPS. How to Become Expert in Horseman- ship, Although at Some Discomfort. From the New York Herald. Toan uninformed person hapgening tn at Durland’s riding academy last Friday evening the sight there presented on the tanbark must have suggested an initial rehearsal for a circus performance. Riding Master MecGibbon, mounted on a lively bay mare, was in the center of the ring shouting orders to thirteen gentle- men, also in the saddle, who seemed to be striving hard to break their individas! and col- lective necks, It was an unique performance, one fraught with results the next day that must have made chairs a drag in the market and caused a great rush for mantelpieces as most useful articles of household convenience. ““W-h-e-n does the-e-e am-bul-a-ance ar-rive?” asked one of the gallant horsemen as the squad trotted around the arena, each man — up and down in the saddle as though he woul | shake his teeth out, And as the laughter caused by the plaintive inquiry subsided an un- sophisticated miss among the spectators re- marked to her escort that she had seen “ridin” and ridin’, but no ridin’ like this ridi In truth it did look rather grotesque, but the fact is that the men were all accomplished horse- men and had just organized themselves into “arough out stirru; riding class.” They were riding with- Ps. TOO SMART FOR PRINCETONIANS. To become ® thoroughly expert horseman one should be able to ride gracefully without stirrups or saddle, and it was to the accom- plishment of this end that the uncomfortable riders essayed. And a most commendable un- dertaking was it—one, too, that will doubtless enlist emulation. Reckless prairie men from the west and bold huntsmen of the south jeer atthe horsemen of the north, because the average habitue of the bridle path in Central park rides with his knees under his chin, his arms akimbo and his toes describing an obtuse angle with the flanks of his n When Me Gibbon has finished with the “rough riding class” they will be able to give an exhibition of horsemanship that will compare with any of the cowboys in Buffalo Bill’s show for skillful- ness and surpass them all in grace. In addition to riding without stirrups, which is a difficult thing to do, but which trains the rider to secure a perfect balance and depend upon his legs for guiding the horse, there were many other interesting feats performed. And, by the way, riders have perhaps rarely unde stood what their teacher meant when he ii structed them to keep their “heels down.” riding without stirrups they discover that the observance of this rule makes the muscles tense and secures a better grip with the thighs, knees and calves of the legs, An illustration of the etlicacy of this practice was furnished at Prince- ton recently, when a young undergraduate was HARAKIRG How the Real Operation Is Done te Ja,an, From the Globe-Democrat. Harakiri, a pocular mode of suicide, in the eyes of the nobility of Japan the most dignified and honorable way of all violent deaths, only means of restoring honor, reveng impossible, has seldom been witnessed by ropean or American eyes, As the word “hare kiri” has crept into American politics, writes Albert de Leur, an explanation of its meaning in Japan may be interesting, and the reader can then judge if the adaptation of the word is allowable. Dueling is now and ever has been con- demned by intelligent Japanese, as the ancere tainty of its result was considered too hazard- ous to the settlement of its cause. For ages it has been the custom in Japan when a Samurai considered himself insuited by one equal in rank that the injured party should proceed to his home, call together lis family aud friends, inform them of the insalt suffered at the hands of his enemy and set apart « day upon whic he would revenge himself and restore the fam- ily honor, injured by the words or acts of bis opponent, by committing “harakiri.” tn the airet place « rope over two inches thick, made out of the tendrils of the lotus flower, was constructed by the unmarried female members of the family and closely drawn around the house, it being the pc belief that objectionable spirits would thi be prevented from entering during the mony and carrying away the soul of the i”, : ber in which the ceremony was t was bung with yellow silk or crape, the sunlight carefully excluded, the only ilianus nation allowed being that furnished by the everlasting light burning in front of the family god, whose pedestal was placed about two tect from the northern wall of the chamber. A foot | high platform, about three feet long by two fect broad, was placed in the center of the room, covered with white crape, and the | kahanna (ordinary sword) of the master of the | household laid unscabbarded upon the plat- | form, its point wrapped in « yellow lili. 0: | each corner of this platform was pluced a a saucer filled with scented oil in which » wi was burning. The family and friends of the noble to com: mit suicide entered the room led by a pricst, the latter bearing in his hands « full blooming lotus flower, which he deposited across te sword lying upon the platform, and the spocta- tors took seats around the room. The nobie- man then entered, dressed in pure white gar- ments with a yellow-colored scarf encircling his body, and carrying in his band a» hit saucer in which burned a wick, lighted previ- ously from the everlasting light in front of the family god. Behind bim came his eldest son, if over five years of age—if not, his nearest relative—carry= ing upon a platter made of saudal wood the wakizaski, a dagger-like weapon 9%, inches long about to be “tossed” by a “buck jumper.” A strapping sophomore acted as the “horse.” but the “rider” gripped so hard with his knees that the big chap screamed with pain and gw up the game. MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING. The other exercises consisted of reclining and obliquely cut on the leit side. The blade of this lancet-looking weapon was wrapped im yellow crape, a lotus flower being placed upen its hilt, It generaily was an heirloom of the family and was considered the most valuable ar- ticle in its possession. It is the instrument w: which harakiri was always committed. upon the horses’ backs and rising to sitting! person tocommit this act would then kneel posture again, in quick military order; mount- ing and dismounting, by vaulting from the ground over the horse's withers and vice versa; shifting from one side to the other of the saddle, by throwing a leg over the horse's neck; mak- ing a complete turn in the saddle, by throwing the legs one after the other across the horse's hindquarters, and finally resuming the correct seat. All of these movements were designed to make the riders so much at home in the sad- dle that no matter whether the horse may buck, jump, shy or stumble his rider shall be absoluteiy steady in his seat. At the future meetings riding without a saddle, a blanket only used to protect the rider's raiment, will be undertaken, and as a further test of expert- ness, hurdle jumping will be on the program. Adventure With a Bear in Hungary. From the London Standard. A thrilling adventure with a bear geeurred a few days ago at Wallendorf in Hungary. The following is the account given by Advocate Forster, who, as will be seen, narrowly escaped with his life: “I went with a party of friends to the neighboring mountains to shoot roe deer. There were plenty of them, only the dogs hounded them away to the valley beyond. I consequently changed my place and took my stand at a spot which I knew to be favorable. Presently I heard the dogs coming, but fancied from their bark that they were chasing a boar. I quickly withdrew my shot cartridges and put in bullets, but what was my surprise to see bear trotting quietly When within seventy paces I fired and saw him fall, but nevertheless I thought it prudent to give him a second bullet, which like- wise took effect. I afterward proceeded to a hillock close by and called my companions, but hardly had I raised my voice ere the bear got up and made straight forme. I had just time to reload and fire when he was within five paces of me. Itdid not quite finish him off, for he fe!l upon me with a terrible howl and knocked me heavily tothe ground. I managed to push the barrels of my gun into his open jaws and fired a second shot. Luckily, also, two doy came up and seized him from behind. In last effort he caught my foot between his teeth, and had enough strength left to bite throngh my high boots and slightly wound my ankle, When my friends came up they were greatly alarmed to see me covered with blood, but fortunately it was that of my shaggy victim, not my own.” ~ = = eee A Newsboy’s Version of “Julius Cesar.” From the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Fellers,” said the learned newsboy, as he gathered a group of his comrades about him in Independence square, “did ye ever hear about Brutus an’ how he put up a job ter do Cwsar,” “Naw,” replied the fat boy. “Well, ef yer don’ min’ I'll tell yer about him.” “Is dat de blokey wot was in de teatyer when they played ‘Julius Cesar?" asked Freckles. “Dat's de one. Dis Brutus was a reg’lar hummer, he was. He wasn't ez much of a scrapper ez Cwsar, nor he wasn't stuck on layin’ tag an’ running’ races like Mare Antony, but he was a corker fer all dat, He was a quiet sort o’ blokey wot didn’t say much, but kep’ up a bull lot o’ tinkin’, an’ when he tought dat Cwsar wasn’t doin’ de square t'ing by de fellers he jus’ lays low fer a show to dump him. See? Cwsar wanted ter be boss o° de hull business, but Brutus wouldn't let him have it dat way. Brutus was dead on to his racket, an’ him an’ Cassius and Casca an’ ‘Tullius an’ e lot other fellers wot hung out wid Brutus put up a job to croak Julius in de senate.” “Wy didn’t dey get Julius shoved?” asked Freckios “Der wasn't not no og ry in dem days, an’ even ef der was Caesar de bulge on de hull business an’ Brutus couldn't a had him shoved anyhow. Brutus t’ought a lot o’ Cwsar, an’ Cwsar \dn’t do Brutus dirt.” he pe gM tinge pags but Brutus, he coals blokey, ef he "t go ter church on Sunday, ‘cause there wasn't none, an’ didn't 4 wid the a in “Don't maim ’ Bwipsey, Sore know naw- “I knows ex much ez does, yer polky dot x now,” “Don't let's have no ". Ez I was ? i i i : a Hl z ti il i ee : i g i i 4 iF r r] i i | Ft f & if rE if 35 upon the platform with his face toward the north and the wakizaski placed before him, The priest would take the lotus flower from the Japanese sword and cut the leaves in picces, strewiug the same over the kneeling man, After blessing him in this manner the lights in the corner saucers were blown out by the priest and the hghtcarried by the suicide extinguished by his son or nearest relative and the time for the final act had come. After recounting in « solemn voice the insult suffered by him trom his enemy, he invoked the spirit of his ancestors to seein what man- ner he upheld the family honor intrusted to him at his birth, and rising upon his left knee he wouldtake hold of the wakizaski with bis left hand, lift up his white robe with his right hand, wrapping the end of the yellow sash around his left wrist, and deliberately and very slowly insert the dagger-like kuife into his stomach above the right hip bone and draw it across until within four or tive inches of his left hip bone, At the moment he inserted knife his next of kin would take the kab: (ordinary sword) and with a ewift blow sever the head of the suicide from the trunk. In every case of this description, when hura- kiri was committed in defense of insulted houor, the insulting party was informed by the family of the suicide of the act performed by sending to him a sort of affidavit of the next of kin of the deceased written upon yellow paper, wrapped in the leaves of the lotus flower, and if thet gentleman would not be considered @ craven, unfit for assuciation with houorab’! men, he, too, would then commit harakiri in somewhat similar manner. trouble would thus be settle 4 ested, A non-compliance, however, with this time-honored custom of Japan on the part of the person who gave the insult has never been heard of, it is said, in that country. - School Girls’ Dresses,’ From the Philadelphia Ledger. When I see, as on this rainiest of Tuesdays, young girls on their way to school, I in my coupe looking out, quite dry and comfortable, on the poor draggling things; when I sce the long silken water proofs wet and muddy nearly up to their knees, and the clinging arp of theur cloth skirts about their anklos, I will say that if I had a daughter, instead of only boys, I would put her into clothes, on a rainy day, that would be two inches above her ankles. I wouldn't send that girl to school to sit in damp skirts and absolutely filthy stockings, wet above her boot-top, carrying quantities of the city mud over the school house. Why should the school boy have such immense advantage over the school girlin his clothes for rainy weather? Fancy “our boys,” indeed, in wet, draggling skirts and tightly-laced waists, doing their les- sons for a professor. When will women learn for themselves and their daughters some com- mon sense? I suppose when the doctors got sufficient courage to advise or to order, that for the usual “‘walks in life.” to say nothing of its races and struggles for a livelihood, women ought to be dressea for comfort and strength and preservation from common ills. = +o Faith Cures at Lourdes. From the Lancet. More miraculous cures reported from Lourdes, Two of these in particular have lately attracted attention; in one case a navy paralytic in consequence of an accident, in the other a girl blind for two years, having, it is stated, recovered the use of their suspended functions. We are not disposed to deny the poseibility of “miracles.” On the contrary, we will venture to assert that, in some sort or other, they happen every day, and almost everywhere; for, while the world endures, we are certain to hear the true saying that “won- ders will never cease,” and 4 miracle professes to be nothing more than a wonder among the processes of nature. The wonders of the grotto at Lourdes are similar to those with which faith healers in this coun’ have made us familiar. It will be noticed that they have arisen out of the same fertile soil—the muta- bility of a diseased nervous system. It must not be forgotten that nerve pathology includes provement are inversely proj jonal to the oxganio alteration. Such ev! as can be from the of the faith cure, equally with the of scientific which are invisible are understood by the which are made.” How the Other Half Lives. Jacob A. Riis, in Scribner for December, tells of the “white slaves of New York.” He says: Pell “he « in the cellar to the attic, with of the which, — on seg i acai or pos Ranged gemnd ae w are women, all pearly always tender age, slaved thom ‘body “and oul,” Baily tempted from howes Sra ure ate eis Se marae Sey tases or mover retarn, Of the depth Sait So cue tomere therenrhly auese ag = themselves; no one less about I came across « company of them “hittung the pipe” together, on a tour through their dons one night with the FSS