Evening Star Newspaper, July 11, 1891, Page 11

- THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C, SATURDAY, JULY 11, 1891—SIXTEEN PAGES. THE IDEAL AND REAL. German Students as They Have Been Described and as They Are, THEIR CUSTOMS AND HABITS. “" They Learn to Drink Beer, to Fence and to 1 in Other Amusements—Then ‘They Study and are Anxious Over Their Final Examination. NE GERMAN STUDENT AS HE 18 NOT has been the subject of fanciful descrip- ver since travel on the continent became vs the New York Sun. He has been ap on the back of his head desire to turn every one and everything down. He has beon described as | fouming beakers” at “wild miduight ow of the walls of ruined to the mensur with | and glory | wrat. BEAT. honor, ‘although at all to do wit it, If any romance or poetry at all still clings to it the only justification of the consequent glamor is to be fo history of the in- stitution, for = Lis neither more nor lest exciting than fair between two “Viennese lady fencers,” does not stir the im- agination to romantic flights, and to the wathetic eye is somewhat ridiculous in conse- quence of the bundied-up appearance of the contestants. ‘The sword in the duel is long and thin and sharp for about twelve inches above the point. It hase busket hilt, ‘The principals are care- honor has rarely snything the challenge or the cause ALWAYS PLUCKED. fally protected against vital injuries. Fach wears a big buckskin pad in front and massive iron go which render him about as at- tractive to the eyes asthe average base ball eataher. His neck is heavily bandaged as well as his right arm. The left arm is held behind the back. In position, the principal holds his An ocessional reaction against the accepted er has resulted in an equally of him as a drunken, ruffian, with skin with ntation bediaened rAZy nth of the whol breast of the gener: ivilization and partaking of modern Ger all the ties of that civilization. He is mor i 2 the American student, dat ¢ ves among & more pic~ tures. rd on ® more pictar necontinent. When he enters the uni- rs e aa student is about right urm curved above and in front of his head. The sword app » be moved almost entirely by the wrist and hasa quick, whip- ping motion. The object of exch principal is to slash the other's sealp. forehead or checks. The duel usually laste fifteen minutes, or till one of the principale receives a severe wound, as wounds in these duels go. The entangling of the swords or the inflicting of a wound ter minates a round. twenty years old. He has TEAR seen even less of the world than the American of the same age. In the gymnasium he bas worked with tremendona energy and persist- ence, and bas crowded his head with more Latin k and history than the average Americin alumnus gets together in his whole life. He has got to explode. He has got to irink, play bulliards, flirt with women i he has got to do all of them ‘and immediately. is no time for lectures or books. The scribes for some seven courses, at bout $30 for the whole first # not bear many of them. He d the art of beer drinking. This is the fine arts of corps life. It is de- tle text book which is exposed ¥ text books im the windows of graphed, and co the appropriate time and m a pint, abalf pint or two pints of beer. Its quintes@ nee of corps wisdom is incinded in its famous paragraph 11: “Es wird weiter getrun- ken," or “Keep on drinking.” ‘ SECOND TEAR. A deer duel is an all around and ever timely exense f king more. A student chal- lenges another. The glasses are filled and an umpire a: awei, drei,” and the re upside down and the beer flows down the throais. The student who first says bierjunge Leer boy) after having swallowed his pint « The knack of winning in the ability to bring the © up while the Inst of the beer is gomg extent the president has* eguiate the amount has ja-lies: 7 nl is wout it in astadent i aette in general. A pting a speech or sulamander ed vo drink one “pr : tof beer witho ° For a secoud inter up- | “or # quart, to be drauk the evening before para- speech. This erything which is mmphere at the ad- | is made. Such an| i | AT A KNEIPE. Besides dueting and drivking the German student finds amusement in billards, bowling and skat, the last a very mild gambling game which rarely costs the player more than afew glasses of beer. ¢ American custom of baz- ing, putting saw-horses and cows in the lec- ture rooms, “shaking up” professors and the like, are not practiced. They would be re garded as childish and inave and altogeth indecent, as the professora are men of brains, and are supposed to merit the respect which brains usually get in the civilized we With the fourth term the specter of the final examination appears in the distance. He shiv- ers a little and goes to lecture, which causes him to fear that he does not fully comprehend DEMANDING 84 the eubject. Fifth te little or no_ new qu agony, the critical sixth the bex 2 mark the ation Studiosus come a cand. phil., that in, candidate for philosophical honors’ and in cated the faithful change by nailing on his room door a new card with the eight signifi- cant letters following his name. The candidate pays his cigar bill and takes down his big pipe. “He tells bis landlady what this means, and she puts away the bizarre relics of his former frivolity. To strengthen his courage ho hastily writes avery Lumble and elaborate application for the honor of be- ing allowed to come Lefore the most revered philosophical faculty, &c., to try his examina- tion and files it with ‘the dekaw of his faculty. In a few days he gets an answer that this appli- cation has been accepted, and that on a certain evening near the end of ‘the term he must pre- sent himself before the tiree professors in the three studies which he bas chosen for subject of bis examir.xtion. SFACTION. is a failure and with jeations for the final rmis athand. It is pbeequies t satrsrreD. Sixteen, seventeen and eighteen hours daily is his allowance cf straining hend. H. grows flabby and his proud pauoch shrinks, His eyes sink and his skin beeomes sallow. Only the splendid constitution which the turn- ing of his early school days gave him prevents him from collapsing under the abnormal bur- den. Three day we examination he closes his books, folds up and returns the coach’s notes, pars his bill for two hours’ daily drill, and relaxes in the conviction that he knows nothing, and that only blind luck will carry him throngh the labyrinth of profes- sorial inquisit ‘On the evening of the next day he appears again in full dress at the university examina- tion room. beadle leas him to the little hall in which three professors, one for each subject, sit at a long table with the dekan at one end. They rise and bow and shake hands. He is requested air. and as he sinks into it the last the German student seem to be from him. He is thin and seems to uk in atatue. The pert little parting down the back of his hair is rattled by the hand of auxiety. The hand which has swang the cup and «word clutches nervously at his vest. The voice which has proclaimed the be- | ginning of the reign of paragraph If at the | Kneipe and hes trumpeted the “Legt Aus’ on the mensur has lost its volume. A Green Cap might fall on him or a White Cap might sit on THIRD YEAR. @laborate halo has been woven round the head of each student on the mensur, and such an ancient ant approved glamour has been katheved round the subject of student duels that most by tourists in German; to the time-worn Without Saving ever seen the hilt of @ tend most American students in Ger- 40 have stood on the mensur or have and there, bave not ve their voces against the romantic stories of the summer eorrespondent. The truth ie, however, thet the dent's duel is not half eo Ot fistien: it i» merely an imitation of @ gentiomaa's way of settling an affair of | the hardi- | ngewous or exciting asa good round | him without his even remembering that he ORTTING RATISPACTION. carried cards, so deep is bis fall, so blighting is the spectre’s touch. He crawls humbly through two hours of oral gxumination, He accumalate, ¢itle conf donee when professors and drops itall with a. thud when be heare the | total: © you don’t seem quite to compre- hend what I mean. When the time is @p he retires, almost, if not quite, weeping, to the ante room, and on & | hard-bett ir waits ten minutes in | and silence under the sympathetic stare of the | beadle, who expects subsequently to get $5 for call his aa he cas Visaliy the door opess, casors him in, address him as Herr Doctor, and shake A ponderons and resplendent | his hand. He leaves them with a weakening yy in his knees which no one who bas not n addressed as Herr Doetor by bis old pro- fessor can ever hope to feel. His chums meet him in the corrridor and embrace him and shout and question him. He says nothing, but hurries on ahead to the drinking room. Then there is s final embracing, # final health ali around, a final Godspeed and the workingman ou his early way hears the full swinging strains of that stout and true old Ger- man song Bolte wir ihe arate tennen, teiry lu Brae Es'jobe such dieser Bruder hoch! That is ail. With this last, sudden flame the fire of university dave has burned out from the young man's life. Who cannot feel with him the painful, absorbing sorrow of his whole heart as he sees from the window of a depart- ing train a few days later the waving caps and colors of his student friends and hears again: So lange wir sun kennen? And they? They tuen homeward sadly as the last car vanishes and the most intimate comrade of the uew Herr Doctor in his half dozen student sorrows and his thousands of student joys speaks for the rent. ~‘Too bad! Too bad! He should have been plucked, he should have been a ‘twenty- termer’; he was such a tank !” Scientists on Pleasure Trips. A most interesting series of scientific meet” ings is to be held in Washington this summer, beginning August 17, which will extend over ® period of comewhat more than two weeks. On the 19th of that month the important orguniza- tion known as the American Association for the Advancement of Science will convene at the tal and throngh the fortnight will be rung along conventions of the International ‘ougress of Geologists, the Geological Soci of America, the American Entomological Club, | the American Association of Kotanista, the As- sociation of Agriculturists and others, Inc dentally, the League of American Chemists will be organized. On the 2d day of September most of the | scientists will start off on excursions to various Parts of the country. ‘The geologists will visit the oil fields of Penuaylvania and Virginia, the caves in the Sienandoah valiey, for the purpose of looking up rot industries of that section. ake Champlaiy, the Adirondacks aud the the 7 where the iron and co) per mines wili by an especial object tor investi- | gation. | A special western excursion will leave Wash- ington on the same ¢ it | Will visit Sait Lake City and observe what is to | | be seen atu glance of the Mormons and of things geological in that part of the countr; Thence to Denver and the Rio Grat Leadville and Canon Cit ping overnight there places 1 by daylight and enjoy the On the way back stv go und at Ni- | agura Falls. Each person who participates in | | the trip will pay e200 for his share of the ex- se8, ‘There will be abranch excursion to the Grand on of the Colorado, the travelers content- ing themselves with going to the edge und looking over. At all poits where stops are | made for purposes of geological study geolo- | gists in the party who are familiar with the localities will be present to explain whatever is interesting. ‘This g: assemblage of scientific men will be managed, so far ax ix posvible, with a view to making things amusing xs weil’ as instruc- | tive, and the excursions referred to are only @ | few of the enjoyments planned. Sega Medicines in the Coal Bin. “Tt may fairly be said that most of the new | medicines produced recently are products of coal tar,” said a physician toa Srar writer. ntil Intely remedies freshly added to the | pharmacopeia were obtained through novel dis- | coveries im the plantkingdom. Even now from time to time such lucky finds are made: but the science of botany has pretty nearly completed its list of things vegetable that grow upon the | earth, and the properties of their active princi- ples have become more and more thoroughly understood of late years. Thus it happens that new medicines today are nearly all prod- of the laboratory. In coal tar is found a simple organic 51 stance which is readily worked with for the y duction of varied chemical results. It is what] chemists call a carbo-hydrate, of an ynelabo- , Whicherenders iteelf renitily use- fulin laboratory processes. ‘Therefore ers in the line Of therepa mort unlimited extent. new ies which the apothecary keeps upon bis ising slate a majority are such | coal-tar products. Many of them are of a dang character and shoul be taken | without a physician's prescription: bat that | does not prevent them from having a large sale, and the firms which get them out under pate names innke fortunes by selling them. Most important emong these remedies are sleep-producing and ‘anti-fever drugs. A nuuiber of them are admirable when properly 1 and judiciously admninist “it in interesting to co: own coal bin you 1 ider that in your t only of heat the aniline dyes, which are the most vivid colors obtainable in chemistry, as weil as a stock of remedies tuat will sooth the nervesand put the family to sleep.” —_—_——_—_ ORIGIN OF THE BANANA, | Some Interesting Facts About This Delight- ful Tropical Frait. From Goldthwaite’s Geocraphical Magazine. The banana goes back to the earliest days. Alesander's soldiers, as Pliny says, joined the sages of India seated in its shades and | partaking of the delicious fruits. Hence the name “‘sapientum,” given the plant, which likewise bears the name of Jupiter's far daughter, Musa. Now it bas been shown that the banana is of Malayan origin. How did it get to India and to South America and Mexico? ‘The feet of birds have borne seed a full 10,060 miles, while the cocoanut floated well-nigh the world around in the great ocean currents. But the banana has no seeds, nor has it a casing like the globular cocoanut to float it around over the waters. ‘Then it must have been carried by man. It is significant that the Aztecs had traditjons of visits by people from over the sens, whifle there was, to confirm it, an admixture of the religion of the Brahmins’ in their own theology. Would you think that the despised banana would actually step forward to prove that, before Columbus was, or Licf \ Ericson even had an existence, some ewarthy | denizens of the old world had migrated acros: js made in the Philippine Islands of the stem of the banana. ‘This stalk, which usually grows to be six inches in diameter and | from fifteen to twenty feet high, has a very | valuable fiber, from which are woven beauti- | ful textile fabrics. Many of the finest India | shawls and wrappers worn by ladies of fashion | are manufactuted from this fabric. Bo. too, an excellent article of paper is made from it. ‘But are no varieties of bananas wild? Yes, some have been found in Ceylon, Cochin China and the Philippines. ‘These, of course, have seeds, but they are inferior to the long, | cultivated varieties. The banana is cultivated | by suckers and it is in this way that the literal | plant perpetuates itself indetinit In cen- tral Africa you may find thousands and thou- sands of plants that literally have in them the germ and life of ten thousand years’ duration. ‘The banana belongs to the lily family, and is & developed tropical lily, from which by ages of cultivation the seeds have been eliminated fend the fruit for which it was cultivated greath expanded. In relation to the bearing qual- | ities of this fruit Humboldt, who early saw the | wonders of the plant, said that the ground | that would grow ninety-nine poundsof potatoes would also grow thirty-three pounds of wheat, but that the same ground would grow 4,000 pounds of bananas, consequently to that of Wheat is 138 to 1 and to that of potatoes 44 to 1. The banana possesses all of the essentials to the sustenance of life. The savage of the sea isles and the jungle owes what he has of physical strength to this food. Wheat alone, potatoes alone, will not do this. When taken as a steady diet it iscooked—baked dry in the green state, pulped and boiled in water asa soup, or cut in slices and fried. I do not know whose beauty J admire the most, the majestic cocoa palm, with its heavy crown of great fringed leaves, or the graceful banana, With ite%great leaves. which are six feet long and two feet wide. ‘The leaves of the banana are tender and the strong winds of the tropics—the hurricanes— soon tear the leaves in strips, thereby adding to their grace and beauty. The banana is & fruit that beast and bird, as well as man, are fond of, and the owner, when he lives in a WAYS OF ACTRESSES. How They While Away Their Sum- mer Vacations, IMITATING STAGE MANNERS. Revival of the Cireus Ring in the Drama. Wanted, an Emotional Actress Who Can Turn Fiip-Flaps—The Chorus Girl and Her Shoemaking Husband, Correspondence of The Evening Star. New Yors, July 11, 1891. Do you know an accomplished dramatic actress who can turn flip-flaps on a bare- backed horse? If you do, tell her that she may hire herself out for next season at $500 @ week by applying to Joseph Jefferson. It isn’t likely that such @ blend of histriouic aud acrobatic ability existe. There is going to Ve a revival of the circus ring on the theatrical stage next antumn. Comedian Jefferson is credited with starting it, although it is his son Charles who figures as the capitalist and promoter. They are getting up a New Englund rural drama, one act in which is to d circus 1 tions are being similar entertainments. In the palmy it was not in! that an hour of circus was included ing’s bill. The scenery was set tional ring was put down, a layer of sawdust was laid and, whoop Ia! there you were. “Once we had a curious bit “of trouble with the circus part of the program,” szid an old actor, who had bee: : the time in question. s playing a weeks engagement wit turday mght came, and with it the re clongated entertainment. his tragedy every even iter each of them a fai wombers of the stock [company had completed the bill; but the BRoweryites in those days demanded more than that on a Saiu: night. Other tragedians—such as iy, Ham- | blin and Scott—were accustomed to follow their dignified roles w fare or mimetic chara in “The Stage-struc wouldn't do that. and sv we had to provide something spec ul to make our Saturday night Jast until past midnight. His tragedy for the casion was the “Gladiator, with his famously robustious impersonation of Sparfa- cus in’ the arena, Well, it happened that for the ensuing week we were to have a circus on the stage, and so we de- cided to utiliz offeris it for this Saturday night's . When Forrest saw the priited pro- just before he was to go on the stage as us, he roared with anger like a mad He had been an athicte in a circus early professional carcer, you know, and he fancied that our circus, on the same stage with . would be a beiittling reminder to the audience of his own career in the sawdust ring. : ODJECTED To THE cIRcuS. ““What,’ he said, ‘my arena scene in ‘The Gladiator’ und right after it a circus ring! No. I will not act tonight.’ “William Frelcigh wae the manager. He un hesitatingly ssid to me that the cirens must be omitted, and then the tragedy proceeded, after which, and during the farce, the great actor went away.” “And how did the audience stand the disap- pointment?” [asked of the narrator of this uh- published anecdote. “Oh, there wasn’t the repl} to me in presenc on goin fro the curt that owing t unfor accident the cireus cannot be given.” Then he winked profoundly ui n behind Forrest's back, and quitted the theater with the tragedian.’ Of course I disobeyed and the circus filled its appointed hon.” A HOPELESS COMBINATIO: To return to the revival of the circus in a drama and the hopeless demand for a com- bined emotional actress and bare trienne. The problem in composing the play play is how to introduce the circus performance without breaking the dr: matic interest personages of the p! The v will be displeased, nec- rily, by the acrobats, and the audience will forget all about the story of the piece when it obliterates itself in” the sawdust of the ring. Now, the heroine of efferson drama is’ to be a village gitl who elopes and afterward returns as the star equestrienne in «circus. But she is to dono riding, more than to enter in a & Now, ifonly she were capable of stan: the bare buck of a galloping steed, with one foot at 6 o'clock, the other lifted to hi ea , wrest would Le continuous. Where is the versatile actress? CHAMPAGNE AFTER THE PERFORMANCE. There is some particular bane of every onc's life. One of the best known actresses in the country has a most irrituting bane oppressing her. “Lalwayseat supper after a performance,” says this | iam usually some one's guest. [like suppers and it ix quite to always be asked out by gentlemen who feel it an honor to sit at table with should enjoy myself huge thing. riably when I go to supper with = any person that person at once orders champagne. I suppose there as a universal belief in this world that an actress would disdain to sit down at table if chainpazne ia not served. ‘Therefore I am not even asked if [want it.” They will consult me about my appetite for edibles, but they are perfectly sure what my thirst craves, and in- stantly that I say I would like a bird, or per haps soft-shell crabs, they give the order and tack on a request for wine. Now, I suppose I'm & little fool, and cught to speak out and tell them I don’t care for champagne, but I know they would any of them be shocked, and usually the place is #0 vers swell, that it seems as though it, was expected that cham- pagne went with the’supper. So I drink my wi rip at it, and always have a lit- tle headache afterward. Now, do you know what I want to drink with my supper. and what I do drink when Ieat alone? Just beer, plain ordinary delicious beer. —Y T must drink champagne when my admirers invite me out, for they would ask a lot of questions and, perhaps, think I wasn's much of an actress it didn’t, but when Igo home and have cheese sandwiches or possibly a Frankfurter sausi with my mother, we work the growler. I i s lovely pitcher for the purpose, and T can as- sure you it is my most valued’ bit of bric-a- brac.” : THE CHORUS GIRL AND HER HUSBAED. It was a blithe and comely chorus girl who was talking. “Shoemakers are mean men,” suid she. “My husband is a shoemaker, but he doesn't work much. Not he. As long as I turn in 12a week to help feed and clothe the babies he's willing to come up on Saturday night with » miserable €3 or less as his share.” Why, he won't even mend my shoes for me. No. I was six months trying to get him to fix the soles of the only two pairs of shoes I've r in_the worid, but he wouldn't do it, and 1 went round with’ my fect on the sidewalk. Well, about « week ago I went to him with a bundle of beautiful shoes that just needed a little mending. ‘There were four pairs in all. Here's a job for you, says 1. ‘These shoes belong to the leading lady’ of the company and she’s in a great Cary for ‘em. You must finish ‘em up by Saturday and bring them to ber at the door of the theater. Well, he brightens rig) me, saying I'm 9 good wife to im nt times, See? He saw a lot of extra beer in that job and Iwas lovely for about five minutes, nd lidies e I were it not for one u were ail nicely night, and round he comes undle ‘to the theater. I met him at the door. ‘Here's the lady's shoes,’ said to get on 7 anks,’ said the bundle away from him. ‘Well, when he saw I was leaving him stand- lad; for’ said Ty and ‘you should 7 and took aid settled country, must need protect his Plantation by Snce clecmne thorn viset. pei: 00 Sapam » The Horse That Loses. From the New York Press. “And Jones is ruined?” “He in.” “Betting on fast horses, I suppoze?” “No; betting on alow ones.” A Suggestion for Growing Rich. From the Landon World. The investor who follows tips invariably loses his money in the long run. lovely Hg oF 8 Ly gE number of genuine players who are here in quest of engagements for next season, we have a considerable supply of counterfeits. Clever and pretty adventuresses are not slow to know that the glamor of the stage is potent with many men, and so a girl who is not par- ticularly ‘seductive as Jennie Smith becomes absolutely bewitching as Ethelberta Montmoro- neck. If she plays the game boldly she takes@ room at a first-grade hotel, selects a victim carefully from among the male guests, remains shy for awhile under his overtures of flirtation and an per- i i * She bas, perhaps, selected for imitation some actress whom she resembles, more or less, and in that ease she appropriates the nam ty of that woman. She hus provided herself wi several of the original's photographs, and, by means of them, she leads the man to make the talse identification himself. In one instance a shrewd confidence operator, #0 Inspector Byrnes tellé the writer, laid her plan so care- fully as to have a letter mailed to her by a con- federate. She contrived to open the missive in thd presence of the dupe. Out dropped a photographgf the real actress whom she was impersonating, and it showed her in the skirt- Jess costume ‘of a burlesquer. She coyly deniod that she was the stage celebrity, but length confessed it, and displayed, in a burst of confidence, the pretended offer which the letter made of an engagement for next winter. The enraptured man could resist the temptation no longer. For weeks ho toted her about town, feeding her on the choicest vinnds, slaking her thirst with champagno, making her costly gifts of clothes and jeweiry, and finishing with loan of five hundred dollars in cash. The fair deceiver in thie case was actually an actress to the eatent of figuring in the ballet of a spectacle last season and so she was able to keep up her pretences by talking knowingly of stage life. ‘The victim Was astounded when his eyes were at length opened to the extent to which he bud been fooled. Meauwhile the misrepresented actress herself hus been spending the summer decently ata quiet country home with her husband and children, for althougi: her footlighted doings ave frisky aud risky ahe is a highly respectable wife and mother in private life. SUMMER EXPLOITS OF THE BALLET. Bright girls are some of those in the ballet and much given to summer exploits. An illus- tratior be made by telling, for-the first time in print, about a danscuse wha, figured Jast year as a countess in the Catskill moun- tains ‘or a month was the foremost belle ina hotel filled by a thousand persons. A neater Job of delicate foolery was never done, and, as nobody was swindled out of a cent, the crea- ture s ‘roguery—now exposed—can be laughed at withoat much reserve. The me of her achievement was a big but miscellaneous summer caravansary. Her name was Rachael Dunberg, and sie was a Hungarian who had been imported by the Kirulty brothers, for whom she bad danced two’ seasous in the coryphee row. She appeared at the Kaaters- | kill, howev She was » in the role of a countess. with a real, live, unquestionable Polish count, at that time attached in some minor capacity with a hington. She pla iy. She wasa delicately with a winsome, gent ingly aristocratic air. foreign legation d_ her part admir- iylike young woman, bearing and a convine- the girls of the hotel went wild over her, and she was prettily gracious to them. ‘The writer of this account was a guest thete, and he no more than the others had ‘the slightest suspicion that she was not the count's wife, but last winter he saw her slipping and whirl- ing in the ballet, and slight inquiry brought out the fact that the escapade of the previous summer, although it had temporarily downed the count pecuniarily and officially, had not lowered her high average of audacious jollit night ‘at the hotel, however, ballet girl disclosed to a few expert speciat among the heterogeneous mob of admiring observers the fact that she possessed a thor- ough stage training in pose and pantomime. An entertainment of tableaux was given to raise money for a hotel charity. All the performers were supposed to be ama- teurs, and so they were, palpably, excent Rachael. They were pretty girls, and’ they did their best charmingly: but not oneof them was thoroughly artistic in her pose; not one could hold her attitude through the single minute of a tableau, and not one conld keep ar expression unaltered on her face. ‘The whole show was devoid of professional characteristics— save Rachael's portion of it. She appeared in two # representing a fine lady's visit to an artist's studio. And what an exquisitely fine ady that wicked ballet girl made of herself! She was @ perfect embodiment of high-bred grace. “Blood will tell,” whispered an enchanted girl close by me. “She is a born aristocrat, and shows it.” “Her bearing shows that she has had a thorough training on the theatrical stage,” I responded. Of course, I was disbelieved by the fair ob- server. Itwas of no use to urge that parlor and sightlinees of manner could not be exhibited by any novice to a public assem- binge, no matter how well-bred a lady she might be; or that the effective poses and exact pantomime of Rachael were unmistakably the work of a trained woman of the theater. But I didn’t suspect that the hotel was vang gulled by an imitation countess. I sined that the connt had married an ex- “and only lately did T learn that his summer companion was a Kiralfy ballet girl. ————+e+ —___ A Bachelor of Maine. From St. Nicholas. Hezekiah Bettie w: bachelor of Maine, ‘ed by a very early train, .” said the frugal Hezekiah, find w dwelling where I need not He took a bee-line southward till to Mexico he came, He found there @ volcano with a most eccentric name, And he built him there a cottage, did this Heze- kiah Bette, He built it near the summit of Mount Popocatapetl, Whenever he desired to cook a mutton chop Hed hang it by a lengthy string fight over from the Lops From the tp of the volcano he would hang it by a string, And there until "twas nicely cooked he'd let his din- ner swing. : To get his boiling water he would lower down s ettle Right down into the crater of Mount Popocatapetl; From the ushes of the mountain he would light his meerschaum pipe, And he felt as truly Lappy as a jolly little snipes But one evening, as it happened, there came by = grizzly bear, i muck astonished to see Hezekiah there So he tapped him on the shoulder, thig poor Heze- lat Hetile, sd Who straighiway did fall over into Popocatapetl. The Speed of Electricity. From the Philadelphia Record. Philadelphia scientists are preparing to find out how fast an electric current travels. An experiment will be made, probably ‘from the Franklin Institute, by connections ayer the At- luntic cable to Liverpool aya return. ‘A recent test appeared to show that an elec- tric current isa slow coach as compared to light, being only able to get over to Europe and back in something like & second, or at the rate of only some 400,000 miles a minute, while light ambles along at's million-miles-a-minate gait. The Philadelphia scientists who posing to make further investigation a satixtid to give up the record to sunlight and iaope to prove that the electrical current, if not handicapped, is the swifter element. ‘The most recent experiment was tried at MeGill Coliege, Montreal. The current was transmitted in’ Montreal. was transferred to the cable at the Newfoundland cablo station by means of ‘Thompson's mur- ror galvenometer, sent across to the station at Liverpool, and returned to Montreal by the same method. The distance traversed, partly by overhead wire and purtly by cable, was 8,000 miles. From the time the current left the key in Montreal until it returned to the re- c@iver in the same office, just one second and one-twentieth of & second A bad elapaed, a bat the conditions were not as good as have been, hence the further experiment to be made here. ‘The rapidity with which the current travels over short wires with no delay indicated un- limited possibilities in the direction of ti- cal tests. Prof. Marks of the Edison Light Company is authority for the assertion that if the globe was eucircled with a com inuous cable a current would travel the entire distance in a trifle over three seconds. At this rate s current would travel to the sun, ‘cover. ing the distance of 96,000,000 miles in three and e half minutes (or twice as fast as light). PEOPLE BORN TO CRIME, Some Curious Points Respecting a Science New to the World, “CRIMINAL ANTHROPOLOGY” axD WHAT IT 18 TRY- ING TO ACOCOMPLISH—EVIL DOERS A CLASS APART, TO BE DEALT WITH AS MOKALLY IXSANE. HOW To TELL A BORN CRIMINAL aT & GLANCE. Written for The Evening Star. 667 ORD, HOW I DO LOVE TO STEAL! IfI bad thousands, I would still bea thie! The exclamation was made by a young jail- bird in the hearing of Dr. Robert Fletcher, who quoted it by way of illustration in the course of « lecture delivered the other day on the relation of the criminal to society. Many facts were adduced by the lecturer to show that criminals are not usually agitated by any feelings of remorse for their offenses. There isa popular notion to the effect that a murderer is necessarily pursued by the furi of regret and repentance; but the truth seems to be that such feclings are rarely entertained by the offender. Surgeon Bruce Thomson of the general prison of Scotland says that of the 500 murderers le has known only three could ascertained to have exhibited any remorse- fal symptoms. The true criminal is unre- strained by moral perception from crime and the same lack of sensibility forbids contrition. VANITY THE STRONGEST SENTIMENT. A famous Russian writer, who passed many years among convicts, of them: “This strange fumily had an air of strong resem- Dlance. All of them were morose, curious, presumptuous and insnfferably vain. Vanity Was at the bottom of all teir sentiments. Dur- ing all the period of my observation I never saw the slightest sign of repentance or even of disquiet on account of their crimes.” A French writer, speaking of old men con- demned to the galleys for lite, eays that he was often struck with their “ve They had an air of repose, doul . becanse, with daily food insured for life and with minds in- capable of remorse, they might well appear content. Habitual criminals are born such. Their oc- cupation is to them natural and enjoyable; they pursue it justas artisnns follow their trades. When they are locked up in prison they behave admirably, often work hard and go out with an accumulation of savings and im- mediately thereupon return to their vocation of evil doing. If honest work be got for them they run away from it and go back to their preferred mode of life, even though they know that they cannot earn as much money b: __In the cities, towns and villages of the civil- ized world every year thousands of unoffending men, women and childron are slaughtered, millions of money are carried away by the de~ | vastator and incendiary fires light his pathway of destruction. | “Who is this devastator?” asks Dr. Fletcher. “The criminal. In nine great countries of the world, including the United States, more than 10,000 caxex of homicide are recorded each year and the number of murders | actually done ‘is vastly greater. Society does | its utmost to suppress the evil, but, in spite of all, the criminal becomes more numerous. He eds and muitiphes,” NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CRIMINAL. Of lato years there bas sprung up anew science, which seeks to investigate the natural history of the criminal. It regards the criminal as @ variety of the human species which has de- generated physically and morally. The most eminent living authority on this subject thus describes the two grgat criminal classes: “The murderer,” he says,""bas # cold, concentrated look; the nose is often aquiline or hooked, al- ways large; the ears are long; the jaws power- ful; the cheek bones widely separated; the bair is crisp and abundant; the canine teeth well developed and the lips thin; often the eye ap- pears bloodshot, and a nervous contraction on one side of the face uncovers the canine teeth, producing | sardonic effect.” The thief, ¢ asserts, has less brain capacity than the as- sassin; he has remarkable mobility of counte- nance; the eye is smali and restless; the eye- brows thick; the nose flat and the forehead low and retreating. Another writer on the same topic declares that one visiting a prison can, by the aid of these outline descriptions, distinguis: those condemned for murder from those convicted of theft. The belief of this school of anthropologists is that the criminal section of mankind is dis- tingushed by certain definite physical charac- teristics which are susceptible of study and classification. Generally speaking, they assert, the habitual evil-doer is undersized, his weight being disproportioned to his height, with a ten- dency to flat-footedness. He is heavy in his movements, lacking anatomical symmetry and beauty. Particularly, his head is not sym- metrical. Indeed, want of symmetry as to the | head and face is surprisingly prevalent in crim- | inals, as it is also in the insane. It is so usual that a collection of portraits of thieves and murders has all the effect of a series of carica- tures, The sugar-loaf shapé of head is the pre- Gominant type, and the length and breadth of the face are both excessive. Curiously enough, the average weight of the murderer's cranium is greater than that of the non-criminal type. S80ME CHARACTERISTICS. Large fiat ears standing out prominently from the head are strongly characteristic of the criminal type. Such aural appendages bear a certain resemblance to those of ape: and the observation has been made that this organ is among the first which exhibit » ten- dency to degenerate in man. It is very inter- esting that the arched, or Roman, nose shonld have been found remarkably frequent among murderers. A peculiar illustration of the sup- posed relation of this organ to character is found in Arabia, where horses with arched noses are not admitted to the breeding stables, lest they transmit an evil temper to their off- spring. "in a general way it has been found that crim- inals customarily exhibit abgormalities of physical structure, which it is sough to classify for the purpose of studying to better advantage the natural history of the wicked. Hitherto it has been supposed that the bad man was made such chiefly by his unfortunate evironment in youth, with possibly a tinge of influence, innate and inherited; but this new science seeks to prove that the criminal is born such, though doubtless matured by unhealthy moral condi- tions, “Criminal anthropology” therefore is the study of the being who, in consequence of physical conformation, hereditary taint and surroundings of vice, yields to temptation and begins a career of crime. As for the influence of heredity in this matter better reference cannot be made than to the case of the Jukes, so infamous in history. In seventy-five years the descendants of a single pair—1,200 persons —all became devoted to a life of crime. It has been estimated that over §1,250,000 of loss was caused by them, without taking into account the entailment of —— and a subsequent generations. Speaking of in- fluence of heredity, it is worth mentioning that, according to eminent physiologist, the offspring of paronte who marry late in life are more apt to turn out criminals than other children. It seems to have been shown that the mere senses of criminals as a class.ure less acute than those of normal human beings. Twice as man, of them in a thousand are color-blind; the; have a less acute taste; their power of smell lees developed and their hearing is not so acute. Fart their sensibility to pain is less, 60 that the malefactor is apt to recover rapidly from wounds which would be dan- gerous or even fatal to the honest man. ‘Capital punishment is t to the feel- ings; but the fact has been ‘The latter is distinguished by sn almost onthe heedlessness of the consequences of his act. By him the ion of crime meets with ready ences POINTERS ON COLLARS. Time and Trouble Saving Devices fer Shirt and Collar Wearers. From the New York Herald. Millions of good linen collars are ruined an- nually by the handling they receive it laundries, The acids used in washing are baneful enough, but the greatest harm occurs in the ironing. Perhaps the most popular of collars \just at present is the familiar “bent edge” style. This is the one that suffers most at the hands of the laundress. The points are turned over and the hot iron presses down on the seam, stretching the fiber at that point so that the collar rarely is presentable after two or three washings. Here is shown a little device that will effecta great seving af put into practice, while being simple in operation. First, instructions should be given that your collars are to be returned “ironed fiat,” the ends not bent in any wise. Then take the col- Jar in hand, as shown in Fig. h “F101 g the under side of the seam for folding.uoistening it,not so that rt will penetrate to the upper surface of the collar, but Vet sufficiently #0 to loosen the fibers of the linen around the seam. ‘Then reverse the col lar and hold it against soute flat, clean surface, as shown in Fig. 2 Run the tongne al FIG. 1. With a lead pencil or the thumb nail in play it is readily and neatly pressed down to the roper angle. Treated thus a good collar will jast twice or three times as long in use as the iron down affair. Some difficulty may be ex- perienced at first in having the collars returned as requested, but a card attached to the pack- ages containing instructions will be effective. v0. m. Figure 3 shows a tab sewed on to cover the buttonhole and as a guard for tender fiesh against the button. It isa German idea, but a few minutes’ labor in bands will verve to dispel many of the Sunday morning amenities of home life and convert men to the use of the ever ready collar button. Apropos of neck dressing, here will be found abint for housewives. Many men object to the use of collar buttons, and they undoubt- edly are a source of great discomfort if the band is tight. The friction on tender fiesh is often a cause of swellings that are not only troublesome while they last, but dangerous. Hence men insist on a sewed on button. plying it to the neck- SHE WILL HAVE DOG'S HAIR, A Jet Black Spaniel’s Skin Will Supply e Girl's Scalp and Hair. From the Detroit Tribune. Skin transplantation, or the grafting of skin from one human being to another, or from some of the lower animals to human beings, is by no means a new resort of the surgical pro- fession in extreme cases, yet an experiment in skin transplantation is now being made at Grace Hospital which, if it proves successfal, will open a new ficld in surgery. ‘The patient in this present case is eleven- Fear-old Tillie Orsech, who last October had her entire scalp from the eyebrows to the neck, and including one ear, torn from her head at the Star elevator. Since her stay at Grace Hospital every means has been tried to graft new skin upon her scalplees head. One of the first trials made was with human skin, Tillie’s sister consenting to go through the ordeal. A large flap was loosened from her side and sewed over the large blood vessels ex- poved on the side of ‘Tillie’s neck. The girls were tied together,so as to insure +t quiet, and for a time it was thought ‘operation would be a success, but the transplanted skin died, ulcerated and fell off. Small strips of skin from the arms of healthy Tages ‘ients were then grafted w head, this also "proved ‘unsuccessful Frog's ki sponges, skin transportation and ‘Theirsch’s method were all attetspted, but failed For some ti is wide, came off about six weeks ago. Its ap- rance was Very similar to anegg abel. Un- neath the eurface wat granulatingand weak. Several times little Tillie has run down until it was thought she would die, but through the very best of care and the close attention given to the case by Dr. B. Stevens of the her health has recently improved and she bas even gained considerably in flexh. ‘The last and most novel operation and the one on which the ‘test hope was in this case a Veaudital Jet-biack water i dog was brought into requisition to aid E The pnp is four months old, and his : curling hair does not appear unlike human hair. Every precaution was taken to make the operation a su: ‘one. was first scraped clean of all leaving a healthy surface. & fi H been set aside urse is con- of the tore. ‘on his side lay the kop ctustcind eaten ‘Tillie was the g Se Good That Vermiion Pete Presented Man With His Buckeye. From the Detroit Pree Press “Have you got any nerve?” asked my friend Simpson, as we halted before a saloon in Tough- ville, Mont. Vhat if I haven't” I answered, evasively. “Zasked for information. You're a stranger here, you know, and you don't tuck your pants in your boots, or talk about your private grave Yard, or anything like that, and as I've got to ko in here and interview the proprietor I won't take you along unless your nerve will stand it.” “Go in,” hanewered lnconically We entered a long, low-ceiled room withe bar atoneend. Several card tables were scat- tered about, at which gentiemen of rather un- PInTy Appearance and reckless manners were ing. Whe my friend wae tranacting his business with the proprietor I drew a chair into a cornet aud tried to appear perfectly at home. Taking a cigar from my pocket I calmly placed ic between my lipsand lighted it, when— whiz! it was knocked clear out of my mouth by a pistol ball. Tnever eo much as winked my eye! I did Rot even turn to sce who had done the firing, Dut, with the greatest coolness, L drew another Tleaned cigar from my pocket and lighted it, back in my chair and smoked w nonchalance—I don t think I have oF since, been #0 uteri: chalant as upon the occasion set forth As Lemoked the ashes natural! pon the end of my woed, ing of knocking them friend of mine with bh formed the service Every one in the sai was looking im my rection, but I did not show the barest tip &white fenther. I puffed away, with head thrown back and a dreamy, contented ex sion on my face that { would have tried in vaim to produce under ordinary circamstances, Again the ashes accumulated and again thet timely Lullet removed them. At this stage I found myseif wondering how wat going to keep my n en that © had burned down a mere dt my friends markmanship would from between my tecth. Bat I was equal to the emergency, and when My cheroot was two-thirds Theld it out between my thumb and forcfinger, while the unknown shot it ont with a skill that was re- markable. Then I dusted my han the ashes from my at the door. Betore we however, » man in a bi leggings, carrvin, Proache “Say, pi gone on yere nerve. Hi. carried ever since I Ohio eu come hyer, Take it en wear itin yer pants pocket for the sake of Vermilion Pete, the ail ‘round terror of Bitter Creek. An’ pard/” “Well?” “Say, I want ver to stand up there in the cor- ner en let me shoot a dime of yer nose ——.” “Come on here,” said my friend Simpson, an he yanked me through the door by the tail of my coat, without giving me time to frame a re- ply. But Twas glad he did it. A dime ien't very thick, and then Vermilion Pete might bave missed it, when that unksows convenient pistol per- © that D've Played Poker for Cattle. From the Pittsburg Dispatch. The game began at Texarkana. It was the of womanly invention. | he wee engaged to 0 ng Young man without monev. ‘what be ented, and unable to bestow diamen. upon bis fiancee. ‘One day she was walking with her sweetheart, and, soddenly pausing, pommted to « point of light in the street and said: “ ‘is that, a diamond?” He stooped aud picked it ap with delight an@ “Well, it,” anid sho, “‘antil it is ad- vertiood for, audit Ie iret you cam have toot ina ring for me.” ‘She wears the ring now and he docs not know why that diamond was not advertised for oF his sweetheart dropped it in the street for have set into the ring abe knew y- Tae him if