Evening Star Newspaper, December 16, 1893, Page 22

22 THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1893-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES. FOOTPADS OF PARIS. How French Thugs Ply Their Thiev- ing Trade. TRICKS OF THE PROFESSION. Various Ways of Attacking a Victim and Escaping SOME TYPICAL BLOWS. Bpecial Correspoadence of The Evening Star. N NO COUNTRY IN the world is criminal ity carried to such a pitch as in France, and there is no city where the thief devel- opes his trade with such ingenuity end fineness as in Paris— so fall of lawlessness pad is a criminal in whom generations of Villainy have developed a character as shrewd and ingenious as it is pitiless and daring. He makes of crime a fine art, to which he devotes a life-time of study and practice, and the successful thief attains his skill only after passing through all the various grades of the criminal school. ‘Thieves in Paris have a wholesome dread of the law. The galley labor is not easy, and sentences are severe. Besides, once down on the lists of the police, a thief, even if efter serving his sentence he be allowed to live in Paris at all, is kept under a per- petual police surveillance which, to the man whose life has been spent in eluding their regard, is well nigh unbearable. And over and above all this is the perpetual dread of the French engine of death—the guillotine. he Voleur Poivrier. The catechism of the French criminal, then, begins and ends with the same ques- tion—how to attain their ends without bru- talizing more than is necessary. All their ingenuity is taxed to invent means of rob- bery without damaging the victim. For at- taining this, they have invented several most curious coups de main, or tricks, by which a man is overpowered and robbed with a swiftness and skill unknown in any ether country. The Paris criminal is of various grades. At the bottom of the scale, and least offen- sive, is the voleur au poivrier, which is thieves’ slang for thief of the drunken. These w: about the public squares at night, or walk by the rows of benches along the deserted boulevards, robbing drunken men who drop asleep there. This is the thief’s debut. No skill is re- quired, but profits are proportionally small. ‘Those who thus fall by the wayside are not such as patronize the swell cafes, and little worth stealing. They would not rest on an pen bench if they could pay for a room in @ cheap lodging house. Sometimes a few us lie forgotten in their pockets, or else a or a bag of tobace>. The yield is richer if the drunken man chances to be a work- man who has trespassed on his week's wages, and taken more cups of sour red Wine than he intended. In all cases, this “needa no dexterity on the part of @ operater. He must watch closely for sergeants de ville, or possible witnesses, and needs and quiet to pick the sleeper’s Pocket; that is all. Sometimes the voleur du polvrier meets with an g if by enchantment, says, my thief! Come en route for the) station house!” Then the thief realizes that | for once he has made @ mistake, and run | against an agent de la surete. In other words, the tricker has been tricked; he has | tackled @ detecttve, Tee oe Ce eee it | de Pied de Vache—the kick of the cow's feot-and is delivered with such force walking on the street in the day time, of his watch or pocketbook, especially when it is protected by carefully-buttoned clothing. But this takes place every day, and the figures 1, 2, 3 will show how simply it is done. This is what happens: Le Coup de la Bascule. A man walks in a street where there Is active circulation reading his morning paper. Suddenly he ts jostled against awk- wardly and brutally by a passer-by. His first movement, naturaily, is to turn his head to see what brute has run against him and is now going on without the least apology. The jostler laughs in his face and shrugs his shoulders, and in a moment indignation gives place to anger, and a wordy altercation begins. uc Coup de la Petite Chaise. His preoccupation will be so strong that he will no longer feel the blows of the el- bow of the passer-by, and it is at just this instant that the accomplice, with all the dexterity which distinguishes the overcoat thieves of this sort, unbuttons the coat and then to abstract the pocket book from the breast pocket or the watch from the fob is child's play. Following the two is generally a third accomplice, to whom the plunder is passed, and who is, apparently, an innocent passer- by. If the victim perceives at once that he is robbed the pickpocket, conducted to the station, can demand, with assumed indig- nation, that he be searched to prove that his accuser has either made a blunder or is prompted by malice. It is for this reason that the third accomplice follows. This trick is called “Vol a l'Esbrouffe’’ or sleight-of-hand theft. There is one other way in which this is done, where there is no crowded street to give color to a col- lision. A man approaches you on your right hand and asks a simple question, generally inquiring the way. He is apparently hard of hearing, and you come close and shout into his right ear. Then, suddenly, while your head is turned to the right, the hand of another man glides across your breast, unbuttons and draws back your overcoat and abstracts the contents of its pocket. So marvelously skillful are these Parisian thieves that this trick, which at first sight seems so extremely difficult to perform without detection, is comparatively easy. If you feel the hand unbuttoning the coat the natural inclination is to turn quickly to the left, whence comes the sen- sation. Then the man who first accosted you seizes in an instant your right arm, while the second makes off with the boot: Even if you do not pursue your disa) pearing pocket book, as is the temptation, and, realizing that the apparently deaf questioner is an accomplice in the robbery, hold him fast until a sergeant-de-ville can arrive—even then you have a very slight case against him, and he will, of course, deny holding your arm. One naturally wonders how the watch, held by the chain, can be removed without a violent shock, capable of recalling to him- self a man most distrait or preoccupied. The trick is of childish simplicity. Just when the thief has the watch in the hollow of his hand he presses on the two opposite sides of the clapper ring with the thumb and finger, and when correctly held a very slight twist is sufficient to open it. Then, like magic, the watch comes away from the ring and swivel and the chain hangs empty. The ease of this trick may be demonstrated without harm to any watch. Nearly all the watches stolen by pickpockets are thus without rings, and this is a most damaging point against an arrested man. The classes of thieves so far spoken of rob without viglence by “sneak” means or by sleight-of-hand. None the less skillful, however, are those who use force without pctual violence. A number of such tricks are used by thieves who work alone, and are most ingenious and named in striking and representative phraseology. First in simplicity is what is known as Le Coup de la Bascule—the trick of the rocking chair. Its operation is as follows: ‘The unsuspicious Parisian, walking home to his hotel late at night, as he turns a corner comes face to face with a man, who, quick as thought, grasps the walker by the throat. Surprised at the sudden- ness of the attack the latter has thrown himself instinctively backward. This gives the thief time to hook his right foot behind his victim's left, raise it off the ground and push him back upon the one remaining. Feeling himself falling back- ward, the hands of the man attacked in- stinctively drop behind him to break his fall instead of grasping his opponent's throat, and it is just at the instant when the man is tottering and hglpless—like a Le Coup de Pied de Vache. rocking chair—that the thief, still holding his throat by the left hand, with the right goes rapidly through his pockets or ab- stracts his watch, at the same time throw- ing him violently backward to the ground. It needs only a quick “zouave” blow of the feet in the stomach to make it impossi- ble for the man to rise at all, and if he can he {is in no condition to pursue the thief, who vanishes at once. The bascule is a trick performed with swiftness and precision, but is by no means certain, and hence is not so often em- ployed, except in the most daring and dan- gerous localities and along the outer boule- vards of Paris. The commonest trick of all is known as Le Coup de la Petite Chaise—the trick of the little chair. In this the thief advances from behind, putting his bent right knee In the small of his victim's back, and bending him half-way back over it. His left hand holds the vic- tim’s throat, and his right reaches over the shoulder and goes through the breast pock- ets, taking both watch and chain. While bent thus backward and thrown off his equilibrium the victim's blows can reach only the knee of the thief, and the latter’s clutch on the throat makes it impossible for him to turn. It is, of course, the position upon the knee of the thief which gives it its derisive name, “the little chair.” In this. as in the bascule, the parting blow, delivered as the man {fs falling, en- ables the thief to make good his escape. In this instance this is generally in the side of the neck, and often renders the recipient unconscious. All the boxing skill In the world will avail one nothing in these two tricks, as in both the hands are rendered absolutely useless, The only means of parrying the latter at- tack 1s hy employing a trick which the thieves of Paris use principally in resisting arrest by the police. It Is called Le Coup sometimes to break the large bones of the leg. Unhappily, this trick is known much bet- ter by the thieves themselves than by men who need it for self-defense. It is most useful, for it can be delivered instantly ans without turning when one feels himself grasped from behind. The one delivering this blow brings his right foot around in front of the left, turn- and bringing the leg, bent at the knee, around behind him, with a strong, semi-circular sweep, which, when well done, even if it breaks no bones, rarely falls to carry a man off his feet. This must, however, be given instantly as soon as touched, as, after the equilibrium has been lost, it is, of course, out of the question. When the thief is reinforced by an @c- complice he employs the more scientific Coup de Pante. This is most sure of sic- cess, and has the great advantage over the others that a worn cravat or a badly fast- ened collar cannot cause it to fail. Le Coup du P: In the Coup du Pante one thief comes quickly behind the man to robbed, seizes both arms and bends them both back, at the same time, as in the bascule, hook. ‘ng one foot in the other’s ankle, and thus creaking his equilibrium. Held in this liv- sng net, the victim of the Pante cannot struggle, and finds it utterly impossible to use either fists or feet. There is one drawback to this trick, and, indeed, to all of those named heretofore; itis that the victim, from beginning to en van shout as lustily as he may’ wish, and there is always a large chance that his cries may summon help before the thieves can get away from pursuit. It is this disadvantage which was respon- sible for the invention of Le Coup du Pere Francois—the very ne plus ultra of crimi- nal ingenuity. It Is named after an old and celebrated Parisian criminal who first used it, and taught it to his younger con- freres, This is practically a new trick, but it is continually growing commoner and becom- ing more and more a part of the primary fohewrnageeg of the thief. Its method is as fol- lows: One thief, holding by the ends a stout silk handkerchief, throws it about the neck of the intended victim, turns his back to him and bends far over, at the same time draw- ing tight the handkerchief and pulling the man with it backward, nearly off his feet. The victim, feeling the handkerchief strang- ling him, cannot make the least sound, and his hands try to seize the silk to keep from choking. In the meantime the other thief has been rifling the pockets of the un- happy man. In less than half a minute suffocation be- sins, and when the poor devil is released he falls helpless and unconscious on the Pavement. Very often, when set upon his feet, he is absolutely unable to give the slightest ac- covnt of his aggressors. He not seen their faces nor known when they ap- proached, nor the direction of their flight. It is like a nightmare but for the brutsed neck. Le Coup au Pere Francois. Le Coup du Pere Francols would be the ideal of the professional thief were it not sometimes accompanied by disagreeable re- sults. When the choking is a little too pro- longed, or when the victim has none too good lungs, it oceasicnally happens he does not waken from his unconscious state. An accident of this sort was the cause re- cently of an official and thorough wiping out of a band of thieves at Neuilly, just outside the walls of Paris. In a case of this kind, if the thieves be by any chance caught, the judges are not apt to be regardful of the prisoner's feelings. The punishment is summary, and the grim guillotine is not a thing to whose acquaint- ance the most desperate foot pad would unwittingly lay himself open. But fatal accidents seldom occur, and _un- til a better one be found Le Coup du Pere Francois will be taught with respect in all thieves’ dens of this most unruly city of the world. WHEELER. HAD JURISDICTION ONLY ON EARTH. An Illinois Judge Who Refused to Cat a Marital Knot Tied in a Balloo The court house of a small country town in Ilinois was filled with a curious throng, gathered to witness the proceedings of a divorce case begun by a young woman whose husband was town marshal of the place, says the Detroit Free Press. A string of legal lights supported the suit on both sides, which gave evidence of @ long and tedious fight. The judge to whom the case had been assigned was enjoying his first term, and his conscientious face showed that he would discharge the duties of his office with the greatest care; but the town marshal’s suit was one of universal interest in the community, and the worn look around his honor’s eyes revealed sleepless nights, which he had spent in pondering over law books to hit upon a decision that would make a lasting impression upon the peo- ple, and to snow them that he was ably equipped with the necessary knowledge of sense and justice for the oftice to which he had been elected. The complainant's side rested. The defendant was then called to the stand, and the opposing counsel began to cross-examine him. “Where were you married?” he was asked. “Chicago,” the defendant answered blunt- ‘How long have you been married?” bout four weeks.” Fs ‘ery well,” said the lawyer. “Now, Mr. where did you go after the cere- Blank, m the air,” he answered with a chuckle. “How did you manage to get in the air?” the lawyer asked, surprised. “We were married 258 feet above the earth.” “How did that happen?” ‘ou see,” he explained, “I went to Chi- cago to meet my wife, and we both decided that it would be a novel and inexpensive wedding tour to take a ride on the Ferris wheel, and to improve the idea she afte ward suggested that the ceremony be per- formed on the trip. I consented and a minister came with us and we were married at the highest point in the revolution of the wheel.” At this point the rustic maidens looked longingly at one another in anticipation of such a glorious wedding trip, while the judge, with a long breath, arose to give his first decision. “Gentlemen,” he said. “I tind by the testimony that this case is be- yond my jurisdiction and I am wholly with- out power to decide. In the evidence it ap- pears that the couple were married 258 feet above the level of the ground, and there is no authority vested in me or this office by which I am given jurisdiction over events transpiring in the air. The parties then, he continued, as he threw his head back, with an air of great importance, “will have to appear at the court of the district in which the ceremony was performed, of else remarry on golid and substantial earth in- stead of in midair, and try their case over again.” Seen aes ‘The Political Outlook. “The New York democracy ts in a bad way; don’t you think so?" “Oh, it will do better hereafter." “I don’t see how. If they nominate any more criminals ‘they'll lose independent support; and if they don’t they'll drive off the Irish vote.” PATENTS FOR BEAUT Vanity Furnishes Inspiration for ;Many Queer Inventions. HOW THE FEMALE FORM IS BOIL? UP. Some Droll Things That Reach the Examiners. DIMPLES MADE TO ORDER. —— ANITY FURNISHES the inspiration for many of the inven- tions at the Patent Office. One of the latest of this sort is a mask of very thin rubber, designed to be worn on the face at night. It causes profuse perspiration, which washes im- purities out of the skin and makes the complexion _ clearer. Sun-tan it quickly removes, so it is claim- ed. Another device, for producing dimpies, is a woman's idea. It is a wire mask, like- wise to be put on when going to bed. By an arrangement of screws, pencils of wood, very blunt, are made to press upon the cheeks and chin at the points where dimples are desired. Uncomfortable? Why, of course. But, as the French say, it is worth while to suffer for beauty’s sake. Inventions are on record at the Patent Office for supplying pretty nearly every part of the female form divine. Though @ woman may have no more figure than a broomstick, she can be transformed into a veritable Juno, so far as outward appear- ances go, by means of these devices. False busts, hips and calves are made of rubber, to be blown up like balloons, and in many other styles, while the young lady of build hopelessly skeletonesque may produce a complete stuffed jacket which fills out her shape at every point to the extent requisite for counterfeiting the desirable degree of embonpoint. If one is so unfortunate as to lack a nose, he can obtain a false one of papier mache artfully enameled to imitate the skin. One kind of imitation proboscis is attached to a specacle frame, so that the owner puts’ on his counterfeit nasal organ in adjusting his glasses. Yet another style is intended to be painted at intervals. When it gets shabby, the wearer has merely to go to some capa- ble artist and have it touched up with wa- ter-colors. Several applications have been made for patents on processes for setting diamonds in the teeth—the front teeth, of course—holes being drilled to receive the gems. Such ornaments must have rather a ghas*y effect, one would think. Dental surgeons have patented processes for imitating gold fillings in false teeth. This is done by burnishing gold foil upon them in the manner commonly termed “‘fire- gilding.” Nobody would be likely to sus~ pect that grinders showing signs of repair were artificial. A very curious invention is a device for keeping the mouth open while singing. Teactrers of vocal music have had trouble as to this point with their pupils, but it may be obviated by employing the centrivance described, which has a spring, and may be set so as to expand the jaws at any angle desired. Speaking of the mouth and teeth reminds one of a patent that was granted only two years ago on an ordinary corn-cob of the pattern familiar in nature. Covered with corundum paste, it was to be used for polishing dental plates. Blowing Holes in Eggs. ‘The notion of getting a patent gn a corn cob seems rather absurd. But many queer things have slipped through the great bu- reau of inventions, owing to carelessness. In 1878, for example, exclusive rights were granted in a process which consisted of nothing more than punching pin holes in hens’ eggs. ‘This device was for the pur- Pose of letting the inclosed gas out of pre- served eggs to prevent them from exploding when boiled. A patent appiied for, but not granted, was for using corn husks as wrap- pers for bottles. This was to be done by removing the ear from the husk, without disturbing the integrity of the latter unnec- essarily, and putting the bottle in its place. Besides making an excellent wrapper, the thus employed serves as a disguise very desirable in prohibition communities. Masculine vanity is concerned in the gen- esis of about eighty patents for various kinds of mustache guards. Some of these contrivances take the form of metal at- tachments for the cup or glass. One such is a gold piate with a spring, which may be fastened to any drinking vessel at a mo- ment’s notice. Another ts specially designed for heer glasses. A tube connected with it goes down deep into the beer, so that the mustached drinker is able to avoid the Toam. Similar devices are applied to spoons. Other guards are to be worn like spectacles somewhat, with wires to pass back of the ears of the wearer and hold them on. The shield for the mustache is of gold, or silver, or of fine gold-wire net. More simple is a pair of wire springs in the shape of a helix, one of which is made to encircle each wing of the hirsute ornament, keeping it away from the mouth. Now and then a man from some out-of- the-way part of the country, who has never heard of the new and improved artificial limbs, applies for a patent on a wooden stump. It is granted, if the device has any- thing novel about it. But people are con- stantly mventing things thought of long before. Not long ago a person asked for exclusive rights in a peculiar kind of lock. The examiner to whom the matter was ferred turned to a book of drawings and showed him that his lock was merely a reproduction of one that had. fletened a gate of Thebes 4,000 years ago. The appil- cant went away with the impression that some ancient Theban had stclen his tea. There are many interesting contrivances for individuals who are maimed. One of them enables the cripple to manipulate knife, fork and spoon with one hand, the ap- paratus being screwed to the tab! An Aseptic Suit. A rather curious and seemingly useful in- vention is a rubber basin for employment by barbers in shampooing. It is fastened upon the head of the customer in such a manner as to encircle the crown. The at- tachment being water-tight, the tonsorial artist is enabled to give the hair and scalp a thorough scrubbing with soap and water while the person under treatment sits in the chair and reads a newspaper. A contriv- nce of the same material even more in- teresting is a disease-proof suit of clothes, intended to be worn by an operating sur- geon. It is a complete suit of rubber ar- mor, somewhat resembling a diver's dress. Being air-tight, no germs can enter it. Be- neath each foot is a ‘small bellows, which, being compressed by the action of walking, blows fresh air through the armor. The air enters and is filtered through a germ-proof diaphragm under the foot, passing upward and out through a similar diaphragm at the top of the head. The physician is enabled to see by two glass eye-pieces. This “aseptic suit,” as it is called by the inventor, bears some resemblance to the armor for firemen designed by several other patentees. The dresses suggested by the latter are asbestos, being intended to pro- tect the wearer against flames and stifling sn:cke. Fresh air is obtained through a tube. One of the oddest of patented articles is a sort of locket of either asbestos or lava, to be carried in the pocket of anybody who starts on a railway journey. If there is an accident and he is burned up. the locket, being of a material indestructible by fire, will be found intact with his charred and othetwise unrecognizable remains. On the outside it Is stamped with the words “Ad- dress inside.” On opening it the finder dis- covers the name and address of the unfor- tunate traveler, whose body, being thus identified, is promptly shipved to his home. A device for attachment to a tombstone | 1s a small flat case containig a photograph of the late lamented. On the cover, is movable, are inscribed the words, at me and cover my face.” A very curious invention Is a device for irrigating land by means of a balloon. The flying gas bag is held captive while aloft. its movements being controlled by lone ropes and horses. Tt carries a sprinkling tube, which is eon- nected by a hose of great length with a svring or other water reservoir on the earth. Thus it hestows an artificial rain unon the parched fields. T! idea enmes from Col- orado, where the richest soil in the United States fs rendered unproductive by can- tinual drought. Tt seems o44 to consider the fact. to which Mat. J. W. Powell has called attention. that the orteinal home of sericulture was in waterless countries. Early man could not fight the weeds where | much rain fell. But in arid regions, as in Egypt, he could plant a seed and be sure of raising nothing else besides the vegetables he wanted, irrigation only being required. Another interesting idea from the west is @ tornado proof house. It revolves on a Pivot, with a big weathervane at one end and a six-pound cannon looking out of a port-hole at the other. When a revolving storm cioud strikes the dwelling, the latter necessarily turns to face it and the six- Pounder is automatically discharged into the midst of the “twister,” destroying it. ‘This notion is adopted from the well-known practice of firing guns from ships at water- spouts which approach dangerously near, A Real Detective Camera. Burglars may some day have cause to dread a device which has been patented for taking their pictures when they least expect it. The contrivance is photographic. When the robber steps upon a space in front of the safe which he proposes to rifle, a spring is released by his weight and a flash-light records his likeness on a sensitive plate in @ concealed camera. The plumber’s method of discovering a leak in a pipe by pouring peppermint oil into one end of it, and nosing about for the smell of it, which must be found near the Gefective spot, is familiar. An inventor has proposed its adaptation for the purpose of finding out whether the human intestines have been perforated in cases of wounds by ball or knife. It is ‘often most important and very difficult for the surgeon to be sure on this point. So this ingenious person sug- gests that peppermint shall be injected into the intestinal canal, while the physician sniffs at the wound. If he smells the pun- Sent stuff it is an unmistakable sign that the intestines have been pierced. A patent spring extending from hip to heel is designed for use in running. The only trouble with it is that the sprinter, once started, could not possibly stop. Quite a pious invention is a collection plate of peculiar pattern, with a bag beneath, into which the person taking the offerings drops each individual contribution after he has looked at it, by pressing a spring. This de- vice renders buttons and other such frauds in church-giving out of the question. Among the queer inventions is a lumionus cat to frighten rats and mice at night; a wire hook like a shepherd’s crook in shape for catching chickens, and a process for preserving oysters in a batter of plaster of paris, which hardens about them and keeps out the air. But the ideas that have not been patented—for which patents have been refused--are the funny ones. If they could be assembled in a book its readers would surely die with laughing. RENE BACHE. —_-+—__ BROUGHT ILL-LUCK TO FIVE MEN. An 0; Ring ai the Misfortune Which Befell Its Possessors. A gentleman from Houston told a Globe- Democrat man a remarkable story about an opal and the ill-luck that had followed its possessor. Some years ago a gentleman named Beard,who was one of the wealthiest residents of Houston, and who still resides in that city, was traveling on horseback from San Antonio to Austin. In ‘iis saddle bags he had a supply of provisions, liquor, &c., the usual commissary supplies incident to horseback journeys. A few miles from Austin he rode up to a tree, under which lay @ stranger sick almost unto death, He asked Mr. Beard for assistaace, and was given some provisions and a generous draught of whisky. The fellow was suffer- ing with a raging fever and realized the ne- cessity of getting to where he could have proper medical attention. He asked Mr. Beard if he could spare him a few dollars, at the same time drawing from his finger a heavy gold ring set with a magnificent opal, which shot forth flashes of red, blue and golden light as the stone was moved. Mr. Beard took the ring, giving the man $3, which was about half of the change he had with him, promising to call on the man in the hospital in Austin, where he hoped to hear from friends, and would redeem the ring. Mr. Beard rode on, after making the stranger as comfortavle as possible. Some two or three days later he went to the hospital and found his man still very ill, but he had failed to recive the ex- pected remittance. After chatting with him awhile he took his departure. When he vis- ited the hospital next day he found the man was dead. He returned to Houston, forget- ting all about the ring, except as he hap- pened to notice it. The second day after his return he lost a law suit involving $80,00J. From this time on everything he touched proved unlucky, One day ne was in Austin, gloomily meditating over his ill-luck, when his eye chanced to fall upon the opal, which he swears was emitting a yellowish-green light and seemed to mock at him. Like a flash the story of the opal and ine duck that attached to a possessor came ‘into his mind, and drawing the ring from his finger he started for the Colorado river, intending to throw it in the stream. On his way he met a friend, the sheriff of the county, to whom he communicated his“intentiuns. The officer said it was a shame to throw away such a magnificent gem and begged that he might have it instead. The opal changed ownership right there, and three days afcer- ward the sheriff was shot and kille The opal then passed into the hands of a lawyer, who was thereupon unfortunate until he died, and the ring went imto the hands of the fifth man, who soon went crazy. From this time Mr. Beard lost all trace of the opal, after following its history through the hands of five different men, all of whom met with misfortune as soon as the gem came into their possession. In marked contrast to this ts the experi- ence of a traveling man named Lakin, who has a passion for opals and who wears sev- eral magnificent stones set in rings, a group formed into a watch charm ani a pocket- book mounted with opals of various sizes and degrees of fire. He main*tains the opal is a lucky stone, and his experience seems to justify his faith. Whenever he has oc- casion to go to Queretaro, Mexico, on a business trip he never fails to purchase a handful of the choicest stones he can find at the mines. Hundreds of Texans are now wearing opals cut and uncut, and there is now but little regard given to the old super- stition that the opal is unlucky. puational nici on pmamamade GO TO THE MOLE, THOU SLUGGARD. The Hard-Working Little Animal at Least as trious the Ant. A mole’s life is by no means a gentleman- ly sinecure, according to the Cornhill Maga- zine. He has to work harder, in all prob- ability, for his pittance of earthworms than any other animal works for his daily bread. His whole existence is spent in perpetually raising and removing large piles of earth by sheer force of muscle. In order to sustain such constant toil and replace and repair the used-up tissue the mole requires to be always eating. His appetite is voracious. He works like a horse and eats like an ele- phant. Throughout his waking hours he is engaged in pushing aside earth and scurry- ing after worms in all his galleries and tun- nels. The laborer, of course, is worthy of his hire. Such ceaseless activity can only be kept up by equally ceaseless feeding, and so the mole’s existence is one long savage al- ternation of labor and banqueting. His heart and lungs and muscles are workt at such a rate that if he goes without f for half a day he starves and dies of actual inanition. He is a high-pressure engine. His drinking is like his eating ;immoderate in all things,he must have his liquor much and often. So he digs many pits in his tunneled ground and catches water in them to sup- ply his needs at uent intervals. He doesn't believe, however, in the early clos- ing movement. Day and night alike he drinks every few hours, for day and night are all alike to him. He works and rests by turn, after the fashion of the navvies em- ployed in digging tunnels, or measures his time by watches, as is the way of sailors. —____+e-+—____ FIVE CENTS. From the Cincinnati Enquirer. A check for five cents, drawn by Secre- tary of the Treasury Carlisle on the sub- treasury here, was yesterday received by Assistant United States Treasurer Bailey. It was sent by Commissioner of Internal Revenue M. W. Wilson. It was in favor of the United States treasurer, and on ac- count of F, P. Bond, the internal revenue collector of the Tennessee district. Here the check was given to Receiving Teller White, who entered it to the credit of the United States treasurer. It was then handed to Cashier Stout, who also made an entry of it. ‘Then it was turned over to Certificate Clerk E. E. Roe, who made three certifi- cates of it, one for Secretary Car- lisie, one for Revenue Commissioner Wilson and one for Revenue Collector Bond. Later Clerk Roe entered it with the dis- bursements of the day, charging Secretary Carlisle with five cents. At the end of the month a report of the transaction will have to be sent to Carlisle, Wilson, Bond and the United States treasurer. This shows the amount of “red tape” connected the office. Subtreasurer Bailey said that he has already received checks for one cent, and that ft is a common thing to receive from some fourth-class postmasters such small sums as one, two or three cents as the total receipts for three months. HER PRETTY FACE. Analysis of the Features of the Handsome Woman of Today. TYPE OF BEAUTY CHANGES Female Loveliness Not Always De- pends on Youth. STYLES IN HAIRDRESSING. NEW YORK, December 15, 1993. ANY A YOUNG woman of today, like the milkmaid of the song, can trutafully say, “My face is my fortune,sir,” although your modern young beauty is quite differ- ent in feature from that saucy miss. This is because the type of recognized facial beauty in women has changed remarkably in the past twenty years. Gradually the < very points that used 7 to be considered the most essential have altered or been lost sight of in the heightened appreciation for others. Take eyes, for instance; large eyes are beautiful, of course, yet the average pretty woman of today has not large eyes. She has bright, clear, or steady ones, but they are seldom the big, round child-eyes that the girl of a while ago must have had to be thought pretty. A last analysis of the pretty woman of today leads one to suspect that the general education of women and the special education of the college girl has had something to do with the new idea of beauty. The second picture in this column is of a woman who was the belle of her class at college and who during. her past season has been acknowledged a superbly beautiful woman. The smooth, plump neck and rippling hair are there, but no picture can do full justice to her eyes, with their sparkle of wit and challenge that dazzles you into an acknowledgment of their beauty when they meet yours. The mouth has charmed by a thousand curves of shift- ing change, each making her more adorable than the last, each a challenge to discount The College-Bred Type. her beauty if you dare. The beauty of her face is potent, aglow with health, sympathy, passion, vitality and intelligence. A beauty beyond question, and as surely one of a new type within the past score of years. Another woman, older than the beauty of twenty years back ever was, is acknowl- edged as a type of today’s loveliness. She is thirty at least, which in itself is a new idea. Her copper-colored hair, a mass of glossy wavings, is caught up and back after a manner all her own, and its profusion emphasizes the extreme delicacy of her features. The nose is dainty enough in its faictly Roman outline. The lips are firm, a little thin, but even in the picture ready to speak words that sparkle. The eyes, again, are not large, but are at once keen, shadowed and well arched by fine eyebrows. She is essentially a beauty of today, nervous, delicately and vividly colored, with the full throat and fine skin which are now a requi- site. She possesses, besides that intensity which is hardly passion, the warmtb which is not quite fire, the alertness that is more wit than intellect, and the spirituality that is after all not soul.. The face is not at all the face of the girl just passed, yet in it are some of the same characteristics. This pictured face, too, is evidently hardly as eloquent of its own beauty as is the radiant original. Modern beauty is a thing of sparkle, mood, change, glow and of many other things which, somehow, do not pic- ture themselves, save on the mind. Another face among the accepted types, that of a very young girl, as shown in the fourth Mllustration, lacks the ‘thoughtful- ness of the first face and the experience of the second. It is calm, almost placid, with the strange element of self poise that is im every such face as a foundation for its calm. The ears are large, and so are those in the other picture. The beauty of Older Than Was Once Permissible. long ago had delicate shell-like ears, al- most too small to hear with. The modern peauty has -sized ears. The hair is again beautiful, rippling, and with an ap- pearance of being upright just at the roots and so prettily free. It is arranged with the individuality that all these beauties show in the management of their tresses. 1c seems just the sort of hair to turn loose. iy from her smooth forehead, and all women of this type have smooth foreheads. None of them has a blank or undeveloped one. Again, the eyes are not large, but are steady and clear, while the lids that shadow the eyes in the second face are almost de- flant in their steady level. This third face jacks the brilliancy of either of the others. ‘Lhe lips are a little fuller, and one needs to be told that the skin is clear and brilliant id the lips riotous with changeful smiles and wistfulness to realize that the face is @ beautiful one, and one that gives promise of even more loveliness. It is different from the other two, but fine coloring, steady eyes and mobility of feature are here, and self poise, which should never be lacking. The most dangerous modern beauty is the ugly belle. She seems absolutely irresist ible. She suits all tastes, she rules men un- challenged, and not until you see her face pictured and discover what havoc she has made among your admirers do you realize with a shock that she is downright ugly. She has the pretty hair our belles always have and it is tossed up as only they dare to handle it. The forehead is so high that the fringe is mits, are distinctly small and the brow above are well marked. This girl's admirers wilt tell you that her beauty dazzles them, that her lips quiver and scorch red with the wit and fire of her speech, and that no such eyes ever dazzled a man blind. Somehow, imperative. The eyes, her to ‘h | most irresistible feature, as every one ad- ll ———_—_S the praise of wit and dazzling qualities al- comes close upon acknowledgment of ways @ beauty. It is hard characterize the face of ty_that you turn your dazzled eyes upon. To do the hair in the prettiest way for the present fashions in eveni > part ee the head, so that a over the ears and the nape of the This fringe is very thin at the forehead and a little thicker at the temples and Still Teking on Beauty. from there around the head. It is cut very short across the forehead and curled in tiny little corkscrews, which, if you prefer, may be combed out soft. At the the fringe is made into two curls, which hang well down on the cheek; the next two over the ears hang a little longer, fall- ing to the side of the neck; the rest grad- uate prettily, the three or four at the back even ard short. Above these at the back the hair is drawn into a round coll, which extends till it is even with the top of the head. A tiny bandeau passes sround the head gp wpe Oh HL Fare ' cfs sfiT8s Elta: i is a bertha of lace, standing The shoulders and straight its lower edge; no sleeves show. ee ae a a are made them, a skirt a 5 zi tlie ice and those of in dine and seem all to be a continua’ and by this time the onlooker thinks self daft, wonders if his condition is a ago. Winter before last the French the fashionable dog par excellence. other day a man was seen them an airing near Central children, whose memories do far back as two years, hocted him. no wonder that they did. Nothing grotesque than a French poodle, clippee into a resemblance to a Chinese pagoda, ever existed. perioa, stood, THAT E Last year was a sort of transition when dogs didn’t know where they as far as fashion was concerned. their noses high and tried to look very sure of their social position, but there was a hollow ring in their most genial upon, for it is reported that this breed has to answer for two-thirds of the cases of hydrophobia. If ugliness, as is said to be the case, is a passport to favor, Johnstone | Bennett ‘ought to set the fashion with her | hideous little bulldog, Governor. | A dealer in pet animals and birds says | that more than one-half the buyers of dogs are women. According to him, the coming dog is not to be a dog at all, but a monkey. | He exhfbits some queer little things that | look almost as much like birds as like ani- jmals. They are pocket monkeys, and are popular. dealer, “are being abandoned, and monkeys are taken up instead. They are the fasb- jonable fad at present. Swell women Gress them up in scarlet waist coats, ané have them carry packages foy them. “Can monkeys be kept clean?” “Perfectly. in a private house a monkey can be kept as clean as a baby.” “How about birds? Are they in much Ge mand? “Pretty fair. Here's the latest in birds,” pointing to a cage full of small rea birds about the size of hut birds. “Those are Chinese strawberry fin Bee how the red is rarked with yellow specks? Well, when the birds put their heads under their wings they look like so many straw- | berries. In the cage underneath that one are the little Japanese nuns, sober Mitte | gray and white Japanese birds. They make |a queer Mttle quacking noise like a duck, The finches sing quite a little song, but they alweys take turns at it.” “What kind of camary is this orange “We call that an English canary. The | color comes from feeding him cayenne pep- per. A lady came in one day and, when told her that, she asked me to feed one red, white and blue food, so that she have a patriotic bird. Women are queer. | They always want sw parrots. ; they are church members they are all more anxious to have their parrots swear. |] suppose they can’t accommodate them- | selves in that direction, and so they like to have the birds do it. One woman whe | bought a parrot from me came back after a while and asked if I had any swearing |parrots. If I had, she would like to ex- | change hers. I told her I hadn't any in | stock just then, but I could ‘her with a list of oaths and she could sup- ply the deficiencies in her bird's educa- “What did she say?” “She thanked me and said she knew plenty herself.” Saying which the bird fancier chuckleg | softly to himself, either at his recolieo | tions of the events he related or at his tm gcenuity in making up such stories,