Evening Star Newspaper, December 1, 1894, Page 16

A PARISIAN SCENE — The Gay Throngs That Mingle at the Ice Palace. THEY SKATE, GOSS AND SIP DRINKS High Society is in Evidence During the Afternoon Hours. THEN SOMEWHAT MIXED ne te ees Correspondence of The Yvoning Star. PARIS, November 13, 1804. F ALL THE LIGHT amusement places the Ice Palace is the most fashionable. The gentlemen who lounge around the broad, low galleries, with their cigarettes and high-priced American mixed drinks, who, skating, filrt, who yewn and make remarks, are costumed in the latest mode. They are well-fed, well-groomed. Their ways are el- egant and quiet, and their tmppertinences and very cruelties are in good taste. They re the cream of Paris; and the ladies know it. The ladies are sweet-faced and sweetly @ressed. It all depends upon the hour which kind of ladies shall predominate tn the swell skating rink of Paris. You ought to see the place at first by night, because the morning and the after- noon have no electric lights. At night It is @ burst of light, all white, white, white. "The amphitheater is dazzling with the white electric light, reflected from the cell- ing, which is @ pale blue, reflected from tre floor, which ts white ice. Around the edges of the circle, seated at their little cafe tables by the railing, is a circling audience, all in black and white, of men in evening dress. Their red and purple faces match the brilliant bodices of ekating ladies, ladies promenading, ladies ogling, sipping their Manhattan cocktails, sherry cobblers, l- queura, sirups, punches. The yellow straws, even in the cocktails, match the blond tresses of the brunette girls who slip aud Blide. ‘Around the circling walls are frescoes of the Mediterranean, a series of sweet scenes around the Bay of Naples. As the electric Nght floods their blue skies and their warm eens and yellows, rose and salmon, you forget the cold, the red-hot stoves and the meumonia which you risk. Above it {s all jue, below it is all white; and the warm colors of the Mediterranean frescoes match with the bright blues, reds, purples of the ladies’ corsages. The Wheat and the Tare! ‘An orchestra of fifty pieces trips the march of “Ling-a-ling!” The skates are tinkling against the ice. The ladies utter Uttle shrieks. Down goes a lady in a glory of white lace and linen; pure white edging, white like the white fice, “A-a-a-a-h!" There is a murmur of subdued apprecia- tion from the evening coats, as when a crowd looks on @ rocket bursting in the heavens. “A-a-a-a-a-h” Ah, madame, did ou fall designedly? Madame, take care. bo not disgrace the gentle demi-monde, of which you are a shining light. For we were just about to say that you and all the rest of you seem to demean yourselves with more real worthiness than the ewell princesses and other swells who skate in the Ice in th 'ternoon. It all depends upon the hour in the aswell skating rink of Paris. There is a parable not often preached on nowadays of one who found both wheat and tares in the same field. In America you will see wheat fields without a single corn flower, even, to dis- figure them. In the swell skating rink of Paria they pursue a middle course. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., all wheat; from 5 p.m, till 7 p.m., mixed wheat and tares; from 7 p.m. till midnight, tares, all tares—except the entlemen, of course. Except on Satur } Pain when all rules fail. On Saturdays the pleasure-loving world of clerks and employes whoop round the Bay of Naples, careless, frank and free, till after mid- night. They Lack Ancestors. Place for the wheat! It surely is the place to see the best society. At 11 o'clock of any morning you will encounter here the most aristocratic of child’s nurses. Who are all these little gentlemen and ladies, aged from eight to fifteen years, dear little snobs, not only French, but some Americans and many Fnglich? As to the French contingont, they are the great-grandchildren of the revolution. It took @ deal of mercenary letting out of blood to flout their families just a hun- dred years ugo. Or they are the great- grandchildren of such aristocrats as ran away, made terms and truvkied) with Napoleon, and there are not many of them. Bourget finds .\mericans lack great-grand- fathers. The right roply to Frenclimen in to say, “Well, show us yours.” The bulk of rich Parisians of todey have no an- cestors. Drun shop keepers, with bloody hands, engaged in plundering private houses, would you call such types an- cestors? Skate on, you little snobs, your blood is just as now as ours, Skate on, Napoleonic nobles, Polish princesses, 2 sian barons and Brazilian half bree ancestors than ponr lewwed noblesse of the Faubourg Saint-Germai:.—a little handful— do not mix with you. They are too poor they are too stupid and too sleepy. the palace of young girls and very boys. And just like little girls anJ little boys in every land, they do not think about their ancestors. They are content to skate and shout. Their elder sisters come with them, but scarcely with gocd will. Girls in society do not desire to see upon the fa of their men ac- quaintances that curious look of admira- tion for their little elsters, which says piainly: “Perhaps I'd better wait and marry one of those sweet bables when she grows up old enough.” All Their Ambition. The mammas also come. They have Jumped out of their soft beds at a good hour to please their babies. They cer- tainly do love their little ones. The high- st proof of love that a rich married wom- an here in Paris can show possibly 1s to quit her warm hed before the hour of lunch, Because her highest pleasure is to Me about and eat and sleep; to read, to look at plotures, to converse, to patronize the cake shops end drink too much Spanish wine in them, the opera, the theater, the social whirl, to shop, to scold the serv- ants, to deceive one’s husband; all these are charming. But your true Parisienno, from a young girl, dreams of her future marriage, not for the fulfiilment of such trifles, but for the solid luxury of sleeping late and over-eating. To take the slightest exercise fs very fin de siecle. It is even @ trifle fast to take a morning bath. A husband would suspect his wife of some queer crookedness if she should take « bath each morning. Perhaps that 1s the reason why the Erglish and American young girls who ccme to skate in the ice palace in the hope of looking over the fence at French so- clety appear so much more fresh and wholesome, ro: healthy, brilliant than the anaemic French girls, weazened Spa: fards and kinky-haired Brazilian half breeds. A man of patience might make valua- ble studies on the subject “How American lish residents of Paris may pick up desirable French friends.” If you are very, very rich, the French will take yor just as the Princesse Ge Sagan took up um Gould. But if you are only half h, {f you have come te Paris to be more important socially than a could hope to be at home—which fs the actual condi- tion of the bulk of “the American co! in Pa you may live in the gay cap’ for twenty years and have no Frenc friends but some refined hoarding hou: keepers, some few doubtful countesses who cadge for 5 o'clock teas wherever the may be found. Sorse of the most pitiful placed American girls in the whole worl? are those whose friends at home are envy ine them their Paris residence. Observ the: ating round the rink. They know they have not the Anierican honest hb- erty, and yet they have not the deceit nor the imagination to pick up * little so- laces in the French fashion. They skate alone or with a half a dozen wooden En- glishmen, who do not hesitate to leave them curtly the moment the chance comes to pay their court to = French girl they w by happy luck. American Drinks Popular. It Is the afternoon. The morning price of 60 cents is now raised to $1 for these hours of high society. The very walters, busy with mixed drinks, swell and demean them- selves with even more prodigious dignity, because Princess Eulalie is now skating, because Lord Dufferin is going round and round. bs Two things are noticeable. First, how the ladies go for strong mixed drinks— sours, cocktails and the other burners. ‘There was a time when it was thought bad form in Paris to take these American con- coctions. Just now it is high chic. The circle of small tables round the ice is handy to the promenaders and the skaters. Bach lady, each young bud of high soclety, has her stiff drink upon a handy table, where her mother sits, or chaperon or friend. “Garcon, another cocktail, gin this time!” The second observation has to do with the attendants, skating masters, very eie- gant In dark green fancy suite all edged with astrakhan. Knee breeches give an op- portunity to show their splendid calves. ‘There are more than a half dozen; all are men of fine appearance, strong, attractive, sympathetic, watchful and complaisant. It is their work to skate with any lady who desires them. Countesses and even princesses desire them. Sometimes the ladies skating with thelr cheap Adonises shed, moist-eyed, to rest. You hear 's confidential tone, caressing, play- ful, as a rich young blood would use in chatting with a pretty shop girl in the half-lights of the Paris evening time upon the street. Sure they are lucky skating masters in the afternoon, and they appear a bit too haughty even, sometimes, at first glance. But then reflect that they must keep the ladies at thelr proper distance. If any lady feels that she has been snubbed by a haughty skating master in the after- noon, she may console herself by knowing that the stuck-up fellow will be put in nis right place this evening by the ladies of the demi-monde. The demi-monde would scorn to squeeze their hands and lean upon them heavily. A Gay Scene. Toward 5 o'clock the stricter-minded ladies leave. They do not wish to rub against the demi-monde, which now begins to make its entry. Gentlemen who stay have now a double duty. And to be polite with ladies of the haif-world in the same room with ladies of society takes all the finesse, all the practice of a special train- ing and a hardened nerve. The iadies who remain—we must not get these ladies mix- ed—I mean the real and bona fide ladies who remain—stay to observe the cocottes’ clothes, to post themselves up on the latest fashions, which these other ladies—of the demi-monde—set for them. ‘The demi-monde and fashionabies skate along together now till dinner time, as amicably as the clean and unclean animals in Noah's ark doubtless amused themselves while it was raining. Two hours of skating is a long time in that atmosphere, where biting cold is mixed with heat. The cold comes from the real ice on which people skate. The heat is from the decorative stoves around the promenade which circles round the great arena. The building was originally raised up for a cyclorama. Being round in form, with one broad gallery, the skating surface now looks like a circur ring. The circle of small tables ts like the front row of seats around a circus ring. You sit at one of these smail tables, now so crowded. Dames and demotselles in crinkling silks and precious stones sweep past you. Club- men chatter with them unafraid. More silks, more splendid cloaks and capes. More brilliant faces, Hps too red and eyes too black. Young girls of good society, pale lke wan morning stars. The married ladies knock their skates off spitefully. “Come, Lucie, Helene, it is time to go!” STERLING HEILIG. ——— THE RETIRED BURGLAR. A Curious Experience With a Man Who Hallooed. vrom the New York Sun. “Once,” said the retired burglar, “I look- ed from the upper half of a house I was in into a room that was so dark that you literally couldn't see into it at all. It seem- ed as if they must heve had the windows closed, the blinds shut and the shades all down. It was blacker’n a cave. I turned my light in ground on the floor to get the lay of things end get ‘em fixed in my mind so as not to stumble over anything. Over by the bed I saw a chair, and hang- ing down from it @ pair of trousers legs. Then, of course, I knew there was a man in the bed, and that it was his clothes that were stacked up on the chair there. I shut ol my light and started. I knew the way and went very quietly, but when I got about half way across the room the man in the bed began to holler. “How he could see ine I couldn't under- stand. I couldn’t see him at all, but I just haited and waited. He didn’t holler very loud, though he was trying to, hard; but he was go scared that 1 was surprised to hear him holler at all; {t sounded as though it was all he could do to catch his breath; I was afraid he'd scare himself to death right on the spot. I didn’t dare back out of the room for fear I'd meet somebody coming in. I thought I could dodge ‘em better after they got in; so I just stood there in the middle of that dark room with that man hollerin’ the best he could, and 1 wishing I was somewhere else and wondering what was going to turn up Well, sir, in about half a minute he stopped hollerin’ altogether, and for a min- ute or two he did not breathe. Then I was seared; but in about a minute more he he- gan to snore. You see, he wasn’t scared at me, what he was scared at was a night- mare; he didn’t know I was there at all. But it was a mighty uncomfortable posi- tion to be in all the same, because, of course, he was just as likely to wake up somebody hollerin’ in hia sleep as he would ha’ been If he'd been wide awake; he might have waked himself up, as far as that's concerned. But he didn’t, nor anybody else, apparently, and when he'd got to snoring again, and everything seemed quiet, why I just went ahead and collared his trous- ——___+0+ ___—_- Chiuese Politeness. ym the, London Daily New: Whether or not the Chinese put a term insulting to Japan in their declaration of war against that country they seem to be under ordinary circumstances the po- litest people on earth. A Gerinan trav- eler who has just returned from China and who has been publishing his impres- sions of the Chinese people, declares that in writing a letter to a perfect stranger a Chinaman calls his correspondent “my elder brother.” The letter begins with such a phrase as “May all the blessings of life be showered upon you, such ts the wieh of your !mbecile junior.” In speaking of his own family the writer says: “We ants.” The eddress on the top of the letter is, “From my humble cabin to the glorious palace of pearls of elder brother,” and the preamble ts, my excellent and benevclent elder brother, who ascends the staircase of honors.” At the end is the form, “The understzned, your most obe- dient monkey, ratses his hands in suppli- cation to your excellency in order that veur excellency may deign to approach the miserable ruins of our house.”’ Final- ly, a8 a further token of humility, the sig- nature of the writer is so smali as to be almost filegible. ——_—_+e+ William Caticn Bryant. From the Atlanta Constitution. When William Cullen Bryant was born George III was king; Byron was six yoars old and Shelley beginning to walk; Words- worth, a poor young poet, was just strug- gling into print; Walter Scott was prepar- ing to publish some translations; Napoleon was coming into history as a dashing young Corsican officer, and Goethe was writing Wilhelm Meister.” Washington was president, Alexander Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury, Saron Burr in the Senate und Andrew Jackson a lawyer in Nashville; Franklin d recently dled. ——__+e-— A Long Lectare. From Truth. Brassey—“‘Did your wife Msten to your ex- cuses for coming home so late last night Fender—“Oh, yes; she listened to me, and then— Brassey—“Then what?" Fender—“I Ustened to her—for four hours.” PLANISPHERE YOR DECEMBER. THIS CHART SHOWS THE ENCE IS THE HORIZON; ITS CED HOLD IT OVERHEAD. PRINCIPAL , THE ZENITH, ARS NOW VISIBLE AT 9 P.M. ITS CIRCUMFER- TO COMPARE WITH THE HEAVENS, DECEMBER SKIES The Lights of the Firmament and Their Places. ee MOVEMENTS OF THE CONSTELLATIONS The Stars and Planets and Where They May Be Found. THE REIGNING EVENING STAR a URING THE PAST month the great sphere of the heavens has rolled toward the west 30 degrees—-one- twelfth of its appar- ent annual revolu- ftion—carrying many PAS of the stars which LLIN’ we saw at 0 o'clock last month below the horizon and bringing into view at that hour new stars in the east. Among the stars which have disappeared is Altair, in the Eagle. Vega has been brought so near to the horizon in the northwest that it now shines with only a feeble light, while Capella, its rival in brilliancy, being very nearly on the oppcsite side of the celestial pole, has gained by the movement and is now the brightest star visible. It may not be amiss to say here, paren- thetically, that this change in the aspest of the heavens, effected in one month by the earth's revolution in its orbit, is pre- cisely the same that takes place, in con- sequence of its rotation on its axis, in the space of two hours—one-twelfth of a day. The planisphere, set for 9 o'clock this evening, represents as well the aspect of the heavens at 11 o'clock a month ago, and at 7 o'clock a month hence. We will take Capella as our point of de- parture in a survey of the eastern quarter of the heavens. This star will be found at 9 o'clock tonight in the northeast at about three-fifths of the distance from the hori- zon to the zenith. It will easily be recog- nized from its great brilliancy. The name “Capella” signifies a she goat. The star is in the left shoulder of the Charicteer (Auriga) and also in the body of the Goat, which he is represented as carrying in his left arm. The right shoulder of the Cher- joteer is marked by a star of the second magnitude, now situated directly beneath | Capella. His head, marked by a star of the third magnitude, is toward the north. His feet are toward the south, the right foot resting on the tip of the northern horn of the Bull—the more northerly of the pair of second magnitude stars seen midway be- tween Capella and Betelgeuse. The con- stellation contains a number of stars of the third and fourth magnitudes, and with the hints above given one will have little difficulty In making out the figure to which the constellation probably owes Its origin. It is a point worth noting that the two stars in the shoulders of Auriga are of the same magnitudes and at the same distance apart as those in the shoulders of Orion, although in reversed positions. Again, these two sets of shoulder ornaments are at the angles of a long narrew parallelo- gram, lying north and south, the length of which is just five times its breadth, The diagonals of this parallelogram intersect one another at the star El Nath, or Beta Tauri—the tip of the northern horn of the Bull and the right foot of Auriga. A Famous Constellation. To the right of Capella, a little south of east and at about the same altitude as Capella, is Aldebaran, popularly known as the “Bull's Eye.” It is an average star of the first magnitude and is of a distinctly reddish color, presenting a marked contrast with the white Capella. It is at the same distance as that star from El Nath, and to render {ts {dentification still more certain, {t fs at one corner of a V-shaped cluster of small stars, known as the Hyades. The Hyades are in the Bull's head. The Plef- ades, now seen directly above them, are in his shoulder. His long horns extend west- ward, their tips being the two conspicuous stars already pointed out, midway between Capella and Betelgeuse. The Bull consists of only head, shoulders and horns, his body being, according to fable, below the waves, for this is said to be the identical bull which bore Europa from Phoenicia to the shores of Crete. Below Aldebaran is the constellation Or- ion, containing the two brilliant stars Betel- geuse and Rigel, the one in the right shoulder, the other in the left foot. Ob- serve the difference in the colors of these two stars. Betelgeuse somewhat resembles Aldebaran. Rigel is bluish white. The star in the left shoulder of Orion is Bella- trix. It is of the second magnitude. Saiph, in the right knee, is of the third magnitude. The head of the constellation fs a little tri- angle of small stars, which forms a very pretty object for the opera glass. The three stars in the belt—known as the “Three Kings,” or as “Jacob's Staff,” or, in connection with a fourth star, in the handle of the sword, as the “Yard-L—are all of the same brilliancy and are of the second magnitude. This striking group of brilliant stars is probably the most generally known of all the constellations, with the possible excep- tion of the Great Dipper of the north, Its mention by Homer and in the Book of Job 1s evidence that it had attracted attention at a very early period. The name Orion has come down to us from the Greeks. It is thought, however, not to be a Greek name, and this circumstance also would in- dicate a high antiquity for the consteila- tion. Although the group has usually been fancied to resemble a human being, it has also been likened to other objects. Qne of its anclont Greek names was the Bull's Hide, a name obviously due to its general Fesemblance to the outspread skin of an animal. The Southern Sky. Beneath Orion, Sirlus, the ‘“Dog-Star,”" has risen, but is still too low to be seen well. The “Three Kings" lie aimost ex: ly midway between this star and baran. They range, too, very nearly line with Sirius and thus serve as one ready means of identifying that star. ‘At about the same altitude as the Dog- Star, in the exact east, 1s Procyon, the Smaller Dog (Canis Minor). This star may always be found readily, when above the horizon, from its position at one angle of a large eauilateral triangle. of which the two in other angles are marked by Sirius and Be- telgeuse. Low in the southwest is Fomalhaut, in the Southern Fish. Fomalhaut is hardly up to the full first magnitude. It never at- tains for us an altitude of more than 20 de- grees, and it chiefly conspicuous from the general poverty of this region in stars of any considerable brilliancy. A dotted line on the planisphere traces the course of the constellation Erfdanus, an ancient name of the River Po. Begin- ning at the star Rigel this celestial river wends its course toward the west, until it reaches the constellation Cetus, the Whale. Then it turns southward, then eastward, then southward again, and it finally dis- appears below the horizon. It ends, as it began, with a star of the first magnitude— Achernar, one of the south circump lar stars. Although by no met @ striking constellation, ving no brilliante along its course, the Eridanus is well marked with stars of the third and fourth magnitudes, and, with the aid of a chart, it can be fol- lowed easily. Cetus, the Whale, or Sea Monster, ts one of the mystifying’ constellations. It is fairly well marked with stars—two of the second, seven of the third, and thirteen of the fourth magnitude—but no imagination is powerful enough to see among them the hideous monster depicted on the chart. The ancient whale was quite unlike the modern vcles, it this is it. Cetus is chiefly inter- ing because of its variable star, Mira,the Wonderful. A reappearance of this inter- esting star, which is usually invisible to the naked eye, is due in a month or so, and it may be well, therefore, to give its position with some attempt at precision. Remarkable of Variables. Menkar, in the head of the Monster, and Deneb Kaitos, in its tail, both of the sec- ord magnitude, can easily be found by noting their position on a line from Alde- baran to Fomalhaut. Between these two stars, about one-third of the distance from Deneb to Menkar, is a jarge trapezium, or irregular square, formed by four stare of the third magnitude. The star at the east- ern corner of this figure is Baten Kuitos. To the right of Menkar and at about five degress from it is another star of the third magnitude, Gamma Ceti. Mira les almost exactly midway between this star and Baten Kaitos. Mira is one of the most remarkable of vuriables—remarkable for the great range. of its variability and for its only approxl- mate regularity. Ordingrily it is a star of about the tenth magnitude, far below the limits of the naked ey@ But occasionally it takes a freak and begins to brighten. After a while it becomes visible to the naked eye, and in about forty days there- after it attains its greatest brilliancy, which is usually that of a star of about the second magnitude. Then it begins to wene, and in about three months it is again lost to view. Mira runs the cyclo of its changes in an average period of eleven months, although there 's a considerable trregularity in its period and also in its brilliancy When at its brightest. In some years it has hardly attained to the third magnitude before it began to wane, and occasionally {t has failed altogether to put in its expected appearence. The last “maximum” of Mira occurred in March last. Its visibility began in Feb- ruary, lis next reappearance may be look- ed for in the latter part of this month or the early part of January. It can be scen with an opera glass sooner, of course, thfan with the naked eye. Those who care to be witnesses of this highly interesting phenomenon had best begin their search for the star at once. With an opera glass quite a number of faint stars can be seen in the spot above indicated, and it is only by noting, or, better, marping these stars carefully that the variable can be recog- nized at Its first appearance. The Planet. Mescury, since its transit across the sun on the 10th of last month, has been a morning star. It will continue to be a morning star throughout the month. Its gcettest elongation froin the sun west was on the 27th of last month. It is now draw- ing in toward the sun and is no ionger visible. Venus has become an, evening star, but is still close beside the sun. Its superior conjunction with the sun occurred on the 30th of last month, Mars continues to be a splendid evening star, but has perceptibly lost brilliancy since we passed him on the 20th of Octo- ber. The most favorable time for observ- ing this planet has gone by, but the more persistent of the astronomers will con- tinue to scrutinize its features for two months or more to come. The situation of Mars this year has been unusually favorable for observing, and much interesting matter has been gathered relating to {ts mountain ranges, its s0- culled “seas” and “canals,” and its topog- raphy generally. It looks as though we might, at no very distant day, form a pret- ty intimate acquaintance with this neigh- bor of the earth. Jupiter has come around into a position to claim his share of the public attention. This planet is now a magnificent evening star, its brilliant white light contrasting strikingly with the ruddy light of Mars. ‘The opposition of Jupiter to the sun, when he will be at his brightest, will occur on the 22d of this month, Saturn and Uranus are both morning stars, but are too near the sun to be visi- ble. The position of Neptune, now an evening star, is marked on the planisphere. On the 2ist of the month, at 3 p.m.,Wash- ington mean time, the sun will enter Capri- corn and the tropical winter will begin. —_+0e____ Take It Aisy.” From Blackwood's Magazine, One cannot travel in Ireland without per- ceiving that the so-many-horse-power and perpetual catching-of-trains theory of life is not one that is accepted by the Irish péo- ple, and I do not think it ever will be. Their religion, thelr traditions, their chief cccupations, their temperament, all of which I suppose are closely allied, are op- posed to it. The saying, “Take It aisy, and if you can’t take it atsy, take It as aisy as you can,” doubtless represents their theory of life, and, for my part, if it were a question either of dialectics or of morals, I would sooner have to defend that view of exist- ence than the s0-many-horse-power one. So far from a wise man getting all he can out of himself in one direction, he will, it seems to me, rigidly and carefully abstain from doing so in the interests of that catholic and harmonious development which requires that he should get a little out of himself in every direction, One would not like to t that the bulk of the Irish people are “harmoniously de- veloped.’ But neither, if T may be per- mitted to say £0, are the English, or the Scotch people, and as, In reality, all three probably err by lobsided activity or lob- sided inactivity, it still remains to be seen whether too much perpetual catching of trains, or too much taking it aisy, Is, on the whole, the wiser course, and the jess Insane interpretation of the purport and uses of life. VAIN AMBITIONS = * People W210 Delude Themselves With False Estimates of Their Gifts. A FERTILE SOURCE OF UNHAPPINESS They Think They Can Sing, or Act, or Paint. IMPROVEMENT, NOTSHOW Written Exclusively for The Evering Star. BRAHAM LINCOLN A* credited with this epigram: “God must q have loved common people—He made 50 many of them.” Of course, the great- hearted man used the word in its true sense, by which no slur is conveyed— common, as earth and sky, trees and grass, sunshine and rain are common; just the plain, average, rank and file of humanity, to which most of us belong, gird against it as we may. And how we do gird against it! With what waste of energy, what perversity of judgment, what persistence in the face of failure we strain and struggle to do something, anything, that will draw the eyes of our particular little world toward the feeble twinkle of our particular little candle, all ears to the silly tinkle-tankle of our particular little cymbals! And, perhaps, just as we be- lieve we have succeeded the world grows weary of hiding its laughter and ennui under specious applause and lets us see and feel ifs indifference and derision; then, how cruel the awakening! Canny Robbie Burns w: than when he wrote: “O, wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursel’s as ithers see us! It wad frae mony a folly free us, An’ foolish notion!" And so it would. Not that the world’s judgments are always immediately cor- Tect. Given a plentiful supply of shrewd- ness and audacity and a plentiful lack of honesty and sensitiveness, a deal of suc- cessful humbugging may be accomplished. The world loves big, brilliant humbugs as much as it despises small, silly ones. But it requires talent to make a great rascal or perpetrate a great deception, and it is ccmmonplace people we are considering; above all, the sort of commonplace people who are spoiling their chances for being estimable, useful, happy members of s0- ciety by trying to escape from the limita- tions of their personality and delude the world and themselves into believing them something God never meant them to be. Mistuken Genius. Perhaps, reader, because you enjoy listen- ing to good music, and can hum a popular air without getting into more than four or five keys before you are through with it, you imagine that by dint of hard work and expensive teachers you may become a musician or singer yourself. Pitiful folly! Worse than “foolish” notions! Dear young woman or man, singers and musicians are born, not made! The musical ear, the tuneful voice, are due to congenital confor- mations of the inner mechanism of the throat and hearing apparatus, and in most instances this innate sensitiveness to musi- cai sounds is accompanied by the musical impulse or instinct, which manifests itself even in infancy. The musicians and sing- ers who have charmed the world almost without exception sang before they could talk, played upon instruments before they could walk and composed sonatas be- fore they could read! Why, your born singer—the only singer who really reaches the heart—sings with- out effort or instructions, like the bird on the spray. Art may develop, but never yet created a fine voice or a correct ear. Those charlatans of the profession who proclaim that “every one can sing’ are preparing a terrible day of retribution for themselves! They deserve to sit forever on damp clouds, listening to the awful chorus that gscends from the throats of their deluded followers, and the groans of their unhappy lsteners on this unlucky planet. The amount of needless suffering endured by a helpless public from this cause alone must eventually result in @ sort of pro- tective union—a society for the prevention of cruelty to the truly musical, or some- thing of the kind. Perhaps because you can paint flowers (only distinguishable from mops or feather- dusters by their color) or have done a cray- on portrait(on a solar print)that “every one recognizes,” you imagine that you have the making of an artist in you, and so go on accumulating spoiled canvas and acquiring Bokemian habits of thought and conduct, and heaping up disillusions and disappoint- ments for yourself in the future. Perhaps, because you have stammered and strutted through a parjjn an amateur play, and shave been assured by your friends that “no professional could havo done it better,” or have some perfunctory applause for @ parlor recitation (happily uncongceious of the rasped nerves of a large proportion of your helpless audience) you dream of a dramatic career. Perhaps, be- cause you have a natural glibness in the use of words, and some one you know (who, in your opinion, is no cleverer than you are!) is making a success as a writer, you are following the Fata Morgana which leads its victims into that slough of de- spond--the profession of literature. Self-Improvement Not Display. And perhaps, yes, very likely, in your de- sire to ascape from the commonplaceness of your lot, you are neglecting the obvious duties of life, and turning your back on some useful work, some practical career, for which you are perfectly well fitted. Really, wher one considers the subject, it ceases to be amusing. Think of wasted years, the hearts consumed with unfulfill- ed desires, with humiliation, jealousy, envy and despair; the homes where there are plenty of girls and boys, but no real sons and daughters—dutiful, helpful and affecticnate—only a number of morbid young creatures throwing away their beau- tiful youth in vain efforts to be, or at least to seem to be, something which they never can be. Not that I would depreciate or discourage the study of the arts except by those of unquestionable talent. On the contrary, as a means of culture and development, or as a recreation after other work, the study of any of the arts is eminently de- lightfu) and beneficial to the individual and the race. By all means, if you have time and money to expend upon such indulzences, and are sure that you are leaving no duty undone, practice the piano, and the violin, and the mandolin; try to sing, even; and to elocute, but crush out with an iron hand the first longing for an audience that dares to show its serpent head. Paint abortive landscapes, and distorted portraits of your patient relatives, but don't hang them in the drawing room, or offer them for exhibi- tion. Write poems, and novels, and essays, if it gives you pleasure, but don't expect editors to accept and pay for them. But, you say, how is one to know whether there is anything in these efforts unless they are submitted to some such test? True; but do not hurry! Do not worry! Work patiently along, if you are sure your motive Is not the ignoble one of pelf- aggrandizement, if you feel that you are moved to your work by a pure delight in beauty and an urgent need of expression, and walt! In these days there is alw hand stretched out to snatch the ‘bushel’ from any hidden light of genius. The main point is, “know thyself!" That is, try to! Try half as hard as you have probably tried to deceive ycurself. and others. It will not be an easy or a pleas- ant process, but if undertaken in the right spirit it will be a very profitable one. The Real Self. Don't do as I have often seen a plain or faded woman do—place yourself before a mirror in the most favorable light, and gaze with satisfaction upon the delusive reflection, forgetting that you are not going to carry that becoming glamour about with you, but be stared at in the never cannier : THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY DECEMBER i, 1804-TWENTY PAGES. Se i full Ught of gasiah day by the cold eyef Of an my unfecting ‘wor! 5 one toe brace up, an urself under 4 veritable Plight! Rennes yourself rigidly from every lble point of view, physi¢al, mental and moral. Don’t spare yourself one shock or one 5. ‘ompafe yourself with the finest specimen of manhood or womanhood you know. Subject yourself, in short, to a sort of mental Turkish bath; writhe and groan, if a must, but keep it up! Then, when you ave alternately burned with vexation and shivered with horror, until all clogging vanities and illusions have been cleared away, and you are in @ condition to judge yourselt without any tendency to flattery, proceed in a humble and contrite spirit to take account of stock, as it were, and gaze unfiinchingly upon the man or woman na- ture made you. In all probability you will see a very un- noticeable person, indeed, with no salfent qualities of mind or body to lft you above or sink you below the multitude of your fellow creatures! One need not let the discovery dishearten one. Keflect that the tendency to exce} tion is far oftener in the direction of ug! ness, and disease, and stupidity, and viciousness, than it is in that of superior beauty, health, intelligence or virtue. Re- fiect that superior gifts entail far greater responsibilities and perils, end by no means insure happiness. Be grateful for having been born with even average advantages in the fierce fight for existence. Above all, having reached the bedrock of your real self, be brave enough and honest enough to stand confessed what you are, and see what you can do in the way of improving such desirable qualities, or overcoming such desirable ones, as you may happen to possess. Cultivate your taste for the beautiful, and even a desire to excel, but let your studies include contentment of spirit, the power to admire without envy or emula- tion, modesty, sympathy, amiability, tact, unselfishness, and, before you are aware of it, you will have become lovable, agreeable and admirable. And you will have ceased to be commonplace. SIGNET. ioe HOURS OF SLEEP. Long Hours of Slumber Are Absolutely Essential to All Children. From the New York Ledger. One of the great mistakes of parents and those who have charge of children is that they are likely to allow the little ones too little time to sleep. With one excuse and another the youngsters are up later at night than they should be, and, as they must be off at school betimes in the morn- ing and there mey be duties to perform, they are called long before they have fin- ished their morning nap. Children, as a rule, ought to sleep ten or eleven hours, and to do this they must be put to bed early enough at night so that they may get this amount of uninterrupted rest. But it is a difficult thing to give the children the amount of sleep they re- quire, because there is always something going on in the evening that interests them—some one comes in, there is a new paper or book, or something is being talk- ed of that they like to hear. They plead and entreat to stay up just a little longer, and, with a spirit of indulgence, the par- ents yield. Of course, this means but one thing—too little repose and a curtailing of the hours of rest that nature impera- tively demands. It is no wonder that children are nervous, fretful and difficult to get along with. Their inherited from dyspeptic parents, are keenly alive to every sound, and their tempers none the best or they would not be the children of their parents, are irri- tated by called out of bed when they 80 much Want to sleep. During the earlier years of children, whatever else may be done, there should be ample provision for long and undisturbed sleep. It means health and strength in later years, clear heads, good dispositions and well-regulated mentality. 2902 ——__— When Clergy Used the Mace. From Notes and Queries. ‘The mace was originally a potent weapon of offense, originating, doubtless, in that earliest and most common weapon, the wooden club. It was an essential part of a ccouterment, being useful at close for ready convenience it wi hung at his saddlebow. Says an ancient poem: And with his heavy mase of stele Then he gave the kyng his dele. The besague and baston were varied forms of the mace. The mace used on horseback was 2 small weapon, usually of steel. Taat used on foot was much longer, and commonly of wood, with head armed with iron rings and spikes. 1t was carried by the escort of magistrates. and others a @ ready protection against violence. As society quieted down and its original use fell into abeyance, the thing assumed the ornamental appearance it now hes, it be- ing now carried as a mere honorary form. The arcient use of the mace introduces us to @ remarkable instance of ecclesias- tical casuistry. T! clergy was forbidden to shed blood, and, as thus the sword was inhibited, this might have been thought aufticient to keep them from the buttle- field. But not so; they adopted the mace; though they could not cut a man’s throat, yet might they break his head. So Bishop Otho,half-brother of William, fought along- side of the Conqueror at the bitter battle of Hastings with great effect, the brothers being, as you may say, a “pair of nut- crackers, ——+ e+ —___ Professional Skill Baffled. ~ From the Chicago Record. The Professional Catalogue Maker (at work on the index of his great volume, “Easy Reference Guide to Statistical In- formation”)—“I'm in a dilemma.” His Friend—‘What's the matter?” The Professional Catalogue Maker— “Here's a subject I’ve got to index, and I can’t find any name to index it under other than the one under which people would naturally expect to find it.” Driving a Bargai: Form the Boston Tarnscript. Wife—The price of the clock was $10, but I got a discount, so it only cost me $8." Husband—‘Yes, but you could have got the same thing at Beezle’s for $5.” Wife—‘That may be, but then Beezle wouldn’t have taken off anything.” i An Unjust Aspersion. From the Chicago Inter-Ocean. Mr. Snapp—“Is the gentleman in the next room @ somnambulist? Landlady—"Gracious goodness, no; generations back they'v — 20+ The Extreme of Wickeduess. From the New York Herald. Haverly—“I have bad news for you.” Austen—“What Is it Haverly—“Your wife has eloped. And with your best friend.” Austen (bitterly)—‘You see! That woman even deprives me of my friends.” for 11 been Baptists,” Dull Times Ahead for Kittic. From the Detroit Free Press. Jane—Are you going to have a good time this winter? Kittie—I'm afraid not. Fred insists on announcing our engagement. ——--- eee — Never Been Tested. From the Indianapolis Journal. “What is the seating capacity of your house?” asked the advance agent. “Dunno, to the full,” replied the proprie- tor of the Plunkville Opera House. “We ain’t never had no free shows ye! so A Voice From Florida. From Life. aa 1 “Hi! Bomebody come here quick; there's a bee got in this hammock, and I can't get MORSFORD'S ACID PHOSPHATE For the Tired Brain From over-exertion. Try it. DIAGNOSING DISEASE BLINDFOLDED. Remarkable Career in the Cure of the Sick. Holding an Angry Mob at Bay Front the Rear Platform of the Trai: Col. Robert G. Olcott of London was the guest of the Cherter Club of Philadelphia the evening whem the subject for discuesion happened to be out great men. And as Col. Olcott's mission to thi country was to investigate the history of the dif ferent types of great Americans, be was called upoa to respond. “I will respond as to the physi- clans," said the colonel in his English brogue. “My idea, gentlemen of @ great physician is @ physician who is ecpable; and who does great things, @ man of great originality, quick in percep- tion, cool in demeanor, strong in his convictions, forcible in the presentation of his belief and un- Viased by sectarian prejudice, whether it be if medicine, religion or politics. ‘The physician I re- fer to is certainly a wonderful physician as well as a remarkable personality. “He scems to possess a great intuition, which enatles bim to diagnose all diseases and describe these diseases without being told anything and without asking any questions better than the pa- {lent can tell him. I have seen him in more than twenty cases, blindfolded, and in this condition tell every persoa their diseases in detail without asking @ question. Consequently when he doctord & patient be doctors him for the right disease in- stead of experimeating with him. I have seen bim more than a dozen times while thoroughly blind- folded read a book as readily as if he had the use of bis eyes. I don't pretend to say how he does these things, for I don't know; but I do know that he does thei. “He examines thousands of sick year, and tells each and every ‘one hele troutly Without asking a question. Now, it seems to me that a man who can read the inside of a sick per- gon as he would an open book, without asklug nay juestions, is far more capuble of treating the tient than the docter who has to guess at the dis: ease from what the patient may tell him, “The gentleman I refer to is Dr. R. C. Flower of Boston, Mass. You have all beard of him many times.” He has thousands of patients under his care. These patients are distributed all over your United States and in other countries. Wherever Dr. Flower goes crowds gather to see him of t! incurable sick from every part of the world. In. airy at the following hetels—Riggs House, Wash: ington, D.C.; Exchange Hotel, Richmond, ; Kimball House, Atlanta, Ga.; St. James’ Hotel, Jacksonville, Fla,; Tremont House, Galvestor, Tex.} Menger House, San Antonio, Tex.; Richelieu Hotel, Little Rock, Ark.; Guyosa Hotel, Memphis, Tenn. Galt House, Louisville, Ky.; Beers Hotel, St. Louts, Mo.; Throop Hotel, Topeka, Kan.; Plankin- ton Hotel,’ Milwaukee, Wis.; Palmer House, Chi- cago, Ill.; Cadillac Hotel, Detroit, Mich.; Denison Hotel, ‘indianapolis, Ind.; Grand Hotel, Cin- cinrati, Ohlo, and the’’ Continental Hotel in this city, have all brought the answar that wherever Dr. R. C. Flower visits their hotel great crowds of the sick and suffering come to see hiin, and that tke people who come to see bim are gen: gray, the most prominent, and wealthy le of uLtry, representing all the positions, business and professional, of life; and as far as any ex- pressions have Been heard, they have ‘been that r. R. O. Flower has cured or is curing them, and that he told them their diseases without asking ® Sthe bhipstclan who “The physteian who took Antonio Casene: Cuban. prinze and Iie wits tovsee Dr. H.C. blower 4n 1888, described to me the first interview between Dr, Flower and the ‘8 wife. “You need not tell me ‘aurthing,’ sald the doctor, as he took tha Woman's hand in his and looked directly into ber eyes for a minute. ‘It is my opinion,” said the doctor, slowly, ‘that you were bitten by a viclous cat some years ago, and came very bear losing your lifo from the injury. Shortly after this oc- gurred you received a blow in your left breast. a lump appeared. This in time was pro- nounced @ cancer, a2 you hed it cut out. It soon returned with four or five other growths, and are under the arm. You hay. at lerst two, and I believe three, ‘opsrations. Your cnse is uow con sidered by physicians generally as incurable.’ ‘You are right in every particular,’ said the woman, “but for God's sake, how did you know these things? ‘Never mind how I know them. I see you now have seven or eight growths coming in the breast around the edges where the operations were performed nd two unde~ the arm. Your digease has now reached a state where you are in constant suffer. ing.’ Without delay the doctor filled a hypodermic peedle with a mixture of Inchesis, permanganate of potash, thymol and refined green tincture of stillen- er, and made an injection into each th. ese Injections he repeated every third day for three weeks, when every trace of the cancerous growths were gone. He treated the system con- stitutioually for eight months, from which time Mrs. Cosenero bas enjoyed perfect health. ‘The Minister to the United States from one of the leading South Amerlean Republics told my Worthy friend on my left that he believed Dr. RB. C. Flower of Boston was inspired of God to gure the sick when all other efforts failed; that he ‘and bis family were patients of Dr. R. C. Flower, and his treatment of their cases was miraculous. I hot tn my band a letter from the late ex-Governor Bishop of Ohio, in which he says: If miracles have been performed in modern times then Dr. R. C, Flower of Boston performs them daily. I have seen bim examine scores of patients without asking a question and tell each one in detail his trouble, bi bave seen men and women sick unto death with cancers and. tumors, after given up by the leading medical skill of this country to die, cured by Dr. R. lower in @ short ‘time without the knife, without pain and Without blood. I have seen the same wonderful cures of, paralysis, theumatism, heart end nerve troubles.’ The Governor closes this lettes ing: “Thore are several brothers in. th fan lly whose lives are full prom ise ré go bral — brother, is the popul we Arena, but there is Flower, and there will Toto te Never! Never! Never! Be another. He has bullt up his present great Practice, which is without doubt the largest and most extended practice in the world, Of this Sreat practice he ts its head, its fe, tts center and its source. Other physicians of skill are as- sociated with him. He is the most cheerful man in the sick room I ever knew. The moment you come Into his presence you feel that he will cure you. He is tl most pleasing gentleman I ever met. and in my Judgment the greatest living phy- “It was Dr. R. C. Flower who 14 ye cured in this city the President of the Peansylvanis railroad of hopeless paralysis. “From that day to this his miraculous cures have startled your coun- try at frequent intervals. cures as Su hat of Miss Ella Betts, South Norwalk, Coun., from hel lessness to perfect use of her limbs: Mra. A. ly of Washington, D. C., of matigngnt fibroid growth of the woub, and all of these cures perma- nent. His recent cures of such men as John Hop- kins, Ellsworth, Me., and Dr. M. F, Brooks, Port- land, Me.; of John Straw of Stowe, Vt; of Mrs, Booth of Vergennes, Vt.; of Mra. McOmber of Balston Spa, N. Lof A . Sprague of Colum- bus, 0.; of Mrs." Shenta Deykean of Sheridan, Ina. H. Posey, 615 Chestnut street, Evans: vill the wife of the Hon. William Mix of Louisville,’ Ky., is evidence beyond dispute that Dr. R. C. lower in the treatment ai cure of chronje diseases 1s a master; that most of his cures are men and women given up by other phy- sicians as incurable. Dr. the head, the examiner and cousniting p! in of this great practice, while the treatment and details are at- tended to by his associate: Your worthy secretary, who has known Dr. R. C. Flower for many years, bas told me many an toteresting bit of bis history while he was in the practice of the law. For, as some of know, the Doctor was educated for law, practiced several years, lost his voice, went into the pract: of Inedicine, and has never been able to quit tt. It was in 1874 (20 years ago) that Dr. R. C, Flower, not physician then, ‘was called to a Tr Mobile to defer ® man under arrest charged with arson. After a desperately fought case he su ceeded in acquitting his client. On his return North, at a little station south of Franklin, Tenn., a mob of infuriated men surrounded the ‘Sheriff, who was endeavoring to get a negro.on the train. A thousand men, many of them with masks on thelr faces, cried’ out: ‘Hang Him! Hang Him? A rope was thrown around his neck, and in a other moment he would have been swinging to a limb, when R. C. Flower, moving his hand, cried out from the rear platform: ‘Gentlemen, bear me before you — this man. You are Southern men, and I'am glad as such to address you. This great crowd 1s represented by soldiers who a few Years ago wore both the gray and the blue. Your records were those of courage, of dariag and valor. You were brave men then, and I believe you are brave men today. You are Southerners—men of chivalry—men easily excited, quick to resent an evil, but, gentlemen, You Are Not Murderers. And I don’t believe you want to murder this man in cold blood. You don’t want to establish a precedent of mob law which may some day be visited, upon some of you. Let the law, I beg you, take its course. You will feel better as you think it over; better when you go to your tonight, and better in the silence of your last night on earth.’ At this the leader of the mob cried out, as he threw the rope down: ‘I reckon you aré right, young man, We will let the law take its course,’ and the Sheriff hustled the frightened negro into te car.’ “But enough. Col. Olcott only expresses what thousands know, and if Dr. R. C. Flower should ever return to the practice of law be would at an early day carve his name on the highest round of a great reputation. ‘rhe great thtercst the world now has in Dr. Flower is jcian, as a healer, when ali others fail and death approaches.” This justly. famous physician can be seen Washington, D. C., Riggs House, Saturday, Dee He Was Shoekea. From the Rochester Post-Express. It is truly a-matzing thing, this Puro- pean indifference to corn. The people eat some such queer things over there that one would think that corn would seem a mighty blessing. In the course of two long journeys over various parts of Europe we have never but once found the cereal, and that was at a hotel almost entirely patron- ized by Americans, and kept by a man who had lived in Ameri in Paris. We were talking of corn to an Englishman this summer. Said he: “And do you really eat it in the states?” “Why, yes.” “We only feed it to animals.” ‘Well, then you treat your animals better than yourseives.” paused for a minute. Then: ‘Tell me, said he, “in what way do you eat 1?" “On the ear— “The ear! Oh, fancy. How strange’ And he leaked ouite shocked.