Evening Star Newspaper, August 17, 1895, Page 16

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1895-TWENTY PAGES. Asthor of “The Prisoner of Zenda," “The Dolly Dinlognes,"” Ete. (Copyright, 1805, by A. H. Hawkins.) “Seeing that my father Henry is dead and that I am king, seeing also that I am no longer a bachelor, but a married man (and here he bowed to Margaret of Tus- cany, his newly wedded wife), and seeirg that Osra is turned twenty years of age— why, we are ail going to be sober folk at Strelsau from this day forward, and we are going to pluy no more pranks. Here's a pledge of it!” And, having said this, King Rud»if the Third took a deep draught of wine. At this -noment the ushers announced that the Lord Harry Culverhouse had come to take his leave of their majesties and of the princess. This gentleman had accompanied the embassy that came from England to congratulate the king on his marriage, and he had stayed some months Im Strelsau, very eagerly acceding to the king’s invitation to prolong his visit. For such was his folly and headstrong passion that he bad fallen most desperately in love with the fair face of Princess Osra and could not erdure to live out of her pres- ence. Yet now he came to bid farewell; and when he was ushered in Rudolf re- ceived him with much graciousness and made him a present cf his own miniature set in diamonds, while the queen gave him her miniature set in the lid of a gold¢n casket. In return Lord Harry prayed the king to accept a richly, mounted sword and the queen an fvory fan, painted by the greatest artist cf France end bearing her cipher in jewels. Then he came to Prin- cess Osra, and she, haying bidden him fare- well, said: “I am a poor maid, my lord, and I can give no great gift; but take this pin frem my hair and keep it for my sake.” And she ‘drew out a golden pin, from her hair, a long and sharp pin, bearing for its head her cipher in_ bril- liants, and she gave it to him, smiling. But he, bowing low and theu falling on his knee, offered her a box of red morocco deather; and when she opened it she saw a nocklace of rubies of great splendor. The princess flushed red, eing that the gift ‘Was most costly. she would fain have refused it, ard held it out again to Lord larry. But he turned swiftly away, and wing once more withdrew. Then the princess said to her brother: “It is too costly.” ‘The king, seeing how splendid the gift was, frowned a little, but then he said: “He must be a man of very great wealth. They are rich in England. I am sorry the gift is so great, but we cannot refuse it without wounding his honor.” So the princess set the ruby necklace with her other jewels, and thought for a day or two that Lord Harry was no wiser than other men, and then forgot him. Now Lord Harry Culverhouse, on leaving the king’s presence, had mounted his horse, which was a fine charger and splendidiy equipped, and ridden alone out of Strelsau, for he had dismissed all his servants and os atched them with suitable gratu§ies to hele own country. He rode through the afternoon, and in the evening he reached a yillage fifteen miles away; here he stopped Qt a cottage, and an old man came out and escorted him inside. A bundle lay on the table in the little parlor of the cottage. “Here are the clothes, my lord,” said the old man, laying his hand on the bundle. “And here aro mine,” answered Lord Harry. “And the horse stands ready for you.” With this he began to pull off the fine clothes In which he had had audience of the king; and he opened the bundle and put on the old and plain suit which it con- tained. Thea he held out his hand to the old man, saying: ‘Give me the five crowns, Solomon, and our bargain js complete.” Then Solomon, the Jew, gave him five crowns and bade him farewell, and he Placed the crowns in his purse and walked out of the cottege, possessing nothing in the world saving his eld clothes, five crowns and the golden pin that had fastened the ruddy hair of Princess Osra. For every- thing else that he had possessed—his lands and houses in England, his horses and car- riages, his money, his clothes and all that Was his—he had bartered with Solomon, the Jew, in order that he might buy the ruby necklace which he had given to Princess Osra. Such was the strange madness Wrought in him by her face. It was now late in the evening; and he walked to and fro all night. In the morn- ing he went to the shop of a barber and, in return for one of his crowns, the bar- ber cropped his long curls short and shaved off his mustache, and gave him a dye with which he stained his complexion to a dark- er tint; and he made his face dirty, and soiled his hands and roughened the skin of them by chafing them on some flints which lay by the roadside. Then, changing a second crown, he bought a loaf of bread, and set off to trudge to Strelsau; for in Strelsau was Osra, and he would not be anywhere else in the world. And when he had arrived there, he went to a sergeant of the king’s guard and prevailed on him by @ present of three crowns to enlist him as @ trooper, and this the sergeant, having found that Lord Harry could ride and knew how to nse his sword, agreed to do. ‘Thus Lord Harry became a trooper in the guard of King Rudolf, having for all his possessions,» save what the king's stores afforded him, a few pence and the golden pin that had fastened the hair of Princess Osra. And nobody knew him except Solo- mon, the Jew, and he, having made a good Profit, held his peace, both then and after- ward. Many a day Lord Harry mounted guard at the palace and he often saw the king, e adnes$ Tue Maes me arry Culverhouse- By Anthony Hope: with the queen, ride out and back; but they did not notice the face of the trooper. And sometimes he saw the princess also, but she did not look at him, although he could not restrain himself from looking at her; but since every man looked at her, she had grown accustomed to being gazed at and took no heed of it. But once she wore the ruby necklace, and the breath of the trooper weat quick and eager when he saw it on her neck; and a sudden flush of color spread over all his face, so that the prin- cess, chancing to glance at him in passing and'secing the color beneath and through the dye that stained him, was greatly astonished, and she reined in her horse for an instant’and looked very intently at him, yet she rode on again in silence. That evening there came to the quarters of the king’s guard a waiting woman, who asked to see the trooper that had mounted guard at the west gate of the palace that dvy, and when he came the woman held out'to him a box of red morocco leather, saying, “It is for you.” But he answered, “It is not for me,” and, turning away, left her. And this happened on three evenings. Then on the fourth day it was again his turn to mount guard at the palace; and when he had sat there on his horse for an hour, the Princess Osra rode out from under the portico; she rode alone and the Fuby necklace was on her neck; and she said: “I am going to ride outside the city by the river bank. Let a trooper follow me some way behind.” And she signed with her hand to Lord Harry, and he rode after her through the streets and out of the western gate; and they turned along the bank of the ‘river. When they had gone three or four miles from the city, Osra halted and beckoned the Lord Harry to approach her; and he came. But when she was about to speak and tell him that she knew him a sudden and new madness came on to him, and he seized her bridle and dug his spurs deep into his horse's flanks, and both the horses bounded forward at a gallop. In alarm the princess eried out, but he did not heed her. Along the bank they gal- loped; and when they met any one, which happened seldom (fcr the plac? was remote and it was now evening), he bade her cover her face, and she obeyed, twisting her lace handkerchief over her face. Thus they rode till they came at nightfall to a bluff of rock high above the stream. Here Lerd Harry suddenly checked the horses, flung himself from the saddle, and bade the princess dismount. And she obeyed and stood facing him, pale with fear and apprehension, but wearing a proud and scornful air. And he cried: “Is ff not well you should die? For you live but to madden men and drive them to sin and folly.” “Nay,” said she, “to men of good heart beauty leads to goodness. From yourself come the sin and the folly, my lord;” and she laid hold of the ruby necklace and broke the clasp of it, and flung it on the ground before him. But he took no heed of it, but seized her hand and drew her to the edge of the bluff, saying: “The world will be safer if I fling you down.” Then she looked In his face, and a 3ud- den pity entered her heart, and she said very gently: “Sit down, my lord, and let me put my hands on your brow, for I think you are in a fever.” a And he sat down, all trembling and shaking, like a man with ague, and she stripped off her gauntlets, and took -his forehead between her hands; and he lay there quiet with his head between her hands. And presentiy his eyes closed and he slept. But Osra did not know what to do; for darkness had fallen and she dared not leave him alone there by the river. Therefore she sat where she was, and in an hour, the night being fine and not cold, she grew weary, and her hands fell away from his brow and she sank back on the green turf, pillowing her head on a curved arm, and there she slept with the mad lord by her and the ruby necklace ly- ing near them. At midnight Lord Harry _Culverhouse awoke, and saw Princess Osra_ sleeping peacefully with a smile on her lips such as decks a child’s lips in sleep. He rose and stood up on his feet, looking at her; and he heard nothing but the sound of the horses cropping the grass a little way off. Then he drew near her and gazed long on her face; and she opened her eyes and saw rim. But she showed no fear of him; she smiled at him and che said: “Even here I am guarded by one of the gentlemen who guard me in the lace.” And she closed her eye8 again and turned to sleep. Then a shiver ran through him. And he dug his nails into the palms of his hands, and, turning, walked swiftly up and dcwn on the bluff by the side of the river, while Osra slept. And presently he fell ou his knees beside her and began to murmur in a rapid rush of words, but he did not now curse her beauty, but blessed God for it, and blessed Him also for the preserva- tion of his own honor. Thus he spent the night till day was near, and then he bent over Osra and looked once more on her, and he took up the ruby necklace and laid it lightly about her neck. And, feeling the touch of it, cool and wet from the dew, she again opened her eyes, and, putting her knuckles in them, she rubbed gently, and she gasped a little yawn, saying, “Heigh ho, I am sleepy!” and sat up. And she said, “Are you not sleepy, my lord?” “I am on watch, madame,” said Lord Harry Culverhouse. As the princess sat up, the ruby necklace fell from her neck into her lap. Seeing it, she held {t up to him, saying: “Take it again, and go to your own home. ih am sure you gave too great a price for He smiled, for she did not know how great the price was, and he asked: “And must I, in my turn, give back the Pin that fastened your hair? “No, keep the pin—it {s worth nothing,” she smiled. “Is it safe for me to go to sleep for a little longer?” “Who would harm you, madame? Even I have not harmed you.” “You!” said she with a little laugh, ‘You would not harm me.” And she lay down and closed her eyes. Then Lord Harry Culyerhouse sat down on the ground and rested his chin on his knees, and clasped his hands about his shins, and he cursed himself bitterly, not now because he meditated any harm to her—for his mad fury was past, and he would have died before a hair of her head should be hurt—but because of the evil that his wild and reckiess madness had hrought upon her. For he knew that soon there would be a pursuit, and that if she and he were found there it would become Known who he was, and her fame would suffer injurious rumors py reason of what he had done. Therefore, he made up his mind what be must do next, and he aban- doned all dreams that had led him into the footsh. adventure on which he had em- bar! and put from him the wickedness that had filled his heart when first he car- led her to the bluff over the river. And e Tose on to his knees and prayed that if hig deed were a sin—for it seemed to him rather a necessary thing—then it might be fe + hat, in rt nor hates shuld etal ibe Aaladesp ra »; hat he ha: font. reason of anything Finally he commended his soul to And then he tcok the ruby necklace in his hand, and, holding it, walked to the edge of the bluff. But at this instant the sound of the hoofs of a horse struck on his ear, and the sound was loud and close, and he had no more time than to turn round before a horse was reined in suddenly by him, and a man leapt from it and ran at him, and grappled with him. And the Lord Harry perceived that the man was the king. For when Osra did rot return, search parties had been sent out, and the king himself headed one, and, having the best horse, and being urged on by love and fear for his sister, he had out- rigden all the rest, and had chanced to come alone where Osra and Lord Harry were. And he gripped Lord Harry furious- ly, cursing him for a scoundrel and de- manding what he had done to the princess. Then Lord Harry said: “Do you not know me, sire? I am Lord Harry Culverhouse.” Greatly astonished, the king loosed his hold and fell back a pace, for he could not understand what he heard, but yet knew the voice of his friend. Then, looking down, he beheld Osra sleeping peacefully as a child on the ground, with her cloak spread under her, that she might take no harm from the damp. And Lord Harry caught him by the arm, crying, “Are there others coming after you “Aye,” said the king, “many others. The whole of the guard are roused and seek her high and low, in the city and outside. But how come you here, man?” Then Lord Harry told the king what he had done, speaking very briefly and hastily, but yet sparing notning, and when he told him how he had carried off the princess the kirg’s hand flew to the hilt of his sword. But Lord Harry said, ‘Not yet,” and continued to tell the king how Osra had piticd him and how he had watched by her and how she had slept again, bid- ding him keep the pin. Then, glancing at Osra, he lowered his voice and spoke very quickly and urgently, and the king held out his hand and shook Lord Harry's hand, asking, “Is there no other way?” But Lord Harry shook his head; then he kissed the king’s hand, and next he went and kissed Osra’s hand very softly and looked for the Jast time on her face, and he drew the golden pin from his purse and he put it gently and deftly among her hair. And he took the ruby necklace in his own hand and clerched it tight, and he said to King Rudolf: ~ “Sire, there are some in the city that knew me before, but have not known me since I have been in your guard, because I have altered my face. Take care that you so alter it that they do not know me again.” z Then the king’s breath caught in _ his throat, for he had loved Lord Harry Cul- verhouse, and he asked again, “Is there no other way?” “Hark!” said the other; “I hear the horses of your guard drawing near; I hear them to east and west and north, and do you not see shapes riding there to the south, across the river? If I rile from here alive I shall _be taken and the truth must be known. For my sake and hers, strike, sire.” Then the king took Lord Harry Culver- house by the arm and drew him to him, saying: ‘Must it be so, Harry? And we have lived as friends together!” oe sound of the hoofs is very near, sire.” The king drew himself up to his height and he raised his hat from his head and bowed low to Lord Harry Culverhouse, and he said: “Now praise be to God for the restoration of this gentleman to a sound mind, and may Christ grant him mercy for the sake of his honorable death!” And he drew his sword from its sheath and came up to Lord Harry Culverhouse, who stood on the edge of the bluff. The king raised his sword and struck with all his strength, and the head split under the blow, and Lord Harry Culverhouse fell dead from the bluff into the river, holding the ruby necklace in his clenched hand. And the king shivered and a short sob burst from him. On this instant arose an eager, glad cry, and twenty of the guard rushed for- ward, greeting the king and rejoiced to see the princess. And she, roused by the noise of their coming, sat up again, rubbing her eyes; and she cried, “Where is he? Where is Lord Harry?” And she iooked round on the troopers, and they gazed at her, much astonished at hearing what she said. But Rudolf came to her and took her hand, saying: “Why, Osra, you have been dreaming! There is no Lord Harry here. Lord Harry Culverhouse is far off in his own countr: Did this rascal of a trooper frighten you Her eyes grew wide in wonder, but before she could speak he turned to the guard, saying: “By heaven's pleasure I came in time to prevent any harm except the loss of a necklace my sister wore. For, as I rode up I saw a fellow stooping down by her and fumbling with the clasp of her necklace. He was one of your troop and had rode out behind her, and he must have carried her off by force, and now he was endeavoring to rob her, and as I rode up to him he sprang away from her, holding her neck~ lace in his hand, and I leaped down from my horse and ran at him, and he retreated in fear. Then I drew my sword and drove him back to the edge of the bluff, and then I split his skull, and he fell into the river, still holding the necklace. But, thanks to God, the princess !s not hurt. Let search be made for the fellow’s body, for perhaps the necklace will be still in his han But one cried, “How came they here “Ah, sister,” said the king, fixing his eyes on Osra, “how came you here?” And she, reading in the king’s eyes the answer that he would have, said: “The trooper compelled me to come hither with him, and he threatened to kill me if I would not give him my necklace; but I re- fused, and then he drew a knife and men- aced me with it, and I fell into a swoon and }mew no more until I awoke and found you here; and now I see that my necklace is gon “Bring her horse,” the king commanded, “and ride in front and behind. We will re- == turn to the city at the Best®speed we i Then he mounted the princess of fer horse and rode by her #de!‘supporting her with his arm, and the Ts were bome way off in front and id. And the princess felt the pin again ih her hair, and, gate inj x ip her hand, shé piilled it out, and 8 e 5 : es giyen me bee pin.” 2 Oe qo jo you spe: HO Bea the king. ft arry Culvérouse. Is he, in- deed, dead, Rudolf?” a “Are you still dreaming?” answered the king, with a laugh. ‘ had that fellow to do with Harry Culyerhofise?” “But the pin?” she cried.” “My wife set it in your ‘hair before you started, for she wished to’replace the one you gave to Lord Harry.”” “She did not touch my hair today,” cried the princess. “Aye, but she did,” sald Ne. The princess suddenly fell to sobbing, and she said: “Tell me the truth; tell me the truth. Surely it was in truth Lord Harry Culver- hovse?” Then Rudolf drew very :close to her, and he said softly: “Sweet sister, the noble. gentleman whom we knew, he whom I loved and who loved you in chivalrous deference, went from us two months ago. Be not troubled about him, for now all is well with him. But there was an unhappy man with you, who was not Harry Culverhouse and who had murderous and mad thoughts in his heart. Yet, at the end, he also died as readily and as nobly as our dear friend himself would have died for your sike. 1 pray you ask no more of him, but he contented to know that though he died by the sword, yet he died in peace and willirgly. But of our dear friend, as we knew him, think as much as you will, for the love of an honest gentleman is a good thing to think of.” The Princess Osra, hearing this, laid her hand in her brother's hand and for a long while she did not speak. Then she said: “But our friend will not come again, Ru- dolf?” “No, you will never see our friend again,” answered the king. “Then when you see him—for I think you will see him once again—lay this pin in his hand and bli him take it and keep it for the sake of the love I bear him; perhaps he will hea you.” “It may be, I cannot tell,” said the king. “And if he kas the necklace,” said she, “pray him to give that to you, and seil it, Rudolf, and give the value of it in gifts tor the poor. Yes, to all that are unhappy and afilicted, even, as the poor man who was with me tonight.” “So_be it, Osra,” said the king, and he kissed her. But she burst again suddenly into passionate weeping, calling God to wit- ness that her face was a curse to her and a curse to her friends, and praying the king to suffer her to take the veil in a convent, that she might trouble honest men no more. And thus he brought her in a sad plight to the palace and gave her into the arms of his wife, still sobbing bitterly. And he him- self took the pin, and when the body of the mad trooper was found, with his own hand he covered the face and put the pin in the hand from which he took the ruby neckiace; and he sold the necklace and used the proceeds of it as his sister had desire’ Thus the madness of Lord Harry Culver- house, which was bred in him by the beau ty of the Princess Osra, worked Its way with him and brought him first into peril of great villainy and at last to death. And his name passed no more on the lips of any in Strelsau nor between King Rudoif.and his sister, while the story that the King had told to the troopers was believed by all, and none save the king knew what Lord Harry Culverhouse had done in his madness. But Osra mourned for him, and for a long while she would not go abroad ‘nor receive any of the princes or nobles ‘who came to the court, but lay still sick nd full of grief, be- wailing the harm that she had wrought. Yet, as time passed, she‘grew again happy, for she young and tle’ World was swest to her, and then, as Kinz’ Rudolf had bid- den her, she rememberea Lord Harry Cul- verhouse as he had been before his madness came upon him. Yet, st*t!tmore did she re- member how, even in his madness, he had done her no harm, but Bad watched beside her through the night atid had, as morning dawned, entreated death at the hands of the king, preferring to die Tather than that the talk of a single idle tongue should fall foully upon her name, Therefore she mourn- ed for him with secret tears. But he, although no ‘monnment marked although ymen spoke of him who had robbed the princess, yet slept soundly and at peace; and his right hand lay ‘clenched upon his heart, and in it the golden pi that had fas- tened the ruddy hair of Princess Osra, Se About Keering Shoes. From the Philadelphia Times. I have before me a pair of shoes; one, save for the shape of the foot haying de- stroyed the stiff outlines of newness, look- ing as if it might have just left the store; the cther shoe looks as if even a tramp might pass it by with contempt. Yet they are mates. One has beer cleaned, the othcr has not, is atl the dift yet neither Has ever been “blacked;” the shoes have never been worn with rubbers, yet when cleaned the leather is soft and pliable as one could wish; yet with all the spick and spanness they are haif worn out. How is it done Have three small, clean cloths, a basin of water, a bottle of cosmoline, vaseline; petroleum jelly, or whatever name you like to call it, it is all the same, and u clean shoe polishing or cloth brush. The shoes stculd be wiped as free of mud as possible before drying and shoul! be hung in a warm current of air, say two or three feet above a rexister or stove- pipe, not underneath the kitchen range, where they will be scorched on top and wet underneath. When they are perfectly dry wine the mud stains off with a damp eth: he sure to get them all off; then rub hard with a dry cloth, then polish ‘with the brush, be- ing careful about thé stitching and around the sole. It is best to do only a part at a time, say first the vamp, oue side, then the other, not forgetting the heel. Unless your shoes nave been badly scuff- ed and rotted by bad shoe dressing they will look almost like new. Now rub cos- moline ayer them with a clean cloth and rub it well in; use it Itberally, for too little will only destroy the polish, while plenty of cosmoline tmproves it. The whole shce should be carefully done, even umong the buttons and buttonholes, and, presto, your skces fre soft and pliable, black and just polished erovgh to look well; will rot stain your underclothes or fingers when putting them on, and a little water will do them no harm. Try it once, and you will never want to do it any other way. —_—_ee________ He Knew Her Perfectly. From The Nineteenth Century, The outspoken ways and caustic sayings of Dr. Jephson of Leamington, celebrated in the forties and fifties, have furnished the kernel of many anecdotes. One day he was called on by one whom Brantome would have called “une grande dame de par la monde,” the Marchioness of Having listened to a description of her malady, the oracle pronounced judgment: “An egz and a cup of te& for breakfast, then walk for two hours;%a slice of cold beef and half a glass of mddeira for lunch- eon, then walk again fer 3two hours; fish (except salmon) and a cutlet or wing of fcwl for dinner, with a single glass of ma- deira or claret; to bed gt 10 and rise at 6, eto. No carriage exercise, please.” “But, doctor,” she exclaimed at last, thinking he was mistaken in his visitor, “Pray, do you know who.t am? Do you know—ahem!—my position?’ ‘Perfectly, madam,” was the reply. “I am prescribing for an ld woman with a deranged stomach.” t —___+ Sitter Saw. What the Little From Harper’s Bazar, 2 “Jennie,” said tile Mebel to her big sis- ter at breakfast, “did you tell papa?” “Tell papa what?” asked Jennie. “Why, you told Mr. Buster last night if he did it again you'd tell papa—and he did it again. I sore him!” And then papa looked at Jennte over his glasses. Claimed Damages, From Harper’s Bazar. “Owing to your not having screens in your car windows,” said the traveler, “J got a cinder in my eye the other day, and it has cost me $10 to get it out. I want to know what you propose to do about it.” “Nothing, my dear sir,” said the railroad official. “We have no use for the cinder, and you are perfectly welcome to it. On 4 strict construction of facts you did go off with our property—the cinder, of course, was not yours—but we do not care to make trouble for you in so small a matter. Pray do not give the incident a moment's thought,”" | HOSPITABLE HOMES Large Rooms Demanded, Especially for Dinner Parties. OLD AND NEW RES D:NCES HERE Some of the Notable City Houses and Their Facilities. FOR SOCIAL OCCASIONS HE GROWING taste for big rooms, either picture galler- jes, Mving rooms or dinirg rooms, nota~ bly the latter, in the building or recon- struction of so many houses is another in- dication that the chief business in life of many Washing- tgnians is to throw open their hospitable doors and enjoy the charms of a society which is admittedly unapproached except at a few foreign capitals. Speciousress is a feature that everybody endeavors to secure, and while the palaces covering two or thre ordinary building lots are not in the ma- jority, the great stride which has been made in house building the last ten years has completely changed the idea of what used to pass current as the proper size for a city home. Of course if people did not expect three or four, or perhaps six hun- dred, acquaintances at the same time, an ordinary-sized house would amply aecom- modate the ordinary-sized family. But for such social emergencies as these it is necessary to provide at least elbow room, and the new house finishings now with- out one big assembly hall, with two or three ways of getting in it and out of ft, whether it be dignified by the name of a picture gallery or not, is zlmost unknow: The big.dining room, or the basement sup- per room, which is a feature of several of the houses most given to large entertain- ing, is the most frequent form hospitable tendencies are taking lately. It is decidedly a good idea, and in several houses where ot only the theory but the practice of entertuining large gatherings is in force there has been provided almost two-thirds more of dining room space than drawing room facilities. The opportunities for décoration and beautiful effects are Just as possible in one as the other, and, indeed, in many cases there are Washington dining rooms more artistic than the parlors of the same house. . Where the Demand Is. A Washington girl who made her debut in society a few years ago was considered rather pert because she had a way of giv- ing her experiences of the fashionable world and things in general in the most matter-of-fact and practical manner, with- out caring very much whose particular idol she might happen to topple over. After a round of afternoon teas in which she reveled the first weeks of her appearance in the social realm, she summed up the whole business by this remark: “Well! my estab- lishmer if ever I succeed to one, shall have just twice as much dining room space as parlor. In all the big houses I have been lately I found that a parlor ten feet Square would have amply accommodated all the guests who wanted to stay there with the hoste: or the bud or whoever else was in the main receiving party, while the dining room, into which ft is generally only possible to enter or leave by the same door, was packed and jammed to the very walls.” ‘These rebellious comments at the time were received with mild reproofs, but long since have been accepted as stern facts. Well, when this lady returns here next winter she will find that she was only slightly in advance-of her time, and that the modern establishment is nowadays so well arranged that the dining room and the approaches @hereto no longer-on festive oc- casions present the congested appearance which has made the idea of entertaining so repugnant to-many persons to whom a spacious house fs as yet unattainable.- White House Dining Room. President and Mrs. Cleveland, at the head of official entertainers, are the most dis- tinguished also for want of space when they carry out their hospitable intentions. Last winter when the diplomatic state din- ner was given it was impossible to have all at the same time if the table was spread in the dining room. So the dinner table was lald in the corridor. Sixty-six guests were present, and everything went off beautifully, although it docs seem too bad that the President’s dining room is not large enough so he need never restrict the number at dinner. Of the big houses where large gatherings are steady features of each winter's pro- gram, Corcoran house, the home of the Brices; McLean, Wallach, Riggs, Board- man, McMillan, McPherson,Glover,Ffoulke, Henderson, Mackay-Smith, Foster, Barney and Thompson, and houses with various foreign embassies and legations, have both large ball rooms and dining halls. Cor- coran house ts especially comfortable when large companies are entertained, as the porticoes and halls add many more feet of space, besides making it practically im- possible to crowd any one entrance to either ball rcom or dining room. It was probably Mr. and Mrs. Whitney who had the best idea of what was needed for the big events they contemplated at the beginning of the first Cleveland admin- istration, and who set the fashion which still obtains. The old Frelinghuysen house was up to that time considered all-suffi- cient, but they added the ball room and increased the size of the dining room. The same house has been twice overhauled since, each time something added. Mrs. 8. S. Howland added a room on the east side and an aviary over it, and finds it none too large for her friends. ‘When Mr. Morton was elected Vice Presi- dent he did not add any dancing space to his house on Scott circle, but he did pro- vide a dining room, and a great big one. He had a habit of having thirty or. forty people at each of his formal dinners, and on occasions of Mrs. Morton's receptions instead of one young lady doing the hon- ors at the refreshment table there were a couple of-them at each end of the board. He also added cloak rooms, so that the guests at a reception had no s aes itairs to The Stanford Dining Room: Before the late Senator Stanford began to fail in health he wanted to give a din- ner in his house here to the Senators of all the states west of the Mississipp!. There Was not room to seat them in the dining room, and it was decided that the table should be spread in the parlor. The menu cards, on which were engraved a map of the whole country, with the favored section in brighter colors, were designed by Mr. Stanford and gotten up at great expense. The dinner was never given, although it was a question of Mr. Stanford's health the next winter, and not the fradequacy of the dining room, Mrs. Stanford, just before she left for the west that spring, decided on the plans for a big dining room, and it was finished be- fcre her return in the fall. The Senator knew very little about the work, but when he moved around the new room and found how spacious it was, expressed his pleasure with so much earnestness that his wife said the expenditure of fifteen or eighteen thousand dollars was a small matter com- pared with his look of contentment durin; his first meal there. The room was found very useful that winter at Mrs. Stanford's receptions, when six or seyen hundred peo- ple were ordinarily present. The past win- ter Miss Murphy, now Mrs. Hugh Grant, turned it into a ball room, and was the hostess of one of the prettiest germans ef the season. One of the chief reasons why the Secre- tary of State and Mrs. Olney changed their residence the past spring was the lack of dining room space for purposes of large en- tertainments. They have secured the covet- ed gree oes in their present home, cor- ner of Rhode Island avenue and 17th street. If Mrs. Olney wants to fire china as well as paint it, she can do so, as Mrs. Storer, who owns the house, had a kiln built when she added a studio, =< made cues Races sive changes several years ago. Between the big dining room and the studio Mra. Olney will have plenty room for large gatherings now, a fact which is giving her & very conteated feeling when she thinks of her hospitalities next winter. Dinner parties are a form of entertaining of which neither Mr. nor Mrs. Olney grows tired, and while they like them small and frequent, rather in big spreads, as the latter are unavoi le by the short limits of the season, it is a great satisfaction to be sure of plenty house room. In the Barncy House. ~ Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Barney, whose home on Rhode Island avenue is already among the most imposing in the West End, are having a large addition built to the dining room, which, In connection with the picture gallery, will give a depth of eighty-five feet to the main floor, An arch and marble pillars separate the two rooms, and on fes- tive occasions this magnificent apartment will form the ball room. Back of this a studio is being erected for Mrs. Barney's use, and between it and the main building a music gallery over the court will be a convenfent and ornamental feature. This house, it will be seen, is an ideal one for purposes of large entertainments. The spacious entrance hall and picture gallery, the parlor, reception room and library, with the dinirg rocm and studio, when com- pleted will give a splendid sweep. Miss Natalie Barney’s coming-out ball next win- ter wilk be an event with gorgeous setting in these surroundings. Mr. John McLean's first large addition to his house, 15th and I streets, was a ball room. It answers even more purposes, as the walls are lined with low book cases and books, the upper shelf displays photo- graphs, bric-a-brac, with all sorts of curios, and the upper part of the walls is hung with fine pictures. The room is fully fur- nished with the most elaborately carved tables and chairs. Later he built a dining room of about the same size and made his house one of the best in town for large en- tertainments. The double parlors on the other side of the wide hall and the small dining room and library offer so much space that four or five hundred people can move arcynd with comfort. Mrs. Washington McLean has an equally desirable arrangement of space in her home, corner of K street and Connecticut avenue. Utilizing the front half of the basement floor gives several nice rooms. The library and dining room open on Con- necticut avenue, and the parlor ts the full length cf the house on the other side of the hail. The big room is the ball room at the rear, It is beautifully furnished, the walls covered with fine pictures. The ladies of the hotsehoid make it a favorite place in which to receive their friends on winter afternoons. Spacious Residences. In the Bcardman house there is a large room in the center, and the rooms on the four sides of the main and second floor open on it. It is the living room, the ex- change, ro to speak, of domestic cheer. The dining room is spacious, facing east, and is, of course, very bright and cheerful, an innovation in this regard, for fashion in decorating as well as in locating the average dining room in the rear of the house, has combined to make them al- ways have an air of somber elegance. Stewart Castle is one of the best arranged mansicns for comfortable everyday living as well as tor grand occasions. So far ag modern arrangements go, there does not seem now any improvement could be sug- gested, unless to substitute a square for “the winding staircase. The drawing room is one of the largest in town, and the ball room equally spacious, having besides a stage with small rooms on each side of it. The rooms all open on the hall, which is nearer oval than circular, and which is, since Mrs. Stewart put her wonderful col- lection of carved teak furniture in it, most beautiful and artistic. Both Mrs. Hearst and Mrs. Clover have basement supper rooms as well as large din- ing rooms, an accommodation for enter- taining purposes which seems to be a spe- cial feature of California houses, particu- larly Nob Hill mansions in San Francisco. Mrs. Hearst's home is superb, and, while her temptation is.strong to rather over- crowd it with furniture, she buys every- thing with such good taste that one could spend days examining its treasures. The big room is seally a picture gallery. The Cameron house, on Lafayette square, is as colonial in effect within as without. The hall is a pretty feature, and the draw- ing room, with the long French windows opening on the balcony and the trees in the park almost reaching over, carries out the idea of old-time @rrangement. The dining room gets the sunshine from the south and east, and is very bright and cheerful, overlooking the garden around the house. Senator Quay and family will enjoy their new double mansion next winter. It was all furnished in the spring and ranks well among the spacious homes in its neigh- borhood. Associate Justice White will have a big room in his new residence on Rhode Island avenue when he moves in next winter. He built a whole house, it may be said, to accommodate ais books, ‘since these pre- cious belongings will line the walls of two rooms the full length of the house on the parlor floor. The dining room is ample also, but small in comparison with the library. Some Notable Houses, The Warder house, on K street, is anoth- er conspicuoug example of spaciousness. The drawing room is at the rear, the li- brary facing the street in the main build- ing, and the dining room and picture gal- lery are set back from the garden. Mrs. Childs’ new house on K street, now approaching completion, has about forty rcoms. There is not a nook or corner but which would delight a housekeeper. The largest room in it is probably Mrs. Childs’ bed room, on the second floor—that and the dressing room adjoinirg covering the en- ure width of the front. The splendid en- trance hell, with square staircase, is very imposing. The first room at the left is the library, which is being finished in mahog- any; the drawing room is next, which will be light in coloring and Frenchy in effect. The dining room is in oak, and a butler’s pantry almost as large adjoins it. The ceilings of the three rooms are canvases to be appropriately decorated. The house has an elevator and every possible conven- ience in every part. Mrs. Childs will live in it next winter. Mr. and Mrs. Ffoulke’s tapestry hall is the great feature of their house. The dining room is the largest in Mr. B. H. Warner's house. Both Bishop Hurst and Dr. Mackay- Smith in remodeling their houses added a library or study. Senator McPherson a few years ago add- ed largely to the dining room of his Ver- mont avenue house, so that now it could be turned into a ball room. Senator McMillan, who has plenty room in the side garden to keep on akding indefi- nitely, first enlarged the dining room, and the past summer has dlmost doubled the capacity of the parlor. This addition is new being completed. Mrs. Harriet Lane Johnston has a gener- ous-sized dining room in her house on I street, so that large dinners and gatherings are easily accommodated. In Senator Hale's house the dining room nearly covers the north end, but the big room is the hall, upon which all the rest open. Mrs. Richard Townsend, whe will not be Satisfied till she has a spacious house, built after her own designs, is having an addi- tion built to the dining room of her pres- ent residence, on Lafayette square. The big room in the Blaine house is the hall, as it is in the Leiter mansion, of which so much has been written lately. A Hot Spell. Agnes M. Cole in The Century. What's the use of diggin’? . The world won't sto SAG take to hammoc! let work drop. “Folks as won't labor ‘Needn't eat,” they say, Like to know ‘who wants to, On such @ day. hot to hoe: ‘00 hot for fishin’. Wish you were 2 pickerel? Pshaw! T’m ‘too hot for wishin’, German Village Night Watchmen. From the London Daily News. Our Vienna correspondent writes: Every one who has spent a few nights in 4 Ger- man town or village must have been amused by the strange and original cries of the watchman who goes his rounds with cape and helmet, lantern and spear, and has a different rhyme for every hour of the night. These watchmen are fast dis- appearing, and when the next century will have begun there will be very few left. Herr Joseph Wichner, a popular Austrian author of Krems, is going to collect all the different cries in a little book, and has sent a circylar to the newspapers asking per- sons who are acquainted with these cries to communicate them to him, so that these contributions to German folklore may not be lost in oblivion, G sss SS —_——_—_—_—_—_=—=" MODERN STAGE EFFECTS. Eleciricity Has Come to Play an Im= portant Part. From the 8t. Louis Globe-Democrat. “A revolution has been wrought in stage management by electricity,” said a stage carpenter. “And the revolution has re- sulted in giving to the incidents Which go to make the production complete a natu« ralness which without electricity would be impossible of attainment. Take, for ex- ample, that one matter ef iightning. With- out it the stage storm scenes would: lack thelr chief elerxent, the element that gives ® realistic touch to the picture presented. Up to a few years ago this was produced by a flash box with a light in its center. The box was filled with a preparation called lycopodium. Into this box you put some cotton saturated with alcohol. To this there was a hose attached. You blew through the hose, ignited the cotton, and created the flash. You can see what thé flash would be like. Now we have, you might say, real lightning made to order. We take two electric wires, run them through some handles, say two file handles, form a current, bring the two wires to- sether, and you have a flash that dazzles the eyes. It is produced as quickly as na~ ture Itself. And so with everything.” I suppose no one ever thought the old * sheet iron and balls would be replaced. © Now there ar2 no less than four or fiye systems. The best thing I have reen, how- ever, was that which was introduced by a German eompany in Chicago a short time ago. There was placed on the stage, out of view of the audience, of course, a large machine, with a skin drawn tightly over it like a drum. The machine was five or six feet In diameter. It was divided into two parts. The one was suspended in the air. The other rested on the ground. From above the first several small balls were dropped. These set the first portion machine in motion, and the balls | that rumble which presages the bursting of the thunder storm; gradually it and louder, — till they fell with a terrific ex- Plosion on the second portion of the ma- Spat eae Was as nearly like that ‘al thunder ve ee igv as anything I have ever .Then, take a scene in the moonli Now we produce the moon by the aid re magic lantern. How used we to do jt be- fore, you ask. Well, such as it was, we Produced it through the use of a square box, a piece of transparent cloth and tallow candle. This would be hung by @ couple of strings from one of the drop scenes. It would have to be pulled up when you wanted to have a moonlit sky and lowered when you wanted the moon to convenicntly disappear. In the pulling up and lowering you would have the moon suddenly appear to take a jump, or pos- sibly hide itself just at the moment when the hero was beginning to repeat his lines in a moonlight love scene. The situation was awkward under the circumstances, Now the moonlight sky becomes as naturag as the lightning flash.” ——_+o+—_____ NEED OF HOUSEKEEPERS. Competent Persons in Demand at Good Salaries. From the Pall Mall Gazette. The office of Lousekeeper requires of a Woman the seme qualities that are neces- sary to make a good statesman—cool judg- ment, equable temper, and a grasp of de~ tails, however small. The average woman, in order to develop these qualities, needs to have the companionship of man, to live with him in the marital relation, and to be responsible to him for his daliy needs and comforts; left to herself, free from the discipline of male domination and needing only to provide for her own wants, she will shirk the cares of housekeeping and main- tain herself upon the most meager diet, mainly one of toast and tea. As regards the professional housekeeper, who is held vo @ strict accountability, and is called upon to provide annually 1,095 appetizing meals for a family and satisfying ones for the domestics, to make the servants do their best work and to prevent jars and bicker- ings among them, she requires an amount of tact, character and kindliness never found in the second-rate woman that the housekeeper is supposed to be. She must be cheerful, prompt and calm in emergencies, good tempered and patient. The household over which she has super- vision must be so organized that during her temporary absence or illness the whole thing will go on by itself for a time at least. That the possession of such qualities is rare in any woman is true from the fact that the owners of large town and country houses in England are constantly on the lookout for this ideal housekeeper. Such a Woman will easily command an annual salary of £200, if not more. She is treated with great respect, she has her own apart- ments in which her meals are served, te r hours of labor or duty are reasonably brief, and she is not expected to hold other ———+0+___. DEMAND FOR CYCLES. Output of Wheel« Estimnted as Nearly 500,000 This Year. From the New York Times. While it is almost an impossibility to give atything like a correct statement of what the output of bicycles will be this year, it is by common consent spoken of as be- tween 400,000 and 500,000 wheels. A ma- Jority of close observers in the trade would doubtless fix the figures at 450,000, Such a large number of wheels represents an enormous outlay, particularly when it is calculated that each wheel sells for an average price of not less than $65. At this rate the sum produced is $20,250,000, This has been the most phenomenal sea- sen the cycle trade has ever known, In many cases the manufacturers have unable, even though running their facto- ries night and day, to keep abreast with the demand. New operators in the producing field have sprung into existence in all parts of the country, and while some have made mistakes and gone under, the majority paver profited largely by the popular de- mand. There are about 250 large and small con- cerns in this country engaged in turning out cycles, or parts of this interesting vehicle, but next year this number should be slightly increased, judging from the talk one hears among the trade. Said a well-informed traveling salesman to a re- Pcrter for the New York Times bieeation he “I don't believe there is a carriage manu- factory in the United States or Canada that has not this season considered plans and schemes for the production of bicycles, and there is sure to be a number in the field next year. It seems to be the general idea among these people that the perfec’ bicycle has not yet appeared, and the; believe a better wheel wiil line tleir pock- ets wita gold.” —_____-+ee______ Bibliological Controversy Invited. From the Springficld Union. The bloomer woman will swear by the “Breeches Bible.” In that version we read that Adam and Eve “sewed fig leaves to- ether and made themselves breeches.” The fing James version calls them “aprons,” but James was a very particular man. ro Not Capers. From Harper's Bazar. “Please pass me those capers,” said the new boarder at Dempmere, N. J. “Those aren't capers,” said the landlady, “Those are quinine pills, and they're exe 0 The First Lesson. From the Philadelphia Record. Heax—‘Well, every man should realize before he’s married long that he mustn’ expect his wife to be more perfect than is.” j Joax—"‘Yes, every man must make ale lowances for her—especially on pay day,” + +08 Under the Old Flag. From Life.