Evening Star Newspaper, November 9, 1895, Page 18

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1895-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES. QUAY'S NEW FARM The Lancaster County Retreat of the Penz- syivania Senator. A Fine Situation, With Mammoth Barn and Cozy Farm Hvuse, Among the Germans. Special Corresperderce of The Eveniag Star. LANCASTER, Pa., November 4, 1895. The recentl¥”acquired farm of Senator Quay in this_ne'ghborhood has been the subject of much comment. Knowing a good thing ‘When he sees it, it is hardly to be wondered at that the junior Senator should come from the other side of the Alleghenies* to —purchase a farm in this “empire of Lancaster,’ as this rich agri- cultural region is truthfully called. According to certain estimates, and in the light of certain recent events, Senator Quay might be said to own the county, but the particular piece of land on which he Bays the taxes consists of 125 acres lying along the Lancasier and Columbia turn- pike, ten miles west of this city. The Penn- Sylvania railroad skirts the farm on the south and the peaceful-Jittle village of Mountville, with post office ‘and railroad station, is less than a mile away. A weil- equipped trolley line ‘operates along the pike, making this new rural retreat of a busy statesman most accessible from all parts of the country: : A Delightful Situation. The situation of this farm is unsurpassed in a county where natural beauty and good farming are. united in a degree. 1t is plainly seen no mortgage-burdened son of the soil is proprietor here. In all directions one sees well set up white fences (there is a lime kiln on the place, and the Senator's tenant farmer knows the use.and value of a whitewash brush), painted gates and- well-kept outbuildings. The new barn alone represents an outlay,of, more, than the value of one year’s entire crop. It ts of frame, on a stone foundation, painted a subdued yellow and is conspicuous for several miles. It is so large that three four-horse teams can be driven at once into the main barn floor, while the story below is finished in the newest and best stable style. Horses. cattle and sheep are provided for on a scale to satisfy the requirements of even a Penn- sylvania Senator's stock. In a region less noted for its flue barns this handsome structure would impress a stranger as needing only a few wide porches to make it a summer hotei. The dweliing house ts very old, buc well hilt o: brick on the plan of many comtoitahie country homes of seventy-five years ago. A wide old-fash- foned hall runs ti.rough the house and is one of its most attractive features; large square rooms open on the hall, ana in many -of them are carved wood marvels and chim- ney cupboards. quaint old staircase of easy steps leads to the second story, which is a counterpart of the first. Fine Old Trecs. The trees on this property are among the finest in the county, and have long been famous. The drive, called by its former possessor, “the lane,” leading from the turnpike to the barn, which, in true Lan- easter county style, stands between the road and the house, is lined with magnifi- cent specimens of mahogany, pecan and locust, the first being easily distinguished by the four-sided trunk with rounded edge. A magnolia tree, which is also famous throughout the county, shades the south KEPT THOUSANDS OF YEARS A Big Piece of Fat From a Mammoth in Alaska. Preserved in Natural Cold Storage— How the Giant Animal Was Froxsen Cut in the Aretics, Dr. Dall of the Smithsonian Institution, during his recent visit to Alaska, secured a ratural history specimen that was a prize indeed. It was a bit of mammoth fat from the actual adipose tissue of an animal that had been dead for tens of thousands of years! Bodies of mammoths in a fresh state have been dug up from time to time in arctic Siberia, preserved in natural cold storage since a period probably antedating the first appearance of man on the earth. That is an old story; but this is the first known instance in which the soft parts of a beast of this species have been found on the American continent. It is easy to im- agine the scientific interest attaching to the discovery. Ages ago th mammoth died, under such circumstances that its corpus was buried in mud. At about that time there was a great and permanent change in the tem- perature of circumpolar regions. The cli- mate had been subtropical; it suddenly be- came frigid. The mammoths were literally “frozen out,” the last of the species perish- ing of cold. ‘his particular individual, frozen in a bank of clay, had every pros- pect of “keeping”. for an indefinite period. Discovered by Natives. Hundreds of centuries later a stream flowing through an Alaskan valley tackled the clay bank referred to-and began to cut it away. At length some big bones stuck out, and a native of exceptional courage dug out one or two of them. This required more of that quality known in civilized countries as “nerve” than might be im- agined, for strange monsters, however long they may have been dead, are regarded with superstitious awe by savages. However, the natives finally summoned courage enough to drag the remains of the mammoth out of the clay bank piecemeal. The body of the animal had been preserved so well that a fairly perfect cast of it was found in the matrix. A quantity of fat, which overlay the intestines, was obtained and was usted for greasing boats. Dr. Dall secured a piece of it and fetched it back to Washington for an exhibit. A Mammoth’s Molar Tooth. In the oftice of Osteologist Frederic A. Lucas, at the National Museum, is a mam- moth’s molar teoth, to which an odd story is attachcd. It was got from a spring at Paso Verde, in the country of the Papago India1s. Ever so many centuries ago a mammvth in its dying agonies sought that for water and fell into it, too weak ‘There its bores remain to spring would dry , such an event in that dry region means the destruction of a village. Mastoden bones, of course, are frequent- ly dug up in the United States. The ma todon was a kind of elephant, but it did not belong to the genus Elephas. The mammoth did belong to that genus, being known to modern science as élephas prim- igenius. It often happens that farmers plough up the osseous remains of mas- todons, particularly in reclaimed swamps, where anciently the gigantic beasts be- came mired and died from sheer helples ness to get out. The tusks are commonly side of the house and bears flowers three feet in diameter. At least Senator Quay says he has been told so, but he has never visited this plece of property in magnolia season. The leaves, however, still to be geen, are enormous, and now a dull and life. less brown, in ugly contrast to the glorious gold, green and crimson of the various other handsome trees about it. It is not expected that this will ever be the family residence of the Beayer states- man, even during the summer, although Mrs. Quay and daughter expressed them- selves as highly delighted with Lancaster county on a recent visit to the farm, in company with the Senator and his second scn. But the Senator will frequently run up here, whether to forget the many con- flicts he has planned and won in the rest- ful contemplation of farm life, or to plan new and greater ones. Thrifty Germans. The typical Pennsylvania German fs seen at his best here. It is owing to the thrift, industry and patience of these people, who have .e. language and a religion of their own, that this county can produce more than $7,000,000 in agricultural products an- nually.: Most of the farms are worked by their owners, many of them, like this “Quay farm,"’ having passed from father to son for four and five generations. The land of the Quay farm was cleared by the great-great-grandfather of the late owner in 1741. The log house of this pioneer re- mained ruined but interesting until a few months ago, and had the present owner been, aware of its age and history earlier he would not have allowed its removal, but would have had it restored to its original condition to form a link with the past and be respected as a relic of a century and a half ago. Senator Quay has always been popular with the people of this netghborMood, not only on election day, but all the year round, and with all sorts of people. His coming among them is not regarded as the whim of a rich man with a fancy to play farmer, but as a tribute to the county and its peo- ple, who regard him as a neighbor and a friend. It was in a little village in this county some years ago at a school teachers’ ex- amination that the applicant for a certifi- cate was being put through an examina- tion in civil government, and in answer to the question Who is the most prominent citizen of Pennsylvania? the would-be teacher boldly answered, “Matthew Stanley Quay.” Upon being asked “why” he re- plied, “Well, as Quay says, so it generally goes in Pennsylwania.” ee HER FIRST BLOOMERS. She Didn’t Know How, but Was Will- ing to Learn. A well-known Washington lady who has become a great bicycle enthusiast intends to tuke an extensive wheeling trip with her husband. Because of the inconvenience ot skirts, she decided to adopt bloomers, and left her order and measure with the ladies department of a well-known tailor. In an- sewer to a card to ‘call at her earliest con. venience to try on," sne dropped in the other day. The lady fitter at the time was not in, but the new woman said that didn’t make any difference, she wou'd try them on, anyhow. She was, therefore, ushered into the small G@ressing room and tried the patience of the propr.etor and cutter, who awaited her ap- Pearance, for she was gone a good while. When she did come out finally she was :n bloomers, but not In a very equable frame of mind. Turning to the proprietor, she exclaimed: “This is a horrid fit. I don’t.see how you could have made such a botch. I don't krow just how they ought to be, but I knox they are not right. I can scarcely breathe Where they ought to be tight they are loose, and where they ought to be loose they are tight.” The proprietor looked at the cutter, and the cutter Io at the proprietor. ‘The roprietor blushed, hut the cutter, who waa ehind the lady's ‘back, smiled, and bold!y winked at his employer. ‘Then the proprietor dete-mined on heroic measures. Gently, but firmly, he said: “My dear madam, if you'll kindly return to the dressing room and put them on right side before, 1. think you will find that they fit_all right.” "i Sadiy she disappeire? bebind the curtain and said never a word. ————— VALUABLE MEMENTO. Notes of Evidence Taken When Presi- dent Lincoln Was Dying. Corporal James Tanner has a few pages of | shorthand notes which he would not sell for | any amount of money. They are the official | notes of the examination of witnesses at the | time of the assassination of President Lin- | coln. Corperal Tanner was a clerk in the ‘War Department at the time, and was called upon to take the evidence of the witnesses to the tragedy. The examination was con- jucted in the house where President Lincoln y dying, and when it was concluded, Mr. ‘Tanner drew off the evidence in full and re- tained possession of the notes, which he still owns. found so far decomposed that the tvory crumbles between the fingers. The first mastodon ever dug. up was found in 16i3. The remains of these ani- mals are by no means confined to the United States; they are ‘liscovered all over the world, in Europe, Asia and Asia Minor. They were much thicker set than the mod- ern elephant. The lower jaw bone of a full- grown specimen weighs nearly 100 pounds. The first mastodon bones that were dug up were supposed to be those of giants of an earlier epoch. eS AFTER THIRTY YEARS. A Romantic Story of Separated Lovers Mecting at Last in Washington. In this humdrum, work-tay life of ours it is pleasant to stumble upon an occasion- al romance im real life—something that smooths away the tharp, rough @dges and brings aut the sijyer linit g so.long hidden by the dark clonds. = ae Up among ‘thé “granite” hills of New Hampshire, along in the *¢arly“60's, John and Annie were sweethearts.- His inability to purchase a little farm was all that stood in the way of Immedfaté marriage. Her father was obdurate—“‘No farm, no Annie,” was his ultimatum. The war had been goirg on for several morths, and !n a spirit of half patriotism, half resentment, John enlisted for three years, and served the full time, coming back to the little hilly village in 1865 as captain of his company, and carrying on his right cheek the scar of a saber cut. Eut he found a new suitor for Annie, a well-to-do young man from New York. The father frowred vpon John and smiled upon the other fellow, and John’s visits to the homestead were made far from pleasant. Finally, after a petty quarrel with Annie, John packed his trunk one afternoon and disappeared from the village. In course of time Annie married the New York man and they went to the city to live. She heard of John at long intervals—that he had finally settled in Montana and was prospering. Later, she learned that he had married; then she lest track of him alto- gether. Her own life was full of pleasure for a time, and then she lorged for her home in the hills. Her husband did not care for home life, and during a drunken carousal one right received injuries from which he soon died. Eight years ago her father and mother died. They Meet in Washington. Among the visitors being shown through one of Uncle Sam’s big work shops here one day last week was a robust, pleasant- looking man with iron-gray hair and beard, which could not hide a scar on the right cheek. At one point, just as they were turning away, one of the middle-aged ladies at work attracted his attention, and he turned for a second look. Then he stepped forward and stood beside her. She glanced up at his face, and with a startled look arose from her chair and faced him. “Annie!” “Joh Thirty long years! Tears started from the lady’s eyes as she grasped the edge of the table to steady herself, and there was a tremulous, husky sound to his voice as he commerced questioning her. The guide in- formed him that visitcrs were not allowed to talk to the employes, but he broke the rule long enough to get her address, then left with the other strangers. She was rot present with the other work- ers when the labors of the next day com- menced in the work shop, which was fully explained when the morning's mail brought her letter of resignation to the office. Tne couple left for their old New England home a day or two later, for John wants to marry Annie in the village where he was euchred by poverty so many years ago. After the. ceremony she is going west to try life on her husband’s ranch in Mon- tana. See All He Could Do. The Wife—“Two weeks ago you said my husband couldn’t live, and now he's nearly well.” A The Doctor—“*Madam, I can only express my regret language—and we are more than pleased at being able to present to our read- ers a drawing of the graveyard scene in “Hamlet,” made by Flannel Lung, the chief artist to the imperial court.—Truth. DROUTH-SWEPT VALLEY | PICKING OVER METAL MONEY|IN MUSICAL CIRCLES The Terrible Rain'ess Season in the Ohio Valley. Steamboats Forced to Suspend Their Trips—The Streams, Wells and Springs Run Dry. Special Corresponderce of The Evening Star. GALLIPOLIS, Ohio, November 7, 1895. The past season has been phenomenal in the Ohio valley. My field of observation has been mainly confined to four or five counties In the extreme southern part of Ohio, but with occasional trips into West Virginia and Kentucky, on one occasion extending through the blue grass region nearly to Louisville. Various localities have had their own peculiar experiences, but in general the same conditions have prevailed over the whole region. The only considerable rainfall of the whole season, beginning as far back as February, to speak like a Hibernian, wes a snowstorm. I had good reason to re- member the date, ing out from early morning till 3 o’clock, when a full foot still lay on the ground, and I know not how many inches had mingled with the mud through which our horses floundered. After that there was warm and then fairly hot weather, and spring, which had been de- layed, came on with a bound. The lattey part of April summer temperature was reached. Vegetat'on was well advanced. Farmers were plowing their corn and po- tatoes. Apples large as small marbles had replaced the bloom, so dense often that you could not see through it. For two weeks the thermometer had registered 90 in the middle of the day; then there was a return of winter. Out on a high ridge an iretic wind suddenly smote me, clad in confident innocence aad a summer sult, and chilled me to the bone tn five minutes. Next day there was a lively spitting of snowflake: All through the country people had tal down their stoves, and the next ten d were memorable ones. Corn and potatoes were, of course, cut to the ground, and many thought the wheat was ruined. The Drouth Begins. The trees looked as though they had been burned over. Small hope remained for the apple crop, and the few peaches which had survived the pessimistic reports of the farm- ers and newspapers retired. The corn promptly recovered, and potatoes generally did, but the drouth now begun to be severely felt. By the first of June farmers were full of gloomy foreborings. There was not going to be a half wheat crop. Unless rain came right off there would be no corn at all. It did curl up during the heat of the day, but always came out fresh in the morning. Riding about as I did, I could see that it was growing. Wheat, too, though undeniably short in straw, was fairly thick, and the heads were long and filled to the tips with beautiful clean, large berries. As a matter of fact, many fields along the river bottom turned off thirty bushels per acre, and the crop through my district appears to havi been a good average, and the corn prov be the best in years. On the high ridge: especially on worn land, the crop was ve light or an entire failure, but on bottom lands it was very heavy and of the finest possible quality. Potatoes, oats and hay were everywhere very light, and in many cases not worth harvesting. The apple crop is the largest ever known. Along the roads they rolled down into the ditches, barrels of them together, and were left to rot. In many places I literally drove over apples. Sheep, hogs and other stock were turned in- to the orchards, but could hardly consume the windfalls. These could have been bought at any price, or no price, and many thous- ands of barrels were allowed to rot. Hay, oats and potatoes, it may be said, were a general failure. Hot as Well as Dry. From the first of June to the last of Sep- tember the weather was frightfully hot. Occasionally there was slight relief for a day or two, but the heat returned with an added fervor. The weather clerk apparently Fad only stopped to spit on his hands. In the very last week of September the ther- mometer was up to 98, and it was an excep- tion when it did not go to 94 o1 Taking the four months together, it was by far the hottest period in my experience, which in- cludes several summers in the south. In June the dust had become annoying; in July it was a terrible nuisance; in August reached its malignant climax, but:ft main- tained a pernicious activity during the fol- lowing month. In driving I was often un- able to see my way or tell whether I was not running into some team before me. It was like a steamer in a dense fog. From early spring there was not a single general rain to wet the soil to the depth of an inch. There were local showers at rare intervals, very limited in area. I crossed the track of three such storms in one day. The raia came down with a rush these times, but was over in a few minutes. Sometimes they extended over wider areas, and were what we called “nice showers,” but the whole region was so parched and the temperature was so high that in a day or two you could not have told that such things had been to “overcome us like a summer cloud.” Again and again I found myself apparently between two showers, but not a drop fell on me. Over and over it clcuded up and the storm seemed to move up over me and then to be dissipated. People commonly said, “The showers have all been going round us all summer,” or, “they had a gcod rain north of us or sout! of us yesterday, but we didn’t get a drop. I had a chance very often to test these re- ports, and generally found them erroneons. There was hardly a locality which I visited which did not consider itself an exceptional sufferer. My observation was that showers were a little more frequent and copious near the river, but otherwise there was little partiality in the very sparing distri- bution. Phenomena of Drouth. The phenomena as the drouth progressed were noteworthy. In the early spring the horses sometimes went over their knees in the mortar-like clay. On red clay hills the wheels carried up the sticky mass till they lost all shape and semblance of wheels. At this time_littfe runs of clear water crossed the roads everywhere, and springs gushed out from every bank. By and by these dis- appeared, and later the larger brooks, and finally creeks of considerable size bezame merely a series of disconnected, stagnant pools. Watering troughs fed by springs from the hill above, one after another, went dry. In some cases these were supplied from wells with pumps, but these also became as useless as the others. During the last two months I frequently had to drive a half day in the dust and heat without watering my horse. The beautiful green of the hill faded into brown. Nothing but coarse weeds was left in the pastures or along the road. The dust covered these until you could hardly distinguish the species. Stock ate the “broom sage,” a pestilent weed, for which no use had heretofore been found, and which farmers had found almost im- possible to eradicate. The river men clung to their traditional belief in a “June rise” to the last. On the next Sunday before the last I heard the captain of one of the larger boats assuring a lady passenger that there would be an excursion to Pomeroy the following Sun- day, because there had always been a “June rise.” Not a drop of water fell in the whole valley, so far as I could hear, and the boat never made another trip. Then the smaller boats one by one tied up till nothing was left to turn a wheel but the ferry and the shanty boat. Skiffs do, indeed, navigate the Ohio river. The Water Famine. Aside from the loss of certain crops, the scanty forage and water supply, which compelled farmers to dispose of their stock, there was considerable difficulty in getting ‘water for ordinary domestic use. In Co- lumbus they had to resort to a polluted tream, and content themselves with the warning to peoplé to boil it before using. It was common in my locality to find peo- ple hauling water in barrels from consider- able distances. Where water was left in wells it was of doubtful quality, and ty- phoid fever became very prevalent. a tie Note. Dra From Texas Siftinga. Mrs. A.—“So your daughter is studying for the stage?”- Mrs. B.—Yes, very rapidly. “How far has she got?” Mrs. B.—‘She has already had her photo- graph taken as ‘Lady Macbeth.’ ” and she is progressing Counting and Redeeming Old Ooins at the Treasury Department. How Counterfeit and Mutilated Pieces Get to the Treasury and What is Done With Them. “A favorite way to get rid of counterfeit coins is to pass them 6n car conductors,” said a treesury official to a Star reporter. “We get many such pieces, sent in for re- demption by the companies. The unthink- ing passenger does not hesitate to cheat the corporation—not realizing, of course, that the loss falls on the pocr employe, who must make it good. ~ “Immense quantities of subsidiary and minor coins are continually flowing into the treasury, to be exchanged for notes. The street car companies of Washington, for example, do not want to bother their banks with weighty deposits of small silver, nickel and copper pieces. They find it more con- venient to deposit the stuff here, receiving in exchange sreenha which are much more convenient to handle. Also we receiv many small coins from railway companies, express companies, ice companies and banks. Fit and Unfit. “The coins which we receive from all over the country are assorted into ‘fit’ and ‘un- fit.” The latter we do not send out again for circulation. At the same time, the standard of fitness is somewhat variable. If the ap- propriation for the mints has run short, and we have no big quantity of new coins to draw on, we are obliged to pass pleces which would otherwise be withdrawn and trans- ferred to the melting pot. “At all times we pick out for rejection all coins that are mutilated in any manner. This applies even to pieces which have paper stuck on them. With: the last three or four years the practice of pasting adver- tisements on one side of silver dollars has been popular with merchants, particularly in the west. The paste employed is of so ex- cellent a quality that to remove the ‘stick- ers,’ as they are called, ig next to impossibie. Scaking in warm water has no effect on them. Of course, we haye no time to devote to such a task, and so we just throw them out. Defaced Coins. “The ingenuity exerciged by people in the defacement of the cains.of the realm is really remarkable. ~ Shop keepers will stamp their firm names upon: silver pieces with steel dies. The advertisement is excellently conceived, but the value of the coin is de- stroyed, except as bullion.” Many persons make a practice of cutting coins with a knife to make sure that they are good. The test may prove them all right, but it renders the coin unredeemable. Other persons scratch fhe pieces with sharp instruments for what purpose I am unable to say. The result, however, is the same. “We seturn all mutilated and counterfeit coins to the depositor. In every case the depositor is requested to send them back to the treasury. If he fails to do so, no more are returned to him out of subsequent con- signments. Counterfeit coins we mark in such a way that it ls hardly possible to use them again. They are cut half through from one edge. As for mutilated picces, the owners can dispose of them only by selling them for so much metal. The mints will buy mutilated coins sim quantities like any other bullion. Expert Counters. “We have here at the treasury four of the most expert counters of money in the world. They. are womeh, and their names are Miss Calhoun, Miss'Roff, Miss Cocks and Miss Burns...Each of these young ladies is able to count from 30,000 to 50,000 pieces a day, throwing ouf%he Gountérfeits at sight. They are so clever at/the work that it is hardly possible for a bad coin to escape de- tection by their keen éyes. The pieces are spread out on tablesjin’#uch a manner as to lle flat, this being \atcémptished by two or three quick movements‘6t'the hands. Then they are counted two ata time, with two wers of the right hand, throwing them into the leftqpand, which is held below the edge of the (®ble. In this'process all badly worn coins are put aside, to be sent to the mint in Philadelphia. ag IN RIS LEG." A Rich Tramp's Peculiar Way of Cac- rying His Money Around. Wooden-legged Dick is in Washington and announces his intention of going south. Dick has tramped in every state in the Union, and on account of his forlorn appear- ance, hobbling on a badly made wooden sub- stitute for a leg, has received more favors than usually fall to the Iot of a tramp. Aside from an occasional spree, he has no expensive habits, and saves every dime that is given him. The result is that he has grown fairly well off, but does not allow that fact to interfere with his wandering habits. He is well known to the tramps throughout the country, for the reason that he will never wear his wooden leg when asleep. Taking it off, the man removes the tep, secures a pistol that he carries in it, and sleeps with the leg for a pillow, and the pistol where he can reach it handily. The reason for this is that his wealth, consisting of a roll of bills, the possession of which would be envied by many a man supposed to be rich, is kept inside the leg, and Dick does rot intend to take amy chances of its dis- appearing while he is asleep. No one knows how much money is carried in this peculiar safe deposit vault, but it is popularly sup- posed to be enough to buy a comfortable home if the tramp ever concludes to settle down. —_—_—_ COULDN'T READ THEM. How an _ Evening’ Plensure Was Spoiled for Two Young Ladies. Corporal Tanner learned shorthand while lying crippled at home during the war. In order to perfect himself in this science he carried on correspondence with his present wife, then Tis fiancee, by means of the symbols for sounds. Mr. and Mrs. Tanner have two popular daughters, who take the same interest in matters of romance that young ladies usu- ally do. One evening they were seen in close con- sultation at dinner, and after the meal was over both excused themselves on a plea of slight indisposition and went upstairs. Their father and mother followed, and one was heard to whisper that she had found a whole package of their father’s love let- ters, and they would have an evening’s fun reading them. Safe in their room, the let- ters were produced and the parents watch- ed to see the fun. Letter after letter was opened, and every one Was written in short- hand. The joke was too good to keep, and the corporal himself told it. 2 — CAT SICKNESS. ‘A Young Lady Who. Falated if a Cat Came Into Her Room. The presence of a eat makes some people very sick. This is’ tsually attributed to prejudice against the feline race and an active imagination, but there are genuine instances of it. A young lady well known in newspaper circles was Invited to attend a small evening party at the house of an in- timate friend who owned a very fine Maltese cat. She declined to go, and, upon being urged to give a reason. stated that she could not he in the room with a cat. The friend fromised to lock her pet up, and the young lady w She never appeared brighter, and those present with readings from her writings, when suddenly she became pale. “There is a cat in the room,” she said, and then fainted. She had to be carried from the room, after which she revived. She declined to return until a search was made for the cat, and the host- ess looked under a sofa and found the ani- mai curled up, asleep. A Practical Doctor. From the Hamburger Nachtrichten, Wife—“Well, doctcr, how is it with my husband?” Dector—“Fair to middling, so to speal he wants rest above all things. I have written out a prescription for an opiate.” Wife—“And when must I give him the medicine?” Doctor—“Him? The opiate is for you, madam.” The Ohoral Society Without a Hall for Its Oratorios This Seavon. It May Have to Come to Sunday Night Performances—Other Inter- esting Items. The Choral Society {s confronted with an unfortunate condition of things. Al- though its experience last year with Con- vention Hall had been anything but agree- able the board of directors realized that it was the only place in the District which was sufficiently large to enable the giving of oratorio at a price within the reach of all and at the same time cover the cost of the productions. Interviews were there- fore had with Mr. Stilson Hutchins some two months ago at which, members of the board say, dates and prices were agreed upon. The board went on and engaged its soloists. At the meeting of the directors Wednesday night a report was made that when last week the proper officers went to the hall management to have the previous verbal arrangement put into the form of a written contract they found that although the original agreement was admitted as hav- ing been made it was utterly repudiated. The Choral Society people were told that they could have an earlier date for the first concert, could not have zeny date for the second concert and might pcssibly get the date for the third concert. The date proposed for the first concert by the hall management is not acceptable to the ral Society, for it comes at a time when people are busy buying Christmas gifts, and are not looking to oratorio or any particular form of amurement, and so the society is in quite a dilemma. At the meeting of the board of directors Wed- nesday night this subject was fully discuss- ed and the preposition s advanced to give the “Messiah” on Sunday night at either the Grand or Lafayette Square Opera House. It was urged that the “Messiah” is as much a sermon in music as any effort of priest or pastor from the pulpit, and that if it was imposs:ble to secure a theater on a week day night it would be perfectly proper to sing the oratorio Sunday night. The ques- tion was not definitely acted upon, but will come up again at a special meeting to- night. In this connection it nay be proper to state that the Choral Society directors now feel a greater interest in the proposed erection of a music hall of which mention was nade in The Star some weeks ago. A number of the honorary members of the society, who are possessed of means, have expressed a willingness to give substantial id to the enterprise, and it is not unlikely that some oflicial action may be taken by the board on the subject. Reference was made last week to the for- mation of a new Miiitary Concert Band, un- der the direction of Mr. Will Haley. Mr. Haley says that its object is to promote musical art in this city, and to give its lov- ers an opportunity to hear music of a high order by giving a series of concerts at popu- lar prices of admission. The organization is composed of the fol- lowing musicians of known ability, the ma- jority of whom are ex-members of the Marine Band: William Wagner, flute and piccolo; A. G. Derincenti, Andria Coda, Frank Babtista, F. K. Boetther, Wm. Kep- pler, H. Spohiman, clarionettes; Otto Kurpt, oboe; M. Dudina, bazzoon; Wm. Grosskurth, Wm. Kendrick, Chas. Neacker, Chris Auth, jr., cornets; Julius Shultz, S, Friend, French horns; Chas. Samuels, W. C. Buckingham, Will Thierbach, Henry Schwakoff, altos; A. B. Goodman, W. H. Santleman, baritone; H. A. Stone, L. M. Kruger, F. Muehleisen, H. Elber, trombone; A. Schmidt, F. Moeller, tube ; John Arth, A. Fauth, W. Brown, bat- ery. A rehearsal at the National Rifles’ Armory yesterday morning was enthusiastically re- ceived by several musical critics, and a successful future is predicted for the band. Among the numbers rendered were “Wm. Tell,” overture, Rossini; “Invitation to the Waltz,”” Webber; selections from “The Black Huzzar;’ ight Alarm,” Reeves; ‘Fiori Rosiniani” (clarionette solo), Carillini, ren- dered by Sig. Andrea Coda; “The Jolly Schriners’ March,” Haley. The first concert of the new band will take place at Allen’s Opera House Sunday night, December 1. Mr. John Porter Lawrence will leave his place as organist at St. Matthew's Church on the Ist of December, to accept the pos!- tion of organist and chi director at the new Episcopal Church, St. Margaret's. It is not known who will succeed Mr. Law- rence at St. Matthew’s, but it is understood that Miss Jennie Glennan is likely to be given the organ. The choir of St. Patrick’s Church, under the direction of Professor Maina, is fast at- tracting attention from the excellence of its work. The chorus numbers now about thirty members, and is one of the largest in the city. It sings with precision and ef. fect. Mrs. Maina, last Sunday, sang Dana’s “Saive Regina,"’ and will tomorrow sing Gounod’s “Ave Maria,”” with violin obligato accompaniment by Mr. Sol. Minster. Mr. W. D. McFarland, the tenor soloist, will also have some good solos, the mass being Haydn No. 3. The coming organ recital at the Calvary Baptist Church promises to be a very inter- esting event. The new instrument will be tested by the most competent performers. and the program will be such as will be pleasing not only to musicians, but to those who love the art, but are not technically skilled. ¥ The Philharmonic Quartet has sustained a loss in the resignation of Mrs. Anna Craig Hills, who, owing to added duties of the maternal sort, has found it necessary to withdraw from the organization. In doing so, however, she does not retire wholly from the musical world, and it is hoped her voice may be often heard during the com- ing season. ——— THE DOG SMOKES. A Habit That a Scotch Terrier Ac- quired in Puppyhood. John Winthrop, a traveling man, who re- sides in South Washingtcn, is the owner of a Scotch terrier that has the tobacco habit. Mr. Winthrop has owned the dog ever since the animal’s eyes were opened, and early in puppyhood the terrier was taught the common trick of standing on its haunches in a corner with a pipe in its mouth. Instead of a clay pipe that had not been used, an old and very strongly impreg- nated one, discarded by Mr. Winthrop, was given to the dog. At first he did not like it, but soon contracted the habit, and going to the corner would bark until given the pipe. Then tobacco was put in and lit. The dog objected to the smoke, but in a few lessons was not satisfied until the pipe was filled and lighted. For the past year the animal has smoked a pipe every evening and has grown fat on it. The dog is smaller than the rver- age of his species, indicating that tobacco has stunted his growth, but otherwise no ill effects have been seen. —_——__ Stage Realism. From Bernard's Recollections. One of my best friends in Plymouth was Benjamin Haydon. His son, the artist of celebrity, was at that time a spirited and intelligent little fellow about ten years of age, who used to listen to my songs and laugh heartily at my jokes whenever I dined at his father’s. One evening I was playing Sharp in “The Lying Valet,” when he and my friend Benjamin were in the stage box, 1nd on my repeating the words, “T had had nothing to eat since last Mon- day was a fortnight!’ little Haydon ex- claimed, in a tone audible to the whole house, ‘What a whopper! Why, you dined at my father’s house this afternoon!” = soe - “I woula use some powder, please.” “Face, gun or bug?”—Life. THINGS HEARD AND SEEN There is a man who is well known in Washington, where he has occupied promi- nent official positions, although out of poli- tics, he says, now. He is a social favorite, and a few days ago a mutual friend said to me that it was strange the brilliant jurist and statesman had never married. I said nothing, for it could do no good; but it took my mind back to the time I first met the man whom every one delights to honor, and it is a story with a moral somewhere that I won't attempt to point out. He was a struggling law student then, and those who knew him used to ridicule his uncouth, gro- tesque appearance, for he had been raised upon a rented farm and had neither money nor culture. There was one, however, who recognized his brilliancy and she was the belle of the town. Her face was beautiful and her heart true, although her brain per- haps ¥ as not so strong as his. They married, and it was very hard fer the bride’s friends to congratulate her, they felt as though she was taking up a life of hardship. She had a littie money, and with it the young man opened a land office, but clients were scarce, and in a few months the wife had to take boarders in order to earn a living. Then, in addition to that, she opened a dressmaking establishment and worked night and day. Then he was nominated for judge by the m!nority party, and none were more surprised than he when one of those unexplainable political revolu- tions resulted in his election. Upon the bench a~d subsecuently in Congress, he showed himself possessed of unexpected tal- ent, and today he is revered for his intellect. His wife still lives, but she is with her par- ents in the little. town where she was mar- ried, and they rarely see ‘each other. Her beauty is gone, and the years of hard, ..nre- lenting toil have unfitted her for society. They have grown apart, and neither ever mentions the other, although the marriage ties have 1.ot been*severed. And so his friends wonder why so brilliant a man re- mains single. 2 ess In Northwest’ Washington, where the most exclusive aristocracy live, 1s an in- teresting family, consisting, as the neigh+ bors suppose, of father and mother and two chitdren, but there are three. The head of the household is dignified to a degree that appears austere, He is proud of the patri- cian blood that flows in his veins, if it is Proper to call blood patrician in democratic America. And yet how little his friends know him. Could they see the self-posses ed man as he walks the floor at right, holding in his, arms a son, now almost grown, they could scarcely’ believe their own vision. For years the boy has not had more than the intelligence of a little child He was not born so, but a nervous disease has sapped the brain until it is gone. and the heart of the father goes out toward the helpless son as it does not toward any other living being, and when the stricken one is not asleep, he goes to the boy’s rourr and rocks and croors over him as he did when the child was an infant, I was walking along the canal the other when my attention was attracted by a novel funeral procession. Four little boys, the oldest about ten years of age, and the youngest a toddler of two or three sum- mers, were crying as though their little hearts were broken. The oldest was draw- ing a small hand wagon, which contained a bundle. Following this were the other three boys in line. Each had upon his arm, a strip of black calico, while the wagon was decorated with the same material. I stopped them and gsked what the matter was. “It's a funeral, sir,” said the oldest boy, “our little dog died yesterda: ‘Then lifting the little bundle from the wagon he threw it into the canal, and the four broth- ers put their arms around each other, gave Way to a grief as real as any they will ever know, for the dog was their playmate and they loved him as they did each other. And as the boys slowly wended their ways back home, I could see that there would be but little play for them that day. . 2 8 I learned by accident’ that one of the street car conductors in Washington was formerly known to me as a member of the state senate of Illinois. I hunted until I found him, and he begged so hard not to have the matter made known, as it would injure him in his old home, that I promised, and then he told me hts experiences, which could be made into a column or more of very interesting reading. He came to Washington soon after the inauguration of President Cleveland in 189% Supplied with strong ictters of indorsement, he first ap- plied for a consulate, believing that he would enjoy foreign travel. Possessed of a little money and a sanguin: tempera- ment, he stepped at a first-class hotel and made himself popular, as he believed, with every one supposed to have political in- fluence. It took several months for him to realize that he was not going to obtain a consulate, and then he concluded to accept a position in one of the departments. The only one obtainable was that of messenger. But too many of his old friends visited the department and he resigned, obtaining a situation as street car conductor. It took several months to learn how to save any- thing out of his small wages, but now he has nearly enough to buy a suit of clothes and return to Illinois, when he will resign his conductorship and open a law office at his old home, trying to tell no more to his friends than that he has had a position in Washington without going into particu- lars. - aS s 8 « ee I was talking to a lawyer from Springfield, Ills, the other day, and he told me that the grave of “Bill” Herndon was to be oppro- priately marked with a neat stone, presented by the bar. The story of Bill Herndon ts a pathetic one. He was a law partner of Abra- ham Lincoln, and did not suffer very great- ly when compared with his illustrious asso- clate, so far as legal attainments were ccn- cerned. As a result of his practice he ac- quired a competency, although not a large fortune, and purchasing a farm, retired from the profession and devoted himself to fancy farming. His attempts at this were ludicrous. There was no crop about which he did not possess some pet theory, which he would argue out to his friends as being the only philosophical way. While as a rural philosopher he was very able, as a farmer for profit he was so complete a failure that in a few years he was without a dollar. Then he tried to practice law again, but his mind was not what it once was, and he drank to excess. Then the once gifted jurist went to the county almshouse, where he died. Members of the bar gave him a re- Spectable burial, but his grave has been neglected. Now, I am informed, his mem- ory will be perpetuated with a suitable tab- let, for Herndon did much for the juris- prudence of Illinois, and was so closely as- sociated with Abraham Lincoln for many years that the misfortunes and mistakes of his later years are obliterated and only his successes remembered. es ee The mention of Senator Cullom for the presidency reminds me of the time he was first elected governor of Illinois, and the saddest three days he has ever known. His opponent, Lew Stewart, was nuted as the most profane man in the state, and was popularly supposed to have the support of the worst elements, while Senator Cullom represented the aristocracy. The latter had practically retired from the law, and was presidext of a baak at Springfield. He was possessed of a comfortable fortune, but was not considered wealthy. Indeed, it was popularly supposed that his property was so tied up that defeat would ruin him, as to the truih of which I do not krow. Illinois was a strong republican state, and the leading papers expressed indignation that Stewart should have been nominated at all. The night after the election re- turns came in somewhat slowly, but by morning even the republican papers con- ceded that Senator Cullom was defeated by a small majority. yy the close of the sec- ond day the majority as reported had in- creased to 8,000, aad Senator Culiom ac- knowledged himself beaten. He came to the bank looking as though he had suf- fered-a long illness. To have led his party to defeat after so many victories, and to be | beaten by such a candidate, was more | than he could stan?. The tulri day official returns came in, and the republican ticket was elected by the usual majoriti Te this day it is not rea!ly known who suc- ceeded in obtaining sucn control over the wires as to send and keer up the false re- ports, but Senator Cullom will never for- get those three days when he believed that he had led his party to disaster. ier ieee ears A German-American citizen of Hoboker has a grievance. He came to Washington with his wife and gave a guide half a dol- lar to take him through the White House grounds to show him the State Department building. He saw a White House police- man and said: was you a regular bolicemans?” “yes” “Vell, vas dat feller right as I said vere vas de schlate building, und he valked acrost de yard und said gif me half a tol- lar, und I tol’ him go off mit hims+if, und he said he had me arrested right away? “You did not have to give him half a dol- Jar unless you wanted to.” “Ole woman,” turning to his wife, “you vas no goot. You gif dot mandot money.” “You tol’ me to.” “Don’t you say a vord. de money any more.” A marital row seemed impending and the policeman interpos-d. ‘Vell, vat can ve go into dot building for?” asked the husband. Xo charge will be made.” | ell, now, dot feller said ve couldn't go jin. Mr. Bolicemans, I Itke you, und ven j you come by dot Hoboken, I lef on der \ I don’t giv’ you third story alreaty, und I haf beer on ice all de vile. vs.” ‘But I don’t drink beer.” “Dot don’t make no d-fferens. Schust coom oop und enjoy yourself vatchin" me dhrink it. Now I find dot feller und get dot feefty cents back right avay.” Come right avay oop und see “If a man can’t tell when he’s got enough, he better let it alone altogether,” moralized the car conducter coming down town early one morning last week. A boozy individual getting off the car at Q street had turned the conversation cn the back platform into a temperance charnel. “I haven't d drop since a year ago last July tinued the conductor. “Cotldn’t be sat- isfied with a shifter now and then, When’T started I played the whole game, so I had to quit or lose my situation; and he went through the car to gather up the stray nickels. “Funny, too, what a small thing will make a big impression on a drinking man some- times,”” said the conductor, as he got back from his collecting tour. ‘Now, there was Jim Smith, lived up near me, one of the best mechanics in the city. Jim used to go on a spree just as regularly as Saturday night came around. There was a saloon attach- ment to the grocery where he traded, and there is where all his money went. One Saturday night Jim went into the grocery, ard a woman stood there trading, with her market basket full standing on the counter. There were some small crackers !n the basket and Jim took a couple. That angered the woman and she opened on him. “Look here! Jim Smith. You just step drinking so much whisky and you'll have money enough to buy your own crackers!’ “That started Jim to thinking pretty hard. ‘I'll have money enough to buy cracke-s and other things, too,’ he thought after he had worked the matter over in his mind for some fe So he concluded to turn over a new leaf. “The second Saturday night, when Jim nt to the grocery, the proprietor said: ‘Didn’t stop with us last Saturday even- ing, Jim; what have you been doing with yourseif’ pe ‘Been buying crackers and things,’ said im." “Well,” said The Star man, who had come much interested in the narrati’ suppose Jim has a comfortable home 1ow, and has money to buy everything he snorted the conductor. “He turn- ed that new leaf over the wrong way, end now he gets drunk twice a week—Wednes- days and Saturdays. Change cars for the avenue line!’ a: OE os Gen. Miles told a story to a few friends the other day on a Scotcnman by whom he had been entertained on the’ Pacific coast. The Scotch friend has been very successful on a ranch he has in California, where he has raised many~fruits; but the pride of his life’ is his olfye crop.'In fact, the ccuntry is noted for its extraordinary pro- duction of olives. After he had acquired a gcod fortune he determined to visit Scot- land. While there his friends urged him to take in other parts of Europe, and he did so, goffig to France, Italy, Egypt and the Holy Land. On-his return he was asked by his California friends for. his trip, which he gave with & great relish “What did you think of 7 asked Gen. Miles. “a8 ‘Europe wus very fine,” answered the Scotch-American, “and Egypt is very old. But I don’t think much of the land in Asia, Why, I went to the-Mount of Olives. Do you know, there ain't cny olives there to speak of. I raise more olives on my ranch phen! they do in the whole of the Holy se © ee Not long ago there was a sale in Wash- ington of the effects of the Historian Ban- croft. One of the ladies in Washington who is wedded to Washington ideals and associations, want2d a desk which had been the historian’s, for the associations surrounding it. She is wealthy, and was determined to have that desk if money could get it. Intrinsically it was worth very little, but that was no reason why she would not bid high on the desk. The day of the sale sre was too ill to go, and so she sent her daughter, with instructions to bring home the -iesk, and told her to bid as high as $100 for it. The daughter went early to the sale and secured a seat near the coveted desk and waited until it was put up for sale. Then she began to bid for it along with several others. When the price reached some $15 everybody drop- ped out except the young lady and some one over near the door. Every time the lady lid there was an advance from the un- known bidder until the price had mounted up to $100. Knowing that her mother want- ed the desk, but fearing that some one was. bidding against her for the sake of getting more money—a sort of straw bidder, as it were—she advanced the bid two or three times while she was endeavoring to move around to the door to see who her un- known competitor was. The price had reached $115, the last bid being made by the unknown just as the young lady reach- ed the spot. Much to her surprise she found her mother to be her rival. The elder lady feared her daughter would not secure the desk and came herself to pur- chase it, and here these two had been bid- ding against each other all the time. It is needless to add that the family got the desk. =. A group of ardent admirers of Mrs. Cleve- land were discussing the many estimable qualities of Mrs. Cleveland recently. It was at a boarding house, where these par- ticular friends, who are very intimate with the Cievelands, were temporarily residing. In the group was a young womar?who had ideas of her own. From day to day she heard about how gentle, how refined, how unassuming, how amiable, how tranquil, hew good-natured Mrs. Cleveland is, and, in fact, there dia not-seem-enough suitable adjectives to praise the first lady in the lend. en “Now,” said the lady, who had been an earnest Mstener, “according to your own account, Mrs. Cleveland has a chef, with assistants, a steward, a housekeeper, a maid, a nurse for each of the children, and in heaven's name, ts there any reason why she should not be amiable? She need, not have any one around her who 1s not agree+ able. She need neither go nor come unless she chooses. There is every reason why she should be all that you have said.of her end no reason why she should be anything else than amiable.” x ee, “They say old Boggles is dead,” said the “Judge,” as he leaned on the counter at the hotel office last night. “Wonder what he died of?” “I understand he died of a Tuesday,” said the clerk, as he checked off some names on the register. “I mean what was the complaint?” con- tinued the judge, as he put a handful of toothpicks into his vest pocket. “No complaint at all—everybody seemed perfectly satisfied,” replied the clerk. “Huh!” snarled the judge, as he surveyed the crowd in the lobby, calculating the chances for a drink. “H2w much did the old gentleman leave Everything. Didn’t take a cent with him,” said the clerk, as he twisted the register around for a new arrival to enter his name. es 8 8 8 “Talk about your sudden drops in the temperature,” said one of the high degree Masons on F street the other afternoon; “I- was standing in front of Masonic Tem- ple one night, and witnessed a fall of thir- ty-three degrees in less time than it takes to tell it.” “On what occasion?” questioned The Star man incredulously. “When Gen. Albert Pike stepped on a banana peel. 8 6 “When I grow up to a man,” said a little codger near the navy yard, “I’m going to learn to be a stone mason.”” “A good, healthy trade, my boy,” sald his father, “but why have you settled om that? “Why, I can live in Washington all my life and work on the new city post office.”