Evening Star Newspaper, December 4, 1897, Page 23

— NEATH WINTER SKIES The Face of Nature Still Possesses Many Charms WHICH WELL REPAY CLOSE STUDY Many Delights of a Stroll Through Leafless Woods —-+- — AT THE CLOSE OF THE YE Written tf The Evening Siar. The first month of winter has beg now, friends, those who have accompani. Me to the haunts of nature throughout the Year. let us take a few final jaunts to- gether to find what warmth and life may be extracted from th ason of coll and slumber. For our encouragement, let us recollect that within the cold, hard, blac stones which we have found beneath the surface of the earth there is stored Jatent heat that needs but the right touch to bring into full activity. Let us re member, also, that what forces in nature may likew! become exceilent servants. us not be daunted !f low temperatures, blustering gales, driving snow, or even elting rain or sleet, should seek to tura us from our purpose and confine us to ihe comfort and shelter of our homes. All the fierce swaggerers may be vanquished and ultimately compelled to work for cur ben fit and joyment. So with brave and resolute wills let us set out, w regard to the condition of the sky or mesphere. Indeed, a gray day, with haps rain or mist, is a very favorable on which to travel afoot through nature's dominions. The birds are more apt to be on the first floor of the woods, and hence more readily observed. And brisk walking scon sets the blood coursing so vigorously through the body that the dampness which at first felt raw and chilling becomes grate- fully cool and refreshing. Come. then, with me on this overcast, moist day early in the month. The sk lowering. The great dome that is usually Meadow Lark. over our heads has given place to a low. flat ceiling. The misty rain that is talline cuts off the perspective. We are inclosed in narrow quarters that tend to confine our attention to those things that are im- mediately at hand. No broad views today. No genera! pictures to expand our emotions We must devote our time to a more minut inspection of the wonders of nature’s lab- orator: This is not a day, either, for th exhilaration of the brisk walk on the oj road: so we take to the field: And soon .We find ourselves carrying heavy weights on our feet. But we wear shoes that give us no anxiety, and the exertion added to our walking only brings the glow to our bodies the sooner. Besides, we shall short- ly reach the woods, Where the walking is firmer. if no drier. But where are the Excepting those of pine and cedar. they have disappeared. There are hills plains be seen, from which rise trunks of trees, which split and ramif. the top so that they vell, to a greater or less extent, the lands 4; bat though we are soon ame + tim. anrot feel that we have entered domain, as we were accustomed ng our earlier rambles. In Striking Contrast. The complete change in the character of ©ur favore+ retreat becomes more appar- ent as we penetrate it further. We turn int d that plunged into n: shadow before the blasts and rains of autumn demolished the roof How ark and secret it Seeming to lead us into heart of the forest: deep into solitud Now with what surpri do we perce that this retired way is on the very edg o7 the forest, separated a narrow Partition from the ope dow, hey which, 3 on, can see hous pike, telegraph lines, passing trolley and other such antithe o the remotenes. and retirement that summer pretended were ours! Solitude is not measured by distance, it is true: and a thin veil may bring as plete tion as miles of wi it is what we had believed to be a ma » wall is nothing but a now transparent curtain. “While we are looking about us, not- ing the new rolling character of the ground, our gaze falls upon something else that is new. A faint, but plunly perceptible, disused road leaves our path at right angles and takes its shadowy wa among the trees on our left. It is slight! overgrown with bushes and saplings, hut Our summer rambles part of the woods brought slightest knowledge of the existence ot this former way. It was as completely veiled by the shrubbery and foliage though it belonged to the invisib now that winter lays bare the se summer, it dawns upon our view the freshners of a new the dropping of the lea nently into sight that wood thrust fn the sapling beside the small through us not ets of with all slish Sparrow. ation was entirely concealed front we were here in July, listening to r, so is this d to us in the open- ed road reve; December. Like True Explorers. true spirit of explorers, there- investigate our discovery, not ashamed of the pleasurable emotions pro- @uced in us by its revelations. This clus- ter of aplectrum leaves, with thelr pleated folds and silver lines on a pale green @round: it was well worth while coming this way to find a definitely marked and convenient locality where one may be sure to be able to secure the bloom of the elu- orchid next June. And this bed of nd shriveled maiden-hair ferns: there is no other part of these woods where the maiden hair grows; not is there any other place within a mile where it be gathered. Should we wish the dainty fern for the decoration of our parlor table next summer, or should we desire merely to sce it in its home and stop to adn its beauty, we now know that we can have either pleasure at will by merely turning aside from our regular route ana penetrating the underbrush for a few steps. See that croup of pines stretching back from tie road, holding a little tract sa- ered to themselves? Let us go over among them for a momeni. We may find part Fidge berries gieaming out among the brown needies they have sirewn upon the the we ground their feet. Sure enough, here they are in abundance. What a beautifui carpet they make; little globes of scarlei nestling modestly amid the delicate green foltage! Every contour of the ground on which it lies prone and which it complete- ly_conceals fs revealed by the dainty cov- erlet. We will stop and gather a bunch, for it will make a decoration which, prop- erly cared for, will brighten our hemes all winter. And next May we will return to this spot to fill our nostrils with the fragrance of their arbutus-like blossoms. Should you be tempted by the bright, glossy color to put one of these berries in your mouth {ft will not harm you. But you will find it watery, tasteless and seedy —fit fruit, perhaps, for the birds, but not particularly inviting to the human palate. Birds in Winter. By the way, speaking of birds, do you notice that although thus far on our walk we have heard nothing but the occastonal tinkle of a stray junco's silvery bell, we now seem to be surrounded by birds of many varieties? It is usually so in the winter. You will sometimes walk several miles without seeing or hearing a single bird, and then will suddetly come upon a place where they are congregated in num- bers. And I am inclined to think it fs principally because of gregarious inclina- tion and not directly ewing to any peculiar fitness of the place in affording food or sheiter that such is the That bright- ed and vivacious Httle Canadian nut- hateh, flirting himself in zigzags up the trunk of a tulip tree, searching the crevices of the bark for larvae, and at intervals sounding his elfia trumpet, what com- Cedar Lark. munity of needs has he with those purple linches feasting upon the fruit >f the alder? Is it not more probable that they desire each other's companionship? In those bushes, too, is a cardinal. Do you not hear the loud clink of his alarm note? Ah! there he a flashing red meteor, to perch in small pine plainly within our view, a: ware what an excellent backgrou id green makes for his handsome ferm. He also understands the value of friendly and genial society. We see other birds—chickadees feeding imong the pine cones and announcing themselves to us in the absence of any arrangements for formal introductions; | white-throated arrows flying heavily and with much r from twig to twig, or perched medi- tatively with ruffled feathers, uttering oc- casional loud “tweets” to let the other members of the company know they arg with them in voice if not in spirit: robine weighing down the tip of a cedar ano noisily filling the air with their harsh Sereeches, with now and then a touch oi the song that is so familiar in the spring; goldfinches, their gold all stored for the winter, with their light staccato flight notes and the little canary-like yawning notes that have such a magnetic quality. And those larger birds, rather clumsily and laboriously fiying from one spot to another; their blue coats and dull red vests plainly disclose their identity: anc it needs not the thick contralto note tha? is as though the singer's mouth were of pebbles to tell us that they are full bluebirds. By Listening Attentively. Amidst the various notes that come to our ears we are dimly conscious of one that we cannot readily locate. As we listen more attentively we perceive that it is not a single note that we hear, but many of the same character and pitch, as though there were a flock of birds present h vocal instruments all attuned in uni- son. The eéfect 1s of high-pitched whines. But why do we not see the birds that are the authors of the sounds? Well, ft is be- « » not moving about like all in the neighborhood. Do motionless figures perched in the top of that sour are the producers of the are cedar larks. Take tie ne them carefully; they rds ugh inspection. — Notice sts, their smooth fawn- colored gowns, the handsome black mark- ings abeut their heads and the yellow } ucross the end of each tail. If you have good eyes you will perceive the li ile red horny appendages to some of their . that look like bits from these appen- re also called ‘“wax- wings.” Now you have allowed your at- tention to be diverted for a moment to that turkey buzzard calmly breasting the upper breezes and when you return to the tree it is bare. The cedar larks have ap- parently melted away. A motion to ad- journ the meeting, which, as you know, is always in order, was put and carried wiile you were busy with the buzzard, and they quietly took wing and abandoned the gum in a body, to reconvene the assemblage in the top of a tree In another part of the wood: We loiter awhile among the pines, with their vari-colored carpet, watching the different traits of feathered life that present themselves to us and providently laying by a goodly store of bits of partridge vine with a berry, or rarely two, clinging to each piece; then we return to continue the exploration we have temporarily suspended. And as we press on between the trees which line our new-found thoroughfare we continually come upon something to attract our inter- est. Now is a little settlement of club moss with its long, erect stems, some of which we gather to add to our decorative stor Now it is crowfoot gracefully trail- ing over the grouna in such profusion that it is probable that our colored friends, they whose picturesque garb and humble stock of wreaths and garlands are so familiar a feature of the Christmas market, have not yet happened upon the locality to which we 1 been led in our journey of discovery. We will come here for our Christmas greens and secure a supply that will have far more harm than the best we could buy in the market. Again, it is a group of pinweeds, Wah their delicately cut, radical leaves spreading in pretty rosettes, that we know be gone by the time the summer's sun has expanded the minute blossoms. And again. and again, and again are our eyes ught by some Sa moment to our interest, until the end of our path and emerge into a road that we have often traveled without sus- pecting that it was linked to the road by which we today entered the woods. Along this road we return with our trophies and end our walk with glowing cheeks, glow- ing thoughts and glowing hearts. On a Mild December. Again we set out together, this time upon one of the mild, sunny, springlike days which December often offers to us who live in this southerly latitude of Washing- ton. The temperate air that comes re- freshingly in through the open window in- vites us out for a loitering ramble, through nature’s haunts. How full of spring sug- gestions is the morning! Meadow larks greet us with a sweet-toned, though melan- choly, chorus. The white-breasted nut- hatch salutes us with a genuine spring flourish of trumpets. The cardinal from his tree over the hill sends us a soft, sweet song, that is a reduction of the rich, full- toned tribute that he pays to the spring. The Carolina wren flings out his buoyant bravura from the edge of the woods, And even an English sparrow, moved by the uplifting influences of this delightful day, forsakes his grubbing and brawling com- pantons. and, mounting te 2 twig of a small ouk, lifts up his voice for ten or fifteen minutes in pure song—a song containing many sweet notes and phrases, one of the latter bearing so marked a resemblance to the tremulous, descending alarm note of the Carolina wren that we at first assumed without question that there was a wren r by expressing disapproval of our prox- action, to stay our ve constant activity at length we reach imi Flora, ber though almost bound by the stum- imposed upon her by the hypnotic uiches of the Frost King, has yet enough nscfousness left to give a foint answer to the kindly call of the sun, and opens a dandelion or two in the meadow, a few ° = little white stars among the chickweed leaves beside the purling brook, and even displays the five-petaled purity of a wild strawberry blossom in a neglected corner of the field. We, too, as we saunter through pastureland, or follow lingeringly the wind- ings of the stream, respond to the influ- ences about us, and feel our spirits lifted into a more elevated zone, where dwell purity, peace and content, while greed, avarice, passion and all other forms of baseness and grossness-are so far below that their poisonous miasma cannot ascend to onr level. It is good to breathe the tonic air of these upper regions occa- sionally. The strengthening our lungs re- ceive enables them the more to resist the clseased atmosphere ih which we are com- pelled to pass the most of our time—an at- mosphere to which, be it remembered in due humility, we contribute our share of the poison with which it is filled. A word at parting. From the cold, bare peak we have descended together into the fertile valley, passed through its verdure and inflorescence and ascended the next mountain to where we see the rugged crags before us, and behind us those across the valley that were our starting point. I trust the journey has been as pleasant to you as to me. HENRY, OLDYS. —e ART AND ARTISTS. In this country it is seldom that one sees examples of the earlier Italian mas- ters, and one would heve to look long to find a finer specimen than the Fra Angeli- co now at Fischer's. It is indeed a rare painting, for it was exccuted in the artist's best manner, and is in an unusually good state of preservation. It 1s one of the many Madonnas that this inspired Domini- can friar painted, and it is notably fine in color. On either side of the mother and child are angels in adoration, and all the figures come out in delicate rellef against a background of gold, which is intricately engraved in a number of places. The gen- eral effect is very flat and decorative, but there is none of the severe formality of line that characterized many of the paint- ers that preceded Fra Angelico. On the contrary, the figure of the Madonna is graceful in tho, extreine, and there is a delicate spirituelle beauty in both her face and chat of the child nestling in her arms. The hand of tims has mellowed in- stead of destroying the pigments with which this panel was executed, and there is a beautiful quality of color in the dark drapery with an almost imperceptible greenish tint, and in the pale blue and heliotrope of the lighter portions. Giovanni da Fiesole, cr Fra Angelico, as he is more contmonly called, is one of the most inter- esting figures of his epoch. He was well endowed with worldly goods, but forsook all to enter the Dominican order of friars, and threw himself into his work with a calm fervor that has never been surpassed. x At the sixth annual exhibition of the Bal- timore Water Color Club, which has just closed, three Washingtonians were repre- nied. Miss Lillian Cook’s Dutch interior was justly admired, for it is one of the best of the many good things she has done in that medium. Mr. R. Le Grand Johnston contributed characteristic examples of his work in landscape, and Mr. Walter Paris was also well represented. Several Balti- more artists have returned the compliment by entering works in our own water color show, which opens next Saturday. * The Art Students’ League is at present endeavoring to enlarge the list of annual members and is sending out circulars to this end. The annual members are recruit- ed from the ranks of those who are inter- ested in art in a general way, and who are willing to aid the school in the work it is doing. Each member has the privilege of naming a student to compete for the lim- ited number of free scholarships that the league provides and receives cards of 2d- mission to the entertainments and exhibi- tions. * Mr. Edgar Nye nas hot touched a brush for over a month, and now that he is on the mend after his severe sickness he is keen to be at work once more. ‘The can- vases of the summer have not yet received the studio touches which eliminaie the oc- casional crudities of direct outdoor work, but they are highly satisfactory just as they are. These studies show more than his usual breadth of treatment, and he has fully demonstrated that he can nandle a large canvas as easily as a small one. Most of the subjects are from the neighborhood of Rockville, where he spent much of his summer, and his best cdnvyases show th a contrast of near shadow and sunny dis- scenes along the edge of the woods, tance. Perhaps his most successful picture is a composition of that style with a gray sk: sad and a delicate atmospheric haze making itself felt everywhere and shrouding the distant trees. The gray greens of the foliage and the cool tones throughout the rest of the picture are worked out in admirable harmony, and the color effect is very restful. * * There is now on view at Veerhoff's an exhibition of ofl paintings by Gean Smith, the painter of the stylish thoroughbred horse, the “society” horse, so to speak. A large number of his pictures are scenes at the New York horse show, and the art- ist excels in delineating the beautiful, clean-limbed animals most in evidence there. One of the horse show subjects shows a fine four-in-hand going around the ring in front of the admiring specta- tors. Other events in this same show are portrayed with eqval merit, but the artist is handicapped in his work by his ina- bility to draw the figures of men and wo- men with anything like the skill he dis- plays fn an equine subject. The unsatis- factory background in his largest pic- tere. “The Futurity Race,” prevents the fine action of the animals from affecting the beholder as favorably as it otherwise would. ovel x * In the fascinating collection of Japanese Cloisonne that has been placed on exhi- bition at Veerhoff’s there are many won- derfuily beautiful examples. Some of the most perfect specimens are free from any design, but are covered with a transparent enamel of a rich red hue. In these pieces the copper box, vase umbrella handle, or = atever it may be, is given a plating of old which glows through the translucent enamel, and all the specimens show that natural instinctive taste for color and dec- orative effects which is the birthright of the Japanese. x * Mr. Edward Siebert has just commenced work on an important figure composition, which promises to occupy his time for some months. It pictures the interior of a well-known coffee house in New York, the hatnt of writers, actors, artists and men in all walks of life. The gaslight falling on the faces of the men grouped around the tables heightens the effect and makes the study of light and shade very interesting. Mr. Siebert made many sketches there, and has in his note book any aumber of types from which to choose. The arrangement of the figures is notably good, and the postures and action of the different men are well suggested. Mr. Sie- bert has made recently a number of suc- cessful still-life studies, and makes oc- casioral excursions into the country. On one of these he painted a very truthful study of a scene out near the Kastern branch, where stunted cedars are a feat- ure of the landscape. * * * The loan exhtfbition which closed on Tuesday was a financial as well as an artistic success. While all the returns wiil not be in for some time, the artists are able ta figure out a modest surplus, that can be very conveniently applied to the gallery. The pictures were taken down on Wednesday in order to make way for the Water Cclor Sane * oe In the entries for this exhibition one thing is éspeclally noticeable—that is, the large number of names new to the Washington public. Some of these are, of course, artists of other cities, but a fair proportion of them are residents of this city, From preset indications the exhibition promises to be a long way ahead of the one last good as thet was. —A private view and the exni- pato the public bition will probably ‘bd“bpe! year, wil) be held next y bd opek on the day tonowines = , a * It has been quite over to this country "td "sf @ monopoly of that soft ‘of! they are to have a rivgl thi rived in New York ie “Week, and will forthwith open a studio in that city.’ ‘The gentlemen named are all clever and catchy painters, and the work of each of them, like the efforts of other mortals, is better at times and not so godd at times; but at his best it will puzzle either of them to paint an altogether better portrait than that of Mr. E. C. Messer of this city, shown at the loan exhibition that closed on Tues- day evening, which was painted by an American artist, now, alas! no longer liv- ing. It is a picture that will hold its own, so to speak, anywhere. * * x In the way of picture sales, the sensation of the coming season will doubtless be found in the dispersion of the collection of the late William H. Stuart, of Paris, which {s to be sold under the auspices of ‘the American Art Association, in New York, seme time in February. Mr. Stuart was an enthusiastic admirer of the more brill- fant interpreters of modern French art, and had brought together such a group of ex- amples of that school as is rarely seen in one gallery. For instance, there are no less than twenty-five pictures of more or less importance, by Fortuny, eleven by Rico, seven by Boldini, five by Troyon, four by Messonier, Zamacois and Madrazo, e<ch, three by Baudry and Michetti, and pairs by a number of others hardly less famous. An filustrated catalog is to be published, which will contain reproductions, by the most approved methods of photo- gravure, of every picture in the collection, one hundred and twenty-cight in number. It will be strictly limited to three hundred and twerty-five copies, and will be sold to subscribers at twenty-five dollars a copy. * * x That wisely selected paintings by first- class artists constitute a good investment is well understood by those familiar with the subject. A case clearly in point is furnished by one of Gainsborough’s pic- tures, entitled “The Gipsey Fortune Teller,” which the Duke of Marlborough bought from the artist for 3. A few years ago it sold for the very respectable compe- tency of £20,500, and would doubtless bring a still larger sum if offered for sale now. —_———_— DOOLEY ON FOOT BALL. MR. He Thinks the Modern Game is Much Too Rough. From the Chicazo Evening Post. “Whin I was a young man,” said Mr. Dooley, “‘an’ that was a long time ago—but not so long ago as manny iv me inimies’a like to believe, if I had anny inimies—1 played fut ball, but ‘twas not th’ fut bali 1 see whin th’ brothets’ ‘school an’ th Saint Aloysius’ Tigers played las’ week on th’ pee-raries. et “Whin I was a la-ad, iv a Sundah afther- noon we'd get out in th’ fleld where th oats d’ been cut away an’ we'd choose up sides. Wan cap'n'd pie wan man an’ th other another. ‘I choosé’ Dooley,’ ‘I choose O'Connor,’ ‘I choose Dimpéey,’ ‘I choose Riordon,’ an’ so on till there was twinty- five or thirty on a side,, Thin wan cap'n'd kick th’ ball an’ all oniour side 'd r-run at it an’ kick it back, an’:thin: wan fv th’ oth- er side 'd kick it ‘to us, an’ afther awhile th’ game 'd get so timpis¢hous that all th’ la-ads iv both sidesi’d be in wan pile kickin’ away at wan or th’ other or at th’ ball or at th’ impire,:who was mos'ly a la-ad that cuddent ‘play ‘an’ that. come out less able to play thin he was whin he wint in. An’ if anny wan lald hands on th’ bail ke was kicked be ivry wan else an’ be th’ impire. We played frm noon till dark an’ kicked th’ ball all th’ way home in th’ moonlight. - “That was fut ball, an’ I was wan io play it. Fd think nawthin’ iv hist- in’ th’ bell two hundherd feet in th’ air, an’ wanst J give it such a boost that I etove in th’ ribs in th’ Prowtestant mini ter—bad luck to him, he was kind m: that was lookin’ on fr'm a hedge. I was th’ finest player in tn’ whole county, I was so. ‘But this here game that I've been seein’ ivery time uh’ pagan fistival tv Thanks- givin’ comes ar-round, sure it ain't ti’ a a great game I 4 I seen th’ Dorgan la-ad ccmin’ up th’ sthreet yesterdah in his fut- ball clothes—a pair iv matthresses on his legs, a pillow behind, a mask over his nose an’ a bifshel measure tv hair on his head. He was followed be three men with bot- tes, Dr. Ryan an’ th’ Dorgan fam'ly. I jined thim:. They was a big crowd on th’ peerary—a bigger crowd than ye cud get to go f'r to sce a prize fight. their frinds that give tir : Says wan crowd: “Take an ax, an ax, an ax to thim. Hooroo, hoorco, _ hellabaloo. Christyan Bro-others!’ an’ th’ other says: ‘Hit thim, saw thim, gnaw thim, claw thim Saint Alo-ysius!’ Well, afther a while they got down to wur-ruk. ‘Sivin, eighteen, two, four,’ says a la-ad. I've seen people go mad over figures durin’ th’ free silver campaign, but I niver see figures make a man want f'r to go out an’ kill his fellow men before. But these here figures had th’ same effect on th’ la-ads that a mintion tv Lord Cas- tlereagh’d have on their fathers. Wan la-ad hauled off an’ give a la-ad acrost fr’m him a punch in th” stomach. His frind acrost th’ way caught him in th’ ear. Th’ cinter rush iv th’ Saint Aloysiuses took a runnin’ Jump at th’ left lung iv wan iv th’ Christ- yan Brothers an’ wint to th’ grass with him. Four Christyan Brothers leaped most crooly at four Saint Aloysiuses an’ rolled thim. Th’ cap'n iv th’ Saint Aloystuses he took th’ cap'n iv th’ Christyan Brothers be th’ leg an’ he pounded th’ pile with him as I've seen a section hand tamp th’ thrack. All this time young Dorgan was standin’ back takin" no hand in th’ affray. All iv a suddent he give a cry iv rage an’ jumped fect foremost into th’ pile. ‘Down,’ says th’ impire. ‘Faith, they are ell iv that,” says I. “Will iver they get up?’ “They will, says ol’ man Dorgan. ‘Ye can't stop thim,’ says he. “It took scme time f'r to pry thim off, Near ivry man iv th’ Saint Aloysiuses was tied in a knot sround wan iv th’ Christyan Rrothers, On'y wen iv thim remained on th’ field. He “was lyin’ face down, with his nose in th’ mud. | ‘He's kilt,” says I. ‘1 think he is,’ says Dorgan with a merry smile. ‘’fwas my boy Jimmy done it, too,” says he. ‘He'll be arrested f'r murdher, says I. ‘He will not,’ sgys he, “There's on’y wan polisman in town eid take him, an’ he’s downtown doin’ th’ Kamit f'r somebody,’ he says. Well, they cafyid th’ corpse io th’ side an ‘took th’ ball ‘gut Jv his stomach with a monkey wrinch, an); th’ game was Both sides had colledge cries. rayshumed. ‘Sivin, sixtéen, eight, eleven,’ says Saint Aloysius, jn’ young Dorgan started to run down th‘ field. They was an- other young la-ad r-rginnii, in fr-ront iv Dorgan, an’ as fast as wan 4x th’ Christyan Prothers come up an’ got ij) th’ way this here young Saint Aloysis grabbed kim be th’ hair tv th’ head any, th’ sole iv th’ fut an’ thrun him over hj paler: ‘What's that la-ad doin’?’ says nterferin’,’ says he. ‘I shud think he;,was. says I, ‘an’ mos’ impudent,’ I says, * {Tis such inter- ference as th ‘What breaks up fam'lies,’ an’ I’ come wat “'Tis a noble sport, ap’ I’m glad to see us Irish ar-re gettin’ into it. Whin we larn it thruly we'll teach thim folledge joods fr'm th’ ple belt a thrick or two.’ “We have already,” sald Mr. Hennessy. “They’se a team up in Wisconsin with @ la-ud be th’ name iv Jeremiah Riordan fr cap’n an’ wan named Patsy O'Dea be- hind him. They come down here an’ bate ih’ la-ads fr'm th’ Chicawgo college down he th’ Midway.’ “Iv coorse they did,” said Mr. Dooley. “lv ceorse they did...An’ they cud bate anny colliction iv Baptists that iver _come out iv a tank. = ———_+ e He—“It really doesn’t seem podsible that Quen Victoria can he as eld as that.” She—“As old as what He—“Why, as old as this paper infers.”* She—“How old is that?” He—“It doesn’t exactly say, but it has an article here entitled. ‘Some Fact About Victoria, B. C.’.""—Boston Courier. Old Lady—“You don't chew tobacco, do you, little boy?” ~ Newsboy—“No, ’m; but I can give yer a igarette.”—Odds and Ends, = nt ‘6 thing“ for several years past for European artists to come lend the winter and paint portraits @ fitncy prices for reople who think that no ‘American artist can paint well enough tb ai‘ justice to their patrician personality. “Hitherto Chatrian, Madrazo and Hubert Yos have had rather tronage, but season in Sig- nor Boldint, a gentleman af Italian. birth and French tastes and’ training, who ar- ‘HE EVENING STAR. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1897-26 PAGES. UNIVERSITY NOTES Catholic University. It is anncunced from the university that there is positively no foundation for the circulated reports in regard to the con- templated resignations of some of the pro- fessors of the faculty of philosophy. Drs. Eyvernat, Green and Stoddard have de- nied any such intention on their part. The patronal feast of the university, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, will be observed next Wednesday by pontifical high mass. Cardiral Gibbons will officiate, and the sermon will be delivered by Dr. Kirby. Among the visitors to the university this week were Dr. Mary O'Callahan, who is one of the prison commissioners of Mas- sachusetts, ahd Mr. Galt, superintendent of the reformatory at Concord. They were both on their wey to the prisons congress erhe able yee t th yu lecture ai e Thursday evening was Gel ivered nue eriee: E. A. Pace, his subject, “The Structure of the Ey. being illustrated and explain- ed_ by various models and diagrams. Commissioner Carroll D. Wright will re- sume his lectures on “Political Economy” next month. Georgetown University. There will be a meeting of the junior law class this evening for the purpose of perfecting class organization. Examinations in all the classes at the law school will occur on or about the 23d instant, that being the date of the ending of the first term of the school year. There will be a special meeting of the Law School Debating Society tonight. Next Saturday evening there will be a debate upon the question, ‘‘Resolved, That the Ha- weitan Islands should be annexed to the United States,” the speakers being James McCarthy and J. W. Bingham, affirma- tive, and F. A. L. Schade and W. EL “Grown, negative. the Glee Club concert last Monday was regarded as a general success, both finan- cially and socially. The club has decided not to take its intended trip to Baltimore until after Christmas. At the next meeting of the Philodemic Sociéty the question for discussion is: “Re- ed, That monopolies should be abolish- The debaters are: Affirmative, Messrs. Edward Brady and F. O'Neill, and nega- tive, J. S. Butts and Charles Claiborne. The bowling alley, which was donated by Mr. Wimsatt, is almost finished, and will be a much appreciated adjunct to the uni- versity. The senior class in geology have discon- tinued their expeditions into the country in search of specimens. The freshmen, by defeating the sopho- mores last Saturday by the score of 24—0, won the championship of the university and the right to the turkey dinner offered by the faculty. The dinner will probably be given some time before Christmas, but the date has not yet been definitely fixed. Indoor practice will be begun by the base ball team after Christmas. Columbian versity. The Law School Debating Society will meet tonight, the question for discussion being, “Resolved, That the elective fran- chise should be limited to those who are able to read and write.” The affirmative speakers are Messrs. C. T. Carter, J. W. Wright and H. A. Vieth; the negative, F. W. Crist, B. C. Jones and W. M. Mason. On December 11 the question, “Resolved, That the Cuban belligerency should be recognized by the United States,’ will be discussed by Messrs. W. T. Harris, W. U. Varney, jr., and B. C. Perkins, affirmative, and A. E. Snow, A. C. Wells and Granville Lewis, jr., negative. On the 18th instant there will be a public debate, at which the question will be discussed, “Resolved, That Congress should enact a general anti-trust jaw,”’ with Messrs. J. P. Fontron, F. L. ‘Tarbox and J. C. Reader, affirmative, and Messrs. J. P. Gray, C. E. Phelps and A. W. Patterson, negative, as the speakers. The executive committee of the senior law class met Thursday afternoon. The Biblical Research Club holds a meet- ing this ning, at which a paper entitled, Phoenicia, Its Place in History,” will be read. The Columbian Corcoran Society holds a meeting tonight at 8 o'clock. A special meeting of the Virginia Club was heid last Monday. The trustees of the university have had plans prepared for a new structure to be erected on 5th between D and E streets, in the place of the old building owned by the university, the new building to be used as a law school. Notice to the occupants of the offices has been given and plans pre- pared for a $100,000 building by Mr. James G. Hill, and if possible, work will be com- menced early in 1898, so that the law stud- ents entering next year will attend there. Howard University. It is the intention of the Alpha Phi Lit- erary Society to give a public debate some time in January, and thereafter annually. The purpose being to familiarize the stu- dents with public speaking. A basket ball team has been organized among the young ladies of the university Edward Peckham, '98, read a paper last Saturday before the Alpha Phi Literary So- ntitled, “The Evolution of the meeting of the Eureka Club last night was devoted to memorial exercises in honor of the late John M. Langston. W. E. Baugh delivered the eulogy and other mem- bers also participated. Next week the regular literary and musical features will be presented. George K. Law read a paper on “King Lear” before the Alpha Phi Literary S ciety last night, after which a general dis- cussion was had on the same subject. The last meeting of the Christian En- deavorers was a temperance one, the pro- gram consisting of a paper by Dr. Hall en- Utled, “Kindness to Dumb Animals,” after which the audience listened to a talk by Miss Jackson on “The Importance of Sign- ing the Pledge,” and an address by F. M. Bradley, chairman of the temperance and good citizenship committee of the District Union. The foot ball team made quite a credit- able record on its trip south, two victories and one tie game being placed to its credit. The next game will be on the 18th instant with Wayland, but the second team will play the colored High School next Satur- day. National University. The first of a series of public debates to be given under the auspices of the Debat- ing Society wili be held in their debating hall, at the university building, Saturday evening, December 18, at 8 o'clock. The subject chosen for this occasion reads as follows: ‘Resolved, That there should be a property qualification for the exercise of the elective franchise. For the aftirma- tive, Messrs. George N. Brown of Wyo- ming, William L. English of Illinois and ‘r. J. Landergren of New York; for the nega- tive, Messrs. C. D. Van Duzer of Nevada, Joseph Cnez of Indiana and G. D. Me- Quesien of Utah. The invitations for this debate will be issued in a day or two. The debate held last Saturday was “Re- solved, That United States senators shall he elected by popular vote.” After a spir- ited contest, participated in by the whole society, the verdict of the judges was in favor ot the affirmative. The subject chosen for debate this even- ing is ‘Resolved, That the jury system should be abolished.” Affirmative, Messrs. Van Duzer, Hamlin and Hunter; negative, Messrs. English, Magie and Coope. For Saturday evening, December 11, “Resolved, That the principle of taxing incomes above $4,000 is just and expedient;” affirmative, Messrs. Rogers, Reisinger and Walker; negative, Messrs. Underwood, Dumont and Hunter. Prof. Carusi has finished his lectures and quizzes on Williams’ on real property to the seniors. Prof. Ralstcn gave the first of his lec- tures cn Bispham on pleading to the senior class Friday evening. Prof. Davis delivered his last lecture on the ory of the law to the post-gradu- ates Wednesday evening. Judge Cole will commence his lecture on statutory law this evening. These lectures are intended for the whole school. Judge Alvey will eommence his lectures on constitutional law immediately after the holidays. The school will adjourn for the holidays ¥riday, December 24, and will resume Jan- uary 3, 1898. oe Mr. Holliday—“So you think you would like to take the position of superintendent of the works? Don’t you think it better for you to seek a more humble place at first?” Rollo—“Why, sir, you have told me that there is always plenty of room at the top. Surely you would not have me crowd the worthy men who are lower éown!"—Boston —— = > == 7 = = CENTRAL OIL STATION, EDISONT Dustaisering cous NOVEL PIPE LINES — Now Used to Distribute All Sorts of Commodities, COLD AIR FROM A CENTRAL PLANT ee The Place That Electricity Will Fill in the Homes. MODERN CONVENIENCES ——— Written for The Evening Star. NE OF THE RE- markable —_ features O AN of modern urban de- velopment is the growirg tendency to do away with indi- vidual effort in pro- viding many of the material comforts of our nineteenth cen- tury civilization. It is coming to be more £3 and more the case 4 s LI that the common ne. EBA E A cessities which every household requires are not supplied by each family for itself, but are sent out from great central establishments, which supply a district of greater or less extent, acco’ ing to the nature of the commodity they handle. Once each house drew all the water ic required from its own well; now in all but the smallest villages, the whole | water supply of a town is obtained from some lake or stream, and pumped out trom a single reservoir to all the inhabitants. Light and fuel have in most places been | i to the list of things supplied from | central point, and in the largest cities it has been expanded to include a hundrea other things that our parents, or we our- y years ago, never dreamed of getting in this wa: The result of this burid up under c movement has been to ery big modern city a =, conduits, vaults ana | ges, where many of the operations | ental to the aealth and comfort of the | pampered modern citizea go on. Few per- | sons realize what progress has been made in this direction alre but from present indications it is likely that there will be a still more rapid extension of such central- ized activities i The most recent development in the di- rection of centralized energy is put fi ward by a great freezing and warehousing company in New York city. This concern proposes, in connection with its cold stor- age warehouse, to pump refrigeration to its principal customers in different paris of the city, including the great markets and produce houses. .To the person unfa- miliar with the recent development in this line of business it would seem a_ difficult matter to transmit cold over long distance in suflicient quantities to reduce the tem- perature of great vaults and packing rocms to 15 or 20 degrees below zero. As # matter of fact, the company anticipates little difficulty in putting its system into operation. : Distributing Cold in Pipes. The ammonia system will be used, and the fluid will be forced by hydraulic pumps from the condensing tanks through con- duits to the places where it is 2 be Ese nese conduits will be laid underground, eal in general will be constructed like or- dinary water mains, except that the out- de will be surrounded by a cork jacket- ing, which will be coated over with @ tar-like preparation to prevent a “leakage of cold.” The promoters of the scheme guarantee that the refrigerating pipes wil: not interfere with -the steam and other underground conduits, and assert that there will be very little loss of freezing power in passage. It is intended at to supply only concerns requiring a largo amount of refrigeration, but there is no reason why the same system should not in time be extended to dwellings and other buildings, so that every house may pres- ently have its “zero” room. The trans- | mission of cold storage has already been tried in St. Louis between main and branch warehouses, so there seems to be no reason why the present more extensive undertak- ing should not succeed..The extent to which this centralization In the supply ot ordinary necessities has gone is realized by few of those who daily profit by it, and strikingly illustrates the independence to which urban civilization is bringing us. Petroleum is pumped from the fields where it is found through pipe lines hundreds of miles in length to all the big cities. Thence it is distributed in smaller pipes to the factories which use it in large quan- tities for fuel, so that in many cases the connection is complete without the inter- vention of a single pair of hands from the oil well to the furnace. A more famil- iar example of the same thing is illumi- nat and fucl gas, which is everywhere distributed direct to the consumer, who merely has to turn a valve and touch a match to get his light and fire. Electricity is beginning to work a great change in domestic economy by entering the domain of the kitchen. The house of the future will have no fires in it, and the kitchen range will lose its terrors. Elec- tricity will keep the oven at any desired temperature: will broil the beefsteak and heat the water. In the laundry it will be hitched to the flatirons and will smooth the bosom of the Sunday shirt. Cooking ond washing will be done by-pressing a se- | ties of buttons, and the housemald can read her novel undisturbed while the elec- tric cook stove docs its work, Steam and Compressed Air. All kinds of motor power, steam and com- pressed air are now distributed in pipes. inGeed, In cities ike New York there are few factories which have their own power plants, for it {s found to be cheeper und Father mere convenient-to iceee power of second city of p P: 23 the various compan: ness of supplyin, es which make a busi- it. A New York com- pany, for example, sends out 17,000 horse- power from its main station in the low r part of the city. This is distributed th: zn iron conduits, copper-jacketed at all joinis, with very little loss in power or efficiency. It is recognized that compressed air 1s today the great rival of electricity, and it is peculiarly ada to transmission from a central power station, ince it can be Stored without loss and supj to any point in variable quantities, as des: more easily than electricity. The < ssed air plant which operates the en- gine recently put into service on the Man- hattan elevated road ges the steam to op- erate its compressors from one of the big steam supply companies. [ts appa consists of iwo tanks holdir about gallons of water. The water i y between the tanks in iron p which it through small holes, thereby cool- ing it. The air is drawn over thes ool tanks through window-lik ya a cou- inder, It . bein low-p s through four in the ¢ of each jourr s increase: 160 pound pour It will be s of compressed air ple proce general. » product a comparatively and its use is likely to bec Pneum Those whe tie Transportation. are living “on the edge of the future” see many other ways in which mod- ern invention is changing city life along similar lines, One direction in which the is likely to be a marked development is in the transmission of all kinds of articles through pneumatic tubes by compressed air. Mail is already sent between the New York post office and some of its branche: At the trial of the part of the post office system first installed, which took place a short time ago, a great variety of articles Were sent a distance of nearly a mile and back, making the round trip in four min- utes. The test was made by Dr. Chauncey Depew, in the presence of Gen. Shallen- berger of the Post Office Department and other prominent men. Among the articles sent through the tubes were a copy of the Bible, an Americar, flag, fruit, brie-a-brac, a pair of shoes, a bottle of wine and a live kitten. “Thi opens a wonderful vista of pos- said Mr. Depew after the test. lepartment store can deliver its to branch stations, the markets can e their customers, newspapers can be , and possibly in time human ht can be shot from office to home with a rapidity that almost annihilates dis- MINK Some time ago it wa York could be efficientls by pumping it through pr and one of th at brewing com- actually e¢ ed the plan of sup- ranch bottling establishm ome of their principal ‘s that New served with mili rly constructed this manner. In both these cases It was s of consumers rather than »bjections that ing cut of the sugges- A glance into the near future shows that the one tendency to which attention has here been called will bring about some able changes in the appearance of our big cities. The city of the future will be much more quiet than the existing town, nd ad locomotives ars Will give for the roar of overhi the clatter of surface ¢ to the noiseless progress of the compressed air or elestric motor. It will be much cleaner, too. Horses will be banished from the street except where used for pleasure driving, and heavy trucks as well as cabs will be driven in the same way as the cars. Dust and ashes will not rouse the ire of every housekeeper, for electricity will have driven out the coal fire and ashes will be aken only from the few power generating stations. The streets will be less crowded, for many things now conveyed in wagons will be shot through pneumatic tubes to all parts of the city. Life will be easier, for every house will have heat and cold, light and power pure air and ordinary drinks on tap. The only danger to civilization then will be that the inhabitants may get nervous pros- tration from the mental effort of remem- bering which particular button to press for each thing that they may happen to want. Che Bright-faced, happy, rollicking, playfa. bies, thousands of them all over the broad d, have in their bodies the seeds of serious diseases, and while they laugh - and play are facing death. The mother, in the majority of cases, is unconsciously re- sible for this sad state of affairs. ere ¢ mother, during the anxious period, suf- fers from weakness and disease of the dis- tinctly feminine oa green it is useless to expect a sound and healthy baby. Every woman may be strong in a womanly way, and have robust, happy children. A wonderful medicine for women is Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription. It is the disco’ of an eminent and skillful spe- cialist, Dr. RV. Pierce, for thirty years Saeed sen to the gd Hotel an itute, at Buffalo, N. Y. It is a medicine that acts directly and only on those delicate and it I suffered for from bs ag Pond Sapient, i ‘So. Main 'St., my and first noticed ‘weaknesses ‘on when the jolt of the care became wubearabie, tae traveling but the trouble steadily grew: 4 e@ for death. I took only a Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription and was perma mently cured.”