Evening Star Newspaper, September 3, 1898, Page 19

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1898-24 PAGES, 1s SENSIBLE SHOPPING OR AFTERNOON GOWN. Copyright. 1008, by 8 M.Baltwes GOWNS FOR AUTUMN Two Designs From Felix That Will Prove Popular. FOLDS AND TUCKS FOR TRIMMINGS a’ Imitating the Appearance of a De- collete Waist. GLITTERING GIRDLES Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. PARIS, August 27, 1898. The days are decidedly shorter and an occasional chilly wind waves through the air and reminds madame to replenish doing duty that ciaims jon represents 2 model of ex- quisitely refired simplicity and esepeciaily Gesigned for the young Countess de C., a demotseile yet in her teens, but already neted for her beauty. She is a blonde, and | the soft folds of gray cashmere suit her fairness admirably. The skirt « shmere is plain trimming of many vows of bias larker gray satin, the effect of tly enhenced by a silver fill- at one side | nderskirt of a balayeuse of the me material acts as a lining to the = The bodice is also of the s oft cash- 1 is lined like with gray 1 with rows of silver filigr+e butions. cular attention | irawn to the fit of the round yoke, which is decorated with the rows of bias folds of Garker gray in, and the belt part of the bodies. which is adjusted closely to the fig- tre, and is trimmed to match the yoke and skirt. Of Venetian Cloth. r model is of gray Venetian cloth, trimming of purple velvet. The skirt lo up quite plain over the unierskirt of purple taff. a relief from the inevitable apr: pentine flounce, which has L ulae that th antes sre re- verting from it. The skirt of our model is ed at the Fem with four rows of very ceme so po bias folds.of bl atin, which t in front, ending in clover leaf design h is set with a gilt button. The gray skirt ‘s slashed in front, the slash be- th the same black satin bias folds with a clover leaf design at the point, | insertion | silver | gold and exposes a fan pleating of purple vel- vet. The gray Venetian cloth of the bodice is drawn tightly over the seamless back, while the front shows the folds adjusted to the figure, without a pouch, and confined at the waist line by a belt of black satin, witn a bow in front held by a gilt buckle. The bodice, like the skirt, is slashed in front, and shows folds of purple velvet under- neath; but the most becoming feature of the whole gown Is the very novel wide col- lar of gray cloth edged with a rich oriental embroidery in delicate colors and beads and opening wide over a gilet of white gulpure over white satin. The standing collar of pure is trimmed with two black satin 3 folds and is covered at the back with a pointed flaring collar of gray cloth lined with purple velvet. Novel Sleeves. ‘The form of the sleeve fs very graceful, being tight to the shoulder, where it widens into a pleated puff which is cut in one piece with the sleeve. The wrist is deco- rated by a band of oriental embroidery and a saucer puff of purple velvet. An artistic novelty is represented in the sleeves, the form of which fits the arm very closely to the wrist and is covered with a number of rows of satin bias folds. The fullness at the shoulder is supplied by a graceful puff of gray cashmere, which fol- lows exactly the lines of the full part of the bodice. Tucks have lost none of their popularity for having been the mode of decoration for two seasons, and evening blouses and even- ing gowns show an abundance of this trim- ming. One extremely chic model of pale rose- colored satin is trimmed solely by rows upon rows of fine tucks. The skirt, which is cut round, is very novel, with a deep di- sonal band of these tucks upon one side, hile the other is quite plain. The bodice is composed of tucks entirely which meet at a sharp angle in the middle of the back and front, and even the little basque is tucked, and a jeweled gold belt holds the fullness of the blouse in place. The deep decoliette is surrounded by three tiny satin ruffles and Is finished out with shirred rose- colored mousseline de sofe, finishing around the throat with a high coliar of pearls. The long tight sleeves also consist of shirred mousseline de soie. Decollete Gowns. While decollete gowns are made to suit the most fastidiously prim person by the of daintiest, most flattering pmisettes of shirred mous: line de soie, the same soft material is ado ed to imi- tate the appearan of decollete waists on a hig! ecked bodice—b a yoke of the same over the tightly stretched silk or Satin lining. 2 The craze for glittering belts and girdles has by no means abated, ¢ is evident in the newest samples exposed at the gold and smiths and ready to be copied in cheaper materials to offer to the masses. The newest design: show emeralds set in plaques, square shaped; gold netting in which are enmeshed jewels reflecting the rather conspicuous Russian colorings and turquoises or amethysts set in antique sil- ver. . FEix, Paris) THE CUBAN PINEAPPLE. Delicious Variety Produced in the Eastern Section oF the Island. From the Providence Journal. Nowhere on the globe do pineapples thrive as in eastern Cuba, where the conditions of soil and climate bring “the golden apples to absolute perfection; yet pple industry has never had much tion. ntion in this He is another for the ent ng Yankee. A tract of unoccupied land, extending far as may be bought for a few dol- lars sot! of unp of pre 3 being capable | ucing every trop! 1 growth. Ship- are already established at eral small ports, and if the s the Yumuri or some other much the better for its owner. the golden glory of a he can think of no than a sugar cane istening pale yellow under the tor- i sun and billowing in the gentle breeze © a wind-swept sea. But even more fas- a field of pines, each great “ap- 1 by a circle of glittering, sharp- In Florida the pineapple ly serrated that the thought < areund among them suggests a eld of torture. Evolution seems to have progressed further in Cuba, for in the older and more carefully cultivated plantations the saw teeth that edge the long, pointed leaves have mainly disappeared. Before the war it was the sight of a life- time to go oat to Marianao, a suburb of Havana, and there drive through an es- tate which had $0,000 pineapple plants in full bearing. Over in Nassau they call the e plantations “groves” and “orchards,” 3 if they were trees. Whether groves or 1s, the plant Is about the same, produc- ing one of the most luscious and popular ralleled ricpn frun. “sown to man, for which there is constant and ample demand. Like most things worth having in this troubied life, the golden “pines” are not easy to get at. A ry short stroll among the stinging leaves will lead you to sympathize with the N Yorker, who, after a visit to Marla- nao, said: “You do not mind the first two hundred or three hundred sticks and prods from the needle points of the bayonet leaves as you cross a fleld, but after a while your tortured cutis can endure no more, and your remarks about the pineapple crop are likely to be prejudiced by present soreness. How much nicer {t would be if the ‘apples’ really did grow in orchards and you could send a colored boy up the trees to shake down a few and thea could sit down in the shade and eat them.” A plant produces cnly one pine at‘a time. The fruit thrusts ttself upward in the mid- die of @ mass of long, narrow and sharp arched leaves spreading forth from a cen- tral stalk, precisely like those of the Agave Americana, or “centur: everybody ts famillar. eighteen inches to two The same plant prod and a third, and so on through severai bearings; after which a new plant must be arted from ihe “shp.” Nothing is easter of cultivation or requires less capital and previous experience, and few crops bring in greater or more certain returns. ————-e-_ Twelve Telegrams Sent af Once. From the Electrical World. Experiments are at present being con- ducted on the Paris-Bordeaux line with some interesting machin2s, which the in- ventor, M. Meecadier, has been working on for many years. With these instruments, called duodecapiex, twelve Morse transmit- t:rs can work simultaneously on a single wire, each sending its signals to the proper receiver at the end of the line. This result is brought about by the use of alternating, or, at any rate, interrupted, currents. Each transmitter receives its current through a tuning fork, having a special note, its vibrations being electrically main- tained. These vibrations furnish a current of the proper period to cause resonance at each application in the proper receiving cir- cuit, which has its self-induction and ca- pacity adjusted fcr this result. This re- ceiver is a telephone (a monotelephone, as it is callsd by M. Mercadier), so construct- ed and arranged that the acoustic reso- nance qualities also help to damp out from the signals received everything not intend- ed for it. These signals are read in th2 or- dinary way by ear, aided by rubber tubes like those used on phonographs. The sift- ing out of the signals, it seems, is very per- fect, each receiver giving no evidence of those signals not intended for it, except a slight murmuring, very indefinite and not at all bothersome. Plant, with which The stem is perhaps feet in height. luces a second apple, +o+—____. A Land of Many Thirsts. From the London Standard. ‘The Egyptian never travels without his ecolah. He fills it with filtered water, and in th? morning can command a pint or more of water cooled by evaporation through the unglazed clay. This Precious fluid he does not waste on unsatisfied thirst. Taking off the long white wrap and the piece of cloth that covers his head during sle2p, the native pours the water over his head, neck and hands. The European, with all his instinct for cleanliness, seeks first to relieve his overmastering thirst. There are in Egypt as many thirsts as plagues, but the dust thirst is ths worst. Every pore is sealed; the throat is a lump of dry clay, and one feels what it must be to be a mummy, FOR UP-TO-DATE WOMEN Old-Fashioned Lace Jackets and Coats Again in Favor Black Satin Directoire Coats Again Good Style—Hints for Demi- Season Wear. Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. NEW YORK, September 1, 1898. If you have an old lace jacket, wear it. This bit of information was given by an American woman in Paris to a compatriot who went to her for advice. In many fam- ilies there are lace jackets and coats of lace, and between the blazers, the etons and the long basque effect coats which are all worn and to be worn, there is surely some way to modernize every one of these prectous laces. The fact that lace jackets, when added to modern gowns, are usually sleeveless sim- plifies matters very much. One need only, take care that the lines are good, if the coat is a long one, and of a date of years ago when jackets of lace and Insertion Were much worn. The lace etons are of a more recent date, and will need Iittle re- rrodeling, if, indeed, they need any. The fancy for lace coats grew out of the black siik and satin coats which have been worn in Paris or made by Parisian modistes sipce early spring. These coats were slow in reaching us, and it is only just now, whi women are casting about for tollets to bridge over the months betweeh autumn ard winter, that they have been worn to any extent. Most of the black silk or satin coats are a glorified modification of the blazer coat. ‘They open in front to show ornate fronts of a rich and contrasting material, and their turn-back lapels are cften elaborately embroidered, while they have high rolling coliars which run into the lapels in front and often modestly conceal the nape of the neck in the back. Some of them but- ton with tiny steel buttons set in a dou- ble row and giving the short-waisted ef- fect one sometimes sees in smart-looking waistcoats worn by men. By all means, if you are going to have one or more gowns for autumn wear, have one which depends for its grand effect and air on a black silk or satin coat. Nothing could be more effective. Jacket Gown Model. A beautiful modification of the jacket gown made its appearance in a recent model. The coat was almost a directoire and reached nearly to the hem of the skirt in the back. In front it did not meet at all, simply framed the full front of the vest or chemise (as the inner waist is now often called). The coat was edged with wide guipure lace, which turned back on the shoulders, forming a pretty collar. The full vest was gathered into a narrow belt and was of a soft silk. The sleeves were ot the same material as the vest and were close-fitting with a wrinkled mousquetaire effect. The skirt was of the same material as the coat and was quite full, flaring about the hem in the graceful way now popular. Any lightweight cloth combined with sili would be suitable for this gown, or two shades of silk could be used. The “jacket gowns" so called, are another manifestation of the present popularity of coat effects. Some of these jackets are simply sleeveless, belted coats, worn over gowns of a contrasting material and color. Some are short, only coming to the hips, while others are quite three-quarters length, coming well down over the skirt. A good model of a jacket gown seen re- cently was of lightweight cloth, which look- ed much like the camels’ hair of some years ago. The siceves, coat lapels and border of the shaped skirt were of silk. ‘The jacket fronts crossed and were held in place by a narrow belt of black velvet with a silver buckle, The skirt of the jacket Was very short and cut in two sharp points in front. The opening caused by the turn- over lapels of the jacket was filled in by a large cravat of net embroidered in white. The plastroy was of the same net. Panel Skirt Popular. The flounced or shaped skirt is not the only possible one for autumn, gowns. The panel skirt is quite holding its own and will be chosen by those who wish to have a skirt which has not yet been seen on bargain counters. ‘The panel is usually the front breadth, narrow at the top and w ening out toward the hem. The side breadths are variously trimmed to simulate overskirts, and some of these skirts really are doubie—that is, the panel is’ part-of an underskirt, while the second skirt, which is almost, if not quite, as long as the frst, is cut away in front or at the side to show the panel. Sometimes the underskirt is piain and sometimes it is deeply embroi- dered. Often when the overskirt is merely a simulated effect ruffies are employed as trimming, tiny ones in four or five rows, which trim each side of the panel. But there is no shutting one’s eyes to the fact that skirts cut en form are most worn. What is more, we are told that the tlounce will appear in the winter's furs and in heavy cioth gowns. It is to be hoped that Women will be sensible enough to draw the line somewhere and refuse to carry about the heavy burden that flounced” wincer skirts and coats would impose. Shirred Waist and Skirt. There is still another skirt which, al- though not often seen, is yet popular. ‘That is the skirt shirred about the hips. This is not a new effect, but it is having a great revival of favor. It is especially suited for light-weight cloth or silk with a sepa- rate silk lining, and is just the skirt to be worn with the lace coats or jackets first de- scribed. The shirring should be repeated on the vest or chemise, and ts also effective ou the sleeves; for it must be borne in mind that, although this is a season of contrasting colors, it is also one of whole costumes, and if in color our jackets are a strong contrast to our skirts there must yet be some touch of harmony to show that the two are kin and were intended to appear together in public. MABEL BOYD. -— Shortened Lives. From Pearson's Weekly. Almost all persons die of disappointment, personal, mental or bodily toil or accident. The passions kill men sometimes even sud- denly. The common expression “choked with rage” has little exaggeration in it, for even though not always suddenly fatal, strong passions shorten life. Sirong-bodied men often die young, and weak men usually live longer than the strong, for the strong use their strength and the weak have hardly any to use—the latter take care of themseives, the former do not. As it is with the body, so it is with the mind and the temper—the strong are apt to break, or, like the candle, run; the weak burn out. Man, of all animals, is one that seldom comes up to the average. He ought to live 100 years according to the physiolcgical law, but instead of that he scarcely reaches an average of four times the growing period. The reason is obvious—man is not only the most. irregular and most intemperate, but the most Jaborious and hardworking of all animals. He is always the most irritable, and there is reason to believe, though we cannot tell what an animal secretly feels, that, more than any other animal, man cherishes wrath to keep it warm, and consumes him- self with the fire of his own reflections, River of Death. From the Boston Globe. The Yellow river, which has been named the “Sorrow of China,” is probably the most destructive stream on the face of the earth. In less than 100 years it has changed its channel four times, and the point where it empties into the sea has from time to time been moved up and down the coast a distance of 300 miles. It runs through a vast alluvial plain, and is fed by streams from a great system of moun- tains in the north. When the snow melt- ing on this range comes at a time of heavy rains, the result is sure to be a terrific flocd. It has been estimated that in the past three centuries over 10,000,000 human beings have perished in the floods of the Yellow river. For dertructiveness, both of Life pe FOE, this stream is unparal- jeled, and the sobriquet bestowed upon it is amply justified by its history, GAYER THAN EVER Paris Will Be Run: Wide Open Dur- ing the Exposition, PALAIS ROYAL 0 BE RESTORED All Intended as a. Harvest for the Natives. ~ i as HORSELESS, CARRIAGES Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. PARIS, August 25, 1898. ARIS HAS NOW been a year in full Preparation for the world’s fair of 1900, yet the great featura of the show, the clou, appears to be as far from discovery as ever. The clou of the exposition of 1889 was the Eiffel tower. The clou of the world’s fair at Chica- go was the Ferris . Wheel. For a year the commission of the exposition of 1900 has been inviting propositions to surpass these mighty works, and ideas have been pouring in ftom every side. Unhappily, they do not seem to be the right kind of ideas, Of a hundred propositions that had been retained for lack of better ones, all but three have now been rejected. It is known that there will be a Paris street of the time of the revolution. There will be mov- ing roadways for-the transport of visitors, and there will be a captive balloon capa- ble of lifting 200 people at a time. But of all the gorgeous dreams originally docketed and indexed none remains. The Project of bering a great hole as near to the center of the earth as possible is relegated to the limbo of forgetfulness. ‘The idea of a thir- ty-two- story building that should revoive all the time on its foundations is aban- doned. The palace of women is no more spoken of. The refracting telescope that was to bring the moon within a distance of ten miles is found impracticable, and the exploitation of the Vasseur flying machihe is given up. It will. not fly. Will there, then, be no one feature of extraordinary interest at the world's fair that is to bid our century farewell? To Be Gayer Than Ever. Events are pointing to a strange one. The Paris exposition of 1900 promisés to be a Scene of vivid gayety, frivolity and worldly pleasure, A single plan that has Been thrust on the cemmission by the clamor of ali Paris will serve to illustrate this tendency. ‘They ar» going to “restore” tha Palais Royai. From 1800 down to 1830 thetimmknse quadrangle and arcades of the olf paltce of Richslicu formed the playgroun& of sporting Paris, In the time of “Pelham” still a hundred different gambling dens enlivened its col- umned promenades. rus taverns had thelr place in the old, building. 1t was a little city in itself. ‘\Fom forty years it glowed by day and blazed By night. A more austere age swept away th® gaming tabies, and with them a whol sid@of Parisian life Was bound to disappear. The Palaix Royal sank to nothingness. \\lt Stands ioday an empty shell, a tomb of IoW-priced restau- rants of melancholy. baths and barber shops, of hopeiess imitatiog-jewelry stores, of peor, unostentatious br¥t-a-brac. Tour. ists pass through its colonulad2s as through a place abandoned. _Nugfemaids of the querter bring children to its flowery cou: to romp beneath the tredg: “Restore the Palais papel All the Weep itaiitsior east~ ern cent aris cry, *! re the Palais Royal!" All is to be dots’ With regard to picturesque, histpric reminiscence. ‘The old Place is to be thronged again with flower girls, shop girls, walters, croupiers, fortune tellers and policemen in the costumes of a hundred years ago: Gambiers to Flourish. The old shops and taverns are to reappear along with the establishments of roulette and hazard. But the main thing, from the point of view of the Parisians, is that the roulette and hazards ar3 to be restored. It means, in a word, the restoration of the public gaming tables in Paris during at least the six months of the exposition. For years the bringing back of open licensed gambling has been the avowed wish of a larg> part of the population. It is com- plained that Paris ceases to attract. It is pointed out that obscure Belgian spas ure building up fine cities round about them on the mere strength of their government-pro- tected roulett2, As Monte Carlo diverts the pleasure-seeking throng from Paris in the winter, so they drain Paris of her old- time money scatterérs in spring and au- tumn. Ever since the fall of Louis Napo- leon, when at least there was a court, the alleged gay city has been living on its repu- tation. Get the money spenders back to Paris! The moral question is dismissed with cynical logic. “What do we gain,” ask the Parisians, “by the closing of the public tables? Illicit gambling institutions flourish everywhere among us. ‘The police admit they cannot cope with them. Who are protected from them? Only strangers, Only strangers cannot tind them.” In « Neglected Quarter. The restoration of the Palais Royal is one only of many indications that the ex- position of 1900 is to be unique in another particular. Being situated in the old east- ern central part of Paris, all the inhabi- tants of this section, now neglected by the Parisian and the foreigner alike, expect the Palais Royal razzle-dazle to effect a revolution in their neighborhood. The Rue de Rivoli, also neglected of late years, offers beneath its long mile of arcades a splendid route between the Palais Royal and the exposition grounds. The gardens of the Tuilerizs, facing the Rue de Rivoli for half its length, are to be thrown open to high-class attractions in the style of the Vienna Prater, In a word, Parisians intend to keep the visitors, not In the fair grounds, but out- side of them The whole center of the city, following the river eastward, is to wake from its long sleep. It is a beautiful part ef the capital, rich in picturesque old buildings. It contains the cathedral of Notre-Dame, the Palace of the Louvre, the Cluny and the Roman baths, the Palace of Justice, the Hotel-de-viNe,and les beside the Latin quarter, separaféd from it only by the river. The river dnd the gardens of the Tuileries run/thrdugh its center. The gardens of the ‘Byilersés are followed by the gardens of thé Louvre. It is one long, open stretch for! two miles, to the Eiffel tower. Througy it the visitors to the exposition will Surga in a mighty throng and overflow i on Goth sides. The exposition of 1889 bufft up the northwest- ern part cf Paris, witch now its own decorous home life of fich lences. This time the center of the city, by the river, is to take new life. } 80,000 KufScsehltica: oe The tendency to tile show’out of the exposition oie spread it all over the city will a@ remarkable Impetus by the cab panies. Horseless carriages, or automebiles as they call them here, have reached that stage of per- fection and economy which justifies their exploitation from the business point of view. The cab companies will take off all their horses and put 90,000 automobiles on the streets of Paris in the spring of 1900, Really, I think none of us as yet appre- ciates what this will mean There are not 50,006 cabs today upon Paris_streets, and yet the cabs are everywhere. Parisians auabiee See ae mae ives in. 3 the great streets, It He cab life that gives Sass much of its.gay, bustling air to- nves of the bright city, is one for which mere imagination is weak. One must bes to =e ae Horseless cane caréer- Ing up ‘ontmartre hill, horseless: car~ riages whirling through the Latin quarter, horseless carriages that scoot along the Avenue de l'Opera, horseless carriages whose riders whoop it up all over Paris, day and night. People wiil ride for the mere novelty of the thing. They will be- come exhilarated. Any one who remembers the rush to the trolley cars in America, when they were first put on, will under- stand it. Triumphant automobilism, wild and hilarious, may prove to be the real clou of the exposition—and it will have its mani- festation all outside the exposition grounds. Where Utility Comes In. All Paris will compete with the attrac- tions of the exposition. The exposition is to draw the crowd, but the Parisians intend to reap the harvest in a way they never did before. The reputation of the gay city is to be re-established so that no one ever will dare doubt its gayety again. Where there ere now three dance halls there will be a dozen. Where ther2 are now five music hails, with promenades, there will be twen- ty. The Moulin Rouge will no longer be unique of its kind. The students’ ball will have its rivals. Night after night the great sleepless capital of pleasure will shine in its riot. “All this is very gay,” I said to an enthu- silastic Parisian the other night, “but it is simply gayety. I thought the object of a world’s fair was utility?” “Gayety?” he answered; “gay2ty—utility? My friend, gayety has always been of great utility to Paris!” STERLING HEILIG. A TRAGEDY OF OTHER TIMES. Young Woman Walled Up Alive for Some Unknown Crime. From Housebold Words. In the year 1805, when Gen. Junot was gcvernor of Paris, a poor mason inhabiting that city was returning one evening from his day’s work through the Champs Elysees when he was accosted by three men, whose features the darkness of the evening pre- vented him from distinguishing. They asked him if he was willing to come with them forthwith, for the purpose of executing a work in masonry, which it was necessary should be completed befure the morning. He expressed his readtness to do so, provided he was well paid for it. They then promised him twenty-five napoleons as his reward on condition that he would consent to have his eyes blinded, and would come with them without an instant’s delay. The mason acceded to the proposal, and a handkerchief was bound over his eyes. The men then led him along at a quick pace for some time. At length they stopped, and told him he now to get into a carriage. Having placed him in it, and got in them- selves, the carriage drove off with rapidity. For a considerabie space of time they roil- ed over the stones, but afterward left them, and appeared to be passing along a cross road. About an hour's drive brought them to the end of their journey. The carriage haited and the mason was taken out of i He was then led through various passag and up and down staircases, probably for the purpose of rendering it the more diffi- cult for him upon any future oceasion to trace his way. When the bandage was taken from bis eyes he found himself room iiluminated with many wax cand), hung with black cloth The floor, the wall and the ceiling were alike covered with thes mournful hangings; and no part of the apartment was without. the: except cne large niche in the wall, near which were placed stone: nd mortar i the nece: sary implements for making use of them. The mason was astonished and alarmed at all he saw. He turaed around io seek an explanation, but found himseif entirely alone. He had full leisure to examine the funeral ornaments by which he was surround< but at length he heard a noise and a po tion of the hanging being lifted up, disco ered a door, wilich was thrown open. Through this entered a number of men in black cloaks, whose faces were con by masks. ‘They entered, dragging with them a beautiful young woman, whose di heveled hair, streaming eyes and disordet dress provea at the same time her misery and the compulsion under which she w suffering. As soon as she was in the room she sank on her knees before her masked conductors and implored them in the. most moving manner to have pity on her, but they only replied by shaking their heads. She par- ticularly addressed herself to one of them, who, from his gray hairs, appeared to be older than the rest. She embraced his knees, and with sobs and cries besought his mercy. ‘Te these supplications no an- swer was given, but upon a signal made she was dragged forward, and, in spite of her screams 2nd resistance, was forced into the niche, where she was bound with cords. The gray-haired mask then desired the mason to begin his task, and to wall her up. But the poor man, horror-struck with what he had seen, and affected beyond measure with the imploring iamentations of the lady, who besought him not to be an accessory to so foul a murder, refused to prcceed. Upon this the masks began to threaten him. The mason fell on his knees and entreated to be permitted to depart. But the masks drew their swords from be- neath their cloaks, and told him, with im- precations, that if he continued to refuse to perform what he had promised, instant death should be his portion, while, on the other hand, if he obeyed, his reward should be doubled. The poor man, thus intimidated, com- nenced unwillingly his horrible task, but stopped from time to time and requested to be permitted to desist. The masks, how- ever, stood over him the whole time with their swords drawn and obliged him to proceed, until at length, while the shrieks of the victim became every instant more dreadfully piercing, as the wall rose upon her which was to shut her out from life, the tragedy was completed, and the niche was hermetically sealed with solid ma- sonry. The mason threw down his trowel more dead than alive. The gray-haired mask put fifty napoleons into his hand. His eyes were again covered and he was hurried from the room in which the terrible scene had taken place. As on his arrival, he was carried up and down through var- ious passages, and then put into a car- rizge. The cutriage was whirled along as rapidly as before, and after the stated per- lod the mason found himself with his eyes uncovered on the spot in the Champs Ely- sees where he had first been met, and alcne. The night was now far advanced, or rather the morning Was approaching. The man was stunned and bewildered with what he had witnessed, but, after a short time, he recovered the use of his intellect so far as to determine to go forthwith to the governor of Paris. Having with diffi- culty got admission to Junot, his tale was. at first disbelieved, but the fifty napoleons which he produced, and still more, the un- varying accuracy with which he related the different circumstances of that dreadful night, at length gained him entire credit. ‘Yhe police employed themselves very dili- gently for some weeks in tracing the scene of the crime, and the perpetrators of it. Various houses. within a certain distance of the capital were searched and the walls of the rooms were inspected to see if any marks of fresh stonework could be dis- covered. The principal house agents of Paris, the letters-out of carriages and horses, the guards at the barrieres, etc., were examined in the hopes of finding some clue, but entirely without success. This mysterious murder remained, and still remains, unexplained and unpunished; but conjecture imagined it to have been an act of family vengeance. According to this solution, the masks were the father and brothers of the unfortunate lady, who was considered in some way or other to have dishonored her race. They were also sup- posed te have been strangers from some distant part of the country, who had come to the neighborhood of Paris for the pur- pose of completing this vindictive act, and had gone away again after its perpetra- tion, ———+or______ Injections of Perfumes. From the London Chrontele. A Paris physician (says our correspond- ent) has nipped in the bud a habit which ‘Promised to be as dangerous as that cf morphine. It appears that a well-known Parisienne had discovered that subgutan- eous injections of certain perfumes gave their special fragrance to the skin, and that it was quite possible to exhale the lily, the rose, or any other floral scent. ex- ample was copied by a man it with nearly fatal results. This averted the. extension of a periiowe ead er Parisiennes seeking dainty sensa- ions. —_+2-____: Psa © dear, Lge thing ippened. You know it mor ‘ou me to pay the dressmaker’s bill? “T loot It on the way.” é -Husband—“Good heavens! What did-you ao?” 3 “What could I do? I haa to order a new gown.” —Life, = FUTURE OF ~HAVANA See What It May Become Through American Enterprise. ROOM FOR HEFORM ON ALL SIDES Local Customs Which Are Very Different From Our Own. ——————— THE LAND OF MANANA ee Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. HAVANA, August 20, 1898. Another army is about to invade Cuba, an army armed with merchandise in place of guns. Instead of digging trenches, it will build factories and open stores. This American army of peaceful occupation is composed of men who work with money, with their hands or with their heads. Any member of it embarking without enough money to live on for half a year had bet- ter turn back. To come to Cuba penniless just now is like seeking death. One can- not get sustenance out of an orange ‘hat has been squeezed by a mailed hand. It takes time to reconstruct that which war has destroyed. Meanwhile the point of at- tack will not be Santiago. The base of supplies will be Cuba’s metropolis, Hava- na. What kind of a place will the invad- ing American find this Havana to be? The steamer drops anchor in the harbor half a mile from shore. Small boats swarm arou’ Im one of the boats the Ameri- can is rowed ashore. The waters of Ha- vana harbor are always rough. ‘The spray wets the American's baggage, his cloche: his face. He can see plenty of eppor nities for the employment cf his energi all about. The smali boat shouid o2 sup- planted by a tender to meet all inc: ming steamers until the harbor is dredged and a dock is built at which ocean sieamers can land. The boatman ‘speaks oniy Span- ish. The American speaks only English and has no time to study lingo. Therefore, Havana must learn to use the tongue of Americans. That Spanish rule is no more, that the yellow flag of the dons is down, is not enough. The language, too, must go. As the boat leaps over the waves through the spray the American es shore a great cular building. Instinct ively he knows that that is the arena where matadores have been in the habit of slaying bulls on Sunday afternoons. and forthwith that arena is doomed. Even the Cubans shall not be Permitted to conduct a slaughter house for public amusement. Thus, with the arrival of the Yanke> thousand customs of life and vana will become incongruous. y will be subjected tg a healthful injection of Americanism. Starvation in Evidence. The American steps ashore and into a votura, a small victoria pulled by a wheezy horse. The streets of any city are full cf humiliations for the sensitive spirit, but on the way to his hotel the American finds Havana's streets full of sights that more than humiliate. They are sights that in- spire indignation against the inhumanity that caused them. These narrow are full of abject misery brushes against indescribable poverty. Whole families are huddled together on the pavemen ters. Their homes are the gu! Little, naked children hold out ske: ton-like hands for centavo: Human be- ings, reconcentrados, wrecks—suca is the history of these families. Americans will find all Cuba strewn with thes? wrec For months to come they will block the channels of trade, just as marine wrecks women over and then write home: “There are no pretty Cuban girls. They are either very beautiful or very homely. If beauty consisted only of eyes and hair, the wo- men of no nation would be so universally beautiful as these senoras and orttas, The Cuban women past twenty-five are usually either fat and gross or lean and gawky. They wear fireflies for jewelry, Under a gauzy dress a hundred fireflies, similar to oar lightning bugs, make a girl look as though her gown was studded with diamonds. A Traveling Boarding House. After the irvading American has been in Havana one week he writes: “In the homes all cooks and servants are men. Kitchen refuse is thrown into the streets, where it is consumed by those black and dreadful scavengers called buzzards. If you do not want home cooking, you pay $7 monthly and have the canteno, or canteen boy, serve you daily with two square meals—breakfast at 11, dinner at 7. The cantenos carry meals to hundreds of fam- ilies. Food is thus sent out from a central kitchen. Instead of delivering a loaf, the bakery delivers a whole meal. Every well- regulated house has a porter, called por- tero. When the master goes out he tells the portero which of the ladies are to be Permitted to leave the house during his ab- fence. A servant is called by clapping the hands. This comes of having doors and Windows always wide open. Clerks are getting $8 a month. We cannot employ Cubans. They are as untrustworthy and as unreliable as ever. They want to sleep away the afternoon. They are always em- bracing each other like women and Spen- jards. Cubans who were pleading poverty during the war are digging up their strong boxes. When a Cuban gives alms to a beg- gar, he raises his hat, for he gives to God. A funeral is an affair as gorgeous as an American circus. The pallbearers wear costumes that might have been hired from a comic opera company, and the hearse is decked out like a van chartered for @ pice nic.” CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR NOTES The Christian Endeavor topic for tomor- row is “Repentance and Conversion—What Are they?” Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman, pas- tor of Bethany Presbyterian Church, Phila- delphia, in writing on the topic makes these two statements: “Repentance—What is It? It is really such en appreciation of the denger, filthiness, the odiousness of sin and such an apprehension of the mercy of Christ to the penitent, that one not only grieves for rin, but turns from it unto God. with the purpose to walk with him in all ris ways and commandants. Conversion— Wkat is It? There are those who make a distinction between regeneration” and ecnversion. They say that regeneration is God's part of the work, while conver- sion is mah's. Conversion ts putting one’s self in the w Ss the blind men 4! Regeneration is God's giving sight to the bind. Conversion is the willing mind, “Tile regeneration is God's speaking into life that whieh was spiritually dead.” The dates of the Virginia State Y. P. S. C. E. convention at Alexandria have been change? from September 22-25 to Sep- tember 15-18, one week earlier. Mr. Percy S. Foster of this city will be director of the music at the evening sessions and pos- sibly some of the day sessions also. A cordial invitation has been extended by the Endeavorers of Alexandria to the En- Geavorers of the District of Columbia to be present at the sessions of the conven- tion, and there will probably be a number of Iccal youag people who will attend the convention. The annual meeting of the District of Columbia Christian "ndeavor Union will be held Monday evening, September 5, at § o'clock, in the vestry of Calvary Baptist Church. The annual reports of the sec- retary, treasurer and union committees will be rendcred, giving an outline of the work of the past year. After a brief social intermission, the new board of officers and committees of the vnion will be informally installed, a obstruct navigation. Picturesque Street Sights. The votura turns into another street and the American beholds a man milking a cow in front of a doorway. This fs the typical milkman of Havana. He drives his cow from door to door, giving to each housewife the exact quantity of milk de- ired. The days of this milkman’s pros- ‘are numbered. In a few weeks milk ns, gorgeous in paint of many colors, will be rushing through the streets. The American milkman will have supplanted the Cuban and his cow. The carriage rolls on, or, rather, and pitehes on, like a ship in a storm. For the street, like a as billows and troughs. But the American, remembering how his own streets are not paved, feels at home. The street is not wide enough for carriages to pass each other. The side- sO narrow that even lovers must walk in Indian file. The American is only ninety miles from the United States sh yet here are streets more foreign in ap- rocks sea, charge to them being giv: by Rev. Geo, S. Duncan, pastor of Eckington Presby- terlan Church. After a brief response by the president of the union, the meeting will close with singing and the benedittion. The following are the officers and chair- men of committees of the union, for the year beginning September 1: President Mr. Grant Leet; first vice president, Mr. A. L. Dietrich; second vice president, Mrs. W. H. Mickle; third vice president, Miss Ber- tha G. Steward; recording secretary, Mr. Theo. T. Snell; assistant recording secre- tary, Mr. W. C. Irey; corresponding secre- Anna J. Bell; t artwout. Chairman » Mr. L. D. Clark; m'ssion mittee, Mr. H. G. Wilbur; pr Mr. H. C. Johnson; music c Page L. Zimmerman; good literature com- mittee, Miss Alice H. Peabody. The uni. headquarters is in a room in the old Y. M. C, A. building, 1409 New York avenue. The annual sessions of the district con- pearance than those he once traveled 3,000 mues to see in Europe. To enjoy these Ha- vena streets a man must have an eye for the picturesque and the leisure to lounge. The American simply notices that the houses are only two stories high; and he looks reproachful, deploring the waste of sky space During his brief ride a great many negroc it, but of every three people in Cuba, one is a negro. These negroes are growling. Their growl is sinister. “We did the fight- ing,” they sa; and now we want some the American sees He does not know ference of Washington District M. Church South were held Tuesday to Fri y of this week at Occoquon, Va. Many ons irom the Southern Methodist Churches in this city attended the con- ference. The District of Columbia Christian deavor Union is planning for a meeting for the soldiers encamyed at Sheridan's Point, at sunsei this evening. The Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor of the Mt. tional Church have cfficers for the President, Mr. Paul E. Sleman; vice pr dent, Miss Georgia Redway; recording se retary, Miss Katherine D, Ronsaville; cor- of the rewards, some representation in the independent government gained by our fighting.” The Land of Manana. Eventually, the Yankee arrives at his hotel and is shown to a room with a stone floor, a high ceiling and a dearth of water and towels. He rings. He rings again. In fifteen minutes, more or less, a boy ap- pears and receives the order for the miss- ing requisites. Fifteen minutes later the boy returns with water, and still twenty minutes after that he returns with the towels; the American having broken the bell, meanwhile, with his frantic ringing. The Yankee’s troubles have begun. He is in the land of manana, of tomorrow, of any time excepting now. ..0 injection of Yankeeism will ever cure the Cuban of his indifference to the clock. The invading American discovers, almost immediately, that all Cubans view him with suspicion, because y sion have taught them to suspect everybody. He finds that any Cuban tradesman can tell more lies in a single interview than any three Ameri- cans. First manana, then a lie. After pro- crastination, prevarication. In these re- spects the Cuban and the Spaniard are alike. The American finds that, though the Spanish are no longer in polities, Span- iards still remain in the social and me cantile life of the city. He will have con- siderable difficuity in distinguishing a Cu- ban from a Spaniard. Must Learn Havana's Ways. Now the Yankee looks for lodgings. He finds he can get a fair apartment for ten dollars a month, and the best to be had for twenty. Coffee in the” mornings is thrown in, Every morning he will be awak- ened by a man-standing over him with a huge cup of coffee, made as only 4 Cuban can make it. That is all the Yankee gets in the way of food until breakfast, at 11, He begins the day's work with a clear «cad. if he sleeps after 6 am., he loses the loveliest part of the day. The American must learn in Havana to keep Havanese hours. That is, his working day is from 7 to 11 and from 1 to 5. This subject of Uncle Sam will invade the Cuban home and find the women sit- ting all day in rocking chairs, stroking the feathers of their paroquets, smoking cigar- ettes or doing nothing. They walk wita awkward gait. for they walk not enough and wear shoes that are too short. Senoras and senoritas coat their faces with powder, as with a ghastly mask. They know mure about powderss for the complexion than tion. They can read and write, embroider ‘end play on a very bad piano—there are no good pianos in Cuba. These same Cuban girls. however, speak two languages of which American girls know only lect. These are the responding secretary, Miss M. Louise man; treasurer, Mr. Bugene H. McLachi and delegate to Christian Endeavor Union, Mr. M. W. Baldwin. Fcr a number of years the young people of Mt. Vernon Place M. E. Church South have been supporting two native helpers in Japan, part of the time these two young men being with the Rev. W. A. Davis, a missionary sent out from Missouri. A re- cent letter from Rev. Mr. Davis pleases these young Washington Methodists, who have been helping him, by informing’ them that he fs again in this country, and will probably spend the winter in Washingto: pursuing his studies in certain brancaes of his calling. The Comrades of the Quiet Hour now number 10,071, The September meditation is “The Life Abundant,” and the motto is Psalm, 90:14, revised version. The largest Baptist Christian Endeavor Society in the world is said to be that con- nected with Tremont Temple, Boston; Rev. George C. Lorimer, pastor. The Callao, one of Admiral Dewe, prizes, has been called the “Christian I deavor gunboat” because the prize crew put card of her consisted of Endeavorers from the admiral’s fleet. The Callao did conspicuously gallant service in the recent capture of Manila. —— No Pumping Here. From Tit-Bits. A small Scotch boy was summoned to give evidence against his father, who was accused of making disturbances in the streets. Said the bailie to him: “Come, my wee man, speak the truth, let us hear all ye ken about this affai: “Weel, sir,” said the lad, verness street?” do, laddie,” replied the magistrate. “Weel, ye gang along it and turn into ‘ye ken In- ingly. “And when ye gang across the square ye turn to the right, and up the High street, and keep up High street till ye come to a pump.” “Quite right, my lad; proceed,” said the magistrate. “I know the old pump well. “Werl,” said the boy, with the most in- fantile simplicity, “ye may gang and pumg it, for ye'll no pump me.” (Copyright, 1898, Life Publishing Company.)