The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 7, 1901, Page 9

UNDAY CALL. h.:@&fi S PLEAY is that the egg, ic of the beginning eors . was a fitting syno- rrect erm of fecundity and ift of a decorated wish a llment of life’s in the fragil y and sudden- ically arth century eggs were prok the church as a Lenten diet, ar ng more plentiful in the spring t any other time, there was “such an mulation at the end of the at peasant and epicure were rty days t ke puzzle contrive & way to dis- pose of the without loss. It is sald some inventive mother converted them into playthings for her children; henc2 he custom of bofling and coloring them. The Easter egg. born of economy, has ev- oluted during the centuries till 1901 finds avagance and price. be it pleasure, mis- often a th Paris—ever ir ery or lavishness—a few years ago con ed most beautiful ing for the Infanta of Spain. Within a delicate white porcelain shell ved with the gospel for Easter a a bird, which, upon the sure of a cunningly devised spring, e forth and sang twelve airs from 2y fashionable operas. This in- toy cost France 20,000 francs. French parent, presenting a scarlet ed Easter egg to a child, told him it ft from Rome and bore the color he Cardinal's robe. t tious years English urses were careful to see that after eating an egg, pushed through the shell to preveat witches from converting it into a boat. In France the same custom prev in order to prevent magic or the black art. It was declared that cabalistic char- acters were often found on the inside of egg shells, written by evil spirits. In was a a spoc URE WITH THE o DRAGHTLY TOLORED THAT THE SionT T ' TER MIRN WILL SIWVE HEle cHpy, ofs EAS TIULDREN oF TWERE? ntry the largest and most y decorac- the same c prfect shaped eggs were high ed for offerings to the King. morning at the conclusion of 1t pyramids of gilded and, after being bl ed by the priests, they were distributed to persons about the court. In some parts of France it is still the custom for priests to visit their parishioners and bestow blessings, receiving in return ster ezgs. Eggs are material, as well as poetical. A French chef has w n a book on the different ways of preparing eggs for the table. They tempt the appetite of the rich, replenish the blood of the laborers, and, hidden by the farmer's wife and daughter till a goodiy number are gath- ered, are exchanged for many accessories to their wardrobes. How often have the eggs of bird kept shipwrecked ones from ing! Who has riot been impressed with the pathos of the passage of French history in which we are told that Marle An- toinette, on one .ccasion when a pris- eggs to the the ses starv- oner, “to keep up an appearance of cou ¥ age before her children, toos two fresnh eggs from the food set before them?” From Germany—rich in weird tradi tions—comes the quaint conceit that the week before Easter rabbits are endowed with the power to lay eggs. Young chil- dren, believing ti.e fantasy, watch in the fields for rabbits, and when the startle.l creatures, seelng them, run, follow i their track, shouting the flattering en- treaty, “Go, pretty rabbit, sweet rabbit, and lay me a nest of red Easter eggs.” In solid comfort-loving but thrifty and prugent Germary the Easter eggs for sale in shop windows, though often nov in device and brilliant in coloring, rare'y exceed in price two or three gulden. In Italy the peasants rejoiced in the be- ief that during the chiming of the bells on Baster morning angels with azure wings descended and placed baskets of colored eggs in the homes of the faithful. o TWLE‘ML AN Equ on QuUAL ! e After church 1t was customary for nelghbors to meet and mat-\ eggs. One little vilinge has a lcge an evil spirft once placed an eg ct from which two 1overs were maiching that the egg in the girl's hand denly: a toad jumped from it to t thence to tbe bed carrying I coais jteb destroying it. The shoek caused the girl to 1 v mind and her lover to die of a broken heart. From Austria we have the sweet story the Jove of the Princess Marguerite had Jeft (he ecourt for a retired ci s the Lenten season in fast- From her windew on she stood watching the pe: t of lov Easter custom, green sward was covered a blughing lass and an ex- on k, thus setting fire to the house and A portion ¢ vith €g sectant laddie ous to wed would :alute, join hands, and softly tread the ntricate figures of a e. If they com- oleted the measure without b ng an it was a sign that they should wed. The bright spring n beamed upon them, the early flowers watched them from the green grass, the birds joined in the rural music; all nature smiled; only the Prin- ~ess looked down at them sadly. Long aad she loved in secret the handsome Dulke Philitert of* Saxony, but he had nevey made it apparent that he felt for her ‘more than the admiration due a young and beautiful girl. As Marguerite watched the pcasants, the figure of a horseman suddenly approached and halted to watch the dance. Her heart bounded! 1t was the Duke! The earnest eyes of the Princess drew his regards to her win- dow and on that bright Easter morning a love dart pierced his heart and he was soon in the presence of the young girl declaring his love. Dance we the dance of destiny, sweet,” he said, and led the now happy Princess to the glen. With mingled awe and admiration the peasants gazed at the royal pair who anced around the mystic eggs without crushing one. The Duke and the Princess accepted the decree of fate and graciou received the good wishes of the rustic In Moscow gifts are exchanged a us at Christmas, and the s eet, filled with children singing an thems and bearing gifts tc f and relatives. The Swiss mounta and valleys ro- sound with Tyrolean afrs as the gay T folese in picturesque attire, with zithers adorned with ribbons and gariands &g from house to house serenading, belrg rewarded by presents of egg: In ali lands and in all ages, the egg ha3 been the subject of myths and legend: The gypsy forture teller bade the ers of futurity break an egg in of beiling water and in the shape it as- sumed traced a life. A legend of mythology asserts that Helen of Troy, Pollux, Castor and C temnestra originated from an egg Ppro- duced by an uncanny bird. The Finns believe that a mystic bird left an egg in thé lap of the god Vaimai- mon, who, after hatching it in his bosom, let it fall Into the water. As it broke the lower portion formed the earth, the upper the sky, the white the sun, the yolk the moon and the fragments of broken shell became the stars. The Persians gave each other eggs on the first day of the year. With the Romans as with the Franks under the Capets the year began at Easter. The repast of the Romans invariably began with the eating of an egg., and with the breaking of the shell they ex- claimed. “From the egg e’en unto the apples!” Among the carefully cherished relics of Columbus is a painting of the discoverer at a banquet where the flow of wine had treed the ‘“nonsense now and then rel- ished by the best of men,” challenging his assoclates to balance an egg, which feat he himself accomplished by improvising a level surface on which thc egg rests perpendicularly. At Boston in the year 1819 an egg claimed to have been found near Bor- a cup B N 2 O e e Al @ @ild Anielope Jfunt on a Locomotive in Brazil. UNTING wild animals on a loco- H motive instead of on horseback fs A a novel form of the chase that ould even offer some new kinds of thrills to Vice President Roosevelt. In the province-of Minas Geraes, a mining region in Brazil, a hunt was con- ducted not long ago with the hunters rid- ing on a locomotive. The chase was after gazelles, which were almost as fleet as the lumbering locomotive that pursued | them. Only two gazelles were killed, but the hunters had a much more excitirs experience than they had ever had in hunting in the ordinary manner. One of the great amusements of the ...nas Geraes region is the hunting of antelopes in the extensive forests which cover that section of Brazil. The hors-s used, however, are of the small, degener- ate Brazilian breed that are about as fast as the ordinary sireet car horse and have about as much ability to run down a fleet- footed antelope as a grizzly bear has to capture a cyclone. For that reason the antelopes around the mines had grown to be quite beld, and often appeared near the railrcad track and defied every effort of the hunters to kill them. When they were pursued they were in the habit of turning and running straight down the railroad track, 8n the level surface of which they could attain their highest speed, and soon leave the hunters, horses and mules far behind. While discussing the matter one day at the mines it was propesed that as the an- telopes -~ when pursued generally ran straight down the rallroad track, it wouul be a good idea to pursue them with ths mine locomotive. It was decided to have the miners beat through the forest on the morning_of the following Sunday and drive as many of the antelopes as possi- bls toward the tracks. The locomotive was to run down the track at daybreak and go In hot pursuit of every gazelle that was foolish enough to continue iis flight down the railroad track instead of diving into the forest, a place where the locomotive, for certain reasons of its own, refused to follow them. On the morning of the hunt the engine, with five hunters on the cowcatcher and tender, steamed slowly down the track until two gazelles were sighted. The en- gineer crowded on as much steam as pos- sible. The engine did not have a full head of steam on and the limit of speed cou'd not be reached. A fine pair of gazelles were on the track in front of the engine. but they kept a good lead, and after a chase of six miles nimbly turned aside and dlsappeared in the forest. A few miles further on three gazelles were found, but they also kept well in front of the pursuing locomotive and out of rifle shot, and after a long chase they also decided to go into the forest. By the time the next gazelles wers tound the fireman had got a good head of steam on the engine, and the engineer cracked on full speed and gained rapidly on the fleeing quarry, and soon was bump- ing along not thirty yards behind the antelopes. But the great speed on the Jumbering old locomotive made it pound arcund like a ship in a gale, The hunte s could hardly hang on with both hands, jet alone aim and fire. The ergincer slackened the speed some- what and the engine ran a trifie moie emothly. The hunters hung on with ons hand, while they raised their rifles t> their shoulders with the other, Five shotz rang out simultanecusly, but the gazell :s ' Put on Full Head of Steam and Chased the Animals Until They Came Within Shooting Distance. only waggled their bobtails in a provok ing hanner, and turning aside, sought tho seclusion of the woods. The hunters were almost discouraged and at the end of the line they received any amount of guying from the miners assembled there. This resolved them to make another trip on the locomotive and try again. After going a few miles four more ante- lcpes were found. Theengine raced along at the highest notch of speed, and after getting about twenty yards from ths quarry slowed down so as not to bound so much. All of the hunters fired at once and one gazelle was seen to stagger, al- though it continued running in"the center of the track. Another danger presented ftself to the hunters. If the gazelle was to tumble over the rails the engine was sure to be wrecked, as it was going at almost fu:l speed and could not be stopped short of several hundred yards. But just as ths engine was close behind the wounded an- telope and the hunters were about ready to jump the gazelle turned and stumbled from the track and died six feet from the rails. « Further on the engineer agaln put the hunters within good rifle shot of the game and as the antelopes left the track for the timber one of their number fell, pierced by two bullets fired by the hunt- This was all the game secured, but ers. the sportsmen were satisfled. But the superintendent of the mine decided that hunting antelopes with a locomotive was 2 more expensive and dangerous pastime than he cared to have his engines en- gaged in, and so he put a ban on ths sport, ueaux and sold in London for three hun- dred guineas to a traveler was exhibited as a great mystery, for it bore on the shell in plain white letters an inseription in French, which, translated, read, “Na- poleon Bonaparte will reagcend the throne of France November 15, 181S.” Since the art of lettering eggs with chemicals has become generally known the mystery is lost in the presumption that it was the work of some ingenious Yankee. To-day In America Easter s exten- sively cbserved by the exchange of elab- orate cards and gifts and a labored dis- play of Easter finery. Who would brave criticism and go to church and take part in the Resurrection praise service of one who suffered so many, many years ago, and is so far off, in hats and dresses worn through the winter? The grounds of the White House in ‘Washington are gay on Easter morning with children, who assemble to roll eggs down a terrace. For ckildren whose parents can afford to buy them there are innumerable beau- tiful novelties, while the mother with small means and abundance of love can, as in times gone by, purchase a few cents’ worth of colered calico or dye and boil the eggs till they are so brightly colored that the sight of them on Easter morn will give her children an equal pleasure with the children of the rich. The varied imagery in the Easter dis- play is a study. From the small end of erystallized sugar shells wreathed in flow- ers one sees a miniature landscape or ships, all sails set, resting on tiny blue oceans. Looking into an imported affair of ostrichlike dimensions we have before us a group of Alpine peasants clothed in red,.purple and orange, celebrating an Eastdr festival on the village green. In imitation of real egss are what are known as filled eggs, which, opening in the middle, disclose a shepherd guard- ing his flock or a fairylike bower, where lovers are apparently exchanging vows of eterpal constancy. Unconscious su- gared irony! Are not lovers’ vows, like the shell of an egg, easily broken? One might describe indefinitely the Easter offerings for sale in the stores of our own city. Mythology nor the “Arab- lan Nights” entertainment has not re- corded such wonderful results as the pro- duections of mortal man to commemorate the Resurrection. Iven the moon is re- membered and the face of the mysterious man who inhabits it beams a saccharine smile on the throngs at the windows. The egg Is indeed the beginning of all things. What child has not delighted in and remembered always the rhymes of which the egg Is (he theme, and laughed at the predicament of Humpty Dumpty or rejoiced with the old owner of the black hen who lald eggs for gentlemen? Easter is essentially the children’s day. God bless them as they carry their Easter ofterings down the aisle of the church to lay them at the foot of the cross. You who are above want remember that in dark, cheerless tenements are poorly nourished little children with pale faces, whose preternaturaily large eyes would fill with tears of joyful surprise if they opened on Easter morning to find a pretty basket of colored eggs had been placed before them during the night in some 3 [ mysterious manner. It Is In your power to give this pleasure. Let your children help you in this work, and your gifts to themselves will have a greater value. Remember this, and when, clothed In Faster garments, you sit on the soft cushions of some fashionable church and listen to the glorlous Easter music, with the Easter sun of 1901 streaming down upon you through stained glass windows as you echo the refrain of the trained choir, “He Is Risen, Indeed,” the “peace that passeth all understanding” will glide into your hearts and remain with you long after the Easter music i{s forgotten and the Easter flowers are dead. EMMA NORTON. Champion Small Writer of World Has Retired. ILA KITTREDGE of Belfast, champlon small writer of the world, has retired from the fleld, leaving his record of 46,000 words written with a common steel pen on an ordirary postal card for ambitious micro- scopic penmen to equal or beat. Up to two years ago he wrote a great deal, but now, being within a few months of 90, he has given up the laborious practice of writing volumes upon small cards, his hand being less steady and his eye lesa bright than in his best days. Mr. Kittredge has long been famous for his penmanship. He is a Vermonter by birth. His practice of miniature chirog- raphy began early in life and many a time he has gone without dinner rather than leave unfinished a piece of work. His first serious competitive effort was made in 1887, when some one sent to the Belfast Journal a postal card upon which 600 words had been crowded, and defled any one to beat it. A few days afterward Kittredge handed in a postal card upon which he had written 1000 words, and this being beaten he produced one with 3000 words. The 3000-word postal card ended the competition, but Mr. Kittredge kept on crowding his letters and words into still smaller space, turning out in succession cards bearing 6000, 10,000 and 20,000 words. His finest work was done in 1833, when he wrote 6,000 words upon an ordinary postal card, and the entire text of the about 151,000 words, upen four postal cards. He has written several Presidential in- augural addresses upon postal cards and has always considered It easy to write the Lord’s prayer eight times within the space covered by a five-cent nickel. He wrote one of Gladstone's speeches upon a postal card and sent it to the statesman, who wrote a letter in reply, thanking Mr. Kittredge and praising his skill. Mr. Kittredge never used any magnify- ing glasses or other aids. He has always worn a pair of ordinary spectacles, such as most elderly men use, and all his writing has been done with an ordinary steel pen and common black ink. He has competed with many would-be champions who have used magnifying glasses and sharp-pointed hard lead peneils, and he has ®asily beaten them all, in spite of their advantage in the matter of equip- ment. H writing Is distinguished by its beauiy and the artistic arrangement and uniformity of the letiers. Each letter is separate and distinct, and some framed specimens were shown at the Paris Ex- position. He says that his eyes naturally magnify, w LS